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Kevin’s Random Reviews: WWE Judgment Day 2008

October 15, 2017 | Posted by Kevin Pantoja
WWE Judgment Day 2008 Image Credit: WWE
5.5
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Kevin’s Random Reviews: WWE Judgment Day 2008  

WWE Judgment Day 2008
May 18th, 2008 | Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska | Attendance: 11,324

This show is just two months removed from one of my favorite WrestleManias ever, yet I have no recollection of it. I honestly think it’s one of the few WWE Pay-Per-Views I’ve never seen. I know some of the Mania angles are still ongoing (HHH/Orton, Edge/Undertaker) but that’s about it. This was the tenth Judgment Day PPV.

The opening video package shows Triple H in prison, which is the theme for the show’s poster. Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross are on commentary for Raw, Michael Cole and Mick Foley handle Smackdown duties and the combination of Mike Adamle and Tazz do ECW.

John “Bradshaw” Layfield vs. John Cena
Cena in the opening contest is a strange sight. JBL stalls in the early goings. Maybe he’s not eager to beat someone up if it’s not bullying. Cena tries the STF but JBL makes it to the ropes. He applies his own submission. It looks like shit but I get the idea. They trade blows until JBL goes back to Cena’s arm. Kudos to Cena for stopping to sell it after hitting a shoulder block with it. Cena misses the big Fameasser and JBL takes it to the mat with the arm work. He moves to a full nelson. NOBODY HAS EVER BROKEN JBL’S MASTERLOCK! Except John Cena! He breaks it but can’t hit the FU due to the arm. JBL continues to dominate until Cena ducks a clothesline and wins with the FU at 15:04. That was quite the out of nowhere finish. This was very old school with lots of wear down holds, though I commend Cena’s selling. It was an odd style to run with considering their feud was a bit more aggressive. [**]

King Regal watches from a luxury box in disgust. In two days, he’ll get suspended for violating the Wellness Policy, ending this push, which had a fair amount of potential.

WWE Tag Team Championship: John Morrison and The Miz (c) vs. CM Punk and Kane
Before the match, we get clips of Miz (as Kane) and Morrison (as Punk) making fun of their opponents. Kane gets off to a hot start, using his size on the cowardly champions. He and Punk show off some surprisingly strong chemistry, despite not being a regular team. Punk and Morrison seemed to work better here than any of their 2007 PPV matches, though not the match where Punk won the ECW Title. Punk goes for the GTS but Miz grabs his leg to cut it off. For his troubles, he eats a chokeslam outside. Back inside, Morrison hits Moonlight Drive to retain at 7:11. I found this interesting since it didn’t follow specific tag formula. Instead, the challengers had the champions reeling at every turn until the opportunists found the opening they needed. The crowd was into it and it was quite fun. [**¼]

WWE Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels
The story in this feud was told so well and it’s only just beginning. Shawn feigned a leg injury for weeks leading up to this before revealing he was alright and superkicking Jericho. Jericho tests the leg early and wants the Walls. Shawn is a step ahead, going to his own submission. He stays in Jericho’s head, slapping him and running to the ropes. It’s clearly bothering Jericho. They have counters for almost everything, highlighted by Jericho getting his knees up on the diving elbow. Shawn’s ribs are hurt, so Jericho goes after it like a shark smelling blood. Shawn sells the hell out of it during his comeback, even when doing the kip up. It allows Jericho to apply the Walls with ease. The fans legitimately boo as Shawn reaches the ropes. He hits the Sweet Chin Music on the apron but can’t win since he had to bring Jericho back in. The elbow connects this time but Shawn’s ribs are all kinds of done. Shawn tunes up the band but Jericho keeps falling before getting in position. BUT WAIT! Jericho was playing possum and hits the Codebreaker from out of nowhere. Great storytelling. Shawn reaches down and pulls out a crossface. Jericho reaches the ropes and the fans are firmly behind him now. Jericho tries the Lionsault but Shawn gets his knees up. Ready for it, Jericho catches them and tries for the Walls. Shawn counters into a rollup to steal it at 15:54. When people talk about this great feud, this match never gets brought up. They talk about the eye injury at the Bash, the Unsanctioned match or the Ladder match. This ruled. They avoided the things we’re used to from them because of how well they know each other. Jericho doesn’t get the Lionsault. Shawn can’t hit SCM. The fake injury angle is perfectly brought into play and the finish was a great one for the start of a lengthy feud.[****¼]

Jericho offers a handshake. Shawn is tentative since at WrestleMania XIX, Jericho did the same thing and kicked him low. Shawn accepts and things are tense, but nothing more happens here. Great moment.

Mickie James is interviewed about a recent date with John Cena. She says it went well but here’s JBL to ruin the good times. In his mind, he beat Cena because Cena’s the one in the training room in pain right now.

