MikeRaw
Guest
Figured I'd do a review for this. I have high expectaions for this. It has a promising card, and after Backlash, which was awesome, I expect more of the same...
Quick heads up for everyone... I'm doing a recap and thoughts for each match and segment. The recap will be written in basic italics, and the thoughts/review will be under each match/segment in bold and underline. So if you saw the PPV, you don't need to read the recap, as you already saw it, you can just read the thoughts and review part.
Also, I didn't order this. I watched it on a stream. So in my recaps, if I miss a big move or two, it's cause the stream froze or cut out for a minute. It was pretty good though, so I caught almost everything, but in the Hardy/Edge match, at the start, I missed a few things...
Now enjoy... Or else...
Backlash:
Chicago, IL
CM Punk vs Umaga
Winner: Umaga
This one is all Umaga early. He starts beating Punk with just about every body part, and then hits a twirling slam, sending Punk to the mat. He continues to work Punk over, and finally, Punk gets some momentum of his own, going back and forth. Punk controls for probably about 2 minutes, and then it’s Umaga in control again.
Stream cuts out for a minute or so…
Punk goes for the GTS, but Umaga reverses, and hits the Samoan drop. Umaga is in control, and gets his thumb ready, but Punk ducks, and delivers some kicks to the head, and lifts him up again. Umaga gets off, and delivers a kick of his own, knocking Punk to the corner. He then does the ass-to-face on Punk in the corner, pulls Punk up, and delivers the Samoan spike for the pin.
Great match right here. For an opener, that is. The outcome? I guess I’m fine with it. Umaga looks great after winning, and obviously they still have big plans for Punk. Hopefully, Punkw ill still cash in eventually, and it works out for both guys. Umaga looks good now though. Overall, a perfect opener. Got the show off to a bang. 3/5
Backstage, Vickie is with Chavo and Show. Chavo says Cena is ready to go, and Big Show says he’s gonna beat Cena down so bad, he’ll join Triple H on the injured list. Edge comes in, and Show leaves.
ECW Championship: Christian © vs Jack Swagger
Winner: Christian
They go back and forth to start, trading blows. Swagger ends up outside the ring, and Christian follows him out,e ventually rolling him back in. They go back and forth a bit, trading shots, and reversing some holds… Swagger ends up outside the ring again, and before he can notice, Christian goes up on the ringpost, and dives off onto Swagger! Pretty sick stuff right there. They both slowly roll back into the ring…
In the ring, Swagger takes control, beating Christian around for a bit, and then stomping all over him. He then apllies a submission hold, choking Christian momentarily. Christian eventually gets out and goes back on the offensive. He has some chops and kicks to Christian, knocking him around the ring...
Swagger manages to pick Christian up into a powerslam position, but Christian reverses into a roll up. Not enough for the pin though. They battle into the corner, and then Christian powerbombs Christian off the top rope. As they get up, Christian ties for a roll up, and as they get up, both hit a double-clothesline. Again, they get up slowly, and battle into the corner, where Christian pushes Swagger back away from him. Christian jumps up onto the turnbuckle, and dives onto Swagger going for a rollup, but it’s only 2.
They then trade some high impact moves for a good 30 seconds…
They both get back up, and Swagger hits a powerful slam on Christian. He tries to go for another one when Christian gets up, but Christian reverses into a rollup for the win.
Another good, solid wrestling match. Slightly better than Punk/Umaga.
As for Christian winning, I can’t complain. I love the guy. Part of me wanted Swagger to win though. Even though I hate him, that’s a good thing. I hate him in a heel way. Cause he plays the role of an asshole perfectly. But from a making new stars standpoint, I wanted him to win. Christian won though, but they did it in a way that Swagger looked good. Overall, another perfectly placed (on the card) match, and solid wrestling. 3.5/5
Backstage, Edge runs into Chavo. Chavo talks about how it’s like Edge and Vickie aren’t even married anymore. Edge says there’s a cross dressing idiot making fun of Vickie, and Chavo hasn’t done anything.
Not sure what the point was having Edge involved. I’m sure we’ll geta Santino vs Chavo fued at some point, but there’s no need to have Edge involved, so hopefully this promo was the last we here of Edge mentioning Santino.
