In Your House

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWE Unforgiven 2005.

 

Carlito Vs Ric Flair: IC title match. It wasn't until 3/4 of the way through this that I remembered Flair goes over. Old man babyface Flair was not as fun to watch as old man heel Flair, and old man heel Flair wasn't particularly fun to watch. He ramps up the self-parody way too much. Pretty bad match, but the fans pop for the Flair win. He cuts a promo saying that this means more to him than any of his world title wins. He then pulls some plants from the crowd and takes them backstage to ride space mountain. We get a series of bits throughout the show of Flair and the ladies. I guess this was pretty funny, although personally I didn't need to see Ric's ass (again), nor have the mental image of Flair having sex put in my head.

 

Trish Stratus and Ashley Massaro Vs Victoria and Torrie Wilson: According to wiki, Victoria and Torrie are called the Ladies In Pink. I don't remember them ever being referred to as that. Weren't they called Vince's Devils or something? Ashley is the fucking worst. I mean, I know she was barely trained here and shouldn't have been put in this position, but it's not like she ever got better so I have no problem calling her out on her utter shittiness this early in her career. I feel like Christy just debuted too. Quick turnaround on these diva search contests. Oh, and Trish is back and is babyface again. Faces win.

 

The Big Show Vs Snitsky: I'm surprised they're still putting any effort into Snitsky by this point, although really this is just a showcase squash for the Big Show. Reasonably effective for what it was.

 

Shelton Benjamin Vs Kerwin White: I confess to never really getting why people were so offended by the Kerwin White gimmick. To me it's perfectly fine pro-wrestling nonsense. Anyway, a wrestler coming out in a golf cart to a crooner song is too ridiculous not to love. Reminder here that Chavo is pretty damn good when he has a body part to focus on, as he does here. Coach and King are pretty funny here antagonising JR. Actually, the dynamic between the 3 is pretty fun for the whole show, dare I say it. Fun little match that sees Benjamin go over.

 

Matt Hardy Vs Edge: Steel cage match. This was fucking fantastic. Both guys were so good in this (Matt especially), and the hate between the two was palpable. Edge was great playing chickenshit until he got the advantage, and then just ruthlessly attacking the back of Hardy's head. Such a slimy dude. Matt sold really well, and made an awesome fired up, vengeful comeback where he just punches the shit out of Edge. Hardy threw some killer strikes in this. They really did a great tease of Edge conning his way to another win when he speared Matt after Lita got inside the cage. Great nearfall. And then Matt's legdrop of the top of the cage was a perfect finish. Crowd were super hot for Matt too. Legit one of the best cage matches I've ever seen. Between this and the Summerslam match, which was a fantastic quickie, I'm wondering if this was the best in-ring feud of the year, or if Rey/Eddie takes that title. I can't remember how the Raw blow-off was.

 

The Hurricane and Rosey Vs Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch: Man, I loved Cade and Murdoch. Great gimmick with Cade being the distinguished southern gent, and Murdoch the rough and ready trucker type. Did these guys have a match with MNM during this time, as I know they were doing a lot of inter-promotional stuff? That could have been great. I believe they fought LOD. Hurricane and Rosey are defending tag champs. A straight match could have been really good here, but they do more of an angle, where Murdoch starts hassling Lillian Garcia, and then drops Hurricane with a DDT on the floor when the latter intervenes. That leaves Rosey alone until Hurricane tags himself back in and summarily gets pinned. It put Cade and Murdoch over as a dangerous and smart team, but I think fell a bit flat as a title change.

 

Shawn Michaels Vs Chris Masters: I thought it was bullshit how Michaels pretty much blew off the Hogan feud and went right back to being a babyface. Masters looks like a stud here. Seems to have improved a lot already. Locking on the Masterlock while Shawn prances about the ring during his entrance is great, and has me marking out. Some effective backwork from Masters, which Shawn completely blows off for his comeback. This is a good match though. Nice finish with Shawn being canny enough to climb out the ring while still in the Masterlock to force the break (but keep the hold unbroken), and then catching Masters with Sweet Chin Music when he goes for it again. Shawn having a little mini-renaissance in 2005 it seems.

