The Shimmy 12.11.06: The Eddie Guerrero Report Card (Part Three)
Posted by Andy Clark on 12.11.2006
We finish up our Eddie Guerrero Report Card Series with a look at his PPV matches from 2004-2005. These were probably the biggest matches of Eddie's career, see how they fair in the grading process!
Welcome back to the Shimmy, people, and happy holidays. This week we will finish up our Eddie Guerrero Report Card, looking at the last two years of his life. With the pleasantries being taken care of, let's get the show rolling.
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chavo Guerrero (Royal Rumble 2004)
We start off Part Three of the Eddie Guerrero Report Card with a blood feud. I think expectations for this match were pretty high, and with the intensity of the feud this could have been a great match up. For the most part, though, this was a squash match. This was an entertaining squash to be sure, but a squash nonetheless. Who would have thought WWE would have bigger and better plans for Eddie?
And here we go. Who ever really believed that Eddie would ever win a World Title? He was my favorite wrestler and I believed he had the talent and the character to do it, but I never thought it would actually happen. Even when the booking made it pretty clear that Eddie would win it was still an amazing site to witness. Eddie's post-match celebration, as well as his SmackDown celebration are two of my favorite moments in wrestling. Someone wrote recently that it was amazing to see the crowd as happy for Eddie as Eddie was and I agree with that. I think it's impossible to watch this match without getting goosebumps.
And here we get even bigger. Eddie had the great fortune to face Kurt Freaking Angle in the SmackDown main event of the biggest WrestleMania ever. In some ways this match is even bigger than the Brock match, given the grand stage. The match itself was great, even if the beginning was a bit slow. This was by far the best match these two have had, and even what would have been a botch of an ending Eddie made work. I am proud to have been there to see this match in person.
I have not seen this match, but from what I hear it got quite good once the bleeding started. Of course Eddie almost died from the blood loss, so I suppose "good" may not be the word.
This was another match that I was there to see live. Despite what was a bullshit ending at the time (I'm not as pissed now that the whole JBL thing worked out), this was a great match. I think it is overlooked due to the ending and people sleeping on JBL's good matches, but this was really a great match and helped that show from being one of the worst ever.
My Grade: A
Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle (SummerSlam 2004)
From the Kurt Angle Report Card: Even though they did whet our appetites at WrestleMania, unfortunately they couldn't quit recapture the magic. This was by no means a bad match, but I think it could be considered a let down. This was a much slower paced match than their WrestleMania match, probably due to Angle coming back from an injury, but coupled with a wacky crowd and an awkward overall atmosphere this match didn't deliver as much as some would have hoped.
My Grade: B-
Eddie Guerrero vs. Luther Reigns (No Mercy 2004)
I liked Luther Reigns and thought he had potential, but even I had my doubts about this match. As it turned out it was a fun little opener, and Eddie's "Lie Cheat and Steal" mentality helped it out. Had Luther worked more with Eddie he may have had a brighter future.
My Grade: B-
Eight Man Tag Team Elimination Match: Eddie Guerrero, Big Show, Rob Van Dam, & John Cena vs. Kurt Angle, Luther Reigns, Mark Jindrak, & Carlito (Survivor Series 2004)
I've done this match a few times before. Not much too it. Cena got revenge, Carlito ran off, and Luther and Jindrak got jobbed. The end.
Nice match here. This was a PPV that I wasn't initially planning on ordering and I changed my mind at the last second. Good thinking on my part, if only for this match. This was one of those matches that Eddie didn't stand a chance of winning but while I was watching it I started to have hope. Those matches are always fun. I particularly liked the Undertaker-Eddie interaction. This also set up the short lived Eddie-Booker tag team.
My Grade: A
2005 Royal Rumble Match (Royal Rumble 2005)
This is a match I become more and more fond of the more I watch it. I wish my video of this show didn't suck; I think I may by the DVD the next time I see it. As far as this match relates to Eddie it was part of the slow burn for the Eddie heel turn, as Eddie, Rey Mysterio, and Booker T attempted to maintain a shaky alliance. All I remember is not wanting Eddie to turn heel…show's what I know.
