Best Of US Wrestling Jan-April 2007 Disc 4

Best Of US Wrestling 2007 Disc 4

This is the last disc of this part of the compilation. After this one, the comp splits into seperate volumes for each show, which I’ll review based on the date the comp begins from. Anyway, there’s some good stuff coming up in this volume, so I’m looking forward to reviwwing this one.

Match 1 (ECW, April 3rd)
CM Punk vs Stevie Richards
This is actually a match that’s a long time coming, if you remember Stevie’s ROH appearance in 2005. It wasn’t a heated match or anything, because that was an ROH angle, not a WWE angle, so this was largely a good, quick mat based match. Punk largely used headlocks and other holds working on the head, mixing those with his kicks. Stevie on the other hand had a ready made strategy, as Punk’s ribs were hurt from the Money In The Bank match, so he went to work on those. Punk got the obvious three count with the Go To Sleep- **3/4

Match 2 (Raw, April 2nd)
20 Man Tag Team Title Battle Royal
I would name all the teams, but they went to a commercial when the teams were coming out, and thus I could’t get all the names. It was a solid battle royal type match, about as good as these matches get, but there wasn’t anything special about it or anything. Eliminations were as follows (I think there was another team eliminated during the break)-
Chris Masters and Kenny Dykstra (I didn’t see who eliminated them)
Cryme Time by Deuce and Domino
Eugene and Jim Duggan by Elijah Burke and Matt Striker
The Highlanders by Deuce and Domino
Deuce and Domino by John Cena and Shawn Michaels
Matt Striker and Elijah Burke by Finlay and King Booker
Rob Van Dam and Sabu by Finlay and King Booker
King Booker and Finlay by John Cena and Shawn Michaels- **1/4

The match ended the way General Manager The Coach expected, so therefore he made another Tag Team Battle Royal right now with more teams.

Match 3 (Raw, April 2nd)
20 Man Tag Team Battle Royal Number Two
Again, there was a break so I couldn’t see all the teams that entered, but you’ll soon know who was in and was eliminated. Personally, it wasn’t all that different from the last match, in that it just followed your regular Battle Royal formula, although the final few minutes with Cade and Murdoch and The Hardys produced some good stuff. Eliminations were as follows (again, there was an elimination we weren’t told about during the break)-
Val Venis and Viscera by everyone
William Regal and Dave Taylor by Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman
Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman by Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch
Miz and Morrison by Shawn Michaels and John Cena
Shawn Michaels and John Cena by themselves (Michaels threw Cena over the top rope)
Chavo Guerrero and Gregory Helms by Paul London and Brian Kendrick
Paul London and Brian Kendrick by themselves (Kendrick eliminated himself when eliminating Chavo and Helms)
Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch by The Hardys (The Hardys are the new Tag Champions)- **1/2

Match 4 (Impact, April 5th)
Senshi vs Austin Starr
I liked that they weren’t just given two minutes like every other Impact match I’ve seen, although this was still pretty short. But with the time they had, they produced some pretty good X-Division style action, with lots of high flying and kicks, although with more time they would probably have had some more mat wrestling in here too. Austin Starr won he match when Bob Backlund threw in the towel when Senshi was locked in a Single Leg Crab- **3/4

Match 5 (Smackdown, April 6th)
Matt Hardy vs King Booker
This was a grudge match since Hardy put his hands on Queen Sharmell at Wrestlemania. Hardy went for fast, high flying moves, while Booker went for more of a power style due to him having the size advantage, and also used a few submission holds. King Booker actually dominated for much of this match, with Hardy’s only getting brief moments of offense. The match was solid all the way through, but the final few minutes were excellent, and really elevated the match. Hardy got the fall out of nowhere with a Small Package- ***

