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This past Saturday evening, Ring of Honor took one of the most important steps in its three year plus run, running an excellent show in the heart of Manhattan, New York City. Whether it was a fan who had religiously followed the promotion through its highs and lows or a fan who was coming to his first wrestling show in some time (and I saw a lot of old faces I hadn't seen at shows since the demise of ECW), everyone left the show on a high, which is the best way to debut and the best way to get paying fans to come back.

There's a lot of irony to that fact, as this may be the first time in recorded history where a venue change actually helped spur ticket sales. The original venue, located far up in Washington Heights actually turned off a number of potential customers since it wasn't in the most inviting neighborhood and would have required a train ride far uptown. With the move to West 34th Street and 8th Avenue, ROH put themselves within a 1-8 block walk of every subway line as well as every train from Long Island, New Jersey, Upstate New York and Connecticut. If you wanted to go to this show, you had no excuse not to make it to the building.

There’s no denying that ROH had a rough 2004 and were forced to rebuild much of the company. Some of the characters and storylines have taken off, some haven’t been as successful, but the one defining factor through it all has been the work rate of the company, from the ring crew all the way up to the top performers of the company. ROH has for the most part stuck together and created a unique team.

Walking into the venue on Saturday, it was almost like watching a graduation for that team, as they moved up to the next class. Everyone on the roster (minus a few of the older workers, who were taking it as business as usual) all knew this was important and you could feel the excitement in the voices of everyone involved in the company. They were in a real venue in a real market, as opposed to a suburb of Boston or an Armory in Northeast Philadelphia. They were two blocks from Madison Square Garden. They were in NYC, the top market anywhere in the world. With the possible exception of Tokyo, every wrestler deep down wants to work in NYC.

The NYC fans, meanwhile, seemed to take immediately to the company. There were fans lined up in the lobby of the New Yorker Hotel before ROH management even arrived at the venue. There were faces I haven’t seen since ECW stopped running the Elks Lodge in Queens. There were fans who had devoted hours to taking bus trips, ecstatic ROH was now in their hometown. There were fans from Canada and all over the Eastern seaboard, some visiting NYC for the first time, who came because ROH was in town. Looking down on this motley crew of characters, I couldn’t help but think back to the days of ECW packing them in at the Elks, especially since there were many, many fans who paid for the chance to stand and watch the show once seating was gone. There were fans who rather than stand, chose to pay more for ringside seats, because they wanted a good view of the show. This wasn’t just your fly by night indy show – this was a destination event to these fans.

In the end Ring of Honor drew an estimated 700-800 of these fans to their Manhattan, New York City debut at the New Yorker Hotel on Saturday 5/7. The end result was a show that some described to me as the best top to bottom ROH event since the days of running the intimate Murphy Rec Center in Philly, with a boisterous NYC crowd inside.

The show opened with Dunn and Marcos coming to the ring for their scheduled Three-Way match, only for the Carnage Crew, who were hiding under the ring, to return to ROH by attacking them with hubcaps. The Crew piledrove Marcos off the apron through a table, then turned heel ripping on the fans for not caring about them being out for 90 days. They ended up using the catch phrase that they were “drunk and p*ssed off.” The crowd didn’t seem to know the Crew but once they got a piledriver through a table, they chanted “Holy sh*t” and the show was off and running. Obviously this is going to set up a new feud, with the Crew back to their throwback brawling ways similar to the old school Moondogs, right down to the hubcaps.

With Dunn and Marcos out, it turned into a traditional tag with Izzy & Deranged (now dressing like some kind of lounge lizards with bright shirts and suit jackets) defeating Dixie & Azrieal in a match where the losing team had to split up. It was another of their really good matches. One can see Azrieal is ready for the slot of undercard babyface trying to build his way up.

Nigel McGuinness pinned Colt Cabana in a decent match with some good wrestling and comedy. Cabana has this great likeable personality and pulls out some goofy references in his promos to the point that you can’t help but want to like the guy. He’s like that friend who always knows exactly the right corny thing to say – that’s the key to his persona. McGuiness is a British worker who’s really come into his own in the last year, upping his physique and looking really strong and fluid in the ring. I wouldn’t be shocked to see WWE pick him up down the line. This was another solid bout based off the pair’s tenuous tag relationship. In the afternoon prior to the show, ROH filmed a “Good Times, Great Memories” segment (Cabana’s “talk show”) with Cabana walking around the streets of NYC, asking people what they thought of McGuiness.

