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From the Bowery: WWE: The Top 25 Rivalries in Wrestling History (Blu-Ray Disc Two)

June 13, 2013 | Posted by Robert Leighty Jr.
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From the Bowery: WWE: The Top 25 Rivalries in Wrestling History (Blu-Ray Disc Two)  

From the Bowery: WWE: The Top 25 Rivalries in Wrestling History (Disc Two)

Taz (w/ Bill Alfonzo) vs. Sabu
ECW Barely Legal: April 13, 1997; ECW Arena; Philadelphia, PA

-This is the very first ECW and this is billed as the Grudge Match of the Century. The ECW fans had been waiting for years for this match and after some delays due to PPV being cancelled from the Mass Transit incident, it finally all came together. Taz comes to the ring with Team Taz as he was ECW’s answer to what was happening in the UFC. Sabu doesn’t even care about making an entrance as he is immediately in the ring and that leads to the Super Special in ring introductions. Styles makes sure we know that whatever we may think about wrestling this match features two men who hate each other. They face off and the crowd is roaring to start. The trade slaps and that leads to right hands. A running clothesline sends Sabu to the floor. Back inside the ring Taz goes for the Tazmission, but Sabu blocks becoming the first man to block the hold. They do some standing switches and Taz ends up getting an anklelock. They get back to their feet and Taz offers his leg to Sabu. He toys with him and then delivers some nasty cross faces to the jaw. In the middle of those Sabu get’s his nose broken and that should prove interesting for the rest of the match. Things kind of slow a bit as Sabu rolls to the floor to check on his nose. He looks rather pissed and I can’t say I blame him. Sabu comes back in and hits a dropkick to the knee. A springboard legdrop off the second rope sends Taz to the floor. Sabu doesn’t wait though and goes out after him. Taz gets sent into the front row and Sabu sets up a chair in the middle of the ring. He connects with the double jump plancha over the railing in a sweet move. They brawl in the crowd and Sabu ends up crashing and burning on the security rail. Now back inside the ring Taz is in his element and for some reason the crowd starts to die. Taz goes to the mat and stretches Sabu for a bit. They get to their knees and Taz gets another take down that leads to a body scissors and an armbar. Sabu gets the ropes and that leads to a break which is something that always bugged me in ECW. They can use whatever weapons they like, but have to break the hold when someone gets to the ropes. Sabu grabs a chair and just casually tosses it in Taz’s face. He hits Air Sabu in the corner, but a second attempt misses and Taz drops him face first on the chair. That nets him a two count as again I am shocked at the lack of heat for this match. A super stiff clothesline to the face from Taz probably did Sabu’s nose no favors. Sabu uses the tights to send Taz to the floor and he tries a triple jump, but Taz moves and Sabu hits the railing again. Sadly we missed that because this is ECW and they don’t have best camera work, but that was their charm at times. Taz sends Sabu over the railing with a suplex and then they head back in the ring. Team Taz bridges a table on the ring apron and railing, and that leads to Sabu getting put through the table as Taz blocks a DDT attempt from the apron. Fonzie seemingly talks trash to Sabu as he yells for him to get back up and in the ring, but we will soon see that wasn’t the case. They fight on the floor again and it appears that Taz got a stinger in his arm as he starts favoring his shoulder. They exchange punches from the mat and Taz’s arm looks gone at this point. Styles lets us know that Taz had shoulder surgery only a few months ago, and small things like that are reason people love Joey on commentary. Sabu heads up top and hits a sick legdrop from the top of the ring post. Things seem disjointed now as Taz gets the Tazmission, but Sabu blocks, so he eats a head and arm suplex for his trouble. Joey brings up Sabu’s past broken neck, and I forget who broke his neck. Probably ended up being someone history is forgetting anyway. Sabu gets his own Tazmission, but as no surprise Taz breaks easily and fires off more suplex variations. A woozy Sabu gets caught with the Tazmission, and that ends things with no real struggle at 17:49. After the match Taz puts over his respect for Sabu and offers his hand. They shake and then hug before RVD heads down and we have a two on one beat down of Taz. They put him through a table and Sabu chokes him out on the floor. Then we have Fonzie taking off his Taz shirt and see he has been backing Sabu all along. The story goes he put money on Sabu and now makes sense why he was yelling at Sabu to get back in the ring. Fonzie being with RVD and Sabu was a better fit in the long run anyway.

Winner: Taz via submission at 17:49
-This didn’t have near the hatred and crowd heat that you would expect. What they did was fine, but things never seemed to get in a higher gear. The story was ok with Sabu being in the fight only the table spot screwed up his neck and Taz took advantage with multiple suplexes that led to the choke out. Things just seemed a little off and awkward at times for some reason. **1/2

Tommy Dreamer (w/ Beulah McGillicutty) vs. Raven (w/ Chastity and Lupus)
ECW Wrestlepalooza: June 6, 1997; ECW Arena; Philadelphia, PA

