Wrestling’s 4R’s PPV Edition 7.02.08: WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS (2008)
Posted by Larry Csonka on 07.02.2008
Outside of the main event, disappointment was the order of the evening as WWE delivered Night of Mediocrity II.
How the 4R's of wRestling Work! Here is a quick explanation of the 4R'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, 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 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 NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS 2008~
The Matches:
WWE TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The Miz and John Morrison defeated Finlay and Hornswoggle @ 8:47 via pin **½
US TITLE MATCH: Matt Hardy defeated Chavo Guerrero @ 8:22 via pin **
ECW TITLE MATCH: Mark Henry became the NEW ECW Champion, defeating Kane and The Big Show @ 8:18 via pin *
WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase defeated Bob Holly and Cody Rhodes @ 1:33 via pin (NR)
IC TITLE MATCH: Kofi Kingston defeated Chris Jericho @ 11:00 to become the NEW IC Champion **
WWE WOMEN'S TITLE MATCH: Mickie James defeated Katie Lea Burchill @ 7:17 via pin *¼
WORLD TITLE MATCH: Edge defeated Batista @ 16:46 via pin ***
WWE TITLE MATCH: HHH defeated John Cena @ 19:40 via pin ****
THE RIGHT:
WWE TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: I will admit, as much as I didn't want the match to happen (mainly because I feared that Miz and Morrison would lose) I will freely admit that this was a pretty good opener and that I enjoyed it. Really, I am not afraid to admit it, I wanted to hate this match with the fire of 1,000 suns, but I do my best not to judge until it is over, and well, it worked. Like JD stated perfectly, they didn't work with Hornswoggle like he was a midget, they worked with him like he was any other guy, which was the key I feel. Finlay worked for two men, Miz and Morrison have been great and remained great here. Hornswoggle played a good face in peril, as mentioned the other three were great and it was a fun opener that the crowd was into. Also I agree with JD again that watching Miz and Morrison celebrate as if they just defeated the Rock and Roll Express in their prime was a nice added touch to the end.
WORLD TITLE MATCH: Next we'll discuss Batista challenging Edge for the World Title. For the most part these guys have worked fine together, not as good as Edge and Taker, or Batista and Taker, but they have worked well enough that I usually enjoy their matches. This was really no different. They worked hard, there wasn't anything I would noticeably call a botch and they seemed to have a decent enough plan heading into the match. Batista seemed to be particularly up for the bout and worked extra hard, which I appreciate. We were going really strong and Batista seemed to have things locked up, but when Vickie and THOSE EDGE GUYS came to the ring, shenanigans were about to happen. Vickie pulled the ref from the ring, Edge then kicked his ass, Chavo came out as the new ref, Vickie flew through the air, Edge nailed Batista with the title belt and retained. Everything before the junk at the end was good, and the finish adds to the hate of LA FAMILIA. While I like the LA FAMILIA act to a point, and I think it has worked well, I have to admit that it is getting a little repetitive. They were working a good match until they went with the very predictable ending. I don't hate it like some, but I can see why some are getting sick of it. There is a point when it works and a point when they are going to turn people off of it, and I think they may be at that line. Good match overall.
WWE TITLE MATCH: The main event of he show was the WWE title match between HHH and John Cena. I enjoyed the match a lot. I thought that the slow start was perfect, since they were headed close to 20-minutes and for all of the shit some people give him, Cena worked the leg well. On that topic, HHH worked the match smartly, hopefully quieting some of the critics that say he cannot work a non-gimmick match well. Both guys kicked out of each other's finish and with that and the way things went, the match did deliver that big time feel to me. Cena looked to have things locked up, but HHH was able to escape and nail the pedigree again for the win. Again I have to agree with JD with the assessment that Cena walked the heel line perfectly, and it really added to a very well worked match. The end was great for a few reasons. #1 we even up Cena vs. HHH, and since it hasn't been done to death the eventual third match should draw well. #2 I think EVERYONE thought that Cena would win, since Edge retained just before. It wasn't a swerve for the sake of swerving; it was a different way to go, which I appreciated. #3 was the way that Lawler played up the ending, mentioning that he thought Cena may has re-injured himself, possibly tore the pec again. This gives Cena sympathy and also, in a way, gives an excuse for him losing. Excuse may be the wrong word, but the fans that love him can say, "John was hurt and gutted through the match, he'll get him next time." Overall this was a damn fine match, which I really enjoyed.
PURGATORY:
US TITLE MATCH: Our second match on the show was Chavo Guerrero challenging Matt Hardy for the US Title. Chavo got the heat by chop blocking the knee, and with some help from Bam took control of the match. It isn't a bad match really, the work on the knee was good as was Hardy's selling of the knee. I knew that there was no chance of Chavo winning the match, but there was a point that I actually bought the half crab as the finish of the match, so good work there from both guys. Matt ended up cutting off the three amigos and getting the twist of fate for the win, and it was fine. In the end this was a match I could have seen on any of the weekly shows. A strong TV bout, but nothing special on PPV.
WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: This went about how everyone and their mother expected it to go. Cody tuned on Holly and now he and Ted are the tag team champions. They could have worked the match a bit more and then done the turn after Holly took a beat down from Ted, but I actually preferred this. The big problem is that there was NO HEAT AT ALL for this. Ted came out to no reaction, possibly a negative reaction. Cody and Holly had no heat because they have been losing for months. What is important here is the follow up booking. They had NO HEAT at all here, but hopefully in the weeks to come they can make the people care. I am interested right now I will say.
IC TITLE MATCH/JERICHO vs. HBK BUILD: Part of me really hated that they ran the mystery opponent for the match, as it just shows the level of non-commitment to the IC Title. But part of me understood since Jericho is feuding with HBK, but again, the title was not even a thought in the feud. The mystery opponent was the newly drafted Kofi Kingston. I had a lot of fears with Kofi being drafted to RAW, because I felt that he would get lost in the shuffle. I think WWE realized that as well and placed him in this match to try and counter that. They had a fine little match, but again this was a match I could have seen on any of the weekly shows. A strong TV bout, but nothing special on PPV. The other thing is that while the HBK run in made complete sense, and the after match angle was great, it took all attention away from Kofi's moment. I get that HBK vs. Jericho is the much bigger angle, but I complain when TNA does this, so WWE gets it as well. Kofi deserved more.
THE WRONG:
WOMEN'S TITLE MATCH: To say that I was disappointed in this match would be an understatement. I like Mickie James and she can have a good match, there is no doubt of that. For those of you that think Katie is green, check your facts because she is far from it. I have seen some of her work in the CHICK FIGHT series, which was fine, and recently saw a great little match on SHIMMER Vol. 6 against Daizee Haze. She can go. So I had high hopes for this match going into it. Unfortunately those hopes were not met. This was far from atrocious, but it also wasn't good. They got a bit over 7-minutes, more than usual really, but they just didn't deliver. It was solid at the beginning and while Katie was in control of the match, but when Mickie made her comeback they were reading different books and it just didn't click at all for me. Add in a few flubs early on and this just ended badly, which is a shame.
ECW TITLE MATCH: Again, this was far from the worst match I have ever seen, and in reality it was roughly what I expected. That being said, it really wasn't all that good, outside of the fact that Mark Henry brought the ECW Title BACK to ECW, which is a good thing. Things seemed to be going ok, until Kane took a spill to the floor and seemed to have injured his back. This led to a horrible segment where Show and Henry seemed to call the match on the fly, it was just so bad. The match slightly redeemed itself when Kane got back in, and I liked the finish; but overall it just was not good. In the end this is likely a reward for Henry's years of service, as well as a please don't sue us move. Ina way he deserves it, but I also don't think guys should get title runs for being good soldiers. Hell, make Val world champion if that is the case. Hopefully they can make the most out of his run and make him a real bad ass, so that when he drops the title, it means something.
