PPV REVIEW: WWF Survivor Series 2000

November 19, 2000
Ice Palace, Tampa, Florida

As the 14th annual WWF Survivor Series got underway,  announcer Jim Ross told us that a new World Wrestling Federation Champion had been crowned at this show every year for the past six years.

It was a pattern that took us all the way back to Bob Backlund dethroning Bret 'The Hitman' Hart back at Survivor Series 1994 and culminated in The Big Show's largely forgotten victory at the previous year's event.

Would this be the year that Kurt Angle proved himself to be the first man to successfully retain the WWF Championship at Survivor Series since Bret Hart defeated Shawn Michaels back at the 1992 event?

Or, would history repeat itself as The Undertaker once again won the big one at the November show, a feat he accomplished back in 1991 against Hulk Hogan?

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Ladies and gentlemen, let's head to Tampa, Florida to find out.

Master of Puppets, Pulling Your Strings

Our opening video package was the kind of compelling stuff that the World Wrestling Federation did best.

It featured Triple H boasting about being the puppet master who orchestrated the hit and run on Stone Cold Steve Austin back at Survivor Series 1999 and how, tonight, it would all be game over when the two went head to head.

The show then began with the usual pyro, shots of the live crowd and a look at the rabid audience watching from WWF New York as Jim Ross and Jerry 'The King' Lawler welcomed us to the show.

With that, it was onto the opening contest.

Inter-Gender Six Person Tag Team Match
T&A (Test, Albert, and Trish Stratus) vs. Crash Holly, Molly Holly, and WWF Hardcore Champion Steve Blackman

This was Molly Holly's first WWF PPV appearance, though we'd previously seen her on PPV back at WCW Bash at the Beach 1999 as Miss Madness.

In this explosive opening contest, it was Molly and her adversary Trish Stratus who were the real stars, putting together a competent performance with a couple of genuinely crowd-popping spots.

Though they played their parts, you got the feeling that Test, Albert, Crash Holly, and Steve Blackman were all just there to make up the numbers.

Not that it seemed to matter.

This was a hot match with a hot crowd that kicked off the show right away.

After a good battle, Molly got the better of Trish with a match-winning sunset flip from the top rope.
Your Winners: Molly Holly, Crash Holly, and Steve Blackman

Out in the back, Edge and Christian relied on their old, familiar trick of pretending that Christian was sick. It felt like the two did this every single PPV without ever learning that it never, ever paid off.

This time, Christian hilariously suggested that he'd contracted mono after eating bad chili, all because he and Edge didn't want to help Kurt Angle in his match with The Undertaker later.

Christian then made a miraculous recovery when Angle claimed he didn't need their help anyway and just wanted to know if they wanted to go out for a drink later.

Flashing back to earlier in the day, Tiger Ali Singh, D'Lo Brown and Chaz couldn't access the building because they'd been left off the security sheet, because that's how you tell your audience that this tag team doesn't matter at all.

Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match
K-Kwik, R-Truth, Chyna, 'The One' Billy Gunn vs. The Radicalz (WWF Intercontinental Champion Eddie Guerrero, WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Dean Malenko, Chris Benoit, and Perry Saturn w/ Terri) 

The Radicalz had debuted in January, gone their separate ways by the spring and just recently reunited in time for a Survivor Series match against what was essentially a mini DX reunion with the addition of K-Kwik.

Making his PPV debut, K-Kwik (R-Truth) looked awesome in his one quick burst of in-ring action before being taken out by an explosive German suplex by Chris Benoit.

With Chyna already eliminated, that left former New Age Outlaws partners Road Dogg and Billy Gunn to battle The Radicalz.

For their part, Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn, and Dean Malenko all looked impressive, and not just because they all chose to color-coordinate and wear matching black-and-yellow versions of their usual attire.

Even though Eddie and Dean were eliminated, the four men still worked well with the unofficial DX reunion to give us a solid match.

In the end, Gunn was left fending for himself against Malenko, Saturn, and Benoit. He managed to take out Dean but the numbers proved too much, leaving Saturn and Benoit as the victors.
Your Winners: Chris Benoit and Perry Saturn

Out in the back, Lillian Garcia tried to get an interview with The Rock, but The Great One ignored her.

Rude much?

Michael Cole has better luck with Chris Jericho, who insisted that his rivalry with Kane was about much, much more than the fact that he recently spilled coffee on The Big Red Machine on Raw.

Chris Jericho vs. Kane 

Early on in the match, Jericho went for a suicide dive to the outside and just kind of...forgot what he was doing and fell into the ropes.

Honestly, I’ve rewatched that spot three times and I still can’t figure out what happened. He sort of just threw himself at the ropes then went head first to the floor and nearly died.

It looked weird and awkward and very dangerous.

Fortunately, the rest of the match got better. Not by much, I’ll grant you, but enough to keep this fan entertained at least.

Sure, there was a long stretch that basically just saw Kane destroying his opponent, but it made Y2J’s valiant comeback all the more dramatic, and when he had Kane locked in the Walls of Jericho, there was a genuine sense that he might just pull off the upset.

Alas, it wasn’t to be. Chris attempted a Lionsault but got caught by Kane and chokeslammed all the way to Hades.
Your Winner: Kane 

Out in the back, The Radicalz we’re resting and recovering after their match when Terri entered the room to let them know that Triple H was in the building and would meet up with them later.

It was only at last month’s No Mercy that The Game engaged in an all-out war with Benoit, but now the two were apparently in cahoots again.

Either that or the reason for Benoit’s diabolical laughter at the end of this segment was because he suddenly remembered a really funny bit from South Park.

World Wrestling Federation European Championship
WWF European Champion William Regal vs. Hardcore Holly 

JR told us that this match hadn’t been advertised for the show and was the result of an earlier incident on Heat.

In other words, the show needed a filler match and William Regal and Hardcore Holly were it.

You could tell, too.

While the match wasn’t exactly bad, it wasn’t really interesting either.

Regal started with a pre-match promo in which he berated American’s lack of manners before spending most of this very brief match tying Holly in knots.

Eventually, the challenger got fed up and drilled the champion with the title belt for a DQ finish.
Your Winner via DQ and still European Champion: William Regal

Post-match, Holly continued to destroy Regal even though I’m pretty sure he was supposed to be the face.

Clueless Kurt

Out in the back, Trish Stratus told Kurt Angle that since his business partner, Stephanie McMahon wasn’t here, she wondered if the WWF might need some ‘special assistance.’

Clearly not understanding that Stratus was offering him some kind of nookie, the WWF Champion glossed morning over her flirting and insisted he’d be fine when taking on The Undertaker.

