Best Of US Wrestling Jan-April 2007 Disc 4

Best Of US Wrestling 2007 Disc 4

This is the last disc of this part of the compilation. After this one, the comp splits into seperate volumes for each show, which I’ll review based on the date the comp begins from. Anyway, there’s some good stuff coming up in this volume, so I’m looking forward to reviwwing this one.

Match 1 (ECW, April 3rd)
CM Punk vs Stevie Richards
This is actually a match that’s a long time coming, if you remember Stevie’s ROH appearance in 2005. It wasn’t a heated match or anything, because that was an ROH angle, not a WWE angle, so this was largely a good, quick mat based match. Punk largely used headlocks and other holds working on the head, mixing those with his kicks. Stevie on the other hand had a ready made strategy, as Punk’s ribs were hurt from the Money In The Bank match, so he went to work on those. Punk got the obvious three count with the Go To Sleep- **3/4

Match 2 (Raw, April 2nd)
20 Man Tag Team Title Battle Royal
I would name all the teams, but they went to a commercial when the teams were coming out, and thus I could’t get all the names. It was a solid battle royal type match, about as good as these matches get, but there wasn’t anything special about it or anything. Eliminations were as follows (I think there was another team eliminated during the break)-
Chris Masters and Kenny Dykstra (I didn’t see who eliminated them)
Cryme Time by Deuce and Domino
Eugene and Jim Duggan by Elijah Burke and Matt Striker
The Highlanders by Deuce and Domino
Deuce and Domino by John Cena and Shawn Michaels
Matt Striker and Elijah Burke by Finlay and King Booker
Rob Van Dam and Sabu by Finlay and King Booker
King Booker and Finlay by John Cena and Shawn Michaels- **1/4

The match ended the way General Manager The Coach expected, so therefore he made another Tag Team Battle Royal right now with more teams.

Match 3 (Raw, April 2nd)
20 Man Tag Team Battle Royal Number Two
Again, there was a break so I couldn’t see all the teams that entered, but you’ll soon know who was in and was eliminated. Personally, it wasn’t all that different from the last match, in that it just followed your regular Battle Royal formula, although the final few minutes with Cade and Murdoch and The Hardys produced some good stuff. Eliminations were as follows (again, there was an elimination we weren’t told about during the break)-
Val Venis and Viscera by everyone
William Regal and Dave Taylor by Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman
Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman by Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch
Miz and Morrison by Shawn Michaels and John Cena
Shawn Michaels and John Cena by themselves (Michaels threw Cena over the top rope)
Chavo Guerrero and Gregory Helms by Paul London and Brian Kendrick
Paul London and Brian Kendrick by themselves (Kendrick eliminated himself when eliminating Chavo and Helms)
Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch by The Hardys (The Hardys are the new Tag Champions)- **1/2

Match 4 (Impact, April 5th)
Senshi vs Austin Starr
I liked that they weren’t just given two minutes like every other Impact match I’ve seen, although this was still pretty short. But with the time they had, they produced some pretty good X-Division style action, with lots of high flying and kicks, although with more time they would probably have had some more mat wrestling in here too. Austin Starr won he match when Bob Backlund threw in the towel when Senshi was locked in a Single Leg Crab- **3/4

Match 5 (Smackdown, April 6th)
Matt Hardy vs King Booker
This was a grudge match since Hardy put his hands on Queen Sharmell at Wrestlemania. Hardy went for fast, high flying moves, while Booker went for more of a power style due to him having the size advantage, and also used a few submission holds. King Booker actually dominated for much of this match, with Hardy’s only getting brief moments of offense. The match was solid all the way through, but the final few minutes were excellent, and really elevated the match. Hardy got the fall out of nowhere with a Small Package- ***

Match 6 (ECW, April 3rd)
Extreme Rules Match- ECW Originals (The Sandman, RVD, Sabu and Tommy Dreamer) vs The New Breed (Matt Striker, Elijah Burke, Kevin Thorn and Marcus Cor Von)
This is a rematch of the Wrestlemania match, and this far bettered that match thanks to some of the insane moves both teams took. There were all kinds of weapons used here, which took this match to a new level, turning this into a homage of the classic ECW matches of the past (although not to the level of the truly great ECW matches). Anyway, I really enjoyed this, and it’s a must see match for ECW fans: it’s one of my favourite TV matches of 2007. After some big table spots, Elijah Burke won it with an Elijah Express through a table on Sabu- ***3/4

