PILEDRIVER MAGAZINE ARTICLE - THE GAME

PLAYING THE GAME
 
Out of all the former PWF stars that have recently inked deals with the IWF, the biggest name to ink that contract so far has been Triple H.  But can the Game survive in the choppy top-line waters of the IWF, or will the loss of his massive influence on a company, which he enjoyed with the PWF, lead to a loss of form?  Join Bob Rutcher as he investigates just what lies on the horizon for the man with the big nose. 
 
Two years ago, Jean-Paul Leveqsue was getting over the fact that the International Wrestling Federation didn’t want him.  Sure, he had a nice two year PWF deal to comfort him, but the IWF’s position on him was pretty clear, especially considering the fact that they gave him an early release to join their perennial rivals.  The verdict was in; IWF management considered Triple H to be a top-line failure.  He’d had his shot and hadn’t proved himself.  Sure this verdict may seem a tad bit unfair, considering that fellow “failures” at World Title level The Big Gee and Chris Jericho (who’s buy rates and matches were no better than the Game’s) were still in the thick of things, but the feeling was that HHH had done all he could in the IWF.
In a sense, they were probably right, but this didn’t make Tripper feel any more comfortable about the situation.  Armed with a creative control contract with the PWF and a desire to prove the doubters wrong, HHH made himself a promise.  He would prove them all wrong in the ring and he would never let himself be manoeuvred into a “job-boy to the serious stars” position again. 
Hunter scanned the anaemic PWF roster at the time of his signing and immediately came to the conclusion that only he could save the main event side of things.  Save for Goldberg, who HHH never rated, there were no big names on the scene who had their glory in front of them.  The likes of Kevin Nash, The Undertaker, Sting and Bret Hart were all towards the end of their careers in terms of genuine usefulness and success and HHH was going to become the biggest star of them all. 
Immediately however there were problems.  Having creative control over his own storylines gave him a lot of backstage heat, and whilst many contend that HHH didn’t unfairly use his control it was clear that if anything regarding Tripper and the bookers went against what another top star wished, it was all going to be Helmsley’s fault.
Take the formation of the clique for instance.  The on-screen alliance of HHH, Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Justin Credible and Sean Waltman was actually one of the PWF’s better ideas in a period of poor and uninspiring TV.  As the lead heel stable it actually was responsible for some entertaining segments and did have a positive effect on ratings and arena attendances.  Which should have been good news for everyone right?  Well no. Unlike in the IWF (where the downside guarantee system is in place) the PWF paid everyone on the roster a guaranteed salary.  So a successful storyline had negligible effect on anyone’s money and so rather than applauding a decent storyline, the backstage area was awash with wrestlers bemoaning that HHH was using his influence to book the top storylines around him and his four mates. 
Granted, at times the Clique did veer too much towards being a vanity project for the five involved, but for the majority of the time the group lost when they had to (although admittedly Triple H’s shoulders rarely went down for the three count) and did their best to elevate their opponents.  Deadwood talent such as Konan never looked as hot as they did then when they were against the clique.  Critics will argue that none of the mid-card talents that rubbed shoulders with the clique made much of an impression at the very top of the card, but I would argue that that was more symptomatic of the PWF’s failures as an organisation than of the Clique’s mischievous work.
When push came to shove, Triple H showed himself to be quite a team player, in small doses anyway.  When the time came to put Goldberg over, HHH did a wow of a job.  Sure, he regained the World Title a few months later, but that shouldn’t take away his credit.  And it has to be said that in the early months of 2004, he was wrestling all kinds of people, from all different levels in an attempt to help create some new stars. 
Was this the work of a “changed man” or was Tripper playing the political game to great effect?  The writing was on the wall for the PWF at this point but HHH was, once again, in an unenviable position.  His PWF contract was up in June 2004 and that was the absolute worst time.  Guys like the Undertaker, MMK and Sting had long term deals which meant that even if the worst was to happen, they could sit on their asses and collect their guaranteed deals from Tiny Weiner.  Hunter was staring bleak times in the face.  Indeed even if the proposed buy-out from the IWF became reality, would he be welcome back and even if he was, would it be on the top-line level that he so desired?
In the end the IWF buy-out did go through, but only at a reduced level.  The IWF snapped up the intellectual rights to the PWF, which meant the name, video library and the trademarks, but none of the wrestlers contracts.
At this point the rumour mill went into overdrive.  The entire roster of if’s and but’s were debated in minute detail, and Triple H’s future was at the top of everyone’s list. 
HHH himself discussed his future on Off The Record in late March, just weeks after the buy-out.  At that stage he had yet to meet IWF officials, and hadn’t even set any date for such a meeting.  “At the moment I’m taking my time.  It’s a difficult situation to say the least, but I’m not going to rush any decisions.”  Many didn’t see this as an admission of wanting “time out” at all, most saw it as confirmation that HHH was not at the top of the IWF’s wish list and would have to play the waiting game to see if there was going to be anything available to him. 
The situation seemed to worsen when comments attributed to Matthew Mercy started to do the rounds.  Mercy had been in America tying up the loose ends for his film deal when he did a quick interview.  “I don’t know whether we would want someone like [Triple H] in our locker room.  He caused problems when he was here before and from what I’ve heard, he’s been even worse elsewhere.”  For a top-liner to come out and say something like this, the omens aren’t good for the person involved.  Seeing the likes of John Cena, Jeff Jarrett and Bill DeMott grab deals couldn’t have been nice either.   But hope soon became apparent.  IWF officials announced through their web-site, that talks were planned with Triple H (and Goldberg and MMK for that matter) and so it seemed like the invitation was there.  Dean Roberts then extended an olive branch on a prowrestlingimpact.com interview.  Asked if he would like to see Triple H in the IWF Dean replied “for sure.  He’s an immense talent and I’m sure he could work within our structured environment very well.  He would possibly have to check in some ego at the door first though.”  Whilst Mercy may often speak the first opinion that comes into head, the fact that Dean was saying such things had to be good news for HHH.  For Dean to say this, then there must have been some serious intent as regards bringing HHH in, and the soft warning revealed that management were banking on HHH leaving his creative control problems behind for the sake of good business. 
On the morning of the Into The Darkness pay-per-view the two parties shook hands on a two-year deal, stipulations, and the following day the papers were signed and Triple H officially became a member of the IWF roster.  Two days later he made his first IWF appearance for two years and immediately challenged Xavier to a match at Heat Wave.  HHH was all over IWF TV and in many respects his match was being pushed as the main selling point of the show.  Indeed when it came to it, his match went on last at the big show and it ended with his hand being raised in the air by special guest referee Shawn Michaels.  That HHH and HBK have formed an alliance should be viewed as a positive.  Whilst some continue to labour a Clique related point, there is no doubt that this was a sound business move.  It clarified HHH’s position as a heel and has set up some potentially intriguing storylines. 
Rumours abound that a third member will be added to the alliance, with the latest name being associated with the position being that of Dean Roberts.  Whilst this seems unlikely given Dean’s current status, it is clear that management have huge faith in the abilities of HHH.  In fact everything seems plain sailing at this point in time.  HHH is “behaving” backstage and seems to be getting on well with most workers. 
The hot story at the moment is that Tripper’s proposed World Title clash with Chris Kanyon, tentatively scheduled for Xtreme Overload, will now not occur until further down the line.  Perhaps it was never a serious suggestion, or perhaps IWF management are testing the patience and attitude of HHH in order to ensure that he really is a changed man.  So far he seems to be impressing the people that matter both in the ring and out of it. 
Everyone, however, is eagerly awaiting the return of Matthew Mercy once his film run is over.  It’s clear that there is little love lost between the two and whilst Mercy hasn’t got an official creative control clause in his contract, it’s clear that if one man in the IWF is in position to refuse to “do the right thing” with Tripper, then it’s Mercy. 
Who knows, perhaps HHH’s good behaviour will continue and by the time Mercy returns he will see that perhaps the rumours about HHH in the PWF weren’t all true.  Maybe however, Mercy’s mind is already made up and there is no way that we will ever see what could be an exceptional Mercy/Tripper feud.  What is clear is that Triple H has settled in nicely and is making all the right noises.  Now as long as that continues, the arrangement between HHH and the IWF could turn out to be a long and prosperous one indeed.

