This has been a suprisingly good in ring year for the WWE, if they weren't so over exposed on PPV it probably wouldn't seem like such a suprise. Anyway before the countdown begins I have to give an honourable mention to Jeff Hardy vs. Edge vs. Triple H (Armaggedon), Unfortunately WWE have taken all copies of the PPV off the web so I can't review the match but in my Head I had it at about ***1/2 and would have likely made the list. Furthermore I made a rule to try and avoid having more than three of anyone match otherwise Edge vs. Taker (Judgement Day) would have made the list but I think three is more than enough to give them due credit. Anyway the Show must go on
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The WWE Match of the Year Top Twenty:
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Number Twenty
WWE World Heavyweight Title
Batista vs. Edge
Batista vs. Edge
Night Of Champions
The two men circle each other and then lock up, Batista hits a shoulder tackle to start the match and Edge recovers in the corner. They lock up again and Batista powers Edge to the outside, Edge tries to run away but Batista catches him and drags him back out and pounds him. Back in the ring, Batista scores with a reverse elbow for two and works over the back of Edge. Batista scores with a hard Irish whip for a two count. Batista follows that with a snapmare and a boot to the face. Batista hits a jackhammer for a near fall, nice to see a big power move early on. Batista then closelines Edge to the outside. Batista tries to bring Edge back in but Edge finally mounts some offensive throwing Batista off the apron into the ringpost, shoulder first. Edge then hits a baseball slide sending Batista crashing over the announce table. Batista rolls back in and is met with a flurry of stomps. Solid opening.Edge then hits a rope rider. Edge works over Batista on the apron and hits an elbow drop off the apron. Batista begins to fight back but Edge counters with a drop toe hold and an elbow drop. Edge quickly hits a swinging neck breaker to keep Batista down, then in a shocking display of gimmick stealing Edge uses the Randy Orton main event sleeper! Randy must be fuming backstage, how dare Edge! The crowd really come to life and Batista breaks the hold in the corner and charges Edge but yet again Edge is ready with the drop toe hold and Batista crashes into the bottom turnbuckle. Edge again continues to pound down Edge to the disappointment of the crowd. Edge then scores with a hangman’s neck breaker for a two count. Edge is frustrated and he returns to the chinlock wow the crowd are really into these Chinlocks seriously! Batista powers out Edge tries to counter but Batista counters the Edge-o-Matic with a front roll but Edge comes right back with a sunset flip for two. Weak section.
Edge catches Batista with a jaw jacker but Batista explodes and nails Edge with a running closeline. Batista powers Edge into the corner for some shoulder tackles, Batista then gets a corner closeline and then counters a Spear into the Bossman slam for two! Batista and Edge both charge but Batista hits a big spear and the crowd go nuts. Edge avoids a batista bomb but can’t avoid the running powerslam. Again Batista calls for the Batista bomb but Edga again has the answer with the Impaler DDT for a near fall. Edge sets up the spear but Batista counters with a big boot. Batista goes up top but Edge counters with a dropkick and both men are down. That was tremendous stuff made up for the middle section.
While the referee counts Hawkins and Ryder accompany Vicky to ringside. Batista leap frogs the spear and Batista hits the spine buster, 1-2....and Vicky attacks the ref. Edge then goes for the spear again but Batista sends Edge shoulder first into the ring post. Edge pulls the referee outside and knocks him out. Vicky gets on the mic and calls for another referee....Chavo’s music hits and Bam Neely and Chavo walk to ringside. Batista goes after Vicky and tells La Famila to stay back. Batista then military press Vicky Guerrero over the top rope onto all of the heels in an incredible spot. However as Batista turns he’s waffled with the World Heavyweight title and Chavo rolls in to count the 1-2-3. Batista loses his last ever World Heavyweight Title match and RAW is championless.
A mediocre and sometime sloppy start to the match was totally wiped away by the incredible drama of the final few minutes. The match was really helped by the fact that because RAW was Championless the crowd truely believed Batista would win and were massively into every near falls. The counters of the spears were brilliant and Batista may not be a great wrestler but he’s really got his timing down now and the endings of his matches are always dramatic. Big match feel and Big match conclusion shame about the beginning and middle. (***1/4)
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Number Nineteen
John Cena vs. Batista
Summerslam
Here we go will it live up to the hype? Batista gets a side headlock and then a shoulderblock but runs right into a hip toss and a body slam. We have our first stand off. Cena gets a shoulderblock but runs into a boot and Batista goes for the Batista Bomb Cena runs away but Dave chases him with a closeline and scores with a jackhammer for two. Cena gets a hard Irish whip and a release Fisherman's suplex. Cena runs right into a side walk slam from Batista for two. Cena goes for an FU but Batista slips out the back with a chop block. Batista follows up with a knee breaker and goes to the Figure Leglock nice homage to his mentor Ric Flair. Cena tries to power out of the hold but fails and instead ends up going to the ropes. Cena then comes back right away FUing Batista over the top rope to the outside and both men are down. Hot openning. Batista misses a closeline and Cena scores with two shoulderblocks and the Protoplex. Cena then scores with the Five Knuckle Shuffle, Batista slides out of the FU and scores with a big boot and both men are down. Batista takes Cena into the corner hard and unloads with shoulders, Batista then gets a corner closeline. He tries it again and runs into a back elbow. Cena charges but runs into the spinebuster. Cena counters the Batista bomb by ripping away at Batista's leg and then locking in the STFU. This is possibly the worst applied STFU you could imagine. Batista slowly crawls to the ropes so Cena breaks the hold pulls Batista to the centre of the ring and reapplies the hold. Batista eventually makes the ropes and Cena goes for the FU Batista counters nicely into a rear naked choke, unfortunately this hold is also terribly applied. Cena breaks the hold by working on Batista's leg. Batista runs over Cena with a nice spear which gets two! Cena counters Batista's powerslam into a really nice FU, great counter! Cena crawls over for the pin and gets two! The crowd is going bananas! Cena climbs to the top rope and Batista joins him and they battle. Its some Cheer/boo punching on the top rope which is a really nice moment. Cena gets a flurry and knocks Batista off top. Cena goes for his diving leg drop but Batista counters into the Batista bomb but it only gets two! Batista kicks Cena in the face and scores with Batista Bomb for the win.
This match was just tremendous fun. Incredibly satisfying and gave the fan base exactly what they wanted with some really cool exchanges and counters. From the critical perspective it was a short match albeit a good lenght for these two. The mat holds were horrible, they were just locked in loosely exposing how fake they were and the facial expressions were silly which was a real downer for me especailly as the sequences that led to them were very good. This all doesn't matter because this was the big showdown that the fanbase wanted and it delivered excellently. (***1/4)
This match was just tremendous fun. Incredibly satisfying and gave the fan base exactly what they wanted with some really cool exchanges and counters. From the critical perspective it was a short match albeit a good lenght for these two. The mat holds were horrible, they were just locked in loosely exposing how fake they were and the facial expressions were silly which was a real downer for me especailly as the sequences that led to them were very good. This all doesn't matter because this was the big showdown that the fanbase wanted and it delivered excellently. (***1/4)
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Number Eighteen
WWE World Title Match
Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton
Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton
Royal Rumble
Big “Hardy” chant as the two men stare each other down. They lock up and power each other around the ring. A “Let’s go Hardy” chant rings out. Jeff shoves Randy and then scores with a shoulder block and a side head lock take down. Orton counters with a headscissors but Jeff kips out and gets an inverted atomic drop, the low blow legdrop and a basement dropkick gets a two count. Jeff sees a back body drop coming and kicks Orton and then closelines him over the top rope and follows up with a nice baseball slide sending Orton crashing into the barricade. Orton sells that superbly, Hardy gives Orton no rest bite and follows right up with a plancha, and again Orton sells it immaculately. Orton grabs the belt but Hardy goes out to meet him and introduces Orton to the announce table. Hardy throws Orton back into the ring and goes for a slingshot move but Orton counters with a dropkick and sends Jeff crashing down hard to the outside. Good Opening.
Orton rolls Hardy back into the ring for a two count and then mocks the crowd before applying the Rugged Ronnie Garvin stomp and follows it with a blatant choke and a pair of knee drops for two. Orton gets in the crowds face again but this allows Jeff to fight back. Jeff tosses Orton to the outside like bitch. Hardy then follows up with a diving closeline off the apron. Jeff rolls Randy back into the ring and gets a near fall. Jeff tries a blind charge but ends up crashing shoulder first into the ring step. Orton then applies a body scissors a chinlock. Jeff Hardy begins to slowly fights out but ends up running straight into a snap powerslam for two and its time for the most electrifying move in sports entertain the Randy Orton Main Even Chin Lock Of DOOM! Jeff fights out again and scores with a short arm wrap around closeline. Solid mid section.
Jeff slugs away at Orton and hits some forearms and lariats. He then nails a Whisper in the Wind, Orton does the best sell ever, he actually dives upside down head first to make sure the move connected. Hardy then nails the mule kick and the Hardy corner dropkick. Hardy goes for the Swanton but Orton rolls onto the apron and Jeff changes his mind and missile dropkicks Orton of the apron and follows with a moonsault press to the outside, very nice stuff after a sloppy beginning to the big comeback. Hardy rolls Orton back into the ring and calls for the Twist of Fate but Orton spins and counters into the RKO for the win.
Not an epic match but they were trying to convey that Hardy is getting there but not quite ready yet. The final counter was very nice and Orton’s facial expressions and in particular his selling were superb. The final portion of the match was very good but didn’t have the big finisher counters and near falls to make it feel special. A good first chapter to the Jeff Hardy’s 2008 title quest storyline. (***1/4)
Orton rolls Hardy back into the ring for a two count and then mocks the crowd before applying the Rugged Ronnie Garvin stomp and follows it with a blatant choke and a pair of knee drops for two. Orton gets in the crowds face again but this allows Jeff to fight back. Jeff tosses Orton to the outside like bitch. Hardy then follows up with a diving closeline off the apron. Jeff rolls Randy back into the ring and gets a near fall. Jeff tries a blind charge but ends up crashing shoulder first into the ring step. Orton then applies a body scissors a chinlock. Jeff Hardy begins to slowly fights out but ends up running straight into a snap powerslam for two and its time for the most electrifying move in sports entertain the Randy Orton Main Even Chin Lock Of DOOM! Jeff fights out again and scores with a short arm wrap around closeline. Solid mid section.
Jeff slugs away at Orton and hits some forearms and lariats. He then nails a Whisper in the Wind, Orton does the best sell ever, he actually dives upside down head first to make sure the move connected. Hardy then nails the mule kick and the Hardy corner dropkick. Hardy goes for the Swanton but Orton rolls onto the apron and Jeff changes his mind and missile dropkicks Orton of the apron and follows with a moonsault press to the outside, very nice stuff after a sloppy beginning to the big comeback. Hardy rolls Orton back into the ring and calls for the Twist of Fate but Orton spins and counters into the RKO for the win.
Not an epic match but they were trying to convey that Hardy is getting there but not quite ready yet. The final counter was very nice and Orton’s facial expressions and in particular his selling were superb. The final portion of the match was very good but didn’t have the big finisher counters and near falls to make it feel special. A good first chapter to the Jeff Hardy’s 2008 title quest storyline. (***1/4)
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Number Seventeen
Money In The Bank Ladder Match
CM Punk vs. Carlito vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. John Morrison vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. MVP vs. Chris Jericho
CM Punk vs. Carlito vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. John Morrison vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. MVP vs. Chris Jericho
Wrestlemania 24
Everyone bails to get the ladders. Shelton is promptly introduced to the ring post. MVP boots Morrison off the apron and then kills everyone with a ladder and poses. Jericho comes in with a bigger ladder of his own and joust with MVP. Morrison returns to the ring and throws a ladder at Jericho. Morrison goes up top with the ladder and moonsault presses everyone on the outside with the ladder. He undershot it a little but it was still pretty cool. Jericho and Kennedy are left in the ring. Jericho tries a catapult but Kennedy uses to boost to run up the ladder. Morrison throws a ladder at Jericho and battles Kennedy atop the ladder. Shelton gets a ladder of his own and joins them and we have some really awkward contrived moments as Benjamin sets up and impressive tower of doom of the ladder. That looked very nice in the end, the suplex off the ladder in particular retained good but plausible form. Carlito and Benjamin battle atop the ladder, Carlito shoves the ladder over but Shelton impressively balances on top rope to avoid falling over, they then try to flip back to the centre on the ring but they botch the spot quite badly, it doesn’t matter too much as Shelton crashes and burns in exciting fashion. CM Punk tries to climb but Kennedy pulls him down and they brawl. Shelton pulls CM Punk down and we get more awkward brawling until CM Punk hits Shelton with the Go 2 Sleep. Punk climbs the ladder but Kennedy pulls him down and gives him the Finlay roll onto a ladder. MVP pulls Carlito off the ladder and kicks the crap out of Kennedy. He misses Carlito who hits MVP in the knee with a ladder. Shelton this time pulls Carlito off the ladder and massacres him with the Dragon Whip. We then get our contrived holy shit moment when Carlito shoves Shelton off the ladder and he front flips out of the ring through a ladder table. Kennedy, Carlito and Jericho are all shoved off on ladder. Jericho takes us back to 2000 with the Walls of Jericho on the ladder which is still a very impressive spot. Kennedy breaks it up and Jericho and Kennedy fight across two ladders. Carlito and CM Punk springboard onto the ladder, Kennedy gives Punk the Mic Check from the top of the ladder and then Carlito gives Jericho an awkward looking Back Stabber. MVP is left alone and looks a certainty to win until Matt Hardy come through the crowd and gives MVP a twist of fate to cost him the match. Jericho recovers and picks up a ladder and begins prodding people. He accidently gets in stuck in a V shape with the other ladder. Jericho is flapjacked on the ladder which sends the other half shooting up in the air. Morrison climbs this half but if shoved off and crotched. That was rather elaborate for nothing that special. Carlito climbs to the top of the ladder and spits in Jericho’s face to stop him winning. Carlito nearly has the case but is shoved off the top of the ladder and lands back first on another ladder layed in the corner, cool spot. CM Punk pokes Kennedy off the top of the ladder with another ladder. Jericho then gives CM Punk and Code Breaker with the ladder in the middle. Jericho and Punk battle on the ladder but Jericho keeps kicking him down. Both men stand up and battle but the case swings wildly. Punk hangs Jericho in the tree of woe in the ladder and grabs the brief case for the win.
That had a couple of exciting and cool spots but nothing particularly new. The holy shit moment with Shelton Benjamin was a site to behold however the match was full of awkward moments and contrived sets ups that undermined the quality of the match. Matt Hardy’s surprise arrival was a nice touch. Good but not great. (***1/4)
That had a couple of exciting and cool spots but nothing particularly new. The holy shit moment with Shelton Benjamin was a site to behold however the match was full of awkward moments and contrived sets ups that undermined the quality of the match. Matt Hardy’s surprise arrival was a nice touch. Good but not great. (***1/4)
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Number Sixteen
WWE World Title Match
Randy Orton vs. John Cena
Randy Orton vs. John Cena
No Way Out
Cena gets a quick takedown for a near fall. The crowd chant for Cena as he scores with a waistlock takedown. “Let’s Go Orton/Let’s Go Cena” chant erupts. Orton kicks Cena in the gut and stomps him down. Orton lands some stiff fist drops on Cena. Cena comes back with a hard Irish whip and a bulldog for a two count. Cena then scores with a running back elbow and a cartoony elbow drop for two. Cena telegraphs a back body drop and Orton boots down Cena and then slugs him down hard with a right hand. Orton gets caught playing to the crowd and Cena sneaks in a roll up for a near fall. Orton isn’t happy about that one bit and he kills Cena with a closeline and then hangs him in the ropes while he unloads. The crowd chant “let’s go Cena/ Lets go Orton” and Orton stares deathly out at the crowd. Cena comes out of nowhere with a jaw jacker and the top rope leg drop gets two. Cena gets over eager and runs right into a back elbow. Orton gets in Cena’s face and choke him hard in front of the referee. Orton mocks Cena and Cena pops up and goes for the FU, but Randy slips out and nails Cena with a European uppercut and now it’s time for the Rugged Ronnie Garvin Stomp of DOOM! Orton slugs away at Cena’s injured pectoral. Orton is distracted by the crowd and takes to long with the knee drop and ends up crashing and burning. Orton goes for the inverted back breaker but Cena wriggles out, Orton holds onto a tight headlock, Cena tries to lift him for a back body drop but the chinlock of Doom forces Cena to fade, man Orton is good at chinlocks, not sure if that’s a compliment or an insult. John Cena powers outand dodges a closeline and scores with the flying shoulder tackle, the Protoplex and the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Orton manages to escape the FU attempt and bails to the outside. Orton and Cena brawl on the outside while the ref counts, both men slide back into the ring at nine.Orton and Cena stare each other down as the crowd come to life. Cena wins a slugfest but runs right into the Randy Orton inverted back breaker but it only gets two. Orton puts Cena on the top rope as the men in the crowd chant “Cena Sucks”. Cena shoves Orton off the top rope and goes for the leg drop again but this time Orton rolls out the way and begins to stalk John Cena. Cena blocks the RKO and counters with another protoplex. Cena immediately cinches in the STFU, Orton sells it brilliantly and thinks about tapping before making the ropes. Orton bails to the outside and pretends to have a knee injury and demands that the ref counts him out. Cena tells the ref Orton isn’t really hurt and Randy pops up out of nowhere and scores with the RKO. The referee begins the count and Cena manages to answer the count at nine and Orton isn’t happy. We get another stare down where Orton looks shocked and pissed off. Orton then gives the referee a monster bitch slap and the ref calls for a DQ, to a huge pop from the crowd. Cena tells the ref its bullshit and then gives Orton and FU and the STFU where Orton taps immediately. Cena looks sad as he looks at the Wrestlemania logo.
