IMG Credit: WWE

Vengeance 2004
Date: July 11, 2004
Location: Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Attendance: 7,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the final pay per view before Summerslam and that makes this one kind of a quick stop more than anything else. The main event is HHH getting yet another shot at the title because that’s his inalienable right. The wildcard this time is Eugene, who HHH has manipulated into thinking World Champion Chris Benoit is out to get him. I’m sure this will go according to plan. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at Benoit’s path to the title. HHH doesn’t like that Benoit is holding his title and tonight, it’s time to set things right.

Rhyno/Tajiri vs. Garrison Cade/Jonathan Coachman

This is mainly about Tajiri vs. Coach but I don’t think anyone was going to tolerate that on pay per view so this was set up on Heat. Coach freaks out upon seeing Rhyno as Tajiri’s partner. Appropriately enough, Coach and Rhyno start things off….with Coach tagging out five seconds later. Rhyno shoulders him down without much effort so Cade yells at the referee and slaps Rhyno in the face.

The beating begins in a hurry with Cade bailing to the floor to avoid the Gore. Tajiri comes in and hits Cade in the face before getting two off la majistral. A Coach distraction lets Cade get in a few shots though and Tajiri is in trouble for the first time. That means Coach gets to be on offense and somehow he’s more coordinated than a lot of full time wrestlers.

A double suplex drops Tajiri to give Cade two but Coach charges into a boot in the corner to set up the Tarantula. The mule kick is enough for the hot tag off to Rhyno so the pace can pick up. Tajiri tags himself back in as Rhyno is sent to the floor and it’s a handspring double elbow to Cade and Coach. There’s the mist to Cade (King: “Cade’s been mystified!”) and the big kick to the head gives Tajiri the pin on Coach.

Rating: D+. Fine enough for a Heat main event, but this wasn’t exactly pay per view worthy. At least they had something with some energy and a villain that the fans wanted to see get beaten up. That doesn’t make it a good idea though and it’s some time that could have been better used elsewhere.

Evolution has a meeting about Eugene and HHH says it’s cool. Flair isn’t convinced but HHH says when the time is right, Eugene….wait where is Eugene? They’re not sure if he’s here so HHH goes to find him. He does indeed find him, talking to Benoit, who tells him that Evolution only cares about HHH getting the title. Benoit tells Eugene to be careful and leaves. HHH isn’t pleased.

Batista vs. Chris Jericho

These two have been having some issues in tag matches so tonight it’s a regular match. Batista starts with the straight power by throwing knees to the ribs in the corner. Jericho gets smart by low bridging him to the floor, giving us a perfect summation of the match in a nutshell in the early going. A missed charge lets Batista pull Jericho outside for some shots to the head and a neckbreaker of all things gives Batista two. I’ve never seen him use that before or since and it was weird to see from him.

That’s followed by a seated half nelson as I wonder where all of this offense came from and went. Batista pulls him down into a regular full nelson but Jericho gets up and leverages him outside a second time. Back in and a dropkick to the knee staggers Batista so he forearms the heck out of Jericho in return. Again: power vs. intelligence and cunning. Jericho’s top rope back elbow to the jaw gets two, followed by Batista’s side slam for the same. It’s back to the back with back to back shots to the back, followed by a backbreaker. You can’t say Batista isn’t focused.

Jericho flips out of another backbreaker attempt (more intelligence) and hits a chop block. The Walls are broken up though and Batista hits the big spinebuster for two. The Batista Bomb is reversed into a rollup for two and Batista is getting mat at Jericho for not letting it end. Jericho bulldogs him down but the Lionsault hits knees. He’s fine enough to hit the running enziguri for a delayed two but it’s another spinebuster to destroy Jericho. The Batista Bomb is good for the pin, even with Jericho’s foot on the ropes.

Rating: C+. There was a nice story here with Jericho trying to outsmart the powerful Batista but not being able to overcome the huge power advantage. That’s a great rub for Batista who beat a former World Champion and never felt like he was in any real trouble at all. He’s becoming a bigger and bigger deal every single time and it’s not like Jericho is going to lose much by putting him over here. He’s Chris Jericho, and that’s going to keep him over no matter what.

An upset Eugene sits on Evolution’s couch and HHH starts up the manipulation machine, saying that Benoit is just lying to him to protect the title. Remember when Benoit hit him with a chair a few weeks ago? Tonight, they’re taking the title back, but first they have a surprise for Eugene. It’s an old Ric Flair robe, with Flair staring bullets through Eugene as he hands it over. The manipulation stuff is great, but I’m kind of dreading where it’s going.

Tag Team Titles: La Resistance vs. Ric Flair/Eugene

Flair and Eugene are challenging. Flair’s music cuts off O Canada and Flair looks so annoyed at having to be here. Eugene and Conway start things off and let’s have a WOO first. The second WOO comes after Conway is taken into the corner and Flair’s frustrations continue. A drop toehold lets Eugene grab a headlock in a Flair spot and it’s time for the chops. Flair: “THAT’S MINE!!!”

Grenier comes in and wants Flair but gets Eugene doing Flair’s shinbreaker instead. A few shots stagger Eugene and he does the Flair Flop in a funny bit. The Figure Four is broken up though and Eugene is kicked into the corner, allowing Flair to tag himself in and work off some annoyances. Flair WOO’s a lot and shows Grenier how to throw the chops and punches in the corner. A suplex drops Conway and there’s the strut, meaning NOW we go to school with the Figure Four.

Some easy cheating lets Grenier break it up though and now it’s Flair in trouble for a change. Grenier hammers away in the corner and hands it off to Conway, who actually wins a chop off. Flair can’t chop his way out of trouble and a backdrop gives Grenier two. The required chinlock, with Grenier kneeling to the side behind Flair for a unique style, goes on and the fans cheering for Flair in this situation still feels weird.

The front facelock keeps Flair in trouble and Conway runs around to pull Eugene off the apron for a ram into the steps. Back in and Au Revoir hits Flair but Eugene is all fired up for the save. Conway’s legs get wrapped around the post and Eugene pounds on Grenier in the corner but a shove to the referee draws the DQ.

Rating: C. Another perfectly fine match as Eugene knows how to do the Flair tribute act, which in this case makes a lot of sense. I’m glad they didn’t change the titles here as the wacky champions thing really isn’t necessary here when you already have HHH as the real big bad in the whole thing. La Resistance are fine as the heel champions and they can hold onto the belts in this role for a good while.

Post match Eugene hits a Stunner, Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow. Flair looks so annoyed as Eugene tries to hug him to make things better after the loss.

We recap Kane vs. Matt Hardy. Lita agreed to sleep with Kane to get him to leave Matt alone and got pregnant in the process. Matt is furious (and rightfully so), meaning tonight it’s a No DQ match so Matt can get revenge and Kane can have some fun.

Matt Hardy vs. Kane

No DQ and no countout. They start the fight in the aisle with Matt getting in a few right hands. The Twist of Fate on the announcers’ table is shoved away, with Matt nearly crushing a production guy in the process. Kane pounds away on the floor some more and then takes it inside for the first time for some choking in the corner. He switches it up to ripping at Matt’s face before cutting Matt down with a clothesline. Matt can barely stand so Kane asks why he doesn’t fight.

With Matt still down, Kane grabs a chair but gets caught with a Twist of Fate over the ropes. Kane’s feet get tied in the ropes so he’s hung upside down and there’s a bell shot to the head. The top rope legdrop to the back of Kane’s head connects and the Twist of Fate is good for two. Kane hits a chokeslam but would rather grab the steps than cover. Cue Lita (you knew this wasn’t ending until she came out) to beg for Kane’s forgiveness so he throws the steps down. Then he picks them back up, allowing Matt to hit them into his face with a chair for the pin.

Rating: D. This was Kane slipping on a banana peel to give Matt the win that doesn’t mean much. There’s nothing that is going to stop Kane from attacking Matt again and you can set up the bigger rematch at Summerslam from here. I haven’t been big on this whole story but I feel sorry for Matt after Lita had to save him again. Normally I would ask how much worse it can get but that’s never a good sign in wrestling.

In the back, Lita begs Matt to talk to him. Matt recaps the whole thing and asks her to stay away from the ring so both her and the baby can be safe. I’m sure she’ll listen too.

We recap Randy Orton vs. Edge. Orton has held the title for a long time now and has grown up during his reign. He’s becoming a bit too cocky though and Edge is ready to take a stand and become champion as he wants to run through Evolution.

Intercontinental Title: Randy Orton vs. Edge

Edge is challenging and JR gets in his stat of the night by saying the Intercontinental Title has changed hands more in July than in any other month. Doesn’t mean much, but that’s the kind of little trivia note that I like to hear. They trade headlocks to start as the fans are firmly behind Orton. Not what you would expect but I can kind of see the new version of Edge not being as popular. He’s been pushed pretty hard and hasn’t had the performances that made him a star since his return.

A crisscross goes on for a long time until Edge takes him down with another headlock. The threat of a dropkick sends Orton outside but Edge isn’t letting him walk up the ramp. Orton gets in a shot of his own though and suplexes Edge back in for two. As the champ rakes a boot over Edge’s face, Lawler has it figured out: Edge is jealous of Orton’s ability to get women. I’ll let you figure out how JR responds to that one. The chinlock goes on for a good while until Edge fights up with a clothesline to the floor.

Orton goes to get the title so Edge baseball slides him down and the fans are behind the champ again. A missile dropkick gives Edge two but the spear gets kicked away. Orton hits an elbow to the chest and now it’s a LET’S GO EDGE chant. Egads these people are fickle. Back in and Orton gets two off a legdrop to the back of the head as the announcers are rather confused by the crowd. Dude it’s a live wrestling crowd. Why would you expect them to make sense?

Orton chokes on the ropes and gets two off a dropkick, followed by another chinlock. A legdrop sets up another chinlock as they’re certainly dragging this one out. The fans accurately call this boring as the latest chinlock eats up two full minutes. Edge fights up and dropkicks Orton out of the air, followed by a neckbreaker to put both of them down again. A slugout goes to Edge and he gets two off a Russian legsweep. After shoving Orton off the top, Edge hits a high crossbody with the champ rolling through for two.

Orton pokes him in the eye and takes off a turnbuckle pad, which has to be some Flair influence. The Edgecution gets two more so Edge hammers away in the corner, only to get dropped face first onto the exposed buckle. That and a rollup with feet on the ropes are good for two but this time it’s Orton going into the buckle. The spear hits unexposed buckle but Edge is right back up with a whip into the steel, followed by the spear for the pin and the title.

Rating: B-. This was much more long than good as there’s a lot that could have been cut out to do the same match. The ending was really strong though and you could tell the fans were getting into things and wanted to see the title change. Even with the title loss though, you can tell that Orton is going to be getting a huge push as you don’t have him lose a long match clean like that without having something bigger planned. Good match, but much longer than it needed to be.

Orton gets the Goodbye Song because they really can’t make up their mind about what the heck they want.

Molly Holly vs. Victoria

#1 contenders match. Molly works on the arm to start as JR tries to figure out why she’s still wearing the wig. You would think it would have grown back in nearly four months. Victoria scores with a monkey flip but the shaking moonsault takes way too long. Instead it’s a moonsault press out of the corner for two on Molly so she heads outside with Victoria nearly screwing up a slingshot dive.

A trip sends Victoria’s face and shoulder into the steps for a near countout. Since that doesn’t work, Molly starts in on the arm with a seated armbar as you can’t fault the psychology here so far. A Fujiwara armbar keeps Victoria down but Molly misses an elbow. Victoria gets two off a powerslam but the arm gives out on the Widow’s Peak attempt. With the arm not an option, Victoria nails a superkick for the pin.

Rating: C+. Considering the spot they were in with this being an added match and in between the show’s two big matches, this had no expectations coming in and turned out to be a very nice match. It didn’t have any reason to be much but the girls did had a rather nice match with some psychology and good looking offense. Well done here in a very nice little surprise.

We recap HHH vs. Chris Benoit. HHH lost the title to Benoit at Wrestlemania and hasn’t really left the main event since. Now it’s time to get the title back and HHH has manipulated Eugene into being in his corner for this one, while Benoit is trying to convince Eugene of what’s really going on. The manipulation has been great on this story and while the fans aren’t exactly enamored with Eugene, it’s still good stuff.

Raw World Title: Chris Benoit vs. HHH

Benoit is defending and, as always, looks cool holding the title over his head on the stage. A fight over a lockup goes nowhere so Benoit armdrags his way out of a top wristlock. HHH’s headlock takeover doesn’t work so he tries it again and gets reversed all over again. Benoit finally gets sent into the corner and HHH….lets him get back up. It’s too early for the Crossface though and HHH gets outside for the breather. Back in and HHH scores with a jumping knee to the face, followed by a hard elbow to the jaw for two.

Instead of the face, HHH switches over to the back with a backbreaker before pulling Benoit out to the floor. Again he lets him back in though and it’s a snap suplex to take HHH down. A catapult sends HHH into the corner and a clothesline puts him on the floor. Benoit isn’t done and sends him into the steps as this is starting to pick up a few gears. Back in and Benoit misses the Swan Dive, setting up a heck of a Bret Hart chest first bump into the corner. HHH does it again for good measure and starts in with some kicks to the chest.

A release front suplex drops Benoit on his chest again and HHH does it again in a smart move. HHH puts a knee in the back and stretches both arms to stay on the chest as the targeting continues. They head outside with Benoit being whipped into the barricade, followed by another whip into the buckle for a few near falls. The abdominal stretch goes on and thankfully Lawler is right there to talk about how painful the hold is. Benoit reverses into one of his own but gets hiptossed down in short order.

The Sharpshooter works a lot better and HHH finally makes the rope, because just touching them a few seconds earlier didn’t count. HHH is in trouble so Benoit rolls the German suplexes. That’s enough to send HHH outside for the big dive through the ropes and they’re both down with the fans rather pleased. Back in again and this time the referee gets knocked out to the floor in a heap, which you had to know was coming. A Crossface attempt is countered into a DDT and they’re both down, allowing HHH to shout for Eugene. As Eugene comes out, HHH gets caught in the Crossface.

Benoit wisely shouts at Eugene to get the ref before flipping HHH back to the middle for the tap. There’s no referee so Eugene starts getting in, earning himself a big right hand from Benoit. That would be in the better safe than sorry category, though it lets HHH get in a low blow from behind. Now the Pedigree connects but there’s still no referee. Eugene brings in the chair this time as the referee is now face down on the mat.

Hang on though as Eugene grabs the chair, earning himself a shove to the floor and a lot of yelling. Benoit gets in a forearm to the face but has to chair down an interfering Batista and Flair. HHH kicks him in the injured chest but Benoit gets in a low blow so everyone is down. Now it’s Eugene with the chair and he’s not sure who to hit. Benoit grabs it as well but then lets go, sending it into HHH’s head. That’s enough for Benoit to grab a rollup and retain the title.

Rating: B+. I was digging the heck out of this until the Eugene stuff came into play but it wasn’t enough to derail everything. HHH was working on the chest for most of the match and then used it again in the end, though it was ultimately his own plans being a bit too big and evil that cost him. Benoit retaining is a good thing of course but I have a bad feeling I know where that ending is leading. At least it was a good, long match though and the ending was right, even with Eugene getting so much attention near the end.

Post match Benoit leaves so HHH can stare at a panicking Eugene to end the show. Make sure you end things on the real stars there guys.

Overall Rating: B. As usual, Raw is just that much better than Smackdown at the moment because the wrestling is that much better. While some of the storyline moves aren’t the best (again: Eugene), you’re almost guaranteed a few good matches on the show and pretty logical storyline progression. That might not be anything that reinvents the wheel but it gives you a good show, which is what this company needs after all the weekly messes on Smackdown.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2014/09/28/vengeance-2004-a-forgotten-little-gem/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: July 8, 2004
Location: Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s title night around here as John Cena is defending the US Title against Booker T., who earned his shot at the title by winning a triple threat match last week. Other than that it’s time to build things up for next week when JBL defends the Smackdown World Title against Eddie Guerrero. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Rob Van Dam vs. Mark Jindrak

Rene Dupree is on commentary. I had forgotten Jindrak is a thing, though he’s now called the Reflection of Perfection, meaning he has Lex Luger’s mirror in the ring. He and Teddy Long have also split, but it’s described as amicable. Jindrak knocks him to the floor at the bell and the beating is on in a hurry with some rams into the barricade. Back in and the choking continues with Jindrak nipping up to show off a bit.

Rob tries to go up top but Jindrak hits an awesome looking standing dropkick (at one point Jindrak had the highest vertical leap in WWE history) to knock him into the barricade. The reverse chinlock with a knee in the back has Van Dam in more trouble but Rob comes back with a kick to the face. Rob’s rolling monkey flip out of the corner sets up another kick to the face but Rolling Thunder hits knees. A belly to back superplex is broken up though and Van Dam hits the Five Star for the pin.

Rating: C-. Jindrak was an amazing athlete and could jump like few others but everything between those jumps didn’t work so well. At least he’s a fresh name though as we haven’t see him do anything in recent months. That’s better than having Van Dam and Dupree fight each other time after time and a lesson that WWE could learn a lot from today.

We look back at JBL defending the World Title against Spike Dudley last week and Eddie Guerrero coming in for the post match beatdown. Eddie announced a cage match for the title two weeks later. Good ending after a dull match.

JBL talks about how much better a champion he is because Eddie didn’t offer handshakes or come to Canada while he held the title. Eddie is no gentleman and he probably didn’t even graduate from high school. JBL isn’t worried because he’s a champion’s champion and a man’s man who doesn’t belong in a cage. The growing JBL fan club will carry him through though and he can hear the chants starting from here. Tonight, he’s facing El Gran Luchadore, the champion of Mexico, who he’s fought before and comes in to see him here (looks to be Shannon Moore this time around). This time, it’s going to be a massacre.

Tag Team Titles: Paul London/Billy Kidman vs. Dudley Boyz

The Dudleys are defending and this is a rematch from Velocity where the champs had to get themselves disqualified to save the titles. It’s a brawl to start with London hitting a top rope missile dropkick, followed by an assisted moonsault for two on D-Von. London unloads with right hands until Bubba low bridges him out to the floor. Back in and D-Von hits a Hennig neck snap of all things and it’s Bubba coming in to stay on the neck.

Actually make that the knee as Bubba finally takes notice of the big brace. D-Von comes back in to grab the foot and….really that’s about it. He doesn’t twist on it or anything and is really just putting his hands on the foot. Bubba adds the apron legdrop and it’s a reverse chinlock to keep D-Von in control.

The middle rope headbutt misses though and there’s the hot tag to Kidman, in full accordance with the tag team formula. Everything breaks down and it’s D-Von and London being sent to the floor. What would have been the longest What’s Up ever is broken up so Kidman rolls through and lets London hit it on Bubba instead. London’s superkick sets up the shooting star press to give Kidman the pin and the titles.

Rating: C. The title change is quite the surprise but the big deal here is how fast the Dudleys fell. They went from main eventing a pay per view to losing the titles completely clean here in about two weeks. That’s an incredible collapse and really, something that needed to happen. Amazingly enough, that would be the team’s last title reign in WWE. It’s almost hard to believe that they never did it again but they would be gone in a few months and then left for about ten years. Quite the low key ending to their title years.

Post break the celebration is on, complete with champagne and congratulations from Billy Gunn. Well now it’s certainly a big deal. The Dudleys come in and shake their hands and no violence ensues.

Kenzo Suzuki has Hiroko translate a promo for him. He doesn’t like what John Cena has been saying about him lately and wants revenge. Kenzo is misunderstood and has great respect for America because it’s the land of opportunity. Kenzo: “God bless of America!”

US Title: John Cena vs. Booker T.

Cena is defending but before the match he needs to remind us that the champ is here in Manitoba. Booker isn’t getting the title back tonight because Cena is five times better and has five times the groupies. Cena isn’t losing to a Whoopi Goldberg lookalike, which is a line that the fans rather like. Cue Kenzo Suzuki for a fight but Cena beats him down with ease. With Suzuki down on the floor, Luther Reigns comes in and lays Cena out with the reverse swinging neckbreaker. I guess the match will be taking place later, because Kurt Angle will send his goon in to lay Cena out, but he’s fair about things.

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. El Gran Luchadore

Non-title and JBL makes sure to shake hands on the way to the ring. It’s such a relief to have this new “I love you people” gimmick than what we were getting before he won the title. It’s still bad, but it’s not insufferably bad and that’s a step up. Hang on though as JBL needs to sanitize his hands. That’s very important in a foreign company. Luchadore rolls away to start but gets caught with a right hand to the mask.

Back up and Luchadore poses a bit too much, earning himself another knockdown. A running dropkick has JBL in trouble and a moonsault press gets two. JBL has had it with this and sends him outside so the real beating can begin. The huge clothesline drops Luchadore and there’s a second one to make it even worse as the fans chant for Eddie. Luchadore gets tied in the Tree of Woe with JBL ripping at his face for painful measure. A belly to back superplex makes things even worse and JBL kicks him out to the floor.

Cue a second El Gran Luchadore from underneath the ring to throw JBL outside and leave a banana peel on the mat before hiding again. The referee is so confused that the Luchadores are able to switch and the Eddie Guerrero dance might give you a clue as to what’s going on (in case you’re REALLY slow). Three Amigos (Cole: “That’s Mexican!”) have JBL bailing to the floor and it’s a countout as Luchadore says there’s no running next week.

Rating: D+. This was an entertaining squash until the angle, which went on a little longer than it needed to. JBL not taking a pin is a good idea as he doesn’t have the highest standing in the world at the moment and having him get beaten so soon would have been a bad idea. Not as bad of an idea as making him champion in the first place, but a bad idea nonetheless.

Luchadore says play Eddie’s music because they’re close.

Booker says he’ll win the title because he’s better than Cena. That’s about as to the point as you can get.

Raw Rebound.

Rey Mysterio, Scotty 2 Hotty and Spike Dudley are ready for their six man tonight when Bubba and D-Von come in to talk to their cousin. Scotty and Rey leave and advise Spike to help defend the family name tonight because he already let them down last week. Spike says he didn’t want their advice last week when they were champions. Why would he want it now? Sick little burn there.

Rey Mysterio/Scotty 2 Hotty/Spike Dudley vs. Chavo Guerrero/Akio/Jamie Noble

It’s off to Scotty to clean house and everything breaks down. Spike drops a top rope double stomp to the ribs and stomps on Chavo in the corner. The Dudley Dog gets two on Noble with Chavo making a quick save. That earns Chavo the Worm but Akio knocks Scotty outside. Chavo ducks the 619 so Rey catapults him outside, setting up a top rope Asai moonsault onto Chavo and Akio. Back in and Noble tiger drives the heck out of Spike for the pin. Like I said: Rey didn’t need partners.

Rating: B-. This was a heck of a fun little match with all six guys going out there and getting in everything they could in a little bit of time. Mysterio needs a fresh challenger though and it would make sense to have Noble (or anyone for that matter) come after the title. They could have had something special with more time, but what we got was quite good.

Paul Heyman doesn’t care about the Dudleys losing the Tag Team Titles because he has to worry about the Undertaker. Fair point actually. Heyman needs to say something to Undertaker and he’ll do it in the ring tonight.

We look back at last week’s completely unshocking moment with Undertaker announcing that with Paul Bearer gone, he’s going to destroy Paul Heyman.

Speaking of Heyman, he’s in the ring, with the Urn, to address Undertaker. He pulls out a statement, which says that everything that happened to Bearer was the Dudleys’ fault. Then the Dudleys got what they deserved so now Heyman wants to make a peace offering: the return of the Urn. Near tears, Heyman gets down on his knees and begs for a pass, rather than begging for forgiveness. No one is backing him up out here and he’s a little lamb lost in the wilderness, begging the reaper to pass on by. If Undertaker lets him live, Heyman will cross his path no more. And that’s it as I guess we’ll get to that later.

US Title: John Cena vs. Booker T.

The banged up Cena is defending. Hang on though as here’s Kurt Angle, still in a wheelchair but now carrying a cane. The distraction lets Booker get in a cheap shot and the beating is on in a hurry. A superkick gets two and it’s off to a top wristlock instead of staying on the bad neck. Cena starts the early comeback with a powerslam and hip toss for two each, followed by the Shuffle for two more.

The FU is blocked with the grab of the rope and Booker dumps him. Angle gets to his feet for the first time in months and limps over to Cena for a cane shot (breaking the cane) to the back. We take a break and come back with Booker dropping a knee and grabbing the chinlock. What a change of pace to coming back to the chinlock. Totally different you see. Cena fights up like a good guy fighting out of a chinlock but walks into a spinebuster.

The jumping kick to the face gets a delayed two and it’s right back to the chinlock. Cena kicks out of three straight covers and, you know it, back to the chinlock again. Back up yet again and Cena grabs a DDT for two of his own. Booker’s snap suplex gets the same and a Cactus Clothesline puts them both on the floor. Cena isn’t done and clotheslines Booker into Angle. Back in and Cena hits the FU but Reigns comes in for the DQ.

Rating: D. Quite the slog of a match here with Booker using a ton of chinlocks and Cena’s neck injury not having much to do with the match. With Booker jumping Cena from behind, you could have written the Reigns attack from earlier out entirely and not changed a thing. These two should be capable of so much more and that’s kind of a shame given how the match had been set up.

Post match Reigns beats Cena down but Angle says bring the title with him. Cena causing Angle to be knocked over is enough for him to be stripped of the US Title. Angle is very happy to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Not a very good show here with the six man tag being the only really strong part. The Eddie/JBL segment did its job but took too long to make it work as well as it should have. Other than that, the show was pretty mediocre at best and that’s not enough to make a full show work. That being said, I’ll take this over the horrible shows they were putting on just a few months ago any day.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 5, 2004
Location: Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

Eugene is in charge tonight and I think you know what that means. The chaos should be in full swing and Eugene is the kind of guy who can make something like that work well. He plays the character so well and actually comes off as the idiot savant that he’s supposed to be. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Eugene’s face has replaced Bischoff’s after the opening for a positive reception.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Ric Flair to join a bunch of other people, with a bunch of chairs, in the ring. We have Flair, Jerry Lawler, Coach, Tajiri, Tyson Tomko and Stacy Keibler and Chris Jericho, the hometown boy, comes out to join them. Eugene comes out to the stage in a blazer and jumps up and down a lot. He’s in charge tonight and wants everyone to have fun. Even Coach! For a special treat tonight, Eugene thought we should have a title match tonight. Jericho gets a loud cheer before Eugene announces that we’re playing Musical Chairs for the title shot.

Flair struts after Stacy and then shoves her down to steal her seat like any villain should do. That leaves us with Tomko, Jericho and Flair, but Ric does a bit too much strutting and is out as well. As the music stops, Jericho pulls the chair away and hits Tomko in the back before having a seat to win the Intercontinental Title shot tonight. This was the kind of fun, wacky thing that they need with Eugene in charge. It just freshens things up a bit, which is something Raw is dying for a lot of the time.

La Resistance vs. Rhyno/Val Venis

Non-title, which at least they’re getting right as of late. The non-champions charge the ring to start and the fight is on in a hurry. Conway gets sent outside and a double shoulder drops Grenier early on. Things settle down with Rhyno getting caught in the corner and choked a lot. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Rhyno scores with a flying shoulder. The hold was broken in there if that wasn’t clear. It’s off to Venis and everything breaks down in a hurry. Rhyno’s Gore is broken up by Grenier with a hard crotching against the post and Au Revoir finishes Venis.

Rating: D. As nothing as Rhyno and Venis were, this is the kind of match that La Resistance can use. They win a quick match and it’s not like they were in any real danger for most of the time. Venis and Rhyno weren’t going to be a threat to the titles and odds are they won’t team again after this, so it’s not like they have anything to lose.

Randy Orton isn’t happy with having to face Jericho tonight but Flair is more upset about playing Ring Around the Rosey. Uh, totally different game there Naitch. Come on. Eugene on the other hand is in his office: a bounce house. He asks Orton about that one time when Kane said he was Eugene’s friend and punched him before bringing up HHH. Batista is worried that Eugene is going to have HHH beat up Kane, but it’s going to be Batista vs. Kane instead.

Eugene: “You remember that one time when La Resistance beat Val Venis and Rhyno?” After Orton explains that it just happened, Eugene makes La Resistance vs. Flair and…..we pause while Eugene plays with action figures. Flair demands to know his partner and of course it’s Eugene. Flair lunges so Eugene retreats into the safety of the bounce house. Wacky fun.

It’s time for a change though, and this Sunday Edge is taking the Intercontinental Title. After that, Edge is taking the team out one by one. Someone has to take a stand and Edge is that man. HHH says that he’s heard it before but he’s still right here on top of the world. HHH: “Nothing changes.” The fight is on with Edge getting the better of it until Evolution chases him off. That’s one of the smarter face moves of the year, because even he’s not dumb enough to fight all four of them at once.

