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Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over twelve years now and have reviewed over 6,000 shows. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting a new review here on Wrestlingrumors.net. It could be anything from modern WWE to old school to indies to anything in between. Note that I rate using letters instead of stars and I don’t rate matches under three minutes as really, how good or bad can something that short be?
King of the Ring 1994
Date: June 19, 1994
Location: Baltimore Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Attendance: 12,000
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Randy Savage, Art Donovan
It’s tournament time and that means it’s not likely to be the most interesting show in the world. On top of that, this is one of the weaker fields they’ve ever had, which makes for a rather dull few hours. Finally, this show is infamous for the commentary, which really was a disaster and a horrible idea. Let’s get to it.
Earlier today, Jeff Jarrett ca..

Welcome to the team. We are in the middle of the first real promotional war on a national level in over twenty years. That has made weekly wrestling shows a heck of a lot more interesting as fans have been able to wonder who they are going to be able to see come in next on either show. That was the case again this week, as a somewhat expected debut took place.
Former NXT and Ring of Honor star Kyle O’Reilly made his AEW debut during this week’s edition of Dynamite. O’Reilly interfered in Adam Cole’s match with Orange Cassidy to help Cole pick up the win. After the match, Cole left with O’Reilly and Bobby Fish as the Young Bucks looked on. O’Reilly finished up with NXT earlier this month when his contract expired, making him a free agent.
It’s a big debut. Check out O’Reilly coming to AEW and what the former Undisputed Era can do together:
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Opinion: I don..

Sounds like he’s a fan. There have been some issues bringing wrestlers up from NXT to the main WWE rosters. One of the bigger problems has been taking away what made the wrestlers work in NXT and changing them into something else entirely. It does not always happen, and one of the recent non-changes was ordered by none other than Vince McMahon himself.
In a new interview with GiveMeSport, SmackDown’s Rick Boogs spoke about the origins of his SmackDown character. Boogs said that he screamed as loud as he could during his first appearance, where he was told to tone it down. However, McMahon told him to be himself and be as loud as he wanted. Ultimately the style was praised and Boogs has continued doing it his own way since.
It is an interesting interview. Check out the full interview, plus Boogs on SmackDown:
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Opinion: It’s great to see Boogs getting to b..

Welcome back. Sometimes, for one reason or another, someone has to take some time away from wrestling. Some of these reasons are a lot more serious than others, but the worst reasons often involve health issues which need to be tended to in a big way. That can be the case with people who do not actually compete in the ring and this time around, one such person is getting to come back.
This week on AEW Dynamite, Excalibur announced that Jim Ross will be returning to the broadcast team next week. Ross’ return comes after he has missed the better part of a month due to radiation treatment for his skin cancer. There is no word on how well the treatment went or if Ross will be missing any more time. Taz has been filling in for Ross during his absence.
Ross is a big deal in AEW. Check out his time in the company:
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Opinion: That’s great to hear as you never wan..

Dynamite
Date: December 22, 2021
Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz
We’re back with yet another special show, this time in the form of Holiday Bash. That should make for another big card, though this time around the major draw is Sting being back in Greensboro. I’m still not sure why that should matter to anyone but the live audience, though seeing Sting team with CM Punk and Darby Allin against MJF and FTR should be fun. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Orange Cassidy vs. Adam Cole They stare each other down to start and trade headlock takeovers. Cassidy grabs a rollup for two and it’s right back to the mat, with Cassidy bouncing out of a headscissors. Cole kicks him down again and grabs a chinlock as they keep fighting for minor victories to start. Cassidy fights up again and grabs some rollups for two each. Back up and Cole hits a Backstabber out of the corner, setting up a hard whip into another corner to put ..

