5/2 THIS DAY IN HISTORY: CURT HENNIG WINS ONLY WORLD TITLE, ROH ANNOUNCES PPV DEBUT, ECW INVADES ASBURY, FLAIR VS. MOSCA AND MORE
By
Mike Johnson & Buck Woodward on 2011-05-02 08:00:00
May 2nd
On this day in history in ....
1963 - The WWWF ran Washington DC with the following results:
-Chris & John Tolos defeated Pete Sanchez & Arnold Skaaland.
-Eduard Carpentier defeated Willie Bath.
-Pat Barrett defeated Pedro Morales.
-The Shadow defeated Ron Reed.
-Brute Bernard & Skull Murphy defeated Gregory Jarque & Pedro Morales.
-Johnny Barend defeated Boris Malenko.
-Eduard Carpentier fought Hans Mortier to a draw.
1972 - Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is born.
1979 - The WWF ran Bangor, Maine at the Auditorium with the following results:
-Hussein Arab defeated SD Jones.
-Jerry Valiant defeated Tony Altimore.
-Johnny Valiant defeated Dominic DeNucci via count-out.
-Steve Travis defeated Jimmy Valiant via disqualification.
-Cowboy Lang & Tiny Thumb defeated Butch Cassidy & Little Tokyo.
-WWF North American Champion Ted DiBiase fought Greg Valentine to a draw.
1982 - Buzz Sawyer defeats Tommy Rich for the Georgia National Heavyweight Title in Atlanta, Georgia, ending Rich's third title reign.
1982 - NWA World Champion Ric Flair defeated Angelo Mosca via disqualification in the main event of a Jim Crockett Promotions event at the Greensboro Coliseum in North Carolina.
1987 - Curt Hennig defeats Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA World Heavyweight Title in San Francisco, California after Larry Zbyszko handed him a roll of quarters to knock him out with.
1987 - WWF ran Boston, MA at the Boston Garden, drawing 11,834 fans for an event broadcast on NESN, which featured:
-Nick Kiniski pinned Frenchy Martin with a German suplex into a bridge at 11:31
-Demolition (w/ Mr. Fuji) defeated the Islanders at 9:32 when Smash pinned Tama after Ax used Fuji's cane as a weapon
-Iron Mike Sharpe pinned Sivi Afi at 9:37 by grabbing the tights for leverage after the momentum of a flying bodypress by Afi put Sharpe on top
-WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan pinned King Harley Race at 9:17 with a roll up after Race missed a diving headbutt off the top; after the bout, Race attacked Hogan as he was posing and bloodied him; later on in the card, the champion returned ringside and challenged Race to a Texas Death Match for the following month's card and if he couldn't beat Race then he would quit pro wrestling
- Sika (w/ Mr. Fuji) pinned Pete Doherty at 3:07 with the Samoan Drop
-Brutus Beefcake defeated Johnny V via submission with the sleeper at 3:24; after the bout, Beefcake spraypainted and cut some of Valiant’s hair.
-Ken Patera (w/ Jake Roberts, who he was subbing for) pinned the Honkytonk Man (w/ Jimmy Hart) with an elbow drop after Roberts tripped Honky at 9:22; during the match, Hart briefly joined the commentary team of Gorilla Monsoon & Lord Alfred Hayes at ringside; after the bout, Patera applied the full nelson on Honky but was attacked from behind by Hart with the megaphone just as Roberts was getting Damien out of the bag to put on Honky.
-WWF Tag Team Champions Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart (w/ Jimmy Hart) defeated Davey Boy Smith & the Dynamite Kid via disqualification at 7:47 after Smith used Jimmy Hart's megaphone as a weapon; after the bout, Jimmy was thrown onto the champions on the arena floor.
The same night, WWF also ran Chicago, IL at the Rosemont Horizon, featuring:
-Outback Jack defeated Jimmy Jack Funk
-Ron Bass defeated Pedro Morales
-Rick Martel & Tom Zenk defeated Don Muraco & Bob Orton Jr.
-Jacques & Raymond Rougeau defeated Greg Valentine & Dino Bravo
-Jim Duggan defeated the Iron Sheik
-Koko B. Ware defeated Danny Davis
-Tito Santana fought Butch Reed to a 20-minute draw
-WWF Intercontinental champion Ricky Steamboat defeated Randy Savage in a steel cage match
1991- WCW ran The Greensboro Coliseum in North Carolina with the following results:
Sam Houston defeated Joe Cruz.
The One Man Gang defeated Joey Maggs.
Big Josh defeated Jack Victory.
Dustin Rhodes, Tracey Smothers & Steve Armstrong defeated Dr. X, Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin.
WCW US Champion Lex Luger fought Nikita Koloff to a double disqualification.
Sting & El Gigante defeated WCW World Champion Ric Flair & Barry Windham in a steel cage match.
1994 - Larry Zbyszko defeats Lord Steven Regal for the WCW Television Title in Atlanta, Georgia. This was part of a storyline where Zbyszko, who was a heel announcer, got tired of Regal bashing the United States. Zbyszko came out of retirement, defeated Regal in a non-title match, then beat him again to win the belt. Regal would win it back just under two months later.
1994 - Jake Roberts defeats Tony Anthony for the Smoky Mountain Wrestling Heavyweight Title in Harriman, Tennessee. This ended Anthony's second reign.
1994 - Doug Gilbert defeats Brian Christopher for the USWA Southern Heavyweight Wrestling Title in Memphis, Tennessee, ending Christopher's 12th reign with the title, and beginning Gilbert's third. Ironically, on the same show Christopher teamed with Doug's brother, Eddie Gilbert, to lose the USWA Tag Team Title to The Eliminators.
1997 - Extreme Championship Wrestling debuted in Atlantic City, NJ at the Convention Center for a TV Taping. Mike Johnson filed the following live report for The Wrestling Lariat, as archived in the PWInsider Elite section:
Extreme Championship Wrestling debuted in Asbury Park, New Jersey at the Convention Center on 5/2. ECW had pushed on its television that it would be the largest crowd in ECW history, but for some reason, the anticipated walkup did not appear after they had monster advance sales. As it turned out, they drew what seemed to be about or a little over 1,000, which for a debut in a building which was legitimately in the middle of an empty town, isn’t bad. The show was basically a television taping. You know what that means, Folks. ANGLES!
The show opened with Axl Rotten taking on Spike Dudley. The crowd was really hot and popped for both entrances. They started out with Axl stalling a bit. The crowd was on him and he played it off well, challenging fans to face him in the ring. They did some power spots, where the larger Axl would throw Spike around, before Spike hit a high cross-body block off the ropes during a crisscross. Spike takes Axl down with some matwork and gets a two count with a Sunset flip. Axl takes over and throws him out of the ring. He grabs a chair and teases hitting Spike, but throws it down and gives the fans the finger. Spike comes back to hit his running senton off the apron to the floor on Axl, garnering an "ECW" chant. Back in the ring, Axl hits a stiff clothesline but misses an elbow off the second rope. Spike hits a dropkick off of the top. Axl grabs him in a belly to back suplex, but spins as he drops him, which looked awesome. He then pulled him up like he was going to give him a face first-style suplex (like Goldust does), but instead dropped him headfirst into an awesome looking brainbuster for the pin. Both guys are great and deserve pushes.
