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1972 - Sean Waltman, known to wrestling fans under a number of ring names, including X-Pac, 1-2-3 Kid, Syxx and Lightning Kid, was born.
1973 - Necro Butcher was born.
1973 - Grizzly Redwood was born.
1979 - Dick Murdoch defeats Dick The Bruiser to win back the NWA Missouri Heavyweight title in St. Louis. This marked the third run as champion for Murdoch, and ended Bruiser's second reign.
1989 - Riki Choshu & Takayuki Iizuka defeat Super Strong Machine & George Takano to win the International Wrestling Grand Prix World Tag Team Title.
1982 - Mr. Fuji & Mr. Saito defeat Chief Jay & Jules Strongbow for the WWF World Tag Team Title in Allentown, Pennsylvania, starting their second tag title reign.
1991 - The Lightning Kid (Sean Waltman) defeats Jerry Lynn in Dallas, Texas to win a tournament to crown the first Global Wrestling Federation Light Heavyweight Champion.
1992 - Ricky Morton defeats Eddie Gilbert for the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee.
1995 - "Wild Pegasus" Chris Benoit defeats Shinjiro Ohtani to win the finals of New Japan's "Best Of The Super Junior" tournament. Benoit defeated Black Tiger (Eddie Guerrero) to get into the finals, while Ohtani defeated Koji Kanemoto.
1996 - Extreme Championship Wrestling held Heatwave '96 at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, PA. Dave Scherer penned the following report for the Wrestling Lariat Newsletter:
ECW returned to the Arena on 713 before a packed house of about 1,500 fans. As full as the Arena was for the 622 show there, it was easily as jammed for this card and the crowd was just as hot, though not in the literal sense as Tropical Storm Bertha made for a fairly cool night at Viking Hall. It was ECW’s best top-to-bottom show since the 511 “Matter of Respect” offering. The four hour event was also filmed by TV crews from American Journal and Inside Edition. Also, people from NBC news were also in the building. When the respective shows’ pieces will air is not known at this time.
There was one title change, an advancement of the promotion’s major angle with the Sandman and Raven, some very good wrestling, a return of a few “old friends,” and a whole lot of plunder, to quote Dusty Rhodes, on this show. In addition, Tommy Dreamer took, and I know this will shock you all, another insane bump, this one being from the top of the cage through three tables.
In the opener, which was a good omen as the show almost started on time, the Gangstas took on the Samoan Gangsta Party. Quite simply, the Gangstas destroyed their Samoan counterparts from the opening bell. New Jack, as has become his custom, came to the ring with a trashcan full of weapons and garbage, and he and Mustafa were not shy about beating the tar out of the Samoans with the stuff they brought. New Jack opened the carnage by beating Samu over the head with an metal football board game, much to the crowd’s delight. Jack followed that by posting Samu, who appeared to be busted open hardway by it. Jack then had color when he headbutted Samu. Mustafa worked over Matthew while Jack was breaking a wood crutch over Samu’s arm and head. Jack then beat up both Samoans with a chair before he and Samu went outside and brawled in the crowd. It was announced that the referee disqualified both teams. This did not sit well with the crowd, and elicited a chant of “Bullshit.” The world’s greatest ring announcer, Bob Artese, then announced that the decision had been reversed and that the Samoans can’t continue. So the Gangstas won and the crowd popped.
New Jack then did an interview which, in essence, set up a Four Way Dance for the ECW Tag Titles between The Bruise Brothers, the Samoans, The Eliminators, and themselves. This match will take place at the ECW convention show on 83 at the Arena.
Damien Kane, with Lady Alexandra, then came out and after ranting and raving at the crowd, told them that he has a new wrestler. He brought out “The Giant” Paul Lauria. As most of you probably remember, Lauria is a longtime friend of Mikey Whipwreck and was in the promotion before, managed by Jason. Lauria is even smaller than Whipwreck, hence the name “Giant.” He and Mikey had a good feud a while back and renewed it on this night. Mikey opened fast with some great highspots and largely squashed Lauria, pinning him with a FrankenMikey from the top. I have said it before, but it bears repeating. Mikey has developed into an outstanding worker.
After the match, the Eliminators came out and beat up both guys. They did Total Elimination on Lauria and then Saturn told Kronus to throw Mikey out of the ring. Saturn, in what may be the beginning of a break-up between the Elims, said that when “I, I mean we, won the belts” we’d wrestle everyone. He then told Mikey to go get his friend Sabu and to come out have a match. And good Lord, did they ever have a match. It was an absolutely fantastic mix of everything. Hot moves. Good psychology. And of course, insane highspots involving anything that was not nailed down.
The match opened with Saturn and Sabu doing some nice chain wrestling (yes, you read that correctly) before Sabu hit an Asai moonsault into the ring, from seemingly nowhere, for a two count. Saturn responded with a nasty back kick to Sabu’s face. Sabu then missed a springboard somersault into the ring before Saturn hit him with a dropkick in the back of the head and a frog splash plancha from the top rope. Both Elims then worked over Sabu until Kronus hit his double somersault elbow on Sabu in the corner. Sabu then managed to hot tag Mikey, who did a legdrop onto Kronus’ neck while the big guy was stuck in the ropes. Sabu, after kicking ringside photographer Tim Walker, vaulted off of Mikey into a version of a flying DDT on Kronus. After this, the Elims got the advantage and started working over Mikey with power moves, such as suplexes and judo throws. As Saturn went to suplex Mikey from the top, Whipwreck blocked it and ended up doing a rude FrankenMikey from the top on Saturn. Both guys tagged out and when Sabu came in, he threw a chair into Kronus’ face three times. He went for a springboard move, but missed it, so Mikey came in and clotheslined Kronus to the floor. Mikey then FrankenMikey’d him onto the floor (from the apron). Sabu came off of the top rope, but Saturn met him with a dropkick in the mush. Sabu and Saturn went up to the top and Sabu hit a FrankenSabu on him. Saturn countered with a powerbomb. Sabu then dropkicked Saturn as Perry went up to the top, and then he followed that with a sunset flip from inside the ring to the floor. While on the floor, Sabu set a table up across the apron and the guardrail and laid Saturn across it while Mikey and Kronus fought in the ring. Sabu set up a chair, propelled off of it with a running start, and did a springboard senton through the table. Saturn had moved however and Sabu crashed through to the floor with a sickening thud. Ouch. This let the Elims double team Mikey, and eventually pin him after they did Total Elimination on him. A lot of the crowd stood on their feet and cheered as Mikey and Sabu shook hands afterward. This was an absolutely fantastic match. It may have been the best tag match I have ever seen at the Arena.
They sent out Little Guido, of the F. B. I., to follow this up. He brought out a note that said that there will be a new segment, “Italian Karaoke Bistro.” He then brought out J. T. Smith (who got a good pop) and Sal Bellomo (who didn’t). Guido then told Smith that he wanted to incorporate his “little brother” into the act. Smith said that his brother was a runt, but Guido told him that he grown since the last time Smith saw him. He called for “Big Guido” and out came indy worker Primo Carnera III, who is a massive individual standing about 6’8” I’d guess and is built like a tank. Smith welcomed the new member into the fold. That part was pretty entertaining. Their opponents for the match were the Dudleys. Again. The Dudleys got a decent pop, and it was mostly for Big Dick. The crowd was very mixed for Buh Buh, with as many people jeering him as cheering him. It really seemed that the crowd’s derisive chants of “Duh Duh” and “Buh Buh must die” got to Buh Buh because he did his best Jerry SagsKevin Sullivan imitation and no-sold almost everything that the Italians did. Early on, D-Von appeared on the top stage and called out Big Dick. Of course, by the time Dick got up there, D-Von was in the ring hitting almost everyone with chairshots. The match was not good at all, but I guess that did not matter in the scheme of things, which was to further the Dudley-Big Dick-D-Von angle. For some reason, the crowd loves Big Dick. Hey, I did not mean it that way. Towards the end, Hack Myers came out and wasted D-Von with a chair. Then Big Guido nailed him. Dick pinned Big Guido after a chairshot. Almost in unison, three people around me said, “There was a match going on?” After the match, Buh Buh, who again, seemed very pissed off at the reaction the crowd gave him, trashed Little Guido, rudely smashing him through a table. I could be wrong here, but if Buh Buh is letting the crowd get to him, he needs to take a step back. It’s all a work dude.
Tarzan Goto then made his ECW Arena debut beating Axl Rotten. Goto looked kind of heavy and old, but it was nice to get to see a foreign star in person. Goto is disgustingly scarred up from all of the insane matches he has done in Japan and he made Axl look buffed in comparison. The match was basically a brawl around the Arena that had Goto win when he did a brainbuster on a chair on Axl.
Joey Styles came out and brought Taz and Bill Alfonso. Alfonso went off about the management of the promotion and some other things I could not hear. The essence of his interview was to say that he now had his own announcer to do the TV commentary on Taz’s matches. He called up timekeeper Joel Gertner. Gertner then told Styles that he could never work for the WWF or WCW, and that he probably would some day. Joey expressed disgust and Taz choked him to the mat. 911 then made his return to the Arena and chokeslammed Gertner. Taz then got in his face, and he did the same to Taz. Taz however popped right up from the chokeslam and clipped 911’s knee before he slapped on the Tazmission. After Taz finally broke it, 911 rolled to the floor, where he was supposed to be helped to the back to sell the angle. Instead, he stood right up and walked out on his own acting pissed. This made him appear to be “afraid” to get back in the ring with Taz, as he was up on his own and yet did not go back in the ring. Taz then ragged on all of the people that he has beaten and said there is no competition for him. Taz has great heel heat with crowd, excellent “bad ass” charisma, and is outstanding in his role. 911 will probably be back. Him returning had nothing to do with him keeping the ring deal he has with ECW.
The next match was the “Four Corners” match for the ECW TV Title between champion Chris Jericho and challengers Too Cold Scorpio, Shane Douglas, and Pit Bull Two (with Francine). The rules were that any man could tag in any of the others and the last man would win the title. The match started with Scorpio and Jericho in the ring. Douglas was on the floor and as the Pit Bull came out, Douglas hit him in the face with a chair, which “busted him open.” Early on, they did a lot spots where Scorpio and Douglas would only tag each other, while Pit Two and Jericho did largely the same. It was a very interesting match that seemed to have went a little long for some of the fans as it was over twenty five minutes before the first man was eliminated.
Scorpio was simply awesome in this match. He is so talented and rock solid in the ring that it is a pleasure to watch him work. Scorp and Lionheart did a lot of flying while Pit did all of his crazy power stuff. Shane largely did his gimmick of being a snide heel. They all went in and out and did a lot of nice spots. Since the match went so long, we won’t go into all of them here. We’ll leave it at all of the guys worked hard and it was a very good story match in that after it started out with “teams” it turned into an “every man for himself” type of endeavor. The first man to be eliminated was Jericho, who was pinned by Scorpio after he did the tumbleweed on him at 27:02. Shane then came in wanted to shake hands with Scorp. Scorp shook his hand and kicked him. They did some mat work for a while before Shane and Pit Bull “teamed up” to set up Scorp for the superbomb, which let Pit Two pin Scorp. Douglas then attacked Pit from behind and beat on him until Pit made his own save and then pummeled Shane on the floor. Pit threw two chairs into the ring and set them up. He then superbombed Shane on the two chairs in a really cool spot. Pit went out and got a table, which he set up in the corner. Pit tried to throw Shane into it, but the Franchise made his own save.
At this point, Francine came into the ring and Shane forced a kiss on her. When he tried to do it again, Pit came over to save her. Shane and Francine moved and Pit bumped the ref. Pit then came after Shane and went to do a Gorilla Press when Francine turned on him and threw powder in his face. Douglas kicked him in the groin and the two of them beat on the Pit Bull. Francine took off her skirt and her bikini bottoms said, “Franchise” on them. Pit Two went nuts and started to tear up Shane, including doing a Cactus clothesline over the top to the floor. Pit Bull One came out and grabbed Francine. Pit Two came back in the ring and, after setting up a wobbly table (which was missing the bordering that make them sturdier but also hurt people on impact), he climbed to the top turnbuckle. Pit One hoisted up Francine and Pit Two superbombed her through the table. Well, it kind of looked like Pit actually went through the table but she still took the bump. Good Lord, she is a tough woman. The crowd started chanting “ECW” after this, from which you can draw your own conclusions. Shane went into the ring and DDT’d Pit One on the title belt and then hit Pit Two in the face with it. The ref had come to by now and he made a two count on Pit Two. Shane then grabbed a piece of the table and hit Pit in the head, again getting a two count. Shane grabbed knux from his tights and hit Pit with it. Two count again. Shane grabbed a chain from his boot and used it on Pit. Yet another two count. Is this Shane Lawler? No, they just wanted Pit Two to look credible, though it may have been overkill. Pit Two did his Tarzan comeback routine and went for his flying leg to the face, but missed spilling out to the floor. As Pit came back in, Shane hit a belly-to-belly suplex on him for the pin, winning the TV title in the process. Shane then went over, picked up Francine, and carried her to the back.