HEAT WAVE 2004 REVIEW

 
JEFF JARRETT Vs CHRIS JERICHO ( * * ½ )
            So it was time for the opener.  This hasn’t really been built up all that encompassingly over the past month; indeed the issue doesn’t really stretch much further than an IWF superstar taking offence about a former PWF superstar’s big mouth backstage.  All things considered this was a decent enough bout, but one that in no way would have convinced the uninitiated that it pitted two former World Champions against each other. 
            Jericho took control of the early going but Double J soon got back into the thick of things by using some underhand tactics to stun his opponent.  There then followed a fairly lengthy, and dare we say it boring, period where Jeff wore his opponent down with the kind of technical holds and moves that would have gone down a storm in the 1980’s. 
            Numerous times the referee asked Jericho if he wanted to give it up, but numerous times Jericho had just enough fortitude to stay in the running to win the bout.  Eventually Jericho managed to finally overpower his opponent and then he went through his move-set before finally setting up for the Lion-Sault.  He never hit it though as when he made his run-up a quick thinking Jarrett bumped the referee into Jericho’s path (which begged the question of if he was so alert to proceedings why didn’t he just move out of the way when Jericho attempted to hit the move) and the ref took a sleep whilst a disorientated Jericho tried to regain his bearings. 
            Jarrett went for a figure four but Jericho blocked it and reversed it into a Lion-Tamer which quickly had Double J tapping.  Unfortunately there was no referee to witness it, and as Jericho went to revive the ref, Jarrett hopped out, grabbed his balsa wood guitar and then well and truly smashed Jericho over the head with it.  Jarrett cleared the ring of debris, the ref woke up to see Jarrett covering Jericho and he subsequently counted the three and we had a hugely unpopular winner.  Decent, but far from great.
            It was at this point that we were transported backstage to see some more new PWF signings making their first tour of the IWF backstage area.  Our backstage reporter Jenni B caught up with Cruiserweight superstars Bryan Danielson, Elix Skipper and Kaz Hayashi and asked them their thoughts.  At this point, Simon Starshot came into view and shook hands with the three men and said that he welcomed the competition.
ACID Vs RAVEN ( * * )
            This feud has been whipping up a storm in the mid-card ranks and shows little sign of coming to a conclusion anytime soon.  Acid’s strength in numbers (being part of Zoltar’s collection of stars) have given him the distinct edge, but any time Raven has been able to single out Acid and get him one-on-one he’s looked the more likely winner of the two.
            So it stands to reason that in the early going, Raven took control and it was fairly fast paced stuff which kept the fans entertained.  Still once Zoltar saw that his man was in trouble, he quickly called for Yzeabek who ran out and smashed Raven with a big boot to the face.  Only problem was that Yzeabek nearly fell over whilst attempting such a high-risk move as this…heaven help us! 
            The referee called for the disqualification as all three men took it upon themselves to batter the crap out of poor Raven.  It seemed a hopeless case as the onslaught continued, but help was at hand, and it came from some debuting superstars, although for once in the recent deluge of them, they weren’t former PWF guys, but were independent standouts CM Punk and Colt Cabana, collectively none as the Second City Saints.  (Who incidentally spent their last few months in the Indies feuding, but who cares about that – as Matthew Mercy says “if it don’t happen on TV, it don’t happen).  They came to the rescue and helped their “buddy” Raven and sent Zoltar and his merry men packing.  As the two of them helped Raven to his feet, Zoltar looked on and told anyone who would listen that “It’s time for the Rancour.”  Whatever that means.  Fair match in itself, but as a mere step along the way of a feud, it did what it set out to do I suppose. 
RANDY ORTON Vs JOHN CENA ( * * * )
            John Cena was perhaps the one, non-main event, PWF superstar that absolutely everyone agreed would be one of the first to get the call up to the IWF once the buy-out was confirmed, so perhaps it should come as no surprise to see him getting such an early shot at the esteemed European Champion.  This has been an entertaining feud on TV, with the two putting in some stellar verbal work and really working off their contrasting characters well.
