Goody Bag 52: Second Looks 4

 
WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Rick Rude v Ultimate Warrior: From SummerSlam, August 28 1989 in East Rutherford New Jersey. Even all these years later, it still sounds so weird hearing Tony Schiavone call a WWF show. Rude tries to stick and move in the early going, but Warrior no-sells him, and knocks him over the top with a clothesline. Rick tries a slingshot sunset flip back in, but Warrior blocks, and press-drops his ass back over the top! This crowd is hot, and I love it. Warrior follows to the outside to send Rude into stuff, and he whacks Rick with the title belt out there, which Jesse Ventura rightly notes should be a DQ, prompting the famous exchange with Tony about shooting someone outside of the ring. Warrior with a vertical suplex on the floor, and he takes Rude back in - only to chuck him right back out to add a bodyslam on the floor! Warrior goes to the top for a flying axehandle on the way back inside, and he covers for two. Corner whip rattles Rude, so Warrior gives him another one, and a bodyslam gets two. Vertical suplex gets two, and an inverted atomic drop prompts a sell that hopefully makes that Twitter feed. Warrior goes back to the top for another dive, but this time Rude crotches him, and he goes to work on the lower back of the challenger. Rude with a vertical suplex for two, and he grounds Warrior in a reverse chinlock. Rick with a series of sitdown splashes to the lower back for two, but Warrior blocks the Rude Awakening. He tries countering to a clothesline, but Rude ducks, and dives onto Warrior's back with a sleeper. Warrior manages a jawbreaker to escape, so they criss cross, and the collision ends up taking the referee out as well - all three guys down. Rude is up first, and he unloads on a recovering Warrior, but the challenger is in no-sells mode. He starts making a comeback, and hits a powerslam, but the referee is still out. Warrior stays on the champion with a piledriver, but the referee is groggy, and it only gets two by the time the count is made. Warrior with a running powerslam to set up a splash, but Rick lifts his knees to block, and gives Warrior a nasty piledriver for two. Rick adds a kneedrop to make sure Warrior is out enough to try a dive, and the champ comes off the top with a flying fistdrop for two. Meanwhile, Roddy Piper has shown up at ringside, as Rude stays on Warrior with another piledriver for two. He notices Piper on the outside, and stops to yell at him, but Roddy moons him, and Warrior is able to capitalize with a German suplex on an irate Rude. Jumping shoulderblock connects, and the press-drop sets up a splash at 15:43. I had this on my second looks list because I thought maybe I shortchanged it, but I may have even given it a little too much credit last time. Still a great match, though. *** ½ (Previous rating: *** ¾)

WWE Tag Team Title Match: Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit v Edge and Rey Mysterio: From No Mercy, October 20 2002 in North Little Rock Arkansas. Angle starts with Mysterio, and he dominates him on the mat, playing with his food. He demands Edge tag in, but Rey wants to fight it out, and refuses. Kurt keeps playing with him, but gets too arrogant, and Rey starts sticking and moving. Mysterio dives off the middle with a headscissors takedown, and he slaps Kurt around on the mat to antagonize and embarrass him, before tagging out to Edge on his own terms. Edge with a takedown, but Kurt outwrestles him on the mat, so Edge forces a criss cross, and wins with a hiptoss. Armdrag leads to a dropkick, and Angle tags out. Benoit and Edge trade off on the mat, and a criss cross allows Edge to throw a knee. Stomachbreaker gets him two, and a backbreaker is worth two. Benoit tries fighting him off with chops, but Edge holds the line with a flapjack, and a magistral cradle for two. Angle takes a cheap shot to allow Benoit to try and turn the tide, but Edge spears Kurt off of the apron, and he rolls Chris up for two. Another cheap shot sticks, however, and Chris hits him with a neckbreaker. They cut the ring in half on Edge, and Chris goes for the kill with the flying headbutt drop, but Edge crotches him on the top before he can dive. Edge follows up for a vertical superplex, and that allows the hot tag to Rey. Mysterio immediately takes Kurt out on the apron before turning his attention to Benoit, and he sticks and moves on the Crippler. Springboard guillotine legdrop gets two when Kurt saves, so Edge comes in