Superstar Sleeze

WWE Tag Team Champions Team Angle vs Los Guerreros - WWE Backlash 2003 I am skipping the triple threat match at WrestleMania with Benoit & Rhyno because I hate triple threats. I thought this was a better version of their Smackdown title switch. Here we get a better shine because Guerreros are really playing up the Lie, Cheat & Steal gimmick. Just really fun stuff, Eddie is just a maestro of playing to the crowd and even Chavo gets in on the action. They make routine cheating spots so much fun and bring a smile to your face because they are just relishing every moment. I thought the heat segment was really good. I didn't like Eddie just letting Benjamin tag out to Haas but at least Haas made him pay with back body drop (great bump by Eddie). Eddie worked really strong in this match upped his offense, but his selling was great. He brought this face in peril alive. Good hope spot like that snap back suplex. Great cutoffs from Team Angle with nasty double legs and ankle picks. Chavo was a great hot tag, just flying around, lots of energy. He eats a massive powerbomb from Benjamin but Eddie hits a missile dropkick on Benjamin and then three Amigos on Haas, but Chavo cant capitalize. Eddie hits a frogsplash as he is desperately trying to help Chavo, but again Chavo cant get the win. Team Angle does the trip on a suplex while Benjamin holds the feet ala Rude/Warrior Mania V. Team Angle beats the Guerreros at their own game, but the Guerreros never to be outdone in Lying, Cheating, & Stealing, steal the WWE Tag Team Belts. Just a solid tag team formula that demonstrates the undeniable charisma of Eddie Guerrero. ***1/2

WWE Tag Team Champions Los Guerreros vs Team Angle - Smackdown 2/6/03 Benjamin & Haas are a bit bland. I love a good amateur/shooter gimmick, but I feel like it has to be couple with being a cocky prick or being a white meat babyface. These two seemed better suited for the latter, but they were not positioned that way nor were either exuding that. They just sort of are there. I love Eddie. It has been a long time since I watched some Eddie. I have to say this is more like Eddie in cruise control than Eddie rock n rolling, but it was still nice to watch him again. He is such a pleasure to watch. I thought Chavo was laying his shit in and looked good. Early on Guerreros try to wrestle Team Angle clearly not a great strategy but they fare ok. This is what I mean Haas & Benjamin are just sort of there. Then the Guerreros take over with some double teams the old tag rope choke or posting. Good suplex by Eddie and a hard shot by Chavo. It is a traditional shine, but the Guerreros look good. Team Angle takes over when Chavo gets hit off the apron. They do their finish (the Benjamin jumps over Haas and lands on Chavo). Second time Eddie breaks it up. It just does not feel hot. Eddie hits Three Amigos and then a superplex and Chavito hits a Frogsplash for two. Things get kinda sloppy in the finish with Chavo missing a save but still going through with it and the nearfall on Eddie didn't come off great. Heyman takes a bump off by catching a Chavo splash which was crazy. Then Eddie frogsplash, Shelton isn't legal and Haas with an Oklahoma Roll to win. Not a bad finish kind of a microcosm of the whole match, not bad. ***

WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs Undertaker - No Mercy 2003 Biker Chain Nowhere near their No Mercy 2002 Hell In A Cell Match classic, but few matches are, but I thought this was pretty good. It was just way too long. Clocking in at around 25 minutes, they could have shaved off ten minutes and it would have been a lot tighter. I still thought there was a lot to love. There was a great undercurrent of how important spacing is in pro wrestling. Anytime, Undertaker has space he is able to unload with those big soupbones and is able to stagger Lesnar. If Brock can close the gap and crowd Taker, he can control the match based on his size. It is two very different ways to control by power. It is a striker's power that needs that distance against a wrestler's power who wants close proximity. I liked how Taker needed to earn Old School. There are not a lot of Biker Chain attempts thankfully. Takes uses La Magistral Cradle. Wow! Taker sells punch drunk well especially off his own headbutts. Brock is like Dan Severn in the UFC early on. He is good at smothering Taker, but has no idea how to put him away. He introduces some stairs well that's one way. Taker hits a nasty piledriver on the stairs. Brock uses a low blow to finally slow down Taker. I'll be honest I cant really remember what happens after this. I don't take notes when I watch matches and usually I can remember if they tell a good narrative. That's the thing, it was a fine match but there was no sense of progression. What remember next is Brock powering out of a Triangle Choke with a powerbomb. Taker Dragon Sleeper, but Brock wriggles free and hits an F-5. It is little move trade-y towards the end. There was definitely a HUGE chokeslam off the top rope which think is a result of Brock trying to go for the Chain since the F-5 didn't work. The chain was way up there. Brock couldn't even reach it standing on the top rope. FBI run-in. THE FBI?!?1 Seriously, bro? Taker does his awesome fucking over the top rope suicide dive that I love so at least there was that. LAST RIDE! Taker goes for Chain and gets it. VinnyMac crotches him and gives the chain to Brock. Brock blasts him for the win. I thought they told an interesting story early, but then they just starting hitting bombs, but I didn't feel like there was much connection between the moves. There was some great moves: piledriver on steps, massive chokeslam and the tope. Just ultimately forgettable, shave off ten minutes and this would have been lean and mean. ***1/4

WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs Big Show - Judgment Day 2003 Stretcher Match Holy shit! This came out of left field! Bill Watts would have had a raging boner for this. Two big muthafuckas just throwing each other around. Both dudes are just pouring sweat because they are just ramming into each other and going all out. This is by far my favorite type of match. Super heavyweights just muscling each other around. Brock Lesnar is the great defender of the land. He is defending the honor of Rey Mysterio who was brutally attacked by Big Show at Backlash. The iconic moment is when Big Show slammed Rey strapped to a stretcher into the post. Then Lesnar saved Benoit from a similar fate. Thus the stretcher match was born. Cole & Tazz are all about the Andre vs Killer Khan stretcher match and that it was the 40th anniversary of the founding of the WWE Championship. Enough about that, these two just wailed on each other with that stretcher board. Brock is an athletic freak. One of the best bumpers in the history of pro wrestling period. He was flying around for the Big Show. Enough though Show was jobbed out to Brock at Rumble and to Undertaker, the beauty of Show is that no matter how shitty he is booked, he is instantly credible because of his size. Show delivers a MASSIVE chokeslam to Lesnar. Then a huge legdrop, Lesnar sell of this is amazing. Show tries to push him across. Lesnar wriggles free to Show blasts him and Lesnar goes FLYING. Brock Rocks! Then Lesnar just unleashes hell with the board, chokes the fuck out of Big Show with a cable cord, nasty moment as Lesnar tries to wheel Big Show across the line with the cord still tied around his neck, he yanks so hard that cord does not give so Show is WRENCHED off the stretcher. LESNAR SLAMS THE GIANT! THIS IS AWESOME! They get into a tug of war with the stretcher. Show jabs him in the ribs. Lesnar will not be denied. He just starts hurling his body at Big Show and until he sends him flying off the apron onto the stretcher, which Show bounces off of and onto the floor. Lesnar leaves. So this is a good time for Rey Rey to exact some revenge. 619 to the gut. Big Show slams him. Brock has a got a forklift! He is an expert forklift operator. BROCK DIVES OFF THE TOP OF THE FORKLIFT ONTO THE BIG SHOW! HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! LESNAR IS PUMPED! HE UNLEASHES THE BEAST! F-5! He puts the board on the pallet and then Show on the board and drives with him for the win. WOW! Super heavyweight slugfest that is just relentless. Never a dull moment, just two big uglies kicking ass. The dive off the forklift was such an insane spot and should be more iconic in my opinion. Watch this match. ****1/2

Thanks Charles. I was actually really going to hold this against Jericho and Hardy in my GWWE voting. So with some context, I will forgive them.

WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs John Cena - Backlash 2003 You know how weird it is to listen to a crowd chant "Lets Go Cena" without the accompanying "Cena Sucks!". This takes place in Worcester so Cena is actually worried about being cheered so he wears a Roger Clemens Yankees jersey to the ring yep that will definitely do the trick. If he did that in October/November of 2003 in Mass he may have actually been killed. Let me get my one major complaint out of the way. It is so painfully clear that these two are miscast. Cena sells like such a sympathetic babyface and Brock Lesnar is just a total monster. The monster face can work but you need that sniveling heel that you really want to see his ass get kicked. That's not Cena. Cena is tough dude and he is not a big bumper. So the babyface shine feels like a heat segment. Only the press slam gets a pop. The rest is just great suplexes and knees but it feels like a monster dominating a valiant hero. Brock is justified in being pissed because Cena busted him open with a chain so he has a bandage. On the outside Cena slams him into the steps and reopens the cut. This was definitely the most interesting part of the match. How would Cena work on top? Good stuff for the most part. Great intensity. Works the cut. Good fists. He is keeping it basic but is vicious. Shouldertackle and then legdrop on neck. Good hope spot for Lesnar with the spinebuster before Cena hits a massive clothesline. Things grind to a halt when Cena just sits in a chinlock forever. The Lesnar comeback is much better than the shine. It is more uptempo and gets you rocking. It is a bit sloppy though. Cena recognizing that Lesnar is on an unstoppable roll gets a low blow for his nearfall. He wants the chain, but the ref blocks. Lesnar hits the F-5 for the win. It is a really cool match mostly because what happens after. Nine years to the month, they have a five star classic together with opposite roles. Cena is a totally different character and wrestler after this. Thought it was a very good effort from both young wrestlers. ***1/2