            Orton looked supremely confident as the two circled each other in the ring, but Cena soon slapped the cockiness straight out of his mouth as he flew towards the Blue Chipper with a barrage of offence which sent Orton flapping out of the ring.  Orton looked shell-shocked and seemed unsure of whether he even wanted to get back in the ring, but his delaying tactics worked and when he did sneak back into the ring he surprised Cena and started to lay into his rapping opponent with some stiff punches and kicks. 
            Still Cena kept in there and there was some neat back and forth action, which worked as long as Cena didn’t have to do too much, and the crowd were quite getting into it, being almost totally behind Cena’s efforts to dethrone the European Champion.  It was noticeable though that there were still a small, but vocal, number of fans who were reluctant to cheer “PWF” guy Cena, and Orton cockily acknowledged them at certain points, which actually helped to make the match seem all that more vital to those watching on p-p-v. 
            The closing sequence was very hot indeed, with the two really cranking it up, and the actual finish was a pleasant surprise too.  Cena signalled for the F-U, but as he got Orton half way up, the European champion slipped out of it and threw Cena into the ropes.  Cena ducked a clothesline attempt, but then when he attempted his own, Orton ducked that and as Cena came back off the ropes again, Orton stomped him and then hit his own finishing manoeuvre the RKO and got the spotlessly clean pinfall victory, much to the chagrin of Cena’s supporters, but much to the delight of Orton’s small band of followers.  Good little match and a refreshing clean finish.  Looks like Cena is going to have to be patient in his quest to become a main event superstar.
            Brian Kendrick was shown backstage and he was walking about when he bumped into the PWF cruiserweights Danielson, Hayashi & Skipper.  He laughed and generally dissed them and said that he had nothing to fear if these three were the best that the PWF had ever had and that he would be sure to give them a painful “welcome” to in-ring IWF action.  The three just laughed and let Kendrick go on his way.  But from nowhere, they turned around and pounced on him and generally kicked the crap out of him until the commotion brought IWF cruiserweights Rick Shaw and Tajiri from out of the locker room and they made the save.  The “PWF” trio ran straight to their rental car and zoomed away from the building. 
KURT ANGLE Vs EDDY GUERRERO ( * * * * ½ )
            Thoughts have been divided on this mini-feud; does it represent a step-up for Guerrero, or a step down for Angle?  On balance you would have to say a bit of both but when the end result of a match was as good as this then in the end you can safely say that it did both men more good than harm.
            The two were slow to get going as there was a long feeling out period at the onset of the match but slowly and surely the two picked up the pace, and unveiled the tasty moves in their arsenals.  Angle hit some of his super-stiff suplexes, but Eddy shook off the effects of them and hit back with some of his trademark high impact moves.
            In a nice and refreshing twist the two exchanged some pretty nifty mat moves, which at least some people in the crowd seemed to get into, before Angle slowly took control.  Thing was though, the just couldn’t put the plucky Guerrero away and as Eddy kept kicking out on two counts, Kurt was getting more and more upset and annoyed and was beginning to lose focus. 
            He became intent on hurting Eddy, rather than trying to win the match, and by this stage his interest in a pinfall had seemingly gone by the wayside.  The fans ere really behind Latino Heat by this time and this did seem to spur him on and he surprised Angle with a quick roll up, which, whilst only getting Eddy a two count, did appear to bring him back to life and gave him a new burst of energy.  He was still groggy but he took the fight to Angle, knocking him down with some swift punches and a sweet dropkick.  A second dropkick took Angle down again and Eddy sensed it was time to climb the ropes and hit the Frog Splash.  So up he climbed and he hit it sweetly, but in his fatigued state it seemed to take as much out of him as it did Angle and by the time he could crawl over and make the pinfall, Angle had recovered enough to kick out at two and a half.