to clothesline Angle over the top. Rey starts on Chris with a wheelbarrow bulldog, but Benoit manages to block, and he slaps on the Crippler Crossface at center ring. Edge saves, allowing Rey to set up the 619 - only for Chris to catch him. He preps a front-powerslam, but Edge dives with a missile dropkick - allowing Mysterio to topple for two. Rey goes up, but Kurt's back with a superplex before he can dive, and Benoit hooks the leg for two. The heels work Rey over in their corner as the referee restores order, and Kurt delivers a snap suplex for two. Another suplex, but Rey reverses this time, so an irate Angle punishes him with an overhead suplex for two. Man, Rey is just the perfect opponent for a guy like Angle to throw around with suplexes. Over to Benoit to drill Rey with his own set of suplexes, but he can't put him away, so he decides to lay in the chops. Charge in the corner misses, however, and Rey uses a headscissors to send Chris into the post. Both guys are able to make a tag, and Edge comes in hot - Roseanne Barr the door. Edge-o-Matic on Angle gets two, and a spear in the corner sets up an alley-oop rana off the top with Rey! Cover, count, but here comes Benoit with the flying headbutt drop to save - only for Edge to roll out of the way, and Angle to eat it! Rey dropkicks Chris out of the ring as Edge capitalizes with a cover, but it only gets two. Angle recovers with a German suplex, and he preps the Anklelock, so Edge suplexes Rey INTO Kurt to block! Spear, but Benoit's back, and he grabs Edge in the Crossface before he can execute the move. Rey saves with a 619 to break the hold, but Kurt suplexes him, and grabs Edge for the Anklelock! Edge escapes with a cradle for two, but Benoit breaks up a pin attempt off of another spear. That ends in Chris getting dumped, and Edge chucks Rey out after him. Unfortunately that allows Angle to sneak up with the Anklelock, but Edge manages to reverse! Kurt reverses back, but Rey is still down on the outside with Benoit, and there's no one to make a save - Edge tapping at 21:41. Well, that's what you get for using your tag partner as a lawn dart. This was a really fun and creative tag match, and also an interesting bridge between the old school tag style of the 80s/90s, and the modern tag renaissance we're seeing in places like NXT today. I wouldn't really call it five-stars anymore, but it's still tremendous as well as tremendously influential. **** ½ (Original rating: *****)

Kurt Angle v Shawn Michaels: From WrestleMania 21, April 3 2005 in Los Angeles California. They size each other up for a bit, before Shawn decides to poke the bear with a slap to the face, prompting Kurt to violently take him to the mat until Michaels can get into the ropes. Collar-and-elbow lockup ends in Shawn getting a hammerlock into a takedown, and he works a side-headlock on the mat. Kurt gets to a vertical base and tries a side suplex to escape, but Shawn hangs on with the hold, so Kurt tries whipping him into the ropes. That breaks, but Michaels goes right back to it, and Kurt tries to turn it into a cradle, but Shawn fights it off. Kurt tries whipping him into the ropes again, but Michaels blocks this time, until Kurt is finally able to fight into the corner to force a rope break. Good sequence, though it's hard to buy Michaels as a guy who can trade holds with Angle. Shawn goes back to the headlock again, but this time Kurt counters to a waistlock. Michaels reverses, so Kurt throws an elbow, but a criss cross ends badly when Shawn hiptosses him into a short-armscissors. Kurt is able to power up to a vertical base, but Shawn sunset cradles him for two, and hooks a backslide for two, before going back to the mat-based side-headlock. Kurt aggressively powers him into the corner to escape, and this time starts throwing right hands as soon as the break occurs, but Michaels responds in kind - not backing down! He actually gets the better of Angle in the corner, but Kurt clotheslines him in the back of the head, and grabs the Anklelock. Michaels makes a quick escape and clotheslines Kurt over the top, and HBK preps an announce table out there, but that gives Angle time to recover, and he drills Shawn with uppercuts. He tries a suplex through the table, but Shawn blocks, so Kurt gives him an Olympic Slam into the post instead! Should have just taken your chances with the table, Boy Toy. Kurt unloads on the back out there, and a suplex gets two on the way back inside. Bodyscissors, but Shawn slugs free, and he takes it