WWE Vengeance Review

Welcome to my Vengeance Report! Enjoy!


Air Boom defeated Jack Swagger & Dolph Ziggler to retain the Tag Titles: **3/4
The show opened with Vickie Guerrero yelling "EXCUSE ME!" She introduced Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler is wrestling two matches tonight: the tag title match, then against Zack Ryder immediately after. Dolph and Kofi started with some mat wrestling. Kofi hit a nice flip on Dolph, who went flying. Kofi and Evan Bourne exchanged some quick tags while working over Jack Swagger. Swagger ended up catching Kofi mid air for a powerslam. After the heels worked over Kofi, he finally made the tag to Evan Bourne who hit some flashy offense. He went for Air Bourne but Swagger blocked it with his knees. Time for the heels to work over Bourne. Bourne almost had the tag, but Ziggler distracted the ref and Swagger pulled Kofi off the apron. Swagger went for the Swagger Bomb, but Bourne got a boot to the jaw. Both men made tags. Kofi hit his flying crossbody on Ziggler for two. Kofi hit Trouble in Paradise and the SOS. Swagger broke it up. He applied the ankle lock on Kofi, but it was broken up. Kofi hit Ziggler with another Trouble in Paradise, then tagged in Bourne for Air Bourne and the win. Fun little match.

Dolph Ziggler defeated Zack Ryder to retain the United States Championship: *1/2
Zack Ryder came out almost immediately for his match. Ryder whipped Ziggler into the apron. Air Boom threw Ziggler back in the ring, which got them tossed. Ziggler regained control. Ziggler went for a move in the corner and missed. Ryder went for a knee and missed. Ryder finally hit the knee. He was lining up for the Rough Ryder, but Swagger pulled him down. Ryder kicked Swagger, but Ziggler hit a superkick on Ryder for win. Weird. I would have had either Ziggler win both or lose both. Nothing was really accomplished here. Match was ok.

Backstage HHH and Punk agreed they don't like each other, but they need to get the job done tonight.

Beth Phoenix defeated Eve to retain the Divas Championship: *1/4
Divas Title. They showed a backstage skermish involving the Divas from earlier where Kelly Kelly was bullied. Eve tied up Beth in the ropes with a a part of her outfit. On the outside, Beth powerdropped Eve onto the apron. Beth continued to work over Eve in the ring. Eve fought back with a knee, clothesline, then backflip drop. Eve locked in a weird submission, but Beth broke it up. Beth went for the GlamSlam, but Eve countered it into the ropes and a roll up for two. Eve caught Beth with a kick and went for the moonsault and missed. Beth hit the GlamSlam for the win. Alright Divas Match, could have been worse. Eve hit some nice moves for a change.

Backstage, Matt Striker interviewed Big Show. Striker asked Show if he was properly prepared, Show said he should ask Mark Henry that. Show said it took 3 seconds for Henry to end 15 years of pain. Show said it will take him 3 seconds to do the same to him.

Sheamus defeated Christian: **1/2
Christian slapped Sheamus to start and hit some punches in the corner. That angered Sheamus so he hit some punches of his own. Sheamus hit some hard forearms to the chest then a suplex for two. Christian was able to take the leg out from Sheamus and hit a neckbreaker. Christian locked in a modified chin lock. Christian went for a headbutt from the top but missed. Sheamus charged Christian on the apron, but Christian ducked and Sheamus went over the top. Christian got a couple near falls. Sheamus countered a corner kick by Christian. Sheamus went for the Celtic Croos but Christian countered with two kicks. Sheamus hit the Irish Curse backbreaker for two. Sheamus went for the Brogue Kick, but Christian countered with a spear for two. Christian hit a nice top rope hurricarana. He went for the Spear, but Sheamus connected with the Brogue Kick for the win. Good match, but I didn't like Sheamus almost no selling the hurricarana.

Backstage, Miz and R-Truth told John Laurinaitis that he's done a great job as GM. Then they ripped on HHH, C.M. Punk, and the state of Texas.

Miz & R-Truth defeated HHH & C.M. Punk: **1/2
Punk and Miz started the match. After some brief action, Punk tagged in HHH while Miz immediately tagged in Truth. Back to Punk/miz, then Punk tagged HHH. They hit a double suplex. HHH locked in a Figure Four leg lock. HHH used Punk for leverage. HHH eventually stood alone in the ring after taking out Miz and Truth. But Truth and Miz regained control outside and took it to HHH back in the ring. Truth applied a headlock. Miz hit a couple knees, then went to a sleeper hold. Miz hit his combo backbreaker/neckbreaker for two. He tagged in R-Truth. Truth applied a head scissors. HHH countered the head scissors into a backdrop. Truth tagged in Miz, who ate an HHH clothesline. Miz tagged back in. HHH DDT'd him. HHH tagged in Punk. Punk worked over Miz. Truth tried to stop Punk on the turnbuckle, but HHH pulled himm of the apron. HHH pulled Truth off the apron and they brawled. Punk went for the GTS, but on the outside Kevin Nash started attacking HHH. Miz and R-Truth hit the "Little Jimmy Finale" with the ref distracted and picked up the win. Nash continued his assault in the ring, eventually hitting a Jacknife Powerbomb that looked really bad. The match was nothing to write home about. It furthered a story between Nash/HHH, but we don't know where it is going yet. I'd argue the tag opener was better.

Backstage, Alberto del Rio complained about never being in a Last Man Standing Match. Laurinaitis said that he was never in a Hell in A Cell match before either, and he walked out of that WWE Champion. ADR agreed and thanked Laurinaitis.

