“Get that BBQ Pit!” That was a wild match (which took place at The 1997 Great American Bash) with Liz and Kimberly at ringside. 4 refs taken out by Savage, a Scott Hall run-in, garbage littered in the ring (a WCW speciality). Now peeping Nash and Sting vs. Savage aka Mach (w/ Team Madness) and Sid Vicious/Justice in a tag match for the WCW World Title (yes, really) from Bash at the Beach (July 1999). Whoever pins the champ wins the championship. Anything WCW totally reeks of the 90s (good times).

"The cream of the crop. Nobody does it better!" Rewatched a bunch of Savage's classic promos. So amazing. One of the TOP 5 all-time greatest promo men IMO (along with Rock, Hogan, Jake and Jericho). You are greatly missed, Randy.

The late Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan on commentary for both matches (such a legendary broadcast team). "You know, if Savage had stayed single, he wouldn't have these problems! Matter of fact: if a lot of guys would of stayed single they wouldn't have any problems!" - The Brain always speaks the truth.

Main reason I love the Jake/Savage match (other than the fact that it was Randy’s kayfabe reinstatement) was not necessarily the actual match (which was a bit short) but the superb post-match afterbirth which has Jake’s great ring psychology written all over it: 3 brutal DDTs (which Savage sold wonderfully), another potential reptile attack inside the black bag, a distraught Liz coming to the aid of her beaten man and the twisted interaction between Jake and Liz (Roberts making her beg) over Randy’s limp body. Not to mention the infamous punch to Liz which was cut from this release, perhaps out of respect to the late First Lady of Wrestling (but I have the complete match on Beta and it can be found online). This was all rather adult for the target audience at the time (1991) and very shocking. Watching this landmark angle now, everyone performed their parts to absolute perfection.

Flair vs. Savage (both in their primes) from April 5, 1992. Big time match from a big time event at the Hoosier Dome. This was the first WWF PPV that I ordered/peeped live (Viewer’s Choice was new then). Both fighting over Liz (or “damaged goods” as Flair would call her). “Will you stop!” Monsoon & Heenan at Mania 8 for the entire PPV is one of the all-time greatest commentary performances you will ever hear. “Give me one, Monsoon, give me one! Woooooo!” Hell of a blade job by the Nature Boy (blood was a rarity back then yet there were 2 blade jobs on this PPV, the first one by Bret against Piper). Later on, Heenan getting so upset w/ how the match was going that he was losing his voice. And the crowd was super hot for this. Liz (looking amazing) coming to ringside, a young Shane-O-Mac as one of the officials attempting to stop her. Great drama from the figure four spot leading up to the finish. “And once again...” Great call by The Fink to announce Savage’s 2nd & final WWF Title reign

Finish sees Otunga eliminating Kidd, Christian (who has returned as a face) eliminating Otunga. Miz vs. Christian for the final elimination. Numerous false finishes ends with Miz on the apron and CC headbutting him to the gut as the leader of the peeps is looking good (despite a small gash on the bridge of his nose). Welcome back Christian! Hopefully he challenges Rhodes for the title (those 2 together can put on a great match). And that battle royale was actually the pre-show as the OTL intro just played. Excuse me! Hey Vickie (louder than usual). Tag title match the actual curtain jerker. Dolph and Swag have to lose here so that Zig leaves the team in disgust to go solo (I also don’t mind Kofi and Truth retaining). Swag/Kofi to start with some chain wrestling. Dolph/Kofi keeping the slow pace. Tag to Kofi who lands a flying clothesline on an irish whip for 2. Hell of a back suplex (I think) there by Zig. Funny spot where Swag misses a legdrop and looks like he’s taking a dump.