My Grade: B, for consistency, but it should be higher
From the Rey Mysterio Report Card: This was the best match on the PPV, although given the competition that isn't saying too much. Eddie and Rey had a great chemistry as a tag team and it was cool to see them winning the belts, especially using Eddie's "Cheat 2 Win" tactics. This was probably one of the best matches the Bashams had and sort of makes one reminiscent for them as a tag team.
My Grade: B-
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (WrestleMania 21)
From the Rey Mysterio Report Card: I think a lot of people had their expectations up too high for this match, many thinking that they could bring out a bit of Halloween Havoc 1997 here. Unfortunately that isn't what we got although the match we did get wasn't bad at all. Of their PPV outings in 2005 this was probably their worst, but even the worst out of two men like Rey and Guerrero is awfully damn good.
My Grade: B
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (Judgment Day 2005)
From the Rey Mysterio Report Card: Rey and Eddie picked up the quality with this match, although unfortunately Eddie was in his newly acquired heel character which meant he was playing the power game instead of playing to Rey's speed. The match was much better than their WrestleMania encounter but the DQ ending left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths.
My Grade: B+
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (One Night Stand 2005)
This makes me sad to have to rate this match. Between the match being slow due to Eddie's recent heel turn, the complete betrayal of these two by the fans, and Eddie's complete no-sell of the Crippler Crossface and this match is just not that good. Many people, including me, were expecting a classic, and unfortunately this was not it.
My Grade: D
Secret Match: Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (Great American Bash 2005)
From the Rey Mysterio Report Card: Once again Eddie and Rey were the saving grace to a SmackDown PPV (although for the record, Booker-Christian and Benoit-OJ were both fine matches and Taker-Hassan was pretty decent even with the horribly unjust treatment to Hassan). Some will say that this match was too much storyline, focusing too much on the "Who's your papi" deal with Dominick, but I think that made this match stand out from their others. Eddie was ultra affective as the heel in this match and Rey was playing the emotional babyface perfectly. The part where Eddie grabs Dominick by the head to stop Rey from attacking him, while slightly uncomfortable, was gold. Eddie and Rey were building to something special and this was a great launching pad for that.
My Grade: B
Custody of Dominick Ladder Match: Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (SummerSlam 2005)
From the Rey Mysterio Report Card: And this was that something special. Many people claim that the Eddie-Rey matches in 2005 were overrated, and I can sort of see their point. There is no overrating this match though, which was great. I named this my #7 best WWE match of the year and nobody argued that point. This was Eddie Guerrero's last great match and it is good to know that it was against his good friend Rey Mysterio on the second grandest stage of them all, SummerSlam.
And now for Eddie's last match. This match was a lot better than I think a lot of people expected, and Eddie and Batista had a really good chemistry together. Remember, friends don't shake hands…friends gotta HUUUUG. Haha, I still laugh thinking about that. I remember being a little upset that Eddie lost to Dave's spinebuster, but considering everyone else he has put away with that since then, it's not so bad. It's fitting that Eddie's last PPV match was in the main event, on his birthday no less. I wish we could have seen what the future would have held for Latino Heat.
My Grade: B+
Well that does it for the Eddie Guerrero Report Card. I had a lot of fun looking back on Eddie's matches, and I hope you have too. Feel free to send me your thoughts, on either Eddie or the Report Card Series.
Andy! Andy! At Last You Have Some Feedback!
Angelo Velotta concludes his WWE-TNA Amalgam series:
Raw Week 7:
The first match of the night has Senshi destroy and dismantle Viscera before hitting The Warrior's Way for the quick win.
The second match of the night is between AMW and The Teacher Pets. Mrs. McCool tries to distract Storm, but Gail Kim knocks her off the apron allowing Storm to superkick Idol for the win and letting AMW advance to the finals.