Kane vs. Batista

The power lockup starts us off until Batista hits a running clothesline in the corner. That just earns him a whip into the corner and a side slam for no cover. The spinebuster is no sold and Kane kicks him to the floor, drawing in Matt Hardy for the DQ. Just a means to an angle at the end.

Post match Matt wrecks Kane, sending him into the steps over and over.

Post break Matt says he’s happy with the idea of a No DQ match with Kane on Sunday because he can do even more than he did tonight. Lita is mentioned but Matt won’t talk about her. Instead he awkwardly stares at Todd Grisham for a long time.

Divas Search Los Angeles edition, with Christy Hemme appearing and having more charisma than anyone. Coach seems enamored with most of them in the swimsuit section and….well yeah.

Earlier today, Jericho was named a member of the Order of the Buffalo Hunt, the highest honor in Manitoba. Jericho with long hair in a suit is a weird visual.

Intercontinental Title: Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho

Hometown boy Jericho is challenging. Orton gets taken down off an armdrag to start and Jericho throws in a little dance. A battle over a top wristlock doesn’t get Orton very far as he’s thrown into the corner to keep the pro-Jericho chants going. Jericho suplexes him down and gets two off the arrogant cover. Something out of the corner gets dropkicked out of the air though and we’re off to the neck crank as the fans think Orton sucks.

Not being happy with the chants, Orton sends Jericho to the apron but takes too long posing, allowing Jericho to come off the top with a back elbow to the jaw for two. The running enziguri gets the same with Orton getting his foot on the ropes. With that not working, Jericho backdrops him over the top and out to the floor. Cue Batista for a distraction and we take a break.

Back with Jericho hammering away in the corner until Batista low bridges him out to the floor. Jericho goes arm first into the post and the fans are all over Batista in a hurry. Back in and Orton starts kicking away before the light bulb goes off and he wraps the arm around the ropes. The armbar goes on for a bit with Orton pulling him back down by the air. Some knees to the arm keep Jericho in trouble and it’s right back to the armbar, though a different kind. It’s nice to see things get mixed up a bit as there’s no reason to have the same stuff over and over.

Back up and a double clothesline gives us a double knockdown and the fans have some hope. Jericho scores with a flying forearm but Orton cuts him off with the backbreaker. The swinging sleeper drop gives Jericho a near fall of his own but the shoulder gets sent hard into the post again. Orton’s high crossbody gets two and the fans are right back into it after the kickout. The bulldog drops Orton but Jericho has to dropkick Batista. He’s fine enough to counter the RKO into the Walls and the fans are going NUTS. Another Batista distraction breaks the hold though and Orton rolls him up with feet on the ropes to retain.

Rating: B-. The fans helped carry this one a little further than it would have gone otherwise and that’s not the worst thing in the world. Jericho winning the title was pretty much out of the question here but at least he didn’t lose clean, which can set up a rematch down the line. Orton still can’t make a full match like this work, but he’s getting the important parts, such as the strong finish, down.

HHH joins Eugene in the bounce house and they make an unspecified deal. That’s enough for HHH to leave with Flair helping him up. Apparently HHH was in there for twenty minutes and didn’t get around to breaking up the Eugene/Flair team. Flair: “We could lose! Or worse yet, we could win!” HHH’s plan is more about the World Title though, because tonight it’s Flair/HHH/Eugene vs. Edge/Benoit. Everyone will see his plan after tonight.

Smackdown Rebound.

Victoria vs. Nidia vs. Molly Holly

Envelope on a pole match with the winner getting a shot at Trish Stratus at some point in the future. Therefore, Trish is out on commentary along with Tyson Tomko. Nidia goes straight for the pole and gets pulled down just as fast. Molly knocks Victoria outside but gets elbowed off the top. The delay is enough for Victoria to get back up and kick Molly in the head to put all three down again. Molly knocks both of them to the floor and hits a slingshot dive on Victoria to keep her in trouble. Back in and Molly plants Victoria with a superplex but Nidia climbs up and gets the contract.

Rating: D-. This was just a step above the Vince Russo era with no particular reason for it to be a pole match, other than Nidia not being the best in the ring in the first place. I’m not sure why I’d want to see her get a title shot, but to be fair they need something fresh in the women’s division after the same matches over and over.

Post match Trish, with a broken wrist, comes out and says Nidia can have a shot when Trish is ready. Trish knocks her cold with the cast and says she’s ready.

Women’s Title: Trish Stratus vs. Nidia

Pin in three seconds to retain. Thank goodness they booked a match that they could blow off two minutes later. That’s just what the show needed.

Divas Search: Los Angeles, with unnamed women being worried about moving on to the next round. Candice Michelle and Christy Hemme both made the cut.

Vengeance rundown.

Trish and Tomko come up to Lita in the back and ask about morning sickness. Lita doesn’t say anything back so they leave, but not before this from Trish: “And they call me a sl**.”

HHH praises Eugene for his job tonight but brings up Edge wanting to tear Evolution down. Eugene doesn’t like that so HHH tells him about how Edge and Benoit represent everyone who has ever been mean to him. Tonight, Eugene needs to be mean to them. Hugging ensues and they agree to be best friends tonight.

HHH/Ric Flair/Eugene vs. Chris Benoit/Edge

Benoit wants to start with HHH but gets Eugene instead in a smart move from the villains. An early high five to Flair doesn’t constitute a tag so Benoit and Eugene try some technical work instead. Eugene is more than capable of hanging with Benoit though and drives him into the corner as JR goes into one of his trademark anti-HHH rants. Benoit reverses though and decks HHH and Flair, which isn’t something you do with Eugene around.

Eugene tries to come in but HHH holds him back so Flair can take over on Edge. It’s time to start working on the arm, with HHH telling Eugene to break the arm, which seems a step too far for him. The fans think Eugene sucks as HHH and Flair come in for a distraction as Edge tags Benoit. Therefore it’s Edge being dragged back into the corner so the beating can continue, including a Flair strut this time.

One WOO too many allows Edge to get in an enziguri and Benoit gets to come in and unload. The rolling German suplexes have HHH in trouble and the Swan Dive connects, with Flair breaking up the count in a hurry. Edge takes Flair to the floor but misses a charge to send him over the barricade.

Benoit knocks down both Eugene and the referee at the same time but is still able to knock a chair out of HHH’s hand. Eugene grabs the chair and pulls it back at Benoit, who manages to talk him out of it. HHH tries to Pedigree Benoit but gets reversed into the Sharpshooter for the unseen tap. At HHH’s urging, Eugene hits Benoit with the chair to break it up. The booing ensues as HHH pins Benoit.

Rating: C+. Another match focused on storytelling instead of the wrestling for the most part but the talent involved was more than enough to make it watchable. The Eugene push is starting to blow up in their faces though as there’s only so much that can be done before the fans just get tired of him. Eugene was a very fun character, but having him as the focal point of the show and involved in the top story is a bit much for someone like him.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was back and forth all night. It started off strong and had a pair of good matches, but stuff like the Divas Search eating up time and the Eugene story being hammered into our heads didn’t do it any favors. There is still good stuff going on around here, but very simply put, we need a break from HHH. Unfortunately, I can’t imagine that’s the case anytime soon.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: July 1, 2004
Location: Crown Coliseum, Fayetteville, North Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s very fitting that this is the halfway point of the year because it’s all downhill from here. JBL won the Smackdown World Title on Sunday, leaving us with a barren wasteland to look forward to. Other than that, Undertaker murdered Paul Bearer, which I’m sure will result in an explanation rather than, you know, life in prison for killing a man on television. Let’s get to it.

Just like on Monday, we open with the announcement that WWE has won some marketing awards.

A smug Kurt Angle opens the show and brags about costing Eddie Guerrero the title, even though the replay shows that it wasn’t exactly a questionable call. We see a video on the match and my stomach turns a bit at having to relieve the start of such a nightmare. Angle introduces JBL as the new champion and we jump to the arena.

Cole sounds as depressed as I am about the whole thing, though hearing Cole makes things even worse. The limo is covered in American flags and we get the long form entrance. The one compliment I’ll give JBL: I like the way he held the title with the belt clasped. Just looked cool. He even shakes hands and kisses babies on the way to the ring. There are even more flags on the ring, plus a CONGRATULATIONS JBL banner.

JBL declares it the dawning of a new era (wrestling loves eras) and promises to become the most popular WWE Champion of all time. He’ll shake hands, followed by a good washing of course because the champ can’t get sick. JBL: “It’s not personal. It’s just personal hygiene.” He talks about how JFK and Ronald Reagan were both taken away from us so America needs a hero. If you’d like, you can chant JBL. Those chants will inspire him to be a better champion than Eddie Guerrero, and they make him want to defend the title tonight.

After having to be reminded what city they’re in, it turns out that he gets to pick who gets the title shot. It will NOT be Eddie though, because Eddie has fallen off the wagon a bit. Right now, Eddie is probably knee deep in pills or vodka because he’s not here shaking JBL’s hand and calling him the better man. JBL promises to be a fighting champion to wrap things up. This was what you would have expected from a new gloating champion, but that doesn’t make the fact that JBL is champion any better.

Rob Van Dam vs. Booker T. vs. Rene Dupree

The winner gets a US Title shot at some point in the future. Rob strikes away to start and cleans a bit of the house, including backdropping Dupree to the floor. Another kick and the standing moonsault get two on Booker and the top rope kick to the face is good for the same with Dupree making the save. They’re certainly starting fast here. Dupree punches Rob down but gets kicked down just as fast as Booker was.

Rolling Thunder gets two and of course Booker comes in just in time for the save. It’s kind of amazing how triple threat matches wind up having so many coincidences no? They all stay in for a change with Rene dropping an elbow on Van Dam but Booker’s kick misses Van Dam and puts Dupree down by mistake. With Dupree tied in the ropes, Booker tries to bring in a chair but gets caught in a Van Daminator for his efforts. A big dive to the floor drops Dupree again and we take a break.

Back with Dupree dropping a middle rope elbow on Van Dam and getting annoyed when Booker goes for the cover. Fair enough. That’s the extent of the argument as it’s back to double teaming Van Dam in the corner until Dupree throws him outside. Booker takes a low blow and gets choked a bit until Van Dam comes back in, only to be thrown face first into a chair in the corner.

The spinebuster sends Dupree outside and there’s the Spinarooni for good measure. Van Dam kicks him down though and the Five Star crushes Booker, with Rob writhing around in so much pain that Dupree covers him for two. With Booker on the floor, Dupree gets in some snap jabs until Rob kicks him down again. The Five Star hits Dupree this time but Booker pulls Rob out at two and steals the pin.

Rating: B-. This was much better than I was expecting, even though it was the same formula that you’ve seen a dozen times in these things. Booker winning is the best option as a feud with Cena will only do good for both guys. If nothing else, maybe it can make Booker put in some more effort after some uninspired performances. Dupree vs. Van Dam can be fine for a one off match if that’s where they want to go.

JBL’s opponents are assembled in the locker room whenever he can get around to them.

Luther Reigns makes Charles Robinson watch a clip of the end of Torrie Wilson vs. Sable with the horribly botched ending where Torrie’s shoulders were both up. Robinson is sorry, but tonight he has to referee the rematch. Sweet goodness can’t we just have him tarred and feathered instead?

Cena and Booker yell at each other when JBL comes in. A few others are there and one of them will get a title shot tonight. After teasing various people getting the shot, he picks Spike Dudley, who isn’t in the room. Cena laughs at Bubba and D-Von for this, even though it’s not funny.

We look back at Booker winning the title shot. We’ve had a promo, the match and some backstage segments. That really needed to be shown again? Anyway the title match is next week.

Rey Mysterio vs. Mordecai

Non-title, though that might just be understood. Rey kicks at the leg to start but a drop toehold doesn’t work. Instead he goes with the basement dropkick and Mordecai is in more trouble than he’s been in to date. A lifting full nelson puts Rey in some trouble and Mordecai puts the back of Rey’s head against the post for a good pulling.

Mordecai throws Rey over his back for a choke until Rey slips out and starts kicking even more. No wonder he and Van Dam teamed up so often. A crossbody gives Rey two and the springboard DDT plants Mordecai. The 619 looks to set up the West Coast Pop but Mordecai powerbombs him onto the rope (looked like a botch). The crucifix bomb is countered into a hurricanrana to put Mordecai away.

Rating: D. And that’s it for Mordecai, as he’s going back to OVW. He’s a rather infamous failure and one of those guys who came and went while making a bit of a lasting impression. I never realized how short an amount of time he was around as he only had three televised matches. I know the matches he had were bad, but there’s only so much you can do when your two matches are on pay per view against Scotty 2 Hotty and Hardcore Holly, neither of which had any significant story.

Getting into a bar fight a few weeks before this and having someone get injured in the process didn’t help things either, but they didn’t exactly give him much to work with in the ring. It’s a cool gimmick and he looked awesome, though it was pretty clear that there were a lot of things working against him. Granted, the stuff he did in the ring wasn’t exactly great. What kind of a religious extremist uses chinlocks to purge sin?

The announcers talk about Undertaker turning on Paul Bearer and burying him in concrete to end the Great American Bash. Footage is promised, even though it might not be suitable for all audiences. Who exactly is that suitable for?

Before we get the footage though, here’s Paul Heyman to talk about what Undertaker did. It was Heyman who showed Undertaker the way and apparently that was the right thing, rather than what Heyman told him was the right thing (laying down in the match). Now we see the video, which is just a long recap of the match and post match murder. Back in the arena, Heyman talks about Undertaker no longer has a conscious and will be more deadly than ever.

Lighting comes out of the posts though and Undertaker appears on the screen (likely in an undisclosed location to avoids prosecution). Undertaker calls Bearer his one weakness and points out the obvious: now that Bearer is gone, Heyman is a dead man. For some reason this shocks Heyman, who is WAY smarter than this. What exactly was he expecting to happen here? This is the kind of thing that some crazy, stupid manager would do and that’s not Heyman whatsoever. It’s very out of character for him and thankfully that’s the last straw on this stupid story.

Sable vs. Torrie Wilson

So you have two Playboy cover girls here and the focus is on the referee. Torrie doesn’t wait for the bell so Sable runs outside, only to get thrown back in rather quickly. Sable gets catapulted face first into the buckle and Torrie hits some of the lamest stomps I’ve ever seen. A forearm knocks Torrie off the apron though and Sable starts in with the knees and legs. Choking ensues and Sable yells at Robinson for telling her to break. Torrie’s backslide gets two and a DDT finishes Sable. Robinson wasn’t really a factor.

Rating: D-. I’m not sure if I can call anything with Torrie and Sable involved a failure but this was about as close as you can get. They can’t wrestle, they can’t move around the ring well, they can’t show emotion and they can’t….well pretty much anything positive outside of look good. I get the gist here, but this stuff is really hard to watch.

Actually hang on a second as Kurt Angle pops up on screen to say Robinson needs to learn a lesson. Now take off your shirt.

Charles Robinson vs. Luther Reigns

And never mind as Charlie Haas runs in for the save after about ten seconds. Reigns isn’t happy.

Raw Rebound.

Spike is warming up when the Dudleys come in and think something is up. Bubba says they’ve never gotten an opportunity like this (yes he has) and tonight they’ll help Spike win so they can come get a title shot of their own. Spike turns them down and doesn’t seem happy. I don’t like where this is going.

Here are Kenzo Suzuki and Hiroko so the former can rant in Japanese and laugh evily. This brings out John Cena to say that Suzuki is angry every week but no one understands a thing he’s saying. Cena knows some basic Japanese like sushi and sake, sending him into a story about having a little too much one night. After a Godzilla impression, Cena says he’s here for Suzuki because he’s fluent in Japanese. We see the same Suzuki promo with Cena “translating” into a bunch of jokes about bodily functions and Hiroko’s white face paint. That’s about it actually, with no violence or big punch line.

JBL shakes more hands but finds Eddie Guerrero’s car. Nervous laughter abounds.

Smackdown World Title: John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Spike Dudley

Spike is challenging and the announcers are smartly bringing up the small Mysterio beating the monster Mordecai earlier in the night. JBL powers him around (well duh) to start as the Eddie chants are trying to get going. The slow beating continues and the pro-Eddie chants have morphed into BRADSHAW SUCKS chants. Spike manages to take him down into the corner for some rapid fire stomps but the champ sends him outside in a heap.

A hard forearm to the back sets up a whip into the steps and it’s off to a torture rack. That’s broken up and Spike hammers away in the corner, only to get slammed right back down. The Clothesline From JBL misses and the Dudley Dog gets two, with the fans gasping at some false hope. A spinebuster sets up a pair of Clotheslines From JBL, followed by a powerbomb to retain.

Rating: D-. Well what else were you expecting from JBL vs. Spike Dudley for about eight minutes? This was mostly a squash with the fans gasping at the idea of the title changing hands. I don’t know if that’s just the shock or wanting anyone but JBL to be champion, but it’s not the best sign if this reign is going to last a long time.

Post match Eddie is here and the beatdown is on but JBL rolls away before the frog splash. As the champ leaves, Eddie says enjoy the title while you can, because the rematch is in two weeks inside a cage.

Overall Rating: D. It could have been worse. JBL has started become a bit more bearable as he’s not talking about the same things over and over again every time. Now that he’s finally champion, we can finally get back to some new challengers and not hearing about how he’s claiming his destiny or whatever it is that he babbled about forever.

Other than that the US Title stuff was fine, but the lower midcard acts were some of the weakest they’ve been in a long time. Between that and Undertaker being like “oh, and now I’m a monster again” and Heyman being stunned, there wasn’t much to get excited about this week.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 28, 2004
Location: Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

With less than two weeks to go, it’s time to get focused on Vengeance. As it turns out, last week’s main event had no bearing on the pay per view as HHH is getting his World Title shot (I’m stunned too.) despite not beating Eugene. Other than that we have the continuing issues of Kane fathering Lita’s baby, which isn’t likely to get much attention tonight because Kane is getting a World Title shot against Chris Benoit. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Last week, WWE won some awards. Good for them.

We open with a recap of HHH vs. Eugene, featuring HHH snapping and beating him down, drawing in Benoit for the save. Benoit accidentally chaired Eugene though and got laid out by HHH to end the show. That’ll show Eugene for getting over without being named HHH.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Evolution to get things going. HHH says tonight’s main event doesn’t matter because he’s facing the winner at Vengeance no matter what. For tonight though, he’d like Eugene to come out here because they’re still friends. A nervous Eugene comes out, complete with a bandage with a drawn on smiley face. HHH talks about how there are mean people around here, like Chris Benoit. All HHH was doing was trying to prepare him last week because if HHH really wanted to hurt him, Eugene wouldn’t be here.

The reality is that Benoit can’t stand Eugene and wants to hurt him. HHH doesn’t usually talk like this, but Benoit is nothing but a jerk. HHH: “I said the J word!” Orton looks very confused as HHH tells Eugene that they’re still friends. Tonight, Eugene gets to be an honorary member of Evolution. That means a round of hugs but here’s William Regal to say it’s a trap. HHH brings up Regal to work for Bischoff to get rid of Regal in exchange for his job. HHH: “YOU MAKE ME SICK!” This brings out Bischoff, to make HHH vs. Regal with Eugene as guest referee.

Again, this story is fascinating in a way. The character work and manipulation of Eugene is very entertaining as you can see the character changes throughout and that’s making for some entertaining TV. That being said, there is the issue of why HHH is doing this in the first place. He has the title shot and he has Evolution. Is there really a reason why he doesn’t just have them beat the heck out of Eugene and make them leave? Sure Bischoff is going to be happy to see Eugene get crushed, but this seems to be taking the very long way around when there’s an easier path to get what everyone wants.

Chris Jericho/Edge vs. Randy Orton/Batista

Well it was good last week. Orton tags out instead of fighting Jericho so it’s a right hand to Batista’s face to no avail. Batista takes him down and hammers away with right hands to the head as the fire alarm seems to be going off. Evolution takes turns hammering on Jericho’s head as the alarm keeps going. Someone might want to look into that sooner or later. The alarm is finally cut off, drawing a round of applause from the crowd.

Batista gets two off a big side slam but Jericho dropkicks him into the ropes for a breather. It’s still way too early for the hot tag, which is fine as Edge did more than enough work in the first version. Orton’s dropkick gets two but he walks into the sleeper drop, setting up the hot tag to Edge. That means some house cleaning but you know this one is getting some time so it’s only the preliminary house cleaning. They’re not to full dusting yet you see.

The Edgecator has Orton in trouble until Batista saves, only to get double dropkicked to the floor. Edge hits a baseball slide and Jericho adds a sweet dive to drop Batista as we take a break. Back with Edge taking Orton into the corner but Batista comes in again for a running powerslam. Orton stomps away and drops some legs for two before handing it back to Batista for a seated full nelson.

That’s finally reversed with a ram into the corner but Orton is fine enough to slap on a bodyscissors. Edge finally fights up again and makes the hot tag off to Jericho so the pace can pick up. The bulldog sets up the Lionsault but Batista moves, leaving Jericho to stick the landing. Batista’s spinebuster is countered into a sunset flip with Edge dropkicking him down for the two. Back up and Batista blasts Orton with the clothesline but manages to kick out of the Walls. Edge spears Batista, setting up the Lionsault for the pin.

Rating: B. Are these people capable of having a bad match at this point? You could mix and match these guys for months for good matches, which is exactly what they’ve done to some great results. Jericho vs. Batista and Edge vs. Orton (the latter of which is already set) for Vengeance sound fine for me.

Post match the announcers talk about how impressive was that Jericho overcame a concussion to win here. If he had one, he certainly didn’t act like it.

Video on Kane announcing that Lita’s baby is his, wrecking Matt Hardy’s marriage proposal in the process. That’s such a horrible move and I love it. Lita’s crying line of “but the baby might be yours” makes it even better.

Flair comes up to HHH and asks about Eugene being an honorary member of Evolution. Flair: “It’ll kill our gimmick brother!” HHH explains the whole idea by saying that his deal with Bischoff is simple: get rid of Eugene and get a title shot at Vengeance. Flair brings up the obvious: why not just beat Eugene up right now and be done with it? Apparently HHH is going to use Eugene’s talents to get the title back. Then he’ll give Eugene what he deserves.

Now that’s more like it. The scheme is making things more complicated than they need to be and HHH is looking like a maniacal villain. Imagine that: actually explaining a crazy idea and not leaving your audience scratching your heads and hoping they just don’t ask a bunch of questions that point out all the holes in your story. HHH’s plan is pretty stupid, but it makes sense to him and that’s all that matters.

Divas Search video, this time from New York. Again, almost none of them are named, though Michelle McCool is seen.

A crying Lita can’t get in touch with Matt. Stacy Keibler comes in and asks what’s wrong. My goodness this woman gets dumber every week. Lita was trying to do what was right and explains that Kane was going to keep hurting Matt until Lita did what he wanted. She’s not sure who the father is.

JR is in the ring to interview Kane, though this time the ring is at least surrounded by cops. You know, those guys with such great track records in wrestling. Kane gets right to the point: there’s no one that is going to stop him if he decides to go after JR again. JR shrugs that off and asks about Kane attacking Shawn Michaels last week. Shawn robbed him of the World Title and since Shawn got in his way, it was time to make him suffer.

As for Lita, Kane just wanted something that he never had. He wants an offspring that he can mold to continue his legacy. Kane took every precaution to make sure Lita would get pregnant. This way Kane gets everything that he wants, including the World Title tonight. Oh yeah that’s another thing Kane has going on right now. Then in eight months, he gets to be a father.

JR brings up the chance that Lita’s baby is Matt so violence is imminent, only to have Matt run in for the save. Bischoff has to tell security to break it up. Matt gets dragged away and Bischoff says the main event isn’t being ruined. Since it’s so unfair to Kane, we’ll change the rules a bit. Tonight, Benoit has to win by submission only but Kane can win by pinfall, submission, countout or DQ. Kane has another evil smile.

William Regal vs. HHH

This is Regal’s first match in over a year and Eugene is guest referee. HHH drives him into the corner to start so Regal takes over with a hammerlock. Regal kicks away on the mat like a true villain should but Eugene asking for a clean break allows HHH to get in a right hand. Back up and Regal slugs away with HHH doing a faceplant. An exploder suplex gets two but Flair throws in some brass knuckles. Regal clocks HHH and takes them away but Eugene disqualifies him before he can actually use the knuckles. Eugene: “You weren’t supposed to do that!”

Rating: D. The wrestling wasn’t the point here as it was more about the angle advancement, which is starting to make me wonder. Eugene is already starting to feel like he’s in over his head here and if this all ends with HHH getting a definitive pin over Eugene, it’s going to be a bad idea at the end of the day.

Post match HHH shoves Regal into Eugene, sending him into a rage with a beatdown on Regal. HHH and Flair calm things down and Regal is left laying.

Sgt. Slaughter/Rhyno vs. La Resistance

Non-title. This is the last show before the 4^th of July so it’s as good as we can get. Slaughter is looking very lean here compared to some of his recent appearances. Rhyno is ready to fight early on and shrugs off some Conway chops. A hard shoulder puts Conway down but Grenier gets in a cheap shot from behind.

Slaughter is drawn in so the double teaming can continue, which you would think he would see coming. A neckbreaker gets two on Rhyno and we hit the chinlock. Rhyno fights up and hits a belly to belly, allowing the how tag off to Slaughter for the house cleaning. The Cobra Clutch is broken up but Conway makes the save with a DDT. Rhyno gets shoved off the top and it’s Au Revoir to finish Slaughter.

Rating: D+. All things considered, this was just a step beneath a miracle. Slaughter’s annual appearances are rarely anything to see but this was a watchable match. Having it be non-title helped a bit too as hearing that the titles are on the line makes me roll my eyes and go “this again?” more often than not. This didn’t feel as annoying and the match being a bit better helped too.

HHH tries to calm Eugene down but then brings up Benoit hitting him in the head with a chair last week. Then Regal shoved him down, even though Eugene didn’t do anything wrong. Kane chokeslammed him too. They hurt him, but Evolution will never hurt him. As much as the plan is convoluted, HHH has been nailing the acting part and comes off as totally evil.

Diva Search. Some made it, some didn’t, one was Michelle McCool.

Vengeance rundown. Jericho vs. Batista is confirmed.

Coach and Bischoff are in the office for some exposition. Bischoff will be off next week and therefore we need a boss. Since, you know, WE MUST HAVE A BOSS! Coach won’t be in charge though because Eugene will be running the show. That actually has a lot of potential.

We look back at Benoit having to pin Kane instead of winning with the Crossface.

Smackdown Rebound featuring the Great American Bash. Haven’t we suffered enough?

Raw World Title: Kane vs. Chris Benoit

Benoit is defending and can only win by submission while Kane can win by any means. The referee holds the title upside down, which is a lot more annoying than it should be. Kane loses an early slugout so it’s time to start in on the knee. The Sharpshooter is kicked away of course but Kane misses the big elbow. Benoit can’t get the Crossface so Kane throws him over the top.

Back from a break with Benoit chopping away in the corner but getting hit in the face. They head outside with Kane posting him for a bonus. That gets nine on the floor and two in the ring as I wonder why Kane doesn’t just destroy Benoit with a chair. Benoit can’t win by DQ so Kane can’t get disqualified, so what’s stopping him? Benoit sends Kane face first into the steps and JR LOSES IT on Lawler for asking about Kane’s kid again. I haven’t heard him yell that loudly in a long time.

Back from another break with Kane holding a chinlock before kicking him in the face to cut off a comeback. The chokeslam is countered into the Crossface but Kane gets up and slams him down for the break. A Tombstone attempt is escaped and Benoit rolls the German suplexes. Benoit hits the flying headbutt and covers but the referee reminds him of the rules.

With Kane down, Benoit goes up again but has to counter a chokeslam by snapping the arm across the rope. Kane goes shoulder first into the post and the Crossface goes on again. The roll over doesn’t work as Benoit holds on, even with both of them on their backs. That actually looks even more painful than the regular version and Kane taps to retain Benoit’s title.

Rating: B-. And that’s that for Kane. I’m kind of surprised at the chemistry these two have together and the matches have been a nice showcase for Benoit. The story here was fine and Benoit was in trouble at times, but the Vengeance title match being announced made it rather clear that the title wasn’t changing hands. It’s ok to have a match with a pretty obvious ending at times though and that was the case here.

