WWE One Night Stand: Extreme Rules 2007 Review

The 2007 edition of WWE One Night Stand was the third time WWE was using the One Night Stand name with John Cena facing the Great Khali in the main event.

The name made sense in 2005 for the WWE produced ECW show that was believed to be a one-time thing. A year later, WWE did One Night Stand again because in 2006 they relaunched the ECW brand, so the idea was they would get it started with a PPV. Why would they use a name for the third time? I don’t know. They did tack on “Extreme Rules” to the title, though, which is a name that is still around over a decade later. Basically, this is an Extreme Rules PPV with the One Night Stand name tacked on to it. It also followed Judgment Day, which was just two weeks earlier.

This event did a poor number in terms of PPV buyrates with 186,000 buys. That’s 54,000 less buys than the Judgment Day PPV two weeks earlier even though this was a better show on paper. Not only was it significantly less than Judgment Day, but it was the lowest of the year in terms of WWE PPV buys.

The WWE and World Title matches were rematches from Judgment Day, but they had stipulations on this show. The ECW Title match saw Bobby Lashley finally getting a singles match against Vince McMahon after having to deal with 3 on 1 matches at the previous two PPVs. The rest of the card featured new matches and everything on the show had a stipulation due to the Extreme Rules name.

The description on WWE Network looks like this:

WWE One Night Stand (Extreme Rules)
14+ (D,L,S,V) | John Cena defends the WWE Championship against The Great Khali in a Falls Count Anywhere Match. Edge defends the World Heavyweight Championship locked inside a Steel Cage against Batista. Mr. McMahon puts the ECW Championship on the line against Bobby Lashley. Randy Orton and Rob Van Dam meet in a Stretcher Match and much more.

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WWE One Night Stand (Extreme Rules)
June 3, 2007
From Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida

The opening video package let us know that the only rules are…Extreme Rules. They went over the stipulations for all the matches on the show.

The impressive pyro display took place to welcome us to the show. Good crowd in Jacksonville. The announce teams welcomed us to the show with Raw’s Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler, ECW’s Joey Styles and Tazz and Smackdown’s Michael Cole and John Bradshaw Layfield. There’s WWE Hall of Famer Dory Funk in the first row behind the announcers.

Randy Orton was up first for a Stretcher Match. They showed a video from Raw with Orton facing Rob Van Damn on Raw and Orton gave RVD a dropkick into the barricade. Orton hit a draping DDT and The Punt as well as an RKO. RVD sold it like he was knocked out with a concussion. Orton took out Shawn Michaels two weeks earlier at Backlash. Rob Van Dam got a pretty good face pop and he was selling the attack from Raw with a slow walk to the ring.

Analysis: Going into this show, a lot of fans knew that it was RVD’s last match in WWE or one of the last matches because his contract was up and he was ready to leave. He was there for six years.

Stretcher Match: Randy Orton vs. Rob Van Dam

Pre-match notes: Orton was the heel and RVD was the face. The story was that RVD may have had a concussion going into the match. To win the match you had to put your opponent on a stretcher and have him cross a line that was by the entrance.

Van Dam with a kick to the head and then a spin kick while Orton was against the turnbuckle. Van Dam with a monkey flip across the ring as fans chanted for RVD. Van Dam jumped over the top with a leg drop on Orton on the apron. The aggressiveness continued as Van Dam hit a spin kick to the face, a knee, a spin kick and a leg drop. When Orton got back, RVD hit a dropkick. Orton with a forearm to the head with Van Dam opening his eyes and doing the glossy eyed look to show that he was concussed in the story. Van Dam with a rising kick to the face to block an RKO attempt. Van Dam was trying to jump up to the top, but then he fell off the top to floor to sell idea that he was concussed. To people that think that was real, you are wrong. It was part of the story. Orton followed RVD out to the floor with a forearm to the chest. Back in the ring, Orton with a dropkick to the face. Orton tried to roll Van Dam onto the stretcher at ringside, but Rob held onto the bottom rope. Orton with a stomp to the head. Orton picked up RVD onto the shoulders leading into a neckbreaker. That’s always been a good move that Orton did sometimes, but usually with the guys that were smaller than him.

