Oct 21, 2021 3:36:32 GMT Baker said:

Money In The Bank 2011- One of only two shows in the Top 29 that I haven't watched

AEW All Out 2021 is the other. Unless I'm forgetting something, the only AEW I've watched all year are a Kingston/Pillman Jr. Dark match, a handful of Dan "My Hero" Lambert promos, and the instant classic Armed Anderson promo.

Oct 21, 2021 14:53:52 GMT Big Pete said:

I haven't watched the 2011 Money in the Bank since it aired but from memory fans loved it because Punk and Christian won the belts

I knew about Christian's "doing it for Edge" World Title win that only lasted a few days, but had no idea he won the title a second time until last night. That had me curious about the World Championship lineage and lemme tell ya the early 2010s were wild...

Jack Swagger: World Champion. Kane holding the title for 5 months in 2010.  Dolph Ziggler holding it for a minute (possibly literally?) in 2011. Mark Henry's "legendary" Hall of Pain reign only lasting 3 months. Multiple Big Show reigns from 2011-13. Sheamus getting a 7 month reign in 2012 followed by Alberto Del Rio holding it for over 7 months during the span of two reigns in 2013. Midcardmania running wild, brother. Were any of these acts (other than Henry?) actually over? 

They started to move away from the Jackson Andrews (remember him?), Lucky Cannons etc.

Literally never heard of these guys and now I'm intrigued.

Forgot to mention AEW All Out 2021 is the first show to drop that received a #1 vote.

Wrestlemania 18- Never expected it to finish this high (above WM 19!). I did not like this show and would rate it in the bottom half of the 'Manias I've seen. At best it's a two match show. The high voter was in the building. So I get that. I've surely overrated a whole lot of shows I saw live. But WM 18 would have cracked 20 points even without that high vote. PW's got some explaining to do.

Highlight of the night was the battle between a revered company veteran and a recently returned legend. I am, of course, referring to Undertaker vs. Ric Flair. One of the more underrated 'Mania matches in my book. Highlights include Arn's super stealth Spinebuster, that Superplex, and Flair botching the Last Ride finish by being old which in turn forced Taker to use the more definitive Tombstone. 

Rock/Hogan is most people's MOTN. I can appreciate it for what it is in hindsight. HATED it in real time though. Wasn't even a big Rock guy by that point, but I was appalled by the Bizarro World Toronto crowd going gaga for the Hulkster as if it were 1987 all over again. We're talking genuinely sickened. What was even the point of the Monday Night War? Hogan was what true believer WWF diehards like myself had been railing against for the previous 6-9 years. He was the living embodiment of everything the New Generation and Attitude Era opposed. It was bad enough they brought the old fossil back in the first place. To hear 60,000+ fans actually cheer for Hack Hogan was just too much. Nothing matters. Everything is a work. Life sucks. Then you die.

DDP vs. "Crybaby" Christian was good, wholesome good guy vs. bad guy midcard fun with the right finish. Sort of a throwback to the New Generation or Golden Age....something somebody like The Model or The Mountie would have been involved in.

Rest of the show was a hot mess. It was as if they weren't even trying anymore. The still red hot RVD was wasted on Regal in a Speed of Light vs. Speed of Molasses opener for the IC Title. At least the right guy went over. Booker & Edge infamously fought over a Japanese shampoo commercial. I wish I was making that up. Austin was wasted on a past his prime Scott Hall. Angle was stuck trying to get something out of Kane. Nothing illustrates the lack of effort more than the Tag Title match. 2000 & 2001 saw the Tag Titles defended in memorable state of the art matches involving ladders. This was just a regular, run of the mill 4 Way. Like I said, just a complete lack of effort on WWF's part. Yet I was actually happy with Billy & Chuck going over because at least they were a fresh act unlike the other three teams. (Not So?) Fun Fact: Billy & Chuck have the longest individual WWF Tag Title reign of the 4 teams in the match. This dog of a show is finally capped off by a dull and heatless main event. The build sucked. The match sucked. And for some strange reason Chris Jericho was in the main event of Wrestlemania. Oh well. At least the right guy prevailed.

🤯 likes to rebook Wrestlemanias. I can't think of a 'Mania more desperately in need of a rebooking than this one. Have at it, sir. 

*I know I lost most of you ages ago by going too quickly, but it will only be one a day from here on out now that we're entering the Top 10.

Jackson Andrews had a blink and you'll miss it run in late 2010 when Tyson Kidd brought him in as his muscle after the Hart Dynasty broke up. After that feud wrapped up, Andrews disappeared off television and was fired. Wikipedia says that he was an abusive POS who was also engaged to another woman so nothing of value was lost. In some alternative universe you could have paired him up with Matt Morgan.

Lucky Cannon was a participant on the second season of NXT who earned his name after surviving a real life altercation where he was hit in the back of the head with a lead pipe. He was apparantly in a coma for three weeks and had extensive rehabilitation yadda yadda yadda the whole nine yards. Outside of looking like Adam Cole's older brother there's not a ton I can remember. Watching through some YouTube clips it seemed like the first time around they tried to make him an inspirational babyface and paired him up with Mark Henry. Then they did a Redemption series the next year where he had a Playboy gimmick and was trying to court Maryse only to reject him. He seemed like a pretty awkward wrestler with a sloppy finisher that was kind of like a Death Valley/Senton deal.

To tie both guys together, Tyson Kidd was Lucky Cannon's mentor.

The first incarnation of NXT rightfully gets dumped on but I liked the whole mentor concept. It seemed like a throwback to the Attitude Era 'mob mentality' where the only way to get in is through knowing a pre-existing guy/girl on the roster.

I'll cover All Out 2021.

So heading into the show, AEW was riding a wave of momentum. The touring schedule had breathed a lot of life into the promotion as did the signings of CM Punk, Malakai Black and Andrade El Idolo. With word that Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole were imminent fans were excited to tag a long for the ride.

The match that stole the show was a steel cage match between the Young Bucks vs. Lucha Bros. The two teams had a decorated history together and had some of the best matches in the company's history during the Pre-Dynamite PPV days. This match is considered the best match of their feud and blew expectations away as they played into the brother vs. brother aspect and came up with all sorts of crazy spots mainly built around showcasing how ridiculous Rey Fenix is. He really is a modern day Rey Mysterio and some of his work is incredible. The match actually didn't have a lot of momentum going into it yet by the end of the match fans were really invested in seeing the Lucha Bros go over so it really put the cherry on top.

The show also featured the return of CM Punk in his first match in over seven years against Darby Allin and it was like he never left. This was just a well put together match that had a couple of Kid/Bret RAW '94 references sprinkled out and was like a modern day re-telling of that bout.