The finish obviously detracts hugely from the match rating but it played nicely into the storyline and so didn’t sour the match in the way that cheap finishes normally would. They put on a really good main event style match, with Orton and Cena’s acting and facial expression leading the crowd excellently, Cena was still cartoony but Orton was spot on in his portrayal of a methodical, one step ahead, cowardly heel who was set on ruining John Cena’s big comeback. Even the chinlocks were well executed, after a shaky start a few months back these two have really developed some chemistry. (***1/2)
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Number Fifteen
WWE World Heavyweight Title Match
Edge vs. The Undertaker
Edge vs. The Undertaker
Backlash
They lock up but Edge is immediately shoved out of the ring by the dead man, an unusual start, I like. Undertaker hits Edge with a shoulder block before backing him into the corner and pounding Edge down. Taker gets overzealous and charges straight into a boot Taker response quickly throwing Edge back into the corner and pounding him down and choking the life out of Edge. Taker gets an arm wrench and a series of shoulder blocks before throwing Edge shoulder first into the turnbuckle. Taker having worked the arm Taker tries to go for the Rope Walk but Edge pokes Taker in the eyes and closelines Taker over the top rope. Taker lands on his feet so Edge floors him with a baseball slide. Edge tries a Thez press off the apron but Taker catches Edge and rams him back first into the ringpost. Taker follows that with a pair of Snake Eyes, one on the barricade, one on the ring apron. Taker lays Edge on the apron and hits the boot and then the apron legdrop. Taker returns to the ring with a body slam and another leg drop for two.Edge slides out the back of a snake eyes attempt and scores with the Edge-o-Matic for two. Edge then spears Taker backwards into the turnbuckles. Edge then applies a body scissors on Taker. Eventually Edge manages to turn it around to a front mount and he pounds the crap out of Edge, that was a pretty nice sequence, albeit slow. Edge dodges a closeline and dropkicks Taker and then baseball slides Taker to the outside. Edge then applies a camel clutch in the centre in the ring. Undertaker tries to power up but Edge rolls into the body scissors and Taker makes the ropes. Edge goes straight back to the camel clutch and this Time Taker punches out and powers up slamming Edge down backwards. We then go to the double closeline collision spot. Both men stagger to their feet and they do the double big boot spot. Okayish section.
Slugfest, Undertaker of course wins and floors Edge with a big right hand. Taker squashes Edge in the corner before Edge runs rights into the Russian Snake eyes and the big boot combo for two. Taker goes for the ropewalk again and Edge counters with a big boot and he goes for a ranna but Taker tries to counter to the last ride but Edge is shoved down hard, Taker goes for a flying elbow drop but he crashes and burns. Edge bails and grabs his title belt but drops it and catches Taker with a Jaw Jacker. Taker goes for a choke slam Edge tries to counter to the implant DDT but Taker spins back into Choke Slam but again Edge counters to the side Russian legsweep. Edge goes up top but Taker catches him and Choke Slams him off top but only gets a near fall as Edge puts his foot on the ropes. Taker goes for the tombstone but edge blocks pulling the top turnbuckle off. Edge shoves Taker off but gets closelined down. Charles Robinson goes to put the turn buckle back on and Undertaker goes for the Last Ride but Hawkins runs out and nails Taker with the Title belt for a near fall. Edge goes for a spear but Taker counters that into a DDT for a near fall. Taker goes for the choke slam but Hawkins runs out and Taker throws Edge into him knocking Hawkings off the apron. Taker goes for the last Ride but Edge counters into a Victory Roll which Taker counters into the Triangle choke and Edge taps. After the bell Taker refuse to break the hold.
Good match, it was let down by a really slow portion in the middle of the match because it started nicely and the finish played superbly into their wrestlemania encountering adding new counters to counters of the previous match. Excellent dramatic conclusion to a strong effort. (***1/2)
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Number Fourteen
Unsanctioned Match
Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho
Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho
Judgement Day
HBK charges the ring and takes down Jericho who scrambles and HBK unloads absolutely pounding the crap out of Jericho. Shawn removes his boot and unloads on Jericho with a series of stiff shots to the head the last sending Jericho reeling out of the ring. Shawn gives Jericho no rest and dives sending Jericho crashing into the front row. Shawn pounds the crap out of Jericho and then takes him back to ringside. HBK then catapults Jericho into the ringpost face first. Shawn swings the chair but misses hitting the ringpost and hurting his arm. Jericho then unloads in response and drops HBK on the barricade. Jericho then DDTs HBK on the outside for good measure, Jericho fetches a table but it breaks so he throws it at HBK for fun. Then sets up another, see that’s a nice touch rather than just waiting around. Jericho tries a powerbomb through the table but HBK monkey boxes to counter but Jericho falls back dropping Shawn jaw first on the ring apron.
Jericho brings Shawn into the ring and nails HBK in the gut then wakes him in the back with the chair. Jericho follows that right up with a stalling back suplex. Jericho continues to pound and choke away at Shawn in the corner. Shawn gives Jericho a hard Irish whip shoulder first into the steel ringpost. There’s a chair set between the top turnbuckles on the other side of the ring. Jericho tries to suplex HBK off the apron through a table, they tease it but Shawn lands on apron and closelines Jericho back into the ring hard. Nice sequence. Shawn then nails Jericho with the flying forearm and kips up but instead goes to a blatant choke and he crushes the life out of Jericho, very nice touch. HBK then comes off top and scores with the picture perfect elbow drop. Shawn cues up the band and instead of hitting sweet chin music he stops and Jericho drops to his knees, Shawn says it’s not over and begins to pound the crap out Jericho. Very good stuff.
Shawn then locks in the crippler crossface, Jericho manages to power out and throws HBK face first into the steel chair in the corner. Shawn then sells the injured eye from earlier in the feud. Jericho then punches HBK right in the eye and HBK does his old hobo sell. Jericho then mounts Shawn and begins pounding away hard at Shawn’s eye. Jericho then does some comedy boxing dancing around Shawn and bitch slapping him in his eyes. HBK has had enough and he floors Jericho. Jericho comes back with a hard Irish whip, HBK does his flip and comes back with a Lou Thez Press. Jericho fights back with a double leg takedown and Jericho locks in the Walls of Jericho. Shawn crawls to the ropes but Jericho informs the ref there are no rule and he refuses to break the hold, Shawn crawls under the rope and gets a fire extinguisher and blinds Jericho. More intriguing stuff.
Jericho continues to sell wildly until Shawn waffles Jericho with the fire extinguisher knocking Jericho to the outside. HBK then kicks the crap out of Jericho and throws Jericho repeatedly into the barricades. Shawn walks Jericho up the ramp and hits him with a stalling suplex on the ramp. Lance Cade charges out to make the save but Shawn meets him with a hard right hand. HBK kicks the crap out of Cade before returning to Jericho and closelining him down. Cade sneaks back and punches Shawn in his injured arm and then turns HBK inside out with a lariat. Jericho then holds Shawn’s injured arm against the ring post while Cade hits a big boot against the post.
Back in the ring, Cade holds Shawn back while Jericho bitch slaps HBK and kicks the crap out of him. Cade holds HBK’s arm out while Jericho smashes the chair down across his arm. Jericho nails HBK one more time as the crowd boo and Jericho plays to the crowd. Jericho locks Shawn’s arm in the chair as Cade holds him down and then heads to the top rope to big boos. Shawn kicks Cade off crotching Jericho. Shawn then brutalizes Cade with a Sweet Chin Music, Shawn then takes the chair and smashes Jericho with a chair sending him off the top rope backwards through a table. Shawn doesn’t let up and swings the chair wildly at Jericho again and again. Shawn prepares the announce table and lays Jericho upon it following a few stiff shots. Jericho however rolls off the table so Shawn beats him some more and lays Jericho ontop of Cade. Shawn returns to the ring and heads to the top rope and hits the Picture Perfect Elbow drop! Very nice spot, everyone is down and out. A little plodding but the psychology is spot on and the crowd have really been engaged.
Jericho is now bleeding from the arm and the nose. Shawn loosens his belt and begins stiffly whipping Jericho like a dog. Blood and welts are immediately forming on Jericho’s back. Shawn look like he’s in a trance and he whispers in Jericho’s ear before tying his arms and relentless reigning down blows on Jericho’s skull. The ref pulls HBK off Jericho but Shawn ignores him and mounts Jericho and hits about thirty big punches and the referee announces Shawn the winner by TKO. Shawn looks enraged and continues to punch the crap out of Jericho as the crowd are shocked and not sure whether to cheer or boo. Shawn is told to leave the ring but instead he super kicks the referee, drawing a big “HBK” chant. Shawn breaks down after the match and looks devasted, overacting methinks, the sexy boy music hits as we look at his dishevelled face, comedy gold.
A very sombre, brooding and brutal match, reminiscesent of the eighties bloody brawls with Jerry Lawler. The crowd were really into the match but the psychology of the match up created a really interesting atmosphere where the crowd were behind Shawn and feared for him in peril but were torn whether to cheer or boo when he brutally beat Jericho. Lot more “ooohs” and “aaaahs” than cheers in this one. The match started superbly and then slowed right down to let the story take over, a real throw back but the type of match that we just don’t see enough of these days. HBK-Jericho have shown they can pull of three very different and very excellent match ups, Jericho continues to make a strong case for MVP. (***3/4)
Jericho brings Shawn into the ring and nails HBK in the gut then wakes him in the back with the chair. Jericho follows that right up with a stalling back suplex. Jericho continues to pound and choke away at Shawn in the corner. Shawn gives Jericho a hard Irish whip shoulder first into the steel ringpost. There’s a chair set between the top turnbuckles on the other side of the ring. Jericho tries to suplex HBK off the apron through a table, they tease it but Shawn lands on apron and closelines Jericho back into the ring hard. Nice sequence. Shawn then nails Jericho with the flying forearm and kips up but instead goes to a blatant choke and he crushes the life out of Jericho, very nice touch. HBK then comes off top and scores with the picture perfect elbow drop. Shawn cues up the band and instead of hitting sweet chin music he stops and Jericho drops to his knees, Shawn says it’s not over and begins to pound the crap out Jericho. Very good stuff.
Shawn then locks in the crippler crossface, Jericho manages to power out and throws HBK face first into the steel chair in the corner. Shawn then sells the injured eye from earlier in the feud. Jericho then punches HBK right in the eye and HBK does his old hobo sell. Jericho then mounts Shawn and begins pounding away hard at Shawn’s eye. Jericho then does some comedy boxing dancing around Shawn and bitch slapping him in his eyes. HBK has had enough and he floors Jericho. Jericho comes back with a hard Irish whip, HBK does his flip and comes back with a Lou Thez Press. Jericho fights back with a double leg takedown and Jericho locks in the Walls of Jericho. Shawn crawls to the ropes but Jericho informs the ref there are no rule and he refuses to break the hold, Shawn crawls under the rope and gets a fire extinguisher and blinds Jericho. More intriguing stuff.
Jericho continues to sell wildly until Shawn waffles Jericho with the fire extinguisher knocking Jericho to the outside. HBK then kicks the crap out of Jericho and throws Jericho repeatedly into the barricades. Shawn walks Jericho up the ramp and hits him with a stalling suplex on the ramp. Lance Cade charges out to make the save but Shawn meets him with a hard right hand. HBK kicks the crap out of Cade before returning to Jericho and closelining him down. Cade sneaks back and punches Shawn in his injured arm and then turns HBK inside out with a lariat. Jericho then holds Shawn’s injured arm against the ring post while Cade hits a big boot against the post.
Back in the ring, Cade holds Shawn back while Jericho bitch slaps HBK and kicks the crap out of him. Cade holds HBK’s arm out while Jericho smashes the chair down across his arm. Jericho nails HBK one more time as the crowd boo and Jericho plays to the crowd. Jericho locks Shawn’s arm in the chair as Cade holds him down and then heads to the top rope to big boos. Shawn kicks Cade off crotching Jericho. Shawn then brutalizes Cade with a Sweet Chin Music, Shawn then takes the chair and smashes Jericho with a chair sending him off the top rope backwards through a table. Shawn doesn’t let up and swings the chair wildly at Jericho again and again. Shawn prepares the announce table and lays Jericho upon it following a few stiff shots. Jericho however rolls off the table so Shawn beats him some more and lays Jericho ontop of Cade. Shawn returns to the ring and heads to the top rope and hits the Picture Perfect Elbow drop! Very nice spot, everyone is down and out. A little plodding but the psychology is spot on and the crowd have really been engaged.
Jericho is now bleeding from the arm and the nose. Shawn loosens his belt and begins stiffly whipping Jericho like a dog. Blood and welts are immediately forming on Jericho’s back. Shawn look like he’s in a trance and he whispers in Jericho’s ear before tying his arms and relentless reigning down blows on Jericho’s skull. The ref pulls HBK off Jericho but Shawn ignores him and mounts Jericho and hits about thirty big punches and the referee announces Shawn the winner by TKO. Shawn looks enraged and continues to punch the crap out of Jericho as the crowd are shocked and not sure whether to cheer or boo. Shawn is told to leave the ring but instead he super kicks the referee, drawing a big “HBK” chant. Shawn breaks down after the match and looks devasted, overacting methinks, the sexy boy music hits as we look at his dishevelled face, comedy gold.
A very sombre, brooding and brutal match, reminiscesent of the eighties bloody brawls with Jerry Lawler. The crowd were really into the match but the psychology of the match up created a really interesting atmosphere where the crowd were behind Shawn and feared for him in peril but were torn whether to cheer or boo when he brutally beat Jericho. Lot more “ooohs” and “aaaahs” than cheers in this one. The match started superbly and then slowed right down to let the story take over, a real throw back but the type of match that we just don’t see enough of these days. HBK-Jericho have shown they can pull of three very different and very excellent match ups, Jericho continues to make a strong case for MVP. (***3/4)
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Number Thirteen
Smackdown Elimination Chamber Match
Finlay vs. Big Daddy V vs. The Great Khali vs. MVP vs. Batista vs. Undertaker
Finlay vs. Big Daddy V vs. The Great Khali vs. MVP vs. Batista vs. Undertaker
No Way Out
Batista and Undertaker start the match and they start it with a slugfest. Batista takes Undertaker to the corner and lays in some shoulder tackles. Taker fights him off with a high knee and Taker tosses Batista onto the steel floor and then grates Batista’s face against the steel cell. Batista knocks Taker back into the ring with a big right hand and then follows up with a hard closeline for two. Taker fights back and chokes Batista and then stomps him down in the corner. Taker works over Batista in the corner pounding him down. I think this is the opposite of entertainment this is one long beat down. Batista fires back with some big slugs and then a nice running back elbow for two. Taker dodges a closeline and floors Batista with a big boot and both men are down.
