411’s WWE LFG Season Three Report: Season Finale

-I finally decided to use my Retro Reviews to create an electronic book (now available in paperback form as well) that you can now purchase through Amazon. I figured 1996 was the best year to start. Thanks in advance for any purchases or sharing or just getting the word out. If you have purchased a copy and can leave a review on Amazon that would be great. I am so very appreciative for anyone that has read what I have had to say about this pro-wrestling thing we all love.

Leighty’s Retro Wrestling PPV Reviews: 1996 WWF and WCW

-Written: 9.06.26
-Source: A&E
-Run Time: 1 Hour (w/ commercials)

-Plugs: Episode Twenty-Two; Clash of The Champions: Nov 1994

-We are at the Season Finale, and I am not sure what to expect from this one. We have four LFG stars heading to Vegas for WrestleMania week. The competitors: Kali Armstrong, Nikkita Lyons, Harlem Lewis, and Kam Hendrix. Three of the four are either current or former Evolve Champions and Kam was pushed as a big deal before disappearing.

-Joe Tessitore is our narrator.

-Kevin Owens, Booker T, Nattie, and Bubba Ray Dudley are our Legends. Matt Bloom is the head trainer at The PC and Shawn Michaels is in charge of NXT.

-Vic Joseph and Jeremy Borash handle commentary.

-Then! Now! Forever! Together!

-Show opening is a little different as they slice in the four members boarding a plane for Vegas.

-We start at The Las Vegas Convention Center as the four arrive to WWE World. When I went to Mania XXV-XXVII it was known as Fan Axxess. They head inside before the crowds and you can see how excited they are.

-They check out the action figures and Kam is excited to get one of his own. He and Harley talk about being kids and thinking something like this could never happen to them. Harley is going to use his action figure to beat up Kam’s action figure. Kam dresses in his gear and takes advantage of the various photo spots.

-Nikkita notes she was born in Vegas and had her WWE try-out here. They are meeting with Johnny Moss (PC Coach) to discuss their match and how to work with the crowd. Kali realized there was more at stake with this match.

-Kam and Harley are discussing their match with Bloom. They want to put on a BANGER, and Bloom agrees, but he wants them to be safe.

-Fans arrive and surround the “arena” set-up. Bubba Ray is out and does ring announcing duties for our first match.

Nikkita Lyons vs. Kali Armstrong

-These matches apparently started at 9 AM for the fans in Vegas. You can tell as it is sparsely attended. Kita with a head scissors followed by a forearm in the corner. She goes for a reverse Bronco Buster, but Kali blocks and goes to ground and pound. Kali with shoulders in the corner as we see Bubba watching from the back. Running shoulder tackle from Kali followed by a suplex. We take a break at 1:36.

-Commercials!

-Back with Kali holding a chinlock. Kitta fights her way out gets caught with a knee. Double clothesline leaves both women down. They trade forearms as they get to their feet. Lyons wins the exchange and delivers a clothesline and head kick. She throws body blows and hits a snap suplex. Running forearm and now she hits the reverse Bronco Buster. Sit-out powerbomb gets two. Kita with forearms that send Kali to the floor. She gets a trip out there and a powerslam back in the ring. Kali Connection gets the pin at 4:12 (shown).

Winner: Kali Armstrong via pin at 4:12
-This was fine, but we know they are capable of more. I assume some of the match was cut out due to the commercial, but it was fine. A lot of what we have seen throughout this season. **

-Bubba is proud of both and tells Kali and Kita he wants to see them reach their potential. He calls it a pleasure to work with them this season.

-Kali had her family attend and she calls it a dream come true to wrestle in front of them. That’s cool! She gives hugs to the various members of her family as we hear Booker T’s music playing.

-Booker is out and he introduces the next match.

Harlem Lewis vs. Kam Hendrix

-Booker of course adlibs and hypes up Kam during his entrance. Don’t ever change Booker! Kam doesn’t like the intro that Booker gave Harlem and gets in his face about it. Nice little heel work there. A few more people in the crowd for this one. Kam with a side headlock and controls on the mat. Booker: “give it to me guys.” Harlem with a leap frog and gets a slam. He sends Kam to the corner and catches him with a backdrop on the way out. Kam rolls to the floor and yells at Vic and Jeremy. He then charges back in and Harlem dumps him on the other side. That sends us to a break at 1:35.

-Commercials!

-Back with Harlem running into a boot. Kam picks Harlem up and throws him back first off the top buckle in an impressive spot. Booker is proud of them for finding the hard cam. WWE 101! They start trading strikes. Running knee from Harlem, but Kam catches him with a Showtime Kick for two. Kam talks some trash but misses a punch and Harlem gets a belly-to-back. Powerbomb gets two! Boom Slang, but Kam slides out and lands a forearm to the back of the neck. Lights, Camera, Action finishes at 3:55 (shown).

Winner: Kam Hendrix via pin at 3:55
-May seem like a weird result, but at this point Kam was seen as a bigger deal. Another one that was just kind of there. Curious what was left out. This was fine and I give it a slight nod over the earlier match. **1/4

-Booker tells both he is proud of them.

-Harlem’s family is here and he hugs his mom. She talks about watching Bruno and the older guys. Does that make me old? She guarantees that Harlem will be in the Hall of Fame one day. That’s great as Mom’s are always our biggest fans.