Kenny-Christian had a perfectly acceptable main event match, but the post-match stole the show. They did a brilliant fake-out with Adam Cole where they presented him as Kenny's next challenger only for him to join the Elite. Just as the show appeared to end on a confusing note, they then brought out Bryan Danielson who helped cleaned up the ring and instantly changed the dynamic of the promotion.

The rest of the card was really solid too. Kingston-Miro was a good hoss match, Baker-Statlander is one of the better women's matches in AEW history and the Casino Battle Royal was a good showcase that helped establish Ruby Soho right out of the gates. Jericho-MJF had a good fake out that fans bought into for a second where appeared that Jericho was going to retire under controversial circumstances only for the referees to intervene. The fans bit into that spot hard and were behind Chris winning the match which is pretty hard to pull off in this day and age of 'new starz'. Moxley-Kojima was solid filler and another stiff strong style bout that gave the fans a fun Minoru Suzuki appearance.

Actually I did lie because the Paul White vs. QT Marshall match was just sort of there but it really was a non-offensive buffer match before the main event. It didn't really detract from the show but fans could have really lived without it.

Otherwise the show felt like a start of a new era and not only AEW's best show but the first time the WWE had been given a serious run for their money.

Now personally I wasn't THAT enamored with it and really only had time for the Punk/Darby match but I owe it a rewatch and I can't deny what the show meant to others.

WrestleMania XX: Didn’t see this until 2013, so The Moments were a bit whatever by then (especially on the Benoit front), but it has my GOAT Triple Threat Match, and was just a solid, well put together show.

Great American Bash '96: What a time to be alive. The Outsiders just getting going, causing mayhem, Rey Jr.’s debut in one of the greatest WCW matches ever, Benoit/Sullivan basically coming up with a prototype for the mainstream spin of an ECW match, solid matches all around (minus Regal). Is it as good today? No idea. Don’t care.

Wrestlemania 6: I didn’t start taping Wrestlemania’s until WM7, but I had commercial tapes of 2 and 5, then every one after 7, so around Wrestlemania 2000ish, I found a dude in my school that had a commercial WM6 and asked to borrow it. I did this with plans just to dub it to another tape, so I could get close to completing my homemade WM Set (which I did), but it was also a trip for being one of my first “looking back” experiences. Older, wiser (15/16 years old), looking at the ancient history of 10 years prior (so Money in the Bank ‘11 today), and so I have good memories of looking back in that sense, a sign of things to come. I was, however, disappointed in the show as a whole. The most epic main event really made me think the whole show was better than it was, and to this day, the only thing I immediately remember about it (other than Hogan vs Warrior) is Ted DiBiase bodyslamming Big Boss Man on the floor, which I feel like I’m the only one that ever brings up how cool that was, but I’m comfortable being that guy. So, I didn’t vote for it, don’t value it that high, but I get it, the main event rules.

SummerSlam ‘92: I haven’t seen the full show since it first aired, have only rewatched Bret/Davey in the years since. No memories of any of the other matches (some of them big, well regarded ones), which is a bit weird. In my mind it’s a one match show, but admit I need a rewatch to know if that’s true, and it seems it isn’t true at all.

WrestleMania 7: This was sick day staple, that late morning, home from school, being reminded daytime television is a wasteland and going to the tape collection. Fuck it, WM7 (Survivor Series 1990, Royal Rumble 1991 and SummerSlam 1991) were other staples, as this was the era of me falling in love with wrestling. Never knew if it was actually underrated, or if I was just being nostalgic, but big fan of this show. I remember weird small details (like Warlord’s full nelson not having his fingers locked all the way with his full nelson on Davey Boy Smith, allowing Davey Boy to power his way out of it), like I have positive memories of Warlord vs. Davey Boy, I’m gonna love this whole show, including the matches that normal people actually value.

No Way Out 2001: I don’t remember anything other than Austin vs. Triple H (okay I remember Rock beating Angle, but no memory of the finish), but if that’s the only reason No Way Out was voted for, I get it. One of the greatest matches during that beautiful micro-era within the Attitude Era (2000-WM17) where matches were better than the previous Russo era allowed, so one of the best of Attitude Era, period.

King of the Ring '98: Didn’t watch this live, don’t remember why, but got The Phone Call after the Foley bump from a buddy. He was like, “Mankind just fell from the cage onto a table, it’s the sickest thing I’ve ever seen,” and I replied like a dumbshit know-it-all, “Shawn Michaels did that in the first Hell in a Cell.” And he, very patiently was like, “This one … was different.” Needless to say, I watched (and taped) the Tuesday replay and had my mind blown just the same. I’m with Baker that the rest of the show sucks, though. Like, genuinely sucks. I can’t think of one redeeming thing about the rest of it. But I suppose it’s fitting that HITC 2 carries its reputation all these years later, because if any match ever earned the right to do such a thing, it’s that one.

SummerSlam 1991: Hell yeah, another sick day staple. I am the lone man, yelling into the abyss, this is the better Hart/Perfect match (not the KOTR match that literally everyone else says). Only two skippable matches (Natrual Disasters vs. Bushwackers and IRS vs Valentine) which is a great ratio in that era.

SummerSlam 1998: This is a WWF show I think of in ECW terms where the sum of its parts is why it’s so good. WWF riding the Austin wave, putting together top-to-bottom one of the definitive Attitude Era shows ever, an argument could be made The Definitive (with 14 and 17 occupying bookends, SummerSlam as the text). It’s such a shame Austin vs. ‘Taker had the bad luck of Austin getting concussed because I think it had the potential to be an all timer, otherwise. Even so, it had its moments, and the Highway to Hell lived up to the hype.

Anarchy Rulz ‘99: Total sum of its parts show (as all ECW shows were). I was very tapped into internet rumors in those days, even had a wrestling newsletter I used to run with a buddy, so I was very rarely surprised, but for reasons I don’t remember, I wasn’t tapped into the Taz/WWF rumors of that week. He had been rumored to be talking to the WWF before that, and the fans just treated it as whatever. But sometime in that week it had been revealed that Taz was definitely going. I missed this, and when he came out for his match and got BOOED and YOU SOLD OUT CHANTS, it was like a bizarro world, or like waking up from a coma and being like, “I’ve missed so much.” The shock of him being eliminated first (so bold, so smart), then just letting Awesome/Tanaka do their reliably great thing, it just ruled. Everything about it did. From Lance Storm vs. Jerry Lynn opening to RVD vs. Balls closing, a perfect ECW show. Unfortunately, the last one.

Wrestlemania X: Mandatory “I was there!” March 20, 1994, will remember the date until the die. I voted this as my #20 thinking I’d be the only one, just trying to get it an HM for personal reasons, I underestimated its appeal. Obviously a two-match-show (but the best two matches of a two-match-show?) and even though Yoko fucking sucked as always, got Bret a proto-Wrestlemania Moment, so that’s cool, I guess.