Big Daddy V is the next Entrant. Big Daddy V lays some big stiff chops down on Batista and Undertaker. V then closelines down the Undertaker and plays to the crowd. Big Daddy V then hits a body slam on the Undertaker and continues to pound away on Undertaker. Big Daddy V scores with a samoan drop and then stands on top of Undertaker. “Taker” chant from the crowd. Big Daddy V gives Batista a hard body slam. Big Daddy chops Undertaker and he falls backwards through the cell to the outside. That was pretty fucked up and the Ref realize that they hadn’t locked the door properply, don’t worry its not like this is live. Big Daddy V then squashes Batista with an Avalanche. Batista manages to slip out the back of a Samoan drop and scores with an impressive Spinebuster. Batista closelines V onto the steel and then Undertaker DDTs him and Batista makes the cover. Big Daddy V is Eliminated.
The Great Khali is the next Entrant. Khali floors both men with big chops as the crowd chant “you can’t wrestle”. Khali pounds down on Batista, Taker tries to make the save with a choke slam but Khali counters to the Khali Bomb for a near fall! The crowd are really into this. Khali clubs down both men and then locks in the vice grip on Batista. Batista fights out of the hold and spears Khali the minute Batista gets up he’s greeted with a big boot. Singh is complaining by the wall of the cell and he boots Singh off the cell. Undertaker returns to the centre of the ring and he submits Khali with the Triangle Choke. The Great Khali is Eliminated. Undertaker gives Batista a big boot against the steel mesh of the cell and that gets a near fall. Taker then grates the back of Batista against the Steel.
Finlay is the next Entrant. Finlay runs straight into a big boot from the Undertaker. Finlay manages to dodge a big boot and Taker hangs himself up in the corner. Finley unloads on Batista and throws him to the outside. Finley then hits the Celtic Cross on the Undertaker but it only gets a nearfall! Batista then catapults Finley into the chain link cell. Undertaker recovers and kills Batista with a closeline. Finley tries a quick pin on Batista but gets two. Finley tosses Taker onto the steel floor and then into the steel cell. Finley tries a cover on Undertake but only gets two. Finley introduces Taker to the “Lexan Bullet Proof Glass” but on the third slam Taker goes straight through it. Batista sends Finlay head first into the steel post of the box and then gives Finley a muscle buster for two.
MVP is the next Entrant. Undertaker is waiting for him so MVP doesn’t want to come out so Taker barges into his pod and beats the crap out of MVP. As Finley, Taker and Batista brawl MVP comes out of nowhere with drive bys on Batista and Taker for two. MVP then chokes out Finley with his gold chain. MVP then mounts and pounds Undertaker with his chain for a near fall. MVP gives Finley and Batista face washes. Undertaker has been busted open and MVP continues to pound away at Taker with the chain wrapped fists. Taker won’t back down so he runs to the top of the pod but Taker catches him and choke slams him off the pod. Finley crawls over and gets the 1-2-3. MVP is Eliminated.
Taker comes off top with a flying elbow drop but Finlay rolls out of the way. Hornswaggle appears from the corner of the cell and hands Finlay the Shelliah. He nails Batista with the club but Batista no sells and goes for the Batista bomb Finlay is lifted up but nails Batista in the head with the club for a near fall! Undertaker then chokeslams Finlay over the top rope and onto the steel mesh and gets the pin Finlay is Eliminated. Batista and Taker crawl back to the centre of the ring and have a slugfest, the crowd “boo-yeah” in favour of Undertaker but no matter Batista hits the Batista Bomb out of nowhere for a 2.9998 count! Batista is in shock. Batista does the ten punch in the corner and after twelve punches Undertaker pops up cleverly and scores with the Last Ride but that only gets a near fall! Undertaker mounts Batista and slugs the crap out of him. Taker calls for the Tombstone but Batista slips out the back and tosses Taker onto the steel grating. Batista gives Taker Russian snake eyes into the steel cell. He tries it again but Taker blocks and in one motion shoves back of the cell flips over the top rope into the centre of the ring and Tombstones Batista for the win.
A really great well executed finish to that one. Started at a dull and ponderous pace but once the first pod opened the pace really picked up and they put on a brutal and gruelling match and told an excellent story of Taker surviving the most brutal beat down and kicking out of everyone’s finshers to against all odds win the match. Really well executed, well thought out match up, much better than expectations. (***3/4)
Big Daddy V is the next Entrant. Big Daddy V lays some big stiff chops down on Batista and Undertaker. V then closelines down the Undertaker and plays to the crowd. Big Daddy V then hits a body slam on the Undertaker and continues to pound away on Undertaker. Big Daddy V scores with a samoan drop and then stands on top of Undertaker. “Taker” chant from the crowd. Big Daddy V gives Batista a hard body slam. Big Daddy chops Undertaker and he falls backwards through the cell to the outside. That was pretty fucked up and the Ref realize that they hadn’t locked the door properply, don’t worry its not like this is live. Big Daddy V then squashes Batista with an Avalanche. Batista manages to slip out the back of a Samoan drop and scores with an impressive Spinebuster. Batista closelines V onto the steel and then Undertaker DDTs him and Batista makes the cover. Big Daddy V is Eliminated.
The Great Khali is the next Entrant. Khali floors both men with big chops as the crowd chant “you can’t wrestle”. Khali pounds down on Batista, Taker tries to make the save with a choke slam but Khali counters to the Khali Bomb for a near fall! The crowd are really into this. Khali clubs down both men and then locks in the vice grip on Batista. Batista fights out of the hold and spears Khali the minute Batista gets up he’s greeted with a big boot. Singh is complaining by the wall of the cell and he boots Singh off the cell. Undertaker returns to the centre of the ring and he submits Khali with the Triangle Choke. The Great Khali is Eliminated. Undertaker gives Batista a big boot against the steel mesh of the cell and that gets a near fall. Taker then grates the back of Batista against the Steel.
Finlay is the next Entrant. Finlay runs straight into a big boot from the Undertaker. Finlay manages to dodge a big boot and Taker hangs himself up in the corner. Finley unloads on Batista and throws him to the outside. Finley then hits the Celtic Cross on the Undertaker but it only gets a nearfall! Batista then catapults Finley into the chain link cell. Undertaker recovers and kills Batista with a closeline. Finley tries a quick pin on Batista but gets two. Finley tosses Taker onto the steel floor and then into the steel cell. Finley tries a cover on Undertake but only gets two. Finley introduces Taker to the “Lexan Bullet Proof Glass” but on the third slam Taker goes straight through it. Batista sends Finlay head first into the steel post of the box and then gives Finley a muscle buster for two.
MVP is the next Entrant. Undertaker is waiting for him so MVP doesn’t want to come out so Taker barges into his pod and beats the crap out of MVP. As Finley, Taker and Batista brawl MVP comes out of nowhere with drive bys on Batista and Taker for two. MVP then chokes out Finley with his gold chain. MVP then mounts and pounds Undertaker with his chain for a near fall. MVP gives Finley and Batista face washes. Undertaker has been busted open and MVP continues to pound away at Taker with the chain wrapped fists. Taker won’t back down so he runs to the top of the pod but Taker catches him and choke slams him off the pod. Finley crawls over and gets the 1-2-3. MVP is Eliminated.
Taker comes off top with a flying elbow drop but Finlay rolls out of the way. Hornswaggle appears from the corner of the cell and hands Finlay the Shelliah. He nails Batista with the club but Batista no sells and goes for the Batista bomb Finlay is lifted up but nails Batista in the head with the club for a near fall! Undertaker then chokeslams Finlay over the top rope and onto the steel mesh and gets the pin Finlay is Eliminated. Batista and Taker crawl back to the centre of the ring and have a slugfest, the crowd “boo-yeah” in favour of Undertaker but no matter Batista hits the Batista Bomb out of nowhere for a 2.9998 count! Batista is in shock. Batista does the ten punch in the corner and after twelve punches Undertaker pops up cleverly and scores with the Last Ride but that only gets a near fall! Undertaker mounts Batista and slugs the crap out of him. Taker calls for the Tombstone but Batista slips out the back and tosses Taker onto the steel grating. Batista gives Taker Russian snake eyes into the steel cell. He tries it again but Taker blocks and in one motion shoves back of the cell flips over the top rope into the centre of the ring and Tombstones Batista for the win.
A really great well executed finish to that one. Started at a dull and ponderous pace but once the first pod opened the pace really picked up and they put on a brutal and gruelling match and told an excellent story of Taker surviving the most brutal beat down and kicking out of everyone’s finshers to against all odds win the match. Really well executed, well thought out match up, much better than expectations. (***3/4)
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Number Twelve
RAW Elimination Chamber Match
Jeff Hardy vs. JBL vs. Triple H vs. Umaga vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho
Jeff Hardy vs. JBL vs. Triple H vs. Umaga vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho
No Way Out
Jericho and HBK start the match up. Jericho grabs a hammerlock but HBK elbows out of it and gets a shoulder tackle, after a leapfrog HBK and Jericho trade chops. Another nice leapfrog and then the two men exchange pin falls. Jericho counters Michaels and scores with a Northern lights suplex but Michaels bridges out into a back slide for two before Jericho cuts him down with a closeline. Jericho then scores with a back breaker. HBK comes right back with the flying forearm, kip up and atomic drops for Jericho. Michaels gets the body slam and goes for the Picture Perfect Elbow drop but Jericho gets the knees up and scores with the Bulldog. Jericho goes for the Lionsault, HBK gets his knees up but Jericho sees it coming and lands on his feet and tries the Walls but HBK blocks. HBK tries to counter into the Sharp Shooter but Jericho counters into a roll up for two. HBK and Jericho then collide with flying forearms and both men are down.
The Next Entrant is Umaga. Umaga kills both men with closelines and then tosses Jericho. Umaga no sells a kick from HBK and double closelines his opponents. Then in a fun spot Umaga scores with a double Samoan drop and Umaga plays to the crowd, Umaga follows that with a roundhouse kick sending HBK over the top rope. Umaga then gets a diving headbutt on Jericho. Umaga then works over both men. Umaga then climbs up the cell and scores with an arse thumb on HBK. Jericho tries to chop down Umaga but he’s killed by a throat thrust. Umaga goes up to the second rope but the Diving Head butt misses. HBK comes off top with the picture perfect elbow drop and Jericho locks Umaga in the Walls of Jericho. HBK decides to join in and locks in a crippler crossface as well for good measure.
The Next Entrant is JBL. Bradshaw wastes no time breaking the hold with big boots and short arm closelines, JBL then hits Jericho with a nice swinging neckbreaker and a brutal big boot. Umaga body slams HBK on the steel while at the same time Jericho hits a tornado DDT on JBL. Jericho charges JBL and he’s back body dropped onto the steel for good measure. Shawn does his corner spot and Umaga boots him hard onto the steel.
The Next Entrant is Triple H. He kills Umaga with a diving takedown and then gives both Umaga and JBL face crushers before giving them a noggin knocker. Triple H then gives both Umaga and Jericho spinebusters for a near fall. Umaga cuts Triple H off with throat thrust but Triple H gets straight up and throw Umaga head first into the side of the pod. Jericho gets the bulldog on Triple H but misses the Lionsault. Hunter goes for the Pedigree but its broken up with a closeline from Hell and Jericho takes JBL down with the Code Breaker for the 1-2-3. JBL is Eliminated. JBL storms back into the cell with a steel chair and he lays out Jericho and HBK then pretends to leave Umaga alone before killing him with a chair shot when he’s distracted. Jericho is now busted open, and HBK is also bleeding from his collision with Jericho earlier. It looks like a car crash as everyone is down.
The Next Entrant is Jeffery Hardy. Jeff scores with his mule kick on Umaga his corner dropkick on HBK and his front suplex on Jericho. Hardy then springs of Jericho’s back with the Poetry in motion. Jeff then counters an Irish whip with the Whisper in the Wind taking Shawn and Tripper down. Umaga kills Jeff with a thrust kick before destroying Jericho with a prime time slam. Umaga hands Triple H in the tree of woe before a hard Irish whip allows Shawn to do the HBK flip ontop triple H in the corner. Umaga gives Triple H the tree of woe driving headbutt and then gives Jericho the Arse Thump of doom through the Lexicon bullet proof glass. Umaga is about to give Jericho the Samoan spike but HBK kills Umaga with the sweet chin music, then Jericho gives Umaga the code breaker, then Triple H gives him the Pedigree and Jeff comes off the top of the Chamber with a Swanton Bomb for the 1-2-3. Immediately after that HBK superkicks Jericho and he’s gone too. Umaga and Chris Jericho are eliminated.
Shawn’s face is a bloody mess and Jeff has no mercy giving him a Twist of Fate. Triple H then throws Hardy onto the Steel and gives HBK a pedigree for the pinfall. Shawn Michaels is Eliminated. Jeff unloads on Triple H but Tripper sides steps a charge and sends Jeff crashing into the steel. Jeff manages to recover and DDTs Triple H onto the steel. Jeff then repeatedly throws Triple H into the cage. Jeff tries to jump off the Cell but he’s caught with a boot and Tripper goes for the Pedigree but Jeff back body drops a bloody Hunter back into the ring. Jeff misses the Swanton bomb and Triple H scores with the Pedigree but Jeff dramatically kicks out. Triple H tries a pedigree on the steel chair but Jeff blocks with a low blow and goes for the Twist of Fate but Tripper shoves him off landing him hard on the chair. Finally the Pedigree onto the steel chair ends it.
It’s a tough call as to which elimination chamber was better, the popular thinking is with the Smackdown chamber but I liked the version alot, it wasn’t as coherent and had lots of dead space but it was an exciting spot fest style match with a very dramatic ending sequences. It’s really a toss up between the gruelling well paced drama of the SD! Match and the chaotic bloody spotfest of the RAW effort, both were good, neither were quite great, depending on your style preference you’ll have your favourite I enjoyed both and liked that within the same context they delivered two distinct match ups. (***3/4)
The Next Entrant is Umaga. Umaga kills both men with closelines and then tosses Jericho. Umaga no sells a kick from HBK and double closelines his opponents. Then in a fun spot Umaga scores with a double Samoan drop and Umaga plays to the crowd, Umaga follows that with a roundhouse kick sending HBK over the top rope. Umaga then gets a diving headbutt on Jericho. Umaga then works over both men. Umaga then climbs up the cell and scores with an arse thumb on HBK. Jericho tries to chop down Umaga but he’s killed by a throat thrust. Umaga goes up to the second rope but the Diving Head butt misses. HBK comes off top with the picture perfect elbow drop and Jericho locks Umaga in the Walls of Jericho. HBK decides to join in and locks in a crippler crossface as well for good measure.
The Next Entrant is JBL. Bradshaw wastes no time breaking the hold with big boots and short arm closelines, JBL then hits Jericho with a nice swinging neckbreaker and a brutal big boot. Umaga body slams HBK on the steel while at the same time Jericho hits a tornado DDT on JBL. Jericho charges JBL and he’s back body dropped onto the steel for good measure. Shawn does his corner spot and Umaga boots him hard onto the steel.
The Next Entrant is Triple H. He kills Umaga with a diving takedown and then gives both Umaga and JBL face crushers before giving them a noggin knocker. Triple H then gives both Umaga and Jericho spinebusters for a near fall. Umaga cuts Triple H off with throat thrust but Triple H gets straight up and throw Umaga head first into the side of the pod. Jericho gets the bulldog on Triple H but misses the Lionsault. Hunter goes for the Pedigree but its broken up with a closeline from Hell and Jericho takes JBL down with the Code Breaker for the 1-2-3. JBL is Eliminated. JBL storms back into the cell with a steel chair and he lays out Jericho and HBK then pretends to leave Umaga alone before killing him with a chair shot when he’s distracted. Jericho is now busted open, and HBK is also bleeding from his collision with Jericho earlier. It looks like a car crash as everyone is down.
The Next Entrant is Jeffery Hardy. Jeff scores with his mule kick on Umaga his corner dropkick on HBK and his front suplex on Jericho. Hardy then springs of Jericho’s back with the Poetry in motion. Jeff then counters an Irish whip with the Whisper in the Wind taking Shawn and Tripper down. Umaga kills Jeff with a thrust kick before destroying Jericho with a prime time slam. Umaga hands Triple H in the tree of woe before a hard Irish whip allows Shawn to do the HBK flip ontop triple H in the corner. Umaga gives Triple H the tree of woe driving headbutt and then gives Jericho the Arse Thump of doom through the Lexicon bullet proof glass. Umaga is about to give Jericho the Samoan spike but HBK kills Umaga with the sweet chin music, then Jericho gives Umaga the code breaker, then Triple H gives him the Pedigree and Jeff comes off the top of the Chamber with a Swanton Bomb for the 1-2-3. Immediately after that HBK superkicks Jericho and he’s gone too. Umaga and Chris Jericho are eliminated.
