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[GCW] Monday Night Explosion - 1/3/05

Snabbit888Posted on 08/19/05 at 20:40:14

With a great 2004 behind us, Global Championship Wrestling is back to usher in 2005 with another edition of Monday Night Explosion! We hope you had a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year, but now it's time to get back to the finest in professional wrestling today, live from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois! On tonight's a card, a huge six-man tag team match as North American champion Monty Brown teams with Low-Ki and Elix Skipper to take on the World Tag Team champion World's Greatest Tag Team and Eddie Guerrero! Also, the still yet to be pinned Eric Angle faces perhaps his toughest challenge to date as he takes on Rey Mysterio Jr.! Plus, if Justin Credible has made weight, he will have an opportunity to wrestle for the Cruiserweight Title against champion Paul London! 2005 is sure to be even more exciting than 2004 is, so let's get to the show!

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The show kicked off with a very strange sight as we saw World Heavyweight champion Kurt Angle and "Y2J" Chris Jericho standing in the office of President Ryan Niemiller. Matt Morgan is standing in between champion and foe to ensure that nothing breaks loose here. Angle started off by immediately asking where Brock Lesnar was at. Niemiller eased Angle's fears by mentioning that Lesnar was not in the building tonight as he was still "less than happy" about what happened at Best of the Best. Niemiller then told Angle that he may think he pulled a fast one in his title defense at Best of the Best, but reminded Angle that what he did at the pay-per-view is not how a champion is supposed to conduct himself. As a result, it was the decision of Niemiller that Chris Jericho would be granted a rematch against Kurt Angle for the World Heavyweight Title. Angle protested, but Niemiller interrupted by informing Angle that this title defense will be at a special event on Thursday, January 13th from the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania entitled Gold Rush, and to ensure there would be no interference, this match would be a STEEL CAGE MATCH! Jericho? Pumped. Angle? Not so much. Angle yelled that it's an outrage for him to have to defend against Jericho again after he already beat him one-on-one, especially in a cage match in his own hometown. Angle offered Niemiller a deal saying if he didn't have to defend against Jericho in the cage match at Gold Rush, he would put his title on the line tonight. When Niemiller inquired about who our champion should defend against tonight, Angle responded with... Shark Boy. "He's really moving up the rankings!" Niemiller smiled and said that's a great idea and that Angle would defend his World Heavyweight Title tonight... IN ADDITION to defending against Jericho at Gold Rush. Angle was livid, but that anger was merely the tip of the iceberg as Kurt threw a fit when Niemiller let him know that he wouldn't be defending against Shark Boy tonight, but rather CHRIS BENOIT! Angle tried to formulate a response, but he was rendered frustrated and unable to speak, so instead he stomped out of the room not unlike a small child being told to clean his room. Jericho thanked Niemiller before leaving the office as well.

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Match #1
Randy Orton vs. "Italian Stallion" Chuck Palumbo
The first match of the new year featured the winner of the Best of the Best tournament Randy Orton taking on the now solo competitor "Italian Stallion" Chuck Palumbo. Palumbo may be trying his luck as a singles wrestler, but he's no less goofy than he was as a tag wrestler. Palumbo spent the better part of the opening moments of this match pumping out as many bad Italian stereotypes as he could. Despite that idiocy being humorous, it's certainly not a sound strategy to win a match, not that this one was ever in doubt anyway. Orton bounces Palumbo around before getting the pin with a powerslam.

Randy Orton pinned Chuck Palumbo after a powerslam in 0:05:08.
Rating: ** 1/4

Randy Orton continues to roll as he looks forward to his pending World Heavyweight Title match in February. The only question now is: who will he be facing?


Match #2
Rob Conway vs. John Bradshaw Layfield (w/ Lamont)
Rob Conway got his singles career off to a good start with his victory over Justin Credible before Best of the Best, but he had a very formidable foe on Explosion tonight as he took on the rugged John Bradshaw Layfield. JBL hasn't had the type of success he had hoped for when entering GCW, but with a new year upon us, he seemed ready to make a fresh start and looked impressive and surprisingly confident, a big change of pace from the previous months. Conway looked good though as he continues to develop as a singles wrestler. However, one thing he wasn't expecting was SHANIQUA's presence at ringside, distracting Conway long enough for JBL to almost take his head off with the Stock Market Crash (Clothesline From Hell). JBL picks up a win and gets 2005 moving in the right direction.

John Bradshaw Layfield pinned Rob Conway with the Stock Market Crash in 0:05:25.
Rating: ** 3/4

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We were all curious as to why exactly Shaniqua got involved in this previous match. While Shaniqua was making Lamont very uncomfortable, JBL let us know that he is a businessman, as as a result, over the holiday season he did some business. JBL has officially joined forces with Shaniqua to form something he calls "The Cabinet." The Cabinet involves himself, Shaniqua, Lamont, the Basham Brothers, and Abyss, and JBL said that the Cabinet will be what catapults him into the spotlight that he so richly deserves. JBL might not have had a lot of success so far, but the "strength in numbers" philosophy has proven to be successful in the past. Just ask Kurt Angle.

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Match #3
"The Alpha Male" Monty Brown (North American champion)/"Primetime" Elix Skipper/Low-Ki vs. "Latino Heat" Eddie Guerrero/The World's Greatest Tag Team (World Tag Team champions)
We had an exciting six-man tag team match next as North American champion Monty Brown teamed with Elix Skipper and Low-Ki to take on the World Tag Team champion World's Greatest Tag Team and Eddie Guerrero. There were a lot of issues involved in this match, but with the talent involved we got a very enjoyable contest. Latino Heat showed right away that the spirit of the holiday season did not move him as he was as vicious as ever, trying to take out a lot of aggressions on the man who pinned him at Best of the Best, Monty Brown. Guerrero was particularly fond of working on Brown's eyes, and almost got himself disqualified several times as a result of it. By the end of this match, it was the beef between Elix Skipper and Low-Ki and Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin that came to the forefront, especially after Eddie and Brown brawled on the floor and through the crowd.

Elix Skipper and Low-Ki looked a little lost at Best of the Best when they lost the titles to the World's Greatest Tag Team. No team in wrestling today works better together than Haas and Benjamin, and I think their teamwork took Ki and Skipper by surprise. The former champs obviously scouted the WGTT over the break as they looked far more focused and prepared in this one. By the end of the final exchange, they were frustrating the champions so much that Haas and Benjamin, who are two of the smoothest wrestlers you're going to find in GCW, looked absolutely lost, which is not an easy feat to accomplish. Ultimately this led to Low-Ki catching Haas in the Ki Krusher. Benjamin tried to make the save, but Skipper cut him off with a springboard dropkick, leading to the victory.

Elix Skipper, Low-Ki and Monty Brown defeated The World's Greatest Tag Team (Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin) and Eddie Guerrero when Low-Ki pinned C. Haas with the Ki Krusher in 0:07:48.
Rating: *** 1/2

A very impressive showing by the former champions, who as a result of this win have earned themselves a rematch for the World Tag Team Titles at Gold Rush. If Low-Ki and Elix Skipper can perform like they did tonight, they could make the World's Greatest Tag Team's third title reign a short one.


Match #4
Non-Title Match
Paul London (Cruiserweight champion) vs. Justin Credible
Justin Credible was at it again, trying his best to get a shot at the Cruiserweight Title as he had a match scheduled against champion Paul London again tonight. Credible had a scale out here with him and gave us the message that President Niemiller said he would have the title shot tonight if his weight was at 225 or lower. Credible got on the scale and it read "227." Credible was crushed, letting everyone know that he had been working out nonstop for the past three hours in an effort to shed those extra pounds. The match was on non-title, and Credible wasn't lying about that three hours of constant exercise before this match, as he looked absolutely exhausted and spaghetti-legged. Credible was too dehydrated to put up much of a fight here, and London had little trouble finishing this one off with a Northern Lights suplex.

Paul London pinned Justin Credible after a Northern Lights suplex in 0:05:57.
Rating: *** 1/2

Paul London celebrated his win in the ring while the now delirious Justin Credible had to be helped to the back. It wasn't a surprise to many that at this point, AJ STYLES ran from the back for the attack, but London saw it coming and got the first strike in. The two exchanged blows before Styles was able to catch London with an enzuigiri. Styles tried to get London in position for the Styles Clash, but London fought out of and pulled himself up to drop down Styles' shoulders. Styles turned and went for a clothesline, but London ducked and sent Styles over the top with a backdrop. Styles went to head back in the ring, but when he saw London charging hard into the far ropes, he thought better of it and ran up the aisle, dodging the inevitable dive that was coming his way. When these two finally lock up, things are definitely going to explode.

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Backstage we see "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels run into "Latino Heat" Eddie Guerrero. HBK basically begins preaching to Eddie, asking what has happened to him. Eddie tries to blow Michaels fof and walk past, but the Heartbreak Kid stops him, telling Guerrero he is going down a bad road and that he was going to get himself hurt if he didn't go back to the Eddie he knew before. Guerrero once again shrugged it off and tried to walk past, but HBK grabbed his shoulder to stop him. Eddie didn't take too kindly to this, spun around and jacked Michaels in the jaw with a hard right hand. Michaels was dazed as a bit of blood trickled from his lip. After a surreal moment of inaction, HBK lunged at Eddie and the fight was on! Michaels and Guerrero traded blows until the GCW Official Brigade caught wind of it and pulled these two emotional superstars apart. Shawn Michaels may have been the last person in GCW who would still like to call Eddie Guerrero "friend," and Eddie's fall off the deep end has reached even past that now. Since the end of the show, we have been told that Shawn Michaels and Eddie Guerrero will meet one-on-one at Gold Rush.

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Match #5
Winners receive World Tag Team Title shot next week
The Hardy Boyz (w/ Lita) vs. The Basham Brothers (w/ Shaniqua) vs. Booker T/Goldust vs. Team Canada (w/ Dawn Marie)
The World's Greatest Tag Team are going to have themselves a busy week coming up as they not only defend the World Tag Team Titles against Elix Skipper and Low-Ki at Gold Rush, but three days prior they have to defend the titles against the winners of this Four Corners match. This match would be elimination style, and it wouldn't take us very long for our first elimination. Petey Williams of Team Canada started off against Doug Basham of the Basham Brothers, and apparently Williams thought that he could sneak in a low blow to get the obvious advantage. Well, he definitely got the advantage, but it would be for the other teams as Petey wasn't covert enough and was spotted by the referee, resulting in a disqualification and the elimination of Team Canada.

Doug Basham technically eliminated Petey Williams, but he was in a bad way after that low blow. The Hardy Boyz may not be inclined to use those tactics, but they wisely capitalized and used it to work over Doug Basham with their brand of tandem moves. Basham never had much of a chance to string together any offense as Matt and Jeff Hardy made quick tags to stay fresh and inflict maximum damage. Booker T and Goldust hadn't even been in the match yet as Lita instructed her charges to do what they do best. Doug Basham would eventually get a desperation tag to Danny Basham. Danny got some offense in, but it looked as if he was expecting help from Doug. Danny had brought Matt Hardy down with a spinebuster and called Doug in for the Ball and Gag Bomb, but Doug was still recovering. While Danny was asking for help, Matt Hardy got to his feet and tagged in his brother Jeff. Matt spun Danny around, hit the Twist of Fate, which Jeff Hardy followed up with a 450 splash and the former tag team champions were eliminated.

Now at this point you would think that Booker T and Goldust would be at the advantage since we were down to one team and they were completely fresh. However, Booker and Goldust haven't exactly been on the same page since Goldust won a match to force this team to be permanent. Under a normal set of circumstances, a tag team match between these two teams would be a great match, but as was the case a few weeks ago when they wrestled for the titles, Booker T refused to make a tag to Goldust, sitting on the apron and jumping to the floor any time Goldust would even get near. It was only a matter of time before the odds would be too much for Goldust.

Four Corners Match:
The Hardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy) defeated Booker T and Goldust, Team Canada (Teddy Hart and Petey Williams) and The Basham Brothers (Danny Basham and Doug Basham):
x Doug Basham beat P. Williams via disqualification in 0:00:21
x J. Hardy beat Danny Basham via a 450 splash in 0:05:56
x M. Hardy beat Goldust via a flying cross body press in 0:09:51
Rating: ** 3/4

A week from now it will be the World's Greatest Tag Team and the Hardy Boyz going at it with the World Tag Team Titles on the line. This is a huge opportunity for Matt and Jeff as they have yet to hold gold in Global Championship Wrestling.

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[We cut to a shot of space. All that can be seen is stars. A voiceover speaks.]

VO: In the past, there were big stars...

[Images of Bruno Sammartino, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, and Bret Hart flash across the screen.]

VO: In the present, there are big stars...

[Images of Brock Lesnar, Rey Mysterio Jr., Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, and World Heavyweight champion Kurt Angle flash across the screen.]

VO: But in the future... there will be no bigger star than...

[Slowly a picture of the man in question fades into the screen.]

VO: FRANKIE KAZARIAN... the Future is here...

[The shot of space transforms into a shot of Frankie Kazarian himself.]

FK: And the Future looks good!

[Slowly fade to black.]

* * * * *

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After a commercial break, Television champion "Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels comes out with the Prophecy in tow - Sean O'Haire and Daffney, who is clutching the Television Title as closely as ever. The infamous "He" is nowhere to be found. Daniels and the Prophecy are feeling blessed right now as He has finally emerged. Daniels said that He advised him to put the Television Title on the line against the first opponent who would come to the ring, as "the path of righteousness will provide the protection you need." Yeah... yikes. Daniels seemed confident, but you had to wonder if it was a false confidence because otherwise, why would Sean O'Haire be at ringside with Daniels for this defense? Even with O'Haire at ringside, you could tell in Daniels' change in demeanor that even He couldn't have been prepared for who answered the challenge. A loud beastly snort was heard over the sound system, meaning the man who answered the challenged was RHYNO! Rhyno is here in Global Championship Wrestling! Daniels tried to weasel out of this right away, but Rhyno didn't give him the time to as he immediately took the champion down with a clothesline to start the match.

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Match #6
Television Title Match
"Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels (c) (w/ Sean O'Haire/Daffney) vs. Rhyno (DEBUT!!!)
Everybody was shocked to see Rhyno in a GCW ring, making his debut to kick off 2005, but nobody was as shocked as the members of the Prophecy. Rhyno made his debut with a bang and TV champ Christopher Daniels had no idea how to deal with Rhyno's aggressive style. Rhyno never slows down when he's on offense, and his power is hard to rival. Daniels tried to keep some distance in between him and the challenger, but Rhyno was on him like white on rice. It didn't take Rhyno long before he had the Fallen Angel set up for the Gore, bringing the fans in Chicago to their feet in anticipation to a new Television champion. However as Rhyno made his charge, Sean O'Haire jumped in the ring and caught Rhyno in the face with a big mafia kick and a disqualification was called for.

Rhyno defeated Christopher Daniels by disqualification in 0:03:18.
Rating: * 3/4
(Christopher Daniels retained the GCW Television Title.)

O'Haire beat on Rhyno with hard punches to the face before picking him up and hitting the Prophecy. By this point Daniels had regained his bearings and grabbed his wooden cross from Daffney. It looked as if Rhyno was going to be the next sacrifice, but REY MYSTERIO JR. was here, chair in hand! Daffney's screech was enough to alert Daniels and O'Haire, who wasted absolutely no time in getting out of the way of Mysterio's swinging chair. The holiday season did nothing to subside Mysterio's anger with the Prophecy.


Match #7
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Eric Angle
Rey Mysterio Jr. remained in the ring as he was a competitor in our next match, going up against the undefeated Eric Angle. Angle was in a particularly pleasant mood, still fuming from Best of the Best and the feeling that he should be the North American champion as he did not suffer the losing fall in the triple threat match. Mysterio is in a world of his own though, still feeling the adrenaline from almost taking off Christopher Daniels' head with a chair just moments ago. Much like his brother did a couple of months ago, Eric Angle had difficulty adjusting to Mysterio's ability to take it to the air. In amassing this large win streak though, Angle has shown the skill to adapt to his opponents on the fly, and he was able to counter some of Mysterio's offense and ground the explosive cruiserweight. The patented Angle family ego came into play though as Eric wanted to beat Mysterio with a high-flying move, going to the top for a moonsault. Mysterio wasn't worn down enough though as he sprung up and brought Angle to the canvas hard with a flying armdrag. After a series of dropkicks, spin kicks, and a big modified bulldog, Mysterio set Angle up for the 6-1-9. Right then the lights went out and the red light appeared at the entranceway much like at Best of the Best. Mysterio immediately turned his attention to the aisleway expecting to see "He." Instead of He appearing though, a sinister laugh was heard throughout the arena. Mysterio looked all around hoping to find some member of the Prophecy, but instead he turned right into the Angle Slam. Eric Angle's winning streak continues.

