Royal Rumble 2000
Date: January 23, 2000
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 19,231
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross

This is the first of the two redos of the year and you picked a good one. What we have here is one of the better one two punches in WWF history, as it’s a double main event. Of course there is the Rumble, but we also have Cactus Jack vs. HHH for the WWF Title in a street fight, which should work out fairly well. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at some of Cactus Jack’s most violent moments over the years, with HHH still thinking he knows what he is getting into. Some of the Japanese deathmatch stuff here is rather insane looking and wasn’t something you would see on WWF (or American) TV at the time (or in modern times either really).

The set is really cool, as it has the entrance opposite the hard camera. There is a taxi hanging over the aisle, which is painted like a street for the street fight. Remember when they put in actual effort for those things?

Kurt Angle vs. ???

Angle has only been around for about a month and a half so he still has his ridiculously over the top confidence. He’s also still a bonehead, so this could get ugly in a hurry. Angle mocks the New York Knicks for not being able to win a title and offer to be New York’s Champion tonight. As for his special opponent tonight, Angle knows he must be worried so come out here and give it your all.

Kurt Angle vs. Tazz

This is Tazz’s debut, though the WE WANT TAZZ chants during Angle’s speech might have given something away. Tazz slugs away at the bell and sends Angle over the top to take the fight to the floor. There’s the ECW chant, which must be over Angle’s one night ECW appearance. Angle gets in a suplex in the aisle and takes him back inside for a running shoulder.

There’s an overhead belly to belly from Angle but Tazz crotches him on top. The super Tazzplex gets two as Angle gets a foot on the rope. A bridging German suplex gives Angle two but the Angle Slam is countered into an overhead German suplex. More suplexes set up the Tazmission and Angle is out at 3:15.

Rating: C+. This is one of the more memorable debuts and opening matches in company history, as Tazz made an immediate impact and handed Angle his first defeat. I didn’t know anything about ECW but a buddy of mine who watched it had hyped up Tazz for months. This made the whole thing worth it, as Tazz looked like a killer and massacred Angle without much trouble. Of note: Angle was still new at this kind of wrestling and asked what he should do if Tazz, with his shooter gimmick, tried to test Angle on the mat. Some WWF official replied with a simple: “You’re a gold medalist. I don’t think that will be a problem.”

Post match Angle is out and has to do a stretcher job. Just in case Tazz wasn’t impressive enough.

The Hardys, with manager Terri Runnels (that didn’t last long), are ready to fight these newcomers the Dudleys in something called a tag team tables match. They aren’t letting Terri out there with them though as it’s going to be dangerous.

Dudley Boyz vs. Hardy Boyz

Tables match, with both members having to go through a table to win. Before the match, Bubba Ray, still stuttering, can’t believe New Yorkers cheer for those pretty boy Hardys but they boo his new hero, JOHN ROCKER (who gave a SCATHING interview about New York around this time). It’s a brawl in the aisle to start with the Dudleys getting the better of things and grabbing the first table.

That takes a bit too long though, allowing Jeff to break it up and hit a big dive over the top onto Bubba. Matt and D-Von try to put the other through a table inside as Jeff CRACKS Bubba in the head with at able. Jeff gets a running start on the barricade but Bubba throws a table at his head for a great looking crash. Back in and the Hardys load up a double superplex through a table but D-Von moves the table just in time.

With that not working, let’s bring in a ladder, because that couldn’t go badly. A running shot with the ladder sends Bubba outside (though the ladder hits the ground first), followed by another hard chair shot to his head. Bubba is laid on a table so the Hardys can dive (Jeff off the top, Matt off a ladder) for the first….uh, table breaking. There’s a chair to D-Von’s head and the Hardys set up the steps to bridge a table off the apron. Matt’s top rope legdrop only hits table though and Jeff’s dive goes through another table, leaving the Hardys laying.

Neither count as those weren’t offensive moves so let’s throw some steps inside. A table is bridged over said steps and a superbomb sends Matt through it, evening us up at one table each. Everyone heads outside again and the Dudleys set up four tables underneath a balcony opposite the entrance.

Matt is piled on top but Jeff is back with chair shots to break it up. Bubba is fine enough to take Jeff into the crowd and onto the balcony, where Jeff BLASTS HIM with some chair shots, sending him through the tables in the big crash. Matt puts D-Von on another table and the big Swanton through D-Von gives the Hardys the win at 10:17.

Rating: B. This was the kind of hard hitting fight that you would expect from these two as they beat the living daylights out of each other. They were trying to get noticed and it worked very well, with this being not only violent but memorably violent, with that chair to Jeff’s head and the finish being great.

Kurt Angle gets checked out by medics and despite barely being able to stand, he insists he’s still undefeated because a choke is illegal.

And now, the Miss Royal Rumble Swimsuit contest. Our judges are Sgt. Slaughter, Tony Garea, Fabulous Moolah, Johnny V (he’s lost his Luscious) and Freddie Blassie, with Jerry Lawler as Master of Ceremonies. Here are the contestants: Ivory, Terri, Jacqueline, BB (she wasn’t around long), Luna Vachon and the Kat (Women’s Champion, and the reason this is happening, due to showing quite a bit at Armageddon). Hang on though as Andy Richter, from Late Night With Conan O’Brien, is a bonus guest judge.

Ivory reluctantly disrobes, followed by the rest of them willingly doing so (save for Luna, whose robe doesn’t exactly cover her in the first place). The Kat is about to win (as hers is made of bubble wrap) but here is Mae Young to enter as well, including taking off her top (with various censoring included). Mark Henry comes out for the save. The older judges give it to Young and Lawler loses his mind. This was the advertised nudity on the show, as the WWF gets to mess with its fans a bit, never to do this again.

We go to WWF New York (The “site based entertainment complex, because they made things sound boring back then too.) where the Coach (he’s new) thinks the fans are excited.

Chris Jericho and Chyna, the co-Intercontinental Champions, argue over who gets to wear the belt to the ring. Earl Hebner comes in to take the belt away, saying we can settle this out there. Jericho: “Earl come on. Dave?”

Don’t try this at home.

Intercontinental Title: Chris Jericho vs. Chyna vs. Hardcore Holly

Only Holly is challenging in a weird situation. Jericho is of course way over in New York and promises that his Jericholics will throw a victory party that will make the Millennium Bash look like his sister’s seventh birthday party. Holly shoves Chyna down to start and hammers on Jericho, earning him alternating slaps from the champs. Chyna gets whipped over the corner and out to the floor as Lawler talks about the horrors he just saw. Ross: “You’ve seen scary movies, like Man On The Moon?”

With Chyna on the floor, Jericho tries for the Walls on Holly but Chyna comes in for the save (which is not well received). Holly get sent outside for a change, with Chyna hitting a baseball slide. Jericho adds a big dive to the floor but mostly crashes, allowing Chyna to hit her DDT back inside.

Holly throws her outside again but she low bridges Jericho outside as well (maybe not on purpose). With nothing else working, Holly grabs a chair, sending JR into a panic. Chyna dropkicks it into his face anyway, setting up a double cover for two on Holly back inside. A low blow sends Jericho outside, leaving Chyna to Pedigree Holly for two.

Holly loads Chyna up in an electric chair, allowing Jericho to hit a Doomsday crossbody for two, with the kickout feeling a bit like a surprise. Chyna breaks up a superplex attempt on Holly and then does it herself, only to get small packaged for two. Jericho comes back in, allowing Chyna to chair Holly down. Since stealing moves is a thing, Chyna tries the Walls on Holly but gets caught with the bulldog. The Lionsault finishes Chyna to give Jericho the undisputed title at 7:31.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t exactly great and Holly didn’t exactly feel like a threat to win the title. Thankfully they didn’t bother trying to do anything crazy like keeping up the double champions thing. Jericho was a bigger star and there was no reason to leave him there with Chyna when there were other, better stars for him to face. The match itself was a little clunky and felt like it was ready to wrap up about two minutes earlier, which is never a good thing.

The Rock thinks he can win the Royal Rumble, but he’ll have to find a way around Crash Holly and Headbanger Mosh. Of course he isn’t worried about Big Show and Michael Cole can have a tall glass of Shut Up Juice (that never got over). Rock is going to prove he is the great one and go to Wrestlemania, if you catchphrase.

We recap the New Age Outlaws vs. the Acolytes. The Outlaws are the loudmouthed champions and the Acolytes are ready to destroy them (again).

Tag Team Titles: Acolytes vs. New Age Outlaws

The Outlaws are defending and get in their signature entrance. The Acolytes start fast and hammer away until we settle down to Faarooq powerslamming Dogg. Gunn breaks up the Dominator, allowing Dogg to hit the shaky punches. Bradshaw isn’t having the shaky knee drop though (Dogg liked to shake) so Gunn comes in and misses a Stinger Splash.

The Clothesline From Bradshaw gets no cover so Faarooq comes back in for the spinebuster. Gunn pulls the referee out though and here is X-Pac to kick Bradshaw in the face. Faarooq takes care of him but Gunn hits the Fameasser on Bradshaw to retain at 2:30. I’ve always thought that was rushed as these guys could go seven or eight minutes without much trouble.

We recap Cactus Jack vs. HHH for the WWF Title. HHH cheated to get the title back from Big Show earlier this month but now it is time to defend against the person he took it from in the first place. Mankind had been complaining about the McMahon-Helmsley Era so he was beaten down and fired. The Rock hinted at a mass walk out and got the firing overturned, but it was time for Mankind to face HHH in a street fight at the Royal Rumble. Another beatdown showed Mankind that he wasn’t ready for that….but he knew someone who was.

That meant the return of Cactus Jack, which was more or less the same way Jack debuted in the WWF back in 1997. It was even setting up a Falls Count Anywhere match on the September 4 Monday night Raw in Madison Square Garden, where Jack beat HHH in a classic. HHH knows what he is in for here and the odds are entirely in Jack’s favor. It’s his match against a man he has beaten before in his own backyard. HHH is in trouble and he knows it, so it’s time to fight.

WWF Title: HHH vs. Cactus Jack

HHH is defending and this is a street fight. As usual, I can’t believe how good My Time was as a theme song. Even the ever confident Stephanie McMahon kisses HHH goodbye and bails because this is going to be violent. The slugout gets things going with HHH hammering in the corner and then realizing that’s not the best idea. Cactus (or Mankind according to JR) shows him how it’s done and they head outside for a swinging neckbreaker on the floor.

Back up and HHH manages a bell shot to the face, which just seems to wake Jack up. HHH brings a chair inside and tells Jack to bring it…which Jack does, charging straight into a chair to the head. Jack is right back up with a clothesline, because it was just one chair shot. The chair is placed over HHH’s face and a middle rope leg gives Jack two. They go back to the floor with HHH sending him into the barricade, only to get backdropped over said barricade.

Naturally Jack is fine with taking the fight out there (past a guy in a chef’s outfit) until they wind up in the aisle under the taxi. Jack loads up some wooden pallets, with a suplex dropping HHH onto them. There’s a good trashcan shot to HHH’s head and some whips send him into the metal doors. They’re doing a great job of having HHH get beaten up because the stuff in the streets is so far out of his element.

HHH manages a suplex onto a trashcan (because he can get out of trouble with wrestling) but Jack sends him into the steps. The running knee drives HHH’s head into the steps…and let’s get a barbed wire 2×4. HHH manages to take it away and hits Jack in the ribs and back a few times, with the wire starting to come off the top. Jack comes back with a low blow and a belly to back suplex as the referee hands the 2×4 to the Spanish commentator.

Back in and Jack’s suplex gets a VERY delayed two so he heads outside to get the 2×4 again. Ignore that it isn’t where the commentator put it and clearly not the same one as the wire on this one is tightly wrapped again, but it’s the best way to swap out the real one for the fake one. The referee gets bumped and there’s the 2×4 to HHH’s face to bust him open. Another shot to the face gets a delayed two and HHH’s calf is busted as well.

There’s a third head shot, followed by a famous shot of Jack ripping the wire over HHH’s face. They head over to the announcers’ table (HHH’s face is COVERED in blood) where HHH reverses a piledriver into a backdrop to send Jack somewhat through the table. Back in and the Pedigree is countered into a catapult into the post and a faceplant into the barbed wire gives Jack two more. There’s the Cactus Clothesline but HHH is able to hiptoss him legs first into the steps. HHH sends him knees first into the steps again, just in case the first one didn’t take.

Back in and another chop block takes Jack down again and let’s pick up the barbed wire to crack the knee. With nothing else working, HHH pulls out some handcuffs but Jack manages to wrap them around his hand to hit HHH in the head. HHH goes right back to the knee though and Jack’s hands are cuffed behind him, just like last year against the Rock. The steps are brought in but Jack drop toeholds HHH face first into them.

A low blow lets Jack bite his face, but HHH is right back with another shot to the face. Back up and HHH chairs him so hard that the chair breaks and they go up the aisle. There’s a chair shot to the head but Jack tells him to do it again. Cue the Rock with a heck of a chair shot of his own to HHH though and a cop unhooks Jack to even things up (because wrestling is weird about equal levels of punishment).

They head back to ringside, where a piledriver onto (not through) the table, as in how Jack beat HHH in 1997, knocks HHH silly. Jack sends him back inside and let’s have some thumbtacks. Stephanie comes back to try and stop it but HHH is fine enough to hit a backdrop onto the tacks for the nasty looking crash. The Pedigree connects….for two, and the collective gasp at the kickout is still great. Another Pedigree onto the tacks FINALLY puts Jack away to retain the title at 26:50.

Rating: A+. If the scale went higher than this, it would do so here, because this is one of the best matches of all time. These two massacred each other, with HHH surviving instead of winning. This was brutal, violent, and a rollercoaster of emotions, as there were times where you could believe Jack could pull off the impossible.

What made this work was they laid in the violence from the bell and it felt like they hated each other. This was HHH’s official graduation to the next level, as he now had his own instant classic that showed he really could fight at this level instead of just escaping. At the very least, he can now beat Jack in this situation, which he couldn’t do two and a half years earlier. Incredible match that absolutely holds up and it is worth about five viewings. I can’t recommend this one enough as it really is an all time masterpiece.

Post match HHH is taken out on a stretcher so Jack beats him up again, including another barbed wire shot, because we need to do this again (indeed we do).

Commentary raves about the match and for once, it is completely deserved.

Back at WWF New York, Linda McMahon promises to deal with HHH the McMahon Way. She could always let him date and then marry Stephanie for real.

Royal Rumble

90 second intervals and the Fink makes it very clear that BOTH FEET must touch, which sends us into a clip of Shawn Michaels’ miracle finish in 1995. D’Lo Brown is in at #1 and Grandmaster Sexay is in at #2, which anyone knows if they have played No Mercy. Brown hammers away and hits the leg lariat before nearly dropping Grandmaster on his head in a Liger Bomb attempt. Instead Grandmaster escapes with a hurricanrana as commentary talks about the street fight.

Mosh is in at #3 (complete with green cones sticking off of his chest for his costume of choice) to go after Brown but cue Kaientai to invade over not being entered. The two of them are beaten down in a hurry so Brown suplexes Grandmaster. Christian (with the AWESOME Blood Brother solo theme) is in at #4 with the reverse layout DDT to Mosh. The four pair off, with Christian charging into Grandmaster’s superkick.

It’s Rikishi in at #5 and there is a good chance he’ll get rid of someone. There goes Mosh and Christian follows him rather quickly but Brown hits a running neckbreaker on Rikishi. That keeps Rikishi down for all of two seconds and the always awesome Rikishi Driver knocks Brown silly. Brown is out, leaving Rikishi and Grandmaster, the latter of whom backs out in a wise bit of fear.

Scotty 2 Hotty is in at #6 though….and the sunglasses come out. The big dance sequence is on, with the crowd seeming to eat it up. Scotty busts out the Worm but Rikishi knocks them both out. Everything is cool because it’s all about the title, so Rikishi dances some more on his own. That’s an all time sequence and one of the most memorable Royal Rumble moments.

