Hello and welcome to The Final Cut.
The only column that comes with a brand new free air guitar for every reader! How many other columns offer such freebies? Yeah, well opening lines are not my strong point really.
Well, it is that time of the month again when I offer my thoughts about the recent No Way Out pay-per-view.
Going into the show many exclaimed that it would be one of the worst pay-per-views in recent memory, even worse than Badd Blood, and believe me that is bad! So with an open mind I sat down, with my three giant packets of Walkers Sensations crisps and a nice big bottle of coke, to watch the show.
Now before I launch into my review of the matches I just wanted to mention a match that I saw on Heat just before the pay-per-view started.
Normally I do not watch Live Heat, I find it normally turns out to be 45 minutes of begging people to order the pay-per-view and then a poorly thrown-together match.
But not on this occasion.
After their normal begging session they held a six-man tag match featuring London, Kidman, and Ultimo Dragon vs.
Akio, Sakoda and Tajiri The match was exceptionally good, probably better than most of what we saw on the actual pay-per-view! It is matches like this that will boost the cruiserweight division and will gain the interest, now if only they would put these kind of matches on Smackdown and the pay-per-view..
..
Smackdown's tag team division is lacking somewhat right now and adding Akio/Sakoda and London/Kidman to the division would do the show absolutely no harm at all.
I have been a fan of Tajiri and Ultimo Dragon having a feud for along time now and believe that a nice build up would be perfect for a Wrestlemania showdown, perhaps for the Cruiserweight championship, and would make up for the way World Wrestling Entertainment have treated Ultimo Dragon since he arrived.
[Tag Team Championship Handicap Match] Rikishi/Scotty 2 Hotty Vs.
The Basham's/Shaniqua Whilst I was watching this match it suddenly dawned on me that Rikishi does not use his patented Rikishi Driver move any more, which is a shame because I thought the move was far better than his "jump on them from the rope" move that he does now.
On Raw The Dudley's have found their niche as the warm up tag team, and it looks like Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty have the same niche on Smackdown.
And if it works well then why not let them continue doing it? It gets them on television.
The actual match was nothing special, it was a typical warm up match and did what it was meant to do, it warmed up the crowd.
There was no Worm or Stink Face which lowered the match rating for me.
It would have been satisfying to see Shaniqua getting her face in between Rikishi's cheeks.
Winner: Scotty & Rikishi [Blindfold Match] Nidia Vs.
Jamie Noble Not a lot of people gave this match a chance in hell, many mocked it as a waste of space and they were quickly proved wrong with one of the most entertaining matches I can actually remember.
OK, so it was not going to be all armlocks and throws but they were asked to make us laugh and that they indeed did.
The crowd lapped it up and it made a lot of people at home laugh as well.
Noble groping his way around the ring as Nidia kicked him in the butt multiple times.
And when Noble took his blindfold off to cheat and win the match it helped restore that heel edge to his persona.
Winner: Jamie Noble [Tag Team Match] The APA Vs.
The Worlds Greatest Tag Team Whilst watching this match I noticed two things.
Firstly I noticed that Bradshaw is such a bad wrestler, he makes Hardcore Holly look like a main event star! Watching Bradshaw brings out a sudden urge to hurl something at your television, just to make him stop! The second thing that I noticed in that match was that poor old Farooq's career in the ring is just about over.
In this match it should that he just cannot go the pace any more and it was a sad sight to watch.
Surely now would be the time to retire and let the fans remember him for what he has achieved? But what do I know I am merely a wrestling journalistic parasite.
But the match was not THAT bad for they have the solid performance of Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas to help carry the match, and carry the match they certainly did.
They definitely moved the match was terrible to watchable in my opinion.
Winner: The Worlds Greatest Tag Team [Stiff Match] Rhyno Vs.
Hardcore Holly I actually fell asleep halfway through this match, not because the match was that bad but more to the fact that I cannot stand Hardcore Holly's style and it bores me to sleep.
