Kane and Big Show defeated Carlito and Chris Masters to retain Tag Titles. Nice unexpected booking at the beginning with Masters first overpowering Kane, only to have the big red machine use some agility to sway the momentum back towards the champs. Some ok back & forth action followed, with some decent double-team maneuvers. But the bout never really lived up to its potential, due to relatively unimaginative booking. It all resulted in the huge face champs retaining at just the 7 minute mark. **
RVD defated Matt Hardy, Shelton Benjamin, Ric Flair, Finlay, and Lashley to win the MITB. LOL at the sign in the crowd asking for an escalator for Flair! My goodness, it didn’t take too long at all for (a) a ladder to get involved & (b) a holy $hit moment to occur, as Benjamin walked up a ladder & performed a huge somersault dive to the outside. The high impact continues as Hardy superplexes Flair off the top of a ladder, which results in Flair being carried to the back at just the 3 minute mark. He isn’t there long though & is back by the 7 minute mark! Some really good, entertaining & impact-filled moves followed by all 6 men. I can’t say there was too much that was anything super original for the remainder of the bout, but it still had me very enthralled. In fact, despite a (pleasing) general feel of control over proceedings, 2 of the best spots of the bout weren’t quite captured well enough by the cameras. Due to the frenetic beginning of the bout, I wasn’t too surprised to see the match come to an end at only the 13 minute mark, with RVD clearing a 2 ladder set-up of Benjamin & Hardy to grab the suitcase & the victory. *** 1/2
JBL defeated Chris Benoit to win the U.S Title. Very good first few minutes to this bout, which nicely combined intensity, technical wrestling & brawling. The match then pleasingly settled down well without getting too slow-paced. All the while, JBL increased his heel heat with some mocking of Eddie Guerrero. The inevitable JBL resthold did come, but it fitted in sufficiently & thankfully didn’t take place too early in the match. He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named then (wisely) took control of the bout & kept it on track. This was right up until the clever, if premature, finish which saw JBL roll through on the crippler crossface (& use the ropes) for the pinfall at a little under 10 minutes. Really nice ending, but what came before should have been stretched out a lot longer to make it mean more. *** 1/2
Edge further tarnished Mick Foley's legendary status. Edge predictably came equipped to begin the bout & has the better of the first few minutes with cookie-sheet & road-sign shots. For a few fleeting moments there, I had unpleasant memories of the now defunct WWE Hardcore Division. But they were swept aside when Edge hit a spear & came up bleeding on the arm. In a revelation that was only partially successful (in my opinion), Foley showed that he had barbed wire wrapped in between flannel shirts around his body! After some Foley offense, Edge regains control with 2 very good (& simple) spots involving the ringsteps. Foley then reveals his favorite barbed-wire covered baseball bat (Barbie), but it backfires as Edge uses it to best advantage & busts Mick open. Next out are the thumbtacks, but Edge gets suplexed into them! A barbed-wire Socko follows (to both Edge & Lita), before Mick finally uses Barbie to his advantage & makes Edge bleed profusely from the forehead. This leads to the huge finishing spot where Lita sets a table on fire & Edge spears Foley through it from the apron to the outside at the 15 minute mark for the victory. That was a true “Holy $hit†moment! A little difficult to rate as I wasn’t too sure what to think of it initially. But these 2 worked very hard to make it successful & entertaining, while the finishing spot was an excellent icing on top of the cake! ****
Boogeyman beat Booker T and Sharmell in a Handicap Match. ! Clever beginning to the bout with Booker using Sharmell a couple of times to instigate offense. But it predictably didn’t lead to anything special & it got worse when The Boogeyman got on offense. Seriously folks, his main move was a push to the chest! The major spot in the bout seemed to be Boogey kissing Sharmell while munching on some worms. Blah, blah, blah… Boogey hits a choke-bomb & wins in a little over 4 minutes. Very bad & not even Booker’s great mannerisms & attempts at psychology could save this shit. ½ *
Mickie James beat Trish to win the Women's Title. Interesting & well booked beginning to the bout with Trish actually dominating with intensity & purpose. The momentum sways towards the heel though, when Trish misses a chick-kick on the outside & injures her leg up against the ringpost. Mickie takes over & nicely targets the leg with a good combination of innovative & traditional moves. At this stage, a loud “Lets Go Mickie†chant erupts from the live crowd to most people’s surprise. Trish eventually works her way back into the bout & some nice back & forth action ensues. It involved some nice moves that we don’t see too often in the Women’s Division, including a running powerbomb by Trish. It’s a damn shame that the finish was botched, as Mickie stumbled through a Stratusfaction & hit a weak looking mick-kick for the victory at the 9 minute mark. One of the better women’s matches I’ve seen. ** 1/2
Undertaker beat Mark Henry in a Casket Match. Started off as an ok methodical big man match, but then it just continued on at the same pace without a great deal happening for the next 8 minutes. Seriously, it was petty ho-hum stuff & heading for a failing rating. Then, as if to wake themselves up, ‘Taker pulled out a powerbomb, a dive over the top rope & a tombstone piledriver in the final 2 minutes to save it. No real structure or excitement out of this match until the very end. * 1/2
Shawn Michaels beat Vince McMahon in a NO HOLDS BARRED MATCH. HBK begins the match by attacking Vince on the outside as he poses near his magazine cover. It doesn’t take that long for that prop to be predictably used as a weapon, as Vince literally gets framed. Speaking of predictable, The Spirit Squad come out to even the odds, but it doesn’t take too long for them to be dispatched. They do give Vinny Mac enough time to recuperate though & it allows him to get some offense in, the most productive coming via his own leather belt. The belt eventually passes hands & HBK whips Vince as loud as you will ever hear. Just as Michaels looks set to finish the match off, Shane McMahon predictably enters the fray with some kendo stick shots. But even that doesn’t last long as the younger McMahon embarrassingly kisses his dad’s a$$ & then gets handcuffed. In the extended finishing sequence that follows, HBK adds some story to the mayhem by going all DX on us & consistently refusing to hit sweet chin music when he has the opportunity. First, he brings out a ladder & busts Vince open profusely. Then comes a garbage can shot. Then finally, for the icing on the cake, the showstopper brings out a huge ladder, climbs to the top & tremendously elbow drops Vince through a table! A sweet chin music later & HBK gets the victory at the 18 minute mark. The live crowd seemed to really get into this, especially the final few minutes. I must be honest though & state that the first half of the bout didn’t do a great deal for me. I just felt that it was more of the same, yet not quite as good. But they did win me over eventually as Vince put his body on the line, while Shawn worked extremely hard to add some story to the match, as well as entertainment value. *** 1/2
Rey Mysterio beat Kurt Angle and Randy Orton to win the Smackdown World Title. Orton begins the bout by attacking Angle with the title & it’s on from there, as the pace just doesn’t let up amongst some nicely choreographed sequences during the first 4 minutes or so. At this stage, some risky booking occurs as both Rey & Orton tap out to the Ankle Lock, while the referee is distracted. Then, at only the 6 minute mark, Orton hits the RKO on Angle & Kurt kicks out! Orton kicks out of an Angle Slam just to continue the pattern, and then, just as I am praying for them to slow the f**k down, Rey hits the 619 & West Coast Pop on Orton to become the World HeavyWeight Champion at… drum roll please… less than 10 minutes!
I wanted to be excited by a Rey title win, but the sour taste from the match duration ruined it partially. I can see why the bout was booked to be fast-paced, but the match duration was a complete joke & the sequence of finishers hit so early on in the match was just ridiculous. Can’t blame the participants I think, as they rolled with the punches as best as they could by keeping the pace & entertainment value up throughout. All 3 performed well, although I’m unsure if a match like this does them any good in the long term. Put this same match on a SmackDown only pay-per-view & you would probably get a 20 minute match that rates a 9 out of 10. Some may feel I have rated this harshly, but I can’t help but feel short-changed. **
Torrie Wilson beat Candice Michelle in a PLAYBOY PILLOW FIGHT OF DOOOOM! Not long after the predictable “boring†chant from the live crowd, Torrie rolls Candice up for the pinfall at the 4 minute mark. Unsurprisingly, no-one cares. 1/2 *
John Cena defeated Triple H to retain Raw World Title. Kudos to the crowd for really getting involved in this bout. They helped it along, even if some of the chants went a little too far for mine. As predicted, the crowd were well & truly behind Triple H & they loved his cocky toying with the champ to begin the bout. Thankfully, Cena picked up the intensity & got some offense in, although it didn’t last too long at all. Soon, H was once more dominating with his methodical, but sufficient, offense. He did hit a great lariat, but that was negated by a couple of time-wasting restholds.! From there, the action did pick up & there was some nice back & forth sequences, with Cena’s bursts of energy working well against H’s impact moves. A ref bump allowed the sledgehammer to get involved, but Triple H couldn’t get the 3 count. He then received an F-U out of nowhere, but was able to kick out. But it was all in vain, as he surprisingly tapped out to the STFU at the 22 minute mark. Pretty good finish there. That was about the correct length too & the match was structured well enough to lead up to that. The dynamic between the men was ok, while I can’t understate how important the crowd was to the quality of the match. In fact, it’s a hard match to rate for that reason, as many may over-rate it due to the crowd. Did it feel like a WrestleMania main event? Take the crowd away & I’d have to answer “noâ€. But it was still quite good & definitely not the shocker that it could have been. *** :sport:
RVD defated Matt Hardy, Shelton Benjamin, Ric Flair, Finlay, and Lashley to win the MITB. LOL at the sign in the crowd asking for an escalator for Flair! My goodness, it didn’t take too long at all for (a) a ladder to get involved & (b) a holy $hit moment to occur, as Benjamin walked up a ladder & performed a huge somersault dive to the outside. The high impact continues as Hardy superplexes Flair off the top of a ladder, which results in Flair being carried to the back at just the 3 minute mark. He isn’t there long though & is back by the 7 minute mark! Some really good, entertaining & impact-filled moves followed by all 6 men. I can’t say there was too much that was anything super original for the remainder of the bout, but it still had me very enthralled. In fact, despite a (pleasing) general feel of control over proceedings, 2 of the best spots of the bout weren’t quite captured well enough by the cameras. Due to the frenetic beginning of the bout, I wasn’t too surprised to see the match come to an end at only the 13 minute mark, with RVD clearing a 2 ladder set-up of Benjamin & Hardy to grab the suitcase & the victory. *** 1/2
JBL defeated Chris Benoit to win the U.S Title. Very good first few minutes to this bout, which nicely combined intensity, technical wrestling & brawling. The match then pleasingly settled down well without getting too slow-paced. All the while, JBL increased his heel heat with some mocking of Eddie Guerrero. The inevitable JBL resthold did come, but it fitted in sufficiently & thankfully didn’t take place too early in the match. He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named then (wisely) took control of the bout & kept it on track. This was right up until the clever, if premature, finish which saw JBL roll through on the crippler crossface (& use the ropes) for the pinfall at a little under 10 minutes. Really nice ending, but what came before should have been stretched out a lot longer to make it mean more. *** 1/2
Edge further tarnished Mick Foley's legendary status. Edge predictably came equipped to begin the bout & has the better of the first few minutes with cookie-sheet & road-sign shots. For a few fleeting moments there, I had unpleasant memories of the now defunct WWE Hardcore Division. But they were swept aside when Edge hit a spear & came up bleeding on the arm. In a revelation that was only partially successful (in my opinion), Foley showed that he had barbed wire wrapped in between flannel shirts around his body! After some Foley offense, Edge regains control with 2 very good (& simple) spots involving the ringsteps. Foley then reveals his favorite barbed-wire covered baseball bat (Barbie), but it backfires as Edge uses it to best advantage & busts Mick open. Next out are the thumbtacks, but Edge gets suplexed into them! A barbed-wire Socko follows (to both Edge & Lita), before Mick finally uses Barbie to his advantage & makes Edge bleed profusely from the forehead. This leads to the huge finishing spot where Lita sets a table on fire & Edge spears Foley through it from the apron to the outside at the 15 minute mark for the victory. That was a true “Holy $hit†moment! A little difficult to rate as I wasn’t too sure what to think of it initially. But these 2 worked very hard to make it successful & entertaining, while the finishing spot was an excellent icing on top of the cake! ****
Boogeyman beat Booker T and Sharmell in a Handicap Match. ! Clever beginning to the bout with Booker using Sharmell a couple of times to instigate offense. But it predictably didn’t lead to anything special & it got worse when The Boogeyman got on offense. Seriously folks, his main move was a push to the chest! The major spot in the bout seemed to be Boogey kissing Sharmell while munching on some worms. Blah, blah, blah… Boogey hits a choke-bomb & wins in a little over 4 minutes. Very bad & not even Booker’s great mannerisms & attempts at psychology could save this shit. ½ *
Mickie James beat Trish to win the Women's Title. Interesting & well booked beginning to the bout with Trish actually dominating with intensity & purpose. The momentum sways towards the heel though, when Trish misses a chick-kick on the outside & injures her leg up against the ringpost. Mickie takes over & nicely targets the leg with a good combination of innovative & traditional moves. At this stage, a loud “Lets Go Mickie†chant erupts from the live crowd to most people’s surprise. Trish eventually works her way back into the bout & some nice back & forth action ensues. It involved some nice moves that we don’t see too often in the Women’s Division, including a running powerbomb by Trish. It’s a damn shame that the finish was botched, as Mickie stumbled through a Stratusfaction & hit a weak looking mick-kick for the victory at the 9 minute mark. One of the better women’s matches I’ve seen. ** 1/2
