WWE Unforgiven Report - 9/12/2004
Submitted by Steven "Rommel" Schaeffer on Monday, September 13, 2004 at 4:51 AM EST





Hey everyone, this is Phantom Lord filling in for Rommel who unfortunately could not view the PPV due to Technical Difficulties. So I’m coming off the bench and I will be re-capping the WWE RAW PPV: UNFORGIVEN

WWE UNFORGIVEN 2004 LIVE FROM THE ROSE GARDEN IN PORTLAND, OREGON

The show starts up with Ric Flair and Batista taking on Chris Benoit and William Regal. Benoit and DAVE start things off and Benoit quickly goes for the crossface and Batista breaks free and rolls out to the floor. He gets back in and they lock up again and Benoit gets an early advantage with a dragon screw leg whip. Benoit quickly tags in Regal and DAVE tags Flair back in and Flair and Regal go at it and Flair loses the battle. Regal drops a stiff knee onto the back of Flair’s head that gets an AHH GAWD early from Flair. Benoit comes back in and he and Flair start chopping away on each other and Flair loses that battle and does a Flair Flop early in the match. Flair tries to get an advantage when he blocks a Benoit kick…but Benoit counters with an Enziguri to the back of the head and Flair tries to keep vertical and for a moment it looked like he would tag Batista in mid flop but it was not to be. Either way it was funny as hell to watch as Flair truly is the master of working a crowd both live and at home with stuff like that. Back to the action, Flair quickly tags Batista and he and Benoit go at it in the ring. Benoit breaks free from a slam and he goes for the Sharpshooter but DAVE out powers him and he tags Flair back in as Benoit tags Regal back in and Flair and Regal start trading shots. Flair ends up losing this battle again and looks gassed, but DAVE comes in and makes the save with a knee to Regal that sends him to the floor. He gets back in and Flair is recharged enough to clip the knee and quickly lock on the Figure Four and after a minute, Benoit comes in and breaks up the hold. Flair goes for it again and Regal counters with a Small Package that gets a 2 Count. Flair quickly rolls to his corner and tags in DAVE and Regal and Batista trade some shots before Regal is whipped into the corner and he turns around and runs head first into DAVE knocking him and Batista the hell out. Regal gets back up and he tags in Benoit as Batista makes the tag to Flair. Flair tries an ambush on Benoit but Benoit chops the hell out of him and goes behind and nails a German Suplex on him. DAVE is back up and he gets a German Suplex for his troubles. Benoit goes for Flair and nails another German on him and he quickly says that’s it and he climbs up to the top rope and nails The Dynamite Kid Flying Headbutt and he rolls over Flair for The Crossface and Batista comes back in and picks Benoit up by the torso in a deadlift and he slams him down to the mat. That was a truly great moment in that match that made you stand back and say Jesus he is strong. Batista goes out to the floor and brawls with Regal and Regal sends him shoulder first into the turnbuckles. Back in the ring Flair tries for a Figure Four on Benoit but Benoit counters it an quickly takes Flair down for the Crossface and Flair taps out giving Regal and Benoit the Win.

Winners of the match via submission at 15:05 are Chris Benoit and William Regal

My Thoughts: Over all a great opening match for the ppv. This match could have been much better if it was a tag title match. Despite his age, Ric Flair remains one of the most over guys in all wrestling and despite running out of gas he can still deliver. Benoit and Regal were great as a tag team and Batista added the perfect piece to this good opener. If I were giving it stars I’d say ***1/2 stars

Up next we had a segment in the back with Christian and Trish as Christian was arguing with Trish about her not being able to use Tomko since he works for him. But Tomko being a man listened to a proposal from Trish and he told Christian good luck with his match later. Christian walked away calling Trish a slut.

My Thoughts: I liked this short segment. People argue about Tomko not having much of a personality. Well the little he does have shined in this segment. Trish came off as the perfect evil vixen and Christian proved why he is Captain Charisma.

Up next we have the WWE Women’s Title match as Trish defends against Victoria. Victoria comes out and does her strip tease dance or what ever it is. She looked good in her flesh colored outfit and that’s all that mattered. Trish makes her way down to the ring with the luckiest man on earth tonight…Tyson Tomko. Tomko stares down Victoria before getting out of the ring. The match starts off and Victoria gets a couple of quick arm drags on Trish and Victoria goes for a quick pin and Trish kicks out at two and she rolls out to the floor to converse with Tomko. Trish comes back in and gets an advantage and she does a rear naked choke in the corner on Victoria. She drops her to mat and she picks her up and goes for it again and breaks on three as noted by The King. She goes for a third try but Victoria slaps the hell out of her for a counter and she picks her up with an overhead military press and she drops Trish across her right knee for a gutbuster. Note Victoria wears a kneebrace on that knee so I’m guessing that hurt like hell for Ms. Stratus. Trish rolls out to the floor and Victoria climbs up to the top rope and is about to go for a crossbody to the floor, but Tomko earns his keep (and probably a special bonus tonight) when he picks Trish up and moves her to safety. Victoria quickly goes to the otherside of the ring and slides out to the floor and nails Trish and sends her into the guardrail. Trish regains the advantage and gets Victoria back in the ring and proceeds to lock on an Arm bar and then she grabs Victoria’s leg for extra leverage and giving Tomko a rather nice view. Trish breaks the hold and has her back up and goes for a sleeper and Victoria counters with an elbow to the stomach. She quickly picks her up with a fireman’s carry and spins her into a side walk slam for a two count. Victoria then sets up for her Shimmy Moonsalt that makes no sense since she jumps over her…but she gets a two never the less. Victoria is back up and for some unknown reason she opts to go for a Plancha on Tomko which he completely no sells as he chases her back into the ring and as Victoria is distracted by him…Trish grabs her for the Stratusfaction and gets the 1…2…3 to retain the WWE Women’s Championship.

Winner by Pinfall at 8:20 and still WWE Women’s Champion…Trish Stratus

After the match, Trish tells Tyson to have some fun with Victoria and he picks her up by the throat prompting Stevie Richards in Drag to come out and save her. He spins Tomko around and nails him with an Evenflow DDT and then takes off while trying to hold his wig on while the crowd chants Stevie as Jim Ross says we have no idea who that is. Tomko gets pissed and gets on the microphone and his lack of a personality is clear as he demands the woman come out so he could beat the hell out of her and solve the mystery.

Nothing says Impromptu Match like violence against a Transgender Male.

Stevie comes back out and he gets in the ring and slaps Tomko as the referee comes back and rings the bell and Tomko beats the living crap out of him. The wig manages to stay on for a little bit as he gets tossed around and finally its off and The King and JR say the biggest mystery out in the open has been solved. The match proceeds to kill the crowd DEAD as Tomko strips Stevie down to his bra (yes bra) and granny panties. Stevie to his credit tries to make this pile of shit work by going for the Baron Von Bobbit Claw Hold on Tomko, but it was to no avail. He tries a couple dropkicks in the corner but Tomko shakes them off and ultimately he gets him up for the Torture Rack and he turns it into a Neckbreaker drop and he gets the win all while the fans in the first few rows all stand up with WTF looks on their faces.

My Thoughts: A good women’s match with Victoria and Trish, but the crowd was killed by the events after it. I really can’t explain it. It was like watching an execution. I mean Stevie Richards is pretty well over with the crowds and he could be a solid midcarder on RAW and be in the IC Title hunt…but for some godforsaken reason they do this to him. Just proves my theory of the Curse associated with ECW. How Stevie will recover career wise after this will be nothing short of a miracle. Trish/Victoria was ** stars and Stevie/Tomko should be edited off the DVD.

Moving on we get a video package recapping what led to the Ladder match between Jericho and Christian. Excellent video as always by the WWE Production team. Where the Creative Team misses…they pick up the slack.