Eric Angle pinned Rey Mysterio Jr. with the Angle Slam in 0:07:59.
Rating: *** 1/4

Once again Eric Angle manages to escape with his undefeated streak in tow, but he needed some help from some strange supernatural forces. As soon as the match was officially over, the lights returned to normal and the laughing ceased. The Prophecy continue to make Rey Mysterio Jr.'s life a living hell. It's no wonder that Mysterio is running around swinging a chair wildly. I hope this "He" knows what he's doing though, as driving Mysterio to the edge may not be something he wants to do. On a different note though, we would find out later that Eric Angle has been granted a one-on-one match against North American champion Monty Brown at Gold Rush, and the title will be on the line. Angle will have his chance to prove that he can take the North American Title in a one-on-one scenario. Let's see if he can back up his words.


Match #8
MAIN EVENT
World Heavyweight Title Match
Kurt Angle (c) vs. "The Crippler" Chris Benoit
Since Global Championship Wrestling's inception, two men who continually find a way to end up on opposing sides are the only two World Heavyweight champions to date - former champion Chris Benoit and reigning champion Kurt Angle. They have wrestled classics in the past, and looked to do the same tonight in our main event as Angle begrudgingly put the title on the line. Coming into the match, the Rabid Wolverine was not at 100%. Benoit had a couple weeks to rest and relax, but his ribs were still heavily taped after the damage he suffered at the hands of Steve Bradley (and Mofo). With a chance to regain the title he held proudly last year though, Benoit wasn't going to let an injury stand in the way of him putting it all out there. When you're wrestling someone with the credentials and capabilities of Kurt Angle, sporting bandages is equivalent to wearing a bullseye. Benoit had his typical fight in him, but Angle showed no remorse in picking apart Benoit's ribs.

Benoit showed that trademark tenacity that made him the World champion in the first place, but as the match wore on, it was obvious that Angle's meticulous assault on the Crippler's ribs was making it hard for the challenger to breathe, and when you can't get oxygen, it's hard to put up a fight for too long. But if there is one thing that Benoit can do, it's put up a fight, refusing to stay down after Angle's suplexes or submit in Angle's bearhugs and body scissors. Benoit would fight out of a bearhug with some hard punches, breaking free. Benoit hit the ropes, but Angle cut him off with a boot to the midsection. Angle himself hit the ropes, but Benoit ducked a clothesline and nailed Angle with the trifecta of German suplexes. Benoit gave the cut throat motion and climbed to the top, but his ailing ribs made the trek slower than usual, allowing the World Heavyweight champion to roll out of the way. Angle was like a pitbull as he quickly put on the Ankle Lock. Benoit screamed in pain but refused to give up, using the ropes to bring himself back to his feet and countered with an enzuigiri. Benoit locked in the Crippler Crossface in the middle of the ring as the crowd came to its feet in anticipation of a title change. Angle had his hand raised up as if he was nearing a tapout, but we'll never know if he would have tapped or not as Charlie Haas jumped in and nailed Benoit with a kick to the back of the head. Shelton Benjamin and Steve Bradley were in there as well, and referee Jimmy Appleseed had no choice but to call for a DQ.

Chris Benoit defeated Kurt Angle by disqualification in 0:19:00.
Rating: *** 1/2
(Kurt Angle retained the GCW World Heavyweight Title.)

Team Angle pounded on Chris Benoit with a 4-on-1 assault, but the odds evened up a bit when ELIX SKIPPER and LOW-KI ran down and began brawling with the World's Greatest Tag Team. The number became too much though and they were suffering the same fate as Benoit. The tide turned one more time though when RANDY ORTON and CHRIS JERICHO came out a house of fire, cleaning house and clearing the ring of Team Angle. It was at this point that President Ryan Niemiller appeared on the VideoTron and made an official statement. Niemiller made a new stipulation for the cage match at Gold Rush. If any member of Team Angle so much as shows their face during that match at Gold Rush, the match will be stopped immediately and the World Heavyweight Title awarded to Chris Jericho! Kurt Angle keeps digging himself a bigger hole and will definitely have his work cut out for him at Gold Rush.