John Morrison vs Shelton Benjamin
Winner: John Morrison
Benjamin comes out with Haas. Good, I’m glad they’re taking the WGTT reunion seriously. Benjamin is on the offensive early. He has a few impressive takedowns, and reverses the little bit of momentum Morrison gets…
Morrison gets a reverse of his own about a minute and a half in, hitting Benjamin with some punches to the neck and face. Morrison tosses Benjamin out of the ring, and dives over the top to land on him. They lay on the outside for a bit, and slowly get up, and Benjamin gets in the ring. When Morrison gets in, Benjamin takes control, beating Morrison from corner to corner for a bit…Benjamin gets Morrison on the mat, stomps on him a bit, and then lays on him, choking him out with a submission hold. He has control of his neck and back/legs, and keeps him down for at least a minute. Morrison starts to get back up, trying to fight out... Benjamin pushes him back down though, and begins stomping on him again. He then applies another submission hold, and Morrison looks like he may tap. He finally fights out, and applies a choke of his old (standing up) on Benjamin. They both end up hitting a clothesline, and smash heads, falling down. As they get up, Benjamin goes for a headlock, but Morrison flips out and lands on Benjamin. As they both get up, they brawl back and forth a bit, trading punches and elbows… Morrison eventually goes for a hurricarana type spin thing around Benjamin’s head, and turns it into a leg sweep. He goes for the pin, but doesn’t get it. It’s pretty even for quite a while after, trading a few moves back and forth… From here, it just gets more impressing. I can’t keep up. But I’ll fast forward a bit. Eventually, Haas tries to interrupt, but Morrison knocks him off the apron and Morrison gets Benjamin on the mat with a kick, and jumps up to the top rope, and hits the split-legged moonsault and gets the 1…2…3.
Damn, this PPV is impressing so far. Three straight very good matches. WWE has showcased their young guys so far in these first 3 matches, and showcased some damn good wrestling. So far, this PPV is looking better than Backlash, and Backlash was great. This match was just crazy and innovative. I apoligise for missing some moves. It was hard to keep up. These guys ruled, and Morrison picks up the win, continuing his push, but Shelton comes off good too. I’m not a Shelton fan, but he’s important to the midcard. Overall, great match. 4/5
Miz comes out to some big heat... He makes fun of the fans, and actually taunts the "You Suck" chants, and makes it entertaining. He says Cena cant face him tonight, cause he has a match, so he'll call out someone else. He says he'll call out someone form the Chicago Cubs, who are basically the Cena of baseball, and the "loveable losers".. He calls out Alfonso Soriano, the star of the Chicago Cubs, and taunts him. Miz draws some big heat here. He challenges Soriano to the ring...
Miz gets a call, and then changes, saying it was a clal saying Soriano isn't allowed to compete. He says seeing as Sorinano was his substitute for Cena, and he can't compete, that means he wins. He says it's now Miz 4, Cena 0... Then, it goes downhill... Santino comes out, and says Soriano is his fellow italian. LMAO, wff? He stand sup for Alfonso, making fun of Miz.
They break into a brawl.. Yes, a brawl between these two. The crowd boos Miz every time he sits ontop of Santino, punching him, but when Santino rolls over getting ontop, they cheer. They roll around punching eachother, until Miz pulls Santino up, and hits a sick DDT… Chavo then comes out and beats up Santino.Great job by Miz here. He knows how to get heat. I’ll give him that. He pulled off a tremendous promo, without even having to trade words with anyone, for the first 5 minutes or so. When Santino came out, I was pretty sure it would start sucking. I was positive he’d come out as Santina, and make some lame jokes, hitting on Miz or something. He actually came out and did a decent job though. He managed to be serious (at least half serious) while also remaining funny. We got a pretty good brawl as well. As for Chavo, well, we’ll have to see where this goes. I love the fact we got a 10 minute promo though, especially because it didn’t take away from any of the PPV (so far) seeing as we already had three great matches before it.
Backstage Jericho is being interviewed with Todd. He says he’ll put an end to people cheering for Rey, and he’s sick of people cheering for Rey, who can get by with flashy moves and no real talent. He guaranteed there’d be no “619” tonight, and he’ll leave as the IC champion.
Standard Jericho stuff here. What is standard Jericho stuff? Good stuff.
