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WWE Bash PPV Reax #1: "It was good to see 'Gold Standard' Shelton Benjamin rightfully earn his nickname with a title win"
Jul 21, 2008 - 11:58:51 AM |
Jon Gargis of Cartersville, Ga. (5.0): Best Match: Jericho-Michaels. Worst Match: Parking Lot Brawl. When your pay-per-view's last three matches are a no contest, a bad match to begin with, and a distraction victory, you're not giving fans a reason to shell out money to watch. The main event's ending, however, did make sense from a storyline perspective, and I foresee the jilted Vickie Guerrero turning babyface against Edge and bringing back his biggest enemy, the Undertaker, in time for Summerslam. One has to wonder how the events of the Parking Lot Brawl do not qualify as arson, attempted murder, and other crimes. This angle with Kane better play out to something meaningful, and not "See No Evil 2." (May 19th!) Did anyone expect Tommy Dreamer to win? The guy doesn't even have his own t-shirt to cover his flab during his matches. It was good to see "Gold Standard" Shelton Benjamin rightfully earn his nickname with a title win - a title division consisting of him, the Hardys, and more could make for some interesting matches. Curt Hawkins & Zach Ryder may be the new tag champions, but I still can't tell which is which unless one has his name on his trunks. And after seeing the more-talented and more-distinguishable Miz & Morrison seemingly picking up at least one loss week after week, I just don't see the former Major Brothers dominating the tag division. I hope tonight's Raw will jump the low bar set by the Bash, and I'm hoping the show will finally get a general manager, McMahon or no McMahon.
Shane McKinley of Danville, Calif. (7.5): Best Match: Hardy vs. Benjamin. Worst Match: ECW. There were mostly solid matches up to the "Big Three Main Events," and that's when things started to take a turn. C.M. Punk vs. Batistia was good until the understandable finish. I liked the match because Punk (who's very good on the mic) was in a sense challenging the idea of what a WWE Champion should look like (huge and ripped). I thought it was a fresh concept for a PPV main event that lately WWE is not known for. While many disagree with the Parking Lot Brawl match, I thought it was a more entertaining match that JBL and Cena could ever have with a single regular match (which frankly haven't been very good). Of course, a bit goofy with lighting cars on fire, just like in a video game. (If WWE really wants to push Smackdown vs. Raw 2009, they would put Kane in a Inferno Match.) Watching the Parking Lot Brawl Match reminded me of the "Boiler Room Brawl" match, where I don't understand why there is no annoucning over it. One minute I'm going "Wow, JBL is lighting a car on fire" and the other minute "They're throwing punches at each other." Zzzzzz. Understandbly Triple H vs. Edge was weak due to nearly nonexistent buildup between the two. I was only interested in seeing the interference. I thought it was a very entertaining night. Opening match was solid. Loved how Benjamin caught Hardy and gave him a powerbomb. It's been awhile since I've seen a very convincing and moving "story" match, and everyone involved in the Jericho-Micheals match was great. I would have given this PPV a higher score, but the "copout" finish to Punk vs. Batistia, the entertaining (but goofy and stupid) Parking Lot Brawl, and the lack of buildup to Triple H vs. Edge (which were all understandable, but still to be fair) didn't make this PPV a great one, which it had the potential to become.
Leonard Tripodi of Kenilworth, N.J. (5.5): Best: Jericho-Michaels bloodbath. Worst: Henry-Dreamer. With six title matches on the card, including a brand new Smackdown Diva's championship and two grudge-style encounters, Great American Bash had a lot of promise, but didn't live up to those expectations. In fact, this was a classic example of lazy booking and WWE looking ahead to Summerslam. The PPV got off to a strong start with two title changes, including Hawkins & Ryder capturing the WWE Tag Team Titles and Shelton Benjamin winning the U.S. Title, which was a mild surpise, but deserving. I didn't care about Mark Henry vs. Tommy Dreamer, even though we got a shocking heel turn from Colin Delaney to spice thing up for a brand that desperately needs it. Jericho-Michaels was anti-climatic and drama-filled from a storyline standpoint, mainly due to Michaels being cut and bloodied throughout. It didn't have that excitement factor which would normally be present from these two. But it was easily the best of the night, due to its placement on the card and how the PPV went into a slow and methodical decline afterwards. McCool defeating Natalya for the first ever Diva's Title was somewhat predictable and fine for what it was. But the rest of the PPV seemed to languish in that it had a couple of highly anticipated match ups and a parking lot brawl, but failed to deliver. Punk-Batista was solid, but the Kane interference and DQ finish ruined it. I guess they needed a no decision to keep both men looking strong as a rematch at Summerslam is almost assured. JBL-Cena was lengthy and unrealistic by most standards, but having a brawl start from the backstage area took the crowd right out of it from the onset. Not that it mattered much, because they eventually worked their way to ringside and Cena dominated until JBL smashed him through a windshield in a cool spot to gain the victory. The main event had a lot of hype, but the Edge-Vickie storyline took precedence over the actual match, which could have a been a solid show-stealer between two of WWE's top main event stars. It was a decent back and forth match with some intensity, but the interference and distractions from Vickie and the wedding planner caused it to fall flat overall. Speaking of which, GAB was a disappointment on so many levels, but used primarily to advance storylines and feuds heading into Summerslam, so it wasn't a complete waste of effort either. It just wasn't worth the money spent on it.
We welcome your 1-10 score and comments on this show for a "PPV Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on Raw, click here.
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