WWE RAW 25th Anniversary Review // 22nd January 2018 // Roman Reigns vs. The Miz

It was the 25th anniversary of WWE's flagship show on 22nd January (okay the actually anniversary was on 11th Jan, but this  as RAW hit the Barclays Center and Manhattan Center in New York City to celebrate. This was also the go-home RAW for the Royal Rumble, so surely it was going to be an epic success and not at all a let-down?...Right?

At a Glimpse

- Roman Reigns vs. The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship 
- D-Generation X and Scott Hall with The Balor Club
- Vince, Stephanie and Shane McMahon open the show with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin 
- Appearances from: The Undertaker, John Cena, AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan and Jeff Hardy

Intercontinental Championship // The Miz def. Roman Reigns (C) // Pinfall

The show's main event came at the top of the second hour and was the only match on the show that felt particularly important or consequential. The match was solid stuff and a very easy watch, but also suffered from feeling a little lightweight, short and overly familiar. The pattern was that of any recent Miz match, with lots of interference and distraction from Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel at ringside, bringing to mind Jinder Mahal's WWE title run, a comparison that nobody would want to be drawn. A couple of cute spots, including a nice moment where Dallas held onto Reigns leg in the corner as the Big Dog set up for a spear, allowing Miz to hit his Awesome Clothesline, but the body of the match featured nothing different and very little in the way of narrative beyond the interference. The last couple of two minutes or so were well done, with Miz getting a well-crafted near fall off a Skull Crushing Finale, after the referee had kicked Axel & Dallas from ringside, for a massive pop. Moments later Miz would dodge a spear, sending Reigns into an exposed turnbuckle, allowing for a second Skull Crushing Finale to pick up Miz's eighth Intercontinental Championship run and first victory over Reigns at the eighth time of asking. Overall, a solid yet unspectacular match, that could have been livened up by having the various General Managers (Daniel Bryan, William Regal, Eric Bischoff and John Laurinaitis) who were on stage before the entrances being involved somehow in the decision to remove Dallas & Axel from ringside somehow, as only having them wave a bit to the crowd was a waste and not particularly interesting for the home-viewer. 

D-Generation X and Scott Hall met the Balor Club 

then...

Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson def. Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder // Pinfall

The top segment from the Manhattan Center came in the form of the D-Generation X reunion and their subsequent interactions with Razor Ramon and The Balor Club. There were a few fun moments when Triple H and Shawn Michaels were out there together, but things quickly descended into one of Triple H's pre-NXT Takeover speeches, full of buzzwords and claims about D-Generation X being at the forefront for the next 25 years. Past that the reunion felt like it was the same stuff we've seen time and time again from the group and considering they did a similar segment a few years back at RAW 1000, the only special thing about the reunion was the Manhattan Center setting and the crowd chanting "1-2-3" at X-Pac. Razor Ramon turning up added a little, but Finn Balor, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson at least bought a fresh angle to things and considering that BULLET CLUB leaned heavily on tropes from DX and the Kliq it was super cool to see them interacting here and throwing up the ol' Too Sweet hand gesture. The match that followed with Gallows & Anderson going over the Revival was a deathly disappointing squash. Considering Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder would go on to take everyone's finishes after the match, I'm not sure why they had to lose the match as well, as surely a cheap victory with some underhanded tactics would have given more reason to the beatdown and also not completely cut the legs out from under the former NXT Tag Team Champions. 

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin stunned Vince and Shane McMahon 

The show peaked early with this wonderfully entertaining opening segment featuring Vince, Shane, Stephanie and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Everything from when Vinny Mac hit the ring onwards was a joy to watch as Vince and Stephanie owned their performances, peppering in some comedy around crowd funding and ripping into Brooklyn for being a bit of a shithole. It amazes me how easy it is to get an American crowd to react to stuff like that, with Brooklyn even reacting repeatedly to mentions about plaque (Vince's kids had crowdfunded him a plaque, because....that's just what happened). Once that famous glass smashed, the Barclays came unglued and it was time to head to stunner-ville. Seeing Vince having so much fun inside the ring, as he threw out reasons why Austin should stunner Shane instead, was brilliant. Seeing the joy on the 72 year old's face throughout the whole segment absolutely made this for me. The highlight for me was Vince's apparent ad-lib after Austin had stunnered Shane, as the crowd chanted "One more time" and Vince replied "I don't think Shane can take another time". The build towards Vince taking the stunner was timed perfectly, building the anticipation before delivering on what we all wanted to see.

Elias took out John Cena

Wow, I wasn't expecting to see this on the show. Elias rebuffed a John Cena comeback, nailed a low blow, guitar shot and Drift Away before leaving the 16 time World Champion laying in the centre of the ring. For me, this was the best booked segment on the entire show, as anyone tuning in to see Cena on the special episode, would've seen one of WWE's biggest star get left laying by a relative newcomer, lending the Drifter legitimacy amongst casual fans and reason for those fans to tune in for a regular episode. We also got one of my favourite Elias songs to date as he just bitched about various legends and Brooklyn booed the shit out of him. It was hardly nuanced, but boy did it work! Before the segment, Chris Jericho made a brief appearance with Elias backstage, pulling out a few catchphrases and placing The Drifter on the list. 

The APA returned and played poker with some lads...

then...

Titus O'Neil & Apollo Crews vs. Heath Slater & Rhyno // No Contest  

A lot of time went into this weird storyline, that began with the APA reopening their office thing with a door but no walls and concluded with Heath Slater taking a 3D from the Dudley Boyz through a table, and I'm still trying to figure out who decided any of it was good use of time and talent. The backstage segments were poorly produced and whilst appearances from Ted DiBiase, The Usos, Montel Vontavious Porter, Jeff Hardy, Natalya and The New Day were cool to see, no one particularly stood out as the multiple segments came across as incredibly messy and unorganised. There were things that each of those non-regulars could have done that would've been far more interesting and probably taken up less time than whatever the fuck this was. Somehow we got to a match between Heath Slater & Rhyno and Titus O'Neil & Apollo Crews and then the match was over. Nothing happened. It just ended because it got a bit rowdy. Slater getting thrown to the Dudley Boyz was also a thing, because it would appear Rhyno doesn't give a fuck about Slater's kids. Did you think about the kids, Rhyno? Shithead. 

