EPW Wrestling Unleashed 7/25/2026 Episode #252

EPW Wrestling Unleashed 7/25/2026 Episode #252

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2026/07/epw-wrestling-unleashed-7182026-episode.html

Gene Jackson and Joey Gross are our hosts. We are in Booneville, MS. The hosts hype up the show. 

The Initiative (Jason Genesis and Trace Lee Hunt) vs Chris Styles and Dakota Gage

Arynanne is with The Initiative. The Initiative get a tag title shot if they win. 

Chris and Hunt fight for a hiptoss and Hunt is sent out. Hunt is back body dropped. JG takes a hiptoss and armdrag. JG takes a double shoulderblock for 2. DG blue thunders JG for 2. DG is thrown out then Aryanne slaps him. Hunt slingshot plancha's DG. JG gets a 2 count on DG.

We go to break and return. DG hits chops on JG. DG is back body dropped into a powerslam. DG cradles Hunt for 2. DG cutters Hunt. JG styles clashes DG for 2. DG step up enzugiri's JG. 

DG back body drops Hunt and goes for the tag, but Chris had been pulled down from the apron. DG takes a backbreaker + 2nd rope legdrop combo for 2. Hunt takes a superkick from Chris then DG tags Chris in. Chris hits shots on the heels. Arynanne pulls Chris' leg. Hunt is back body dropped over the top. DG spinebusters JG. 

DG goes for the sunset flip but Arynanne holds onto Hunt's arm while he's on top of DG. Hunt pins DG.

Thoughts: It was an alright bout here. The hot tag section could have been a little better. The faces were a makeshift team so them losing makes no difference. Hunt had a good night here as usual.

Sevyn Cruz is holding an audition. K-Swiss tells Sevyn Cruz that he can take him to the next level if he hires him as a manager. Cruz asks why he would hire him when he can't keep a job. Swiss gets mad and asks if he will give him a job. Cruz says no and tells him he's dismissed. Two people who I'm not familiar with come in. They say Cruz is a joke. Cruz says everyone loves him and asks when the last time someone clapped for them was. The guys tell Cruz to watch what he says. 

Sevyn Cruz vs Jared x Rawlings

Jared slides between the legs and rolls him up. Sev then rolls him up too. Jared rams him in the corner and hits forearms. Jared side headlock takeovers him. Sev headscissors him. Sev boots him away on a roll up and gets a 2 count on him. Jared trips him then basement dropkicks him for 2. Sev suplexes him and The Order runs in. The Order attacks both and causes the no contest.

Thoughts: It was short with a run in finish. This wasn't much to speak of before it ended.

The Order beat up both guys after.

#1 Contender to the Apex Title - Moses Cain vs Xero

They lock up. MC backs him up on the ropes then shoulders him over. Xero spin kicks him and hits forearms. Xero dropkicks him and flying shoulders him over for 2. Xero is up top and MC throws him across the ring. MC hits punches to the gut. 

MC hits a world strongest slam for 2. MC slams him then splashes him for 2. Xero jawbreakers him. Xero tries a seated springboard but takes a hard last ride down. MC headbutts him. They cut away for a second and Xero does some kind of dropkick to him. Xero jumps off the top and is caught with a black hole slam. MC pins him.

Thoughts: They had the right idea. I didn't like Xero shouldering over Moses though as he's too thin for it. It was a big vs smaller man match here and Moses picked up the win as expected. 

Moses stares down Eli Knox at commentary after. Eli gets scared as he's going to have to face him. 

Raven Black vs Judy Lee Taylor

They lock up and RB hits her in the gut. Judy trips her and front facelocks her. RB side headlock takeovers her. Judy headscissors her. RB clubs on her and chokes her on the ropes. 

Judy side headlock takeovers her. Judy codebreakers the arm and hits short arm lariats. Judy lariats her down. Judy 2nd rope dropkicks her for 2. RB spinebusters her. RB reverse curbstomps her and pins her.

Thoughts: It was a shorter bout and not that good. Judy's still green and the time wasn't there for this to really develop.

Sevyn Cruz and Jared X Rawlings are interviewed. Cruz says he's not feeling good and says he feels bad Jared got dragged into this. He says Jared didn't need to get involved in this. Jared says if Cruz is in this, he's in this. They then shake hands.

Dorian Vain vs Shawn Aries

SA running euros him in the corner and enzugiri's him. SA running spears him. SA goes up top and DV rolls out. SA double axe handles him off the apron. SA hits punches and chops. DV chokeslams him into the post. 

DV hits punches in the corner then short arm lariats him. DV spinebusters him and single underhook suplexes him. SA atomic drops him and hits punches. SA springboard kicks him. SA then hits another springboard kick. Eli gets on the apron and SA punches him. SA misses a 450 off the top. DV cobra clutches him. SA is out and DV wins.

Thoughts: We didn't get a lot of it but what we got was fine. SA flew around a little and got put down as expected. It wasn't very long at all and Vain won as expected.

Vain puts the cobra clutch on again after. SA has a chair put around his leg. Aaron Roberts comes out to help. He drops Eli then trades shots with Vain. Aaron facekicks him down then chokeslams Eli. Shawn top rope 450's Eli.

Overall thoughts: We had some okay action here though the matches were mostly all on the shorter end as usual. The opener, the Moses/Xero match and the main were all fine for what they were and the opener was the match of the night. I'd give it a 5 out of 10 overall and the show was acceptable.

AEW Dynamite 8/5/2026 Grand Slam Mexico

AEW Dynamite 8/5/2026 Grand Slam Mexico

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2026/07/aew-dynamite-7292026.html

We are in Mexico City, Mexico. Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness and Tony Schiavone are on commentary.

Adam Copeland, Christian Cage and The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) vs The Death Riders (Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, Daniel Garcia and PAC)

Pac holds up an England soccer jersey at the crowd.

Cage side headlocks Page then Yuta knees Cage in the back from the apron. All 8 men fight and the heels are sent out. Pac takes a double enzugiri in the corner and a reverse ddt + side slam combo from Cope and Cage. Yuta is dropkicked through the ropes and a Buck corkscrew dives outside. Cage plancha's off the top rope outside. 

We go to PiP break and return. A Buck takes running corner attacks. Yuta germans a Buck. Garcia then sharpshooters that Buck. A Buck pulls Garcia and Yuta into each other. A Buck then top rope diving headscissors + armdrags the heels. Cope running lariats Mox a few times then hits him and Pac. Cope hits a double lariat then lariats Pac over the top. Mox cutters Cope.

Mox takes a splash on the back over the 2nd rope from Cope. Cage stands on Mox's back over the 2nd rope. Mox then takes a double 619 from Cope and a Buck. Cage top rope diving headbutts Mox and a Buck top rope elbow drops Mox. Cage hits Mox low then Mox is hit with a triple superkick for 2. 

The Bucks do springboard plancha's out. Mox takes an impaler ddt from Cope. Shafir pulls on Cope's hair. Cage pulls Shafir down and gets slapped. Cage kicks her in the crotch. Yuta flying knees Cope. Cage takes an STO + flying knee combo. Garcia is double superkicked by The Bucks. Yuta takes an assisted shiranui and a running knee. DG is ddt'd. Pac rebound germans a Buck and takes a headbuster from Cope. Cope rolls up Mox for 2. Cope spears Mox but the ref is distracted. Mox rolls up Cope and pins him while holding the tights.

Thoughts: It was a fun match. The crowd was into it and the wrestlers were really trying hard here. Cope and Cage stepped it up a bit. It had a lot of action and a fast pace. 

The faces argue after about the loss.

We get a video on Omega vs Ospreay.

#1 spot in the Casino Gauntlet at All In - Tomasso Ciampa vs Andrade El Idolo vs Komander

TC poses on the ropes. He and Idolo shove each other. TC pounds on and stomps Kom. TC and Idolo trade shots. TC eye pokes him. Idolo chops TC. Kom springboard diving headscissors Idolo. TC ear claps Kom. TC is pulled out by Idolo. Kom rope walk springboard corkscrew dives them outside. Idolo springboard triangle tornillo's Kom outside. 

We go to PiP break and return. Idolo and TC double lariat each other. Idolo and TC trade shots. Idolo flying forearms him. Idolo takes his pants off. Idolo triple suplexes Kom. Idolo is crotched up top and goes down.

