Smarkass Reviews: WWE Judgment Day 2006

Another $5 WWE pay-per-view on DVD from Wal-Mart. Since the last one I got was Judgment Day 2007, I thought I'd go with Judgment Day 2006 just for fun. Why not go back a year and see what the PPV was like then? Well, this one is from when the brand extension in the WWE resulted in brand-specific PPVs. Judgment Day was a Smackdown-only PPV. I kind of regret that I missed this period in the WWE since it sounds like fun and a way to keep PPVs interesting since you wouldn't get burned out on the same guys every three or four weeks. It's also a good way to give more midcard talent a chance to shine. There are a few matches here that I don't think would make it onto a WWE PPV right now (some for good reason), but it's nice to see them giving certain guys a spot on the PPV. I'm not sure they have the depth of talent to pull it off now -- but it would be interesting if they gave it a try again. Anyway, let's get onto Judgment Day 2006.

Match #1: WWE Tag Team Championship Match -- MNM (C) vs. Brian Kendrick & Paul London
The story going into this match was that London and Kendrick had beaten MNM five times already, just not for the belts. This was a great match to kick things off with Kendrick and London going at top speed whenever on offence, but Mercury and Nitro played the classic tag team heels perfectly. They worked the ref, cheated as much as possible, and even got Melina into the act a few times. There was some good back and forth in spots along with double-teaming by MNM that ultimately backfired. What annoyed me about this match was how much young, raw talent there was here and, now, only one of these guys is still with the WWE (well, I guess Mercury has signed with them again, but hasn't been seen officially, so...). This match kicked off a yearlong reign as tag champs by London and Kendrick, too. Really, just some really good tag team wrestling. I also liked the stuff after the match where Melina and Nitro turned on Mercury. It made sense given the story and gave the PPV a sense of importance beyond just the title change.
Winners and NEW WWE Tag Team Champions: Brian Kendrick & Paul London [***1/2]

Match #2: Chris Benoit vs. Finlay
Later in the PPV is the finals of the King of the Ring tournament and these two met in the first round where Finlay won by cheating. So, it's a bit of a grudge match between two of the stiffest workers in the business. This was just a class in fantastic mat-based wrestling mixed with hard-hitting, smashmouth action. The match began with the two locked up, trying to overpower the other, even rolling outside the ring (still locked up) until it broke. Then, it was a series of holds before it got into just brutal action. Both men just beat the other down, Finlay trying to cheat a few times to no avail -- until Finlay made the mistake of taunting Benoit a bit too much. Benoit won via the Crossface, but both men looked fantastic. I turned to Michelle and said that, in a better world, this would have been the main event. Instead, it was just the best match of the night. At this point in the show, I was really impressed with what I was seeing. That wouldn't last entirely.
Winner: Chris Benoit [****]

Match #3: Jillian Hall vs. Melina
After the break-up of MNM, Melina went into this match distracted. It was a fine enough Divas match. Leagues ahead of the shit we usually see now, but nothing too special either. Jillian won despite Melina grabbing the rope (the ref didn't see). After the match, there was a run-in between Melina and Kristal that was... well, lame. This was a nice breather match after the first two, both of which were great and were also decent lengths.
Winner: Jillian Hall [*1/2]

Match #4: WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match -- Gregory Helmes (C) vs. Super Crazy
I didn't know what to expect of this match since I haven't seen a lot of either man. Bits and pieces here and there, never at a PPV. Helms is the heel champ, while Super Crazy the face that jumps around a lot. The story of this match is somewhat similar to the current one involving Douglas Williams as X-Division Champion in TNA where Williams wrestles a mat-based style against the high-flyers. Now, Helms does high-flying stuff, too, but stuck to the ground mostly here, because he's the heel. Honestly, this didn't impress me really. Neither man ever really got things going. It just puttered along in 2nd gear, never rising above a certain level. Helms won via cheating and I didn't care. The first match that felt like a let down of the show.
Winner and STILL WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Gregory Helms [*3/4]

Interlude
Between the matches here, there was a great backstage segment where Smackdown General Manager Teddy Long (hey, he's still got that job despite being demoted/fired in story at least once) had a run-in with Johnny Nitro and Melina that resulted in both being fired. Good stuff and built on the two matches involving them well. This PPV had a solid little MNM story running through it for the first half.

