WWE Survivor Series 2014 Review

WWE Survivor Series 2014 Review

Fatal-4 Way Match: WWE Tag Team Chapionship
The Miz & Damien Mizdow def. The Dust Bros(c), The Usos and Los Matadores(15:25)
Thoughts: I was looking forward to the match a lot, but felt it underachieved a bit. It felt sluggish and slow in the bad way in the middle. The beginning felt solid, but then it just felt slow because they were stretching what was likely a good 11-minute plan into 15. The ending part was well done and picked up the pace, which was appreciated, but I had hoped for more. They continued the tease all match long with Sandow not getting into the match, which was done well. My thought was that is Miz and Sandow won it had to be Sandow winning to infuriate Miz, who would then take all the credit. The crowd loved Sandow, they loved that he won and Miz looked pissed. He then took both titles and celebrated while Sandow had to pantomime in the other corner. So we had a good overall match, I liked the title change and felt that the Miz/Sandow dynamic played out well so it ended up as a good combo platter to open the show as far as the in ring goes.
Rating: ***

Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match
Team Fox(Alicia Fox, Emma, Naomi and Natalya) def. Team Paige(Paige, Cameron, Summer Rae and Layla)(14:34)
Survivors: Fox, Emma, Naomi and Natalya)
Thoughts: I felt that the Divas match was a solid outing. It had some hiccups at times and similar to the opener felt a little long. I was glad to see the ladies get some actual time, but you have to make sure that they have the tools (match layout) to go that long. Some hiccups and some stalling held back my enjoyment of this a bit. Also, I have no issue with the face team doing the clean sweep here. I know some felt that it “buried” Paige, but she was left alone and allowing Naomi to look good and get some momentum was needed to get some fresh momentum on someone new in the division. Again, not bad and at times pretty entertaining, but it could have benefited from losing a few minutes.
Rating: **1/4

Bray Wyatt def. Dean Ambrose via DQ(13:59)
Thoughts: I felt that they showed that they can work together pretty well. Thankfully they worked this match like there was some hate and drama, with Ambrose attacking right at the bell, no lock up shit because he hates this man. That’s the kind of thing I can appreciate. The DQ was caused by Wyatt bringing a chair into the ring and Ambrose using it and then destroying him with chairs, tables and burying him under them and standing tall on a ladder, setting the stage for their inevitable TLC match and that was confirmed later in the show when WWE announced that they would face off again at TLC in that very match. The match was good, and they set up next month so I really don’t have a lot of complaints with this.
Rating: ***1/2

Adam Rose & The Bunny def. Slator Gator(2:36)
Thoughts: This match was added to the show when the teams involved had a backstage segment involving a WWE toy shit segment. Yup, they were filling time. The wrestling wasn’t very good and this was all about causing more drama between Rose and the Bunny. The Bunny got the win and got carried away by the Exotic Express while Adam Rose looked sad. This was nothing but a filler segment, which would have been better placed on TV. The set up was horrible. This really should have been in the “death spot” because the crowd always reacts in some way to the Adam Rose entrance/exit. Also it was a late bullshit addition that no one cares about.
Rating: 1/2*

WWE Divas Championship
Nikki Bella def. AJ Lee(c)(0:35)
Thoughts: Oh, boy. I can recap this match with one sentence. Bell rings, Brie climbs on the apron with the title, drops it and kisses AJ, Nikki KTFO's her, rack attack, three count and we have a new Divas Champion. At the time, I didn't know what to make of it. I thought that Nikki was just using that whole personal assistant thing to her advantage since it would be over tomorrow, but it doesn't appear so as The Bellas are back together again. By the way, the call back to AJ kissing D-Bry and him losing to Sheamus in 18-seconds was actually well done by commentary. Since they were forced into the death spot, they at least kept it quick and as long as they follow up on it properly, I don’t have a problem with what they did.
Rating: N/A

