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May 1st
On this day in history in ....
1981 - Harley Race defeats Tommy Rich for the NWA World Heavyweight Title in Gainesville, Georgia. This ended Rich's reign after four days, and began Harley's sixth NWA title run.
1981 - Gene & Ole Anderson defeats Paul Jones & Masked Superstar for the NWA World Tag Team Title in Richmond, Virginia. This would begin the eighth and final NWA World Tag Title run for Gene & Ole.
1984 - Tully Blanchard defeats Mark Youngblood for the NWA Television Title. During Blanchard's reign, the belt was renamed the "NWA World Television Title".
1993 - Brian Christopher defeats Jeff Jarrett for the USWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee, starting his eighth run with the title while ending Jarrett's seventh.
1994 - Shinya Hashimoto defeats Tatsumi Fujinami for the IWGP Heavyweight Title at the Fukuoka Dome, ending Fujinami's fifth run with New Japan's top title, and starting his second.
1995 - Jerry Lawler defeats Razor Ramon for the USWA Unified Heavyweight Title, starting his 21st run with the belt, in Memphis, Tennessee. On the same show, PG-12 defeats Brickhouse Brown & The Gambler for the USWA Tag Team Title. This would begin JC Ice & Wolfie D's seventh run with the straps.
1998 - All Japan Pro Wrestling held the biggest show in the company's history, their first event at the Tokyo Dome (previously, All Japan had only run the Dome as part of joint promotions with other companies). The show drew 58,000 fans, and here are the results.
- Satoru Asako defeated Yoshinobu Kanemura.
- Manukea Mossman (Tayyo Kea) defeated Daisuke Ikeda.
- Jumbo Tsuruta, Rusher Kimura & Mitsuo Momota defeated Masa Fuchi, Haruka Eigan & Tsuyoshi Kikichi.
- The Headhunters defeated Tamon Honda & Shigeo Okumura.
- Johnny Smith & Wolf Hawkfield (Jim Steele) defeated Gedo & Jado.
- Akira Taue, Takao Omori & Masao Inoue defeated Mike Awesome, Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Hideki Hosaka.
- Steve Williams & Gary Albright defeated Masahito Kakihara & Yoshihiro Takayama.
- Giant Baba, Kentaro Shiga & Hayabusa defeated Hakushi, Jun Izumida & Giant Kamala II.
- Jun Akiyama defeated Hiroshi Hase.
- Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace defeated Vader & Stan Hansen.
- Toshiaki Kawada defeated Mitsuharu Misawa to win the All Japan Triple Crown.
1998 - Booker T defeats Chris Benoit for the WCW World Television Title in Greenville, South Carolina, beginning his third title reign.
2003 - Elizabeth Hulette, known in wrestling as Miss Elizabeth, died at the age of 42. Elizabeth had been mixing alcohol and painkillers, then began to choke while eating food in the early morning hours of May 1st at the home of Larry Pfohl (Lex Luger). The Marietta Daily Journal reported she had an alcohol level of 0.29 along with a mix of painkillers, nausea medication and tranquilizers in her system. The 0.29 level is more than three times the driving alcohol limit in Georgia. Her death was ruled an "accidental overdose". During the investigation of her death, controlled substances were found in Pfohl's home. He was arrested and charged with 13 felony counts of possession of a controlled substance and a misdemeanor count of distribution of dangerous drugs.
2006 - WWE Raw was highlighted by a "shoot style" promo from Joey Styles in which he, in storyline, quit the company. This was done are part of the push by WWE to launch an ECW brand. Thanks to Paul LaPorte for doing the following write-up of the promo.
Events leading up to the promo:
The GMs for the evening, the Spirit Squad, called Joey into their office(?) to tell him that if he didn't do a good job of commentary on the title match they would make him wear a cheerleader outfit. Joey then came back out to King mocking Joey and the fact that he may be a cheerleader next week. He was telling Joey to "have spirit" and noted that if this was ECW he'd have spirit, to which Joey replied "If this was ECW, I wouldn't be working with a hack, like you." This led to Joey shoving Lawler a few times, which Lawler liked (he was showing "spirit") then Joey slapped him in the face, which led to King shoving him to the floor and Joey running off to the back.
After the break King apologized to Joey and asked him to come back out and finish out the show. Joey came back out and said the following:
"You want to apologize? Like nothing happened. Like you didn't knock me on my ass in front of millions of people worldwide, and I'm going to come down there and work with you. I'm not coming back, and now thanks to the magic of live television I'm going to show the whole world, why for seven years in ECW I was the unscripted, uncensored, loose cannon of commentary.
