Sasaki wins World-1 Junior Tournament

Yoshihito Sasaki won the Zero-One MAX World-1 Junior Tournament beating ex-Osaka Pro ace Takehiro Murahama in the finals of the week long tournament tour. Earlier that same evening he defeated veteran junior ace Tatsuhito Takaiwa in what many would consider a huge upset.

Full results for the tournament (in reverse order):

Zero-One 5/29 - Shizuoka Twin Messe - 2,000 fans
World-1 Jr. Tournament - Block A Semi-Finals: Yoshihito Sasaki beat Tatsuhito Takaiwa in 12:41 with a Lariat.
World-1 Jr. Tournament - Block B Semi-Finals: Takehiro Murahama beat Ikuto Hidaka in 9:01 with a highkick.
Takao Omori & Kamikaze beat Kintaro Kanemura & Jason the Legend in 10:13 when Kamikaze pinned Legend with an inside cradle.
"First On Stage" Rules - No DQ: Masato Tanaka beat Takashi Sasaki in 11:50 with the Diamond Dust.
Kazuhiko Ogasawara Wrestling Ability Assessment: Kohei Sato & Ryuji Sai beat Kazuhiko Ogasawara & Kazuhiko Matsuzaki in 10:22 when Sato pinned Matsuzaki with a German suplex hold
Special Singles Match: Justin McCully beat Shinjiro Ohtani in 7:58 by DQ
Special Jr. Tag Match: Alex Shelley & GAMMA beat Minoru Fujita & Osamu Namiguchi in 11:22 when Shelley used the Shell Shock in Namiguchi.
World-1 Jr. Tournament - Finals: Yoshihito Sasaki beat Takehiro Murahama in 19:14 with a modified driver.

Zero-One 5/27 - Nagasaki City NCC Studio - 500 fans (full house)
1. Alex Shelley & Gamma beat Ikuto Hidaka & PSYCHO in 10:13 when Shelley used the Shell Shock on PSYCHO.
2. World-1 Jr. Tournament - Block B: Takehiro Murahama [6] beat Osamu Namiguchi [0] in 9:51 with a brainbuster.
3. World-1 Jr. Tournament - Block A: Tatsuhito Takaiwa [5] vs. Danshoku Dino [3] went to a double countout at 12:34.
4. Justin McCully beat Jason the Legend in 6:41 with a double arm cross arm breaker.
5. Kohei Sato & Ryouji Sai beat Rikiya Fudo & Takashi Sasaki in 13:06 when Sato used a cross arm-breaker of Fudo.
6. World-1 Jr. Tournament - Block A: Yoshihito Sasaki [5] beat Minoru Fujita [4] in 18:47 with a modified driver.
7. Shinjiro Otani & Masato Tanaka beat Takao Omori & Kamikaze in 15:40 when Tanaka pinned Kamikaze with the Complete Dust.

Zero-One 5/26 - Fukuoka Hakata Star Lane - 1,200 Fans
1. Azteca & Takashi Sasaki beat Rikiya Kudo & Fugo Fugo Yumeji in 8:46 when Sasaki used the D-Geist on Yumeji
2. World-1 Jr. Tournament - Block B: Alex Shelley [4] beat Osamu Namiguchi [0] in 8:45 with the Shell Shock.
3. World-1 Jr. Tournament - Block A: Tatsuhito Takaiwa [4] beat Gamma [3] in 16:44 with a Death Valley Bomb
4. Minoru Fujita & Takehiro Murahama beat Dansyoku Dino & Yoshihito Sasaki in 13:16 when Fujita pinned Sasaki with a La Majistral.
5. World-1 Jr. Tournament - Block B: Ikuto Hidaka [6] beat PSYCHO [4] in 9:21 with the Shawn Capture
6. Shinjiro Ohtani & Masato Tanaka beat Justin McCully & Jason the Legend in 11:40 when Ohtani submitted Jason.
7. NWA IC Tag Titles: Kyohei Sato & Ryuji Sai beat Takao Omori & Kamikaze in 30:00 when Sai pinned Kamikaze with a back suplex hold.