            Undeterred Eddy signalled that he was going for another Frog Splash, but this time he took too long in getting up there.  As he reached the top turnbuckle, Angle scooted up and hit a ring-shaking super-plex on Eddy, which again took a lot out of both men.  Angle went for the pinfall but this time it was Guerrero who kicked out on two and a half.  But Angle sensed blood and he circled Eddy until Eddy got to his feet.  An Angle Slam later and Kurt got the pinfall victory, and slowly left, celebrating his victory.  Then, as Eddy slowly got to his feet, the crowd spontaneously gave the vanquished Eddy a standing ovation.  A classy ending to an absolutely storming match.  Thumbs up all around. 
EDGE & ROB VAN DAM Vs ASHTEN DRAKE & MATHURAS ( * ¼ )
            So how do you follow a bona fide classic?  Well not with this that’s for sure.  Don’t lay any blame at the feet of Edge, Rob Van Dam or Ashten Drake.  Oh no, lay the blame squarely at the hairy feet of Mathuras, a man who stunk during his days as the PWF’s A-Train, and a man who stinks just as much now.  Never less than passable when Drake was carrying the burden for his team, as soon as Mathuras made his presence known this just sunk.  At one point the crowd even cheered when Mathuras tagged his own partner back in. 
            There really isn’t an awful lot to say about this one.  Edge & RVD were as underwhelming tonight as they have been throughout their cobbled together World Tag Team reign which has existed purely because no-one had any better ideas for them.  Mind you as much as a waste of time it has been for both men, surely no-one wanted to see the ending we got here. 
            Thanks to some adept referee distraction by Mathuras (in the only spot of note he did well in all night!) and some almighty steel-chair swinging by Zoltar himself, Ashten Drake got the pinfall victory over Edge and lovers of tag team wrestling everywhere choked on their drinks.  The new champs ran off celebrating, whilst Edge & Rob Van Dam had some stiff words with each other.  Apologies to the three good workers, but the presence of Mathuras made this almost unbearable. 
CHRIS KANYON Vs THE BIG GEE ( * * ½ )
            Anything was welcome after that last debacle…yes, even the sight of The Big Gee as one half of a Triple Crown title match.  This one just about lived up to expectations, but don’t get too excited as the expectations were pretty low to begin with.
            Gee kicked this off by attacking Kanyon after his epic Iron Man match at Into The Darkness and has singled Kanyon out ever since, albeit in situations much like the first where all the odds were against the champion.  And he started this match off in the same vein, attacking Kanyon when he had his back turned.  He dominated most of the early going, but it wasn’t too long before Kanyon fought back and took almost total control.  Sadly this is where it got “creative”. 
            Desperate to stay in the match Gee tried every trick in the book to avoid rapid defeat, and when all those seemed to be failing, Gee took the only option which gave him chance to not lose…KO the referee!  So the ref took a big bump and this became a weapons filled brawl that toured all the ringside area.  The two traded shots with steel chairs and ring bells, we winced as Gee took an almighty slam into the ring steps and Kanyon took the full force of a stunning Gee-Bomb through the foreign announcers table which left his face all bloodied after he accidentally collided with a TV monitor; all this was whilst the referee was in la-la land of course.
            Finally the action got back in the ring and the referee slowly stirred.  A steel chair got introduced into proceedings again by Gee and he was about to clonk Kanyon when he saw that the referee was about to turn around.  He tossed the chair towards Kanyon who hit Gee with a stiff boot to the stomach and then picked up the chair himself to smash Gee.  The referee saw it but seemed willing to let it slide.  However Kanyon was in no mood for clemency now and as the blood poured from his mouth he started to repeatedly smash Gee over the head with the steel chair, juicing him up real good too.  The ref gave Kanyon one last warning, as George Minister told us how this was Kanyon’s revenge for a months worth of sneak attacks, but Kanyon came down with the chair again and the ref had no option to call for the bell and award the match to the Big Gee by disqualification. 