To be honest from what I saw of the match, before I fell asleep, it looked better than anyone could have imagined, at some points they were actually wrestling! The finish was pretty rushed, Rhyno was dishing out some very harsh looking moves and suddenly Hardcore Holly took the win.
Let us prey that Hardcore Holly goes back to beating up the smaller, younger guys in OVW or somewhere.
Winner: Hardcore Holly [Cruiser Weight Title Match] Chavo Guerrero Jr.
Vs.
Rey Mysterio A match that most wrestling fans had been waiting for, a nice long cruiserweight match on a pay-per-view! The additions of that boxer (whose name escape me right now) and Chavo Guerrero Sr.
could have taken a lot away from the match but they barely got involved which meant that the fans could concentrate on the action IN the ring.
When Chavo Guerrero Jr.
won and cut an interview backstage that put the icing on the cake for me.
It has added that little something to the title that was missing for along time.
The title actually means something now both to the wrestlers and the fans.
I have said this before and I will say it again.
If World Wrestling Entertainment really want to give us good matches then simply let the cruiserweight division do their thing.
Ultimo Dragon, Paul London, Rey Mysterio, Billy Kidman, Tajiri, Chavo Guerrero, the list is long, all of these could give us great matches if they were allowed to work.
I am hoping that they will continue this feud between Chavo Guerrero Jr.
and Rey Mysterio right up to Wrestlemania and then maybe give them another 17 minutes on the pay-per-view to light up the place.
Why do I have a feeling I am wishing here? Winner: Chavo Guerrero Jr.
[Number #1 Contender Match] Kurt Angle Vs.
Big Show Vs.
John Cena The biggest surprise of this match was not the fact that Kurt Angle won, I think we all knew he would, the big shock for me was the match only went about 12/13 minutes.
Big Show and John Cena's injuries must be as bad as than first thought.
The big bump of the match was seeing Big Show Angle-Slammed over the top rope.
My only concern was a 500 pound man hitting the concrete at that height? That could not have done his injury any good! It was no surprise when Angle walked out the winner after making John Cena tap out.
I am looking for Angle to turn heel on Eddie Guerrero in the next week or so.
Maybe by announcing it was him who attacked Eddie Guerrero? Over the past year Big Show has impressed me with his new found desire to work, maybe he has realised he does not have long left on his contract? Whatever the reason long may it continue.
Winner: Kurt Angle [WWE World Championship] Brock Lesnar Vs.
Eddie Guerrero And so we come to the main event of the evening.
The build up to this match was fantastic, from the Eddie Guerrero promos on Smackdown over the past month right up to Goldberg being arrested after assaulting Brock Lesnar in the ring at the pay-per-view.
When Eddie Guerrero made his way out to the ring the fans reacted and were 100% behind Eddie Guerrero all the way through the match, which gave off a great atmosphere.
Everyone knew that Goldberg would return to cost Brock Lesnar the World Title and the match, it was just a matter of how and when would he do it? The match was booked to perfection, Brock Lesnar was left to do his stuff whilst Eddie Guerrero acted like the typical underdog.
It was the finish that made it perfect for me.
Goldberg hit the ring (how did he get out of his handcuffs and change a shirt?) and did his business to Brock Lesnar.
The highlight of the match though was Eddie Guerrero countering the F5 by hitting a tornado DDT, beautiful! What a mark out moment when the ref's hand came down on the canvas and shouted three.
The place went nuts, I even marked out as Eddie Guerrero went out of the ring and celebrated with his family.
That topped it off nicely when he went and hugged his family.
I would be so bold as to even go as far as saying that Eddie Guerrero and Brock Lesnar's battle is match of the year so far.
And it would not surprise me if there match is up three at the end of the year.
Winner: Eddie Guerrero So.
The pay-per-view was yet another success and yet again shows just why Smackdown are wiping the floor with Raw.
Something needs to be done.
Maybe the addition of Chris Benoit to Raw could elevate their pay-per-views.