Match #5: Kurt Angle vs. Mark Henry
I wasn't expecting a lot from this. Kurt Angle is one of the best in the business and Mark Henry is a great big man, but that doesn't mean it would be a great match necessarily. The story here was simple: Mark Henry keeps jumping on Kurt Angle while Angle is laid out on tables, and Angle would like Kenry to stop. The storytelling here was really strong where Henry tried to wrestle his usual 'big man squash little man' match, while Angle outsmarted him, countering any power moves until making a mistake of his own. I love it when a wrestler of a certain skill level wrestles at that level with intelligence in the ring. Angle does so here. Eventually, the match resulted in Henry winning via countout, but, after the match, Angle got revenge by laying him out, sticking the ankle lock on, and, then, hitting him with the Angle Slam on the announce table. While Angle lost the match technically, he came away on top. Not an amazing match, but great storytelling. Better than I expected.
Winner: Mark Henry [***]

Match #6: King of the Ring Finals -- Booker T vs. Bobby Lashley
The pre-match segment here with Booker T was gold. The more I see of Booker T, the more I realise how underrated he is when considering the best wrestlers of the past 20 years. That he was the only guy to really see any lasting success from the WCW guys after the WWE bought that company speaks volumes. Sharmell running through the list of kings Booker will be better than was great, especially when she said Martin Luther King and Booker responded with "What?!?" before being won over. This match was also better than I expected. Lashley was limited in the ring to some pretty basic power moves, nothing flashy -- but Booker T brought the flash. Lots of agility and overacting to make things look better. I wasn't a big fan of the finish with Finlay coming down, but since Lashley beat him to earn a spot in the finals and Finlay later became a member of King Booker's royal court, it works. A bonus on the DVD is the coronation of Booker on the next Smackdown, which is worth it for William Regal doing the ceremony and ending things by repeating "Long live King Booker" over and over again.
Winner and the 2006 King of the Ring: Booker T King Booker [**1/2]

Match #7: The Undertaker vs. The Great Khali
This was just after Khali first entered the WWE (he's been there for over four years? shit...) and took out the Undertaker immediately. The sole goal was to make Khali seem like a big threat, which happens. 'Taker puts him over big time, while doing his best to carry the match despite Khali knowing all of three moves. It doesn't really work, but it sells Khali as a threat for the way he just destroys the Undertaker at the end.
Winner: The Great Khali [*]

Match #8: WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match -- Rey Mysterio (C) vs. JBL
Hmm, with Rey Rey becoming a two-time world champ this past Sunday, this match suddenly gains new meaning as we get to see what sort of champion he was the first time around. Well, in the weeks leading up to this match, he lost to Mark Henry, the Great Khali, and Kane. Just crushed by all of them. The entire match is JBL kicking the shit out of Mysterio, just beating him down again and again with brutal, punishing moves. Tossing him from one side of the ring to the other like a rag doll. Taunting him with allusions to Eddie Guerrero. Basically, JBL makes Rey Mysterio his bitch in this match and Rey wins anyway. Rey is the underdog even when champion, which doesn't work at all. I hope they do things better this time around, because this was a good match until the finish where we learn two things: 1) Rey Mysterio can take a superhuman amount of punishment; 2) JBL can be beaten with, like, three moves.
Winner and STILL WWE World Heavyweight Champion: Rey Mysterio [**1/2]

Overall, this was better than I thought it would be -- and better than the Judgment Day that would follow it. Only a few matches were letdowns, while the show began quite strong. Granted, the matches that bested my expectations weren't fantastic, I wasn't disappointed with this show at all.

Show Rating: 7.0 (out of 10)

Smarkass Reviews: WWE Judgment Day 2007

I bought this yesterday at Wal-Mart for five bucks. They had a bunch more like Judgment Day 2006, Cyber-Sunday 2006, and that awful December to Dismember ECW-only PPV. This one looked like the best of the bunch judging from the match list. Last month, when I was in Wal-Mart, they had the same DVDs, but I picked up The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA two-disc set for five bucks. That had a fantastic documentary feature on the AWA. Michelle loves the DVD sets with documentaries and I'm definitely with her there. We haven't watched many of the matches, though, after a couple were disappointing by not being the full matches. Anyway, moving on to the business at hand: Judgment Day 2007.

