Goody Bag 66: Hidden Gems 7, The Whole Megillah

 

WWWF Title Match: Bob Backlund v Greg Valentine: From a WWWF event, February 19 1979 in New York City. Bob sinks his teeth into a headlock to start, until Greg forces a criss cross, but Bob flops him with a dropkick, and it’s right back to the hold. Valentine fights free and controls him on the mat for a bit, but Bob pops him with an elbow, and takes him back to the canvas for another side-headlock. Greg escapes, so Backlund tries the dropkick trick again, but Greg dodges this time, and drops an elbow. That allows the Hammer to tie the champion up on the mat, but Bob finds another escape, and takes him back to school with the headlock. Greg fights him into a full-nelson, but Bob reverses, so Valentine tries an escape, but Bob just uses his own momentum against him to re-apply the hold. Valentine finally manages a reversal, but Backlund immediately escapes, and Greg wisely bails to break the momentum. Backlund is so freakishly strong, the guy really doesn’t get his due in that department. Inside, Greg wins a criss cross with an elbow, and he adds an elbowdrop. Hiptoss allows Greg to apply a short-armscissors, but Backlund reverses it on him, and leverages it into some pin attempts. Bob works the arm for a long while, until Valentine finally manages to dump him to the outside, but Bob beats the count. Valentine welcomes him back in with a bodyslam, and it’s back to the armscissors. Bob powers to a vertical base in the hold and dumps him out to the apron, then bodyslams him back inside, and adds a dropkick. He takes Greg down in a wristlock, but Valentine escapes, so Bob tries a charge, but Valentine sidesteps, and Backlund takes a spill to the outside. Bob uses a slingshot sunset flip for two on the way back inside, but Greg cuts him off again, and works a half-crab. Bob escapes and hits a suplex for two, but Valentine topples him for two to block a bodyslam. Greg takes it to the mat with a leglock, and he tries an atomic drop, but Bob reverses, sending Valentine to the outside. Meanwhile, some punk in the crowd has a whistle, and he goes to town on that thing like Rose at the end of Titanic. Inside, Valentine works the leg again, but Bob just won’t stay down. Greg responds by corner whipping him, but the charge in hits Backlund’s knee, and Bob delivers a legdrop for two. Abdominal stretch, but Valentine reverses, and he takes Bob down for some stomping. Valentine with a side suplex to set up an elbowdrop for two, but Backlund fights back with a piledriver, just as time expires at 59:36. This was never poorly worked, but man, is it slow. This one is definitely an acquired taste. Even for someone like me, who genuinely enjoys this style of wrestling, this was way too long. *

NWF Title Match: Antonio Inoki v Larry Sharpe: From WWF Showdown at Shea in Queens New York on August 9 1980. Vince McMahon is the ring announcer here, complete with old school echo. They fight for a takedown to start, with neither guy getting it. Inoki grabs a standing side-headlock, and he armdrags Sharpe over to turn it into an armbar. Larry starts to escape, so Inoki shifts again, this time to a butterfly hold, but Sharpe is able to counter to a leglock. Inoki makes the ropes, and grabs a wristlock, but Sharpe reverses it on him. It’s weird that they had this big stadium crowd for this show, but the camera angle they chose to shoot from makes it look like it took place in someone’s backyard. Sharpe cradles for two, and hammers Inoki with forearms on the ropes, knocking him down for some stomps. Inoki bails to the apron, but now he’s mad, and he comes in all fired up, pounding Sharpe down, and putting him in a toehold. Sharpe escapes, but Inoki keeps coming with chops, leaving Larry begging off. Inoki shows no mercy with a backelbow for two, but Larry manages a bodyslam. He goes upstairs with a flying splash (which looked like he basically fell off the top rope more than jumped), but Inoki dodges, and hits an enzuigiri for two. Another one, and that’s enough at 8:38. What a crappy finish. Was Sharpe supposed to eat the pin after the first one, or something? There were much more interesting matches from that card that I wish they’d chosen to highlight instead. DUD

WWF Title v NWA World Title Match: Bob Backlund v Harley Race: From a WWF event in New York City on September 22 1980. Bob wins a criss cross with a hiptoss to start, and he delivers a messy looking bodyslam after Race pops up. Backlund grabs a standing side-headlock, so Race forces another criss cross, but Bob gets the better of it with a Thesz-press for two. Another bodyslam follows, and Bob goes back to the headlock, only taking him over for a mat-based version this time around. Race powers to a vertical base and forces a criss cross, but Backlund hiptosses him again, and hooks a sunset flip for two. Back to the mat-based headlock, so Harley throws a punch to shake him off this time, and looks to capitalize with a gutwrench suplex, but Bob reverses for two. Another bodyslam allows Backlund to go back to the headlock, so Race tries a rollup, but Bob blocks. Backlund tries an elbowdrop, but Race dodges. He tries a headbutt drop, but Backlund dodges, and it’s back to the headlock again. Race rolls it into a few pin attempts, but Bob keeps kicking out at two, and he keeps the hold locked on. Race escapes and manages to deliver a high knee, but Bob reverses a hanging vertical suplex on him for one, cutting off the comeback effort again, and taking him back to the grindstone with another headlock. It’s crazy, they’ve been doing fifteen minutes of little more than a headlock, and somehow it’s more engaging than a lot of modern matches with guys doing all sorts of high spots without much meaning or psychology behind them. Race escapes and tries to hiptoss him, but Backlund counters with an abdominal stretch. Race escapes and delivers a pair of kneedrops, and it looks like he’s finally managed to turn the tide. Vertical suplex, but Bob counters with a bridging German version for two, and it’s back to the side-headlock. Twenty minutes in, and this thing has been all Backlund thus far. Like, I don’t think Harley has managed to string together more than two moves yet. Race fights into the ropes and throws a right hand on the break, so Backlund responds in kind, but Harley is ready with a side suplex and a kneedrop. He goes to the top, but Backlund slams him off, and delivers an atomic drop to send the NWA champion over the top. And, boy, that referee is not giving him so much as a breather with that count. Backlund keeps breaking the count because he doesn’t want it that way, and Harley climbs back inside, though he’s begging off now. Bob ignores it and hammers him in the corner, so Race throws a low blow to shake him off. That allows Harley a pair of kneedrops for two, and a piledriver sets up a headbutt drop. Snapmare sets up another headbutt drop, but Backlund counters a second piledriver with a backdrop. Bob recovers with a piledriver of his own (and a nicely executed one, at that), but it only gets two. Race tries a 2nd rope headbutt drop, but Backlund rolls out of the way, and covers for two. Criss cross results in a collision, ending with Backlund looking up at the lights, and Harley going over the top. Race beats the count, so Bob welcomes him with a snapmare to set up a legdrop for two. Butterfly suplex gets two, and both guys stagger up for a slugfest. Backlund gets the better of it, so Race throws a headbutt downstairs, and the WWF champion ends up on the outside. Bob beats the count to the apron, so Race bashes his head into the post to draw blood, only to have a second go at it reversed. That leaves Harley bloody, and down on the outside, but he beats the count. Backlund responds by pounding the heck out of him with mounted punches for two, and a backbreaker is worth two. Neckbreaker gets two, and a gutwrench suplex is worth two. Race tries a suplex of his own, but Backlund counters with a sleeper, and the NWA champion fades! Backlund looks to have the titles won, so Race decks the official to force a DQ at 35:26. Definitely on the slower side, and definitely very old school in style and execution, but it worked, and they managed to make even the very headlock-heavy exchanges engaging with good - and sometimes quite subtle - storytelling. ***

Sgt. Slaughter v Jim Duggan: From WWF All Star Wrestling on February 7 1981 (taped February 4) in Hamburg Pennsylvania. Duggan looks almost unrecognizable here. Like, I almost thought they uploaded the wrong clip until hearing the ring announcer. Some guy in the front row calls Slaughter ‘Gomer Pyle’ at the bell, leading to a long argument, with commentator Vince McMahon making sure to make fun of the guy’s weight. Slaughter can’t get much together in the early going, but Duggan only hits one move at a time before backing off. Oddly, they’re wearing the same colors here, yet when they eventually became a tag team a decade later, they never did. Finally, Slaughter takes a cheap shot and pounds him on the ropes, then snapmares him over for a series of kneedrops. Piledriver and a tombstone version lead to the cobra clutch, and Duggan is done at 5:15. This was interesting to see for a variety of reasons, but it was not a good match. ¼*

Ray Stevens v Billy Robinson: From an AWA event, September 13 1981. Ray does a bunch of stalling on the outside, as the crowd loudly counts along with the official each time. Ray finally comes in, so Billy does all kinds of stuff to annoy him, like ducking moves, and sticking him with quick jabs. Robinson starts headbutting him in the arm, and a takedown allows him to go for the leg, but Billy lands in the ropes, and knocks himself silly. Ha, what a goof. Even commentator Gene Okerlund is, like, “how did he manage to do that?” Ray takes him to the outside for some abuse, and inside, Stevens chokes him down. I love Gene as an interviewer and hype guy, but he’s shit as a commentator, especially on his own without anyone to play off of. Robinson gets fired up and knocks Ray down with some rights, and he blasts him with a headbutt. Chincrusher gets him two, and Ray ends up on the outside, so Robinson chases to give him some abuse out there. Stevens beats the count in, so Robinson unloads, but a cross corner whip gets reversed on him. That allows Stevens a bodyslam, but Billy blocks the Boston crab, and hooks a backslide for the pin at 13:03. ½*

