Sunday, July 23rd, 2006
Conseco Fieldhouse
Indianapolis, Indiana
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The intro video feels very chopped at the beginning due to all of the changes to the card.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Paul London & Brian Kendrick vs. Pit Bulls
Michael Cole and JBL surprisingly bring up a lot of the NWA history at this show. This is a great choice for a pay per view opener. London and Kash have a little bit of a sloppy opening, but it leads to London launching Kendrick off the top rope on Kash. We get a double dive by the champions, which at the time wasn't something you saw 10 times a show. London and Kendrick are getting in a lot more offense than I expected here. They do a great spot where London tries to skin the cat, but Noble dropkicks him when he is upside down and he goes crashing to the floor. The challengers isolate London and hit him with an impactful double chop. London makes a hot tag quicker than expected and he almost gets the victory, but Kash grabs the bottom rope on 2. Things break down and Kendrick climbs up the turnbuckles to leap down on Noble. Kash goes for the brainbuster on London, but in comes Kendrick and he hits a missile dropkick and London pins him to pick up the victory. Things were a little bit sloppy to start, but once they got settled in, they delivered. Good opening match and the crowd continues to be behind London and Kendrick as champions.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Daivari and Khali are arguing backstage with Daivari asking why Khali just can't wait.
Teddy Long is out to deliver some bad news. Lashley was found to have elevated enzymes in the liver and won't compete tonight. Lashley's music hits and is on his way out. This is all just weird. Out comes William Regal and Finlay. Finlay thinks it's crap and wants Long to raise his hand as the winner by forfeit. Instead, we're getting Regal and Finlay.
US Championship Match
Finlay vs. William Regal
Regal goes and checks under the ring before locking up. Regal ends up outside and Hornswoggle grabs his leg and gets chased with a shillelagh. This all leads to Finlay taking control of the match. This match has a weird vibe with it being heel vs. heel. It leads to a loud "Boring" chant, which is pretty stupid. Cole says it's because they want Lashley in the match. I'm thinking that's not the reason. Finlay catches Regal on the ring apron and Regal comes out of it with missing a boot. Regal grabs the shillelagh, but Hornswoggle hands Finlay the boot. He uses it to club Regal in the head and then puts his feet on the ropes to get the victory. That was kind of a weak ending to a weird match.
Match Rating: **1/2
Chavo Guerrero and Rey Mysterio are backstage and Chavo tells Rey that he might as well be a Guerrero.
Matt Hardy vs. Gregory Helms
Hardy mocks the Hurriane gimmick before clotheslining Helms over the top rope. We get some back and forth action until Helms hits a nice swinging neckbreaker from the top rope. Classic Helms there. JBL making fun of Hardy caring about the fans is pretty fun. Things pick up and Helms hits the Shining Wizard, but Hardy is able to kick out. They're back on the turnbuckles again, but Hardy knocks Helms off and hits a moonsault for a 2 count. Hardy hits an elbow off the second rope and again gets a 2 count. Helms is able to lift Hardy up and drop him face-first onto the top turnbuckle and then rolls him up and grabs the tights to steal the victory. This was a really competitive match where both men looked good.
Match Rating: ***1/2
We go back to Khali and Daivari. Undertaker attacks Daivari and then turns his attention to Khali. Big Show comes out of nowhere and they attack Undertaker.
After the Punjabi Prison Match hype video, Teddy confronts the trio and tells Big Show that he's going to take Khali's spot in the match.
