Judgment Day 2005 Review

Sunday, May 22nd, 2005
Target Center
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
MNM vs. Hardcore Holly & Charlie Haas

Melina cuts a generic promo on the way down to the ring while the "paparazzi" takes their photos. Morrison was already a bumping machine here, as he made Haas look like a million bucks in their opening spots. Mercury slaps Holly's chest, which is obviously stupid. Holly naturally chops Mercury likely harder than he ever has in his life. Holly has Mercury up for the Alabama Slam, but Morrison superkicks him while the ref was distracted. Hot tag to Haas and he sends both of his opponents to the outside and then hits a leap over the top rope. Melina possibly screwed up there by trying to grab his leg the first time and Haas no sold it. He goes off the ropes again and this time Melina grabs it, but Haas stays in control. All four men are in. Morrison avoids Holly and his shoulder hits the ring post and falls to the outside. MNM hits the Snapshot and retain the championships. That was a solid opener that kept the crowd going for the entirety.

Match Rating: *** (out of 5)

Carlito vs. Big Show

Carlito says that Randy Moss left Minnesota because the people aren't cool. Carlito does all that he can to avoid Big Show to start the match off. Show finally gets him and tosses him into the turnbuckle. Matt Morgan grabs Show's ankle, but it doesn't work. It's now Carlito's turn to get his chest blown up, this time by Big Show. Show goes off the ropes, but Morgan pulls down the top rope and down goes Show. Show goes to send Carlito into the turnbuckle, but he throws him right into the rope. Carlito then hits a low blow. Somehow, Show recovers quickly and goes for a chokeslam. Morgan comes in to make the save and hits a F5 on Big Show to the shock of Carlito. Carlito hops on Show and gets the pinfall victory. This is what happens when you book yourself into a corner, you have to come up with a lot of extra to accomplish your goal. This was really hardly a match, but I've watched a lot worse.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Just in case you haven't vomited in your mouth enough over the last few weeks from this angle, we get a full recap of the Booker T/Kurt Angle situation. Sharmell asks Booker to take out Angle tonight. They then get a delivery that includes lingerie and handcuffs.

Cruiserweight Championship Match
Chavo Guerrero vs. Paul London

Chavo gets off to a fast start after some stiff kicks and a Tilt-A-Whirl backbreaker. London fights back with some of his signatures. He goes for the 450 splash, but Chavo gets his knees up and the champ is down. Chavo begins to work on the ribs. I have to say the crowd is into this one a little more than I expected. It's no secret that the WWE Cruiserweight division was treated as a joke for years. London battles back and sends Chavo to the outside. London hits a somersault dive off the top rope to the floor. It didn't look like he got much of that and he hit the floor pretty hard as a result. Chavo returns the favor with a suicide dive. Chavo goes up to the top rope, but London kicks him. Chavo counters the superplex. London hits a back body drop and then hits the 450 splash for the victory. That was a nicely worked match. Both guys got their chance to look good and London makes the nice counter and hits his finish for the decisive win.

Match Rating: ***1/4

Booker is backstage looking for Angle. He tells the SmackDown locker room that if they see Angle, to tell him Booker is looking for him. They cut to Sharmell and Angle is behind her. He lays on top of her and threatens her and I guess we are getting this match now because Angle's music hits.

Kurt Angle vs. Booker T

Booker naturally goes right after Angle. Angle gets a little of his offense in, but it's back to Booker in control. Booker drapes Angle over the top rope and hits a scissor kick, causing Angle to fall to the floor. This turned into a pretty standard wrestling match quickly. Angle ducks a kick and Booker hurts his leg on the top rope. Just a reminder that this is the feud they gave Angle after he tore the house down with Shawn Michaels and got the victory. Angle avoids a scissor kick, but Booker counters the Angle Slam attempt with a Book End. As mad as Booker is, he still does the spinarooni. Angle then explodes with a clothesline. I would say that Booker's match quality varies night to night more than most other legendary wrestlers that I can think of. Booker T then goes for a small package and gets the victory? Seemed like a messed up finish. Sharmell comes down to celebrate, which is obviously a terrible idea. Angle tries to handcuff Booker, but he handcuffs Angle to the top rope. Sharmell hits Angle with some slaps to the face and finishes with a low blow. Booker and Sharmell embrace and celebrate their victory. That one felt like it deserved to be a SmackDown main event rather than a big pay per view match. The work was good, but it didn't have a great flow and the ending was awkward.

