Monday Night Raw
Date: June 4, 2007
Location: St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida
Attendance: 10,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re done with One Night Stand and on the way to the Draft, followed by Vengeance. That could make for an interesting few weeks, but I don’t think it’s going to make for a great time this week. This very well could be a lame duck show, which is not something WWE tends to do well. Let’s get to it.

Here is One Night Stand if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here’s John Cena to get things going. Cena listens to the mixed reaction and says this is what he loves about WWE. He thanks everyone who came to the show tonight, from the fat guy booing up there to the hot chick in the top two sizes too small (Cena: “THANK YOU FOR COMING TONIGHT!”). Cena thinks it’s a little bit louder this week though because after six weeks of getting beaten up, the 7’5 giant has been told FU.

It’s more of the same around here, because he thinks he’s in the clear and now they’re springing the Draft on him. He has been drafted before so this might be the last time he is in the ring as part of Raw. If that’s the case, then he’s going to take all of this in one more time and say THE CHAMP IS….being cut off by Vince McMahon, who is rather banged up.

Vince can barely stand up or talk but he thinks Cena is out here to embarrass him for no longer being a World Champion. That’s not going to happen because Vince isn’t going to bend, bow or break. His name is Vincent Kennedy….and Cena turns his back on him. Cena says he’s going to tell himself that Vince is just beat up and delusional. Vince tries to say his name again but Cena turns his back again, saying the only thing keeping Vince alive is his patience.

Cena tells Vince to get it out of his system because he is out of his frigging mind. Vince: “YOU’RE A LIAR!” He explains that he hasn’t lost a thing…except for a World Title. That’s what Cena is going to do tonight when he defends the title against Umaga and Great Khali. Cena looks crushed as Vince is nearly beaming. This was a weird segment as Vince went fully nuts almost overnight and Cena got fed up with him in a hurry. It feels like something that should have come after a few weeks, not a day after Vince lost the title.

Candice Michelle/Cryme Tyme vs. Johnny Nitro/Kenny Dykstra/Melina

Michelle is in full Cryme Tyme gear and Lawler isn’t sure what to think about this one. Dykstra is now carrying a mirror but Melina seems to get more use out of it. The women almost get in a fight before the bell but it’s JTG punching Dykstra in the face to start. Nitro gets in a shot so Dykstra can take over, allowing Nitro to flip JTG into the corner for two. The chinlock goes on for a bit but JTG fights up and brings in Shad to clean house. Everything breaks down and the G9 finishes Nitro.

Rating: D+. Pretty standard six person tag here, which seemed to be more about getting Candice in a different outfit. I’m glad to see Cryme Tyme getting another chance though as they definitely stand out and their push just stopped a few months ago. The division needs some fresh blood so maybe they can get another shot.

Maria likes the Intercontinental Title, because it’s shiny like her dress. Vince McMahon (still smiling weirdly) comes up and says he used to have one of those titles. Maria starts to say something but gets told to shut up. Santino says you can’t talk to a woman like that so Vince makes a title match right now. He throws in a slap to the face and tells Santino to “get” about ten times.

Intercontinental Title: Santino Marella vs. Chris Masters

Santino is defending and kicks at the leg to start. Masters grabs the rope to avoid a dropkick though and it’s time to talk about the Draft. A running leg shot to the back of the neck against the ropes vies Masters two and we hit the neck crank. That’s broken up and an STO gives Marella two. The Masterlock is blocked and Santino flips him over, setting up something close to an Oklahoma roll for the pin.

Rating: D+. These two have fought a few times now and I don’t know why there is no one else for Santino to face. The matches aren’t exactly good, but that is partially because every Masters match is about trying the Masterlock and nothing else. Nothing to see here, but at least they kept it short.

The Hardys are banged up when Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch come in to ask for a title shot, albeit when the Hardys are healthy. That’s cool with the Hardys, but Vince McMahon comes up, mocks them for being southern, and makes the title match for tonight. Cade and Murdoch don’t look happy with the news.

Vince keeps walking and runs into Ric Flair and Torrie Wilson. Torrie looks scared, so Vince says he can’t stand a degenerate hanging out with a woman half his age. For some reason, Torrie thinks it’s a good time to bring up the time Linda McMahon caught Vince with Torrie and his pants around his ankles. That earns Torrie a match with Carlito. Torrie leaves and Flair tells Vince to get over a single loss. Vince is sick of hearing the WOOing, but it makes Flair a legend, so he can face the Legend Killer Randy Orton. This was much more deranged crazy Vince and that’s a good thing.

Randy Orton vs. Ric Flair

Flair (in the weird black boots/red trunks combination) strikes away to start and unloads with right hands in the corner. Orton is back with a powerslam and loads up the RKO but we take a break. Back with Flair putting on the Figure Four but Orton makes the rope in a hurry. The backbreaker drops Flair and Orton gets in the circle stomp. Orton drops the knee but it bangs up his knee again so we hit the chinlock to let him rest it a bit. The comeback doesn’t last long as Flair walks into a dropkick.

We hit the chinlock again but this time Flair suplexes his way to freedom. Apparently Orton doesn’t like being suplexed so he punches Flair down in the corner, earning a poke to the eye. Orton hits a running corner clothesline to give us a Flair Flop but Flair is back up with an elbow to the face. A suplex drops Flair on the floor this time and JR quotes Foreigner to talk about how cold Orton is. Back in and Orton hits the Punt but Flair pulls himself up again…so the RKO can finish him off.

Rating: B-. If you want to get a villain over, there are few better choices that having him destroy Flair. Orton is feeling more and more like a predator every time he is in the ring as of late and adding another body to the list is going to make things even better. You can feel the huge match with Cena coming and they’re making Orton feel special on the way there.

Post match Orton loads up another Punk but the referee threatens him away.

Carlito vs. Torrie Wilson

Torrie has a bad leg so Carlito offers to let her walk away. Torrie tries and gets caught with the Backstabber for the pin in less than a minute. That’s all it needed to be.

Tag Team Titles: Hardys vs. Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch

The banged up Hardys are defending and we get a handshake to start. Matt and Cade go to the mat to start for an exchange of arm cranking. Cade elbows him in the face for two and it’s off to Murdoch to stay on the arm. Matt gets over for the tag to Jeff to pick up the pace, including Poetry In Motion with Cade having to make the save. Jeff dives over the top onto Murdoch but bangs up his knee in the process.

We take a break and come back with Cade slamming Matt down and dropping a knee to the back. The sitout spinebuster gives Cade two more and it’s Murdoch grabbing a waistlock. Somehow Matt twists that around and grabs a reverse DDT, allowing the tag off to Jeff, who can barely walk. Jeff cleans house anyway but gets caught going up top. Matt catches Cade with the Twist of Fate but Jeff misses the Swanton, allowing Cade to get the pin. Ignore Murdoch shoving Jeff’s foot off the rope.

Rating: C+. The ending leaves a door open for later if that’s where they want to go, but at least they finally changed the titles. There wasn’t much left for these guys to do and they have an out with the Hardys being injured. Cade and Murdoch getting another run with the belts is not a bad thing either, as the Hardys never felt like anything more than transitional champions.

Post match Matt asks if Cade saw the foot on the ropes….and the Hardys get laid out with belt shots to the face. As they should have.

Coach is in Vince McMahon’s office but Vince isn’t happy. Vince has an ominous feeling, but he also has an idea for next week. Coach seems to already know what that is and Vince tells him to go inform the people.

Post break here is Coach to say that next week will be the Draft, but also Vince McMahon Appreciation Night.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. Umaga vs. Great Khali

Cena is defending and charges right into a clothesline from Khali. Umaga heads outside to grab a chair as Khali chokes Cena in the corner and kicks him to the floor. A hard whip sends Cena into the steps but Umaga throws the steps at Khali’s face (DANG) for a knockdown. Back in and Umaga blasts Cena with a clothesline of his own but Cena avoids a sitdown splash.

Umaga knocks him down again and hits a springboard sitdown splash to the chest. Another only lands on raised knees but Umaga is fine enough to plant Cena again. Khali comes back in though and we get the battle of the monsters for quite the visual. I’m not sure what quite, but quite.

They slug it out until Khali hits something resembling a spinning kick to the face and then elbows Cena as he tries to come back in. There’s the legdrop for two on Cena and the big chop follows but Umaga breaks up the double arm chokeslam. Khali loads up the chokeslam on Umaga but gets Samoan Spiked. Cena manages to knock Umaga outside and hit the FU on Khali to retain out of nowhere.

Rating: C. They did what they could here but this was all about having Cena survive against impossible odds. That’s kind of what Cena does every time, though you don’t often see Khali have steps thrown at his face. That alone was good enough to catch your attention and the rest of the match went as well as it could have gone given the circumstances.

Cena poses to end the show, though commentary knows that Vince is going to be angry.

Overall Rating: C. I liked the show well enough, even with how fast Vince went nuts over losing the title. It seemed like a vanity deal for him and now he’s acting like it meant more than the World Title did to HHH five years ago. The good thing is that tied the show together and what we got worked out fairly well. The show takes awhile to get going but it took off a lot more by the end. Now forget about almost all of that, because it’s time for the Draft.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: May 28, 2007
Location: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Attendance: 16,176
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the start of a big week in WWE as we have the three regular TV shows, plus a special Saturday Night’s Main Event and One Night Stand this weekend. That makes this show week the go home show for Sunday, which doesn’t need a lot more set up but maybe they have something good planned. Let’s get to it.

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

It’s Memorial Day, so we get the tribute to the fallen soldiers, including Taps.

Opening sequence.

Battle Royal

Candice Michelle, Mickie James, Maria, Jillian Hall, Layla, Brooke, Kelly Kelly, Michelle McCool, Kristal, Melina

Non-title and it’s a Bikini Beach Blast battle royal, meaning they’re all in bikinis with water guns and pool toys. Melina gets attacked (with the water guns and pool toys) to start and then the water balloons are brought out. Kelly seems to have to adjust her top as the fans want puppies. Kristal is thrown out (through the ropes, because over the top is too much for this kind of match) and there goes Brooke as we slow down for various “weapon” shots. There goes Maria and it’s time to weakly hit each other with pool noodles. Layla is tossed as Lawler says he can’t stand up at the moment.

McCool pours a bucket of water over Kelly, who seems to like it, and then tosses her out. Melina and Jillian go after Mickie and hit her with a water gun for the elimination. Jillian dumps Candice and we’re down to Jillian, Melina and McCool. The villains put McCool on the mat and stretch her by the limbs but she gets back up and clotheslines them down (JR: “Now that’ll knock the barbecue sauce right off of you!”). McCool throws Jillian out and hits a dropkick, but since Melina can’t fall through the ropes, she drops down and rolls out to give McCool the win.

Rating: D. I get it, but my goodness this stuff is cringe. This match actually got about six minutes so Lawler could lose his mind about a thousand times, which got as annoying as you would imagine. There are obvious reasons to put this stuff on TV but egads it does not exactly hold up well.

Here is Shane McMahon to announce that this is the unofficial start of summer. That put some excitement in the air and that is the case in WWE as well. In two weeks, we will be having the first ever tri-branded WWE Draft, featuring Raw, Smackdown and ECW. Any superstar, champion, legend and even leprechaun can be drafted to any show.

Change is inevitable, save for the case of Vince McMahon. At One Night Stand, Vince is going to beat Bobby Lashley, so tonight Shane is going to do the same, as Lashley teams with John Cena against Shane, Umaga and the Great Khali. Tonight, Lashley is finding out what they call Shane the Money. Dancing ensues.

Hardys/Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch vs. World’s Greatest Tag Team/Johnny Nitro/Kenny Dykstra

Nitro and Cade start things off with Cade elbowing him in the face to take over early. It’s off to Matt to take Shelton into the corner so Jeff can come in for the first cover. A dropkick to the back of the seated Benjamin lets Matt come back in for the middle rope elbow as this is one sided so far. Haas comes in for a change and gets thrown into the corner for some elbows from Cade and Murdoch.

As JR suggests that the Hardys, as in the champions, are the real World’s Greatest Tag Team, Haas and Benjamin are sent outside for a huge dive from Murdoch to blow Lawler’s mind (Lawler: “IT WAS LIKE A FLYING COW!”). We take a break and come back with Jeff hitting the Whisper in the Wind to Dykstra but Benjamin gets in a kick to the head to take over. Dykstra hits a heck of a clothesline for two, setting up a backbreaker. Nitro adds a slingshot elbow and Matt has to come in for the save.

Benjamin kicks Jeff in the face for two and we hit the chinlock with a bodyscissors. It’s back to Haas for a belly to belly suplex and a chinlock as we hear that One Night Stand will be all extreme rules matches. Dykstra grabs his own chinlock and bites Jeff in the head for a bonus. That’s enough to get Jeff to jawbreak his way to freedom and the diving tag brings Matt back in. A double DDT (one regular, one reverse) plants Nitro and Dykstra as everything breaks down. The Twist of Fate into the Swanton finishes Dykstra as Lawler can’t believe Cade and Murdoch didn’t turn on the Hardys.

