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Wrestling Recap: Hogan vs. André (WrestleMania III)

Dr. KLeave a comment

The Date: 29 March 1987
The Venue: Pontiac Silverdome; Pontiac, Michigan
The Commentary: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura
The Referee: Joey Marella
The Stakes: Singles match for the WWF Championship

The Build-Up:
On 31 March 1985, Vince McMahon gambled it all on WrestleMania, an event seen by over one million viewers that changed the face of the wrestling landscape forever by bringing together the biggest names in wrestling alongside numerous celebrity guests. Now regarded as the premier wrestling event, WrestleMania eventually became known for career-defining matches and iconic “WrestleMania Moments”, with perhaps the first and most memorable of these moments coming in this titanic clash between “The Eighth Wonder of the World” André the Giant and “The Immortal” Hulk Hogan. Born in Coulommiers, Seine-et-Marne and suffering from gigantism, the physically imposing yet kind hearted Andre became a larger than life attraction thanks to some clever booking and sensationalist claims. Just in the build up to this match alone, André was said to have been undefeated for fifteen years and to have never been slammed, to say nothing of the dramatic claims regarding WrestleMania III’s attendance figures! Still, with André’s health failing and his body deteriorating, the then-World Wrestling Federation (WWF) sowed the seeds of dissent between the giant and the Hulkster after Hogan was presented with an award for this three-year reign as WWF Champion. Unimpressed that his own trophy was much smaller and annoyed at Hogan stealing his spotlight, André shocked the world by aligning with Hogan’s long-time nemesis, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, and challenging Hogan to a match for the belt, dramatically tearing the shirt and crucifix off the stunned Hogan in the process. The clash between the “Irresistible Force” and the “Immoveable Object” has since gone down as one of the most definitive and iconic WrestleMania matches of all time despite (or, perhaps, because of) Hogan’s wild claims regarding the contest.

The Match:
While a lot of this era of wrestling hasn’t aged too well, and the quality of the in-ring work doesn’t quite match a lot of the work horses who thrill us today, it can’t be denied that there was a certain energy about the business during this time. Hulkamania truly was running wild back then and Hulk Hogan was peerless at the top of the mountain for his iconic and celebrated status, which took wrestling into the mainstream and catapulted the WWF to greater heights back in the day. Also, while it’s symptomatic of André’s failing health, I really dig the old motorised carts that brought some of the larger Superstars to the ring during this time. But, getting back to the energy, you can practically feel the atmosphere oozing from the raucous crowd as Hogan and André stand toe-to-toe at the start of the match. Today, this stare down would garner a “This is awesome!” but, back then, the crowd simply ate up the anticipation of seeing these two larger-than-life titans squaring off in the middle of the ring. One thing I loved about this tense moment was that Hogan worked himself into a frenzy talking smack to André and shaking with rage at the big man’s actions, while André stayed completely stoic and simply swatted the Hulkster away like a gnat. This led to Hogan landing blow after blow to André’s massive head, which the giant no-sold, and to the Hulkster being crushed when he tried and failed to slam André. Though he squirmed out of the pin fall, much to André’s surprise, Hogan began favouring his lower back, which the giant immediately homed in on with plodding kicks and blows. André dictated the pace, easily toying with and manhandling Hogan and taunting him, humbling the champion and making him seem small. André flung Hogan from corner to corner, pounding his abdomen with his hips, but was stunned when Hogan dodged a headbutt and caused André to slam into the ring post.

An iconic clash, to be sure, but a plodding match handicapped by André’s ill health.

Hogan mounted a comeback consisting of blows to the head and shots to the chest, repeatedly slamming André’s forehead off the top turnbuckle pad, before being taken down with a lumbering big boot. André gave Hogan a receipt for those chops and clamped down hard with a bearhug for what felt like an ice age. Eventually, Hogan seemingly succumbed to the agony but, just as his arm was being raised for the third time, Hogan rallied, feeding off the energy of the crowd, and forced André to release the hold with yet more fists to the face. Hogan’s attempts to shoulder tackle André down were akin to running into a brick wall and, again, Hogan was taken down with a big chop. A simple, clumsy kick to the gut sent Hogan to the outside, where André again ate the ring post thanks to Hogan’s wiles. Hogan then pulled up the protective mat at ringside and threatened to hit a piledriver, only to be awkwardly dumped to the concrete. André dumped the champion back into the ring, missed a kick, and finally fell to the canvas from a clothesline. Fuelled by this small victory, Hogan “Hulked Up”, the crowd on their feet and in an uproar, and finally delivered the body slam heard around the world! Hogan then flew off the ropes with the Atomic Leg Drop and scored the pinfall, securing the WWF Championship and drinking in the adulation of his fans as André and Heenan were sent scurrying to the back. I talked about “energy” and “atmosphere” at the start of this review and this match is perhaps the greatest example of style over substance as there really was nothing to it. It’s not André’s fault, the guy was clearly struggling, was basically immobile, and was clearing in a lot of pain, but I don’t think enough smoke and mirrors were used to cover for that. I enjoyed seeing him toy with and humiliate Hogan, putting a hurting on the champion and dominating him, but Hogan’s comeback barely dealt any damage, leaving the ending a bit flat for me. A shot with the ring bell, belt, or a chair or seeing André make a massive mistake might’ve helped with this. The only reason this match gets two stars is because of how iconic the body slam, the stare down, and the atmosphere were. Strip that away and it’s a dull, slow, repetitive match that I’d say barely qualifies as a contest.

The Aftermath:
Despite André the Giant’s clearly failing health, this match wasn’t the end of his in-ring career. André and Hulk Hogan squared off again almost one year later at The Main Event I in a match for the WWF Championship that saw André finally end Hogan’s incredible run with the belt thanks to the “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase bribing crooked referee Earl Hebner. As part of this deal, André sold the belt to DiBiase, though faux WWF President Jack Tunney overruled this and declared the title to be vacant. This led to a fourteen-man tournament that culminated at WrestleMania IV, where Hogan and André faced each other once more. This time, weapons were involved in the match and resulted in both men being disqualified. However, when André accompanied DiBiase to the ring for the final match of the tournament, Hogan evened the odds, allowing his friend and tag team partner, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, to capture the WWF Championship. After Hogan defeated André once again in a steel cage match, he moved on to his Mega Powers super-team and subsequent feud with the Macho Man. André, meanwhile, fought the likes Jake “The Snake” Roberts, revealing he was deathly afraid of snakes and the Ultimate Warrior, formed an intimidating tag team with Haku, and finally turned back to the light side after having enough of Heenan’s foul treatment. From there, André made sporadic appearances in America and Japan, before finally passing away in 1993 and becoming the first-ever inductee in the WWF Hall of Fame. As for Hogan, he milked this contest for all its worth, revisiting it during his World Championship Wrestling (WCW) run in matches against the Giant (initially billed as André’s son) and elaborating upon the match more and more as the years went on.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

What did you think to the iconic clash between André the Giant and Hulk Hogan? Do you think this is the best WrestleMania Moment? Did you enjoy seeing Hogan on the backfoot for most of the match? What did you think to the ending, and do you agree that the match lacked substance? Which of Hogan and André’s matches was your favourite? How are you celebrating WrestleMania’s anniversary this year and what’s your favourite WrestleMania match? Let me know what you think in the comments below, support me on Ko-Fi, and go check out my other wrestling content across the site.

Wrestling Recap: Hogan/Mr. T vs. Piper/Orndorff (WrestleMania)

Dr. K8 Comments

The Date: 31 March 1985
The Venue: Madison Square Garden; New York City
The Commentary: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura
The Referee: Muhammad Ali and Pat Patterson
The Stakes: Tag team grudge match

The Build-Up:
The origins of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), now known worldwide as World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), can be traced back to the 1950s. Despite some uncertainty about which McMahon founded the company, Vince McMahon Sr. is the one most closely associated with its early success. Initially working alongside the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), then then-World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) established itself as as one of many wrestling territories. While McMahon Sr. resisted involving his son, the more well-known and controversial Vince McMahon, the younger McMahon forced himself into the business, eventually buying out his father and putting local territories out of business with an aggressive expansion plan. McMahon brought in Hulk Hogan and established a strong working relationship with hip, relevant celebrity stars to put the WWF in the public eye, but risked total ruin by planning the biggest pay-per-view event in wrestling history, WrestleMania. McMahon pulled out all the stops for the event, roping in celebrity appearances from the likes of Cyndi Lauper and A-Team (1983 to 1987) superstar Mr. T, who became embroiled in Hogan’s issues with “Rowdy” Roddy Piper after Hogan and Mr. T appeared in Rocky III (Stallone, 1982). After Piper grew increasingly aggressive and outspoken about the “Rock ‘n’ Wrestling” era, he inevitably crossed paths with Hogan, easily the biggest wrestling star in the world at that time, leading to Hogan teaming with Mr. T to face Piper and his bodyguard, “Cowboy” Bob Orton, in the main event of the first-ever WrestleMania. Seen by over one million viewers, WrestleMania was the largest wrestling event on closed-circuit television in the United States and changed the face of the industry, ultimately becoming the biggest event not just for the WWE, but the entire wrestling world.

The Match:
Vince McMahon certainly brought in all the stars of the day for the first-ever WrestleMania. It wasn’t enough to have Mr. T fighting by “The Immortal” Hulk Hogan’s side or to have boxing legend Muhammad Ali as one of the two special guest referees, but baseball legend Billy Martin acted as the special guest ring announcer, Liberace as the special guest time keeper (after having a boogie with the Rockettes), and Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka and Bob Orton (cast and all) walked to the ring alongside Hogan and Mr. T and the “Hot Rod” Roddy Piper and “Mr, Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, respectively. While all this pomp and circumstance and these celebrity appearances may seem egregious today, the crowd went absolutely nuts for Liberace and Muhammad Ali, to say nothing of the ovation Hulk Hogan and Mr. T got. Piper and Orndorff came to the ring with a marching band almost drowned out by a sea of boos, while Hogan and Mr. T soaked in the adulation of the braying crowd during the lengthy introductions. Undeterred by Orndorff’s antics with a Singapore cane, Hogan goaded Orndorff to face him but then encouraged him to tag in Piper at the start of the match. However, when Mr. T begged and pleaded to get in the ring and kick things off, Hogan happily obliged. Disgusted by Mr. T’s presence and the chanting from the crowd, Piper went nose to nose with the tough guy actor and finally got things started with a slap fest. When Mr. T kicked Piper in the gut, the Hot Rod took him to the mat with some fundamentals but was left frustrated and humiliated when Mr. T slipped out of the situation. Determined to humble Mr. T, Piper tried for a headlock, only to be hoisted into a fireman’s carry and pumped to the mat like “yesterday’s newspaper”!

Despite a good showing from Mr. T, this was a mediocre affair focused more on its guest stars.

