Day 25

Battle for Christmas

Mark Henry vs. Damien Sandow

WWE Raw 12/23/13

Oh by gosh, by golly, deck the motherfucking halls. This is not gonna be a cheerful review. 

Let's talk about Damien Sandow. The dude had his intellectual savior gimmick down to the smallest detail. His promos were great and his wrestling was good. He got over and that was the beginning of the end. Money in the Bank 2013, Rhodes Scholar, the team of Cody Rhodes and Sandow, split up as Sandow cost Cody the briefcase and took it for himself. A feud started between the two, I can't remember if it was any good. But the most memorable part of the feud is a cameo by Sin Cara that lives on in gif form some five years later.

Bottom line, he came out on top of he feud still with the briefcase. WWE had an opportunity. For the first time in a few years they had a fresh face win the briefcase. They had a chance to at least attempt to build a new main eventer...but they didn't attempt it. In fact they did quite the opposite. 

Everything the fans loved about Sandow was taken away. The robe, the colorful tights, the more Genius-esq mannerisms, all gone. Sandow was just another Christopher Nowinkski just with some charisma. As I searched for this match on The Network, I rediscovered something. A few weeks before, Sandow cashed in his MITB on an injured World Heavyweight Champion. He worked and champs bad arm before making the cash in official. The problem? The champ was John Cena. Taking three or four of both of Sandows finisher and with busted arm, Cena put Sandow away, making him the first unsuccessful MITB cash in. 

Now adays I've seen fans look back following a rather poorly received run in TNA and ask if Sandow could've really been taken seriously. Here's the thing, WWE didn't even try to make him a serious threat. For all we know, it could've worked. He was over, a good hand, had charisma, and hell it was the same belt Great Khali and Jack Swagger held so it's not like his name would stick out. But no, another month of Cena on the road to Daniel Bryans crowning moment. I don't even hate John Cena the same way some fans still do but his booking got tiresome.

As for Sandow? Post cash in, he went back down the card like the whole thing never happened. He was stuck with an imposter gimmick before he was cast as Mizs "stunt double" which got over...then WM 31 happened and once again they threw away any chance Sandow had. 

Ok, let's get to the match. Henry is the Good Santa and Sandow is the Bad Santa, looking to ruin Christmas. Henry looks like Medea before taking the wig off. This is a No DQ match and the first weapon spot we see? Sandow gets a swirly. The gimmick is immediately ruined as the toilet falls over and nothing spills out. So for all intents and purposes Henry just shoved Sandows head into a perfectly clean, germ free toilet. 

Sandow looks to mount a comeback with a fire extinguisher but he forgets to pull the pin so it doesn't work. Wakka wakka. He actually does get some offense in and eventually makes use of a Candy Kendo Stick...until Henry blocks it and breaks the stick. Some more brawling and another fire extinguisher spot ends Henry to victor with a Worlds Strongest Slam. 

Under ordinary circumstances this is just a goofy brawl, no harm no foul. But two weeks before this Sandow was booked to come within a nut hair of beating John freaking Cena. Sandow got dunked in a toilet and shortly after his career would go down the metaphorical toilet. Ignoring that, it's just a goofy gimmick match. Nothing worth seeking, but not anything terrible either. 

In conclusion fuck the Meta Powers gimmick. 

Day 24

Six Man Tag Team Miracle on 34th Street Fight 

Cedric Alexander, Akira Tozawa, and Mustafa Ali vs. The Zo Train (Enzo Amore, Ariya Davari, and Drew Gulak)

WWE Raw 12/25/17

WWE Christmas shows are usually pretty bad. They phone them and sometimes it's them at their most PG for obvious reasons. Oh though there was that one year where Alberto Del Rio ran over Santa Clause...anyway, a couple of times they've pulled this gimmick out of their metaphorical stocking. It's just a street fight with Christmas based weapons. 