Up next we have The Ladder Match for the Vacant WWE Intercontinental Championship between Christian and Chris Jericho. This match despite what others will say was pretty good. A lot of back and forth action to start off the match. The camera shots show the various ladders around the ring. Personally it makes no sense for there to be that many damn ladders. I think there were 2 regular sized and 2 big ones. All you needed was one ladder and that was it. Well back to the match and Jericho gets a ladder and he takes a swing at Christian and Christian ducks it. They go to the floor and Jericho tries to hit him with the ladder but again Christian gets out of the way. They fight a bit on the floor and they go into the crowd and ultimately Christian gets an advantage on the floor when he nails Jericho with the Unprettier. Christian quickly grabs a ladder and sets it up and goes for the title and he reaches it but Jericho is back up and he brings him back down to the mat to thwart that attempt. Christian gets an advantage and he sets the ladder up in the corner and he goes to whip Jericho into it but Jericho counters and sends Christian in face first and that got a pretty good DAMN reaction from the crowd. Jericho gets him back up and tries to get an advantage but Christian takes him down with a clothesline. Christian sets the ladder back up in the corner and he catapults Jericho into it. He once again sets up the ladder and again makes the climb and once again Jericho is up in the nick of time to prevent him from grabbing the gold. Christian puts Jericho in the corner and then puts the ladder on him thinking he will be able to splash him…but since history proves it’s never worked…Jericho simply shoves the ladder into him when he comes charging for a nice splat effect. Jericho quickly meets the Psychology Quota for the match by grabbing the ladder and climbing up to the top rope and he jumps and drops the ladder across Christian’s back. Jericho has him back up and tries for a bulldog but Christian counters it and toss him onto the ladder. Christian quickly picks up the ladder and puts it in the corner and he grabs Jericho and ties his legs in the rung and he nails a running knee onto him. Jericho is out and Christian easily sets up the ladder and makes the climb but as he was reaching for the belt…Jericho flips him off and that prompts Christian to come back down (What an Idiot). Christian folds up the ladder and goes to charge with it and Jericho is back up and he dropkicks the ladder knocking it and Christian to the mat. Jericho quickly opens it up and he puts Christian in between it and after a few slams he goes for The Lionsalt and Christian gets out in the nick of time and Jericho smashes his knee on the ladder which must have had him in some legit pain as he was screaming for a few seconds after that. Christian wisely is back up and he tosses Jericho out of the floor and he sets the ladder up and he makes the slow climb selling the back injury. Christian makes it to the belt and he has trouble getting it down when Jericho is back up and he pulls the ladder out from under him leaving him hanging up in the air. Jericho uses the ladder as a giant bat and he swings and nails Christian who comes crashing to the mat. Jericho promptly takes the ladder and puts it over Christian and he climbs up but Christian somehow slides out from under it and he nudges the ladder forward and Jericho flies off and lands ass first on the leg of the ladder. I’m willing to bet he’ll have a nasty bruise tomorrow. Christian goes outside and gets the BIG ladder and he sets it up and makes the long climb as Jericho is back up and he sets up the mini ladder. He makes it up to the top and he and Christian battle and Jericho wins that by taking him to the mat with a Bulldog of sorts. Jericho is back up and he climbs the big ladder and unhooks the title as Christian was desperately pulling himself up.

Winner of the Ladder Match at 22:36 and NEW WWE Intercontinental Champion…Chris Jericho

My Thoughts: Like I said, despite what others said I think this match was great. Christian busted his ass tonight and I really thought he was going to win. Jericho becomes the 7 Time Champion thus erasing Jeff Jarrett from the WWE Record Books. But hey Jarrett is the real World Champion and Jericho is a transition champion at best right now. But never the less this match was a solid **** stars and it was easily the match of the night and should be a strong contender for WWE Match of the Year.

Up next Todd Grisham tries for an interview with Kane but Lita sneaks out and she says she hopes that HBK puts Kane in the Hospital. Kane comes out and starts laughing since Uncle Eric told him the match is now NO DQ (That Guaranteed a Michaels Blade Job). Kane drags Lita off as the interview is over. Meanwhile they cut to The Coach who is with Jericho who has an ice back on his neck and Edge tells him to shine that belt up since he’s coming for it. Yeah what ever…we really need Christian and Edge to get back together as a heel team.