This caused an all-out brawl as all the competitors and their ring men threw hands, with only Muhammad Ali able to maintain order, forcing the heel team to take a powder at the crowded ringside. After teasing a walk out, Piper and Orndorff returned to the ring to continue the brawl, with Hogan and Mr. T forcing their opponents to butt heads and Hogan single-handedly taking down both his foes. Despite an eye rake, Hogan tagged in Mr. T and the two continued to dominate Piper, who took a couple of nice slams from the actor before Hogan re-entered the ring. A big boot from Hogan sent Piper flying to the outside so Orndorff retaliated by sending Hogan out after him with a clothesline, allowing Piper to slam a steel chair across the Hulkster’s spine! With Patterson and Ali struggling to keep things under control, Piper maintained the advantage by choking Hogan on the ropes and allowing Orndorff to put the boots to the icon. Frustrated and eager to end the assault, Mr. T rushed the ring, ultimately causing more harm than good as Hogan took a double atomic drop, some spiteful boots from Piper, and a suplex. Orndorff continued the assault with some theatrical punches, though Hogan easily kicked out at “two-and-a-quarter” so Orndorff steadied him for a top-rope elbow from Piper. Although Orndorff scored with a backbreaker, Hogan avoided a top rope dive and brought in Mr. T, who targeted his foes’ eyes before receiving a beatdown. After an awkward exchange between Mr. T and Orndorff, Piper returned to the ring to keep Mr. T grounded with a front facelock. Still, Mr. T powered his way to the corner and brought in Hogan, then saved Hogan from a shot from Piper. Although Orndorff locked Hogan in a full nelson, the Hulkster swung his opponent into the path of Orton’s diving cast shot, which was enough to score him the three count.

The Aftermath:
Despite this abrupt end and the short length of the match, the crowd seemed very happy with what they watched. They were on their feet and making noise from the moment the celebrities arrived, to say nothing of seeing their hero, Hulk Hogan. Piper fled in disgrace, leaving the disorientated Orndorff to be ejected from the ring so Hogan could pose with his allies, to the delight of the crowd. Despite their energy, however, and a decent showing from Mr. T (who showcased some impressive power and ring skills, despite his limitations), this was a really weak match. More time was spent on the elaborate introductions and stalling than actually wrestling, potentially to account for Mr. T’s weaknesses, and the ending fell really flat for me. still. One million buys can’t be wrong, though, and the event did what it was supposed to do: it put the WWF on the map and kick-start an annual tradition that is now the biggest and most extravagant wrestling production of all time! Although Orndorff turned to the side of good following this match and Piper’s ill treatment of him, even teaming with Hogan a few times, Piper’s issues with the Hulkster and Mr. T resurfaced after the Hot Rod started training Orton as a boxer. This culminated in a match between Orton and Mr. T at Saturday Night’s Main Event V and, ultimately a poorly received boxing match between Mr. T and Piper at WrestleMania 2 that saw Piper get disqualified. The animosity between Hogan and Piper would last for decades, with the two meeting in contests in both the WWF and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Piper even making a surprise return at WrestleMania XIX to unsuccessfully try and screw over Hogan one more time. This wouldn’t be the last time we saw Mr. T in a wrestling ring, either. Not only did he compete and the next WrestleMania, as mentioned, but he also acted as a special guest referee/enforcer and guest competitor in the WWF and WCW, before being infamously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

What did you think to the main event of the first-ever WrestleMania? Did you enjoy seeing the celebrities involved in the event? What did you think to Mr. T’s showing in the ring? Were you also disappointed that the match was more of a celebrity showcase than an engaging confrontation between the teams? Which of Hogan and Piper’s many matches was your favourite? How are you celebrating WrestleMania’s anniversary this year and what’s your favourite WrestleMania moment? Drop your thoughts below to let me know what you think about WrestleMania, support me on Ko-Fi, and be sure to check out my other wrestling content across the site.

Wrestling Recap: Women’s Royal Rumble (2018)

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The Date: 28 January 2018
The Venue: Wells Fargo Center; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Commentary: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Stephanie McMahon
The Stipulation: Thirty woman over the top rope battle royale for a WWE Women’s Championship opportunity at WrestleMania
Notable Competitors: Asuka (Winner), Sasha Banks (#1), Trish Stratus (#30), and Michelle McCool (Most Eliminations)

The Build-Up:
It should be no surprise, with how dominating the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is in the wrestling industry, that the WWE has been at the forefront of creativity. By 1988, the then-World Wrestling Federation (WWF) stepped into the mainstream with their inaugural WrestleMania before hosting their first Survivor Series event. To see in the new year, the legendary Pat Patterson sold WWF chairman Vince McMahon on the Royal Rumble, an over-the-top-rope battle royale that eventually became one of the biggest wrestling events of the year thanks to its winners earning a World Championship match at WrestleMania. In the long history of the event, only two women had ever competed in a Royal Rumble match. Indeed, women’s wrestling was little more than an afterthought for decades, especially in WWE, where cheerleaders and models were made to roll around in mud pits. In 2015, WWE’s latest crop of female wrestlers sought to change this. However, while competitors like Paige were at the forefront of changing the perception of women’s wrestling, it was Stephanie McMahon who took credit for spearheading a revolution in the division. Despite the first-ever all-female WWE pay-per-view, Evolution, not being a ratings success, WWE’s female superstars continued to push for a bigger spotlight. The derogatory “Divas” term and title were dropped and women started main eventing shows, pay-per-views, and competing in more gimmick matches. This led to the first-ever women’s Money in the Bank ladder match and, naturally, their first-ever Royal Rumble match.

The Match:
It’s crazy to think how long it took for the WWE to produce a women’s Royal Rumble match. It’s fitting (and surely no surprise) that the first of these occurred in the same year that the WWE produced their first (and, to date, only) women’s-only pay-per-view event. This was the year of the “Women’s Revolution”, after all, which probably explains why this match was the main event of the show. As a side note, I actually had the pleasure of watching this Royal Rumble event live thanks to having a three-month subscription to the WWE Network at the time, which is a rarity for me. It was fitting that two of the key figures in the Women’s Evolution movement, “The Boss” Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch, started this match. Their time alongside Bayley and “The Queen” Charlotte Flair as the “Four Horsewomen” helped change people’s perception of women’s wrestling so it was only right that they kicked off the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble. The two old frenemies started the match with a lock-up and some reversals, going through the early stages of a wrestling match and even going for submission holds rather than trying to toss each other over the top rope. Sarah Logan ran out to break up their showcase, aggressively attacking both and trying to muscle Becky out of the ring. Strangely, Sasha made the save (potentially because Sasha’s group, the Riott Squad, had been causing issues in the Raw women’s division), eating a headbutt for her troubles. Glorified cheerleader Mandy Rose, a poor substitute for the injured Paige, was next out and she and Logan focused on putting the hurt on Sasha and Becky. In record time, the four were joined by women’s legend and Hall of Famer, Lita (one of my favourites of the Attitude Era), to a raucous ovation. Sasha and Becky set aside their differences to take on Lita, but she floored them with clotheslines and got into it with Mandy, an awkward exchange that saw Mandy tumble to the floor. Kairi Sane, still riding a wave of momentum from winning the Mae Young Classic, was number six and immediately went after everyone with an enthusiastic gusto, including hitting her Insane Elbow drop onto Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch. With Kairi standing tall in a ring littered with bodies, powerhouse, Tamini stalked out and began throwing her weight around, though she soon fell foul of a Lita DDT just as Sasha and Becky took her Twist of Fate and Lita-sault. Lita then beckoned in Tamini and dropped her from the ring, only to be immediately dumped by Becky, much to the disdain of the crowd.

Legends and notable figures mixed it up with the WWE’s modern-day female stars.

Dana Brooke cartwheeled her way into the match next and things returned to a lacklustre brawl as the woman exchanged strikes and stomps and showed little interest in eliminating each other. Dana finally dumped Kairi when she went to the top once too often and Torrie Wilson made a surprising WWE return, though her momentum was cut short by the manic Sarah Logan. Still, Torrie made an impression by clumsily eliminating Dana Brooke, only for Sonya Deville to take her place and lay into Sasha with some hard-hitting strikes. Though she failed to eliminate Becky, Sonya took Torrie out of the match before Liv Morgan entered the fray, taking it to Sasha and teaming up with her Riott Squad teammate, Sarah Logan. Molly Holly was the next Legend to get involved, immediately asserting herself by eliminating Sarah Logan and taking out Sasha out with the Molly-Go-Round. In no time at all (seriously, what was with these timings?), Lana, of all people, came in at number thirteen and got the shit kicked out of her by Liv and Deville. Lana fought back as best she could, but luckily Michelle McCool was next out and the Riott Squad were more interested in fighting her. Naturally, they were no match, and Michelle was soon tossing both women, Molly Holly, and the boisterous Lana. As Becky and Sasha tried to haul out Michelle, Ruby Riott joined the melee and was immediately and repeatedly fighting to stay in the match as everyone tried to toss her. Vickie Guerrero shrieked her way out next, screaming like a banshee and earning her the ire of all. Setting aside their differences, Sasha, Becky, Ruby, and Michelle launched Vickie out to thunderous applause. Number seventeen was Carmella, who unceremoniously got her Money in the Bank briefcase smacked into her face courtesy of an enraged Guerrero, delaying her entry into the ring.

Occasionally feats of strength and agility couldn’t make up for the plodding in-ring action.

When Natalya mocked Carmella during her entrance, she got tugged off the ring apron; Carmella then clumsily scuffled with Becky before finally being planted with the Bexploder. Another glorified cheerleader, Kelly Kelly, was next, McCool was dumped by Natalya, and the women continued to meander as Naomi took everyone out with her Rear View hip attack. Sasha and Becky took turns shutting her down, immediately dousing her fire, before Becky was finally tossed by Ruby Riott. The next Legend entrant was Jacqueline, who showcased her power and experience by running through the competitors, though she failed to eliminate Kelly even with Natalya’s help. Mere moments later, surly Nia Jax stormed the ring and got the usual “monster” treatment. She effortlessly eliminated Jacqueline, Kelly Kelly, and Ruby Riott (with a military press, no less). Naomi went after Nia with gusto, throwing kicks and trying to throw her off balance. When she was knocked from the ring, Naomi was caught by Nia’s victims and walked the barricade and rode a ringside chair back to the ring…only to be immediately dumped by Nia! The NXT Women’s Champion, Ember Moon, was number twenty-three. Despite an injury from a previous match with Shayna Bazler, Ember went for Nia and got tossed like a ragdoll for her troubles. Nia was next challenged by the “Glamazon” Beth Phoenix, the only competitor to have competed in a Royal Rumble before. Beth showed no fear and attacked Nia, but couldn’t quite muscle her up. Even Natalya could only help to shove Nia through the ropes. After an emotional hug, Natalya threw Beth to the floor and got stomped by Carmella in recompense. The “Empress of Tomorrow”, Asuka, energetically took to the ring and floored everyone before renewing her NXT rivalry with Ember Moon, who hit a one-arm version of her Blockbuster-like Eclipse. Asuka no-sold the move, however, and soon took Ember out, bad arm and all.

Asuka’s surprise victory over the Bellas was usurped by Ronda’s awkward appearance.

