The 13th No Smark Zone on Firday The 13th. CREEEEEEEEEEEEPY. I hope no one suffers from triskaidekaphobia. And if you do, you’re a superstitious idiot. This is gonna be another short one due to lack of organization on my part. Today it’s the full Top 10 PPVS of 2005 and getting to Mugen’s request to talk about one of my bruthas in the WWE.
Ok so I’ve been promising this for a while. I bought the 2005 WWE Box Set last year and I have finally got around to watching all of them. 4 weeks or so ago I gave you the bottom 5. To refresh your memory….
10. Unforgiven
This one BARELY, and I mean BARELY, edged out No Way Out for the number 10 spot. Thats not to say, however that it was that bad of a PPV by any means. It started good, had a great middle, and had a great end. I think the best moment of the night was when Ric Flair won the Intercontinental Title from Carlito. It was nice to see him with a belt around his waste again. Especially one that he hasnt held before. The match itself was pretty much as good as it could have been. Amazingly enough, the rivalry has lasted almost 2 years! Sure there was a break, but you know Carlito cant be a good guy for too long. My personal favorite match of the night was the steel cage match between Matt Hardy and Edge. It was good for a lot of reasons. One, because the Summerslam match was kind of a let down, more on that later. But these two both showed in this match that they have what it takes to get to the "next level". Edge got there first, but I have no doubts that unless the WWE decide to completely BURY Matt, Mr. Hardy will get there as well. I cant talk about this PPV and not talk about my homeboy Chris Masters. He was still relatively green at this point but he and HBK worked pretty well together and told a good (not great) but good story in the ring. The main event was always good. I dont give a rats ass what anyone says, but when Cena and Angle got into the ring together, something clicked. Yes, its not HBK/Angle, but nothing is. This was a category all its own and it was a great way to end the PPV.
9. Taboo Tuesday
We have another Raw brand PPV. I really like the concept of this PPV. I say concept because I think as much as the WWE would like to have us believe "we" are in control, there is AT LEAST a little behid the scenes trickery going on. But it's a good idea none the less. The first match of the night was Matt Hardy and Rey Mysterio vs. Snitsky (supposed to be Edge) and Chris Masters. This was one of the better opening matches all year. The crowd was realtively hot and they loved the high flying duo of Hardy and Mysterio. The match itself was pretty quickly paced when the faces got control and they showed off their high flying skills. Just great great stuff. The midcard was kinda lack luster but it picked up when Kane and The Big Show took on Cade and Murdoch for the tag belts. It was essentially a glorified squash match, but it was fun to see the two biggest monsters in the WWE just destroying the poor cowpokes. The main event was, well what can I say except Cena, Angle, and HBK? It was what it was. It wasnt bad, but it had Cena hitting the FU out of absolutely nowhere. And I wouldnt mind usually, however it had been happening for a while at that point. The highlight of the whole show, however, was Ric Flair vs. HHH in a steel cage match. Those two had a battle and a half. I honestly couldnt believe how bloody these guys were getting and how far Flair was willing to push himself at the ripe old age of 900. It was just brutal and if I didnt like putting the WWE Title above all else on Raw, I would have made it the main event.
8. Armageddon
Sadly, this is the only SD only PPV on the card. And its a shame too because as far as main events go, SD was the winner, HANDS DOWN in 2005. But unfortunately, despite having all of that talent on the undercard, the Smackdown! booking dropped the ball so to speak. But this PPV had a pretty decent undercard and a hell of a main event. It started off with a match with almost no build in JBL vs. Matt Hardy. But it was a nice opener and I think it started JBL to thinking about how great Matt really is. The tag team titles were also contested in a pretty hot match between MNM and The Mexicools. It's too bad both of these teams broke up as they were damn good. The best WRESTLING match of the night, of course, goes to Chris Benoit and Booker T going at it in the best of 7 series. Benoit was down 3 at this point and Booker T had seen fit to bring a broom out to the ring. Just hilarious shit. The tag team semi-main event was damn good too. I got winced in pain when I saw Rey take that double chokeslam from Kane and The Big Show. The main event, however, didnt disappoint as Randy Orton took on The Undertaker in Hell In A Cell. This was the second HIAC match of the year and I will say it was the BEST. Taker was essentially wearing Orton out with all of his offense and then some and Orton took it like a champ. It wasnt one sided, however, as some phenominal psychology came into play. Just a great PPV all around.