Sasha Banks & Mickie James & Bayley & Asuka def. Alicia Fox & Nia Jax & Sonya Deville & Mandy Rose // Submission

Another inconsequential and down right dull match up was the opening contest of the evening. For some reason this bout was stretched across two advert breaks, with the second garnering a groan from this reviewer, but absolutely nothing of note had happened in the first two parts of the match. Asuka had a face shine, Sasha Banks was the face in peril and Banks tapped out Alicia Fox in the Banks Statement, with no hot tag or any particular feeling that such a finish was coming. Michael Cole made a big thing about there being no women's match on the first episode of RAW and to be quite honest there was the same amount of effort put into this women's match as there was back then. At least, Asuka turning on her team and throwing them over the rope after the match was a good piece of business heading into the Royal Rumble.

RAW Moments

Throughout the pre-show and beyond we got a reminder of some of the greatest moments in the shows history. These included Bobby Heenan trying to enter the Manhattan Center, Steve Austin driving a Zamboni, Mankind winning the WWF title, Eric Bischoff's debut, Lita vs. Trish Stratus as the first women's main event, The Undertaker's general career, Chris Jericho's debut, D-Geneation X invading WCW, Seth Rollins turning on The Shield, Brock Lesnar's return and the career of Edge. All well an good, I guess.

Brock Lesnar, Kane and Braun Strowman collided ahead of Royal Rumble

Whilst it seemed like creative had about six ideas for the closing segment of the show and decided to do all of them at the same time, it was Paul Heyman who ended up stealing the moment and giving us one final hard sell on the Universal Championship match at Royal Rumble on Sunday. Heyman coming out and with his usual bombast declaring that Lesnar wasn't there for a nostalgia trip, but for a fight, was delicious stuff that the crowd lapped up and actually made me excited to see the three of them scrap. For reason, the ring had some of the legends from earlier around it and some of the regular roster stood in between Strowman and Kane for a bit, before doing absolutely fuck all. The brawl between the three that will be involved in the Sunday's Universal title match didn't do a whole lot for me, being too short to offer much of an insight into the matches potential. After Lesnar hit Kane with an F5 early doors, it was Braun Strowman who ended the show standing tall following a running powerslam to Lesnar through a table.

Peep Show with Seth Rollins, Jason Jordan, Sheamus & Cesaro 

Jason Jordan has really came into his own since being placed alongside Seth Rollins and it was never more evident than it was here as the pairs uneasy partnership became the focal point of a special episode of Christian's Peep Show (definitely would've been improved by a Super Hans appearance). Jordan's overtly cocky to the point of it almost being uncomfortable to watch character was on full display, making references to his Dad whilst Rollins looked on uneasy. The interruption from The Bar provided us with a good little bit of build for their Tag Title clash at the Rumble, with the two teams scrapping as Sheamus & Cesaro had lead the crowd in a "You suck" chant directed towards Jordan. The last little bit of misscomunication between the champion as Rollins nailed Jordan with the springboard knee gave us the last bit of story development before Sunday, opening up the possibility of a title change. The segment would've been improved by an appearance from Edge as they could've pushed the tag team theme a little further, but you can't have everything in this life.

Bray Wyatt def. Matt Hardy // Pinfall 

The only other match from the Manhattan Center was this disappointingly short and straightforward contest between Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy. This has been built to for a long, long time and then just happened. To my knowledge it wasn't announced prior, which makes things even worse. To be fair, the match was ticking along rather nicely for a while as both men mixed up a number of their signature moves and poses, whilst the Manhattan Center was hot for deleting things. Then it just ended as Wyatt blocked a Twist of Fate, pulled Hardy's throat into the top rope and hit Sister Abigail to earn the win in a couple of minutes. What happens now? Wyatt won, with a slightly underhanded tactic, but in such a quick fashion that it feels like any momentum that was left from the overly long build was killed stoned dead. At least Wyatt won I suppose, that's something. 

The Undertaker said nothing

What on earth was this? Seriously, what was the point? Obviously, there's always a thrill when The Undertaker is on your television screen, but when it's five minutes of the Deadman talking but saying absolutely nothing, then you start to wonder why it's happening at all. Taker mentioned some of his old rivals and then said a cryptic sentence about them being able to rest in peace now. What? The commentary team offered no help at all either. No interaction with anyone, no development to a story and no important announcement, this was five mind-numbing minutes of nothing fucking happening. The Manhattan Center got screwed. 

Also...

Eric Bischoff joined the pre-show panel for a chat about his RAW debut, in which we learnt absolutely nothing new...In another waste of talents, Trish Stratus, Kelly Kelly, The Bella Twins, Maria Kanellis, Maryse, Michelle McCool, Torrie Wilson, Lilian Garcia, Jacqueline and Terri Runnels came out and waved at the crowd...The New Day's hilarious lip sync battle with Triple H & Stephanie McMahon from The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon aired on the pre-show...The Boogeyman, Teddy Long, Jonathan Coachman, The Brooklyn Brawler, Brother Love and Harvey Wippleman appeared in a segment in Kurt Angle's office...AJ Styles featured in a fun interview segment with "Mean" Gene Okerlund discussing his WWE Championship defence at Royal Rumble...SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair bumped in RAW Women's Champion Alexa Bliss, before Charlotte's Dad Ric Flair arrived to do some Wooing and what have you...Mark Henry and The Godfather caught up backstage...

Finally...

Lets be honest, RAW 25 was a massive let down, especially if you happened to be inside the Manhattan Center. "Stone Cold" and the McMahons, John Cena and Elias and The Peep Show segments were the only ones that I felt fully delivered, whilst Roman Reigns vs. The Miz was a solid, yet unspectacular main event. D-Generation X and Balor Club was fun, but the squash of the Revival frustrating, whilst all of the matches felt throw away and the legends backstage segments fell flat. Perhaps the most disappointing thing on the show was The Undertaker's appearance, which promised a lot and delivered nothing. Here's hoping the Royal Rumble manages to live up to the hype better than this.

Our Favourite RAW Moments

What's this? A shameless cash-in article because it's RAW 25 tonight? Absolutely not. Shut up. Don't go away though, read these views. 

I thought I'd ask our writers and a few friends what they've enjoyed the most over the last twenty five years and this is the collection of those views. What a treat for you the reader. We've got a cavalcade of the great and the good when it comes to ATPW involved Craig Hermit, 

CRAIG HERMIT 

Twenty Five years people, that's a quarter of a century. That's how long RAW has been on that long?! So what is my favourite moment? I genuinely can't give you one because think about it. You as an individual has changed throughout that time.

Case in point, I remember being a child cheering watching the RAW episode when Mr Perfect sent Ric Flair away to WCW after a career ending match. I wouldn't be having the same reaction now. I remember watching the Stone Cold vs Mr McMahon feud every week with something else added on, now I'd be saying this is just drawn out. 

Kurt Angle feuding with Stone Cold was my highlight of the Invasion, "Milkomania!"

Then when the Trish Stratus feud with Lita reached new levels, they main evented the show. WWE had consistently fed fans that Women in the division were eye candy, but damnit that match, both women displayed exactly why they were role models to women that this was just the beginning and it's to WWE's discredit that fans never saw more of this and more development from their wrestlers until recently.

And Daniel Bryan, or should I say the Daniel Bryan movement, wow, think about it, highjacking The Authority's Championship speech and then in the run to Wrestlemania highjacking the show.

Closing with Paige, remembering her first Divas Title victory. It was incredible, not the match but the moment. Fans who'd seen her in NXT, Shimmer and UK knew how awesome she is and this moment seeing her seize the Title. Damn incredible.

So those are some of the moments I remember, oh The Shield breaking up too, there we go!


Think about your 25 years, can you sum it up in one moment? Much like RAW, you can't.

JOZEF RACZKA

Not everything great in WWE happened in the Attitude Era. I'm sure a lot of them did but as someone whose first Wrestlemania was Thirty, it would be disingenuous to write about something that really had no meaning to me. The first full episode of RAW I watched was June 2nd 2014, does that mean anything to you? It should, it's when Seth Rollins, the Architect of The Shield brought it all crashing down around him when he beat Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose with a chair. It was the beginning of my understanding of why you dumb nerds watch this shit and also of me becoming one of you.

But here's the thing, that's not even the death of friendship, I wanted to talk about today. Sure, we've had the end of The Shield, we've had The Miz & Damien Mizdow but in recent years, there's no contender for one moment that we're going to all look back on , maybe even 25 years from now and think 'well that was basically perfect'. I talk to you, of course, about Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens' Festival of Friendship. The Festival is a tribute to the rock-solid nature of Owens and Jericho when it comes to character relations, you see, anyone who's been watching the programming could have worked out that Owens was going to turn on Jericho but Jericho being so blinded to how one-sided the friendship is at that point makes it all the more heartbreaking. Yet it doesn't forget in making Jericho the hero of the story, that he's also a grand-stage narcissist who talks of himself as a gift and makes his entrance with a chorus of showgirls, it's a celebration of friendship but very much, it's a Chris Jericho event, nothing of the flash or pomp suggests Kevin Owens. Wrestling is just a media through which the story is performed, stories of superheroes and supervillains can stand alongside more nuanced tales of broken people refusing to see that they can't make someone change.

That's what we got here and with all the Craigslist magicians, reinterpretations of The Creation of Adam and surprise Gillberg returns you could ask for. This segment was great, as good as the pipebomb, as good as The Rock: This Is Your Life. All this and we learnt one of the most important lessons that wrestling has taught us in years: "It's art! You don't need pants!"

SEAN TAYLOR-RICHARDSON

When Nitro commentator Tony Schiavone joked about Mick Foley’s title win putting butts on seats, he not only hammered a nail in the WCW coffin, he also pointed viewers in the direction of Raw’s greatest ever moment. In front of a wild crowd, Mankind and The Rock engaged in a fiery brawl, aided and abetted by a rich cast of supporting characters: from the McMahons to D-X, this who’s who of the Attitude Era was capped off by the arrival of the never-hotter Stone Cold Steve Austin. As the glass shattered, the fans came unglued; more than happy to see a major star, this pop was reminiscent of a home crowd witnessing a last minute winner over the local rivals Moments later and Mankind was champion: for all of Schiavone’s sarcasm, this represented one of the most genuine feel good moments in WWF/E history.

ANDY SCOTLAND 

I think for me personally, my favourite moment from Raw would be the segment between Mike Tyson and Steve Austin from January 19th, 1998. Steve Austin had just come off his Royal Rumble win and was as popular as anyone had ever been. Vince McMahon was a proud as could be about having “The Baddest Man On The Planet” Mike Tyson on Monday Night Raw and you just knew that Austin was coming to spoil the whole thing. I can still remember the whole segment almost from memory. I was glued to the TV watching it. You could have offered me anything in the world but as a 10 year old, nothing else existed for those minutes. It made regular news around the world. That brawl between the two was probably up there with the best brawl ever on TV, not just WWE. Over 20 years later, people still put it in the top moments in WWE history and I can completely agree.

JAMES MARSTON 

When I asked myself to write my favourite RAW moment, it seems like a lot of our writers I struggled to find my moment. Not because of a lack of choice, but because of the abundance of choice. As much as we, the fans, like to bemoan the WWE, there's no doubt that Vince McMahon and his pals know how to create moments that stick in your mind for years and years. Part of that is how often WWE likes to replay it's classic moments...how often have you seen D-Generation X invade on WCW get an outing on RAW? But another part is the power behind the moments themselves in the first place. Whilst storylines might not always hit home or end how we'd like to see them end, the moments along the way are what keeps us coming back. 

I was a young fan during the tail end of the Attitude Era, but didn't have Sky, so my main exposure to WWF was Sunday Night Heat on Channel 4 and the handful of PPVs they showed. Whilst I've obviously seen the majority of the iconic moments from this period, it would be wrong to choose something from here as it just didn't have the same impact on me watching them years after the fact and often knowing what was going to happen. I began finding WWE back again in 2007, before learning how to connect with RAW online a few years later. Therefore the moments I've been most effected by mostly come from after 2010. I remember being baffled by Donald Trump buying RAW, thrilled by the Nexus invasion angle and saddened by Edge's retirement...but the first time I remember coming away thinking "Holy shit, what has just happened?" was CM Punk's Pipebomb promo. 

