Review the Last Wrestling Match You Watched

[Horrorfan_1986]

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - AJPW - April 5, 1991
Misawa's in green tights and Kobashi is rocking the orange trunks. All is right with the world. This is part of the champion's carnival and is only a handheld. Somewhat similar to their 1990 match, but with more heat. The opening minute is packed with fast pace action with Kobashi taking it to Misawa in order to attempt a quick finish. The match breaks down into a rest hold bout with both guys taking turns with a hold that just serves the purpose of killing time. Action picks up again with Kobashi trying anything to get the win. A double arm DDT on the outside isn't enough to keep Misawa down. Neither is Kobashi's moonsault or Kobashi busting out the dragon suplex. Misawa nailed his Tiger Driver, but Kobashi kicks out this time. A second kneeling version does score Misawa the win. A rather short match (Under 15 minutes), but this showcased what you could expect from Misawa/Kobashi a lot more than their first match. The rest holds didn't do much for me, but the final few minutes was even more exciting than their 1990 match. Kobashi still can't figure out how to pin Misawa. 3 1/4 Stars.

 

[Horrorfan_1986]

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - AJPW - March 26, 1995
After being winless against Misawa thus far, Kobashi went into this match with a plan. The plan was simple and to the point - keep chopping Misawa's neck until his head falls off. Perhaps had Kobashi been able to do that, he would have won. Most likely, he would have been defeated by the headless Misawa though. Kobashi was great in this though. He was in control of most of the match, had a game plan and managed to counter a lot of Misawa's moves in the first half. As always, Kobashi builds up to the point where he unloads everything on Misawa, going for the cover after each move. And like always, none of the moves can keep Misawa down. Great moment came when Misawa hit the Tiger Driver, but Kobashi kicked out. The referee shakes Kobashi as if saying "Dude! You can still win! Get UP!!!!" Misawa stays cool under pressure and nails a roaring elbow to silence any more pesky Kobashi attacks. Misawa busts out the Tiger Suplex '85 for the victory. Much like the Kawada/Misawa series, the big appeal with Misawa/Kobashi comes from watching all of the ways Kobashi tries to finally get that first victory. Huge step up from their first two matches. 4 Stars.

 

[Horrorfan_1986]

WWE No Mercy
October 9, 2005

The Legion of Doom and Christy Hemme vs MNM
This feud had been going on for the entire summer when someone got the bright idea to create a new LOD to help market the Road Warriors DVD. Going into the match, Road Warrior Animal had an injured shoulder. Smartly, MNM focused on that injured body part for a large portion of the match. Shockingly, this created a really good story where MNM (Mercury and Nitro, not Melina) were able to carry Animal to a good match and look good in a kayfabe stance. The change in the story occurs when Animal catches Mercury during a top rope cross body and nails an impressive power slam. From there, the quality goes down the toilet as the divas get their turn in the ring. They botch nearly every move before Animal and Christy hits the Doomsday Device on Melina. Christy somehow botches the cover before finally getting it right to get the win. The last few minutes sucked, but MNM worked really hard to get a watchable match out of their untalented opponents. The result would be pointless as Christy was fired weeks later after requesting to be transferred to OVW to improve her in ring skills and LOD lost the tag titles back to MNM later in the month. Good opener. 2 1/4 Stars.

Pinning 101.​

Bobby Lashley vs Simon Dean
Lashley's PPV debut. Loser here has to eat a large silver platter of hamburgers. This match was set-up when Lashley broke Dean's hand. This was your basic squash where Lashley could prove how strong he was while throwing Dean around. Highlight of the match comes when Simon throws a couple of hamburgers across the ring to distract the referee. With the ref's back to him, Simon pulls the silver platter up and hits Lashley on the head as hard as he can. Lashley just no sold it though. To complete his PPV debut, Lashley botches his first finisher attempt. Lashley wins with another attempt at the Dominator. Why was this on PPV? Lashley sucked. SQUASH.

Chris Benoit (c) vs Booker T w/Sharmell vs Christian vs Orlando Jordan - WWE US Title
I can't remember how Christian was involved in this. Orlando Jordan is still being humiliated by Chris Benoit in his giant depush. The Booker T/Benoit feud was just starting up again. Right away, Michael Cole makes a mistake when he claimed Benoit and Booker T had a best of seven series for the US title in WCW. The entire match purpose was teasing the upcoming Benoit/Booker feud. Christian and OJ's role was just to provide a foil to seeing much Benoit vs Booker action and to give us a little comedy when it comes to the heels making mistakes. Due to the fact that the show took place in Huston, Texas, Booker was putting in far more effort than normal. The finish was a bit wacky with Benoit nearly forcing Christian to tap out to the Crossface, but OJ broke it up. Second later, Benoit just locks in the Sharpshooter to force Christian to give up. Did we really need two finishes? For a ten minute match, it was fun. Benoit did his normal routine, Booker put in some effort and OJ didn't bring the match down. Still, this was a Smackdown match to set-up a PPV match between Benoit and Booker. Why was this on PPV? 3 Stars.