He Did it For... The Rock

Across the arena, The Rock walked through the backstage area en route to the ring.

That brought us to a pre-match video recapping the feud between The People’s Champion and Rikishi.

‘Kishi had admitted to running over Stone Cold and tried to implicate The Rock, even though it had been Triple H who had really ordered the hit.

That was enough for a feud between the two, and for their first PPV match since Rocky Maivia and The Sultan battled over the Intercontinental Championship back at Wrestlemania 13.

Rikishi vs. The Rock

I’ve read a lot of negative reviews for this match and that kind of saddens me because I enjoyed it very much.

Was it of the same caliber of The Rock’s usual main event epics?

No, but it still had plenty of suspense and captivating action to keep the crowd on the edge of their seat from beginning to end.

Predictably, The Rock won thanks to The People’s Elbow, but not before getting his ass whooped by Rikishi.

A good effort, even if I’m the only one who seems to think so.
Your Winner: The Rock 

Afterward, Rikishi recovered, superkicked The Rock into oblivion then sat on him a bunch of times. He may have lost the battle, but he was the one left standing.

Meanwhile, over at WWF New York, Raven stood alone in the crowd, grinning like he'd just taken some really good drugs.

Your Friends are Banned From Ringside

Backstage, Triple H hung out with his old rival Chris Benoit and The Radicalz. The chill-out session was interrupted by Commissioner Foley, who first declared that The Radicalz were banned from ringside for The Game's match with Steve Austin, but then made the match No DQ.

I don't mean to be pedantic, but if Hunter couldn't be disqualified, what was to stop Benoit and the gang from getting involved?

The Hs didn't seem too concerned about it either way. He was pretty confident that his opponent wouldn't be able to use his legs afterward.

World Wrestling Federation Women's Championship
WWF Women's Champion Ivory vs. Lita 

This short, competent women's match offered little in the way of genuine excitement but was undoubtedly the best match the WWF's women's division was capable of producing at the time.

Champion Ivory dominated for the most part while Lita -her face caked in blood after an errant blow from Ivory- fought valiantly to make a comeback.

In the end, interference from Ivory's Right to Censor mate Steven Richards cost Lita the match.
Your Winner and Still WWF Women's Champion: Ivory 

Afterward, a battered and bloody Lita was helped to the back by the referee as the crowd's applauded her efforts.

Speaking of battered, Jonathan Coachman was shown outside of The Rock's dressing room. Coach told us that The Great One was in a bad way, struggling to breathe and coughing up a lot of blood, but was being attended to by EMTs.

Elsewhere in the arena, Chris Jericho attacked Kane with a steel chair and proceeded to beat the crap out of him. This was one feud that was far from over.

Dead Man, Inc.

Up next, one of the WWF's always-excellent video packages hyped our impending WWF Championship match. This one saw Kurt Angle gloating about having the most successful rookie year of any new superstar ever since he debuted a year earlier at Survivor Series 1999.

It also showed The Undertaker beating Kane, Chris Benoit, and Chris Jericho to become number one contender, claiming that Angle would be the first victim of Dead Man Incorporated, and picking up a non-title win over the champion on Smackdown.

Cutting to the back, Michael Cole reminded 'Taker that he had debuted a year ago to the day at Survivor Series 1990.

Referencing his 'Decade of Destruction' The American Bad Mass cut a convincing promo in which he promised to take out The Olympic Gold Medalist and become our champion once again.

World Wrestling Federation Championship
WWF Champion Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker

The Dead Man already held a PPV victory over Angle from back at Fully Loaded 2000 but, alas, tonight was not to be his night.

Undertaker opted to celebrate his tenth anniversary with the company by wearing the ugliest snakeskin pants you’ve ever seen.

I mean, these things were so terrible they almost distracted from the match itself.

Almost, but not quite, thanks to the impressive efforts of both men.

Sure, there was a long period where they chilled out on the mat and put each other in submission holds that could have bored some viewers but, honestly, it only made the whole thing more compelling.

After a solid 20 minute battle, The Undertaker looked to have the match won only for Angle to reveal that he’d pulled a Doink and switched places with a look-alike.

The resulting confusion allowed Kurt to roll up his opponent and steal a victory.
Your Winner and Still WWF Champion: Kurt Angle

Post-match, cameras focussed on the bewildered doppelgänger (who would later be revealed to be Angle’s brother) while the WWF Champion ran to his car and drive away.

A commercial then aired in which the XFL cheerleaders flashed as much flesh as possible. Although the commercial told us not to worry, the girls would be taught how to cheer, there was no mention of the fact that this was an ad for a football league, let alone how to watch it.

Man, I wonder why the original XFL failed?

Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match
Edge, Christian and Right to Censor (WWF Tag Team Champions Bull Buchanan & The Goodfather w/ Val Venis) vs. The Hardy Boyz (Matt & Jeff Hardy) and The Dudley Boyz (D-Von & Bubba Ray Dudley)

Sandwiched between the championship match and the Austin/HHH main event, it would have been easy for the eight men involved in this traditional Survivor Series match to take it slow and give us a filler match.

It's to their credit that they did not do this, instead going all out to give us the best match they were capable of in the time allocated to them.

Though it was a far cry from the usual Hardyz/Dudleyz/E&C weapon-filled spotfests we'd been treated to throughout 2000, it was still nonetheless a fun contest that ended with Jeff Hardy standing tall as the sole survivor.
Your Winner and Sole Survivor: Jeff Hardy

Post-match, Steven Richards joined his Right to Censor posse in beating down Jeff until Matt Hardy and The Dudley Boyz ran to the rescue, dumping the heels through tables.

Triple H is The Game

Out in the back, Triple H colluded with The Radicalz. Although Foley had banned from the match, it was heavily implied that they' somehow play a part in tonight's main event.

This led to a video package showing Triple H boasting about how much he benefited from having Rikishi run over Austin.

With that done, it was onto our main event.

No Disqualification Match
Triple H vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin 

Of all the wild, out-of-control main event brawls Steve Austin had ever been a part of, this wasn't exactly the greatest, but it was still damn good fun.

The two men battered each other in the ring, out of the ring, and everywhere in between, all the while telling a well-told story that The Texas Rattlesnake was far more interested in getting revenge than gaining a pinfall.

Though much of this was your standard Attitude Era brawl stuff, there were a few fun spots -Austin taking a beer break and later back-dropping Hunter through a table to name a few- that kept it well above mediocrity, while The Game's gruesome blade job really helped sell Stone Cold's beat down.

Towards the finish, the two made their way backstage where, predictably, The Radicalz attacked.