Six months ago, WWE called me, I didn't call this company because I was looking for a job. I didn't need a job. WWE called me because they had humiliated and fired...again, Jim Ross. So I get JR's spot, and from week one, week after week I've got an ongoing lecture about the differences in professional wrestling and sports entertainment. I'm not allowed to say 'pro wrestling', I'm not allowed to say 'wrestler'. I have to say 'sports entertainment' and refer to the wrestlers as 'superstars'. I'm told to deliberately ignore the moves and the holds during the matches so I can tell stories. Well ignoring the moves and the holds is damn insulting to the athletes, the 'wrestlers', not the entertainers who leave their families three hundred days a year to ply their craft in that ring.
Here's the best part, because I'm not a sports entertainment storyteller I get pulled from Wrestlemania, and the reason I'm given is, is because I don't sound like Jim Ross, who's the guy they fired in the first place. That makes sense, right?
So I swallow the bitter pill, I'm a company guy. I get bumped from Wrestlemania. Then I get bumped from Backlash? I'm not good enough to call Backlash!? In ECW, I called live pay-per-views on my own, solo, no color commentators dragging me down. Wasn't done before me, hasn't been done since. But I'm not good enough to call Backlash because I'm not a sports entertainment storyteller.
Well you know what? I am sick of sports entertainment. I am sick of male cheerleaders. I am sick of boogers and bathroom humor and semen and I am sick of our chairman. Who likes to talk about his own semen, he mocks God... he mocks God! And makes out with the Divas, all to feed his own insatiable ego. I am sick of sports entertainment, and most of all I am sick of you fans who actually buy into that crap! This sports entertainment circus! I never needed this job, and I don't want this job anymore."
[At this point Joey pulls the WWE collar off the microphone and tosses it away.]
"I quit!"
2007 -WWE's website announced this evening that Tough Enough 3 champion Matt Cappotelli underwent surgery today in Boston, MA to remove a malignant brain tumor, with the surgery being deemed "successful."
2007 -Jim Bell, the former World Wrestling Entertainment senior vice president of licensing and merchandising who was featured in wrestling documentary Beyond the Mat, and Stanley Shenker, a former WWE licensing agent who worked with the company, were both sentenced for a kickback scheme in which they defrauded WWE over the span of several years. Bell, 52 years old, received an eight month prison sentence and three years of probation. Shenker, 61 was sentenced to two years, nine months in prison, followed by three years of probation. Shenker plead guilty in January 2006 of conspiring to defraud WWE of honest services by paying close to $1 million in kickbacks to Bell. Bell plead guilty in 2005 to the scheme. Shenker, the sole corporate officer of licensing company Stanley Shenker and Associates, agreed to pay Bell kickbacks in exchange for him sending WWE business his way. The fraud took place from 1998 to 2002, with Shenker paying Bell around $950,000. The two created fake paperwork, not only to trick WWE, but to allow Shenker to deduct the payments as business expenses on his taxes. During sentencing, Shenker was ordered to pay $2.8 million in restitution to World Wrestling Entertainment. Bell was ordered to pay a $6,000 fine and more than $950,000 in restitution. Bell was seen in the Barry Blaustein documentary Beyond The Mat discussing WWE's merchandising while making an analogy between The Muppets and the then-World Wrestling Federation. In another scene, Bell presents new products to Vince McMahon.
2007 -Rob Van Dam defeated The Sandman, Sabu and Tommy Dreamer in the main event of ECW on SyFy. Here is the report from that match:
All four touched knuckles at the bell. Sabu tried to roll up Van Dam early. Sandman tried to backslide Sabu. All four began battling. Sandman dropkicked RVD and Sabu out of the ring. Dreamer hit a clothesline off the ropes on Sandman. Van Dam and Sabu tossed weapons into the ring, then drilled Dreamer with a chair. They drilled Dreamer with Rolling Thunder. RVD set up for Air Sabu but Sabu turned on him and legdropped Van Dam. Dreamer nailed Sandman and Sabu with a trashcan. Crowd doesn't seem to know how to react to the babyfaces fighting each other early, but popped for the big spots.
Dreamer clotheslined Sandman over the ropes. He went to the floor and tried to suplex Sandman on the guard rail. Sandman reversed it and dropped Dreamer on it. VVan Dam took out Sandman and went for his corkscrew legdrop off the apron. Sabu splashed Van Dam from behind and they crashed to the floor. It wasn't pretty but the crowd chanted ECW anyway.
Dreamer nailed Sandman with a chair, tied him to the tree of woe and dropkicked him. Dreamer got the chair from McMahon, teasing he was going to hit him. Sabu laid out Dreamer but was in turn laid out by Van Dam. Van Dam drilled Sandman with a chair then hit a skateboard dropkick in the corner. Dreamer hit a a piledriver on RVD, who took his old school bump off of it, bouncing into the air. Dreamer did his scream but was caned by Sandman. Sabu through a chair in Sandman's face and hit a triple jump moonsault for a two count.
Sabu put Sandman on a table and went to the top but Dreamer caught him and superplexed Sabu through the table. Van Dam nailed the five star frog splash off the top and pinned Sandman to earn the title shot.
Your winner, Rob Van Dam!
