Velocity starts off with the normal package and what-not. It was kind of confusing on WWE.com though. For Heat, they had the parts listed in the order to watch them. For this show, it's all jumbled up and I had to click around a bit to find which came first. WWE shouldn't do that. As much as I like them splitting up the show into parts, I think they should either direct the fan in the order to watch them or just do away with the opening packages or the show in parts altogether. In anyway, Stacy Kiebler comes out for some odd reason to be the guest ring announcer. I can just feel the happiness building up inside me to see someone who has no business with a mike being the ring announcer.
Shooting Stars Vs. Full Blooded Italians
I know I called Kidman and London the Shooting Stars, but I also called London and Spanky that too, so shut up. Why the hell are they calling him Brian Kendrick again anyway? Spanky is a better name to fit his gimmick and overall, more marketable than Brian Kendrick. If you never heard of any name and never saw the guy perform at all, which name would you be more inclined to watch: Spanky or Brian Kendrick? If you're smart, or rather have common sense, you would have picked Spanky. Anyway, this match really wasn't as good as you would think it should be with London and Spanky in it. Well, it wasn't Spanky; it was Brian Kendrick. Thanks a ton, WWE. The match just seemed too spotty for my tastes especially in the beginning and towards the end. The fact that London busted out a standing SSP doesn't really help the argument of psychology in this match. It just seemed like London and Spanky were using the flips to get over rather than some actual psychology or crowd working. That is definitely not something that either men should be doing. Vito and Nunzio in here were good though. They had better tag team work, spots, and psychology during Spanky's face-in-peril moment. Honestly, I went into this expecting the Shooting Stars to carry the match, but it was exactly the other way around which is just plain sad from two guys trained by Shawn Michaels. Finish came when London almost got the win and Nunzio capitalized on a stunned London with a quick roll-up. Vito used his boot on Nunzio's ass to give him more leverage and let them steal the win.
Winners: Full Blooded Italians
Star Wrestler: Vito
Giving Vito a star wrestler accolade in a match with Nunzio, Spanky, and Paul London is something I never thought I would see, but I did. Nunzio wasn't particularly bad in this match, but he had no real chance to pull any kind of offense nor did he work the crowd at any one point. Vito, on the other hand, was on the ball tonight with his offense, selling, power psychology, and heel work. He actually worked the crowd with taunts and moves with meaning rather than just flipping about the ring. Even more, the finish with him pushing Nunzio's butt to give him leverage was gold and miles better than just holding his arm or leg. I never thought I'd see the day where I hated a Shooting Stars match, but I did. I'm still glad WWE put them back together as a tag team, but I'm straining to call this match mediocre and scratching my head as Vito was the star. Go figure.
They then show the WWE Rewind which is the segment from SmackDown! with Bobby Lashley and Simon Dean furthering their feud which I'm actually enjoying probably more than I should be.
Simon Dean Vs. Robbie Dahmer
I think that's the jobber's name, but I'm not sure. Anyway, this was a pretty good match and I enjoyed it a lot. Simon Dean is an impressive wrestler for WWE. He has a great offense, natural heel tendencies, sells well, and makes sense while in the ring. Plus, the guy has a good gimmick, in my opinion, and plays it really well. Dahmer didn't impress me too much, but in a match where all he did was basically sell and get the occasional quick move, it wasn't really a match to judge him on. Dean was on the ball though and got really over with his offense which is a great thing for a heel to do. The only problem I have is that I would like to see Dean incorporate more power moves into his move set. His gimmick is that he has this power shake that makes people better athletes and powerful like it did Batista. I think it would be a better fit to have him do power moves more than mat-based moves to sell the gimmick more. Now, don't get me wrong; I enjoy his mat work a lot and I know he's built up as a former amateur wrestler, but I still think it would make sense for him to incorporate more power moves. Anyway, a good match and finish was with Dean hitting the Simonizer and getting the clean victory which I was glad he got instead of cheating.
Winner: Simon Dean
Star Wrestler: Simon Dean
Definitely a squash match (though a good squash) and definitely built up to make Dean look good, but Dean was still the best here. His offense makes sense in terms of psychology, it is hard hitting, and it goes over really well with the crowd. Simon Dean was really enjoyable in this match and I wish all squashes went down like this.
After this, we get our only recap of the night (thank God) with the whole Eddie Guerrero/Batista/LOD/MNM angle from Friday's SmackDown! As much as I hate recaps, one recap per show is better than the usual six million, but since this is on WWE.com, why have them at all?
WWE United States Championship
Chris Benoit (c) Vs. William Regal
A freakin' incredible match-up here, guys. This was miles better, in my opinion, then their match earlier this year and I would be safe to say that this is on par with their match at the Brian Pillman show in 2000. There was literally no wasted move or moment in this match and it was a true back-and-forth match. Benoit and Regal both proved why they are absolute workhorses and if Benoit keeps having matches like these, you just know that the US title is going to get credibility like you wouldn't believe. Benoit's reign thus far has been impressive to me as it shows him as a fighting and dominant champion; and after a coward and submissive champ, it's exactly what the title needs. Finish was a little off for me and I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. Benoit finally got the Crippler Crossface in and about one second after he locked it in, Regal tapped. No real suspense here. It was a finish that could have been better, but definitely didn't hurt the match overall in any way, shape, or form. This is the best match in Velocity's three year history and a true match of the year candidate.
Winner: Chris Benoit
Star Wrestler: Both
Both were incredible; simply incredible. Benoit's psychology in this was off-the-charts as I don't think he did but two moves in the whole ten minute match that didn't focus on the head of William Regal. He didn't have to bust out his trademarks either to make it a good match, which is a trait a lot of wrestlers get in the WWE. William Regal was the same way and definitely on the same level as Benoit in this match. Regal's selling was phenomenal and I really enjoyed watching his last resort offense whenever he got a big move in. This right here is definitely one of the best matches of 2005 in my opinion.
Overall, Velocity was a good show to watch. I didn't enjoy the tag team match, but a lot of other people seemed too, and then the other two matches were good with one being the best in Velocity's history. For less than thirty minutes of your time, I recommend you go out and watch this at WWE.com. You get three matches, one recap, and one rewind, and with the way the format it, you don't even have to watch the recap to get to the matches! If you're a wrestling fan, you should definitely watch this week's Velocity. On that note, I'm going to wrap this stuff up and go onto another review. 'Till next time, this is "Squared Circle Reviews" signing off and hoping you enjoy what you watch!
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