 

John Cena Vs Kurt Angle: WWE title. This has a big match feel to it, and Cena and Angle feel like good opponents for each other. The mixed reactions for Cena, already in full effect here, felt much different back then. You could really here the women screaming for Cena while the guys booed him. You don't really get that anymore. Now he's either getting booed outright, or you get the dueling chants. Felt a bit more organic back then. Angle is really effective at just being a straight-forward killer in the ring. He's quite scary actually. Match is going fine until another stupid finish. Pretty much a rehash of the JBL/Batista finish actually, with a crappy ref bump, and then the babyface champ getting dq'ed. We get Bischoff running interference instead of OJ, which I guess is an upgrade. Cena FUs Angle through the announce table, which I guess is the make-good with the fans for screwing them out of a clean finish, but really doesn't get it done as a big moment.

 

MOTN: The cage match, which I put at 4 1/2 stars. Michaels/Masters and Chavo/Benjamin get 3 stars.

Show rating: Well, it starts off pretty horribly, but from Benjamin/White onwards it's a pretty great show (shitty finish to the main notwithstanding). When you take into account the classic cage match, I give this 3 1/4 stars.

[twiztor]

John Cena Vs Kurt Angle: WWE title. This has a big match feel to it, and Cena and Angle feel like good opponents for each other. The mixed reactions for Cena, already in full effect here, felt much different back then. You could really here the women screaming for Cena while the guys booed him. You don't really get that anymore. Now he's either getting booed outright, or you get the dueling chants. Felt a bit more organic back then. Angle is really effective at just being a straight-forward killer in the ring. He's quite scary actually. Match is going fine until another stupid finish. Pretty much a rehash of the JBL/Batista finish actually, with a crappy ref bump, and then the babyface champ getting dq'ed. We get Bischoff running interference instead of OJ, which I guess is an upgrade. Cena FUs Angle through the announce table, which I guess is the make-good with the fans for screwing them out of a clean finish, but really doesn't get it done as a big moment.

 

still a couple of events away, but this feud leads to one of my favorite promos of all time. they were doing everything they could possibly do to make Angle a heel and Cena a face, and nothing took. I think Donald Trump may have been watching this as inspiration for his interviews.

 

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6oyft_kurt-angle-dislikes-black-people-an_sport

[cwoy2j]

 

The Hurricane and Rosey Vs Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch: Man, I loved Cade and Murdoch. Great gimmick with Cade being the distinguished southern gent, and Murdoch the rough and ready trucker type. Did these guys have a match with MNM during this time, as I know they were doing a lot of inter-promotional stuff? That could have been great. I believe they fought LOD. Hurricane and Rosey are defending tag champs. A straight match could have been really good here, but they do more of an angle, where Murdoch starts hassling Lillian Garcia, and then drops Hurricane with a DDT on the floor when the latter intervenes. That leaves Rosey alone until Hurricane tags himself back in and summarily gets pinned. It put Cade and Murdoch over as a dangerous and smart team, but I think fell a bit flat as a title change.

 

I was a huge Cade/Murdoch fan as well. Thought they were a great tag-team. I was a big Murdoch mark. I always thought he was a really good hand.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

Yeah, I really liked Murdoch too. Did you see the Murdoch/Gallows feud in Ring Ka King?

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWE No Mercy 2005.

 

The Legion of Doom and Christy Hemme Vs MNM and Melina: Well, technically I guess Melina is one of MNM just to be clear... MNM gave the Snapshot to Christy to set up this match. Short, but pretty effective opener, which sees Animal and Christy give a Doomsday Device to Melina for the win. LOD are over.

 

Bobby Lashley Vs Simon Dean: Lashley has no star presence or charisma whatsoever. Impressive physical specimen mind you. Dean says he'll eat 20 cheeseburgers if Lashley beats him. Of course, Lashley squashes him in pretty short order so we get videos from the back all night showing us Lashley forcing Dean to live up to his word. Stuff like this (people being force fed) grosses me out.

 

Chris Benoit Vs Booker T Vs Orlando Jordan Vs Christian: For Benoit's US title. Not sure why OJ is getting another title shot after being embarrassed by Benoit all those times. This is in Houston so Booker is the hometown hero, which means we get Sharmell giving him a big intro. Sharmell was great. Not really much of a match, truth be told. Benoit retains the US title. Christian submits, cementing the fact that he's not going to be in the main event mix any time soon, despite still being pretty over.

