Unforgiven 2004 Review
September 12th 2004 from Portland OR. Your hosts are JR and King.
Match #1
Tag Team Match
The Nature Boy Ric Flair And Batista Vs Chris Benoit And Randy Orton
Batista shoves Benoit and he immediatley goes for the crossface just to show Dave not to mess around. Regal in and he gets an exploder suplex for 2. The faces work Batista in the corner. He gets free and tags Flair and he trades chops with Benoit. Benoit wins it and backdrops him, and Flair gets pummeled in teh good guys corner. Flair Flop. Regal drops a knee, but Flair goes for the d poke to the eye, then clips him. Regal comes back with a wristlock sequence and works on the arm, and Benoit comes back in with more chops Flair is about to go down but Benoit holds him up then decks him in a cool spot. Benoit grabs a hits an enzuigiri. Finally he tags in Batista, who starts pounding Regal, but he gets caught in the face corner again. Benoit takes him down and goes for the Sharpshooter, but Batista powers out and beats Benoit down out of frustration. Regal in and he gets clobbered too. Chops in the corner by Flair and a backdrop suplex for 2. Batista with a neckbreaker for 2. They work on the neck, as Flair clips Regal and tries a figure four whic almost gets a pin but Benoit breaks it up. Flair tries again, and gets cradled for 2. Batista comes in and drops an elbow, then suplexes Regal for 2. Regal hottags Benoit and he goes to the rolling germans and Flair blocks the Sharpshooter with a poke to the eyes, but Benoit gets the crossface, and in a cool spot, Batista walks in and just picks up Benoit, just peeling him off Flair and slams him, then a spinebuster for Regal and he's bleeding from the mouth. They brawl outside while Benoit gets the crossface and Flair at 15:06. I liked it alright. 2 1/2 stars.
Match #2
Womens Championship Match
Trish Stratus w Tyson Tomko Vs Victoria
Victoria with an armdrag to start and cradles for 2 and Trish bails. Back in, Victoria runs into a knee and gets choked down. Trish's using the hangman choke in the corner then does a curtousy bow to the crowd then gets slammed off for being a wise gal. Trish bails and hides behind Tomko. Victoria follows and they brawl. Back in, Trish gets a cheapshot and sends her into the post to take over. A hairpull takedown gets 2 for Trish and she uses the chinlock. Spinebuster gets 2, and it's back to the chinlock. Victoria fights out with a sideslam, for 2. Jigglesault gets 2. Trish uses the Matrix dodge, but gets headbutted down instead, and then Victoria hits Tomko with a plancha and he chases her around outside and she walks into a stratusfaction and pinned at 8:20. 1 1/2 star.
A "Mystery Woman" runs out to save Victoria and Tomko calls "her" out and it's Steven Richards in drag which starts:
Match #3
Singles Match
Steven Richards Vs Tyson Tomko
Tomko and rips the dress off. Crowd is bored stiff with it. Steven makes the comeback, Richards uses a testicular claw and gets a pair of dropkicks in the corner follow, but Tomko finishes him with the TKO at 6:24. 1/2 star.
Match #4
Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match
Chris Jericho Vs Christian
Edge was "injured" and forfeited the title so this is to fill the vacancy. Jericho gets a suplex. Backdrop suplex and he starts chopping in the corner, but Christian slugs him down and chokes away. Jericho comes back and gets the ladder first, he tries tossing it at Christian and misses. Enzuigiri and Jericho spears Christian in the gut with it. They fight into the crowd and Jericho backdrops Christian back to ringside, and he chokes him with a cable. Christian comes back with an unprettier on the floor. That allows him to make the first climb, but Jericho stops him. Christian sends him into the corner and puts the ladder in another corner, and gets whipped into the ladder as a result. Jericho gets sent to the ladder and Christian chokes him down and then catapults him under the ladder in the corner. He climbs again, but Jericho stops him and then tosses the ladder at Christian out of the corner. Jericho goes up and rides the ladder onto Christian's back. Christian, however, comes back with an atomic onto the ladder, which leaves Jericho hanging in the tree of woe. Christian runs into him then sets up the ladder to climb again, but gets flipped off by Jericho and that's enough to make him give up winning and go beat on Jericho. Jericho dropkicks the ladder into his face and bulldogs him onto it. Jericho puts him on the ladder and does the sandwich, but misses the Lionsault and hits the ladder. Christian rams the ladder into his face and he climbs. They fight on top of the ladder, and it falls. Jericho puts the ladder over Christian and climbs and Christian escapes from under the ladder and pushes him over. Christian climbs now and they fight up there, allowing Jericho to do the lion tamer spot from the 2001 Rumble, but it's played out. Christian pushes the ladder over again and Jericho lands on his tailbone right on one of the ladder's feet. Worst/Best spot of the match. Christian gets a bigger ladder and climbs again, but Jericho climbs the first one and they slug it out. Jericho pushes the belt to keep it a moving target for Christian. Both go down. Jericho climbs and finally gets the belt at 22:20ish. Standard ladder match. 3 stars.
