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6/22 THIS DAY IN HISTORY

On this day in history in ...

1980 - Ray Stevens & Jimmy Snuka defeat Rick Steamboat & Jay Youngblood for the NWA World Tag Team Title in Greensboro, North Carolina, ending Steamboat & Youngblood's second title reign.

1990 - Bill Dundee defeats John Tatum for the USWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Dallas, Texas. Dundee started his third run with the title, winning back the belt he lost to Tatum only seven days earlier.

1992 - Clash of the Champions XIX was shown on TBS.  This marked the first and only time that a Clash Of The Champions event was not aired live.  The matches were taped in Charleston, South Carolina at the McAllister Fieldhouse on June 16th, even though the show did not air until after the Beach Blast PPV on June 20th. Here are the results of the show, which was built around first round matches in the NWA World Tag Team Title Tournament (the rest of the tournament was held at the Great American Bash Pay-per-view):
First round matches:
- Ricky Steamboat & Nikita Koloff defeated Joe & Dean Malenko.
- Rick Rude & Steve Austin defeated Marcus Bagwell & Tom Zenk.
- Terry Gordy & Steve Williams defeated Larry & Jeff O'Day.
- Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Miguel Perez, Jr. & Ricky Santana.
- Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes defeated Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton.
- The Freebirds (Michael Hayse & Jimmy Garvin) defeated El Texano & Silver King.
- Jushin Liger & Brian Pillman defeated Chris Benoit & Beef Wellington.
- Akira Nogami & Hiro Hase defeated The Headhunters (Arn Anderson & Bob Cook under masks).
Quarterfinal match:
- Terry Gordy & Steve Williams defeated Rick & Scott Steiner.

1995 - Smoky Mountain Wrestling ran Jenkins, KY, featuring the following results:

Boo Bradley (the future Balls Mahoney) defeated Killer Kyle
Steve Armstrong defeated SMW Heavyweight Champion Buddy Landel via disqualification
Tracy Smothers & The Dirty White Boy defeated the Headbangers
The Rock N' Roll Express, Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated SMW Tag Team Champions Al Snow & Unabom (the future Kane).

1996 - Chris Jericho defeats Pitbull #2 for the ECW World Television Title at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  This was Jericho's first major title win in the U.S.  Up to this point in his career, his only title reign had been a brief run with the NWA Middleweight belt, which he held in Mexico as Corazon De Leon.  Dave Scherer filed the following live report:

ECW returned to the hallowed grounds of the ECW Arena for Hardcore Heaven ‘96 on 6/22 with a show that had its ups and downs. There were a few major surprises (that unlike last show were not built up beforehand and thus were more effective), but there also were a few major low points.

Starting with the plusses, Terry Gordy, looking better in the ring than he has in years, debuted as Raven’s mystery opponent in the ECW Title match. They shot a great angle with the Sandman and Raven, which was marred slightly by technical errors. Just as pleasant a surprise to me was the return of the greatest ring announcer in the world, Bob Artese. There were also some really good wrestling matches. The promotion drew their record crowd of 1,511 paid (helped in part by new bleachers all around the building), actually turning away people at the door. And the crowd was hot throughout the show. While there were some things that I did not like personally about the show, I would be lying if I said that the vast majority of the fans felt the same way. Almost unanimously, they loved the show and that is what the promotion is looking to deliver.

On the other side of the coin, as Summer arrives, the temperature in the building goes up with it. I always thought that there is no air conditioning in the Arena, but found out recently that there is, but it was not designed to cool a building filled with 1,500 people. In the old days, the promotion used to have to end the show by 11:30 so that the building could be converted over for midnight bingo. Ever since bingo changed nights, the shows routinely run past midnight and on this night, in part due to equipment breaking but in part due just to the length of the show, the card did not end until after 1 a.m. Now, I love graps. I love watching graps and being at a show. But 5 hours is a long time to spend at any show. There were changes in two of the tag matches, including the Tag Title match, that were necessitated by outside factors, but still meant that the company did not deliver on advertised matches. Again, to almost the whole crowd, that didn’t matter a bit. In addition, there was yet another instance of brain farts by cretinous fans who took the opportunity of pandemonium during a match to throw almost every object that was not nailed down into the ring.

And in something that I am not sure if it was a high or a low, but it damn sure was ugly, Tommy Dreamer took the next bump in his seemingly steady progression towards dying in the ring.

Ring announcer Joel Gertner opened the show by saying that he has been with the company for nine months now and talked about how Michael Buffer was his idol. He mentioned the “president of my fan club, Mr. ‘Shave your neck’ himself, Arizona John ... he loves me.” The running joke here is that John, one of the original Bleacher Bums, rides Gertner like a Harley at every show. John responded to Gertner with a well deserved two fingered salute. Anyway, Gertner went on and on until finally, the Sandman came out and wailed him repeatedly with his cane, which got a huge pop from the fans. Sandman, no doubt, took a little extra pleasure in this because a few weeks ago, Gertner announced him, before a match with Taz, as “The next victim in Taz’s path of rage.” Chucklehead.

Sandman took the mic and called for Missy Hyatt (who has gotten collagen shots in her lips and was wearing a long, permed blonde wig), and told her to “Bring out that guy who looks likes he belongs on top of a wedding cake,” and she brings out Bob Artese, the long time ring announcer who had left the company but like the swallows to Capistrano, returned on this night. The crowd gave him a great pop. Sandman then ran down Gertner, presented Bob with the mic, and told Missy to “get him,” which she did by kissing him. The crowd chanted, “He’s hardcore.”

In the opener, Shane Douglas defeated Mikey Whipwreck in an outstanding match. There are a lot of rumors going around concerning WCW offering Mikey a contract, and it in fact are the truth. Mikey was offered a deal, for a limited number of dates we are told, but at this point he is leaning towards staying with ECW. Personally, I hope that the fact that WCW would want him opens peoples’ eyes to what a good worker he is and puts mud on the faces of those who were saying this past week that Mikey was at the WCW Bash in Baltimore begging for work. Nothing could be farther from the truth. This match saw both guys do a lot of great stuff, with Mikey flying and Shane with his mat moves. Douglas had some good heel heat for the first time in a while. Early on, they went outside the ring. Mikey had Shane in the first row and hit a great springboard senton onto him. Mikey did a legdrop on him on the floor.

Back in the ring, both men traded Figure Four leg locks. Mikey then hit a dropkick to the face from the top rope for a two count. Mikey hit a DDT for a two count. Shane got back on the offensive and hit a belly to belly suplex for the pin. It was a really strong match by both guys. Shane took the mic and was mercifully short in his comments, which were nothing of any importance.

Oh, and for some reason, Shane pulled down his pants and exposed his genitals. Why? Maybe he was hot too. For whatever reason, as a female subscriber told me after the show, “He has nothing to brag about.” Ouch.

Quite possibly, the biggest pop of the night went to Joey Styles as he came out to the ring to do the open for the TV show. He said that Eric Bischoff took a lame powerbomb and that if was really tough, he’d come to Philly and let the Sandman “cane his a**.” He brings out “Baron Von Stevie” and Bluedust, who of course were Stevie Richards mocking Baron Von Raschke and the Blue Meanie mocking Goldust. They were both pretty funny, though Meanie in that garb could give small children nightmares for years to come.