 

Mr Kennedy Vs Hardcore Holly: Holly is announced as the Alabama Slammer. Poor. Here's Kennedy then. As unpopular as it is, I was a big fan of Kennedy, and never really got why people thought he sucked so bad. I guess we'll find out if my opinion will change or not. Already fully into his shtick at this point with the mic coming down from the ceiling and whatnot. Pretty standard win for Kennedy, after which Sylvan, doing his model gimmick, comes out and lays out Holly. Don't know why they did this since Sylvan didn't get any kind of push.

 

In the back Sharmell is chewing out Booker for losing, which is the start of his heel turn which leads into King Booker. Excited just thinking about it.

 

JBL Vs Rey Mysterio: There doesn't really seem to be any reason for this match to be happening. Jillian Hall is with JBL and Tazz can't stop going on about her growth. Ugh, now I'm thinking about the Boogeyman, and I want to think about King Booker again. Jillian looked good in those early days. This is a really good match. Basic big man vs small man stuff, but Rey is one of the best small men ever, of course. JBL wins with the clothesline from hell.

 

The Undertaker Vs Randy Orton and Bob Orton: Handicap casket match. The crowd are surprisingly dead for this, only coming alive for brief rest in peace chants. You don't get many of those nowadays. I'm not sure if it was the fact that it was a handicap match which made things more awkward/seem less of a big deal, whether it was the crowd not being super familiar with old man Orton, or just not being into the feud. This was a terrible feud, other than the Mania match and the Ace Cowboy peeling off his face at Summerslam. From the shittiness of possessed Josh Matthews to the tastelessness of Eddie's lowrider being destroyed, this is as bad as any goofy Taker feud from the early 90s. Pretty bad match also, eventually won by the Ortons, who then lock Taker in the casket and set it on fire. Attempted murder storylines never get over with me.

 

Nunzio Vs Juventud: Juvi isn't a warrior anymore. Crowd is dead for this one two, and the match comes off very awkward. Not a lot of chemistry here, I think. Nunzio is the cruiserweight champ going in, but Juvi wins it with the Juvi Driver. The Mexi-Cools all cut promos with Hugo Savinovitch. Sad to see cruiserweights being so restricted like this.

 

Batista Vs Eddie Guerrero: I think this is my last Eddie match then Eddie is trying to turn over a new leaf. This is a solid 'first match in the rivalry' type match, which of course would turn out to be the only match in the rivalry. Eddie is torn about whether to cheat or not, and we get a ref bump to up the temptation. He plays it clean and Batista wins it win the spinebuster (why not the Batista Bomb, I wonder?). Pretty good story-based stuff. Man, Batista continues to look really bad. His big man power offence is really unimpressive, and he hits one of the worst spears I've ever seen here.

 

MOTN: It can only be Rey/JBL at 3 and quarter. Main is 3 stars.

Show rating: Not too impressive. It kinda seems more like a placeholder ppv, which it obviously shouldn't be with the split brands. Maybe 2 and a half stars.

[Brian Fowler]

Yeah, that's it for Eddy on ppv.

Fuck, now I'm depressed again.

[DreamBroken]

I loved the LOD 2k5 run, wish that lasted longer. Enjoyed all of the random mid 2000s legends extended comeback runs (Animal, Tatanka, Hacksaw, Marty) and wish they did that more these days.

[AxB]

Yeah, but what legends do they have that can still go? I don't think guys of the Hogan/ Duggan/ LOD Animal era can still go, their really aren't any New Generation guys left either, and bringing back Attitude era stars is what everyone hates and thinks is wrong with the company. And the class of '03 are mostly still there...

 

So if they want to play returning legend, you're looking at Shelton Benjamin/ MVP / Mr Anderson era guys, or Angle and the Hardys. Which seems unlikely to happen.

[Gorman]

 

 

Loved the JBL/Cena I Quit match but hated the finish. It felt too cute for a match with that level of violence.

Agreed. Especially after JBL had been making a point of how important the title was to him in the build. I understand he's a heel and so talking a good game but not being able to back it up is expected, but it is a terrible, terrible ending.

 

 

I don't know if Cena had a submission at that point but it would've come off better if he'd have had JBL in some kind of hold and JBL taps out super quickly to avoid having something broken. Like a fujiwara (I know I spelled that wrong) armbar or something else that looked super painful where if you don't tap quick, you're apt to get something broken badly.

 

 

You spelled it right! All you need is a capital F.