Chris Benoit lured Austin out into the parking lot where Triple H was waiting, ready to run over his opponent with a car.

Avoiding a repeat of the previous year, however, Austin acquired a giant forklift from somewhere, lifted the car some 20-30ft in the air (with Hunter still inside it) and then dropped it on its roof.
Your Winner by Attempted Homicide: Steve Austin (official result: no contest)

Having been practically murdered live on air, Hunter would return to Raw just a few short weeks later, showing no signs of injury whatsoever.

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From beginning to end, the WWF had enjoyed one of their best PPV runs in history throughout 2000, producing some truly outstanding shows.

Never really going above "pretty good," Survivor Series 2000 was not one of those shows, but it says a lot about the creative streak the company were on that one of their most underwhelming shows of the year was still a fairly enjoyable effort.

Despite the ridiculousness of Austin's blatant homicide attempt, the main event stole the show, though the tag team elimination match which proceeded it came a solid second.

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For other year 2000 pro wrestling reviews see:

• WWF Royal Rumble 2000
• WCW Souled Out 2000
• WCW Superbrawl 2000
• WWF No Way Out 2000
• WCW Uncensored 2000
• WWF Wrestlemania 2000
• WCW Spring Stampede 2000
• WWF Backlash 2000
• WWF Insurrexion 2000
• WCW Slamboree 2000
• WWF Judgement Day 2000
• WCW The Great American Bash 2000
• WWF King of the Ring 2000
• WCW Bash at the Beach 2000
• WWF Fully Loaded 2000
• WCW New Blood Rising 2000
• WWF Summerslam 2000
• WCW Fall Brawl 2000
• WWF Unforgiven 2000
• WCW Halloween Havoc 2000
• WWF No Mercy 2000
• WCW Mayhem 2000

Other WWF Survivor Series reviews: 

1. WWF Survivor Series 1987
2. WWF Survivor Series 1988
3. WWF Survivor Series 1989
4. WWF Survivor Series 1990
5. WWF Survivor Series 1991
6. WWF Survivor Series 1992
7. WWF Survivor Series 1993
8. WWF Survivor Series 1994
9. WWF Survivor Series 1995
10. WWF Survivor Series 1996
11. WWF Survivor Series 1997
12. WWF Survivor Series 1998
13. WWF Survivor Series 1999
14. WWE Survivor Series 2009
15. Top Ten Matches from the First 10 Survivor Series events

Be the first to catch the latest Retro Pro Wrestling reviews by following on Facebook or Twitter @RetroPWrestling.

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PPV REVIEW: TNA Slammiversary 2005

June 19, 2005 
TNA Impact! Zone, Orlando, Florida

Three years after they sprang into existence and set about looking to fill the void in the pro wrestling landscape left behind by WCW's demise, TNA presented their first Slammiversary pay per view. 

Designed as a celebration of the company's short-lived past, it's exciting present, and what they were surely hoping was a prosperous future, the first Slammiversary would become the start of a TNA/Impact Wrestling tradition, one which would last for the next 16 years.

Yes, despite countless rumours that they too would eventually go the way of WCW, the company are still alive and kicking today, and to celebrate that fact, they uploaded the first Slammiversary to their YouTube in its entirety.

Does that make it worth your time?

Let's click the play button and find out together.

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Remember when...

After a quick signature which told us that TNA was "the new face of pro wrestling," we got a nostalgic look back at the first ever TNA show from 2002, weirdly interspersed with clips of children running through fields and playing in parks.

We also got clips of some of the biggest stars to come through TNA over the past few years, including Randy Savage, Kevin Nash, Sting, and Raven.

We also took a look at one time Jeff Jarrett did an angle with Hulk Hogan, years before Hogan would actually join the company properly, followed by highlights of the X-Division and a welcome to the company's third anniversary.

Out in the arena, pyro exploded around the entrance as Mike Tenay welcomed us to the show.

Jeff Jarrett Has Been Arrested

Together with co-announcer Don West, Tenay told us that Jeff Jarrett had been arrested and taken out of the Impact Zone for attacking a "fan."

That meant he would be out of tonight's 'King of the Mountain' match and would be replaced by his arch-rival, Raven.

With that out of the way, it was onto our first match.

Six-Way X-Division Match
Zack Gowan vs. Delirious vs. Jerelle Clark vs. Amazing Red vs. Prime Time Elix Skipper vs. Shark Boy

This one started with the set up of two men in the ring with everyone else needing to tag in before quickly -perhaps inevitably- descending into a six-way free-for-all with bodies flying everywhere.

Though there were some entertaining spots (a nice Infrared by Amazing Red onto the outside for one), the whole thing felt very rushed. It just wasn't given enough time for anything to mean anything, so you just got one spot after another with very little rhyme or reason.

What made this worse was the commentary from Tenay and West.

I've always loved Mike Tenay's commentary and never thought I'd have reason to criticise him, but here, he and West oversold everything. At one point, we had the usual "everyone takes turns diving to the outside" spot, and the announcers sold it like we'd just seen Undertaker throw Mankind from the top of Hell in a Cell.

It kind of took you out of the moment and made you think - if they're getting this excited over some -admittedly cool- X-Division spots, how are we supposed to take them seriously if something really huge happens like a world title change?

It's as if every spot was treated as the most amazing thing ever which, in a sense, made nothing the most amazing thing ever.

Anyway, after a short and disappointing match, Shark Boy hit Delirious with a Deep Sea Drop to pick up the three count.
Your Winner: Shark Boy 

Out in the back, Abyss hung around in the dark with some big steel chains, getting himself more and angrier and eventually punching his hand through a mirror while Tenay told us that The Monster would be in tonight's main event.

Alex Shelley Confronts The Shocker

Out in the back, Shane Douglas was happy to have found gainful employment as TNA's backstage correspondent. Here, he interviewed The Shocker, who in terribly bad English, told us that he was the best cruiserweight in the world.

His opponent for tonight, Alex Shelley, strongly disputed this. Shelley arrived on the scene to interrupt the promo and tell Shocker that he wasn't the only hybrid wrestler in the company.

"I can do your lucha libre, your catch-as-catch-can, your American pro wrestling, your Japanese strong-style, even MMA" said Shelley, after which he stormed off, leaving Shocker to rant at him in Spanish.

The whole thing was cringe-worthily awful. Shocker lacked the confidence to cut a compelling promo in English, and, even though he didn't have a language barrier to deal with, Shelley wasn't much better.

Alex Shelley vs. Shocker 

Thankfully, both men were better wrestlers than they were talkers, which I suppose is all that really matters.