My Thoughts: Kane is making the best of this god awful wedding angle. I can only imagine how bad it will be come time when she’s supposed to give birth. Knowing the WWE they will rip off the Half Breed Alien Birth from V.

Up next we now have a NO DISQUALIFICATION MATCH between Kane and Shawn Michaels. Ricky Steamboat after the throat injury from Randy Savage this is not as HBK gets an early advantage with a Lou Thez Press when he blocked a backdrop attempt from Kane. Shawn starts to stomp away, but Kane gets out to the floor. Shawn follows him out and Kane gets an advantage and he goes to clothesline Shawn’s head on the ring post…but Shawn moves out of the way on that one. Michaels is up top and Kane see’s it coming and he nails him with a thrust to the throat on the way down. Kane whips him into the corner and levels him with a big clothesline. He gets a two count and opts for the big elbow and as usual it doesn’t work. Shawn is back up and he clotheslines him over the top rope and he nails a Plancha onto Kane. Kane is back up and he grabs Lita and uses her as a Human Shield and he nails another thrust to Shawn’s Throat. Kane tells Lita now the fun begins and what ever happens to him is her fault. Kane pulls off the cover to the S.A.T. and he picks up Shawn and he slams him onto the corner of the table and considering how Shawn’s back is supposedly held together by a few wires and bolts…that had to hurt. Kane picks him back up for a suplex and uses a modified Goadbuster to drive him through the table. Kane sends HBK back into the ring as Lita rallies the crowd against Kane. Yeah this marriage thing was a BRILLIANT idea. Kane gets a two count and he quickly pulls HBK out onto the apron and nails a couple of elbows from the Capt. Redneck Dick Murdoch textbook. Kane has him back in the ring and he has him up by the throat and HBK fires away with a few right hands and he ends up getting leveled with a clothesline for his troubles. Kane has him back up and HBK nails a desperation DDT to stop Kane’s momentum. Shawn is back up and Kane sends him into the ropes and Shawn nails a weak Flying Forearm that keeps him and Kane down. Kane does the sit-up and as he gets to his feet Shawn feels THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST and he nips up. Kane reverses a whip and he sends HBK over the ropes and onto the floor and HBK hits his head on the ring steps and he’s busted open (See I told you so). Kane says that’s it and he goes out to the floor and grabs a chair. Shawn is back up and he nails Kane and prevents him from using the chair. Shawn gets the upper hand and he climbs up to the top rope and nails The Showstopper Elbow and he gets a two count to everyone’s disbelief. Shawn says that’s it and he pulls himself up in the corner and starts tuning up the band as the crowd counts along with every stomp and he goes for it and Kane nails him with a huge big boot in one of the coolest counters to Sweet Chin Music that I’ve ever seen. Kane quickly goes up top and he sets up for the Flying Clothesline and he connects and that only gets a two to everyone’s disbelief. Kane has him back up and Shawn does his part for Planned Parenthood by nailing Kane with a Low Blow. Kane gets back up first though and he grabs the chair but Lita pulls it out of the ring. As they argue, Shawn pulls himself back up and he goes for Sweet Chin Music and Kane Blocks it and goes for the chokeslam and Shawn breaks free and KICK WHAM SWEETCHIN MUSIC on Kane as Shawn rolls over into a pin with a bridge for the 1…2…3.

Winner of the match at 18:00 via Pinfall is Shawn Michaels

Post match, Shawn blesses Lita for her help and gives her a kiss on her hand that if the WWE was smart would be an easy way to continue this feud tomorrow because Kane was pissed with Lita. I was hoping he would Tombstone her but we weren’t that lucky tonight. Kane drags her off to the back.

