Burning Hammer Tape Review #12
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WWE: Raw
December 09, 2002
--Taped from Knoxville, TN
--Your Hosts are JR & King
--Booker T, Goldust V. Lance Storm, William Regal. Booker & Storm have a nice little mini-wrestling match in the first minute, including a good looking Lariat by Booker. Storm gets the submission on Goldust at 5:26 with a Sharpshooter. *1Ú2 Crowd was pumped coming into this match, but jobbing the very over Booker/Goldust to the heatless Storm/Regal deflated the crowd for the rest of the night.
--Inter-Gender Match: Jacqueline V. Steven Richards. Richards gets the pin at 2:19 with a Butterfly Implant DDT. DUD Pointless squash match.
--Rob Van Dam V. Batista (W/Ric Flair). Batista wins the match by disqualification at 2:41 after Kane comes out and attacks him. 1Ú4* Squash match with a bullshit ending.
--Christopher Nowinski, D-Lo Brown V. Maven, Al Snow. Brown gets the pin on Snow at 4:54 with a Rydien Bomb. *1Ú2 Decent tag wrestling.
--Triple H (W/Ric Flair) V. Jeff Hardy. Triple H gets the pin at 4:03 after a pair of Pedigrees. 1Ú4* Extended squash match.
--Handicap Match: Kane V. 3 Minute Warning (W/Rico). Kane gets the pin on Jamal at 2:36 with a Chokeslam. DUD Another squash match.
--Inter-Gender, Table Match: Trish Stratus, Dudley Boyz V. Victoria, Chris Jericho, Christian. This would be first person put through a table loses the match for their respective team rules. Bubba goes to Powerbomb Victoria off the middle-rope and through a table, but Steven Richards comes out to break it up, and Bubba lets go of Victoria and drops her off the middle-rope and right on her head in a scary moment. Amidst all the chaos from various run-ins Jericho absolutely kills Trish with a Lariat. Trish wins the match for her team at 12:14 aired when she gives Victoria a Powerbomb off the middle-rope through a table. ** Good beginning, but a very convoluted & messy ending.
--Final Flash: Bad Raw, but par for the course during this time period.
Not Recommended
NWA: Total Nonstop Action #24
December 11, 2002
--Taped from Nashville, TN
--Your hosts are Don West & Mike Tenay
--Jason Cross V. Tony Mamaluke. Cross is a southern indy worker who's best known for his finisher, while Mamaluke had a brief stint in WCW as Tony Marinara, and also wrestled in ECW as a member of the FBI. Mamaluke was trained by Dean Malenko, and it's very evident in the mat based submission style that he uses, but unlike Malenko, he's never really been able to put together a more complete package. Cross lands a Corkscrew Plancha to the outside on Mamaluke. Cross hits a middle-rope Tomikaze to set up his SWANK~ Shooting Star Legdrop, but he can't make the cover due to all the leg work that Mamaluke had previously done to his knee. The injury allows Mamaluke to take advantage with a Kneebreaker into a Dragon Screw Legwhip into a Sicilian Crab, which gets the submission at 6:30. **3Ú4 Some nice work overall, with a blistering hot finishing sequence. Match was a little disjointed in the middle, but Mamaluke managed to keep the match grounded and hold it together.
--Kid Kash V. Jorge Estrada. Kash gets the pin at 5:16 with a messed up Cradlebreaker. 3/4* When Don West points out how lost you look in the ring, you know you're got some problems.
--America's Most Wanted V. Divine Storm (W/Trinity). James hits a nice Frankensteiner on Storm, who then comes back and hits James with a nice Hurricanrana of his own. SWEET~ spot as James skins the cat to avoid a Baseball Slide Dropkick by Storm, then Backdrop Suplexes Divine over the top onto Storm, and then James follows them out with a Double Jump Plancha on both guys, & Harris finishes the sequence by nailing all three guys with a Plancha. Divine gets the pin on James at 6:57 with a Rollup after a Trinity Low Blow. *** Good, fast paced, tag wrestling, with no real need for the Trinity interference.
--AJ Styles (W/Mortimer Plumtree) V. Amazing Red. Styles catches Red in a Plancha attempt to the outside, and turns it into a SWEET~ Powerbomb Backbreaker. Red goes for a Swinging DDT off the middle-rope, but Styles catches him and plants him with a Northern Lights Suplex Whip. Lyger Bomb by Styles gets a close 2. Red gets the pin at 12:06 with an Avalanche Frankensteiner where Styles takes an insane face first bump. *** Good match, and good job of playing to the wrestlers strengths. Styles was in control for most of the match & kept Red grounded, which didn't allow him to go spot happy at any point in the match.