Intercontinental Championship: Rey Mysterio (c) vs Chris Jericho
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Rey starts ot trying to get the fans to chant 619. Jericho charges at hi, but misses, and falls into the ropes. Rey goes for the 619, but Jericho rolls off the apon and out of the way. Jericho waits outside for a little while, and then goes back in, beating Rey in the corner. Rey gets some momentum, coming back, but is stopped by Jericho, who knocks him down with a push. As Rey gets back up, he trips up Jericho, takes control, and trips Jericho into the ropes. He positions Jericho so that he is laying with his back on the middle rope, and his neck sticking out into the ring. Mysterio goes to the rop rope, and jumps down with a legdrop onto Jericho. He then pushes Jericho to the other corner, and tries to go to the top rope, but is pushed off by Jericho, landing outside the ring. Jericho goes out after him, and rolls him back in, and comes in, flipping over the rope, and landing on Rey. He then applies a sleeper hold on the mat… Rey starts working his way up to his feet, and fights out. He irish whips Jericho into the corner, and then trips him into the ropes again. Rey goes for the 619, but Jericho gets out of the ropes before Rey reaches the ropes, and sticks his body in front of Rey, knocking him down. He thenkicks Rey out of the ring. They trade counters in the ring, until Jericho picks up Jericho, twirls him around and slams him down. He then positions Rey in between the ropes, and hits one of those moves where he pushed down on Rey’s feet, pushing Reys head and neckup into the ropes. Jericho continues control, pushing Rey into the corner. In the corner, Jericho tries to unmask Rey. He claws at the mask, but Rey pushes him away, and jumps down from the turnbuckle onto him. He then irish whips Jericho, and hits a flying body press at Jericho as he comes back. Rey remains in control for a bit, with some fast paced action, and after getting Jericho down, he runs off the ropes and back towards Jericho, but Jericho reverses, picks him op, spins him around, and hits a backbreaker, bringing Rey’s back down across his knee. They trade irish whips, until Rey irish whips Rey into the ropes, and goes for the 619 again. Yes, again. Jericho dodges again though, and works over Mysterio. Mysterio charges at him when he gets up, and goes for the hurricaranna, but Jericho turns it into a powerbomb, slamming Rey to the mat. Jericho work over Rey, punching him, headbutting him, and chopblocking him for a while. Jericho later powerbombs Rey, reversing an attempted seated senton or something by Rey. Jericho kicks Rey, but Rey trips him up into the ropes (Yes, again), and hits the 619, followed by the jump over the ropes onto Jericho for the pinfall.
This match was yet another great one. A little better than I expected too. I exect big things from these two, and it delivered, plus more. Not the best of the night though, but another solid match with a large variety of moves. Solid shit!
3.5/5
World Heavyweight Championship: Randy Orton (c) vs Batista
Winner: Batista (By DQ)
This was a slow, methodical match. Lots of power moves, lots of counters. It gets interesting about 10 minutes in when Orton leaves the ring and orders the ref to count him out. He gets back in the ring eventually though, as the ref was reluctant to count. Batista and Orton brawl a little bit more, until Orton rolls out of the ring and goes to get a chair. He brings it to the ring but can’t use it, as Batista stops him. Batista throws Orton to the match, and climbs to the top rope. Are you kidding me? Wow. Big Dave waits for Orton to stand and then jumps at him, lunging at him with a shoulder block. Orton is crushed, but rolls out, grabs his title belt and leaves. Batista stops him partway up the ramp though and rolls him back into the ring. Inside, he lifts Orton up and goes for a Batista bomb, but Orton gets out and goes for the RKO. Batista stops him, and goes for the Batista bomb again. Orton pushes him away though, and they fall into the ref. Orton slaps the ref, and gets DQ’d. That ends the match in awkward fashion. Rhodes and Dibiase run out and attack Rhodes. Then…. WOOOO. Flair comes out, and helps. Batista delivers a Batista Bomb to (I think) Rhodes, and Legacy runs off.
Odd finish. Really. There will no doubt be some people unhappy with this. I initially was pretty annoyed that there was a screwed finish, but when Flair came out, it wasn’t that bad. The bad part is that Flair is putting o shame all the retirement shit he had. The man rules the show for 6 months from late 07-mid 08, and got a huge sendoff, which most people don’t get. Now, he comes back. Shame. But, as for the weird finish… The reason I don’t have a huge problem is (A: ) The PPV has been pretty good so far.. (B: ) It assures the feud gets interesting. Instead of a clean finish, followed by a predictable heel turn by someone, we now have Flair, Batista on one side, Legacy on the other. Yet, Triple H still has to return and side with someone, and HBK will probably get involved at some point too. There’s a lot of unanswered questions now, and it’s actually pretty interesting. I don’t mind the finish. Froma match standpoint though, it was pretty good towards the end, with tons of chaos, but the start, while decent, was nothing great. Nothing complaint worthy though… 2.5/5
John Cena vs The Big Show
Winner: John Cena
No way in fuck I’m recapping this match. If I type at the same pace as this match, I won’t finish this review til Judgment Day 2010. I’ll just give a recap of the ending, and thoughts, instead. Show had basically been doing a huge beatdown for 15 minutes. Cena managed to get him down to the mat, where they both were, and get him in the STFU. Show managed to get out, and keep Cena down. He (Show) went up on the turnbuckle, and had a huge body splash down onto Cena. He pinned him then, but Cena kicked out. Show then took Cena to the other side, and went for a splash, but this time missed. Cena got momentum and started kicking Show around the ring, with Show on his knees. Show managed to get up though, picked up Cena in powerbomb and slammed him down face first. Cena was down for a good 10 seconds. Show got his fist ready, standing over Cena. He waited for Cena to get up (LOL, why didn’t he pin him after the faceplant?) and then tried to land the punch. He missed though, and Cena ducked, and picked Show up, and hit the Attitude Adjustment, and got the pin.. 1…2…3
Usually, I have no problem with a non-title match being the 2nd last match, and coming after the WWE title match, because usually it’ll be a guy like Cena or HBK or Taker in a match that doesn’t involve a title, but is still both a great feud and great match. This time however, I did have a problem. This was shit. It was an extended squash. It served it’s purpose. Obviously you can’t have Cena look amazing out there (or at least I didn’t think they would), and have him be 100%. He did a good job selling for most of the match, and the match came off as it should, which is Big Show beating down Cena, and Cena looking weak. So I don’t have a problem with how the match went for the most part. I’ll deal with the end in a second.... I do however have a problem with it being the 2nd last match. If it’s going to be a slow match, with very little going on, and basically a sell-job, it shouldn’t be after the WWE Title. It wasn’t a bad match, for what it was. But it shouldn’t have been in a higher spot than the WWE Title match.