Orton rolled RVD out of the ring near the stretcher, but then RVD came back with two punches to the head. Van Dam whipped Orton into the ring post. Orton’s hand hit before the head. Van Dam put Orton on his stomach on the stretcher, Van Dam to the apron and RVD hit a spinning leg drop off the apron onto the back of Orton on the stretcher. That is a unique way of doing a spot that RVD has done many times. They went back into the ring with RVD hitting a leg drop over the top and into the ring. RVD with two clotheslines, he went for Rolling Thunder and Orton popped back up for a great powerslam for a two count. That was well done. Orton was on the apron, he went for a punch, RVD moved and Van Dam hit a dropkick to knock Orton off the apron to the floor. Van Dam set up Orton on the stretcher that was on the floor, Van Dam ran the ropes and RVD did a somersault dive over the top, but Orton moved and Van Dam hit the floor hard. It was RVD’s lower back hitting the floor very hard. Orton grabbed another stretcher from ringside, he put RVD on it and slowly tried to roll RVD towards the entrance where the line was. RVD got back up before they reached the line, so there was a fight there. Van Dam with a punch to knock Orton on the stretcher, then Van Damn pushed the stretcher over the line and he won the match at 14:31.

Winner: Rob Van Dam

Analysis: *** It was good for a Stretcher Match with Rob selling things well and still finding a way to win. Orton is known for being in those slow matches and with the right babyface opponent, he could have good matches all the time. It was a surprising result because most people assumed RVD would lose on his way out of WWE, but apparently Vince McMahon changed it because he realized most people knew what the plan was. I don’t think they should have changed the finish just because they thought fans knew. Orton winning made more sense. Anyway, it didn’t matter because of what happened after that.

Post match, RVD celebrated the win at ringside and Orton hit a forearm to the back with RVD bumping into the edge of the ring apron. RVD’s head was by the apron, Orton walked across the ring apron and hit The Punt to the head of RVD. That led to RVD bumping over the barricade and onto some fans sitting at ringside. Orton picked up RVD where Rob was down on the floor near the crowd. Orton hooked Rob up for a draping DDT off the barricade and on the floor. Rob sold it like he was knocked out. The WWE medical team and the EMTs went to check on RVD. The announcers went to SERIOUS VOICES~! Mode as they talked about RVD getting put onto a stretcher. RVD was wheeled to the back. Orton did his signature “arm in the air” pose to end it.

Analysis: This was the WWE goodbye for RVD after six years. He would come back a few times after this, but this was it for his first run in the company. It was another vicious attack by Orton taking out a top face just like Orton did to Shawn Michaels two weeks earlier at Judgment Day. Orton lost the match, but he won the war as they say.

Vince McMahon, the ECW Champion, was in the locker room with Shane McMahon. Vince said he was looking forward to his one on one match with Bobby Lashley. Vince said that this is Lashley’s last stand at One Night Stand. Vince told Shane he can’t articulate, but he’s had this premonition that something really bad is going to happen to him. Vince said it was like a slow-eating cancer of some kind that won’t let him go. Vince said he wasn’t talking about the match tonight. Shane said that he’ll be there and Umaga will be there too while saying it was probably something Vince ate – don’t think twice about it. Shane left while Vince was alone to think about it.

Analysis: It was foreshadowing for the exploding limousine angle that they did on Raw shortly after this. It was eight days later on Raw.

It’s time for an ECW match. This was about one year after the rebirth of ECW. Sandman made his entrance through the crowd with a beer in hand, which he smashed on his head. Tommy Dreamer is one of Sandman’s partners and then CM Punk was last for the team with Punk getting a nice ovation. Elijah Burke, Matt Striker and Marcus Cor Von were part of the New Breed group and they walked out together.

Tag Team Tables Match: CM Punk, Tommy Dreamer and Sandman vs. New Breed (Elijah Burke, Matt Striker and Marcus Cor Von)

Pre-match notes: The trio of Punk, Dreamer and Sandman were the faces while the New Breed were heels. It’s a tables match where one man gets put through a table to lose the match. Sandman was a drunk while Punk was straight edge, but I’m guessing most of you knew those things.

