Blog Archives
WCW Starrcade 1994 Reaction
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan’s huge signing to World Championship Wrestling in June earlier in the year was a sign that perhaps things would change.
To an extent, that was correct.
Hogan’s arrival brought more money and sponsorships to WCW and his creative pull allowed him to bring in various faces of his past and recreate some magic.
Still, for every feud he had with Ric Flair, there was a Butcher match in the wings. If you told us that he’d be the main event of the biggest show of the year instead of doing the “Loser Must Retire” match there, we would’ve laughed too.
Star power doesn’t always provide a star product. That’s evident up and down through this card, though the quick wits of Bobby “The Brain” Heenan on commentary make it easier to sit through.
WCW tried to pass off “What’s Old Is New Again,” but alas, we just feel like it was done better somewhere else before.
WCW Uncensored 1995 Reaction
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Unsanctioned, Unauthorized, Unbelievable.”
If a tagline ever fit a World Championship Wrestling show, this was it.
Uncensored – WCW’s attempt to bend the rules and present an “extreme” Pay-Per-View with only gimmicked matches, was an experiment in the beginning.
Headlined by a Leather Strap Match between WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan and WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Vader in the midst of a hot feud between Hogan and “A Man Possessed,” Ric Flair, it was enough to salvage for the rest of the malarky.
What malarky? Put in a “Boxer Vs. Wrestler” Match, a “King Of The Road” Match and a “Martial Arts” Match.
Oh and because of recent creative changes, no blood was allowed at all.
More below.
WCW Halloween Havoc 1992 Reaction
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
World Championship Wrestling and the early 1990’s are about as gimmicked as professional wrestling could be.
Check out our review of Starrcade 1991 for an example of this.
With this particular event famous for its “Spin The Wheel, Make The Deal” concept (just imagine Raw Roulette for more current readers), Sting and Jake “The Snake” Roberts would settle their longtime feud with 12 possible “unsanctioned” scenarios.
On top of that, WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Rick Rude would “compete” in two matches, Flyin’ Brian-Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat would face off in an exceptional match (by early 90’s standards) and there was a moment between Paul E. Dangerously (or Paul Heyman for those current peeps – how ya doin’?) and Madusa that wouldn’t be forgotten.
Coming from Philadelphia, we got snippets of what “hardcore” would soon look like. This crowd helped to make this show more bearable.
WCW Starrcade 1991 Reaction
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
Known as World Championship Wrestling’s proverbial “answer to WrestleMania” from the then-World Wrestling Federation, Starrcade was always about making history and was aptly placed where a “payoff” Pay-Per-View should be – the end of December.
It’s only fitting that all the big storylines would come to a halt here, naturally.
Oh wait – not in 1991. Ha. What were you thinking there?
In Ric Flair’s absence, WCW appeared to put a lot of faith in its biggest draw, the blonde-haired, face-painted babyface Sting, as he sought the World Heavyweight Championship.
As an obstacle, he had to go through not only Lex Luger, but as well as a group called The Dangerous Alliance, consistent of members like Rick Rude, “Stunning” Steve Austin (who had blonde hair of his own, that’s how old this show is) and were led by none other than Paul E. Dangerously, who we now know as Paul Heyman.
The melodrama was certainly there and all stages appeared to go towards a big showdown for the Title between Sting and Luger. Nope, you’re not going to get that match straight up at Starrcade. They’re going to “make history” and introduce a concept never heard before – the “Lethal Lottery.”
Come join us for this 1990’s-tastic journey.
TNA Bound For Glory 2012 Reaction
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
Bound For Glory was quite the newsworthy show.
Rob Van Dam, Tara, Chavo Guerrero Jr./Hernandez and Jeff Hardy all became Champions.
Bully Ray didn’t turn on Sting. Devon turned out to be a part of Aces and Eights.
James Storm and Bobby Roode took part in an absolute all-out brawl that arguably stole the show.
There’s plenty of ways TNA can go after this show and with four Championships changing hands, a new direction seems definite.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 1/11/16: One Versus All (McMahon Style)
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 1/11/16)
One Versus All (McMahon Style)
– In case you’d been living under a rock, the opening video reminded us how WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns found himself in the latest bind, now having to defend his Title against 29 others in the Royal Rumble match after outsmarting the McMahon clan when he retained his Title by beating Sheamus with Vince as Special Guest Referee on the previous Raw.
What Can We Build Without An Architect?
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Anthony Zevoteck
Every National Football League fan knows that when the starting quarterback of their favorite team gets a season-ending injury, it usually means the team has little chance of success for the rest of the year. Ladies and gentleman, the WWE have just lost their quarterback.
This week, we received unfortunate news – WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins sustained a bad knee injury, which actually puts it lightly, since when an athlete tears their ACL, MCL and medial meniscus simultaneously, it’s looked at as extremely severe and even career-threatening.
Ever since June 2014, Rollins has been heavily involved in many major storylines. After winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31, Rollins has defended and retained against some of the biggest names in the business including Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose, Brock Lesnar, Sting, and Kane.
WWE Night Of Champions 2015 Preview/Predictions
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
Now, when you imagine the “Night Of Champions” event concept being that every Championship must be defended on the show, you’d probably think that’s good.
However, the fact that this night is the only night billed where all Titles are defended seems misleading.
You’re telling us SummerSlam and even WrestleMania are nights where Titles don’t need to be defended?
Every Title should be defended at every PPV no matter the circumstance. That’s the reason why you have Titles to begin with. People need to feud. Titles are the perfect object of affection for both sides.
Let’s hope WWE moves away from a one-night theme of “Champions” and makes it more consistent. You might be surprised how much more interesting the product could be when the Titles are treated with prestige, rather than a prop.
Nevertheless, we’ve got a card that’s more than passable and we’ll get to all of that below. Ultimately, there are teases for moments of greatness to happen on this show, but we think the company will play it safe with most of these.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 9/14/15: Season Premiere
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 9/14/15)
Season Premiere
– The opening video highlighted Sting destroying WWE World Heavyweight and United States Champion Seth Rollins’ statue last week. Yup – the Champ was outwitted by Sting the garbage man.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 9/7/15: Seth Freakin’ Rollins
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 9/7/15)
Seth Freakin’ Rollins
– WWE World Heavyweight and United States Champion Seth Rollins’ in-ring promo did drag on, but it was cool to see him soak up all the heat as he used the “boring” chants to help his ego boost and talked about how great he was. Sting interrupting to show he had the statue in his possession was funny, but maybe WWE should’ve gone more for a serious approach. Sheamus coming out to confront Rollins was entertaining to see and set up a potential outcome for Night Of Champions. Rollins didn’t hold back either, also resorting to insulting Sheamus’ look, which the crowd seemed to dig.