A short history of myself and wrestling: I grew up watching it because my dad watched it. He gave up on it before I did. I gave up on sometime near the end of high school/beginning of university, somewhere in the 2000-2002 range. I would occasionally stop on it if I came across it, so I have a vague awareness of certain things, but, for the most part, didn't watch it. In September 2007, I moved in with a fellow grad student and friend, Adam. Adam was a big wrestling fan and he quickly got me back into it and I've been a loyal watcher ever since. I watch WWE pretty steadily same with TNA and a little bit of indy stuff. Judgment Day 2007 took place on May 20, 2007, a good five months before I got back into wrestling. So, this is all new to me. I know pretty much everyone involved and am aware of some of the feuds, but not everything. Immediately, I'm amused that, out of the 20 wrestlers involved on the card, 12 of them are no longer with the WWE, though two of them (Carlito and Batista) are very recent departures.

One good thing about WWE pay-per-views is that they usually pad them out a bit with video packages that explain feuds -- something that makes randomly dipping into DVDs from the past pretty easy. I had a basic understanding of a lot of the feuds with these matches, but it definitely helped Michelle have some idea of who some people were or what the story going into the match was.

Match #1: Ric Flair vs. Carlito
The story here is that Flair saw something in Carlito and being the legend that he is, decided to take Carlito under his wing and make him into a superstar. Carlito refused and Flair responded by calling him unmotivated and arrogant... so, basically, this match and story was a summation of Carlito's entire time in the WWE: a talented performer that could (and should) have done so much more, but was held back by a lack of motivation and a sense that he was better than others. The match was an odd choice for an opening bout. Usually, you want something that will get the crowd hot and this didn't do it for the most part. Sure, people cheered Flair, but that's what people do. By this point, Flair was coasting on his status -- making this feud even funnier. His offence in this match consisted of chops to the chest and... well, he won with a Figure Four. Carlito, meanwhile, stuck to working Flair's left arm for some reason. Carlito is normally quicker and more acrobatic, and this style definitely didn't suit him. He displayed some nice passion, but was pretty boring otherwise. The closest we got to his regular style was a dropkick outside the ring to Flair's arm while it was resting against the ring post. Carlito seemed to be wrestling a Ric Flair match instead of his own match and considering he needed to look good here, it was a little baffling. It wouldn't have been so bad as a five-minute match, but it just went on and on and on and on...
Winner: Ric Flair [*1/2]

Match #2: 3-on-1 Handicap Match for the ECW World Championship -- Mr. McMahon (C), Shane McMahon & Umaga vs. Bobby Lashley
At Backlash (the previous PPV), Vince McMahon won the ECW title from Bobby Lashley in this very match: 3-on-1 handicap match. Now, the rematch with Vince bringing along his son and Umaga for insurance. The crowd was solidly behind Lashley and the match was mercifully short with Lashley dominating, taking out Shane and Umaga in short order, and getting the pin on Shane for the win. After the match, he yelled at Vince to come back to the ring and, just as Vince was going to enter, Umaga attacked Lashley, knocking him out with the Samoan Spike. McMahon got on the mic and said that Lashley may have won the match, but not the title since he didn't pin Vince. The match was energetic and quick, very nicely planned out, but this was an angle, not a match. Pretty sure the video package for it was longer than the match.
Winner, but NOT new ECW Champion: Bobby Lashley [1/2*]

Match #3: CM Punk vs. Elijah Burke
Since I didn't watch ECW when I got back into wrestling (as it was on Fridays nights at midnight here at the time), I pretty much missed Elijah Burke in the WWE despite him being around for a few months when I was watching. I dig him in TNA as "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero and, judging from this match, he's definitely a better fit in TNA with that character. He and Punk put on a pretty good match. This probably should have kicked things off since it was definitely more energetic and exciting than the Flair/Carlito match. The story here is that Elijah Burke was the leader of a faction called the New Breed that was feuding with the ECW Originals (as ECW was its own company in the '90s and these stars were part of the company then), and Burke wanted CM Punk in his faction. Punk joined, but quickly betrayed the New Breed, wanting to destroy them from the inside. Since then, he'd worked his way through them until this match. Solid story and the match was based around Punk's injured ribs, which were taped up. Punk was clearly a guy who was going places, while Burke didn't seem entirely comfortable yet. Lots of good back-and-forth with some solid false finishes. At this point, it was easily the best match of the night. CM Punk picked up the win and looked very good in the process. Who doesn't love the Go To Sleep?
Winner: CM Punk [***]

