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WWE Unforgiven PPV Reax #2: "Having Punk drop the title without even being involved in the match was incredibly insulting to the WWE fans." Sep 8, 2008 - 12:50:35 AM
Terrie Neilson, Las Vegas, Nev. (7.0): Best: Michaels vs. Jericho; Michaels promo. Worst: divas match; the WTF Raw Scramble. Leading up to the final five minutes of the Raw Scramble, I was giving Unforgiven a 9.0, with the biggest flaw being the crapped all over divas match. The nicest surprise was the ECW Scramble, which had severe overbooking potential written all over it. While it was never overtly stated, the seconds of anyone involved in any Scramble match, save for Hornswoggle, were not involved. Thank you, WWE, for that one. Of the three, I would say the ECW one was the best one with the Smackdown one a close secnd. The rules still seem ridiculous, but a good story was made of advantage or disadvantage of match entrance. The tag title match was also a nice surprise. It was given more than TV time, showed that both teams had good team chemistry and could work a decent length match, and the post-match activities involving Orton and their new friend (Afa Jr. or whatever his name was) furthered along that storyline. The Big Show swerve was actually well done, but the casket wasn't properly used; The Smackdown Scramble kept things exciting with the trade-off of pins between Triple H and Jeff. Biggest problem came back to the title-switch rules of the Scramble. It was said that Triple H was a 13-time champ as he celebrated, which acknowleged one official loss. Okay then, by my end count then Henry and Hardy are two-time ECW champs, Jeff is a three-time WWE champ, and Triple H is now just one from breaking Flair's record. Eighty percent, indeed! As much as I cringed watching this match, you knew where the money was going. Shawn gave a clear indication that things weren't over. I'm hoping the feud isn't over as there are facets that have yet to be explored. Shawn did seem to have quite a bit of mobility in his left arm despite the pain and heavy bandaging, so a bullet truly looks to have been dodged. So if Shawn beat Chris Jericho within an inch of his life, how does that make him a "suitable replacement" for Punk? It is from Jericho's entrance in Raw Scramble that I thoroughly considered giving a goose-egg for the PPV. I would have accepted JBL, much as I think he's a horrible wrestler, getting in that last sneak pin. But Chris Jericho? WTF??!! If this was meant as some way to work toward an eventual and likely final title run for Shawn, this was the most horrible way to go about it. The Ultimate Punk Out.
Jay Templar of Utah (2.5): Best Match: Michaels vs. Jericho. Worst: The end of C.M. Punk's title reign. So, as a WWF/E wrestling fan for 20-plus years, this officially ends my interest in the product. Gone are the days where a title actually mattered; it's completely okay to pull THE CHAMPION, the one who HOLDS THE TITLE, out of the match, and have everyone else decide his title fate. Jericho got his butt cheeks handed to him by Michaels, and still managed to win the title. Punk can't survive a backstage beatdown by the tag team champions? They're treating the title like it's some sort of embarassment, and now it's time to bury one of the best new stars WWE has: C.M. Punk. Pathetic. I hope TNA hires him soon. Jericho vs Michaels stole. the. show. This program could continue forever and just be entertaining TV. The problem is, it'd only be making 30 minutes entertaining, when there's two hours to fill. Jericho vs. Michaels has been the best thing to happen on WWE TV recently, and while TV understands and respects that, they're promoting it at the expense of everything else. Having Punk drop the title without even being involved in the match was incredibly insulting to the WWE fans, who have already had to put up with horrifically bad writing, a new "TV-PG" rating, the end of the Attitude Era, the loss of Foley to TNA, and Mike Adamle. Jericho winning the title came out of nowhere and made for a nice suprise. I hate to sound redundant, though, but if Jericho can limp to the ring after the battle he went through (I counted that as a 27 minute match), Punk can walk there after a beatdown by the tag team champions. The booking on this was poor, the angles were not thought out, and someone needs to slap Vince and remind him that the fans are what make a company. Stop trying to shove garbage down our throats when we've made it clear that we don't like it. On the brighter side, the mid-card was pretty solid. The Divas match was what it was; the ECW Title Scramble was predictable and expected. The new ECW belt just doesn't look good. Triple H retains, is anyone suprised? Smackdown debuting on a new network needs a "visually impressive" champion, and who better than the king of the obligatory bathroom break? Cody Rhodes and DiBiase Jr looked good in their match against Cryme Time. The more I see these guys, the more I enjoy what they do. Cody makes an excellent heel, and with time and development, he could be shooting right up the ladder. I would love to see DiBiase turn face and/or split from Rhodes, allowing Cody the opportunity to become the good comedic heel his brother became (Come on, the stuttering gimmick was funny!). Time will tell, but (un)fotunately, I won't be watching. This PPV was the last straw to a longtime WWE fan. I'll follow Foley to TNA.
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