Shawn’s face is a bloody mess and Jeff has no mercy giving him a Twist of Fate. Triple H then throws Hardy onto the Steel and gives HBK a pedigree for the pinfall. Shawn Michaels is Eliminated. Jeff unloads on Triple H but Tripper sides steps a charge and sends Jeff crashing into the steel. Jeff manages to recover and DDTs Triple H onto the steel. Jeff then repeatedly throws Triple H into the cage. Jeff tries to jump off the Cell but he’s caught with a boot and Tripper goes for the Pedigree but Jeff back body drops a bloody Hunter back into the ring. Jeff misses the Swanton bomb and Triple H scores with the Pedigree but Jeff dramatically kicks out. Triple H tries a pedigree on the steel chair but Jeff blocks with a low blow and goes for the Twist of Fate but Tripper shoves him off landing him hard on the chair. Finally the Pedigree onto the steel chair ends it.
It’s a tough call as to which elimination chamber was better, the popular thinking is with the Smackdown chamber but I liked the version alot, it wasn’t as coherent and had lots of dead space but it was an exciting spot fest style match with a very dramatic ending sequences. It’s really a toss up between the gruelling well paced drama of the SD! Match and the chaotic bloody spotfest of the RAW effort, both were good, neither were quite great, depending on your style preference you’ll have your favourite I enjoyed both and liked that within the same context they delivered two distinct match ups. (***3/4)
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Number Eleven
WWE World Heavyweight Title
Tables, Ladders and Chairs
Retirement Match
Edge vs. The Undertaker
Tables, Ladders and Chairs
Retirement Match
Edge vs. The Undertaker
One Night Stand
Edge looks solemn to start the match. Taker dodges a closeline and floors Edge with a big boot to start the match up. Taker follows up with a hard Irish whip and a closeline. “Undertaker” chant from the crowd as Taker applies a choke in the corner. Taker scores with the arm wrench and rope walk of Doom. Taker then decides to go fetch a ladder but Edge immediately baseball slides it straight back into his face. Edge sets up a double stack of tables but when he turns Taker smashes him down with a ladder to the face. Taker introduces the steps and then shoves over the ladder and turns Edges double stack into a quadruple stack, that is both dull and silly but we won’t care once someone goes flying through it. Edge sets up a little ladder but Taker catches him and pulls him off hard into the top rope. Taker then sets up the ladder over the top turnbuckle and goes for snake eyes but Edge shoves Taker face first into the ladder, and Cole makes a lame rhyme. Edge sets up a ladder in the same fashion on the opposite turnbuckle and Taker sends Edge face first into that one. That was pretty silly. Taker sets up a ladder and climbs but Edge climbs the other side to meet him. Edge is sent crashing and burning into the ladder on the turnbuckle. Edge stumbles back and shoves Taker off the ladder and he crashes into the opposite ladder. That was nice but a bit too cute. Taker gives Edge snake eyes on a ladder and then big boots it into his face for good measure.
The crowd want tables so Undertaker gets a chair instead and beats the crap out of Edge with a couple of stiff shots to the back of the head. Taker then lays Edge on the apron and hits the boot. Taker goes for the leg drop but Edge sees it coming and blocks it with a chair. Edge then gives Taker a chop block with chair. Edge creates a ladle table from the apron to barricade. Taker tries to give Edge the last ride but Edge slips out and blasts Taker in the balls and we get a really funny shot of Taker selling the low blow. Edge cooly reclines against the barricade before waffling Taker with a steel chair to the skull. Edge levels Taker with another chair shot shortly after setting up another table. Edge lays Taker on the table and scores with a nice Splash off the announce table through the table. Edge climbs the Ladder in the centre of the ring, Taker pulls Edge down and then the second Edge lands he hits Taker with a nice spear. Edge slams the ladder shut over Takers bad leg. Edge uses a chair to smash the ladder shut on Undertakers Leg. Edge kills Taker with two brutal chair shots to the skull and sets up the giant ladder. Edge then goes for a Con-Chair-To but Taker blocks it with a low blow. Taker is hobbling badly on his leg and he Choke Slams Edge off the apron through the Ladder breaking it in the middle. Undertaker is about to win the match when Hawkins and Ryder come from the back and beat the crap out of Undertaker. They lay Taker on a table and then set another table on top of it. Taker fights out and choke Slams Hawkins off top through a table on the outside and then he Choke Slams Ryder off the apron through a table. Edge then spears Taker off the barricade. Edge sets up a double table in the ring and begins to climb the ladder. This is just two silly and contrived serious he moved the ladder so it faced the tables. Undertaker catches Edge and gives him a last Ride through two tables in a nicely executed but terribly set up spot. Undertaker climbs the ladder again and this time Bam Neely and Chavo run in, yes another run in. They try a con-chair-to but Taker dodges and kills both of them with a chair. Then in yet another horrible set up Taker for no apparent reason pulls the ladder far away from the title belt and of course Edge shoves the ladder over and Taker takes the huge bump off the ladder out of the ring through four tables. Edge climbs slowly and has some awesome facial expressions as he wins the title.
This one didn’t hold up as well with a second viewing. There was some good wrestling and cool spots within this match but this is up there as one of the most overly contrived matches I’ve ever seen. So many shoddily done over set up spots held the match back, of course the coolness of the spots make up for this for the most part but it’s hard to watch this match without rolling one’s eyes. Nevertheless a exciting and dramatic match but not the best in their series.(***3/4)
The crowd want tables so Undertaker gets a chair instead and beats the crap out of Edge with a couple of stiff shots to the back of the head. Taker then lays Edge on the apron and hits the boot. Taker goes for the leg drop but Edge sees it coming and blocks it with a chair. Edge then gives Taker a chop block with chair. Edge creates a ladle table from the apron to barricade. Taker tries to give Edge the last ride but Edge slips out and blasts Taker in the balls and we get a really funny shot of Taker selling the low blow. Edge cooly reclines against the barricade before waffling Taker with a steel chair to the skull. Edge levels Taker with another chair shot shortly after setting up another table. Edge lays Taker on the table and scores with a nice Splash off the announce table through the table. Edge climbs the Ladder in the centre of the ring, Taker pulls Edge down and then the second Edge lands he hits Taker with a nice spear. Edge slams the ladder shut over Takers bad leg. Edge uses a chair to smash the ladder shut on Undertakers Leg. Edge kills Taker with two brutal chair shots to the skull and sets up the giant ladder. Edge then goes for a Con-Chair-To but Taker blocks it with a low blow. Taker is hobbling badly on his leg and he Choke Slams Edge off the apron through the Ladder breaking it in the middle. Undertaker is about to win the match when Hawkins and Ryder come from the back and beat the crap out of Undertaker. They lay Taker on a table and then set another table on top of it. Taker fights out and choke Slams Hawkins off top through a table on the outside and then he Choke Slams Ryder off the apron through a table. Edge then spears Taker off the barricade. Edge sets up a double table in the ring and begins to climb the ladder. This is just two silly and contrived serious he moved the ladder so it faced the tables. Undertaker catches Edge and gives him a last Ride through two tables in a nicely executed but terribly set up spot. Undertaker climbs the ladder again and this time Bam Neely and Chavo run in, yes another run in. They try a con-chair-to but Taker dodges and kills both of them with a chair. Then in yet another horrible set up Taker for no apparent reason pulls the ladder far away from the title belt and of course Edge shoves the ladder over and Taker takes the huge bump off the ladder out of the ring through four tables. Edge climbs slowly and has some awesome facial expressions as he wins the title.
This one didn’t hold up as well with a second viewing. There was some good wrestling and cool spots within this match but this is up there as one of the most overly contrived matches I’ve ever seen. So many shoddily done over set up spots held the match back, of course the coolness of the spots make up for this for the most part but it’s hard to watch this match without rolling one’s eyes. Nevertheless a exciting and dramatic match but not the best in their series.(***3/4)
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Number Ten
WWE World Title Match
JBL vs. John Cena vs. Triple H vs. Randy Orton
JBL vs. John Cena vs. Triple H vs. Randy Orton
Backlash
Orton grabs the belt from the ref and is immediately squashed by a big boot from JBL. Orton reels to the outside to compose himself. Triple H suplex JBL and Cena kills Hunter with a closeline but Trip responds with a hard Irish whip. Cena sees Randy Orton relaxing and dives at him with a flying shoulder block and takes him back into the ring. Triple H DDTs JBL and then knocks Cena off the apron into the announce table. Orton and JBL score with a double shoulderblock on Triple H. Triple H dodges a tandem closeline and scores with a double closeline of his own. Orton misses a blind charge and goes shoulder first into the steel ringpost. Triple H then takes JBL to the outside and introduces him to the steel ring steps. Triple H tries a Pedigree on the outside but JBL trips him head first onto the entrance Ramp.
Orton misses a charge and Cena hits the throwback and top rope legdrop combo. Cena locks in the STFU, JBL thinks about breaking it and instead gets in Orton’s face. In a funny moment Triple H then locks JBL in the crossface and Orton escapes and mocks JBL. Cena breaks the hold and Orton sends Cena flying to the outside. JBL gets a two count with a big boot and elbow drop on Randy Orton. JBL charges Orton but is met by a boot and a diving closeline. Orton heads to the top rope but JBL dives to the ropes to crotch Orton on top. JBL then goes for the superplex but Cena and Triple H come in for the tower of doom. They go for the stereo pins and gets stereo two counts. We then get the “boo-yeah” slugfest between Tripper and Cena. Cena wins that confrontation with the fisherman’s release suplex. Cena keeps the momentum with the two flying shoulder tackles and the five knuckle shuffle but Triple H catches him with the Arn Anderson spine buster. Triple H measures Cena and goes for the Pedigree. Triple H sees the Closeline from hell coming and dodges but it allows Cena to counter to the FU, Hunter slips out and Cena FUs JBL. Triple H goes for the Pedgigree but is back body dropped out of the ring. Cena locks JBL in the STFU and a second after he taps out Orton scores with the punt of doom for the 1-2-3. Excellent stuff. JBL & John Cena are eliminated.
The crowd come to their feet as the slugfest begins. Triple H scores with a quick suplex and knee drop for two. Orton charges Hunter but Triple H steps aside and tosses him hard to the outside. Hunter being the nice guy that he is decides to introduces Randy to the announce table, Orton not to be out done helps Triple H become acquainted with the steel ring steps. Randy Orton low blows Hunter on the outside and then catapults Triple H into the front row via the barricade. Randy Orton then suplexes Triple H back to ringside and then plays to the crowd drawing a huge round of boos. Randy rolls Tripper back into the ring for a near fall. Randy Orton then gives us a small taste of the Rugged Ronnie Garvin stomp of doom. Randy Orton follows up with the kitchen sink for a two count. Triple H begins to fight back but is cut off with the inverted back breaker for two. Orton then cinches in the Randy Orton Brand Main Event Chinlock of DOOM, he’s added a body scissors this time. Eventually Triple H fights out but he runs into a really nice snap powerslam.
Randy Orton begins to stalk Triple H, he’s really really excited about this one. Triple H just about manages to counter Triple H at the very last moment, very nicely done. Both men are down and they make it up at nine. Randy Orton unloads but runs right into the high knee, then of course it’s the facebuster but that only get two. Triple H then closelines Orton to the outside hard. Triple H then takes Orton and throws him hard to the outside. Orton manages to uses Triple H’s momentum to send him into the barricade and then tries a pile driver onto the Steel steps. Triple H reverses and sends Orton thudding hard onto the steel. Triple H returns to the ring and scores with the Arn Anderson spinebuster but Orton counters the Pedigree attempt that follows. Orton goes for the RKO but is shoved off into the ref. Triple H tries to wake the ref but while he’s distracted Orton scores with the RKO for a near fall! Orton stands over Triple H looking disgusted at the crowd and he tees up the Punt of Doom. The crowd chant “Randy sucks” and Orton connects with nothing but air. Orton counters the Pedigree and goes for the RKO but he’s shoved off of that, Triple tries the pedigree one more time and this time secures the win.
Well there was some very high level stuff scattered throughout this match. The Orton-Triple H section was really good in places but equal ponderous sections. The opening for way was fast paced and pretty exciting but ultimately meaningless in the context of the match but contained some creative spots. All in all the awkward moments hold this match back from the top level but they were too few to drag it down, on the cusp of four stars. (***3/4)
Orton misses a charge and Cena hits the throwback and top rope legdrop combo. Cena locks in the STFU, JBL thinks about breaking it and instead gets in Orton’s face. In a funny moment Triple H then locks JBL in the crossface and Orton escapes and mocks JBL. Cena breaks the hold and Orton sends Cena flying to the outside. JBL gets a two count with a big boot and elbow drop on Randy Orton. JBL charges Orton but is met by a boot and a diving closeline. Orton heads to the top rope but JBL dives to the ropes to crotch Orton on top. JBL then goes for the superplex but Cena and Triple H come in for the tower of doom. They go for the stereo pins and gets stereo two counts. We then get the “boo-yeah” slugfest between Tripper and Cena. Cena wins that confrontation with the fisherman’s release suplex. Cena keeps the momentum with the two flying shoulder tackles and the five knuckle shuffle but Triple H catches him with the Arn Anderson spine buster. Triple H measures Cena and goes for the Pedigree. Triple H sees the Closeline from hell coming and dodges but it allows Cena to counter to the FU, Hunter slips out and Cena FUs JBL. Triple H goes for the Pedgigree but is back body dropped out of the ring. Cena locks JBL in the STFU and a second after he taps out Orton scores with the punt of doom for the 1-2-3. Excellent stuff. JBL & John Cena are eliminated.
The crowd come to their feet as the slugfest begins. Triple H scores with a quick suplex and knee drop for two. Orton charges Hunter but Triple H steps aside and tosses him hard to the outside. Hunter being the nice guy that he is decides to introduces Randy to the announce table, Orton not to be out done helps Triple H become acquainted with the steel ring steps. Randy Orton low blows Hunter on the outside and then catapults Triple H into the front row via the barricade. Randy Orton then suplexes Triple H back to ringside and then plays to the crowd drawing a huge round of boos. Randy rolls Tripper back into the ring for a near fall. Randy Orton then gives us a small taste of the Rugged Ronnie Garvin stomp of doom. Randy Orton follows up with the kitchen sink for a two count. Triple H begins to fight back but is cut off with the inverted back breaker for two. Orton then cinches in the Randy Orton Brand Main Event Chinlock of DOOM, he’s added a body scissors this time. Eventually Triple H fights out but he runs into a really nice snap powerslam.
Randy Orton begins to stalk Triple H, he’s really really excited about this one. Triple H just about manages to counter Triple H at the very last moment, very nicely done. Both men are down and they make it up at nine. Randy Orton unloads but runs right into the high knee, then of course it’s the facebuster but that only get two. Triple H then closelines Orton to the outside hard. Triple H then takes Orton and throws him hard to the outside. Orton manages to uses Triple H’s momentum to send him into the barricade and then tries a pile driver onto the Steel steps. Triple H reverses and sends Orton thudding hard onto the steel. Triple H returns to the ring and scores with the Arn Anderson spinebuster but Orton counters the Pedigree attempt that follows. Orton goes for the RKO but is shoved off into the ref. Triple H tries to wake the ref but while he’s distracted Orton scores with the RKO for a near fall! Orton stands over Triple H looking disgusted at the crowd and he tees up the Punt of Doom. The crowd chant “Randy sucks” and Orton connects with nothing but air. Orton counters the Pedigree and goes for the RKO but he’s shoved off of that, Triple tries the pedigree one more time and this time secures the win.