Coming after a fairly forgettable Tables Match between R-Truth and John Cena, from the moment Punk sat cross-legged on ramp, clad in a "Stone Cold" Steve Austin t-shirt, his energy came straight through the screen and made me take notice of what was about to happen. Pre this moment, Punk's 2011 had been hit and miss, placed as the leader of the New Nexus, over as fuck and picking up victories over John Cena, Rey Mysterio and John Morrison, but also losing ever match in his series with Randy Orton, there was no particular indication of what was about to come. That's probably what made the subsequent promo so special. 

It might have launched a series of worked shoots that didn't always work, but in that moment as Punk began to rile off his issues with WWE, Vince McMahon, John Lauranitis and the fans, it felt like a real shift was occurring. Winks and nods to things outside the company, mentioning New Japan, Ring of Honor and even Colt Cabana, at a time when WWE was much more cut off from the rest of the wrestling world than it is today, felt like nothing else that had happened on that show, that month, year or beyond. Punk bought attitude, a real visceral energy as he spat his lines at the audience, the camera and mentioned the death of Vince McMahon. Pulling back the curtain and airing petty grievances, all whilst John Cena, the Micky Mouse to WWE's Disney, lay prone in the ring, selling a table bump for what felt like an age. It propelled storylines for months and months to come, resulting in a lengthy WWE title run for Punk, the return of Paul Heyman and gave WWE a genuine buzz. Even if WWE essentially dropped the ball after Money in the Bank, this promo also gave us one of the greatest WWE matches of all-time. 

(All this nice stuff and we're still blocked by CM Punk on Twitter!) 

--- 

Enjoy RAW 25 tonight folks, lets hope it brings us many more fantastic moments to talk about!

Article by Craig Hermit, Jozef Rackza (@NotJozefRaczka), Sean Taylor-Richardson (@GrownManCenaFan), Andy Scotland (@WrestleRopes) and James Marston (@IAmNotAlanDale) 

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times // Triple H

WWE likes to use the term polarising as a positive. For years, the announce team have used this term to describe John Cena’s mixed reactions as something to be celebrated; the same approach has since been adopted for Roman Reigns. But while both Cena and Reigns certainly draw juxtaposing responses from the live crowd, when it comes to truly polarising the fan base, Triple H really is the king of kings.

To some fans, Hunter is a legendary performer and the rightful heir apparent to the WWE. For the hardcore fans, NXT, his baby, is arguably the second most beloved brand in wrestling, lagging behind only NJPW, and his recent masterstroke, reviving the War Games and filling it with ROH alumni, is testament to his ability to marry wrestling traditions with modern independent stylings. However, to others, NXT’s success glosses over his reoccurring character flaws. To some, he will always be the ultimate politician, a performer who never really matched up to the true greats and an opportunist who married the boss’ daughter, in the process forcing his way into writing meetings so that he could bury his potential opponents (his recent defeat of Jinder Mahal in India raised more eyebrows than his post-match dancing). Whichever side of the fence you fall on, one thing is for sure: when the history books are written for the WWE, Triple H will justify more than a few chapters…

Best Match: vs Chris Jericho (Raw, 17^th April 2000)

This remains one of the best matches in the (near) 25 year history of Monday Night Raw and may be the most fun match of both men’s WWE runs. Triple H has had fiercer brawls and more epic struggles of endurance but this contest was an example of what an on-point WWF/E do better than anyone else: build in a supporting cast of characters (here it was Shane and Stephanie McMahon, the APA and Earl Hebner) to present a logical yet unpredictable story. As the action intensified and the red hot State College crowd began to believe in Y2J, a ref bump triggered scenes of madness: a false finish was followed up by Triple H and Hebner physically getting into it, the distraction allowing Jericho to score the pin. The count seemed a little fast but it had reason to be: an enraged Hebner had just cause to screw Hunter. When the McMahon-Helmsley regime reviewed the footage, they immediately demanded the result be overturned which led to another entertaining segment between Hunter and Hebner. This finish might have seemed a cop-out in different circumstances but here, it played into the story perfectly and set the wheels in motion for a summer long feud.

Honourable mentions: vs Cactus Jack (Royal Rumble, 2000); vs Chris Jericho (Fully Loaded 2000); vs Shawn Micheals (Summerslam 2002); vs The Undertaker (Wrestlemania 28)

Worst Match: vs Scott Steiner (Royal Rumble 2003)

Nearly fifteen years later, this remains a huge disappointment and it was the lowest ebb in what was, arguably, Hunter’s most dissatisfying year in the business. Having been one of the most believable and engaging acts in the dying days of WCW, the signing of Scott Steiner seemed like a real coup for the WWE.  Big Poppa Pump was over like Rover, still looked like a million bucks and seemed tailor made to tangle with Triple H: his reputation would surely guarantee hard-hitting, competitive matches, right? Nope: these two didn’t click on any level. Steiner blew up early and while Triple H fared better with regard to stamina, he still wasn’t able to mask his opponent’s shortcomings. Their exchanges were ugly, the match was sloppy and the non-finish was insulting. The rematch a month later was another pointless exercise; this time, Hunter derailed the Big Booty Daddy’s hype train by pinning him in the middle of the ring. Three months after rocking Madison Square Garden on his debut, Steiner was finished while Triple H’s reputation for burials gathered pace.

Honourable mentions: vs  Henry Godwin (In Your House 5); vs Randy Orton (WrestleMania 25)

Best Feud: vs Mick Foley (1997/ 2000)

Not once, but twice, did Mick Foley play a significant role in giving Hunter a leg up the card. Back in 1997, Mankind’s star was rising while Hunter Hearst Helmsley was firmly entrenched in the mid-card.  Indeed, when Hunter won the King of the Ring it was somewhat of an upset: true, he had been earmarked for the crown a year earlier but the build to this event had been all about Foley. However, the hard-hitting nature of this match meant that both men got over and subsequent brawls at Canadian Stampede, Summerslam and on Monday Night Raw saw Triple H face off against Mankind, Dude Love and Cactus Jack in consistently excellent outings. His reputation enhanced by the Foley programme, by the year’s end Hunter was ready to be elevated and paired with Shawn Michaels: D-X was born.

