DaveyBoy's Wrestling Menu #155 - Armageddon Review, WM22 Feedback + Heaps More
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, December 21, 2005 at 2:22 AM EST





THE WRESTLING MENU #155

Welcome one and all to the 155th edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

In last week's column I wrote about how I would attempt to keep John Cena as a face champ up until WrestleMania 22. My idea of placing him in a feud with Edge went over surprisingly well, although there were still some people that felt that nothing could save his title reign. If you have yet to read that column, you may do so by clicking on the following link: http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2005_/articles/1134555561.php

On with the show.....


APPETIZERS

WrestleMania 22 Feedback

Two weeks ago, I rather bravely (and/or stupidly) attempted to predict what the WrestleMania 22 card would be come the first week of April. That column was extremely successful & many readers emailed me telling me what they thought of my matches. Furthermore, the majority of those readers added on what would be their card for the event. This saw a wide range of matches being canvassed, and I felt that some of them were worth listing here for discussion purposes. If you have yet to read my WrestleMania 22 card, you may still do so by clicking on the following link: http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2005_/articles/1133939739.php

Most readers agreed with my 3 main events of Cena vs Triple H, Batista vs Orton & Austin vs Hogan. The remainder of the card was heavily reliant on who would be The Undertaker's opponent & I had a couple of good ideas emailed to me. Most felt that he had to be involved in an inter-brand match & quite a few suggested that his perfect opponent would be none other than Kurt Angle. That's not too bad of a call & I prefer that match-up to other suggested opponents in Edge, Kane & Shawn Michaels. The only passable options from the SmackDown brand were JBL & The Boogeyman, although I wouldn't like the humor dynamic needed from the latter bout. 'Taker wouldn't do the comedy stuff, while Boogeyman needs it.

The other good idea involving The Undertaker was to have him partner a SmackDown face against Kane & The Big Show. That's another idea that could work, with Lashley, Boogeyman & Batista the leading candidates as his partner. At least that idea would put some major doubt, and therefore unpredictability, over his WrestleMania winning streak.

While many liked the idea of my Angle vs HBK decider, just as many felt that the WWE wouldn't go through with this match at consecutive WrestleManias. The consensus was that keeping these 2 apart would also open up the potential for 2 possible great matches against other opponents. Suggested opponents for HBK were Rey Mysterio, Shelton Benjamin, John Cena & Rob Van Dam. I wouldn't say "no" to any of them. Meanwhile, suggested opponents for Kurt Angle were Bobby Lashley, Chris Benoit & Shelton Benjamin. Again, they all would be interesting to watch.

Another criticism of my card was that it didn't involve an InterContinental Title match. I suppose this is a result of the WWE not exactly treating that title very well since Shelton Benjamin lost it about 8 months ago now. Some suggestions here involved Flair vs Benoit, Flair vs Benjamin & Carlito vs RVD. I'm unsure if there is anything there that would make me change my mind, but they all would be decent, I suppose.

I also received some alternatives to a Hogan vs Austin match which I found interesting. Someone suggested another episode of Vince vs Stone Cold. There was also the idea of teaming Hogan & Stone Cold against Kane & The Big Show. And there was another variant pitting Hogan against Flair, although I'm unsure how the heel-face dynamic would work with that one.

Many people had the same trouble that I did with regards to placing Carlito & (especially) Chris Masters in a match. I still feel that teaming them is the best way to go, as it gets them both out of the way in 1 bout. One interesting variation on my booking was having them wrestle against Flair & either Roddy Piper or Ricky Steamboat (instead of Mick Foley). That sounds good to me, especially the Piper idea.

Other than that, I had the usual women's title match contributions (which I have absolutely no problem with), the usual cruiserweight title match contributions (ditto) & a couple of matches I sort of touched on last week such as Kane vs The Big Show, Booker T vs Bobby Lashley & Triple H vs Ric Flair.

Another couple of interesting ideas that I can't fail to mention were (a) some sort of an Evolution storyline match, such as Triple H & Orton vs Flair & Batista. That would be great to watch, but would it take too many possibilities away from the main-event? And (b) a battle for the best technical/amateur wrestler in the WWE with Angle, Benjamin, Lashley & Benoit taking part in either a fatal fourway or tag-team match!

I think that was about it. Obviously, a few also had Cena defending his title against Edge, while others felt that the addition of Brock Lesnar & The Rock was still possible come the first week of April. You can imagine just how many further matches those availabilities would open up on the card. I think what this whole topic proved was that booking a huge card such as this, so far in advance, is not at all an easy task! Good luck to the WWE, but hopefully they have their plans pretty much set already.


MAIN - Armageddon Review

For those that cannot recall my previous PPV review columns, this is the key that explains what the final PPV Rating means:

<50: Ask for a refund for not only your money, but also your time. [F] (Armageddon '04)
50-54: Mediocre & disappointing. [D] (EG: G.A Bash '05)
55-59: Average. [C] (EG: Royal Rumble '04 & No Way Out '04)
60-64: Worth A Watch. [C+] (EG: Taboo Tuesday '05)
65-69: Good event that was worth the money. [B] (EG: Survivor Series '05)
70-74: Very good. [B+] (EG: SummerSlam '05)
75-79: Make sure you add this ppv to your video or dvd collection. [A] (EG: ECW: One Night Stand)
80+ : Make sure that the video or dvd is locked in a safe & cannot be erased. Memorable. [A+]

JOHN BRADSHAW LAYFIELD defeated MATT HARDY: Prior to the match, JBL did one his usual mic routines to solidify his heel heat. It was ok, but considering his opponent, it could have been better. Matt then attacked from the crowd to begin the match. It brought some good intensity to the bout, which pretty much continued throughout Matt getting caught by the throat between the top & middle ropes. This was despite a few rather lame JBL punches being thrown while he was in that position. The rest of the match was pretty much your standard television bout really. There was some good continued intensity, but that was negated by the fact that JBL pretty much dominated the brawl. It then ended prematurely with a Clothesline From Hell at only the 7 minute mark! Almost a squash & an average one at that. Very strange (& incorrect) choice as opener. Match Rating...6

MnM defeated PSICHOSIS & SUPER CRAZY: Entertaining & well-paced 9 minute tag-team match. A really nice combination of The MexiCools high-flying spots with MnM's great teaming. A little too spotty at times, but it didn't hinder the entertainment aspect too much. After a solid prolonged period of MnM isolating Psichosis, Super Crazy gets the hot tag & cleans house. It pretty much breaks down into a tornado match from there, but there were a couple of nice sequences & near-falls to make it all worthwhile. MnM eventually get the victory with the Snapshot. Match Rating...7.5

CHRIS BENOIT defeated BOOKER T: The WWE & both wrestlers did an absolutely fantastic job here. Not only was it a brave move to give these two a match duration of 20 minutes to work their magic, but they actually succeeded in putting at least some doubt into our minds that Booker may indeed sweep the best of 7 series. The result predictability factor & the long match duration did make the first 6 or 7 minutes of the bout a little ho-hum, despite being rather solid. But it was part of setting up the story, as both men kicked into another gear & really lifted the impact & intensity factor after that. What followed were a number of really impressive sequences & near-falls that reminded us what these 2 men could still do. Benoit was an absolute suplex-machine here! Extremely solid & sufficiently entertaining, this bout also got the crowd very involved. Match Rating...8.5

SANTA VITO, ELF NUNZIO & BOOGEYMAN SEGMENT: This took up about 10 minutes, so it well & truly deserves to be included in the overall ppv rating. Not the worst segment I have ever seen. We knew The Boogeyman had to make an appearance & working in a jobber tag-team & Christmas was an ok way to do it. But it just wasn't funny & seemed to go on forever. While the worms are starting to gross me out. Segment Rating...3

BOBBY LASHLEY defeated WILLIAM REGAL & PAUL BURCHILL in a Handicap Match: Decently booked handicap match, although I felt that it could have been stretched out for longer than the 4 minute duration. The Brits teamed well enough, but more importantly targetted Lashley's back very well. You can tell that Burchill is full of potential & he showed glimpses here, as he is almost the perfect opponent to play off Lashley's size & strength. Big Bobby predictably wins through though. I've never been a fan of handicap matches & I would have rathered Regal & Burchill not been jobbed out here, but this was passable if nothing more. Match Rating...5

