EDDY GUERRERO VS BRYAN DANIELSON ( * * * )
Opening Man Of Steel Quarter Final was a joy to watch, well at least it was for the time that it lasted. Give credit to both men though, they crammed more than you would have thought possible into a seven minute match, and this really was nip and tuck all the way. It looked as if Eddy would take the victory when he slammed Danielson and signalled for the Five Star Frog Splash, but this was only the cue for Danielson’s PWF buddies to hop down to ringside and as Kaz Hayashi distracted the referee, Paul London threw Guerrero off the top rope, and Danielson crawled over to get the pinfall that advanced him into to semi-finals.
RANDY ORTON VS JOHN CENA ( * *)
Management had high hopes for this feud when Cena became the first PWF star to sign a deal with the IWF back in April, but the fact that the feud was canned proves how well “can’t miss” prospect Cena has fared here in the IWF. This was decent, but nothing more and the temptation is to say that until Cena fleshes out the in-ring side of his arsenal, he’s going nowhere. Which is why Orton got all the fans cheers here, and why it was Orton who won in rapid order with the RKO. Thank you and goodnight Mr Cena.
CHUCK PALUMBO VS JAY RESO ( * * ¼ )
Believe it or not, “The Famous” Chuck Palumbo has made quite an impression here in the IWF, and it continued tonight in some senses as at least he managed to rile up the IWF fans in the right way and he more than did his job of helping the match to be relatively decent. This was another short one, but it was exciting for what it was and the end portion of the match was very heated indeed. Reso took the win with the unprettier, but both men came out of this one looking good.
PAUL WARDLE VS MATT HARDY ( * * ½ )
Whilst this wasn’t much of an in-ring encounter, this was riotously entertaining with both men taking the crowd on a wonderful journey. Wardle was superb as the cocky heel and Hardy matched him step for step as the slightly less cocky face. The UK champion put up a splendid fight, but in the end Hardy took it with a Twist Of Fate.
ASHTEN DRAKE, MATHURAS & ACID VS RAVEN & THE SECOND CITY SAINTS ( * * )
One word, CHAOS! That’s what this six man tag team match was all about. This was just crazy brawling all over the building, which was relatively entertaining albeit totally one-dimensional. Mathuras stunk the place up as usual, and CM Punk was the star performer. Which makes it nice that it was Punk who wrapped this one up by pinning the feckless Mathuras.
RANDY ORTON VS JAY RESO ( * * ¾ )
The crowd were really looking forward to this match and their reactions certainly did seem to spur on the two combatants to put their best feet forward. In many ways this was an “old school” style match and the crowd dug it. Reso was in control for the most part, which in wrestling terms could only mean one thing…Orton won with yet another RKO, to take his spot in the final.
BRYAN DANIELSON VS MATT HARDY ( * * ½ )
There was a slight clash of styles evident in this one which whilst not making the match a complete mess, certainly made it a slightly disappointing one in relation to who we had in it. Still there were some hot sequences in the match, and it once again looked like Danielson would advance when his buddies Hayashi and London toddled down to ringside again, but this time help was at hand from IWF Cruiserweights Brian Kendrick and AJ Styles who evened up the odds and gave Hardy the opportunity to hit Danielson with a Twist Of Fate and get the pinfall which advanced him to the final.
RHINO VS THE BIG GEE ( * * )
If you goto the wrestling internet dictionary and look up “card filler” you will probably find a clip of this match. There was no build up and no issues to exploit, and it seemed as if this match was put on purely to allow us all to see The Gee’s latest valet, the delectable Abi Titmuss, is a state of near undress. Distracting? It certainly distracted poor Rhino, who fell to the Gee-Bomb after Abi had blown a kiss in his direction and hitched up her already very short skirt to reveal her peachy ass. Gee wins, but who really cares?
RANDY ORTON VS MATT HARDY ( * * * ¾ )
If the tournament to date had been somewhat of a disappointment, these two certainly made up for it with a wonderful final, and one which was well deserving of it’s status and profile. The two went back and forth for nearly 15 minutes and they dragged the crowd along for the ride. There was serious heat for this one and both men delivered. Orton slowly began to take more and more control, but in the end Hardy prevailed, even managing to kick out of a pinfall attempt after an RKO, and he finished Orton off with Twist Of Fate, for a verey popular tournament victory. Your 2004 Man Of Steel…Matt Hardy.
TRIPLE H VS CHRIS KANYON VS SHAWN MICHAELS VS XAVIER VS CHRIS JERICHO VS KURT ANGLE (Elimination Chamber, * * * * ½ )
Well if ever a card needed a great main event to save it, it was this one, and boy did these six men deliver in the demonic Elimination Chamber. All six men made their way to the ring to great reactions, and a pre-match draw meant that Shawn Michaels and Xavier kicked it off.
ORDER OF ENTRY; Openers – Shawn Michaels & Xavier, 3rd (S mins)– Chris Kanyon, 4th (8 mins) - Chris Jericho, 5th (11 mins)–Kurt Angle, 6th (14 mins)– Triple H.
ORDER OF ELIMINATIONS; 1) Chris Jericho (pinned by Kurt Angle – 17 mins), 2) Shawn Michaels (pinned by Chris Kanyon – 20 mins), 3) Kurt Angle (pinned by Xavier – 22 mins), 4) Xavier (pinned by Chris Kanyon – 24 mins), 5) Chris Kanyon (pinned by Triple H – 29 mins). So there we had it. HHH was last in and was the last man standing. The fans hated it, but no-one could deny the greatness of the match, and there were great performances by all six men. A great main event to end what was a disaapointing pay-per-view overall.
