Worth Your Wealth? 05.19.08: Judgment Day

Hello again, 411 readers! “The One-Man Ratings Booster” here with another edition of “Worth Your Wealth?”! The idea is that you spend your hard-earned dollars on wrestling on a monthly basis, and I want you to know whether or not you’re getting your moneys worth. So read on and see if you’re investing wisely of if your cash is going to waste…

Please accept my apologies for not writing a column for last weeks TNA Sacrifice PPV. I was unfortunately not able to see the show on Sunday due to outside events, but I DID order the replay this past week so I could still review the show. So let’s get this out of the way first:

BONUS TNA Sacrifice Mini-WYW!
Bonus Materials: $3.00 / $3.00
Team 3D def. Sting and James Storm: $1.00 / $2.15
Christian Cage and Rhino def. Robert Roode and Booker T: $1.10 / $2.15
LAX def. Kip James and Matt Morgan: $0.50 / $2.15
AJ Styles and Super Eric def. Awesome Kong and BG James: $0.80 / $2.15
Terror Dome – Kaz def. Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, Jimmy Rave, Curry Man, Johnny Devine, Shark Boy, Consequences Creed, Chris Sabin, and Alex Shelley: $3.25 / $3.25
Team 3D def. Christian Cage and Rhino: $1.25 / $2.15
LAX def. AJ Styles and Super Eric: $1.50 / $2.15
Knockouts Battle Royal/Ladder/Hair Match – Gail Kim def. Roxxi, Velvet Sky, Angelina Love, Christy Hemme, ODB, Jackie Moore, Traci Brooks, Salinas, and Rhaka Khan: $2.75 / $3.25
Tag Team Championship Match – LAX def. Team 3D: $3.00 / $3.25
TNA Heavyweight Championship Match – Samoa Joe def. Scott Steiner and Kaz: $4.00 / $4.30
————————————————————————————————————
Match of the Night: TerrorDome (100% Worth)
Trash of the Night: LAX vs. Kip James and Matt Morgan (23% Worth)
Total Value: $22.15 / $30.00 (74% Worth, C)
Comments: It’s been said enough already, what killed this show was the number of matches. The TerrorDome was great and the main event delivered despite the change in participants, but it wasn’t enough to bail out the multitude of TV matches on this PPV.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
And now, the maaaaiiiiinnnnn event!
WWE Judgment Day – Worth Your Wealth?

First, as always, we start off with our super-scientific formula for calculating the projected worth of each part of the show. Keep in mind I round things to the nearest nickel, so as not to piss myself off. Oh, and for the purposes of this column, I don’t have HD and neither do you.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
P = 2(A)x + 1.5(B)x + 1(C)x + 0.1(P)

Ten-percent of the PPV price accounts for non-wrestling related activities, such as in-ring promos, backstage segments, video packages, etc. Aside from that, A B and C represent the different classes of matches on the card:

Class C: Filler matches with little to no solid build behind them.
Class B: Secondary, but still significant matches that were well-promoted prior to the show.
Class A: The main event, as well as other high-profile, heavily promoted matches on the card.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
The Breakdown (as I see it):
Class C: MVP vs. Jeff Hardy and Mickie James vs. Melina vs. Beth Phoenix.
Class B: Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho, John Cena vs. JBL, and Kane and CM Punk vs. John Morrison and The Miz.
Class A: Undertaker vs. Edge and Randy Orton vs. Triple H.

The Calculation (as the universe sees it):
40 = 2(2)x + 1.5(3)x + 1(2)x + 0.1(40)
40 = 4x + 4.5x + 2x + 4
36 = 10.5x
x = 3.45

The Result (as you will see it):
Class A: $6.90
Class B: $5.20
Class C: $3.45
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
And now, THE GOODNESS!

Bonus Materials – Price Tag: $4.00

We saw a few good backstage segments this month, serving to continue the JBL/Cena and HBK/Dave feuds. I’d assume we’re going to see some brutal rematches between these pairings at ONS, but that’s a discussion for another time. JBL’s segment in particular, I thought, came across very well…because by all accounts, he DID beat John Cena. In addition, we got another great promo from Randy Orton and a hot Mickie James sighting (though I hate we’re taking this random-diva-digs-Cena route again…didn’t this already happen back when Maria was still dumb?). Finally, we had MVP come out and cut a promo about being left off the card. While I think its completely stupid to book a PPV match with absolutely no build whatsoever, I liked the route they went with setting it up. MVPs logic here was a good fit for his character, so overall I view this as a positive.
Where I felt the bonus materials suffered was the appearance made by Vicky Guererro following the Edge/Undertaker match. She was getting INCREDIBLE heat, but I still feel she dragged out the announcement a bit too long. How many times did she actually say “EXCUSE ME!”? All in all, there was plenty of good stuff with a little bit of shit thrown in to keep this portion from earning extra value.

