WWE Unforgiven 2005

 

WWE Unforgiven 2005

Oklahoma City, OK - September 2005

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, John Cena was the reigning WWE Champion and Batista was the World Heavyweight Champion (both in their first reign). Carlito was the Intercontinental Champion and Chris Benoit was the United States Champion. The World Tag Team Champions were Rosey and The Hurricane and the WWE Tag Team Champions were the Legion of Doomish (Animal and Heidrenreich). Finally, the Women's Champion was Trish Stratus (who appears on this show but does not defend her title) and the Cruiserweight Champion was Nunzio.

WWE Unforgiven 2005 opens with a video package recapping the Angle/Cena feud that led to this show before we head to the ring for our opening contest - Ric Flair challenging Carlito for the Intercontinental Championship. Flair was 56 years old for this match and had to rely mostly on the basics, but Carlito was a good opponent for him at this point - energetic, charismatic, larger-than-life. Carlito has to slow some things down for the Nature Boy and Flair's kickouts don't necessarily have much gusto, but it works fine for the story they're telling, which is that 'Naitch is going to have use his cunning and experience to outsmart his younger adversary. There's a great moment when Flair finally finally comes off the top rope and hits a flying clothesline, the commentators and audience completely shocked that he didn't get press-slammed. This leads to the finish, where Carlito takes a bite of apple, gets clocked in the face after jawing with the ref, and then locked in the figure four. Carlito taps very quickly and we've got a new Intercontinental Champion. The match itself wasn't great, but the post-match victory speech and shenanigans is fun. (2.5/5)

Backstage, Edge and Lita discuss tonight's cage match. 

One hyper-sexualized act is followed by another as Torrie Wilson and Victoria (with Candice Michelle in tow) take on Trish Stratus and Ashley Massaro. Massaro won the 2005 Divas Search, which drew the ire of "Vince's Devils," a very short-lived stable. Stratus and Victoria do most of the heavy lifting as they are the most capable of everyone involved, but this still is a sloppy mess of not-so-good action. Massaro flips and rolls around alot, expending a ton of energy, while Victoria basically walks into her offense to make her look good. Its rare when Torrie Wilson isn't the worst wrestler in a match, but, well...Wilson gets under a minute of "ring time" in, which just about works. Ashley sports a ridiculous miniskirt that gets pulled up around her waist minutes into the match and never comes down. This visual isn't lost on Coachman or the audience. When Trish eventually takes over the match for the faces, things get much better, though this wouldn't necessarily be a match I'd point to as evidence that Stratus was ever a "super worker" (just maybe the best on a roster that wasn't necessarily deep with talented, trained female wrestlers). (1.5/5)

Backstage, Ric Flair continues to celebrate his Intercontinental Championship win, climbing into a limo with a trio of gals (but not before popping a couple Viagra in his mouth).

Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill are given a nice welcome from Lillian Garcia before the next contest - The Big Show (a babyface at this point) taking on Gene Snitsky. Snitsky had debuted roughly a year earlier, but aside from a lengthy, originally miscarriage-based feud with Kane, had not received any sort of real push and just kinda floated around as a big dumb oaf. Big Show will never be mistaken for Daniel Bryan or Bret Hart in terms of technical prowess, but Snitsky is even more limited and dull. I remember saying, back in 06', that the only chance Snitsky would ever have of being even a decent upper midcard performer would've been to cover him in a bodysuit and mask like they did with Kane because the Snitsky character and his track record made him a joke within months of his debut. He and Big Show get at least 2 minutes too long, though, to his credit, Big Show has the crowd behind him and this is essentially a Big Show carry job. An extra half-point for Big Show getting to waffle Snitsky with the bell after the match. (1.5/5)