7. New Years Revolution
A lot of people said this was a one match PPV. But they are very mistaken. There is one man who made this PPV so memorable for me. And his name.....MAVEN. Yes, that's right, Maven. His playing to the crowd had me in stiches for most of the night. Then, to see him get his ass kicked not ONCE, but TWICE in a row was just fucking funny as hell. Another haha moment was came when Eugene and Lita got injured. It wasn’t like, “HAHA YOU GOT HURT†but like, “ha, 2 people got injured in 2 straight matches.†And of course, the Elimination Chamber was great. Of course Benoit is the first to go out. Fucking WWE. But the rest of it told a good story. Too bad Randy Orton as a face sucked. But at least they tried. This also helped build up to the Batista/HHH trilogy just superbly.
6. Vengeance
I was really torn on this one. I wanted so badly to put it in the top 5, but the one right after it barely edged it out. But boy was this shit stacked. Two world title matches, the start of a great feud, and the dream rematch. This was a damn good card. I remember where I was when I watched this too, it was a great time. The opener was Shelton/Carlito. It was an alright match. Kane vs. Edge was damn good. This was the beginning of what would be an almost 6 month feud with all the trimmings. Remember the ambulance match? That was the shit!!! HBK/Angle 2 was amazing. I was one of the many who thought it was better than the first. It was good to see a WM quality match that wasn’t at Wrestlemania. The triple threat was a trip, but I saw it as the WWE treating the WWE Championship as a midcard title and I thought it was really shitty of them. This also saw Christian’s semi-main event push. I think it showed here that he was funny, but not ready to be on the same level as HHH, HBK, or even Cena.
And now onto the top 5…
5. Wrestlemania 21
Some people might not get why I am rating this so low. Yes, HBK/Angle and MITB were on the match and yes those were AMAZING matches. However, in all honesty, that’s all the PPV had in terms of AMAZING. And on a WM card, there should be more than two AMAZING matches. The main events weren’t anything more than passable. Cena vs. JBL was particularly bad. Akebono vs. Show was what it was. Eddie vs. Rey was, of course a great match but it had its flaws. The Pipers Pit was awesome but not a match. Orton vs. Taker was damn good. As good as it could be, but 2 amazing and 2 great matches don’t make a PPV.
4. The Royal Rumble
I am a big fan of the Rumble match. It is, in fact, my all time favorite “gimmick†match of all of them. I mean it can turn into a giant clusterfuck at times, but when it clicks, its might hapnin. This Rumble had 2 good matches and three great ones. The WHC match was good. It wasn’t great but it was still good. I just got bored with it as then, Orton and HHH didn’t have much chemistry in the ring. The casket match was pretty good too for what it was. At the Survivor Series 2 months earlier Snitsky and Heidenreich had the best backstage segment in 2 years but it was beat tonight when Eddie Guerrero stole Flairs wallet AND his number. But it gets topped later when HHH says “Give it back jumping bean!†HAHA. Just good shit. Edge/HBK was just awesome, especially for an opener. Those guys have great chemistry in the ring. And the triple threat for the WWE Title was just awesome too. This was one of the few times I thought JBL was gonna lose.The spot on the floor was a nice touch.
The Rumble however was, as always, the show stealer. It was pretty star studded when you look at it, Edge, Eddie, Mysterio, Benoit, Cena, Booker, Jericho, HBK, Kane, Batista, I mean it was HUGE. Having Eddie, Benoit, and Holly beat the shit out of that douche bag Daniel Puder was hilarious as was everyone tossing Hassan out. The only bad part was the ending but it made for better live TV imo.
3. ECW One Night Stand
Anyone who knows me, knows I really don’t like ECW, well not the old ECW anyway, but I will say this was an awesome PPV. It had a little bit of something for everyone. Technical wrestling, hardcore wrestling, high flying wrestling, and a story was even told. WWE vs. ECW. It was a very compelling thing and it was all made better by the hot crowd. None of the matches were bad, and none of them were even average. Even the surprise Rhyno bout was great. The table debacle was great but you all know me, Benoit/Eddie and Jericho/Storm stole the show for me. The promos cut here were just great. The only bad one, I think, was RVD’s. It just went too long for me. But still a great great show.
2. Survivor Series
This card might not look the best on paper, but I think every match was done just to almost perfection. Booker T and Benoit TORE THE HOUSE DOWN with match one of the new Best Of 7. Angle and Cena was damn good as those guys work really well together. Trish and Melina had a great interbrand ed going that led to a great little match. The two 4.999999 star matches were Ric Flair vs. HHH and the SD vs. Raw 10 man tag. I love big tags. There is just so much potential for a lot of awesome matches Flair and HHH was just beyond brutal. My god. I remember HHH digging a fucking screwdriver into the skull of Flair. Ughhhhhhhhh. I am wincing now just thinking about it. God damn. I had a non wrestling fan in my dorm with me that night and he was CAPTIVATED. He couldn’t take his eyes off the match. The 10 man tag was the show stealer. Yeah sure, Orton won, and it was kinda predictable, however I still liked it. We got a small glimpse of HBK vs. Lashley and a lot of other potentially great match ups down the road. I loved the thing with TBS taking everyones finishers. The moment of the night was Orton freaking the fuck out about Taker coming back. His faces are priceless.
Ok, you’ve seen the rest, now its time for the best. THE BEST PPV OF 2005 IS………………………
1. Summerslam
This was the most stacked card of the year. Summers biggest party had 5 matches that could have been main events. One of them was.
Chris Benoit def. Orlando Jordan for the United States Title
Benoit just came out, kicked ass, and took names along with the US Title in near record time. It was a great way to jump start the crowd and it had me on my feet watching it on TV.
Edge def. Matt Hardy
This was almost labeled a shoot and these guys made it look like one for the most part. These guys went out there and beat the living shit out of each other. It was cut short for some reason, probably to give Hogan more time to build the crowd. But still it was fucking awesome for it being so short. I was pissed at the premature ending but in retrospect it was good that it happened to build up for the cage match at Vengeance.
Rey Mysterio def. Eddie Guerrero
The Dominic on a pole match was awesome. The build up to it was wild too. I remember when Rey suggested the match, the social worker was like “ARE YOU CRAZY!?†And Rey and Eddie acted like this sorta thing happens every day in the WWE. Just hilarious stuff. There were a few faults in the match but nothing that would ruin it or even diminish the quality of it much if at all. This could have main evented a SD PPV back in the day and the crowd would have loved it.
Kurt Angle def. Eugene
Ok so all of the matches cant be stellar. It was a nice attempt by the WWE to push Eugene but it just failed as Angle was over with the DC crowd. The match was the only one I would call GOOD on the card, which is a rarity now a days.
Randy Orton def. The Undertaker
This was a great great match. It wasn’t all that different from their WM match but they did do some variations. These two are magic together in the ring and I really hope we get to see one more Orton/Taker match before the Deadman hangs it up for good. The best part of this match for me was the end when Cowboy Bob got in the ring. Taker played it off like it was an actual fan perfectly. It even had me fooled. This could have also been a main event on a SD only PPV. It might not have been the BEST idea but it still would have worked out just nicely.
John Cena def. Chris Jericho for the WWE Title
This was the greatest match John Cena had ever had until HBK came along. This was a 5 star match all the way. Just phenomenal from bell to bell. These guys worked their asses off to have a good match and the crowd ate it up. I loved it being split down the middle and I loved all the false finishes. I just loved this match in general. Phenomenal.
Batista def. JBL for the WHC in a No Holds Barred Match
This was very brutal match that thankfully pretty much erased their SNOOZEFEST of a bout at the Great American Bash the month before. Seriously, that match was shit and it showed that while both of these guys are good, they aren’t ring generals and need the right person or circumstances to have a great match. This was just an awesome match. It was brutal, it was hard hitting and the end still makes me hold my back when I see it.
Hulk Hogan def. Shawn Michaels
I know some people got mad that HBK didn’t win, but I don’t really care. The winner of a match like this really isn’t important. It was a one time deal and neither one of these guys are really in need of “being put overâ€. So I don’t give a rats ass who politics who and who did and didn’t want to win. This match was a 5 star affair all the way. These guys have it all they could from bell to bell and I just loved it. Hogan bled like a stuffed pig and HBK sold like a motherfucker. It was a hell of a match. The only bad part that I noticed was the horrible, absolutely HORRIBLE sharpshooter HBK slapped on old man Hogan.
So there you have it, the top 10 PPVs of 2005. What do you think? Was I wrong? Was I right? Am I out of my god damn mind? TELL ME. LEAVE A RESPONSE!!