[Brysynner]

Yeah, but what legends do they have that can still go? I don't think guys of the Hogan/ Duggan/ LOD Animal era can still go, their really aren't any New Generation guys left either, and bringing back Attitude era stars is what everyone hates and thinks is wrong with the company. And the class of '03 are mostly still there...

 

So if they want to play returning legend, you're looking at Shelton Benjamin/ MVP / Mr Anderson era guys, or Angle and the Hardys. Which seems unlikely to happen.

 

Terry Funk (yes I know WWE has an age limit but he's Terry Funk and wrestling rules are made to be broken plus I would enjoy Vince firing Funk after a month when Terry decides to go old man Funk crazy and do a moonsault)

[MORELOCK]

Terry Funk (yes I know WWE has an age limit but he's Terry Funk and wrestling rules are made to be broken plus I would enjoy Vince firing Funk after a month when Terry decides to go old man Funk crazy and do a moonsault)

 

WWE doesn't have an age limit. Truth is still active and he's 50. The issue is that Funk wouldn't pass the physical - probably also an issue with most of the older superstars they could bring back.

[RonL21]

Terry Funk (yes I know WWE has an age limit but he's Terry Funk and wrestling rules are made to be broken plus I would enjoy Vince firing Funk after a month when Terry decides to go old man Funk crazy and do a moonsault)

WWE doesn't have an age limit. Truth is still active and he's 50. The issue is that Funk wouldn't pass the physical - probably also an issue with most of the older superstars they could bring back.

Truth is 44

[Skeeball Wizard]

Terry Funk (yes I know WWE has an age limit but he's Terry Funk and wrestling rules are made to be broken plus I would enjoy Vince firing Funk after a month when Terry decides to go old man Funk crazy and do a moonsault)

WWE doesn't have an age limit. Truth is still active and he's 50. The issue is that Funk wouldn't pass the physical - probably also an issue with most of the older superstars they could bring back.

Truth is 44

You guys are both wrong, Truth is 104 and a giraffe, he told me so.

[MORELOCK]

Truth is 44

 

I don't know why I took that SmackDown segment at face value, but insert "Kane" and "48" and the point remains.

[Victator]

I thought it was bullshit how Michaels pretty much blew off the Hogan feud and went right back to being a babyface. 

 

At the time it was reported Shawn really wanted to feud with Cena and keep being a heel and the office said no. Which considering how he behaved after jobbing to Hogan, I would not let him be anywhere near Cena. Which ended up eventually happening in 2007.

[The Nature Boy]

I'm still disappointed that we never got a real heel HBK run during that period. 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWE Taboo Tuesday 2005.

 

We have Joey Styles and Jerry Lawler on commentary for this one. This was just after Jim Ross got 'fired' by Linda McMahon, and Coach is in action, hence Styles standing in for 'one night only'.

 

Rey Mysterio and Matt Hardy Vs Chris Masters and Snitsky: It was supposed to be Edge teaming with Masters, but he backed out, saying he had nothing to gain by being in this match. Smart heel. He introduced Snitsky as his replacement. The fans voted on which two Smackdown stars they would face, and Mysterio and Hardy were pretty easy choices (JBL, Christian and Holly were the other choices). This was a fantastic match. Mysterio and Hardy made for a great team, and Snitsky and Masters were good foils for them. Masters continues to look great really early in his career. Really hot finishing stretch ending with Rey picking up the win.

 

Eugene and Jimmy Snuka Vs Rob Conway and Tyson Tomko: Another tag team match next, though this has no hope of matching the opener. Oh man, Conway's fucking music- ridiculously great. I wish this guy had caught on. The fans voted in Snuka as Eugene's partner. Good guys win a basic match, and then Jim Duggan and Kamala come out to join in the fun.

 

Mankind Vs Carlito: Fans chose Mankind over Dude Love and Cactus Jack to face Carlito. This seems like a very thrown together match, and kinda felt like the start of the old diminishing returns rule kicking in for Foley. He looked pretty winded here too in what was a short match. 

 

Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch Vs The Big Show and Kane: Shawn Michaels won the vote for the world title match, so Kane and Show get the tag title shot. 10 years later and they're still teaming up. Not a terrible match but nothing really memorable about it outside of the title change. I actually quite liked Show and Kane's title run at the time.

