The 'One Off' PPV Review a match thread. . .

[JNLister]

Quote

We are told that “WWF presents WrestleVision, The Wrestling Classic.” So what is it called?

I believe WrestleVision was meant to be the brand name for the concept of WWF pay-per-views. Specifically it was the first of "WrestleVision: A Series Of Special Events) which were to be PPV only with no closed circuit. Obviously there wasn't a second in the series. Had there been, it would have worked a bit like the In Your House name.

[air_raid]

On 9/29/2018 at 5:35 PM, WeeAl said:

 

Fatal 4 Way 2010

 

I'll have this, you know.

[Porkchopcash]

7 hours ago, WeeAl said:

I'll tag the others in case anybody would like a reminder: @Sonny Mustang @AdamTH17 @The Dart @Harvey Dent @Porkchopcash @spotlightmagnet1 @unfitfinlay @Joe Blog @Keith Houchen

I never said i would do one, sorry if that wasnt clear. I said i would like to do one if someone showed how to post pictures on here, but they never. No one would want to read my shite ramblings with no pics and full stops and commas in the wrong place. Great thread though.

[unfitfinlay]

I'll post mine when I get home tomorrow night. I've just got to sort the images and that out.

[Onyx2]

12 hours ago, Porkchopcash said:

but they never.

Paid members can just drop images into posts. Non-members have to use another service. Eg imgur.com. Create an account, drop images in, drop the links into your post and the rest will happen. 

[air_raid]

I'd say its the best perk of Paid but honestly its the bimonthly darts and gateaux social.

Been too long since a Paido Cake Celebration. Time to get the band back together.

[air_raid]

I've took Fatal 4 Way from 2010 because there was something I fancied re-watching from that show but here's a quick thought on the concept. I mean, it's hardly any shock they didn't revisit it, it's not much of a USP when the match type is something that shows up fairly regularly on TV anyway.

Scratch the surface a little and you see how desperate they were to pass off the B PPVs as unmissable - there is only May's Over The Limit which stands up as a show that's just a name and doesn't have a special ring to it. For every show you know you'd see something special like Elimination Chamber or Money In The Bank, there's a repeat like the too-similar Extreme Rules/TLC, Night of Champions which usually serves merely to remind how diluted "championship" had become at this point, or the risible Bragging Rights fiasco. Hated that one passionately as the Raw vs SmackDown nonsense was so underplayed most of the time and meant nothing except when Heyman was booking SmackDown, and it diluted the team impact of Survivor Series which as a concept, I love. But HEY, Fatal 4 Way? That'll put butts in seats.

The underneath.....
A quick note on the show open before I get to the meat on the bones - we have a mention of the awful "25% chance of retaining" nonsense but worse, scary voiceover man tells me "These are the worst odds ever faced by a champion!" ........ GO FUCK YOURSELVES if I'm supposed to forget that The Undertaker and Sheamus defended their titles in the Elimination Chamber just five months earlier. Since they're so great at numbers, FIVE CHALLENGERS = MORE THAN THREE. Morons.

Opener is Kofi v McIntyre which is the biggest "nope" imaginable for me, plus interference from the "he was still there???" level irrelevant Matt Hardy. Crowd is almost silent for Divas title, Maryse (eh) vs Gail Kim (criminally underutilized) vs Alicia Fox (total never-was) vs champion Eve (passable at best but terrible babyface compared to her heel run). Striker calls Gail's top rope dropkick a "Jumping Bomb Angel double stomp" in the WORST proto-Mauro call. The pointless Fox picks up that title win you forgot she managed. I miss Justin Roberts. Recently dethroned World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho drops a clean loss to Evan Bourne which is sold as star-making but they obviously had no idea where they were going afterwards. 

I thought I remembered Swagger v Rey v Punk v Big Show for said belt, but I had no memory of Punk wrestling in a mask.

Striker mentions "the worst odds a champion can endure" at intros for that, GO FUCK YOURSELVES. Swagger as champion made SmackDown look utterly pathetic when you see what Raw has on top with ostensibly Triple H still to come back too. Rey winning it was nice for him even if it ended up just being a way to get it onto Kane ready for the Kane v Taker run being for the belt.... for some reason, in 2010. "Thats why they have odds. It always works out the way the odds say they're gonna work out." dribbles The King afterwards. But.... weren't we hammering that Rey is always an underdog? Even though his odds were 25% too? Oh, go fuck yourselves. 

Miz v Truth is a waste of Miz even in 2010 and plays before "Daniel Bryan" chants, lulz. Edge does an interview where he mentions Sheamus knowing he "doesn't belong in that ring with the three of us" .... oosh, that's close to the bone. Usos (fucking hell) and Tamina (never-was) against Nattie and The Hart Dynasty is skippable but reminds me how quickly they got bored of Harry and TJ.