Chris Jericho vs Jeff Hardy - No Way Out 2003 What is the point of this match? From a storyline perspective, commentary informs us that Shawn Michaels has taken Jeff Hardy under his wing. We know that Jericho idolized Michaels growing up and Jericho wants to prove he is better than his hero and that is crux of their match going into WrestleMania XIX. I don't love the Shawn/Jeff pairing because I feel like Jeff is a free spirit and having a mentor is strange. But both are sort edgy rebels without a cause so it is not the worst pairing. Michaels is not here probably because this is taking place in Montreal. Jericho goes over here which makes total sense, but the way they get there does nothing for either man. Jeff Hardy has the exact same moveset he always has. He has not incorporated any of Michaels' stuff. It is not like Jericho was somehow making this about Michaels. Maybe taunting Hardy in a specific way or using the Superkick. It was just a midcard match where both guys went through their moveset. If they want to have a match in a vacuum that's fine. So what is the hook? If the storyline is not providing the hook, there needs to be a hook. Body part psychology? Speed vs strength? Veteran vs young lion? Submission vs aerial? Outrageous heel tactics vs babyface valor? Nothing. The beginning meanders. Eventually Hardy gets a bit of a shine with his great dropkick through the ropes. It is one of his best moves. Jericho sends him into the steel steps. Solid transition. Nothing happens in heat segment. Jeff Hardy gets a bunch of nearfalls, DDT, Whisper In the Wind, Swanton Bomb and some cradles. Jericho misses his first attempts at Lionsault and Walls of Jericho. Hits the Lionsault->kick out. Jericho powerbombs Jeff off top rope and Walls of Jericho. Whats the point? It was just two people running through their movesets. Neither was adapting to the other. Jericho could have been in there with Christian. Jeff Hardy could have been in there with Lance Storm. How would have the match changed? Perfectly fine match, but they are wasting pro wrestling's greatest asset the ability to tell a story.

ECW Champion Mark Henry vs Tommy Dreamer - Great American Bash 2008 At this point, Umaga has impressed me more than Mark Henry. I know I am not in prim Mark Henry yet. I also have multiple long matches with Matt Hardy and Finlay coming up to really show me what Mark Henry can do. There is plenty off good. Treating Dreamer like a gnat, laying it that badmouth (It don't matter what you do) steamrolling him. It is just lacks that next level. He is not as brutal as Vader or athletic as Umaga. He is good about setting up offense by missing the Splash. Some nice weeble wobble selling before Dreamer hits the DDT. Colin Delaney, remember that jabroni!, turns on Dreamer. Not worth it. Excited for the Matt Hardy matches, even more excited for the Finlay matches!

ECW Champion Kane vs Mark Henry vs Big Show - Night of Champions 2008 Man, do you remember McMahon's Millions? What the fuck? Did people actually win money in a shoot? Was the accident just a way to write off the publicity stunt and McMahon? Or was there more to it, I honestly, cant remember? Kane certainly had his working boots on this night. Workrate Kane is surely something to behold. He was flying all over the ring just hitting big move after big move. He worked a great sprint with Big Show early. Then got "eliminated" so to speak but then came back and was just all over the place. Big Shown & Mark Henry had a good Clash of the Titans feel to their portion of the match. Kane was in full workrate sprint mode. It was wild. The double chokeslam on Mark Henry to "eliminate" him to allow Kane/Big Show to go at it was a great spot and transition to a hot finish. Kane hits a superplex on Big Show, but it takes so much out of him Mark Henry hits his best Worlds Strongest Splash to win the match and his major championship. Mark Henry came back in 2007 after about a year off. He was built up then fed to Undertaker at Unforgiven 2007 (September) and then was treated like a jobber until this match where he was re-pushed. I came to see Mark Henry and instead was impressed by frickin Kane of all people. ***1/4

Kurt Angle vs Mark Henry - Judgment Day 2006 Much better stuff out of these two. Henry lays a little badmouth on Angle before the match. This is during the period where Angle both acted like a psychopath in the ring and was even more of a psychopath outside the ring. He really comes off an unhinged here at the beginning. I love it. Gives it a blood feud feel. Angle is out for revenge after Henry busted up his ribs real good (wearing tape). Loving the urgency from Angle just hurling his body at Henry. When Henry misses a seat drop he is right on him with a kick. Eventually all this running around leads to SPLAT when Henry RUNS over him with a shouldertackle. Damn. Henry beats the shit out of those ribs. With big slams. Angle gets some good hope spots like a DDT, a German and Angleslam. Anklelock countered, duh. Henry wants to splash him through announce table. But Angle gets up and is splashed up against post for the countout Henry victory. I would say that was the biggest victory in Mark Henry's career at this point. It looks like Mark Henry's gets injured right before the summer of 2006. They probably would have had Batista beat him like a drum around the horn in a revenge angle. Some real good stuff and not just Mark Henry's big man stuff, dug Angle's intensity. ***

World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle vs Mark Henry - Royal Rumble 2006 After missing most of 2004 & 2005, Mark Henry was pushed as a main event talent on Smackdown. He was not yet Hall of Pain, Mark Henry, but there were glimmers of it in this performance. His facial expressions at the beginning of the match were spot on. From Angle trying to takedown Mark, what are you doing little man. To cat & mouse, his frustration. Angle punches and the way he catches the fist and breaks him down and lays the badmouth on him. Hall of Pain Mark Henry is inside there. He throws Angle up onto the ropes twice. Splash gets two. This match is built around Mark Henry being able to break out of the Anklelock. Yes seriously! The announcers are acting like they have never seen this before. Are you fucking kidding me? I liked Angle getting the German because it is the underdog babyface getting the slam. But then to do Angleslam just cheapens it. It does not feel like he is respecting Henry's size. Angle then just blatantly cheats. Wicked chair shots that Henry sells like a champ. Then exposes the buckle and holds the rope. Henry fought an almost completely fair fight. This was basically Angle resigning himself to the fact that Henry was the better wrestler and he couldn't beat him without cheating. It was really strange. Mark Henry gave a good performance. The ending sucked out loud.

WWE Intercontinental Champion Johnny Nitro vs Jeff Hardy - RAW 11/13/06 By 2006 (probably earlier), the WWE booking is doing nobody any favors with this constant booking of this match. These two don't have Flair/Steamboat chemistry nor do they have the ability to build their matches off each other. I think Todd Grisham is on commentary and he is atrocious. I am glad he did not stick around. Johnny Nitro uses the hair to take Jeff Hardy down. You know what it is there is not a whole of fun in these matches. Nitro misses a splash and then Hardy hits a dropkick (new spot). Jeff is spot to use the ten count punches and then that dropkick. Way to go for Swanton early. Jeff Hardy's baseball slide is really good. Like the Nitro kneelift to stop jawbreaker and Tidal Wave Kick by Nitro gets a two. Nitro is choking, good heel stuff. Nitro with reverse chinlock. I hate the elbows to end a chinlock. "Sometimes when you please a woman like that, she makes those noises." -Todd Grisham. Horrible. Nitro gets crotched. Hardy misses Whisper in the Wind. Awful modified slam by Nitro. Nitro mocks Matt Hardy with the Hardy Yodel, Jeff hits him with a powerbomb. Swanton Bomb! Ref is distracted. Nitro hits a corkscrew moonsault, but has a shitty pin cover and Hardy rolls him into an Oklahoma Roll to win. I wish someone would do this to Dolph Ziggler who also has shitty covers. Yeah, I am starting to get sick of mid-00s WWE. Nitro hits Hardy with a ladder to setup the ladder match next week on RAW. Jury is out if I will watch it, right now.

WWE Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy vs Johnny Nitro - RAW 11/6/06 Do you remember Paris Hilton? Do you remember Kevin Federline? Man, mid-00s nostalgia in ten years is going to be so sad. My high school years were a cultural wasteland. Nitro starts with a hammerlock, Hardy does the Bret escape, good start here with Jeff doing the dropkick and then splash. Nitro uses a leverage move to send him into the buckle and then choking into the ropes. Melina hair pull. Some good heel work here. Hardy hits a sling blade. Did Tanahashi do it first or Hardy? Melina trips and the ref calls for a DQ. Eric Bischoff is BACK!??! What the HELL?!?! He makes it a No DQ. I know I was watching. I have no recollection of this. Back from the commercial, Nitro is in a chinlock. Jawbreaker by Jeff. Tsunami Kick by Nitro. They both collide with a cross body. This match has just been there so far. Reverse mule kick by Hardy gets two. Front suplex gets two. WHISPER IN THE WIND! Two! Melina is choking Jeff Hardy and he whips her down. He goes for Swanton Bomb on Melin and Nitro crotches him and then belt shot. Nitro wins. Meh. I feel like Jeff Hardy could be better utilized but at the same time if Jeff Hardy was truly great he would find ways to keep having great match. This was not as bad as the Carlito match, but for something that was really more of an angle, it didn't feel big. It should have though.

