The Wrestling Thread

[Shuggie_Murray7]

Shane McMahon 4 TNA

[KilliePie]

That's pish about Shane O'Mac, he's class when he's used on tv.

Just found that some guy on youtube has put up most of the Best of Smackdown DVD here.

I'm guessing he'll put the rest on at some point.

Edit: As soon as I put that up and checked the link, the account had been suspended, odd timing, it got put up like a month ago and I was about to watch it

Edited October 16, 2009 by KilliePie

[DomDom]

That's pish about Shane O'Mac, he's class when he's used on tv.

Apart from when he's helping to bury one of the top talents in a long time.

I'm glad he won't be on WWE TV again. He's helped to f**k Kane and Randy Orton now. I wouldn't have liked to have seen who'd be next.

[DomDom]

I've decided that Matt Hardy will either be called Fatt Lardy or Gut.

WWE Smackdown 16/10/2009

Spoilers ahoy !

There's a wee "in memory" thing for Lou Albano before the WWE thing at the start at the show.

Teddy Long comes out and talks about the RAW vs. Smackdown match that is coming up at Bragging Rights, and then introduces team captain, Chris Jericho of Smackdown. Chris Jericho goes on about what he is going to do at DX at Bragging Rights. Kane has had enough. Quite frankly, so had I. Kane is now the co-captain of the Smackdown 7. Chris Jericho : "I was thinking the same thing.". Anyways, we have two captains of Team Smackdown and segment done. Same old, same old from both men, but nothing wrong with it.

Finlay vs. Mike Knox vs. Dolph Ziggler - Bragging Rights Qualifying Match

Kinda dull really, although not without it's moments. Mike Knox brought some quality brutality right from the word go. Dolph Ziggler didn't really do much in the match, and he could have been made to look better. His Dropkicks were cool though. He seemed to jump forwards with it unlike most people who just sort of jump upwards and do it. Dolph wins and moves onto Bragging Rights. *1/2

Cryme Time vs. The Hart Dynasty - Bragging Rights Qualifying Match

I can't see The Hart Dynasty without thinking of Father Ted on the phone with the Chinese fella. The match here was pretty good for it's length. The final sequence flowed really well. Cryme Time being in the big match is great news because they're already over, and I reckon JTG could move on from the team and become something bigger, so getting a sort of main event will only help. **

Chris Jericho is in the back with Michelle McCool, and Teddy Long. Mickie James is glad she got traded to Smackdown. Beth Phoenix then appears. Please don't tell me the divas are getting more time on Smackdown.

Vince McMahon is on his cell phone. CM Punk appears. He thinks that the four way is crap, but Vince won't cancel it. CM Punk gets a rematch next week though. Submission Match.

Eric Escobar vs. Fatt Lardy - Bragging Rights Qualifying Match

VICKIE GUERRERO~~~!!! If you told me that she'd be one of my favourite things on WWE TV, I'd have belted you. It's a shame that Escobar is getting lumbered with Gut. Delighted that he was able to bring that maniacal aggression to Smackdown, although did he really need Vickie to do that ? She's already hated enough and he could have done with a clean win over someone like Gut if he was going into a big match on a PPV. I guess the fact that he's made it to the match is enough. Decent enough showing though. *1/2

The Dirt Sheet

It's about bloody time there was a new episode of this. The Miz has definately perfected the "face you want to slap". The Rockers get a mention, which was obvious, but it's pleasing none the less. Slagging of Marty Jannetty doesn't please. Morrison works in a mom joke. Mizzy Jannetty. The Miz is NOT husky ! "These mistakes are just jealous.". This segment is amazing. The moral of things is that John Morrison wants The Miz to get up and take a shot. The Miz decides to take his belt and get out of there. Superb segment.

Drew McIntyre vs. R-Truth - Bragging Rights Qualifying Match

A nothing match really, but it was better than their PPV match since they got time to build a bit of a match. Really good ending actually, even though I don't usually like count out endings. Delighted to see Drew McIntyre getting a spot on the team. He's going to have to step up his game if he's going to go anywhere in WWE, because there is nothing about him at the moment. **

Backstage with Batista and Rey Mysterio and Batista doesn't feel good about facing Rey.