--NWA Tag Team Championship Match: Harris Boys V. Disciples Of The New Church (W/Father James Mitchell & Belladonna). The Disciples are Brian Lee & Slash in this match. Harris' win match and the tiles at 4:17 after BG James interferes with a chair, but Percival Pringle, otherwise known as Paul Bearer, comes down for no reason and convinces the referee to reverse his decision to a disqualification win for the disciples at 4:17. 1Ú2* Lots of punching & kicking disguised as a wrestling match.
--NWA X Championship Match: Sonny Siaki V. Jerry Lynn. Nice chain wrestling to start, with Lynn schooling Siaki on the mat, and controlling him at will. Lynn hits a Slingshot Legdrop onto the prone body of Siaki on the apron. Cradle Piledriver by Lynn, but a ref bump means there's no one to count. Siaki wins the match and the title at 11:58 with a Siakalypse to Lynn who was seated on the top-rope following interference from the yet to be named, Desire. **1Ú2 Other than the first couple of minutes, they couldn't really get a flow going, and Siaki has never really fit into the X Division style.
--Chains & Chairs Match: Truth V. BG James. The concept is that both guys are attached at the wrist with a steel chain, which runs through a chair. The whole idea goes awry when both guys become detached from the chains almost right away. Truth gets the pin at 4:03 after hitting James with a Facebuster on a chair. DUD Terrible concept for a match.
--NWA Heavyweight Championship Match: Curt Hennig V. Jeff Jarrett. Hennig uses a lot of leg work that doesn't really go anywhere, and the moment Jarrett goes on offense he completely forgets about all the work that's been done to his leg. Jarrett gets the pin at 8:10 with a Lateral Press after Vince Russo hit Hennig in the head with a couple of weak guitar shots. *1Ú2 Not a thing Hennig did mattered in this match, since everything was just leading up to another screw job finish.
--Final Flash: Some good matches on this show, but still nothing worth checking out on its own.
Not Recommended
WWE: Smackdown
December 12, 2002
--Taped from Atlanta, GA
--Your hosts are Tazz & Michael Cole
--Rikishi V. B-2 (W/John Cena). B-2 is Bull Buchanan in yet another of his many failed gimmicks. This was during the very annoying "Rikishi just loves to have fun" time, and if I have to hear Michael Cole say that one more time I can't be held responsible for what may happen to him. B-2 gets the pin at 2:41 after Cena knocks out Rikishi with a shot to the head from his lock chain. DUD Pointless non-squash "squash" match.
--Shannon Moore V. Bill DeMott. Brief match as DeMott gets the pin at 1:39 to continue his reign of terror over the cruiserweights with a Moonsault Press. DUD Squash match.
--WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship Match: Billy Kidman, Chris Benoit V. Los Guerreros. Eddie & his nephew Chavo Jr. are all-world workers Los Guerreros & the purveyors of everything that is SWANK~. Guerreros choose Kidman to be their designated bitch for this match & isolate and beat the crap out of him in various ways for the first half of the match. Guerreros pull a page out of the Hot Shots book with a double team Rolling Legbar Slam on Kidman. Kidman misses a Shooting Star Press attempt which allows Eddie to get a Rollup for the pin at 11:47 aired. ***1Ú2 Real good tag wrestling, and Guerreros make the perfect heel team, cutting off every comeback that the faces make, and cheating at every turn until they eventually win the match.
--Jamie Noble (W/Nidia) V. Crash. Nunzio, Little Guido from ECW, makes his WWE debut as Noble's cousin and attacks Crash to give him the disqualification win at 2:08. 1Ú2* Filler match, and Nunzio's role as Noble's cousin would last a grand total of around three weeks until not one person in the WWE, sans Josh Mathews, acknowledged that they were related.
--Big Show (W/Paul Heyman), A-Train V. Edge, Kurt Angle. Rolling Germans by Angle on Train, and he stops at three. Show hits Angle with a nice Overhead Powerbomb. Angle gets consecutive Angle Slams on Train & Show, but Heyman distracts him long enough for Show to recover and hit a Chokeslam for the pin at 11:22. ** Good effort, but it would have been better if Train had wrestled the bulk of the time for his team rather than Show.
--Final Flash: Good tag title match, but nothing else worth your time.
Not Recommended.
WWE: Velocity
December 14, 2002
--Taped from Atlanta, GA
--Your hosts are Josh Mathews & Ernest Miller
--Shawn Evans V. Matt Hardy. Matt Facts- Matt's Favorite Band Is Pearl Jam/Matt Was Always On The Honor Roll. Hardy gets the pin at 5:09 with a Diamond Cutter. * Extended squash match.
--Johnny Slaughter V. Chuck Palumbo. Slaughter tires a top-rope Hurricanrana, but Palumbo catches him and nails him with a vicious Powerbomb. Palumbo gets the pin at 3:26 with a Superkick. 1Ú2* Squash match.
