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Throwing in the Towel - Night of Champions 2008

Ahh welcome back to Throwing in the Towel. And of course, it’s PPV time once more, and onto the show that I once declared to be “a terrible, woeful, short-sighted, nonsensical product of Vince McMahon’s ass.”

Harsh, maybe. Certainly in light of the draft last week, and the insane amount of intrigue it provided, there was no reason to expect anything other than entertainment as Night of the Champions commenced…

 

WWE Tag Team Title Match

Hornswoggle & Finlay vs. Miz & John Morrison©

Some people have really slagged off the whole existence of this match, pointing out the ridiculousness of Hornswoggle being in a title situation. I feel it’s fairly obvious that the uh, Irishmen aren’t going to win the straps, so it makes little difference. Plus EVERY situation Hornswoggle is in is ridiculous, and the titles are so worthless, why is it such a big deal?

Finlay and Morrison start the match off, and it’s solid enough action, though handicapped because you know it won’t go anywhere interesting. Morrison attempts to leap onto Finlay on the outside, but ends up crotched on the apron of the ring (as ridiculous as that sounds), where Finlay tangles him up comically. Finlay is floored far too easily on the outside, which results in the heels double-teaming Hornswoggle.

After some brief madness, we’re back to the champions strategically working over Finlay, until Hornswoggle tags himself in, and hits some big spots to a tremendous cheer from the Dallas crowd. The little guy can’t sustain it though, and gets beat up, until he can make the ol’ tag through the legs, to Finlay, who cleans house.

Finlay tags Hornswoggle in to finish the match, but is knocked off the apron, while Hornswoggle is dumped off the top rope for three.

Pretty ridiculous match. Finlay and Morrison deserve better. I can see Miz being in the ring with Hornswoggle in a one-on-one match if it’s building to something else, but this is definitely not PPV worthy stuff.

 

US title Match

Matt Hardy© vs. Chavo Guerrero

Chavo has got to be up there with Kane as one of the most stale performers in the history of the WWE. Nice reaction for Matt’s entrance. Basic stuff here, but Matt is always entertaining. Chavo goes after the knee early, which focuses the fans on rallying behind Hardy. On the outside, Bam Neely targets the injured limb, behind the ref’s back.

Matt comes back with a Bulldog, but Chavo is able to get back on the knee, and applies a knee bar. Breaking the hold, Chavo goes for a Frogsplash, but misses, and is caught with Clothesline. Only now do I realise that it’s Mick Foley who’s talking . Ross is such as strong, dominant figure on commentary- they’re an odd partnership, that could become really good in time. But Foley will probably need to colour his work somewhat.

The last couple of minutes are really swell here, with Chavo locking the Champ in a Half-Boston, only for Matt to battle out, and hit an Enziguiri. Chavo manages to start the Three Amigo Suplexes, but on the third, Matt counters into a match-winning Twist of Fate.

It was a little bland in the first half, but some nice moments in the last couple of minutes really made up for it. Matt has came into his own as a performer, and really carries more authenticity and believability about himself than ever before. However, it’s important that creative now help him develop from this spot, into an important, central role on ECW, otherwise he runs the risk of entering monotony, and staleness.

 

ECW Title Match

Mark Henry vs. Big Show vs. Kane©

Oh boy. Here we go…. Time to attempt and stop breakfast splurging it’s way back up. Typical live crowd response for all three guys.. “Oh my gosh… they’re huge!” sort of cheers. Adamle and “the Tazz” discuss sponsors Gillette… “the best a man can get”, in case you’d forgot. Adamle bizarrely announces that he likes the little battery they use (what the hell kind of random remark is that for anyone, even someone as detached as Adamle, is that to make?). “The Tazz” of course, responds with an innuendo for Mike.

Oh yeah, the match. It’s slow, formula, triple threat stuff. Show and Henry slug it out, while Adamle contradicts himself repeatedly. Henry takes a double-choke slam from his opponents, but Kane breaks out Show’s pin attempt, and those two go at it. At one point, Big Show goes to the top rope, which is utterly crazy when you think about it, but is met with a Suplex from Kane. While Kane lies there, Henry, uh, jumps on him, and picks up the win!

Blah. Really average stuff. Henry celebrated as if it was an important win, but it really isn’t. Title or no title, Mark’s role on ECW is still going to be to plough through pretty much everyone, bar Matt hardy and Finlay (I hope!). This wasn’t offensively awful, but it just wasn’t interesting or exciting in any way.