Now, as for the end… Unlike the ending of Batista/Orton, I can’t really defend this one. Somehow, I think everyone else is going to be the opposite though. I’m guessing people will be fine with this ending and hate the Batista/Orton one. But really, the Batista/Orton one made sense. It was logical, and should lead to exciting things. This match though, I just don’t know how we’re supposed to believe Cena can win that. Fuck, it’s hard enough to believe he’d beat Big Show while 100%, but we accept that. But WWE, don’t pretend we’re fucking morons. If he couldn’t even lock in an STFU, or mount offense for more than 30 seconds, how can he lift a fucking 500 pounder after having his face molded into the mat? 2/5
WWE Championship: Edge (C) s Jeff Hardy
Winner: Edge
They start out tentatively, but that doesn’t last long. Some notable moves: A flip by Hardy onto Edge, a missed jump from the top rope by Hardy when Edge rolled away, and Edge spearing Hardy to the floor off the apron. Kinda like what he did to Foley at WM22 except there was no flaming table this time…They eventually brawl on the outside, along the security wall area, but cause it’s a normal match with rules, there’s no weapons, and there is a time limit. Hardy tries to jump on Edge, but Edge counters and goes back into the ring, leaving Hardy outside being counted out. Hardy barely makes it back in…
Hardy hits the Twist of Fate and goes for the cover. He hits it, and goes for the pin, but doesn’t get it. He does for another pin after, but misses. Edge and Hardy go out of the ring, and Hardy pushes Edge into the barrier. He then backs up and charges towards Edge, launching over the ring steps into Edge, knocking Edge over the wall. Hardy attempts to get over, but Matt Hardy comes out of nowhere and hits him with the cast, and apparently the ref didn’t see. Edge recovers and rolls Hardy into the ring, and pushes him to the opposite corner. He charges at him, but Hardy moves, and Edge falls. Jeff climbs the turnbuckle and gets ready for a swanton, but Edge gets up before Jeff can jump. Edge climbs up and hits the Edge-a-cutioner off the top rope. Pretty damn sick move. Edge gets the pin and the win.
Solid match here. Best of the 3 main events, and a solid showing by both men. Good back and forth stuff. A little disappointing that there was no cashing in by Punk, especially after losing clean earlier, but I half expected it. Last year the same thing happened. After he won MITB, I, and most people, thought he would cash in at a PPV, and continued to wait for it, but he ended up cashing in on a normal Raw. We’ll see what happens, but from a match standpoint, this was pretty solid… 4/5
Match of the Night: Morrison vs Benjamin... This was tied with Edge/Hardy with both getting a 4/5, but from a simple wrestling standpoint, I'll go with Morrison/Benjamin
Worst Match of the Night: Cena vs The Big Show
Storyline of the Night: Legacy vs Batista... I liked how they advanced Rey/Jericho, and even Edge/Hardy, but no other storyline or feud tonight involved as much drama as this one. Some people will hate it, but those people, as Jericho would say, are hypocrites. The peopel who hate what happened between Batista and Orton are usually the same people who said it was boring, and stale, and had been done, yet, they get a twist now... Make of it what you will though. I think it sets up an interesting little while. Batista still hasn't hinted fully towards a heel turn, so we don't know whether it'll be him or Triple H turning, plus, Flair is back, which, even though it's stupid for him to shit on his retirement, adds drama to this, and we still don't know where HBK will fit into this, if anywhere...
Promo of the Night:The Miz
Overall, this PPV delivered. At the start, it looked like it'd be able to top Backlash, and be the best so far this year. It turned out not to though. It was still very good IMO, but not quite as good a Backlahs. The matches tonight, especially the undercard, were great. In the main event, only really Edge/Hardy was as good as it should be. Batista/Orton was decent, and not worth complaining, but Cena/Show was awful. So, after all that, it's pretty similar to Backlash in terms of quality, but a bit less. I should also say I did like the amount of promos tonight. It's been a while since we got a full 10 or 15 minute promo, as well as 5 or 6 backstage interviews or segments in a PPV, but it wouked, and complimented the PPV.