Speaking of Gold Rush, this special Thursday night free broadcast will take place on January 13th from the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. These are the matches that have been signed thus far:

World Heavyweight Title Steel Cage Match - Kurt Angle (c) vs. "Y2J" Chris Jericho

North American Title Match - "The Alpha Male" Monty Brown (c) vs. Eric Angle

World Tag Team Title Match - The World's Greatest Tag Team (c) vs. "Primetime" Elix Skipper/Low-Ki

"The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels vs. "Latino Heat" Eddie Guerrero

And just announced...

Cruiserweight Chaos - Winner receives Cruiserweight Title shot at 1/30/05 pay-per-view event, Winter Warfare
Participants: The Hurricane, AJ Styles, Shark Boy, Teddy Hart, Petey Williams, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, and the debut of Frankie Kazarian

In a press release issued after Monday Night Explosion went off the air, information was also given on the aforementioned pay-per-view, Winter Warfare. This event will take place on January 30 live from the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts. No matches have been formally announced, but we do know that the main event will feature WAR GAMES. This will surely be a pay-per-view you can't afford to miss!
Critic of the DawnPosted on 08/21/05 at 00:38:27

Palumbo is doing singles now with the silly Italian gimmick.  I dunno...  I've said it before, but the gimmick just doesn't work for me without a straight man to play off of.  If you see what I'm saying.  Orton gets an easy win over Palumbo, which just makes sense to me.

JBL kills Conway, and then forms the Cabinet.  Okay, JBL is entertaining enough, but...  I dunno.  I was enjoying him on his own as a semi-ineffectual windbag, and Shaniqua's stable was great.  With you combining the two, I'm worried that together they'll be worth less than the sum of their parts.

Ki picks up a pinfall over Charlie Haas, and it looks like he and Skipper are in line to qualify for a rematch for the tag team titles at your mini-PPV.  Fair enough.  It should be a good match, but there's no way that Team Angle is dropping the titles again yet.

Haha!  Justin Credible's a fatass!

And The Hardy Boyz go through a few other teams to qualify for a title shot next week.  Looks like Team Angle are going to be major fighting champions.  Good use of the Hardyz as usual - they have a lot of credibility, and I like the way you use it to get the whole division more over.

I'm skeptical about how far Frankie Kazarian will be able to climb on an already crowded roster with other guys like "Him" debuting.  All this hype for him may end up being more than is warrented by his spot on the card.

Speaking of new Debuts, it's Rhyno!  Hooray!  I like Rhyno!  Naturally, Daniels retains the TV Title against him.  This is my point, though.  Rhyno has potential to climb very high if necessary with the right push, and he gets no hype at all, while Kazarian will probably mainly stick to the Cruiserweight Division and gets weeks of build.  Seems odd to me.

Eric Angle defeats Rey Rey without too much effort and earns himself a singles shot against Monty Brown for the North American Title in the near future.  My guess would be that Angle is going to take the belt.  Brown's had it for a while, and really he doesn't seem to be doing much more than keeping it warm lately.  I'm still dissappointed that the Eddie Guerrero vs. Eric Angle feud didn't last longer, though.

Kurt retains his title by DQ against Benoit.  Really, Benoit doesn't seem to be a likely choice for your next champion, so I'm not surprised.  I think that Angle is going to hold onto it as you build to a big Lesnar vs. Angle match at your big show.  Jericho has an upcoming shot as well, but I doubt he'll take the gold.  It isn't time yet.

Eric "Critic of the Dawn"
Snabbit888Posted on 08/21/05 at 02:19:25

Kazarian is one of those guys that much like Paul London, I see him being a big star in the future.  He's a cruiser for now, but in my eyes, he's too good to stay there forever.

I'm playing the Cabinet thing by ear too... I just think JBL works better as a cowardly bully when he has minions to do a lot of his work.  This is a matter of throwing something at the wall and seeing if it sticks.  Hell, that's what Shaniqua's entire run in GCW has been and it's worked well thus far.

And Rhyno didn't get any hype because he's one of those guys who I feel is an immediate difference maker.  With his aggressive smashmouth style, hype doesn't really fit him, whereas Kazarian is more finesse and style, so some cocky hype works well, IMO.

Thanks for the feedback, as usual.