Schmozzes & Screwjobs 04.24.2007 The Eric Angle Edition
Posted by Daniel Wilcox on 04.24.2007
You remember Kurt's little brother, right? Screwjobs, schmozzes, Chris Jericho, and live notes from Raw is Wilcox all inside in the longest ever edition of Schmozzes & Screwjobs!
Good afternoon readers and welcome back to Schmozzes & Screwjobs. I'm feeling refreshed after an awesome night at Raw last night and I hope you're all feeling good, too. What's on tap for today's epic edition of S&S you ask? Well I'll tell you.
-Lockdown thoughts, Rob Van Dam: One of a Kind, wwe.com's alumni page and more in Curtain Jerkin'
-Chris Jericho's return to the WWE fantasy booked in False Finishes
-Quite a lot of reader feedback in, um, the reader feedback section
-Thoughts on my first time at a televised WWE event
-A bad week for SmackDown in this weeks Schmozz Count
-Top 5 YouTubes of the week
-Kurt Angle's baby brother in today's Screwjob
Excited? You should be, let's go!
Curtain Jerkin'
-I managed to find time to watch Lockdown on Wednesday night and I have to say I was thoroughly unimpressed. First of all the cage looked completely harmless which takes away from the aspect of a Cage match. Then we come to the match quality and apart from Lethal Lockdown it was all very average. There were a few decent matches like Daniels/Lynn and Star/Senshi but outside of that everything was very bland. I would have enjoyed the X Division opener if I gave a damn about anybody in the match but unfortunately I don't. Shark Boy is popular amongst the IWC but as far as I'm concerned he'll always be just a jobber in a costume. Sonjay Dutt is one of the most boring X Division wrestlers I've ever seen I couldn't care less about him. I like Alex Shelley but look what TNA have done with him, nothing, and that's what's wrong. Everybody seems to love the "Black Machismo" gimmick but I preferred Jay Lethal as just Jay Lethal. Some of Kevin Nash's stuff may be funny but he has ruined the X Division. Of course it doesn't help that all the stars of the X Division have left. People cared about Joe, Daniels and AJ but none of the current crop of X wrestlers have made any sort of impact (pun intended). While I like Sabin's character, when he comes to the ring and gets no reaction it kind of kills what little flow he had. Star, Shelley, Senshi, Sabin, Petey and Daniels should be the X Division stars and maybe Lethal without the silly gimmick. The others should be jobbers. And what good is Bob Backlund doing? None? That's what I thought, so get rid of him, please.
-My local Woolworth's store in town had some pretty cheap wrestling DVDs going so I picked up the Rob Van Dam: One of a Kind set. They also had the Benoit, Eddie and Rise and Fall of ECW sets but for whatever reason I decided to get those at a later date. The Van Dam set is just a bunch of matches with brief comments from Van Dam in between as opposed to a documentary with the matches in the extras section. The matches themselves are all mostly great and range from his brief spell in WCW as Robby V, to his ECW feuds with Sabu and Jerry Lynn amongst others and finally some of his best WWE matches with Jeff Hardy, Chris Jericho and Christian. It's almost 6 hours of footage and if you've got the time and the cash I recommend you pick this set up because it's a really good collection of matches to have, most of which you won't find anywhere else.
-Manchester United slipped up again on the weekend when they only managed a draw against Middlesbrough at Old Trafford. I still think Ole Solksjaer's goal was perfectly OK but the referee ruled it out nonetheless. It gave Chelsea the opportunity to close the gap at the top of the Premiership to just one point against Newcastle on Sunday which thankfully, they failed to do as that game finished 0-0 so the title race is now wide open. United now have a serious injury problem heading into tonight's Champions League semi-final against AC Milan with Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville, Patrice Evra, Nemanja Vidic and Mickeal Silvestre all out of the defence and Kieran Richardson also injured. And to have 5 defenders out when our goalkeeper has been sloppy in recent weeks against one of the best sides in the world is not good news. United have been the best team in the world over the past year and yet they may not end the season with any trophies. While we are on the topic here is Man United's goal of the week.
Wayne Rooney vs. Sheffield United 04/17/2007
-wwe.com has a new WWE Alumni section with a few Superstars of the past included. The first members were The Rock, Trish Stratus and Lita which made me think why Chris Jericho wasn't in there if this thing was supposed to be people they parted terms with on good terms. However I checked back this morning and Y2J has now been added so that's good. It's quite amazing that they can only find 4 people eligible to go in that category though.
-Finnish rock band HIM have announced that they will release there 6th full length studio album Venus Doom on July 2nd in the UK. Awesome. HIM are by far my favourite band of all time and I've been waiting for this announcement since Dark Light was released in 2005. It does worry me that front man and lead singer Ville Valo has said the new material will be "Metallica-like" and heavier because that's not really what HIM is all about. In other HIM news, they released Uneasy Listening Volume 2 yesterday which is a compilation of B-Sides and for a bunch of tracks that weren't good enough to make it even as bonus tracks on singles, this is particularly awesome.
-Sticking with music, here's my Top 5 Most Played of the Week!
1. Thnks fr th Mmrs - Fall Out Boy
2. Innocence - Avril Lavigne
3. What I've Done - Linkin Park
4. Cupid's Chokehold - Gym Class Heroes
5. Cancer - My Chemical Romance
Before we move on here are the results from last week's Screwjob votings.
The Madison Square Screwjob...
made perfect sense and was done as best as could be - 65%
was completely non-sensical and unnecessary - 9%
should have been done with Kurt Angle instead of Big Show - 26%
The Screwjob
The Eric Angle Edition
WWE Championship Match Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker
19th November @ Ice Palace, Tampa Florida
Survivor Series 2000
Background Information: As we found out a couple of weeks ago, the Undertaker returned from injury at Judgment Day in May of 2000. Taker had originally planned on returning from his groin injury for WrestleMania but a bicep injury prevented him from doing that. When he did return he was sporting a brand new gimmick, that of the "American Badass" or Biker Taker. At Fully Loaded in July Taker went one-on-one with Kurt Angle and despite an ankle injury the Undertaker overcame the challenge of Angle and won the match with his new finisher The Last Ride. Undertaker would go on to feud with Kane throughout the summer while Angle battled with Triple H. At No Mercy in October Kurt Angle competed in his first ever one-on-one match for the WWE Championship against The Rock. When Rikishi interfered to help the Brahma Bull he inadvertently nailed the Great One with a thrust kick which would eventually led to our Olympic Hero picking up his very first WWE Championship after less than a year in the business.
The Rock and Rikishi would go on to fight at Survivor Series in a match that saw Rock pin Rikishi after a People's Elbow but after the match Rikishi laid a devastating assault on The Rock including hitting 3 Bonsai Drops that could have caved in The Rock's chest cavity. The other two title contenders, Triple H and Stone Cold Steve Austin also squared off at Survivor Series. Austin had recently returned from an injury that put him on the shelf for nearly a whole year, and injury that occurred when he was run over in a parking lot at Survivor Series 1999. It was revealed a few weeks after Austin's return that Triple H was the man that orchestrated the assault but Rikishi was the man behind the wheel. Austin had already beat Rikishi in a No Holds Barred match and now he was out for revenge on The Game. He got it.
I love that. Anyway, with everyone else busy, it was Undertaker who became the #1 contender to Kurt Angle's title. This years Survivor Series was exactly a year since Angle had debuted whereas Taker had a decade of destruction under his belt. People had doubted the credibility of Angle's reign due to the circumstances under which he had won it and the way he constantly used outside interference from Edge and Christian or cheated to win matches. This would be Angle's toughest test as champion and because of experience and Taker's victory over Angle at Fully Loaded, the American Badass was a clear favourite.
How It Went Down: Here's the match report from Arnold Furious' Furiousrage.com.
Taker has the ugliest pants in the history of the universe on. What the heck was he thinking? Angle stalls on the outside while Taker patrols his yard. Taker gives Angle a free chair shot so he takes it. Taker's trousers really are the ugliest I've ever seen. Taker hits the Hogan leg drop for 2 but he refuses to pin for 3. He wants to give Angle a good beating. Top rope walk of doom. Taker swings with a big right and Angle hits a German suplex for 2. Angle rules. They battle outside where Angle gets driven into the ring post, twice. Back inside Angle goes after Taker's knee. Taker comes back with a Fujiwara armbar. Edge and Christian show up and distract the referee while Angle is tapping. Angle avoids a chokeslam by going to the knee again. He works a leglock, which Taker gets out of and he goes after E+C at ringside so Hebner boots them both. Back inside Taker hits a chokeslam but Hebner is still busy with E+C so it only gets 2. While Taker argues the call Angle rolls him up for 2. Side Russian legsweep from Taker gets 2. Angle goes back to work on the knee and straps on a figure 4. Taker reverses so Angle grabs the ropes. Tilt-a-whirl powerslam from Taker gets 2. Angle goes back to work on the knee and he breaks out the Bret Hart ring post figure 4, yeah! Angle rules. Taker comes battling back with a Snake Eyes for 2. Low blow from Angle and he goes for a tombstone but it's reversed and Angle has to grab the ropes to get away. They go outside again and Angle crawls under the ring to escape. Taker drags him out and hits the Last Ride. Hebner counts to 2, then stops and he's screwed Taker? Wait it's not Kurt Angle. The real Kurt appears from under the ring and rolls Taker up for 3 at 16.19. ***. Fine contest. The double was Kurt's brother Eric who was wearing the exact same gear.
And here's the closing moments of the match all the way from youtube!
The Fallout: This is a new part of my overall Screwjob analysis where I basically state what happened after the screwjob went down and essentially, the fallout. In addition, this section is brought to you in association with Chicago rockers Fall Out Boy
Obviously the Undertaker was pissed. The next night on Raw Kurt Angle came out at the start of the show to brag about how he outsmarted the Undertaker to retain his title. He brought Eric out to thank him but Undertaker interrupted their reunion. Kurt tried to sacrifice Eric to Taker who chokeslammed Eric Angle but pursued Angle to the top of the entrance ramp. Taker got hold of Angle and chokeslammed him off the side of the stage! One week later on Raw Stone Cold Steve Austin battled Angle for the WWE Championship in a long hard fought match. Austin seemed to have the advantage and hit his Stone Cold Stunner on the champion and covered only for the referee to be dragged out of the ring before he could finish the count. It was Triple H! He knocked the referee out and smashed Austin's skull in with a led pipe leaving Austin bloodied as Raw went off the air. The next Thursday on SmackDown commissioner Mick Foley booked the next championship match for Armageddon in December. Because of all the issues that Taker, Rock, Rikishi, Triple H, Austin and Angle had with each other, Foley booked a 6 man match for the title at Armageddon in a Hell in a Cell match! To everybody's surprise, Angle came out on top again by pinning The Rock after a Stone Cold Stunner from Austin. The match also saw Rikishi get chokeslammed from the top of the cell by The Undertaker.
Analysis: Some say that the way Angle constantly won his matches gave his title reign zero credibility. Others tend to think that he is the sneaky champion who comes out on top no matter what the odds. So was Angle made to look like a pussy or was he in actual fact a credible champion? I can see an argument for both cases.
On one hand you could say that not being able to get a clean win in any circumstances doesn't do any good for ones credibility. But then if you look at the Hell in a Cell match, it was actually a clean win. Sneaky, but clean. And going in to every championship match, Kurt was described as an underdog and was given a chance of winning going into the match so when he did come out on top, it obviously does wonders for his believability as champion.
What do you all think?
The Schmozz Count
Raw None
ECW None
Impact None
SmackDown! 3, Taker vs. Kennedy, Batista vs. Finlay, Kane vs. Regal/Taylor
Well everyone else had a fine week, but once again SmackDown let the side down and had a shocking week. I don't think there have been that many schmozzes on any one show before.
The Schmozz Count: 40 + 3 = 43!
Raw Is Wilcox!
Well yesterday was a fairly long day for me. As you all I know I attended the Raw taping in London, England last night and it was the first time I'd ever been to a televised WWE event. As my dad, my brother, my brother's friend Ross, my friend Martin and I got on the coach from Gloucester preparing for a near 4 hour trip to the capital I was already excited knowing I'd be seeing the WrestleMania rematch between Shawn Michaels and John Cena. If you remember back to before Mania I mentioned Cena and Michaels are my top two favourite wrestlers at the moment and seeing them go one-on-one at Mania would be awesome, then you can imagine how pumped I was to be seeing it live. I was also looking forward to seeing Khali who had been announced for the show, not because he's a good wrestler or anything, but because he's 7 foot tall and who doesn't like seeing tall guys? As for the rest of the show, we weren't really sure what to expect. I really wanted to see Shane O Mac do his dance but because he wasn't in Italy I was quite sure he wouldn't be in London either despite him being in one of the main events for Backlash this Sunday. I was also looking forward to cheering for Randy Orton but I doubted he would be there due to his antics last week. For those who don't know he trashed a hotel room in Germany. So fucking what? I don't think he should be punished by missing televised shows, just job him the fuck out until he learns. Finally we knew that ECW stars CM Punk, Snitsky and Kevin Thorn had been touring with the Raw crew so we expected to see them which was awesome. I did think that because SmackDown was being taped in London the next day that there might be a few more guys from the other shows anyway but I wasn't going to get my hopes up.
So before we move on what I enjoyed (and there was a lot of it) I'll start with a few grievances. Four hour coach trips. Enough said. False advertising. Where the hell was Edge vs. Randy Orton? When that promo came on the tron Earls Court went crazy. There were several "there's only one Randy Orton" chants and it was obvious the place wanted to see the Legend Killer and the Rated R Superstar go at it. I get that Orton couldn't be there because of his antics in Germany last week but if that's the case, don't advertise the match! I'm sure that'll get pointed out in Larry's 3R's on Friday. And the last thing is just a note about some of the fans who feel they are more entitled to watch the show than the rest of us. When security asks you to sit down, sit the fuck down. Instead these particular fans who were sat in the row behind us were completely rude and abusive to the security and deserved to be thrown out the building. Well that's all the negativity in one place so let's get to the good stuff.
Ric Flair came out before the show started to say how much the WWE enjoyed being in Europe and more specifically London. Huge pop for Flair. Heat started off with Kenny Dykstra going one-on-one with Jeff Hardy. The match went just about 5 minutes and was quite a decent bout. Lots of "Hardy" chants and "Kenny sucks" chants. Jeff finished with the Swanton Bomb in a match that really got the crowd into it. Next up was Mickie James vs. Victoria in a decent women's match. Crowd was into Mickie's entrance and her DDT finisher but other than that we were quite hushed. Chris Masters vs. Val Venis was next. Masters got very little reaction coming out but the crowd were hot for Venis. We did manage to help start a "let's go Masters" chant in our section but I doubt it'll make it to TV. Masters won with a variation of a half nelson slam but then Val called Masters back for a rematch and won it with the Money Shot. Not sure how that'll air on Heat. Our main event was JTG and Shad vs. The World's Greatest Tag Team. Standard tag team match made fun by our side of the building cheering on Shelton and that should be audible assuming it's not edited out. Cryme Tyme got the duke with G9 in a short but fun match. Not a bad edition of Heat as it goes. It was around this time that we started hearing Jose Mourhino was in attendance. For those who don't know he is possibly the most hated man in English football or "soccer" and manager of Chelsea.
Todd Grisham then came out to get us pumped for the start of Raw. Cue "To Be Loved " by Papa Roach and London went wild! Cue Johnny Nitro's music and the place is on fire. Nitro kicks ass. Period. Then Eugene comes out. Great. London was actually really into the retard but that's their prerogative. We noticed half way through that the Heat stage was still set up so we then figured this must be a dark match and this kind of pissed me off. I thought they were trying to rebuild Nitro after his squash victory last week but this week he didn't even make it onto the show. Fine match which Nitro won with his neckbreaker. Decent pop for Nitro's win. Grisham came out again and introduce Hall of Famers Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler who both got great reactions. Cue Raw intro take 2 and cue London going crazy once more.
"Here Comes the Money!" Hell mother fuckin' yes! Mark out! Shane O Mac got a fantastic reaction; even the little kids behind us popped for Shane. Shane pointed out Jose Mourhino in the crowd and he got booed out of the building. Awesome. The comment about Robbie Brookeside beating up 6 Chelsea players in a bar was hilarious and got a great reaction. The no DQ2-on-1 3-on-1 match got decent heat and Vince McMahon even got some cheers. Apparently most hated that segment on TV but the London crowd was really into it.
Matt Hardy got a huge pop when he came out for his match with Trevor Murdoch who incidentally got no reaction. And what the hell was with his finisher? It looked like a poor attempt at a Canadian Destroyer but either way even that got little reaction. The fans were more than disappointed that the Rednecks got the duke.
We move on and next up was Melina vs. Maria. Now we're talking. I know everyone says this but the divas really are 100% hotter live. And Maria is like the greatest human being to walk the face of the earth. She really is God's finest work and I don't even believe in God. Then she got beat in just over a minute which was rather annoying but I'm still happy that I got to see her in action. All this talk of Maria calls for some pictures.
Well I feel better. Carlito got a decent pop when he first came out for his match with Khali but as it progressed he got a fair few boos as well. The match was a bit of mess and really not too interesting but I like that this time they had Flair pissed off with Carlito and walk out on him. Crowd wasn't really sure how to react to the whole deal after the match.
This was obviously during a commercial break but Todd Grisham came out to do some sign of the night crap. Only thing of any real interest was after they showed a Chelsea flag and then Jose Mourhino again, The Grish said something along the lines of "smile Jose" which got a nice pop. "Mae Young for Playboy" got the best reaction.
And we move on to the main event. Crowd was 50/50 split as to who to cheer for and as you can imagine it was the women and children who were mainly cheering for the champ whereas the adults tended to side with HBK. As it happened I didn't have a clue who to route for so I ended up shouting "let's go Cena," *breath* "Cena sucks!" which explains why I have quite the sore throat this morning. Crowd was into the match the whole time and went crazy when Michaels made the ropes while in the STFU and when he nailed Sweet Chin Music both times. Awesome match. Some people in the forums have been bitching about but I just think they are fucking crazy. A 55 minute classic on free TV and they're still not happy? I say fuck em. Michaels got crazy cheers as he was leaving. After Raw went off the air Cena initially got more boos but then everyone in the building applauded his efforts. He left to mostly cheers and then Grisham got back in the ring to ask for one last applaud for Michaels and Cena which he got, thanked us for coming and that was the night.
There was a funny moment as we were on the London Underground heading back to Victoria station as a seemingly drunk French guy got on the tube and started ranting about us fascist Brits and the French government. The temptation to say "and if you ain't down with that we've got two words for ya " was great but I stopped myself. We did get a good laugh out of him though and I got an admiring look from the cute girl stood next to me so all's good.
Overall we had an awesome night and I've already decided I will attending again next year. If my finaccial circumstances are good I'll try and get tickets for both the Raw and SmackDown shows which would be a huge bonus.
Mark Out moments of the night;
Johnny Nitro
Maria
"Here Comes the Money"
Maria
Shane dissing Jose and Chelsea
Maria
Vince's hat
Maria
The Great Khali
Maria
The entire Shawn Michaels/John Cena match
Maria
So as you can see there are a hell of a lot of reasons to attend a WWE event if you've never been, I recommend you get yourself some tickets and get to a show as soon as you can.
Half Time
Isn't reading hard? Take a break, have a biscuit and watches some cool youtube videos. This week I decided to find some cool old school John Cena and DX stuff.
Top 5 Wrestling YouTubes of the week!
This week's featured Superstars are D-Generation-X and the WWE Champion John Cena!
5. DX Implodes Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels
4. Battle Rap - John Cena vs. Kurt Angle
3. Battle Rap John Cena vs. Christian
2. DX Promo
1. Battle Rap John Cena vs. Big Show
And now for some plugs;
Hidden Highlights
The Top Ten
Fink's Payload
Wrestler of the Week
The Independent Mid-card
Your News, Larry's Views
The Shimmy
WWE vs. TNA
Friendly Competition
And the rest.
False Finishes and Fan Cams
Chris Jericho returns!
OK so we all want Y2J back, right? Yes, I thought so too. So just for fun, here's how I would book his return to the WWE. Yes, WWE, not TNA.
WWE One Night Stand 06/03/2007 Before the main event at ONS, the countdown that plays at the beginning of Jericho's titantron video airs on the big screen and when the countdown reaches 1, "is coming back" appears on the screen. This same thing happens at every Raw, SmackDown and ECW event for several weeks. On the last Raw, SmackDown and ECW before Vengeance, the text after the countdown reads "Returns at Vengeance!"
WWE Vengeance 06/24/2007 The show opens with Chris Jericho's highlight reel set up in the ring. Y2J's voice rings out over the PA "Ladies and gentleman, the Highlight Reel is back, baby! Tonight's guest Y2J Chris Jericho!" Countdown, fireworks, break the walls down! Jericho makes his way to the ring as the Houston, Texas crowd goes insane. Jericho says it's been a long time and he's missed the business over the past two years but he's back and he's looking to win championships. This brings out Carlito who is now a heel and the WWE Intercontinental Champion after beating Santino Marella on an episode of Raw in June. Carlito cuts a promo insulting Houston and Jericho and mentions that the last time Y2J was in a WWE ring he was being dragged out by security and begging Eric Bischoff for his job back. Carlito says if he is looking to win championships, not to come back to Raw because Carlito would not let Jericho win anything because he is the greatest champion in the WWE. Jericho comes back with some insulting comments for Carlito to which he takes exception and a brawl breaks out. Referees rush the ring to separate them but Jericho locks the Walls of Jericho on Carlito. The refs manage to pull Jericho off and Carlito bails.
Raw 06/25/2007 Carlito defends the Intercontinental Championship against former partner and rival Ric Flair. After a long competitive match, Carlito pins Flair after a roll up with his feet on the ropes. Carlito attacks Flair after the bell and applies the Walls of Jericho. When he eventually releases the hold, he challenges Chris Jericho to a match for the Intercontinental Championship next week on Raw.
Raw 07/02/2007 Carlito makes his way to the ring for the championship match but first gets on the mic. He says if Jericho comes out here fort this match, if Carlito beats him he can not sign a contract to come to Raw. Jericho comes out anyway for the match but before he can get to the ring he is attacked from behind by the United States Champion Montel Vontavious Porter. Carlito and MVP beat Jericho down outside the ring and then roll him into the ring. The match starts but Jericho keeps kicking out. MVP remains at ringside. When Jericho starts to come back and locks on the Walls, MVP runs in and nails Jericho with the United States Championship for the DQ. MVP and Carlito continue to beat Jericho down after the match.
SmackDown 07/06/2007 MVP battles Chris Benoit for the United States Championship but before the match tells the fans why he attacked Chris Jericho on Raw. He says Jericho overlooked him and MVP wants Jericho to come to SmackDown so MVP can show the world that he is the best there is. MVP and Benoit go back and forth for 15 minutes but MVP bails because Benoit won't let up. He grabs his title and goes to leave but Chris Jericho comes from behind and tosses MVP back into the ring. MVP, unaware of what's going on, gets drilled with three German suplexes and then Benoit applies the Crossface to regain the United States Championship.
SmackDown 07/13/2007 - MVP battles Chris Jericho. Despite MVP trying to cheat on several occasions, Jericho forces MVP to tap to the Walls of Jericho after a 20 minute match. MVP attacks after the bell but Y2J comes back until Carlito comes through the crowd to make it two on one. Just as it looks like Jericho is in trouble, Chris Benoit comes out to make the save and the heels retreat. After a commercial break, backstage Carlito challenges Benoit to a match on Raw.
Raw 07/16/2007 MVP accompanies Carlito to the ring for his match with Chris Benoit. They go a good ten minutes before MVP makes a distraction and Carlito hits a Backcracker for the victory. They start to carry on the beatdown until Jericho comes out. All 4 men brawl but the heels get the advantage by low blowing both faces. They get chairs and bloody up Benoit and Jericho. They challenge them to a tag team match at the Great American Bash.
SmackDown 07/20/2007 MVP and Carlito team up to take on Paul London and Brian Kendrick. After a good 15 minute match they beat London and Kendrick after a Intercontinental title shot to the back of the head of London and MVP covers. As they celebrate, Benoit and Jericho appear on the titantron to accept their challenge for the Great American Bash. But they want to make it interesting. 2 Out of 3 Falls. MVP says it's on!
