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February 16th
On this day in history in ....
1971 - Jack & Jerry Brisco defeat The Infernos in Tampa, Florida to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Title.
1981 - WWF ran at Madison Square Garden in New York City with the following results:
- Killer Khan defeated Dominic DeNucci.
- The Great Yatsu defeated Johnny Rodz.
- Hulk Hogan defeated Rick McGraw.
- The Hangman defeated Frank Savage.
- S.D. Jones defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna.
- Intercontinental Champion Pedro Morales defeated Sgt. Slaughter via DQ when the referee caught Slaughter using a pair of brass knuckles.
- WWF World Champion Bob Backlund vs. Stan Hansen was ruled a draw when the referee decided that both men were bleeding too heavily to continue. They kept brawling anyway, until security separated them.
- Rick Martel, Tony Garea & Pat Patterson defeated The Moondogs & Captain Lou Albano in a three falls match.
1985 - Bruno Sammartino ended his retirement, which had lasted for over three years, at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, teaming with his son David to defeat Paul Orndorff & Bobby Heenan when Orndroff hit Sammartino with a chair as Bruno had Heenan in a bearhug.
1987 - At a WWF television taping in New Haven, Connecticut, Rick Martel, Tom Zenk & Lanny Poffo defeated Adrian Adonis, Brutus Beefcake & Greg Valentine. Adonis, who had been cutting locks of his opponents hair in building towards his Wrestlemania III Hair Vs. Hair match with Roddy Piper, went to cut Martel's hair as he was worked over in the corner by Beefcake. However, as Adonis reached for his scissors, Martel grabbed Beefcake and reversed positions with him. Adonis turned, and not realizing the switch, cut off some of Beefcake's hair. Adonis soon realized his mistake, and as he and Beefcake argued, Martel rolled up Beefcake for the pin. This was the first step towards the creation of Beefcake's "Barber" persona.
1989 - During a television taping in Hershey, Pennsylvania, WWF taped Saturday Night's Main Event, which would air on March 11th on NBC, earning a 10.0 rating and helping to set up Wrestlemania V. One of the big angles coming out of the show was the announcement that Miss Elizabeth would not be in the corner of Randy Savage or Hulk Hogan for the main event of Wrestlemania, and that she would instead be in a "neutral" corner for the match. Here are the results from the show:
- Brutus Beefcake defeated Rick Rude via DQ when Andre The Giant interfered. This led to a brawl with Jake Roberts getting involved, going after Andre. Big John Studd came out and had a staredown with Andre, allowing Roberts to use his snake, Damien, to scare off Andre.
- Hulk Hogan, with Miss Elizabeth in his corner, defeated Bad News Brown with a legdrop.
- Ted DiBiase made the first defense of his Million Dollar Belt, defeating The Blue Blazer (Owen Hart) with a powerslam as Blazer attempted a flying bodypress.
- Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty vs. Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson ended in a double countout.
- Red Rooster defeated The Brooklyn Brawler with a small package.
1997 - WWF held their "Final Four" Pay-per-view in Chattanooga, Tennessee at the UTC Arena. This show took on new meaning three days earlier, when Shawn Michaels vacated the WWF World Heavyweight Title due to a knee injury and "losing his smile". As a result, the main event became a "Final Four" match to determine a new WWF World Heavyweight Champion. Here are results from the show:
- The Godwinns defeated The Headbangers. This match aired on the "Free-For-All" pre-show.
- Marc Mero defeated Leif Cassidy (Al Snow) with the Wild Thing (Shooting Star Press).
- Faarooq, Crush & Savio Vega defeated Bart Gunn, Flash Funk & Goldust when Bart was pinned after a legdrop by Crush.
- Intercontinental Champion Rocky Maivia defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley with a German suplex after Goldust distracted HHH.
- Doug Furnas & Phil Lafon defeated World Tag Team Champions Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith via disqualification when Owen hit LaFon with his Slammy award.
- Bret Hart defeated Steve Austin, Vader and The Undertaker to win the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Title in a "Final Four" elimination match. This marked the beginning of Hart's fourth (and as it turns out, shortest, since he would lose it the next night to Sid Vicious) title reign.
* Hart eliminated Austin by throwing him over the top rope to the floor.
* Undertaker eliminated Vader by throwing him over the top rope to the floor.
* Hart eliminated Undertaker by throwing him over the top rope to the floor.
1999 - During an edition of Raw from Chattanooga, Tennessee, The Undertaker defeated Kane in an Inferno match when Kane's boot caught on fire. After the match, Undertaker burned a toy bear in front of Vince McMahon, and McMahon broke down in tears. The storyline was that it was Stephanie McMahon's childhood toy, and proved to Vince that Undertaker had been in McMahon's home (start of what would become the "Higher Power" storyline, where it would eventually be revealed that McMahon was the Higher Power and had given the bear to Undertaker). Also on this show, The Public Enemy made their WWF television debut, defeating Edge & Gangrel via DQ, then becoming the victims of a Brood "bloodbath".
2002 - The Bruiser defeats Orlando Jordan in Harrington, Delaware to win the Maryland Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Title for the fifth and final time.
2002 - Tadao Yasuda defeats Yuji Nagata to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Title in a tournament final. The belt had been vacated in December 2001 when champion Kazuyuki Fujita was injured.
2004 - At an edition of Raw from Bakersfield, California, Booker T & Rob Van Dam defeated Ric Flair & Batista to win the World Tag Team Title when Booker pinned Flair after Van Dam gave Flair the Five Star Frog Splash while Flair had Booker in the Figure Four. Batista and Randy Orton (at ringside with Flair & Batista) were brawling with Mick Foley on the floor during the finish. Also on this show, Steve Austin, the "Sheriff" of the company, settled the Wrestlemania XX World Title controversy by announcing that Triple H would defend the title against Chris Benoit and Shawn Michaels in a Triple Threat match at the PPV.
2010 - WWE's version of Extreme Championship Wrestling comes to an end with a broadcast on SyFy from Kansas City, Missouri that sees Ezekiel Jackson defeat Christian to become the final ECW Champion before the title is retired. Here is Richard Trionfo's original report from the show:
Tonight is the end of an era that was created out of the restart of an era that was established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania back in the 1990s to see its first ‘death’ in the ECW hotbed of Arkansas.
We are live on tape from Kansas City, Missouri and your announcers are Josh ‘Who’s NXT’ Mathews and Byron ‘When I think ECW, I think Kansas City’ Saxton.
Josh talks about NXT and Byron says that we will see the cast for NXT. The 8 pros and 8 rookies who will be on the show.
We see footage of the win by The Miz and Big Show eight days ago on Raw.
Match Number One: The Shiz (Big Show and The Miz) versus Goldust and Yoshi Tatsu for the Unified Tag Titles
The Miz and Goldust start things off and they lock up with Miz putting Goldust in the corner and he gets pushed to the mat by Goldust. Goldust with a side head lock and shoulder tackle or two for a near fall. Goldust with a punch followed by a reverse atomic drop and catapult into a forearm from Yoshi and a senton splash for a near fall. Yoshi with a cross body or two but Miz throws Yoshi to the floor. Yoshi with a rollup and chops. Goldust tags back in and he hits the flying butt bump and gets a near fall. Miz goes to the floor and Goldust chases him. Show makes the tag when they return to the ring and Show with a head butt to the back of Goldust’s head and then Miz with an elbow to add insult to injury. We go to commercial.
We are back and Miz avoids an enzuigiri from Goldust but Goldust kicks him away. Show and Yoshi tag in and Yoshi with kicks to Show but Show with a chop to Yoshi and a second one that sends Yoshi to the mat. Show walks across Yoshi’s chest followed by a head butt. Miz tags in and he taunts Yoshi before choking him again. Miz with a reverse chin lock and then he runs Yoshi into the turnbuckles. Show tags in and Show sends Miz into Yoshi with a shoulder. Show with a chin lock on Yoshi and Yoshi fights to escape before Show releases the hold. Miz is tagged back in and Show Irish whips Miz into Yoshi and Miz with the turnbuckle clothesline for a near fall. Yoshi with a roaring elbow and both men are down. Yoshi tries to make the tag to Goldust but Miz grabs the leg but he still makes the tag. Goldust with clotheslines and a drop down uppercut. Goldust with a reverse atomic drop followed by a bulldog. Goldust with a power slam for a near fall but Show climbs over the ropes and he sends Yoshi over the top rope. Show punches Goldust on the turnbuckles and Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale for the three count.
Winners: Big Show and The Miz
Josh and Byron talk about NXT some more and we see some of the combinations: Chris Jericho will be mentoring Wade Barrett. Matt Hardy will be mentoring Justin Gabriel. We will find out the other six combinations later.
Tiffany is ready to address ECW for a final time and she has sobered up. She says that as an era ends, another one begins. She talks about the NXT concept and she is interrupted by Zack Ryder. Zack suggests that he be in the final match of ECW since he is the heart and soul of ECW. Tiffany says that Zack doesn’t deserve to be in the match because he lost. Zack says that match was on Superstars. After Rosa says something in Spanish, Tiffany still says no regardless of the language the argument is made. Zack then says that since it is Extreme Rules, he can do whatever he wants.
We go to commercial.
We are back and did you know that NXT debuts next week.
The next pairing is MVP and Skip Sheffield.
Since the ship is going down, what better way to send it to its grave than the Abraham Washington Show. This time they are in the ring. Abe welcomes everyone to the show and Tony laughs a lot. Abe forgets what side of Missouri he is in because he says that they are in St. Louis. Abe reminds us that this is the last show and there is a silver lining because Abraham Washington will be a free agent and he says that means that he will be rich. Abe says that Raw and Smackdown will have to open the big bank to bring him to their shows. He says that he is a bigger free agent than Lebron James. Abe talks about NXT and then he brings out his final guest. Abe brings out ‘the biggest star in the company’ and Vince McMahon said that he would do anything for him. Abe stands on the couch and brings out himself as the guest.
Before Abe can ask himself the first question, Shelton Benjamin comes out and he is not in the best of moods. Abe tells Shelton to leave but Shelton tells Abe to check his tone. He says that this show is unwatchable when there is a guest, so who would want to watch when Abe is his own guest. Shelton says that since this is the last night of ECW, everybody is a free agent. Shelton says that he is going to take his experience in ECW . . .
To be interrupted by Vance Archer. Abe stands between Shelton and Vance. Vance says that Shelton’s future better not put him on the same show because Shelton won’t have a future.
Trent Barreta and Caylen Croft come out and they call this boring and Trent says that nobody cares about what show Vance or Shelton will be. People only care where they are going to be.
Vladimir Kozlov comes to the ring and he announces something in Russian. Archer pushes Kozlov but Kozlov takes care of him and then Barreta and Croft. Kozlov and Benjamin stare each other down and then they shake hands.
The next pairing is Carlito and Michael Tarver.
We go to commercial.
We are back and the Miz will be mentoring Daniel Bryan.
It is time for the Elimination Chamber Match video that we saw debut last night.
We run through the card for the Elimination Chamber.
We see another pairing and it is Christian mentoring Heath Slater.
Christian gets on the mic before the match and he says that it was a year ago he debuted on ECW. A lot of people said that he should have made a bigger impact and ECW was a demotion. Christian says that he has been doing this for 15 years and this feels like home. He was given the ball and the chance to run it. He was given the chance to face Tommy Dreamer, mentor up and coming superstars like Yoshi Tatsu. He says that he did most of it as the ECW Champion. He points out that he is the longest reigning current champion. He is fighting for everyone who wanted to make these three letters mean something. He is fighting for everyone in the back. He says that ECW goes away forever tonight but he will always be proud to be part of something great. He will be proud to be known as the last champion in ECW history.
We go to commercial.
We are back and the next set are CM Punk who will be mentoring Darren Young.
Match Number Two: Christian with Son of New Jack’s Buggy versus Ezekiel Jackson with William Regal in an Extreme Rules Match for the ECW Title
They lock up and Zeke sends Christian forcefully to the mat. They lock up again and Zeke with a knee to the midsection followed by a punch. Jackson misses a clothesline and elbow and Christian with a punch and then he sends Jackson to the floor. Jackson pulls Christian to the floor and he connects with forearms before returning to the ring. Jackson throws weapons into the ring and Christian punches Jackson on the apron and then he hits Zeke’s hand with a kendo stick.
From out of nowhere, Zack Ryder comes to the ring and he hits Christian from behind. Christian with a flapjack onto the trash can and then he throws Zack out of the ring. Rose Mendes comes out and she slaps Christian. Tiffany runs to the ring and spears Rosa and removes her from the ring. We go to commercial.
We are back and Jackson with a back elbow and forearm to the back. Jackson with an Irish whip but Christian with an elbow and then he goes up top but Jackson pushes Christian to the floor. Jackson moves the ring steps and he slams Christian’s head into the steps. Jackson wants to use the trash can but Christian moves his head from the steps. Christian with a drop kick from the stairs into the trash can in front of Jackson’s face. Jackson sends Christian into the steps and then he throws Christian’s weapons into the ring and he runs the shopping cart at Christian but Christian moves. Jackson sends Christian into the shopping cart and then he rolls Christian into the ring and gets a near fall. Jackson has the trash can lid but misses and Christian hits the pendulum kick into the lid and then he hits a cross body from the top for a near fall. Christian grabs the trash can but Jackson with a body block and a near fall. Regal tells Jackson to get a table but Christian with a baseball slide into the table and Jackson and Regal are down. Christian sends the table into the ring and then he rolls Jackson in and gets a near fall. Jackson drops Christian on the table and gets a near fall. Jackson with a forearm to Christian and then he puts Christian on the turnbuckles. Jackson goes to set up the table and Christian waits on the turnbuckles for Jackson to set up for a superplex but Christian blocks it. Jackson avoids a tornado DDT through the table. Christian hits Jackson with the kendo stick and then he chases Regal away. Christian limps back into the ring and he hits Jackson in the leg with the kendo stick. Christian with a back elbow from the turnbuckles. Regal hits Christian from behind but Christian with a Killswitch to Regal. Jackson hits the uranage through the table and gets the three count.
Winner: Ezekiel Jackson
Before we go off the air, we see Ezekiel Jackson celebrate in the ring with William Regal.
It is time for the final pairing and it is R Truth mentoring David Otunga.
Turn out the lights on ECW.
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