WM 19/WM 30: I saw 19 in 2013 and remember liking it, but don’t remember a lot about it (binging after the fact doesn’t leave a lot of room for memory building). 30, I actually downloaded that night and watched it the next day like it was live. The best “modern” pay per view I had seen (everything after WM17), very smartly booked (other than Cena over Wyatt), and recognized The Moments, even overrated Cesaro coming across as the next big thing slamming Big Show to win the Andre Memorial, which has kind of been lost in time due to literally everything Cesaro has done since. The WWE got absolutely bullied by their fans into giving Bryan his moment, and he got it, and that’s pretty cool. Bullying works, folks. And it doesn’t get better, kids.

Royal Rumble 2001: Love the short cards of Royal Rumbles because the Rumble is so long. Just a low-fat operation. Some title matches, then the Rumble. The 3 out of 4 pre-Rumble matches I remember all delivered (don’t remember the Women’s Title match at all), with Benoit/Jericho being a classic. Then the Rumble itself gets the job done, Stone Cold is truly back, baybeeeee.

Heatwave 98: Broken record with ECW PPVs, but another sum of its parts. The ECW PPV I re-watched the most, would make other people watch it like, “THIS IS ECW, BEHOLD,” like a fucking dickhead. Refreshing my memory on Wikipedia, goddamn, is that a perfect ECW card. Credible and Lynn get things started with a workrateish match that gets a bit extreme, Candido vs. Storm is a nice sports entertainment spectacle with the finish involving Tammy losing her top, Tanaka and Awesome just blow minds (maybe not the first Holy Shit chant, but the one that birthed all others that followed), RVD/Sabu vs Hayabusa and Shinzaki is one of the best tag matches in ECW history (Sabu was so fucking on his game that night), then Taz vs. Bigelow doing their typical hard hitting shit with a memorable finish. Dreamer/Sandman/Spike vs. The Dudleys might seem like a weird main event, and it kinda is (keep in mind the World Title was on the shelf with Shane Douglas' injury, so the Dudleys were the number one heels), but the crowd work the Dudleys do before the match immediately justifies their closing the show. If it’s not the GOAT Dudleys laying into the crowd, it’s Top 3, at least. And then just an ECW garbage match that fucking ruled, anyone that doesn’t like this match sucks.

Royal Rumble 2000: Speaking of the Dudleys, their coming out in WWF. Most people forget, they were flopping the first four months, it wasn’t looking good, then they finally found themselves (as the tag division itself was finding itself) in what would help set the standard for that era of tag matches and the rest is history. And that followed Tazzzzzz’s debut! What a start. Don’t remember the next two matches at all, which makes sense considering what they were following, but also might mean this is ranked a bit too high, but Triple H vs. Cactus Jack is so fucking good, just let it be too high. Triple H was cosplaying as a main eventer before Royal Rumble 2000, but he left as a genuine one.

MITB 11: Only saw Punk/Cena, which is very good, but it must have been a bit of “You had to be there at the time,” which I get. That finish seems to be the last good decision WWE has done.

WrestleMania 18: With the Baker  Man on this one. Like, what are we doing here? Rock/Hogan and Taker/Flair are very good … and … uh … I’m at a loss.

Oct 22, 2021 3:55:45 GMT Baker said:

🤯 likes to rebook Wrestlemanias. I can't think of a 'Mania more desperately in need of a rebooking than this one. Have at it, sir. 

I can't ignore such a call out, but also fear I'd disappoint you/Kilgore/Strobe/etc.

I have this Gogle sheet (essentially an online excel file for any hardcore kids still fantasy booking in spiral bound journals... *cough* Tony Kahn *cough*), where all my revisionist history is captured and being slowly revised, refined, and tied together. Since it's all interconnected as an overall timeline, and tries to root itself in as much realism as possible while also not sacrificing too much of the good shit from real life... My WMX8 rebook probably isn't as knock-your-socks-off as you might otherwise hope.

Here's what I've settled on as the best possible path after my relatively recent WrestleMania WatchThru, and also trying to tie in with where things were coming from and where they were headed (based on reality as well as my minor revisions)...

WrestleMania X8

*** *** *** *** ***
HeAT
WWF Hardcore Title Match: Maven (c) vs. Goldust
The hardcore title match and shtick remains the same but gets shunted to start out on HeAT instead. It still starts as Maven vs. Goldust since both were relevant things at this point. Goldust had just returned, and his Midas-touched weapons were a cool visual. Tough Enough was still fresh, and so Maven's push was understood as a necessary evil. Match gets interruptes as 99.9% of 24/7 Rule era hardcore matches do, and plays out on the PPV as it did in real life.
*** *** *** *** ***

WWF European Title Match: Diamond Dallas Page (c) def. Christian (w/ Test)
This match would've worked perfectly fine as the fun opener. Christian eating a pin in his hometown feels like the ultimate catharsis for Vince. Only real tweak I had here was adding to Christian's crybaby gimmick by also having him cosplay as this try-hard wannabe Canadian Shawn Michaels, and so Test is his try-hard wannabe Canadian "Big Daddy Cool" Diesel.

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Edge (c) def. Booker T
Match was decent enough. The build was the problem. Instead of having Edge drop the title to Brass Knux Regal to drop to RVD (and thus relegate a still hot RVD to the upper mid card at best)... Just keep the belt on Edge, and have him score a nice hometown title defense against a former world champion and recent main-eventer. No Japanese shampoo needed.

Kurt Angle def. Mr. Perfect
Cliché but the PERFECT choice for a nostalgia-boosted card. The returning Perfect eliminates Angle from Angle's first-ever Rumble match, in Atlanta, where Angle won his gold medals and had vowed to win the Rumble... thus really earning the ire of the Olympian. Angle gets his payback by costing Perfect the IC belt in a match against Edge. Sets them on a path to determine who between them really is the perfect Kurt/Curt.

If Perfect stays healthy enough and out of trouble, perhaps this turns into a multi-match program similar to Angle/Benoit in Spring 2001. However, since I tried to stay as rooted in reality as possible, Perfect just jobs clean to put Kurt over and then descends the ladder rapidly before disappearing on the Plane Ride from Hell. Kurt transitions into his real life program with Edge and Hogan instead.

Rob Van Dam def. Chris Jericho
Clash of the clunky plodfoots! Instead of trying to shoehorn the hardcore or IC title into this (and thus lowering the standing of either guy somehow) I ultimately just have this as a straight up grudge match. Vince gets another cathartic laugh as another Canadian jobs in Canada.