The Undertaker has a message for those involved with the idiocy of Breaking Point. This is what they've been hyping ? It's just basically the most basic of hype promos for the upcoming matches.

Rey Mysterio vs. Batista

I can't really imagine this being very good. This was incredibly tedious for the first few minutes. I don't know if the fans were booing Batista being aggressive or the match being crap. They finally seemed to get an actual wrestling match going though. The ending seems to have been worked as they made a huge point of pointing it out. It gives Rey a win over Batista while it gives Batista a reason to be annoyed and not put him down too much. Fair enough I suppose. Alright match after it gets past the first few minutes. **1/4

CM Punk gets into the ring and hits G2S on Rey and does a runner when Batista comes running back into the ring.

OVERALL

********

This was a bleh show. No matches were really all that good and the fans were dead because they weren't actually given anything worth cheering for or against apart from in the awesome Dirt Sheet segment.

[Denji]

Apart from when he's helping to bury one of the top talents in a long time.

I'm glad he won't be on WWE TV again. He's helped to f**k Kane and Randy Orton now. I wouldn't have liked to have seen who'd be next.

Since I stopped watching for years, could you explain how he helped to f**k them?

[DomDom]

He had a fued with Kane where he was an equal to him. He actually looked better than him at times. Small non-wrestler Shane booked to look better than monster Kane.

Then there was him actually looking better than Orton, Dibiase and Rhodes combined when Orton was looking to become the biggest heel in yonks. He never recovered, but the HHH fued was the final nail in the coffin. Just a boring "same old crap" thing that did the business.

[DomDom]

The Best of Smackdown Disc Three

We're finally on the home stretch of this set. Thank god. I can't wait to move onto Macho Madness.

#39 - Motherslapper - 23/03/2000

Always nice to see Linda getting slapped down, although the only way this has made it so high on the list is because of how memorable the moment was. It really wasn't much better than anything else that was going on at the time. It did get Stephanie over as a huge heel though.

#38 - A Celebration to Remember - 19/02/2004

The moment when Eddie won the title is probably up there with some of the great moments of all time. I don't think this was quite as good, but it was absolutely amazing to see him in the ring with the big prize and the fans were fucking mental for it. No problems with this being there. It's Eddie~~~!!!

#37 - The Big Show Returns - 09/09/2004

Aye, nevermind including the Eddie/Angle match that was on before it happened. The Big Show was fatter than ever at this point and looked an absolute mess. This moment has absolutely no significance and no fun about it whatsoever. Pass.

#36 - Sexy Kurt - 24/03/2005

We go from the crap to the sublime. Kurt and Sherri doing the HBK music was just amazing. I'm laughing watching it again. "Hands off the merchandise ! WHOO !".

#35 - The New Age Outlaws vs. Rock N Sock Connection - 14/10/1999

I can only hope that these two ever DID have a match which was better than mediocre. If not, then I can only wonder what this match is doing here. Turns out that they DID have a good match here. Good enough to be on here, and significant enough as well, as the Rock N Sock Connection had to win to stay together. Hence, a HOT crowd and some desperation wrestling and some shenanigans and GREAT timing from both teams. I have no idea how they couldn't replicate this one. ***1/2

#34 - Houdini of Hardcore

We're going to Crash Holly winning the hardcore title, and his decision to bring a 24/7 rule in by saying he'll defend his title anytime anywhere, which led to some right good stuff. All of the title changes sort of demeaned the title, but the title had already outstayed it's welcome, so it needed something to lift it. Crash Holly was that something. Another success in the 2000 period for WWE.

#33 - Mysterio Flies - 25/07/2002

This would be the debut of Rey, and his decision to make an impact on the main event of the night by diving off of the cage. This was a classic Smackdown moment as it was seen as Rey's first REAL involvement ( he had a match with Tajiri earlier in the night ) in the WWE, so fair enough. Cool moment.

#32 - Undertaker's Revenge - 26/09/2008

The Undertaker gets revenge on Vickie Guerrero for all of the grief that she has caused him over the months. That moment had a lot of people cheering in front of their TV sets as Vickie was hated so much. Woot ! Vickie Guerrero was awesome though.

#31 - Divorce Court

"I WANT A DIVORCE !!!"

