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July 29th
On this day in history in ....
1964 - Lord James Blears & Neff Maivia defeat Mr. Moto & Nikita Mulkovich for the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Title in Honolulu, starting the fourth run with the belts for Blears & Maivia.
1976 - Tiger Jeet Singh defeats Seiji Sakaguchi to become the first NWF Asian Heavyweight Champion (a New Japan title) in Osaka, Japan. Tiger, never fond of doing jobs, would hold the belt until 1981, when he jumped to All Japan Pro Wrestling.
1977 - Ric Flair defeats Bobo Brazil in Richmond, Virginia to win the NWA United States Championship for the first time in his career.
1980 - Bill Dundee defeats Paul Ellering for the Southern Heavyweight Title in Louisville, Kentucky, starting his second reign with the belt.
1985 - Jerry Lawler defeats Bota The Witchdoctor in Memphis, Tennessee for the Southern Heavyweight Title. This would start title reign number twenty-four with this particular title for "The King".
1988 - Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy defeat Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu in Takasaki, Japan to win the All Japan Tag Team Championship (PWF World & NWA International Titles).
1988 - Yoshihiro Asai defeats Ray Richard in Mexico City, Mexico for the UWA World Welterweight Title. Asai would go on to become better known as Ultimo Dragon.
1989 - Super Medic I defeats Chicky Starr for the WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title in Caguas, Puerto Rico, ending Starr's third run with the belt.
1991 - Awesome Kong defeats Jerry Lawler for the USWA Unified World Title in Memphis, Tennessee, ending Lawler's eighth run with the belt.
2006 - CZW ran their Fifth Annual Tournament of Death in Smyrna, DE. Ed Sherriffs filed the following live report:
Before I start, I should mention that this is the first CZW event I'd ever been to, and the first time I'd seen any more than a couple of matches of the product. Most of the previous live events I went to were WWE products, and obviously they don't compare. This was also the first show I went to that was basically held at a bar (it was in the yard behind one), and that made some of the crowd members...interesting.
Round 1, Match 1: Brandon Prophet vs. Nick Gage vs. Andy Sumner
Nick Gage was more over than both of the other participants. Andy Sumner was announced as wrestling the sambo style, and was the only technician in the tournament. This should have tipped me off that he was going to lose, but Brandon Prophet was bleeding a ridiculous amount in the first couple minutes, so I thought he would be eliminated. The faceplants spot on three chairs was simply brutal. Sumner took some nasty bumps there, but he dished it out early in the match, breaking light tubes over Prophet's head and cutting his chest open with them. A nice introduction into the CZW style. Prophet and Gage advance.
Round 1, Match 2: Drake Younger vs. JC Bailey vs. Lobo
Lobo was the most over competitor in this match. Lobo took a sick bump onto the barbed wire spider web (can a bump on to that not be sick?). Black Out interfered to a lot of heat, and the crowd favorite in the match was out. Lobo was later walking around with crutches. Younger and Bailey advance.
Round 1, Match 3: Brain Damage vs. Necro Butcher vs. Toby Klein
Butcher was the most over of any competitor. Some of the weapons were crazy and disturbingly innovative. There was a VCR...with light tubes tied to it. A Styrofoam panel with a bunch of CDs stuck in it, and a baby doll with tacks all over it, among many others. The spot off of the U-Haul truck was insane, but would be topped later. Butcher got two shots on Damage with the computer hard drive (it was a big hard drive, too). The first was partially blocked by Damage, and the crowd booed. The second was full impact on his head. Butcher busted himself open early on with a series of stiff head-butts. The three were working very stiff with the series of punches. Butcher and Brain Damage advance.
Round 1, Match 4: DJ Hyde vs. Danny Havoc vs. Zandig
Havoc has a huge afro. Maven Bentley was out first and acted scared of coming to the ring. The light tubes got some good distance when they broke in this match. Hyde got major heat throughout the match and the crowd seemed to legitimately hate him. The dueling weed whackers spot was fun, but Zandig not advancing was met with a lot of jeers, for obvious reasons. Hyde and Havoc advance.
Non-tournament triple threat match: Eradication vs. Dragon Boy vs. Blood
Eradication was jeered with "Booker T" chants during the match. Dragon Boy looks like a goof playing wrestler with a mask on. This was kind of like an intermission, since it was just a traditional wrestling bout with a lot of restholds, save for Blood using his giant fork at one point. Eradication got the win.
Black Out (Ruckus & Robby Mireno ) vs. Jimmy Dream and Drew Gulak
Mireno is an awesome heel. Of all the acts and wrestlers in the show, he looks most like the kind of wrestler that could work in WWE or TNA. Dream and Gulak looked like they just got out of wrestling school. Ruckus did a cool spot where he did a double backflip followed by a flying forearm to Dream in the corner. The finish saw Ruckus break up an attempt by Dream and Gulak to suplex Mireno off the top, putting Dream on his shoulders, and Mireno hitting the Blockbuster off the top rope. That was a great tag finisher. Black Out wins.