NOTE: In a first for my ppv ratings, I'm going to deduct a point at this juncture due to a segment aired at this point of time. It featured Josh Matthews interviewing former WWE referee Tim White in his bar. In what could have been an interesting way to put over the Hell In A Cell (where White's injury occurred), the WWE completely ballsed it up & arguably stepped over the line by insinuating that White shot himself off screen. Totally unnecessary, arguably offensive & simply not funny. Special Rating...-1

KID KASH defeated JUVENTUD GUERRERA to Win the Cruiserweight Title: Solid & entertaining cruiserweight match that wasn't done any favors due to it's lack of build-up. In fact, the crowd was predominantly silent here & even chanted "boring" at one stage, despite no boring moments throughout the match. Both men brought good intensity to the beginning of the bout, while the action was sufficiently back & forth. The pace was also good throughout the 9 minute duration, with only Juvi's ordinary selling of shoulder & knee injuries an obvious low point. By no means perfect, but entertaining enough & sufficiently booked & performed. I would have rathered that Kid Kash was built up more before winning the title, but this win here definitely added some unpredictability. Now if only the WWE could give this division some more importance & time. Match Rating...7.5

KANE & THE BIG SHOW defeated REY MYSTERIO & BATISTA: Man, this bout is a hard one to rate. It was entertaining enough, but it just didn't have that big event feel to it that a match of this stature should have had. Only 8 minutes in length, it was decently performed, but very safely & predictably booked. The scene was set from the beginning when Batista couldn't handle the size & strength of his opponents! So what chance was Rey going to have? In all honesty, Mysterio just looked out of place here & the booking didn't really help him, as it didn't allow him to do anything out of the ordinary to combat his larger opponents. The SmackDown team did get some offense in, but the result seemed to be foreshadowed by that opening sequence which saw the injured Batista struggling. At the end, it was a rather anti-climactic win to the Raw tag champs. Decent & nothing too bad, but I just couldn't get too involved in this. Maybe it was the lack of any Raw vs SmackDown hype of late which also foreshadowed the quality of this match. I'm going to be a little harsh with the rating..... Match Rating...6.5

THE UNDERTAKER defeated RANDY ORTON in a Hell In A Cell Match: Predictably brutal & successful main event that actually seemed to last shorter than the 31 minutes that it did (which is usually a good sign). Rather predictable in it's booking though, with hardly any major surprises or moments occurring during the match. Orton & 'Taker did continue on with their good chemistry well enough, while the pacing & equality of the bout was good. The blood also flowed early, Cowboy Bob's interference was ok, while everything else was pretty solid really. Most of the better sequences belonged to Orton, with nice counters of both a chokeslam & a tombstone. Furthermore, he made us remember that he has under-rated top-rope ability with a nice splash through a table. But where-as I would have liked to have seen the booking play up on that & have Orton do other high-risk moves to show the variation required to beat 'Taker in the cell, nothing else was really done that stood out. Save for a couple of huge chair-shots, the rest of the match was very solid, but unspectacular. Maybe the Cell is getting old, but I don't think so. The ending sequence continues the theme as it was nicely done, but nothing too special. Match Rating...8

PPV RATING (51/80) = 64

Looking at the key, I have basically given the 2005 version of 'Armageddon' a 'C+' grade & said that it was 'worth a watch'. That pretty much sums it up well too. Although, to rate in the upper part of that grade & comment (ie: 64) is probably over-rating the event a little. Like many of it's matches, the pay-per-view as a whole was solid, if unspectacular. It could have been so much better had more of the matches been set up properly & had almost every bout included more imaginative booking. I almost had the feeling that the WWE played it safe with this event. Well, if they did, they achieved their objective, as it wasn't a total write-off & was more than passable. But once more, it just could have been so much better.


DESSERT - Odds & Ends

I've decided to go with the 'odds & ends' theme as my final topic today. I had all of these things buzzing around my head this week, but I didn't think that any one of them individually was enough content for a full column topic. So here are some random thoughts, in point form, from the mind of DaveyBoy. Of course, it has to start off with a mention or 3 concerning........... Velocity!