 

Batista Vs The Coach: Coach has Goldust and Vader as his henchmen, which seemed a really odd pairing at the time. Of course this was supposed to be Austin facing Coach, but he walked out on the company so they had to throw this together instead. It's a streetfight, so basically a handicap match, but Batista still makes short work of the competition. And still looks poor, with really bad 'explosive' power offence. Based just on ppv appearances, Masters looks a way better worker than Batista.

 

Fulfill Your Fantasy Battle Royal: The fans choose for the girls to wrestle in lingerie, much to King's delight. Trish is defending the women's title here, against Mickie James, Victoria, Candice Michelle, Torrie Wilson, Ashley and Maria. This is really just to build up the Trish/Mickie angle, as Mickie sacrifices herself so that Trish can win and retain. 

 

Ric Flair Vs Triple H: Cage match for the IC title. A title, as Styles and King hammer home, that neither man gives a damn about. That's nice. I think I've seen this match get good reviews, but to me this is just another overblown, overly long Triple H cage match, much like the cell match with Batista. Both men bleed gushers, of course, but that's about the extent of the excitement for me. Flair wins via escape. It was nice at least just to see someone beat their opponent down enough for them to walk out the cage, which escape the cage rules are supposed to be for.

 

John Cena Vs Kurt Angle Vs Shawn Michaels: I hated this intense version of Angle at the time, a time-frame which to me is personified by the black mouth guard. I think he was probably a better worker at this point though, as more of his matches were focused on him just beating the shit out of people. This is your typical triple threat match. It briefly gets interesting when Michaels and Angle form an alliance to just beat the shit out of Cena, but then they go one on one and you kinda wish Cena was back in the match. Cena ends up winning with an FU on Michaels, after withstanding the ankle lock for a long time. It's the classic FU out of nowhere (although he does sell the leg post-match). I didn't really like this match.

 

MOTN: Like a lot of shows it seems, it didn't get better than the opener for me. That's seriously a sneaky good match which wouldn't look out of place alongside some of the more hyped WWE tag matches of the era. 3.5 stars.

 

Show rating: One of the weaker shows of the year. Last year the concept felt fresh and exciting. This time around it seems like they dialed back a lot on what the fans could vote for, and I think the show suffered for that. 2 stars. 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWE Armageddon 2005.

 

JBL Vs Matt Hardy: This had the potential to be really good, as Hardy was an excellent weekly TV wrestler at this point, and JBL could get a lot out of bullying smaller guys. For whatever reason though, this was booked to be nothing more than an extended squash for JBL. Matt got his neck caught up in the ropes early on, and from there it was pretty much all JBL, with Hardy's hope spots being quickly quashed. A wasted opportunity for me. It was almost like they wanted to put Hardy in his place.

 

MNM Vs The Mexi-Cools: The Cools are repped by Super Crazy and Psicosis. This was supposed to be a tag title match, but MNM lost the belts the week prior to Batista and Rey Rey (the whole Melina fucking Batista to try to get him to cancel the match angle). This was entertaining stuff, but didn't really kick into a higher gear. TV fare.

 

Booker T Vs Chris Benoit: Now, this was a good match. Match 4 in the best of 7 series for the US title, with Booker up 3-0. These two were really good at building a match up organically, so it has a sense of natural progression, and Benoit particularly was great at getting over the stakes of the match. Sharmell was ever excellent running interference and just being a great personality (coming out with a broom in anticipation of the 'sweep'), and there were some cracking nearfalls. I think this was the last match between the 2 in this series, as Book got injured and Orton ended up stepping in, which is a shame.

 

A stupid bit with Vito as Santa and Nunzio as an elf led to the Boogeyman coming out and squashing them. I hate the Boogeyman, and don't agree with harming any animal for entertainment, worms included.

 

Bobby Lashley Vs William Regal and Paul Birchall: Yes, Regal is back, and I really enjoyed this Smackdown run of his. Here he has a thankless task trying to drag something out of Lashley, but both he and Burchill do their best here working on Lashley's ribs a bit before he inevitably runs through them.

 

Juventud Vs Kid Kash: For Juvi's cruiserweight title. Man, the crowd did not like this match at all. A lot of boring chants, and the lack of heat seemed to throw both guys off their rhythm. Juvi in particular looked sloppy as shit. I like Kash just grinding a guy down and hitting one or two crazy high spots. Kash wins the title. The fans are just glad it's over.