Post match, this kid who couldn't be more than ten or eleven slapped Mireno in the arm as he walked out of the ring. Mireno stared at him as if to say, "Are you kidding me?" The kid then SPIT on Mireno . Mireno spit back at him and walked away. Yes, a wrestler spit on a ten year old kid. I can't say it was undeserved, and there was no adult supervision around the brat. As Dream and Gulak walked out, the kid then spit on Gulak! Gulak stared at him, but walked away. Security finally came up and said if he did anything like that again, he would be tossed. He should have been thrown out right then. Tournament of Death is no place for kids, let alone kids that physically confront wrestlers.
Intergender match: Chad Austin vs. Kylie
This was easily the funniest thing I've ever seen at a wrestling show. I was cracking up for the whole match. Austin was great in the Andy Kaufman role and was off the charts lecherous. Before the match, he pointed out a "dame" in the crowd and told her she had "great stems". The match started with a collar and elbow tie up where he backed Kylie into the corner. When they broke up, he cupped her breasts. He followed that up with a powerslam, but before he gave it to her, he held his hand up and bragged because he would be touching her, well you know. Kylie got in some offense and countered an irish whip with the most botched hurracanrana ever. Austin dropped her on the mat, paused for a minute, then finally flipped down. Hilarious! Another collar and elbow was followed by Austin sucker punching Kylie, and then punching her some more. Finally, Kylie smacked him with a light tube that she was handed to get the pin. Again, this was hysterical. Austin is tremendous in his role. This kind of match should be on every CZW card as a break for the crowd.
Semifinal Match #1: Brain Damage vs. Brandon Prophet vs. Necro Butcher vs. Nick Gage
I couldn't see a lot of the action since the brawls went into the crowd, but given that it was Necro Butcher in action, the shots were once again stiff. Necro Butcher did a funny spot where he took Prophet's boots off and then dropped him feet first onto some light tubes. Prophet went through the rest of the match with no protection on his feet and had to be helped to the back. The crowd was really surprised when Butcher lost, but Brain Damage was accepted as the person who was able to do it. The fans got behind him.
Semifinal Match #2: DJ Hyde vs. Danny Havoc vs. Drake Younger vs. JC Bailey
Hyde was the first one out, and the fans were happy to see that. No one liked him, and I think he had some X-Pac heat with a few crowd members. He took a sick double stomp when he was pinned in the ladder, though. Havoc's suplex with the light tube on Younger was one of the best spots of the night. The crowd loved it and started to rally behind Havoc. A second attempt on Bailey was blocked. The light tube sleeping bag was insane, and Havoc must be nuts to take that double stomp. Then he took a crazier spot to boot through the light tubes on the ladder placed on the chairs. Younger and Bailey advance. Post match, they put over Havoc in a big big way, telling the fans to chant his name. They than carried him out of the ring to the back. Havoc may not have won the tournament, but he won over the crowd and one day this may be looked at as the match that made him.
Chris Cash Memorial Scholarship Match: George W. Boss vs, Joe Dacey
Sloppy, but I don't think either of these guys has much formal training, and probably didn't know what they would be doing until the show started. Boss won with an awful looking TKO. Just horrendous.
Tournament of Death Finals: Brain Damage vs. Drake Younger vs. Nick Gage vs. JC Bailey
More interesting weapons from the fans. Among them were a full sized Paris Hilton cardboard poster with tacks all over it, a baby carriage with light tubes tied around it, a chair with a bunch of light tubes on it, and a TV with the screen replaced by...you guessed it, light tubes! During the match, Gage did a sick piledriver on Bailey off the second rope, but that only got a two count. The finish was simply nuts, and very fitting for the show. Gage took out Bailey and Younger at the same time when he jumped off the truck, through the glass, chairs, and tables. He didn't seem too fazed by it when he accepted the trophy from Zandig.
Notes: It was a nice place to see a show like this, but I don't know if they can come back next year since a bunch of houses are going up nearby that are ready for families to occupy...I had a good time at the show, but it isn't the kind of thing that I could go to often. I respect the hell out of these guys, but I have no clue why they do it...Bailey's double stomps were innovative each time he did one...CZW should REALLY consider keeping younger children out of these events. I was shocked to see a few of them there, and the kid who spit on TWO wrestlers is begging for trouble. He was sitting right by the entrance way and there were no adults around him...I thought Bailey was going to go over, and even though I'm not really familiar with the product, I think he should have. Gage already has a belt and Bailey could have used it more...The tournament did a fantastic job of putting over younger talent. Bailey, Younger, and Havoc could be big stars for the company...Did I mention how funny Chad Austin was?
2007 - TNA came to terms to bring in Andrew "Test" Martin. He would be gone from the promotion after only a few appearances.
2008 - Dawn Marie launched Wrestler's Rescue. A mission statement issued by Marie in regard to the organization reads:
Wrestlers Rescue
Mission statement
Wrestlers Rescue’s mission is to create awareness and to help raise monies to support the health care needs of Retired Professional Wrestlers due to a career choice in wrestling.
Wrestlers rescue will be focusing on three stages of growth.
· 1st stage is to create awareness of the need and to raise funds.
· 2nd stage is to put in place a financial advisory for the active wrestling community to call on for advice on how to plan for their future. Including retirement, pension, college funds, family needs ect.
· 3rd stage is to set in place a Health care program that can be bought into at a group rate so that the community can afford care for themselves and their families.
We are dedicated to improving the lives of the professional and their families. By educating the person on how to expand their opportunities and how to reach their full potential in life.
