"My Judgment of WWE’s Judgment Day"

If you didn’t order the Judgment Day PPV, no one could blame you. This wasn’t the best promoted PPV by WWE, and the card on paper was rather weak. In the end, WWE offered clean finishes and a decent undercard. On the flip side, this PPV only gave us an eight minute main event, a Dusty finish, and did little to set up the next PPV, One Night Stand, which is only two weeks away.

Ric Flair vs. Carlito wasn’t the match I would have started the PPV with, but it was a solid opening match. One of the themes of the show was old school in ring psychology. An opponent works a body part to weak en his foe throughout the match. Carlito worked on Flair’s shoulder, and Jim Ross sold the fact that Flair had previously under went rotator cuff surgery. I was surprised Flair won via the figure four leg lock, but it was definitely what the fans wanted.

Backstage, Todd Grisham interviewed Shawn Michaels, who was attacked by Randy Orton. Before people jump on WWE, they did run a disclaimer about the Orton-Michaels match on the free for all pre-show, as the match was subject to HBK’s condition. The point here was that Michaels was attacked, and the doctor wouldn’t allow him to compete tonight.

Is anyone interested in the McMahons vs. Bobby Lashley saga? I know I am not. Mr. McMahon never got in the match, but does reveal that his hair is growing back. We get a Dusty finish with everyone believing that Lashley had just gone over and regained the ECW title, but McMahon changes the rules and says that since Lashley didn’t pin him, he didn’t win the ECW title. Lame.

CM Punk, despite winning the match, didn’t come off looking too bright in his match with Elijah Burke. If you have sore ribs, why would you an attempt a delayed vertical suplex? Why would you execute a superplex? The announcer’s even questioned Punk’s offense. This match went way too long, and in the final analysis, it wasn’t all that good. I really don’t like when they give the undercard matches more time than the top matches.

Orton vs. Michaels probably would have stole the show, if HBK’s knee would have cooperated. The doctor tells HBK he isn’t allowed the wrestle, then a weary Michaels comes out (who looked like he had just celebrated with Scott Hall backstage) and no one tries to stop him from wrestling? The referee looked really brainless by allowing HBK to even compete. We got a glimpse of former Nitro Girl Whisper, who is married to HBK. I think the only thing bigger than Khali in WWE is the diamond on her finger.

I enjoy the Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch vs. the Hardy Boyz feud, I honestly do. You know that Murdoch and Cade are eventually going to turn, but the storyline makes sense and isn’t being rushed. Another good match in this program. I thought JBL’s commentary put Cade over strongly as a future star. Despite another Hardys victory, this program still has life.

WWE ran a promo noting the fact that they have a PPV in TWO WEEKS! Why didn’t they cancel One Night Stand when they pulled the plug on the December to Dismember PPV? WWE claimed they cancelled the December PPV because of over saturation in a short time period. WWE ran Judgment Day last night, will run One Night Stand in two weeks, and then turn around and run Vengeance twenty one days after One Night Stand. That’s not over saturation?

At this point, this is when the PPV started to take a turn for the worse. Edge-Batista only went 10:38, and wasn’t a match up to standards for a world heavyweight title match. Batista is cold as ice, and I think the fans are not sure if he’s a heel or a babyface. Batista worked hard in the Undertaker program, but he didn’t bust his butt with Edge. The bottom line, not a good match.

We were subjected to a pointless informal poll performed by Kristal Marshall backstage. She interviewed all the divas, but where was Torrie Wilson? Not that it really mattered, I suppose. Maria predicted Batista to win the Khali-Cena title match, that about summed it up. Marshall cut a Mr. T promo by predicting “pain.” Stale.

I have to admit, MVP vs. Chris Benoit wasn’t as good as I thought it would be, and in fact, probably their weakest offering in their current feud. However, putting MVP in straight falls made the new champion look strong, and didn’t really weaken Benoit. I think you’ll see more of Benoit helping to make future stars at this stage in his brilliant career.

Cena vs. Khali just isn’t a gripping program. No one cares. No one believes Khali is capable of winning the WWE title, so what’s the point here? The main event of a WWE PPV that costs $39.95 lasts eight minutes and 15 seconds. We see better televised main events on Raw, for FREE! I guess they can claim Khali’s foot was under the rope when he tapped out to the STFU, but please don’t!

Overall, I’ll have to give the PPV a thumbs in the middle. There was the good, the bad, and the ugly. I wouldn’t recommend you order the replay, but would probably suggest you take Chris Johnson’s advice and purchase the DVD if you really want to see the show. Best match? Not sure it was the best, but I enjoyed the Hardys vs. Cade and Murdoch the most.

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