Sunday, May 20th, 2007
Scottrade Center
St. Louis, Missouri
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Ric Flair vs. Carlito
This is Carlito's first chance to be the angry heel since being poked by Flair. It just is getting harder and harder for Flair to keep up at this point. Triple H and Orton were able to get good matches out of him a few years earlier, but they are very good at working his style. Carlito works the arm of Flair and then puts it up against the ring post and hits him with dropkick. Jerry Lawler starts to wonder what winning this match means to both guys and JR just ignores him. This match slows down to a crawl and I'm not really sure why this match is getting double digits. Flair makes his comeback and hits a chop block. Flair works the leg and slaps on the Figure Four in the middle of the ring. Carlito taps and that is all. I'm not really sure what that did for either guy, but I guess I'll see how it plays out again. I have no recollection, so it must not have been anything great.
Match Rating: *3/4
Shawn Michaels is backstage and they show what Orton did to him on Raw. Michaels then says that it was rumored that he wouldn't be here tonight. Orton then runs in and attacks him.
Handicap Match For The ECW Championship
Shane McMahon, Umaga & Vince McMahon vs. Bobby Lashley
Lashley starts out hot, taking out most of his aggression on the McMahons. Umaga accidentally splashes Shane in the corner. Lashley hits him with a Spear and then hits a Dominator on Shane. That's enough to pin him and regain the ECW Championship in about 75 seconds. After the match, Umaga attacks Lashley and Vince says that in order to be the ECW Champion, he has to beat the champ. He takes his belt and heads to the back. That's Attitude Era booking 101. This was a squash, but they did make Lashley look good.
Match Rating: 1/2*
The doctor is checking on Michaels and tells him that he's not allowing him to go out there tonight.
CM Punk vs. Elijah Burke
It's a pretty good sign that they're chanting Punk's name despite him being on the show that no one cares about. Punk's ribs are taped up here for the record. Punk does a delayed vertical suplex. Is this the only time he ever did that? For some reason I do remember him doing that in this match, but never thought about if he ever did it again. It really is a good sign that these guys are getting a good reaction here in a good wrestling town. Punk hits a springboard dropkick to Burke on the apron, sending him to the floor. Punk then hits the rare suicide dive that looks like it hurt his opponent. Back in the ring, Burke is able to pull Punk off the second rope and hurt those ribs. Burke works on the ribs for a bit until Punk comes back and hits a superplex. We get some back and forth until Punk hits some clotheslines. Punk hits the knee in the corner, but Burke counters the bulldog and shoves Punk in the corner. Burke misses the Elijah Express. Punk goes for the Go To Sleep, but Burke hits the Elijah Experience for a 2 count. Burke props Punk up on the top rope and Burke hits the Elijah Express. He goes for the pin, but Punk is able to grab the bottom rope. Burke goes for another Elijah Experience, but Punk lifts him on his shoulders, hits the Go To Sleep and picks up the win. That was a solid match that I am shocked got as much time as it did.
Match Rating: ***1/4
Edge is interviewed backstage and tells us that the Rated R era has begun.
Randy Orton makes his entrance and tells the ring announcer to announce him as the winner. Just as he's about to, Michaels' music hits and he walks out in pain. What a rebel.
Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels
Orton runs and hits Michaels with a fist to the head as the bell rings. Orton then hits him with a DDT and Michaels kicks out. Orton has him up and is considering a RKO, but just lets him collapse to the floor. He then lifts Michaels up and props him on the top rope for a super RKO. Michaels is able to fight out of it and then shoves him off. Michaels then tunes up the band, but then collapses again. The referee checks on him and Michaels pulls himself up by the ropes. The referee looks at him in the eyes and calls the match. Michaels still is having balance issues, so Orton grabs him and hits the RKO. Michaels' wife then runs in the ring checks on him and is in tears. He is then stretchered to the back. This wasn't really a match, so it's hard to rank. This also feels like it was better suited for Raw rather than a pay per view.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Great Khali starts yelling things while holding John Cena's WWE Championship. He does lots of yelling and then Ranjin Singh translates it to if Cena wants some, he can come get some.