Well there was some very high level stuff scattered throughout this match. The Orton-Triple H section was really good in places but equal ponderous sections. The opening for way was fast paced and pretty exciting but ultimately meaningless in the context of the match but contained some creative spots. All in all the awkward moments hold this match back from the top level but they were too few to drag it down, on the cusp of four stars. (***3/4)
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Number Nine
WWE World Title
Jeff Hardy vs. Triple H
Jeff Hardy vs. Triple H
No Mercy
Triple H scores with a hip toss to start the match but Jeff comes right back kicking Hunter off and getting a side headlock takedown. Jeff follows up with a shoulder tackle and then reapplies the side headlock. Triple H then runs down Hardy with a back elbow after shooting him off of the side headlock. Jeff uses a headscissors out of the corner and then follows up closelining Tripper over the top rope. Hardy gives Hunter no reprieve hitting a driving closeline of the apron then rolling him back in and hitting a slingshot leg drop for two. Hardy then returns to the side headlock takedown and wears down Hunter. Hardy lands on the apron when Hunter tries a back body drop, Tripper tries to pull him back into the ring for a Pedigree but Jeff back body drops Hunter over the top rope. Jeff tries a front flip tope but Hunter side steps quickly and Jeff crashes and burns. Triple H throws Hardy back in the ring and gets a near fall. Good Opening.
Triple H scores with a back breaker and then drops a pair of elbows. Triple H then comes off the first rope with an elbow drop for two. Hardy begins to fight back but Triple H cuts him off with the facebuster for a near fall. Triple H hits a knee drop for a two count. Triple H lays some shoulder blocks in in the corner. Triple H charges right into a pair of boots but he see Jeff Hardy coming and locks in an abdominal stretch. The ref catches Triple H using the top rope and he’s forced to break the hold. Triple H obviously thinking we were just too thrilled with the stretch he switches to the sleeper. Jeff fights out quickly and scores with the wrap around lariat.
Hardy scores with the mule kick and then his low blow leg drop but that only gets two. Triple H tries to sit up but he’s met with a basement dropkick for two. Jeff Hardy uses a hard Irish whip and Triple H does the Harley Race flip in the corner. Hardy goes for the front flip Tope a second time and this time he nails it. Hardy scores with a second rope closeline for a two count and then it’s time for the Twist of Fate. Triple H shoves him off and brutalizes Hardy with a closeline for a near fall. Triple H comes off the second rope and he’s met with a boot and the sitout front suplex for a near fall. Jeff Hardy comes off the second rope with an awkward looking crossbody, Triple H ends up with a cover for two. Triple H then scores with the Arn Anderson spine buster and he’s looking for the Pedigree but Jeff counters with a double leg trip, a catapult and the Whisper in The Wind for a 2.9999! The crowd were totally into that nearfall. Hardy hits his corner dropkick and then goes for the Swanton but misses, Jeff counters the Pedigree into the twist of fate and scores with Swanton Bomb, the crowd are going nuts but at two Triple H spins into a crucifix for the 1-2-3.
A fast paced world title match, never quite felt epic enough to be a top end bout but was very very good, only held back by a weak middle portion with Triple H on offence. The finish was excellent and played into the storyline of Jeff always getting so close and losing at the last moment. This match felt way faster than seventeen minutes, well done. (***3/4)
Triple H scores with a back breaker and then drops a pair of elbows. Triple H then comes off the first rope with an elbow drop for two. Hardy begins to fight back but Triple H cuts him off with the facebuster for a near fall. Triple H hits a knee drop for a two count. Triple H lays some shoulder blocks in in the corner. Triple H charges right into a pair of boots but he see Jeff Hardy coming and locks in an abdominal stretch. The ref catches Triple H using the top rope and he’s forced to break the hold. Triple H obviously thinking we were just too thrilled with the stretch he switches to the sleeper. Jeff fights out quickly and scores with the wrap around lariat.
Hardy scores with the mule kick and then his low blow leg drop but that only gets two. Triple H tries to sit up but he’s met with a basement dropkick for two. Jeff Hardy uses a hard Irish whip and Triple H does the Harley Race flip in the corner. Hardy goes for the front flip Tope a second time and this time he nails it. Hardy scores with a second rope closeline for a two count and then it’s time for the Twist of Fate. Triple H shoves him off and brutalizes Hardy with a closeline for a near fall. Triple H comes off the second rope and he’s met with a boot and the sitout front suplex for a near fall. Jeff Hardy comes off the second rope with an awkward looking crossbody, Triple H ends up with a cover for two. Triple H then scores with the Arn Anderson spine buster and he’s looking for the Pedigree but Jeff counters with a double leg trip, a catapult and the Whisper in The Wind for a 2.9999! The crowd were totally into that nearfall. Hardy hits his corner dropkick and then goes for the Swanton but misses, Jeff counters the Pedigree into the twist of fate and scores with Swanton Bomb, the crowd are going nuts but at two Triple H spins into a crucifix for the 1-2-3.
A fast paced world title match, never quite felt epic enough to be a top end bout but was very very good, only held back by a weak middle portion with Triple H on offence. The finish was excellent and played into the storyline of Jeff always getting so close and losing at the last moment. This match felt way faster than seventeen minutes, well done. (***3/4)
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Number Eight
WWE World Title Match
Triple H vs. Randy Orton vs. John Cena
Triple H vs. Randy Orton vs. John Cena
Wrestlemania 24
Randy Orton lays out Triple H with the world title to start the match up. Cena immediately gives Orton a bulldog and unloads on Orton. Cena follows up with a release fisherman’s suplex. Triple H recovers and tosses Cena out of the ring. Triple H then leads Orton to the outside and introduces him the announce table which they brawl all over. Orton dodges a closeline and Triple H dodges and locks in a sleeper. Cena tries to FU both men at once but Triple H slips out and breaks it up. Orton slides in behind Hunter and gives him the reverse back breaker. Orton then gives both men the Rugged Ronnie Garvin stomp at once. He gets a nice knee drop on Cena and gets two. Orton tries the same on Tripper and gets another two count. Good opening.
Orton goes up top but is Caught by Cena, Tripper sneaks in under Cena and lifts him in the electric Chair position, Orton then does a doomsday device style flying cross body, in an impressive spot. Cena rolls through and powers into the FU, Orton counters into a roll up for two. Tripper then kills Cena with a closeline, and Orton kills Trip with a closeline of his own. Orton then gives both Cena and Triple H the hanging DDT in and impressive spot but gets two on both men. Orton then stalks both men ready for the RKO. Cena is up first but Cena shoves Orton off and he lands on Triple H. Cena then scores with the throw back on Orton and the top rope driving leg drop to the back of the head. Orton runs away and Cena chases, Orton sends Cena face first into the ring post in a clever spot.
Back in the ring, Triple H hangs Orton’s knee on the middle rope and then drops a knee drop on it and begins working over the knee of Randy Orton. Cena tries to sneak into the ring but he’s swatted down but Triple H. Hunter is looking proud of himself when out of nowhere Randy pops up with RKO and Tripper bails to the outside. Orton staggers to his feet and Cena pops up with a leg trip and locks in the STFU. Randy is about to tap when Orton stops his hand and puts it on the bottom rope. Tripper then sends Cena into the ring steps and locks Orton in his own Indian death lock. Cena dives in and breaks up the hold. Tripper then takes the Harley Race bump to the outside and Cena locks Orton in a very sloppy looking STFU. Triple H comes back in and can’t break Cena’s hold so instead he powers Cena out of the hold and locks in the Crippler Crossface but Cena manages to make the ropes. Good facial expressions there.
Slugfest between Triple H and John Cena, Cena wins and scores with some flying shoulder tackles, the protoplex and then the five knuckle shuffle. Triple H counters the FU, Cena counters the pedigree and Triple H kicks Hunter off of the STFU. Tripper scores with the face buster, dodges a closeline and then nails the Arn Anderson Spine busters. Tripper sees Orton coming and gives him a chop block. Cena goes for FU but Triple H counters to a Pedigree and gets the 1-2-PUNT OF DEATH and Randy Orton falls on top of Cena for the win.
When I watched that match live it seemed like a letdown, but in hindsight it was just completely overshadowed by the Flair match, which was a total emotional peak in the program and noticeably took the crowd out of the event. In actually fact the match was very slickly executed and had some very creative spots. It was an all action twelve minutes that was incredibly well constructed, of course it felt like it was on fast forward and couldn’t really develop much of a story or any lingering importance but it was one of the most professionally executed matches I’ve seen all year. (***3/4)
Orton goes up top but is Caught by Cena, Tripper sneaks in under Cena and lifts him in the electric Chair position, Orton then does a doomsday device style flying cross body, in an impressive spot. Cena rolls through and powers into the FU, Orton counters into a roll up for two. Tripper then kills Cena with a closeline, and Orton kills Trip with a closeline of his own. Orton then gives both Cena and Triple H the hanging DDT in and impressive spot but gets two on both men. Orton then stalks both men ready for the RKO. Cena is up first but Cena shoves Orton off and he lands on Triple H. Cena then scores with the throw back on Orton and the top rope driving leg drop to the back of the head. Orton runs away and Cena chases, Orton sends Cena face first into the ring post in a clever spot.
Back in the ring, Triple H hangs Orton’s knee on the middle rope and then drops a knee drop on it and begins working over the knee of Randy Orton. Cena tries to sneak into the ring but he’s swatted down but Triple H. Hunter is looking proud of himself when out of nowhere Randy pops up with RKO and Tripper bails to the outside. Orton staggers to his feet and Cena pops up with a leg trip and locks in the STFU. Randy is about to tap when Orton stops his hand and puts it on the bottom rope. Tripper then sends Cena into the ring steps and locks Orton in his own Indian death lock. Cena dives in and breaks up the hold. Tripper then takes the Harley Race bump to the outside and Cena locks Orton in a very sloppy looking STFU. Triple H comes back in and can’t break Cena’s hold so instead he powers Cena out of the hold and locks in the Crippler Crossface but Cena manages to make the ropes. Good facial expressions there.
Slugfest between Triple H and John Cena, Cena wins and scores with some flying shoulder tackles, the protoplex and then the five knuckle shuffle. Triple H counters the FU, Cena counters the pedigree and Triple H kicks Hunter off of the STFU. Tripper scores with the face buster, dodges a closeline and then nails the Arn Anderson Spine busters. Tripper sees Orton coming and gives him a chop block. Cena goes for FU but Triple H counters to a Pedigree and gets the 1-2-PUNT OF DEATH and Randy Orton falls on top of Cena for the win.
When I watched that match live it seemed like a letdown, but in hindsight it was just completely overshadowed by the Flair match, which was a total emotional peak in the program and noticeably took the crowd out of the event. In actually fact the match was very slickly executed and had some very creative spots. It was an all action twelve minutes that was incredibly well constructed, of course it felt like it was on fast forward and couldn’t really develop much of a story or any lingering importance but it was one of the most professionally executed matches I’ve seen all year. (***3/4)
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Number Seven
Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho
Unforgiven
We get a staredown to start the match Jericho looks disapproving. They lock up and break up quickly, Jericho gets a leg trip but Shawn rolls and evades and Jericho tries again but Shawn kicks him off each time. Shawn grabs a headlock takedown, Jericho tries to counter with a knee breaker but Shawn answers with a victory roll they then go to a pin exchange that is much more creative than usual with two nice suplex counters. HBK then locks in his inverted figure four deathlock move. Jericho swings but can’t hit Michaels and crawls his way to the ropes. Very good opening exchange.Shawn bitch slaps Chris Jericho who response by unloading, Shawn hides in the ropes and gives Jericho a cocky smile, very nice touch, playing into the storyline perfectly. Jericho hits hard with a back elbow before blinding charging into a back elbow from HBK and then the upside down hanging arm bar, love that more. HBK follows up with an arm bar and then pounds away at Jericho’s shoulder. Jericho response with a hard Irish whip and draws the HBK sell sending him all the way to the apron. Jericho puts HBK on top but Shawn manages to elbow him all the way down to the mat. Jericho climbs back up and goes for the super plex but HBK blocks and gives him a front suplex off top. Shawn goes for the Picture Perfect Elbow Drop but Jericho gets the knees up and HBK goes into oversell mode on the ribs. Very good build.
Jericho then hits a senton back plash across the ribs and follows it with a back suplex. Jericho then lays in a stiff kick and applies the abdominal stretch, oh Chris why that hold, tut, tut, tut. Thankfully Jericho doesn’t hold it in long and instead turns to a nice gut buster for two. Jericho then hits three hard Irish whips. Jericho goes for the bulldog but Shawn shoves him off sending him into the ropes. HBK then scores with the inverted atomic drop and the flying forearm, however Shawn pops up and his rips hurt allowing Jericho to quickly slap on the Walls of Jericho. Shawn scampers quickly to the ropes. Jericho tries his springboard dropkick to the Apron but Shawn dodges and he levels Jericho with Sweet Chin Music out of nowhere. Michaels pulls Jericho back into the ring and gets a near fall. Brilliant sequence.
Jericho is selling like he’s dead and HBK goes up top and scores with the Picture Perfect Elbow Drop, Shawn sells the ribs hard. Shawn cues up the band and HBK looks for Sweet Chin Music but Jericho crumbles back to the ground, and the crowd ooohh with disappointment. Shawn sets up one for time and yet again Jericho crumbles to the crowds dismay, Shawn lies in wait one more time but this time Jericho charges and nails the Code Breaker for a near fall in a brilliant spot. Jericho pulls Shawn up for a Suplex but Shawn counters to the crippler crossface and Jericho thinks about tapping, Shawn has it locked in tight but Jericho manages to make the ropes.
Shawn tries the hold again but Jericho rolls out of the hold and hits a front suplex onto the top rope. Jericho goes for the lionsault but Shawn gets the knees up, Jericho sees this coming and counters to the Walls of Jericho but Shawn battles and just stops Jericho from locking in the hold and counters to a nice package for the quick 1-2-3.
That finale just left you wanting more but it was a perfect first match up in their rivalry. A big five minutes of counters and near falls would have put this match well above four stars but regardless this match was sublime. This was two true professionals putting on a superbly wrestled and incredibly subtly match with so many little nods to their storyline so far. Tremendous match shame it wasn’t ten minutes longer. (***3/4)
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Number Six
WWE World Title Match
John Cena vs. Triple H
John Cena vs. Triple H
Night Of Champions
There’s a sign on the hard camera that says “Texas Hates Cena” what dudes! Triple H grabs a side headlock, Cena shoots him off but Triple H cockily hits a shoulder tackle. Triple H applies and hammerlock and then switches to a hammerlock, Triple H then blocks a hip toss and counters to one of his own. Cena isn’t happy so Triple H tells him to suck it. Cena looks over the crowd and they chant “you can’t wrestle”. Cena grabs a headlock and won’t let Triple H shoot him off. Cena then hits a shoulder block and then he counters a hip toss with a short arm closeline and he gives Hunter the Marine salute. Cena gets a rugby tackle and then the release fisherman’s suplex. Solid opening.
Cena dodges a closeline and scores with a flying shoulder tackle, Cena tries for another but Triple H dodges and Cena crashes and burns to the outside. Triple H works over Cena on the outside and on the apron. Triple H then hits a back breaker and stands over Cena. Triple H then hits a vertical suplex and a pair of elbow drops to the back. Triple H then follows up with a hard Irish whip. Triple H methodical stalks Cena before hitting another Hard Irish Whip for a near fall. Cena fights back but runs straight into a pair of boots to a round of applause. Triple H comes off top but is met with a raised boot. Sold build.
Cena then explodes with two flying shoulder tackles and the protoplex. Triple H kicks Cena off the Five Knuckle Shuffle and instead scores with the high knee and the face crusher. Triple H stalks Cena and goes for the pedigree but Cena escapes and scores with the throw back. Cena then nails the top rope leg drop and he goes for the STFU but Triple H kicks Cena away. Triple H tries a closeline but Cena counters with the Proto Plex and tries the five knuckle shuffle but this time Triple H catches him with the high knee and the Arn Anderson spinebuster. Triple H goes for the Pedigree but Cena counters with the Hard Irish whip and Tripper does the Harley Race bump and Tripper sells the quad. Very good exchange, nice to see them mix it up.
Triple H just manages to answer the count at nine. Cena allows him no rest and chases him to the outside with a chop block and then a knee breaker on the steel steps. Cena then works over Triple H’s leg repeatedly on the ring post. Cena tries to apply the STFU but Triple H manages to crawl to the ropes. Cena then nails a chop block and Cena again tries the STFU, Triple H battles and kicks Cena off but Cena holds on. Cena locks the leg but Tripper makes the ropes before he can get to the ring ropes. Cena changes strategy and goes to the FU but Triple H wriggles out and scores with the Pedigree. Triple H monster sells the leg and crawls over for a 2.9999!!! Good Stuff.