My thoughts: A damn good match. Easily the second best tied with the opening tag match. I don’t know if it’s simply HBK overselling, but a few times in this match he had that same look on his face that he did at WM 14 and in an RF Shoot video he said about that and I quote “Didn’t you see me out there…I was fucking Superman”. I hope Shawn’s back isn’t fried because honestly I think he has a lot left in him. Maybe after this angle with Kane is over, Shawn can get traded to Smackdown. They could really use The Showstopper. Overall this match was good and I give it a solid ***1/2 stars.

The cut to a video hyping Shelton Benjamin’s return. I was in a chat earlier with former WCW Star The Stro and he says it looks like they might be hinting a heel turn for him. Personally they should of never taken him off Smackdown.

We come back to Todd Grisham who’s interviewing Triple H. He said something about him making Randy Orton. Me and My father Phantom Classic were amazed by how big Triple H’s nose really is. In case you didn’t know, Triple H was born in Montreal so if you need another reason to hate him…He’s French-Canadian.

Speaking of The Frenchies…Up next we have the WWE RAW Tag Title match as La Resistance takes on Rhyno and Tajiri. Call them Team ECW…Team Extreme…whatever. There’s a word for them and it’s called filler material and that’s exactly what this match was. I’ll skip over the horror of Sylvan trying to sing O’ Canada. Here’s a question though. If they La Rez are supposed to be Proud Quebeccer’s…then I’m assuming they are for the separation of Quebec from Canada. Why not sing the Quebec anthem…there must be one. Just something for you all to ponder. Tajiri starts off with some quick arm drags and he goes for The Tumbleweed, which was made famous by Terry and Dory Funk, and he gets quick two. Rhyno tags in as Conway comes in and he wins the slugfest. He goes for the Goar early but Conway bails. Rhyno tries for another charge into the corner and Conway ducks and Rhyno hurts his arm and Conway quickly goes to work on it with a single arm DDT. La Rez continues to work on the shoulder but ultimately Rhyno gets a desperation Belly to Belly and he makes the tag to Tajiri. Tajiri starts kicking away on Sylvan and Conway. Tajiri has Conway up and he goes for a tornado ddt but Conway counters it and dumps him face first on the mat. Sylvan tags back in and Tajiri nails him with a kick and he then nails Conway with another kick that knocks him off the apron and he makes it to his corner and tags Rhyno back in. Rhyno comes in and levels Conway. Sylvan is in and Rhyno plants him with a big Spinebuster. Rhyno goes for a cover and Conway breaks it up at two. Conway is on the floor and he tries to slide the flag in, but Sylvan was in the wrong place as Tajiri is in and he jumps over the ropes and hits the flag pole and Sylvan takes a shot right to the nuts. Rhyno is back up and he nails the GORE GORE GORE on Sylvan but Conway wisely puts his foot on the bottom rope. The ref gets distracted with Conway and Tajiri fighting on the floor and Sylvan gathers himself enough to grab the flag and nail Rhyno with it. He gets rid of the evidence and the referee turns around and sees the pin and counts the 1…2…3.

Winners and still WWE RAW Tag Champions via pinfall at 9:41 are La Resistance.

My Thoughts: Like I said it was filler material at best. I was hoping for a Rhyno/Tajiri win but it was not to be. ** stars and I’m being generous compared to others.

We go to a recap of Orton winning the World Title and what led to the match tonight with Triple H. You know the story by now. Triple H and Evolution turn on Orton and Orton ends up giving Triple H the biggest damn loogie in history.