Rating: 3.5/5
Quick heads up for everyone... I'm doing a recap and thoughts for each match and segment. The recap will be written in basic italics, and the thoughts/review will be under each match/segment in bold and underline. So if you saw the PPV, you don't need to read the recap, as you already saw it, you can just read the thoughts and review part.
Also, I didn't order this. I watched it on a stream. So in my recaps, if I miss a big move or two, it's cause the stream froze or cut out for a minute. It was pretty good though, so I caught almost everything, but in the Hardy/Edge match, at the start, I missed a few things...
Now enjoy... Or else...
Backlash:
Chicago, IL
CM Punk vs Umaga
Winner: Umaga
This one is all Umaga early. He starts beating Punk with just about every body part, and then hits a twirling slam, sending Punk to the mat. He continues to work Punk over, and finally, Punk gets some momentum of his own, going back and forth. Punk controls for probably about 2 minutes, and then it’s Umaga in control again.
Stream cuts out for a minute or so…
Punk goes for the GTS, but Umaga reverses, and hits the Samoan drop. Umaga is in control, and gets his thumb ready, but Punk ducks, and delivers some kicks to the head, and lifts him up again. Umaga gets off, and delivers a kick of his own, knocking Punk to the corner. He then does the ass-to-face on Punk in the corner, pulls Punk up, and delivers the Samoan spike for the pin.
Great match right here. For an opener, that is. The outcome? I guess I’m fine with it. Umaga looks great after winning, and obviously they still have big plans for Punk. Hopefully, Punkw ill still cash in eventually, and it works out for both guys. Umaga looks good now though. Overall, a perfect opener. Got the show off to a bang. 3/5
Backstage, Vickie is with Chavo and Show. Chavo says Cena is ready to go, and Big Show says he’s gonna beat Cena down so bad, he’ll join Triple H on the injured list. Edge comes in, and Show leaves.
ECW Championship: Christian © vs Jack Swagger
Winner: Christian
They go back and forth to start, trading blows. Swagger ends up outside the ring, and Christian follows him out,e ventually rolling him back in. They go back and forth a bit, trading shots, and reversing some holds… Swagger ends up outside the ring again, and before he can notice, Christian goes up on the ringpost, and dives off onto Swagger! Pretty sick stuff right there. They both slowly roll back into the ring…
In the ring, Swagger takes control, beating Christian around for a bit, and then stomping all over him. He then apllies a submission hold, choking Christian momentarily. Christian eventually gets out and goes back on the offensive. He has some chops and kicks to Christian, knocking him around the ring...
Swagger manages to pick Christian up into a powerslam position, but Christian reverses into a roll up. Not enough for the pin though. They battle into the corner, and then Christian powerbombs Christian off the top rope. As they get up, Christian ties for a roll up, and as they get up, both hit a double-clothesline. Again, they get up slowly, and battle into the corner, where Christian pushes Swagger back away from him. Christian jumps up onto the turnbuckle, and dives onto Swagger going for a rollup, but it’s only 2.
They then trade some high impact moves for a good 30 seconds…
They both get back up, and Swagger hits a powerful slam on Christian. He tries to go for another one when Christian gets up, but Christian reverses into a rollup for the win.
Another good, solid wrestling match. Slightly better than Punk/Umaga.
As for Christian winning, I can’t complain. I love the guy. Part of me wanted Swagger to win though. Even though I hate him, that’s a good thing. I hate him in a heel way. Cause he plays the role of an asshole perfectly. But from a making new stars standpoint, I wanted him to win. Christian won though, but they did it in a way that Swagger looked good. Overall, another perfectly placed (on the card) match, and solid wrestling. 3.5/5
Backstage, Edge runs into Chavo. Chavo talks about how it’s like Edge and Vickie aren’t even married anymore. Edge says there’s a cross dressing idiot making fun of Vickie, and Chavo hasn’t done anything.
Not sure what the point was having Edge involved. I’m sure we’ll geta Santino vs Chavo fued at some point, but there’s no need to have Edge involved, so hopefully this promo was the last we here of Edge mentioning Santino.