WWE Women’s Championship: Mickie James (c) vs. Beth Phoenix vs. Melina
A lot of the women’s division in this era is a blur. I do recall a great I Quit match involving Beth and Melina at a 2008 PPV though. They’re the bigger feud here and are the focus. Mickie uses their feud to pick up some flash pin near falls. She uses a modified sleeper to bring down the Glamazon. They move through spots quickly but it all makes sense. Beth hits an electric chair drop on Melina, so Mickie takes her out with a diving Thez press. Beth wows me and the crowd with a DOUBLE CANADIAN BACKBREAKER! She is one strong woman. I feel like she probably even manhandles Edge. Melina incapacitates Beth, only to fall to Mickie’s DDT at 4:52. It was one of those finishers where they awkwardly and unnaturally position themselves for the hard camera. The match itself was short and sweet. They advanced the existing feud well and Mickie’s part was well played. They threw in some cool spots too. [**½]

Backstage, Batista walks up to Shawn Michaels. He promised Shawn that if he found out he was faking his injury, he’d hurt him. He’ll make good on that promise soon, on his time. That would come at the next PPV’s Stretcher match, won by Batista.

World Heavyweight Championship: Edge vs. The Undertaker
Undertaker won the World Title from Edge at WrestleMania. Vickie stripped him of the gold for using the Hell’s Gate submission, which was considered dangerous. It was dumb since he was granted a shot at that very title here. Edge plays this smart from the start. He knows Taker so well by now and avoids his strikes and big moves. He sends Taker into the steel steps and goes to work on the leg following it. Acting on instinct, since he beat Edge with it twice already, he goes for Hell’s Gate but lets go so he won’t get DQed. Taker starts a rally when Edge tries Old School and gets crotched. Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder show up for a quick distraction that allows Edge to expose the turnbuckle. It backfires when Edge eats Snake Eyes into it. Both guys pick up near falls before spilling into the crowd. They fight back towards the ring and both men try to beat the count. Taker pulls Edge down and beats the count at 16:16. Commentary and the fans act like Taker’s champion but Vickie Guerrero correctly arrives to say the title can only be won via pinfall or submission. She can barely speak due to the MASSIVE heat she gets. This was a good match, though nowhere near their best efforts. The finish didn’t help things. [***]

Edge gets a Tombstone from a pissed off Undertaker.

Randy Orton cuts a strange promo on Triple H in the back.

It’s supposed to be main event time, but MVP is out instead. He’s upset about not being on the card tonight and issues an open challenge. United States Champion Matt Hardy, who won the title from MVP, comes out in street clothes. MVP is ready to get his title back, but Matt brings out Jeff for the match.

Jeff Hardy vs. MVP
Jeff was gaining all sorts of momentum and would be WWE Champion by the end of the year. He gains the early upper hand because his wild style is more fitting in something that’s thrown together. MVP steals something from the previous match, sending Jeff into the steel steps to take over. He works the shoulder, though it doesn’t seem to have much rhyme or reason. The work done is fine and methodical. He throws Jeff into the guardrail with it as well. Jeff makes a short comeback and surprisingly wins with Whisper in the Winds at 9:44. That was certainly strange. The arm work was solid, but didn’t make a ton of sense. Also, MVP gets to job to one of Jeff’s lesser moves. [**]

WWE Championship Steel Cage Match: Triple H (c) vs. Randy Orton
These two headlined WrestleMania the following year, despite happening a bunch of times. Randy has had “Voices” for about a week at this point. He goes for the door instantly, though it obviously fails. It leads to some brawling and each guy throwing the other into the steel. HHH goes Ric Flair with a chop block and figure four. Orton reaches the ropes and JR correctly notes that shouldn’t be a rope break in this kind of match, but the referee calls for it anyway. Come on, guys. It’s not that hard. Both men fail to hit their finishers. Orton nearly escapes but is stopped and pulls a chair in with him. THAT’S CONVIENENT PLACEMENT FOR THE CHAIR. HHH blocks the RKO on the chair and has the balls to consider the Pepsi Plunge. Orton blocks that and we get several escape attempts that get cut off. Orton counters a Pedigree on the chair and looks for the punt. That fails and HHH hits the Pedigree to win in a long 21:08. I just can’t get into a lot of WWE cage matches these days and this was one of them. Also, when HHH goes for his old school pacing, it doesn’t always click. Here, the match felt sluggish and like it took forever. However, I did like how the focus was on escaping, which we don’t get often enough in cage matches. I’d rather that have played into the finish though. [**¾]

5.5
The final score: review Not So Good
The 411
Like a lot of WWE Pay-Per-Views from this era, this was largely forgettable. There are some things to like though. Jericho/Michaels was the clear MOTN and one of their best matches ever. Edge/Taker was good but nowhere near their best, while HHH/Orton was a pretty good old school outing. There’s a good women’s match and fun tag team contest too. I do feel that JBL/Cena and MVP/Hardy, while decent, both missed the mark for the most part. I’d give this show a mild recommendation.
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