The Shimmy 9.24.07: The Triple H Report Card (Part Four)

Greetings, monkeys. How are we today? Well, as Tazz would say, the mood is about to change. This week’s edition of The Shimmy we take a look at Triple H in 2003, a time where he was pretty much vilified by the IWC. Why exactly? Well let’s take a look.

World Heavyweight Title Match: Triple H© vs. Scott Steiner (Royal Rumble 2003)

Here we are, Scott Steiner’s big WWE (re)debut. The appeal here was that both these guys were jacked. Try getting that story over nowadays. The build to this match was actually quite homoerotic. The match itself was, well, awful. Truth be told I don’t hate this match quite as much as the rest of the civilized world but it was pretty freaking bad. It didn’t even have a finish! It was a first time match so I guess I gave it a free pass for the history factor. That won’t help save its grade, however.

My Grade: F

World Heavyweight Title Match: Triple H© vs. Scott Steiner (No Way Out 2003)

And they got a REMATCH! This match was better than their first encounter, but not by much. At least this match had a finish and it helped get the new Evolution stable over. Steiner’s loss here pretty much killed any chance he had of being a main eventer in WWE after having a pretty good run at the end of WCW.

My Grade: D-

World Heavyweight Title Match: Triple H© vs. Booker T (WrestleMania XIX)

This match normally brings out mixed feelings in most people. I think the majority of fans thought Booker T should have won the belt here, but since their was going to be another title change later, plus the big Hogan win, I can understand why they didn’t. I what could have been Booker T’s last WrestleMania match he really brought his A-game and Triple H meshed well with him. Good match, and they had a match on Raw a few week later that I feel was even better.

My Grade: A-

Six Man Tag Team Match: Triple H, Chris Jericho, & Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, & Booker T (Backlash 2003)

I just watched this match again a few weeks ago and it was a lot better then I remembered. This is a pretty fast paced, action packed match, which is good for what it was. If you’re going to scrap a PPV title match in favor of a Six Man Tag, you better make sure it’s entertaining. Triple H and Nash were the two key figures here, but everyone else played their parts well.

My Grade: B

World Heavyweight Title Match: Triple H© vs. Kevin Nash (Judgment Day 2003)

Triple H managed to have a “dream” match (I use that term loosely) end with a DQ finish yet again in 2003. Kevin Nash wasn’t too horrible during this run and looked like a very angry big man (as he should) but this match wasn’t too much of anything. Smartly this match also wasn’t in the main event spot. Kevin Nash powerbombing Triple H through the announce table after the match was kind of cool.

My Grade: C-

World Heavyweight Title, Hell in a Cell Match: Triple H© vs. Kevin Nash; Guest Referee: Mick Foley (Bad Blood 2003)

This is possibly one of the most underappreciated matches of the last decade. To be perfectly honest, back in 2003 I had no real interest in this match. The Triple H-Nash feud really wasn’t Hell in a Cell material, and Nash hadn’t exactly set the world on fire in, well, a long time. My curiosity really wasn’t all that piqued until Mick Foley was added as the guest referee at the last minute, and even then that was in hopes of a possible Triple H-Foley match. While Foley never ended up getting his shot at Triple H’s World Heavyweight Title, Kevin Nash managed to surprise the hell out of me by having one great match here. These two men beat the crap out of each other, which is really the primary condition for a Hell in a Cell Match. Even though I really didn’t give Nash too much of a chance (nor did I really relish the idea of Nash as champion) at certain points he had me convinced that he’d walk away with the big gold belt. Foley also took a hell of a beating in this match and it was really good to see him back inside the steel mesh, even as just a referee. If you haven’t seen this match, check it out. I can’t wait for the Hell in a Cell DVD to come out and this is one of the reasons why.

