411’s WWE LFG Season Three Report: Episode Twenty-One

-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 WWWF and WCW

-Written: 8.30.26
-Source: A&E
-Run Time: 1 Hour (w/ commercials)

-Plugs: Episode Twenty

-Another double episode tonight and I will have the second one posted tomorrow.

-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!

-Braxton Cole in on a golf course and I am jealous. If I was rich enough to golf everyday I would. I have been playing since I was sixteeen and the first thing I bought with my first paycheck was a set of clubs (well, first few paychecks). I suck, but I have so much fun. Cole says he is self taught and references reading a Ben Hogan book. He talks about the opportunity he has in LFG and he is going to make the most of it. He pulls a George Bush and tells us to watch this drive. I have to figure out how to get rid of my slice when I hit driver.

-Show opening!

-Matt Bloom is at the table with Nattie, Bubba, and Booker T. Last time Nikkita Lyons took the first spot to work at WWE World in Vegas over Mania week. Three more spots need to be filled.

-Match 1: Nattie gets Tristan Angels vs Trill London. Bloom wants to see heel aggressiveness from Tristan. He wants Trill to master the fundamentals. Bubba asks if Trill is going to make it. “I hope so, but I look at my roster and it is deep.” Sadly, Trill didn’t make it as he was cut post Mania. Bubba: “He has Jeff Hardy’s high spots, but can’t do a wist-lock.”

-Match 2: Booker gets Kali Armstrong vs. Layla Diggs. Everyone loves Kali and Bloom calls her the diamond of this season. Booker is happy as he has been dealt aces with these two and Bubba agrees.

-Main Event: Harlem Lewis vs. Braxton Cole and both requested to work with Bubba again. Bubba let Harlem spread his wings the last match and he is going to take the same approach this time. He wants to put a spotlight on Braxton’s gimmick since he is working in front of the regular NXT crowd tonight.

-Trill wants to work on being more comfortable in the ring. He feels his footing was off last week. Tristan says this is his domain and knows Trill was a “Miami Dolph or something.” Nattie thinks Tristan is the vet, but needs to learn WWE style. They are going to use Myka Lockwood in the match since her and Tristan are paired on screen this season. Nattie tells them they need to nail the ending because that’s where the money is. Shocked we didn’t see Nattie wrestling in the ring with them.

-Commercials!

Trill London vs. Tristan Angels

-Trill brings out his own camera to show off his mask and the crowd before handing it to a regular cameraman. That’s different and this is the place to take chances and see how they work. Nattie and Booker are watching backstage. Nattie likes Trill and calls him different, but needs to see the basics from him. Angels bails to the floor at the bell and Myka is in the front row. He calls her Kitten Whiskers and brings her to his corner by the hand. Trill is confused but we get going with a lock-up. Angels with a whip, but Trill runs him over and gets an arm-drag. Trill slides through the legs and trips Angels. Dropkick sends him to the floor. He follows, but Myka stands in his way. Trill tries to get around and gets decked by Angels. That didn’t go the way Nattie planned it for them and she notes they thought too much and were acting instead of reacting. Angels with knees in the corner and Trill gets sent into the corner. He gets hung up, so Angels pushes him to the floor. Nattie and Booker seem annoyed that there hasn’t been any kind of rest spot, but at the same time it’s been slow. Angels must have heard as he hooks an overhead wrist-lock. Trill elbows out and spins Angels across the ring. Trill with a series of elbows as he gets the pace a little bit more to his liking. Basement dropkick and Trill rips off his shirt before heading up top. Swanton misses! Angels suplexes Trill to the floor and they both end up spilling over the top. Tough landing for both men. Myka throws a chair into the ring to distract the ref and the rolls Tristan in and he wins by count-out at 5:16.

Winner: Tristan Angels via pin at 5:16
-Nattie: “What was that?” I agree. This was a mess with a dumb ending that made the ref look stupid. Not a fan as this was one of the weaker matches of the season for me. 1/2* for the suplex spot to the floor.

-Commercials!

-Nattie tells Tristan he did a good job as a leader tonight. She was proud of him for jumping into that role. She wants to see Trill’s face more and he admits he has to work on it because he came from football where everything was head down. Nattie was confused by the ending. Trill says it was a little spacey and needed to be tighter.

-Bloom saw some good and things that need cleaned up. Trill says he doesn’t know what the future holds for him, but he will be wherever his feet are. I was a fan Trill and wanted to see more, but they obviously didn’t see what they wanted.

-Booker is working with Layla and Kali. The story is that Kali is the aggressor. Booker goes over one of the spots to make sure they know what they are doing to make it safe. He thinks Kali can take this thing a very long way as he wants to make her a complete wrestler. Layla checks off just as many boxes. She calls Booker a genius at the little stuff and on how to hook an audience.