Steve Blackman is in at #7 and gets in a few shots on Rikishi before being tossed out in less than a minute. Viscera is in at #8 to pound on Rikishi and hit a belly to belly suplex. A running splash in the corner crushed Rikishi but he avoids a second, setting up a bunch of superkicks to get rid of Viscera. Big Boss Man is in at #9 and takes his sweet time getting in, because he actually pays attention. He stays on the floor until Test is in at #10 and jumps Boss Man on the outside. They all get in, where Boss Man low blows Test as he chokes Rikishi in the corner.

British Bulldog is in at #11 and they pair off again, with Test kicking Boss Man in the face. Bulldog low blows Rikishi to break up the Banzai Drop but can’t toss him out. Instead it’s Gangrel in at #12 but here is Kaientai again, earning themselves another fast ejection (including Taka Michinoku being flipped forward, sending his face into the floor). That takes up so much time that it’s Edge in at #13 to go after Gangrel. The Banzai Drop crushes Boss Man as Lawler wants to see Taka (“That Chinese guy.”) get tossed out again.

Bob Backlund is in at #14 to a huge reaction but gets caught in the wrong corner. He’s fine enough to avoid Rikishi’s charge though and everyone gets together to toss Rikishi. Bulldog headbutts Backlund a few times and it’s Chris Jericho in at #15 to toss Backlund. That’s fine with Bob, who goes into the crowd to continue campaigning for Congress (seriously, he was a different kind of guy). Crash Holly is in at #16 and everyone pairs off again as things slow way down.

Chyna is in at #17 and goes after Jericho, who sends her to the apron. That’s fine with Chyna, who manages to toss him out, only to be eliminated by Boss Man. Faarooq is in at #18 but here is the Mean Street Posse right behind him. The distraction/beatdown lets Boss Man toss him as well as they aren’t letting the ring get overly full. Road Dogg is in at #19 and goes after Test, who hits him low to cut that off in a hurry. Somehow Crash stomps Boss Man in the corner as Al Snow is in at #20, giving us Boss Man, Test, Bulldog, Gangrel, Edge, Crash, Dogg and Snow.

Road Dogg tosses Bulldog, allowing Lawler to make doggy style jokes. Val Venis is in at #21 but we need to pause for Funaki to run in again, earning a third toss to the floor. Prince Albert is in at #22 as Edge is tossed out. Lawler talks about Albert and Mae Young having/potentially having various piercings to fill in time as everyone is weakly fighting near the ropes. Hardcore Holly is in at #23 and a grand total of nothing is happening. This match really needs someone to come in and clean house….and the Rock is in at #24.

Boss Man is out but a bunch of people hammer Rock in the corner to slow him right back down. Billy Gunn is in at #25 and he gets to beat Rock down as well. Rock breaks that up and tosses Crash as Road Dogg is still holding onto the bottom rope, as he has done multiple times tonight. Big Show, who has not been happy with Rock as of late, is in at #26 and NOW we should be going somewhere. Rock is on him before he even gets his other leg over the top but Show knocks him away without much trouble. Test and Gangrel are out in a hurry and a gorilla press drops Holly (on the mat, with Lawler not getting the logic).

Bradshaw is in at #27 but the Mean Street Posse comes in again, allowing the Outlaws to dump Bradshaw out. Faarooq comes back out to beat up the Posse in the aisle and things slow down again. Kane is in at #28 and this has to be the real house cleaning right? Venis is tossed but Rock cuts Kane off to slow things right back down. The Godfather, with ladies, is in at #29 as Kane tosses Albert.

Funaki comes in again and Snow tosses him out even faster this time (yeah it was repetitive but this was a hilarious gag). Godfather finally gets in and it’s X-Pac completing the field, giving us a final group of Road Dogg, Al Snow, Holly, Rock, Gunn, Show, Kane, Godfather and X-Pac. Holly is out in a hurry and Show gets rid of Godfather. Rock tosses Snow and Gunn dumps Dogg, only to get tossed by Kane.

We’re down to Rock, Kane, Show and X-Pac, with Rock tossing X-Pac as Kane fight with the Outlaws in the aisle. X-Pac comes back in because no one saw him go out and it’s Kane kicking Rock in the face. Kane and Show fight over a chokeslam until Kane hits an enziguri of all things. A slam puts Show down but X-Pac kicks Kane out.

The Bronco Buster hits Show, who tosses X-Pac out for his efforts. That leaves Rock vs. Show so let’s get right to the spinebuster and People’s Elbow. Rock can’t get him out though and Show is back with a chokeslam. Show takes his sweet time loading Rock up for the elimination though and Rock slips off his shoulder for the elimination and the win at 51:49.

Rating: B+. This is a match that was this close to being an all timer and it just doesn’t quite make it. The opening is good, with the Too Cool sequence being one of the most memorable Rumble moments ever, but then it goes into a pretty deep freeze until Rock comes in. You could tell that there weren’t a lot of big names in the middle to make it work but the great parts are awesome, with Kaientai being in there to make it better. It’s a very good Rumble, though not quite a classic.

Post match Rock says he’s going to Wrestlemania but Show comes back in and tosses him out. Rock yells a lot to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. The two main events eat up over half of the show and they are both classics, with the tables match being a great showcase as well. The only things close to bad on here is a totally watchable seven and a half minute Intercontinental Title match and a less than three minute tag match. Throw in Tazz’s awesome debut against Angle and the atmosphere of the whole thing and this is an incredible show which is well worth your time.

Ratings Comparison

Tazz vs. Kurt Angle

Original: A-
2012 Redo: C+
2022 Redo: C+

Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz

Original: A
2012 Redo: B+
2022 Redo: B

Chris Jericho vs. Chyna vs. Hardcore Holly

Original: C
2012 Redo: C+
2022 Redo: C-

New Age Outlaws vs. Acolytes

Original: N/A
2012 Redo: N/A
2022 Redo: N/A

HHH vs. Cactus Jack

Original: A+
2012 Redo: A+
2022 Redo: A+

Royal Rumble

Original: A-
2012 Redo: A
2022 Redo: B+

Overall Rating

Original: A
2012 Redo: A
2022 Redo: A

Those two matches carry everything here and that makes for a classic.

 

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Survivor Series 2007
Date: November 18, 2007
Location: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Attendance: 12,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross, Tazz, Joey Styles

It is pretty rare when you have a true one match card but that is what we have here, as Batista is defending the Smackdown World Title against the Undertaker inside the Cell. There might be a few other things going on here, but that has been treated as the be all and end all of the show, as it should be. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the history of the Survivor Series before we move on to this year’s preview.

ECW World Title: Miz vs. John Morrison vs. CM Punk

Punk is defending and for the sake of sanity, I’ll only refer to him as champion. It’s a brawl to start with Punk getting double teamed down into the corner. Morrison catapults Punk into the corner but he comes out with a middle rope crossbody. Punk knocks Miz to the floor but the springboard clothesline is broken up to put Punk down again. Miz breaks up Punk’s springboard with a shot to the floor though and it’s a camel clutch to Punk.

That means Morrison comes in for the save, setting up a backbreaker into a neckbreaker to drop Punk again. A suplex from the apron gets two on Miz but he is right back with a running corner clothesline. Punk is back in with a hurricanrana to send Morrison into Miz for a powerbomb and a near fall. The running knee in the corner sets up the corner bulldog to give Punk two on Miz and a double underhook backbreaker onto the knee gets the same. Morrison is back up to go after Miz, only to be sent outside. That leaves Punk to GTS Miz and retain.

Rating: C+. Miz and Morrison’s rise continues as the two of them have become rather dependable on ECW, and now elsewhere. It makes sense to give them the Tag Team Titles and now we should be seeing even more of them. This was a good way to get the show going as Punk has to work to retain and Miz and Morrison have come far enough that they didn’t seem like cannon fodder.

We look at MVP turning on Matt Hardy, costing the two of them the Tag Team Titles.

MVP says Matt will not be wrestling tonight because he can’t walk. He is tired of being Matt’s latest crutch and he is better than any of his opponents tonight.

Beth Phoenix/Melina/Jillian Hall/Layla/Victoria vs. Kelly Kelly/Michelle McCool/Mickie James/Maria/Torrie Wilson

One fall to a finish rather than elimination rules. Michelle suplexes Victoria to start and then kicks her in the face for two. Torrie comes in and gets swung into the side slam, only to come back with a suplex. It’s off to Jillian vs. Kelly, with the latter grabbing a rollup for two of her own. Phoenix comes in and plants Maria but a missed charge allows the hot tag to James to clean house. Everything breaks down and Mickie hits the Long Kiss Goodnight to finish Melina.

Rating: D+. What else were you expecting here? It was a bunch of the good women vs. the bad women and there is only so much you’re going to get from a match like that. They didn’t have time to do anything and given some of the skill levels of the women involved, that is not a bad idea. The positive sign is that the women are making progress, but a lot of them still aren’t ready to be in a match like this. Leave this thing to Raw.

William Regal and Coach are ready to see Hornswoggle get crushed by Great Khali.

Randy Orton is ready to disappoint everyone and break the Heart Break Kid.

Shawn Michaels wants revenge. And the title.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch vs. Hardcore Holly/Cody Rhodes

Holly and Rhodes are challenging. Rhodes and Cade start things off with Cade grabbing a hiptoss for some early celebrating. A sunset flip gives Cody one and the headlock goes on. That just earns Cody a backbreaker to cut him off so it’s off to Murdoch for a change. Cody takes him into the corner and it’s Holly coming in to forearm away. The hanging kick to the low abdomen has Cade in trouble and the champs need a breather on the floor.

Back in and it’s an atomic drop into a running boot to Holly’s face as Murdoch takes over again. Cade atomic drops Murdoch into a legdrop on Cody for two more and we’re off to the chinlock. Holly suplexes his way out of trouble but Cade is right there with a clothesline. The second atomic drop/legdrop misses though and it’s Cody coming in to very little reaction to clean house. Everything breaks down and Murdoch Code Reds Cody to retain.

Rating: C-. This would have been fine on any given Raw, meaning it was a pretty disappointing pay per view match. Cade and Murdoch are fine as champions and Rhodes and Holly are getting there as a veteran/rookie team, but they aren’t ready for this kind of a match on pay per view. It was far from bad, but this match was sent out there to die and I think WWE knew that was going to happen.

Team HHH, which is down a man due to Matt Hardy’s knee injury, is ready for Team Umaga. Rey Mysterio talks about being an underdog, but that has never been Kane’s thing. Kane brings up the Katie Vick incident (and goes into details). Then Jeff Hardy reminds HHH of the time he put Jeff in the hospital. HHH: “Uh, my bad.” HHH says this is the night when they can come together and do something terrible, so let’s go do it.

Team Umaga vs. Team HHH

Umaga, Mr. Kennedy, Finlay, Big Daddy V, MVP
HHH, Jeff Hardy, Kane, Rey Mysterio

Matt Striker is here with Big Daddy V. Rey and Kennedy get things going and it’s an early exchange of arm cranking. A running headscissors takes Kennedy down and a Code Red gives Rey two (so based on the previous match, Trevor Murdoch is better at Code Redding than Rey Mysterio). Hardy comes in and gets blasted by Kennedy so MVP comes in for a front facelock.

It’s off to V and the big beatdown ensues, only to have Hardy dive over for the tag to Kane. V belly to belly suplexes him down but Kane is right back up with a top rope clothesline. That doesn’t seem to bother V though as he hits a pair of drops (Samoan and elbow) for the elimination. HHH comes in to slug away on V but a clothesline puts him straight down. Umaga comes in with a belly to belly of his own but misses the middle rope headbutt.

That means Rey can come back in and the basement dropkick gets a quick two. The 619 into the springboard seated senton for two more but the springboard crossbody is countered into a wicked release Rock Bottom. The Samoan Spike gets rid of Rey and it’s 5-2. Kennedy tags himself in for some reason and misses a charge into the corner. Hardy misses the slingshot dropkick in the corner though and it’s MVP coming in with a chinlock. MVP misses a running kick though and the Twist of Fate gives Hardy a fast elimination.

HHH comes back in for a clothesline on Kennedy and the spinebuster follows. V comes in for the save but elbows Kennedy by mistake, allowing HHH to steal the pin. That doesn’t work for V, who pulls HHH outside and posts Hardy for a bonus. Back in and a double DDT plants V and HHH evens it up at 2-2.

Finlay starts dropping elbows on HHH before dropping some elbows on HHH. Back up and HHH makes it over for the tag without much effort and Hardy comes in with the slingshot dropkick in the corner. The Whisper in the Wind hit Finlay and the mule kick hits Umaga, allowing HHH to come back in. There’s the spinebuster to Finlay and the Pedigree leaves us with HHH/Hardy vs. Umaga. HHH avoids the running hip attack in the corner and it’s the Pedigree into the Swanton for the final pin.

Rating: B-. Not one of the all time classic Survivor Series matches but they set up HHH and Hardy as a pair of buzzsaws to run through the rest of the team. The HHH vs. Umaga feud has been pretty much decided multiple times now so the ending wasn’t exactly in doubt. This was more or less the Raw main event and it could have been worse, but I could have gone for a lot better for the one elimination match on the show.

We get a preview of Batista vs. Undertaker with a look at their Cell match in Smackdown vs. Raw 2008. Why Batista is wearing a Tag Team Title to the ring isn’t clear.

Vince McMahon sits down with Hornswoggle to explain why he made the match with Great Khali for tonight. Some people think that it is because Vince hates him, but it is really because he wants Hornswoggle to rise up like the McMahons do. Vince has been an underdog against Time Warner and the US government and he won. Now go win against Great Khali.

Great Khali vs. Hornswoggle

Shane McMahon comes out to introduce Vince McMahon and then Hornswoggle for some family flavor. We even get an old school explanation of the rules as the fans want Shaquille O’Neal (in the front row) to help Hornswoggle, but Vince grabs the mic and says he doesn’t care what the fans want. Hornswoggle kicks the knee and then dropkicks Runjin Singh through the ropes. The green mist sets up some right hands but Khali chases Hornswoggle off. The distraction lets Hornswoggle grab the shillelagh but Vince takes it away. Khali loads up the Vice Grip, only to have Finlay come in for the DQ.

Rating: D. What is there to say about something like this? The match was a segment instead of anything competitive and that is all it was ever going to be. At the end of the day, the Hornswoggle/Vince story has run out of steam and adding Finlay into the mix isn’t likely to make things that much better. Maybe they can shift things around, but Vince needs to be on to something else.

Post match Finlay destroys Khali with the shillelagh and a low blow, allowing Hornswoggle to escape.

Wrestlemania XXIV is in Orlando.

We recap Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels for the Raw World Title. Michaels came back in September and went after Orton, who had put him on the shelf. Orton kept getting superkicked but got disqualified last month. Now Michaels wants revenge but can’t use the superkick. If he does, the match is instantly over, but if Orton tries to get disqualified, he loses the title.

Raw World Title: Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels

Michaels is challenging and we even get a weapons check. Feeling out process with Michaels grabbing a cravate of all things to start. Orton can’t even slam his way out of the cravate but he can drive Shawn into the corner for some right hands. Michaels is right back with a choke on the back before switching to a front facelock as you can feel the anger and hatred here.

Back up and Orton is sent outside, with Shawn hitting an Asai moonsault to take him down. They get back inside with Shawn grabbing a…..wait for it…..Sharpshooter. Orton makes the rope and gets in a poke to the eye, setting up the hanging DDT for two. Shawn fights up and slugs it out, setting up the forearm. More right hands have Orton in trouble but he’s right back with a dropkick for two.