A few years later, Hunter was close to the Promised Land: having risen up the mid-card and having captured the WWF title (from, you guessed it, Mick Foley), he was so close to being the man. However, he needed a statement victory to obtain that alpha male status: at this point, his wins had been tainted; he needed to pin a star cleanly and convincingly. That star was Cactus Jack: first at the Royal Rumble and then inside Hell in a Cell, Foley bumped and bled for the cause, doing clean jobs that transformed Hunter from competent heel to bad ass main eventer. Triple H was a made-man and it was Foley, more than any other, who made him.

A footnote here: there are rumours that Hunter was always quick to badmouth Foley backstage, undermining his contributions to the industry. I was lucky enough to attend the Hall of Fame in MSG in 2013: the night when Foley was inducted. As the show came to an end and the cameras stopped rolling, I noticed Hunter make a point of reaching over to Foley to shake his hand. In the same building in which Cactus Jack and Triple H had waged war their mutual respect seemed genuine.

Honourable mentions: vs Kurt Angle (2000); vs Batista (2005); vs The Undertaker (2011-12)

Worst Feud: vs Booker T (2003/ 2007)

The programme with Booker epitomised the very worst of Hunter’s career: the predominance of bad taste segments (the racial overtones of "Somebody like you…doesn't get to be a world champion" went beyond wrestling heat); the insistence in proving WWE superiority over WCW (watch Triple H’s slow motion cover following his one pedigree: seemingly there was no directive for Booker to look strong here) and the lack of clear resolution (this was their only title match: the vanquished challenger never got his redemption). Their brief feud in 2007 wasn’t as offensive but was as damaging: after successfully portraying a King for a year, Booker T had secured a main event spot. But when the King of Kings returned at Summerslam, it was clear who the true King was. Again, a lack of competitiveness in the bout spoke volumes about. Booker didn’t hang around for the trilogy; he soon left for TNA.

Honourable mentions: vs Scott Steiner (2003);

Best Title Run: WWE Champion (January 2000- April 2000)

After defeating The Big Show on an episode of Monday Night Raw, Triple H kicked off a title run that saw him truly cement himself as the best wrestler in North America at the time. His aforementioned feud with Mick Foley was the pinnacle of his reign but he had many more great bouts: a generous performance in a Smackdown battle with Rikishi was a real coming out party for the former Fatu; a Raw title match with The Rock and The Big Show was electric; and while the main event of Wrestlemania 16 was a tad disappointing, his Backlash encounter with The Great One was superb. For four months, this game really was all about Triple H.

Honourable mentions: World Champion (September 2004- April 2005); WWE Champion (April- November 2008)

Worst Title Run: World Heavyweight Champion (December 2002-September 2003)

In these ten months, Triple H didn’t achieve half of what he had managed in four back in 2000. The reign started with an underwhelming win over Shawn Michaels at Armageddon: for a match with ladders and flaming barbed wire bats, it was rather average. His series’ with Steiner and Booker have been documented while a feud with Kevin Nash was ordinary. The Goldberg programme had promise but again never really sparked to life: at Summerslam, big Bill’s coronation was senselessly delayed until the next PPV, with a potentially memorable moment stolen from the masses. The subsequent match at Unforgiven was saddled with a stipulation that telegraphed the finish: should Goldberg lose, he would have to retire. At one point, Hunter even put a cash bounty on Goldberg’s head! Unquestionably, in booking and execution, this whole contest was very 1970s. Indeed, that was the crux of the problem for Hunter here: he had stopped being himself and had instead morphed into a Ric Flair/ Harley Race tribute act. Triple H rose to prominence in the Attitude era; lazily reviving NWA tropes in the noughties wasn’t going to cut it.

Honourable mention: WWE Champion (February- April 2009)

Best Angle: The Return at MSG (7^th January 2002: Monday Night Raw)

I was at university in January, 2002 and I remember this night vividly. Our regular Friday night routine was to hit the student union, represent on the dance floor until 2am and then head home, kebab in hand, for the late night/early morning repeat of Raw on Sky Sports. This night, we literally ran home, kebab still in hand, shouting excitedly at passers-by that tonight was the night Triple H was returning! Some people even returned our drunken proclamations with high fives: that’s how over Trips was then!

His return, after 7 months out nursing his blown quad, was truly a momentous moment. His pop, described by some as the loudest sustained cheer in MSG history, served as a reminder of how good he had been in the 18 months prior to his injury. This was Triple H at the height of his powers. And his cut-off denim jacket was as cool as shit.

Honourable mention: Batista turns on Triple H (Monday Night Raw: February 21^st 2005)

Worst Angle: The Katie Vick debacle (October 21st 2002: Monday Night Raw)

There have been enough words written over this angle to last a lifetime: a recent Something to Wrestle Podcast addressed this detestable train wreck and it was revealed, to Hunter’s credit, that he at least tried to convince Vince that this was a very bad idea. Of course, his words fell on deaf ears and an attempt to court controversy amongst the mainstream merely bemused his loyal audience. Its best summed up by an exchange that occurred on air between GM Eric Bischoff and Shawn Michaels in December of that year: when Michaels referenced Vick with disdain, Bischoff asked “Does that offend you as a Christian, Shawn?”

Michaels replied: “No Eric. It offends me as a wrestling fan”.

Honourable mention: Triple H breaks JR’s arm (Monday Night Raw:  4^th October 1999)

Article by Sean Taylor-Richardson (@GrownManCenaFan)

A Conversation with "Session Moth" Martina

ATPW recently got the chance to talk with "Session Moth" Martina (recorded 14th September 2017), this is that talk/conversation/interview. We talked about seeing red at NORTH, the appeal of Over the Top Wrestling, breaking into fresh markets, the wonder that is Fight Club: Pro and so much more. Let's get on with it, here it is, enjoy.

