WWE Taboo Tuesday Results: 10-19-2004
WWE TABOO TUESDAY PPV
OCTOBER 19, 2004
MILWAUKEE, WISC.
-The PPV actually opened with a handheld camera showing the tunnel leading to the arena in what was apparently a shot that wasn't meant to get on the air. Then they went to a preview of the event.
-Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler introduced the show from their desk. They said the fan voting has been going crazy all day and they would soon be revealing results. The Spanish announce team also introduced the show.
-Coach stepped out onto the big stage which had a simulated keyboard spread out over it. The WWE Divas joined Coach as he talked about the results of the fan voting for that match. Schoolgirl Outfits won out with 53 percent of the vote, which closely matched the results of the Torch Instant Poll, where the Schoolgirl option received 59 percent of the vote. This is going to scare WWE if all of their results match the Torch Poll because it is going to indicate Torch readers' opinions may more closely match the masses than they'd like to believe. (Access the full Torch Taboo Tuesday Poll Results here.) Coach pointed out that it was the same option that got the most cheers from the crowd. The could have saved a lot of trouble apparently, and just polled the live crowd.
1 -- CHRIS JERICHO vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN - Intercontinental Title match
Coach said all of the options were backstage ready to complete. Coach himself was an option, too. They showed Batista, Shelton Benjamin, Christian, Rodney Mack, Hurricane, Maven, Chuck Palumbo, William Regal, Steven Richards, Rhyno, Rosey, Tajiri, or Tyson Tomko. Coach said Val Venis was eliminated due to an injury suffered at the hands of Kane. He said he was also a candidate, but the crowd booed him. Benjamin got the most cheers, which Coach pointed out. The results showed Benjamin in first place with 37 percent and Batista in second with 20 percent. Torch voting had Benjamin with 40 percent and Batista with 18, so the two polls were very close.. They showed that Coach finished with 7 percent. The results of WWE's polling matches our Torch Instant Poll, as Benjamin finished first followed by Batista. At 1:45 Benjamin backdropped Jericho over the top rope. After having watched TNA Impact this afternoon, I expected them to cut to an abrupt commercial break. Lawler said Jericho didn't know who to concentrate on when it came to planning for his match. Of course, realistically, Jericho and Benjamin were told they were way ahead in voting and to prepare to wrestle each other. Jericho also could have checked the Torch online poll to find out his likely opponent. Benjamin got in some sustained offense. He hit a bodyblock at 9:00 and scored a two count. To Ross's credit he said, 'This should be it," which is better than "This is it! It's over!" Jericho surprised Benjamin with a Walls of Jericho attempt, but Benjamin turned it into an inside cradle for a near fall. Jericho followed up with chops. Shelton turned it into a T-Bone suplex for a clean three count. Ross said this shows that if you don't have time to prepare for a match what can happen. Jericho and Benjamin had a staredown in the ring afterward. Jericho pulled the IC belt out of his hands, then placed it over his shoulder and shook his hand.
WINNER: Benjamin at 10:54.
STAR RATING: *3/4 -- Pretty flat match, a notch below average actually. Not the type of hot opener that you'd want, especially when it's the crowning of a "People's Champion" like Benjamin in this situation. Benjamin did a nice job with a post-match celebration.
-Todd Grisham interviewed Edge, Chris Benoit, and Shawn Michaels backstage as they each made a final pitch for final votes. Grisham pointed out that it appeared Michaels was injured last night, but Hunter is suspicious he was faking it. Michaels said he has a torn medial meniscus, but then looked at the camera and said,
"Whatever is left in here I will leave in the ring for you."
-Coach then polled the live audience. Benoit got a decent response. Edge got mostly boos. Michaels got a similar response as Benoit, perhaps a few more cheers than Benoit. The results from the online poll were: Michaels at 39 percent, Edge at 33 percent, and Benoit at 28 percent. That's the first drastic difference from our poll and the first reason to be suspicious of the results. Benoit received 50 percent of Torch votes, while Edge finished second with 31 percent, and then Michaels in a far distant third with 20 percent. Edge was not happy when he heard the results. With Michaels's injured knee, it should drastically change the style of the match they were planning to work. As noted two weeks ago in the Torch Newsletter, their hope initially was that Michaels would win fan voting and face Hunter. The plan was to also do a title switch to get Hunter one step closer to breaking Ric Flair's record of holding a World Title 17 times. As noted earlier in the "WWE News" section, Michaels's injury is painful, but not the type that would make wrestling impossible.