The third match of the night is Cryme Tyme vs. Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett gets JTG in the figure four but Shad goes out and gets a chair and legdrops the chair onto Jarrett for the DQ. After the match Cryme Tyme put on a beatdown to Jarrett with chairs. The Big Show comes out and they set up a table letting Big Show chokeslam Jarrett through.
The fourth match of the night is between MNM and The Papparazzi. Before the match Jim Cornette bans all the other members of The Papparazzi and Melina from ringside. Shelley hits the Shellshock on Mercury and then Divine hits a spiraling diving headbutt on him for the win!
The fifth match of the night is between Ken Kennedy and Randy Orton. Kennedy wins after he hits Orton with his own move, the RKO. After the match Kennedy tells the fans all to vote to put the title on the line, which brings out Cena who claims he's a fighting champ. Kennedy tells Cena to come out to the ring and he does. Kennedy eye pokes him and then hits an FU on Cena!
Which leads to the start of the sixth match between Carlito, Christian and Cena. Carlito runs down first and tries to get a quick cover on Cena but he kicks out at 2. The match continues for a while until one point when Christian bails from the match, screaming the words Cyber Sunday aloud. This allows Cena to hit the FU and lock on the STFU on Carlito for the win.
Next Week's Matches:
AMW vs. The Papparazzi (tournament finals)
Cryme Tyme and The Big Show vs. Jeff Jarrett and two mystery partners
Gregory Helms vs. Scotty 2 Hotty
HHH vs. Abyss
John Cena vs. Edge
Raw Week 8:
The first match of the night is between Cryme Tyme and The Big Show vs. Jarrett and two mystery partners. Jarrett comes out with Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe. The match gets out of control but ends when Angle Angle Slams JTG and then Joe locks in the Rear Naked Choke for the tapout. After the match Angle and Joe staredown, as they are both two options for Senshi's opponent. Joe goes to push Angle but Angle ducks and hits a belly to belly.
The second match of the night has Gregory Helms easily defeat Scotty 2 Hotty with a shining wizard.
The third match of the night has HHH defeat Abyss after three straight Pedigrees. HHH gets on the mic and says the knows the fans won't pick him since he turned his back on DX, and the whole wrestling world. No one wants to see a bad guy HHH. He then calls out Eugene who he extends a hand shake to before hitting him with a Pedigree. HHH then calls out Jim Cornette. He threatens Cornette to make sure he is picked. Cornette says it's up to the fans. HHH then hits a devastating Pedigree to Cornette before finally leaving.
The fourth match of the night is John Cena vs. Edge. Cena hits an FU on Edge but then Christian runs down with a chair and nails Cena. Christian hits Cena with the chair over ten times. Cena finally gets up and Edge spears Cena before him and Christian hug. Christian gets on the mic and says that Edge and Christian are being added to the London and Kendrick and tournament winners tag match, so it will now be a triple threat tornado tag match at Cyber Sunday!
Which brings out the tag team tournament finals between AMW and The Papparazzi. Storm hits the superkick on Devine but Shelley breaks it up at 2. Shelley finally gets in and hits the Shellshock on Storm for 2. Finally, The Papparazzi hits MNM's own Snapshot on Storm for the win to win the tournament!
This is the last report from my WWE/TNA amalgam I am sending in. It all started with Wrestlemania 0: Bound For Glory, and took us through four Raw shows til Backlash, and then two double weekly Raw reports after that to where we are now at Cyber Sunday. In all, I have sent some results in (including this week) 9 weeks in a row. I feel as if the initial excitement from this has died down so I've decided to make this a huge PPV for any fans of this amalgam.
The first match is the roster spot match up. Voted by the fans, Val Venis and Monty Brown were selected. The match is a pretty good encounter with Brown hitting the POOOOUNCE on Venis but then arrogantly celebrating instead of going for the cover. Brown goes up to hit Venis' finisher the Money Shot and misses. Venis then hits the Money Shot for the win.