Feud is born out of Jericho suffering some sort of recent embarrassment... Either losing the undisputed title immediately after winning it, or failing to win it in the first place. RVD being RVD tries to tell Jericho to just be zen about it, everything happens for a reason, etc. Jericho is like FUCK THAT and screws RVD out of something (the Rumble, the hardcore title, etc.). Instead of being in the main event where he figuratively and literally has/had no business, Jericho starts/continues his jobber to the stars path... Putting over RVD here, and then helping to make Edge post-Mania.

The Outsiders (Kevin Nash & Scott Hall) def. Kane & Big Show
Kane & Show had been a King Kong/Godzilla tag team since the wake of Survivor Series 2001, reigning as tag champs until only just recently when the debuting Outsiders cost them the belts in embarrassing fashion to Billy & Chuck as a way of making a statement. The Champions of the Chokeslam challenge the Outsiders to this match as they seek payback. Finish sees Show turn on and chokeslam Kane, setting Diesel up to score the pin on Fake Diesel. We leave it ambiguous whether this means Show has gone back to his roots and rejoined nWo, or if it's just trouble in paradise between Kong & 'Zilla.

No Disqualification Match: The Undertaker def. Ric Flair
No change.

WWF Tag Team Title Fatal 4-Way Match: Billy & Chuck (c) def. The APA (Faarooq & Bradshaw), The Hardy Boyz (Matt & Jeff), and The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray & D-Von) (w/ Stacy Keibler)
Scrap the elimination strip for time. Faarooq eats the pinfall after a title belt shot to the face to set up a rematch for the APA. It's a bar room brawl, but Champs get to pick the bar to have some sort of Champions advantage. They pick a gay bar, which really throws the APA off. Anyway... Kind of a sad piss break filler match.

The Rock def. Hulk Hogan
No change. HHH & Austin refuse to let this go on last since they think they're the bigger main event.

WWF Women's Title Triple Threat Match with special guest referee Jacqueline: Jazz (c) def. Lita and Trish Stratus
No real change. I love Jazz, and Vince loves when Canadians lose in Canada.

Undisputed World Title Hell in a Cell Match: Triple H def. Steve Austin (c) *TITLE CHANGE!*
The Two-Man Power Trip FINALLY implodes in the first HIAC since December 2000. Austin puts HHH over clean after a grueling war to end all wars, as he's considering taking some time off to recharge and/or pursue other projects outside wrestling. Not sure about the match itself, but certainly the wake of Mania sees HHH, Hall/Nash/X-Pac, and the returning HBK tease the formation of the Kliq as an actual onscreen stable.

^ Legit read that as a review of the show and not a rebooking. The hell.

Oct 23, 2021 13:15:55 GMT @ness said:

^ Legit read that as a review of the show and not a rebooking. The hell.

Is that good or bad? :lol:

Oct 23, 2021 13:55:30 GMT 🤯 said:

Oct 23, 2021 13:15:55 GMT @ness said:

^ Legit read that as a review of the show and not a rebooking. The hell.

Is that good or bad? :lol:

Mostly the first few matches I thought legit happened. Guess the DDP/Christian match was a camo.

Pretty much I only remember the big matches so any undercard nonsense fooled me.

WKs kinda feel samey to me since I only very casually follow the coming and goings of New Japan, but is this the one where Okada cried after losing? Good, that run with the pants was atrocious and he deserves to be unhappy.

High vote for Wrestlemania 18. I was there, it was fucking incredible, I'm biased, sue me.

Glad to see Wrestle Kingdom 9 cracked the top 10. NJPW at its finest. Very cool to see.

Oct 23, 2021 17:53:22 GMT @ness said:

WKs kinda feel samey to me since I only very casually follow the coming and goings of New Japan, but is this the one where Okada cried after losing? Good, that run with the pants was atrocious and he deserves to be unhappy.

This is hilarious but also we have to fight over this. Them's the rules.

Oct 23, 2021 17:53:22 GMT @ness said:

WKs kinda feel samey to me since I only very casually follow the coming and goings of New Japan

Wrestle Kingdom 9- Same here. Which is why I had to check to see if I watched this one. Turns out I (mostly) did. It was a big deal at the time as this is where New Japan finally broke out big in the West. English language commentary! Show had a ton of hype. The buzz was so strong it even drew me in...

Though I honestly don't remember much about it even after looking over the card as a memory refresher. Styles/Naito was the best of what I saw. Pains me to say it here in 2021, but Kenny Omega was the wrestler who impressed me most. This was my first time seeing him. I thought he had a ton of charisma and came off as a total superstar. I was so impressed by the Omegaman that I even picked him in a PW Draft around that time....in something like the 14th round!

This show achieved its legendary status on the strength of the top two matches- Nakamura/Ibushi and Tanahashi/Okada. Unfortunately, those are the two matches I did not see. After watching the rest of the show, I believe in one fell swoop, I took a break telling myself I'd come back later to watch the mains. Only I never did. 

Oh well. Somebody else needs to pop in and do a better job of putting over this show.

2. Great American Bash 1989: Glory Days- I was the co-high voter. No PPV ever had a more fitting tagline. This was my most frequently watched wrestling show during the most important period of my fandom- the mid 90s when my associates and I rented a wrestling tape (quite often GAB 89) or three most every weekend. So I was tickled pink a few years later when I got online and discovered this was still widely considered the GOAT PPV. Made sense to me. It remained the consensus GOAT PPV until the instant classic known as Wrestlemania X7. In fact, I distinctly recall the debates which sprang up immediately following WM 17 over whether or not it had surpassed Great American Bash 1989. Opinions were split at the time, but it does seem like WM 17 ultimately won out over GAB 89. But not with this guy! Storytime? You betcha...

Prologue

This is another Great American Bash in Baltimore I missed out on seeing live. Wanted to go. Tried coaxing my parents into taking me. Pretty sure I even offered bribes and everything. But it didn't happen. Stupid parents...

The reason I wanted to go is because I was enthralled by the Flair/Funk feud. I had never seen anything like it during my whopping....2.5 years as a wrestling fan. OK, so that's not a long time, but this rivalry did leave a lasting impression on me. The main reason it was my favorite feud until 1997* (and is still #2) is because I believed in the storyline. And also because it was the first feud where I thought both guys were the bee's knees...

That middle aged and crazy madman Terry Funk came out of nowhere to become must see tv. Up to that point I only knew Funk through his WWF LJN action figure (which I owned) and may or may not have seen him in a midcard tag match at WM 2. But he made an immediate impact when he crossed the line by piledriving an exhausted Ric Flair on a table. Yet he also had charisma and mic skills to rival anyone else in wrestling. I had never seen anything quite like The Funker before. He had the it factor. Funk was scary, but in a good way. 

