Velocity in Raleigh, NC
9/20/2003
Reported by Eric ZuckermanThe opening montage runs, the pyro goes off, and Velocity is officially underway.
1. Big Show vs. Murray Happer & Pat Cusick
Well, it’s the Big Show Big Squash, it seems. Show stalks down to the ring, with Cusick and Happer already there. Big Show floors both and then headbutts each. Huge slaps in the corner, where he’s stacked his two opponents. Show bodyslams one, then short-arm clotheslines the other. A chokeslam on each finishes the double squash. * because it was appropriately short with decent bang for your buck. Considering there’s no other feud or upper card match openings for him, this was a pretty good use for Show and a reminder of his strength and monster character. Note to the writers: if the Big Show Big Squash becomes a mainstay on Velocity, it might be a nice way to bring in a new tag team, say, from OVW.
Winner: Big Show
Recap #1
Footage is shown of the **** tag title match between The Self-Proclaimed World’s Greatest Tag Team and Los Guerreros, in which Chavo (at the EZ Velocity Report’s behest) and Eddie win the Tag Team Championship. A memorable finish to this contest, too. Seeing as Eddie has two titles now, the through-the-roof fan response must be sending a message to the higher-ups. This may be the opportunity, however, to put the U.S. Title on a deserving John Cena without dampening the Latino Heat. Either way, Chavo, don’t let go of that belt…
Promo for The Rundown is shown, with The Rock shooting the bull.
2. Matt Hardy vs. Joey Matthews
Matt does his thing all the way to the ring while Matthews (no relation) waits outside the ring. Apparently, the two know each other from the local leagues. Off goes the Sensei shirt and they lock up with Matthews quickly losing the advantage in some good amateur-style wrestling. Matthews plays the heel, while Hardy is the confused face. They lock up once more, switching into the corner. Matt breaks out of the corner with some punches. A hip toss sends Matthews down. Matt does nine second-turnbuckle punches then nails him with one more on the ground. He tries an early pin for two. Matthews floats over a corner whip but gets kicked. Bodyslam lays Joey out for the big leg drop, but Matthews rolls out of the ring. Hardy tries to follow but gets a stunner-style hotshot for his efforts. A nice reverse neckbreaker keeps Matt down for two. Heel offense from Matthews now. He mocks Hardy, goes to the ropes, but a flying forearm gives Hardy the advantage. He reels in the crowd. Elbow knocks Matthews down, and a standing leg drop catches him for two. Joey slips out of a snake eyes, pushes Hardy into the corner, then puts on a sleeper. It seems to work until Matt reverses it into a ricochet. Joey’s up first, but Matt gets the advantages with punches and a clothesline. Leg drop onto the rope hits him hard, and the side effect is countered. Matt reverses a whip, but Matthews hangs onto the ropes. He elbows Hardy on the charge, but Hardy counters and this time, the side effect finds its mark. Matthews kicks out to the commentators’ surprise. The Sensei doesn’t maintain control for too long, and Matthews goes to the top turnbuckle and gets a clothesline for two. Visibly aggravated, Matthews yells at the ref before being taken down. Hardy goes to the second rope, screams with the crowd, and does the Downfall leg drop. Kick to the gut, and Matthews learns a lesson in Jobittude with a Twist of Fate, and Matt pins him for the win. **1/2. Not a classic, but they did a great job with it. A hint of what could be if Matt was given a face turn.