The Great American Bash 07/22/2007 The first fall is dominated by Benoit and Jericho until Carlito illegally hits a Backcracker on Jericho while the referee is distracted. MVP and Carlito work over his back until he eventually comes back and gets the hot tag to Benoit who comes in and delivers three German suplexes to each opponent. He goes up top for the headbutt on Carlito. MVP comes along the apron to knock Benoit off the top rope but Jericho connects with his springboard dropkick. Headbutt connects. Jericho with a springboard plancha to take MVP out on the floor. Benoit goes for the Crossface but Carlito rolls through and goes for a powerbomb but Benoit with a double leg takedown, and applies the Sharpshooter forcing the submission victory in the first fall. MVP and Carlito isolate Benoit during the second fall and work over his arm so he cannot use the Crossface. He eventually gets the tag to Jericho who cleans house and gets a near fall off a Lionsault on MVP. As Jericho goes against the ropes Carlito hits him in the already injured back with a steel chair and Y2J walks into the Playmaker and MVP pins Jericho for 3. The third fall goes back and forth but it seems as if the heels may take it when Jericho tweaks his knee after missing a Lionsault. Benoit misses a headbutt giving the heels a chance to beat Jericho down and try to injure the knee some more. Benoit comes back and tosses Carlito to the floor and follows and Jericho locks in the Walls on MVP. But Porter is close to the ropes, only Benoit comes in and locks on the Crossface and MVP has no choice but to tap to the lethal combo. Jericho gets on the mic and announces that he has made his decision as to which show he will join. He is going to SmackDown!
SmackDown 0727/2007 It is announced at the start of the show that Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho will challenge Deuce and Domino for the WWE Tag Team Championships. Before the match we see Deuce and Domino watching footage of Benoit and Jericho's match at the Bash and particularly Jericho's knee injury. In the match D&D work over Jericho's knee until Y2J nails Domino with a step-up enziguri. He crawls to his corner for the tag but Benoit steps down off the apron and walks out on Jericho. Jericho fights off the champs on his own and seems to be in control. He goes to the top rope for a missile dropkick but as Cherry distracts the referee, Deuce nails Jericho in the knee with a chair. He falls off the top turnbuckle and Domino covers for the win. The champs leave as Benoit comes back out. He helps Jericho to his feet only to knock him down with a stiff clothesline. He goes to the top and connects with the Swandive headbutt. Crossface locked in. Benoit leaves Jericho lying unconscious.
SmackDown 08/ 03/2007 Chris Benoit kicks off the show by explaining why he did what he did last week. Jericho got in the way. He was holding Benoit back but now he will fight Batista and Mr Kennedy tonight in a triple threat match to determine the #1 contender for Undertaker's World Heavyweight Championship. Later on in the night, during the triple threat match Chris Jericho runs through the crowd and attacks Benoit. The two brawl through the crowd and have to be separated by security. Kennedy wins the match.
SmackDown 08/10/2007 The show opens with Chris Jericho going one-on-one with Finlay. Jericho wins the match using the Walls of Jericho but afterwards Benoit runs down to the ring to attack Jericho. Benoit and Finlay attack Jericho using Finlay's shileileigh until Matt Hardy, who is set to challenge Benoit for the US title later tonight, makes the save. After this, Teddy Long comes out to announce Benoit vs. Jericho for Summerslam and bans both Jericho and Finlay from the match between Hardy and Benoit tonight. Later in the night Matt Hardy challenges Benoit for the title. The Wolverine dominates for the majority of the match but Matt makes his comeback and hits the Side Effect for two. He attempts the Twist of Fate but it's countered into the Crossface. As Hardy gets the ropes, Benoit drags him back to the center of the ring and goes for the Walls of Jericho, only for Hardy to counter it into a roll-up for the victory and the title!
SmackDown 08/17/2007 In a tag team match pitting Benoit and Finlay against Jericho and Hardy, Y2J pins Benoit using a roll up. Jericho and Benoit continue to brawl after the match but Finlay helps Benoit using his shileileigh to attack the arm of Jericho. Benoit then uses a chair to wear down the arm and the pair leave Jericho screaming pain in the middle of the ring.
SmackDown 08/24/2007 In a rematch for the United States Championship between Matt Hardy and Chris Benoit, the referee gets knocked down after a misplaced clothesline by Hardy and Benoit takes advantage by low blowing the champion. Chris Jericho runs in and hits a lionsault on Benoit. Hardy makes the cover and the revived referee counts three. Jericho's arm is heavily taped. They stare down as we head to Summerslam.
Summerslam 08/26/2007 Benoit and Jericho put on a great 25 minute match. Jericho frustrates Benoit earlier and uses some of his high flying arsenal to maintain an advantage. However while brawling on the outside Jericho mistimes a dive and crashes and burns. Benoit takes over and uses the steel ringpost to attack the arm of Jericho. Benoit then dominates for a good 15 minutes until Jericho makes his comeback. A Lionsault gets 2 but Jericho can't seem to put Benoit away. The Wolverine comes back with his Germans and headbutt but that's not enough either. Eventually Benoit locks in the Crossface but Jericho fights and manages to roll through and lock on the Walls of Jericho and that forces Benoit to tap out. They shake hands after the match.
From here, both guys are pushed up the card and are regular threats to the World title picture. Jericho would then be able to feud with Finlay, MVP, and Kennedy amongst others and from there there are a couple of ways he could go. Turn heel and feud with guys like Batista and Taker, or move to either Raw or ECW where there are even more potential rivalries awaiting him. That went a fair bit longer than it was supposed to.
Reader Feedback
Yes I actually got some this week! First up is Sean McCabe from 411's Game section;
Hey, I just wanted to say that you were right about your comments on American music tastes, but frankly I wouldn't call the UK much better. Within Temptation (awesome, awesome band) may be known here, but they won't really be legitimately popular unless they got in the charts... something they probably won't ever have much luck with any more than America. Shame, but the truth really. I know a lot of other similar bands so if you want to know more, just ask.