James Gibson forced Black Tiger (a masked Rocky Romero) to tap out with a front choke. At this point, the former Jamie Knoble may be the most fluid performer in the company, which is really high praise. A really good back and forth wrestling match with submissions in that New Japan vein.

ROH Tag Team champions BJ Whitmer & Jimmy Jacobs defeated Roderick Strong & Jack Evans in a very good match. This was a tremendous back and forth match although it may be quietly overlooked due to some of the top matches on the show. That said, everyone involved deserves a huge amount of credit for this. The ROH Tag belts’ credibility have been diminished left and right for various reasons over the last year, but these four worked their tails off to bring fans into the match and give them some awesome false finishes. The crowd was really into Evans’ at the onset. Evans may be one of the most gifted aerial performers I’ve ever seen in my life – on par with Sabu, Rob Van Dam and the earlier work of Low Ki. Roderick Strong continues to improve both his look and his work, reminding me of Dean Malenko with his variety of backbreaker combinations. BJ Whitmer is that great worker who never gets the acclaim because he’s not flashy, but he’s an old school kickass performer. Jimmy Jacobs brings some pizzaz to Whitmer’s work, pulling off his Bruiser Brody-style “Huss” silliness without disturbing the credibility of his work. When you get to see the tape, don’t skip past this match or you will miss out on a real diamond in the rough.

Gary Michael Cappetta came to the ring and put over the NYC debut and the fans, before announcing that Matt Hardy would debut on 7/16 in New Haven, CT for Hardy’s first independent wrestling appearance.

Samoa Joe pinned Jay Lethal in an excellent match to win the ROH Pure championship. From the second he came out, it was obvious Joe owned the crowd as they saw him as a true star. I can only equate it to an ECW event in Middletown, New York when The Sandman came out before the show to introduce a band that would be playing a pre-show concert. The crowd went nuts for him, to the point I suddenly realized that Sandman wasn’t just an indy guy from Philly anymore, but a bonafide star. When Joe hit the ring with the crowd rapping along to LL Cool J’s “I’m Gonna Knock You Out” I knew ROH was changed forever with this night. The match itself was a great, great Pure Wrestling bout between teacher and student. Jay Lethal is someone who a lot of fans have taken to in the last year and with good reason. He’s got great facials, he’s got tremendous hard hitting offense, and he’s got an entire underdog dimension partially due to his loudly cheering family at the shows. There were some excellent back and forth matches and another insane table spot. Lethal had a sleeper on Joe while both were stationed on the apron of the ring. Unable to fight it out, Joe ran and threw himself and Lethal through a table at ringside, almost like an ode to Taz vs. Bigelow. The crowd ate it up. When Joe finally scored the pin and his “The Champ is Here” music began to play the crowd popped like they saw a Super Bowl win, jumping up and down and singing the song they have been wanting to sing since he lost the belt in December. All was right in the ROH world.

Until The Rottweilers came to the ring. It was perfect timing with their music hitting. The second they came out, the mood was changed, like they had truly taken a great moment and crapped all over it. ROH had the fans in the palm of their hand and it was everything that a good wrestling angle was supposed to be. With Joe distracted, Monsta Mack returned, attacking him from behind. The Rotts all beat down Lethal and Joe with Ki doing an awesome job on the mic. Low Ki warned that NYC was their turf and if ROH wasn’t going to book them, they were going to take matters into their own hands. Forcing Joe to watch, Ki revealed he was the one who had attacked Lethal several shows ago backstage and continued the beating now. The entire segment harkened back to the days of the Fabulous Freebirds as the gang not to be messed with in Texas. It was just plain awesome as it should have been, Homicide and Ki weren't going to get shown up in NYC.

After intermission, Fast Eddie Vegas pinned Davey Andrews with a Fall Away Slam Moonsault. Andrews is a graduate of the ROH school and while green, has a look of a wrestler as opposed to someone who paid money to play wrestler on the weekend. Vegas is a really fun undercard guy who has some flashy moves and has gotten better continuously since I first saw his work.