Main Event: Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match
Team Cena(John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Erick Rowan and Ryback) def. Team Authority(Seth Rollins, Kane, Luke Harper, Ruzev and Mark Henry)(43:06)
Survivor: Dolph Ziggler
Thoughts: First off, let me just say how much more awesome this match could've been had D-Bry and Roman Reigns not been injured; food for thought. Anyway, here I'm go into detail about all the eliminations. First was Mark Henry, in a kind of funny way. Bell rings, Trips stops the match to hype up his team, Mark is ready to go and walks right into a right hand from Big Show, KTFOing him and Henry's gone a mere 50 seconds into the match. 2nd elimination was Ryback, thanks to a Curb Stomp for Seth Rollins and a jumping side kick from Ruzev, who was the one that got the pin. So yeah, all that talk about Ryback being a big free agent for this match with both teams wanting him and what did he do here? Jack shit! The 3rd elimination was Ruzev. After he had given Dolph a beatdown, he set him up on the spanish announce table and Ruzev climbs onto the english announce table, flys off, but Ziggler rolls off the table and Ruzev crashes through it. Ziggler makes it back into the ring, but Ruzev gets counted out. I like how they eliminated Ruzev here, while still keeping him strong. 4th to go was Rowan, thanks to a high knee for Rollins and a discus clothesline from Harper. Seriously, Harper's clothesline is 10X better than JBL's. So now it's down to 3 on 3. Rollins, Harper and Kane are all ready to go. Big Show is ready to go, but Cena is barely on his feet and Dolph is barely conscience, so Show does the most logical thing he could do... HE TURNS ON CENA! Cena gets KTFOed and Rollins gets the three count. My jaw dropped when I saw that, cause I honestly didn't see it coming. I know Big Show tends to turn more than a revolving door, but this was just unexpected. Still, it puts the focus on Ziggler and that definitely a good thing. Big Show gets counted out and now it's 3-1, but not for long. After toying with Ziggler for a few minutes, he gets a super kick and a ZigZag to eliminate Kane. Two minutes later, he eliminates Harper, leaving us with Ziggler vs Rollins. Rollins misses what looked like a Super Curb Stomp from the top rope and Dolph gets a Fame-Asser for 2. J&J Security distract Ziggler, but it doesn't work as Rollins misses a splash into the corner and Dolph hits ZigZag, but only for 2 as Trips pulls the ref out the ring and takes him out. J&J hit the ring and attack Dolph with Steph on the apron, they go for a double team move, but it backfires and J&J accidently send Steph crashing into Trips. Dolph superkicks J&J, but misses Rollins. Seth powerbombs him into the corner and sets up for the Curb Stomp, but misses and Dolph hits another ZigZag. Another ref comes down, but only counts two as Trips takes him out too. Trips beats down Ziggler and hits him with the Pedigree and puts Rollins on top of him. He calls for another ref and it's Scott Armstrong, who I don't recall seeing since Wrestlemania. He gets two when suddenly the lights go out, a crow is heard...and then....THIS!

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. THAT'S FUCKING STING!!! Words do not describe how amazing, mind-blowing and it many cases, surreal it was to FINALLY see Sting in a WWE ring. As he walks down to the ring, he takes out Armstrong and enters the ring and lays eyes on Trips. Of course, this sets up a Triple H/Sting match at Wrestlemania 31, but at the moment, who cares? The two stare each other down for a couple of minutes before Trips tries to punch him, but counters into the Stinger Death Drop(or is his Reverse DDT finisher called the Scorpion Death Drop, comment if I'm wrong.) and lays him out. He then goes over to Rollins and Ziggler, both whom are still out of it. He puts Rollins on his back and drapes Ziggler's arm over him and leaves the ring. The first ref comes back in and counts three.
Rating: ****1/4