Some slams give Michaels a breather and the top rope elbow looks to set up Sweet Chin Music. That’s a head fake though and they trade some rollups for two each. Michaels grabs a Crossface instead but Orton gets a foot on the rope. The backbreaker cuts Michaels off again but he counters the Punt into an ankle lock of all things. The grapevine goes on in the middle, only to have Orton kick his way to freedom. Michaels’ Figure Four attempt is countered with a kick into the post so he teases the superkick but gets RKOed to retain Orton’s title.

Rating: B. Pretty good here, but the amount of stipulations they had going on made it a little difficult to believe that they were going to change the title here. Shawn not using the superkick at the end looked a bit awkward though and the ending only worked so well. They had a good match otherwise though, which has to be expected when it’s Shawn vs. Orton getting time.

Post match Orton talks trash to Shawn and gets superkicked.

SAVE US!

The Cell is lowered.

We recap Batista vs. Undertaker for Batista’s Smackdown World Title. They’ve fought several times this year and Batista finally beat him for the first time last month. Now it’s the big final showdown inside the Cell.

Smackdown World Title: Batista vs. Undertaker

Batista is defending inside the Cell. They start fast with Batista hitting a hard clothesline but having to elbow his way out of a chokeslam attempt. Undertaker punches him into the corner and hits Snake Eyes into the running big boot. The chair is brought in but Batista spears him down. Undertaker’s clothesline gets two this time and they head outside with Undertaker hammering away.

A face rake against the Cell sets up a chair to the throat has Batista in a lot of trouble so Undertaker chairs him in the ribs for two. Old School is countered into a spinebuster (that was cool) for a delayed two and it’s time to slug it out again. Batista’s running powerslam gets two and they head outside with Undertaker getting blasted with a clothesline. Undertaker is fine enough to whip him into the steps and now a chair to the head has Batista busted open.

Old School is broken up again and Batista hits a superplex but Undertaker pulls him into the triangle choke. Since we’re in the Cell, the rope breaks the hold (erg) and they head outside again. This time Batista hits him in the face with the steps and now Undertaker is busted open too. Back in and a chokeslam gives Undertaker two but the Tombstone is countered into another spinebuster for another near fall.

It’s table time, with Batista tossing him through it for two more. The Batista Bomb onto the steps is countered into a backdrop onto the steps. Undertaker plants him with the chokeslam for two, followed by another onto the steps….and a cameraman breaks it up. That’s because the cameraman is Edge, who cameras Undertaker in the head. A Conchairto on the steps knocks Undertaker silly and Edge puts Batista (who saw nothing) on top to retain.

Rating: B+. These two beat the heck out of each other and it felt like a war, with the Edge interference being a great surprise to give them a back door out of the match. What mattered here is they kept things high impact here, which is exactly what these two do best. Let them go in there and hit all their power stuff until one of them can’t get up, which granted was due to some help in this case. You can all but guarantee the triple threat next month and that is a fresh way to go, so nicely done.

Post match, Edge takes Undertaker down again and leaves to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The main events carry the show, but there is a really big gap between the top of the card and everything else. Even the third biggest match on the show doesn’t feel that important as the whole show was built around Batista vs. Undertaker. The show was a fun enough watch, but outside of the main event, it doesn’t feel like a lot of this matters in the long run.

 

 

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Survivor Series 2003
Date: November 16, 2003
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 13,487
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Tazz

This is another big one and it’s also a one sided show. The Smackdown offerings are about as uninteresting as they could be while the Raw side looks at at least marginally better. This isn’t a great show on paper and I have a bad feeling that it’s going to be even worse as it actually takes place. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about surviving things such as the game, evolution, and the battles in between. That’s all this needed to be, especially with Austin vs. Bischoff being the real main event.

Team Angle vs. Team Lesnar

Kurt Angle, Hardcore Holly, Chris Benoit, John Cena, Bradshaw
Brock Lesnar, Big Show, A-Train, Nathan Jones, Matt Morgan

Cena is out first and raps about burying everyone, meaning Lesnar and Show need a bigger graves. He’s still new at this team thing because he wonders if he can trade his partners in for a one night stand with Sable. Holly wastes no time and attacks Lesnar before the bell, sending him into the steps and trying a full nelson to break his neck. He also shoves a referee, and gets disqualified before the match even starts.

The bell rings and a Clothesline from Bradshaw ends A-Train in less than thirty seconds to tie it up. The chokeslam gets rid of Bradshaw as we’re not even a minute in yet. Good idea actually, as it’s not like Bradshaw and Holly were anything more than warm bodies anyway. Cena comes in but can’t FU Big Show and gets thrown into the corner as the four remaining members start working him over. A Throwback to Lesnar gets two but more importantly it allows the hot tag off to Benoit.

The chokeslam is countered into a Crossface (always looks cool) with Lesnar making a save. It’s off to an abdominal stretch as things slow down again. The standing legdrop gets two on Benoit and it’s time for some double teaming on the floor. Angle and Cena have finally had enough and go over to make a save but Benoit is beaten down even more. Morgan comes in for some lumbering offense but a suplex allows the hot tag to Angle. That means a series of suplexes as everything breaks down. The Angle Slam eliminates Morgan to tie us up at three.

Show clotheslines Jones by mistake though and an ankle lock gets rid of Nathan less than thirty seconds later. An F5 gets rid of Angle with the first count coming as Jones’ elimination is still being announced. We’re down to Benoit/Cena vs. Lesnar/Show and Brock goes shoulder first into the post.

A Crossface has Lesnar in trouble but he reverses into a cradle for two. Benoit won’t be denied though and slaps it on again, this time with Lesnar’s feet reaching the ropes. The third attempt makes Lesnar tap and we’re down to two on one. Benoit drops Show with a top rope shoulder for two so Cena adds a chain shot and the FU for the pin.

Rating: C-. This was too fast for the most part but the real problem comes from the fact that so many people were involved in the first place. This really could have been a six man elimination tag (A-Train as the third villain) and it would have been better, but that’s not how these things traditionally work. Cena and Benoit winning in the end is the right way to go as Cena’s rocket push is being assembled, but at the same time there’s a lot of work left to do. Benoit vs. Cena, which could still happen, would be a benefit for both guys and that’s a good sign for the future. Unfortunately it wasn’t the best present, but at least it wasn’t long.

Vince McMahon comes in to see Shane and talks about how tonight, father and son are facing two brothers. He thinks it’s almost spiritual and asks Shane how he feels about that. Shane only feels sorry for Vince. The boss leaves and runs into Austin, who starts laughing. Then he stops and gets serious before walking away. These two have great chemistry even if it doesn’t make the most sense.

JR explains the exchange.

Women’s Title: Lita vs. Molly Holly

Lita is challenging after winning a #1 contenders match a few weeks back. Feeling out process to start as JR explains that these two have some contrasting styles. Lita gets knocked to the floor so Molly starts in on the back with some ax handles. We hit a dragon sleeper with Jerry liking her intensity. The handspring elbow in the corner keeps Lita in trouble and Molly stomps away.

A running corner clothesline rocks Molly and Lita rains down some right hands for her first real offense. Molly cuts her off with a side slam but Lawler would rather talk about Lita’s thong. A powerbomb out of the corner gives Lita a breather but the moonsault misses. The Molly Go Round gets two so Molly rips off a turnbuckle pad and sends Lita face first to retain.

Rating: D+. This was mainly Molly doing everything while Lita did a thing or two here and there. That’s not the most thrilling style in the world but Molly can be made into a good champion for a big name to take the title from later. Let her be built up for awhile instead of giving Lita the title immediately. It’s ok to wait now and then.

We recap Kane vs. Shane McMahon. Kane went nuts after losing his mask and after struggling to defeat Rob Van Dam, started tormenting Linda McMahon. Shane became the big star out of this because of course he did, including beating himself in a Last Man Standing match. Various attempted murders later set up this ambulance match, which is possibly the second most pushed match on the show.

Shane McMahon vs. Kane

Ambulance match with Shane charging straight at him for a crossbody to the floor. Shane knocks him onto the announcers’ table and hits him in the head with a monitor, setting up the big elbow to drive Kane through. That’s enough at ringside though so they head to the back, including the camera cutting out. That means we hit the pretape and come back with Shane pounding him down with a kendo stick.

Shane puts him in a security shack and jumps into an SUV to run Kane over again. Finding a well placed walkie-talkie, Shane tells someone to SEND IT, which means it’s time for an ambulance backstage. But is that the designated ambulance? That makes a difference you know. Instead of backing the ambulance up to the shack where Kane is down, Shane grabs a stretcher and wheels it twenty feet over, allowing Kane to grab him by the throat and slam Shane into a wall.

The camera goes out again and we pick it up with Kane knocking him back into the arena. Shane gets knocked into the front of the ambulance but manages to hit Kane in the face with the back door. What a sick sounding thud too. Kane is back up and sends Shane into the ambulance but another ram with the door gets Shane out of trouble. A tornado DDT on the floor plants Kane as they’re now near the grave for the Buried Alive match.

Shane puts a trashcan (good thing one was nearby) and a crashpad (same as before) and hits the Coast to Coast off the top of the ambulance to smash Kane’s face. That’s still not enough to wrap things up as Kane pulls Shane into the ambulance with him for more brawling. It’s Kane throwing Shane out though and then ramming him back first into the side. He javelins Shane’s head into the other side (you have to match you see) and a Tombstone on the floor is enough for the win.

Rating: D. This wasn’t as long as I was expecting but again, this doesn’t really do what they were likely shooting for with Kane. It makes two straight matches where Kane has had trouble beating up Shane McMahon. He can destroy Rob Van Dam but Shane gives him trouble? It didn’t work last time and it doesn’t work here. Now that he’s lost all of his heat though, you can pencil him in for a World Title match.

Brock Lesnar says he didn’t lose that match because his team lost it instead. Goldberg comes in for a staredown but Lesnar won’t wish him luck tonight. And so it begins.

Here’s the Coach, in a neck brace, for a chat. He assures his fans that he’s fine after the 3D from the Dudleys on Monday and he’ll be good to go soon. That seems to be it but hang on a second as Coach sees Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban in the front row. Cuban is ready to see Austin’s team win and insults referees of all kinds (he’s known for heavy criticisms of NBA referees). This brings out Eric Bischoff to invite Cuban into the ring, where a fight breaks out. Bischoff gets shoved down but here’s Randy Orton for an RKO to complete this waste of time.

Evolution is having a party with HHH in the middle of a good looking bunch of women. Ric Flair comes in to say they can have the champ later, which annoys HHH. Orton comes in, hits on the women, and brags about what he just did. Uh, congratulations?

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Los Guerreros vs. Basham Brothers

The Brothers are defending after Eddie won a handicap match to earn the shot. Eddie and Chavo waste no time in slugging away until Shaniqua offers a distraction to slow things down. That doesn’t seem to matter much to the cousins as Eddie works over Danny to start things off. A dropkick gives Chavo two and there’s a headscissors/armdrag combination from Eddie to put both champs down.

Some double teaming (described by Cole as “classic Bashams”) takes over though and Shaniqua gets in a slam on Eddie for good measure. Back in and Eddie gets stomped in the corner, followed by a double vertical suplex for two. Eddie gets free with a headscissors and hands it back to Chavo, who is double flapjacked in short order. Chavo fights up but Twin Magic takes him down again. Everything breaks down and Chavo slams Shaniqua, followed by a quick spanking. That’s NOT cool with the champs so Doug grabs a rollup with Chavo’s tights to retain.

Rating: D+. Another TV level match here with Los Guerreros coming up short again as we get closer to their inevitable split. The Bashams aren’t a great team (though they have apparently have a classic period) but they’re serviceable for something like this. Get rid of the dominatrix stuff though as it’s not working, isn’t funny and makes Shaniqua look like the important part of the team, which misses the point entirely.

Replays show Chavo kicking Eddie down by mistake, meaning this is far from over.

JR doesn’t think Austin can handle this trusting people stuff and has never seen Austin this angry.

We recap Team Austin vs. Team Bischoff. They’re running the show together but Austin isn’t allowed to attack people at will anymore. On top of that, a lot of people are accusing him of ruining the show through his various antics. That doesn’t sit well with Austin, so it’s time for a winner take all match with the winner getting to run Raw on their own. The idea is Austin has to trust people, which goes against everything he believes in.

Team Austin vs. Team Bischoff

Austin: Shawn Michaels, Dudley Boyz, Booker T., Rob Van Dam
Bischoff: Scott Steiner, Mark Henry, Christian, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton

Coach, Stacy Keibler and the two team captains are at ringside. The fans want tables to start but have to settle with D-Von and Christian instead. D-Von shoulders him down to start but gets slapped in the face, triggering a bunch of right hands to the head. That’s not a nice response. Van Dam comes in for some forearms to the face and a kick to the jaw gets the same. It’s off to Jericho for some more luck, followed by Steiner whipping Van Dam hard into the corner to set up some posing.

Van Dam’s comeback is cut off by a belly to belly superplex but he’s able to get over to Booker for the hot tag. Things speed way up in a hurry and the scissors kick into the Spinarooni makes Bischoff face palm. Everything breaks down in a hurry and Steiner hits Booker low. The Recliner goes on but Stacy offers a distraction, setting up a reverse 3D. A Bookend is enough to get rid of Steiner and make it 5-4.

The World’s Strongest Slam gets rid of Booker a few seconds later to tie it right back up. Bubba comes in to try his luck and is sent hard into the corner. D-Von’s help doesn’t make things much better as the Dudleys are rammed together. Mark misses a charge though and it’s a 3D into the Five Star for the elimination. It’s off to Orton for a hard clothesline on Van Dam but Rob scores with a kick. Another Five Star is loaded up but Jericho makes a save, setting up the RKO to tie things up at three each. Jericho comes in and missile dropkicks D-Von down as JR and King wonder how things will go tomorrow night.

D-Von shoulders Jericho down for no count as Christian has the referee, setting up the sleeper drop for another elimination. This match is already better paced than the opener and here’s Shawn to pick things up all over again. Shawn pounds on Jericho in the corner and catches an invading Christian without much effort. Orton gets in a dropkick but stays down anyway as I guess he didn’t hit all of it. A double tag brings in Christian and Bubba with a backdrop getting two on the Canadian.

Jericho runs Christian over by mistake but a low blow sets up the Unprettier to get rid of Bubba. We’re down to Shawn vs. Christian/Jericho/Orton and Austin is starting to see how much trouble he’s in. Shawn punches away at Christian to start but some good old fashioned double teaming has Shawn in trouble again. Like there’s any other way this should go. Shawn is taken outside and catapulted into the post (you can see him blade on the wide shot) to bust open a GUSHER.

That and a suplex are only good for two back inside and Christian even steals his pose. Jerry: “That was a creepy little pose right there.” The Unprettier is broken up and a quick Sweet Chin Music gets rid of Christian. A frustrated Jericho comes in and gets two off a clothesline before handing it back to Orton. Shawn gets in a belly to back suplex but Jericho comes back in to take over again. As usual, JR is perfect at calling this kind of a story and Shawn getting two off a DDT has Jerry trying as hard as he can to believe in Shawn.

The Lionsault hits knees and Shawn pulls himself up but gets pulled into a Walls attempt. That’s reversed into a quick small package to get rid of Jericho and make it one on one (Lawler: “I BELIEVE I BELIEVE!”). Jericho isn’t gone yet though and caves Shawn’s head in with a chair shot. Why that isn’t a DQ on Orton isn’t clear but Shawn is done as Orton comes back in.

That’s only good for two and you can see the sigh of relief from Austin. Orton’s high crossbody hits the referee and here’s Bischoff to break up Sweet Chin Music. That’s too much for Austin so it’s a Stunner to Orton but he makes the mistake of beating on Bischoff a bit too much. They go up the aisle and here’s Batista to powerbomb Shawn, giving Orton the final pin.

Rating: B+. I love this match and always have. It doesn’t really pick up until Shawn is on his own but that’s what he’s done best throughout his entire career. He knows how to play the underdog better than anyone I’ve ever seen and you really can get behind the Lawler mindset of trying to believe here. As usual, Shawn is great in this role and it’s never too far to believe that he could pull this off (quick superkick, small package for two eliminations). Great stuff, but you might want to skip the first few minutes.

