World Wrestling Entertainment presents Velocity
Date: 12/7/2002
From:
Matches:
1.) Crash Holly defeated Shannon Moore
2.) John Cena defeated Paul London
3.) Rikishi defeated Mike Fox
4.) Matt Hardy defeated Chuck Palumbo
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Crash tries to get the crowd behind him and mildly succeeds. Crash gets wrist control on Moore, but Moore counters quickly. Moore takes Crash down with a side headlock and they have a standoff. Moore slaps Crash’s hand away to avoid a handshake. Crash backs Moore into a corner and Moore cheap shots Crash delivering a few strikes. Moore stomps on Crash in the corner and kicks Crash’s head into the middle turnbuckle. Crash clotheslines Moore followed by a dropkick and a scoop slam for a near fall. Moore drop toe holds Crash into the middle turnbuckle followed by a knee strike and clothesline. Moore plants Crash with a back suplex for a two count. Moore puts a chinlock on Crash, but doesn’t get a submission. Crash elbows free and ducks a clothesline to get a rollup for a two count. Moore knee lifts Crash followed by more strikes and a leaping somersault neckbreaker for a near fall. Moore slams Crash before going to the top rope. Moore leaps off, but blocks a boot. Crash drops Moore with a neckbreaker. Moore misses a splash in the corner and Crash delivers an atomic drop. Crash elbows Moore to the mat and counters a hurricanrana with a powerbomb for a near fall. Crash crotches Moore onto the top turnbuckle, but Moore elbows Crash to the mat. Moore misses the Halo (whisper in the wind), but Holly only gets a two count. Moore elbows Crash and tries for a tilt a whirl head scissors, but Crash drives Moore down to the mat gut first for the win. (**1/4. A solid match with good pace and action throughout. It was a little weird to have Moore play the heel role considering Holly usually takes that role in these kinds of matches. I’m expecting a title shot for Crash on SD in the coming weeks.)
2.) Paul London has been a standout for Ring of Honor in recent months and gets a shot on Velocity against John Cena.
3.) London gets a waist lock on Cena, but Cena takes London down to the mat with a front face lock. London counters with a wrist lock for a moment. Cena misses a splash in the corner and dumps London to the apron. London hits a head scissors, heel kick and a dropsault for a two count. London misses a crossbody off the ropes and is decked by a clothesline leading to a near fall. Cena kicks London in the ribs and delivers forearm strikes. Cena chokes London over the middle rope. Cena distracts the referee allowing B2 to cheap shot London. Cena plants London with a back suplex for a two count. Cena locks in a full nelson, but doesn’t get a submission. London elbows Cena a few times and Cena nails London with a back elbow for a near fall. London drops Cena with a kick to the head. London ducks a clothesline and dropsaults Cena. London connects with a crossbody and drops Cena over the top rope. London hits a springboard moonsault for a near fall. Cena ducks a clothesline and hits a swinging slam for the win. (**. London was fun and popped the crowd a few times. London would be a fantastic addition to the Cruiserweight division.)
4.) Rikishi won his squash match with the Bonzai Drop.
5.) Hardy backs Palumbo into a corner and shoves Chuck. Hardy gets a hammerlock on Chuck and shoves Chuck away. Hardy goes back to wrist control, but Palumbo counters with a hammerlock. Hardy sends Palumbo through the ropes to the floor. Chuck drops Hardy with a right hand and taunts Hardy. Hardy eye rakes Palumbo followed by right hands. Palumbo hits an overhead suplex causing Hardy to bail to the floor. Palumbo is dropped over the top rope throat first and Hardy hits a swinging neckbreaker for a near fall. Hardy wrenches on Palumbo over the middle rope. Hardy clubs on Palumbo followed by elbow strikes. Hardy elbow drops Palumbo on the back a few times. Palumbo fights back with right hands, but Hardy delivers a neckbreaker for a near fall. Palumbo elbows Hardy and connects with a clothesline. They trade strikes with right hands from their knees before getting up and Palumbo hits a back suplex. Palumbo clotheslines Hardy a few times followed by a belly to belly suplex. Chuck misses a superkick and Hardy tries for the Twist of Fate, but Palumbo counters with an overhead throw for a near fall. Palumbo tries for a discus punch, but Hardy counters with the Side Effect for a two count. Palumbo avoids the Twist of Fate by ramming Hardy into the corner. Hardy leaps off the middle rope and is met with a punch in midair leading to a near fall. Hardy gets out of a slam and nearly sends Chuck into the referee. Hardy sends Palumbo into the ring post shoulder first. That leads to the Twist of Fate and Hardy picks up the win. (**1/2. That ended up being a good main event for Velocity. There was a story told and there was several close near falls that were believable. This is probably Chuck’s best singles performance since Billy’s injury.)
Final Thoughts:
A good episode of Velocity with some good matches to go along with the recap format. I hope London is signed sooner rather than later for the Cruiserweight division.
Thanks for reading.