Next up was the Full-Blooded Italians, with Tommy Rich, taking on Chris Chetti and hometown boy Jimmy Shoulders. Shoulders, of course, was Cloudy in the WWF and is Chris Candido's best friend. Rich says that the FBI is from "Little Atlanta" and that if Shoulders is from Asbury Park, the FBI will have no problem with him. Once he said that, of course Shoulders was over. The FBI jumped Shoulders, but he fought his way out of the corner. The FBI ran into a Chetti flying bodypress off the top rope, to a big pop. The crowd was behind Chetti more than any other show I’ve seen, even going as far as chanting "Chetti, Chetti." It is deserved. Shoulders runs both heels out of the ring and Chetti hits a tope to the floor. Back in the ring, Smothers & Shoulders exchange punches in the middle of the ring, and Shoulders hits a sunset flip for a two count. The FBI takes over and they toss him to the floor, where Rich atomic drops him on the guard rail. They beat on Shoulders until, finally, he makes the tag to Chetti. Chetti clotheslines both and dropkicks Smothers out of the ring. The faces Irish whip the FBI into each other, but Guido shoves Chetti into Tommy Rich on the apron. Rich is waiting with brass knucks and hits the Rookie, letting Guido make the pinfall. Afterwards, Shoulders trashed his partner.
This was followed by Wing Kanemura of FMW meeting "Wild Child" Kevin Quinn, who I am totally unfamiliar with, but thought was a decent worker. Kanemura hit several good moves, including a senton off the top rope, before gaining a pin with springboard elbow off the middle of the top rope. The crowd wasn’t into this at all, but the work was OK. Wing brought a "WINGS" promotion flag to the ring with him.
Following this was an ECW World Tag Team championship match, as the Eliminators defended against Dudley Boys, Big Dick & D-Von. They were accompanied by Buh Buh Ray, who, if you can believe this, took the cast off of his injured ankle. The Elims got a standing ovation. The match started out fast as Saturn dove over the top on Buh Buh out of nowhere and the crowd popped. A furious D-Von stalled and the crowd started chanting, "F**k you D-Von." Joel Gertner, also at ringside for the Dudleys, tried to ask the crowd to be quiet because the television cameras were rolling. The Dudleys double-teamed Saturn until Kronus and Big Dick tagged in and they stood in the middle of the ring, brawling. The Elims took over and hit twisting stereo splashes. Buh Buh hit the ring, but was hit with a Saturn Cutter. Out of nowhere, the Gangstas’ music began to play, so we had an impromptu Three Way Dance, as they hit the ring with New Jack’s magic trash can of goodies. Jack destroyed a guitar on D-Von’s head. It was the usual psychotic brawling with bats, highways signs and Jack breaking a crutch over someone’s head. The crowd ate it up. Kronus got an umbrella and started running around the ring with it open, then poked Big Dick with it. Jack & D-Von go into the crowd and they take out rows upon rows of seats as they brawl towards the concession stands. Buh Buh goes to help D-Von and Mustafa follows. Big Dick hits a double chokeslam on both of the Eliminators. Jack sets up Buh Buh on a table, and then goes to the second level of the building. Can you guess where this is going? The building has permanent raised seating, like a major sports venue would, and the main entrance is about 25-30 feet high. Well, if you were there, you would have believed a Gangsta could fly, as Jack dove off of that alcove onto Buh Buh with a Head butt (!) sending him crashing through the table. Amazing spot! It eventually ends up with everyone back in the ring, and Dick hits Jack, who by now bleeding, with a chokeslam for the pin. The Elims double-team D-Von with some martial arts kicks, and then pin Big Dick with Total Elimination, which is great because it gets over the idea that anyone can be killed with that move. Good brawl.
Next up was the voice of ECW, Joey Styles, who introduced his new co-host for the television show, "Ravishing" Rick Rude. Rude came out to a standing ovation. Rude said that while he doesn’t have the gift of gab that Joey does, he can give the wrestler’s viewpoint concerning Extreme Wrestling. He then warned Shane Douglas that he hasn’t finished "f**king with the 'Franchise." He kissed the camera and left.
About this time, Bam Bam Bigelow, who is from this area, showed up in the crowd and was shaking hands. The aforementioned Douglas came out to the ring, and started bitching about what a piece of sh** Bigelow was and what a crack-smoking ghost town he lived in. Douglas ranted and ranted and was great, and Bigelow was going to hop the rail but was stopped by security. The crowd was behind Bigelow all the way.
Next up was Tommy Dreamer, with Beulah, taking on Cpl. Punishment. Punishment is an Axl Rotten trainee and not bad. Punishment beat on Dreamer with punches and kicks but Tommy began to make a comeback. Out of nowhere, Dreamer was attacked by Louie Spicolli and the referee called for a DQ. A DQ in ECW? Oh My God! Spicolli trashed Dreamer and set up a table at a 45 degree angle and hit a Death Valley Driver through it, which Tommy rightfully sold as if he was dead. There was a small smattering of "ECW" chants for the spot. Tommy was bleeding badly from the head. Spicolli, who was dressed almost identically to Dreamer, made a crucifix, then the "clique" sign. After Spicolli left, Terry Funk came out to check on his protégé. The question begs to be answered: Does anyone really want to see Spicolli vs. Dreamer? Unless Louie gets his work back together, I know I don’t and I don’t think it’s fair to Tommy to put him in that match.
Next up was an ECW World Television championship as Shane Douglas, with the always amazing Francine, defended against ... Balls Mahoney? Bam Bam Bigelow has suddenly returned to the crowd and walks to the railing. I think I smell an angle, folks. Douglas rants on the mic and says that if Balls comes out with a chair, Shane will not wrestle. Balls doesn’t, but grabs one from a ringsider and Shane gets pissed. Referee Jeff Jones, outside the ring, tries to take the chair but Balls slams him with it. They finally start the match and Balls hits an armdrag. Balls gets in a lot of offense, and even hits a belly-to-belly for a two count. Meanwhile, the crowd is all over Francine, chanting "She’s a crack whore", deriving from the earlier Douglas comment about the town. Balls whips Douglas into the corner and hits a superkick. Has Balls ever lost his smile? I think not. He gets a chair and goes to hit Shane, but Chris Candido hits the ring, grabs the chair and hits Balls. The ref calls for a DQ! Two DQs in one night!!! They trash Balls and Bigelow hops the rail and hits the ring to a big pop ... and JOINS IN! The crowd is shocked, and the three trash Balls, until the Pit Bulls, who’s music played as they ran in, make the save, running off Shane, Chris, and finally Bigelow with some double-teaming. The heels make the Triple Threat sign on the stage of the building, so I guess Bigelow is in as a regular. Malenko....Benoit...Douglas....Candido.....Bigelow? Seriously, I’ll wait and see how hard he works before I pass judgment. The Pits help up Balls and they leave. Side Note: Playing theme music during a run-in is extremely unrealistic and only makes the crowd pop for the music, like they do at WWF shows. I didn’t like that touch at all.
Next up was Louie Spicolli vs. Wild Bill Wiles in a squash. WHY? The show was running long, there were three matches left, and the crowd didn’t care, as most went to go buy something. Hmmm, maybe that’s why! At least there was a plus, ECW still made money! Spicolli beats Wild Bill outside with a chair and back in the ring, scores a Northern Lights Suplex before hitting the Death Valley Driver. Like I said, no one cared.
This was followed with a fantastic tag match, as Bill Alfonso’s team of Sabu & Rob Van Dam took on the combination of Chris Candido, returning from his torn bicep, and Taz. The faces (if that is what you can call Candido) got a huge reaction, and Alfonso’s team got a smattering of cheers. This was a really well-worked match and I look forward to seeing it again in the ECW Arena. There were tons of hot spots, and there’s no way I can relay them all. Sabu hit a springboard off a chair into a dive onto Candido on the floor as Taz trashed Van Dam in the ring. Van Dam hit a karate kick off the apron to the floor on Taz, and Sabu hit a 360 clothesline over the top rope onto Candido. Sabu sets a chair in the ring but Bill Alfonso jumps on the apron and blocks him. SOMEONE EXPLAIN THAT? Sabu stops and Candido jumps on the apron and grabs Fonzie but Sabu slugs him. Candido hits Sabu with a chair, then hits a splash off the ropes on him. Taz & Van Dam get in the ring, and Robby misses a spinkick but hits his somersault roll into a splash. Van Dam is charged by Taz in the corner, but splits his legs on the turnbuckle and rolls over. Taz still grabs him and Tazplexes him to a pop. Taz and Sabu finally meet in the middle of the ring to a great reaction, trading forearms and punches. The crowd was very into it. Taz goes for a Tazplex but Sabu reverses and hits his own. He folds his arms like Taz, but Taz no-sells and stand behind him. He then hits his own. Candido tags in and Sabu comes back to hit Air Sabu off a chair into a Frankensteiner on him. He goes for the triple Jump Moonsault, but Chris gets his knees up. Sabu tries to fight off the pain and springboards off the ropes into a spinkick. Chris grabs him in mid-air and drops him into a suplex. They kept doing cool spots until Candido had Van Dam on the top rope for a Suicide Bomb, but Fonzie grabs him and he crotches himself. Van Dam backdrops him into the ring. Taz is killing Sabu, but Fonzie jumps in the ring and hits him. He grabs Fonzie for a Tazplex, but Sabu takes out his knee. Taz is knocked out of the ring. Sabu uses Van Dam as a springboard and hits Air Sabu into a spinkick. They try to double-team Chris, but there’s miscommunication and they butt heads. Chris hits a Tiger suplex and pins Van Dam as Sabu & Taz brawl to the back. Van Dam recovers and gets the mic and says this never would have happened if he was working Monday Nights for a legitimate company. He then notices Candido on the stage and says the great thing about ECW is he has the freedom to talk about that and do what he wants and makes a motion like he’s feeling up Sunny’s butt. Candido gets pissed, but is held back. Fonzie says he wants to feel it too.
This left us with our main event, a Three Way Dance between Raven, Stevie Richards and the Sandman with the winner meeting ECW World champ Terry Funk. Raven got a huge pop and came out with Lupus, formerly Kent Porter and the unnamed bosom-gifted Blonde. Stevie likewise got one and the crowd, which had been dying, chanted "BWO" pretty loudly as Richards came out alone. Sandman made his grand entrance from the crowd and they loved it. After the three locked up several times, with no one getting a reaction, Lupus, who was hysterical on the mic, got in the ring with a multi-colored stick and chugged a drink to mimic the Sandman. He crushed it on his dead, hurting himself. He kept calling Sandy "Sand dude" and kept going back to Raven because he couldn’t remember the insults he was supposed to say. I’m not doing it justice but it was pretty funny. Sandman, of course, caned him. Raven jumped on him, and Stevie attacks Raven. There’s a crisscross and Sandy & Stevie hit each other when Raven drops down. They shove each other and Stevie hits a rocker dropper on Sandy. Stevie misses a dropkick and Sandy & Raven begin throwing punches at each other. Lupus hits Sandman with his cane and Stevie and Raven meet face to face and Raven hugs him, but Stevie isn’t returning the gesture, and is saying, "What do I do?" Sandman gets up and Stevie saves Raven by Steviekicking him back down. The BWO theme hits and the other members of the BWO hit the ring. The Blue Meanie confronts Stevie (and was very good on the mic) asking him where he was "last week, while Nova and I were defeating the Full-Blooded Idiots on TV. Are you with us or against us?" Before Stevie can answer, Sandman has recovered and knocks Stevie into Meanie, knocking him out of the ring. Sandman & Raven then beat up the BWO. The BWO storms off, leaving Stevie behind. Raven suplexes Sandman, but he lowblows both Stevie & Raven, and hits a DDT on Stevie for a two count. Raven saves Stevie and drags Sandman out of the ring, where he whips him into the guardrail, and Sandman does the headfirst flip into it. Back in the ring, Sandman pins Raven with a DDT, but Stevie hits a Steviekick, pinning Sandman for the first-time ever to gain the title shot.
Immediately, "Desperado" plays and ECW World champion Terry Funk makes his way to the ring for his first championship defense. He meets Stevie in the center of the ring, and clotheslines him over the top rope. He whips Stevie into the rail and hits him with a chair. Back in the ring, he hits a pair of Hangman’s neckbreakers for a 2 count, but Stevie comes back to whip Terry into the corner. Stevie misses a running start into a knee to the chest, hitting his knee on the turnbuckle, selling it for the rest of the match. Terry gets on his hands and knees and starts head butting Stevie. He rolls him up for a 2 count, and then applies the spinning toehold, but Stevie rolls him up for a 2 count. Terry and Stevie box, but Stevie kicks him low and hits a side slam for a 2 count. Terry takes over. He hits a belly-to-back suplex as Raven hits the ring and DDT’s the referee. The place popped! Raven trashes Funk and DDTs him several times. Stevie, unaware of Raven’s help, hit’s a Steviekick. Tommy Dreamer hits the ring, all bloody from earlier, and confronts Stevie. I have no clue where Raven went...maybe under the ring? I don’t recall him exiting at all. Anyway, Tommy & Stevie argue and Stevie strikes with a Steviekick, but Terry grabs him and DDTs him for the pin, retaining the belt. Tommy & Terry leave together to a nice pop, and Stevie gets a "BWO" chant on his way out. The main event was OK, but I was really disappointed because just as Funk & Stevie were starting to click, Raven did his run-in. The tease of whether Raven & Stevie are together is great.
Asbury Notes and Thoughts: Personally, I didn’t care for the show but I can’t put my finger on exactly why. The crowd died halfway thru the show, I guess because there was simply too much on it, it started a bit late, and ran long. I know that I was tired out by the time they did the Dreamer-Spicolli angle and it was hard for me to get back into the show....The building was cordoned off, and they had everyone sit on one side of the building for TV. The crowd was not happy about being told where to sit but ECW wanted everyone "on camera" and you can't blame them for that....There was a reporter and photographer from the Asbury Park Press, one of New Jersey’s largest papers, taking notes and interviewing fans and ECW staffers about their debut. I had the chance to speak to the reporter, Shawn Mullen, and he was interested in presenting a legitimate article about ECW and the sport and the differences between them and the "Big Two." The article will run this summer, to help preview ECW's return here on July 11th....Tammy Sytch was on stage all night, helping Mikey Whipwreck run the sound booth.
1998 - Chris Benoit defeats Booker T for the WCW Television Title in Charleston, South Carolina. This was the third of five days in a row that the Television title changed hands, with four of those changes being between Benoit and Booker.
1998 - WWE ran Landover, MD at The USAir Arena, drawing 6,293 fans with the following results:
-Bradshaw pinned Barry Windham.
-The Headbangers defeated the Quebecers.
-Jeff Jarrett defeated Scorpio.
-D-Lo Brown & Owen Hart defeated Farooq & Steve Blackman.
-The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust pinned Marc Mero.
-the Legion of Doom defeated WWF Tag Team Champions the Road Dogg & Billy Gunn via disqualification.
-The Undertaker defeated Kane via disqualification
-WWF champion Steve Austin defeated WWF European Champion Triple H
2000 - Chris Jericho defeats Chris Benoit for the WWF Intercontinental Title in Richmond, Virginia, starting Jericho's third reign with the belt.
2002 - The WWF Hardcore Title changed hands several times during a house show in Glasgow, Scotland. Shawn Stasiak pinned Crash Holly with a roll up in a four way match with defending champion Steven Richards and Justin Credible to win the title. However, due to the 24/7 defense rule, Justin Credible then superkicked Stasiak and pinned him to win the title. This was followed by Crash bulldogging Credible and pinning him to win the title, then Richards hit Crash with a guitar and pinned him to win back the title he started the night with. However, before he could leave the ring, Stasiak rolled him up from behind and pinned him to win back the title, only for Richards to reverse and then pin Stasiak to win back the title, which he then left with. So, there were six title changes, with Stasiak and Richards winning the title twice each over the course of the match.
2005 - During an edition of Raw in Boston, Massachusetts, General Manager Eric Bischoff announced a "Gold Rush Tournament" to determine the number one contender to the World Title held by Batista. Here are the results of the first round:
- Kane defeated Christian with a chokeslam.
- Shawn Michaels defeated Intercontinental Champion Shelton Benjamin with a superkick as Shelton attempted a springboard clothesline in what was considered to be one of the best Raw matches of the year.
- Edge defeated Chris Jericho with a spear after hitting him with the Money In The Bank briefcase.
- Chris Benoit defeated Triple H via submission with the Sharpshooter following a brawl that involved Ric Flair and Batista.
2006 - During an edition of Smackdown from Cincinnati, Ohio, Mark Henry cleanly pinned World Champion Rey Mysterio with a powerslam in a non-title match. Mysterio, who was to defend the title against JBL at Judgment Day, had stated he wasn't afraid to face anyone, which led to JBL bringing out Henry for him to wrestle. This would not be the only time Mysterio was cleanly beaten during his title reign.
2007 - Ring of Honor announced they would be making the move to PPV, airing the first in a series of taped two hour PPV specials in July, taping at the Manhattan Center in New York City. The move to PPV has been something the company has been working on for the last six months, having met with every major cable and satellite PPV provider with all except DirecTV signing on. The PPVs were produced in conjunction with New York City's G-Funk Sports and Entertainment, who's President, Ken Gelman had been a fixture at recent New York City events. Gelman was the liason between ROH and the PPV carriers during the process of getting the deals signed. As part of the deal, ROH announced they had signed 12 talents to contracts, but did not disclose which talents were signed. The official announcement of the deal read:
INTERNATIONAL WRESTLING PHENOMENON RING OF HONOR INKS STATESIDE TELEVISION DEALS WITH iN DEMAND, TVN AND ECHOSTAR
PPV/VOD Distribution Deals Bring ROH into 50 Million Households
New York, May 2, 2007 - Ring Of Honor Wrestling (ROH), in association with G-Funk Sports & Entertainment, has concluded programming and distribution deals for PPV and VOD wrestling cards with iN DEMAND Networks, TVN and EchoStar Communications Corporation's DISH NetworkTM, making the critically-acclaimed ROH brand available for the first time ever to approximately 50 million American households. The agreement calls for a card every 60 days from shows both stateside and abroad, and will premiere July 1. A total of six cards are planned throughout '07/'08. ROH owner Cary Silkin made the announcement today with G-Funk's President Ken Gelman. The debut event, entitled "Respect Is Earned," will be taped May 12 in New York City from the Grand Ballroom of the Manhattan Center, and will feature a glistening array of talent from Japan, England, the U.S. and Mexico.
Long revered by a loyal underground fan base, the Philadelphia-based ROH, Âcurrently seen on Canadian, British and Japanese TV Âappeals to the disenfranchised wrestling fan fed up with storylines which seem to take precedence over the kind of powerful ring competition that ROH specializes in. ROH, in fact, is seen to have the highest level of athleticism in its field today, which recently culminated in a sweep of the 2006 Wrestling Observer awards for "Most Outstanding Wrestler," "Best Brawler," "Best Major Wrestling Show" (ROH took four of its Top 10) and "Best Booker."
"Fans around the world now know that our brand of action is, indeed, the highest-flying, hardest-hitting most daring and acrobatic action presented today," says Mr. Silkin. "We are thrilled that we can finally show a televised audience what our crowds have known for the last six years ¦that ROH harkens back to an earlier era of wrestling where authenticity still counted for something. There's a magic at our shows that I, as a wrestling fan, had all but given up on."
G-Funk Sports and Entertainment will be handling all marketing and promotion for the wrestling programs, including creation and launch of an affiliate website on May 15, www.rohaffiliates.com, which will contain easy-to-implement marketing materials and all event information. Each show will also be supported by a range of targeted national consumer advertising and promotion.
According to Mr. Gelman, "Ring Of Honor already has the respect and enthusiastic following of legions of fans around the world through their live events, but represents a fresh new entry into the world of televised wrestling. These distinctive programs will prove a welcome change-of-pace for audiences and a popular new option for cable operators and satellite providers as they expand their transactional offerings."
2008 - The first and only season of Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling was announced for CMT. Produced by Eric Bischoff and Jason Hervey, "I am excited to have this opportunity at CMT to get the chance to run wild with their audience. As I looked at the sports entertainment landscape, I realized it was time to shake things up from the traditional formats people have become used to seeing. The audience is ready for something different and more contemporary, and through my partnership with BHE and CMT, that's exactly what were gonna do" said the legendary Hulk Hogan. The series featured a cast of celebrities learning under Brian Knobbs and Brutus Beefcake before putting on matches before a live crowd, where they were judged by Hulk Hogan, Jimmy Hart and Eric Bischoff. In the end, Dennis Rodman was crowned the first and only CCW champion, although Todd Bridges proved to be far and away the talent with the most aptitude for the business.
