World Wrestling Entertainment presents Velocity
Date: 1/25/2003
From: Albany, NY
Matches:
1.) Smackdown Tag Team Champion Chavo Guerrero defeated Funaki
2.) Jamie Noble defeated Jeff Starr
3.) Chuck Palumbo defeated The River Rat (Brian Kendrick)
4.) WWE Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman defeated Matt Hardy by disqualification to retain the title
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Chavo and Funaki trade go behinds until Funaki gets control with a headlock. Chavo counters with a headlock of his own, but Funaki gets a head scissors on the mat and they have a standoff. Chavo takes Funaki down with an arm bar, but Funaki hip tosses and arm drags Chavo to keep arm control on the mat. Chavo arm drags Funaki, but Funaki rolls through to keep control. Chavo shoulder rams Funaki in the corner and delivers a knee lift before dropping Funaki gut first over the top rope and dropkicks Funaki to the floor. Chavo drops Funaki with a chop and an uppercut. Chavo works over Funaki in the corner with stomps and boot scrapes to the face. Chavo drives Funaki down to the mat with a back suplex before putting a sleeper on Funaki. Funaki fights free, but is punched over the back a few times. Funaki responds with a strike and a chop. Funaki head scissors Chavo to the mat, but Chavo delivers a boot. Funaki drop toe holds Chavo followed by a seated dropkick for a two count. Funaki tries for a suplex, but settles for a rollup for a near fall. Funaki kicks Chavo on the back of his head. Funaki heads to the top hitting a crossbody for a two count. Funaki rams Chavo into the corner and slaps Chavo before trying for a tornado DDT. Chavo avoids it and hits the Gory Bomb before locking in an STF and forces a submission. (*1/2. The crowd was absolutely lifeless and this shows that Chavo relies on Eddie Guerrero to get any kind of crowd reaction.)
2.) Jamie Noble cuts a promo saying that the people aren’t good enough for his woman. Noble asks Nidia who she’d rather make out with him or one of the fans. Nidia thinks about it and kisses Noble.
3.) Noble takes Starr down to the mat with a drop toe hold and keeps control with a front face lock. Starr decks Noble with a right hand to gain the advantage. Starr hip tosses Noble followed by a slam. Noble kicks Starr away, but Starr responds with a short arm clothesline. Noble knee lifts Starr against the ropes and tosses Starr to the floor where Nidia kicks Starr. Noble drops Starr throat first over the top rope. Noble traps Starr over the bottom rope and hits a middle rope leg drop. Noble goes for the cover, but Starr kicks out at two. Noble decks Starr over the back several times. Starr rams Noble into the corner a few times. Starr sends Noble chest first into the corner and nearly wins with a rollup. Noble cuts Starr off with an elbow strike. Noble hits a side suplex for a near fall. Starr stops Noble with a jawbreaker and a side Russian leg sweep for a two count. Noble kicks Starr and hits a vertical suplex. Noble delivers a swinging neckbreaker for the win. (**. I enjoyed this enhancement match. Starr looked solid in there for the moments he had to shine. Noble is so good in the ring. Noble is one of the hidden gems on Smackdown that doesn’t get enough credit.)
4.) Palumbo tosses Rat across the ring to start the match. Palumbo keeps a hammerlock on Rat, but Rat counters with a rollup for a two count. Palumbo slaps Rat, but Rat responds with a slap. Rat head scissors Palumbo across the ring and dropkicks Palumbo on the knee. Rat dropkicks Palumbo into the ropes and tries for a crossbody, but is caught. Palumbo slams Rat to the mat and tosses Rat over the top, but Rat pulls himself only to be kicked to the floor. Palumbo rolls Rat back into the ring and delivers a clothesline. Palumbo buckle bombs Rat into the corner. Palumbo punches Rat into the corner and hits an overhead belly to belly suplex for a two count. Palumbo works over Rat in the corner with shoulder rams. Rat kicks Palumbo followed by a kick to the head. Palumbo discus punches Rat over the top to the floor. Palumbo looks to settle for a count out, but Rat pulls himself up to continue the match. Palumbo keeps a chin lock on Rat and tries to remove the mask, but fails to do so. Rat kicks Palumbo away, but is caught in the corner and dropped over the top turnbuckle. Palumbo comes off the ropes to deliver a big boot and covers Rat for a near fall. Palumbo tries for a slam, but Rat delivers a kick to the head. Palumbo goes to the floor to regroup. Rat springboards off the ropes to dive onto Palumbo! Rat springboard missile dropkicks Palumbo followed by another dropkick. Rat nails Palumbo with a kick to the face. Rat hits a springboard tornado DDT, but Palumbo reaches the ropes on the pin attempt. Rat tries for a Slice Bread, but Palumbo avoids it. Palumbo nails Rat with a superkick to pickup the win. (**. The presentation for Palumbo has been less than desirable since Billy got hurt. I wasn’t expecting a competitive match here and River Rat looked a lot better than Palumbo. I would be shocked if Kendrick isn’t a regular in the Cruiserweight division soon.)
5.) A vignette promoting Sean O’Haire is shown. He’s not telling us anything we don’t already know. This week he’s talking about churches and how they are a farce.
6.) Kidman gets a hammerlock on Hardy and holds on as Hardy tried for a snapmare. Hardy runs and sends Kidman to the floor, but Kidman trips Hardy and returns to the ring to hit a tilt a whirl head scissors. Kidman sends Hardy into the corner missing a splash. Hardy sends Kidman shoulder first into the ring post. Hardy taunts the crowd as the champion tries to recover on the floor. Hardy slams Kidman’s arm on the apron before returning to the ring. Hardy delivers a hammerlock scoop slam and an elbow drop for a two count. Hardy strikes Kidman over the shoulder, but Hardy strikes Kidman in the corner. Kidman boots Hardy in the corner, and fights back with strikes. Hardy comes off the ropes to deliver an arm breaker for a two count. Hardy puts an arm bar on Kidman, but doesn’t get a submission. Kidman reaches the ropes to break the hold. Hardy chokes Kidman between the ropes before letting go and taunts the fans. Hardy misses a splash and lands on the middle rope. Kidman nails Hardy with a leaping uppercut and a dropkick for a two count. Kidman sends Hardy chest first into the corner. Kidman counters the Side Effect with a rollup attempt for a two count. Hardy avoids a sit out powerbomb and nails Kidman with a neckbreaker. Hardy goes to the middle rope, but Kidman stops Hardy with strikes. Hardy punches Kidman before hitting a middle rope Side Effect for a near fall. Kidman counters a powerbomb with a facebuster for a near fall. Hardy tries for the Twist of Fate, but Kidman counters with a middle rope bulldog. Kidman heads to the top rope, but Hardy grabs the referee and the referee disqualifies Hardy. Kidman missile dropkicks Hardy and clotheslines Hardy over the top to the floor. (**1/2. A solid main event with a cheap finish as I’m sure these two will meet again. It’s actually a strong main event for Velocity standards and they worked an enjoyable match before the lame finish.)
Final Thoughts:
A good show this week for Velocity. The action was fun, but the crowd came across a little flat for the undercard workers on Smackdown.
Thanks for reading.