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September 20th
On this day in history in ....
1957 - Ivan The Terrible & Nikita Zolotoff defeat Pepper Gomez & El Medico in Houston, Texas for the NWA Texas Tag Team Title.
1968 - Ramon & Alberto Torres defeat Butcher Vachon & Stan Vachon for the NWA Georgia Tag Team Title in Atlanta, Georgia.
1975 - WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino defeats George Steele in a stretcher match at the Philadelphia Spectrum in Pennsylvania. Andre The Giant was the special referee.
1975 - Jose Miguel Perez defeats The Spoiler II in Caguas, Puerto Rico to win the WWC Puerto Rican Heavyweight Title for the third time. Perez had been stripped of the title following a no-contest with Spoiler II on August 30th. On the same show, Carlos Colon defeats The Spoiler I in to win the WWC North American Heavyweight Title for the fourth time.
1975 - Ric Flair defeats Wahoo McDaniel in Hampton, Virginia to win the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title.
1978 - Jose Lothario defeats Assassin #1 in Monroe, Louisiana to win the Mid-South Wrestling Association Heavyweight Title.
1980 - Andre The Giant defeats Hulk Hogan in Springfield, Massachusetts.
1981 - Big John Studd defeats Angelo Mosca in Toronto, Ontario to win the NWA Canadian Heavyweight Title, ending Mosca's third reign as champion.
1985 - Captain Lou Albano defeats Fred Blassie in a steel cage match at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York. The two had wrestled to a disqualification finish on a show at Nassau Coliseum the previous month, and this rematch between the 67-year-old Blassie and the 52-year-old Albano marked the last match in the legendary career of Fred Blassie.
1986 - During a WWF event at the Philadelphia Spectrum in Pennsylvania, Pedro Morales outsmarted Jake Roberts. Prior to the match, Morales took Roberts' snake bag and brought it to the dressing room while Roberts argued with ringside fans. Shortly after the bell rang to start the match, Roberts realized the bag was gone, and left the ring to go find it. Roberts was counted out, and Morales won the match. Incensed, Roberts returned to the ring and tried to DDT Morales, but was backdropped out of the ring.
1987 - Hurricane Castillo Jr. defeats Gran Mendoza in San Juan, Puerto Rico for the WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title. On the same show, Carlos Colon defeats Hercules Ayala to win his sixth WWC Universal Heavyweight Title.
1993 - Shinya Hashimoto defeats The Great Muta in Nagoya, Japan to win the IWGP Heavyweight Title for the first time.
1997 - ECW held an event at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which was later released on home video as "As Good As It Gets". Here are the results:
- The FBI (Little Guido & Tracey Smothers) defeated Balls Mahoney & Axl Rotten.
- Justin Credible defeated Jerry Lynn.
- Chris Candido defeated Lance Storm.
- Bam Bam Bigelow defeated Spike Dudley.
- ECW World Champion Shane Douglas defeated Phil Lafon.
- ECW Television Champion Taz defeated Pitbull #2.
- Sabu vs. The Sandman went to a no-contest when Sabu threw fire at Sandman.
- Beulah & Tommy Dreamer defeated Bill Alfonso & Rob Van Dam. In actuality, RVD and Dreamer were taken out early, and it was Beulah vs. Alfonso, one-on-one, with Alfonso bleeding buckets before losing the match after a rana by Beulah. This match is available on the Blood Sport ECW: The Most Violent Matches DVD.
- New Jack & John Kronus defeated The Dudley Boys to win the ECW World Tag Team Title.
1997 - Sugar Sato defeated Yoshiko Tamura to win the WCW Women's World Cruiserweight Title in Kawasaki, Japan. The belt was created in April of 1997, and quickly became forgotten by WCW, finally being abandoned shortly after this match.
2002 - Homicide defeats Slyk Wagner Brown in Bayonne, New Jersey to win the Jersey All Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Title for the fifth time.
2003 - WWE Champion Brock Lesnar defeated The Undertaker in a steel cage match in the main event of a WWE event at Madison Square Garden in New York City when Vince McMahon interfered and prevented Taker from leaving the cage while Lesnar climbed over the top for the win.
2003 - Ring of Honor presented Glory By Honor II in Philadelphia, PA in what would prove to be their final event ever held in their original home venue, The Murphy Recreation Center. Eric McHugh and Mike Johnson filed the following reports:
Ring of Honor returned to the Murphy Rec Center in Philadelphia on September 20 for Glory By Honor II. It was a solid show overall but there were a few negatives, one in particular which I hope does not become an ECW-like habit. This is just a quick rundown since it's 2:15AM and I wasn't really in note-taking mode at the show, plus a few names were hard to hear over the audio. Showcase card began at 6:30 promptly. First match saw The Outkast Killahs go over on April Hunter/Slyk Wagner Brown. Pretty good opener, and yes April was a female in there with three males. She totally blew her first spot and it turned the crowd against her for the whole match, but everyone was good overall. Best spot: Slyk did an Ultimate Warrior-style press slam drop and followed right up with a backflip splash. Second Showcase match saw Angel Dust of Special K defeat Joey Matthews, who played the face tonight (important to know now because of something later). Showcase Main Event: Jimmy Jacobs (who does a Berserker "Huss" gimmick) over Josh Daniels, Roderick Strong, and a name I couldn't hear. All four were awesome and got a standing ovation afterwards. At this point it was about 7:15 and the show itself was to start in 15 minutes. I went outside for a smoke, and there will still 100-200 people outside. As a result, ROH decided to announce on several occasions that the show would start in 5 or 10 minutes before finally just out-and-out saying it would start whenever everyone could get in. Meanwhile, all of us hearing this were trying to figure out where in the hell these 200 others were going to fit, because chairs were filled from one end of the room to the other. Finally at about 7:50 the show began. So OK, now for the event itself. First match saw BJ Whitmer go over on Jimmy Rave. Solid opener, Whitmer wins with a top rope powerbomb. Second match saw Xavier go over on John Walters. Both guys busted it big time and afterwards Xavier heeled Walters by not shaking his hand and instead leaving with Lollipop from NWA:TNA (who pretty much added nothing to the whole night). Walters cut a promo saying next time he'd beat some respect into Xavier. Third bout saw Teddy Hart over TJ Wilson. Good stuff, and Hart especially left a big impression on the crowd, winning with a gorgeous Shooting Star Press. Fourth bout was half of the Raven-CM Punk challenge. Raven took on Punk's choice of an opponent: Steve Corino. Corino was out with some Zero One buddies of his, and the Zero One ring announcer proceeded to list about 40 names of guys that Corino has beaten. At one point he had to stop and chug some water before continuing. This may have been the funniest ring introduction ever, even better than Pat Patterson's. The almost-bald Raven went down to Corino thanks to interference from Punk. However, afterwards Corino slapped Punk saying he didn't need his help. Fifth bout: Colt Cabana over AJ Styles and Chris Sabin and Matt Stryker. Great stuff, Cabana won with the Colt 45. After intermission we had the tag-team gauntlet for the vacant belts. The first two teams wrestled a 6-man, with the winning team and all successive matches being 2-on-2. In the first match, three guys from Special K (I'm still trying to learn them all) defeated Justin Credible/Carnage Crew by DQ because Crew used belts. Terrible finish, especially found stupid by the crowd because 5 seconds earlier about 5 other Special K guys interfered. At any rate, next out were the Briscoe Brothers, and they defeated the two Special K members, then made quick work of Dunn & Marcos as well (to loud boos). The fifth team out were two other K guys, who took out the Briscos. Final team, and winners, were the Backseat Boyz, your new ROH tag champions. Afterwards, K jumped the Boyz until the Briscos and Teddy Hart ran out and cleared them away; Hart did an insane twisting leap from the top rope to the floor at one point. Hart saluted the crowd from the heart and mouthed emphatically, "I'm coming back!" At this point, Gary Michael Cappetta came out to have us all bid congratulations and good luck to Alexis Laree, who recently signed with McWorld McWrestling McEntertainment. Laree got a great response and thanked everyone. Just as she finished, Special K came out and cornered her. Joey Matthews (Alexis' real-life squeeze) ran them off with a chair. As Matthews checked on her, Alexis planted a kiss on him. Matthews played it up all flustered and raised her arm...and then clotheslined the hell out of her. He and K prepared for an Alexis beatdown when out came the big bodyguard of K. However, he wound up hitting one of the K members instead. At this point it turned into a mess as 3 or 4 other guys ran in and no one in the crowd knew who was fighting who. Finally, someone played referee and said "We have a match" and Alexis wrestled and defeated one of the K guys. After that the snazzy-dressed person went on some more on the mic but everyone was tired of this angle minutes earlier already. Alexis deserved a much better sendoff than this; the crowd was just lost. Second half of the Raven-CM Punk challenge saw Terry Funk defeat CM Punk by DQ. Punk came out to what I believe was new music and the crowd popped for it when it ended, and Punk then delivered a solid anti-Funk promo that you need to read or see to really appreciate, because right now I couldn't do it justice. Crowd hated the finish, which saw the DQ happen when Punk wouldn't release a figure-four and Funk was in the ropes. Funk's still doing moonsaults too, and he looked as Funktacular as ever. Afterwards, Punk and a second person I couldn't make out were beating on Funk until Raven ran in, followed quickly by...Tommy Dreamer! The former ECW triumvirate cleared the ring and the crowd as well as the trio basked in the nostalgia. Dreamer than thanked Funk for all he's done and put over ROH. Main event: Samoa Joe successful defense against Christopher Daniels. Great bout, crowd totally into it, and Daniels hitting the Angels' Wings made the place go berserk; the 2.99 count as well as the crowd reaction to it was off the charts. After the match, Joe went to Daniels but instead of shaking his hand, gave him the finger and left. Misc.: When Funk arrived outside, he was as good-natured and lovable as Ol' Uncle Terry always is. A fan was saying he'd seen his Japan Death matches, and proclaimed "You are the ****ing man!", to which Terry replied as only Terry can, "I'm an idiot!" Also seen before the show were Steven Richards and Zach Gowen. Richards was seen by many, which makes me wonder if he was a red herring, because everyone expected him to run out and help Funk and it turned out to be Dreamer, who no one had any clue was there. Overall, good show up to ROH standards, but I certainly could do without the wall-to-wall humanity...either book a bigger building or adhere to the sellout, but don't make it an unsafe and uncomfortable environment. Phily return date is 12/27. RING OF HONOR DODGES TWO BULLETS LAST NIGHT I attended last night's Ring of Honor event in Philadelphia, PA. Eric McHugh sent in a live report, so check out Eric's report for his opinions on the show. Here are brief results and Notes from the show, including two major hassles the promotion went through before the opening bell even rang: *The Outcast Killahs defeated Slyk Wagner Brown and April Hunter in 6:25. The Crowd was heavily deriding Brown and Hunter during the bout. *Angeldust pinned Joey Matthews in 7:36. *Jimmy Jacobs beat Roderick Strong, Alex Shelley and Josh Daniels in 13:18 of an excellent Four Way. *In a Field of Honor Match, BJ Whitmer defeated Jimmy Rave in 9:25. *In a Field of Honor Match, Xavier defeated John Walters in 10:46. Lollipop (TNA) came out to ringside. Allison Danger came out but was sent back. They aligned Lollipop with Xavier as she cheered him on and left with him after the match. Walters said on the mic that Xavier doesn't respect anyone and he was going to teach Xavier about respect the next time they got into the ring. *Teddy Hart defeated TJ Wilson in 7:42 with a shooting star press. Hart looked more impressive than Wilson. *Steve Corino defeated Raven after CM Punk interfered and Corino hit a superkick in 13:10. Corino slapped Punk after the match, saying he didn't need his help. Corino was accompanied