Dusty Rhodes and Junkyard Dog v Ted DiBiase and Matt Borne: From a Mid-South event in Houston Texas on February 11 1983. Brawl to start, with the babyfaces cleaning house. The dust settles on Rhodes and Borne, and Dusty immediately nails him with an elbowsmash. That draws Ted in, but Rhodes gives him a smash as well, and the heels bail to regroup. Dust settles back on Rhodes and Borne, and Matt gets him in a wristlock before passing to Ted. DiBiase tries a clothesline, but Rhodes ducks it, and sends DiBiase flying with a kick to the kisser. Ted’s selling like Marty Jannetty tonight, and I’m digging it. That to JYD, and cue more overselling from DiBiase. The babyfaces take turns unloading on DiBiase, so Borne tries diving in for the save, but ends up landing on his partner. That allows the babyfaces to do a rowboat spot, and Dusty hits DiBiase with an atomic drop, sending Ted to the outside to regroup. I wish their stuff was this much fun by the time it got in front of a national audience with the WWF in 1990. Back in, Ted tries to sucker Dusty into a cheap shot, but Rhodes is too smart for him. Well, there’s a first time for everything. Ted manages to catch him with a knee, and that allows a tag to Borne for a kneedrop. The heels go to work on Dusty, but Dog gets a tag, and that’s not good news for Ted DiBiase. Dog runs wild, but Borne manages to tag in before Ted can get into too much trouble. Borne goes to the eyes to slow Dog down, but JYD powers through it, and returns the favor. Ted tries coming in with a 2nd rope axehandle, but that gets blocked, and Borne misses a kneedrop. Back to Dusty, and Roseanne Barr the door! Borne tries a flying seated senton splash, but Rhodes dodges, and JYD hits Matt with a powerslam at 14:26. This was pretty fun. * ¾ 

Greg Valentine v Roddy Piper: From a Mid-Atlantic event in Charlotte North Carolina on July 9 1983. Valentine is the NWA United States champion, but this is non-title - which the ring announcer makes sure to note about 300 times. The champion stalls to start, with Piper just glaring at him like Max Cady. Piper pounds him anytime Valentine gets within striking distance, but Greg keeps stalling. Roddy eventually manages to snap his throat across the top rope after suckering Valentine into the ring (by allowing Greg to get a few shots in first), and now Roddy can go to town! Valentine goes to the eyes, allowing him to blast Piper with shot after shot in the corner, but Roddy returns fire. He wins a slugfest, but telegraphs a backdrop, and eats a knee. To the outside, Valentine feeds him a helping of ringpost, but Roddy gets fired up, and draws blood from the Hammer. Piper dives at him from the apron for mounted punches on the floor, and he chokes him with some rope until the referee calls for the bell at 13:42. I enjoyed the intensity, but most of the actual interaction was of the punch/kick variety, and that’s never been my style. I still consider this a worthy inclusion, though, since it’s nice to see some of their interaction prior to the famous match from Starrcade. ½*

NWA World Tag Team Title Match: The Brisco Brothers v Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood: From a Mid-Atlantic event in Charlotte North Carolina on July 9 1983, in another Starrcade prequel. The champs try taking a cheap shot before the bell, but the babyfaces fight them off, and Jay puts Gerald Brisco on his back for two. Over to Ricky as the dust settles, and Steamboat delivers a swinging neckbreaker for two. Jay with a dropkick and a vertical suplex for two, and Steamboat uses a slingshot splash for two. Gerald manages to side suplex Youngblood to allow the tag, and Jack Brisco dives in off the middle to get control. Jack with a bodyslam and a backbreaker, and he grounds Jay in a chinlock. The champs are quick to cheat for good measure as Jack stretches him, and he takes Jay into the ropes for some double-teaming. Gerald slams him on the apron to add to the damage, and the champs cut the ring in half. Gerald telegraphs a backdrop to allow the tag to Ricky, and Steamboat comes in hot! Jack gets crotched on the post for his crimes, and Gerald gets his leg bashed into it for his. The dust settles on Gerald and Ricky, and Steamboat goes to work on the leg. Kneebreaker and a pair of fistdrops to the knee find their marks, and he passes to Youngblood to work a bridging toehold. Jack manages to save, allowing Gerald to tag out, and Jack corner whips him - only for Youngblood to rebound with a clothesline. That allows the tag to Ricky, and Steamboat dives at Jack with a flying punch for two. Gerald comes in, so Jay chases, and Roseanne Barr the door, we’ve got a kettle on! Steamboat has Jack pinned, but the referee is distracted, and Gerald dives in to break the cover before a count is made. That allows Jack to make a cover, and the champs retain at 11:59. Like the Starrcade match, this was fun, and masterful use of the tag formula. * ¾ 

NWA World Title Match: Harley Race v Ric Flair: From a Mid-Atlantic event in Charlotte North Carolina on July 9 1983. We get an interesting camera angle early on here, shot from about the fourth row at a seated level, which really makes you feel like you’re in the crowd for this live. Luckily they switch back to the hard camera for the bulk of it (because it’s a better view), but I like the alternate. Flair with a bodypress for two right away, so Race tries something in the corner, but Ric fights him off. Race tries a charge, but Flair is ready with a backdrop, and the challenger grabs a side-headlock. Flair grinds that on for a bit, until Race forces a criss cross, but Ric gets the better of it with a bodypress for two, as the camera does random long takes on the faces of some of the fans. Can’t they save that for the rest holds? We’re missing half the action! Ric grounds him in a front-facelock and rolls it into some pin attempts, and now the camera is laser focused, of course. Race fights to a vertical base, so Flair starts chopping at him, but Harley goes low to cut that off. Race works the lower abdomen with a series of kneedrops, and a press-slam sets up a headbutt drop. They spill to the outside, where Flair whacks him with a chair, and sends Harley into the post before dragging the champion back inside. Ric tries a vertical suplex, but he can’t get him up, and Race takes him to the mat for mounted punches. Harley goes upstairs, but Flair slams him off, and dives onto him to return fire with some mounted punches of his own! Backdrop gets two, and a corner whip sets up a sleeper. Race won’t fade, so Ric turns it into a side suplex for two, and another try at the hanging vertical suplex succeeds for two. Elbowdrop gets two (including a cool fake out spot where Ric anticipates Race dodging the move), and the challenger unloads in the corner, so Race goes low again. Race with a cross corner whip, but Flair hustles to the top rope after flipping over the buckles, and he dives with a flying elbowsmash. Cover, but the referee got caught with the elbow as well, and there’s no one to count. That allows Harley to toss him over the top, and he tries a suplex back in, but Flair counters with a bridging side suplex for a dramatic two. Pair of chops send Harley over the top, so he goes upstairs for a flying bodypress, but Flair rolls through for two. Figure four looks to finish, so Race dumps the referee to the outside to try and trigger a DQ. Flair lets off the hold to beg the official not to call the bell, but that allows Harley to recover, and he dumps an angry Flair over the top for a DQ at 17:31. ***

Thanksgiving Day Tag Team Tournament First Round Match: The Mad Mongolians v Magnum TA and Randy Savage: From a GCW event on November 24 1983 in Atlanta Georgia, held on the same day as the first Starrcade. Savage starts with one of the Mongolians, and is too Macho for him to handle. It’s interesting how fully formed Randy was at this point, they didn’t even really change his look between this and him making it to the top of the WWF. Over to Magnum to work a headlock, and Savage does the same, but gets clobbered. That allows the Mongolians to work him over, but Magnum gets the tag, and Roseanne Barr the door. Bodyslam sets up a splash, but one of the Mongolians dodges, and now Magnum is in trouble. They work him over, but they’re too fat to keep hold of him, and he slips away for a tag back to Macho. Randy quickly gets control, and a 2nd rope elbowdrop finishes at 6:58. Not really much to the match, but it’s a worthy inclusion for the novelty of Savage and Magnum teaming up. They’d end up making it to the finals of the tournament, before losing to Butch Reed and Pez Whatley. And, other than this one night, they never crossed paths (as partners or opponents) ever again, either before or after. ¼*

NWA World Title Match: Ric Flair v Jack Brisco: From a GCW event in Baltimore Maryland on April 7 1984. Jack had just won the NWA World Tag Team title with brother Gerald days before this. The clip for Hidden Gems has some great bits with Ole Anderson talking to fans about the event, including where he introduces a promoter, but can’t remember his name, and drops an f-bomb. Sounds stupid, but I live for these sorts of things. We’re joined in progress, but it can’t be more than a minute or two into the bout, because both guys haven’t even broken a sweat yet. Brisco sinks his teeth into a side-headlock in the early going, and that goes on… for a while. He switches to a wristlock, and that goes on for another while. Flair escapes, and takes a walk to regroup, then manages to corner Brisco on the way back in, but Jack turns the tables when Ric tries unloading. Flair responds by going low on him, and that allows the champ a kneedrop for two. Backbreaker gets two, so Flair dumps him to the outside, and then snaps Jack’s throat across the top rope when Brisco beats the count. Ric with an inverted atomic drop for two, and he unloads on him in the corner, Brisco not turning any tables this time. Vertical suplex, but Jack counters into a sleeper. Ric side suplexes his way out, but a lot of damage was done, and he’s moving slower now. He tries another suplex, but Brisco reverses on him, and he takes Ric down in a grapevine, but Flair is in the ropes right away. Ric tries taking it down with a headlock, but Brisco fights him off, and puts him in a figure four. Flair escapes and applies his own figure four, but Jack manages a reversal, so Flair hustles into the ropes. The champ goes upstairs, but Jack slams him off. He starts making a comeback, but Flair counters a hiptoss with an abdominal cradle at 21:23 shown of 26.50. I’ve never seen him do that particular counter before, and it was great. Someone should steal that. Other than the fact that this was Brisco’s final world title match, I wouldn’t call this particularly notable, and it was a really boring match for the first two-thirds. *