The purpose of the interview was to say that later on they would present Raven the “dirty whore” he had asked Richards to get for him. Bluedust was doing the gay act on Joey and then Stevie went to put the claw on him before Styles, fighting back his laughter, knocked the claw off and left the ring, acting disgusted.

The next match saw the Full Blooded Italians come out in their usual fashion, to Frank Sinatra’s “Fly me to the moon.” J. T. Smith presented a new member of the team, who ended up being Sal Bellomo. Ugh. Their opponents were Big Dick and Buh Buh Ray Dudley. Most of you know how I am anti-star ratings, but if you have to rate a match, maybe we could changed the bottom of the scale to a “Dudley,” you know, like “Coleslaw Duggan and Lex Luger’s match was a friggin’ Dudley man.”

At the beginning of the match, Buh Buh dogged D-Von Dudley on the mic. Early on, the Duds completely dominated the FBI, who are really largely just a job team. About midway in, Dick grabbed Sal and took him to the back, but did not come back out. This left the FBI to “dominate” Buh Buh, except he did not sell all that well. This match went WAY too long, like 20 minutes or so. For a five minute match, it would have been OK. The finish came when, as the FBI was beating up Buh Buh, D-Von came in with a chair and hit the FBI with it, getting the Duds DQ’d. D-Von told Buh Buh that he always has to bail him out and then hit him with a chair.

They hit the Dudleys’ music and Dick came out, to a strong pop from the crowd. D-Von left, out of the front door, and Dick followed him. I did not care for it, but I guess the rest of the fans did. Buh Buh then says, “D-Von, you ain’t nothing but a big f**kin’ p**sy. One thing that Big Dick loves to do is rip apart big f**kin’ p**sy.” Buh Buh then, for some unknown reason, took his pants off and jawed at a fan.

The next match was the much hyped shootfight between Taz and Paul Varelans. It only went about 4 minutes and was a major letdown. Taz made a grand entrance with his “team,” which consisted of the Eliminators, Shane Douglas, and Rob Van Dam. The match was not much, just a some knees and armbars, until Saturn went up to the top rope, hit a dropkick to the back of Varelans head, and Taz put him into what looked like a version of the Tazmission choke for the win.

Varelans rolled to the floor and eventually he was taken out. Word I got was that Varelans, proving that his mental capacity does not match his physical size, realized that doing a job meant he had to lose. Duh. So they booked a finish where he could so without losing his heat with the UFC.

Taz went to do an interview and that was when the promotion found out that one of their two mics were broken. After he got the mic that worked, Taz had great heel heat, telling the crowd, “I f**ked yas again. You thought this would be a shoot, but I f**ed yas again.” People were giving him shit, and he was encouraging them to come into the ring, insulting them when they wouldn’t. He said that the only person he wants is Sabu. Taz was great on the mic and is a great heel.

Stevie Richards, Super Nova, and Raven then came to the ring. Nova was great doing a putz gimmick, and Stevie is Stevie. Richards recaps the angle about finding a dirty whore, and presents Raven with the Sandman’s “ex-wife” Peaches. She bowed down before Raven and did the same schtick that Kimona did with him. Sandman and Missy came out and Sandman said, “This is supposed to piss me off?” He says that he passed her around to the locker room before. He tells Raven, “When your done with her, you’ve got to pay your f**kin’ bills,” and he throws down the microphone. Now, did I mention how they were working with one mic? Well, now they had none as it broke when it hit the mat. This sent the promotion scrambling as the angle was only partly done.

Stevie and Nova tried to be goofy and entertain the crowd while the sound guys worked their a**es off trying to fix the mics. Finally, they wired a house mic from the top stage, but it took a while and took some of the heat off of the angle. Peaches stayed out for a while, but finally left. When they got a mic working, Raven said to Richards, “Why did you let her stay on me as long as you did?” He said that it was obvious that the Sandman couldn’t care less about her and calls Richards a “f**king moron.” They ended up finishing the angle later.

Then “Freebird” played and Terry Gordy made his ECW debut, taking on Raven for the ECW Title. Gordy looked a lot better than he did last time I saw him, and I am glad he is apparently possibly getting back to where he was. The crowd popped huge for him when he came out, chanting his name. The match was very good, with both of them brawling through the crowd early on and Raven juicing like a river. The blade has made its way back. They did a lot of power spots and chairshots on their way around the building. When they got back in the ring, Gordy was on the offense when Richards tried to superkick Terry, but Bam Bam caught Stevie’s leg. This gave Raven the chance to nail Gordy with a crotch shot. Somehow, Raven got barbed wire and went to use it on Gordy but Terry ducked, hit a clothesline, and put on his spike hold to Raven’s neck.

Gordy had Raven beat when Richards and Nova came in and tried to pull Gordy off, but couldn’t. This brought on a run-in-a-thon as Tommy Dreamer came out and did a double DDT on Raven’s lackeys. Brian Lee came out and chokeslammed Dreamer. Gordy then hit a powerbomb on Lee. Gordy took the barbed wire and put it around Raven’s head, which was more Jesus Christ symbolism for Raven. Gordy then repeatedly rammed Raven’s barbed head into the turnbuckle. The ref tried to break it up and Gordy pushed him down. The ref bump let Richards come up and hit a superkick on Gordy, who was then DDT’d by Raven and was pinned. Dreamer then DDT’d Raven. Lee chokeslammed Dreamer on a chair.

Finally, out came the Sandman, who made the save for the faces. Kimona and Beulah came out. Peaches then came out, this time with a Raven-like grunge look and with her and Sandman’s 6 year old son, and stood with Raven. Raven told Sandman, “If you want me, come get me, but go through your son.” Sandman acted stunned and asked his son what was up. His kid replied, “Daddy, you’re a drunk,” and he said he was with Raven now. Sandman was destroyed. Raven then went off on Dreamer about having “unprotected sex with my old lady” and told him he has no sperm count to impregnate her. Beulah then challenged Peaches to a catfight. Bluedust came out as the other heels left. Kimona grabbed Dust by the crotch and Beulah DDT’d him, to chants of “She’s Hardcore.” It was a wild scenario that will play well when it airs on TV.

The first match after intermission was scheduled to be the title shot, as the Gangstas were supposed to take on the Eliminators for the ECW Tag Titles. The Gangstas were slated to win the belts, but due to a combination of New Jack’s going ballistic after Brian Pillman’s use of the word “n***er” at the last show combined with the fact that he worked a local show recently for Angel Amoroso’s tiny TCW promotion led to the promotion changing the plan as, though Jack was not told that he could not work for Angel, they would have liked it if they were consulted first. Of course, Jack was less than happy about this so there was a lot of heat surrounding it this weekend.