My Grade: A

World Heavyweight Title, Elimination Chamber Match: Triple H© vs. Goldberg vs. Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton vs. Kevin Nash (SummerSlam 2003)

My opinion on this match keeps changing. At one point this was my favorite Elimination Chamber Match but it hasn’t aged well over the years. I liked the fact that everyone in this match had issues with everyone else. The main feuds were Triple H-Goldberg, HBK-Orton, and Nash-Jericho but Triple H was coming off a feud with Nash and he always had problems with Michaels. Jericho and Michaels still had issues as well, and Triple H and Jericho had problems in the past. Nash and Goldberg feuded in WCW and they revisited that the week before the show. Plus you had Triple H and Orton who were stablemates in Evolution and HBK and Nash who were tag team partners. Goldberg looked really good here and Triple H, who was suffering from a groin injury, played his role well in what limited action he saw. I’ve said it before but the outcome, which saw Goldberg demolish everyone and then get hit with the sledgehammer to lose, was the wrong decision. Goldberg should have gone over here, not the next month. But even though it was the wrong finish they executed it well. The post-match beatdown on Goldberg was done perfectly but that doesn’t change the dumb booking decision to have him lose in the first place.

My Grade: B+

World Heavyweight Title, Title vs. Career Match (Title Change on DQ or Count Out, Evolution Banned From Ringside): Triple H© vs. Goldberg (Unforgiven 2003)

Unfortunately I was not able to see this match. I noticed that it was available on Dailymotion so I’ll have to check it out at some point, but as of yet I haven’t had the opportunity. Sorry, folks!

My Grade: N/A

World Heavyweight Title Match: Goldberg© vs. Triple H (Survivor Series 2003)

I know they had to have a rematch but I felt this match was unnecessary, at least at Survivor Series. Goldberg could have had a fresh match with Mark Henry, Batista, or Shawn Michaels (or even all three) and instead we got Triple H in the title match once again. You can see why fans hated him in 2003. Fortunately we didn’t see Triple H get his win back here, but I never really felt like this was a Big Four main event worthy match.

My Grade: C

World Heavyweight Title, Triple Threat Match: Goldberg© vs. Triple H vs. Kane (Armageddon 2003)

This was an intriguing match and I really think WWE missed the boat on a Goldberg-Kane feud, especially when Kane was coming off his big summer run as a crazy monster. This was the show that really reestablished Evolution as a stable after Orton and Batista both had come back from injuries. Randy Orton had won the Intercontinental Title and Ric Flair & Batista had won the World Tag Team Titles so it only made sense for Triple H to win the World Heavyweight Title here so that Evolution could hold all the gold. It was a good match but compared to other Triple Threat Matches this one really doesn’t stand out from the pack.

My Grade: B+

PPV in Review: Unforgiven

You know, many people are calling this the worst PPV of the year, and from a match by match basis it probably was. There really wasn’t any one match that makes the show worth it (at least SummerSlam was saved by the main event). Still, overall I didn’t think it felt like the worst PPV of the year. Judgment Day, which actually had the Hardys-Cade & Murdoch and Cena-Khali matches that I enjoyed and the pretty good Punk-Burke match still felt much worse than this show. Maybe it was the waste of time that was HBK-Orton and the atrocious Benoit-MVP 2/3 Falls Match but I was much more miserable during that show than during Unforgiven. I’m an easy guy to please, though. The show probably won me over with the big time lighting (I like the dark PPV lighting much more than the bright lighting) and the AWESOME Undertaker video packages. I suppose I’m saying that I can forgive Unforgiven.

While I agree that CM Punk vs. Elijah Burke is probably a show opening kind of match but it really doesn’t say much about the ECW Title when its treated like that. Elijah Burke just wasn’t built up enough (or rebuilt as it were) to really matter here and he’s been CM Punk’s bitch for pretty much all of 2007 anyhow. I actually think they should give the belt to him when Morrison comes back, maybe winning a Triple Threat Match, but right now this was the right move.

The MVP-Matt Hardy feud/team continues to be one of the most well booked stories in WWE and I enjoyed their tag team match. Deuce’n’Domino got treated like jobbers, but I liked MVP and Hardy trying to outdo one another with the other’s signature move. Considering the lack of depth in the SmackDown tag team division we may see these two hold the belts for a while.

Triple H-Carlito was OK, but who seriously thought Carlito stood a chance in hell even with the relaxed rules? Carlito could really use a change of brand to help freshen up his character and get him some badly needed credibility. Perhaps a trip to ECW to feud with Punk? Of course they’d probably just feed him to the Boogeyman instead, but it’s an idea.

