WWE NXT 1/7/2025 New Years Evil 2024

WWE NXT 1/7/2025 New Years Evil 2024

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/12/wwe-nxt-12312024.html

Next week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/01/wwe-nxt-1142025.html

We are in Los Angeles, CA. Vic Joseph, Corey Graves and Booker T are on commentary.

We see various wrestlers arrive including The Rock. 

NXT Women's Title - Roxanne Perez (c) vs Giulia

G = Giulia

G side headlock takeovers her. RP headscissors her. They stand off. RP does la magistral and side headlocks her. G is down, RP cartwheels over her and slaps her. G hits a headbutt flurry. G hits forearms then top rope dropkicks her. G corner face kicks her. RP pulls G's down over the top then stomps her hand over the bottom rope connector.

We go to PiP break and return. They trade forearms. G kicks her over. RP hurricanrana's her off the top. RP stomps G's hand. RP backdrops her. Booker goes nuts over RP on commentary and challenges Graves to a fight. The girls slap each other at the same time.

G hits some slaps. RP arm whips her down. RP ropes G outside. G hits a top rope hammerlock suplex. G does a spinning glorious driver for 2. RP crossfaces her then dropkicks her through the ropes.

G northern lights bombs her on the floor. Cora Jade comes out and throws RP back in. RP hits a pop rocks on G for 2. RP goes for the armbar and hte ref ejects Cora. G pumping knees RP then hits a 2nd northern lights bomb for the win.

Thoughts: It didn't quite get enough time. It wasn't anything too great either. G had her hand worked on and eventually overcame her. The ref should have done something about Cora Jade throwing G back in the ring. I'm not too surprised Giulia won here. It was pretty much the only option and they didn't sign G to have her lose in NXT.

We go to the back and Eddy Thorpe is down. Ava walks in and thinks he's faking the injury again. Eddy says it's real.

We get a video from Je'Von Evans. He says his jaw is wired shut. He can't sleep, eat or talk. He says he's gonna find Ethan Page. He says he will make him feel his pain.

NXT Women's North American Title #1 Contender's Match - Kelani Jordan vs Stephanie Vaquer vs Lola Vice vs Cora Jade

Cora takes shots from everyone to start. SV is pushed into Lola and rolled up. Cora forearms over KJ and ges some offense in on all opponents. SV bangs Cora's head off the mat with the headscissors. Lola axe kicks SV. KJ tiger feint armdrags Lola then dropkicks 2 opponents.

Cora flying headscissors KJ and KJ cartwheels out. KJ slingshot corkscrew out. Cora cannonballs KJ off the apron. We go to PiP break and return. 

SV bangs Cora's head off the buckles and hits a headbutt flurry. KJ pulls SV by the hair then SV dragon screws KJ. SV corner meteora's Cora Lola sleepers SV from behind and SV rolls her up. Lols hits spin kicks on SV then kick combos KJ down. Fatal Influence are watching in the back as Lola misses a hip attack. Cora high kicks Lola. Cora goes for a step up knee and is thrown over the top.

SV top rope plancha's 2 opponents outside. KJ does a top rope moonsaults to the outside. KJ top rope crossbodies SV but SV rolls through it. KJ hits a nice olympic slam on Cora. KJ misses a 450 off the top. Lola urakes her then is superkicked.

SV package neckbreakers KJ over thek nee and wins.

Thoughts: It was okay. They kept this one moving and had action going at all times. No one botched anything and I had no issues with this.

Ava talks to Akba Fyre and Isla Dawn in the back. She says they will face Lash and Jakara in a #1 contenders match for the women's tag titles. Sarah asks Ava about Eddy's injury. Ava says Eddy is fine. Oba says Eddy isn't pretending and said he attacked him for hitting him with a trophy. He said he just wante to return the favor. Oba says the result remains the same whether Eddy makes it tonight or doesn't.

We see Triple H and Nick Khan at the show.

OTM talk. They say Fraxiom is smooth and has never been in a dogfight. Nima says his problems and Fraxiom's problems aren't the same. He says he deals with real life struggles while they argue like kids. They say they are taking the tag titles next week and dragging Fraxiom through the mud.

Fatal Influence (Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley and Jazmyn Nyx vs Tatum Paxley, Shotzi and Gigi Dolin

The heels hit the faces as they pose in the corner. Tatum dropkicks Jacy in the corner then corner crossbodies her. Tatum double underhook suplexes her for 2. Jacy throws Tatum down backwards and PK's her. Tatum bangs Nyx's head off her knee. Nyx takes attacks on the ropes and Tatum elbow drops her.

Shotzi is tripped and rolls up Fallon for 2. Shotzi knees her in the face and spinning forearms her. Shotz does a botched suplex on Fallon in the corner. Fallon spinning facebusters Shotzi. The 6 girls all fight. Shotzi tries to tope Fallon but gets hand and lands hard on the floor.

Gigi headbutts Nyx and Jacy cannonballs her. Fallon wrap's around the post and 619's Tatum. All 6 girls are down and we go to break. We return from break. Tatum is tripped and takes a kick to the back. Jacy sentons her for 2. Jacy chinlocks her. Tatum backdrops her. Gigi gets in and Jacy tries to run away. Gigi hits various strikes and high kicks her. Gigi lariats her for 2. Jacy superkicks GigiGigi hits a double neckbreaker off a double suplex attempt.

Shotzi hits a top rope double crossbody. Fallon take a drop + neckbreaker combo for 2. Fallon takes a double step up enzugiri. Gigi and Fallon do stereo dives together. Shotzi top rope sentons Fallon and gets the pin.

Thoughts: It was an okay trios match. They kept it moving and there was a lot of action. I kind of like the Gigi/Tatum/Shotzi team and would like them kept together. It will probably get them further than anything in singles will. They look like people who would hang out together.

Ava talks to Ethan Page in the back. Ava talks about Page breaking Evans' jaw. Page says that monent has played on every episode of NXT. Page complains that he's not on the show. Ava says it's her show and she calls the shots.

The Rock walks in. Rock says it's good to meet him. He says he heard a lot about him but it's not all good. Rock asks him about breaking Evan's jaw. He says payback will be a b!tch for that. Rock says if anyone, including Page, needs something to come to him. Rock says he's the final boss but says Ava's the final boss on this show. He says if Page wants to be cool with him, he needs to be cool with Ava. Page says they will be cool and they shake. Rock says he'll see him on the main roster some day. Rock then slaps him on the butt.

Ava says NXT is all about moments and she says this is a good one. The Rock says he doesn't know what he will say out there. Rock asks her for advice. Ava says Rock has never been in front of an NXT crowd and says their passion is different. Ava says Rock will feel what he wants to say. 

NXT Heritage Cup Match - Sudden Death - Charlie Dempsey (c) vs Lexis King

CD wristlocks King. King side headlocks him. King armdrags and dropkicks him. King side headlock takeovers him. CD wristlocks King. CD snapmares him twice then cravates him. King gets a pin attempt then armdrags him. CD hits euros. King dropkicks CD off the apron. CD's buddies catch him and King top rope plancha's all of them.

We go to break and return. CD slaps King and King hits forearms and chops. King shoulders and lariats CD over. King corner lariats CD then northern lights suplexes him for 2. King powerslams CD for 2. King hits a top rope crossbody but CD rolls through it and armbars him. CD's head is busted open. King slams him to escape the hold.

CD pounds on King. CD back elbows him. They run into each other and both go down. CD backslides King. CD leapfrogs and King ends up headbutting him in the crotch. King hits a coronation neckbreaker and wins.

Thoughts: The match was about average and had an unusual ending with King winning after an accidental shot to the groin. We know this isn't the end of this one and we'll have to see where this thing with King trying to be a good boy goes. Because I'm still not sure.

Ava talks to Vaquer and Fallon in the back. Shotzi walks in. She says she beat Fallon in the ring and should be the #1 contender. Vaquer said she beat 3 wrestlers. Fallon says Shotzi and Vaquer should fight to determine the #1 contender. Ava says let's do it next week.

NXT Title - Trick Williams (c) vs Oba Femi vs Eddy Thorpe

Eddy does not come out before the match starts. Oba and Trick lock up. Oba hits corner spears. Oba waistlock takedowns him. Trick jawbreakers him and hits a sitout death valley driver for 2. We go to break and return.

We see Eddy Thorpe start to head to ringside with a chair. Oba spears the post when Trick moves. Trick 2nd rope rock bottoms Oba for 2. They trade punches. Oba hits a big forearm and Trick flying lariats him. Trick jumping neckbreakers Oba then slams him.

Trick flapjacks Oba. Oba hits a chop on Trick then Trick ddt's him. Trick spinning facekicks him for 2. Oba sitout powerbombs him for 2. Oba spinebusters Eddy then throws him on the backdrop. Trick flying knees Oba for 2. Trick pumping knees a chair into Eddy (as he missed Oba) then Oba pop-up powerbombs Trick for the win.

Thoughts: The match wasn't that great. Eddy was barely part of the match to be honest. I don't mind Oba being champ as he has the tools. But I would have liked to have seen him win the title on a bigger stage. Stand and Deliver is still a few months away but to me, Trick vs Oba is the only match that could possibly main event it and hopefully this starts us on the road to getting there. Trick's 2nd run with the NXT Title accomplished absolutely nothing.

Oba and Giulia pose on the stage together with smoke and confetti as both won titles tonight. 

We go to break and return. The lights go out and The Rock comes out. 

The Rock takes a while to talk and says he only has 6:33 left to talk. He talks about Cody and said he was told by fans not to be mean to him. He said he wanted to give props to Cody. He said Cody kicked @ss and carried the company on his shoulders. He says the best thing for the fans who said that is to know their role and shut their mouth. Rock says he has 2 minutes left and says he will go all night. Rock said he was told he was coming to NXT but didn't know what to say. Rock says it was easy to go to Raw where all the stars are. He says the fans are critical to this show. He says some of the wrestlers here could be in the main event of Mania and some could be out of wrestling. Rock says it only matters how the fans react. He says the fans matter more than anything. He says he loves WWE and NXT.

Thoughts: This was a total disaster and reminded me of the Shane McMahon promo on Braun from a few years back. I think Rock got nervous, was pressed for time and tried to wing it and totally failed. The Rock made no sense here at all and it was easily one the worst promo I've ever seen him do.

Overall thoughts: It was a so-so show overall. The Rock's promo was a total disaster and one of the worst promos since the Shane McMahon promo on Braun Strowman from a few years ago. I don't think it will affect anything or have greater complications but it was bad. I only really liked the women's trios match here and that wasn't a classic. The three way for the title wasn't that good. Giulia vs Perez wasn't that good. Dempsey/King had another unusual finish and the women's four way was okay. The men's title match being a letdown and The Rock accomplishing nothing really brought this one down for me. I'd give this a 4 out of 10 as this one clearly underachieved. I would not recommend this.