Match #4: Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton
Earlier in the show, we got briefed on the backstory of this match: Michaels suffered a concussion at the hands of the Great Khali, which was only made worse by Orton punting him in the skull. During this recap (which was during a backstage interview), Orton attacked Michaels and slammed him face first into a metal beam. Michaels was later told by a doctor that he wasn't fit to compete. So, Orton came out and demanded that he be announced as the winner of the match by forfeit. Just as it was happening, Michaels's music hit and he comes stumbling out. No one could do injured/tired/out of it like Shawn Michaels. He was the master. He looked drunk, which seems the right way to play up concussed and barely conscious. He barely got in the ring and the match began. Orton just beat on him until Michaels got off a move or two, even climbing the ropes for his trademark elbow drop, which he hit. All that was left was Sweet Chin Music, but when it came time for it, he just fell down. The ref stopped the match and, after, when the ref was helping Michaels up, Orton nailed him with the RKO just for fun. Michaels was taken out on a stretcher with his wife crying by his side. Not much of a match, but entertaining nonetheless because of Michaels selling the injury so well. Also, nice to see the old Randy Orton entrance with his old music and the pose.
Winner: Randy Orton [*]

Match #5: World Tag Team Championship Match -- The Hardys (C) vs. Trevor Murdoch & Lance Cade
I don't have much to say about this. The Hardys did their usual routine and this match was a little too long. Nothing special and showed why Cade and Murdoch never really went anywhere. Though, I will say that Cade looked in great shape. He had potential, definitely.
Winners and STILL World Tag Team Champions: The Hardys [**]

Match #6: World Heavyweight Championship Match -- Edge (C) vs. Batista
This match happened because of two injuries. First, the winner of Money in the Bank at WrestleMania that year, Mr. Kennedy, was injured, so they had him drop the briefcase containing a contract for a title shot to Edge. Then, the World Heavyweight Champion the Undertaker got injured, so they had Edge cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase and take the belt after a cage match with Batista. Batista, having lost the belt to the Undertaker at WrestleMania insisted it was his and Edge stole it. This match was surprisingly weak. I was expecting more from the two, but it was just under five minutes of pretty tame action with an abrupt finish. Was Batista also injured in real life at the time? If so... yikes.
Winner and STILL World Heavyweight Champion: Edge [*1/2]

Match #7: 2-Out-of-3 Falls Match for the United States Championship -- Chris Benoit (C) vs. MVP
Okay, a match featuring Chris Benoit. My position on Benoit is that I view his wrestling and the actions of his final days alive as two separate things. I can appreciate his in-ring work while hating what he did to his wife, son, and himself. Some people can't and I respect that, but that's not my position. This match is especially a little difficult with that regard coming only a couple of months before that horrific weekend. But, at the same time, this shows why Benoit was so well respected in the ring by so many. This was definitely the best match of the night with Benoit making sure MVP looked incredibly strong in his victory. The first fall would have been a pretty solid match alone with the two matching one another well. The story here was that MVP had slowly gotten better and better against Benoit with this being his chance to prove himself completely and win the US belt. Lots of good counters and equal shows of strength. After their various confrontations, both men knew one another well, and it was hard to say who would get the upper hand, especially when Benoit locked in the Crippler Crossface. But, MVP eventually nailed the Playmaker for the first fall victory. The second fall was just MVP dominating. No matter what Benoit did to counter or try to mount a comeback, MVP countered himself and beat Benoit down again. MVP even applied a genuinely painful-looking submission hold that was a variation on a single-legged boston crab, but with the leg pulled by both legs over the back of MVP neck, so he could apply more pressure. Benoit sold it well. By the time MVP actually scored the pin, he looked like he could be going after a world belt. Benoit knew what his job was here and that was putting over a younger guy. Not many better ways than dropping two straight falls to him in a 2-Out-of-3 Falls match since usually those use all three falls. I've never seen MVP look this dominant and fantastic since.
Winner and NEW United States Champion: MVP [****]

Match #8: WWE Champsionship Match -- John Cena (C) vs. The Great Khali
One of the WWE's attempts to recreate Hulk Hogan/Andre the Giant with John Cena and a big man. Khali looked unstoppable, Cena was unafraid, and Cena eventually won in a pretty typical match for its type. Not a bad match at all, and Khali hasn't done much better work that I've seen. But still, not a fantastic bout, and the STFU finisher would have worked better if Khali's foot didn't keep hitting the rope. It also makes the later story where Cena couldn't get the STFU on the Big Show look even dumber than it was.
Winner and STILL WWE Champion: John Cena [**]

Overall, not the best PPV I've ever seen. Only two matches really rose above a mediocre level, which isn't a good sign. Then again, the Michaels/Orton one was entertaining. Especially disappointing were the world belt matches.

Show Rating: 5.0 (out of 10)