Austin is stunned at the loss because he placed his career in someone else’s hands and was let down. The bloody Shawn can barely stand and Austin congratulates him for giving it everything he had. Austin grabs the mic and talks about starting here in Dallas and going out here as well. Coach comes out to laugh and gets beaten up one more time with security getting the same treatment. Beer is consumed as a final goodbye. You know, assuming you believe that he’s gone for good this time.

We recap Undertaker vs. Vince McMahon. Undertaker wants the title one more time but Vince screwed him over at No Mercy. Therefore Undertaker wanted a Buried Alive match here, because that’s where you go from here. Vince then went into this weird spiritual thing, which really didn’t work or accomplish much.

Tazz’s key for Vince’s victory: AVOID THE HOLE! Good advice.

Vince McMahon vs. Undertaker

Buried Alive and Vince drops to a knee in prayer before the match. Undertaker punches him down to start and the beating is on in a hurry. Vince is already bleeding less than thirty seconds in as this is going to be one sided for a long time. The beating continues until Undertaker crotches him on the post to switch things up a bit. More low blows keep Vince in trouble and it’s time to go to the floor with Undertaker choking with a cord. Completely one sided so far, as you probably guessed.

Cole and Tazz try to explain the idea of Vince being punished for his sins, which I’m guessing are mainly about Stephanie. I mean, almost everything else is. Vince is thrown over the announcers’ table and it’s time to go to the grave. Well just Undertaker at this point and he comes back with a shovel. One heck of a shot to the head rocks Vince again and Cole declares it over. So much for Undertaker’s hot streak.

Vince’s ankle gets crushed by the steps and NOW it’s time to head to the grave. Vince finally throws some dirt in the eyes (his first “offense”) and a low blow keeps Undertaker in trouble. A shovel to the head puts Undertaker in the grave….for a few seconds. He pulls Vince in and goes to the front loader to drop the dirt but gets cut off by lightning. Cue Kane to beat up Undertaker and bury him (again) to give Vince the win.

Rating: D-. So yeah LOLVINCEWINS because of course he does. There was nothing to see here unless you like Undertaker destroying people and then having a surprise ending. The announcers treated this like Undertaker’s last match, because if there’s one thing Undertaker is known for, it’s going away for good. It’s more of a match than an angle, and there’s no way that’s how Undertaker is going out. Bad match but moderately entertaining beatdown.

Cole and Tazz are SHOCKED.

We recap the Raw World Title match. Goldberg won the title last month so HHH put a $100,000 bounty on his head. Batista returned and collected by breaking Goldberg’s ankle so tonight it’s about revenge and the title. There’s not much of a reason for this to main event but would you expect much else? Well save for Vince maybe?

Raw World Title: HHH vs. Goldberg

Goldberg is defending and is coming in with a bad ankle. HHH is looking as out of shape as I’ve seen him in years, probably due to his bad groin injury. Hang on a second though as Goldberg has to quickly dispatch Flair to make it a little more fair. They head outside in short order with Goldberg hammering away but the ankle gives out on a gorilla press attempt.

A chop block takes Goldberg down and we hit the meat of the match. Flair is back up as HHH sends Goldberg outside, meaning a distraction sets up a chair to Goldberg’s ankle. There’s another chop block back inside and the slow leg work continues with Flair getting in a few shots of his own. A knee drop keeps the ankle in trouble and we hit a half crab. At least he knows his low level submissions.

Goldberg grabs the rope and fires off some right hands to little avail. A limping clothesline works a bit better as Flair is beside himself. HHH takes him down again and calls for a Figure Four, only to be kicked into the referee. That means brass knuckles for a very near fall and HHH beats up the referee again. The sledgehammer is brought down but Goldberg kicks him down with the bad ankle.

Flair’s latest attempt at interfering gets him slammed off the top (JR: “It hasn’t worked in thirty years.”) and Goldberg grabs the hammer. A shot to the ribs drops Flair and an invading Batista and Orton are quickly dispatched as well. The Pedigree is blocked and Goldberg picks up the hammer again but throws it down. Instead it’s a spear and Jackhammer to retain the title like a real man.

Rating: D+. Well if you’re a fan of HHH working the ankle, have fun. Goldberg looks strong, but there have been so many other big matches tonight that this isn’t the strongest way to end things. I’ll give them points for giving Goldberg a push, but you’re crazy if you think HHH isn’t getting the title back within the next month. Just a messy brawl, but it could have been much worse. At least HHH didn’t need fifteen minutes of working the leg.

Overall Rating: C-. There’s some good and bad stuff on this show but the bad wins out in the end. Between the weak main event, not great opener and pretty terrible Vince vs. Undertaker match, there’s not enough to put with Shawn’s amazing performance. This was better than I was expecting though and that’s a nice relief. Both shows need something fresh on top and it actually seems to be happening on Smackdown. I’ll take one out of two, especially at this point in time.

 

 

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Survivor Series 2000
Date: November 19, 2000
Location: Ice Palace, Tampa, Florida
Attendance: 18,602
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s old school time and as luck would have it, we’re going with something from one of the best eras the company has ever had. Steve Austin is back from his neck surgery and going after the mastermind behind his attack with another match against HHH. At the same time, we have the Rock vs. Rikishi, who famously did it for da Rock. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at HHH being the mastermind, which was the best thing they could have done after the big question mark of picking Rikishi. See, back then they saw when something wasn’t working and FIXED THEIR MISTAKE. I know that’s a foreign concept these days but it really did happen back in the day.

See how easy it can be to give what would be an otherwise ice cold match a backstory? And how weird it is for the faces to be in the bottom right hand corner of the ring? How did WWE even manage to have a designated face and heel corner in modern times? Crash’s high crossbody is pulled out of the air so Blackman dropkicks him in the back for a save. Trish comes in but kicks Albert low by mistake, allowing Crash to bring Molly in.

The chase gives us a double tag to Crash and Test with a hurricanrana giving Crash two. Test’s pumphandle slam is broken up as Crash rams him into Albert and it’s off to Molly to beat up Trish. Test pulls Molly down by the hair but she is fine enough to suplex Trish with ease. Crash has to save Molly from a gorilla press but Trish grabs the middle rope bulldog for two. Back up and Molly hits a middle rope sunset flip to put Trish away at 5:03 with Lawler losing his mind as she nearly falls out of her top.

Rating: C-. Today this would have been a Kickoff Show match but that doesn’t mean it was bad. Instead what we had was a match that didn’t overstay its welcome and had a fast enough pace that it still worked. Molly was the best choice for the pin and it’s not like Trish getting pinned is going to hurt her. The more I watch Molly the more impressed I am with her as she can do so many different things. Here she’s almost the All American girl and she would be doing her chaste stuff just over a year later before becoming kind of a hybrid. That takes talent, which she certainly has.

Kurt Angle comes up to Edge and Christian in the back but they have their own match tonight and can’t help Angle against Undertaker. Oh and Christian ate some bad chili and came down with mono. Angle: “You guys with your crazy antics.” He just wanted them to go out and celebrate, as long as he can find non-alcoholic beer.

Earlier today, Low Down and Tiger Ali Singh weren’t on the security entry list. This really shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Radicalz vs. Billy Gunn/Chyna/K-Kwik/Road Dogg

Survivor Series match and it’s so bizarre to see R-Truth here nineteen years ago in a different enough character. Gunn and Chyna may have a bit of romance going on but it isn’t clear. Terri is here with the Radicalz, Malenko is Light Heavyweight Champion and Eddie is Intercontinental Champion. Gunn hammers on Saturn to start and it’s Chyna coming in for a double suplex.

A powerslam gives Chyna two but the handspring elbow is countered into a waistlock. You don’t do that to Chyna, who kicks Saturn low, knocks Eddie off the apron and hits a DDT on Saturn. Everything breaks down and Eddie hits Chyna with the Intercontinental Title for the pin at 2:33.

That takes away a lot of the fans’ interest in the match, even as Dogg gets beaten up for a change. Eddie starts in on the knee so it’s time to talk about the World Title match instead of what’s going on here. Dogg catches Eddie on top with a superplex, allowing the tag off to Gunn. The tilt-a-whirl slam and sleeper drop get rid of Eddie at 6:01 to even things up as WWE keeps trying to make the Gunn singles push a thing.

Malenko and Kwik come in with the latter flipping around but getting driven into the corner for a tag to Benoit. A headscissors takes Benoit down but it’s a heck of a bridging German suplex to get rid of Kwik at 7:19. Dogg comes in and gets beaten up in the corner as well as Lawler tries to figure out why JR is talking about an accordion. Malenko gets two off a suplex but Dogg hits Saturn in the head to get a breather.

Saturn is right back with the northern lights suplex to get rid of Dogg, leaving us with Saturn/Benoit/Malenko vs. Gunn. The Radicalz waste no time in beating Gunn down in the corner and a cheap shot from Saturn makes it even worse. Saturn misses a superkick on the floor and hits Benoit by mistake (or he got close at least with a camera cut making the save), leaving Malenko to take the Fameasser for the pin at 10:58.

The Jackhammer gets two on Saturn but Benoit slams Gunn down and drops the Swan Dive for his own two. Gunn fights back with an elbow to the face and Benoit gets knocked to the apron. That means a suplex back inside but Saturn pulls the leg and holds it down to give Benoit the pin at 12:41.

Rating: D+. Pretty uninspired match here but the Radicalz winning was the only way to go. The team had been around for a long time now and it would be ridiculous to have them lose to the remnants of DX. The match wasn’t even any good with the Radicalz easily picking the team apart, mainly because it was the former Outlaws, Chyna and R-Truth.

Rock wouldn’t talk to Lilian Garcia as he arrived.

Chris Jericho thought is issues with Kane started over some spilled coffee but it is more complicated than that. It is about a man who looks in the mirror and sees the evil monster inside. Jericho is talking about himself though and he’s ready to prove that to Kane.

We recap Kane vs. Jericho, the latter of whom spilled coffee on Kane and made a reference to burning. Kane wasn’t happy and started torturing Jericho, including throwing him through a window and chokeslamming him onto the announcers’ table.

Kane vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho has a bad back coming in from the attacks. They slug it out to start with Kane getting the better of it as the Y2J chants start up. The dropkick puts Kane on the floor and the dive barely connects as Jericho’s foot gets caught on the rope. The springboard dropkick knocks Kane back to the floor as it’s a lot of getting in the shots that he can so far. Back in and Kane drops him face first onto the mat as we hit the monster stretch.

A belly to back suplex is countered and Jericho hammers away, only to get his head clotheslined off. Jericho gets choked over Kane’s back and the announcers continue to do a good job of selling the David vs. Goliath aspect here. A turnbuckle pad comes off and Kane goes to send Jericho face first into the steel (because Jericho is handsome and Kane hates anyone who isn’t a freak) but a raised foot is enough for the block. Instead Kane sends him to the floor and into various things, which is what monsters tend to do.

Back in and Jericho crotches him on top, gets shoved down, but still manages to dropkick Kane out of the air. A basement dropkick sets up a missile dropkick for two and the Walls go on. The rope is grabbed after a long stretch that didn’t have a lot of drama, mainly because Jericho was barely cranking on the thing. Jericho pulls him back and tries again but gets kicked in the face this time. The bulldog into the Lionsault (with Kane having to scoot over about a foot and a half) is blocked with a grab of the throat though and there’s the chokeslam for the pin at 12:35.

Rating: C. The ending would have been better had Kane not been so out of place at first but the rest wasn’t exactly great. For some reason I never got into this one and it just didn’t have that much drama. I do like Kane winning as it gives us a reason to keep things going, and this is the kind of thing that can go on for a bit.

Terri comes in to see the Radicalz and tells them that HHH is in the building and he’ll meet with them later. Laughter ensues.

European Title: William Regal vs. Hardcore Holly

Regal is defending in a match that was set up on Heat. Before the match, Regal mocks the Florida fans for not being able to elect a new President or understand something as basic as manners. Holly’s music cuts him off and I don’t think that counts as good manners either. Holly starts fast and hammers away but Regal goes with the wrestling by turning it into a lockup.

Regal pulls him chest first into the middle buckle and starts cranking on the arm, which had been broken earlier in the year and kept Holly on the shelf. Holly gets sent face first into the mat with a wristlock and Regal kneels down onto the arm again. A cross armbreaker keeps Holly in trouble until he manages a crossbody for a breather. Holly gets his arms tied in the ropes but manages to get free and knock Regal down. Sick of the wrestling thing, Holly grabs the title and hits Regal in the head for the DQ at 5:47.

Rating: D+. This felt like it was thrown in to fill time and odds are that is what they were doing. Holly got beaten up the entire time and then got disqualified in the end, which felt like more of a heel move than anything else. Just not very interesting of a match and it didn’t seem important either.

Trish comes in to see Angle and offers her, ahem, assistance tonight. He appreciates it but she can tell Test and Albert that he’s got Undertaker tonight. Kurt: “See you later!”

We recap the Rock vs. Rikishi. Last year, Rikishi ran over Steve Austin and accused Rock of telling him to do it. That wasn’t true though, with Rikishi saying that he did it for Rock because people like them weren’t going to get a shot in this company. Rock beat him up so Rikishi, with the help of real mastermind HHH, crushed Rock’s chest with a sledgehammer.

Rock vs. Rikishi

Rock has a bad chest coming in and charges in to hammer away. The Samoan drop (more like a backdrop) lets Rock grab a chair but the referee pulls it away, allowing Rikishi to superkick him down. Rock’s right hands don’t get him very far as Rikishi slams him right back down to take over again. Rikishi gets sent outside and his head goes into the steps….which shouldn’t hurt him.

It doesn’t seem to be that bad and Rikishi is back with a ram into the timekeeper’s bell. The ref gets bumped (of course) so it’s time to grab the sledgehammer. Since Rikishi is a bad villain (like, a really bad one), he takes so long that Rock can hit a Rock Bottom for a very delayed two. A headbutt to the chest puts Rock down and another one to the head has him rolling around in pain.

There’s another Samoa drop and Rikishi sits on his chest for two. Rikishi crushes him in the corner and gets in the Stinkface, which is the kind of embarrassment you don’t get from Rock too often. The hard clothesline turns Rikishi inside out and there’s a spinebuster, which only hurts the chest again. He’s fine enough to hit the People’s Elbow for the very delayed pin at 11:19.

Rating: C. Thank goodness, as having Rikishi beat the Rock would have been as ridiculous as having Rikishi be the big bad in a major storyline. This was as good as it was going to be and even then it was just a simple injury story. Rikishi is not believable in this spot and that is painfully obvious. At least he lost here, but it isn’t making this any less of a head scratcher.

Post match Rikishi superkicks him again and hits FOUR Banzai Drops. So yeah this is going to continue. Lucky us.

Raven is at WWF New York.

Steve Austin arrives. Dude it’s an hour and twenty minutes into the show. That’s bad even for you.

HHH and the Radicalz aren’t concerned so here’s Commissioner Mick Foley to say the Radicalz are banned from ringside and the match is now No DQ. HHH still doesn’t seem to mind.

Women’s Title: Ivory vs. Lita

Ivory, as part of the Right to Censor, is defending. Lita throws her down to start and the beatdown is on in a hurry. They get sloppy early on with Ivory shoving her away as Lawler talks about Lita’s underwear. Lita gets choked down in the corner as her eye is busted open BAD. More right hands keep Lita in trouble until she snaps off a headscissors for a breather.

Cue Steven Richards as Ivory is sent outside, meaning Lita gets to dive onto both of them. A high crossbody gets two on Ivory but Richards pulls her away from the Litasault. Somehow that isn’t a DQ, even with the referee looking right at her. The distraction lets Ivory grab the title but Lita suplexes her down. Now the Litasault hits the belt and Ivory retains at 4:56.