TC throws Kom out and pumping knees him. TC stomps on Idolo's pants, then he tries to pin the pants. Kom misses a springboard 450 and takes a powerbomb backbreaker for 2. TC is up top and gets chopped by Idolo. Kom springboard poisonrana's Idolo off the 2nd rope. TC 2nd rope air raid crashes Kom for 2. 

Idolo corner meteora's TC for 2. Idolo spinning back elbows TC. Kom 2nd rope springboard spinning poisonrana's Idolo. Kom rope walk ssp's TC. Idolo hits his DM (spinning double underhook drop) on Kom and pins him.

Thoughts: I didn't like it. They went way too far near the end with Idolo kicking out of a poisonrana off the 2nd rope then a regular poisonrana. Kom should have been done a lot longer from the 2nd rope air raid crash too. They just threw all selling out the window in the finishing stretch of this one.

Idolo gets on the mic and talks in Spanish. He says he wants more and will win the Casino Gauntlet (?) at All In. He says he wants to win the World Title for Mexico. He then does his "How you know?" line.

MJF comes out. MJF hits Idolo from behind with his Triple B version of the AEW World Title. He takes Idolo's Dynamite Diamond Ring and hits him with the ring. Idolo is busted open. MJF pounds on him on the ramp. MJF throws him off the ramp to the floor.

MJF gets on the mic and sends to get that piece of trash from this piece of sh!t country out of the arena now. MJF says he's the best wrestler in the world and says he's the AEW champ. He says he had Kenny Omega beat at Beach Break until Ospreay got involved. He says it's thanks to Ospreay that Kenny gets to walk around with a toy belt. He says Wembley was his main event. He says he always gets what he wants. He says he will be in the match for the #2 spot in the Casino Gauntlet. He says he will win that and dogwalk Idolo again. He says he will win the contract again. He says the only title that should be recognized is his Triple B and he should be the only champ recognized. He says he doesn't care who wins at Wembley as he will remind the world that he's the one true champ.

Willow Nightingale and The Brawling Birds (Jamie Hayter and Alex Windsor) vs Mercedes Mone and Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne and Lena Kross)

Meg and Alex shove each other. Alex chops Meg and shoulders her over. Meg rams her in the corner and hits corner spears. Meg misses a corner splash and Alex hits forearms on her. Meg is booted over then senton'd for 2. Meg jawbreakers Willow.

Mone boots Willow in the corner. The 6 girls trade forearms. Mone is foot choked. Lena is pulled over the top. Willow and Kris hit cannonballs off the apron. Jamie top rope plancha's all 3 heels outside. We go to PiP break and return.

Mone and Willow run into each other and both go down. Lena is formed by The Birds then takes a double headbutt. Jamie 2nd rope dropkicks Jamie. Lena takes a facekick into a russian legsweep for 2. Dominion and The Birds trade forearms. Dominion hit germans on them Jamie drops Meg with a big lariat.

Willow and Mone trade forearms. Mone knees her in the face. Willow muso's her for 2. Mone 2nd rope meteora's Willow. Alex headbutts Mone in the face. Lena TKO's Alex. Everyone starts getting a move in one by one. 

Willow lariats Mone. Dominion take stereo germans. Willow backslides Mone and pins her.

Thoughts: It was alright. There were a lot of stereo moves here and a lot of focus on The Birds vs Dominion. Willow got the upset win over Mone here. There were a lot of people getting thrown around in this one.

We then see on the screen that The Birds challenge Divine Dominion for the AEW Women's Tag Titles at All In. 

AEW International Title - Kyle Fletcher (c) vs Mike Bailey

Both guys come out with masks. Kyle stomps his Mistico mask and Mike just takes his off.

Mike kips up and armdrags him then is slammed. Kyle shoulders him over and is swept. Mike headscissors him. Mike sunset flips him for 2. Mike walks up the buckles, rope walks and diving headscissors Kyle. Mike topes out, Kyle catches him and lawn darts him into rails. 

Mike backslides Kyle for 2. Mike rolls him out of the ring and triangle asai moonsaults him outside. Mike spin kicks him in the gut, axe kicks him and chest kicks him. Mike running ssp's him for 2. They fight on the buckles. Kyle 2nd rope michinoku drivers him for 2. We go to PiP break, full break and return.

Kyle chops him out of the ring. Kyle goes out and Mike top rope moonsaults outside. Mike rolls him up for 2. Mike armdrags him and 2nd rope flying headscissors him. Mike then rolls him up for 2. Kyle half-nelson suplexes him. Kyle facekicks him, ending him down on the ramp. Mike diving headscissors him off the steps on the stage and sends him onto the stage. Mike then moonsaults off those steps onto Kyle. 

Mike misses an ultimate weapon inside. Kyle goes for a crossbody and Mike standing moonsault slams him off of it. Kyle michinoku drivers him for 2. Mike hurricanrana's Kyle over the top but Kyle holds on and apron powerbombs him. Kyle corner facekicks Mike then brainbusters him for 2. 

Mike 2nd rope poisonrana's him on his head. Mike top rope ultimate weapon's him for 2. Mike sunset flips him for 2. Kyle lawn darts him into the 2nd buckle. Kyle running facekicks Mike. Kyle brainbusters him on the top buckle. Kyle then pins him.

Thoughts: It was the usual dumb Kyle match. They did way too much here and none of it meant anything. Kyle took a nasty 2nd rope poisonrana on his head that was meaningless seconds later and Mike was able to go for another 10 minutes after taking a 2nd rope michinoku driver.

Kyle celebrates with the title and Kazuchika Okada comes out for his match. Okada interrupts Kyle's music to make his entrance. Kyle then holds his title up at Okada on the ramp and they stare down.

Chris Jericho, Darby Allin & Mistico vs. Don Callis Family (Hechicero, Kazuchika Okada & Kevin Knight)

KK springboards onto DA as he heads down to the ring. KK pounds on him. KK throws DA off the ramp and he goes crotch first onto the rail. Hech step up knees Mist in the corner. CJ and Okada fight. Okada dropkicks him. KK pounds on CJ and euros him. CJ AA's KK. 

DA springboard diving armdrags Hech. DA dropkicks Hech. DA topes outside and Okada flying knees him in mid-air. We go to PiP break and return. KK and DA bangs heads. Mist springboard crossbodies KK. Hech stomps Mist. Mist flying headscissors KK, 619's Okada and springboard diving headscissors Hech. Mist goes up top and springboard corkscrew armdrags KK.

CJ codebreakers Okada. DA and KK trade forearms. DA scorpion deathlocks KK and KK ropebreaks. Mist springboard diving headscissors Hech. Mist's springboard is caught and Mist spinning headscissors Hech.

CJ top rope plancha's Okada and DA coffin drops outside. Mist walks up the buckles and plancha's Hech outside. DA is in tree of woe, KK goes for a coast to coast and CJ spinning back elbows him in mid-air. Mist hits a la mistica on Hech while CJ crabs Okada. DA coffin drops KK. DA pins KK.

Thoughts: It was a fun tag. Mist did his usual flying routine. DA went for a tope outside here and Okada flying knee'd him in mid-air which was cool. It was a pretty tame night for Darby though. The crowd booed Mist here, which they sometimes do.

Kris Statlander vs. Persephone

They lock up and Pers armdrags her. Kris armdrags back. Kris backflips and handstand walks. Pers bridges out of a lariat and they go for armdrags at the same time. Kris chops Pers then lariats her over the top. Kris moonsaults off the apron onto Pers. 

Pers basement dropkicks Kris outside. Pers tope con hilos Kris outside. Thunder Rosa is in the front row and Pers gets in her face. Pers chinlocks Kris. We go to PiP break and return. Pers finlay rolls her. Pers misses an asai moonsault and takes a gutbuster. Kris germans Pers. 

Kris running euros Pers and flying knees her in the corner. Kris michinoku drivers her for 2. Kris armdrags her and seatbelt's her for 2. Pers running lariats Kris.

Kris and Pers trade chops. Pers superkicks her. Pers is tripped into the ropes and Kris crossbodies her from behind. Kris misses a 450 legdrop off the top and lands hard. Pers spears her for 2. 

Pers grabs Rosa and her title outside. They grapple a bit and Pers hits Rosa with the Mexican National Title. Kris dives on Pers off the apron and nails the ref in the process. Kris backdrops Pers on the floor.