Truth working Jack. Kick to Zig on the apron (great sell). High elbow drop by the Show-Off for 2. Heels working Truth’s back in the corner. Truth with the Ravishing Rick Rude (R.I.P.) taunt before landing the Rude Awakening neck breaker for 2 (excellent). Cole nicely calling out King and Book for their sub-par commentating so far (mostly Jerry though who is always awful). Truth fights back with punches all around. Double team clothesline on Truth for 2. Zig headstand chinlock FTW. Tornado DDT on Swag by Truth. Hot tag to Kofi who goes into his move sequence. Kofi misses Trouble in Paradise, S.O.S. counter into a great lateral press but Swag makes the save. Swag gets taken out over the top rope as Zig lands the fameasser on Kofi but Truth makes the save (and he takes out Swag). Zig running at Kofi for another fameasser as Kofi nails the Trouble in Paradise at high impact FTW (sick sell by Dolph). Awesome tag match as the champs retain. And now’s the time for Dolph to ditch Swag & Vickie

Title match b/w 2 of the best Divas. Champ Lay looking amazing in her turquoise wrestling gear. Beth using her power but runs into a cross body for 2. Stiff dropkick by Lay for 2. Intense pace. Disrespectful crowd chanting for Karma. Beth runs into an elbow but pushes Lay back into the corner. Corner powerbomb on Lay’s previously injured knee (ouch). Beth slamming Lay’s knee on the ring post. Back in the ring as Beth working the knee more. Psychology in a Divas match? Nice. Half Boston Crab as the crowd is silent (this is a good match, you morons). Lay kicks Beth into the ropes & rolls her up for 2. Beth on the apron wrapping Lay’s knee around the ropes. Lay dropkicks Beth onto the floor. Crazy tornado kick missed by Lay. Gorilla Press by Beth! Lay counters w/ a modified DDT for 2 (cool)! Another innovative roll up by Lay for 2. Beth using her power. Kick to Beth, Glam Slam countered into a roll up which is countered for 2. Neckbreaker out of nowhere by Lay FTW. EXCELLENT Divas match.

Fatal Fourway WHC match (this will be hard to live Miso). Title almost guaranteed to change hands. Double suplex on Orton by the heels “Come on, Orton.” Running kick to Sheamus’ injured shoulder on the outside by Alberto. Chris/Del Rio working well together until Boreton comes back. Ricardo hilarious as the alliance breaks down via tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Del Rio. Chris vs. Orton now. Building to a triple corner spot but Sheamus ruins it by knocking everyone out of the ring as he angrily works Del Rio. Rolling Senton but no cover. Taunting Brogue Kick, Ricardo distraction, Del Rio running enziguri for 2. Sheamus/Del Rio trading pins as Jericho and Orton have been knocked out for a while now. Apron chest punches but Jericho interrupts with a blindsided missile dropkick. Orton powerslam to Chris then Sheamus. Rope DDT on Sheamus. RKO taunt as Del Rio gets Randy in the arm bar. Jericho breaks it up.

Lionsault meets Del Rio’s knees. Orton backbreaker but Del Rio breaks it up. Irish Curse backbreaker to Del Rio. Brogue Kick counter to Randy. Roll up for 2 as Orton sends him into the steel post. Double rope DDT to Del Rio/Ricardo. 2 count. RKO counter by Jericho who hits the Codebreaker. Del Rio gets the armbreaker on Chris. Jericho reverses into the Walls! Brogue Kick avoided as Jericho hits the Codebreaker for 2. “Stay down!” Rolling Senton counter into the Walls on Sheamus! Randy breaks it up with an RKO that Del Rio breaks up. RKO to Del Rio. Brogue Kick to Orton. Jericho roll-up for 2. Sheamus gets Chris up and hits the White Noise (Fit Finlay’s old finisher) for the pin. Those last 5-7 minutes were mayhem (but everyone’s timing was impeccable). Champ retains (and I’m indifferent). Better than most fatal fourways (especially the multiple finishing sequences). Wrestling is all about timing and everyone killed it here.