We’re back live and up next it’s the World Heavyweight Championship as Randy Orton defends against Triple H. They start off with some nice counter moves and it becomes a stand off. Triple H is back up and Randy pimp slaps the hell out of him. Triple H gets pissed and Orton pours jet fuel on the fire by hacking one up and spitting at Triple H. This baits Triple H in and Orton takes him down and slaps on one of those well talked about chin locks. Triple H manages to get free and he forces young Randy to the corner and they trade punches and Triple H goes for a whip but Orton counters which sends Triple H up and over the ropes and out to the floor. Triple H is back in and Orton nails a series of European Uppercuts. About six in a row I think and Triple H steals the Flair Flop and falls to the mat. Orton has Triple H for a slam but he counters and he goes right to work on Orton’s knee. Triple H starts working over Orton like he owed him money as he slammed the knee into the ring post. Orton tries a comeback when H gets back in the ring but Triple H does a great counter with a drop toe hold and in one fluid motion he gets up and roars back on Orton’s leg with an Indian Death Lock. Triple H continues to work on the leg and I figured he was setting him up for the Inverted Indian Death Lock but instead he steals another trick out of Flair’s book and he slaps on the Figure Four. After a lengthy battle Triple H uses the ropes and gets caught and when he tries to go for another Figure Four…Orton sends him off into the rope and he goes flying into the turnbuckle and he cracks his head on the ring post and he’s busted open (When ever HBK Bleeds…Triple H will out blade him later in the night or match). Orton gets back up and goes on the attack and he whips Triple H into the ropes and he catches him with a big powerslam that gets a two count. Triple H is back up and Orton nails a great text book drop kick on Triple H but as Jim Ross notes he’s in to much pain to properly pin him and he gets a two count. Triple H is back up and he goes for The Sleeper but Orton counters into one of his own and Triple H counters it into a nice belly to back suplex. Triple H for some unknown reason hops up to the second rope and goes for something but Orton gets his boot up and Triple H gets nailed in the face. You would think someone would see that counter coming by now. Orton pulls himself back up and he goes to the outside and slowly climbs the ropes and he goes for his Crossbody and connects but that only gets a two count. After sending Triple H to the floor and smashing him into the ring steps. Orton has him back in and he goes for the RKO but Triple H shoves him into the referee. While they continue to fight everyone turns to the entranceway and Flair comes running out. I was hoping this would be the Double Turn I predicted in my column but it was not to be. Orton disposes of Flair and The Coach comes running out while he’s putting on the referee’s shirt. The Coach is now the new referee and Orton goes for a pin but he gets a two count from The Coach. DAVE is now in and he plants Orton with a Spinebuster and Triple H covers and he gets a two count. Triple H goes for The Pedigree and Orton counters it with a backdrop and in a fluid motion he gets back up and nails The Coach with the RKO. Flair is back in and he gets an RKO for his trouble. Triple H grabbed a chair and he destroys Orton with a chair shot that will make you cringe when you hear the ding. Whether it came from the chair or Orton’s head is up for debate. Orton for purposes is dead but Triple H picks him back up and KICK WHAM PEDIGREE onto the chair and DAVE picks up Hebner who counts the slow 1…2…3. And Triple H wins.

Winner and now 9 Time World Heavyweight Champion via pinfall at 24:47 is Triple H

My Thoughts: I was hoping and praying that Orton would go back heel and Evolution would turn on Triple H like The Horsemen did to Sting in 89 but it was not to be. This is PROOF with out a shadow of a doubt that Triple H sabotaged Orton’s career. Jake the Snake said it best on his website at www.Jakethesnakeroberts.tv Triple H could never get over by himself. He knows he will never be the best…but he’ll damn sure make sure no one is better then him and for someone who preaches that he loves the business he is doing everything he can to kill it.

I thought this PPV was solid and well worth the money, but the ending to this match left a bitter taste in my mouth. Sure they can build it that Triple H can’t beat Orton on his own all they want…but the fact remains they killed Orton’s face turn by trying to make him the next damn Rock. It’s a known fact that Triple H is jealous of The Rock and all the success he’s had in and out of the ring. Fellow LOP Columnist Raw is Snapple said it best in the PPV Discussion thread on the message board. Triple H hasn’t put anyone over and we’re back to 2003 again.

It’s amazing when you pay $34.95 for a PPV and you find flaws with it that people like Triple H take an issue with that.

Overall the PPV was good despite the Train Wreck with Tomko/Richards and this bullshit ending.

I’ll give the whole show **** stars since it did keep me highly entertained and if you want I would suggest checking it out on the replay showings.

This has been Phantom Lord filling in for Rommel. Don’t expect me to do another recap anytime soon. This is a lot harder then it looks and that’s why Rommel is the best recap man in the business.

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