 

Big Show and Kane Vs Batista and Rey Mysterio: So this is now champions vs champions, although neither Raw or SD tag belts are on the line. Cole and Tazz are putting Show and Kane over big time as an unstoppable force. This is another match that failed to live up to expectations for me. Curiously short at about 8 mins for the co-main event, and just when you thought it might get interesting it was over, with Kane pinning Mysterio after a chokeslam. Maybe the problem was that Rey is just too small to look competitive for any length of time against these two. I don't know really.

 

The Undertaker Vs Randy Orton: Hell in a Cell feud-ender. Also the match I think that got the Ace Cowboy in trouble for bleeding his Hep C blood all over Taker. Or something. Really a 30 minute snooze-fest. I think maybe I just don't like Hell in a Cells because other than the first one and Brock/Taker I can't think of one I like really. Taker/Mankind for the car crash appeal. This kinda tried to be Shawn/Taker, but Orton is nowhere near the entertaining bumper that Shawn was at that point, and whereas in that match Taker came off like a killer trying to destroy his opponent, here he's more methodically trying to inflict damage, and that's really not as fun. This is more like a proto-type for the Taker/Edge cell match. Oh, there's another one I like. In that it's kinda the heel paying for his past sins, with Taker looking to get his pound of flesh. I find Edge both a better cowardly weasel, and better at getting opportunistic spells of offence (well, he is the ultimate opportunist). Triple H/Foley I liked too. I guess it isn't the gimmick then.

 

Match of the night: Benoit/Booker maybe 3.5.

 

Show rating: Rather marred by a boring main, while the undercard is mostly okay, inoffensive, but not really befitting of a pay-per-view. This was also the start of the Tim White attempting suicide running gag. I'll let you decide for yourselves if that's a good thing or a bad thing. 

[cwoy2j]

 

JBL Vs Matt Hardy: This had the potential to be really good, as Hardy was an excellent weekly TV wrestler at this point, and JBL could get a lot out of bullying smaller guys. For whatever reason though, this was booked to be nothing more than an extended squash for JBL. Matt got his neck caught up in the ropes early on, and from there it was pretty much all JBL, with Hardy's hope spots being quickly quashed. A wasted opportunity for me. It was almost like they wanted to put Hardy in his place.

 

I literally remember nothing about this feud. Was this during that period where Matt was in the doghouse for sort of no-selling a Taker chokeslam or something like that? A lot of this time period is a blur to me.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

It may be. I remember some hubbub about Hardy being in there with a bunch of jobbers trying to break up a Taker brawl, and how it seemed like a bad idea for Hardy to be in there since he was hot at the time, and that made him look like just another guy. This wasn't really much of a feud at all I don't think. Just one of those 'set something up the Smackdown before the ppv to give these guys something to do' type deals.

[PetrolCB]

JBL Vs Matt Hardy: This had the potential to be really good, as Hardy was an excellent weekly TV wrestler at this point, and JBL could get a lot out of bullying smaller guys. For whatever reason though, this was booked to be nothing more than an extended squash for JBL. Matt got his neck caught up in the ropes early on, and from there it was pretty much all JBL, with Hardy's hope spots being quickly quashed. A wasted opportunity for me. It was almost like they wanted to put Hardy in his place.

I literally remember nothing about this feud. Was this during that period where Matt was in the doghouse for sort of no-selling a Taker chokeslam or something like that? A lot of this time period is a blur to me.

First thing that came up on a Google search...

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Matt Hardy has some heat on him in the SmackDown locker room. It’s mainly from Survivor Series when in the closing scene where Undertaker came in and cleaned house, which Hardy told a road agent he was unhappy with. The original plan was for Taker to give Hardy a choke slam. Hardy’s words got back to Taker, and when Undertaker’s run in was shown he asked them to rewind the tape for him to see. He saw how Hardy just rolled out of the ring instead of sticking to the original plan.

The Undertaker confronted Hardy about it, and asked Hardy what kind of message he was trying to send to the locker room, and if he thinks he’s better than everyone else. It’s said that Hardy just kept his head down and took it.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWE New Year's Revolution 2006.

 

Edge Vs Ric Flair: Flair is still the IC champion. This is off the back of Flair getting pulled over for drink driving, I think. I just remember the skit with Edge dressed as Flair and I think putting a cop in a figure four. This isn't too great of a match, but is entertaining for what it is, ending with Edge getting DQ'ed for hitting Naitch with the MITB briefcase. This wouldn't be the last we see of Edge that night...