            Kanyon continued his attack until a bunch of officials ran out and dragged him away.  Gee had to leave on a stretcher, and the fans wondered what the hell they had just seen.  Make no bones about it, this turned into a pretty brutal brawl, the only problem was that it seemed to leave the crowd a little non-plussed.  Mind you it may have done the impossible and made the almost inevitable re-match (given the DQ decision) a must-see affair.  Let’s hope we get the decision next time. 
MATT MORGAN Vs KEVIN NASH ( ½ * )
            Erm, the build up to this one would have been quite exciting one supposes, if the whole point behind this match hadn’t been eerily transparent from the very moment that it was booked.  You see, this was clearly a match made for one reason, and one reason only…to put Matt Morgan over.  Nash, after having cleared his “top-line” obligations (and shown that he is clearly over his head if he expects to swim in the upper echelons of the IWF in his sorry state) by putting Xavier over at Into The Darkness, is now no use for anything, except belatedly doing his bit for the business (about five years too late) and putting over young and fresh talent.  Mind you on the basis of this match, he’s not even any good for this task these days.
            Make no bones about it, Morgan looked impressive and at least the bookers has the sense to make this an almost complete squash match (as any prolonged offence by Nash against the huge Morgan would have made the Blueprint look crap) and, credit where credit is due, Nash did take all the big bumps necessary to make Morgan look like a star.  Still all this doesn’t escape us from the fact that the “action” was crap and predictable.
            But at least, crap as this undoubtedly was, it was the right result and no doubt when Morgan gets his first feature DVD release in the IWF (and believe me, management are hoping to go all the way with this guy) clips will be shown of him battering and brutalising “Big Sexy” in what may very well turn out to be (if the rumours are to be believed) Nash’s very last IWF match. 
TRIPLE H Vs XAVIER ( * * * * )
            So time for the main event of the evening, and Triple H’s in-ring return to the International Wrestling Federation.  The buzz around the crowd was electric as special guest referee Shawn Michaels (the “only man in wrestling capable of refereeing this match” according to IWF commissioner Harley Race, due to his “equal hatred” for both men) made his way to the ring, and it picked up even more with the entrances of Xavier and Tripper.  It was clear from the onset that the IWF’s gamble had worked; Xavier was a clear fan favourite and HHH was a clear heel here. 
            Both men listened intently as HBK gave his instructions and this was the last we noticed of Shawn for quite some time (which as far as a guest ref gig goes is a good thing) with him only really getting involved again in the finish (which is perhaps to be expected). 
            Xav started off like the proverbial house on fire and really took the action to Tripper which seemed to shock the former IWF and PWF world champion.  HHH soon got back into things though and he wore Xav down with his methodically paced offence, as the crowd chanted for Xav to get back into things. 
            Xav did more than enough to keep his end up and the two actually took turns dominating the match, which made for an exciting spectacle.  The crowd went wild when Xav hit a brutal DDT on his opponent, but when HHH hit back with a figure four leglock, the crowd exploded and were absolutely willing Xavier on in his attempts to break out of it.  Xav did break out of it, by reversing it into a sharpshooter nonetheless (anyone get a feeling that Ric Flair and Bret Hart may show up soon?) and HHH was quick to grab for the ropes.
            The near falls kicked in and we could sense that we were coming to a conclusion.  And this is where we finally saw Shawn Michaels back in the thick of things.  The action intensified and the two participants really were going at it.  Triple H hit a backbreaker and went for the cover but Shawn wasn’t quite with it and by the time he got down for the pin, Xavier managed to kick out at 2.  HHH was furious and remonstrated with HBK, to no avail.  Xav then nipped in with a roll-up but despite what Tripper called a fast count, the match continued.  Then the damndest thing happened.  HHH & HBK had an almighty face off and the two of them argued, which led to Shawn ripping off his ref’s jersey.  He pushed HHH and looked ready to unload some Sweet Chin Music…which he did, but smack in the face of Xavier.  HHH laughed, hit the pedigree and Shawn counted the pinfall.  The two of them shook hands and celebrated as the crowd showered them in boos.  A great match with a very memorable ending. 
 