- We saw 2 returns to WWE television this week on Velocity. The first one was by Jamie Noble. He played the intense heel character in a rather impressive victory against a jobber. Noble can wrestle, there is no doubt about that. But I wonder how successful he can be in the WWE. He caught my eye in this bout (& the subsequent pre-ppv match against Funaki) with a tremendous gut-buster variation. From a fireman's carry position, he actually drops to his own back, while sticking his knees up & into his opponent's midrift. Talk about impact!

- The second return was from the man I awarded the 'most under-used' of 2004; Doug Basham. I really felt he would have grown his hair out since he has been away for so long, but he hasn't (even though he isn't entirely bald). I've previously stated that Doug has many similar attributes to 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin & he sure did show that here. In fact, everything from his stares, to his pre-match, to his post-match reminded me of Austin. I wonder if that wasn't by accident & we are seeing yet another recycled gimmick here.

- Also on Velocity, we saw Paul London & Brian Kendrick debut new outfits. They ran to the ring in weird-looking gold masks, while both wrestled in boxer-like shorts. It didn't do anything for me, but if it gets them a semi-regular gig on SmackDown, then they should do whatever it takes. They are an always entertaining team to watch wrestle.

- Moving to the brand's main show, I wasn't super keen on last Friday's SmackDown episode. But it did include a terrific tag-team title match pitting MnM against Rey Mysterio & Batista. I'd rate this bout a strong 8 or 8.5. Despite the questionable booking of the result, this once more showed how important it is to have tag-team champions that can take part in a main-event like match. While Batista & Mysterio were their usual good selves here, MnM really stepped up. And how about that hurracanrana variation from Rey! I've never seen that before & it was very spectacular. But don't look past the excellent selling of the move by the inexperienced Johnny Nitro. Another sign of his maturity & improvement.

- A few readers have asked my opinion on who should be the new Raw GM. I really have no idea to be honest. Furthermore, I have no clue as to where the WWE are headed with this storyline. If there is a swerve, I don't see it involving Eric Bischoff returning in that role. I fully expect him to manage 3 Minute Warning upon return, some time just before WrestleMania 22. So let me throw up one name that I have seen on WWE programming of late, but hasn't been mentioned from what I have seen; Michael 'Dok Hendrix' Hayes! He is good on the microphone & can play a down the middle type of tweener character. I think he could be worth a try.

- A bit of a preview to my predictions column for 'New Year's Revolution'; Kurt Angle should NOT win the WWE Championship in the Elimination Chamber. To put it simply, Kurt's ship has well & truly sailed in his feud with John Cena over the past 2-3 months. Having him win the title now would be a mistake in my opinion.

- On Heat this week, we saw the end of a WWE career, as Tajiri wrestled his final WWE match before heading back to Japan. I have always been a fan of Tajiri & genuinely feel that he has been under-used by the WWE. In fact, the way they are currently using Rey Mysterio could have been perfect for Tajiri. But alas, it was not meant to be. But for someone like me that wasn't able to watch his ECW run, it was a pleasure to see Tajiri in the WWE. For that, I thank both parties.

And finally..........

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I sincerely hope that all my readers out there have a safe & happy holiday season among their loved family & friends.


That is all for edition #155 of 'The Wrestling Menu'. I hope you enjoyed it. As per usual, please don't hesitate to send me your thoughts on anything I wrote about today. I'm always interested to hear your feedback & ideas. And you know that I will reply to all feedback. Just give me a little more time to reply this week, as last minute Christmas shopping dominates my schedule for the next 3-4 days & then I will be enjoying the festivities over the weekend & on Monday. My e-mail address is DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com

Or alternately, if you are an LOPForums member, you may also leave feedback by clicking on the following link: http://www.lopforums.com/showthread.php?t=4889

Believe it or not, 'The Wrestling Menu' just keeps rolling along. I will indeed have a column posted next Wednesday the 28th. I'll be doing the usual year-end staple of my column, and that is my special year-end awards. That edition always gets discussion going & knowing me, I will have a strange or controversial award-winner or two. On top of that, I will most probably also add my 2005 report card for the WWE. I did that last year & it seemed to fit in & go over rather well. So if you have access to the internet next week, look out for the column same Wednesday time & same LOP channel next week. Until then, this is DaveyBoy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses... except on Christmas day when you can eat until you fall over to one side & start rolling down the street!!!











*NEW GALLERY* John Cena Partying with 8 Other Women!!

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