Hardcore Holly vs Mr. Kennedy
How is it that Hardcore Holly gets on PPV, but William Regal is only good for the Heat match? Much like Simon Dean vs Lashley, this is a thrown together program to help establish the newcomer, Kennedy. The build-up just featured Kennedy costing Holly a match against Sylvan. This was your standard Smackdown match. Kennedy controlled the majority of the bout while working over Holly's arm. To his credit, Holly sold the arm really well. Even in his comeback, Holly purposely only uses the good arm. Highlight of the match came early on when Holly chopped Kennedy a few times with Kennedy screaming an over-the-top reaction to it. The ending comes off a bit rough as Holly purposely waits on the top rope so Kennedy can cut him off and hit the Green Bay Plunge for the victory. Slightly better than I expected, but the Kennedy arm work kept the crowd out of the match. Yet again, why was this on PPV? 2 1/2 Stars.

After the match, Sylvan comes out and attacks Holly to further their feud. In theory, this should have been the PPV match as Sylvan and Holly were actually feuding. Yet, Sylvan vs Holly = no buys. So the guy who actually matters (Kennedy) gets the nod instead.

Rey Mysterio vs JBL
Mysterio had just wrapped up his terrible Eddie Guerrero feud so this was thrown together. The idea is that JBL was mocking Mysterio for being Mexican and an illegal alien. Surprisingly, this was a really fun match. It's your classic big man vs small man. Mysterio used his speed to tire JBL out (Including on fun spot where JBL gasses himself out while chasing Mysterio) while JBL destroys Mysterio with some power moves and holds. Highlight being when JBL hit three Last Calls (One from the top rope, another from the mat and a third on the outside). It all builds up to the 619 and an attempted West Coast Pop. JBL ducked the Pop and killed Mysterio with the Closeline from Hell to pick up the win. The build-up may have been lackluster for a PPV match, but they delivered something fun. 3 1/4 Stars.

The Undertaker vs Randy and Bob Orton - Casket Match
For a match that was twenty minutes long and mostly just brawling, this was one really fun match. Bob Orton was so great in a Wrestlecrap sort of manner that he ended up stealing the show. The Cowboy moments include slowly walking around the ring with a fire extinguisher while looking totally drunk, going for a pin after a superplex, spraying Taker with the extinguisher too long, and narrowly winning the match on his own. The fact that not every show features an old man Bob Orton match should be a crime. I really enjoyed seeing Randy and Bob hit a superplex on Taker as a sort of passing of the torch by highlighting Bob's finisher. Thanks to the handicap nature of the match, there was always some sort of action as opposed to most casket matches when it tends to drag. The final few minutes were rather good with both and forth teasing and the extinguisher and a chair coming into play. By the end, Randy manages to lay Taker out with a chair and escape the casket to win the match. Once again, better than I expected. In addition, the first match that truly felt like it deserved to be on PPV. 3 1/4 Stars.

After the match, Randy and Bob Orton lock the casket and pour gasoline all over it. In a scene straight out of Royal Rumble '98, the casket is lit on fire with Undertaker being inside. Taker would eventually return at the end of Survivor Series a month and a half later.

Nunzio (c) w/Vito vs Juventud w/The Mexicools - WWE Cruiserweight Title
I don't remember Nunzio's two month+ reign at all! :| Juvi earned this shot by winning a Cruiserweight battle royal on Velocity, the night before. For the life of me, I couldn't tell who was the heel and who was the face in this. I thought the Mexicools were still heels at this point, but Juvi is playing to the crowd while only Vito interferes. Meh. Whatever. The two guys worked a hard match with a fast pace style, but the crowd didn't care about this at all. Why would they though? The match wasn't a part of a feud, it was only made 24 hours before and Nunzio hadn't wrestled on Smackdown since the start of June (Maybe that's why I don't remember this reign). Tazz and Michael Cole entertained themselves with random jokes including Tazz proclaiming that he was going to buy a cat and name it Juventud. Anyways, Juvi wins with the Juvi Driver and no one cares. Good for Velocity. Why was this on PPV? 2 Stars.