New Japan Pro Wrestling 1/5/2025 Wrestle Dynasty

New Japan Pro Wrestling 1/5/2025 Wrestle Dynasty

Pre-Show International Women's Cup Final Four Way Match - Athena vs. Momo Watanabe vs. Willow Nightingale vs. Persephone

Willow boots Momo. Pers has a mask on here because she only lost her mask in Mexico. Athena throws Pers over the top. Momo throws Ath out onto Pers. Wllow step up enzugiri's Momo then corner hip attacks her. Willow running boots Momo then puts her in the torture rack and drops down.

Pers bridges out of a lariat then fallaway slams Willow. Ath suplexes Pers then forward cartwheel forearms her. Ath PK's Pers then axe kicks her. Momo hits forearms on Pers. Momo goes for the b-driver and Ath lariats Momo over for 2. Willo flying headscissors Ath then boots her over. Willow pushes Ath into a Pers spear.

Willow oduble suplexes 2 opponents then does a double splash. Momo dropkicks Ath then meteora's Willow off the apron. Ath swantons off the buckles onto 2 opponents. Pers top rope tornillos 2 girls.

Willow shotgun dropkicks Pers in the ring then misses a cannonball on her. Pers tope con hilos Willow.Pers germans Willow for 2. Momo hits a b-driver on Willow for 2. Ath and Momo push each other. Willow spinebusters Momo. Ath hits a double diving 2nd rope codebreaker. Ath alabama slams Pers onto Willow.

Willow pounces Ath. She trades chest chops with Pers then Pers hurricanrana's her for 2. Pers northern lights suplexes Willow for 2. Ath powerbombs Pers on the apron. Momo high kicks Willow twice. Willow corner death valley drivers her. Ath top rope diving cutters Willow for when Thekla pulls the ref out. Momo hits Ath with a bat then does a half-nelson wrist-clutch suplex to win.

Thoughts: It was your usual four way. The girls would get something started then someone else would jump in and everything would reset again. It was okay but not great. Momo winning in Japan makes the most sense but it hurts Athena's endless ROH-only winning streak.

Momo picks up the trophy and ends up breaking it after on accident.

Pre-Show ROH World Tag Team Title Match - The Sons Of Texas (Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara) (c) vs. House Of Torture (SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)

You do have to just go LOL at this one. What a random match. Sammy's wearing Wolverine themed gear and looks about 10 years old with it.

DR gets hit by the heels then hits a double lariat. DR chops Sho then Sammy gets a chop in. Sho takes a double suplex then Sammy standing moonsaults Sho. DR running knees Sho. SG top rope crossbodies Sho. Sammy top rope moonsaults out. Sammy is sent into the rails. 

DR is whipped into the exposed buckles. YK back body drops Sammy. YK suplexes Sammy then crabs him. Sho steps on the ROH tag titles. Sammy step up enzugiri's Sho. Sammy pulls Ren over the top. Sammy step up enzugiri's YK and DR gets tagged in. DR drop down punches Sho and powerslams both opponents. Sho spears DR. YK gets tagged in.

YK dropkicks DR in the knee then yanks on the leg. YK basement dropkicks DR. The ref is nearly sent into Dustin. YK spits whiskey in DR's eyes and rolls him up for 2. YK top rope moonsaults DR on the legs for 2.

Sammy flying cutters YK then DR canadian destroyers Sho. DR spits whiskey at YK. Sammy superkicks YK. DR twisting brainbusters YK and Sammy top rope swantons YK for the win.

Thoughts: It was okay. Both sides got a little in and the heels heeled it up some before losing. This was never going to be great due to the people involved. I didn't buy that the heels had any chance of winning.

Lucha Rumble - Taiji Ishimori vs. Titan vs. El Desperado vs. Hechicero vs. Soberano Jr. vs. Master Wato vs. Kosei Fujita vs. Mascara Dorada

Sob = Soberano Jr., MD = Mascara Dorada, TI = Taiji Ishimori, Despy = El Desperado

Hech and Kosei start us off. Hech ties up his legs, Kosei lifts himself up. Hech armbars Kosei. Sob is the next one in. Sob top rope crossbodies Kosei then headscissors Hech off the ropes. Hech rolls up Kosei and rocking horses him. Sob breaks it up with a springboard dropkick. Sob headscissors Hech in a botched spot then he fosbury flops him outside. 

Wato is next in. He trades chops with Sob. Sob does a high dropkick then Wato flying headscissors him. Mascara Dorada is next in. MD walks up the ropes, flips on them and armdrags Wato over. MD twisting headscissors Sob. MD headscissors Hech then topes Sob outside. MD then ropes Hech. 

TI gets in next. TI handspring cutters MD. TI hammerlock backbreakers MD. TI la mistica's MD then does a border city stretch on him. Titan is next in. Titan springboard crossbodies TI then pele kicks Hech. Titan jumping back kicks TI. Titan walks up the ropes then dropkicks TI off of them. Titan tornado ddt's MD. Titan superkicks MD.

Despy is next in. Everone is waiting for him to come in and is waving at him to come. Everyone goes after Despy and beats him up on the ramp. MD suplexes Despy then everyone gets shots in on Despy.

Everyone hits shots on each other. Kosei tope con hilos onto Hech outside. TI 2nd rope moonsaults Kosei outside. Sob tornillos off the top to the outside. Titan top rope moonsaults outside then Wato tope con hilos outside.

MD 2nd rope ssp's outside onto people. Despy goes for a stretch muffler on Kosei. Kosei then surfboards him. TI then gets a pin on Despy and wins.

Thoughts: It was a multi-man spotfest as expected. It wasn't great or anything but we got some nice dives out of it at least. It wasn't as good as it could have been but I still thought it was alright.

Exhibition Match - Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata

They lock-up and spend a bunch of time doing it. They trade chest chops and chop flurry each other. Tana headbutts him then KS hits a chop flurry. Tana chop flurries him. They trade more chops and the time limit expires.

Thoughts: They only were given 5 minutes for this. It obviously wasn't enough time for them and this didn't accomplish a whole lot. I get that they didn't want anyone getting hurt, but I thought they could have done better.

NJPW STRONG Women's Title / RevPro Undisputed British Women's Title Match - Mercedes Mone  vs. Mina Shirakawa

Mone came out with Sailor Moon gear on.

Cone backs her up in the corner and backs off. Mina spin kicks her. Mina avoids a shot and shimmies. Mone armdrag rolls her into a crossface off the ropes. Mone topes Mina. Mina dragon screws Mone off the buckles.

Mone's leg is banged off the post then Mina figure fours her around the post. Mone pulls Mina into the buckles then 2nd rope meteora's her for 2. Mina drops Mone on her knees and kneebreakers her on her knee. Mone meteora's her. Mone does a backcracker. Mone lays her on the 2nd rope and double knee presses her down.

Mone hits a 2nd rope meteora, Mina no sells it and bangs Mone's knees off the mat. Mina figure fours her. Mone springboard kicks her for 2. Mone lifts her and drops Mina's chest on her knees. They trade forearms on their knees then get up and trade. Mina spinning forearms her. Mina tornado ddt's Mone.

Mone hits suplexes on Mina. Mina ddt's her from the top rope. Mina dragon screws her then electric chair drops her on her chest. Mina figure fours Mone. Mina top rope diving slingblades Mone then does an implant ddt. Mina sitout reverse ddt's Mone for 2.

Mone codebreakers Mina then does a pendulum codebreaker for 2. Mina gori bombs her. Mina ties up the legs and cut-throats her but Mone tries a pin out of it. Mone backslides her for 2. Mone then rolls her up for 2. Mone does a money maker and wins.

Thoughts: I didn't like it. It was the usual Mina match where all the focus was on her opponents knees. Most of Mone's offense is meteora based though so it didn't affect her that much. It also went a bit longer than it needed to. 

David Finlay vs. Brody King

DF rushes him and Brody pushes him off. Brody shoulders him over. Brody facekicks DF. Brody throws him off. Brody misses a corner charge on DF. Brody back body drops DF. Brody chops him down. DF jawbreakers Brody over the ropes. DF hits crossface shots.

DF lariats Brody over the top and goes with him to the floor. DF gets caught on a plancha attempt on him. Brody is sent into the post. DF charges at him and goes into the rails. Brody chops DF then hits a hard crossbody on DF against the rails. 

Brody chops DF in the ring. Brody forearms him. DF is sent hard into the buckles. Brody hits a hard chop on DF. They trade forearms on the apron. Brody hanging sleepers him and DF rakes the eyes to release it. DF flying shoulders him into the rails. DF top rope plancha's Brody on the outside.

DF corner euros Brody. DF is pulled down on the ropes and takes a death valley driver for 2. Brody forearms DF. DF fights back with forearms and Brody flips him with a lariat for 2. Brody piledrivers DF for 2.

DF hits a big spear for 2. Brody corner death valley drivers him. Brody corner spears him. They go up top and DF gets down then alley oops him on the buckles. DF powerbombs Brody then hits overkill for the win.

Thoughts: DF wrestles like a powerhouse despite not looking or really being the part. It's a constant problem in his matches and Brody's not the right person to have that problem with. I didn't like DF hitting a powerbomb on Brody and throwing him around. I do think they got this one mostly right though and I'd say this was good. It was maybe DF's best match yet. He took his bumps here and was thrown around. Brody did his usual big man stuff before losing...and we knew he was losing this.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Shota Umino

Shota comes out on a motorcycle again. CC then hits him from behind on the ramp. They get in. CC hits euros and they trade forearms. Shota dropkicks CC. CC rams Shota's back into the post then drops him throat first on the rails. Shota is sent into the rails.

CC double stomps him for 2. CC hits a karelin's lift for 2. CC rakes on Shota's face. CC hits euros then running facekicks him. Shota tornado ddt's CC then slingshot ddt's him over the 2nd rope on the apron.

Shota bridging ddt's CC on the floor. Shota then tope dropkicks CC while he's on the mat. Shota reverse ddt lifts CC and hits ignition. CC 2nd rope gorilla presses Shota. CC lariats Shota. 

CC giant swings Shota. CC then sharpshooters him. CC knees him in the gut. CC hits a euro flurry. Shota ddt's CC off the 2nd rope. Shota euros him in the back of the neck for 2. CC hits a pop-up euro and a ricola bomb for 2. Sho double underhook ddt's him and wins. The crowd then boos.

Thoughts: They wanted to have Shota be the underdog and win in this one. Unfortunately, the crowd didn't like Shota and didn't care. The match was okay but the crowd didn't buy it and it just didn't work.

AEW International Title / NEVER Openweight Title Match - Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii

KT side headlocks him. They shoulder battle. KT knocks him over. KT hits boots to the gut in the corner. KT running knees him in the corner. Ishii hits chops in the corner. Ishii shoulders KT over. KT facekicks him. Ishii hits a forearm then KT misses a 2nd rope senton. Ishii misses a sliding lariat then KT launches him on a release german. KT sliding d's him for 2. KT blue thunders him for 2.