2008 - On an episode of Smackdown, Vickie Guerrero stripped The Undertaker of the WWE World championship in retaliation for Taker "injuring" Edge at the Backlash PPV the previous week. Guerrero also banned Undertaker's gogoplata (Hell's Gate") submission.
2008 - PWInsider.com reported the following: "WWE performers who underwent drug testing as part of the Wellness Policy this week found themselves under more stringent testing conditions. In the past, performers were able to urinate into a vial at a urinal, but as of this past week, male performers were required to provide a sample in full view of those representing Aegis Science, the firm that tests WWE's urine samples. Performers, male and female, were also required to drop their pants at least down to their knees and pull their shirts up above their nipples, according to numerous sources. The new testing procedures were believed to have been adapted to prevent talents from circumventing testing procedures using cheating devices.The word making the way around the wrestlers was that an incident had sparked the more stringent procedures, but no one was quite sure what that exactly had been or if the story was correct or some baseless theory that was created among the discussion of the changes. There was talk that a developmental talent had been caught trying to use a device in an attempt to circumvent the testing process."
2008 - WWE canceled a scheduled tour of Mexico for the Raw brand scheduled for the end of May 2009 due to an outbreak of swine flu, rescheduling that weekend for Huntsville, Alabama on May 29th and Montgomery, Alabama on May 30th.
2008 - WWE ran a Raw house show in Montreal. Ryan Rider filed the following live report:
I guess the old adage about the "card subject to change" would qualify to explain that the announced matches were changed once again. In particular, Jericho faced Snitsky and not Mr. Kennedy (or the originally announced Umaga). The tag team and women's championship matches were also changed as noted. At the beginning of the show, they announced that there would be a fan voting by cell phone as to what the stipulation would be for the main event (HHH vs Orton). The choices were steel cage, 2 out of 3 falls, or No DQ. Whether or not the poll was rigged, Steel Cage won by a majority of votes.
It had been awhile since I'd attended a house show, and my expectations were not high. However, I must admit that I did enjoy the event very much so. These days, professional wrestling or WWE in particular has become too much of a television show and they seemed to have lost something along the way. Everything is done towards the camera and for TV. The wrestlers captivated on the house show format; as they had nice long matches and used a lot of crowd psychology. I was very impressed and hope this is a new long-term positive direction for WWE house shows. Could it be possible that they've heard how successful TNA's live events have been and are trying to follow suit? I sure hope so.
Paul London and Brian Kendrick beat Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch: Very good opening match and went over 30 minutes long. Both Kendrick and London were showcased well, and I have to say I like them a little more than I did before. Murdoch and Cade had some animosity following the bout, and Murdoch sang a song for the crowd.
Carlito won over Shad Gaspard: Carlito got major heat for wearing a Philadelphia Flyers jersey on his way to the ring (currently beating the Montreal Canadians 3-1 in the playoffs). The crowd was booing like crazy and Shad got a good response (he is a beast by the way, he manhandled Carlito like crazy, and has improved since his last run in the WWE). Gaspard hauled Carlito's jersey off his chest, and used it to wipe his ass. Unfortunately, that did not help him succeed and Carlito pulled a surprise pin for the win.
William Regal beat Super Crazy: Decent match, Regal pulling off an easy win and then gave promo saying he has more power than anybody else in the company being both the King of the Ring and General Manager of Raw.
Mickie James defeated Katie Lea Burchill: Probably the best match of the night. Katie Lea performed very well in the ring as did defending champion Mickie.
Cody Rhodes defeated "The Natural" Nick Nemeth (formerly of the Spirit Squad): "Nicky" was actually really good. Very technical match, with Cody Rhodes coming out on top after 20 minutes of back and forth action.
Chris Jericho kept his IC title against Snitsky: Chris got a huge ovation, coming back to his home nation of Canada. He told Snitsky that his breath stinks and that he should brush his teeth (also said it in broken French as "Brosser tes dents") which got the crowd to pop even more. Another enjoyable contest.
HHH retained the Raw World Championship against Randy Orton in a steel cage match: Probably a practice go-round to see how things will go at Judgement Day when they will face each other in the cage once again. Strong match; Orton had a lot of heel heat and HHH was cheered like crazy. I personally booed both of them, but that's just me. Good cage match, fans should expect a lot from their next encounter. Both guys tried to escape the steel structure numerous times but were pulled back down by their opponent. Triple H used the Figure Four Leg Lock which brought upon a lot of cheers, while Orton was also on the offence for much of the bout. Match ended when HHH pedigreed Randy Orton for the 1-2-3 count. Following the match, Triple H stayed for about 10 minutes and shook hands with many fans.
2009 - It was announced that Hernandez of LAX would be out several months after undergoing neck surgery earlier in the week. The neck surgery was the reason he was booked to be attacked and destroyed by the new British faction in TNA.
2010 - EVOLVE 3 was held in Rahway, NJ. Stuart Carapola's live report can be found below:
I attended the third EVOLVE event this past weekend in Rahway, New Jersey, and thought I'd write a quick column sharing my thoughts on the event. The first thing I noticed, which EVOLVE management surely can't be happy about, is that it was very lightly attended, and I'd say they were lucky if they had 200 people there. Last time they had an excuse because of the massive rainstorm that was affecting the Northeast, but this time the only thing I can attribute it to was poor promotion. Their first event was very heavily hyped and drew a good crowd, but I nearly forgot this event was happening because it wasn't in my face the way the first one was.
-I liked the opener between Sami Callahan and Adam Cole, it was really intense and a good match to put on first and get the crowd going. Callahan has really grown on me in the last year or so and I like how he is innovative with his moves without making them overly complex or contrived like you see far too often on the indies. Callahan's stuff looks good and doesn't take 20 minutes to set up.
-After the first match, they made an announcement that from here on out, all EVOLVE matches would have no time limit and must have a winner. This pretty much told me that they were giving up on doing 12 or 13 matches at 7-10 minutes apiece and would instead have shorter matches that each got a decent length of time. I know Gabe made a conscious decision not to go long with his stuff the way he did at ROH, but even though I enjoyed most of the action on EVOLVE 1 and 2, I thought the matches were a little too short, and by the end of this evening I thought they struck a good balance.
-Match #2 saw Johnny Gargano defeat Ricochet in what amounted to two different matches: it was solid and well-worked when Gargano was in control and was a flippy dippy spotfest when Ricochet was in control. I think Gargano has a ton of personality but it doesn't come through at all in his matches because when he's wrestling, he just has this stone dead face on and he really needs to emote more. I think his wrestling is fine, but he just needs to make that connection with the audience who doesn't see his stuff on the internet. The match ended in a double countout, but as we conveniently were told before this match, every bout in EVOLVE must have a winner, and the first man to make it back in the ring would win the match. Ricochet almost made it, but Gargano pulled him back to the floor and dove in the ring to score the win. Jimmy Jacobs came out to confront him from the aisleway after the match, so it looks like that storyline is going to continue.