Meanwhile, his opponent, Ric Flair, had not been a favorite of mine up to that point. I didn't really "get" Flair as a wee lad. He was this Honkytonk Man meets Greg Valentine mashup....a one man Rhythm & Blues...who happened to be the perennial NWA champion. It didn't make sense to kiddie me. Wasn't until this feud with Funk that I finally understood the greatness of Naitch and became a fan. He was now the ultimate good guy as the returning hero out to get revenge on the man who PILEDROVE HIM ON A TABLE(!) and was now running roughshod over the NWA that Flair had built. I would have taken Funk over just about anybody else in wrestling at the time, but I wanted to see my latest hero, Ric Flair, kick his butt.

Of course time marched on and I lived in the now as a young wrestling fan. But I never completely forgot about the Flair/Funk feud. And once I saw a tape of the half-forgotten, quasi-mythical, Flair/Funk match at the video store, I simply HAD to watch it. Wouldn't be surprised if I let out a high pitched squeal of glee after I first saw the GAB 89 box. 

The Show

The 6+ years of hype were worth it because Flair/Funk instantly became my new favorite match- A position it would occupy for the next year and a half*. The entrances alone are worth a good ***! It had a real epic, "Wrestlemania" style feel. The match itself is a classic good guy vs. bad guy heated brawl marred only slightly by Slick Ric's wimpy piledrivers. But the post-match makes up for that by being just as epic as the entrances and match itself. Verdict- all the stars in the Meltzerverse. 

But this is FAR from a one match show. Luger/Steamboat is a borderline classic in its own right and my favorite Luger singles match not involving Ric Flair. Muta/Sting is like a more athletic version of Rock/HHH in terms of young guys destined to be big breakout superstars killing it over a title on the undercard. Then we have an always fun WAR GAMES featuring Baker Boys Dr. Death & Midnight Express teaming on the babyface side and a cool finish in Road Warrior Hawk's "Hangman" submission. And we're not done yet because Cornette and Paul E. had a super fun good guy vs. bad guy Tuxedo Match that was widely considered the best match involving non-wrestlers until Vince vs. Shane at WM 17. The show even kicked off in style with the Skyscrapers winning a(n admittedly convoluted) "King of the Hill" two ring battle royal. Has any team ever looked more badass than the Skyscrapers did here? Ok, MAYBE Demolition that one time they beat up Boone, Haynes, and Patera in the same segment. But that's the only alternate answer I will accept. The Skyscrapers pulled double duty by decimating the Dynamic Dudes in front of an early Bizarro World crowd who rooted for the cool heels over the dorky babyfaces. The Steiners made their first high profile appearance in a Texas Tornado Tag against the Varsity Club that I honestly don't remember, but which still gets pretty decent reviews. And Pillman beat Bill Irwin in another match I forgot about that seems to have been decent enough.

Verdict: What a show! Glory Days, indeed. Now keep in mind this was my #1 show years before I had ever even heard of star ratings, BUT star rating people often give this show four **** matches (Flair/Funk, Luger/Steamboat, War Games, Muta/Sting) while also putting over the big Skyscrapers push, and praising Corny/Heyman as "a lot of fun." 

*GAB 89 was my favorite PPV while Funk/Flair was my favorite match and favorite feud until 1997. In a not-so-shocking coincidence they would all be surpassed at another show. And that's a story for another day... 

Like Baker, I checked out Wrestle Kingdom 9 because of the hype.

It delivered to the extent that it started my NJPW fandom that continues to this day, but in fact I don't rate it too highly as a PPV, mainly because I remember very little about it.

The part of the show that hooked me was Shinsuke Nakamura's entrance. I was entranced from the moment he stepped out from behind the curtain. What sublime production, what incredible music. His mannerisms were bizarre yet hypnotic. The match was incredible as well, best match on the show.

I also saw AJ Styles vs Naito and Okada vs Tanahashi. Both matches were fine, but unmemorable.

I don't recall if I watched any of the undercard prior to Nakamura/Ibushi. I probably did, but don't remember any of it.

However it is significant as the first real sign of NJPW receiving big attention outside of Japan, with the PPV broadcasting in North America, the all new English commentary, and the hype that came with it. I'm sure I'm not the only new NJPW fan that was made on that fateful day of January 4th 2015.

Arguably the greatest rr performance ever. He was #3 right? Doesn't get the iron man treatment despite a 90 second difference from num uno.

Royal Rumble 1992- As a Ric Flair fanboy I felt obligated to consider it for my list. So I did. But only for about five seconds before concluding it's another one match show. Though I will concede it's the best of the one match shows due to that one match going over 60 minutes and taking up more than a third of the show's runtime. New Foundation/Orient Express was alright as well, but only in a third tier sort of way when it comes to the surprisingly strong history of Royal Rumble tag matches. Let's face it. There's a pretty low ceiling for a show featuring an interminable Bushwhackers match and stupid Roddy Piper ending The Mountie's glorious IC Title reign (1/17/92-1/19/92 RIP). GOAT Rumble match. GOAT Rumble performance from Flair. But far from the greatest overall Rumble show. 

A whole lot of fans, fellow WWF kids in particular, consider this THE crowning achievement of Flair's legendary career. He was the outsider who walked into the house that Hogan built and walked out with The Hulkster's belt. And he did in style, entering at #3, and having to go through many of his old adversaries to become The Man. And to top it all off he cuts an all timer of a post-match promo alongside Perfect & Heenan. WOOO! What a performance! What a night!

When I first watched this show in the mid 90s I liked it because "Yay! Flair won!" Well, I still like it because "Yay! Flair won!" But I also like it for other reasons now. Such as the aforementioned bit about Flair having to through so many of his old rivals. And fans FINALLY turning on that spoiled, temper tantrum throwing brat Hulk Hogan. And also Haku's wicked piledriver.

3. Barely Legal- I was the high vote. It would normally be hyperbolic to claim a wrestling show changed my life. Only it's true in this case. If Barely Legal fails I probably don't go to all those ECW Arena shows in 99-00, spend a large chunk of my earliest paychecks on white box ECW tapes, or even post right here on PW since it was a search that lead to Nobi's "American Hardcore Theater" thread which brought me here in the first place. Storytime so long I'm going to spoiler tag the prologue...

Prologue

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}Barely Legal was a show with 17 months of hype since that's how long I had been reading about ECW in the Apter Mags before finally getting a chance to watch the little promotion that could. I'll confess to dismissing "East Coast Wrestling" at first. While they did have a handful of names I was familiar with (Scorpio, Cactus), I was more interested in USWA & SMW than a promotion with a 140 pound wrestler ranked in the Top 10 and a 187 pound champion who wore goofy looking shirts. Until then I had never heard of a pro wrestler weighing under 212 pounds. Pretty sure I thought there was an official rule that you had to be at least 200 pounds to be a professional wrestler. So I thought ECW was a bush league outfit even before discovering they wrestled bingo hall, which only increased my perception of ECW being a minor league promotion. 