Kris goes for a pin inside. Hikaru Shida comes in and hits Kris with the title. Pers springboard splashes Kris but the ref is still down. The ref comes in and Pers pins Kris.

Thoughts: It was a bit of an odd one here with ref bumps and interference. The match was going well too, so it's a shame they had to bring it down with all of that. Kris' 450 legdrop off the top looked painfaul. Pers had a couple of nice spears. I did like this minus the finishing sequence.

Maya World and Hyan run out to check on Kris after.

AEW World Trios Title Match - The Demand (Bishop Kaun, Ricochet & Toa Liona) (c) vs. Adam Page & Brodido (Bandido & Brody King)

Page's team comes out in sombreros and poncho's. KeMalito is with them and they have a Mexican band. 

The heels attack from behind to start. King throws Rico ut and Ric dropkicks him in the knee. Ric stomps him outside. Pge flying headscissors Toa. Page facekicks Toa. King walks up the ropes, seated moonsaults and double armdrags Kaun and Toa. Ric is thrown out. Band is helped up to the top and springboard swantons out.

The faces then dance and the heels interrupt. Band pump kicks Kaun out of the corner. Kaun 2nd rope backbreakers him on the top buckle. We go to PiP break and return. Kaun chops Band. Band superkicks Kaun. Kaun bodyscissors throws Band overhead while on the ropes and sends him to the apron. Kaun hiptossed Band from the ramp to the ring.

Ric bangs Band's head off the buckles. Ric springboards and Band dropkicks him in mid-air. Page comes in and cleans house. Page fallaway slams Ric then slingshot plancha's Kaun. Page lariats Kaun. 

Ric spin kicks Page and Page sitout powerbombs him for 2. Kaun throws Band over the top near the post. Band and King are sent into the rails. Ric flying pumping knees Page off the apron. The heels then hit triple dives out.

Page takes corner attacks and a pumping knee. Ric running ssp's Page for 2. Toa corner splashes Kaun on accident then King corner splashes both. King corner cannonballs both. Ric springboard diving lariats King. 

Ric pumping knees Page and Page spinning lariats him. Ric flips out of a 21plex. Band one arm gorilla press slams Ric. Toa puts all 3 opponents on his shoulders and samoan drops them together. Toa misses a corner charge and his head banged off the post. King lariats Toa then topes Ric and Kaun. Toa takes a buckshot lariat into a german and is pinned.

Thoughts: The match was alright though it did got a little long here. Toa's triple samoan drop was impressive. I don't like these title changing hangs. When then AEW Trios Titles were initially announced, I was concerned as trios titles tend to get hotshotted around with random teams. That is exactly what is going on now as we've had 2 title changes in only a few weeks.

The faces dance in the ring after.  

No Outside Interference Mexico City Street Fight - Mark Davis vs. Will Ospreay

Mark comes out with a chair and he misses when he throws it at all. Will hits forearms. Mark eye rakes him and lariats him over the top. Mark slams and sentons Will. Will hits forearms on Mark. Mark knees him in the gut then Will flying headscissors him.

Will slingshot plancha's Mark. Will bangs Mark's head off a chair. Mark boots Will in the gut and slams him on a tire outside. Mark is sent into the rails. Will jumps off the rail and flip dives onto him. Will springboard flying forearms Mark inside.

Mark chairs Will in the gut and back. Will handspring corkscrew kicks Mark. Will's flying headscissors is caught off the apron and Mark apron edge powerbombs him.

Mark throws a chair at Will. Mark powerbombs Will over the rail into a "fan" in the front row. We go to PiP break and return. Will hits Kawada kicks on Mark. Mark hits Will with some kind of board and Will rolls down the steps on the stage. Mark throws Will over the top. 

Will hook kicks Mark. Will is sent into a chair between the buckles. Will is busted open. Mark hits downward elbows. Mark chairs him. Mark forks Will is in the head. Will dropkicks Mark in the knee, sending him into a chair. Will jumps off a chair then springboards into a cutter on Mark. 

Will then forks Mark in the head. Mark lariats Will. Mark hits a nasty over the shoulder piledriver on Will through 2 chairs. Mark rakes barbed wire in Will's face. Will throws a chair at Mark's head.

Mark headbutts Will on the apron. Mark rakes Will's back with barbed wire. Will grabs him by the crotch and Will high kicks. Will apron piledrivers him.

Will hidden blades Mark in the ring for 2. Mark hits a nasty piledriver for 2. Will styles clashes him for 2. Mist puts barbed wire around Mark's head and hits a hidden blade. Will then pins him.

Thoughts: They overdid it here with apron piledrivers not even being enough to put people down. Both guys bled here and there were a lot of weapons being used. It wasn't quite the match I expected and Mark's size could have maybe been protected a bit better. I don't know if their feud has been big enough to justify all that went down here, but there was definitely no lack of effort. It was acceptable but flawed overall.

Overall thoughts: It was probably the longest Dynamite yet at about 2 hours and 52 minutes. I knew this was going 2 hours and 30 minutes at least due to how big this card was. This was a PPV level card and I'd argue it was better looking in some ways than Redemption was. The crowd was hot and the wrestlers really did put out some extra effort for this. I liked the opener best here. While there were some matches I didn't care for, this was an absolutely memorable show and probably one of the better shows AEW has put out. There was no excuse whatsoever for Kenny Omega not being here, but he's done this stuff before and his top priorities will always be video games and Japan, not AEW. The show also did not build up All In that well and that's a problem since All In is the biggest show of the year. I'd give this an 8 out of 10 as the wrestling and general spirit carried this. I thought it was a great show overall.

WWE Evolve 8/5/2026

WWE Evolve 8/5/2026

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2026/07/wwe-evolve-7292026.html

We are at the Performance Center. Robert Stone and Blake Howard are on commentary.

Harlem Lewis does a video. He says tonight may be a fatal four way, but he doesn't fight the odds, he fights the men standing across from him. He says he won't let his title slip away. He says the Harlem Violence World Tour continues tonight. Aaron Rourke says sorry, not sorry if Lewis loses his title without being pinned. Tristan Angels says we get to see him take his place on the throne and win the title. Max Abrams says they can lookmax more with the title around his waist because that's main man energy.

The Mog Squad come out to talk. Max says he's moodmaxing as his friends bought him a new pair of sunglsses. They then clap the mic for that. Max says there's some people who are "chopped" here and says they will never know how it feels to have a Hot Boy Summer. Max says that's the whole roster though. Max says you will have to acknowledge them as the supreme moggers when he wins the title tonight. 

CJ Valor hugs Max. He says the only thing they are missing is the Evolve Title. Santi says Jacari a gangster and says they are unstoppable. Jacari says him and Santi are on the same page. He says everyone is jealous as they ball and mog harder. Max says he can't believe people in this world would dislike them. Max has them mog for the crowd and we cut to the commentators. Max says they are the reason they are employed. Santi says the whole world will love The Mog Squad when Max wins the title.

Shido Ash and Viktor Zanov then come out for their match. 

The Mog Squad (Santi Rivera and Jacari Ball) vs Shido Ash and Viktor Zanov

Santi knocks Vik's hat off before the match. Vik throws Santi over the top on the lock up. Vik overhead belly to belly suplexes Santi. Vik throws Ball by the arm. Vik hits a hard lariat on Ball. Ash monkey flips Ball then hip throws him for 2. 

Vik slams Ball then slams Ash onto him. Vik then does that Santi. We go to break and return. Vik misses a corner charge. Ball hits corner spears on Vik then Santi hits corner spears also. Vik boots Santi out of the corner then takes an enzugiri in the corner. Ball jumps off Santi's back and hits a splash on Vik.

Ball dropkicks Vik. Ball karelin's lifts Vik and holds on for 2 more. Ball jumps off Santi's back and misses a corner splash. Ash comes in and drops the heels with shots. Ash corkscrew kicks Santi then hits a ranhei variation on Santi for 2.

Ash flying euros Santi. Santi is thrown up into a Vik german. Vik pins Santi.

Thoughts: It wasn't bad. Vik is definitely not a face but he had a good showing here. Ball hit a nice dropkick. I'm interested to see where thing go with Vik and Ash.

Timothy Thatcher comes out and tells Max Abrams that The Mog Squad is banned from ringside tonight.