Rating: B-. This was one of those matches that helps move things forward while keeping things fresh. You have so many people in the match that you can have a few pairings you don’t usually get while also solidifying Cade and Murdoch’s face turn (or at least what feels like one for the time being). Good stuff here, which shouldn’t be a surprise given the talent involved.

Post match Benjamin says the Hardys didn’t pin he and Haas, so the challenge is on for One Night Stand. Matt says it’s on, and we’ll make it a ladder match, because of course they will.

Wrestlemania is coming to Orlando.

John Cena reiterates that he is not scared of the Great Khali and would say…..some weird noises to the Punjabi Frankenstein. That’s translated to Cena still not being afraid but he is neither deaf nor invincible. While he isn’t scared, he isn’t sure if he can do the impossible. Yes he made Khali tap, but there was doubt over whether he won or lost.

You can throw out the submissions at One Night Stand because Cena is going to have to put Great Khali on his shoulders and throw him down for the three seconds. Cena isn’t sure if he can do that but he takes great pride in silencing his critics. At One Night Stand, Cena can and he will. This was classic Cena, as he mocked Khali at first, then told the story of the match and brought the fired up promo.

Santino Marella is excited for the Draft and Maria laughs at his accent, which yes, is Italian. He asks if Maria is ok from the battle royal and they seem interested in each other. With Santino gone, Randy Orton pops up to talk about Rob Van Dam. It seems that Van Dam is not happy with Orton injuring Shawn Michaels, but that was one of the highlights of Orton’s career. He felt bad about injuring Shawn, but he won’t about hurting Van Dam.

Randy Orton vs. Rob Van Dam

They go with the grappling to start as Orton grabs a headlock and blocks a top wristlock attempt. An armdrag frustrates Orton and Van Dam uses his legs to grab a rollup for two. A monkey flip sends Orton flying and there’s a kick to the head. They head outside with Orton getting the better of a slugout, setting up the big dropkick off the top and into the barricade.

We take a break and come back with Orton working on the chinlock. Orton pulls him down by the hair to cut off a comeback attempt and it’s time for the circle stomp. Another chinlock is broken up again and Van Dam hits the springboard kick to the face for the double knockdown. Van Dam is up first and kicks him down again, setting up Rolling Thunder.

Orton’s poke to the eye just earns him a step over kick to the face but Van Dam is a little shaky as he goes up top. Van Dam kicks him off the apron but comes back in with the hanging DDT for two. The referee stops to check on Van Dam, who can’t get up to his feet and looks gone. The Punt connects and the referee calls the match as Van Dam is out of it.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of violent Orton that can make for some good stuff as he can be absolutely lethal when he is given the chance. Taking out Michaels and Van Dam in short succession is pretty impressive and should set him up for something else later. Having Van Dam’s facials make it seem like he had been hit in the head with a boulder made this even better.

Post match Orton hits the RKO to make it worse.

Ric Flair/Torrie Wilson vs. Carlito/Victoria

Leave it to Flair to wind up with Torrie out of the whole thing. Flair takes Carlito into the corner to start the chopping but it’s off to Victoria to slap Flair in the face. Lawler: “Lay it on her! She wants it!” Flair takes her down and tries the Figure Four, with Carlito having to make the save. It’s back to Carlito to stomp away at the head and leg, setting up the half crab. Victoria hits Carlito by mistake though and Torrie gets to come in and take over. An X Factor gets two with Carlito making the save. Carlito comes in, kisses Torrie, and hits the Backstabber for the pin (JR: “I KNOW IT’S LEGAL BUT I DON’T LIKE IT!”).

Rating: D+. This feud is running out of gas in a hurry as Carlito has yet to make me believe he is a real threat to Flair. They have fought each other a few times now and it has yet to be anything better than just ok. Both guys need to move on already, as Flair can find something better to do and Carlito can find a good haircut.

Shane McMahon has to break up an argument between Great Khali and Umaga. Shane: “Worst prom couple ever.” He tells them to take out John Cena and Bobby Lashley, but make sure he gets the pin.

One Night Stand/Saturday Night’s Main Event rundowns, edited off of Peacock due to Puddle of Mud.

It’s time for the Kiss Cam with Maria but Chris Masters interrupts. He wants Santino Marella to take the Masterlock Challenge. Masters threatens Maria so cue Marella for the brawl, which ends in the Masterlock. This has been a very Maria frequent show.

Shane McMahon/Umaga/Great Khali vs. John Cena/Bobby Lashley

Umaga sends Cena into the corner to start but misses a charge. Cena scores with the Throwback for a fast two but he gets thrown into the corner to start the hammering. There are the LET’S GO CENA/CENA SUCKS chants as Khali kicks Cena in the head. Shane comes in to stomp away and it’s Umaga getting in some right hands. The Samoan drop gives Umaga a delayed two and Khali drops a leg.

Now Shane is willing to stick around for the bodyscissors and shots to the back of Cena’s head to make things worse. That’s broken up with the ProtoBomb and it’s Lashley coming in to pick up the pace. Lashley runs Umaga over but can’t slam Khali as everything breaks down. The Samoan Spike puts Cena down on the floor and there’s the chokeslam to Lashley. Shane’s top rope elbow hits Lashley for the pin.

Rating: C. Just a quick way to bring in as many people as you can for the main event, which went well enough. Shane getting to gloat works well, as Lashley can shut up either Shane or Vince McMahon to even things up. The match was pretty immaterial, but it isn’t like losing to Umaga and Khali is a big defeat. Lashley didn’t do much until the end but it worked out fine.

Vince McMahon comes out to celebrate with the villains to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. It was better than last week but not by much. This did a good enough job of making me want to see the Raw half of One Night Stand, as they are betting on the gimmicks and stipulations to make the show work. That’s about all you can do at this point in the cycle of feuds so at least they’re going with the smartest route possible.

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Judgment Day 2007
Date: May 20, 2007
Location: Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 10,500
Commentators: Jim Ross, Michael Cole, Taz, Joey Styles, Jerry Lawler, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s another B show but this one is trending more towards B- territory. The main events will see John Cena defending against Great Khali and Edge defending against Batista. Neither of those exactly sound like must see main events, but I’ve certainly heard of worse cards. Maybe the rest can pick up the slack. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about not knowing what is on the other side while looking at the main events.

Ric Flair vs. Carlito

Carlito turned on Flair to split up their team and it’s time for revenge. JR says Flair deserves to be in all the Halls of Fame. I remember him getting inducted into the Paperboy Hall of Fame a few years back in a touching ceremony. Carlito goes right after him to start but gets chopped outside in a hurry. Back in and Carlito takes him down by the arm for some hammerlocking. The arm is sent into the apron and Carlito forearms away in the corner.

The fans are behind Flair but get quieted down when the arm is wrapped around the post. There’s a hammerlock slam but flair comes back up with the good arm for a single chop. That’s all Carlito is going to give up at the moment though as he dropkicks Flair into the corner and goes right back to the arm. Another comeback is cut off as JR sums up the match: Flair is getting one shot in for every two or three from Carlito. The armbar goes on again and an elbow to the face gives Carlito two.

Flair chops his way out of the corner but Carlito cuts him off again with a backdrop. We hit another armbar before Carlito stomps on the arm and grabs a keylock. Flair fights up again with more chops and right hands, plus an elbow to the jaw. There’s the chop block but Carlito cuts him off with a thumb to the eye. The Backstabber is blocked though and Flair stomps on the leg. More stomping sets up the Figure Four for the tap.

Rating: C. Can we please give up on Carlito already? It’s pretty clear that WWE isn’t going to give him a big push (which I can understand) and now he has one of the better matches in his WWE run but loses clean to Flair. I’m fine with Flair winning, but it’s getting a little tiring to watch Carlito get dead end push after dead end push.

Shawn Michaels looks back at being hurt by Great Khali and then kicked in the head by Randy Orton….and gets jumped by him again, leaving Shawn laying.

We recap Bobby Lashley vs. Vince McMahon/Shane McMahon/Umaga. The trio beat Lashley last month to give Vince the ECW World Title and an angry Lashley is out for revenge. And the title, but that might be implied. Vince has been an amazing heel as the champion and it’s about as perfect of a troll job as you could hope to see.

ECW World Title: Vince McMahon/Shane McMahon/Umaga vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley is challenging and sends Umaga outside to start. The McMahons are tossed around, with Shane having to save Vince from destruction. That earns Shane an overhead belly to belly and there’s a spear to cut off the invading Umaga. The running powerslam pins Shane in less than a minute and a half.

Post match Umaga takes Lashley down again and Vince says Lashley didn’t pin Vince so that isn’t a title change. Better luck next time as the amazing trolling continues. Of note: Vince lost his stylish doorag in there and most of his hair has grown back.

Shawn Michaels is told he can’t wrestle tonight.

CM Punk vs. Elijah Burke

Punk, with bad ribs coming in, joined Burke’s New Breed but turned on them in about a week. Burke goes straight for the ribs but Punk puts on a headlock to cut him off. Some kicks stagger Burke and it’s a quick breather for a standoff. Burke goes after Punk’s ribs to slow him down, only to get kicked right back down. The chinlock goes on but Burke comes back with more shots to the ribs. Said ribs are fine enough for a t-bone suplex and Punk hits a running elbow in the corner.

A delayed vertical suplex drops Burke for two, though Tazz thinks that might have hurt Punk’s ribs even more. We hit the chinlock but Burke is right up with some shots to the face. Again Punk comes right back with a spinning middle rope crossbody but Burke tosses him over the top, with Punk landing on the steps for a nasty crash. That’s not enough to slow Punk down again though as he slides in with a sunset flip (minus the flip) for two more. The GTS is countered so Punk tosses him outside instead, setting up the suicide dive.

Back in and Punk goes up again, only to get pulled down for a hard crash onto the ribs. Burke starts ripping at the tape (maybe they’re the source of Punk’s powers) and puts on a waistlock. A belly to back suplex gets two on Punk and the fans chant for JBL. Burke is smart enough to grab a bodyscissors while the fans get it out of their system before cutting off a charging Punk.

They head up top, where Punk hits a top rope superplex, only to bang up his ribs again. Back up and Punk gets two off an enziguri, setting up the running knee in the corner. The GTS is countered into the Elijah Experience for two so Burke puts him on top, setting up the Elijah Express in the Tree of Woe. The delayed cover gets two and another Elijah Experience is countered into the GTS to give Punk the pin.

Rating: C+. The first half of this was weird as Punk didn’t seem like he was going to sell a bullet to the ribs, let alone anything Burke threw at him. Things got better later on and they settled into a nice match, with Punk vanquishing Burke after some work. This should free up Punk to move into the ECW Title picture, at least once the McMahons are out of the there. Good match, at least once Punk stopped being a superhero.

Edge brags about his recent accomplishments and promises to retain the title against Batista.

Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels

Shawn isn’t here to start due to not being cleared….but here he is anyway, looking totally out of it (which would have meant something very different for Shawn back in the day). Shawn insists that the bell ring and Orton drops him with one shot. Shawn has to pull himself up on the apron and the hanging DDT drops him hard again.

Commentary already wants this stopped as Orton kicks Shawn in the head again. Orton loads up the RKO but lets Shawn drops out of near pity. Shawn has to go to the eyes to break up a super RKO and manages to shove Orton off the top. The top rope elbow connects and Shawn somehow picks himself up in the corner. Sweet Chin Music is loaded up….and Shawn collapses, which is enough for the referee to call the match.

Rating: C. I have no idea how to rate something like this as it was much more of an angle than a match. Shawn hit about one move, but that’s exactly the point of something like this. It was complete destruction and makes Orton look great, so well done on all fronts here, even if it was barely a match.

Post match Orton hits an RKO, causing Shawn’s wife to come out and cry. Shawn is taken out on a stretcher, which allowed him to go off for a few months for knee surgery.

Great Khali, holding the WWE Title, which isn’t his, says if John Cena wants some, he can come get some.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Hardys vs. Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch

Cade and Murdoch are challenging after having been sneakily respectful to the Hardys as of late. Matt and Cade start things off with Cade grabbing a headlock takeover. That doesn’t last long as Matt is right back up for a standoff. JBL’s strategy for Cade and Murdoch: drink beer and knock people’s teeth out. Simple yet effective. The pace picks up and Matt gets taken into the corner for some arm cranking from both villains. A hard forearm to Cade’s face lets the tag bring in Jeff as things actually slow down for a change. JBL: “You never know what this tattooed up freak is going to do.”

A hiptoss drops Jeff again but Murdoch doesn’t follow up, which is still a bit strange to see. It’s back to Matt for a clothesline and it’s time to work on the arm. The middle rope elbow to the back of the neck gives Matt two but Cade comes in off a blind tag to run Matt over. A dropkick gives Cade two and it’s back to Murdoch as the villains start taking turns. Murdoch’s Vader Bomb hits raised knees though and it’s back to Jeff to start cleaning house.

The slingshot dropkick in the corner gets two on Murdoch and the Hardys clear the ring in a hurry. JBL: “What would you call that move that Jeff Hardy did?” Cole: “Good.” JBL: “That was too easy.” Cade and Murdoch tease walking out but come back in so Jeff can grab a headlock. That’s broken up and Murdoch sends Jeff outside….as the fans sing the Goodbye Song for some reason.

Cade takes Jeff back inside to drop some knees on the back and Murdoch puts on the chinlock. A kick to the face gives Murdoch two and the Code Red/Canadian Destroyer (or somewhere in the middle) gets two. Jeff jawbreaks his way to freedom and there’s the hot tag to Matt. The Side Effect gets two on Cade but he’s right back with a spinebuster to put Matt down for the same. Not that it matters as it’s a Twist of Fate into the Swanton to give Jeff the retaining pin.

Rating: B-. Rather nice old school formula tag match here with the Hardys winning to hopefully wrap this up. At the end of the day though, there is only so much that you can do when the division only has a handful of teams. The Hardys can work with anyone, but who else is there to work with at the moment? Cade and Murdoch are a good old school southern style tag team too and that is always going to work.

Batista is voted most likely to win a title tonight.

We recap Edge vs. Batista for the Smackdown World Title. Edge won the Money in the Bank briefcase on Raw and then cashed it in later in the week to win the title from Undertaker. Now it’s time for Batista to get his shot, as he and Undertaker had gone to a draw just before the cash-in.

Smackdown World Title: Edge vs. Batista

Edge is defending and you can see him panic just a bit when Batista’s music hits (he was always great at the facial expressions). We actually get the instructions from the referee for a bit of old school flavor. Edge hides in the ropes to start as commentary gets in an argument over how much of a champion Edge really is. More bailing to the ropes keeps Batista (with a taped up knee) from getting very far to start so he puts Edge on top instead.

With nothing else working, Batista finally hammers away in the corner and then throws Edge outside. Edge sends the bad knee into the steps to slow Batista down and a missed charge into the post makes things even worse. That gives Edge a new target and the Fujiwara armbar keeps Batista in trouble. It’s switched over into a hammerlock but Batista is back up with shoulders to the ribs in the corner.

Batista clotheslines Edge out of the air and it’s time to slug it out. A powerslam gives Batista two but Edge counters a second attempt into the Edge O Matic for two of his own. The spear cuts Edge in half for two more and Batista hits the spinebuster, only to hurt his own knee. The delay lets Edge pull Batista into a rollup with trunks to retain.

Rating: C-. This was a good example of a match that didn’t work because there wasn’t much of a story. They were fighting over the title, but their story was set up via a two minute promo on Smackdown. I know they didn’t have the time to do anything more, but it left this one really lacking. Edge retaining works just fine as he needs to be established as champion, though it was a pretty lame way to get there.

The WWE Divas are polled on John Cena vs. Great Khali. It’s split, though Maria votes for Batista. For some reason this is edited off of the Peacock version, and I would really hope it isn’t over Victoria and Melina picking Khali because he’s “really really big.”

US Title: MVP vs. Chris Benoit

Benoit is defending (with a bad knee after Smackdown) and it’s 2/3 falls. They fight over a lockup and head outside for a second, only to come back in for a standoff. MVP has to bail to the rope to escape the Crossface before grabbing a headlock takeover. With that not working, MVP takes him down by the knee but Benoit grabs the arm to escape. MVP goes right back to the knee but Benoit is right back with the rolling German suplexes.

The knee gives out though, leaving Benoit to switch to the Crossface instead. A rope gets MVP out of trouble and it’s time to stomp on the knee some more. MVP misses the running boot in the corner and has to escape the Sharpshooter. Instead, MVP goes up top and gets caught in an electric chair, only to have the knee give out. The Playmaker gives MVP the first fall and we get a one minute rest period.

MVP is right back on the leg to keep Benoit in trouble and he gets tied in the Tree of Woe. A kneebar keeps Benoit in trouble and we get what sounds like a “THIS IS BORING” chant. Benoit fights up but gets pulled straight into a stretch muffler. The rope gets Benoit out of trouble but MVP is right back on the knee. Another twist of the knee sets up a small package to give MVP the second fall and the title.

Rating: C+. This was almost a sequel from Benoit vs. Finlay on Smackdown and it wasn’t that much better. There is something off in Benoit as of late and that is going to get sad in a hurry. For now that, MVP winning is a great thing as he FINALLY gets something after weeks of losing almost everything. You can only do so much with him when he can’t win a thing so this was a much needed statement.

We recap John Cena vs. Great Khali for the Raw World Title. Khali took out Edge, Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels before dropping Cena on the same night. Cena knows he’s going to get destroyed here but is never one to back down from a challenge.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. Great Khali

Khali is challenging but comes in holding the title itself. There is something to be said about the shots of the fans, including one woman, going absolutely coconuts for Cena’s entrance. That is the kind of thing that a lot of wrestlers wish they could do but only a handful can actually make happen. They do the big staredown to start and Cena’s shots to the chest have no effect. Khali’s clothesline has quite the effect though and a right hand puts Cena down again. Cena gets knocked outside for a ram into the steps for two back inside and Khali drops a big leg for the same.

A shot to the knee staggers Khali though and Cena manages the Throwback, only to get kicked in the head. The nerve hold has Cena in more trouble but he powers up for some running shoulders. The big shoulder ties Khali up in the ropes and Cena is smart enough to unload as fast as he can. Khali gets an arm free to knock him away but the big chop is blocked. They fall outside again and Khali grabs the steps, only to have them dropkicked into his face. Back in and Cena scores with the top rope Fameasser (with the fans WAY into the fast comeback), setting up the STFU to retain the title.

Rating: C. It’s probably Khali’s best match ever, though that isn’t exactly a high bar to clear. What matters here is that Cena escapes over a monster and got a good(ish) match out of him, as Khali mainly stood there while Cena flew around. They were smart to keep this short, and dang the crowd being into this helped a lot. Not a great match, but given their situation, it was about as good as it was going to get.

Replays wrap us up, complete with a cut from Cena putting the STFU on to the hold actually being on because WWE likes to cut a lot.

Overall Rating: C+. There was enough good action on here to keep me interested, but it was definitely a step down after the last few big shows. Nothing on here felt like you needed to see it and that is not the best feeling. It was certainly a lower level pay per view and having One Night Stand coming up just two weeks later is not going to make things better. Decent show, but not really worth your time.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: May 7, 2007
Location: Bryce Jordan Center, Stage College, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 7,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

John Cena has a new big problem in the form of the Great Khali, who took out Shawn Michaels, Edge, Randy Orton and Cena himself last week. That is going to be quite the issue, and the fact that we are coming up on the Judgment Day pay per view should give you a hint about where this is going. Let’s get to it.

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

Coach is in the ring to introduce Vince McMahon. Vince: “WHAT UP G?” While Vince isn’t talking to God like Coach was doing when he said the same thing years ago, Vince brings talks about Great Khali’s dominance last week. We look at Khali’s path of destruction over Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton and Edge, before taking out John Cena face to face. Back in the arena, Vince says that was impressive, because you don’t see someone take out four great ones like that in one night.

Therefore, at Judgment Day, it’s Cena…..well hang on a second as Michaels interrupts. He’s the one who was supposed to face Cena last week and beat him once again, so Khali should have to earn his shot tonight. Vince thought Shawn had more guts than brains and tonight, we might see them all over the ring. Shawn can have his match against Great Khali, and we’ll make that a #1 contenders No DQ match.

With that out of the way, here is Bobby Lashley to interrupt. Lashley says Shawn got what he wanted and now he wants something too. Vince reminds him of the no touch rule and taunts Lashley a bit, but Lashley manages to hold back. We see a clip of Vince winning the title from Lashley at Backlash, albeit with help from Shane McMahon and Umaga. Vince: “You want to call me champ?”

Just to rub it in even more, Vince has a photo of a collector’s edition of WWE Magazine, featuring Undertaker, John Cena and Lashley as champions. It’s a collector’s edition because Lashley isn’t champion anymore, so here’s Vince’s face on Lashley’s body. Vince: “You never heard about the grapefruits did you Lashley?” Anyway, Lashley can have the rematch in another 3-1 handicap match at Judgment Day. Lashley wants to show Vince what he thinks of him, but can’t do it. That makes Vince laugh so he leaves….but Coach doesn’t. Violence and destruction ensues, capped off by a spear as Vince poses with the title.

Mickie James has to tie Candice Michelle’s top. King approves.

Mickie James/Candice Michelle vs. Melina/Victoria

Rematch from last week where Candice pinned Victoria in an upset. Victoria and Mickie start but she wants Candice instead. That works well for Victoria, who stomps her down but gets armdragged (after a minor slip). Melina comes in and draws Mickie in as well, allowing a quick cheap shot to take over. Candice manages to escape and gets over to Mickie for the tag (to zero reaction in a weird moment). House is cleaned and there’s a neckbreaker to Melina. Everything breaks down and Candice spinwheel kicks Melina for the surprise pin. They’re trying with Candice and she has gotten better in recent weeks.

We look back at Santino Marella winning the Intercontinental Title, albeit with an assist from Bobby Lashley.

WWE visited some terminal children.

Intercontinental Title: Santino Marella vs. Chris Masters

Marella is defending in his first scheduled match. Masters shoves him down with straight power to start but Marella slugs away with right hands and a dropkick. A hard clothesline drops Marella though and Masters hits a running stomp (that’s different) to keep him down. The neck crank goes on for all of two seconds but Marella is back up with kicks to the leg. A dropkick to the knee gets two and Marella hammers away in the corner. Masters shoves him off but gets sent shoulder first into the post, setting up a rollup to retain the title.

Rating: C-. This was about all you could have expected here and that’s all well and good. What matters here is they went out and did their thing with both guys keeping things simple. You can only do so much with a guy like Marella and Masters isn’t quite the best choice to get a lot out of him. Efficient would be the right word here, and that’s fine enough.

Here is Mr. Kennedy for a chat on the stage. Kennedy talks about how his Wrestlemania countdown continues, as we are only 328 days until Wrestlemania XXIV. That’s when we will have a new champion and his name is Mr. Kennedy (wait for it) Kennedy.

Randy Orton promises to beat John Cena tonight and get his career back on track.

Umaga vs. Highlanders

There is no Armando Alejandro Estrada with Umaga after Bobby Lashley wrecked him on ECW. The dominance doesn’t take long, including the running hip attack to Robbie in the corner. The Samoan Spike crushes both of them to set up the double top rope splash and the easy pin.

The Condemned is still a thing. It isn’t a thing making much money, but it is a thing.

Edge comes up to Mr. Kennedy in the back and doesn’t like him around here. Since Edge is the first person to cash in Money in the Bank, Kennedy shouldn’t be afraid to defend it against him tonight. The match is on, with Kennedy hitting the catchphrase anyway.

Great Khali vs. Shawn Michaels

No DQ and the winner gets the title shot against John Cena at Judgment Day. Shawn charges at him to start and manages to get Khali tied up in the ropes. That doesn’t last long as Khali gets in a shot of his own to knock Shawn away, setting up a slam. Khali misses a legdrop though and Shawn grabs a chair to blast him in the face. There’s the top rope elbow to keep Khali rocked but Sweet Chin Music is countered with a chop to the head.

Elbows and a clothesline keep Shawn in trouble but he goes for the eyes to escape. Shawn chokes him over the ropes and outside ala Chris Benoit against Big Show at the 2004 Royal Rumble, setting up a baseball slide. Shawn’s DDT through the announcers’ table is shrugged away and it’s the double chokeslam through the table instead. That’s enough for the referee, who calls it off to send Khali to Judgment Day.

Rating: C. Well what else were they supposed to do? There aren’t a ton of options for someone of Shawn’s size against Khali and they did about as well as could be expected. It certainly wasn’t a great match or even a very good one, but they did as well as could have been expected. Throw in the pretty clear ending and this was pretty decent.

Shawn is taken out by the medics.

John Cena isn’t worried about Great Khali because he’ll fight anyone of any size, even if they are 7’5 and over 400lbs and talk like Charlie Brown’s teacher.

Cryme Tyme (hey they’re still here) are having a Mother’s Day sale, including steak (cut to Viscera missing a steak), prescription pills (cut to Eugene missing his pills) and a Hummer (cut to Ron Simmons missing his Hummer and hitting the catchphrase). Cue a guy (clearly Big Dick Johnson) in a Spider-Man costume to say he thinks they’re up to something. Shad pulls out a baseball bat, calls himself Batman, and beats up Spider-Man. Were the writers really bored or something this week?

