The Random Wrestling Review

BracketMania V: CFO$ Entrance Themes

It's time for the latest instalment of BracketMania and this time the entrance themes of CFO$ are battling out to be crowned the very best. Over the course of 4 rounds, 16 shortlisted entries, including themes for Finn Balor, Asuka, Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Roode, Bayley, Charlotte Flair and Kevin Owens are celebrated from a golden era of NXT and a not so golden era of WWE, but who will make it all the way to ultimate glory?

The Random Wrestling Review is brought to you this week by Alex, Paul and Tinky. 

WWE No Way Out of Texas: In Your House

In February of 1998, WWE were on the road to WrestleMania XIV, arguably one of the most important wrestling shows in the company's history. That month they were presenting No Way Out of Texas: In Your House, to be headlined by an 8-man tag match featuring 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, Cactus Jack & Chainsaw Charlie versus D-Generation X with one drawback- one of their biggest stars, and WWE Champion at the time, Shawn Michaels, was unavailable, owing to the back injury he'd suffered at that year's Royal Rumble (and would keep him out of action after WrestleMania for years). Who WWE would book to replace Shawn Michaels in the match was a major talking point going in...and coming out of the event. Also on the show, Kane continued his path to a first-time confrontation with his brother The Undertaker, in a bout with Vader and The Nation of Domination had what was termed a 'War of Attrition' match with Ken Shamrock, Ahmed Johnson and the DOA. 

The Random Wrestling Review is brought to you this week by Stephen, Alex and Tinky.

RWR Now: The Kevin Owens' Piledriver (and what it says about WWE in 2024)

On the latest RWR Now, we sit down to discuss the recent angle on Smackdown where Kevin Owens used a piledriver on Randy Orton during a brawl, which was sold by all concerned as an unspeakable act of brutality. What did our panel make of the angle? What does it say for the direction of WWE? Was it believable in a world where other promotions are having wrestlers do similar moves on a nightly basis? Or conversely, is their a concern that Owens' using a piledriver makes it more likely for dangerous things to take place on WWE TV in the future?

The Random Wrestling Review this week is brought to you by Stephen, Alex and Tinky. 

WWE SummerSlam 2010

In the summer of 2010 WWE was invaded by The Nexus, a stable of wrestlers who had been competing in the first season of NXT, and who seemingly brought with them a fresh direction for the company and raft of new stars to be thrown into the mix. History tells us that in the end, the story didn't live up to its start however, before that the group would headlined that year's SummerSlam in a 14-man elimination tag match versus Team WWE, made up of both babyfaces and heels. Underneath, both the WWE and World Heavyweight Titles were on the line as Kane defended against Rey Mysterio Jr, and Sheamus took on Randy Orton.

The Random Wrestling Review is brought to you this week by Stephen, Dan and Tinky.

RWR Now: What's Going On In AEW?

It's time for another episode of RWR Now and this time the conversation turns to AEW following the signing of their TV deal extension with Warner Bros Discovery and the recent crowning of Jon Moxley as their new World Champion. In this episode we discuss whether AEW is heading in the right direction, whether Moxley is the right pick for Champion, what might become of the BCC 'invasion' style storyline and whether AEW have found themselves in a place with too many main event talents to book effectively...

The Random Wrestling Review is brought to you this week by Stephen, Dan and Tinky.

WWE Survivor Series 1991

At the end of 1991 WWE were at a crossroads- the ring boy scandal had been closely followed by the beginning of the steroid scandal, and in the midst of all that, the company had committed a creative faux pas with their attempt to cash in on the Gulf War with the Sgt Slaughter storyline which itself had ended with yet more backstage turmoil and the departure of the Ultimate Warrior. In a bid to hit the reset button, WWE needed a way to reinstate Randy Savage following his retirement match loss at the hands of the Warrior at WrestleMania VII, and start to plot a course for the next 6 months, leading up to Wrestlemania VIII. The result of all this was a different type of Survivor Series show, one that would host a World Title match for the first time ever as Hulk Hogan defended his title against The Undertaker, and a whole heap of storyline developments to build up to another pay-per-view, This Tuesday In Texas. 

The Random Wrestling Review is brought to you this week by Tom, Alex and Tinky.

RWR Now: What Can AEW Learn From TNA's Mistakes?

There has been lots of talk lately about the future of AEW, both in terms of attendances and ratings that they are achieving and whether or not the company will be signing a new TV deal upon the expiry of their current one. For 5 years now, AEW have occupied the position of 'number 2' in the North American wrestling industry, a position TNA has lots of experience with having been in the same place between 2002 and 2015. So today we ask, what can AEW learn from the mistakes that were made by TNA during that time?

The Random Wrestling Review is brought to you this week by Matt, James and Tinky.

WWE Royal Rumble 2002

Coming out of the Invasion angle that had dominated the WWE calendar through most of 2001, WWE were looking to reset and to that end they repositioned Steve Austin as a babyface, repositioned Kurt Angle and Vince McMahon as a heels, introduced Ric Flair as the thorn in the Chairman's side, unified the WWE and WCW titles, and brought back Triple H following his injury. Into this setting comes the Royal Rumble where Chris Jericho defends the Undisputed title against The Rock, and 30-men do battle to book their place in the main event of Wrestlemania X8.

The Random Wrestling Review is brought to you this week by Old Man, Stephen and Tinky.

RWR Now: The Mr McMahon Documentary

A couple of weeks ago Netflix released their 6 part documentary looking at the life of former WWE owner, Vince McMahon, and in this episode of RWR Now, we discuss the overall quality of the doc, whether or not we felt it was balanced, who came across well, who came across badly, what and who it missed out and whether it focussed enough on McMahon, or it ultimately became a history of the WWE as a whole. 

The Random Wrestling Review is brought to you this week by Old Man, Stephen and Tinky. 

WCW Superbrawl IV

This week on the show we're covering WCW's Superbrawl IV, a night where Ric Flair and Vader were heading for a major showdown over the WCW World Title in the Thundercage! Also in the Thundercage, Sting, Dustin Rhodes and Brian Pillman battled Steve Austin, Rick Rude and Paul Orndorff. Lower down the card, Steven Regal was defending the Television Title against Arn Anderson and The Nasty Boys put their tag titles on the line opposite the team of Cactus Jack and Maxx Payne.

The Random Wrestling Review is brought to you this week by Alex, Rob and Tinky.