The Great American Bash Discussion Thread - 22nd July 2007

[Guest dpddave]

Umaga proved his awesomeness last night. He is the best thing in WWE right now.The way he got pis*ed off at the end and killed hardy with 3 quick moves was great!

 

The rest of the PPV was decent,with all the heels going over clean for a change,although the finishes in a lot of the matchs were either strange or botched.

 

Hornswoggle as champ is great! Us Irish can all be very proud.

[Guest DanielFullard]

Very good PPV in all and I enjoyed it a lot.

 

Cena v Lashley was Match of the Night for me with the last 5 minutes being very exciting. Glad they kept the strap on Cena to be honest as I dont think Lashley is quite ready yet. Very good main event which the crowd really got into and felt like a 'main event' which WWE often fails to achieve outside Mania.

 

Saying that, Umaga v Hardy wasn't far behind. The crowd were insanely hot for this match and it was worked superbly by both guys. Both are very much over and they kept teasing a Jeff Hardy win and the whole "Can the underdog do it?" way the match was booked worked superbly. A good finish too and I though Hardy's selling was superb in the match and Umaga was solid as usual. A match I was hardly looking forward too turned out to be great fun.

 

As for the other Hardy, Matt v MVP wasnt as good as I had hoped. It picked up towards the end but was expecting more from these two guys. The crowd didnt really get into it and were silent for long periods. I hope the feud continues and we get another few matches between the two as I still think they can work a great match but unfortunately last night was far from being it.

 

Candice got the best reaction she has recieved since becoming Champion. Infact the best reaction she has ever got. Not so much in the entrance but the crowd really got behind her in the match. Would rather Melina went over and the match was as usual for Diva matches forgettable but Candice looks to be finally starting to get over as a face.

 

Kane v Khali v Tista wasnt as awful as I thought. Crowd seemed pumped for it. Kept short as it should be and didnt have time to become boring. Khali's involvement was kept to a minimum being drilled through a table which looked kind of good. Far better than Tista v Khali would have been but still nothing worth watching.

 

Orton v Rhodes was well worked too and I loved the start with Rhodes teasing Orton with the Rope and dragging him around. A very watchable and enjoyable match and Orton was superb.

 

 

Punk v Morrison was ok but the crowd were just dead for this match. It came after Umaga v Hardy which the crowd were insane about. The match didnt really do justice to the feud and again is nothing worth seeing if you know the result.

 

The Crusierweight match was a decent bit of filler and Hornswaggle winning was pretty darn funny. Crowd went nuts when he hit the Splash and got the win. Should provide for some funny moments on Smackdown in the coming weeks. Obviously like everyone else Id love for the CW title to be a big part of the WWE but if they are going to keep it as the lowest of the low in terms of belts then a little bit of comedy is better than nothing.

 

Overall a very fun PPV which I througholly enjoyed and wouldnt have minded if I had to pay £15 for it

[Guest DOB]

A very good PPV in my opinion,a lot of things just clicked and made this a very enjoyable PPV.

 

Matt Hardy Vs M.V.P

A good match,i think they fluffed up a couple of sequences but it didn't take much away from the match.Ending was a bit flat i hope they book a rematch for SummerSlam 2/3 Falls or Cage match or something.

 

M.V.P's outfit last night was BOSS!,one thing i'm wondering is on the side of his outfit it said "Protect This Ring",can anybody shed some light on this?

 

Cruiserweight Open was a lot of fun,although i agree that WWE have shat all over the belt since it's inception and making Hornswaggle the champ is just the next chapter in the story of the belts downfall.

 

The TadPole splash was awesome though.

 

SandMan Vs Carlito

This match wasn't good but it was nowhere near bad on the other hand.I'm beginning to enjoy the Sandman for some reason,if only WWE would buy the rights for "Enter Sandman" by Metallica.

 

Candice vs Melina

An OK match,nothing special.That is all.

 

Candice/Hardys/Ron Simmons segment was very very funny.

 

Jeff Vs Umaga

Oh man,what a match, i used to absolutely despise Jeff Hardy but ever since his return last year he has won my respect.

 

Match started off slow with some boring rest holds but then kicked up a gear and it turned out to be an awesome match.Jeffs reversal from the butt bump into the Whisper In the Wind was pure class and well excuted and timed.

 

Couple of little things i loved from this mach were

-When Jeff got the near fall after the Swanton it was if Umaga snapped back in to reality after having been knocked silly and realised he was in trouble,and hitting the super-kick,butt bump and Samoan Spike in quick succession was a brilliant combination.

 

-Also when the referee gave Umaga the belt,Umaga kind of rested it on Jeff for a while and gave him a look that to me said "you nearly had me,and damn i respect you" and did it again after he left the ring, it might have just been me that though this but it was a nice touch.

 

John Morisson Vs C.M Punk

A good match,weird ending,maybe the ref called an audible or something because it seemed rushed.As good as this match was,C.M Punk is nowhere near as ready as some people claim,he's good but not that good.

 

Dustys And Randys promos before this match were brilliant and the pre-match video was very well put together.

 

Dusty Rhodes Vs Randy Orton

An OK match,it was basically a squash for Orton,Cody has a rematch against Orton tonight which will probably be the end of this feud,hopefully then Orton will challenge Cena at SummerSlam.

 

Orton is on fire now,everything he does is awesome IMO.

 

Batista Vs Khali Vs Kane

Could have been a lot worse.

 

John Cena Vs Bobby Lashley

Lashleys new music is quality.

Build-up to this was good,atmosphere on the night was a huge bonus for the match also.

 

Match was very good,had a couple of nice spots to it like Cena having to slam Lashley twice to keep him down for the 5 Knuckle Shuffle and both men kicking out of each others finishers.

Lashley looked very good,i'm suprised he didn't turn on Cena to set up the rematch.

 

Last night was one of the few times I've seen Cane break a sweat,the man is super-healthy and fit.It just shows how hard he worked last night.Not taking anything away from Lashley either.

 

Very good PPV.Roll On SummerSlam.

Edited July 23, 2007 by DOB

[Guest Al Stevens]

I've got a question what TV's do you guys use, because i felt very very disapointed with the PPV.

 

MOTN was Cena Lashley (and i thought that this match saved the whole PPV personally)

 

The Triple Treat flat out sucked harder than a prostitute who needs money for crack

 

The two gimmick matches was both short and pointless, I mean the second i saw the sandman getting the cain i called the ending and i thought the idea of a bull rope match was to have a longish match, not one where the bell is used really twice and it's over)

 

The Womens match was okish however Candice Michelle just looks strange with the title. Dont get me wrong she is probably a lovely lady who does work hard trying to improve, but please that success only worked once with Trish.

 

Oh and just as i thought the night couldnt get any work we have King Booker coming out complaining that all kings on Raw should give up there "Royalty". Sorry Booker Jerry was the king before you was even thinking of holding up Wendys and I am begging.... No PLEADING Triple H to come back and make Booker T his witch (but put a put a B at the start and replace the W) and get him jobbing out to Skintky on heat where he belongs. Booker T is starting to get on my tits, and i dont mean being a good heel, he's just flat out annoying and hopefully he will bugger off soon.

 

The IC title match was probably one of the best matches of the night (behind the rightful main event) Jeff's selling last night was amazing and i havent seen the Spike seem more dangerous when Jeff is taking it. Also those three moves of death was sweet.

 

Trust me WWE need to do something extra special if i am going to part my £15 for summer slam

[Guest Jung]

My biggest gripe was this.

 

Dusty delivers an absolutely brilliant promo. One which can make you forget anything rubbish about the feud before and instantly think "yes I want to see this". And then Randy absolutely destroys him, a 1 sided hammering. But then gets afraid of Dusty's kid..........the same kid he absolutely mullered a week ago.

 

Its just really incompetent booking, especially when in other matches on the show, the booking was really very good. Just makes no sense for Orton to squash Cody, get worried about Dusty, Dusty do a great promo to hype how ready he is, have Orton squash Dusty then get scared of his kid?!

 

Just really really poor.

[Dead Crow 370]

What an amazing PPV. Just a pleasure to watch. Had I paid for it, I'd consider it well worth my money. One of the best wrestling PPVs this year, ahead of even Wrestlemania but just below Backlash.

 

Cena/Lashley was great and I knew it wouldn't be bad like everyone else seemed to think. I've concluded that the Cena haters are just braindead idiots who will never be convinced that he's a good wrestler. If 26 months of good/great matches doesn't convince you, nothing ever will. Lashley held up his end of the bargain and did a real good job in there. More importantly, it played to their strengths. Cena actually came off as a legitimate underdog and Lashley was the big powerhouse just killing him. That's how they should be booked at all times. Cena sells better, Lashley attacks better, so keep it like that.

 

Khali/Kane/Batista was far better than it had any right to be. They all had their working shoes on and all the credit in the world to Khali for his table bump. Not the best match ever by a long shot, but I wasn't bored by it at all. There was a nice story to it and the crowd popped. Even scarier, Khali is actually learning psychology and how to work a crowd. I never thought I'd see the day...

 

Hardy/Umaga was great. Had anyone told me that Jeff Hardy would be a highlight of 2007 wrestling, I'd have told you to shut up and stop being an idiot. But low and behold, he's on fire right now. Umaga has been great since he came back and it's being proven now with matches like these. The best big man in wrestling right now? There's one hell of a case in support of it.

 

Dusty/Orton was a little disappointing, but hell, Orton won, so I can't complain there. I just expected a lot more considering the build-up.

 

Punk/Morrison was boring. Punk needs to turn heel badly, because he cannot work as a babyface. He seems to work like a heel, yet expects the cheers when he has no idea how to generate them. Whatever pop he got last year that people like to keep bringing up concerning DX is irrelevent now, because he illicits next to nothing these days. Good initial pop, and then the match starts and no one cares.

 

The Cruiserweight Open was fine. I was initially a little annoyed at Hornswoggle as new champion, but the more I thought about it, the more it makes sense. Hornswoggle is actually over, the cruiserweight title has never meant anything, and it gives the character a different dimension away from just being the associate of Finlay. So I actually like it.

 

MVP/Hardy was decent. Expected more, but wasn't awful by any means.

 

Candice/Melina was ok, nothing more.

 

Carlito/Sandman wasn't particularly good, but I'm just happy to see Sandman on PPV.

 

So yeah, VERY happy with this showing.

[Murph 93]

My biggest gripe was this.

 

Dusty delivers an absolutely brilliant promo. One which can make you forget anything rubbish about the feud before and instantly think "yes I want to see this". And then Randy absolutely destroys him, a 1 sided hammering. But then gets afraid of Dusty's kid..........the same kid he absolutely mullered a week ago.

 

Its just really incompetent booking, especially when in other matches on the show, the booking was really very good. Just makes no sense for Orton to squash Cody, get worried about Dusty, Dusty do a great promo to hype how ready he is, have Orton squash Dusty then get scared of his kid?!

 

Just really really poor.

 

Well, Orton wasn't fresh to face Cody after just going through a bullrope match. Also, if he attacked Cody, Dusty could be getting back up, and then he'd have a 2-on-1 assault on his hands.

 

That Orton's one smart playa.

[Guest dpddave]

In my excitment at Hornswoggle proudly representing my country as the CW champion of the world,i forgot all about Dusty's promo.

 

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" gotta love the dream.

[Guest Nemesis Enforcer]

Not going to do a run through of every thing that happened on the PPV or every match (too much cleaning up to do in the house) so just going to give my overview of the show

 

It was pretty good but nothing more, it did go better then on paper thats for sure but some matches were rarther poor, such as Carlito vs Sandman where no-one got caned in a Cane match! and the dire Bullrope match

 

I liked the Cena vs Lashley match more then I thought but I did feel that Lashley was trying to do his amature stuff at too high a pace to start the match and made it look really sloppy, I am also confused at why a weak FU from the top (it looked more impactful from the ground then it did from the top!) was enough to finish Lashley when everyone else all night was able to kick out of superplex's which delivers more force

 

A goodish show but it didn't set the world alight, there has been better shows before and will be better shows in future then this imo

[Guest Al Stevens]

Well, Orton wasn't fresh to face Cody after just going through a bullrope match. Also, if he attacked Cody, Dusty could be getting back up, and then he'd have a 2-on-1 assault on his hands.

 

That Orton's one smart playa.

 

Nah if it was me then when i saw Cody there in front of Dusty i would have punted Cody in front on his dad, just to be alittle bit more evil.:good222:

[Kam 243]

Maybe this has something to do with the Huge Summerslam Spoilers. As in, Umaga, not the Jackass guys, have pulled out.

Thankfully I ignored the rumours and kept Umaga as the winner for the predictions :)

 

LMAO at Hornswoggle winning the Cruiserweight Title. That was brilliant booking which I never saw coming. Great stuff. :lol

I thought it was pretty obvious. Michael Cole stated as soon as the match was about to begin that anyone under the weight limit could enter, so I was expecting a surprise entry to take the title. Then Hornswoggle ran across the ring...so I was just waiting for him to do the run in.

 

Overall I enjoyed the PPV, I did have low expectations, which helped. Jeff Hardy stole the show, as usual.

[Guest PowerPlay]

A very good PPV!

 

MVP/Hardy - Could have been a lot better considering the two athletes that were in the match. They had some sloppy moments. Feud should continue thought... **

 

Carlito/Sandman - Average match but watchable. *1/2

 

CW Open - Enjoyable and hey guys HORNSWAGGLE IS THE CHAMP! Hahahah just laugh about it it's entertaimment. It's gonna be interesting to see what happens with Finlay. **

 

Candice/Melina - Ok match. **

 

Punk/Morrisson - Good match but like Vengeance, it seemed rushed and the ending was very bad. They should give this match time like they do with HVT title or WWE Title, it would be better for the wrestlers and for us who watch the match. **1/2

 

Dusty/Orton - Really didn't like this one. *

 

Hardy/Umaga - You talk about a good match, wow. The crowd was insane in this one and Jeff put on a great show, selling the offense of Umaga but getting some great nearfalls. And I saw the same thing as DOB after the match. ***1/4

 

Khali/Kane/Batista - I thought this was going to be awful, but it wasn't. Nothing very good, but some nice moments in the match. **1/4

 

Lashley/Cena - MOTN for me. What a contest. Lashley's getting it in the ring, really, he should get better on the mic to be a real main eventer, but thats it. In the ring hes good. The ending was issh, the FU from the top. ***1/2

 

Overall - Very Enjoyable show, I'd take PPVs like this every months. SUMMERSLAM!

Edited July 23, 2007 by PowerPlay

[Guest PowerPlay]

Not going to do a run through of every thing that happened on the PPV or every match (too much cleaning up to do in the house) so just going to give my overview of the show

 

It was pretty good but nothing more, it did go better then on paper thats for sure but some matches were rarther poor, such as Carlito vs Sandman where no-one got caned in a Cane match! and the dire Bullrope match

 

I liked the Cena vs Lashley match more then I thought but I did feel that Lashley was trying to do his amature stuff at too high a pace to start the match and made it look really sloppy, I am also confused at why a weak FU from the top (it looked more impactful from the ground then it did from the top!) was enough to finish Lashley when everyone else all night was able to kick out of superplex's which delivers more force

 

A goodish show but it didn't set the world alight, there has been better shows before and will be better shows in future then this imo

 

I thought the exact same thing!

[Guest Jung]

Well, Orton wasn't fresh to face Cody after just going through a bullrope match. Also, if he attacked Cody, Dusty could be getting back up, and then he'd have a 2-on-1 assault on his hands.

 

That Orton's one smart playa.

 

But he crushed both of them like jobbers, why should he be worried?

[Guest Kanenite]

I was pretty pleased with the show, GAB is no longer doomed to be crap!

 

MVP/Hardy was pretty good. Cruiserweight match was good, Hornswoggle winning was hilarious and as already said it doesn't really matter seeing as the CW Title has little credibility. Sandman/Carlito wasn't to bad, I expected worse. Candice/Melina I missed. Morrison/Punk was pretty good. Bullrope match was alright, I really expected more though and would've liked to see more time contributed towards the match, i'm sure it would've been more brutal and entertaining given more time. Triple Threat I didn't think it was awful, it wasn't great but it was better than I expected. I'm really liking Lashley's new Theme. I really enjoyed the Main Event, definately match of the night. They both put on a great match to finish a good event.

 

Overall a pretty decent PPV, much better than the GAB's so far.