by a huge entourage which including Zero-One ring announcer Bobby Cruz reciting a huge list of every wrestler Corino had ever defeated. *Colt Cabana defeated Chris Sabin, Matt Stryker and AJ Styles in 18:56. Cabana pinned Stryker. This was the best match on the show with tons of innovative moves and fast action. *Special K's Hydro, Angeldust and Deranged defeated The Carnage Crew and Justin Credible) in a six man gauntlet match. Special K advanced in the Gauntlet for the vacant ROH Tag Team championships....Jay and Mark Briscoe beat Special K in 2:47....The Briscoes defeated Dunn and Marcos in 1:45....The second Special K team, Izzy and Dixie defeated the Briscoes in 5:21.... The Backseat Boyz defeated Izzy and Dixie in 3:53 to win the ROH Tag Team Titles. Special K attacked the Backseats. The Briscoes and Teddy Hart made the save setting off a series of awesome dives. This looks like the setup for the promotion's 11/1 Scramble Cage Match with Platforms in Elizabeth, New Jersey. *Gary Michael Cappetta introduced Alexis Laree for her farewell ceremony. The fans threw streamers and she gave a speech thanking everyone. Special K came out and went to attack her. Joey Matthews ran them off, only to attack her as well, so he's back in Special K. Julius Smokes and the Rottweilers (Slugga and Benny from the Bronx) made the save and Alexis defeated Cabana from Special K in a quick match with Smokes as the referee. *Terry Funk in his ROH debut defeated CM Punk by DQ when Punk would not release the figure four at the ref's 5 count as Funk was grabbing the ropes. The storyline was that Punk was trying to crippled Funk. Punk did a promo mocking Funk's All Japan retirement speech. As much as it pains me to say this, Funk looked really old out there. Colt Cabana teased he wanted Punk to stop, but then joined in beating on the attack. Raven made the save. As the brawl continued, WWE's Tommy Dreamer hit the ring. After everyone else left, Dreamer gave a brief speech thanking Funk for everything he did for the business. The fans chanted "ECW" and then "ROH." *ROH Champion Samoa Joe defeated Christopher Daniels in 15:03 with the Island Driver. Awesome match with tons of false finishes. Notes: The promotion dodged a major bullet as they were contacted late Friday by the local fire marshal who informed them there was an anonymous complaint about the size of the crowds at ROH's events at the Murphy Recreation Center. The Marshall informed the promotion that if they went beyond 400 fans in the building, the show would be shut down immediately. As you could imagine, having a show shut down would be crippling to the promotion's health, so it was stress city in the ROH offices. About 200 fans waited outside hoping to get in, but ROH was unable to allow the fans entry until the marshal arrived. While the fans were waiting, ROH sent a number of performers, including the Backseat Boyz, Samoa Joe, and Jimmy Jacobs out to thank them for the support and to ask them to hang in there. The actual "main show" started 30 minutes late as the promotion was trying to work out the situation. PA State Athletic Commission official Frank Talent went to bat in a major way for the promotion when the fire marshal arrived and the fans were eventually allowed into the building. The promotion was very thankful that there were so many fans that were willing to wait for a chance to support the product. The feeling internally with ROH was that another promotion had phoned in a complaint in an attempt to sabotage the show as the report was phone in. The marshal acknowledged the situation was "shady." It certainly looks like no one has learned from the mistakes of the promotional rivalries from last year that left Philadelphia crowds down and several promotions defunct. ROH really has no choice but to seek out a larger venue, because next time, they may not end up with such a positive ending to a situation like this one....WWE's Zach Gowen and Steven Richards were backstage visiting....As if the promotion didn't have enough stress, they found out the day of the show the company they contracted for their lighting had gone out of business, and had to scramble to find a new lighting company and get them set up in time for the show....Philadelphia FOX affiliate channel 29 was at the show with a camera crew, filming a feature that will air in November during sweeps....They reconfigured the building setup for this show and announced a 12/27 return to Philadelphia at the Murphy Recreation Center....There was a huge "F*** you Jasmin" chant at the onset of the show from the fans as word was going around that there was 3PW involvement in the fire marshal situation, which is something that is absolutely not confirmed. There has been heat between the two promotions in the past....Thanks to Paul Sosnowski for the match times.
by Mike Johnson
2004 - Raw was held in Tucson, Arizona, with the announcement that Kane and Lita had lost the (storyline) child they were expecting as a result of the previous week when Lita was knocked down following a Kane-Gene Snitsky match. Snitsky then did a promo stating that it "wasn't his fault", which would become his catchphrase.
2005 - Smackdown was taped in Lubbock, Texas featuring the television debut of Bobby Lashley, who defeated Simon Dean in under three minutes. However, that wasn't the fastest match of the night, as U.S. Champion Chris Benoit defeated Orlando Jordan with the Crippler Crossface in 49.8 seconds.
2006 - WWE announced the following: "WWE has come to terms on the release of Boogeyman (Marty Wright) as of today 9/20/06. We wish Marty the best in all future endeavors." The reasoning was that WWE didn't feel Boogey was working hard in rehabbing from injuries that had sidelined him, as he had missed several doctor's appointments. However, WWE would rehire him less than a month later, reportedly at the behest of Booker T, who brought Boogeyman to his wrestling school where he saw that Boogey was dedicated to returning to the ring. He would later be released again.
2007 - Dr. John Todd Miller, head of the Tampa, Florida-based Physician's Wellness Institute was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for conspiring to dispense steroids to a teenaged in-line skater.
Authorities became aware of the illegal actions after the father of teenage champion in-line skater Corey Gahan's father, James had a "business dispute" with Dr. Miller and informed authorities that Miller had given steroids to Corey. The father went on to plead guilty to his part in getting steroids for his son as well.
According to clinic records, acquired by the Tribune, Miller also provided steroids to Billy Kidman, the late Eddie Guerrero, Hector Guerrero, Danny Spivey and Paul "Big Show" Wight. Kidman told investigators that he was referred to the clinic by the late Brian "Crush" Adams, according to the article.
WWE's spokesperson Jennifer McIntosh would not comment on the specific wrestlers, none of whom are currently under any WWE deals. In the case of Spivey and Hector Guerrero, it has been well over a decade since either were regular WWF performers. None of the named wrestlers were able to be reached for comment.
Before being sentenced, Miller told the judge, "It was never my intention to hurt anyone."
2007 - The ROH "Driven" PPV debuted. Mike Johnson filed the following PPV report:
Ring of Honor Driven PPV Report
The second Ring of Honor PPV, Driven, opened with announcer Dave Prazak center ring in the Frontier Fieldhouse in Chicago Ridge, Illinois. Prazak set the tone for the company, saying that tonight ROH's athletes would show how "driven" they are to compete and show that their "brand" (I hate that word when it comes to this genre) is about professional wrestling. The live crowd popped for that.
Erick Stevens, Matt Cross and Delirious hit the ring. Prazak identified them by name. Stevens took the mic and challenged the No Remorse Corps to a six man tag match right now. Delirious then took the mic and began jabbering gibberish (that has to be the first time that's ever been written in a PPV report) into it, which the audience popped huge for. The one thing that stands out immediately from a production standpoint is that you can see the back of the bleachers across from the hard camera. On first glance, it looked like those were empty seats, although they aren't. ROH needs to make sure that the next time they film in this building, that's covered with a curtain or something. On TV, a small factor like that can go a long way in presentation.
ROH went into quick video highlight reel using highspots and clips from the debut PPV set to music. If you know the storylines, you immediately know where everyone stands. If not, it's a decent highlight reel.
The No Remorse Corp. hit the ring and it's an impromptu six man tag bout.
"The No Remorse Corp." Roderick Strong & Rocky Romero & Davey Richards vs. "The Resilience" Delirious & Erick Stevens & Matt Cross
All six brawl in the ring. Delirious pulls Richards' shirt over his head like a hockey player and pounds him. Richards goes to the floor. Romero is left with the babyfaces and Delirious chops him. The Corp. yank Romero to the floor and they regroup. It settles down into a traditional six man. The crowd harasses Strong with a "Roodeerriick" chant. Delirious hits a cross body to the floor. Strong dropkicks Stevens, who goes to the floor. Romero dives out of the ring to the floor. Cross drills Strong with a twisting headscissors and Strong retreats out of the ring.
Delirious climbs to the top and hit a flip dive to the floor on The Corp. Prazak and Lenny Leonard point out that it's revenge of sorts for Delirious after being laid out by them at the last PPV. Small things like that help so much with educating new fans because it provides exposition and at the same time, insight into the motivation of the competitors. It's something the larger companies would be smart to learn from. When was the last time we had a good idea of what motivated, say, Santino Marella or Sonjay Dutt? I rest my case.
Delirious tosses Romero back inside the ring. He nails a belly-to-back suplex. Romero cuts him off with a kick to the gut, then drills another to Delirious' back. Richards tags in and nails several snap suplexes. The Corp. begin tagging in and out, working over Delirious. They triple team Delirious as the referee admonishes the other babyfaces. Delirious kicks up at two. The announcers noted that "The Former Resilience leader" (Austin Aries) isn't there because he's under contract to another company, but was in attendance as he bought a ticket because he didn't want to miss ROH on PPV. Couldn't he have just ordered it at home? I digress.
Romero continues to work over Delirious. The rest of the Resilience try to rally the crowd. Delirious headbutts Richards in the gut, but Strong cuts off Delirious. Erick Stevens finally gets the hot tag. He nails an overhead belly-to-belly suplex on Richards then clotheslines Romero as he springboards into the ring. Cross hits a handspring elbow on Strong. Delirious hits a running knee to the corner. Stevens hit a TKO but Strong kicks out.
Cross hits a space flying Tiger drop to the floor on the rest of No Remorse. The place loved that. Stevens catches Strong with a powerslam but Romero breaks up the pinfall. Richards hits a missile dropkick on Richards. Richards grabs Delirious for a butterfly suplex but Cross jumps on his shoulders and swings backwards for a reverse frankensteiner. At this point, they are ridiculously beyond the $10 price tag of this PPV in terms of quality and this is just the first match. Romero drills Cross with a kick to the chest Delirious kicks Romero and hits a leaping lariat. That leaves everyone down on the mat out as the audience pops.
Strong hits a gutbuster on Cross. Romero DDT'd him but The Resilience breaks up the pin. All six battle in the ring. Strong works over Stevens with chops as the others battle on the floor. Strong goes for a running boot but is grabbed and slammed down. Stevens picks up Romero in a wheelbarrow for Cross to come off the top with a double stomp. Stevens hits a release German suplex on Richards. Delirious nails Shadows over Hell. Cross hits a shooting star splash. That should have been the finish. The Corp. break it up. The place chants ROH.
Strong picks up Delirious while outside on the apron and drops down, slamming him on the corner of the ring apron. Cross hit a spinning twisting moonsault but Romero kicked up. Romero cinches in an anklelock but Cross rolled him up for a two count. Richards nails the DR Driver for the pin.
Your winners, the No Remorse Corp.
A great six man tag with far more going on than I could recap and a ton of fun back and forth wrestling and highspots.