McMahon tried to walk off but Van Dam left the ring and told him that next week, the belt was coming back to him. He did his thumb posing routine, with the crowd chanting RVD. They faced off. Joey Styles ran down Vince McMahon's accomplishments but warned that McMahon has never dealt with a fired up, motivated RVD.
2008 - Superstar Graham, who had been recently released by WWE from a consultant's position, made public scans of his release paperwork, including a WWE claim that they were retaining the rights to his name and persona. WWE later backed off on that claim. Graham and WWE have been at odds since that release with Graham often publicly decrying the company.
2008 -TNA released former Knockouts champion Roxxi. Roxxi and Rhaka Khan had been serving a 60 days suspension following a backstage issue that became physical several weeks back at an Impact taping. In the midst of the suspension, the decision was made not to bring her back.
2008 - TNA sent Shark Boy, who was suffering from the flu, home from the road.
2009 - In the NASCAR Nationwide Race from Richmond, The TNA Wrestling Car driven by Hermie Sadler finished 32nd, 6 laps back. Former Raw Guest Hosts Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Joey Logano finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.
2011 - WWE presented their Extreme Rules PPV from Tampa, FL, highlighted by Christian winning his first World title in a Ladder Match, defeating Alberto del Rio, John Cena capturing his eighth WWE title in a Three-Way Cage match, defeating The Miz and John Morrison and Kofi Kingston winning a Tables match to win the United States title from Sheamus. Underneath, Layla El defeated Michelle McCool in a Loser Leaves WWE bout. After her loss, McCool was destroyed by the debuting Kharma, formerly known as Awesome Kong in TNA. Here is Mike Johnson's PPV report:
Last Man Standing: Randy Orton vs. CM Punk Orton entered the ring first, alone. Punk was flanked by David Otunga, Michael McGuillicuty and Mason Ryan. As he made his way to the ring, the Raw General Manager emailed and announced that Orton and Punk must resolve their issues tonight, so all members of the Nexus were banned from ringside. An obviously annoyed Punk came to the ring alone, ripping a turnbuckle off of one of the corners before the bell rang. Punk nailed Orton but Orton fired back with a series of punches and drilled him with a clothesline. Orton kicked Punk, who rolled through the ropes to the floor. Orton whipped Punk into the ringside barricade and nailed him on the floor, slamming Punk’s face into the ring steps. Orton continued working over Punk on the floor. Punk rolled back into the ring, where he begged off from Orton, then used that to kick Orton in the stomach. Punk nailed Orton with several kicks. He tried to run Orton into the exposed turnbuckle but Orton saved himself. He tried to nail Punk with the exposed buckle but Punk escaped as well. Punk nailed a snapmare and a kneedrop. Orton came back with a leaping kneedrop of his own. Punk rolled out to the floor. Orton followed but Punk pulled a kendo stick out from under the ring and nailed Orton with it in the stomach, then measure and nailed him across the back. Orton was tossed back in the ring. Punk grabbed another kendo stick and drilled it over Orton’s chest, then posed like a warrior brandishing a sword. Orton came back but was cut off with a back kick from Punk. Orton drilled Punk over the shoulder with the kendo stick. Punk nailed a back suplex and told the referee to start counting. The referee made it up to five. Orton made it to his feet. Punk had climbed the ropes and tried to come off with a springboard clothesline but Orton had grabbed a kendo stick and lit up Punk with it several times. Orton followed up with several clotheslines. He went for the hanging DDT but Punk slipped out and nailed a catapult into the exposed turnbuckle. Punk wedged a chair between the turnbuckles in the opposite corner. Punk charged and nailed a knee in Orton’s face. Punk went to charge Orton into the chair but Orton slipped out. Punk put on the brakes. Orton went for the RKO but Punk grabbed him for a GTS. Orton slipped out and sent Punk into the chair. Punk wiped out the chair and fell to the outside, where the referee counted seven before Punk broke the count. On the outside, Orton beat Punk into the barrier and the ring apron, then clotheslined him on the floor. Punk escaped the count at nine this time. Orton began ripping apart the announcing table. He approached Punk but was nailed hard by a roundhouse kick to the head. Orton made his way to his feet at the eight count. He and Punk fought on the outside. Orton nailed a back suplex onto the barricade on Punk. The referee began to count him out but Orton grabbed Punk and threw him into the ring. Orton began signaling for the RKO but Punk drilled him. Punk nailed the GTS. Orton made his way to his feet at nine but then stumbled into the corner, not able to stand. Punk argued that Orton never made it to his feet. Punk nailed him again and Orton fell to a sitting position. Punk grabbed a chair and nailed a Russian legsweep onto it. Orton made it to his feet, using the ropes for leverage. Punk set up a chair in a sitting position but out of nowhere, Orton drilled him with the RKO. Punk