[TPIB 62]

Well, I can't really give a completely good or bad review of the pay-per-view, seeing as the quality I saw it in was the poorest among poor, but in any case, I didn't catch where Cole mentioned that anyone in the Cruiserweight Weight Limit could enter. They change the rules of these matches on the fly. One moment it's only former champions that can enter, then it's open to all Cruiserweights. In any case, Hornswoggle doesn't even weigh very much less than Chavo. Hornswoggle weighs in at 119 lbs. and Chavo is somewhere in the lower 200's. Anyways, it was a surprise to me that Hornswoggle won the CW title. His defenses and appearances ought to be interesting. Among all the confusion/excitement of a "little guy" winning the CW title, I think it's been overlooked that Hornswoggle is only 21 years old. By the way, WWE.com has an interview up with Finlay where he discusses his "little buddy's" win.

 

I was a little bit surprised at the Intercontinental and United States Title matches. I guess I am too gullible, but I believed the rumors regarding Umaga dropping the title to Jeff or perhaps I just wanted The Hardys to hold the IC and U.S. Titles on their respective brands. I still look for the Hardys to hold that gold soon. So, what's the story on Umaga, then?

 

No one is really surprised, but the promos last night confirmed that Triple H will return at SummerSlam. I could see him showing up on the RAW before SummerSlam for an appearance and then making his in-ring return at SummerSlam. In any case, at least we only have to wait a month (give or take) for his return.

 

The World Title matches were no big shock to me. The only titles I could visualize changing hands were the World and ECW World Titles, but I didn't figure that it was very likely that Khali and Morrison would lose their titles on their first defense. The WWE Title Match outcome was the most obvious. Everyone says it was a great match, I can't really give a solid opinion on that due to the reason stated above, but you had to know that Cena would overcome the odds yet again. While I hate Cena as champion, I still don't believe that Lashley is qualified to hold either the WWE or World Titles. I honestly believe that the World Title Match may've been the better of the three.

 

The match between Dusty and Orton didn't seem to last near as long as I expected it to be. I also expected there to be alot of blood involved, but oh well. I personally never thought that Dusty would believeably be able to win, anyways.

[Murph 93]

But he crushed both of them like jobbers, why should he be worried?

 

Because he's now tired, and doesn't want to be fighting 2 men at once in a tired state of body.

[Guest Al Stevens]

Because he's now tired, and doesn't want to be fighting 2 men at once in a tired state of body.

 

But the thing was Dusty was down and out with his "bell" rung off the bell and it would have left Cody in the line of fire with his dad just starting to get some of his senses back to normal. It doesnt take that long to bounce off the rope and boot someone in the head. There wouldnt have been a 2-1 attack at all because Dusty would have been too worried for Cody's well being.

 

Seriousally Randy isnt as smart as myself ;) :lol

[Murph 93]

...NO! Cody beats up an already hurt Randy is he tries to attack Dusty any more, however, if this beaten-up Orton can fight back, Dusty will be recooperating, and will have enough to take out Orton from behind. Then, if Orton is Superman (or Cena) and STILL has enough to take out Dusty Rhodes for a second time, which he WON'T, Cody Rhodes will have had some time to recooperate and then save his da, AGAIN.

[Guest The Beltster]

I must have much higher expectations than everybody else, because that PPV was sh*t!

 

The main event had a great build, average content and a messy ending. Jeff vs Umaga was good. Punk vs Nitro was awful. Hardy vs MVP was boring. Womens match was same old same old and the Candice segment was embarassing. Cruiserweights have no business being on TV, never have and never will. They are pathetic, their style is annoying and crap and to top it off you have the ugliest, biggest headed midget in the world holding the title of the division. Scrap it NOW! World title match was awful. Sandman vs Carlito was pointless.

 

The entire PPV from top to bottom was a load of crap, and I dont care what the pro-Cena crowd say, as obviously THEY are brainwashed into thinking he can do no wrong when tonight proved he can, and does. The match was the pits.

 

When Cena is on, he is great. He has proven he can have fantastic matches and does so more often than not, but please people for Christ sake please stop being so God damned bias and admit that when he stinks out the joint, he stinks out the joint! The match was CRAP!

 

Oh, and Orton vs Dusty was stupid. Rhodes didnt even bleed, in a bullrope match! Whats up with that?