The McMahon troubles continue with the hilarious Vinny Mac divorce request, and the Linda in a wheelchair storyline which was paid off in absolutely sensational fashion at the greatest PPV of all time. Trish Stratus and Stephanie McMahon also came into things and the whole thing was just crazy. Deserves a good place for the initial promo and Vince kissing Trish in front of Linda, which was just wrong in all sorts of ways.

#30 - Kurt Angle vs. John Cena - 27/06/2002

Remember the days when John Cena wasn't hated by such a huge number of people ? Then again, he wasn't even KNOWN by anyone at this point. This would be his debut. This was also the match that Angle took off that wig and wanted to do it. John Cena looked amazing in his debut, giving Kurt Angle a real match and the fans really bought into the possibility of Cena winning the match. Good stuff. ***1/4

#29 - Icon Destruction - 08/08/2002

In simple terms, Brock destroys Hogan and puts himself in the big time. 'nuff said.

#28 - Get In Ma Belly - 13/04/2000

The Big Show was trying to entertain at this point so he did all sorts of imitations and impressions to get a laugh from the crowd. A lot of the time, it did work, but it's 2000 in WWE, so that should have been obvious. This time, he went for Fat b*****d. Pity his accent is more German/Irish than Scottish, but we can allow him this. Not an amazing segment, but I'm glad this time got covered in here.

#27 - Bald is Beautiful - 13/06/2002

Kurt Angle had been beaten in a hair vs. hair match against Edge. Hogan attacked Angle on this episode of RAW and took the wig from him and he was bald. Meh. Nothing segment. The actual unwigging the next time was much more important.

#26 - Border Patrol - 08/04/2004

I honestly didn't think this segment would make it, and I'm absolutely delighted that it did. The point here is JBL kicks illegal immigrants back into Mexico. Literally. A truly amazing segment which defines everything that made JBL awesome. The comments basically condemn it, but I think WWE know just how terrific that moment was.

#25 - The Big Show vs. Stephanie McMahon and Zach Gowan - 03/07/2003

Don't ask me how this match managed to work. I guess the overbooking and the crazy offense from the one legged man helped. There was no room to DISLKIKE the match because this was constant non-stop action. Of course Gowan winning the contract didn't go anywhere, but this was still worth being on here because of who was in it and how good it turned out to be. **3/4

#24 - Right Place, Wrong Time - 27/07/2000

Basically, HHH is showing Trish some moves because he has to team with her, but Stephanie McMahon walks in at the wrong time and she is NOT amused. HHH's reactions are worth this all alone. That is actually a genius bit of writing there. Not often that such a stupid segment works on every level.

#23 - Ultimate Oppertunist - 11/05/2007

Batista and The Undertaker have just had an absolute war and Edge decided that this was the perfect time to head to the ring and win the World Title. Not before Mark Henry gets his own shots in. Another one of those moments which just defines a wrestler. See the title given to this segment.

#22 - Angle vs. Lesnar - 18/09/2003

They go at it in a hell of Iron Man Match. The whole thing isn't here, which is a shame, but it's understandable. I can't remember much as I haven't seen it since it was first on, but I can remember it being an absolute war. Not much else I can say, other than a big match for Smackdown.

#21 - DX-Plosion - 27/04/2000

Steve Austin blows up the DX Express. I don't think there's much else to be said about that.

#20 - Batista Forfeits The Title - 13/01/2006

The usual injury/new champ thing. Nothing new here, and so much so that I can't think of any reason why it's on here, and even more baffled why it's so high in the list.

#19 - People's Elbow - 30/09/1999

The Rock referees the match between British Bulldog and Triple H and then we see ... THE FUCKING SLIDING PEOPLE'S ELBOW~~~!!! :D :lol: Just unreal. Absolutely unreal. Leaves a fuzzy feeling inside. Words don't do this justice.

#18 - Edge and Hulk Hogan vs. Billy and Chuck - 04/07/2002

It's Hogan in a tag match so we've been there and seen it a million times before. This isn't any worse than what you'd usually see in such a match and with it being a 4th of July win for the All American, I won't begrudge watching this too much. Truth be told, it's not a bad match. **1/2

#17 - Kurt Kisses Stephanie - 24/08/2000

Kurt Angle sort of raised the stakes with this one, didn't he ! This was coming for yonks at the time, as Angle was firing in at every chance with Stephanie completely oblivious to the intentions, untill he laid the smackdown on her lips. Fun and games.

