______________________________________________________________________ I do not offer subscriptions to a mailing list! I do not e-mail images! ______________________________________________________________________ Well, my wife and I have spent the past week or so travelling back and forth from Waterloo to Guelph, as we looked at houses to buy. What a pain. The round trip is one hour of driving, but the real ordeal is seeing house after house after house and spending time in the banks. It doesn't help that houses in Guelph cost as much or more than houses in the Toronto suburbs. As a result, though, whatever spare minutes I used to have in the week were eaten up by our housing considerations. I still haven't watched RAW. Tapes line the shelves. This is when I think that we have too many hours of wrestling each week! To top it off, there was a problem with the broadcast of the PPV in my neck of woods (and farther?). All that follows is a review of the PPV, watched on tapes over the past few nights. ______________________________________________________________________ - The WWF had Backlash on this past Sunday, 04/30/2000. My cable service (Rogers) has suffered a curse ever since converting to digital-access-only for PPVs. The WrestleMania ladder match didn't air on the original broadcast of that show. WCW shows have been fine. Now, the live Backlash broadcast fell through the gaps. At 8:00pm, a message on the correct channel told me that I had suffered error PPV-159 and needed to call a toll-free number. That number just rang busy, but the "this number doesn't exist" kind of busy. I camped on the cable company's number, and, some twenty minutes later, I learned that this was a major problem. I ended up ordering the rebroadcast, which came through fine, and watching it on tape on Monday night. Overall, I'd give the show a thumbs up, but not a particularly strong one. There were several very good matches, one marred by a lousy finish. The main event was pretty flat because of the overbooking. Still, more very good or better wrestlers than usual got to show their stuff on this show, and there was a fair bit to enjoy from my perspective. Rundown: * Edge & Christian beat Road Dogg & X-Pac to retain the Tag Titles: Debra returned to act as guest ring announcer. She was horrible, but it gave Jerry Lawler the chance to call the "puppies" "pointers." Jim Ross said that DX was the favourite, presumable after that recent string of losses, with a couple of recent wins. The production crew did an expert job early on in switching camera shots at the moment of impact of major moves, which of course makes some guys look better than they are. The champs drew heat on Road Dogg, which is actually usually a boring formula because Road Dogg isn't all that charismatic when he isn't talking. They actually switched to working on X-Pac quite quickly, with a DX double team turning the tide. The ref missed Christian's hot tag. The crowd was quite hot for these shenanigans since they didn't have to endure a live Heat before the PPV. Longer heat segment on Christian, with Tori getting involved and Christian's comebacks getting cut off. No particularly great work, but it was okay. With the referee turned, Edge did a headbutt off the top on Road Dogg, which Jim Ross charitably described as a "Chris Benoit-like head butt." Christian hit the hot tag after a reverse double-DDT, which is a move that only really works for me when there is a big size difference. Everybody in. Tori grabbed Edge, but ended up taking an X-Pac elbow. Edge rolled up X-Pac for a hot near fall. In the ring, X-Pac had the cover, but Christian used the ring bell to knock him out. The referee missed all of this. X-Pac was pinned at 9:27. X-Pac even bladed for effect. Debra did her horrible wrap-up ring announcing. Passable to okay opener. * Dean Malenko beat Scott Taylor to retain the Lightheavyweight Title: Dean regained the title from Scott at Smackdown on Thursday, cheating of course. Scott opened fast on Dean Malenko. Scott did a celebrational moonwalk way too early into the match, but somehow managed not to suffer any ill effects when Dean attacked him in mid-cheer. First big move was a hard clothesline by Malenko, which looked good live but didn't look good on replay. Dean took charge. Jim Ross said that Dean was putting the finishing touches on Scott, this at the 2:30 mark. I hate the modern style. Dean posted Scott's knee twice. Jim Ross made several Monica Lewinsky references, which reminded me of a funny line in the National Post regarding the whole moronic Elian Gonzales fiasco in Miami. A reporter mentioned that Elian's cousin, who had taken on the role of adoptive mother, had made some disparaging remarks about Lewinsky during her short period of fame with the drunken uncles. The reporter suggested that she should not deride Monica, since the two women have something in common: they both took in a little Cuban. I laughed too. Back to the match, Dean continued working on Scott's knee, setting up the cloverleaf, in great style, but it didn't really get over with this crowd, who at the 7:00 mark was already anxious for the dancing. Scott got a schoolboy for a hot two, waking the crowd up for three seconds before Dean cut him off. Dean & Scott tumbled to the floor off a cross