Batista (c) vs Eddie Guerrero - World Heavyweight Title
Of course, Guerrero's final PPV match. This was set-up after CW rep, Palmer Cannon, interjected himself during Teddy Long's announcement of the next challenger. While Long was seemingly going to announce Rey Mysterio as the challenger, Cannon named Guerrero the challenger first. Fans have overrated this match for years. Even more so because it's Guerrero's final PPV, I think the overrating comes from the fact that it's a long Batista match that is actually enjoyable. But really, it's solely a match that's enjoyable because of Eddie. Whether it's working over the back of Batista or having his internal struggle in debating whether to cheat or not, Guerrero made this match. Despite not being as big of a fan as this as others, it's still an enjoyable match that is a fitting way to close the PPV. As much as Guerrero was hit or miss in 2005 (More miss for me), he delivered one great showing to finish out his PPV career. 3 Stars.

Overall
The running theme on the night was how this didn't feel like a PPV. The only matches that truly deserved to be on PPV were the casket match and the World Heavyweight Title match. Only one title changing hands and it being the one that doesn't mean anything. While the show did have four three star matches without a single poor match, it doesn't have any matches that are worth going out of your way and watching. Is there anything worse than a PPV where it's completely irreverent? At least if you're watching an important PPV that is filled with bad matches, you're at least seeing something that matters. No Mercy 2005 just felt like a special three hour edition of Smackdown. Yet, a really good edition of Smackdown.

 

[Horrorfan_1986]

Chris Benoit (c) vs William Regal - US Title - Velocity - October 1, 2005
Taking place eight days before No Mercy. This is a rematch to their MOTYC on Velocity a few months back. Benoit controlled the early going by destroying Regal with some close contact headbutts. In the corner, Benoit CHOPS REGAL IN THE EYES! Regal gains control by countering a baseball slide and then hitting a T-Bone Suplex on the outside. Back from commercial, Regal keeps the match on the mat by working over Benoit's left leg. Highlight being when Benoit makes it to the bottom rope and Regal says to the ref "I have til 5!" Regal's amazing on offense though. He rarely ever lets go of a body part and transitions from hold to hold. Another highlight comes with a pin attempt/submission when Regal has Benoit's leg in a key lock, while kneeling on Benoit's face. Finishing stretch begins with Benoit nailing an enziguri kick to regain control. Benoit followed that up with the Dragon Suplex (Japan finisher) and forces Regal to give up with the Crossface. While it's not quite as good as their earlier Velocity match, it's yet another highly physical encounter that surpasses everything on the No Mercy PPV. If I only could watch two guys wrestling for the rest of my life, it'd be Benoit and Regal. 3 1/2 Stars.

 

[Horrorfan_1986]

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Yuji Nagata - NJPW - January 4, 2001
Gotta say, I dig the stage. It reminds me of the old late 80's WCW PPV sets. It's very basic, but it's very rock concertesque. This was a hard hitting match where most of the story is built around Nagata working over Tenzan's leg to set-up the Nagata Lock. I kinda dig Tenzan's move set. It's all power moves, but less traditional ones. You have the Mongolian chops, vicious headbutts that makes Tenzan bleed, variations of the Tombstone and a big moonsault. Tenzan knows his role and he plays it well. Yet, I just don't find him too interesting. Instead, I was much more interested in Nagata and his killer kicks to Tenzan's legs. There's a fun spot near the end when Tenzan avoids a second Nagata Lock with a low blow. When Tenzan looks to try and finish Nagata off, Nagata low blows him back. Finally, Tenzan manages to hit his Owen Hart style Tombstomb and moonsault combo for the victory. Fun and hard hitting match, but my goal of liking Tenzan failed. Nagata rules though. 3 1/4 Stars.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Toshiaki Kawada - NJPW - January 4, 2001
Man, it's weird seeing Kawada in New Japan. What's even weirder is seeing him completely dominated and knocked silly by Tenzan's repeated headbutts. In the first few minutes, Tenzan makes Kawada out to be zero threat young boy. Yet, all it takes is one stiff punch and Tenzan is knocked out. Kawada is awesome. This was a good deal more physical than the previous match, but it also lacked as many layers. It was just a battle of two guys seeing who's the tougher man. Taking a few shots by both guys will really put some hair on your chest. After a long struggle, Kawada finally manages to hit his folding power bomb to pick up the win. Good enough match, but once again, I'm more impressed by Tenzan's opponent than Tenzan himself. Then again, Tenzan was up against Kawada, what else would I expect? 3 Stars.

Why I love Kawada.​

 

[Horrorfan_1986]

Shinya Hashimoto vs Shinjiro Otani - Zero 1 - December 24, 2003
I have to question a man's sanity when he purposely tries to piss off Hashimoto. You either have a death wish or you just like to watch the world burn. This was your standard tough man contest where the little Otani has a bad case of the Napoleons and he attempts to stand toe-to-toe with Hashimoto through an exchange of brutal strikes. This, of course, was started by Otani when he gets the brilliant idea in his head to slap Hashimoto. Big mistake. While Otani gets points for always getting back up, he got his ass kicked. Somehow though, Otani does manage a brief sequence in charge and manages to give Hash a face wash. However, it's brief as Hashimoto goes back on the offense. Yet, this is where the match takes a surprising turn. When Hashimoto charges, Otani lifts his feet up and focuses an attack on Hashimoto's shoulder. Immediately, Otani took advantage of this as he worked over the arm of Hash through a series of submission holds. I'm completely flabbergasted (Gotta love that word) when Hashimoto begins screaming in pain. Somehow, Otani actually looks like he's going to win. Yet, he tries to get cute again with some slaps and Hashimoto no sells them all. Using his bad shoulder (Which he had been selling like a pro), Hash nails Otani, sending him flying to the match. It looks like Hashimoto legitimately got hurt though as he had a quick word with the ref and the bell was called. Awkward ending does hurt the match a bit, but I was loving it up until then. If it was an angle, it's a great way to set-up a rematch. If it was legit, it's a real shame. Hash has to be one of the more talented big men in history. 3 1/2 Stars.

 

[Postman Dave]

I don't think there's a professional wrestler I dislike more than Bobby Lashley. Fuck that guy.

Smackdown was pretty decent at the time, but the problem was they were blowing all their big matches due to just debuting on CW. So the PPV line up wasn't exactly spectacular as a result.

 

[Horrorfan_1986]

Shinya Hashimoto vs Satoshi Kojima - NJPW - August 2, 1998
Yeah, this was awesome. This was the semi-finals of the G1 Climax Tournament. I can't say I know much about old school Kojima, this may be my first pre-2011 Kojima match, but I get the feeling he's used to manhandling his opponents and just generally doing what he wants. Yet, someone didn't send Kojima the memo that when you're in the ring with Hashimoto, you're in for a world of pain. For the first half of the match, Kojima tried to hang in there with Hashimoto. Hashimoto opted to just deliver one brutal kick or chop to Kojima's neck after another. Finally, Kojima realizes that what he's doing isn't working. So he then goes for more of a strategy in working over the leg of Hashimoto. Makes sense. Knock the big guy down and he's far less dangerous and it takes away his kicks. This works for a little bit, but then a scary thing happens - Hashimoto decides to work over a body part of his own - Kojima's all important arm. Kojima's fucked now and all he can do is just kick out of two of Hashimoto's DDT's to keep the assault going. Hashimoto has enough of this crap and delivers one last DDT and instantly transfers into an armbar to force Kojima to tap out. Lesson of the match? If you're wrestling Hashimoto, go into the match with a game plan. "Winging it" is a recipe for disaster (And a lot of painful strikes). 4 Stars.

Hash's #1 fan.​

 

[Horrorfan_1986]

Kurt Angle vs Marty Jannetty - Smackdown - March 17, 2005
A rather great carry job by Angle. The biggest surprise of the match was how good they made Marty. Here you have a past his prime star who was never above the midcard ranks, would be gone soon after, yet they had Kurt Angle (Maybe top three, but for sure top 5 stars in the company), a run for his money. Smartly, they kept the match on the mat for the majority of the match to hide Jannetty's lose of speed due to his age. It creates this unbelievable story where Marty is somehow countering a lot of Angle's holds. The fans were really into it all though. Early on, there was a loud "Marty" chant. That's nostalgia for you. There's not a whole lot to say. The booking of the match and Kurt Angle made Marty look like a million bucks. Seems a bit weird to invest so much time and energy into making Marty Jannetty, of all people, look good though. Anyways, it kept me interested throughout the entire match and the final minutes of Marty trying to pull off the upset of the year was pretty damn exciting. After some fighting over the ankle lock (Probably too much for Marty), Angle finally forces Marty to tap out. Easily Marty's best single match ever. 3 3/4 Stars.

 

[Horrorfan_1986]

Kensuke Sasaki vs Toshiaki Kawada - NJPW - October 9, 2000
Here's what I can come up with for the backstory in the pre-match hype video. Sasaki's currently the #1 guy in NJPW and their champion. With the loss of Kobashi and Misawa, Kawada's now the #1 guy in AJPW and is probably the favorite to win the Triple Crown title later in the month in the title tournament. So it's basically AJPW #1 vs NJPW #1, possibly champion vs champion if Kawada can win the Triple Crown. The match has a huge match atmosphere. Probably more than any other match I've seen, every time a guy falls to the mat, it's a big deal. Even something as simple as Sasaki falling to one knee gets a reaction. That's amazing. What's also amazing is that they made the old "You hit me while I stand still and then it's my turn" spot mean something. What guys like Davey Richards fails to realize is that you need a reason to allow your opponent to hit you without trying to block it. Here, it's all about respect. Who's the tougher guy? Which is the better company? If you're the first to fall during one of these exchanges, you're not only making your self look bad, but also your company. The awesomeness continues with how believable it all is. While they do hit some moves, it's mostly a believable striking match. This isn't pro wrestling, it's a legit fight feel. That only adds to the atmosphere. The only thing that hurt the match for me was the ending. Kawada's hitting one kick after another, while it looks like Sasaki is just about done. Sasaki counters the latest kick with a lariat to Kawada's leg. Now Sasaki's ready to end the match with a lariat. Instead, Kawada surprises Sasaki with a kick to the face and picks up the pinfall. I wasn't expecting this to be the finish and as a result, I don't have the emotional investment that I thought I was going to have. Still, it's one little issue in an otherwise flawless match. These two made pro wrestling feel real and damn if it wasn't greatness. 4 3/4 Stars.