Marcus Mathers talks to Romeo and Dar in the back. He says it's been tough for ID 1.0 since they lost to The Mog Squad. It's Gal comes in and says he beat Kale Dixon. Dar says he doesn't have the mental capacity for this. Cappucino Jones comes in and tells Gal to shut up. Mathers rips Gal for losing to Cutler James. Gal puts over Darkstate as tough and says Cutler would beat him. He tells him to ask for a match. Gal asks Cap when the last time was that he won anything. Mathers says he was right and he needs to prove that he belongs in Evolve.

Skylar Rae vs Anya Rune

Sky side headlock takeovers her then AR does the same. Sky headscissors her and we go to break. We return and Sky wristlocks AR. Sky rolls and headflips out of a wristlock. Sky then backflips. Sky trips AR and shoulders her over. Sky headscissors her down.

AR double chops Sky down for 2. AR euros her in the back. AR wants to go up top but is hesitant. Sky then cradles AR for 2. Sky dropkicks AR then running back elbows her. Sky bulldogs AR for 2. AR backslides Sky. AR hits soul foot on Sky then Sky does it right back to her. Both go down.

Sky la mistica's her into a collar and arm lock. AR rolls her over to escape. AR clotheslines Sky with her own arm for 2. AR goes up top and is thrown down. Sky top rope frogsplashes AR and pins her.

Thoughts: This was fine. Sky had a good showing and definitely has a high ceiling. AR's gimmick worked a little better here but I'm not sure about it. Sky had near grounded collar and double arm submission.

Gianna Capri jumps Rune after and stomps on her. Rune is thrown into the post. 

Elijah Holyfield is outside and has a message for Brooks Jensen. He asks where Brooks is and asks if he's ducking him. He says Brooks isn't a bad man, he's just bad at when he speaks. He says he flipped a switch in him that he wished he never touched. He says he will find him and put his fist through his chin.

Timothy Thatcher talks. He says it's Wren vs Sloane next week. Chazz Hall interrupts. He says he wants to face Cap Jones next week. Hall says they need to duke it out and Tim says he won't cancel Cap's match vs Gal next week. Hall says he will fight both and wants a triple threat. Tim agrees and complains about him trying to sit on his desk.

Next week has Charlie Dempsey vs Ulka Sasaki as well.  

 Harley Riggins is in the VIP Lounge.

WWE Evolve Title - Harlem Lewis (c) vs Aaron Rourke vs Tristan Angels vs Max Abrams

Lewis misses a charge and goes into the buckles. AR's tornado ddt is stopped. AR takes running corner attacks. AR double dropkicks his opponents. Lewis hits a double lariat. Lewis uranage's Max onto TA. TA lariats Lewis over the top and goes with him. Max pump kicks TA on the apron. AR is thrown out and caught by Lewis. TA dropkicks them over outside. Max dropkicks TA through the ropes. 

We go to break and return. Max chinlocks AR and throws him down. Max drops TA from the apron with a punch. AR jawbreakers Max then lariats and back elbows him. AR leg lariats Max. AR running euros Max in the corner. TA step up enzugiri's AR. 

Max takes a fallaway slam from TA but Lewis germans TA as he does it. AR stomps Lewis' head into the apron over the 2nd rope. AR is bounced off the top and takes a neckbreaker on the landing. Max superkicks AR and TA back elbows Max. 

AR goes for a handstand hurricanrana on the ropes but is pushed down and splashes Max off of it. TA takes a backhand up top. We get a tower of doom spot with TA getting superplexed. Max flying hip attacks Lewis. AR double stomps Max out of the corner. AR molly go round's Max for 2. Lewis flying knees AR. Lewis jackhammers Max and pins him.

Thoughts: It was a shorter and fast paced match. There was a ton of action and some creative spots. It did go pretty well for the little time they got and I think they had about the best match they could have done here. I liked it, but it's a shame it didn't get more time. I'm just glad Lewis escaped with the title.

Lewis holds his title up at Harley Riggins outside after. Lewis says he waited a long time for this and Riggins getting a few wins doesn't get him a shot. Riggins tells him to kick rocks and count his days.

Overall thoughts: I liked the show. It was faster paced. It was only 45 minutes so it was a little shorter and it was a rather wrestling heavy show. It just felt different overall and that was for the better. We had 3 matches and all were fine here. I'd give this a 6 out of 10 and thought it was a good show overall.

WWE Wrestlemania 19 3/30/2003

WWE Wrestlemania 19 3/30/2003

Note: I originally reviewed this in 3 parts and wanted to put this into one post. My original reviews are here:

Part 1 - https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/wrestlemania-19-review.html

Part 2 - https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/wwe-wrestlemania-19-review.html

Part 3 - https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/wwe-wrestlemania-19-review_3.html

Wrestlemania 19 was the first ever Wrestlemania I ordered on PPV. I really loved WWE around this time. Okay, Raw wasn't the greatest but Smackdown had a pretty legendary roster. Every week there would be a mix of stuff from the famed Smackdown Six of Rey Mysterio, Edge, Eddie Guerrero, Chavo Guerrero, Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit. We also had the up and coming Brock Lesnar who was turning into a heck of a worker, A-Train who had good performances at times, Tajiri and Rhyno. While we did get crap like Mr. America, there was more than enough good stuff to make up for it.

The big story going into this was whether Kurt Angle would actually be able to wrestle or not. Kurt Angle has always been banged up and broke his neck coming into the show. The rumor was that Chris Benoit was going to be his replacement if he was too injured to wrestle. I was legit worried for Kurt Angle and was hoping not for a good match, but for Kurt Angle to not get injured any worse.

The other big news was that Stone Cold Steve Austin was hospitalized the night before. He was under a lot of stress and overdid it with energy drinks and almost ended up missing Wrestlemania completely. I didn't really know much about this though at the time.

Hulk Hogan vs Mr. McMahon was a heavily pushed match for this show and some would say it led to the show not doing as well as it should have.

Wrestlemania 19 is one of my favorite Wrestlemania's. I usually have it at #2 below Wrestlemania 17. The match quality was top notch and it had a great mix of stars and wrestling.

One final note is that Bill Goldberg debuted on Raw the night after this show. Why they had Goldberg not debut at Wrestlemania is beyond me, but whatever.

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Pre-show Match -  WWE World Tag Team Championship -  Kane and RVD vs Sean Morley and Lance Storm

Ah, Kane makeshift tag team #1000. The Dudley Boyz were at ringside here.

Storm got the win here after Bubba Ray Dudley hit an elbow on RVD. Odd match here which I could definitely use some help in understanding. Apparently the Dudleys were siding with the faces for some reason but then turned on them anyway? I dunno. I also don't know why the ref didn't DQ someone when the Duds were in the ring. The faces looked good here with Kane busting out a dive which was cool, but the storyline was dumb.

Main Show

We are in Seattle, WA. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler are on commentary for some matches and Tazz/Michael Cole are on commentary for the others.

WWE Cruiserweight Title - Matt Hardy vs Rey Mysterio

Matt Hardy got the win with a reverse of a roll-up from the Electric Chair position. Good match here with a fast pace. This was all action and both guys looked pretty good. There was a little too much interference from Shannon Moore but it's hard to complain about anything else here. Rating:***1/4

The Miller Light Catfight Girls argued over which match they wanted to see more.

Nathan Jones was laid out by The Big Show and A-Train. I'm not sure what the reasoning behind this was other than, it's Nathan Jones. Nathan Jones had everything you would want in a wrestler, except for the fact that he was clumsy and couldn't work to save his life. They pushed him as this deranged ex-con but after seeing him in the ring, my interest waned. He had a really cool background though being in the World's Strongest Man, PRIDE FC and being a ripped 6'10 guy.

Handicap Match - The Undertaker vs A-Train and The Big Show

The Undertaker got the win with a tombstone on A-Train. The match wasn't bad at all with the heels doing holds on Taker until Taker made his big comeback with some help from Jones. A-Train was in shape here and actually had abs, which you know meant this was old. Show looked fine and Taker did a fine job as a face. The crowd liked it too. Rating:**3/4

The girls talked about how much they loved each other. Stacy Keibler brought up her advertising campaign with Test with the fans of Test being called "The Testicles" and she said she had some idea for the girls.

WWE Women's Title - Jazz vs Victoria vs Trish Stratus

Jazz was one woman I never got. She wasn't good looking and she wasn't a good worker. I thought she was too small to be Chyna and I thought Jacqueline was better.