body. Scott took the opportunity to rally. Dean cut him off with a superplex coming back in. Scott hit the patented Dusty Rhodes backslide for a two count. Inside cradle for another two. Scott countered a back suplex with punches. Scott flipped through a power bomb attempted, hitting a bulldog on a stunned Malenko. The second-goofiest move in wrestling -- the worm -- came next. But Malenko hit a pin attempt, using the ropes for a two count, with the referee catching. Power bomb for another two. The continued with quick fast-paced near falls, and it honestly appeared like many of them could have been the finish. At this point, Jim Ross called it an "outstanding match up," which it was rapidly becoming. Scott tried for a superplex, but Malenko converted it into a DDT off the top fot the win at 13:06. It was a really good match with a great final few minutes. This is the best that Dean Malenko has looked since arriving in the promotion, largely because it is the first time he's been given that much time with a good opponent. * Big Boss Man & Bull Buchanan beat Acolytes: Right off the bat, Jim Ross apologized for the match with those careful code words he uses. The production crew tried to do those fancy cuts to make Bull's agile offense look alright, but they aren't miracle workers. The commentators acknowledged a "Boss Man sucks!" chant that sprung up when he first came in the ring. Boss Man was pummelled by the Acolytes. I was hoping that Faaroo qould try a swinging neckbreaker; he has the best record for flubbing that move. They drew heat on Faarooq, in theory anyhow. In order to draw heat on somebody, the crowd has to care about somebody in the match, which was definitely not the case in this match. Since the crowd was dead silent, Boss Man let out a huge cheer of celebration, which made the crowd rumble just a little bit. Honestly, I think I'd rather watch David Arquette because these guys have no excuse for being so so bad. Boss Man sort of caught Bradshaw's foot while he was on top, so Buchanan hit a superplex. Bradshaw rallied with his "clothesline from hell," as Ross called it, which meant that it went along with everything else in this match. Bradshaw charged Boss Man on the apron, who whacked him with the night stick. Bradshaw stumbled right into a top rope axe kick by Buchanan for the win at 7:40. It was horrible. They showed no replays. * Crash Holly & Bob Holly & Tazz & Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy & Perry Saturn to the Hardcore Title: This match was a free-for-all which would end with the first pinfall on or by Crash Holly. Crash ran away and climbed up the Backlash set. They were climbing, hanging, swinging on this set. It was bad because the very nature of this match meant that most of the wrestlers just stood around while others put together a stunt or spot. The crowd chanted "holy shit!" because this is wrestling to some people. They went back to the ring. They used objects. It was the usual mess that these matches, excluding a set of measure zero, are. Lots of standing around. In the one nice spot of the match, as Bob was standing on Crash's back, with Crash draped over the second rope, Perry Saturn walked up and hit a german suplex on Bob. For some reason, Jim Ross mentioned Emeril Lagasse, I guess because they used a baking sheet. Bob superplexed Crash, but Tazz made the save. With everybody outside, Bob dropped Crash onto a chair with a power bomb variation. The Hardyz saved, bringing in a ladder to a big pop, which speaks to the mentality of the supposed wrestling fans that the WWF attracts. Jeff climbed the ladder in the ring, hitting a senton bomb off the top. Matt tried to get the cover, so the Hardyz argued. Tazz ended up sneaking in the Tazzmission, but Perry Saturn saved. As he covered Crash, Bob pulled him out. The Hardyz hit topes on Bob & Saturn. In the ring, Crash draped an arm across an unconscious Tazz for the Mikey Whippreck-style win at 12:32. This match was just way too long and way too messy. * Big Slow beat Kurt Angle: Slow came out to "Real American," mocking Hulk Hogan, called the "Showster," with the commentators saying that Hogan was Slow's childhood hero. Slow even imitated Hogan's microphone work. Slow even used Hogan's in-ring mannerisms and moves, with Ross calling it the old "no-sell." It was really funny. Angle kicked out of the leg drop. He started working on Slow's knee. "More people are chanting 'Hogan' than have in years," said Ross as the crowd started cheering for Slow. The size difference here was unbelievable, so much so that it was next to impossible for Angle to have any credibility. Angle went down to the choke slam in his first clean loss since debuting. It was a horrible match, but it wasn't bad comedy if you hate Hogan. Unfortunately, it meant that Angle jobbed in 2:51. * Test & Albert beat Dudleyz: This match was also horrible. Dudleyz are really bad, and Test & Albert stink despite generally trying hard. As a resutl, the story line building to the match was all about Trish Stratus getting tabled. They drew heat on D-Von, but nobody told the crowd. The crowd got bored by the 6:00 mark so they started chanting "table." They did the missed hot tag deal again. Watching Test & Albert try to get heat on D-Von was so painful I have to admit I hit the