Kensuke Sasaki vs Toshiaki Kawada - IWGP Title - NJPW - January 4, 2001
Finals of the tournament after Sasaki vacated the title due to his previous loss to Kawada. This was a completely different bout from their previous one. Both guys have already wrestled one match, so it's a lot shorter and they went right into the action. Rather than have a match of respect, it's more of a normal match. The heat's pretty awesome though. The crowd's always making noise. The start of the match is great with Kawada immediately hitting a similar kick that got him the win in the last match. From there, it settles down to a match where both guys are just trying to figure out a way to end the match as soon as possible. With a crowd going crazy, Sasaki hits his Northern Lights Bomb after a lariat fails to get the victory. The Northern Lights Bombs earns Sasaki the win and he's once again the IWGP Champion. It's a good match and a good way to end the tournament, but it's rather hard being too excited about it after watching their 2000 match. 3 Stars.

 

[Horrorfan_1986]

Toshiaki Kawada vs Genichiro Tenryu - Triple Crown Title - AJPW - October 28, 2000
The finals of the title tournament after the title was declared vacate when champion, Kenta Kobashi, left All Japan to join NOAH. Tenryu, the Cowboy Killer, defeated Bart Gunn and Stan Hansen thus far. Meanwhile, Kawada defeated Dr. Death and Shiro Koshinaka. Most of the match was built around Tenryu and his no selling. Unlike the Undertaker or The Road Warriors, Tenryu wasn't no selling because he didn't feel pain, but because he just refused to show it. That's an awesome mind games tactic when you think about it. For Kawada, he has to wonder if Tenryu is hiding any pain or if his moves really aren't hurting Tenryu much. Most of the time when Tenryu is knocked down, he simply stands up and looks at Kawada as if saying "Is that it?" It's near the end of the match where this attitude adds greatly to the story. Kawada finally gets some reaction out of Tenryu when he hits Tenryu with a very Tenryu-like short jab (The jabs rocked Kawada more than anything else throughout the match). Tenryu falls to the mat and struggles to get up. Tenryu's final boss-like gimmick is further shown as Kawada manages to bust Tenryu's nose open with a brutal big boot that sent Tenryu from the apron to the steel railing. Suddenly, a guy who refused to sell anything was bleeding and could barely stand up. The final minutes shows Tenryu standing up while taking one strike after another from Kawada. Is this Tenryu refusing to sell or is he so dazed that he doesn't even realize what's going on and he doesn't have any control over standing? Yet, all it takes is one strong lariat from Tenryu to ruin any chance Kawada has to win. Tenryu followed that up with a SHORT JAB TO KAWADA'S NECK! Kawada is knocked out cold, which allows Tenryu to finish him off with a Northern Lights Bomb. Tenryu is your NEW Triple Crown champion. A long and great match with plenty of little stories throughout the entire thing. If the idea was to show that AJPW would survive without Misawa and company, this match succeed in a BIG way. 4 1/4 Stars.

 

[Horrorfan_1986]

Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi vs Toshiaki Kawada and Masa Fuchi - AJPW - January 7, 1994
I'm not sure if this is for the tag titles as Kobashi and Misawa were the current holders of the belts. Doesn't really matter though. This was all about Kobashi vs Kawada. I dare anyone to watch this match and not want to see Kobashi face Kawada in a singles match. The story of the match was pretty top notch. While there isn't much heat between Fuchi and Kobashi, the moment Kawada is tagged in, Kawada and Kobashi go after each other. Great heat. Kawada ends up injuring Kobashi was a sick looking German Suplex. As a result, Kobashi spends the next five minutes just laying on the floor on the outside. That leaves the match to be an unofficial handicap match with Misawa vs Kawada and Fuchi. But really, who cares? It's all about Kobashi here. After time Kobashi finally manages to get on the apron (Not even standing, just kneeling) Fuchi or Kawada runs over and kicks him in the head, sending him right back on the floor. When Kobashi finally gets the tag, what do the heels do? They take turns hitting Kobashi with back drop drivers! Kawada and Fuchi are total dicks! From there, you just have the come back until Kobashi manages to pin Fuchi with a top rope leg drop. The stuff with Misawa in the ring is skippable, but the entire story of the heels injuring and taking things too far with Kobashi makes for a story that is very much so worth hunting this match down for. It's not an epic match or anything, but it's fantastic in terms of making me want to see Kawada vs Kobashi. If this was WCW, this would be a perfect Clash of the Champions match to set-up a PPV match between Kawada and Kobashi. First time seeing Fuchi and I'm rather impressed with what a good heel he can be. Better than I expected. 3 1/2 stars.

 

[Horrorfan_1986]

Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi (c) vs The Holy Demon Army - AJPW Tag Titles - May 21, 1994
I'd call a match like this an endurance match. It's fairly long (40 minutes) and features many peaks and valleys. Yet, by the end of the match, you don't want it to end because you're so used to the random fighting back and forth. This isn't about just one match or the belts, it's about whether you wasted your time and all of your energy in fighting such a long battle if allow yourself to lose. Even though you may forget about some spots by the end of the match, there's a lot of little moments that helps keep you into the match. Misawa's reaction to being pushed too far with Kawada kicking him in the face twice while Misawa was on the apron. Misawa's terrified facial expression while Taue no sells his strikes. The crowd erupting for a major fight between Misawa and Kawada. The epic tag move by HDA on Kobashi where Taue does a chokeslam at the same time Kawada nails a suplex. But those are just the small moments. There's bigger moments like Taue absolutely tearing up Kobashi's knees on the outside with the help of the steel railing. Kawada trying to replicate Misawa's end of the match spot from their December bout where you quickly try to put away your opponents so your partner can pick up the win. And of course the multiple nearfalls near the end where you don't even know who's going to win. Lastly, there's the crowd. For a 40 minute crowd, they're into the entire deal. Granted, the noises does increase and decrease, but they're never completely silent. By the end of the match, an injured Kobashi manages to attempt one last moonsault on Taue and that finally earns Kobashi/Misawa the successful title defense. Pretty great tag. 4 1/2 Stars.

 

[Horrorfan_1986]

WWE Survivor Series
November 27, 2005

Booker T w/Sharmell vs Chris Benoit - Match 1 of Best of 7 Series
Two nights ago, Booker and Benoit had an US Title Match that resulted in a double pin. Smackdown GM, Teddy Long, ruled that the title was held up and would be decided in a best of seven series. Hilariously, Michael Cole tries to put over this series by saying it's so much bigger than their WCW one since this was "For a title". Newsflash, the WCW one was for a #1 contendership for the TV title. You could even make a case that the 1998 series was more important since it featured two guys trying to climb up the ranks. The 2005 series featured two former World Champions battling over a midcard title. Anyways, I'm talking so much about that since the match wasn't anything special for the vast majority of it. I blame Booker T. The guy was on offense for most of the match and failed to do anything really interesting. Dull moves like a pair of rest holds were the highlights. Luckily, Benoit manages to increase the excitement near the end with a series of German suplexes, a snap suplex and a rapid fire series of headbutts while both men were on the top rope. With Booker falling to the mat, Benoit attempted the Flying Headbutt, but Booker moved out of the way. Booker covered Benoit and with his feet on the ropes (And Sharmell holding them), Booker steals the first match. Good enough for an opening match even if a Benoit match is capable of more. The big difference now between this series and the 1998 series is that Booker's willingness to cheat and his heel valet. Can Benoit overcome the odds? Watch the rest of the series to find out. Benoit deserves any praise for this. 3 Stars.

Rather than explain the backstage skit, I'll just show you.

[YOUTUBE]JtAJqeTpDis[/YOUTUBE]​

Trish Stratus (c) w/Mickie James vs Melina w/MNM - WWE Women's Title
So Melina is booked on the show, but MNM isn't? BS. The build-up to this match featured the amazing moment when MNM (wearing masks) kidnapped Trish Stratus while the security guards kept the fans back as MNM carried Trish through the audience. To my shock and amazement, I really dug this for a women's match. The match was practically botch free, with the only botch coming in the final move (Trish middle rope bulldog to Melina). Trish showed a lot of fire and kept up a good pace by doing all of her big spots including diving from the top rope onto MNM. Melina, was far more aggressive than the Divas on Raw with the highlight being her ax hammering Trish during Stratus' Matrix move. You added a little Trish/Mickie James storyline development with Mickie pulling Trish out of harms way of a Melina kick. By the end when Trish won following the botched bulldog, you told a story, added a bit of a more long term story and you gave the fans a sneak peak of a future full time women's wrestler in Melina. Dare I say the best WWE (Non-OVW) match of the year? I actually enjoyed a women's match?! 2 1/4 Stars.