Trish Stratus beat Victoria with a kick to the stomach/ribs. Good match here surprisingly. They kept the pace high, everyone made the extra effort and they hit some nice stuff. The crowd was into it and it really wasn't bad at all. Trish wasn't bad at all here and neither was Jazz or Victoria. Rating:***

The Rock was angry that the fans were calling him a sell-out and booing him. He said he was here to fulfill his destiny and beat Steve Austin at Wrestlemania. He was 0-2 against Austin at this point at Wrestlemania. 

The Rock said this was the last chapter of their feud and The Rock said he would win.

WWE Tag Titles - Team Angle vs Chris Benoit and Rhyno vs Los Guerreros

Team Angle got the win after Rhyno gored Chavo and Shelton got the pin. This was disappointing. There were too many people out there and they got under 10 minutes which wasn't close to enough time at all.

Stacy and Torrie argued over whether McMahon or Hulk created Wrestlemania, then the catfight girls argued over it as well and then argued over whether to do it in ring or in bed. You know, when you have to have other people argue your case for your own ego, you have severe ego problems.

Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho

I remember being really excited for this one and hoping for Jericho to get the big win that he could have used.

Shawn Michaels got the win with a reverse on a backdrop. Excellent old-school match. There were lots of submissions with Jericho launching a nice gameplan of working on HBK's back and HBK trying to fight through it. Jericho got cocky and mocked HBK's mannerisms and just couldn't put him away en route to losing. Good heat here and a very good performance and smart match from both guys. Rating:****1/2

I do think the wrong person won here though. HBK had little to gain and a loss to Jericho would have done him little harm. Jericho losing showed WWE's lack of faith in him and the fact that while they did try to push him before, he was always a secondary guy. 

Jericho hugged HBK after the match then kicked him in the nuts.

Sylvan Grenier was in referee attire and looking for Vince.

They did a commercial for Goldberg, saying he would come to Backlash.

Limp Bizkit performed and they did a catfight thing with Stacy Keibler, Torrie Wilson, The Coach and The Catfight Girls. The less said the better.

World Heavyweight Championship - Triple H vs Booker T

Ah, the infamous long crawl match. This was during Triple H's never ending title reign of terror. I was hoping Booker T would win this going into it, but I would have cheered Nathan Jones if he had a title match at that point.

There was some really awful commentary during the early portions with both JR and King agreeing that WCW was a joke.

Triple H beat Booker T with a pedigree. The pin to get there wasn't as long as its made out to be but it was kind of silly. The match just wasn't that great. They didn't click and Triple H wasn't that interesting. The commentary was really bad though. King made Booker seem like such a loser that he telegraphed the finish. He really buried him.

Street Fight - If Hulk Hogan loses, he retires - Mr. McMahon vs Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan got the win with the legdrop. This was a long brawl but it wasn't too bad. Both men bled a lot and you have to give them credit for going all out at their old ages. Roddy Piper came down to get some shots on Hogan and McMahon and Sylvan Grenier came down to help Vince out too. IT wasn't enough though. Vince made some great evil faces and with his blood, it made for good shots. His legdrop off the ladder was also pretty cool. Good match, surprisingly. Rating:***1/2

Shane McMahon came down to check on his dad after.

The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin

I wasn't really interested in this one going into it. Austin had just returned and The Rock had just returned as well. The Rock fought Hogan a little bit before this and got mad that Austin won the "Superstar of the Decade" Award. It was Rock/Austin III at Wrestlemania but we kind of already had been there and done that and the match seemed to be thrown together. There wasn't much build to it either. Starting in 2002, Steve Austin just kind of felt like old news to me in WWE and it was clear that his best days were gone.

I should also state again that Steve Austin was hospitalized the night before this. He was stressed and had too many energy drinks and ended up in the hospital from it.

One last note is that this ended up being Stone Cold Steve Austin's last match.

The Rock beat Steve Austin with 3 Rock Bottom's. Good match here with great crowd heat and Rock really stepping it up with big bumps. They mostly relied on mocking each other and stealing finishers, but it worked. They both brought their A-Game here and The Rock was on fire. I loved Rock's selling and the cameras captured all of it well. Austin mostly got dominated here en route to losing. This wasn't the WM 17 classic, but it was very good and a nice way to cap off their feud. Rating:****1/4

WWE Championship - Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar

As I stated, Kurt Angle broke his neck a few weeks before this and I was mostly hoping he would make it out alive. I was very excited to see this one though as Lesnar and Angle just seemed like natural opponents for each other.

Brock Lesnar got the win with an F-5. Excellent match here. They mostly wrestled and exchanged holds and it was great. Kurt Angle was pretty awesome here with all of his submissions and represented wrestling well. Brock Lesnar's failed Shooting Star Press was really memorable and I thought he was dead after it. This was a great wrestling match with an old school feel to it. Good stuff here that is worth a look. Rating:****1/4

Overall thoughts: This is still my second favorite Wrestlemania of all-time. Great show from top to bottom. Only Triple H's match was bad and even then, it wasn't that bad. The main, Austin/Rock, HBK/Jericho and Hogan/Vince were all pretty good and it was a great effort altogether. I really loved WWE at this time and if I could go back in time and watch a few shows live, this would have been one of them. This is a must see show and it is great from top to bottom!

WWF Wrestlemania 17 4/1/2001

WWF Wrestlemania 17 4/1/2001

Note: I originally reviewed this in 2 parts and wanted to put this into one post. My original reviews are here:

Part 1 - https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/wwf-wrestlemania-x-seven-review.html

Part 2 - https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/wrestlemania-x-seven-review.html

---

Welcome to my review of Wrestlemania X-Seven. Wrestlemania X-Seven is in my opinion the best Wrestlemania of all-time and is by far my absolute favorite. The show was a classic and WWF at its best and I've been looking forward to reviewing this one for a while.

For a fun fact, I actually paid around  $70 for this a few years ago before WWE started heavily getting into selling DVD's. This was rather rare and expensive back in the day and next to Wrestlemania 2000, was one of the more expensive WWE DVD's. 

We are in Houston, Texas. Jim Ross and Paul Heyman are on commentary.

Pre-Show:

Steve Blackman agreed to be Grand Master Sexay's partner on Sunday Night Heat.

Pre-show Match - Grand Master Sexay and Steve Blackman vs X-Factor (X-Pac and Justin Credible)

X-Factor won with double superkicks. The match wasn't bad. X-Pac looked great throwing some nice kicks and Sexay was into it. Even Blackman was kind of fun here.

Wrestlemania 17 Main show:

Intercontinental Title - Chris Jericho vs William Regal

Chris Jericho won with a lionsault. The finish was a little unexpected but the match was very good. They both beat the crap out of each other and brought their best stuff out. I loved Regal's leg counter of the Walls of Jericho into the Regal Stretch and Regal's release german was nasty. Great match here. Rating:***1/2

Shane McMahon arrived in the limousine with the WCW1 license plate.

The Acolytes were in the back playing cards and looking for Tazz. Bradshaw then encouraged them all to get up and get going as its Wrestlemania, after a long speech.

Tazz, Farooq and Bradshaw vs Right to Censor (Val Venis, The Goodfather and Steven Richards)

Steven Richards tried to talk before the match before getting interrupted.

Bradshaw won with a clothesline from hell on The Goodfather. Short and sweet match here. They kept it action packed and did a good job considering some of the talent levels of wrestlers in there. Bradshaw really nailed Venis with the top rope backdrop and whammed Goodfather with the clothesline for the win. Rating:**3/4

Steph asked Linda how good it felt to have one child turn out okay and asked Trish to crack some ice with her hands.

WWF Hardcore Title - Raven vs The Big Show vs Kane

Kane won with a legdrop off the cage. The match was really fun as they put out all the stops. They went through walls, doors, glass and even ran each other over with cars. This was wacky and crazy and I really enjoyed it. Everyone went all out here and this was pretty memorable. Rating:***

Kurt Angle was in the back and was watching footage of Chris Benoit tapping him out. He was trying to rationalize it and say that since it wasn't an official match, it wasn't an official tap out. Edge and Christian tried to cheer him up, but Kurt was focused on Benoit.

We saw Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka at WWF New York.

WWF European Title - Eddie Guerrero vs Test

Eddie Guerrerro won with a belt shot. Good match here but it was loaded with interference. Saturn got involved twice and Malenko got involved during the finish. Test looked good here and I really liked his powerbombs.

Mick Foley said he would call the match right down the line tonight even though Vince McMahon fired him from being the commissioner.

Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit

Kurt Angle won with a roll-up and a pull of the tights. Very good match here but I think it could have been better. I didn't like the ref bump, but everything else was good. I would have loved to have seen more suplexes, but what they did was good. I liked them stealing each others finishers and I loved Kurt's moonsault. The technical wrestling to start was also very good. Rating:***1/2

Michael Cole was talking to Regal when Kamala jumped in his office.

Kurt Angle was asked if he now respected Chris Benoit. He said no and Benoit attacked him.

Women's Title - Ivory vs Chyna

Chyna won in a quick squash. Not much else to say about this here, but it was one of Chyna's last WWE matches. She was in really good shape for this.

Vince McMahon told Trish to double Linda's medication and to bring her down when Shane McMahon was totally immobile.

Cole wanted to ask about the shocking development of Shane McMahon signing with WCW and Vince told Cole that if he wanted shocking, he will get it.

Street Fight - Special Ref: Mick Foley - Vince McMahon vs Shane McMahon

Shane McMahon beat Vince McMahon with the coast to coast dropkick with a trashcan. Well, this was all theatrics and drama. Those parts were pretty good with father vs son, turns, violence and Linda recovering. You can't really ask for more than that. The actual match had about 3 moves, with all of them coming from Shane. Shane also sold for a long time inbetween them with him probably laying down after the table bump for an easy 5 minutes. They did a really good job with it though and made this one a big match on the big stage.

Matt Hardy was interviewed about TLC and said none of the teams will be the same after it tonight.

TLC II - WWF World Tag Team Championship - The Dudley Boyz vs Edge and Christian vs The Hardy Boyz

Edge and Christian won TLC II when Christian grabbed the belts while on Rhino's shoulders. Obviously, this was a heck of a match. This was the Mankind vs Undertaker Hell in a Cell of TLC matches and was TLC at its peak. This was a stunt show and completely insane. They were extremely creative and went beyond putting it all on the line for the big show. These 6 killed each other and I believe that to this day, they are still feeling remnants from it. There were three big highlights which included Jeff Hardy's swanton off the 16 foot ladder, Edge's spear to Jeff Hardy who was hanging in the air and Bubba and Matt going through 4 tables off of a ladder. It was excellent, exciting and it was well done storyline wise. This was an epic on the biggest stage possible and a truly unforgettable match. Rating:*****

Gimmick Battle Royale

The Iron Shiek got the win here due to being the only person who really couldn't take the bump. The match was quick and short as it should have been and after the match Sarge put the Cobra Clutch on Shiek.

The Undertaker vs Triple H

The Undertaker won with The Last Ride. This was a lot better in memory than in actuality. The match was mostly weapon shots and little else. The big spots here were also kind of goofy. Triple H got backdropped off a camera tower and it appeared to be a good bump. Then they showed it again and it was little more than a crash pad that HHH seemed to bounce nicely off of. The second was the sledgehammer shot near the end. HHH hit Taker in the back with it and somehow this caused Taker to bleed from his forehead. The pacing to the match was good though and it was set-up nicely, just the big spots really didn't deliver. Rating:***1/2

WWF Title - No DQ - The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin 

Stone Cold Steve Austin beat The Rock in 28:07 to win the WWF title. Excellent match. They brawled wonderfully and put everything in it. They used each others moves, they used moves they hadn't used in years and they even referenced Austin being Sharpshootered by Bret at Wrestlemania 13.  They bled and even did submission work. This match had it all. It was a per

fect cap to the Attitude Era and I don't think the announcers knew how true their words were that the WWF would never be the same again after this. This is probably the best match in Wrestlemania history and was a super classic. This is must see. Rating:*****

Overall thoughts: This is one of the best shows of all-time. Every match was good and the show featured two 5-star matches. This is a must see show and the last show of the Attitude Era.  This show had something for everyone and is a Wrestlemania that may never be matched.

WWF Wrestlemania 2000 4/2/2000

WWF Wrestlemania 2000 4/2/2000

Note: I originally reviewed this in 3 parts with gifs. I wanted to get this into one post. Here is the original 3 part review:

Part 1 - https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/wwf-wrestlemania-2000-review.html

Part 2 -  https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/wwf-wrestlemania-2000-review_31.html

Part 3 - https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/wwf-wrestlemania-2000-review_9129.html 

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We are in Anaheim, CA.  

Welcome to my review of Wrestlemania 2000. Wrestlemania 2000 aka Wrestlemania 16 was one that I always enjoyed that others didn't. Sure, it wasn't Wrestlemania 17, but that is one of the top 5 shows of all time. It was sure as heck better than Wrestlemania 15 though and there was some good stuff on it.

Like Wrestlemania 17, this was hard to find in the era before video on demand. Unless you knew where to look online or wanted to pay huge prices on ebay, you weren't going to find this one too long after its release date.  I think I dropped about 60 bucks on the DVD version of this but hey, youtube was only a dream at that point in time.

Lillian Garcia sang the national anthem.

Ice T came out with The Godfather and D'Lo Brown. He sang, "Pimpin' Ain't Easy, Man".

The Godfather and D'Lo Brown vs The Big Boss Man and Bull Buchanan

Bull Buchanan won with a top rope legdrop. The match was actually pretty good which surprised me. Bull looked great here. He was so athletic and seemed to be able to do anything and the crowd liked the faces. Fun stuff overall here but it could have been a minute or two shorter. Rating:***

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon bragged a little in the back about Wrestlemania.

They had a meeting for rules about the hardcore battle royale. The match would be 15 minutes long and there could be a million pinfalls or none at all.

WWF Hardcore Title - Hardcore Battle Royale

This goes 15 minutes and anytime someone pins the current champ, they become the champ. Crash started out the champ but Tazz pinned him seconds in to become the champ.

Hardcore Holly won with some type of glass shot on Crash. The ref never counted three but Hardcore Holly won anyway. Awful match here with people getting legit injured and probably more concussions in one match than ever before. This wasn't even remotely interesting but at least some people got WM paydays.

Al Snow was talking to someone in the men's toilet and Steve Blackman told him no shenanigans tonight. Someone flushed, Al made a face and that was it.

Head Cheese (Steve Blackman and Al Snow) vs T&A (Test and Albert)

Test won with a top rope elbow. This one was pretty much a fail. WWF was interested in getting the piece of cheese over and Trish's tits with the match being secondary. The match wasn't bad but this was really Trish's tits vs Chester McCheeserton. They also ran the storyline of Chester McCheeserton making unwanted advances at Trish. Test and Albert made a decent team but the name killed them.

Head Cheese beat up Chester McCheeserton after.

They did the Austin Powers skit with Mae Young grabbing things to cover up the naked Kat.

Devon said the WWF was against them as they had to defend in a ladder match, but they said they would win. Bubba Ray said thou shall not f**k with the Dudleyz.

WWF Tag Team Titles - Triple Threat Ladder Match - The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D'Von Dudley) vs Edge and Christian vs The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff Hardy)

Edge and Christian won the match after grabbing the belts. Great match as you would expect. Tons of big and memorable spots here and there was no shortage of action. While this wasn't as great as TLC 2, it was very good. The bumps were so big here that even the smaller bumps were still pretty rough. I thought Jeff getting tossed onto the outside floor from the ring had to be one of the worst of the night along Christian/Matt going off the ladder to the floor. Jeff's swanton also looked brutal as he hit the ground hard. The final bump was really cool as it looked like Matt Hardy walked the plank to his execution. This was a classic and one that you won't forget if you ever see. Rating:****1/2

Mick Foley was interviewed with Linda McMahon. Foley said it was like a fairytale to him to be in the main event and he wanted to make the main event one people talk about for the next 10 years.

Cat Fight - The Kat vs Terri Runnels

Moolah pulled Kat out of the ring so Terri could win. This wasn't really a match and was by and large, stupid. The big story here was Mae Young making out with Val Venis. Mae Young hit a Bronco Buster on Moolah after and Kat stripped Terri. 

Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero were interviewed. Dean said they'd break the legs of Too Cool and Eddie Guerrero was talking about laying the latino heat on Chyna. 