Louie Spicoli made his Arena debut to no reaction from the crowd. He took the mic and ragged on Sabu because he was hurt and could not wrestle. He said he wanted an opponent, but he did not get one. Instead, he got ECW whipping boy El Puerto Ricano. After Spicoli made very short work of him, pinning him with a chairshot, Sabu came out wearing a neck brace and the two had a match. Sabu’s insane. That just needs to be said. The two do a lot of mat and power moves early, with Spicoli looking good and working hard and Sabu being Sabu. After a while, they went to the floor where Sabu set Louie on the guardrail and then splashed him into the first row. Sabu went back into the ring and did a vault off of a chair into the third row where he smashed Louie in the face with a chair. Sabu tried to do a guillotine drop but missed. Sabu then hit a Frankenstein, followed by a vault from a chair onto the ropes, except that Spicoli threw a chair in his face. Sabu set up a table on the guard rail and the apron, like earlier, and put Louie on it. He went back to the ring and hit a moonsault from the top through the table, and Louie. Sabu rolled back in and drug Louie in as well. He went to pin him, but Louie’s foot was in the ropes. Spicoli’s arm was busted open hardway. Sabu did a moonsault for a two count. Spicoli did a belly-to-back suplex for a two count. Sabu went for a FrankenSabu from the top, but Louie blocked it. Louie did a somersault press on Sabu for a two count. Sabu missed an Arabian facebuster. With Louie on the offense, Sabu threw a chair in his face and then hit the facebuster for the win. Very good match. The crowd gave both guys a big pop when they shook hands and Louie got over with the fans.
The main event of the show was the “Rage of the Cage.” Sandman and Raven would start out in the cage. Stevie Richards and Terry Gordy would start on the top stage and work their way to the cage with the first one who got there being able to go in through the door while the other would have to climb in. If Richards was pinned, Raven would lose his title. Brian Lee and Tommy Dreamer would start on the floor outside the cage and either could be pinned anywhere in the city of Philadelphia. All of the heels came out first and assumed their positions. Sandman was the first face to come out and Raven immediately offered to “give him his son back” if he does not attack him. While Sandman is pondering that, Raven attacked him and worked over his knee, which Sandman was actually pretty limber on. Sandman was in a figure four for seemingly ever and then Gordy came out. Gordy simply killed Richards, who almost immediately got busted open and bled like there was no tomorrow. Gordy drug Richards to ringside. Lee attacked Gordy when he got there. Then Tommy Dreamer came out with a metal trash can and hit Lee and Richards. Bluedust and Super Nova came down and attacked Gordy. Lee and Dreamer came up into our bleachers and people almost pushed a lovely young lady sitting behind me off the back trying to get out of the way. Lee then threw Dreamer, face first, into the cement wall. They went around the back of the building and Lee threw Dreamer into the door, the one they took off the hinges a few shows back, and took it off the hinges again. At this time, Gordy made his way into the ring and made the save on Sandman, who was still in the figure four. Stevie climbed to the top of the cage and jumped on Gordy, but Terry hit him in the stomach on his way down. Stevie was bleeding like there is no tomorrow and Raven is almost as bad. Sandman was out on the mat.
Lee and Dreamer were brawling around the building, smashing each other into the door (which they took with them) and by the time they got back in sight, were bloody messes as well. Sandman started to come back and brawled with Raven while Gordy fought with Richards. Gordy tombstoned Richards while Raven had Sandman in a figure four. Gordy went outside the cage with Dreamer and Lee while the heels double-teamed Sandman in the cage. Dreamer came in the cage and made the save, superkicking Stevie. Dreamer caned Raven and then handcuffed him to the cage (like at last year’s Heat Wave show.) Sandman caned Richards and was about to do the same to Raven when Lori (Sandman’s wife) put their son Tyler in the cage and he went and stood in front of Raven so that his dad won’t cane the champ, which he didn’t. Dreamer implored Sandman to trash Raven, but Sandman wouldn’t do it because his son was in the way. While they were arguing, Super Nova climbed the cage, with “bolt cutters,” and set Raven loose from the cage as Tyler left. Raven and Sandman then fought. Richards tried to help Raven and the champ threw him into the cage. Sandman and Raven are near death fighting each other. Brian Lee climbed to the top of the cage as the ring crew stacked three tables up next to it. Dreamer climbed the cage to meet Lee. Can you guess where this is going? Of course you can. Dreamer got to the top of the cage and basically just obviously put himself in the position to be put through the tables, which is exactly what happened when Lee did a short chokeslam on him. Tommy broke the top two tables on his way down and landed rudely.
As Raven tried to DDT Sandman, the former champ reversed it and whipped Raven into the cage. He then hit a DDT of his own and got the pinfall. A lot of people who did not pay attention to the stips thought he had won the title. On the floor, Brian Lee was choking Missy Hyatt, Kimona, and Beulah. Gordy made the save. Terry then came into the cage and congratulated Sandman while Dreamer was still largely dead on the floor. The heels left the cage as ringside fan Kato (named for his uncanny resemblance to Kato Kaelin) threw a 24 ounce Budweiser beer into the cage. Sandman opened it and gave it to Gordy, who damn near drank the whole thing. And Sandman drank the rest.
Overall, it was a really good show that was well received by the fans. Tod Gordon told me after the show that, “I have never, ever been as proud of my guys as I have been after the last two shows. Each one of them worked harder than the person before them and left nothing in the dressing room. I can only hope that they are as proud of themselves as I am of them.”
My Thoughts
Even though it will never happen, Mikey and Sabu would make a hell of a regular tag team. Given how beat up both guys are, it may be a wise idea to give them a few months of teaming together so that each guy does not have to kill himself so much in every match. Then again, that probably would not stop either one of them anyway.
Security threw out morons who threw garbage in the ring and who acted out of line, which was nice to see.
I wish that Axl Rotten could get a better push. He has a ton of potential.
A really scary sight was a father holding his 3 year old son on his shoulder while they both yelled, “F*** you Taz”.
There was only one “inexplicable” delay and the ring was fine for the show, which was a nice change of pace.
I have to send out an “I was wrong, you were right” to my pal Steve DeAngelis.
Tyler Fullington looked a little scared going into the cage and most of the people I spoke with expressed concern about letting him in there with a bunch of bloody wrestlers.
Terry Gordy has looked great so far.
1997 - WCW's Bash at the Beach Pay-per-view was held at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. Tim Whitehead filed the following PPV report for the Wrestling Lariat Newsletter:
WCW’s Bash at the Beach PPV (7/13 from the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach) turned out to be a mixed blessing for the promotion. The presence of Dennis Rodman produced plenty of mainstream publicity, more than WCW could have dreamed of at one time, and the type that Titan was once able to merit. However, as a wrestling show it left much to be desired, with a series of matches on top ranging from bad to mediocre and a disappointingly weak set of opening bouts. The only two bouts to actually come across as good matches were the Lucha six man match and the Benoit vs. Sullivan brawl, though even this latter match wasn’t as good as some of their previous brawls into the restrooms and other parts of the building.
Titan may not be able to compete with WCW anymore in terms of mainstream media attention, and for the most part have been losing in terms of PPV quality as well, but for this month at least they blew away the competition as this show didn’t come close to living up to last week’s Canadian Stampede, which is reviewed elsewhere in this issue.
The main difference between this show and other recent WCW PPV’s was the weak lower card, with the first three matches all coming off as either bad or not as good as predicted. There was also a flopped “mystery wrestler” debut as Curt Hennig’s first WCW wrestling appearance turned out to be a bust. There were three turns during the show, which was way too many and diluted their impact, but that’s the way things go nowadays with PPV’s every month and a zillion hours of TV. On the positive side there were no DQs or count-outs, and while the crowd was cool to the opening bouts they were hot by the time the key matches started. Commentary was marginally better than usual, which means it was still pretty bad.
MORTIS & WRATH defeated GLACIER & ERNEST MILLER in 9:46. This match ended Glacier’s undefeated streak, for anyone who was interested in that angle. There were a few good spots here but this looked more like a bunch of spots worked out in the dressing room before the match, and then simply thrown together with no transitions or logic behind them. The good spots included one where Mortis kicked a chair into Glacier’s face, smashing the back of his head against the post, and several innovative double team moves by Mortis & Wrath. But for the most part the match didn’t hold up. Miller’s kicks looked cool but he doesn’t appear to be able to do anything else. The finish saw James Vandenburg slip a chain over Mortis’ boot after Glacier put him down with a DDT. Mortis revived and kicked Glacier with the chain-wrapped boot for the pin. Most recent WCW PPV’s have started with good Cruiserweight style matches which usually heat the crowd up. This match did the opposite.
CHRIS JERICHO defeated ULTIMO DRAGON in 12:51 to retain the Cruiserweight Title. Jericho won this title on the recent non-televised Los Angeles show, defeating Syxx. They started off with arm drags and flips to no heat. Dragon hit his usual hard kicks. Both men traded suplexes. Jericho scored two counts with a quebrada and a Tiger Driver. The match had no heat at this point, and things began to go downhill as they began to miss moves. Jericho attempted to dropkick Dragon from the turnbuckle but missed, though Dragon sold it anyway and dropped to the floor. Jericho then hit a springboard crossbody off the top. After some brawling Jericho tried another crossbody but missed (on purpose) and Dragon hit the Asai moonsault. Jericho almost got counted out here as he apparently thought he was in Japan and had a twenty count. The ref had to stall before reaching ten to give him time to get back to the ring. Dragon hit a huracanrana and they traded magistral cradles. Jericho got a two count with a quebrada (a.k.a. the Lionsault). Dragon tred to dropkick Jericho as he tried another quebrada but missed, as the crowd began booing the missed spots. Dragon hit a moonsault. Jericho went for a power bomb but Dragon turned it into a huracanrana but Jericho rolled thru and got the three count. Not a bad match but disappointing as it should have been better and had too many missed spots.
Gene Okerlund tried to interview RAVEN & STEVIE RICHARDS, who were sitting in the front row. Raven began quoting his enigmatic poetry. Richards, who is back to the somewhat goofy personality he displayed earlier in his ECW days, promised that there would be a big announcement the next night on Nitro, which led Raven the slap the crap out of him.
THE STEINERS defeated MASAHIRO CHONO & GREAT MUTA in 11:33. Another disappointing match as Muta & Chono decided to play Hulk Hogan and stall as much as possible. They kept fleeing from the ring and stalling, arguing with fans, etc. In between stalling they did some standard moves. The first major move in the bout came when Chono hit the mafia kick on Rick, but then posed rather than trying to follow up on it. Muta half-heartedly hit his handspring elbow. They traded some decent-looking suplexes. Scott frankensteinered Muta but Chono broke up the pin by pulling the ref away. As the ref argued with Chono, Scott DDTd Muta off Rick’s shoulders and Rick pinned him. By winning, the Steiners earned a shot at the World Tag Titles at Road Wild on 8/9. Not a good match.
JUVENTUD GUERRERA & HECTOR GARZA & LIZMARK JR. beat PSICOSIS & LA PARKA & VILLANO IV in 10:00. This was the best match of the show though the crowd was slow to get into it. The traditional Lucha rules (a fresh man can come in if his partner gets thrown from the ring, etc.) still aren’t over with most fans so the matches come off as confusing to most of them. Sonny Onno was in the corner of the “rudo” team and got some kicks in on Guerrera. Guerrera hit a good spinning leg scissors takedown and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Villano. The crowd finally got into it when the three rudos bumped to the floor where the technicos hit them with a triple tope suicida. Back in the ring all six traded a series of huracanranas and moonsaults for near falls. Psicosis got two on Guerrera with a move similar to Manami Toyota’s “backwards frankentoyota” move. They did the star move, which got no heat since it isn’t over with American fans. They all ended up on the floor again as they missed (on purpose again) various dives onto one another. Lizmark then hit a crossbody off the top onto Villano. La Parka hit a twisting corkscrew crossbody onto Lizmark. Guerrera then did a springboard splash off Garza’s back onto La Parka getting incredible altitude as he sailed over the ropes. Garza finished the sequence off with his corkscrew dive onto all the rudos on the floor. At this point, Villano V sneaked into the ring as a “fresh” substitute for Villano IV. However, Garza pinned Villano V with a missile kick followed by a flip splash. A very good match.
CHRIS BENOIT defeated KEVIN SULLIVAN in 13:09 of a “Loser Must Retire” match. This was fought under no-DQ rules so it was a good brawl, though as mentioned before not as good as some prior battles. Sullivan was arguing with Jacqueline coming to the ring, teasing her eventual turn. They quickly went to the floor when Sullivan suplexed Benoit over the top. They brawled down the aisle with Jacqueline getting heavily involved and often being manhandled by both Benoit and Sullivan. Jacqueline, by the way, was wearing a very low cut leopard skin outfit. Her boob job is of such magnitude that they probably had to kill an extra leopard. Benoit and Sullivan ended up at the beach set up in the back where they used surfboards as weapons and basically destroyed the set. Jimmy Hart climbed the lifeguard tower but the tower then came tumbling down when Benoit dumped him. They brawled back to the ring where Benoit got crotched on the rail right in front of Raven & Richards. Kevin bit Benoit and Benoit responded by biting Kevin on the ear (was a spot like this inevitable or what?). enoit hooked on the crossface submission, but couldn’t make Sullivan submit or go unconscious, which looked bad since he previously got Meng and Barbarian to submit to the move and they’re two of the toughest guys in the promotion. Maybe Sullivan can sign with UFC or Pancrase after this. Sullivan battled back, leading Jacqueline to enter the ring with a chair. Sullivan tried to take it from her but she busted it over Kevin’s head. Benoit then hit the headbutt off the top for the pin. Jimmy Hart also abandoned Sullivan after the match, saying he let everyone down by losing.
JEFF JARRETT pinned STEVE McMICHAEL to retain the U.S. title in 6:55. There was another huge “Jarrett sucks” chant here. Mongo dominated early with power moves, working on Jarrett’s left leg. They brawled on the floor and McMichael choked Jarrett with a mic cord. Jarrett made the comeback, beating Mongo at his own game by using football tackles to clip Mongo’s knee. Debra then turned on Mongo by slipping the briefcase to Jarrett. Jarrett laid Mongo out with a great shot to score the pin, leaving with Debra afterward. The match itself wasn’t much, but the turn came across as something of a surprise. Mongo, however, didn’t seem to be all that upset afterward.