--CG Afi V. Funaki. Afi is Tony Mamaluke, just with a stupid WWE name, I guess CG Afi sounds so much more better than Tony Mamaluke. Funaki tries a Springboard Crossbody, but Afi cuts it off with a Dropkick to Funaki's gut. Funaki gets the pin at 3:29 with an Iconoclasm. 3Ú4* Squash match, and Funaki wasn't the guy getting squashed.
--WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match: Chavo Guerrero Jr. V. Billy Kidman. These two were in the beginning of a budding feud over the cruiserweight title at this point, but unfortunately the WWE dropped it before anymore good matches could happen. Kidman hits a SWANK~ Slingshot Headscissors. Guerrero hits a wicked Powerbomb for 2. Kidman wins the match by disqualification at 5:58 when Eddie Guerrero runs in and attacks him. **1Ú4 Match was lacking a certain spark to it, but it was still a good match for what it was.
--Final Flash: Not the best Velocity, unless you're a fan of squash matches, then this is so the Velocity for you.
Not Recommended
WWE: Heat
December 15, 2002
--Taped from Ft. Lauderdale, FL
--Your hosts are Coach & Lita, JR & King
--Jeff Hardy V. D-Lo Brown. Hardy manages to screw up a Sunset Flip, and both guys collapse to the mat as a result. Hardy gets the pin at 4:58 after a pair of reversals off of his own Crossbody. 3Ú4* Sloppy, and not a pretty match to watch at all.
--Final Flash: It's the Heat before a PPV, what do you expect.
Not Recommended
WWE: Armageddon 2002
December 15, 2002
--Taped from Ft. Lauderdale, FL
--Your hosts are Tazz & Michael Cole, JR & King
--WWE Tag Team Championship, Fatal 4 Way Elimination Match: Dudley Boyz V. William Regal, Lance Storm V. Booker T, Goldust V. Chris Jericho, Christian. Regal gets the pin on Bubba to eliminate the Dudleys at 5:17 with a screwed up Rollup. Goldust gets the pin on Regal to eliminate his team at 5:33 with a Powerslam. Goldust misses a Crossbody and takes his insane "skid off the mat and out to the ring floor" bump. Jericho & Christian do a good job of isolating Goldust, and focusing their attack on him to further the story of him being the weak link on his team. JR & King actually do a good job of adding to the story in their bickering on commentary over whether or not Goldust is actually the weak link, and King presents such a good argument that he almost convinces JR that he is the weak link. Goldust fights off Jericho & Christian and is finally able to tag Booker into the match. Booker reverses a Jericho Boston Crab attempt into a Small Package for a close 2 count. Middle-rope Gourdbuster followed up by a Missile Dropkick by Booker on Jericho gets another close 2 count. Jericho nails Booker with a beltshot to the face, and follows up with a Lionsault that gets a close 2 for his team. Booker gets the pin and the titles at 16:44 with a Book End on Jericho. ***1Ú4 Good match, although the other two teams being involved in the match was pointless, since this was all about Booker/Goldust & Jericho/Christian. Booker & Goldust finally overcame all the odds to win the belts with Goldust more than holding his own to finally shed the image of him being the weak link on the team.
--Edge V. A-Train. Edge goes for a top-rope Double Axehandle, but Train counters with a Bicycle Kick to his head. Edge wins the match via disqualification at 7:12 when Train attacks him with a chair. *1Ú2 Match never really went anywhere, and it had a stupid ending tacked on.
--Eddie Guerrero V. Chris Benoit. SWEET~ back & forth mat wrestling opens things up, but when Benoit starts getting the best of Guerrero, Eddie says "fuck this wrestling shit", and lays into Benoit with some Knifehand Chops, and smartly backs away before Benoit can retaliate with any of his own. Guerrero takes over after a top-rope Plancha to the outside on Benoit, and focuses on Benoit's leg, hoping to keep Benoit on the ground, but Benoit eventually fights out and gets the Rolling Germans, stopping at five. Guerrero then gets some Rolling Germans of his own, stopping at three. Eddie hits a Frog Splash, but only gets 2. Eddie distracts the ref, allowing Chavo Guerrero Jr. to come out and nail Benoit in the head with his tag title belt on the outside, but Eddie only gets 2 off of it. Eddie gets a Drop Toehold and seamlessly transitions to the Lasso From El Paso in a SWANK~ sequence, but Benoit manages to make the ropes. Vicious Wild Bomb by Benoit, which allows him to hit the Kamikaze Headbutt, but both guys are knocked out from the impact. Eddie recovers first and gets the Lasso From El Paso, but Benoit counters to a Crossface, and then right when Eddie is about to make the ropes he switches to the other arm, cutting Eddie off from the ropes, and rolls through while still holding onto the Crossface to get the submission win at 16:47. ****1Ú4 Awesome match, both guys know each other so well that you never know when the match might end. Eddie does need to bring back the Lasso From El Paso though, it added depth to his character, and gave him an alternate finisher to the Frog Splash.