Post match Kane chokeslams Benoit but here’s a very smiley Lita. She hands the title to Kane and raises his hand before kicking him low. Kane shrugs it off and loads up a chokeslam but lets her go because of the baby. Benoit hits him with the belt and poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling was solid this week but I keep going back and forth on the HHH/Eugene thing. It goes against what made Eugene work but the bigger problem is it’s turned into a HHH story featuring Eugene than anything else. The performances have been very good though and the positives outweigh the negatives, which is more than you can expect in a lot of stories. It’s good for now, but I’m worried about where it might be going. The rest of the show was mostly good and nothing stood out as horrible, so I can definitely go with this after last night’s pay per view.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: November 27, 2018
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s a night of returns this week as both AJ Styles and Becky Lynch are scheduled to appear, at least according to the preview. Of course the preview was rather wrong last week so you never know what you might get. My guess is three new authority figures, two long chinlocks and a rematch in a wrestling ring. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Here’s Paige to get things going and she wastes no time in welcoming Becky Lynch back. That’s good for a huge pop and Becky says when you’re the hottest thing going, any time away is too much. She was ready for Survivor Series but Charlotte had to fight for her, so Charlotte needs to come out here right now. This brings out Charlotte, with Becky saying that she told Charlotte to give Ronda the beating that she would have and Charlotte came close. Of course, if Becky had been in there, Ronda wouldn’t have been standing the next day.

Charlotte must be confused though, because it took her channeling Becky to give Ronda that beating. Charlotte says not quite because she was just being herself. She’s the only woman on either roster capable of giving Ronda that kind of a beating. With her genetics and mindset, she can do whatever it takes to get the job done. Becky says Charlotte just went from copying her old man to copying the Man but at least she beat the phoniness out of Charlotte over the last few months. Charlotte: “Man, Nia must have hit you harder than I thought.”

Charlotte is ready to fight again right now but Paige says not so fast. They can fight, but they’ll do it at TLC in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match. This brings out the IIconics, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville and Zelina Vega. Any of them deserve a title shot, but Paige just won’t give them a chance.

This brings out Naomi, Asuka, Lana and Carmella to say any of them could be champ. Becky is willing to fight any of them right now but Paige says not so fast. If they all want to fight, we’ll have a battle royal tonight and the winner is added to the TLC match to make it a triple threat. Becky sounded great here and is just on another level right now.

Usos vs. The Bar

Non-title and there’s no Big Show due to an argument with the Bar earlier today where Cesaro took a right hand. The Usos start fast and go after Cesaro’s arm but Jimmy gets punched into the corner. Some stomping has Jimmy down as we take a break. Back with Jimmy still in trouble but Sheamus misses a charge, allowing the hot tag to Jey. Everything breaks down and Jey’s dive is cut off by an uppercut.

Sheamus adds a middle rope knee for two but gets sent shoulder first into the post. A superkick gets two on Sheamus but the Double Us is broken up with an uppercut to Jimmy and double knees to Jey. The spike White Noise is broken up and Jimmy rolls Cesaro up for two. A blind tag brings Jey back in and it’s a superkick into the Superfly Splash for the pin on Cesaro at 8:48.

Rating: B-. There were some great near falls in there, but my goodness find some fresh teams to fight. You have all kinds of people floating around WWE and so many of them have nothing to do. Make some new teams or throw in some of the older ones. Send the Usos over to Raw and bring….I don’t know, the B Team and Heath Slater/Rhyno over or something. Neither would be better than the Usos, but at least it’s something new.

New Day is laughing at a clip of Miz losing last week and Miz isn’t happy. Miz gets a match set up as a result, but Big E. lets it slip that he’s a big Marine fan. Pointing and wailing ensue.

Here’s AJ Styles for his first comments since losing the title. The 14 days since he lost the title have felt like a lot more than the 371 days he held it. He hates losing, but it was the way he lost. After a clip of the loss, AJ talks about the aftermath being what bothered him. We see a clip of Bryan’s speech about being a new man last week and AJ talks about how Bryan has been nowhere to be seen over the last week. Bryan better come out of his little chamber and show up at TLC. Make sure to bring the title though, because it belongs to AJ. Good fire from Styles here and the match should be great.

Video on Lars Sullivan.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev

Non-title. Nakamura jumps Rusev before the bell and hits Kinshasa. No match.

Joe talks about being ready to drink a toast to Jeff, but you shouldn’t have alcohol around him. That was a great video package, especially since Jeff was so out of it he probably doesn’t remember a lot of it. Joe doesn’t like the idea of Jeff being given another chance when Joe hasn’t had his first.

Jeff doesn’t mind being put up on a pedestal no matter what he’s done, but those demons are always in the back of his mind. The next time, and there will be a next time, that Jeff messes up, there is a Samoa Joe path to recovery and it’s one painful step. Jeff says he’s always ready to live for the moment so let’s have a moment right now. And of course Joe walks away. Those were some harsh words but Joe needs to win something and it’s not like Hardy is there for much more than putting people over at this point anyway.

The Usos and Naomi sell stuff.

Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz

Miz works on a wristlock as pancakes are thrown around at ringside. Kofi sends him outside though and a big dive takes us to a break. Back with Kofi hitting the Boom Drop but Trouble in Paradise is caught. The SOS is reversed into a failed Skull Crushing Finale attempt, followed by an SOS to give Kofi two. Miz’s DDT gets the same but Big E. offers a pancake distraction so Kofi can grab a rollup for two more. A knee to the ribs cuts Kofi down so Miz DROPKICKS WOODS to take out the trombone. Miz grabs a chair but walks into Trouble in Paradise for the pin at 6:48.

Rating: C-. Well that was random. Kofi beating Miz is fine and it helps a bit that Miz going after the rest of the team cost him the win. It’s certainly better than having the Lucha House Party fight with an advantage and then still pretending to be the heroes. This seems to be building to Shane vs. Miz and….dang that makes me cringe a bit.

Here’s Randy Orton, carrying Rey Mysterio’s mask, for a chat. He talks about how people haven’t been happy with what he did but to him, it felt euphoric. Orton never understood what was so important about a mask like this because he never bothered to learn the history. What he did last week was meant to embarrass and humiliate Rey and bring him off the pedestal that the fans have put him on. At this stage in his career, all Rey is is just another of Orton’s victims.

This brings out Rey, still in a neck brace. The fight is on in the aisle with Orton getting the better of it and taking the brace off. Rey fights back and scores with a quick 619 to set up a second 619. It’s time for a chair but Rey takes too long and gets caught in the hanging DDT. Orton isn’t done and wraps the chair around Rey’s neck to slam it into the steps. Doing it again makes Orton look like that much more of a villain and that’s interesting.

Miz comes in to see Shane McMahon and asks where he was. He can’t will this team into existence and calls the Best in the World trophy their baby. They need to get it together.

Battle Royal

Carmella, Asuka, Sonya Deville, Mandy Rose, Billie Kay, Peyton Royce, Naomi, Zelina Vega, Lana

The winner gets to join the TLC match at TLC and Charlotte and Becky are sitting at ringside. It’s a brawl to start of course and Vega is out less than a minute in. Lana is sent through the ropes (not eliminated) and Vega beats her up as we take a break. Back with the IIconics dumping Lana and Asuka sending the two of them to the apron. A hip attack eliminates both of them but Carmella kicks Asuka in the head.

Asuka kicks her out anyway but gets beaten down by Sonya and Mandy. A jumping knee to the face rocks Asuka but Naomi makes a save with some forearms. Mandy blocks a hurricanrana though and puts Naomi on the apron. Naomi pulls her out as well and backflips on the apron before sending Mandy into the post for the elimination.

Sonya knees Naomi out and it’s down to two, which the fans really like. Asuka starts throwing the kicks but gets taken down by a double leg. Mandy offers a distraction and gets kneed in the face, leaving both of them to be pulled over the top and out to the apron. Sonya makes the mistake of trying a charge though and gets kneed in the face to send Asuka to TLC at 10:19.

Rating: D+. This was quick and not terrible and I’ll certainly take what I can get with Asuka. She’s long overdue for a rebuild and just putting her in the title match is better than anything she’s done in a long time. I wouldn’t have her win the title or anything of course but it’s a little breath of air in the title picture and that’s almost always a good thing.

Overall Rating: C-. While not a great show, this blew away anything Raw did last night and that makes it easy to watch. The wrestling wasn’t the best thing in the world, though the segments were there to pick things up. Hopefully things continue to stay interesting and we get a strong build towards TLC. As long as Becky gets to keep talking like she did here, everything should be awesome.

Results

Usos b. The Bar – Superfly Splash to Cesaro

Kofi Kingston b. The Miz – Trouble in Paradise

Asuka won a battle royal last eliminating Sonya Deville

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Great American Bash 2004
Date: June 27, 2004
Location: Norfolk Scope, Norfolk, Virginia
Attendance: 6,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We had to get here at some point and that’s not the most appealing thing in the world. The double main event will see JBL challenging Eddie Guerrero for the WWE Title in a Texas Bullrope match (totally different than the Montana bullrope match) and the Undertaker vs. the Dudley Boyz in a Concrete Crypt match (totally different than the good idea match). Let’s get to it.

The opening video focuses on being yourself (like Eddie Guerrero and John Cena) no matter what people say (like JBL and Kurt Angle). And something about Undertaker trying to save Paul Bearer from being encased in concrete as a bunch of children recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

Here’s Torrie Wilson as the sexy Uncle Sam to welcome us to the show, with a special shout out to the US armed forces. That’s nice of them, but when you cut to the cement mixer that might be used for televised murder, it doesn’t have the same impact.

US Title: John Cena vs. Booker T. vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Rene Dupree

Cena is defending and this is under elimination rules. We get the pre-match rap with Cena making his usual gay jokes, this time about Kurt Angle. He also throws in a GI Bro joke for old times’ sake but that’s a bit too classy so let’s get some gay jokes in on Rene as well. The brawl is on to start with Booker and Rene being knocked down so we can have the Van Dam vs. Cena slugout.

Booker pulls Rob outside and sends him into various things as Rene suplexes Cena for two. Rene actually wins a slugout with Cena (how odd) and even low bridges him to the floor. After Rene struts a bit, Booker is smart enough to send Rob inside so he doesn’t have to do much early on. That means chinlockery as Booker yells at the fans. Van Dam fights up and hits Rolling Thunder as the singles match continues. Dupree gets sent outside so Rob flip dives onto both he and Cena with the latter being thrown back in.

Some rollups give Rob two as Booker is still content to watch from ringside. Again: not the worst idea and showing some good thinking here. Some place switching leaves us with Rene vs. Booker for a double knockdown, allowing Van Dam to hit a Five Star on Rene. Cena gets knocked off the top and now the Five Star hits Booker. The writhing around on the mat takes too long though and Cena rolls Van Dam up for the first elimination.

The double teaming of Cena begins with Booker dropping the knee. Booker isn’t going to let Rene steal his cover though and there’s the required argument between two morons who are in complete control. Cena makes his comeback in short order and there’s an FU on Rene, but Booker kicks Cena down and steals the elimination.

We’re down to one on one with Booker hitting a side slam for a fast two. The chinlock goes on for a long time (albeit with a stop for a kick to the face in the middle) and Cena fights up as you might expect. Right hands and a side slam set up the Shuffle for two as Cena is getting fired up. Booker is right back with his kick to the face but the ax kick misses, setting up the FU to retain Cena’s title.

Rating: C+. Good opener here with Cena fighting through the odds and getting a nice win. They’re turning him into a star with this reign and beating three guys is a great way to get him higher up the ladder. You could easily do a Cena vs. Booker feud to make things even better from here.

I’m still not sure what difference it made to have this be an elimination match though, as Cena won the first fall and the rules let him avoid a lot of punishment by standing outside. Odds are it’s just a time thing, but it doesn’t make a ton of sense at least from Angle’s perspective. The one thing that worries me here: this was one of the few solid matches they had on the show and we have nearly two and a half hours to go. This could get bad in a hurry.

In the back, Cena hits on Jackie Gayda (also in a red, white and blue outfit) when Angle comes up. He’s not happy with Charlie Haas, who has fallen way too far. Charlie can face Angle’s new protege right now. Good thing Charlie was standing right there in his gear. This segment was straight out of a regular episode of Smackdown.

Sable is in a hot tub to interview….herself. She’s hotter than Torrie and can prove it tonight.

Charlie Haas vs. Luther Reigns

Jackie and Angle are here too, making this about as overbooked as you could ask it to be. Charlie tries the wrestling to start but can’t do much with the really strong Reigns. A boot to the chest drops Charlie and the stomping begins. One heck of a whip into the corner has Angle applauding and Haas gets tossed outside. The chinlock goes on and Jackie goes into cheerleading mode, which fits well given that she’s in something close to a cheerleading outfit.

A gorilla press gives Reigns two and we hit a half crab, which is about as bad of an idea as you could have right now. Charlie fights up and gets punched into the corner as Angle tells Reigns to hurry up. Some suplexes give Charlie two but he misses a charge into the post, setting up the rolling cutter to give Reigns the pin.

Rating: D-. What am I even supposed to say here? It’s a match that would have been boring on Smackdown and is getting pay per view time because they don’t have anything else to put on in its place. Reigns is fine for what he is, but that doesn’t mean he needs to be getting a pay per view spot, especially in a bad squash.

JBL says he got ripped off at Judgment Day and tonight, he gets what he wants. As always. And remember: everyone who doesn’t like him is wrong because he’s great and gets to prove it. Thank goodness the fans were already asleep after the previous match.

Cruiserweight Title: Chavo Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio

Chavo is challenging after winning a battle royal on Tuesday. He’s on his own here as I guess we’re no longer graces by the essence of Classic. Dang it he was one of the best things about this show (not the highest bar to clear but still). They hit the mat to start with Rey rolling him up for two as Chavo can’t keep up. Chavo’s rollup gives him two of his own and that means a standoff.

Rey slaps on an armbar and gets two more off another rollup, meaning the second standoff in just a few minutes. Seems like they have a lot of time here. It’s back to the arm with a short armscissors but Rey tries to go for a springboard, allowing Chavo to dropkick him to the floor. Rey comes up holding his knee and Chavo has a target. Some cannonballs down onto the knee have Rey in trouble but he uses the good leg to kick Chavo out to the floor. It doesn’t do much good as Chavo comes back in for a half crab Liontamer.

For some reason Chavo picks him up in a wheelbarrow, allowing Rey to plant him with the bulldog. Sometimes villains never learn. Chavo is fine enough to whip him into the corner and the knee gives out. A near Jackhammer gives Chavo two and it’s right back to the knee. It’s off to a Brock Lock for a bit until Rey fights up with a headscissors (though it was more like Rey falling down and Chavo flipping). Chavo is smart enough to kick at the knee again and this time he ties Rey in the Tree of Woe.

As expected though, Chavo tries a completely unnecessary charge and goes shoulder first into the post. That means a seated senton off the top, with Rey landing on the knee again. My goodness there are some stupid people in this match. Back in and they go to the top at the same time for a double faceplant. Rey gets two off a rollup and hits a quick middle rope dropkick, followed by a Russian legsweep for a little change of pace.