Match 7 (Raw, April 9th)
The Hardy’s vs The Worlds Greatest Tag Team
This is a battle of two of my favourite tag teams, so I obviously enjoyed this one a lot. It was a bit short for my liking, but what we got was good and entertaining. The clash of styles here saw Haas and Benjamin try to keep the Hardy’s down on the mat, while The Hardys took a lot of risks and pulled out some great double teams. The Hardys won this non-title match when Jeff pinned Benjamin following a Twist Of Fate-Swanton combo- **1/2

Match 8 (Impact, April 12th)
Chris Sabin vs Black Machismo
Jay Lethal has officially entered his Macho Man impression gimmick now, which I personally don’t mind since it gives him a little character. Lethal is surprisingly good at mimicking Savage’s moves, so to be honest, he wresled exactly like Savage would. On the other hand, Sabin wrestled his usual explosive high flying style, and seemed a little dissapointed in Lethal for taking on this character. Lethal won the match with the Elbow Drop from the top. A solid match overall- **1/4

Match 9 (Smackdown, April 13th)
MVP vs Chris Benoit
These two had some great matches around this time period, in what was Benoit’s last really good series with anyone before the unspeakable act occured. This was no exception, as they again had a great back and forth match, with a mixture of mat wrestling, power and hard hitting strikes from both men. There was also a lot of suplexes, whether this was Snap and German Suplexes from Benoit, or Belly To Bellys from MVP. After a great final couple of minutes, MVP won with a rollup using the ropes for leverage. Overall, great stuff- ***

Match 10 (ECW, April 10th)
Marcus Cor Von vs Rob Van Dam
This was very much a battle of the power of Marcus Cor Von against the high flying skill of RVD. It was an interesting match on paper, and I liked it, since it was well wrestled and there were no botches, although I was surprised by how much Marcus Cor Von controlled the match. After Burke distracted RVD by attacking an injured Sabu at ringside, Cor Von got three with the Pounce. After the match CM Punk comes out and joins the New Breed: I wish they had kept him as a heel but they haven’t pulled that trigger yet.- **3/4

Match 11 (Smackdown, April 6th)
Jeff Hardy vs Mr Kennedy
Good stuff again here. Hardy went for all of his usual high flying moves, while Kennedy went for the strategy of working over Hardy’s back with a series of submissions and high impact power moves. So overall I’d say this was a good, back and forth match that the crowd were really into, and I enjoyed it. Hardy missed the Swanton, and Kennedy used that opportunity to hit a DDT for three- **3/4

This was another good volume, better than the previous one, and there’s some great stuff here. The ECW Extreme Rules match was the best here, since it was filled with great hardcore spots, and was much like ECW matches of the past. Other good matches were Matt Hardy’s match with King Booker and MVP against Chris Benoit. The rest of the matches were solid in a little average (in that they weeren’t too different from matches we’d seen previously). Overall though, there’s a few matches you shoul try to watch if you can, especially the Extreme Rules match.

7.5/10

Best Of US Wrestling Jan-April 2007 Disc 3

Best Of US Wrestling Jan-April 2007 Disc 3

Match 1 (Smackdown, March 16th)
Mr Kennedy vs Matt Hardy
I enjoyed this match, it had some very solid matwork, and the crowd were reasonably into it. Kennedy made extensive use of that ground game, using it to work over the knee of Hardy when he hurt it coming off the top rope. Hardy on the other hand took more risks, but also did some good wrestling of his own. I like that this match was given a lot of time, as it helped it build, and it was really good stuff towards the end. Hardy managed to win it with the Twist of Fate. Surprisingly better than I expected.- ***1/4

Match 2 (ECW, March 13th)
Extreme Battle Royal- The ECW Originals (Sabu, RVD, Sandman and Tommy Dreamer) vs The New Breed (Kevin Thorn, Elijah Burke, Matt Striker and Marcus Cor Von)
Another battle royal, but a unique one since you rarely see teams within one of these matches. The wrestling was also pretty solid, and both teams took a few nasty bumps during this match, so it’s probably one of the better battle royals WWE have had during this time period (barring the Royal Rumble). The elimination were as follows.
Sandman by Matt Striker
Marcus Cor Von by RVD and Sabu
Sabu by Kevin Thorn
Kevin Thorn by Rob Van Dam
Rob Van Dam by himself (in eliminating Thorn he eliminated himself)
Matt Striker by Tommy Dreamer
Elijah Burke by Tommy Dreamer- **1/2