Thoughts on Sting's WWE Debut: Yes, I'm taken part of this review to talk about this. There is no other wrestler I would ever do this to, besides Sting. To be honest, I thought the stand off was a bit long, but I still loved it and obviously, others did too as it was received well and it felt like a big moment. So much for the people that said that WWE fans won’t know who he is. I felt that they did a good payoff with ending the Authority angle and introducing Sting. Hell, they chanted “this is awesome” for their standoff. Even young fans who had never seen Sting before were chanting that. That proves how much Sting means in the world of Pro Wrestling. The fact that they got the big reaction played into the overall package of the angle and the story that they were telling in the match.
+ 5 for Sting's Debut

                                                             Final Rating: 

3.70 out of 5

WWE Hell in a Cell 2014 Review

2 out of 3 Falls Match: WWE Intercontinental Championship

Dolph Ziggler(c) def. Cesaro(12:15)

Thoughts: This feud had started on a Smackdown where Dolph and Cesaro had an IC Title match, which Dolph won, but Cesaro had his foot on the rope. They traded victories on Raw leading up to the PPV. Obviously with their skill, if they get time this could be very, very good. Ziggler got the first fall, and then worked over the left arm of Cesaro. Cesaro is such a freak of strength, he did this spot where Ziggler was basically in a hanging guillotine, and then Cesaro walked him up the ropes in the corner and hit a deadlift superplex off the second rope. They have worked together so many times; they already had great chemistry, but have now developed a great repertoire of counters that truly made things enjoyable. Ziggler won with the clean sweep, the arm work also worked into the finish, which I appreciated because it didn’t come off as a time killing device. I liked the clean sweep, first of all it’s not completely predictable like a lot of 2 of 3 fall matches, and on top of that Ziggler’s image needed rehabbed after the way he had been booked on TV over the last few weeks. He got the definitive victory in a very good match, and hopefully they actually build off of that. I wish they had more time, because it felt they had a lot more to offer, but overall this was a damn fine way to begin the PPV. 

Rating: ***3/4

Loser becomes Winners Personal Assistant

Nikki Bella def. Brie Bella(6:25)

Thoughts: This was better than I thought it would be. The crowd was not into it early, chanting for JBL and such, but they worked a simple and clean match and eventually got the crowd into things. The wrestling was pretty good, there was no bullshit or shenanigans, and we got a clean finish. That’s about all I can ask for. 

Rating: **

WWE Tag Team Championship

The Dust Bros.(c) def. The Usos(10:07)

Thoughts: These guys have good chemistry and usually have really good outings, so I am looking forward to this. In a nod to what started the feud, they attacked Jimmy’s knee and posted it to get the heat, which I appreciated. Unfortunately that never became the focus of the match, which I felt was a flaw because they never followed up on it, and then it became part of the finish when Stardust kicked the knee of Jimmy, allowing Goldust to hit his finish for the win. I would have liked a bit more commitment to the work on the knee. With that being said, they had another good match, but not as good as their other encounters. It felt a little slow at times during the middle, but they work together so well and something horrific would have to happen for them to have a bad match. As much as I love both teams, we need some fresh blood though, because I’ve about had my fill of these two teams as opponents. One final note, Goldust is awesome and may seriously be better than ever. His return to WWE has been such a great story. 

Rating: ***

Number 1 Contenders Hell in a Cell Match

John Cena def. Randy Orton(25:56)

Thoughts: First off, if John Cena is going to continue to call spots so loudly in matches, can he announce a spoiler warning first? Seriously, that shit is annoying. Secondly, they still haven’t had that feud-defining match, but overall this was really good. They had a long match, they kicked out of everything, which at times can be bad but in this instance I can buy it because they were fighting for the title shot. It felt a little long, and if they would have trimmed a few minutes it would have been tighter and come off even better. But I did feel that overall this was a very good match, just not great. They tried to work it like it was a classic affair, but the crowd never got into it at that level. They were into the match, but not like throwing babies or hanging from the rafters. Also, this is where the shitty commentary fails the product. They half-heartedly tried to sell this thing, and even when they came across as serious, they lack the credibility to be taken that way. Still, damn good HIAC match here.