Overall Value: $4.00 – due to Vicky dragging down a lot of good stuff..

John Cena def. JBL (c) via Pinfall (FU) – Price Tag: $5.20

A surprising match to start the show, as I thought it would be the ECW match. I didn’t have the highest hopes for this match considering JBL has been iffy since his return from the announce table and I distinctly remember their Wrestlemania match a few years back being largely meh. Overall, though, I was pleased with how this turned out. Cena sold his ass off, JBL looked dominant, and they worked a solid 20 minutes.
The problem I had with this match was that it seemingly signaled the return of “Super Cena”. I’m sure everyone remembers the basic formula most of Cena’s pre-injury matches followed…he’d get his ass kicked for 90% of the match, randomly hit the FU, and score the pinfall. I guess its really no different than when matches end up with quick rollups, but it still always leaves a bad taste in my mouth when he nails that one move and that’s all he needs. While the overall match wasn’t totally ruined by the annoying finish (especially considering that I expected so much less from it), I don’t feel like I can give it full value.

Overall Value: $4.75 due to general goodness, though it could have earned more with a more dramatic finish.

WWE Tag Team Championship: John Morrison and The Miz (c) def. Kane and CM Punk to retain the WWE Tag Team Championships – Price Tag: $5.20

Miz and Morrison really ARE one of the best things about the WWE product these days. Especially when you consider what Miz looked like in the ring a year ago, you really have to give these guys credit for being as entertaining as they are. While I would have liked to see some sort of ECW title match on the show, and I HATE these slapdash “two-main-event-guys-challenge-the-tag-champs” matches, I have to admit I enjoyed every minute of this match.
In fact, the only problem I really saw here was that it was too short. The match could have been well worth it, but I felt like they didn’t get enough time to really put on a great PPV match.
Overall Value: $4.95 due to overall goodness but lack of enough time to be really awesome.

Shawn Michaels def. Chris Jericho via Pinfall (Roll-up) – Price Tag: $5.20

This was definitely the most highly anticipated match on the card for me. Jericho and Michaels are two of my favorites all time and I was really looking for them to recreate some of the the magic from their Wrestlemania feud a couple years back. That said, this match was spot on. There was excellent back-and-forth all the way through and some excellent suspense spots. Jericho teasing his tapout to the crossface was some of the best in-ring acting I’ve seen in a long time. And I absolutely LOVED the spot where Jericho refused to stand up and take the superkick. On top of everything else, Jericho began working the ribs after Michaels blowing an elbow drop, which the announcers traced all the way back to Shawns crash-and-burn at Wrestlemania! Continuity ftw!!!

I would have liked to see another 5 minutes or so, but I ‘m hoping we’ll get an epic rematch when they eventually pull the trigger on a heel turn someplace. Speaking of which, I really liked the post-match tease here, too. The best part is the fact that you can sense a heel turn coming, but you can’t even really be sure which of these guys its gonna be. Great stuff here, I really hope we see more of this one Dave and HBK finish their business. Speaking of which, thank God they waited until after the match to throw Dave back into the mix…
Overall Value: $5.95 due to awesome action, suspense, and psychology.

Womens Championship Triple-Threat Match: Mickie James def. Beth Phoenix and Melina via Pinfall (Primal DDT) – Price Tag: $3.45

A lof of people commented prior to this show that Melina was only in this match to eat the pinfall, so I can’t imagine anybody was surprised with how this turned out. The match itself was enjoyable, it’s easy to forget what the skilled Diva’s can do in the ring when they aren’t worrying about carrying the playmates. It’s no secret that Mickie and Beth are both incredible female talents, but I think Melina is under-rated in the scheme of things. She may not be on Mickie/Beth level, but she knows how to work and hung fine with the other two ladies in this match. Overall, this was a good ladies match for the amount of time they got. I really wish WWE would take a page from TNA and put more stock in their TRAINED female talent. This match could have easily gone 10ish minutes and been awesome.
In the end, we got the finish we expected, which was fine. Mickie and Beth will likely continue for another month…I wonder if they’d actually book these two in an extreme rules match at ONS? It would definitely be something new.

Overall Value: $3.25 due to general goodness, but it felt way too short for the potential greatness they had in the ring.

World Heavyweight Championship Match: The Undertaker def. Edge via Count-Out to keep the World Heavyweight Title vacant via shenanigans – Price Tag: $6.90

Honest to God, at this point I could probably watch Undertake/Edge headline every WWE pay-per-view until the next Wrestlemania. I remember how awesome I thought the Undertaker/Dave feud was at the time, but this one surpasses even that. We got another excellent match this month from the best of the blue brand, complete with Undertaker pulling out some new and interesting move variations (as well as de-pantsing Edge a few times).
The match overall seemed a little bit more slanted in Undertakers favor than the previous two match-ups, which were basically even throughout. This worked though, since the whole idea at this point is that Undertaker is just pissed off beyond belief. They were rolling along towards another 4-star match here and then…
THE RETURN OF THE WONKY FINISH!
This really made me sad. That’s the best way to put it. I wasn’t ANGRY, hell, I understood the logic. Nobody wins the title on count-out…ok, fine. But I dunno, things were going so well for a few months without finishes like this. I understand the point is to further the feud between these two (which is FINE, believe me), but it seems like a bullshit finish in the THIRD match of the series is a step in the wrong direction. Let’s hope we get something epic between these two for ONS to make up for the finish that kept this match from being great.

Overall Value: $6.75 because the match was great (yet again), but the shit finish really hurt the end worth here. This would have been easily surpassed the price-tag with a real finish.

Jeff Hardy def. MVP via Pinfall (Whisper in the Wind) – Price Tag: $3.45

3 cheers for matches nobody knows about!

Not sure what I can really say about this match. I’m not sure why they felt it needed to be on the show, rather than giving the ECW match, the womens match, or the Jericho/HBK match more time. More importantly, I’m not sure why the felt it needed to be on the show, considering it was pretty bad. It makes me rather angry that an otherwise good show has to have its value dragged down by a throw-away, meaningless, unannounced match. And seriously, is Whisper in the Wind really Jeff Hardy’s finisher now? Cuz that’s a shame too.

Oh and thank god they trotted out the NEW UNITED STATES CHAMPION to say “yeah I’m not gonna wrestle you tonight, even though we were feuding and everything.”

Plain and simple, this sucked.

Overall Value: $1.00 because of abundant badness

WWE Championship Steel Cage Match: Triple H (c) def. Randy Orton via Pinfall (Pedigree) – Price Tag: $6.90

I maintain that it was a mistake to take the title off of Randy Orton last month. Either he should have dropped it at Wrestlemania or retained for several more months. But regardless, we’re here with Orton getting his rematch inside a steel cage. I really hate steel cage matches where you can win by pinfall/submission, because it largely makes the catch gimmick seem pointless.
Luckily, they played up the escape angle very well in this match with lots of near escapes and even Randy Orton dangling from the top of the cage my his neck. The match in general wasn’t bad, but it was nowhere near their Last Man Standing match back when Cena went out of commission. As much as I hate Randy Orton losing the belt, I hope he’ll be done as the challenger soon because I hate seeing Triple H work as a face. He just doesn’t really exude the whole “face in peril” gimmick in my eyes, but meh.

At any rate, the match was fine, but I can’t say it was a fitting pay-per-view main event. There were some suspenseful moments on the top of the cage, but there was never really a notion that Orton would be winning the match in my mind. It’s a shame that Undertaker/Edge had to have the total crap finish, because it would have made for a vastly superior main event.

Overall Value: $5.00 because this was undeniably average, especially for a PPV main event..
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
The Final Tally:

Overall Price Tag: $40.00

Match of the Night: Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels – 114% Value ($5.95 worth, $5.20 price tag.)

Trash of the Night: Jeff Hardy vs. MVP – 29% Value ($1.00 value, $3.45 price tag.)

Overall Value: $35.65

Resulting PPV Rating: B+ (89% Worth)

Closing Comments:
Judgment Day was an extremely well-rounded show with great action nearly all-around. Of all the shows I’ve reviewed thus far, this one probably had the most potential to be worth every penny. Unfortunately, the value of what was generally a good show was severely damaged by a horrible finish to Undertaker/Edge and a complete throw-away match which basically forced us all to pay $3.45 to see Jeff Hardy work off his ring-rust.
The remainder of the matches on the card all delivered, and were only limited by the amount of time some of them got. All in all, a good show that I would definitely recommend catching…just fast-forward the Hardy/MVP match!
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Year in Review:

1. WWE Backlash – A- (90% Worth)
Match of the Night: World Heavyweight Championship: The Undertaker vs. Edge – 101% Value ($7.00 Worth, $6.90 price tag).

2. WWE Judgment Day – B+ (89% Worth)
Match of the Night: Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels – 114% Value ($5.95 worth, $5.20 price tag.)

3. WWE Wrestlemania 24 – B (86% Worth)
Match of the Night: Career-Threatening Match: Shawn Michaels vs. “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair- 116% Value ($8.00 worth, $6.90 price tag).

4. TNA Lockdown – B (83% Worth)
Match of the Night: TNA World Heavyweight Championship: Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe – 116% Value ($5.00 worth, $4.30 price tag).

5. TNA Sacrifice – C (74% Worth)
Match of the Night: X-Division TerrorDome – 100% Value ($3.25 worth, $3.25 price tag).
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
And with that folks, we’ll see you next time!