Match 6 (ECW, April 3rd)
Extreme Rules Match- ECW Originals (The Sandman, RVD, Sabu and Tommy Dreamer) vs The New Breed (Matt Striker, Elijah Burke, Kevin Thorn and Marcus Cor Von)
This is a rematch of the Wrestlemania match, and this far bettered that match thanks to some of the insane moves both teams took. There were all kinds of weapons used here, which took this match to a new level, turning this into a homage of the classic ECW matches of the past (although not to the level of the truly great ECW matches). Anyway, I really enjoyed this, and it’s a must see match for ECW fans: it’s one of my favourite TV matches of 2007. After some big table spots, Elijah Burke won it with an Elijah Express through a table on Sabu- ***3/4

Match 7 (Raw, April 9th)
The Hardy’s vs The Worlds Greatest Tag Team
This is a battle of two of my favourite tag teams, so I obviously enjoyed this one a lot. It was a bit short for my liking, but what we got was good and entertaining. The clash of styles here saw Haas and Benjamin try to keep the Hardy’s down on the mat, while The Hardys took a lot of risks and pulled out some great double teams. The Hardys won this non-title match when Jeff pinned Benjamin following a Twist Of Fate-Swanton combo- **1/2

Match 8 (Impact, April 12th)
Chris Sabin vs Black Machismo
Jay Lethal has officially entered his Macho Man impression gimmick now, which I personally don’t mind since it gives him a little character. Lethal is surprisingly good at mimicking Savage’s moves, so to be honest, he wresled exactly like Savage would. On the other hand, Sabin wrestled his usual explosive high flying style, and seemed a little dissapointed in Lethal for taking on this character. Lethal won the match with the Elbow Drop from the top. A solid match overall- **1/4

Match 9 (Smackdown, April 13th)
MVP vs Chris Benoit
These two had some great matches around this time period, in what was Benoit’s last really good series with anyone before the unspeakable act occured. This was no exception, as they again had a great back and forth match, with a mixture of mat wrestling, power and hard hitting strikes from both men. There was also a lot of suplexes, whether this was Snap and German Suplexes from Benoit, or Belly To Bellys from MVP. After a great final couple of minutes, MVP won with a rollup using the ropes for leverage. Overall, great stuff- ***

Match 10 (ECW, April 10th)
Marcus Cor Von vs Rob Van Dam
This was very much a battle of the power of Marcus Cor Von against the high flying skill of RVD. It was an interesting match on paper, and I liked it, since it was well wrestled and there were no botches, although I was surprised by how much Marcus Cor Von controlled the match. After Burke distracted RVD by attacking an injured Sabu at ringside, Cor Von got three with the Pounce. After the match CM Punk comes out and joins the New Breed: I wish they had kept him as a heel but they haven’t pulled that trigger yet.- **3/4

Match 11 (Smackdown, April 6th)
Jeff Hardy vs Mr Kennedy
Good stuff again here. Hardy went for all of his usual high flying moves, while Kennedy went for the strategy of working over Hardy’s back with a series of submissions and high impact power moves. So overall I’d say this was a good, back and forth match that the crowd were really into, and I enjoyed it. Hardy missed the Swanton, and Kennedy used that opportunity to hit a DDT for three- **3/4

This was another good volume, better than the previous one, and there’s some great stuff here. The ECW Extreme Rules match was the best here, since it was filled with great hardcore spots, and was much like ECW matches of the past. Other good matches were Matt Hardy’s match with King Booker and MVP against Chris Benoit. The rest of the matches were solid in a little average (in that they weeren’t too different from matches we’d seen previously). Overall though, there’s a few matches you shoul try to watch if you can, especially the Extreme Rules match.

7.5/10

Best Of US Wrestling Jan-April 2007 Disc 3

Best Of US Wrestling Jan-April 2007 Disc 3

Match 1 (Smackdown, March 16th)
Mr Kennedy vs Matt Hardy
I enjoyed this match, it had some very solid matwork, and the crowd were reasonably into it. Kennedy made extensive use of that ground game, using it to work over the knee of Hardy when he hurt it coming off the top rope. Hardy on the other hand took more risks, but also did some good wrestling of his own. I like that this match was given a lot of time, as it helped it build, and it was really good stuff towards the end. Hardy managed to win it with the Twist of Fate. Surprisingly better than I expected.- ***1/4