Winner: Val Venis
The second match of the night is between London and Kendrick, The Papparazzi, and Edge and Christian. London hits the dropsault on Shelley but Christian then hits the Unprettier on London, while Edge nails Kendrick with a spear. Edge then hits the Edgecution on Devine for the win. After the match E and C go and get eight chairs from the outside. They set the other four guys in the ring up for vicious Conchairtos.
Winners and new Tag Team Champions: Edge and Christian.
The third match of the night is Jeff Jarrett vs. The Big Show. The fans voted and the match selected was a Buried Alive Match. When Jarrett and Show come out before the match begins Heyman enters the ring with Cryme Tyme. The five of them all raise each others hands as Heyman announces the New World Order is back. The five of them spray paint N.W.O. on the canvas and leave the arena through the crowd. The crowd erupts with a chorus of loud boos.
Winner: N/A
The fourth match of the night is between Gregory Helms and CM Punk. The fans voted as the special referee is Hulk Hogan!!! At the end of the match Helms goes to get a chair but Hogan stops him. Helms hits Hogan but Hogan no sells it and knocks Helms down. Hogan hits the Big Boot on Helms and then the patented legdrop. Punk gets up and locks on the Anaconda Vice for the win! After the match Hogan raises Punk's hand but Punk low blows Hogan and then hits the urange/ Anaconda Vice on Hogan! Security finally breaks it up.
Winner and new X-Division Champion: CM Punk
The fifth match of the night is Senshi versus a mystery opponent. The fans have selected Samoa Joe. This is a brutal encounter. Senshi hits a spinning heel kick on Joe for 2. Joe gets up and hits an exploder suplex on Senshi for 2. Joe hits a running knee for 2. Joe then goes for the Muscle Buster but Senshi slides out and hits a stiff kick to the head for 2. Senshi hits a springboard sidekick for 2. Senshi goes for an enziguri but Joe reverses it and hits one of his own followed by huge legdrop for 2. Joe goes up top and hits a flying clothesline for 2. Joe then tries to lock in the Rear Naked Choke but Senshi fights out with headbutts. Senshi hits a flying roundhouse kick for 2. Senshi hits a springboard elbow and then goes up for The Warrior's Way but Joe hits a huge RUNNING KNEE knocking Senshi onto the turnbuckle. Joe hits the Muscle Buster but Senshi somehow kicks out at 2!!! Joe goes to lock in the Rear Naked Choke again but Senshi fights out again. Senshi hits a stiff kick combo and then a diving headbutt…for 2! Senshi then goes up and hits The Warrior's Way for 1, 2! Joe KICKED OUT!!! Senshi then locks on a dragon sleeper on Joe but Joe won't tap! The two both fall over in exhaustion. The refs counts up to 7 when Senshi gets up. It looks as if Senshi is going to win by countout when he picks up Joe because he wants to win the hard way! The fans are going crazy. Senshi hits a springboard headbutt for 2. Senshi then tries to lock Joe's Rear Naked Choke on Joe but Joe reverses it into one of his own. Senshi fights to the ropes. The two get up and Senshi hits a dropkick to the knees of Joe and then straight out stangles him for submission victory!!!!!!
Winner: SENSHI
The main event is John Cena vs. Ken Kennedy for the World Title. At the end of the match the heel champions all come out (E+C and CM Punk) and they beat down Cena. He finally gets up and Kennedy hits an FU on Cena and then the 5 Knuckle Shuffle. He then goes up and hits a Kenton Bomb for the victory! After the match Edge and Christian, CM Punk, and Ken Kennedy all raise each others hands before they take off their shirts revealing N.W.O shirts! Heyman, Cryme Tyme, Jeff Jarrett and the Big Show join Edge, Christian, CM Punk and Ken Kennedy in the ring. They then go outside by the dumpster and throw all major titles in the trash can. Heyman then sets the dumpster on fire as the entire faction walks down the street together to close the show.