Jimmy Rave pinned CM Punk in a Dog Collar Match. Punk came out wearing a Candido shirt. Again, the crowd treated Punk like a star. The Embassy reminds me of Raven’s nest with Prince Nana always trying to pull some scheme and this unique cast of characters surrounding him. This time, it was attempting to replace Rave with Mike Kruel because Rave was sick from drinking out of a water fountain in the NYC subways. That bit cracked me up. Nana is a really good talker, but the crowd saw right through him, chanting “Eddie Murphy” at him, noting Murphy’s “Coming to America” film. In one of those, only in wrestling small world deals, that was actually written by Beyond the Mat director Barry Blaustein. Punk bled a gusher, to the point it was ridiculous. They were working hard here to get Rave over to the next level and I think the crowd that was here it worked, because they were popping for all the false finishes and were buying Rave’s shining wizard as the real deal. Rave killed Punk with a series of chair shots to set up the win, with the crowd cringing at each one. After the win, The Embassy beat down Punk afterwards with Colt Cabana, James Gibson and others making the save. Punk laid in the ring for a long time selling, which is one of those little things that seem to be missing from wrestling today that always adds a great dimension of reality to the show. When he returned to the locker room, he headed for a bathroom, stalking right past me in a bloody and exhausted daze and I couldn’t help but think of Terry Funk or Tommy Dreamer and think, “Now that’s wrestling.”

ROH champion Austin Aries pinned Alex Shelley. Aries has a great looking entrance set to “Personal Jesus.” I wasn’t sold on this match as the main event only because in my opinion, they aren’t seen as top tier guys by the fans. Well, the fans proved me wrong as they were into both guys and all the false finishes. Another solid bout.

Low Ki and Homicide immediately came out and confronted Aries, teasing Ki going for the belt. Instead, Aries walked out just as Samoa Joe and Jay Lethal hit the ring looking to exact a beating and some revenge. This set up an impromptu main event....

Homicide and Low Ki defeated ROH Pure champion Samoa Joe and Jay Lethal as Homicide pinned Lethal with the Cop Killer after Low Ki hit his top rope double stomp into Lethal’s groin to increase the force of the move. An awesome match to send the crowd home on an extremely big high. If the rest of the show was a good concert, this was the encore to send you out of the show going “Wow.” Awesome work by everyone involved, including the always tremendous Julius Smokes at ringside. After the match, Samoa Joe promised to hunt the Rotts down after the match on the mic and stated that he “Samoa Joe is Pro Wrestling” which is the tag line he says on promos. If he keeps doing it before the crowd, it’ll get over within a few shows and the crowd will be reciting it for him.

Throughout the show, the ROH crew didn’t just take their paycheck and get out. They remained watching the show from the balcony, and when their fellow workers returned to the makeshift locker room, compliments were exchanged, followed by ideas of ways to improve the matches and their work. It wasn’t a locker room of people looking for their spots to be safe, it was a team looking to better the whole company. That’s one of the unique traits (along with fans that buy the company as the real deal) that will take ROH farther then anyone involved in the company likely even suspects they can go.

With the end of their debut came the start of a new chapter for Ring of Honor. They have their core names who fans see as “ROH stars.” They have a hard working crew who try to inspire each other to improve at the same time they are ribbing each other. They have an influx of new names coming in this summer, including AJ Styles, Matt Hardy, possibly Rhyno, and possibly (OK, likely but no one will admit this) Christopher Daniels. Most importantly, they have fans, real fans, who see ROH as their personal home town team. That in itself, is the greatest asset of a promotion already filled with talented individuals and will be the key to the future of the company.

2005 - NWA Midwest held an event at the Park District Recreation Center in Streamwood, Illinois. The results were:
- NWA Illinois Heavyweight Champion Marco Cordova defeated Jayson Reign to retain the title.
- Brad Bradley defeated Silas Young.
- NWA Midwest Tag Team Champions The Centerfolds (Matt Longtime and Eric Priest) defeated Danny Dominion and Mike Venom to retain the title.
- Ryan Boz defeated Chad Collyer.
- Jason Dukes defeated Hardcore Craig.
- NWA Midwest X Division Champion Matt Sydal fought Delirious and Puma to a 30-minute time-limit draw in a three-way match to retain the title.
- MsChif defeated NWA Midwest/IWA Mid-South Women's Champion Daizee Haze to win the title.
- The Black and the Brave (Tyler Black and Marek Brave) defeated The All-Stars (Bryce Benjamin and Chandler McClure), The BJ Xpress (NWA Indiana Heavyweight Champion Brandon Thomaselli and Josh Abercrombie) and The Usual Suspects (Chris Chaos and Diego Corleone) in a four-way elimination match to become #1 contenders to the NWA Midwest Tag Team Title.
- NWA Heartland State Heavyweight Champion Danny Daniels defeated Tracy Smothers to retain the title.

2006 - Brent Dail defeats Stefano to win the WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title in Caguas, Puerto Rico, to begin his seventh reign.

2006 - Billy Roc defeats Shawn Cook for the Central Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Title in Lafayette, Indiana, ending Cook's second reign.

2007 - Former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harold "Sonny" Myers passes away in St. Joseph, Missouri at age 83, after a long illness.