Triple H vs Ric Flair - Last Man Standing Match
I have to admit, a last man standing match at the Survivor Series fits the theme nicely. I ended up LOVING this. Maybe it's because we haven't in blood in the WWE in forever, but Flair's crimson mask caused by Hunter stabbing him in the forehead with a screwdriver created some amazing images of Flair's entire face covered in red. Old Man Flair was on full display by showcasing that while he may be old, he's still the dirtiest player in the game. Such highlights include squeezing Hunter's balls, punching Hunter's balls, pulling Hunter balls first into the ring post, biting Triple H's forehead, biting Hunter's thigh, and when Hunter thinks Flair can't stand up, Flair simply gives him the finger while on his knees. Flair was THE MAN in this. A lot of credit goes to Hunter in this as well. While Flair brought all of the emotion, the in ring work was relied on by Hunter. Despite this incredible match of emotion, there is one glaring problem - the sledgehammer. Until the sledgehammer made it's appearance, you knew the match could not end. The result is that the emotion of whether Flair can get up after a Pedigree isn't as high as it would have been had we already seen the sledgehammer. When three Pedigree's isn't enough to keep Flair down, goes out, grabs the sledgehammer and hits Flair in the back to win the match. Yet another MOTYC between Flair and Hunter. Somehow, this one is even better than their Taboo Tuesday Cage Match. 4 1/2 Stars.

Edge and Lita came out to the ring for the debut edition of the Cutting Edge. In case you're wondering, Edge was dealing with an injury and that's why he didn't have a match. Anyways, they wasted time by trading insults with Detroit Tigers' Dmitri Young. What's the point of this? Why is it that this is on a thirty-five dollar PPV, but MNM isn't booked?

John Cena (c) vs Kurt Angle - WWE World Title
Daviari is your special guest referee because Eric Bischoff wants to see another screw job at the Survivor Series. I have to hand it to the Raw writers in the second half of 2005. They took a feud that produced a damn great match at No Way Out and made it an absolute nightmare when it came over to Raw. Right away, the annoyances of the match begins with Jerry Lawler and Joey Styles talking about how disgusted at Kurt Angle they are due to Angle needing his own personal referee and how he didn't need one when he won his past titles. Newsflash, Angle cheated and had outside interference for most of his title wins. After a few minutes, Daiviri gets knocked down and is basically out cold for the rest of the match. How did this guy become a full time wrestler when a simple bump would knock him out? The overbook BS continues when your second ref comes out. It doesn't take long before Angle sees a loss coming soon, so he closelines that ref. That brings out a third ref (the second is still laying in the ring). Angle doesn't like his calls, so he gives him an European Uppercut. Daiviri comes back in the ring, but John Cena gives him a DDT, so he too is lying in the ring. A fourth ref (A Smackdown one) comes out just as Cena hits a FU on Angle to pick up the win as three refs are knocked out and lying in the ring. This match was so f'n overbooked that it couldn't even be good. The sad thing is that the crowd was incredible. Unlike most Cena matches where both chants are directed to Cena, Angle's over enough to have a "Let's go Angle!" chant. Why couldn't the Raw writers just let these two go out there and wrestle? Is it any wonder why the fans turned on Cena so hard in the second half of 2005 when he had to endure THIS kind of writing? Angle tried to add some fun to the match (There's one particular submission hold that looks awesome) and Cena didn't suck, but the poor booking won out. 2 Stars.

Eric Bischoff vs Teddy Long w/Palmer Cannon
Ugh. There's both a Smackdown referee and a Raw referee in the match at the same time. Yet, Eric Bischoff is still able to cheat when Cannon distracts the refs. What's the point of having two refs in the ring if both deals with a guy on the apron instead of focusing on the wrestlers?! The "Action" included such highlights as Long dancing around, Bischoff unable to catch Long and Bischoff choking Long. Finally, the Boogeyman's music plays. Bischoff orders both refs to stop him in the entrance way. Instead, the Boogeyman comes out through the crown. Boogeyman chokes Bischoff and then hits his pump handle slam. Somehow, this doesn't earn Teddy Long the DQ. Instead, Long covers Bischoff and a referee returns to the ring to count the fall. The formerly hot crowd died and the only real reaction was a "Boring" chant. How is MNM not booked on this show, but THIS was? FUCK the booking sucks. 1/2 Star.