It was billed on TV as the Gangstas' last title match though and with them not getting the titles, they had to do something. Back to the match. The Elims were waiting in the ring when The Gangstas came out. The Gangstas of Paradise, from about three weeks in the WWF fame, attacked the Gangstas before they hit the ring. Then, the Bruise Brothers came out and attacked the Gangstas too. The Elims just stayed in the ring. After the heels left the bloodied babyfaces laying, Saturn takes the mic (which was fixed during the intermission) and told the Bruises that they did not do them any favors and they did not ask them for help. He called them out for a match, and they came. The two teams brawled back and forth for while, doing some good stuff. There were table shots, chairshots, and other psychotic spots. They went at it until the Gangstas came out and everyone brawled everywhere. Refs came out and broke them all up. The last ones in the ring were the Gangstas. New Jack tells the Elims that it ain’t over. It ended as a no contest. Most of the fans ate it up.

They followed this with another run-in-a-thon as the Gangstas of Paradise, Samu and Mack Daddy Kane, were to wrestle Axl Rotten and Hack Myers, which they did for a few minutes or so before run-in-mania part two took over. The Samoans did some OK spots early, but the crowd chanted, “Who gives a f**k,” “You fat f**k,” and “Yokozuna” at them. The Samoans had Hack in the ring and they did an “X” sign before hitting a double head butt. This, of course, brought out the Gangstas, who attacked them for stealing their gimmick and attacking them earlier. Hack and Axl left as the Elims and the Bruise Brothers came out.

They were all beating the hell out of each other as the refs tried to pull them apart. And then it happened. Again. Many fans, in their infinite (lack of) wisdom, started throwing Powerade bottles, soda cans, and damn near everything that was not nailed down, into the ring. Seeing this stuff used to really piss me off, but as I watched it this time, I almost did not care. In a sense, I guess I thought that it was the way it is anymore. It was quite a surreal sight to see a large part of the building throwing garbage into the ring, all the while chanting, “ECW.” If the promotion wanted to, they could stop it, but I get the impression that they don’t care, so why should I? While this was going on, the dressing room cleared out and I saw Buh Buh Ray Dudley beeline into the crowd and go after a fan who threw something at him. I don’t know if he hit him the fan or not, but I would not blame him if he did. I also saw a fan get his head busted open when he was hit by a chair that was thrown. He was probably chanting “ECW” too. I saw three fist fights break out during this as well. I don’t even feel like making my now standard, “This is a lawsuit waiting to happen speech” because what’s the point of it anyway? Bob Artese put it best before the next match when he said, “Some things never change.”

They did follow the debacle with a super match, for the TV Title, between Chris Jericho and Pit Bull Two. Pit, who is way over, was seconded by the fabulous Francine, clad in a bikini. This match opened with Pit doing a lot of power moves, and Jericho taking some major abuse. Later on, Jericho went on the offensive and somehow Pit got color on his head. Jericho is simply a fabulous worker and Pit did a good job of staying with him here. Their different styles, which would cause a conflict for some workers, meshed well because both guys went out of their way to put the other guy over. Jericho did a lot of cool kicks, ranas, and even did a blind moonsault press onto the floor. Pit did all of his power spots.

Toward the end, Shane Douglas came down and tried to leave with the belt. Francine stopped him. He kissed her, and she spit on him. Pit went to clothesline him, but Shane moved and he toasted Francine instead. Pit toasted Shane and Jericho went to do a splash on the floor, but no one was there. Shane got up and tried to leave with the belt, but the ref stopped him. Pit One came out and carried Francine out. They then did a lot of near falls until finally Jericho hit a NASTY rana from the top and got the pin, and the title. In a classy display, Pit Two presented the title to him and raised his arm, and the crowd ate it up. Pit Two hugged Chris while the crowd chanted, “Lionheart.” Chris then went out in the crowd and led an “ECW” chant.

There has been a lot of talk of Jericho going to WCW, but given his win here, I think it tells you he will be in ECW at least for a little while longer. The promotion has less than good feelings towards Kevin Sullivan and WCW right now, as Sullivan is continually trying to take the group’s talent. Paul Heyman would not knowingly build up a star for them.

Next up was the weapons match between Tommy Dreamer and Brian Lee. I popped huge for Lee, as did my bro the Rat, because Lee came out to Blackfoot’s Train. Sure, most of you never heard the tune before, but it rocks. They had about 10 people bring out the weapons that the fans had brought with them to the show. Bob Artese told the fans not to throw shit in the ring. Beulah and Kimona pushed a shopping cart full of weapons to the ring, and Dreamer ran in and attacked Lee from the blind side. They started in the ring, and it was as crazy and insane as you would expect. Then, they brawled around the ring and outside the building for what seemed like five minutes.

When they came back in, and this will shock you, Tommy was a bloody mess. They brawled some more in the ring until Lee hit a chokeslam. He grabbed a cinder block and put it on Tommy’s crotch and then grabbed a bat. Beulah came up into the ring and Lee went for a chokeslam on her. This brought Kimona up on the ring and she started to take her top off. This got Lee’s attention. Beulah hit Lee with a pan, and Dreamer DDT’d Lee onto a “Stop” sign to get the pin.

The Bruise Brothers, of course, then came out and it was time for the next stop on the “Tommy Dreamer’s Bumps of Death” tour. Well, he went through two tables from the top stage to the second stage at the last show, so it stood to reason he would go through three tables here. But from where? How about from over the doorway to the floor? Works for Tommy, works for me. They went up over the landing above the entrance and, after the Bruises set up three tables, Lee chokeslammed him through all of them, dropping an easy twelve feet in the process. As stupid as it is for him to do, it is numbing to watch.

After Tommy sold it like he was dead, they took him out the front of the building and to the back. Amazingly enough, he was unhurt except for splinters from the table sticking up his a**. Seriously. Rumor has it, at the next show they are going to rent a helicopter, put Dreamer in a flannel suit soaked with gasoline, hover at 5,000 feet above the building, set him on fire, drop him, and see if they put him through the roof of the building. Just kidding. I think.

By this time, it was nearing midnight and we had yet to have the main event. It was discovered that the ring had fallen apart and was in no shape for a match, especially one that would involve two flyers like Sabu and Rob Van Dam. As the ring crew took it apart, the crowd grew restless. Stephen DeAngelis, an office guy in the company, came up with the great idea to have Kimona do a striptease on the top stage. Being the press has its privileges, as I was in the front row for this one. Let’s just say Kimona has done this before, and she has done it well. Many photographers took many pictures and they will be made available here in an upcoming issue. Ah, what the hell, we’ll even run some of them.

It was after 12:30 when Paul Heyman finally got on the mic and told the crowd that the ring was messed up and that the fans could either leave now with a refund or they could stay and watch Sabu vs. Rob. The fans largely cheered and stayed. Heyman then said it again, which he shouldn’t have as we got three calls from people who went to get a refund, but there was no one there to give it to them. Kathy Fitz, who does a fantastic job with the tickets for ECW, had long since “closed up shop” for the night, so she could not have possibly known to be by the door. This miscommunication by Heyman ticked off a few of our readers. Speaking of Kathy, belated birthday wishes go out to her.

Anyway, Paul went on to say that he did not know if the ring was going to hold up, but he was going to try and have them go out and do the match. It didn’t. A minute or two into the match when one of the guys was Irish whipped into the ropes, there was a loud crack, and for the rest of the match the ropes were as soft as my stomach.

In spite of that, Sabu and Van Dam still managed to put together a really good match under less than ideal conditions. It was made all the more impressive because Sabu, who came to the ring wearing a neck brace, has legitimate trouble in his shoulder and neck right now. After the ring snapped, Sabu was visibly pissed, but recovered almost immediately and devised new ways to do his spots. Defying the softness in the ropes, Sabu did a lot of springboard moves off of them anyway, showing incredible agility and balance. Early on, they went out onto the floor and Sabu crotched Rob on the guardrail and then did a wild tope. Sabu went after him on the floor with a chair, and when he went to hit him a second time, he smashed his fingers into a metal beam, hurting them. He called for duct tape to tie them together. I am serious.

You would not even have known as they went from one wild spot to another. Van Dam cleared a section of the bleachers, laid Sabu out with a chair on his face, and dropped a leg from the top of the bleachers, crashing himself on the floor in the process. They went back to the ring where Van Dam did a senton with a chair and toasted Sabu for a two count. Sabu did a running back kick off of a chair. Sabu got monkey flipped onto a chair that was upside down, and he got the legs in his back. Ouch. Van Dam did a standing moonsault. Sabu did a springboard moonsault off of the top. They did more psychotic spots like this until Sabu set a table up on the guardrail and the apron. Sabu went to put Rob through the table, but Rob moved. So Sabu just did a splash into the first row.

A minute later, Sabu had Rob back on the table. As Sabu is coming for him, Rob got up and Sabu did a springboard DDT blasting both of them through the table to the floor. After some more insane action like this, Sabu finally hit an Arabian facebuster from the top rope to get the pin. Both guys were stretchered out.

2002 - Pioneer Home Video officially announced what would turn out to be their final ECW DVD releases, "WrestlePalooza '97" and "Cyberslam '99".  Two additional titles, Best of Taz and Best of Rob Van Dam were scripted but never produced due to WWE buying the rights to the ECW library.

2002 - Just one day after being hired to return to WWE after having a meeting with the creative team as to the new direction the company would be taking, Vince Russo was already been moved off of the creative team. After Russo met with the creative team yesterday, Vince McMahon had second thoughts about the move and has designated Russo as an official on-payroll advisor to WWE. Russo is out of day-to-day writing. As we reported earlier today, Brian Gerwitz will still be in charge of Raw, Paul Heyman still in charge of Smackdown. The entire team (and agents) will be involved in pay per views.    Russo turned down the position and instead went to work for TNA, where he remained off and on through 2012.

2002 - Ring of Honor held "Road to the Title" in Philadelphia, PA at the Murphy Rec Center.   Mike Johnson filed the following live report:

ROH ROAD TO THE TITLE IN PHILADELPHIA, PA LIVE REPORT
by Mike Johnson

Last weekend, I attended the fourth effort by RF Video's Ring of Honor event. As a promotion, I cannot think of any independent which was this far along in terms of workrate by their fourth show. ROH is actively seeking to please that older contingent of hardcore wrestling fans who yearn and miss the hard-hitting athletics of the NWA (or for the younger fans, ECW) while at the same time trying to put a new spin on professional wrestling.

Philadelphia as a market is a hard sell these days. There are a ton of promotions scrambling to either be the next ECW or to try and scoop up what's left of that ECW fanbase, which isn't much as they all scattered in different directions. For a promotion to break 400 is a cause for celebration really, as there is an insane amount of competition.

However, through word of mouth, bus trips from New York City and Boston, and a heavy sell on the Internet and from their offices (including owner Rob Feinstein personally calling those who had ordered tickets in the past to invite them back and thank them for their support), the promotion was able to draw their largest crowd to date for the opening rounds of their championship tournament. I was guessing the crowd was in the 475 area, but no one from the promotion would comment on record. I can personally attest that there were more chairs set up than ever before by the promotion in the corners of the building, and it was full.

The amount of people in the building actually helped to add up to the largest negative of the night, which was the hot and humid atmosphere of the building. Although the crowd was heavily into the wrestling on the show, which was all well worked and athletic, one has to wonder how much louder and more into the show they could have been if they weren't spending as much time and interest trying to remain cool during the show. The promotion plans on bringing industrial size fans into the building for their return on 7/27 to try and offset the problem, so they are recognizing that they need to try and maintain a comfortable atmosphere for the fans. Either that or they, like me, were having unpleasant flashbacks to the ECW Arena shows in the mid-90s that led to everyone nearly passing out from heat stroke! The heat was enough to tire me out to the point that the next day, it was hard to recall what happened in which match, because there was so much good, it all seemed to meld together into an endless procession of wrestling.

The show opened with American Dragon defeating Bio-Hazard via submission with Dragon's Cattle Mutilation finisher. Biohazard is from Rudy Boy Gonzalez's Texas Wrestling Academy and while the match was too short to be anything other than a collection of good spots and moves, Hazard looked decent. Crowd liked the opener.

Spanky who is now being called "The Show Stopper" based on winning the Texas Wrestling Academy gauntlet the show before (and playing off his "training" under Shawn Michaels) beat Paul London with Sliced Bread #2 (Acid Drop-esque move off the ropes). London finally got a chance to really show the fans in Philly how good he is. Spanky, like Dragon, Low Ki and Daniels, is already over as a star to the ROH fanbase. This was a really fast match and well worked.

Doug Williams from Great Britain defeated Jay Briscoe with a rolling German suplex. Williams came out to zero reaction to the fans, who for the most part had heard of but never seen him and won them over by the end of his match. Briscoe continues his losing streak here, so I suspect when he finally gets that big win, you'll hear a huge reaction out of the ROH fans. Williams was a guest on the bus trip from New York after the show and got really over with the NYC fans for being humble and straightforward talking about his career. He cited being influenced by 1980s British workers like Dave Finley and the Dynamite Kid and that he always wanted to work with Finley, but Finley had left for America as he was breaking into the business so they have yet to cross paths.

Jodie Fleisch defeated Jonny Storm in the latest installment of their American battles together. This was a totally different feel than anything else on the show, but my least favorite match. It's not that either of them are poor athletes, but this was more like watching a choreographed fight scene in a Broadway show than a wrestling match as if you were paying attention, you could see spots where worker A was waiting too long in position to catch worker B. The crowd loved it however, as the Michinoku Pro-esque style, was a total change in pace from what ROH usually presents. If you love aerial stuff, this is for you.

Low Ki, who came out to a monstrous reaction, won his first round tournament match after knocking out Prince Nana with a stiff kick to the back of the head. Although this may have been the planned finish (no one will give me a straight answer), Nana was legitimately dazed and had to be helped to the back. It was just one of those things that happen. Nana was OK in the back afterwards.

The Amazing Red beat Xavier in a very good back-and-forth match. They are calling Xavier "The All Around Best" here. Very solid match.

Christopher Daniels pinned Scoot Andrews with a double jump moonsault. They set up the start of Daniels forming a faction within the promotion, saying he had foreseen a "Prophecy" that will destroy Ring of Honor. Daniels then introduced Simply Luscious as the first member of his group. The crowd didn't seem to buy Luscious in the role, but with her charisma, that shouldn't be a problem. Donovan Morgan is also expected to be part of Daniels' faction. After the match, Luscious got under Scoot's skin so he announced she had a match tonight, and would be taking on Sumie Sakai from the 'jd promotion in Japan.

Sakai came out to a big reaction (I guess being a Japanese worker in front of hardcore fans will cement that reaction) and defeated Luscious with a moonsault in a short match. This was easily the worst match on the show as they lost the crowd early with a missed spot and never seemed to gain them back. The idea here was that the Prophecy had been screwed by Luscious being forced to wrestle. I thought that came off a little contrived, but it's a start for Daniels vs. ROH. This was really short, and came off more like a break between matches to let the crowd cool down than anything else, so if that was the intention, it worked, although by this point, I was dying for an intermission.

In the final match of the first round of the tourney, AJ Styles beat Jerry Lynn with the Styles Clash. These guys just work so well together, you would think they have been working 5 years against each other, instead of the last 6 months. Lynn got a huge reaction from the fans, who remember his hard work in ECW and recognize that he was screwed with a lack of push in the WWE. At this point, this was the match of the night, which was saying something as other than Luscious-Sakai, everything was a good athletic bout.

By this point, the promotion made the one cardinal mistake of the evening in my opinion. The crowd was hot, tired, and needed a break. They teased intermission but instead the tag team of Dunn and Marcos (trainees of HC Loc) hit the ring and declared they were the best tag team in ROH. Everyone knew what was going to happen next as Da Hit Squad showed up and beat the living hell out of the two youngsters. The Squad claimed to be the top tag team in ROH, which brought out Divine Storm (Chris Divine & Quiet Storm). Storm cut one awesome promo on the Squad, asking how they could make that claim when they haven't wrestled an official match yet. The visual of the smaller Storm confronting and cursing out the larger Squad was a great one and Storm, who is very mellow and quiet by nature, shocked me with his promo. I didn't have a clue he had it in him. This brought out the SATs and it degenerated into a brawl with everyone doing dives.

Once everyone was on the floor battling, the Christopher Street Connection came out and began fondling and kissing each other. The Natural Born Sinners came charging out and destroyed them, even spanking their valent Alison Danger. At this point, the brawl was going on way too long for me personally and likely the crowd. The Carnage Crew (HC Loc and Tony DeVito) hit the ring. The crowd totally gave up on them, as for whatever reason, they have no respect for the Crew whatsoever. The crowd's reaction reminds me of the earlier days of the Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley team in ECW, as the crowd just wanted to see them die and not much else.

It ended up with The Squad and the Sinners cleaning house but the Sinners getting upset when the Squad again declared themselves the top tag team. As a segment, this probably would have been fine if it hadn't run almost 20 minutes this late into the show and the crowd (and myself) hadn't so desperately needed a break. It was something totally different from the usual ROH events, as it was an ECW-esque out of control brawl around ringside and in the ring, which went on and on. I joked that I was waiting for New Jack's music to hit while I watched the events unfold.

After a well deserved intermission, and some cool air outside the Rec Center, it was back to the show as Spanky defeated Jodie Fleisch in a very good match. I enjoyed this Fleisch match much better as it didn't have that pre-ordained feel of the spotfest with Jonny Storm. Fleisch nearly destroyed himself with a springboard moonsault to the floor as his shins destroyed a piece of guardrail. It was especially scary as it was the exact same spot where Chris Marvel shattered his ankle wrestling Paul London. Spanky scored the pin with Sliced Bread #2.

In a move that shocked the crowd, Doug Williams pinned American Dragon. The crowd didn't expect this at all, seeing Dragon as one of the cornerstones of the promotion. In two matches though, the ROH audience had taken to Williams.

In a match that looked like it had taken the Matrix and meshed it with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Low Ki pinned Red in the most damned display of aerial action one has ever seen. At the same time, with the speed and timing they possessed, it didn't come off feeling sterilized like the Fleisch-Storm bout in the earlier round. They ended with a great sequence where Low Ki was on the top rope but Red kicked him. Ki fell backwards with his leg trapped in the ropes. Red went to the top rope to do a move, but Ki caught him and turned him around, hitting his Ki Krusher finisher off the top for the pin. The crowd absolutely loved this match. Brian XL (who is starting to remind me of ECW's Stevie Richards with his self-absorbed promos and whininess, as well as his ability to weasel into scenarios) came out and badmouthed Red, then attacked him. The Maximos made the save and his the Spanish Fly on him.

In the final match of the evening, Christopher Daniels defeated a bloody AJ Styles. Styles had the only blood of the night. Daniels and Styles went back and forth in a great match, with Daniels finally hitting the last rites for the pin.

Donnie B, who is the new color commentator for the promotion's videotapes was introduced. He got booed out of the building. I guess the Philly fans are huge supporters of his column here on the site. Actually, I bet Donnie's opinionated comments on different indys caused that reaction, but that's Donnie. He tried several times to make ROH's "big announcement" that was going to change the "landscape of wrestling." but Christopher Daniels kept taking the mic and calling the promotion a farce and a joke. Spanky came out and insulted Daniels, then put himself over. Donnie finally got the mic and announced the promotion had a TV clearance on channel 48 in Philly Tuesday nights at midnight starting in September. The crowd popped huge for that.

The idea was that they were going to unveil the ROH championship belt, but once Low Ki and Doug Williams came back out, a brawl broke out and the referees left with the belt, which was never taken out of the bag it was in. So, ROH bait and switched the title belt, which has to be a first for pro wrestling. There were some complaints by fans afterward, and I don't argue that they didn't get what they were promised, but after that show, I don't think anyone was unhappy with the end result.

I believe the idea was ROH wanted to give the fans something to come back for. By this point though, the heat in the building had finally taken a toll on me, and I walked out during the brawl so I couldn't tell you how it ended, but one couldn't fault the work of the workers or the promotion tonight. If they had ran the exact same show the month before, when it was way cooler in the building I suspect it would have been proclaimed the best show in some time in Philly. The ending of the show did come off flat, but when you think about it, if they give instant gratification every time they promoted a show, there would be no reason for the fans to want to return.

A very good showing for the promotion, as they are putting on strong wrestling matches in order to sell them through ROHWrestling.com. The videotape background is actually the strongest proponent the promotion has for long-term survival, as unlike other indy groups which rely strictly on attendance figures for profit, if ROH can move videos to 1/2 of the audience that comes to their shows, it's almost as if they have doubled their attendance gate. Then factor in those who order online or through a catalog, and there's more money to be made and they are in a more secure position than most independent groups start out in.

That said, it will be interesting to see how the promotion changes once it begins airing on television in the Philadelphia market. Angles and characters have always been what has drawn in wrestling, as opposed to workrate and athletics. If the promotion intends to continue to grow, they will need to book some really interesting angles. That said, they have been slowly building very good storylines and characters over the first quartet of shows, but have been unable to use the angles they run backstage to draw for the next event, as the videotapes aren't out in time. Now, with television, they will be able to tap that asset. It should be an interesting time for the promotion come September.

2002 - A promotion titled International Wrestling Superstars ran their first and last show in Atlantic City at the Sandcastle Stadium, featuring the following results:

Public Enemy vs. Ballard Brothers
Public Enemy won over the Ballard Brothers when Johnny Grunge pinned Shane Ballard in 8:20

Devon Storm vs. Sabu
Sabu defeated Devon Storm in 13:38

Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. Kamala
Hacksaw Jim Duggan defeated Kamala in 3:54

Mr. Irresistible vs. Black Widow
Mr. Irresistible won over Black Widow in 89 seconds

Steve Dr. Death Williams vs. Jimmy Snuka, Jr.
Dr. Death Steve Williams defeated Jimmy Snuka Jr in 7:25

Dream Team (Brutus Beefcake/Greg Valentine) vs. Cyborg & Russian Giant
Cyborg and Russian Giant defeated the Dream Team in 7:21 via a Count Out

The Demon vs. The Barbarian
The Demon defeated Barbarian in 6:09

Tatanka vs. Kojima
Kojima defeated Tatanka in 8:43 (Tatanka was bleeding)

King Kong Bundy vs. Superfly Jimmy Snuka Sr.
Superfly Jimmy Snuka Sr defeated King Kong Bundy in 3:18

The Patriot vs. Bei Sei (White Lion)
Bei Sei defeated The Patriot in 3:48

Buff Bagwell vs. Lord David Taylor
Buff Bagwell defeated David Taylor in 3:45

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Keiji Mutoh (Muta)
Muta defeated Bam Bam Bigelow in 6:50.  The ring ropes broke during this match.
While they were fixing the ring ropes, they had the Fireworks Display.
That needed to be finished by 11:15 PM, according to the permit..

The Road Warriors vs. The Samoans
The Road Warriors (Hawk & Animal) defeated The Headshrinkers in 7:56

They had a 10 Bell salute to Davey Boy Smith who was originally supposed to appear on the show.

The promotion has a number of payment issues to talent, with Road Warrior Animal, who had set up the Japanese talent coming in, later having to go work tours of Japan to make up the debt.

2002 - WWE ran Huntington, West Virginia.  David Bentley filed the following live report:

David Bentley sent this report

Here is the house show report from Huntington, WV.

Show opened up with the Finkster coming out (to a hot ovation I might add), doing his usual safety spiel. Then the playing of the National Anthem.

The place wasn't sold out, but I would say the arena was about 65 percent full, and we can seat I would guess about 5,000.

The action started right after the National Anthem, first up being a three-way match for the Cruiserweight Championship.

Match #1: Hurricane vs. Tajiri vs. Jamie Noble (with Nidia)

Jamie Noble came out to a decent pop, and it got a bit bigger when they announced his home state of WV, then Tajiri, and then Hurricane got a huge pop when he came out. (We had three guys that were dressed up in full Hurri gear, green hair and all. Was funny. Then we also saw a baby dressed up as Hurricane, and called Mini Hurra)

Match went back and forth, and superstars got to do their signature, except for Hurricane. Who tried a choke slam more than once, but was still a great match. Hot, and the crowd was into it.

Winner: Hurricane. (Tajiri went out first via Hurri, then Jamie went)

Match #2: Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Rob Conway

An ok match, though the crowd was kind of dead through this one. First time a lot of people had heard of Conway, and he seems to have potential. Both men worked hard, even though a couple spots were missed. A decent sized 'Where's Pepe' chant did break out though. Hehe.

Winner: Chavo

Match #3: 6-man Tag. Hugh Morris, Randy Orton and Billy Kidman vs. Christian, Lance Storm, and Test.

Couple comments. Test is a lot smaller in person than on the TV screen :)

This match was one of the top three of the night. Storm got the mic when he came out, and drew some MAJOR heat with his usual Canada Rocks, America sucks spiel. I think he was surprised at our voicing of how much our country rocks. Christian then got more heat via the same way. A great back and forth match overall. Crowd was really into it, especially on the spots.

I was surprised at how huge of a pop Hugh Morris got when he went up top for the moonsault (man is he agile for a big guy, he's wide. shiver)

Winners: Lance/Christian/Test on interference when Ref's back was turned. (Boot by Test I believe)

Match #4: Sean O'Haire vs. Albert

*cries* Lord, please put clothes back on Albert? PLEASE. Crowd was about half into this match, but overall a great effort by both guys. Sean missed a few spots, and at one point he busted his lip open in the match. Albert controlled most of it. I know the smarks will hate me for this, but O'Haire still needs some more practice.

I was surprised with the ending of this match though, and somewhat disappointed I didn't get to see the coveted Baldo Bomb. At one point in the match though, a big 'Shave your back' chant broke out at Albert. :)

Winner: Albert with a back breaker over the shoulder.

Match #5: D'Von (with Batista) vs. Faarooq

Halfway dead match, though the big spots the crowd booed/cheered. D'Von got some heat when he said the subject of today's sermon was something WV would know alot about, Incest. (Yes yes, we know already. I actually do have running water :)) Not a bad match, though Ron's age showed somewhat. Great effort by both guys. Btw, if you see Batista live, look for all the veins on his biceps. Real icky looking.

Winner: D'Von

Match #6: Val and Hardcore Holly vs. C & B with Rico for the tag belts.

Crowd was hot for most of this match. I personally found Billy Gunn to be funny as hell. I was laughing my butt off. Bob Holly did an arm drag, into an arm bar and you heard Billy scream "That's my bad arm gosh dangit!". Was great, really. I thoroughly enjoyed this match and love C & B even more as a tag team now. Also a decent sized 'Push Bob Push' chant broke out, and Holly busted out laughing and smiling. :)

Winners: C & B via cheating.

Match #7: Rikishi vs. Kurt Angle

This match, simply rocked and I was pleasantly surprised, especially by Rikishi. The arena was right on cue with the obnoxiously loud 'You suck' chants :) Hehe. Rikishi coming out to a surprisingly big pop. I was disappointed not to hear Kurt get on the mic, but I'll get over it :) The crowd was hot for this match, and all the signature moves got done here. Including the Stink face. (I must say to, it's not right to be caught on the wrong angle of a one leg-hook pin attempt on Rikishi. No person should be put through that.)

Teased all through the match about the wig coming off. Rikishi won with the Bonsai, then Angle Olympic slammed after the bell. We though it was over, but luckily Rikishi bought him back and off the hair came!!! I was thoroughly surprised, then the Ref and Rikishi danced. Crowd was eating it up. Great match and great time.

Winner: Rikishi with the Bonsai.

Match #8: Bra & Panties match with Ivory Reffing.

Of course, the pops were big for this one, more so on Stacy though. A puppies chant broke out, but the Match I don't even think was really 4 minutes long. Ivory beat on Torrie after the match, but Torrie pulled down the shorts and Ivory ran.

Winner: Torrie. (only her top came off)

Intermission happens so they can put together the cage for the main event (man was I glad to, I was niccin bad.)

Intermission over.

Main Event: Triple H vs. Chris Jericho in a Cage match.

I must say Jericho drew some great heel heat. He really riled the crowd up when he got out there. He does do arrogant well, though at some points he had a hard time not laughing. Then, Triple H came out to a HUGE pop. People went crazy. Was great to, cause he spit on the corner of the cage where we were sitting (Had 5th row back from ringside).

The match itself was great. Props to both men for a VERY well done match. A+. Got to see all the signature moves, though surprisingly no blood. Crowd was hot for this match 95 percent of the way. At the end of the match C & B came out. Billy slammed the door into Triple H's head, Chuck went for a chair hit, missed, and got Billy instead. Pedigree by HHH on both Chuck and then Jericho.

Winner: HHH with the Pedigree.

After match notes: HHH did some more beat down on Billy and Chuck, then left. Then Billy and Chuck got into it, and Billy chased him with a chair at first. Then they finally hugged. (Could this signal a split up? I hope not =-(..) Also, all the wrestlers seemed to be genuinely having a great time, especially Rikishi, HHH, and Jericho. Jericho couldn't stop laughing as he drew the heat, and Rikishi was great to. Really all the superstars seemed relaxed, and having a great time. Maybe our crowd had alot to do with it. I'd say out of maybe 2000 people, for most of the night we sounded like 10,000 :)

Overall, a great time, great matches, great wrestling, and I salivate for the next time they come to our small town known as Huntington. (not to small, second biggest in WV :))

2002 - WWE held a "Divas Thong a Thon" at their restaurant, the World. Brett A. Schwan filed the following report:

Went to the WWE Divas Thong A Thon at the World on Friday night. Here's the run down.

Coach was the host. He introduced the commentators, Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler. He then introduced the judges for the evening's event. The judges were Edge, Al Snow, Maven, Jazz, and Paul Heyman.

The competition consisted of three rounds; Lingerie, Bra and Panties, and Fantasy Free For All.

The contestants: Dawn Marie, Stacy Keibler, Torrie Wilson, Terri, Nidia, Linda, Jackie, and Trish Stratus.

All the women came out to show off their lingerie. Paul Heyman was sitting at the end of the runway with a disposable camera taking pictures of himself with almost all the girls, as they walked away. As Trish was walking away, Jazz attacked her with a crutch from behind. Trish was unable to continue.

During the Bra and Panties segment, after everyone walked the runway (with the crowd strongly behind Dawn Maire and Stacy Keibler) Mae Young's music hit and Mae hit the runway in her lingerie!!

While waiting for the Free For All, a marine continuously was screaming Paul's name. Paul finally screamed back, "There are 15 gorgeous women here and the only person you want to talk about is me? I know they have a don't ask don't tell policy, but are you only in the Navy because you like seamen?" Paul stole the show hands down (including cutting a promo about one of the women snatching the competition, which will probably never air).

Molly Holly then came out, with her wings on, to complain about the competition. She was dragged from the stage.

Final round was Free For All. Torrie in a nightie with lollipop. Dawn Marie with a pink/purple sequined top, thong, and chaps!! DAMN! (Edge then announced, "We got a winner!", Paul's jaw dropped and remained open.) Stacy was in pigtails, glasses, and a schoolgirl outfit. Rico, angry that Nidia didn't perform up to his expectations (although she played the role of trailer park trash really well) came out and revealed his bra and panties (with feathered headdress)

Lawler came out to announce the winner of the Golden Thong, Torrie. Torrie then slapped her lollipop onto Dawn's chest. Stacy got on the mic to say she only won because she was sleeping with Maven. Torrie slapped Stacy, Dawn began fighting with Linda and Rico, Nidia battled Terri, until the were all separated.

Paul Heyman's commentary and antics stole the entire show. Moolah was there to drag Mae of Jerry Lawler. The crowd was fully behind Dawn and Stacy and even booed when Torrie was announced the winner.

2004 - Combat Zone Wrestling has announced that it will cease airing it's CZW Fake You TV program on Philadelphia's WGTW Channel 48 over differences with network management regarding content.   To date, it has never returned to a regular broadcast entity.  The promotion issued the following letter:

To Our Loyal Fans:

In July of 2001, Combat Zone Wrestling embarked on the campaign to deliver its unique brand of entertainment to you, the fans, on a whole new platform, television. This campaign is rarely taken by independent wrestling promotions, which is evident in the many promotions that have been unsuccessful in acquiring airtime and maintaining it. However recognizing its growing popularity, CZW, a small South Jersey promotion at the time, sought to capitalize and successfully negotiated a weekly programming agreement with WGTW-48. Strategically positioned at 9:00PM on Saturday evenings, CZW entered into a tremendous period of growth, as attendance for live events grew and enrollment at the CZW Wrestling School was at its highest level. While the odds were against us, CZW Fake You TV was a success, much like its predecessor.

Unfortunately, recent changes at WGTW-48 have had a detrimental effect on CZW Fake You TV. The executives at WGTW-48 have taken a more conservative approach when it comes to wrestling programming. In what was believed to be an ingenious idea of five-nights of midnight wrestling, WGTW-48 opened the doors to any and all promotions to air their programming, at least those that could afford it. As a result, CZW Fake You TV was moved from its 9:00PM Saturday time slot to a week night at midnight, to compete with other promotions. In the end, the idea was a failure, and CZW Fake You TV continues to thrive.

To date, CZW has produced one-hundred and fifty-four (154) episodes of programming, which has been enjoyed by fans across the Tri-State Area. During this time, CZW has endured every business decision that WGTW-48 has formulated and executed. Unfortunately, this past week was the final WGTW-48 decision that CZW plans to tolerate. For those of you who are not already aware, WGTW-48 executives refused to air the June 18, 2004 episode due to its content. WGTW-48 argued that the rising conservative climate in media and FCC regulations and enforcement have forced WGTW-48 to place restrictions on content and deny the airing of programming that the channel decides is inappropriate and in some way violates or is contrary to FCC regulations.

In response and after thoughtful consideration, CZW is sad to announce they withdrawal of CZW Fake You TV on WGTW-48 indefinitely. CZW has experienced many highs and lows and has remained a loyal business associate of WTGW-48 since July of 2001. CZW can no longer exist in a business relationship that is characterized by inconsistency and haphazard decisions that have had only negative effects on you, the fans, and the CZW product as a whole. CZW is confident that it will continue to move forward and is currently in the process of reviewing new avenues for delivering CZW Fake You TV to our loyal fans with the hope of acquiring new fans as well. CZW asks that you, the fans, continue to remain loyal as you have since the beginning and support us in this decision.

In closing, CZW wishes to thank WGTW-48 for providing us with the opportunity to make CZW Fake You TV a reality and provide CZW with a platform to deliver its product beyond its live events. Unfortunately, CZW must terminate is working relationship with WGTW-48 and will continue to remain steadfast in its the belief that our entertainment is not to be censored and that viewers have a choice.

Thank you for your time and patience with respect to this matter. CZW 4 LIFE!

