The Greater Power
11-13-2005, 09:17 PM
The show started up with the crowd chanting "Eddie, Eddie." Many fans in the building have signs dedicated to Eddie Guerrero. On the stage, as a tribute to Eddie, they have his car set up. Lilian Garcia opened the show by saying this would be a special tribute show for Eddie Guerrero. There was no pyro, and no special introduction of any of the announcers.
(1) Mr. Ken Kennedy defeated Val Venis in about five minutes. Kennedy got major heel heat for being from Green Bay and playing that up quite a bit while in the midst of Viking Country. This was apparently either a dark match or a Heat match.
Afterwards, all the wrestlers came out. Chris Benoit was crying from the moment he came out of the curtain, and was perhaps more emotional than anyone. Vince McMahon then said some words about Eddie: "Eddie Guerrero has passed away. Eddie was in the prime of his life, in the prime of his career. Tonight we celebrate the life of Eddie Guerrero. He loved the business. He had a passion like no one else. Whether cheered or booed, he loved to perform for the fans. Eddie Guerrero's goal every night was to steal the show. He would want the show to go on. And so we shall."
They had a 10-bell salute for Eddie, and the crowd was silent for it. After this, they aired a tribute video set to Johnny Cash's rendition of the Nine Inch Nails song "Hurt." When the video was done, Vince said, "Viva La Raza!" Pretty much everyone was out for this, including Shane McMahon, who was crying as well. The fans chanted "Thank you, Eddie!"
John Cena then had some words about Eddie: "Eddie was a father figure. Eddie was a man of faith, but selfishly, we'll all miss him."
(2) Big Show & Kane defeated MNM in about four minutes. This wasn't technically a squash match, but it was pretty close to it. The finish came on a chokeslam. Before the match, they showed the angle where Eddie sprayed Big Show with raw sewage from a past Smackdown show.
(3) Kurt Angle defeated Shelton Benjamin. Benjamin got a near fall with a wicked looking back suplex off the top rope. Angle was able to kick out of that and apply the anklelock for the submission victory.
After that, they showed a bunch of old Eddie and Chavo comedy skits from over the years. Chavo on the big screen then gave an emotional speech about how Eddie was like a big brother to him. He talked about how much he looked up to Eddie and how much teaming with Eddie meant to him.
It was confirmed that Joey Styles, Jerry Lawler and Jonathan Coachman are doing the commentary for the Raw show. The show is being presented in such a way that there are no angles whatsoever. It's simply matches and video segments.
(4) Rey Mysterio defeated Shawn Michaels in about 10 minutes. Michaels went for the sweet chin music, but Mysterio was able to avoid it. Mysterio then hit the 6-1-9 and dropped the dime to get the pinfall victory. During the pin, Michaels' legs sort of flailed about, but they still counted the pin. After the match, Mysterio and Michaels hugged. It should be noted also that during the course of the match, Mysterio paid tribute to Eddie by doing his little celebratory dance, which was a nice touch.
-Melina won a Diva Battle Royal featuring Divas from both brands.
- Eugene defeated Simon Dean with a Rock Bottom.
They then aired a video of Chris Benoit and Eddie together. Benoit gave a speech about how close he and Eddie were. He broke down during the speech, as this was clearly a very emotional time for Benoit. He said, "Thank you for everything you've given me. I'll never forget you. I love you."
After this, Triple H gave a speech about Eddie. This was an inopportune time for Hunter to give his speech, following Benoit like that. It was said that a skeptic might have questioned Hunter's intentions. Hunter said Eddie was well liked by everyone in the locker room, and that no one had a bad thing to say about him.
(7) Ric Flair defeated William Regal. The finish came when Flair made Regal submit to the figure four leglock. Flair had an Eddie Guerrero arm band on, and played it up for the crowd and got a nice ovation for it.
They then aired clips of Eddie Guerrero and his relationship with Chyna, and things that went on during that time period.
(8) John Cena defeated Randy Orton by disqualification. The finish came when "Cowboy" Bob Orton interfered on his son's behalf. The match was said to have been not very long and not very good.