John Morrison vs Shelton Benjamin
Winner: John Morrison
Benjamin comes out with Haas. Good, I’m glad they’re taking the WGTT reunion seriously. Benjamin is on the offensive early. He has a few impressive takedowns, and reverses the little bit of momentum Morrison gets…
Morrison gets a reverse of his own about a minute and a half in, hitting Benjamin with some punches to the neck and face. Morrison tosses Benjamin out of the ring, and dives over the top to land on him. They lay on the outside for a bit, and slowly get up, and Benjamin gets in the ring. When Morrison gets in, Benjamin takes control, beating Morrison from corner to corner for a bit…Benjamin gets Morrison on the mat, stomps on him a bit, and then lays on him, choking him out with a submission hold. He has control of his neck and back/legs, and keeps him down for at least a minute. Morrison starts to get back up, trying to fight out... Benjamin pushes him back down though, and begins stomping on him again. He then applies another submission hold, and Morrison looks like he may tap. He finally fights out, and applies a choke of his old (standing up) on Benjamin. They both end up hitting a clothesline, and smash heads, falling down. As they get up, Benjamin goes for a headlock, but Morrison flips out and lands on Benjamin. As they both get up, they brawl back and forth a bit, trading punches and elbows… Morrison eventually goes for a hurricarana type spin thing around Benjamin’s head, and turns it into a leg sweep. He goes for the pin, but doesn’t get it. It’s pretty even for quite a while after, trading a few moves back and forth… From here, it just gets more impressing. I can’t keep up. But I’ll fast forward a bit. Eventually, Haas tries to interrupt, but Morrison knocks him off the apron and Morrison gets Benjamin on the mat with a kick, and jumps up to the top rope, and hits the split-legged moonsault and gets the 1…2…3.
Damn, this PPV is impressing so far. Three straight very good matches. WWE has showcased their young guys so far in these first 3 matches, and showcased some damn good wrestling. So far, this PPV is looking better than Backlash, and Backlash was great. This match was just crazy and innovative. I apoligise for missing some moves. It was hard to keep up. These guys ruled, and Morrison picks up the win, continuing his push, but Shelton comes off good too. I’m not a Shelton fan, but he’s important to the midcard. Overall, great match. 4/5
Miz comes out to some big heat... He makes fun of the fans, and actually taunts the "You Suck" chants, and makes it entertaining. He says Cena cant face him tonight, cause he has a match, so he'll call out someone else. He says he'll call out someone form the Chicago Cubs, who are basically the Cena of baseball, and the "loveable losers".. He calls out Alfonso Soriano, the star of the Chicago Cubs, and taunts him. Miz draws some big heat here. He challenges Soriano to the ring...
Miz gets a call, and then changes, saying it was a clal saying Soriano isn't allowed to compete. He says seeing as Sorinano was his substitute for Cena, and he can't compete, that means he wins. He says it's now Miz 4, Cena 0... Then, it goes downhill... Santino comes out, and says Soriano is his fellow italian. LMAO, wff? He stand sup for Alfonso, making fun of Miz.
They break into a brawl.. Yes, a brawl between these two. The crowd boos Miz every time he sits ontop of Santino, punching him, but when Santino rolls over getting ontop, they cheer. They roll around punching eachother, until Miz pulls Santino up, and hits a sick DDT… Chavo then comes out and beats up Santino.Great job by Miz here. He knows how to get heat. I’ll give him that. He pulled off a tremendous promo, without even having to trade words with anyone, for the first 5 minutes or so. When Santino came out, I was pretty sure it would start sucking. I was positive he’d come out as Santina, and make some lame jokes, hitting on Miz or something. He actually came out and did a decent job though. He managed to be serious (at least half serious) while also remaining funny. We got a pretty good brawl as well. As for Chavo, well, we’ll have to see where this goes. I love the fact we got a 10 minute promo though, especially because it didn’t take away from any of the PPV (so far) seeing as we already had three great matches before it.
Backstage Jericho is being interviewed with Todd. He says he’ll put an end to people cheering for Rey, and he’s sick of people cheering for Rey, who can get by with flashy moves and no real talent. He guaranteed there’d be no “619” tonight, and he’ll leave as the IC champion.
Standard Jericho stuff here. What is standard Jericho stuff? Good stuff.
Intercontinental Championship: Rey Mysterio (c) vs Chris Jericho
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Rey starts ot trying to get the fans to chant 619. Jericho charges at hi, but misses, and falls into the ropes. Rey goes for the 619, but Jericho rolls off the apon and out of the way. Jericho waits outside for a little while, and then goes back in, beating Rey in the corner. Rey gets some momentum, coming back, but is stopped by Jericho, who knocks him down with a push. As Rey gets back up, he trips up Jericho, takes control, and trips Jericho into the ropes. He positions Jericho so that he is laying with his back on the middle rope, and his neck sticking out into the ring. Mysterio goes to the rop rope, and jumps down with a legdrop onto Jericho. He then pushes Jericho to the other corner, and tries to go to the top rope, but is pushed off by Jericho, landing outside the ring. Jericho goes out after him, and rolls him back in, and comes in, flipping over the rope, and landing on Rey. He then applies a sleeper hold on the mat… Rey starts working his way up to his feet, and fights out. He irish whips Jericho into the corner, and then trips him into the ropes again. Rey goes for the 619, but Jericho gets out of the ropes before Rey reaches the ropes, and sticks his body in front of Rey, knocking him down. He thenkicks Rey out of the ring. They trade counters in the ring, until Jericho picks up Jericho, twirls him around and slams him down. He then positions Rey in between the ropes, and hits one of those moves where he pushed down on Rey’s feet, pushing Reys head and neckup into the ropes. Jericho continues control, pushing Rey into the corner. In the corner, Jericho tries to unmask Rey. He claws at the mask, but Rey pushes him away, and jumps down from the turnbuckle onto him. He then irish whips Jericho, and hits a flying body press at Jericho as he comes back. Rey remains in control for a bit, with some fast paced action, and after getting Jericho down, he runs off the ropes and back towards Jericho, but Jericho reverses, picks him op, spins him around, and hits a backbreaker, bringing Rey’s back down across his knee. They trade irish whips, until Rey irish whips Rey into the ropes, and goes for the 619 again. Yes, again. Jericho dodges again though, and works over Mysterio. Mysterio charges at him when he gets up, and goes for the hurricaranna, but Jericho turns it into a powerbomb, slamming Rey to the mat. Jericho work over Rey, punching him, headbutting him, and chopblocking him for a while. Jericho later powerbombs Rey, reversing an attempted seated senton or something by Rey. Jericho kicks Rey, but Rey trips him up into the ropes (Yes, again), and hits the 619, followed by the jump over the ropes onto Jericho for the pinfall.