But that initial dismissal only lasted a few months. What first got me interested in ECW was reading about the ultimate Apter Mag/early indie darling Sabu, and especially a description of his ECW Arena match with Stevie Richards that read like the greatest match I had never seen due to having powerbombs, frankensteiners, moonsaults, dives, and table breaks- all the coolest moves- all over the place. The many ECW pics found in the Apter Mags also captured my interest. Photos of wrestlers wearing the crimson mask had long been a big draw for the Apter Mags, and no promotion in the mid 90s featured more crimson masks than ECW. It was a win-win for both parties. 

The Apter Mags also did a great job of selling ECW with a "good cop/bad cop" dynamic. The good cops writing for the Apter Mags praised ECW for all the same reasons we do. But the bad cops may have (intentionally?) done an even better job of hyping the promotion. Their arguments were basically modern day Jim Cornette crossed with moral guardians. They pushed ECW as a promotion that went "too far" and one "you really shouldn't be watching." This of course only increased its underground appeal. 

Then a few ECW wrestlers hijacked the IYH Mind Games event. Sandman spit beer on Savio and the Apter Mags would later feature photos of (I think) Taz & Saturn sitting in the crowd holding anti-WWF signs and pretending to be asleep. This was a turnoff for me as a diehard WWF fanboy. Made them seem like a bunch of bush league bingo hall brats. So I went off ECW again for a minute there.

The overblown Sabu hype was also becoming a bit excessive by this point. "If he's so great how come he's not in WWF?" I would say, no doubt pointing to my head while doing so. Sabu finished #9 in the 1996 PWI 500 while not even holding an ECW title! How? Furthermore, the Apter Mags often wrote about ECW as if it were Sabu and the 30 dorks. Yet Sabu, the greatest thing since sliced bread, isn't even the champion of his own playground! So, again, how great can he be? Sabu was rapidly becoming a Poochie.

Plus there was an obnoxious clique of ECW fans who dubbed themselves "The Extremists" that called into this wrestling radio show I listened to.  Yes, a radio show clique. The mid 90s were wild. All their calls were basically "ECW rules! WWF/WCW drools!" My other big memory of them is one of their members calling in from an ECW Arena show with a live report one night where he put Perry Saturn over huge for a match he had with Sabu "who looked a little off that night." So while I still had interest in ECW, their fans, the obnoxious behavior of their wrestlers, and some of the over the top hype was starting to grate on me.

SPOILER: Click to show

Then came the Heyman/Lawler debates where I was naturally firmly on Team King. And finally the ECW invasion of Raw in February 1997. This was a big deal to my friends and I. Though my main memory of it today is "Jesus in genie pants" Sabu falling off the Raw sign which generated a major real time LOL from my friend Brandon and I. 

Finally the day arrived- April 13, 1997. A date I will never forget. At last I would get to watch ECW live....

In theory. Because I didn't actually watch Barely Legal live! Can't remember why. Maybe our local cable company didn't carry it? Maybe my friends didn't want to take the chance on a non-WWF PPV and get burned a la Uncensored '96? Or maybe I already had our connection lined up...

That connection being a fellow quiet kid at school named Gus who loaned me a tape of the show a day or two later. Longest school day ever! But at last those 500 6.5 hours had elapsed. My friends and I gathered in my basement to watch a show that had Lawlermania-level hype...

The Show

I've never seen anybody mention this, and I haven't watched it since I borrowed Gus' Barely Legal tape, but the pre-show hype segment was incredible. They played all your favorite ECW clips accompanied by the iconic ECW theme and (I think) Joey hyped the big matches. The montage(s?) alone sold me on ECW. Like this show would already be a huge win if it was just that 30 minute(?) hype piece. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. This was akin to wrestling from another planet. 

-Eliminators vs. Dudleys opened the show much to my confusion. See, the Apter Mags were always a month or two behind. So I still thought Bubba was an undercard comedy wrestler and D-Von was his mortal enemy. Yet now they're partners? And bad guys?? And tag champs?!? Wtf is going on here! 

But the match ruled. I've told the story before, but it's worth telling again. I thought the Eliminators were incredible. They did at least a half dozen things in this glorified squash that I had never seen before. Here you had two legit heavyweights who flew around like cruisers while out-Midnight Expressing the Midnight Express and having feet so educated they made Stan Lane's kickers look like elementary school dropouts. After one match I declared them the 2nd greatest tag team of all time! 

-Oh, and while I had read about the cult-like devotion of the ECW fanbase, and even caught a glimpse of it when ECW invaded Raw that one time, I was still not prepared for just how rabid the "mutants" were. The bingo hall brigade made more noise than the thousands (and thousands!) of fans who filled WWF arenas every week. The passion of those fans more or less nullified all that "lol bingo hall" stuff as far as I was concerned. 

-RVD vs. Lance Storm was up next. It was a decent 1997 workrate match, and an overall win, but not a major one. None of the three participants really seemed like an "ECW Guy" to me. (Candido showed up with is arm in a sling before the match to cut his typical whiny crybaby promo as I'm all "Skip still sucks. But at least he's not wrestling!") Storm was a newbie who I assumed was just a job guy due to his lack of Apter Mag hype. He also had the dorkiest blonde rat tail and the wimpiest chairshot I ever saw, or would ever see. Meanwhile, RVD came across as an evil California surfer dude. This trio of dynamic dorks seemed more "1991 WCW undercard" than "1997 ECW" to me. 

BUT RVD got over huge as a heel with me. He cut an awesome pre-match heel promo where he just came across as the biggest douchebag on the planet. And even this merely "ok" match still featured a few things I had never seen before.

-Then came the Michinoku Pro 6 man which was my MOTN. This was New Style Wrestling at its finest. Just 6 guys going balls to the wall for over 10 minutes. Already LOVED the BWO concept so I marked out for the bad guys wearing BWO shirts while being billed as the "international Blue World Order." Classic ECW cheekiness. 

-Douglas/Pitbull #2 was a seemingly endless DUD that went twice as long as it should have. I had turned on my man The Dean when he appeared on the aforementioned wrestling radio show and took a dump on The Dean gimmick, WWF in general, and possibly Ric Flair. Though I will give him credit for a hilarious line when some fan asked if he wore black & yellow because he was from Pittsburgh and the Dean sarcastically quipped back "No. It's because I like bees." Look, you had to be there. Anyway, I was rooting for PB2 to beat the stupid Frenchfries. Alas, it was not to be. 