RANDY SAVAGE & SCOTT HALL defeated DALLAS PAGE & CURT HENNIG in 9:33. Prior to the match, Okerlund asked viewers to call his 900 line to hear rumors about who Page’s mystery partner would be. Is this guy a money grubbing slimeball or what? Page was over with the crowd but Hennig didn’t get much of a reaction. They made a big mistake by teasing Sting as the mystery man and by debuting Hennig on Nitro beforehand. Before the card went live on PPV, ring announced Dave Penzer asked the crowd who they thought the mystery partner was going to be and they almost unanimously said “Sting”. Even if Hennig had come out and set the world on fire, which he didn’t, he still probably would not have gotten over. They started out taunting each other and doing a few basic moves. The nWo team then got heat on Page, working over his taped ribs. Page hot tagged to Hennig, with the crowd still not reacting to him. They were going to do a spot where Page was pulling himself up by the ropes and accidentally caused Hennig to bump over to the floor, which would cause Hennig to turn on him, but the spot got messed up. Hennig turned on Page anyway, hitting him from behind and walking out. Savage then hit Page with the elbow off the top for the pin. Match was pretty bad, with Hennig not coming off as an “impact player” at all.
RODDY PIPER defeated RIC FLAIR with a sleeper in 13:25. This one was as good as a singles match with Piper could be nowadays, though that’s not saying much. The crowd was into it, though, as both guys are legends and know the psychology of playing to the crowd. Dusty Rhodes said he was tired of hearing people say Flair and Piper are past their prime, insisting that they are in the midst of their prime right now. Piper started off on offense, with Flair taking his trademark face-first bump and flip bump to the floor. He also did his trademark begging routine. Flair came back and hooked on the figure four but Piper reversed it. Piper got a two count after a neckbreaker. Flair took another bump to the floor and began begging again. Piper went for the sleeper but Flair dropped his chin down and scored a two count using the ropes. Piper locked on the figure four but Flair made the ropes. Flair pulled out a foreign object but Piper got it and used it on Flair. Benoit and Mongo then came out. Benoit tried to headbutt Piper off the top but accidentally hit Flair. Mongo then tombstone piledrove Piper, but Flair only got a two count. Piper then locked on the sleeper and Flair went out.
LEX LUGER & THE GIANT defeated HULK HOGAN & DENNIS RODMAN in 21:24. The crowd was big time into this one though it wasn’t a good match at all. You know you’re in for a bad ride when Luger is the best worker in a tag team match. Hogan and Luger traded shoulderblocks and basically stalled to fill up time. There were plenty of “Rodman sucks” chants. Rodman finally tagged in wearing his sunglasses. He did an arm drag on Luger to a pop from the surprised crowd. Lex then arm dragged both Rodman and Hogan, both of whom fled to the floor for more stalling. Rodman did some criss-cross leap frog sequences with Lex, which he was able to pull off because of his height. Giant then tagged in, looking more and more like his father Andre (ahem) due to the added weight he’s put on in all the wrong places. Hogan tried to dominate Giant but couldn’t, so he fled to the floor. Giant got Rodman in position for a chokeslam but Hulk clipped his knee. Lex came in but was subdued and double-teamed in the nWo corner. Giant came in illegally and was cleaning house in slow motion when a fake Sting arrived and walloped Giant with the bat. This Sting was obviously not the real one (it was actually Kevin Nash) but for whatever reason the commentators sold it as if it was the real Sting joining the nWo. Meanwhile, Rodman hit the ref from behind, knocking him out. Hogan hit Rodman by accident in a bad looking spot. Lex then hoisted Hulk in the torture rack as Nick Patrick ran in as a substitute ref, with Hogan submitting. The original plan was for Luger to be not the legal man in the ring to give Hogan an out but things didn’t go as planned and Lex was the legal man for his team. Lex racked both Rodman and Randy Savage afterward. As for Rodman, he came off better than Reggie White did in his debut but was also protected in that he only did a couple of limited spots while White had to wrestle an entire match against an opponent who wasn’t exactly capable of carrying him.
PPV Notes:
The show drew 6,354 fans who paid $150,870. The show actually sold out on 7/10.
Expect to see an angle where it comes out that Nash was the fake Sting, as they will be running Giant vs. Nash matches on upcoming house shows.
Hogan’s loss to Luger sets up the main event at Road Wild, with him defending the title against Lex.
New Japan had a television crew at the show and they taped the main event, and also the Steiners vs. Chono and Muta. They had their announcers there live as well. This should air in Japan by the end of the month.
1997 - Doomsday defeats Spellbinder for the USWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee, ending Spellbinder's second run with the title. Doomsday is now known as Kane in WWE.
1998 - Kane & Mankind defeat Billy Gunn & the Road Dog for the WWF World Tag Team Title in East Rutherford, New Jersey, ending the second reign of the New Age Outlaws.
2005 - After an angle on Smackdown (which had the unfortunate timing of airing the same day as a terrorist attack on the London subways - and it should be noted that UPN, which broadcast Smackdown at the time, had received the tape of the episode prior to the attack and chose to go ahead with the episode) that featured Muhammad Hassan and a group of his followers attack Undertaker, media controversy exploded over the angle. The New York Post covered the angle, noting the timing of the angle airing the same day of the terrorist attack on London's subway and bus lines. WWE Executive producer Kevin Dunn noted to The New York Post that WWE does "happen to reflect the politics of the world sometimes - especially with these Arab American characters." Dunn noted that the company is in the entertainment business with the Post claiming that Dunn told them that as edgy the angle may have been, it should be taken tongue-in-cheek. The Post then went on to describe the angle as "a scene that looked eerily like a beheading." A WWE spokesman told The Post, "If we had any idea that something like [the London attacks] might happen, obviously you wouldn't try to do that segment on that day"
Due to the negative press that the Muhammad Hassan angle got in different outlets, UPN made the call that the Hassan character should be pulled from WWE broadcasts. Hassan then cut a promo, which was only aired on WWE.com, playing off the controversy. Geoff Trate transcribed the entire promo, which turned out to be one of the last appearances of the Hassan character before WWE dropped it:
"I stand here tonight the only patriot left in America. I stand here tonight perhaps even a martyr against tyranny and injustice. Because the fact is I am an American professional wrestler, but because of my heritage, because of my background, because of who my ancestors were, I'm labeled - we're labeled terrorists. Terrorists; I'm a terrorist! Well it must be true - it's got to be true...because it's right here in black and white, in a reputable source, like The New York Post.
What, you don't believe me? Here it is, "Terrorist Wrestles After Bombing." I'm a terrorist - we're terrorists. We wrestled after a bombing. Well, Mr. Don Kaplan... (turning to Daivari) Have you ever met Don Kaplan? Have you ever spoken to Don Kaplan? Have you ever called Don Kaplan on the phone? Well, I never have either. So, if Don Kaplan of the New York Post has never met us, how does Don Kaplan know we're terrorists? Don Kaplan also wrote that "Arabs in ski-masks carried Daivari out as a sacrifice" last week. Arabs in Ski-masks...in Ski-masks...in a ski-mask! How does he know that they were Arabs?
The point is, because of articles like this, because of the fear that the media has put in all of you people, I have been denied my God given right to pursue the profession of my choosing, to pursue the American Dream. I have been denied my basic rights as an American citizen. You know, as I look around this crowd and I look at all these faces looking at me in disgust, I think a lot of you have forgotten what this country was founded on. I think you have forgotten that your ancestors fought for their freedom. They gave their lives for their freedom - whether they be black, Irish-American, Italian-American, Jewish-American, Asian-American, they gave their lives for their freedom.
What's next? What's next? Because anytime anything goes wrong in this country, it's the Arabs. When a plane crashes, it's the Arabs. When a bomb goes off, it's the Arabs. The blackout two summers ago? It was the Arabs. Hurricane Dennis? Must be the Arabs!
You people say what you want, because I have a right to be in here. I have a right to say what I want and what I'm going to say. My name is Muhammad Hassan. I am an Arab-American and I am very proud of my heritage. But as an American, my first amendment rights have been trampled, and I stand here before all of you ashamed of my country."
Hassan then rips up The Post article as Daivari speaks in Farsi to the crowd to end the promo.
2005 - Matt Hardy called into WWE.com's Byte This, "confronting" Lita as to why she left him for Adam Copeland (as he called him on the air). Lita said that she doesn't think she needs to explain why she's with Edge. She told Hardy that one of the reasons she's not with him is that he's been cutting wrestling promos about their personal life.
Lita said that it's not her issue to act out "this breakup in a public way" the way Hardy did. She questioned him rallying his MFers for, "What, I don't know." Hardy responded that it's a public thing because they are public people and she got involved with someone who claimed to be one of his best friends.
"We're on TV, we're worldwide in every country in the world. Considering the power of the Internet, it was going to be out there," said Hardy. Lita said that if Hardy didn't rally the troops and make matter public, things would have been conducted a lot better. She said the situation came out of nowhere, but it wasn't her fault. Hardy responded that it would have come out eventually and he didn't want people thinking he was the one at fault for their breakup.
Hardy then discussed his firing, saying that Johnny Ace called him when he was training and ready to come back to inform Hardy he was being released because, "Creative had nothing for me." Hardy said that he told Ace he didn't buy that and questioned that it had nothing to do with the Edge-Lita situation. He said that Adam Copeland and Lita were in the wrong with Copeland committing adultery, but Hardy was the one who was fired. He said that Copeland and Dumas should have been sent home, not him.
Lita then asked Hardy why she would want to be with him after, "a rant like this." Hardy said that he doesn't want to be with her anymore, but he's a vindicative person. He said he put her in front of his career and said he came to Raw only because he wanted to be with her to make their schedules better, even though "it was a career killer" for him. He said he took care of her when she was injured, but he was out injured, she took up with someone he thought was his best friend. Hardy said he would get retribution against Lita, Edge, and WWE.
Hardy mentioned that his no compete clause has expired and plugged his indy appearances this weekend, calling Ring of Honor, "A real wrestling promotion with no soap opera storylines."
Lita tried to cut Hardy off as he began questioning her about their relationship, asking "What went wrong with us?" Lita said she didn't want to talk about it because it was personal. When Hardy pushed the issue, she removed her mic and walked off the set. Hardy plugged his websites and said, "See you at Ring of Honor." WWE.com then ended the show after just 27 minutes due to Lita "walking off the show."
Prior to Hardy calling in, Lita addressed the Hardy-Edge-Lita triangle, saying that she doesn't sign autographs anymore because of the situation as he doesn't know what fans might do. She regretted the way she went about things but said she doesn't regret being with Edge because she's in love with him. When asked about Edge being married, Lita said that wasn't a question "anyone but Edge could answer" and she wasn't going to comment on it because "It's personal."
Lita also said that the fans chanting does get to her in the ring. She said that she tries to block it but its hard when you have 20,000 fans chanting "You Screwed Matt" in Madison Square Garden without knowing what's going on. She said she just wants to go out there from 9 PM to 11 PM and entertain, but it's hard to do that when people are chanting at her.
2007 - Memorial services for Nancy "Woman" Benoit and her son Daniel were held in Daytona Beach, Florida.
2007 - In the wake of the Benoit tragedy, TMZ.com ran comments from former WWE Diva Terri Runnels, who commented on soma usage by WWE performers (during her time in the company, which isn't specified by TMZ). Runnels commented, "The boys eat somas like candy....I've personally seen a WWE Superstar nearly die right in front of me after taking 13 Somas ... while still behind the wheel of his car!....if the wrestlers' addictions and mental health issues continue to be ignored, I'm afraid that I'll have more friends turning up dead -- all because no one cares."
World Wrestling Entertainment later issued a statement to TMZ.com in response, reading: "WWE finds the abuse of drugs and steroids to be unacceptable, and such behavior is actively discouraged. For 20 years the WWE has been doing something to address the issue of steroid and drug use. We instituted our first drug testing program in 1987. In February 2006, we instituted our latest and most comprehensive drug testing program ever as part of our new Talent Wellness Program as a deterrent to steroid and drug abuse . We cannot account for the poor personal decisions a small minority may make outside the workplace to undermine these efforts."
2007 - Court documents indicated that the trademark infringement lawsuit brought by former WCW World champion Diamond Dallas Page against hip hop mogul Jay-Z (and a number of Jay-Z's companies, including Roc-A-Wear clothing, Rocawear Licensing, Urban Menswear LLC, and Roc-A-Fella Records, among other) was close to a settlement. The suit was eventually settled.
2007 - Ken Anderson, at the time wrestling for WWF as Ken Kennedy, appeared on the Fox News Network to discuss the Benoit tragedy and issues within the wrestling business. Kerrie filed the following TV report:
They show a clip of Mr. Kennedy doing his famous introduction, they cut back to the host who says she doesn'tt even think he needs any other introduction after that she thinks he introduced himself very well. She talks about how he worked very closely with Chris Benoit and traveled together. She welcomes Ken. She asks him about traveling with Chris Benoit and how well he knew Chris. Ken says he wouldn't say he was one of the guys who knew him extremely well, but he did look at him like a mentor. Ken says he trained with him, traveled with him on occasion, he always talked to him and got advice from him. Ken says there were things Benoit opened up to him about.
The Host asks if Chris ever talked to him about Steroids, Ken says no he never talked to him about Steroids and it was just something that never came up. The Host mentions the posting Ken made on the website, and she says he knows he is Angry, like his profession is being misrepresented and mentions the use of steroids. Ken says one of the things going around now is these lists some saying 60 and some saying over 100 wrestlers have died over the past decade or two. Ken notes that only 5 or so of those happened to wrestlers who were under WWEs watch.