This match was yet another great one. A little better than I expected too. I exect big things from these two, and it delivered, plus more. Not the best of the night though, but another solid match with a large variety of moves. Solid shit!
3.5/5
World Heavyweight Championship: Randy Orton (c) vs Batista
Winner: Batista (By DQ)
This was a slow, methodical match. Lots of power moves, lots of counters. It gets interesting about 10 minutes in when Orton leaves the ring and orders the ref to count him out. He gets back in the ring eventually though, as the ref was reluctant to count. Batista and Orton brawl a little bit more, until Orton rolls out of the ring and goes to get a chair. He brings it to the ring but can’t use it, as Batista stops him. Batista throws Orton to the match, and climbs to the top rope. Are you kidding me? Wow. Big Dave waits for Orton to stand and then jumps at him, lunging at him with a shoulder block. Orton is crushed, but rolls out, grabs his title belt and leaves. Batista stops him partway up the ramp though and rolls him back into the ring. Inside, he lifts Orton up and goes for a Batista bomb, but Orton gets out and goes for the RKO. Batista stops him, and goes for the Batista bomb again. Orton pushes him away though, and they fall into the ref. Orton slaps the ref, and gets DQ’d. That ends the match in awkward fashion. Rhodes and Dibiase run out and attack Rhodes. Then…. WOOOO. Flair comes out, and helps. Batista delivers a Batista Bomb to (I think) Rhodes, and Legacy runs off.
Odd finish. Really. There will no doubt be some people unhappy with this. I initially was pretty annoyed that there was a screwed finish, but when Flair came out, it wasn’t that bad. The bad part is that Flair is putting o shame all the retirement shit he had. The man rules the show for 6 months from late 07-mid 08, and got a huge sendoff, which most people don’t get. Now, he comes back. Shame. But, as for the weird finish… The reason I don’t have a huge problem is (A: ) The PPV has been pretty good so far.. (B: ) It assures the feud gets interesting. Instead of a clean finish, followed by a predictable heel turn by someone, we now have Flair, Batista on one side, Legacy on the other. Yet, Triple H still has to return and side with someone, and HBK will probably get involved at some point too. There’s a lot of unanswered questions now, and it’s actually pretty interesting. I don’t mind the finish. Froma match standpoint though, it was pretty good towards the end, with tons of chaos, but the start, while decent, was nothing great. Nothing complaint worthy though… 2.5/5
John Cena vs The Big Show
Winner: John Cena
No way in fuck I’m recapping this match. If I type at the same pace as this match, I won’t finish this review til Judgment Day 2010. I’ll just give a recap of the ending, and thoughts, instead. Show had basically been doing a huge beatdown for 15 minutes. Cena managed to get him down to the mat, where they both were, and get him in the STFU. Show managed to get out, and keep Cena down. He (Show) went up on the turnbuckle, and had a huge body splash down onto Cena. He pinned him then, but Cena kicked out. Show then took Cena to the other side, and went for a splash, but this time missed. Cena got momentum and started kicking Show around the ring, with Show on his knees. Show managed to get up though, picked up Cena in powerbomb and slammed him down face first. Cena was down for a good 10 seconds. Show got his fist ready, standing over Cena. He waited for Cena to get up (LOL, why didn’t he pin him after the faceplant?) and then tried to land the punch. He missed though, and Cena ducked, and picked Show up, and hit the Attitude Adjustment, and got the pin.. 1…2…3
Usually, I have no problem with a non-title match being the 2nd last match, and coming after the WWE title match, because usually it’ll be a guy like Cena or HBK or Taker in a match that doesn’t involve a title, but is still both a great feud and great match. This time however, I did have a problem. This was shit. It was an extended squash. It served it’s purpose. Obviously you can’t have Cena look amazing out there (or at least I didn’t think they would), and have him be 100%. He did a good job selling for most of the match, and the match came off as it should, which is Big Show beating down Cena, and Cena looking weak. So I don’t have a problem with how the match went for the most part. I’ll deal with the end in a second.... I do however have a problem with it being the 2nd last match. If it’s going to be a slow match, with very little going on, and basically a sell-job, it shouldn’t be after the WWE Title. It wasn’t a bad match, for what it was. But it shouldn’t have been in a higher spot than the WWE Title match.
