[2005-05-22-WWE-Judgment Day] Eddy Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio

[Superstar Sleeze]

Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio - WWE Judgement Day 2005

 

You want to see a violent Rey Mysterio check out this match. Definitely a side you don't see often from Rey Rey and kudos to Taz pointing this out. This was the height of my fandom as a teenager and I loved the original angle with Eddie getting more and more frustrated that he couldn't defeat Rey until he snapped. That beat down with the ripped mask and bloody face is just awesome. An all-time great heel turn and loved the promo afterwards. It was cold and remorseless. Unlike the great 1997 Eddie heel run, this was much colder. The Halloween Havoc is a great balls to the wall sprint, but this is a great fight. Rey sets the tone early just wailing away on Eddie in a manner uncharacteristic for him and not something you see too often. Eddie is forced to fire back targeting the injured ribs and taking head shots. The tide really turns on the outside where Eddie drives Rey's ribs hard into the announce table. Michael Cole is 8 million times better in 2005 than he is now. What follows is a total master class in executing a heat segment. Just absolutely perfect, dominant, violent heel wrestling. Of course, it helps you have Rey selling for you. The little touches on the Ab stretch, the force he uses on the back suplex, his demeanor just perfect. Great hope spots by Rey and better cut offs loved the reverse powerbomb. The enziguiri by Rey that gave him his first mini-comeback was perfectly sold. The other hope spots were flurries. He got a head kick and Eddie sold it big time. Then great monkey flip into a springboard headbutt, which was a hot nearfall. BOOM! Cutoff->sick Boston Crab and STF. Eddie cant get the submission so throws Rey out like garbage and Rey takes that awesome belly flop bump. If I cant beat him, I am going cripple him. He is going for that sick brainbuster again. Rey facing disaster drives Eddie hard into the post that's violence of Rey here. Nice 619 around the post. In the ring, they have an awesome slugfest that is just dripping with hate and it is so cool to see Rey being able to keep up in this setting and really thrive. Rey gets some nice nearfalls, but there is a MONSTER Superplex, which is sold beautifully by both. Eddie is deeply frustrated he cant get the pin. I love that Superplex was treated as such a highspot. Rey slips out of 3rd Amigo and comes back again. This time Chavo distracts the ref. Rey gets Eddie in position for 619 but takes out Chavo. As he is flying through the sky, he gets CLOBBERED BY A CHAIR BY EDDIE! That was a home run swing!!!

 

Fantastic match that gets overshadowed by the even better Smackdown match a month later. Loved Rey's fight in this. Eddie was just fucking best sadistic heel in this. Torturing Rey, but knowing when to sell for him. Thought there may have been a bit too much back n forth at the end. I think the Brainbuster to the steps with Rey fighting back should have led to the finish. If they did the Superplex before that causing Eddie to get pissed transitioning to the Brainbuster because now he is like fuck it, Im just going to kill you. Rey blocks, mounts hot comeback, but Eddie blasts him with a chair in the plain view of the ref because he doesn't care about wins and losses anymore he is just that pissed off, I think you can make a strong case that would be a *****. That's not the match we got, but damn if this match was not awesome. Should be discussed more.. ****1/2

[KB8]

Eddie's character work from this through to the Smackdown match then onto the Great American Bash is some of my favourite character work of anyone ever. He was already pretty nuts at this point, but by the GAB he is a full on headcase. Sometimes it was subtle things, like how his eye would twitch or something, but in the Bash match you believed he was capable of anything.

[Loss]

This is definitely an unsung match in the feud. What an amazing pay-per-view this was.

[Bierschwale]

The annoying finish overshadows the rest of the match. Worth a rewatch.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Annoying finish? I thought it was superb. Chavo was annoying, but Eddie connecting to Rey's head with a home run shot was totally in line with the story that Eddie has become so pissed but he rather take Rey's head off than suffer another demoralizing loss to Rey. He is the ultimate sore loser.

[Makai Club #1]

I love this feud. People really don’t like it for various reasons, I didn’t even like the WM match but there is so many great matches in this feud. This, the SD June match, some house show matches, even the Summerslam match which is arguably marred by WWE “storytelling”. This is a very unconventional match as far as WWE. It's a style of match built upon dislike and resentment but instead of a brawl, it’s very much a typical match with so much more grit behind every hold. Honestly, if you want to study how to create a hate filled match in modern wrestling, watch this match. The aggression and hate is honestly steaming from Eddie’s body almost. Then they played into the story that Eddie can’t beat Mysterio, even after he is cheating. And that just escalated things way higher. Eddie’s work on the back is a true piece of art. His nasty powerbombs on the table, the torque and modifications he puts on certain submissions holds to apply more pressure. So much snap and violence in everything he did. And of course, Rey’s selling of the work was excellent. His brief hope spots were great as well, adding drama to the mix among everything else. The DQ finish totally works within the story as well.  Everything just worked so perfectly. ****1/2

[ohtani's jacket]

The video package before the match fills me in on what's been happening between these two during the past few months. Eddie Guerrero is very good at this sports entertainment stuff. Seriously, he's got to be one of the better actors of this era. I love the promos where he's screaming at Mysterio's mask and threatening Rey's family. That's some old-school shit right there. Very reminiscent of Jake Roberts. They do a great job of working a hate-filled match without too much Attitude Era shit. Definitely the best Eddie match I've seen in a while. I didn't hate the finish as I thought the beatdown was some vicious shit. My only criticisms of the bout were that it was overly long and I was sick and tired of Cole and Taz harping on about how they couldn't recognize Eddie anymore. Jesus Christ, the guy changed heel as often as Lex Luger. They should have sold it as this being the real Eddie.