Overall, the best match of the taping was Rey Mysterio vs. Shawn Michaels, but in general the focus was on Eddie Guerrero, and in no way would that be considered a match of the year candidate. There were no promos (other than the tribute speeches for Eddie) and no angles whatsoever. Just video packages and matches.
Credit: DailyWrestling
(1) Mr. Ken Kennedy defeated Val Venis in about five minutes. Kennedy got major heel heat for being from Green Bay and playing that up quite a bit while in the midst of Viking Country. This was apparently either a dark match or a Heat match.
Afterwards, all the wrestlers came out. Chris Benoit was crying from the moment he came out of the curtain, and was perhaps more emotional than anyone. Vince McMahon then said some words about Eddie: "Eddie Guerrero has passed away. Eddie was in the prime of his life, in the prime of his career. Tonight we celebrate the life of Eddie Guerrero. He loved the business. He had a passion like no one else. Whether cheered or booed, he loved to perform for the fans. Eddie Guerrero's goal every night was to steal the show. He would want the show to go on. And so we shall."
They had a 10-bell salute for Eddie, and the crowd was silent for it. After this, they aired a tribute video set to Johnny Cash's rendition of the Nine Inch Nails song "Hurt." When the video was done, Vince said, "Viva La Raza!" Pretty much everyone was out for this, including Shane McMahon, who was crying as well. The fans chanted "Thank you, Eddie!"
John Cena then had some words about Eddie: "Eddie was a father figure. Eddie was a man of faith, but selfishly, we'll all miss him."
(2) Big Show & Kane defeated MNM in about four minutes. This wasn't technically a squash match, but it was pretty close to it. The finish came on a chokeslam. Before the match, they showed the angle where Eddie sprayed Big Show with raw sewage from a past Smackdown show.
(3) Kurt Angle defeated Shelton Benjamin. Benjamin got a near fall with a wicked looking back suplex off the top rope. Angle was able to kick out of that and apply the anklelock for the submission victory.
After that, they showed a bunch of old Eddie and Chavo comedy skits from over the years. Chavo on the big screen then gave an emotional speech about how Eddie was like a big brother to him. He talked about how much he looked up to Eddie and how much teaming with Eddie meant to him.
It was confirmed that Joey Styles, Jerry Lawler and Jonathan Coachman are doing the commentary for the Raw show. The show is being presented in such a way that there are no angles whatsoever. It's simply matches and video segments.
(4) Rey Mysterio defeated Shawn Michaels in about 10 minutes. Michaels went for the sweet chin music, but Mysterio was able to avoid it. Mysterio then hit the 6-1-9 and dropped the dime to get the pinfall victory. During the pin, Michaels' legs sort of flailed about, but they still counted the pin. After the match, Mysterio and Michaels hugged. It should be noted also that during the course of the match, Mysterio paid tribute to Eddie by doing his little celebratory dance, which was a nice touch.
-Melina won a Diva Battle Royal featuring Divas from both brands.
- Eugene defeated Simon Dean with a Rock Bottom.
They then aired a video of Chris Benoit and Eddie together. Benoit gave a speech about how close he and Eddie were. He broke down during the speech, as this was clearly a very emotional time for Benoit. He said, "Thank you for everything you've given me. I'll never forget you. I love you."
After this, Triple H gave a speech about Eddie. This was an inopportune time for Hunter to give his speech, following Benoit like that. It was said that a skeptic might have questioned Hunter's intentions. Hunter said Eddie was well liked by everyone in the locker room, and that no one had a bad thing to say about him.
(7) Ric Flair defeated William Regal. The finish came when Flair made Regal submit to the figure four leglock. Flair had an Eddie Guerrero arm band on, and played it up for the crowd and got a nice ovation for it.
They then aired clips of Eddie Guerrero and his relationship with Chyna, and things that went on during that time period.
(8) John Cena defeated Randy Orton by disqualification. The finish came when "Cowboy" Bob Orton interfered on his son's behalf. The match was said to have been not very long and not very good.
Overall, the best match of the taping was Rey Mysterio vs. Shawn Michaels, but in general the focus was on Eddie Guerrero, and in no way would that be considered a match of the year candidate. There were no promos (other than the tribute speeches for Eddie) and no angles whatsoever. Just video packages and matches.
Credit: DailyWrestling