2 Cool and Chyna did a promo. 2 Cool said it was time to kick it.

2 Cool (Scotty 2 Hotty and "Grandmaster Sexay" Brian Christopher) and Chyna vs The Radicalz (Eddie Guerrero, Saturn and Dean Malenko)

Chyna won with a sleeper into a drop. The match was pretty good but Chyna's pants broke at the worst time - the finish. Still, there was a ton of action, the crowd was hot and the storyline was fun. Chyna and 2 Cool were both pretty underrated, well I guess everyone in this match was pretty underrated. Good stuff here though with a great crowd. Rating:***

Big Show said to Shane McMahon that he would unplug the most electrifying man in sports entertainment, retire Foley and make Triple H do a game over.

Bob Backlund apparently came out during Heat and revealed that he made Kurt Angle put both belts on the line. Angle wasn't happy and put him in a chickenwing.

Angle talked to Tommy about being the Euro-Continental Champion (IC title + European title) and asked for extra security tonight as the women and children will be all on him and he wants to celebrate in the crowd.

Before his match, Jericho said he couldn't guarantee victory but he would make sure his opponents would get a beating.

Triple Threat Match - 2/3 Falls - 1st Fall is for the Intercontinental title, 2nd fall is for the European Championship - Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho

Chris Benoit won the IC title with a top rope headbutt and Chris Jericho won the second fall and the European title with a lionsault. There was no third fall for some reason which was confusing since it was supposed to be a 2/3 falls match. That part was confusing but the match was good. Benoit hit lots of stiff chops and did most of the cool stuff here. The match was kind of short though for these three. It only went about 15 minutes or so without intros and could have used more time for nearfalls and stuff. The match felt like a piece of a story, but not the end of it. Rating:***1/2

Vince McMahon was interviewed. Vince hinted at interfering by saying, "I guarantee, I'll get it right". 

Triple H talked to Steph in the back and said he would show the world who the man is tonight and won't allow himself to be beaten.

X-Pac and Road Dogg vs Kane and Rikishi Phatu

Kane got the win with the tombstone. This was all about Rikishi hitting the stinkface in this short match. Once he did that on Tori, Kane hit the tombstone and that was it.

2 Cool came down with The San Diego Chicken and got Rikishi up for a dance. The Chicken turned out be Pete Rose. Kane chokeslammed Pete Rose after the match and Rikishi hit a stinkface on Pete Rose.

The Rock was interviewed. The Rock basically just said he waited a year to return to Wrestlemania and said he would win the title.

WWF Title - Fatal Four Way Elimination Match - Triple H vs The Rock vs The Big Show vs Mick Foley

Triple H won here after Vince hit The Rock with a chair at 36:28.

This match was awful anyway you look at it. First of all, this match with a love letter to The McMahon Family from The McMahon Family. Yeah, there was a match here but most of the focus near the end wasn't on it.

Let's start before the first elimination. The Big Show had Triple H up for a chokeslam to eliminate him and Mick Foley nut shotted Big Show. Why? I have no idea at all. Then it got worse. Triple H interrupted a pin on The Rock later again for no reason at all. Mick Foley then turned on Rock, for no reason at all to JOIN THE MAN WHO RETIRED HIM, TRIPLE H. Triple H then eliminated him of course because he's The Game and Foley came back to hit him with a barbed wire bat. Why? I don't know but the only explanation I can find is that he's a sore loser.

Then, we got to the real crap here with The Rock and Triple H remaining. The McMahon's all get involved. Vince goes after Triple H and throws him in the ring to be pinned...for some odd reason. Vince and Shane have a long fight where they didn't cut to the ring for about 2 minutes. Shane attacks Vince and then Vince comes back later and attacks him. The Rock and Triple H fight around the crowd for no reason at all right before this. Vince then gets a chair later and naturally should try to brain Triple H. Instead he hits The Rock. Why? Again, I don't know. And if that was the plan all along, why did he try to get Triple H eliminated? Triple H then OF COURSE gets the pin, because he ain't doing a job and Vince and Stephanie hug.

The ring work was fine but the match went on forever. 35 minutes, plus intros, felt like a good hour and wasn't far from it. The match would have been a fine 20 minutes or so, but they really stretched it out and did stuff just cause. Foley not getting enough air on his dive hurt the match and caused Triple H to move around awkwardly for a few minutes until he came up with another solution to somehow break the table.

Take away 15 minutes, the McMahon crap and the stupidity and the match would have been in the *** range.

After the match, Steph and Vince hugged and The Rock cleared them plus Shane out to end the show. 

Overall thoughts: The show was pretty good up until the main event. The hardcore battle royal was the worst thing next to the main event. The main stunk though and one bad main event even with the best of undercard matches brings down the show.

The best match was easily the ladder match with probably the threeway for the titles not being far behind. Yes, I know there were tons of multi-man matches here but the roster was so huge at the time that I guess they wanted to get more people on the show. I don't think it hurt anything to be honest and in some cases, it made things better. Steve Austin not being on this show in any way, shape or form kind of hurt the show though. It didn't feel like a Wrestlemania with Steve Austin and I think he should have been the special referee in the main event at worst. I guess it wouldn't have made a huge difference in quality but it at least would have gotten the biggest star in the WWF on the show.

As a whole, I'd recommend checking the show out. It's pretty good minus the main and the battle royal. Kat/Terri wasn't that good but I'd rather watch two girls in thongs have a bad match than two guys in underwear have a bad one. Nothing is really great though minus the ladder match.

Stardom 7/26/2026 5★STAR Grand Prix 2026 Day 5

Stardom 7/26/2026 5★STAR Grand Prix 2026 Day 5

5STAR Grand Prix 2026 Red Stars Block A Match - Tomoka Inaba vs. Maika

TI waits for Maika in the aisle and they fight there. TI's head is banged off the apron. TI forearm flurries her inside. TI kicks the rope into her face and pump kicks her out. TI hits chest kicks on her outside.  

TI chest kicks her inside and spin kicks her in the gut. TI crossfaces her and Mika ropebreaks. Maika powerslams her and sliding d's her. TI knees her in the gut and is lariated on the ropes. TI step up knees her in her in the corner. Maika hits suplexes on her for 2. 

Maika 2nd rope superplexes her. TI no sells it and high kicks her. Maika lariats her over and TI no sells it. TI spinning roundhouse kicks her and both go down. TI high kicks a lariat away then pop-up spin kicks her. 

TI sitout gordbusters her and spinning back kicks her in the head for 2 while she's seated. Maika michinoku drivers her and TI no sells it, rolling her up for 2. TI michinoku drivers her for 2. Maika lariats her down then michinoku drivers her. Maika michinoku drivers her again and pins her.

Thoughts: I didn't like it. Inaba wasn't selling anything here, defeating the whole purpose of doing it. It wasn't even just bad selling, it was complete no selling. It was a faster match otherwise with Inaba throwing hard kicks.

TI slaps her after.

5STAR Grand Prix 2026 Red Stars Block B Match - Konami vs. Lady C

They each miss kicks. C takes her down and hits mounted forearms. Kon then hits mounted shots on her. C shoulders her over and running boots her in the face. C is pulled over the top rope. C is thrown hard into the seats and into the post.

Kon kicks her and headbutts her. Kon pulls her arm around the middle rope and twists the arm. Kon foot chokes her. Kon stomps C's arm into the mat and stands on it. C hits forearms on her and Kon eye rakes her.

C running back elbows her and flying neckbreakers her for 2. C cobra twists her and Kon ropebreaks. C running facekicks Kon then knee drops her for 2. Kon armbars her then pulls her down backwards. Kon kicks her in the back. C blocks a PK and forearms her. C drops her chest first on the mat for 2. 

C running facekicks Kon. Kon rolls her into an armbar and C ropebreaks off another arm hold. Kon sleepers her. Kon step up kicks her then C facekicks her. C chokeslams her for 2. Kon germans her for 2. Kon buzzsaw kicks her in the head. C tries to fight through it and gets another one. Kon punts her in the face and pins her.

Thoughts: Kon mostly worked the arm here but sadly didn't win with an arm finisher. C was a little better than usual and showed some fire. It wasn't that bad but some kind of arm submission finish would have made this a lot better.

Kon spray paints C after and shoves a photo in her face.