KT hits a 2nd rope falcon arrow for 2. Ishii hits forearms then KT package tombstones him. KT then wheel barrow germans him. Ishii no sells it then gets lariated for 1. Ishii germans KT then lariats him for 1. 

They grab each other by the waists and trade forearms. Ishii drops him with one. KT forearms him over. Ishii hits a 2nd rope hurricanrana which is a new one. Ishii running lariats him. KT headbutts him. Ishii lariats him then running lariats him for 2. KT brainbusters him. Ishii forearms him over then sliding lariats him. KT hits a poisonrana.

KT pumping knees him then Ishii enzugiri's him. KT forearms him. KT hits a raging fire and wins.

Thoughts: I didn't like it. It was all action with no selling whatsoever and it was a bit rushed. I'm not really surprised by how this one turned out.

IWGP Tag Team Title Three Way Match - The Young Bucks (Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito) vs. United Empire (Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb)

HT = Hiromu Takahashi

HT's team takes offense to start. Khan and Naito fight outside. The Bucks are knocked off the apron by Cobb and HT. HT flying headscissors Cobb then is shouldered over. The Bucks apron powerbomb HT. A Buck is popped up into a dropkick on Cobb. The Bucks then do stereo topes.

HT takes a neckbreaker into a slingshot swanton. Cobb dropkicks a Buck out. Cobb takes a double superkick. A Buck uses the other Buck to walk up the ropes and does a corkscrew dive to the outside. The other Buck then takes a double baseball slide.

HT crossbodies a Buck. Naito's head is banged off the mat by Khan. Khan slams HT down. Khan hits double chops on Naito. Khan takes a corkscrew kick and Cobb splashes a Buck. Cobb does his own combinacion cabron on Naito. Cobb takes a slingshot facebuster from a Buck then the Buck moonsaults out. Cobb takes a top rope splash + standing moonsault combo for 2.

Cobb superkicks a Buck. Naito neckbreakers Cobb over the knee then baseball slides him in the back. A Buck hits endless northern lights suplexes on HT then does a double with Naito. HT is bridged on the ropes and takes a springboard swanton. HT belly to belly suplexes one Buck into the other in tree of woe. Naito hits an assisted tornado ddt on a Buck. HT hits a death valley driver on a Buck for 2.

Khan belly to belly suplexes Naito and HT. He then does it to The Bucks as well. Cobb germans Naito and HT then a Buck.  Cobb blocks an EVP trigger. Cobb hits a double german on The Bucks. A Buck takes a standing moonsault from Cobb.

The Bucks hit a double superplex on Cobb then a sliced bread on him for 2. A Buck takes a sunset bomb into Cobb and Naito hits a destino on a Buck for 2. HT hits kicks on Khan.

HT dropkicks Cobb then superkicks him. Naito hits a diamond dust on Cobb. Naito takes an EVP trigger for 2. Khan takes a double superkick. A Buck top rope moonsaults outside then The Bucks hit a Meltzer driver and win.

Thoughts: It went a little longer than it needed to. It was a spotty match as expected with people hitting a spot and then switching out to the next team. I'm not surprised The Bucks won. They don't like to lose, they always want to be featured and they only get away with it because of their position in AEW. It was acceptable for what it was but was totally forgettable.

IWGP Global Heavyweight Title Match - Yota Tsuji (c) vs. Jack Perry

Jack came out with a goat mask and sickle. Yota shoulders him over and side headlock takeovers him. Yota armdrags him and legsweeps him. Jack hits a double up kick. Yota rams Jack's head into the mat. Yota gets dropkicked to the outside. Jack then topes Yota from behind outside. Jack backdrops Yota on the apron.

Jack corner lariats him and basement dropkicks him in the back for 2. Jack chinlocks him then takes a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Yota boots Jack over then gutbusters him for 2. Yota corner splashes him. Jack baseball slides him while he's in tree of woe. Jack then does a double knee to the back and germans him. 

Jack hits forearms. Yota does his curbstomp combo. They go up top and Yota top rope belly to belly suplexes him for 2. Yota goes for a flying spear and takes a flying knee from Jack.

They trade forearms. Jack flying ddt's him for 2. Jack low blows Yota after almost sending him into the ref. Jack torture rack drops him for 2. They run the ropes and Yota flying spears him to win.

Thoughts: It was just okay. There was nothing too great about it and the crowd wasn't that into it. Jack should not be in this position but at least Yota won.

Kenny Omega vs. Gabe Kidd

Gabe is wearing NJPW shorts for some reason. KO came out to some dramatic Japanese music. They miss shots to start. Gabe  side headlocks him and shoulders him over. They facekick each other and trade chops. KO hits punches. Chris Charlton talks about Tony Khan poaching AEW talent and calls him a money mark. KO does a finlay roll into a 2nd rope moonsault for 2. KO kicks him in the gut. KO stomps on Gabe.

KO hits punches and Gabe hits a big slap. Gabe suplexes him over the top and KO goes with him. Gabe rams KO's back into the apron then sends him into the rails. Gabe puts two tables next to the each other. KO baseball slides him as he tries to get in and plancha's him.

Gabe is sent into the rails. KO bangs Gabe's head off the apron. They fight on the apron. KO tries to back body drop him onto the apron, but Gabe flips off the ropes and goes down to the floor. KO dragon suplexes him on the floor.

KO then powerbombs Gabe through the two tables. Gabe seems to have hit his head off the floor. Bryce the ref calls for a stop. Gabe's forehead is busted open somehow out of this. KO then springboard swantons over the rail onto Gabe and Bryce.

Gabe hits KO with a chair outside. Gabe hits chair shots on KO. KO is sent into the post. Gabe brainbusters Kenny on a table. Kenny gets busted open and Gabe bites Kenny's cut. Kenny headbusters Gabe on some chairs in the ring. Gabe superplexes Kenny onto chairs. Gabe chairs Kenny. Kenny dragon suplexes him. Gabe hits chair shots then Kenny chairs him back.

They trade forearms. Gabe hits slaps and they slap each other at the same time. KO hits 2 pumping knees and Gabe lariats him. KO chops him and Gabe chops back. KO hurricanrana's him. KO hits a tope con hilo.

KO top rope dropkicks Gabe in the back of the neck. KO pumping knees Gabe in the back of the neck. KO hits a top rope dragon suplex. KO hits a jay driller for 2. KO hits a pumping knee. Gabe does an abdominal stretch to KO.

Gabe rebound germans Kenny. Gabe running knees him then piledrivers him for 2. Gabe ganso bombs him then does a single leg package piledriver for 2. Gabe enzugiri's him. Kenny knees him in the face. KO powerbombs him and pumping knees him for 1. Kenny hits a kamigoye and does an angel's wings for the wind.

Thoughts: I'm always skeptical when I see a Kenny Omega match get a ton of love. Kenny's a horrible seller and loves to overdo it. As I expected, they overdid it here and the selling was terrible here. Even top rope release dragon suplexes, jay drillers and ganso bombs were enough to put down these two. They were on the right track early with the blood and showing some aggression, but then it just became an indy match with Inoki tributes, table bumps and head drops. Late in the match they were even kicking out of things at only a 1 count. And of course Kenny got the win here.

Tanahashi cries on commentary after.

IWGP World Title - Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs Ricochet

I can't believe they are running this last. Ric couldn't even make NJPW main events most of the time when he was in NJPW and is not even a main eventer in AEW right now.

Zack takes a facekick while posing on the apron. Ric topes him. Ric springboard dropkicks Zack. Ric does a flying space tiger drop then springboard 450's Zack for 2. Ric goes to springboard and takes a euro. Ric is hanging upside down in the ropes and Zack kicks the rope into Ric's head. 

Zack hits euros. Ric moonsaults off the rail and is caught. Zack twists Ric's neck with his feet. Zack indian deathlocks Ric's legs then kimura's him off of it. Zack hits kicks to the chest then twists Ric's head with his feet. Ric flips over Zack's back then handspring back elbows him. Ric springboard lariats Zack then running ssp's him. Ric then does an asai moonsault for 2. Ric is on Zack's back and Zack cannonballs him into the buckles.

Ric flips off of Zack then pump kicks him. Ric hits a big lariat. Ric running lariats him for 2. Ric death valley drivers him. Zack running euros Ric in the corner. Ric handsrpings and is caught with a dragon suplex. Ric no sells and takes another.

Ric forearms him and takes a euro. Ric knees him in the jaw, northern lights suplexes him then holds on for another. Ric then keeps the hold on and suplexes him on the apron. Ric then holds on again and suplexes him on the floor.

Zack hits euros and hits a 2nd rope michinoku driver for 2. Zack then goes for an armbar. Zack stomps Ric's arm. Ric hits high kicks and lifting sitout reverse ddt's him. Ric hits a top rope ssp on Zack for 2. Ric hits another lifting sitout reverse ddt. Zack PK's him then hits a spinning fire thunder driver for 2. Zack pulls Ric's arms back and submits him when he hooks the arm with the leg.

Thoughts: I didn't like it. The selling wasn't that good here and  I thought Zack could have done a better job working the arms. These two also had no real history or anything going into this so it was essentially just a match. Like last night's main, it was one of the weakest Dome main events ever.

Zack says the future of NJPW looks orange and says TMDK will run the place for a long time. Zack says they are TMDK and the mighty don't kneel.

The announcers talk about getting a nasty phone call after this (Chris got suspended after this) and says they might have gotten some heat off of this.

Overall thoughts: It was a weak Dome show. The AEW vs NJPW vs CMLL idea had some potential but they made some poor choices here. They could have potentially gotten Okada, Will, Jay, Jericho, Christian, Copeland or other big names on this show and instead opted for some of AEW's lesser names outside of Omega. I didn't care Zack/Ric. Kenny/Gabe was the usual awful Kenny big match. Finlay/Brody was better than I expected. Yota/Jack wasn't bad. They had the right idea with Claudio vs Shota but the crowd didn't want any of it. Takeshita vs Ishii brought out the worst instincts of both guys. Mone/Mina wasn't that good and Tana/Shibata only got 2 minutes. The NJPW Tag Title match was what you would expect. NJPW just did not have the talent for a 2 day Dome show and I hope they do not try it again next year. I thought both Dome shows were 2 of the weakest Dome shows NJPW has ever done and Zach being in the main for both made for the weakest main events NJPW has ever done. I would not recommend this and would only give it a 4 out of 10.

WWE Monday Night Raw 1/6/2025

WWE Monday Night Raw 1/6/2025

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/12/wwe-monday-night-raw-12302024.html

This is Raw's debut on Netflix. Raw just won't be live in the US but will be live worldwide, so there's going to be a ton of people watching this. We won't know how many though unless it's announced because Netflix is private. The one big downfall is that the move to Netflix will make it hard for some fans in more rural areas to watch it as there is nearly no internet in some parts of the US.We are in Los Angeles, CA at the Inuit Dome. Michael Cole and Pat McAfee are on commentary.