Speaking of Christmas themed, Enzo is dressed like Santa while Davari and Gulak are dressed like elves. The fact that both elves stand at least 6 foot even is strange but whatever. The faces are just in gear. Seems backwards but hey I didn't book it. The faces show off earlier with Cedric doing his thing to send Davari and Gulak to the outside. From there Tozawa hits a Suicide Dive into Davari as Ali flips over him from the top rope to take out Gulak, which takes it to commercial. 

When we come back there's presents and Christmas trees in the ring. Plunder daddy! Tozawa takes a slam on a box and then gets thrown into a tree. Not much else happens from there. Cookie trays and a candy cane painted kendo stick come into play and in a flash Cedric hits the Lumbar Check for the win. 

It happened, it was short. Not much to talk about. 

Ok, in the spirit of the holidays and because I feel like I've let you down throughout this project with my cop outs and choice of matches. I'm gonna do a double feature. 

Six Women Santas Little Helper Tag Team Match

Alicia Fox, Emma, and Naomi vs. Cameron, Summer Rae and Paige

WWE Raw 12/22/14

Once again they're dressed in Christmas/winter inspired outfits except for Paige who wears her regular gear adorned with a black Santa hat and Ho Ho Ho on the back of her jacket. 

Like the other Santas Little Helper Match they all look amazing. This match is still pretty short but it gets more time then the one from 2009. Fittingly enough everyone gets a turn in the ring in this ring. Even though three of them don't have the best reputation as wrestlers everyone looks good in this match...ok Cameron has a bad moment or two. 

Decent match. No bad wrestling, only one botch, solid stuff. Aside from JBL, Michael Cole, and Jerry Lawler, who couldn't have given less of a fuck about this if you offered them a bonus. Aside from that, everything's fine and Paige is pretty over. Summer is another case like Kaitlyn or Eve Torres or even Layla, gone before she really hit her true potential. 

Day 23

Santas Little Helper Six Divas Tag Team Match

Gail Kim, Kelly Kelly, and Melina vs. Maryse, Jillian Hall, and Alicia Fox

WWE Raw 12/21/09

Yes Virginia we're getting gimmicky for the next three days. Oh boy what a time period for Raw. The guest host era, at the time I had no problems with the guest hosts, I wasn't cynical yet. But looking back on most of these appearances, I can see why this era has a bad rep. On this particular episode Johnny Damon, a baseball player, hosts. Judging by a sign in the crowd this was the same episode where throughout the show they'd have a guy in a tiger costume being chased by a blonde woman with a golf club...if you don't get that reference anymore, Google it. This episode also as DX going to Little Peoples Court for discriminating against Hornswoggle. Trips and Shawn made it work somewhat. 

Yes I'm stalling again because holy shit this seemed to end in seconds. First of all, all six look very hot in their Christmas outfits. Secondly, it's not terrible. Like I said this match doesn't even go past two minutes so they don't have time to fuck anything up too bad. Fox and Melina never even see formal action, instead only being involved in the finishing brawl and the final spot. Kim, Hall, Kelly, and Maryse do good with the little time they had. 

Give Divas a chance. Seriously I think Gail, Maryse, and Melina could've actually delivered a solid tag team match depending on who Maryse partner was or it could've just been a quickie threesome-err Triple Threat excuse me. Too short to go to shit, too short to be anything but watchable. 

You know thinking about this era, fans give Kelly a lot of shit, myself included. But if I'm being honest I don't actually remember what I thought of her outside of her looks. Like I've alluded to, I didn't really pay attention to the women's matches so maybe Kelly's as bad as everyone and some gifs have shown...maybe I'm just babbling I don't know.

Day 22

WWE Divas Championship Match

Eve Torres vs. Layla (c)

WWE Night of Champions 2012

I often cite Paige coming to the main roster as the catalyst for me paying more attention to women's wrestling but there were a few matches that I thought were good that predated her call up. Like this one. 

Originally Kaitlyn was supposed to be in this match but in kayfabe she was attacked backstage. In reality I'm pretty sure this was around the time they fucked up the end of a match. I believe it was a Number One Contenders Battle Royal and somewhere in the confusion Eve got eliminated instead of Kaitlyn, making Kaitlyn the winner. I could be wrong about that so feel free to correct me. 