ATPW: I wanted to start by asking how you were following that match at NORTH? [Martina was busted open during a match at NORTH on 9th September]

Martina: Oh I'm fine! It looked a lot worse than it was, which is a good thing, in a way. I just did a dive, the footage should be up soon enough. I'm pretty sure NORTH put out their matches for free, they just put it up on YouTube. I just smacked heads with "Flash" Morgan Webster and instantly I saw blood and I thought it was him. I felt the bang obviously, but I was like "Are you okay?", then I realised it was me. It was very scary for a minute, because it wasn't a little bit of blood, it just started gushing. I checked my teeth and I checked my nose and I had so much blood in my eye at this point that I thought maybe I burst an eyeball or something. Once I blinked it out, I was like "Okay, I don't know what it is, but I can keep going". So we just kept going. People were handing me clothes and once it was out of my eyes and I knew I could see and I remembered everything and I was good to go. So, I carried on. It was a shock more than anything else, seeing that much blood, but once I knew I was okay, it was actually quite fun to work with and to power through. I'm very lucky at the same time, because it could have been crucial. 

ATPW: I suppose, that as long as you're okay, then it sort of adds something to the match...

SMM: Yeah, as it went along and we were doing brawls in the crowd, I could hear the crowd being like "Oh my God, she's a trooper!". I know it's very scary as well, being a female, in the ring, in the main event with three boys. It'd be more shocking to the crowd seeing a girl bleed. Regardless of gender, it's shocking to the crowd when they see blood, but I think being the girl in the match, they were probably like "Oh my God!", because everyone's a little more sympathetic towards women.

ATPW: We see don't blood that much these days, anyway. Especially, women, that's really rare. Then even more so because it was an intergender match...

SMM: Yeah, I remember, the promoter, instantly, before he knew it was all okay, he got worried about that. He was like "Oh no, is this okay?". But once it was fine, in a way, it gained me a lot of respect on Twitter and stuff like that and the crowd went home ridiculously happy and they were like "Oh my God, that was brilliant" and we ended up having a really good match and I was happy with it. 

Credit - The Ropes Photography

ATPW: Let's start the interview proper with wrestling interview question #1, which is...How did you get into professional wrestling and what made you fan? 

SMM: I'd always been a fan, since I was young. Me and my brothers used to watch wrestling growing up and around the time when everyone one lost interest or everyone fell out of love with WWF/WWE, I didn't. I was the only one in my circle that still liked it, but you know, life moved on and I did new things and hung around new people. Then I got a little bit older, I was out with my friends one time and something came up, when we were all out drinking and I was like "Do you remember Stone Cold? The Rock? Chris Jericho?" and we just ended up talking about a load of WWF memories. When I got home I went on YouTube and just started looking up all the old stuff and I was like "Oh my God, this is great!" and then fell into a loop of it and ended up becoming obsessed with it all over again.

The obsession just got bigger and then eventually, I never thought I would do it, because I was a lot bigger back then, I was a big girl, but I just loved wrestling, I looked up something about Irish wrestling and saw that there was a school that did it. I thought "Ah that's cool", so I looked it up on Facebook and I thought I'd love to that one day and put it to the back of my head. Then I met the guy who ran the school, by chance, because my next door neighbour was friends with him. So, we ended up meeting and I said to him one night "I'd love to do it, but I wouldn't have the balls to do it". The next day I had a message from him, saying "I set up a class for you, come down and give it a go" and I was like "Ah no, I won't be able to do it" but then I just said "Ah fuck it, I'll give it a go". Then I got in the ring and I did the few little bits and I was probably absolutely terrible, but I said "Okay, I actually like this". That was about seven years ago.

ATPW: So when you began wrestling as Kazza G, mostly in Ireland, what was the scene like back then in 2011/12? 

SMM: Compared to now it was dead. There wasn't much going on. When I first started training my training school had just started running shows and I was their ring announcer on the first few shows. Eventually, they said "Okay, you're ready to wrestle, we're gonna put you in a battle royale" and there was no other girls training at this point so I was in there with the guys from the get go. Once I debuted it just sort of took of. I remember another promotion that did smaller shows, but they were all around Ireland, they used to travel all the time, because there was so few women, he booked me for every show! So from the start I was wrestling every weekend, because of that place and my home training school shows. They got better as it went along, it was still the one big show in Dublin once a month and then we do these smaller shows around the country. But it was the same, it was very old, camp style, boo-yay kind of wrestling, but it was great experience for getting me comfortable in front of a crowd. I wasn't doing anything to the degree I do now, I was either a basic heel or a basic face, but it was great to have that amount of experience in front of a crowd and get comfortable, wrestling all the time and improving in-ring. But, looking at the scene then compared to now, it's insane to see the difference, but I think that's the same for British wrestling and Irish wrestling all the same, all sorts of indepdent wrestling has just exploded over the last few years.

ATPW: Over the Top Wrestling (OTT) started in 2014 and you were on the very first show...

SMM: Yeah, I was Kazza on that show. I'd done a fair bit now as Kazza. I'd wrestling in Switzerland and I'd won a belt in Belgium and I'd wrestled for every promotion in Ireland, so it wasn't a case of where I didn't do anything before Martina. I did a lot and I got a lot of respect in Ireland and obviously winning a belt in Belgium was a big deal and even flying over to a different country from Ireland was very rare. I definitely had experience under my belt before OTT began.

I wrestled the first show as Kazza G. The first show did have such a special air to it and everybody knew that something special was happening here. I kinda just knew straight off "wrestling as Kazza isn't gonna do it", because we had such eccentric characters on the show. The Wards were the main guys, who were a stable of characters, then we had the Lads from the Flats, who were a stable of characters. So I was in Germany for the second show, so I wasn't on that, so then I came back and I was there for the next one but I wasn't on it. I was like "Nah, gotta do something different, something's gotta change". So I was like "I'll go with the Lads from the Flats", because they were like "They need a girl with them". So I said to myself "I'm gonna need to be like a townie girl" because who would the Lads from the Flats hang out with and I thought "A Session Moth is such a popular term in Ireland right now" because a Session Moth is pretty much a townie girl. They go to clubs, they drink, they just want to party, they're real common and just want to have fun. That's all the care about. So then I thought "What would a Session Moth wear? She'd wear pajamas!" They're the ones that go, hungover the next morning, they go to the shop in their pajamas. So then I got leopard print pajamas, because leopard prints so tacky! I was like "I'll wear hoop earrings and I'll come out with the Lads from the Flats and we'll have a rave and we'll just drink and we'll do this". That was the beginning of the character and as time went on I just kept adding things to it and started to get to know Martina and fell in love with everything about her, because it was just so much fun to do. The comedy wrestling aspect just made me fall in love with wrestling all over again, because I was going out there and making a fool of myself and having so much fun.

