It’s that time again, as we continue our search on the world wide web for alternatives to the current WWE product. This week, we’ll be changing tack and looking at a few random matches from the wide archives on the WWE Network.
For this, I’ll be trying to avoid the shows that just about everyone has seen, so the stand-out Raws and Nitros, and some of the more celebrated pay-per-view matches are also out of the window. We’ll not be linking to anything in this edition, but rest assured, you’ll be able to find them on the network, should you so choose!
Brian Kendrick & Paul London vs. KC James & Idol Stevens (WWE No Mercy, October 8, 2006)
This was right in the middle of WWE’s Brand Extension experiment, where Raw and SmackDown had separate pay-per-views. London and Kendrick came into this match having been champions since May, and were firmly at the top of the SmackDown tag team division. Their opponents were at the tail end of their brief run on the main roster, having only debuted in July and being planted immediately into a tag title feud.
As was the way with WWE at the time, both of these teams weren’t given the chance to rely on their skills, with the champions being seconded by Diva Search winner Ashley Massaro, and the challengers by Michelle McCool. For those also keeping score, Idol Stevens would later repackage himself a Damien Sandow… The early exchanges start off with the champions on top, once they’d overcome Idol Stevens early efforts, before London and Kendrick combine for a double hiptoss and a rocket launcher onto Stevens for a near fall. Stevens tags in James as the heels look to take control, but Kendrick avoids a bodyslam attempt and leaps back to tag in London. In the early going, this match feels really rushed, with everyone going at a million miles an hour. Did they stick to a planned match even after having their time cut?
A double clothesline on James gets London a near fall, before the challengers begin to interfere once more. Stereo tope con hilos to the challengers on opposite sides of the ring allows Kendrick to get a foothold in the match again. A suplex from Kendrick would have been the set-up for a Paul London 450 splash to finish things, were it not for KC James to push London to the floor following a distraction from Michelle McCool.
Stevens rushes outside to try and pick up the pieces, but only gets a two count after throwing London back in, and then reverts to the old WWE favourite – the rear chinlock – to slow things down. The challengers remain on top, with James being tagged in so he can hit a kneedrop as London is draped in the ropes, but that only gets a two count. Another rear chinlock follows, as does a modified abdominal stretch. London powers out though, but is cut off as he tries to make the hot tag to Kendrick, giving James the chance to tag in and continue the ground-based assault on the champions.
London ducks out of the way of a charging James, and manages to avoid Stevens from running in for an assist, but yet again the attempt at the hot tag is foiled as Stevens knocks Kendrick off of the apron. The challengers look to double team, but London outsmarts them and finally makes the hot tag, hitting flying forearms on anything that moves, but an attempt at hitting Sliced Bread on James is blocked when Idol Stevens clips his legs as Kendrick tried to climb the ropes.
That interference didn’t last too long as London smashed Stevens with a suicide dive, sending both of them into the announce tables, whilst back in the ring, James lands a superplex on Kendrick, only for London to break up the count at two. We see the teams split inside and outside the ring again, but Stevens rushes in and misses a double team attempt, instead clotheslining his partner in the corner, setting up Kendrick for a jumping twisting DDT on James, which comes to nought as Michelle McCool puts her man’s foot on the ropes.
As Ashley argues, the referee is distracted which gives Idol Stevens the opening to hit am impressive move that I can only describe as a Lo-Down into a backbreaker, but that only gave the challengers a two count. McCool gets involved again, and has to fix her wardrobe in time for the obligatory catfight between two female valets. Back in the ring, Kendrick saves London from a double-team suplex, before being used as a springboard by his partner to hit a dropkick into both of the challengers. Kendrick lands a sliced bread on James, with a standing shooting star press by London putting the exclamation mark as Kendrick collects the win.
This was a solid match, but the frantic start seemed to kill any chance of the crowd getting into it, with too much going on with little chance for it to sink in. By the time the match got going, the focus was firmly placed on Ashley and Michelle at ringside, and once the crowd were starting to get into things, the match was all but over. Unfortunately, this was a sign of the times – WWE focusing on valets rather than in-ring talent.
Super Calo vs. Alex Wright (WCW Monday Nitro, February 3, 1997)
Back in the days of WCW, one of the cooler things about Nitro would be that you’d see random guys appearing on the show, guys who wouldn’t necessarily have a storyline or any articulated reason to be in the company. Of course, with the influx of luchadores in WCW, there were quite a few of them, and Super Calo was one.
Coming out in a black leather jacket, wearing a black beanie to accompany his silver mask with sunglasses, Calo was at least fitting the bill of what American fans saw as a generic luchadore, even if he did look like a skinnier, masked Rocco Rock. In the other corner was Alex Wright, who had a leather jacket of his own and that Godawful/awesome German techno music that he used during his days as Das Wunderkind.