double-speed button a couple of times. Then, I got confused when I switched between play and double-speed because the crowd sounded the same. "We want tables." Buh Buh finally made the lukewarm tag. They hit 3D on Test for a two count. Albert hit a power bomb on Buh Buh. Test went for an elbow drop even though D-Von was right next to Buh Buh and would surely move him out of the way. They tried to hit 3D again on Test, but, no, he countered with a DDT on D-Von as Trish distracted Buh Buh. The Dudleys laid out Test & Albert, caught Trish, and D-Von brought a table in. She kissed Buh Buh again. He let go of her, she pranced away, he grabbed her, and he drove her through the table. It looked like she took a bad bump for a nonworker. She wasn't protected anywhere near as much as Terri Runnels was. She tried to guard the sides of her head, but its the impact the back of the head can make with the mat that delivers such a concussive force. Anyhow, work or shoot, probably a bit of both, Trish was stretchered out, as Buh Buh yelled that he got the little bitch. I'm as red-blooded as the next guy, so the sexy stuff doesn't bother me personally (although the marketing to children does), but I can't understand the warped appeal of this mistreatement of women. Match ran 11:09. * Eddie Guerrero beat Essa Rios to retain the European Title: Eddie & Chyna drove into the arena straight from the prom. Whenever Eddie speaks I cringe at the racial stereotype that they are playing to. Eddie changed into his wrestling gear in the aisle, leaving on his tuxedo pants and bow tie. As Lawler spoke in a squeaky racist voice, Jim Ross tried to chastise him, unfortunately chiding him for "working on his Hispanic accent," which was as racist as Lawler's shtick. Rios tried to do something on the ropes in the corner, but lost his footing a few times, presumably because the ropes were too loose. The crowd elicited some mild cat calls. Chyna whacked Rios when he was dumped out of the ring. Rios his a missile dropkick that looked off. It seemed like Rios was having trouble getting things togethers.Eddie was tremendous from the get-go, though. Eddie dumped Rios, who was whacked by Chyna again before Eddie hit a plancha. Lita climbed to the top to jump on Eddie, who was jockeying for position with Rios. Chyna ran around and dumped Lita in the same direction that she was going to jump, but somehow Lita ended up missing Eddie by a foot and hitting the table. Rios unleashed his topes, a quebrada and a somersault tope over the turnbuckles. Superplex and suplex. Eddie went up for the frog splash, we thought, but Rios leaped to the top and hit an arm drag. A moonsault met with Eddie's knees. Eddie put Rios up in a hangman, spun around, and dropped him in a neckbreaker-like spot for the win at 8:43. Afterwards, Lita ripped off Chyna's prom dress. Chyna posed in her thong. Match was very good. * Chris Benoit beat Chris Jericho to retain the IC Title: Jericho came to the ring first, with a microphone in hand. He did a weak promo. This was the reason to order the show, and with loads of time left in the show, even allowing for a lengthy storyline-based maine event, there seemed to be a lot of time for this one. Unlike any other wrestler in on the North American scene, when I watch Chris Benoit I actually feel like I might well be watching the best pro wrestler on the planet. Watching North American stuff, I've probably only ever felt that way while watching Bret Hart and Ric Flair before him. Maybe Owen Hart too, for a short run in Stampede, coloured by Japanese tapes. They jockeyed for position. Early on, Benoit missed a tope, splatting on the ground in a risky spot because he barely protected himself. Jericho met the steps on the outside, so Benoit took control again. Earlier on, when they traded chops, Ric Flair remained the most over wrestler in the building. Benoit pounded Jericho, but it was very slow paced. As Benoit put on an abdominal stretch and Jericho sold it big, Jerry Lawler killed the spot by saying that he'd "have a heart attack if he gives up." Jericho escaped. He hit a lionsault, bracing the fall with his arms as always, but immediately grabbing his right forearm. The commentators suggested that he broke his wrist on the spot, but Jericho sold nothing two seconds later. They did some quick moves back and forth as the match built. I had the feeling early on that they were slower because they wanted to build something, but I still didn't want to hope that they would get to do just that. Jericho countered a suplex attempt by dropping Benoit on the top ropes. Jericho missed the dropkick spot he usually does, with Benoit swatting him away. But Benoit got caught on top, with Jericho going for a belly to back suplex, with Benoit shifting his weight to land on top. Jericho hit a double power bomb for a two count. Benoit turned the kick out right into a crossface, which Jericho broke by getting to the ropes. At least Lawler tried to get the risk of a submission over. Jericho hit the Liontamer, which the pushed as well. Another rope break. The annoying part was that Jericho didn't really sell the effects of the two crossfaces Benoit put on him. The ref bumped. Crap. Benoit used the belt to lay out Jericho for a two count. Benoit acted shocked. He suplexed Jericho across