Mickie James made a return next and continued the tradition of targeting Sasha and dropping women with neckbreakers before flailing about trying to chuck Natalya and Asuka. Nikki Bella was next in the ring, drawing mockery from the crowd due to her association with John Cena, taunting Charlotte Flair (who was at ringside with Alexa Bliss), and sending the screaming Carmella from the ring. The competitors ganged up on Nikki but luckily, her twin sister, Brie, made the save, milking the crowd’s love for her husband, Daniel Bryan, and teaming with her sister. A heartbeat later, Bayley arrived and also rekindled her NXT rivalry with Asuka, before certified Legend Trish Stratus came out at number thirty. Trish’s presence angered the modern stars, forcing her to plant both Bellas with a Stratusfaction. Though she arrived too late to battle Lita, Trish and Mickie James turned back the clock for a bit before Trish dumped her outside. Everyone then jumped Nia, aiding the Bellas in hefting her over the top rope. Sasha then immediately tossed Bayley, while Natalya locked Trish in the Sharpshooter and got kicked from the ring as a consequence. Sasha then got in Trish’s face and dumped her as she went for the Stratusfaction. Sasha then betrayed Asuka and beat her with the Bellas, directing them to double-team Asuka but being summarily betrayed by the twins while she was mocking Asuka. Despite being outnumbered, Asuka fought off the Bella’s attack and damn-near kicked their heads off; Nikki then stupidly betrayed her sister one last time, leaving her alone with Asuka. Despite Nikki’s best efforts, Asuka’s tenacity won out and, after tying the Bella up with a leg scissors, Asuka unceremoniously dumped Bella to punch her ticket to WrestleMania. Asuka’s celebration and confrontation with the WWE’s Women’s Champions was then completely usurped when “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey sauntered out to play mind games with all three and awkwardly point to the WrestleMania sign.

The Aftermath:
Considering how often Corey Graves, Michael Cole, and Stephanie McMahon hyped up this match as “history in the making”, the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble was a largely dull and tedious affair. The match lacked much of the excitement associated with the stipulation, relying far too much on bringing back Legends or roping in NXT competitors to round out the clearly limited women’s division. The in-ring action was clunky and awkward; there was a lot of standing around, dead air, and far too much half-hearted brawling as competitors stalled for time. The time between entrants was also a joke, with some appearing within a minute and others taken more like four to come out. The Naomi spot was fun, I did like seeing the returning stars, and I liked that Asuka won, but Ronda Rousey showing up at the end really stole Asuka’s thunder. Of course, much of the immediate aftermath did revolve around the question of which WWE Women’s Champion Asuka would challenge at WrestleMania. Asuka was bullied into facing Nia Jax at the Elimination Chamber event to keep the match from becoming a triple threat, though Asuka ultimately decided to face the SmackDown! Women’s Champion at the Showcase of the Immortals. To the surprise of many, Asuka not only lost that match but was forced to submit to Flair’s Figure-Eight, ending her celebrated undefeated streak. She went on to repeatedly fall short of capturing the belt in matches against Carmella after she successfully chased in her briefcase on Flair and it wouldn’t be until the end of the year that Asuka finally won the belt by defeating Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. As for Ronda Rousey, she made her in-ring debut at WrestleMania by teaming with Kurt Angle in a winning effort against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, impressing many with her transition from the octagon to the squared circle, before decimating Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss later that year at SummerSlam. The WWE continued to include women’s Royal Rumble matches and shine a greater spotlight on their female division, to varying success, in the years that followed.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

What did you think to the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble match? Do you agree that the pacing and in-ring action was confusing and disjointed? Which of the returning stars were you most happy to see back in the ring? Who was your pick to win and what did you think to Asuka’s victory? Do you also think Ronda Rousey stole Asuka’s thunder? Which Royal Rumble matches and events are your favourite? Who’s your pick to win this year? I’d love to see your thoughts on the Royal Rumble in the comments so go ahead and leave them there, then check out my other wrestling content on the site.

Wrestling Recap: Sting vs. Triple H (WrestleMania ’15)

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The Date: 29 March 2015
The Venue: Levi’s Stadium; Santa Clara, California
The Commentary: Michael Cole, Jerry “The King” Lawler, and John “Bradshaw” Layfield/JBL
The Referee: Charles Robinson
The Stakes: No disqualification singles match

The Build-Up:
For an unprecedented eighty-four weeks, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) dominated the “Monday Night Wars” thanks to big-name star power, big-money contracts, and ground-breaking storylines involving the New World Order (nWo). During this time, Hulk Hogan, arguably wrestling’s greatest icon, experienced a career revival as the villainous “Hollywood” Hogan and his clash against WCW stalwart-turned-dark avenger Sting became the stuff of wrestling legend on this day in 1997. On 26 March 2001, the wrestling world changed forever when World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) bought WCW and claimed ultimate victory. However, while many WCW wrestlers jumped ship to the WWE for an ill-fated “Invasion” angle, Sting repeatedly turned down offers to join the WWE and instead spent nearly ten years signed with Total Nonstop Action (TNA). Over the years, WWE repeatedly tried to negotiate a contract and fans longed to see the Icon clash with the Undertaker in a dream match. However, it wouldn’t be until 2014, when Sting was shockingly announced to be included in WWE 2K15 (Yuke’s), that the WCW Icon finally decided to sign with the company. At the time, the WWE was in one of its worst ruts as weekly television was dominated by the Authority, a stable of wrestlers and corporate figureheads led by Triple H that routinely interrupted matches and quashed fan favourites. It was in the midst of a multi-man match against the Authority’s representatives that Sting finally made his presence felt. He debuted at the 2014 Survivor Series to help Dolph Ziggler fend off Triple H and pin Seth Rollins to remove the Authority from power. Although this only lasted for a few weeks, Triple H was incensed by Sting’s interference and challenged him to a face-to-face confrontation at Fastlane. Sting accepted and the two brawled, with the Icon besting Triple H’s signature sledgehammer. However, the simple story of Sting being a “vigilante” looking to oust Triple H from power was quickly muddled by the ridiculous decision to reframe the feud into a battle for the honour of the long-dead WCW.

The Match:
As a massive Sting fan, I was super pumped about him finally signing with WWE in 2014. Sure, he was getting on a bit but there were still so many opportunities for dream matches there, especially with a light schedule and a bit of smoke and mirrors. Sadly, things were kind of botched right from the start. After Sting helped remove the Authority from power, he really should have been placed as the replacement authority figure, one who favoured putting on interesting matches and seeing things go down in a fair and just way. Also, they never should have replaced his WCW music with that generic, awful quasi-goth metal track. I didn’t expect the WWE to pay for Metallica’s “Seek & Destroy” but they bought WCW, so they owned the rights to his original Crow music that is so iconic to the character, so they really should’ve used that. Finally, as much as I feel like Triple H vs. Sting was definitely a match to do while he was about, this is not the match people wanted to see. People wanted Sting vs. The Undertaker, even back in 2014, and I’ll never understand the decision to veto that in favour of this except to stroke the egos of a bitter Vince McMahon and the vindictive Triple H. Speaking of whom, the Game came to the ring following a pre-taped introduction by Arnold Schwarzenegger, flanked by T-800 endoskeletons, and decked out in Terminator-themed apparel that might’ve looked cool if the match hadn’t taken place in broad daylight! I get that this was a tie-in to the event’s sponsor, Terminator Genysis (Taylor, 2015), but it actually didn’t make much sense since the last time Schwarzenegger and Triple H interacted, the Austrian Oak slapped the shit out of the Game. Oh, and Triple H looked ridiculous in his cheap cosplay outfit, too. The bell hadn’t even rung before Michael Cole was repeating the ludicrous diatribe that Triple H’s goal was to destroy the last remnant of WCW. As if that wasn’t bad enough, JBL constantly kept ragging on Sting throughout the match, questioning his ability to hang in the WWE, and pretending like he’d been absent from the business for the last ten/fifteen years. Just absolutely pathetic stuff all around from the commentary team, really. WCW was dead and buried and Sting had a whole career after it, so all they succeeded at here was sending mixed messages about the legendary figure.

Sting dominated the early stages of the match until D-Generation X rushed the ring!

After milking a brief outburst of “This is awesome!” (which, to be fair, it kind of was because it was Sting at WrestleMania!), the two locked up. Sting knocked Triple H down with a shoulder block so the Game countered with another lock up to show some off his fundamentals and then hit a shoulder block of his own. Sting bounced back with a hip toss and a dropkick that sent Triple H scurrying into the corner as Sting pandered to the crowd to chants of “You still got it!” Though hesitant, Triple H engaged in another lockup, but this time he turned the match into a brawl. Sting shrugged off Triple H’s patented knee smash and sent him scrambling to the outside to avoid the Scorpion Death Lock. After clearing his head on the outside, Triple H returned to the ring to slug it out with Sting once more only to end up back outside after taking his little flip over the top rope off an Irish whip. This time, Sting followed but crashed and burned into the barricade when the Game dodged a Stinger Splash. Triple H chucked Sting shoulder-first into the ring steps and hefting him back into the ring with a suplex off the apron for a two count. Triple H maintained his dominance with some mounted punches, a whip into the corner, and relished in seeing Sting fall to his knees at his feet. After another near fall, Triple H slapped on a rest hold as, apparently, all this action was just two much for the competitors. When Sting tried to mount a comeback, the Game shut him down with his signature spinebuster for another two count before returning to his rest hold. This time, Sting fought out with the Scorpion Death Lock after countering a top rope attack. However, Triple H’s old D-Generation X buddies, “Bad Ass” Billy Gunn, “Road Dogg” Jesse James, and X-Pac, rushed the ring, forcing Sting to break the hold to fight them off. Sting even countered the Pedigree and launched Triple H from the ring, and then took all of D-X out with a top rope dive! Unfortunately, a momentary distraction from Billy Gunn was all the opportunity Triple H needed to plant Sting with the Pedigree but, incredibly, Sting got the shoulder up before the three count.

While faction warfare broke out at ringside, it was Triple H’s sledgehammer that made a chump of Sting.

Stunned, Triple H retrieved his sledgehammer from under the ring but he was interrupted by, of all people, “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall of the nWo! Yes, Sting’s long-time enemies, who he vehemently opposed during arguably the most memorable moments of his entire career, actually helped him! This led to an admittedly awesome moment as the nWo finally got into it with D-X, it just had no place being in this match as it made no sense for them to defend either him or the “honour” of the long-dead company. Regardless, in the chaos, Sting dropped Triple H with the Scorpion Death Drop for a two count. Sting then reapplied the Scorpion Death Lock and Hogan moved the sledgehammer out of Triple H’s reach, which really should’ve been the finish to the match. Instead, Triple H grabbed the ropes (which shouldn’t have counted as it was a no disqualification match…) and Sting was blasted by a Sweet Chin Music from the ”Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels! Since Triple H was slow to cover, Sting kicked out, so D-X slid Triple H his sledgehammer and Sting’s hated enemy, Scott Hall, passed him his trusty baseball bat. Sting not only nailed Triple H with the bat, he also comically snapped his sledgehammer in two before unleashing a flurry of strikes in the corner. A Stinger Splash followed but, rather than hitting a second and bringing the match to a close in a feel-good moment, Triple H blasted Sting in the head with the tip of his sledgehammer and pinned him for the three count! To make matters worse, the two shook hands in a show of respect after a tense showdown between their factions! This match feels like it was put together by someone who had no idea about anything that happened in WCW and just wanted to see D-X and the nWo have a scuffle while putting the final nail in the coffin of the long-dead company. Sting looked pretty good but it was clear from the rest holds that he was getting a bit gassed by the middle and, honestly, this match should’ve made better use of the no disqualification stipulation to help with this. Instead, it was tonally all over the place, with Sting proving a daunting figure but being buried by JBL, him getting the better of Triple H but being beaten by a sledgehammer to the face, and then him shaking Triple H’s hand afterwards like he was beaten by the better man and not a brute who cheated to win.

The Aftermath:
Since Sting lost this match like a chump, Triple H and the Authority continued to dominate the WWE, especially as their golden boy, Seth Rollins, had captured the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of WrestleMania ’15. Thanks to having the Authority in his corner, Rollins successfully defended the WWE World Heavyweight Championship throughout the year and even toppled John Cena in the main event of that year’s SummerSlam. To honour him and his accomplishments, the Authority presented Rollins with a commemorative statue, but were stunned to find Sting in its place. Despite the fact that he lost his big match, Sting challenged Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions, a decision that would’ve made a lot more sense if Sting had won at WrestleMania ’15 and spent his time afterwards continuously opposing the remnants of the Authority. This also could’ve tied into Rollins’ later rivalry with Triple H as he could’ve claimed to beat the man who beat his mentor. Unfortunately, Night of Champions would spell the end of Sting’s in-ring WWE career as he suffered a debilitating neck injury from Rollin’s trademark Buckle Bomb. Although the remorseful Rollins got some flack for this (and, honestly, he really should’ve stopped using the move from that point), Sting maintained that it was a freak accident. Despite announcing his retirement during his induction to the WWE Hall of Fame, Sting jumped ship to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in 2020, where he took on a mentor role to youngster Darby Allen and even returned to the ring for a handful of matches.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

What did you think to Sting’s long-awaited WWE debut? Were you disappointed that he faced Triple H and not the Undertaker? What did you think to the involvement of D-X and the nWo and do you think it made sense for the nWo to help Sting? Were you annoyed by JBL’s commentary during the match and the anti-WCW narrative being told here? Did it annoy you that Sting lost and how do you feel about his time in the WWE? Whatever your thoughts on Sting, and this match in particular, feel free to voice them below and be sure to check out my other wrestling reviews!

Wrestling Recap [Undervember]: Undertaker vs. Batista (WrestleMania 23)

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After debuting as part of the “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Team at the 1990 Survivor Series, the Undertaker became a force of nature within World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). To celebrate the Deadman’s illustrious career, I’m looking back at his WrestleMania matches against the future members of the super-stable Evolution.

The Date: 1 April 2007
The Venue: Ford Field; Detroit, Michigan
The Commentary: Michael Cole and John “Bradshaw” Layfield/JBL
The Referee: Charles Robinson
The Stakes: No disqualification singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship

The Build-Up:
Over his many years as a WWE Superstar, the Undertaker went on to become a true phenom within the promotion, facing off against a who’s-who of wrestling’s biggest names and amassing the greatest winning streak in wrestling history with 21 WrestleMania wins between 1991 and 2013. By WrestleMania 23, Evolution had long since split up, legal issues had caused a company-wide rebrand, and the WWE had split their roster into three distinct brands, Raw, SmackDown!, and the ill-fated Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) revival, each with their own distinct competitors and championships. After defeating his mentor for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 21, Batista impressed in the Raw main event before being drafted to SmackDown! in 2005, where he reigned as a popular babyface champion until being forced to relinquish the belt due to an injury. Upon his return in 2006, the “Animal” regained the World Heavyweight Championship from King Booker and ended up signing a contract to defend the belt against the Undertaker, who had shockingly won the annual Royal Rumble match and then formally chose to challenge Batista on an episode of Raw. Although Batista initially claimed to have great respect for the Undertaker, his patience was tested by the Deadman’s spooky mind games and aggressive stance, which led to many awkward tag team bouts where the two struggled to get along and often left each other to the mercy of their opponents.

The Match:
During the first brand split, I was a SmackDown! guy. This was by necessity rather than choice, since it was available on Sky One for “free” in the United Kingdom at the time, but luckily it meant I was treated to some of the best wrestling available courtesy of the fabled “SmackDown! Six”. There were some strange decisions in that brand split, though, such as splitting apart established tag teams like the Acolytes Protection Agency (APA) and the Dudley Boyz; D-Von Dudley underwent a dramatic repackaging on SmackDown! as “Reverend D-Von” and was accompanied by a monster of a man, Deacon Batista. Looking back now, there’s no way that I (much less anyone else) could’ve predicted that this huge, tattooed, grim-faced heavy would become one of the most popular main eventers of the “Ruthless Aggression” era. Even I didn’t really take notice of Big Dave until he jumped over to Raw and started running with Evolution, but he improved week by week and had such a great look and explosive moveset that I quickly became a fan of his. He was one of those one-of-a-kind guys who just naturally clicked with the audience and his ascension to the top felt natural and earned since the fans latched onto him over Randy Orton and wanted to see him succeed, even if his in-ring skills weren’t perhaps as refined as some other competitors. This wasn’t an issue by 2007; by then, Batista had fully established himself as a big-time player in the WWE and had honed his craft to the point where he was pretty reliable on the mic and in the ring. I think there was a lot of anticipation heading into this match as Batista was still a rising star but he was facing the Undertaker, a guy who had never lost at WrestleMania, with the World Heavyweight Championship on the line. To his credit, Batista showed absolutely no intimidation when the Undertaker stalked his way to the ring through smoke and flanked by fire. If anything, Batista appeared determined and a little pissed off as he dashed at his opponent with a quick tackle and started beating on him in the corner.

The Undertaker was forced to bust out his best moves to counter Batista’s power game.

The Undertaker soon returned the favour, throwing hands in the corner, so Batista countered with some shoulder blocks and sent the Deadman over the ropes to a chorus of boos. The mixed reaction to Batista continued as the two brawled around the ringside area. The Undertaker mostly shrugged off Batista’s shots and the slams into the barricade and ring apron but took a hell of a bump when the champion whipped him knee-first into the steel steps. After rolling the groggy Undertaker into the ring, Batista uncharacteristically climbed to the top rope and hit a diving shoulder block for the first near fall of the match. He then no-sold a big boot and downed the Undertaker with a big clothesline for another near fall and continued to dominate the Deadman with his power game. This quickly turned into a fun spot where the two exchange big right hands, with the fans loudly cheering every punch the Undertaker threw and booing Batista’s. The Undertaker eventually won this exchange and got himself back in the match with a few splashes in the corner and his Snake Eyes/big boot/leg drop combo for a two count. Although the Undertaker hit his “Old School” rope walk strike, Batista powered out of a Chokeslam attempt but the Undertaker shut down the champion’s attempts to regain the momentum by hitting a clunky diving clothesline off the ropes for another two count. The action went outside again where the Undertaker got a measure of revenge by bouncing Batista’s head off the ring steps, running his elbow into the Animal’s jaw, and hitting his apron leg drop to topple Batista to the floor. The Undertaker then returned to the ring and more than made up for his earlier diving clothesline by launching himself over the ropes and taking Batista down with a hell of a suicide dive that left both men down!

Although Batista have his all, the Undertaker emerged victorious and as champion again.

Once they got to their feet, the two continued to brawl at ringside. This time, the Undertaker got whipped into the timekeeper’s table, but Batista made a conscious decision to continuously return to the ring to break the referee’s ten count since he had guaranteed that he would pin the Undertaker for the victory. Thus, Batista beat on the helpless Phenom on the outside before powerslamming him off one announce table and through another! Batista tossed the exhausted challenger into the ring but was left frustrated when the Deadman kicked out no matter how much he pummelled him. This frustration almost cost him as the Undertaker forced his way out of a Batista Bomb attempt, but Batista shut that down with a beautiful belly-to-belly slam for a two count. Batista then let his emotions get the better of him as he lashed out with the ten punches in the corner and left himself wide open for a Last Ride and the crowd was stunned when the Animal managed to kick out at two. Batista answered back with his big spinebuster, but his momentum was again thwarted first by the Undertaker’s zombie sit up and then by a Chokeslam, but again the champion was able to kick out before the three. The closing stretch saw Batista slip out of a Tombstone Piledriver and drill the Undertaker with a Spear before finally hitting the Batista Bomb…for a two count! Aghast, Batista tried to hit it again but the Undertaker powered out. The Phenom then reversed Batista’s attempt at a Tombstone, bounced him out of the corner, and nailed the Animal with the legendary Tombstone Piledriver to score the victory, earning himself his fifth World Championship and bringing the Streak to 15-0. This one was actually really good; the Undertaker seemed hungry and ready to fight and the match made good use of Batista’s power game. I liked the story of Batista being determined to get a legitimate, uncontested pin fall victory and trying to hit the Batista Bomb and being exasperated when it failed to get the job done. The Undertaker also did a hell of a job making Batista look good by throwing his body at the Animal at every opportunity. It lacked a little edge at times and JBL’s obnoxious commentary was, as ever, quite the distraction but this could’ve been a great place to end the Streak. Yhe Undertaker didn’t need the World Championship to be popular, especially at this time, but if he had gone into the event with the belt instead of challenging for it, I think that outcome could’ve been a little different for Big Dave.

The Aftermath:
Since this match was heralded as one of the best matches the two ever had, it’s perhaps no surprise that the Undertaker and Batista were far from done following this exchange. Batista himself felt slighted that the two didn’t get the main event spot at WrestleMania 23, which may have contributed to the two clashing twice more in the following months. Batista challenged the Undertaker at Backlash in a Last Man Standing match and in a steel cage match on SmackDown!, but both matches ended in controversial draws. Unfortunately, their rivalry was cut short when the Undertaker suffered an injury. The WWE had Edge cash-in his Money in the Bank contract to steal the belt so Batista transitioned into challenging Edge for the title, though he was unsuccessful each time. It wasn’t until he got into it with the Great Khali that Batista regained the World Championship and, once the Undertaker returned from his injury later in 2007, the two continued to face off for the belt. Interference from Edge meant Batista finally emerged victorious and the three men faced off at Armageddon at the end of the year, with Edge regaining the belt in a triple threat match. By WrestleMania XXIV, the Undertaker was challenging Edge in the main event while Batista had to settle for representing SmackDown! in a “Battle for Brand Supremacy” against Raw’s Umaga, though the Animal and the Deadman would cross paths again three more times between 2008 and 2009, with the Undertaker being victorious in each instance.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

What did you think to the Undertaker’s battle against Batista at WrestleMania 23? How would you rate it against the Undertaker’s other WrestleMania matches? Do you think the Undertaker needed the World Championship at this point in his career? Were you a fan of Batista’s and would you have liked to see the Streak end at his hands? Do you think this match should’ve been the main event of the evening? How are you celebrating the Undertaker’s debut this year, what are some of your favourite matches and moments from his long and distinguished career, and what dream match would you have liked to see him involved in? Whatever your thoughts, drop a comment below and go check out my reviews of other Undertaker matches across the site!