Winner: Matt Hardy
3. Chuck Palumbo (w/FBI) vs. Orlando Jordan
Two of Velocity’s mainstays go head to head. Collar-and-elbow tie-up ends in Chuck’s favor, and he bullies Orlando to the second rope. FBI looks to interfere, but the referee sends them to the back. Backslide on Palumbo, who backs himself into the corner. Jordan follows but is suckered in himself. Chuck actually floats over a corner whip (!), and a superkick to the back of the head sends his foe to the floor. Orlando’s dead weight now, and the time Chuck takes to get him back in could have been used for a count-out win. Back in the ring, Jordan kicks out. Shoulder thrusts in the corner wear down Jordan. He tries to kick out, but Chuck catches him and clotheslines him. Chuck toys with him until Tae Bo in the corner is reverses by Chuck, who nails a killer belly-to-belly. Palumbo locks in a bearhug. Orlando fights out, but Palumbo doesn’t let up, going from a powerslam position into a Samoan drop. Tree of woe follows after a two-count. Again, Jordan tries to fight out of the brawl in the corner, but Chuck beats him back with a punch. More punches in the corner, including the stiff discus punch. He misses a running shoulder charge. Now Jordan is in control with a flying forearm and a dropkick. Jordan does a back drop then goes to the top rope while Tazz and Josh have fun name-dropping Strike Force and the Powers of Pain (imagine a card with Haas & Benjamin vs. Strike Force and the Dudley Boyz vs. the Powers of Pain). A great crossbody is reversed, and Chuck has Orlando pinned for two seconds and ninety-nine-hundredths. Orlando breaks out and tries a roll-up for naught. He counters a belly-to-belly, and Black Ice does it for Orlando, as Chuck is down for the count. Fun match that gave both men a chance to shine as best they could. *3/4. Okay, this was probably Jordan’s biggest win to date. Or at least it would have been if Chuck resembled the tag team champion he once was. Makes sense for Jordan to get over as the Velocity MVP, but with the upper midcard fighting over the U.S. belt, there’s really no room for Jordan on Smackdown! except as a jobber to the A-Train types.
Winner: Orlando Jordan
Recap #2
Footage is shown of the stellar Iron Man match in which, surprise of surprises, Brock Lesnar actually wins without going into the publicized overtime. Does this mean Lesnar/‘Taker III at No Mercy? And Lesnar/Eddie Guerrero at Royal Rumble? And (here’s hoping) Lesnar/Benoit at Wrestlemania XX where the Rabid Wolverine wins his first WWE title? At any rate, condolences to Kurt, the dictionary definition of a trouper, who just lost his sister…
4. Billy Kidman vs. Shannon Moore
And it’s Velocity circa January 2003 again, with Kidman vs. Moore matches galore. Kidman, reciprocating the crowd’s energy, poses enthusiastically once he gets to the ring. Moore is introduced next, and even more surprisingly, he does not get a hometown pop like his mentor. Ah well. Moore seems annoyed that Kidman can work the crowd, which he does. Moore backs Kidman into the corner, taunts Kidman, then flees like the proverbial scalded dog. They try again, and Moore gets a headlock. A push to the rope lets Moore shoulderblock Billy. He runs the ropes, but Billy does a leap frog. Flying forearm from Kidman, and a flying headscissors sends Shannon scrambling to the corner. Ten-punch doesn’t finish, and Shannon gives him a hiptoss into the corner. Some mudhole stomping commences to the audience’s dismay. Typical heel ropework by Moore, who finishes it with a posterior drop on the ropes. Two-count on the pin. Bodyslam on Billy, then a reverse chinlock applied well by Shannon, but Billy draws strength from the crowd to escape. Moore floats over in the corner and whips him hard into the opposite corner. He pins for a quick kick-out. Snap suplex puts Kidman down for two. Bow backbreaker lock by Moore, but Billy refuses to stay still. He baseball slides, then dropkicks Shannon, and neither one gets up for a while. Good drama. Billy struggles to this feet with the ropes. Hurricanrana and a back drop by Kidman set him up for a DVD-neckbreaker (which, as a fellow Allentown native, I will designate the Cedar Crest Crusher). Moore catches himself in the ropes, Billy charges, and Moore retaliates with a spinning heel kick that doesn’t work to finish off Kidman. He floats over a suplex and turns it into a fluid rollup on Moore for two. Billy misses a corner charge. Moore hits the Halo, crushing Billy to the mat. Temper tantrum draws a minimal pop. BK bomb out of nowhere by Kidman. Cue the trumpets, because it’s Shooting Star Press time. After weeks of waiting, it hits, and Kidman covers to win. He slaps hands with the fans while walking to the back, and the show ends. ***. An old-school-styled match, it drew out both men’s talents, and the SSP never disappoints. ‘Nuff said, as the action spoke for itself.
Winner: Billy Kidman
* An excellent Velocity tonight makes for a rebound in the show’s quality. The handicap match made for a nice change of pace, which Velocity needs. Sure, it’s easy to be cynical about the Big Show, but that match suited him and worked well, and the other three matches were solid. There was no dramatic import given to the matches, but the competitors seemed to create it in the ring. Any combination of Kidman, Chavo, and Moore will guarantee a great match, and it’s good to see the bookers realize/remember that. You couldn’t have gotten a better Smackdown! to recap, either. A fantastic step in the right direction for Velocity. -EZ