Backstage, Christian telling Rhodes he wants to face him TONIGHT for the IC title (bonus match). Oh great, Miz out again. Dude says he’s a better dancer than Funkasaurus. Mizanin then breaks out some amusing dance moves (including some Thriller moves and an homage to Grandmaster Sexay). That was kinda funny. Funkasaurus out. Don’t feel like live Miso-ing this filler match (that Fatal Fourway was exhausting to type about) and no one else is doing this shit (smart) so I’ve earned a break. Finish sees Miz jobbing to the splash again. IC title match time (nice graphic). Cody calling the North Carolina crowd biased (he should have mentioned their bigotry over the same-sex marriage vote). Nice dropkick by C (who is not 100%) to Rhodes on the outside. Cody sends Christian into the steps. Back in the ring, Cody a claw-like manuever. Nice dropkick that sends C into the bottom rope. 2 count. Superplex by Cody. Right hand by C into a clothesline over the top rope.

Cody from the top rope runs into a right hand. Missile dropkick for 2. Drop toe-hold on the rope, slap on the apron. C misses the top rope splash. Back on the top rope. Tornado DDT countered by Cody. Impressive top rope moonsault by Cody for 2. Rhodes losing his cool. Irish whip eversal as C hits the Killswitch from out of the corner and wins the IC title for the fourth time in his career. Good match. Punk backstage with Josh. Hilarious promo where Punk makes fun of Vince and lets everyone know how special this match truly is for the industry (10+ years in the making for these indie/internet darlings). Sexy AJ dropping in, saying this match will be a lot of fun to watch and wishes Punk good luck (she will have a hand in the finish, me thinks). And now it’s time for the guaranteed match of the night (and potential 5 star classic). I’m gonna need my full concentration to write about his bout. YESSSSS! D. Bry out first then Punk. Huge YES chant for Bryan. WWE Title match begins now!

Sweet chain wrestling to begin (evenly matched). Great CM Punk/Daniel Bryan chants. Punk working Bryan’s leg in the corner. More working of Bryan’s leg. Huge YES chants for the kicks in the corner. Irish whip into the corner as Bryan backflips off the top rope. Punk kicks Bryan in the thigh to take him down. Indian Deathlock by Punk! Bryan with a ground and pound to escape. Missed dropkick that Punk turns into a surfboard style curb stomp move (ouch) for 2. Punk throws Bryan to the outside by his leg. Punk runs to the outside as Bryan nails him and suspends him on the barricade. Back in the ring. Nice missile dropkick by Bryan (who is still selling the leg). YES chants, YES kicks. Bryan fighting hard. Punk roll up in the corner for 2. Running knee to the gut, kick to the back. 2 count. Bryan with a sick surfboard submission (YES version!). “I don’t know what the hell to call this!” – Book. Punk fighting back with some elbows (but the submission has taken its toll).

2 running knees to the back (love when Bryan yells while he charges). Misses the third one. Perfect plex by Punk for 2. Trading knife edge chops aas the crowd trades chants. Bryan to the top and lands the flying headbutt for 2. Chinlock with a knee to Punk’s back. Punk escapes, running the ropes, double flying body press for a rest spot. Both men up, Punk punches (“NO!” – crowd) into heel kick. Rolling neckbreaker. Running corner knee countered by a stiff kick. Bryan runs into a powerslam for 2. Backdrop to the floor as Punk nails the suicide dive (Punk with a rough landing). KENTA springboard by Punk countered by Bryan with a mid-air dropkick for 2 (whoa). YES! kicks but Punk counters with a leg whip and goes into the figure four. “Woooooo!” – NC crowd. Punk going for another leg whip. Countered by Bryan for 2. More near fall roll ups, numerous counters (great sequence). Stiff kick to the head by Bryan for 2. “This is awesome” chant. YES corner knees.

