Umaga d. CM Punk, Samoan Spike — pin (***1/2). So why is Umaga battling Pepsiman anyway? Anyways, hometown rule applies here as Punk does the job, though it was a really good opener otherwise with lots of nifty spots like G2S countered into a Samoan drop. I don't understand WWE's obsession having their talent ALWAYS lose in their hometown, unless you're Jim Ross, then you're embarrassed on a grand scale.
ECW champion Christian d. Jack Swagger, handful of tights — pin (***1/2). I really enjoyed this match and loved when Christian jumped down from the top rope over Swagger and ran to the other side ha ha classic Christian. End came when Swagger went for the gut wrench power bomb, but Xian flipped out, went for the killswitch, as Swagger pulled away, then Xian did a roll up, with a handful of tights FTW and to further the feud. I guess Christian is the new dirtiest player in the game. Kind of a lame ending, though. Too bad Christian isn't "popular" enough to have a clean win.
John Morrison d. Shelton Benjamin, Starship Pain — pin (***). Sadly Charlie Haas has dropped the impersonation gimmick. While I'm excited to see the World's Greatest Tag team reunited, The Great Charli > WGTT. Anyways, this was a good match, but it was missing something. Maybe it was the crowd; they didn't quite seem to be buying Nitro as a face. Anyhoo. great stuff at the end as both guys hit some beautiful spots and in the end Nitro wins with his flippy spinny Indy move. Both these guys need more match time; they can put on a hell of a show.
Flying Batista d. WWE champion Randy Orton w/ out hair, attacking the referee — DQ (*1/2). Finlly, a toilet break match. Orton can be okay, but needs someone to help him, and that man is not Batista. Same goes for Batista. They just cancel each other out. Anyways, there was a sizable RKO chant and this was not a pro-DAVE crowd. This match just sucked the energy out of the show. Both of these guys are like video game characters. Repetitive moves, awkward animations, over excessive normal mapping, and occasionally victim to lag. If Orton's finishing move was a headlock, he'd win every match. End came when Orton deliberately got himself disqualified, attacking the referee in a cheap ending. Those kind of finishes just make you wonder why he didn't slap the referee two seconds into the match and leave. Post-match, Legacy came down to attack Big Dave, but a 90 year old man makes the save. Whoo. Dammit Flair, stay retired.
John Cena w/ odds to overcome d. The Big Show, Attitude Adjustment — pin (*). I love how Cena looks like he's about to cry when he's in that stare down. The Cena Sucks chant is way louder as it should be. And if I had a dollar for every time they said "No one evokes more emotion out of the WWE Universe than John Cena." and "The Worlds largest athlete." for this match alone I'd be able to buy the WWE 100 times over. And man, it's amazing how quickly and severely this PPV turned from possible PPV of the year to utter snooze fest. Anyhoo, in the end, Cena overcomes adversity and by God I am so inspired! Miracles do happen! Boring match, though. So if Cena is Superman, does that make having a good match with the Big Show his kryptonite?
World champion Edge d. Jeff Hardy, DDT off the top rope — pin (***). This has been a show where champions come out first. End came when Matt Hardy interfered and attacked Jeff, Cowboy Bob Orton-style with a cast on his arm. This was a good match going through until Matt Hardy came out. Judgment Day is then over and there's no Punk and no cashing in, just credits. I guess the hometown rule is still in effect. Still Edge is still the champion, so all is right with the world.
Final Thoughts: I didn't like Punk losing to Umaga, and the "beat the guys in their hometown for heat" thing is dumb. And he never should've lost to Kane either. Also the ending to Orton/Batista was the same ending as Orton/Cena at No Way Out 08 (consistency for Randy or just laziness?). Anyways, Cena/Show and Orton/Batista were the only blah matches of the night, but the rest were fun entertaining matches.
ECW champion Christian d. Jack Swagger, handful of tights — pin (***1/2). I really enjoyed this match and loved when Christian jumped down from the top rope over Swagger and ran to the other side ha ha classic Christian. End came when Swagger went for the gut wrench power bomb, but Xian flipped out, went for the killswitch, as Swagger pulled away, then Xian did a roll up, with a handful of tights FTW and to further the feud. I guess Christian is the new dirtiest player in the game. Kind of a lame ending, though. Too bad Christian isn't "popular" enough to have a clean win.
John Morrison d. Shelton Benjamin, Starship Pain — pin (***). Sadly Charlie Haas has dropped the impersonation gimmick. While I'm excited to see the World's Greatest Tag team reunited, The Great Charli > WGTT. Anyways, this was a good match, but it was missing something. Maybe it was the crowd; they didn't quite seem to be buying Nitro as a face. Anyhoo. great stuff at the end as both guys hit some beautiful spots and in the end Nitro wins with his flippy spinny Indy move. Both these guys need more match time; they can put on a hell of a show.
Flying Batista d. WWE champion Randy Orton w/ out hair, attacking the referee — DQ (*1/2). Finlly, a toilet break match. Orton can be okay, but needs someone to help him, and that man is not Batista. Same goes for Batista. They just cancel each other out. Anyways, there was a sizable RKO chant and this was not a pro-DAVE crowd. This match just sucked the energy out of the show. Both of these guys are like video game characters. Repetitive moves, awkward animations, over excessive normal mapping, and occasionally victim to lag. If Orton's finishing move was a headlock, he'd win every match. End came when Orton deliberately got himself disqualified, attacking the referee in a cheap ending. Those kind of finishes just make you wonder why he didn't slap the referee two seconds into the match and leave. Post-match, Legacy came down to attack Big Dave, but a 90 year old man makes the save. Whoo. Dammit Flair, stay retired.
John Cena w/ odds to overcome d. The Big Show, Attitude Adjustment — pin (*). I love how Cena looks like he's about to cry when he's in that stare down. The Cena Sucks chant is way louder as it should be. And if I had a dollar for every time they said "No one evokes more emotion out of the WWE Universe than John Cena." and "The Worlds largest athlete." for this match alone I'd be able to buy the WWE 100 times over. And man, it's amazing how quickly and severely this PPV turned from possible PPV of the year to utter snooze fest. Anyhoo, in the end, Cena overcomes adversity and by God I am so inspired! Miracles do happen! Boring match, though. So if Cena is Superman, does that make having a good match with the Big Show his kryptonite?
World champion Edge d. Jeff Hardy, DDT off the top rope — pin (***). This has been a show where champions come out first. End came when Matt Hardy interfered and attacked Jeff, Cowboy Bob Orton-style with a cast on his arm. This was a good match going through until Matt Hardy came out. Judgment Day is then over and there's no Punk and no cashing in, just credits. I guess the hometown rule is still in effect. Still Edge is still the champion, so all is right with the world.
Final Thoughts: I didn't like Punk losing to Umaga, and the "beat the guys in their hometown for heat" thing is dumb. And he never should've lost to Kane either. Also the ending to Orton/Batista was the same ending as Orton/Cena at No Way Out 08 (consistency for Randy or just laziness?). Anyways, Cena/Show and Orton/Batista were the only blah matches of the night, but the rest were fun entertaining matches.