2003 Discussion

Discuss 2003 in Velocity.

Matt Hardy vs. Joey Matthews (Velocity, 09/20/03)
This is the first time I've seen Matthews. He looks like the bastard love child of Billy Kidman and someone who I've forgetten now, thus ruining the joke. Hardy plays the total babyface here. Basically, that means he does the exact same thing he normally does except the crowd cheered him when he screamed I'm V-Onnneee-uuhhhh! Oh, and one time he blocked a cheapshot attempt from Matthews, as well as getting in all 10 punches of the Crowd Counts To Ten While I Punch You In The Face. I suppose those are babyface moves. The announcers not only mention that Hardy & Matthews have a history, they talk about how they came up together in OMEGA and how Matthews teamed with Christian York to feud with Matt & Jeff. Good back and forth action with Joey Matthews not coming off as a jobber at all. Hardy's legdrop is apparently called the Downfall now, but he wins with the Side Effect followed by a Twist of Fate.

Orlando Jordan vs. Chuck Palumbo (Velocity, 09/20/03)
Decent matchup. Nothing outstanding, but you don't really expect anything outstanding from either of these guys. I thought Jordan was legit hurt at one point when he was outside the ring and completely dead weight when Chuck tried to lift him and Palumbo looked to the ref once or twice before finally picking Orlando up and throwing him back in the ring, but I guess it was intentional. Excellent commentary on this match (see below) which Jordan wins via Black Ice.

Billy Kidman vs. Shannon Moore (Velocity, 09/20/03)
I had high hopes for this match which weren't quite met, but it was a perfectly good match. I want to say it was a little slow paced, but it really wasn't, there just weren't any spectacular spots (aside from their finishers) that made the match stand out. Fully deserving of being the main event, just not meeting the potential that you'd think these two have. Then again, it's Velocity, so I won't hold it against them. Shannon Moore has the best pants in the WWE and Kidman has the best theme song. Some more excellent commentary from Josh & Tazz (once again, see below) and a few nice moves, as well. I really like Billy Kidman's DVD into a neckbreaker, as it looks legit painful and the DVD portion doesn't just look like pointless flash. Beautiful Halo from Shannon Moore, as well, but Kidman lets the original MFer have it his way with the BK Bomb and the Shooting Star Press.

Nunzio vs. Kidman (Velocity, 09/27/03)
Good chain wrestling to start the match. When both men had their backs to the camera, I had them temporarily confused until I noticed their shorts. Have I mentioned the awesomeness of Kidman's DVD neckbreaker? Nothing spectacular, but they kept the match moving at a decent pace. Kidman wins with the Shooting Star Press.

Crowbar vs. Sean O'Haire (Velocity, 09/27/03)
Holy crap, it's Crowbar! As Tazz points out, Crowbar looks a lot bigger, but still in good shape. Josh actually puts over Crowbar as a former WCW Tag, Hardcore and Cruiserweight champion. SHADES OF POKER FACE as Crowbar hits a flying cross body. Nice spot where O'Haire has Crowbar in a Fujiwara Armbar and grabs his thumb and starts tweaking it as well. O'Haire wins with the Inverted Death Valley Driver which no longer has a name.

Ultimo Dragon & Funaki vs. Jason Picaro and Joey Matthews (Velocity, 09/27/03)
Excellent, fast paced action here. Towards the end of the match, Ultimo Dragon suddenly switches into god mode and goes absolutely nuts, nailing about a couple dozen moves in the span of about 30 seconds, including a sweet Asai Moonsault into a standing Matthews. Matthews and Dragon exchange chain chops at one point that looked pretty damn painful. Dragon wins with a slightly sloppy Asai DDT, but otherwise looked better than he's looked since coming to the WWE. After the match, Funaki & Ultimo go greet the Fuji TV representatives.

Rhyno vs. Orlando Jordan (Velocity, 09/27/03)
The match seemed a little flat after watching a hot Ultimo Dragon, but there wasn't anything wrong with it. Josh actually talks about how Orlando Jordan is trying to move up to Smackdown. They really should work that into storylines and interviews to make Velocity seem more important, like it's the proving ground for guys hoping to move up, not the place for people who aren't good enough for the main show. Rhyno hits the Gore and Jordan does a full flip, landing on his head. One bit of inside information I'm glad I learned from the Internet is the referee's hand signals. Otherwise, I would have been worried that Jordan was legit hurt from that bump.