Cor Von with a double arm suplex on Dreamer. Even though there are no rules in a tables match, guys were tagging in and out. Burke with a knee drop on Dreamer that missed completely, but Dreamer sold it anyway. Burke missed a corner attack, Dreamer with a bulldog and Sandman tagged in with a flapjack. Striker tagged in, right into a hiptoss from Sandman. Punk with a running knee on Striker and a bulldog by Punk. Dreamer with an elbow drop off the middle ropes onto Striker. Dreamer went for a table, Cor Von went after him and Punk hit a suicide dive on Cor Von. Punk hit a springboard clothesline on Burke and Striker ran from Sandman until Sandman hit him with a Singapore cane on the floor. The crowd came alive as the faces set up a table on the floor. Dreamer and Sandman with a suplex on Striker on the floor, but Burke and Cor Von moved the table. Cor Von with a slam on Punk and Burke with an elbow drop off the ropes on Punk. Striker brought a table into the ring, which was set up against the turnbuckle. Dreamer saved Punk, then the three faces cleaned house by knocking Burke and Cor Von out of the ring. Sandman went up top, but Striker knocked him down. Striker with an elbow on Dreamer only for Dreamer to come back with a spinebuster. Burke with a STO on Dreamer, Punk with an enziguri on Burke and then Cor Von with a big powerbomb on Punk. Cor Von put Punk on a table, Cor Von took way too much time on the ropes, so Sandman hit Cor Von with a cane and Striker knocked Sandman down. Dreamer grabbed Burke and gave him a piledriver, so this was before the piledriver got banned in WWE. Punk went up top with Striker and Punk gave Striker a superplex onto Burke on the table to win the match by breaking the table. It went 7:18.

Winners: CM Punk, Tommy Dreamer and Sandman

Analysis: **1/4 They worked hard to have a decent match with the crowd getting into it by the end. The problem with matches like this is you have guys tagging in and out for a few minutes even though there are no disqualifications, so they really just start out doing tornado rules. Anyway, Punk was the ECW star on the rise, so it made sense for him to get the win for his team. The heel New Breed guys were never booked that strong and that’s one of the things that hurt the WWE ECW brand. It just wasn’t that interesting.

Edge was shown in the locker room getting ready when Randy Orton walked up to him. Randy said that Edge and Batista are two former partners to him with Batista in Evolution while Edge was Rated RKO with Orton. Orton said that in the span of one month he’s taken out RVD and ended the career of Shawn Michaels. Orton said that if Edge beats Batista and Orton gets drafted to Smackdown then he wanted to tell Edge he would be next. Orton wished Edge good luck. Edge said that if Orton ends up on Smackdown he’ll end up like Batista later on tonight.

The Hardy Boyz got a big pop for their entrance for this ladder match. Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas were the challengers that didn’t get much of a reaction. They were a credible team that were former champions.

Ladder Match for the World Tag Team Championships: The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff Hardy) vs. World’s Greatest Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas)

Pre-match notes: The Hardys were faces that were champions on the Raw brand. They were six-time tag team champions at this point. Jeff was normally on Raw while Matt was on Smackdown, but WWE didn’t seem to care about the brand extension at times. Benjamin and Haas were the heel challengers.

It’s a ladder match with Lawler being shocked that Ross didn’t know how high the titles were elevated about the ring. Matt with a bulldog on Benjamin. Hardys with a double suplex on Haas and a double elbow on Benjamin. Haas came back with a double clothesline on the Hardys. All four guys left the ring to bring ladders into the ring. The Hardys ended up dropkicking the ladders into their opponents. Haas was sent into a ladder against the turnbuckle and the Hardys threw two ladders onto him. Jeff hit a Poetry in Motion attack on Benjamin and Haas against the ladders. When Jeff tried to climb a ladder, Haas pulled him down while Matt sent Benjamin into a ladder and Matt brought Charlie down with an Electric Chair Drop. The Hardys each climbed up a ladder, so Benjamin threw another ladder into both Hardys to knock them down. The challengers suplexed Matt back first into a ladder. Haas and Benjamin used a double toe hold to flip Jeff into the ladder. It didn’t go smoothly, so the fans booed a bit. I’ll forgive the wrestlers. Matt prevented Haas and Benjamin from getting to the top of a ladder. Haas sent Jeff into a ladder two times. Benjamin dropkicked a ladder into Matt while Haas jabbed both Hardys in the ribs with a ladder. Haas went up top to try a move, but the Hardys blocked that. The Hardys hit a double hip toss on Benjamin onto a ladder. The Hardys also tossed Haas off the top and sent him back first onto a ladder in the ring.