 

Trish Stratus Vs Mickie James: Another match I'd put in the entertaining and effective for what it is category. This is really to further the feud between Stratus and James. James is still a babyface, idolising Trish, but starts to show signs here of a darker side. 

 

Jerry Lawler Vs Gregory Helms: I was so pissed at the time that Helms lost this match, after just turning heel. I thought he would be getting a nice little push, and shouldn't have been jobbing to an announcer. I didn't appreciate Lawler the wrestler so much in those days. This is a solid little affair. Crowd doesn't seem as into King as they normally were. Helms looked really good.

 

Triple H Vs Big Show: This is a rare card where I seem to remember every single storyline going into it (or bits thereof). Here I have vivid memories of Show getting his hand broken and coming out with that massive cast on. This is a good match actually. H looks very vicious going after the hand, and Show sells well. It was an effective way for Hunter to get heat on Show. Another instance of me being pissed at the outcome, but Trips was heading into a world title match at Mania so it is what it is.

 

Shelton Benjamin Vs Viscera: Holy shit, Momma Benjamin is offensive as hell. I guess I was too naive to notice at the time, but that shit is plain racist. To be fair, the lady playing Momma (an actress/comedian I recall) performed well in the role, and even had some funny lines cheering Benjamin on, but that doesn't excuse the gimmick. Makeshift match that went on longer than it should have.

 

Bra and panties gauntlet match: Ugh, this card is taking a bad turn. This was interminable. For the record, Ashley won, defeating Maria, Torrie, Candice and lastly Victoria. This also involved some Mae and Moolah shenanigans. A total waste of time, and the kind of crap you pray no-one walks in on while you're watching.

 

John Cena Vs Carlito Vs Chris Masters Vs Kane Vs Kurt Angle Vs Shawn Michaels: Elimination chamber match for Cena's title. What an oddly booked match this was. Like, totally flying in the face of conventional wisdom, and quite adventurous for WWE. First you have Angle being the first guy eliminated, when the match is kind of set up as a showdown between him and Cena. Then you have the union of the two guys in the match you figure are just there to get beat, Carlito and Masters, taking out Kane and Shawn Michaels. Then you have the match ending with two flash roll-ups. It's pretty bizarre stuff. I'm wondering if it was booked this way because they knew Cena was going to get booed (and this is the most visceral anti-Cena reaction I've encountered yet in this project), and they wanted to get the crowd behind him. So, Angle going early was the equivalent of Daniel Bryan being eliminated early in the 2014 Royal Rumble, so the crowd wouldn't resent Roman Reigns when he won. And then the Carlito/Masters partnership was the equivalent of the Show/Kane partnership in the 2014 Royal Rumble, two guys joining forces who they figure their guy would have to get cheered over. It's a good job they don't have problems like this to worry about anymore. Or maybe Angle was just eliminated early because they knew he was heading to Smackdown to take that belt (I don't remember if Batista was already hurt by this point). Shawn is of course immune to all this bullshit and still gets to look like regular old Shawn in there, fighting valiantly against the odds. Angle, for the time he's in there, looks pretty good, just throwing a million suplexes and mostly dominating. Carlito and especially Masters look good in there also. Interesting that in the grand scheme of things both those guys ended up as nobodies. They perform well together, Carlito with the opportunism and great facials, Masters as the destroyer who never sees the double cross coming. As for Cena, you can see at this stage why the fans turned on him. I mean, his offence is just so bad, including some terrible punches, and he just looks awkward in there. These are the kinds of things people tend to notice more than things like selling, which Cena generally did very well in this match.

 

John Cena Vs Edge: So this is what it was all leading to. I guess for the purposes of my Royal Rumble 2014 analogy, Edge coming out to cash in the briefcase is the equivalent of Rusev coming back in the ring after Roman thinks he's won, only with the happy ending that everyone wanted. Crowd is really into this, and Edge winning the belt definitely felt like a holy shit moment. Really good end to a good show. 

 

Match of the night: The elim chamber, strange though it is, is overall pretty entertaining. 3.5 stars. Trip/Show make the 3 star grade.

 

Show rating: Lots of solid stuff and angle advancement, marred only by the Benjamins and the bra and panty nonsense. A big finish which felt like a game changer. 3.5 stars.

[AxB]

WWE New Year's Revolution 2006.