-Raven had already signed with WCW and being this is ECW everyone in the crowd dumps all over him with “you sold out” chants and a “We’ll Mi$$ You” sign. Raven no sells the chants and just pines away in the corner waiting for the mayhem to commence. It’s always mandatory for a Dreamer match for me to mention that Beulah looks fantastic and repeat what I always say, Tommy is an extremely lucky man. Raven gets a solid reaction with most cheering him before the “you sold out” chants start again. A brief stare down and Lupus gets in the ring. He tells Raven to just leave out the door as there is no reason to waste his body this last time. Dreamer blasts Lupus and then catches Raven near the door. That’s a creative way to start this one on the floor. The camera catches up with the action and Raven is getting the piss beaten out of him. They brawl through the crowd as Tommy drags Raven all around the building. He blasts him with a coke and then spits some of it is his face. Not sure how that hurts, but should leave him with a sticky face I guess. A nearby merchandise table gets destroyed as Raven tosses Dreamer off the stands and through it. Dreamer is bleeding from the head from some shot. A piledriver on a table is attempted, but it can’t support the weight of the two men. They continue brawl around the arena and Raven suplexes a table on Dreamer’s knee. They continue to play with some tables as the crowd chants “can’t see shit.” Heh! Douglas and Francine are sitting in the balcony and seem to be enjoying the brawl between these two. Things finally start to head back to the ring as Raven gets his balls smashed on the security well. They have made it to ring side and Dreamer sends Raven face first into the concrete floor. That had to suck and Joey reminds everyone ECW doesn’t need pads around the ring. The blood is flowing from Raven’s head and then he eats a sick chair shot as they go back through the crowd again. They fight up towards the Eagle’s Nest, but Raven cuts off that noise by tossing Tommy onto a nearby vending machine. Damn! Now we are back near the ring and it’s Raven’s turn to take a swing with a chair. Well, I will be damned as things make it back into that square thing in the middle of the arena. Dreamer eats a drop toehold into the chair that would become even more famous in a few months when Raven debuted it in WCW. Lupus tosses a chair into the ring and Raven preps Tommy in the corner for a superplex on the chair. Dreamer fights out, but ends up getting launched off the top rope and into the unfolded chair. A hiptoss is countered by Tommy into a DDT and then the ref gets blasted with a sign. Dreamer uses the sign to slug Raven and reveals it is a Do Not Enter street sign. A piledriver seemingly ends things, but Lupus makes the save. Beulah gets involved and sticks Lupus with a DDT. In the chaos Raven gets a roll-up for two that exposes more of Dreamer’s ass than I ever wanted to see. Raven begs Beulah to take him as the awesome overbooking is about to kick into high hear. Dreamer gets a schoolboy for two, and that brings in Chastity who uses some hairspray. That leads to a catfight and the crowd is going crazy over all of this. Raven is determined to make amends with Beulah and it costs him again as Dreamer hits a DDT on the sign for a great near fall. A third DDT follows, but the ref is out again at this point. Now Louie Spicolli hits the ring and he connects with a DDT to Dreamer, but he is out at two. Dreamer escapes a Death Valley Driver and he drills Louie with a DDT and as soon as he turns around Raven plants him with a DDT for two. Dreamer hits his own Death Valley Driver on Raven and then hits one final DDT after screaming “E C Fucking W” and that is enough for his long awaited win at 16:06.

Winner: Tommy Dreamer via pin at 16:06
-Now these two played to their strengths and gave the crowd what they wanted. The overbooking at the end added a lot of drama as you could certainly buy Raven winning this one just to continue the story. Some may not like the DDT-athon at the end, but I love the move and it makes perfect sense in the context of this feud. The main thing is that this match is just fun to watch. ***1/4

Handicap Ladder Match for Control of the WWF: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon
WWF King of the Ring: June 27, 1999; Greensboro, NC

-Interesting choice to represent this feud, but I guess their cage match has been on enough compilations in the past. The story goes that Austin got control of the WWF and made life hell for the McMahons. Now this match is Vince’s chance to take back control of his company. Austin’s entrance nearly brings down the house with a massive vocal roar. This should prove interesting as these aren’t 3 names that one would think of when it comes to a ladder match. Austin chases down both men in the aisle and beats on them near the ladder set. He takes Vince into the ring and that goes as well as you would expect for him. Shane comes to save, but ends up eating some right hands and then a Thesz press. The FU elbow follows and I chuckle as JR calls Shane the future CEO of the company. I think someone else has stuck his nose into that position. Shane gets his balls smashed on the ring post and JR and Lawler make jokes about no future McMahons now. Lawler mentions that there is always Stephanie and I chuckle as I think someone else has already stuck his nose into that. Vince gets dragged to the entrance way and gets tossed into chain link fence near the set. Shane tries to run and climbs onto the ladder structure that is built in the aisle. Austin and Shane do battle up there and they don’t have the surest of footing. Shane gets sent off the top and Austin gingerly rolls down to follow. This has been a slaughter and it continues as Vince gets tossed into a ladder that gets ripped off the set. Now Shane gets sent into a ladder and the structure is on the verge of collapsing. Shane gets fired into a third ladder and that leaves one ladder holding up the structure. Austin uses a chain to remove the final ladder and everything collapses on Shane and Vince. That looked pretty cool and was a pretty safe spot to boot with the way things fell. Austin takes Shane back to the ring and promptly sends him to the floor. Now Vince gets nailed with a ladder and then Shane gets sent over the announce table to the floor. JR makes sure to let Steve know that Shane is hiding under the ring. Shane gets prepped on the Spanish Table and Austin drops the FU elbow off the ladder through Shane and the table. For some reason Vince climbs the ladder on the floor and Austin gives chase. The tide turns as Vince pushes the ladder over and Austin bounces off Lawler and JR’s table. Vince sets up a ladder in the ring and makes the climb, but Austin makes the save with a shot to the balls. Vince takes a decent bump off the ladder for a 53 year old non-wrestler. Shane pulls himself out of the wreckage and gets abused with the ladder for his trouble. The McMahons get tossed into each other in the corner and the crowd loves every minute of this slaughter. Austin catapults Shane into the ladder and then just pushes it over on Shane’s back. Nice! Austin stands on the ladder on Shane’s back and makes sure to talk some trash as Shane taps out which doesn’t help a bit. Austin has seemingly had enough fun and starts to make the climb, but Vince pushes it over again. In a funny spot, Vince tries to boost Shane up to the briefcase and then in a kind of pathetic moment Shane rides on his dad’s shoulders in an effort to grab the case. Austin cuts that off and stuns the piss out of both men. Austin makes the climb and the briefcase mysteriously rises to the ceiling. Austin goes after the timekeeper and inside the ring Vince makes the climb again. Austin meets him up top and once again the case heads towards the ceiling. Shane knocks over the ladder and sacrifices his father. With Austin and Vince down, Shane climbs the ladder and retrieves the case at 17:11.

