WWE Vengeance Review & Rant

WWE held there second PPV in the month of October as they presented Vengeance from San Antonio, Texas.

Seeing as there was not a lot of time in between PPV's, Vengeance was a card which featured lackluster story lines but delivered in match quality. Although, nothing significant happened to buildup up to next months Survivor Series in terms of impact like most expected, Vengeance was still an entertaining PPV but not an event with any relevance to the future.

The main event of Vengeance was a WWE Championship Last Man Standing match as WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio successfully defended his championship against John Cena.

The match was likely the culmination of the feud between both men and Del Rio was able to pick up the victory albeit in controversial fashion. After Cena delivered an Attitude Adjuster through the Spanish Announce table, Awesome Truth (The Miz & R-Truth) ran down to the ring jumping Cena, allowing Del Rio to recover and nail Cena with the Championship belt, keeping him down for the ten count.

As far as Last Man Standing matches go, the bout was not as intense and brutal as they have been in the past. Despite the match taking place in a broken ring, as a result of the previous match there were not many noteworthy memorable spots besides the AA through the table.

Hopefully, the WWE moves in a different direction after tonight, as the Cena vs. Del Rio feud has ran its course. To be honest, the matchup never had any major heat to make it feel important and always felt second rate to other story lines taking place within the WWE. Both men are obviously great workers and are two of the all around best inside the ring, but for some reason they never clicked with the audience and as a result each match they had together suffered, due to the lack of crowd response.

With Survivor Series being the next PPV and The Rock returning to the ring for the first time in seven years at the event, it is inevitable that Cena will be featured in a different program to begin the push to their match at WrestleMania 28. Whether Del Rio is apart of this program remains to be seen since Survivor Series is traditionally a tag team oriented event but hopefully the WWE decide to give the WWE Championship its own match to make the PPV stronger. However, who Del Rio's opponent will be is a complete mystery and unknown to me as of right now.

The co-main event World Heavyweight Championship match between World Champion Mark Henry and the Big Show was a match constantly referred to as the bathroom break match of Vengeance. Whoever decided to write this matchup off and not watch it, easily missed the best match of the night as these two super heavyweights defied expectations and stole the show.

For two of the biggest performers on the WWE roster, Mark Henry and the Big Show gave the fans a match they had never seen before of two athletes of their size. From the opening bell, the match was instantly impressive as both men showed agility and athleticism rarely exhibited by either of them. To be honest, the match reminded me of something out of Transformers or a clash of two 18 wheelers in a human demolition derby, especially at the end when Mark Henry superplexed Big Show off the top rope and the ring collapsed.

Bravo to both men as a match of this caliber was most likely very difficult on their bodies considering their size. Usually, big man match ups are slow boring and quick, however this match was very different. Athleticism was shown as Big Show landed numerous drop kicks and for most of the match, Mark Henry had an air based attack. When working together, Mark Henry and Big Show are able to do moves on each other that they would not be able to do on smaller competitors. Strength wise they are equal and it was quite a sight to see two usually dominant performers picking one another up and slamming the other to the mat.

The match was immensely entertaining featuring many near falls and even a top rope chokeslam. Credit is deserved to both men as they put on an unbelievable match and gave WWE fans a “moment” with the end of match ring collapse. Despite ending in a no contest, the Mark Henry vs. Big Show contest is a match which deserves high praise.

Another high profile matchup in Vengeance, was CM Punk and HHH teaming up together to take on the team of Awesome Truth.

It was only a month ago, when CM Punk and HHH were feuding with each other and to see that come to an end so quickly was bittersweet for me. While I enjoy seeing HHH working with two new rising up and comers like Miz and R-Truth, it disappointed me that CM Punk was never able to work a full program with HHH by himself. HHH is one of the last remaining old school wrestlers and since CM Punk is one of only a handful of new wrestlers to embody that 1980's-1990's old school wrestler style, a full feud between the two would have been a real sight to behold.

The matchup itself was fairly entertaining but had a weak ending when “Big Sexy” Kevin Nash made his return attacking HHH, allowing Awesome Truth to double team Punk and pick up the victory. After the match was over, Nash continued his beat down on HHH, eventually hitting a nasty looking jack-knife power bomb, where HHH landed hard on his neck.

The main thing I took coming out of this match, was how above and beyond HHH is to everyone else inside the ring. From pure wrestling to working a crowd to in ring psychology, HHH has not missed a step from his time away and is a true legend in the industry. Watching him work, it is clear that a majority of the new guys coming into the WWE are in fact sports entertainers and not true wrestlers. HHH and the Undertaker are the only two remaining workers from the old school, and seeing HHH work tonight reminded me how great and missed that style is today.

Speaking of solid in ring work, the most fundamentally sound one on one match of the night was the bout between Sheamus and Christian.

These two guys work hard every time and are always on top of their game. Watching them compete, it is obvious how good they work together since their chemistry and timing compliment each other perfectly.

Sheamus picked up the victory after delivering a Brouge Kick to pick up his second consecutive victory over Christian. However, Christian is one of those workers who does not need to win in order to look good. Christian is so crafty inside the ring that even though he loses most of his matches, he keeps himself relevant and in the top echelon of performers since his matches are always one of the best of the night every time. It is for this reason alone, that even though he is in a feud without any significant title implications, he will constantly appear on PPV's.

The last important happening of the night, was the fact that Dolph Zigger was featured in the first half hour of Vengeance. Zigger is one of the brightest rising stars within the WWE and to see him in two consecutive matches was the right way to kick off the PPV.
Zigger is arguably the most athletic performer in WWE right now and he has all the makings of a future multiple time world champion. Not only having a great look, Ziggler is able to work with any competitor of any size and put on a good match. This is a trait only a few performers have and Ziggler is my pick to be the breakout star of 2012.

Results:
WWE Championship: Alberto Del Rio(C) defeats John Cena in a Last Man Standing match
World Heavyweight Championship: Mark Henry (C) vs. Big Show ends in a No Contest
Randy Orton defeats Cody Rhodes
Awesome Truth defeats CM Punk and HHH
Sheamus defeats Christian
Divas Championship: Beth Phoenix (C) defeaths Eve Torres
U.S. Championship: Dolph Ziggler (C) defeats Zack Ryder
Tag Teams Championship: Air Boom (C) defeats Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger