The Hardys vs. Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch for the heels' World Tag Team Championships kicked off the show. These teams had good chemistry, though Cade and Murdoch never quite got over the way they could've/should've. Their ladder match at the One Night Stand show a few weeks ago was more memorable than this, which isn't much of a shocker considering the Hardys were often at their best when they had weapons at their disposal. This match only got around 10 minutes and was kinda "just there." (2.5/5)
The next match didn't get much longer, but felt like it did (and not in a good way) as Chavo Guerrero defended his Cruiserweight Championship against Jimmy Wang Yang. This is as good an example as any of how the WWE could never seem to make their cruiser division work as, when one watches this, its hard not to think that the competitors are holding things back a bit to wrestle a style that is more of Vince's vision than the all-out, spot-fest style that would've helped differentiate things. Instead, Chavo works as the typical methodical heel and Yang, while undeniably skilled and smooth, isn't flashy enough to make you feel like you're seeing anything remarkable. The live audience doesn't seem to care too much and, though I'm no expert on SmackDown in 2007, I doubt there was much to the build for this one either. Its also possible that Chavo may have been a bit distracted coming into this match considering what we'd soon learn about what his friend Chris Benoit was up to that weekend... (1.5/5)
Speaking of Chris Benoit, he was supposed to be in this next match but did not show up and so we got Johnny Nitro in his place, taking on CM Punk for the vacant ECW Championship. Supposedly, Benoit was slated to win the championship. There is a notable "We Want Benoit" chant that springs up early, though Nitro and Punk put the effort in to win them over and, by the end, the audience is fully engaged. The match only goes 8 minute and I'm not sure they shouldn't have changed things up as Nitro's victory came off pretty flat. Plus, Punk may not have been as over as Benoit (or even the previous champ Bobby Lashley) but he had undeniable "it factor." Another decent but not-too-memorable match. (2.5/5)
Umaga destroyed Santino Marella but got too carried away and found himself disqualified in the next "match." Lazy, bad booking/writing here. Marella winning the title in fluke fashion could've been interesting if they had an actual story beyond "fan-turned-wrestler wins title." Instead, they muddied the waters a bit by making him not just a random fan but a guy who had been training to be a wrestler too. So...was he good enough to be in the WWE or not? A legit wrestler or just a guy off the street? Here, he's booked as helpless and in way over his head and there's no reason why any fans would cheer him. Umaga comes off impressive (and would win the title back not too long after this), sure, but would've looked even stronger if he'd just won the title rather than get himself disqualified for ignoring the ref's count. (1/5)
I was not a big fan of their match at the Royal Rumble in 2008, awarding it only 1.5-out-of-5 points, but Ric Flair and MVP put on a good match here. Unlike their Rumble match months later, this one isn't all about Flair working for sympathy and then making a miraculous comeback. Flair doesn't get much offense and what he does do is pretty limited to just chest chops, chop blocks, and a back body drop here or there, but its enough to make it seem like he might actually be able to pull an upset over MVP, whose offense is nothing to sneeze at. The finish here is the most noticeable difference from the Rumble bout as MVP gets in a sneaky eye poke before hitting his finisher to get the relatively clean and decisive win. Flair doesn't have a ton of matches from beyond 1998 that are worth checking out, let alone beyond 2005, but this was solid. (2.5/5)
This is as good a time as any to note that, throughout this whole show, the commentary teams, backstage segments, and video packages are all focused on the Vince McMahon Limo Explosion, one of the greatest dropped-and-never-mentioned-again storylines in pro-wrestling history. As an artifact from that abandoned storyline, this show is going to earn an extra point from me...(+1)
The next match was...well...Deuce and Domino vs. Sgt. Slaughter and Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka (aka Deuce's dad, though this is not acknowledged by the commentary team and I'm not sure even most fans were aware of the connection). As one would imagine, this is pretty woeful stuff. Deuce and Domino's gimmick was basically "What if Sha Na Na were a tag team?" and the only way Slaughter and Snuka were "over" was "over the hill." In 2002-2003, the WWE had gone a bit overboard with the nostalgia, bringing back Hogan and Piper and others and, in 2005, even gave Piper and Flair a short run with the Tag Titles. But, in 2007, there was absolutely nothing left to get out of "one night returns" from two guys who were past their prime in the early 90s. A star for this not going too long. (1/5)
Edge defended his World Heavyweight Championship next in what was billed as a "Last Chance" match for his challenger, Batista. This is a match that works more because of how over the feud was than because there's anything particularly great about it. Batista was a very popular babyface and people despised Edge and the stipulation - as silly as it may seem - did give the match a ton of suspense. The logic may not hold up, but at least there was a reason why Edge didn't just go for the DQ or count-out win/loss within the first few minutes (as this would've allowed him to retain his title). Instead, because Edge is able to gain an advantage and damage Batista's shoulder after withstanding the Animal's initial flurry of offense, it does stand to reason that he may actually beat Batista fair and square. Of course, as the match continues and Edge can't get the W, he does eventually cost himself the match in true heel fashion...only to have Teddy Long restart things. This "twist" was to be expected and could've been how a rematch could've taken shape as Edge had successfully ended the match with the title still in his grasp, but instead of getting a semi-clean Batista pinfall victory from here, the Animal ends up only winning by countout (after hitting a Batista Bomb on the outside of the ring and then failing to roll Edge back into the squared circle). Its a pretty dumb babyface move to finish off your opponent on the outside when you fully know that you must win by pinfall or submission, but hey, Batista was never booked as particularly smart. All in all, a good match and maybe one of Edge's better ones without the benefit of lots of "toys" as Michael Cole would call them. (3/5)
Melina vs. Candice Michelle followed in a very forgettable sub-5 minute match that ended with Candice Michelle becoming the new WWE Women's Champion. I'm pretty sure she was awarded the title because she'd agreed to do Playboy. To her credit, according to wikipedia, Michelle had spent considerable time improving her in-ring skills in preparation for what was a months-long push, but Michelle never got super over. She'd end up dropping the title to Beth Phoenix a few months after this, getting injured during their feud, needing to leave for 14 weeks, then getting injured again fairly quickly after making her return. Anyway...not much to say about this match aside from it being a step up from their mud wrestling match a few weeks earlier. (1/5)
Main event time - John Cena defending the WWE Championship in a 5-Pack Challenge featuring King Booker, Mick Foley, Bobby Lashley, and Randy Orton. The WWE would eventually get really, really good at producing these multi-man clusterfucks, but they weren't quite there yet. The star power is there and, from the very beginning, there's lots of action and some fun spots - a huge Bobby Lashley splash in the opening minutes, Cena hitting the former ECW Champion with an FU through a table, Foley getting a huge pop for Mr. Socko and a couple nods to his brutal classic with Randy Orton in 04' (?) - but this still feels very "thrown together," shallow, and lacking in real substance. Going in, very few people believed Cena was dropping the title (and certainly not to the mostly-retired Foley or the still on-the-rise-but-not-yet-fully-proven Lashley), though I guess, in hindsight, they could've put the title on Orton here. But its Orton who fades into the background the most while the vets - Booker and Foley - get more than their fair share of the spotlight. A fun enough match, but nothing worth seeking out. (3/5)
With a Kwang Score of 2.11-out-of-5, Vengeance: Night of Champions 2007 barely squeaks into passable territory thanks to a decent main event, an Edge/Batista match that exceeded my admittedly low expectations, and a slight bump that the show earns due to its "curio appeal."
FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver
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