ZERO-ONE 5/25 – Kumamoto Hungham Hall drawing 1,150 fans
1. 3 Way Dance: Psycho beat Mt. Aso & Rikiya Fudo in 8:48 with the beef package on Fudo.
2. World 1 Jr. Heavyweight Tourney – Block A: Gamma [3] defeated Minoru Fujita [4] in 11:52 with the Blitzen.
3. World 1 Jr. Heavyweight Tourney – Block A: Danshoku Dino [2] battled Yoshito Sasaki [3] to a double countout in 13:37.
4. Takehiro Murahama & Takashi Sasaki beat Osamu Namiguchi & Tatsuhito Takaiwa in 14:23 when Sasaki used the D-Guist on Namiguchi.
5. World 1 Jr. Heavyweight Tourney – Block B: Alex Shelley [2] defeated Ikuto Hidaka [4] in 13:58 with the Shell Shock.
6. 2 out of 3 falls: Kamikaze, Takao Omori, Shinjiro Otani & Masato Tanaka beat Jason the Legend, Justin McCully, Ryouji Sai & Kohei Sato by 2-0.
1st fall: Omori used the Axe Bomber on Sai at 15:29.
2nd fall: Kamikaze used the Kamikaze Driver on Sai at 24:42

ZERO-ONE 5/24 – Kagoshima Gymnastics Center drawing 1,000 fans
1. World 1 Jr. Heavyweight Tourney – Block B: Takehiro Murahama [4] beat PSYCHO [4] in 9:38 with a brainbuster.
2. World 1 Jr. Heavyweight Tourney – Block A: Danshoku Dino [1] battled Gamma [1] to a double countout in 8:44.
3. Jason the Legend beat Rikiya Fudo in 8:29 with a diving headbutt.
4. Justin McCully & Alex Shelley defeated Ikuto Hidaka & Takashi Sasaki in 8:16 when McCully used a double-arm jujigatame on Sasaki.
5. Emblem (Shinjiro Otani & Masato Tanaka) beat Minoru Fujita & Osamu Namiguchi in 16:01 when Tanaka used a brainbuster on Namiguchi.
6. Kamikaze, Takao Omori & Tatsuhito Takaiwa defeated Ryouji Sai, Yoshito Sasaki & Kohei Sato in 17:10 when Omori used the Axe Bomber on Sai.

ZERO-ONE 5/22 – Okayama Orange Hall drawing 1,200 fans
1. World 1 Jr. Heavyweight Tourney – Block B: PSYCHO [4] beat Osamu Namiguchi [0] in 8:48 with the High Fly bomb.
2. World 1 Jr. Heavyweight Tourney – Block B: Takehiro Murahama [2] defeated Alex Shelley [0] in 7:11 with a brainbuster.
3. Ikuto Hidaka & Kohei Sato beat Kamikaze & Takashi Sasaki in 15:01 when Sato used a German Suplex hold on Sasaki.
4. World 1 Jr. Heavyweight Tourney – Block A: Minoru Fujita [4] defeated Tatsuhito Takaiwa [2] in 18:13 with an inverted DDT.
5. Jason the Legend & Justin McCully beat Takao Omori & Rikiya Fudo in 15:12 when McCully used a double-armed jujigatame on Fudo.
6. Emblem (Shinjiro Otani & Masato Tanaka) defeated Ryouji Sai & Yoshito Sasaki in 15:02 when Otani used a daio cobra hold on Sasaki.

ZERO-ONE 5/21 – Wakayama Prefectural Gym drawing 1,300 fans
1. World 1 Jr. Heavyweight Tourney – Block A: Yoshito Sasaki [2] beat Gamma [0] in 13:54 with the Argentina Coaster.
2. Tatsuhito Takaiwa defeated Takashi Sasaki in 10:43 with a Boston Crab.
3. World 1 Jr. Heavyweight Tourney – Block B: Ikuto Hidaka [4] beat Osamu Namiguchi [0] in 12:12 with the Shawn Capture.
4. Minoru Fujita & Takao Omori defeated Danshoku Dino & Ryouji Sai in 17:55 when Omori used the Axe Bomber on Sai.
5. Kamikaze beat Kohei Sato in 8:39 with the ZERO-ONE Clutch.
6. Takehiro Murahama, Shinjiro Otani & Masato Tanaka defeated Jason the Legend, Justin McCully & Alex Shelley in 13:28 when Tanaka used the Diamond Dust on Shelley.