World Tag Team Championship Match
The Hardys vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch
JBL and Michael Cole get to announce this one since 1 of the 4 are on SmackDown. Makes sense. The big storyline here is that Cade and Murdoch are being good sports about their loss to the Hardys. They actually have done a nice job getting you interested on what will happen. Jeff eventually gets a hot tag, but Murdoch rolls out of the ring and takes a breather. Jeff takes out Murdoch's legs with a dropkick on the apron, but then misses with a somersault over the top. The challengers are now able to corner Jeff and still maintain their good sportsmanship. He's able to fight his way over to Matt and we get a nice hot tag from Matt. He hits his signature bulldog/clothesline combo and gets a 2 count. He hits a Side Effect, but Murdoch is able to break up the pin. That distraction allows Cade to his a spinebuster for a nearfall. Matt comes back with a Twist Of Fate, tags in Jeff and he hits the Swanton for the victory. They got a lot of time and the Hardys were very over with the crowd. The match was good enough, but never got to the next level. They shake hands after the match.
Match Rating: ***
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Edge vs. Batista
Batista is fueled by anger and goes after Edge early on. He misses in the corner, hitting his shoulder on the ring post and gives Edge his opening. After slowing it down a little too much, Batista catches Edge with a clothesline when he comes off the second turnbuckle. I'd like to think the person with the "Vince Is My Idol" sign would like to reconsider their stance. Edge goes for a Spear, but Batista catches him with one instead. Edge gets his shoulder up at 2. Batista starts shaking the ropes and goes for the Batista Bomb. Edge gets out of it and is able out of it. Batista hits a spinebuster, but Batista's knee buckles and Edge rolls him up for the victory. That was a disappointing match in many ways. It mostly felt like a filler main event on SmackDown.
Match Rating: **
Two Out Of Three Falls Match For The United States Championship
MVP vs. Chris Benoit
I always have had a soft spot for this type of match, mostly because at the time WWE hardly ever had them. Then came that era where every match on Raw was like that and probably ruined it for me. 2007 me was very excited for this, 2024 me is ready to move on for obvious reasons. The crowd is not into this at all, so that's not a good sign. I'm a little surprised with the placement on the card, this feels like it should have been earlier on. MVP works on the knee, but Benoit comes back with the German suplexes. He puts on the Crossface, but MVP is able to get his foot on the bottom rope. Benoit gets on the Sharpshooter, but again MVP gets to the ropes. Benoit has MVP up for an electric chair, but MVP gets down and hits the Playmaker to win the first fall. That move is still so awkward. They tried to come with a clever way to hit that move and it still just takes forever to do it. This match just seems to crawl along until MVP rolls up Benoit and wins the match (and the title) 2-0. The crowd did not care either.
Match Rating: *1/2
Happy with forking over $40 for this show? Well, you're in luck. You can spend another $40 in 2 weeks and see most of the same matches!
WWE Championship Match
Great Khali vs. John Cena
Khali walks out with the title belt that he stole from Cena. Khali levels Cena with a clothesline right off the bat and then a right hand that knocks Cena out of the ring. Khali throws Cena into the steps and tosses him around the ring a few times. Cena is able to avoid a leg drop and then hits a blockbuster for a 2 count. Cena tries to capitalize, but then runs into a spin kick. Khali puts on the dreaded nerve hold until Cena fights out of it and gets him tied up in the ropes. He takes advantage as long as he can until he runs into a chop. Khali knocks Cena out of the ring again, but this time Cena dropkicks the steps into Khali's legs. Cena hits the top rope leg drop and puts him the STFU. Khali's legs are clearly under the ropes here, but he taps and Cena retains his title. I remember at the time just assuming that there would be a DQ finish here and couldn't believe they ended his streak with so little hype. I mean, the guy can't wrestle, but this was about the best case scenario. They followed the old school formula and it worked as well as it could.
Match Rating: **
This wasn't quite as bad as I was thinking it would be, but that doesn't mean it was good. There were no memorable moments or matches and a lot of the storylines are mediocre at best. Cena gave a great performance and it was good to see Punk over with the live crowd in a non-ECW environment again.
Overall Rating: 38%
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