The Hardys hit a double clothesline on Benjamin to send all three of them out of a ring. Jeff grabbed a much bigger ladder that was in the aisle and used it as a bridge from the apron to the barricade. The Hardys suplexed Haas sternum first on a ladder. Benjamin suplexed Matt from the apron and into the ring. Benjamin charged and Matt gave him a back body drop over the top onto the ladder that was draped from the apron to the barricade. That was a huge bump for Benjamin. Matt set up Benjamin on a ladder, but Haas stopped Jeff on the top rope and Haas hit a German Suplex off the top rope. Ouch! Jeff landed on his head/neck although he looked like he was okay. Matt with the Side Effect slam on Haas. Matt did a slow climb up the ladder, he touched the titles, but Haas and Benjamin shoved the ladder over so that Matt’s throat hit the top rope. Jeff got back up with Benjamin hitting a T-Bone Suplex on him. Haas set up Matt against a ladder on the floor. Benjamin climbed up a ladder that was in the ring, he went up top and he jumped off the second step from the top with a splash onto Matt’s back onto the table! That was brutal. It led to a “Holy Shit” chant from the crowd. That was a huge leap from Benjamin about 10-12 feet high onto Matt’s back. It was a variation of Haas/Benjamin double team move.

Haas did a slow climb in the ring, but then Jeff got back up to go after Haas and Jeff hit a superplex off the ladder with Haas writhing in pain to sell the huge fall. It’s not even selling when you’re falling from such height and your body took a beating like that. Jeff climbed up, Benjamin was going to do a springboard attack, but then he slipped and held onto the ropes where he kicked the ladder to knock Jeff down. Good job by Benjamin still figuring out a way to do a move even after he slipped on the ropes. The replay showed Benjamin just missed the top. Benjamin hit Jeff wit ha ladder to knock him out of the ring. Benjamin climbed, but then Matt shoved him off and Benjamin went into the ropes. Matt with a neckbreaker on Benjamin. Matt and Benjamin climbed up, so did Jeff and Haas, so all four guys were up two ladders. The Hardys got shoved off, but then they shoved Haas into the ropes and Benjamin bumped off the ladder and onto a ladder bridge on the floor. Jeff went up top and hit a Swanton Bomb on Haas while Matt climbed up and grabbed the titles to win the match at 17:17. The fans popped big for the win.

Winners: The Hardy Boyz

Analysis: **** It was an excellent match that may not be remembered as an all-time great ladder match, but I enjoyed watching it again. There were a few missteps, but it wasn’t too bad at any point. They are two of the better teams from the 2000s WWE that had a very competitive match for the titles and I was very entertained by it. I loved some of the big spots like Benjamin’s leap onto Matt off a ladder in the ring onto Matt on the floor, Jeff’s superplex on Haas on a ladder, a few big bumps by Haas/Benjamin onto the ladder bridge and Benjamin’s final bump off the ladder in the ring onto the ladder bridge on the floor. Great action the whole way through as the Hardys found a way to win. The fans were hot for the whole thing too, so that’s another reason to like the match.

The Hardys celebrated the win with the announcers saying they are one of the best tag teams in WWE history. For sure they are one of the best teams ever.

Analysis: The Hardys lost the World Tag Team Titles the next night on Raw to Trevor Murdoch and Lance Cade. The Hardys title reign lasted 63 days. After this, Matt would focus on being a Smackdown guy while Jeff was on Raw.

The Great Khali did a promo ranting in Punjabi with fans chanting “What?” at him. Ranjin Singh translated it saying that he pinned John Cena with one foot at Saturday Night’s Main Event and tonight is no different because Khali will beat him. Ranjin said that India treats Khali with the respect that he deserves. Khali: “John Cena! I break you!” That was it.

The Lumberjacks entered to surround the ring for the next month. They must have played some song that WWE didn’t have rights to use anymore because they played some generic song instead. Mark Henry made his entry with the announcers putting him over talking about different guys he has beaten up of late. Kane got a decent pop as he entered without a mask.

Lumberjack Match: Mark Henry vs. Kane

Pre-match notes: Mark Henry was the heel while Kane was the face in this match. Having lumberjacks at ringside is extreme.

The Lumberjacks were Balls Mahoney, Carlito, Chavo Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Chris Masters, Johnny Nitro, Kenny Dykstra, Kevin Thorn, The Miz, Santino Marella, Stevie Richards and Val Venis.