Both men answer the refs count at nine and Cena scores with a sudden FU for a near fall, the crowd go bananas as Cena crumbles and both men are down. The ref starts another ten count but both men answer the ref at nine. Main Event cartoon slugfest. The crowd are really into this with monster “boo-yeahs”. Triple H wins the slugfest but misses wildly with a haymaker allowing Cena to hit the Protoplex and this time Cena hits the five knuckle shuffle. Cena once again stalks Triple H and its FU time but Triple H hold onto the ropes. Triple H then goes for the Pedigree but Cena counters to the STFU and the crowd and Jerry Lawler go absolutely nuts. Triple H crawls to the ropes so Cena pulls him back to the middle when he tries to reapply the hold Triple H counters to the Cripple Crossface and Cena fades. Cena then powers up into the FU, great counter, Triple H elbows his way out and one final Pedigree ends it.
Slow but dramatically paced match that built and built after a mediocre start to a tremendous finale. I really liked their work outside the ring and Cena going after the quad of Triple H and the counters were tremendous throughout and they really created the feel of a titanic battle of wills with both men struggling and battling for each and every hold. This match is a tribute to just how Cena has come as a worker and equal shows what Triple H can still do when he’s in the mood. (****)
Cena dodges a closeline and scores with a flying shoulder tackle, Cena tries for another but Triple H dodges and Cena crashes and burns to the outside. Triple H works over Cena on the outside and on the apron. Triple H then hits a back breaker and stands over Cena. Triple H then hits a vertical suplex and a pair of elbow drops to the back. Triple H then follows up with a hard Irish whip. Triple H methodical stalks Cena before hitting another Hard Irish Whip for a near fall. Cena fights back but runs straight into a pair of boots to a round of applause. Triple H comes off top but is met with a raised boot. Sold build.
Cena then explodes with two flying shoulder tackles and the protoplex. Triple H kicks Cena off the Five Knuckle Shuffle and instead scores with the high knee and the face crusher. Triple H stalks Cena and goes for the pedigree but Cena escapes and scores with the throw back. Cena then nails the top rope leg drop and he goes for the STFU but Triple H kicks Cena away. Triple H tries a closeline but Cena counters with the Proto Plex and tries the five knuckle shuffle but this time Triple H catches him with the high knee and the Arn Anderson spinebuster. Triple H goes for the Pedigree but Cena counters with the Hard Irish whip and Tripper does the Harley Race bump and Tripper sells the quad. Very good exchange, nice to see them mix it up.
Triple H just manages to answer the count at nine. Cena allows him no rest and chases him to the outside with a chop block and then a knee breaker on the steel steps. Cena then works over Triple H’s leg repeatedly on the ring post. Cena tries to apply the STFU but Triple H manages to crawl to the ropes. Cena then nails a chop block and Cena again tries the STFU, Triple H battles and kicks Cena off but Cena holds on. Cena locks the leg but Tripper makes the ropes before he can get to the ring ropes. Cena changes strategy and goes to the FU but Triple H wriggles out and scores with the Pedigree. Triple H monster sells the leg and crawls over for a 2.9999!!! Good Stuff.
Both men answer the refs count at nine and Cena scores with a sudden FU for a near fall, the crowd go bananas as Cena crumbles and both men are down. The ref starts another ten count but both men answer the ref at nine. Main Event cartoon slugfest. The crowd are really into this with monster “boo-yeahs”. Triple H wins the slugfest but misses wildly with a haymaker allowing Cena to hit the Protoplex and this time Cena hits the five knuckle shuffle. Cena once again stalks Triple H and its FU time but Triple H hold onto the ropes. Triple H then goes for the Pedigree but Cena counters to the STFU and the crowd and Jerry Lawler go absolutely nuts. Triple H crawls to the ropes so Cena pulls him back to the middle when he tries to reapply the hold Triple H counters to the Cripple Crossface and Cena fades. Cena then powers up into the FU, great counter, Triple H elbows his way out and one final Pedigree ends it.
Slow but dramatically paced match that built and built after a mediocre start to a tremendous finale. I really liked their work outside the ring and Cena going after the quad of Triple H and the counters were tremendous throughout and they really created the feel of a titanic battle of wills with both men struggling and battling for each and every hold. This match is a tribute to just how Cena has come as a worker and equal shows what Triple H can still do when he’s in the mood. (****)
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Number Five
Hell In The Cell
Edge vs. Undertaker
Edge vs. Undertaker
Summerslam
The bell rings and Edge is looking cocky, confident and kind of nuts smiling the hold time. Edge unloads on Taker. Taker tosses him into the corner but Edge escapes and then runs right into a big boot. Taker then tosses Edge over the top rope and shoots Edge back first into the steel cage. Undertaker sends Edge face first into the door off the the cage and grates his face. Taker then throws Edge into the steel steps. Taker lays Edge on apron and scores with his apron leg drop. Taker then slides the steps into the ring and sets them up in the corner. Taker gives Edge a hard Irish whip and then a snake eyes onto the steps. Edge sees the big boot coming with a back elbow and throws Taker into the steps. Edge then dropkicks Taker into the ringsteps and then gives him a seated spear into the steps. Edge then nails Taker with the steps and gets two tables. Edge scores with a running closeline on Taker and then sets two tables ontop of each other on the outside. Edge tires to suplex Taker through them but its blocked. Edge then counters a chokeslam with a jaw jacker. Edge then nails Taker nastily in the face with a steel chair. Edge gets another table and cloats Taker with a steel chair in the back. Edge sets up a table in the ring. Edge then gets a ladder make that two ladders. Edge then masacres Taker with a chair shot to the head. Edge lays two chairs on a table and sets up a ladder in the corner. Edge then swats Taker with another chair shot and collapses on the steps. Edge puts Taker on the table and comes off the top of the ladder with a diving chair assisted elbow drop for two! Edge goes for a Con-Chair-to but Taker goes for a Chokeslam and Edge escapes and runs into a big right hand. Taker then big boots Edge off the apron hard into the steel cell. Taker then gets the ringsteps and absolutely kills Edge with the steel steps. Edge escapes a snake eyes and shoots Taker face first into the steel ringpost. Edge then gets a diving spear off a ringsteps sending both men through the side of the cage onto the announce table. That busted Taker's arm open. Both men brawl and Taker introduces Edge to the cell and the announce table. Not one to leave anyone out Undertaker then introduces Edge to the barracade. Taker misses a wild swing with the television monitor and Edge replies with two hard monitor shots of his own. Edge then runs from the SD! announce table onto the RAW announce table and spears Undertaker sending both men crashing through the ECW announce table, great spot. Taker unloads with a big flurry of slugs on Edge. The crowd boo as they return to the sell. Back in the ring Edge runs Taker over with the ladder. Edge then gets his trusty WWE video camera and wallops Taker in the face with it alla Survivor Series and that gets two! Edge attempts the Spear but Undertaker counters with a Chokeslam and that gets two. Taker goes for the last ride but Edge counters with the greco roman low blow. Edge then scores with the Impaler for two! Taker sits up and goes for the Last Ride but Edge slips out the back and scores with the spear for two! Edge goes for a ten punch but Taker counters with a big Last Ride for two! Undertaker sets up the steps and a chair and goes for tombstone but Edge slips out with the Edge-o-matic on the steel steps, ouch, that gets two! The crowd come to life. Edge lugs away at Taker's face and Edge goes for the Old School but Taker crotches Edge and then Chokeslams him off the top rope through two tables! Back in the ring Undertaker scores with a spear on Edge, Taker says now we go to hell and he breaks the televison camera over Edge's head and then gives Edge a brutal Con-Chair-To. Edge's back is bleeding from the table bump and Undetaker finishes it with a Tombstone.
I loved this match. Not their best match together I prefered Mania and Backlash but the pacing and the finish was just superb with Edge getting his cumuppance. It was a slower pace with some dead spots with both men setting up spots but it was just incredibly dramatic. I'm gonna over rate this one slightly and tact on 1/4* for that excellent finish that played into the fueds history. (****)
I loved this match. Not their best match together I prefered Mania and Backlash but the pacing and the finish was just superb with Edge getting his cumuppance. It was a slower pace with some dead spots with both men setting up spots but it was just incredibly dramatic. I'm gonna over rate this one slightly and tact on 1/4* for that excellent finish that played into the fueds history. (****)
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Number Four
WWE World Heavyweight Title Match
Undertaker vs. Edge
Undertaker vs. Edge
Wrestlemania 24
The big menacing stare down starts the match, Taker cuts his throat but Edge comes out slugging in response but Undertaker closelines him down hard. They brawl around the ring before Undertaker brings Edge back in with a jaw jacker. Taker scores with a hard Irish whip and Charges into a boot but Taker recovers with the front flip closeline. Taker goes for the armwrench and rope walk of doom but Edge pulls him off top but Taker counters rolling through into an arm drag. Taker then scores with a driving high knee in the corner sending himself crashing and burning over the top rope. Undertaker crawls back onto the apron but Edge spears him off into the barricade. Again Taker tries to make it back to the ring but Edge nails a baseball slide sending Taker crashing back into the barricade. In a weird spot Edge gives Taker a hanging neck breaker over the top rope and plays to the crowd. Decent if somewhat awkward start.
Undertaker is selling his ribs like mad as he returns to the ring. Edge then scores with the corner spear on Undertaker. Taker fires back with some big slugs and head butts, Taker goes for a body slam but Edge falls on top to kill his momentum. Edge then hits a nice standing dropkick. Edge goes to the top rope but Taker shoves him off the top rope and Edge front flips a crashes and burns. Undertaker then follows up with the best Tope he’s done in years, he hit it plum. Taker lays Edge on the apron and gives Edge a big boot and then his classic apron leg drop that gets two.
Taker goes for the last ride but Edge blocks and responds with a big boot for two. Taker’s back and ribs are slowing him down. Edge takes Undertaker to the outside and back suplexes Undertaker onto the guard rail into the front row, in a creative spot. Edge rolls Taker back into the ring for two. Edge then locks in a half boston crab, the hold is pretty loosely applied and held in for a long while, Taker eventually counters into a cradle for two. Edge then cinches in a deathlock. Taker then manages to kick Edge off. Taker slugs down Edge and unloads, Taker wins the ensuing slugfest and beats the crap out of edge. Taker scores with a couple of Avalanches in the corner, Taker scores with the Russian snake eyes but Edge sees the big boot coming and scores with a dropkick. Edge comes off top but is caught with a chokeslam. Edge escapes but runs right back into another chokeslam attempt but this time Edge counters into the implant DDT. Edge cues up the spear but Taker sees it coming an nails a big boot that sends Edge spinning into a chokeslam that this time lands for a nearfall!
Taker goes for the arm wrench and rope walk again but Edge shakes the rope and crotches him on the top rope. Edge scores with a superplex but it only gets two. Edge unloads on Taker with a ten punch but when Edge players to the crowd Taker goes for the last ride which Edge counters superbly into a neck breaker. Taker sees a back body drop coming and this time scores with an absolutely brutal last ride for a near fall! That was an excellent sequence. Taker goes for the Tombstone but this time Edge counters nicely into the Edge-o-Matic for a near fall. Taker flattens Edge with a big boot and this time manages to score with the arm wrench and rope walk. Taker goes for a big boot but Edge dodges and the ref gets floored. Edge scores with a diving reverse DDT and there’s no ref.
Edge starts talking trash but Taker grabs his throat and Edge comes back and kicks Undertaker in the balls. Edge in a homage to Survivor Series waffles Undertaker with a TV camera. Edge tries to revive the ref but he falls out of the ring, and Edge looks around frantically. Edge goes for a tombstone but Taker counters to a Tombstone of his own. Undertaker goes for the cover and Charles Robinson does an awesome sprint all the way down the ramp for a near fall. Hawkins and Ryder run to ringside and Taker chokeslams Hawkins off the apron onto Ryder in a really cool spot. Taker turns round and is met with a lightening spear which gets 2.777! Edge is amazed and hits a second spear Edge is about to go for the pin when Taker locks in the Triangle Choke and Edge submits bleeding from the mouth.
Well that match started in very low first gear but really picked up and kept getting better and better and told and epic story of Edge and Taker knowing each other so well and having an answer and counter for everything they could at each other. It played excellently into Taker’s undefeated streak and created excellent drama especially with the ref bumps and run ins that they saved for the final match. This match had developed an epic big match feel by the end and really brought the crowd back into the event and gave a satisfyingly epic conclusion to the biggest PPV of the year. (****)
Undertaker is selling his ribs like mad as he returns to the ring. Edge then scores with the corner spear on Undertaker. Taker fires back with some big slugs and head butts, Taker goes for a body slam but Edge falls on top to kill his momentum. Edge then hits a nice standing dropkick. Edge goes to the top rope but Taker shoves him off the top rope and Edge front flips a crashes and burns. Undertaker then follows up with the best Tope he’s done in years, he hit it plum. Taker lays Edge on the apron and gives Edge a big boot and then his classic apron leg drop that gets two.
Taker goes for the last ride but Edge blocks and responds with a big boot for two. Taker’s back and ribs are slowing him down. Edge takes Undertaker to the outside and back suplexes Undertaker onto the guard rail into the front row, in a creative spot. Edge rolls Taker back into the ring for two. Edge then locks in a half boston crab, the hold is pretty loosely applied and held in for a long while, Taker eventually counters into a cradle for two. Edge then cinches in a deathlock. Taker then manages to kick Edge off. Taker slugs down Edge and unloads, Taker wins the ensuing slugfest and beats the crap out of edge. Taker scores with a couple of Avalanches in the corner, Taker scores with the Russian snake eyes but Edge sees the big boot coming and scores with a dropkick. Edge comes off top but is caught with a chokeslam. Edge escapes but runs right back into another chokeslam attempt but this time Edge counters into the implant DDT. Edge cues up the spear but Taker sees it coming an nails a big boot that sends Edge spinning into a chokeslam that this time lands for a nearfall!
Taker goes for the arm wrench and rope walk again but Edge shakes the rope and crotches him on the top rope. Edge scores with a superplex but it only gets two. Edge unloads on Taker with a ten punch but when Edge players to the crowd Taker goes for the last ride which Edge counters superbly into a neck breaker. Taker sees a back body drop coming and this time scores with an absolutely brutal last ride for a near fall! That was an excellent sequence. Taker goes for the Tombstone but this time Edge counters nicely into the Edge-o-Matic for a near fall. Taker flattens Edge with a big boot and this time manages to score with the arm wrench and rope walk. Taker goes for a big boot but Edge dodges and the ref gets floored. Edge scores with a diving reverse DDT and there’s no ref.
Edge starts talking trash but Taker grabs his throat and Edge comes back and kicks Undertaker in the balls. Edge in a homage to Survivor Series waffles Undertaker with a TV camera. Edge tries to revive the ref but he falls out of the ring, and Edge looks around frantically. Edge goes for a tombstone but Taker counters to a Tombstone of his own. Undertaker goes for the cover and Charles Robinson does an awesome sprint all the way down the ramp for a near fall. Hawkins and Ryder run to ringside and Taker chokeslams Hawkins off the apron onto Ryder in a really cool spot. Taker turns round and is met with a lightening spear which gets 2.777! Edge is amazed and hits a second spear Edge is about to go for the pin when Taker locks in the Triangle Choke and Edge submits bleeding from the mouth.
Well that match started in very low first gear but really picked up and kept getting better and better and told and epic story of Edge and Taker knowing each other so well and having an answer and counter for everything they could at each other. It played excellently into Taker’s undefeated streak and created excellent drama especially with the ref bumps and run ins that they saved for the final match. This match had developed an epic big match feel by the end and really brought the crowd back into the event and gave a satisfyingly epic conclusion to the biggest PPV of the year. (****)
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Number Three
WWE World Heavyweight Title
Ladder Match
Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho
Ladder Match
Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho
No Mercy
They lock up and Shawn grabs a side headlock, Jericho counters to a hammerlock but HBK elbows out and hits a shoulder tackle. HBK floats over Jericho and goes for Sweet Chin Music but Jericho bails. Jericho sneaks back in and attacks Shawn sending HBK hard shoulder first into the ring post. Jericho dodges a big closeline and floors Michaels. Jericho then gets the springboard shoulder block over the top rope to the apron. Jericho introduces HBK to the ring apron and then whips him into the ladder but Shawn scuttles up it and dives off with a flying crossbody. Jericho Irish whips Shawn into the ringpost and then charges with the ladder but HBK uses a droptoe hold to send Jericho crashing into the ladder. Jericho then recovers and applies the Walls of Jericho on the outside. Jericho tries to pull the ladder into the ring but gets killed by the see saw spot. Nice opening.