We see various wrestlers arrive.

The ring is covered with a warp and we get a video played on the tarp. The video is about the story of wrestling. They say as TV changed so did wrestling and wrestling changed America. Triple H says it's the eternal battle of the face vs the heel. They almost mention "the shoot and the work" and "the real and the unreal". They say every story in wrestling has an element of truth. They say the screen gets smaller but the show gets bigger. They say they are presenting the story of WWE. We then get some fireworks and the tarps fall down.

Thoughts: I didn't like this as they broke kayfabe here.

Triple H is in the ring with a spotlight on him. HHH says we are being seen and heard by the entire globe. He says to tell them this is WWE and we are louder than anything you have seen before. 

HHH asks us if we are ready. He says welcome to Raw and welcome to the Netflix Era.

The Rock comes out. The Rock has his personalized title with him and has grey facial hair now for some reason. Rock said the only way you used to be able to watch wrestling was to buy a ticket or watch on Saturday mornings. He says it's a different story now. He says it's the largest arena in the history of WWE.

Rock says you gotta have the right partners and Netflix loves WWE. We then cut to Netflix people in a box. Rock thanks Cody Rhodes for carrying the company on his back and we see Cody in the front row with a suit on. Rock says to tell Mama Rhodes he says hello. Rock says he wants to acknowledge Roman Reigns. He says Roman is the original tribal chief.

Rock says he will be watching tribal rules tonight and says he's a high chief. He says he loves everyone and says let's get the show on the road. Cody then hugs Rock.

Thoughts: I was expecting more from this. This had nothing to do with any storylines and accomplished nothing.

The ring mat is black and has some advertisements on it. The ref is also wearing a gray and black shirt with two black vertical stripes on it. The video quality is great.

Tribal Combat Match - Solo Sikoa vs Roman Reigns

Roman had his usual super long entrance here. Heyman's going to hold the necklace. We then go to break and return. 

They lock up and Solo is thrown out. They drive each other into the post, rail and apron. Roman's head is banged off the commentary table. Solo lariats him. Solo hits headbutts. Roman lariats him then flying lariats him. Roman hits corner lariats. Roman running facekicks him out. Solo uranages him on the commentary table. Solo hits Roman with a monitor. Solo throws the steps at Roman's head. We go to break and return.

Solo grabs a chair and hits Roman in the gut with it. Solo hits him in the back with it then hits a bunch of chair shots while Roman is down. Solo hits shots and talks trash. Solo puts a chair around Roman's head then misses a corner hip attack.

Roman chairs Solo then bangs Solo's head off the chair. Roman misses a conchairto then Solo low blows him. Solo rock bottoms him on the chair for 2. We get a drone camera shot I think. Solo grabs a table. Roman drive-by kicks Solo while he pulls the table out.

Solo hits Roman with a kendo stick. Solo shoves the stick in Roman's face and says Roman will never love him. Roman powerbombs Solo through a table. Roman goes for the pin and Tama Tonga pulls the ref out. Jacob Fatu comes out. He nails Roman, superkicks him and hits an impaler ddt.

Fatu double jump moonsaults Roman. Solo samoan spikes Roman for 2. Solo then samoan spikes the ref. Sami Zayn and Jimmy Uso finally come out to help Roman after several minutes. Fatu is sent int othe steps and Tama goes into the post. Jimmy superkicks Solo and Sami helluva kicks Solo.

Roman spears Solo and another ref comes down. Roman gets a 2 count. Jimmy and Sami then dive out on Tama and Fatu. Kevin Owens then comes out and stunners Roman. KO tells Solo to pin Roman and Solo gets a 2 count. KO pounds on Roman. Cody Rhodes then comes out and fights KO. Cody hits a cody cutter on KO. They then fight in the crowd.

Roman hits a big spear on Solo then hits another for the win.

Thoughts: It was so-so. It had the usual issues with WWE hardcore matches where you can't have blood so it was limited to table and chair spots. The match was slower paced and didn't really pick up until people started interfering. If you were hoping for some big special epic match, this was not it. 

Paul goes to give Roman the necklace. The Rock then comes out. Rock asks for the necklace. Rock puts the necklace on Roman and they stare at each other. They shake hands and hug. Rock watches Roman pose and they all walk out together.

They announce that The Royal Rumble will be in Saudi Arabia in 2026. I'm not a fan of it as I think PPV's and bigger events should stay in the US and Canada for the most part.

We see Smackdown wrestlers in a suite and some wrestler in the front row like The War Raiders, Rey and LA Knight. 

John Cena comes out. Cena says there's people everywhere here. Cena says the audience just got bigger and says the fans' electricity is felt all around the world. John says he couldn't think of a better way to start the world tour than LA. He said he worked out at Gold's Gym, learned how to wrestle here and lived near the building. He says The Prototype was born here and he won his first world title here.  

John talks about who he may face next, bringing up Logan, Drew, Punk, Gunther and Cody. He says people also ask when he becomes 17x world champ. Cena says he doesn't see it happening though. He says it's been 2,446 days since he won his last match. He says his time is up. He says the 17th championship won't happen. He says it would take a miracle and says he has a better chance at winning an oscar. He says you'd have to win MITB, The Elimination Chamber or The Royal Rumble to make that happen. Cena says maybe he can win The Rumble. He says it's only a lottery ticket but says he should play and maybe he wins. He says then he could make history at Wrestlemania.

Cena says it sounds impossible but nothing is impossible with him. He says we only say never when we say never give up. He says he's not just going to The Royal Rumble, he's going to win The Royal Rumble.

Thoughts: This was a great promo from Cena and got me hyped for The Rumble.

We get a video on Logan Paul. He says he'd hate him too. He says he has never fallen in line or waited his turn. He says it must keeps us up at night that he's been so good at this. He says he's dedicating his life to this. He says there's no more side hustle or BS, he's a 100% WWE Superstar. He says it's beginning of the era of Logan Paul. We then cut to Logan in the front row. 

We see people in the crowd like McCauly Caulkin, Topanga, X-Pac, Bianca, Naomi and Nakamura. 

Women's World Title - Liv Morgan (c) vs Rhea Ripley

They hockey fight to start. Rhea knees her and stomps her foot. Rhea picks her up by the throat and throws her down. Rhea cannonballs Raquel on the outside when Liv moves. Dom trips up Rhea outside and Liv knees Rhea off the apron. Liv tries to flying headscissors Rhea from the apron but is powerbombed onto the commentary table. We go to break and return.

Liv stomps on Rhea in the corner. Rhea pulls her into the buckles. Liv 2nd rope diving facebusters Rhea for 2. Liv bangs Rhea's head off the mat. Liv hits slaps then Rhea short arm clotheslines her. Rhea drops her face first on the mat then running knees her. Rhea suplexes her.

Rhea does a half and half suplex for 2. Liv backcrackers her then throws her into the buckle. Liv tornado ddt's her. Liv step up enzugiri's her. Rhea slides through her legs and hits a riptide for 2. 

Dom throws the title in. The ref takes it away. Raquel brings a chair in and Rhea takes oblivion onto the chair for 2. Liv hits three amigos. Liv hits a top rope splash for 2. Rhea blocks oblivion then hits another riptide. Rhea then goes for another and wins.

Thoughts: It was about average. They didn't go all out here or anything and there wasn't a ton of story outside of basic face vs heel stuff. I liked Rhea sliding through Liv's legs for a riptide. That was a cool spot.

Dom slides in behind Rhea after. Rhea turns around and Dom offers a hug. Rhea teases hugging him and kicks him in the nuts. Rhea then hits riptide. 

Rhea poses in the entrance way and The Undertaker's music hits. Taker rides his motorcycle in and goes around ringside. Taker fist bumps Rhea and they pose together as fireworks go off.

We see wrestlers cheering in a suite and we see New Day just staring at them.

Cathy Kelly wants to talk to Adam Pearce but Adam is talking to Bayley. American Made interrupts before Adam can say anything. Chad says he's an olympian and a valedictorian. He says he will win a single's title this year and will dispel any rumors there are that he can't be luchadores. Chad asks Adam to send the best luchador he has next week. Adam asks if he's sure and Chad says he is. Adam says he will make a phone call.

We see an instagram video of The Rock leaving. He hugs Paul Heyman and Triple H. He then hugs Roman. We see him in the parking lot hugging more people including Cody. He says he'll see us at NXT tomorrow. Rock then commits a DUI on camera as he drinks and drives.

Michele McCool is in the crowd with Lyra Valkyria, who they don't mention. We see Iyo and Dakota in the crowd then they cut back to Lyra.

A rapper named Travis Scott is in the stands and Jey Uso comes out near him. Scott is smoking in the stands which I'm pretty sure is not allowed.

Jey Uso vs Drew McIntyre

The ref is wearing a ref cam. Jey topes Drew before he gets in. Jey is rammed into the apron and takes a belly to belly on the floor. Jey back splashes and step up enzugiri's Drew. Jey goes for an up and over and is kicked. Drew hits chops and forearms Jey. 

Drew hits corner punches on Jey. Jey sitout powerbombs him. Jey hits punches and spinning enzugiri's him. Jey corner hip attacks him then hits a top rope crossbody for 2. Drew neckbreakers Jey and kips up. Jey superkicks Drew on a claymore kick attempt. Jey goes for a top rope splash and Drew gets his knees up. Drew spinebusters him for 2.

Drew sitout powerbombs him for 2. They trade shots. Drew hits a double underhook ddt for 2. Jey spears Drew for 2. Jey hits a superkick then Drew hits a claymore kick for 2. Drew bangs Jey's head off the mat.

Drew wants another claymore but Jey falls down. Jey avoids a claymore and rolls Drew up to win.

Thoughts: It was a bit slow in the finishing stretch and Jey won by surprise. It was okay but not the best match possible. The crowd wasn't great for this one.

We get a Gunther video. He says it's a new era for everyone else but not him. He says people's personal problems and outbursts mean nothing to him. He says he's where wrestlers dreams, hopes and ambitions go to die. He says he's the light at the end of the tunnel as he holds the prize everyone wants. He says he's the world champ. 

Cathy interviews Gabriel Iglesias for some reason. The New Day interrupt. They complain about not having time to explain what happened with Big E. Kofi says they should be interviewing them and not this fluffy babboon. Alpha Academy walk in. Gabe says he has to go and starts a "New Day Sucks" chant.

Paul Heyman talks to Roman Reigns in the back. He says he's the head of the table again and says they need a platform for the whole world to acknowledge him. Roman says to book it on January 27th which will be Monday Night Raw.

Bron Breakker, Tiffany Stratton and Nikki Bella are watching at ringside.