Henry sent Kane out of the ring, but nobody touched him because they are scared of Kane. Kane kicked Henry out of the ring, several guys tried to throw Mark in the ring, but Mark powered out, so they backed away. Kane with punches, Henry left the ring, Kane went after him, Henry shoved Chavo into Kane and Henry slammed Kane’s lower back into the ring post. Kane was tossed back in the ring by a few wrestlers. Henry worked over Kane with some forearms to the back. Kane charged right into a powerslam by Henry for a two count. Henry with a bearhug briefly. Kane tried a Chokeslam, but he was too hurt to do it and Henry hit Kane with forearms to the back. Henry slapped on a bearhug with Kane trying to fight it, but then Kane collapsed to the mat. Kane managed to send Henry out of the ring. Kane went up top and he jumped onto Henry along with three lumberjacks (Nitro, Masters and Thorn) to help break Kane’s fall. Back in the ring, Kane with punches and two clotheslines. Kane went up top and jumped off with the clothesline that he did in most of his matches. Kane hit a Chokeslam, but then he was unable to cover right away. Dykstra and Chavo went after Kane with punches, Kane fought them off and gave Dykstra a big Chokeslam. Henry capitalized on that distraction with a bearhug in the middle of the ring. Henry held onto the bearhug, Kane was trying to fight it, but then he passed out and Henry was declared the winner by referee Jimmy Korderas. Henry won at 9:07.

Winner by pinfall: Mark Henry

Analysis: * This was boring. A slow-paced match by two big guys with Henry working over the back for most of it and it just wasn’t that interesting to me. A bearhug win was very rare in this era. They were trying to push Henry after taking out The Undertaker in the previous month, so Kane was used to put over Henry in this match. It wasn’t a totally clean win since Kane had to deal with Dykstra and Chavo before the finish, but it did give Henry a significant win.

Henry celebrated the big win while the announcers put him over in a big way.

Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin were in the trainer’s room with Benjamin saying this would never happen in the NCAAs. Haas complained that it wasn’t a wrestling match. The Hardys were in the room too. The two teams trash-talked and got into a brawl. There were referees and Producers there to try to break it up.

Analysis: The feud didn’t continue because the Hardys lost the titles the next night to Cade and Murdoch as I mentioned earlier.

There was a video package for ECW Champion Vince McMahon facing Bobby Lashley in the final match of this three month feud. Lashley challenged Vince to a Street Fight, Shane accepted it and Vince didn’t look happy about it.

Vince McMahon entered first as the ECW Champion with Shane McMahon and Umaga by his side. Bobby Lashley got a nice reaction from the crowd, who respected him as an ass kicker that was a babyface on the rise.

Street Fight for the ECW Championship: Vince McMahon (w/Shane McMahon and Umaga) vs. Bobby Lashley

Pre-match notes: Vince was the heel ECW World Champion. Vince was 61 years old at the time of the match. Bobby Lashley was the babyface former ECW Champion and was 30 years old at the time of the match. I know I don’t usually give the ages of everybody, but I wanted to point out the age difference here.

The bell rang, Lashley ran towards the ropes and jumped over the top onto Umaga, but he didn’t make it all the way and his tailbone hit hard! Ouch. That was a painful landing. I did not remember that spot. That looked rough for Bobby. I think what happened is Lashley’s left hand was on the rope and it prevented him from getting over the top as much as he wanted. The referee checked on Lashley, who must have said he was fine as the match continued. Lashley decked Shane with a clothesline in the ring and tossed Shane over the top onto Umaga. Vince was left alone with Lashley, who kicked and punched Vince repeatedly as the fans cheered. Shane into the ring, so Lashley tossed him over the top to the floor. Umaga charged, Lashley moved and Umaga hit the ring post. Shane back in with a chair, Lashley kicked him and Shane was out of the ring. Umaga was back up with an uppercut on Lashley and Shane hit a DDT on Lashley on the steel chair. Vince got some offense with two clotheslines followed by some blatant choking and a kick to the ribs. Shane dumped Lashley out of the ring as the heels went after Lashley on the floor. Vince grabbed a small bell hammer from ringside that he used to choke Lashley while Umaga and Shane worked over Lashley with punches. Vince choked Lashley with a camera cable. Back in the ring, Umaga hit a Samoan Drop and Vince covered Lashley for a two count. Vince charged at Lashley with an awkward looking Spear for a two count. Umaga went for a splash, Lashley moved and Umaga splashed Vince by accident.