into the corner. Cross corner whip, but Angle reverses, and Michaels rebounds into taking an overhead suplex. Kurt gives him another one for good measure, but it only gets two. He works a modified chinlock from there, and Shawn fights free, though he's moving much slower now. Slugfest goes Kurt's way with a lariat for two, and he takes Shawn into the corner to wreck with uppercuts. Superplex, but Shawn blocks, and dives off the top with a flying elbowdrop - only for Angle to roll out of the way! Olympic Slam, but Shawn counters with an armdrag, and he backdrops a fuming and charging Angle over the top! Michaels dives after him with a flying bodypress on the floor, and he tries going back in, but Kurt is on his tail, and tries a German suplex off of the apron. Shawn latches onto the ropes for dear life to block, and manages to throw a few elbows to shake Kurt off. That ends with Kurt sprawled out on an announce table, and Michaels dives with a springboard splash onto him - though the table doesn't break. Well, no wonder, Michaels looks like he weighs the equivalent of a breadstick at this point. Both guys fight to beat the count back in, making it, but arriving at a crawl. They stagger up for a slugfest, with Shawn getting the better of it, and he dives at Kurt with the jumping forearm. Shawn makes his comeback, and this time the flying elbowdrop connects. Superkick, but Kurt catches the foot, and counters with the Anklelock! Shawn tries the escape that worked earlier, but Kurt keeps the hold applied, and Shawn needs the ropes to save himself now. He inches and stretches his way into a rope break, so Kurt waits for him to get up. Olympic Slam, but Michaels counters with a sunset flip, so Kurt counters back to the Anklelock. Shawn counters to a victory cradle for two, so Kurt tries another lariat, but Shawn counters to a Superkick - Angle countering back with the Olympic for two. Kurt's so frustrated that he puts the straps back up just so he can yank them down again. Flying moonsault, but Michaels moves, and Kurt wipes out in dramatic fashion. That allows Shawn to crawl to the top rope, but he's too slow, and Kurt pops up with an Olympic off the top for two! Angle is beyond frustrated now, and starts just shouting in a limp Shawn's face, but Michaels has enough presence of mind to fire off a Superkick! He's too battered to immediately cover, however, and by the time he does it only gets two. Like, 2.9999, but not three, sorry. Shawn looks for a follow-up, but as he struggles to get to his feet, Angle suddenly pounces with the Anklelock! Shawn fights, but he can't shake Kurt off for anything. Ropes, but Angle has him firmly in place, and Michaels is forced to tap out at 27:27! The finish felt maybe a little flat to me, but it doesn't really hurt the overall match - and it's one barnburner of a match, make no mistake. **** ¾ (Original rating: **** ¼)

NXT Title v Career Match: Adrian Neville v Sami Zayn: From NXT TakeOver: R-Evolution, December 11 2014 in Winter Park Florida. Feeling out process to start, until Neville decides to start diving, but Sami turns it into criss crossing, and hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Neville bails, so Sami goes after him with a slingshot moonsault on the floor, and the champ takes his time coming back in. He tries a charge, but Sami is ready with a dropkick for two, and he absolutely DELIVERS a turnbuckle smash to set up a cradle for two. Another turnbuckle smash leaves Neville staggering, but the champ manages a clothesline for two, and a snapmare sets up a seated dropkick to the back of the head for two. Neville works a chinlock, but Sami escapes, so Neville gives him a crisp uppercut for two. Trio of kneedrops get two, and Neville goes back to the chinlock. Watching this right after watching Michaels/Angle is not doing them any favors, in that these holds immediately stand out as restholds, as opposed to all the psychological stuff Shawn and Kurt were doing with the headlocks and stuff in their match. Neville with a 2^nd rope dropkick for two, but a charge ends badly when Sami throws a clothesline. Neville tries again, but Sami clotheslines him a second time to make sure he gets the message, and a dropkick puts the champ on the outside. Sami preps a dive, but Neville slides back in with a headscissors to send him to the outside instead. Neville with his own dive, but Sami hustles back inside, and backdrops him over the top - then finally lands a dive in the form of a somersault suicida! Fun sequence