Rating: ****

WWE United States Championship

Sheamus(c) def. The Miz(8:27)

Thoughts: This felt like an average TV match, which is OK considering we're still reeling from Cena/Orton. The finish saw Miz jump off the top rope and eat a Brogue kick (which wasn’t exactly hit clean) for the win. WWE had loved that kind of finish ever since HBK vs. Shelton. Sandow continues to be the most entertaining part of Miz’s act. Post match, Sheamus did comedy making a KO’d Miz make YMCA motions while Sandow mimicked him. Just classic stuff there. Sheamus retains, which is a good thing.

Rating: **1/2

Ruzev def. Big Show(7:56)

Thoughts: Rusev worked the knee of Show early, and then not only did hi abandon it, Show for got to sell it when it came time for him to run wild. That’s unfortunate. Mark Henry came out as most expected, tried to motivate Show, but that distracted him. Rusev then threw a Young Bucks amount of superkicks to both and then scored the win with the accolade. I am sure that this will lead to Show arguing that Henry came out when he asked him not to and a feud that no one wants. The crowd was into things, but the match again felt like an average TV match. Also, everything felt off as far as the heel/face dynamic. Rusev overcomes the odds (he’s smaller and overcame outside interference) to win, which lead to him beating Sheamus for the US Title shortly after this show.

Rating: **1/4

WWE Divas Championship

AJ Lee(c) def. Paige(6:41)

Thoughts: This was another completely average match in a line of them on the show. It wasn’t bad and they worked hard, but I really feel that they fail to deliver overall, they just don’t mesh as well as most hoped that they would. It didn’t help that they were in the death spot and that the crowd didn’t care. Seriously, they cared so little we didn’t even get CM PUNK chants during this. AJ retains, and much like the tag title scene, we need to move onto something fresh, because I’ve had my fill of this feud. In the end, Fox tried to help Paige by tossing her into the ring, which led to AJ getting the black widow for the win. Paige slapped Fox post match and yelled that she hated her.

Rating: **1/4

Main Event: Hell in a Cell Match

Seth Rollins def. Dean Ambrose(13:50 + an additional 10 minutes or so of pre match action)

Thoughts: Talk about a way to end the show. Hell, just the things there were doing to each other before the bell rang was amazing. I honestly can't do this match justice, you just have to see it for yourself. I will, however, talk about the ending. Ambrose brings two cinder blocks into the ring and goes for the curb stomp on the cinder blocks… BUT THEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT! We hear strange and incoherent mumbling and chanting, and suddenly the Wyatt Family lantern appears in the middle of the ring. A ghost appears to rise from the lantern, but then Bray Wyatt appears and levels Ambrose. Wyatt crab walks to Ambrose and hits a side slam. The crowd is none too happy about the interference. Rollins crawls over to Ambrose, makes the cover, and gets the three count. After the match, Bray Wyatt hits Ambrose with Sister Abigail, setting up their feud. Again, can't do this match justice, go see it.

Rating: ****1/2

                                                             Final Rating:

                                                             3.03 out of 5

Top 13 Best Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Matches

#1. Team Alliance(Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam, Booker T & Shane McMahon) vs WWF(The Rock, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, Kane & The Big Show) *****

#2. Team Austin(Shawn Michaels, Booker T, Rob Van Dam & The Dudley Boyz) vs Team Bischoff(Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Christian, Scott Steiner & Mark Henry) ****1/2

#3. Team Powers of Pain(Powers of Pain, Rockers, British Bulldogs, Hart Foundation & The Young Stallions) vs Team Demolition(Demolition, Brain Busters, Bolsheviks, Fabulous Rougeaus & The Conquistadors) ****1/4