Nick Bockwinkel v Lanny Poffo: From Pro Wrestling USA on October 6 1984 (taped September 18) in Memphis Tennessee. Bockwinkel dominates the feeling out process, but Poffo manages to counter a headlock into a hammerlock. Bockwinkel elbows his way back into the side-headlock, but Poffo fights him off, and uses an armdrag into an armbar. Bockwinkel escapes, and uses a bodyslam, but Poffo just won’t stay down, and goes back to the armbar. Bockwinkel powers into the ropes, and he pops Lanny with a big uppercut to send Poffo flying over the top. That’ll take the pep out of his step. Bockwinkel follows for a hiptoss on the floor, but Lanny beats the count, since apparently he’s not too bright. Certainly no genius. Bockwinkel with a bodyslam for two, but a clothesline misses, and Poffo throws a dropkick. He unloads on Nick in the corner, and an Oklahoma roll gets him two. Bodyslam sets up a flying moonsault, but Bockwinkel uses the knees to block, and delivers a piledriver (or ‘suplex,’ per the announcer, since apparently he doesn’t want to leave Memphis alive) at 7:15. Fun little match here. Nothing special, but I’m a sucker for big versus little matches, and this was one in the style of Bret Hart/1-2-3 Kid. * ¼ 

Mid-South North American Title Match: Ernie Ladd v Magnum TA: From a Mid-South event in Houston Texas on November 9 1984. Magnum gets all fired up and absolutely destroys him at the bell, pounding the heck out of poor Ernie, and leaving him writhing in pain in the corner. Magnum shows no mercy, picking him up just so he can knock him back down with another right hand, and then he dives off the middle rope with an axehandle. Magnum keeps the assault going, so Ladd pulls a weapon out of his tights, and manages to put his challenger down with a shot. It’s great seeing how worked up Ladd has gotten the crowd here, and how hard they’re trying to show the referee what happened. Ladd chokes his challenger down on the mat, but Magnum is so fired up that he slugs his way back to a vertical base, and sends Ernie over the top. And Ladd is so great that he actually somehow ends up with a chair wrapped around his neck on the sell! That was phenomenal. Ladd stalls on the outside for a bit, but Magnum doesn’t lose his fire, and keeps hammering him as the champ comes back inside. Ladd takes another cheap shot to slow the challenger down, and the big man latches on with a front-facelock. Ladd forces Magnum to the mat in the hold, but the challenger fights to a vertical base, so Ernie unleashes a ferocious series of rights and lefts to put him back down. Ladd with a legdrop for two, but Magnum fights back in the corner, and manages a 2nd rope elbowsmash to put the big man down. Slugfest goes Magnum’s way, and he connects with a dropkick for two. He keeps unloading with punches to cut Ladd down every time the Big Cat gets to a vertical base, until Ernie manages to dump him out of the ring to buy time. Ladd follows, but Magnum shoves him into the post when he does, and the referee calls a DQ at 16:05. Ladd was at the tail end of his career at this point, and while he might not have been as nimble as he once was, he knew exactly how to get the most out of what he could do. * ¼ 

AWA World Tag Team Title Match: The Road Warriors v Larry Hennig and Curt Hennig: From AWA StarCage on April 21 1985 in St. Paul Minnesota. And, yes, that’s the real name of the event.  Animal and Larry start, and Hennig actually dominates. Over to Hawk, and Larry gets him in a bearhug right away. Over to Curt to work a standing side-headlock, but Hawk overpowers him, and passes to Animal. Animal with a bodyslam, but an elbowdrop misses, allowing Curt to get back to the headlock. Animal forces a criss cross, but eats a dropkick, and Curt armdrags him down for a chinlock. Animal powers out and tags, as commentator Ron Trongard gets really obsessed with their various weights. Curt tries a sunset flip, but Hawk blocks with ease, and puts a pounding on him. The champions go to work on Curt, and Trongard continually adding ‘the’ before Hawk and Animal’s names is getting really annoying. Who is he, Bret Hart? After getting wrecked for an hour, Curt manages to slip away, and papa Larry gets the tag. And then does, like, two moves, and tags back to his son. Curt with a missile dropkick for two, since apparently ten seconds on the apron is enough to make a full recovery from ten minutes of nonstop abuse from two three hundred pound guys. Manager Paul Ellering tries getting involved, so Larry takes him out, and the challengers get disqualified at 12:12. Meh. ¾*

Rick Rude v Frank Lane: From CWF TV on October 16 1985. This is notable, because Rude has a young Lex Luger (or just ‘the Luger’ at this point) in his corner, in the days before Lex had even worked his first pro match yet. Lane with a bodypress for two, and he goes to work on the arm, but Rick fights him off, and works a chinlock for a bit. 2nd rope punch gets two, so Rude goes back to the chinlock, and I wish he’d just finish the damn squash already. That was a major issue with a lot of promotions around this period, with really lengthy squashes. Lane fights free in the corner, and makes a comeback, but a bodypress attempt goes south when Rude catches him in a hotshot, and then adds a DDT at 4:23. This felt endless. Afterwards, Rude and manager Percy Pringle III stop by the desk to show off a training video on Luger, and we get some more information on him, and Pringle promises that we’ll see him wrestle ‘when the time is right.’ The match itself was junk, but it was a good choice for a hidden gem. DUD

NWA Florida Title Match: Ron Simmons v Bad News Allen: From a CWF event on December 16 1986 in Tampa Florida. Bad News is the NWA Florida Bahamian champion, but that isn’t on the line. And, in fact, both guys had just won their respective titles earlier in the month. They measure each other for a bit to start, with Simmons getting the better of it, and Allen takes a walk on the outside. Back in, Allen wristlocks him, but Ron reverses him, as the announcers refer to Allen as the ‘ultimate warrior.’ Bad News bails again, but ends up right back in the wristlock once coming back inside. He tries a takedown, but Allen uses the ropes to block, and Simmons begrudgingly gives him a clean break. The frustration allows Allen a takedown into a chinlock, but Ron fights to a vertical base, and escapes. Hiptoss works, so Allen hides in the ropes to stall Ron out. Allen goes to the eyes as they re-engage, and he pops Simmons with a headbutt, but Ron no-sells. He looks for a comeback, but hits boot on a corner charge, and Bad News bodyslams him to set up a legdrop for two. Allen unloads in the corner, but telegraphs a backdrop, and gets clobbered. That allows Ron to try a backdrop, but gets the same counter, and Allen dumps him. That allows Allen to load up his glove, but Simmons blocks the blow, and delivers an atomic drop. He goes in for the kill, but Bad News still has the object, and bashes Simmons with it before hooking a leveraged cradle at 10:30. Oh, but another referee comes in (in blue jeans, which is jarring) to demand the match restart, and Ron schoolboys him for two. Allen responds by blasting him with the title belt, however, and that’s a DQ at 0:24 (10:54 total). Fun stuff! **

Barry Windham v Arn Anderson: From a Mid-Atlantic event in Charlotte North Carolina on January 11 1987. Arn attacks as they jaw at each other, but Windham fights him off with a pair of dropkicks, and Anderson ends up fuming on the outside. Back in, Arn tries grabbing a hammerlock, but Barry reverses, so Anderson grabs the ropes before a takedown can happen. Arn tries a sunset flip, but Barry blocks, and the Enforcer ends up on the outside again. Arn stalls for a bit out there, and then suckers Windham into a cheap shot off of a test-of-strength. Arn works a wristlock from there, but Barry reverses, and takes Anderson down in an armbar. Arn fights him off and dumps him to the outside, then dives after Windham with an axehandle from the apron. Post, but Barry reverses, and he gets Arn back in another armbar as they head in. Arn escapes, and nails him with a shoulderblock as they criss cross, then pops him with a backelbow, before Barry falls out of the ring. Looked like he was supposed to go over the top off of the elbow, but didn’t quite make it. They seamlessly rerouted, though. Arn vertical suplexes him back inside for two, and a snapmare sets up a chinlock. Barry fights free, so Arn drops him with a rotating spinebuster for two, and he works a double-knucklelock before getting crotched. Well, you knew that was coming. Windham makes a comeback, delivering a backelbow to set up a kneedrop for two. Ten-punch count rattles Arn, and the referee catches a smack while trying to break it up. That allows Arn a powerslam, but there’s no one to count. Anderson goes to revive him, but that allows Windham a small package at 12:52. I liked how that finish was a neat reversal on the usual heel/babyface roles. I’m not sure if this really qualifies as a Hidden Gem, but it was a fun match, and I love the era, so I can’t fault it. And, anyway, this wasn’t from a TV show, so it automatically has merit. **

Jerry Lawler and Greg Gagne v Riki Choshu and Mr. Saito: From an AWA event in Las Vegas Nevada on May 14 1988. Greg and Choshu start, and Choshu knocks him around. Over to Satio to unload in the heel corner, and he chokes Greg for a while, before passing back to Choshu for a snapmare into a nervehold. Choshu and Saito aren’t doing anything especially exciting here, but everything they’re doing they’re doing with authority, and Greg is selling it accordingly. They continue working Gagne over, until he manages to fight Choshu off for long enough to pass to the King. Lawler gives Choshu a fistdrop to set up some mounted punches, but Choshu railroads into the heel corner while in a headlock, allowing him to tag out. Saito tries a corner charge, but Lawler sidesteps, and fistdrops his ass as well. Back to Greg to work a wristlock, but Saito fights out long enough for a tag. Greg immediately takes Choshu down as well, however, and it’s back to Jerry, so Choshu goes to the eyes, and kicks him in the gut. Choshu locks him in a modified scorpion deathlock, but that goes nowhere, so he tags Saito back in to put the King in a proper version. The heels cut the ring in half on the King, as the announcers get into the old ‘why aren’t there two referees in tag wrestling’ debate. I thought that was strictly a Gorilla Monsoon thing. Greg gets the hot tag, and Roseanne Barr the door! The heels try using a chair behind the referee’s back, but Lawler spins the official around just in time to see the offending blow, and it’s a DQ at 13:39. This wasn’t bad, just felt a little long. * ¼ 