Undertaker beat Mark Henry in a Casket Match. Started off as an ok methodical big man match, but then it just continued on at the same pace without a great deal happening for the next 8 minutes. Seriously, it was petty ho-hum stuff & heading for a failing rating. Then, as if to wake themselves up, ‘Taker pulled out a powerbomb, a dive over the top rope & a tombstone piledriver in the final 2 minutes to save it. No real structure or excitement out of this match until the very end. * 1/2
Shawn Michaels beat Vince McMahon in a NO HOLDS BARRED MATCH. HBK begins the match by attacking Vince on the outside as he poses near his magazine cover. It doesn’t take that long for that prop to be predictably used as a weapon, as Vince literally gets framed. Speaking of predictable, The Spirit Squad come out to even the odds, but it doesn’t take too long for them to be dispatched. They do give Vinny Mac enough time to recuperate though & it allows him to get some offense in, the most productive coming via his own leather belt. The belt eventually passes hands & HBK whips Vince as loud as you will ever hear. Just as Michaels looks set to finish the match off, Shane McMahon predictably enters the fray with some kendo stick shots. But even that doesn’t last long as the younger McMahon embarrassingly kisses his dad’s a$$ & then gets handcuffed. In the extended finishing sequence that follows, HBK adds some story to the mayhem by going all DX on us & consistently refusing to hit sweet chin music when he has the opportunity. First, he brings out a ladder & busts Vince open profusely. Then comes a garbage can shot. Then finally, for the icing on the cake, the showstopper brings out a huge ladder, climbs to the top & tremendously elbow drops Vince through a table! A sweet chin music later & HBK gets the victory at the 18 minute mark. The live crowd seemed to really get into this, especially the final few minutes. I must be honest though & state that the first half of the bout didn’t do a great deal for me. I just felt that it was more of the same, yet not quite as good. But they did win me over eventually as Vince put his body on the line, while Shawn worked extremely hard to add some story to the match, as well as entertainment value. *** 1/2
Rey Mysterio beat Kurt Angle and Randy Orton to win the Smackdown World Title. Orton begins the bout by attacking Angle with the title & it’s on from there, as the pace just doesn’t let up amongst some nicely choreographed sequences during the first 4 minutes or so. At this stage, some risky booking occurs as both Rey & Orton tap out to the Ankle Lock, while the referee is distracted. Then, at only the 6 minute mark, Orton hits the RKO on Angle & Kurt kicks out! Orton kicks out of an Angle Slam just to continue the pattern, and then, just as I am praying for them to slow the f**k down, Rey hits the 619 & West Coast Pop on Orton to become the World HeavyWeight Champion at… drum roll please… less than 10 minutes!
I wanted to be excited by a Rey title win, but the sour taste from the match duration ruined it partially. I can see why the bout was booked to be fast-paced, but the match duration was a complete joke & the sequence of finishers hit so early on in the match was just ridiculous. Can’t blame the participants I think, as they rolled with the punches as best as they could by keeping the pace & entertainment value up throughout. All 3 performed well, although I’m unsure if a match like this does them any good in the long term. Put this same match on a SmackDown only pay-per-view & you would probably get a 20 minute match that rates a 9 out of 10. Some may feel I have rated this harshly, but I can’t help but feel short-changed. **
Torrie Wilson beat Candice Michelle in a PLAYBOY PILLOW FIGHT OF DOOOOM! Not long after the predictable “boring†chant from the live crowd, Torrie rolls Candice up for the pinfall at the 4 minute mark. Unsurprisingly, no-one cares. 1/2 *
John Cena defeated Triple H to retain Raw World Title. Kudos to the crowd for really getting involved in this bout. They helped it along, even if some of the chants went a little too far for mine. As predicted, the crowd were well & truly behind Triple H & they loved his cocky toying with the champ to begin the bout. Thankfully, Cena picked up the intensity & got some offense in, although it didn’t last too long at all. Soon, H was once more dominating with his methodical, but sufficient, offense. He did hit a great lariat, but that was negated by a couple of time-wasting restholds.! From there, the action did pick up & there was some nice back & forth sequences, with Cena’s bursts of energy working well against H’s impact moves. A ref bump allowed the sledgehammer to get involved, but Triple H couldn’t get the 3 count. He then received an F-U out of nowhere, but was able to kick out. But it was all in vain, as he surprisingly tapped out to the STFU at the 22 minute mark. Pretty good finish there. That was about the correct length too & the match was structured well enough to lead up to that. The dynamic between the men was ok, while I can’t understate how important the crowd was to the quality of the match. In fact, it’s a hard match to rate for that reason, as many may over-rate it due to the crowd. Did it feel like a WrestleMania main event? Take the crowd away & I’d have to answer “noâ€. But it was still quite good & definitely not the shocker that it could have been. *** :sport:
