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3/27 THIS DAY IN HISTORY: RANDY SAVAGE WINS FIRST WWF TITLE, FIRST-EVER CLASH OF CHAMPIONS SEES STING BECOME A STAR, TNA IMPACT GOES LIVE FOR THE FIRST TIME, DIBIASE ENTERS WWE HALL OF FAME, BROCK LESNAR'S FIRST MMA BOUT ANNOUNCED AND MUCH MORE

March 27th

This week in wrestling in ....

1944 - Gray Mask defeats Gorilla Ramos to win the World Light Heavyweight Title in Hollywood, California, ending Ramos' second reign and beginning Gray Mask's second reign.

1953 - Ed Francis defeats Lou Klein in Columbus, Ohio for the Midwest Wrestling Association World Junior Heavyweight Title, ending and beginning each man's second reign.

1959 - Mighty Ursus and Shag Thomas defeat Maurice and Paul Vachon for the Stampede International Tag Team Title in Calgary, Alberta, ending the Vachons' second reign.

1961 - Guy and Joe Brunetti defeat Mitsu Arakawa and Mr. Moto to win the Vancouver NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Title in Vancouver, British Columbia, beginning their second reign.

1967 - Fritz Von Erich wins his third NWA American Heavyweight Title in Fort Worth, Texas, by defeating Brute Bernard. As a result, his NWA Texas Heavyweight Title was vacated, ending that third reign.

1970 - Bill Ross defeats Jim Breaks for the European Lightweight Title in Stirling, England, ending Breaks' second reign.

1970 - Frankie Laine and Moondog Mayne defeats Karl and Kurt Von Steiger to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title, ending the Von Steigers' fifth reign.

1971 - Stan Stasiak wins his fifth NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title from Dutch Savage.

1971 - The Avengers (Jimmy Golden and Dennis Hall) defeat Bobby Hart and Lorenzo Parente for the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Title in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This began the Avengers' second reign and ended Hart and Parente's third reign.

1971 - Billy Joyce wins the British Light Heavyweight Title in Blackburn, England, defeating Tony Charles. The title had been vacated in December 1969 when champion Ernie Riley retired. Joyce held the title until his own 1976 retirement.

1973 - The Mongol and The Rugged Russian (Pedro Godoy) defeat Bob Kelly and Ken Lucas to win the Gulf Coast NWA United States Tag Team Title in Mobile, Alabama.

1982 - Invader I wins the WWC North American Heavyweight Title for the third time in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, defeating Bobby Jaggers.

1983 - Roddy Piper defeats Dick Slater in Asheville, North Carolina to win the NWA Television Title, beginning his second reign.

1983 - Private Nelson defeats Terry Kay for the NWA Canadian Television Title in Toronto, Ontario, beginning his second reign.

1988 - The WWF held WrestleMania IV at Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with 18,165 fans attending. The event featured, among other things, a 14-man tournament for the WWF World Title which was vacated after a controversial match between Hulk Hogan and André the Giant on February 5. On pay-per-view, WrestleMania IV got a 6.5 buyrate. The results were:
- Bad News Brown won a 20-man battle royal, last eliminating Bret Hart. Brown and Hart cooperated to eliminate The Junkyard Dog. Brown then eliminated Hart to win after hitting him from behind with a Ghetto Blaster. Bret attacked Bad News after the match and destroyed the winner's trophy. The other participants in the match were: Ron Bass, B. Brian Blair, Jim Brunzell, Danny Davis, Sam Houston, Hillbilly Jim, The Junkyard Dog, Jim Neidhart, Ken Patera, Jim Powers, Harley Race, Paul Roma, Jacques Rougeau, Raymond Rougeau, Sika, George Steele, Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov.
- Ted DiBiase (with Virgil and André the Giant) pinned Jim Duggan in a WWF Title tournament first round match, after André tripped Duggan and hit him, and DiBiase hit Duggan with a fist drop.
- Don Muraco (with Superstar Billy Graham) defeated Dino Bravo (with Frenchy Martin) by disqualification in a WWF Title tournament first round match, after Bravo attempted to shield himself with the referee from a Muraco forearm.
- Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) pinned Butch Reed (with Slick) in a WWF Title tournament first round match, after a flying elbow drop.
- Greg Valentine pinned Ricky Steamboat in a WWF Title tournament first round match, by rolling through a flying crossbody.
- The One Man Gang (with Slick) defeated Bam Bam Bigelow (with Oliver Humperdink) by countout in a WWF Title tournament first round match, after Slick pulled the top rope down when Bigelow hit the ropes.
- Rick Rude (with Bobby Heenan) and Jake Roberts fought to a 15-minute time-limit draw in a WWF Title tournament first round match. Both were eliminated as a result of the draw.
- The Ultimate Warrior pinned Hercules (with Bobby Heenan), when Warrior raised his shoulder out of a half nelson suplex.
- In the first match of the quarterfinals of the WWF Title tournament, Hulk Hogan and André the Giant (with Ted DiBiase and Virgil), who had received first round byes, were both disqualified for using chairs. Both men were eliminated from the tournament.
- Ted DiBiase pinned Don Muraco (with Superstar Billy Graham) after a hot shot.
- The One Man Gang received a bye to the semifinals as a results of the Roberts-Rude draw.
- Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) pinned Greg Valentine in a WWF Title tournament quarterfinal match, with a roll-up after Savage countered Valentine's Figure Four leglock.
- Brutus Beefcake defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion The Honky Tonk Man (with Jimmy Hart) by disqualification after Hart hit the referee with his megaphone. Honky Tonk Man retained the title.
- Bobby Heenan and The Islanders (Haku and Tama) defeated Koko B. Ware and The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid), when Heenan pinned Ware after The Islanders dropped Heenan onto him.
- Ted DiBiase received a bye to the championship match due to the André-Hogan double-disqualification.
- Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) defeated One Man Gang (with Slick) by disqualification in a WWF Title tournament semifinal match, after the Gang tried to hit Savage with Slick's cane.
- Demolition (Ax and Smash (with Mr. Fuji)) defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Strike Force (Rick Martel and Tito Santana), when Ax pinned Martel after hitting him with Mr. Fuji's cane, to win the title.
- In the tournament final match, Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth and Hulk Hogan) pinned Ted DiBiase (with André the Giant) to win the vacant WWF World Title after a flying elbow drop, after Hogan hit DiBiase in the back with a chair. During the match, Savage had Elizabeth go to the locker room to bring Hogan to the ring after André had been interfering.

1988 - Up against the WWF's WrestleMania IV pay-per-view, TBS aired the very first NWA Clash of the Champions. The show got a 5.8 rating live from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. The results were:
- NWA World Television Champion Mike Rotunda (with Kevin Sullivan) pinned Jimmy Garvin (with Precious) at 1:10 in the second round of an "College Rules" match with a cradle.
- NWA United States Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane) defeated The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers) by reverse decision to retain the title. Fulton had originally pinned Eaton, but the decision was reversed because Fulton had thrown the referee over the top rope before the pin.
- The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk (with Paul Ellering)) and Dusty Rhodes defeated Ivan Koloff and The Powers of Pain (The Barbarian and The Warlord) (with Paul Jones in a Barbed Wire match, when The Warlord was pinned after The Barbarian accidentally headbutted him.
- Lex Luger and Barry Windham defeated NWA World Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard (with J.J. Dillon), when Luger pinned Anderson after throwing him into Dillon, who was on the apron.
- NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair fought Sting to a 45-minute time-limit draw. Ringside judges for the match were Gary Juster, Sandy Scott and January 1988 Penthouse Pet of the month Patty Mullen. The judges couldn't come to a decision on who won, and Flair retained the title.

1988 - All Japan Pro Wrestling also held an event at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. The results were:
- Mitsuo Momota pinned Tsuyoshi Kikuchi.
- Akira Taue and Isamu Teranishi defeated Haruka Eigen and Mighty Inoue, when Taue pinned Eigan.
- Masa Fuchi pinned George Skaaland.
- Samson Fuyuki, Ashura Hara and Toshiaki Kawada defeated Takashi Ishikawa, Shinichi Nakano and Motoshi Okuma, when Hara pinned Okuma.
- Tom McGee defeated Isao Takagi by submission.
- The Great Kabuki and Tiger Mask (Mistuharu Misawa) defeated Austin Idol and Tommy Rich.
- Big Bubba Rogers pinned Shunji Takano.
- Giant Baba and Hiroshi Wajima defeated Rusher Kimura and Goro Tsurumi, when Tsurumi was pinned.
- Abdullah the Butcher and Tiger Jeet Singh defeated John Tenta and Yoshiaki Yatsu, when Abdullah pinned Tenta.
- NWA United National and PWF World Heavyweight Champion Genichiro Tenryu defeated Stan Hansen by disqualification to retain the titles.
- Bruiser Brody pinned NWA International Heavyweight Champion Jumbo Tsuruta to win the title, ending Tsuruta's second reign and beginning Brody's third. It would be the final major title Brody would hold before his death four months later.

1992 - Eddie Gilbert defeats The Dark Patriot (Doug Gilbert) for the Global Wrestling Federation North American Heavyweight Title in Dallas, Texas.

1994 - All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling held its second-annual Wrestling Queendom event at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan. The results:
- AJW Junior Champion Candy Okutsu pinned Rie Tamada to retain the title.
- Little Great Muta defeated Little Abdullah the Butcher.
- AJW Tag Team Champions Miki Handa and Yasha Kurenai defeated Kaoru Ito and Tomoko Watanabe, when Kurenai pinned Watanabe, to retain the title.
- Hikari Fukuoka pinned Chaparita Asari.
- Megumi Kido and Nurse Nakamura defeated Suzuka Minami and Chikako Shiratori, when Kido made Shiratori submit.
- IWA World Women's Champion Manami Toyota pinned Plum Mariko to retain the title.
- Reggie Bennett and Eagle Sawai defeated Takako Inoue and UWA World Women's Tag Team Champion Yumiko Hotta, when Bennett made Inoue submit.
- Etsuko Mita and AJW Singles Champion Mima Shimoda defeated JWP Tag Team Champions Mayumi Ozaki and Cutie Suzuki, when Mita pinned Suzuki. This ended Ozaki and Suzuki's second reign.
- Dynamite Kansai pinned Sakie Hasegawa.
- UWA World Women's Tag Team Champion Kyoko Inoue defeated All Pacific Champion Toshiyo Yamada by submission to win the title, beginning her second.
- Akira Hokuto and Shinobu Kandori defeated WWWA World Singles Champion Aja Kong and Bull Nakano, when Hokuto pinned Kong.

1995 - Miss Texas (Jacqueline Moore) wins her 10th of 14 USWA Women's Titles in Memphis, Tennessee, ending Sweet Georgia Brown's third reign.

1997 - Danny Dee defeats Tarek the Great to win the IWA Mid-South Lightweight Title in Louisville, Kentucky. The title had been stripped that same day from The American Kickboxer.

1998 - Doug Gilbert wins the NWA National Heavyweight Title in Mount Holly, New Jersey, by winning a three-way match against Rocco Rock and Barry Windham. Salvatore Sincere had vacated the title on October 11.

2000 - Juggernaut and Dr. Luther win the NWA/ECCW Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title from the Glamour Order of Discipline (Johnny Canuck and Michelle Starr) in New Westminster, British Columbia, ending their fourth reign. The Glamour Order of Discipline won the title back the same day, beginning their fifth reign.

2001 - Chotaro Kamoi defeats Shark Tsuchiya for the DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Title, beginning his eighth reign.

2002 - Red defeats Qenaan Creed to win the Maryland Championship Wrestling Cruiserweight Title in Glen Burnie, Maryland, ending Creed's second reign.

2004 - After losing the title the previous day, Takeshi Morishima begins his second World League Wrestling Heavyweight Title reign, by defeating Rick Steiner in Bolivar, Missouri.

2004 - American Steel Ninja and Brass Munkey win the Carolina Wrestling Federation Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Title from Brad Attitude and Brad Rainz in Ramseur, North Carolina, ending their second reign.

2004 - El Rockero wins the WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title for the seventh time, ending Pablo Marquez's third reign in Caguas, Puerto Rico.

2004 - Sammy Ray defeats Ross Jordan in London, England to win the British Welterweight Title.

2004 - Shane Somers defeats Ricky Murdoch for the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Title in Plato, Missouri, beginning his third reign.

2004 - Mad Mike defeats Nikita Allanov to win the NWA East Heavyweight Title in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, ending Allanov's second reign.

2005 - Ricky Banderas wins his second IWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Title in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, defeating Kasey James.

2005 - Kenshin defeats Riki Senshu to win the DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Title in Tokyo, Japan.

2005 - Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX held the fifth event of its Strong Wind and Thunder tour at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The results:
- Hachimaki No Tetsu defeated Rikiya Fudo after a Twisting Mark.
- Ryouji Sai and Masato Tanaka defeated Tomoaki Honma and Osamu Namiguchi, when Sai pinned Namiguchi after a low kick.
- Sonjay Dutt pinned Tatsuhito Takaiwa after a Phoenix Splash in an AWA World Junior Heavyweight Title tournament qualifying match.
- C.W. Anderson defeated Kohei Sato to win the vacant NWA United National Heavyweight Title. The title had been stripped from Takao ÅŒmori on February 28 due to a lack of title defenses.
- Minoru Fujita and Ikuto Hidaka defeated Alex Shelley and Spanky (Brian Kendrick), when Hidaka pinned Spanky after a tornado DDT, to win the vacant NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Title. The title had been stripped from Kaz Hayashi and Spanky on February 28 due to a lack of title defenses.
- AWA World Heavyweight Champion Takao ÅŒmori defeated Steve Corino and Shinjiro Otani in a three-way elimination match to retain the title. Otani made Corino submit with the King Cobra Clutch, and Omori pinned ÅŒmori after the Axe Bomber.

2007 - The following press release was issued, announcing former WWE champion Brock Lesnar's first ever MMA bout:

World-Class Warriors to Clash at the L.A. Coliseum for Historic Mixed Martial Arts Extravaganza
Blockbuster Fight Series to Arrive on June 2nd in the U.S. for First Time on SHOWTIME(R) Pay-Per-View

LOS ANGELES , March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- FEG (Fighting Entertainment Group), ProElite and Showtime Networks today announced a deal to bring the immensely popular "K-1 Dynamite" mixed martial arts (MMA) series to the United States for the first time. Dubbed "Softbank presents Dynamite!! USA in association with ProElite," this SHOWTIME Pay-Per-View event will take place June 2 at the legendary Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which will host a mixed martial arts fighting event for the first time in its 74-year history.

"Dynamite!! USA promises to be one of the most exciting MMA events in history, and FEG is extremely excited to bring our production to this legendary Los Angeles venue," said Mr. Tanikawa , CEO of FEG. "Mixed martial arts has shown tremendous growth in recent years and events like this show that we are looking to raise the bar in making it one of the more popular sports in the U.S."

Headliners on the fight card will come from a variety of backgrounds, including 7-foot-2 South Korean giant Hong Man Choi , aka "Techno Goliath," who will face off against former NCAA and WWE wrestling champion Brock Lesnar. Also joining the fight card on June 2 will be mixed martial arts legend Royce Gracie and Johnnie Morton , a former USC Trojaanwide receiver and NFL star.

Hong Man Choi , a K-1 Asia champion, will be making his first U.S. MMA appearance at the June 2 event, where he will take on newcomer Lesnar, a North Dakota native who rose to WWE stardom in shows such as WWE Raw, SummerSlam and WrestleMania. Gracie, a 14-year MMA pioneer and UFC Hall of Famer, began his training in the discipline of Jiu-Jitsu and has taken on many larger opponents during his career, including 6'8, 486 lb. Sumo Grand Champion, Akebono, who Gracie defeated. Morton, a Los Angeles native and football star with University of Southern California and the NFL's Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers during an illustrious career, will be making his MMA debut at "Softbank presents Dynamite!! USA in association with ProElite."

The pay-per-view fight card, which begins at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT , will feature up to six fights, with co-main events. Prior to the pay-per-view, SHOWTIME will televise three explosive bouts featuring EliteXC stars Jake Shields , Antonio Silva and Gina Carano , free to SHOWTIME subscribers from 9-10 p.m. ET/6-7 p.m. PT. For pay-per-view pricing and ordering information, viewers should contact their local cable or satellite provider.

"Dynamite!! USA will offer one of the most diverse and exclusive fight cards to appear in an MMA ring, something we feel is important for our inaugural event in the U.S.," said Mr. Tanikawa , CEO of FEG. "All the fighters bring different sets of skills to the ring, which makes for truly entertaining combat. MMA fans stateside and around the world will be treated to a number of exhilarating matches and unique competitors that make these fights so exciting."

"Softbank presents Dynamite!! USA in association with ProElite" will combine the disciplines of karate, kickboxing and kung fu, as well as masteries of jiu-jitsu, judo and wrestling. The action takes place in a boxing-style ring, which provides easy accessibility for TV viewers and audiences. FEG matches take place in a controlled environment, where competitors are required to adhere to a series of rules and regulations. Fighters are not allowed to use elbows and attacks are not allowed to the head when one of the opponents is on the ground.

FEG holds events in more countries worldwide than any other MMA organization. The events, which draw in excess of 90,000 fans to packed arenas, have been broadcast in more than 130 countries, including New Years Eve prime time broadcasts that average more than 40 million viewers worldwide. Fans can purchase tickets for Dynamite!! USA at all Ticketmaster locations, as well as online at www.ticketmaster.com and the Coliseum box office. Ticket prices will range depending on locations. Seats are available both on the field and in the stadium bowl.

"Softbank presents Dynamite!! USA in association with ProElite" was brought to the United States from Japan with the financial help of Mr. Masayoshi Son , CEO of Softbank Capital, who, according to Forbes Magazine, is the richest man in Japan . Softbank, a leading telecommunications and media corporation, has been a key partner in the distribution of broadcasting and videogram rights throughout the world using Softbank's global network. As a result, the fighting competitions offered by FEG, such as "K-1," are currently viewed by spectators in more than 130 countries throughout Asia, Europe and Africa .

"As business partners, Softbank will combine FEG's excellent fighting sports content and event production expertise with SOFTBANK's strengths to pursue further global expansion," said Mr. Son . "We will fully support 'Dynamite!! USA' and offer blood-tingling sport scenes to audiences throughout the U.S."

"This fight card, with a star-studded field of international competitors is one of the most compelling pay-per-view offerings I have seen in a long time," said Ken Hershman , Senior Vice President and General Manager, Sports & Event Programming, Showtime Networks. "Showtime Networks has long been a leader in the pay-per-view business and we are proud to produce and distribute this event, as well as offer the compelling lead-in bouts on SHOWTIME. I would like to thank Softbank, FEG and ProElite for their tireless effort helping pull off this epic event."

Calling the action on both the SHOWTIME telecast and the Dynamite!! USA pay-per-view will be play-by-play announcer Mauro Ranallo . Iconic world wrestling star Bill Goldberg and veteran NFL reporter Jay Glazer will serve as color analysts. The executive producer of US telecasts will be David Dinkins , Jr. with eight-time Emmy Award winner John Faratzis directing

"The tremendous growth of the sport over the last few years clearly demonstrates a demand for MMA on television and its passionate fan base is a community which ProElite is building," said Doug DeLuca, CEO of ProElite.

In the weeks prior to the live event, SHOWTIME(R) will air a six-part series entitled "Countdown to Dynamite!! U.S.A.," profiling fighters, detailing the match ups and previewing the historic night of action. New episodes of Countdown will premiere every Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET /PT beginning April 30 , on SHOWTIME(R), with replays airing throughout the week on the network's multiplex channels. For a complete schedule of airings, visit to www.SHO.com/schedule.

Promotions partner ProElite will execute a range of marketing efforts leading up to the June 2 event. Through its ProElite.com Internet community which is an inclusive, social network for fans, fighters and MMA organizations there will be exclusive content and promotional opportunities tied to this event; visit www.proelite.com.

2007 - WWE broadcast ECW on Sci Fi.  Buck Woodward filed the following TV report:

ECW on Sci Fi for March 27th opened with them plugging that we would be hearing Bobby Lashley and Vince McMahon's "final statements" before the Battle of the Billionaires at Wrestlemania on Sunday.

Rob Van Dam vs. Elijah Burke

The fans were chanting for RVD before the first lock up. Van Dam swept out Burke's leg on the initial lockup. Burke grabbed a side headlock, but RVD turned it into a headscissors. They went into a bridge, but Burke used his weight to drive RVD into the canvas. Burke rammed RVD into a turnbuckle, but Van Dam fought back with punches. Burke slammed RVD and hit an elbowdrop for a two count. Burke ran into an elbow and Van Dam rammed him into a corner. Burke kicked RVD in the gut, but Van Dam flipped over a backdrop attempt and hit a side kick. Van Dam backdropped Burke, then crotched him on the top rope. Van Dam hit a top rope kick on Burke, knocking him off the rope and to the floor. There was a slight "ECW" chant. Van Dam hit a somersault over the top rope and to the floor, nailing Burke as they went to commercial.

Back from break, Burke had RVD in a chinlock. Van Dam elbowed out and swept Burke's leg. Van Dam went for Rolling Thunder, but Burke got his knees up. Burke hit a series of punches to the back and rubbed Van Dam's face into the mat. Burke hit a vertical suplex, then went right into a back suplex. Burke applied a surfboard, and there was an "ECW" chant. Van Dam stood up and back kicked to escape it, but Burke dropped Van Dam and applied a Texas Cloverleaf. Burke went down to one knee with the hold, but Van Dam broke out of it and grabbed the ropes. Burke stayed on Van Dam's back, and whipped him hard in the corner. Burke hit an elbowdrop in the corner, then mocked Van Dam's pose. Burke scored a pair of two counts, then drove some forearms into Van Dam's back before applying a chinlock. Van Dam broke out, but ran into a boot by Burke. Burke went to the top rope, but jumped off into a spinkick by Van Dam.

RVD hit a pair of clotheslines. Burke went for a kick, but RVD caught it and kicked Burke in the head. Van Dam hit a spinkick for a two count. Burke reversed a whip into the corner, but missed the double jumping knee in the corner (The Elijah Express) and crashed into the turnbuckles. Van Dam hit the five star frog splash for the clean win.

Winner: Rob Van Dam.

Marcus Cor Von, Matt Striker and Kevin Thorn ran in and attacked Van Dam, but Sabu, Sandman and Tommy Dreamer ran out and the New Breed bailed out of the ring. The did a staredown New Breed on the floor, Originals in the ring, and yelled at each other.

Extreme Expose danced, if you call it that, to a song by the Ying Yang Twins. At least they didn't befoul a Def Leppard classic this week. They did a bit where they wore hats. Guess who lost her hat and did the rest of the dance number with an "imaginary hat"? Yep, Kelly Kelly.

They went backstage, where Edge was with his partners for the night, CM Punk and the Hardys. Edge said that they don't like each other, but he was the first Money In The Bank winner, and they should listen to him. He said there were too many egos on the other team, and they could take out some of the opposition for Wrestlemania tonight if they work together. Edge walked off, and it didn't look like Punk and the Hardys were buying it.

Balls Mahoney vs. Snitsky.

Snitsky shoulderblocked Balls to the floor at the start, rammed him into the post, and put him back in the ring and kicked him in the chest. Snistky catapulted Balls throat-first into the bottom rope. Snitsky hit the big boot to the face and got the pin.

Winner: Snitsky.

They reviewed Vince McMahon's "win" over Bobby Lashley last night on Raw.

Backstage, Kennedy and Orton were whispering to each other. Fit Finlay and Booker entered, and Orton & Kennedy said they would see them later and left. Booker wondered what they were talking about, and Finlay said they were talking bad about Booker. Booker said he never trusted them, and that he and Finlay should watch each other's back tonight. Finlay agreed, then laughed and said that Booker could never trust him either before walking off.

They did the Vince McMahon-Bobby Lashley faceoff, which was done with both men joining us "via satellite". Vince immediately talked about how great it was to be in the WWE Studios in Connecticut, not Michigan. Lashley was backstage in Grand Rapids. Vince talked about partying after his win last night, and how Vince was looking forward to watching Lashley "let everyone down" at Wrestlemania. Vince said that Lashley's future in WWE is "bleak" and if he was in Grand Rapids tonight, he would walk up the Lashley and beat him up. Lashley simply said "Listen you old bastard, at Wrestlemania you are leaving as one bald son of a bitch".

Edge, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy & CM Punk vs. Randy Orton, Ken Kennedy, King Booker & Fit Finlay.

There was a ladder at ringside and the Money In The Bank briefcase was hanging above the ring. Everyone had their own entrance except the Hardys, who came out together. Edge came out last, then they went to commercial before the match began.

Back from break, Matt Hardy kicked Kennedy and hit the Side Effect, but Booker broke up the cover. Matt rammed Kennedy in a corner and tagged in Jeff. The Hardys hit a double back elbow and a elbowdrop/fistdrop combo for a two count. Jeff missed a splash in the corner and Kennedy tagged in Orton, who stomped Jeff down. Orton hit an uppercut and worked over Jeff with punches in a corner. Orton and Edge argued. Jeff leapfrogged Orton and hit the Whisper In The Wind but Booker broke up the cover. Matt tagged in and he and Jeff hit a legdrop combo on Randy for a two count. Matt tagged in CM Punk, who hit a double axhandle to the back of Orton, the followed with a vertical suplex. Kennedy broke up his cover.

Orton tagged in Finlay, who kicked Punk in the gut as Orton held him. Finlay hit some short arm clotheslines, then a sit down splash for a two count. Finlay slammed Punk, then dropped an elbow and tagged in King Booker. Booker kicked Punk on the mat and hit a series of right hands. Booker traded punches with Punk, then tagged in Finlay, who took Punk down with a chinlock. Punk fought up and elbowed out of it, then Finlay hit a clothesline to stop his momentum and reapplied the hold. Orton tagged in, and Punk rallied with kicks and punches, but Orton took him down with a clothesline and hit a kneedrop for two. King Booker tagged in and continued the beat down of Punk, until Punk reversed a whip and hit a jumping knee in the corner, followed by a bulldog. Punk then tagged Edge, who seemed annoyed at first, then got in the ring and acted like he was going to spear Booker. Edge then turned around and tagged Punk back, then dropped to the floor.

Punk and the Hardys argued with Edge, and this allowed Booker to knee Punk, but Punk came back with an enzugiri. The match broke down, with everyone running in, except Edge on the floor and Finlay, who stayed on the apron. Jeff tossed Orton to the floor and dove out on him. Matt fought with Kennedy, eventually ending up on the floor. In the ring, Punk was battling Booker, but Finlay hit him from the apron with the shillelagh, and Booker hit the ax kick for the win.

Winners: Randy Orton, Ken Kennedy, King Booker & Fit Finlay.

The winners started to argue amongst each other, and it broke out in a brawl. The Hardys came back in with a ladder and cleaned house on everyone, blasting them all with the ladder. Finlay suffered a nasty gash near his eye. The Hardys cleared the ring, then set up an extra-large ladder. They climbed up opposite sides and both grabbed the briefcase. They were talking to each other atop the ladder, and the announcers speculated what would happen at Wrestlemania if both of them were going for the briefcase in the Money In The Bank ladder match to end the show.

2008 - TNA broadcast Impact live for the first time ever from Orlando, FL, taking advantage of fans in the Orlando, FL area for the Wrestlemania 24 festivivies.  Devin Cox filed the following TV report:

2009 - World Wrestling Entertainment was continuing work on their latest attempt towards purchasing the Mid South/UWF video library owned by Bill Watt's ex-wife as they were in Georgia a week or so back doing due diligence on the library.   One of the major obstacles in the past had been the sizeable difference between what WWE was willing to pay to acquire the library and what Bill Watt's ex-wife, Ene and her sons felt the library was worth.  One source close to the family indicated the company hasn't given an official offer yet but spent several days looking over the quality of the footage.  In the end, the two sides were not able to make a deal and to date, the library remains owned by the Watts family.

2010 - Ring of Honor held their second Wrestlemania weekend event on Saturday afternoon 3/27 at Phoenix College's North Gym.  Mike Johnson filed the following live report: 

Ricky Romero vs. Kenny Omega

Omega and Romero locked up and Omegas rode him to the mat with a waistlock.  Romero escaped and they grappled back and forth until Omega escaped and they faced off.  Romero was going after the arm Omega hurt yesterday.  Omega nailed a dropkick and used a spinkick to knock Romero to the outside.  He went for a dive but Romero springboarded off the ropes into a rana, sending Omega to the floor.  Romero followed up with some strong kicks and mat work.  Omega made a comeback and dropped Romero with a suplex.  He nailed a sliding kick.  Romero powered back with a series of strikes, backing Omega into the corner.  Omega ducked and nailed him with big right.  He nailed a rana on Romero.  Omega went for an uranage but Romero turned it into a Lucha takedown, then hit a swinging DDT. 

Romero began peppering Omega with kicks to the legs.  Omega nailed a sliding kick to take out Romero.  He leaped over Romero with a leapfrog and brought him down with a bulldog.   Romero came back with a leaping knee in the corner.  Omega went for a big boot but Romero caught him with a dragon screw legwhip.  Omega came back with a series of back suplexes.  Omega nailed a leg lariat.  He went for a forward roll but Romero pancaked him out and locked in an anklelock.   Omega fought for the ropes and finally made it.

Romero stomped him in the corner.  Omega fought his way to the turnbuckles.  Romero legsnapped him off the ropes.  Omega went for small package and received a two count.  He finally nailed Romero with a back suplex and bridged for the pin.

Your winner, Kenny Omega!

Good solid opening with some nice offense from both men.  Romero really had a good showing this weekend.

Shawn Daivari vs. Human Tornado

Prince Nana took the mic and said that Daivari has something to say.  Daivari said he was born and bred in Minnesota, so he's just as American as anyone else here, but he's not a lazy bastard like all the fans.  The fans chanted "Welcome back."  They locked up and Daivari overpowered him early.  Daivari worked over Tornado's arm early.  Tornado came back with an elbow that sent Daivari to the floor and a forward running flip over the ropes.

Tornado missed a splash off the ropes.  Daivari worked him into the corner with shoulderblocks, then whipped Tornado into the buckles.  Tornado tried to toss Daivari out but instead ended up tossed.  When Tornado returned, Daivari locked in an abdominal stretch.  Tornado escaped with a hiptoss.  He and Daivari went back and forth before crashing in mid-air with bodypresses on each other.  Tornado recovered first and unloaded with a series of punches.  Daivari tried to dive at him in the corner but was kicked off.  Tornado nailed the disco kicks in the corner. 

Daivari finally covered Tornado and put his feet on the ropes for the pin.

Solid stuff.

Kevin Steen vs. Scott Lost

Steen attacked Lost before the bell.  Lost made a comeback and Steen ended up outside.  Lost went for a dive but Steen tripped him up and pulled him out.  Steen beat Lost on the outside.  He pulled Lost back in the ring and stomped him.  He tossed Lost outside and ran for a dive, then stopped, slid out of the ring and punched Lost in the face.  He whipped Lost into the corner.  Steen missed a flip legdrop and Lost covered him for a two count.  Lost came off the top for a bodypress but Steen caught him and nailed him with a driver. 

Fans began to sing "Ole Ole" to mess with Steen.  Lost rolled him up for a two count.  Steen clobbered him and yelled at the crowd to stop distracting him.  He began choking Lost but broke at the four count several times.  Whne Lost did it back, Steen screamed and demanded a DQ.  Steen kicked Lost in the back, then cinched in a chinlock.  Steen whipped Lost in the corner but missed a splash.  He nailed a Downward Spiral over the knees for a two count.  Steen caught him with a great DDT for a two count.

The crowd started to get behind Steen, so he blew snot at the,.  Lost drilled his knees into Steen's back.  Steen came back with a swanton for a two count.  Steen caught Lost with a superkick and went for the package piledriver but Lost escaped and hit a blitz of offense.  He went for a rear kick but Steen avoided it and powerbombed him.  Steen nailed the package piledriver and scored the pinfall.

Your winner, Kevin Steen!

Steen's work this weekend was awesome heel stuff.  This was a really good competitive bout.  In fact, it may have been too competitive considering Steen's strong push.

They announced Chris Hero was unable to wrestle.  He was limping backstage.

Bison Smith & Joey Ryan & Claudio Castagnoli & Prince Nana vs. Necro Butcher & Briscoes & Skullkrusher Raschke Brown

 Team Briscoes won a fun, crazy eight man that had way too much to even try to recap.   Highlights however including Necro locking one of the heels in an abdominal stretch and using all of his partners and even a fan in the first row to get leverage and a comedy spot where Nana teased a dive after all the babyfaces hit big dives, only to find himself in the ring with Brown and freaked out. 

During intermission, they made some fans dance in the ring to get free tickets for tonight's Total Extreme Comedy show.

Scorpio Sky vs. Kenny King

Sky worked over King early with armdrags and armbars.  Sky used kicks to keep King off balance.  King came back with an inverted atomic drop for a two count.  King choked Sky in the ring using his boot.  Sky used head scissors to send King to the floor and hit a huge flying dive over the ropes.  King came back with a kick to the head and a series of suplexes.  King missed a charge in the corner.  Sky nailed a karate kick off the top, then drilled King with a sidewalk slam.

King hit a pumping kick on Sky for a two count.  Sky smalled packaged him for a two count,  Sky nailed a leap into a top rope frankensteiner for a two count.  They battled atop the top rope.  King was shoved off but landed on his feet and kicked Sky in the head.  King nailed a DDT off the turnbuckles for a two count.

Your winner, Kenny King!

Solid.

Steve Corino vs. Jerry Lynn

Corino took the mic and said that the fans should be chanting his name, not Jerry Lynn's.  He said that while Lynn is one of the best wrestlers today, Corino is a legend.  He said that not only is he a legend, but he's a nice guy.  Corino said that he has a lot of respect for Lynn so he can transform Lynn like he did Kevin Steen.  He said that in Los Angeles years ago, Lynn beat the hell out of him.  Corino said he wants to return the favor tonight.  Last night, Lynn's battle with Kenny King was excited and orgasmic.  Fans began chanting boring.  He said that while everyone else is destroying their bodies, they are veterans and the smart ones.  He asks Lynn to forfeit so they can not have a bout.  Lynn said that the match last night was his idea of a good time and asks Cary Silkin to make this match a hardcore match.  Silkin agreed.  Corino was mad and Lynn asks what was wrong.  Corino tried to walk out, so Lynn called him a puss.

Corino went after Lynn but Jerry got the better of him and knocked him to the floor.  They battled around the ring and back inside.  Corino pitched Lynn back to the floor.  He grabbed a piece of guard rail.  Lynn drilled him with a steel chair.  He slammed Corino into a railing, then grabbed a fan's cane.  They continued to brawl around ringside.  Lynn was busted open.  Corino worked over Lynn with punches on the floor.  Corino set up a chair in the corner but Lynn used a headscissor to slam him into it.  They went back to the floor.  Lynn tossed Corino into the crowd and did a running dive over the rail into a clothesline.

They battled in the crowd.  Lynn dove off the hard camera platform onto Corino.  They finally returned to the ring.  Corino brought in a ladder.  Lynn suplexed Corino onto the ladder for a two count.  Lynn was whipped into the ladder but reversed it.  Corino hit the ladder, which them collapsed on him.  Lynn slammed it with a chair, then covered Corino for a two count.  They began fencing with chairs.  Lynn kicked Corino in the head for a two count.

Corino pulled a table into the ring as Lynn set up several chairs.  Corino took him out and bridged a guard rail over the chairs.  Lynn stomped Corino.  Corino made a comeback and superplexed Lynn onto the railing.  Lynn kicked up at two.  Corino set up another table in the corner and tried to death valley driver Lynn through it.  Lynn escaped and tackled Corino into it.  Lynn went for the cradle piledriver but Kevin Steen came out and distracted him.  Lynn rolled up Corino.  Corino kicked out and sent Lynn flying into a Steen chairshot.  Corino covered Lynn, who kicked out.

Corino went to the top but Lynn threw a chair at him.  He nailed a twisting DDT for a two count.  Lynn began painting his face with Corino's blood.  Corino lowblowed him.  El Generico's music hit and Generico hit a bit running boot on Corino.  Lynn drilled Corino with the cradle piledriver and scored the pin.

Your winner, Jerry Lynn!

REALLY entertaining hardcore match.  A nice little ECW style here.

El Generico & Colt Cabana vs. The American Wolves

Richards and Cabana went back and forth early.  He maintained the early advantage and tagged in Generico.  Generico nailed Edwards with a leg lariat.  He and Cabana tagged in and out, working on Edwards.  Generico and Edwards chopped each other back and forth.  Edwards caught Generico with a kick to the head and the Wolves began working him over.  Richards catapulted Generico into an Edwards punch.  Edwards dropped a knee on Generico and locked on a single leg crab. 

Generico fought his way out and made the hot tag to Cabana.  Cabana nailed the flying a-hole on them.  He clubbered each of the Wolves but they kicked him in the gut.  He fought back with two elbows.  Cabana suplexed Richards, who landed on his feet.  Generico leaped off Richards' back to dive onto Edwards.  Cabana nailed the butt butt on Richards.  Richards began beating down Cabana but Generico hit the ring with a tornado DDT.  Cabana covered Richards for a two count. 

Edwards caught Cabana with a clothesline for a two count.  He nailed a leaping kick to Cabana in the corner.  Generico came off with a flying bodypress for a two count.   The Wolves mauled Generico and got several near falls.  They went back and forth until Cabana nailed an over the shoulder backbreaker for a two count.  Richards and Cabana went back and forth with strikes and punches.  Richards was brainbusted by Generico on the turnbuckle as Cabana forced Edwards to tap to the Billy Goat's Curse.

This was absolutely incredible.  One hell of a fun back and forth match.  ROH began an angle where El Generico and Kevin Steen finally faced off, but alas....

Unfortunately, due to needing to attend the WWE Hall of Fame and ROH running long, I missed the final two matches.  The remainder of the report is filed by JP Nichols

Match Number Seven: Colt Cabana and El Generico versus The American Wolves (Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards)

Cabana and Generico defeat the American Wolves when Cabana makes Edwards tap to the Billy Goat’s Curse. At the same time Generico hit the top rope brainbuster on Richards.

Kevin Steen comes out after the match and throws Cabana out of the ring. Steen is trash talking to Generico and calls Generico a bitch. Steen says that Generico doesn’t have the balls to him. Steen attempts to hit Generico, but Generico blocks it. Corino runs out to make the save for Steen. Cabana returns to the ring with a chair and chases Steen and Corino away. As Steen heads to the back, he says that he was always the soul of the team with Generico. Cabana throws his gun at Steen and Steen catches it. Steen then starts to chew Cabana’s gum.

Jim Cornette comes out and asks how many of the people in the crowd are from out of state. He then asks them if they think that ROH kicks ass. Cornette then explains the rules for the Gauntlet and then he mentions the Big Bang pay per view next weekend from Charlotte, North Carolina. Cornette thanks everyone for coming and then he thanks everyone for coming to the show. He tells everything that “business is about to pick up”

Match Number Eight: Personal Challenge Gauntlet

First Match: Roderick Strong versus Austin Aries

During the match, Strong hit a release Gibson Driver off the top turnbuckle but while Aries landed in the ring, Strong went through a table at ringside. The referee threw up the ‘x’ and Adam Pearce and Jim Cornette come out to check on Strong.

Austin Aries gets on the mic and tells Black to come out since he was supposed to have a match.

It is announced that Aries will be facing Black for the Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Title.

Roderick Strong comes out with his shoulder taped up and the match is turned into a Three Way for the title.

2010 - WWE held their 2010 Hall Of Fame ceremony, headlined by the induction of Ted DiBiase.  Here is our original live report on the event, filed by Mike Johnson.

We are live at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremonies.  WWE had signs posted warning fans not to catcall and also announcing video streaming was prohibited.  Todd Grisham welcomed everyone to the event, at which point the WWE talents began to take their seats.

Among those here are Gene Okerlund, Blackjack Lanza, Dusty Rhodes, Tony Garea, Nick Bockwinkel, Steve Keirn and Billy Kidman.  

As Batista entered he passed, and then stared down, John Cena.

Gorgeous George, Ted DIBiase and Bob Uecker will be inducted on the USA Network special.

Jerry Lawler was introduced as the host.  He said it is his favorite night of the year and he's honored to be hosting.  He introduced the "future Hall of Famers", the current WWE Superstars.

The first inductee is Mad Dog Vachon.

WWE is giving the inductees a five minute time limit for their speeches.

They aired a video feature on Mad Dog Vachon.

Lawler said that Vachon even struck fear into the hearts of his tag team partners and introduced the only man who has "jokes older than his", Pat Patterson.

Patterson said he was happy to be here but it was strange because tonight he's inducting a "mad dog" and two years ago he inducted an "old bag", Mae Young.

Patterson said when he broke into the business in Montreal, he was scared to death of Vachon.  Years later, he was making no money in Boston and got a letter from Vachon booking him in Portland and that's what set his career off.

He said Vachon always tried to help the careers of French Canadians.  Patterson made some jokes because he forgot what he was going to say.  He said he's excited for tomorrow and is pulling for Shawn Michaels, who in his book is the best he's ever seen.  He then said he was looking forward to seeing Vince McMahon get his ass kicked because "Bret got screwed."

Patterson said when he had his first Portland payday, he received $300 and thought it was too much.  Vachon told him that was his pay and the promoter probably screwed him anyway.

He told stories of Vachon coming to his house when Vachon got into domestic troubles and Patterson told Vachon he was going to "ruin my reputation" (by staying in his house).  Everyone laughed.

He said he was proud to induct Vachon and introduced him.

Mad Dog Vachon came out in his wheelchair. He started doing one of his old promos and finished with "I'm Mad Dog Vachon and I approve of this message."

Vachon said he believes he had 13,000 matches and became a wrestler because of his name.  He said growing up his nickname was 'Vachon the Pig.'  He said when he got into fights as a child, his dad told him it was okay, as long as he won.

Vachon told the story of getting the Mad Dog name, and he told the story of working for Don Owen in Portland Wrestling.  He was told to be wild because he would be feuding with Curtis Iaukea.  He said he attacked his first opponent, then attacked his referee.  A policeman tried to hit him with a stick and he threw him into the third row.  When he returned, Owen told him he 'looked like a Mad Dog' and it fit him perfect.

Patterson asked him to tell the story of the night he opened a plane in mid-air.  He had too many drinks while flying back to Minnesota and opened the door.  He could be feel himself being pulled out and said "Its a good night to die." He was charged $500 for opening the door, so he never did it again.

Vachon told some stories of starring in commercials in Montreal.  WWE cut his speech as he was going long and rambling a bit.

Jerry Lawler said that if had a dollar for every time he was asked where Jim Ross was, he's be a Million Dollar Man.  He then introduced Ross, who got a huge reaction.

The second inductee is Wendi Richter.

They showed a video feature on Wendi Richter.

Jerry Lawler noted that the Rock and Wrestling Connection began on a segment of Piper's Pit and introduced Roddy Piper.

Piper asked if anyone can believe tomorrow is Wrestlemania and quipped he was there when it 'didn't have a number.'

Piper said he lived with Mad Dog Vachon for two years.  "There's a reason I act like this."

Piper said the early 80s was a time of feminism, which he didn't appreciate until he had his daughters.  He said you had to do tough things back then, 'like date Moolah and live.'

Piper said it was an exciting time and he got to knock out Hulk Hogan and Mr. T.  He then saw something come under the ropes and he kicked it.  He said he ended up "kicking a girl who only wanted to have fun."

He told lots of 80s stories about celebrities being involved in the Rock and Wrestling era.  He said Wendi Richter came along and he always had a crush on her.  He said Wendi had a way to bring class to the NWA, where he first met her, and the WWF.

Piper mentioned he hated the Rock and Wrestling cartoon and said they once had a cartoon where Wendi Richter beat him in a knighting contest.  He said she was a fierce competitor who gave everything for the fans and was a classy lady outside of it.

Piper called Richter 'the Sandra Bullock of wrestling' and introduced her.

Wendi immediately joked that Piper had to repeat his introduction after the show and said he was 'the best mouth in the business.'

Richter said this was her dream and she was humbled to be here, but it "Was about damn time!"

She told the story of seeing wrestling for the first time live because her friend wanted to see it.  It was in Shreveport, Louisiana and the night was destiny as she saw The Fabulous Moolah and was mesmerized.  She told her friend 'I think I can do that' and beat Moolah and four years later, which she did in New York City.

Richter said she approached Sputnik Monroe about getting into wrestling and he tried to discourage her but she had to follow her dreams.  She talked about her best opponents, naming Velvet McIntyre, Joyce Grable, Leilani Kai, Princess Victoria and Judy Martin.  She said they were wonderful people and great wrestlers.

Wendi told a story of touring Japan and using what she learned there in the United States to become what was then described as a 'rough babyface.'

Richter thanked her fans for standing behind her for 25 years and thanked Cyndi Lauper for skyrocketing her career overnight.

Richter said that all she ever wanted was respect and feels that she has that tonight. She said a female wrestler has to work 'twice as hard for half the pay' and is honored to have paved the way for the stars of today.

Richter said 'there's a place where you can touch a woman and drive her crazy... her heart'... and everyone did tonight.  She finished off saying 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun.'

The third inductee is Stu Hart.  

They aired an awesome video on Hart's career.  They showed Natalya on the screens crying after the video.  Lawler introduced Bret Hart.

Hart came out, followed by all of Stu's children. Bret said he didn't know where to start, and didn't have enough time, but his father was a great wrestling promoter and was almost loved as much by the wrestlers as his own children.  He said Stu worked on a 'handshake deal' and that was rare.

Hart said the man he longs to be is the man he felt his father was.  He said there were wrestlers in his life from the day he was born and the family loved and misses that time.  He said there were so many things they loved about the wrestling business.

Hart said when he was a child, on a school night, he remembers one of the Cadillacs his dad used to transport wrestlers was stuck at the front gate of the property.  Bret said he saw it was stuck, then dozed back off to sleep.  His father went down to see who it was that was stuck.  It turned out it was a kid who tried to steal one of the cars because the keys were in it.  His father dragged the guy back up to the house.  Bret thought it was his brother Smith.  Stu began stretching the guy in the kitchen and suddenly the brothers realized they were all accounted for upstairs.

Stu stretched the guy for three or four hours, then instead of calling the police, he called the kid's parents to get him... and gave the kid a job as an usher.  Bret said for years he would see that kid and think it was amazing how quick things change.

Bret said its like that for a lot of wrestlers who got their starts in Calgary.  He said it was a great accomplishment to start there.

Hart said that Stu had a great sense of humor similar to Owen Hart.  There was a big "Owen" chant.  Hart said in the 70's Hart was famous for 'Mable Parties.'  He told a story of The Great Antonio being ribbed about a girl named Mable who liked him, and Antonio believing it was real.  When they went to see Mable while her husband was away, one of the wrestler's brothers would play her husband, show up with a gun and shoot blanks at them.  The 'shot' wrestler would tell Antonio to run.  Antonio found the police and, of course, when the cops arrived all they found were all the wrestlers laughing about the rib... and Antonio had to sit in the back of the police car worrying while the police enjoyed a few drinks with the wrestlers.

Bret said that Stu had a tough reputation but he was a funny and loving man.  He said they all missed Stu and life has never been the same without him.  He said that Calgary wrestling was something you had to see to believe and they gave everyone a truly special wrestling product.

He said that his father will live on forever now that he's in the WWE Hall of Fame and thanked everyone for that.

The next inductee was Antonio Inoki.

They played a video on Inoki's career.

Jerry Lawler introduced Stan Hansen.  Hansen said he 'spent the last few decades in Japan and never did one interview', so please bear with him if he stumbles a little.

He said he wrestled all the top competitors in Japan and they were hard ranks to climb.  He said Inoki stands alone in many respects.  "Inoki was a household name with everyone in Japan - that's how over he was."

Hansen said that Rikidozan learned of a pure Japanese athlete living in Brazil and brought him back as a young star to train under him.  He said the rest of the story is that Inoki became an icon in Japan.  Inoki was excited about promoting pro wrestling - Hansen emphasized PRO WRESTLING - and said he was lucky enough to be a part of that.

He talked of Inoki putting together a Boxer vs. Wrestler match and that launched MMA.  He said Inoki did it as a wrestler.  He said Inoki used pro wrestling to promote peace and Inoki used his power to go to North Korea and Iraq.  He said Inoki pushed the envelope and went to India and Pakistan before anyone else to try and broaden pro wrestling.

Hansen said that after the Shea Stadium show (where Hansen faced Bruno Sammartino), Vince McMahon Sr. got him booked for Inoki in Japan.  At the time, Hansen didn't know much about how over Inoki was.

One time, Hansen's back was bad.  He and Dynamite Kid got on an eight hour train that stopped every twenty minutes.  He said they went to the southern part of Japan and were sent to chiropractors.  They used flame and a cup to kill the pain in a vacuum.  The doctor told Hansen he could 'adjust him' to where he would be impotent, to which Hansen said "Whoa!"

He told a story about Inoki wrestling Jack Brisco in Japan.  Hansen, Chavo Guerrero and Steve Keirn are watching in the back.  Inoki goes over and starts tossing his winnings out of the ring to the fans.  Hansen said that it showed how much the promotion gave to the fans.

Hansen told a story of wrestling Inoki in Sapporo and having Inoki choked outside against a railing.  Hansen said he doesn't see very well without his glasses.  He sees someone winding up to hit him then the person tossed an egg on him.  Hansen said he hopped the rail and followed the fan around.  He said he knew the fan would trip over someone, and he did.  He 'taught the fan a lesson' and the next day, there's big trouble and he needed to go to a police station.  He spent the entire day being questioned.  He leaves to go to the show and there's the fan, all bandaged up, bowing and apologizing.  Inoki had told the fan about the trouble and the fan went on to become a great sponsor for Hansen.

Hansen said it was his honor to tell some stories and induct Inoki into the Hall of Fame.

Inoki said his English is bad, and that he started in Japan.  He thanked everyone for attending the ceremony.  He said it was an honor for him to receive such a prestigious honor and the timing was perfect, as his first match was 50 years ago this year. Inoki said he was proud to develop professional wrestling and martial arts.

Inoki then spoke in Japanese with a translator.  He said he wanted to thank his fans in Japan and those who came here for the ceremony.  He said this year is his 50th anniversary and he appreciates the fans and everyone who worked on inducting him.

He said he's been watching many of his matches recently and the most famous was the fight against Muhammad Ali.  He said after the match he was able to build a nice friendship with Ali, and via that friendship, he was able to attend an event in North Korea that drew 190,000 people twice.

He said with the skills he developed as a wrestler, he was able to promote a 'Sports for Peace' event in Iraq.

He thanked all his fans.  He said he's been working on unique events and would like to promote a card in Antarctica with WWE to promote Global Warming awareness.

Inoki did his traditional Japanese cheer after explaining it to the crowd and asking them to do it with them.  They all did.  A really nice speech.

Jerry Lawler talked about celebrities in wrestling and said the next man is just as important as any of them.  He brought out Dick Ebersol.

Ebersol said 25 years ago tonight he was producing one of his last Saturday Night Live episodes and had Hulk Hogan and Mr. T doing a sketch on the show.  He said Hogan got so carried away, he laughed and couldn't read his cue cards.

That was the night before Wrestlemania 1 and it led to the launch of Saturday Night's Main Event.  He said that he's never had more fun than he did when working to produce WWE programming for NBC.

Ebersol said that Bob Uecker has had the most extraordinary career of any sports personality.  He said Bob had a ten year career, only batted .200 and yet is still in the Cooperstown Hall of Fame.

Ebersol introduced a video on Uecker.

Ebersol told the story that brought Bob Uecker to Wrestlemania 3.  They had gone to Detroit six weeks before the PPV to survey the site and figure out how to get everyone into the building.

He said Vince McMahon was trying to get Uecker, who didn't "get it" to appear.  Ebersol said they would go visit Uecker to convince him.  Ebersol sent for Jesse Ventura to come help.

They arrived and called Uecker and told him they were at his hotel. They needed two hours and a "lot of beer" to get Uecker to agree.  He said Uecker had the time of his life but didn't know it was coming when Andre the Giant put his arms around him and he was scared to death.

He introduced Bob Uecker.

Bob Uecker said he had a lot to say but "Inoki stole his speech."  Uecker said he wasn't always a great player and his father didn't know a lot about sports but wanted him to do everything the other kids did.  His dad got him a football and they didn't know how to throw it, so they kicked it around until a nice neighbor filled it with air for him and "What a difference that made!"

Uecker said that he was interested in wrestling when he was 75 or 80 pounds.  He told a story about being so poor his mother made him an athletic supporter from a flour sack "and the flour would fall out."

He told some funny baseball stories and showed off his Hall of Fame ring.  He joked that "everyone else got a diamond," but he got a zircum.  He talked about dreaming of a world championship ring... and his was tossed into the field and he had to find it during the fifth inning.

Uecker said that he met Dick Ebersol years ago and mentioned some of the shows he was involved in.  When he was called to do Wrestlemania, he said he initially said no because it was during Spring Training but it turned out to be one of the best things he ever did in his life.

He told a story of Jake Roberts asking him to take a picture with Damian.  He asked who Damian was and Jake said, "He's in the bag."  Uecker said, "So am I. Pass me another beer."

When they got to Detroit, he got to meet everyone and was having the time of his life.  He said he had spent time with Andre the Giant but had no idea it was coming.  Uecker said if the camera had stayed on them we'd have seen him on top of Andre with Vince yelling for him to let Andre go because he had a match.

Uecker said when he was a kid, his grandma did wrestler's laundry and told a story of putting on Dick the Bruiser's tights.  He talked about watching Milwaukee wrestling in the Rendezvous Ballroom.

Uecker continued his self deprecating lines and joked a lot.  It was hilarious.

Uecker said that all of the things he's had the chance to do in his life, some of the best times he's had were with WWE.  He said he was amazed by how jam packed the place is tonight and is amazed by the body punishment the wrestlers put themselves through.

He thanked everyone for their time and laughter.

Jerry Lawler introduced a video of Gorgeous George.

Lawler then introduced 'the only man here who can say he wrestled George three times' - The Destroyer Dick Beyer - who came out wearing his mask.

Destroyer said he is extremely excited and pleased to honor Gorgeous George with the WWE Hall of Fame.  He said in college he watched George when George was big, made money and brought entertainment to pro wrestling.

Destroyer talked about George's Bobby Pins and wishes he had 2,000 to sell on Ebay.  He told the story of wrestling George for the first time and learned that George could indeed wrestle. 

Going forward, a Los Angeles promoter wanted to put a mask on Destroyer and he thought he was crazy.  16 months later the promoter wanted to take it off and Destroyer said 'not tonight'.  This led to Destroyer's next story.

George owned a bar in the area and invited Destroyer to visit.  The bar would have been the equivalent of the best sports bar today and had tons of photos of celebrities, but the bar was empty.  George said he needed a payday and pitched Destroyer's mask against George's hair.  Destroyer didn't want to lose his mask.  George said not to worry and wanted to do all the pomp and circumstance.  The promoter, Jules Strongow, agreed to do it and George submitted to a figure four. As they cut George's hair, Destroyer felt bad that he helped ruin the first image that brought entertainment to pro wrestling.

Destroyer said George was 'the living orchid' and had a mask for George's widow Betty.  He said he was proud to have inducted George into the Hall of Fame.

Jerry Lawler introduced Betty Wagner, Gorgeous George's former wife, to accept on his behalf.

She said George was gorgeous. Her mother told George he was gorgeous, and they decided that was it for his name.  Betty said she made all of George's robes.  She told stories of her kids running around in the wrestling robes.

Betty was asked if there was anything else she wanted to say about George and she said she didn't want to 'tell everything' and thinks it was time she should go.

A short but funny and sweet induction.

Jerry Lawler asked for everyone to stand and applaud all the inductees since the crowd ignored the "Applause" signs.

Jerry Lawler said their final inductee once wrote a check so big, his bank bounced.  He sent us to a great Ted DiBiase career video.

Lawler introduced Ted and Brett DiBiase to induct their father.

Brett said his father was getting inducted and Ted was getting his first Wrestlemania match tomorrow, so tonight he was going to talk about him.  He and Ted did a comedy bit about playing with wrestling buddies and Ted dressing like Scary Sherri as kids.

Ted said they were honored to induct not just one of the greatest villains WWE ever produced, but a good man.  Brett told a story that his father once told him how he only despises three things...a liar, a cheater and a thief.  His father taught them a man is only as good as his word.

Ted said that the success and talent his father had as an in-ring performer is undeniable and the Million Dollar Man character will forever be cherished by those who love the business.

Ted said his father has more passion than anyone he's ever known and is proud to carry on his name in this business.  He said that they are so proud of their father and for the level of character and integrity he brings.

Jerry Lawler introduced Ted DiBiase, who came out with the Million Dollar Belt.  DiBiase said that like an American Express card, he never leaves home without it.

He says that it is an amazing night.  There are moments in life that you can't put a price tag on and for him, tonight is that "priceless" night. He said to be in the Hall of Fame means he's been honored by his colleagues and he's very honored and humbled to join a very long line of legends in the business.

DiBiase said he had some many things and stories that went through his mind.  He said there are some stories that are too good to be true.  He told a story about 1987.  For the last 12 years before that he had worked hard and wrestled in no-name towns and one day the WWE calls.  The next day, he's in first class heading to New York.  A limo takes him to Stamford and he meets with the brain trust.

They tell him they have an idea for a new character that would be 'truly evil.'  For this character he would fly the best airlines, stay at the best hotels and have a limo take him everywhere he goes.  He joked it was a hard job.

They told Ted they wanted to make him one of the best villains and he thought the fans and the wrestlers would hate him.  They handed him several thousand dollars and sent Ted and his wife to New York City to spend it while staying at the best hotel.  He told his wife that 'their ship had come in.'

DiBiase thanked Harley Race, Terry Funk, The Briscoes, Dick Murdoch and Killer Karl Kox.  He thanked Harley for trying to save Iron Mike DiBiase's life the night he had a heart attack in the ring.  Ted said ten years later he was in the ring against Harley in his first world title match.

DiBiase pointed out his wife Melanie and praised her for giving him a second chance and for being his rock.  DiBiase thanked God and Jesus Christ for his mercy.

DiBiase said you can't talk about the Million Dollar Man without talking about Virgil.   He told a story about Virgil picking up their bags and then realizing they didn't have the Million Dollar Belt.  He raced back to the Atlanta airport and there's no briefcase at the carousel.  He went to the baggage officer who had it.  The baggage officer told him he had no idea how lucky DiBiase was that they had the briefcase.  DiBiase said, "No, you don't know how lucky I am"... and opened the case to reveal the belt.

DiBiase praised Arn Anderson before addressing the younger stars.  DiBiase said his father told him not to go out for anything he isn't passionate about.  He told them to be passionate about what you do, live your life with integrity and work hard.  He said the person with the biggest heart and the person who is the most dependable will get the job.

DiBiase said this was a moment where he wishes his father was here and believed his dad would say "Job well done."

DiBiase thanked the fans for the night and this moment.  He then said that just in case anyone doubts that "you don't have a price and can't be bought"...he went into a Million Dollar promo and they dropped a ton of money down on the crowd.

They brought out all the inductees and ended the ceremony. 

2010 - Dragon Gate USA taped their Mercury Rising PPV taping at the Celebrity Theater.  Mike Johnson filed the following live report:

Dark Match: The Cutler Brothers, Malachi Jackson, and Chimera defeated Irish Airborne, Derrick Neikirk, and The Prophet.

I only saw a few minutes of this as I was setting up my laptop to do coverage but it was solid.  Neikirk looked good.

Dark Match: TJP vs. Brad Allen

They circled each other and Allen shoved TJP into the corner.  TJP rode Allen to the mat.  Allen and TJP went back and forth on the mat.  TJP grabbed a rear chinlock but Allen got to the ropes.  TJP kicked him in the back.  They locked up again, this time with Allen working the arm.  TJP flipped to get out of it and nailed a dropkick.  Allen got up and slapped him in the face.  TJP nailed a neckbreaker.  TJP kicked Allen in the chest.  He nailed a flying bodypress off an Irish whip for a two count.   TJP went for a leapfrog but was caught and powerslammed.  Allen used his boot to choke TJP in the corner.  He whipped and clotheslined him, then used the ropes as a spring to drop a pair of knees.  TJP nailed an elbow as Allen charged.  He went for a bodypress but Allen rolled through and nailed a Fall Away Slam.  Allen slammed him to the mat by his hair, then locked in a side chinlock.  TJP tried to rally back.  He attempted to fake out Allen by using the ropes but was kicked out of the ring to the floor.  Allen went for a suplex and TJP reversed it.  They ended up falling over the top rope to the floor.  When they returned to the ring, they went into a series of near falls.  TJP kicked Allen in the head and drilled him with a cutter.  He went to the top rope and hit a 450 splash but Allen kicked up.  Allen nailed  a TKO for a two count.  TJP caught Allen with a cross armbreaker.  Allen muscled him up but TJP turned it into a sunset flip and pulled him into a Sharpshooter.  Allen tapped.

Your winner, TJP!

They were really working hard and were obviously out to steal the show.  Solid.

Dark Match: Jigsaw & Mike Quackenbush vs. The Young Bucks

Nick and Quack started and went back and forth counter-wrestling.  Quack worked on his arm so Nick punched him.  Quack caught him with a leg lariat.   Jigsaw and Matt Jackson tagged in.  Dueling chants for the two teams.  Jigsaw tied up Matt's leg but Matt grabbed the ropes to force a break.  They went back and forth in some Lucha spots.  Jigsaw locked Matt in a Gori Guerrero Especial.  Nick and Quack got  involved.  Quack dove over the top on him.  Jigsaw attempted a dive but Matt laid him out.  Nick came off the top with a missile dropkick.  The Bucks began working over Jigsaw.  Jigsaw fired out of a side chinlock but was caught with an elbow.  The Bucks tagged in and out.  Matt held his arm while Nick came off the top with a double stomp.  Nick held it while Matt moonsaulted onto it.  The Bucks knocked Quack off the apron to keep working on Jigsaw.  They continued to geat heat on Jigsaw with double team maneuvers.  Jigsaw came back to nail a dive on Matt.  Quack began cleaning house on Nick Jackson, who came back with a cutter.  The Bucks sent Jigsaw and Quack into each other.  Matt nailed a Buff Blockbuster on Quack.  Jigsaw drilled him with a series of kicks and a brainbuster but Nick broke it up.  There was a sequence of a ton of superkicks.  Quack came off the top with a double stomp onto Nick as Jigsaw nailed an emerald frosion.

Your winners, Jigsaw and Mike Quackenbush!

The fans chanted, "That was wrestling" after the match.  This was a crazy paced Lucha style tag.  There wasn't a lot of psychology in it past the opening minutes but just all out crazy stuff.  The Bucks took the mic after the match.  Matt said that when Dragon Gate USA started, it put them on the map.  They had one of the biggest matches of their career and they ended up destined for stardom.  He said that tonight they got to wrestle two of the best wrestlers in the world.  While they would have liked to have left on a higher note, Jigsaw and Quackenbush swung for the fences and "may have even taken our spot."  They said Jigsaw and Quack are the new team to beat.  They all shook hands in the ring.  The fans chanted, "Thank you Young Bucks" as they exited DGUSA for the final time.

At this point, they began taping the PPV and counted the crowd down for the opening.

Genki Horiguchi vs. Shingo

Shingo powered Genki to the mat with a headlock, then shoulderblocked him down.  He caught Genki attempting a leapfrog and slammed him down.  He drilled Genki with a series of elbows but was caught with a dropkick.  Genki tied up Shingo on the mat.   Genki slammed him and went for a moonsault but Shingo got his knees up.  He began beating down Genki.  Shingo suplexed him over and ran him into the turnbuckles.  He brought him down with a chinlock and began using a submission.  Genki used a Lucha armdrag to escape but was caught with a powerslam.  Genki tried to chop away at Shingo but it didn't have much of an effect.  Genki kicked off a charge.  He nailed an inverted DDT, then came off with a missile dropkick to the back.  Shingo went for a powerbomb but Genki turned it into a rana.  Shingo caught him with a running clothesline, then nailed a death valley driver off the ropes for a two count.  Shingo dropped on his head with a back suplex, a lariat and a Michinoku Driver for the pin.

Your winner, Shingo!

Shingo is just a beast, throwing around and beating the crap out of Horiguchi.  Good stuff.

Jimmy Jacobs came to the ring for his three way dance with Tommy Dreamer and Jon Moxley, but instead Teddy Hart made his way to the ring and took the mic.  Hart said that he's never been hurt in his career, but he was last night.   I was told he ripped up the ligaments in his shoulder and will likely be out awhile.  Hart praised Paul London and Brian Kendrick and went on and on about being hurt and not being able to wrestle.  It was your typical Tedd Hart, i.e. it was intense but all over the place and hard to follow.  Hart began praising Jimmy Jacobs and said he could fill Hart's shoes tonight., I guess in the scheduled tag match.  Jacobs agreed.  Hart went on and on and on and on.  Brian Kendrick finally came out and said this is all a lot of nothing, which was a total shoot, because it was.  Kendrick and Jacobs challenged each other where the loser of the fall leaves DGUSA.  They were setting up a tag but it was confusing in that they never out and out explained what the hell was going on.  Kendrick and Hart went back and forth.  Paul London was out there too.  He and Kendrick said they were sorry that they injured Teddy and that it wasn't intentional.  Hart put them over and hugged them as he left, they jumped him.  Jack Evans hit the scene, so....

Dark Match: Jimmy Jacobs & Jack Evans vs. Teddy Hart & Jack Evans

They battled around the outside before it settled into a traditional tag match.  London and Kendrick worked over Jacobs.  Evans made the hot tag and cleaned house with dropkicks.   Evans hits a space flying tiger drop to the outside on London and Kendrick.  Jack hit a springboard 450 splash.  London superkicked Evans into Kendrick, who slammed him down.  Jacobs jumped in and it settled down to London and Jacobs.  London nailed a tornado DDT.  Jack nailed a standing splash.  Jack rana'd Kendrick over the top to the floor.  London went up for a 450 splash but Evans kicked him and pulled him down.  Evans went for the 630 splash but London put his knees up.  Kendrick began slapping Jacobs, who clotheslined him.  Kendrick kicked Jacobs and nailed sliced bread #2.  Kendrick locked in a camel clutch.   Jacobs escaped and rolled up Kendrick for a two count.  Jacobs locked in his choke on Kendrick.  London went to help but Evans hit a springboard dropkick.  Kendrick finally tapped.

Your winners, Jack Evans and Jimmy Jacobs!

Brian Kendrick must leave DGUSA.   London attacked Evans but Hart lowblowed him and nailed a piledriver.   If he's as hurt as they were claiming, that was just stupid to do.

Weird stuff.  The entire segment seemed all over the place to start and in my mind, never recovered.  It was all very contrived in terms of the set up, as if it could have been done simpler.  The match was very similar in that it was insanely spectacular at points and at others, it was just there, sort of like a Sabu match that didn't hit on all cylinders.  I give them all a hell of a lot of credit for the effort, though.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Jon Moxley

Dreamer got a huge ECW chant before he even got to the ring.   Dreamer took the mic and thanked the fans for his reception.  Dreamer said this is a very important weekend for a lot of wrestling fans.  He said that as someone who was at the first Wrestlemania with his father, he thanked everyone for supporting the business.  He said there are a lot of people who work in the business who don't wrestle for WWE and thanked everyone for supporting them.  He said since his match was changed, he asked for an old school Tommy Dreamer violent no rules match.  The place chanted "Thank you Tommy."  Moxley had Christina Von Eerie with him.  They went back and forth and faced off.  They began shoving each other and went nose to nose.  Moxley began chopping Dreamer.  Moxley mounted Dreamer and began choking him.    Dreamer came back and clotheslined him over the top to the floor, then hit a sliding kick.  Dreamer hit a cannonball off the stage.  He put the ring bell on Moxley's nether regions and rang it.  Dreamer spit water in Moxley's face.  They brawled into the audience.  Dreamer nailed Moxley with a trash can.  He tossed a second can into the ring and elbowed Moxley across the throat.  Dreamer went to the ropes but Moxley crotched him.  Moxley drilled him several times with the can.  Moxley choked him on the ropes, then hit a superplex.  Dreamer was bleeding from the can shots.  Moxley cinched in an STF.  Moxley went for a dropkick but was caught and turned into an Indian Death Lock.  Dreamer clotheslined Moxley for a two count.  Dreamer grabbed a chair and slammed it over Moxley's back.  He set up Moxley but Moxley reversed it and nailed a drop toehold into the chair on Dreamer.  Dreamer nailed a sitdown slam and a DDT but Christina hit the ring and broke it up.  Dreamer grabbed her for a piledriver but the referee broke it up.  Dreamer nailed the referee.  Christina slapped Dreamer.  Dreamer piledrive hger.  YAMATO and ran in and attacked Dreamer.  Moxley covered him but Dreamer kicked out.  Dreamer piledrove Moxley for a two count.  Moxley locked on a sleeper but Dreamer pulled him into an attempted Spicoli Driver.  Moxley nailed a DDT and pinned Dreamer.

Your winner, Jon Moxley!

Fun hardcore match.  Fans didn't seem to buy Moxley going over, but that's what Dreamer is all about. 

YAMATO vs. Susumu Yokosuka.

Yokosuka rode YAMATO to the mat early.  He controlled the match early.  YAMATO caught him in a choke.  YAMATO nailed him with a backbreaker.  YAMATO defeats Yokosuka with a Gallaria (inverted facelock into a sit out slam piledriver).  I actually fell ill during the bout and headed back to my hotel (I've just gotten over a bad sinus infection and was pushing it pretty hard this weekend and my body finally forced me to tap, so when I get a screener for the PPV, I'll write my thoughts from the rest of the show. ) BxB Hulk, Naruki Doi, and Masato Yoshino defeat CIMA, Gamma, and Dragon Kid when Yoshino made Gamma tap to Sol Naciente.

Thanks to JP Nichols for the results of the last two PPV bouts.

2011 - Daizee Haze and Tomoka Nakagawa defeated 3S on Shimmer Volume 40 in Berwyn, IL, ending the reign of 3S after one day and two successful title defenses.

2011 - WWE ran Indianapolis, Indiana.  Thomas Green filed the following live report:

I went to the Raw house show tonight at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. I don't know building capacity, but it looked like they sold 3/4ths of the available seating (they tarped off about half of the cheap seats). Of course, that could be a high estimate, given that the empty seats were unusually scattered, so they might've done worse.

1) Randy Orton defeated The Miz (w/Alex Riley) via disqualification in a WWE Title match when CM Punk interfered. -I'm assuming they did this exact same match (and show, in fact) in Evansville and Champaign. Orton was setting up for the finish when Punk ran out and attacked the leg he hit with the wrench on Raw, then the GM dinged in to announce the main event with these three and John Cena (the only guy on this show to get that genuine mega-star reaction).

2) Evan Bourne, Santino Marella & Vladimir Koslov (w/Tamina) defeated Tyson Kidd and the Usos when Evan Bourne hit Air Bourne on an Uso. The faces' reaction absolutely did not match their push on TV; they got about as good of a reaction as you would see midcard acts get during the late-90's when anyone with a catchphrase was over. The crowd even came up for Koslov both times he tagged in. Speaking of Koslov, this was a perfect match for him, as Bourne and Santino (who's improved more than he's given credit for, seeing him live) worked almost the entire match, then Koslov came in to occasionally shove guys over. Tamina even got a good reaction when she backdropped Kidd (who took a HUGE bump for her).

3) The Great Khali defeated Zack Ryder in seconds via big chop.

-It was depressing seeing how unover some of the undercard heels were, but there was unover and then there was Zack Ryder (who I adore personally). People were literally scattering in my section, asking who he was and if he was a good or bad guy. Ryder came out, cut a promo to crickets, then Khali did the big chop and it was over. It's bizarre seeing people in the front row literally freaking out at Khali's size when he walks by.

4) Sin Cara beat Primo with a DDT out of a flying headscissors. For a guy who's only been on TV in vignettes, Sin Cara got a pretty big reaction for his entrance. There were even a gaggle of largely-Caucasian kids in one section who were chanting "MISTICO!" at him, which surprised me to no end. Unfortunately, it looks like the dumbing-down of his moveset has begun, as he did one neat dive and his top rope hurricanrana where he lands on his feet, but otherwise didn't do anything too physically impressive. He even did the generic developmental clothesline/back elbow-crazy comeback. Primo also seemed to hold him in a chinlock FOREVER and talking to him, almost as if they were attempting to train him in front of an audience on how to sell WWE-style. It was a weird match.

5) John Morrison beat Dolph Ziggler via pinfall after Starship Pain. It was absolutely terrifying how not over Ziggler was during his entrance, considering how high up the card he's been booked the past few months. Morrison got a decent reaction, but almost entirely female. They ended up having an alright little match where they got the crowd by the end. Dolph channeled his inner-Zbyzsko, stalling for minutes upon end before locking up.

R-Truth brought out fans for the dance contest they've been doing in all of the towns. A small child won hands-down for doing the cabbage patch and other lovely 80's breakdancing moves.

6) Eve Torres & Natalya defeated Melina and Alicia Fox. This was the post-intermission match. Sadly, I missed the first half since I timed when I could leave for the bathroom during intermission badly, but what I saw was shockingly not rough, considering the Divas' reputation.

7) Sheamus beat Daniel Bryan (with Gail Kim) via pin after the High Cross in a United States Title match. Best match on the card. For the reputation that indie guys have coming into WWE that they can't work big for bigger buildings or that they can't work for the crowd, Bryan was probably one of the few guys on this card who seemed to know how to work differently for the building, as opposed to TV. He moved a lot bigger, emoted out to the audience more, and so on. Bryan, like people have mentioned, didn't have as much heat coming out as he would've a few months ago, but they absolutely got the crowd with it by the end. Bryan got Sheamus in the LeBell Lock late in the match and it was such a good false finish that it seemed like the majority of the building thought they were getting a title change. Great match.

8) Randy Orton & John Cena beat CM Punk & The Miz (w/Alex Riley) when Orton & Cena hit simultaneous finishers on their opponents. No one on this show could TOUCH how over Cena is. Ring announcer Justin Roberts shilling Cena merchandise before intermission got a bigger reaction than most of the undercard. Punk cut a promo before the match, first threatening to beat up the entire crowd by himself, before burying the contestants in the dance-off from earlier. I haven't read detailed reports of the other house shows this weekend, but Punk seemed to finish his promo off with a rib on Alex Riley, where he demanded the audio guy play dance music so Alex Riley could show the crowd that he dances better than them. Riley "busted a move", as the kids would say, before all of the heels did a wacky lucha-style pose on their knees to signal the faces' entrance. Punk was ridiculous (in a great way) in this match. He did a deal that I think he tried on TV once, where he LEAPED high in the air when Cena slid into the ring and did this ridiculous fall trying to catch him. Punk was also hilarious selling shock and awe during the nearfalls in a ridiculous, over-exaggerated way.

Overall, I thought it was a strong show considering these guys are probably saving their bodies for Wrestlemania next weekend. Everyone seemed to go home happy. It was just shocking how not over every heel that wasn't Miz or Punk was (except for Tyson Kidd, who also worked a lot more charismatically than his reputation would suggest).

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