Well when all was said and done, Heat Wave probably wasn’t a great night of action but it did end with a cracking main event and featured a match of the year candidate on the under-card.  Angle/Guerrero was absolutely amazing and was the technical match of the night by quite some way.  The main event, on the other hand, may not have been quite as good a match as that one, but the heat was off the scale and the ending was memorable too.  No doubt all the smarts will give Xavier the credit for the main event quality, but HHH proved that he still has it, and in the more rewarding environment of the IWF let’s hope he continues this good form.
The rest of the card was a mixed bunch, and although nothing really stood out, Orton/Cena was more than respectable and there was a lot of happening and angles that made the time pass by.  We don’t know quite what to make of the Triple Crown match.  Never likely to be a classic, it was nevertheless a very brutal match which did create anticipation for a possible re-match (and who would have thought the booking squad could have managed that?)  Add to that some run-in and backstage debuts and you have a decent card, which whilst not containing the best ever action you’re likely to see on IWF ppv, did provide some good entertainment all round. 

SAMUEL ADAMS TROPHY QUARTER FINALS

Sunday 13th June, Guildhall – Southampton
 
Xavier Vs John Cena ( * * * ¼ ) – This was definitely Cena’s best IWF bout to date, and credit for that must go to Xavier, who is certainly back in a groove at the moment. This was entertaining stuff which really went down well with the fans even though, in the end, Xavier handed Cena his first loss on IWF soil, although he only won when he grabbed the ropes for extra leverage during his pinfall attempt.  After the match Cena hit the F-U on Xavi, but it was too late to change the result of the match. 
Matt Morgan Vs Chris Kanyon ( * * ½ ) - There was a certain amount of intrigue leading up to this, especially considering this was a non-title match.  Could Morgan really defeat the Triple Crown Champion? Not quite, as it turned out, but he came mighty close, knocking the champion all over the shop before Chris pulled a Kanyon Kutter out of the bag for the 1-2-3.  Afterwards though Kanyon seemed to acknowledge that he’d been in a toughie. 
Chris Jericho Vs Kurt Angle ( * * * * ) – These two have met many times before but when the result is a match this good who can complain?  This was a superb encounter and one which built and built to a white-hot crescendo.  Jericho went for the Lion-Tamer, but Angle quickly reversed it into the Ankle-Lock.  Jericho managed to fight his way out of it, but looked doomed when Angle went for the Olympic Slam. However, Jericho managed to wriggle free of it, hit Angle with a bulldog and then his the Lion-sault for the pinfall victory and the spot in Finals night. 
Eddy Guerrero Vs Jeff Jarrett ( * * * ¼ ) – This was a slow and deliberately paced match but was actually quite the slow burn entertainer.  The crowd were firmly behind Eddy, so they were a little bit peeved when Jarrett took the pinfall victory, although they finally gave him a little bit of respect afterwards when the two shook hands. 