ZERO-ONE 5/20 – Osaka Prefectural Gym #2 drawing 1,400 fans (Samurai)
1. Masa Kurisu & Takashi Sasaki beat MIYAWAKI & Rikiya Fudo in 9:46 when Sasaki used the D-Guy Strike on MIYAWAKI.
2. World 1 Jr. Heavyweight Tourney – Block B: PSYCHO [2] defeated Alex Shelley [0] in 9:52 with the Thanatos (high-angle twisting la magistral.)
3. World 1 Jr. Heavyweight Tourney – Block A: Minoru Fujita [2] beat Danshoku Dino [0] in 9:41 with an avalanche-style cradle.
4. World 1 Jr. Heavyweight Tourney – Block B: Ikuto Hidaka [2] defeated Takehiro Murahama [0] in 12:56 with the Solarina.
5. Kamikaze & Takao Omori beat Jason the Legend (George King) & Justin McCully in 15:48 when Kamikaze used the ZERO-ONE Clutch on Legend.
6. World 1 Jr. Heavyweight Tourney – Block A: Tatsuhito Takaiwa [2] defeated Yoshito Sasaki [0] in 16:34 with a lariat.
7. Gamma, Ryouji Sai & Kohei Sato beat Osamu Namiguchi, Shinjiro Otani & Masato Tanaka in 15:48 when Sai used a backdrop suplex hold on Namiguchi.

WWE Judgment Day results

WWE Tag Team Titles: MNM VS Hardcore Holly & Charlie Haas
Melina has probably the best Diva ring entrance I’ve seen in a while. Really shows off her “flexability”.
My first look at MNM and they definitely have a good look and work well together, despite the obvious size disadvantage they have compared to most. This is a team that could definitely help the dying tag division in WWE.
It surprises me how Holly still gets a big pop whenever he comes out and Charlie Haas is definitely a very underated talent. He showed some great offence here like a huge dive out of the ring like Shelton Benjamin does, and he actually pulled off a proper Exploder suplex. It was a good match overall and hopefully MNM will improve even more over time.
Match Rating: *1/2

Carlito with Matt Morgan VS The Big Show
So he just goes by the name Carlito now? Ok.
Big Show had his way with the little guy throughout the match save for a few spots where Morgan got involved. Seeing Morgan pick up Show at the end and giving him a F5 was impressive though. I guess it’s now on to the Morgan/Big Show feud.
Match Rating: *

WWE Cruiserweight Title: Paul London VS Chavo Guerrero
I find it ironic Michael Cole says the Cruiserweight Division is what Smackdown is all about, when they mostly use the cruiserweights as fodder for the bigger guys and the only big exposure they get is on Velocity these days.
Match of the night to this point, and what do you expect when you consider the two men in the match? Felt like a throwaway though considering that the feud they were building before Chavo injured himself seemed to be forgotten. London almost kills himself when he does a flip off the top rope and barely hits Chavo, but lands smack-dap on his back on the floor. I’m sure taking big bumps like that helped get him noticed, but I don’t think it’s worth it if it cuts his career short down the line.
Match Rating: **1/2

Kurt Angle VS Booker T
A good match, but it really should have been more of a fight considering the animosity the two had between each other. Good to see Book has his working mode on and did really well here. He even brought out the old Book End which scored a near fall, and the modified cradle his used to counter the Angle Slam to win the match was pretty good too.
Match Rating: **1/2

Post Match, Sharmell comes out and cheers her husband’s victory. An enraged Angle attacks Booker and gives him an Angle Slam. He then grabs Sharmell and tries to handcuff her to the ropes, but Booker recovers in time to make the save and handcuff Angle to the ropes! Book then pounds on a helpless Olympic Hero before Sharmell gets in a few shots of her own followed by a big low blow before the happy couple leaves.
It almost looked as if they were going for a Sharmell heel turn, but they wouldn’t do that so soon after Lita turned on Kane now would they? Would they???

US Championship: Orlando Jordan VS Heidenreich
A good example of how bizarre the wrestling world is when a someone like Heidenreich goes from being green and boring to becoming a big fan favorite! The crowd actually dug his “I need a friend” gimmick, though the obviously planted fan in the audience he picked was really annoying. I also found it funny the way Heidenreich goes “Pow! Pow!” when he throws punches! Definitely not the best match you’ll ever see, and the finish was a little lame, but they were definitely working their hardest and I think Heidenreich could definitely improve given time.
Match Rating: *

Eddie Guerrero VS Rey Mysterio
What can I say other than these two put on the best damn match from the Smackdown brand I’ve seen in a long time. This was easily tons better than their WrestleMania match and the two did a really good job of telling the story of the feud in the ring. Eddie was just excellent in his evil heel role here and Mysterio showed that he is indeed more than just a spot wrestler when given the chance like he was here.
Even the DQ finish didn’t spoil things all that much as it added to Guerrero’s character of a psychotic heel who knew that if he couldn’t beat the guy, he should at least beat him till he can’t get up!
Best match of the PPV so far, and easily a Smackdown brand Match of the Year so far.
Match Rating: ****

WWE Championship “I QUIT” Match: John Cena VS John Bradshaw Leyfield
John Cena is definitely an early contender for blade job of the year right here, wearing the bloody crimson mask that JBL usually does to make his matches more interesting.
They both hit their finishers, but of course that’s not gonna help them in an “I Quit” match. But when they brawled into the entranceway, JBL got tossed head first into a big TV and I catch him doing a blade job!
This was a very bloody brawl overall, and I’m really surprised at the way they decided to end it with JBL actually saying “I Quit” at the end of it to avoid taking a beating, which he still received anyway after the match when Cena smashed him through a glass backdrop. Will be interesting to see how they follow up JBL's character now.
Match Rating: ***

Overall: This was a good show capped off by very good main events. You will definitely want to check out the Mysterio/Guerrero match, and it’ll be interesting to see how they continue that storyline, same goes for Kurt Angle and JBL. Not the best PPV of the year, but certainly not the worst either despite the horrible buildup. But the WWE can’t bank on a reputation of good matches despite bad build to sell PPVs forever.

New Japan NEXESS VI results

Interesting results from tonight's Tokyo Dome show. Tenzan won back the title as expected, but the big story will be how the geniuses who run NJPW follow up with Tenzan's booking. I guess it also made sense that Tenzan had to almost kill Kojima with a ganso-TTD (sit-out tombstone piledriver) to beat him after the much hyped Anaconda Hook (left hook to the back of the head) didn't get the job done.

Kazuyuki Fujita looks to be a possible opponent as he together with Nagata, Nakanishi & Kashin assaulted Tenzan after his match. But the question I have to ask is why the heck is he so interested in the title now when it was just some months ago when he couldn't give a sh*t for the title when he was holding it???
The biggest complaint I would have with the show was that it was streamlined and the kept short to about 3 1/2 hours. Not really worth paying big yen for Tokyo Dome ticket if their going to speed past everthing.
And there weren't even any big surprises as promised. Or at least the surprises that were presented were again no big deal for me. Hashimoto was in the audience and miss a Hustle show to be there. Akira Maeda didn't even show up but sent his cronies instead. And Fujita who publicly stated he hated pro-wrestling before now wants back into the action. Ho-hum.
Like I said at the top, it'll be interesting to see where things go from here.

NJPW "NEXESS VI", 5/14/05 (WPW/PPV/NJ+IWTV Internet)
Tokyo Dome-35,000 Fans - No Vacancy
1. Togi Makabe & Toru Yano beat Osamu Nishimura & Yutaka Yoshie (5:36) when Yano used the Nightcap on Nishimura.
2. Minoru Suzuki beat Alexander Otsuka (4:46) with a Gotch-style piledriver.
3. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Minoru & Hirooki Goto beat Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue © (14:42) when Goto used a modified front cradle on Kanemoto to become the 15th champions.
4. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Tiger Mask © beat Black Tiger (9:28) with a Tiger suplex hold (2nd defense).
5. Yuji Nagata beat Tsuyoshi Kosaka (8:35) with a backdrop hold.
6. Keiji Muto beat Ron Waterman (11:16) with a moonsault press.
7. IWGP Tag Team Title: Shinsuke Nakamura & Hiroshi Tanahashi © beat Manabu Nakanishi & Kendo Kashin (17:59) when Nakamura used a cross armbreaker on Kashin (3rd defense).
8. Super Dream Tag Match: Tatsumi Fujinami & Mitsuharu Misawa beat Masahiro Chono & Jushin Thunder Liger (14:49) when Fujinami used a ground Cobra Twist on Liger.
9. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Satoshi Kojima © (19:34) with the TTD to become the 42nd champion.

Differ Cup 2005 Finals results

NOAH's Naomichi Marufuiji & KENTA won the 2005 Differ Cup Scramble Jr. Tag Tournament last night in front of 1,800 fans at the Differ Ariake Arena, beating the Zero-One team of Minoru Fujita & Ikuto Hidaka in the finals. The match went over 35-minutes and eventhough the results were pretty much predictable, it at least shows that Fujita & Hidaka could hang with the two veterans from the big leagues. And in a true show of class, Marufuji & KENTA donated the 1,000,000 yen cheque they won to Naohiro Hoshikawa to help pay his medical bills. Hoshikawa has been out since 2004 due to severe injuries suffered during a match with Tatsuhito Takaiwa in Zero-One.
The Ikeman team of Kaz Hayashi (AJPW) & Leonardo Spanky (Zero1/Hustle) came in third place beating Tiger Emperor (NOAH) & Super Shisa (Dragon Gate).

Pro Wrestling NOAH/Zero-One Max "Differ Cup Night Two", 5/8/05 (NTV)
Tokyo Differ Ariake
1,800 Fans - Super No Vacancy
1. Osamu Namaguchi VS Katsuhiko Nakajima went to a draw (15:00) when the time limit expired.
2. Amazing Kong beat Stalker Ikichawa (0:23) with a lariat.
2a. Amazing Kong beat Stalker Ikichawa & DJ Nira (2:30) when Kong used a diving body press on Nira.
3. Takehiro Murahama & KUDO beat Hi69 & Iifushi Kota (9:17) when KUDO used a diving knee drop on Kota.
4. Tomohiro Ishii, Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Yoshihito Sasaki beat TAKA Michinoku , PSYCHO & Sonjay Dutt (13:56) when Takaiwa used the W Impact on Dutt.
5. Differ Cup Tag Team Tournament - 3rd Place Playoff: Kaz Hayashi & Leonaro Spanky beat Tiger Emperor & Super Shisa () when Hayashi pinned Shisa after the Sliced Bread #2
6. Differ Cup Tag Team Tournament - Final: Naomichi Marufuji & KENTA beat Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita (35:24) when KENTA used the Busaiku Knee Kick on Fujita.

Differ Cup 2005 Day 1 results

First day of the tournament was pretty much predictable, with both teams that currently hold junior tag titles going into the finals. An added bonus match was Ebessan debuting as Ebetaro, his new name since Ebessan is probably trademarked by Osaka Pro.

Pro Wrestling NOAH/Zero-One Max "Differ Cup Night One", 5/7/05 (NTV)
Tokyo Differ Ariake - 1,800 Fans - Super No Vacancy
1. Differ Cup Tag Team Tournament - Round 1: Tiger Emperor & Super Shisa beat Takehiro Murahama & Katsuhiko Nakajima (16:54) when Emperor used a Tiger Suplex hold on Nakajima.
2. Differ Cup Tag Team Tournament - Round 1: Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita beat TAKA Michinoku & PSYCHO (11:52) when Fujita used the Boneyard on PSYCHO.
3. Differ Cup Tag Team Tournament - Round 1: Naomichi Marufuji & KENTA beat KUDO & Iifushi Kota (15:44) when KENTA used the Busaiku Knee Kick on Kota.
4. Differ Cup Tag Team Tournament - Round 1: Kaz Hayashi & Leonardo Spanky beat Takashi Sasaki & GENTARO (15:26) when Spanky used the Sliced Bread #2 on GENTARO.
5. Sonjay Dutt beat Ebetaro (Ebessan's new ring name) (11:29) with a 450 splash.
6. Differ Cup Tag Team Tournament - Semi Final: Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita beat Tiger Emperor & Super Shisa (11:29) when Hidaka used a Shawn Capture on Emperor.
7. Differ Cup Tag Team Tournament - Semi Final: Naomichi Marufuji & KENTA beat Kaz Hayashi & Leonardo Spanky (19:12) when Marufuji used a modified cradle on Spanky.