Match #5
Singles Match
Shawn Michaels Vs Kane w Lita. Lita is "pregnant so she is wearing one of those "im knocked up" blouse skirt things. Kane pounds on him, and runs into a knee and Shawn takes him down with a thesz press. Shawn chases him out of the ring and they brawl. Back in, Shawn comes off the top, but gets punched. Kane chokes him down in the corner and then hits a corner clothesline for 2. Elbow drop misses and Shawn takes him out of the ring with a Cactus clothesline. Skin the cat as usual. Kane goes after Lita in response who mocks him and Shawn hits him with a pescado. Kane hides behind Lita and Shawn gets suckered as typical of the baby face. Kane presses Shawn onto the table. Back in, he gets 2. Legdrop gets 2. Kane misses a blind charge, but gets the sideslam for 2. He goes to a neck vice, and Shawn fights back, but gets slugged down. Kane sends him into the corner and tries a backdrop suplex, but Shawn flips out of it and gets a DDT. They slug it out and Shawn gets the flying forearm, but Kane sits up at the same time as Shawn kips up. Shawn fights back, but gets sent into the corner for a Flair Flip to the floor. They brawl outside and Shawn goes to the steps. Kane grabs a chair and Shawn bleeds. Shawn gets the atomic drop and slugs him down. He goes up with the flying elbow and he sets up for the superkick and Kane counters with a big boot however. That gets 2. Flying clothesline sets up for the chokeslam, but Shawn goes low. He chairshots Kane, but Kane recovers first. Lita steals the chair from Kane and he goes for a chokeslam instead but Shawn escapes and gets a superkick for the pin at 18:09. 2 1/2 stars.
Match #6
Raw Tag Team Championship Match
La Resistance Vs Rhyno And Tajiri
Tajiri gives Sylvan some kicks and chops then Conway tags in and gets knocked around too. Rhyno and Conway slug it out, and Rob runs. Back in, Rhyno misses a blind charge and Conway takes him down with an armbar. The champs work him on the mat but Rhyno gives Conway a belly to belly to stop that. Tajiri in and he gets a kick for 2. Sunset flip into a rolling cradle gets 2. Handspring kick knocks Grenier off the apron but Conway blocks a tornado DDT and Tajiri plays face in danger. Grenier gets a backbreaker for 2. Conway pounds the back and chokes him down. Conway slams him for 2. Tajiri comes back with a headscissors and tags Rhyno. He dumps Conway and pounds Grenier, and a belly to belly gets 2. Spinebuster gets 2. Resistance comes back with a double team spinebuster, and it gets 2. Typical tag brawl and Tajiri ballshots Sylvan with their Quebec flag and Rhyno sets for the gore but while the ref ain't looking Sylvan pops him with the flag to retain at 9:40. Standard tag filler for Raw. 1 1/2 star
Match #7
Raw Championship Match
Randy Orton Vs HHH
99% of the internet knew Orton wouldn't be leaving with the belt. They do some basic lockups which leads to Orton slapping and spitting on HHH. Orton backdrop and a knee drop for 2. He goes to his chinlock and HHH powers out and he gets pitched outside. HHH tries to post him, but Orton sends him into the post. Back in, they slug it out, and HHH uses the indian deathlocka nd Orton sells it well. They slug it out in the corner and HHH does a kneedrop onto Orton's knee. Orton fights up, but eats a knee. HHH works on the leg again. He goes to the figure four but eventually, Hebner catches him using the ropes so he forces a break. Orton gives HHH a weak slingshot and HHH bleeds of that. Orton jabs at the cut but HHH kicks him in the knee again and Orton powerslams him for 2. Thumb to the eye and the high dropkick gets 2. DDT gets 2. HHH comes back with the pushkill but Orton reverses. HHH escapes with the backdrop suplex. HHH goes up and lands on the boot on the way down. Orton goes up with the high cross body, for 2. A clothesline puts HHH on the floor and they brawl. Back in, Orton gets his neckbreaker for 2. RKO attempt, but the ref is bumped. Pedigree is reversed to the RKO as Batista and Flair show up and Orton knocks them off the apron but HHH goes low and even Coach is getting booked into the main event spot now. He has a ref shirt and tries the BS count but Orton kicks out. Orton decks him and Batista gives Orton a spinebuster, that gets 2. Orton fends off another pedigree attempt and RKO's Coach but HHH gets a chair and parts his hair with it then a pedigree on the chair gives the belt back to HHH to the suprise of NO ONE at 24:30. 2 1/2 stars.
Overall Opinion: First world title reigns are very important to me, and this one just looked like a complete waste of time. Orton peaked too early IMHO and I was not high on the guy to begin with. So Raw is back to where it was for the past 2 years in a row.
Final Score: This show gets a boring 3.8 stars out of a perfect 10.0 from me. The WWE was in a SERIOUS funk post Mania 20. First time since the brand split in 2002 where BOTH brands sucked.