Wrestling Recap: Elimination Chamber Match (Survivor Series ’02)

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The Date: 17 November 2002
The Venue: Madison Square Garden; New York, New York
The Commentary: Jim “J.R.” Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler
The Referee: Earl Hebner
The Stakes: Six-man Elimination Chamber match for Triple H’s World Heavyweight Championship

The Build-Up:
Over its many decades as the dominating force in sports entertainment, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has created some of the industry’s most successful competitors, changed the face of pay-per-view entertainment, and delivered some game-changing match types. In 1987, the then-World Wrestling Federation (WWF) struck it big with WrestleMania, a pay-per-view showcase that was so successful that WWF Chairman Vince McMahon strong-armed many cable companies into showing their follow-up event, Survivor Series, over the National Wrestling Alliance’s (NWA) Starrcade pay-per-view. Although the show was famous for featuring a series of ten-man elimination tag team matches, this format was shaken up in 2002 with the introduction of the “Elimination Chamber”. This was a merciless steel structure that forced four men to wait in “bulletproof pods” as two others fought in the ring, with each participant joining the match at random at regular intervals and wrestlers being eliminated by pin fall or submission until only one is left standing. At this time, the WWE’s hefty roster was split into two distinct brands, Raw and SmackDown!, and the Elimination Chamber was first introduced by Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff as a means to out-do his blue branded rival. The chamber would prove the perfect staging ground to force World Heavyweight Champion Triple H (who was in the midst of a “Reign of Terror” alongside his Evolution allies, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and Batista) against his five top challengers, men he had spent the previous year humiliating and destroying both in the ring and in backstage segments. While Chris Jericho, Kane, Booker T, and Rob Van Dam all had legitimate beef with Triple H, the real story heading into the match was the return of Triple H’s former D-Generation X teammate, the “Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels. HBK had been famously sidelined with a career-ending back injury in 1998 and Triple H had flourished as a main event heel in the interim. Although HBK functioned as an on-air personality, he made an unexpected in-ring return in June 2002 and was set to reunite with Triple H before his friend viciously attacked him, leading to a brutal street fight at the 2002 SummerSlam that briefly took HBK off television before he dramatically returned to Raw to be the final entrant in the first of what would become an annual event match for the WWE.

The Match:
I was massively invested in wrestling by 2002. While I was mainly watching SmackDown! due to the limitations of my Sky package, I still followed Raw and caught the odd pay-per-view so I was fully aware of Triple H’s dominating run with the World Heavyweight Championship. Honestly, 2002 was one of my favourite times in wrestling just for the stars and music involved: Jericho was played to the ring by Saliva, Kane was sporting perhaps my favourite look of his and had a banging theme song, and Triple H made regular use of Motörhead both as a singles star and as part of Evolution. Things went a little extreme during this time and Triple H started absorbing other belts along the way, which was a bit of a mistake (and clearly upper management agreed as they restored the Intercontinental Championship soon enough) but it was a good way to showcase new faces in the main event scene. Some of these guys, like Rob Van Dam and Booker T, were overdue their time in the sun while others, like Chris Jericho and Kane, could easily be slotted into the title picture without any issue. Of course, the big story of the year was HBK’s incredible comeback. HBK hadn’t been an active wrestler when I started watching but his reputation preceded him and I was completely caught up in the drama and hatred that quickly brewed between him and his former best friend since it was our best shot at seeing Triple H relieved of his championship belt. I remember also feeling a lot of anticipation about the first-ever Elimination Chamber match. I’d never seen a War Games match at the time so the closest analogy I (and most people had) was the Hell in a Cell match, but I was excited about it as it was a nice twist on the traditional Survivor Series match. Triple H and Rob Van Dam kicked off the match (literally in RVD’s case) and immediately rekindled their rivalry from earlier in the year, with RVD working Triple H over with his “educated feet” and martial arts agility.

RVD impressed throughout the match but almost killed Triple H with a botched splash off the top!

RVD continued to press his advantage by back dropping Triple H out of a Pedigree attempt, over the ropes, to the raised steel floor at ringside. RVD followed up by repeatedly launching “The Game” into the chained walls of the chamber, busting him open in the process, and even hitting his backflip/monkey flip combo out on the steel and his trademark Rolling Thunder over the ropes and to the outside! Triple H was unexpectedly saved from a potential Five-Star Frog Splash off a chamber pod when Jericho grabbed at RVD’s leg but the Game ended up crotched on the top rope and taking a rolling senton to the face anyway. Triple H continued to take a beating against the chain-link walls and in the ring, but was given a brief reprieve when Jericho entered the match and got into it with RVD. Things don’t go too well for the self-proclaimed “King of the World”, however, as he got nailed with RVD’s spinning kick for a two count and then took his jumping side kick out the corner, and RVD even managed to pivot in mid-air to briefly cling to the cage and then take Jericho out with a dive off the wall! Despite the blood loss and the beating he took, Triple H walloped RVD with a clothesline; this was enough for Jericho to plant him with a back suplex and try his awesome cocky pin. Although RVD valiantly fought back, Triple H’s Harley Race-style knee strike shut him down and he and Jericho put aside their differences to pummel RVD . RVD dodged a corner splash, however, only to get absolutely planted by a DDT from Triple H. Luckily, the odds evened up as Booker T entered the fray. He rode his recent wave of momentum to go after both Jericho and Triple H and even had time to celebrate with a Spinaroonie before he and RVD went at it. Although RVD still had plenty of gas left in the tank, a couple of big side kicks from Booker T led to a near fall. Not to be outdone, RVD got a two count off a spinning heel kick before Triple H interjected himself into their fight, only to eat a Scissors Kick for his troubles. Although Jericho attacked Booker T before he could make a cover, things got seriously bad for Triple H when his throat was legitimately crushed after RVD miscalculated a Five-Star Frog Splash off a pod. RVD was then anti-climatically eliminated from the match after a Missile Dropkick from Booker T.

Kane’s rampage came to a dramatic end and HBK eliminated Jericho to go on-on-one with Triple H.

Jericho and Booker T frantically went at it as Triple H recuperated, with Booker T dodging the Lionsault and planting Jericho with his snap spinebuster for a two count. Kane was then released from his pod and started hitting everyone in sight. He easily manhandled Jericho, ramming him into the chained walls and then threw him through the pod plexiglass! Kane beat on Triple H for a little before focusing on Booker T, nailing a Chokeslam that allowed the bloodied Jericho to eliminate Booker with a Lionsault. Kane continued to pulverise Jericho on the outside before dumping him back in the ring with a military press. He easily fended off Triple H’s desperate attempts to get back into things and scored a near fall off a suplex before tossing Triple H off the top rope. Jericho countered a Chokeslam with a kick to the balls and finally knocked Kane down with a Missile Dropkick, meaning all three men were down when HBK (and his atrocious brown tights) was finally unleashed. Shawn Michaels went after Jericho and Kane like a house on fire but his momentum stalled after Kane nailed him with a Chokeslam. Kane then hit another on Triple H and caught Jericho in mid-air for a third Chokeslam. However, when Kane tried to hit the Tombstone Piledriver on Triple H, he got blasted with Sweet Chin Music from HBK, drilled with a Pedigree, and finally pinned and eliminated off a Lionsault. Jericho followed up by ramming HBK into the cage wall, drawing blood in the process and leaving him a helpless husk for him and Triple H to beat on in a heinous assault. Triple H dumped his former friend to the outside so he could grind his face against the chains and bounce him off the plexiglass. He and Jericho then took turns pummeling HBK’s bloodstained face, dumping him on the steel floor, and repeatedly smashing him off the chain-link wall. HBK mounted a brief comeback with a flying forearm and a nip-up, but Jericho put a stop to that with yet another Lionsault. However, Shawn refused to be pinned and caught Jericho off-guard with a moonsault for a near fall. Triple H then saved Jericho when HBK had him in his own Walls of Jericho submission hold and started brawling with Y2J after he tried to eliminate his hated rival. Although Jericho almost made the Game tap with the Walls of Jericho, Y2J got nailed with Sweet Chin Music and summarily eliminated by Shawn Michaels, meaning that the match came down to the two former friends going at it once again.

HBK and Triple H’s bloody brawl ends with Shawn toppling the Game and becoming World Champion!

The two bloodied, exhausted one-time allies traded punches, an exchange that ended with Triple H scoring a two count off a massive Arn Anderson-like spinebuster. HBK then found himself tossed outside again and catapulted right through the plexiglass of a pod when he dared to try and hit Triple H with a Pedigree on the steel, though is only resulted in another near fall as Shawn refused to die. Frustrated, desperate to inflict more punishment, Triple H urged HBK to his feet and the two got into a heated slugfest that ended with Shawn getting smashed with Triple H’s knee facebuster. HBK got a measure of revenge on the outside, however, when he reversed a Pedigree attempt into a catapult of his own that saw Triple H’s battered face bounce off the chain-link wall one more time. Shawn Michaels followed with his signature Diving Elbow from the top of a pod but chose to tune up the band rather than go for the pin. Triple H caught Shawn’s foot, however, and drilled him with a Pedigree but the champion was too hurt to immediately capitalise and HBK got the shoulder up at two. Triple H then tried for another Pedigree but Shawn countered with a back drop and then nailed Sweet Chin Music out of nowhere and scored the victory to an absolutely thunderous applause. He then celebrated his big comeback and title victory with tears in his eyes and under a shower of confetti. Considering no one knew what to expect from this first-ever Elimination Chamber match, this was a really good and well-paced contest. The competitors made really good use of the space to showcase how dangerous the structure is and give a taste of the athletic and innovative manoeuvres the chamber’s walls and pods could offer. While it somewhat undermined the narrative of the plexiglass being “bulletproof” to have it smashed in this first match, it worked wonderfully to showcase Kane’s brutality and Shawn’s never-say-die attitude. It’s amazing that Triple H was able to continue the match considering he could’ve been killed from RVDs freak botch, but it didn’t interrupt the flow of the match as these guys all knew how to buy him time to recover. RVD and Jericho stole the match in the early going. RVD’s athleticism and conditioning really impressed me and I was surprised to see Jericho score the most eliminations, and off the Lionsault no less! Kane got a good showing with his power game but I think more could’ve been done to help him stand out as a force of nature, but the one to watch was clearly Booker T. The guy was so popular at this point and I think the crowd would’ve been just as happy to see him or RVD get the win as much as HBK. However, you can’t take away from Shawn’s incredible comeback story. We never thought we’d see him back in the ring, much less a World Champion again, and this was a really emotional, cathartic moment for him and those who just wanted to see Triple H dethroned as champion.

The Aftermath:
Although Booker T, Kane, and Chris Jericho largely faded out of the main event scene in the immediate aftermath to this match, Shawn Michaels and Triple H were far from done with their rivalry, and poor old Rob Van Dam got caught up in the middle of it. RVD was defeated by Triple H to earn the Game a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship in a “Three Stages of Hell” match at Armageddon the following month, where Triple H regaining the belt after enduring a street fight, a steel cage, and a ladder match. While Triple H was busying stinking up the main event scene in horrendous matches with “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner, Kane, Jericho, Shawn Michaels, RVD, and Booker T all competed in the Royal Rumble match and all came up short. Although Booker T earned himself a shot at Triple H’s World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XIX, he was resoundingly defeated despite everything pointing to a big babyface victory! Kane and RVD formed a tag team in the interim and eventually ended up at odds with each other after the Big Red Machine’s dramatic unmasking. Jericho and HBK got into an emotionally-charged feud that only got worse after Y2J’s temper tantrum at WrestleMania XIX, and Triple H went on to have lacklustre matches against Goldberg throughout 2003. HBK and Triple H rekindled their rivalry near the end of 2003. HBK appeared to defeat Triple H for the belt on an episode of Raw that was ruled a draw and the two again went to a no contest in a Last Man Standing match at the 2004 Royal Rumble. This led to HBK interjecting himself into the WrestleMania XX main event. Though he was ultimately unsuccessful, his tumultuous relationship with Triple H would continue on and off over the next few years before the two finally got back on the same page and reformed D-Generation X in 2006.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

What did you think to the first-ever Elimination Chamber match? Who was your pick to win at the time? What did you think the the level of violence on show in the match? Were you impressed that Triple H was able to continue after his injury? What did you think to Shawn Michaels’ big comeback and championship win here? Which Elimination Chamber match or event is your favourite? Whatever your thoughts on the Elimination Chamber, feel free to leave them below or drop a c and be sure to check out my other wrestling reviews!