Mugen asked that I state my feelings on Elijah Burke. This is going to be relatively short as I don’t watch ECW as regularly as I watch Raw and SD. Also, if I tune in, Im not necessarily paying attention, but I would love to tell you all my opinions on Elijah Burke.
Burke is a great wrestler and I think he has a bright future in the WWE. When I first saw him with Sylvester Terkay I thought he had a good look to him. I knew things were REALLY on an upswing when he started getting in the ring instead of the man bear. I mean look at it like this, a SMALLER wrestler who doesn’t have the shooting credibility of the big man, yet HE was getting the ring time. It was a statement to say the least. The duo then shortly moved to ECW. Terkay was dropped shortly after but Burke was on the brink of a major push.
And a well deserved one at that. Not only had he improved significantly in the ring, his mic skills were getting nothing but better. I think he was a perfect fit as leader of the New Breed. I mean I know “technically†they are still around, but really it’s the band of bruthas on ECW. He was just phenomenal as a mouth piece. What’s even better is how he was made more credible by getting some wins over the cornerstone of ECW, Rob Van Dam. I will admit, I got a little bored when he and RVD were somehow facing off every week. I mean really, if you are going to have guys going at it week in and week out they need to be a certain caliber of wrestler and neither RVD or Elijah were that. I don’t blame Elijah, RVD should be for as long as he has been in the biz though.
The only negative I can see in Elijah, other than his lack of overall experience is his finisher. Sure it has a nice catchy name but I just don’t like it. It’s very basic, and I’m all for basic finishers (hello Samoan Spike) but it just doesn’t seem like it would hurt that much even if it was “realâ€. I think he needs a new finisher. I think someone his size should either have a submission finisher or some kind of impactful finisher like a powerbomb or something along those lines.
Now in the new ECW, I fear Elijah might struggle for a direction. Punk and Nitro seem to have taken the big stage so I think what would be best for Elijah is either to team up with Cor Von and decimate ECW or feud with his former New Breed ally as The Alpha Male turns face.
Well that’s it for the 13th installment of the No Smark Zone. I will be back next week with GAB predictions, and I will get to Soulpower’s CM Punk request. I swear SP I HAVE IT TYPED UP!! I will also have a new round of I’m Not Buying It. Those of us who write columns here work VERY hard to do so. Please check out Soulpower’s ECW Review, Xtremebadass’s IMPACT Review and whoever is reviewing Raw this week.
Ok so I’ve been promising this for a while. I bought the 2005 WWE Box Set last year and I have finally got around to watching all of them. 4 weeks or so ago I gave you the bottom 5. To refresh your memory….
10. Unforgiven
This one BARELY, and I mean BARELY, edged out No Way Out for the number 10 spot. Thats not to say, however that it was that bad of a PPV by any means. It started good, had a great middle, and had a great end. I think the best moment of the night was when Ric Flair won the Intercontinental Title from Carlito. It was nice to see him with a belt around his waste again. Especially one that he hasnt held before. The match itself was pretty much as good as it could have been. Amazingly enough, the rivalry has lasted almost 2 years! Sure there was a break, but you know Carlito cant be a good guy for too long. My personal favorite match of the night was the steel cage match between Matt Hardy and Edge. It was good for a lot of reasons. One, because the Summerslam match was kind of a let down, more on that later. But these two both showed in this match that they have what it takes to get to the "next level". Edge got there first, but I have no doubts that unless the WWE decide to completely BURY Matt, Mr. Hardy will get there as well. I cant talk about this PPV and not talk about my homeboy Chris Masters. He was still relatively green at this point but he and HBK worked pretty well together and told a good (not great) but good story in the ring. The main event was always good. I dont give a rats ass what anyone says, but when Cena and Angle got into the ring together, something clicked. Yes, its not HBK/Angle, but nothing is. This was a category all its own and it was a great way to end the PPV.
9. Taboo Tuesday
We have another Raw brand PPV. I really like the concept of this PPV. I say concept because I think as much as the WWE would like to have us believe "we" are in control, there is AT LEAST a little behid the scenes trickery going on. But it's a good idea none the less. The first match of the night was Matt Hardy and Rey Mysterio vs. Snitsky (supposed to be Edge) and Chris Masters. This was one of the better opening matches all year. The crowd was realtively hot and they loved the high flying duo of Hardy and Mysterio. The match itself was pretty quickly paced when the faces got control and they showed off their high flying skills. Just great great stuff. The midcard was kinda lack luster but it picked up when Kane and The Big Show took on Cade and Murdoch for the tag belts. It was essentially a glorified squash match, but it was fun to see the two biggest monsters in the WWE just destroying the poor cowpokes. The main event was, well what can I say except Cena, Angle, and HBK? It was what it was. It wasnt bad, but it had Cena hitting the FU out of absolutely nowhere. And I wouldnt mind usually, however it had been happening for a while at that point. The highlight of the whole show, however, was Ric Flair vs. HHH in a steel cage match. Those two had a battle and a half. I honestly couldnt believe how bloody these guys were getting and how far Flair was willing to push himself at the ripe old age of 900. It was just brutal and if I didnt like putting the WWE Title above all else on Raw, I would have made it the main event.
8. Armageddon
Sadly, this is the only SD only PPV on the card. And its a shame too because as far as main events go, SD was the winner, HANDS DOWN in 2005. But unfortunately, despite having all of that talent on the undercard, the Smackdown! booking dropped the ball so to speak. But this PPV had a pretty decent undercard and a hell of a main event. It started off with a match with almost no build in JBL vs. Matt Hardy. But it was a nice opener and I think it started JBL to thinking about how great Matt really is. The tag team titles were also contested in a pretty hot match between MNM and The Mexicools. It's too bad both of these teams broke up as they were damn good. The best WRESTLING match of the night, of course, goes to Chris Benoit and Booker T going at it in the best of 7 series. Benoit was down 3 at this point and Booker T had seen fit to bring a broom out to the ring. Just hilarious shit. The tag team semi-main event was damn good too. I got winced in pain when I saw Rey take that double chokeslam from Kane and The Big Show. The main event, however, didnt disappoint as Randy Orton took on The Undertaker in Hell In A Cell. This was the second HIAC match of the year and I will say it was the BEST. Taker was essentially wearing Orton out with all of his offense and then some and Orton took it like a champ. It wasnt one sided, however, as some phenominal psychology came into play. Just a great PPV all around.
7. New Years Revolution
A lot of people said this was a one match PPV. But they are very mistaken. There is one man who made this PPV so memorable for me. And his name.....MAVEN. Yes, that's right, Maven. His playing to the crowd had me in stiches for most of the night. Then, to see him get his ass kicked not ONCE, but TWICE in a row was just fucking funny as hell. Another haha moment was came when Eugene and Lita got injured. It wasn’t like, “HAHA YOU GOT HURT†but like, “ha, 2 people got injured in 2 straight matches.†And of course, the Elimination Chamber was great. Of course Benoit is the first to go out. Fucking WWE. But the rest of it told a good story. Too bad Randy Orton as a face sucked. But at least they tried. This also helped build up to the Batista/HHH trilogy just superbly.
6. Vengeance
I was really torn on this one. I wanted so badly to put it in the top 5, but the one right after it barely edged it out. But boy was this shit stacked. Two world title matches, the start of a great feud, and the dream rematch. This was a damn good card. I remember where I was when I watched this too, it was a great time. The opener was Shelton/Carlito. It was an alright match. Kane vs. Edge was damn good. This was the beginning of what would be an almost 6 month feud with all the trimmings. Remember the ambulance match? That was the shit!!! HBK/Angle 2 was amazing. I was one of the many who thought it was better than the first. It was good to see a WM quality match that wasn’t at Wrestlemania. The triple threat was a trip, but I saw it as the WWE treating the WWE Championship as a midcard title and I thought it was really shitty of them. This also saw Christian’s semi-main event push. I think it showed here that he was funny, but not ready to be on the same level as HHH, HBK, or even Cena.
And now onto the top 5…
5. Wrestlemania 21
Some people might not get why I am rating this so low. Yes, HBK/Angle and MITB were on the match and yes those were AMAZING matches. However, in all honesty, that’s all the PPV had in terms of AMAZING. And on a WM card, there should be more than two AMAZING matches. The main events weren’t anything more than passable. Cena vs. JBL was particularly bad. Akebono vs. Show was what it was. Eddie vs. Rey was, of course a great match but it had its flaws. The Pipers Pit was awesome but not a match. Orton vs. Taker was damn good. As good as it could be, but 2 amazing and 2 great matches don’t make a PPV.