made it to his feet at nine, then stumbled through the ropes on the floor. Orton followed and clotheslined him over the barricade into the crowd. Orton tried to use the hanging DDT but Punk pulled his legs down and charged Orton, slamming him backward into the ringpost. Punk grabbed a chair and placed it over Orton’s head, then ran it into the ringpost. Orton pulled himself up to his feet at nine. Punk worked over Orton with punches and dragged him over to the announcing table. He picked up Orton for the GTS but Orton slipped out and nailed the RKO on the table, which didn’t budge. Ouch! Punk pulled himself up to his feet at the nine count and then collapsed again. The referee started counting again. Orton teased punting Punk on the floor. He charged Punk, who saw him coming and grabbed him in a Fireman’s Carry, nailing a GTS onto the ring steps. Pretty creative. Orton pulled himself up to his feet as Punk grabbed a kendo stick. Punk was noticeably hurting as he climbed up to the top rope. Orton cut him off and beat the hell out of Punk’s back with the stick. Punk was out and hanging off the ropes. Orton set up Punk and nailed an RKO off the top rope. The referee began counting both men down. Orton returned to his feet at nine and Punk was counted out. Your winner, Randy Orton! A fine opening match. They worked really hard and there was some nice drama to the counts and some unique offense. The final sequence with Orton beating the hell out of a trapped Punk was great and brutal. Punk looked to be limping after the RKO on the table, so hopefully that isn’t a sign he aggravated his hip injury from last year. Overall, A nice ending to their feud. They promoted tomorrow’s Rock birthday Raw. Jerry Lawler headed to the back to prepare for his match. Josh Mathews and Booker T ran down some of the major names that moved to new brands courtesy of the 2011 WWE Draft. They noted that Sheamus was scheduled to face Kofi Kingston on Smackdown but he attacked Kingston and laid him out. They aired footage from the beating. Booker said it made Sheamus one of his favorite five guys. Backstage, Sheamus told Teddy Long he didn’t like this. Long said that he was giving the WWE fans a bonus match, as Sheamus will be defending his title against Kofi Kingston in a Tables Match. Sheamus said that wasn’t it. He said he was the U.S. champion and he was defending against someone who wasn’t from the United States. He demanded to see Kofi’s birth certificate. OK, that was pretty funny. Long told him not to worry about it since after tonight he might not be the champion anymore. They showed John Morrison preparing for his WWE title match. Tables Match: Kofi Kingston vs. WWE United States champion Sheamus Kingston watched to make sure Sheamus wasn’t lurking to attack him before he posed for his pyro. Nice attention to detail! Kingston attacked Sheamus immediately. Sheamus tried to kick him off but was nailed with a double leg takedown. Kingston mounted him and rained down with the punches. He went to the floor for a table but Sheamus attacked him and sent him into the barricade. Sheamus kicked him while Kingston was down. He pulled out a table but Kingston leapt and nailed a flying punch. Kingston set up a table on the floor, then continued beating Sheamus with punches and uppercuts. He set up Sheamus on the table but the champion rolled off before Kingston could leap off the apron, They battled on the floor with Sheamus getting the better of the exchange. Sheamus set up a table and went for the High Cross on the floor. Kingston slipped out but was nailed several times and tossed back into the ring. Kingston shoulderblocked Sheamus several times from the inside, nearly sending Sheamus off the apron through the table. He rebounded off the ropes but Sheamus nailed a slingshot shoulderblock into the ring. Nice sequence. Sheamus went to the floor for another table but Kofi grabbed him and pulled him up to the apron. Sheamus slammed him into the buckles. He grabbed the table and shoved it into Kingston’s chest. He placed the table across Kofi’s prone body and stomped it, then stood atop the table and Kofi. Sheamus slammed Kingston into the table, which was placed into the corner. He picked up Kofi to drive him into it but Kingston slipped over with a sunset flip attempt. Kingston punted him in the chest, setting up Sheamus near the table. Kingston dove at him but Sheamus moved. Kingston landed on the ropes. Sheamus went for the High Cross into the table but Kingston slipped out. Sheamus went for the Brogue Kick but Sheamus got caught up on the ropes. He was supposed to crotch himself but didn’t catch the ropes right. He started selling his hamstring, which was smart. Sheamus avoided Kofi and nailed the pump kick on Kofi, who was on the apron. Kingston leapt to avoid a table set up on the outside. Back in the ring, Sheamus went for an over the shoulder powerslam off the ropes through a table but Kingston fought his way out. Sheamus nailed him with a big kick to cut him off again. Sheamus tried to suplex Kingston out of the ring through a table on the floor but Kofi broke free and nailed Trouble with Paradise. Sheamus bumped onto the apron and rolled onto the floor. He pulled himself up using the table, where Kingston came off the top rope with the Boom Drop to put Sheamus through the table. Your winner and new United States champion, Kofi Kingston! The U.S. title will return to Raw. Decent match. They both worked hard but the crowd didn’t seem to be too into the match and while they did a decent job, it never felt like they were out of the early gears. They did some nice teasing spots with the tables before the Boom Drop at the end. Good but not great. Todd Grisham interviewed R Truth. He asked Truth how he felt knowing he was once part of the main event. Truth asked him how he would feel but before Grisham could answer, he told Todd to shut up. Truth says that not only is he not in the main event, but he’s not on the entire show. He asked how long the show is and then said he smelled a conspiracy. He said that conspiracies are as bad as John Morrison’s breath. He said that he knows for a fact that Miz and Cena don’t want him in that match and neither does Morrison. He said Morrison stole his opportunity and if there’s one thing he can’t stand, it’s a thief. Good, intense promo from Truth. Country Whipping Match: Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler vs. Jack Swagger & Michael Cole Cole came out covered in bubble wrap. That made me laugh. Cole cut a promo saying that everyone keeps asking him if he’s afraid of the country whipping match. Cole said he was an award winning journalist that covered Waco and the civil war in a Yugoslavia, so if anyone thinks he is scared of a couple of hicks, they are mistaken. He said they were going to whip Ross and Lawler like a pair of government mules. He said their opponents, like the rest of Florida, are old, useless, incontinent, retirees. Ross’ hand was bandaged. They noted that as reported on Twitter, Ross had broken his hand on Raw. Swagger and Lawler started. Ross lashed Swagger from the outside. Swagger sold it like a champ. Lawler lashed the hell out of Swagger, who tagged into Cole. Cole was lashed and acted like it didn’t faze him because of the wrap. Cole mouthed off, so Lawler punched him in the mouth and started ripping off the wrap. He went to lash Cole, who scampered out and tagged Swagger. Swagger nailed Lawler in the corner and lashed the WWE Hall of Famer. He tied Lawler to the ropes with the whip and kicked the hell out of him. Swagger then began lashing Lawler. He tagged in Cole, who began lashing away at the trapped Lawler, then mocked Ross. Swagger tagged back in and worked over Lawler some more. He whipped Lawler into the turnbuckles, then dragged him to the center of the ring. Swagger went for the Vader Bomb out of the corner but Lawler rolled out of the way. Lawler nailed a series of rights. Cole came in from behind and nailed Lawler. Lawler grabbed Cole by the throat but Swagger nailed a chop block from behind and cinched in an ankle lock. Ross distracted Swagger, allowing Lawler to fight out. Lawler tagged in Ross, who began lashing Swagger, then locked in an anklelock of his own. Kurt Angle’s Twitter is being hacked as we speak. Swagger slipped out and tagged Cole. Cole didn’t want in. Ross nailed him and dragged Cole in. Ross slammed him head first into the buckles. It looked awful but they aren’t wrestlers, so what else would it looks like. Ross fired himself up and clotheslined Cole. Ross began whipping Cole and lashed at Swagger on the apron. Ross locked in an anklelock but Swagger grabbed him. Ross lowblowed Swagger and began lashing him. Cole rolled up Ross from behind and scored the pin. Your winners, Michael Cole and Jack Swagger! The match was about as good as you could expect. They smartly kept the hurt Ross out as much as possible. They aired a pretty funny promo to push the Over the Limit PPV on 5/22.
John Cena was interviewed. He said he hadn’t been WWE champion for 10 months but “son of a mustard sandwich” (really, he said that and whoever scripted that should be slapped), he would win the belt tonight in the Cage and once again, “The champ would be here.” The Cena promos continue to be lame. They aired a really good video piece on the Rey vs. Cody feud. Falls Count Anywhere: Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes Rhodes took the mic and told fans to put paper bags on their head because they are extremely ugly. Some fans did it. Dopes! Rhodes attacked Rey right at the bell. Rey slipped underneath and nailed several kicks. Rhodes slipped down and punched Rey. Rey came back with flying headscissors, sending Rhodes to the floor. Rey then slid out of the ring and nailed headscissors to the floor as well. Cody cut off Rey as he came at him in the aisle, nailing him with punches and kicks., He dragged Rey to the stage and tried to throw him into one of the digital screens but Rey tossed him in instead. Rhodes went to the floor, where Rey nailed a Thesz Press off the stage to the floor for a two count. They battled on the floor. Cody nailed an atomic drop onto one of the walls in front of a section of fans. They battled through the crowd. Rhodes slammed Rey backwards into the wall. Rey came back with a kick to the face. He dragged Rhodes up into the stairway of the arena. Cody fought back with a headbutt. He placed Rey through one of the handrails and locked on a Boston Crab. Pretty creative idea. He let Rey go and continued beating him as he dragged Rey up the stairs. He slammed