NEWS

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?
Summerslam 1995
Date: August 27, 1995
Location: Pittsburgh Civic Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 18,062
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Vince McMahon
So it’s time for the annual redos and for some reason, my readers decided to have me watch one of the worst Summerslams of all time. I’m so thrilled. Anyway this is built around Diesel vs. King Mabel in one of those moments where Vince McMahon was considered completely insane. Let’s get to it.
The opening video talks about the big matches tonight, including..

Some weren’t so subtle. It is never easy to lose a wrestling legend. You never know when someone might go and it can be even worse when someone is gone in a surprise. This can often bring up some very sad memories, but also some positive ones as people get to think about what the departed wrestlers mean to them. That was the case this week and there were several tributes to be seen.
WWE Hall of Famer and wrestling legend Scott Hall passed away on Monday at the age of 63 after suffering three heart attacks. Following his passing, WWE paid tribute to him this week on Monday Night Raw, including a graphic and a memorial video. In addition, several wrestlers paid tribute to Hall throughout the night.
Kevin Owens used Hall’s “hey yo” catchphrase and later in the night, he told Seth Rollins that “tough times don’t last, tough guys do”, in reference to Hall’s WWE Hall of Fame induction speech. Damian Priest also used Hall’s signature walk and the Razor’s Edge during his match. Finn Balor al..

Putting her money where your mouth is. There is a lot of wrestling in the world today and it is almost impossible to keep track of everything that is going on. While the bigger promotions are going to get the most attention, there is so much more content out there, which you might not get to see every time. One wrestler seems to be trying to do something about that.
Impact Wrestling’s Jordynne Grace has sent out a tweet, offering to help fans get in to any show that she is on but that they cannot afford to attend. Grace said that she wants to facilitate more people watch wrestling and loves to help doing so. In addition to working for Impact Wrestling, Grace also works for a variety of other promotions, including Beyond Wrestling, Game Changer Wrestling, Terminus and more.
Fans: If there’s a show I’m on that you want to attend, but you can’t afford the ticket, contact me and I’ll do my best to get you in.
If I can facilitate more people enjoying wrestling, I’d love to do that.
— J..

Remember him? There are a lot of wrestlers on the WWE roster, which can cause some problems for those wrestlers who fall through the cracks. It is easy to see how wrestlers can be forgotten, especially if the company doesn’t have anything for them. Sometimes WWE tries to come up with something for them, and that is the case again with a long missing star.
Elias has not appeared on WWE television since August, when vignettes aired showing him burning his trademark guitar. The vignettes were never followed up on and Elias has not been mentioned since. According to Fightful Select, WWE has filmed new Elias vignettes and has been scheduled to return to Monday Night Raw, possibly under a new name. There is no word on when this will take place, though plans could always change.
Opinion: I’ll put this into the “I’ll believe it when I see it” category, as Elias has not been around for a long time now. WWE has a tendency to come up with ideas and then never do anything with them, which seems ..

We have some sad news to report tonight as WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall has passed away at the age of 63.
From WWE.com:
A hugely influential Superstar, Hall began his career in 1984, performing with various organizations across the country before joining World Championship Wrestling in 1991 as The Diamond Studd. In 1992, Hall signed with WWE and introduced fans all over the world to the character of Razor Ramon, becoming a four-time Intercontinental Champion and one of the most enduring personas of WWE’s “New Generation.” He participated in memorable rivalries against Kevin Nash, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and countless others, with his two Ladder Matches against Michaels at WrestleMania X and SummerSlam 1995 both considered all-time classics by fans and industry insiders alike. In 1996, Hall re-joined World Championship Wrestling and joined Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan as the founding members of the nWo (New World Order), revolutionizing the sports-entertainment industry and ushering i..

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 14, 2022
Location: VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Jimmy Smith, Byron Saxton
We have less than three weeks to go before Wrestlemania and WWE still has a lot of work to do before the show. The big story coming out of last week was Kevin Owens challenging Steve Austin to meet him at Wrestlemania, with Austin accepting the next day. Other than that, it’s time to hear about how wrestlers have no path to the show. Let’s get to it.
In Memory Of Scott Hall.
We open with a look at Kevin Owens’ challenge and Austin accepting.
Here is Kevin Owens, who opens with a Hey Yo. He is the happiest Canadian right now because he is going to the main event of Wrestlemania Saturday night. Owens used his superior Canadian intellect to get what he wanted. This draws a USA chant, with Owens saying that everyone, including the USA, will get to see Owens take Austin out. The only can that will be opened is a can of Canadian beer ..

