Judgment Day was another good PPV from WWE this year. A couple of the matches were a bit disappointing but overall the show was entertaining.  Also, to contrast with the way WWE has been behaving the past few months, there were zero title changes at the show.

 

CM Punk vs. Umaga

The show kicked off with Chicago’s own CM Punk squaring off against Umaga in Umaga’s first match since his injury. This was all in all a good solid opening match. It started off slow with Umaga taking his time dominating Punk. Punk eventually is able to work his way back into it by hitting many roundhouse kicks after Umaga had missed a diving headbutt. He also successfully dove over the top rope onto Umaga on the outside and hit a flying clothesline and bulldog. Punk tried for the Go to Sleep a couple times but was countered by Umaga each time. Umaga also lands some offense later in the match by hitting a superkick and the Samoan Wrecking Ball. Eventually this match comes to an end with Umaga getting the win after hitting the Samoan Spike out of nowhere.  I don’t like Punk taking a second straight PPV loss because he needs to get established quickly as a main event caliber performer since he has the Money in the Bank briefcase. Solid match.

Match Rating: 6/10

 

ECW Championship: Christian (c) vs. Jack Swagger

This was a pretty solid effort from these two, but due to time constraints this ended up being probably their worst match in their rivalry. They opened Backlash last month and got enough time but here the match was held to less than 10 minutes. This was a very even handed match with a good amount of fast paced action. Swagger controlled a good portion of the match by throwing Christian into the ringpost and launching him across the ring with a belly to belly suplex. Both guys countered each other’s respective finishers as well. Late in the match, Swagger goes for a roll up but the ref stops counting when he sees him trying to hook the tights. Christian has a Killswitch attempt countered again, but when Swagger tries to turn him around Christian reverses it into a roll up and hooks Swagger’s tights for the opportunistic win. This could foreshadow one of two things: a Christian heel turn or another rematch at Extreme Rules. For now, it looks more likely it will be the latter.

Match Rating: 5.5/10

 

John Morrison vs. Shelton Benjamin

This match was the most pleasant surprise of the night with its high spots and intensity. It became clear early on that WWE wanted to play on the athleticism of both Benjamin and Morrison. Additionally, it appears that the World’s Greatest Tag Team may be reuniting as Charlie Haas accompanied Shelton to the ring and tried to interfere on his behalf. Within the first couple minutes of the match, Morrison hits an amazing 450 splash over the top rope onto Benjamin on the outside, who catches him perfectly. The match then slows down for a few minutes as Benjamin would utilize a sleeper among other submission holds to wear down Morrison. Morrison would soon get back into hit by hitting a very cool-looking tilt-a-whirl leg sweep. After hitting a springboard Enzuigiri, Morrison picks up the win following the Starship Pain. Very impressive and exciting effort from these two.

Match Rating: 7/10

 

 

== In-ring segment ==

 

To kill time, The Miz came out to the ring to cut a promo. He started off by saying that he knew John Cena wouldn’t accept a challenge from him tonight, and then compared Cena to the Chicago Cubs (stating that both were “lovable losers”). He then called out Alfonso Soriano, who was sitting in the front row behind an announcer’s table. He then made fun of Soriano by pretending that Lou Piniella called to say that he would prefer Soriano get his annual injury on the field rather than off of it. This was actually an entertaining segment until Santino Marella came out. Santino as a face is not working in my opinion. Santino said that some WWE Superstars are comparable to animals, and then called Miz a jackass. The two then brawled, with Miz flattening Santino with a DDT. After Miz leaves, Chavo Guerrero then comes out (?) to deliver a frog splash to Marella. I guess it was because Marella poked fun at Vickie?? This segment was going fine at first, but they should have just let Miz have his moment rather than involve Santino.

 

Intercontinental Championship: Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Chris Jericho

This match could be considered a mild disappointment, but certainly not due to the in-ring work. This match told a good story with Rey continuously trying to hit the 619 with Jericho always managing to escape. This match was very fast paced and featured a ton of reversals and counters.  It began with a lot of outside brawling. Early on, Rey hits a nice springboard crossbody and other high-flying moves. Like Mysterio kept trying to hit the 619, Jericho attempted the Walls of Jericho several times as well. Mysterio is able to counter the hold the first couple times, but Jericho is eventually able to lock it in later in the match. Mysterio is able to escape despite being held in the center of the ring. After speeding along at a very good pace, Mysterio suddenly ends it by hitting a 619 followed by a splash from the top turnbuckle to retain his title. This match was less than 13 minutes and definitely should have been longer.  It was good for what it was but it could have been better. Match Rating: 6.5/10