WWE Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy vs Carlito - Cyber Sunday 2006 Nothing reminds me of how dreadfully dull the RAW midcard was in the mid-2000s than this match. I remember nothing about Carlito's working style, but this match certainly did not inspire me to learn more. He basically tried to snuggle to death. In addition to a very boring heat segment, the shine was terrible. They were just trading moves with absolutely no rhyme or reason. One would hit a move then the other would hit a move. No transition, no missed moves. It was just strange. Jeff Hardy hits a nasty front suplex. Swanton Bomb eats knees. Carlito hits a bunch of weak springboard moves. Carlito misses the third springboard. Whisper in the Wind! Carlito nearly kills him on some stupid top rope move. Swanton Bomb. JR says "what a match" I say "what a mess"

WWE Intercontinental Champion Johnny Nitro vs Jeff Hardy - RAW 10/2/06 There is a hilarious screw up early on. JR says "In the latest edition of WWE magazine, Maria says she likes having three way sex. Sorry I mean Melina." The deadpan tone of voice he uses because he clearly thinks this is stupid compounded with him fucking up the names had me laughing for like two minutes straight. Going to give Nitro credit again, way to go to back after Jeff Hardy crashes and burns on Whisper in the Wind. This is body psychology is strong. The dropkick to Jeff causing him to the hit the post hard is nasty. Plus he hits a crazy backbreaker. Great use of the surfboard too. The finish was fine too with Jeff reversing the surfboard and then hitting Whisper in the Wind. Nitro tries to hide behind Melina but Jeff topples both of them. I didn't like Nitro getting back on top after Jeff hit a move, but whatever. Jeff backdrops him off the top, cool spot and then Swanton Bomb. New champ. Fine match. I liked this one better because it was shorter, but still nothing amazing. ***

WWE Intercontinental Champion Johnny Nitro vs Jeff Hardy - Unforgiven 2006 I get it, he does look like Jim Morrison, but John Morrison was such a lame name. The crowd loves chanting "Nitro sucks" they really should have stuck with that. I remember Nitro/Morrison as a person with a great look but just never materialized in the ring. Soft Kofi Kingston offense is what I remember along with no standout charisma. This match I thought the offense was a bit better than I remember but yeah no charisma to speak of. The entrance is brash, but where is that cocky attitude in the ring. He is just so mechanical. Jeff Hardy is so insanely charismatic. He had the crowd rocking just doing armdrags from different angles. I will say there was on nice spot where Nitro goes for an armdrag but Hardy hooks the ropes and Nitro still goes through with the rotation. Well done. Some really great impactful dropkicks by Jeff here. Crowd pops for them. Back when crowds popped for stiffness instead of acrobatics, how nice! Jeff takes a totally nutty bump off the top when Nitro trips him up. Nitro works over the leg. I think he does an admirable job. At one point, he steps on Jeff's foot, and kicks the knee hard with his other leg. Well done. He was not Arn Anderson picking apart a body part, but it was solid. Again where is that charisma! Morrision misses a corkscrew moonsault. As much as I love Jeff, he does blow off the knee selling and hits whisper in the wind. Then hits the Swanton Bomb then decides to sell. Not digging that. Also there were way too many shots of Melina. She is hot. I get it, I really do, she is very hot, but I am trying to watch a match. Melina gets knocked off the apron. She hits Jeff with the boot, Nitro covers and wins. Solid finish to a solid match. Too long at 17 minutes & change. ***