Rey’s arm into another handrail, then peppered him with punches. They battled into the tunnel and ended up in the lobby area. Rey tackled Cody into a trashcan. Rhodes smacked the concrete hard. Rey nailed him with the rubber top of the trash can and covered him for a two count. They battled into a bar area. Rey tried to toss Cody into a mirror. Cody cut him off and jumped off the bar with a leaping kick to the face. They continued to battle around the bar. Rey nailed a flying bodypress off onto Rhodes for a two count. The fans nearby were chanting that it was awesome. Rhodes tried to make his way back into the arena but Rey nailed him in the tunnel. Cody made his way down the stairs but Rey caught him halfway down. Rey went to nail a dive but Rhodes didn’t realize it and headed towards the ringside area. Rey followed and nailed Rey, hiptossing him over the barricade back into the railing. They battled back and forth on the floor. Rhodes wheelbarrowed him and slammed Rey into the ring steps for a two count. Rhodes deadlifted him back into the ring. Rey nailed a springboard bodypress for a two count as he tried to mount a comeback. He charged Cody and was backdropped onto the apron. Rey landed on his feet and nailed a headbutt off the top for a two count. Rey set up Cody for the 619 and exposed the knee brace, wanting to hurt Cody but was cut off before he could nail the move. Rhodes hung Rey up on the ropes and kicked him low. He then nailed an overhead sidewalk slam on Rey for a two count. Cody stomped away on Rey in the corner as fans chanted for the 619 to rally Rey. Cody set up Rey on the top rope and worked him over with several elbows. Rey kicked him off. Cody charged and Rey spewed mist into Rhodes’ face! Rey nailed a 619 and scored the pin. Your winner, The Great Mysterio! Really entertaining brawl here. Much better than their bout at Wrestlemania. The crowd loved the stuff on the outside. Backstage, all the babyface Divas were talking. Layla walked in. They all stopped and stared. She said that she knows they don’t like her. She said that tonight may be her last night here and she said she just wanted to apologize them if she ever offended her. Kelly Kelly told her that they don’t like her, but they like Michelle McCool even less so she wishes her luck. Layla left and the Divas all noted that was pretty honest of her. Loser Leaves WWE: Layla El vs. Michelle McCool McCool attacked Layla from behind, dumping her to the floor. She tossed Layla back in and drilled her with a kick to the head for a two count. McCool grabbed Layla but Layla fired back with a series of stiff punches. McCool dumped her out of the ring. She followed but Layla slammed her into a table. McCool cut her back off and kicked her stiffly in the gut. McCool tossed her back in the ring and covered Layla for a two count. Layla ducked a big boot and kicked McCool several times, covering her for a two count. McCool started to beg off but Layla grabbed her and kicked Michelle. Michelle came back with a belly to belly suplex for a two count. McCool kicked her out of the ring. She charged Layla on the floor with a kick but Layla moved and McCool was caught on the barricade. Layla tried to pull her up on the barricade but McCool slammed her down to the floor. McCool went for a move out the corner but Layla cut her off and nailed a sitdown Diamondust for a two count. McCool came back with a kick to the face for a one count. McCool went for the Styles Clash, but Layla slipped out, kicked her and nailed a neckbreaker. McCool got her foot on the rope at the last second to break the count. McCool came back with a knee to the head for a two count. Layla used a double leg takedown. She went to roll over for a pinfall but McCool reversed it into a sunset flip. She turned it into the Styles Clash and nailed it. She was too spent to cover Layla but once she did Layla turned it into a crucifix for a three count. Your winner, Layla! Both women were bawling when it was over. They worked really hard and did a good back and forth pace here and were given a lot more leeway than your usual Divas match. As we broke a few days ago in the Elite section, this was McCool's exit from the company. After the match, McCool was crying in the ring and out came Kharma (Awesome Kong) for her official WWE debut. The announcers put her over a huge, monstrous woman and they used the type of camera angle for her entrance they save for Big Show and other monsters. McCool was scared to death as Kharma came to the ring. Kharma entered the ring as McCool tried to beg off. Kharma stared her down as McCool tried to back up and escape. The former Kong nailed the Implantbuster (you know that name will be changed) on McCool and left her laying. No, THAT was McCool's exit. They showed all the other Divas staring, worried, at the monitor. They showed Alberto Del Rio trying to get Ricardo to announce him as the new champion just right. Ladder Match to determine new World champion: Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio They battled back and forth at the bell. Del Rio got the better early. Big “Let’s go Christian” chant. Del Rio drilled Christian with a headbutt. He slammed Christian and went towards the outside. Christian stopped him and nailed a series of rights. Cole was giving Alberto