Hulk Hogan's music hits. Hulk comes out with Jimmy Hart, who is waving a USA flag. Hulk's looking real thin. The crowd boos Hulk. Hulk shills his new beer. He says he's had partners like Macho and says WWE's greatest partner is Netflix. He then rips his shirt off and shows a Netflix shirt.

Thoughts: I really don't like Hulk shilling beer. It's not something his on-screen character would do.

Damian Priest fights Finn Balor in a street fight next week. That feud just won't end.

Stephanie McMahon is in the crowd.

Seth Rollins vs CM Punk

They trade shots. Seth lariats him against the ropes then Punk lariats him over the top. Punk misses a slingshot plancha then Seth topes him into the rail. Seth argues with the ref and sends Punk into the rails. Punk back body drops him on the floor. Punk double axe handles him off the rails.

Seth jumps off the rails and takes a shot to the gut. Punk drops the table top on Seth's back. Seth misses a curb stomp. Seth does facewash boots on Punk. Seth argues with the ref. Punk jumping facekicks Seth. Punk drops Seth on the ropes gut first. Punk hits a top rope neckbreaker.

We go to break and return. Seth running forearms Punk in the corner. Punk step up knees him in the corner. Punk hits double axe handles and neckbreakers him. Punk neckbreakers Seth over the top rope. Punk plancha's him outside. Seth rolls through Punk's crossbody off the top. Seth then hits his own go to sleep. Punk then rolls out.

They get back in and Punk curb stomps Seth. Seth hits a go to sleep for 2. Seth misses a curb stomp. Punk's head is banged off the commentary table. They get on the table and Seth pedigrees him onto it. Seth then holds his knee after. Seth then hits a pedigree for 2. 

They slap each other on their knees. They trade shots and Punk high kicks him. Seth buckle bombs Punk then curbstomps him for 2. Seth walks up the buckles and superplexes Punk. Seth holds on and Punk hits a go to sleep. Seth falls onto Punk's shoulders. Punk hits another go to sleep and pins him.

Thoughts: It was a good main event. Both did did more than usual and busted out some rare stuff like the Punk curb stomp and the Seth go to sleep. The crowd was also a little better for this one than usual. I though they did an okay job in conveying the hatred they had for each other as well. I'm curious to see where things go from here.  They were taking a risk here by having Punk jump off the top, jump to the outside and off the rails. The ref had to help Punk up after and hopefully he's not hurt.

Overall thoughts: I had high hopes for this one. It didn't quite live up to expectations. They spent a ton of time on celebs and wrestlers in the crowd which got old fast. The Rock was on the show but did nothing but likely earn a DUI. Roman/Solo was slow and just not that good. Drew/Jey wasn't either guys best work and Liv/Rhea wasn't that great. The main was good though and Cena's promo was good. I also didn't like the opening video breaking kayfabe. WWE really did try to make this special but the work was similar to the work you'd find on a Crown Jewel show where nobody was giving their best. I'd give it a 6 out of 10 overall and I'd say that's disappointing as this should have been a classic.

WWE Superstars 11/15/2013

WWE Superstars 11/15/2013

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/12/wwe-superstars-1182013.html

Notes - The quality on this is terrible and it's hard to even see who is who.

The Funkadactyls (Cameron & Naomi) vs Aksana & Alicia Fox

Fox side headlocks Naomi and throws her down. Naomi high kicks her from the apron. It looks like Naomi hit a headhunter on Fox then Naomi flying headscissors Aksana. Cam armdrags Aksana then Aksana takes a double suplex. Fox is pulled over the top rope. Aksana tilt-a-whirl slams Naomi.

Aksana side slams Naomi. Fox side slams Naomi then drives her head into the mat with her leg. Fox chinlocks her. They say Johnny Ace found Fox in a fashion catalogue and signed her. Fox throws Naomi down backwards. Naomi monkey flips her.

Cam comes in and hits lariats. Cam does a bad headscissors her on her then does a split leg drop for 2. Cam pendulum ddt's Fox and wins.

Thoughts: It was ugly. There were lots of sloppy moves and botches here. Fox continues to overdo it on most of the moves she does and turns easy bumps into weird athletic movements.  

The Great Khali & The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso) vs The Miz & The Prime Time Players (Darren Young & Titus O'Neil)

The Uso did a haka here as they entered. Miz does the PTP's dance with them.

Jey shoulders over Miz then sunset flips him. They trade pin attempts. Titus hits chops on Khali when they get in. Khali then chops him back with mean sounding chops. Khali lariats Young over and bangs his head off the buckles. Khali bangs Miz's head off the buckles and chops him. Khali throws Miz over the top. We go to break and return.

Khali chops Miz. Jimmy gets his head banged off the buckle by Miz. Miz side headlocks him. Miz goes up and over then hits a lariat. Jimmy takes a double suplex for 2. Young side headlocks Jimmy. Young spinning forearms Jey. Titus fallaway slams Jey off of his crossbody attempt. Miz running boots Jey for 2.

Jey susnet flips Miz. Miz bangs Jey's head off of his knee then neckbreakers him. Titus corner splashes an Uso. Titus misses a corner charge. Young and Jey get in. Young takes lariats, a kick to the gut and a bubba bomb.

Miz breaks up a pin is chopped by Khali. Titus knocks Khali down and off the apron. Jey superkicks Titus then superkicks Young. Jey hits a top rope splash on Young and pins him. 

Thoughts: It got more time than it really needed. It was average. I was surprised to see Khali take a bump to the floor. Khali's chops looked good here. 

Khali dances with The Uso's after.

Overall thoughts: There were only 2 new matches and various recaps on this one. The women's match was bad with tons of botches and sloppy moments. The men's match was average. I would not recommend this one.

New Japan Pro Wrestling 1/4/2025 Wrestle Kingdom 19 in Tokyo Dome

New Japan Pro Wrestling 1/4/2025 Wrestle Kingdom 19 in Tokyo Dome

Pre-Show IWGP World Heavyweight Title #1 Contendership New Japan Rambo Match - Satoshi Kojima vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yuji Nagata vs. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tomoaki Honma vs. KENTA vs. Togi Makabe vs. Josh Barnett vs. Toru Yano vs. Taichi vs. Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi vs. SANADA vs. YOSHI-HASHI vs. Great-O-Khan vs. Alex Zayne vs. Oleg Boltin

Khan and Josh do some grappling then get back up. Josh takes him down and Oleg is next in. Oleg grapples with Josh and throws him down. Josh headlock takeovers him. Oleg headscissors him then goes for the armbar. Khan breaks it up. Goto is next in.

Goto lariats Oleg over then suplexes Khan onto Oleg. Josh spinning heel kicks Goto. Yuji Nagata comes in next. Josh lariats Oleg in the corner. Yuji and Josh trade kicks. Oleg tries to dump Josh over the top and both get eliminated.

Togi Makabe comes in. Yuji and Goto trade in the ring. Yuji hits forearms and boots in the corner. Togi chokes khan with a chain then foot chokes him. Yuji hits kicks on Goto and Togi drops Khan with a punch. Togi chinlocks Khan. Kenta comes out next.

Kenta and Yuji trade forearms. Kenta eye rakes him. Yuji facekicks him. Kenta hits punches on Yuji. Kent facekicks him off the apron for the elimination. Yoshi-Hashi is next in. Kenta and Yoshi trade forearms. Kenta stomps on him then rakes his eyes.

Yujiro Takahashi is next in. Yujiro trips Yoshi from the outside. Yujir corner facekicks Yoshi. Yoshi superkicks Yujiro and sends Kenta into him. Yujiro throws Yoshi over the top after Kenta pulls the rope down.

Toru Yano is next in. Yano pushes Kenta into Yujiro then pulls Kenta to the apron. Yano sends Yujiro into Kenta and Kenta is eliminated by falling off the apron. Yano then rolls up Yujiro and pins him for the elimination. Hiroyoshi Tenzan is next in. Khan hiptosses Togi for 2.

Tenzan hits Khan from behind and boots him. Tenzan hits headbutts on Khan. Tenzan hits mongolian chops on him then chokes him. Satoshi Kojima is next in. Yano gets double teamed by Tenkoji and takes mongolian chops from both. Tnzan misses a corner charge and is rolled up. Tenzan lariats Koji on accident and Yano rolls up Tenzan and pins him.

Tomoaki Honma is in next. Goto gets a 2 count on Khan. Honma misses a falling headbutt on Yano. Honma hits chops on Koji. then clubs on him. Koji takes corner attacks. Sanada is next in. Koji boots on and hits machine gun chops on Sanada. Togi hits corner punches on Sanada. Koji and Togi push each other. Sanada low blows Togi. He tries to eliminate Togi but Togi can't get over the top. Snaada low blows Koji and eliminates him.

Taichi comes in. Sanada sends Tai into the rails. Tomohiro Ishii comes in. Ishii and Honma forearm each other. Honma lariats him then hits a falling headbutt. Ishii hits forearms on Honma. Honma headbutts him, goes for a flying headbutt and takes a forearm. Ishii brainbusters him. Ishii pins Honma.

Alex Zayne is the last entrant in. Tai side kicks Sanada. Sanada makes it seem like Taichi low blowed him and the ref DQ'd Tai. This is after the ref saw Sanada do it earlier and did nothing. Tai facekicks Sanda off the apron for the elimination. They fight outside.

Alex hits a cinammon twist on Goto then pulls Yano over the top for the elimination. Khan puts Ishii on the apron. Alex gets put on there too. Khan pushes Ishii off the apron for the elimination. Alex hits a headlock + snapmare takeover then does a double flipping legdrop. Khan lariats Alex off the apron. 

Khan shoulders throws Goto. Khan pump kicks Goto. Khan hits mongolian chops on Goto. Goto hits a GTR on Goto and throws him onto the apron. Goto lariats Khan off the apron and wins.

Thoughts: It was long and not that good. The wrestling was all pretty weak for the most part and it wasn't that clean. This was not a good way to start things off.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Ladder Match - Intergalactic Jet Setters (Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA) (c) vs. Catch 22 (Francesco Akira & TJP) vs. Ichiban Sweet Boys (Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles) vs. BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney)

Clark and Drila came out with girls. They all fight to start. Knight hits a sringboard crossbody on multiple people in the ring. Kevin jumps over a ladder and Kush dropkicks the ladder into 2 people. Kush then does a standing frog splash onto it.  TJP is chaired and Clark rams a ladder into opponents. Kosei takes a high/low chair shot.

Kush knocks Wardogs off the ladder on a double handspring back elbow. Kevin is pushed off the top rope into the ropes. Kevin jumps off the apron and has a chair thrown at his face. A table is put next to a rail. Drilla tries to do an over the shoulder piledriver onto Kush but misses the table.

Akira is on TJP's shoulders on the apron and he is dropped down into a senton on Drilla through a table. Rob hits a standing sliced bread and takes a springboard lariat from Kevin. Clark is laid on a bridged ladder and Rob springboard 450's Clark there. Kosei is put on Akira's shoulders and takes a flying cutter from a ladder. Rob climbs a ladder, TJP springboards onto it. TJP mists him then final cuts him off the ladder through a bridged ladder.