WWE Intercontinental Champion Umaga vs Jeff Hardy - RAW 9/3/07 Fun fact: This is the first match from the first RAW I watched at the University of Michigan my freshman year. This caused three dudes on my floor to all go "Is that Jeff Hardy? He still wrestles? Has anything changed?" This also right after the infamous App State upset (yes that was my freshman year and first game in the Big House) and this match is emanating from Ohio State. But the good news is that my boy, Jeff Hardy won the Intercontinental Championship! Liked this as a TV match. Umaga again generating hope spots for Jeff. Hitting the buckles hard letting Jeff try the ten count punches before pushing him. Nutty bump by Jeff taking a superkick off the apron and going splat on the floor. Again long Vulcan nerve pinch. Umaga misses the flying headbutt and here we go. Even though this is a Buckeye crowd, I liked them. They were popping for Jeff's nearfall (whisper in the wind). I tell you what I really dug. Jeff comes off the middle rope, catch and big out of control slam by Umaga. No reaction. Goes for the cover. No reaction. 1-2-KICK OUT! BIG POP! That's when the WRESTLER is over NOT the move! I LOVE THAT! This crowd wanted to see Jeff Hardy win the title. They were invested in the decision. Jeff knocks Umaga off the top rope who takes quite tumble. 1-2-3! Umaga bucks him off wildly but the three goes down in the record books for Jeff. Loved the finish. Protects Umaga, but it is very convincing because he took quite the spill. Really enjoyable. ***1/4

WWE Intercontinental Champion Umaga vs Jeff Hardy - Great American Bash 2007 Umaga is the king of the missed move! I love it he uses his own missed moves to set up his opponents' offense. In order for you to defeat him, he needs to make the mistake. So Umaga retains his credible, but the onus is still on the opponent to put him away. Love the psychology. The heat segment is set up by a great Samoan Drop when Jeff tries to take it to the Samoan Bulldozer early. Then there is a loooooooonnngggggg Vulcan nerve pinch which drags this down. Once Umaga starts missing moves business picks up. Umaga slamming his groin into Jeff's knees. Going flying over the top rope. Missing his ass splash in the corner. Going flying into the steel post all set up great Jeff Hardy offense. Whisper in the Wind and the Swanton Bomb got huge pops and reactions for the two counts. Jeff was no slouch selling. He is the modern day Ricky Morton in my opinion, just insane babyface charisma. Umaga shoves him off for the Twist of Fate (I love how they left Jeff with one last move and then Umaga squashed his hope). Huge superkick, ass splash in the corner and Asiatic Spike which Jeff takes a nutty bump for to really sell it. Last five minutes are amazing. Umaga gets what it means to be a monster. ***1/4

Thanks for tipping me off on this, brutha. WWE Champion Randy Orton vs Shawn Michaels - Survivor Series 2007 Greatest Randy Orton match ever? I think most would say the Catcus match from Backlash 2004, but I think this one is definitively better. Is there anything else? While I do think Orton was great in this match, it was of course really the Shawn Michaels show. Some context: as an offshoot of the D-X vs Rated RKO feud in the beginning of 2007, Orton punted HBK to give his summer school vacation. Michaels came back in October and challenged Orton for the championship at Cyber Sunday, but Orton punched him in the balls to get intentionally DQ'd. So in the rematch, if Orton gets DQ'd he loses the title, BUT Michaels cant use the Superkick. This forces Michaels to wrestle a different type of match. There is a lot to love in the first ten minutes of this match. Michaels uses a ton of vice grips (cravat, front chancery) on the head and neck of Orton to control him and attempt to get an early pinfall. The hallmark of this was how tenacious HBK was applying these holds. Really controlling Orton and driving the knees into his head. Orton did a great job selling it all. It also shows that Michaels is going to try to win by taking it to the ground and outwrestling Orton. Orton's counter was punching him right in the face on a break in the corner. Great heel wrestling from Orton here. Then trying to goad Michaels into Superkicking him; Michaels fakes him out and chops him. Orton was really good at selling these fake out spots as Michaels knowing that as much as I love ground wrestling and tight psychology the live crowd needs something to pop them and so he hits a baseball slide and an Asai Moonsault, but the spots are really organic well set up because Orton bites so hard on the pump fakes. So many wrestlers knowing that they are going be faked out just go through the motions, but here Orton makes you believe that he believes he will be hit by the pump fake. Good stuff. Loved Orton rolling through a crossbody for two and then immediately decking him with a European uppercut. I loved the urgency there. Michaels shine ends with a Sharpshooter. Ten years since Montreal at this point. (I cant believe it has been TWENTY years as of this writing!). Crazy to think Michaels would be wrestling Bob Orton's kid for the championship ten years after the Screwjob. The Sharpshooter gets a good reaction of course. From there, Orton thumbs HBK in the eye and snaps his neck across the ropes. Great heel transition. Really good organic set up to the Hangsmans DDT. Orton has a solid punch and an amazing European Uppercut. I am starting to like him ten years after the fact. This is where the match does down a notch. First the customary Orton resthold and then the very basic Michaels comeback. The Michaels comeback requires both wrestles to go through the motions rather than feel it. Loved Orton's dropkick to stymie the comeback. Shawn's gets melodramatic after his elbow drop tuning up the band but it is a fake out to get a small package. Meh, overthinking it there. Just go for the pin. Too elaborate of a ruse. Then again I hate the whole I need to wait for my opponent to stand before I hit my big move. After this, the match gets awesome again. Michaels goes for submissions (Crossface, Anglelock) and Orton tries to punt his head off. Good stuff. The finish is awesome. Orton goes for the RKO, but Michaels pushes him off, hesitates on Superkick and that slight hesitation leads to BANG RKO~! First half was awesome, tenacious Shawn Michaels ground wrestling and Orton playing the heel really well. Great timed spots and sound psychology. Falls a little off the rails with some overly cinematic Michaels stuff, but comes roaring back with Michaels pugnaciously going for a submission victory but falling prey to the RKO when his instincts takeover to hit Sweet Chin Music. Magnificent. ****1/2