The Host says she has a list and brings up Eddie Guerrero, Brian Pillman and Russ Haas. Ken says that Russ Haass death was due to a genetic heart condition and he had a heart attack and died in the ring. Ken says the other two, Eddie Guerrero and Brian Pillman they were 2 guys who chose to use a lot of drugs and take steroids. He mentions that before they came to the WWE they wrestled in WCW and several other organizations and back then the lifestyle was different. Ken says they could be on the road as much as 40 days at a time. He says they were drinking till all hours of the night, taking pills to go to sleep and using cocaine to keep them awake and they did it day after day after day.
The host says maybe it was just a decadent lifestyle, and she is just a casual observer but they all see athletes in some cases Baseball players and they take steroids and then when they stop they get very small. She says she looks at WWE wrestlers and they look to her like they are taking those kinds of drugs. She asks if Ken is telling her that they are not? Ken says, They have a drug policy in place right now and they are regularly tested. He says he has been tested 5 times. He is asked if he takes Steroids and says no. Ken says contrary to popular beliefs and what some people have said their levels are bigger levels, Ken says that isn't true. They mention it being the same as the NFL. Ken says in Wrestling the outcomes are predetermined, and their levels are 4:1 Testosterone to Epitestosterone levels. He says if your levels are over you are suspended and Dr. Black [The Doctor who started this program] Will look at each case and if you have a legitimate medical reason why your levels are higher then 4:1, which there are very few reasons why you would be able to and if you dont meet that criteria you are suspended and ultimately fired.
The Host asks if he does not think there is a steroid problem. Ken says he thinks there was at one time, but now he does not. He says the Wrestlers that you see dying he believes are from that era where Steroids and Drugs were a problem. The Host asks about Benoit, Steroids and the Toxicology reports and if he will not come back clean. Ken says he doesn't know, and obviously they found steroids in his home. He had passed the drug test and he says maybe he injected the steroids the day before he died. He says he does not think the toxicology reports are going to prove anything.
The host says Mr. Kennedy representing a new breed of wrestlers in professional wrestling and thanks him, Ken says they truly are.
Note from Mike: It should be noted that Kennedy was later suspended under the WWE Wellnes Policy.
2007 - TNA broadcast Impact on SpikeTV. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV Report:
It is time for the final episode of Impact before the Victory Road pay per view and we will see all four men who will wrestle in the Match of Champions be on one team in an eight man tag match. Will all four men be able to work together when they know that they will be on opposite sides of the ring on Sunday? Will Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle be able to get their differences out of the way as they prepare for Sunday? Which member of Serotonin will qualify for the Ultimate X Match when they all meet in a Triple Threat Match? What new matches will be announced for Victory Road? What will Abyss say this week?
We are live on tape from Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida and your announcers are Mike Tenay and Don West.
Before our opening match, we see footage from Slammiversary when Lance attacked the Voodoo Kin Mafia and joined forces with Damaja, Basham, and Christy Hemme.
Match Number One: Abyss versus Lance Hoyt (with Christy Hemme)
Hoyt attacks Abyss from behind and punches him followed by a kick but Abyss responds with a boot of his own and then he clotheslines Hoyt over the top rope to the floor. Abyss sends Hoyt into the guardrail and then he punches Hoyt. Abyss rolls Hoyt back into the ring and then Abyss grabs a chair and brings it into the ring. Hoyt is able to stop Abyss when Abyss takes too long to get back into the ring. Hoyt with a punch but Abyss with an Irish whip and charge into the corner. Abyss with a running butt splash and then Abyss goes to the second turnbuckle for a Vader Splash but Hoyt moves out of the way. Hoyt with a boot to the back of the head and then Hoyt punches Abyss on the mat. Hoyt goes up top for a moonsault but Abyss rolls out of the way. Abyss sets for a choke slam but Hoyt with an elbow. Abyss with two clotheslines and then he sets up for the choke slam and he hits it but he can only get a two count. Abyss goes for the steel chair but Christy grabs it as well. The referee goes outside to admonish Christy and that allows Hoyt to hit a big boot and then he puts the chair in Abyss' face as he goes up top for a VanHoytinator, but Abyss gets up and Hoyt lands short and gets a chair thrown in his face for his troubles. Abyss covers Hoyt but he can only get a two count. Abyss picks up Hoyt but Hoyt with a series of forearms to Abyss. Hoyt sets for a big boot but he runs into a Black Hole Slam for the three count.
Winner: Abyss
After the match, Abyss goes under the ring for the bag of broken glass but Basham comes out to pull Hoyt out of the ring. Abyss pours the contents of the bag onto the mat while Christy Hemme remains in the ring.
From out of nowhere, the Voodoo Kin Mafia attack Basham and Hoyt by the announce table and they battle to the back. Abyss backs Christy into the corner but A.J. Styles and Tomko attack Abyss from behind as Christy leaves the ring.
The lights go out and Sting's music plays. Sting is in the ring and he attacks Tomko and Styles with the bat and they leave the ring. Sting gives Abyss the bat and then he grabs a mic and tells Styles and Tomko that they will meet in three days and something really bad is going to happen but he is not going to tell Styles and Tomko about it but Abyss is going to tell them. Sting gives Abyss the mic and Abyss hesitates before tells A.J. and Tomko “Tomko . . . Styles . . . three days . . . click . . . doomsday!â€ÂÂÂÂ
Don and Mike are at the announce table and they run through the card for Victory Road:
Ten Man X Division Gauntlet to determine the number one contender for the X Division Title
Robert Roode and Traci Brooks versus Eric Young and Gail Kim
Rhino versus James Storm
Christian Cage versus Chris Harris
Sting and Abyss versus A.J. Styles and Tomko
Match of Champions:Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle and X Division Champion Samoa Joe versus Tag Team Champions Team 3D
We go to a video package involving the Match of Champions participants. Brother Ray says that him and his brother have never needed anyone for the past fifteen years but tonight they have to tag with two other men. We hear Kurt Angle introduce himself as the TNA Heavyweight Champion and IWGP Champion. Brother Ray says that they do not have any problem with Samoa Joe. Joe says that he is not such a bad guy. You do right by him, he will do right by you. If you screw him and then he breaks you. Brother Ray says that he has not trusted Angle since he entered TNA. Joe says that he thought he was the only person who hated Kurt Angle but he is glad to know that there are others. Angle says that he does not understand why people hate him all the time. Brother Ray says that Angle has been bitching and moaning and hiding behind his gold medal his whole life. Angle says that he has been speaking the truth that he is the greatest wrestler alive and that everyone else sucks. Brother Ray talks about what he would do to Angle's gold medal. Kurt Angle says that Team 3D and Samoa Joe cannot even hold his jock, let alone be his tag team partner. We go to commercial.
We are back and we go to Jeremy Borash with Christian, Tomko, and A.J. Styles. While Tomko and Styles are arguing over something, Christian tells Borash that he knows what is going on. Christian wants to know why he was not told about Sting and Abyss being together. He demands to be told about these things because he is the champ. A.J. has a question for Christian about their match tonight against the participants in the Match of Champions. A.J. points out that he has been a champion, but Tomko has not been a champion and then he says that he has held more championships than Christian but he pauses. A.J. wants to know who their fourth man is and Christian asks A.J. how long they have been hanging out together. Christian says that when things look like he is about to fold, he pulls a royal flush out of his pocket. Christian introduces their partner, Robert Roode to A.J. and Tomko.
Roode says that it is an honor and privilege to be a part of Christian's team. Roode says that he is sick of the politics and Cornette screwing with him week after week. Tonight it is his chance. Christian leaves with Roode and Traci and then A.J. seems a bit disappointed at Christian because Christian always calls him kid. A.J. tries to catch up to Christian and then Tomko tells Borash it is always the same old thing.
Match Number Two: Havoc versus Martyr versus Kaz for a spot in the Ultimate X Match at Victory Road Kaz goes after Martyr as Martyr enters the ring but Havoc with a Lou Thesz Press and then he punches Kaz. Martyr joins in and kicks Kaz. Martyr with a hip toss to Kaz followed by a running knee to Kaz’s head from Havoc. Martyr finishes things off in the sequence with a neckbreaker and Kaz goes outside the ring. Havoc and Martyr go out after Kaz but Kaz fights them off until both men send Kaz back first into the ring apron. Havoc gets Kaz on his shoulder and then he runs Kaz into the turnbuckles and follows that with a running knee to the back and Kaz goes to the mat. Havoc gets Kaz up for a suplex and Martyr with a cross body to add impact to the suplex. Havoc covers Kaz and only gets a two count. Kaz with kicks and forearms to Havoc and Martyr followed by a drop kick to Martyr. Havoc with a thumb to the eyes and then he sends Kaz to the apron. Kaz gets out of a belly-to-back suplex attempt from Martyr and then he hits a bicycle kick on Havoc that sends Havoc out of the ring. Martyr waits for a super kick but Kaz avoids it and hits a leg sweep and bridge for the three count.
Winner: Kaz
After the match, Havoc comes into the ring with the canes but Kaz escapes the ring. Kaz heads to the back but Raven comes up behind him while Kaz mocks Raven's pose. Raven hits Kaz in the back with the kendo stick. All three men hit Kaz with the kendo stick outside the ring before they roll him back in. Havoc gets Kaz on his shoulders and Martyr with a super kick followed by a TKO from Havoc. Raven rubs a snot rag into Kaz's face and then he holds Kaz up while Havoc and Martyr hit him with the kendo sticks.
We go to a video package for Ultimate X with comments from Senshi who calls it the ultimate test. Jerry Lynn calls it "suicidal". Senshi says that it is pure preparation to be able to compete. Petey Williams says that you cannot be afraid of heights. Chris Sabin says that you cannot be "all there" to be a part of the match. Jerry Lynn says that you cannot hesitate in the match. We go to commercial.
We are back with Don West sitting down with James Storm to discuss Rhino's interview with Mike Tenay. Don talks about how Rhino poured his heart out and Storm laughs at Rhino's comments. Don reminds Storm that Rhino said that his father died from alcoholism when he was fifteen; and Storm shoots back with the fact that his father died when he was twelve. Storm says that it was a joke when he poured the beer down his throat. We see Rhino's comments from last week about "one drink". Don tells Storm that you cannot drink with an alcoholic because it is a disease. Don tries to put Rhino's situation in perspective but Storm tells Don that maybe Rhino should go to AAA. Don shows his frustration at trying to get the message to Storm. Storm says that when he wins at Victory Road, the drinks will be on Rhino.
We go to a video package for Chris Harris. Chris talks about getting noticed was the first step and then after the first few weeks, the idea of America's Most Wanted was brought up. They did not want to be part of a tag team, but you take whatever opportunity you can get. He says that he wanted to be a singles wrestler. He says that one of his best memories was as a singles wrestler because it gave him back the confidence that he had and that he could stand with those guys. Harris says that he should be one of the elite in TNA because he has the heart. He says that he has not quit and does not intend to quit or fail. His match at Victory Road will be a make or break match. He talks about his matches with James Storm. He talks about how he was in the main event at Slammiversary. He might not have won the title, but he got noticed. Regardless of the result on Sunday, everyone will know that he has arrived. We go to commercial.
We are back with James Mitchell and he says that his son is approaching and with each passing hour, he grows stronger, more vicious, and more bloodthirsty. He has unfinished business and debts to be paid. Doom, suffering, and despair. The apocalypse is upon you and his son is very close. He raises his glass to the creation of new gods and monsters. He says that everyone will succumb to a new era of darkness. We are told that Judas Mesias is coming.
We go to the latest Paparazzi Productions video and it is a debate between "old school" and "new school" with Kevin Nash as moderator. Representing "old school" is Jerry Lynn and Bob Backlund; while Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley represent "new school". Backlund proposes a toast. Jerry says that Alex and Chris should be sitting on the other side of the rail buying a ticket. Alex comments on Jerry Lynn's resemblance to the lead singer of Nickelback and then he comments on Bob Backlund's appearance. Jerry wants to know if they think this is a joke. He points out that he saw something in Sabin and took Chris under his wing, but he did not teach Sabin everything he knew. Jerry points out that you have over one hundred years of experience. Backlund goes crazy and then Lynn and Backlund put Sabin and Shelley in the crossface chicken wing.
Match Number Three: Christian Cage, A.J. Styles, Tomko, and Robert Roode (with Traci Brooks) versus TNA Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle, TNA X Division Champion Samoa Joe, and TNA Tag Team Champions Team 3D
Roode and Devon start things off and Roode with forearms and a kick. Devon with a hip toss and drop kick followed by an arm drag. Devon with an Irish whip and charges into the corner followed by a flying back elbow for a two count. Roode with a knee and he tags in Christian Cage but Christian argues with Roode before he is brought in by Devon. Devon with a flying shoulder tackle for a two count. Ray is tagged in and they hit a double flap jack on Christian. Ray with a delayed vertical suplex on Christian for a two count. Joe tags in and he connects with jabs but Christian with punches. Joe with a reverse atomic drop followed by a Yakuza kick and senton to Christian's neck. Joe with jabs and a snap mare followed by the chop, kick, and knee drop combination for a two count. Christian with a shoulder and he tags in Tomko. Tomko and Joe exchange forearms with neither man going down. Joe comes off the ropes but Tomko with a big boot. Joe with an enzuigiri. Roode is tagged in and he runs into a series of chops. Roode tries for a leap frog but Joe sends Roode face first into the mat. Joe tags in Devon with some authority and then Brother Ray pushes Joe before Joe goes to the apron. Devon with a forearm and punches to Roode but Roode with a kick and we go to commercial as Devon hits a spinebuster slam on Roode.