Match 3 (Raw, March 12th)
Gauntlet Tag Match- Shawn Michaels and John Cena vs The Worlds Greatest Tag Team vs Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch vs MNM (Cage Match)
I was never really a fan of the Michaels/Cena team personally, since it was a re-hash of the partners who hate each other scenario from the Attitude Era. I do however love the WGTT, and the first part of the gauntlet was pretty damn good although short, with good mat wrestling throughout. Cena made Haas tap out to the STFU.
Next were Cade and Murdoch, which made this a very different type of match, with more brawling and hard hitting moves as opposed to the matwork we saw earlier. Michaels got worked over for a while, before getting the hot tag to Cena, who got the three count on Murdoch with an FU-Superkick combo that caused some more tension.
Then the cage was lowered for part three again MNM. I don’t remember a lot of tag cage matches with tag team rules rather than tornado style rules. Michaels again got worked over by MNM, who used a lot of high flying moves on him, before Cena got the hot tag. After more tension, Cena got the fall on Mercury with the FU- **3/4

Match 4 (Smackdown, March 16th)
The Undertaker vs King Booker
Batista is on commentary here, and I don’t think I understood anything he said. The Undertaker made much of this match a brawl, with loads of punches and strikes, and used the outside of the ring to his advantage. Booker T wrestled a similar style, using a lot of strikes, but also used a few power moves and submission holds. The match was decent overall, but it was a little slow in places, but was pretty good in the final few minutes. Finlay interfered to cause the DQ- **1/2

Match 5 (Smackdown, March 23rd)
WWE Tag Team Titles- Paul London and Brian Kendrick (c) vs MNM
At this point, London and Kendrick are the longest reigning tag team champions of all time, beating MNM’s own record. As you would expect from these two teams, it was very much a battle of high flying moves, and it was a very good match that never slowed down and was energetic from start to finish. It was a little too short though, but overall it was good stuff while it lasted. London pinned Mercury following a Cross Body- **1/2

Match 6 (Raw, March 19th)
Chris Benoit vs John Cena
This is a battle of the United States and World champions, but no titles are on the line. Shawn Michaels also joins the commentary team. It was a hard hitting match, with Benoit throwing a lot of stiff strikes, and Cena going for power. Benoit managed to get Cena in a few submissions here too, getting close to making him tap. Cena however surprisingly made Benoit tap out to the STFU, quite a surprise since Benoit rarely taps. A bit short, but pretty good stuff- ***

Match 7 (ECW, March 27th)
Rob Van Dam vs Elijah Burke
I’m a fan of both of these two, and I thought this was a good match as a result. This match saw a lot of high flying wrestling, with both men happy to take risks. Burke was a little more grounded though, using some submission holds to keep RVD down. Overall, a good match with some innovative moves and crisp high flying. RVD won this match with the ***** Frog Splash- **3/4

Match 8 (Smackdown, March 23rd)
Chavo Guerrero (c) vs Jimmy Wang Yang
I personally don’t mind Jimmy Yang’s rather silly gimmick, although JBL certainly hates it: the gimmick got him over and gave him some personality. Yang used his usual range of high flying moves and kicks here, while Chavo tried to ground him with explosive, high impact moves and submissions. It was a good match, but lacked a little something. Jimmy Wang Yang won the match with a Moonsault- **1/2

Match 9 (Impact, March 29th)
Kurt Angle vs Abyss
A big clash of styles here, with Angle having to use his wide range of mat skills to work over Abyss, mainly going after his leg. Abyss on the other hand went for power due to his size advantage. It wasn’t much of a match to be honest: far too short to be anything major, and Abyss got little offense in. The ref got knocked out, and Abyss had the match won with the Black Hole Slam, but Angle won it with a rollup when a new ref came in- *1/2

Match 10 (ECW, March 27th)
Mr Kennedy, Randy Orton, King Booker and Finlay vs The Hardy’s, CM Punk and Edge
I don’t get pairing Edge, a heel, with three faces, including his mortal enemy Matt Hardy, but this is supposed to be a showcase of the Money In The Bank match. And it was a good match despite this key problem, with a wide range of styles on show. Obviously the Hardy’s team were more towards high flying and fast paced wrestling, while Orton’s team looked to keep their opponents grounded. Punk got isolated from his corner, then made the tag to Edge, who promptly tagged himself out and left. Booker T pinned CM Punk following a Scissors Kick- **3/4

Overall, this wasn’t quite as good as the previous volumes, but considering it was the run up to Wrestlemania nobody was going to take any major risks and risk injury (although that’s no excuse for TNA and their one short match). The Kennedy/Hardy match is the best match and one you should look to watch, while Cena/Benoit is also pretty good stuff. The rest of the matches average around **1/2, so there is some good stuff here.

7/10