Ric Flair defeated Edge via DQ to retain the IC title. Correct choice as opener & it was quickly backed up by a good beginning to the bout (especially by Edge) which was fast-paced, intense & entertaining. The entertainment value actually stayed quite high for most of it’s short 7 minute duration, no matter who was in control of this sufficiently back & forth match. And the crowd seemed constantly involved. Lita played her role well also & it was while she was in the Figure 4 Leglock, that Edge got disqualified with a suitcase shot to Flair's head. Edge successfully got further heel heat with multiple suitcase shots that left Flair bloodied & taking an eternity to leave the ring. Solid & entertaining opener, that achieved it’s objective, despite being relatively short & not exactly a classic. ***
Trish defeated Mickie James to retain Women's Title. Very well put together Women’s match which proves how important a good storyline can be to a bout. The dynamic between the 2 faces was close to perfect & the story told was a very good one. I couldn’t help but be involved in what was going on, not only in the ring, but in the minds of the 2 wrestlers. It was a good quality match too, with some decent technical wrestling attempted, thrown in amongst some good wrestling moves. Trish gets the win at the 7 minute mark after kicking out of Mickie’s Stratusfaction version & nailing the chick kick. Well done to all involved & the division keeps going from strength to strength. ** 3/4
Jerry Lawler defeated Gregory Helms. Unlike the previous 2 matches, this match had practically no story behind it… and you could tell. With the exception of some sparse chants for Lawler, the hot crowd was pretty quiet & just didn’t seem too interested at all. The match itself lasted just over 9 minutes, but felt like an eternity! Helms dominated most of this slow-paced bout with rather pedestrian offense. But, in typical WWE fashion, Lawler pulled out the win with a top-rope fist drop. Nothing but filler, if not terrible. 1/2 *
Triple H defeated Big Show. Rather predictably booked match with Big Show dominating early, until he takes a swing at Triple H & hits nothing but ringpost. From here, H works on the plaster until he gets it off. What followed was a methodical dissection of the body part of an opponent, with Hunter using every method legally (& sometimes illegally) possible to make Big Show’s hand injury even worse. As predictable as it and the eventual comeback was, it all told a pretty good story & got both me & the live crowd involved. After a ref bump, TBS had to withstand attacks from both a sledgehammer & a chair. He did, but fell victim to (half of) a sledgehammer shot when attempting a left-handed chokeslam. H finishes it off with an ugly looking Pedigree. 16 minutes in length, but it didn’t feel that long. That’s very much a positive, as this was sufficiently entertaining & told a very good story, despite the obvious inherent problems of the bout. ***
Shelton Benjamin defeated Viscera. This match was made on the spot after Viscera tried to pick up Shelton’s momma backstage in a lunch room… And I don’t mean literally pick her up! During the bout, Shelton’s momma was at ringside & just wouldn’t shutup. She, Daivari & Sharmell are now in a good contest for most annoying roster member! Some of the things she shouted out were good, but it was just constant & over the top. As for the match itself, I was as distracted by the ringside annoyance as much as the fans, commentators & cameramen obviously were. But basically, it was ordinary. Messy at times, it could have been worse I suppose. But even at only 8 minutes in length, it just seemed to drag on too long. Shelton breaks his losing streak following his patented spin-kick, but he didn’t really show much more against an imperfect opponent for him. * 1/2
Ashley Masaro defeated Victoria, Maria, Torrie Wilson and Candice Michelle in a Bra and Panties Gauntlet Match. I don’t care what anyone says, this was just terrible. Maria & Candice start out & after the usual rolling around & a move or two, the ditzy interviewer eliminates Candice at the 2 minute mark. She then follows up by eliminating Torrie, but doesn’t last long against Victoria. Then Mae Young comes out & if she was involved in the match, I suppose she eliminated herself. But she then decides to mistake Victoria’s bra for her top on the way out & almost strangled poor Victoria. Then to cap off this masterpiece, Ashley comes out & performs one move (probably all she knows) to emerge victorious. An awful 11 minutes. The gauntlet stipulation added nothing to it, while B & P matches are just getting too tedious. But even so, this was terrible. 1/4 *
John Cena defeated Carlito, Chris Masters, Shawn Michaels, Kane and Kurt Angle in a EChamber Match to retain the Raw World Title. I was initially surprised to see Cena begin the bout against HBK, but in retrospect it was a fascinating & rather clever booking move. Although, I would have preferred it not be against HBK, who seems to be getting more popular by the week. Their initial confrontation was rather ho-hum actually, although it was hard to see how they could have pushed the limit so early, since both men were obviously going to last a while. Then, at the 4 minute mark (wasn’t it supposed to be 5), Carlito enters & hits a nice dropkick & somersault senton over the ropes. Just as Cena & HBK finally agree to team up, Angle enters & goes absolutely suplex crazy on all 3 men. He adds great intensity to the fast pace that Carlito instigated. Angle then places Carlito in the Ankle Lock, but he is saved by new entrant Chris Masters. Not long prior to Kane making his entry, Angle places Cena in the Ankle Lock, but it’s abruptly stopped out of nowhere by Sweet Chin Music, and HBK unpredictably gets the pinfall on Angle! After a couple of minutes of the 2 remaining heels dominating the battered faces, Kane comes in & cleans house. But the 2 heels get the better of him with teamwork that backs up my prior thoughts that they should team up & head after the tag titles. The 2nd unpredictable elimination comes when Kane is pinned. Make that 3 as Carlito & Masters continue their teaming & eliminate a bloodied HBK (despite just hitting Sweet Chin Music on Cena). The rest almost writes itself as the young heels dominate Cena, until Carlito double-crosses Masters & pins him. Cena then immediately pins Carlito with a roll-up to win the match at the 28 minute mark. While the match wasn’t exactly a classic & was the weakest of all Elimination Chamber matches that we have seen, I do admire the WWE for attempting a few things during the bout. The shock order of eliminations were unpredictable & will either be liked or hated by fans. But either way, I’m certain that it kept all of us on our toes & interested in what was going to occur. Unfortunately, it probably didn’t help the match quality all that much, as having someone like Angle there at the end could have given it a real lift. But sometimes things must get sacrificed for the sake of telling a story I suppose. Again, it was a decent idea to allow Carlito & Masters to team so successfully, but it didn’t assist the match quality. Entertaining enough & won’t fully deserve the criticism that it’s probably going to get. *** 1/2...but...
Edge destroyed John Cena to win the Raw World Title. Vince came out prior to the match & announced that Edge was cashing in his Money In The Bank right now. He predictably attacks a bloodied Cena early on with a barrage of punches & kicks. Two spears later & it’s all over at the 2 minute mark! In a rather brave (& to some, unpredictable) move by the WWE, Edge is our new WWE Champion. Edge & Lita celebrate afterwards & the crowd don’t know whether to cheer or boo. Hard to rate due to it’s length & the fact that one man could hardly move. **** on booking, * on actual match content (but what did you expect though?!?)
Trish defeated Mickie James to retain Women's Title. Very well put together Women’s match which proves how important a good storyline can be to a bout. The dynamic between the 2 faces was close to perfect & the story told was a very good one. I couldn’t help but be involved in what was going on, not only in the ring, but in the minds of the 2 wrestlers. It was a good quality match too, with some decent technical wrestling attempted, thrown in amongst some good wrestling moves. Trish gets the win at the 7 minute mark after kicking out of Mickie’s Stratusfaction version & nailing the chick kick. Well done to all involved & the division keeps going from strength to strength. ** 3/4
Jerry Lawler defeated Gregory Helms. Unlike the previous 2 matches, this match had practically no story behind it… and you could tell. With the exception of some sparse chants for Lawler, the hot crowd was pretty quiet & just didn’t seem too interested at all. The match itself lasted just over 9 minutes, but felt like an eternity! Helms dominated most of this slow-paced bout with rather pedestrian offense. But, in typical WWE fashion, Lawler pulled out the win with a top-rope fist drop. Nothing but filler, if not terrible. 1/2 *
Triple H defeated Big Show. Rather predictably booked match with Big Show dominating early, until he takes a swing at Triple H & hits nothing but ringpost. From here, H works on the plaster until he gets it off. What followed was a methodical dissection of the body part of an opponent, with Hunter using every method legally (& sometimes illegally) possible to make Big Show’s hand injury even worse. As predictable as it and the eventual comeback was, it all told a pretty good story & got both me & the live crowd involved. After a ref bump, TBS had to withstand attacks from both a sledgehammer & a chair. He did, but fell victim to (half of) a sledgehammer shot when attempting a left-handed chokeslam. H finishes it off with an ugly looking Pedigree. 16 minutes in length, but it didn’t feel that long. That’s very much a positive, as this was sufficiently entertaining & told a very good story, despite the obvious inherent problems of the bout. ***
Shelton Benjamin defeated Viscera. This match was made on the spot after Viscera tried to pick up Shelton’s momma backstage in a lunch room… And I don’t mean literally pick her up! During the bout, Shelton’s momma was at ringside & just wouldn’t shutup. She, Daivari & Sharmell are now in a good contest for most annoying roster member! Some of the things she shouted out were good, but it was just constant & over the top. As for the match itself, I was as distracted by the ringside annoyance as much as the fans, commentators & cameramen obviously were. But basically, it was ordinary. Messy at times, it could have been worse I suppose. But even at only 8 minutes in length, it just seemed to drag on too long. Shelton breaks his losing streak following his patented spin-kick, but he didn’t really show much more against an imperfect opponent for him. * 1/2
Ashley Masaro defeated Victoria, Maria, Torrie Wilson and Candice Michelle in a Bra and Panties Gauntlet Match. I don’t care what anyone says, this was just terrible. Maria & Candice start out & after the usual rolling around & a move or two, the ditzy interviewer eliminates Candice at the 2 minute mark. She then follows up by eliminating Torrie, but doesn’t last long against Victoria. Then Mae Young comes out & if she was involved in the match, I suppose she eliminated herself. But she then decides to mistake Victoria’s bra for her top on the way out & almost strangled poor Victoria. Then to cap off this masterpiece, Ashley comes out & performs one move (probably all she knows) to emerge victorious. An awful 11 minutes. The gauntlet stipulation added nothing to it, while B & P matches are just getting too tedious. But even so, this was terrible. 1/4 *
John Cena defeated Carlito, Chris Masters, Shawn Michaels, Kane and Kurt Angle in a EChamber Match to retain the Raw World Title. I was initially surprised to see Cena begin the bout against HBK, but in retrospect it was a fascinating & rather clever booking move. Although, I would have preferred it not be against HBK, who seems to be getting more popular by the week. Their initial confrontation was rather ho-hum actually, although it was hard to see how they could have pushed the limit so early, since both men were obviously going to last a while. Then, at the 4 minute mark (wasn’t it supposed to be 5), Carlito enters & hits a nice dropkick & somersault senton over the ropes. Just as Cena & HBK finally agree to team up, Angle enters & goes absolutely suplex crazy on all 3 men. He adds great intensity to the fast pace that Carlito instigated. Angle then places Carlito in the Ankle Lock, but he is saved by new entrant Chris Masters. Not long prior to Kane making his entry, Angle places Cena in the Ankle Lock, but it’s abruptly stopped out of nowhere by Sweet Chin Music, and HBK unpredictably gets the pinfall on Angle! After a couple of minutes of the 2 remaining heels dominating the battered faces, Kane comes in & cleans house. But the 2 heels get the better of him with teamwork that backs up my prior thoughts that they should team up & head after the tag titles. The 2nd unpredictable elimination comes when Kane is pinned. Make that 3 as Carlito & Masters continue their teaming & eliminate a bloodied HBK (despite just hitting Sweet Chin Music on Cena). The rest almost writes itself as the young heels dominate Cena, until Carlito double-crosses Masters & pins him. Cena then immediately pins Carlito with a roll-up to win the match at the 28 minute mark. While the match wasn’t exactly a classic & was the weakest of all Elimination Chamber matches that we have seen, I do admire the WWE for attempting a few things during the bout. The shock order of eliminations were unpredictable & will either be liked or hated by fans. But either way, I’m certain that it kept all of us on our toes & interested in what was going to occur. Unfortunately, it probably didn’t help the match quality all that much, as having someone like Angle there at the end could have given it a real lift. But sometimes things must get sacrificed for the sake of telling a story I suppose. Again, it was a decent idea to allow Carlito & Masters to team so successfully, but it didn’t assist the match quality. Entertaining enough & won’t fully deserve the criticism that it’s probably going to get. *** 1/2...but...
Edge destroyed John Cena to win the Raw World Title. Vince came out prior to the match & announced that Edge was cashing in his Money In The Bank right now. He predictably attacks a bloodied Cena early on with a barrage of punches & kicks. Two spears later & it’s all over at the 2 minute mark! In a rather brave (& to some, unpredictable) move by the WWE, Edge is our new WWE Champion. Edge & Lita celebrate afterwards & the crowd don’t know whether to cheer or boo. Hard to rate due to it’s length & the fact that one man could hardly move. **** on booking, * on actual match content (but what did you expect though?!?)