BUT it was salvaged by a cool post-match angle involving Brian Lee and Rick Rude which made me a Brian Lee fan and that in turn lead to my regrettable "push Chainz!" phase a short time later.

-It was now time for the Grudge Match of the Century between Sabu & Taz. This was the match I was most hyped for. It was like their version of Bret/Austin at Survivor Series 96. Now I assumed Sabu would win clean. Good guys always won the big grudge matches. That's how wrestling had worked for the last decade. Besides, the Apter Mags had trained me to believe ECW was the house that Sabu built. So Sabu would surely beat his tormentor. Everybody would be happy. And maybe, just maybe, he would turn out to be a better wrestler than the Harts, Michaels, Leif f'n Cassidy, Malenko, Benoit, Eddie, Rey, etc. after all.

Then he lost. Clean as a sheet. Stunned. "Sabu, you're an overhyped bum. I worship Taz now."- 1997 me. Taz was officially my guy while Sabu was TRASH. Then came the confusing post-match angle where Sabu, RVD & Fonzie turned heel (I think?), which turned Taz face by default.

Yeah, this was a miss. Nowadays I think it was a political hit on Sabu. It would be like if Austin made Bret pass out to the Million Dollar Dream at Survivor Series '96 and then got jumped by Owen, Cornette, and a now neutered "Hitman."

This is the one match I actually like more now than I did at the time. After all that hype I was expecting the greatest match of all time. It wasn't even the greatest match on the show. I had it at #4 or even #5 out of 7. Oh, and Sabu's sloppy flying was NOTHING compared to Taz's awesome Tazplexes. 
*I would eventually come around on Sabu, but not for another year.

*This show also featured some fantastic promos. Taz, Stevie, Raven, and Sandman all killed it in their quickie promo segments to the point where I can still recite parts of those promos word for word. All four guys got over with me before their matches due to their awesome talkie segments. 

-Now it was time for the much-hyped 3 Way Dance between Funk/Sandman/Stevie. Stevie & Sandman were immediate Baker Guys, while Funk was a longtime Baker Guy, so I was a fan of all 3 of participants, and would have been fine with any of them winning, though I was of course pulling for The Funker. This was a lot of ECW-style fun with some cool hardcore spots and the Hardcore Legend prevailing.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Tommy Dreamer's AWFUL commentary job. There's a point where Styles is a total pro desperately trying to get Dreamer involved and Tommy is all "Shh. I'm trying to watch the match." Dude, you have one job- talking. And you can't even do that! What a jabroni! Then he gives Big Dick the world's wimpiest chokeslam. Because of this wretched performance, I was not a day one Tommy Dreamer guy. Didn't come around on TomTom until that year's November To Remember.

-Main event is largely a blur. My main memories are of the rare Reggie Bennett(!!) sighting where she botched a powerbomb or piledriver and disappeared, never to be seen again, and Funk giving the fans their feel good moment by pinning Raven to win the ECW Championship. Then the show abruptly ended. For years I thought, and I'm pretty sure Gus himself thought, he ran out of room on the tape. It wasn't until many years later that I discover the show ended that way for everybody. It's too bad we didn't get to see Funk's celebration. Oh well. I guess that bumps it down to "only" a 9.99999/10 show.

Aftermath

This show turned me (and my friends to a lesser extent) into a full-fledged ECW fanatic. The rest is history. Watched the hell out of that tape over the next few days until it was time to return it to Gus. The hype was so great that my anti-wrestling old man even checked out a match or two for only the second time since 90 or 91 (with the other time being a Flair/Wright WCW Worldwide match).

Verdict- This is the ultimate Shootist principle show in that it's all about the personal viewing experience rather than the star ratings. This show was such a revelation at the time. It was like nothing else that came before or since. Kilgore can back me up on what a special experience it was to watch ECW for the first time. Especially back in the mid 90s when most of us had never seen anything like ECW before. 

ONS ah yes Eddie "I got forced in on my day off" Guerrero vs. That One Guy. Only match I recall from the card. Still it makes sense, never heard a bad thing about it. And we found out Mr. H did not wanna work Tuesdays.

13. One Night Stand 2005- Half nostalgia show done right and half victory lap, ONS made my list largely on the strength of its atmosphere. Just the fact that this show happened at all was a major win. It finally gave us ECW fans the sense of closure we never got when the original incarnation abruptly shut down. What happened in the ring was secondary. That it managed to be a two match show (with nothing else being actively bad) is just icing on the cake.

Actually missed this show when it aired due to being very busy that weekend. Check out this "wrestler's schedule" I was on- Friday I drove 90 minutes to the ECW Arena in Philly for Hardcore Homecoming, which was basically the alternative One Night Stand, and a very enjoyable experience in its own right. Then came the 90 minute drive back home to catch a few hours of sleep before waking up early Saturday morning to make another long journey- this time a 3 hour to Maryland's premier beach resort, Ocean City, for a week of fun in the sun. I was in OC when One Night Stand aired. There were a few lapsed (WWF) fans in my group, but I didn't even think about trying to find a place to watch ONS.

In those days before fancy phones I had to wait a full week to find out what happened at ONS. People forget this show could EASILY have been a disaster had Vince/WWE went into full control freak mode as I half expected they would. But my fears were assuaged when I read gushing review after gushing review upon returning home. Bought the tape (or maybe dvd) when it came out in stores and finally got to see this homerun of a show for myself.

Oh, and another thing. Only four and a half years had elapsed since the original ECW went out of business. That seems like nothing today, but it felt more like a decade at the time. So much had changed in those four and a half years. ECW style was no longer cutting edge. Aside from a few notable exceptions, most of the wrestlers we think of as "ECW guys" that had staying power in WWE were low carders. Another handful managed to carve out a niche for themselves in TNA. But the vast majority of ECW alum only had cups of coffee in the big one and a half. Nor were the "cool" indies booking them very often. Hardcore was out. Workrate was in. Maybe it's just me, but when I saw an indie show from like 01-05 featuring Sandman, Sabu, etc. I got very "Jimmy Snuka & Greg Valentine slumming it down at the local flea market in the 90s" vibes. One Night Stand changed all that. ECW wrestlers were suddenly a hot commodity again. 

Anyway, the reason this show ruled is 90% atmosphere + 10% for those very good, very ECW, Awesome/Tanaka and Dudleys vs. Dreamer & Sandman matches. The WWE homer in me naturally found all the Fed Bad* stuff cringe, but even that was authentic to the spirit of ECW which always had its cringeworthy moments. And cringe though I personally may have found it, one cannot deny Paul E and company still knew how to play their audience like a fiddle. 

*Like that damn "Tuesdays" line @ness mentioned. Only thing that got my goat more was Mike Graham's stupid comment about Jeff Jarrett drawing no dimes which I thoroughly debunked once upon a time. 