2007 - WWE held a live RAW at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pennsylvania, which got a 3.6 rating on USA Network. The results were:
- In a dark match, Chuck Palumbo pinned Viscera after a big boot.
Heat:
- Jim Duggan and Eugene defeated Scotty Charisma and Xavier, when Duggan pinned Xavier after a running clothesline.
- Val Venis pinned Sean Reynolds with the Money Shot.
- Cryme Tyme (JTG and Shad) defeated Kenny Dykstra and Johnny Nitro, when JTG pinned Dykstra after the G9.
RAW:
- Candice Michelle and Mickie James defeated WWE Women's Champion Melina and Victoria, when Candice pinned Melina after a spinkick.
- WWE Intercontinental Santino Marella pinned Chris Masters with a roll-up to retain the title.
- Umaga defeated The Highlanders (Robbie and Rory McAllister) in a handicap match by pinning both men after a splash off the top rope.
- The Great Khali defeated Shawn Michaels in a no-disqualification match after the referee stopped the match due to Michaels being unable to continue, after Khali gave Michaels a tree slam through the announce table. With the win, Khali earned a shot at John Cena's WWE Title at Judgment Day.
- World Tag Team Champions The Hardys (Jeff and Matt) defeated The World's Greatest Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas), when Matt pinned Haas after Jeff hit the Swanton.
- Edge pinned Mr. Kennedy after a spear, and attacking him from behind on his way to the ring and hitting him with a television monitor, to win the Money in the Bank contract.
- WWE Champion John Cena fought Randy Orton to a no-contest after The Great Khali came out and hit Cena with the title belt.
- In a dark match after the show, WWE Champion John Cena defeated Edge.

2008 - While touring his home country of India, The Great Khali defended WWE matches as legitimate competition, in an interview with ZeeNews.com, commenting, "Everything whatever you see out there is real. Sometimes wrestlers receive serious injuries, and even die on the ring. There is no way of manipulation by media."

2008 - Larry Zbyszko's autbiography "Adventures in Larryland" is released.

2008 - Kurt Angle was hired to host a SpikeTV reality series pilot "Caught in the Action." The pilot never sees air.

2009 - In regard to a request for comment on the status of the Konnan vs. TNA lawsuit, TNA Wrestling issued the following statement to PWInsider.com:

As has been reported in the press, TNA Entertainment, LLC filed a lawsuit against Charles "Konnan" Ashenoff regarding various disputes, and Ashenoff filed a counterclaim asserting various claims against TNA.

This release serves to notify the public that TNA and Ashenoff have agreed to dismiss their respective claims against each other. Richard Krumholz, TNA's attorney in the case and a Partner at Fulbright & Jaworski, indicated that "after depositions of Mr. Ashenoff and Dixie Carter, both sides determined it was best to put this case behind them."

Cary Ichter, Ashenoff's counsel, confirmed that "the parties have agreed to drop their suits."

Ms. Carter, the President of TNA, added that "TNA is happy to resolve these long standing disputes with Ashenoff. We all wish him the very best."

2009 - WWE signed Fred Sampson, a New Jersey-based independent talent, to a developmental deal. Sampson would debut on WWE television as Darren Young in the first season of NXT and would be one of the founding members of The Nexus.

2009 - WWE reversed their decision to cancel a planned tour of Mexico due to swine flu. With the dates back on, several Alabama dates that were announced were pushed back to November 2010.

2010 - NASA Astronaut Buzz Aldrin's website announced he would be the guest host for the commercial free 5/17 Monday Night Raw in Toronto, Ontario.

2010 - Dragon Gate USA debuted in Canada in Windsor, Ontario. Mike Cramwell filed the following live report:

I attended the DGUSA "Open The Northern Gate" show last night. Apparently the weather heard the show's name and decided to open the northern sky, as the weather in Windsor and area was awful. I would put attendance at approx. 225 people, and based on the seating arrangement, 250 people max.

Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw vs. Gran Akuma & Akira Tozawa

The only part of this match that I saw was Quack hitting a great topé con hilo. Akuma & Tozawa won, my friends said it was "a great match."

FIP World Heavyweight Title
Jon Moxley defends vs. Phil Atlas

Moxley won this match, a good one, though a little shorter than I had hoped it would be. Both are quality workers, and have a future in the industry if they want it. Moxley also has a big enough frame, and between that and his heel mannerisms, I'd be shocked to not see him with a WWE or TNA contract within 18 months.