Akira is on Kush's shoulders and takes a Kevin dropkick. Drilla takes a flatliner into the buckles. Kevin is on top of a ladder. He tries to dive onto Drilla while Drilla takes a neckbreaker but mostly misses. Kush throws Kosei off a ladder and he lands chest first in a dangerous bump.

Rob is on like the 2nd rung of a ladder and Kevin jumping hurricanrana's him.  Kevin climbs a aldder and Drilla pushes the ladder over. Drilla and TJP climb a half-bent ladder together. Drilla is pulled into the ladder and falls off.

4 people fight on the ladders. 2 fall off. Akira takes a dragon sleeper while laying on the top of a ladder and Kosei grabs the titles to win the match.

Thoughts: It was your usual ladder match. They had a lot of dangerous spots here. A lot of them weren't hit that clean and I'll be surprised if nobody ended up injured out of this. 2 people would do a spot, one would go down then 1 or 2 people would takeover for most of this one. I didn't like it that much but it was not was boring. This was a spotfest. 

IWGP Women's Title Match - Mayu Iwatani (c) vs. AZM

I really don't think this one should be on the show. It just doesn't fit in.

The girls trade forearms. Mayu spin kicks her in the gut. Mayu is tripped and takes a PK and basement dropkick. AZM runs up the buckles and dives on Mayu outside. AZM la mistica's Mayu. Mayu rolls up AZM for 2. Mayu basement dropkicks her then hits a top rope splash for 2.

Mayu superkicks AZM. Mayu ends up in tree of woe and is double stomped down. AZM top rope double stomps Mayu for 2. AZM superkicks her then gets superkicked. Mayu flying kicks her then hits a top rope dropkick. Mayu misses a top rope moonsault. 

AZM canadian destroyers her then hits a double underhook canadian destroyer for 2. AZM comes off the top and flies into a double boot from Mayu. AZM la mistica's Mayu then gets a 2 count on her. AZM germans her for 1. Mayu germans her in return. AZM rolls her up for 2. Mayu tombstones her. Mayu top rope moonsaults her for 2. Mayu dragon suplexes her for the win.

Thoughts: I hated this. It was a no sell fest with Mayu taking two destroyers on her head and neither meaning anything. It was also rushed. 

NJPW World Television Title  - Ren Narita (c) vs. El Phantasmo vs. Jeff Cobb vs. Ryohei Oiwa

ELP topes Ren outside to start. Cobb and Oiwa shoulder battle and they double shoulder ELP over. Cobb and Oiwa trade forearms. Oiwa hiptosses ELP then shoulders over Cobb. Ren chokes Oiwa, ELP and Cobb. Ren legbars Cobb then Oiwa falling splashes Ren. Oiwa dumps Ren over the top. ELP flying headscissors Oiwa.

ELP walks up the ropes with Cobb's help. Cobb punches him down and he falls on Oiwa and Ren. Cobb tope con hilos onto his other opponents outside. Cobb does a uranage and lariats Ren into the mat. Cobb standing moonsaults Ren. Oiwa gutwrench suplexes Cobb for 2. 

ELP gets stuck up top. We get a 3 person tower of doom spot that ends with ELP getting superplexed. Ren gets 3v1'd. Cobb headbutts Oiwa then dropkicks him. ELP superkicks Oiwa. ELP is caught off a springboard and takes an F-5 from Cobb off of it. Oiwa lariats Cobb. Oiwa doctor bombs Cobb and Ren pulls the ref out on the count. Ren hits Oiwa with a push-up board. Cobb breaks Ren's push-up board. Ren low blows Cobb. Cobb hits a tour of the islands slam on Ren. ELP breaks it up with a springboard swanton, he then dives on Oiwa outside and springboard splashes Ren to win.

Thoughts: It was your usual 4-way here with mostly only 2 people in the ring at various times and people coming in and out at random. They did what they could with it it was watchable but not great.

Lumberjack Match - Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. EVIL

Evil had someone play music for him on a keyboard in a reaper costume. Tana side headlocks Evil. They pull each other's hair. Tana back elbows him and 2nd rope twisting crossbodies him. Evil sits in a chair and outside and drinks.

Tana is thrown out and tries to skin the cat. Togo interrupts him and Evil bites the leg. Evil hits a dragon screw variation on Tana. Tana gets stomped on by House of Torture outside. Evil puts a chair around Tana's neck and chairs it. Evil spray paints Master Wato outside.

Evil corner lariats Tana then fisherman suplexes him for 2. Tana dragon screws Evil. Tana flying forearms Evil then knocks House of Torture off the apron. Tana goes for a slingbade and Evil retreats to the ramp. Oleg Boltin carries Evil back in. 

Evil eye rakes Tana then Tana hits a twist and shout. Evil pushes the ref into Tana's way. Tana gets attacked by House of Torture and is chopped in the nuts. Everyones buddies fight in the ring. Wato ends up doing a tope con hilo on the heels. Evil lariats Tana twice. Tana hits an everything is evil on Tana then dragon suplexes him. Tana sling blades Evil for 2.

Tana top rope crossbodies Evil. Tana gets crotched on the ropes when the ref is pushed into the ropes. Tana then gets hit with powder. Evil superplexes Tana. Evil hits darkness falls for 2. Evil sharpshooters Tana. Tana lariats him and hits everything is evil. Tana no sells it and pins him.

Thoughts: It was the usual House of Torture BS here. It was all shenanigans from start to finish with little wrestling. The finish was stupid with Tana no selling Evil's finisher to win.

HoT attack Tana and his buddies after. They go to cut Tana's hair and they all back off from Katsuyori Shibata, who returns to help him. Shibata asks Tana for a match tomorrow if he's not tired. Tana says he's never been tired and says let's do it.

AEW International Title / NEVER Openweight Title Match - Shingo Takagi vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Don Callis is with KT. KT and Shingo hold their titles up at each other. They shoulder battle. KT facekicks him then flying lariats him. Shingo hiptosses him and shoulders him over. Shingo hits forearms then KT forearms him down. KT 2nd rope sentons him for 2. KT flying headscissors him. Shingo pop-up death valley drivers him on the floor.

Shingo superplexes him then sliding lariats him. Shingo hits a big lariat. Shingo exploders him and KT germans him. Shingo backdrops him and KT germans him back. They lariat each other at the same time. KT hits forearms. Shingo forearms him back. KT lariats him then hits a package tombtone. KT then wheelbarrow germans him. Shingo then flips him with a lariat. 

Shingo hits a made in Japan for 2. They lariat each other at the same time. KT flying knees him. KT hurricanrana's him off the top then pumping knees him. KT hits a blue thunder for 2. Shingo hits a last of the dragon. KT poisonrana's him. Shingo poisonrana's him but KT doesn't really even land on his head and he no sells it so who knows if it hit. KT forearms him in the back of the head.

They trade forearms. Shingo headbutts him in the chest, takes a pumping knee then hits his own lariat. KT hits a big forearm for 2. KT hits his spinning falcon arrow and wins.

Thoughts: I hated this. They didn't sell squat here. They no sold so bad at one point that I didn't even know if the attack actually hit. It was all action and big shots but none of it meant anything.

KT goes face to face with Ishii after, who he faces tomorrow.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match - DOUKI (c) vs. El Desperado

Douki had some kabuki guy for his entrance.

Douki flying headscissors Despy out then topes him into the rail. Despy sends him into the rail then tope con hilos him. Despy hits his legs hard on the rails. Douki sends Despy into the rails. They trade forearms outside.

Despy backdrops Douki for 2. They trade shots and Douki step up enzugiri's him. Despy spinebusters him. Douki goes for the douki chokey and Despy cloverleafs him. Douki is caught on a slingshot and hurricanrana's Despy out. Douki top rope sentons a standing Despy into the rail. Douki holds his elbow after and the match is stopped due to injury.

Thoughts: The spot that caused the injury was stupid. There was no need for it and there was a lot of ways it could have gone wrong. The match was short and wasn't much before it ended. 

Despy is mad even though he won. Despy grabs the mic after. He says he won't say sorry and says this is the result when you put your all into something. He says they will do this again and hopes the fans will be there to see it. 

IWGP Global Heavyweight Title Match - David Finlay (c) vs. Yota Tsuji

Yota came out with a red hat. DF came out with a machine gun.

They lock up and DF hits his forearm into his face. They trade forearms. Yota drives DF's head into the mat. Yota tilt-a-whirl backbreakers him. DF catches Yota's tope and drives him into the apron back first. DF flying shoulders Yota into the rails. DF backbreakers him.

Yota armdrags him then hits his curbstomp combo. Yota hits forearms then shoulders him over. Yota splashes him for 2. Yota hits a flying headscissors. Yota then does a dangerous fosbury flop to the outside.

Yota hits forearms then DF lariats him over the top. DF goes with him. Yota's head is banged off the post. DF uranages Yota through the table. DF throws him in the ring then flying euros him in the corner. Yota suplexes him into the buckles. DF hits a 2nd rope powerbomb for 2. DF hits three dominators in a row. DF hits lariats then Yota flying knees him. DF tries a flying spear and runs into Yota's knee.

DF powerbombs Yota then buckle bombs him. DF hits another powerbomb for 2. Yota hurricanrana's him into the buckles. Yota flying pumping knees him then hits a marlow crash for 2. DF cutters Yota then hits oblivion for 2. 

DF hits a big spear then Yota stunners him out of a suplex attempt. Yota spears DF for 2. Yota hits forearms. Yota curbstomps him. DF hits overkill for 2. Yota hits a knee to the face then powerbombs him. Yota spears him and wins.

Thoughts: They didn't sell much here. Yota went throguh a table, took a 2nd rope powerbomb and a multiple dominators and none of them meant that much. At least Yota got the win and has ended Finlay's reign. The match wasn't that good but they worked better together than some of Finlay's other opponents.

Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiromu Takahashi

HT wore some giant monster costume out with giant balls bouncing around. Nait wore a snake head mask out.

Naito armdrags him over and poses. HT misses a basement dropkick on him and then takes one. Naito atomic drops him then ties up his arms and head. Naito stomps on him. HT hits chops and Naito spits at him. HT basement dropkicks him for 2.

Naito armdrags him then forearms him over. Naito baseball slides him. Naito neckbreakers him for 2. HT superkicks him then sunset bombs him on the floor. HT hits a death valley driver in the ring for 2. HT germans Naito. HT lariats Naito.

HT hits a nasty time bomb for 2. HT running lariats him. HT lifts him up and Naito hits a destino out of it. Naito hits elbows to the neck then hits a diamond dust. Naito hits another destino. HT blocks a 3rd destino with an emerald flowsion for 2. Naito hits back elbows. HT rolls him up for 2.