We are back and Roode is choking Devon. We see footage during the commercial of Roode hitting a spinebuster on Devon and then we see Styles hitting a Phenomenal drop kick. Back to live on tape action and Roode with a back elbow for a two count. We see Ray yelling at Angle on the apron to get into the match while Christian is tagged in and he kicks Devon and chokes him. Tomko tags in and he kicks Devon and hits a power slam for a two count. Tomko puts Devon on the top turnbuckle and then Tomko punches Ray on the apron before returning to Devon. Devon with a tornado DDT and Joe and Styles are tagged in. Joe takes care of Styles followed by Christian and Roode. Styles with a jawbreaker but Joe with a powerslam for a two count. Joe with a powerbomb into an STF. Roode, Christian, and Tomko break up the submission hold and then Team 3D join in the fun in the ring while Angle watches from the floor. Styles chops Ray out of the ring and Styles goes after him as they battle on the floor. Joe hits a double clothesline on Roode and Christian. Christian sends Joe out of the ring. Team 3D with a belly-to-back and neck breaker combination to Roode. Christian tries for the Unprettier on Ray but Ray is able to get Christian up and they hit the Doomsday Device on Christian. Roode falls victim to the 3D but Roode rolls out of the ring. Tomko with a big boot to Devon and a clothesline to Ray. Joe hits a Death Valley Driver on Tomko. Styles hits the Pele kick but Joe hits a drop kick that flips Styles in the ring. Joe with a jumping spin kick to Christian on the top turnbuckle and then Joe catapults Styles into Cage on the top turnbuckle and Christian goes to the floor. Joe sets up Styles for the muscle buster and Angle makes the blind tag and then he clips Joe before he hits the muscle buster. Angle covers Styles and gets the three count.
Winners: TNA Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle, TNA X Division Champion Samoa Joe, and TNA Tag Team Champions Team 3D
We go to credits.
2008 - TNA held their Victory Road PPV in Orlando. Mike Johnson filed the following PPV report:
Welcome to PWInsider.com's live coverage of the 2008 TNA Victory Road PPV, live from Houston, Texas. The PPV opened with a video feature focusing on Samoa Joe vs. Booker T, Awesome Kong vs. Taylor Wilde and Team 3D & Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles & Christian Cage & Rhino.
Fireworks went off as Mike Tenay and Don West welcomes everyone. We went outside to Jeremy Borash where fans were still filing into the Reliant Arena, pushing the fan voting for the six man tag team bout's stipulation for later tonight. We then went to Lauren and BG James inside the crowd. Lauren said tonight, "was all about you. It's all about the fans." James put over the Fan's Revenge match for the TNA Tag Team belts later tonight. James then discussed the TNA title match. Fans booed and James pointed out there were mixed emotions in the Arena. James had a lot of energy on the mic.
World X Cup standings see Team Mexico and Team TNA tied for first with 3 points each, with Team Japan and Team International each tied for 2
World X Cup 12 Man Elimination Match
Team Japan's Milano Collection AT & Puma & Masato Yoshino vs. Team Mexico's Rey Bucanero & Ultimo Guerrero & Averno vs. Team International's Tyson Dux & Alex Kozlov & Doug Williams vs. Team TNA's Motor City Machineguns & Curry Man
The Machineguns came out with masks and outfits obviously inspired by the pageantry of Japan and Mexico. There's a ton of awesome talent here, but with so many, it's either going to be awesome or a complete cluster. They could do an entire PPV with all the names involved in this match!
Curry and Yoshino started fast with Yoshino hitting a dropkick. Curry challenged him to a sprint, but tripped him. The Guns tag in and nail a double hiptoss. Dux blindtagged himself in and worked over Sabin. Team International worked over Sabin, climaxing with Williams hitting a running kneelift for a two count. Alex Shelley distracted Team International, allowing Sabin to tag in Team Mexico. All three worked over Williams. They then pressed and swung Dux. Ultimo Guerrero hit a dive to Williams on the floor. Bucanero caught Dux with a package bomb and pinned him. Dux is eliminated.
Bucanero and Puma went at it. Puma faked out a dive, which allowed Milano Collection AT to interfere and hit a senton splash. Puma hit a slingshot senton into the ring on Bucanero. Puma went for a rana but was caught and hit with a facebuster. Averno tagged in and worked over Puma. Collection AT tried to help but was nailed by his own partner. Averno scored the pin on Puma.
Milano and Averno go back and forth. Averno went up the ropes but was nailed with a enziguiri and then a superkick. Bucanero broke up the pin. Sabin tagged in but was caught with the Dragon Screw Legwhip. Shelley tried to interfere but was stunned. Milano rolled through with a stereo half crab on both of the Guns. Curry interfered to save them.
Sabin went for a pin on Milano, who Matrix-ed out. The Guns doubleteamed Milano with a kneedrop off the top while he was in a Fireman's Carry (which barely glanced him) followed by the Cradleshock for the pin. Collection AT was eliminated, leaving Masato Yoshino the lone member of Team Japan. The Guns continued to work him over. This led to a fun, fast paced back and forth between Yoshino and Shelley. Shelley tried for several pin attempts but Yoshino kept kicking out. Yoshino caught Shelley in an Octopus submission but he was able to roll through and nail Yoshino in the face with a kick.
Shelley went for Sliced Bread #2 but was shoved off. Averno tagged in. He and Yoshino went back and forth with some fun Lucha spots. Averno hit a TKO variation, but Yoshino came through with a series of moves that led to a Mexican roll. It wasn't pretty but it was the pin, so Averno was eliminated.
Curry Man and Kozlov tagged in. Kozlov did the Russian stance into the kick but Curry went for a kick of his own. Williams tagged in and hit the Chaos Theory rolling suplex, but Curry kicked out. He and Williams fought back and forth. Team Mexico dove into the ring on both with bodyblocks off the ropes. Ultimo Guerrero did his handstand into corner splash on Curry. Curry went for a top rope frankensteiner but was caught and superbombed into the ring. Curry is eliminated.
Team Mexico turned their attention to Williams. Bucanero hit a spinning senton off the top while he was draped over Guerrero's knees, scoring the pin and eliminating Williams. Team Mexico went after Yoshino and the Guns on the floor.
Back in the ring, Kozlov hit a bodyblock on Guerrero and tried to rally the crowd, who instead chanted for Mexico. They battled in the corner. Kozlov went for a superplex but was overpowered and nailed with a face first suplex off the ropes into the ring for a two count. Kozlov came back with his crossface submission and Guerrerp submitted.
Bucanero dove off the ropes on Kozlov. Sabin tagged in but was slammed by Bucanero. Bucanero kicked Yoshino off the apron and went to the top, only to be cut off by Sabin. Sabin nailed a top rope hurancanrana. The Guns hit their stereo superkicks and pinned Bucanero. The Guns hit the Dream Sequence on Yoshino. The Guns then did a really cool stacked STO where Kozlov was on Yoshino's shoulders and Sabin hit a missile dropkick to give Shelley the assist on the move.
Sabin catches Kozlov with an Ace Cutter, then an awesome lariat that saw Kozlov take a 360 bump. Sabin charged Kozlov but the referee was pulled in front of him. Kozlov covered Sabon and put his feet on the ropes for the pin. There are two referees and Kozlov still cheated to win? Kozlov hit an awesome dive on Shelley on the floor.
Yoshino and Kozlov went back and forth in the ring,. Kozlov caught Yoshino in mid-air with a big kick. Shelley returned to the ring but was tossed back out. Yoshino hit a series of chops and strikes on Kozlov then slammed him down. Yoshino captured him in an armbar submission and Kozlov tapped out. Team Mexico picked up 1 point for being the second runner-up.
Yoshino vs. Shelley for the victory is left. Yoshino went to the top and hit an awesome missile dropkick for a two count. Seriously, that was the most beautiful dropkick ever and TNA's cameras had it in the perfect shot, looking up at it from afar. Beautiful. Shelley went for Sliced Bread #2 but Yoshino kicked up,. Shelley went to the top for a frog splash but Yoshino got his knees up. Yoshino went for the cover but Shelley kicked up and was frustrated.
Shelley caught Yoshino with a Tiger Suplex into a bridge for a two count. They battled on the ropes. Yoshino nailed Shelley and hit a springboard into a neck-tie on Shelley for a two count. Yoshino places Shelley on top rope but Shelley comes off the ropes and hits an inverted atomic drop. Shelley clotheslined Yoshino and rolled him up for the pin.
Your winners, Team TNA!
TNA gets 3 points, Japan gets 2 and International gets 1.
So, going into the Ultimate X TNA has 5 points total, Team Japan 3, Team International 3 and Team Mexico 3.
This was one hell of an opener with lots of great wrestling. My fear going in was this was going to be a four minute match but this went far beyond 20 plus minutes. Kudos to TNA for letting the guys go and do their thing.
Mike Tenay and Don West ran down the main events for tonight's card. Tenay said that throughout the entire PPV, we'll be seeing clips of Booker T's Homecoming. We went to footage of Booker T showing us around his home and his achievements, including different title belts, trophies and Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards. Booker showed off his key to the city and asked if Samoa Joe had one of those and said, "No." Booker then showed off his car collection and said he was going to take everyone to where he trains, the Booker T Wrestling Academy.
They showed footage of Houston before going to a video feature on Gail Kim vs. Angelina Love.
Angelina Love (with Velvet Sky) vs. Gail Kim
They just pushed this big grudge between the two but Kim came out beaming and smiling. That didn't make much sense to me. Love attacked Kim from behind as soon as she hit the ring. Love throws a punch but Kim blocks and cleans house with a series of rights. Love charged her but was hit with a boot to the mush. Kim chopped her in the corner, then hit a running clothesline in another. Kim went for a springboard move but Sky tripped her.
Kim is rolled in and nearly pinned by Love. Love began choking her and slamming Kim's head into the mat. Love began kicking away at Kim, who caught her leg. Love rolled through and turned it into a sunset flip attempt but Kim got her shoulder up. Love continued to attempt pins but Kim would escape at the last second. They went to the corner and Kim went for a outside figure four on the ringpost. Gee, I wonder where she learned that!
Kim went to the top but Sky tripped her and Kim crotched herself on the top. Love hit a superplex into the ring for another two count. Love went for a Yakuza kick but missed. Kim clotheslined her down. She scooped up Love, who escaped and caught Kim with a two count. Kim speared Love. Sky distracted Kim, allowing Love to kick her in the gut. Kim came back and scored the pin.
Your winner, Gail Kim!
Velvet attacked Kim as her hand was raised. She began working over Kim with punches on the mat. They try to set up Kim to paper bag her but Kim ducks a double clothesline and scrambles out of the ring.
Match was decent.
Backstage, Lauren and BG James were with the 12 fans who won the chance to lash Robert Roode and BG James. James riled them up into lashing mannequins dressed to look like Beer Money and then said the fans were going to make sure someone took a beating tonight.
A video feature on Sonjay Dutt vs. Jay Lethal aired.
Sonjay Dutt vs. Jay Lethal (with So Cal Val)
Dutt tried to give Val a note and flowers before the match. Lethal nailed him off the apron, then dove out of the ring on Dutt. Lethal tore up the flower and rose. Lethal tossed Dutt into the corner and began working him over with punches and a clothesline. He went to the top and hit a double sledgehammer off the top. Lethal hit a hiptoss into a dropkick on Dutt, then worked him over with chops in the corner.
Dutt avoided a charge in the corner and snapped his neck over the ropes. Dutt then hit a springboard into a Thesz Press. Dutt had these great dementedly happy facials. Dutt nailed a backbreaker and stalked over Lethal as Val looked concerned. Dutt locked on a side headlock as Val tried to rally the crowd. Dutt hit a rolling senton across Lethal's back, then hit a standing backflip into a two count.
Lethal finally came back with a series of quick rights but Lethal caught a kick to the head. Dutt went for a move but Lethal caught him and used the turnbuckles as a base to suplex Dutt overhead. Lethal came back with a series of clotheslines on Dutt, then chops. Dutt caught him with a charge, but failed with a tornado DDT as Lethal shrugged him off. Lethal hit a glancing dropkick for a two count.
Lethal attempted the Lethal Combination but Dutt escaped and placed him on the top rope. They jockeyed for position with Dutt finally hitting a rana off the ropes. Dutt is caught with a flip into a facebuster for a two count. Dutt and Lethal brawled out of the ring. Dutt was tossed into the guard rail. Lethal kept beating Dutt, who started screaming for Val to help him. Lethal slammed his head into the table. Lethal tosses Dutt back into the ring and locked on a Texas Cloverleaf. They showed a worried Val watching.
Val started to get up onto the apron but Lethal let the move go and told her to get down. Dutt used that moment to take Lethal down. Dutt grabbed Val and told her that he loved her. Lethal grabbed Dutt and hit the Lethal Combination. Val got on the apron and Lethal turned to her. Dutt rolled up Lethal and put his feet on the ropes to score the pin. Dutt kissed her hand and ran out of the ring.
Your winner, Sonjay Dutt!
Solid match with some good athletic wrestling. I think there might have been a little too much of the focus on the love triangle, especially when you would think this match should have had these two really tearing each other's throats out in anger and didn't.