 

WWE Championship: Randy Orton (c) vs. Batista

This title match was a disappointment and failed to fully deliver, much like their match at Armageddon last year (Yes I know I gave that match an 8/10 but I re-watched it and that match was no more than a 5.5). The match started off typically slow like Orton’s recent matches with Triple H. Orton wears down Batista and gets the heat on him with headlocks. Crowd very anti-Batista. Batista is able to turn the pace around a bit by hitting a vertical suplex before letting Orton go to work on him by hitting a back suplex onto the guard rail outside the ring as well as some dropkicks. After hitting a backbreaker and a spike DDT, Orton goes for the punt kick but Batista gets up and hits a spear and a powerslam. Orton tried to use a steel chair, but Batista knocked him off the ring apron and the chair was dropped. Batista then suddenly hit a diving clothesline off the top turnbuckle for a near fall. Orton grabbed the WWE title and tried to walk away, but Batista threw him back in the ring. Orton tried to hit Batista with the title, but Batista countered with a spinebuster. After having a couple RKO attempts blocked, Orton then slaps the ref for a DQ finish to retain his title. Legacy then charges the ring to beat down Batista, but suddenly Ric Flair makes a surprising appearance to make the save. Flair could very well be making a return to the ring, as suggested by comments in the media in recent days. This was an OK match hurt by a bad ending, although it set up Flair’s return.

Match Rating: 5/10

 

John Cena vs. Big Show

To watch this match requires a tremendous amount of patience. This match was very slow and dull for the most part but did feature good storytelling. Big Show pretty much dominates the entire first 10 minutes of the match with some slow but seemingly powerful offense to wear down Cena. Although it became boring, it did make sense since the storyline was that Big Show wanted to punish Cena. Cena tries to fight his way back into it with some punches but is hit with a side slam. Cena finally finds an opening 10 minutes in when Big Show misses a Banzai Drop from the second rope. Cena then is able to connect with a neckbreaker and a Five Knuckle Shuffle. He also later hits a leg drop from the top rope before going for the STF. This begins a storyline through the final few minutes of this match where Cena kept trying to lock in the STF but can’t due to the sheer size of The Big Show. Show goes for a chokeslam late in the match but Cena counters with a nice DDT. This match comes to an end when Big Show goes for the Knockout Punch but Cena avoids it and hits an Attitude Adjustment out of nowhere for the victory. This match probably should have gone on earlier and not taken up as much time (This goes 15 minutes but Rey vs. Jericho is only 12?). It was mostly plodding until the final few minutes and ends up being a below average match.

Match Rating: 4/10

 

World Heavyweight Championship: Edge (c) vs. Jeff Hardy

I was very happy that this was the main event and it certainly did not disappoint, turning out to be the match of the night with a lot of fast paced action. The first 7 or 8 minutes of the match does a good job setting up the action and went about as expected. Hardy takes the advantage by hitting an atomic drop and a flying crossbody before a Twist of Fate for a near fall. To everyone’s shock, Hardy suddenly decides to put Edge in the sharpshooter, but Edge gets to the ropes before later putting Hardy in a sharpshooter of his own. The two then began to brawl outside the ring, where Hardy tears off the padding on the security wall and disassembles the Smackdown announcer’s table. Hardy ran across the wall to dive on to Edge, who was on the announcer’s table, but Edge suddenly speared him in mid air through the security wall. Edge goes back into the ring and Hardy avoids a count out by making it in at 9. Hardy then quickly retakes the advantage by hitting a modified Twist of Fate using the second rope as well as a Whisper in the Wind. The action returns to the outside of the ring, where Hardy launches himself off of the steel steps to hit a modified Poetry in Motion to Edge, sending both men into the crowd. After Edge crawls out of the crowd, Matt Hardy suddenly emerges and sneakily hits Jeff in the back of the head with his cast. Edge rolls Jeff into the ring for a two count, but Jeff is able to get Edge down and goes to the top rope for a Swanton attempt. However, Jeff appears dazed by the cast hit and stumbles, allowing Edge to hit a nasty-looking Edgecution DDT off the top rope followed up by a successful pinfall. I didn’t like the ending with Matt Hardy getting involved, but at least Edge didn’t have another 3 week title reign. Overall a very good main event to close out a fun show.

Match Rating: 7.5/10

 

 

Overall PPV Rating: 7.5/10