-Next was our traditional Mercedes Martinez squash of some local girl, and as usual it took all of two minutes. I really like Mercedes and think she's improved a lot over the last few years, and I would love to see her and Del Rey work another series of matches. Mercedes challenged Amazing Kong to a future match in EVOLVE, which I can't wait to see.
-From there we go to a three way tag match as Aeroform defeated Up In Smoke and Team Beyond in your standard indy spotfest match. This was basically the CHIKARA match with guys who look 12 years old instead of the CHIKARA guys. They ran, they jumped, they flipped, they took stupid bumps that meant nothing, and overall did nothing to make me care about any of them. Aeroform got the win and then had a confrontation with Up In Smoke, as each team has one win in an EVOLVE match that included the other team.
-Next up we got new FIP Champion Jon Moxley taking on Drake Younger. This was my first time seeing Younger and he looked like a miniature version of Eddie Kingston, except that Younger appeared to have some wrestling talent. This was a solid match until both men were on the top rope and Younger very obviously had a blade in his hand and was trying very hard to gig Moxley, but it just wasn't happening and he spent a ton of time blatantly running the blade over Moxley's head and headbutting to try and get him to bust open before he finally got color, and then Younger visibly stuffed the blade back in the front of his singlet. Not very subtle, and the blood was completely unnecessary and didn't play into the match at all since this wasn't a match between two guys who really had it out for each other. As for Moxley, I've only seen him a few times but he's really grown on me, I like his look and his persona as this big mouth dirtbag who can back up everything he says and I'm impressed with what he does in the ring.
-Next we got a terrific match between Chris Hero and Bobby Fish, and this was easily the best I've ever seen Fish look. To me he's always been this journeyman midcarder who just doesn't have what it takes to hit it big, but he showed a ton of heart and drive in this match and Hero literally had to throw everything he had at Fish to put him away, finishing him with a flash kick and three rolling elbows. There were a couple of points where it looked like Fish was going to get the upset, and this is one of those matches that shows that you can lose and still come out of it looking stronger than when you went in, and that's exactly what Bobby Fish did. I really liked this and for the first time ever, am interested to see what happens next with Bobby Fish.
-From there we went to a four way match that saw Brodie Lee defeat Gran Akuma, Hallowicked, and Chris Dickinson, and also saw these guys blow half the spots they tried, and Chris Dickinson was responsible for most of those blown spots. I've seen the other guys do better so I'll give them a pass, but I am not at all impressed with Dickinson and wouldn't be hearbroken if he weren't brought back for EVOLVE 4. I liked that Brodie got the win because he's this gigantic guy who can really move for a guy his size and he ought to be able to just roll over everybody, yet inexplicably does a clean pinfall job in nearly every match I've seen him in. I really hope this is the start of him getting a push because I see Sid Vicious monster potential in this guy, albeit at the indy level.
-Next was my personal favorite match of the night as TJP defeated Kyle O'Reilly in a really good match that saw both guys work an MMA style with a lot of submissions, escapes and reversals. I really like watching both these guys wrestle, and when you put them together like this they're both able to show just how good they are while working with a guy who can hang with them in their style of match. I was a little surprised to see TJP win since O'Reilly seemed to be the guy who was getting the big push, but I was really happy to see it because TJ is a guy who I think has talent coming out of every pore on his body and I've never seen him have a bad match, but for some reason has just never gotten the push that I feel is commensurate with his talent. After the match he cut a promo putting over Kyle O'Reilly in a nice gesture of sportsmanship, then challenged Munenori Sawa to a rematch of their bout back on EVOLVE 1. I'm all for that, I thought that was one of the strongest matches in EVOLVE so far and would like to see them try and top it. I'd also be totally up for a series of matches between TJ and O'Reilly.
-From there we went to the first of our two main events, both of which featured wrestlers who were undefeated in EVOLVE. The first main event saw Jimmy Jacobs defeat Brad Allen in a match that I found puzzling for a number of reasons. First, Allen has been building to a big match with Chris Hero, and having him suffer a clean loss like this seemed to kill his momentum for me, and if he can't beat Jimmy Jacobs, how are we supposed to believe he can beat Chris Hero? The other thing was that Jimmy was too physically dominant of the much larger and stronger Brad Allen, outbrawling him on a couple of occasions. I feel that a lot of the work that had gone into making Allen seem like a star on the rise was blown with the way he was booked in this match.
-Finally we had our second main event, as Chuck Taylor defeated Claudio Castagnoli. Claudio is an absolute monster, that dude is so strong and did one really impressive spot where he was standing on the top rope and reached down, grabbed Taylor by the arms, and yanked him up to the top rope with him. Claudio is just a beast, and is a terrific worker to boot, and the fact that this guy is not making tons of money in a national promotion is just mind-boggling to me. As for Taylor, I really like his style, I think he's a good wrestler and he has a lot of charisma, and he's obviously someone that Gabe has big plans for otherwise he wouldn't be in the position he is in, and the fact is that we may not be looking at guys like Hero and Claudio being around long term, so even though it's a little difficult to accept a guy like Taylor, who isn't very big, as beating a guy the size of Claudio, I think it's wise to use the stars to help get over the guys who are going to be around EVOLVE as regulars, as Hero did with Fish and as Claudio did here with Taylor.
Overall, an excellent show and I feel like after two shows of feeling things out and trying to figure out what works for them, EVOLVE has finally hit their stride and I'm really looking forward to seeing where they go from here. They've successfully taken guys like Bobby Fish, Brad Allen, Johnny Gargano, and Chuck Taylor, who I either had no familiarity with or no regard for, and turned them into characters whose future exploits I'm interested in watching. Great effort all around, and if you could have made it to this show and didn't, you really missed out on a great event and should make a point of trying to get to EVOLVE 4. EVOLVE returns to Rahway on September 11th as part of Wrestlereunion weekend, and are currently working on finalizing a July date as well.
2011 - Tommy Dreamer turns heel during an Impact taping in Orlando, Florida, attacking AJ Styles. With the exception of a brief run as part of the WCW/ECW Alliance during the WWF Invasion storyline, it's the first time Dreamer has been turned heel since coming to prominence nationally in the early 1990s.
2011 - WWE held a birthday party for the Rock on Monday Night Raw. Richard Trionfo filed the following report:
We start off with a video package about the attacks on New York City and Washington D.C from 2001. We then go to the Smackdown that aired on the Thursday after the attacks.
We are live from Miami, Florida and your announcers are Michael ‘For Rock’s birthday, I will be a mute’ Cole, Jerry ‘For Rock’s birthday, I will beat up a mute’ Lawler and Josh ‘For Rock’s birthday, I will give him my Tough Enough tape’ Mathews.
Lillian Garcia is in the ring to sing the National Anthem.
The Rock’s music plays and he comes out to the ring.
FINALLY . . . The Rock has . . . home. Before they get started, Rock has one thing to say. We got him. Rock thanks the proud men and women who continuously and fearlessly fight for our country. Rock says that his family are proud members of the military. He is proud to be an American. There is only one way we are going to start off tonight. Rock wants everyone to say the Pledge of Allegiance.
Rock says that it feels good to be home because it all started here. The doctors and nurses came around and said that this baby sure is called ‘Johnson’. Then the Rock went to high school. He had an afro and mustache and looked like the lead singer of Menudo. They showed a photo of the Rock and after some people laughed, he said that face devoured more pie in one night than King Kong Bundy in a Polish bakery.
Rock says that he went to college at ‘The U’. He says that he brought a National Championship to Miami. He electrified the Orange Bowl and then he went to the WWE where he said a lot of catchphrases. It is time to smell . . . a ding ding.
Michael Cole has a smile on his face as he gets to interrupt the Rock. Cole reads the e-mail and he quotes, but Rock whoas Cole.
Rock tells Cole he can’t hear him. He says that if Cole has the gall to interrupt him on his birthday, he wants Cole to read it to the Rock’s face.
Cole declines but Rock stops him. Rock says that if Cole is scared of him he understands. Rock mentions that Cole has won at Wrestlemania and at Extreme Rules, so he must be a tough guy. He could be a tough guy or the voice of the WWE and read the message to the Rock’s face. He tells Cole to be a man and come in the ring or sit in his glass box and look like a drunk hobbit jackbag bitch.
Cole says that he is not scared of anything. He says that he is not the same person that Rock used to know. Cole says that he has grown into a man. He says that he is a winner. Cole says that he associates with winners. Cole takes off his jacket and removes his shirt to reveal a Celtics jersey. Cole asks the fans of Miami if they are jealous because Boston has more World Championships than anyone. Cole tells Dwayne that he will deliver the message face to face.
Cole walks into the ring and says that the Raw General Manager demands an apology or the birthday party will be shut down before it gets started. Cole says that he wants an apology. He tells Dwayne that he wants an apology for all of the embarrassment that he put Cole through over the years.
Rock tells Cole that he is right. He did disrespect the General Manager at Wrestlemania and he disrespected Cole over the years. Rock has one thing to say to Cole. He is sorry. Rock offers his hand and he wants Cole to shake his hand. He wants Cole to accept his apology.
Cole thinks about it and he shakes Rock’s hand. Cole says thank you for apologizing and then Rock doesn’t let go. Rock tells Michael Cole ‘thank you and Go Heat . . . bitch’. Rock with a Rock Bottom and then it is time for the People’s Elbow.
Rock’s music plays and he wants them to stop the music. Rock says that this is the biggest party in Miami and he introduces Pitbull. He thanks Rock for having him here to represent Dade County.
The Miami Heat dancers come out to join Pitbull.
We go to commercial with some birthday wishes from Dwayne Wade and Lebron James.
We are back with the WWE Rewind; Little Jimmy gets yelled at by R Truth.
Jim Ross has joined Josh and Jerry at the announce table since Michael Cole is otherwise indisposed.
R Truth attacks John Morrison as he comes to the ring so turnabout is fair play.
Match Number One: R Truth versus John Morrison
Before the match starts, Truth sends Morrison into the ringside barrier and he continues to pummel Morrison. Truth with Shut Up on Morrison.
Morrison is helped by the referees to get back to his feet and he holds his neck.
Morrison is met on the stage by Truth who returns from the back and he gives Morrison a Flatline.
We go to commercial.
We are back and it is time for more birthday wishes for the Rock. Jimmy Kimmel wishes him a happy birthday.
Before our first match, we mean it this time, we are told by Jim Ross that doctors are checking on John Morrison.
Match Number One: Maryse versus Kelly Kelly
Maryse pie faces Maryse but Kelly with a kick and bulldog. Kelly screams while she slams Maryse’s face into the mat.
Kharma’s music plays and Kelly and Maryse stay in the ring because they aren’t really that smart. She makes her way to the ring and it is time to break some bigger dolls.
Kharma gets in the ring and she looks at Kelly Kelly while Maryse is still on her back feeling the effect of Kelly’s impressive offense.
Kharma gets Maryse up for the Implant Buster and Kharma laughs like a maniac.
Kelly is frozen in the corner and Kharma walks away.
Miz is in his dressing room and he is staring away. Alex Riley, who is on Smackdown (remember that) arrives and Miz wants to know where he was. Miz also wants to know where he was last night. Alex reminds Miz that he was drafted to Smackdown. Miz reminds Riley that he is under a personal services contract with him and that takes precedence. Miz tells Riley that he will be ringside tonight during his match with Cena. People won’t talk about the Rock tonight, they will talk about him winning the WWE Title.
We go to commercial with more birthday wishes. Paul Walker is the person who gives him the birthday wishes.
We go to commercial.
We are back and it is time for more birthday wishes for the Rock and it is Samuel L. Jackson and he is sick and tired of these multi-filthy snakes on these multi-filthy promos.
Rock is in the party room with the Divas and he is talking about how he was singing happy birthday for Michelle Obama. He thanks them all for getting dressed up for the party (because Rock sure isn’t). Rock sees Teddy Long and he wishes him a happy birthday. Vladimir Kozlov tells Rock that he has written a movie script for Rock’s birthday. Santino is dressed up like Rock’s character on Fast Five. Santino’s chin is ticklish.
The Half Scorpion King appears at the party and he has a toothache. Great Khali is dressed as the Tooth Fairy and he fist bumps his Get Smart co-star.
Rock says that he has the perfect person for the perfect type and Ron Simmons appears for his DAMN cameo.
John Cena and Miz are walking in the back (along with Alex Riley a few steps behind Miz in the background) as we go to commercial.
We are back and Steve Carell is giving a hostage style video forcing him to wish Dwayne Johnson a happy birthday and he is disappointed that he isn’t being paid to do this.
Match Number Two: John Cena versus The Miz with Alex Riley for the WWE Title
They lock up and Miz with a side head lock on Cena and he locks it in. Cena with a hip toss and drop kick. Cena with an Irish whip and bulldog for a near fall. Miz with a kick followed by punches but Cena punches back. Cena knocks Riley off the apron and Miz takes Cena down and Miz punches and kicks Cena.
Miz sends Cena to the floor and the referee is distracted by Miz so Riley can hit Cena with a clothesline. Cena is sent into the ring steps and then they return to the ring. Miz gets a near fall.
Miz waits for Cena to get up for the Awesome Clothesline and Miz mixes things up with the right arm. Miz with a double sledge from the turnbuckles for a near fall.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Miz with a knee lift followed by a neck breaker for a near fall. Miz kicks Cena in the corner and he punches him. The referee pulls Miz out of the corner but Miz returns to the attack. Miz waits for Cena to get back to his feet with an AWESOME Clothesline but Cena moves out of the way. Cena with two flying shoulder tackles followed by a Blue Thunder Bomb and it is time for the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena tries to finish the Legendary Sequence with an Attitude Adjustment but Miz gets out of the hold and he kicks Cena in the head. ,P> Miz tries for a boot to the head but Cena with an STF. Miz gets to the ropes and the referee calls for Miz to release the hold. Miz with a kick to the knee and a DDT for a near fall. Miz exposes the turnbuckle pad while Riley distracts the referee. Miz tries to send Cena into the turnbuckle but Miz is stopped.