Backstage, Jeremy Borash interviewed Beer Money. Borash said they were going to face the fury of the fans. Roode said there was no fury within a 95 pound mark holding a strap compared to them. He said that Borash should ask what they are going to do to the fans and LAX tonight. Roode kept calling the fans marks and said they wouldn't be held accountable for whatever happened out there. Storm said the best thing about Houston was getting the hell out like the Tennessee Titans did. Storm begged the fans to get in their faces with the straps and promised they would get their asses kicked like never before. Storm promised they would be the new Tag Team champions. Jacqueline refused to go to ringside because of the fans with lashes.
TNA Tag Team champions LAX vs. Robert Roode & James Storm - Fans' Revenge Match
Let's just say 90% of the Lumberjacks, when compared with the crowd shots of fans at MMA shows, are from another universe.
Homicide and Roode started. Roode got tossed to the floor and five fans started lashing him. Roode tossed Homicide out, but the fans did nothing. Homicide grabbed Storm's beer and started drinking. Storm went after him and got whipped for his trouble. Storm was tossed out of the ring but skinned the cat to escape the fans. He gave Homicide the FU sign but Hector Guerrero hooked him and pulled him out so the fans could whip him again.
LAX worked over Storm. The story of the match was all about the fans getting shots in early on the heels. Roode finally nailed a spinebuster on Homicide. Storm cinched in a rear chinlock. Beer Money taunted Hernandez so they could double-team Homicide with the Hart Attack clothesline. Homicide tried to make a tag out but Roode cut him off and dragged him back to the heels' corner.
Homicide came back with a T-Bone Tazplex. Homicide tagged in and Hernandez hit a flying shoulderblock on Roode then a Crackerjack on Storm. Hernandez charged Roode in the corner but was hit with a boot. Hernandez shrugged it off and hit a sit-down powerbomb for another two count. Hernandez went for the Crackerjack but Storm hit a flying clothesline. Beer Money tried to superplex Hernandez off the top in stereo but he fought them off and hit a splash off the top on Storm for another two count.
Homicide hit a tornado DDT. Roode ended up on the floor and was lashed. LAX double-teamed Roode and scored the win.
Your winners and still TNA Tag Team champs LAX!
Match was OK but didn't scratch the surface of what they probably could have done with more time in a traditional setting. it wads
The second Booker T vignette was Booker working out in the ring at his school, interspersed with comments from his students about what a great man Booker is and what they've been taught by him.
They aired a video feature on Awesome Kong vs. Taylor Wilde
TNA Knockout champion Taylor Wilde vs. Awesome Kong
Not a big reaction for Wilde coming out. Kong attacked Wilde immediately, then splashed her for a two count. The story early seemed to be that Wilde got lucky but Kong won't be caught by surprise again. Kong continued to beat her as Wilde tried to fight her way back to her feet. Kong began punching and chopping Wilde, who crumbled into the corner.
Kong choked Wilde against the ropes with her leg. Kong dragged her to the center of the ring and put her foot over Wilde's throat. Kong locked on a Camel Clutch. Wilde refused to give up and finally pulled one arm free. Kong dropped down across her back, then locked in the Clutch again. Wilde pulled Kong's hair but was caught in the corner.
Wilde avoided the Awesome Bomb and nailed a dropkick , then a missile dropkick. An enraged Kong came back to hit a massive clothesline. Kong went to the ropes for a splash but Wilde attacked her on the ropes and used her arm to take Kong down into the ring. She went for the pin and got a two count. Kong missed the spinning backfist and Wilde rolled her up for a two count. Kong went for the powerbomb but Wilde rolled her into a forward roll and scored the pin.
Your winner and still TNA Knockout champ Taylor Wilde!
Match was OK, which seems to be a pattern tonight. Crowd really wanted Kong to win.
Saied attacked Wilde in the aisle and tossed her back into the ring. They stomped and worked over Taylor. Kong killed her with the Implant Buster. Kong set up for the Awesome Bomb but Saied said to wait, then got a chair. Abyss' music hit and he made his way to the ring, complete with pyro. Kong got right in Abyss' face when he hit the ring. Saied stepped between them and forced Kong to back off. Saied then got into Abyss' face and slapped him. Abyss nailed the Black Hole Slam on her. The announcers were teasing that Jim Cornette would have something to say about that, since it was man on female violence.
The next Booker T segment was Booker talking about his businesses, including a restaurant called "Sharmell's" which I think was a work. Booker was caught telling an employee to water down the drinks and make the portions smaller on the meals, so they saved money. That was funny.
They showed Ultimate X bumps set to music.
Ultimate X: Team Japan's Naruki Doi vs. Team TNA's Kaz vs. Team Mexico's Volador Jr. vs. Team International's Daivari
Kaz went to the cables right away but was pulled down by Daivari. They made it a point to note Kaz is the only one with UX experience. Daivari was pushed into the steel structure and went to the ground. Kaz nailed Doi with a series of kicks. Volador nailed a rana on Kaz, but was then kicked by Doi. Doi was kicked off as he went after Volador on the ropes. Volador climbed the cables, then dropped down and snapped Doi with a rana.
Kaz and Daivari brawled on the floor with Daivari getting the better of it with a whip into the railing. Kaz was triple-teamed by the others, going after his arm in order to prevent him from maneuvering the cables to the X hanging above the ring. Kaz fought them off and tried to go to the cables. He fell right off due to his hurt arm. The other three went right back to work on him. Volador and Daivari nailed Kaz with moves in the corner. They told Doi to do it as well but he flipped them off, so they turned on him.
Doi and Daivari battled on the structure. A series of headbutts sent him taking a bump to the floor. Daivari went to maneuver the cables but Volador pulled him down. Daivari came down fighting and they went back and forth. Volador got the better and went for the cables. Kaz recovered but Doi hit the ring. They went back and forth and Kaz maneuvered Doi to headbutt Volador low while he was hanging off the cables.
Doi took Kaz out and began maneuvering the cables backwards. Kaz joined him and kicked off Doi. Volador and Kaz fought their way to the X. Kaz kicked him off but was unable to get it before Daivari made his way to the center. Kaz took a bump into the ring. Daviari tried to grab it but Volador ran interference.
Volador and Doi both nailed cross body blocks on the other and collided in the center of the ring. Doi tried to make his way across but was dropkicked off by Volador. Volador hit a moonsault off the top onto Doi on the floor.
Kaz and Daivari climbed up one of the steel structures and battled atop of it. They went back and forth with shots to each other, teasing one would fall. Daivari began climbing across the cables, hanging underneath. Kaz stood on the top of the steel girder and then hit an Alabama Jam off of it, legdropping Daivari off the cables to the mat, taking them both out. That was insane and I hope we never see that spot again. I had visions of Johnny the Bull destroying himself with a springboard legdrop to the floor that put him out of action for months.
Volador took the initiative to climb across and capture the X.
Your winner, Volador Jr.!
Your winners of the World X Cup, Team Mexico.
Mike Tenay, with a translator, interviewed Team Mexico inside the ring. Volador thanked the Latin fans and said, "Wow." Ultimo Guerrero said he was very happy and proud.
Ultimate X match was OK (I'm writing that a lot, but it just feels like nothing is getting out of first gear tonight after that awesome opener), but if it wasn't for that Kaz spot, it wouldn't be memorable.
The final Booker T vignette was Booker playing on a golf course he claimed was his own. He said he was going to make Samoa Joe bow down and they were going to party in celebration of his title win. He promised there would be a new champion and said, "It's great to be Booker T."
Frank Trigg joined the announce team for the six man tag. He said where you find Kurt Angle, you'll find Frank Trigg.
Jeremy Borash announced Full Metal Mayhem had won the voting. No big shock there since that's what they were pushing to the fans the entire time.
Team 3D & Kurt Angle vs. Christian Cage & Rhino & AJ Styles
Styles and Angle began brawling into the aisle. Cage choked out Ray against the table at ringside. Styles hit a running dive out of the ring on Devon and Styles. Trigg was doing full-on heel announcing. Rhino nailed a spinebuster on Angle. Yeah,. Angle's really going to protect himself, obviously. Cage got a trash can and beat Brother Ray with it for a two count. Ray came back with a back bodydrop on Cage.
Styles hit a springboard forearm on Ray for a near fall. Styles is showing a lot of fire. Devon cut him off. Styles tried to avoid them but was caught with a flapjack. Rhino and Christian nailed them with a ladder. Angle nailed Cage and Rhino with a steel chair, then drilled Rhino in the back.
Angle hit an overhead release belly-to-belly suplex on Cage. Team 3D sandwiched Rhino between two ladders. It's almost a shame these guys are busting out all these big spots in a match that wasn't advertised. Styles went to the top of a ladder and dove off on Brother Ray, but almost lost his footing as he dove so it was a scary moment. The heels tripled Styles. That gave Cage the chance to climb to the top of one of the Ultimate X structures and dive off with a bodypress on all three in the ring. Nice spot.
Cage grabbed a ladder but Ray nailed a chair into the ladder. He then drilled Styles across the back with the chair. Rhino gored Ray, then Devon, then Angle. This match is awesome just for the crazy spots and chaos.
Rhino went under the ring and grabbed a table. He set up Devon for a superplex into a table but Ray came from behind and got Rhino on his shoulders. Devon hit a clothesline through the table. Devon grabbed his ankle after he landed. Cage hit a double-clothesline on the Dudleys.
Angle grabbed Cage for a suplex, but Cage turned it into an Unprettier attempt. Angle escaped and rolled into the anklelock. Cage turned it into a forward roll for a two count. Cage went to the top but Angle tried to catch him with a suplex. Cage bit Angle and shoved him off. Devon cut off Cage and Team 3D hit the Dudley Death Drop through a table to the floor on Cage.
Styles returned to the ring but Ray drilled him with a trash can. Devon is still hobbling on his ankle. It was hurting to watch him. AJ fought back against all three but Ray kicked Styles right in the face. Ray turned to the camera and said, "You didn't know I had that one in me, did ya?"
Team 3D set up another table in the ring while another was braced against the corner. Ray went to the top after placing Styles on a table. AJ nailed him with a low blow, then hit a facebuster off the ropes through a table. Styles then nailed Devon, sending him through a table. It was down to Styles and Angle.
Styles hit the Clash but Angle kicked up. Johnny Devine hit the ring with a Singapore Cane but Styles ducked and hit the Pele Kick. Styles pointed at Frank Trigg with the Cane but was caught with the Olympic Slam. Angle set up a table. He shoved Earl Hebner, who began grabbing his ankle.
Angle went to his the Olympic Slam through a table but Styles escaped and began beating Angle. Trigg left the commentary table and struck Styles across the head with it while Styles was at the top of the ladder. Angle grabbed the stunned Styles and hit the Olympic Slam through a table and scored the pin.
Your winners, Team 3D and Kurt Angle!
I enjoyed this a lot. There were a lot of fun spots and if they are building to Trigg vs. Styles, the finish made a lot of sense. The only downside was the possible Devon injury. There was a ton of great spots here and some good old school wrestling chaotic action.
TNA champion Samoa Joe was interviewed by Jeremy Borash. Borash said that some think Joe might have doubts. Joe said the only person who has doubts was Kevin Nash. Joe promised he was going to take out Booker and didn't have a doubt about it. Nash showed up and promised he was in Joe's corner and wished him luck. Joe said he believed Nash but if Nash was really in his corner, Joe wanted him to stay in the back no matter what happened. Nash promised that he would and they shook hands.
TNA champion Samoa Joe vs. Booker T
They showed Sharmell watching from the front row leading chants for Booker. Joe and Booker faced off at the bell. They teased locking up and acted like it was an MMA fight, circling each other early. Booker slapped Joe. They finally locked up and Booker backed up Joe, then slapped him. Joe came back with chops. They went back and forth. Booker is the babyface live in a big way.
Joe whipped Booker in the corner then hit a back elbow then a kick to the head. Booker rakes Joe's eyes to break the momentum. Booker missed a scissor kick, then hit a running knee lift for a two count. Joe kept control with strikes and headbutts.
Booker maneuvered Joe to the floor after a short-arm clothesline. They brawled around ringside. Booker thumbed Joe in the eye, then tossed him into the guard rail. Joe was whipped into the ring steps right in front of Sharmell. Joe was busted open. Booker continued to work over Joe with punches, then brought him back into the ring. Booker took him down with a big right hand.
Joe tried to fight back but Booker kept control. Joe avoided a kick and hit one of his own to the chest. Joe went for the senton splash but missed. Booker hit the Axe Kick for a two count. Booker controlled Joe, who finally came back with a snap slam and a suplex. The story was how bad the blood loss was hurting Joe. Booker went for the Bookend but Joe avoided and hit a suplex for a two count.
Joe ducked a kick and Joe nailed a big forearm. Booker nailed the referee, who went down. Joe gave the Stan Hansen Texas horns signal then hit a lariat on Booker. They showed a lot of reaction shots of Sharmell. Joe tossed Booker over the top. He dragged Booker past her and puts Booker in a chair for the Ole Ole Kick. Sharmell started screaming for Joe to stop it after he hit the kick.
Joe throw Booker into the ringpost. He looked at Sharmell who told him to stop, then slapped him. Joe went after her but a "bodyguard" jumped in front and Joe nailed him, then took out others around her, including Atlas Security. He then turned his attention to Booker, who was busted open. Joe started taking out referees left and right.
Joe began ripping at Booker's cut. Several TNA "officials" came out to reason with Joe, who ignored them. Security hit the ring, but Joe killed or suplexed them all. Joe began dragging Booker by the hair. Sharmell got in the ring asking him to stop, then began screaming for someone to help. Cue Kevin Nash?
Joe continued to work over Booker. Sting's music hit. Hello, Bound for Glory main event! Sting made his way out. Sting tried to tell Joe to back off but was ignored. Joe went back to work on Booker. Sting got on the apron. He told Joe he's gone too far. Joe left the ring and followed Sting up the apron, then ran back into the ring and kept beating on Booker.