Winners: Vince and Shane McMahon via Shane retrieving the case at 17:11
-The McMahons sure know how to take an ass kicking and that’s what we got in this one. For those who love innovative ladder matches this one isn’t for you. They stayed away from doing a standard ladder match and instead went with a more entertaining formula: Austin kicks everyone’s ass to the delight of the crowd. The ending was what you would expect considering the McMahons needed to regain control of the company and in a way that screwed Austin. **1/2

WWF Title: HHH © (w/ Vince McMahon and Stephanie McMahon Helmsley) vs. The Rock
WWF Backlash: April 30, 2000; Washington DC

-Shane McMahon is the special ref in this one and Austin is supposed to be the outside enforcer, but so far he is a no show. Vince brings out the program and mentions the fine print reads card subject to change and tells us that Austin will not be here tonight. This should have been the Main Event of WrestleMania 2000, but didn’t happen and kind of a shame. The crowd is jacked for this one as this had been building for months and as I said this should have headlined Mania a month earlier. The crowd wants Austin, so I guess the fans aren’t buying what Vince was selling. They immediately brawl in the corner and the Rock fires back with right hands and a spit punch. He whips HHH into the ropes and connects with an elbow. HHH tries for a quick Pedigree, but Rock is out with a backdrop. He stomps away in the corner and Shane forces the Rock to break. That gives HHH a chance to hit a neck breaker and a quick count only gets two. The Rock fights back with a suplex, but then gets sent over the top to the floor. HHH drops him face first on the announce table and JR questions if that is legal. To be fair I don’t know if anyone has been disqualified for sending someone into the table, steps, or ring post. Vince runs Rock into the post as the deck is clearly stacked against him in this one. A high knee cuts off a Rock comeback and again we get another quick two count. A sweet vertical suplex from HHH bounces Rock off the mat and a knee drop gets a two count. HHH keeps going for a cover and with each one Shane makes sure to count a little faster, but Rock is out each time. HHH locks in a sleeper as the crowd has yet to cool down in this one. The one flaw with the ref thing is that with a move such as the sleeper couldn’t Shane just end the match saying the Rock quit? Instead he plays it straight and checks the arm, but Rock is still in this one. Ever the awesome heel, HHH puts his feet on the ropes for added leverage. The Rock stats to fight back again and gets to his feet where he breaks the hold. He gets mowed down with a clothesline however, and Shane counts a rather quick two again. Finally the Rock gets some separation as he drops HHH face first on the top turnbuckle. The Rock is the first one to his feet and starts firing off right hands. A double clothesline leaves both men down as Shane starts to count. In a nice heel move, Shane makes sure to try to slightly assist HHH. The Rock gets to his feet first and gets blasted with the title belt by Vince. The crowd starts to chant for Austin again and that stops once the Rock starts laying the SmackDown in the corner. We go back to the floor where Rock hits a sweet clothesline. He goes to work on the shoulder of HHH and seemingly does some damage. A quick DDT gets a cover, but Shane refuses to count and the crowd is about to rush the ring. Rock blasts Shane with a right hand that sends him to the floor and Rock soon follows off a shot by HHH. The Rock gets sent into the stairs and HHH starts to prep the Spanish Table. HHH pounds away on the table and sets up the Rock for the Pedigree, but the Rock connects with a shot to the balls to block. Now he prepares for the Rock Bottom, but Shane is up on the table to stop that noise. Ever the awesome one, Rock opts to Rock Bottom both men at the same time through the table in one of the greatest spots that has been forgotten. The place comes unglued with that one and I nearly stand up to cheer as well, but the Penguins just losing in 2 OT to Boston has me kind of irritated as I review this. Poor Shane got crushed on that one and thus he is still out when Rock and HHH head back in the ring. Vince gets involved once more and the Rock goes after him, but HHH saves with a punch to the balls. HHH hits the Pedigree, but Shane isn’t there to count. Vince calls out another ref and that brings out Patterson and Briscoe. The Rock kicks out again and that brings on a gang beat down. Vince brings in a chair as the white hot crowd is just dying for Austin to return and save the day. The Rock gets smashed with the chair, but the glass shatters before HHH can hit another Pedigree. That crowd goes absolutely insane as Austin beats the piss out of everything that moves with a chair including some sick shots to Vince and Shane. HHH eats a chair shot as well, and as Austin leaves, Linda heads down and brings Earl Hebnar with her. Earl had just been fired earlier and Linda sends him into the ring after the Rock hits a spinebuster and the People’s Elbow. The pin is academic at 19:23 as The Rock is the new WWF Champion to the joy of everyone in the building. After the match Austin tows the shell of the DX Express that he destroyed a few days earlier. He celebrates with The Rock to end the show in an even more perfect way.

