Vengeance

Card Information:
 Held in: ALLEN COUNTY MEMORIAL COLISEUM
Location: ILLINOS, UNITED STATES
          on July 2004 at 7:30pm

No-Countout-No-DQ-Cage Match:
The Ultimate Warrior pinned Scott Steiner with the Big Splash in 0:11:25.
Rating: *** 1/4
Click here to see highlights.

Warrior gained revenge over Steiner, breaking the Recliner and coming back to
win the match.


Brian Kendrick pinned Maven with the Sliced Bread #2 in 0:12:19.
Rating: *** 1/2
(Brian Kendrick retained the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.)
Click here to see highlights.

Nicely worked Cruiserweight match, which saw Kendrick retain the gold.


Randy Savage pinned Cactus Jack with the Flying Elbow-Drop in 0:08:26.
Rating: ** 1/2
Click here to see highlights.

Although Cactus came close to victory, it was eventually Savage who got the
1, 2, 3.


Interview:
The Hitman's answer...
Click here to see highlights.

Bret Hart explains why he joined with Paul Heyman.


Hurricane Helms defeated Bret Hart by disqualification in 0:08:09.
Rating: *** 1/4
[Goldust and Rob Van Dam interfered against Bret Hart.]
[Paul Heyman interfered against Hurricane Helms.]
Click here to see highlights.

Bret was disqualified for his manhandling of the referee, although it is some
what debatable that Hurricane should have been DQ'd for the interference of
Goldust and Rob Van Dam.


[a.P.a. Invitational Brawl]: 6-Man Battle Royal:
Taka Michinoku and Funaki won a 3-team Battle Royal:
         x Faarooq defeated DiBiase (partner: The Big Show) after the
Spinebuster in 0:05:01
         x Funaki defeated Faarooq (partner: Bradshaw) after a power bomb in
           0:05:44
Rating: *** 1/2
(Kaientai won the WWE Tag Team Championship.)
Click here to see highlights.

Despite getting rid of the Million Dollar Team, the a.P.a. couldn't win their
own invitational brawl, as Kaientai once again became Tag Team Champions.


Chris Jericho defeated Hulk Hogan via pinfall in 0:15:22.
Rating: ** 3/4
Click here to see highlights.

With Hogan's legs injured from the Walls of Jericho, he was unable to kick out
after a simple shoulderblock.

After the match, Jericho nailed Hogan with a steel chair, busting him open, and
then put Hogan in the Walls until the Hulkster passed out.


The Rockers defeated The Outsiders when Michaels pinned Nash with the
Sweet Chin Music in 0:09:45.
Rating: ***
Click here to see highlights.

Big win for the Rockers in their one night only reunion.  Shawn Michaels also
gained revenge over Kevin Nash by pinning him with Sweet Chin Music.


No-Countout-No-DQ-Match:
Chris Benoit pinned Rob Van Dam after a dragon suplex in 0:13:21.
Rating: **** 1/4
(Chris Benoit retained the WWE Intercontinental Championship.)
[Paul Heyman interfered against Rob Van Dam.]
Click here to see highlights.

Excellent match up, as Benoit retains yet again.  Van Dam did excellently well
not to submit to the Crossface.


No-Countout-No-DQ-Match:
Brock Lesnar pinned Sting with the F-5 in 0:17:18.
Rating: ***
Click here to see highlights.

After a brutal contest, Lesnar proved to be too much for the Stinger to cope
with.


Interview:
Time for the title...
Click here to see highlights.

The Undertaker oozes confidence, vowing to take the belt no matter what.


No-Countout-No-DQ-Match:
The Undertaker pinned Jeff Jarrett with the Last Ride in 0:07:42.
Rating: *** 1/2
(The Undertaker won the WWE Championship.)
Click here to see highlights.

Even with a slow count from Patrick, the Undertaker became the new champion!



Card rating: *** 1/4


Match observations: 

And so, just a month after becoming the champion, Jeff Jarrett loses the title
to the Undertaker.  It really came as no surprise, after Taker put Jarrett
through tables with the Last Ride and a Tombstone.  After leaving the WWE so
early on in the year, this signals how successful the Dead Man's comeback has
been.

However, you have to wonder whether or not he'll be able to hold on to the belt
for longer than a month, as it has been announced that he will defend the title
against Brock Lesnar at Summerslam.  After a short battle between these two a
few weeks ago, it'll be intriguing to see what they can come up with on the
grand stage.

The only other gold to change hands tonight was the Tag Team Championship.  In
the a.P.a. Invitational Brawl, Kaientai were able to overcome the now former
champs and regain the gold.

Chris Benoit wrestled the match of the night yet again, defeating Rob Van Dam
in an excellent contest.  Who will be next for the IC Champ, could it be his
newest stable mate Bret Hart?  It seems unlikely, as Hart has clear issues with
the Hurricane, RVD and Goldust, after they conspired to cause the Hitman to 
lose here tonight, although you could argue that it was the Hitman's temper
that cost him the match.

With the Rockers victorious tonight, could we see a permanent comeback for the
team?  Michaels has got what he wanted out of Jannetty, the chance to get back
at Kevin Nash, so will he now leave him on the scrap heap yet again?  We'll 
soon find out, if Jannetty agrees to a contract extension, or if he's even
offered one.

Did Chris Jericho kill Hulkamania here tonight?  He certainly gave it his best
shot, and he may well have got the job done by leaving Hogan out cold in a 
pool of his own blood.  We'll try to get word on the Hulkster tomorrow night 
on Raw.

Also tonight, big wins for Randy Savage, the Ultimate Warrior, and the WWE
Cruiserweight Champ Brian Kendrick, who is fast proving himself to be the most
dominant Cruiserweight in the company.

Finally, it should be noted that a number of superstars' contracts will expire
before Summerslam, thus meaning there could be some major changes within the
company over the next few weeks.  Watch this space for more.

Next Show: Raw