Rick Rude v Roddy Piper: WWF TV taping dark match from Topeka Kansas on October 31 1989. Piper antagonizes him in the early going, and he suckers Rude into an atomic drop, then unloads until Rick falls out of the ring. Back in, Piper delivers a clothesline as they criss cross, and then an inverted atomic drop to give Rude a chance to sell the other side of that coin. They do a comedy bit where Piper tries dragging him out of the ring (with Rude dragging the referee along with him), ending in Piper crocheting him on the post. Rude, of course, knows just how to sell the heck out of that sort of thing. Dropkick, but Rick dodges, and the tide has turned. Rick works an armbar, but Piper counters the Rude Awakening with a backslide for two. Small package gets two, so Rude grabs a sleeper to slow him down, but Piper won’t pass out. Given the amount of substances he probably had in his system in 1989, he might not have been physically able to. Roddy makes a comeback, but the referee gets bumped in the process, and everyone ends up looking up at the lights. Rude recovers first and tries the Awakening, but Piper reverses it on him, only there’s no referee to make the count. Roddy goes to revive him (with the questionable method of kicking him), but Rude recovers. He charges, but Piper backdrops him over the top, and he literally holds the barely conscious official’s hand through a countout at 8:30. Got his WrestleMania X practice in there, he did. Ah, but then the referee decides to award the bout to Rude by DQ, likely because Piper thought kicking him in the ribs a bunch of times was a good idea. Substances… substances. This wasn’t a major work, but both guys are such talented workers that they could make pretty much anything connect with an audience. * ½ 

Randy Savage v Jim Duggan: WWF TV taping dark match from Topeka Kansas on October 31 1989. Savage tries a sneak attack, but Duggan fights him off, and unloads in the corner. Cross corner whip rebounds Savage into a clothesline, so Queen Sherri tries pulling him out of the ring, but Duggan keeps him inside for an atomic drop. Sherri responds by tripping Hacksaw up, and Macho is able to sneak up with an axehandle to put Jim on the outside. Sherri is right there to send him into the post, of course, but Duggan beats the count in. Savage is right there with a cover for two, and he snaps Jim’s throat across the top rope for two. Upstairs with a flying axehandle for two, and a choke wears Duggan down for two. Sherri takes another cheap shot, but Savage misses a straddling ropechoke, allowing Duggan to get to his feet. Elbowdrop, but Macho dodges, and goes back up with another flying axehandle - only for Duggan to block him this time. Duggan tosses him over the top, and he follows, posting the Macho King. Back in, Duggan uses a bodyslam to set up a kneedrop, so Sherri distracts the referee to prevent a count. The delay allows Macho to kick out at two, and Duggan stays on him with a punch, but Sherri puts Randy in the ropes at two. Sherri is such a brilliant heel manager, and enhances every match she’s out there for. Duggan with a shoulderblock, but a corner charge misses, and Macho clotheslines him down. He goes up for a dive, but Duggan dodges, and Randy wipes out in dramatic fashion. That allows Hacksaw a trio of clotheslines, but the three-point stance ends up knocking Macho to the outside. Duggan rolls him back in, but gets nailed by Sherri in the process, and he’s had enough. He chases her around instead of focusing on Savage, and Randy recovers with a high knee - only for the referee to get bumped in the process. Duggan manages to cradle Savage, but the referee is down, so no count. Atomic drop and a clothesline connect, but still no official to count, so Duggan goes to revive him. That allows Sherri to pass her man a weapon, and Randy clobbers Duggan with it, knocking him cold for a dramatic two count. That was a great near fall there. Savage tries to get to the top to finish him, but Duggan pulls him off, so Macho hooks a leveraged pin - the referee too dazed to spot it, and counting three at 10:12. That felt like a Bret Hart finish, suckering you into buying the near fall, and then doing the real finish right after. This was actually pretty awesome, with all four participants doing a brilliant job, and the crowd there for it all. ** ¾ 

USWA Heavyweight Title Tournament Semifinal Match: Jerry Lawler v Terry Funk: From a USWA event in Memphis Tennessee on October 8 1990. Funk attacks him in the aisle to kick start the match, and the King eats the post a few times. Terry’s punches here look incredible, some of the best worked punches I’ve ever seen. So good that I’m legitimately unsure whether or not they are worked. Funk leaves Lawler for dead on the announce table, but the King keeps coming, so Terry beats on him with more rights. Jerry manages to get onto the apron, so Funk blasts him with a clothesline to send Lawler flying into the guardrail, Terry absolutely refusing to let him breathe. Inside, Funk chokes him with a TV cable, and a swinging neckbreaker gets two. Funk argues the count, but the referee gets in his face, so Funk piledrives him. Another referee runs out to try and restore order, but Funk takes him out too, and then gives the King a piledriver for good measure. That draws Eddie Gilbert out to count the pin, but Lawler gets a shoulder up at two anyway. Gilbert tries fast counting, but Jerry kicks out again, so Funk and Gilbert start pinballing him with punches, as the bell sounds for the DQ at 8:09. This wasn’t a great match, but it was interesting, and certainly set a dramatic stage for Lawler’s appearance in the finals (which he won). ¾*

WWF Title Match: Undertaker v Davey Boy Smith: From a WWF event in London Ontario Canada on November 30 1991 - one of Undertaker's only three appearances with the title between Survivor Series and This Tuesday in Texas. Undertaker gets a pretty big babyface pop, interestingly. Fans were really getting tired of Hulk Hogan’s act by the end of ‘91, and taking a hiatus after WrestleMania was actually a brilliant move on his part. Undertaker attacks during the patdowns, and chokes Bulldog into the corner right away. Cross corner whip works, but the charge in doesn’t, and Davey clotheslines him over the top. Smith follows to smash him into the apron a couple of times, but Undertaker no-sells it, and snaps Bulldog’s throat across the top rope on the way back inside. More choking from the champion, but an elbowdrop misses, allowing Bulldog to try for a suplex, but he can’t get him up. He tries a bodyslam instead, but Undertaker topples him for two, and goes back to the choking. Backdrop, but Bulldog boots him to block, and delivers the hanging vertical suplex for two. Corner whip sets up the running powerslam, but Paul Bearer distracts him, and Davey stupidly lets off the cover at two. That allows Undertaker to grab the urn, and he bashes Bulldog’s brains in for the pin at 5:42. This was boring as hell. And they couldn’t book Undertaker to get clean win over British Bulldog in late 1991? I mean, he was world champion with a main event program opposite Hogan, and Davey was a total JTTS at that point. ¼*

Latin Fury v Juicer: Fury is Konnan, working a WWF TV taping dark match on January 8 1992 in Fort Myers Florida. And you know it’s the early 90s, because both guys have light colored denim jackets! Juicer attacks before the bell, but Fury fights him off, and dives with a flying one-handed bulldog. Fury with a standard one-handed bulldog, and he uses a takedown to set up an armbar. Juicer escapes, so Fury kicks him out of the ring, and Juicer regroups. He calls for a test-of-strength on the way back in, but gets chucked around by Fury, and they botch a headscissors spot. Juicer ends up dumping him over the top for a plancha, but a trip to the top ends badly when Fury crotches him. That allows Fury a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, followed by a flying punch at 5:09. This was pretty rough, and I’m not surprised it didn’t lead to Konnan snagging a job. ¼*

Relampago v Mercenary: WWF TV taping dark match on July 20 1992 in Worcester Massachusetts. Relampago is another Konnan appearance, this time sporting what would later become the Max Moon gear. He looks even sillier, though, because he’s so locked in that he literally can’t even get out of it without the referee’s assistance. Definitely not a good look. Relampago dominates on the mat, and he does some flying around to send Mercenary to the outside. Mercenary manages a slingshot somersault senton splash on the way back in, but misses a corner splash, and Relampago dropkicks him over the top. Mercenary suckers him with a cheap shot on the way back in, and he ropechokes him a bit. Relampago outmoves him during some criss crosses, however, and Mercenary ends up back on the outside for some stalling. Relampago with a rolling clothesline, and a flying clothesline finishes at 5:32. This was definitely a better performance than the January match, though it was still clear that Konnan would be an awkward fit for the WWF. I did enjoy hearing Howard Finkel deliver ‘Relampago,’ though. ¾*

GWF North American Tag Team Title Match: The Ebony Experience v John Tatum and Rod Price: From GWF TV on August 11 1992 in Dallas Texas. Booker T starts with Price, and dominates him early on, so Price stalls him out. Dust settles on Booker and Tatum, and Booker gets the better of him as well with a hiptoss. The challengers manage to get control of Booker and work the arm, but Booker fights Rod off with a bodypress for two. Tag to Stevie Ray to put Tatum in a wristlock, and he unloads on him with chops when John tries to escape. The champs work John’s arm, as commentator Manny Fernandez obnoxiously tries to get ‘NOT’ jokes over like a non-ironic version of Borat. A cheap shot allows the heels to get control of Booker, and they dump him over the top for some abuse on the outside. They cut the ring in half on Booker, but he manages the hot tag to Stevie, and Roseanne Barr the door! The challengers try whipping them into each other, but it backfires, so Gary Hart tries interfering, but that backfires as well - allowing Booker to pin Tatum at 12:28. * ¼ 

