DCMaximo

WWE (Smackdown!) @ Sheffield, England - Sheffield Arena - October 27, 2002 Sho Funaki pinned Albert with a roll up Shannon Moore, Chuck Palumbo, & Bill DeMott defeated Ron Simmons, D-Von Dudley, & Crash Holly when DeMott pinned Crash when the momentum of a flying crossbody put DeMott on top Billy Kidman pinned Chavo Guerrero Jr. with a modified bulldog John Cena pinned Val Venis with a powerbomb and using the ropes for leverage WWE Cruiserweight Champion Jamie Noble pinned Tajiri with a roll up and using the tights for leverage WWE Smackdown! Tag Team Champions Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit defeated Edge & Rey Mysterio Jr. when Benoit pinned Mysterio after Eddie & Chavo Guerrero Jr. interfered and Mysterio was hit with one of the tag belts Torrie Wilson defeated Dawn Marie in a Bra & Panties match Booker T & Rikishi defeated WWE World Champion Brock Lesnar & Matt Hardy when Rikishi pinned Hardy with the Rikishi Driver after avoiding the Twist of Fate I'd forgotten half these matches, though curiously I could remember all the participants in the 6 man tag, including the finish.

After 8 months, I finally remembered I had this blog and found myself watching some old tapes to find some decent content. While watching IWA Mid South's Simply The Best 5, I rediscovered this match. It's easy to see why this might be an overlooked match- on a card with the excellent AJ Styles/Matt Sydal match, an entertaining 6 man elimination match, Samoa Joe's IWA debut, plus good to great matches from Hero/B-Boy, Michael Shane/Austin Aries and Delirious/Jerry Lynn, you can't remember every good match. On rewatching, you realise how well matched these two are. This is an excellent mix of comedy and mat wrestling. It holds back from the over-the-top humour you find a lot in pro-wrestling (no underwear humour here) and relies more on Colt Cabana, the charismatic popular face, trying to humiliate the stooge. Daniels is a tremendous stooge- his cocky attitiude makes his pratfalls all the more entertaining. The spot where, frustrated by his failure to shoulderblock Cabana over, Daniels pyches himself up for the third effort, only to get tripped over by Cabana is funny, but not in the kayfabe-breaking way that, for example, an Ebessan match is, great as they are. Daniels realising he's too short to grab Cabana's arms on a modified surfboard and having to work his way up Cabana's singlet to get there has the same effect. Luckily both men are good enough workers to know how to have a good match as well as the comedy. Daniels, having endured Cabana's mockery, works over Cabana's upper back and head for his finishing piledriver. Also, as any good heel knows, having a manager to attack your opponent to allow you to roll them up for the win doesn't hurt either.

Bull Nakano Robbie Brookside "Squire" Dave Taylor Scotty Riggs