WWE Vengeance (October 2011)

Original Airdate: October 23, 2011

From San Antonio, Texas; Your Hosts are Michael Cole, Booker T, and Jerry Lawler

Opening WWE Tag Team Title Match: Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne v Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger: Kofi and Dolph start, and they feel each other out, dominated by the champion. Tags all around, and Evan dominates Jack as well, then passes back to Kofi to hit Jack with a dive for two. The champs double up on Jack in their home corner for a while, before Kofi gets into trouble, and worked over by the challengers. Evan gets the hot tag and runs wild, but a roundhouse kick on Jack only gets two. Evan goes up for a flying shooting star press, but Swagger lifts his knees to block, and Dolph tags in to hook the leg - Kofi making the save at two. Evan is unable to parlay that into a tag, however, and the heels work Bourne over. Hot tag to Kofi, and he runs wild on Dolph. Kofi with a flying bodypress for two, and the Boom Drop leads to Trouble in Paradise, but Dolph ducks. Kofi responds with the SOS for two, so Jack comes in to put him in the anklelock, but Evan saves. Dolph capitalizes by grabbing Kofi in a schoolboy for two, but Kingston blasts him with Trouble, and Evan adds a dive to retain at 13:18. *

WWE United States Title Match: Dolph Ziggler v Zack Ryder: Zack hammers him into the corner right away, and a whip into the ropes allows him a forearm for two. A cross corner whip gets the challenger another two, but Ziggler fights back with a neckbreaker. Ryder throws a clothesline, so Ziggler bails, but the tag champs force him back in. The referee boots them from ringside (and rightly so, what business do they have out there), though Zack retains control. A flapjack gets him two, but a bodypress misses, and Ryder wipes out in the ropes. Ziggler puts the boots to him, and an elbowdrop gets the champion two. Ziggler works an armbar, and another elbowdrop is worth two. A turnbuckle smash follows, but a corner charge hits Zack’s knees, and Ryder delivers a seated big boot. That triggers interference from Swagger, and Ziggler superkicks him to retain at 6:01. ¾*

WWE Divas Title Match: Beth Phoenix v Eve Torres: Natalya and Kelly Kelly are banned from ringside for this. They fight over the initial lockup, with Beth getting the better of it. Torres fights her off in the corner for a flying sunset flip for two, but Beth throws a boot, and adds a forearm for two. Elbowdrop gets a one count, but Eve bridges up, and gets her in a wristlock. Beth fights into the ropes, so Torres drills her with a leg-feed enzuigiri, and uses Beth’s own outfit to tie her to the middle rope. That allows Eve to unload a bit, and a forearm knocks the champion to the outside. Torres tries following, but Beth sweeps her leg, and press-drops her across the barricade. Inside, that gets the champion a two count, and she puts Torres in a clutch. Eve fights, so Beth drops her with an inverted rack breaker, and she follows up by working the ribs with a bodyscissors. Torres slugs free, and manages a hangman clothesline to set up a somersault senton splash for two. Eve works a bodyscissors hold of her own, but Beth makes the ropes to save her title. Eve responds with a turnbuckle smash, but she gets her throat snapped across the top rope. That allows Beth to try for the Glam Slam, but Torres counters with a cradle for two. Eve goes up for a flying moonsault, but Beth rolls out of the way, and Glam Slams her to keep the title at 7:16. Strong effort from both, but the work lacked the kind of smoothness and confidence you’d expect at this level. * ¼ 

Sheamus v Christian: They take turns knocking each other around to start, with Sheamus getting the better of it. Sheamus with a hanging vertical suplex for two, and the crowd is super, super quiet. Christian fights back with a neckbreaker, and a schoolboy gets him a two count. Christian tries a chinlock, but Sheamus fights free, so Christian nails him with a missile dropkick. Booker, of course, loves a good missile dropkick. Christian tries a flying headbutt drop, but Sheamus dodges, and makes a comeback. Samoan drop gets Sheamus two, but an attempt at a suplex gets reversed over the top. Christian tries diving after him, but Sheamus blocks, and delivers a slingshot shoulderblock for two. Christian buys time with another neckbreaker for two, but Sheamus blocks the Killswitch. That leads to a reversal sequence that Sheamus wins, but a corner charge gets blocked, and Christian kicks him in the head a few times. He tries a dive, but Sheamus catches him in a uranage backbreaker for two. Brogue kick, but Christian spears him to block, getting two. Sheamus goes upstairs, but Christian blocks him again, and brings him down with a rana. Spear, but Sheamus throws a Brogue to get the win at 10:36. This got better towards the end, but was really disappointing overall. * 

CM Punk and Triple H v Miz and R-Truth: Punk and Miz start, and both Punk and HHH toy for Miz in the early going. Truth gets a tag and has better luck, getting Punk in a chinlock for a bit. Punk side suplexes his way out to allow the tag to HHH, and Hunter runs wild, cleaning house. He goes to the outside to go after them, but gets overwhelmed fighting a two front war, as Cole goes on a weird tangent about how Booker is ‘worse than the Republican candidates for president.’ That felt really out of place. The heels work HHH over, until Hunter manages to catch Truth with a clothesline, and it’s hot tag Punk - Roseanne Barr the door! Punk bulldogs Miz for two, and a bodyslam sets up a dive, but Truth blocks. HHH responds by chucking Truth into the crowd, allowing Punk to finish his thought with a flying elbowdrop on Miz. GTS, but Punk gets distracted by Kevin Nash showing up to attack HHH on the outside. That allows the heels to double team Punk, and Miz pins him at 14:19. This wasn’t bad by any means, just kind of dull. *

Cody Rhodes v Randy Orton: Cody’s WWF Intercontinental gold is not on the line. Randy fights off a takedown attempt to start, and side suplex-slams him, then uses a clothesline to send him over the top. Orton chases to smash him into the steps before rolling him back in, where Randy uses a clothesline for two. Cody snaps his throat across the rope to buy time, allowing Rhodes to lay in some boots. Gourdbuster sets up a 2nd rope kneedrop, and a pair of short-knees connect. Orton fights back with uppercuts, but a corner whip backfires when Rhodes rebounds with a clothesline for two. Cody takes it to the mat with a chinlock, but Randy uses a side suplex to escape, so Rhodes throws a standing dropkick for two. Once again, the crowd is completely dead, for whatever reason. They’re not setting the world on fire, or anything, but they’re working a perfectly competent match thus far, no reason for silence. Rhodes goes a Boston crab on, but Orton fights, and schoolboys for two. Rhodes punches him, but Orton responds in kind, and wins a slugfest, so Cody uses a whiplash for two. Cody goes up for a flying moonsault, but takes way too long, and Randy rolls out of the way. Orton makes a comeback, but Cody blocks the rope-hung DDT. That allows Rhodes to try a dive, but Orton uses a dropkick to block, and he covers for two. Randy tries a gutwrench, but Rhodes blocks, and lands a kneesmash for two. Reversal sequence ends in Randy delivering an inverted headlock backbreaker for two, and a gutwrench neckbreaker is worth two. Cody goes up with a flying moonsault press for two, and the Cross Rhodes gets another two. He tries his own RKO, but Orton blocks, and drops him with the rope-hung DDT. RKO, so one of Cody’s henchmen tries a distraction, but Orton powers through, and delivers the RKO at 12:11. This was a solid outing. **

World Heavyweight Title Match: Mark Henry v Big Show: Show pounds him down early, and puts the boots to the champion in the corner until Henry bails. He stalls out there for a bit, until he’s able to frustrate Show, and then takes advantage of him with a bodyslam. That turns the tide, and Mark works the leg. Show fights him off with a series of headbutts that lead to a series of clotheslines, as Show makes a comeback. Chokeslam looks to put it away, but Henry kicks out at two. Show tries a knockout punch, but Henry blocks, and delivers a slam for two. Mark decides to go airborne, but Show chokeslams him off the top before he can, getting another two. Now Show decides to go airborne, but Mark follows for a superplex - the ring collapsing on impact, giving us a no contest at 13:00. This was pretty nondescript, but the finish was certainly memorable. ½*

Main Event: WWE Title Last Man Standing Match: Alberto Del Rio v John Cena: The ring is still in a collapsed state as the match starts, so I’m guessing we shouldn’t expect much workrate wise. Del Rio takes a cheap shot to put Cena down right away, and the champ hammers him. Del Rio with a vertical suplex and a big boot, and he works John over with ease. Del Rio with a series of side suplexes, and then more suplexes, as they navigate the wobbly ring. Del Rio gets him in a sleeper/bodyscissors combo, but Cena beats the count, and dumps him to the outside, with Del Rio taking a bump into the rail. John grabs the steps, but misses an attack with them, and Del Rio sends him into them himself. They fight backstage for an aimless brawl, then back out into the arena, where Del Rio climbs a piece of the set, and takes a bump through a table. They fight to ringside, where Cena puts him through another table, when suddenly Miz and R-Truth show up to beat John down. Cena beats the count, but Del Rio has recovered, and he brains him with the title belt for the win at 26:58. Why would you book a near thirty minute match in a broken ring? ¾*

BUExperience: The slow kind of hummed along at the ‘decent but forgettable’ level all night, but the main event just sucked whatever it had going for it away. Just so, so long.

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