Miz with the Reality Check combination but he can only get a two count. Miz shows frustration about how he hasn’t won yet. Miz signals for the Skull Crushing Finale but Cena backs Miz into the referee and the referee is knocked out. Cena locks in the STF and Miz taps, but there is no referee.
Riley tries to interfere but Cena stops him. Miz gets Riley up for Attitude Adjustment. Miz hits Cena and hits the Skull Crushing Finale. The referee takes a while to make the count so Cena is able to kick out at two.
Cena with the Attitude Adjustment but Miz kicks out. Riley runs around the ring to distract the referee so Miz can hit Cena with the title belt and Miz gets the three count.
Winner: Miz
After the match, Miz celebrates in the ring with Riley. The referee wonders how the belt got into the center of the ring and he changes the decision and disqualifies Miz.
John Cena is still your champion.
After the smoke clears. Cena clotheslines Riley and Miz and then they get Attitude Adjustments.
We go to commercial with some more birthday wishes for the Rock and it is Ellen Degeneres.
We are back and Tyler Perry, not dressed like Madea, wishes Rock a happy birthday.
It is time to see John Cena let the people of Tampa know about Osama bin Laden.
Alberto Del Rio is introduced so he can do commentary.
Match Number Three: Rey Mysterio and Kofi Kingston versus Drew McIntyre and Jack Swagger in a You might remember these guys from Friday
Swagger and Rey start and Swagger with a waist lock take down into a front face lock. Swagger punches Rey in the corner followed by an Irish whip but Rey with a kick. Rey with a head scissors that sends Swagger into the corner. Rey with a bronco buster and then he picks up Swagger so Kofi can mount him in the corner and he punches away. Kofi with an English uppercut followed by a forearm.
Kofi with a boot to Swagger but Drew with a clothesline from the apron as we go to commercial.
We are back and Swagger and Kofi are in the ring and Kofi tries to make the tag but Swagger stops him. Drew tags in and he punches Kofi. Drew with forearms to the back and he stomps on Kofi’s chest. Kofi gets a near fall with a rollup but Drew stops Kofi from making the tag and Drew gets a near fall with a jackknife cover. Swagger tags back in and Kofi tries to fight out of the corner.
Swagger with forearms to the back and then he puts Kofi in a front face lock. Kofi tries to get to his corner but Drew distracts the referee and Swagger knocks Rey down. Drew tags back in and he walks across Kofi’s chest. Kofi with a kick to the head but Drew with a forearm to the back.
Kofi with elbows to Drew and Drew tries for a belly-to-back suplex but Kofi lands on his feet and he tags in Rey. Rey with a head scissors followed by a round kick and he gets a near fall and Swagger breaks up the cover. Swagger picks up Rey and Rey kicks Drew into the ropes. Kofi sends Swagger to the floor. Kofi with Trouble in Paradise to Drew and Drew goes into the ropes. Del Rio gets up from the announce table but Rey hits the dive from the top turnbuckle for the three count.
Winners: Rey Mysterio and Kofi Kingston
After the match, Del Rio goes into the ring, but Rey stops him.
We go to footage from an anti-bullying event in Washington DC that Triple H appeared at.
The next person not bullied into wishing the Rock a happy birthday is Ludacris.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Did You Know that the Smackdown after the 9/11 attacks were the first major public gathering.
Dan Marino is the next to wish Rock a happy birthday.
Christian is in the party room with the Rock and Rock tells him that he is proud of him. Evan Bourne gets to talk to Rock before Vickie excuse mes herself into the room. Vickie says that even though no one wished her a happy birthday, her and Dolph got her a present. They pull apart the cake to reveal Mae Young.
Rock tells Vickie that she can lose all the weight she wants and Vickie will never look as good or as beautiful as Mae Young. Rock thanks Mae for showing up for his birthday. Rock kisses Mae and then he tells Dolph that he gets more pie in one night than Dolph does in an entire lifetime.
John Cena appears and he tells Rock that he brought a gift that only he can give him. He holds up the WWE Championship. Cena says that he will keep it until Wrestlemania 28. This makes the biggest match in Wrestlemania history even bigger. If Rock wants it, he will have to go through him. Rock tells Cena to just bring it.
Cena wishes Rock a happy birthday and leaves.
Kane is walking in the back as we go to commercial.
We are back with another birthday wish. This time it is from George Lopez.
Match Number Four: Kane versus Mason Ryan with CM Punk
They lock up and Ryan sends Kane to the mat. They lock up again and Kane is sent to the floor. Kane returns to the ring and Kane with a side head lock and Ryan stays on his feet after Kane tries for a shoulder tackle. Ryan with a clothesline and a slam. Ryan punches Kane followed by a hard Irish whip. Ryan with an Irish whip but Kane with a boot and uppercut. Kane with an Irish whip and then he hits a splash in the corner.
Punk interferes and the referee calls for the bell.
Winner: Kane by by disqualification
After the match, David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty join the fray. Kane tries for a choke slam but Ryan powers out of the hold and then he hits an uranage.
Show makes his way to the ring and he goes after McGillicutty, Otunga, and Punk. Ryan with a spear to Show. Mason Ryan walks off and Punk wonders what is going on.
Punk, Otunga, and McGillicutty are at ringside and they look at Ryan on the stage.
Who cares about that because it’s Rock’s birthday. The next birthday wishes come from Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Craig Ferguson wishes Rock a happy birthday.
It is time for the main event and it is going to be the Rock doing that birthday thing.
The people in the crowd put on their party hats (but they won’t put their bags over their heads when Cody Rhodes shows up). Rock wants to know if everyone has had fun tonight. Rock thanks everyone for coming out to support him and for making it one of the best nights in his life.
Rock thanks his family, who are in the crowd as well as his family watching at home. Rock wants to thank the WWE too.
Rock says that as a proud Hurricane and a proud son of Miami, next year’s Wrestlemania will be the biggest Wrestlemania of all time.
There is NO CHANCE that Vince McMahon wouldn’t miss a birthday party.
Vince wishes Rock a happy birthday and thanks him for allowing him to let us share his birthday with him. Vince thanks Rock for pulling him aside to ask to bring the WWE to heights that no one has ever done. Vince says that Rock has taken them to levels no one else ever did before.
Vince thanks Rock for his respect, his passion, his humanity, and giving the crowd the opportunity to say ‘what’ (and they what). He thanks Rock for his love of life and devotion. He thanks the Rock for being The Rock. On behalf of the WWE, they have put together a birthday present. Vince tells Rock of all of the thank yous, he thanks Rock for coming home.
We see a video package showing the Rock through the years.
It is time for someone to sing Happy Birthday to the Rock and it is going to be performed by Mya.
Rock thanks everyone and then it is time to smell as we go to credits. Who wants confetti and balloons?
Thanks to www.thehistoryofwwe.com for their assistance with archival results.
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