Winner and New WWF Champion: The Rock via pin at 19:23
-What a fantastic match between these two. This had everything you could want and gave the fans the ending they deserved at WrestleMania. A forgotten classic to be sure that stands the test of time. ****1/2

WWF Title: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin © vs. The Rock
WWF Rebellion: Nov 3, 2001; Manchester, England

-This is in the final days of the Invasion angle (Survivor Series is 15 days away) and that means Austin is representing the Alliance. These two in the same ring is always fun and this should be no different. This also gives us the awesome commentary team of Heyman and Ross. Their run together was tremendous and sadly didn’t last nearly long enough. Austin jumps Rock before the bell and blitzes him in the corner. The Great One fights back and fires off some chops and hits a clothesline. Austin reverses a whip, but sets too early and gets caught with a neckbreaker. The Rock sends Austin to the floor and the he gives chase. They fight near the announce table and The Rock spits water in Austin’s face. That seemingly pisses Austin off as he comes back with right hands and chops. They do battle on the announce table as this one has had a blistering pace to start. Heyman kills me by asking JR what the difference is between a slobber knock and a supreme slobber knocker. Awesome! The ref is letting them go as the fight heads towards the entrance way. The battle on the stage and Austin takes a sick suplex on the grated stage. Austin gets to his feet first and tries a piledriver, but Rock backdrops out and Austin takes another nasty bump. They head back to the ring and the Rock catches Austin running in with a clothesline. Austin turns the tide and sends Rock into the post with a catapult in a spot lifted from Mania X-7 I believe. Being this isn’t Mania though and only an England exclusive PPV, no blood from Rock. Things finally settle back in the ring and in a hilarious spot, Austin teases getting crotched in the ropes, but instead flips off the crowd before mowing the Rock down with a clothesline. Austin goes for 4 pin falls in succession, but the Rock is out each time at the count of two. Back to the floor and now they do battle on the announce table. Austin tries again for that elusive piledriver, but Rock goes to the balls to block. The Rock can’t capitalize though and ends up getting dropped on the table. Austin’s facial reactions are tremendous here as he is playing a great paranoid, psychotic heel. The Rock gets ran into the table again and Austin is content to the take the count-out which is a 180 from what kick ass face Austin would want. Genius! Austin and Hebnar getting in a shoving match kind of like Young and Flair from years ago, but Flair never gave Tommy the finger like Austin did to Earl. A Thesz Press leaves the Rock down and Austin entertains the masses with the FU elbow with extra stank on it. The fact it drew an audible laugh from the crowd is pretty great. Now more greatness from Austin as he subtly gives the crowd the finger behind his back. The Rock makes his comeback and the good times continue as he hits his own FU elbow. I seriously want to see these guys go at it in the ring one more time just for the simple fact they have a ball working with each other. The Rock gets caught with a sleeper, but he rallies to his feet and breaks the hold. Austin cuts off a comeback and makes sure to continue the seemingly running gag of flipping off the crowd from every angle possible in the ring. The Rock gets put in the Boston Crab and that reminds me of the Pens losing Game 4 in Double OT so this fun match has left me rather pissed again. Thanks a lot! The hold gets broken and both men get knocked out for the double count from the ref. The race is on and they both get to their feet so they can slug it out in the middle of the ring. The Rock connects with a suplex for two and reverses a whip in the corner and that knocks out Hebnar. For good measure Austin ducks a clothesline and poor Hebnar gets caught with that as well. Austin tries for a Stunner, but Rock counters to a spinebuster and locks in his sloppy Sharpshooter. The Rock breaks the hold and goes after the ref. That gives Austin the chance to get his own Sharpshooter as Hebnar looks to be dead in the corner from his over acting. The Rock counters to another Sharpshooter and that brings in Angle who blasts Rock with a chair. Now Jericho is down and he makes the save by blasting Angle with a chair. The Rock sees Jericho with the chair and assumes it was him so he whips his ass and sends him to the floor. Austin tries the kick to set-up the Stunner, but Rock catches the boot and flips him the bird. He plants Austin with a Rock Bottom, but Angle is back to break the pin. Angle tries to do the spit bunch, but gets sent to the floor. Austin gets caught with another spinebuster and Rock tries the People’s Elbow, but Angle trips him to the make the save. He then blasts Rock with the WWF title belt and the dazed Rock staggers into a Stunner that is sold like death. Speaking of death, Hebnar has seemed to return from it as he crawls and makes the count at 22:09.