Lashley comeback time with two clotheslines, he sent Umaga out of the ring and Lashley hit a belly to belly suplex on Shane over the top to the floor. The crowd was screaming in excitement as Lashley grabbed a steel chair and Vince in the head with the chair. Joey said that was a receipt meaning payback. Lashley hit Vince with repeated chairshots to the back with the fans cheering. Lashley picked up Vince and hit the running powerslam known as the Dominator, but Umaga saved Vince from being pinned as he pulled Lashley out of the ring. Umaga with a kick to the face of Lashley. Umaga jumped off the apron with a splash on Lashley on the floor. Umaga cleared off the ECW announce table and put Lashley on the table. Shane went up top and he jumped off with an impressive elbow drop off the top onto Lashley through the table. It’s a spot that Shane has done many times and it looked great. Back in the ring, Vince only got a two count, so Umaga punched Lashley some more. Umaga charged at Lashley with a running hip attack against the turnbuckle with the fans reacted to that in a big way. Shane had Umaga hold the trash can in front of Lashley for the Coast to Coast dropkick, Shane jumped and Shane dropkicked the trash can into Umaga’s face when Lashley moved. Lashley got back up with a huge Spear on Shane. Lashley hit a Spear on Vince as well. Lashley covered Vince for the pinfall win at 12:23. Big pop for the win by Lashley. The fans loved that.

Winner by pinfall AND NEW ECW Champion: Bobby Lashley

Analysis: **3/4 It was billed as a singles match, but it was really another 3 on 1 match for the third straight PPV. Lashley started off strong, then he was outnumbered for most of the match and I was impressed by Lashley’s comeback. There were a lot of big spots from Shane putting Lashley through the table and then the Coast to Coast dropkick shortly after that, but it failed and that led to Lashley getting the win. The fans really got into it when Lashley made his comebacks, which showed that the booking worked. The fans cared about this a lot.

Post match, Lashley celebrated with the ECW Title. Lashley hit another Spear on Vince to put down the WWE Chairman once again.

Santino Marella and Maria Kanellis were talking backstage with Todd Grisham showing up for a review. Todd asked Maria’s expert on the Pudding Match. Maria spoke in an intelligent way about the goofy match instead of sounding dumb like usual. Candice Michelle said she’ll beat Melina in any kind of match for the third time. Candice asked for a kiss for good luck, so Maria kissed Candice on the lips. The crowd popped huge for that. Santino: “I love America.” Ron Simmons showed up: “DAMN!”

Analysis: Cheap pop. It worked.

There was a pool of chocolate pudding by the entrance with a referee on hand. Candice Michelle entered first and then Melina, who was the Women’s Champion in this non-title match.

Pudding Match: Melina vs. Candice Michelle

They both looked amazing, of course. There was a pool full of pudding with some whip cream in there as well. Michelle tossed Melina into the pudding and then the women started fighting. You can win by pinfall or submission. The women fell out of the pool for a bit and then Candice hit a Spear on Melina into the pool of chocolate pudding. Candice got a pin attempt for a two count. Melina with forearms to the back as she took control. There was a DDT into the pudding by Candice, which really doesn’t look that devastating. Candice held Melina down in the pudding so that she was drowning her (in theory) and Melina tapped out. It went 2:55.

Winner by pinfall: Candice Michelle

Analysis: I’m not going to rate this one. I like both women a lot, but this wasn’t very effective in terms of giving fans something interesting to watch. The result gave Candice her third victory over Melina in a row.

Post match, Maria showed up in a short yellow dress, Melina threw pudding at her and Melina jumped into the pool of pudding after Melina. The women were fighting, so then they tossed in referee Marty Elias as well. Melina ended up running away while Candice and Maria hugged in the pool of pudding.

Analysis: The next PPV had Melina defending the title against Candice in an actual match.

The cage was lowered for Smackdown’s World Heavyweight Title match.

A video package aired about Edge vs. Batista. The title shot was earned by Batista when he won a Fatal Four Way match on Smackdown. Edge beat Batista two weeks earlier at Judgment Day with rollup. This time it would be a steel cage match.

Edge entered first as the World Heavyweight Champion with a huge pyro display for his entrance. Batista also got an impressive pyro display and the fans popped big for him as Smackdown’s top face. JBL did a nice job of putting this over as a big match since it’s inside the steel cage.

Steel Cage Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Edge vs. Batista

Pre-match: Edge was the heel World Heavyweight Championship that won the title less than one month earlier when he beat The Undertaker via a Money in the Bank cash-in on Smackdown. Batista was the babyface challenger. Batista was a two-time World Champion going into this match while Edge as a three-time World Champion.

You can win the match via pinfall, submission, leaving the cage by climbing out or leaving the cage by going out the door. If it was up to me it would either be pinfall or submission only or leaving the cage over the top only. I don’t like how there are four options to win.

Batista was in control early with a whip into the turnbuckle followed by a forearm. Batista does not have his hamstring taped up like he did at Judgment Day when he was injured. Batista slapped on a Camel Clutch submission that Edge easily got out of so Batista jumped on the back to knock him down. Batista with a clothesline that got a two count. Edge tried to climb the cage, Batista brought him down and hit a clothesline to the back. Batista with a vertical suplex for two. When Batista tried to climb, Edge tripped him up and hit a dropkick into the cage. Edge with a shoulder tackle to the ribs into the cage. Edge worked over Batista by sending him back first into the cage and then a baseball slide dropkick into the cage. Edge tried to leave through the door, but Batista held onto the foot of Edge and Edge kicked Batista in the ribs. Edge took a turnbuckle pad off to expose the steel. Edge countered a slam attempt by Batista with a sitout neckbreaker. Edge did a slow climb, Batista went after him by the turnbuckle and Batista gave Edge a superplex off the top for a two count. They went right back to the same turnbuckle, Batista sent Edge’s head into the top of the cage twice and then Batista jumped off the top with nothing, so Edge hit him with a dropkick. Edge charged for a Spear, Batista also charged and they did a collision spot where they were both knocked down. It was more like a double shoulder tackle to knock down both guys.

Batista sent Edge back first into the steel cage followed by a big clothesline and another clothesline. Edge charged right into a Bossman Slam for a two count. The announcers don’t call it by that name, but I usually will. Batista gave Edge the catapult into the steel cage followed by a rollup for a two count. Batista with a running powerslam and he sent Edge face first into the steel cage. Batista charged, but Edge moved and sent Batista into the exposed steel turnbuckle. Edge hit a Spear for a two count. Edge was bleeding from the mouth after he was whipped into the cage. Edge climbed up, Batista grabbed him off the top rope and hit a spinebuster for a two count. Batista went for a Batista Bomb, but Edge managed to use his momentum to get to the cage. Edge was on top of the cage, Batista got a hold of him and brought Edge back inside the cage. The fans were really getting into it at this point. They were on the top with Edge hitting two low blow kicks to the groin and then Batista crotched himself on the top rope, so three shots to the groin of Batista. Edge climbed up to the cage, he was crawling on the outside, Batista did a slow crawl out the door, Batista’s hands were out, but Edge fell down to the floor and Batista was too late to get both feet on the floor. That meant Edge found a way to win because his feet definitely hit the floor first. The match went 15:39.

Winner by escaping the cage: Edge

Analysis: ***1/2 It was a close win by Edge, which is a clever finish to do in a match like this. I like how competitive this was from the moment it began right until the final bell. They wanted to book Edge like a clever heel champion instead of a guy that dominated because they always wanted to keep Batista strong. They timed it well with Edge literally winning by a few seconds. The repeated low blows by Edge slowed down Batista enough to allow Edge to get out of the cage before Batista and it was enough to win the match. It’s not like Batista was hurt that much in losing a match that way. I like how that was booked.

Post match, Edge celebrated while Batista was frustrated and went after Edge, who left through the crowd. Edge left without the World Heavyweight Title that was at ringside as Batista was mad at himself for not winning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RwJ0arS6uo

Analysis: The rivalry continued at the next PPV (Vengeance) as well, so they had three straight PPV matches against eachother.

There was a video package to set up the WWE Championship match with John Cena defending against The Great Khali in a Falls Count Anywhere Match. They showed Judgment Day when Cena beat Khali by submission, but Khali’s right foot was under the bottom rope, which the referee didn’t see. That led to a rematch with Falls Count Anywhere rules since Khali has yet to be pinned in WWE, so the selling point was that Cena could do it? There was a Saturday Night’s Main Event special with Khali pinning Cena in a non-title match as well.

The Great Khali made his entrance with his manager/translator Ranjin Singh with him. There wasn’t much of a reaction for Khali, who is one of the biggest men in WWE history.

Analysis: Ranjin’s real name is Dave Kapoor and he’s a long-time member of WWE’s creative team. Kapoor is still there as I write this 13 years after this show.