Wrestling Recap [Undervember]: Undertaker vs. Orton (WrestleMania 21)

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After debuting as part of the “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Team at the 1990 Survivor Series, the Undertaker became a force of nature within World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). To celebrate the Deadman’s illustrious career, I’m looking back at his WrestleMania matches against the future members of the super-stable Evolution.

The Date: 3 April 2005
The Venue: Staples Center; Los Angeles, California
The Commentary: Michael Cole and Tazz
The Referee: Earl Hebner
The Stakes: Legend vs. Legend Killer, singles match with the Undertaker’s WrestleMania winning streak on the line

The Build-Up:
Over his long and legendary career, the Undertaker became force of nature within the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), amassing an impressive list of rivalries with some of wrestling’s most talented, and notorious, names in his near-mythical wrestling career. If that wasn’t enough, the Undertaker boasted the greatest winning streak in wrestling history by racking up 21 WrestleMania wins between 1991 and 2013. By WrestleMania 21, Evolution had broken up following their heavy Batista turning against his egomaniacal leader, a move that worked out far better for Batista than his former Evolution stablemate Randy Orton, who floundered in his first run as World Heavyweight Champion. Legal issues also saw the WWF rebranded to WWE and the company attempted to balance its bloated roster with a brand split that restricted certain competitors and championships to either Raw or SmackDown! On Raw, Evolution reigned supreme; Triple H had enlisted Randy Orton, Batista, and the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair in defending his World Heavyweight Championship. However, after Orton had made a name for himself as a “Legend Killer” and dared to get ideas above his station by doing what Triple H couldn’t and dethroning Chris Benoit for the World Heavyweight Championship at the 2004 SummerSlam, Orton was unceremoniously kicked out of the group and spent the rest of the year struggling to get over as a babyface in matches against his former teammates. In early 2005, Orton was inspired by the legendary “Superstar” Billy Graham to attack his on-screen girlfriend, Stacy Keibler, reverting to his devious Legend Killer persona and attacking the likes of Jake “The Snake” Roberts to goad the Deadman into accepting an interpromotional match. Unfazed by the Undertaker’s mind games, Orton became the first true challenger of the Deadman’s unprecedented WrestleMania winning streak by directly referencing the Streak and his intentions to break it. Orton went into WrestleMania 21 with a great deal of confidence and momentum thanks to hitting his finishing move, the RKO, on the Deadman and even colluding with his father, “Cowboy” Bob Orton, to get one up on the Phenom.

The Match:
Unlike many people, I’m one of the few that actually enjoyed the Undertaker’s turn as the motorcycle-riding, leather trenchcoat-wearing “American Bad Ass”. It helps that this persona debuted at the peak of when I was really getting into wrestling and was my first real exposure to the character outside of the videogames, but I do feel this run was under-rated as it gave the Undertaker a chance to adapt to the times and show more of his personality. However, as a big fan of the ongoing Undertaker/Kane storyline, I was super excited after Kane helped WWE Chairman Vince McMahon defeat and bury the Undertaker alive at the 2003 Survivor Series. Anyone who knows anything about the Undertaker knew that this was leading to a return to his classic Deadman character and it was surprising how enjoyable it was seeing him torment Kane with spooky shenanigans before reverting to a version of his undead persona at WrestleMania XX. Drafted to SmackDown! during the first brand split, the Undertaker was touted as a special attraction and his supernatural powers were often framed as “mind games” to intimidate opponents. Thus, the best way for someone to prove their mettle against the Undertaker was to not show fear or intimidation, and Orton certainly excelled with that. Growing from a forgettable jobber to an arrogant asshole, Orton had made a name for himself taking out legends and running with Evolution, and arguably his feud with the Undertaker finally got his career back on track after his disastrous run as a fan favourite World Champion. After making a chilling impression with one of his trademark entrances (that included not just torch-baring druids but also the Undertaker gliding to the ring through a spooky mist), the match kicked off with Orton staying out of the Deadman’s reach and using his speed to avoid a few shots. Orton even snuck in a slap to the face for good measure to play a few mind games of his own!

Randy Orton’s arrogance and youth were nothing in the face of the Undertaker’s tenacity.

Although a lock-up attempt didn’t go well for the young upstart, Orton did use his speed and agility to land a dropkick off an Irish whip to score a one fall and even a back body drop. However, Orton went through the sequence once too often and paid the price courtesy of a big punch from the Undertaker. The Undertaker tried to slow the pace by methodically beating Orton in the corner. A charge to his young opponent saw the Deadman caught in a roll up for a two count, but the Undertaker dumped Orton to the outside when the youngster went for his signature RKO. Dictating the pace of the match, the Undertaker landed his patented leg drop across the ring apron and then successfully (if awkwardly) hit his “Old School” rope walk strike to the delight of the fans. However, the corner again proved to be the Deadman’s undoing as he ended up crotched on the top rope and smacked off the barricade off a dropkick to the outside after Orton dodged a big boot. The cocky Legend Killer delivered a few strikes on the outside and then promptly returned the action to the ring and scored another two count off an explosive clothesline. The Undertaker answered back with a running DDT and a sidewalk slam for a couple of his own near falls. A few running splashes in the corner wore Orton down but the Legend Killer shrugged off the Snake Eyes and sent the Undertaker crashing to the mat with a back elbow for a two count. Orton then continued the pressure with some vicious strikes to the Undertaker’s head and chest, but his bravado finally turned to fear when the Undertaker did his trademark zombie sit up. This led the former World Champion to trade strikes with the Deadman before being clumsily being clobbered with an elbow/clothesline attempt from the Undertaker.

Despite some close near falls, the Undertaker dispatched his upstart challenger without much issue.

The Undertaker then slapped on the Dragon Sleeper to further punish the upstart, but Orton stayed conscious and even hit a desperation DDT for a close two count before locking in one of his most infamous moves, the goddamn rear-naked choke. Indeed, one of the many complaints I have about Orton is that his in-ring repertoire is so limited, and he needlessly drags out matches with rest holds. To be fair the Undertaker did look a little gassed so maybe they both needed the breather, but the crowd was not happy to see things grind to a halt once Orton applied the sleeper. Luckily, the rest holds didn’t last long as the Undertaker hit a back suplex counter and kicked Orton in the face, and the Legend Killer sucked the crowd back in after hitting a big powerslam for another near fall. Orton’s arrogance almost cost him as he posed during the ten punches in the corner and risked being planted with a massive Last Ride. The youth slipped out of it and even crashed into the referee so that Bob Orton could clock the Undertaker with his signature cast! Luckily, the referee was a little too groggy and the Undertaker was a little too persistent and the Deadman kicked out, sat up, and promptly booted the Cowboy off the ring apron in retaliation. The crowd came unglued when the Undertaker hoisted Orton up for a Chokeslam but damn near hit the roof when Orton countered it into an RKO outta nowhere! If there was ever a perfect time to end the Streak, that was arguably it but, unbelievably, the Undertaker kicked out. Frustrated, Orton made the rookie mistake of attempting to hit the Deadman with his own finisher, the Tombstone Piledriver. Naturally, the Undertaker reversed this, hit a Tombstone of his own, and pinned Orton to extend the Streak to 13-0. As much as I think, in hindsight, that Orton probably should’ve won this match to cement him as the true Legend Killer, it’s hard to say that this match really deserved such a moment. It was a bit middling and their styles didn’t really mesh well as the Undertaker is all about a slow, methodical, power-based game and Orton is…well, a bit dull and safe. I think it would’ve been smarter to have the match focus on Orton outsmarting the Deadman (which was there, but not could’ve just been played up more) and trying to hit the RKO at every turn while the Undertaker got more and more frustrated before decimating Orton with a Tombstone, but it was an okay match, despite its flaws.

The Aftermath:
Apparently, Randy Orton refused to be the man to break the Undertaker’s legendary streak, a decision that I do think was a mistake as Orton really could’ve made a name for himself with that accolade and maybe the Undertaker would’ve felt less pressure to push himself to the limit in his later years. However, since Randy Orton came within a gnat’s wing of breaking the Undertaker’s winning streak, this was far from the last match between these two. Although a brief hiatus and an injury kept both men out of the ring for a few months, they rekindled their rivalry after Orton was officially drafted to SmackDown! later that year. The two faced off in a WrestleMania rematch at the 2005 SummerSlam and, this time, Bob Orton’s interference and the RKO took out the Deadman. The father/son duo not only defeated the Undertaker a few months later at No Mercy, they also locked him in a casket, set it on fire, and chopped at it with axes! The Undertaker made a dramatic return at the conclusion of the 2005 Survivor Series and his feud with Orton culminated in a brutal Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon, which saw the Deadman emerge victorious. By the time WrestleMania 22 rolled around, the two had parted ways. The Undertaker moved into a feud with Mark Henry, Randy Orton took part in a triple threat match for the World Hevayweight Championship, and the two never had another program together as they simply faced off in a series of tag team matches between 2007 and 2009.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

What did you think to the Legend vs. Legend Killer match between the Undertaker and Randy Orton at WrestleMania 22? How would you rate it against the Undertaker’s other WrestleMania matches? Did you think Orton was going to win after his father interfered or after hitting that RKO? Do you think the Streak should have ended here, or at all? How are you celebrating the Undertaker’s debut this year, what are some of your favourite matches and moments from his long and distinguished career, and what dream match would you have liked to see him involved in? Whatever your thoughts, drop a comment below and be sure to check out my other wrestling content across the site.

Wrestling Recap [Undervember]: Undertaker vs. Flair (WrestleMania X8)

Dr. KLeave a comment

After debuting as part of the “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Team at the 1990 Survivor Series, the Undertaker became a force of nature within World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). To celebrate the Deadman’s illustrious career, I’m looking back at his WrestleMania matches against the future members of the super-stable Evolution.

The Date: 17 March 2002
The Venue: SkyDome; Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The Commentary: Jim “J.R.” Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler
The Referee: Charles Robinson
The Stakes: No disqualification singles match

The Build-Up:
Following his debut, the Undertaker went on to become a true phenom within the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He faced off against a who’s-who of wrestling’s biggest names and amassing the greatest winning streak in wrestling history with 21 WrestleMania wins between 1991 and 2013. By WrestleMania X8, an event as infamous for its “Icon vs. Icon” match as it was its main event, legal issues would saw the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) rebrand to the WWE. The company was also on the cusp of creating their own competition with a brand split after buying out rival companies World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The first steps towards this happened when, the night after the infamous “Invasion” storyline ended, legendary WCW and wrestling icon “Nature Boy” Ric Flair returned to the WWF and revealed he was now co-owner of the company! This caused friction between Flair and WWF Chairman Vince McMahon but McMahon finally ousted Flair from his authority when the Nature Boy’s issues with the Undertaker saw him strike a fan. Flair and the Undertaker butted heads because the former didn’t approve of the latter’s recent heinous actions. The Undertaker would regularly attack other wrestlers if he felt disrespected and delighted in tormenting Flair by attacking his friends and family to force him into agreeing to a match at the Showcase of the Immortals.

The Match:
I’ve mentioned before that I’ve never really been the biggest fan of Ric Flair since he’s a little before my time and I find his matches a little too samey and repetitive, but even I remember being astounded when the Nature Boy returned to the WWF after an eleven-year absence. It’s a shame, though, that guys like Flair, Eric Bischoff, Rey Mysterio, Goldberg, Scott Steiner, and the New World Order (nWo) didn’t appear in the WWE until well after the WCW Invasion angle was over as we really were robbed of some potential dream matches as a result of them choosing to sit out their big money contracts. Still, it was fun seeing him tangle with McMahon and later get a career resurgence as part of Evolution, even if he was well past his prime even in 2002. Yet, I would wager that even prime Ric Flair would’ve had an uphill battle against the Undertaker. At this time, the former Deadman was rediscovering his mean streak as “Big Evil”, a more callous and vindictive extension of his sadly underappreciated “American Bad Ass” persona that saw him cut his hair and eventually ditch the motorcycle and Limp Bizkit theme song. The Undertaker would also go around kicking the crap out of other wrestlers for disrespecting him and, while this didn’t exactly land (people wanted to cheer the Undertaker no matter how badly he beat up beloved icons like J.R. or plucky newcomers like Maven), it again gave the Undertaker a chance to show off more personality and mix things up a bit with some fresh new faces. He even captured the Hardcore Championship from Rob Van Dam during this run! Considering how personal the Undertaker made this feud, Flair didn’t waste any time with frivolities. As soon as the bell rang, he went after Big Evil, striking with some ungainly punches and spilling the action to the outside and tackling over the announce tables in a flurry of aggression!

The Undertaker absolutely dominated Flair, beating him to a bloody pulp with ease.

Staggered and surprised by the assault, the Undertaker eventually turned the tables by catching Flair off an uncharacteristic mid-air dive and ramming him spine-first into the ring post. However, neither this or a smack off the steel ring steps slowed Flair’s assault. It wasn’t until Big Evil hefted Flair into the corner and unloaded with some strikes that the Nature Boy found himself physically overwhelmed, to the point where he initially couldn’t even perform his signature cartwheel bump when tossed into the far corner. A second toss was more successful and “Booger Red” pursued Flair back to the outside to deliver more punishment by busting the living legend open. The assault continued in the ring but, when Flair dropped with his trademark face flop, the sight of his blood was apparently enough to motivate a brief comeback with some knife-edge chops, which the Undertaker immediately shut down with a running clothesline in the corner. Battered and helpless, Flair was sent crashing to the canvas with an uncharacteristic superplex, but Big Evil maliciously pulled Flair off the mat as the referee’s hand was coming down for the three count. Slowly, methodically, the Undertaker continued to target Flair’s blood-splattered head, landing his patented apron leg drop and again interrupting his own pin attempt to keep beating on his foe and knocking him down and again and again to the mild interest of the restless crowd. After dodging a leg drop, Flair tried to mount another comeback with some more chops and looked to be getting himself back in the game after jerking Big Evil off the top rope when he went for his “Old School” ropewalk strike. However, Flair was immediately shut down with a big sidewalk slam for another two count, though this time, Flair kicked out of his own accord.

Even Anderson’s Spinebuster couldn’t keep Big Evil from dispatching Flair and scoring his tenth win.

Digging deep into his repertoire of dirty tricks, Flair crotched the Undertaker on the top rope and knock him to the outside again. This time, Flair grabbed a lead pipe from the Undertaker’s bike and bashed Big Evil right between the eyes, busting him open as well. Flair continued to bludgeon his foe but the Undertaker quickly regained control by running Flair into the ring apron and barricade, only for the Nature Boy to strike back with shots from a safety sign retrieved from the aisleway. Flair, his confidence growing, sneaked a couple of “Woo!”s and struts in and lived up to his reputation as the “Dirtiest Player in the Game” by kicking the Undertaker in the balls when Big Evil went for a Chokeslam. Flair then tied the Undertaker up in his signature Figure Four Leglock, finally waking up the crowd, but the Undertaker simply powered out and countered with a falling Chokeslam for a near fall. Frustrated by Flair’s defiance, the Undertaker took his aggression out on referee Charles Robinson but got drilled when Arn Anderson, the enforcer of Flair’s legendary Four Horsemen stable, rushed the ring and planted him with his signature Spinebuster! However, thanks to the referee being incapacitated, Big Evil kicked out (though this sequence well and truly got the crowd invested in the match). The Undertaker attacked Double-A and trapped him in the Dragon Sleeper (for my money, a far better submission move than his later Hell’s Gate) but Flair saved his friend by walloping Big Evil with a steel chair. Although the Undertaker easily shrugged it off, he struggled to hoist Flair up for the Last Ride so he settled for a Tombstone Piledriver to mercifully bring this to an end and bring his WrestleMania streak to 10-0. Sadly, this wasn’t the best match for either men; apparently, Flair was unsure if he should even be in the ring at the time and credits the Undertaker with renewing his confidence, but this was a chore to sit through. It was just the Undertaker beating up a defenceless old man for about half an hour; Flair barely got in any offense and, when he did, it was all chops and weapon attacks. The best part of this match is Arn Anderson’s surprise run-in. Watching this as a kid, at a time when the Undertaker’s winning streak wasn’t as big a deal as it would later become, I was certain that would be the finish but it wasn’t to be and that was probably for the best as this would’ve been a pretty lame match to go out on.

The Aftermath:
This match wouldn’t completely spell the end of the feud between the Undertaker and Ric Flair. Flair acted as the special guest referee for Big Evil’s number one contendership match against “Stone Cold” Steve Austin at Backlash the following month. The Undertaker won the match and would go on to capture the Undisputed Championship from Triple H, while Flair transitioned into a mini feud with Austin since he missed that the Texas Rattlesnake’s foot was on the ropes during the decisive pinfall. Otherwise, the Undertaker and Ric Flair stood at opposite sides of the ring later in 2002 for a tag team match but their time facing against each other came to an end after that as Flair’s career wound down and the brand split kept the two apart. However, the Deadman would make a point to honour the Nature Boy during Ric Flair’s emotional retirement segment in 2008 and Flair returned the favour by appearing at the Undertaker’s retirement celebration in 2020.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

What did you think to the Undertaker and Ric Flair’s no disqualification bout from WrestleMania X8? How would you rate it against the Undertaker’s other WrestleMania matches? Did you also find the match a bit dull and lifeless? Were you a fan of the Big Evil gimmick or did you think it was unsuitable for the Undertaker? Did you think the match was over after Arn Anderson hit that Spinebuster? How are you celebrating the Undertaker’s debut this year, what are some of your favourite matches and moments from his long and distinguished career? What dream match would you have liked to see him involved in? Whatever your thoughts, drop a comment below and go check out my reviews of other Undertaker matches across the site!

Wrestling Recap [Undervember]: Undertaker vs. Triple H (WrestleMania X-Seven)

Dr. K2 Comments

After debuting as part of the “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Team at the 1990 Survivor Series, the Undertaker became a force of nature within World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). To celebrate the Deadman’s illustrious career, I’m looking back at his WrestleMania matches against the future members of the super-stable Evolution.

The Date: 1 April 2001
The Venue: Reliant Astrodome; Houston, Texas
The Commentary: Jim “J.R.” Ross and Paul Heyman
The Referee: Mike Chioda
The Stakes: Singles grudge match

The Build-Up:
After his 1990 Survivor Series debut, the Undertaker amassed an impressive list of rivalries with some of wrestling’s most talented, and notorious, names in his near-mythical wrestling career. If that wasn’t enough, the Undertaker amassed the greatest winning streak in wrestling history with 21 WrestleMania wins between 1991 and 2013. By WrestleMania X-Seven, one of the most celebrated WrestleMania events of all time, the Undertaker was in the middle of one of his biggest reinventions as the leather-clad motorcyclist “American Bad Ass”. He became embroiled in the battle against Triple H and the McMahon-Helmsley Regime, who had run roughshod over the WWF using their political power. After Triple H finished up is most recent feud with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, “The Game” touted his superiority and dominance and raised the ire of the Undertaker, whom Triple H had never faced in a pay-per-view singles match before. Immediately, tensions escalated to the point where they were interfering in each other’s matches, using proxies (such as the Undertaker’s brother, Kane, and the Big Show) to attack each other, and Triple H even had the Undertaker arrested after he tried to force his way into his limousine. In retaliation, the Undertaker had Kane hold Triple H’s wife, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, hostage to force WWF Commissioner William Regal into sanctioning this one-on-one match on the grandest stage of them all!

The Match:
Although many have criticised the Undertaker’s American Bad Ass (or “BikerTaker”) phase, I always enjoyed it. Of course, it helped that I started watching wrestling around the time of the 1999 Royal Rumble, so this was the only version of the Undertaker I knew outside of the videogames, and that I was into heavy metal music and the whole leather aesthetic that was popular at the time. Regardless, I always felt like it was a fantastic reinvention of the character. It allowed the Undertaker to stay relevant in the far more grounded landscape of 2000’s WWF, gave him the chance to showcase more personality and vulnerability, and saw him destroying foes with an absolutely devastating lifting powerbomb known as the Last Ride. At the time, there was no greater, more hated heel than Triple H (well… maybe WWF Chairman Vince McMahon…). He’d not only dominated the main event as the WWF Champion but also been revealed as the mastermind behind Steve Austin’s run-in with a car, though he had definitely been taken down a notch by both Austin and the Rock earlier in the year. The best thing about these two WWF stalwarts was that it made perfect sense to have them face off, even if it was pretty clear that they were playing second fiddle to the more dramatic story revolving around Austin, Rock, and the WWF Championship. The match was bolstered somewhat, however, as Triple H was played to the ring by the legendary Motörhead in a rousing mini rock concert that ensured the Game got his fair share of cheers despite his heinous actions throughout the year. Not to be outdone, the hometown hero, the Undertaker, blasted to the ring on his bike to Limp Bizkit’s “Rollin’”, which, while a good song, still pales in comparison to his original Kid Rock theme. They brawled around at ringside, with Triple H collapsing through a makeshift announcer’s table before being rolled into the ring and J.R. pointing out (maybe for the first time?) that the Undertaker had never lost a WrestleMania match and had amassed an 8-0 winning streak at the show of shows.

The Undertaker dominated the early and took things to the outside after attacking the referee.

Triple H’s attempt to trade punches with the Undertaker in the ring might have gone badly, but the Game scored a knockdown with his Harley Race-style jumping knee…only for the Undertaker to shrug it off, manhandle Triple H into the corner, and toss him overhead with a back body drop. The Undertaker continued to press his advantage, beating Triple H silly from corner to corner and planting him with a powerslam. Even when he missed an elbow drop, the American Bad Ass came right back with his signature flying clothesline but found himself launched from the top rope when Triple H countered the former Deadman’s “Old School” rope walk strike. Triple H capitalised with a neckbreaker for the first near fall of the match before working over the Undertaker’s forehead (which he had split open with a sledgehammer in the build up to this match) on the ring apron. Frustrated after another slick neckbreaker resulted in a two count, Triple H went for multiple covers and the Undertaker kept kicking out, so the Game started arguing with referee Mike Chioda and then hit his trademark knee smash to shut down the Undertaker’s attempt to fight his way back into the match. Exasperated and sadistic, Triple H harassed the timekeeper and retrieved his trusty sledgehammer, but Chioda snatched it away before he could do any damage with it, only to get sandwiched in the corner when the Undertaker catapulted Triple H out of a Pedigree attempt. This meant that the referee was a little too slow in making the count when ‘Taker covered Triple H off a Chokeslam, so the Undertaker also attacked Chioda and took him out of the match for a ridiculously long time, effectively turning this into a no holds barred brawl for a bit. The Undertaker thus launched Triple H to the outside and tossed him over the barricade and into the crowd for a slugfest through the audience without fear of a count out or a disqualification.

Despite some fun spots, this otherwise standard brawl that was overshadowed by later matches.

The two battled up to a production area full of monitors and machinery. Here, the Undertaker beat the hell out of Triple H and the Game repeatedly bashed Undertaker’s head and legs with a steel chair. However, the Undertaker dramatically Chokeslammed Triple H over the railing to the concrete below and followed up with a diving elbow drop, an effect sadly ruined by an unfortunate camera angle that clearly showed the crashmat the two guys landed on (still a hell of a bump, though). The Undertaker fended off the doctors and beat Triple H through the raucous Houston crowd before tossing him unceremoniously back into the ring. With Triple H battered and helpless at his feet, the Undertaker grabbed the sledgehammer and prepared to get himself a little payback but got kicked right in the dick instead! Still, the Undertaker avoided taking a shot from the hammer by booting Triple H in the face and the two just exchanged haymakers instead. To try and one-up his opponent, Triple H tried to hit the Tombstone Piledriver, but the Undertaker impressively pivoted out and reversed it into a Tombstone of his own, but Mike Chioda was still out like a light, so it was all for nought. Although Triple H countered the Last Ride with a sledgehammer shot to the Undertaker’s head, it still wasn’t enough to keep the American Bad Ass down for the three count. Incensed, Triple H furiously attacked the Undertaker’s bleeding forehead. He was so desperate to bust ‘Taker open further that he clambered up the ropes for the ol’ ten punches and left himself in prime position for an absolutely devastating Last Ride right out of the corner! The Undertaker dropped to the mat, the referee made the count, and the match ended with another victory for the legendary icon, bringing his winning streak to 9-0. This was an okay match, but nothing really special apart from the brief detour out of the ring and even that was sullied by one of the longest ref bumps I’ve ever seen. Most of the match was a slugfest, which is always a little disappointing as both men are capable of so much more, but it definitely had a big-match feel and spectacle to it. I think it might’ve helped to have the sledgehammer come into play a little more and to have Triple H properly target a body part rather than just getting dominated and begging off, but the biased crowd was super into the whole thing and it was fun enough, though it’s obviously overshadowed by their later WrestleMania bouts.

The Aftermath:
So no, this wasn’t the last time that the Undertaker and Triple H battled at the Showcase of the Immortals. This match also didn’t put an end to the rivalry between the two men. The main event of WrestleMania X-Seven saw Steve Austin shock the world by joining forces with Vince McMahon and, the next night on Raw, Triple H shockingly formed the “Two-Man Power Trip” with his hated rival. Triple H captured the Intercontinental Championship and the heinous heel tandem delighted in tormented Matt and Jeff, the Hardy Boyz, and their companion, Lita. Since the Two-Man Power Trip boasted about being the most dominating duo in the WWF, the Undertaker and Kane quickly stepped up to oppose them. However, although the Brothers of Destruction captured the WWF Tag Team Championships, Kane got his arm broken by the Two-Man Power Trip, which was a deciding factor in the brothers losing the belts to Austin and Triple H at Backlash the month after WrestleMania X-Seven. Unfortunately, Austin and Triple H’s run with all the gold and all the power was cut short when Triple H tore his quadricep muscle in a tag team match, a horrific injury that side-lined him for most of 2001. When Triple H returned, it was to triumphant cheers; for the first time in years, Triple H was lauded as a hero while the Undertaker was in the midst of a heel run beating the respect out of people. It wouldn’t be long before the two clashed again as the Undertaker defeated Triple H for the Undisputed Championship at the 2002 King of the Ring, though their in-ring encounters did noticeably lessen for a few years after this thanks to the first brand extension.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

What did you think to the Undertaker and Triple H’s first WrestleMania match? How would you rate it against their other WrestleMania matches? Were you a fan of the American Bad Ass gimmick or did you think it was unsuitable for the Undertaker? What did you think to the Chokeslam off the equipment area and did the referee bump also confuse you? How are you celebrating the Undertaker’s debut this year, what are some of your favourite matches and moments from his long and distinguished career, and what dream match would you have liked to see him involved in? Whatever your thoughts, drop a comment below and be sure to check out my reviews of other Undertaker matches across the site!

Wrestling Recap: Kane vs. Kane (Vengeance ’06)

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The Date: 25 June 2006
The Venue: Charlotte Bobcats Arena; Charlotte, North Carolina
The Commentary: Jim “J.R.” Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler
The Referee: Jack Doan
The Stakes: Singles match to determine the true Kane

The Build-Up:
On 5th October 1997 (the day after my twelfth birthday and the same day as Global James Bond Day), Glenn Jacobs made his dramatic debut as Kane, the scarred, monstrous younger half-brother of the Undertaker. Kane made a name for himself with his imposing figure, terrifying supernatural aura, and surprisingly complex character. He fought his brother, friend and allies alike, captured championships, and even underwent a dramatic character change when he unmasked and embarked on a new rampage as an unhinged psychopath. By 2006, legal issues had seen the WWF rebranded to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and their roster was split across three separate brands, Raw, SmackDown!, and the ill-fated Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) revival, each with their own superstars and champions. Kane was drafted to the Raw brand and started lashing out at the merest mention of the date “May 19th” and tormented by visions and voices, which culminated in a confrontation with a doppelgänger dressed in a close approximation of his original attire. The Imposter Kane was portrayed by future Bullet Club alumni Luke Gallows and drew much criticism for his dishevelled appearance and the story’s similarity to the Undertaker’s equally lambasted battle against an imposter, but the WWE pushed forward with the feud to help drum up additional marketing for Kane’s recent horror film, See No Evil (Dark, 2006).

The Match:
I was in a bit of a wrestling lull in 2006; honestly, my love of wrestling had taken a massive knock after the tragic and untimely death of Eddie Guerrero in 2005 and I pretty much dropped out of the product for some time in 2007 after the horrifying final last days of Chris Benoit killed my love of wrestling for a few years. So, yeah, I wasn’t exactly following all too closely when Kane was being stalked by this wannabe imposter, though I had seen and quite enjoyed See No Evil and even Kane’s brief adoption of the hooked chain his character, Jacob Goodnight, used in the film. I do think the story had some legs behind it as many were  clamouring for Kane to don his iconic mask once again, but I always felt like that was a step back for the character since he’d actually made his unhinged, unmasked persona work better than even I expected. Yet, honestly, we were off to a bad start from the moment Imposter Kane first showed up. I don’t want to diss Luke Gallows, but the guy just wasn’t built for the mask and costume, no matter how well he aped Kane’s mannerisms. It didn’t help that he sported a godawful wig, was clearly too short to be the “real” Kane, and didn’t even have a beard, but the fact that they chose to cover up his tattooed left arm in the laziest way possible rather than bust out Kane’s old two-sleeve number just made Imposter Kane look like a cheap trick-or-treater than a real threat. Luckily, that issue was addressed here; Imposter Kane sported a new wig, one much closer to what Kane’s hair used to look like, but that damn arm sleeve, man…The two got in the ring for a brief stare down and, when Imposter Kane went for the corner pyro, Kane cut him off with some hard shots and a knock down to kick things off.

A disappointing and frustrating match that ended in the most bizarre way possible!

Kane maintained the early advantage, knocking his doppelgänger down and even to the outside, but was continuously frustrated by Imposter Kane’s insistence on mocking his habits by shrugging off the assault, sitting up after a knock down, and even doing Kane’s signature backflip over the ropes, which J.R. claimed were all “mind games” by whoever was truly under the mask. Kane ripped at the imposter’s mask in a fury and both men continuously risked disqualification and faced the admonishment of the referee by slapping on illegal chokes and using the ropes and closed fist strikes, all to deafening silence and chants of “Boring!” even as Imposter Kane landed a big powerslam for the first near fall. More closed fists and rest holds masquerading as chokes followed, grinding the action to a halt. Even Lawler mentioned that he was expecting more of a brutal brawl, and it was basically left to him and J.R. to cover for the lacklustre action by speculating that Kane was intimidated, despite the fact that he just seemed to be bored. At one point, Kane countered a Chokeslam attempt by digging his thumb into the poster’s eye See No Evil-style and then planted him with a clunky running DDT and a walking powerslam before again hammering on his doppelgänger in the corner. While a big boot downed Kane, he easily intercepted the imposter as he went for the top-rope diving clothesline and sent him crashing to the mat with what could best be described as a “modified” superplex that briefly woke the crowd. However, when Kane went for his patented diving clothesline, the imposter countered it into an awkward Chokeslam (you can always tell when they’re not quite right as the camera zooms in a bit) and that was incredibly enough to put Kane down for a three count! At least it was short but that isn’t actually a good thing as this really should’ve been a brutal ten minute brawl with Kane constantly trying to rip his lookalike’s mask off and the imposter showing way more aggression. Instead, it was a plodding mess that no one cared about and ended in disappointing and bizarre fashion with Kane not only being pinned, but after a single Chokeslam after barely taking any damage.

The Aftermath:
A major element throughout this whole story, and which was repeated on commentary (Lawler even had the gall to say at one point that “this guy looks more like Kane than Kane himself”!), was that Kane knew who was under the mask. It was heavily implied to be someone from his past, or someone significant, and presumably the end goal was to reveal who this Imposter Kane really was. Instead, the reaction to this match was so bad that the entire angle was killed off the very next night on Raw. Kane simply attacked his imposter, retrieved his mask without ever revealing who his attacker was, and unceremoniously tossed him from the arena as the WWE did their classic tactic of just sweeping shit under the carpet when it didn’t work out. This wasn’t the end for the man under the mask, however. Gallows was repackaged as Festus, the mentally challenged muscle for Jesse, and would later be “cured” of his condition by the influence of CM Punk and become the muscle of Punk’s ill-fated Straight Edge Society as Luke Gallows. Eventually, Gallows left the WWE and finally made a name for himself teaming with Karl Anderson as part of New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Bullet Club faction, a success that would see him return to the WWE some years later. As for Kane, he promptly disappeared for a few months to promote See No Evil. He later returned at the 2006 SummerSlam to kick off a feud with a different kind of unhinged monster, Umaga, that lasted until the end of the year.

My Rating:

Rating: 1 out of 5.

Terrible

What did you think to the bout between Kane and his imposter at Vengeance 2006? Were you intrigued by the storyline or did it tank right out of the gate for you? What did you think to the ending and would you have liked to se the story concluded in a more meaningful way? Were you a fan of Kane’s unmasked persona or did you want to see him don the mask once more? How are you celebrating Kane’s debut this year, what are some of your favourite matches and moments from Kane’s long and complex career, and what dream match would you have liked to see him involved in? Whatever your thoughts about the Big Red Machine, leave a comment and be sure to check out my other wrestling reviews.