As for the match itself, it's good. The two start with smooth chain sequences before Eve revs up the aggression after getting Dropkicked by Layla. The match goes to the outside and Eve begins to work over the ribs. Layla sells this by gasping for breath, yelling, and fake crying. It was a different time.  Layla eventually takes the control back but it doesn't last long as the finish comes shortly after. 

Not as good as I remembered. Granted I forgot who Eve wrestled but regardless. It's a fine little match and considering the standard at the time, this was one of the better women's matches in WWE at the time. Eve and Layla were both just starting to come into their own when they decided to part ways with the company. If only they stuck around, who knows how much better they'd get...or maybe they'd get worse, I don't know. 

Day 21

Tag Team Match

Roppongi 3K (Sho and Yoh) vs Ryuuske Taguchi and Dragon Lee

CEO x NJPW 2018

CEO is a fighting game tournament and since one of NJPWs main eventers is a big video game, the two organizations added NJPW matches to CEOs tournament or convention or whatever. 

Roppongi 3K is a spin off of Rocky Romeros tag team with Beretta called Roppongi Vice. Roppongi, from what I've gathered, is basically Japans Las Vegas. Sho and Yoh were two young lions sent on a learning excursion together and they re-debuted in NJPW as a team and immediately won the NJPW Junior Heavyweight Tag Titles. Dragon is a premiere highflyer from CMLL that came over in their partnership with NJPW and become known for his feud and matches with Hiroyuki Takahashi. Taguchi is similar to the New Day, known for their comedy but legitimately good when the time comes.

Yoh and Taguchi actually start with comedy basically mirroring each other. Sho and Dragon pick up the pace and Dragon spends a majority of the match on the defense. R3K reminds me a lot of the MCMGs, two young, fast paced, smooth wrestlers with great chemistry together. Dragon and Taguchi get their turn to show off as the match goes into the final half. 

Really good match. Everyone looked great and everyone got to show off. If you've never seen anyone in this match it's on YouTube and worth a watch. It's a good showcase for the four talents and the two teams work well together. 

Day 20

Tag Team Match

Speed Muscle (Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi) vs. The Motor City Mcahine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin)

TNA Impact 6/12/2008

Nowadays we're use to guys like Ospreay and Bandido having fast pace spot matches but in 2008 thirteen year old had never seen anything like this. Of all the TV matches I've watched as they aired over my twenty or so years as a fan no match has stuck with like this one.  This is my go to match when someone says they want something quick to watch. I've raved about this match for years, so why not rave some more.

This served as a preview for the 2008 World X Cup. Speed Muscle represented Team Japan while The MCMGs represented Team TNA. The two teams work this match at top speed. Unique double team and regular moves abound form Doi and Yoshino. This was their international television debut and Shelley and Sabin made them look like money taking most of the offense in this match. 

The two teams had great chemistry! Everything was smooth despite the speed. There  are some wrestlers that make shit look easy and these two teams pull off everything like it's day one basics. It's bonkers, it's a great match, watch it. 

Day 19

Singles Match

Kurt Angle vs. Tazz

WWF Royal Rumble 2000

ITS TAZZ!

Yeah anyway, Kurt cuts a promo before this match. I skip most of it but I assume it's his usual schtick from around that time. He tells his unknown opponent to not be nervous and just come out and have the match.

Even before Angle finishes his spiel some members of the New York crowd chant for Tazz. Appropriately the hometown guy gets a good reaction when his music hits. Lawler and J.R. sell the moment perfectly. The match isn't long but it showcased what it needed to as Tazz got to throw Kurt around with a variety of Suplexs and choke him out with the Tazzmission. Not a total squash as Angle does have some time to show off some of his Suplex as well. 

Tazz made to look like a million bucks on his debut. He choked out an Olympian and broke Kurt's undefeated streak. The New York crowd was already into him and Lawler and J.R. made this short showcase even better. Unfortunately it would all soon go to shit for Tazz as some new faces, and lingering injuries would lead to his retirement in 2002 after a pretty unspectacular run. 