Match 2 (ECW, March 13th)
Extreme Battle Royal- The ECW Originals (Sabu, RVD, Sandman and Tommy Dreamer) vs The New Breed (Kevin Thorn, Elijah Burke, Matt Striker and Marcus Cor Von)
Another battle royal, but a unique one since you rarely see teams within one of these matches. The wrestling was also pretty solid, and both teams took a few nasty bumps during this match, so it’s probably one of the better battle royals WWE have had during this time period (barring the Royal Rumble). The elimination were as follows.
Sandman by Matt Striker
Marcus Cor Von by RVD and Sabu
Sabu by Kevin Thorn
Kevin Thorn by Rob Van Dam
Rob Van Dam by himself (in eliminating Thorn he eliminated himself)
Matt Striker by Tommy Dreamer
Elijah Burke by Tommy Dreamer- **1/2

Match 3 (Raw, March 12th)
Gauntlet Tag Match- Shawn Michaels and John Cena vs The Worlds Greatest Tag Team vs Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch vs MNM (Cage Match)
I was never really a fan of the Michaels/Cena team personally, since it was a re-hash of the partners who hate each other scenario from the Attitude Era. I do however love the WGTT, and the first part of the gauntlet was pretty damn good although short, with good mat wrestling throughout. Cena made Haas tap out to the STFU.
Next were Cade and Murdoch, which made this a very different type of match, with more brawling and hard hitting moves as opposed to the matwork we saw earlier. Michaels got worked over for a while, before getting the hot tag to Cena, who got the three count on Murdoch with an FU-Superkick combo that caused some more tension.
Then the cage was lowered for part three again MNM. I don’t remember a lot of tag cage matches with tag team rules rather than tornado style rules. Michaels again got worked over by MNM, who used a lot of high flying moves on him, before Cena got the hot tag. After more tension, Cena got the fall on Mercury with the FU- **3/4

Match 4 (Smackdown, March 16th)
The Undertaker vs King Booker
Batista is on commentary here, and I don’t think I understood anything he said. The Undertaker made much of this match a brawl, with loads of punches and strikes, and used the outside of the ring to his advantage. Booker T wrestled a similar style, using a lot of strikes, but also used a few power moves and submission holds. The match was decent overall, but it was a little slow in places, but was pretty good in the final few minutes. Finlay interfered to cause the DQ- **1/2

Match 5 (Smackdown, March 23rd)
WWE Tag Team Titles- Paul London and Brian Kendrick (c) vs MNM
At this point, London and Kendrick are the longest reigning tag team champions of all time, beating MNM’s own record. As you would expect from these two teams, it was very much a battle of high flying moves, and it was a very good match that never slowed down and was energetic from start to finish. It was a little too short though, but overall it was good stuff while it lasted. London pinned Mercury following a Cross Body- **1/2

Match 6 (Raw, March 19th)
Chris Benoit vs John Cena
This is a battle of the United States and World champions, but no titles are on the line. Shawn Michaels also joins the commentary team. It was a hard hitting match, with Benoit throwing a lot of stiff strikes, and Cena going for power. Benoit managed to get Cena in a few submissions here too, getting close to making him tap. Cena however surprisingly made Benoit tap out to the STFU, quite a surprise since Benoit rarely taps. A bit short, but pretty good stuff- ***

Match 7 (ECW, March 27th)
Rob Van Dam vs Elijah Burke
I’m a fan of both of these two, and I thought this was a good match as a result. This match saw a lot of high flying wrestling, with both men happy to take risks. Burke was a little more grounded though, using some submission holds to keep RVD down. Overall, a good match with some innovative moves and crisp high flying. RVD won this match with the ***** Frog Splash- **3/4

Match 8 (Smackdown, March 23rd)
Chavo Guerrero (c) vs Jimmy Wang Yang
I personally don’t mind Jimmy Yang’s rather silly gimmick, although JBL certainly hates it: the gimmick got him over and gave him some personality. Yang used his usual range of high flying moves and kicks here, while Chavo tried to ground him with explosive, high impact moves and submissions. It was a good match, but lacked a little something. Jimmy Wang Yang won the match with a Moonsault- **1/2