Special Challenge Match
CIMA vs. Jimmy Jacobs

CIMA took this one with his double-knees to the head from the top rope move that will surely shorten his career. Also, it's worth mentioning that during intermission, CIMA and Doi, among others came out to sign autographs and take pictures, and CIMA is tremendous at interacting with the fans, especially the young children. The perfect ambassador for DGUSA.

Bonus Main Event Match
Naruki Doi vs. Masaaki Mochizuki

This was the pre-intermission main event, and after a slow start, really picked up in the second half. Great DG-style finishing stretch without overkill on the finishers. Mochizuki won with the axe kick square in Doi's forehead.

Maximum Pro Wrestling Tag Team Attraction
Tyson Dux & Jon Bolen vs. Brad Martin & Xtremo

Seeing Dux play a great white-bread babyface for RoH in Toronto in March, and then seeing him play an (established) heel here only furthers my belief that this guy also has a future if he wants one. He's just money. Dux and Bolen took this, although Brad Martin was beyond impressive. Mixes the European style with a couple of impact suplexes, he's another one to watch out for in the future.

2/3 Falls Match
Dragon Kid vs. Masato Yoshino

When a 25 minute match feels like it went 12, you know you've seen something special. If you've seen these two before, you know what the moves are. It was the story that made this good. And if you haven't seen these two before and you're reading this, then buy the DVD when it comes out, it's worth it for this alone. Yoshino takes the 3rd fall for the victory.

The Main Event
Open The Freedom Gate Champion BxB Hulk & PAC
vs.
Open The Dream Gate Champion YAMATO & Shingo

I don't know what was better in this match: Hulk and PAC's incredible athletics, or Shingo's "This is the best I can do" mustache, which looked like the kind you'd see on a 14 year old. Great stuff. Another tremendous match that featured - of all things - some really strong brawling outside the ring. YAMATO and Hulk put together an excellent finishing stretch that saw ODG Champion YAMATO pin OFG Champion Hulk, which certainly opens up some new directions for the company to take the main event scene in.

If you're into athletic wrestling and DGUSA is within driving distance, you owe it to yourself to go and see this company do what they do.

2010 - WWE aired Smackdown, headlined by Jack Swagger vs. Kane. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV Report:

We start off tonight’s show with a look back at last week’s Jack Swagger Lifetime Retrospective which was interrupted by Teddy Long and Jack’s opponent at Over the Limit, the Big Show.

We are live on tape from Charleston, South Carolina and your announcers are Matt ‘Fort Sumter’ Striker and Todd ‘Happy Siete de Mayo’ Grisham.

Matt Hardy makes his way to the ring and Striker and Grisham mention that Hardy is not medically cleared to wrestle at this time after what Drew McIntyre has done to him.

Matt says that he is here tonight whether he should or shouldn’t be. He shows us the footage of the attack by Drew McIntyre two weeks ago during a tag match. Then we go to the footage from last week when Drew attacked Matt in the interview area.

Matt repeats Drew’s comments about never wanting to see him again. Matt says that he does not care what Drew has to say as Drew’s music plays and he comes to the ring. Matt says that he is not going away and he tells Drew to make him go away.

Drew says that Matt doesn’t get it because nine months ago, Vince McMahon, the chairman of the WWE and Matt’s boss, looked him in the eye and told him that he was the future of his company. Drew says that makes him ‘the Chosen One’. That makes him completely untouchable.

Matt tells Drew to come to the ring to see how ‘untouchable’ he is. Drew says that Matt isn’t getting the message so he will have to beat it into him.

Matt wants Drew to come to the ring and Drew obliges and Matt attacks Drew as he enters the ring and then Matt takes Drew to the canvas and he attacks Drew some more. Referees come out and they pull Matt off Drew and hold him with his back to Drew. That allows Drew to hit Matt from behind and he works on Matt’s head. Drew punches Matt while other officials come to the ring to separate them. Matt rolls out of the ring and Drew escapes the officials and Drew punches Matt while others pull him off. Drew with a kick to Matt and then Drew with a running knee and Matt’s head hits the ringside barrier.

Teddy Long comes out and he warns Drew and tells him to stop. Drew continues the attack and Teddy suspends Drew. They restrain Drew again but he escapes and continues the attack. Teddy strips Drew of the Intercontinental Title. Drew is held back and then he kicks Matt a few more times and Teddy fires Drew from Smackdown and demands that Drew be escorted from the building. Drew grabs Teddy and then he punches Matt one more time since Teddy can’t do anything else to him. Drew says that he is ‘untouchable’ as he is taken to the back.

We go to the back where the officials tell Drew to leave and they tell him that he did this to himself. Drew says that we’ll see who is fired.

We return to the ringside area and Matt is being helped to the back by the medical staff and we go to commercial.

We are back and Josh Mathews stops Teddy Long in the back and he wants to know what Matt Hardy’s status is. Teddy says that he hopes Matt is okay and that the doctors are with him right now. Josh asks Teddy about Drew’s behavior and Teddy says that he has never experienced anything like that before. Josh asks Teddy about the Intercontinental Title and Teddy does not know what is going to happen with the title. Josh wants to ask one more question, but Teddy has to leave.

Match Number One: Montel Vontavious Porter versus Luke Gallow with CM Punk and Serena

Luke punches Porter as the bell rings and Porter punches back. Luke with an Irish whip and Porter floats over and hits a running clothesline for a near fall. Porter with more punches but he misses the running boot into the corner when Gallows moves. Porter is knocked off the apron and Gallows goes after Porter and punches him before Porter is rolled back into the ring. Gallows with a double underhook and Gallows with a knee followed by a butterfly suplex for a near fall. Gallows punches Porter and puts him in a waist lock. Porter with an elbow but Gallows with an Irish whip and splash into the corner. Gallows with an uppercut followed by a splash for a near fall. Gallows returns to the waist lock. Porter with elbows but Gallows with an Irish whip and he runs into an elbow. Gallows with a kick and Irish whip. Gallows misses a splash and Porter with a clothesline and flying forearm followed by a double thrust and facebuster. Porter sets up for the Ballin Elbow and hits it. Porter waits for Gallows to get up but Serena gets on the apron to distract Porter from hitting the Playmaker. Gallows with a clothesline and he gets a near fall. From out of nowhere Rey Mysterio attacks Punk and hits a DDT on the floor and he leaves through the crowd. Gallows gets distracted and Porter hits the 305 for the three count.

Winner: Montel Vontavious Porter

We go to commercial.

We are back and CM Punk is in the ring with Luke and Serena. Punk is still holding his neck as he says that Rey Mysterio is a coward who attacks people from behind because he does not have the ability to deal with people face to face. Punk says that he wants Rey to come out because he injured him and cost Luke his match.

Rey comes out and he stands on the stage. Rey wants to know what is wrong with Punk. He asks if it was because he came from nowhere and attacked him from behind like the mystery man who attacked Rey week after week. Rey says that he was giving Punk a taste of his own medicine. Rey asks Punk where the masked man is and wonders if he is going to attack Rey again.

Punk calls Rey a coward because he attacked him from behind. Punk says that he doesn’t know what Rey is talking about with a ‘mystery man’. Punk wonders if Rey has been painting the inside of his mask with hallucinogenic drugs because he is seeing things now. Punk says that this is an extension of Rey finding excuses for his losses. Punk says the real reason Rey is out here and that is because Rey wants to be saved and join the Straight Edge Society.

Rey says that only one person is hallucinating and that is Punk. Rey says that he came out to shave Punk’s head. Punk reminds Rey that he won the match at Extreme Rules. Rey reminds Punk that Punk lost at Wrestlemania so they are even and it is not over. Rey suggests another match at Over the Limit. Rey says that if he loses, Rey becomes a part of the Straight Edge Society. If Punk loses, he has his head shaved by Rey.

Punk says that Rey is having a moment of clarity because Rey realizes that he has a problem and needs help. Punk says that he would welcome Rey into his crusade with open arms so Rey is on.

Rey suggests that they don’t need to fight at Over the Limit when Rey says that he could walk into the ring and raise his hand nice and high to pledge to the Straight Edge Society tonight. That is if Punk shaves his head right now.

Punk says that is not going to happen tonight. Rey tells Punk that there is one thing he doesn’t understand about the Straight Edge Society. He talks about the concepts of straight edge and he likes the message, but the messenger is bad. Rey says that everyone wearing a Rey Mysterio mask represents the good in the message. Rey says that if Punk cares about saving people, they can work together. Rey tells Punk to lead by example and shave his head.

Punk thinks about it and he tells Rey that it has nothing to do with Punk shaving his hair because his hair is a symbol of purity. Punk says that he is better than everyone.

Rey says that Punk can shave Luke and Serena’s head but why is Punk better than him? He says that Luke and Serena have protected him and done most of the work in the Straight Edge Society, but why isn’t Punk bald. Rey says that Punk doesn’t care about them and all he cares about is himself. Rey says that there is nothing that Punk can do to be saved from the 6-1-9.

We go to commercial.

We are back and did you know that MVP is a spokesperson for the National Guard’s Youth ChalleNGe program?