-I find it interesting that ONS was our highest ranked ECW show. Also found it interesting that ECW smoked WCW in this countdown. Though I really shouldn't have since PW has always been high on ECW and low on WCW. Even I, Mr. WCW Hater during the late 90s, have often shook my head in disgust over how little love WCW gets on this forum. For the record I had 5 NWA/WCW shows on my list and 4 from ECW. 

1. Canadian Stampede- Yep. I was the #1 vote. This has been my favorite PPV since I watched it live at my cousin's house. It's ultimate all killer, no filler show. Only four matches. All of them good. All of them different styles. Opener was a brawl. Then came a New Style workrate match. Then a big boy battle. And finally a 10 man main event tag with a big fight feel in front of the greatest crowd in wrestling history.

The funny thing is I was only slightly more hyped for this show than usual for a WWF PPV. It certainly didn't have, say, WM 14 or Barely Legal levels of hype. I figured the main event would be fun with the Harts wrestling in front of a partisan hometown crowd, but no more than fun since Austin's team was an odd mishmash of wrestlers and half the participants in the match had seen better days. Boy was I wrong.

Mankind/HHH got the show off to a hot start with a good brawl that foreshadowed their even better brawls to come. I got a kick out of them continuing to fight backstage throughout the show. Then WWF finally made a serious counter to WCW's Cruiserweight division by bringing in international stars Great Sasuke & Taka Michinoku, recently of Barely Legal fame, and letting them do their state of the art New Style Wrestling thing for 10 exciting minutes. Undertaker vs. an ice cold Vader for the WWF Championship was the least good match of the night, but was still above average big boy wrestling that usually gets rated around ***. 

And finally the main event, which unique in the annals of WWF history, and also happens to be my favorite match of all time. In an earlier post, I mentioned Great American Bash 89 being my favorite PPV for a year and a half, while Flair/Funk from that show was my favorite match for just as long, and also my favorite feud. Once upon a time I never thought GAB 89 would be topped. Barely Legal came close enough to make it a coinflip. And three months later Canadian Stampede did indeed topple GAB 89. 1997: What a time to be alive. 

The Canadian Stampede main event is the pinnacle of pro wrestling as far as I'm concerned. It had the GOAT crowd. The GOAT heel performance from Austin. One of the most satisfying finishes with the prodigal son Owen Hart redeeming himself once and for all by pinning WWF's biggest jerk, Stone Cold Steve Austin, in front of an adoring hometown crowd. It also had all time great entrances and an equally great post-match. The Harts were on top of the world. All was as it should be...

What happened later only makes me cherish this moment all the more. Three months later it would all begin to unravel with Brian Pillman passing away. Then came the Montreal Screwjob. Then Owen's tragic death followed by Bret's concussion and Bulldog's death. Within 5 years three of the Harts would be dead and Bret a bitter, broken man. As far as I'm concerned, the Hart Foundation's real life story is the biggest tragedy of wrestling's modern era. 

But Canadian Stampede is the GOAT PPV and always will be in my book.

Had a I subbed a list I'd imagine (unless tough comp) SS02 woulda been a spot or two higher.

Brock/Rock was better than it had any right to. One of (if not THE) greatest opener ever... bunch of solid undercard matches, unsanctioned, main event... plus it came at such a weird point in WWE time. Weird limbo where we were seeing the start of the brand split but the WWE title is on SD! with SD! commentators? What's going on?

Haven't seen Stampede yet. I know.

This feels like it's been moving at such a whirlwind

I have so much catching up to do

But SummerSlam 2002 really might've been the perfect paper view ever

I owe it a love letter

My #1

Oct 30, 2021 0:00:35 GMT 🤯 said:

This feels like it's been moving at such a whirlwind

I have so much catching up to do

But SummerSlam 2002 really might've been the perfect paper view ever

I owe it a love letter

My #1

Do it. Baker

Every match beyond the mains hovers at 10 minutes. Too short? Always found 10-20 to be the sweet spot. Enough to get going but doesn't overstay it's welcome. And I have some weird memory of RVD/Benoit being better and more important than it is. YES. I owned the DVD and it was because a crossface was part of the "montage" by the match listings.

Do it.

RVD/Benoit was not only a huge disappointment,

It was also just really not good.

For whatever reason

The did not Click.

Oct 30, 2021 0:34:31 GMT @ness said:

Oct 30, 2021 0:00:35 GMT 🤯 said:

This feels like it's been moving at such a whirlwind

I have so much catching up to do

But SummerSlam 2002 really might've been the perfect paper view ever

I owe it a love letter

My #1

Do it. Baker

Every match beyond the mains hovers at 10 minutes. Too short? Always found 10-20 to be the sweet spot. Enough to get going but doesn't overstay it's welcome. And I have some weird memory of RVD/Benoit being better and more important than it is. YES. I owned the DVD and it was because a crossface was part of the "montage" by the match listings.

Do it.

You tagged 🤯 but it looks like Baker

-_-

Oct 30, 2021 0:40:31 GMT 🤯 said:

Oct 30, 2021 0:34:31 GMT @ness said:

Do it. Baker

Every match beyond the mains hovers at 10 minutes. Too short? Always found 10-20 to be the sweet spot. Enough to get going but doesn't overstay it's welcome. And I have some weird memory of RVD/Benoit being better and more important than it is. YES. I owned the DVD and it was because a crossface was part of the "montage" by the match listings.

Do it.

You tagged 🤯 but it looks like Baker

-_-

Also give JR a goddamn medal for that post-sledge commentary.

Didn't he say something like you will burn in hell HHH! lmao.

Oct 30, 2021 0:44:05 GMT @ness said:

Oct 30, 2021 0:40:31 GMT 🤯 said:

You tagged 🤯 but it looks like Baker

-_-

Also give JR a goddamn medal for that post-sledge commentary.

Didn't he say something like you will burn in hell HHH! lmao.

Don't besmirch HHH/HBK

I will not let it be less than it is to me

Ever.

Oct 30, 2021 0:46:47 GMT 🤯 said:

Oct 30, 2021 0:44:05 GMT @ness said:

Also give JR a goddamn medal for that post-sledge commentary.

Didn't he say something like you will burn in hell HHH! lmao.

Don't besmirch HHH/HBK

I will not let it be less than it is to me

Ever.

Another Brocktober in the books folks.

Oct 30, 2021 0:50:56 GMT @ness said:

Oct 30, 2021 0:46:47 GMT 🤯 said:

Don't besmirch HHH/HBK

I will not let it be less than it is to me

Ever.

Another Brocktober in the books folks.

Rock's best match IMO

We should rank Rock's best matches