Winner and Still WWF Champion: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin via pin at 22:09
-Fun match with a crazy over booked ending, but that was to be expected. As I have said these two have a ton of chemistry with each other and this is just another good match to add to their list. It was great to see both men keeping up their intensity while at the same time having some fun out there. ***1/4

WWF Title: Kurt Angle © vs. Brock Lesnar
SummerSlam: August 24, 2003; Phoenix, AZ

-This is the long awaited rematch from the classic match they had at WrestleMania XIX. Angle is fresh off winning the title the previous month at Vengeance in a Triple Threat match involving Lesnar and Big Show. As a fun note on that same card was John Cena vs. The Undertaker and I don’t believe they have faced each other on a PPV since that show. It’s insane how they have kept they apart for nearly 10 years and one of the reasons why they need to do that match at Mania before Taker is done. Feeling out process to start and Brock uses his strength early, but then gets caught with a take down. Angle goes to a front face lock and Brock escapes and gets the back. Brock gets to his feet and looks a little unsure of himself now with Angle dominating the mat game. We go again and Angle gets another take down and a side headlock. Brock finally gets smart and starts using his strength which gets him confident again. Taz brings up a point that when Brock gets cocky he gets better in the ring. Angle tries to anger the big man to throw him off his game, and that’s what happens as Brock keeps charging into some arm drags and then bails to the floor. Brock is pissed and starts tossing around the stairs and smashing monitors at ring side. Awesome! For some reason Brock grabs the title and starts to walk away, but Angle catches him on the floor and they fight in the entrance ramp. Angle is the second man to get back in the ring, so he gets caught, but Angle gets a belly to belly suplex off a reverse in the corner. Brock comes back with gorilla press and casually tosses Angle over the top rope to the floor in an impressive spot. Dude is a beast! Angle gets fired into the stairs and then back into the ring. Now Brock gets to throw Angle around in the ring and it’s always impressive seeing the way Angle goes flying around the due to Brock’s power. Another gorilla press is countered into a roll-up for two, but Brock crushes Angle with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Guys this big shouldn’t be doing things we are used to seeing from cruiserweights. Brock grounds Angle with a rear naked choke and turns that into a body scissors. He gets a near fall off that and goes back to the choke. Angle fights to his feet to break the hold, but a knee cuts off the comeback at this point. Angle tries to fire back in the corner and gets another surprise pin, but Lesnar is out at two and runs down Kurt with a clothesline. Lesnar hits a sick version of a Muscle Buster that looks a lot more impressive than what we see from Ryback. Angle gets caught in the corner and hits a few spears, but a third attempt in the opposite corner catches the steel post. That gives Angle a chance to breathe and now he has an injured wing to target. He then goes to the knee to take Brock off his vertical base. Angle starts firing off rolling German Suplexes and Brock does great job of selling the shoulder with each suplex. A whip into the ropes is countered into another over head thrown by Brock and then he plants Angle with a spinebuster for two. The F5 is countered beautifully into a DDT and Lesnar is again out at two. Shit just got real as Kurt pulls down the straps and he connects with the Angle Slam, but Brock is able to kick out. Shit gets even more real as Kurt pulls up the straps and then pulls them down again before going to the ankle lock. Brock is able to break by rolling through and that causes the ref to get knocked down. Angle locks in a crazy ass submission that I haven’t seen since and when Lesnar falls to the ground, Kurt transitions right back to the ankle lock. Vince McMahon heads down to the ring as Brock taps, and he blasts Angle in the back with a chair. Did this match really need something like that? Brock connects with the F5 while standing on one leg and somehow Angle is able to kick out much to the delight of the crowd. Another F5 is countered by Kurt into the ankle lock and each time Brock goes for the ropes, Kurt keeps pulling him back into the middle of the ring and that leads to the tap-out at 21:17. Since Vince is an idiot he tries to attack Angle after the match with a chair and ends up getting hit with an Angle Slam onto the chair. Credit to Vince for always taking a beating far and above what one would expect from the owner of the company.