#16 - JBL vs. Dollzilla - 10/02/2005

JBL is doozy after being shot with a tranq dart. JBL decides to fight with a big dinosaur because of that. Some of it was funny. Some of it ... not so much.

#15 - TLC III - 24/05/2001

So the whole match ISN'T here. Understandable again, and this time because the match has already been on a couple of WWE releases, and they don't want to be putting the same stuff on every DVD set. This match got the full whammy of ***** from me since it is absolutely magnificent, and absolutely insane into the bargain. All eight men just annihilated each other.

#14 - Blockbuster Champ - 11/11/1999

Arnie is here ! Vinny Mac basically brought him out and let him have the belt for a short time. He loved holding it and seemed geniunely delighted to be there, which is always nice to see from a celeb. Even on commentary he was like a little kid all giddy and stuff. Superb, and actually really nice addition to the set.

#13 - Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy - 12/04/2001

HHH and Hardy lose points for repeating a blown spot so soon after blowing it. You NEVER do that. This was an extended squash basically, as Triple H had EVERYTHING in the match untill the ref got bumped. After that he basically lost the match thanks to Matt Hardy. A nothing match which gets a nothing rating. N/R

#12 - Champion Chairman - 16/09/1999

One of the most despicable pieces of ego stroking that I can think of in wrestling, but at the same time, such a memorable moment, and therefore you can't argue with it's place in the list. It really is a lose/lose situation as far as this goes. Lilian says "so shocking". Yeah.

#11 - Thuganomics

The gimmick which propelled John Cena into the big time, and the one that ultimately made him the guy who splits opinions more than anyone else in the WWE. We get some cracking clips of his old rapping in this little compilation. Good memories.

#10 - Tribute to the Troops

You know the deal. WWE go over to Iraq and do a show as a thank you to the troops.

#9 - Supermarket Brawl - 13/12/2001

I was beginning to get worried about this one. Booker T. is at the supermarket and gets spotted and attacked by Steve Austin. Austin basically humiliates Booker all over the supermarket much to the amusement of everyone watching, including myself.

#8 - Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge, No DQ Match - 26/09/2002

An insane match at times. This match features the biggest Powerbomb you will ever see. Both men just did everything they could to make it look unreal. They also did some other mental stuff with the ladders. The crowd were even going mental for Eddie Guerrero by the end as well. One of the best matches ever to happen on Smackdown thanks to two great wrestlers putting each other through it all. Eddie Guerrero gets a standing ovation at the end. ****1/2

#7 - The Rock Says

The Rock gets a wee segment all of his own here. Superb. I could watch The Rock for hours on end.

#6 - Funeral Crasher - 11/11/1999

Good god, how did I manage to forget about this one ? The Big Show's dad passes away. The Big Bossman takes the piss out of it. The Big Bossman heads into the funeral with his cop car and proceeds to do what he has been doing, and takes the piss out of it. The coffin gets dragged away and Show jumps on it, getting dragged away.

#5 - Austin and Angle Unplugged - 12/07/2001

Steve Austin goes to Vince McMahon and decides he's going to sing him a song to solve his problems. Vince McMahon was not happy, so Kurt Angle shows up and tries to help. This finally drives Vince McMahon out of the room. Super moment, as has been most of this top lot.

#4 - The Pilot - 29/04/1999

Here for importance more than anything else. This was NOT a great show. Almost the WWE's attempt at doing Monday Nitro. Hugely important in the context of this list though.

#3 - Triple H vs. The Rock - 26/08/1999

This would be the first main event of the weekly Smackdown show. It's The Rock vs. Triple H so we know it's going to be at least entertaining. This is the usual arena wide brawl of a main event on a 1999 show. Not much of a match outside of that, as it's all basically just a bunch of build to the ending of Shawn turning on The Rock, which led to nothing at all. Poor show really, but again, this was the official first main event of Smackdown, so here it is. **

#2 - The Bigger They Are - 12/06/2003

The Big Show gets a Superplex from Brock and they break the ring. Astonishing visual which doesn't lose any of it's impact on repeated viewing. The ultimate holy shit spot in WWE history, as it's one you simply did NOT see coming.