Hardys vs. World’s Greatest Tag Team

Non-title with Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch on commentary. Matt elbows Benjamin in the head to start and then cuts off a charge with another elbow. Haas offers a distraction though and pulls Matt arm down onto the top. Benjamin takes Matt down by the arm and Haas’ northern lights onto the arm makes it worse.

The arm crank goes on as Cade and Murdoch take turns stealing JR’s catchphrases. Matt finally gets up with a reverse DDT and the hot tag brings in Jeff. House is cleaned in a hurry with Jeff dropping Benjamin onto Haas, who gets caught with the legdrop between the legs. The Whisper in the Wind gets two on Haas with Benjamin making the save. That means a Twist of Fate to Benjamin and the Swanton finishes Haas.

Rating: C+. These guys had a nice tag match and that’s not the biggest surprise. You have two rather good teams and they got in a lot of stuff in a short amount of times. Haas and Benjamin might not be the top team around anymore but they can still work well with anyone, and it helps when you’re in there with one of the best teams ever.

Post match, Cade and Murdoch show respect, with the Hardys skeptically accepting the handshake.

We look at Carlito turning on Ric Flair last week.

Video on Snitsky, who seems to have jumped from ECW. I’m sure they’ll survive.

Here are Carlito and Torrie Wilson for a chat. Carlito talks about how Ric Flair embarrassed him in front of Torrie, which Carlito let go because of who was saying it. Flair said they needed to team together so he could grow, but how much more growing does he need to do? Carlito should be WWE Champion by now but Flair was holding him back. He calls out Flair….who commentary says isn’t here tonight. With that not working, Carlito says it’s time to get rid of the garbage in his life and that starts with yelling at Torrie in Spanish. Torrie leaves and Carlito keeps ranting in Spanish until he throws the mic down.

Money in the Bank: Edge vs. Mr. Kennedy

Kennedy is defending but Edge jumps him from behind before the bell. Edge sends Kennedy into the barricade and the post, setting up a monitor shot to the face. They get inside with Kennedy saying ring the bell, meaning Edge can spear him down for the pin and the briefcase at 6 seconds.

Post match Edge beats Kennedy down again to leave him laying. Kennedy was put on the shelf with a shoulder injury, which turned out not to be that bad, as he was back in the ring less than two months later. Either way, this was it for his time near the title in WWE and I’ve always wondered what would have happened if he had gotten the chance. Maybe not much, but it could have been very interesting.

We look at Great Khali decimating Shawn Michaels again.

Randy Orton vs. John Cena

Non-title. Cena rolls him up for a fast two and snaps off a suplex for the same. Orton sends him shoulder first into the post and drops a knee for two of his own. We’re already in the chinlock but Cena fights up and initiates the finishing sequence…but Great Khali is at ringside. Khali picks up the title to distract Cena, making him drop the AA. Instead, Cena pulls Orton into the STF but he goes after Khali instead, charging right into a belt shot from Khali to end the show. So much for a finish.

Rating: C. This was barely a match and that’s fine enough, though they could have done just about the same thing without having a match in the first place. Khali is a different kind of opponent for Cena and they’re making him feel like a major threat. That’s not the hardest thing to do but it is working so far. As for Orton, it still feels like he is being punished for screwing up on the European trip, which is pretty much deserved.

Overall Rating: C. There was a lot here and a good bit of it wasn’t all that great. That being said, this show was more about moving things forward, as you can see a lot of the pay per view card from here, plus the change of the briefcase. I’m curious about where some of these things are going, even if it is for a B pay per view. Not a great show, but an important one and that’s fine.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: April 30, 2007
Location: Gaylord Entertainment Center, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We are officially done with Backlash and that means it is time to start getting ready for Judgment Day. The show is in less than three weeks so it it probably going to feature a lot of rematches/fallout from the rematch/fallout show. That might not be the best thing in the world but WWE has been on a roll as of late. Let’s get to it.

Here is Backlash if you need a recap.

John Cena, with his title, runs into Vince McMahon, the new ECW World Champion. Vince: “What up Holmes? Peace out! The champ is here!” Cena thinks that unless ECW stands for Extremely Crazy White Guy, all he is seeing is an old guy in a durag. Shawn Michaels comes in to say Cena got lucky last night and wants one more shot. Cena is down but Vince says not so fast, because he makes the matches around here. Let’s do it one more time, but Shawn has to win a match to get a shot at Cena. Then the winner can come for the big one. Vince: “Peace out my brothers!” Cena: “Yeah he’s lost it.” He’ll see Shawn later.

Opening sequence.

Edge vs. Randy Orton

Edge slaps him in the face to start and the chase is on around the ring. Back in and Orton pokes him in the eye (denying it of course) and the circle stomp is on. A knee drop gets two and it’s time to hammer on Edge’s head. Orton chokes on the middle rope and then snaps the neck across the rope to make it worse.

We take a break and come back with Orton being sent shoulder first into the post to give Edge a breather. A spear drives Orton off the apron and into the announcers’ table for the big crash. With commentary taking a bit to come back, Edge only gets two inside. Edge’s jumping knee gets two and the chinlock goes on. That’s broken up so Edge drops him with a spinwheel kick, only to get crotched on top. Edge shoves him down but dives into a dropkick to leave them both down for a bit.

The slugout goes to Edge thanks to a thumb to the eye but Orton grabs a backbreaker for two. The powerslam gets the same so Edge snaps off the Edge-O-Matic for his own near fall. A double crossbody puts both of them down but it’s Edge up first for an attempt to take the turnbuckle pad off. The referee catches him though, allowing Orton to score with a hard clothesline. Edge counters some right hands in the corner to drop him face first onto the buckle, meaning we’ve got some blood. The Impaler gets two and, after countering an RKO, Edge spears him down for the pin.

Rating: B. These two beat each other up very well and that’s the kind of thing that is always a nice idea. It felt like a big time match and odds are this is what we were going to see last week. If they had been able to do that match before a shorter but still great Cena vs. Michaels match, it could have been an all time classic Raw. Instead, it’s a pair of awesome matches on back to back weeks.

We look at the end of Michaels vs. Cena from last week.

We look back at Bobby Lashley helping Santino Marella take the Intercontinental Title from Umaga.

Santino Marella is here for his first interview as champion, so we see him winning the title again. Santino talks about how he can’t believe this is happening. His family is very happy but his first title defense is next week.

Last night at Backlash, Rob Van Dam talked about how happy Vince McMahon must be now that he has crushed ECW. It was counterculture and all about making wrestling fun again, but now Vince is ECW World Champion. This Vince As ECW Champion thing could have been AMAZING if ECW meant anything at this point.

Vince won’t let Shane McMahon hold the ECW World Title belt because he’s too annoyed at Van Dam. Tonight, Shane needs to make sure Van Dam is destroyed once and for all. Vince also thanks Shane for his help last night, prompting Shane to say he loves Vince and hug him. Vince freaks a bit but says Shane can hold the title. As Vince leaves, Shane can’t help but start the ECW chants.

Edge is angry that Shawn Michaels is getting ANOTHER title shot when Edge didn’t lose last night. He is going to insert himself back in the title picture whether anyone likes it or not. Get it? Got it? Good.

Jeff Hardy vs. Johnny Nitro

Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch are on commentary and there are no seconds for a bit of a weird change. Hardy wastes no time with a Russian legsweep into the split legged cradle. Nitro is right back with some right hands as Cade and Murdoch are being especially respectful of Hardy. Hardy fights out of a chinlock and avoids a charge in the corner. The Whisper in the Wind drops Nitro again and a sitout gordbuster gives Hardy two. Nitro gets in a shot to the face and heads up, only to get backdropped down. The Swanton finishes for Hardy.

Rating: C. These two could have a passable match in their sleep and they had another completely acceptable one here. I’m not sure why the Hardys vs. Cade/Murdoch seems to be continuing, but it isn’t like there is anything else to do in the tag division. There are a few teams here and there, but are any of them worthy of a title program? Maybe Cryme Tyme? Anyway, were you expecting Hardy vs. Nitro to be bad?

Post match, Cade and Murdoch try to show Jeff some respect but he leaves out of caution.

We see some stills of last night’s pretty great main event.

Video on Vince McMahon winning the ECW World Title last night.

Rob Van Dam vs. Umaga

Shane McMahon handles Umaga’s introduction. We’re joined in progress with Van Dam kicking away but getting shoved off the top for the big crash into the barricade. Back in and Umaga slowly hammers away before cutting off a comeback attempt with the Samoan drop. For some reason Van Dam tries to slam Umaga, which goes as well as you would expect. The sleeper on Umaga’s back works slightly better until Van Dam gets rammed into the corner and tossed outside.

Umaga follows him outside and now the sleeper goes on again. This time Umaga rams Van Dam HARD into the steps for another break for a near countout. Back in and Umaga hits the running headbutt but misses the running hip attack in the corner. A basement dropkick and basement spinwheel kick have Shane panicking and Rolling Thunder gets two. Umaga’s running splash hits the post and there’s the Five Star but Umaga grabs the throat on the landing. Some choking sets up the Samoan Spike to put Van Dam away.

Rating: C+. It was short but hard hitting as Van Dam was a unique challenger to Umaga. That’s what you want out of something like this, though Umaga beating the top ECW star so soon might have been a little rushed. Still though, Umaga gets back on the right path in a pretty good match so it was a good use of TV time.

Vince McMahon comes out to pose, still as the best heel in the company.

Torrie Wilson and Carlito come up to Ric Flair in the back and Flair isn’t happy with Carlito for yelling at him in Spanish last week. Carlito apologizes, which is all Flair needed, but he has also gotten them a match tonight with the World’s Greatest Tag Team. If it goes badly, they can go their separate ways. Flair gives him a pep talk, but says this is his last chance. Flair leaves and Torrie asks if this is a good idea. Carlito: “RELAX!”

Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena

Non-title….and non-match as there is no Shawn. We cut to the back where Shawn is out cold.

Post break, Coach accuses John Cena of taking Shawn out, earning himself a grab by the shirt and a lift off the floor. Vince McMahon comes in to ask what is going on. Coach is going to find out what happened, but Vince wants Shawn wrestling TONIGHT. For some reason, Val Venis is there in street clothes checking on Shawn as well.

Ric Flair/Carlito vs. World’s Greatest Tag Team

Torrie Wilson is here with Flair and Carlito. Flair starts with Haas and WOO’s a bit before hiptossing Haas over. Benjamin comes in to choke Carlito on the ropes but a dropkick gives Carlito two. For some reason Carlito goes into the wrong corner and it’s Haas coming back in to stomp away. A backbreaker gives Haas two and we hit the reverse chinlock. Benjamin’s backbreaker gets two and we hit a chinlock with Benjamin’s knee in the back. Carlito fights up and gets over to Flair for the tag as everything breaks down….and Carlito knocks Flair out with a left hand. The brawl is on and we have a no contest.

Rating: C-. Another watchable match which was only there for the angle at the end. Flair isn’t doing anything important at the moment so a quick pay per view match with Carlito is a good way to go for him. The match itself was what you would expect, but Flair vs. Carlito is going to work out.

Flair and Carlito fight up the ramp, but Carlito rakes the eyes and escapes.

Now Edge has been attacked and Coach isn’t sure what to do. He wants Randy Orton though.

We recap the attacks on Michaels and Edge.

Here’s Mr. Kennedy who says he didn’t do that. You won’t find a glove that fits his hand, because he has this briefcase. Kennedy could have cashed in his briefcase at Backlash but he chose not to. How many fans would like to see him cash in his briefcase right here in Nashville, Tennessee? The fans approve of the idea but that isn’t going to happen.

Kennedy thinks it was wrong for Edge to wait until after John Cena had gone through an Elimination Chamber to cash in. He’s going to be more fair and announce when he’s cashing in. That would be in 335 days at Wrestlemania XXIV, when the new champion will be MR. KENNEDY!!! Kennedy.

Randy Orton has been attacked as well.

Coach comes in to recap the attacks to Vince McMahon, who says he knows who did it. Whoever did it did it because of John Cena, so Coach needs to send Cena to the ring to meet the man who did this.

Mickie James/Candice Michelle vs. Melina/Victoria

Candice chokes Victoria to no avail so it’s off to Melina to miss a dropkick. Mickie comes in for some hair pulling and catfighting, which is not exactly Mickie’s style. It’s back to Victoria, who knocks Mickie outside and drives her into the apron. Melina grabs the cross arm choke but Mickie fights back up with a neckbreaker. That’s enough for the hot tag to bring in Candice and everything breaks down. Mickie saves Candice from a double suplex and a rollup finishes Victoria.

Rating: D+. Candice was getting in a little offense here and there and that’s probably a sign of the next push. It’s easy to see why WWE would want to push her, though she still has a long way to go in the ring. Putting her in there with women like Mickie and Victoria will help a lot though so at least they have the right idea.