credit for ending Edge’s career. Christian went to the middle rope and came off with a flying back elbow. He went to the outside for a ladder but was cut off and slammed into the apron. Del Rio kicked Christian and kicked him under the ring. He grabbed a ladder but Christian emerged on the other side of the ring and nailed dropkick through the ropes on Del Rio. Christian set the ladder up and began climbing it but Del Rio pulled his legs out from under him and Christian crashed to the mat. Del Rio started climbing up but Christian tipped the ladder. Del Rio landed on his feet and nailed an enziguri on Christian and worked him over with kicks. Del Rio grabbed a ladder to nail Christian but as he lifted it overhead, Christian popped him in the face and backdropped him over the ropes. Christian grabbed a ladder but Del Rio tripped him up. Christian fell to the mat. Del Rio pulled him to the outside. Del Rio bridged a ladder between the ring and the announcing table. Del Rio tried to suplex Christian onto it but Christian slipped out and tried to catapult Del Rio. Del Rio kicked him off, sending Christian into the ring steps. You could see blood coming from the scrape on Christian’s back. They battled back and forth. Christian went to the top but was shoved off by Del Rio, who was on the apron. Christian landed on a ladder set up on the outside and came off with a bodypress. Nice sequence. Christian started climbing a ladder in the middle but was cut off by Del Rio. Alberto slammed him head-first into the ladder. Del Rio set up a ladder in the corner, wedging it under the top turnbuckle. He went to grab Christian, who fired back with a series of rights. Del Rio went for the Cross armbreaker but Christian slipped out and went for the Tomakaze. Del Rio slipped out but was flapjacked onto the ladder. Alberto pulled himself up on the apron. Christian charged at him with a ladder, sending Alberto to the floor. Christian set up a ladder in the center of the ring and began pulling himself up. Del Rio threw another ladder at Christian, nailing him in the back. Ouch. Alberto drilled Christian off the ladder and began stomping the hell out of him. He locked in an armbar and yanked backward, trying to set him up for the cross armbreaker. He then slammed Christian’s arm into a ladder. Del Rio grabbed a smaller ladder and broke it down over Christian’s arm. Del Rio set up the larger ladder in the corner and whipped Christian into it. He charged Christian with a smaller ladder but was drop toehold-ed into the corner, eating ladder. Christian set up the ladder and climbed up. Del Rio followed but was fought off. Christian tried to grab the belt but Del Rio grabbed him in a powerbomb attempt. Christian turned it into a rana and Del Rio ended up on the outside. He nailed Christian and tried to grab Christian to pull him out but was instead backdropped into the ring on one of the ladders. Christian set up a ladder in the corner to drive it down on Del Rio but was instead nailed with a leaping enziguiri. Christian fell forward off the top, tumbling down with the ladder. That looked nasty. Del Rio set up the ladder and started ascending it. Christian shoved the ladder off but Del Rio landed on his feet and immediately took out Christian. Christian was sent to the floor. Ricardo grabbed a chair and handed it to Del Rio. He went to place it on Christian’s arm but was kicked off and hit his head on the ring post. Inside the ring, Christian waited for Del Rio to recover and speared him. The place went nuts for the homage to Edge. Christian set up the ladder and climbed up but Del Rio grabbed his legs and pulled him through, trapping him inside one of the rungs. Del Rio almost reached the belt but Christian pulled himself through and tipped the ladder. Del Rio crashed into the corner. Del Rio nailed Christian with a ladder as he charged him in the corner. Del Rio set up Christian on the ladder that was bridged on the outide. He went for a back senton splash off the ropes but Christian moved. That was sick. Christian made it to the top but Brodus Clay hit the ring and tipped the ladder. Christian was left dangling with the belt. Clay pulled him down. Clay tried to send Christian into a ladder but Christian slipped out and Clay ate the ladder. Christian nailed him with the smaller ladder, sending him to the floor. Christian then turned into a kick from Del Rio and was locked into a rolling armbreaker. Christian was bleeding at this point and went to the floor. I think they were cleaning him up as it wasn’t a planned deal. Del Rio set up the ladder and made it to the top only to be distracted by Edge driving a jeep into the Arena, honking the horn. Del Rio was distracted and Christian tipped him over, sending him into Clay and Ricardo on the floor. Del Rio almost got caught up in the ropes, which could have been a disaster. Edge ran to ringside. Christian climbed to the top and pulled down the World title. Your winner and new World champion, Christian! An excellent ladder match. Christian looked like the happiest man in the world when he won the belt. He celebrated on the top of the ladder and then embraced Edge when he made his way back to the ring. Edge left to allow his best friend to have the moment. Christian was crying in the ring as he celebrated.