-Before the match Booker says, “they just stunk up the joint, so let’s bring them (crowd) back.”

-Commercials!

Kali Armstrong vs. Layla Diggs

-Kali attacks before the bell, so the ref pulls her away and waits for Layla to get to her feet before ringing the bell. Kali charges again and Layla gets a roll-up for two. Would have been funny if she won the match right there. Layla with a suplex, but Kali catches her with a stun-gun. Booker is proud! Bubba tells her it’s expert teaching. Kali lands a back elbow and hits a nice spinebuster for two. Kali locks in a reverse chinlock which lets the crowd get behind Layla. She elbows her way out and starts laying in chops. Kali floats over against the ropes and starts firing off jabs. She preps for a big shot, but Layal ducks and hits a SICK KICK that pops Bubba and Booker. That looked great! Layla misses one kick, but spins through and hits another. Layla up top and hits a moonsault for a two count. Harlem Sidekick misses, but kind of hits and Kali looks to be out of it a bit. That’s not good and you can see some concern with Booker and Bubba. They cover the best they can and Kali ends up hitting The Kali Connection for the pin at 4:15. Booker notes by the way she is selling that she still may a little out of it.

Winner: Kali Armstrong via pin at 4:15
-Unfortunate ending to a solid little match. Kind of a bummer. **

-Commercials!

-Booker checks on Kali and she says the kick blinded her a bit. Booker puts the blame on Layla as she notes she has to make sure she gets her leg up higher. He thinks they were on course to have the best match of the night. I agree.

-Bloom tells them it was not a bad match by any means. He is proud of both of them. You can tell Layla feels bad and she says she is just happy Kali is okay.

-Bubba is with Harlem and Braxton and Harlem notes he loves working with Bubba. They go over what they want to do and Harlem thinks it’s weird that Bubba is pushing hard for the Braxton’s book to be used. Braxton tells Bubba that Booker didn’t want him to use the book as he didn’t want him to be a gimmick wrestler. Bubba is shocked and brings up King Booker. Funny! He wants the book to be incorporated in the heat spot and finish and he wants them to add the rest of the ingredients.

-Harlem says he will feel ashamed if he doesn’t get to Vegas. He notes that nobody on this show can do what he does. The man has never lacked confidence.

-It seems we are 30 minutes to the match and they still aren’t sure what they want to do. Bubba tells them if the match is shit, don’t come back here.

-Commercials!

Harlem Lewis vs. Braxton Cole

-Cole’s book this week: The Psychology Winners. This is Cole’s first time in front of the Main Event crowd in the NXT Arena at The PC. Lewis with a go behind and he rides Cole to the mat. Cole to his feet and shoves Lewis off, but Lewis runs him over. He goes to run again, but Cole trips and gets a front facelock. Cole pulls the hair to keep the advantage. Whip to the corner, but Lewis gets a slam and another. Boot to the face sends Cole to the floor. They fight on the floor and Lewis rams Cole off the announce table. Both back in the ring by eight and Lewis hits a nice running clothesline. He works Cole over in the corner, but gets forced back by the ref. Cole takes the pad off the buckle and then uses the book as the ref fixes the buckle. Nice! Cole goes to work on the knee, but gets caught with a knee. Lewis starts his comeback on one knee and they do something that seemed off. Bubba is not happy as he notes you could hear the crowd come down. Cole tries to use the book again, but Lewis catches him with a boot. Boom Slang finishes at 4:30.

Winner: Harlem Lewis via pin at 4:30
-I was expecting more, but it was solid. The heat segment was short and Lewis came back in short order. They stuff they did looked good other than the one miscue. Match of the night though. **1/4

-Shawn congratulates both. Bubba talks to Harlem alone and wants him to do better. He then tells him he is heading to Vegas in the second spot. Lewis looks emotional and Bubba tells him it is the closest thing he has right now to get to WrestleMania. It was going to be either him or Kali, so I’m not shocked.

-Bloom says they have to take a hard look at their roster and make hard decisions. Oh wow, he mentions they decided to release Trill London, Chris Island, Sirena Linton (who is crying), and Carlee Bright. Island says they won’t find another like him. Bright says she left her heart out there for as long as she could. Bloom says he has nothing but positive things to say about them. He knows they all worked hard and had the passion. They just weren’t progressing as fast as they needed them to. Island says to stay tuned as he will be where he needs to be. Linton notes it is a tough business, but she needs to know she is doing everything she needs to do.

-What a bummer of an ending, but I applaud them for actually following up and letting us know these people were released and why. It could have been easy to just ignore it and keep on rolling. Overall the matches these week were all disappointing to a degree for various reasons. Lewis getting the nod wasn’t a surprise as they are high on him and that’s he is the current Evolve Champion. A different type of episode this week and we will see how gets the final two spots next week. Maybe more cuts as well. Thanks for reading!