JUNE SLAMMIN

SLAMMIN – Maladroit
Saturday 5th June 2004
The Dome, Morecambe
 
Kurt Angle Vs Rhino
 
WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE:
Brian Kendrick Vs Billy Kidman
 
TAG TEAM BATTLE ROYALE:
Last Surviving Team gets World Title shot at Heat Wave!
Participants – Alias Storm & Haas, Matt Hardy & Jay Reso, The APA,
Jeff Jarrett & Bill DeMott, Tajiri & Funaki, Positive Role Models,
Ashten Drake & Mathuras, Ultimo Dragon & Koji Kanemento
 
Sean O’Haire Vs Mark Jindrak
 
(The Debut Of) “The Phenomenon” Paul Wardle Vs Jamie Knoble
 
review;
1)      O’Haire Vs Jindrak ( * * ¾ ) – Oh how the mighty fall; once upon a time these two were on the fast-track to potential glory but these days they are just another pair of decent mid-card prospects waiting for that glorious opportunity.  This was decent enough fare, but lacked a bit of the intensity that might have made it stand out.  Still, O’Haire’s match winning Shawn-ton bomb was as impressive as ever and both showed glimpses that they may one day climb to the top of the ladder.
2)       Wardle Vs Knoble ( * * ½ ) – Another Slammin, and another debut for an HWA alumni.  “The Phenomenon” promo’s over the last month or so have been entertaining stuff, and Wardle’s pre-match promo was funny too.  The match itself was a reasonable effort, with Knoble being allowed just enough offence to test Wardle without ever having him in serious danger.  Wardle took the win with the “Awe-dacious” and for a first match in the big time he will have left the fans with a reasonable impression of his talents. 
3)       Tag Team Battle Royale ( * ¼ ) -  As if the tag team situation isn’t uninspiring enough (nothing against the tag champs Edge & RVD but their transparent reign as a team to lead to their inevitable feud is doing no-one any favours) the best way that the IWF can come up with to crown number one contenders is this Battle Royale with half the participants about as over Vinnie Deal.  The men tried their best but be clear, this sucked.  The sheer apathy when Ashten Drake & Mathuras ended up the winners said it all.  ORDER OF ELIMINATION; i) Ron Simmons (Matt Hardy); ii) Koji Kanemento (Ashten Drake); iii) Funaki (Steve Corino); iv) Jay Reso (Charles Haas); v) Lance Storm (Dash Riprock); vi) Bill DeMott (Corino); vii) Riprock (Mathuras).
4)       Kendrick Vs Kidman ( * * * ) – Time to get the card back on track?  Well to a certain extent yes, but time constraints really held this one back.  For all the hoo-hah about getting serious with the Cruiserweight division, it’s still treated as a mid-card distraction rather than a genuine attraction.  But the two did their best (especially Kendrick, who seems to be on a single handed mission to sustain any heel heat in the Cruiserweight division) and tossed together some exciting stuff, which finally came to a conclusion when Kendrick hit Kidman with the Sliced Bread to get the pinfall victory, which retained him his title.
5)       Angle Vs Rhino ( * * * * ) – Well at least the main event ended the show on a high note.  These two have always seemed well matched in the ring, and this proved to be no exception as the two went at it with a fury for nigh on 15 minutes of top quality action.  This was back and forth all the way (with Angle being his usual selfless self) and the “anybody’s match” scenario really did boost the atmosphere.  And the atmosphere turned up another notch when Eddy Guerrero made his way to the ring, and true to his Latino Heat form his distraction cost Angle the match (and the referee never saw a thing) and Rhino got the surprising victory.   After the match Angle had a temper tantrum whilst Eddy just laughed.

 A decent Slammin overall, albeit one which will only ever be remembered for the main event.  Angle and Rhino put on a great display and one that was truly worthy of its status.  The rest of the card was entertaining enough without ever being particularly great and only the tag team battle royale was a complete waste of time, but that was more the fault of the bookers than the actual workers involved.  If you didn’t catch it live then borrow the video off your mate, but don’t be tempted to buy the event when they release it on DVD .