Monday, December 5th, 2005
North Charleston Coliseum
Charleston, South Carolina
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In classic WWE fashion, they are hyping up the fact that Ric Flair was arrested and he will be a guest on The Cutting Edge tonight.
Out comes Vince McMahon driving a garbage truck to the ring. He calls out Eric Bischoff, who hesitantly walks to the ring. Bischoff tells Vince how that this is more than just a job for him. Vince appoints Coach as his defense attorney. Coach says that not only does Bischoff deserve to keep his job, he deserves a raise. Vince then announces the prosecution and Mick Foley is on his way to the ring. Mick says that no one has benefited Raw more than Bischoff and by that he means that he announced that Foley was going to win the WWF Championship before it aired, causing thousands of viewers to switch over to Raw. So that's it for now.
Fatal 4-Way Match For The World Tag Team Championships
The Heart Throbs vs. Val Venis & Viscera vs. Snitsky & Tomko vs. Big Show & Kane
Only the champs get a televised entrance and they are instantly all brawling. So in other words, we all know this one isn't going to last very long. After the ring clears, Viscera squashes Kane, but Big Show is there to stop his momentum. Viscera eats a double chokeslam. Big Show throws Antonio at Viscera over the top rope. Val is next and then we get an awkward spot where Tomko hits a boot on Big Show, but he no sells it and Tomko almost falls. They triple chokeslam Antonio, Val and Tomko and get the win. This was pointless television.
Match Rating: 1/4*
We now go to court, where Chris Masters is standing shirtless in front of Vince. Stephanie is the first witness. She announces that both her and Shane think he should be fired. They then show Bischoff forcing himself on her on SmackDown 3 years prior. This is going to be a long episode, isn't it?
Mickie James vs. Victoria
Mickie hits a snapmare and follows up with a seated dropkick. She gets distracted by Candice and Torrie and Victoria is able to take advantage. Victoria hits a powerslam and then slams Mickie's face into the mat. Victoria hits a standing moonsault for a 2 count. Mickie gets an elbow up and then hits a hurricanrana. Mickie hits a series of kicks and then throws Torrie Wilson in by the hair. Mickie goes up to the second rope, but Candice shoves her off. Trish is there to knock Candice off and her wand flings at Mickie. This nonsense leads to Victoria getting the victory. That was a disaster of a finish. They try to sell the tension, but the finish just did not work. The rest of the match was solid, but short.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Tajiri is the next witness and has a translator. He trashes Bischoff and then Coach requests that Tajiri get back to the arena because he has a match with Triple H tonight. Moolah and Mae Young are next. They show Bischoff and Mae from Bad Blood 2003. God, this is just a reminder of how much I will probably be disappointed when I finally get to the Attitude Era. Chris Masters is up next. Vince disqualifies him because his last name isn't really Masters.
Shelton Benjamin is getting ready and in walks Shawn Michaels. Michaels talks about this being his home state and all the awards Shelton has won here. However, Shelton's WWE career has been a big, fat zero. Michaels riles him up and as Shelton walks away, it is made clear that was Michaels' plan.
Coach tells Vince that he has a witness that will guarantee that Bischoff keeps his job.
Lance Cade vs. Chavo Guerrero
Cade is sporting some ugly ring gear here. Chavo gets the boot up on a charging Cade and fights back with some right hands. Cade ends up dumping Chavo over the top rope and then driving Chavo's back into the ring post. Back in the ring, Chavo is able to hit a desperation dropkick. Cade is able to drive him into the turnbuckle. Chavo counters the vertical suplex attempt with a DDT and then climbs the ropes. Chavo hits the Frog Splash and picks up the victory. If you were hoping for long matches on this episode, it's looking like it's not in the cards tonight.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Back to court, where Daivari is on the stand now. Vince ignores what he says because he is listening to Ashlee Simpson on his iPod. "God, she sucks!"
It's time for the debut of The Cutting Edge. They ramble on for awhile before he starts ripping on Flair. Out come Sgt. Slaughter and Michael Hayes to tell them it's time to end it for going too far. They start insulting them and Hayes gets in his face about it. Hayes starts a passionate promo about "kids these days". Hayes then starts asking how many times Edge has main evented or been World Champion. Edge then reminds Hayes that Terry Gordy is no longer with us and Hayes says that the only reason Edge has this show is because he's banging Matt Hardy's girlfriend. Edge slaps him and they take out Sarge. Hayes fights back, but Edge hits him in the head with a briefcase. I like Edge's in ring work, but this era has aged poorly for me.
Tajiri vs. Triple H
Tajiri tries to start fast and furious, but Triple H clubs him with a clothesline when he does his handspring elbow. Tajiri gets a second chance and this time hits it. He goes for the Tarantula, but Triple H blocks it and sends him outside the ring. Triple H hits a spinebuster and then the Pedigree for the easy victory. This era sucks because the rosters barely had any depth and we were stuck with guys like Tajiri losing every match in three minutes.
Match Rating: *
The...trial...must...continue! They call out Simon Dean, but he doesn't come out. Up pops the Boogeyman with a worm in his nose. He breaks the clock on his head, while Foley looks on eating his moon pie.
Triple H is walking backstage and runs into Big Show. They share a few words.
Foley calls out Maria, who asks for Mr. Socko to ask her the questions. Maria then answers intelligently, shocking Coach and Bischoff.
Kurt Angle & Carlito vs. Shelton Benjamin & Shawn Michaels
Shelton and Carlito start things off and they try to emphasize Shelton's attitude that Michaels was trying to bring out of him earlier. Shelton shows off his talent by dominating Angle as we head into commercial break. Michaels hits a swinging neckbreaker on Carlito and he tags in Shelton. Shelton takes down both Carlito and Angle, but Daivari distracts him and Angle attacks him from behind. We get a pretty short heat segment until Shelton is able to tag in Michaels, who hits a top rope elbow drop. Michaels is tuning up the band, but Shelton tags himself in. Benjamin goes for the high cross body, but he misses and Carlito steals the win. After the match, Michaels looks like a disappointed father. This could have been better with the benefit of time.
Match Rating: **1/4
Vince and Stephanie arrive and Triple H is there. He says that as his top #1 guy is that he thinks Bischoff should stay. Vince then "introduces" Steph to Triple H.
Back in the ring, we are finally getting to the end of this trainwreck. They give their final statements and then out comes John Cena, who asks the audience for their thoughts. They announce that Cena will defend his title in the Elimination Chamber at New Year's Revolution. Vince then says Bischoff won't see it, because he's fired. Cena gives him the FU and then pushes him out of the ring. Vince picks him up and throws him in the garbage truck. Vince gets in the truck and drives away as we go off the air.
To be nice, this episode was pretty painful to watch. This was their poor attempt to try to recapture the magic of the Attitude Era, which by this point was already pretty stale. If you came for wrestling, you basically got one true match and the rest was all rushed. Just not a good show this week.
Overall Rating: 36%
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