#1 - 9/11 Tribute Show - 13/09/2001

The historical significance of this show is on a mind boggling scale. The national pride on show is pretty amazing to see. Worthy #1.

OVERALL

********

This disc is truly magnificent. The set is okay before that. A nice mix of the weird and the magnificent and sometimes the poor. Worth the money for the last disc though.

[Parscelona]

It's madness how closely WWE books their PPV's, Hell In A Cell was just over and next week is the Bragging Rights event?

Sure, Orton vs Cena will be a good match to watch as the two have great chemistry in the ring however the stipulation that Cena will leave Raw if he loses, makes it sounds like he will win the match. I mean if Cena left who is going to be the main face on Raw? It won't be DX as they're going into a fued against Jerishow. This leaves MVP, Mark Henry and Kofi Kingston, sorry but none of them are good enough for main event level nevermind being a huge face, so it looks like Cena will be champion, again.

The World Heavyweight Championship looks like a very interesting match. Undertaker and Punk have had a rivarly brewing between them, while Batista and Mysterio friendship seems to be going down the pan. I can see Batista turning heel by attacking Mysterio if Rey unintentionally costs Batista the title or wins the title himself, simply because Batista stated how much he meant the title means to him.

The 7 on 7 match is just a weird match filled with a couple of main event stars and the rest being mid carders with nothing better to do. Team Raw looks really strong while the Smackdown side on the other hand is absolutely terrible. Two randoms, Drew McIntyre and Eric Escobar are on the blue team yet they've hardly been on Smackdown for five minutes. I don't see any potential from either, espcially Escobar who is out of shape and looks like being a jobber in 3 months time.

[meenanisaloon]

Has Shane McMahon resigned?

That's a weird one if he has

[DA Baracus]

Can't agree that the Smackdown DVD is worth the money. If it actually showed the incidents that happened then it would be, but for the most part they just talk about them with a couple of clips thrown in. It's entertaining in parts but is just very frustrating to watch (e.g. number 38; they could easliy have shown the whole thing, and it's ridiculous that they don't even show all of their number one entry). The added crowd noises in the matches don't do anyone any good, especially since they use the same two noises (face and heel!). And some of the incidents have been covered elsewhere (e.g.24 and 34 appear on the best of Raw volume 3 that I have on video!).

[DomDom]

I just thought that it had the right mix of all the right things. It showed the good parts of all of the segments anyways and I don't really think they could have fitted in some of the segments in full anyways. It kept me entertained over 3 discs. That's all I ask.

Has Shane McMahon resigned?

That's a weird one if he has

Indeed he has.

Probably gonna work with Linda McMahon now.

It's madness how closely WWE books their PPV's, Hell In A Cell was just over and next week is the Bragging Rights event?

WWE specializes in madness ! It is a bit stupid, but I won't be complaining if they keep the standard up.

Sure, Orton vs Cena will be a good match to watch as the two have great chemistry in the ring however the stipulation that Cena will leave Raw if he loses, makes it sounds like he will win the match. I mean if Cena left who is going to be the main face on Raw? It won't be DX as they're going into a fued against Jerishow. This leaves MVP, Mark Henry and Kofi Kingston, sorry but none of them are good enough for main event level nevermind being a huge face, so it looks like Cena will be champion, again.

Don't be so sure about someone not going the other way. I'm sure that they could find some way of doing it. I'm getting a bit tired of Cena and Orton already and that includes their matches. Hell in a Cell was boring and Summerslam was absolutely horrific. The I Quit Match was actually quite good but I don't trust these guys to go an hour and make it good.

The 7 on 7 match is just a weird match filled with a couple of main event stars and the rest being mid carders with nothing better to do. Team Raw looks really strong while the Smackdown side on the other hand is absolutely terrible. Two randoms, Drew McIntyre and Eric Escobar are on the blue team yet they've hardly been on Smackdown for five minutes. I don't see any potential from either, espcially Escobar who is out of shape and looks like being a jobber in 3 months time.

The Smackdown writers are much more interested in pushing brand new talent than RAW are, so it makes sense that they'd have two fresh faces in a big match, even if neither of them are ready for it yet. It can only help them being in with such a great load of talent. With any luck, they'll get a bit of time in the ring with more experienced guys on the RAW side in order to help them a bit.

Edited October 19, 2009 by DomDom

[TAFKAC]

I thought Escobar looked average. Above your Tyler Reks, but still average, and he looked just like a normal guy in black trunks. On a different note, I don't think Matt Hardy is that fat, but his tights and hair are horrendous. It's like his hair is trying to run away from his face. Also tights over boots? What's that about.

On a different note, I thought the Dirt Sheet was decent enough, but Christ on a bike Morrison is crying out for a heel turn. A decent looking guy with over the top clothes and he is a face? Ridiculous. I know it would not work in the current match with the Miz, but JoMo needs a heel turn.

Also, anyone not loving the Miz is no friend of mine. The guy easily has the "I want to punch him in the face" look about him, which all heels should have. There's just something about him where you want someone to give him a smack.

[DomDom]

I thought Escobar looked average. Above your Tyler Reks, but still average, and he looked just like a normal guy in black trunks. On a different note, I don't think Matt Hardy is that fat, but his tights and hair are horrendous. It's like his hair is trying to run away from his face. Also tights over boots? What's that about.

Matt Hardy has definately put on the bulk. His match with Escobar wasn't unlike "who can flab the most" ? What I liked about Escobar was he seemed to have a weird aggression about him. He also has Vickie Guerrero. w00t !

On a different note, I thought the Dirt Sheet was decent enough, but Christ on a bike Morrison is crying out for a heel turn. A decent looking guy with over the top clothes and he is a face? Ridiculous. I know it would not work in the current match with the Miz, but JoMo needs a heel turn.

He's one of those ones who was popular as a heel but as a face he's just useless. Well, not useless. He IS a good wrestler. But he is such a cocky b*****d that he won't work as a babyface in the long run whatsoever.

I've already covered the face smacking Miz in my wee Smackdown recap. The Miz. Is. Awesome.

[TAFKAC]

Agreed about Vickie, but I don't know something felt lacking about Escobar. The Miz going "Really? Really?" was quality as well.

One of the highlights of RAW.

[DomDom]

Macho Madness : The Best of Randy Savage Disc One

This is what it's all about.

Matt Striker can do a kickass Randy Savage impression. Can I take it that he can do many impressions ? He does an awesome Piper impression too.

Randy Savage vs. Rick McGraw - WWE Prime Time Wrestling 09/07/1985

This would be the WWE debut of Randy Savage. He doesn't even have Elizabeth with him. Doesn't take Savage long to rile up the fans, as loads of them throw juice at him. This was a very boring match for the most part. I can only wonder if it was policy to have showcase matches run this long. Randy Savage looked like a million though as he did all sorts of things which both shocked and disgusted the fans in attendance. Not enough to make this a match worth watching mind you, but I guess you could watch it from a historic standpoint. *1/2

Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat - WWE Boston Garden 07/12/1985

Two years later, these guys would go and have one of the great matches of all time. I hope it's on this set. This match isn't long after either of these guys made their WWE debut, so can I assume that this is the first filmed match between the two men ? This is not even close to the levels they'd meet. It's a good match, but that's the very most I can say about it. The first half made it seem like they were building to a long good match, but then it broke down badly and sort of turned into a brawl. ***

Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan - WWE MSG 30/12/1985

You won't ever see a more one sided match than this one ever again between these two guys. Savage did start getting some offense in towards the end, but this was mostly about Hogan beating the crap out of Savage and Savage needing to throw Elizabeth in front of Hogan to try and save himself. Of course, eventually this didn't work and Hogan was able to get around it, so Savage decided to do more cheating and it led to a crappy ending. Poor match by the standards of what these guys have done together. *

Tito Santana vs. Randy Savage - WWE Boston Garden 08/02/1986

There was definately mixed popularity in the audience for Savage. Tito Santana was one of those guys who didn't care how many people he was wrestling in front of, and usually that meant that the other guy was willing to play ball and both guys would suck you right into the match through sheer determination more than anything else. Sometimes the crowd reactions here well reminiscent of John Cena matches with all of the booing and cheering of the heel. The match itself was very very good and you expect no less from these two guys. Listen to the pop when Randy Savage won the gold here. ***1/4

Randy Savage vs. Bruno Sammartino - WWE Boston Garden 03/01/1987

Randy Savage's popularity at the Boston Garden ends here, as he comes in to face off against Sammartino at the tail end of his career. The crowd are hot as hell when he comes out. This time though, the majority was right behind Sammartino, and infact, the majority was RABID for Sammartino. The crowd heat for this really carries it when Bruno is in control, as it's amazing to hear a crowd go mental like they do here. It's a decent match this one. **1/2

Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat - WWE Wrestlemania III

The fued here is that Randy Savage took Steamboat out of action, and it was expected that Steamboat wouldn't be back. But he DID come back, and he went right after the IC Champ. George Steele is in the corner of Ricky Steamboat for this one. You've probably seen the hype and the praise that this match gets. Believe me when I say that it's worth every single bit of it. If you want to see two guys put on what feels like an epic 30 minute match in 15 minutes, watch this one. Just an absolutely exhausting match here. *****

Honky Tonk Man vs. Randy Savage - WWE The Main Event 05/02/1988

By this time, Honky Tonk Man has won the IC Title and Savage has turned babyface. 33 million people watched this TV show. Honky Tonk Man was never the most athletic of guys and you wouldn't find him in many classics, but give him a decent opponent and you could usually get something pretty good from him. The crowd was nuked as Honky was such a b*****d, and that added to Honky being on his game meant that the match was decent at least. The timing was good too and helped to suck the crowd in. It was brought down by the usual Honky limitations. ***1/4

Ted Dibiase vs. Randy Savage - WWE Wrestlemania IV

The crowd was dead, and the two guys looked knackered. I'm not sure that you can really hope for much from these two guys, but all credit to them, they gave what little they had left to this. They decided to make up for what was going on by having Hogan and Andre cause a lot of commotion on the floor and detract from what was going on in the ring, and it woke the crowd up again as well, which helped matters. Given different circumstances, this would have been an awesome Wrestlemania main event, but this time we have to settle for a decent outing. **3/4

Ted Dibiase vs. Randy Savage, Steel Cage Match - WWE MSG 25/06/1988

This is apparently the blowoff of their fued which featured matches which were ALL better than the Wrestlemania one. I bet you can't say that for many fueds. This is the most basic of cage matches. Basically a load of punching and kicking. They hardly even use the cage as a weapon, although the cage does play a massive part in the match as they make LOTS of attempts at the mistake, and it's here where the match gains all of it's pass marks. The match becomes high drama as both men get more and more desperate. Really good match. ***1/2

Edited October 19, 2009 by DomDom

[Montrose Moron]

Anyone else think that is pretty pointless having massive tag matches with Survivor Series coming up?.

[DomDom]

So long as it's not elimination, then not really.

The point of Survivor Series isn't the loads of guys. It's who survives.

[DomDom]

Macho Madness : The Best of Randy Savage Disc Two

Let the awesome continue.

Andre the Giant and Ted Dibiase vs. Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan - WWE Summerslam 1988

Maybe not then. Andre was absolutely dire by this point. Probably worse than anyone on the current WWE roster at least. I feel like I've said this a million times before. I probably have, but this is your standard Hogan tag team match, except with this being a PPV main event, we see a lot more of Hogan getting a beating than usual, but once that passes, it's plain sailing, apart from the Elizabeth moment which was pretty famous. As always too, it's watchable popcorn garbage. It's watching stuff like this that makes you realise what made Hogan so popular. **1/2

Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan - WWE Wrestlemania V

The Mega Powers explode ! The Savage popularity is still there, although it's pretty miniscule, but very noticeable, and enough that the cheers for Hogan are noticeably quieter than usual. This is much better than the standard Hogan match because of the booking of the match around the fued. It actually felt like your usual wrestling match rather than the usual Hogan match with many big comebacks and superb booking all of the way through the match, rather than the bog standard Hogan comeback which happened every single time. Some blood and Hogan up for some wrestling only added to that. Superb, uber dramatic match. ****1/2

Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan - WWE The Main Event 23/02/1990