Triple H vs Umaga - Cyber Sunday 2007 Street Fight Umaga is the greatest Hogan opponent, who never got a chance to wrestle Hogan. He has such a strong grasp of what it means to be a violent, unstoppable monster. He is athletic, but still vicious. His grasp on how a monster should sell and bump is strong. He is the best at weeble wobbles but don't fall down selling since Blackwell. I love he takes HHH's best shot over and over again and he just keeps coming. They try to go for too much too soon with the spear through the entrance set. No pop and no real setup. They settle into a great David vs Goliath match. It is is really a testament to Umaga that he can make HHH into a sympathetic David. HHH is teeing off on Umaga and he just wont go down. I love it. He gets the garbage can puts him down for two. He swings for another and Umaga counters into a Samoan Drop, Then it becomes the Umaga show, Absolutely brilliant heat segment. Umaga is completely laser focused on the abdomen and never lets up. So many great cutoffs to the ribs. Great selling by HHH too, but Umaga just rocked this heat segment. I liked Umaga going for the chair when he cant put HHH away, but HHH uses the low blow and a DDT on chair for a hope spot. But Umaga just flings HHH off with a huge sidewalk slam. The big spot of the match is Umaga running across the announce tables and splashing HHH through the table. Great sell by HHH. I think that would have been a great finish to set up a rematch. Umaga misses a flying headbutt. I liked how it takes Umaga hurting himself to set up HHH getting the Sledgehammer. They do a great job with HHH missing the hammer, Umaga going for the Asiatic Spike, miss, Sledgehammer, weeble wobble, Kick Wham Pedrigee! Good stuff there, but honestly they could have gotten more mileage out of this feud because this was amazing. Does anyone actually remember this feud? Because I sure as hell don't and I was watching at the time. This is the absolute best HHH has ever looked as a babyface. Umaga crushed it. This was not your typical great uptempo street fight, but HHH cant do uptempo. So that's neither here nor there. I thought they did a great job telling David vs Goliath working in great body psychology and selling and really making Umaga this very credible monster that really takes a lot before he will go down. ****1/4

Rey Mysterio vs Finlay - Cyber Sunday 2007 Stretcher Match Coming off the heels of Finlay beating the holy hell out of Rey Rey by lulling him into a false sense of security by pretending to be so injured he was put on a stretcher. So the stretcher match makes sense. I thought this was a pretty good opener. No real shine as Finlay just suffocates Rey Rey from the get go. I thought they incorporated the stretcher well into the spots. They used it as a battering ram, liked how Rey Rey dropkick the stretcher into Finlay for a hope spot and the front suplex into the stretcher by Finlay. Finlay followed up with some good abdomen work before Rey made a quick comeback with a rana. Rey tried to get him across on stretcher and so Finlay thinks it is time to get the shillelagh (it was on a pole because that was a possible option). Finlay smashes him in the knee. They never stuck with one body part. It was too bad. I liked Finlay's knee from the apron to send Rey into the stretcher. The finish was the best part. Finlay is up against the apron. 619 that puts Finlay stretcher. Rey Rey then hits a somersault plancha while Finlay is on the stretcher. GREAT! Rey goes to push him across, but a TV cord impedes him. LOL! They actually improvise a good finish with Finlay missing with the shillelagh and then Rey flapjacking him onto the stretcher. Great use of the stretcher and the almost finish. ***1/2