We start with a series of one-counts as the German Wright looks to take control early on, before the pair draw a blank with dropkick attempts. There’s then an awkward spot as Calo stands and waits to be given a dropkick, which Wright finally delivers – showing both guys’ lack of experience at the time. Wright follows up with a couple of European uppercuts, before Calo makes another noticable botch, slipping on the middle turnbuckle as he tried to mount the turnbuckles.
Wright puts the boots to the fallen Calo, then grabs a headlock. Calo counters with a back suplex, before pulling off the spot he just whiffed on, connecting with a twisting senton. Calo starts to get n top of the match with a springboard armdrag on Wright, only for the German to respond with a belly-to-belly suplex for a near fall. On the outside, Calo hits a body attack to Wright on the floor, with a similar move in the ring seeing Calo take a mid-air dropkick.
Wright does a Calo, scaling the ropes successfully and hitting a backflip from the corner, following up with a snapmare takeover and a pair of headscissors to put himself firmly in charge. A dropkick sends Calo to the floor, with another one keeping the Mexican outside, giving Wright a chance to connect with a suicide dive.
Returning to the ring, Wright climbs to the top rope and is cut off by Calo, who brings Wright back inside with a superplex for a near-fall. Calo follows that up with an attempted twisting super huracanrana, and then goes to the other corner for a senton bomb. However, Wright rolls out of the way of that (much to the delight of Mike Tenay on commentary), who then goes upstairs himself and connects with a missile dropkick for the win.
For a match placed in one of the death spots on Nitro, and involved two wrestlers who were nowhere near getting a significant push, this match got the expected reaction. Whilst both guys tried hard, their relative lack of experience showed at times, particularly with Calo’s botch in the corner. The match certainly wasn’t horrible, aside from the aforementioned botch, but it also showed why neither guy were where they were.
911 vs. “Jungle” Jim Steele (ECW Hardcore TV #114, June 27, 1995)
Going back a little further, ECW’s Hardcore TV series was the antithesis of what WWE and WCW were churning out every Monday night, with the staid, sometimes sterile offering of the big two promotions leaving fans wanting. So, having picked an episode of Hardcore TV at random, the first thing I see is what looks like a legitimate beatdown in the ring being broken up by a couple of police officers, who get booed as they handcuff New Jack and Mustapha Saed. Alright then!
Just before this match, we see footage of 911 previous annihilations, before we cut to Joey Styles reading a copy of the format, and smiling at the camera. I don’t think this is going to be pretty, and I’m not talking about Steele’s cartoonish Tarzan-lite gimmick! This match, taped at ECW’s “Barbed Wire, Hoodies and Chokeslams” event in June 1995, was the only outing for Steele in ECW that year, as he would enjoy a more successful time of things in Japan. Initially in All Japan Pro Wrestling, teaming up with the Patriot as the Lacross, before going to New Japan under his real name, in a pairing with Mike Barton (formerly known as Bart Gunn).
The crowd goes wild when Paul E. Dangerously comes through the curtain with 911, expecting him to make short work of his opponent. Steele gestures to the crowd as they boo him, and if you were expecting Steele to be the babyface here, then perhaps you need to do a little more background work on ECW! At the bell, Steele gets himself psyched up a la Ken Shamrock, and charges into the corner where 911 was… except 911 just sidesteps out of the way and lets fake Tarzan crash and burn into the ringpost. One chokeslam later, 911 eventually turns Steele over and records the easy win, ending the one-match ECW career of Steele.
The crowd immediately chant for 911 to go for the chokeslam “four more times” as they sign the goodbye song at Steele. A second chokeslam is followed by chants of “three more times”, as chokeslam #3 is dedicated by Paul E. “to our friends in CNN Tower”. “Two more times” shout the crowd, as Paul E. announces that this next chokeslam was in honour of his “goofy brother who can’t imitate a decent gimmick” (the late Renegade, who was WCW’s attempt at ripping off Ultimate Warrior in the mid 90s). Paul E. waves off the crowd as they encourage one final chokeslam… and of course, they get it, as it’s dedicated to “Bill (bleep) Alfonso”.
Well, this was more of an angle than a match, but it was enjoyable for a squash!
Tracy Smothers vs. Steven Dunn (Smoky Mountain Wrestling TV #128, July 5, 1994)
We end this round-up with one of the territories whose video library has found its way onto the network, with a “Beat The Champ” match between two guys who would have rather inconspicuous WWE careers, with the future Freddie Joe Floyd taking on one half of WWE’s preliminary team Well Dunn.
Smothers comes in waving the Confederate flag, as well as having the same flag on his jacket, trunks and on a bandana. Somehow, I get the feeling that none of that would fly these days! Dunn attacks Smothers from behind at the bell, choking him across the middle rope, before connecting with a snapmare, then a knee to the head of a fallen Smothers. The finish quickly comes when Dunn whips Smothers into the ropes and goes for a back body drop; Smothers tries to counter it with a sunset flip, but Dunn drops to his knees… only for Smothers to reverse it and get the quick three-count for the win.
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