The Corp. continue to beat down the Resilience. The crowd starts chanting for Austin Aries. Aries finally hits the ring and clotheslines all three, then begins working them over. Prazak says, "You can't do this!" while Lenny Leonard says, "This isn't going to make air anyway." Aries hits a running dropkick in the corner. He goes to nail a brainbuster on Richards but sees Roderick Strong and goes after him. He hits a flying lariat out of the ring on Romero. The building chants Aries' name.
Aries pulls out a piece of paper and says he has a document that will give him "his wrestling freedom" and allow him to return to "the greatest wrestling company in the world", Ring of Honor. He asks if anyone has a pen. Fan start throwing them in the ring. That was funny. The crowd chants "Welcome Back" as he signs. Aries says he's back where he belongs. He says he back in a company that respect it's fans, it's wrestlers and respects the wrestling business. The crowd chants, "F*** TNA" but Aries cuts them off. He says that fans won't find more excitement or passion "anywhere in this industry" than in ROH. He says ROH is exactly what they say they are. "We are wrestling." Aries hands the contract to ROH owner Cary Silkin at ringside and shakes his hand. The crowd chants, "Welcome back." Live, there were problems with the audio on the promo to the point Gabe Sapolsky was destroying the locker room, but it wasn't that bad on the PPV broadcast.
Backstage, ROH Tag Team champions The Briscoes say that they just came back from the first ROH shows in Japan. They challenge Japan to show what they have and "Man up." They came off like two kids goofing around.
ROH went into an awesome video feature on the recent Ring of Honor shows in Toko and Osaka, Japan with comments from ROH performers interspersed with the clips. An awesome feature that made the company look top notch and global.
Matt Sydal vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Prazak and Leonard explained that they were facing off after losing their bid to capture the ROH Tag straps on the first PPV. They said Sydal blamed Claudio for the loss and challenged for a singles match, wanting to prove himself. Good logical reason to give an undercard match meaning. ROH showed a highlight reel of each competitor after the ring introductions. ROH did this with all of the competitors the remainder of the show.
Sydal and Claudio faced off and did some good back and forth wrestling. Sydal goes for a hiptoss but it's blocked. Sydal finally takes him down and gets several near-falls. Sydal charges Claudio in the corner but is caught and shoved off into the mat. Claudio slams and legdrops him but doesn't get a three count. Claudio does a long standing suplex but Sydal bridges to escape the pinfall. Claudio grabs Sydal and gives him the giant swing. I love that move. Claudio doesn't get the pin but nails a gut-wretch suplex. He drills Sydal with several uppercuts. He rebounds off the ropes but Sydal sweeps his leg and Claudio takes a bump out of the ring through the ropes feet first (think Chris Hamrick or Lucha star Heavy Metal) to the floor. Sydal hits a running dive over the top into a bodypress on the floor.
Back in the ring, Sydal drills Claudio with an elbow in the corner then hits a spinning leg lariat. Claudio kicks up at two. Claudio comes back with a spin into a facebuster. Sydal comes back with La Magistral. They go back and forth into a series of reversals and pin attempts. It's good. Sydal catches Claudio with a DDT and cradles him for a pin as Claudio bounces over. I've never seen that before. Sydal goes to the top but is caught off. Claudio hits an enziguiri and a bicycle kick for a two count. Claudio hit a big uppercut for a two count. Sydal reverses a flapjack attempt and turns it into headscissors.
Claudio goes for a powerbomb but Sydal jumps on his shoulders and turns it into a pinfall combination. Sydal goes for a frankensteiner, but Claudio rolls through and nails the clean pin.
Your winner, Claudio Castagnoli!
ROH showed a replay of the pinfall. Another really good wrestling match with the emphasis on the athletics and in-ring work. Ever smarter, ROH now has two good Sydal matches on their first two PPVs, with Sydal (who recently signed with WWE) losing, so they have footage of their talent going over a "WWE performer."
Larry Sweeney, Chris Hero, Tank Toland and Bobby Dempsey come to the ring. Sweeney says that timing is everything and the time has come for "Super Agent" Larry Sweeney and "Sweet and Sour, Inc." Sweeney says they already have the number one athlete in wrestling, Chris Hero, signed. He says Hero carried Castagnoli to the ROH Tag Team championships. Sweeney hands Sydal a contract and says he has the ability to spot great talent and make them a superstar. He tells Sydal that with his guidance, they can turn his recent losses into victories. He asks Sydal to look over the contract and sign it.
Castagnoli grabs the mic and tells Sydal not to do it because Sweeney is "sc**bag." The crowd chants it at Sweeney, who is awesome in reacting. Castagnoli says that ROH is about the sport of wrestling and doesn't want to see Sydal make a mistake. He rips up the contract. Claudio battles with sweet and Sour, Inc. but when he grabs Sweeney, Sydal suddenly attacks him. Chris Hero helps him and they lay out Claudio. Sweeney starts yelling at Castagnoli, telling him he's a "ham and egger." Hero locks in the Hangman's Clutch on Claudio. Sweet and Sour, Inc. raise their arms and leave the ring.
They air a video feature on Jimmy Rave with footage of him voiceover over with a promo. Rave says that tonight it's time for him to take what's his, the ROH title. He says that ROH promised him a World title shot and he's going to take down Takeshi Morishima.
BJ Whitmer vs. Naomichi Marufuji
The announcers point out that Whitmer is 0-1 on PPV while Marufuji is 1-0 and that winning will not only keep them on PPV but move them further up the ladder for a title shot in the future. Wins and losses meaning something in wrestling in 2007? What a concept.
Marufuji is locked in a top wristlock, but uses his speed to escape and reverse. Whitmer backs him into the corner but gives a clean break, staring down Marufuji. They shoulderblock each other, but neither backs down. Whitmer nails a series of armdrags. Both men go for dropkicks at the same time, but neither connect. They face off and the crowd pops. They chop each other. Whitmer nails a leg lariat at Marufuji rebounds off the ropes. Whitmer hits a dive to the floor.
Marufuji dropkicks Whitmer as he returns to the ring. He goes to suplex Whitmer into the ring but Whitmer escapes. Marufuji leaps over the ropes and DDT's Whitmer on the apron outside the ring. Both men tumble to the floor. Marufuji recovers first and throws Whitmer into the ringpost, then rolls him into the ring. Whitmer kicked up at the two count. Marufuji goes for a butterfly suplex but instead goes for a crossarmbreaker. Whitmer fights to the ropes and forces a break.
Marufuji goes to the top but is cut off by Whitmer. Whitmer cinches him for a superplex and nails it. Both hit their head on the mat and are out. They get to their feet and exchange chops in the center of the ring. Whitmer finally grabs a German Suplex, then hits a full nelson suplex. He goes for a powerbomb but Marufuji lands on his feet, but Whitmer drills him on the jaw for a two count. Marufuji drills the straightjacket suplex for a two count.
Marufuji leaps and drills Whitmer's jaw into his knees but Whitmer kicked up at two. Marufuji misses a superkick and is powerslammed. Whitmer only gets a two count. Marufuji clotheslines Whitmer but can't take him out. He finally nails a big lariat but again, only a two count. Marufuji teased Sliced Bread #2 but Whitmer nailed a brainbuster. Whitmer goes to the top but is drilled and falls backwards with his legs caught in the ropes. Marufuji hits the Van Terminator but only gets a two count. That move should always be a finisher in my opinion.
Marufuji drills a superkick and scores the pinfall with sliced bread #2.
Your winner, Naomichi Marufuji!
Another really good back and forth wrestling match. Three matches, nothing bad so far. The announcers point out that BJ Whitmer's frustrations over not winning big matches continue.
They go into the crowd where Rebecca Bayless is looking good. She says there's nothing like seeing ROH live and in person and begins plugging future live ROH events while a scroll gives further information.
Brent Albright vs. Pelle Primeau
The announcers talked about Primeau, the first graduate of the ROH school, accomplishing his dream by debuting on ROH's PPV but when Albright came out, said that dream just became a nightmare. Albright just mauled Pelle. He nailed a huge Beel throw across the ring. Pelle slides through the legs of Albright but is caught and dumped in a suplex. He nails a head and arms suplex, then a half nelson suplex. Albright covered him for the pin but pulled him up at two. This is an old school heel squash. Albright pressed Primeau overhead. The crowd wanted him to launch him into the audience. Albright dropped him into the Crowbar submission and Pelle tapped out.
Your winner, Brent Albright!
The match set out what it needed to accomplish - a showcase of Albright to get him over as a badass heel. Primeau was good in his role of getting Albright over.
ROH Tag Team champions Jay and Marc Briscoe vs. El Generico and Kevin Steen
Fans throw streamers for the champions. The storyline is that Steen is a full-fledged jerk while Generico is having doubts about being a heel while Steen initiates all the problems and bullies Generico into following along. Steen takes the Tag belts and poses with them before the bell.
Generico and Jay start the match. Jay breaks clean when they end up in the corner. Jay and Generico do a test of strength, which is pretty silly when you look at Generico's lean frame. Briscoe takes him down and drills him with crossfaces, then cinches in a front facelock. Briscoes shoulderblocks him down, then nails headscissors and a drop toehold. Briscoe goes back to the front chancery.
Steen and Mark tag in. They go back and forth. Steen takes over and knocks Jay off the apron for good measure. Jay tags in and takes Generico out. The Briscoes work over Steen. Steen takes contol on Jay then tags in Generico. Generico locks Jay down with a leglock. Steen hits a flip legdrop across Jay's neck. Steen chokes Jay against the ropes, ripping at his nose with his fingers.
Steen and Generico continue to control Briscoe. Generico nails several punches and a leg lariat, but Jay kicks up at two. Jay ducked a clothesline and hit a neckbreaker. He tosses Generico into his corner and tags in Mark. Jay nails a running big boot as Mark knocks Steen to the floor. The Briscoes continue to double team Generico but he keeps kicking up.
Jay cinches in a stretch plum on Generico, then boots him in the back of the head. Mark tags in and kneedrops him off the second rope. He unloads with forearms and chops in the corner, then nails a Samoan Drop. He drags Generico to his corner by his leg. Jay tags in. Generico is whipped into the ropes but holds on and doesn't rebound. He grabs Jay and tosses him to the floor. Steen jumps into the ring and dives to the floor on Jay, then begins screaming at him and beating him. Generico and Mark battle in the ring. Mark escapes and dives off the top turnbuckle to the floor on Steen. Mark follows that up with a moonsault off the guard rail to the floor on Steen.
Meanwhile, Jay hit a top rope lariat on Generico. The Briscoes grab Generico and hit a Beel throw on the floor, sending him into rows of chairs at ringside as the audience scatters. Steen attacks the Briscoes and sends Mark into the crowd. He starts screaming at Generico as he helps him back into the ringside area from the crowd.
Steen and Jay exchange forearm shots in the center of the ring. Steen drills him with a sitout power bomb. Steen called for his piledriver, but Mark broke it up. Generico dove and took out Briscoe. Steen picked up Jay and dropped him neck-first across his knee. Steen followed up with a swanton drive off the top and covered the elder Briscoe Brother, who kicked out at the last second. Steen looked shocked that he didn't get the pin.
Generico tagged in and they set up for the Package Piledriver but Mark came back with a springboard missile dropkick. Generico took down Mark and Generico set up for a running charge. Mark caught him with a kick to the chest, then hit a doublestomp out of the ring through a table on Steen. Jay nailed a Death Valley Driver on Generico, who kicked out. The crowd chanted, "ROH."
Jay calls for the J-Driller and Mark assists him by spiking it. They score the pinfall on Generico.
Your winner and still ROH Tag Team champions, Mark and Jay Briscoe!
"You have just witnessed the new standard. You have just witnessed the best tag team on the planet." Great call by Dave Prazak.
Another really good back and forth wrestling match. You got the impression these were four guys who didn't like each other that were fighting for a championship, as opposed to just running through an alphabet of spots from A to Z. A really strong tag bout. It probably wasn't at the blowaway level of the first ROH PPV Tag title match but this was a different type of story and just the first part of a chapter, which leads us to...
ROH showed a highlight reel of replays. As The Briscoes left the ring, Steen drilled them from behind with a ladder. The announcers pointed out that this type of behavior wasn't what ROH was built on. Steen grabbed Generico and said that is what Generico needs to do. Steen snotted on the Briscoes. Ugh. Well, that helps set up the ladder match on the third ROH PPV. It's pretty interesting to follow the ROH storylines from both the usual show to show run and also how you can just watch them PPV to PPV without further knowledge, but still not be lost by the show.
Somewhere, Larry Sweeney is with his charges. Sweeney tells Matt Sydal that he's got Sara del Ray off doing an endorsement deal and is going to make him lots of money. Sweeney says Claudio Castagnoli is just where they want him and he won't be able to get his hands on Sydal or Hero until "all conditions are met to my liking." He sounds just like the President of the first talent management company I worked for. I must have heard that term 10,000 times between 1997 and 2003. Sweeney says that he's arranged to have the finest athletic training facility at the disposal of his charges. He walks over to Tank Toland who is forcing Bobby Dempsey to work out. He starts screaming at him that he's a fat pathetic excuse for a human being. Dempsey is having a problem so Toland pulls out a cookie and starts calling him a "cookie monster." Dempsey is straining hard to get the cookie but can't do it. They all rip on him. It's funnier than I'm describing.
ROH champion Takeshi Morishima vs. Jimmy Rave
Morishima attacked Rave as the streamers were still flying into the ring. He began beating down Rave in the corner. Morishima threw him to the floor. He tried to whip Rave into the railing but it was reversed and Morishima ate steel. The announcers put over that Rave had fought all of the top ROH names in the past including AJ Styles and CM Punk and had come back from a number of injuries to be part of some of the company's most memorable matches, but has never held a title. This was actually genius because they built up Rave strong on commentary, making Morishima's win mean even more. Rave came off the top but was caught. Morishima went to the top. Rave tried to suplex him off but was shoved to the mat.
Morishima hit a missile dropkick from the top, which if you know what Morishima looks like, is damn impressive. He drills Rave with a lariat. Rave evaded a sitdown splash and hit a running knee strike for a two count. Rave went for a Pedigree but Morishima evaded it. Rave locked in a heel hook but Morishima made it to the ropes. Rave began working over Morishima's leg, but is caught with a sideslam.
Morishima drilled him with another lariat but Rave kicked up. Morishima, bleeding from the nose, killed him with a backdrop driver and scored the pin.
Your winner and still ROH champion Takeshi Morishima!
They put over that Morishima won the bout in under four minutes for the second PPV in a row. The announcer noted that since they have time left on the PPV, they are going to present a special bonus "number one's contenders bout" from Philadelphia.
They show a graphic saying they will go to Philly momentarily. As ROH is breaking down the ring in the background, Adam Pearce is mentoring Shane Hagadorn. He says that after every event, there is a moment where a competitor needs to reflect on his performance and on what he wants and needs. Hagadorn sucks up to Pearce saying that all he needs is Pearce's help. Pearce pats him on the shoulder and sends him off. Pearce says that everyone on the locker room has certain needs. He then turns to the camera and points out an exhausted and beaten BJ Whitmer sitting alone in the bleachers. Pearce says that Whitmer has needed the acceptance of the fans that have a need of wanting to be something that athletically they cannot do. He tells the camera that Whitmer gave of his body and his blood for the the fans and it hasn't gotten him anywhere. He says Pearce has a losing streak and is in a state of depression. Pearce says that he knows what the fans need and what BJ needs. Pearce says, "In time, you will know and understand what will satisfy my needs." He walks away from the camera to console Whitmer. He hugs him, then punches him in the face. Brent Albright walks into the frame and they shake their heads at him and walk away.
We go to Philadelphia where the fans are chanting "ROH" and are live. As good as the Chicago crowd came off, it was night and day here.
Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness to determine the top contender to the ROH championship
They have complete ring entrances for this one. The crowd chants "best in the world" for Danielson. I always pop for the Final Countdown as Danielson's entrance. I doubt anyone beyond me remembers this, but there was a great music video set to Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat footage at the NWA Wrestlewar '89 PPV featuring the song. Danielson pretty much epitomizes the style of wrestling that those two stood for, in my mind, so it's a nice way to bridge the generations...at least to me.
Anyway, they face off and shake hands before the match begins. They do a lot of awesome matwork as the bout starts. The crowd is doing dueling chants. The crowd then chants, "You're gonna get your f**** head kicked in." Danielson goes to work on McGuiness' wrist. Danielson works him over his knees, sort of a sideways bow & arrow. McGuiness escapes and they face off.
McGuinness grabs a side headlock. They go into the corner and break. Danielson is caught again. McGuiness shoulderblocks him down. Danielson grabs him and goes into a guard, working him over with strikes. McGuiness closes the gap by scissoring himself around Danielson. They return to the mat, where Danielson slaps him across the face. He drills Nigel with a kick to the back of the neck and a dropkick.
Danielson slams another kick to the chest of Nigel, who battles to his feet and slaps Danielson. McGuinness does the headstand in the corner and hits a mule kick on the charging Danielson. Nigel takes him to the mat with a hammerlock. He focuses on Danielson's shoulder, which has had injury problems in the past. He gets Danielson's other arm and forces it backwards behind the body, then bridges back to force even more pressure on Danielson's arms.
Danielson escapes and locks on a Japanese stranglehold. McGuiness fights his way out and drills a short arm lariat. Danielson retreats to the floor to recover. McGuiness follows and beats him with uppercuts in the corner. McGuiness charges with a European uppercut. Danielson fires back with his own and begins kicking him. He throws a chair at McGuinness, then overturns the ringside table on him.
Danielson goes to toss McGuiness into the ring but Nigel rebounds off the ropes on the outside and lariats him, sending Danielson over the guard rail into the first row. Nigel goes to the top rope and dives into the audience. Philadelphia goes nuts, chanting ROH. This is a great match. Danielson is tossed back into the ring. He takes over on McGuiness and suplexes him over the steel barricade separating the crowd and the ring. McGuiness lands across it on his back and falls into the fans. Danielson suplexes him back into the ringside area.
McGuiness is tossed back into the ring but only gets a two count. He is taken to the mat and Danielson works him over. Danielson and McGuiness exchange strikes in the corner. Danielson headbutts Nigel. He begins slapping away at Nigel. Nigel fires up and demands more and more. Danielson goes for a European uppercut but its blocked. Nigel swings him around and nails a lariat for a near fall.
McGuiness hits a running European uppercut in the corner. He superkicks Danielson, then hits another lariat. McGuiness drills Danielson with a kick to the back, then shoots him down to the mat. Nigel tries to set up a superplex but Danielson battles back. He runs Nigel into the corner. Danielson drills him with several kicks to the back of the head.
Danielson sets McGuiness in the center of the ring and goes to the top. McGuiness recovers and cuts him off. He goes for the Tower of London but Danielson fights him off and hits a top rope sunset flip. They go back and forth into reversals, ending with a Nigel powerbomb. He cinches in a half Boston Crab on Danielson trying to force a tap. The crowd chants, "This is wrestling!"
Danielson fights his way to the ropes and finally makes it. McGuiness goes for the headstand mule kick but is dropkicked in the face while upside down. Danielson follows him to the ropes and hits a belly to back superplex. He covers Nigel but only gets a two count. Danielson locks on a crossface chicken wing. McGuiness tries to fight his way out of the hold and gets to his feet. He drives Danielson backwards into the corner trying to force a break. He finally pulls Danielson into the Tower of London and drills him.
Both men are down on the mat and being counted out. The crowd chants, "This is awesome." Nigel begins drilling Danielson with strikes and sets him up straddling the top rope. McGuinness comes off the top rope with a lariat. He drags him away from the ring ropes and covers him but Danielson is still able to reach the ropes with his feet. Danielson uses the ropes to pull himself up and drill Nigel with an enziguiri. The crowd is loving this and is heavy into the dueling chants. As good as this was live, this is just as good, if not better, on PPV.
They face off center ring with slaps and punches that are stiff. They start charging each other with shoot headbutts, one of which splits Danielson's melon open. That's just sick. Nigel clotheslines him and there's a beautiful shot of this woozy Danielson just oozing with blood. Danielson hits a German suplex for a two count, then starts beating Nigel with elbows. He locks in the Cattle Mutilation submission, The referee stops the match because Nigel was out cold and the place goes insane. The announcers note that Danielson sacrificed his own head in order to win a shot at the ROH title. This will be one of the best matches of this or any year, on PPV.
Your winner, Bryan Danielson!
Danielson screams in victory and rallies the crowd to chant "Best in the world" at him. The announcers thank the audience for allowing them to show the world how "Driven" the company is and invites everyone to join them again in November.
Nigel recovers and Danielson offers him his hand. McGuinness takes it. The show goes off the air with the referee raising Danielson's hand, followed by Danielson leading the crowd in a ROH chant.
From top to bottom, there is not one bad match on the entire PPV. Danielson vs. Nigel is as good as pro wrestling gets in today's generation. If you have given up on old school wrestling, believing that genre is dead forever, you might want to give this PPV an order. All you have to lose is $10 but I honestly believe you'll get ten times that amount in athletic wrestling action. Complete thumbs up. Order this show as soon as you can.
2008 - Ring of Honor held their Glory by Honor VII event in Philadelphia, PA. Stu Carapola filed the following live report:
-The opening match saw Jerry Lynn defeat Kenny King. King looked good, he seems like he'll be someone to keep an eye on. Jerry was over huge here, and I would even say he got one of the biggest pops of the night.
-Adam Pearce defeated Brent Albright to regain the NWA World Title. I was kind of surprised at the result, not only because Pearce got the title back but also because he beat Albright by submission, and with his own hold (the crowbar) at that. I did see Mike's news posting that Albright may have suffered an arm injury that led to the title switch, but I guess we'll hear more about that if there's anything to it.
-Go Shiozaki defeated Kevin Steen to retain the FIP "World" Title. Good match, these two guys stiffed the hell out of each other, but you never really felt like Shiozaki's title was in any serious jeopardy here.
-Bryan Danielson defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima to retain the GHC Junior Heavyweight Title. This was an excellent match, and it was either this or the main event for match of the night, depending on whether you like strong wrestling or brawls. Nakajima has some of the stiffest kicks I've ever seen, and he basically kicked the crap out of Danielson for much of the match before Danielson came back, drilling Nakajima with a series of elbows to the head before hooking in Cattle Mutilation for the win.
-After intermission, we got Erick Stevens defeating Rhett Titus. Stevens seemed to take an accidental shot to the face because his nose started gushing blood within the first minute or so of the match. After the match, Larry Sweeney came out and offered Stevens a contract to join Sweet & Sour Inc, but Stevens blew him off, leading to all of Sweeney's guys attacking Stevens. Roderick Strong and the Vulture Squad made the save, leading to...
-Chris Hero, Eddie Edwards, and Shane Hagadorn defeated Roderick Strong, Ruckus, and Jigsaw. This was an excellent match and easily the best match Shane Hagadorn has ever been, and probably will ever be, a part of. Chris Hero picked up the win after knocking Roderick Strong out with his loaded elbowpad.
-GHC Heavyweight Champion Kensuke Sasaki defeated Claudio Castagnoli in a non-title bout. This was a good match, even though I didn't think Claudio was laying into him with some of his moves the way he usually does. Sasaki, on the other hand, seemed to have no problem laying into Claudio. I don't think I was necessarily expecting a classic, but this felt kind of pedestrian nonetheless, and Sasaki finished him off with the Snowplow.
-ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness defeated El Generico to retain the title. Nigel looked pretty dominating in this match, and even though Generico got in a bunch of hope spots and even had Kevin Steen interfere and attack Nigel with the title belt when the ref had his back turned, Nigel came through and pinned Generico with a jackknife rollup for the win. Interesting to note that Nigel really kept the lariats to a minimum this weekend, and didn't win either match with the rebound lariat.
-After a second intermission, it was the main event of Steel Cage Warfare, pitting Austin Aries and the Briscoes against Age Of The Fall members Jimmy Jacobs, Tyler Black, and Delirious, and also the Necro Butcher entered on his own. Necro was the first one eliminated, which didn't go over well with the crowd, and then Age Of The Fall teamed up to hit a bunch of big moves on Austin Aries to eliminate him. The Briscoes then came back to eliminate Delirious with a Doomsday Device, and then Mark hit the cutthroat driver on Jacobs while Jay simultaneously hit the Jay Driller on Black to eliminate both and win the match. There was one spot where Tyler gave Mark an Awesome Bomb on a barbed wire table, and there was another table spot on the outside, though I couldn't see it from where I was sitting.
Overall it was a good show, though like I said at the top, not quite what I was expecting. I plan to have a hotline up sometime Sunday in the Elite section expanding on my live impressions of this past weekend, so you Elite members may want to check that out as well.
2009 - Big Show signed on for the WWE film "Knucklehead".
2009 - Ed Ferrara, D'Lo Brown and Pat Kenney all returned to TNA in backstage roles. Ferrara would later leave the company again but the others remain with the company.
2009 - TNA presented their No Surrender 2009 PPV. Mike Johnson filed the following PPV report:
Welcome to PWInsider.com's live coverage of the 2009 TNA No Surrender PPV from Orlando, Florida. With TNA's new creative team in place, it should be interesting to see the direction the company takes from here on in. Here we go.
Taz and Mike Tenay are your announcers, their first TNA PPV together. They welcomed us to the PPV and immediately discussed how each Knockouts tandem made it to the finals of the Tag Team championship tournament.
TNA Knockouts Tag Team Tournament Final: The Beautiful People vs. Sarita & Taylor Wilde
Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky are The Beautiful People. Mike Tenay said Angelina Love was gone due to "business issues" and broke out the "best in her future endeavors" line. They treated it like it was perfect timing for Rayne to reunite with the BP on Impact this last Thursday.
Earl Hebner came out and threw Slick Johnson out of officiating the match since he was obviously biased. I liked that twist.
Sarita and Velvet started with Sky kicking out of several near pinfall attempts. Rayne broke up the last one. Wilde and Sarita nailed a double elbow. Sarita flipped Wilde backwards onto Sky for a two count. Sarita and Wilde tagged in and out, working over Rayne. Rayne avoided a kick and slammed Sarita to the mat, head first by grabbing her hair. The BP crossed Sarita's arms and slammed her back. Sky began working over Sarita, flipping her to the mat by her hair.
Sky used an inverted curb stomp on Sarita's face. Rayne tagged in and hit a swinging neckbreaker on Sarita. Sarita finally came back with a float-over DDT. Wilde made the hot tag and dropkicking Sky. Sarita dropkicked Rayne, allowing Wilde to hit a German suplex and score the pin.
Your winner and first TNA Knockouts Tag Team champions, Sarita & Taylor Wilde!
Decent opener but probably too short for a match designed to introduce new belts. There were a few moments where they had some slight miscues and that hurt the bout. They were trying to push Wilde and Sarita as the female version of the Rock N' Roll Express.
Tenay and Taz ran down the lineup for the rest of the card.
Lauren caught the new champs backstage. Wilde said that she knew they would win the belts. Sarita cut a promo saying she's had hundreds of tag team matches and that no one worked better with her more than Taylor. She then cut a quick promo in Spanish about being champs.
Jeremy Borash interviewed The World Elite and Eric Young. Young was in a suit, even though he was scheduled to wrestle next. They did a gimmick where Young wouldn't respond to Borash until Kiyoshi "translated." Young said that Hernandez knows what it's like to be an outsider and they cared about him. He promised Hernandez would join them tonight. Homicide said if Hernandez didn't join them, it would be his blood on his hands. Young said he wasn't dressed to wrestle because he wanted to prove to Hernandez he was there for him. He said if Hernandez raised his hands to him, he would take it to prove himself to Hernandez.
Hernandez vs. Eric Young
Young came out alone wearing his suit. An angry Hernandez came to the ring and forearmed Young. He clotheslined him, then shoulderblocked Young, who took a bump over the ropes to the floor. Hernandez tossed him back in the ring, then nailed a headbutt to the chest. He picked up Young and nailed the Border Toss, then pinned him. Total squash. Hernandez walked out, looking furious.
This was perfect for what it was designed to do - make Hernandez look like a pissed off monster while getting over Young's new character.
Backstage, Jeremy Borash interviewed Matt Morgan. Borash said it would be every man for himself tonight in the TNA championship bout. Morgan said tonight, the mystery was over and there were no more fun, games or head games. He promised unadulterated violence. Morgan said that with all due respect to Sting and AJ Styles, this was about him and Kurt Angle. He said they were both bred to compete and tonight, it was what the world was waiting to see - Morgan vs. Angle. He said that he can feel the burn in his hand from the torch he is going to rip out of Kurt Angle's hand. He promised the future is now. Good promo.
TNA X-Division champion Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels
Some fans tried to start an "X-Division" chant early. Daniels opened up with dropkicks and chops early but they had no effect. Joe drilled him, then began working him over with punches in the corner. Daniels was put on the top for an attempted muscle buster but fought Joe off, then hit a rana off the top. Joe went to the floor, where Daniels hit a dive through the ropes on him.
Back in the ring, Daniels took Joe down and dropped a kneedrop across the back of the head. He attempted to get a pin but Joe kicked up at two. Daniels nailed Joe with several punches but was shoved off. Daniels returned and knocked Joe out of the corner. He came off the middle rope but was caught in mid-air with an uranage. Joe drills him with several knees for a two count.
They were comparing Samoa Joe to Bobby Lashley as a hybrid athlete since Joe has a MMA background as well. Joe locked in a nerve hold. Daniels battles to his feet and rebounds off the ropes but is caught with a powerslam for a two count. Fans began the back and forth chanting. Daniels returned to his feet and they traded chops and strikes. Daniels nailed Joe with a leg lariat off the ropes. He bulldogged Joe out of the corner, then hit an Alabama Jam off the top. Joe rolled out of the ring. Daniels hit an Arabian Press off the ropes onto Joe.
Daniels had a hard time getting Joe back into the ring, but it turned out to be Joe playing dead. He slammed Daniels into the ringpost and the ring steps. Daniels climbed up to the ring apron and Joe charged him and clipped Daniels' left knee from behind. Back in the ring, Joe grabbed Daniels and dropped him down knee-first. Taz called it a kneebuster and the announcers agreed they had never seen such a thing before. Daniels, who had one of his knees taped, began grabbing at the knee. Joe locked a leglock on Daniels' knee, but Daniels made it to the ropes.
Joe powerbombed Daniels for a two count. When Daniels kicked out, Joe used the momentum to turn him into a STF in the center of the ring. Joe then turned it into a Boston Crab. Daniels made it back to his feet. Joe nailed him with several kicks to the legs. Daniels caught him with a neckbreaker. Both men fought to their feet. Daniels caught him with a clothesline and a spinkick. Daniels charged Joe and ducked a kick. He went to the top and nailed a clothesline for a two count.
Daniels hit a codebreaker to Joe's face for a two count. Daniels went for a back suplex but Joe was too heavy. Joe caught Daniels hit a half-nelson Tazplex for a two count. Daniels came back with a STO and the Best Moonsault Ever. Daniels' knee hindered him and Joe nailed him with a kick. Joe went for a muscle buster but Daniels escaped and tried for Angel's wings. Daniels went for the Kokina Clutch but Joe locked in a Tazmission in the center of the ring. Daniels fought for the ropes but finally tapped out.
Your winner and still X-Division champ, Samoa Joe!
Real good match. This may have been the best Joe match in awhile and it was nice to see them given some time as he and Daniels have always worked well together. They told a nice story around Joe going after Daniels' knee. I liked the fact there was a clean finish as well. I'm hoping we'll see more of these two. It never gets old.
Backstage, Jeremy Borash interviewed Mick Foley. Foley was angry someone had smashed a picture of himself and Jeremy Borash. Borash said he can get another copy. Foley said that it was special and you can't just recreate it. He said it would be like taking a few Mick Foley mannerisms and acting like you are a new hardcore legend. That had to be a shot at Abyss. Foley said he would be looking into the person responsible (who I am going to predict was Foley himself) after he announces Abyss vs. Kevin Nash later.
The storyline is that due to fan outcry after Impact, they added the Falls Count Anywhere.
Lauren interviewed D'Angelo Dinero backstage. He tried to claim that as the Pope, TNA can't tell him what to do. He got all worked up, so he said he needed to re-energize. He took a sip of Stacker 2 energy drink (sponsor of the PPV) as Suicide snuck from behind and attacked him...
Suicide vs. D'Angelo Dinero - Falls Count Anywhere
The referee ran backstage. They were brawling outside the Soundstage. Dinero put Suicide on boxes used for production equipment, then hit an elbow off a higher position. Suicide made a come back and small packaged him on the ground for a two count. Suicide slammed his head into a vise outside. Dinero put Suicide in a chair and drilled him with a series of rights.
Dinero went for a headbutt but Suicide nailed him and backdropped him into a dumpster. He covered Dinero for a two count. Suicide dumped the dumpster over. They battled near a small crane. Dinero found a golfcart backstage and began driving it backwards. Suicide avoided it. Dinero charged him with it, but Suicide grabbed him and dragged him off. They continued to battle outside. Dinero tried to climb a fence and got de-pantsed with a full moon for the audience. Suicide pulled him down and covered him for a two. Taz said it was like calling a Ric Flair match.
Suicide dragged him around and put him on a wheeled cart, then splashed him. Suicide followed Dinero back into the Impact Zone. As Suicide followed, Dinero nailed him with a water bottle. He grabbed the timekeeper's bell and rang it over Suicide's head. He went to slam Suicide's head into the ring but it was blocked and Dinero was tossed into the ring.
Suicide nailed a springboard dropkick for a two count. Dinero went to the floor. Suicide hit a slingshot dive to the floor. Dinero made his way back to the ring as Suicide went for a table. Dinero went for a kick through the ropes but the table messed up the continuity. He then kicked the table and Suicide. Dinero set up the table near the entrance ramp. Dinero suplexed Suicide on the ramp for a two count. He dragged Suicide over towards the table and attempted a suplex. Suicide escaped and they battled to the stage. Suicide nailed him for a two count on the stage.