Still, I mark whenever I see them mentioned in a column, and that's been getting more and more common lately. Out of interest, did you go to their recent gigs? I went to the one in Glasgow last week; I'll be mentioning it in my column (in the games section if you don't know). Great column this week too, the Brock Lesnar/Paul Heyman saga was great stuff.
See you around,
Sean
I'm glad someone agreed with me on my music comments over the last couple of weeks because it seems a fair few people thought I was talking crap. Unfortunately Sean speaks the truth about Within Temptation's popularity but they are a great bad. Although I've never been to one of their gigs I am hoping to go to the Download Festival in June which features Within Temptation and is headlined by Iron Maiden (don't like them), Linkin Park (awesome) and My Chemical Romance (really awesome.) For those who have never heard anything from Within Temptation check out this video.
Sticking with the music talk is rhines;
listen, and please bear with me here this could get kind of long,
how do you know ANYTHING about america's music scene in the first place. I , for one, have never listened to ludacris except for when it comes on the radio station i happen to be listening to, ( and i do not listen to ANY hip - hop in general, nor do any of my friends.) He is black, from the ghetto, and raps about drugs and prostitutes. I am white and cannot relate to any of that, and therefore do not listen to his music. He's famous and sells around 2-3 million cd's every time he releases one, but maybe thats because theres 300 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES ALONE. and that brings me to my next point. People talk about Black Sabbath because they go on the biggest tour of the year in the US every year (ozzfest), and everyone goes to it. America's music scene is definitely the biggest and most influential out of any country in the world. You could MAYBE say UK's music scene was better in the 60's and 70's, but they all were influenced by our very own Elvis Presley in the first place. For every internationally famous UK band there are 5 more US bands just as famous. I GAURANTEE YOU , yes, I would put my life on the line betting that there are FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR more great undiscovered bands in the US then there are in the UK. We have a population of 300 million, and that's 300 million people in a country where artistic output is greatly encouraged. Everyone i know plays an instrument, and many people i know are in bands. I am not knocking on the UK at all, I am just saying with 300 million people, there is obviously a lot more opportunity for more bands than in a country with 20 million. Christ almighty, that little snippet you wrote down about Americans not knowing music was one of the most ignorant and stupid things I have ever read. I am pretty positive out of my 10 favourite bands who i consider gods of music you have probably only heard of 2-3 of them. Go listen to oasis and worship the Beatles doosh. At least I have the choice of never reading your article ever again. That makes me feel good.
As opposed to going through my argument again I'll just give you my response to this email;
How do I know anything about the American music scene? Well first of all I'm not pretending I know as much as any American because that would be foolish of me. What I said was based on what I'd observed and heard from many friends who are American. For the record I don't listen to Ludacris or for that matter hip hop but as I said it's just my observations.
I was not disputing influences of countries or number of famous bands, what my original statement was saying was that there are a load of great bands that are popular in the UK and are totally unknown in America. It was saying that there the majority of American rock fans prefer the older bands such as Black Sabbath and look down at the newer bands and label them. I was trying to say America should actually start give their newer bands a chance because they will like what they hear. Alright looking back at what I initially wrote I think I could have put it a little better, what I wrote did look like it was bashing America's music scene which was not intended.
I'm sure there are many great undiscovered bands in the States which kind of helps my argument more. As I said in America bands that started out in the 80s or earlier are still the most popular whereas in the UK, bands like My Chemical Romance, 30 Seconds to Mars and Fall Out Boy have taken over the rock scene. You may not like those bands but it's just an example of how the UK is embracing the "new breed" of music and I think that's what America should try to more. But what do I know, I'm not American.
Isn't it going to be easier to get noticed in a country with fewer people? Sure, with more people there's probably more talent but it's got to be harder to get noticed. Trust me, there's a lot of great talent here and I'd say Britain is as enthusiastic about playing music as any country in the world. It's all any teen or older talks about.
And again for the record, Britain's population is 3 times what you said, I hate the Beatles, I think they are the most overrated band EVER and I'm no huge fan of Oasis. You say what I wrote is the most ignorant and stupid thing you've ever read. Well you say I said America doesn't know music. I never said anything of the sort. Sorry if you were offended, but calm down and just read what I wrote and hopefully you'll change your mind about me being a "doosh." Feel free to stop reading my column whenever you want, but not because of what I said about music. I think I could've have worded it better and could've interpreted it better but I hope this email clears things up.
Dan
I don't know, I could be wrong but it's just the way I see things in music right now. Whatever, moving on.
Brien Chambers wants to talk Harry Smith;
So do you really think Harry Smith will finally make his debut. I told my wife as soon as I saw that raw was going to England that Harry might make his debut there. For a sign a "you screwed Bret" angel would be good to see. Especially for the hbk match. Idea try and start the chant as well. Maybe a Lashley should go back to ECW or a Left Said Vince as apposed to left said Fred (I'm to sexy for my hair). Being stationed a marine corps base you could always tell them to support Ur troops.
Brien I did reply to your email but for whatever reason it never got to you (or so my hotmail account says) but here's my thoughts. I've never actually seen Harry Smith wrestle so I don't know if he is ready to be brought up to the main roster yet, but if he is I think Monday would be an ideal time to do it because of his background. To be honest I doubt it'll happen but it is a possibility. No-one knew Santino Marella would be debuting in Italy so I wouldn't be completely surprised to see Smith make an appearance. I would hope he'd at least get a dark match or something though. Good sign suggestions, Left Said Vince was particularly awesome. Not sure what I'm going with yet.
The Bram misses Y2J too.
I know how you feel. When Vince was making the open challenge on Raw, I was crossing my fingers for the lights to go out and The Countdown Clock to start, well, counting down. It really seemed like it was going to be a big return/debut moment, and I wanted so hard for it to be Y2J. Santino seems kinda cool, but he's no Jericho.
The Bram
I agree with you on this. Hope you enjoyed my idea for Jericho's return.
Next up is James Page with a nice email; Hey there,
Just wanted to let you know I really enjoyed your column. The format is easy to follow, the video links are a great touch, and it was well written.
Only thing that lets it down is including a picture of Fall Out Boy!
