The first ever WWE.com exclusive Heat opened up like any other with the package and what-not. Hopefully, with it being on WWE.com and separated by matches, we won’t have to sit through those painful Raw recaps.
Tajiri Vs. Tyson Tomko
This was easily Tomko’s best match I’ve ever seen. Tajiri was in rare form tonight and started it off with working Tomko’s leg to a huge pop from the crowd. He even got some ECW chants, for good measure. Tajiri, from the get go, set the tone and standard for the match while also making Tomko look like gold. Hard to do, don’t you think? Match continued as Tomko kept using his brute strength while Tajiri kept weaseling out of situations to nail Tomko in the leg. I thought Tomko should have softened up the neck/head area a bit more, but I still dug his power offense. Tomko in charge was a little weak too, but still not enough to dampen the whole match. Match started getting pretty good when Tajiri got in control for the second time with his well-placed kicks. Finish came when Tajiri went for the back spring elbow and Tomko just hit a huge boot to Tajiri’s back knocking him out. Crowd was definitely into this match which was a good way to start off the night. No one wants to keep watching a show if the crowd is dead.
Winner: Tyson Tomko
Star Wrestler: Tajiri
This may have been Tomko’s best match, but it’s easy to see that Taijiri is the one who carried him to that level. Match was pretty good and while Tomko did some of his best work tonight, the psychology, offense, selling, and overall skill of Tajiri was way more than I expected for a lowly Heat match.
Matt Striker Vs. Johnny Parisi
Wow, I enjoyed this match and I do mean really enjoyed. Crowd was literally dead in the opening part of this match, but towards the end, both guys got the crowd feeling what they were doing. I was digging Striker’s offense in the beginning like his unique pinning predicaments, but I wasn’t really feeling Parisi’s selling. I did start to get into Parisi when he started to work on the leg of Striker. It was a good opening leg work spot too. Parisi was in the corner and Striker rushed at him. Instead of nailing a big boot, Parisi nailed his leg into the thigh of Striker. There’s something you don’t see every day. Parisi stayed on the leg pretty well, I thought, with nice offense and nice psychology. Striker sold it well and went for quick roll ups here and there. Finish came when Parisi said it was over and went for some kind of move (I feel a bit embarrassed I don’t know what it is too), but Striker reversed it and rolled Parisi up for the win.
Winner: Matt Striker
Star Wrestler: Matt Striker
I enjoyed Parisi in control, but not as much in the defensive mode. Striker here was great at both, especially in the selling aspect. The guy sold the leg like there was no tomorrow and even managed to get the crowd behind him when it was dead silence in the beginning. Striker’s use of the quick roll ups because he couldn’t stand to do anything else really sold the story well too. Striker was great here. Just great. I can see why WWE quickly hired him after his Angle match.
They then show a WWE Rewind of the Hardy-Edge segment with the ladder from Raw on Monday night. Edge’s promo in that segment was definitely entertaining and great, but Hardy totally killed the segment by botching his cocky/taunting tendencies while trying to push the ladder over. Hardy may be a god in the ring with Edge, but he is not even a mortal in segments.
Matt Hardy Vs. Russell Simpson
It was a little weird seeing such a big star on Raw on Heat. Kind of fun, but still weird. Matt Hardy back in 2004 was no stranger to this show, but since being in a high profile feud with Edge, I figured Hardy’s curtain-jerking days were over. Guess not! Crowd was really behind Hardy and hot during the whole match, which is saying something for Heat. Match was lackluster though and a really big letdown from the first two. Simpson had some good arm working on Hardy, but didn’t stick to it which disappointed me a bit. It just didn’t feel like there was any weight to this match. They just kind of went through the motions and every time they got something going, they just kind of fizzled out into more motions. I did like the taunting Hardy did to Simpson about how Simpson came close to pinning Hardy. That was an enjoyable spot, but like I said, it fizzled right back into the motions. It was basically a good way to get Hardy over and get the crowd pumped, but not much else. Finish came when Hardy hit the Twist of Fate to the delight of the crowd.
Winner: Matt Hardy
Star Wrestler: Matt Hardy
Simpson didn’t impress me that much. His selling was a little off and while in control, he wasn’t acting out as much with his body. Hardy wasn’t exactly star material here either, but Hardy is an established star and played to the crowd well, so why not give it to him?
Ugh. I was hoping they wouldn’t do any crappy recaps on Raw. My hopes were definitely not answered next though as they did a recap of a shitty main event in the tag team tables match with John Cena & Shawn Michaels versus Carlito & Chris Masters from Raw. However, since it’s a web cast, the fast forward button comes in handy! Thank you, WWE.com!
Heart Throbs Vs. Superheroes
They were still selling Hurricane’s stinger injury from the DDT Trevor Murdoch gave him at Unforgiven, which I think is good because its continuity and it adds a bit more to the match’s emotion then it would normally have. Match started off pretty well as they teased the fact that Rosey didn’t want to tag in Hurricane because of Hurricane’s injury. One good spot in the opening part of the match was Rosey trying to slam Romeo’s head down by grabbing his legs in the corner and pulling them out. Romeo flipped out and did a little "A-ha!" taunt, but Rosey kicked the shit out of him for that. You should really know better than to taunt a big Samoan, From here, Rosey became the typical face-in-peril which I didn’t really buy. Number one: Rosey doesn’t sell all that well. Case in point, Romeo chop-blocked Rosey, but the huge guy kept walking like nothing was wrong. Number two: you already have an injured face! Hurricane should have been tagged in unwillingly by Rosey and then the Heart Throbs could have pinpointed him instead of the big guy. Also, it wasn’t as believable to have Hurricane on the hot tag since he was injured. It was still fun, but took a bit from the match. Finish came when Hurricane & Rosey went for a double team move, but Romeo tripped up Hurricane and he took a nasty spill re-aggravating his injury. Antonio capitalized and got the win.
Winners: Heart Throbs
Star Wrestler: Hurricane
Hurricane’s selling of the injury and his playing the resilient face character was really well in this match. His offense was a little weird considering his injury, but was definitely well-placed on the hot tag. This match wasn’t much, but Hurricane made it a lot better than it was.
Overall, I enjoyed Heat on WWE.com. There were four matches in about thirty minutes with only one shameless recap and one "slam of the week/rewind" type deal. Two matches were definitely good while the others were pretty mediocre; however, it is definitely worth a mere half-hour of your time. It was entertaining, well done, and a great way to kick off the new era of Heat on WWE.com. I am really excited about the new direction of Heat and Velocity, but one question stands out in my mind: why the hell is Heat on Friday? What’s next: Velocity on Mondays? Well, that about wraps it up until you hear my ramblings again. 'Till next time, this is "Squared Circle Reviews" signing off and hoping you enjoy what you watch.
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