4. The Royal Rumble
I am a big fan of the Rumble match. It is, in fact, my all time favorite “gimmick†match of all of them. I mean it can turn into a giant clusterfuck at times, but when it clicks, its might hapnin. This Rumble had 2 good matches and three great ones. The WHC match was good. It wasn’t great but it was still good. I just got bored with it as then, Orton and HHH didn’t have much chemistry in the ring. The casket match was pretty good too for what it was. At the Survivor Series 2 months earlier Snitsky and Heidenreich had the best backstage segment in 2 years but it was beat tonight when Eddie Guerrero stole Flairs wallet AND his number. But it gets topped later when HHH says “Give it back jumping bean!†HAHA. Just good shit. Edge/HBK was just awesome, especially for an opener. Those guys have great chemistry in the ring. And the triple threat for the WWE Title was just awesome too. This was one of the few times I thought JBL was gonna lose.The spot on the floor was a nice touch.
The Rumble however was, as always, the show stealer. It was pretty star studded when you look at it, Edge, Eddie, Mysterio, Benoit, Cena, Booker, Jericho, HBK, Kane, Batista, I mean it was HUGE. Having Eddie, Benoit, and Holly beat the shit out of that douche bag Daniel Puder was hilarious as was everyone tossing Hassan out. The only bad part was the ending but it made for better live TV imo.
3. ECW One Night Stand
Anyone who knows me, knows I really don’t like ECW, well not the old ECW anyway, but I will say this was an awesome PPV. It had a little bit of something for everyone. Technical wrestling, hardcore wrestling, high flying wrestling, and a story was even told. WWE vs. ECW. It was a very compelling thing and it was all made better by the hot crowd. None of the matches were bad, and none of them were even average. Even the surprise Rhyno bout was great. The table debacle was great but you all know me, Benoit/Eddie and Jericho/Storm stole the show for me. The promos cut here were just great. The only bad one, I think, was RVD’s. It just went too long for me. But still a great great show.
2. Survivor Series
This card might not look the best on paper, but I think every match was done just to almost perfection. Booker T and Benoit TORE THE HOUSE DOWN with match one of the new Best Of 7. Angle and Cena was damn good as those guys work really well together. Trish and Melina had a great interbrand ed going that led to a great little match. The two 4.999999 star matches were Ric Flair vs. HHH and the SD vs. Raw 10 man tag. I love big tags. There is just so much potential for a lot of awesome matches Flair and HHH was just beyond brutal. My god. I remember HHH digging a fucking screwdriver into the skull of Flair. Ughhhhhhhhh. I am wincing now just thinking about it. God damn. I had a non wrestling fan in my dorm with me that night and he was CAPTIVATED. He couldn’t take his eyes off the match. The 10 man tag was the show stealer. Yeah sure, Orton won, and it was kinda predictable, however I still liked it. We got a small glimpse of HBK vs. Lashley and a lot of other potentially great match ups down the road. I loved the thing with TBS taking everyones finishers. The moment of the night was Orton freaking the fuck out about Taker coming back. His faces are priceless.
Ok, you’ve seen the rest, now its time for the best. THE BEST PPV OF 2005 IS………………………
1. Summerslam
This was the most stacked card of the year. Summers biggest party had 5 matches that could have been main events. One of them was.
Chris Benoit def. Orlando Jordan for the United States Title
Benoit just came out, kicked ass, and took names along with the US Title in near record time. It was a great way to jump start the crowd and it had me on my feet watching it on TV.
Edge def. Matt Hardy
This was almost labeled a shoot and these guys made it look like one for the most part. These guys went out there and beat the living shit out of each other. It was cut short for some reason, probably to give Hogan more time to build the crowd. But still it was fucking awesome for it being so short. I was pissed at the premature ending but in retrospect it was good that it happened to build up for the cage match at Vengeance.
Rey Mysterio def. Eddie Guerrero
The Dominic on a pole match was awesome. The build up to it was wild too. I remember when Rey suggested the match, the social worker was like “ARE YOU CRAZY!?†And Rey and Eddie acted like this sorta thing happens every day in the WWE. Just hilarious stuff. There were a few faults in the match but nothing that would ruin it or even diminish the quality of it much if at all. This could have main evented a SD PPV back in the day and the crowd would have loved it.
Kurt Angle def. Eugene
Ok so all of the matches cant be stellar. It was a nice attempt by the WWE to push Eugene but it just failed as Angle was over with the DC crowd. The match was the only one I would call GOOD on the card, which is a rarity now a days.