Winner and new World Champion: Ken Kennedy
Overrall, this was a great subdivision column I had going, based on the fact that I would love to start and have my own wrestling promotion. The I have so many great ideas for storylines, characters, titles, matches, etc. but it is so hard to be able to put something together due to the fact that you need wrestlers, a lot of money, producers, etc… Maybe one day my booking will make it in the real world and not just online as an amalgam of an already going promotion. In the meantime, I'll still send feedback into Andy Clark, and would like to ask Andy a favor, and that is if I could be included in the PPV roundtable discussions with the 411 staff. I hope I can get this opportunity, and if so you can catch my ideas there in the future.
And there you have it. Some interesting booking there, Angelo! As I've already told Angelo personally, I can't give him a spot just like that. In the grand scheme of things I am just a mere peon, I don't make things happen. Even my budy Andy Critchell, who has dispensation to write for my column, doesn't have staff privileges. But don't fret! 411 is hiring! So if you wanna be the one to replace me when I eventually get canned, or if you want to make a cameo in Hidden Highlights send in your submissions to either Larry or Randle and you too can join the 411 family.
Andrew Dean notes my Survivor Series slip-up:
"For the first time in Survivor Series history it was the challenger that got screwed, and not the champion."
Uh, no. The year before that, challenger Booker T is screwed, and in 2000 it was the Undertaker who was screwed.
Other than that, an interesting delve through history as always!
Wow, I must have been medicated or something when I wrote that considering, you know, I WROTE THAT OTHER STUFF DOWN. Man I feel stupid sometimes. Good catch, Andrew!
Stephen Popick answers my question about Benoit's interest in Eddie's estate:
I think we figured it out last night. Storyline-wise, Dominick is Eddie's son but Rey is his father. If Eddie left (storyline) everything to his son, then Vicky/Chavo get nothing (and that explains the rey/guerrero feud). Rey benefits from Eddie's estate (I am sure they could spin this.
So there's the business.
Hmm, I could see them doing this. God, I hope they don't though.
Voteul thinks I'm joking:
i'm assuming you are joking about the she's a crack whore line.
and,
fake wrestling>bad football.
I wasn't joking. Based on the booking I think WWE was even expecting the crowd to be more vicious rather than apathetic. Oh, and nothing beats Steeler football. I know I can see another wrestling show (in fact, I'm going to the SmackDown-ECW show in Hampton two nights after Armageddon), who knows when I'll get the opportunity to see my Stillers play again?
Steve wants my take on Team DX vs. Team Rated RKO at Survivor Series:
Read your article, and I agreed with pretty much everything you said. The Team DX/Team Rated RKO match was definately the most fun to watch, I was laughing the whole time, especially HBK in tha tmatch. Kinda reminded me of the old DX days, when he knocked out Mike Knox with Sweet Chin Music, pins him, turns to his team and asks "Who was he? Was he in the match? So we're doing good right?" Great stuff. One thing kinda puzzles me though. With the talent on Team Rated RKO, why have it be a
clean sweep? Given, Team DX rightfully got the win, but it seemed like the whole purpose of the match was to put over the entire team, while burying Team Rated RKO entirely. I'm not a huge fan of Edge and Orton
(besides that sweet new combined entrance theme :-p ) but the team as a whole had practically NOTHING the entire match. Any thoughts?
I think this is a situation of WWE thinking of both their live and their non-smark audience, which is good every now and then. I think we in the IWC put way too much stock in who loses to who and who gets "put over." The fact of the matter is that Edge and Orton are both established main eventers, and jobbing to five guys doesn't hurt them. The other three members of the team are used to jobbing so it's no big deal. The novelty was reborn on the Hardys so there was no need to break them up, and Punk was insanely over, would you like him to lose? I think had they lost one or two men in the match it would have been reminiscent of Team Eddie only losing RVD a few years back, where it just didn't seem right. So that's my take. Glad to see you dig the new combined music too!