Keep up the good work, and enjoy raw next week
Jim Page,
England
It's always nice to receive an email that's just a reader saying they enjoyed reading so thanks for that Jim. I wasn't in the best of moods on Thursday but this really cheered me up. And sorry, Jim but as long as F.O.B. keep producing extremely catchy songs and people keep telling me I look like Patrick Stump (their singer) then the pics are staying. And because I'm in a good mood, here is a Fall Out Boy music video!
Dominick returns; Eyo. I just got back from my vacation in Florida and I'm trying to catch up on all that happened. Here's a not so quick review.
Raw: I didn't see all of it but I actually want Shane O' Mac to win the ECW championship. It would be fun to and I don't care if he's not a fulltime wrestler.
-Didn't Vince say that he suffered injuries in the 3 on 2 Hell in Cell and couldn't wrestle anymore? Was that just an excuse to get out of a match with Trump?
-Jesus Christ how long does it take Vince to find a General Manager. We've been without one for over a year.
-Cena vs. Michaels vs. Orton vs. Edge should be a great match.
-I remember a time when it took a guy years to win a championship.
Hey I hope you enjoyed your time in Florida. I agree the Shane would make a good ECW Champion. We've all seen what he can do in a hardcore style match and he is quite capable of having good matches with a whole range of wrestlers. I do believe that if Shane had become a full time wrestler he could have been a world champion and not just because of politics.
Yes Vince did say he couldn't wrestle but they can get round that by just saying he didn't want to fight Trump one-on-one.
So far it's been 18 months without a GM. I really want them to find someone because I'm getting extremely annoyed with Vince McMahon at the moment. Even if they make Coach the official General Manager I'd be happier. Just get Vince off my TV. Hell, I'd even like to see Bischoff back in the GM role, maybe as a tweener so we don't get any of that wrestler vs. boss crap we did when he was last here.
The fatal four way should kick ass and if Randy Orton is taken out of it as is rumoured, the triple threat match would be just as good if not better.
I'm not a fan of the way they got the title off of Umaga and onto Santino Marella but I do think it'll freshen things up a bit as long as Marella actually defends the title as opposed to getting stuck in the McMahon/Umaga/Lashley stuff. Does anyone else see Santino being a major factor in Lashley retaining the title Sunday?
Impact: I don't buy Jarrett as face. In fact I don't buy him at all. You know lets sell him. Yeah we'll sell Jarrett to uhhh, JAPAN. Yeah that'll be fun. Jeff Jarred vs. The Great Bernard and we don't have to watch. Oh Yeah.
-I love Black Machismo Jay Lethal.
-When is TNA getting their own titles.
-I guarantee you at least one of TNA's fans is a police officer so what is being hidden. And plus there is no evidence and Abyss and his mom can't be charged twice for the same thing sooooooooooo yeah.
I have not had time to watch my recorded episodes of SmackDown!
I'm not sure where I'm hanging my hat on the Jarrett situation so I'll give it some more time before I decide if I like his new face push.
As I mentioned earlier I'm not a fan of Black Machismo. Kevin Nash and Paparazzi Productions were supposed to give the X Division it's own personality but so far they have given it other people's personalities.
The NWA/TNA split was supposed to happen last month but apparently not. I do believe the only reason that the NWA tag titles were put on Team 3D was because of the "legacy" and all that crap.
Lockdown:
VKM vs. Serotonin-*
X-Scape Match-***2/3
Robert Roode vs. Petey Williams-*½
Catfight in a Cage-**¼
Senshi vs. THE Austin Starr-***
Blindfold Match-¼*
Jerry Lynn vs. Christopher Daniels-***
Electrified Cage Match-***
Lethal Lockdown-****¼
-I have one thing to say that really got me pissed off at the PPV. Wow what better way to settle a bitter hatred between two men then to have them have a blindfold match. FIRE RUSSO!!!
-Mr. Tuesday Night DOM
Thanks for the feedback, Dom.
And last but damn sure not least, regular Samer returns with a whole bunch of thoughts;
Hello it's Samer again with some feedback.
First let me start by saying that I like the new additions to your column, especially the youtube stuff, I hope u can do that every week...
Glad you like the changes I'm making to the column. I didn't actually know how to get stuff from youtube into my column but it turns out it's quite easy so I'm going to use as many video clips as I can.
U actually think Chelsea can beat Man Utd 3 times out of 5? Wow man, ur the first Man Utd fan I hear saying that this season. It's clear that United are the best team in the world at the moment, and while Chelsea are very solid (especially defensively after getting JT back), they don't have the attacking force that Man Utd have. They don't have the creative player who can turn the game in one moment (not even Lampard); they don't have the likes of Rooney and Ronaldo. If they do meet 3 times (the 3rd being the CL final) I think Man Utd will come up on top twice, my guess would be that they'll win the Premiership and the CL only to lose the FA cup. That is unless Shevchenko miraculously rediscovers his lost form. I'm a huge fan of Italian football, and trust me the guy is WAY better than that. Just last year, he was an easy pick for the best striker in the world. And being a huge fan of Italian football I pray to god my fav team (Milan) will kick Man Utd's ass in the semis, although I wouldn't count on it. In conclusion, it's a great time to be a United fan, so ur lucky (more so since ur gonna watch RAW live next week).
I don't think even the most die hard Chelsea supporter that Man United have been the best team in the Premiership this season. The way the play football is just unbelievable at the moment, and they are getting goal after goal and deserve to be top of the league. But having said that, games between Man United and Chelsea are rarely about style because the Blues can stop a team playing at their best and make them have to grind out a win. If they can do that I favour Chelsea. That and Chelsea's past record against us in recent years in great, with the only United win being last season when Darren Fletcher of all people got the only goal. I hope United can beat Chelsea three times but I don't see it happening. I think United will win the Premiership regardless of the result at Stamford Bridge in a few weeks, but I favour Chelsea in the FA Cup final. The Champions League final, I'm not so sure about. United have all the experience in the big games in Europe and that'll help them but I think it's a 50/50 toss up. That is, of course, assuming United and Chelsea get past AC Milan and Liverpool.