-Kali and Nikkita get to do a meet and greet and they are just cheesing seeing the line of fans waiting. Fans get photos and that’s kind of cool. I got autographs and pictures with Khali, Rey Mysterio, Evan Bourne, Maryse, Mr. Kennedy, Hawkins, Ryder, Morrison, Gallows, and Punk over my three Manias. Harlem and Kam also get to do a meet and greet with fans.

-WrestleMania Sunday: All four get to have another match. Lyons notes they had an hour to change, call the match and get ready. We are getting a mixed tag this time. Kam and Harley want to have fun with this one which is the smart move for a mixed tag. We sell all four working over what they want to do.

-Bloom says this is on all of them as they have given them the tools.

-Nattie is with Harlem and Kali and tells them to soak it in because they worked hard to be here. Nattie is out to handle ring introductions.

-Commercials!

Nikkita Lyons and Kam Hendrix vs. Harlem Lewis and Kali Armstrong

-Harlem and Kali dance which leads to Kita and Kam trying to show them up. The crowd is into it and it make Shawn smile. Bell sounds and all four start trading blows. Kam and Kita bail to many boos from the crowd. Well, we know who the heels are in this one. Harlem tells the crowd, “boo these people.” Kam and Kita play into it and start yelling at the fans. Kam notes, “you are looking at a future WrestleMania Main Eventer.” We get going with the women as Kita gets a side headlock. She throws a knee to the ribs and gets wrist control. Kali rolls out and gets a hammerlock into a side headlock and takes it to the mat. Kali shoved off but runs Kita over with a shoulder. Kita misses a head kick and Kali throws her across the ring. Kita rolls to the apron and in comes Harlem. Kam takes a second before slowly stepping into the ring. Kam with a knee to the gut and hooks a side headlock. He runs Harlem over with a shoulder and Kam plays to the crowd. They repeat the body slam spot from yesterday, but change it a little as Kam slides out and points to his head. Nice! Pointing to his head was a mistake though as Harlem ends up getting the slam. He throws chops in the corner and they sound loud! Kali in and we get a double arm wringer and Kali throws a chop to Kam. All four in the ring but Kam and Kita land kicks to block stereo backdrops. STEREO YAM SLAMS! They dance and then hit stereo powerslams. Kita reverses a whip and Kam holds down the rope so Kali spills to the floor. Nice as the ref was with Harlem. We take a break at 5:22.

-Commercials!

-Back with Kita working a neck crank on Kali. Double clothesline leaves both women down. Race to the corner though as soon as one tags the other is allowed to enter. Harlem in first and hits a jumping knee and Driver. Lyons in for a Yam Slam, but Harlem moves and Kam takes it. Kali in and gets sent to the floor. That distracts Harlem and he walks into a spinebuster. Kam occupies the ref as Kita hits a Vader Bomb on Harlem. Kali in and hits a spinebuster. She sets for the Kali Connection, but Kam pushes her out of the way and takes the move. Good bump off it! Harlem hits the Boom Slang for the pin at 7:17 (shown).

Winners: Harlem Lewis and Kali Armstrong
-This was fun! I liked the previous episodes mixed tag a little more, but this was right there. I just like when the talent goes for it and plays with the mixed tag aspect. ***

-Nattie gives them props and Kita gives her a hug. Harlem hugs his dad and says he raised him to be a man. Shawn is here and tells them they looked so comfortable. He congratulates all four and they thank him.

-Commercials!

-Shawn pulls Kali to the side and lets her know that she is getting a contract to head to NXT. Not shocked as she has been ready for a while and why she disappeared from Evolve. We get highlights of Kali working on NXT.

-We get video of others that ended up showing up in NXT: Angels, Myka, Tate, Kita, DVD, Layla, and Romeo. Bloom says as a coach he loves it because he has hungry talent that has been grinding.

-Bloom meets with Kam and says he opened Shawn’s eyes. Kam gets told that he is heading to NXT TV. Kam gets a little teary eyed. Bloom says he is proud as they saw the lows and Kam attacked it with a vengeance. Kam says it felt like a big blocked was lifted off his shoulders. We get footage of Kam in NXT.

-Those called up talk about the benefits of being on LFG as close out this season. We also see Kenday Grey winning The NXT Women’s Championship. Future of the women’s division! Kali is right there with her.

-Credits as Bloom notes when once class leaves, another class comes through the doors. Is that a tease for Season Four?

-I have said it every week, but I loved this season. The format was so much better without the reality competition aspect and without teams and coaches voting. This was a mix of Tough Enough with the good aspects of LFG. This episode was wonderful as they focused on the four members of the LFG roster they though deserved to go to Mania weekend. They kept the three match format but let the kids kind of drive the matches. Kind of interesting the two mixed tag matches we had ended up being two of the better matches in the show’s run.

-I also appreciated the close as they showed what LFG kids made it to NXT and gave us a taste of what they have been doing. I also appreciated that they made note of those that were released and gave them a few words. Sucks, and I thought they might just skip over that part of the business, but they covered it.

-I do hope we have a season four and they keep this format. I assume the ratings for this show weren’t as strong as the reality competition version, but a show like this is there for a very niche audience. LFG Sickos if you will. Thanks for following along all season. Thanks for reading and if you can or if you need a Christmas or birthday gift for a wrestling fan in your life, give my book a chance.