Tazz in WWF was never quite like Taz in the later half of his ECW career but he'd find success as a commentator for both WWE and unfortunately TNA (bit the less said about that run the better.). Angle of course would only continue to rise earning the HOF induction he got this year. 

Day 18

Six Man Tag Team Match

Team Europe (Will Ospreay, Marty Scurll, and Tommy End) vs. Team Evolve 1(Johnny Gargano, TJ Perkins, and Kota Ibushi) w/ Stokely Hathaway

WWN Supershow: Mercury Rising 2016

It gets a holy shit chant before anyone's even introduced. Yeah we're in for something special. 

The first half is honestly nothing special. The six are all great and seeing them interact is fun but they mostly work a slow paced matcha with small previews of what's to come. It's understandable in this case as the six worked insane schedules as part of WM weekend. The crowd is especially hot at the prospect of Ibsuhi/Ospreay. Nothing is bad, everything is smooth but nothing to write home about.

So let's talk about the second half. This is where shit picks up. They slowly build up the pace as they begin to throw bigger moves and work quicker. Some trios and tag team maneuvers (of note a Double Gorilla Press and Springboard Cutter combo from Team Europe and a modified More Bang for Your Buck from TJP and Ibushi.) are shown as well. 

As the pace gets quicker and quicker, the spots get bigger and bigger as the fight moves outside of the ring and eventually into the crowd. I've been pretty reserved about talking about specific spots in this project so far but Ibushi and Ospreay are mad men. They make their way to a perch somewhere in the building (due to being an Indy show the camera work takes a nose dive here.) and begin to brawl up there. 

They eventually give up and decide to Moonsault onto the remaining members of the others team to a big pop. In something that can only be explained as because wrestling, Ospreay and Ibushi are the first two to the ring and give the crowd what they've been anticipating the whole match. The other four find their way back in time for the finishing stretch. 

Fucking hell. The second half of this is awesome. The first half is solid and worth watching as well but the second half is where all the big shit happens. It was cool to see these six interact with each other and the wrestling was smooth. Great match. 

Day 17

Singles Match

Ember Moon vs. Ruby Riott w/ Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan

WWE Main Event 8/31/18

The dates the date show aired not the date it was taped. Anyway Main Event, WWEs Z show. Rarely do you ever hear mention of this show from other fans and it's usually seen as just filler. But sometimes ME has actually produced matches that worth a look. Talent like Tyler Breeze and The Revival get chances to shine  like they wouldn't on Raw. Riott and Moon both have that opportunity on a regular so it was weird when this match was taped but nonetheless let's get into it.

So this was mostly a showcase for Embers unique move set. That's perfectly ok, she's so much fun to watch. Riott is no jobber though and gets her fair share of the offense as well, mainly due to the other Riot Squad members at ringside. This is a really good little match. The only downside is because it's Main Event it is rather short and it's almost certain these could tear the house down with more time. 

The finish is awesome and I won't describe it here. Like I said really good little match. Embers a joy to watch as always. I'd really like a longer feud between these two somewhere down the line. A quick review for a pretty quick match. Didn't plan that but here we are. 

Day 16

Singles Match

Super Crazy vs. Yoshihiro Tajiri

ECW Guilty as Charged 1999

Another legendary ECW feud.

These two are severely underrated. They keep up a quick pace throughout this match and work everything in. From technical sequences to high spots, everything is in here. The chemistry is undeniable and everything is  smooth. It's a different Tajiri then we're used to seeing but the stiff kicks are still in their and he delivers them in spades. 

Both men are booked as equals, with neither gaining a long term advantage throughout. Personally I like that. While it doesn't bother me, I know it bothers others so I do have to say that the selling is pretty bad. Like most matches like this some of the stuff obviously looks fake but again it's not something that bothers me...especially since it's planned anyway. It'd be like hyper-criticizing a movie fight. 