WWE Backlash 2005 PPV results

WWE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE
CHRIS JERICHO VS SHELTON BENJAMIN
Benjamin outwrestled Y2J early on till Jericho gets fed up and start slugging it out. Cool spot where Y2J counters an out of ring powerbomb into a hurricanrana. Another cool spot where Benjamin jumped up the top rope in a single leap to catch Y2J with a superplex! Y2J countering the dragon-whip into the Walls of Jericho was sweet too. Benjamin hit a STIFF looking jumping face kick shades of Toshiaki Kawada. The closing sequence was REALLY good as Y2J went for the Lionsault, but Benjamin put his knees up, but Y2J landed on his feet and tried for the Walls again, but Benjamin countered it into a hurricanrana which Y2J countered into sunsetflip which Benjamin countered into a jackknife-flip for the win! VERY good match to kick things off as there were a lot of good counter-wrestling exchanges. They paced it very well and gave it good time, though it could have been longer.
Match Rating: ****

WWE TAG TEAM TITLES: TAG TEAM TURMOIL MATCH
MATCH #1: THE HEART THROABS VS WILLIAM REGAL & TAJIRI
Tajiri busted out a new submission move that I could best describe as a double-underhook surfboard. The Heart Throabs were less than impressive, and Tajiri scored the quick win with a sunset flip out of the corner. Thank God.

MATCH#2: WILLIAM REGAL & TAJIRI VS SIMON DEAN & MAVEN
Team Simon System quickly go to work on the champions. They dominate Tajiri for a bit till Regal tags in and cleans house leading to the win with his killer running knee strike to Simon’s head.

MATCH#3: WILLIAM REGAL & TAJIRI VS LA RESISTANCE
La Resistance take advantage of the tag champion’s fatigue and beat the champions down for a bit till Tajiri gets a second wind and unloads the kicks. Regal tags in gets beat down a bit before he makes a comeback and locks on the Regal Stretch which he hasn’t done in a while. Tajiri tries the Tarantula on Conway but gets knocked off. Regal takes out Conway but Granier rolls up Regal and hooks the tights to eliminate the champions!

MATCH#4: LA RESISTANCE VS THE HURRICANE & ROSEY
Hurricane goes right to work hitting the blockbuster on Conway for the near fall, but Hurricane takes a big bump as he gets tossed out of the ring and his leg clipped the corner post! La Resistance take control till Rosey tags and goes to work using his size and power getting a near fall on Conway with a big slam. Rosey kicks out of a big double spinebuster and escapes the Au Revoir, taking out Grenier and slamming down Conway, leading to Hurricane doing a big dive on off Rosey’s shoulders as he sat on the SECOND ROPE to WIN the match! NEW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS!

Overall: Not bad overall. Everybody worked hard and kept the work up to keep the match watchable. And damn it’s about time Hurricane & Rosey became the tag champions!
Match Rating: ***1/2

