DVD Release Date: March 29, 2005
~Disc 1 – December 25, 2003 – Baghdad, Iraq~
MATCH #1: The APA vs. The World’s Greatest Tag Team
Faarooq and Shelton Benjamin start it off. Benjamin backs Faarooq into the corner and tees off on him. He whips him into the other corner but runs into a back elbow. Faarooq follows up with a shoulderblock off the second rope for two. Bradshaw tags in and throws Benjamin around. Benjamin goes to the eyes and makes the tag. Charlie Haas doesn’t fare much better and gets immediately taken down. Bradshaw handles both Haas and the illegally interfering Benjamin, hitting Haas with a powerslam for two. Faarooq then tags back in and goes for the Dominator but Haas slips out and Benjamin takes a cheap shot from the apron. Now the WGTT take control. Faarooq comes back with a big back body drop. Bradshaw gets the hot tag and he’s on fire. He drills Haas with a DDT for two. The APA knocks Benjamin to the floor. Haas goes up top and Bradshaw joins him up there to hit a super Last Call. Back in the ring Benjamin blasts Bradshaw with a superkick. Faarooq knocks Benjamin to the floor, and then Haas knocks Faarooq to the floor. Moments later Bradshaw delivers the Clothesline from Hell to get the pin at 4:40. That was pretty typical for an APA match, but this was certainly the right venue to do just that.
Rating: **
MATCH #2: Rikishi vs. Rhyno
They talk some trash and Rikishi wins a shoving battle. Rhyno goes for a headlock but gets pushed off and clotheslined down. He goes for a sunset flip but Rikishi blocks it and tries to drop down but luckily for Rhyno he’s able to get out of the way. Rhyno works over Rikishi in the corner, and then runs right into a superkick. Rikishi then drags Rhyno over to the corner and goes for the Banzai Drop, but Rhyno distracts the referee and gets his knees up into Rikishi’s groin. Rhyno goes for the Gore but misses, and Rikishi finishes him off with a Samoan Drop at 2:28. That seemed longer than it actually was.
Rating: ½*
MATCH #3: Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit
The troops like both of these guys and show their support early on. Benoit scores the first knockdown with a big shoulder tackle. Eddie comes back with a headlock takeover, and then turns his focus to the arm. He hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Benoit comes back and lands a monkey flip and then a couple of chops, sending Eddie cowering to the floor. Eddie puts on a flak jacket, which the referee doesn’t approve of. Of course Eddie finds a way to cheat, throwing the jacket at Benoit and then taking him down with a dropkick. Eddie goes for a back suplex but Benoit reverses it and they both take a tumble to the floor as we take a commercial break.
Back from the break Benoit has Eddie in a vulnerable position, working on his arms. Eddie escapes by using momentum to send Benoit chest-first into the turnbuckles. He goes up top and Benoit joins him, and they blow the sunset bomb spot and Eddie gets two. Eddie follows up with the Three Amigos, but after dos Benoit counters with the Crossface, but Eddie wisely gets to the ropes. Benoit takes control now, surviving a poke to the eyes and throwing Guerrero into the air, causing him to land chest first. He hits two rolling German Suplexes and then a shoulderbreaker. He goes up top but misses the diving headbutt. Eddie goes up for the Frog Splash but this time Benoit moves out of the way. They get up and trade reversals, ending with Eddie scoring a rollup and putting his feet on the ropes to get the pin at 8:35 (shown). Obviously this wasn’t the best from both of these guys but it was still solid.
Rating: **½
MATCH #4: John Cena vs. Big Show
Cena charges the ring and takes it right to the United States Champion. Show weathers that storm and delivers a Chokeslam. Luckily for Cena he’s near the ropes and he’s able to roll to the floor. Cena comes back by snapping Show’s neck off the top rope, but then back in the ring he runs right into a clothesline. Show dominates now, throwing Cena around the ring and nailing him with a couple of headbutts. He locks on an abdominal stretch and Cena breaks it by going to the eyes. Cena tries to fight back, but Show headbutts him again. Show then goes for a big boot but Cena ducks and the referee takes the boot! With the referee knocked out, Show hits a side suplex and then grabs Cena’s chain. He goes for a knockout punch but misses and Cena hits a low blow! Cena then punches Show with the chain and wakes the referee up, but can only get a two-count. Show goes for the Chokeslam but Cena reverses it and hits the F-U to get the pin at 4:12. That was really short but had good energy.