WWE Champion Triple H vs Randy Orton - No Mercy 2007 Last Man Standing The Game's hot streak is snapped. Way too long. Last two minutes or so was great. But it is a slog getting there. If you watch the Umaga match you will see it is built around Umaga being impervious to pain and HHH's injured ribs. They go to the injured ribs way too soon. So within the first minute Orton is working the ribs and HHH is selling. Ten minutes later Orton is working the ribs and HHH is selling. There is no sense of progression. The match is stuck in a rut. Orton goes for the RKO on the announce table that took Cena out. HHH pushes him off so he crashes through another one. Now we are in the one move per minute portion of the match. Way too much downtime here. Total false epic. The RKO on the chair was nasty and you can always count on a good, gory bladejob from Hunter. I liked the Suck It in defiance of Orton and then catching his foot on the punt with a GREAT HULK UP! Ok, here we go! HHH does kick some ass, they cut him off way too early. They do some bullshit. The finish is great. RKO on the announce table and Orton gets a decisive win. There is some good stuff in here no doubt and the finish is awesome. It is just a slog to get to it. ***

Finlay vs Rey Mysterio - No Mercy 2007 Two of my favorite wrestlers of the mid-00s just going out there and kicking ass. It only takes a couple minutes to be reminded why Rey Rey is considered one of the greatest high flyers of all time. I love how Rey used kicks and dropkicks to the leg to set up his high flying moves. He is so great at making an opponent off balance whether it is through speed or attacking the leg. When he does let up, Finlay gives him no quarter throwing him hard into buckles. Again Rey uses a dropkick to the leg to stay on top. Finlay uses the skirt to blind Rey and club him. Then they use that great Rey slide on his belly spot to go into the post. Finlay decimates Rey's arm (always better than going after his leg). Good hope spots here. I loved Finlay's short arm clothesline and his clothesline cutoff to the 619. Finlay goes for the Shillelagh after using a smoke screen of taking off the turnbuckle cover. Rey mount his big comeback and he drops the dime while Finlay's head is between the ropes and Finlay takes a nasty bump from the apron straight back to floor. He lets us know a ruse. They put him on stretcher and then he hops off and beats the holy hell out of Rey Rey. I like the angle at the end to put some heat on the feud. They had a better match on Smackdown after this, but this is a good way to start the feud. ***

WWE Champion Triple H vs Umaga - No Mercy 2007 The secret to great Triple H matches is keep them short. I thought was a really strong babyface vs monster match. You don't think of HHH being good in this role, but he actually sold the ribs well and worked hard. Umaga is amazing and even in his short run should go down as one of the all time great monsters. I loved the constant Umaga no sells when HHH went to the head (DDT, steel steps, facebuster). HHH keeps firing, but you cant hurt Umaga. He feels like a real horror movie character like the Creature of the Black Lagoon as he just keeps coming and coming. HHH gets a great hope spot with the Spinebuster and Pedigree to a huge pop. Umaga catches him with a Samoan Drop and begins some amazing rib work. I liked his Black Hole Slam and headbutt to abdomen which HHH sold really, really well which shocked me. I really liked the finish with Umaga missing THREE times into the buckles finally enough to daze him long enough to nail a Pedigree. I loved that Umaga is such a badass monster he had to hurt himself to give HHH the opening to win. This was a great way to demonstrate HHH's resilience. Surprised by how damn good this was. ***3/4

WWE Champion Randy Orton vs Triple H - No Mercy 2007 It all came back to me watching this. Exciting period in wrestling because there was a lot of speculation they would bring back Jericho or Michaels back early to fill in for the injured Cena. What didn't come back to me was that Vince was apparently a regular character at this point feuding with HHH. He awards the title to Randy Orton with no match to get some heel heat. HHH insults Vince's manhood and finally gets this match. Basic pro wrestling match that is good but nothing too memorable. Orton trying to leave with the title almost immediately fits well with his cowardly character. Love that high knee as a cutoff by HHH. I thought Orton floating over and hooking the neck into his backbreaker was a great way to transition. Powerslam was a good cutoff for Orton. Orton's heat segment dragged. HHH made his comeback with big time clothesline. Then a nice superplex and spinebuster to big pops for nearfalls. Orton was damn good at selling and bumping for HHH. Multiple times the glassy eye selling or the way Orton would throw himself into bumps would catch my eye. Orton gets a nearfall off his Hangsman DDT. Lawler said "Vintage Orton", they have been saying that for at least TEN YEARS now! The RKO push off Pedigree attempt gets nuclear heat. Orton misses a kneedrop -> figure-4 should have been the finish! Orton makes the ropes. Orton runs into post and HHH rolls him up. Lame finish. Very well-structured with Orton giving a great selling and bumping performance. ***1/4