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THIS DAY IN HISTORY: WWE DIVA DODGEBALL

August 15th

On this day in history in ....

1942 - Steve Casey defeats French Angel for the AWA (Boston version) World Heavyweight Title in Boston, Massachusetts.

1994 - Dante & The Great Mephisto defeated PG-13 for the USWA Tag Team Title in Memphis, Tennessee.  The belts had been held up following a match between the two on August 8th.

1995 - Keiji Mutoh defeats Shinya Hashimoto to win New Japan Pro Wrestling's 5th Annual G1-Climax Tournament.  This would be the only time Mutoh would win the tournament.

1996 - WCW held the Clash of the Champions XXXIII in Denver, Colorado at the Denver Coliseum.  The show earned a 3.5 rating for TBS. Here are the results:
- In a dark match, Mike Enos & Dick Slater defeated Jim Powers & Mark Starr.
- In a dark match, The Nasty Boys defeated Mr. JL (Jerry Lynn) & Bobby Walker.
- WCW Cruiserweight Champion Rey Mysterio defeated Dean Malenko.  Malenko got a three count after a top rope gutbuster, but Rey's foot was on the bottom rope.  The match was restarted, and Rey pinned Malenko with a rana.
- VK Wallstreet (Mike Rotundo) defeated Hacksaw Jim Duggan.  Duggan was attempting to tape up his fist when the referee stopped him, and Wallstreet cradled him from behind for the pin.
- Konnan defeated Ultimo Dragon, pulling the tights for the pin
- Meng defeated Randy Savage via forfeit when an injured Savage was unable to wrestle.
- Madusa defeated Bull Nakano.
- Eddie Guerrero defeated Diamond Dallas Page.
- The Giant (Big Show) defeated Chris Benoit in thirty seconds when Benoit got his arm caught while taking off his ring vest as the bell rang, and The Giant took advantage of the situation by chokeslamming Benoit for the quick win.
- WCW Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat vs. Rick & Scott Steiner vs. Sting & Lex Luger ended in a no-contest.
- Ric Flair defeated WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan via countout.

2004 - WWE held Summerslam in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  Here is Tim Whitehead's original report on the show:

WWE's SummerSlam (8/15 Toronto) was a thumbs-in-the-middle show to me. It featured two very good matches and a strong opener. It wasn't a bad show by any means but it didn't really rise to major show levels. Much of the broadcast featured typical TV type matches which were competent, but basically were no different than what we might see weekly on RAW. Commentary was okay. The live crowd hurt the show with some of their reactions. Not so much for cheering for the heels, but for doings waves, chanting for table spots at bad times, etc. The show could end up as memorable if Randy Orton's World Title reign becomes a success.

THE DUDLEY BOYS (Bubba & D-Von & Spike) beat REY MYSTERIO JR. & BILLY KIDMAN & PAUL LONDON in 8:06. Spike was hilarious posing as the Dudley boss. Kidman started off against D-Von, dominating with kicks. London came in and was great, scoring some twos on D-Von. Bubba delivered a cheap shot that put D-Von in charge. Spike did the double foot stomp on London. Bubba & D-Von pounded London with double team spots. When Bubba accidentally hit D-Von, London nailed Bubba with an enzugiri and hot tagged Mysterio. Mysterio laid Spike out and springboard legdropped him for a near fall. Mysterio hit a huracanrana off the top on Spike and then flattened both Bubba & D-Von when they ran in. Kidman tagged in and a brawl soon broke out with all six guys in the ring. Bubba bumped out and London, who was the star of this match, did a high somersault plancha off Kidman's back out onto Bubba. Spike ended up on the ropes and Mysterio caught him with the 619. Kidman hit the shooting star press on Spike, but D-Von broke the pin up. Bubba & D-Von then 3D'ed Kidman and Spike pinned him. Strong opener.

