From Atlantic City, NJ

Kofi Kingston v. Shelton Benjamin

I missed the first two minutes or so of the match and when I tuned in, Shelton was working his obligatory rest hold. Shelton picked up a near fall and went for a superplex but was pushed off. Kofi landed a flying crossbody but Shelton rolled through for a near fall. An electric chair scored another near fall. After dodging a charge in the corner, Kofi landed trouble in paradise for the abrupt win. Adamle called it a “huge upset.” That makes two wins in a row for Kofi where he was largely dominated for most of the match, so I see a third match between these two soon.

Kofi d. Shelton, Pin, approx. 4:00.

We returned to Adamle singing a refrain from “Under the Boardwalk;” no further comment necessary.

Tommy Dreamer v. Mike Knox

Knox got the early upper hand with a clothesline and worked over Dreamer on the mat. Knox followed with a back suplex and then went after Colin Delaney on the outside. As Tommy pursued on the outside, Knox sent Dreamer into the ring post. Knox then won with his swinging neckbreaker finisher. A total squash.

Knox d. Dreamer, Pin, 3:33, squash.

The next segment featured Mick Foley as a guest of Matt Striker in his classroom. Striker talked about Foley’s in-ring achievements leading Mick to interrupt him. He pointed out, without some of his usual charm and modesty, that he also was a New York Times best-selling author and a friend of Katie Couric. Well, Bill O’Reilly accomplished the former and Couric has been an abysmal failure in her $15 million job as host of the CBS Evening News, so I’d temper those boasts a bit. I kid. Anyway, Striker said Foley would be perfect for the Smackdown job if his face didn’t have to be on television (ouch). He also knocked his physique, hair and deformed ear. Foley said he was proud of his appearance because it reminded him of his sacrifices to entertain the fans. He proceed to say that Striker, meanwhile, had never sacrificed not entertained. The teacher retorted by saying that Foley looked like he had just come out of a dorm room after smoking pot and listening to Bob Seger’s greatest hits. Striker then asked Foley if he could identify some technical wrestling holds (I wonder who that really was directed to). Foley pulled out Mr. Socko, distracted Striker by pointing out Gore Vidal in the crowd, and applied the mandible claw. That was quite the fun segment as both men are really good talkers.

CM Punk v. Chuck Palumbo

After a lock up, Punk landed a series of kicks and knees. Coming out of the corner, Palumbo took the advantage by landing a clothesline. Palumbo landed a back suplex and worked in a chin lock. Back standing, Palumbo hit some punches and stomps in the corner and would not break, leading to a disqualification. After the bell, Punk made a brief comeback but Palumbo laid him out, again? Why would they make Punk look like a chump at the expense of Chuck Palumbo? What a classic example of how terrible booking arises from the lack of any kind of a long-term plan. If you plan on demoting Punk to a feud with Chuck Palumbo, you do not have him win money in the bank and then beat MVP and Chris Jericho clean on the same night.

Punk d. Palumbo, DQ, 4:21, ½*.

They finally discussed last night’s cliffhanger ending to Raw via the Raw Rebound. Incredibly, they just showed what aired on television and never even mentioned the outcome of the match. Instead, Tazz told you to go to WWE.com for more.

Next week, Colin Delaney wrestles Armando Alejandro Estrada for a contract and Tommy Dreamer wrestles Mike Knox in an extreme rules match. It is the one hundredth edition of the new ECW.

Kane v. Chavo Guerrero & Bam Neely

As the heels entered the ring, Mike Adamle walked away from the set without warning. Tazz questioned where he was going and then left himself. So, no commentary for this match.Neely wrestles in a dress shirt and pants, by the way. Kane started Chavo with a snap mare into a low drop kick. He delivered a gorilla press slam before Neely could come in and pull Chavo to safety as the match went to break. Returning from break, Neely and Kane went at it. It was pretty much all punch and kick as the heels gained the upper hand until Kane back dropped Chavo to the floor (a nice bump). Kane went outside and was sent off the apron by Neely, prompting him to sell the knee. Neely once again did nothing of note while holding the advantage. Chavo tagged in and worked over Kane for a while until Kane once again made a comeback. Neely had to make a save after a side suplex. Kane landed a clothesline and side suplex on Neely, leading to his clothesline from the top rope. The champion went for a choke slam on Chavo but Neely caught him from behind, setting up Chavo for the win with the frog splash. Aside from a nice bump or two from Chavo, this was a really basic and dull match.

Chavo & Neely d. Kane, Pin, 9:40, ¾*.

Final Analysis: I cannot say I am much of a fan of how WWE booked the conclusion of last night’s show particularly seeing after how it was handled tonight. First, WWE needs to be placing heat on the wrestlers who would be main eventing the pay-per-view and live events. Regal is not going to be placed in a drawing position, so he should not be the focal point of the show. Secondly, if you fans leave a show not knowing the outcome of a championship match, it is only logical that they would wonder what the outcome was. On tonight’s show, there was absolutely no mention of last night for the first forty-five minutes of the show. And then they did not even reveal or show exactly what happened! If they are trying to get Regal’s actions over as heinous, they needed to lead the broadcast with this. Imagine the nightly news burying the most important story until late in the show.

As for the Adamle angle, I suppose I should wait until it plays out, but this has the makings of Vince trying to prove something to all of us who vehemently opposed the hiring of Adamle. Besides Adamle knows nothing about wrestling, so it’s doubtful he can effectively pull off an angle. I’m not optimistic.

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