 

World tag team title Match

Cody Rhodes & Hardcore Holly vs. Ted Dibiase & err, Cody Rhodes

Well, It didn’t come as much of a shock did it? But that still doesn’t necessarily mean that it isn’t the right thing to do.

Not so much a match of course, rather a quick, and reasonably effective angle. The live crowd looked completely baffled and bewildered, which says to me that they haven’t been watching Raw much since paying for their tickets to this show. But I was still entertained by this, and like the look of these two guys together. I still think JBL however should be added as their manager. That would just be heat galore.

 

Intercontinental Title Match

Chris Jericho© vs. Kofi Kingston

The reaction to Kingston is fairly quiet, but that’s to be expected. Jericho has a fantastic look of disdain on his face for the youngster. Lance Cade’s at ringside, and I have to say, I do like his new look…

Basic stuff in the beginning, but nice, compact work. Kingston pulls out his Matt Cross rope spring, and a few cross-body dives, and suddenly there’s something of a buzz within the crowd. Jericho regains control, and it stays that way for a few minutes, as he works the challenger over.

The crowd rally behind Kofi throughout this. He makes his comeback with some typical babyface spots, until Y2J sticks him in the Walls of Jericho. Kofi rolls him up for two, then hit’s a few moves, and gets another near fall. Good action this. The Ayatollah finally applies the Walls, but Shawn Michaels runs to ringside, and Superkicks Lance Cade! Jericho leaps up, and knocks him off the apron, and Kofi is able to nail his finisher. He picks up the win, and the Intercontinental title!

For me, this scenario is reminiscent of Shelton Benjamin’s draft to Raw, and subsequent debut victory over then Uber-heel, HHH, but on a more modest, and promising level. The fans positive reaction to the switch is a tribute to Kingston’s incredible potential. Good match too, that didn’t devalue Jericho (as his upset loss to John Cena did back in 2002), but rather played into his character, in addition to getting that bloody IC title off him. Thank god! Good match too.

Afterwards, as Michaels is ushered away, Jericho hits him in the eye. I really hope he wears a patch for their inevitable showdown…

 

Women’s Title Match

Katie Lea Burchill vs. Mickie James©

Is Mickie really a four-time champion? Katie comes out with her, erm, brother. Some good back-and-forth action, with Mickie emerging the superior, until she goes to the top-rope. Katie rolls out of the ring, and Burchill distracts the champ, allowing his erm, sister, to get the pinfall attempt.

Katie lea works the arm and shoulder of Mickie, and at one point, Mickie takes a nicely folded-up bump into the corner. But Mickie comes back with a sweet Thesz press, and we get some more back-and-forth brawling. A couple of good spots ensue, before the champ lands a DDT for the win.

Pretty decent match. Katie Lea looked good, and aside from a couple awkward moments, it was a fairly smooth outing. There’s no spark in this rubbish division whatsoever though, so it’s hard to care where they go from here.

 

World title Match

Edge© vs. Batista

The fans are hot for this one. Pretty much what you would expect, with Batista tossing Edge about the place early on, and being in charge for several minute, before Edge sneaks the advantage by running him into the post, then propelling him across the announce table. Lovely. A few minutes then obviously goes Edge’s way, in what is predictable, but not boring action.

They slowly, entirely build-up Batista’s comeback, with hope-spots aplenty, followed by lots of downers, until he eventually times the momentum switch brilliantly. Crowd are into it, and it’s well laid-out stuff. Batista tears into Edge with some big moves indeed, but on a Batista Bomb attempt, Edge hit’s the Implant DDT! It only results in a two though, and Edge goes for a Spear, which lands him a boot to the face. Dave goes up top, but is caught with a drop-kick. You just know these things will happen don’t you….

Hawkins and Ryder wheel out Vickie to ringside. Great. Edge attempts another Spear, but ends up taking the Batista Bomb. Predictably, Vickie breaks up the pinfall, and Edge knocks out the ref. Cue new guest referee… Chavo Guerrero. Classically, JR informs us that this “reeks of collusion”! Big Baps Dave drags Vickie into the ring, and in a hugely entertaining moment, chucks her over the top in a Gorilla Press, onto La Familia. Meanwhile, Edge scores with a belt shot, and Chavo slides in to make the three.

Convoluted, crazy, interference-filled finale, but great fun at the same time. It was a bit slow near the start, as Edge shot for the Randy Orton school of Chin/head locks. But Batista’s comeback was electrifying. He’s mastered many of the nuances of the game as the past couple of years have unfurled.

 

WWE Title Match

Triple H© vs. John Cena

Big reaction for Hunter as he’s shown backstage, in series mode. We then go to an outstanding video package of past champions winning World titles. This is great stuff, and really makes this match feel special.

Cena enters the arena to his usual mixed response, which is longer in any way surprising. Big pop for Hunter though, who takes his time coming out with his dorky, spangly title belt.

The match starts really slow, with headlocks and basic holds. It looks likely to be a long one! I think at one point, there are “same old shit” chants at Cena, which is insane, considering he’s working the same moves as Trips. A few minutes in, and Cena comically misses a Flying Shoulder tackle, leading to The Game taking charge and slowly the pace. On two separate occasions, Michael Cole calls a cover “the first one of the match-up”.

Good action this, though unspectacular. Trips makes one of his squiffy leaps off the top, and is treated with a boot to the fact, at the seven minute mark. Early for that sort of thing- which is refreshing. Both guys make half-hearted attempts at their finishers. The anti-Cena folk are a little less vocal as this progresses.

Hunter takes the bump the top rope, to the outside, and Hunter grabs his leg in pain. It’s definitely a work though, one can tell having seen so many legit injuries the guy! This is a good way of prolonging the match, and giving Cena a body-part. Not long after, Cena nails a surprise FU, but HHH kicks out, to a lively reaction. They both lumber to their feet, and go into a “Boo/Yay” punch exchange, which is great fun, but disappoints the fans as the challenger gets the best of it. The next couple of minutes are very exciting, as both guys go for their finishers, and miss out, only for a repeat of WM 22, with HHH trapped in the STFU. I’m assuming he’ll survive this one…

Of course he did! Hunter reverses it into a variation on the Crossface, which looks somewhat neat. Cena powers up, and lifts The Game into an FU, but Hunter slips out, and nails a Pedigree for the 3-count! Shocking finish right there. Crazy too, because logically thinking, does that make the number one guy on Raw…err, Kofi Kingston????

This was a really enjoyable match, and better than their effort at Mania in 2006, although the crowd reaction was understandably just a notch lower. They played off past encounters brilliantly, and it ebbed and flowed in an unpredictable fashion. However, Jerry Lawler’s continual references to these guys “creating a moment in time”, was irritating and ridiculous. That’s the sort of shoving down one’s throat that often puts fans off, making moments seem contrived.

 

So…?

This was a good show, and definitely a worthwhile investment. The top two matches, may have saw no title changes, and therefore did not resolve anything as regards the Draft, and the Smackdown/Raw title pictures, but it didn’t disappoint on the night. Neither finish was a cop-out, and both bouts delivered. Cena/Hunter was the finer wrestling match, with a clean finish, and a lot of good sequences, making it the most satisfying effort of the night. But Edge/Batista had the requisite storyline interference, that was used fairly well, and didn’t detract from the action or feel out of place.

On the under-card, there was a decent balance of stuff happening. The Raw tag titles situation was fine, as although we were spared a proper match, it wasn’t as if anyone was expecting anything special anyway. I think in that regard, the angle that took place was easily an adequate substitute.

Meanwhile, we were treated to potentially a breakout performance for Kofi Kingston, which achieved the dual goal of freeing Chris Jericho from the shackles that the IC title presented him with. Everything else was watchable, apart from the ECW title match, which we all expected to suck anyway!

 

While I admittedly slagged off the very existence of this PPV, and compared it to TNA’s Lockdown, it certainly provided food for thought. As the entire concept was a gimmick by nature, the WWE wisely stayed away from gimmick stips, and concentrated on the titles in question.

The draft preceding the show also helped, and created an environment where every single match being for a belt, felt somewhat necessary. Wisely positioned, and hopefully they can build on this. They should still ditch One Night Stand however.

Thanks for taking the time to check this out. I welcome any and all feedback and I can be contacted at www.myspace.com/michaelwrestlingetc or simply by emailing me at michael@wwepreview.com.

I look forward to hearing from you, and will be back soon!

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