Randy Orton def. The Undertaker
This was a great great match. It wasn’t all that different from their WM match but they did do some variations. These two are magic together in the ring and I really hope we get to see one more Orton/Taker match before the Deadman hangs it up for good. The best part of this match for me was the end when Cowboy Bob got in the ring. Taker played it off like it was an actual fan perfectly. It even had me fooled. This could have also been a main event on a SD only PPV. It might not have been the BEST idea but it still would have worked out just nicely.
John Cena def. Chris Jericho for the WWE Title
This was the greatest match John Cena had ever had until HBK came along. This was a 5 star match all the way. Just phenomenal from bell to bell. These guys worked their asses off to have a good match and the crowd ate it up. I loved it being split down the middle and I loved all the false finishes. I just loved this match in general. Phenomenal.
Batista def. JBL for the WHC in a No Holds Barred Match
This was very brutal match that thankfully pretty much erased their SNOOZEFEST of a bout at the Great American Bash the month before. Seriously, that match was shit and it showed that while both of these guys are good, they aren’t ring generals and need the right person or circumstances to have a great match. This was just an awesome match. It was brutal, it was hard hitting and the end still makes me hold my back when I see it.
Hulk Hogan def. Shawn Michaels
I know some people got mad that HBK didn’t win, but I don’t really care. The winner of a match like this really isn’t important. It was a one time deal and neither one of these guys are really in need of “being put overâ€. So I don’t give a rats ass who politics who and who did and didn’t want to win. This match was a 5 star affair all the way. These guys have it all they could from bell to bell and I just loved it. Hogan bled like a stuffed pig and HBK sold like a motherfucker. It was a hell of a match. The only bad part that I noticed was the horrible, absolutely HORRIBLE sharpshooter HBK slapped on old man Hogan.
So there you have it, the top 10 PPVs of 2005. What do you think? Was I wrong? Was I right? Am I out of my god damn mind? TELL ME. LEAVE A RESPONSE!!
Mugen asked that I state my feelings on Elijah Burke. This is going to be relatively short as I don’t watch ECW as regularly as I watch Raw and SD. Also, if I tune in, Im not necessarily paying attention, but I would love to tell you all my opinions on Elijah Burke.
Burke is a great wrestler and I think he has a bright future in the WWE. When I first saw him with Sylvester Terkay I thought he had a good look to him. I knew things were REALLY on an upswing when he started getting in the ring instead of the man bear. I mean look at it like this, a SMALLER wrestler who doesn’t have the shooting credibility of the big man, yet HE was getting the ring time. It was a statement to say the least. The duo then shortly moved to ECW. Terkay was dropped shortly after but Burke was on the brink of a major push.
And a well deserved one at that. Not only had he improved significantly in the ring, his mic skills were getting nothing but better. I think he was a perfect fit as leader of the New Breed. I mean I know “technically†they are still around, but really it’s the band of bruthas on ECW. He was just phenomenal as a mouth piece. What’s even better is how he was made more credible by getting some wins over the cornerstone of ECW, Rob Van Dam. I will admit, I got a little bored when he and RVD were somehow facing off every week. I mean really, if you are going to have guys going at it week in and week out they need to be a certain caliber of wrestler and neither RVD or Elijah were that. I don’t blame Elijah, RVD should be for as long as he has been in the biz though.
The only negative I can see in Elijah, other than his lack of overall experience is his finisher. Sure it has a nice catchy name but I just don’t like it. It’s very basic, and I’m all for basic finishers (hello Samoan Spike) but it just doesn’t seem like it would hurt that much even if it was “realâ€. I think he needs a new finisher. I think someone his size should either have a submission finisher or some kind of impactful finisher like a powerbomb or something along those lines.
Now in the new ECW, I fear Elijah might struggle for a direction. Punk and Nitro seem to have taken the big stage so I think what would be best for Elijah is either to team up with Cor Von and decimate ECW or feud with his former New Breed ally as The Alpha Male turns face.
Well that’s it for the 13th installment of the No Smark Zone. I will be back next week with GAB predictions, and I will get to Soulpower’s CM Punk request. I swear SP I HAVE IT TYPED UP!! I will also have a new round of I’m Not Buying It. Those of us who write columns here work VERY hard to do so. Please check out Soulpower’s ECW Review, Xtremebadass’s IMPACT Review and whoever is reviewing Raw this week.