Sting hit the ring and pulled off Joe by his hair. He told Joe that he made his point. Joe gave Sting a one finger salute and turned his back. Sting nailed Joe with the baseball bat. Booker covered Joe and Sharmell counted three. Booker rolled out of the ring and Sharmell grabbed the TNA championship. The announcers pointed out Booker never actually won the belt.
We went off the air with Sting standing over the comatose Joe.
2009 - WWE dropped the Cyber Sunday PPV name, replacing it with Bragging Rights, which would debut in October of that year.
2009 - Dusty Rhodes was the guest host of WWE's Raw. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV Report:
We are live from Orlando, Florida and your announcers are Jerry ‘Happy Bastille Day . . . It is Tuesday in France already’ Lawler and Michael ‘Vintage Magic’ Cole.
This segment is brought to you by Family Guy . . . starring Seth Green as Chris Griffin
We begin tonight with Triple H coming to the ring. Hunter is in awe of the reaction. Hunter catches the fans up and he mentions that Donald Trump bought Raw but he sold it a week later. Hunter also mentions the Celebrity Guest Host. He says that it is his job to introduce tonight’s guest host and he runs through some of Seth Green’s accomplishments. Hunter brings his friend out to the ring.
Seth says that this is amazing and he is excited to be on Raw. Seth says that he is going to do something exciting. He announces a six Diva Swimsuit spectacular. Seth and Hunter talk about the athleticism and Hunter points out that six scantily clad women an example of athleticism.
Hunter talks about how much of a fan he is of Robot Chicken. Hunter talks about the episode on July 26th that happens to feature him. We have a clip. Seth says that Hunter was telling him about fighting whiny little girls since his first match with Randy Orton. Hunter says that he never called Orton a whiny little girl when Orton is a whiny little girl. Hunter says that Orton is just like Dakota Fanning because both lack male genitalia.
Speaking of whiny little girls, Randy Orton makes his way to the ring as only Randy Orton can. Orton says that he has something that Triple H does not and that is the WWE Championship. Orton asks Seth if he wants to take shots at him because Orton says that he is known for anger management issues and he does not care how big or pathetically small they might be.
Hunter suggests a main event of him and Randy Orton. Orton says that Seth doesn’t want to do that because Cena and Hunter are going to lose at Night of Champions so he shouldn’t have to lose tonight. Hunter suggests that he drop Orton right now. Orton says that he has nothing to say to Hunter or Seth Green. Orton wants to know why Seth is here and asks him if he has ever been in a fight. Orton says that Seth is here because someone might mistake him for a real man.
Seth asks Randy if he wants to hear about tonight’s main event. Seth suggests that Randy Orton and Legacy will fight Triple H and John Cena. . . and to avoid an Epsenhart conniption, Seth Green will complete the six man tag match.
Kelly Kelly is walking in the back as we go to commercial.
This segment is brought to you by Knockaround Guys . . . starring Seth Green as Johnny Marbles
We are back and we have and the band that performs the theme for Superstars is in the crowd.
Match Number One: Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, and Gail Kim versus Maryse, Alicia Fox, and Rosa Mendes in a Summer Swim Suit Spectacular Match
Alicia and Gail start things off and Gail with a punch and a sunset flip for a near fall. Alicia with a leg sweep and a jackknife cover for a near fall but Gail with a bridge. Alicia with an Irish whip but she runs into an elbow and then Gail with a rana. Alicia with a forearm and Rosa is tagged in. Rosa with a kick and then she tries to send Gail into the turnbuckles but Gail blocks it and hits a clothesline. Kelly is tagged in and she hits the handspring elbow in the corner. Kelly with a choke but Rosa takes Kelly down and gets a near fall. Rosa with kicks to Kelly’s back and then Alicia is tagged back in. Alicia with a snap mare and reverse chin lock. Alicia with an Irish whip but Kelly with a kick and clothesline. Mickie and Maryse tag in and Mickie with a series of flying clotheslines and a flying forearm. Mickie knocks Alicia and Rosa off the apron and then she hits a head scissors on Maryse. Mickie goes up for a Thesz Press but Rosa and Alicia break up the cover. All six are in the ring momentarily until it is back to Maryse and Mickie. Maryse sends Mickie into the ring post and then Maryse with a DDT for the three count.
Winners: Maryse, Alicia Fox, and Rosa Mendes
Seth is in his office and Chris Jericho is in there. Chris is not willing to shake his hand. He says that Seth is someone who is a fan of Star Wars, but he mocks it. Seth says that is not true. Chris says that Seth should have come to him and asked him what his agenda was. Seth says that he wants to give the people what they want. Seth and Chris talk about the Robot Chicken skateboarding tour and Chris says that he is pandering to the fans. Seth says that he is doing something fun and if Chris is going to bring the negativity, maybe Chris should leave. Chris says that he is not going to leave and he is going to say something tonight whether Seth likes it or not. We go to commercial.
This segment is brought to you by 12 Rounds . . . it didn’t star Seth Green, but it was the Number One DVD in America, if you were not already aware of that fact
We are back with the Slam of the Week: the family feud involving the Colons.
Before our next match, Primo gets on the mic and he starts to speak in Spanish and then he calls out his brother.
Instead of Carlito, it is The Miz. Miz wonders where the other half of the Colons are. He suggests that Carlito has something better to do so the Miz is in. Miz says that since Maryse is watching this, he is going to leave Primo laying in the ring just like the rejected brother that he is.
Match Number Two: Primo versus The Miz
They lock up and Miz with a clean break. Primo with punches to Miz and then he Irish whips Miz and hits a back body drop. Miz with a kick to Primo followed by snake eyes. Miz with a belly-to-back suplex for a near fall. Miz with knees to the back followed by a cravate. Primo with punches and then he hits a side Russian leg sweep followed by a back elbow and a clothesline. Primo continues the attack with a drop kick. Miz with an Irish whip but Primo turns it into a cross body for a near fall.
Carlito’s music plays and he comes to the ring while Primo and Miz continue to wrestle. Primo is distracted by Carlito when he gets on the apron and Miz with a knee to the back and then he hits a full nelson into a stroke for the three count.
Winner: The Miz
After the match, Carlito kicks his brother while he is down. Carlito gets the green apple because that is the heel apple color and he spits it in Primo’s face.
Cole and Lawler talk about the tag team situation because Edge is out with an Achilles Tendon injury. We have photos of the aftermath of the surgery.
We go to commercial.
This segment is brought to you by Idle Hands . . . starring Seth Green as Mick
We are back with WWE Rewind: Chavo (at Seth Green level) versus Hornswoggle from Superstars.
Hornswoggle is grunting in the office and Seth tells Hornswoggle that he is going to wrestle Chavo tonight. Tonight Chavo can wrestle at full size, but he has to wrestle with his arm behind his back.
Hornswoggle leaves and that is because Big Show is in the room. Seth asks Show for advice and Show tells Seth to watch his match with Evan Bourne to see how someone his size fares in the ring. Show says that it will cost him and it is time to pull out the Austin Powers lines.
Match Number Three: Montel Vontavious Porter versus Jack Swagger
Porter and Swagger get face to face as the match begins and they have some words for each other. Swagger with a waist lock take down into a float over and he slaps Porter in the head to embarrass Porter. Porter slaps Swagger and punches him and Swagger goes to the floor. Swagger yells at Cole while we go to commercial.
This segment is brought to you by To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday starring Seth Green as Danny (and co-starring former WWE Creative member Freddy Prinze Junior
We are back and Porter with a forearm to Swagger and then he hits a clothesline as he comes of the ropes. Swagger goes to the floor one more time. Porter goes out after Swagger and he punches Jack and sends him into the ringside barrier before they return to the ring. Swagger tries for a kick but Porter blocks it and he hits a kick of his own. Porter tries for the Playmaker but Swagger gets out of the hold and then he sends Porter into the ring post. Swagger wrings Porter’s arm into the ring post. Swagger with a hammer lock and slam to Porter. Swagger with a second hammer lock and slam as he continues to work on the arm. Porter with punches and forearms followed by an Irish whip and a running clothesline into the corner. Porter with a facebuster and it is time for the Ballin’ Elbow but Porter can only get a two count. Porter sends Swagger to the apron and Swagger drops Porter’s injured arm on the top rope and Swagger returns to the ring and hits the Doctor Bomb for the three count.
Winner: Jack Swagger
Chris Jericho is walking in the back and he has his prepared remarks with him as we go to commercial.
This Segment is brought to you by Mike Johnson who is probably still in one of the Disney Theme Parks
We are back and Did you Know that people cannot escape the WWE Universe.
Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler talk about the injury suffered by Edge and we have photos of the surgery.
Chris Jericho comes to the ring and he has something to say. Chris says that for the first time in WWE history the Unified Tag Team Titles are held by one man and it is fitting that it is the greatest wrestler in the world. Jericho compares Edge to Achilles and points out that it was the Achilles tendon that was both of their demises. Jericho says that he shouldn’t have chosen someone as fragile as Edge to be his tag team partner. Edge was the weak link of their team and Jericho says that he should not be punished for Edge’s imperfections. Jericho says that he cannot defend the tag titles by himself against Legacy. Jericho says that some probably want to see him be stripped of the titles or relinquish the titles. He suggests that maybe Seth Green will have a tournament, but Jericho says that he is smarter. Jericho says that he had a clause put in the contract for the title match that if Edge was injured, he could select his own tag team champion. Jericho says that he will choose a tag team partner who is devious and cunning, the exact opposite of Edge. He will be a truthful, honest and just man.
Mark Henry comes out and he has a smile on his face as big as Texas. Chris tells Mark that he is an impressive sight and he is the partner that he has in mind. Mark takes the mic and he tells Chris that they could do unbelievable things. He asks Orlando if they would be a great tag team. Mark says that he did not come out here to become Chris’s partner. Mark smiles while Chris has a startled look on his face. Mark tells Chris that he came out here to be his opponent.
Match Number Four: Mark Henry versus Chris Jericho
Mark with a clothesline and then he tries to remove Chris Jericho from his suit. Henry with a head butt and then he sends Jericho to the floor. Jericho heads up the ramp but then he returns to the ringside area. Jericho eventually returns to the apron but goes back to the floor. Jericho teases getting back in the ring but he goes back to the floor.
The match officially begins with a body block and head butt followed by a biel. Henry with a kick to the ribs. Henry with a punch to the back of the neck followed by a kick. Henry with a shoulder in the corner. Jericho with a forearm to the back but he runs into Henry and Jericho is on the losing end of that collision. Jericho goes up the ramp and then the referee starts his count. The referee makes it to ten and he calls for the bell.
Winner: Mark Henry by count out
We go to commercial.
This Segment is brought to you by Can’t Hardly Wait starring Seth Green as Kenny
We are back and they are outside the gates of Disney World looking for Mike Johnson.
In case you missed it earlier, we see footage from the match between Chavo and Hornswoggle from last week’s Superstars.
Match Number Five: Hornswoggle versus Chavo Guerrero with one arm tied behind his back
Hornswoggle kicks Chavo in the rear end and then he gets on his knees to shake Hornswoggle’s hand. Chavo grabs Hornswoggle by the throat but Hornswoggle bites his hand. Hornswoggle with forearms but Chavo pushes him down. Hornswoggle sends Chavo into the turnbuckles and then Hornswoggle with a kick and splash for a near fall. Hornswoggle with a stinkface and then he charges into the corner but gets a boot from Chavo. Chavo grabs Hornswoggle and then he steps on Hornswoggle’s head and he does the Eddie Shimmy. Chavo with a kick and then he tries for a suplex but he cannot get Hornswoggle up because of the arm. Hornswoggle with an inside cradle for the three count.
Winner: Hornswoggle
Orton is talking to Ted DiBiase in the Legacy Locker Room and he talks about Ted slapping his dad. Randy says that he would do the same thing. Ted says that his dad wanted him to be like him and not a member of Legacy. Cody walks in and he does not have the shirt on. He says that his father might be guest host next week and he says that they have a good relationship. Randy reminds Ted and Cody of their roles and he tells them not to do anything to Seth Green because he will take care of Green personally.
We go to commercial.
This Segment is brought to you by Josie and the Pussycats starring Seth Green as Travis
We are back and Kofi Kingston comes to the announce table to watch the next match. We see footage from last week’s match between Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne only to have Big Show ruin the festivities.
We see Seth Green watching in his office.
Match Number Six: Evan Bourne versus Big Show
Bourne cannot escape Show and Show sends him into the corner. Bourne with kicks but Show throws Bourne across the ring. Show punches Bourne and then Show with a double underhook as he lifts Bourne off the mat before he tosses him across the ring again. Show stands on Bourne’s chest. Show puts Bourne in the corner and chops him. Show with a biel to Bourne. Bourne with kicks to Show’s leg and Show sends Bourne back to the mat. Show tosses Bourne out of the ring. Show pulls Bourne up from the floor but Bourne drops Show on the top rope. Bourne hits a missile drop kick but Show stays up. Show with a spear and it is time for the Colossal Clutch and Bourne taps.
Winner: Big Show
After the match, Kingston comes into the ring and he kicks Show to get him off Bourne and then he hits a drop kick and Show goes to the floor.
It is time for a look at Robot Chicken coming out on DVD next week.
We go to commercial.
This segment is brought to you by Without A Paddle starring Seth Green as Dan Mott
It is time to run through the card for Night of Champions.
We see Santino in Seth’s office playing with some action figures and he asks Seth for a job on his show. John Cena and Triple H enter and Santino decides to leave.