#4. Team Strike Force(Strike Force, Young Stallions, Fabulous Rougeaus, Killer Bees & British Bulldogs) vs Team Hart Foundation(Hart Foundation, Islanders, Demolition, Bolsheviks & The Dream Team) ****1/4

#5. Team Flair(Ric Flair, Ted DiBiase, Warlord & The Mountie) vs Team Piper(Roddy Piper, Bret Hart, British Bulldog & Virgil) ****1/4

#6. Team Orton(Randy Orton, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho & Maven) vs Team Triple H(Triple H, Edge, Batista & Gene Snitsky) ***3/4

#7. Team Savage(Randy Savage, Jake Roberts, Ricky Steamboat, Brutus Beefcake & Jim Duggan) vs Team Honky Tonk Man(Honky Tonk Man, Hercules, Danny Davis, Ron Bass & Harley Race) ****3/4

 #8. The Shield & The Real Americans vs Cody Rhodes, Goldust, The Usos & Rey Mysterio ***3/4

#9. The Bodydonnas(Skip, Rad Radford, Zip & 1-2-3 Kid) vs The Underdogs(Marty Jannetty, Hakushi, Barry Horowitz & Bob Holly) ***3/4

#10. Doug Furnas, Phil Lafon &The Godwinns vs Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Marty Jannetty & Leif Cassidy ***3/4

#11. The Wild Card Match: Shawn Michaels, Sycho Sid, British Bulldog & Ahmed Johnson vs Razor Ramon, Owen Hart, Yokozuna & Dean Douglas ***1/2

 #12. The Bad Guys(Razor Ramon, British Bulldog, 1-2-3 Kid & The New Headshrinkers) vs The Teamsters(Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart & Jeff Jarrett) ***1/2

#13. The Dream Team(Dusty Rhodes, Koko B. Ware & The Hart Foundation) vs The Million Dollar Team(Ted DiBiase, The Undertaker & Rhythm n' Blues) ***1/2

WWF In Your House XI: Buried Alive Review

Happy Halloween Everybody and what better show to review on Halloween than this?

Stone Cold Steve Austin def. Hunter Hearst Helmsley(15:30)
Thoughts: Sometimes, us wrestling fans can get really lucky and here is such an occasion. Austin was originally supposed to face Savio Vega, in anticipation of facing Bret Hart. Instead, Vega got injured, so Helmsley is a last-second substitute. Yes, there was a time when someone had to get injured in order for Helmsley to get a shot on PPV. Their match here isn't anywhere as good as their match from No Way Out 2001, but I'll give it this: it was much better than their Survivor Series 2000 match. The best part was the ending to the match. Hunter avoids a charge but gets cocky and plays to the crowd, so Austin stalks him and gives him a Stunner for the win. I just get a laugh out of that.
Rating: ***1/4

WWF Tag Team Championship
Owen Hart & The British Bulldog(c) def. The Smoking Gunns(9:15)
Thoughts: Sunny left the Godwinns for the Smoking Gunns when the Gunns won the tag titles, then dumped the Gunns when the lost to Owen and Bulldog. Billy, who was PG-13 poking her, got upset and started a heel turn, putting a strain on the team. The finish sees Davey Boy break up the Sidewinder (Demolition Decapitation with a Legdrop) and Owen finishes Billy with a spinning wheel kick. This was another odd case, like the opener, of virtually everyone in the match being a heel except Bart, who gets booed for being a dunce.
Rating: **1/2

WWF Intercontinental Championship
Marc Mero(c) def. Goldust(11:37)
Thoughts: There's not really too much to comment on here. It's just usual banter with Goldust playing mind games on Mero. Honestly, it's a pretty good match, so much so that I find it hard to make some kind of joke in it. The finish sees Mr. Perfect(who was out at the commentary table to replace JR.)
leaves the announce position, so Hunter Hearst Helmsley comes out to argue with him for a bit. Goldust tries to interfere and takes a shot from Perfect. Back in, Mero hits a Samoan Drop that sets up the Wild Thing. Mero looked great here, but injuries would derail his career shortly after this (despite what Mick Foley might tell you)
Rating: ***1/4