Team Raw vs Team Smackdown - Elimination Match
Raw is represented by Shawn Michaels, Kane, The Big Show, Chris Masters and Carlito. Smackdown is represented by Batista, Rey Mysterio, JBL, Bobby Lashley and Randy Orton (Sub for Eddie Guerrero). Without a doubt, this has one of the worst commentaries ever. Since it's an inter-promotional match, both the Raw commentary team (Lawler, Coach and Styles) and the SD commentary team (Tazz and Cole) called the action. They literally spend the first half bickering back and forth about which brand is better. It's so obnoxious and pointless as there's not a big distinction between Raw and SD. Look at the ten guys in the match. Team Raw has two guys who just came over from Smackdown a few months ago (Big Show and Carlito) and a guy who's still somewhat fresh to the company (Masters). On the other side you have guys who worked on Raw (Batista, Orton and JBL) and a guy who just debuted in October (Lashley). Why is there even an issue between Raw and Smackdown when it's so common for a wrestler to go back and forth? And to think, they kept going back to this stupid notion of Raw and Smackdown feuding for years to come! The first half of the match is a blur to me because I was just fighting the urge to not turn off the video (Yes, the commentary is THAT bad). The second half has two good parts of the match. The Big Show's elimination involves being hit by two Closelines from Hell, a 619, a RKO and finally a Mysterio seated senton. It's a good example of the fun of a Survivor Series match in how you can go out of your way to protect someone in defeat. The second enjoyable part is when Michaels is left on his own. In a complete rip off of the ending to Team Austin vs Team Bischoff from 2003, Michaels manages to eliminate two guys on his own (Including a ripoff of the Shelton Benjamin SCM spot, but with Mysterio), before Michaels is left alone with Randy Orton, just like in 2003. They have a few fun minutes where the hurt Michaels (Took a JBL Last Call on the outside) looks like he could actually win the match after dealing with three-on-one. However, a JBL distraction allows Orton to hit the RKO to win his third straight Survivor Series Elimination match as the sole survivor. First half was complete trash (Thank-you commentators), but the wrestlers managed to pull things together for an enjoyable second half. 2 3/4 Stars.

After the match, all of Smackdown's lowcard wrestlers come out to celebrate Randy Orton's win. That's when the lights go out and the Undertaker's music plays. Orton's terrified facial expressions are legendary. Druids carry out and leave a casket. From the heavens comes a lightening bolt, that sets the casket on fire. Finally, the Undertaker bursts out of the casket, being reborn yet again at the Survivor Series (This would be the debut of the modern Taker without the leather pants). Taker enters the ring and beats up all of the lowcarders while Randy Orton and Bob Orton flee. Fun ending to the show.

Overall
You know, if you stop watching after Triple H and Ric Flair, it's a pretty great short PPV. The show goes off of a cliff in the second half though. You have terrible booking (Angle vs Cena), a match that shouldn't have happened (Bischoff vs Long) and commentators who tried to ruin a match (Main event). The show went from a MOTYC to one shit sandwich after another. Is the show even worth checking out? Considering you can see the Hunter/Flair match on Triple H's 2008 DVD, I say just buy the Hunter DVD. At least on that, you're also getting yet another MOTYC with Hunter vs Batista in the Hell in a Cell match. Besides booking, another problem I had with the show was time management. You had six matches, five if you don't count the General Managers match, and various segments to fill time. Why not add another match? Smackdown had their tag team champions, MNM, not being booked at all. Why not have them defend the tag titles? Matt Hardy wasn't booked either. You could have easily thrown Matt Hardy together with a guy like Hardcore Holly (Both were fighting together in the war against Raw) against MNM in a tag titles match. If you want to follow the Survivor Series theme, why not a four way elimination tag with MNM vs Mexicools vs LOD vs The Dicks? Whatever, the WWE clearly doesn't care about tag wrestling in the 2000's. As far as one match shows go, this isn't the worst, but I'm struggling to give you another reason to watch the PPV other than Hunter/Flair. That means it's a huge drop off after the quality Survivor Series from 2004.

 

[Horrorfan_1986]

Chris Benoit vs William Regal - Smackdown - December 2, 2005
The first Friday Night Smackdown after Survivor Series. With this being a little shorter than their Velocity matches, they skipped the babyface shine and practically began with William Regal on offense. Regal's offense is some of his best ever. With Benoit's history with his neck, Regal focused all of his attacks on the neck. A normal wrestler would hit a neckbreaker, maybe a headlock, but not Regal. Oh no. Regal is an evil bastard who, on the floor, throws Benoit up against the ropes (Benoit's neck hitting the ropes) and allows Benoit to fall hard on the floor. Fitting Benoit's neck right up against a ring post, Regal ran and delivered a boot to Benoit's head. Regal's so **** vicious, I love it. Benoit made his comeback in his own vicious way with a series of headbutts that busts both guys open and his infamous chop to Regal's eyes. Benoit puts Regal away with a Dragon Suplex that nicely sets up the Crossface. For only being seven minutes, this was really good. 3 1/4 Stars.