Tito Santana v Papa Shango: Dark match from WrestleMania IX on April 4 1993 in Las Vegas, which marks Tito’s final WrestleMania appearance, after getting onto the card for each one before this. Interestingly, Jim Ross is doing commentary on this one, despite the show not being on air yet. Maybe he wanted a warm up ahead of his live debut? And speaking of warming up, the lighting hasn’t quite gotten there yet, and there are some serious shadows going on. Well, there are shadows in life, babe. And yep, this must be a warm up, as Ross responds to a note from Bruce Pritchard at one point, so for the trivia buffs, this is the first match Ross ever called for the promotion. Shango unloads on him early, but misses a charge, and goes flying over the top. Tito follows to rush him back in, and Santana dives with a flying bodypress, but Shango rolls through for two. Shango argues the count, allowing Tito a schoolboy for two, and he grabs a wristlock. Shango bodyslams his way out of it, but misses a fistdrop, and Santana goes back to the wristlock. Shango forces a criss cross, but misses a dropkick, and it looks like they haven’t tightened the ropes up yet either. Shango manages to escape another wristlock by dumping Santana over the top, as Ross keeps calling it the ‘opening contest of WrestleMania IX.’ I’m starting to think it was less a warm up, and that Ross was just confused. Makes sense, he was coming from WCW, he probably saw a half empty arena and thought it was go time. Shango with a bodyslam on the floor, but Tito uses a slingshot sunset flip for two on the way back in. Shango cuts him off with a clothesline, however, and a headbutt drop to the groin connects. Backdrop, but Tito counters with a small package for two, so Shango plants the dropkick on him for two. Sidewalk slam gets two, but Tito counters the inverted shoulderbreaker with a jumping forearm. He makes a comeback, but El Paso misses, as Ross makes a joke about not knowing what the move is called, but that he’s “sure Bruce will tell me exactly.” Shango with a vertical suplex to set up a flying splash, but Tito rolls out of the way, and hooks the leg at 7:37. Solid fluffer. *

Tazmaniac v Skippy Taylor: WWF TV taping dark match on May 5 1993 in Portland Maine. Tazmaniac is the wrong guy to pick a no footwear gimmick. He already looks far too small in a WWF ring, and could use any boost he can get. Taylor manages a dropkick early on, and a hiptoss follows, so Tazmaniac pounds him down. Tazmaniac with a suplex, and a snapmare allows him a chinlock. He holds onto that one for a good while, surprisingly, and then chucks Skippy with another suplex. Bodyslam sets up a headvice, since apparently Tazmaniac really didn’t want a WWF job. That’s the only reasonable explanation. Bodyslam sets up a dive, but Taylor blocks him. He tries making a comeback, but walks into another suplex at 3:54. This felt like it dragged on forever. ¼*

Barry Hardy v Brian Armstrong: WWF TV taping dark match on August 16 1994 in Lowell Massachutts - Armstrong's first appearance in the WWF. If you ever wondered why Road Dogg always worked while wearing a shirt, look no further than this match. The lighting guys have Bret Hart’s heart shaped spotlights on the ring for this one, which is odd. Brian dominates him in the early going, and manages a suplex. He works a wristlock next, and a schoolboy gets him two. Hardy takes a cheap shot during a lockup, and manages to pound Armstrong into the corner, then puts him down with a clothesline. Backdrop, but Brian counters with a sunset flip for two, so Hardy tries a suplex, but Armstrong counters with a small package for two. Brian throws a bodypress for two, so Barry goes to the eyes to buy time, and he chops Armstrong into the corner. Clothesline, but Armstrong ducks, and throws a kneelift. To the top, and a flying dropkick finishes at 4:04. ¾*

Jean-Paul Levesque v Brian Armstrong: From WCW Pro on November 12 1994 in Orlando Florida. Man, if you thought Larry Zbyszko only started burying everyone once he got onto Nitro, check this match out. Levesque dominates in the early going, and a high knee finds the mark. Levesque works the shoulderblades with knees, and a spinheel kick finds the mark. Headvice, until Brian escapes, and catches him with a jumping forearm. Criss cross goes Levesque’s way, however, and he delivers a pedigree at 3:09. That move was still very much a work in progress for him at this point. “A sort of a piledriver,” notes Gordon Solie. ¼*

NWA World Title Match: Chris Candido v Boo Bradley: From an SMW event in Morristown Tennessee on January 21 1995. Boo charges in and attacks, beating on the champion in the corner. Candido bails, so Boo gives chase, nailing Candido a few times on the outside. Back in, but Chris steals the high ground, and puts the boots to him. Into the corner for abuse, but Boo starts no-selling, so Candido clotheslines him down. Corner whip, but Bradley rebounds with a clothesline of his own, and a sidewalk slam follows. Boo with an elbowdrop to set up some choking, and the referee gets bumped while trying to break it up. That allows Tammy Fytch (disguised as an old lady, since she’s banned from ringside) to blind Boo with some hairspray, and Candido pins him at 3:10. Afterwards, the referee catches Tammy, and reverses the decision, awarding the match to Bradley by DQ. Nothing to this one. DUD

Kuwait Cup Tournament Semifinal Match: Undertaker v Hunter Hearst Helmsley: From a live event in Kuwait City Kuwait on May 11 1996, just about a week before the infamous ‘curtain call.’ The rugs around ringside instead of mats is an interesting choice, and the kind of thing that makes these matches such unique hidden gems. Hunter refuses to get inside, so Undertaker chases, but gets nailed on the outside. Inside, Hunter unloads, but Undertaker quickly fights him off, and man, the sound is terrible on this video. The microphones are picking up the wind in the outdoor venue, and it’s annoying. And that’s not even touching on the state fair level lighting. Undertaker with a ropewalk forearm, and he chokes Helmsley in the corner for a bit. Helmsley with a cheap shot to turn the tide, and a clothesline gets him two. Another clothesline gets another two count, as we get a weird recurring bit with the referee getting into lengthy arguments with Paul Bearer. That felt really odd and out of character. The referee gets bumped, allowing HHH to grab a pair of knux, and he goes to town on Undertaker. Undertaker recovers and grabs the knux for himself, but just in time for the recovering referee to catch him for a DQ at 6:50. Dull stuff. ¼*

WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Shinjiro Otani v Dean Malenko: From WCW Worldwide, May 18 1996 (taped May 2) in Orlando Florida. I always liked the small set they had for these Disney Worldwide tapings. It wouldn’t work for a major show, but for these C-shows, it was perfect. Feeling out process to start, and the crowd is pretty into Malenko, likely mostly because he’s American, and nothing else. Dean tries a Samoan drop, but Otani counters with an armdrag, and he dumps Dean to the outside. Malenko got tripped up there, and just smashed his nose into the ropes, in a nasty looking bit. He takes a breather on the outside, but regroups, and bodyslams Otani for two on the way back inside. Chinlock, but Otani gets the ropes, and he hooks a cravat there. Otani tries something in the corner, but Dean gets to the middle rope and dropkicks him. Northern lights suplex gets the challenger two, so he backdrops Otani over the top, but the champ lands on the apron. He dives back in with a flying spinheel kick for two, and a bridging dragon suplex is worth two. Spinheel kick, but Dean ducks this time. He tries an electric chair, but Otani counters with a sunset cradle for two. Back to the dragon suplex, but Dean tries reversing, so Otani spinkicks him. He goes up again with a flying dropkick, but Dean catches him in the Texas cloverleaf on the way down, and Otani taps at 4:47. This was way too short. * ¾ 

WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Rey Mysterio Jr v Super Calo: TV taping dark match in Cleveland Ohio on September 23 1996. Kind of cool getting a Nitro dark match, since not too many of those ever got released. There was a YouTube channel I found a few years back that had all kinds of mid/late 90s WCW shows with the pre-show crowd warm ups stuff, and I find stuff like that fascinating to watch, even if there’s not actually anything ‘going on.’ Rey with a takedown into a modified STF right away, but Calo counters to a leglock. Calo works that for a bit before hammering the leg, but Rey fights him off, so Calo powerslams him. Spinebuster gets two, so Rey bails to the apron, but Calo sunset bombs him off. Calo with a flying elbowdrop for two on the way back inside, but a second one misses, and Mysterio goes up with a flying headscissors. Monkeyflip follows, and a springboard headscissors sends the challenger to the outside. Rey dives after him with a springboard moonsault press, and a flying legdrop gets one on the way back in. Rey uses a snapmare to set up a slingshot moonsault for two, but Calo counters a rana with a sitout powerbomb for two. Calo takes him up just so he can have the pleasure of bringing him down with a headscissors for two, and a bodyslam sets up a flying legdrop, but he doesn’t get all of it. Looks like he might have legitimately hurt himself there. Rey tries going home with a springboard flying rana, but Calo is still messed up, and fails to go over for the move. Rey regroups with a slingshot moonsault instead, and that’s enough at 6:15. These two had a really great match at Fall Brawl earlier that same month, and while this one was nowhere near that level of work, it was solid action before the legitimate injury derailed them. * ½ 

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Hunter Hearst Helmsley v Undertaker: From Shotgun Saturday Night on February 8 1997 in New York City - in Penn Station, of all places. Certainly a unique venue, and a really cool one, at that. I really wish they’d put all the early versions of Shotgun on the Network, it was such a cool and unique concept. HHH making his entrance from the street is great stuff. The ring is tiny, however. Undertaker charges in to blitz him, but the referee gets bumped early on. That allows HHH to grab the title belt, and he brains the challenger with it to turn the tide. Helmsley with a ropechoke, and a snapmare sets up a kneedrop. Kneeling facebuster connects, and it’s pretty funny watching these two big guys try to work in this half-sized ring. HHH unloads in the corner, and a neckbreaker is worth two. Swinging neckbreaker is worth another two, so HHH grabs the title belt again, but Undertaker blocks him this time. He steals the weapon away and blasts Helmsley with it, and that’s a DQ at 7:50. And then afterwards, we get the bit that this match is perhaps best known for, as Undertaker chases him up onto the street level, and gives him a tombstone on the escalator - leaving a slumped HHH to ride down in a heap. The match was junk, but the atmosphere was cool. ½*

