Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

Kofi picked up the win with the trouble in paradise on William Regal. This was a fun opener with lots of athelticism and athletic spots, especially from Kofi who was booked to be the star of the show. However the action was very interchangable and rather forgetable but that's par for the course with multiple man matches. (*3/4)

Really good match, I'd have to give this a second watch and a proper review later on, possibly in a match of the month thread. I really felt the no DQ stipulation took away from the match as the first minutes were spent plodding around on the outside which didn't play to either Rey or Jericho's strenghts, although credit to Jericho he threw himself at the ring steps and ring post with great fervour. When the action got in the ring the actions was very crisp and very inventive with some nice back and forth counters and they did a superb job of teasing the final, you really couldn't tell who was going to win, especially when Rey countered the Walls of Jericho with the steel chair.

The finish however stole the show and was one of the single best booked finishes in wrestling history. Rey spent weeks reminding us of the importance of his mask, Jericho counters the ranna into the Walls of Jericho, Rey reaches a chair whacks Jericho in the skull he falls onto the ropes. Rey goes for the 6-1-9 but as he hits Jericho pulls the mask from Rey's face. Jericho gets a roll up but Rey can't get his shoulder up as he won't reveal his face (due to the affore mentioned Mexican history). Really good story telling mixed with great back and forth crisp action. (***1/2)

Well Umaga is the next superstar to get his pink slip for yet again getting injured so the result matches sense. The Strap match gimmick just isn't dramatic whatsoever, had they beat each other to a pulp and then dragged each other around it could have been more exciting. No Drama + No Storytelling + Moderate Action = (*1/4)

This was the only match that really played well to its stipulation. The action wasn't particularly great but it was bad either, it was very watchable and relatively action packed. Tommy Dreamer really puts over how much he wanted to wing the title and how great an accomplishment it was to win the title. I don't recommend he holds it very long, but a couple of solid promos could really put this belt over. This was a perfectly acceptable PPV Match. (**1/2)

I don't really no what to say, not funny, not clever, far too long and very mean spirited. It makes you a babyface to make fun of overweight widows??? Seriously? Well I guess this is the treatment you get if you ask for your release from WWE. (Neg. -**)

Batista won this match very quickly with a Batista bomb. This match was a real let down, Orton runs for his life, the match isn't very intense and it damn sure isn't very long. That said the action that we did get in this match up was pretty good. Seeing as Batista is injured again this makes sense but it yet again makes Orton look incredibly weak. Rushed and dissapointing. (*1/4)

This match went just shy of twenty minutes which was an absolutely HUGE mistake. These two gel really well together and they told a great story, they did the facial expressions and the kids were really into Cena but the action was just way too slow and plodding, too much selling and too much walking around. Cena got the win with a STF in the ropes, which makes sense in the context of the story it's just a shame it tooks so long. If this had been ten minutes long we'd be talking about a suprisingly good match up. (**)

This was exactly what I expected a highly contrived match that relied almost exculsively on spots. Neither man managed to create any drama, there was only one notably attempt at getting the belt before the finish when Hardy dived to recover the belt. I'll give them their due there were some very creative spots the Spear counter into a mid air twist of fate was very nice but it was so ludicriously contrived you were rolling your eyes by the time he hit it. If you don't understand, think of it this way, Edge sets up a ladder in the corner twice for no apparent reason. Jeff Hardy climbs to the top of the ladder and rather than winning the match for no apparent reason turns round to set up a spot rather than winning the match? It's awkward and ugly.

This was the problem with the match you had to turn off your brain to enjoy this match. In a very similar way to Undertaker-Edge in a TLC at last years extreme rules. The other big spot with the ladder bridge had the same problem it made no sense. This was a classic lie down on the floor set up a spot for no rhyme or reason. That said the Whisper in the Wind, Twist of Fate, Front Suplex and Ladder table spots were all exciting but they were completely out of context and even the most ardent Jeff Hardy fans, and trust me I had him sitting next to me were bored and underwhelmed. The crowd had the same reaction seven minutes of silence, pop for spot, another few minutes of silence. The one absolutely brilliant spot that I loved was the finale, when Jeff trapped Edge inbetween the rungs of the ladder while Jeff won the belt.

This was very take it or leave it, some people will love this match others won't. It's got some really great reviews online but I just don't see where their coming from expect for the superb finish. This doesn't measure up to the HBK-Jericho masterclass from last year but it did manage to create one iconic peirce of imagery. (***)

Jeff is celebrating when Punk's music hits and Punk storms to the ring and hits the Go 2 Sleep for the 1...2...kick out! Jeff gets a small package for a 1...2....near fall! Punk keeps his cool and hits another Go 2 Sleep for the 1....2....3!

Now I've described about one minutes worth of action, and with the facial expressions, nearfalls and selling in one minute they created more drama in one minute than they managed in twenty minutes of a ladder match. If they'd combined this drama and with the spots of the ladder match they'd of had Four not three stars. It will be very interesting to see how CM Punk will be positioned after this showThis was a great twist obviously not much of a match. (1/2*)