Until next time.
The only column that comes with a brand new free air guitar for every reader! How many other columns offer such freebies? Yeah, well opening lines are not my strong point really.
Well, it is that time of the month again when I offer my thoughts about the recent No Way Out pay-per-view.
Going into the show many exclaimed that it would be one of the worst pay-per-views in recent memory, even worse than Badd Blood, and believe me that is bad! So with an open mind I sat down, with my three giant packets of Walkers Sensations crisps and a nice big bottle of coke, to watch the show.
Now before I launch into my review of the matches I just wanted to mention a match that I saw on Heat just before the pay-per-view started.
Normally I do not watch Live Heat, I find it normally turns out to be 45 minutes of begging people to order the pay-per-view and then a poorly thrown-together match.
But not on this occasion.
After their normal begging session they held a six-man tag match featuring London, Kidman, and Ultimo Dragon vs.
Akio, Sakoda and Tajiri The match was exceptionally good, probably better than most of what we saw on the actual pay-per-view! It is matches like this that will boost the cruiserweight division and will gain the interest, now if only they would put these kind of matches on Smackdown and the pay-per-view..
..
Smackdown's tag team division is lacking somewhat right now and adding Akio/Sakoda and London/Kidman to the division would do the show absolutely no harm at all.
I have been a fan of Tajiri and Ultimo Dragon having a feud for along time now and believe that a nice build up would be perfect for a Wrestlemania showdown, perhaps for the Cruiserweight championship, and would make up for the way World Wrestling Entertainment have treated Ultimo Dragon since he arrived.
[Tag Team Championship Handicap Match] Rikishi/Scotty 2 Hotty Vs.
The Basham's/Shaniqua Whilst I was watching this match it suddenly dawned on me that Rikishi does not use his patented Rikishi Driver move any more, which is a shame because I thought the move was far better than his "jump on them from the rope" move that he does now.
On Raw The Dudley's have found their niche as the warm up tag team, and it looks like Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty have the same niche on Smackdown.
And if it works well then why not let them continue doing it? It gets them on television.
The actual match was nothing special, it was a typical warm up match and did what it was meant to do, it warmed up the crowd.
There was no Worm or Stink Face which lowered the match rating for me.
It would have been satisfying to see Shaniqua getting her face in between Rikishi's cheeks.
Winner: Scotty & Rikishi [Blindfold Match] Nidia Vs.
Jamie Noble Not a lot of people gave this match a chance in hell, many mocked it as a waste of space and they were quickly proved wrong with one of the most entertaining matches I can actually remember.
OK, so it was not going to be all armlocks and throws but they were asked to make us laugh and that they indeed did.
The crowd lapped it up and it made a lot of people at home laugh as well.
Noble groping his way around the ring as Nidia kicked him in the butt multiple times.
And when Noble took his blindfold off to cheat and win the match it helped restore that heel edge to his persona.
Winner: Jamie Noble [Tag Team Match] The APA Vs.
The Worlds Greatest Tag Team Whilst watching this match I noticed two things.
Firstly I noticed that Bradshaw is such a bad wrestler, he makes Hardcore Holly look like a main event star! Watching Bradshaw brings out a sudden urge to hurl something at your television, just to make him stop! The second thing that I noticed in that match was that poor old Farooq's career in the ring is just about over.
In this match it should that he just cannot go the pace any more and it was a sad sight to watch.
Surely now would be the time to retire and let the fans remember him for what he has achieved? But what do I know I am merely a wrestling journalistic parasite.
But the match was not THAT bad for they have the solid performance of Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas to help carry the match, and carry the match they certainly did.
They definitely moved the match was terrible to watchable in my opinion.
Winner: The Worlds Greatest Tag Team [Stiff Match] Rhyno Vs.
Hardcore Holly I actually fell asleep halfway through this match, not because the match was that bad but more to the fact that I cannot stand Hardcore Holly's style and it bores me to sleep.