Akira Hokuto & KAORU v Madusa and Meiko Satomura: From WCW Worldwide on February 9 1997 (taped November 10 1996) in Orlando Florida. That's one heck of a tape delay, even by wrestling standards. The heels attack before the bell, and the dust settles on KAORU and Meiko. Meiko manages to hook a schoolgirl for two, so Akira comes in with an assist, and the heels go to work on Satamura. Bobby Heenan is feeling extremely frisky tonight. Tag to Madusa, but Sonny Onoo interferes, allowing the heels to get control again. Medusa stupidly chases Onoo around, allowing the Hokuto to hook Meiko in a northern lights suplex at 2:31. This felt really unfocused. ¼*

Undertaker v Hunter Hearst Helmsley: From Friday Night's Main Event on September 5 1997 (taped August 23) in Chicago Illinois. This is another one I wonder why they don’t release the full show of. They have all the episodes of RAW from 1997 (including stuff like the Thursday RAW Thursday show), why not stick this in as well? Interesting looking ring here, with the classic red/white/blue ropes, but the black turnbuckles and posts. It’s a good look, actually. Hunter tries evading him in the early going, but gets caught in the corner, and wrecked. Clothesline sends HHH over the top, so he suckers Undertaker into a chase, and steals the high ground. He tries capitalizing with a backdrop, but Undertaker counters with a matslam, and he violently dumps him over the top, as Rick Rude shows up at ringside. The distraction allows HHH to sneak attack, and he dominates for a bit. Corner charge hits boot, however, and Undertaker blasts him with a clothesline. Jumping clothesline finds the mark, allowing Undertaker to start working the arm, and he delivers a ropewalk forearm. Legdrop gets two, so Chyna and Rude distract him, and then Shawn Michaels just runs in for the blatant attack for the DQ at 4:33. Just a quickie TV match to build the Undertaker/Michaels main event for Ground Zero. This would have been more effective as a full show than just this match. ½*

Shawn Michaels and Triple H v Steve Austin and Undertaker: From a WWF event on November 15 1997 in NYC, the weekend after Survivor Series. This is one of those weird ones from this period where they were shooting MSG matches on handheld. Shawn and Undertaker start, and Michaels manages to unload a bit in the corner, but Undertaker quickly turns the tables. Undertaker with a cross corner whip to send Shawn flipping over the buckles, so HHH tries coming in, but gets quickly thumped. Tag to Austin, and Steve puts Hunter in a wristlock. Steve works the part, looking pretty good for a guy barely coming off of a major injury. Clothesline gets two, so Hunter pokes him in the eyes, and passes back to Shawn. Michaels comes in with fists of fury, so Austin forces a criss cross, and tackles him with a Thesz press. Shawn counters with a sunset cradle for two, reversed by Austin for two. Criss cross allows Steve a backdrop, and a clothesline follows, ahead of a tag back to Undertaker. Undertaker sends Shawn pinballing across the ring with a turnbuckle smash, and a trip to the outside sees Shawn eat the post a few times. Inside, Undertaker tries the ropewalk forearm, but Shawn crotches him, and Undertaker ends up on the outside. HHH and Chyna attack out there, and Undertaker gets a helping of the post as well. DX go to work on Undertaker, until Austin gets the hot tag, and Roseanne Barr the door! Stunner on Helmsley gets two when Shawn saves, and he bashes Steve’s knee into the post to calm him down. The heels cut the ring in half on their new victim, until Steve fights off a double team, and Undertaker gets the tag. Chokeslams for both heels, and the tombstone finishes Michaels clean at 13:00. Well, I definitely wasn’t expecting that finish. Pretty bland, but there were some spicy bits early on, especially from Shawn. * ¼ 

Stairway to Hell Match: The Dudley Boyz v Sandman, Tommy Dreamer, and Spike Dudley: From ECW A Matter of Respect, May 16 1998 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. They take forever to get going here, and even after the bell sounds, we get a long debate over who is going to start, with D-Von Dudley insisting on Tommy Dreamer. The babyfaces oblige, and… nothing much happens. Tags made to Bubba Dudley and Spike, and Bubba uses his size advantage to his… advantage. Powerbomb knocks Spike silly, but he manages to get a few takedowns in before Bubba passes to Big Dick Dudley. Spike tags out to Sandman instead of mixing it up, and Sandman counters a powerbomb with a seated senton for two. They spill to the outside, triggering a brawl from all the participants, and thank GOD, because them working a regular six-man for ten minutes has been brutal. Dreamer hits Bubba with a slingshot splash for two, but Bubba fights back with a side suplex, and they spill back to the outside. D-Von and Spike switch in, and Spike wins a reversal sequence with a rana, followed by a swinging bulldog. He tries a dive off the middle next, but D-Von catches him in a powerslam for two, and they spill to the outside so Dick and Sandman can switch in. Dick goes upstairs for a dive, but Sandman pulls him into a tree of woe to stop it, as Tommy hangs Bubba in one. Tommy rushes over to help Spike do the same with D-Von, and even poor Sign Guy Dudley ends up in one in the name of symmetry. That leads to four simultaneous dropkicks with chairs (with Beulah delivering the fourth to Sign Guy), so Joel Gertner comes in to protest, and the boys let Beulah have this one. She rakes his chest, so Joel forces a kiss on her, but that gets him kicked downstairs. The referee protests, so Beulah gives him the same, and DDTs both of them. The boys come in armed with chairs, but the Boyz are recovering, so they bash them with the chairs instead of focusing on Gertner. Dreamer brings a ladder in to bulldog D-Von on, but a flying splash misses, and Dreamer wipes out on the ladder. That allows D-Von a 2nd rope legdrop on a ladder covered Dreamer, but Spike comes in before any more damage can be done, and he cleans house. That allows Tommy to climb the ladder, but Dick tips him over before he can get the barbed wire. Sandman goes crazy with the ladder in response, and Spike dives off of Sandman’s shoulders at Dick, but gets caught in a sitout powerbomb. That allows Bubba to crucifix powerbomb Spike onto the ladder, and he manages to retrieve the wire. D-Von side suplexes Tommy onto the wire, but Spike comes in with it to save. He tries a dive off the ladder, but Bubba catches him in a cutter, only for Sandman to break the resulting pin at two. That allows Spike an acid drop on the ladder, and Sandman gives Bubba a hotshot for good measure. D-Von comes in, but Sandman is ready with a DDT for him, and that’s enough at 24:12. The first ten minutes of this, where they were working the match straight, were unbearably boring, but it got much better once it turned into a garbage brawl. Not good in the technical sense, but entertaining. * ¾ 

Super Loco v El Hijo Del Santo: From the debut episode of WWF Super Astros, November 22 1998 (taped November 1) in Austin Texas. The description for this one on the Network (‘Super Crazy appears as Super Loco on Super Astros’) is a thing of beauty.  They trade off on the mat to start, dominated by Santo. He works a headscissors hold, but Loco makes the ropes, and uses a firemans slam to set up a springboard flying moonsault for two. Springboard flying splash follows, and another firemans slam sets up a flying corkscrew splash, but Santo dodges. Santo comes back with a pair of bulldogs, and a backdrop allows him to go up with a flying headbutt ahead of a camel clutch at 4:00. *

Malia Hosaka v Starla Sexton: From WCW Worldwide on December 26 1998 (taped December 15) in Palmetto Florida. Hosaka dominates early on, but a clothesline gets countered with a sunset cradle for two. Starla works a wristlock, but Hosaka goes to the eyes, and hooks a cravat. Spinkick finds the mark, as does a clothesline, and Hosaka chokes her a bit. Hosaka with a pair of legdrops to the groin, but a criss cross ends badly when Sexton hooks a headscissors takedown. Hosaka tries coming back with a bodypress, but Starla ducks it, and delivers a gutwrench suplex for one. Suplex, but Hosaka counters with an inverted DDT for two. She adds a kick to the head, and a rana gets her two, but Starla pulls out a victory roll to pick up the win at 4:33. *

ECW World Title Three-Way Dance: Steve Corino v Justin Credible v Sandman: From ECW Holiday Hell, December 23 2000 in Philly, in the dying days of the promotion. This is elimination rules. Corino tries attacking Sandman to kick start the match, but Sandman fights him off, and then ends Justin flipping over the buckles with a corner whip. Sandman corner whips Steve as well before dumping him to the outside, and he takes a moment to load the ring with chairs and a piece of the guardrail. Meanwhile, Corino and Credible ignore him and brawl through the crowd. Back to the ring, Sandman vertical superplexes Corino onto a pile of chairs and rail, but Justin sneaks in and covers them both for two. Sandman pops Credible with his cane, allowing Steve a neckbreaker, and Justin is eliminated at 3:52. Sandman tees off on Corino with the cane, and he calls for the fans to throw him a chair - leading to the ring filling with chairs when the moron fans can’t control themselves. Well, can’t say the promotion wasn’t unique. Sandman DDTs Corino in the pile of chairs, but a flying somersault senton splash misses, and Steve gives him a neckbreaker on the sea of chairs for two. Sandman grabs the title belt, but slips on the chairs before he can use it, and Corino nails him with a cowbell to retain at 7:21. This was notable for being the main event of the last ECW show ever held at the ECW Arena before the promotion folded the following month. ¼*