Number 1 Contender's Match
Sycho Sid def. Vader(8:01)
Thoughts: If I actually cared about the WWF during 1996, I would've been excited to see this match. Best part is that HBK is out here on commentary and goes all tweener during most of the match. Oh and if ever there was a bad idea, it was “Basic Instinct 2,” but if there was a second place finish, it would be picking up a man named Sycho Sid. Sid avoids the pump splash and crotches Cornette as he tries to interfere. He stops to go for the powerbomb, but Vader goes low and tries his own. Sid blocks the powerbomb and finishes with a chokeslam. Good match and fairly short at 8 minutes and most surprisingly, it didn't suck.
Rating: ***

Main Event: Buried Alive Match
The Undertaker def. Mankind(15:23)
Thoughts: The two pick up where they left off at Summerslam and start brawling. There's not too much to comment on that you can't see for yourself since this match is on the Best of In Your House DVD. What I will talk about is the ending. After Taker wins the match after shovelling a little bit of dirt on Mankind, he KO's the ref and continues burying Mankind. That is, until The Executioner (Terry Gordy) runs out and hits Taker with a shovel. Mankind and Gordy then commence to burying the Undertaker alive. A plethora of other heels join in until the Undertaker is completely buried. Even Triple H is there, doing manual labor, which is out-of-character for him. Just when they have him buried, though, lightning strikes the grave, and the Undertaker’s hand shoots out of the dirt. Not quite as good as their boiler room brawl match, but still an awesome match and a great way to end the show.
Rating: ****

                                               Final Rating:
                                               3.20 out of 5

 

WWE Night of Champions 2014 Review

WWE Tag Team Championship
The Dust Brothers def. The Usos(c)(12:49)
Thoughts: I hated how the Usos pretty much got ignored during August, so it's nice to see them get some attention during September during their feud with the Dust Bros. This was a really good match to start off the PPV. One of my favourite moments was
where Jey Uso got revenge for the knee injury and just snapped and started to work over Stardust’s knee like a wild man. It's always nice to see that kind of continuity. Sure, the match started slow and then got into gear with a series of near falls and dives late. Stardust countered the top rope splash with knees, and got a roll up with the tights for the win. Like I said, damn good way to start the show. Not the best work from either team, but it was still a good opener with the Dust Bros. treating the titles like they meant something and the Usos selling

devastation with losing the titles.

Rating: ***1/4 

WWE United States Championship

Sheamus(c) def. Cesaro(13:21)

Thoughts: The funny thing is that with guys like this, they don’t need a story. They are big dudes that like to kick ass; so just book them as wanting to be the better man and they can do all of the work for you. Plus that works perfectly as the polar opposite of what they are doing with Miz and Ziggler. It broke down, in the best way possible, to them just beating the hell out of each other. Sheamus, who took a ton from Cesaro, got the desperation brogue kick and retained the title. Overall another good match here and better than the opener. While Cesaro lost, he loses nothing from a match like this. I still feel these guys have a better match in them (not that this was bad) because their styles mesh so well.

Rating: ***3/4

WWE Intercontinental Championship

The Miz def. Dolph Ziggler(c)(9:18)

Thoughts: Well, 1st off, we have Sandow and Truth out here. Next, we have awful commentary. To make matters worse and with Florida Georgia Line it actually got worse. Sandow got involved, and Florida Georgia Line got involved, leading to Truth chasing him off. Miz of course works the figure four with no work on the leg, because that’s what he does. Sandow returned and distracted Ziggler, leading to Miz regaining the title. The match was generally fine, but the horrible commentary and extra curricular activities did nothing to help and only hurt the match. While the booking is questionable, at least the US Title match felt important. I am pretty sure that the IC Title has never meant less, especially with Ziggler getting it back on the following Raw