The ECW Originals don’t like Vince McMahon as ECW World Champion. Tommy Dreamer cries, because he’s Tommy Dreamer.

We recap tonight’s attacks.

Here is John Cena to say whoever is behind this could have saved themselves a lot of time and come at him face to face. He’s ready to fight…..and here’s the Great Khali, which makes Cena swallow hard. Cena charges out to start the fight on the floor and gets knocked around. They head inside with Cena’s flying shoulder having no effect, earning himself a clothesline. A big boot puts Cena down again but he fights up and manages to get him in the FU. That’s broken up with elbows to the face though and the double chokeslam plants Cena to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling started good and then went downhill as the show went on, but I liked the one night mystery to set up Cena’s next challenger. It’s the definition of a spring/early summer title program and there is nothing wrong with that. Khali running through all four members of the fatal four way in one night is a great symbolic move and now we get to move on to what could be an interesting (not necessarily in a good way) title match. Overall, another good night, which is nice to see.

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Backlash 2007
Date: April 29, 2007
Location: Phillips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 14,500
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Taz, John Bradshaw Layfield, Joey Styles

It’s the Wrestlemania followup show and the company is still on something of a hot streak. We have a big double main event as Batista challenges Undertaker for the Smackdown World Title in a Last Man Standing match and John Cena defends against Edge, Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton. That’s enough star power, plus Vince McMahon going for a title of his own. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at how this is the Wrestlemania sequel, with a focus on the three top matches. Rather simple and to the point, but it works well.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Hardys vs. Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch

The Hardys are defending. Matt and Cade get things going with the latter driving him into the corner. That’s broken up so Cade goes with a running shoulder but Matt slugs his way out of trouble. A headlock takeover puts Cade down but it’s off to Murdoch, who walks into a slam. Jeff comes in with a slingshot dropkick and the elbow/flipping splash combination keeps Murdoch in trouble.

The Whisper in the Wind is more of a flipping Blockbuster but it lets the Hardys clear the ring. Jeff’s big Poetry In Motion to the floor has Cade and Murdoch down again and the champs are in control. Back in and Matt drops a middle rope elbow for two on Murdoch, who sends him into the corner for a breather. It’s back to Jeff, who gets pulled out to the floor for the crash to put him in trouble. The sitout spinebuster plants Jeff for two and Murdoch grabs the chinlock.

Back up and a neckbreaker and clothesline give Murdoch two each, followed by a big boot for the same. Cade comes back in for a chinlock of his own and it’s already back to Murdoch for a belly to back suplex. Jeff’s dropkick isn’t enough for the hot tag but kicking Murdoch out of the corner is, as Matt gets to come back in. Everything breaks down and Jeff is sent hard into the corner, leaving Cade to come off the top and hit Matt in the back. Murdoch’s Code Red gets two but Matt is back up with the Twist of Fate. With Matt cutting off Cade, Jeff Swantons Murdoch so Matt can get the retaining pin.

Rating: C+. It was a little long at over fifteen minutes but the Hardys winning a hard fought tag match is almost always a good idea. Cade and Murdoch are a good old fashioned roughneck brawling team and this was a fine way to use them. It felt like a pay per view title match, though trimming off a minute or two might have helped.

Vince and Shane McMahon are confident that they can beat Bobby Lashley, especially with Umaga around. How does this sound: ECW World Champion Vince McMahon?

Women’s Title: Melina vs. Mickie James

Mickie is challenging and wastes no time armdragging her down into an armbar. The grappling on the mat gives us a quick standoff until Mickie headscissors her back down. That’s broken up as Melina is sent into the corner, where she seems to be favoring her eye. Tis but a ruse though as she charges at Mickie, who hammers away to keep the champ in trouble. Mickie takes too long going up top though and gets shoved off into a heap on the floor.

Back in and Melina grabs a full nelson with her legs and even puts her hand on the rope for leverage (It’s interesting that just putting your hand there wouldn’t do much. The thing is though that fans understand it’s cheating so it can go a long way with almost no effort. Learn that kind of thing.). A choke in the corner has Mickie in more trouble and a middle rope Thesz press drops her again.

The chinlock doesn’t last long as Mickie drops down into the splits….and pulls Melina down into them with her. They slug it out from there until Mickie kicks her away. Some clotheslines and a hair toss have Melina in more trouble, with a high crossbody getting two. That’s enough for Melina, who goes to the eyes and drops her with a reverse DDT to retain.

Rating: C. They were working hard here but there is only so much that you can do when they are in the lowest level match on the card and the ending comes out of nowhere. Melina needs to be built up with wins like this so they did things as well as they could have. Not a terrible match, but it could have been on any given Raw.

Edge is ready to win the WWE Championship. Maria pulls out a fan question, asking how he won his first World Title. That would be Money in the Bank, so here is Mr. Kennedy with the briefcase to hint at a cash-in at the end of the night. Eh, not with that kind of telegraphing.

The Condemned hype comes to pay per view.

US Title: Chris Benoit vs. MVP

MVP is challenging and drives him into the corner a few times to start. A leg dive doesn’t work for MVP and it’s time for the exchange of front facelocks. Benoit tries the Crossface but MVP is right over to the rope, as he should be. Back up and a headlock takeover slows Benoit down a bit until he reverses into a headscissors and then bridges up into a backslide for two. Benoit takes him down and gets the Sharpshooter, sending MVP back to the ropes.

Back up again and MVP hits a running boot to the back of the head to take over. The cravate goes on to stay on Benoit’s neck and MVP tosses him with a suplex for two more. MVP grabs a chinlock and the LET’S GO POWER RANGER chant gets on his nerves a bit. Benoit fights up and rolls the German suplexes but MVP is smart enough to grab the foot to prevent the Swan Dive.

A hot shot gives MVP a series of two counts but Benoit is right back with the Crossface, sending MVP back to the ropes. MVP is back with something like an armbar while cranking on the neck at the same time. The big boot misses though and Benoit rolls more German suplexes. The Swan Dive is loaded up but hits raised knees, allowing MVP to grab a half crab. That’s broken up so MVP tries a suplex, which is quickly reversed into a small package so Benoit can retain.

Rating: B-. The ending surprised me and that’s a good thing, at least in theory. At the end of the day, I’m not sure how smart it is to have Benoit retain the title as MVP needs to win something rather soon. Getting pinned by Benoit is hardly some terrible result, but how many times can MVP lose before it stops mattering anymore?

John Cena is asked about how title defense tonight but here is Randy Orton to interrupt. Orton talks about how similar they are, including being handsome. An alliance is tossed out, but Cena would rather talk about the handsome part. It turns into a series of gay jokes, though it isn’t Cena’s thing. Orton says tonight is ending with Cena on his back and Orton on top, drawing in Ron Simmons for the catchphrase.

We recap the McMahons and Umaga vs. Bobby Lashley for Lashley’s ECW World Title. Lashley beat Umaga at Wrestlemania to force Vince McMahon to get his head shaved, so now it is time for revenge. Vince has put Lashley in a handicap match and Lashley….well he got as fired up as he could at least.

ECW World Title: Bobby Lashley vs. Umaga/Vince McMahon/Shane McMahon

Lashley is defending but unfortunately Vince has traded the snazzy hat for a bandanna. Shane starts for the team and gets taken down for an early pummeling. There’s the spinebuster and Shane is on the floor in a hurry. Back in and Shane hands it off to Umaga, which is just fine with Lashley. Umaga takes him down but Lashley avoids a charge in the corner and hits some running clotheslines.

A clothesline puts Umaga on the floor and Shane goes with him, leaving Vince alone with Lashley. Umaga comes back in to save the boss and Shane low bridges Lashley to the floor. There’s a legdrop to keep Lashley in trouble and a hard whip into the corner makes it worse. Shane starts working on the arm and cranks away, with Lashley just kind of laying there cringing. The hold stays on for a good while, including a bodyscissors to make it worse. Lashley powerbombs his way to freedom but Umaga is right back with in with the save.

Umaga grabs the bearhug and then a Samoan drop gets two. It’s back to Shane for a camel clutch but Lashley fights up with some suplexes. A torture rack into a backbreaker gets two with Vince finally making the save. Umaga and Shane have to save Vince from the running powerslam and it’s a belt shot to the head. Vince comes in to count two but Lashley is done. Umaga adds the top rope splash and now Vince can get the pin to become ECW World Champion.

Rating: C. The match itself wasn’t great, but this was ALL about the title change, as Vince winning the ECW World Title is the ultimate slap in the face of ECW. In other words, it’s absolutely perfect and makes Umaga look like a star as well as he was the one who put Lashley down. It’s a great way to make ECW fans mad and hope that someone takes it back, even if it’s Lashley. Not much of a match, but a nice piece of business.

Shane runs around holding the title in a hilarious visual. Vince is awarded the title and orders that the ring announcer name him the new champion again.

Post commercial, Vince McMahon runs into the ECW Originals and mocks all of them, saying things are looking up for Sabu and stealing Sandman’s kendo stick. Vince and Shane: “EC DUB! EC DUB! EC DUB!”

We recap Batista vs. Undertaker in a Last Man Standing match for Undertaker’s Smackdown World Title. Undertaker took it from him at Wrestlemania and now it’s time for the much more violent rematch. Neither trusts each other, but there does seem to be some respect between then.

Smackdown World Title: Batista vs. Undertaker

Undertaker is defending and it’s Last Man Standing. Batista has a heavily taped up thigh and Undertaker sends him into the corner to start hammer away. It’s too early for a chokeslam so Undertaker scores with the jumping clothesline instead. Old School connects early but Batista is back with the running powerslam. They fight outside with Undertaker kicking him up against the apron and then going after the big target on the leg.

The apron legdrop gives Undertaker a five but Batista whips him knees first into the steps. Back in and Undertaker catches him on top for a superplex (that’s a rare one for Undertaker) for the big double knockdown. They slug it out until Batista hits a running clothesline and slams him down for a legdrop. Undertaker kicks him right back to the floor and loads up the announcers’ table, which can’t possibly go well. Instead, Undertaker hits him with the steps for seven and NOW it’s time for the bloody Batista to be put on the announcers’ table.

A heck of a jumping legdrop off the barricade crushes Batista for a nine. Back in and the spear gives Batista seven and the spinebuster puts Undertaker right back down. Two more spinebusters give Batista a nine but Undertaker comes right back with a chokeslam. That’s enough for a nine so Undertaker hammers away in the corner (that’s not smart), only to get pulled into the Batista Bomb for a very close nine.

A frustrated Batista grabs a chair and blasts him in the head but the Batista Bomb is countered with a backdrop onto the chair. The Tombstone is good for nine so Undertaker kicks him outside again. They fight up to the stage and the Tombstone is countered again, so Batista spears him off the stage. That sets off the sparks and part of the set falls down, which is enough for the double ten count and a draw.

Rating: B. They beat each other up for a long time and the legdrop spot looked good, but going to a draw in a Last Man Standing match is rarely going to get anything but an eye roll. The ending did look good and felt big, but it makes this match feel like it didn’t matter. You don’t want that kind of a feeling, though the third match should be good as well.

Both guys take their time getting up but leave on their own.

The Condemned is still a thing.

There was a fan poll on who will win the main event:

John Cena – 50%
Shawn Michaels – 34%
Randy Orton – 10%
Edge – 6%

We recap the four way for the Raw World Title. John Cena retained against Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania but Shawn wanted one more shot. That was cool with Cena, but Edge and Randy Orton wanted in as well. The match was made, and then Shawn beat Cena clean in a nearly hour long classic this week on Raw.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. Edge vs. Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels

Cena is defending and this is one fall to a finish. They stare each other down at the bell and it seems that we are in for a mini tag match. We don’t get any contact until a minute in, when Edge and Orton are knocked to the floor. Shawn turns to chop Cena, who grabs a release fisherman’s suplex for two. Back in and Orton dropkicks Edge outside and all four wind up on the floor. Edge whips Orton into the steps but Shawn is back up to plant Edge with a slam. Shawn isn’t done as he moonsaults off the top onto all three of them.

Back in and Cena hits a double top rope Fameasser onto Edge and Michaels for the triple knockdown. Orton comes back in and sends Shawn and Edge outside, leaving Cena to get caught with the backbreaker for two. Cena gets sent into the post but Shawn is back in to slug away on Orton. Edge comes back in with a spinwheel kick on Shawn, meaning it’s time for a mini Rated-RKO reunion. A Cena comeback attempt gets shoved off the apron and onto the announcers’ table and there’s a double backdrop to Shawn.

That sets up a double half crab (which somehow equals Boston instead of one) until Cena comes in for the real save. The Shuffle hits Edge but Shawn is up to send Cena and Orton face first into the post. Shawn loads up a piledriver through the announcers’ table but Edge makes the save with a chair. Another chair shot drops Orton, leaving Cena to pull Edge into the STFU. The rope is grabbed so Cena puts Orton in the same hold. Shawn makes the save and cleans house, including sending Orton and Edge outside.