there. Sami with a flying somersault senton splash for two on the way back in, but Neville blocks a suplex, and they get into a reversal sequence that ends in Sami hitting the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Neville fights him off with a chincrusher, and a bridging German suplex gets the champion two. Sitout powerbomb gets two, so Neville unloads on him with rights, but a charge misses, and Zayn clobbers him with a clothesline. Helluva Kick misses, however, and Neville goes up for the Red Arrow, but Sami lifts his knees to block! He traps Neville in the koji clutch, but the champ makes the ropes to force a quick break. Suplex, but Neville uses a victory cradle for two, and a superkick sets up an inverted rana for two. Slugfest ends in Sami using a two-alarm rolling German suplex into a half-nelson suplex, but Neville bails to the outside to dodge the Helluva Kick. Sami follows for his tornado DDT through the post, and he rolls the champ in to finish off with the Helluva, but Neville pulls the referee into harm's way! With the referee down, Neville capitalizes by grabbing the title belt, but Sami big boots it away before it can be used. Sami toys with the idea of using the belt as a weapon himself, but he has a change of heart, allowing Neville to sneak up with a schoolboy for two. Shoulda done it, Sami. Unfortunately for Neville, that just riles Zayn up, and he suplexes the champ into the turnbuckles to set up the Helluva Kick at 23:16. Still a really good match, though I wouldn't go anywhere near my original rating on it anymore. *** ¾ (Original rating: **** ¾)

John Cena v Kevin Owens: From Money in the Bank, June 14 2015 in Columbus Ohio. Cena is the WWE United States Champion, and Owens is the NXT Champion, but no gold is on the line tonight. How, those stupid LED ring aprons were already a thing back in 2015? Time flies, man. Feeling out process to start, and Owens takes control. He hits a senton splash for two, and grounds John in a chinlock. Cena escapes and throws a standing dropkick, and he starts making a comeback, but Owens blocks the side suplex, and steals Cena's usual comeback routine. Owens with his own five knuckle shuffle, but John counters an Attitude Adjustment attempt into the STF. Owens escapes and tries the AA again, but Cena counters with an inverted vertical suplex for two. He looks for a follow-up, but Owens is ready with a kneeling facebuster for two, and he tries the Pop-Up Powerbomb, but John counters with a side suplex. Shuffle connects, and it's AA time, but Owens counters with a German suplex to set up the Cannonball for two. Cena fights back with jabs, but Owens fights him off with a Samoan drop for two. Kevin goes up with a flying somersault senton splash, but John lifts his knees to block, and he hits an electric facebuster for two. AA connects, but it only gets two, and John argues the count with the official. I'm still waiting for the day when that actually works, and the ref calls for the bell. I'd mark out like crazy. Cena tries to stay on him with a superplex, but Owens counters with a sitout powerbomb for two. Pop-Up Powerbomb, but Cena counters with a rana, so Owens fires off a quick superkick for two. Into the corner, but Cena fights him off with a tornado DDT for two, only to miss the flying rocker dropper. That allows Owens to hit a package powerbomb for two, but a flying moonsault misses, and John hits the AA for two. John takes him up for another superplex attempt, but Owens fights him off again, this time with a muscle buster off the middle for two. Owens is frustrated, and he searches for another attack, but Cena grabs him in the STF before he can figure one out. Kevin makes the ropes, so Cena hits a Canadian destroyer for two, and John is at a loss. That allows Owens to capitalize with the Pop-Up Powerbomb, but it only gets two. Owens tries a follow-up, but Cena comes at him with a springboard stunner, and the AA finishes at 19:13. Yeah, I had a feeling I overrated this one the first time. I mean, it's a good match, but not the near classic all-timer rating I gave it the first time. And not even close to that, really. I think I just hadn't yet seen much of either guy's work at the time, and I was really impressed with some of the stuff they were doing, but I can see now that none of it was especially unique. *** ¼ (Original rating: **** ½)