LAST MAN STANDING MATCH
EDGE VS CHRIS BENOIT
Not long before the “We want Matt” chants start up in this one. Also isn’t long before Edge tries to bring some weapons into the match but Benoit cuts him off and they brawl into the audience for a bit. Back into the ring and Benoit locks on the Sharpshooter, which causes Edge to tap out! Doesn’t count though. Benoit then hits the triple-German sending Edge to the outside where he gets an 8-count. Benoit goes for a suicide-dive, but eats a face full of garbage can lid! The impact was just SICK as Benoit was at full speed in mid-air! Benoit gets a 7-count before Edge whacks him with the garbage can lid again and rolls him into the ring where he then superplexes Benoit onto the garbage can in the ring! Both men get to their feet to break the count and Edge brings a LADDER into the ring! Edge takes down Benoit and climbs the ladder, but Benoit recovers and German suplexes Edge off the ladder! The struggle to their feet and Benoit hits another release German suplex. Now Benoit goes up the ladder and tries for the diving headbutt, but Edge moves and Air Canada crashes and burns! Edge tries to use his briefcase as a weapon, but Benoit counters it into the Crippler Crossface! Both men struggle to their feet again and Benoit tries for the rolling-Germans again, but Edge blocks the third and counters into an Impaler DDT onto the briefcase! Benoit gets up at 9 and Edge gives him the Spear! Benoit back to his feet at 9 again and Edge gives him ANOTHER Spear! Benoit gets to his feet at 9 AGAIN, and Edge grabs a BRICK out of his briefcase and whacks Benoit on the back of the head with it to finally keep Benoit down for the 10 count! Edge wins!
Wow. This was really nicely done and Edge going over here was the right thing to do and they pulled it off convincingly.
Match Rating: ****

Lita pulls off a heelish promo as she psyches up Kane, and hints how it would be interesting to see Viscera win and Trish pay him off. Kane says that’s a disturbing thought. But Lita says she prefers Kane and they two actually KISS BIG TIME on screen!

Jerry Lawler is in the ring and he brings out the WWE Divas: Christy Hemme, Maria, Candice Michelle, Victoria, Stacy Kiebler & even Lilian Garcia since they were plugging the Divas 2005 magazine. They show the Divas favourite pictures from the magazine, and as Lawler is about to interview the Divas, out comes Chris Masters!
Lawler and the Divas leave as Masters gets in the ring. Masters opens the Masterlock Challenge, but offers $3,000 this time instead of $1,000. He calls out a muscular looking person from the audience which turns out to be a girl! Her name is Melisa and Chris mocks her gender before moving onto the Challenge.
The Challenge ends almost as quickly as it starts and Melissa is out. Nice going WWE, you just wasted 10-minutes of PPV time.

Viscera waits for Trish and the big man comes on to Trish again. Trish tells the big man to get his head straight cause until he “takes care of business, there will be no business”. Vis slaps Trish on the ass as she walks off. Fun stuff.

KANE with LITA VS VISCERA with TRISH STRATUS
Vis takes down Kane early with a big clothesline, but misses a corner splash. Kane sends Vis to the outside and climbs up top to hit a big dive out of the ring on Vis! Back in the ring and Kane hits a BIG legdrop on Vis. Vis comes back with a spinning heel kick on Kane, I NEVER get bored of seeing that! Vis slams Kane and misses and elbow drop. Kane goes after Trish as she mouths off at Lita, leaving himself open to a corner splash followed by a Samoan Drop from Vis. Kane mounts a comeback, but is caught in a side-walk slam by Vis. Vis tries a backdrop off the rops, but Kane counters with a running DDT shades of the Undertaker! Kane up top and hits a flying clothesline before trying for the chokeslam, but Vis escapes and knocks Kane to the outside. Vis goes after Kane, but Lita gets in his way so Vis shoves her aside. Vis then misses a splash and rams himseld into the corner post. Trish tries to hit Kane with a steel chair, but Lita cuts her off by whacking the steel chair into her face with her crutch! Back in the ring, Kane goes up for the flying clothesline, but Vis catches him and drops Kane with a double-arm chokeslam for a near fall. Vis goes after Lita and tries to plant a liplock on her which leads to Kane taking the opening to hit the big boot followed by a chokeslam for the win!
DAMN! This was better than I expected!
Match Rating: ***1/2 (YEAH, They actually earned it!)

Post match, Trish grabs the mic and berates Vis, saying she’s gonna get a real man to do the job next time and how even if Vis did get the job done that she wouldn’t have gone through with the deal anyway. This pisses off Vis who bear hugs and slams down Trish. Vis looks to leave and the crowd is going nuts. He looks back and psyches up the crowd before hitting the big splash on Trish! Vis leaves to a HUGE ovation as medics come to help stretcher Trish out.