Great match. ECW gets a lot of deserved shit nowadays but Tajiri and Super Crazy always delivered together. 

Day 15

WWE Cruiserweight Title Match

Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Nunzio

WWE SmackDown 8/28/03

This ones a bit of a cop out and a short one but I don't know nothing else was keeping my focus.  I promise a better one tomorrow. 

Anyway, Johnny the Bull and Chuck Palumbo try to stay ringside for Nunzio but the ref isn't having that shit and immediately sends them to the back. 

The two wrestle but due to the time they quickly speed up. Surprisingly Nunzio has the control early on but Mysterio quickly gets into control briefly. Nunzio takes control again after a Modified Stun Gun onto the barricade. He keeps contour working over Rey.

Rey counters his Surfboard and nearly hits a 619 but Nunzio dodges it. He hits one on the second attempt but Nunzio counters the West Coast Pop into a Powerbomb for a nearfall. The match doesn't last much longer before Rey seals it with a Top Rope Leg Drop.

A good little, quick TV match. There's signs of a great match given more time. 

Day 14

ECW World Television Title Match

Jerry Lynn vs. Rob Van Dam(c) w/ Bill Alfonso 

ECW Hardcore Heaven 1999

Let's just get into this one. 

The two work quick paced, smooth chain wrestling and reversal sequences. Neither man gains an upper hand as the match gradually escalates. Jerry and RVD knowing each other's moves was booked perfectly. Then shit hits the fan...or in this case Jerry hits the floor.

Lynn takes a bad bump and get legitimately knocked out and busted open hardway. The match slows for a while so Lynn can be assessed. Jerry eventually comes too and the match resumes. But it's clear Lynn is a step or two off at some points. 

Though they maintain their great chemistry and Lynn takes Van Daminators and a table bump from the top rope to the outside like he's fucking Superman, the quality does dip, but only a little. They botch a few spots but given the circumstances I think that can be overlooked. 

A half out of it Jerry Lynn had a better match then I've seen some wrestlers have fully conscious. Their chemistry shines through and they work their asses off. Even with Lynns knock out the match is great and deserves its status as an iconic match. 

Day 13

WeeLC Match

Hornswoggle w/ 3MB vs. El Torito w/ Los Matadores 

WWE Extreme Rules 2014 Kickoff

Wrestling, like any form of entertainment, has to evolve to stay afloat. Things come and go, some ideals from the bygone days are passé or cringey among some of today's fans, myself included with some things. One of them is the mainstream appeal of midget wrestling in mainstream American wrestling. But midget wrestlers still pop up, usually for comedic purposes...which is where Hornswoggle comes in.

After Finalys push waned Hornswoggle broke out on his own, causing mischief and generally finding himself in trouble. A lot of the stuff booked for Hornswoggle wasn't  always good. Some of it was but more often then not it was just wasted time on the show. 

El Torito came from a serious background. An actually impressive mini luchador, he was put in a bull costume and again used more for comedy but unlike hornswoggle did to get flaunt what he could do sometimes. Naturally a feud eventually started between the two. Now in this day and age, a WeeLC match was a hard sell and a lot of us expected the worse. 

But the best way to book stupidity is to go full boar and commit to the gimmick. Tiny chairs, tiny tables, step ladders, even a mini referee and commentary team were all used for this match. On top of that the two didn't hold back. Both were willing to take actual big bumps, and wrestle. They mixed a healthy dose of comedy in there as well. 3MB and The Matadors also took part in the fun and took a few big bumps themselves to get the match over. 

In no way should've this have worked. But by God it did. The crowd was really into and everyone involved did their all into selling this dumb gimmick. A really fun, really good match. A surprise to everyone but a damn fun one. 

Day 12

WCW World Tag Team Championship Match

Sting and Lex Luger vs. The Steiners (Rick and Scott Steiner)(c)

WCW Superbrawl 1991

First time seeing this but I've heard good things. So does it stack up? Kind of.