Shawn sets up the ladder and climbs but Jericho tries to powerbomb him off the ladder, Shawn counters to a victory roll but Jericho rolls through into a catapult but Shawn lands on the ladder and climbs fast but Jericho shoves the ladder over and Shawn crashes and burns on the top rope. Jericho then hits Shawn in the ribs with the ladder and throws it on top of Shawn. Jericho sets up a smaller ladder in the corner and Shawn gets whipped hard into the other corner drawing the HBK flip. Jericho goes for a bulldog but Shawn shoves him off and he lands with his leg tangled in the ladder. Shawn then shoves the ladder over in a nasty looking but safe spot. Shawn shoves the ladder over on Jericho’s leg and then hits a nice Knee breaker on the ladder. HBK locks in the Figure four to a chorus of wooohs but Jericho turns it over and kicks the ladder so it brutalizes Shawn’s face, awesome sequence. Jericho then catapults HBK into the ladder stuck in the bottom ropes. Shawn is selling his bad eye. Jericho then rams Shawn’s face in the ladder and then brutally slams the ladder on HBK’s face, OUCH! So far so good.
Jericho climbs the ladder, Shawn shoves it over but Jericho lands on his feet. Jericho sets up the ladder in the corner on the turnbuckle and HBK reverses a whip and launches Jericho ontop of the ladder. The crowd are willing Shawn on and instead of climbing he lifts the ladder above his head and throws it on Chris Jericho. Shawn gets the big ladder and sets it up outside. Shawn gets the smaller ladder and smashes Jericho with it several times. Shawn lays Jericho on the announce table and punches him a few times. Shawn climbs the ladder but Jericho recovers and back suplexes Shawn off the ladder through the table, the crowd chant “holy shit”. Nice spot to end a good sequence. Both men are destroyed and slowly return to the ring. Shawn sets up a ladder rider spot but Jericho was playing possum and dropkicks the ladder into HBK’s face crotching him. Shawn climbs the ladder for a ten punch and goes for a super plex but Shawn shoves him off and he crashes and burns with the ladder. HBK then hits the picture perfect elbow drop but Jericho uses the ladder for defence and both men are selling like mad. Shawn cues up the band but as Shawn goes to Strike Jericho absolutely murders HBK with the ladder, that was brutal. Excellent stuff.
Jericho lays the ladder across Shawn’s chest and then scores with the lion sault. Jericho pins HBK under the ladder and mocks Shawn. Jericho climbs to the top of the ladder and reaches for the belt and in perfect timing Shawn pushes the ladder just then and Jericho takes a painful looking feet first bump the outside. Huge “HBK” chant as Shawn makes his way to the top of the ladder Jericho just shoves the ladder over and HBK leg gets tangled up in the ropes, their timing has been superb tonight. Jericho and Michaels brawl atop the ladder. Both men land a big punch and Shawn slips down a bit and Jericho gets hung upside down with his leg in the ladder. Cade runs out to hold Michaels, Shawn dives off the ladder to kill Cade and a Sweet Chin Music kills Cade. Shawn runs up the ladder just in time to stop Jericho. Jericho unties the belt and both men are having a tug of war with the title. Jericho leans back but can’t break HBK’s grip. Shawn gives it one big tug that pulls Jericho straight into HBK for a big accidently headbutt, Shawn falls backwards off the ladder, Jericho falls off a second later with the belt. Jericho covered in blood from that collision poses demonically.
Brilliant, Brilliant match, perfectly executed for the vast majority. This match was a refreshing change from the contrived, stuntman, gymnast spotfests WWE has been having lately and stood out especially next to the Edge-Taker TLC because every time it looked as though they were doing an retardedly set up spot the opposite would happen and the heel would see it coming. The match told a brilliant story with the brutal ladder shots to the face and leg. This was a brutal war and they cut out most of the usual standing around time with brutal shots and punches. The drama at the end was superbly orchestrated and high kudos to both Shawn and Chris for absolutely nailing there timing with the dramatic last minute saves, doing things at the last possible moment without loads of silly standing around. The finish was brilliant and completely refreshing its always great when you see something new but undoubtedly the best thing about this match was its all action nature with no standing and around and none of the completely unrealistic setting up of over cute stunts. Top Notch stuff the most believable ladder match in years. (****1/4)
Shawn sets up the ladder and climbs but Jericho tries to powerbomb him off the ladder, Shawn counters to a victory roll but Jericho rolls through into a catapult but Shawn lands on the ladder and climbs fast but Jericho shoves the ladder over and Shawn crashes and burns on the top rope. Jericho then hits Shawn in the ribs with the ladder and throws it on top of Shawn. Jericho sets up a smaller ladder in the corner and Shawn gets whipped hard into the other corner drawing the HBK flip. Jericho goes for a bulldog but Shawn shoves him off and he lands with his leg tangled in the ladder. Shawn then shoves the ladder over in a nasty looking but safe spot. Shawn shoves the ladder over on Jericho’s leg and then hits a nice Knee breaker on the ladder. HBK locks in the Figure four to a chorus of wooohs but Jericho turns it over and kicks the ladder so it brutalizes Shawn’s face, awesome sequence. Jericho then catapults HBK into the ladder stuck in the bottom ropes. Shawn is selling his bad eye. Jericho then rams Shawn’s face in the ladder and then brutally slams the ladder on HBK’s face, OUCH! So far so good.
Jericho climbs the ladder, Shawn shoves it over but Jericho lands on his feet. Jericho sets up the ladder in the corner on the turnbuckle and HBK reverses a whip and launches Jericho ontop of the ladder. The crowd are willing Shawn on and instead of climbing he lifts the ladder above his head and throws it on Chris Jericho. Shawn gets the big ladder and sets it up outside. Shawn gets the smaller ladder and smashes Jericho with it several times. Shawn lays Jericho on the announce table and punches him a few times. Shawn climbs the ladder but Jericho recovers and back suplexes Shawn off the ladder through the table, the crowd chant “holy shit”. Nice spot to end a good sequence. Both men are destroyed and slowly return to the ring. Shawn sets up a ladder rider spot but Jericho was playing possum and dropkicks the ladder into HBK’s face crotching him. Shawn climbs the ladder for a ten punch and goes for a super plex but Shawn shoves him off and he crashes and burns with the ladder. HBK then hits the picture perfect elbow drop but Jericho uses the ladder for defence and both men are selling like mad. Shawn cues up the band but as Shawn goes to Strike Jericho absolutely murders HBK with the ladder, that was brutal. Excellent stuff.
Jericho lays the ladder across Shawn’s chest and then scores with the lion sault. Jericho pins HBK under the ladder and mocks Shawn. Jericho climbs to the top of the ladder and reaches for the belt and in perfect timing Shawn pushes the ladder just then and Jericho takes a painful looking feet first bump the outside. Huge “HBK” chant as Shawn makes his way to the top of the ladder Jericho just shoves the ladder over and HBK leg gets tangled up in the ropes, their timing has been superb tonight. Jericho and Michaels brawl atop the ladder. Both men land a big punch and Shawn slips down a bit and Jericho gets hung upside down with his leg in the ladder. Cade runs out to hold Michaels, Shawn dives off the ladder to kill Cade and a Sweet Chin Music kills Cade. Shawn runs up the ladder just in time to stop Jericho. Jericho unties the belt and both men are having a tug of war with the title. Jericho leans back but can’t break HBK’s grip. Shawn gives it one big tug that pulls Jericho straight into HBK for a big accidently headbutt, Shawn falls backwards off the ladder, Jericho falls off a second later with the belt. Jericho covered in blood from that collision poses demonically.
Brilliant, Brilliant match, perfectly executed for the vast majority. This match was a refreshing change from the contrived, stuntman, gymnast spotfests WWE has been having lately and stood out especially next to the Edge-Taker TLC because every time it looked as though they were doing an retardedly set up spot the opposite would happen and the heel would see it coming. The match told a brilliant story with the brutal ladder shots to the face and leg. This was a brutal war and they cut out most of the usual standing around time with brutal shots and punches. The drama at the end was superbly orchestrated and high kudos to both Shawn and Chris for absolutely nailing there timing with the dramatic last minute saves, doing things at the last possible moment without loads of silly standing around. The finish was brilliant and completely refreshing its always great when you see something new but undoubtedly the best thing about this match was its all action nature with no standing and around and none of the completely unrealistic setting up of over cute stunts. Top Notch stuff the most believable ladder match in years. (****1/4)
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The Runner Up:
The Royal Rumble Match
Royal Rumble
Entrant Number One is The Undertaker, Entrant Number Two is Shawn Michaels. That’s a nice if highly improbable way to start the royal rumble as these two put on a real show in the final few moments of last year’s match. Taker squares up and Shawn dodges his strikes. Taker gets a hard Irish whip drawing the HBK flip and Taker lifts and choke tosses Shawn into the corner and unloads. Taker whips Shawn to the other corner and he bumps on the top rope. Taker punts the prone Shawn and lands crotched. Taker misses a boot and ends up strung out on top. Shawn charges but he’s caught by a choke, HBK escapes the chokeslam attempt but runs straight into a big boot, great opening exchange. Entrant Number Three is Santino Marella. He backs off of Undertaker and muscle poses in Shawn’s direction but HBK kills him with sweet chin music and Taker tosses Santino. Santino Marrella is Eliminated. Shawn tries to eliminated Taker while he’s distract but Taker pounds Shawn down. Taker goes for an Arm Wrench and rope walk but Shawn arm drags him off top. HBK gets an inverted atomic drop and flying forearm but he kips up and is met with chokeslam. Entrant Number Four is The Great Khali. Khali strolls to the ring and kills Taker with the Khali chop. HUGE “you can’t wrestle” chant. Khali chokes Undertaker but Taker returns the favour. Khali misses a giant chop and Undertaker uses his momentum to dump him. The Great Khali is Eliminated. Entrant Number Five is Hardcore Holy. Undertaker goes for a last ride but HBK manages to counter and escape. Holly pounds down both men before Taker kills him with a big boot. Taker has HBK on his shoulders but Michaels manages to hold onto the ropes and avoid elimination. HBK unloads with chops on Holly. Entrant Number Six is John Morrison. Morrison is scared of Taker and gets ping ponged around by Shawn and Taker before they toss him but John manages to flip back in under the bottom rope in nice style. HBK then scores with a body slam on Morrison and the picture perfect elbow drop. Shawn cues up the band and then in an excellent exchange Morrison catches his foot and spins HBK into a brutal spinning enzenguri. Entrant Number Seven is Tommy Dreamer. Being MSG Tommy gets a big pop and an “ECW” chant. Tommy turns everyone inside out with closelines before Undertaker slugs him down. HBK tries to suplex Morrison out but he lands on the apron and scores with a nice jaw jacker. This is execellent stuff so far. Entrant Number Eight is Batista. They cleverly cleared the ring so Batista got a big entrance. Batista clears out the ring with closelines and back body drops. Taker and Batista have their epic stand of but before they can collided Tommy Dream attacks and he is quickly tossed. Tommy Dreamer is Eliminated. Taker tries to closeline Batista out but he hangs on. Batista then absolutely kills Morrison with a spear. Taker manages to take Batista down adn chokes him with his boot. Entrant Number Nine is Hornswaggle. He looks fired up until he sees Undertaker then he scurries under the ring. Batista uses the distraction to spear Undertaker. Hardcore Holly hits John Morrison with a vertical suplex. HBK charges but is met with a back body drop and Holly then nearly closelines HBK out but he hangs on. Entrant Number Ten is Chuck Palumbo. Taker nearly tosses Morrison but he manages to hang onto the ropes. Morrison applies a unique choke on HBK in the corner. Entrant Number Eleven is Jamie Noble. Noble kicks the crap out of Chuck Palumbo before he’s powered onto the apron, and big booted out. Jamie Noble is Eliminated. Morrison floats over HBK and then hits a shoulderblock but is then nearly tossed. Entrant Number Twelve is CM Punk. Punk kills everyone with running knees in the corner. Punk escapes a chokeslam, and charges HBK with a knee in the corner he goes for the bulldog but Taker breaks it up with a closeline. Punk tosses Palumbo onto the apron and then eliminates him with a running high knee. Punk suplexes HBK onto the apron and nearly eliminates Shawn. Chuck palumbo is Eliminated. Entrant Number Thirteen is Cody Rhodes. Cody Rhodes runs into and back suplexes John Morrison. Undertaker tries to choke slam Cody but he takes down Taker with a standing dropkick. Taker then gives Cody a hard Irish whip. Entrant Number Fourteen is Umaga. Umaga slugs the crap out of everyone and then no sells all of Holly’s offence before closelining him out. Hardcore Holly is Eliminated. Umaga then gives Batiista the arse thump of doom. Cody Rhodes back body drops HBK over the top but he manages to land on the apron. Entrant Number Fifteen is Snitsky. Snitsky slugs down Cody and Morrison and then preceeds to stomp the crap out of Snitsky. Cody dives over Snitsky back and nearly manages to eliminate him. Entrant Number Sixteen is The Miz. The Miz runs in and saves Morrison from a Go 2 Sleep and they try to eliminate Punk. Taker tries to toss Umaga but he manages to hold on. Miz gets his patternted corner closeline on CM Punk and they all brawl on top. Entrant Number Seventeen is Shelton Benjamin. Shelton jumps to the top rope and bulldogs both Miz and Morrison and the gives CM Punk the pay dirt but then in an impressive bump HBK superkicks Shelton over the top rope. Shelton Benjamin is Eliminated. Entrant Number Eighteen is Superfly Jimmy Snuka. Snuka slugs down Morrison, big “Superfly” chant. Snuka unloads on Taker with big head butts and gets the karate chops on Miz and Morrison. Entrant Number Nineteen is Roddy Piper. Piper plays to the crowd and we then inevitably get the showdown between Piper. Snuka no sells Piper’s offence and unloads, Piper comes back with the eye poke and Piper flurry, that was a really nice touch. Entrant Number Twenty is Kane. Kane immediately tosses both Piper and Snuka. Piper and Snuka are eliminated. Kane then chokeslams the Miz. Taker teed up a choke slam on Kane but instead went for Shawn but Umaga made the save. Entrant Number Twenty One is Carlito. He spits apple at Cody Rhodes and then cleans house. Carlito tries a springboard move but is caught and Carlito back flips out and scores with a Back Stabber. Cody Rhodes bulldogs Carlito down. Entrant number Twenty Two is Mick Foley. Foley cleans house to a huge “Foley” chant. Taker hits a choke bomb, Umaga scores with a samoan drop and Foley takes down Snitsky with a double arm DDT. Morrison comes off the second rope with a spinning enzenguri, wow the action just won’t stop. Entrant Number Twenty Three is Mr. Kennedy. Kennedy gives Cody Rhodes a face wash and then its mic checks for both CM Punk and the Miz. The Undertaker tries to sit up but Kennedy stomps him down, Taker is pissed and chokeslams Kennedy. Undertaker floors everyone with lefts and rights. Entrant Number Twenty Four is Big Daddy V. During V’s entrance Taker eliminated Snitksy, Shawn then superkick Taker over the top rope, they then faced off and Kennedy sneaked in and tossed HBK. Snitsky, Taker and HBK are eliminated. Undertaker then legdrops Snitsky through an announce table. Then in a funny moment as HBK is running to the back he runs right into a Camera man. Cody Rhodes Skins the cat and tries to Head Scissor Kennedy out but they both manage to hang on Entrant Number Twenty Five is Mark Henry. Henry kills Mr. Kennedy while Hornswaggle appears from under the ring to eliminate the Miz. The Miz is Eliminated. Entrant Number Twenty Six is Chavo Guerrero. Chavo and CM Punk both brawl widly. Kane back body drops Morrison onto the apron and then boots Morrison off the apron. John Morrison is Eliminated. Batista charges Mark Henry and Kane big boots down Punk. Mark Henry pulls Hornswaggle into the ring and Finley runs to the back and beats the crap out of Mark Henry and Big Daddy V with the Shellialey and he escorts Hornswaggle to the back. Entrant Number Twenty Seven is Finley. Finley and Hornswaggle are disqualified. Entrant Number 28 is Elijah Burke. Batista is on the outside and the commentators aren’t sure if he’s eliminated or not. Punk presses Chavo onto the apron who headscissors CM Punk to the outside. CM Punk is eliminated. It turns out Batista went under the bottom rope after a Samoan Spike. Entrant Number Twenty Nine is Triple H. Tripper kills everyone and knocks Cody flying over the top rope. Cody Rhodes is Eliminated. Its a facebuster for Big Dadddy V and Tripper then tosses him. Big Daddy V is Eliminated. Its a face buster for Umaga next, then Tripper eyes Foley and then in another nice touch they brawl to a big pop from the crowd, has it really been eight years? Anyway Tripper throws Foley into Burke and they tumble over the top rope. Elijah Burke and Mick Foley are eliminated. Triple H works over Umaga, Umaga misses a Stinger Splash and he’s introduced to the steel ringpost twice as the Game hits a pedigree on Umaga. Entrant Number Thirty is John Cena in your giant HOLY SHIT MOMENT of the year, the reaction of sheer surprise from the crowd is absolutely stunning even on a second viewing. Cena gives Mark Henry a flying shoulder tackle and then tosses Chavo, Carlito and Mark Henry. Chavo, Carlito and Mark Henry are Eliminated. We then get the epic stare down between Cena and Triple H with the Wrestlemania logo in the back ground. Cena wins the slug fest but runs right into a spinebuster and the crowd are going absolutely nuts. Umaga breaks up the battle and is about to hit the Samoan Spike when out of absolutely nowhere Batista dives in with a spear to save the day. Batista then explodes and closelines Kennedy over the top rope. Mr. Kennedy is eliminated. Batista then lines up and closelines Umaga up and over and out. Umaga is Eliminated.