Given plenty of time to play with, the two put on a good match that may have been better if they'd manage to get more than four guys on the front row interested in what they were doing.

Despite the lack of crowd reaction, the two worked very well together, blending lucha libre with European submission style to create something that was enjoyable from start to finish.

Despite dominating for a bulk of the match, Shelley fell prey to a roll-up and lost the match to his Mexican opponent.
Your Winner: Shocker 

Next, Tenay took us to a look at the fifth most memorable moment in TNA's short, three-year history, as voted for by the fans on the company's website.

That moment happened to be the time AJ Styles beat Jeff Jarett to win his first NWA World Championship.

Trouble with the 3 Live Kru

Out in the back, Shane Douglas asked 3 Live Kru about their recent issues.

BG James took the mic and told Ron Killings and Konnan that despite whatever issues they might have had, he was 3 Live Kru through and through and could absolutely be trusted.

Though K-Dog and Truth were sceptical, they eventually agreed to bump fists with the former Road Dogg.

Confusingly, it was only after this promo that we were shown what the issue actually was:

The Outlaw (Billy Gunn) had come into the promotion and James' current partners suspected that his loyalties lay more with his former New Age Outlaws teammate than with them.

I know I'm nitpicking, but it would have made much more sense to tell us what the issue was before going to the promo.

The Outlaw vs.  Ron 'The Truth' Killings

Looking to settle things once and for all, Ron Killings represented his team in a fairly average match against the Outlaw which could have been better had Killings been given more time to show off his offence.

While most of us today think of R-Truth as little more than WWE's resident comedian, there were times in this match when he showed us that he's more than capable of doing some really impressive stuff between the ropes.

Not that it was any of that offence which actually won him the match. After taking a beating at the hands of his opponent, Killing's reversed Outlaw's finisher (cobra clutch slam) and got a roll-up for the win.
Your Winner: Ron Killings

Post-match, Outlaw continued to beat down on Killings until BG James ran out and took the chair from him. Outlaw offered his former partner a free shot, but James was hesitant to strike.

Eventually, Konnan ran in and saw off Outlaw, arguing with James as he and Truth left the ring.

TNA's Greatest Moment Number 4

Continuing our fan-voted look at the company's best bits, we went to January 2003 and the debut of Raven.

Team Canada are Pumped Up

Backstage, Shane Douglas interviewed Team Canada about their ongoing rivalry with Lance Hoyt and The Naturals. Bobby Roode was particularly impressive on the microphone, as was Scott D'Moore, at first.

Indeed, the whole thing was shaping up to be the best segment on the show so far (including matches) until D'Moore likened himself to Hitler and Mussolini and tried to make it sound like a good thing.

This led us to a video package highlighting Team Canada and their rivalry with The Naturals.

Again, it probably would have been better to show us all of this *before* getting the wrestlers' comments on it.

NWA World Tag Team Championship
NWA World Tag Team Champions The Naturals (Chase Stevens & Andy Douglas) vs. Team Canada (Eric Young & Petey Williams w/ Scott D'Moore and Alistair 'A-1' Ralphs)

By far the best match on the card so far, this one saw all four men deliver a compelling performance way beyond their relatively limited experience.

This one had it all: Exciting action in the early going leading to the drama and agony of seeing Chase Stevens isolated from his partner and outnumbered by Team Canada and, of course, a dramatic finish.

Throughout this whole tag-team title section of the show, the announcers had been speculating on a mystery mentor and "spiritual advisor" that The Naturals had mentioned.

At the culmination of this brilliant match, that mentor revealed himself to be none other than Jimmy Hart, who tossed Andy Douglas his famous mega phone to use as the match-winning weapon.
Your Winners and still NWA tag team champions: The Naturals. 

man, that was fun.

Up next, we were told that the fans had voted for that 2005's Lock Down cage match as the third greatest moment in TNA history.

Sean Waltman is Ready for the Main Event

Drug addiction isn't funny, so I'm just going to pretend that Sean Waltman had just woken up from a nap as that's about the best way to describe his dopey manner and appearance in this backstage segment.

Interviewed by Shane Douglas, Waltman sort of drowsily fumbled his way through a bland promo in which he said that despite being a good backstage politician, the real reason he was in the title match tonight was that he deserved it.

I'm a big fan of Waltman's, but he did not look good here.

Sonjay Dutt vs. Samoa Joe 

Making his TNA debut, it would have been easy for Samoa Joe to simply toss Sonjay Dutt around like a ragdoll and be done with him.

It would have made sense too. Joe was built by the announcers as a really, really big deal, so having him simply squash his opponent wouldn't have been out of place.

Instead, while The Samoan Submission Machine certainly dominated, this was more of a competitive match than an outright squash, with Dutt looking pretty impressive in his own right.

Still, the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

After a couple of minutes full of enjoyable action, Joe hit the Muscle Buster, applied a Rear Naked Choke and made Sonjay tap.
Your Winner: Samoa Joe

Cutting to the announce table, Tenay and West told us about some of TNA's upcoming PPVs, including the big Bound For Glory in October which West likened to the Super Bowl.

Quote the Raven, NWA-TNA Champion...

Somewhere in the bowels of the building, Raven cut a mesmerising promo in which he described himself as a "human cancer" and declared that he'd rather hug a suicide bomber than be in his opponents' shoes tonight.

Why? Because tonight, said Raven, he was going to fulfil his destiny of becoming the NWA Kingpin. Quote the raven...NWA-TNA Champion...Never More

Bobby Roode (w/ Scott D'More) vs. Lance Hoyt 

I'm a big fan of Bobby Roode and honestly think he could be used better in WWE, but even I have to admit that this wasn't his finest moment.

Though there was nothing particularly terrible about his short match with Lance Hoyt, there was something off about it which made it almost a chore to watch.

Towards the finish, Hoyt looked to have things under control and set up Roode for a big boot. However, the two spent so long in the set-up that it was blatantly obvious the move wouldn't pay off. Predictably, D'More grabbed Hoyt's foot, Roode attacked and got the three count.
Your Winner: Bobby Roode

Afterwards, Roode continued to attack while D'More cheered him on, yet when D'More took his shirt off and went for a top-rope moonsault, Hoyt moved out of the way and mounted a comeback, hitting D'More with a moonsault of his own.

Team Canada ran out along with some EMTs who stretchered D'More to the back while the crowd sang 'na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye."

The whole post-match stuff was more interesting than anything in the actual match.

TNA's Greatest Moments: Number 2 

The TNA debut of Jeff Hardy in 2004.

