411’s Instant Access 10.23.11: WWE Vengeance 2011

Hey kids, I’m Mike, and this is 411’s Instant Access: WWE Vengeance 2011. Instant Access is the companion piece to 411 Live Pay-Per-View Coverage and features immediate reaction to wrestling pay-per-views. The focus in Instant Access is on first thoughts and initial reactions instead of play-by-play with the goal of providing you with instant access to one writer’s thoughts on the show. Anyway, here’s the team for Vengeance:

• Mike Uphoff, author emeritus of 411’s WWE Smackdown Report.

Okay kids, enough with the explanations. Let’s get to the wrestling.

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne (Champions) vs. Dolph Ziggler & Jake Swagger w/ Vickie Guerrero
Match Result: Air Boom retains tag titles via pinfall with SSP
Match Length: 13:23
Match Analysis:
Uphoff: It was a good opener for the crowd, but the crowd took forever, and I mean longer than it takes Mark Henry to make it to the ring forever, for the crowd to get involved in this match. It picked up nicely in the middle and at the end, there was some nice moves pulled off. Kofi and Evan Bourne were their usual selves, and Dolph and Swagger played great foils for them. You really can’t have bad matches between these guys, but they all need someone new to feud with. It’s getting old, really quickly. Good effort from all involved and a fun opener to start the PPV.
Match Rating:
Uphoff: **3/4

United States Championship Match
Dolph Ziggler (Champion) vs. Zack Ryder
Match Result: Dolph Ziggler retains US Title via pinfall with superkick
Match Length: 6:04
Match Analysis:
Uphoff: I like the match that these two had, don’t get me wrong. But did it have to be RIGHT after the tag match? I almost thought that Ryder would win, but they played it smart and let Ziggler retain the title. I don’t know why Air Boom was out there and why the ref threw them out. It was stupid and detracted from the match. All that aside, Ryder and Ziggler put on a perfectly acceptable match that had the crowd going. You can’t really ask for more than that.
Match Rating:
Uphoff: **1/2

Divas Championship Match
Beth Phoenix (Champion) w/ Natalya vs. Eve Torres w/ Kelly Kelly
Match Result: Beth Phoenix retains Diva’s Title via pinfall with Glam Slam
Match Length: 7:18
Match Analysis:
Uphoff: This continues a string of well-wrestled women’s matches on WWE PPV’s. Eve actually performed very well, and Beth is always on top of her game. They provided some unique wrestling styles that meshed well, and while the result was never in doubt, Eve made it look like she might actually be able to pull off the upset. She also had a nice counter to the Glam Slam. Good stuff from the women, and I hope it continues.
Match Rating:
Uphoff: **1/4

Sheamus vs. Christian
Match Result: Sheamus wins via pinfall with Brogue Kick
Match Length: 10:39
Match Analysis:
Uphoff: Again, the crowd did not seem alive for the beginning of the match. I don’t know what was up with the crowd, but after Sheamus and Christian went into their counters and reversals, it finally woke up the crowd. These two could have a good match in their sleep. While they have had lots of matches, they always seem to be able to tweak a few things and make it still seem fresh, which is good to see. I would hope to see them feud with others, but I can see them in some sort of elimination match at Survivor Series. Good match between the two, but I was slightly disappointed because I know that they are capable of a better match than this.
Match Rating:
Uphoff: ***1/4

CM Punk & Triple H vs. The Miz & R-Truth
Match Result: Miz and R-Truth win via pinfall with combined Shut Up/SCF on Punk
Match Length: 15:37
Match Analysis:
Uphoff: For a guy who hadn’t wrestled since WrestleMania before last month, Triple H didn’t seem too bad in the ring. I’ve definitely seen him wrestle better than that, but whatever. I figured that the Miz and R-Truth would win via shenanigans, but I didn’t think Nash would get involved. Laurinaitis is playing a great sleazeball GM, manipulating everyone like a puppetmaster. As for the match, it wasn’t anything special. Everyone worked well, and we didn’t see anything that we already haven’t seen before. This was a good formulaic tag team match, but with the inclusion of Nash, I would expect to see either Punk or HHH face him at Survivor Series. I vote Punk.
Match Rating:
Uphoff: ***

Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes
Match Result: Orton wins via pinfall with RKO
Match Length: 12:13
Match Analysis:
Uphoff: Good match between the two, but like Sheamus and Christian, I found myself slightly disappointed. I know these two are capable of putting on a four-star match, and while this certainly was a good match, it could have been better. The crowd also seemed dead for parts of this match, which did not help matters. It was a solid match between the two, and if they continue feuding, I’m still intrigued. Rhodes needs a win though.
Match Rating:
Uphoff: ***

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Mark Henry (Champion) vs. The Big Show
Match Result: No Contest via Henry superplexing Show and breaking the ring
Match Length: 13:00
Match Analysis:
Uphoff: Sue me, but I actually like the match. Right up until I called them pulling the Brock superplex spot to end the match. Show and Henry worked another good match, but I have to question a couple things. I know you have to protect the champion, but having him kick out of a super chokeslam after he already kicked out of a regular one? Seems a little farfetched even for Henry. All that aside, since they are having a match at Survivor Series, this was the right way to go to end the match. Would’ve been rated higher had there been an actual finish for the match.
Match Rating:
Uphoff: **

Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Championship
Alberto Del Rio (Champion) vs. John Cena
Match Result: Alberto Del Rio retains the WWE Championship
Match Length: 26:59
Match Analysis:
Uphoff: I really wanted to love and hate this match, as I found myself loving and hating different parts of the match. It started out REALLY SLOW, which annoyed me. However, Del Rio and Cena pulled out some nice moves to keep the crowd entertained. I knew that Del Rio would retain after the LMS stip was announced. Cena will likely kick-start his feud with the Rock by starting it at Survivor Series, but I would see a Team Cena vs. Team Del Rio match there with Rock on Cena’s team. Back to the match, it was a really good last man standing match. There have certainly been better ones, but there also have been worse ones. Del Rio and Cena put on another good match and are really developing chemistry in the ring. Good PPV main event.
Match Rating:
Uphoff: ***1/2

Final Thoughts

Match of the Night:
Uphoff: Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Title
It is the match of the night for two reasons. One, it was the most entertaining match of the night with the two forced to work with a broken ring, and two, John Cena lost. Anytime he loses a WWE Title match is fun for me.

Trash of the Night:
Uphoff: None.
Nothing offended me to the point where I would call it trash.

Final Analysis:
Uphoff: This was a solid and good effort from the WWE. While I wouldn’t say one match stands out above the rest, the Last Man Standing Match was pretty darn good, and we had four more matches at three stars, and nothing below two stars. That is a good thing for a PPV. If you want to compare it to Bound For Glory, I would say Vengeance was better in-ring wise, while BFG was better overall. Vengeance certainly did not have the travesty of a match like Sting-Hogan or the women’s match, but BFG was certainly better overall. However, Vengeance will likely not be remembered. It’s a solid, good PPV, but that is all it is. It’s worth adding to the collection if you are a WWE fan, but if you’re not, don’t spend the money.

Verdict:
Uphoff: ***