The springboard seated senton gets two but Rey charges into a Gory Bomb for two (with the bad arm keeping him from hooking the leg). Rey enziguris him into the ropes but the 619 is countered into another half crab. That’s rolled through as well so Chavo tries a second Gory Bomb, which is reversed into a sunset flip to retain the title.

Rating: B. I’ve got a feeling this is the high point for the show and we’re not even halfway through. They had a nice story going with the knee vs. the arm and it played into the action multiple times. These two know each other so well that it’s almost impossible to not have a good match and the nearly twenty minutes never felt long. Solid match here and the best thing the show is likely to have.

Torrie is in the hot tub with some cruiserweights. They argue over the match until she stands up. Funaki: “God bless America.”

Kenzo Suzuki vs. Billy Gunn

For those of you who were begging for a rematch. Cole on Suzuki: “He’s undefeated on American soil.” He’s not even undefeated this week ham head. We even see a clip of the loss to make Cole look even dumber. They stare at each other to start, though Gunn stares at Hiroko to add in some flavor. Gunn starts with some right hands and a fisherman’s suplex for two. A swinging neckbreaker keeps Gunn in trouble but the claw legsweep drops him.

The nerve hold goes on as you can hear the fans slowly dying before our eyes. Suzuki elbows him in the face to cut off a comeback and it’s time to choke with a knee. A suplex sets up a seated abdominal stretch to keep Gunn in trouble. The USA chants (remember this is a Navy town so they’re extra strong) eventually overcome the power of boring wrestling so Gunn starts the comeback with a Stinger Splash.

Rating: F. It was bad on Smackdown and it was even worse here because it had more time. Suzuki is already a disaster and I don’t see him getting any better anytime soon. He has no charisma and isn’t intimidating as he’s every Japanese stereotype you can think of in one bad heel. The finishers are even worse as they’re the kind of moves you would expect about two minutes into a ten minute match, not as a way to wrap things up.

Heyman has Paul Bearer bound and gagged (Again: SOMEONE CALL THE COPS ALREADY!!!) and promises that he isn’t bluffing. He explains the idea of murdering Bearer by encasing him in concrete and undoing the gag just as Bearer is about to suffocate. Is he going to have a fishing pole rigged up or is he diving into the concrete to get the gag? Undertaker has to do the right thing of Bearer dies. This gets dumber and dumber every time they talk about it.

Torrie Wilson vs. Sable

Torrie is in red, white and blue while Sable is in red. Commie. Sable bails to start as the cameraman suddenly starts getting some rather close shots with some carefully selected angles. Something like a snapmare out of the corner lets Sable carefully kick her in the back. They manage to screw up a sunset flip and a drop toehold before Sable chokes on the rope.

Rating: F. That’s one of the worst women’s matches I’ve ever seen as not only did they look terrible, but they even had a few minutes to work, making the punishment last even longer. Just have them stand around and look good and be done with it because this is a disaster. Oh and well done on having the one in the American flag gear lose in the match after the evil Japanese guy won. I would ask if they wanted to kill the crowd, but just look at the show so far.

Replays show that neither shoulder was down. How do you possibly screw that up so badly?

Dawn Marie is by the hot tub to talk to Rene, who insists that he’s getting a rematch for the title. He offers to show her his, ahem, French Tickler and then dances. The FBI shows up with Nunzio showing off his shoe size. She doesn’t seem to get the reference so let’s make fun of Dupree for having small shoes.

Mordecai vs. Hardcore Holly

Because WWE hates us. They start fighting at the bell with Holly tying him in the ropes. That’s not a good look for a religious zealot. Mordecai gets loose and sends him into the staff at ringside before starting in on the back. A boot to the side of the head sets up a chinlock, which again is an improvement after what we’ve sat through so far. Holly fights up and hits a hot shot, followed by a top rope clothesline. Mordecai plants him with a sitout spinebuster for two, followed by the crucifix bomb for the pin.

Rating: F. I don’t remember the last time I saw three F’s in a row. High school probably. This was another terrible mess with Mordecai having a great look but not being able to do a thing in the ring. Then again, what are you expecting in a match against Holly on pay per view? This had no business being on a major show, especially the third terrible match like this in a row.

We recap Eddie Guerrero vs. JBL. Eddie was left a bloody mess at Judgment Day but he retained the title. Now it’s a Texas Bullrope match because JBL is still a thing and he doesn’t want Eddie to be able to get himself disqualified. Hearing his promos over the highlight package are draining, which says a lot given that I just sat through the three previous matches on the card.

Smackdown World Title: Eddie Guerrero vs. John Bradshaw Layfield

Eddie is defending and it’s a Texas Bullrope match, meaning they’re attached at the wrist and you win by touching four consecutive corners. There are lights over the corners to designate someone touching a post. Tony Chimel announces the rules, and says you can get disqualified if you unhook yourself from the rope. Wait. We just sat through a video where JBL said he made the rules so Eddie can’t get disqualified. But there’s a rule where Eddie can get disqualified? That’s some Roddy Piper Starrcade 1996 logic.

Of course there’s a bell on the rope, just in case you were hoping to avoid some really annoying sounds in this one. Eddie goes for the knee to start and them tosses JBL down with the rope. A bell shot to the knee has Eddie in trouble as the rope comes off for a few seconds. Eddie comes back with a backdrop and gets two buckles but a rope shot to the throat breaks the momentum (always the clearest concept in the world) and we’re back to even.

There’s a cowbell to the head and JBL ties him in the Tree of Woe for some choking. It’s time to set up the announcers’ table but Eddie slips out of what looked like a powerbomb and trips him down. Eddie uses the rope to pull JBL into the post a few times and then CRACKS him in the head with a chair (same spot as at Judgment Day) but JBL’s cut is nothing compared to Eddie’s gusher.

Back in and JBL begs off so Eddie chairs him down again and gets three buckles until JBL wakes up. That’s enough to break the momentum so Eddie chokes with the rope as the blood is really flowing now. A DDT gets JBL out of trouble but Eddie crotches him with the rope, only to get pulled down after three buckles. Three Amigos set up the frog splash and Eddie gets three buckles (a buckle per Amigo I guess) so JBL rolls outside to break the momentum in a smart move.

JBL catches Eddie up top with a bell shot to the head and LAUNCHES him onto the announcers’ table, which doesn’t break. Cole declares the wooden tables to be nearly concrete. Must be mahogany. JBL powerbombs him through the table and falls down for a few moments of his own. That’s only good for three buckles so JBL bells him in the head again.

Three more buckles are touched until Eddie gets in a low blow with the bell to break things up. Both guys are spent but manages to stumble into three buckles but it’s a tug of war for the fourth. Eddie pulls JBL away from the corner and even whips him with the rope, though none of that counts as breaking momentum. A big dive over JBL reaches the fourth buckle though and Eddie retains.

Rating: B. Actually a heck of a brawl with JBL going with the power offense that he’s pretty good at instead of doing headlocks and holds like in the previous match. The rules suited them a lot better this time around and the blood made it look very violent. Also, it’s rather cool to have Eddie retain because the idea of JBL as champion gives me hives.

Actually hang on as Angle is wheeled out to show us a replay. It turns out that the dive sent JBL’s back into the corner and that means we have a new champion. A good part here: the announcers had made it clear that it could be any part of the body touching the buckle to count so it fits the rules perfectly. Eddie is crushed and I’m in need of some medication for these hives.

Long recap of the Dudley Boyz vs. Undertaker, which is actually headlining here. Heyman wanted to see more aggression from the Dudleys so they kidnapped Paul Bearer for the sake of forcing Undertaker to follow Heyman’s orders. Of course this turned into Heyman threatening to BURY BEARER IN CONCRETE, because that’s the first logical move. Undertaker now has to “do the right thing” (still not specified) or Bearer is, uh, killed.

Undertaker vs. Dudley Boyz

Bearer is in a concrete case near the entrance with Heyman controlling a lever which will pour cement inside. Before the match, Heyman gives a demonstration of the cement flowing. He pulls the lever, and cement flows. Yep. That’s certainly a thing that works. Apparently DO THE RIGHT THING involves Undertaker laying down for the pin. After a minute and a half, and some Bubba trash talk, Undertaker lays down but grabs Bubba by the throat before the cover.

We start properly with D-Von hammering away in the corner so Undertaker makes a comeback. As expected, that earns more yelling from Heyman and the cement going up to Bearer’s shoulders. Bubba actually goes up to Heyman and tells him to chill because they have this. Back in and Undertaker slugs his way out of a chinlock but gets elbowed in the jaw for two instead.

A double suplex gives Bubba two and it’s time for more shouting. Bubba takes him outside for a piece of the announcers’ table to the back for two. The slow beating continues because the Dudleys have nothing to offer here outside of the 3D. What else did they really expect this match to be anyway? And now, just because, Bubba grabs a sleeper. Thankfully Undertaker gets in a hurry off a belly to back suplex as Heyman likes the visual of Bearer in cement.

Undertaker makes his comeback with the big boot and legdrop to D-Von as Bubba makes the save. That means Old School to Bubba, who jumps up before impact for some reason. A low blow gets Bubba out of the Tombstone and there’s the reverse 3D to put everyone down. Heyman comes to ringside so Undertaker sits up for the scary staredown. There’s a chokeslam to Bubba and the Tombstone pins D-Von.

Rating: F. That has to be in the running for worst main event of all time. Again, what were they expecting here? This was horribly boring with Undertaker stumbling around as Bubba and D-Von did nothing that would make you think Undertaker was ever in danger. It’s a really bad match, and made even worse when you remember that it’s headlining this show. They couldn’t even go with the World Title change here instead for a great visual of the dejected Eddie ending the show?

Oh and again: ATTEMPTED MURDER! That’s the story of this whole thing and they wonder why it didn’t work. This was just so bad on every level and the wrestling was actually worse than I remembered. It didn’t help that the first half of the match was spent on Undertaker taking over and Heyman calling him off. That’s not even touching on Undertaker pinning the Tag Team Champions clean on his own. Just a complete disaster on every level and an all time mess.

Post abomination, Undertaker walks up to the truck to save Bearer….and then says he has to do this. He pulls the lever and crushes Bearer himself with the announcers being silent to end the show. Probably because they’re now witnesses in a murder trial. One more bonus: earlier in the day, footage of the rehearsal of the ending leaked, just to make things look even dumber and spoiling the result.

Overall Rating: D-. I wanted to call this a failure so badly but three good matches keep it just above the line. That being said, WOW this was horrific stuff with five out of eight matches being completely terrible and not even worthy of a bad episode of Sunday Night Heat. I mean, Sable vs. Torrie, Mordecai vs. Holly, Suzuki vs. Gunn and Reigns vs. Haas? It’s like they tried to take a modern episode of Superstars and put it on pay per view.

When they were planning this show out, did no one thing that MAYBE they should have split up the four way and let one of those nitwits face either Van Dam or Booker? Just for the sake of taking away one of the terrible matches? Apparently not, because we were subject to watching this wreck, which somehow got worse as it went along. There are good matches on there, but sweet merciful popsicles, how can this be the best thing you can put together for a full price pay per view?

That’s not even considering the booking choices. We’re now looking at JBL as WWE Champion, showing that you can be as boring as you want to be and kill the show off and you too can get a push, just because Vince seems to love it. That means more promos about money and how great America is because it’s really all we can get out of the champ. Are they trying to make this the wrestling company for the white collar businessmen demographic?

Finally, Undertaker is now a murderer. Like, there’s no other way to put it. He won the match, though I’m still not sure what that was supposed to accomplish as there was no reason for Heyman not to do something horrible anyway. At the same time, even if Undertaker lost, was he going to be freed anyway? I don’t know why he would have been, but the whole thing didn’t make much sense either way.

Overall, the show is a complete disaster with five matches that had no business being on pay per view, plus JBL becoming World Champion in one of the worst decisions the company could have made. Why I’d want to keep watching is beyond me, and I can imagine there are a lot of people who walked away after this. It’s not like there’s much of a reason to stick around, aside from maybe another murder.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

Great American Bash 2004 – This Is The Prefered Method Of Torture In 19 Countries

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: June 24, 2004
Location: TD Waterhouse Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

It’s the go home show for Great American Bash and while I would normally say that it’s going to be nice to get the show down….it’s the Great American Bash. Featuring murder! Or maybe murder! The big story coming out of last week was the Undertaker attacking a bunch of people, including John Cena. That could be interesting so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Undertaker attacking Cena and Rob Van Dam last week at Paul Heyman’s orders.

Charlie Haas and Jackie Gayda tell Cena that what he’s going to do is suicide.

There’s a cement truck in the arena again.

Here’s a serious Cena in the arena for a chat. Cena knows what he’s getting into tonight because just saying Undertaker the wrong way can get you in trouble. Last week he got Tombstoned in this ring and now, even though he knows what it means, he needs to call Undertaker out.

Instead he gets Kurt Angle, who says he remembers what Cena was telling him last week. That’s why he has a rap for Cena. He already won a gold medal with a broken freakin neck, so he can handle hip hop. It’s a bunch of rhymes about Cena losing and Orlando sports teams, but ends with Cena thinking he’s slick like grease, but tonight he’s going to rest in peace. The match is officially on, meaning Cena got what he wanted and just had to sit through some dumb jokes. Angle needs to work on his evil plans.

Post break JBL comes in to see Angle and Luther Reigns. JBL calls Angle an inspiration and gets Reigns vs. Eddie Guerrero set up for later as a way to teach Eddie some respect. As usual, never underestimate the value of a muscular lackey.

Battle Royal

Chavo Guerrero Jr., Funaki, Jamie Noble, Akio, Billy Kidman, Spike Dudley, Scotty 2 Hotty, Nunzio, Shannon Moore, Paul London

The winner gets a shot at Rey Mysterio on Sunday so Rey is on commentary. It’s a standard battle royal opening as Rey gives the expected cop out answer by saying he’d love to face anyone. Nunzio backdrops Spike out and gets thrown out a few seconds later. The referee doesn’t see it somehow and Nunzio gets back in to jump London from behind.

London is fine enough to hit a springboard kick to the chest to get rid of Nunzio. A few people get together to throw London over the top and Nunzio (geez he hasn’t had this much screen time in the last month combined) grabs the legs to get rid of him. Akio enziguris Shannon on the apron but can’t get him out, allowing Shannon to grab a headscissors to get Akio out, only to fall out as well.

Scotty loads up the Worm on Chavo but stops to superkick Noble. That’s enough to let Chavo throw Scotty out and get us down to four. Funaki follows him out, leaving us with Kidman, Chavo and Noble. Kidman takes both of them down but has to save himself from an elimination.