5STAR Grand Prix 2026 Red Stars Block A Match - Natsuko Tora vs. Rina

They lock up. Rina spits on her on the break. Tora shoulders her over twice. Rina whips her outside and chokes her with it. Rina hits her with a chair outside. Rina running back elbows her then facekicks her on the ropes. Rina basement dropkicks her for 2. Tora crossbodies her for 2. Tora misses a senton. Tora forearms her down. 

They forearm each other. Rina hits chest forearms and hip throws her. Rina does an octopus on her. Rina 2nd rope dropkicks her. Rina then northern lights suplexes her for 2. Rina does an octopus on her and grounds her with it. Tora ropebreaks.

Rina 2nd rope double knee drops her then top rope double knee drops her for 2. Tora cradle shocks her. Tora sentons her for 2. Tora 2nd rope splashes her for 2. Tora corner cannonballs her for 2. Tora misses a top rope swanton and Rina gets a 2 count on her. 

Tora lariats Rina then sitout powerbombs her for 2. Tora top rope swantons her and pins her.

Thoughts: They kept it moving and it was competitive. It didn't quite go into the heel vs heel concept as much as it could of and there wasn't a great story. This was acceptable.

5STAR Grand Prix 2026 Red Stars Block A Match - AZM vs. Sayaka Kurara

AZM offers a handshake and Saya forearm flurries her. AZM germans her then sunset flips her for. AZM goes for a pin but Saya rolls through and tries her own. AZM suplexes her and AZM twistihg fisherman's suplexes her for 2. 

Saya corner spears her. Saya springboards and is kicked. Saya spears her for 2. Saya misses another spear and AZM rolls her up. AZM pins her.

Thoughts: Saya loses yet another match. Why? I have no idea, but it's pretty bizarre. This was very fast paced and it was a shorter match at only a few minutes. It was never boring at least.

5STAR Grand Prix 2026 Red Stars Block B Match - Mei Seira vs. Azusa Inaba

AI cartwheels out of a wristlock and side headlock takeovers her. Mei headscissors her and they stand off. Mei sweeps her and gets swept. AI boots her in the face then hair throws her. 

AI foot chokes Mei. AI snapmares her and kicks her in the back for 2. AI ties her legs up. AI stomps her and kicks her in the back. AI hair throws her then puts her boot in the face in the corner. AI stomps her. AI kicks her in the back and slams her for 2. 

Mei hits chest forearms. Mei 2nd rope dropkicks her. Mei basement dropkicks her. Mei goes up top and AI pump kicks her down to the floor. AI PK's her from the apron. AI then throws her into the seats. AI slams her on the floor. Mei throws AI into the seats. They barely beat the count in at 18.

They trade chest shots. AI back elbows her and pump kicks her through the ropes for 2. Mei dropkicks her then AI high kicks her. Both girls go down. 

Mei sweeps her then AI bodyscissors takedowns her. They both try pin attempts and AI gets a 2 count on her. AI pump kicks her. AI then guillotine suplexes her for 2. Mei pop-up, sitout powerbombs her for 2. AI hurricanrana's her for 2. AI superkicks her then is superkicked back. AI high kicks her. AI rolls her into a legbar. 

Mei fisherman suplexes her. AI leg kicks her then rolls her into leglock. Mei ropebreaks. AI flying facekicks her down for 2. Mei dropkicks her. AI hits underhook suplexes and the time limit expires.

Thoughts: I liked it. It was a fast paced match and AI kind of worked the leg some with leg kicks and some leg locks at the end. Mei kept up the pace as well. This was an okay match.

5STAR Grand Prix 2026 Red Stars Block A Match - Itsuki Aoki vs. Akira Kurogane

They lock up. Aoki wristlocks her. Akira reverses it after hitting forearms to the arm. Aoki reverses it. Akira hits back elbows and trips her. Aoki guillotines her and Aoki side headlocks her. 

Aoki shoulders her over twice. Aoki hair throws her and foot chokes her. Aoki basement dropkicks her. They trade chest forearms. Aoki running back elbows her. Akira running dropkicks her. Akira russian legsweeps her for 2. 

Akira stomps her and kneels on her on the ropes. Akira running boots her over the bottom rope. Aoki suplexes her and corner meteora's her. Aoki suplexes her for 2. Akira hits chest forearms. Aoki short arm lariats her. Akira ducks a lariat and enzugiri's her.

Akira running knees her in the face for 2. Akira double underhook suplexes her for 2. Aoki chest forearms her down. Akira then hits an air raid crash for 1. Akira fires up and hits chest forearms. Akira headbutts her. Aoki rebound germans her. 

Aoki superkicks her in the face then air raid crashes her for the win.

Thoughts: It was a simple but decent match here. Akira brought a lot of fire. Aoki's offense looked good and she seemed a bit more comfortable here than usual. I didn't expect much out of this but it worked out well. 

Aoki then talks on the mic after then Akira also talks. Aoki then helps her up.

5STAR Grand Prix 2026 Red Stars Block B Match - Rina Yamashita vs. Maki Itoh

They stare down. Itoh shoves her and Rina side headlock takeovers her. Itoh headscissors her. Itoh backslides her for 2 and they stand off. They shoulderblock battle. Rina runs at her and Itoh trips her. Itoh misses a falling headbutt drop then Rina shoulders her over.

Rina slams her then rakes her eyes on the ropes. Rina running knees her from behind against the ropes. Rina slaps her and bangs her head off the buckles. Rina corner lariats her. Rina goes for mounted corner punches and is powerbombed down. Itoh hits mounted corner punches. 

Itoh top rope crossbodies her for 2. They trade chest shots. Rina step up enzugiri's her but Itoh falling headbutts her as she falls down. Itoh rolls her up for 2 then cradles her for 2. Rina running lariats her for 2. 

Rina lariats her. Itoh back body drops her. Itoh stunners her then running M. Bison stomps her while she's down for 2. Itoh forearms her down while she's seated. Itoh grabs a pizza cutter. The ref stops her from using it. Rina grabs skewer sticks.

They try to hit each other with the weapons and battle over them. The ref then almost gets hit with the weapons. They both drop the weapons. They then bow to the ref to apologize. Rina sleepers her then backdrops her. Rina sits up top and is forearmed down. Rina suplexes Itoh on the floor. Itoh tornado ddt's her on the floor from a chair. They fight out of the arena and both end up getting counted out.

Thoughts: It started off okay but then got too silly by the end with the weapons and them getting counted out. I ended up not liking this one. 

They are tied together somehow with what looks like a streamer and the young girls help them to the back.  

5STAR Grand Prix 2026 Red Stars Block B Match - Utami Hayashishita vs. Saya Iida

They trade forearms. Utami dropkicks her. Utami running back elbows her for 2. Saya slams her then diving lariats her against the bottom rope. They shoulder battle in the aisle and both end up going down. They shoulder battle in the ring and both knock each other over.

Utami samoan drops her and Saya suplexes her. They trade forearms for chops. Utami hits a forearm flurry. Saya polish hammers her in the chest and elbow drops her for 2. Saya boots her out of the corner. Saya diamond dusts her for 2. Saya holds on and dragon sleepers her. Utami basement dropkicks her.

Saya northern lights suplexes her. Utami chest forearms her down. Saya rams her into the corner and corner lariats her. Saya no sells a lariat and gets german suplexed. Utami air raid crashes her. 

Utami sliding lariats her. Utami sitout spinning torture rack bombs her. Saya gets a bridge pin on her for 2. Saya spinning lariats her down for 2. Utami lariats her for 2. Utami forearms her then germans her for 2. Utami lariats her down then does a spinning razor's edge. Utami pins her. 

Thoughts: It didn't start out that serious but got a little better as they went on. This was a power match here with them lariating, shouldering and suplexing each other. I did end up liking this one in the end. Utami was the favorite going in and won. It was alright.

Saya talks to Utami on the mic after and they hug. Utami then talks on the mic.

Overall thoughts: This was a better show than some of the other GP shows. I didn't like the opener. Konami/C wasn't bad. Tora/Rina was acceptable. Kurara lost another match in quick fashion for unknown reasons. Mei/Inaba was okay and showed some potential to maybe even better the next time they do it. Aoki/Akira was simple and decent with both showing fire. Itoh/Rina got too silly. The main didn't have a good start but got better later. I'd give it a 6 out of 10 as the show was okay overall.