Death by Midwest: WWE Judgment Day 2008

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We’re at the Quest Arena in Omaha, NE on May 18, 2008.

John Cena vs. JBL

Very odd choice for an opener. To the corner and JBL gets in his face. Cena goes for the STFU early but JBL grabs the ropes. JBL drives Cena into the steel ringpost. Cena now has a bum shoulder and JBL punches at it and works it over. JBL rolls into a cross armbreaker but he never gets Cena to break his hands. Cena breaks the hold by lifting JBL, but seems to hurt his shoulder more in the process. JBL gets a 2 count after some strikes to Cena’s head. Cena comes back using his good right arm. Cena comes back with a clothesline and a shoulderblock. Front flip neckbreaker connects, but the Sicilian Slice misses. He got some serious height on that though. JBL avoids a suplex to the outside and hangs Cena on the top rope. An elbow drop by JBL gets 2. JBL wears him down a side bearhug. I hate those. JBL uppercuts the upper back of Cena into a bodyscissors. He adds on a Full Nelson at 10 minutes.

Cena springs back to life but JBL clasps the hold in and drives him back down. Cena powers out and goes for the FU but his shoulder is too hurt for it. JBL goes back to the bodyscissors. Now, see, he should have gone in for the kill right there. Obviously he’s taken away Cena’s big finisher. Cena lifts JBL out of the bodyscissors into a spinebuster. JBL sidesteps a charge and Cena eats buckle. Big boot by JBL and he goes back to the ribs and shoulder. Short arm clothesline by JBL. JBL goes for another one but Cena and uses JBL’s momentum to hit the FU for the win at 15:09. JBL is pissed after the match knowing he let that one get away.

Rating: ** OK, 411 readers, prepare for truth: This was nowhere near the “OMG worst match ever!” as some declared. It focused on a body part, and while that was successful for JBL, he didn’t take the chance to put Cena away. Cena did and it only took one little mistake by JBL. That’s called storytelling. I give that rating because of the very boring and unnecessary rest holds by JBL, and it being a poor choice for an opener. The Cena hate really just has to stop, because you’re all grasping for straws now.

-Tazz and Mike Adamle hype the tag title match, and show pretty damn funny clips of Morrison and Miz mocking Punk and Kane on WWE.com.

WWE TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH:
John Morrison and the Miz © vs. Kane and CM Punk

I’m banking(pun totally intended) on a very slow burn on Punk cashing in his title shot, much like they planned on doing for Mr. Kennedy in 2007. Big reaction for him, though. Snap suplex by Punk on Miz. Kane and Punk give him boots in the corner. Kane pulls Miz up by his chin then drops him down. Morrison tags in. Big kick by Kane for 2. Punk tags in and gets a slingshot knee drop. Nice stuff. That gets 2. Punk grabs an Octopus hold in the ropes. Punk puts on another submission but Morrison kicks him to get out of it. Miz in and they give Punk a double gutbuster for 2. Punk fights out of a front facelock and tags in Kane who gives Miz a sidewalk slam and the flying clothesline. Miz avoids a Tombstone and Morrison blind tags in. Morrison gets a neckbreaker on Kane. Morrison and Miz isolate Kane until Kane boots Miz in the face and both men tag out. Flying Jalapena by Punk, followed by a leg lariat and spinning heel kick. Snap powerslam by Punk…for 2. Knee of Doom in the corner then he clotheslines Miz while giving Morrison the bulldog! But it only gets 2. Plancha by Punk on the Miz and then he gets the springboard clothesline on Morrison. Morrison avoids the GTS twice, and Kane chokeslams Morrison on the outside. Punk gets caught with the high kick and the Moonlight Drive for the 3 at 7:30.

Rating: **1/4 Should have been longer but what we got was very good. I’m sure we’ll get a longer blowoff on ECW in the coming weeks. And yes, Punk took the fall, but you know he’ll get it back.

We get a nice little video package for HBK vs. Jericho.

Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho is the IC Champ, but this is non-title. I’m really this feud because it works in shades of grey, which it is much more effective than the very simple good-and-evil that everyone else seems to do in the E. Jericho goes after that leg of HBK, but HBK keeps escaping. Series of nearfalls with HBK bridging up twice. He turns a back suplex into a pin but Jericho turns that into a pin for 2. Michaels hooks on that inverted figure four but Jericho gets the ropes. Jericho kicks HBK’s knee and Shawn slaps him. I love the hate. Jericho gives HBK a hard elbow to the face. HBK comes back with a cross armbreaker in the ropes! HBK stays on that shoulder and arm. Jericho comes back by sending HBK flipping into the buckles. HBK sends Jericho crashing off the top rope. Y2J goes for a superplex but HBK blocks that as well. The Flying Elbow gets KNEES! HBK writhes in pain holding his ribs. Jericho takes advantage with a senton and a back suplex. He follows that the Shades of Wilbur Snyder and a gutbuster. Jericho whips HBK into the buckles 3 times, but blocks the bulldog by sending Jericho in the ropes. HBK kips up but his ribs hurt in the process. Jericho uses that to his advantage and locks on the Walls of Jericho! HBK struggles but makes it to the ropes. Jericho goes for the springboard dropkick, but changes course and lands on the apron. Unfortunately, HBK KILLS him with SWEET CHIN MUSIC and Jericho falls to the floor. HBK drags Jericho back in so there’s no countout. HBK covers…1…2…Kickout! Michaels up top for the Flying Elbow, but that hurts his ribs again! But HBK gets back up and starts tuning up the band. Jericho falls down twice trying to get back up and HBK looks impatient. But he’s just suckering HBK in for the CODEBREAKER! That was absolutely brilliant. Jericho crawls over and covers HBK….for 2! Jericho picks Shawn back up but Shawn reverses into the Crossface! Jericho nearly taps but makes it to the ropes. Jericho avoids another Crossface and knees Shawn in the ribs. He drops Shawn ribs first on the top rope. Jerico goes for the Lionsault, Shawn puts up his knees but Jericho sees it coming and catches his legs for the WALLS OF JERICHO! But Shawn blocks it and reverses into a roll up for the 3 at 15:56.

Rating: **** I love this match on so many levels. You could feel the animosity between the two the entire time. Jericho repaid Shawn for the fake knee injury by suckering him in for the Codebreaker, which could have gotten the win thanks to all the rib work. And the roll-up win by HBK keeps the story going and holds off on triggering HBK’s turn.

Interview time with Mickie James, who gets asked about her “date” with John Cena, but then gets booted from the interview area by a mad JBL. JBL said he beat Cena up for 20 straight minutes.

WOMEN’S TITLE MATCH
Mickie James © vs. Beth Phoenix vs. Melina

They show footage of Beth beating Melina on RAW, and Beth seems to enjoy it. First pin or submission wins here. Beth tells Melina to get out of “her” ring. Melina kicks her in the gut. So that’s a no? Mickie rolls up Melina for 2. Mickie goes off the ropes but Beth pulls down the rope and Mickie spills outside. Melina and Beth start slugging it out. Beth goes for a slam but Mickie’s back in and rolls her up for 2. DDT attempt by Mickie and she gets lifted up and headscissors Melina! Mickie hooks on a sleeper and takes Beth down to the mat. She’s got a bodyscissors on, too. Melina breaks it up. Mickie counters a whip and takes Melina down. Beth takes Melina down with an electric chair. Top Rope Thesz Press by Mickie…for 2. BIG basement dropkick by Mickie on Beth. Melina stretches Mickie in the corner until Beth comes over and puts BOTH WOMEN ON HER SHOULDERS FOR A DOUBLE CANADIAN BACKBREAKER! Awesome. Melina plants Beth with a neckbreaker. Mickie grabs Melina for the Primal DDT for the win at 4:55.

Rating: **1/4 About as good as possible in under 5 minutes. The crowd was really into this, and I think WWE might have taken notice of the Knockouts’ success in TNA.

Batista confronts HBK backstage, saying he will wait to hurt Shawn, but he WILL hurt him.

They play the hype video for Edge and Undertaker. Can we leave the heel authority figure crap alone for about a decade please? And I understand Vickie Guerrero having a position, but…..come on.

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH
Edge vs. The Undertaker

Taker unleashes on Edge in the corner with some punches. To the outside, Taker throws Edge arm first into the post. He works that over back inside. Taker goes for Old School but Edge crotches him. Edge goes outside to keep on Taker but gets tossed from the apron to the security wall. Edge reverses a whip and Taker goes knees-first into the ring steps. Edge breaks the count by baseball sliding Taker back down. Taker goes for a big boot in the corner but Edge moves and that hurts Taker’s leg more. That gets 2. Edge kicks Taker’s leg out and slams it against the post. Taker gets an opening for the Gogoplata but doesn’t go for. It’s illegal, ya know. Edge for Old School but Taker crotches him. Undertaker follows that with the jumping clothesline. GOOZLE and Taker tosses Edge into the corner and big boots Edge. That gets 2. Taker gets Old School. Remember that leg? Yeah, Taker doesn’t seem to. Taker goes for Tombstone but Ryder and Hawkins come down and distract him. Edge-a-cution by Edge behind the ref’s back. Edge removes the pad off the turnbuckle, Taker goes for the Last Ride but Edge reverses into the implant DDT for 2. Edge goes for the spear but Taker moves aside and throws him to the ringpost. LAST RIDE INTO THE CORNER by Taker…for 2! Taker goes for Snake Eyes to the exposed buckle, but Edge shoves him into it. Taker picks him back up and connects with Snake Eyes. Both men back up…SPEAR by Edge for 2. Rights by both men, GOOZLE by Taker, Edge escapes but gets Goozled again for a Chokeslam…for 2. Edge gets booted to the floor. They spill into the front row. Both men struggle, but Taker tosses Edge into the security wall and beats the count for the win at 16:30.