The top rope elbow hits Cena and there’s one to Edge. Shawn loads up another to Orton but Cena breaks it up and we get the big Tower of Doom to leave everyone laying. Back up and Cena and Edge trade finisher attempts until Cena throws Edge and Shawn up onto his shoulders at the same time. Shawn slips off and tries the superkick but Orton hits an RKO out of nowhere. Cena breaks that up before one but walks into the Edgecution. Orton and Cena trade finisher attempts until Edge spears Orton down. The FU hits Edge but Cena walks into the superkick to leave everyone down….and Cena lands on Orton for the pin to retain.

Rating: B+. The match took some time to get going, but ultimately it was the last few minutes that took this to another level. The last four or five minutes were absolute fire with one big spot after another. I love the ending too as Shawn knocks Cena silly and would have had him beat but Cena got lucky with the landing. You can go a few directions from that, and I’m sure we’ll see some fallout at the next pay per view.

Shawn is livid and yells at Cena, who looks confused.

Overall Rating: A-. You had a six match card and the two longest were very good while getting by far the most time. Throw in Benoit vs. MVP in a good match and the worst thing being Mickie vs. Melina in a watchable match and this was a heck of a show. I liked this more than I would have bet on as WWE continues having their very strong stretch over the last few months.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: April 16, 2007
Location: Datchforum, Milan, Italy
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We have a special one here as the show is in Italy for the first time ever. That should make for a cool atmosphere if nothing else and that is almost always a good idea. For once though, Raw is on a roll as we move towards Backlash. If this show can continue that streak, they’ll be able to say…..however you praise something in Italian. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Coach to get things going. Coach isn’t happy with last week’s announcement of the Backlash main event, so therefore we’ll do his original idea tonight: John Cena vs. Rated-RKO in a handicap match. With that out of the way, Coach introduces Vince McMahon (again with the snappy hat). After saying he doesn’t understand any of the fans’ chants, Vince talks about how he has received a better reception from every other city in Europe. Milan is supposed to be the fashion capital of the world but look at these people and tell him that is true.

Vince insults the smell of garlic in the city and brings out Umaga, with Armando Alejandro Estrada. We see a clip of Umaga and company destroying Bobby Lashley last week, followed by Vince announcing that Lashley is not here as he did not clear customs to enter the country. With that out of the way, Vince says he wants to see Umaga in action tonight, so someone can come out here and face him. With no one coming, Vince offers to make it an Intercontinental Title match.

Still no takers, so Vince asks for someone to come out of the crowd. A fan agrees and says si, he does understand English. The soccer chants are on and Vince explains the idea of a hold harmless clause. The fan is down with that and says his name is Santino Marella. Let’s do it.

Intercontinental Title: Santino Marella vs. Umaga

Marella is challenging and hammers away, including some kicks at the leg. Umaga misses a charge into the post and Santino is on a roll….but Vince remembers that this is no holds barred. Estrada offers a distraction and Umaga runs Santino over, allowing Estrada to get in some slaps of his own. Umaga hits a Vader Bomb but here is Lashley to slam Umaga off the top. The brawl is on so Vince grabs a chair, which Lashley takes away and blasts Umaga again. A spear cuts Umaga down and Lashley puts Santino on top for the pin and the title.

Rating: D. The match was nothing of course and there is nothing wrong with that. This was all about letting Lashley get one up on the villains and it worked out well enough. WWE gets a bit of fresh blood on their roster as well and Santino winning is certainly a surprise upset. Good angle, but nothing as a match.

The big celebration is on (which is weird with no music) as we take a break. Back with Jerry Lawler in the ring with Lashley and Marella. Lashley says he’ll keep his ECW World Title at Backlash, but tonight is about Santino. Some Italian cheap pops ensue as Santino isn’t a big talker to start.

Ric Flair talks to Carlito about the beautiful Italian women. Carlito is sorry for walking out on him last week but Flair says it’s ok. They’ll win tonight and get back in contention, though Carlito doesn’t seem convinced after Flair leaves.

Ric Flair/Carlito vs. World’s Greatest Tag Team

Torrie Wilson is here with Flair/Carlito. Benjamin and Carlito start things off with Carlito hitting a hiptoss into a slam. Haas and Benjamin are cleared out in a hurry so Haas comes in to shoulder Flair in the corner. That doesn’t seem to bother Flair, who goes after Haas’ leg but Benjamin cuts him off.

The villains take over on Flair with Haas kicking and punching away. Flair gets taken into the corner for some alternating stomping but Flair suplexes his way to freedom. The hot tag brings in Carlito to slug away as everything breaks down. The referee gets rid of Flair, allowing Haas to trip Carlito into Benjamin’s exploder for the pin.

Rating: C-. The problems continue for Flair and Carlito, who don’t seem to be long for the tag team ranks. You don’t often come back from the communication issues world and that looks like where they are now. I’m not sure what is next for either of them after they’re done with each other, but it isn’t like this is some epic story in the first place.

Post match, Carlito is incredibly frustrated and storms off, leaving Torrie with Flair (that seems like a really bad idea).

We look at Michael Pena setting up the four way at Backlash for the WWE Championship.

John Cena, who is REALLY not popular here, gives Maria a special look before talking about how there is one champ around here. Cue Shawn Michaels to say he was here to bail Cena out on the way to Wrestlemania. Now though, he doesn’t care what happens to Cena and next week, he’s leaving Cena on his back.

There is an Italian announce team at ringside and one of them looks like Tazz.

The Condemned has a villain.

Melina is getting ready for the Divas Fashion Show and Johnny Nitro is rather pleased. Cue Eugene to stare at her, which doesn’t please Nitro as much.

Great Khali is coming to Raw.

Johnny Nitro vs. Eugene

Nitro stomps away to start, both on the mat and in the corner. Some shots to the head set up a flipping neckbreaker to put Eugene away in just over a minute.

We look at Milan’s fashion industry.

It’s time for a Diva Fashion Show, featuring a guy named Paolo Marilla (he’s in a tuxedo and seems to be a big shot in fashion) as the host. First up is Candice Michelle with an angel’s wings dress. Victoria takes off her shoes and almost marches down the ramp. Mickie is in more regular clothes with I guess the higher fashion idea. Maria and Torrie Wilson are in rather limited clothing and Melina is in a dress we saw a few minutes ago. Torrie wins so Melina jumps her until Mickie makes the save. This was another reason to have the Divas in the ring together.

Jeff Hardy vs. Lance Cade

Matt Hardy and Trevor Murdoch are here too. Feeling out process to start with the referee having to yell at Cade for being too aggressive. Cade slams Hardy but misses a clothesline, allowing Jeff to hit Whisper in the Wind for two. Back up and Cade hits some knees to the ribs, with Murdoch adding a cheap shot for a bonus.

Jeff is back up with a dropkick through the ropes to take Murdoch down but Cade kicks him in the face. Matt chases Murdoch off after another cheap shot and a headbutt gives Cade two. An elbow to the face into a snapmare gets the same but Hardy is back up with the sitout jawbreaker. The yet to be named Sling Blade sets up the Swanton, which hits knees thanks to a Murdoch distraction. A clothesline gives Cade the upset pin.

Rating: C. It’s almost weird to see Cade getting a feature match but he was showcased fairly well here. It puts a bit of heat on the title match at Backlash, or at least as much can be put on a Tag Team Title match these days. Cade looked like a star here though and that’s a bright sign for his future.

The Condemned has stunts!

Here is Chris Masters to talk about various works of art here in Italy. There have been some amazing works, but none of the masters have ever created a masterpiece like him.

Chris Masters vs. Super Crazy

They fight over a lockup to start with Masters powering him around. Back up and Masters sends him outside, setting up a big running flip dive. Back in and Masters avoids a moonsault (or “look at this move”) according to Lawler so the stomping can ensue. Masters whips him hard into the corner for two but has to counter a crucifix into something like a Samoan drop for two more.

The chinlock puts Crazy in more trouble and it works so well that Masters puts it on again. Crazy fights up and starts kicking at Masters’ legs for the break, setting up a standing flipping legdrop for two. Masters doesn’t seem to mind and catches him with a wheelbarrow suplex for the pin.

Rating: C. I liked this more than I thought I would and a lot of that is due to Masters mixing things up a bit. Yeah he did the same offense until the ending but then it wasn’t the Masterlock for the first time pretty much ever. That has been one of the biggest problems with Masters for a very long time now so it is nice to see him throw in a curve ball. Crazy’s usual charisma made it even better so well done on a totally watchable match.

Rated-RKO blame each other for various things but tonight they are going to get on the same page to take out John Cena.

John Cena vs. Rated-RKO

Non-title. Edge starts for the team and gets caught in an early release fisherman’s suplex for two. Cena grabs a rollup for the same as he’s in desperation mode early on. A front facelock doesn’t get Cena very far as the fans are all over him. Orton comes in and gets taken down for two (with JR saying a pin would have been cool). Some forearms to the chest have Cena in trouble and he scores with a big boot (Has he ever used that before?) as Edge comes in to send us to a break.

Back with Edge knocking Cena off the apron and into the announcers’ table as the beating continues. Orton powers him back inside to hammer away and it’s back to Edge for a big boot of his own. Now it’s Orton getting to forearm away even more but Edge has to Edge-O-Matic his way out of an FU attempt. Cena knocks Edge off the top and hits the top rope Fameasser but Orton is right back in to cut him off.

Cue Shawn Michaels as Cena fights back, including the Shuffle to Edge. Orton dropkicks Cena to break up the FU on Edge and the referee gets bumped. Back up and Edge spears Orton by mistake. Shawn comes in and tries a superkick to Cena but takes Edge out instead. The FU to Shawn allows Cena to pin Edge and escape.

Rating: C-. Kind of a dull match here but the ending sequence got better. Part of the problem was that this was mainly spent on Edge and Orton slowly beating Cena down, which isn’t the most thrilling match. At least they gave us something interesting in the ending, but it was definitely a slower paced main event.

Overall Rating: C. You’re only going to get so much out of these international shows, with the opening segment being the only thing worth seeing. The rest of the show was completely watchable, but it’s not like the majority of it is all that great. Backlash is starting to take shape and we have Cena vs. Michaels set for next week, so call this a step towards the future without doing much on its own.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: April 9, 2007
Location: Harbor Yard Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Attendance: 6,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re officially done with the Wrestlemania victory lap week and that means it is time to start getting ready for Backlash. That could mean more than a few things, but it certainly feels like Wrestlemania fallout is in full swing. Vince McMahon vs. Bobby Lashley and John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels are both continuing and that is likely to be your focus this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Shane McMahon to get things going. Shane talks about the power of the McMahon name and usually it is greeted with respect. Lately though, it has been greeted with laughter due to what happened to Vince McMahon at Wrestlemania. Tonight is about the McMahon Family dynasty though and it is time to restore honor to the name. Shane calls out Bobby Lashley and his request is granted in a hurry.

Since the McMahons have lost their dignity, Lashley needs to lose what matters to him the most. Therefore tonight, Lashley is defending his title against Shane himself. Cue Umaga and Armando Alejandro Estrada, but Shane says he’d doing this on his own, even getting in Umaga’s face and slapping Estrada. Lashley is down with the title match, but wants Shane’s hair on the line too. That’s cool with Shane, who is showing some moxxy here.

Mickie James/Candice Michelle vs. Melina/Victoria

Candice starts with Melina but she wants Mickie instead. That’s fine with Mickie, who gets punched in the face almost immediately. Mickie takes her into the corner and brings in Candice to start working on the arm. Candice chokes her on the ropes but Victoria gets in a cheap shot to take over without much trouble.

Victoria ties her in the Tree of Woe and egads the crowd is quiet here. Something like an upside down Bronco Buster gives Melina two and it’s time to stretch both of Candice’s arms at once. Victoria misses the slingshot legdrop though and Mickie comes in for a neckbreaker. Everything breaks down and the MickieDT finishes Victoria.

Rating: C. Totally watchable match here as they kept it short and didn’t have Candice on offense that much. Mickie and Victoria can do whatever they need to in the ring and Melina is getting better. Candice is still a work in progress but she has improved and that is a good sign for her future.

We look at Vince McMahon getting his head shaved at Wrestlemania.

Mick Foley is with Michael Pena, a kid who is tonight’s General Manager (thanks to Make-A-Wish). The Highlanders comes in and introduce themselves, with Foley suggesting Pena put them in a wild match. Instead, Pena meets Maria, which goes a bit better. Pena looks at the camera and gets the cheap pop for praising Bridgeport. The more I see of these Make-A-Wish moments, the more I see why the wrestlers rave about them. They’re just cool, especially with the smiles on the kids’ faces.