 

Edge Vs Ric Flair: Flair is still the IC champion. This is off the back of Flair getting pulled over for drink driving, I think. I just remember the skit with Edge dressed as Flair and I think putting a cop in a figure four. 

 

That was Robbie E's one appearance on WWE TV, that was.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWE No Way Out 2006.

 

Gregory Helms Vs Scotty Too Hotty Vs Funaki Vs Kid Kash Vs Paul London Vs Brian Kendrick Vs Psicosis Vs Super Crazy Vs Nunzio: I hate these clusterfuck matches. Why bother to build to a meaningful title match when you can just throw the whole division in the match instead? Actually, to be fair, this one did kind of have a point as Helms was the new guy (and champ) on SD, and had been running down the whole cruiserweight division. Anyway, I give these guys a bit of credit because they worked hard and just about managed to win over an initially apathetic crowd. Helms stole the win to retain the belt.

 

John Bradshaw Layfield Vs Lashley: Before this Finlay (yes!) was being interviewed by Kristall Marshall backstage, which ended in him kidnapping her and bringing her to the ring (with his music playing, of course, because that's your main concern when one of your colleagues is being physically assaulted). Lashley came out to make the save, and that ran into this match. JBL works a bit of a miracle here, getting something good out of Lashley. Lashley, to his credit, brought some cool power spots, namely just throwing JBL over his head a bunch of times. Suplex City, bitch. JBL got busted open at some point, and Finlay came back in with a shillelagh shot to end Lashley's undefeated streak. Nice little match.

 

MNM Vs Matt Hardy and Tatanka: If Hardy and Tatanka win this, they get a title match on SD against MNM. Tatanka is a mystery partner, which has to be a bit of a letdown. Solid match but nothing too memorable. Hardy and Tatanka win.

 

Chris Benoit Vs Booker T: I'm tempted to call Book and Sharmell the best act in the company at this point. They have a really funny backstage bit with Teddy Long, where they literally beg to get out of this match. So, Book is the US champ, after Randy Orton filled in for him and beat Benoit in the best of 7. Now Booker is recovered but still milking the injury. This isn't as good as the last match between the two. Didn't quite seem to escalate as naturally. Still a good effort, with Benoit going over to win the belt.

 

Rey Mysterio Vs Randy Orton: Ugh. This storyline. Eddie's in hell and all that. I hated the Orton/Taker feud and this shit is as bad. Orton is just fucking terrible to me, so I can't really enjoy anything he does. This is a good performance by Rey. The match is built around him injuring his arm, and he sells really well. He also sells the loss well. Felt really bad for him when he had to face Vickie and Chavo Guerrero in the back feeling like he'd let Eddie down. Good emotional stuff. Overridden by the fact that this all means Orton in the main event of Wrestlemania. 

 

Kurt Angle Vs The Undertaker: They're pushing this hard as a huge match, but it doesn't quite have that feel to me. Two terrible lines from Cole in the early stages; "Neither man has ever tapped out in their career" (Taker tapped out to Kurt Angle no less, and didn't Kurt tap like a million times to Benoit?) and "Angle made a living, especially in the Olympics, of fighting guys bigger than him" (pretty sure they have weight classes in the Olympics. Oh, and that the Olympics are an amateur competition). I hate Angle with the mouth-guard. He looked so creepy to me. Taker just looks like a New Romantic nightmare. Okay match but not the great one I had been led to expect. Worked really as a poor man's version of the Bret/Taker matches, with Angle going after Taker's leg. Goes crazy into finisher spamming though, with Angle just doing a million ankle locks, and at least two Angle Slams. The finish had Taker get Angle in the triangle choke and Angle jacknife over him for the pin. It was a nice finish, but it would have worked better if the triangle choke had been over as a move. Taker had locked it on earlier in the match to at least establish it as a dangerous hold, but it just doesn't carry any visual drama to it. I think the fans don't want to see Taker lying around on the mat doing shoot holds. They want to see him chokeslam and tombstone people. Eh, this match just wasn't for me, I guess.

 

Match of the night: Benoit and Booker just edge it at 3.25 stars. JBL/Lashley and the main event hit 3 stars.

Show rating: A pretty solid show, all told. It lacked a blowaway match, but there was enough to enjoy. 2.5 stars.

[MoeCristyV.1.6]

Daniel Bryan being eliminated early and Big Show/Kane were both 2015.

Bryan wasn't even in the 2014 Rumble match.