America's Most Wanted Can't Get Along

Up next, we were shown a video package which highlighted the ongoing arguments between America's Most Wanted partners Cowboy James Storm and Wildcat Chris Harris. The two had been squabbling among themselves while simultaneously feuding with 3 Live Kru who also couldn't get along because of the whole Outlaw/BG James stuff.

America's Most Wanted (Wildcat Chris Harris & Cowboy James Storm) vs. 3 Live Kru (Konnan & BG James)

Despite some early miscues, Harris and Storm were able to get on the same page as they took the fight to their more experienced opponents in a decent, though unremarkable, match.

After a fairly average back-and-forth between both teams, The Outlaw ran in and immediately got into it with Konnan. That left James at the mercy of AMW, who quickly put him away for the pin.
Your Winners: America's Most Wanted

Afterwards, BG refused to accept Konnan's apology for leaving him high and dry, and simply stormed off through the crowd.

TNA's Greatest Moment Ever

As voted for by the fans, TNA's greatest moment was shown to be the time Elix Skipper walked across the top of the cage back in 2004. Deservedly so too, that was insane.

This quick clip was followed by a look at the rivalry between X-Division Champion Christopher Daniels, Michael Shane, and Chris Sabin. The three would meet next.

X-Division Championship
TNA X-Division 'The Fallen Angel' Champion Christopher Daniels vs. Michael Shane (w/ Traci Brooks) vs. Chris Sabin (w/ Trinity) 

Fought under elimination rules, this triple threat match was every bit as good as you might expect it to be.

Though not exactly a classic for the ages, it was certainly a very, very good X-Division match.

Towards the half-way point, Shelley had the choice to either finish off Michael Shane or rescue Trinity from the evil clutches of Christopher Daniels. He chose to eliminate Shane from the competition, prompting Daniels to hit Trinity with Angels Wings.

Poor Trinity was then helped backstage and that was the last we'd see of her on tonight's show which was a shame because, well, she looked smoking hot.

Anyway, that left it down to just Sabin and Daniels, both of whom gave us a very solid effort before The Fallen Angel picked up the three count.
Your Winner and Still X-Division Champion: Christopher Daniels 

Out in the back, Shane Douglas interviewed The Alpha Male Monty Brown about his participation in the upcoming King of the Mountain match.

Weirdly charismatic, Monty called all of his opponents 'Omega males' and promised to demolish them in our main event.

Speaking of which...

NWA World Heavyweight Championship King of the Moutain Match
NWA World Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles vs. Abyss vs. The Alpha Male Monty Brown vs. Raven vs. Sean Waltman 

If you've never seen a King of the Mountain match before, it's essentially a reverse-ladder match in that, instead of using the ladder to retrieve the title belt, you use it to go hang the belt up.

Oh, but in order to be eligible to hang the belt, you first have to pin somebody or make them submit, and the person you pin or submit then has to go spend two minutes in a "penalty  box."

Though it sounds like a silly idea that is way more complicated than it needs to be, this actually turned into a very fun main event.

A wild, out of control brawl in the best possible sense of the word, this one just had all five men destroying each other.

Highlights included Waltman hitting the X-Factor on Style from atop the ladder, and Styles himself hitting a top-rope Spiral Tap to Abyss, who was lying prone on a table outside of the ring.

Still, despite such big-time offence, this wasn't to be the champion's night.

Battered and bloodied, Raven eventually scaled the ladder, hung the title, and became our new champion.
Your Winner and NEW NWA Champion: Raven

Post-match, Raven basically meandered around the ringside area with his new title belt, looking genuinely moved to have won.

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And so that was that. 

While TNA Slammiversary 2005 wasn't the worse show ever, it was far from the best either. 

If you're a fan of the company's X-Division style then you'll find a lot to like here. Between the X-Division title match, the tag team title match and the Shelley/Shocker outing, TNA gave us lots of quality action. 

Not that the main event was a letdown. Despite being more of a hardcore-style match (at one point, Waltman went around stapling people's balls) than a cruiserweight or technical wrestling classic, it was a fun match and the perfect way to end the show. 

For as long as TNA have this on YouTube it's worth watching, just don't expect the greatest show of all time or anything. 

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PPV REVIEW: NWA-TNA: Weekly PPV #1

June 19th, 2002
Von Braun Civic Center, Huntsville, Alabama

At the time that I first sat down to write this review, All Elite Wrestling had just announced their arrival on the pro wrestling landscape.

In the eyes of many fans, the new promotion looked to be the biggest threat to WWE's global dominance since World Championship Wrestling's game-changing run at the height of the Monday Night Wars.

Indeed, while many companies have come and many more have gone, Vince McMahon's sports entertainment empire has gone relatively unchallenged for the better part of 20 years.

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Though it wasn't always this way.

A year after the company's demise, WCW's former World Champion Jeff Jarrett found himself without a job and without any chance of getting another run in WWE thanks to a falling out with McMahon a few years earlier.

So he teamed up with father Jerry Jarrett to form a new start-up promotion, NWA: TNA.

Though the future would prove to have other ideas for them, TNA at first looked to be the best chance any company had of replicating WCW's success against WWE and establishing themselves as the number two -if not number one- pro wrestling company in America.

Over 15 years later, and despite countless management and roster changes -not to mention countless rumours of their imminent demise- TNA are still alive and kicking, now formally under the name of Impact Wrestling.

Though no longer a threat to WWE, and though their status as America's number two has likely already surpassed by All Elite Wrestling, Impact do still have a healthy following, and to celebrate passing two million YouTube subscribers, the company posted the company's first ever show online in its entirety.

And so, with nothing better to do on a rainy Sunday morning, we head back to 2002, when it was NWA: TNA, and not AEW, who were the Next Great Hope for professional wrestling.

History in the Making 

After all the pomp and fireworks, a rather svelte (compared to later years) Don West came bursting down the entrance way and welcomed us to the show as two strippers gyrated in cages at either side of the entrance.

West next introduced us to one of his co-announcers for tonight's show, Ed Ferrara. Last seen on TV doing a terrible and ill-received impression of Jim Ross back in WCW, Ferrara came out doing a new impression:

That of a sleazy, middle-aged man in the throes of a mid-life crisis. Sporting long dreadlocks down to his ass and wearing leather pants and a leather coat, Ferrara looked ridiculous.

He sounded even more ridiculous when he told us that he was here for TNA, not just Total Non-Stop Action but, you know, TNA.

Finally, Ed and West took their seats either side of lead announcer Mike Tenay who had opted not to draw attention to himself like Ed and Don had (West was wearing a garish Hawaiian shirt) but rather to don the traditional uniform of the pro wrestling pay-per-view announcer: The tuxedo.