Bryan gets crotched on the top rope as Punk nails the KENTA springboard for 2 (great spot). NO! YES! Trading punches on their knees. Back up, GTS attempt countered for a crucifix pin attempt by Bryan. YES-lock attempt countered into a catapult over the top rope. Bryan skins the cat & runs into a stiff kick to the head. Pin attempt but Bryan gets his foot on the rope twice. Bodyslam by Punk. Going to the top for the Savage Elbow (R.I.P. 1 year ago today). Hits it but can’t pin due to injured ribs. Randy Savage chant. Bryan working the ribs hard w/ multiple YES knees. Damn. “YES!” Misses corner dropkick & gets hit by a high running knee. But Bryan somehow counters the running bulldog into the YES-lock! “YESSS!” Whoa! Punk rolls over Bryan (still in the YES-lock) as the ref counts the 1-2-3 (after which Punk immediately taps). Great clean finish where Bryan essentially pins himself as Punk submits after the pin. Bryan is irate at the result. Tremendous title match that went nearly 20 min.

Really, that was the best WWE title match in a while and a match of the year candidate. Everything was crisp w/ no botches (indy moves galore) & the numerous homages to past wrestling greats were superb. Also, the finish was clean & made both look good. I can only hope that they fight on every PPV for the rest of the year (I want an Ironman Match at Summerslam). Ryback squash to Hunico & Camacho (although the duo did get some offense in). Main event (I guess). I hope Johnny Ace doesn’t get terminated & lands the Ace Crusher. Great crowd heat for Ace’s majestic entrance. Cena out to his usual mixed reaction. Great body armor jumpsuit on Ace. Opening bell as Ace goes running. John catches him & sends him back in the ring for a clothesline & some belt whips. AA position but John does an epic airplane spin (which Ace sells hilariously). Bells will be ringing! Right in Ace’s ear. Comedy beatdown. John & John doing mock commentary. All the announcers having a ball (this is funny).

Cena’s got the mic, challenges Ace to last 10 sec in the STF. Crowd participation spot. Water break. “Tell me he’s not gonna do that!” – Book. Fire extinguisher spot (shades of Attitude era hardcore matches). Trash can emptied on Johnny who tries to escape over the barricade, then gets some offense in on Cena’s injured arm. Ace is coming back w/ a chair! 2 count as things just got real. You Can’t See Me w/ chair attempt countered by Ace who limps out of the ring & goes backstage, where the fired Big Show is waiting. Show sends Ace back to the ring. Chokeslam tease as Show sends Ace into Cena’s arms for an AA. Then Show lands a KO punch to Cena! YES! Big Show heel turn as Cena is out. Ace slow to the pin, turns over Cena as the ref counts the 1-2-3! Show looks on w/ a serious look on his face as the Cena fans can’t believe it. Show helps Ace up & raises his hand. Train wreck match, good ending. People Power lives! Good PPV. Highlight was the ROH style WWE Title match(!) b/w Punk & Bryan

Pacers got off to an early 9-0 lead and led 25-18 after the first quarter. Second quarter was more evenly matched as Miami got more aggressive and physical while briefly taking the lead. Near the end of the half, Bron dished an amazing pin-point bounce pass to Wade for the baseline jam (a connection that has been a rarity since Game 2 of the series). Granger still acting like a punk towards the Big 2, getting in their faces for no reason (and rightfully gets T’d up). Bron constantly in attack mode (plus he’s added another element to his game with the floater) and trying his damndest to keep the Heat in this game, leading his team in pts, assists and boards (19, 5, 5) with Chalmers and Wade each with 8 (not enough). Indiana leading 54-46 at the half. The league MVP carrying his team on his shoulders right now (and if they still lose, guess who will still get blamed?).

A big reason why Wade (who it’s just been revealed has a knee injury) is getting on the board: Bron is putting the ball right into his hands with some magnificent passing. Now Wade starting to show signs of the Wade of old as he’s been aggressively driving to the basket and scoring contested shots. Wade connecting to Bron on a baseline jam as the game is starting to turn! Wade now just nailed a triple (his sixth consecutive FG) to give Miami the lead. The Heat are killing it in the quarter that they’ve often dominated during the regular season. More goosebumps as Bron dishes another pinpoint bounce pass to Wade in traffic from the top of the key. Wow. Pacers look stunned. Great recap now of all the FGs scored by Bron and Wade during this quarter. Heat leading 69-65 with 3:10 to go in the third (Bron and Wade combining for 17 pts so far this quarter).