And finally, NCHS08JohnBryant wants to talk some trash:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. your smoking something with Ricky Williams or Willie Nelson if you think the Steelers have a half a Snowball's chance in hell to beat my Panthers.
Hey, I got nothing against the Panthers. In fact, they are probably my second favorite team behind the Steelers. If the Steelers win, I'm pretty much knocking out the other team I would have rooted for in the post-season. Still, I need to see my boys win one, and with Chris Weinke at the helm I think that is a possibility. Plus, I'm still holding out hope for a miracle comeback and getting that #6 Wildcard spot. A pipe dream sure, but you never know.
500 Good Words w/ Andy Critchell
Dancing with the Devil
It's been quite a week in the wrestling world hasn't it kids? December to Dismember was widely regarded as a disaster, so much so that Paul Heyman was asked to leave ECW after what's been described as an intense and emotional meeting with Vince McMahon. As is usually the case in wrestling today it's hard to be 100% sure as to whether this situation is real or not but for the sake of this column we'll assume that it is real. The internet reaction to this situation was predictable; basically Paul is the victim here and its Vince's fault that December to Dismember was so bad and Paul should go to TNA.
(As an aside, isn't it interesting how the knee jerk reaction when a wrestler leaves WWE is invariably "he/she should go to TNA!" It's like TNA is the land of the misfit toys and they'll just take anyone. It's also interesting how said wrestler seems to be thought of as 10 times better because he's been held down by the "evil" WWE and he's get the chance to shine in TNA. Anyway, that's a topic for another time.)
I'm going to play Devil's Advocate here and look at this from Vince's side. First of all, published reports have said that it was Heyman himself that booked the December to Dismember show, not Vince. Basically what that means is that it was not the fault of "evil" Vince that the show was so crappy. I'm sure that by the end of the show that like many fans, Vince wanted his money back. The only difference is that Vince has put literally millions into making ECW a success, not just $40 for a PPV show. If I had put that much money into something and the return on my investments was as bad as December to Dismember, I'd be upset as well. You can't really fault Vince for that.
It's been my experience that most very successful people are quite egotistical and usually it's that large ego that has helped them become such a huge success. Vince is no different. He's become a multi millionaire because of and despite his large ego. It's unclear as to how much direct control Vince had over the ECW product versus how much control Paul had but that's not really of consequence because as the boss, the buck stops with Vince. Vince had to find someone to blame because it certainly wasn't going to be himself so Heyman had to take the fall. Debate how fair that is all you want but that's life in the big city kiddies. Business is done that way every day.
Personally, I think the possibility exists that this was a calculated move by Vince. He knows that he's got Heyman under contract for the next 9 months so there is no danger of him jumping to anywhere else. He also knows that this isn't the first time he's had a dust up with Heyman but the fence has always been mended eventually and Paul is brought back into the fold so that may happen again. This whole situation has also been a great diversionary tactic as well. It seems that the Heyman situation has been the focus of the internet as opposed to the lack of quality in December to Dismember, the VKM angle in TNA, or even TNA's PPV. It probably even got a few people interested in ECW that were kind of lukewarm before. Vince and Co. know how to get your attention and of course, controversy creates cash.
So what are your thoughts? Email me at ascrit@myway.com and as long as they are intelligent, I'll post them next week.
The Shimmy Likes It Raw!
What's on tap for tonight?
Triple H vs. Edge; This was once a big PPV potential match up. What is in store for tonight's showdown?
John Cena vs. Armando Alejandro Estrrrrrrrada; Could Cena lose to the manager of the Samoan Bulldozer? It may warm him up for his loss to K-Fed.
That does it for this week's edition of the Shimmy. I'll see you next week, same bat time, same bat channel. Until then, don't die. Clark…out.