ATPW: What do you think has made OTT stand out as a promotion in Ireland? Because it was probably the first Irish promotion that came on my radar, as a fan in England. 

SMM: I dunno. I think it's obviously I think everyone looked over at Ireland and they didn't see much, because there wasn't any "adult shows", lets say, because it was all kids shows. If you ever saw any photos or film, growing up, it was kids in the crowd. Then OTT began and it was geared towards adults, it was Over 18s and people drink at it and it was such adult content, like myself and Lads for the Flats and stuff like that. We didn't have any British wrestlers on our first few shows, except for Pete Dunne and Ryan Smile, they've been with us since the start. I met Pete and Ryan years ago in another promotion in Ireland, a small kids show again, so we've all known them a very long time and we've been friends for a very long time. So they were already known to us, so when they came over and obviously Pete started getting more exposure as the years went on. Pete would always go back home and say "There's this great place in Ireland called OTT" and he loved it there because he was so over and got his job done so well. As time went on it just became word of mouth and then social media and then obviously we started booking more British wrestlers and our production values started increasing...it was kinda the same way any of the big promotions got to be big promotions, people just started catching on and saying "Oh wow, look at that".

I think what makes OTT stand out to all the other British promotions, even now is our character content is very original and our comedy aspect are very original. There's a mix of characters, you'll have your comedy, you'll have you highflying matches, you'll have your big man matches, there's literally something for everyone. We always like to do different thing and I like to think you'll see matches in OTT that you won't see anywhere else. 

ATPW: Yeah I've seen a lot of interesting and different stuff from OTT, mainly on YouTube and social media. I think that's the stuff that catches peoples attention and goes on to catch even more attention...

SMM: Yeah, I remember a show last year, it was the show that Will Ospreay debuted on, but we had the characters from Father Ted on the show and they were involved in the same match that I was in. So it just became this big thing and the video went viral around Ireland, because everyone was like "Oh my God, it's Father Ted in wrestling!". So I was asked to be on the national TV station for it, along with the promoter, so that was really good exposure for us and obviously Will loved it, so then Will started talking about it and telling people about it and again with Pete. It had all these great aspects with and it did really boom from then on. 

ATPW: So from OTT, you started coming to the UK in 2016, initially with PCW, how was that initial experience? 

SMM: Yeah that was my first UK booking, which was quite huge at the time, because I remember people saying "Will the UK get the gimmick? Will they understand it, because it's so Irish?" And that was my fear with it and as well I wouldn't say I would know Martina as well as I do now. I wouldn't even have wrestled as much as I do now. Oh my God, I can't even remember when it was. I didn't have much more since then, but towards the end of the year last year I started getting more exposure and then before I knew it, I had to leave a job. I've been booked in the UK, I think it's been two weekends this year that I haven't wrestled, which is insane, because looking at my life last year where I was working for OTT once a month and that was it because all them kids shows had stopped. There wasn't anything happening, so it was literally just OTT. So I was wrestling once a month last year and I was looking at all my British friends I'd made, who were wrestling every weekend and I got really jealous and I was like "That's what I want! That's what I want!". Then last year just kind of boomed and I've been so lucky this year.

ATPW: You talked a little bit there about a worry that the gimmick might not have translated when you came over the UK. In December, you're working in Canada, do you have similar kind of feelings about that? (This has since been cancelled after the company turned out to be a bag of shite)

SMM: I always worried about that. I worried about that wrestling in mainland Europe as well, but then I wrestled in Germany and it got ridiculously over and I'm debuting for wXw at the end of the month and I've got a fair few dates with them for the rest of the year. I think, maybe my spoken comedy may not translate for a lot of them, but I think people just get it, when they see me drinking beer and they see me dancing, I think regardless of what it is you can understand it. I think I've toned it, to where...because I have a lot of followers from Canada and America and even Japan, that have really gotten on board with it and seem to love it. So I guess it's just going over and make the best showing that I can. 

ATPW: Have you ever had a situation where you've gone out and the crowd has gone for it? 

SMM: No, I think the majority of places that I've been have really, really taken to it, which I'm very lucky to say. There, of course, might be the case were you do one joke and it might not get the reaction you hoped it would, but usually you can cover it up pretty well, so that's fine. I've always gotten a very, very good reception. I think one of the hardest places I've worked, because I know they have mixed feelings is ICW. My character is always you love or you hate me and they're always very strong on either side of that. Which is fine and I perfectly accept that, because it is such a strong gimmick, that you can't be indecisive about it, you either like it or you don't. I mainly find it from Scotland people, "I'm not really a fan", but it's very rare that I get that, so I'm lucky. 

ATPW: I think with ICW there's very much a case of "shades of grey" with how the crowd react to things...

SMM: I always think that they're very much in favour of homegrown talent and I think that was it. I did notice, because I've been there for most of the year, as time went on they were warming to me the more they saw of me. So it definitely did get better towards the last few of them, but at the start it was difficult, because I think they weren't decided on if they wanted just plain wrestling or if they wanted a character. I think overtime they've started to grow to like the character. Especially because I like to give Martina a lot of backstory and it's not black and white, there's a lot to it. I'll always be like "Oh no, this is about Martina, this is what Martina would do, she's mad like this. This time she's going to approach it with her drinking, this time she's going to approach it with her sex, this time she's going to do it because she's angry" I like to think that there's a lot to her. 

Credit - Jamie Spaul

ATPW: It sounds like you spend a lot of time thinking about what your character would do in each situation? 

SMM: In every situation. Say it's a title match, I'm not gonna be full of jokes this time or I might be at the start but by the end of it, maybe you've pissed me off and maybe I'm gonna kill ya for it! I look so much into Martina, if you ever see me on Twitter that's why I'm always saying I've got so many kids and the number keeps changing and that's just a joke I play, even for myself, but people seem to love it and people seem to jump on it. That's the whole thing, I like to pretend I'm this mother to a million kids and I don't know any of the Dads, so it's like I'm trying to make a living, so that's what I'm doing! It just makes it a lot more fun it you actually have something when you actually have something, when you're going out there and changing into a different person. Maybe I'm fighting this girl because she's pissed me off or she's slagged what I'm wearing and I'm thinking "Bitch, I'm wearing better than you!" 