Randy Orton defeated Cody Rhodes: **1/2
Orton clotheslined Cody over the top early then went back into the ring where Cody took control. Cody worked over Orton with a barrage of moved before locking in a sleeper. Cody hit a nice dropkick for two. Cody was able to lock in a Boston Crab. Orton got out of it. Cody hit an Alabama Slam for two. Cody went for a moonsault from the top but Orton moved. Orton hit some clotheslines then a dropkick. Cody countered a gut wrench with a kick. Orton hit his shoulder back drop for two. Cody hit a head butt then a moonsault for two. Orton ran into one of Cody's "Baggers" trying to distract him, than Cody hit CrossRhodes for two. Cody mocked Orton's Viper moves for an RKO, but Orton countered with a dropkick. He hit his middle rope DDT. Cody called for the other bagger, but Orton disposed of him, then hit the RKO for the win. I liked the match, but didn't like the outcome. Cody could have kicked out of the RKO, or even won and it would have been better. Match was still good.

Mark Henry and Big Show went to a No Contest when THE RING EXPLODED! *3/4
They started with a  couple power lock-ups. Show got Henry down with some punches in the corner. Show hit a superkick which took Henry to the outside. Henry took his Title and was ready to leave, but how stopped him. In the ring, Henry chop blocked show. Henry bodyslammed show then worked over Show's leg. Henry put show in a leg lock. Show tried to fight back. He went for a bodyslam but his leg gave out. The two charged at each other and double clotheslined each other. Show hit some punches, then a splash and bodyslam. Show hit a chokeslam, but Henry kicked out. Show went for the KO Punch, but Henry kicked him and hit the World's Strongest Slam, but only for two. Henry went to the top rope, but Big Show caught him with a top rope chokeslam for two. Show went to the top, but Henry blocked it and superplexed Show off the top, causing the RING TO EXPLODE. Doctors came out to check on both men. I don't know why the WWE feels the need to protect Big Show. Henry should have went over clean, just like he did with Orton. But instead it looks like we will get another rematch. Match was what you would expect between these two: slow, plodding, power moves only.

John Laurinaitis said that despite the ring, the WWE Title match would still happen.

Alberto del Rio defeated John Cena in a Last Man Standing Match to retain the WWE Championship: ***1/2
Cena has a new shirt kids. BUY IT! ADR threw Ricardo into Cena. Cena went for an Attitude Adjustment but ADR kicked him. ADR threw Cena into the ringpost. Cena fought back in the ring with some punches, but ADR countered with a kick. ADR back dropped Cena. Cena went for an AA, but ADR countered with knees to the back. Cena fought back. Shoulder tackle, scoop slam, five knuckle shuffle. ADR escaped with a DDT. Cena hit a gut wrench. After a count Cena charged ADR, but ADR hit  tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. ADR set Cena up underneath the turnbuckle, and ADR jumped on the turnbuckle right into Cena's ribs. Cena stirred back up and hit an AA. Cena up at 6, ADR 8. Cena went for another AA, but Ricardo stopped it. Cena kicked Ricardo, but ADR locked in a sleeper. Cena got back up at 8. He threw ADR into the barricade outside from in the ring. ADR back up at 7. ADR threw Cena into the steps outside. Cena up. Ricardo ate the ringpost to the nuts, then ADR landed on the ring post. Cena went to throw the steps into ADR but ADR moved. ADR used it for a weapon instead. Cena up at 8 as the two fought to the back.

Cena went to dump a large moving case on ADR but he moved. ADR bodyslammed Cena on it. ADR threw metal grates from the interview set on Cena, but Cena got up at 8. They fought back inside the arena. ADR threw Cena into the V from the set. ADR went to put through Cena through a table, but Cena countered. ADR up at 8. They fought back to ringside. ADR went for a kick, but he hit the ringpost instead. Cena AA'd ADR threw the Spanish announce table. Miz & R-Truth appeared and hit their finishers on Cena. Cena got up before 10. ADR hit Cena with the title belt, and he couldn't beat the ten count up. ADR wins. I actually thought this was a fun little brawl. ADR looked strong throughout it, even with the false finish where he should have lost. It transitions Cena into something other than the WWE Title picture, which is good for Survivor Series.

OVERALL
This was really a PPV that didn't need to happen. At times it felt like a glorified episode of RAW. The wrestling disappointed and was nothing more than average at best. The finish to the World Title match was memorable, the opener tag was good, and the LMS Match was as well, but everything else was forgettable. Miz/R-Truth vs HHH/Punk was a huge disappointment, and the Nash interference really did nothing except tease a possible HHH/Nash match which will not be good. I don't think that happens though. This is a big miss on the PPV scale. I'm giving the show a 3. That gives it an honor of being the worst PPV of the year,

1. Money in the Bank

2. SummerSlam
3. Elimination Chamber
4. Extreme Rules
5. Wrestlemania 27
6. Hell in A Cell
7. Night of Champions
8. Royal Rumble
9. Capitol Punishment
10. Over the Limit
11. Vengeance


Where We Go From Here
Survivor Series is in a month, so we will actually have a proper build to this PPV. We already know there will be a 5-on-5 match, so lets go with this:

The Rock, John Cena, HHH, Sheamus, Randy Orton vs Miz, R-Truth, Kevin Nash, Christian, Cody Rhodes
WWE Championship: Alberto del Rio vs C.M. Punk
World Heavyweight Championship: Mark Henry vs Big Show: Steel Cage Match
Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, Zack Ryder, Mason Ryan, Daniel Bryan vs Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, Wade Barrett, The Usos
Some Divas Match

That's all from me tonight. NFL & RAW Reviews up Tuesday.

Until next time,
Justin C
Follow Me on Twitter @JCWonka