Taboo Tuesday 2005: Ric Flair Bleeds, John Cena Survives, and the Fans Get the Ballot

The opener benefits immediately from Mysterio wrestling in San Diego and from Hardy giving the SmackDown side another wrestler the crowd wants to see. Masters and Snitsky work simple power control, isolating Mysterio and forcing him to create space through speed rather than strength. Hardy's tags add more urgency, and the final stretch becomes a clean series of saves and counters instead of a prolonged heat segment. Mysterio escapes the Masterlock with help, Hardy removes Snitsky, and the babyfaces combine the 619 with a Twist of Fate before Mysterio finishes the pin. The match does not have much story beyond brand pride, but thirteen minutes of energetic tag wrestling gives the show exactly the opening reaction it needs.

The match exists to create a nostalgia reaction for Jimmy Snuka and wisely keeps him out of most of the action. Conway and Tomko isolate Eugene, work a basic control segment, and provide enough resistance for the crowd to wait on the inevitable tag. Snuka finally enters, lands chops and a headbutt, while Eugene clears Tomko from the ring. The Rock Bottom from Eugene creates the opening for Snuka's Superfly Splash and the pin. The crowd enjoys seeing the signature move, which is the entire point. Six minutes is still longer than the concept needs because the wrestling before the hot tag is flat and anonymous. The post-match involvement of Jim Duggan and Kamala reinforces that this is nostalgia theater rather than a meaningful tag program.

Mankind gives Carlito a compact veteran lesson built around rougher offense and simple crowd recognition. Foley takes several unpleasant-looking bumps into the chair and steel steps, which gives Carlito enough control to avoid feeling like a prop in a nostalgia match. Carlito's offense is focused and he gets enough near falls to create a brief question about whether WWE might choose the younger wrestler. Mankind's comeback is direct: clothesline, apron elbow, double-arm DDT, and finally Mr. Socko. Carlito submits to the Mandible Claw after roughly seven minutes. The result is never especially surprising, but the match has a clear structure and wastes little time. Foley's persona choice also makes the fan-voting concept feel more connected to the wrestling.

The title match is built around one obvious visual: the champions have to survive two enormous challengers. Cade and Murdoch briefly solve the problem by isolating Kane and attacking the leg, which gives the bout a basic tag structure. Once Big Show enters, the match becomes exactly what the audience expects. He runs through both champions, Kane returns from the top rope, and the challengers combine for a double chokeslam to win the titles. The result establishes Show and Kane as a dominant pairing without making Cade and Murdoch look particularly important. Eight minutes is enough for the purpose, but there is little tension once the hot tag arrives. The championship change matters more than the match that produces it.

The street fight is an angle disguised as a match. Goldust and Vader do most of the actual work for Coachman, attacking Batista with numbers and weapons while Coach waits for safe opportunities to participate. Batista sells briefly, then powers through all three men once the comeback begins. The crowd gets the expected satisfaction from seeing him whip the heels with a belt, drop Vader with a spinebuster, and finally plant Coachman with the Batista Bomb. Four minutes keeps the segment from becoming exhausting, but it cannot create competitive drama because nobody believes Coachman is beating the World Heavyweight Champion. The interactive stipulation adds weapons without adding stakes. As a television revenge segment it is understandable. As pay-per-view wrestling it is almost empty.

The battle royal is remembered more for its presentation than its wrestling, which tells the story of the division at this moment. Trish Stratus, Mickie James, Victoria, Ashley, Candice Michelle, and Maria work around rapid eliminations while the broadcast emphasizes the fan-selected lingerie theme. The one meaningful story is Mickie's growing obsession with Trish. She repeatedly saves the champion, then eliminates herself while taking Victoria out, effectively handing Trish the victory. That character beat matters because it pushes the long-term Mickie-Trish program forward. Everything around it is loose, hurried, and designed for spectacle rather than competition. Five minutes prevents the weaknesses from becoming unbearable, but the championship deserves a structure with more sporting credibility than this.

Flair and Triple H use the cage as a place to hurt each other rather than a puzzle to escape, which immediately makes the stipulation feel justified. Triple H dominates early, drives Flair into the steel, and opens the first wound within minutes. Flair survives the chain-assisted punches, the Figure Four, and repeated cage shots before turning the match into the kind of desperate brawl he can still own at fifty-six. Both men bleed heavily, Flair attacks the leg, and the crowd rises with every chop and low blow. The final chair shots are brutal by modern standards, but they create the opening Flair needs to crawl through the door and retain. Twenty-three minutes feels like a feud, not an exhibition.

The main event spends its first half establishing alliances that cannot last, then becomes excellent once all three wrestlers begin cycling through finishers and submissions. Angle and Michaels briefly cooperate to remove Cena, including sending him through the announce table, before their old rivalry immediately takes over. Angle's suplexes give the match force, Michaels supplies the sudden counters, and Cena works best when he has to reenter a sequence already moving quickly. The closing stretch is the payoff. Angle traps Cena in the Ankle Lock, Michaels breaks it with the diving elbow, then lands Sweet Chin Music on Angle. Cena is waiting and immediately hits Michaels with the FU for the clean pin. The champion survives without making either challenger feel secondary.