Tenay, whose familiar voice already leant an air of credibility to proceedings, told us that tonight was all about history. It was about respecting the history of the National Wrestling Alliance, and also about creating history with the first TNA broadcast.

Iron Mike talked to Ed and Don about tonight's Gauntlet for the Gold match in which we'd crown a new NWA Champion. From the way Tenay explained it, the match was basically a convoluted Battle Royal, a bit like a Royal Rumble that would turn into a singles match between the last two men standing.

The Legends are Here...And the Main Event Sucks

With the intros out of the way, we next went to the ring where Jeramy Borash and his bleached-blonde highlights were on hand to welcome the legends of the National Wrestling Alliance to the ring.

Harley Race, Dory Funk Jr, Jackie Fargo, Corsica Joe and his wife, and NWA committee member Bill Behrens were all introduced before, finally, Ricky Steamboat came out with the NWA Championship.

Taking to the mic, Steamboat did an incredible job of making the title seem like the most important thing in the world, putting over its heritage, history and what a valuable prize it was in the world of pro wrestling. If you were ever going to get fans excited about your main event title match, this was the way to do it.

Of course, one way not to get fans excited would be to have some of the biggest stars competing in that main event come out and tell everybody how stupid the match was...

Which is exactly what TNA did net.

First up, Jeff Jarrett interrupted Steamboat. In kayfabe, Jarrett was just another member of the roster. Jarrett's very first on-screen act in his new company was to tell us all what a bad idea the main event was. Irrate at the introduction, Jackie Fargo took to the mic and, in his capacity as a member of the NWA Championship Committee (or something to that effect), declared that Jarrett was to be the first entrant in tonight's Gauntlet for the Gold.

Next, Jarrett was interrupted by The World's Most Dangerous Man, Ken Shamrock.

Receiving a rousing ovation from the crowd, Shamrock agreed with Jarrett, even going so far as to tell us that the main event "sucked."

Still, despite it sucking, Shamrock had entered the match and told us that he'd drawn number 19.

Finally, a healthy-looking Scott Hall strolled through the crowd and repeated Shamrock's statement that the main event sucked but that he was entering anyway.

Having spent the very first real segment in TNA taking a huge dump over their own main event, everybody kind of just left as we cut backstage.

Puppet the Psycho Dwarf Wants Midget Blood

Out in the back, Goldy Locks introduced us to a man she called a "midget killer," Puppet The Psycho Dwarf.

Clearly, out his mind, Puppet ranted and raved about how midgets were the true backbone of America and as such he wanted to see them in the opening match so that he could see some "midget blood."

Before things could get any more insane, Puppet and Goldy were interrupted by a pissed-off Jeff Jarrett, who was seen storming past and kicking things over while cursing to himself about Jackie Fargo.

I've no idea what that was.

Six Man Tag:
AJ Styles, Low Ki, and Jerry Lynn vs. The Flying Elvises (Jorge Estrada, Sonny Siaki, and Jimmy Yang)

More than living up to their name, Total Non-Stop Action delivered with their first ever televised match, a lightning-fast six-man battle designed to showcase the company's X-Division.

After a refusing a handshake, The Flying Elvises firmly established themselves as heels by attacking their opponents in the opening moments, but it was AJ Styles, Low Ki, and Jerry Lynn, especially Lynn, who were the real stars here.

The babyfaces looked mightily impressive as they each took turns to showcase their unique offence, battling Jorge Estrada, Sonny Siaki and former Jung Dragon, Jimmy Yang, in a very exciting opening contest.

Yet despite their best efforts, it just wasn't to be for Styles, Ki, and Lynn. After an exhilarating match, Jimmy Yang came flying off the top rope to hit AJ with the Yang Time and picked up the three count, earning him the distinct honour of being the first man to score a pinfall on any TNA televised broadcast.
Your Winners: The Flying Elvises 

After a brief clip of TNA's sexy dancers sexy dancing inside stripper cages, it was onto our next match.

Midget Match
Hollywood vs. Teo

To be honest, your writer wasn't expecting anything more than a farcical comedy routine here and was pleasantly surprised when Teo and Hollywood used the two or three minutes they were allotted to deliver a surprisingly fun bout.

Though I'm trying desperately to avoid using the word short, there's no way around it. This was a very short match, but also very enjoyable, and ended when Teo hit Hollywood with a twisting senton for the three count.
Your Winner: Teo

After more dancing ladies we got...more ladies.

Francine Vows to Become Miss TNA

Out in the ring, Don West and Ed Ferrara introduced the ladies who would be competing in the following week's Lingerie Battle Royal. The competitors included, among others, ECW stars Francine and Electra, Daffney and a young Alexis Laree, better known to you and me as Mickie James.

With all the girls in the ring, Francine grabbed the mic to remind us that she was the Queen of Extreme, and that, as such, nobody else was worthy of being in the ring with her.

That prompted Electra to stand up and accuse Francine of "singlehandedly bankrupting another company (ECW)". Irrate at the clearly false accusation, Francine lunged after Electra and a small catfight ensued, resulting in Francine ripping Electra's top off to expose her bra. Finally, as she left the ring, Francine vowed that she would win the battle royal next week and be crowned our first Miss TNA.

I'm not sure if this was supposed to be sexy or just entertaining, but it ended up being neither.

Mortimer Plumtree Introduces The Johnsons 

Out in the back, Goldy Locks was standing by with manager Mortimer Plumtree.

Plumtree told us that he had complete control over two men who he was bringing to TNA. Those men?

The Johnsons.

Though the whole idea of The Johnsons was stupid (their whole thing was quite literally one big dick joke), Plumtree was actually pretty compelling as the wimpy manager with delusions of power who gets others to do his work for him.

It's such a shame they combined his natural charisma with such a terrible, terrible gimmick.

The Johnsons (Richard & Rod w/ Mortimer Plumtree) vs. Psicosis & Cowboy James Storm

Imagine having it on your resume that at some point in your past you were a wrestling penis.

As Richard and Rod (puns very much intended) made their way to the ring, the camera shot to two very young children giving them the thumbs down. I don't need to tell you how troubling that shot is.

Here, the masked dicks took on former WCW star Psicosis and long-time TNA mainstay, Cowboy James Storm in a decent though occasionally sloppy match.

The young, clean-shaven Cowboy James Storm looked a million miles away from the grizzled, beer-drinking veteran we know him as today, especially when he brought out two pistols and fired a couple of blanks in his best impersonation of The Smoking Gunns.

