Monday, 17th May, 2004;
The word bloodbath comes to mind when I think back to the early hours of this morning, and the main event of WWE's latest pay-per-view offering, Judgement Day.
What seemed like an overly long episode of Smackdown was headlined by WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero going up against the 21st century's answer to the Million Dollar Man, John Bradshaw Layfield.
After a vicious chair shot by Bradshaw, the juice flowed readily from Guerrero's head, and within minutes, the ring was covered in claret. It was by far the most gruesome display since Zach Gowen busted Vince McMahon open last year.
While it seems that everyone else had their doubts about this match, for me, it was an entertaining contest, and the win for Bradshaw, by disqualification, served it's purpose. I'm sorry to have to inform all of you smart marks out there, but it looks like this feud's going to continue for a while.
As for the other matches on the card, they were all entertaining in their own way, but the award for most impressive thing of the night goes to Mordecai's entrance. This guy has been taking stick even though last night was his first television appearance. The jury is still out on this unique character.
After the recent Jim Cornette Shoot Interview, I had a feeling that anything coming after this would be something of a let down. I was wrong.
If anything, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan is more of a managing legend than Cornette is. While Cornette's interview had some great stories, Heenan's was full of classic one-liners, for which he was famed for during his years as both a manager and an announcer in the WWF.
I was in stitches several times during this interview, the guy is that funny, but I couldn't help but feel sorry with what's happened to him over the past few years, with the way he was treated in WCW, and his battle with throat cancer.
I really hope that the WWE, or any other organisation for that matter, can find a home for this man's talents. Bobby Heenan and professional wrestling belong together. They should never be apart.
Tuesday, 18th May, 2004;
Overseas night on the wrestling channel, highlighted tonight by an outstanding New Japan wrestling show.
First up we had Hiroyoshi Tenzen defending his IWGP title against former champion Kensuke Sasaki. The story of how Tenzen won the title, apparently by accident, has been covered a great deal recently. His losing effort to Sasaki showed that perhaps his title win should have been booked in the first place. He certainly impressed me with his performance in this match.
This was followed up by a tag-team match involving the most exposed man on TWC, Christopher Daniels, here using his Curry Man gimmick, teaming with the American Dragon as they won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag-Team Championship (pauses to catch breath) from the top Japanese team of Gedo and Jado.
I've heard a great deal about Gedo and Jado in the past couple of years, and they certainly lived up to the hype, and I can see why they are regarded by many as Japan's premier tag-team at the moment.
All in all, a very entertaining hour of wrestling from the Orient here, and certainly better than the somewhat dull offering from Pro Wrestling NOAH.
Wednesday, 19th May, 2004;
After the disappointing main event of last week's TNA show, the group returned to form with a David v Goliath main event, pitting one of the best stars on the independent circuit, A.J. Styles, against Jeff Jarrett's latest henchman, the monster Abyss.
This bout was highly entertaining, even though there was a distinct difference in styles here. Both wrestlers impressed me, and Abyss has sort of won me over in the past few weeks.
One thing that does bother me about Abyss, is that he seems to be nothing more than a cheaper version of Kane, circa 1997. The big man shows a lot of raw talent, and I wouldn't be surprised if big man lover Vince McMahon has been keeping an eye on this guy recently.
Another good show from the Jarretts here. This is definitely the best American show on the channel.
Thursday 20th-Saturday 22nd May, 2004;
This service is temporarily unavailable. (If MMK is up to speed, either visit The Two Sheds Review of the show reviews section of this site, and you'll see why!)
Sunday, 23rd May, 2004;
Supercard Sunday has come around again, and with my show review writing schedule now complete, I sat down to watch a night filled with the greatest hits of A.J. Styles.By now you've probably read that I've become a fan of Styles' work, and the matches shown here were a good example of just how good this guy is, even though I had seen many of them on various shows on TWC before.
One criticism I do have about this presentation is it's length. A profile show like this really doesn't need a four hour time slot. TWC could have used half of this time to showcase Styles' talents, and then use the other two hours to showcase someone else's talents. It was a good show, but this kind of thing doesn't really feel right in the Supercard slot.
Highlight of the week: The New Japan show featuring Tenzen v Sasaki. An entertaining hour from the Orient.
Lowlight of the week: Missing three days worth of televised wrestling action. But then again, there's nothing like seeing a show live and in person! You can't beat the atmosphere!