Rating: D+. They packed a lot into this one and that eye cut was nasty but it was a pretty weak effort, as was often the case around this era. The biggest problem is trying to put in so much stuff into a five minute match, as there is only so much you can cram into so little time before it stops working. That was the case here and it showed pretty badly.

Post match Lita is a bloody mess and has to be helped out.

Rock is pretty banged up.

Jericho jumps Kane in the back with a chair and drives him into a steel door. Various weapons are used until referees pull Jericho off.

We recap Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker for the WWF Title. Angle has been the greatest rookie in company history and Undertaker won a four way match to become #1 contender. Undertaker doesn’t think much of a nitwit like Angle, who isn’t laying down for anyone.

Undertaker talks about debuting here ten years ago and tonight, Angle takes his Last Ride.

WWF Title: Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker

Undertaker is challenging. Before the match, Angle talks about how this is his anniversary so the fans can vote on their favorite rookie year moment. Angle even lists them off until Undertaker’s entrance cuts him off for a tried and true idea. With Angle bailing, Undertaker holds up the title to get in Kurt’s head in a hurry. Undertaker grabs a chair so Angle hides behind the referee like a great coward.

That’s fine with Undertaker, who throws the chair to Angle….who uses it before the bell to take over early on. Angle stomps him down in the corner but you don’t do that to Undertaker, who switches places with him and hammers away. The big leg gets two and an elbow is good for the same, though the second one sees Undertaker pull him up. Old School connects as the fans are happy, though I can’t get around Undertaker’s near camouflage pants.

Angle snaps off the first suplex and Undertaker rolls to the floor, only to catch a diving Angle and drive him into the post. Back in and the big boot misses in the corner, which tends to be the case more often than not. The leg gets bent around the ropes as Angle is a lot more comfortable with the slower pace. Undertaker pulls him down into the Fujiwara armbar but cue Edge and Christian to distract the referee as Angle taps.

The distractions allow Angle to get up and take him back down by the leg, meaning it’s time to lay down and crank a bit. That’s broken up as well so Undertaker goes outside and beats up the Canadians, followed by a chokeslam for two on Angle. The champ is right back up and goes after the knee again, which does at least take Undertaker down for a bit. Angle grabs the Figure Four but gets it turned over for the break.

Undertaker gets two off a powerslam but Angle takes the leg again and Figure Fours it around the post for a bit. The leg is fine enough for Snake Eyes to get two and they’re both down again. A quick low blow (with the referee looking at them) doesn’t have much effect as Undertaker tries the Tombstone with Angle getting out to the apron. Angle tries to crawl underneath the ring but gets pulled back out for the Last Ride. That’s good for two….because the referee is counting the wrong man. That would be Kurt’s brother Eric, allowing Kurt to run back in and roll Undertaker up with tights for the pin at 16:03.

Rating: D+. I really wasn’t feeling this one as the leg stuff kept going but Undertaker kept getting back up without selling the thing. The ending was creative enough (or at least fresh) and that’s better than the selection of stupid finishes they could have used. Just not the best chemistry here and Undertaker never felt like he was in danger of taking a regular fall, which took away any drama they could have had.

Post match Kurt jumps in his car and gets out.

Video on the XFL cheerleaders. Like that’ll have any shelf life.

Edge and Christian/Right To Censor vs. Dudley Boyz/Hardy Boyz

Survivor Series again and Goodfather/Bull Buchanan, with Val Venis, are Tag Team Champions. Buchanan and Bubba start things off with nothing of note happening so it’s off to Goodfather to shoulder D-Von down instead. Everything breaks down in a hurry and it’s a quadruple DDT to plant the villains. The Hardys pull off their shirts to reveal Dudley camouflage but it takes too long, allowing Edge to hit the Edge O Matic to get rid of Matt at 3:58.

D-Von clotheslines Edge and Christian down but a Buchanan distraction sets up the Unprettier to get rid of D-Von at 5:08. Bubba comes in for a heck of a backdrop on Christian and it’s Jeff coming in. That goes better for Christian, who whips him ribs first into the post. Buchanan comes in and gets to stomp away, only to miss a charge so Bubba cane come back in and clean house.

Edge spears Buchanan by mistake and Bubba pins Bull at 7:32. The Bubba Bomb hits Edge and Christian splashes him by mistake to give Bubba another pin at 8:00. So it’s Bubba/Jeff vs. Christian/Goodfather in a bizarre tag match. The Death Valley Driver lets Goodfather get rid of Bubba at 8:42. Jeff is back up and takes Christian down for the Swanton and the pin at 9:34. Goodfather misses a splash in the corner though and Venis clotheslines him by mistake, allowing Jeff to steal the final pin at 10:05.

Rating: D. Oh this didn’t work as it needed about twice as long. They were flying through everything at once and nothing had a chance to make any kind of an impact. Jeff didn’t feel like he won as much as he was the only one they didn’t have time to eliminate. These eight are capable of WAY better but there is only so much that you can do in ten minutes with seven eliminations.

Post match the Right To Censor comes in to destroy Jeff but the Dudleys come in for the save. RTC is put through some tables for the big moment. They really needed to do this here instead of giving the match the extra time? I do miss Bubba’s trance for putting people through tables though.

HHH tells the Radicalz that they know what to do.

We recap HHH vs. Steve Austin. Rikishi ran Austin over last year but Austin came back and beat Rikishi up. Since it was Rikishi vs. Steve Austin, it was clear that someone had to be Rikishi’s boss, which of course was revealed as HHH. JR being stunned that the top heel in the company being the top heel in the story isn’t his best moment. Now it’s about revenge.

Steve Austin vs. HHH

No DQ and the Radicalz are banned from ringside. Austin goes straight to the slugging (as you may have guessed) and sends HHH head first into the buckle. A knee to the ribs sets up more shots to the face before Austin starts going after HHH’s bad back. The Thesz press and middle finger elbow send HHH outside as there is no point in trying for a cover yet. They fight up to the entrance with Austin picking up a piece scaffolding but getting punched back down.

The fight goes backstage for a bit before coming back to the entrance where Austin gets in a suplex. Back to ringside with both guys going into the steps and Austin stomps away at the timekeeper’s area. There’s a monitor shot to the head, followed by Austin picking up the cooler….but thinking twice about it because that’s what Austin does. Austin stomps away to leave a bloody HHH laying, meaning it’s time for a beer.

The empty can goes upside HHH’s busted head and it’s time to go inside again for a lot of punching. HHH’s low blow slows things down a bit and a neckbreaker takes him down. HHH crushes Austin’s head against the post and gets two off a clothesline. Austin grabs a spinebuster but misses the middle rope elbow. It’s back to the floor and a Pedigree attempt on the steps is countered with a backdrop through the announcers’ table.

Agents and referees try to break it up so Austin gets up and chases Benoit outside. HHH is out there as well but we’ve lost Austin so HHH is hiding in a car. Benoit goes off to find Austin and it’s HHH doing a near voiceover, saying we need to finish this. Cue Austin in a forklift to pick HHH’s car up and drop it down (HHH: “HOLY S***!”) to end the show. We’ll say the match ended at about 25:00.

Rating: B+. They did exactly what they should have done here and didn’t try to do anything else. This was all about violence and Austin getting some aggression out because HHH tried to kill him. Austin even had the big moment near the end with the Pillmanizing of the neck. This went well and outside of the ending with the car, it was a heck of a brawl with HHH not getting squashed, as he shouldn’t have.

Overall Rating: D+. The main event helped a lot but this just wasn’t a very good show. It was all about the one big match, Undertaker vs. Angle with a screwy finish and then the just ok Rock vs. Rikishi match. Things were in a weird place here with Austin and Rock now fighting over the top spot and it is clear that Rock took a step down at least for tonight. Rikishi being in one of the bigger matches on a major show is hardly a believable spot and this show just does not hold up, outside of the main event.

Ratings Comparison

Original: D+

2012 Redo: C-

2019 Redo: C-

The Radicalz vs. Team Chyna

Original: B-

2012 Redo: C

2019 Redo: D+

Kane vs. Chris Jericho

Original: B-

2012 Redo: C-

2019 Redo: C

William Regal vs. Hardcore Holly

Original: D-

2012 Redo: D-

2019 Redo: D+

The Rock vs. Rikishi

Original: B

2012 Redo: C+

2019 Redo: C

Ivory vs. Lita

Original: D+

2012 Redo: D

2019 Redo: D+

Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker

Original: B-

2012 Redo: C+

2019 Redo: D+

Team Dudley Boys vs. Team Edge and Christian

Original: C-

2012 Redo: C-

2019 Redo: D+

Steve Austin vs. HHH

Original: D-

2012 Redo: B-

2019 Redo: B+

Overall Rating:

Original: D+

2012 Redo: C-

2019 Redo: D+

Dang I’m all over the place with this one but yeah it’s not a great show by any stretch.

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

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/07/24/survivor-series-2000-i-never-remember-this-show/

And the 2012 Redo:

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2015/11/07/survivor-series-count-up-2000-no-selling-a-car-crash/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Night of Champions 2008
Date: June 29, 2008
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 16,151
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Mike Adamle, Jim Ross, Joey Styles, Tazz, Mick Foley

We’re done with the Draft and this is the final show before we enter the new reality, starting with next week’s TV. Tonight has a pretty stacked card as the focus is on championships, including Edge defending the Smackdown World Title against Batista and John Cena challenging HHH for the Raw World Title. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about how important it is to be a champion, with people promising this will be their night. We get more specific looks at the bigger matches as well.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Miz/John Morrison vs. Hornswoggle/Finlay

Miz and Morrison are defending. Finlay and Morrison start things off with an elbow dropping Morrison for a fast two. Back up and Morrison sends him into the corner and out to the floor, where Morrison and Miz grab Hornswoggle. Back in and Hornswoggle wants to fight but Finlay comes in to do it for him so house can be cleaned. Stereo seated sentons hit the champs but Morrison kicks Finlay in the head to take over.

The slingshot elbow/backbreaker combination gets two on Finlay but he’s back with an atomic drop. Hornswoggle tags himself in to pick up the pace until Morrison cheap shots him down. A double clothesline cuts off Hornswoggle’s comeback attempt but Miz misses the charge in the corner. Hornswoggle kicks Morrison away and the hot tag brings Finlay back in. Everything breaks down and Finlay hits the Celtic Cross on Morrison, only to have Miz break up the Tadpole Splash. Morrison slams Hornswoggle off the top to retain.

Rating: C+. This could have been so much worse as Hornswoggle and Finlay worked well together as a team and at least it was a fresh set of opponents for Miz and Morrison. While there aren’t a lot of options for challengers, they have more or less cleaned out the division and it was time to find someone new to come after the belts. Finlay and Hornswoggle did well for a one off challenge and it was a pretty nice match as well.

We look at John Cena beating HHH in the main event of Wrestlemania XXII. They really are making the rematch feel like a huge deal and that’s great to see.

US Title: Chavo Guerrero vs. Matt Hardy

Chavo, with Bam Neely, is challenging. They fight over a lockup to start until Matt gets in a quick takedown. Chavo is right back with a headlock takeover, only to get backdropped to put him down again. With the grappling not working, Chavo starts in on the leg and wraps it around the ropes. Neely helps out by wrapping the leg around the post and Chavo cranks away back inside.

Matt avoids something off the middle rope though and hits a quick Side Effect. The middle rope elbow connects for two so Matt goes up again, only to get pulled into a half crab. That’s broken up but so is the Twist of Fate as Chavo gets the half crab again. Matt makes the ropes so Chavo tries the Three Amigos. That’s countered into the Twist of Fate to retain the title.

Rating: C. As you might have expected, these two worked a completely fine match against each other but it wasn’t the most thrilling. Chavo just isn’t someone who feels like he’s going to win that prestigious of a title, even if Matt is about to take it to ECW. Completely fine match, but nothing that stuck out in any meaningful way.

We look at the end of Million Dollar Mania.

ECW Title: Kane vs. Mark Henry vs. Big Show

Kane is defending and Henry was added after beating Kane on ECW. They start fast with Kane hammering away and avoiding a Henry splash in the corner. Henry is knocked outside, leaving Show and Kane to slug it out. Kane’s running DDT gets two but Show knocks him outside again. Show and Henry get their big showdown, with Henry’s running shoulder having almost no effect. A clothesline and slam put Henry down as trainers come out to check on Kane.

Show drops Henry again but it’s too early for a chokeslam. Instead they collide again for a double knockdown, allowing Kane to come back in. Alternating corner clotheslines set up a whip to send Henry into Show’s raised boot. The double chokeslam plants Henry but Show and Kane argue over who gets the cover. Kane hits an enziguri but Show knocks him out of the air for two. Something close to an Angle Slam gives Show two more so he goes up, only to get superplexed back down. Kane is down as well though and Henry hits a splash for the pin and the title.

Rating: C+. They went with the straight up monster mash formula here and as luck would have it, the people involved know exactly how to do that match. This was a perfectly entertaining match with Henry getting the win that he has deserved after the last few weeks of being a monster. Good stuff here with the right result.

Batista is ready to move to Raw with the Smackdown World Title. John Cena comes in to say he’s winning too, but here is CM Punk to say the Money In The Bank briefcase is getting heavy.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Cody Rhodes/Hardcore Holly vs. Ted DiBiase Jr./???

Rhodes and Holly are defending and DiBiase’s mystery partner is….not here yet, so maybe we can wait ten minutes. That won’t happen so we’ll start the match anyway. Cody starts for the team but DiBiase wants Holly….who gets dropped by Cody with a DDT. DiBiase announces Cody as his partner and gives Holly a cobra clutch legsweep for the pin and the titles. That’s certainly the twist and my goodness it’s better than Holly and Cody’s lame team.

JBL, in a luxury box, is upset that he’s not in a match on the show. Todd Grisham suggests it’s because he isn’t a champion so JBL goes into a speech about how he is successful while the American economy is crumbling. With Vince McMahon gone, he is the richest man in WWE (as we have back to back rich villain segments). He’s also more successful than Mark Cuban (Dallas Mavericks owner) because he doesn’t see any championship banners around here.

JBL mocks the Dallas Cowboys and praises HIS New York Giants, the Super Bowl champions. Everyone loves a champion, and that is why he is Texas’ favorite New Yorker. He’ll be getting a title soon enough. This was slow speaking JBL and that’s not exactly an inspiring change of pace.

Intercontinental Title: Chris Jericho vs. ???

Jericho is defending against a surprise opponent, which will NOT be Shawn Michaels. Since Michaels can’t make a thirty minute light, Jericho is here as an honest man to defend his title. Instead, he’s facing….Kofi Kingston, who came over to Raw in the Supplemental Draft. Lance Cade is here with Jericho, who drives Kingston into the face to start. A headlock takeover puts Kingston on the mat but he’s right back up. Jericho knocks him down again and doesn’t seem too worried to start.

Kingston picks up the pace with the rapid fire leapfrogs so Jericho bails outside, only to be taken down by a slingshot dive. Back in and Jericho dumps Kingston over the top for a big crash, followed by the stomping back inside. A suplex puts Kingston down for two more and Jericho bends his back over the knee. The abdominal stretch goes on but Kingston hiptosses his way to freedom.

Jericho’s belly to back superplex is turned into a crossbody for two and Kingston starts striking way. A clothesline into the Boom Drop gets two on Jericho and a hurricanrana gets the same. Jericho is right back with a knockdown into the Lionsault….but here is Shawn Michaels to superkick Cade. Jericho decks Shawn off the apron but the distraction lets Kingston hit Trouble In Paradise for the pin and the title out of nowhere.

Rating: B-. That was a shock and that’s what they seemed to be trying to do. Shawn costing Jericho the title makes all the sense in the world as it gives Jericho a reason to want to get revenge on him despite Shawn not being able to wrestle. Good match too, as Kingston has that unique offense that makes him fun to watch.