That’s never good to hear. The Coronavirus pandemic has shaken up the world and there are only a few ways to deal with the whole thing. The wrestling industry has certainly been changed as well and things are only starting to get back to normal. That is no guarantee of the future though, and now it seems that the biggest promotion in the world is having another problem.
According to PWInsider.com, WWE is dealing with a Coronavirus outbreak, with several of its wrestlers testing positive for the virus. There is no word n who has tested positive, but the positive tests were said to take place after last week’s live events. This week’s SmackDown was taped in advance and will not be affected, but the upcoming live events schedule and the December 27 Monday Night Raw may face problems. There is no word on how WWE will handle several of its wrestlers possibly being out of action.
WWE can do well at full strength. Check out what they have been doing lately:
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We are less than a week away from Christmas and that should mean everyone has already written their letters to Santa Claus (though I have heard good things about giving them to your parents to take care of it for you). It’s also a time to look back at the good things we have and hopefully remember some of the better times that have taken place over the last year. That is certainly the case with wrestling and it is what we are going to look at this week.
I’m going to keep things simple this week as we are going to look at the major wrestling shows (not promotions) and see what their best news/gift was this year. It might not have been the best year for wrestling, but there have certainly been good things to look at for almost every show. Those things need some attention, even if some of them are not exactly the strongest positives.
Note that these are only going to be the shows that I watch, as there isn’t much of a point in talking about a show I don’t see. Also, for the sake of sani..

He hasn’t been there in a bit. There is no one in wrestling like Brock Lesnar and that has been the case for a long time now. Lesnar is an absolute monster and no one really comes close to him. It is a special treat to get to see him get in the ring and dominate someone, but he isn’t around that often. Now though, we might be seeing him get in the ring a bit more frequently.
According to PWInsider.com, WWE is advertising a Universal Title match between the winner of Drew McIntyre vs. the winner of the Day One match between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar for a string of live events. The shows are in:
Boston, Massachusetts – January 8
Fargo, North Dakota – January 15
Salt Lake City, Utah – February 5
Boise, Idaho – February 6
Should Lesnar appear at the shows, it would be his first matches at live events March 2018. Lesnar has only wrestled on a handful of live events since his return to the company in 2012.
Lesnar has done some things at live events before. Check out what he can do a..

One for two. Titles are the lifeblood of a wrestling promotion as you have people fighting to be recognized as the best in the world. They have been around forever and always will be, even if there are occasionally more than there need to be around a promotion. That is the case in WWE, but now it seems that they are getting rid of one of them as a few are going to be unified.
This week on NXT, a title for title match was set for New Year’s Evil on January 4, 2022, as North American Champion Carmelo Hayes will face NXT Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong. The two champions ran into each other last week and got into a brawl this week, with the title match being made later in the evening. This comes as WWE is phasing down its cruiserweight division, as the weight limit has been waved and there has been talk of changing 205 Live.
We could be in for something special here. Check out the titles in action, plus some unification matches:
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Guess who’s back? Wrestlers are legitimate athletes, but they do not do the same things as their contemporaries. One of the major differences is in the area of retirement, as you do not see wrestlers stay out of the ring forever most of the time. It also helps that wrestlers are able to come back for a one off match if they choose, which is the case again with another retired wrestler.
Last week on NXT, Harland attacked WWE producer and former star Brian Kendrick, causing him to suffer a neck injury. This week, Harland and Joe Gacy blamed Kendrick for causing his own injury due to his comments about Harland. As a result, Kendrick announced that he had resigned as a producer and would be returning to the ring to face Harland next week. This will be Kendrick’s first match since the October 28, 2010 edition of 205 Live.
Kendrick had a heck of a career of his own. Check out what is coming for Harland:
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They want different things. We are in a period of change for WWE and a lot of those changes have been due to the company releasing all kinds of wrestlers. The reason is said to be that WWE wants younger stars for the future rather than established names. However, it seems that there are some differences between the kinds of wrestlers that WWE is hoping to recruit.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE has different priorities when it comes to signing male or female wrestlers. WWE is said to be looking for bigger male wrestlers, with shorter wrestlers not likely to be brought in. When it comes to women, WWE is more interested in looks, and will be more likely to hire women who are “good looking” or can do something special in the ring.
WWE has signed several wrestlers over the years. Check out some of the better debuts:
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Opinion: I don’t think this i..

I guess he isn’t a fan. WWE has been undergoing all kinds of changes in recent months and there is nothing to suggest that those changes have come to an end. Most of the changes have been related to wrestlers’ contracts, including several who have been let go from the company. There are ways to prevent those cuts from taking place, but it seems that the most powerful person in WWE is not a fan.
According to Fightful Select, there are several higher ups in WWE who are interested in allowing no cut clauses in new contracts. However, these clauses are not something negotiable because Vince McMahon is “adamantly against” the idea of including such clauses. In addition, WWE is said to have extended or re-signed most a large portion of its roster since 2019, though over 100 wrestlers have been released since then.
I guess they won’t be included. Check out some WWE contract signings:
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