It starts slow but once Sting tags in everything goes up. Quality, pace, crowd, kinda feel bad for Lex. Early '90s Scott is so much fun to watch and Sting sells his ass off. Stinger and The Steiners work a really good, aggressive fast paced match and there's just a noticeable dip whenever Leg tags in.

Eventually everything goes to hell and the respectful tag Team Match turns into chaos. Lex and Rick brawl, knocking the ref out of the ring in the process while Sting sets up Scotty for the win...until Nikita Koloff shows up, sights etc on U.S. Champ Luger. Sting saves Lex, takes a chain to the head and gets pinned. 

Sting and Steiners made this match so good. I know I'm picking on Lex but the dudes just not on the level of the other three and the fact that he only gets a big pop when he signals for the Torture Rack really speaks to that. Really good, disappointing finish, sorry Lex. 

Day 11

WWE SmackDown Women's Championship Match

Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair (c)

WrestleMania 34

When Asuka first showed in NXT I had no idea who she was. Honestly when they showed her in the crowd I thought she was Ric Flairs date. But quickly she made me fan, becoming one of my favorites in the company. 

She debuted on the main roster and maintained her status as an  bamf and made history by winning the first every Women's Royal Rumble. This is her first WM and her first encounter with Charlotte, as she was gone from NXT during Asukas rise...and my God what a match!

These two threw everything at each other in the name of the belt and the streak. The first opponents worked well together, looking more like old foes. Charlotte took a beating and Asuka was just as giving to the Queen. One thing I've admired about Charlotte is despite the main roster creatives (or probably Vince) best efforts, she doesn't coast off her name. She'll take a beating and take big bumps in the name of putting her opponents over, even if her selling doesn't always hit the mark. 

A great match that deserved to happen for the first time at WM. The brought that big WM feeling and worked their asses off. I'm really looking forward to the rematch tonight. 

Day 10

Singles Match

Rey Mysterio vs. Tajiri 

WWE SmackDown 8/01/2002

It's a lot harder to find something to watch when you feel like you need to...if that makes sense.

Anywho, Rey Mysterio vs. Tajiri. This was actually only Rey's second match on SD having debuted the week prior, defeating Chavo Guerrero and hittting a Corssbody on the Un-Americans (seems ironic.) during a cage match. 

The match is all go before the bell even rings. Mysterio shows, using his speed to gain control. But one kick from Tajiri and the match swings in his favors. To my surprise Rey spends a lot of time on defense while Tajiri works over his lower back. The two volley control until it's time to go home. 

Short but sweet match. Nothing outstanding but the two worked well together. I'm pretty sure this was the first time they wrestled each other too. Not else much to say, just a  nice little TV match between a certified legend and the underrated Tajiri. 

Day 9

Tag Team Match

Ringkampf (Axel Dieter Jr. and Walter) vs. The Hunter Brothers (Jim and Lee Hunter)

Progress Chapter 45: Galvanize

Dieter is currently signed to NXT as Marcel Barthel, he hasn't had a big stint on TV but the little I've seen of the guy has impressed me. Walter is basically becoming a big deal on both sides of the pond. He currently holds the PWG, Progress, and OTT World Titles. He's incredibly in demand and has fought some of the biggest of today's scene. The Hunter Brothers are just there. 

Dieter and The Hunters trade holds on the mat until Dieter tags in Walter, who comes in and beats the shit out of Lee or Jim, because that's what Walter does. He can wrestle on the mat though, except he doesn't in this match. 

The match stays quick from there as Ringkampf and The Hunters both bend the rules to try and stay in control but The Hunters are unsuccessful as Ringkampf work over Jim until it's time for Lees hot. The two go into the final stretch as they begin to throw big moves and strikes at each other with double team moves thrown in.

A hidden gem in Progress' library and one I'm glad I checked out. They two teams worked great together and watching Walter is always fun. If you have Demand Progress check this out. 