Together with Psicosis, the future TNA champion looked impressive in his debut but sadly wasn't able to avoid a good pounding from a couple of Johnsons.

Yeah, I'm sorry, I went there.
Your Winners: The Johnsons 

Part way through the match, Aleesha (better known as Alicia Webb/Ryan Shamrock) came out to watch the proceedings. Post-match, she had a word with referee Slick Johnson (no relation to Richard and Rod), who then gave her some money and walked off.

Out in the back, Goldy Locks caught up with The Dupps, were told off by Bill Behrens for drinking beer in the locker room.

This is Pro Wrestling, Not NASCAR

Up next, Jeramy Borash introduced NASCAR drivers Hermie Saddler and Sterling Marlin, interviewing both men about NASCAR racing. Having heard enough, K-Krush (Ron 'R-Truth' Killings) came out and said what we were all thinking:

"Nobody cares about NASCAR, this is pro wrestling."

An angry Krush got into it with Saddler and threatened to attack him, only for Brian 'Christopher' Lawler to run out and see off K-Krush, challenging him to a match on next week's show.

Out in the back, a gaggle of referees and jobbers in security T-shirts had to stop Jeff Jarrett from choking out Jackie Fargo.

Christian York & Joey Matthews vs. The Dupps (Stan & Bo w/ Fluff) 

The story here is that Stan, Bo, and Fluff were all cousins, but Fluff was also both Stan & Bo's girlfriend. OK, so it was another dumb idea on a show that seemed to have many, but I won't lie, if Fluff was my cousin, I'd at least be tempted.

Here, they went up against Christian York and future Straight Edge Society member, Joey Matthews.

Though not a great match by any stretch, there was nothing particularly bad about this. It was perfectly acceptable mid-card filler which came to an end with a victory for the incestuous cousins.
Your Winners: The Dups 

As if the NASCAR stuff wasn't enough to give the show a decidedly southern feel, we were next shown a clip from a Toby Keith music video before the man himself was introduced live to the arena by Bleached-Blonde Borash.

Though musical interludes rarely work in pro wrestling shows, the fans were big-time into Keith's song, mainly because it was all full of Eagles and Liberty and Going Murica All Over Everybody's Asses.

One person who clearly wasn't a fan was Jeff Jarrett. Possibly having flashbacks to WWF In Your House 2, Double J stormed out, shoved Keith aside and headed to the ring, claiming that nobody wanted to hear the country music star singing.

Keith had to be held back by officials whilst Jarrett circled the ring, ready for our main event.

NWA World Heavyweight Championship Gauntlet for the Gold Match 

Featuring: Jeff Jarrett, Buff Bagwell, Lash LeRoux, Norman Smiley, Apollo, K-Krush, Slash, Del Rios, Justice, Konnan, Bruce, Rick Steiner, Malice, Scott Hall, Vampire Warrior, Devon Storm, Steve Corino, Ken Shamrock, Brian Christopher

And so it was on, a 20-man battle royal with the last two remaining competitors going at it in a singles match for the title.

Jarrett started off in Hulk Hogan/John Cena mode, making quick work of Buff Bagwell, Lash LeRoux, and Norman Smiley and singlehandedly eliminating each man, one after the other. Honestly, anybody would think Jarrett himself were booking the match or something.

Seeing Jarrett do the superhuman thing was very boring, and the match didn't get much better when Apollo came in and put an end to Double J's reign of terror. Still, the former Intercontinental Champion stayed in the match all the way until the 15th or 16th participant, when Toby Keith put in a cameo appearance.

Looking to get some revenge, Keith hit Jarrett with a suplex before he and Scott Hall tossed him out of the ring.

If there are some names you don't quite recognise here, let's go through them.

Del Rios was an exact clone of Big Poppa Pump Scott Steiner (albeit smaller) who had famously had one match in the WWF as wrestling magician Phantasio. Justice would become Abyss and Bruce was Allen Funk in a "we're gay so we're heels" gimmick with Lenny Lane. Malice was The Wall from WCW.

I say all this because it's more interesting than just about anything that happened in the match itself, outside of Malice killing everybody and Konnan being just as super-over as he was at the height of his WCW run.

After a lengthy battle, Ken Shamrock and Malice were the last two remaining, at which point Ricky Steamboat stepped in as our special referee.

A short, forgettable match later, Shamrock got the win.
Your Winner and NEW NWA Champion: Ken Shamrock

After Shamrock's celebration, Jeff Jarrett stormed back to the ring, still complaining about the stupid idea of having a battle royal to determine a world champion.

bought Jackie Fargo and Toby Keith back out, with Fargo telling us that he'd have somebody take care of Jarrett next week. That somebody happened to Scott Hall, who stormed out and got into a brawl with Jarrett as the show came to an end.

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And so that that was that.

Picking up right where WCW had left off with a cringe-worthy version of the Attitude Era product, if NWA: TNA really were the company to challenge WWE's dominance, they certainly didn't show it on their first outing as a company. 

Sure, there was some good wrestling, particularly in the opening contest, but it's fair to say that this show really hasn't aged well over the past seventeen years. In fact, watching this show, it's amazing to think that TNA, in some form or another, has made it this far. 

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Other TNA PPV events:

• TNA Turning Point 2009
• TNA Bound for Glory 2009
• TNA No Surrender 2009
• TNA Hard Justice 2009
• TNA Slammiversary 7 2009
• TNA Destination-X 2009
• TNA Genesis 2009
• TNA Final Resolution 2008
• TNA Turning Point 2008

For more weekly TNA, ECW, WCW, and WWE reviews, like the Retro Pro Wrestling Facebook page Facebook page.

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TV REVIEW: WWE Smackdown: 04/12/09

Hampton, Virginia

Just nine days away from TLC, The Undertaker plans to call out his upcoming opponent, Batista, whilst Jerishow prepare for their TLC match against DX with a match against Cryme Tyme.

Here's what went down.

NOTE: This an archived review written live at the time that WWE Smackdown aired on December 4th, 2009.

I'm archiving all my old reviews and including this one on Retro Pro Wrestling for the sake of prosperity.

R-Truth vs. CM Punk (w/ Luke Gallows)

Wasting no time in getting down to the action tonight, The Straight-Edge Saviour CM Punk battled R-Truth in a good opening contest.

Punk worked over his opponent's arm in the early going, allowing him to dominate the bulk of this entertaining bout before Truth began to make the inevitable comeback. Unfortunately, said comeback was cut-off by Punk's right-hand man, Luke Gallows, leading to a DQ finish.
Your Winner by disqualification: R-Truth

Afterwards, Gallows and Punk continued to annihilate R-Truth and looked rather pleased with themselves as a result.