Final Four: Triple H, John Cena, Batista and Kane. Kane tries a double chokeslam on Tripper and Batista but instead gets tossed. Kane is eliminated. We have a three way stand of and the crowd is going absolutely apeshit. Batista says there going down and Cena tells them both that they can’t see him and Hunter tells everyone to suck it before the big brawl begins. Batista gets a back elbow on Cena and then a running elbow in the corner on Triple H. Batista then explodes of the ropes with a double closeline. Cena charges Batista but is killed with a spinebuster, Triple H tries a pedigree but Batista counters into the spinebuster. Batista goes for the Batista Bomb but Cena back body drops him and Triple H closelines Batista over and out. Batista is Eliminated. Triple H points to the wrestlemania sign and John Cena reminds him that last time around at wrestlemania Triple H tapped out. The crowd are just going nuts throughout. We get the “boo-Yeah” slugfest. Cena dodges a haymaker and scores with the Protoplex and he goes for the Five Knuckle Shuffle, that was a bit contrived in a Royal Rumble. Cena goes for the FU but Triple H escapes, Cena dodges the Pedigree and we get the double closeline spot and the crowd is just in the palm of their hands. Tripper runs into a big boot and Cena tries to FU Hunter over the top rope but Triple H escapes and scores with a DDT. Triple H again avoids the FU and goes for the Pedigree but John Cena counters and gives Triple H a huge FU out of the ring to a massive POP!
That was a absolutely tremendous Rumble. I enjoyed it at the time but on a second viewing it held up excellent, it had a tremendously dramatic ending with the big surprise appearance of Cena and the big show down with Triple H. The opening of the Rumble was just as excellent with Undertaker and HBK carrying the match and telling a compelling story. The middle portion wasn’t as good but was still of a high standard with the younger more athletic wrestles creating movement and an action packed feel. Furthermore the fun nods to the older fans were excellent with the Snuka-Piper and Foley-Hunter showdowns. Another excellent Rumble tipped over the edge by a frenzied MSG crowd. (****1/2)
Final Four: Triple H, John Cena, Batista and Kane. Kane tries a double chokeslam on Tripper and Batista but instead gets tossed. Kane is eliminated. We have a three way stand of and the crowd is going absolutely apeshit. Batista says there going down and Cena tells them both that they can’t see him and Hunter tells everyone to suck it before the big brawl begins. Batista gets a back elbow on Cena and then a running elbow in the corner on Triple H. Batista then explodes of the ropes with a double closeline. Cena charges Batista but is killed with a spinebuster, Triple H tries a pedigree but Batista counters into the spinebuster. Batista goes for the Batista Bomb but Cena back body drops him and Triple H closelines Batista over and out. Batista is Eliminated. Triple H points to the wrestlemania sign and John Cena reminds him that last time around at wrestlemania Triple H tapped out. The crowd are just going nuts throughout. We get the “boo-Yeah” slugfest. Cena dodges a haymaker and scores with the Protoplex and he goes for the Five Knuckle Shuffle, that was a bit contrived in a Royal Rumble. Cena goes for the FU but Triple H escapes, Cena dodges the Pedigree and we get the double closeline spot and the crowd is just in the palm of their hands. Tripper runs into a big boot and Cena tries to FU Hunter over the top rope but Triple H escapes and scores with a DDT. Triple H again avoids the FU and goes for the Pedigree but John Cena counters and gives Triple H a huge FU out of the ring to a massive POP!
That was a absolutely tremendous Rumble. I enjoyed it at the time but on a second viewing it held up excellent, it had a tremendously dramatic ending with the big surprise appearance of Cena and the big show down with Triple H. The opening of the Rumble was just as excellent with Undertaker and HBK carrying the match and telling a compelling story. The middle portion wasn’t as good but was still of a high standard with the younger more athletic wrestles creating movement and an action packed feel. Furthermore the fun nods to the older fans were excellent with the Snuka-Piper and Foley-Hunter showdowns. Another excellent Rumble tipped over the edge by a frenzied MSG crowd. (****1/2)
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THE MATCH OF THE YEAR
Career Threatening Match
Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair
Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair
Wrestlemania 24
The video packages and ring entrances are just picture perfect. The Flair family are ringside and there are Woooooo signs and Flair Forever style signs all around the ring. Ric’s Family are crying already.
The crowd wooh! to start the match. Ric does the fake handshake to start the match and struts. HBK is shot off into the ropes and gets a shoulder tackle. Ric then spins out of a headlock into a hammerlock, Shawn and Ric then trade counters. Ric gets the leg trip takedown and goes for a headlock but Shawn scrambles out. Ric grabs another hammerlock but Shawn elbows out only to run into a hip toss and its styling and profiling time. Shawn takes Ric into the corner and chops him hard and shouts “Old Yellow Huh?”, Shawn winds up and monster bitch slap and bust Flair’s flip. Flair says “First blood punk”. Ric and Shawn then exchange brutal chops in the corner. Shawn gets a hard Irish whip but Ric sees the back body drop coming and kicks Shawn away. Ric gets a back elbow and then the Flair knee drop. Ric runs right into an elbow and is then press slammed off the top rope, in a nice nod to Flair. Ric goes up top, fights off Shawn and scores with the flying cross body for a near fall. Ric goes for the figure four but is kicked off to the outside. HBK follows up with a baseball slide and goes for the Asai moonsault but Ric dodges and Shawn crashes and burns absolutely killing himself on the announce table. Great sequence.
Ric returns to the ring and Shawn answers the count at six. Ric then hits a pair of hard Irish whips and a back suplex for two. Ric punches Shawn under the arm and then scores with the butterfly side suplex for two. Ric then stomps down on the Back of HBK, Ric throws a couple of chops and then scores with a hanging vertical suplex, wow didn’t think he had that in him, that got two. Shawn begins to fire back with chops of his own, Ric goes for a back body drop but Shawn sees it coming and scores with a swinging neck breaker. Then in a stunning spot Ric takes a full back body drop, head over heels and hits hard on the outside. Shawn then follows up with a Moonsault press to the outside. Both men answer the count at nine.
Both men trade chops, Shawn wins but Ric reverses and Irish whip only to be met with the flying forearm. HBK kips up and gives Flair two atomic drops and a body slam before heading up top for the Picture Perfect Elbow Drop. Shawn cues up the band and the crowd boo. Shawn hesitates and Ric gets the double leg takedown and locks in the Figure Four Leg Lock and the crowd go nuts. Shawn manages to reverse the hold and Ric has to break the hold. Both men are hoppling and a chop battle ensues. They go to a headlock takedown pin sequence and trade pins. Shawn can’t bridge up so they call an Audible and Ric goes for a knee breaker which Shawn rolls through into a sunset flip for two. Ric comes back with a hard Irish whip drawing the HBK flip and Ric murders HBK with a chop block and goes for the Figure Four, Shawn counters to the Ricky Steamboat inside cradle for two. Ric catches Shawn’s foot and Shawn goes for an enzenguri but Flair dodges and goes for the Figure Four and locks it in. The crowd are going ape shit they think this is it. Ric gets a two count and Shawn edges toward the ropes but Flair pulls him back to the centre of the ring. Shawn tries to roll it over but Flair rolls through, and finally HBK makes the ropes to a big round of boos, excellent sequence.
Ric starts kicking the crap out of Shawn’s leg and starts styling and profiling but as he turns he’s absolutely murdered by the Sweet Chin Music. Shawn crawls over and gets a 2.999999! That was a brutal kick. Shawn cues up the band yet again and tells Ric to get up. Shawn cues up the band again but Ric won’t get up. Shawn goes over to pick him up and Ric gets his classic mule kick low blow for a near fall. The crowd are totally into all the near falls. Shawn pops up out of nowhere and then cinches in the Inverted Figure Four leglock but Ric scrambles and makes the ropes. Ric pulls the turn buckle off and when the ref is distract he gets the thumb to the eye. Ric gets the big leverage pin with the tights for a near fall. Ric and Shawn trade chops on their knees and then make it to their feet. Ric begins to win the chop battle and HBK levels him with the Sweet Chin Music from out of nowhere. That hit him right in the nose. Shawn looks full of regret and slides his way up to the corner. Shawn has to think about cueing up the band. Ric tells him to bring it on and HBK says “I’m sorry, I love you” then nails him with the superkick for the 1-2-3.
He immediately embraces Ric and walks to the back. Ric recovers in the ring in tears on his knees as the crowd Woo and give him a standing ovation. Ric’s family are in tears in the front row, especially Reid. Ric blows kisses to the crowd before going to embrace his family and J.R does a very nice subtly job of commentary. About four different thank you Ric chants start at once. Ric does the long walk up the ramp and soaks in the cheers as the WWE Cameramen get some awesome shots. Ric in tears waves to the crowd one last time in tears and blows kisses and we see shots of tearful fans.
Well in what is for the most part a scummy detestable industry this was a moment of utter class. Of course if I were to do a detailed critique there was the botched bridge and some clunky moments early on but none of this matter because both men gave it their all and put together not just some great spots but a great story. That is of course what wrestling does best, and the psychology and storytelling were perfect. The match built to a awesome crescendo not just in terms of in ring action but drew the perfect emotional crescendo that had half the crowd in tears. The perfect finale to the greatest career the “sport” has ever seen. A moment like this will not seen again for many a year, its perhaps the greatest tribute to Flair that after more than twenty years being the biggest single torn in the WWE side, Vince McMahon gave him the greatest send off on the biggest stage of all time. As much as he schemes Hulk Hogan cannot buy a moment as genuine and classy as this. (****3/4)
The crowd wooh! to start the match. Ric does the fake handshake to start the match and struts. HBK is shot off into the ropes and gets a shoulder tackle. Ric then spins out of a headlock into a hammerlock, Shawn and Ric then trade counters. Ric gets the leg trip takedown and goes for a headlock but Shawn scrambles out. Ric grabs another hammerlock but Shawn elbows out only to run into a hip toss and its styling and profiling time. Shawn takes Ric into the corner and chops him hard and shouts “Old Yellow Huh?”, Shawn winds up and monster bitch slap and bust Flair’s flip. Flair says “First blood punk”. Ric and Shawn then exchange brutal chops in the corner. Shawn gets a hard Irish whip but Ric sees the back body drop coming and kicks Shawn away. Ric gets a back elbow and then the Flair knee drop. Ric runs right into an elbow and is then press slammed off the top rope, in a nice nod to Flair. Ric goes up top, fights off Shawn and scores with the flying cross body for a near fall. Ric goes for the figure four but is kicked off to the outside. HBK follows up with a baseball slide and goes for the Asai moonsault but Ric dodges and Shawn crashes and burns absolutely killing himself on the announce table. Great sequence.
Ric returns to the ring and Shawn answers the count at six. Ric then hits a pair of hard Irish whips and a back suplex for two. Ric punches Shawn under the arm and then scores with the butterfly side suplex for two. Ric then stomps down on the Back of HBK, Ric throws a couple of chops and then scores with a hanging vertical suplex, wow didn’t think he had that in him, that got two. Shawn begins to fire back with chops of his own, Ric goes for a back body drop but Shawn sees it coming and scores with a swinging neck breaker. Then in a stunning spot Ric takes a full back body drop, head over heels and hits hard on the outside. Shawn then follows up with a Moonsault press to the outside. Both men answer the count at nine.
Both men trade chops, Shawn wins but Ric reverses and Irish whip only to be met with the flying forearm. HBK kips up and gives Flair two atomic drops and a body slam before heading up top for the Picture Perfect Elbow Drop. Shawn cues up the band and the crowd boo. Shawn hesitates and Ric gets the double leg takedown and locks in the Figure Four Leg Lock and the crowd go nuts. Shawn manages to reverse the hold and Ric has to break the hold. Both men are hoppling and a chop battle ensues. They go to a headlock takedown pin sequence and trade pins. Shawn can’t bridge up so they call an Audible and Ric goes for a knee breaker which Shawn rolls through into a sunset flip for two. Ric comes back with a hard Irish whip drawing the HBK flip and Ric murders HBK with a chop block and goes for the Figure Four, Shawn counters to the Ricky Steamboat inside cradle for two. Ric catches Shawn’s foot and Shawn goes for an enzenguri but Flair dodges and goes for the Figure Four and locks it in. The crowd are going ape shit they think this is it. Ric gets a two count and Shawn edges toward the ropes but Flair pulls him back to the centre of the ring. Shawn tries to roll it over but Flair rolls through, and finally HBK makes the ropes to a big round of boos, excellent sequence.
Ric starts kicking the crap out of Shawn’s leg and starts styling and profiling but as he turns he’s absolutely murdered by the Sweet Chin Music. Shawn crawls over and gets a 2.999999! That was a brutal kick. Shawn cues up the band yet again and tells Ric to get up. Shawn cues up the band again but Ric won’t get up. Shawn goes over to pick him up and Ric gets his classic mule kick low blow for a near fall. The crowd are totally into all the near falls. Shawn pops up out of nowhere and then cinches in the Inverted Figure Four leglock but Ric scrambles and makes the ropes. Ric pulls the turn buckle off and when the ref is distract he gets the thumb to the eye. Ric gets the big leverage pin with the tights for a near fall. Ric and Shawn trade chops on their knees and then make it to their feet. Ric begins to win the chop battle and HBK levels him with the Sweet Chin Music from out of nowhere. That hit him right in the nose. Shawn looks full of regret and slides his way up to the corner. Shawn has to think about cueing up the band. Ric tells him to bring it on and HBK says “I’m sorry, I love you” then nails him with the superkick for the 1-2-3.
He immediately embraces Ric and walks to the back. Ric recovers in the ring in tears on his knees as the crowd Woo and give him a standing ovation. Ric’s family are in tears in the front row, especially Reid. Ric blows kisses to the crowd before going to embrace his family and J.R does a very nice subtly job of commentary. About four different thank you Ric chants start at once. Ric does the long walk up the ramp and soaks in the cheers as the WWE Cameramen get some awesome shots. Ric in tears waves to the crowd one last time in tears and blows kisses and we see shots of tearful fans.
Well in what is for the most part a scummy detestable industry this was a moment of utter class. Of course if I were to do a detailed critique there was the botched bridge and some clunky moments early on but none of this matter because both men gave it their all and put together not just some great spots but a great story. That is of course what wrestling does best, and the psychology and storytelling were perfect. The match built to a awesome crescendo not just in terms of in ring action but drew the perfect emotional crescendo that had half the crowd in tears. The perfect finale to the greatest career the “sport” has ever seen. A moment like this will not seen again for many a year, its perhaps the greatest tribute to Flair that after more than twenty years being the biggest single torn in the WWE side, Vince McMahon gave him the greatest send off on the biggest stage of all time. As much as he schemes Hulk Hogan cannot buy a moment as genuine and classy as this. (****3/4)
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Yes I went for the obvious candidate, but this match deserves all the recognition its getting a classy moment to savour before we returned to all the drugs, suicide and bullshit.