2 -- BATTLE ROYAL: Jazz, Stacy, Molly Holly, Victoria, Trish Stratus, Nidia, Gail Kim,
Nidia was the first eliminated right after Jazz ripped off her top. Jazz was out next via Victoria. Gail Kim was eliminated third. Victoria was out next. That left Molly, Trish, and Stacy. Molly eliminated Stacy, then Trish eliminated Molly to win.
WINNER: Trish at 5:35 to retain the WWE Women's Title.
STAR RATING: 1/4* -- Not really a match easy to grade since it's purpose was completely different than a traditional match, which was to show the women bent over from behind as often as possible. In that respect, it worked very well. But the wrestling wasn't exactly credible, although not disastrous, either.
-Grisham interviewed La Resistance backstage, who reacted to defending the World Tag Team Titles against Chris Benoit & Edge. Robert Conway complained and said it was typical of the corrupt American voting system. Grisham put the mic in front of Sylvain Grenier's face but he had nothing to say. Conway said they are wrestling the match under protest. During the interview, their flag pole fell over.
-Ross said he's not the biggest Kane fan in the world, but he hopes he beats the living hell out of Gene Snitsky tonight. A video package then aired recapping the Lita-Kane-Snitsky storyline.
-Coach asked the crowd whether they'd rather see the chair, chain, or pipe. He said the chain got the biggest crowd reaction. I'd say the crowd was equally indifferent to each option. The WWE online poll results were chain first with 31 percent, chair second with 30 percent, and pipe third with 29 percent. In other words, who cares? The Torch online poll was close, also, with the chair finishing first at 39 percent, chain at 34 percent, and pipe at 27 percent.
3 -- GENE SNITSKY vs. KANE
Lita came to ringside to watch the match and support Kane. Snitsky choked Kane with the chain, and Kane tapped out repeatedly, but the ref didn't count it as a tapout because Kane was really just hitting the mat in frustration to get himself worked up, not because he was giving up. It was a bad choice of gesture for Kane, though, considering it made the ref look really dumb for ignoring the tapout. Snitsky hit a sideslam for a near fall at 8:30. Both Kane and Snitsky then nailed each other with simultaneous big boots to the face. Lawler said he was surprised at how even the match was. Lita yanked the chain away from Snitsky. Lita cheered on Kane, but Snitsky at that point whipped Kane into the ringside steps. Snitsky used a chair, ramming it into Kane's throat. Ross said the chair was not voted in by fans. He continued to use the chair right in front of the ref, making a mockery of the whole voting procedure since it really didn't matter what fans voted for, the wrestlers could use anything and get away with it. Chain matches are so annoying on TV because the rattling of the chain links when picked up by a microphone is about as appealing to listen to as finger nails on a chalk board. Snitsky stuck Kane's head through the chair and then came off the ropes and stomped on it. Kane began bleeding from the mouth. The ref called for EMTs to come to the ring. Snitsky left the ring. Instead, Snitsky charged back into the ring and covered Kane. The ref counted to three. It almost seemed as if Snitsky forgot to pin Kane at first because it appeared Lita wasn't sure what to do, as she began entering the ring when Snitsky left, then waited for the awkward pin. Lita entered the ring as EMTs tended to Kane as he gasped for breath. He was taken out on gurney. Snitsky tipped over the gurney and stomped away at him. Ross was outraged. "That son of a bitch," said Ross. "What a no good son of a bitch."
WINNER: Snitsky at 14:18.
STAR RATING: 3/4* -- Snitsky being allowed to use the chair, even though the legal weapon was a chain, made the whole voting seem like a charade. The crowd was dead for most of the match. Most of the event, really.
-Grisham interviewed Edge who said he isn't happy because fans voted for a broken down has-been. "Shawn Michaels won't beat Triple H, but I would have," he said. Edge added that he meant no disrespect to the tag titles, but he'd already held then ten times and it's just a consolation prize. He sarcastically thanked the fans. Good heel promo from Edge.
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