Cena asks Seth if he is ready for his match and Seth says that he is a bit nervous and thinks that he is over his head. Cena gets serious and threatens Seth but then he is only joking. Seth uses his inhaler while Hunter and Cena each tell Seth to stay behind him tonight. Hunter calls Cena ‘Dudley Do Right’ (a movie that did not star Seth Green) and then Cena tells Hunter that they know who is going to be killed in the ring.
We are told that ZZ Top are going to be the guest hosts of Raw.
We go to commercial.
We are back and it is time for a super duper graphic that 12 Rounds was the Number One DVD last week.
We go to commercial before our main event, but not before everyone comes to the ring.
This segment is brought to you by Nunzio’s Second Ghost starring Seth Green (you can go to IMDB to find out his character name)
Match Number Seven: Legacy versus Triple H, John Cena, and Seth Green
We are back and the match is joined in progress and Hunter with a delayed vertical suplex to Cody. Hunter with a knee drop to Rhodes’ head for a near fall. Hunter with a punch to Rhodes and then Hunter is about to tag in Green but then he chooses to bring in Cena. Cena with an Irish whip and bulldog for a near fall. Cena thinks about tagging in Seth Green and it is time for him to get into the match. Cena holds Rhodes and Green with a punch to Rhodes. Rhodes gets to his feet and Seth realizes where he is and he leaves the ring. Rhodes chases after Green and Hunter punches Rhodes on the floor. Green gets a near fall and then he tags in Cena. Rhodes with a kick to Cena but Cena with a back body drop. DiBiase distracts the referee and Orton slithers in and hits a back breaker. DiBiase sends Cena into the apron while the referee is woefully out of position.
Orton tags in and he kicks Cena and sets for the IEDDT and hits it but Orton can only get a two count. Orton kicks Cena and then the referee pulls him away and that allows Rhodes and DiBiase to attack Cena. DiBiase and Rhodes double team Cena. Rhodes with a full nelson and he tries to get to Hunter but Rhodes turns Cena into the center of the ring. Cena gets out of the hold and then we get a double clothesline an both men are down. Hunter and Orton tag in and Hunter punches Orton and hits the Harley Race high knee. Hunter with a facebuster and then he punches DiBiase and Rhodes off the apron. Hunter with a vintage Arn Anderson spinebuster and then he poses. All five wrestlers are in the ring but Cena and Hunter take care of Rhodes and DiBiase. Orton with an RKO and Seth Green makes the save. Orton has that IED look in his eyes and then Orton grabs his boss for the evening. Orton with a kick to Green’s midsection and then he waits for the field goal kick but Cena with a spear for the save. Legacy attack Cena and Rhodes brings a chair into the ring but Hunter raises things with a sledge hammer and the referee calls for the bell.
No Contest
After the match, Hunter and Cena stare each other down. Seth, Hunter, and Cena stand together in the ring while Legacy are on the ramp. Hunter gets Green on his shoulder like a proud father holding his son on his shoulder after scoring the winning goal for his mighty mite soccer team and we go to credits.
2010 - Assault charges against Ric Flair's fourth wife, Jacqueline Beems, 41 at the time, were dropped by prosecutors in North Carolina today, according to TMZ.com, which cited a lack of evidence. Beems was arrested in May 2010 and charged with misdemeanor assault in what was described at the time as "an apparent domestic assault" by Charlotte police. When Ric Flair was called to testify, he "plead the fifth", leading to the charges being dropped. Police were called to the Flair household after Beems' daughter requested someone come and break up an argument between the two. The police report at the time categorized the incident as "Simple Assault" and that only "Personal Weapons" were used, meaning hands, feet, teeth, etc. Flair married Beems in November 2009.
2010 - NFL legend and Wrestlemania 11 headliner Lawrence Taylor was arraigned in New York on felony charges of third-degree rape and third-degree criminal sexual act, and misdemeanor counts of third-degree sexual abuse, endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree patronizing a prostitute. Taylor plead not guilty on all charges, but would later change that plea when coming to terms with prosecutors on a deal.
2010 - During a TNA Impact taping in Orlando, Dixie Carter and Tommy Dreamer announced that the company's August 8th PPV, Hard Justice (soon to be renamed Hardcore Justice) would be an ECW Reunion themed PPV, the final such show (to date) that has been held.
2010 - Dwayne Johnson signed on for "Fast & Furious 5" which turns out to be the biggest movie the "Rock" has ever worked on.
2010 - WWE broadcast NXT. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV report:
We are live on tape from Louisville, Kentucky and your announcers are Michael ‘Cornette’ Cole and Josh ‘Midnight Express’ Mathews. Your hosts is Matt ‘Callipari’ Striker and Ashley ‘Did you Miss Me Last Week’ Valence.
What is the Nexus going to do tonight? We will find out in a few moments.
The pros are introduced as they take their seats on the stage. The other pros have to hold back Mark Henry when the Miz comes out. Noticeably absent are Michelle McCool and Layla.
Nexus make their way onto the stage and sit on the opposite side and they are missing Darren Young.
Wade says that it is a privilege to be here tonight. What better way to celebrate their victory over John Cena than to return to the show where they made their start. He wishes the season two rookies their best as they watch them. Wade says that he hopes the pros don’t instigate anything because they want to sit back and watch the show.
We see highlights from the match between the Miz and Mark Henry from last night.
Match Number One: Alex Riley and The Miz versus Mark Henry and Lucky Cannon
Riley and Henry start things off and Henry goes after Miz on the apron but Miz gets to the floor. They lock up and Henry pushes Riley into the corner. Riley tries to talk to Henry and he offers his hand in a sign of sportsmanship but it was a trap. Henry blocks the kick and hits a clothesline followed by a punch. Henry with a kick to the midsection. Henry throws Riley to the floor and then Henry tells Miz to get into the match. Miz yells at Riley on the floor and tells him to do something.
Henry punches Riley followed by a forearm to the back. Henry with a clothesline to the back and then he wants Miz to tag in but Miz refuses. Cannon tags in and a fireman’s carry and arm bar. Cannon turns it into a key lock and he connects with a knee to the elbow. Riley with a rake of the eyes followed by a shoulder tackle. Cannon with a back elbow and clothesline. Cannon clotheslines Riley over the top rope to the floor. Cannon tries for a pescado but he is too close to the ring steps and he hits them instead of Riley as we go to commercial.
We are back and Riley with a near fall on Cannon. Cannon tries to make the tag but Riley keeps him in the ring and then sends him into the turnbuckles. Miz tags in and punches Cannon and sends him into the turnbuckles. Miz with kicks and punches in the corner as the referee warns Miz. Henry has some words for Miz before Miz hits the running clothesline into the corner and he gets a near fall. Cannon with punches but they have no effect on Miz. Miz with a punch and kick to the head for a near fall. Miz pulls Cannon back towards his corner and tags in Riley. Riley with a kick and a rear chin lock. Cannon with elbows but Riley with a hip toss for a near fall. Riley punches Henry to keep Cannon from making the tag. Miz tags in and punches and kicks Cannon. Riley tags back in and he connects with a forearm and gets a near fall. Cannon with a power slam and both men are down. Miz tags in and he keeps Cannon from making the tag but Cannon kicks Miz off and Henry tags in and hits a few clotheslines followed by a splash in the corner. Henry presses Miz over his head and then he drops Miz behind him. Miz tries to get to the ropes but Henry pulls him off. Riley tags in and he punches Henry but Henry picks Riley up and hits the World’s Strongest Slam for the three count.
Winners: Mark Henry and Lucky Cannon
After the match, in a moment of symbolism, he brings a trash can into the ring and he is going to pour the trash on Miz’s rookie, Alex Riley.
Josh and Michael talk about the Money in the Bank matches on Sunday.
It is time to hear what the pros have to say about Alex Riley. Kofi says that Alex Riley is very confident. Miz says that he is a listener, a talent, good on the microphone. He says that Alex is athletic, smart, cocky, and arrogant. Zack says that Riley needs to get over the fact that he was cool in high school. Cody tells Alex that it is 2010 and he has a letterman jacket and his name is bejeweled. Mark says that Alex is a lot more show than go. Miz says that Alex is a little over the top. MVP says that Alex needs to relax. Cody says that Alex seems like he is playing a character, but he would prefer that Alex be a character. Morrison says that Alex is entertaining, confident, and brash. He says that Alex reminds him of the Miz because they are both annoying. Kofi says that he is doing a good job even if the fans don’t like him because it is better to get a reaction than to have the crowd be silent. Miz says that it is tough to see who the next breakout star is . . . then he says that it will be Alex Riley.
We go to commercial.
We are back with a Money in the Bank video package showing what Jack Swagger did this year with Money in the Bank.
It is time to see who is in the two Money in the Bank matches on Sunday. We run through the card for Sunday’s pay per view.
It is time to take a look back at the end of last night’s Nexus versus Cena match.
We go to commercial.
It is time for Show Time with Percy Watson and he tells everyone to get out of their seat and onto their feet. Percy wants everyone to yell out ‘Oh Yeah’. Percy says that people were asking who he should bring on his show. He brings out a good friend who taught him everything in the WWE. He brings out his pro Montel Vontavious Porter.
Percy asks to borrow $20 but Porter tells him they will talk about it later. Percy says that he has learned a lot and he appreciates it. Porter tells Percy that he needs to listen and execute in the ring. Porter says that Percy is doing a good job so far. Percy talks about how Porter says that he should seize the opportunity and grab the moment. Percy gets up and then the rest of the rookies come to the ring. Percy apologizes and says that it has to be this way. Porter says that he is disappointed because he thinks he should have learned. Porter says that he never goes to a part alone and the season two pros come out. Porter suggests that if they want a party, they should make a party.
Matt Striker comes out and says that it looks like the rookies are trying to test the pros. Striker suggests that there be a battle royal right now.
Wade Barrett tells Matt that he is forgetting about the most important part and that is the Nexus. Wade says that a battle royal makes it every man for himself. Wade promises that there will be one winner and it will be the same winner from NXT Season One . . . Wade Barrett.
Striker makes it a twenty man Battle Royal.
We go to commercial.
Match Number Two: Twenty Man Battle Royal featuring the Season Two Pros, Season Two Rookies, and Nexus
Mark Henry stands in the center of the ring as the match starts. Nexus goes to the floor to watch the action in the ring. People go after Mark Henry and they eliminate him. Nexus attack Henry on the floor to add insult to injury. Back in the ring, things pair up as Henry is sent into the ring post. Eli Cottonwood is eliminated and Nexus go after him. Sheffield with the clothesline to Cottonwood. Watson is about to be eliminated by Ryder and Miz but he stays on the apron and gets back in. Riley and Harris battle in the ring. Cannon goes after Morrison and Watson joins in. Miz and Rhodes eliminate Porter and Nexus wait for him to get up and Porter is saved by Morrison and Kofi who run interference. We go to commercial.
We are back and Nexus return to the ring and there is pandemonium in the ring. Tarver punches Watson while Otunga holds him. Otunga eliminates Watson and Ryder goes after Otunga but Otunga with forearms. Barrett punches McGillicutty and Michael with a knee. Riley goes after Kofi and saves Miz from elimination. Morrison with forearms to Otunga’s neck. McGillicutty is eliminated by Barrett. Nexus stand in one corner as Morrisoin goes after Riley. Harris goes after Nexus and they eliminate him as a group. Kaval is eliminated as Riley is checked on because he is bleeding.
Morrison, Kingston, Miz, Ryder, and Rhodes square off with Nexus and Morrison discusses strategy. Ryder woo woo woos to Nexus and Miz throws Ryder over the top rope. Morrison yells at Miz. Miz lectures Nexus about what he did for them in season one as Rhodes Morrison, and Kofi want to know which side Miz is on and then they abandon him. Miz eliminates himself. We are now at a six on three situation in this every man for himself match. Morrison and Kingston go after Nexus while Cody watches from the turnbuckles. We have two three on one attacks and then Barrett and Otunga work on Morrison while the rest work on Kofi. Rhodes continues to avoid the action. Cody remains ‘Dashing’ around the ring. Morrison and Kofi fight off Nexus but it is too much. The action continues and they split the ring as Cody cross the Red Sea of the ring. John Morrison holds on to the ropes as Otunga, Slater, and Sheffield try to eliminate him. Gabriel joins in. It is now a six on one attack on Kofi. Kofi fights out for a second but it is too much for Kofi. Kofi is eliminated and Nexus look at the carnage and then realize that Cody Rhodes is still in the ring.
Cody tries to be ‘Dashing’ and talk his way out of the situation. Cody offers his hand to Justin Gabriel. He goes to Otunga and he does nothing. Cody then tries to be dashing with Wade Barrett and then it is a six on one attack. Skip throws Cody over the top rope as Nexus wins the match.
Winner: Nexus
After the match, Tarver and Gabriel throw Rhodes and Kofi back in. Morrison fights off Sheffield and Tarver but the referees stop the assault on John. Barrett with the fireman’s carry slam to Kofi. Otunga with the World’s Most Dangerous Spinebuster to Rhodes. Gabriel goes up top for the Delayed 450 Splash on Rhodes.
Matt Striker asks Wade Barrett what he thinks about the fan’s reaction to Nexus. Barrett tells Striker that he never had a problem with him before, but he does not think that standing in the ring with them is the smartest thing he did. He warns Striker that it might get ugly. Barrett says that Season One came back as the Nexus to prove what they can do in the WWE. What they are doing now is something that nobody can understand because it is part of a bigger picture.
Matt asks Wade if he is proud of what they did to John Cena on Raw. Wade says that he is proud of everything that he has done in the ring. Wade says that you are either Nexus or Against Us.
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