HT shotgun dropkicks him. HT then does his own destino. HT hits time bomb 2 for 2. Naito spinebusters him then hits destino for 2. Naito slams him then brainbusters him. Naito then does another destino and wins.

Thoughts: They pretty much skipped the  middle of the match and started doing big moves from the beginning of this. I didn't like this one that much. They really made Naito's destino look weak and I don't think they got as much story out of this as they could have. Naito ended up winning this one as expected.

Naito wants to do the LIJ fist bump after. HT bows to him then does it. 

IWGP Title - Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs Shota Umino

To anyone checking this out years from now, this looked really weak on paper. Shota was not a main event plyer in 2024 and everyone thought this was not a Tokyo Dome worthy main. Zack wasn't in a much better situation as was seemingly almost randomly allowed to win the G-1 and title. I just blamed it on a lack of other choices and NJPW not respecting people like Goto.

Shota rode in on a motorcycle. They fight for wrist control early and trade wristlocks. Shota water wheel drops him and Zack gets right back up. Shota pulls his arms back and full nelsons him. Shota hits an armdrag, gets headscissored and ends up doing a basement dropkick to Zack. Shota cravates him and hits elbows to the neck. Zack arm whips him down.

Zack splits the fingers and hits kicks on Shota. Zack armbreakers him and hits euros. Zack cobra twists him. Shota hits a dropkick. Shota running euros him and fisherman suplexes him for 2. Zack is tripped into the ropes and Shota slingshot ddt's him on the apron over the middle rope. Shota sends Zack into the rails. Zack boots him off the rails then Shota shotgun dropkicks him. Shota bridging ddt's him on the floor while he's on the rail.

Shota does a coast to coast dropkick then lifting reverse ddt's him for 2. Zack twists the head with his feet and dropkicks him in the back of the head. Zack kicks Shota in the back. Zack hits boots to the head. They go head to head and trade forearms.

Zack rolling armbars him then armbars him. Zack switches to the triangle. Shota lifts him and slams him down. Shota hits a running euro. Zack dragon suplexes him then lariats him. Shota hits a cross rhodes. They trade shots. 

They trade euros. Shota euros him over. Shota overhead exploders him. Zack chest kicks him down. Shota dropkicks him and Zack PK's him. Shota tornado ddt's him then Zack hits a michinoku driver for 2. Shota back body drops him then lifts him in the air and ddt's him.

Shota hits ignition then spinning double underhook ddt's Zack. Zack twists Shota's leg then leg bars him. Zack figure fours the legs and Shota ropebreaks. Zack stomps Shota's legs. Zack hits leg kicks and dropkicks him in the leg. Shota tornado ddt's him.

Shota running knees Zack in the back of the neck. Shota tries to climb the buckles but falls down due to leg pain. Zack hanging guillotine chokes Shota on the buckles. Shota hits a top rope double underhook suplex.  

Shota stomp flurries Zack's back and pushes the ref away. Shota hits forearms and euros him. Zack hits leg kicks. Shota does revers curb stomps. Zack slaps him. Zack boots and foot slaps him. They trade slaps then slap each other at the same time. Zack slaps him down. Shota pumphandle emerald flowsion's him for 2 and euros him in the back of the neck for 2. Zack ankle locks him. Shota rolls him up for 2. Zack slaps him then is lariated.

Zack hits a michinoku driver for 2. Zack does a gotch style piledriver. Zack then does a cross-legged falcon arrow and wins.

Thoughts: It was a midcard match that went 40+ minutes and main evented The Dome. There was nothing special about this one. There was no great story here or any special logic. There wasn't any blood. There wasn't any big spots. There were no weapons used or anything like that. The crowd wasn't  that hot for it. Zack did some submissions but didn't really go too far with them and Shota just did his usual moveset. It was easily one of the weakest Dome matches ever in quality and in effort. This match should have never main evented The Dome. 

Zack says he'll be waiting for Shota after. Zack says happy new year and to enjoy tomorrow.

Overall thoughts: It was easily one of the weakest Dome shows NJPW has ever produced, on paper and quality wise. The talent's not really there and the booking did these wrestlers no favors. The AEW talent raids just killed the company along with NJPW relying on older names for far too long and not developing enough new wrestlers. 

The main went too long and was just a midcard match with no huge moments or anything you'd expect out of a Dome main event. Naito/Hiromu wasn't that good. Yota/Finlay overdid it though they at least worked okay together. Douki did a stupid move and got himself injured 5 minutes in to his match, ending the match completely. Shingo/Takeshita no sold so much at one point that they invented a new form of no selling. Tana/Evil had the usual shenanigans filled HoT match. The four-way was okay but it was a four-way. The selling was awful in Mayu/AZM and that match shouldn't have even been on the show. They tried in the ladder match but it wasn't great. The rumble wasn't any good and was not that serious.

If I had to rewrite this one, I would have cancelled Wrestle Dynasty. Then all the talent could focus on this show. I'd find a way to get people like Okada, Will Ospreay and Jay White on this. I would have gotten Oiwa into a better match and gotten people like Goto and Ishii in bigger matches. I would have gotten Zack out of the main as well.

I'd give this one a 3 out of 10. It was a poor card on paper and was poor in reality as well. Having another Tokyo Dome show the following day hurt the show further as people didn't want to get injured and not be able to wrestle on it.

WWF Superstars of Wrestling 8/10/1991

WWF Superstars of Wrestling 8/10/1991

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/01/wwf-superstars-of-wrestling-831991.html

Next week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/01/wwf-superstars-of-wrestling-8171991.html

We are in Edmonton, Canada.

Vince McMahon, Roddy Piper and Macho Man Randy Savage are our our hosts. Macho talks about getting married at Summerslam. Piper says cupid's arrows are headed to the match made in hell. Piper says he doesn't know what will happen

The Big Boss Man vs Mike Starr

Mike is Michelle Star and the announcers had a good time making fun of him last time. Mike hits some shots to the gut. Boss fires back. Boss hits a hard lariat. The Mountie and Jimmy Hart do an inset promo. Mountie tells Boss to get ready for the time of his life. He says get ready for the handcuffs and fingerprinting. He says he will lose his rep and jurisdiction. He says it'll be hard times.

Boss leg lariats Mike on the 2nd rope. Mike is thrown hard into the corner and bumps off of it. Boss hits a big punch. Boss hits a big boot and Mike takes a nice bump off of it. Boss yell at him to get up and asks where Mountie is at. Boss hits a side walk slam and wins.

Thoughts: It was all squash here with Mike not getting much in. Mike did a good job bumping around for Boss here.

Boss handcuffs Mike to the ropes in true face fashion after. 

WWF Update

Mean Gene Okerlund shows us clips from last week's interview with Sid, Warrior and Hulk where Sid says he will see that justice is served. The Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan do a promo. Hulk says they saw the question marks of doubts in fan's minds. He says him and Warrior are still the strongest forces in the universe. Hulk says if Sid is not 50/50, he will lay with the rest of the skeletons him and Warrior left laying. Warrior says Sid walks a fine line. He says if he steps in his way, he steps in Hulk's way.

The Beverly Brothers (Beau Beverly & Blake Beverly) vs Brian Jewel & Louie Spicolli

Beau and Lou go at it. Lou's been making a lot of appearances lately. Lou side headlocks him and is backed up on the ropes. Lou talks trash to Blake and is lariated over the top. Coach blows his whistle at Lou and tells him to read his clipboard. Beau stomps on Lou then forearms him in the back. Beau lariats Lou over. Coach's clipboard says, "Beverly Brothers are #1". Lou takes a nice double hiptoss and goes flying.

Blake waistlock takedowns Brian then bangs his head off the mat. Blake oklahoma stampedes Brian. Brian takes a shaker heights spike and is pinned.

Thoughts: It was a squash as expected here. Lou took a nice bump over the top. Coach blew his whistle endlessly here.

WWF Event Center

Sean Mooney talks Summerslam. British Bulldog, Texas Tornado and The Dragon do a promo. Kerry says they won't be beat. Davey says they are coming for Warlord and Power and Glory. Ricky says there will be so much power and strength but it won't overcome them. They announced this is happening at Summerslam.

The Nasty Boys and Jimmy Hart do a promo. Hart says The LOD cried to Tunney to make this no DQ and no countout. Saggs says they are playing their game with no rules. Saggs says they can be as nasty as they want and can do anything they want to LOD. Knobbs says the heat is on hot and is melting the paint off LOD's faces. Knobbs says The LOD will get the nastiest beating of their life.

Irwin R. Schyster vs Chi Chi Cruz

IRS talks in the mic. He says being called a tax evader is a horrible thing but if the shoe fits, wear it. Piper says an old lady in the crowd paid her share of taxes. Vince accuses her of robbing 3 banks last week. IRS bangs Chi's head off the buckles then backdrops him. IRS euros him over.

IRS snapmares and elbow drops him. Macho says he's excited for IRS vs Valentine at Summerslam. IRS stomps on Chi. Greg Valentine does an inset promo. He says he has a deduction for IRS. He says IRS is good with figures and tells him when he puts the figure four on him to balance that account.

IRS guillotines Chi then punches him. IRS hits a samoan drop on Chi and grabs the win.

Thoughts: This was all IRS here with him mostly sticking to punches before picking up the win.

The British Bulldog vs Tim Patterson

Tim is actually taller than Davey. Davey pushes Tim back off the lock up. Tim knees him in the gut and side headlocks him. They shoulder battle and Davey hiptosses him. Davey powerslams him then chinlocks him.

Davey lariats Tim over then suplexes him. Tim hits some shots to the gut. Davey corner lariats him. Davey running powerslams Tim and picks up the win.

Thoughts: It was nice to see Tim get a little bit of offense in before being put down. We have not had any of the jobbers get a chance to look competitive on this show lately. 

WWF Event Center

Sean Mooney officially announces The Dragon, The British Bulldog and Kerry Von Erich vs The Warlord and Power and Glory at Summerslam.

Ted Dibiase and Sherri do a promo. Sherri said Virgil shined the million dollar belt many times and likely had lots of dreams and ambitions. She says Virgil has to go through him to get to Ted.

Ted says Virgil was a millionaire when he held his title during matches. He says the dream is over and reality will soon set in.

Bret Hart does a promo. He says there's no such thing as perfect but there is excellence and The Hitman. He says he will be excellently executed at Summerslam.
 
The Nasty Boys vs Doug Carson and Ken Johnson

Knobbs says The LOD isn't nasty enough. Saggs clubs one of the jobbers over the back of the neck. The jobber is then sent to pity city. Knobbs hits some forearms then the jobber does a nice bump for his lariat. The LOD do an inset promo. Animal says they like that the match is no DQ. He says The Nasty Boys are theirs and they will be the champs. Hawk says all the ideas he had of things to do with them will be fulfilled.