2008 - WWE broadcast ECW on SyFy. Mike Johnson filed the following TV Report:
Welcome to the first post-Adamle (WOOOHOOOOOOO!) edition of ECW on Sci Fi.
ECW opened with a video recap of Matt Hardy earning his Summerslam PPV ECW title shot against Mark Henry.
Tazz explained that Mike Adamle had gone on to become the Raw General Manager, so his new co-host is Todd Grisham. I expect a lot of people will be angry it's not Joey Styles, but if it wasn't going to be Joey, it should have been Grisham or Josh Matthews, both of whom have patiently been waiting for their chance.
Matt Hardy came to the ring for a promo. He said he was psyched when he was drafted to ECW. Hardy said he's always been an ECW fan and given that he's had some of the most extreme matches in WWE history, it was a perfect fit. Hardy said he has a big opportunity at Summerslam and challenging for the ECW title is the biggest one he's ever gotten.
Mark Henry's music hit and the ECW champion came down to the ring with Tony Atlas. Atlas told Hardy that he knows Hardy is intimidated by Henry. He said Henry was drafted to ECW, just like Hardy. He says that since Henry was drafted, he's beaten Kane and Big Show for the belt. Since Hardy was drafted, he hasn't done anything but lose the United States belt.
Atlas said they came out to show Hardy a special demonstration. Someone handed Henry a bar of steel. Atlas said that bar of steel was tougher than Hardy. Henry bent the bar in half. Atlas told Hardy that's what he has to look forward to at Summerslam and the only difference is Matt won't bend, he'll break. Henry mockingly handed the bent bar to Hardy. Hardy said that at Summerslam, they aren't having a bar bending contest, but a wrestling match. Hardy said inanimate objects don't fight back, but he does. Hardy said Henry will never break his spirit and promised he'll become the next ECW champion. Solid segment.
Ricky Ortiz' sophomore in-ring appearance is next. Finlay & Hornswoggle vs. Morrison & Miz is plugged for later.
Ricky Ortiz vs. Chavo Guerrero (with Bam Neely)
As Chavo came to the ring, Grisham did a better job giving exposition 15 minutes into his first episode than Mike Adamle did his entire tenure. They locked up with Chavo grabbing an armwringer, but Ortiz scooped and slammed Guerrero. Guerrero backed off and had words with Neely at ringside. Guerrero went for a side headlock. Ortiz shoved him into the ropes, but missed a clothesline. Guerrero went for a high cross bodyblock but was caught, then pressed and dropped. The Afro Warrior!
Ortiz went to the middle turnbuckles and hit a flying shoulderblock. Maybe he really is channeling Warrior! Guerrero kicked up at two. Ortiz ended up slingshot onto the ropes and Chavo choked him against them. Guerrero locked on a rear chinlock and bent Ortiz backwards. Guerrero floated around and cinched in a front facelock. Ortiz made his way to his feet, picked up Guerrero and powered him into the turnbuckle.
Ortiz nailed several right hands (awful!) and a dropkick. Guerrero cut him off with a drop toehold into the corner. Guerrero rolled up Ortiz and put his feet on the middle rope for leverage. Neely pulled down on Guerrero's feet to help but the referee spotted it and disqualified Guerrero.
Your winner by DQ, Ricky Ortiz!
Guerrero and Neely worked over Ortiz. Guerrero nailed a top rope frog splash as Neely held Ortiz and prevented him from moving. Guerrero sent Neely to ringside but Evan Bourne hit the ring with a springboard dropkick into the ring on Chavo. Neely got back on the apron but was dropkicked off onto the floor. Bourne left the ring before Guerrero and Neely could mount a comeback.
As a match, not much here but in terms of building up Bourne, a good segment.
Backstage, Tony Atlas and Mark Henry were talking. Colin Delaney came up to them. He said that he was wondering why they left him last week and said he thought they were all on the same page. Atlas said that they were trying to give him a chance to prove himself. Atlas said that he's going to have to do something spectacular to prove he can roll with the ECW champ. Delaney asked for the chance. Atlas said that he can do that by softening up Matt Hardy for Mark tonight and promised to be in his corner tonight.
The Miz & John Morrison vs. Hornswoggle & Finlay
Finlay and Miz started the bout. Finlay avoided a charge and wrestled Miz down to his knees, then elbowed him in the jaw. Finlay dug into Miz's trapezoids, then shoulderblocked him down for a near fall. Finlay locked on a side chinlock. Miz worked his way to his feet and elbowed into an escape. Morrison tagged in and worked over Finlay with a neck crank. Hornswoggle helped Finlay regain control and the former Tag champs retreated to the floor to regroup as they went to commercial.
When they returned, Morrison had control of Finlay, but missed a corkscrew elbow. Finlay locked on a single leg Boston Crab but Morrison grabbed the ropes. Finlay continued to control Morrison but was unable to get a three count. Finlay stomped his hand, then clubbed him across the chest. Morrison mounted a comeback but was nailed with a clothesline. Finlay went for a pin, but Miz pulled him odd. Morrison ran Finlay into a ringpost on the floor.
Morrison maneuvered him back into the ring and locked on an armbar. Finlay caught Morrison with a boot and went to the ropes, but Hornswoggle tagged himself in. He charged Morrison, who easily turned an attempted head scissors into a faceplant and scored the pin.