Now, as for the end… Unlike the ending of Batista/Orton, I can’t really defend this one. Somehow, I think everyone else is going to be the opposite though. I’m guessing people will be fine with this ending and hate the Batista/Orton one. But really, the Batista/Orton one made sense. It was logical, and should lead to exciting things. This match though, I just don’t know how we’re supposed to believe Cena can win that. Fuck, it’s hard enough to believe he’d beat Big Show while 100%, but we accept that. But WWE, don’t pretend we’re fucking morons. If he couldn’t even lock in an STFU, or mount offense for more than 30 seconds, how can he lift a fucking 500 pounder after having his face molded into the mat? 2/5
WWE Championship: Edge (C) s Jeff Hardy
Winner: Edge
They start out tentatively, but that doesn’t last long. Some notable moves: A flip by Hardy onto Edge, a missed jump from the top rope by Hardy when Edge rolled away, and Edge spearing Hardy to the floor off the apron. Kinda like what he did to Foley at WM22 except there was no flaming table this time…They eventually brawl on the outside, along the security wall area, but cause it’s a normal match with rules, there’s no weapons, and there is a time limit. Hardy tries to jump on Edge, but Edge counters and goes back into the ring, leaving Hardy outside being counted out. Hardy barely makes it back in…
Hardy hits the Twist of Fate and goes for the cover. He hits it, and goes for the pin, but doesn’t get it. He does for another pin after, but misses. Edge and Hardy go out of the ring, and Hardy pushes Edge into the barrier. He then backs up and charges towards Edge, launching over the ring steps into Edge, knocking Edge over the wall. Hardy attempts to get over, but Matt Hardy comes out of nowhere and hits him with the cast, and apparently the ref didn’t see. Edge recovers and rolls Hardy into the ring, and pushes him to the opposite corner. He charges at him, but Hardy moves, and Edge falls. Jeff climbs the turnbuckle and gets ready for a swanton, but Edge gets up before Jeff can jump. Edge climbs up and hits the Edge-a-cutioner off the top rope. Pretty damn sick move. Edge gets the pin and the win.
Solid match here. Best of the 3 main events, and a solid showing by both men. Good back and forth stuff. A little disappointing that there was no cashing in by Punk, especially after losing clean earlier, but I half expected it. Last year the same thing happened. After he won MITB, I, and most people, thought he would cash in at a PPV, and continued to wait for it, but he ended up cashing in on a normal Raw. We’ll see what happens, but from a match standpoint, this was pretty solid… 4/5
Match of the Night: Morrison vs Benjamin... This was tied with Edge/Hardy with both getting a 4/5, but from a simple wrestling standpoint, I'll go with Morrison/Benjamin
Worst Match of the Night: Cena vs The Big Show
Storyline of the Night: Legacy vs Batista... I liked how they advanced Rey/Jericho, and even Edge/Hardy, but no other storyline or feud tonight involved as much drama as this one. Some people will hate it, but those people, as Jericho would say, are hypocrites. The peopel who hate what happened between Batista and Orton are usually the same people who said it was boring, and stale, and had been done, yet, they get a twist now... Make of it what you will though. I think it sets up an interesting little while. Batista still hasn't hinted fully towards a heel turn, so we don't know whether it'll be him or Triple H turning, plus, Flair is back, which, even though it's stupid for him to shit on his retirement, adds drama to this, and we still don't know where HBK will fit into this, if anywhere...
Promo of the Night:The Miz
Overall, this PPV delivered. At the start, it looked like it'd be able to top Backlash, and be the best so far this year. It turned out not to though. It was still very good IMO, but not quite as good a Backlahs. The matches tonight, especially the undercard, were great. In the main event, only really Edge/Hardy was as good as it should be. Batista/Orton was decent, and not worth complaining, but Cena/Show was awful. So, after all that, it's pretty similar to Backlash in terms of quality, but a bit less. I should also say I did like the amount of promos tonight. It's been a while since we got a full 10 or 15 minute promo, as well as 5 or 6 backstage interviews or segments in a PPV, but it wouked, and complimented the PPV.
Rating: 3.5/5
. That was awesome. Probably one of the best mid-card promos I've seen in a long time.