This would be the big rematch with Buster Douglas as a special enforcer. I guess that he was a big name to add the viewers, but since no mention was made of the first one getting mega viewers, it didn't do it's job. Sherri is with Savage by this time. This is the birth of the TV match, as the big moment, and then the commercial break, and then we return to the Chinlock and the conclusion of the match. The structure of the match is absolutely fine here, but Hogan seemed to be doing everything he could to make Savage look silly. Walking into moves when he shouldn't be, bumping weird and making moves against the ropes look weak. Still a decent match, as Hogan could not ruin it. **1/2

Randy Savage and Sensational Sherri vs. Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire - WWE Wrestlemania VI

Oh great. A mixed tag team match. Just what I wanted to see. While I'm here, don't you think I should be treated to a Casket Match and a Strap Match ? Maybe a tuxedo match to round the night off. This match is just about as horrible as I suspect. I can't believe I even watched this match again as I rememberd just how bad it was, but hey, dedication to the art and all of that. DUD

Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrior, Career Match - WWE Wrestlemania VII

Here is a match which absolutely everyone has to watch. Even the entrances have a classic piece of storyelling as The Ultimate Warrior decides not to run to the ring. An unreal piece of storytelling as both guys, obviously after doing their scouting, tries to rile the other up and both men fail every time. Both men scout the big moves of each man and use this knowledge to make the other crash and burn. There's intensity and hatred by the bucketload. It was the defining match of The Ultimate Warrior without question and Randy Savage didn't have many better either. A classic. *****

So how exactly do you top what happened there ? Sensational Sherri is LIVID with her man and screams at him. She then starts kicking him and Elizabeth has seen enough, leaping out of the audience and in the ring and throwing Sherri out. Savage then thinks it was Elizabeth that was kicking him, but the referee explains it was Sensational Sherri. Both of them don't seem to know what they do ... and then they hug. Not nearly as iconic now as it should be, because no moment in WWE has pulled the heart strings like this one did. Beautiful.

Jake Roberts vs. Randy Savage - WWE Tuesday in Texas 03/12/1991

Make no mistake. This match is not about the match itself. Like the above match, it's about what comes afterwards. The match itself wasn't that great. These two guys didn't have much chemistry together which was realised because they weren't given a big singles match on PPV which I can only assume was going to be the end game with them. **

Randy Savage decides he hasn't done enough to Jake Roberts and wants to finish him off, but the referee distracts him and Roberts hits the DDT, which means death for anyone who takes it. Elizabeth comes to the ring and is asking Jake Roberts to stop it. Roberts hits another DDT without taking his eyes off of Elizabeth. Roberts puts the glove on and gets the snake. They decide to take the slap to Elizabeth out. WHAT ?!?! Unreal.

Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage - WWE Wrestlemania VIII

One of the best Wrestlemania's for spectacle and this was probably the best match from it. What is it with Randy Savage at Wrestlemania and mega dramatic matches that involve Elizabeth ? It never really dawned on me before, but there was plenty of stuff like this year after year ! Not that I'm complaining. You can't beat this stuff. Savage apparently liked to map out his matches and it paid off big time quite a lot. It was madness quite a bit here, with Mr. Perfect getting involved at every oppertunity and then Elizabeth not taking anymore and coming to the ring. ****1/2

[Shuggie_Murray7]

Was Matt Hardy ever really in shape? No. He's always looked terrible, but yeah he is piling it on. And has been said, his hair is fucking rediculous.

Missed SmackDown this week but McIntyre and Escobar at Braging Rights? Not seen Escobar on SmackDown yet but good to see big Drew getting his chance, apparently Triple H is a big fan hence the reason for his push.

As far as spacing PPV's too close together goes, as long as the PPV's continue being pretty good then I'm not complaining. Althoguh I'm not sure it will last, how do the Americans feel about having to pay for PPV's so close together?

[RussellV1]

Was Matt Hardy ever really in shape? No. He's always looked terrible, but yeah he is piling it on. And has been said, his hair is fucking rediculous.

He tore his abdominal muscle a couple of years ago & had been working with it ever since until it got worse & his intestines exploded through his abdomin wall during a match & so had to have surgery.

so pretty much he's been unable to work out properly for the last 2 years & then his return from surgery was brought forward because Jeff decided to leave.

but yeah he could do with switching back to the trademark combats & maybe stick a t-shirt on til he gets into shape again.