Post match Shawn seems pretty banged up so Jericho hits him in the eye again to leave him laying.

Vickie Guerrero wants to talk wedding flowers with Edge when Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder come in. They say it’s too bad about HHH, who had to help Batista on Smackdown. Otherwise he could have helped Edge tonight, an idea that Edge doesn’t like. We hear Edge’s resume and he promises to keep the title tonight.

Women’s Title: Mickie James vs. Katie Lea Burchill

Katie, with Paul Burchill, is challenging and grabs a rollup for a very fast two. They get back up with Mickie pulling her down by the arm and going up, which sends Katie bailing to the floor. Back in and Mickie kicks her down for two but a trip to the floor lets Katie take over. Katie suplexes her onto the arm to put Mickie in trouble and said arm is sent into the buckle. We hit the armbar and a DDT to the arm gives Katie two. Mickie comes out of the corner with a hurricanrana though and some clotheslines get two. Katie grabs a Fujiwara armbar but Mickie fights out again. Another suplex is blocked and a MickieDT retains the title.

Rating: C-. This could have been on any given Raw and it still would have been just as uninteresting. There is only so much to be gotten out of a match with a not so interesting challenger and such a basic story. It’s far from terrible, but they shouldn’t have even bothered if this was all they were allowed to do.

We recap Edge vs. Batista for the Smackdown World Title. Edge won the title at One Night Stand and Batista wants it. Violence has ensued.

Smackdown World Title: Edge vs. Batista

Batista is challenging and wastes no time in powering Edge down. They head to the floor with Edge being sent into the barricade and shouldered down back inside. A Jackhammer gives Batista two and there’s a clothesline back to the floor as it’ all Batista so far. Batista throws him back in but Edge manages a posting for a much needed breather.

Edge Chokes on the ropes and drops an elbow on the apron but Batista slugs his way out of trouble. A swinging neckbreaker puts his right back in trouble though and Edge grabs the chinlock. Back up and Batista gets sent face first into the buckle, followed by a neckbreaker (non-swinging edition). That means we can hit the chinlock again but Batista is back up faster this time.

Edge gets taken down by a hard clothesline and we get a double breather. The spear gives Batista two and a powerslam puts him down again. Edge is right back with a much needed Edgecution but Batista knees the spear away. Batista goes up, only to get dropkicked out of the air to leave them down again.

Cue the Edgeheads with Vickie Guerrero as Batista hits the spinebuster, meaning Vickie has to make the save. Edge decks the referee so Vickie calls out another referee…and gets Chavo Guerrero (with Bam Neely). Batista grabs Vickie and throws her over the top and onto the pile, but Edge gets in a belt shot. Chavo counts the (actually not fast) pin to retain the title.

Rating: B-. The match was good for the most part, but then the ending was about as lame and uninspired of a choice as they could have had. It was just another La Familia run in ending, with the really slow count from the referee being the only thing missing. Granted almost none of this matters as Batista is on his way to Raw anyway, but I was hoping for more.

Batista gets the big emotional sendoff, which loses some of its impact when you keep in mind that he’ll be back tomorrow night.

HHH is ready to right the wrong of two years ago.

We recap HHH vs. John Cena for the former’s Raw World Title. This is billed as the biggest match Raw can have and goes back to HHH losing to Cena in the main event of Wrestlemania XXII. The build has gone well and it really does feel like a top level match.

Raw World Title: HHH vs. John Cena

Cena is challenging. HHH’s headlock doesn’t get him anywhere to start as Cena runs him over with a shoulder. A hiptoss works better for HHH so Cena grabs a headlock of his own. That works just as well so Cena hits another shoulder and the release fisherman’s suplex gets two. The flying shoulder misses though and Cena crashes out to the floor. Back in and Cena hits a suplex as the pace slows back down.

Cena fight back again and hits the ProtoBomb but the Shuffle is broken up. HHH hits the jumping knee but Cena is right back with the Throwback. Another Shuffle is cut off by another jumping knee but Cena sends him flying over the corner. HHH comes up holding his leg so Cena is right on it, including a wrap around the post. It’s too early for the STFU as HHH makes the ropes so HHH hits a desperation Pedigree for a delayed two.

Cena grabs an FU for the same and they’re both down. Back up and they slug it out until Cena hits another ProtoBomb. The Shuffle is blocked again and HHH tries a Pedigree, only to be reversed into the STFU. HHH goes for the rope so Cena pulls him back, allowing HHH to counter into a Crossface. Cena manages to stand but the FU is countered into the Pedigree for the pin.

Rating: B. This was a strange match as it sent over twenty minutes and definitely felt like a major fight, but it felt like they were only getting started when HHH got the pin. For once this could have gone for another five to ten minutes to really get going. The HHH leg stuff could have been something but it wasn’t really given time to develop. It’s not something that is said very often, but HHH needed more time for a change.

Replays and posing take us out.

Overall Rating: B-. It’s a good show but nothing you really need to go out of your way to see. The main event is the best thing on the show and even then it’s not a match you really need to see. They had an easy theme here with all of the title matches but even then, only the Tag Team Titles and the Intercontinental Title changes felt like moments, and even they were on the lower end of things. Overall, it’s certainly not a bad show, but they hyped it up as this major event and it just wasn’t.

 

 

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Monday Night Raw
Date: June 23, 2008
Location: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 15,183
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Mick Foley, Mike Adamle, Tazz

It’s a big night as we have three things going on at once. We have a three hour show with the major focus being the annual Draft, with the focal point being that EVERYONE is available to be drafted. Other than that, Million Dollar Mania is still going so expect a lot of Vince McMahon. Finally, it’s also the last Raw before Night Of Champions. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Commentary welcomes us to the show and hype up the idea of everyone being switched around.

HHH (Raw) vs. Mark Henry (Smackdown)

Non-title and it seems that the winning brand gets a Draft pick. Henry yells a lot and HHH looks nervous, with Henry running him over to make it worse. The headbutts rock HHH some more and Henry runs him over for an early two. A Vader Bomb gets two more and Henry grabs the neck crank. HHH finally slips out and tries some running forearms to stagger Henry. The facebuster sets up more right hands and the jumping knee finally puts Henry down. The Pedigree is countered into the World’s Strongest Slam for two but Henry misses the splash. That’s enough for the Pedigree to give HHH the pin.

Rating: C. There was only so much that HHH could do here and he made it work as well as possible. Henry is a big monster and the Pedigree was only going to look so good, but HHH trying to knock him down was a nice sequence. For a quick match, they did about as well as they could have, with Henry being a fine monster.

Drafted to Raw: Rey Mysterio.

Here is Vince McMahon to announce that tonight, five people will win $100,000 and one will win $500,000. Vince brings out Kelly Kelly to help him and they call a woman….who Vince says gives the wrong password. Kelly says it’s right though and gives us a celebratory dance.

HHH welcomes Rey Mysterio to Raw when John Cena comes in. Rey leaves so HHH can say he’s not losing to Cena again at Night Of Champions. HHH says nothing Cena has done matters until Cena beats him for the title.

Finlay/Hornswoggle (Smackdown) vs. Carlito/Santino Marella (Raw)

For a draft pick. Santino wants Hornswoggle to start and gets Stunned for his efforts. Finlay comes in and ties Santino up in the ring skirt for the beating. A Carlito cheap shot puts Finlay down though and the villains take over. Santino gets caught with the shillelagh and it’s the Celtic Cross into the Tadpole Splash for the pin.

Drafted to Smackdown: Jeff Hardy.

Hardy comes out to pose and we see the still injured Randy Orton watching backstage.

Vince McMahon brings out Randy Orton to help give away more money. First though, Orton warns HHH and John Cena that he’s coming back for the WWE Title. Actually that’s it for Orton, who isn’t in the mood to help give away money. Vince is in the mood to do that, but he’ll also give us a great main event tonight: Cena vs. Edge.

Hardcore Holly/Cody Rhodes (Raw) vs. Chavo Guerrero/Bam Neely (ECW)

For a draft pick and Ted DiBiase Jr. is on commentary to promote his dad’s book. Neely jumps Cody to start and the stomping is on in the corner. Chavo comes in but Cody escapes a belly to back suplex and hands it off to Holly as the crowd is almost eerily silent. Holly hits the hanging kick to the ribs but the Alabama Slam is broken up. Chavo headscissors Cody to the floor, only to walk into the Alabama Slam for the fast pin.

Drafted to Raw: CM Punk. It’s about time.

Here is Chris Jericho for a chat. Jericho is used to fans throwing trash at him, but he’s just waiting for Shawn Michaels to turn on the fans like he does with everyone else. We see a highlight package of Shawn turning on people over the years, including Marty Jannetty, Diesel, Hulk Hogan and John Cena.

Then we move into Shawn faking his knee injury, which has Jericho talking about all of Shawn’s lies. Jericho hates lies more than anyone else, save for maybe one person: the man who helped Jericho against HHH last week, Lance Cade. We see Cade on the Titantron, where he talks about how he was trained by Shawn Michaels and wasn’t going to give Shawn the chance to turn on him.

Jericho never lied to him, but now Jericho needs a person to face for the Intercontinental Title at Night Of Champions. It would have been Shawn, but we see Jericho massacring him. Cue Shawn, with his eye taped up, to go after Jericho. Shawn slugs away, until Jericho sends him eye first into the announcers’ table to cut him off immediately. That match is going to have some crazy heat.

We recap the Draft picks to date.

John Morrison/Miz (ECW) vs. Curt Hawkins/Zack Ryder (Smackdown)

Vickie Guerrero introduces Hawkins and Ryder, but recent developments have made her change her mind. Here’s the new match:

John Morrison/Miz (ECW) vs. Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy (Smackdown)

Non-title but for a Draft pick. Matt and Miz start things off as Cole talks about how great this was from Vickie Guerrero. Matt’s wristlock and headlock don’t get very far as Miz takes him into the corner for the left hands. That’s broken up as well so Matt hits a clothesline and hands it off to Jeff for Poetry In Motion. The slingshot dropkick hits Miz in the corner but Morrison gets in a cheap shot to take over.

Morrison grabs a chinlock and then it’s off to Miz for, uh, another chinlock actually. Jeff fights up but Miz runs him over again for two. A legdrop gives Miz two more and we hit a crossface chickenwing. Jeff fights up and nails a quick Whisper In The Wind to put them both down. The diving tag brings in Matt to clean house, including the Side Effect for two on Morrison. The middle rope legdrop connects but Morrison is right back up with a rollup (and tights) for the pin.

Rating: C. This felt like it was supposed to be a low level dream match but it was pretty dull for the most part. There were some good moments with Matt’s comeback working well, but you’re only going to be able to get so far with an eight minute match and a pretty abrupt ending. At least ECW got something though.

Drafted to ECW: Matt Hardy (with the US Title).

Vince McMahon recaps Million Dollar Mania and brings out Ric Flair to help him give away $100,000. Flair calls and the fan wins the money, plus a bonus WOO!

We look at Mickie James participating in the Dreams Take Flight charity event.

Mickie James/Melina (Raw) vs. Natalya Neidhart/Victoria (Smackdown)

For a Draft pick, but only announcers/interviewers are eligible. Natalya grabs a front facelock on Melina to start before a powerslam gets two. Victoria comes in and drives Melina into the corner but Melina rolls her up for two more. Back up and Victoria sends her off the top for a crash to the floor, where Melina looks banged up. Mickie goes over to check on her but the brawl is on for the double DQ.

Drafted to Smackdown: Jim Ross. To say he does not look happy with this would be an understatement.

Drafted to Monday Night Raw: Michael Cole.

Post break we see Melina being taken out of the arena as she seems to have suffered a rather bad leg injury.

Vince McMahon brings out Great Khali to plug his new movie Get Smart, which also features Dwayne Johnson. Khali calls someone who says “wrong number” and hangs up. Someone else answers, tells Vince to hang on and brings on someone else to give the password (Khali looks mad and yells a lot) but the guy wins (and sounds bored).

John Cena (Raw) vs. Edge (Smackdown)

Non-title but for a Draft pick. Jim Ross isn’t sure why he’s calling a match involving a Raw competitor (oh yeah this isn’t going well) as they fight over a lockup to start. Cena sends him into the corner but misses a running bulldog, allowing Edge to score with a big boot. Edge slugs away as Foley is handling most of the commentary. A hard clothesline drops Cena again as JR talks about how he didn’t expect to leave Raw tonight but that’s how the cards were dealt.

Cena comes back with a shot of his own for two but it’s a double clothesline to put them both down. It’s Cena up first to start the comeback until Edge escapes the FU into the Edgecution for two. The spear is countered into the STFU, sending Edge over to the ropes rather quickly. Edge goes up top but has to escape a super FU, allowing him to knock Cena outside. Cena catches him diving off the apron though and decks Edge, who takes the countout.

Rating: C+. These two always have good chemistry together and anything they do is at least worth a look. At the same time, the result was one of the only options they had, as you don’t want either of them losing heading into a World Title match on Sunday. They didn’t have much time here, but what they did was pretty nice while it lasted.

Post match Batista throws Edge inside for a beating.

Drafted to Raw: Batista. Well that’s convenient timing.

Post break Edge and Vickie Guerrero are glad with their win because Batista is out of their hair. Vince McMahon comes in to say the title match is still on for Night Of Champions. This might have had a bigger impact if Michael Cole hadn’t said the same thing before the break. Vince suggests Vickie and Edge could be split up and panic ensues.

MVP (Smackdown) vs. Tommy Dreamer (ECW)

For a Draft pick.  Colin Delaney is here with Dreamer, who gets punched in the ribs and kicked in the head to start. They trade right hands as commentary seems way off here, with Mick Foley joining in and talking about a Playboy Playmate. Tazz: “You know there is a match going on.” MVP misses a charge in the corner and gets hit with a bulldog. Not that it matters as MVP hits a running boot in the corner for the pin.

Drafted to Smackdown: Umaga. Cue Umaga to beat up Dreamer and Delaney.

Draft recap.

John Bradshaw Layfield (Raw) vs. Kofi Kingston (ECW)

For a Draft pick. JBL grabs a headlock to start but Kofi is back up with the jumping back elbow. With the jumping getting on JBL’s nerves, he kicks Kofi in the face to take over. Something close to a cobra clutch keeps Kofi in trouble and the clubbing forearms to the back make it even worse. The bearhug goes on but Kofi sends him into the corner to escape. A dropkick looks to set up the Boom Drop but the Clothesline From JBL finishes Kofi.

Rating: C+. This took some time to get going but there was something good about having Kofi using his weird style and JBL just hitting him in the face over and over. Kofi is still someone who is on his way up and needs to be in there against bigger competition. Fun little match here, and Kofi feels like he is on the way up.

Drafted to Raw: ECW Champion Kane.

Vince McMahon gives away more money…..and the fan happens to be here in the arena.

Night Of Champions rundown.

Battle Royal

Raw: CM Punk, HHH, Kane, John Cena, Batista

ECW: Matt Hardy, John Morrison, Miz, Chavo Guerrero, Shelton Benjamin

Smackdown: Big Show, Edge, Jeff Hardy, Great Khali, MVP

For two Draft picks and that’s one heck of a lineup. We’re joined in progress after a break and a bunch of people get together to toss Khali. Everyone looks at Show who tells them to bring it and then knocks a bunch of them down. Miz can’t get rid of Edge but Batista can get rid of Miz and Morrison at the same time.

Show and MVP send Punk over the top but not out as this is not the most thrilling stuff despite the names involved. Edge fires off some spears and we take a break. Back with Punk having been eliminated and HHH hitting a facebuster on Show. Matt gets the same thing and Jeff enziguris Chavo out. That leaves Matt as the sole ECW star as Benjamin seems to have been tossed during the break as well.

There goes MVP and we get the Hardys showdown. Jeff gets the better of things and kicks Matt out to officially finish off ECW. Edge and Batista both try spears and they’re both down in a heap. Jeff misses Whisper In The Wind and HHH knocks him out and it’s HHH, Cena, Batista (very bloody), Kane, Show and Edge left.

