World Wrestling Entertainment presents Velocity
Date: 12/14/2002
From:
Matches:
1.) Matt Hardy defeated Shawn Evans
2.) Chuck Palumbo defeated Johnny Slaughter
3.) Funaki defeated C.G. Afi
4.) WWE Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman defeated WWE Tag Team Champion Chavo Guerrero Jr. to retain the title
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Josh Matthews and Ernest “The Cat” Miller are the new commentary team for Velocity.
2.) C.G. Afi is known better as Tony Mamaluke back when he wrestled for ECW and was part of the FBI with Little Guido (now known as Nunzio).
3.) Afi gets a headlock on Funaki for the early advantage and follows up with a shoulder block. Afi counters a hip toss and ducks a clothesline. Funaki hip tosses and arm drags Afi. Funaki drop toe holds Afi followed by a leg drop to the back of the head. Afi dropkicks Funaki in midair on a crossbody attempt. Afi stomps on Funaki followed by a knee lift and a side Russian leg sweep. Afi drives Funaki down with a knee breaker and a dragon screw leg whip. Afi locks in a stretch muffler, but Funaki doesn’t give in. Funaki crawls for the ropes and reaches them to break the hold. Afi knee drops Funaki against the ropes. Funaki nails Afi with a kick to the side of the head. Afi misses a splash in the corner and Funaki hits a bulldog. Funaki ducks a clothesline and drives Afi down to the mat gut first. Funaki dropkicks Afi, but misses a clothesline. Funaki counters a wheelbarrow by driving Afi down to the mat face first. Funaki runs into a boot in the corner. Afi pulls Funaki up on the ropes, but Funaki delivers a jawbreaker and slams Afi off the ropes to win the match. (**. Afi showcased some unique moves and I enjoyed the match for what it was.)
4.) Kidman backs Chavo into a corner and backs off. Chavo controls with a waist lock, but Kidman counters. Chavo takes Kidman down to the mat and controls with a wrist lock. Chavo snapmares Kidman, but Kidman hits an arm drag and hip toss. Kidman hits a slingshot head scissors from the apron. Chavo rams Kidman into the middle turnbuckle. Kidman hammers away on Chavo in the corner. Chavo drops Kidman throat first over the top rope. Chavo dropkicks Kidman for a two count. Chavo plants Kidman with a back suplex for a near fall. Chavo slams Kidman and taunts the crowd. Chavo keeps a headlock on Kidman, but doesn’t get a submission. Kidman powers to his feet and elbows free. Kidman comes off the ropes and is met with a knee lift. Chavo covers, but Kidman kicks out at two. Chavo chops Kidman in the corner. Kidman hammers away on Chavo, but misses a splash. Kidman dropkicks Chavo. Kidman backdrops Chavo and hits a clothesline for a two count. Kidman pummels Chavo with right hands in the corner. Chavo avoids a back suplex and powerbombs Kidman for a near fall. Kidman counters a slam with a rollup for a near fall. Kidman nails Chavo with a kick to the head. Kidman drags Chavo to the corner looking for the Shooting Star Press. However, Eddie Guerrero comes out and shoves Kidman off. Chavo covers with his feet on the ropes, but Kidman kicks out at two. Kidman baseball slides Eddie and hits a sit out powerbomb on Chavo. Eddie slides into the ring and attacks Kidman to cause a disqualification. Eddie and Chavo beatdown Kidman until Chris Benoit runs down to make the save hitting German suplexs. (**1/4. I’m not surprised by the DQ finish here, but Kidman could have just won here over Chavo as he’s done in the past. However, Benoit’s involvement makes sense for the live crowd since this was taped before Smackdown was taped.)
Final Thoughts:
A fine episode of Velocity as it’s always a quick 45-minute episode and the extended squashes were enjoyable. Plus, any time there are brief appearances by guys such as Eddie and Benoit, it’s a plus.
Thanks for reading.