Rating: *¾
~DISC 2 – December 23, 2004 – Tikrit, Iraq
MATCH #1: Rene Dupree vs. Booker T
They lock up and Booker backs Dupree into the corner. Dupree comes back with an elbow shot and then some punches. Booker reverses the momentum and sort of hits a hip toss, and then another one. He follows up with a bodyslam and a clothesline. He tries the Scissors Kick but Dupree avoids it and is able to hit a low blow out of sight of the referee. Dupree goes to work with stomps and such. He executes the French Tickler for a two-count, and then locks on a chinlock. Booker fights out and hits a flapjack. Booker hits a series of strikes and a heel kick. He then hits a spinebuster and delivers the Spin-A-Roony. He finishes Dupree off with the scissors kick to get the pin at 3:41. Not much to see there.
Rating: ¾*
MATCH #2: Undertaker vs. Heidenreich
Undertaker goes to work right away, since he’s the best pure striker in WWE history. He hits a big boot and an elbow drop, then goes up and hits Old School. He follows up with the Flatliner for two. Heidenreich takes a powder and pulls Undertaker to the floor. Back in the ring Heidenreich hits a flying clothesline but only gets two. They take it to the floor and Undertaker resumes control with his Vintage offense. Back in the ring he gets a two-count. Undertaker hits Snake Eyes but Heidenreich immediately counters with a Black Hole Slam for two. Heidenreich slugs away at Undertaker in the corner and chokes him with his boot. He hits another flying clothesline for two. He locks on a sleeper and Undertaker back suplexes his way out of it. They reach their feet and trade hands; guess who wins. Undertaker hits the flying clothesline for two. He follows up with Snake Eyes and a big boot to the jaw. Naturally he follows up the big boot with the legdrop but Heidenreich kicks out again. Undertaker goes for the Chokeslam but Heidenreich counters it and bails. Heidenreich wanders around and gets counted out at 7:34. What the hell was that? The troops were chanting for the Tombstone and they gave them a countout?
Rating: ¼*
MATCH #3: Hardcore Holly vs. Kenzo Suzuki
Holly lands the first knockdown with a shoulderblock. Suzuki comes back with a hip toss and Holly kicks him off and goes right back to work. Holly drags Suzuki over to the corner and chops him. Suzuki fights back with a hot shot and then a running clothesline. He then locks on the reverse chinlock. Holly fights out and hits a couple of clotheslines and a dropkick for two. He goes up top and hits a flying clothesline for another two-count. He then hits the Alabama Slam to finish him off at 2:39. That was certainly brief.
Rating: ½*
MATCH #4: Rey Mysterio & Eddie Guerrero vs. Luther Reigns & Kurt Angle
Mysterio and Angle start it off. They take it right to the mat and Angle dominates. Angle goes to work on the arm. Mysterio armdrags his way out of a hold but Angle is tenacious and goes right back to it. Reigns tags in and hits a hard backbreaker for two. He takes Mysterio over to the corner and tags Angle back in. They work him over in their half of the ring. Angle hits a vertical suplex for two. Mysterio counters with a DDT on Reigns, and tags are made. Eddie is a house afire, taking out both Angle and Reigns with ease. He hits Angle with Two Amigos and then Angle rolls into the Ankle Lock. Eddie muscles out of it and hurls Angle into the 619 position. Mysterio happily obliges, but Reigns cuts him off. Eddie takes Reigns out with an inverted DDT. Angle then grabs Eddie with the Angle Slam. Mysterio comes back and takes Angle to the floor with a headscissors. Reigns tries to cover Eddie but only gets two. Eddie pokes Reigns in the eyes and then Mysterio comes back and delivers the 619, followed by an Eddie Frog Splash. Angle breaks up the pin, and then misses a charge at Eddie and tumbles to the floor. Mysterio then Drops the Dime on Reigns and gets the pin at 6:02. That was a spirited and well done tag match for the time given.
Rating: **¾
The Pulse: Well obviously the match quality leaves a little to be desired if that’s all you’re going for. Some also complain that the WWE pats themselves on the back a little too heavily during this annual event. While there is some degree of truth to that, I would be willing to bet that the soldiers who get to be involved with this have a good time, and even if they do brag about it, it is a pretty cool thing for WWE to do. These shows look different and there is a positive vibe coming from everyone, so I actually enjoyed watching this. I just wish they had continued to release the show year after year.
