WWE Tag Team Title Three On Two Handicap Match: Rikishi & Scotty 2 Hotty (c) vs. Shaniqua & The Basham Brothers (Danny Basham & Doug Basham)
Shaniqua has been a big factor in the Basham Brothers matches as of late. So it was about time that she wrestled. Can the tag team champions overcome the odds? The match was pretty average. The Basham’s are dead on arrival because of the gimmick and they aren't that good anyway. Very generic in both look and tag offence. Their offence is rather bland and doesn’t make for a compelling match. Rikishi and Scotty add some nice personality and Rikishi squashing (literally) was pretty fun. **
Boyfriend VS. Girlfriend Noble Is Blindfolded Match: Jamie Noble vs. Nidia
I’ve enjoyed this pairing since they got together in 2002. Great chemistry and made Noble stand out even more within the cruiserweight. And they’ve been gold again in 2004. Good segments every week. I also remember liking this match the last time I watched the show which was about 10 years ago. This match is pretty great. Noble is great as the blind person, getting really frustrated, randomly running at no one. It was great. Nida trying to distract Noble with noises was clever, too. I loved the finish. Noble is a total douche and has to cheat to win. Short match but this was really well done, I thought. ***1/2
The APA (Bradshaw & Faarooq) vs. The World's Greatest Tag Team (Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin)
Bradshaw injured his arm in his singles match against Shelton Benjamin last Smackdown which was a nice hook given how devastating the clothesline from hell was as a finish. Can he overcome the injury? APA is their usual badassery selves. A ton of their offence looked great - very snug and impactful. World’s Greatest Tag team know they can't fight them, so they rely on their wrestling ability which works like a treat. They dissect the arms of both Bradshaw and Faarooq. Very basic moves but done effectively and their constant tagging in and out makes it very interesting from an active standpoint. Bradshaw is a pretty awesome hot tag I must say. Although I wouldn’t say the fans were “hot “. Warm is more appropriate. The finish involved the injured arm after Bradshaw nailed him with a clothesline from hell but struggled to capitalise because of the pain it caused, allowing Benjamin to win with a superkick. The match was getting really good. The crowd was kind of into it but not fully. Maybe what prevented it from being very good. ***1/4
Basically, Stone Cold Steve Austin gave Goldberg a ticket to No Way Out and basically said (paraphrasing) “cause hell”. We knew what would happen and he did. It was awesome. Brock comes out to try and antagonise Goldberg while Heymen tries to keep the peace. I like how Cole and Tazz said Goldberg should be arrested given he was suspended from WWE so he should follow rules just like the fans. Meaning no jumping the barricade. They are right. The show angle was fantastic and really made me excited for Brock vs Goldberg, even if they wouldn’t have a match that delivered until 12 years later. Holly coming out (for his match) and going for Brock was a good sign of continuity as well.
Hardcore Holly vs. Rhyno
Hardcore Holly is still having a push of sorts. A few weeks prior he went toe to toe with Kurt Angle and looked strong as a result. These two were in a nothing match last week but Rhyno got frustrated and got DQ’d so there is some history to the match rather than it being filler. The match starts off pretty hot and heavy with a brawl on the ramp away and they keep up the intensity in the ring. I like Rhyno going for the rubs in a methodical but intense way with a great looking body scissors while Holly is just looking to throw hands. But like the match prior, the match suffered from a tepid crowd that was half-interested but didn’t make much noise, so the match came across as flat from that standpoint. Which is a shame because I like what they went for and I think they did a fine job of executing it. The finish was sudden and out of nowhere with Holly hitting an Alabama Slam after he almost got counted out. ***
WWE Cruiserweight Title Match: Rey Mysterio (w/Jorge Paez) (c) vs. Chavo Guerrero (w/Chavo Guerrero Sr.)
This was an extension of the Eddie vs Chavo feud, starting on the 29th after Eddie was found out cold backstage and Rey thought it was Chavo. Since then, they’ve been feuding. Rey Mysterio brought Jorge Paez, an ex-boxer (apparently a big deal, I don’t know boxing really) to deal with Chavo Classic. Both wrestlers wrestle a totally different style with Chavo being more grounded, willing to cheat against Rey and his aerial moves. And it works really well. The match was pretty fun. They don’t waste much time using Paez for the Knockout Punch spot he does when Chavo Sr interferes, and it’s sold wonderfully too. Once Paez is sent to the back, Chavo takes control with a nasty gut breaker off the top rope that could’ve easily broken his leg. Chavo continues his work on the stomach with some nice submissions and cuts off Rey’s attacks nicely using the stomach. Rey’s comebacks were fun, although his selling could’ve been better. There was an awesome moment where Chavo counted a move out of the air with a single leg Boston crab. ***1/2
WWE Heavyweight Title #1 Contendership Triple Threat Match: John Cena vs. Kurt Angle vs. The Big Show
The start was really clever with everyone taking turns sitting out while the other two slugged it out. Big Show comes out on top every time while Cena, for example, laughs at Angle. And vice versa. The match played out like your usual triple threat match after that but that’s not to say it was bad. There was some good interaction with Cena and Big Show. The part where Cena kept on drop kicking Big Show’s knee was awesome, further proof of Cena knowing out to work with big men and make them look so much better opposed to Kurt Angle just hitting Angle Slams and Germans with relative ease. Angle had some good stuff saying that with Cena though. A fun triple threat. ***1/4
WWE Heavyweight Title Match: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Eddie Guerrero
In the build, Lesnar has been treating Eddie like a joke, flat out talking about Goldberg right in front of him into the camera. He basically said he was a filler title defence until WrestleMania. Now it sounds bad but the promos they cut were so great and Eddie being thought of as a lesser opponent lit a fire up his ass and it made the crowd more on his side. It just shows that anything booked well can get something over, even a feud that pretty much should’ve died after Brock said Eddie is no one compared to who Brock has beaten already. The build is fantastic and the match is a classic. We had a great start with Brock manhandling Eddie, using his size to throw Eddie around like nothing but Eddie able to get openings with pin-point punches to the jaw. The story of the match of Eddie being killed, but slowly but surely getting the advantage by going for the leg or baiting Lesnar into mistakes was extremely well done. People say now that Lesnar’s selling has become godly but he has always been a fantastic seller and this match is a great example. The way his leg gets progressively as the more Eddie works over it was just great. Loved the spot where Brock is shouting and taunting Eddie only to get caught in an STF. Brock powering his way out of it before Eddie slammed his leg into the mat was also pretty great. There was a long stretch where Brock put on a long body (the Angle influence is real) but he was great at switching it up and making the holds look extra painful. His facial expressions showed the struggle in the holds which turned them from regular rest holds into a great heat section and Eddie’s fight out of it with headbutts and a dropkick to the leg made the entire segment come together perfectly. The finish was excellent from the Goldberg interference to Eddie nailing Brock with the title. I think the best part of the match was when the crowd realised that Eddie actually had a chance to win this after Goldberg speared Lesnar. They just grew in anticipation and went bananas at Eddie winning the title. What a feel-good moment. ****3/4
The opener was pretty boring and only worth watching for Rikishi almost killing Shaniqua. The blindfold match was awesome. One of the better iterations of the match. Short but effective. Noble is such a slimeball. The APA vs WGTT was pretty good, maybe needed a bit more heat to get that next level. Rhyno vs Holly was a fine match that was fun to watch but suffered from not much crowd heat. Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero was a fun match. A great clash of styles. The semi-main was a fun match. Cena had a pretty good performance and had some great moments, mainly against the big show.
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