Punjabi Prison Match
Big Show vs. Undertaker
Michael Cole gives us the rules and this feels like Legends Of The Hidden Temple. After entrances that take forever, Show attacks Taker on his way into the ring. This match is already pointless. Undertaker picks up steam and charges at Show and into the cage. Show catches him and goes for the chokeslam, but Taker counters into a DDT. Taker asks for one of the doors to open and the timer starts. These rules are so stupid. Show stops him and then takes the turnbuckle off the top rope. They spent all this time hyping how dangerous this structure is and then Show thinks a turnbuckle is more vicious. Taker goes for Old School, but Show is able to throw him off. Show asks for the door to be opened, but he takes forever, so Taker stops him. Show slams Taker's head into the turnbuckle to no reaction, so there's that. Taker hits a superplex and that allows Taker to roll out of one of the doors. Taker tries to climb up the exterior cage, but Show gets out of the final door and stops Taker. Show then throws Taker through a table and then wisely throws him back in the ring before the fourth door shuts. No more doors are able to open and Show is on level 2. Taker and Show both start climbing their cages and Taker is out of his first. He walks over to the exterior cage and swings from a rope to kick Show off the cage. Taker then runs and leg drops Show through a table. Out come Daivari and Khali as Taker is climbing the interior cage. Taker leaps off and lands on Show, with the cage door opening as Show falls. They declare Taker the winner, but that was a stupid ending. I guess it should be noted that both men are bleeding from their foreheads. Just when you think this couldn't be any dumber, Khali and Dairvari were climbing the cage to come in. This was just really stupid. I appreciate them trying to come up with a new gimmick match, but this was more Vince Russo than Pat Patterson.
Match Rating: *1/4
Queen Sharmell is pumping up King Booker before making out.
Fatal 4-Way Bra And Panties Match
Kristal vs. Michelle McCool vs. Jillian Hall vs. Ashley
I'm surprised they booked two classics in a row. Kristal rips Ashley's top off, so Ashley throws her out of the ring. Jillian goes up top, but Kristal knocks her off. McCool takes off Jillian's top from the tree of woe. Jillian and Ashley team up to throw Kristal and McCool into each other and then rip both of their skirts off. Jillian has Kristal by the legs and Ashley rips off her top. Ashley gets declared the victor, but Jillian is disappointed. Ashley grabs her back in and they rip off each other's skirt while Cole declares that this is what SmackDown is all about. This was about as horrible as you would expect.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Mr. Kennedy tells Miz that he'll beat Batista.
Batista vs. Mr. Kennedy
Kennedy points up for his microphone, but Batista attacks him before that happens. Kennedy gets busted open pretty quickly here and pretty badly. He teases walking to the back, but when he runs back in, Batista greets him with a running Spear. Kennedy is able to rake the eyes and then hits him with a boot to the face. Kennedy continues the attack until Batista catches him and drives him into the ring post. Batista has him in the corner and shoves his boot in the face of Kennedy. Charles Robinson tries to get him off, but Batista won't release, so he calls for the bell. Talk about a lame finish. Batista just takes out his anger on Kennedy and hits three spinebusters and a Batista Bomb. This was actually a pretty solid match up until the dumb finish. Kennedy looked like he belonged despite this being a thrown together match.
Match Rating: **1/2
World Heavyweight Championship Match
King Booker vs. Rey Mysterio
Hey, it's the same match that I watched for free two nights ago on SmackDown. After some back and forth, Mysterio hits a seated senton to the outside. Back in the ring, Booker hits him with a kick and gets a 2 count. Sharmell gets in some fingernails to the eye behind the referee's back. Booker hits the Three Amigos and doesn't get as much heat as you would think. Booker misses a Scissors Kick and Mysterio unleashes. He goes for the 619, but Booker moves. Mysterio still hits him with a kick to the head and gets a 2 count. He goes for it again and this time Sharmell trips him up. Nick Patrick sends her to the back, but back in the ring, Booker hits a back suplex. Mysterio hits a couple of dropkicks to the knees of Booker and both men are down. Mysterio hits a DDT, but Booker gets the shoulder up. Booker catches Mysterio and tosses him right onto Patrick and he's knocked out of the ring. Mysterio hits the seated senton and the 619. He goes up top and hits hte Frog Splash, but the referee is still knocked out. Booker hits a low blow and a Book End. He goes out and grabs a chair, but Mysterio dropkicks it off his head. Out comes Chavo and drills Mysterio with a sick chairshot to the head. Why? Patrick is back in the ring and slowly counts to 3 to crown a new champ. This was a really entertaining match even if you hate ref bumps. Mysterio's reign was never treated seriously, so it's no surprise that he lost here.
Match Rating: ***1/2
This was basically an episode of SmackDown on steroids. It ended up being changed and it probably effected their goals, but probably improved the in ring quality. The Punjabi Prison match was a real downer and took up way too much time. It's hard to say that this was a great show or anything, but it was entertaining enough and had the title change to make it somewhat memorable. All hail King Booker.
Overall Rating: 61%
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