411’s WWE Velocity Report: 12.11.04

We start with a clip package hyping tonight’s London-Kidman match. Swanky.

Billy Kidman versus Paul London

So… this match starts the show? Okay. Guess a clip package doesn’t mean what it used to. They go punch for punch as London slides in the ring, then London gets a back elbow and two forearms. London follows with an inverted atomic drop, then clotheslines Kidman out of the ring. Somersault Plancha follows, taking Kidman back down. London tosses Kidman back in and gets a slingshot clothesline. Kidman whips London to the rope, but London catches him with an elbow and gets the Chun Li toe tap, followed by a leg lariat which sends Kidman outside. London climbs to the top and jumps off, but Kidman sidesteps and London lands on the guardrail. Kidman rolls him in and stomps his chest, but London fights back with punches. Kidman gets a flapcake, then chokes London. The cover gets two. Kidman then chokes London on the middle rope. He lifts him up and applies an abdominal stretch, but London hiptosses him over. London kicks Kidman in the gut, then chops him. He follows with a hurricanrana, a spinning heel kick, a backdrop, and a dropsault for two. Kidman gets a Fireman’s Carry Gutbuster for two, then nails a forearm. London reverses a whip, then charges Kidman, but Kidman gets the BK Bomb. He drags London to the corner and goes for the SSP, but London moves. He climbs up to the top, but Kidman nails him with a punch. They trade strikes, and Kidman goes for a superplex, but London pushes him off and gets a 450 Splash for the win.

Winner: Paul London
Match Time: 6:19
Rating: ***1/4
Commentary: About as good as a match of this length will get. Good psychology, definite beginning/middle/end, and Kidman’s weaknesses were particularly well avoided.

House Show recap. The fans like ‘em.

They show a whole big Tough Enough recap. This one was a sucker, eh?

Spike Dudley versus C.W. Anderson

Lockup to start, and Spike gets a headlock as the announcers announce C.W.’s ECW past. Anderson gets a waistlock and wrestles Spike on the mat, but Spike gets to the ropes. Spike fakes a lockup and kicks, then gets a hammerlock. C.W. runs him out of the ring, then they trade shoves. Anderson knocks Spike down and gets a few punches in the corner, but for the first time ever, I’ll bet, Spike powerbombs him out. He follows up with the top rope stomp. Spike gets a kneedrop, then a snapmare. He applies a neck vise, but Anderson gets out, so Spike kicks him. Spike gets a headlock, and tries to keep Anderson grounded. Anderson escapes, but Spike gets the Battering Ram. He goes for the Dudley Dogg, but Anderson reverses into the Spinebuster. Both men get up, and C.W. gets a back elbow. He gets a weird suplex (sorry, I’m not Tenay!), but Spike comes back with a face rake and stomps. C.W. gets a superkick for two. Spike follows with the Dudley Dogg for the win.

Winner: Spike Dudley
Match Time: 5:53
Rating: *3/4
Commentary: Pretty slow. Back and forth, but mostly uninteresting.

On Smackdown, The Undertaker beat up a bunch of guys… but I’ve been saying that for about a year.

Luther Reigns versus Hardcore Holly

Josh sets the tone for this farce by mentioning that Reigns and Holly are about the same size. They lockup, but the grapple gets broken on the ropes. Another lockup, and Reigns backs Holly into the corner. He pushes with the break, then Holly pushes him. Call me nuts, but I think Reigns is one of the newcomers who doesn’t have to worry about Holly pulling any shit with him. Reigns brawls on Holly, but Holly gets a schoolboy for two and Holly chops him in the corner. Pointless punching, and Holly gets the Alabama Crunch. Reigns throws Holly to the post and out of the ring as we go to a commercial. When we return, Reigns is covering Holly for a two count. During the break, Reigns slammed Holly into the steps. Reigns applies an armlock, but Holly gets up and throws punches. Reigns gets a short arm clothesline for two, then goes back to the armlock, which DeMott describes as “incorrect.” But hell, it makes more sense to put the announcers over than it does to put the talent over, right? Reigns stomps away, then gets an elbow drop and goes back to the world’s most erroneous armlock. Holly gets up and out, then gets a back suplex. DeMott says Holly has nothing left in his tank. Except sugar, huh huh. Holly gets some clotheslines, then the dropkick for two. Holly sells the arm, then delivers a top rope clothesline with it for two. Reigns gets a rollup for two, then the Reverse Spinning Neckbreaker for the win.

Winner: Luther Reigns
Match Time: 10:46 (including commercial)
Rating: **
Commentary: Long and boring, just as bad as anything with Holly usually is.

Well, that’s all. The first match was good, the rest was brutal. Maybe that should have been the main event, seeing as how it had hype to it.