We see footage from Superstars when Kelly was ‘welcomed’ to Smackdown by Michelle, Layla, and Vickie only to be stopped when Beth Phoenix and Tiffany entered.

Match Number Two: Kelly Kelly and Tiffany versus Michelle McCool and Layla with Vickie Guerrero

Michelle and Tiffany start things off and they lock up. Tiffany with a clean break but Michelle pie faces Tiffany. Tiffany with a drop toe hold followed by a reverse atomic drop and back elbow. Tiffany with an Irish whip and she hits a monkey flip but Michelle lands on her feet. Michelle celebrates her landing and then Tiffany with another monkey flip. Michelle goes to the floor and Tiffany goes after her but she is blocked by a wall of Vickie Guerrero and Layla. Michelle sneaks in and his a baseball slide on Tiffany when she returns to the ring. Michelle rolls Tiffany back in and Michelle with knees to Tiffany. Michelle gets a near fall. Layla tags in and slams Tiffany to the mat by her hair and then Layla tries for a splash but lands on Tiffany’s knees. Kelly tag in and connects with a shoulder followed by drop kicks. Kelly tries for the handspring back elbow but Layla with a knee to the back to counter. Kelly with a neck breaker and Tiffany is tagged in and she hits a cross body for a near fall. Kelly distracts the referee and that allows Michelle to hit the kick to the back of the head and Layla with the neck breaker for the three count.

Winners: Michelle McCool and Layla

We go to the back where Josh Mathews is with Teddy Long and he has the Intercontinental Title belt. Teddy says that since the title is now vacant, he has chosen four men to contend for the title. Two matches will be held tonight with the winners wrestling next week. One match will be Christian versus Cody Rhodes. The other match will be Dolph Ziggler versus Kofi Kingston.

We go to commercial.

We are back and we see footage from Dolph Ziggler’s sleeper on Hornswoggle two weeks ago.

Match Number Three: Kofi Kingston versus Dolph Ziggler in an Intercontinental Title Tournament Match

They lock up and Ziggler with a side head lock and shoulder tackle. Kofi with a few leap frogs followed by a leaping back elbow for a near fall. Ziggler with a knee and then he tries to throw Kofi out of the ring but Kofi bounces off the ropes. Kofi with a drop kick and Kofi clotheslines Ziggler over the top rope to the floor and Kofi with a suicide dive. Kofi rolls Ziggler back in and Ziggler with a kick to Kofi’s head as he returns to the ring. We go to commercial.

We are back and Ziggler has Kofi with a reverse chin lock but Kofi with an arm drag to escape. Kofi misses a splash into the corner and Ziggler hits a reverse exploder suplex for a near fall. Ziggler with a kick to Kofi and he follows that with punches. Ziggler chokes Kofi in the ropes. We see Cody Rhodes in the locker room watching the match.

Ziggler with a drop kick to Kofi for a near fall. Ziggler with a camel clutch and Kofi gets to his feet. Kofi punches Ziggler but Ziggler sends Kofi into the mat. Ziggler with a leaping elbow drop for a near fall. Kofi with a forearm and Ziggler responds with a kick to the leg. Ziggler with a reverse chin lock to prepare for the sleeper. Kofi with elbows to Ziggler followed by forearms. Kofi with the SOS for a near fall. Kofi runs into a boot from Ziggler. Ziggler uses the ropes for a leverage on a cover but he can only get a near fall. Ziggler with an X Factor for a near fall. Ziggler with a reverse chin lock and then he works on Kofi’s back. Kofi with a jawbreaker to escape the hold. Ziggler misses a splash in the corner. Kofi with chops to Ziggler followed by a drop kick and the leaping clothesline. Kofi with the Boom drop and he sets for Trouble in Paradise but Ziggler gets out of the way. Kofi leaps onto the turnbuckles and Ziggler moves. Kofi with a cross body but Ziggler rolls through and gets a near fall. Ziggler tries for the sleeper and Kofi tries his best to block it but Ziggler locks in the hold. Kofi gets to his feet and he runs Ziggler into the ropes and Kofi hits Trouble in Paradise for the three count.

Winner: Kofi Kingston

We go back to the video package that opened tonight’s show.

We go to commercial.

We are back with a run through the card for Over the Limit.

