WWE Vengeance 2005 PPV results

Intercontinental Title: Carlito VS Shelton Benjamin
This was a really good opener marred by the Benjamin having to sell the bad fall he took on Monday night. I sure hope they aren’t planning on pulling a HBK with Shelton to get sympathy from the crowd, which he doesn’t need.
As for the match itself, it was way better than their match on RAW the previous Monday. Benjamin showed great form and intensity here, and Carlito showed that he still needs some work as I though his offense was pretty boring. Make no mistake, Shelton MADE this match, and Carlito only gets credit for his selling. I think the only other problem this match had other than the cheap heel finish, was that it was too short.
God I hope their not going with the Benjamin has a concussion and can’t concentrate angle. Interesting to note Carlito had his fair share of fans in the audience as you could hear some boos for Benjamin when he was in control.
Match Rating: **1/2

Victoria VS Christy Hemme
Victoria has a new entrance theme, which is a slower version of her old one. I like the black leather look though. This was a lot better than expected since they did more brawling the wrestling to hide Christy’s weaknesses. Christy still needs to work on her ringwork a bit, but she did good here, and pulled off a sweet looking DDT. Victoria even pulled out the old moonsault, not the standing one. I didn’t mind that Victoria cheated to win, cause it continues the feud since the Women’s Division is practically dead.
Match Rating: *1/2

Edge VS Kane
Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised with this one. Kane was his old monster self and dominated most of the match. And the crowd was nuts cheering the Big Red Machine on as if he was Matt Hardy or something. The way things were going near the end with Gene Snitzsky running in, you actually thought Edge was gonna win it, but instead Kane pulled it off and rightfully won. The great crowd heat and emotion helped made this match more than just a big grudge brawl.
Match Rating: **1/2

Kurt Angle VS Shawn Michaels
They started off with the trademark matwork, with Angle trying for the ankle lock early on several times. First big spot of the night was Angle giving HBK a release German onto the Spanish announce table, which also warranted a “Holy Sh*t” chant from the crowd. Angle gave Michaels a big powerbomb into the corner turnbuckle. JR called it the damndest thing he ever saw, I say he’s never seen Kenta Kobashi do it a dozens of times before. Angle controls the match heavily from here, scoring near falls with a release German suplex, a big clothesline and catching HBK off the top with a belly-to-belly. HBK finally manages to get back into it after awhile and hits the big elbow drop off the top rope. He signals for Sweet Chin Music, but Angle charges right at him with a HARD clothesline! HBK counters the Angle Slam into a swinging DDT for a near fall! HBK tries for a suplex, but Angle flips over and hits a German suplex! HBK escapes a second German, but Angle hits the Angle Slam for a close 2 count! Angle tries for the ankle lock, but HBK rolls into a small package for a near fall. HBK tries for a German, but Angle rolls into a ankle lock! The referee gets bumped and HBK gets tossed to the outside by Angle, landing hard on his knee. The Trainers come to check on HBK, but Angle shoves them off and tosses HBK back into the ring and locks on the ankle lock again! HBK tries to roll out of it several times to escape, but Angle keeps it locked on. HBK finally manages to escape and send Angle crashing into the corner. They stagger to their feet, and HBK catches Angle coming in with the Sweet Chin Music! Both men down again. HBK slowly rolls onto to Angle and gets a very near 2.9 count! For some reason, Angle staggers up to the top rope, and when he comes down on HBK, he gets caught by Sweet Chin Music again! HBK covers and gets the win!
This was easily the best match of the night, and this is the kind of matches that titles should be decided over. I’ll admit it wasn’t as great as their WrestleMania match, and the ending was a bit predictable as soon as Angle started climbing the corner, but still better than 95% of everything else WWE usually puts out.
Match Rating: ****

I can’t believe they cut the momentum of the show with the in ring Viscera/Lilian segment. I also hated the fact that the part where my cable operator (ASTRO) censored the return of the Godfather with a Ho Train which ended the Vis/Lilian storyline. Further reason I hate missing the live broadcast of PPVs.

WWE Title Triple Threat Match: Chris Jericho VS Christian VS John Cena
Well I’ll be damned! This was an EXCELLENT match! Great action all around from start to finish, and it was great the way they kept up the pace! It was great that Cena was also the main focal point of most of the match, as he really needed the momentum to back up his title reign. A lot of people have been bitching about Cena, but this will obviously open a few eyes. Too bad by this time next week he most probably won’t be WWE champion anymore due to the six-way match on Smackdown.
Match Rating: ****

World Heavyweight Title Hell In The Cell Match: Triple H VS Batista
This has been a very entertaining PPV thus far. Will the main event close out the show on a good note and compete with the two other awesome matches on the show?
Well, for one thing, they brought out the violence factor that the HIAC is notorious for, with both men whipping each other with a big heavy steel chain, as well as whacking each other with a steel chair that was wrapped in barb-wire! Batista even grated HHH’s face with the wire at one point, and HHH smashed Batista’s face into the wire with a DDT! The old sledgehammer was even brought and Batista took a nasty shot to the head, but managed to kick out! There was even a freaky spot where HHH came off the top rope and Batista drove the hammer into HHH’s throat, causing him to spray a mist of blood into the air! For some reason this one spot instantly silenced the crowd too! If all that wasn’t enough, the steel steps were even brought into the ring, which lead to more inhuman punishment, including Batista giving H a killer spinebuster on it! This incredible war FINALLY came to an end with Batista hitting the Batista-bomb on HHH to beat H for the third time.
One thing to point out though is how Batista relied more on his wrestling ability and power, whereas HHH had to use weapons, which backfired on him more than once. This definitely ranks as one of the best and most violent HIAC matches EVER, and more than lived up to the hype due to the level of violence!
Match Rating: ****

OVERALL: Amazingly, this was a near PERFECT PPV. Great ring work, great matches and a great crowd that was into everything. I still say they could have done without the Vis/Lilian segment, but this PPV is definitely a MUST SEE, and ranks as one of the best WWE PPVs of the year so far!