The word bloodbath comes to mind when I think back to the early hours of this morning, and the main event of WWE's latest pay-per-view offering, Judgement Day.
What seemed like an overly long episode of Smackdown was headlined by WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero going up against the 21st century's answer to the Million Dollar Man, John Bradshaw Layfield.
After a vicious chair shot by Bradshaw, the juice flowed readily from Guerrero's head, and within minutes, the ring was covered in claret. It was by far the most gruesome display since Zach Gowen busted Vince McMahon open last year.
While it seems that everyone else had their doubts about this match, for me, it was an entertaining contest, and the win for Bradshaw, by disqualification, served it's purpose. I'm sorry to have to inform all of you smart marks out there, but it looks like this feud's going to continue for a while.
As for the other matches on the card, they were all entertaining in their own way, but the award for most impressive thing of the night goes to Mordecai's entrance. This guy has been taking stick even though last night was his first television appearance. The jury is still out on this unique character.
After the recent Jim Cornette Shoot Interview, I had a feeling that anything coming after this would be something of a let down. I was wrong.
If anything, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan is more of a managing legend than Cornette is. While Cornette's interview had some great stories, Heenan's was full of classic one-liners, for which he was famed for during his years as both a manager and an announcer in the WWF.
I was in stitches several times during this interview, the guy is that funny, but I couldn't help but feel sorry with what's happened to him over the past few years, with the way he was treated in WCW, and his battle with throat cancer.
I really hope that the WWE, or any other organisation for that matter, can find a home for this man's talents. Bobby Heenan and professional wrestling belong together. They should never be apart.
Tuesday, 18th May, 2004;
Overseas night on the wrestling channel, highlighted tonight by an outstanding New Japan wrestling show.
First up we had Hiroyoshi Tenzen defending his IWGP title against former champion Kensuke Sasaki. The story of how Tenzen won the title, apparently by accident, has been covered a great deal recently. His losing effort to Sasaki showed that perhaps his title win should have been booked in the first place. He certainly impressed me with his performance in this match.
This was followed up by a tag-team match involving the most exposed man on TWC, Christopher Daniels, here using his Curry Man gimmick, teaming with the American Dragon as they won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag-Team Championship (pauses to catch breath) from the top Japanese team of Gedo and Jado.
I've heard a great deal about Gedo and Jado in the past couple of years, and they certainly lived up to the hype, and I can see why they are regarded by many as Japan's premier tag-team at the moment.
All in all, a very entertaining hour of wrestling from the Orient here, and certainly better than the somewhat dull offering from Pro Wrestling NOAH.
Wednesday, 19th May, 2004;
After the disappointing main event of last week's TNA show, the group returned to form with a David v Goliath main event, pitting one of the best stars on the independent circuit, A.J. Styles, against Jeff Jarrett's latest henchman, the monster Abyss.
This bout was highly entertaining, even though there was a distinct difference in styles here. Both wrestlers impressed me, and Abyss has sort of won me over in the past few weeks.
One thing that does bother me about Abyss, is that he seems to be nothing more than a cheaper version of Kane, circa 1997. The big man shows a lot of raw talent, and I wouldn't be surprised if big man lover Vince McMahon has been keeping an eye on this guy recently.
Another good show from the Jarretts here. This is definitely the best American show on the channel.
Thursday 20th-Saturday 22nd May, 2004;
This service is temporarily unavailable. (If MMK is up to speed, either visit The Two Sheds Review of the show reviews section of this site, and you'll see why!)
Sunday, 23rd May, 2004;
Supercard Sunday has come around again, and with my show review writing schedule now complete, I sat down to watch a night filled with the greatest hits of A.J. Styles.By now you've probably read that I've become a fan of Styles' work, and the matches shown here were a good example of just how good this guy is, even though I had seen many of them on various shows on TWC before.
One criticism I do have about this presentation is it's length. A profile show like this really doesn't need a four hour time slot. TWC could have used half of this time to showcase Styles' talents, and then use the other two hours to showcase someone else's talents. It was a good show, but this kind of thing doesn't really feel right in the Supercard slot.
Highlight of the week: The New Japan show featuring Tenzen v Sasaki. An entertaining hour from the Orient.
Lowlight of the week: Missing three days worth of televised wrestling action. But then again, there's nothing like seeing a show live and in person! You can't beat the atmosphere!
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