Kane v Leviathan: From OVW Christmas Chaos, January 31 2001 in Louisville Kentucky. Leviathan is a young Batista, and his manager issues a challenge to Steve Austin on his behalf. That would have actually been a pretty big match, if the timing had aligned. Jim Cornette is calling this one solo, which is certainly a choice. Leviathan knocks him around in the early going, but loses a clothesline when Kane throws a jumping clothesline. Sidewalk slam follows, but Leviathan blocks a chokeslam, and delivers a belly-to-belly suplex. Clothesline sends Kane over the top, and Leviathan follows to smash his face into the guardrail. Inside, Leviathan tries a backdrop, but Kane DDTs him. Irish whip, but Leviathan reverses, and delivers a spinebuster for two. Front-powerslam, but Kane fights him off, and dives with a flying clothesline. Tombstone, but Leviathan slips free, bumping the referee in the process. Kane manages the chokeslam, but there’s no one to count. That allows Synn (Leviathan’s manager) to run in, but Kane fights her off. The distractions allows Leviathan a spear, however, so the Hardy Boyz run out to make the save. And then Steve Austin hits the ring, and Leviathan eats a stunner! That allows Kane a chokeslam, and he drags the battered referee back in to count the fall at 7:04. The overbooking made this fun, even if it’s not a technical marvel. *

Brock Lesnar v Randy Orton: WWF TV taping dark match, November 30 2001 in Wichita Kansas. This is the first ever meeting between the two. Kind of shocking that Brock is still doing dark matches here, and he’d be world champion less than a year later, and headlining WrestleMania just sixteen months down the line. That’s some Yokozuna level rise. Also shocking: the low quality of the video here. They had better quality stuff from the mid-80s, this is grainy as shit. Brock fights off some offense and overhead suplexes him, but a corner charge misses, and Randy traps him in a cross-armbreaker. Brock powers to a vertical base with a powerbomb to escape, and he works Randy over. Orton tries a schoolboy for two, but quickly gets tackled into the corner, and Lesnar unloads. Spinning side suplex gets two, but Orton blocks a front-powerslam, and goes up with a flying bodypress for two. Backslide gets two, and a sunset flip is worth two, but a charge gets him powerslammed at 5:51. This was messy and unfocused, but a worthy inclusion. ¼*

Brock Lesnar v Rico Costantino: WWF TV taping dark match January 7 2002 in NYC. This is Lesnar’s first MSG appearance, and it was the dark opener that night, with the building not even a quarter full yet. That makes for a very interesting visual, especially since they’re lighting all the seats up. The ‘d end up getting over 13,000 for this show, but I’d guess there’s less than 3,000 in the building at this point. Rico uses some speed to take Lesnar down for a cross-armbreaker, but Brock powerbombs his way out of the hold. He slams Rico around, until Rico tries a brief comeback, but takes a front-powerslam at 4:18. The 3,000 people who were there were completely disinterested in this. Again, kind of crazy to think that here he is jerking the curtain before the fans have even showed up at the venue, and by the time the year is out, he’d have been world champion, and held victories over Hulk Hogan, Rock, and Undertaker. DUD

Hurricane v AJ Styles: From WWF Jakked on January 26 2002 (taped January 21) in Greenville South Carolina, in AJ’s second ever match for the promotion (and first televised). Hurricane works a headlock to start, as the announcers hype up the following night’s episode of Heat. They were actually hyping those? Hurricane with a headscissors takedown for two, and he works a straightjacket, as the announcers talk about literally anything other than the match. Good use of time though, not like this is anything other than a squash, but at least put over the guy being featured a little bit more. AJ with a brainbuster to turn it around, and he works a chinlock, but a big boot misses, and Hurricane drops him with a neckbreaker. 2nd rope somersault neckbreaker follows, but AJ blocks an inverted DDT, and plants a superkick. That allows AJ to get to the top for a flying shooting star press, but Hurricane rolls out of the way, and finishes with the vertebreaker at 4:34. This was a solid little match. *

Albert v Bobby Rude: From WWE Velocity, October 19 2002 (taped October 15) in Toronto Ontario Canada, in Robert Roode’s second televised match for the promotion (and only third overall). Kind of crazy that Rude was already 26 years old at this point. Albert dominates him, but Rude keeps slipping away, and swiping at the leg. Albert shakes him off with an overhead backbreaker, and an avalanche follows, as the announcers hype up what sounds like a pretty awesome episode of Smackdown. Albert with a headvice, so Rude tries swiping at the leg again, but walks into a powerslam. Albert tries a pump-splash, but Bobby dodges, as the announcers hype up Rock’s new Scorpion King movie, back in the days when him opening at the top of the box office was still a novelty. Rude with a missile dropkick for two, but Albert fights him off with a bicycle kick at 4:40. *

Eddie Guerrero v Nova: From OVW TV on November 23 2002 (taped November 20) in Louisville Kentucky, and this is Guerrero’s one and only appearance in OVW. Are yellow and black, like, the official colors of learning the art of professional wrestling, or something? Feeling out process to start, as Jim Cornette does a great job of getting the story over, basically positioning Nova as Rocky Balboa in the original film, talking about how if he can even go the distance with the big star, that would be as big a get as a victory. Nova manages a bulldog for two, and he tries sinking his teeth into a headlock, but Eddie fights him off in the corner. Nova manages a monkeyflip and a dropkick to put Guerrero on the outside, and he tries a plancha, but Guerrero dodges. Eddie with a bodyslam on the floor, and he sends Nova into the guardrail for daring to hang with him. Eddie with a slingshot somersault senton splash for two, and he grounds Nova in a chinlock. Nova fights free, so Guerrero puts him back down with a backelbow, but Nova counters a side suplex with a dropkick. He tries slowing it down with a headlock, but Guerrero clotheslines him, and puts him in a camel clutch. After suitably wearing him down, Guerrero toys with him with jabs, and he uses a gory special, but Nova armdrags free. Guerrero responds by clotheslining him for two, and he grounds him in an armbar. Nova escapes and manages a powerslam, so Eddie goes back to the trusty clothesline, but Nova blocks him with an STO this time. He mounts a comeback, and hits an inverted DDT for two. German suplex, but Guerrero blocks. Dragon suplex, but Guerrero blocks that as well, so Nova uses a cradle for two. Swinging DDT gets him two, but Guerrero counters a package brainbuster with a side suplex, and he goes up for the flying frogsplash, but Nova dodges. That allows Nova to try a big charge, but Eddie shoves the referee into his place. That allows Damager to run in with a sitout powerbomb on Nova, and Guerrero dives with the frogsplash at 12:15. This was a really well booked TV match, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wish the finish saw Guerrero outsmart Nova on his own, but at least they used the interference to further a feud that existed within the promotion, so I won’t take any points off for it. ***

Todd Hansen v Brian Black: WWE TV taping dark match on May 2 2005 in Boston Massachusetts. Hansen is future viking Ivar. We get a fun bit with Lilian Garcia opening the show for the live crowd ahead of the introductions, and Hansen grabs a side-headlock right away. Black fights him off with a knee on the ropes (triggering a pretty hilarious coughing-sell from Todd), but Hansen fights back with a pair of hiptosses, and he goes to the ground with another headlock. Black fights him off on the ropes again, and manages a turnbuckle smash this time, followed by a backbreaker for two. Corner whip rattles Hansen, and a snapmare sets up a bow-and-arrow. He shifts to a sleeper, but Hansen escapes, and comes back with a sloppy bodypress for two. Black cuts him off with a clothesline for two, but Todd escapes a slam, and makes a comeback. Spinkick gets him two, but he walks into a pumphandle-slam for two. Black argues the count, allowing Hansen a small package at 4:38. Nice little curtain jerker. *

Victoria v Mercedes Martinez: From WWE Heat on June 16 2006 (taped June 12) in State College Pennsylvania. This is Martinez’s first WWE match, and last until the Mae Young Classic in 2017. Victoria works a headlock to start, so Mercedes tries a somersault cradle, but only gets two. Victoria fights her off with a mat-slam and a few biels, but Mercedes manages a northern lights suplex for two. Victoria quickly fights her off again, and delivers the Widow’s Peak at 3:12. ¼*

OVW Women's Title Triple Threat Match: Beth Phoenix v Katie Lea v ODB: From OVW TV on October 14 2006 (taped October 11) in Louisville Kentucky. First fall wins this. They gang up on Beth to start, but that falls apart as soon as one of them needs to make a cover, of course. ODB bodyslams Lea for two, so Lea hooks a small package for two. Beth comes over to beat on ODB, but Lea saves, and pounds Beth in the corner. ODB saves, since everyone in this match is an idiot, apparently. Though, to be fair, that’s not specific to this match. The psychology in most modern triple threats is horrible. ODB hits Lea with a fallaway slam, but wastes time gloating, and Beth steals the cover for two. Beth corner whips ODB, but hits a boot when she charges in, and ODB delivers a series of turnbuckle smashes. 2nd rope bulldog gets her two, so she shifts back to Lea, trapping her in a bearhug. Lea fights free, but charges into a clothesline, with Beth stealing the cover again for two. ODB responds by hitting her with a swinging neckbreaker, but Lea breaks up the pin at two. ODB hangs Katie in a tree of woe for some abuse, so Beth rushes over, but takes a drop-toehold right into Lea. ODB gloats again, so Katie dives on her with a sleeper, but Beth comes over to put Katie in one, giving us a three-way sleeper. “I’ve never seen this,” notes the announcer. Poor guy’s never seen literally any triple threat match ever? Both of the announcers here sound like real southern hicks, and they’re nonstop with the sexual comments throughout. And it’s really uncomfortable, and somehow feels even worse than Jerry Lawler’s worst bits from the Attitude Era. We get a tower of doom spot, which I’m sure is also a first. Beth whacks Lea with the title belt (or ‘championship title belt,’ in hick) for two, but then Serena runs in, and the referee calls a no-contest at 11:48. This did not qualify as a Hidden Gem, as it was televised, didn’t have any notable trivia, and wasn’t a good match. ¾*