Knobbs chinlocks a jobber then throws the other face first into Saggs' boot. Saggs stomps on the jobber. Knobbs hits a corner splash then a running powerslam for the win.

Thoughts: This was all squash here with the jobbers getting nothing in and taking a bunch of basic shots. They talked about who might be at Macho Man's bachelor party during this. Macho says Mean Gene caused all the trouble and doesn't want Sherri to be there.

We go to the cemetery with Jake "The Snake" Roberts and The Ultimate Warrior. Jake says it's not easy to take the same steps a snake takes. Jake says Warrior has begun his walk. Jake says Warrior feels the coldness and the stone. Jake says Warrior takes these steps, not because he wants to, but because he has to. He says Warrior is putting the puzzle together which is one of the hardest things a man can do. Jake says Warrior is currently digging up the past.

We see Warrior digging out a grave. Jake tells him to dig. Warrior says Jake is the only other one who is living amongst the dead. Warrior finds a casket. Jake tells him to crack the shell and break it open I guess. Jake says to pull it out and he grabs a skull. Jake says it smells nice doesn't it. Jake grabs the skull from Warrior and says this is just the beginning. Jake says he must bury Warrior in the same soil.

Warrior says he trusted him before and will again now. Warrior tells him to bury him and Jake says to stand your ground. We cut ahead and Warrior is buried up to his neck in dirt. Jake asks if Warrior trusts him and tells him to cast his eyes into the skull so he can understand the visions of the living. 

Thoughts: These segments are some of the best stuff WWF has done all year. They are creative and just something totally different than what we were seeing at the time. I just love Jake being Warrior's guide to the dark side.

Summerslam Report

Gene says he can't believe Warrior let Jake bury him and says Warrior is alive and well. Gene talks the Summerslam main event. Sgt. Slaughter, Adnan and Mustafa do a promo. Mustafa says he can't wait to face Hulk and Warrior. Sarge says his core of destruction is overwhelmed. He said they can't believe Sid will call things down the middle. Sarge says Sid has one choice only - to count the shoulders of either Hulk or Warrior and raise Sarge's teams hands as the victories.

Mr. Perfect and Coach do a promo. Perfect tells Hart to watch a rerun of Summerslam if he wants to see a perfect victory.

Bret Hart says Coach won't save Perfect and says we will see who has the perfect victory. 

Gene runs down the rest of the card. The Natural Disasters and Jimmy Hart do a promo. Quake says it's only 2 weeks until they feel the typhoon splash and the earthquake. The Bushwhackers and Andre the Giant talk. Butch says it's only 2 weeks until they take care of The Natural Disasters. Andre says The Disasters will be stopped.

"The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase vs Bobby Jones 

Ted side headlocks Jones then shoulders him over. Ted bangs Jones' head off the mat. Ted lariats Jones then fist drops him. Ted hits a nice suplex. Virgil does an inset promo. He says his domination of Ted is just beginning at Summerslam when he takes his title.

Ted stomps Jones and throws him out. Ted slams Jones on the floor. Ted powerslams Jones then puts him to sleep with the million dollar dream.

Thoughts: It was a typical Dibiase squash. Ted's execution was nice as always here and he picked up the win as expected.

Ted shoves money into Jones' mouth after.

WWF Event Center

Sean Mooney talks Summerslam. IRS does a promo. He says Summerslam is coming soon and it's time for Valentine to pay his dues. He says he's no better than the tax cheats around the country. He says it's time for him to pay IRS and he will pay big dues. He says Greg owes a lot of back taxes.

The Big Boss Man asks if Mountie ever wondered what it was like to spend hard time. Boss says millions will see Mountie go to jail and serve hard time. He says they will see him hurt Mountie.

 

Bobby Heenan has the NWA Title. He says he has the belt that belongs to the real world's champ - not Hulk Hogan. He says this man is under contract to another organization and may be arriving to the WWF soon. He said it would be his honor and privilege to represent this man. He says comparing this belt and the man who holds it would be like comparing ice cream to horse manure. He says the champ of the WWF is Hulk Hogan but the real champion holds this belt and it's Ric Flair. 

Thoughts: This was a cool segment. The WWF never acknowledged other feds and actually having the NWA's belt really made this even more special. 

Vince runs down next week's show. Jimmy Snuka will be on. We haven't seen him in a while. Vince says we will have more on Bobby Heenan's revelation on Ric Flair. They mention that something will happen with Jake and Warrior on Thursday and I think they are referring to the Summerslam Spectacular 1991. I'll cover it and find out.

Overall thoughts: This was all Summerslam hype here. We had a good Warrior/Jake Segment. Mike Starr did a nice job in his squash and we got to see Louie Spicolli again which was nice. Heenan appeared on this episode with the NWA Title and announced Ric Flair might be coming which is as big as it gets. I liked the show but it was all squashes and it probably wouldn't do much for most people. I do recommend seeing the Jake/Warrior segment though.

WOW Women of Wrestling 1/4/2025 Season 5, Episode 17

WOW Women of Wrestling 1/4/2025 Season 5, Episode 17

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/12/wow-women-of-wrestling-12282024-season.html

Next week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/01/wow-women-of-wrestling-1112025-season-5.html

The intro is missing to this one. I'm not sure what was missed.

Abilene Maverick brings out Paola Mayfield, who is a new wrestler. She's from 90 Day Fiance. I do not like this person and I don't know why WOW wants to be associated with that. Paola says she's the only Colombian in here and says she's coming for the WOW belt. Dave McLane says there's spot open in the WOW Championship Battle Royale match and says here and Ashley Blaze will have a match to see who gets in.

Championship Battle Royal Qualifying Match - "The Colombian Goat" Paola Mayfield vs Ashley Blaze

They lock up and PM dances. Blaze then dances at her. They lock up and roll on the ropes. They then roll to the mat while keeping the lock-up on. Blaze rolls her and keeps the lock-up on. PM gets a 2 count on her and basement dropkicks her for 2.

PM hits forearms on her. PM foot chokes her. PM running back elbows her in the corner and pulls her arms around the ropes. Blaze hits short arm clotheslines then a basement dropkick. PM germans her and gets the win.

Thoughts: This was not good. PM really can't do that much and half this match was spent on a lock-up. This was about as basic and simple as it can get.  

The Brat Pack (RK Rhythm and Gigi Gianni) vs Brittany Bay and Tiki Chamorro

BK does a pre-match rap. She says Brat Pack is #1 and the beach bums are done. BK says they are making waves and it's a Brat takeover.  Tiki armdrags BK twice then armlocks her. Bay low crossbodies BK then la magistral's her for 2. Bay corner splashes, armdrags and dropkicks her for 2. Tiki hits BK in the gut and misses a splash. Gigi whips Tiki into the corner and hits a corner lariat. Gigi tries to do a move but gets armdragged. Bay gets in and dropkicks Gigi.

Bay misses a dropkick. Gigi stomps on her in the gut. Bay sunset flips her for 2. Gigi lariats Bay and bangs her head off the buckles. BK suplexes Bay then elbow drops her for 2. BK bangs Bay's head off the buckles.

Gigi slams Bay. Gigi misses a flipping legdrop. Tiki gets in and hits offense. Tiki pulls Gigi down then 619's her. BK and Tiki argue. BK is swung down on the apron by Bay. Gigi does a one-legged codebreaker on Tiki and picks up the win.

Thoughts: It wasn't bad. They limited what Bay did here and the other girls were fine enough to carry things. I wasn't surprised the heels won here as they are still new and need to pick up wins for credibility. 

The Mighty Mights (Sugar and Spice) vs Top Tier (Coach Campanelli and Kandi Krush)

Sugar grabs Coach's leg then Sugar flying headscissors her. Krush gets in and Sugar gets on her back with a sleeper. Krush blocks a headscissors and Sugar sunset flips her. Krush misses a corner splash. Sugar 2nd rope crossbodies her.

Spice gets in and rolls around. She hits shots on Coach and uppercuts her. Sugar then hits a stunner. Coach blocks Sugar's monkey flip then stomps on her. Krush kneelifts Sugar. Krush throws Sugar down backwards. Coach backsplashes Sugar in the corner then basement dropkicks her. Coach misses a corner attack and Sugar springboards into a sunset flip on her.

Sugar takes a double hiptoss for 2. Krush chinlocks Sugar. Sugar codebreakers Krush. Spice comes in and thesz presses Coach. She hits a running knee and running boot. Spice bangs Coach's head off the mat. Coach takes a bad looking leg slice from Spice for 2. Spice gets double teamed and takes a bad lariat + russian legsweep combo. Coach pins Spice.

Thoughts: The finishing stretch was really ugly here with the moves not connecting much at all. Spice did all kinds of weird rolls into strikes early on. It wasn't that bad until the finish, which brought this one down. They didn't push any of the issues between Krush and Coach here.

We get a package on the tag title match tonight. Miami's Sweet Heat says the belts belong on them and not trash hillbillies and pet dog wannabe's. Jinx and Goldie say they will walk away as tag champs and laugh.

Next week's episode will have the Championship Battle Royal.

WOW Tag Titles - Big Rigs and Bourbon (Jessie Jones and Big Rig Betty) (c) vs Miami's Sweet Heat (Lindsay and Laurie Carlson) vs Animal Instinct (Goldie Collins and Katarina Jinx)

All 6 girls fight to start. Jones takes a 2v1 from Instinct. Betty takes a samoan drop from Lindsay Carlson. Jinx codebreakers Lindsay. Jinx hanging armbars Laurie over the top rope. Laurie bangs Goldie's head off the buckles and foot chokes her.

Goldie takes a double gutbuster from MSH. Goldie's head is banged off the buckles by Lindsay.  Lindsay lariats Goldie for 2. Goldie's head is banged off the buckles and she takes a double boot. Laurie corner hip attacks Goldie. Laurie takes a headbuster from Jinx for 2. Jinx back rakes Laurie then chinlocks her. Jones breaks it up and bangs Jinx's head off the buckles. Jones dragon sleepers Laurie then hits back elbows.

Laurie hits Goldie and it is counted as a tag. Betty snapmares and kicks Goldie in the back. Goldie tries to pin her own partner Jinx. Betty rainmakers Laurie then Lindsay germans Betty. Goldie top rope diving lariats Lindsay. Jones pump kicks Goldie. Jinx spin kicks Jones then Laurie spinning lariats Jinx. Betty stunners Laurie for the win.

Thoughts: I was surprised to see Miami's Sweet Heat get pinned cleaned here. That has to be leading to something because there's no reason for them to get another rematch after this. The match had the usual limits 3 and 4 team bouts have with people coming in and out but they did what they could with it. It was an acceptable main.

Overall thoughts: There was nothing must see on this one. Paola Mayfield debuted and did not impress. The opening match wasn't good. The second match was okay and the third match had a bad finish that brought it down. The main was okay. There weren't a lot of new happenings here storyline was and I'd give this one a 5 out of 10. You could skip this.