John Cena entered with the WWE Championship to a pretty good pop. As I mentioned in the Judgment Day review, the fans didn’t like Khali, so they were supportive of Cena more than when Cena was facing opponents that fans liked a lot more than Khali.

Analysis: I doubt there was anybody watching this show thinking Cena would lose the WWE Title to Khali.

WWE Championship – Falls Count Anywhere Match: John Cena vs. Great Khali

Pre-match notes: Cena was the babyface WWE Champion while Khali was the heel challenger.

Khali with a forearm to the back and he sent Cena into the turnbuckle. There were “Cena” chants from the crowd as Khali worked John over with a headbutt and kicks to the ribs. Khali with a hard whip into the turnbuckle. Khali with a punch to the head followed by Khali stepping on Cena’s head. Khali whipped Cena into the ropes leading to a boot to the face. Cena ran the ropes leading to Khali hitting a kick to the face. Basically, it was Cena running into the foot as Khali lifted it up. Khali with a body slam that Cena sold as if it was a devastating move. Cena avoided a leg drop as Khali’s leg hit the mat. Cena with a flipping neckbreaker…sort of. That didn’t look good due to poor selling. Cena went up, Khali with a punch and a chop that knocked Cena off the top to the floor. Khali tried a cover on the floor, which got a two count. Cena charged at Khali on the floor, but Khali moved and Cena dropkicked the steel steps. Khali cleared off the Raw announce table and Khali sent Cena into a TV monitor. Khali went for a chop, Cena blocked it and Khali sent Cena over the barricade. They went into the crowd with the referee Mike Chioda following them as Khali punched Cena and into some production area. Cena hit Khali with a TV monitor to the head. Cena tried the FU, but Khali blocked it with an elbow shot to the back. Cena with a forearm to the back as Cena stumbled back towards the entrance area near where the production area was. Khali with a punch to the head to knock Cena down. Khali charged again, so Cena grabbed the boom camera and shoved it into Khali for a two count. Cena wanted an FU as he picked up Khali, but Khali blocked the attempt with an elbow. Khali picked up Cena and slammed him onto some crane that was there by the entrance. I don’t know why needed a crane in that spot, but it was there. Cena with an eye rake, then he picked up Khali and Cena gave Khali the FU slam off the crane and down to the “concrete” below it. There was likely some padding there, but it wasn’t wooden pallets that they usually have there. Cena went over to Khali and pinned him on the floor with Chioda there to count the pinfall. Cena wins it at 10:31.

Winner by pinfall: John Cena

Analysis: **3/4 This was a solid match with Cena selling for most of it until he found a way to put Khali away. It was a creative spot that was used to finish the match by having Khali take the FU from the crane and down to the floor or whatever padding he landed on. It’s hard to have a good regular match with Khali, so at least they were smart enough to have a stipulation match where they could get out of the ring for most of it. The big moment in the match was Cena hitting the FU because there were questions about if John could do that to Khali.

Post match, Cena celebrated with the WWE Title as JR put over Cena’s freakish strength by hitting the FU on Khali to win the match. They replayed the finish with Cena’s big FU from the crane to the floor to win the match.

Cena ran down to the ring with the WWE Title to continue the celebration. The show ended there.

This event had a run time of 2:37:40 on WWE Network.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Show Rating (out of 10): 6.5

It was a solid show from top to bottom with a few very good matches and some stinkers on here too. The Ladder Match between the Hardy Boyz and Haas/Benjamin was outstanding, so I would recommend that if you haven’t seen it in a while or if you forgot about it like me. I liked the Edge vs. Batista Steel Cage match too because it had a clever finish. Even John Cena was able to carry the Great Khali to a passable match, so kudos to Cena for that. Bobby Lashley’s win over Vince McMahon was booked very well and the crowd liked it a lot. On the negative side, Henry vs. Kane was very boring while putting the women in a Pudding Match was lame.

It was better than the previous PPV, Judgment Day, but not as good as Backlash or WrestleMania 23 were. Part of the reason is that big names like Triple H, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and Rey Mysterio were all injured at this point. It’s tough when you’re without so many top guys.

Best Match: The Hardy Boyz vs. Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas (**** out of 5)

Worst Match: Mark Henry vs. Kane (*)

Five Stars of the Night

1. The Hardy Boyz
2. Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas
3. Edge
4. John Cena
5. Batista

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Thanks for reading.

John Canton – mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter @johnreport