Thomas & Mack Center – Las Vegas, Nevada – June 26, 2005
Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, and Jonathan Coachman are calling the action.
MATCH #1: Intercontinental Championship Match – Carlito vs. Shelton Benjamin
Carlito has been the champion since 6.20.05 and this is his first defense. Benjamin gets a quick near-fall and Carlito begs off. The challenger continues to pour it on so Carlito takes a powder. Carlito grabs his belt and starts walking towards the back but Benjamin won’t allow that. Back in the ring Carlito is able to fire back with some strikes and takes control. The champion wears Benjamin down, and the commentators talk about how Benjamin isn’t 100% after the match he and Carlito had six days ago because whenever he hits an offensive maneuver he can’t capitalize on it. Benjamin knocks Carlito down and goes up top but he gets crotched. Carlito joins him up there, but Benjamin is able to fight back and jumps off the top rope to snap Carlito’s neck. Benjamin comes back in the ring with a springboard bulldog but it only gets two. Carlito almost undoes one of the turnbuckle pads and is able to hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. He goes over to fully remove the pad and when Benjamin tries a Stinger Splash (called as such by JR) but Carlito moves out of the way and then rolls Benjamin up with a handful of tights to get the pin at 12:50. These two had some chemistry together and that was a rock solid opener.
Rating: ***
MATCH #2: Christy Hemme vs. Victoria
Hemme charges into the ring and gives chase, which of course ends badly for her. Victoria mostly controls the action, weather a few offensive bursts from the red-headed spitfire. The crowd is actually sort of into the match. Victoria goes for the Widow’s Peak but Hemme reverses it (sort of). Then Victoria goes for a moonsault but misses. Hemme goes on offense and the crowd is not saying #boo-urns. She hits a DDT for a close near-fall. Moments later Hemme tries a sunset flip out of the corner but Victoria kneels down a la Davey Boy Smith and grabs onto the ropes for leverage to get the pin at 5:06. Hemme gave it a good effort but she just wasn’t all that good.
Rating: *¼
MATCH #3: Kane vs. Edge
Kane is the aggressor early on, as he delivers a series of mounted punches in the corner. The crowd apparently can’t count past 10. Either that or they choose not to. It’s all Kane for the first several minutes as the crowd chants “We Want Matt!†Kane slugs Edge down to the floor and follows him out and continues the beating. Lita helps Edge avoid getting slammed into the ring post and pushes Kane into it instead, and then hits a Spear. He gets back in the ring and lands a baseball slide, and then goes to work on the Big Red Machine. Kane makes a brief comeback but Edge cuts him off with the Edge-O-Matic, but Kane no-sells it. Edge goes up to the second rope and jumps right into a punch to the throat. Kane hits Snake Eyes and a big clothesline for two. Edge almost comes back but Kane stops him with a side suplex. Kane tries the top-rope clothesline but Edge dropkicks him out of the air. Edge tries a Spear but Kane hits a big boot and motions for the Choke Slam. Snitsky runs out to distract Kane but gets booted in the face. Kane then grabs the Choke Slam again and Lita comes in the ring with a steel chair. She tries using her boobs to avoid a beating, but Kane is not in the mood. He chokes her down and then sets her up for a Pillmanizer on the neck. The referee tries to help her, giving Snitsky a chance to sneak in and hit a big boot on Kane. Edge covers but only gets two. Lita distracts the referee again and Snitsky tries to interfere but Kane takes him out. He also hits the Choke Slam on Edge, pinning him at 11:13. These two never had good matches, and this one was ridiculously overbooked – all for Kane?
Rating: *¾
MATCH #4: Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle
This is a highly-anticipated rematch from WrestleMania 21. They exchange holds back and forth in the early going, with Angle focusing on the left arm and generally controlling the match. Michaels consistently fights back though. These guys are great opponents. Angle goes for the Ankle Lock but Michaels kicks off and clotheslines him to the floor. Michaels joins him on the floor, but unfortunately for him Angle grabs him and hits a German Suplex on the announce table! Now Angle is completely in control, working over the neck. He even unleashes a Buckle Bomb, before it was #cool. Michaels tries fight back but Angle is relentless in his attack. Of course Michaels makes his comeback at the exact right time and unleashes a flurry of offense. The crowd is just putty in his hands. Michaels tunes up the band but Angle blasts him with a clothesline. Angle tries the Angle Slam but Michaels counters with a DDT for two! Michaels uses suplexes but Angle one-ups him and then hits an Angle Slam but it only gets two! Angle goes for the Ankle Lock but Michaels gets an inside cradle for two. The tenacious Angle goes right back to the Ankle Lock but once again Michaels rolls out of it and referee Jack Doan takes a bump. Michaels charges but Angle ducks and backdrops him to the floor; Michaels appears to have landed awkwardly and tweaked his knee. Back in the ring Angle re-applies the Ankle Lock and Michaels suffers the hold for a while before kicking out of it. Both men struggle back to their feet and Michaels hits the Sweet Chin Music out of nowhere! Michaels crawls over to make the cover and Angle kicks out at two! Angle goes up top and leaps right into another Sweet Chin Music! That one is enough for Michaels to get the pin at 26:12! That was another amazing match from two of the most gifted performers WWE has ever seen. That was nearly as good as the match at WrestleMania 21.