To be honest from what I saw of the match, before I fell asleep, it looked better than anyone could have imagined, at some points they were actually wrestling! The finish was pretty rushed, Rhyno was dishing out some very harsh looking moves and suddenly Hardcore Holly took the win.
Let us prey that Hardcore Holly goes back to beating up the smaller, younger guys in OVW or somewhere.
Winner: Hardcore Holly [Cruiser Weight Title Match] Chavo Guerrero Jr.
Vs.
Rey Mysterio A match that most wrestling fans had been waiting for, a nice long cruiserweight match on a pay-per-view! The additions of that boxer (whose name escape me right now) and Chavo Guerrero Sr.
could have taken a lot away from the match but they barely got involved which meant that the fans could concentrate on the action IN the ring.
When Chavo Guerrero Jr.
won and cut an interview backstage that put the icing on the cake for me.
It has added that little something to the title that was missing for along time.
The title actually means something now both to the wrestlers and the fans.
I have said this before and I will say it again.
If World Wrestling Entertainment really want to give us good matches then simply let the cruiserweight division do their thing.
Ultimo Dragon, Paul London, Rey Mysterio, Billy Kidman, Tajiri, Chavo Guerrero, the list is long, all of these could give us great matches if they were allowed to work.
I am hoping that they will continue this feud between Chavo Guerrero Jr.
and Rey Mysterio right up to Wrestlemania and then maybe give them another 17 minutes on the pay-per-view to light up the place.
Why do I have a feeling I am wishing here? Winner: Chavo Guerrero Jr.
[Number #1 Contender Match] Kurt Angle Vs.
Big Show Vs.
John Cena The biggest surprise of this match was not the fact that Kurt Angle won, I think we all knew he would, the big shock for me was the match only went about 12/13 minutes.
Big Show and John Cena's injuries must be as bad as than first thought.
The big bump of the match was seeing Big Show Angle-Slammed over the top rope.
My only concern was a 500 pound man hitting the concrete at that height? That could not have done his injury any good! It was no surprise when Angle walked out the winner after making John Cena tap out.
I am looking for Angle to turn heel on Eddie Guerrero in the next week or so.
Maybe by announcing it was him who attacked Eddie Guerrero? Over the past year Big Show has impressed me with his new found desire to work, maybe he has realised he does not have long left on his contract? Whatever the reason long may it continue.
Winner: Kurt Angle [WWE World Championship] Brock Lesnar Vs.
Eddie Guerrero And so we come to the main event of the evening.
The build up to this match was fantastic, from the Eddie Guerrero promos on Smackdown over the past month right up to Goldberg being arrested after assaulting Brock Lesnar in the ring at the pay-per-view.
When Eddie Guerrero made his way out to the ring the fans reacted and were 100% behind Eddie Guerrero all the way through the match, which gave off a great atmosphere.
Everyone knew that Goldberg would return to cost Brock Lesnar the World Title and the match, it was just a matter of how and when would he do it? The match was booked to perfection, Brock Lesnar was left to do his stuff whilst Eddie Guerrero acted like the typical underdog.
It was the finish that made it perfect for me.
Goldberg hit the ring (how did he get out of his handcuffs and change a shirt?) and did his business to Brock Lesnar.
The highlight of the match though was Eddie Guerrero countering the F5 by hitting a tornado DDT, beautiful! What a mark out moment when the ref's hand came down on the canvas and shouted three.
The place went nuts, I even marked out as Eddie Guerrero went out of the ring and celebrated with his family.
That topped it off nicely when he went and hugged his family.
I would be so bold as to even go as far as saying that Eddie Guerrero and Brock Lesnar's battle is match of the year so far.
And it would not surprise me if there match is up three at the end of the year.
Winner: Eddie Guerrero So.
The pay-per-view was yet another success and yet again shows just why Smackdown are wiping the floor with Raw.
Something needs to be done.
Maybe the addition of Chris Benoit to Raw could elevate their pay-per-views.
Until next time.