Rating: **

Ruzev def. Mark Henry(8:26)

Thoughts: They had Lilian Garcia sing the national anthem, setting the stage and hopefully getting the crowd deeply invested in Henry’s cause. More of a brawl than a match early on, which I felt worked well for the feud and the guys working it. I didn’t want to see a grappling bout between them. Rusev worked the back of Henry most of the time (after slamming him to the steps), Henry did manage to hit the world’s strongest slam, but Rusev would roll to the floor to escape. Rusev went over strong, and more definitively than I thought, and that’s a good thing. Not a good match, but Rusev’s strong booking is more important in some ways

Rating: *1/2

Randy Orton def. Chris Jericho(16:15)

Thoughts: WWE finally realized what everyone did, that Jericho and Wyatt weren’t working well together, so they ended that on Raw and transitioned to this for the PPV. Hopefully, the two can wrestle again later because they can have a great match. Orton and Jericho went out here and did exactly as I expected them to do. The finish saw Jericho stand on top for 5-minuts or so, and then jumped into an RKO for the finish. This was an overall good match, they work very well together, they played to the crowd and they delivered the right finish, but had a few good teases that made the live crowd believe that Jericho may win.

Rating: ***1/2

Triple Threat Match: WWE Divas Championship

AJ Lee def. Paige(c) and Nikki Bella(8:45)

Thoughts: I don't understand why people went into this match thinking Nikki would win here. Her feud with doesn't need the Diva's title. Unlike the AJ/Paige feud, which DOES need the title because that's the whole point of the feud. Anyway, this was actually not a bad match, they even worked in a tower of doom spot. What's surprising is that AJ wins here, giving us the fourth title change since April and I have to ask this: why give AJ the title back when Paige only just won it a month prior. I don’t have an issue with the ladies; I have an issue with the booking because they haven’t done anything to make me care about these two. I think we had high hopes when Paige and AJ were set to feud, but the storytelling has just been poor.

Rating: **1/2

Main Event: WWE Championship

John Cena def. Brock Lesnar(c) via DQ(14:15)

Thoughts: Well, it wasn't the complete ass whupping Cena got at Summerslam. They did what I hoped they would do and mirrored the beginning of the Summerslam match, only with Cena hitting his finish in the first minute. While Cena did get more offense in here, Brock still nailed with an array of suplexes, strikes and the kimura. Cena git Lesnar with 4 AA's in this match and it just when he's about to win, Seth Rollins comes in and whacks Cena with his MITB briefcase, causing the DQ. Then Rollins hits Lesnar with the Curb Stomp and is about to cash in when Cena comes in and stops him from doing so. Much like last month, a very physical and different style than the average WWE match. What they are doing works so well for Lesnar, as the guy looks like an absolute beast. I liked the match more than I did their Summerslam match. The finish on the other hand, I hated that. I have never been and likely never will be a fan of finishes like that on PPV, especially in the main event. It just took away from what they did in the ring and needed the night on a sour note.

Rating: ***1/2

                         Final Rating for Night of Champions 2014

                                               2.86 out of 5

WWF In Your House X: Mind Games Review

Caribbean Strap Match
Savio Vega def. Justin Bradshaw(7:09)
Thoughts: This match was set up on the Free-For-All when Bradshaw came out and performs the 1st shoot of the night, this one on Vince for not letting on the PPV, then attacked Vega after his match against Marty Jannetty, so here we are. Here's the 2nd shoot: They brawl to the floor where ECW’s Sandman spits beer on Savio’s back. It turns out Sandman and Tommy Dreamer are trying to jump the rail to get on camera. Security has to cart them off. To their credit, Savio and Bradshaw play it like a shoot. Taz would show up the following night on Raw, though, confirming a working relationship between the WWF and ECW. The match itself proves that Bradshaw was no Steve Austin at this point. The match was mostly overshadowed by the ECW angle too.
Rating: *1/2