THE RIDICULOUS:
NADDA~!:
Closing Thoughts:
I have to say that in the end this wasn't a BAD show, more of a disappointing show. Chavo vs. Matt could have been much better, Katie vs. Mickie could have been much better and Jericho vs. Kofi could have been much better. If these matches are better, than the under-card feels worthwhile and it vastly improves the quality of the show. Instead, it felt just there, like some TV matches, and I don't know about you, but that's not what I pay for. Overall I will go with a 6.7 out of 10 and the mildest of recommendations, really because of the main event. It wasn't that there was a lot of shit on the show, more that it was a disappointment and again like last year, a night of mediocrity rather than a showcase event. The two world title matches helped the show a lot, specifically HHH vs. Cena. But that's all you really need to see.
2008 PPV Rankings:
-WWE WRESTLEMANIA {8.7}
-ROH RISING ABOVE {8.6}
-ROH UNDENIABLE {8.5}
-TNA LOCKDOWN {8.2}
-WWE NO WAY OUT {8.1}
-ROH TAKE NO PRISONERS {8.0}
-WWE ROYAL RUMBLE {8.0}
-TNA SLAMMIVERSARY {7.7}
-TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS {7.5}
-TNA DESTINATION X {7.25}
-WWE BACKLASH {7.0}
-WWE ONE NIGHT STAND IV {6.8}
-TNA FINAL RESOLUTION {6.75}
-WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS {6.7}
-WWE JUDGMENT DAY {6.0}
-TNA SACRIFICE {6.0}
2008 TOP PPV Match Rankings:
-(WWE WRESTLEMANIA 24) CAREER THREATENING MATCH: Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels *****
-(ROH TAKE NO PRISONERS) Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries ****¼
-(ROH UNDENIABLE) GRUDGE MATCH: Austin Aries vs. Roderick Strong ****¼
-(WWE NO WAY OUT) RAW ELIMINATION CHAMBER ****¼
2008 PPV MVP AWARDS: This is a little added deal I started last year, 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.
Posted By: Guest#7384 (Guest) on July 02, 2008 at 12:43 AM
Could have been worse. Could have been incredibly politically correct and had Mark Henry as the MVP on the grounds that he's black.
Posted By: T.G. Corke (Registered) on July 02, 2008 at 07:53 AM
HHH silences the critics? yeah right, more like The critics silence HHH. Last Smackdown was the first with HHH and nothing changed, he cut a boring 15 minute opening promo and then buried La Familia and was standing tall at the end of the show. Then Raw, the first Raw without HHH influence was the BEST Raw in YEARS!
Posted By: natedoggcata (Guest) on July 02, 2008 at 09:36 AM
I think you're being extremely harsh saying that there was no heat on Cody's turn. Given that it's very much an undercard title, you can't expect the fans to be rabidly into it. I thought they worked the segment well with Ted's stalling, and the crowd did react to the DDT and pin. It'll be interesting as to where these two go from here.
I also think you're wrong on the ECW Championship match. It may not have been pretty, but they worked some great power spots and kept it short, which made it to me at least more enjoyable than the main event.
Posted By: The Ratings Killer (Guest) on July 02, 2008 at 09:46 AM
I like Mickie James's work, overall, but she will botch a move at the drop of a hat. Without having seen the match, I will say that her tendency to turn in awkward performances on PPVs is making me weary.
Posted By: Mitch (Guest) on July 02, 2008 at 11:38 AM
Just saw the show, and it wasn't bad. Wasn't good either. Kind of like every show since Mania. The talent all worked hard, but it was just kinda there. The main event was fun, and probably the only thing we'll remember about the show. I gotta disagree with Ratings Killer though, that ECW title match was a fucking abomination. Just terrible. I don't know how it even rates a star. How is it possible that Mark Henry has actually gotten worse since the last time I saw him?
Posted By: MP (Guest) on July 02, 2008 at 11:41 AM
All women's matches are disappointing!
Larrold get with the program on this before it is too late!
Posted By: thegunisgood (Guest) on July 02, 2008 at 04:48 PM
You're right in saying that Triple H put up a good showing. You are dead ass wrong in saying that he silenced the critics though.
Wait, i guess critics are people who come to their opinion via reasoning. Still.
Posted By: The Dude (Guest) on July 02, 2008 at 10:18 PM
