World Wrestling Entertainment presents Velocity
Date: 2/15/2003
From: Bakersfield, CA
Matches:
1.) Bill DeMott defeated Funaki
2.) Shannon Moore defeated Mike Knox
3.) WWE Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman defeated Jamie Noble to retain the title
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) There’s a graphic acknowledging Curt “Mr. Perfect” Hennig’s recent death.
2.) Funaki starts off with a few right hands, but DeMott doesn’t budge. DeMott tosses Funaki into the corner and gets in his face while delivering a chop and a knee lift to the midsection. DeMott misses a splash in the corner and Funaki nearly wins with a rollup. Funaki kicks DeMott and continues with right hands. DeMott decks Funaki with a clothesline for a two count. DeMott chokes Funaki over the middle rope followed by several strikes to the face. DeMott covers for a two count. DeMott keeps Funaki on the mat with a sleeper. DeMott yanks Funaki down to the mat by his hair. Funaki staggers DeMott with a jawbreaker and a bulldog for a two count. Funaki ducks a wild strike and kicks DeMott on the knee. Funaki kicks DeMott, but is met with a clothesline. DeMott shoves Funaki to the mat and covers Funaki to win the match. (*. Well, the finish was a bit weird. It looked like DeMott may have knocked Funaki legit out and that caused an abrupt finish. In fact, in the replay it appeared that Funaki absolutely suffered a concussion as he reacted in a similar manner to football players suffering head injuries.)
3.) Moore punches Knox over the back a few times and forearms to the chest. Knox sends Moore into the ropes and doesn’t budge on a shoulder block. Moore dropkicks Knox and hits a hurricanrana. Moore works over Knox in the corner with strikes. Knox stops Moore with a back suplex for a two count. Knox works over Moore with strikes and delivers a backbreaker for a two count. Knox clubs Moore over the back with a strike and a knee lift. Knox forearms Moore on the lower back several times. Knox presses his knee into Moore’s back and pulls back on Moore’s arms. Knox doesn’t get a submission and Moore fights back for a moment. Knox runs into an elbow in the corner. Moore heel kicks Knox into the corner. Knox misses a clothesline and Moore forearms Knox followed by a dropkick to the knee. Moore nails Knox with a spinning heel kick. Moore hits a crossbody off the middle rope for a two count. Knox runs into a double boot. Moore hits a middle rope flipping neckbreaker and pins Knox. (*1/2. For some reason the crowd actually cheered for Moore, but he’s not a babyface. It may have been because of the size difference and the smaller Moore is going to get the sympathy. Moore looked good in there, though.)
4.) Noble takes Kidman down, but is kicked away. Kidman puts a front face lock on Noble, but Noble counters with a hammerlock. Noble elbows Kidman, but Kidman comes off the ropes to deliver a spinning strike. Kidman head scissors Noble through the ropes to the floor. Kidman tries for a slingshot crossbody, but Nidia shoves Noble out of the way and Kidman hits the floor. Noble tries for a cover, but Kidman kicks out. Noble strikes Kidman and delivers a short arm clothesline for a near fall. Noble stomps Kidman on the mat. Noble puts a chin lock on Kidman, but doesn’t get a submission. Kidman kicks Noble several times. Noble forearms Kidman coming off the ropes. Noble stomps Kidman on the mat. Noble misses a middle rope leg drop as Kidman bails to the floor. Kidman shoulder rams Noble into the ring and hits a somersault rollup for a two count. Noble chokes Kidman over the middle rope and splashes Kidman over the ropes. Noble stomps Kidman on the mat. Noble delivers a neckbreaker for a two count. Noble wrenches on Kidman’s neck, but doesn’t get a submission. Kidman drops Noble over his knee out of a Death Valley Driver and bot men are down. The show goes to commercial.
Kidman strikes Noble followed by a couple of clotheslines and backdrops Noble. Noble boots Kidman in the corner. Kidman dropkicks Noble for a two count. Noble tries for a Tiger Bomb, but Kidman gets a rollup for a near fall. Kidman sends Noble chest first into the corner. Noble powerslams Kidman for a two count. Noble tries for a back suplex, but Kidman counters for a bulldog, but Noble counters with a side suplex for a two count. Noble tries for a powerbomb, but Kidman hits a facebuster. Nidia gets on the apron to distract the referee. Noble accidentally collides with Nidia and Kidman nearly wins with a rollup. Kidman tries for a backslide, but Noble rolls through and plants Kidman with a Tiger Bomb for a near fall. Kidman hits a spinebuster and heads to the top rope. Kidman hits the Shooting Star Press for the win. (***. A good match for Velocity standards. Kidman almost hurt himself as hie hit the ropes on the SSP. These two have good chemistry and I enjoyed the bout even if it was unlikely Noble was ever going to win here since Kidman’s angle with Matt Hardy is based on the title.)
Final Thoughts:
A solid episode of Velocity with a good main event and the other two matches being decent for what they were. It was an easy show as they focused a lot on Smackdown and video packages, too.
Thanks for reading.