Your winners, John Morrison and The Miz!
After the pin, Mike Knox hit the crowd and channeled Bruiser Brody with a big boot to the face and a wild look in his eyes. He eyed Hornswoggle. Finlay grabbed the shillelagh but Knox booted him again and left the ring.
They plug the new Ric Flair DVD, which you can order from our friends at www.highspots.com.
Todd Grisham and Tazz review the closing moments of the tag match. The story seemed to be that Finlay was trying to protect his son until he tagged himself back in. They showed Knox laying them out.
Lena Yada caught up to Mike Knox backstage and asked him why he attacked Finlay. Knox said that Finlay is running around with Leprechauns and that means he's soft. Knox said, "Here, being soft means you are a target and I just took my shot." In one short promo, we had a better idea of who Knox was and what he was about than we have since the first episode of ECW. Good to see.
Backstage, Braden Walker came up to Matt Hardy and told him he had Hardy's back tonight. Hardy and Walker shook hands. That was so out of nowhere, I wonder if Walker is going heel. If not, wow, where the hell did Tommy Dreamer go? Talk about your forgotten personalities!
Colin Delaney vs. Matt Hardy
Mark Henry and Tony Atlas remained at the stage, as opposed to being at ringside as they promised. Hardy controlled Delaney early with ease. Hardy missed an elbowdrop. Delaney hit a dropkick off the middle turnbuckle. Delaney scored a two count but Hardy escaped. Hardy hit a back suplex on Delaney. Hardy called for the Twist of Fate, nailed it and scored the pin.
Your winner, Matt Hardy!
Mark Henry came to the ring. He pressed and dropped Delaney to the floor. It was a NASTY bump. Hardy and Henry faced off in the ring. Hardy told him he wasn't afraid.
Overall, a solid episode building storylines. Todd Grisham was much more comfortable in his role than Mike Adamle ever was, so kudos to WWE for making the move.
2010- Former ECW World champion Mikey Whipwreck commented via his Facebook about the TNA Hardcore Reunion show, writing, "For the record, I have no intentions of doing the TNA PPV. I'm happy for the guys that are doing it but its nice to see the little bingo hall company everyone "blew off" back in the day as "insignificant" is called upon every time business is in the toilet."
2010 - SyFy began promotion for Smackdown coming to their cable network.
2010 - WWE broadcast WWE Superstars on WGN. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV Report:
We start off tonight’s show with the Raw brand and your announcers are Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler.
Match Number One: Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov versus William Regal and Primo
Regal and Santino start things off and Santino swings wildly at Regal and misses. Then he does the same with a kick. Regal works on the arm and Santino rolls through but Regal takes him down to the mat. Santino rolls through and reverses. Santino with a cartwheel and then he does some race walking across the ring and Regal wonders what is going on. Santino with a jackknife cover for a near fall. Regal tags in Primo and he punches Santino. Primo goes to the arm and applies a hammer lock. We see a few reversals and then Santino tries to formulate an escape and he reverses. Kozlov tags in and he connects with shoulders in the corner and then he punches Primo. Kozlov gets Primo on his shoulders and then he puts Primo on the turnbuckles and connects with head butts followed by kicks to get Primo off the turnbuckles. Kozlov tries for a power slam but Primo with a clip and leg sweep. Regal tags in and he kicks Kozlov and works on the leg. Regal with a knee to Kozlov’s leg and then he puts the leg against the ropes and connects with a knee to the leg. Regal with a kick to the leg in the ropes. Kozlov with a kick and he makes the tag.
Santino has a that look in his eyes and he summons the cobra and hits it but Regal goes to the floor. Santino goes for Primo but he gets to the floor as well and we go to commercial.
We are back and Primo with a side head lock on Santino. Primo with a shoulder tackle and Santino with a hip toss and arm drag. Santino with a slam to Primo and then he tries for a diving splash but he lands on Primo’s knees. Primo with a head butt to Santino and Regal is tagged back in. Regal with a kick to Santino. Regal with a head butt to Santino. Santino with a sunset flip attempt but Regal drops down onto Santino’s chest. Primo is tagged back in and he kicks Santino. Primo with a hard Irish whip to Santino and then he stomps on Santino’s chest. Primo runs Santino into the corner again and Regal tags back in. Regal with knees to Santino. Regal and Primo double team Santino while the referee deals with Kozlov. Regal with an abdominal stretch but Santino escapes with a hip toss. Regal with a knee drop to Santino and he tags Primo back in.
Primo slams Santino and then he goes to the turnbuckle but he hits Santino’s knees on a frog splash attempt. Santino crawls to his corner and he makes the tag to Kozlov. Kozlov with a head butt and then he throws Primo into the corner followed by a series of kicks. Kozlov with a running power slam but Regal breaks up the cover. Santino forces Regal out of the ring with the cobra. Primo goes to the turnbuckles but Kozlov catches him and hits a spinebuster for the three count.
Winners: Vladimir Kozlov and Santino Marella
We take a look back at this week’s NXT when Eli Cottonwood was eliminated.
We are back and it is time for the Smackdown half of the show and your announcers are Matt Striker and Todd Grisham.
We see highlights of the feud between the Dudebusters and Chris Masters.