Batista spears Edge but gets punched out by Show. Kane is knocked out as well and it’s two vs. two. Show manages to suplex Edge and Cena at the same time, leaving everyone down. HHH and Cena get back up and dump Show but Edge knocks Cena into HHH to get rid of him. Cena is so shocked that Edge is able to toss him for the win.

Rating: C. The ending got better, but there were some long stretches with pretty much nothing going on here. That isn’t the best way to draw up interest in the match but at least the star power was on display. I was expecting ECW to win to finally get a little something else, though that would imply WWE cares about ECW in any meaningful way.

Drafted to Smackdown: Mr. Kennedy and HHH (Raw World Champion).

We go up to Vince McMahon, who gives away $500,000…..and then the stage collapses. Vince is crushed under a part of the set and yells for Paul because he can’t feel his legs to end the show.

Raw
Rey Mysterio
CM Punk
Michael Cole
Kane
Batista

Smackdown
Jeff Hardy
Jim Ross
Umaga
Mr. Kennedy
HHH

ECW
Matt Hardy

Overall Rating: C+. As you might have guessed, this wasn’t the most traditional show, as they were trying to do a lot of things at once. Between the Draft and the money and hyping up Sunday’s show, this was a bit too all over the place. The Draft was the big focus and some of the moves should shake things up a bit, though ECW is gutted even more than before. Above all else though, I feel sorry for Jim Ross, who gets treated badly again, because Vince McMahon enjoys it or something.

 

 

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Monday Night Raw
Date: June 16, 2008
Location: E-Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
Attendance: 11,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s night two of Million Dollar Mania, which is likely going to mean a lot of sitting around while Vince McMahon talks on the phone. Other than that, we’re on the way towards Night Of Champions and things are heating up between John Cena and HHH. We’re also a week away from the Draft and that means things are going to be shaken up soon. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is John Cena to get things going. Cena talks about how much he loves WWE and how there are moments that transcend time. Moments like Hulk Hogan slamming Andre the Giant, Shawn Michaels’ boyhood dream coming true, and the first time Steve Austin beat someone up. We are (less than) two weeks away from another one of those moments, when he defeats HHH at Night Of Champions to become WWE Champion.

Cue HHH to say this isn’t personal but he’s not sure how much he believes that. Last week, Cena cost HHH a match with Jeff Hardy. If that happens again, this is going to get really personal really fast. Cena brings up HHH knocking him off the announcers’ table last week but HHH knew he would fall off on his own anyway. We hear about HHH tapping at Wrestlemania, with HHH pointing out that IT WAS TWO YEARS AGO.

Cena says HHH may be champion, but until he beats Cena, it doesn’t matter. HHH mocks Cena for being a favorite of younger fans and THAT is enough to make Cena want to fight. A referee comes in but here is Vince McMahon to says not so fast, because this is about giving away money. As for the people in the ring, Cena is in a match right now.

John Cena vs. Umaga

Street fight. Cena tries a sunset lip of all things before going for the slam, with Umaga falling down on him instead. Umaga knocks him hard off the apron and we take a break. Back with Cena charging into a Samoan drop on the ramp but the running hip attack only hits post. Cena hits him with the microphone (there had to be better options) but Umaga plants him with the spinning Rock Bottom for two.

Umaga grabs a chair but Cena takes it away and puts him down instead. The Throwback and top rope Fameasser connect, only to have Cena fall down when trying the FU. A whip into the steps keeps Cena down so Umaga brings the steps inside, only to have Cena reverse into the FU for the pin.

Rating: C+. These two had some great chemistry together at one point and it was still there to a certain extent, but Umaga has fallen a very long way since the old days. Cena got a little something out of a win over the monster though and that was the point. I’m sure HHH will have a match of his own later on as it’s a good way to make both he and Cena look like stars.

Vince McMahon calls a fan and makes him bark like a dog, which is good for $125,000.

And now, a bikini contest between Maria, Eve Torres, Jillian Hall, Lena Yada, Layla, Melina and Maryse, with Charlie Haas of all people hosting. They all disrobe (well not Jillian, who would rather sing), get fifteen seconds each, and Maria wins.

Vince, money, $100,000, though the fan from North Carolina says Ric Flair is the most handsome man ever from the state. Vince lets him have the money anyway.

We look back at Chris Jericho injuring Shawn Michaels’ eye.

Jim Duggan comes out (both he and the 2×4 are in tuxedos) to help Vince McMahon give away $50,000 but the call goes to voicemail. Vince mocks the fan for blowing it so another fan wins instead.

Jeff Hardy vs. Carlito

Jeff starts fast by sending him outside for the slingshot dive. Back in and Carlito catches him in the ropes for the hanging swinging suplex. We hit the chinlock with a knee in Hardy’s back but it’s broken up rather quickly. Jeff misses a dropkick to give Carlito two but he’s right back with a jawbreaker to send Carlito flying. The Whisper In The Wind gets two and there’s the sitout gordbuster. The Twist of Fate into the Swanton finishes Carlito off.

Rating: B-. Nice match here, though they didn’t have much time to get very far. The interesting thing here though is that Hardy seems ready to move up to the main event scene. Last week he beat HHH and this week he gets a nice win over Carlito. He’s too big to be in the Intercontinental Title scene, so there isn’t much left for him to go but move up the ladder again. That could be a big deal, and we should be on the way.

Vince, $175,000 this time, but the fan has to sing part of the National Anthem.

Here is Chris Jericho to explain attacking Shawn Michaels last week because everyone has been getting on him about it. We see a clip of the attack and then Jericho blames the fans for changing. It wasn’t his fault that any of this had to happen but the fans are blaming him anyway. That means the fans don’t deserve to be saved anymore and he doesn’t need want them to cheer him anyway. They must want Shawn to come out here right now but it’s not going to happen.

Cue Ric Flair to interrupt and get in Jericho’s face to tell him to shut up. No he can’t wrestle anymore, but they can go to the parking lot and have a fight right now. They start heading to the back but Jericho runs into HHH, who thinks Jericho has been doing enough. Ever since Jericho came back, HHH has been wanting to make Jericho his business and now he wants a fight. Jericho backs down though and we take a break. Back with Flair still wanting to fight but Vince McMahon comes in to have him escorted out. Instead, Vince makes HHH vs. Jericho for tonight.

Cody Rhodes/Hardcore Holly vs. Cryme Tyme

Non-title. Ted DiBiase comes out to offer a distraction….and Holly rolls JTG up for the pin in about ten seconds. Well at least they didn’t lose again.

Vince, $16 to a North Carolina fan in honor of the 16 time World Champion Ric Flair.

Paul Burchill/Katie Lea vs. Mr. Kennedy/Mickie James

This Kennedy vs. Burchill feud needs to wrap up already if they want Kennedy to be something. Kennedy starts fast with a backdrop and stomps away in the corner. Burchill isn’t having that and pulls him into a chinlock before grinding a forearm into Kennedy’s face. Back up and Kennedy hits a running boot in the corner but Katie tags herself in. The fight with Mickie is on with Mickie’s running basement dropkick getting two. The men brawl to the floor, leaving Mickie to miss the top rope Thesz press. Katie grabs a backbreaker for the fast pin.

Rating: C. Kennedy and Burchill didn’t do much here but this was about Katie getting another win over Mickie to set up a likely title match. It’s nice to see some fresh blood in the title picture and Katie has done well enough in her chances so far. I can’t imagine she wins the title, but so far so good.

Vince, $174,984 to a VERY excited fan.

Vince, $75,000.

Night Of Champions rundown.

John Cena wishes HHH luck.

Vince, $300,000. We’ll be doing this again next week.

HHH vs. Chris Jericho

Non-title. HHH knocks him down a few times to start as Jericho can’t get much going early on. A whip into the post bangs up Jericho’s shoulder and he falls out to the floor as we take a break. Back with Jericho choking on the ropes and then standing on HHH’s back to choke some more. Jericho misses a charge though and HHH slugs away, only to have the facebuster blocked. The Walls don’t work either and HHH hits a spinebuster. Jericho can’t get the Walls or the Lionsault and they fight out to the floor. Cue Lance Cade of all people to jump HHH for the DQ.

Rating: B-. Another nice match and that’s kind of the point here. I can go for not having a champion lose clean in a thrown together match and they covered that well here. Throw in Cade joining Jericho out of nowhere and things were certainly interesting. They covered a few things here and that’s nice to see for a main event.

Post match the beatdown is on but John Cena runs in for the save. HHH and Cena get in a fight but Jericho and Cade take them both out to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The action was good and they’re turning Night Of Champions into something big, but at the end of the day, the Vince money stuff is getting annoying fast. They’re trying to throw in some jokes here and there but there is only so much that can be done with someone getting a phone call, saying a password, and winning money. Next week is the Draft though and that should change things up more than enough.

 

 

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Monday Night Raw
Date: June 9, 2008
Location: Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
Attendance: 8,500
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

Both Night Of Champions and the Draft are looming, but this is about MONEY! Tonight is the official start of the new concept as Vince McMahon is going to be giving money to the fans. I’m sure this won’t dominate the conversation on commentary, even with John Cena challenging HHH at the pay per view is already set. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We open with Vince McMahon and it’s money time. Vince has $1 million in cash brought out and put in a case, as he explains how to win (register, answer the password he gives you, win money). The password is “WWE Universe” and we’ll have our first phone call, for $200,000, after our first match.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Paul Burchill

Katie Lea is here with Burchill, who is tossed outside in a hurry. Back in and Kennedy grabs a headlock as commentary talks about Kennedy’s rising popularity since he got rid of William Regal. Burchill belly to back suplexes Kennedy into the corner to escape and the chinlock goes on. That doesn’t last long as Kennedy is back up with a running boot to the head. The Mic Check finishes Burchill without much trouble.

Rating: C. Kennedy wins again and that is how you give someone a push. WWE is building him back up and winning a quick feud against Burchill should give him a nice step up. You can sense that WWE wants to do something big with Kennedy and he seems to be off to a nice restart.

Post match Katie comes in to slap Kennedy, allowing Burchill to hit the Twisted Sister (JR: “Holy Dee Snider!”

Here is Vince for the $200,000 giveaway and he even puts his glasses on to make the call. First up, Vince calls the wrong number, then he calls someone whose number plays music until the person answers the phone. The guy picks up but Vince hangs up on him, leaving JR and King a bit stunned. Vince: “You guys want to win $200,000 or not?” Vince calls the music guy again and this time he gets through, with the guy giving the password and winning the money. More later and hopefully with some more entertaining hijinks.

Mickie James vs. Beth Phoenix

Non-title. Mickie kicks her in the ribs to start but a DDT attempt is countered into a kind of side slam for two. A slingshot suplex gives Beth two more but Mickie headscissors her way out of a powerbomb. Mickie hits a running dropkick to the face for two before the top rope Thesz press finishes Beth in a hurry.

Post match Beth decks Mickie but Melina runs in to go after Beth, including a top rope faceplant.

It’s time to give away more money and the guy wins $75,000.

John Cena and HHH run into each other in the back and talk about what a big match they’ll have at Night Of Champions. It’s not personal, but rather about being the best. HHH says he’s the best right now, but Cena reminds him of their Wrestlemania match. They’ll see what happens at Night Of Champions.

Charlie Haas of all people is here to help give away more money. Vince McMahon tries to call a few times and can’t get anywhere, as he makes jokes about modern technology and a “crack staff”. A guy named Gabe brings Vince another number, with Haas getting to dial. Actually never mind as Vince dials and gets through to a woman who wins $50,000.

Hang on though, as Vince says he’ll make it $100,000 if Haas can kiss a Diva. Cue Maria and kissing ensues, but Vince says if Haas can kiss another Diva, the woman gets another $25,000. Cue Mae Young, who grabs Haas by the trunks and kisses him. Ron Simmons comes out for his catchphrase as Young has Haas begging for help. That was as weird of a segment as you could have hoped to see.

JBL thinks no one deserves money but John Cena deserves a beating.

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. John Cena

HHH is on commentary and a quick distraction lets JBL hammer away in the corner. JBL forearms him in the back but gets pulled down with the running bulldog. A swinging neckbreaker cuts Cena down for two but he gets up to stare JBL out to the floor. HHH and JBL have a standoff and we take a break.

Back with JBL kicking Cena in the face on the floor and dropping an elbow for a bonus. The cravate goes on back inside as we see Lawler on WWE.com for some reason. The sleeper goes on and Cena is in about as much trouble as you would expect for a sleeper to give John Cena. Another big boot cuts Cena down but he pops back up and initiates the finishing sequence. The AA is escaped though and the Clothesline From JBL gets a delayed two thanks to a foot on the rope. JBL loads up the announcers’ table, which takes long enough that Cena can grab a small package for the fast pin.

Rating: C. These two only have so much chemistry together and they don’t have great matches for two bigger stars. Granted it doesn’t help that Cena losing to JBL seems almost hard to fathom, especially with a big title match coming up. At least JBL got in some more offense here, but the whole rivalry being so one sided isn’t doing them any favors.

Post match Cena gets on the announcers’ table but HHH trips him down and leaves.

Vince McMahon comes out to give away more money, but first he talks to Lilian Garcia. He brings up her measurements and adds them up to 98, so let’s give away $98,000. A woman answers and wins.

Here is Chris Jericho for the Highlight Reel. His guest was a hero to Jericho as a child and during his career, so here is Shawn Michaels. Jericho talks about how Shawn is still banged up from the beating Batista gave him but brings up the “fake” knee injury. Shawn says the only person he lied to about the knee injury was Jericho himself, with Jericho talking about how he always get booed for telling the truth. Jericho wants to know how Shawn has become such a lying worm of a human being…and jumps him to start the fight. A low blow cuts Shawn off and Jericho says this is what Shawn wanted. Then he sends him face first into the Jeritron 5000 to bust Shawn’s eye open.

Post break, we see what we saw pre break.

Snitsky/Umaga vs. Cody Rhodes/Hardcore Holly

Non-title and my goodness how far Umaga has fallen. Cody dodges Snitsky to start before handing it off to Holly. That doesn’t go so well to start as Holly goes to the middle rope but Cody wanted a double suplex. The suplex works but Holly gets annoyed at Cody, allowing Snitsky to jump Holly and take over. Umaga comes in for a clothesline but Snitsky misses the big elbow for a crash. The double tag brings in Cody to slug away at Umaga but the dropkick only puts him on one knee. Umaga’s swinging release Rock Bottom is a swinging release faceplant this time and the Samoan Spike finishes Cody fast.

Rating: C-. Not much of a match here and it’s not exactly interesting to see Cody and Holly losing over and over. They only felt like a makeshift team in the first place but they’ve been champions for months now. That doesn’t make for a great story and now it seems we are on the way towards their inevitable demise. I’m sure Snitsky and Umaga will get a title shot out of this though yes?

Post match Ted DiBiase Jr. comes out to say the champs need to get their act together before they lose the titles at Night Of Champions.

WWE does work with Make-A-Wish. That’s always awesome, as the smiles on those kids’ faces are amazing.

Back in the arena and Vince McMahon cuts off Jillian Hall and Trevor Murdoch’s singing to give someone $2, the value of Hall’s singing. That’s so cruel it’s almost hilarious. Vince calls someone else and gives him $200,000, earning some swearing in happiness.

Cryme Tyme vs. Santino Marella/Carlito

Santino and JTG start things off with Santino grabbing a rollup for a fast two. JTG does it right back for the same and Santino is already looking annoyed. Shad comes in for a slam before Alabama Slamming JTG onto Santino for two. JTG gets knocked out of the air though and Marella puts on a camel clutch. That’s broken up and everything breaks down with Shad hitting an STO for the pin on Santino.