John Cena vs Randy Orton vs Edge vs Sheamus

In the build video Cena mentions former opponents being "compromised" which I really don't like. It's a bit crap in general because no explanation is given as to the match  happening, just clips of them beating each other up.

King acts surprised at the ovation for Orton which is weird because he's been a babyface for months. Edge is a great heel, his crap face run is so easy to forget. They hype Sheamus about the damage he did to Triple H but.... come on, if you wanted to launch him, he wins at Mania. He didnt. Cena reaction is more mixed than he often gets. More "25%" cobblers from Cole, "I don't know if mathematics always work out when it comes to the intangibles that John Cena posseses" says Lawler. Make your fucking mind up. "Ultimate odds" dribble from Striker. God, this is horrific to listen to.

"I don't like being caught up in statistics" lies Cole after introductions. Cena and Orton throw out Sheamus and Edge respectively for a forced-epic staredown less than 60 seconds in. Edge and Sheamus double team Cena, "Only in Long Island, New York do you get this kind of emotion" says Lawler of the same LET'S GO CENA/CENA SUCKS stuff they hear everywhere else in the country. INCREDIBLY random shot of Bourne, Truth and The Harts watching on a monitor which stands out a mile as "This means SOMETHING or else why would they cut to it."  Cena is outside so Orton gets double-teamed for a bit. Cena back in so him and Orton for a bit, nothing particularly interesting.

There's punches, stomps, clotheslines and teased finishers with really nothing of note for AGES until Orton hits his draping DDT on Sheamus and Cena together. Edge preps for his spear as Striker bleats "one of the most impactful manoeuvres in the WWE" which makes him sound a tit.

He misses, hits the buckle, absorbs two Cena shoulder tackles then SHOCKINGLY throws a haymaker which Cena ducks and hits the Protobomb. Five Knuckle Shuffle and considers an AA but Orton cuts him off with the 3.0 - did you know Mike Sanders went into stand up after wrestling? You do now.

STFU on Edge broken up by Sheamus who looks really out of place in this match despite being a former WWE Champ at this point because just like Swagger he was nowhere near fucking ready. There's criticism for not elevating new guys then there's throwing shit at the wall.

Cena goes for the AA on Edge but Orton smashes him with the RKO.

Pin is broken up by Sheamus, "No DQ in a fatal four way" bleats Cole... who would you want disqualified, he's also in the fucking match?? Spear on Orton, Brogue Kick on Edge. Moments later Sheamus is thrown over the comms desk and I assume the end is nigh. Cole is wiped out by this, which serves a point. Shortly after, another random shot of Dynasty, Truth and Bourne is conveniently cut to about two seconds before they're blindsided by FUCKING NEXUS, KIDS. Or "the NXT graduates" as Striker sloppily refers to them because they don't have a name yet.

Striker and Lawler abandon comms to help Cole at this point which is SHEER GENIUS because the chaos that comes next has no inane babble, your eyes tell you all you need to know. Wade leads his men out, breaking things as they do. You hear the noise before you see them. Sparks fly from damaged equipment, Otunga decks an agent or someone then suddenly they're in the ring!

Young eats an AA but Wade, Slater, Gabriel, Tarver, Skip and Otunga put an utter BEASTING on Cena. Edge boldly pulls Barrett out of the ring but Nexus batter him, and Orton for good measure, 

then suddenly Sheamus ghosts into the ring unspotted and steals the pin (and WWE title) from Cena, half a second before Wade gets at him.

The new champ RUNS FOR HIS LIFE without even being given the belt which I love. Justin doesn't even announce him as winner.

Superman Punch from Tarver, Meat Hook from Sheffield, Wasteland from Wade and 450 from Gabriel to Cena.

 

Nexus spot Sheamus posing with the belt on the ramp and they chase after him. Cena is fucked, in the ring.

Edge and Orton are fucked at ringside, and with an eerie silence from comms and the live crowd starting to chant for Daniel Bryan, we fade to black.

This was a fantastic, frantic and novel finish to a show. Excellent work from Edge and Orton as relatively sacrificial lambs, Sheamus' timing for everything he needed to do was excellent, the lads tore shit up, the absence of an announcement or commentary sold the chaos brilliantly. Sheamus regained the WWE title but... that's not the story, is it? In fact they were skilful to get the belt back onto the still-not-ready Irishman in this, a manner I found acceptable at the time.

As a match, from start to nearly-finish its completely nothing and you're better off watching the Six-Pack from Night of Champions. But the conclusion is compelling, unique, and at the time set the bar from that unpredictability. We didn't need these guys to wrestle yet, they were a dangerous factor that made the show interesting in a way it hadn't been for ages.

BOY did they spunk that away in a heartbeat.

P.S. hope no kid got this DVD for Christmas and popped it on wondering who was going to win the title matches....