Now onto Wrestling:
I voted completely non-sensical and unnecessary for the screw job. I do see ur point in a way, but think about it, Heyman has been pushing Lesnar so hard as the next big thing, he's the one who was responsible for Lesnar getting "too big for his shoes", and it doesn't make sense to turn on him, especially after he had the big show defeated. For me Lesnar shouldn't have lost the title in the first place, let alone to the big show. Here's what I would have done: Lesnar beats the Big Show, and then confronts Heyman aggressively by telling him he didn't have enough faith in him since Heyman was among the people telling him he cannot beat the big show, and HERE is where Heyman turns on Lesnar, at least he has a valid reason now. So here's what happens, Kurt Angle attacks Lesnar, and "injures" him, putting him out for a while. Lesnar has to forfeit the title. A tournament is held for to determine the new Champ, in the final Angle is wrestling Benoit, and Heyman interferes on Angle's behalf allowing him to win the title. It turns out Heyman had set the whole thing up all along after Lesnar confronted him, and he and Angle planned it. Benoit has his AWESOME rematch against Kurt Angle at the Royal Rumble (remember that match?), loses, and Brock ends up being a surprise participant in the Royal rumble, he wins it, and the beats Angle at WrestleMania XIX. Sounds good? no? oh well...
I love this idea, to be honest. You give Heyman a good reason to turn on Brock and you don't have to use Show to transition the title to Angle because we get more Angle/Benoit goodness which is awesome. Their Royal Rumble match is one of my favourite ever so any time they hook up we're in for good times. I definetly prefer this scenario to what we actually got.
Raw thoughts:
I actually quite enjoyed that first segment. While putting the IC title on a debuting rookie is a questionable decision, I somehow ended up thinking it's a good idea. First of all, it was necessary that Umaga drops the title. But with him never defending it, and no mid carder credible enough to beat him there wasn't much the booking team can do. This seems like a good idea, as long as Umaga doesn't have a rematch and ends up destroying the new guy. At least now we have a rookie, who can get over quickly since he had a good debut, and we know who he is. In kayfabe, he was just a fan watching a WWE show, when the asshole chairman chose him to take on his Samoan monster with the IC title on the line, and he ended up causing the upset with the help of Lashley. Isn't that a good story? I won't get too optimistic though, cuz we have yet to see where they are going with this, but they shouldn't screw it up.
Ah yes, TWGTT finally got a win! Although it will probably end up being meaningless, since they will be jobbing again sooner rather than later, but at least they one. It's obvious that the WWE has no faith in them though, since they're not having a match longer than 4 minutes, and they got squashed by the champs last week. How are we supposed to believe that they're a threat? Although a match between them and the Hardyz on a PPV can be awesome.
Completely agree. Haas and Benjamin should be Hardys next challengers and I'd like to see TWGGT to win the belts in a screwy fashion leading to some sort of Best of 5 Series' that culminates in a Ladder Match at Summerslam.
I like the build up of Flair and Carlito, and Carlito will turn heel, and he needs that. It's all good, but I hope once he and Flair have their match, that they could somehow make it entertaining. Let's face it, Flair is in no condition to carry anyone in the ring anymore, and Carlito is STILL lazy. Look at his springboards, he's just sloppy. I hope he gets better in the ring, cuz he has a character, and the crowd kinda cares about him, and he will soon be a heel again which suits him.
I hope that squash means they're pushing Nitro again.
Cade getting the win over Jeff Hardy was good because they need to build Cade and Murdoch as strong contenders. They have been jobbing to DX, and then to Cena and HBK every single week, so nobody cares about them, although they're a good heel team.
Masters won. Ok, I don't care about him but I do care about Super Crazy. His feud with Masters comes and goes each month, he was feuding with Masters, then Nitro, then teaming up with Carlito, then Masters again. Can u decide what to do with the guy? He seemed like he was getting a push with this new I'm super and I'm crazy, I'm super crazy gimmick. He can pull off some entertaining midcard matches, he and Nitro had good chemistry, although Nitro deserves more than a feud with Crazy. If u have nthn for him, either put him in a team to build up the tag division some more, or move him to Smackdown so he can compete for the CW title.
Oh and I'd like to see how Masters can pull of that new finisher on heavier opponents.
It seems Super Crazy is the new Tajiri. He's got a decent mid-card spot to fill, he's good for comedy skits and he's popular. He's the kind of guy they can use for lots of stuff. I' d like to see him in a team but who with? Maybe sticking him with Carlito was a good idea because they gelled well and it does seem Carlito isn't interested in his own push so why not?
The main event.. For some reason I'm beginning to get sick of seeing nearly the same main events on Raw every week. It's either HBK vs. rated RKO, or Cena vs. rated RKO, or HBK and CENA vs. rated RKO, but u know why I'm sick of it? because Edge and Orton lose ALL THE TIME? Weather it's a triple threat, one on one, handicap, tag team or any type of match, whenever u have any combination of Cena or HBK vs. Edge or Orton, the heels lose. When was the last time Cena lost a match? I really can't remember, if it wasn't for that battle royal when Shawn tossed him out. That said I understand that these guys are the 4 biggest names on Raw at the moment, so it's only fitting that they're in the title picture, but it all seems too predictable. Neither Orton or Edge are being portrayed as strong contenders. The same can't be said for Shawn, at least some thought he might win at WM, but for edge and Orton, it's a no-no. Tell me, who in their right state of mind thinks Orton will win at Backlash? That's the problem I have with this feud, is that the heels are being portrayed as Cena's bitches. I would have much rathered to see a one on one match for the title at Backlash between Cena and any of the three contenders. Because a fatal 4-way is risky: First of all, there's the possibility that the match won't be that good, we've seen some fatal 4-ways end up being pretty bad, although I have high hopes for this match. And there's also the thing that the fans will end up being sick of seeing the same guys feuding with each others, I mean after backlash, Cena will feud with one of these 3, after that it's the other, and we've seen it before. While if they had a WM rematch at Backlash, and had Edge face off against Orton, it would have been a lot better. Since when Cena retains (AGAIN!), he can feud with Orton which would be something fresh and new, or feud with Edge again only this time he will drop the title to him, and they can build up Edge as a credible champ, and he and Cena will face each others at WM next year...
That's it for now, good column as always.
I have no idea why but I think Edge is going to win at Backlash even though all signs point to Cena retaining. Let's face it, we have to have a heel win the title soon because Triple H is due back and he'll need a heel to beat (assuming he comes back as a face again.)
