I want to talk about all of the pay-per-views that we are bombarded with of late. I don’t know about you, but I take a hard look at the card and the lead-ins to the matches before I decide to anti up. With the two shows that have already aired and the one coming up this weekend, the question for me becomes one of just how many of these things do I want to order? I generally watch from home or at a friends’ house, since I work week-ends and just want to sit and veg in the evening rather than go out to a sports bar or the like. So do I, and the other wrestling fans, get our money’s worth? I won’t mention everything that happened in these shows because I really am not trying to give a recap, but rather mention why I think they were or will be worth the money or not. Let’s check them out.
First let’s look at ECW’s One Night Stand. From its first mention, this show had all the makings of a super PPV, and it did not disappoint. Last years was good and I quite enjoyed it, but this one was super. From Tazz choking out Jerry Lawler in under a minute to Rob Van Dam becoming the new WWE Champion after his victory over John Cena, the show rocked. RVD and Cena were over the top for the fans, and the fact that RVD won made things perfect for them. I’m not sure if Cena quite knew what to do with those wild ECW fans. It was pretty funny though, when he kept throwing his shirt and the fans kept throwing it back.
Kurt Angle and Randy Orton had a great match as well. Angle has really fallen into his ECW role perfectly and I love his new, more extreme persona. Rey Mysterio facing Sabu was everything one thought it would be and more, until the finish. More about that in a minute.
Terry Funk and Tommy Dreamer went up against Mick Foley and Edge. This match was tough, brutal and bloody, exactly what we all expected. Foley and Edge came out on top this time, and my only complaint is that poor Dreamer works his ass off so many times with virtually no victories to show for all his hard work. Ah, the way of the wrestling world.
So, that was my second biggest complaint about the show. My major one was the afore-mentioned finish to the Sabu / Mysterio match. Now I know that the sign of the cross was made at one point, but when the ‘doctor’ ran down and declared that neither man could continue on, it just didn’t hold water. I had read that Sabu was really upset with the finish, and I never heard anything about legit injuries that would have stopped the match. If I am wrong – and I’m sure someone will let me know – I apologize, but I don’t think so. This was one hell of a match that should have been allowed to have a clean finish.
Did Eugene really need to appear up at this show? No, and I can’t think of any reason why that happened. Did Sandman need someone to beat up that badly that Eugene had to make his cameo appearance? But I was very happy that I did order this show, and this was one of those “I’m glad I got it†PPV’s.
Next, TNA’s Slammiversary. I am such a huge fan of TNA and their stars and I count on them to provide the fans with a strong pay-per-view. This one was no exception. And the biggest reason for that was that we have NEW Tag Team Champions – AJ Styles and “The Fallen Angel†Christopher Daniels! That was worth the whole thing right there. I just love these two, and whether they are teaming up together or in a bitter rivalry they are just great.
My other favorite didn’t fair so well. Chris Sabin lost his match against the huge Kevin Nash, but it still took another man, Alex Shelley, to help him do so. But if Sabin is involved the match has to be good, and this was no exception. He is so talented and charismatic, and his success has just begun.
Samoa Joe beat Scott Steiner – thank God! I cannot stand Steiner. If this match was what the show was built around I would lose interest in a heartbeat. Luckily there is so much talent in this organization that Steiner could walk tomorrow and no one would notice.
Well, that would be the case if there WASN’T so much talent. OK, enough Scott bashing.
Christian Cage lost his NWA title belt to…was there ever any doubt that Jeff Jarrett would get that Championship back? And just how much did the crowd hate that little move? Trash and bottles littered the ring and followed Jarrett up the ramp. It was pretty clever to have referee Earl Hebner be in on the scam as it were, since the fans will never quit chanting, “You screwed Bret†at him. Might as well make use of that. But the best was just as the show was ending when referee Rudy Charles wrenched the belt away from JJ and handed it off to the new management director Jim Cornette. It gave the fans new hope that the man they love to hate might not have the title after all. This was a good finish that lets this story line be played out for several shows to come.
Finally, this Sunday is Vengeance. I had no intention of ordering it until I really looked at the card. With the exception of a couple of matches, and isn’t that always the way, this one just might be good. We have the new WWE / ECW Champion Rob Van Dam going against Edge. Sabu will face John Cena in an Extreme Lumberjack Match. Randy Orton (unless he is too injured, which I have not heard to be the case as of yet) will match up against Kurt Angle. These seem to be the three strongest matches of the night. Notice anything here? We have crossover WWE versus ECW matches. How interesting that with the exception of Sabu, all of these matches could have been done anyway, but now there is the lure of ‘rivalry’ between two companies that are supposed to be different. We could have been watching the very same thing if they had just added some fuel and then mixed the matches up between Raw and SmackDown!.
Mick Foley and Ric Flair might have a big match here, since both have pulled no punches with the lack of love one feels for the other. Foley is legitimately pissed off, and I think he will try to prove something Sunday.
We get to see the reunited DX go against the entire Spirit Squad in a Handicap Match.
The Intercontinental title is on the line in a Triple Threat Match where Champion Shelton Benjamin verses Carlito verses Johnny Nitro.
Kane will face off against “Kaneâ€. Will we get to see who this second Big Red Machine is and why he’s here?
And in what has to be a squash, Eugene will attempt to hold his own when he faces Umaga.
This will be the first WWE pay-per-view that I have purchased in a while – I can’t count the ECW show. They have seemed to lack so much that I didn’t want to be bothered. But some of these matches ought to be so strong that I really believe that Sunday will be fun watching. I hope I’m right!
Enjoy.
Be safe and God Bless,
Viva la Raza,
Barb.