Jose Lothario def. Jim Cornette(0:57)

Thoughts: Oy. This is an extension of the feud between Shawn Michaels and Camp Cornette. The fact that both guys come out to their superstars music (Lothario comes out to “Sexy Boy,” Cornette to Vader’s lumbering tune.) is the most entertaining part of the match. Lothario finishes Cornette with a hard right. Too short to be overly offensive.
Rating: DUD

WWF Tag Team Championship
Owen Hart & The British Bulldog def. The Smoking Gunns(c)(10:59)
Thoughts: Both teams are heels here, which you’d think would be fine in Philly, but this match has no heat. Sunny has heat, especially when she pouts over the moustache someone drew on her giant poster. Owen and Billy actually do some nice stuff. Here's another shoot: Vince is ranting about the heels, prompting Jim Ross to say he should give them the benefit of the doubt since Vince got the benefit of the doubt when he was indicted. Ha ha! SNAP! The match ends with Billy(who is basically DX Billy at this point) stopping  to chat up Sunny, allowing Bulldog to shove Bart into him. Billy shoves Bart back, allowing Bulldog to powerslam him for the win. Sunny, true to form, dumps the Gunns after the loss. This would trigger the breakup of the Gunns, and would have led to a big singles push for Billy, but he pissed off the office and wound up with the silly “Rockabilly” gimmick. In a funny-if-true story, the Honky Tonk Man originally pitched that gimmick for — who else — the Rock! Overall, not bad, but nothing special.
Rating: **1/4

Mark Henry def. Jerry Lawler(5:13) Thoughts: Henry is making his debut, and isn’t this just the perfect city for it?! Vince says Henry doesn’t have the technique down yet. Yeah, I mean, can you imagine how good this guy will be when he gets 10 years under his belt?! Lawler walks him through the match, doing the same basic match that he did against the Junkyard Dog. Henry starts no-selling and finishes with a Canadian Backbreaker. Henry also takes out Leif Cassidy, Marty Janetty and Hunter Hearst Helmsley before getting his own pyro display. So yeah, take that, Eric Bischoff! Rating: *

Final Curtain Match
The Undertaker def. Goldust(10:23)
Thoughts: “Final Curtain” just means that there *must* be a winner, and it *must* be the Undertaker. This is the end of the semi-feud between these two that served as the B-story (to take a term Goldust would appreciate) to the Mankind versus Taker feud. Taker destroys Goldust early and picks up Marlena because she’s been getting involved. That allows Goldust to toss gold dust in his eyes. That’s the end of the entertaining portion of the match as the rest is all punching and kicking by Goldust. He gets two off a powerslam, but the Undertaker sits up. Goldust goes up top, but Taker catches him and chokeslams him all the way to the mat. The Tombstone finishes Goldust. Overall, not bad, but for the most part, boring.
Rating: **1/2

 

Main Event: WWF Championship
Shawn Michaels(c) def. Mankind via DQ(26:25)
Thoughts: This match is one everyone has to see at least once; it's easily Mick Foley's best non-gimmick match. There's some damn good spots, from the Cactus Clothesline, to Shawn flying over the Spanish announce table and tackling Mankind to the floor, to the two going through the Spanish announce table. They both stagger to the ring, and Mankind climbs the ropes with a chair in hand. Shawn kicks it right back in his face and covers, but Vader runs down to interfere for the DQ. Sycho Sid runs down to chase Vader to the back. Mankind and Bearer try to seal Shawn in the casket, but the Undertaker is in there and winds up destroying Mankind to set up another match between them. Probably the most smartly booked match since Piper-Bret at WrestleMania VIII. I wish they had the ability to book things like this one a consistent basis throughout 1996. Easy MOTYC in a series of them for Shawn in 1996.
Rating: ****3/4

                                             Final Rating:
                                     2 out of 5