They continued to slug it out on the stage in front of one of the entrance. Dinero teased something but was nailed with a dropkick on the stage. Suicide went backstage and returned with another table. He set the table up. The battled and Suicide tried to nail a running Death Valley Driver on the table. Dinero escaped but was caught and Suicide nailed it on the stage. Suicide put Dinero facefirst on the table and scaled the entrance set, standing above the tunnel for an entranceway. He went for a legdrop but Dinero rolled off the table. Suicide crashed through and scored the pin.
Your winner, D'Angelo Dinero!
I wasn't a fan of this one at all. Watching this, all I could think of was all those hardcore matches in WCW and WWE that meant nothing in the long-run and how guys were doing dangerous things. The stuff with the car was indeed dangerous and added nothing to the bout. I didn't care for the leap off the entrance either, but at least you can say it was the finish. These guys took a lot of brutal bumps and did a lot of dangerous stuff, so I certainly hope it's not ignored tomorrow by TNA. It has to mean something and fans have to buy that its done to hurt someone, not be a stunt show. They both worked really, really hard and I give them credit for it, but if they were going to do such a bout, I wish they had at least built to it instead of adding it with twenty minutes' notice to the fans. We'll know based on how TNA promotes the aftermath of this bout. Kudos to the wrestlers, but I felt they were put in a bad situation.
ODB vs. Cody Deaner for vacant TNA Knockouts championship
This needs to be short and over fast, PLEASE.
ODB rubbed Deaner's hat and shirt in her privates. She worked him over with chops in the corner. Deaner missed a chop and got nailed with another. He shoved her away and continued chopping him. He went for a lowblow but she, you know, has no testicles.
She nailed him again and Deaner went to the floor. ODB dove off the top to the floor. She slammed his head into the apron. Deaner tried to walk out but ODB dragged her back and slammed him into the apron again, then tossed him into the ring. Deaner reversed an Irish whip but was caught with a kick. ODB slammed him into the turnbuckles but Deaner nailed her for a two count. He teased nailing her with a punch, but instead choked her against the ropes.
Deaner slammed her down and grabbed ODB's flask. He took a drink and mocked ODB's mannerisms. He went for a double sledgehammer off the ropes but was caught with a testicular claw. ODB began slamming his head into the turnbuckles with the dirty dozen. She nailed the Thesz Press for a two count.
Deaner grabbed ODB with a double leg takedown and put his legs on the ropes but the referee caught him at two. He and Deaner argued and ref Andrew Thomas shoved him into an ODB roll-up. Somewhere, Tommy Young is smiling. ODB nailed a sunset flip but Deaner got to the ropes. Deaner called the ref and idiot, so he kicked Deaner's hands. Two count. Tommy Young is definitely smiling.
ODB was drilled with Deaner's knockout punch but got her shoulder up at two. Deaner went to the top rope but missed a diving headbutt. ODB nailed a TKO and scored the three count.
Your winner (thankfully) and new Knockouts champion, ODB!
The shenanigans were fine for what it was. I'm hoping this is the end of men wrestling for the Knockouts division. There are more than enough talented females for that.
Lauren interviewed ODB on the entrance ramp. ODB said she might not like all the broads in the back, but they've all worked hard to create a title that means something. She said let the party begin in all the trailer parks and prisons all over the world. That cracked Taz up.
Jeremy Borash interviewed TNA champ Kurt Angle and asked if he's got more than he can handle tonight in Matt Morgan. Angle said that even if that was the case, he wouldn't admit it. Angle said Morgan is all height and no brains. He said if height mattered, Morgan would already be champion. Angle said he could have made Morgan something but instead, he'll just be a statistic. In regard to Sting and Styles, Angle said that he loves fairy tales as much as anyone, but when it comes to his World title, "It's real, damn real."
TNA Legends champ Kevin Nash vs. Abyss
Nash is going for the bounty on Abyss' head. Mick Foley came to ringside to announce carrying a barbed wire bat. Angle time?
Abyss and Nash battled back and forth in the center. Nash got the better of him and nailed him with kicks and punches in the corner. Nash used his boot to choke Abyss in the corner. Nash drilled him with several kicks and clotheslined Abyss over the top to the floor. Nash slammed his head into the ring steps. Nash grabbed a chair at ringside and slammed it but Abyss moved. Abyss slammed his head into the railing outside the ring, then into the ring steps.
Dr. Stevie came out on the stage and sat down in a chair to watch the proceedings.
Nash nailed Abyss with a boot, then measured Abyss with a back elbow in the corner. Fans tried to rally Abyss as Nash used his boot to choke Abyss against the ropes. Nash dropped an elbow. Abyss came back to duck a right hand and hit a flying clothesline while rebounding off the ropes. Abyss nailed a sideslam on Nash.
Dr. Stevie came towards the ring but the referee met him in the aisle. Daffney, looking HOT, hit the ring and tried to taser Abyss but was caught with the Black Hole Slam. Abyss teased using the Taser but Stevie grabbed it and ran off. Nash nailed a distracted Abyss with a chair to the head and covered him for a two count. Nash went for a powerbomb but Abyss escaped and nailed a chokeslam for a two count.
Abyss called for Mick Foley to give him the barbed wire bat. Foley pointed out there was a referee there, then said OK, he would. The referee stopped Foley from giving him the bat. Foley still slowly handed it to Abyss, allowing Nash to taser Abyss in the leg and cover him for the pin.
Your winner and still TNA Legends champ Kevin Nash!
Nash grabbed the bounty money but Stevie said no because he didn't destroy Abyss. Big Daddy Cool then powerbombed Big Stevie Cool and took the money anyway.
Match was OK but not memorable in the least. I hated the taser finish. Too hokey. The idea here is to obviously build Abyss vs. Foley as a feud.
Backstage, Jeremy Borash interviewed TNA Tag Team champions Scott Steiner and Booker T. Steiner said they don't like anyone from any other country and told Borash to inform the British Invasion to stay out of their way. Booker T said Harlem Heat and The Steiners were the best tag teams ever and everyone else - where have all those bums been? Booker said if they want to lock them in a cage, they'll take everyone else out.
Lethal Lockdown: TNA Tag Team champs Booker T & Scott Steiner & IWGP Tag Team champs The British Invasion vs. Beer Money Inc. & Team 3D
Doug Williams was first out. Second out is James Storm, so they are starting this off with a pretty good match-up on paper. Williams charged him on the ramp but Storm spits beer in his face. He hiptossed Williams on the ramp, then slammed him into the railing. He then tossed Williams into the cage. Storm came off the turnbuckles, spinning Williams down back first. Williams caught him with a jawbreaker and then choked Storm with a t-shirt. They battled over a suplex attempt. Storm clotheslined Williams as they announced there was a minute left in the first segment. Williams nailed several uppercuts. Storm came back with a shot into the turnbuckles and began choking him with his boot.
The next out was Brutus Magnus, so it's two on one. As Magnus got to the cage door, Storm kicked it into Magnus, but Magnus avoided it. Williams slammed Storm into the cage. The Invasion doubleteamed Storm, who was busted open.
Next out was Robert Roode, who hit the ring quick and began cleaning house. He backdropped Williams and hit a spinebuster on Magnus. Williams caught him with an elbow as he was charging but Beer Money quickly cut off the Invasion and laid them out. The crowd was into Beer Money. Magnus slammed Storm into the cage. Roode caught him with an inverted atomic drop. Roode then slammed Williams into the cage.
Next out was TNA Tag Team champ Scott Steiner. Steiner began suplexing Beer Money. He nailed Roode with a top rope Frankensteiner. He ran Roode into the cage like a battering ram. The Invasion then did it to Storm. The heels worked over Beer Money until the segment ended.
Brother Devon was out next to even the odds. He nailed the British Invasion and shoulderblocked Steiner down. Devon nailed a Thesz Press on Magnus, then drilled him with rights. Devon continued to work over Steiner.
Competitor number seven was Booker T, who took his time coming out to the ring. He nailed Roode with a back kick, then kicked Devon. The Invasion took turns nailing Storm. Steiner used the cage door to crush Roode's head.
Brother Ray came out to finish out the babyface side but as he made his way to the ring, Big Rob Terry attacked him. He slammed Ray into the railing, then nailed him with a chair. Terry then forced a TNA crew member to lower the weapons and the roof before Ray could enter the ring. Ray was out on the floor.
The heels began using the weapons to batter Beer Money and Devon. Ray made his way to his feet and avoided a Rob Terry chairshot, then KILLED Terry with one. Rey hit the ring with the chair to make the save. Fans chanted "3D." The babyfaces grabbed weapons for themselves and it was all weapons shots. Ray put a trash can over Booker, then slammed it with a crutch.
Brutus Magnus made his way to the top of the cage. James Storm followed him up and they battled on the roof. They teased Storm being knocked off the cage. Roode followed them up and nailed Magnus with a crutch. Beer Money hot a double suplex on top of the cage. That looked BRUTAL. Steiner was nailed with 3D in the ring but Booker hit the Dudleys with a trash can. Booker nailed Bubba with The Bookend. Fans chanted, "This is awesome" live.
Beer Money returned to the ring and worked on Booker. Roode hit the neck snap. Beer Money hit the DWI on Doug Williams and scored the pin.
Your winners, Beer Money and Team 3D.
Entertaining match. The suplex on the top of the cage was insane. Ray's chairshot on Terry was nuts.
Backstage, Lauren asked Rhino if he had any comments on stepping in the ring "with one of the best MMA fighters in the world." They really said that. OK, come on, that was stupid to say. He's looked good but you just insulted anyone who knows anything remotely about MMA.
Rhino said that real men put on boots and wrestle. He asked Lashley if he saw an Octagon. He said, No, you see a six sided ring. He said that Lashley was in his world. He said that Rhino was going to bring him violence right to his face. He said that he won't quit and he doesn't submit. Rhino said he doesn't feel pain and tonight, he was going to rip Lashley in half with a gore. Real good Rhino promo but seriously, to try and claim Lashley is a top MMA fighter is hilariously bad, storyline or not. That never should have been stated.
Rhino vs. Bobby Lashley.
They acted like this was a major moment for TNA by having Lashley wrestling and MMA at the same time. Rhino tried to get in the first shot but Lashley caught him and began beating him in the corner with strikes. Lashley suplexed Rhino. Rhino caught Lashley as he charged in the corner. Rhino went to the floor to regroup but Lashley followed. They battled outside near the ramp.
Rhino whipped Lashley into the railing. He worked over Lashley on the floor. Back in the ring, Rhino nailed a spinebuster for a two count. He slammed Lashley into the turnbuckles, then nailed him across the back. Rhino dropped a knee over Lashley's back and smothered him with a choke. Rhino continued to work over Lashley's back.
Rhino continued to control the bout with right hands, then locked on a rear chinlock. Rhino misses a charge and Lashley began cleaning house. He whipped Rhino into the corner and nailed a series of shoulderblocks. Lashley went for a spear but Rhino moved and the referee got killed. Rhino nailed the gore and a second referee counted two. Rhino charged Lashley but was nailed with a right hand knockout punch and pinned.
Your winner, Bobby Lashley!
Match was OK. I didn't get the impression the fans live were really into Lashley. Match was fine.
Jeremy Borash interviewed AJ Styles and Sting. Borash noted that Styles went from wanting to retire to being in a World title bout with his mentor Sting. Styles said that when he got out of his funk, he made a promise to himself - no more excuses. He said he was going to leave the building TNA champion. Sting asked him if he was ready and Sting said it was showtime then. He said that it was time for one of them to make tonight the first night in the rest of their lives. Styles had a good serious promo. Sting was Sting.
TNA champ Kurt Angle vs. Sting vs. Matt Morgan vs. AJ Styles
As Jeremy Borash introduced TNA champ Kurt Angle, Hernandez came out and announced he was cashing in his TNA championship match. Angle was pissed about it. Angle yelled at Hernandez and punched him in the face. Hernandez shoulderblocked Angle and then flung him across the ring. Hernandez picked up Angle for a high vertical suplex. Everyone else just stood there watching. He dropped Angle and then clotheslined him over the top. TNA then rang the bell and everyone began wrestling.
Hernandez slammed Angle into the announcer's table. Styles and Sting began working over Morgan. Hernandez hit a suplex on Angle outside on the ramp. Morgan backdropped Styles over the top top the floor. Hernandez and Angle battled on the ramp and went for the Border Toss on the ramp but Eric Young nailed him from behind in the legs with a baton. Young then hit a piledriver on the stage. The announcers pointed out Hernandez' neck surgery.
Back in the ring, Morgan and Sting took turns ping ponging Morgan with punches. They nailed a double suplex on Morgan. Sting and Styles faced off as the trainers checked out Hernandez on the stage. Styles drilled Sting with a dropkick. Styles dove off the apron onto Angle and Morgan. Morgan recovered first and dragged Sting out of the ring.
All four battled outside. Morgan tried to build an alliance with Angle as they agreed to pair off on Styles and Sting. Sting tossed Morgan into the railing outside. In the ring, Angle went for a piledriver but Styles reversed it. Angle caught Styles with an anklelock but Styles escaped and rolled him up for a two count. Styles pulled Angle out of the ring, flipping him with a rana-esque move.
Back in the ring, Sting was caught by Morgan with a kick. Morgan began peppering him with back elbows in the corner. Morgan teased a sideslam on Sting, then dropped him and covered him for a two count. Outside, Angle nailed a tilt-o-whirl backbreaker on Styles on the floor, then returned to the ring.
Angle and Morgan began working over Sting together. You know that won't last long! Morgan held Sting for Angle, who began nailing him in the gut. They continued to work over Sting. Styles returned with a dive off the top on Morgan. Morgan grabbed him with a Fall Away Slam. Sting began nailing Morgan with a series of kicks. Sting turned his attention to Angle and clotheslined him over the top but turned into a kick by Morgan. Morgan covered him for a two count.
Styles began working over Morgan but was caught with an overhead belly to belly suplex by Angle. Angle slammed Styles. Morgan then scooped up Styles and tossed him far across the mat. They took turns stomping Styles. Styles escaped an Angle charge but was caught with a Morgan kick.
Morgan nailed a sideslam on Styles for a two count. Styles avoided a Morgan big boot. Morgan crotched himself on the ropes and Styles nailed the Pele Kick. Angle drilled Styles with a German suplex. Sting nailed a missile dropkick on Angle, but grabbed his left shoulder, which the announcers noted. Sting began punching Morgan and Angle. He slammed each of them and hit the Stinger Splash on them. Sting began punching Morgan in the corner.
Angle grabbed Sting with the Angleslam but Styles broke up the pin at two. Styles went for the Angleslam but Styles reversed it and hit the Styles Clash. Morgan kicked Styles in the mush at two. Styles caught Morgan with a kick to the head. Morgan whipped Styles into the corner. Styles kicked him off but was caught with a clothesline as he leaped off the ropes. Morgan hit the Hellavator but Sting broke up the pinfall attempt.
Sting hit the Scorpion Deathdrop on Morgan but Angle broke up the pinfall. Angle whipped Sting into the corner but missed a charge. Sting locked on the Scorpion Deathlock but Angle turned it into an anklelock. Morgan nailed the Carbon Footprint, turning on Angle. He charged Sting, who dropped down and Morgan went to the floor. He began grabbing at his thigh.
This left Sting and Styles in the ring. Sting looked at Styles, then left the ring and dove on Morgan. Styles hit a 450 springboard splash and scored the pin on Angle clean in the middle.
Your winner and new TNA champion, AJ Styles!
TNA dropped confetti as Christopher Daniels hit the ring to hug him. TNA fans hit the ring to celebrate with Styles. TNA had staffers recruiting fans to do that before the show and it created a pretty nice moment to close the show. The story of Sting "giving" Styles his chance to win the World title is an interesting one. Jeremy Borash was in the ring to get a promo from Styles afterwards but you couldn't hear the audio. Tenay said it would air on the TNA website.
We closed with a PPV promo for Bound for Glory, which certainly looks to be Styles vs. Sting based on the advertising.
2010 - Chyna was rushed to the hospital with alcohol poisoning. She would make a full recovery.
2010 - Hulk Hogan was hospitalized again due to his continued back problems.
2010 - Chris Jericho made his final appearance, to date, as a wrestler for WWE during a double taping of Raw. In his final appearance, he is carted off after being punted by Randy Orton.
2010 - WWE broadcast Raw. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV report:
We are live (according to USA) from Indianapolis, Indiana and your announcers are Jerry ‘Suit Up’ Lawler and Michael ‘What is the Intersect’ Cole.
The new WWE Champion, Randy Orton makes his way to the ring after being introduced by Justin Roberts.
Sheamus comes out fella and interrupts things. He says that for the sake of the WWE Universe, he cannot let this happen. Sheamus says that Orton does not deserve this moment. Sheamus says that twice he has been champion and twice it has been stolen from him. The first time was in the Elimination Chamber and the second time was last night in the Six Pack Challenge. Sheamus says the fans are happy now. Sheamus tells Randy that he has never beaten him one-on-one for the WWE Title. Sheamus says that he will not stand back and watch after last night. He calls Orton’s win pathetic.
Orton tells Sheamus that considering he won the title in a Fatal Four Way with Nexus’ interference and the last time they met one-on-one, Sheamus got disqualified. Orton says that since Sheamus has never beaten him, the only thing that is pathetic is him. Orton says that Sheamus is entitled to a rematch. Orton tells Sheamus to get it quickly because if he gets in his face any more, it won’t be a rematch he will be getting, but a punt to the skull.
Sheamus asks Orton if he is afraid after the look on his face and when he acts like a snake. Sheamus says that he isn’t afraid when it looks like Orton has a tantrum. If Orton tries, he will kick his head off.
We have a clanky noise and Michael Cole gets up and he quotes, Randy Orton and Sheamus will have their one-on-one championship match. When it is over, there will be no question over who the champion is. The match will have no disqualifications, no count outs, no escape, and no excuses. The match will take place inside Hell in a Cell in a little less than two weeks.
Sheamus says that is magic and even though he has never been in a Hell in a Cell, but he did end Triple H’s career with his bare hands. Sheamus tells Orton to give him back his gold. Sheamus wants his WWE title back. He tells Orton that he didn’t beat him one-on-one. He tells Orton that if he can win at Hell in a Cell, he will give the title back to Orton.
Orton tells Sheamus that he is not an honorable man. He has hospitalized many men. Some deserved it and some were just in the way. Orton says that he would RKO his grandmother if it meant that he would keep the title. Orton then says that he would RKO Sheamus’ grandmother to see the look on his face. Orton says that he is the champion and he is the only one who carries the title. Orton tells Sheamus that if he really wants to do it and wants it that bad, he tells Sheamus to take it from him.
Orton tosses the belt to Sheamus and he hits an RKO. Orton takes the belt back.
Orton starts to talk to the back but then he looks at Sheamus still down in the ring and Orton decides to give Sheamus one for grandma. Orton goes for the kickoff but Sheamus recovers and gets out of the ring.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith are at ringside. Cole asks them if they listened to Celine Dion songs after losing the title.
Match Number One: Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes versus Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov
Santino and Cody start things off. Santino misses with a punch and leg sweep. Santino goes for a leg but Cody with a kick. Santino kips up but Cody with a punch and then he tags in Drew. Drew with a kick and then he pushes Santino and he wants Kozlov tagged in. Drew with a kick and punch into a front face lock. Kozlov with an arm drag. They lock up and Drew with a kick but Kozlov with a fireman’s carry. Kozlov with a front face lock and Santino with forearms. Santino with a split and hip toss. Santino winds up the Cobra but Drew with a boot to the head but he can only get a two count.
Drew sends Santino into the corner and Cody is tagged in. Cody punches and kicks Santino and then he hits a front suplex on Santino. Cody with a rolling knee drop. Drew tags in and he stomps on Santino’s chest and head. Cody tags back in and he punches Santino. Santino escapes a slam attempt and Kozlov tags in and hits a head butt to the midsection on Drew followed by kicks. Santino with a power slam but Rhodes breaks up the cover. Cody throws Santino out of the ring and Kozlov kicks Rhodes to the floor. Drew with a kick to the knee and then he hits the Future Shock on Kozlov for the three count.
Winners: Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes
After the match, Tyson tells everyone that they will exercise their rematch clause next week on Raw.
Cole and Lawler take some time from Cole insulting former tag team champions to discuss the upcoming DVD release of Legendary.
We see highlights from last week’s match between John Morrison and Sheamus.
John Morrison is doing some pushups with help from the wall. Then Morrison does his swashbuckling pose as we go to commercial.
We are back and Did You Know that WWE has been working with Make-a-Wish for more than 25 years.
Edge is in the locker room and he is not in a good mood. Zack Ryder enters and it gets worse. Zack says that they can hang out and chill together again. He says that they can go to clubs again. Edge says that they aren’t friends. Edge says that he should be the Champion. Edge says that the GM won’t give him a match so he is screwed.
Daniel Bryan enters and he asks Edge and Zack to keep it down. Edge says that Bryan lucked his way into the US Title and now he can ask him to be quiet. Edge tells Bryan that he picked him on the wrong night. Edge tells Bryan that if he has the guts, he can face him tonight. Bryan accepts the challenge. Ryder calls Bryan a loser and Edge tells Ryder the ‘L’ is backwards.
Match Number Two: Chris Jericho versus John Morrison
Morrison with a kick and punches and then Jericho goes to the floor to avoid Morrison. Morrison goes to the floor and he chases Jericho but when they return to the ring, Morrison with a leg lariat. Morrison with more punches. Jericho with an Irish whip but he misses a splash into the corner and Jericho goes to the floor. Morrison vaults over the turnbuckles and hits a pescado. We go to commercial.
We are back and Morrison is punching Jericho in the corner. The referee distracts Morrison and Jericho with a forearm and enzuigiri. Jericho knocks Morrison off the apron and Morrison hits the ringside barrier. Jericho goes to the floor and he hot shots Morrison on the ringside barrier. Morrison makes his way back into the ring but he struggles and Jericho helps him with a suplex from the apron. Jericho with kicks to the ribs to affect Morrison’s aerial ability. Jericho with a belly-to-back suplex for a near fall. Morrison punches Jericho and Jericho goes down. Jericho with a drop kick and then he puts Morrison in the ropes.
Jericho stands on Morrison’s back and chokes him in the ropes. Jericho tries for a slam but Morrison counters with an inside cradle for a near fall. Jericho with a clothesline for a near fall. Jericho with a reverse chin lock. Morrison with punches but Jericho with a chop. Morrison with a kick to Jericho followed by punches. Morrison with a flying forearm and clothesline followed by a drop kick. Morrison with punches followed by an Irish whip but he runs into a boot. Jericho with a bulldog and then Jericho tries for the Lionsault but Morrison moves and Jericho lands on his feet. Morrison tries for the springboard round kick but Jericho blocks it and tries for the Walls of Jericho and he locks it in. Morrison looks like he is going to tap but instead he reaches for the rope and gets there.
Jericho talks to the referee and then Jericho charges at Morrison and Morrison with a rollup. Jericho and Morrison with a series of near falls. Jericho tries for the Walls but Morrison rolls out of the hold. Morrison with a Shining Wizard followed by the Split Legged Corkscrew Moonsault for the three count.
Winner: John Morrison
After the match, Chris Jericho has the same look on his face after being eliminated in the Six Pack Challenge. Jericho leaves the ring.
We go to John Cena’s locker room door and we go to commercial.
We are back and John Cena has entered the hall with Josh Mathews. Josh asks John if he is disappointed he did not leave Night of Champions as the Champion. John says that things were good. He won his fantasy football week and the recession is over. Cena says that Randy Orton is the champion. He liked seeing Randy Orton give Wade Barrett an RKO. Cena reminds us that he is taking care of Nexus. They started at eight and are now at five. Cena says that if he takes out the leader, the group will fall to pieces. Cena says that the winds of change stop.
The Miz comes out and he is not as awesome as he should be. Miz says that for the record last night at Night of Champions, he did not tap out. Miz says that Daniel Bryan did not beat him. Miz says that what they don’t know is yesterday morning, Miz had a tender medial collateral ligament. Miz says that the doctors begged him not to compete. Being the true champion he is, he competed. He did what none of the people would have done, even ‘fatso’ in the front row. Unfortunately during the match, the injury became so aggravated that he had to protect himself from future surgery. Miz says that he can and he will regain his United States Title. He tells us that he is the Miz and . . . he did not tap out.
Miz joins Cole and Lawler at the announce table as we go to commercial.
We are back and Michael Cole drools over Miz as he tries to justify Miz’s loss to Daniel Bryan.
Match Number Three: Edge versus Daniel Bryan
Edge punches Bryan as soon as the bell rings and he kicks and chokes Bryan. Bryan with punches but Edge with a knee and forearm. Edge chokes Bryan in the ropes and then he hits a cross body into the back. Edge goes to the floor and he brings Bryan to the floor and sends him into the ringside barrier. Edge sends Bryan back into the ring and he kicks Bryan in the head. Bryan with kicks to the chest but Edge with an Edge-o-Matic for a near fall. Edge with a waist lock and Bryan with elbows. Bryan with a knee to Edge. Bryan flips over Edge and then hits a flying clothesline and then he tries for the Lebell Lock but Edge counters. Bryan with a jawbreaker followed by a Yakuza Kick for a near fall. Bryan goes up top but Edge with a kick as Bryan comes off. Edge sets up for the spear as he pulls at his hair. Bryan gets to his feet slowly and then he side steps Edge and applies the Lebell Lock but Miz’s new manservant Alex Riley gets on the apron and then Miz drops Bryan against the ropes allowing Edge to hit a spear for the three count.
Winner: Edge
After the match, Edge celebrates in the ring but the General Messenger has something for Daniel Bryan’s number one fan to read. And he quotes, due to outside interference by the Miz, he is reversing the referee’s decision. The winner of the match by disqualification, the United States Champion Daniel Bryan.
Edge gets on the mic and he says that he is sick of the stupid beeping and the general manager. Edge says that he is sick of Michael Cole. Edge points out that this is his career.
After the mathc, Miz and Riley attack Daniel Bryan and they kick him. Miz with a boot to the head a few times. Miz has Riley pick Bryan up and Miz with more kicks and punches. Miz tells Riley to hold him and not let go. Miz slaps Bryan and tells him that he isn’t a champion and that he is nothing. Riley picks Bryan up again while Miz slaps him in the head and then he gives Bryan the Skull Crushing Finale.
Miz gets on the stage and applauds the United States Champion, but I don’t think he meant it.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Michelle joins Cole and Lawler at the announce table and she tells them that they are both the champions.
Match Number Four: Layla with Michelle McCool versus Melina for the Unified Women’s Title
Melina with a forearm and elbow. She sends Layla into the turnbuckles and Melina with forearms. Melina tosses Layla to the mat and connects with a screaming elbow drop. Layla with a knee and she throws Melina to the floor. Melina with a clothesline for Layla and then Melina goes over the announce table and after Michelle. Melina forgets that she is wrestling Layla, but Layla’s attack does not work. They return to the ring and Melina with the Matrix followed by an elbow and snap mare. Melina with punches and forearms. Melina puts Layla on the turnbuckles but Layla with a kick and then she hits a flip Stunner for the three count.
Winner: Layla
We go to commercial.
We are back and highlights on WWE.com are viewed 10 million times a month.
We see Nexus in the back and they discuss their plans for Wade’s match with John Cena or maybe they are discussing dinner plans.
Josh Mathews says that Chris Jericho has an announcement to make. Jericho says that he has a three disc compilation of the greatest wrestler. This DVD proves that he is the best in the world at what he does. He says that he is not someone to rest on his laurels. As great as he has been in the past, he continues to get better. Jericho says that he has the IP address of Cole’s computer so he is going to expose the general manager to the world. Jericho says that he is going to blackmail the general manager and he demands a title match against the winner at Hell in a Cell.
Randy Orton appears and he tells Chris that he hears him loud and clear. Orton suggests that they face next week. If Jericho wins, he gets his title match whenever. Jericho wants to know what the catch is. Orton says that he is sick of hearing Jericho’s voice. He is sick of Jericho’s face. Orton says that if he gets his way in the match, we won’t see Jericho’s face for a long time. Jericho says that he has made a career of beating and embarrassing guys who have underestimated him.
Match Number Five: R Truth and Eve Torres versus Ted DiBiase and Maryse
The men start off the match and Truth lets out a few What’s Ups for the crowd and then he shimmies. Truth with punches to Ted followed by a kick. Truth with a float over and split followed by a leg lariat and he tags Maryse into the match so it is time for the women. Before Eve gets involved Truth dances for Maryse and she slaps Truth. Eve with a spear and we have screaming from Maryse. Maryse with a slap and then she slams Eve’s face into the mat. Maryse chokes Eve in the ropes while doing her pose. Eve with a forearm but Maryse responds with one. Maryse misses a kick and Eve with a leg sweep followed by a flip leg drop and Ted pulls Eve off. Truth sends Ted over the top rope and then Truth with a pescado. Maryse tries for the DDT but Eve with a swinging neck breaker for the three count.
Winners: R Truth and Eve
After the match, Maryse argue with Ted over what happened. There is a message on the TitanTron that says ‘Will Have You’ and the ‘o’ is a heart. Ted does not look happy while Maryse continue to yell at Ted.
John Cena and Wade Barrett are doing the vintage split screen walk in the back for the main event.
We are back and members of the Indianapolis Colts, a team that actually won a game on Sunday are in the front row.
We get confirmation that Randy Orton will face Chris Jericho next week on Raw.
Before our main event starts, Wade Barrett gets on the announce table and he tells John Cena that there is a change in plans. Since Cena wants to take apart Nexus one by one, Cena will want to face them in a gauntlet match. Barrett says that if Cena can get through the other four, he faces Wade Barrett. Barrett gives Cena an alternative that they can all face him at once and kick his teeth in.
Match Number Six: John Cena versus Nexus in a You Asked for it you got it Gauntlet
First Victim: Heath Slater
Cena with a side head lock to Slater followed by a knee and gutwrench suplex for a near fall. Cena charges into a boot and Slater with a punch. Slater with a running forearm into the corner followed by a drop kick. Slater gets a near fall. Slater with a reverse atomic drop and neck breaker for a near fall. Slater punches the mat in frustration before he punches Cena in the head. Cena with punches but Slater with a flapjack for a near fall. Slater goes up top but he takes too long and Cena rolls through on a cross body and he gets Slater on his shoulders and hits the Attitude Adjustment for the three count.
We go to commercial before David Otunga gets in the ring.
Victim Number Two: David Otunga
The match is joined in progress and Otunga with shoulders followed by an uppercut. Otunga with a suplex while Barrett continues to pay tribute to Dead Poet’s Society on the announce table. Otunga with another suplex and he gets a near fall. Otunga takes too long for another suplex and Cena with an inside cradle for the three count.
Victim Number Three: Michael Tarver
Tarver punches Cena in the corner and he adds some kicks. Cena with a kick to the head and he puts Tarver in the STF and Tarver taps.
Victim Number Four: Justin Gabriel
Justin Gabriel with a spin kick for a near fall. Gabriel with a kick to the leg and midsection. Gabriel with a jumping back kick and he gets a near fall. Gabriel goes to the apron for a slingshot senton but he can only get a two count. Gabriel waits to connect with a forearm. Gabriel with a forearm but Cena with punches and a standing drop kick that connects for a near fall. Cena goes up top but Gabriel punches Cena. Gabriel with a forearm and then he hits a superplex and both men are down. Gabriel gets a near fall. Gabriel goes for a top rope quebrada and hits it but he can only get a two count. Gabriel stands over Cena and then he tries for a suplex but Cena blocks it and hits a suplex of his own. Cena gets a near fall on Gabriel.
Cena punches Gabriel but Gabriel responds with punches of his own. Gabriel with an STO but he can only get a near fall. Gabriel with a cross body into the corner and then he goes to the apron for a springboard move but Cena moves. Cena with the two flying shoulder tackles followed by the Blue Thunder Bomb and then it is time for the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena sets for Attitude Adjustment but the members of Nexus interfere.
They all go after Cena but Cena takes the chair from Barrett and Nexus leaves the ring because one man and a chair is not as effective as five men.
John Cena gets on the mic and he tells Barrett that he owes him. They end it now.
Barrett tells Cena that is quite the offer, but to be perfectly honest, he doesn’t gain anything for laying him out one more time. Barrett says that he wants something to sweeten the deal.
Cena accepts the deal sweetener.
Barrett says that Cena will put everything on the line for the WWE. Barrett says that he tried to recruit him in the past and has had it thrown in his face. Barrett says that he is taking the choice out of his hands. Barrett says that he will fight Cena at Hell in a Cell on one condition. Cena wants Barrett to cut to the chase. Barrett says that if he beats Cena, John becomes a part of Nexus. No ifs, no buts, no maybes, no excuses, and no escape clauses.
Cena says that he isn’t going to back down from a fight and the match is on. Cena interrupts Barrett and he says that if we are going to make this big, they need to make it big. If Cena is going to put his lifeblood on the line, Barrett can’t just show up. Cena says that if he wins, Nexus is done. Cena says that he doesn’t mean Nexus is weakened or the foundation is shaken. He says that Tarver goes to Macy’s selling women’s fragrances. Gabriel goes back to the Twinkie factory as a cream filler. Otunga goes back to mooching off his wife, but that is what he is doing now. Slater goes back to working at Wendy’s as ‘The Chick from Wendy’s’. Wade Barrett goes down in history as the winner of NXT Season One. The man with the golden opportunity but flushed it down the toilet. Cena wants to know if the stakes are too big for him.
Barrett says that he is on.
We go to credits.
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