Match Number Two: Chris Masters versus Caylen Croft with Trent Barreta
Croft with a punch to Masters and Masters does not like that. Masters with a punch of his own followed by a kick and delayed vertical suplex and he gets a near fall. Masters with a chop and then he Irish whips Croft but misses a splash into the corner. Croft with punches in the corner. Masters gets a boot up but Croft blocks the kick and then drops down and works on the leg. Croft with kicks to Masters and he gets a near fall. Croft with a leaping knee drop to Masters’ leg and he gets a near fall. Croft with a spinning toe hold but Masters kicks Croft into the corner. Masters with a reverse atomic drop followed by a few clotheslines. Croft with a kick and a power slam for a near fall. Masters presses Croft over his head but he cannot hold him because of the work done on the knee. Masters clotheslines Croft over the top rope to the floor. He goes out to the floor and he punches Barreta and puts Trent in the Master Lock for a moment. Masters returns to the ring and Croft clips Masters and hits a DDT for the three count.
Winner: Caylen Croft
We go to commercial.
We are back and Did You Know that WWE and Make A Wish have been working together for 25 years.
It is time for the Raw Rebound.
We run through the card for SummerSlam.
Match Number Three: Montel Vontavious Porter with Percy Watson versus Chavo Guerrero
Chavo backs into the ropes and the referee pulls Porter away. They lock up and Chavo works on the arm and takes Porter down. Porter with a head scissors and Chavo tries to escape. Chavo does get out and he puts Porter in a side head lock. Porter with a rollup but Chavo escapes before a one count. Porter with a cravate and Porter adds some knees. Chavo with a forearm and then he punches Porter. Porter punches back and hits a drop kick for a near fall. Porter with a front face lock but Chavo with a knee to the face. Porter with a drop toe hold and then he hits a running knee to the back of the head for a near fall. Porter with an arm bar on Chavo but Chavo with Latino uppercuts. Porter with punches to Chavo and Porter with a flying forearm and a back body drop. Porter sends Chavo over the top rope to the floor and we go to commercial.
We are back and Chavo punches Porter but Porter with an Irish whip. Porter goes to the floor when Chavo moves out of the way. Chavo sends Porter to the floor with a drop kick. Chavo goes to the floor and he kicks Porter on the floor. Chavo punches Porter. They return to the ring and Chavo gets a near fall. Chavo with an arm bar and he adds pressure to Porter’s back. Porter with forearms and a kick to Chavo. Porter tries to float over but Chavo anticipates it and hits a drop kick to the back that sends Porter into the turnbuckles. Chavo with a short arm clothesline for a near fall. Chavo with a chin lock to Porter and the referee checks on Porter. Porter gets Chavo on his shoulders and he hits an electric chair drop and both men are down.
Porter with an Exploder suplex to Chavo and then he avoids a punch from Chavo and connects with punches of his own followed by a double thrust and then he tosses Chavo into the air and down to the mat. Porter with the facebuster and then he sets for the Ballin’ Elbow. Chavo escapes the Play of the Day and he sends Porter into the turnbuckles. Chavo waits for Porter to get up and Chavo sets for the Three Amigos but Porter blocks the third one and hits a German suplex with a bridge for a near fall. Chavo with a spinning heel kick and he gets a near fall. Chavo goes to the turnbuckles but Porter punches Chavo and they both go up but Chavo sends Porter to the mat. Chavo comes off into a boot and Chavo is able to kick out. Porter tries for a delayed vertical suplex but Chavo with a knee and he gets a near fall with a rollup. Porter hits the Play of the Day for the three count.
Winner: Montel Vontavious Porter
2010 - TNA broadcast Impact on SpikeTV. Stu Carapola filed the following TV Report:
We open this week's episode with Tommy Dreamer and the ECW crew in the ring, and Tommy says in the eight weeks he's been in TNA, this is the loudest he's heard the Impact Zone, and he knows there's been a lot of buzz, and asks if we're all ready for Hardcore Justice or what? Tommy says that due to some legal issues with some certain letters, they're now going to call themselves EV 2.0. Tommy says he'd like to thank Brother Devon for rejoining the family, and Tommy wants to know what's going on with Brother Ray. Devon says he doesn't know what's going on, but he'd like to call Brother Ray out here right now to settle this once and for all. He calls "Bubba" out to the ring because they have something to talk about. Devon says they should put all their differences aside because these guys (pointing to EV 2.0) are his family, and they are the guys who have had their back since day one, and he wants to ask Ray if he's in or if he's out. Bubba turns to leave, so Tommy says seriously, he's Tommy's best friend, and this is something bigger, this is the original KISS getting back together and putting the makeup on for the fans without the political stuff. Tommy wants one last night to thank the fans, and the fans start chanting "one more time". Mick Foley takes the mic and says that make no mistake, they're going to have a hell of a show with or without him, but in Foley's opinion, the show would be just that much better with him on it. Foley says that when Bubba looks back on his career, if he chooses not to do this show, it'll be the thing he regrets more than anything, and right now he wants Bubba in the ring. Now Taz gets up and takes a house mic and tells Bubba to just do it. Bubba goes to the ring and grabs a mic and tells Devon to answer him one question: are they going to light somebody on fire? Devon nods yes as the crowd starts chanting EV 2.0, and Bubba says what the hell, he's in, and Bubba and Devon embrace and then Bubba goes around and high fives everyone.
Wait a second, here comes Hulk Hogan AND HE'S ALIVE!! Oh, if only this was in the ECW Arena in 1995. The Glomster says that they're going to ride again and thanks them for doing it in TNA, and he wishes he had known because he'd have had a few extra surprises for them, but this is real cool, man. Hogan gets the whole hardcore thing, but these guys are going to take it to another level, and Dixie said to these guys were to the 90s what Hogan was to the 80s, and Hogan agrees 110%, but he missed the whole thing because while they were tearing it up in the 90s, he had a black beard and was ruling his world, but now he's going to get a chance to see it at Hardcore Justice and nobody does it better than these guys. Since everyone's in such a giving mood, he and Eric have a special surprise for everyone and Eric's going to reveal it later, and...oh wait, here comes Abyss with Janice, and he hates to break up the extreme reunion, but he's here to tell you that they are not happy, and they are downright pissed off because this reunion was never a part of their plan and wasn't supposed to happen, and there's one person they hold responsible, and it's not Tommy Dreamer, it's not Mick Foley, and it's not any of the fans or even Hulk Hogan, the one person they hold responsible is Dixie Carter. Hogan says he could care less what they say, and as far as he's concerned, Abyss should hit the road and get his head checked because right now, Tommy Dreamer is a guest of theirs at TNA and nothing's going to go down until the PPV. Abyss says they have given him strict orders tonight to take Tommy Dreamer out, and therefore there will be no Hardcore Justice. Hogan repeats that Dreamer is their guest and he's not going to step up until he's good and ready...but wait, Dreamer says that he would love to fight Abyss tonight, so if Dixie and Hulk will allow it, he says let's do it for everybody. Looks like we have our main event for tonight!
Backstage, Lacey Von Erich is telling Velvet Sky this has to stop right now and Velvet says it will never end, and then Madison Rayne comes in and says none of this will end unless they stay BFFs. Madison says they have all the Knockouts Titles and asks why they can't stick together. Velvet comes up with several reasons, not the least of which is Madison hanging out with Dumpy Ass and Sarita. Madison tries to reason with them and Velvet isn't having it, and says it's going to take a lot more than sorry. Madison and Lacey keep apologizing and finally Velvet says they have a truce and they share a group hug.
Meanwhile, back in the ring...
#1 Contender's Match: Sarita vs Angelina Love
Sarita is so much better than Angelina that it's not even funny. She's also WAY hotter, but maybe that's just me. Angelina with a shoulderblock right off the bat and they do a pinfall exchange sequence and do the indy standoff. Sarita hides behind the ref and nails Angelina, whipping her into the ropes but Angelina ducks a clothesline and gets a rollup for 2. Sarita drop toeholds Angelina into the ropes and kicks her in the gut. Sarita works Angelina over in the corner and snapmares her for 2. That reminds me of how Marty Jannetty used to try beating people off a snapmare and how ridiculous I thought it was. Sarita takes Angelina down and drops several elbows before getting a rear chinlock. Angelina fights out but Sarita with a full rotation back suplex for 2. Sarita tries another rollup with a handful of tights but the ref catches her and refuses to count. Angelina escapes another suplex attempt and spears Sarita, then gets a running elbow, spinkick, and a flying clothesline, and she gets the Botox Injection for 3. What a crime.
Winner: Angelina Love
So now Angelina Love is, yet again, the #1 contender to the Knockouts Title.
Meanwhile, Eric Young is backstage goofing around and Orlando Jordan, ORLANDO JORDAN, says he needs Young to be focused and stop goofing around. Eric says he's not all there right now because of all the head trauma he's suffered recently, and Orlando says "Yeah, and they say I have problems."
After a clip from Xplosion of Eric Young taking a bump off the top rope and landing on his head and going loopy, we're back to the ring for...
Ink Inc vs Orlando Jordan & Eric Young
Orlando Jordan comes to the ring and puts his gum in So Cal Val's mouth, and he is followed by Eric Young carrying...a naked mannequin with a feather boa, whic he props up next to him in his corner, so I guess this is a handicap match. Jordan goes right to work on Jesse Neal and beats him down, then snapmares him and we HIT THE CHINLOCK! Jordan with a swinging neckbreaker as we see that both Young and the mannequin are reaching out for the tag. Jordan straddles Jesse, but Shannon Moore comes in and boots Jordan, and one chinbreaker later, Jesse has made the hot tag, and the mannequin is legal! Young tosses him off the top rope and he burts into pieces, so Ink Inc knock Young off the top rope and Moore hits the Mooregasm for the win.
Winners: Ink Inc
Young crawls over to the destroyed mannequin and throws up the X to indicate that the mannequin is badly injured and needs a stretcher as we go to commercial.
We're back, and Ric Flair is in the ring with AJ Styles, Frankie Kazarian, and Beer Money, and he says that we all know that Flair is a wrestling god and genius, so he always has a return match clause, and next week it's going to be Jay Lethal and Ric Flair in a Street Fight with no rules. Flair is prepared to bleed and sweat, which is good because that's all he can do anymore. Now, it's time to introduce the final two members of Fortune: Beer Money. So basically, it's the four guys we all knew it would be. Flair hands Bobby Roode the mic and he says it's an honor, but they knew it was only a matter of time before they joined up with Flair since they're the greatest team in the business today (not named Briscoes or Kings Of Wrestling...that's my opinion, anyway), and tonight they're going to beat the Motor City Machine Guns for the third time in a row, and will become four time (WOO), four time (WOO), four time (WOO), four time (WOO) TNA World Tag Team Champions. Now Flair introduces the new Global Champion AJ Styles and Frankie Kazarian, and Kazarian says they're not a gang of angry rookies, they're four seasoned vets who are the best in the TNA Galaxy. AJ takes the mic and says that they're the best because Ric Flair deserves the best and deserves respect, and out of that respect, he's going to restore credibility to the Global Title. He renames it the Television Title, and starting next week and every week and PPV after that, he will defend the title and it starts next week with Rob Terry...that is, if Terry can get past Kazarian tonight. Flair closes it by telling the girls that they'll be at the hotel tonight and will be running all night long.
Uh oh, wait a minute...here comes Kurt Angle and he looks serious. Angle says he's glad to hear that AJ will honor that title, but he should know that Angle needs to honor his commitment as well, which means climbing the ladder in TNA and regaining the TNA World Title. Unfortunately for AJ, he's next in line, and that's real...that's damn real.
After a short commercial, it's time for the next match...
Best Of Five Series Match Three: TNA World Tag Team Champions Motor City Machine Guns vs Beer Money
Damn, they got that cage up quick! The Guns dive off the cage onto Beer Money to start, then ram both members of Beer Money into the cage. Series of fast double team moves on Storm, and then a springboard dropkick on Roode sends him crashing into the cage and he's busted open already. Shelley goes for Sliced Bread #2, but Storm escapes and gets a hanging neckbreaker off the second rope for 2. Storm rams Shelley into the turnbuckle and pounds him in the face as we see Roode bleeding, then tags in Roode, who comes in with a stiff kick to the guy of Shelley. Beer Money with a slam/elbowdrop/kneedrop combo for 2. Storm comes in and pops Shelley in the mouth then tags Roode back in and we HIT THE CHINLOCK! Shelley fights his way free, but Roode nails him and puts him up top and goes for a superplex, but Shelley rams Roode into the cage several times and hits a top rope Frankensteiner. Shelley makes the hot tag and Sabin comes in and cleans house, hitting a top rope dropkick on both men. Sabin puts Roode in the corner, hangs Storm upside down in front of him, hits a Yakuza Kick to Roode, a delayed baseball slide to Storm, and then Shelley tries Sliced Bread #2 on Roode but Roode escapes and kills Sabin with a lariat. Roode and Shelley go up top but Shelley rams Roode facefirst into the cage and hits a double stomp off the top onto Roode. MCMG with more double team moves on Beer Money but Sabin misses one and then Storm hits a Spinning slam on Shelley and powerbombs Sabin into the cage, and then Storm follows that with a lungblower for a very close 2. Beer Money tries to escape but Shelley goes up and tosses Roode off, then gives Storm a jawbreaker off the top. Sabin climbs to the top of the cage and hits a crossbody off the top on both men and all four are down. That should have been the finish. Storm goes for a shot with the beer bottle, but Sabin moves and Storm nails Roode, and the MCMG hit the doubler stomp/neckbreaker to pick up the win.
Winners: Motor City Machine Guns
What a match! That was absolutely awesome, and now the MCMG have their choice of the type of match next week.
After commercial, we are introduced to Mr Anderson...wait, it's Matt Morgan coming out to Anderson's music. I bet he's going to impersonate him. He goes for the mic and the guy who controls the mic refuses to drop it, so Morgan yells at the guy and finally he drops it and Morgan can grab the mic. Yep, he impersonates Anderson and introduces himself. Now Anderson's music hits again, and here he comes for real and when he puts his hand up, he gets a damn mic, and he demonstrates how easy it was by having it raise up, and then calling for it to drop again, and says he doesn't know what Morgan's problem is but he's coming down to the ring to find out. Morgan asks if he finds it ironic that the mic in Morgan's hand was what left Anderson in a pool of his own blood. Morgan says Anderson wants to hit him and take out the Big Bad Wolf, and Morgan offers to bend over and put his jaw out and Anderson can pop him in the jaw for free, but he knows that Anderson is too scared to do it. Morgan keeps egging Anderson on, so Anderson drops down and punches Morgan in the nuts instead. Anderson jumps on Morgan and rains rights down onto Morgan's head and starts mocking him, but Morgan catches Anderson with a clawhold and starts choking him out, then puts the boots to him. Morgan takes the mic and uses the cord to choke Anderson out, but now Jeff Hardy comes out to make the save and he kicks the crap out of Morgan, and then Anderson recovers and he joins in. Security comes out and pulls Anderson and Hardy off, and Morgan uses the opening to cheapshot Anderson. Hardy and Anderson dive back on Morgan and security gets a little too physical trying to pull them back off, leading to the TNA agents coming out and breaking the brawl up and chewing security out.
We go to commercial, and we come back to Ken Anderson and Jeff Hardy backstage with Christy Hemme, and Anderson says they've been trying to get into wrestling for the last ten years and they wanted to be seen, so tonight they get their wish because they get to face Anderson and Hardy, and Anderson wants them to bring Morgan with them.
Back to the ring...
Frankie Kazarian vs Rob Terry
The ref kicks AJ out of ringside, and Kazarian dropkicks Terry from behind, but Terry shrugs Kazarian off and gives him a really ugly chokeslam for a disgustingly easy win.
Winner: Rob Terry
This is just ridiculous, Terry's beating Kazarian that quickly? Oh, here's why, we need to make time for Bischoff's big announcement up next! Jerk.
Oh wait, it's not up next, first we have another match...
Matt Morgan & The Miracle Security Jobbing Connection vs Jeff Hardy & Ken Anderson
For the record, the security job team's names are Murphy and Gunner, so we'll know which one does the job. Morgan starts and he wants Anderson, so Anderson obliges. They circle one another...and Morgan tags Murphy in. Then Murphy tags Gunner in, and they finally tie up, Gunner fires Anderson off into the ropes and Anderson takes him down with a shoulderblock and a swinging neckbreaker for 2. Gunner tags to Murphy who comes in and starts pounding away on Anderson and rams some shoulders into Anderson's midsection in the corner, but tries one time too many and Anderson moves and rolls Murphy up for 2. Hardy tags in and they go for Poetry In Motion but Murphy clotheslines Hardy out of midair and tags Gunner in, but Hardy catches him with the Whisper In The Wind for 2. Tag back out to Anderson and the Security Jobbers double team Anderson but Hardy breaks it up. Morgan gets bored and decides to wander off and leave the jobbers all alone, so Anderson hits the Mic Check on Gunner, followed by a Swanton from Hardy for the win.
Winners: Jeff Hardy & Ken Anderson
Christy is backstage and wants to find out from Hulk Hogan what Eric Bischoff's big announcement is going to be, but Hogan's leaving for a big meeting in New York, presumably to try and leverage a better deal out of Vince, but he'll be back next week and he'll have a few things to say about Bischoff's announcement then.
So instead, we go to Eric Bischoff in the ring with Miss Tessmacher, and it's time for his big announcement: on August 12th at 9pm EST, we'll see something we've never seen before, because Dixie Carter inspired Eric Bischoff by announcing Hardcore Justice, and he was inspired because Dixie gave back to the fans, and Hogan and Bischoff can give back too, so they called up SpikeTV and arranged for a PPV quality show right here on Impact, so on August 12th, the main event will be...uh oh, here comes Abyss with Janice and Bischoff looks somewhat uncomfortable. Abyss grabs Bischoff's mic and says that he just got done talking to Them and They want him to make the main event for August 12th, and that will be Abyss challenging Rob Van Dam in a Ladder Match with Janice hanging above the ring. Bischoff tries to protest, but Abyss says They have told him that Bischoff is the only one who can make it happen, so he asks if Bischoff will make it happen, or does he want to feel the wrath of Janice? Bischoff says all right, he'll make the match, so Abyss tells him he chose wisely and Abyss starts to leave, but then stops and tells Bischoff that Abyss is okay with him, but Janice doesn't appreciate when he bitchslapped Abyss recently, so she's going to show him what a real bitch is. Suddenly, RVD's music hits and here comes the champ with a chair, and he jumpkicks Abyss off the top rope and puts the boots to him. RVD beats Abyss down in the corner and baseball slides a chair into him, and Abyss bails to the floor, so RVD goes after him again and dives off the ropes, but Abyss moves and RVD crashes hard onto the guardrail. The TNA agents come out to back Abyss off, and here comes Tommy Dreamer, and Al Snow hands Janice to Tommy as he comes to the ring for the main event, which is up...NEXT!
Okay, we're back and it's main event time!
Hardcore Match: Abyss vs Tommy Dreamer
Dreamer is creaming Abyss with a trashcan lid when we come back from commercial, but Abyss picks him up and crotches him on the guardrail. They head back in the ring, which is full of plunder, and Abyss wedges a chair in the corner, but turns around into a trashcan, but Abyss barely registers it before picking Dreamer up and giving him a side suplex onto another trashcan. Abyss whacks him with a cookie sheet, then follows that with a shot from a Singapore Cane. Abyss with a neck vice and Dreamer fights his way out, but Abyss throttles him for a chokeslam, Dreamer fights his way out and hits a crossbody and nails him with another...metal thing. Dreamer with a big clothesline lays Abyss out for 2, but eats elbow on a charge and gets rammed into the chair in the corner. Abyss goes up top, but Tommy knocks him off and crotches him, then hangs Abyss in the Tree of Woe and nails him in the nuts with the Singapore Cane, then puts the trash can in front of Abyss and baseball slides the can into his face. Dreamer goes under the ring and grabs a barbed wire board and tosses it in the ring, then gets back in and nails Abyss with the cane again. He sets up the board and goes to pick up Abyss, but his leg gives out and Abyss clotheslines him. Abyss goes out to ringside and grabs Janice and does "YOU!" and swings Janice, but Tommy moves and rolls Abyss up for 2. He sets Janice up in the corner and whips Abyss into her, but Abyss puts on the breaks and punches a trash can into Tommy's face, then chokeslams him on the barbed wire board for the win.
Winner: Abyss
Raven's music hits and he comes running outwith a chair and he and Abyss face off, but Raven turns around and nails Tommy, then gives him the DDT on a chair and with that, we're off the air.
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