Wrestling’s 4R’s PPV Edition: WWE One Night Stand III (2007)
Posted by Larry Csonka on 06.05.2007
One Night Stand III was a little Backlash and a little No Way Out. Basically the best and worst of the WWE.
Introduction!
Welcome back to another PPV edition of WRestling's 4R's! It is time once again to break down the PPV of the past weekend in the 4R's style. You know, I am still getting used to calling it the 4R's, it's craziness I tell you! This is the first of THREE RASSLIN PPV'S this month, so there will be a lot to digest. This show was ONS III, better known as booty call! Lots of good, lots of bad; but how did it stack up in the land of the R's? Let's get to work and find out!
WWE SNME and ONS III Podcast~!
We are back again for the longest podcast yet! We discuss the SNME show with a special guest, the greatest segment I seen all time all my life, Brooke's ass, matches that were supposed to be and more! Then we move discussion to the Booty Call PPV (ONS III), what worked really well, what didn't work at all, the Tudors and more! 90-minutes of RASSLIN discussion!
Here is a quick explanation of the 3 R's. I will take the 4 main shows (5 if I go RetRo) of the week: TNA Impact, WWE Raw, ECW on Sci-Fi and WWE Smackdown. If we have a PPV, that show will get a special PPV edition of the R's all to its own. I then group my feelings on the shows in various categories: The Right, the wRong and the Ridiculous. The Right is stuff that worked very well: a great promo, a great match and so on. PuRgatoRy is a section between the right and wrong. It shows equal traits from both sides that cannot be ignored and need discussed. It is not a bad place per say, as things can get remedied or go the wrong way the very next week. The wRong is what it sounds like: bad matches, bad or boring promos and so on. The Ridiculous is stuff that had no right on TV: Stupid angles, Diva searches and so on. And there is always a possibility of a 5th R, which is as bad as they come, unless you are TNA. They have a special R all of their own, the 6th R; the Russo-FN-Riffic~!
This column is supposed to be analytical, and at the right time very critical of the shows, it was the whole reason it was created. This is not a "mark" column, nor a "smark" column, I cannot speak for Geoff, but my goal is to analyze the show from many different fronts, reward the good and call out the bad. There are also occasions where I will bring out a 4th, 5th or even a 6th R to the column, so beware of those~! I will not apologize for my opinions, they are as they are, whether very positive or negative.
WWE ONS III 2007~!:
The Matches:
STRETCHER MATCH: RVD defeated Randy Orton @ 14:45 *½
TABLES MATCH: CM Punk & The Sandman & Tommy Dreamer defeated The New Breed @ 7:35 via Table **¼
WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE LADDER MATCH: The Hardy's defeated TWGTT @ 17:25 **** MATCH of the Night
LUMBERJACK MATCH: Mark Henry defeated Kane @ 9:10 via ref stoppage (ASS) CO-TRASH of the Night
ECW World Heavyweight Championship Street Fight Match: Bobby Lashley defeated Vince McMahon @ 12:27 via pin **½
NON-TITLE PUDDING MATCH: Candice Michelle defeated Melina @ 3:00 via pudding tap (N-R) CO-TRASH of the Night
WORLD TITLE STEEL CAGE MATCH: Edge defeated Batista @ 15:30 via Escape ***
FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE WWE TITLE MATCH: John Cena defeated Khali @ 10:34 via pin **¼
The Right:
The World Title Match - The second of our "big" title matches was Edge and Batista facing off for the World Title. Not only were they fighting for the title, but also they were doing battle in the confines of the dreaded steel cage! First of all JBL was tremendous on commentary as usual, this man is just great and it needs repeating. Secondly, Edge is so awesome right now and showed it in the first seconds of the match as the bell rang and he sprinted for the door, only to be stopped by Batista and the battle began. Edge was the typical heel and kept trying to escape through chicken shit means and Batista just wanted to kill this man. They worked really hard, better than the last match and in the end, while a lot of it was paint by numbers, it was very good paint by numbers. Through the whole match they stressed that BOTH FEET had to hit the floor to win via escape, and I dreaded the draw finish ala the recent Taker cage match, which would have pissed me off. But what happened is Batista crawled for the door, while Edge escaped over the top. Batista got both HANDS on the ground, while Edge dropped down and won. A heel won basically CLEAN. HOORAH~! This played into the commentary, storytelling kids! Batista was pissed in the end, Edge escaped and all was well here, they both looked string, good match and no complaints minus that I would have liked some blood, being a cage match and all.
The WWE Title Match - For the second straight PPV we had a main event of John Cena vs. The Great Khali. And for the second straight PPV this was a FINE match. Khali played monster perfectly, Cena played victim and super hero perfectly and once again, the crowd loved this. They played up that Cena would have to pin this beast and that his only chance was to FU this monster, which they also played up the entire match. This was all good stuff, nothing offensive at all and honestly I do not have any complaints. In the end, Cena finally got the FU, off of a crane to Khali after several teases and slain the beast again. The crowd loved this, again the match was good, even a little better than the last time and I was fine with this all. Cena is now the monster killer ad that again is fine with me. He also is showing that he may in fact become wrestler of the year. Great matches with everyone, Edge, HBK, Khali; that is a diverse collection and he should be commended for it.
Purgatory:
Tag Team Ladder Fun - The Hardy's vs. TWGTT did battle on this evening in a ladder match for the tag team titles, and this was a great match! Now while this was not as good as the 4-way tag team ladder match where Mercury's face exploded, this was a damn fine match. These four men went out there and did crazy shit and attempted to kill themselves, and almost succeeded. They did classic ladder spots, some innovative spots and some things that made me think people died. This was awesome and again, Matt and Jeff step up big on PPV and show why the fans love them so much. The Hardy's won clean in the end, which is great, and the crowd was happy. It appeared as if Matt was banged up as his right arm was shaking oddly at the end. I would guess that it happened on the straddle ladder spot earlier, as that had to jack up his back. Outside of that, it appeared as if everyone came out all right, which is what we always hope for.
-A bad part was that Shelton had a case of the botches again. It seems that every time he gets a push something happens and he botches a big move. I think at this point that this is a problem in his head. I think that he thinks too much about messing up and when he does, he does so big time. This one saw him go for a springboard dropkick to a ladder, slipped and was able to flip over and still kick the ladder, but it looked bad. I don't know the answer, but it is a problem.
-The good news was as said, it was a clean match as there was no sign of Cade and or Murdoch. In fact this will continue. Hass and Shelton got checked on and so did the Hardy's. They argue and say that was no wrestling match, this wouldn't be allowed in the NCAA's and this is no way to make a living as well as this would not happen in the NCAA'S. They start to brawl backstage with ice packs and had to be separated. Reflecting back, this was stupid. They just went through a big ass ladder match, and now they are ok to brawl and not selling the injuries. That was bad. And then, there is the fact that we have kicked off this feud with a ladder match. Ass backwards booking, something I bitched at TNA for and will do this here, so purgatory. Great match, bad booking.
The ECW Title Match - I will start by saying that of the three matches that this was probably the best effort they had, so that is the good thing. Shane did all of his big spots, Umaga was a beast, and Vince was Vince and Lashley looked super human. I will say that this match ALMOST did not happen. You see, Lashley decided he would begin the match with a SUICIDE dive onto Umaga. But the problem is this, he grabbed the rope on the way out and basically MISSED Umaga and killed the floor with that Senton. Lashley almost died Sunday night, but thankfully he was ok and the match continued. But that all being said, the first complaint is that this was what we expected, the same match we have seen three times. I was 3 on 1, lots of Superman comebacks and gimmicks. Why even tease it is going to be 1 on 1, just come out and say it. The other thing is this. Yes, by the end of the match, the crowd was WAY into Lashley. But basically anyone against Vince will get great pops. The key will be if Lashley can keep this momentum when he faces off against people like Snitsky or who ever is next. If he can do that then the whole process was worth it, but again, time will tell. But for the night, the dog and pony show worked, I just wonder for how long.
The Tables Match - In a nod to the ECW of old we had a tables match on this show, featuring CM Punk, The Sandman & Tommy Dreamer vs. The New Breed of Marcus Von Brown, Young Elijah and Matt Striker. They had a 7-minute match in which they tried to kill each other, and they did it well. Tons of hard work, good spots and in the end, as figured, Striker was part of the loss and CM Punk, The Sandman & Tommy Dreamer stood tall. It was fine. So while it was a good match, there was the issue that people didn't seem to care about it all that much, which is a shame because they all worked hard. Again that comes down to the fact of how ECW as a whole is booked. People are not conditioned to care. You had 6-men with a beef that were going to settle it with this tables match and people acted like it was nothing important. The other travesty was that Monty Von Cor did NOT I fact pounce anyone out of their shoes. That was a shame. Good match overall, not great, but not bad but by now no one will remember or care about it.
The wRong:
The Stretcher Match - The PPV kicked off with the RVD vs. Orton stretcher match. This was an odd choice to start he show, as usually you would want something that would get the crowd amped up and all. That really didn't do that. Early on the wrestling was spotty in quality. It wasn't bad, but it was fine. They worked counters, RVD going for headshots to get retaliation on Orton, but then RVD get nailed in the head, and he was off to concussion land again. So they are working the concussion angle, which I hate, but they couldn't even be bothered to do it correctly. One minute RVD is fucked up, glassy eyed and falling off of the top rope like an idiot. The next, he is doing flipping sentons to the floor with ease. Man, I know his selling is very suspect at times, but this was a booking call and a very bad one. And then as it seems Orton is about to win, RVD kicks him in the head, killing Orton apparently and RVD wins.
-That's right, RVD has won the match, and then Randy Orton attacks him, kicks his head against the post, and then stuff DDT'S him on the floor, laying out RVD and according to WWE.com, putting him out indefinitely. Now as I watched this, I had some thoughts running through my head, and they I got an email that shared the same concerns. This is from long time reader Craig - Am I the only one who thinks it's really silly for the person who just 'lost' a stretcher match to hop off the stretcher and beat down the person who beat them? Doesn't that really make the whole exercise kind of pointless? Sometimes, I am so proud of my readers! Here is the deal here.
-Basically, they are still pissed with Orton for being a fuck up and didn't want to give him the total win at the PPV. Also, WWE decided that they wanted to SWERVE LOS INTRAWEB by having RVD win. And I can here the WWE marks now proclaiming how much a genius Vince is for doing this. No, he's an idiot. RVD is leaving, they had a chance here to take someone that needed a win to get one here t the expense of RVD, at a former ECW PPV. With all of the injuries having someone that needs a good match and push go out there with RVD would have made the most sense. But they didn't do that.
-Also, you go into this match and you want Orton over at the end, you want him standing tall and looking like he is the best. Well then why did he win the match is SUCH a lame way. He got kicked in the head, and RVD barely beats him. Shit man, if you are going to do this do it right. You let RVD be RVD! Go and be crazy, do his spots, pop the crowd and get the most out of this that you can. But they didn't do that. Also, a finish line for a stretcher match is LAME as hell. Damn people. Anyway, personal dislike, poor/average wrestling and bad booking together make this a wrong in my book. Thanks Rob.
Extreme Rules? - I have to ask, for a PPV hyped as EXTREME (7-times in the trailer says young Arnold Furious) this was really, lame/tame. Now do NOT get me wrong. With the rash of injuries of late, I can understand them not going totally all out (outside of the crazy ladder match) bit for a match with "All extreme rules matches" I never felt it. There was no blood, which the trailers make you think there will be, minimal weapon shots and over all it felt just there. As I said, I don't want guys doing tons of stupid shit that means nothing when the next match comes along, but I need something to buy this as an "extreme rules show." Outside of the ladder match and Shane doing his usual spots, it was very tame. The only blood was a trickle from Edge, yeah, like no blood in a cage match. I was just very disappointed in the end as I thought there could be a bit more added to this show with just a little bit of effort, but alas it was not meant to be. See, I do not mind that all the matches were Extreme Rules with stipulations added on top of that, I don't mind at all. What I hate is that they did next to nothing with that, and the show I feel suffered a bit for that.
The Ridiculous:
The Pudding Match - You know its funny. A few weeks back Vince and the WWE set a new precedent if you will backstage, that being that the Divas would be presented in more of a professional manner. They hired a stylist, a PR person and all of that good stuff just for that. And then two-weeks later they booked a PUDDING MATCH. Damn that's an impressive turn around. So they had this match, which featured pre-match genius analysis from Maria and her kissing Candice as Santino stood around like a goof. But not only did they have a pudding match, but also at times, they attempted to have a grappling match in the pudding. Headlocks, arm bars and a DDT. To top it off, a tap out in the pudding! Yeah, this was, something. In the end this was a bad parody of Stripes, when John Candy goes to the bar with them and mud wrestles chick, only not nearly as funny and no titties.
The Lumberjack Match - And then there is more bad! Mark Henry and Kane, this was worse than it sounds. Let me say that the best part of this match was the fact that Val Venis and Stevie Richards were lumberjacks, hence on PPV and henceforth will get a PPV bonus! YAY! But that is where the greatness ended. This was slow, plodding and at times painful to watch. This was painful, I just have to repeat that, painful. Henry got the win and he is on the way to feud with Batista I feel. But the finish, the finish sees them do a ref stoppage. Now, I actually have no problems doing ref stoppages, but the fact is that they have to be believable and the fans have to be conditioned to think they may be coming. They needed to have this tested on house shows, and while the "Concussion Angle" has provided some ref stoppages, they haven't established Henry using a bear hug since his return. Sure he is "the world's strongest man" but nobody bought Kane falling to this hold, you could tell by the reaction. So we had a very slow and bad match, the stoppage that the crowd SHAT on, yeah, this is a ridiculous.
Oh yeah, fuck this - On the mention of the lumberjack match. When Chris Benoit is a Lumberjack that is sad. Benoit vs. MVP was axed for this horseshit. Val Venis sold better on the floor than both men did. This was stupid and got a special mention. BLAH~!
Closing Thoughts:
When it comes down to this, the good was really good and the bad was really bad. The Hardy's once again delivered and along with TWGTT put on our match of the night. Most matches were fine, the pudding and lumberjack matches were what you expected, and possibly worse. Yeah, seriously. Overall I will go with a 6.5 out of 10 for the show. Not horrible, some hard work, and a lot of potential saved a lot of things. I just feel that sometimes you need to give the guys some rope. Either they use it to their advantage or they hang themselves. But they need to have the chance, and they didn't get it here. In the end I wouldn't recommend you paying $40 for the show, but check down the ladder match, the cage match was good and Cena and Khali had another good outing. In the end I don't know if that is worth $40 to you, that's a decision you'll have to make for yourself; but for me, not at all.
2007 PPV Rankings:
-WWE Backlash 8.5
-WWE WM XXIII 8.0
-WWE Royal Rumble 8.0
-TNA Sacrifice 7.25
-TNA Final Resolution 7.0
-TNA Lockdown 7.0
-WWE One Night Stand III 6.0
-WWE New Year's Revolution (RAW) 6.0
-TNA Against All Odds 6.0
-TNA Destination X 5.5
-WWE Judgment Day 5.5
-WWE No Way Out (SD) 4.0
2007 TOP PPV Match Rankings:
- (WWE Royal Rumble) Last Man Standing WWE Title MATCH: Cena vs. Umaga ****¼
- (WWE Backlash) Last Man Standing World Title MATCH: Batista vs. The Undertaker ****¼
- (WWE Backlash) WWE Title MATCH: John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton vs. Edge ****¼
- (TNA Sacrifice) Texas Death Match: Chris Harris vs. James Storm ****¼
- (WWE Royal Rumble) The Royal Rumble Match ****
- (WWE WM XXIII) WWE TITLE MATCH: John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels ****
- (TNA Destination X) NWA Title Match: Christian Cage vs. Samoa Joe ****
- (TNA Lockdown) Lethal Lockdown (Team Cage vs. Team Angle) ****
- (WWE ONS III) LADDER MATCH: The Hardy's vs. TWGTT ****
- (WWE WM XXIII) Money in the Bank III ***¾
- (TNA Final Resolution) 30-Minute Iron man Match: Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe ***¾
2007 PPV MVP AWARDS: This is a little added deal here, as I feel that there are some other things that should be mentioned from the PPV's. Not every PPV will have one, it just depends on who I think steps up and deserves some extra recognition.
-Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker: A Rumble to Remember – WWE Royal Rumble
-JBL: Solo Commentating – WWE No Way Out
-AJ Styles and Rhino: Elevation X – TNA Destination X
-Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker: "They still got it!" – WWE WrestleMania XXIII
-AJ Styles: Almost Dies for his Craft – TNA Lockdown
-The Main Events: "We can step up." – WWE Backlash
-Harris and Storm: Redemption – TNA Sacrifice
-Matt, Jeff, Shelton and Charlie: "Taking a Risk." – WWE ONS III
Thanks for joining me for this special edition of the 4R's, and don't forget to check out the regular edition complete with all of the other shows from the week!