After a video recapping the Shawn Michaels/Chris Masters feud, we're back in the ring for Kerwin White vs. Shelton Benjamin. I wasn't expecting much out of this match, but was pleasantly surprised. Kerwin White was considered a career low point for Chavo Guerrero, but I think the gimmick is kind of clever honestly. Plus, Chavo threw himself into the gimmick with aplomb, snapping his fingers and singing along to his awesome entrance music and getting heat from the crowd. It was a controversial character to play and I'm not sure how long it could've gone on (the gimmick was dropped after Eddie Guerrero's death in early November), but for the brief time it existed, it was at least different. Kerwin/Chavo was always solid in the ring, but its Shelton Benjamin who shines in this match, doing a great job selling a damaged knee throughout the match but also hitting all of his offense with intensity and accuracy. I liked the clean, decisive finish too. (3/5)

Backstage, Matt Hardy cuts a promo about his upcoming cage match against Edge. Unlike their SummerSlam match, which was more like an "angle" than an actual match, this one wasn't as emotionally-driven and isn't trying to fool anyone into thinking it was a "shoot" of any kind. On the negative side, that means this is just a cage match. On the positive side, Edge and Hardy working together is better than the WWE trying to fool fans into thinking that every other match is "fake" but Edge and Hardy's fights are "real." Plus, Hardy and Edge have chemistry, the crowd is fully engaged, and this match does feel like a final showdown between two guys with a deeply personal issue. Coming into this match, it also wasn't clear who would end up getting the W, giving the match some real suspense. The action isn't mind-blowing, though Matt Hardy does take some great bumps. At SummerSlam, Hardy ended up with a crimson mask, which may have set expectations a bit high for how violent this match would end up. Instead, this one is built around Hardy getting knocked loopy and Edge piling on the punishment (including delivering a powerbomb into the cage wall and a buckle-bomb soon after). Eventually, Hardy looks like he has the opportunity to escape the cage, but Edge ends up powerbombing him from the top rope. Hardy kicks out at 2, showing tremendous resiliency after the beating he took. Hardy takes over and ends up tying Edge in the ropes, allowing him to unload on him to a huge pop. Hardy follows it up by slingshotting him into the cage wall and then hitting him with a bulldog headlock into the Money In The Bank briefcase. Edge sends him into each cage wall as Lita tries to climb in. Hardy pushes her off the cage (while Edge blades himself off-screen). With Edge now bleeding profusely, Hardy hits him with a series of kicks right to the head. Hardy goes to the top rope, but ends up crotched and then speared into the cage wall. Edge tried to climb, but Hardy caught him and we get a Side Effect off the top rope. Lita comes into the cage (as most anyone would've predicted), distracting Hardy. Lita tries to clock him with the briefcase, but instead, Hardy catches her and nails her with a Twist of Fate! Edge nails him with a Spear immediately after, but only gets 2! A huge "Hardy" chant breaks out as most everyone bit on that false finish (myself included). Edge tries to climb out, but Hardy catches him and sends him back into the center of the ring. Though he has the option of winning the match, Hardy performs an absolutely INSANE leg drop from the top rope onto Edge to get the W! This match started a bit slow, but the second half is really good. I've seen this called one of the top 10 matches that the WWE produced in the 2000s, but I think that's a touch generous. This is a great match, though, falling somewhere between "should see" and "must see." (4/5)

Backstage, Cena gets an earful from Eric Bischoff. Meanwhile, Edge crawls his way to the locker room, his face a crimson mask. 

The World Tag Team Titles are on the line next as Trevor Murdoch and Lance Cade challenge The Hurricane and Rosey. In a gimmick that the WWE was obsessed with in 04'-05', Murdoch and Cade defeated the champions in their debut match on Raw, but it was a non-title affair. I always thought Murdoch had a terrific heel look, but he never got a legit push and, even in his lesser companies like TNA and NWA, was treated as a jobber. This is a really smartly-worked, well-layed out match from beginning to end. I'm not sure who deserves the credit, but this match protects everyone, really helps define the heels' style of treachery and why they are a threat, but also protects Rosey and Hurricane in a loss. There's a clear story being told and it is effectively done. (3/5)

Backstage, Maria interviews Chris Masters before he makes his way down the aisle for a match with Shawn Michaels. Masters shows brilliant strategy by applying the Master Lock as Michaels does his usual pre-match posing and nearly reapplies it once the bell does ring. Shawn retakes control with rights and chest chops, eventually knocking Masters out of the ring with a big clothesline. Masters' bumping and selling is quite good - the guy became something of a "IWC darling" towards the end of his WWE career, but he was already serviceable in 05'. Masters gains the upperhand, though, and starts to work on Michaels' back. I like the targeted focus of his work here and Michaels' selling, the Heartbreak Kid making it look easy to draw sympathy from the crowd. Like the previous bout, this is a smartly-worked, well layed-out match, simple but effective, and Michaels is unselfish in making Masters look like a tough challenge despite his inexperience. There are some terrific sequences in this match and even a bit of blood unexpected, unplanned blood. Had they opted to give Masters the submission victory, this would've been a star-making match for Masters, an instant step-up into main event status. In a surprising twist, Masters nearly applies the Master Lock, but Michaels escapes with a heelish low blow - further cementing just how dangerous Masters' finishing hold is. Its an interesting wrinkle in a match as the audience doesn't seem to cheer for it, even the biggest Michaels' supporters having to admit that such a move was dirty. Then again, they're back with him when he goes into his own finishing sequence, stomping along with him as he takes aim with the Sweet Chin Music. Michaels can't hit it, though, as Masters ducks and applies the Master Lock! Michaels tries to kick his way out of it, but Masters won't let go. Michaels goes down on one knee and the crowd loses their shit chanting "HBK!" Michaels finally gets on the other side of the ropes and Masters is forced to break the hold. Michaels uses his cunning to surprise Masters with a hangman on the ropes and then, after escaping one final attempt at the Master Lock, delivers a surprising Sweet Chin Music to get the W. Wow. Some matches become "must see" just because they exceed expectations. This was an undeniably great match and should've put Masters on the map, but it almost feels like this actually signaled the end of his career rather than the start of a great run. (4/5)

Main event time - John Cena defending the WWE Championship against Kurt Angle. The story here is that Cena has to turn this match into a brawl as he will lose a straight-up wrestling match if that's how this goes. On commentary, they play up Cena potentially having an injured ankle, but he doesn't sell it at all in the early going. After some babyface shine minutes, Angle takes over, taking full control after a devastating german suplex. Angle's uppercuts and crossface forearms have some extra mustard on them, this match much stiffer and physical than many likely remember. Once Cena and Angle start throwing out the big signature offense, the crowd becomes unglued and the match enters a higher gear. At this point, Cena was still peppering his matches with needless hand gestures and the unlovable 5 Knuckle Shuffle, but it was undeniably over at the time. We get a number of 2.9 nearfalls, a ref bump, and a visual pin (with the ref unconscious), but at least they attempted to give the fans reasons to believe Angle might actually win the title. After hitting Cena with his gold medal and applying the Ankle Lock, Bischoff comes down and taunts Cena, grabbing the WWE Championship in the process. Cena reaches the ropes but there is no ref to break the hold! Bischoff kicks his arm from the ropes, but as Bischoff goes to have the bell rung, Cena rolls out of the move and knocks Angle into Eazy E. Cena clocks Angle with the World Championship but the referee catches it and we have a DQ finish. Why in the world would they go with that? The crowd boos (understandably) and Bischoff goes on a rant. Cena grabs him and hits him with F-U. Angle attacks him from behind and the fight continues outside the ring. Angle attempts to Angle Slam Cena through a table, but Cena counters it into an F-U instead! A good-not-great match, an overbooked finish, and a fine post-match angle. (3/5)

With a Kwang Score of 2.81-out-of-5, Unforgiven 2005 might not seem like one of the best pay-per-views of the Ruthless Aggression Era, but it absolutely was. This show features the peak match of the Hardy/Edge blood feud, a solid-if-unremarkable Cena/Angle showdown, and a bit of a hidden gem in Michaels/Masters. The low points of the show are without redempton, but the tag team title match and Kerwin White/Shelton Benjamin overperform. 

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand