By J.R. Maes, Torch Team Contributor

WWE Heat review
May 30, 2004
Taped 5/24/04 in Rockford, Illinois
Aired on Spike TV
Report by J.R.Maes, Torch Team Contributor

Happy Memorial Day everybody! Sorry about the late posting but I was out doing what every real American does on Memorial Day weekend and that of course is grilling out, drinking and hitting the mall for all the wonderful Memorial Day savings at Wal-Mart, K-Mart and any other large corporation bastardizing the meaning of the holiday in the gains of profits. Anyhoo, let’s get to the show, shall we?

Coach welcomes us to the show and says they have a lot to get to and a lot of things to forget. Coach says that Al almost did the show by himself. Al says Coach is becoming a professional at getting his butt kicked.

1) Rhyno defeated Val Venis Val walked to the ring and they purposely showed some women laughing at him. Unintentionally funny stuff there. Val is playing the heel here since he threatened some kid at ringside, which makes him the face in my book. The crowd starts chanting Rhyno’s name and he acknowledges them. So, now that the face and heel are set let’s start the action already. Val ducks out of a collar and elbow playing chicken. Finally they lock up and Rhyno backs Val in the corner. They break and Rhyno knocks Val down to the mat. The crowd chants ECW, groan, and for the first time ever Coach acknowledges the chant. Rhyno locks in an armbar and yanks Val down. Val slides in the ropes and Rhyno breaks the hold. Rhyno shoulderblocks Val and sets up for the gore. Val sees him and slides out of the ring prompting a commercial break.

Commercial Break

We are back and they are tussling with Rhyno getting the upper hand. For some reason Rhyno climbs the top rope and in a scary bump, falls on his chest and then spills hard out of the ring. Rhyno comes back in the ring and Val works him over. Val’s primary offense here is a combination of kicks and more kicks. Finally, Val locks in the abdominal stretch for the first rest hold of the match. Rhyno hip tosses out of the stretch but gets a boot in the gut for his effort. Rhyno blocks a half-nelson suplex and then connects with some nasty clotheslines. Rhyno lands a belly-to-belly suplex but only gets a two count. In a very funny spot Val argues with the referee after the pin attempt. Val had his feet on the ropes and Mike Chioda stopped the count. Val complained that the ropes got in his way. During this Rhyno rises up and sets up Val for the gore. Val turns and GORE, GORE, GORE! Rhyno then easily pins Val for the victory.

Match Satisfaction: I love Rhyno. He has a much different look than just about anybody on the roster and could be huge over on Smackdown. Hey Jason Powell feel free to steal that one also!

Commercial Break

Now playing: Jericho & Benjamin VS Evolution The action picks up with Batista giving Shelton the spinebuster. Jericho breaks up the pin attempt. Benjamin rolls up Orton and pulls the tights but only gets a two count. Jericho clotheslines Batista out of the ring allowing Benjamin to pin Orton after a powerslam. Does Shelton Benjamin have a legitimate finisher? After the match Jericho sees Trish at the announce position. He walks over toward her and out comes Tomko. He throws Chris in to the Raw graphic on the stage and then powerbombs Jericho through the announce table. Trish asks Chris if that hurt. I say the only thing hurting are my eyes looking at her awful shirt. Oh honey no, no, no.

Commercial Break

2) Matt Hardy defeated Rudy Cooper Coachman and Snow talked over The Fink so the jobber’s name was obscured. So I apologize. Matt is the full-fledged face again and works over the crowd appropriately. Rudy backs Matt in the corner and smacks Matt on the chest. Matt smiles a bit and decides that now is a good time to take the match seriously. Matt locks on an armbar and smacks away on his shoulder. They break and run the ropes and Matt tosses the kid over the top-rope. Matt climbs the ropes and lands a Macho man axe handle. Rudy though gains control with a neckbreaker. After a pin attempt Rudy puts Matt in a neck ringer. Matt fights out and gives Rudy a backbody drop. In a very cool spot, Matt throws Rudy in the corner, runs and lands a clothesline that Matt immediately plants the kid with a great looking bulldog. Matt then gives the kid the side effect and then the Twist of Fate for the three count.

Match Satisfaction: Rudy Cooper was pretty good in his role here. He did not appear out of place and Matt allowed for a decent amount of offense for the unknown. He has a decent build and a good look so he may be someone the WWE should consider signing up for a developmental deal. He would blend in well with OVW. Matt also looked good in the ring and the win was much needed since all of his television time as of late has been on the receiving end of Kane’s chokeslams. Overall, a really good jobber match.

Commercial Break

Now playing: A video package of the Triple H/ HBK big footing on Raw. Basically, if you saw Raw you saw every bit of this video. HBK demands and gets his match. Triple H and Batista beat up poor Steven Richards. Those are but a few examples of the action in the video. Then they break in with the closing moments of Raw with Triple H calling out Shawn and the locker room emptying. It ends with Bischoff saying those guaranteed crowd popping words, Hell In A Cell. On a side note, it was nice to see A-Train and Chuck Palumbo are still with WWE.

Commercial Break

3) Trish Stratus defeated Nidia Tomko is accompanying Trish this week guaranteeing Trish wins this match. After all, he is a problem solver. Nidia makes her way down the aisle and a feeling of dread washes over me. She looks really out of place sauntering and playing with the fans instead of the white-trash character of the days of yore. Trish takes her over with a headlock that Nidia breaks with a head scissor. Trish breaks out and slams Nidia’s head on the top turnbuckle. Coach gives Al some lip about performing and Al reminds him that he can have Coach on the floor screaming before security can get out there. Trish is basically demolishing Nidia so far with clothesline and slams. Nidia fights back finally but Tyson Tomko pulls Trish out of the ring. Nidia has none of it and baseball slides right in to the mush of Trish. Trish gets back in the ring and takes control once again. Trish pulls Nidia’s arm and leg behind Nidia’s head in a move that looks unbreakable. Trish, right on cue, lets go and locks on a more easily escapable headlock. Nidia and Trish get to their feet and Nidia elbows out of the headlock but Trish pulls her trunks tripping up Nidia. Nidia crawls towards the ropes but Trish slides out of the ring and slaps her. Back in the ring Trish is caught with a backslide then another pin attempt. Nidia gives Trish a backdrop and Trish lands on her butt further compressing her already short neck. Nidia gets cocky though and gets caught running the ropes with a kick in the face from Trish. Trish follows with the easy pin.


Match Satisfaction: Nidia looked good in her limited amount of spots. Trish acted exactly as she should as someone who believes and demonstrates she is outclassing her opponent. She dominated the majority of the match, as she should have. Nidia has had but four matches since coming over so it makes sense to me.

J.R. Maes welcomes any comments, oversights and opinions you have to share. Drop me a line at jeremymaes@yahoo.com. He also suggests reading books and breathing, preferably at the same time. If you send me e-mail please include something in the title of the e-mail saying what you are writing about. With so many viruses and worms floating around I delete anything I do not recognize. Also, my Lounge articles are posted sometime every Wednesday. Make sure and check it out. Until this Wednesday, don’t follow my path son, don't follow my path!

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