Ric Flair and Carlito come out for a match, but first, Carlito reminds Flair of the time that he said Carlito had no heart or passion. That made Carlito angry, but you don’t get a wake up call from the 16 time World Champion very often. Carlito talks about how important it is to see someone who paved the way and we get a clip from the Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen DVD (Flair: “MY SHOES COST MORE THAN YOUR HOUSE!”). Back in the arena, Flair is touched and Carlito says that once they win tonight, they get a Tag Team Title shot at Backlash. That’s cool.

Ric Flair/Carlito vs. Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch

Torrie Wilson is here with Flair and Carlito and the winners get the Backlash Tag Team Title shot. We’re joined in progress with Flair chopping away at Cade, who cuts him off with a jumping clothesline. Murdoch comes in and hammers away on Flair, including a slap to the back (that’s a different one).

A belly to back suplex gets two on Flair with Carlito making the save. The neck crank goes on but Flair fights up and starts chopping away. The hot tag brings in Carlito to clean house, including the knee lift into a clothesline for two on Murdoch. Everything breaks down and Carlito misses his springboard back elbow. With Flair on the floor, a High/Low gives Murdoch the pin on Carlito.

Rating: C-. Pretty basic match here with Flair getting to come in and do his chopping, though another loss doesn’t exactly make Carlito look great. The tag division isn’t all that deep in the first place, though Cade/Murdoch vs. the Hardys should be good. I don’t know if Flair and Carlito have much of a future, but at least it gave Flair something to do.

Post match Flair goes to console Carlito, who walks out on him. It’s not like this was going to be some long term story or anything so they aren’t quite cutting it off too soon.

Video on the Condemned. Egads I’m getting See No Evil flashbacks with all of this hype.

Coach tries to talk Shane McMahon out of the title match and is basically told to mind his own business.

Shawn Michaels is tired of how things have been around here so he is going to start telling it like it is. Tonight he is facing Randy Orton in a #1 contenders match and it is going to be about who wants it more. Randy Orton comes in and says Shawn’s days as the top contender are over. Shawn says Orton wins because he is the 1000th man to say Shawn can’t win around here. Orton’s prize: some new teeth after Shawn kicks his out of his mouth.

Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton

Shawn finally comes out to his own theme instead of the DX song. Shawn’s headlock is countered so he grabs a hammerlock instead. Orton gets smart by grabbing the arm to escape, earning herself a headlock takeover. Somehow Shawn’s eyes has been busted open and Orton slams him down but misses a knee drop, allowing Shawn to start in on said knee. We hit the leg crank as they’re still in second gear at most. Orton kicks Shawn away and into the post to take over but here is Edge to watch as we take a break.

Back with Orton hitting a backdrop and elbowing Shawn out to the apron. The leg keeps giving Orton problems but he’s fine enough to hit the hanging DDT for some near falls. Orton grabs the chinlock but Shawn doesn’t waste time before coming back up to escape and hit the swinging neckbreaker. The flying forearm hits the referee but Shawn doesn’t seem to mind and hits the top rope elbow anyway.

Edge offers the distraction though and Orton gets in a Cactus Clothesline. Orton doesn’t like Edge being out there so he throws Shawn back inside and takes a swing, earning himself a spear. Edge throws Orton and the referee back inside, where Shawn hits a quick Sweet Chin Music. Another referee comes in to count the pin…but all four shoulders are down, as pointed out by the original referee. Therefore, Edge’s music plays as the referees aren’t sure who wins.

Rating: B-. This was a messy match with a lot going on with Edge and the two referees. I can go with doing something else to set up a bigger main event down the line though, as the four way at Backlash seems likely. Good enough for a first step though, which shouldn’t be surprising given who was in there.

Randy Orton storms into Shane McMahon’s office to rant about what happened. Shane tells him to go talk to Coach, because Shane has to worry about his hair.

Val Venis and Super Crazy sign autographs for Michael Pena when Cryme Tyme come in. They think they need a raise, but Foley says Pena can’t perform miracles. Johnny Nitro comes in and walks away without saying anything but here is Coach to get in Pena’s face. Coach says he makes the big decisions around here but Edge comes in to say he needs to talk to Coach about what just happened. With the two of them gone, Mick Foley and Pena suggest that they have something planned.

Hardys vs. World’s Greatest Tag Team

Non-title. Haas hammerlocks Matt to start but gets kicked into the corner for the tag to Jeff. The flip dive/fist drop combination keeps Haas in trouble and Jeff gets up, only to have Benjamin jump up and springboard kick him in the head (because Shelton can just do that). Benjamin comes in to grab the chinlock, which doesn’t even last as long as usual. Jeff fights up and makes the hot tag off to Matt as everything breaks down. Poetry in Motion into the Twist of Fate into the Swanton finishes Benjamin.

Rating: C. That certainly was a Hardys match and I’m not sure what else to say about it. They played the hits and they all worked, but it wasn’t like this was anything that they haven’t done a hundred times before. It was certainly good, but it felt like a way to say “hey, the Hardys are still here”.

Here is Edge for the Cutting Edge. Before we get anywhere, Edge wants to talk about what happened with Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton, because they both LOST. Edge has been talking to Coach and they both think that he should be the new #1 contender. Cue Orton to chase Edge off and say HE has talked to Coach too and HE should get the title shot. Now it’s Shawn coming out to say it’s his title shot because he is the better man.

We need the champ out here so it’s John Cena joining everyone. Cena says they all want title shots, but the last time Edge got a shot, it was in his match in his hometown and that didn’t work out for him. Cena is fine with beating him again though, which Edge likes. Orton has been complaining about never having a shot but whose fault is that? If Orton wants to dance, Cena isn’t hard to find. That leaves Shawn, who wants to recreate Wrestlemania, so Cena is with him.

Cue Coach to make a ruling: Cena will defend against Edge and Orton at Backlash in a handicap match….but here is Mick Foley to say hang on. See, Coach just isn’t in charge tonight, so here is Michael Pena to make the four way match at Backlash instead. That’s pretty cool and it’s rather sweet to see.

ECW World Title: Bobby Lashley vs. Shane McMahon

Lashley is defending and it’s title vs. hair. Shane jumps him before the bell and sends Lashley into the post to drop him on the floor. A running shoulder drives Lashley into the steps and there’s the bell so Shane can get two. Shane hammers away in the corner but gets tossed with an overhead belly to belly. There’s a t-bone suplex for a bonus….and then Shane punches the referee for the DQ.

Post match here is Umaga, flanked by Armando Alejandro Estrada and Vince McMahon, for the brawl. The big beatdown is on in a hurry, including the running hip attack in the corner and a chair shot to Lashley’s head. Lashley is busted open and Vince reveals the bald head. Vince rants at Lashley and says it’s 3-1 at Backlash for the ECW World Title. More beating ensues, including the Samoan Spike to end the show. So Shane gets his head shaved for losing by DQ right?

Overall Rating: C+. This show was about setting up Backlash and they nailed the two big matches in one night. That’s all they needed to do here and they even threw in the Michael Pena stuff to make it that much nicer. Raw has been on a role lately and they’re even maintaining it after Wrestlemania. I don’t expect it to last, but dang it has been fun for a little while.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: March 12, 2007
Location: Verizon Center, Washington DC
Attendance: 14,740
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We are less than three weeks away from Wrestlemania and it’s another Donald Trump show as the contract has to be signed. Other than that, the World Title situation has been picking up as you can feel the tension building between Shawn Michaels and John Cena. The shows have actually been working well as of late and that might be the case again this week. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Ernie Ladd.

We open with a recap of Shawn Michaels and John Cena not needing the other to save them, with Shawn barely saving Cena to end the show.

Here is John Cena to get things going. Cena knows there is tension in the air because he doesn’t know if he can trust Shawn Michaels. When is Shawn going to betray him and get it over with? If Shawn wants to turn on his tag partner then fine, but if Shawn wants to kick his teeth down his throat, come out here and do it right now.

Cue Shawn, but Cena cuts him off to say this is all about the title. Shawn says he isn’t going to win Good Samaritan this year because all he cares about is being WWE Champion. People have been asking when he is going to turn on Cena, but why aren’t people asking when Cena is going to turn on him? Cena will do anything to be champion and that’s what Shawn likes about him. As much as Cena wants to be champion, Shawn wants one more day in the sun that much more.

Violence is teased but here is Coach to interrupt. All this talk about the WWE Title has taken focus off of the Tag Team Titles and there are a lot of teams ready to take their heads off. That’s why tonight, it’s a gauntlet match against three teams. It seems to be three straight title matches, and the third is going to take place inside a steel cage.

Celebrities pick who they want to see bald.

Donald Trump arrives.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Randy Orton vs. Carlito vs. Ric Flair

Elimination rules so Orton has to fight off a double team out of the corner. Back to back dropkicks put Carlito and Flair down but Flair is back up with the chops. Carlito does the same in the corner and gets two off a back elbow to the face. Flair takes out the knee and Carlito hits the springboard elbow. For reasons of good guys in wrestling are idiots, Carlito wants to put on the RKO so a fight breaks out with Flair. The Backstabber to Flair sets up the RKO for the elimination and we take a break.

Back with Carlito crawling to the ropes to get out of a Boston crab. That’s fine with Orton, as he gets in the Garvin Stomp into the jumping knee for two. Orton punches him down in the corner and we hit the chinlock. Carlito, eventually, fights up and snaps off a hurricanrana into a flapjack for two. The springboard spinning Swanton gets two but Orton crotches him on top. The RKO sends Orton to Wrestlemania.

Rating: C-. The elimination rule was little more than a way for Carlito to look like a moron, which he tends to do on his own. The Carlito/Flair stuff makes sense on paper, but then falls apart when you realize that it’s a story about Carlito. Orton going on makes sense as he needs something to do at Wrestlemania and he looked pretty dominant on the way there.

Video on Bobby Lashley vs. Vince McMahon.

It’s time for a Masterlock Challenge but no one comes out. Chris Masters offers Lilian Garcia a chance but here is Super Crazy for the save. Crazy gets in a few shots but gets Masterlocked down. This was every Masterlock Challenge for months now.

Vince McMahon arrives and tells Donald Trump’s driver to tell Trump that his is bigger than Trump’s. The limo that is.

Video on Ernie Ladd, who I like more and more every time I see something from him.

Edge and Randy Orton are getting ready in the back but stop to bicker about winning Money in the Bank. Edge is undefeated, but the only reason is he never faced Randy Orton.

Lilian Garcia asks us to look at the Titantron for a public service announcement. Someone is reading the Los Angeles Times and talking about the Battle of the Billionaires. The paper is folded down…..and it’s the Rock. Well that wakes the crowd up. Rock talks about being Samoan himself and knows that Umaga is Samoan for shriveled up monkey censored. How is Vince going to win with a shriveled up monkey censored? Rock hits some catchphrases and we’re done in a hurry. This was as fast paced of a cameo as you’re going to get.

Ashley had a Playboy signing in New York City.

Tag Team Titles: Gauntlet Match

John Cena and Shawn Michaels are defending in three straight matches. First up is the World’s Greatest Tag Team so Cena hiptosses and elbows Benjamin down to start. The release fisherman’s suplex gets two but Benjamin gets him into the corner for the tag to Haas. Some right hands and a slam set up more right hands but Cena runs him over. The hot(ish) tag brings in Michaels to clean house until Cena tags himself back in. The STFU, with a glare at Michaels, makes Haas tap.

Trevor Murdoch and Lance Cade are in next with an atomic drop/big boot combination to take over on Michaels. Murdoch’s slingshot knee gives Cade two and a jumping clothesline is good for the same. The bearhug doesn’t last long as Michaels punches his way out and hits an enziguri. Cena gets the tag and starts to wreck things, including the FU to Murdoch….at least in theory, as Shawn superkicks Murdoch for the pin instead. The cage is lowered and it’s MNM as the third challengers.

We’re joined in progress with Nitro getting two on Cena before grabbing the chinlock. That doesn’t last long as Cena is up in a hurry for another tag back to Michaels. Nitro takes Michaels down as well and it’s time for some choking. A neckbreaker gives Nitro two but the yet to be named Starship Pain misses.

Despite Mercury getting in a cheap shot on Cena, Michaels gets over for the tag anyway and it’s time to clean house. Everything breaks down and it turns into a contest to see who can abuse Mercury worse. Mercury is busted open but Michaels and Cena get into it again, this time over which finisher to use. Nitro gets dropped so it’s a superkick to send Mercury into the FU to retain.

Rating: C. This was little more than a workout for Cena and Michaels, as the other three teams just aren’t close to them. It took about six minutes to beat the first two and then not much more than that to take out MNM. The feud has been doing good things for Cena and Michaels but it has shown how weak the tag division is. Then again, that has been pretty clear for a long time now.

Post match the cage is raised and the other teams come in to go after Michaels and Cena. That’s fine with Cena, who grabs a chair to wreck everyone. Cena teases hitting Michaels but everything is cool and the champs leave everyone laying.

Jeff Hardy vs. Edge

Hold on though as Edge is in street clothes. He would love to come down and beat up Jeff Hardy but he isn’t wrestling in a city with a football team named after a racial slur. Replacement time, as Edge has a friend of Indian descent.

Jeff Hardy vs. Great Khali

Hardy isn’t sure about this but hammers away to no avail. Khali throws him down without much trouble, hits him in the head, and yells a lot. Cue Kane though…..and he has some meat hooks on a chain (his See No Evil weapon) so we’ll call it from here.

Post match Khali runs away from the threat of likely death so Kane uses the hooks to destroy the announcers’ table instead.

Donald Trump wants to know if Vince McMahon’s hair is fake.

Mr. Fuji is going into the Hall of Fame. Other than Billy Gunn and Kofi Kingston, he held a Tag Team Title longer than any man in company history so yeah, he belongs in there.

Mick Foley is proud of his new book, the Hardcore Diaries, and talks about some things he discusses, including Vince McMahon’s lack of creative genius and ECW. Cue Ashley, who offers a copy of Playboy for the book. Foley says he won’t look at the pictures because he can’t look at Ashley that way. As luck would have it, Foley has a page marked in his book about his thoughts on his co-workers in Playboy. He turns around to the open magazine and Ron Simmons comes in for his catchphrase.

We get a Battle of the Billionaires tale of the tape.

Vince is getting his hair ready and reminds the hairdresser that he is bigger than Trump. Coach comes in to praise Vince’s hair but Vince goes on a rant about how Coach’s bald head reminds him too much of Trump.

Melina vs. Torrie Wilson

Non-title. Torrie gets two off a bridging rollup, which has commentary rather approving. Another rollup gets another two as commentary talks about various magazines. Melina fights up but gets knocked down, allowing JR to mention that Torrie is from the potato state of Idaho. That’s enough for Melina, who grabs a rollup with trunks for the pin.

Post match the beatdown stays on until Mickie James runs in for the save, with Victoria right behind her. Melina is left alone so here is Ashley to beat her down instead.

Edge comes up to Vince McMahon in the back and offers to have Rated-RKO take care of Bobby Lashley on ECW. How about tomorrow, Lashley faces Randy Orton? If Orton can’t go though, he should be thrown out of Money in the Bank. Vince is good with that.

Here is Vince McMahon for the contract signing, though first he has to slip on the way into the ring. Vince talks about how Donald Trump won’t be able to get out of this one and brings out Umaga, with Armando Alejandro Estrada of course. There is no Trump though and Vince thinks it is due to cowardice.

The threat of a Billionaire B**** Slap brings out Trump, flanked by Maria and Candice Michelle. Trump: “Vince, your grapefruits are no match for my Trump towers.” He brings out Bobby Lashley (Trump: “Love you Bobby. Do we love Bobby? Do we love Bobby?”) and says these people seem to like him. Vince doesn’t care what the people or celebrities think and they both sign.

Cue Steve Austin to keep the star power and Vince’s panicking going. Austin asks the fans about their picks for the match before telling Trump that he is in his ring. Trump does nothing but tell people they’re fired, but don’t get on Austin’s bad side or he’ll take him out. Trump smirks it off so Austin goes over to Vince to ask about his problem with bald people (as we cut to Lashley and then back to Austin).

Vince isn’t happy so Austin grabs him by the tie and threatens various acts of violence. Austin leaves so Vince recaps everything again before leaving. Hold on though as Trump has something of his own: FAKE PHOTOS OF A BALD VINCE!!! Trump wants to fight Vince right now so Vince gets back in, only to be shoved over the table to end the show. This was the big angle of the night and while things are a bit different in hindsight, they knew what they had here and the money they made on Wrestlemania showed how right they were.

Overall Rating: C. This one is going to depend on how you look at it. While the wrestling itself was nothing memorable whatsoever, they’re in a bit of a unique spot. Wrestlemania is set and there is nothing else that really needs to be added. That means the rest of the time is going to be spent firming things up, hence the 20+ minute main event segment. The show isn’t very good on its own, but as part of the build to Wrestlemania, it worked rather well.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: February 19, 2007
Location: Rabobank Arena, Bakersfield, California
Attendance: 8,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re done with No Way Out and that means we have less than six weeks to go before Wrestlemania XXIII. The main events are set but we still need a bit more of the card to come together. That means we could be in for something good tonight, which will likely not include another appearance from Donald Trump. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a barber’s chair and barber shop pole in the ring (which is thankfully minus any windows). Vince McMahon comes out to say the Battle of the Billionaires is ready on and he can’t believe it. Donald Trump is going to come into his most prized creation, where Vince’s representative is going to beat him. Then McMahon is going to go over and beat Trump up, so that he can tell Trump that it’s time to be bald.

The good thing is that being bald is en vogue right now, so we look at Brittney Spears with her shaved head. Vince talks about the various haircuts he might give Trump, which means we get a McMahon favorite: WACKY PHOTOSHOPPED PICTURES!!! Anyway, Vince wants us to meet his personal representative, so here is Umaga. Armando Alejandro Estrada talks about how Umaga is happy to be Vince’s representative, but Vince isn’t done. Right now, Umaga is going to become…..the Intercontinental Champion!

Intercontinental Title: Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga

Umaga is challenging and we are joined in progress with Hardy sending Umaga outside. The baseball slide through the ropes staggers Umaga but the slingshot dive is pulled out of the air. That’s escaped as well so Hardy runs the barricade, only to have his dive knocked away with ease.

They head back in where Umaga drops a leg and we hit the nerve hold as Lawler talks about how horrible it is to have your head shaved. Hardy manages to avoid the charge in the corner so Umaga’s head slams into the post. The Whisper in the Wind gets two but Umaga catches him with the Samoan drop. The running hip attack in the corner sets up the Samoan Spike to give Umaga the pin and the title.

Rating: C. Hardy was the sacrificial lamb here and that’s all he was supposed to be. They needed to make Umaga look like a bigger deal going into his huge Wrestlemania match so putting him over a popular star like Hardy makes sense. Umaga winning the title is hardly some big upset so go with the right move here and everyone wins. Well maybe not Hardy.

Ric Flair/Carlito vs. Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch

Torrie Wilson is here with Carlito and Flair, the latter of whom takes over on Cade’s arm to start. Carlito comes in for the springboard elbow to the face and the running knee lift. A distraction lets Cade hit a Side Effect though and Murdoch comes in to hammer away. The villains take turns stomping away and we hit the neck crank on Carlito.

A back elbow to the face puts him down again but Murdoch misses an elbow. It’s back to Flair for the rapid fire chops and right hands, setting up the chop block. The Figure Four is paused so Flair can punch Cade out of the air, allowing Carlito to come in for a double clothesline to the floor. Flair hits Murdoch low and the Backstabber gives Carlito the pin.

Rating: C-. Just a tag match here as Carlito and Flair are starting the mentor/mentee deal. Granted it might be a bit better if it was anyone but Carlito, though at least they have something going on here. I’m not sure how far this is going to go, but Flair in a midcard role to give Carlito a rub is going to work out well enough.

John Cena and Shawn Michaels are happy they won last night but Shawn’s goal is still to keep Cena safe until Wrestlemania. Violence is teased….but Shawn plugs the new DX DVD instead. Cena counters with the unrated version of the Marine DVD. They brag about their DVDs until Big Dick Johnson comes in to dance. Shawn superkicks him, earning a thank you from Cena.

Rated-RKO is getting a Tag Team Title shot next week and Randy Orton is ready to destroy John Cena tonight. Edge is more excited about Money in the Bank so he better go qualify.

We look at Edge winning Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania XXI.

We look at Rob Van Dam winning Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania XXII.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Edge vs. Rob Van Dam

Edge’s wristlock doesn’t get him very far to start as Van Dam slips away and hits the finger pointing. Some kicks put Edge into the corner for the monkey flip and it’s time to go to the floor for a break. Back with Van Dam working on an armbar and then cranking back on said arm for two. Rob knocks him outside and hits the spinning kick to the back over the barricade.

Edge is rocked but he is fine enough to come back with a hanging swinging neckbreaker. It’s Rob in trouble for the first time and Edge goes really evil by mocking the finger point. Dude, gimmick infringement is never cool. The chinlock goes on until Rob kicks him in the head for the break and there’s the running spinwheel kick in the corner. Rolling Thunder is loaded up but Edge reverses into a powerslam in a nice counter.

Edge crotches him on top but the superplex attempt is broken up with another crotching. Rob kicks him to the floor and follows with a nice dive. Back in and Edge dropkicks him out of the air for two, only to have the spear hit the corner. The split legged moonsault gives Van Dam two more and there’s the step over kick to the face. The Five Star is loaded up but Randy Orton comes out for the distraction, allowing Edge to hit the spear for the pin.

Rating: B-. These two were having a heck of a match and I was getting into the back and forth stuff to the point where the Orton interference surprised me. Edge winning is fine and it makes sense to push a Raw star over one of the only ECW stars, so go with what makes the most sense in a pretty big match. The fact that it was good made it even better.

Women’s Title: Melina vs. Mickie James

Melina is challenging and even JR is half drooling over the two of them. They fight over a lockup to start with neither being able to get very far. Mickie takes her down by the hair and hits a basement dropkick to send Melina outside. The baseball slide is cut off and Mickie is sent into the barricade for a crash.

Back in and Melina throws her down by the hair before tying up the legs. That goes nowhere as Mickie sweeps the legs and hammers away, followed by some hair tosses. The Thesz press lets Mickie hammer away even more but Melina grabs the ropes to counter a hurricanrana. Mickie lands HARD on her head, allowing Melina to grab a jackknife cover for the pin and the title.

Rating: D+. That felt like an injury ending and if that is the case, good for them for wrapping up the match as soon as they did. It was a nasty landing and the medics checking on Mickie after the match was hardly surprising. Melina winning the title makes sense as she has been the biggest star in the division as of late so let her run with the thing.

Post match Mickie is checked on while the paparazzi swarm Melina.

Post break, Mickie doesn’t want to talk about what happened and slaps Todd Grisham for not getting it.

Great Khali vs. Highlanders

Khali knocks both of them around like he’s the Great Khali and they’re the Highlanders and the chop puts Rory on the floor. Robbie gets chokeslammed for the pin with a boot on the chest.

Some of the cast of Grindhouse is here.

We look back at the opening sequence and the HILARIOUS Trump photos. There was a Mr. T. and Hulk Hogan version for Wrestlemania flavor.

Kenny Dykstra is asking Coach for more competition but Great Khali comes in to scare Kenny off. Khali wants better competition and Coach agrees. That’s enough for Khali to leave, so here is Ron Simmons for a subdued catchphrase.

Ashley revealed her Playboy cover on Smackdown.

Melina is happy to have won the title but she wants to know why Ashley is getting all of the attention. Do you know how many times she has turned Playboy down?

Mr. Perfect is going into the Hall of Fame, as he should. We get a montage of Perfect being amazing at sports, which it turns out he could do, but not when the camera was on. The solution? Lie to him about the camera being on.

Wrestlemania Recall: Wrestlemania I.

Randy Orton vs. John Cena

Non-title. Orton drives him into the corner to start and stomps him down without much effort. Cena is right back with the release fisherman’s suplex for two, with JR connecting the bridges and calling it a near PerfectPlex. A slam and elbow get two on Orton but Cena misses a charge and gets clotheslined down for the same. It doesn’t seem to bother Cena, who is right back with a bulldog to send Orton outside. Back in and it’s a double clothesline to put both of them down for a breather. Orton rolls outside again and grabs a chair as we take a break.

Back with Cena missing the shoulder and Orton hits the hanging DDT. Orton hammers him down in the corner and it’s time for the circle stomp. The big knee drop gets two and we hit the rare standing chinlock. Make that the seated chinlock but Cena powers out, only to get punched in the face. Cena makes the clothesline comeback and it’s the Throwback into the Shuffle. Orton rakes his eyes to escape the FU and there’s a dropkick to put Cena down again. The high crossbody connects but Cena rolls through for two. Orton is back with the backbreaker but the RKO is shoved away. The FU is loaded up again, drawing in Edge for the DQ.

Rating: B-. It’s so weird to see this as a fresh match but these two do work well together. You can see them doing their things and setting up their big stuff but neither of them could get that far ahead. Edge running in for the DQ wasn’t the biggest surprise after Orton ran out earlier, but they were having another good match on the way there.

Post match the Conchairto is loaded up but Shawn Michaels runs in for the save. Shawn grabs the chair and teases hitting Cena but throws it down instead. Shawn: “Not this time.” A tease of a superkick ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show started slowly but picked up near the end, which is always nice to see. You can feel the Wrestlemania build coming and that is a nice feeling, as they are getting the big pieces in place early. Money in the Bank is going to give some other people something to do and the rest of the card can fill itself out. Good enough show here, as the Road to Wrestlemania is starting to come together.

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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