A double clothesline gets Kidman out of trouble but Jamie is right back up to tie him into the Tree of Woe. Ever the cheater, Jamie turns on Chavo and sends him to the apron. Chavo hangs in though and comes back in to get rid of Noble. Kidman sends Chavo to the apron and is smart enough to realize he didn’t get the win. Instead Chavo comes back in and Gory Bombs Kidman out for the win and the title shot.

Rating: D+. This was as good as it was going to get with a short enough match and the ending not being as obvious as it seemed. I don’t need to see Rey vs. Chavo, but it’s not like anyone else in the division means anything else at the moment. It was nice to see them all in there though and the match could have been a lot worse.

Paul Heyman is on the phone with the designers of the concrete crypt and explains the idea again for the sake of exposition. The Dudleys come up and don’t look pleased. Apparently they still don’t know what Heyman means by doing the right thing and they don’t trust him. As this is going on, Mordecai knocks Hardcore Holly into a wall and beats him into the arena. They head back into the back where Angle shows up to say break drop it. Heyman and the Dudleys are still there so Angle asks if he and Heyman are set for the main even tonight. That means Undertaker taking Cena out and Heyman says it’s on.

They didn’t exactly sell me on the pay per view there, as we’re likely getting Mordecai vs. Holly to go with the Dudleys in a big handicap match centered around murder. I know I say it every week but the lack of compelling villains on this show are killing things. Heyman is fine, but he needs someone to do his heavy lifting. Undertaker doesn’t feel like that guy, as this isn’t coming off as a long term story. With no good villains, the heroes don’t look important and it’s taking away everything on this show.

Kenzo Suzuki vs. Billy Gunn

Egads I had forgotten about Kenzo. The new development here: his geisha girl is named Hiroko. Gunn is the hometown boy so he’s a little more popular than usual. Suzuki starts with the strikes but gets elbowed in the face and stomped in the corner. Some more kicks take Gunn down and it’s off to a chinlock. Gunn comes back with a shot to the face and a Stinger Splash, causing Tazz to say this is going to be Suzuki’s first loss. The Fameasser connects but Hiroko throws powder in Gunn’s face for the DQ.

Rating: D-. It’s not a good sign when Gunn is the best thing you have going in a match. Suzuki shouldn’t be needing help to avoid getting pinned in his third match, especially against a career midcarder like Gunn. The worst part: this is likely setting up a rematch on Sunday because we don’t have much on the card already.

Sable comes up to Torrie Wilson in the back and accuses her of hogging the spotlight as she tries to host the Great American Bash. A hot tub is mentioned for Sunday, as is an exchange of how their outfits make them look. The catfight is broken up.

We recap Eddie vs. JBL from Judgment Day, setting up Sunday’s rematch. That blade job is still sick.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Luther Reigns

Non-title and Kurt Angle is in Reigns’ corner. They take turns driving each other into the corner until Reigns scares him with a gorilla press. Eddie gets smart by trying a test of strength and poking Reigns in the eye, only to get kneed right back down. Angle offers a trip from the floor though and the fans aren’t pleased with the boss. The bearhug goes on for a bit but gets reversed into a waistlock.

Eddie fights out again and hits two Amigos but the third is reversed into a ref bump. The sitout powerslam plants Eddie so Angle gets up (on the bad leg) to count two so Luther grabs the title. That’s taken away off a low blow and a belt shot drops Luther. Eddie throws the title to Angle and drops as the referee wakes up. A frog splash looks to finish but JBL runs in with the bullrope for the DQ.

Rating: C-. This was completely watchable with Guerrero knowing exactly how to work with a rookie power guy like Reigns. They have to be setting up Guerrero vs. Angle II from here and Angle getting up on the leg certainly seems to point in that direction. Unfortunately it comes after the JBL match on Sunday, which seems to be looking worse and worse all the time.

Post match JBL chokes with the rope but gets caught with a cowbell to the head to send JBL bailing.

Rob Van Dam vs. Rene Dupree

Booker T. comes out for commentary. Cole wastes no time in ripping into Booker for turning on Van Dam a few weeks back and you can feel the heat from Booker’s eyes. As Van Dam kicks Rene to the floor, Booker threatens to beat up Fifi on Sunday. Van Dam’s spinning kick to the back keeps Rene in trouble, which Booker says won’t happen to him because he’s the master of the Spinarooni.

Rene comes back with a neckbreaker for two as Booker goes into a rant about Cena. Some more kicks set up Rolling Thunder for two on Dupree but he takes out Van Dam’s leg. A turnbuckle gets pulled off, followed by Rene grabbing a rollup with tights for two more. With that not working, Dupree sends him into the exposed buckle for the cheap pin.

Rating: D+. Booker was the star here with a bunch of jokes about how these two didn’t worry him and there was nothing standing in his way. If nothing else his rant about Fifi was more entertaining than the entire match. Speaking of the match, there’s nothing wrong with giving Dupree, the weakest of the four competitors for Sunday’s match, some momentum.

Post match Rene stares Booker down, much to Booker’s annoyance.

Great American Bash rundown, now with Torrie vs. Sable announced.

John Cena vs. Undertaker

Non-title and Cena is looking more serious than he has in a long time. Undertaker slugs him down to start but charges into an elbow, meaning it’s time to trade punches. A fired up Cena tells Undertaker that he’s not scared and wants him to bring it. Undertaker does just that with a knockdown but misses the big elbow. He’s fine enough to suplex Cena for two, followed by Old School and the jumping clothesline.

Cena’s comeback consists of a kick to the face that just annoys Undertaker but Cena low bridges him to the floor and we take a break. Back with Cena stomping away on the floor (as it seems nothing has changed) and clotheslining him into the crowd. They come back to ringside with Undertaker shrugging off a whip into the steps and dropping the apron legdrop. That’s good for two back inside and Undertaker (with a bloody arm) isn’t sure what to do.

A forearm to the back of Cena’s neck keeps Cena in trouble and it’s time for the old fashioned punches to the jaw. Things change up a bit with a superplex for two more on Cena and it’s quickly off to a chinlock. Cena fights up and hits a spinebuster, which gets quite the face reaction from the crowd. Some shoulders give Cena his own near fall and a top rope ax handle sets up the Throwback.

The Shuffle gives Cena two more and let’s pump up those shoes. The FU is countered though and Undertaker boots him in the face. Cena slips out of the Last Ride and there’s the ref bump. The running clothesline drops Undertaker and there’s the FU for no count. Undertaker eventually sits up again and there’s the chokeslam. Instead of covering, Undertaker hits Cena with the chain, followed by the Tombstone for the pin.

Rating: B. Why is this not on a DVD somewhere? This was a very different Cena as he was wrestling the serious, main event style that would become his trademark later on. Undertaker winning here was the right call as Cena was hot at this point but not ready to get a win like this one, at least not without a bunch of shenanigans. Very strong match though and that’s a great sign for Cena’s future.

Heyman comes out with the Urn again and Undertaker takes the knee to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The main event completely bailed this one out as the rest of the show was a mixture of pretty lame and uninteresting. When we’re supposed to get hyped over what is likely going to be Mordecai vs. Hardcore Holly and Kenzo Suzuki vs. Billy Gunn II, you can tell Sunday is in trouble. The show has gotten better over the last few weeks but it’s still hard to care about so many of these stories. Eddie and Cena are carrying the show on their backs right now, but I don’t know how long they can make that work. Anyway, very good main event and nothing everything else.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2014/01/03/smackdown-june-24-2004-twenty-minutes-of-undertaker-vs-cena/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 21, 2004
Location: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s a big night here, at least in a way, as HHH is facing Eugene with a shot at Chris Benoit at Vengeance on the line. I’m not sure what happens if Eugene wins but I’m sure we’ll find out in a segment that probably goes on longer than it needs to. You can also guarantee all kinds of interference and shenanigans in the main event so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap from last week with the setup to HHH vs. Eugene. Everyone but Eugene knows that HHH is up to something but Eugene believes HHH when he swears that they’re friends. Regal’s sneer during all of this is great as he and Jericho just don’t want to break Eugene’s heart.

Opening sequence.

We open big with the Rock making a surprise appearance, which certainly wakes the crowd up. Rock finally says he’s back home but is willing to stop for one more ROCKY chant. Since Rock is home tonight, he brought some friends and family, including his wife, mother and grandmother, to the front row. He also points out some Miami Dolphins and Miami Hurricanes with Rock making some jokes about the Dolphins’ defense. See, he’s standing in a ring right now, which the Dolphins might get one day.

As for tonight though, he’d like Eugene to come out here but gets Randy Orton instead. Apparently Eugene isn’t here yet because HHH is driving him over to the arena. Orton is glad that he and Rock are getting a chance to talk though, because all he can remember is beating Rock and Mick Foley at Wrestlemania. It’s too bad that Orton has surpassed Rock in every way but Rock doesn’t think much of him. He points out the rather rude chants the fans are shouting at Orton before praising Orton a bit.

Rock remembers meeting Orton’s dad and grandaddy but also remembers his own dad and granddaddy laying some smackdown. Even Rock’s grandmother beat up Orton’s grandmammy (and looks like she still could). Rock even remembers Randy as a kid, playing with a pretty little pony. Orton got so scared that he ran past Andre the Giant and Junkyard Dog but landed right on King Kong Bundy’s crotch. Rock is ready to fight right now but Orton isn’t ready.

That just gets him beaten up anyway but here’s Eric Bischoff to say not so fast and have Rock ejected. Rock leaves (To Bischoff: “No wonder WCW went out of business.”) and keeps the mic as he goes through the curtain, where he hits on Trish Stratus, makes fun of Tyson Tomko, takes off Molly’s wig, gives Hurricane and Rosey a doughnut….and then finds Coach.

Rock demands that Coach smile and then leaves him hanging. He goes to his waiting truck and guarantees that Eugene wins tonight. Back in the arena, Orton says to cut Rock’s mic, but Rock promises something bad happening in three seconds. That would be a spear from Edge which leaves Orton leaving as Rock drives away. This was really long and completely entertaining throughout, which is much better than a long HHH promo.

Bischoff demands that security keep Rock out when Chris Benoit comes in. Benoit begs for Eugene’s safety and even offers a title shot for HHH for the sake of letting Eugene out of this. Bischoff turns him down and threatens to have Benoit thrown out.

Women’s Title: Trish Stratus vs. Victoria

Trish is defending and has Tomko with him. Victoria wastes no time in knocking her down and hitting the standing moonsault. A trip to the floor lets Tomko offer a distraction though and Victoria gets knocked off the apron. Back in and Trish hammers away with some right hands as I keep thinking that the red steps in the crowd are empty seats.

Trish kicks her down and mocks the dancing (Jerry doesn’t seem to mind) but gets rolled up for two instead of trying the moonsault. A chinlock keeps Victoria in trouble for all of a few seconds until she gets up with a kick to the face. The moonsault connects but Tomko pulls Trish out at two. Back up and Trish grabs a rollup, and a rope, to retain.

Rating: C-. They were trying here, though the ending and the time didn’t do them any favors. This gets us past Victoria as the challenger trying to get her title back, which wasn’t going to be an interesting story in the first place. That being said, it’s better to have a lame story than no story at all, which tends to be the case more often than not.

Post match Victoria wants to fight some more but gets stared down by Tomko. A man in drag (clearly Steven Richards) pulls her out and a four way staredown ensues.

Diva Search: Chicago edition. An unnamed Maria Kanellis is included.

Recap of Kane destroying Shawn Michaels last week.

William Regal comes in to see Bischoff and asks him for mercy. That’s not happening because Bischoff has too many people to answer to, including his sister. He can’t fire Eugene because Eugene has to quit, and what better way to get him to do so than by having HHH beat him senseless? Regal snaps, saying that he may be a dirty rotten scoundrel but he loves Eugene. Bischoff likes his toughness and puts Regal back on the active roster, next.

William Regal vs. Kane

This is Regal’s first match in over a year (due to having a bad heart condition where the sides of his heart weren’t beating in time with each other) and he’s in street clothes. Regal meets him on the floor before the bell and slugs away but gets kicked in the face. That’s enough to knock Regal out and there’s no match.

Post break Bischoff tells Kane that since HHH is getting the title shot at Vengeance (Wait, then what is the point of tonight’s main event?) and that might be against Kane, who is facing Benoit for the title next week. Kane is pleased, but says he’s not done tonight. Evil laughter ensues.

More Divas Search stuff, this time with some of them moving on and some being cut. Maria (still unnamed) talks about how nerve racking it is. She advances, seemingly after saying all of two words. I believe Carmella DeCesare is included as well.

Randy Orton/Batista vs. Chris Jericho/Edge

Stuff like this has worked for months and it’s nice to see it continuing. Edge and Batista get things going with Edge having to go with quickness for a change. That just earns him some knees to the ribs in the corner and it’s off to Orton. Edge dropkicks him down in a hurry and a suplex gets two. That’s enough for Orton so Batista comes back in and hammers away in the corner. A slow charge lets Edge drop toehold him face first into the middle buckle though and that’s enough for the hot tag to Jericho.

Chris gets smart by knocking Orton off the apron and going for Batista’s leg but it’s way too early for the Walls. Instead it’s a running bulldog to set up the Lionsault (with Batista being so far across the ring that I didn’t think Jericho could reach him) with Orton making the save. Everything breaks down and the Canadians clear the ring, with Edge baseball sliding Orton. That leaves Edge on the floor though and Batista blasts Jericho with the big clothesline.

That’s enough for Jericho and he has to be taken to the back, leaving Edge down two on one as we take a break. Back with Orton grabbing a chinlock (well duh) as the fans are trying to cheer Edge to his feet. It’s a bit of a delayed reaction but Edge eventually gets up and grabs a small package for two. Orton misses a dropkick to make things even worse but there’s no one for Edge to tag.

There is someone for Orton to tag though and it’s off to Batista, who walks right into the Edge-O-Matic. That means it’s already back to Orton for the slugout with Edge getting the better of it. A double spear in the corner hits Batista and Orton at the same time and Batista is sent outside. The RKO is broken up and the regular spear gets two with Batista making a save. A Batista Bomb and the RKO finally put Edge (bleeding from the eye) away.

Rating: B-. The handicap part was a bit odd, until you remember that Edge and Jericho (along with Rock and Regal) are people who could help Eugene later and all four of them have been taken out. Evolution vs. the World (mostly meaning Canada) has been a winning formula for weeks now and this was more good stuff, though the lack of Benoit hurt things a little bit.

More from the Diva Search. This time they’re in swimsuits and some of them are dancing. I think you get the idea here.

Earlier today, a Congressman joined a voting rally with some WWE people, focusing on voters 18-30.