MOHAMMAD HASSAN & DAIVARI VS SHAWN MICHAELS & HULK HOGAN
Big pop for Hogan as expected. Hogan starts off for his team and needless to say he has his way with the Arab-Americans. HBK tags in and they give Hassan a double big boot to the face. The face team control the match for the first five minutes or so till the heels finally get the advantage as Hassan hit HBK on the back with a steel pipe when the referee wasn’t looking. The heels take control working on HBK’s back and Hassan locks on the camel clutch. HBK shows incredible strength as he picks up Hassan from the camel clutch position and slams him down hard! Both men make tags and Hulkamania runs wild on both Arab-Americans! Hogan gives Daivari the big boot, but Hassan whacks him on the back with the pipe when he tries for the leg drop! Daivari makes the cover, but Hogan kicks out at 2 and Hulks Up! We all know what comes next: Big punches, Irish whip, big boot and…..HASSAN INTERUPTS THE LEGDROP AGAIN! Hogan whacks Hassan off the apron and HBK hits Sweet Chin Music on Daivari, leading to Hogan getting the pin for the win.
Ok, this was by no means a mat classic, but the fans were way into it and popped for everything Hogan did, even just walking around the apron! Passable overall, and Hassan is still undefeated as he wasn’t pinned.
Match Rating: ***

We get the standard Hogan pose-down in the ring with HBK to close the show. Oh wait, we still have a world title match.

Interview with Triple H where he blabs about how the PEDIGREE will bring him his 11th World Title win.

Christian & Tyson Tomko come out to the ring. He addresses the fans about the upcoming draft then does a really funny rap where he heels Batista, Evolution, JBL and of course, JOHN CENA! Looks like Christian is Smackdown bound.
Christian is pushing himself as the next champion no matter which brand he ends up on at the end of the draft. And I think I’d like to see that happen on Smackdown.

The main event is next!

Ric Flair comes out with a serious look on his face. He takes the mic and sound like he has something important to say. Then he spoils the moment by saying he’s here to introduce “the greatest wrestler in the world today”. Groan…

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
TRIPLE H VS BATISTA
Triple H made two early attempts at the Pedigree to mess with Batista’s mind, and Batista made one early attempt at the Batista-bomb. The match goes to the outside where HHH gives Batista a sick looking spinebuster onto the guardrail! Triple H than give Batista a suplex on the floor. We then get the standard two heels on one attack strategy from Flair & HHH as they attack Batista’s back. Hearing King talk about “The Truth” so much throughout the match makes me wonder if Ron Killings will run in later?
Anyways, Batista comes back with a big lariat on HHH and takes control from there with his power offense. They go to the outside and I smell a bladejob coming. H gets whipped and smacked into the steps. Back into the ring and Batista continues his power assault. Flair tosses the belt to H and distracts the referee as Batista goes for the Batista-bomb. H gets jacked up and whacks Batista with the belt for a near fall. H tries for the Pedigree Batista escapes. Referee gets bumped and H hits the Pedigree on Batista! Flair rolls the referee into the ring, but the ref is out cold from Batista’s lariat!
Another referee runs down as H tries for another Pedigree, but Batista counters into a spinebuster for a near fall! H counters a backdrop into a facebuster off the ropes for another near fall. Batista breaks the Pedigree again and flattens H in the corner three times with big lariats. H gives the referee a low blow! Flair in the ring and Batista takes him out. Batista escapes another Pedigree and launches H into the corner. Batista tries the Batista-bomb, but H gives him a low blow! H backs Batista into the corner and starts pounding him from the second rope. Batista lifts H out of the corner and Batista-bombs him down for the three count to retain!
Started off slow, but ended up being a lot better than their WrestleMania match!
Match Rating: ***1/2

Batista celebrates and leaves as HHH gets to his feet and is so pissed at the loss he shoves off Flair and Pedigrees the referee! Show ends with Batista taunting an irate HHH on the rampway.

Overall: The show definitely worked better than it looked on paper, save for the two in ring interview bits they could have done on RAW. The Christian segment was good, but the Divas/Chris Masters segment could have been done to give more time to the other matches though, as I feel Benjamin/Y2J & Edge/Benoit could have been better served with more time. Good event overall.