WWE United States Title Match: John Cena v Kevin Owens: From Battleground in St. Louis Missouri, July 19 2015. Feeling out process to start, with Owens taking control. He uses a few cross corner whips to set up a rack neckbreaker for two, and a slam sets up a senton splash for two. John fights back with a standing dropkick, as I check to make sure I'm not watching the Money in the Bank match again by accident. Cena with a swinging facebuster for two, and the flying rocker dropper hits for two. Attitude Adjustment, but Owens counters with a DDT for two, and he hammers John with rights until Cena catches a second wind and makes a comeback. Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Owens bails to the apron while Cena is still doing the taunt, and he fights him off. Kevin dives with the flying somersault senton splash, but Cena lifts his knees to block. He tries the AA, but Owens blocks, and steals John's comeback routine to set up his own shuffle. Owens with his own AA, but Cena counters with an electric facebuster, and he shifts it into the STF. Kevin escapes and hits a modified backbreaker for two, but Cena dodges a clothesline. He tries for the springboard stunner, but Owens counters with a German suplex, and the Cannonball gets two. Slugfest ends in Cena pulling out the Canadian destroyer for two, but another attempt at the flying rocker dropper gets caught in a sitout powerbomb for two. Cena still pulls out an AA for two, but a superplex gets countered when Owens uses a muscle buster off the middle for two. Pop-Up Powerbomb, but Cena counters with a rana. AA, but Owens counters with a superkick, and he hits his own AA to set up an STF. Cena makes the ropes, so Owens tries a charge in the corner, but John blocks, and dives with a tornado DDT for two. Springboard stunner connects, but Owens rebounds with a lariat on instinct, leaving both guys down. Kevin is up first, and a fisherman's neckbreaker gets him a two count. Pop-Up Powerbomb, but Cena counters with the AA for two, and he's frustrated now. He takes it out on Owens with a lariat, but a second one misses, and Kevin delivers the Pop-Up Powerbomb for two. To the top, but Cena crotches him before he can dive, and he brings him off the middle with an AA for two. Cena argues the count, but tonight's sadly not the night where the referee finally relents, and changes his decision. Cena's not sure what to do next, so Owens flashes him with a small package for two, but that earns him an STF from the champ. Kevin nears the ropes, so Cena drags him back to lock it deep in the middle, and Kevin taps at 22:11. This is another one I gave a crazy rating to that absolutely does not hold up. It's mostly just them trading big spots, with little in the way of storytelling, or even transitions sometimes. Not to mention very derivative of the Money in the Bank match from the month before. ** ¾ (Original rating: **** ¼)

NXT Title Ladder Match: Finn Balor v Kevin Owens: From TakeOver: Brooklyn on August 22 2015 in Brooklyn New York. Kevin shoves him and tries racing out for the ladder right away, but Finn cuts him off before he can get out of the ring, and Balor lands a dropkick. Balor with chops in the corner, but a criss cross ends in Owens backelbowing him down, and Kevin adds a senton splash. Owens puts the boots to him, but Balor blocks a powerbomb, and hits a double stomp. Finn goes for the ladder, but Kevin quickly cuts him off, and hits a Cannonball. He goes for the ladder, but Balor prevents him from leaving the ring again, so Kevin drills him with a headbutt. Finn returns fire with a sling blade, but a running dropkick is dodged, and Kevin goes after the ladder. Finn chases him for a fight in the aisle over the ladder, and Kevin gets the best of that one, wrecking Balor with the weapon. They spill into the crowd for a brawl, also dominated by Owens, but Balor counters a powerbomb on the floor with a backdrop. Finn tries a dive off the barricade as they head back to ringside, but the challenger catches him, and absolutely CHUCKS Balor across an announce table. I mean, he sent him flying like he was a football, or something. Kevin tries taking the ladder inside, but Balor has recovered enough to dive off the announce table with a dropkick to knock it away. Finn finally gets the ladder inside, only for Kevin to immediately rip it back to the outside, so Balor dives at him to get control of the object back. He sets it up and makes a climb, but Owens is able to snag the ankle to prevent him from making it to the gold. Kevin whips Finn into the ladder before dumping him to the outside, but Balor is back before Owens can make a successful