Of course, Vickie Guerrero comes out and says the title cannot be won by countout, so it’s still vacant. Crowd HATES Vickie. Taker gets revenge by giving an Edge a Tombstone. Vickie stands up and calls Taker a bad word.

Rating: ***1/4 Good match but definitely not up to what these two are capable of. All the early leg work was quickly forgotten once they went into the second part of the match. The finish is also disappointing, but I’m sure we’ll be getting the huge blowoff at One Night Stand.

Randy Orton is interviewed saying he didn’t win the title on luck, Triple H. He says Hunter never taught him anything in Evolution because he knew they’d face in a steel cage. “Judge not, Triple H, lest ye be judged.” Really good promo from Orton.

MVP comes out and is upset not to be on PPV. He says it’s not just disrespect, it’s bad business. He calls out anyone to get him out of the ring. Half man, half amazing, and he’s ballin’!

Matt Hardy’s music hits but says he isn’t gonna challenge MVP, he wants someone else to get his chance to prove that. Jeff Hardy is back and we’ve got an impromptu match!

JEFF HARDY vs. MVP

MVP beats Jeff down to start and goes for a quick pin. Jeff lands a mule kick as Foley mentions Jeff’s house fire. MVP tries to ground Jeff and get a quick pin and end the match. He charges but Jeff sends him crashing to the outside. MVP catches him trying to dropkick through the ropes and Jeff takes a spill to the floor. MVP knee drops Jeff’s arm for 2. MVP kicks at Jeff’s arm and stretches it out. Jeff tries to go up and over but his arm can’t support his weight and he crashes down. Armbar takedown by MVP for 2. High kick to the shoulder by MVP followed by a gorilla press-type slam. Big boot to Jeff’s arm and he spills outside. Shoulder first into the barricade goes Jeff, which gets 2 inside. Playmaker countered by Jeff and both men down. Clothesline by Jeff and MVP’s in the corner for the CORNER BASEMENT DROPKICK. The authority on that deserves all caps. Jeff up for the SWANTON….no water in the pool. MVP misses on a charge and Jeff goes up for a Whisper in the Wind for 3 at 9:50.

Rating: ** OK match to fill time on PPV. It was a nice little surprise but Jeff’s still some ring rust.

WWE TITLE MATCH, STEEL CAGE MATCH:
Triple H © vs. Randy Orton

You can win by pin, submission, and escape in this one. Orton tries to dive out the door right away, Hunter stops him but gets a cage door in the face. Triple H connects with the Harley Race knee and throws Orton into the cage. Swinging neckbreaker by Triple H gets 2. Orton slingshots Triple H into the cage. Orton throws Triple H into the cage again and taunts the crowd. Rope-assisted DDT by Orton. That gets 2. Randy tries to wear him down with a side headlock. Snap powerslam by Orton gets 2. Garvin stomps by Orton. A kneedrop gets 2. More stomps, but another kneedrop misses. Triple H comes back with a chop block to Orton’s knee. Figure Four by Triple H! The crowd Woooos in approval. Some miscommunication as the ref does a rope break while JR and Lawler say there shouldn’t be any. RKO…blocked into the Pedigree….blocked into a backdrop. Orton tries to crawl out the door and gets pulled back, but grabs a chair and brings it in the cage. Facebuster by Triple H for 2. Orton low blows Triple H and has the chair. Chairshot to Triple H’s back. DDT on the chair….for 2! Orton sets up the chair for a RKO, but gets sent into the cage then gets a Raven-style drop toehold into the chair. That gets 2. Orton tries to climb out but they fight it out on the top rope. Orton falls to the mat, but gets up to prevent Triple H from climbing out. Triple H falls to the mat, but gets up to stop Orton. Triple H teases a Pepsi Plunge but Orton wiggles out of it and throws Triple H off the top rope. Orton gets to the outside of the cage but Triple H pulls him back in. Hunter knocked down again but Orton still can’t get out. Orton gets crotched. Spinebuster by Triple H, he goes for a Pedigree on the chair but Orton scoops his legs and Triple H lands back first on the chair. Concussion Kick misses, CHAIR SHOT by Triple H, PEDIGREE and it’s over at 21:20.

Rating: *** Very old school style cage match focused on the climbing. I am shocked no one bled, but I guess that’s for next month. Good match, but like Csonka said, it felt more like a good RAW main event than one to a major PPV.

The 411: Some good stuff on here, but there's this strange pattern developing with Judgment Day. It's when the focus WWE has creatively going into Wrestlemania seems to wear off, and you get much staler storylines, as well as PPVs that have many of the same matches as the one prior to it (compare this card to the One Night Stand card, and you'll see what I mean). Really, this PPV felt like it was just here to set up ONS. Thumbs in the middle, and if you can track down the excellent HBK vs. Jericho match, there's nothing else must see on here.

Final Score:  6.0   [ Average ]