KANE defeated MATT HARDY in the "Till Death Do Us Part" match in 6:08. Lita should have come out eating pickles and ice cream. Even though she teased being angry at Matt on RAW last week, she was fully supporting him here. One more confusing issue in a confusing angle. Matt attacked Kane with fists and kicks and scored some quick twos. Matt hit a DDT. Kane came back with a lariat. He taunted Lita. Kane bumped out. Matt hit a plancha and nailed Kane with the twist of fate on the floor. Kane was almost counted out but made it back in at the nine count. Lita tossed the ring bell to Matt and then distracted the ref so he could wallop Kane with it. Kane got his foot up on the rope to stop the count at two. Matt evaded one chokeslam attempt, but Kane hit a boot to the face and then chokeslammed Matt off the top for the pin. Just a standard TV type match without much heat. Afterward, Kane wanted hugs & kisses from his future "wife" but she fled in disgust. I assume we'll see the wedding soon on RAW.

Randy Orton did a promo bragging about his good looks and promising to win the RAW World Title. John Cena interrupted him in a tease for a possible future inter-divisional feud or switch. Orton didn't appreciate being upstaged by Cena.

JOHN CENA defeated BOOKER T in 6:25. This was the first of a five match series for Booker's U.S. Title. This isn't a bad idea, but the title really needs to be vacant for something like this to be most effective. Cena hit a lariat for an early pin attempt. Booker threw some chops. Cena hit a neckbreaker for another near fall. Booker used brawling tactics and hit a jumping leg lariat. He also hit a spinebuster. Cena scored a near fall with an inside cradle. Booker missed on an axe kick attempt. Cena hit a lariat and an elbow. Booker caught Cena with a face-first slam but when he stopped to do a spinaroonie, Cena caught him with a surprise FU and scored the pin to take the lead 1-0 in the series. Kind of disappointing, as it was just sort of a short, average match.

Eric Bischoff had a verbal showdown with Theodore Long backstage. Basically, Bischoff ridiculed the fact that Smackdown has had so many general managers (Stephanie, Paul Heyman, Kurt Angle), and predicted that Long will be gone by Survivor Series. I like Long as GM and I'm glad he's being pushed as a babyface because the heel GM routine has been overdone to the point it's become a cliche.

EDGE defeated CHRIS JERICHO and BATISTA in a three-way match in 8:25 to retain the IC Title. Batista attacked Edge before he could take off his robe. Edge bumped out, leaving Jericho and Batista to brawl. The crowd got into this match by siding with Jericho big time. Batista overpowered Jericho and was tossing him around until Edge returned with a chop block on Batista. Edge dropkicked Batista, who was supposed to bump out, but didn't. So Edge lariated him out. The crowd booed Edge out of the arena, and he reacted with heel smirks and sneers, though on RAW last Monday it was Jericho who was pushed as more heelish. Edge sent Batista into the stairs. Jericho then dropkicked Batista and he took another bump into the stairs. With Batista down for a while, Edge and Jericho went at it. Jericho hit a crossbody, with Edge rolling through and trying to use the ropes for the pin. Jericho hooked the walls hold to a big pop, but Batista broke it up. Batista posted Jericho. Edge, getting booed again, DDT'd Jericho. Jericho blocked an Edge spear attempt on Batista. Batista hit a spinebuster on Jericho. Batista crashed out to the floor as the "Y2J" chants started up. Jericho bulldogged Edge. He started to do a lionsault but converted it into a springboard kick on Batista when Batista suddenly popped up on the apron. This gave Edge some recovery time and he caught Jericho with a spear out of nowhere and scored the pin. The match was all action but again it wasn't really above the level of a standard RAW TV bout.

KURT ANGLE defeated EDDIE GUERRERO in 13:36. Angle got a ton of cheers, and there were also "Let's Go Angle" chants. Eddie wasn't unpopular, it was just that Angle was over as if he was a babyface. They did a ton of mat wrestling for the first few minutes, locking holds and then reversing. Angle hit a German suplex, which Eddie countered into an ankle lock. Angle escaped from the hold by maneuvering into position to rake Eddie's eyes. Angle then hit the Angle Slam and hooked the ankle lock himself. Eddie made the ropes after a struggle. Luther Reigns took a cheap shot at Eddie is Angle distracted the ref. Angle hooked the ankle lock again. Eddie once again made the ropes. Angle continued to work on the ankle, ramming it against the ring post. Eddie rallied with a series of chops. Angle went back after the ankle some more, this time loosening the laces on Eddie's boot. The idea was to remove the boot and apply the ankle lock, which presumably would be more devastating without the boot's protection. I'm not sure if that's true or not. Eddie surprised Angle with an Angle Slam. Eddie brawled with Angle and hit him with three vertical suplexes. Eddie went to the top, but Angle caught him and superplexed him. Eddie hit a DDT but Angle rolled clear when Eddie went for a frog splash. Angle scored two with an Angle Slam. Angle successfully removed Eddie's boot and went for another ankle lock. The ref got bumped as they struggled with one another. With the ref out, Eddie hit both Angle and Reigns with his boot and then frog splashed Angle. By the time the ref came to, Angle was able to kick out. Angle then hooked the ankle lock out of nowhere and Eddie eventually tapped, giving Angle a clean win for a babyface pop. A very good match, though not in the same league as their WrestleMania bout.

TRIPLE H defeated EUGENE in 14:05. They immediately brawled out to the floor. HHH used Lilian Garcia as a shield, infuriating Jim Ross. HHH got the drop on Eugene and beat him up on the floor. HHH set Eugene up for a suplex off the apron through the Spanish broadcast desk, but Eugene blocked it and suplexed HHH back into the ring. Big mistake, because the fans wanted to see someone go through that desk for the rest of the show. The fans were cheering HHH and booing Eugene. HHH faked a knee injury to get Eugene to let his guard down. They cheered HHH wildly when he suckered Eugene. A "Eugene sucks" chant started. Eugene brawled back and hit a Rock Bottom, but HHH cut him off when he went for a people's elbow. HHH hit a spinebuster. HHH sent Eugene crashing into the stairs, where he got a small cut on his shoulder. HHH slowly dominated for a while until Eugene blocked a pedigree. Eugene flipped HHH off and gave him a stunner. The fans popped for Eugene's stunner, even though they'd otherwise been booing him. HHH bumped out to the floor. Ric Flair came out, taunting Eugene to give HHH time to recover. HHH went back in the ring, where Eugene began doing the Hogan routine of not selling and getting stronger every time he took a punch. Eugene gave HHH a weak Hogan-style boot to the face and legdrop for a near fall. Eugene slugged Flair off the apron and hit a pedigree on HHH. HHH was nearly beaten with his own move, but Flair put his foot over the ropes to save him. Flair then grabbed Eugene, prompting the ref to eject Flair. Flair used the "F" word when arguing with the ref. William Regal arrived and KO'ed Flair on the ramp with brass knux. In a weird ending, Eugene was distracted by Regal's arrival, allowing HHH to pedigree Eugene and get the pin. HHH fled to escape Regal, dragging the dazed Flair off as he went. Just an average match, and it may be that fans are burning out on Eugene as a top spot guy.

TEAM DREAM (Diva contenders Joy, Amy, Maria, Tracie, Michelle, and Christy) beat TEAM DIVA (Stacy Keibler, Nidia, Victoria, Molly Holly, Jazz, and Gail Kim) in a dodgeball match. Carmella no-showed on the Diva contender side, so to even up the teams Trish Stratus acted as coach. This was almost a total waste of time, other than the fact that some of the babes looked hot (Gail, Joy, Amy....). The Diva contenders destroyed the Divas to win easily in the brief match. I have no idea whether this was real or not. Afterward, Trish and Victoria argued and had a pull-apart catfight.

JOHN BRADSHAW LAYFIELD defeated UNDERTAKER by DQ to retain the WWE World Title in 17:35. They brawled early, with JBL going for several quick pins. Undertaker went after JBL's left arm. Orlando Jordon accidentally took a kick from JBL. JBL attacked UT's knee, wrapping it around a post and hitting it with a chairshot. JBL rammed UT's knee into the stairs. The crowd was behaving strangely, and at one point even started a wave. On another occasion, they cheered for something happening off screen, apparently a fan who had climbed onto JBL's limousine. UT started a slow, methodical comeback. The crowd didn't like it, and chanted for someone to be put through the Spanish table. UT scored a series of twos with moves such as a superplex, a spinebuster, a lariat, and a chokeslam. Jordan came in but got punched by UT. JBL hit the lariat from hell, and there was a weak ref bump. Both UT and JBL went down after each kicked the other at the same time. JBL recovered first. Jordan tossed him the title belt, which he used to wallop UT. The ref was still out, so Jordan used the ref's hand to count, but UT kicked out at two. UT threw Jordan out and hit the last ride on JBL. By the time the ref revived and started to count, JBK kicked out. Jordan ran in again. Frustrated, UT hit JBL with the title belt right in front of the ref for the weak DQ ending. Both guys worked hard, and there were some decent spots, but overall it didn't click, even though Michael Cole & Tazz went overboard trying to make it out to be a classic match. The live crowd hurt things a lot here. There was a post match angle as UT continued beating on JBL, who juiced heavily from the belt shot. UT slammed JBL on the hood of his limo, breaking the windshield. JBL's blood was all over the white car hood. UT then chokeslammed JBL through the limo's roof. It was a nice visual but it was also obvious the roof was rigged, as if anyone could believe it would be possible to chokeslam someone through a car roof. JBL did a stretcher job.

RANDY ORTON defeated CHRIS BENOIT to capture the RAW World Title in 20:07. There were no recap videos prior to this match, or prior to the JBL vs. UT match. I guess they were running short on time. They should have cut the JBL vs. UT match to ten minutes, or eliminated the dodgeball. Orton and Benoit traded mat spots. Benoit won a test of strength. Orton got a lot of cheers, though they didn't hate Benoit the way they did Eugene. Orton took a bump after missing a dropkick. Benoit went for the sharpshooter, but Orton blocked it and hooked the hold himself. Benoit escaped and went for the crossface. As they struggled, they both bumped out and Orton sent Benoit crashing into the post. The crowd chanted for someone to be put through the Spanish table again. They brawled on the apron, with Orton taking a DDT. Benoit hit Orton with a baseball slide and then went for a tope. Orton moved and in a great spot Benoit went head first into the ring barrier. That is, he flew right between the second rope and the top rope and sailed head first right into the barrier. Scary looking spot! Benoit sold it as a neck injury, and Orton went right after the neck. Orton scored two after a cool looking neckbreaker. Orton dominated until both went down after a collision. Benoit hit a northern lights suplex. Orton hit a high crossbody. They traded a few near falls. Benoit hooked the sharpshooter, with Orton escaping to the ropes. Benoit hit six German suplexes. Yes, six of them. Benoit came off the top for the diving headbutt. Orton got his legs up and Benoit landed hard on Orton's boots. Orton went for a pin, which Benoit maneuvered into the crossface. Orton, however, rolled his way out and hit an RKO out of nowhere for the surprise clean pin. Orton got a babyface pop for becoming the youngest World Heavyweight Champion ever in WWE at age 24. The match was very good, though how well it will be remembered will likely depend on how Orton comes off as champ. He won clean and had no help from his Evolution allies. This will set up some turmoil in Evolution ranks, as there will no doubt be some HHH conflict over this. Orton came off as a total babyface here, with Benoit (who I hope remains on top after this) shaking his hand and saying "be a man" to him afterward, referring to his status as champ. Orton was practically in tears over the win.

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