climb attempt. Kevin responds by chucking the ladder at him, but Balor dodges, and uses a pele kick. Running dropkick into the ladder looks to follow, but Owens blocks the charge with a lariat, and he successfully throws the ladder at the champion. Kevin with a slam onto the ladder to set up a senton splash, but a powerbomb onto the ladder is countered with a backdrop onto it instead. Finn climbs, but Kevin pulls him off, and throws him into a corner mounted second ladder. Cannonball, but Balor dodges, and his cross corner dropkick connects to set up the Coup de Grace. That's enough to allow Balor a chance to climb, but Owens powerbombs him off the ladder before he can grab the belt! A battered Owens climbs, but Finn tips the ladder over to stop it. He tries to climb, but Owens pulls him to the outside before he can. Powerbomb on the floor, but Balor slips free. He dives from the apron with a double stomp, but Kevin dodges, and delivers a wicked powerbomb onto the apron to win that exchange. Kevin climbs, but Finn tips him over again, so Owens plants a superkick on him as punishment. Balor keeps coming, so Kevin hits him with a second one, and then drags Finn to the top of the ladder for a muscle buster off, but Balor blocks. Finn ends up knocking Kevin off of the ladder (with Owens taking a nasty bump onto a second planked ladder), but the main ladder is out of position, and Balor can't reach the belt. He decides to dive off with a Coup de Grace on Owens instead, thus ensuring that Owens won't recover while he repositions the ladder - Balor then climbing for the gold at 21:38. I don't know where I got five-stars from the first time, but this was not at that level, and doesn't belong on the short list of matches I'd award that rating to. Just goes to show how subjective ratings are… even depending on the mood of the same subject. *** ¾ (Original rating: *****)

WWE RAW Tag Team Title Match: The New Day v Cesaro and Sheamus: From Roadblock, December 18 2016 in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. New Day are dressed like they're going out as Aldo Montoya for Halloween. Cesaro blitzes Kofi Kingston with a running dropkick for two right away, but Kofi fights off the rest of the attack. He tries a dive, but Cesaro catches him, and we get an extended reversal sequence that ends in Kingston hiding in the ropes to avoid a giant swing. That earns him a clothesline from Sheamus, and Sheamus tags in to add a vertical suplex for one. The challengers with a combo for two, and Sheamus uses a slingshot shoulderblock for two. Short-clothesline puts Kofi down for a chinlock, which is literally the first time I think these guys have stopped to breathe in the first two minutes. Kofi with a chincrusher to escape, so Sheamus tags Big E out to prevent the tag, and Cesaro uses a pop-up uppercut for two. This show is apparently being sponsored by Toys R Us. Didn't work. Sheamus tries a suplex, but Kofi manages to block, and he backdrops Sheamus over the top. Big E finally recovers enough to tag in, and he spears Sheamus off of the apron, then rolls him in to hit with a splash for two. Powerbomb gets two, but Sheamus blocks the Big Ending, and tags Cesaro in to deliver a combo for two. Neutralizer, but Big E blocks, and the resulting reversal sequence ends in Cesaro hitting a springboard corkscrew backelbow. Giant swing, but Kofi blocks for his partner (complete with an accidental assist from Sheamus), and the Big Ending gets two. Midnight Hour, but Sheamus helps block, and Kofi ends up caught in the giant swing! Sharpshooter, and Kofi is tapping, but Xavier Woods distracts the referee to prevent the fall. That allows Kingston to try a flash pin with a cradle, but Cesaro powers his way out of it and into the Neutralizer for two. Cesaro with a dive at Big E on the outside, leaving Sheamus to hit Kofi with the Brogue Kick, but Woods takes the bullet for him. That allows Kingston to deliver an SOS, but it only gets two! Cesaro pretends to tag in, but Kingston doesn't realize that it was a fake tag and that Sheamus is still legal, and his attempt at a cradle goes nowhere - allowing Sheamus to dive at him with a bodypress for the pin at 9:59 - ending New Day's record 483 day reign! This was one hell of a sprint here, with all four guys going a hundred miles an hour right from the bell, and no dead zones. I thought I was probably way off when I saw my rating for this match in the Four-Star+ database, but no, it's really great. **** ¼ (Original rating: **** ¾)