Vengeance 2007 Review

Vengeance 2007 Review


The events surrounding this PPV are very well known, as it took place only one day before the Benoit tragedy. At the time, no one knew what had happened to Benoit, as he had said he had to leave for a 'family emergency'. No one knew of the events that were about to take place.


Moving on from that, how was the show? It was the first time that it was known as Night of Champions and we've had those PPVs ever since. Let's begin.




The Hardy Boyz vs Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch
World Tag Titles on the line. These two teams had quite a lot of matches in 2007, but they were usually good, and this one was no exception, as they put on a fun, fast-paced opener that featured some nice tag team moves and got the crowd fired up. Cade gets the win with a big spinebuster on Jeff. A bit too short for my liking, but it was good while it lasted. **3/4




Chavo Guerrero vs Jimmy Wang Yang
Cruiserweight Title up for grabs here. Unfortunately the Title was only a PPV away from being completely ruined thanks to Hornswoggle winning it and forever being known as it's final holder. Poor Jimmy was saddled (pun not intended) with a silly cowboy gimmick, but his in-ring work made up for it. The crowd only really popped for the big moves, but this was still a very solid match. The finish was good too, as there were a couple of nice false finishes. **3/4




CM Punk vs Johnny Nitro
This is for the vacant ECW Title. I think this is the last time that the Johnny Nitro name was used, as instead he went on to become John Morrison. Chris Benoit was originally in Nitro's place. You can still hear the fans loudly chant 'We want Benoit' which is very hard to listen to. This match worked a lot better on paper than it did in reality. The chemistry between the two guys would get better as the weeks went on. The match did get better as it went on and overall it wasn't too bad, just pretty unspectacular. **1/4



Santino Marella vs Umaga
IC Title on the line. Santino had only recently joined the WWE roster at this point, after posing as an ordinary fan in the crowd, that would go on to beat Umaga for the IC Title in a huge upset. Santino didn't look like he had much of a chance here, since he didn't have the help of Bobby Lashley. The match didn't even have time to go anywhere as it only lasted about two minutes and ended in a DQ. No wonder Santino is a just a comedy wrestler now. DUD



MVP vs Ric Flair 
This is for the US Title. MVP was only about two months into his insanely long US Title reign. Ric Flair seemed like a strange choice for the challenger, but the crowd was behind him so why not? This one had a slower pace to it, but that didn't stop it from being entertaining. MVP was great at gathering heat for himself, and Flair was great at gaining sympathy from the crowd. Enjoyable match that could have used more time to really get going. **1/4



Deuce & Domino vs Jimmy Snuka & Sgt. Slaughter
This was an open challenge for the Smackdown Tag Titles. Weirdly enough, Sgt Slaughter and Jimmy Snuka accepted. I'd forgotten that Deuce and Domino even existed, let alone were tag champs. What a weird gimmick their 50s greasers thing was. Obviously the match wasn't that good since Sarge and Snuka were way past their primes here. Even Snuka could only do chops and headbutts. It didn't make Deuce and Domino look too good. That's probably why I can't remember them. *



Edge vs Batista 
This was billed as Batista's 'Last Chance' to win the World Heavyweight Title, which is pretty strange since he would challenge for the title at Summerslam a month later. The World Title scene would go downhill from here, as Edge would end up injured and, for some insane reason, The Great Khali was made the World Champ. Anyway the match was great, with Batista desperately trying to win, and Edge trying to survive and wear down Batista as much as possible. The match restart did ruin the momentum a bit, but it was still an awesome back and forth match and the best of the night so far. I did like the countout victory, as it really added to Edge's ultimate opportunist character. ***1/2



Melina vs Candice Michelle
Womens Title is on the line and this is the obligatory cool down match between the WWE and World Title contests. Just your standard sloppy divas match here. Candice is the new Womens champ. Yippee. 1/2*



John Cena vs Bobby Lashley vs Mick Foley vs King Booker vs Randy Orton
I have no idea how this challenge match for the WWE Title was made. Cena never really had feud with any of these guys before this match and only feuded with Lashley and Orton afterwards. This probably should have been an elimination match, as I think it would have made more sense and made it more entertaining. This should have been given much more than fifteen minutes, as it was a ton of fun while it lasted. Just an entertaining, chaotic match here, where everyone got a chance to show their stuff. ***1/2



6/10. The two World Title matches definitely saved this show. Up until the Heavyweight Title bout, it was a very unspectacular show, but luckily the main events delivered in great fashion.