Winner and New WWE Champion: Kurt Angle via submission at 21:17
-Not as strong as their Mania match, but still awesome none the less. I loved the structure of the match and Brock’s facial reactions were great as they told the story of the match. I could watch these two tossing each other around the ring for years on end, but sadly Brock went off to the UFC to become a massive star. I could have done without the McMahon stuff, but things ended cleanly. ***3/4

WWE Title: Cage Match: John Cena © vs. Edge (w/ Lita)
RAW: Oct 2, 2006; Topeka, Kansas

-This is being built as Edge’s final chance at the title and is the first mini blow-off of this feud that would be on and off for a few more years. Cena had just won the title at Unforgiven the previous month in a hellacious TLC Match in Toronto. The previous week on RAW, Cena was attacked by King Booker and his court and is coming into this match with a damaged shoulder. The try to send each other into the cage early, but each man is able to block. Cena connects with a one arm suplex and immediately sells the arm with each move he not only takes, but also connects with. Edge goes right to the arm and uses the ropes to add some torque. He tries for the door as this is escape, pin, or submission rules. Cena makes the save and then Edge tries going over the top, but gets slammed back in the ring. Now that Edge has established the two ways you can win by escape things should settle. Cena tries the FU (now AA), but Edge counters to the Impaler DDT. Cena gets back into control with the Throwback and then for stupid reason tries to climb the cage even though he only has one good arm. Even Lawler questions that strategy. Edge brings him down by the bad arm and then spears him through the ropes against the cage wall. Nice! They battle on the top rope and Cena bring Edge down with face first in an impressive spot as we take a commercial break. We come back with a look over Lita’s shoulder who looked insanely hot during the period she became Edge’s slutty heel manager. Remember kids, women seemingly look better in wrestling when they turn heel. The same thing happened with Trish and even with Liz when she went n.W.o. Edge crawls towards the door, but Cena is able to drag him back to the center of the ring. A well placed boot to the damaged arm turns the tide and Cena gets tossed shoulder first into the cage. The women in the crowd freak out as Edge gets to the top of the cage, but Cena meets him up there as they straddle the top and start throwing blows. Edge is nearly out and should probably just drop and land on Lita. Any good heel would sacrifice his manager or woman for the title, so I am kind of disappointed by Edge on that one. Another climb by Edge and this time he lands balls first on the top rope. Cena starts rolling through his offense including a Five Knuckle Shuffle and considering this is 7 years ago it just shows how stale has act his become since he is basically the same exact guy with the same move set. The bad part is that I’m not even a Cena hater as dude produces good matches, but damn does his character suck balls anymore. They fight to the door again and Lita is able to hand Edge a chair. The ref tosses Lita, but at least she served her purpose. The crowd sings her to the back as they have been white hot for this one. The ref gets knocked out in the chaos and Edge is able to get his hands on the chair. No clue why we needed a ref bump is a no DQ cage match, but I didn’t book this. Cena swings away with the chair and locks in the STFU, and now I guess I see why we have no ref as nobody is there to see if Edge will tap. The ref on the floor tries to open the door to get inside the ring to seemingly take over, but that gives Cade and Murdoch (forgot all about them being involved actually) to get into the ring to destroy Cena. They try to carry Edge’s carcass out the door, but DX makes the save. Shawn hits Sweet Chin Music on Murdoch and that sends him into the door which cracks Edge in the face. Nice! Cena uses that to hit at FU and keeps his title at 19:11 (total time).

Winner and Still WWE Champion: John Cena via pin at 19:11
-Solid match between these two as one would expect with a very hot crowd. The Cena hate wasn’t in full effect here so we got a tradition heel vs. face reaction from the crowd and that was nice to see for a change. I don’t know if these two could ever have a bad match against each other, and again I stand by the thought that this is the greatest rivalry in each man’s career (unless Punk and Cena continue their war). ***1/4

Blu-Ray Exclusive Content

-In the build to Mania XXV Shawn does a tribute to Taker on SmackDown. Druids decked in white head to the ring and then out comes Shawn dressed like Taker but in all white. This is a pretty sweet visual and just looks epic. The look on Shawn’s face as he removes his hat like Taker is priceless and it actually draws some boos from the crowd. Shawn quotes from Genesis with God creating light and dividing it from darkness. Taker comes up through the ring and tries a choke slam, but Shawn uses the ropes to escape. Good promo from Shawn here though I would have liked a match between the two on here even if the choices are kind of slim considering the Hell in a Cell match and both Mania matches have been released. If the Ground Zero match is on the In Your House set, I guess the Casket Match would have been the only choice.

WWF Title: Six Man Tag: HHH ©, Batista, and Shane McMahon vs. Legacy (Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Ted Dibiase)
WWE Backlash: April 26, 2009; Providence, Rhode Island