Rating: C. Hopefully that starts the end of Carlito and Marella’s run as a team as my goodness they’re about as lame of a team as you can get. Other than that, this was a nice win for Cryme Tyme, as they always seem ready to move on up to the title picture. Not enough time to do much here, but at least the right team won.

Post match Vince McMahon calls Cryme Tyme to the stage as he gives away $51,998. Lawler: “Did he say $51,998?” JR: “That’s right Jerome.” And the fan wins.

Jeff Hardy vs. HHH

Non-title and John Cena is on commentary. HHH runs him over with a shoulder to start but stops to stare at Cena, allowing Hardy to hammer away. More right hands look to set up the Twist of Fate but HHH powers him off and hits the spinebuster. The jumping knee gets two on Hardy and we hit the abdominal stretch (complete with a rope grab of course).

The facebuster connects as commentary talks about the value of a good right hand. Back up and Hardy misses the Whisper in the Wind, allowing HHH to clothesline him out to the floor. Hardy manages to drop him ribs first onto the barricade but HHH hiptosses Hardy into Cena for the crash. That’s enough for Cena to pull HHH off the apron….and Hardy wins by countout. Ok then.

Rating: C+. They got to do a bit here but it was only about nine minutes long and with that screwy finish. Cena vs. HHH does feel like a huge match but I would imagine it headlining Summerslam rather than Night Of Champions. At the same time, Hardy is getting a nice push here as well, which could bode well for his future.

Post match Cena and HHH stare each other down on the floor before Hardy dives onto both of them.

Vince McMahon comes out and thanks everyone for making Million Dollar Mania work. Then he gives a fan $250,000 to end the show with promises of another $1 million giveaway next week.

Overall Rating: C-. This show was mostly all about the money and it’s not exactly an interesting thing to see. Other than Vince not being able to use a phone very well and some mishaps, it was a lot of “here’s a person winning money”. The rest of the show wasn’t very interesting either, though HHH vs. Cena does feel like a huge pay per view match. Other than that though, pretty weak stuff this time around.

 

 

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Monday Night Raw
Date: May 26, 2008
Location: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Attendance: 16,524
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the last Raw before One Night Stand and the end of last week’s show set up a pair of huge matches for the show. Now we are getting ready for JBL vs. John Cena in a first blood match and HHH vs. Randy Orton in a last man standing match for HHH’s Raw World Title. I’m sure we’ll get some more tonight so let’s get to it.

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

Memorial Day video.

Opening sequence.

Vince McMahon joins us on the Titantron to say William Regal got what he deserved last week, but are the fans getting what they deserve? They deserve appreciation, and tonight they will receive it like never before. He’s open to suggestions, including from the wrestlers. By the end of the night, fans will receive appreciation like they have never seen.

Here are HHH and Randy Orton for a face to face standoff. Orton is asked about how he beat HHH in a last man standing match before, but it was HHH’s third match of the night and Orton’s second. Orton is sick of having his accomplishments downplayed, because what matters is that he beat HHH in this very match.

HHH says the fans are laughing at Orton because he’s a censored. He isn’t laughing though, because Orton has a tendency to find a cheap way out. If Orton wants to be the best, he has to face the best over and over. Orton says HHH doesn’t thrive on competition because he either brings in his threats or just flat out eliminates him.

Like Shawn Michaels or Evolution, because HHH knows he needed to fear them. HHH says Evolution was about making Orton realize his potential but he isn’t just going to walk away. Orton promises to win and goes to leave, but HHH promises to end the Age Of Orton like it never happened. There wasn’t much left to be said about this feud so this was nothing we haven’t heard before.

Melina vs. Jillian Hall

Beth Phoenix is on commentary. Jillian jumps her to start and hits a flipping faceplant before hitting some kicks to the back. Melina fights back and elbows her in the face, setting up an Indian Deathlock for the fast tap.

Chris Jericho comes in to see Vince McMahon with an idea to appreciate the fans: a match with Shawn Michaels tonight. Deal, and we’ll make it non-title. Cryme Tyme comes in and steal some of Williams Regal’s stuff to sell.

Paul London/Brian Kendrick vs. Cody Rhodes/Hardcore Holly

Non-title. Rhodes dropkicks London down to start but a double dropkick puts Rhodes down for two. Holly comes in to knock Kendrick down but Rhodes misses a middle rope crossbody. It’s off to London to dropkick and hurricanrana Holly as everything breaks down. London tries to skin the cat, only to get caught in the Alabama Slam for the pin.

Rating: C. Fast paced stuff here but they only had so much time to make it work. London and Kendrick are still an entertaining team but for some reason WWE insists on sticking with Rhodes and Holly as champions. The tag division barely exists, though you would think WWE might want to go with the better of the two teams here.

Post match here is Ted DiBiase of all people. He has a special moment for us, in the form of the newest member of the Raw roster: his son Ted DiBiase! Ted Jr. says he has always wanted to become a champion and that is what he is going to do in his debut match. So Holly and Rhodes need to pay attention, because everybody has a price, but he is priceless. That’s a great line.

Roddy Piper is training Jimmy Kimmel’s Cousin Sal for his match against Santino Marella. Kimmel comes in to watch the training and isn’t sure if this is going well as Piper beats up Sal. Oddly enough this is included on Peacock, along with a recap of last week’s segment, which wasn’t on Peacock.

Mickie James suggests a contest to Vince McMahon where schools get to say why they love WWE and the winner gets a Diva For A Day. JBL comes in to say that sounds like an escort service (working for strangers you see) and suggests the ring mat, covered in John Cena’s blood on Sunday, be cut up and sold.

Some soldiers wish us Happy Memorial Day.

John Bradshaw Layfield/Umaga vs. John Cena/Jeff Hardy

Cena and JBL start things off but let’s go with Umaga instead. The FU attempt doesn’t work but Umaga misses a charge in the corner so Cena can slug away. The swinging release Rock Bottom cuts Cena off though and we take a break. Back with JBL hammering Hardy into the corner and whipping him into another one.

The abdominal stretch goes on but Hardy slips out and hits a Whisper In The Wind. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Cena and house is cleaned in a hurry. Umaga knocks Cena into Hardy for the tag but the Swanton misses. With Cena and Umaga on the floor, the Clothesline From JBL finishes Hardy off.

Rating: C+. The ending came a bit out of nowhere but it was a good enough match to get the people involved out there. Umaga vs. Hardy has been a bit forgotten amid the two main event level matches at One Night Stand so giving them a bit of exposure was a good idea. Then again JBL vs. Cena isn’t exactly thrilling and it’s more interesting to go in another direction, even for one match.

Shawn Michaels comes to see Vince McMahon and doesn’t buy Vince wanting to appreciate the audience. Vince says Shawn will have to give the devil his due. Shawn: “You would know about that wouldn’t you?”

Video on the recent tour of Mexico.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Carlito

Carlito takes him down fast and grabs a quickly broken chinlock. The Backstabber is loaded up but Kennedy reverses into the Mic Check for the fast win.

Post match Katie Lea Burchill comes out to say some people aren’t happy with Kennedy getting rid of William Regal. Paul Burchill pops up from behind and lays Kennedy out.

Trevor Murdoch tries to sing a country version of No Chance but Vince McMahon sends him away.

One Night Stand rundown.

Video on Randy Orton vs. HHH.

More troops say hi.

Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho

Non-title. They go to the mat a few times to start and that’s good for a standoff. Shawn sends him crashing out to the floor and we take a break. Back with Shawn fighting out of a chinlock but Jericho takes him into the corner for some stomping. Jericho’s bulldog is blocked with a shove into the corner and there’s the nipup.

The superkick is countered into a Walls attempt, which is countered into a small package for two. The second Walls attempt works far better but Shawn makes the ropes. That doesn’t work for Jericho, who takes him tot he floor and grabs the Walls again for the double countout.

Rating: B-. Jericho vs. Shawn is going to work almost every time but Jericho is teetering on the brink of a heel turn. I’m curious to see how they get to what should be Jericho as quite the villain, as they could go a few different ways to get there. I’m not sure how much we’ll get out of the Shawn vs. Batista match to get there, but they have an interesting story on the way there.

Post match Jericho grabs a chair but puts it down.

Here is Vince McMahon for the big announcement despite there not being much time left. Vince walks through the roster on the stage before talking about how everyone together. Let’s do that in four weeks with the WWE Draft. Until then, for the next four weeks, Vince is going to give away MONEY. What if he gave away a thousand dollars? Ten thousand dollars? Or even A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS? Heck he’s a billionaire, so over the next week, he’s going to give away the sum of ONE MILLION DOLLARS. End of show.

Overall Rating: C+. They did a nice job of covering just about everything on this side of the One Night Stand card and that is the right idea. Other than that, the money thing at the end was more than a bit different, but at least they’re trying to set something up for after the pay per view. WWE certainly needs something fresh at the moment as they continue to milk another pay per view out of feuds they’ve been running for a long time. Not a bad show, but the build to Summerslam needs to start fast.

 

 

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Monday Night Raw
Date: May 12, 2008
Location: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the go home Raw for Judgment Day and the title match is set. Unfortunately it hasn’t been the most well built match in the world, as it’s HHH vs. Randy Orton in a cage, which is only so interesting. Other than that, John vs. JBL and Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho are going to beef up the card well enough, with the final push coming tonight. Oh and General Manage William Regal is insane. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of HHH and Mr. Kennedy losing to ECW last week, followed by Randy Orton taking HHH out.

Lilian Garcia is in the ring with William Regal, who has her sing God Save The Queen. Regal reminds the fans that he can have everyone thrown out and goes to the floor, where he has two fans ejected. Mickie James comes out to beg Regal to rethink what he did (possibly saying it was her brother and his girlfriend), so Regal threatens to strip her of the Women’s Title.

Cue John Cena to interrupt, with James leaving rather quickly. Cena tries to get Regal to calm down, but Regal says Vince McMahon put him in this spot. Cena: “Vince McMahon is insane.” We hear some emails from fans, complaining about Regal’s recent actions. Cena: “This is WCW Thunder bad.” One fan wants to start a FIRE REGAL chant (yes he included the claps) so there go the live fans.

Regal promises to not cut the lights off tonight and knows that Cena wants revenge on Randy Orton, so they can be in the main event. Cena wants to know when JBL will interfere, but Regal bans interference (how this is different than any other match isn’t clear). Regal hopes he has gotten some respect from Cena, but Cena says that was just making a good match. Also, Regal needs to learn that this is the United States of America, so he has Garcia sing Respect. Garcia sings the heck out of it but doesn’t get much of a reaction until the ending.

Tag Team Titles: Hardcore Holly/Cody Rhodes vs. Santino Marella/Carlito

Holly and Rhodes are defending and Roddy Piper is sitting at ringside. Holly runs Santino over to start and hangs him over the ropes for the kick to the questionable area (Piper approves). It’s off to Carlito for a cheap shot to take over and Santino gets to drop some elbows. A suplex gets Holly out of trouble though and it’s Cody coming in to hammer away. Cody hits a crossbody and powerslam but Santino pops back up. Piper offers a distraction though and it’s a DDT to retain the titles. Short and to the point here, now PLEASE FIND SOME NEW CHALLENGERS.

We look back at Shawn Michaels hurting his knee at Backlash, with commentary not sure if he is telling the truth or not.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Snitsky

Snitsky powers him into the corner to start and then does it again for a bonus. An elbow gives Snitsky two and we’re already in a bearhug. Kennedy slugs his way to freedom but gets shouldered right back down. Back up and Kennedy gets smart by starting in on the leg, with a chop block getting two. Kennedy has to slip out of a pumphandle and its’ the Mic Check for the pin.

Rating: C. It’s almost weird to see Kennedy getting a win like this but it did give him a bit of momentum on his way to…whatever it is he has going on at the moment. Kennedy is someone who could be a star if he actually gets a maintained push and beating Snitsky is a tiny start. Snitsky continues to play his role perfectly: a giant with some power who can look intimidating and lose almost every time without much trouble.

Santino Marella is mad about Roddy Piper costing him a title because this isn’t the 80s anymore. Vengeance is sworn.

Mickie James thanks John Cena for the save earlier….and invites him out for drinks with her brother and his girlfriend. Cena mocks being too serious to do that and says he’d love to go, but it could be a wild night. Mickie can go for wild and things get a bit awkward but they’re cool.

Melina/Beth Phoenix vs. Maria/Mickie James

Mickie kicks Melina up to the ropes to start but Melina reverses, only to knock off the apron by mistake. Mickie gets taken into the corner…as Beth walks out. A neckbreaker gives Mickie the fast pin.

Here is Chris Jericho for a chat. Jericho shows us the clip of Shawn Michaels injuring his knee at Backlash and talks about a fan poll with 72% of the fans giving Shawn the benefit of the doubt. He doesn’t buy it though and we see Shawn throwing a superkick in their tag match last week. That superkick made him change his mind and now he’s willing to call off their match at Judgment Day.

Cue Shawn to make a confession: yeah he faked the knee injury. Jericho doesn’t buy it because he isn’t falling for these mind games. Shawn tries to say it’s true but Jericho doesn’t believe him…..so there’s a superkick. Shawn: “Trust me when I tell you: I’m not hurt.” He flips out of the ring and walks off just fine. So there’s a twist.

We get a surprise as Jeff Hardy returns from a suspension. He didn’t want to go but he made a mistake and had to pay for it. Hardy wants the Intercontinental Title back but gets cut off by William Regal. No one wants to hear from Hardy, who deserves punishment. Like a match with this man.

Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga

Umaga runs him over to start and hits the middle rope headbutt. The hip attack misses in the corner though and Hardy hits the Twist of Fate for the pin out of nowhere.

Video on John Cena vs. JBL.

Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch vs. Cryme Tyme

Murdoch runs JTG into the corner to start but JTG does the same to him, allowing the tag off to Shad. Some hard shots allow JTG to get two off a sunset flip but Cade comes in to kick JTG in the face. Murdoch comes back in and sits down on another sunset flip attempt to pin JTG in another fast match.

Post match Cade is happy with the victory and thinks Murdoch’s singing made it work. Murdoch gets to sing the victory song, which is The Gambler by Kenny Rogers. Then Cade punches him in the face and walks off.

Smackdown Rebound.

Melina asks Beth Phoenix what was up with walking out on her earlier. Beth blames Melina for the title loss last week….and then slams her into a locker over and over to leave Melina laying.

Judgment Day rundown.

Randy Orton talks about how he beat John Cena and HHH at Wrestlemania so he’ll do it again tonight and at Judgment Day.

Randy Orton vs. John Cena

Orton goes with a headlock to start but Cena is right back out with some right hands. The release fisherman’s suplex gives Cena two but Orton’s backbreaker gets the same. Orton’s stomp to the head is blocked though and Cena shoves him to the floor as we take a break. Back with Orton losing control of a chinlock but snapping off a powerslam for two.

The chinlock goes back on but Cena fights up again. The RKO is blocked though and the top rope Fameasser connects. Hold on though as here are William Regal….and JBL, who is now guest referee because Mike Chioda is incompetent. Cena knocks JBL off the apron and tries the AA on Orton. JBL is back in with a big boot and a very fast count gives Orton the pin.

Rating: C+. Just like the main event of last week’s Smackdown, you could probably count down the time until the evil boss did something evil. You knew Regal wasn’t going to let Cena have a clean match with Orton here and it was all about how JBL was going to interfere. Cena and Orton work well enough together and they didn’t have time to overstay their welcomes here.

Post match the big brawl is on with HHH coming in. The double brawls are on, with the John’s fighting into the crowd. The cage (hey there’s a cage) is lowered and HHH knocks Orton to the floor, leaving Orton panicking to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was one of those odd shows where pretty much everything was set up for the pay per view so this was all about keeping things settled. Other than Shawn admitting he was faking the injury, there wasn’t a ton of new stuff on here. Well save for Cena and James possibly becoming a thing, which is probably going to be something for later anyway. Not an awful show, but not one you need to see either.

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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