Match Number Four: Christian with Heath Slater versus Cody Rhodes

Rhodes with a forearm to the back and side head lock and shoulder tackle. Rhodes with a kick and forearm followed by an elbow to the head. Christian with a flying forearm for a near fall. Christian puts Rhodes in the ropes and he leaps onto Cody’s back and then he slingshots to the floor but Rhodes gets out of the way. Christian throws Rhodes over the top rope to the floor and he hits a baseball slide and then he goes for the springboard cross body but Rhodes moves out of position and Christian lands on the mat. Rhodes sends Christian into the ring steps. They return to the ring and Rhodes with kicks to the back. Rhodes with a hard Irish whip and he punches Christian in the corner. Rhodes with a boot to the chest for a near fall. Rhodes chokes Christian in the corner and Christian responds with a sunset flip for a near fall. Christian with a punch but Rhodes with an Irish whip and drop kick to the back and Christian hits the bottom rope. We go to commercial.

We are back and Rhodes with a gourdbuster to Christian. Rhodes with a Ric Flair knee drop and he gets a near fall. Rhodes with a surfboard followed by a forearm to the back of the head for a near fall. We see Kofi watching in the back since he will face the winner.

Christian goes up top but Rhodes with a forearm and he hits a superplex and both men are down. Christian with an inside cradle for a near fall. Rhodes with kicks to the back. Christian with a punch and a clothesline that sends both of them over the top rope to the floor. Rhodes uses the ring steps for extra leverage on a spin kick. Rhodes gets a near fall. Rhodes goes to the turnbuckles but Christian with a punch to the midsection and Christian with more punches. Christian with the pendulum kick followed by a missile drop kick from the second turnbuckle for a near fall. Christian with a drop toe hold that sends Rhodes into the ropes and Christian stands on his back and then slingshots to the floor and connects with a punch. Christian goes up top but misses a frog splash. Rhodes with a rollup for a near fall. Rhodes blocks the Killswitch and then tries for a belly-to-back suplex but Christian lands on his feet and Christian with an inverted DDT for a near fall. Rhodes sends Christian into the turnbuckles and Christian tries for the turnbuckles again but Rhodes pulls him off. Rhodes goes up top for a moonsault and he hits it and gets a near fall. Rhodes mocks Christian but Christian sends Rhodes into the turnbuckles and Christian hits the Killswitch for the three count.

Winner: Christian

We take a look at the end of the Shiz and Big Show’s move into the number one contender spot for the World Title.

Jack Swagger is walking in the back as we go to commercial.

We are back with a look at what Drew McIntyre did to become a former Smackdown superstar.

Before his match, Jack Swagger comes to the ring to tell us some more fun facts about his life. Jack says that before everyone hears what they came here for, Jack has some stuff to talk about. He says that he was the first high school athlete who was nominated for an ESPY. In 2002, he was under consideration for the Heisman Trophy. Jack talks about his prowess in tennis on the high school level. He also talks about his chess playing ability as we go to commercial.

We are back and Jack is still talking. He asks how many people can say that they were a member of the National Honor Society. Jack says that he was president too. Jack asks where was Big Show during all of this. Jack says that Show was taking a special education class and riding the short bus to school. At Over the Limit, he will take the World’s Largest Athlete to school.

Match Number Five: Kane versus Jack Swagger in a Non Title Match

Swagger with a waist lock but Kane with an elbow. Swagger goes for the legs but Kane with a front face lock. Swagger gets back to his feet and he shows his frustration.

Big Show’s music plays and Show comes out in a snazzy suit as he joins Matt and Todd at the announce table. Swagger and Kane stop their match to watch Show walk to the announce table.

Swagger with a kick and punches to Kane. Swagger with more punches in the corner and the referee warns him. Kane with an uppercut and then Kane with kicks and more punches. Kane with a snap mare and a drop kick as Kane gets a near fall. Kane with an Irish whip but he runs into an elbow. Swagger with a float over into a front face lock as he takes Kane to the mat. Kane puts Swagger on the top turnbuckle and he connects with an uppercut. Swagger with punches and he comes off the turnbuckles but Kane with an uppercut. Kane with clotheslines followed by an Irish whip and running clothesline followed by a side slam for a near fall. Kane goes up top and he hits the flying clothesline. Kane sets for the choke slam but Swagger with elbows to counter. Kane sends Swagger into an exposed turnbuckle and then Swagger repeatedly sends Kane into that turnbuckle and the referee calls for the bell.

Winner: Kane by disqualification

Swagger with a clothesline into the corner followed by a boot to the head. Swagger leaves the ring and holds up the title belt close to the announce table. Swagger returns to the announce table area and Show gets up. Swagger turns around and walks into a boot from Kane. Kane rearranges the announce table but Swagger sends him into the ring post. Show grabs Swagger and choke slams him through the table.

Show goes to the ring and he puts the title belt on his shoulder and asks how he looks as we go to credits.