the belt. As he went to the top for the head butt, in a telegraphed spot, Chris Jericho used the title belt to knock out Benoit, which was the first belt shot that the ref saw. The commentators miscalled it, saying at first that Benoit hit "nothing but mat," then saying that Jericho was DQed for bumping the ref earlier on. Jericho did a Ken Shamrock, putting the Liontamer on the referee. Jim Ross even said that "he snapped." The replay of the finish cleared up the poor commentary, with Jim Ross going from saying that the finish "sucks" to saying that it was the right call. At least he said he was wrong. Match was pretty good, not as good as I would have expected, and the finish was really lame and disappointing. Match ran 15:17. * Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Rock for the WWF Title, with Steve Austin in Rock's corner: Earlier in the night, they kept mentioning that Steve Austin wasn't in the building yet. Vince McMahon suggested that Austin had encountered travel difficulties, wink, wink. Before the match, then, the Rock guaranteed that he'd win regardless of Austin's unknown status. Jim Ross started out by saying that he didn't have a good feeling about this. Lawler pointed out that Austin always looks out for Austin first. They were at least teasing that Austin would screw Rock. Shane McMahon was the "impartial" referee. HHH came to the ring with Stephanie and "the evil" Vince McMahon. I'm pretty tired of this McMahon family stuff. Vince cut a heel promo. You see, the card was subject to change, and Vince regretfully informed us that Austin wouldn't make it tonight. Great intensity just before the match. It's too bad that these guys aren't better in-ring wrestlers, 'cause I wish I could get more into it. Crowd chanted "We want Austin!" Punches and kicks to start. HHH tried for the pedigree early, but Rock back dropped him. As Rock stomped HHH in the corner, Shane got in the middle and pushed Rock back. That allowed HHH to hit a quick neckbreaker on Rock. Vince posted Rock. Shane & HHH hugged in the ring. Jim Ross was upset about the unfair officiating. Besides the suplex and beckbreaker, it was all punches, kicks, clotheslines, and knees. After a knee drop, HHH tried for a quick pin, with Shane counting quickly. HHH put on a headlock. As Rock tried to get out of it, HHH used the ropes. Shane pretended to be concerned that HHH cheated. Lawler pretended that Shane was calling things fairly. After another two count, Vince McMahon yelled "I want three!" at Shane. They did a double clothesline spot. Match wasn't all that heated, as if the crowd was deflated by Austin not being there. Vince whacked Rock with the belt. The crowd really seemed to hate this overbooked deal. Surely, the idea was to get a huge pop for Austin's appearance. HHH only got a two out of that. The crowd yelled one of "bullshit!", "boring!", and "Austin!" HHH took a bump to the floor and came up selling his elbow. Rock dropped him shoulder first on the commentary table. The commentators pushed the potential injury. Rock hit a DDT, but Shane didn't count. Rock decked Shane, and Rock got dumped. Rock met the stairs. HHH tried for a pedigree on the commentary table, but Rock countered. As Rock tried for a Rock Bottom on the table, Shane stood on it and waved him off, but Rock ended up doing a double Rock Bottom in the spot of the match. It looked highly contrived, but this is what the "holy shit!" crowd likes to see. With Shane out and Rock & HHH back in the ring, Vince came in to stop Rock's onslaught. Rock took a low blow while trying to attack Vince. Pedigree. Vince apparently didn't want to count the fall himself, like he has in the past, so he waved for more officials to come out. Referees Patterson & Brisco came out. But Rock had had enough recovery time to kick out at two. They all attacked Rock. Stephanie passed Vince a chair. Vince nailed Rock with the chair. As they tried to arrange the pin, the music guy played Austin's music, and Stone Cold came to the ring with a chair. He nailed everybody, either in the aisle or in the ring. With everybody flattened, Austin walked off. As we might have expected, Linda McMahon came out with Earl Hebner, who had to be involved in the match. Linda knocked Stephanie over and sent Earl to the ring. Rock hit the elbow. Earl counted three at 27:22. After the match, Austin drove his truck out, pulling the destroyed DX Express behind him. How did he get that? Who knows? Austin & Rock toasted each other and drank some beer. - WCW has Slamboree on 05/07/2000. Line-up has: * Jeff Jarrett vs. Diamond Dallas Page for the WCW title in a triple cage match * Scott Steiner vs. Booker T for the US title * Hulk Hogan vs. Billy Kidman with Eric Bischoff as referee * Norman & partner vs. Terry Funk for the Hardcore title * Shane Douglas vs. Ric Flair * Buff Bagwell vs. Lex Luger - The WWF has Judgment Day on 05/21/2000. - The WWF has King of the Ring on 06/25/2000. - The WWF has Fully Loaded on 07/23/2000. ______________________________________________________________________ If you have any feedback regarding my web pages, please send me e-mail. Don't forget to delete the leading "x" from my e-mail address; that "x" is my web spider spam guard. ______________________________________________________________________