Tommaso v Jamin Olivencia: From OVW TV on March 10 2007 (taped March 7) in Louisville. The announcers note that it’s ‘Tommaso, not tomato.’ Good to know. They fight over the initial lockup, and Jamin hooks a schoolboy for two. Shoulderblock gets two, so Jamin grabs a headlock, and takes him to the mat in it. Tommaso escapes, and wins a criss cross with a Samoan drop for two, and he corner whips him for two. Chinlock takes Jamin to the mat, but he fights to a vertical base in the corner to escape. Jamin gets to the top for a flying elbowdrop, but Tommaso dodges, and delivers an inverted DDT at 3:30. I wish they’d stuck one of Ciampa’s main roster jobber appearances from late 2005/early 2006 on here instead. Not that any of them likely would have been good, but it would have been interesting, at least. ½*

Miz v Kofi Kingston: WWE TV taping dark match from March 20 2007 in Cleveland Ohio. This is Kofi’s fifth ever WWE match. I wish they’d used his first WWE match, which saw him teaming with a young Tommaso Ciampa, and would have been more of a novelty. In typical WWE weirdness, Miz is played up as the hometown boy, but he’s working heel. They trade wristlocks to start, dominated by Miz. Kingston plants a dropkick, and gets control with an armdrag into an armbar, so Miz decks him. Kingston tries a rollup, but Miz blocks, and delivers a neckbreaker for two. Miz snapmares him into a chinlock, and man, even for dark matches they’re playing to the damned hard camera. Kingston fights free, so Miz rocker drops him for two, and goes back to the chinlock. Kingston fights free with an inverted atomic drop, and he throws a spinkick. Miz tries fighting back in the corner, but walks into a roundhouse kick at 4:30. I’m surprised Kingston went over here, considering Miz was already a star at this point. ¾*

Steve Corino v Kofi Kingston: WWE TV taping dark match from December 11 2007 in Boston. It’s nine months later, and Kofi still hadn’t made it to TV yet, and wouldn’t for another three months. Meanwhile, Corino, despite being a pretty well known guy in ECW, only worked two WWE matches ever, and this is the second of them. I’m genuinely surprised he didn’t ever show up in the WWE’s ECW revival. And, even weirder, he’s now a trainer for WWE. Just such a bizarre path. Kingston armdrags him into an armbar to start, so Corino goes to the hair, but Kofi sinks his teeth into the hold. Steve throws an elbow to escape, so Kingston dropkicks him, and armdrags him right back into the hold. Steve fights to a vertical base in the corner to force a break, and he manages a backbreaker to turn the tide. Gutwrench suplex gets him two, and he ropechokes Kofi some before trying a powerbomb, but Kingston counters with a backslide for two. Schoolboy gets two, and a bodypress is worth two. Kingston tries a whip into the ropes, but Corino blocks with a legsweep for two, and he grounds Kingston in a bow-and-arrow. Kofi fights free, and a series of jabs kick off a comeback. 2nd rope bodypress gets two, and a Russian legsweep sets up the Boom Drop at 5:51. I doubt the move had a name yet, but just go with it. This was a completely watchable little wrestling match. * ¼ 

Rosa Mendes v Kaitlyn: From FCW TV on January 16 2011 (taped December 16 2010) in Tampa Florida. Rosa tries cornering her to start, but Kaitlyn backdrops her, so Rosa goes to the eyes. Rosa with a snapmare to set up a somersault cutter for two, as the announcers call Kaitlyn a ‘wiley veteran.’ She’d been in the business for literally three months at this point, to put that into perspective. Rosa work a straightjacket, but a hairpull in the corner ends badly when Kaitlyn drops her with an electric chair. Kaitlyn makes a comeback, and a bodyslam gets her two, followed by a reverse STO to finish at 4:35. DUD

FCW Fifteen Title Iron Man Match: Seth Rollins v Dean Ambrose: From FCW TV on September 18 2011 (taped August 11) in Tampa. That’s a weird name for a title. They did draws in fifteen and twenty minute Iron Man’s to set this up, and this time, with thirty minutes on the clock, there must be a winner. After some posturing, Seth gets an armbar on, and he works the part for the first five minutes, or so. Dean fights him off with chops in the corner, but Seth responds in kind, then dropkicks Ambrose to the outside. Rollins follows to slug it out with him on the floor, with the champion getting the better of it. Inside, Seth keeps pounding on him in the corner, but a dropkick misses, so Ambrose kicks him down low - drawing a DQ at 8:17. Dean capitalizes with a Samoan driver right away, tying up the score at 8:58. And, because he’s now firmly in control following the cheap shot, Ambrose is able to clothesline him to pick up the lead at 9:38. That’s some good Iron Man match psychology. 

Ten minutes in, and Dean tries the trick again with another clothesline, but Rollins bails to avoid getting covered. He knows a countout won’t save him, but he’s battered, and once inside, Ambrose stretches him in a Mexican surfboard. Rollins fights free, so Ambrose works a headvice, but Seth fights out of that as well. Dean responds with a neckbreaker for two, and a sitout facebuster is worth two. Back to the Samoan driver, but Seth is ready with a sunset cradle, tying it up at 16:12! Rollins stays on him with chops and clotheslines, and a suplex leads to a reverse STO into the middle turnbuckle. Curb stomp, but Dean dodges. He tries a charge, but Rollins dodges, and Ambrose takes a spill to the outside - Seth on him with a somersault plancha! Seth with a springboard flying clothesline for two on the way back inside, but a superkick misses. Suplex ends in both guys tumbling over the top, and both are left looking up at the lights on the outside.

Twenty minutes in, and both guys stagger in for a slugfest, and Dean gets the better of it, so Rollins pops him with an enzuigiri for two. Springboard moonsault gets him two, and a curb stomp is worth two. Flying corkscrew 450 splash looks to get the lead, but Ambrose dodges, and Seth is knocked silly. Unfortunately for the challenger, Ambrose is pretty battered, and can’t capitalize. By the time he’s able to cover, Rollins is able to kick out at two, so Dean goes for a Texas cloverleaf, but Rollins keeps blocking him. Ambrose finally gets it locked on with two minutes remaining, and Rollins is in trouble, but manages to make the ropes after forty seconds in the hold. He’s pretty wrecked, so Dean sets up a superkick of his own, but Seth counters with a Samoan driver for two! Rollins lands his superkick, but it only gets two, just as time expires at 30:00 with a tied score! Okay, so sudden death overtime, and Rollins hooks a small package for two. Ambrose fights him off in the corner, and delivers a running kneesmash for two. He tries going to the top, but Rollins knocks him to the outside with an enzuigiri, and dives with a wild tope. Back inside, the superkick connects, but Ambrose rebounds off the ropes with a clothesline! That allows him to deliver another Samaon driver, but it only gets two! Ambrose responds by taking him up for another one off the middle rope, but Rollins counters with a bucklebomb, and he plants a pair of superkicks. Dean still won’t die, however, so Seth murders him with a fisherman’s buster at 3:37 (33:37 total). These guys were both clearly going to be big stars, and this was a well worked, and dramatic Iron Man. They really worked it up into a lather by the finish, though I thought the match lacked a certain sense of urgency at points. ** ½ 

William Regal v Dean Ambrose: From FCW TV on July 15 2012 (taped June 7) in Tampa. This is their second of two matches, coming off of one Regal won in October 2011. Interestingly, those were the only two matches Regal ever worked in FCW, he clearly saw something in Ambrose from early on. We’ve got Jim Ross and Dusty Rhodes on commentary here, which is a fun combination, especially at that point in their careers. Regal suckers him into a shot early, and takes Dean down so he can work the arm. Regal takes his time stretching Dean on the mat for a long while, and a hammerlock suplex sends Dean bailing before Regal can cover. Regal responds by following to bash the arm into the steps a few times, and he takes him back inside to keep working the part. Ambrose bails again, so Regal tries sending him into the post, but Dean reverses. That buys Ambrose some time to try and pop his dislocated shoulder back in, and he manages to stay on the attack as Regal rolls himself back inside. Ambrose puts the boots to him and unloads mounted punches, then chucks Regal with a hiptoss ahead of even more mounted punches. Ambrose bashes him into an exposed turnbuckle a bunch of times until Regal starts bleeding from the ear, what looks like hardway. They bring a trainer in to check on him, and Ambrose wants to put a stop to it, but Regal is ready with a stiff punch. Regal can’t follow up, however, and with both guys down, more officials run out, and it’s called as a no-contest at 14:42. Sadly, they’d never do a rematch to properly settle this. I liked the psychology and delivery, but sometimes Regal’s matwork can be a bit much. * ¼ 

WWE United Kingdom Title Match: Pete Dunne v Mark Andrews: From an NXT event in Brighton, East Sussex, England on June 8 2017. This is filmed on handheld, which is really odd for this era. Feeling out process to start, dominated by the champion. Andrews manages to turn it around and delivers a standing moonsault for two, so Dunne punches him in the face to nip that in the bud. But then Andrews manages a tornado DDT for two to win a reversal sequence, so Dunne grabs at the arm and cuts him off again. Pete selling the neck while working the arm is a great touch. Andrews manages to slug him off, but Dunne is ready with an enzuigiri. Powerbomb, but Mark counters with a rana into a cradle for two, and another reversal sequence ends in Mark getting to the top with a flying shooting star press - only for Dunne to dodge. That allows Pete a Bitter End, and the champion retains at 9:39. Nowhere near the level of their semifinal match from the UK title tournament from January of that year, but it was a house show, I wasn’t expecting that. A worthy gem. * ½