Correction: Bron and Wade have 23 combined points (not 17). But now that has since increased with Bron going to the line numerous times (including an impressive and 1) with Wade resting. Heat sticking with those high percentage shots and it’s working beautifully. Heat score 30 in the quarter (28 of those pts by Bron and Wade) and lead 76-70. The MVP King nearly has a triple double going into the fourth quarter (33, 8, 9). This is the best that Miami has played since Bosh went down. Let’s keep this going, Heat boys!

Heat take a 9 point lead early in the fourth w/ Wade & Haslem leading the way as Bron rests. LBJ back now as Haslem is still nailing his perimeter shots (doing well in the Bosh role). Last 3 minutes as Pacers make a small run of their own w/ Miami working the clock & attacking the basket for foul attempts (Joel Anthony nails both). Granger w/ a big triple on the other end but Miami responds as Bron dishes to Haslem who nails another jumper. Pacers down by 5 w/ the ball & 30 sec left as Hill misses the floater. Bron w/ the board & gets fouled (nails 1). Heat lead 99-93 w/ 16.2 left in regulation. Pacers miss again & Bron gets fouled (which should do it as Bron nails both). Great moment where Bron & Wade embrace w/ big smiles on their faces. LBJ finishes w/ 40 pts, 18 rebounds(!), 9 assists. Wade finishes w/ 30 pts, 9 rebounds, 6 assists. And Haslem came through w/ some big shots down the stretch (14 on 5/6). Heat tie the series up at 2 as Heat fans breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Enjoyable season finale. Mick was hilarious throughout and his live performances (in particular the second and third, with Foo Fighters and then Jeff Beck) were wicked. Replayed the final sketch (which served as a wonderful send-off for Kristen Wiig) a few times. Thank you for an amazing 7 years, Kristen!

Other highlights of the show that I forgot to mention: Stefon being Stefon on Weekend Update *corpsing while covering mouth*, The Californians sketch: an absurd jab at superficial Cali culture that just worked (and featured a nice walk-on guest spot by an SNL/comedy legend) and ?uestlove who wasn't on the show per se, but was watching backstage from the writer's room (according to his Twitter). ?uesto also tweeted BEFORE the show began that this SNL ep would be the last for Wiig, Samberg and Sudeikis but then promptly deleted it (however I caught it and that’s what made me tune in). Regardless, I hope ?uest manages to surreptitiously snap some cool shots from the SNL after party (and then tweets them).

Another great game between these two squads. Lakers led for most of the game, sometimes by 13 points (Kobe was an efficient scorer tonight). But Durant came up big in the fourth, spear-heading a 20-7 Thunder run in the last 7 minutes to tie the game. Thunder ball (after Westbrook and then Gasol turns the ball over), Durant nails a huge clutch triple to put the Thunder on top 101-98 with 13.7 sec to play. Lakers ball, Kobe goes for the three and misses! Harden snatches the board and gets fouled (nails both free throws). Final possession: Kobe misses the jumper but gets a second shot and nails it at the buzzer (too little, too late). Kobe finishes with 38, Westbrook with 37, Durant with 31. And OKC win 103-100 to go up 3-1 in the series.

Holy shit, 33-11 Clips after the first quarter (coming off a 26-4 run). Where has this Clippers team been? Hell of a crazy start to the game.

Pop-Popovich not pleased at all with Lisa Salters asking "How do you change that?" after his Spurs were outscored by 22 points in the first quarter. 40-19 Clips with 8:21 left in the half.