Candice Michelle vs. Beth Phoenix was the women’s equivalent of Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga although not quite as good. Phoenix looked impressive and I don’t really mind Candice getting the fluke win, but the match was almost too squashy. I suppose we’ll get a rematch at No Mercy that Phoenix will win.

I really enjoyed the Triple Threat Match. The match was fun and there was action throughout, much like the Triple Threat Match at the Great American Bash. Khali wasn’t too bad and Batista and Rey brought their work boots. The only bad part of the match was Khali trying to sell the 619. Rey hits him in the shoulder with it which was apparently so hard that it made Khali stand (slowly) straight up and then fall on his ass. The finish was hot and I was pleasantly surprised to see Batista win. Batista broke his streak of nine consecutive World Title non-wins (remember he went to two draws with Undertaker) and finally won his title back. The best part out of this is that at No Mercy we get to see the return of the PUNJABI PRISON! I was afraid WWE wouldn’t try it one more time but I love that thing. It just looks so freaking cool.

Cade & Murdoch vs. London & Kendrick was OK, but kind of disappointing. When L & K got drafted to Raw I was eagerly anticipating a match between them and Cade & Murdoch. After their dark match at SummerSlam got such good reviews I was looking forward to this match even more. It was there and it was good but it just didn’t seem too special. Maybe it was the dead crowd but this match was merely there to occupy space.

I don’t care what everyone else is saying, Cena-Orton was damn good for a seven minute match with no finish. The action was fast and furious and the crowd was hot. The DQ ending was even perfect given the storyline. Compared to some of the DQ finishes that we’ve seen in PPV title matches, including matches that ended the show, this was pretty good. I really dug this match and thought it was definitely the second best match of the night. Those people that are giving this match negative stars apparently didn’t see the same match I did. I can’t wait until their Last Man Standing Match at No Mercy.

Andy Enjoyment Index: Unforgiven

1) Khali-Rey-Batista
2) Cena-Orton
3) Cade & Murdoch-London & Kendrick
4) Hardy & MVP-Deuce’n’Domino
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5) Punk-Burke
6) Triple H-Carlito
7) Taker-Henry
8) Candice-Phoenix

Undertaker vs. Mark Henry was what it was going to be. The match was all about Taker’s entrance and the pop he’d receive from the crowd. Henry was never going to win and they were never going to have a great match. In fact, of all their matches I think this may have been the best one. I probably would have put the Triple Threat Match in the main event spot, but I guess WWE felt confident that Taker’s return was main event worthy. It wasn’t the worst main event I’ve seen.

Supercard in Review: UWF Capital Punishment II

I think I wrote about all I really wanted to in the results section, which can be found here.

I will pass along the Andy Enjoyment Index just because you guys care so much.

Andy Enjoyment Index: UWF Capital Punishment II

1) War Games
2) Senshi-Ruckus
3) Abyss-D’Lo Brown
4) AJ Styles-Joey Matthews
—————————————————————-
5) 8 Man Royal Rumble
6) Jake Manning & Gail Kim-David Young & Daffney

Andy! Andy! At Last You Have Some Feedback!

Fasjab has a note of Capital Punishment:

Just finished reading your Triple H Report card, and have to say it was a nice read. I was also surprised to see someone else pushing the UWF: CP 2 show. I’m going as well, esspecially after last year’s show. Plus it’s freaking Wargames, how could I pass that up. Hope you have a great time, too.

Thanks for the e-mail! The show was fun, although I had some serious issues with the pacing. War Games was all kinds of fun, though. It was surreal seeing JBL and LAX in the ring together.

The Shimmy Likes It Raw!

What’s on tap for tonight’s show?

Steel Cage Match: Triple H vs. Carlito; With his confrontation with Umaga on the horizon at No Mercy, Triple H looks to squash, errr, defeat Carlito inside of a 15 foot high steel cage.

What’s next for Hornswoggle McMahon? Will Mr. McMahon and Coach be able to catch the little guy?

Now that Randy Orton has beaten the hell out of Mr. Cena, what will John Cena’s reaction be this week? By the way, am I really supposed to believe that a guy that can lift up the Great Khali on his shoulders can’t break a little chain with a good running start?

That’s it for this week everybody. I’ll see you here next week. Until then, don’t die. Go Hoos. Clark…out.