Day 8

WWE SmackDown Women's Championship Tables Match

Alexa Bliss vs. Becky Lynch(c)

WWE Tables, Ladders, and Chairs 2016

Alexa was called up in the draft and while a lot of us were skeptical she actually improved quickly and felt right at home alongside someone like Becky. The month before a Women's Title between the two ended in controversy. Alexa tapped but her foot was on the rope, unbeknownst to the ref. The feud continued and now here we are. Why is it a table match you ask? Because they didn't one for this show yet and TLC comes with a quota. 

The match is hot from the start, and not just because of the competitors...yeah that was lame. Anyway, the two follow the tables match formula, brawling and near wins. There were some cool spots like Alexa's DDT on the underside of the table and Beckys ensuing Dis-Arm-Her with Alexa arms trapped in the tale leg. Looked really nasty. 

The crowd was pretty quite which really made the match drag a little. Overall, it's a solid match but both have better since. The finish is kinda anti-climatic and just kind of happens. Solid match but not something that's must see. 

Day 7

WWE Women's Championship Lumberjill Match

Ashley vs. Melina (c)

WrestleMania 23

So I'll be honest I didn't give a shit about whether women's wrestling was any good or not back then. I was 12, just going into puberty, hot chicks half naked? Sign me the fuck up. Any criticism I can or have made of this era is hindsight. 

Also as a little tangent, it took me forever to find this match on the stream. I finally had to look up the card on Wikipedia to read the match order. All that jumping around also wrecked havoc on my stream. 

Does it seem like I'm seem like I'm stalling? Because I am. On my venture to Wikipedia , I also saw the match time. According to Wiki it goes just shy of 4 minutes. So yeah not a lot to talk about in terms of notable moments or any of that. 

However, I will say that despite my very low expectations going into this, it wasn't terrible. I mean I'm not gonna try to convince you this is some lost classic or a 5 star rebellion against the sex sells philosophy of the time, because it wasn't. It was the piss break between the two biggest matches on the card. And for that, it served its purpose. 

Neither try to do anything they weren't capable of (I guess some would debate Ashley trying to wrestle at all was more then she was capable of.) and kept it simple. Aside from one spot early on, the lumberjills are just there to get everyone a payday. It's certainly the worst match in this project so far but all in all I've seen worse. A for effort, C for everything else. 

Day 6

King of the Ring Semi-Finals Match

Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect

King of the Ring 1993

For many fans in their late twenties and thirties Bret is the golden boy. To them he is everything great wrestlers should be. While I'll never deny Bret's skill I do find Bret boring and a little overrated. But like I said Bret's skill can't be denied. 

For example, this match. I'm gonna keep this basic for two reasons. One I'm not a good enough reviewer to do this match justice, and two, you must see this match. The two are even in terms of ability and are two of the absolute best. 

They throw everything and then some into this match. Everything right down to the smallest detail is done to perfection. Nearly twenty minutes fly by as these two put a goddamn barn burner. The crowd really gets into later on as well adding to the atmosphere.

Watch this match and their match at SummerSlam '91 as well. Both are classic but this is the rare when a sequels better then the first. 

Day 5

NWA World Heavyweight Title Match

Terry Funk w/ Gary Hart vs. Ric Flair (c)

NWA Great American Bash 1989

Nowadays some grudge matches aren't the brawls they should be, that's not the case here. Flair was attacked by Funk after his title match with Ricky Steamboat at WrestleWar. Flair had been out of action since. He doesn't want to wrestle Funk, he wants to fight him. And that's exactly what these two do.

They threw all their scientific knowledge out the window and just beat the hell out of each other. For '80s Flair this is a vastly different in more ways then one. Flair, usually the cocky heel, comes into this match as the fired up injured babyface. 

Eventually Flair starts to work over Funks neck as payback even dropping him with two Piledrivers (Funk Piledrove Flair on a table in the attack at WrestleWar.). Both men end up busted open late into the match which is again different from usual Flair matches. 

A wild brawl that went maybe thirty minutes but it never once feels like you've been sitting there that long. Funk is an anomaly in wrestling and Flairs an absolute legend. Not much in the way of story but I don't need any of that to enjoy a match.