-HHH’s title is on the line here and as a bonus if anyone from HHH’s side gets disqualified or counted out Orton wins the title. That is pretty unique and now HHH has to worry about keeping Batista and Shane in check. More specifically Batista is returning from injury and looking for revenge as Orton is the one that punted him in the head to put him out of action for 4 months. The faces all go after Orton, but HHH gets their first before the bell even starts. The brawl to the back and only HHH returns so it looks like this is going to start as a handicap match. Dibiase and Rhodes are reluctant as one would expect, but the bell sounds and away we go. Batista beats the hell out of Rhodes and makes him his bitch in rather short order. Shane gets the tag and he gets some shots in before making the tag to HHH. He stomps away in the corner, but makes sure to back away as to not get disqualified. JR brings up a great point in that it is best for HHH to be in the ring as he can control his own destiny and not worry about Shane or Batista costing him the title. HHH and Shane team up to deliver a Hart Attack with seems kind of wrong on all levels, but I guess HHH and Vince doing it would be worse. Back to Batista as Rhodes and Dibiase are just getting squashed. Batista hits a sick standing vertical suplex that shows off his power. Rhodes smartly goes to the eyes and we have honest to goodness offense from the two members of Legacy. It doesn’t last long as Batista knocks them both down with a clothesline and calls for the end as he preps for the Batista Bomb, but Dibiase smartly bails to the floor. Batista gives chase and Orton finally returns to blast the Animal and send him into the ring post. Orton gets the tag and now the crowd is into this match as the hottest heel in the business at the time is back in the mix. Batista gets to play Animal in peril as he gets double teamed in the corner while someone else plays mind games with the ref, Shane, and HHH. Orton drills Batista with the rope assisted DDT, but only gets a two count. Legacy use every advantage to keep Batista in their part of the ring, and they tease the big tag several times, but each time Batista gets cut off from his corner. Nice! The match and crowd heat so far is far better than what we got with Orton and HHH at Mania that part of me wishes they would have done this match at Mania and then finished with Taker/Shawn. Would have made for a better show even if Rumble winner would have shared a Main Event with his flunkies. Batista finally makes the hot tag to Shane and he spazzes out with right hands and a neck breaker on Rhodes. Shane heads up top and connects with a flying elbow to Rhodes, but Dibiase makes the save. Orton pulls Shane to the floor and sends him crashing into the ring stairs and now we get a second heat segment with Shane playing the usurped heir to the throne in peril. I will say that Shane in this role will be more believable than bad ass Batista earlier which isn’t a knock on The Animal. Shane just generally does a great job of taking a shit kicking and selling it. Rhodes controls Shane rather easily and the heels use quick tags to continue the onslaught. Over in the opposite corner HHH looks concerned knowing that his title reign is in the hands of his brother in law. Orton hits his standing dropkick for two, and makes tag back to Dibiase. Shane fights back just enough to show signs of hope, but then gets beat down again to build some drama. Rhodes goes to a front face lock as the crowd is begging for Shane to make the hot tag, but it’s just not happening right now. Shane is able to backdrop out of the hold and crawls to the corner, but Dibiase cuts him off at the last second possible. This is great tag wrestling right here as they are toying with the emotions of the crowd. Dream Street is blocked by Shane and the race is on to the corner again and this time Shane gets the tag to HHH at the same time Dibiase tags Orton. The shit is on now as they say with HHH beating the piss out of Orton and then taking out Rhodes and Dibiase for good measure. A spinebuster gets two as Dibiase saves and that draws in Batista. In the ring Rhodes catches HHH with a DDT, but then gets clotheslined to the floor. That leaves HHH and Orton in the ring alone. Shane gets blasted with a chair behind the ref’s back to eliminate him from the match. Next Rhodes hits Batista in the throat with the chair and that only pisses him off. Inside the ring HHH blocks the RKO and looks for the Pedigree, but he stops to keep Batista from using a chair on Rhodes. That momentary distraction allows Orton to hit the RKO for a fantastic near fall that it even caused the bell to ring prematurely. Orton is pissed and goes to a dark place as he punts HHH’s head off and that is enough to get the title to a rather sizeable pop at 22:50. Legacy leaves quickly as Batista looks distraught for basically costing HHH the title. The EMTs head to the ring and stretcher HHH out of the ring as the crowd sings ”hey, hey goodbye to him.” That is awesome in so many ways!

Winners: Legacy and New WWE Champion: Randy Orton via pin at 22:50
-Again, I would have had no problem had they done this match at Mania and closed with Shawn/Taker. Hell, they could have done Cena/Edge Last Man Standing from this same show at Mania as well and we would have had possibly greatest Mania ever if keep everything else the same. I loved the story of the match and everyone played their roles perfectly. The ending was great and while some will say that it protected HHH because he seemingly had the win, it still made sense with the stipulation. ****

WWE Title: CM Punk © (w/ Paul Heyman) vs. John Cena
WWE Night of Champions: Sept 16, 2012; Boston, MA