Match 9 (Impact, March 29th)
Kurt Angle vs Abyss
A big clash of styles here, with Angle having to use his wide range of mat skills to work over Abyss, mainly going after his leg. Abyss on the other hand went for power due to his size advantage. It wasn’t much of a match to be honest: far too short to be anything major, and Abyss got little offense in. The ref got knocked out, and Abyss had the match won with the Black Hole Slam, but Angle won it with a rollup when a new ref came in- *1/2

Match 10 (ECW, March 27th)
Mr Kennedy, Randy Orton, King Booker and Finlay vs The Hardy’s, CM Punk and Edge
I don’t get pairing Edge, a heel, with three faces, including his mortal enemy Matt Hardy, but this is supposed to be a showcase of the Money In The Bank match. And it was a good match despite this key problem, with a wide range of styles on show. Obviously the Hardy’s team were more towards high flying and fast paced wrestling, while Orton’s team looked to keep their opponents grounded. Punk got isolated from his corner, then made the tag to Edge, who promptly tagged himself out and left. Booker T pinned CM Punk following a Scissors Kick- **3/4

Overall, this wasn’t quite as good as the previous volumes, but considering it was the run up to Wrestlemania nobody was going to take any major risks and risk injury (although that’s no excuse for TNA and their one short match). The Kennedy/Hardy match is the best match and one you should look to watch, while Cena/Benoit is also pretty good stuff. The rest of the matches average around **1/2, so there is some good stuff here.

7/10

Best Of US Wrestling January-April 2007 Disc 2

Best Of US Wrestling January-April 2007 Disc 2

This is part 2 of 4 of this compilation of the best wrestling from Raw, Smackdown, ECW and Impact during the first four months of 2007. There was some good stuff on the last comp, and it only gets better with each volume.

Match 1 (Impact, February 15th)
Gauntlet For The Gold- Sting vs AJ Styles vs Rhino vs Chris Sabin vs Kip James vs James Storm vs Abyss vs Kurt Angle vs Tomko vs Samoa Joe vs Robert Roode vs Eric Young vs BG James vs Scott Steiner
It was a decent match, considering it’s a battle royal, and much like the Smackdown one from the last comp, there was some good wrestling in here when things weren’t too chaotic. Not one, but two commercials hurt the match, but TNA have an annoying habit of doing this, and this is just one reason why WWE are beating them. But it was a fun match and I enjoyed it. Eliminations were as follows
Chris Sabin by Abyss
James Storm by Kurt Angle
AJ Styles and Rhino by Tomko
Kip James by Samoa Joe
BG James by Scott Steiner
Abyss by Samoa Joe
Kurt Angle by Scott Steiner
Robert Roode by Sting
Sting by Scott Steiner
Eric Young by Tomko
Scott Steiner by Tomko
Tomko by Samoa Joe- **1/2

Match 2 (Raw, February 19th)
Edge vs Rob Van Dam
Since this is a Money In The Bank qualifier, and considering RVD’s standing with the company, the winner is obvious. RVD went through his usual array of high risk offense, while Edge just looked to slow the match down and work over him with submissions. Overall a good match with some innovative offense by both men. Randy Orton interfered, and got kicked in the face by RVD, but he then got pinned for three by a Spear from Edge- ***

Match 3 (ECW, February 20th)
CM Punk vs Johnny Nitro
A decent, albeit short match, although Nitro was a little sloppy and wasn’t quite on his game. It was wrestled at a fairly quick pace, with several high impact moves, and also had some good mat wrestling. Nitro missed a Corkscrew Moonsault, and this allowed Punk to get three with the Go 2 Sleep- **1/2

Match 4 (Impact, February 22nd)
Ladder Match- Jerry Lynn vs Jay Lethal vs Sonjay Dutt vs Senshi vs Austin Starr
A decent X-Division style match. There was lots of high risk moves as you would expect, and adamantly it was a spotfest. However, it didn’t have a whole lot of time, and there was a commercial break in the middle, so I can’t really give it that high a rating. Jerry Lynn pulled down the X to get the victory- *1/2

Match 5 (Smackdown, February 23rd)
No DQ- Kane vs King Booker
On paper, this doesn’t look like anything special, since both men are past their prime at this stage, but it ended up being quite a solid match aided by the No DQ stipulation. Kane worked over King Booker with power moves, chokes and strikes, while Booker T had to do everything to take Kane off of his feet, even using the ring bell at one stage, and wore him down with submission when he was off his feet. My only issues was the match was a little slow, and the crowd were pretty quiet. The Great Khali interfered, throwing Kane through the barricade, allowing King Booker to get three- **1/4

Match 6 (Raw, February 26th)
Shelton Benjamin vs Jeff Hardy
This match saw an obvious clash of styles, with Hardy going for a lot of high flying moves, while Benjamin looked to ground Hardy and outwrestle him on the mat. It ended up being a great match, wrestled at a fast pace, and it was highly entertaining. It was however a little sloppy at times, and Benjamin botched a major spot, but it was still good. Hardy won via a Swanton Bomb- ***

Match 7 (Smackdown, March 2nd)
Matt Hardy vs Joey Mercury
King Booker is on commentary, and is a little too excited at times. Hardy again took time to work over the face of Mercury, which was still injured from the Royal Rumble. When the face wasn’t being worked over, they exchanged a mixture of high flying moves and mat wrestling holds. It was actually pretty similar to their previous match (although possibly slightly longer), which wasn’t a bad thing, as this was good stuff. Hardy got the fall with a Top Rope Twist of Fate, after removing Mercury’s face protector- ***

Match 8 (ECW, February 27th)
Extreme Rules- Sabu vs Mr Kennedy
With the Extreme Rules stipulation added, this gave something else to what was a good match. It did however suffer from Sabu’s weakness to missing spots, as he botched a couple during this match. But for the most part it was good stuff, with Kennedy trying to stop Sabu’s onslaught with a chair and other weapons, while Sabu went through his usual range of high flying moves. Kennedy got three with a DDT onto a broken table- **1/2

Match 9 (Smackdown, March 2nd)
Chris Benoit vs MVP vs Finlay
This wasn’t quite as good as say the Daniels/Styles/Joe 3 ways, but this was still a pretty good three way match. The match actually played out much like a one on one match, with two wrestlers in at one time while another was taken out on the outside. MVP and Finlay also teamed up on Benoit at some stages, but Finlay put an end to that fairly quickly. Finlay pinned Benoit after a Shillelagh shot, after Hornswaggle distracted the ref- ***

Match 10 (ECW, February 27th)
Cage Match- Bobby Lashley vs Hardcore Holly
A short match, since Lashley had to win in five minutes or less or he’d lose the title. The match was going along decently before Umaga was brought in by Vince McMahon. He through a chair in that Hardcore Holly used to smash his head in. Lashley threw a few chair shots, and got three with a Running Powerslam. Some stiff chair shots aside, this wasn’t anything special, but the spot after the match, where Lashley breaks the cage by jumping through it onto Umaga was awesome- *1/2

Match 11 (Raw, March 12th)
Ric Flair vs Carlito vs Randy Orton
They played up Flair and Orton’s rivalry in the past, which gave a hint as to how the match would go. Flair and Carlito often worked as a team on Orton, trying to take him out of the match due to this being elimination rules, but like all three way matches their alliance fell apart quickly. When it did, Orton took advantage by eliminating Flair with the RKO. Orton was very much in control after this, with a series of rest holds and strikes, but Carlito stayed in it and came close to victory. However, Orton would get three with the RKO. A bit sloppy and slow at times, but good in places as well- **3/4

Overall, there again was some pretty good stuff here, but nothing that you desperately need to go out of your way to see. The best matches all rated at ***, and there’s 5 of those, while the rest are all in the ** region. So if you get a chance to see any of the *** matches on Youtube or on DVD, then they are well worth a view, but there’s nothing to see from the other matches.

7.5/10