[unfitfinlay]

 

This is a difficult one. While it is a historically important show, it’s going to be hard to write about without getting into the Invasion itself. I really don’t think the internet needs any more discussion about how WWE botched it, how they should’ve brought in the big names or made better use of the talent that they did have.

It’s well-worn territory and, fuck it, I’m not doing it.

So, after a few minutes deliberation, I’ve decided to go for a match that I don’t remember enjoying at the time and wouldn’t re-watch otherwise: The APA vs O’Haire and Palumbo.

Yes. Really.

 

The Event

As I just said, I’m going to do my best not to get side-tracked by the Invasion itself. However I DO want to the acknowledge the finish of the Lance Storm and Mike Awesome vs Edge and Christian match. It’s hard to watch it and not imagine the four guys coming with their amazing finish – Edge spearing Awesome while he’s got Christian up for a powerbomb and Christian falling on top for the pin – only for someone to go “What? Fuck Christian. Edge gets the pin” and making them switch things around.

It’s the only reason I can think of for the finish being CHRISTIAN spearing Mike Awesome. Fucking hell and people call Edge’s spear “The running hug of doom”.

The Match

APA come out first to their amazing theme music. Palumbo and O’Haire come out to their boring, generic sounding one. I’ll give Jim Johnston credit though “boring and generic” really fits Palumbo and O’Haire here. They just look bland. They run to the ring and chuck the WCW belts down in a manner that would make members of a wrestling belt forum I used to post on seethe with rage.

God, this event was sponsored by the PS2. That makes me feel ancient.

Starts off with a bit of a brawl before APA nail Chuck with their awesome double spinebuster. Faarooq leaves and it’s Bradshaw chucking….Chuck about.

J.R just said Palumbo and O’Haire have a “wealth of potential”. Let’s hope they don’t screw it up by making Triple H introduce himself to them in catering.

Bradshaw gets distracted leading to O’Haire tagging in and getting some heat on him. This lasts all of three seconds before Bradshaw just starts no selling O’Haire punching him in the face and retakes control.

O’Haire ducks a clothesline and nails Bradshaw with one that Bradshaw takes perfectly. Still no heat for the heels though because he’s right back up almost immediately with a back suplex.

Faarooq back in and has a nice exchange with O’Haire. Despite my moaning in the last two paragraphs, it’s about 50/50. I remember this being a total squash.

Bradshaw and Palumbo both back in. Palumbo reverses an irish whip into the corner and tries a Stinger Splash (Why?). Bradshaw catches him and hits a fall away slam. He goes for a powerbomb but O’Haire kicks him in the head and then hits his weird reverse AA/FU thingy.

Bradshaw with a DDT and Faarooq makes a lukewarm tag. For a match that I remember just being the APA kicking fuck out of the WCW guys, it’s probably a TOO even. Nobody is getting any sustained heat on anybody else so the crowd don’t have much reason to care.

I write that and then Palumbo and O’Haire start building heat on Faarooq. That lasts about a minute before Faarooq hits him with a spinebuster. Bradshaw makes a slightly hotter tag and starts going to town on Palumbo. All four are in now, Palumbo kicks Faarooq in the head but then just sort of staggers into a Clothesline From Hell from Bradshaw for the pin.

This really wasn’t the match I remembered. As I said, I was expecting a total beat down from the APA, which would’ve let me fill my review with stuff like “Man, does Bradshaw know that Chuck Palumbo isn't Ted Turner?” but, really, the APA were totally professional here. The only moves that looked stiff were the ones that ALWAYS look stiff – The Clothesline from Hell and the Spinebusters. They seemed to be doing their best to make Palumbo and O’Haire look strong in defeat. It didn’t work, granted, but that’s more to do with the presentation of the WCW guys than Faarooq or Bradshaw burying them.

If I can criticise them for anything it’s that the match feels way too rushed. It’s like they got their time cut at the last minute and just tried to cram everything in anyway. Palumbo and O’Haire can be forgiven for that but the APA surely have the experience to know that that is a bad idea?

It’s not a great match by any stretch of the imagination but there’s nothing really offensive about it earlier. There was definitely better matches on the card that I could’ve chosen but this was a fun wee exercise all the same.

[mim731]

@WeeAl Sorry mate, still working on mine, life stuff (teething baby & starting a new job) has derailed me somewhat. Might be the weekend for mine if that's ok?

[WeeAl]

2 minutes ago, mim731 said:

@WeeAl Sorry mate, still working on mine, life stuff (teething baby & starting a new job) has derailed me somewhat. Might be the weekend for mine if that's ok?

No problem at all man. 

[BomberPat]

11 hours ago, unfitfinlay said:

It’s hard to watch it and not imagine the four guys coming with their amazing finish – Edge spearing Awesome while he’s got Christian up for a powerbomb and Christian falling on top for the pin – only for someone to go “What? Fuck Christian. Edge gets the pin” and making them switch things around.

It’s the only reason I can think of for the finish being CHRISTIAN spearing Mike Awesome. Fucking hell and people call Edge’s spear “The running hug of doom”.

This was in the midst of the Edge & Christian break-up angle, where Christian was taking credit for Edge's accomplishments; walking to the ring with Edge's King of the Ring trophy, referring to "our" Intercontinental championship, and so on.

He started doing the Spear around that time, and I think the finish here was done so that even though Edge got the pin, Christian could still take credit. I seem to think they showed them celebrating backstage later with Christian getting far more into it than Edge.

[Harvey Dent]

Breaking Point 2009. Who will reach their breaking point?

It’s a “Brand new innovative concept, never seen before!” says the VO in the introduction. Conveniently forgetting that we’ve seen people give up before.

"Every match will end with someone giving up". Well, not that match. Or that one. Ok, SOME matches on this card will end with someone giving up. Probably a large portion of viewers. This 2009 one-off went with this as a theme, but it’s a pretty whimsical concept in the context of this show. There’s submissions count anywhere, submissions count in the ring, I Quit matches on this card. And a Singapore Cane match which ends in a pinfall. Obviously.

Not much particularly takes my fancy here so I’m going to go with Christian vs William Regal for the ECW Championship. So here we are, live at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The announce team kick us back to Summerslam the previous month which shows Christian beating Regal for title in 8 seconds before taking a beating from Vladimir Kozlov and Ezekiel Jackson, Regal’s cronies of the time.

Captain Charisma is out first and over huge in his native Canada. He’s wearing that horrendous updated ECW title belt that looks like it was ripped from the front of a 1950 Dodge Pick Up truck. William Regal follows in a resplendent purple and gold robe, again with Kozlov and Jackson by his side. Tony Chimmel announces by order of ECW General Manager Tiffany (who in the actual fuck is that?!), Kozlov and Jackson are banned from ringside, failure to comply will result in a forfeit for poor old Regal; needless to say he sends the silly buggers away.

They lock up and take it to the mat with some slick back and forth chain wrestling. Christian takes control in the early stages and hits a high cross body off the second rope for a 2 count. Christian attempts to follow up with a Tornado DDT out of the corner by Regal elbows out, knocking Christian down to the hard arena floor with a thud. William Regal bringing it back into the ring and up to his usual tricks. Elbows and holds kneading Christian into the mat, following it up with a big half-nelson suplex turning Christian inside-out. Christian tries to mount a fight back but Regal hits a big knee planting him back to the canvas. Regal gains another 2 count as soon as Christian kicks out Regal clamps on another hold to wear Captain Charisma down.

Regal is the master of this methodical style, draining and sapping the strength and energy of his prey. Christian manages to wriggle free and land a big tornado DDT but Regal kicks out and follows up a big forearm, wrenching his knuckles into Christian’s forehead during the pinfall attempt. 1…2…. Kickout.

Christian lands a couple of right hands and tries to hit the Killswitch but Regal counters into the Regal-Plex. Matt Striker reminds us that we rarely see Regal pull that move out due to the damage it does to both competitors. 1…2….no! Christian kicks out again.

Christian fights back into it, attempting to play Regal at his own game as he scraps and claws away with strikes. Christian heads up one too many times and catches a right hand from Regal mid-flight to give the Pride of Blackpool the edge back. Regal hits a rolling senton and sizes Christian up for a running knee. Christian sidesteps it and locks in the Killswitch, driving Regal face first. 1…2….3. Your winner in 10:15 and still ECW Champion, Christian.

This felt like it ended quite abruptly, could easily have had another 5 minutes for this. Especially as following this match is an in ring segment with Pat Patterson and Dolph Ziggler that would seem noticeable skippable even on a Raw show. These two work so well together, stylistically and aesthetically. It’s a shame neither of them are active anymore as you don’t see too much of what these guys offer in the current set up. *** for this from me.

The remainder of this show included the rubbish glow stick era DX losing to the Legacy team of Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, John Cena beating Randy Orton and CM Punk retaining the the World Heavyweight Champion against the Undertaker. After the Undertaker’s Hell’s Gate submission move was banned in a submission match and then the bell rang as soon as Punk clamped on the Anaconda Vice without Taker giving up. Because Montreal. CONTROVERSY!

[air_raid]

Should have offered a swap. Cena v Orton from that show, I love.

[Harvey Dent]

I really would have done Cena and Orton, but I’ve done 3 of these review threads and done Cena vs Orton, a Punk match and an Undertaker match so I wanted to mix it up. You’re right though, it’s the only thing on that show worth watch and it’s very good. 

[Supremo]

Great stuff lads. I’ll try and get mine in at the weekend.