Kane vs. Mike Knox

Fresh from his brief cameo in the Undertaker/Batista feud, The Big Red Machine locked horns with the infrequently-seen Mike Knox for seemingly no reason.

The match itself was so dull that commentators Matt Striker and Todd Grisham ignored it completely, choosing instead to hype up the Undertaker vs. Batista match at TLC. Kane chokeslammed Knox to end the contest.
Your Winner: Kane

Backstage, Josh Matthews interviewed Unified Tag Team Champions Chris Jericho & The Big Show regarding their match against DX at TLC. Jericho, as strong as ever on the microphone, was the mouthpiece for his team; promising to end DX once and for all at the pay per view and putting over Big Show as a monster in a pretty solid promo.

From the vault: Mark Henry vs. Finlay & Hornswoggle (Smackdown 2007)

Taking a look back to the days when Finlay actually had something do to (even if it was hanging around with that annoying leprechaun) and Mark Henry was a bland babyface, we get this handicap match from November 2007. Henry was defeated when Finlay nailed him with a shelaglah after which Hornswoggle hit the Tadpole Splash for the win. Following the match, The Great Khali arrived on the scene and destroyed Finlay.

Triple Threat match to determine the number one contender to the WWE Women's Championship: Mickie James vs. Beth Phoenix vs. Natayla

With Women's Champion Michelle McCool and her BFF Layla hanging out at ringside, their rival Mickie James fought to earn a shot at McCool's belt in a decent match against Natalya and The Glamazon. Mickie was tossed from the ring in the early going, leaving the two blonde grapplers to put on a good show and carry the bulk of the contest.

The end came when Beth hit Nattie with the Glam Slam. James then dropkicked Phoenix out of the ring and stole the pinfall for herself to end an enjoyable bout that surpassed anything we've seen from the Raw girls in a long time.
Your Winner and new number one contender: Mickie James

Afterwards, Mickie James took the microphone from Josh Matthews; vowing not only to take the Women's Championship from Michelle McCool, but also to extract revenge from her and Layla for all the hurtful things they'd done over the last several weeks. James then shoved McCool, but was quickly outnumbered by the champion and Layla.

A returning Maria made the save before she and Mickie celebrated with the crowd.

Rey Mysterio set to return

Backstage in Teddy Long's office, Batista confronts the GM over a challenge laid down by Rey Mysterio. Big Dave agreed to a street fight against the master of the 619 on next week's show, providing his hold-harmless agreement remains intact.

The Animal also complained about The Undertaker's plans to call him out later on the show, but Long insisted he could do nothing about that.

Non-title match: Intercontinental Champion John Morrison vs. Drew McIntyre

In a match he apparently requested, Intercontinental Champion John Morrison took it to Drew McIntyre in the early going, but it was the Sadistic Scot who walked away with a surprise victory after planting JoMo with a Kobashi DDT following several minutes of enjoyable back-and-forth action.
Your Winner: Drew McIntyre

The show returned from a commercial break to find Vickie Guerrero in the ring. Smackdown's consultant was fantastic at riling up the already excitable crowd with her usual 'excuse me!' catchphrase before calling out her former lover, Eric Escobar, and demanding an apology for the way he spoke to her last week.

When Escobar refused, Guerrero booked him in a handicap match against the Hart Dynasty, which begs the question as to when a consultant was granted booking power?

Handicap match: Eric Escobar vs. The Hart Dynasty

Despite his best efforts, Escobar was overpowered and outwrestled by his opponents in a passable outing, with Smith and Kidd picking up the win thanks to the Hart Attack.
Your Winners: The Hart Dynasty

In the post-match, Tyson Kidd brought Vickie Guerrero back to the ring, holding her ex in place whilst she administered a hefty slap to Escobar's chops.

Luke Gallows Speaks

Heading backstage once more, Josh Matthews caught up with CM Punk and Luke Gallows. The man formerly known as Festus told Matthews that his days walking around in a comatose state was as a result of his friends and family pushing pills on him and claims that CM Punk saved him. Furthermore, Gallows hoped that more lost souls could turn their lives around by following the Straightedge lifestyle.

Non-title match: Unified Tag Team Champions Chris Jericho & the Big Show vs. Cryme Tyme (Shad Gaspard & JTG)

As they look to battle DX in a Tables, Ladders & Chairs match at the TLC pay per view next Sunday, Unified Tag Champions Jerishow set their sights a little lower on tonight's show as they clashed with Cryme Tyme in a fairly good main event.

Following a short, explosive exchange of offence between the two teams, Big Show knocked out Shad Gaspard (now sporting short hair, for anyone interested in that kind of thing) with his Big Fist of doom to earn the victory for his team.
Your Winners: Chris Jericho & The Big Show

Having hyped up a confrontation between The Undertaker and Batista all evening, Smackdown heads towards the finish-line with the World Heavyweight Champion making his way to the ring to a thunderous ovation from the Hampton crowd.

Unfortunately for The Dead Man, his entrance was cut-short thanks to a surprise assault from Batista. The Animal attacked the champion from behind with a steel chair, and in a repeat of last week's show, proceeded to decimate him in the ring with more chair shots and a blow to the head with the Big Gold Belt.

Big Dave then posed with both chair and title belt as Smackdown drew to a close.

Final Thoughts: Despite that deathly dull outing from Kane and Knox at the start of the show, tonight's edition of Smackdown was nonetheless very enjoyable. CM Punk vs. R-Truth should probably pick up Match of the Night honours, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a tag team match pitting Punk & Gallows against Truth and Matt Hardy on next week's show (remember, Hardy suffered a similar fate at the hands of Punk & Gallows on last week's show).

Speaking of future booking plans, following Drew McIntyre's victory over John Morrison tonight, can we expect a title match between the two, possibly at TLC? I hope so, and I also hope that Morrison retains whenever they do meet over the gold, even though everything suggests the Scotsman is in for a title reign at some point in the near future.

On the negative side, I complained about it in the report, but I'm struggling to comprehend why Vickie Guerrero, who was hired only to help Teddy Long as a consultant, is suddenly granted the authority to book matches as she pleases.

Remembering Umaga

Over the past weekend, news emerged that Eki 'Eddie' Fatu, who competed in the WWE as recently as this spring as Umaga, had sadly passed away.

Umaga was a talented performer, playing the Big Monster role almost to perfection, and his Royal Rumble 2007 Last Man Standing match for the WWE championship against John Cena remains arguably as one of his career highlights. My thoughts go out to the friends and family of The Samoan Bulldozer.

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