Rating: ****½
MATCH #5: WWE Championship Match – John Cena vs. Christian vs. Chris Jericho
Cena has been the champion since 4.3.05 and this is his third defense. Christian and Jericho team up in the early going to beat Cena down, but the partnership is short-lived. Tomko interferes by pulling Jericho to the floor and hurling him into the guardrail. Meanwhile Cena unleashes offense on Christian. Referee Earl Hebner catches Tomko interfering and banishes him to the back! Christian looks upset, and quickly gets dispatched so Cena and Jericho can battle it out. Jericho controls the action and dumps Cena to the floor. He clears the announce table and goes for a suplex but Cena reverses it to a DDT! Christian recovers and throws Cena back in the ring. They go back and forth, keeping the match at an almost breakneck speed. Jericho pulls Cena to the floor and throws him into the steps. Christian baseball slides Jericho, who nearly takes referee Hebner out. Jericho and Christian battle in the ring now, and when Jericho goes for a superplex, Cena makes it back in the ring and powerbombs him, so all three men are down. Cena tries to cover both men but can’t pin either of them. He does get them in position for a simultaneous Five-Knuckle Shuffle though. Jericho gets knocked to the floor and Christian tries to use the belt. While the referee is distracted, Tomko sneaks in the ring and clobbers Cena with a clothesline. Christian covers but only gets two! Cena then dumps Christian to the floor, and Jericho is back in and traps Cena in the Walls of Jericho! Christian breaks that up and goes for the Unprettier but Jericho throws Christian right into the F-U! Cena makes sure to kick Jericho in the face with Christian’s legs before dropping Christian and scoring the pin at 15:19. That was a great triple threat match, with non-stop action and a hot crowd all the way through. This would have been a fitting main event, and the show would be worth it at this point, but we still have one match to go!
Rating: ****
MATCH #6: World Heavyweight Championship Hell in a Cell Match – Batista vs. Triple H
Batista has been the champion since 4.3.05, and this is his third defense. HHH attacks right away but Batista quickly makes a comeback and nails a side slam. They go to the floor but HHH doesn’t want to fight Batista out there so he gets back into the ring. Batista doesn’t care what the challenger wants though, and they go back to the floor and the champ whips him into the cage walls. HHH comes back and rams Batista into the ring post. Back in the ring HHH drops Batista’s neck on the top rope. HHH runs at Batista with an elbow and knocks him off the apron. He continues to control the larger champion, and goes under the ring to grab a chain from a helpful toolbox. He whips Batista with the chain a few times. Batista comes back and gets control of the chain, and he gives HHH the same treatment. HHH rolls to the floor and Batista follows him out and rams his back into the post, the wall, and then the post again. HHH’s face gets rammed into the cell, and now he’s busted open. He comes back with a spinebuster though. He goes out under the ring and finds a steel chair wrapped in barbed wire under the ring. He nails Batista in the back with it. He hits him one more time and Batista’s back is bleeding now. They trade some maneuvers, and both go down when Batista levels HHH with a clothesline. He gets up and grabs the barbed wire chair and levels HHH in the face with it. He rubs it in HHH’s face, literally.
They go back outside the ring and Batista rubs HHH’s face against the wall of the cell. Back in the ring Batista rams his shoulder into HHH’s midsection, but then misses a charge and his shoulder hits the ring post. HHH goes for the Pedigree on the barbed wire chair but gets back dropped instead. He powerslams HHH on the barbed wire chair and it only gets two. Batista goes back to the chain. HHH reverses it to a DDT onto The chair and both men are down. Batista is busted open now as well. HHH pulls out the sledgehammer. Batista knocks it out of his hand and they slug away. Batista goes for the Batista Bomb but HHH backdrops him. HHH hits Batista with the sledgehammer but he kicks out. HHH goes to hit him again but Batista kicks him in the groin. Batista gets the hammer now but HHH had wrapped the chain around his fist and he levels Batista with it but once again he kicks out. HHH goes up to the top rope with the chain but Batista sticks the sledgehammer up in his chin. Batista whips HHH into the corner and he flips to the floor. Batista brings the steel steps into the ring and sets them up in the corner and bounces HHH’s face off them a few times. Batista goes for the Batista Bomb but HHH goes low and hits the Pedigree. Batista kicks out! HHH sets up the steps and goes for another Pedigree, but Batista counters it to a nasty spinebuster on them. HHH grabs the sledgehammer but Batista is able to hit him with the Batista Bomb first, and that finally gets the pin at 26:53. That has to be the best match Batista will ever have, and it was brutal and nasty and awesome. I was worried this one might not hold up over time, but it really has and it’s one of the best WWE matches of 2005.
Rating: ****½
BONUS MATCH: John Cena, Shawn Michaels & Hulk Hogan vs. Chris Jericho, Christian & Tyson Tomko, Raw, 6.27.05
Cena and Jericho start the match and the babyfaces take the first control. Michaels tags in and the heels cut him off and go to work. Michaels is at his best playing Ricky Morton, and the heels work him over for a couple of minutes before Jericho misses the Lionsault and Hogan gets the hot tag! The crowd goes ballistic. The referee loses control as Cena and Jericho take each other to the floor. Christian and Tomko try to double-team Hogan but that doesn’t go well. Michaels hits Christian with Sweet Chin Music to take him out. Hogan then delivers the Big Boot and the Legdrop to Tomko for the pin at 6:27. They felt a little truncated for the guys involved, but they packed a lot in and the babyface trio was just cool to see.
Rating: **½