-On a personal note to Boston from a Pens fan: Boo! Now with that out of my system I will say Bruins played a hell of a series and earned a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. Now onto this match as Cena gets to be challenger in his hometown against the champion CM Punk. I don’t see Boston being as solidly behind Cena as Chicago was behind Punk some 14 months earlier. In an awesome touch, Punk comes out wearing Yankee pinstripes just to hammer home that he wants the crowd to boo him. Man is a genius! Before the entrances Heyman cuts a promo to make the crowd boo Punk even more and reminds us that Punk is at day 302 in this title reign. JBL makes my day by mentioning this is Punk’s first Main Event in 9 months even though he has carried the company for over a year and that is why he deserves the respect he craves. Cena does get a rather positive response, but clearly some Punk fans in the house. In a great douche bag, heel move Punk holds the title above his head while ignoring Cena before the match starts and keeps it going with a smug look on his face. Actually just dawned on me that this is the Stanley Cup Finals for this year with Boston vs. Chicago and somehow WWE needs to bring that up with Punk’s upcoming return. The crowd is hot for this one as a match between these two is one that always carries a big match feel and it’s a damn shame they haven’t been given the ball at Mania. Tie up to start and Cena controls early on the mat before Punk escapes to his feet. The dueling Cena charts start which is always fun and even more so since Cena’s home fans are telling us that he sucks. Another tie-up and Cena gets a fisherman’s suplex, but Punk is out at two. A back elbow drops Cena and Punk controls with a side headlock. Back to their feet and Cena powers out sending Punk to the ropes and he catches the champion with a backdrop. Punk fights back with more elbows to the head as that seems to be what he is targeting for now. He fires Cena into the corner and then celebrates to a mix of boos and cheers on the ropes. Cena tries to catch Punk off guard, but he is still a step ahead and catches Cena with a stiff DDT for two. Punk goes back to the headlock, and Cena fights to his feet, but gets caught with a bridging submission hold as Punk is dominating to start. Cena uses his strength to fight out of the hold, but he can’t capitalize so just rolls to the floor. He limps to his feet and Punk catches him with a dive through the ropes to the floor. Punk makes sure to gloat a little to Cena’s family and friends at ringside. He blows kisses to the crowd and that’s a little much as Cena catches him with a baseball slide. Punk gets tossed into the front row and then brought back over with a fisherman’s suplex on the floor. Back inside the ring Cena tries for the AA, but Punk blocks with a kick to the back of the neck. The heavy blows to the head and neck continue as Punk begins to box with the challenger. A right head sends Cena to the mat and that gets a two count. The champion heads up top and delivers a double axe handle to the side of the head. I love the fact that Punk is using blunt trauma to set up the GTS. Cena ducks a clothesline and connects with a dew shoulders, but Punk counters a sit out suplex into a body press for two. A stiff clothesline leaves Punk looking for some teeth, but he is able to kick out at two. The Five Knuckle Shuffle follows, but Punk stays a step ahead as he gets up a foot to block. Nice! A punch to the balls would have been better, but nice! Punk tries the spring board clothesline, but Cena catches him rolling through and tries the AA, but Punk bails to the floor to escape. Cena comes flying out with his own dive through the ropes in a sweet move for him. Back inside the ring Cena goes through some his offense, but the Shuffle gets countered again and this time it’s into the Anaconda Vice. Cena powers out of that though and counters to the STF, but Punk is able to slide his head out and counters to a Crippler Crossface of all things. Some high quality wrestling right here! Again Cena uses his power game to get to his feet and he drops back to break the hold. The crowd tries to rally Cena as both men are being counted out by the ref. The Punk fans make their voices heard and then the two men start exchanging punches with the crowd cheering and booing when the feel necessary. Punk wins the exchange and then hits the Randy Savage elbow for two. The champion calls for Cena’s bedtime, but he catches the knee on the way down and locks in the STF. Sweet! Punk gets to the bottom rope to break and then catches a charging Cena with the GTS for two. Wow! Heyman looks disgusted outside and Punk looks frustrated inside the ring. Punk opts to throw some kicks as he thinks of what he has to do to beat Cena. He hits his own stiff clothesline for two as Punk continues to search for what the next move will be. He decides to slap Cena and that backfires as Cena hits the side slam, Shuffle, and then the AA for two in a crazy near fall that has the crowd rocking. Punk rolls to the floor, so Cena chases, tosses him back in the ring, and tries to hit the top rope leg drop, but it misses. The Champion hits the head kick, but again Cena is able to get his shoulder up before the ref counts three. A running knee to the temple gets another two count and Punk heads up again this time looking for a moonsault, but Cena rolls out of the way. That was a rather ugly moonsault as it sort of missed and I kind of hit, but Cole does a great job of covering by saying that Punk is desperate as he is pulling out moves you rarely see from him. Cena uses his raw power to put Punk in position for the AA, but Punk counters to the GTS and again Cena is out at two. In the best spot of the match, Punk catches Cena with a Rock Bottom as a message to the great one. Cena is out at two and Punk’s reaction is fantastic. This is just begging for him to try a Stunner next, but instead Cena hits the AA and now Punk gets to kick out at two. This shit is just epic and I don’t want it to end. They fight on the top rope as the crowd tells “this is awesome” and I agree with that one. Cena hits a German Suplex off the middle rope and that gets him the pin at 26:54. Cena celebrates with the title, but the ref takes the title away from him and gives it to CM Punk. Roberts lets us know that each man had his shoulders down at the count of three and thus we have a draw so Punk keeps his title. Cena whines to the ref, so Punk blasts him with the title and poses with title above Cena’s lifeless body. That will show him. The replay shows the ref clearly made the right call and Cena only has himself to blame for that one.

Result: DRAW due to Double Pin at 26:54
-That was one hell of a match that built and built and built, but the ending keeps it from being on par with their MITB classic. This was actually turning into a better match, but again ending takes a little away from it. I love the story with Punk being a step ahead at each turn, but never being able to get the one move that could end the match. Also as Champion it is Cena’s job to beat Punk and in this case he did no such thing, so Punk had every right to celebrate. These two have crazy, good chemistry and at this point I would be shocked if they didn’t deliver when given the chance. ****1/4

The 411: This was a solid look at some great rivalries, but I am kind of disappointed by the lack of any matches from WCW. With that said I like the fact they tried to find good matches that had yet to see the light of day on all the various DVD releases.
 
Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]  legend

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Robert Leighty Jr.

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