--Kane V. Batista (W/Ric Flair). Batista goes for a Demon Bomb, but he can't hold up Kane, so he drops him down on his stomach in a terrible botch. Batista gets the pin at 6:39 with another Demon Bomb. DUD Bad match, both guys moved so slow that you could tell what move they were going for before they even started going for the move.
--WWE Women's Championship, Triple Threat Match: Trish Stratus V. Jacqueline V. Victoria. First pinfall/submission wins the match rules are in effect. Victoria hits a wicked Superplex on Trish for a 2 count. Victoria gets the pin on Jacqueline at 4:28 with a Lateral Press after hitting her in the head with the title belt. 3Ú4* Disjointed mess, and there was no real reason for Jacqueline to be in the match at all, she was blown up a minute in, and didn't add anything to the match.
--WWE Heavyweight Championship Match: Kurt Angle V. Big Show (W/Paul Heyman). Show counters a Guillotine Choke by Angle into a Fireman's Carry Throw over the top-rope, where Angle lands on top of Heyman, knocking him out for most of the match. Angle hits a messed up Tornado DDT to knock both guys out. Angle nails Show with a Yakuza Kick to set up a Missile Dropkick that gets a 2 count. Moonsault by Angle, but Show is out of position, so Angle doesn't fully connect with it & only gets 2. Angle with an Angle Slam for a close 2 count. Show kicks his way out of an Anklelock, which results in a ref bump. A-Train runs in and gives Angle a Canadian Backbreaker, but no still no ref. Now Brock Lesnar runs in and gives Show an F-5 which allows Angle to get the pin at 12:37 with a Lateral Press. **1Ú2 For the first minute I thought Show was going to be able to stay with Angle, but he quickly faded back into his old Show form, and this turned into the Kurt Angle show, as he wrestled his ass off to try and get a good match out of Show.
--WCW Heavyweight Championship, 2/3 Falls, Streetfight, Cage, Ladder Match: Triple H (W/Ric Flair) V. V. Shawn Michaels. The 1st fall is a streetfight, the 2nd fall is a cage match, and the 3rd fall, if necessary, is a ladder match. I don't care what the WWE calls it, this belt is the WCW Heavyweight Championship belt. Flair is tossed from ringside before the match can begin. Michaels counters a Triple H Sideslam attempt with a Sideslam of his own onto the seat of a chair. You know that the match has bad psychology when King points out the stupidity of Michaels for not going after the heavily bandaged right leg of Triple H, which JR Tries to salvage by saying that Triple H's back has a big bullseye on it, which just illustrates how bad JR has gotten as a commentator. Triple H slaps on a Figure Four Leglock, and I'm beginning to wonder why this is a streetfight, since there's plenty of wrestling going on, but not that much fighting, let alone the type you'd see on the streets. Triple H lumbers his way to the back where he grabs a flaming barbed wire 2x4 , and by the time he finally hobbles back to where Michaels is at I'm sure as hell hoping that Michaels counters whatever Triple H tries, and thankfully he does and whacks Triple H in the head with the flaming barbed wire 2x4. Back in the ring Triple H gets a Drop Toehold onto a chair, followed by a DDT to set up a Pedigree for the pin to win the 1st fall at 20:34. Flair comes back to ringside halfway during the 2nd fall & takes forever setting up some tables on the outside, while Triple H & Michaels engage in some of the lamest fighting I've ever seen on top of the cage, and then just drop back into the ring, meaning they've just wasted four minutes for absolutely no reason. Michaels gets the pin at 31:08 to win the 2nd fall with a Splash off the top of the cage on Triple H who was on a table. Michaels goes to give Triple H a Vertical Suplex onto a ladder, but ends up totally missing the ladder. Triple H follows up that stellar effort with a terrible looking Pedigree. Triple H shoves the ladder over with Michaels on it, sending him crashing through the stacks of table on the outside, in a spot borrowed from TLC II. Triple H gets the win and the title at 38:32 after climbing the ladder and grabbing the belt. ** Way too long of a match for the participants involved. Triple H could hardly walk, and Michaels can't work matches this long anymore. The psychology was all over the place, and the slow pace that Triple H & Michaels worked by lumbering throughout the whole match didn't help matters any.
--Final Flash: One more match that was above the *** mark and I would recommend this, but as it is, find the Guerrero/Benoit match if you can, but otherwise pass on this event.
Not Recommended
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