Match Rating: **3/4

United States Championship Match
Orlando Jordan vs. Heidenreich

Speaking of matches that belong on SmackDown. Heidenreich finds a young girl to be his friend and then reads a disasterpiece. Jordan then attacks him with a dropkick through the ropes. Heidenreich hits a few unconvincing fists to the face, but Jordan takes him down again. I guess now is as good of time as any to say the set for the show is pretty cool. Just a few months ago, Heidenreich was presented as a serious threat to the Undertaker. Heidenreich rolls up a trash talking Jordan and almost gets the victory. Jordan then hits a DDT and gets the victory? Another weird finish here. That was a match that didn't do anything for either guy. After the match, the little girl comes into the ring and tries to get him up. She starts doing the dance and Heidenreich gets up and joins her. This was probably Vince McMahon's favorite part of the show.

Match Rating: 1/2*

JBL is backstage for an interview. He says he's going to pull a Babe Ruth and call his shot that he will make Cena say "I quit" tonight.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio

Both men wait for the bell to ring before they let it rip. They head out of the ring and Eddie slams Rey into the announcers table. Rey get slammed face-first by a nice move from Eddie. Rey fights back for a little, but Eddie hits him with a dropkick to the legs. Eddie slaps on the Boston Crab and then into a STF. Eddie is going for a move on the steel steps, but Rey counters by pushing him into the ring post. Mysterio then hits a modified 619 around the ring post as Eddie is trying to climb back in the ring. Rey explodes with some clotheslines and then a springboard crossbody for a 2 count. Seated senton also gets a 2 count for Rey. Eddie hits two of the Three Amigos and Rey hangs Eddie on the second rope, but Rey is unable to capitalize. Chavo Guerrero is now down and distracting Jimmy Korderas. Eddie grabs a chair, but Rey dropkicks Eddie in the legs and gets Eddie on the second rope again. He knocks down Chavo and hits the 619 on Eddie. Rey goes off the top rope, but Eddie absolutely destroys him with the chair in midair. That was a vicious looking visual. Eddie is about to leave, but comes back into the ring and then repeatedly hits Rey with the chair. These two guys make beautiful music together and this match was no different. This was obviously not their best work, but it was still very good.

Match Rating: ***3/4

I Quit Match
WWE Championship Match
JBL vs. John Cena

Cean comes out on the back of a truck with a DJ playing and a light and smoke show. They start out a little hesitantly. They're outside the ring and JBL tosses Cena over the barricade and they are now brawling in the crowd. JBL tosses Cena into the steel steps. Cena's selling on that always has looked kind of poor his entire career. He always clearly pushed them over, rather than running into them. JBL pulls Cena up on the table and tries to get him to quit and then Cena back body drops him onto the other announce table. JBL hits Cena in the head with a chair shot and Cena is now busted open. Is this the only time Cena did a blade job in WWE? The chair shot was a clean shot to the head and the stair shot after was pretty close to a clear shot. I don't miss that at all. JBL hits a Clothesline From Hell and then another one. Cena is gushing at this point. JBL grabs Cena's chain and uses it to choke him. Cena tries to fight back, but JBL hits him with a low blow. After some trash talking from JBL, Cena makes the big comeback which leads to a Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena hits the FU, but then JBL retreats from the ring. Cena chases him down the ramp and slams him into the limo. JBL hits a swinging neckbreaker on the hood of the limo and both men are now down. JBL is choking Cena with an electrical cord, but Cena pulls him and he goes face-first through a TV. Cena then takes him and throws him through one of his limo windows. They're on top of the limo and Cena hits a suplex. Cena has him on his truck and throws him into a CO2 tank, causing it to shoot out air. Cena hits JBL with the microphone to the head and causes him to fall off the speakers and through a table. Cena has the smokestack from the truck and before he can use it, JBL says "I quit". Cena retains the title in an Attitude Era-style brawl to cap off the show. Cena waits a minute and then decides to use it anyways and sends JBL through the random "J D" pieces of glass on the entrance stage. That was a hard fought and entertaining match that the crowd was really into. Imagine if that was their WrestleMania match instead of the vanilla match we were given.

Match Rating: ****

As far as SmackDown pay-per-views during this era go, this has to be one of the best. The main event was very memorable and Eddie and Rey also delivered in their match. There were a few other solid outings and the crowd was into most of it.

Overall Rating: 72%