Welcome to the club. There are very few career honors for wrestlers, as the main prizes to be won are eventually lost to someone else. That does not leave many options available for career honors, though the WWE Hall of Fame is one of them. The WWE Hall of Fame has seen quite a few top level inductees and now another name has officially been announced to join its ranks.
WWE has announced that Sharmell will be inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2022. Over the course of her career, Sharmell primarily served as Booker T.’s manager and was billed as Queen Sharmell during Booker’s time as King Booker. Sharmell joins the Undertaker and Vader as the three names announced for the class so far, with more likely to be added. The induction ceremony will take place on April 1 after SmackDown.
Opinion: Above all else, this makes me miss managers. You can make various criticisms about Sharmell’s career, but she was perfect in her role as King Booker’s manager and did exactly wh..

Welcome to the team. WWE has changed up its roster several times in the last few years, including the releases of over one hundred wrestlers. Several of these names are from NXT, which has left the company’s future in a bit of a jam. At some point WWE is going to have to replenish its roster with some new stars and now they have filled in one of the gapes with a promising newcomer.
According to PWInsider.com, WWE has signed Rok-C to a contract. This comes after Rok-C had taken part in a WWE tryout camp, with reports saying that the two sides had agreed to a deal. There is no word on when she will make her WWE debut. Rok-C is a former Ring of Honor Women’s Champion, having won the vacant title when Ring of Honor revived it in 2020. Since then, she has lost the title to Deonna Purrazzo in Impact Wrestling and appeared for Major League Wrestling.
Opinion: This one feels like it was more a matter of time than anything else, as both sides seemed interested in working together. Rok-C showe..

It’s a special place. Wrestlers are tasked with keeping up their characters no matter what happens in front of the crowd. It is one of the most important part of a wrestler’s work and is only broken up on special occasions. One of the few instances of this is when a wrestler is in a situation that means something personal to them and that was the case this week at a live event.
Over the weekend, WWE held a live event in Pensacola, Florida, featuring a main event of Drew McIntyre and the New Day defeating the Bloodline. Following the match, Roman Reigns, a Pensacola native, addressed the crowd, talking about how blessed he is and saying that no matter where he went, this would always be his home. Reigns said that he acknowledged the crowd instead of having them acknowledge him. He also thanked the fans for coming out to the show.
It was an awesome speech. Check out what Reigns said to the crowd:
[This post contains video, click to play]

Opinion: This is the kind of thing you do not..

LVL Up
Date: March 11, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Sudu Shah, Nigel McGuinness
We’re in a new NXT era as Dolph Ziggler won the NXT Title. That was a bit of a surprise when it took place but now it seems like all roads lead to Bron Breakker getting his title rematch at Stand & Deliver next month. With a few weeks to go, it is now time to see how this NXT show has nothing to do with any of that. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Trick Williams vs. Guru Raaj Carmelo Hayes is here with Williams and sits in on commentary. Williams grabs a headlock to start as Hayes talks about how he is a bigger star than the NXT Champion (who he doesn’t mention here, as this was filmed before NXT). Raaj sends him into the corner but comes back with a kick to the face. A running corner clothesline connects and it’s time for something like a standing Disarm-Her. Raaj fights out and hits some running forearms, setting up the COME ON to the crowd. Williams is bac..

They have some names in mind. The WWE Hall of Fame is an interesting situation, as it doesn’t exactly have a clear criteria for entry. Some wrestlers being inducted are a bit obvious while others might be a surprise. There are also wrestlers who are not in for one reason or another, which can often involve them turning down an invitation. That might be the case again with a legendary team.
According to Dave Meltzer on the Sunday Night’s Main Event podcast, WWE is hoping to induct the Steiner Brothers, or at least one of them, into this year’s Hall of Fame class. While Scott has not been associated with WWE for nearly twenty years and has had several negative things to say about the company, Rick appeared with his son Bron Breakker at an NXT event earlier this year. There is no word if either or both will be inducted, but they have been discussed behind the scenes.
Opinion: While I would love to see the Steiners being inducted, one without the other wouldn’t exactly work. Rick did hav..

That’s a bad place to be. WWE has been on top of the wrestling world for a very long time now and that seems likely to be the case for the foreseeable future. That being said, there are still problems within the company that have to be addressed on a daily basis. Some of these are things that you will not see take place in front of the camera, which seems to be the case again with WWE’s flagship show.
According to Ringsidenews.com, Monday Night Raw is said to be “the worst mess it’s ever been” behind the scenes. Vince McMahon is said to make decisions leading up to the show, tells Bruce Prichard, John Laurinaitis and Ed Koskey about them, and then the rest of the team finds out the day of the show. It was also noted that this situation could change at any time, as McMahon can often change how he makes decisions.
Opinion: I can’t bring myself to be surprised by this as Monday Night Raw has turned into quite the mess most of the time. There are weeks when it seems like they have a plan..