WWE Network

Happy Saturday Everyone!

Today we’re reviewing a show that I’ve never seen before, as it either wasn’t shown in the UK back in the day or it was and I just missed it. I believe the next Takeover was where I started following the show on a regular basis because we finally got WWE Network over here in early 2015 and it made watching NXT a heck of a lot easier. As the name might suggest, NXT Takeover Fatal Four Way is Main Evented by a lingerie battle royal.

Only kidding!

Oh we like to have fun here don’t we?

In all seriousness, Takeover Fatal Four Way has Adrian Neville defending his NXT Title in a Fatal Four Way, so like Ronseal Wood Stain this Takeover is doing what it says on the tin! Elsewhere, we’ve got Charlotte Flair and Bayley hooking it up, and The Ascension are defending the tag belts against The Lucha Dragons.

If you’d like to view the card for Takeover Fatal Four Way, you can feel free by clicking below;

https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=116367&page=3

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – MSG 12.26.83

OK, time for a show with a famous main event that not many people have watched, and in fact the match itself was rarely seen by anyone after it originally aired.  So this should be interesting!

Taped from Madison Square Garden

Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon & Pat Patterson

The SmarK Rant for 20 Years Too Soon – The Superstar Billy Graham Story

Released on DVD January 2006, although I’m watching the WWE Network version.

In our cold open, we learn that Billy Graham needed a new liver in 2001 and probably wasn’t going to live out the year.  Well that’s quite a teaser.

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – MSG 10.24.77

I was going to review the Superstar Graham documentary on the Network, but I thought that reviewing one of his biggest title defenses would be a better memory of him for me personally.

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – 09.26.77

Well I guess we should finally review the show that Cody Rhodes has been going on about for months.  Although these 70s WWWF shows are certainly not my favorite period to review.

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – Maple Leaf Gardens 11.06.88

And we come to the end of the Canadian shows added to the Old School section last year.  Another one with a promising lineup at least, but the last one let me down and I hope this one doesn’t as well.  After this, there’s a couple of MSG shows from the 90s that I haven’t done yet, but I’m running out of stuff in that section to review otherwise and that makes me sad.

Written by the Winners, Wrestlemania Edition – “Wrestlemania Rewind Episode 1”

(Today is my 18th wedding anniversary, so I don’t really have time to review anything new.  However, since today is ALSO the 9th anniversary of the WWE Network, here’s my review of the first show ever broadcast on it, Wrestlemania Rewind about the first Wrestlemania!  Originally written for Inside the Ropes Magazine back in March 2021 and published there.). 

Hey, it’s Wrestlemania season, so let’s look at an early WWE Network documentary series about the Grandest Daddy of all Stages, although I somehow doubt they can add much more to the story than they’ve gone over a million times before.  But they do love to celebrate themselves.

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – Maple Leaf Gardens 10.09.88

I decided to install Boot Camp on the Macbook so I could play my Steam library properly under Windows, and I had an afternoon booked off for all the headache and drama of a good Windows installation session, and then it look like 10 minutes and was done on the first try with no problems.  What kind of a rinky-dink operation is Apple running here where stuff just works without having to reconfigure drivers and shit?  Well I guess I’ll just review some wrestling instead.  And it’s Valentine’s Day, so let’s check out a house show on the Network featuring the HART Foundation.

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – Maple Leaf Gardens 09.18.88

Oh lord the thumbnail image has me dreading this one already.

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – Maple Leaf Gardens 07.24.88

Carrying on with the Canadian drops on the Network, and this one has a main event you can never go wrong with!

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – Maple Leaf Gardens 04.24.88

Back to 1988 we go, although I can’t imagine the Toronto show being much different than the Hamilton show from a month earlier.  But hey, this week is a Toronto kinda week for wrestling.

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – Boston Garden 01.11.86

Well the MSG well has run dry for the moment, so let’s carry on from the beginning of 1986 with the Boston Garden shows on the Network.  I think I’ve done a couple of these matches before but no biggie if so.

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – MSG 08.10.85

Taped from Madison Square Garden

Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon & Lord Alfred Hayes

Rampage
Date: March 4, 2022
Location: Addition Financial Arena, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Ricky Starks, Taz

It’s a rare live edition this week as it is also the go home show for this weekend’s Revolution pay per view. That could make things a bit more interesting, as we also have a title match. Sammy Guevara will be defending the TNT Title against Darby Allin and Andrade El Idolo, which should be a good one. Let’s get to it.

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – MSG 01.22.83

As I’m sure you know, pre-Hulkamania WWF is not really my jam, so I’ve been putting these 83 MSG additions off for a while because you can only take so much Baron Mikel Scicluna.  But I’ve got to review everything at some point, so here we are.

Taped from Madison Square Garden

Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Gorilla Monsoon

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – MSG 04.23.84

Carrying on with 84! Man these are fun. The description of the show cuts off RIGHT when it says who Tito Santana is facing for the IC title tonight in the main event, but apparently it’s a doozy according to someone who messaged me on Twitter, so I’m pretty hyped to find out and I’m glad it wasn’t spoiled for me.

Also this show is rated 18+ by the Network for violence and language, so now I’m even more hyped.

Taped from MSG

Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon & Pat Patterson

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – MSG 03.25.84

I love these because I have no idea what’s coming up on them and the period is so under-represented that I’m guaranteed to have a bunch of stuff that’s new to me.

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – MSG 02.20.84

Oh man, so glad to finally get some classic Hulkamania era stuff added to the Network, as they put 6 episodes of the MSG shows from 1984 on there today.  And we kick it off with the first show after Hogan’s title victory.

Taped from Madison Square Garden

Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon & Pat Patterson

ECW on Sci Fi
Date: October 31, 2006
Location: Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz

It’s a holiday show and I’m not sure what that means. We are just over a month away from December To Dismember and the big story at the moment is Rob Van Dam beating Big Show for the second time in a row to guarantee an ECW Title shot. It is not clear when that match is taking place but we might find that out this week. Let’s get to it.

The SmarK Rant for Wrestlemania Rewind Episode 2 – “Hulk vs. Andre”

Okey doke, so this was one of the original WWE Network series, and the concept is pretty simple.  Take a famous Wrestlemania match, talk about the buildup for 40 minutes, and then show the match.