They aired a piece on “That’s What I Am” being selected for the Santa Barbara Film Festival. That actually happened last January but for promotional purposes, they acted like it was recently. Backstage, WWE champion The Miz was with Alex Riley. Riley said that he was being railroaded by being forced into the Cage match to defend his title. Miz got pissy when Riley intimated he was going to lose. Riley changed tactics and said that he was going to win tonight because he’s the Miz and he’s…. Miz cut him off and told him to never do that again. Miz walked off. Lumberjack Match: WWE Tag Team champions Big Show & Kane vs. WWE Intercontinental champion Wade Barrett & Ezekiel Jackson Bonus match. All the undercard and NXT types are working as Lumberjacks. For the NXT crew, it’s their PPV debuts. Show chopped Barrett hard several times. Big Show ended up on the floor. The heels all worked over Show but he fought back. He tossed Tyler Reks into the ring, where he was nailed. Kane then nailed one of the Usos. That allowed Jackson to nail Kane from behind and the Corre worked over Kane in the corner. Barrett nailed a series of lefts while Kane was down on the mat. Jackson tagged back in and went back and forth with Kane. They did the double clothesline deal in the middle. Both went down. All the Lumberjacks were pounding on the mat. Barrett was tagged in as was Show. Show cleaned house but was sent to the outside by Jackson. It took a ton of Lumberjacks to send Show back in the ring. Jackson picked up Show and slammed him. He was going to go for the pin but Barrett tagged in. Barrett went for the Wasteland but Show caught him with the chokeslam and pinned him. Your winners and still WWE Tag Team champions Big Show & Kane! Jackson was mad about Barrett tagging himself in. All the Lumberjacks started brawling. Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel tried to attack the champions but ate a double chokeslam. Nothing of note here. WWE champion The Miz vs. John Morrison vs. John Cena – Steel Cage Match They pushed that it was Morrison’s first PPV main event. Miz tried to scale the cage at the bell. Morrison and Cena grabbed him and pulled Miz back into the ring. They worked him over and nailed him with a flapjack. Morrison worked over Cena with several leaping kicks but was caught with a Miz clothesline. Bigtime heel reaction to Miz early – more than anyone else really on the show. Miz maintained control, working on Cena and Morrison, picking his spots. Miz tried to run Cena into the cage but Cena halted Miz and started working over him. Morrison nailed a Russian legsweep on Cena for a two count. Miz tried to climb out but Morrison scaled the cage and fought him off. Miz pulled Morrison down off the cage. He started to scale again but this time was stopped by Cena. They battled back and forth on the top rope. Cena worked him over and bulldogged him off the top into the ring. All three men were down. Cena recovered first, nailing Morrison with several shoulderblocks and the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Miz grabbed him from behind and nailed the Skull Crushing Finale. Meanwhile, Morrison climbed to the top of the cage where Miz caught him. Miz pulled him back inside the cage and tried to escape. Morrison halted that. They traded punches while sitting on top of the cage. Miz tried to climb down but Morrison grabbed him in a front facelock and started to pull him back in. Cena joined Morrison and they superplexed Miz while standing on the top rope. Miz landed in nasty fashion right on the back of his neck. Morrison began climbing to the top but was caught by Cena. Cena just pulled him down. Morrison elbowed him in the face, sending Cena to the mat. Morrison hit a double springboard kick but Cena ducked and he nailed Miz. Morrison nailed a standing Spanish Fly on Cena for a two count. Nice stuff from Morrison. Morrison tried to climb out but Miz slipped underneath and powerbombed him into the turnbuckles. Cena grabbed Miz for an STF. Miz tried to pull himself out the door but was unable. Cena pulled him back in. Morrison went to the top but Cena caught him. Miz opened the door and started to climb out but Morrison, dangling from top, kicked the door into Miz’s head. Cena crotched Morrison on the open door. Miz sees him and pulled him in. They go back and forth into some good back and forth near fall sequences. Miz punted Cena in the face with a kick. Cena gets drilled in the face again. Cena’s face is forced into the cage. Behind them, Morrison recovered and scaled the cage. Miz caught him and Morrison was hanging from the top of the cage. Miz and Morrison battled back and forth with punches on top of the cage. Miz tried to slide off the top but Morrison used the ropes to leap up and grab him, pulling Miz back in the cage. Morrison knocked Miz into the ring and pulled himself to the top. Cena tried to stop him and was shoved off into the ring. Morrison hit Starship Pain into the ring from the top of the cage on both. That was pretty impressive. The announcers explained that John knew he wasn’t getting anywhere trying to get out so he took out both at once. Smart cover to explain the spot. Morrison called for them to open the door but R Truth came out and nailed him. Morrison nearly fell out of the ring to the floor but Truth shoved him back in. Truth entered the ring and closed the cage door. He began kicking the hell out of Morrison for “taking from him” and beat the hell out of him with punches. Cena made his way to his feet so Truth nailed him with the Ax Kick. Truth then climbed over the top to the outside to show that he “could have won the title.” He said it should have been him and stared at the ring. Miz climbed to the top of the cage and tried to escape but Cena made his way to the top and stopped him. They battled back and forth on top of the cage. Cena got the better of the exchange and tried to get over to the outside but Miz grabbed his leg. They ended up on the top rope. Miz tried to set up for Skull Crushing Finale but Cena turned it into Attitude Adjustment off the top and scored the pin. Your winner and new WWE champion, John Cena! A really well done main event. Morrison looked like a star and they did well pushing R Truth in his new role. Miz and Cena were both strong here as well. A fitting end to a very entertaining main event. Everything that was advertised delivered on the level you’d hope it would. Worth tracking down to see via replay, DVD, etc.
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