The ladies love Zack Ryder. And I love the epic wind-up to Bryan’s YES-gasm entrance. YES-corner dropkick for 2. D-Bry’s arm contortion spot rules. Nice missile dropkick by Ryder. Misses the Bro-ski boot. Stiff kick to Long Island Iced Z which leads right into the YES-lock FTW. Good match for the short duration as the challenger to the WWE title looks strong going into Over The Limit. Danielson sticking around for commentary as the WWE Champ makes an appearance on Smackdown for a match against The Big Red Machine (whose entrance still mystifies after all these years). Trading punches early on. Vintage Kane no sells the clothesline over the top rope. Break. Punk working on Kane’s legs. Woooo! Figure four! Kane breaks free right away. Punk springboards right into a Kane throat punch. Bryan (despite being a heel) nicely putting both himself AND Punk over on commentary (that’s how you do it). “I don’t think that’s gonna heal by Sunday.” Kane working Punk’s ribs around the ring post.

Punk comeback runs into a side suplex for 2. Fantastic commentary by Bryan (laying out the 10 year history b/w himself & Punk). Chokeslam counter into neckbreaker by Punk for 1. Corner knee into a bulldog counter but Punk lands a flying bulldog from the second rope for 2. KENTA springboard clothesline for another 2. GTS attempt but Punk’s ribs (worked earlier) prevent him from holding Kane in position. Booker calling Bryan “D-Bry” to his face was funny. Kane puts Punk on the top rope, superplex attempt gets countered. Punk lands the Savage Elbow. 2 count right into Anaconda Vice attempt. Side suplex by Kane for 2. Kane to the top, lands a flying clothesline. Punk counters the chokeslam w/ a kick that sends Kane out of the ring. Crazy suicide dive by Punk takes out Kane. Bryan w/ a steel chair, and the evil genius nails Kane w/ it! Bryan runs away as Kane (who thinks it was Punk who hit him) beats down Punk w/ the chair & chokeslams him as Bryan looks on from the stage. Terrific match.

Santino w/ a humourous P&P promo. Cody w/ a great point on Twitter that the best titles matches of all-time mostly involved the IC title. Cody misses top rope sunset flip (ouch). Santino breaks out the infamous cobra which Rhodes nicely dropkicks for 2. Despite that, Cody runs the ropes as Santino nails the Cobra on his second attempt for the clean win(?). I don’t approve of that booking (Book laughing his ass off though). Recap of Johnny Ace asking the crowd for forgiveness (which went over as well as one would expect). Gotta love all these marks on Twitter that still think what they’re watching is 100% real (i.e. Big Show’s kayfabe firing which was a chore to sit though). Don’t have any interest in the main event (Sheamus steals one from Orton via schoolboy pin). I guess AJ wasn’t on the show? I expect her to have a hand in the finish for Punk/Bryan at OTL (and I have no problem with that).

70-69 OKC going into the final quarter!

Dope breakaway transition jam by Westbrook. LA crowd is quiet as kept. 92-87 with 2:41 left in regulation. The end is nearer than ever for the Lakers.

Great game from start to finish. Although I'm guessing that play where Durant dishes to Ibaka (who misses the baseline jumper) despite having the lane with 19 sec left and a chance to go up 96-95 won't get him LeBron levels of criticism. Either way, Lakers avoid the dreaded 3-0 deficit and win 99-96 to hand OKC their first loss of this year's playoffs.

me old?). It’s Audiencey Awards time again! Haha @ Rick Moranis look-a-like. Yo, Andy Roddick! BK coming up later. James Sinclair fashion slams (second guy’s dejected reaction was amusing). It’s Wanda (Sykes!). Pootie Tang has a well-deserved cult following (terrific film). Wanda weighing in on the immature Newsweek cover of Obama. Getting Wanda’s takes on current issues provides a convenient setup for her jokes (so that’s how it works). Wanda finding her roots on PBS. “That explains why I’m so uppity and love white women.” Kids are indeed the ultimate game-changer. BK don’t play! That leather dress looks tight (both physically and aesthetically). She’s reading that popular S & M novel (I’ll stick with manga). “It talks about butt clamps!” Andy (Richter) knows butt clamps. BK comes across as rather innocent. No interest in seeing Battleship (sorry, Decks).