Stacy Keibler runs up to Matt Hardy and wants all the details on his Lita being pregnant. You know, because she’s been so close to the two of them over the years. Matt has a ring though and a proposal is imminent, but Stacy is sworn to secrecy. They really need to work on this secret stuff.

Smackdown Rebound.

Eugene, with HHH gear and wrestling figures, arrives in a limo with HHH and Ric Flair. He’s very happy and HHH promises another surprise.

Here’s Matt, who has been ecstatic for the last week, for….some reason that certainly wasn’t revealed five minutes ago. This year Father’s Day was a big deal for him because Lita told him she was pregnant, so he’d like Lita to come out here right now. Matt wastes no time in dropping to a knee and popping and popping the question….and here’s Kane on the screen to interrupt. He wastes no time either by announcing that the baby is his. Matt freaks out so Kane tells him to ask Lita about the truth. Lita can’t deny it and Matt looks a little….insane might be the right word. He walks off, as you might expect.

Post break, Lita tells Matt that the baby might be his and she did this to protect him. So he’s a weakling and MIGHT be a father? Dude, even I feel sorry for Matt right now. Lita cries as he walks away.

For the FOURTH TIME TONIGHT, it’s more from the Diva Search, with the finalists being announced. Most of them aren’t actually named, but I totally feel the connection to all of them. I guess this is supposed to be a mini reality show, but they don’t exactly seem to know how to make these things work. Ok so the swimsuit part worked for obvious reasons.

Eugene is warming up and wonders where Regal is. Evolution tells him not to worry about it when Bischoff comes in. HHH gives him a big speech about not worrying about it because Eugene is with Evolution. Eugene leaves and they all crack up.

Eugene vs. HHH

So…..I thought HHH had to win to get the title shot at Vengeance but since that’s already confirmed, I’m not sure what the point is here. Ric Flair is here with HHH. Eugene is star struck and does HHH pose on the apron with him. They shake hands to start and HHH hits a pretty soft hiptoss. Eugene is right back with a slightly harder one and HHH isn’t pleased. He’ll shake Eugene’s hand again though before slapping on a headlock.

Eugene powers out and shoves him down, meaning it’s time for a bunch of Hogan poses. The test of strength goes to Eugene and he cranks on Flair’s hand for a bonus. With nothing else working, HHH goes amateur but Eugene reverses into a belly to back suplex. HHH is furious on the floor as we take a break. Back with HHH getting armdragged into an armbar but he complains about the pain and Eugene lets go. That might be a first and something more people should try in the future. Who knew Eugene was a pioneer?

That’s finally enough for HHH as he decks Eugene with a right hand and the slow beating continues. HHH chokes in the corner and cuts off a comeback with a spinebuster for two. Some rams into the corner wake Eugene up though and that means an airplane spin for HHH. A top rope ax handle gets two and the Pedigree is countered with a backdrop.

The Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow send HHH outside as Eugene spins around in a circle. Flair gets punched down as well but HHH is back in with the Pedigree. HHH covers, only to have Bischoff come out and say that HHH needs to beat Eugene even more or there’s no title shot. That means a chair so here’s Benoit to make the save as the match is thrown out.

Rating: D. I’m still trying to figure out why the match was still happening if HHH was getting the shot anyway. Odds are it’s Bischoff and HHH doing favors for each other, but it would be nice to actually mention that instead of changing the story in the middle of the show. Anyway, this was just a step above a comedy match with Eugene doing all of his goofy stuff and HHH selling for him for a bit before laying him out to draw in Benoit for the save. It was a bad mixture of two styles and it didn’t work.

Benoit has to fight off the rest of Evolution but hits Eugene square in the head with the chair by mistake. The distraction lets HHH get in the low blow and the Pedigree to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. Well that was certainly something. You had the awesome Rock segment, two long matches with one being pretty good and the other being a rather bad mess with HHH and Eugene not exactly meshing, a whopping four Diva Search segments and a bunch of people talking about how Eugene was going to get destroyed. That’s a really weird recipe for a show and while there are parts of it that worked, the big story of Eugene vs. HHH didn’t work and that’s what dominated the show. But hey, at least HHH gets another title shot!

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: June 17, 2004
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

We’re ten days away from the Great American Bash and the Undertaker has joined Paul Heyman. It makes things a little better, though the Dudleys being there is still slowing things down. If nothing else we had a little hope last week with JBL being over the top and goofy for a change, which could help things out if they stick with it. I mean, they likely won’t, but it was nice for a week. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Bradshaw has been fired by CNBC and gets to comment on it tonight. This is the only time CNBC will be mentioned in the history of wrestling shows.

There’s a cement mixer in the arena.

Tag Team Titles: Dudley Boyz vs. Rico/Charlie Haas

The Dudleys are challenging and there’s no Heyman with them. Haas and D-Von start things off with Charlie taking him to the mat. An early Oklahoma roll gets two but Bubba low bridges him to the floor to put Charlie in trouble. Right hands cut off a sunset flip attempt and Bubba drops his big elbows for two. We hit the chinlock for a bit until Charlie snaps off a t-bone suplex.

That’s enough for the hot tag and Rico hits a neckbreaker on D-Von. A spear of all things takes Bubba down but there’s no referee. Bubba sends Rico outside though and the champs are in trouble again. There’s a big boot to Charlie and Bubba rams him into Jackie for a bonus. With Charlie checking on her, Bubba rolls Rico up with D-Von holding the feet for the pin and the titles.

Rating: D. This was the most obvious ending ever and there was no reason to not do it. Rico and Haas aren’t the most thrilling team in the world and it was clear that they were just filling in time until we got to a more serious team. That being said, Heyman kept going on about how the Dudleys needed to do something new. Winning the titles for the 18^th time isn’t new.

Post match Heyman comes out to celebrate with the new champs.

Back from a break and Heyman is alone near the stage to take credit for the Dudleys winning the titles. The fans got to witness that tonight but Paul Bearer didn’t get to. We see a clip from last week with Undertaker joining Heyman so the fans tell Heyman that he sucks. Heyman warns us that one day, Undertaker will be loyal to him due to Heyman’s greatness alone. For now though, Heyman is willing to exploit Undertaker’s weakness because the Big Dog needs to be trained.

Therefore, at the Great American Bash, the Undertaker will be facing the Dudley Boyz. That’s not it though, as the Undertaker will do the right thing there. That brings Heyman to the concrete machine and a casket in front of it. At the Great American Bash, Bearer will be held in a crypt with a cement truck pouring cement in every time Undertaker doesn’t do the right thing.

The cement truck fills the casket as Heyman talks about the crypt being made of three inch thick glass. The cement will begin to fill the crypt but when it gets close to Bearer’s chin, Undertaker will have the chance to do the right thing. Heyman wants to see emotion from Undertaker and if it’s not there, Bearer will be suffocated by the cement. As for tonight, Undertaker will bow down to Heyman.

I haven’t had so many questions since last year with Mr. America. First of all, out of every option Heyman has, BURYING BEARER IN CEMENT is the first one he picks? Did he just watch a bad mob movie where they put someone’s feet in blocks of cement and think it needed to go a lot further? Second, are there no cops watching this show? I’m pretty sure that threatening to put someone in a crypt and bury them in cement is some kind of a crime. Or at least something worth investigating.

Third, is there a reason Cole and Tazz were more upset about the Dudleys winning the titles than THREATENING TO KILL A MAN ON PAY PER VIEW??? Finally, hasn’t Heyman already “trained” Undertaker by getting him to join him? Is this really necessary in the grand scheme of things? I know that’s a minor point by comparison, but I’d love some explanations here.

Here’s Eddie Guerrero to suck up to the Chicago fans and to bring up JBL being fired from CNBC. He watched all week and never saw the show once. It must have been a bad week, but at least JBL had a fun limo ride last week. We see a clip of the limo ride from last week and JBL’s clothes being ruined in the melee. Eddie knows JBL is going to be out here later so come out here right now instead. That brings out the Bashams instead to say Eddie has some unfinished business with the two of them. Therefore, it’s match time.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Doug Basham

They start before the referee even gets in and Eddie scores with a backdrop. The fans are way behind Eddie here, as you had to see coming. Three Amigos hit in a hurry but the referee gets knocked into an interfering Danny. That’s enough for a leg lariat from Doug, followed by a little double teaming. Doug only gets two and it’s off to the chinlock. Three Amigos hit again but Eddie brings Danny in instead of following up. Both of them get taken down out of the corner though, setting up the frog splash to finish Doug in a hurry. Just a short match that showcased Eddie well.

Post match Eddie beats Danny up for fun.

John Cena goes in to see Kurt Angle and Luther Reigns but they can’t see him. Tonight, Cena has to team with Rob Van Dam against Rene Dupree and Booker T. before the match at the Great American Bash. As a bonus, that match will now be an elimination match. Doesn’t that make it a little easier for Cena to retain? Cena makes jokes about Angle not being able to walk and puts a hat on Angle without touching him.

And now, a battle rap between Funaki and Josh Matthews. I think Funaki wins but Angle and Reigns come in to say Funaki thinks he’s Cena. Therefore, Funaki has a match with Reigns tonight.

Spike Dudley vs. Kenzo Suzuki

Kenzo sends him hard into the corner and drops Spike with a shot to the throat. A kick to the chest sets up that spin from Suzuki and it’s off to an armbar. Spike’s comeback consists of the running headbutt to the ribs, only to get cut off with a Tongan Deathgrip. The claw legsweep gives Kenzo the win. He’s still not working.

Here’s JBL with a bullrope to talk about his bad week. He was fired from CNBC and Eddie wrecked his limo. Even though Ronald Reagan passed away last week, the media just wanted to talk about him. The media and Americans are what’s wrong with America because he was the one that stuffed you in the locker in high school. He’s better than these people because he has a backbone.

Even though the world is against him he won’t back up or cower away because he’ll be successful again. This turns into a rant about JBL going to Afghanistan and visiting the troops. Then a solider died but everyone was talking about Sean Penn being a guest of Saddam Hussein. JBL: “Calling me anything but a great American is like calling Mother Teresa a prostitute.” CNBC found out that he’s a wrestler and has a big mouth, which is absolutely true.

Freedom of speech is great until you speak, which is proof that the people are lazy and complacent because they don’t have the guts to speak up. JBL yells at the fans a lot before moving on to Eddie and the bullrope match. Blood will flow because Eddie is what JBL hates about America. He’ll destroy Eddie no matter what and he doesn’t care if he angers CNBC or the liberal media. No one can stop him from becoming WWE Champion. Eddie FINALLY runs in and clears the ring with ease.

This went on FOREVER and was the same old JBL: long winded, boring, ranting about the same stuff over and over and leaving people so numb that they fall asleep with the show on. Last week was fun but this was right back to what makes JBL feel like the worst heel in years. It was bragging about how American he is and how much money he has and that’s not interesting, no matter how many times he says the same things over and over.

In case you were wondering, JBL got fired from CNBC for goose stepping and doing Nazi salutes at a show in Germany. He’s said that it was his character doing this and not him, which I can go with, but dude, anytime Nazis are involved, it’s not going to go over well, no matter the circumstances.

Cruiserweight Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Classic

Classic is defending and has his son with him. Rey actually gets taken down to start and a moonsault press of all things gives Classic two. A headscissors takes Classic down though and there’s the springboard seated senton. Rey knocks Jr. off the apron and the 619 sets up Dropping the Dime for the pin and the title in less than two minutes. The joke was long past its expiration date so this was the right call. There was no need to wait for the Bash to change the title and I’m still not sure what the point was in having Classic win the thing in the first place. At least the reign didn’t last long.

Mordecai, surrounded by candles and torches, sees a locker room full of sinners. None of them are worthy of mercy and they will all feel his wrath. One of them is the worst of them all because he lies, cheats and steals.

Luther Reigns vs. Funaki

Reigns is jacked and hammers Funaki down with no trouble. A comeback goes nowhere and it’s a spinebuster into a sitout powerslam for the pin to put Funaki away.

Post match Reigns says that’s what happens when you disrespect Angle. Kurt isn’t happy though so Reigns adds a swinging neckbreaker.

Raw Rebound.

The announcers recap the show so far.

Great American Bash rundown, including the Live Free or Die handicap match with undertaker and the Dudleys. Again, do cops just not watch this show???

Here’s Torrie Wilson as a sexy Uncle Sam, implying women in various stages of undress at the Bash. She lights a fire on a grill because it’s going to be hot.

Booker T. says he should be getting a singles match for the US Title at the Bash because the judge might have been French last week. Rene Dupree comes in to say Booker is just making excuses like an American. Booker doesn’t want to hear about a non-American becoming US Champion, so Rene threatens him with a French Tickling.

Rob Van Dam/John Cena vs. Booker T./Rene Dupree

Cena and Van Dam get in each others faces thanks to Rob punching him last week. Dupree and Cena start things off with Renee trying a leapfrog and getting punched in the face. It’s off to Rob for a sunset flip and a spinning kick to the face, followed by the top rope kick to the face for two. Booker makes the save so Rene shoves him, only to get rolled up for two more.

Another argument lets Van Dam kick them both into the announcers’ table as we take a break. Back with Van Dam kicking Rene down again as this is one sided so far. Booker finally gets in a shot to the back to break up Rolling Thunder and comes in with an elbow to the face. There’s the knee to the chest and Rene comes back in for the French Tickler.

That’s enough to set up the chinlock from Booker but Rob fights up without too much effort. It’s off to Cena for the first time and everything breaks down. Booker and Dupree are sent outside so we get the Cena vs. Van Dam showdown, which turns into a slugout. Everyone gets in for the fight….and there’s the gong. Undertaker appears in the ring and we’ll call that a no contest.

Rating: D+. This didn’t have time to go anywhere and was more of an angle than a match. The brawl between Cena and Van Dam makes sense after last week and I like the idea of them following up on the punch instead of just ignoring it because they’re a team here. The ending was annoying, but well done on keeping them from having one of the four lose a fall before the title match.

Undertaker beats up Van Dam with a chokeslam, followed by the Tombstone to Cena. Heyman comes out with the Urn and Undertaker takes the knee to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. This was a very strange episode as there was barely any wrestling with two matches being long enough to rate and three squashes in the middle. The storyline stuff ranges from necessary (Rey and the Dudleys winning titles) to WHAT THE HECK (Heyman’s big speech and the whole concrete idea). That’s quite a ride in two hours but when you add in that never ending JBL speech and stuff like Mordecai and Kenzo Suzuki, the bad heavily outweighs the good. It’s definitely not the worst show, but they’re going in a very questionable direction with their top stories.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6