ATPW: I wanted to talk a little bit about a promotion that I got to a lot, Fight Club: PRO...

SMM: Oh my favourite! It is my absolute home from home. OTT is my home, of course and it's my all-time favourite, but Fight Club in the UK is my home from home, I adore that place. I look forward to it every month. 

ATPW: I think on your first show, when you came in and went to bar, there was a sense "What's going on here?" and then it's just sort of snowballed into a story with Shay and all sorts of stuff...

SMM: I think it was a case of I was very friendly with everyone in Fight Club and I knew they really liked my character and I know Fight Club didn't really do comedy before I came along and that's one thing they always said to me. Once I did get out there and actually did start having matches, they were like "We really like the dynamic that you're bringing to the table", because they have their insane dream matches all the time, sometimes it can be nice to just get out there and the crowd just have a laugh. They have great women talent when they come in, but the great thing about Fight Club is they only book the best, they're not just going to throw away a match. It's always going to top notch, when you're going and I think they really liked the idea that I could get in there and it's the place where...at the London show, it was such a mad scramble where it had the UK Champion and a Session Moth and Jack Sexsmith and Eddie Dennis and Jordan Devlin, the big head, thirsty to prove himself and Millie McKenzie and Charlie Evans, just all of us in the same match and everyones just looking around and thinking "What? This is such a clash of different people, what the hell is this?". I never thought I'd be in the same ring as the WWE UK Champion, we're two different sides of a card, but it happened and it was so much, it was one of the funnest matches that I've ever had, because it was just so ridiculous, but there was so much wrestling and there was so many moves and there was so many comedy spots. It was just the perfect snowball of a match and I loved it! 

Credit - The Ringside Perspective

ATPW: I was gutted I missed that weekend, I think it was the first FCP show I'd missed in a couple of years...

SMM: My match with Dan Moloney, that was another different side to me there. I went in laughing and joking, but by the end of the match he'd been beating me up so I was angry and Shay was angry. So that showed even a little bit of a different side, it's the evolution of the character. 

ATPW: It's certainly a different kind of story to what FCP had been telling previously. 

SMM: It's all based around the fact that nobody had noticed that Dan Moloney was undefeated in Fight Club and he'd never been pinned, but it's all coming around.

ATPW: If someone hadn't seen your work, what would show them to win them over to the Session Moth?

SMM: Oh wow. I'd probably show them my promos to start off with. I'd show them my highlights video at the start, that's just different clips of me doing moves and dancing to my entrance song. That kind of gives a jist about what I'm about, all over. I like my promos that I've done, I remember my very first promo. It's so long ago now, but I just pretended I'd got my pay from the social and I was going out to buy my kids food, but I ended up going out and partying all over town instead. I liked the last promo I did for ICW, for my hen night, where I just had a mad night out, with the lads. Because what else would you do on a hen? Another one where I was hitch hiking to ICW. My favourite one as well, after ICW's fanpage blew saying I'd set women's wrestling back five years, I did a promo addressing and it was called "Public Service Announcement by Session Moth Martina" and I just did a short public service announcement outside a courtroom. That was fun.

Match-wise, I really enjoyed my PROGRESS debut match with Dahlia Black, and TK Cooper ringside. I just think that was a great mix, it was just fun. The story was that I was trying to steal Dahlia's fella, because that's what I do and it just gave me the perfect opportunity to tell that story. Because yeah, I'm gonna steal her fella and she's gonna hate me for it and that's why she's beating me up and I just want him and she's not gonna get in the way of that. I really like that match, the crowd were fantastic. I love mine and Shay's "Fans Bring the Alcohol" match, I thought that was just so much fun. It was just mad. That's what I love. I'd also show that eight person scramble. Then a million ones from OTT, where you could just show my wrestling matches. I love my ones with Alex Windsor, I love my ScrapperMania matches.

Credit - Rob Brazier Photography

Yeah, there's loads, there's always different stories to tell. That's one thing I really like, that I can flip the penny. Another thing I really like is that everytime I have a match, I try to do something different, something a little bit out there, something unseen and something that you wouldn't expect. One thing I've started doing recently is calling myself a hardcore wrestling, but only having sweet fights. I'm just beating people up with sweets because it makes no sense and that's what I'm about! I just like to have fun and do something that you won't see anywhere else, you won't see another woman do it, that's for sure, you probably won't even see a man do it.

ATPW: Let's talk about goals, short term, what would you like to do? Then long time, what would like to do in the next five or ten years?

SMM: Well, in five or ten years I probably shouldn't be wrestling any more! I suppose, my goal this time last year was to get booked in the UK and I've done that. Then I had a list of promotions that ideally, before I was booked anywhere, where I was like "I want to get here" and I've debuted for every single one of them, which is such an honour. I'd love to get to somewhere outside of Europe and I'm meant to be going to Canada, I might have some other stuff in the pipeline coming up. It's pretty surreal sitting there and literally seeing your dreams come true. Little things that you've set for yourself, it's very overwhelming. It's crazy, really, because I never ever thought it would happened so far. I guess coming to end of this year, I just want to keep it going. I always want to stay at Fight Club, that would just be the place that I always want to go every month. If I've got them every month and OTT, then I'd be happy, but of course, I just want to keep wrestling, I want to continue to be someone recognisable on the scene and liked on the scene and requested to be around. To stay in demand, I guess, would be the main thing for now. Long term, I've definitely got goals and as I say some of them are coming true, which is surreal and you'll see as it unfolds. Just stay relevant is my main thing, just stay relevant and don't be boring. That's why I do everything in my power not to be boring.

ATPW: I think if there's one word someone wouldn't use to describe Martina it would be boring! To close, where can people find you online and anything else you'd like to add?

@Mothfromdaflats on Twitter. Session Moth Martina on Instagram and the Facebook like page. Buy my merch. Just keep an eye out and hopefully I'll see you on a show, just dance with me when I ask you to dance with me and bring me beer! That's all I ask.

---

Well, that was a lot of fun! Seriously, I had a blast recording this and I hope that comes across. I feel like we only scratched the surface with Martina in this interview and hopefully we'll get the chance to chat again later down the line. A big thanks to Martina for taking the time out to do this!

Article by James Marston