Sincerely

Combat Zone Wrestling Entertainment

2007 - Ring of Honor ran Dayton, Ohio.  Steve Stafford filed the following live report:
I'm usually a little hesitant to attend shows the day before a company/promotion tapes a PPV, just because some of the talent might just go through the motions, so not to sustain injuries. I should have known ROH would not hold back, and they didn't.  I'm not the greatest at judging crowd size, but I'd guess there were easily  500-700 people there.  There were two warm-up matches before official bell time, didn't catch the first one but in the second one Mitch Franklin got the pin on Jon Moxley.  The show started at 8:00pm sharp.Here's the rest of the results:
 
 Kevin Steen & El Generico def. Irish Airborne at 10:12
One of the guys from Irish Airborne resembles Randy Orton, and the crowd even threw   some Randy Orton chants at him. His first few minutes of offense was all side headlocks (I kid you not) not sure if that was intentional or just coincidental.
 
Chris Hero won the Gauntlet Series Match
 Series of consecutive singles matches with the winner taking on the next randomly drawn participant until one man is left. First match was Jimmy Rave vs. Pelle Primeau, with Primeau getting the pin at 5:50. Then Delirious came out to face Primueau, getting the win at 1:17. Delirious was WAY over with the crowd. Adam Pearce was out next with Delirious getting the pin with a roll-up at 3:56. Chris Hero was the final participant to face Delirious.  He came to the ring with Tank Toland & Larry Sweeney. Good back and forth between Hero and Delirious with cool spots and some really stiff chops, along with several near falls. Hero gets the win at 7:00
 
Brent Albright Def. BJ Whitmer in a No-DQ Match
Very stiff match with a good portion of the action taking place outside the ring and in the crowd. Most of the crowd was behind Albright. Whitmer suplexed Albright right in front of me onto the hardwood floor, the smack was heard all over the building. Albright fought back and got the win once they returned to the ring.After the match, Whitmer lost it and gave the ref a german suplex and attacked the security staff and officials that were in the ring.
 
 Roderick Strong & Davey Richards def. Erick Stevens & Matt Cross at 10:15
Very solid match with lost of stiff kicks and chops. I have to say, Matt Cross took the brunt of the beating here, but his athleticism is very impressive. Lots of heat on Roderick Strong, crowd was on him from the beginning. After the match Strong cut a promo on Stevens and Cross, saying him and Richards have beaten them like 34 times, and they should run and hide like that guy sitting right there (He pointed at Austin Aries who was sitting in the crowd for most of the show) Huge pop for Aries and a "let him wrestle" chant. Aries tried to come over the barricade but was held back by security.
 
KENTA def Rocky Romero in a NOAH vs. No Remorse Corps Match.
Match of the night for me, (and I think most of the people in attendance due to the reactions). Match started off almost like a shoot fight, with the guy next to me asking me if it was an MMA bout or a wrestling match, which I got a kick out of. I told him it was a little bit of both. Stiffest kicks, punches and chops of the night by far, tons of cool high spots and crazy submissions.This match was just awesome. Romero pulled a spot from the top rope that I cannot do justice by describing it,but it was like a moonsault variation into an armbar submission hold.  It was sick. KENTA got the win after several near falls. Crowd went nuts after the match, "KENTA" chants and "ROH" chants loud as ever, with a standing ovation.  Davey Richards came out raise their hands, then him and Romero beat down KENTA. With Erick Stevens & Matt Cross making the save. KENTA got another standing ovation as he made his exit.
 
Lacey def. Serena in a Special Attraction Shimmer Match at 5:55
I was pretty pumped when I heard they added a Shimmer match to the card, as I've never seen  one live and I have a ton of respect for them. Crowd was quiet, mostly because they didn't know what to expect probably. Some nice pops for Lacey's stiff kicks.
 
Bryan Danielson & Nigel McGuinness def. Takeshi Morishima & Naomichi Marufuji in a NOAH vs. ROH match
 I think everyone was surprised this wasn't booked as the main event. I can only speak for myself, everyone worked their butts off but this wasn't as good as it could have been. Lots of "Best in the world" and "Let's go Nigel" "lets go dragon" chants. Nigel gets the pin on Morishima with the hardest clothesline I think I've ever seen at a live show. McGuinness got the loudest pop of the night with Danielson a close second.
 
Briscoe Bros def. Matt Sydal & Claudio Castagnoli in a ROH world tag team title match - Best of three falls
Briscoe Bros won 2 falls in a row to win the match. A very fun match with everyone working hard and some really cool spots. Crowd popped for the Briscoes win.
 
Overall, a great show with excellent matches and a pretty hot crowd. ROH does it again, giving us WAY more than our money's worth, even in a steaming hot building with no ventilation. They announced a return to Dayton, Ohio on November 30th 2007.

2007 - World Wrestling Entertainment announced  that Trinity had been released from the company.  Trinity had been with the ECW brand from its re-launch, originally as part of the Full Blooded Italians. She injured her knee performing a moonsault to the floor on the first ECW house show at the New Alhambra in Philadelphia in June 2006 and was used sparingly after her return. Her final TV appearance was as one of the Lumberjills in the Melina vs. Ashley match at Wrestlemania 23.

2009 - WWE issued the following as part of a promotional stunt involving Donald Trump:

Trump Gives Money Back

STAMFORD, Conn.---In the fact or fiction world of WWE®, it is a fact that Donald Trump held a press conference today in Green Bay at Austin Straubel Airport. As the new “owner” of Monday Night RAW®, Trump announced that all ticketholders to tonight’s RAW event at the Resch Center will receive a ticket refund. The total value of all ticket refunds is approximately $235,000. RAW will be presented commercial free live tonight at 9 pm/8pm CT on USA Network.

Tonight’s main event will be WWE Champion Randy Orton® versus Triple H® in a Last Man Standing match.

Additional information on World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to www.wwe.com/worldwide/.

Trademarks: All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, copyrights and logos are the exclusive property of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.

2009 - Richard Trionfo filed the following Raw report, featuring the aforementioned promotional stunt:

We start off tonight’s show with a look back at the Four Way Match to find out who would follow Dave Batista as the WWE Champion. But the title change was not the biggest thing to happen on Raw last week. Vince McMahon sold Raw and he sold it to a man who likes to put his name on everything before most of it goes into Chapter 11. Trump says that he is going to run things the way he runs things.

Are you Ready to Trump?

We are live from Green Bay, Wisconsin and your announcers are Michael ‘Trump’ Cole and Jerry ‘Trump’ Lawler.

Lillian Garcia introduces the man who owns Raw, Donald Trump and he comes out onto the stage. Trump welcomes everyone to Raw. He says that even though he owns Raw, this is the fan’s show, not his. Trump says that tonight millions of people will be watching commercial free. Trump says that they will not only get world championship matches better than Vince could give you, he is a giver. When the show is over, he will give everyone a full refund for whatever they paid. Trump says that you he is giving back $245,000. Donald says that only Trump would do that.

John Cena comes to the ring and he has new gear. He takes his hat off to Donald Trump. Cena talks about the Last Man Standing Match between Hunter and Randy Orton. Cena mentions that he is in a match with the Big Show. Cena says that when the show is over, everyone will get free money. Cena says that Trump has been here two minutes and he knows how to make an impact. Cena says that Trump is trying to make a statement, just like the wrestlers.

We see a Miz video package about John Cena.

Cena says that Miz has something so interesting to say. Cena says that we should find out what Miz has to say this week and he wants Miz to come out.

Cena gets his wish and The Miz comes out. Miz asks Cena if he really wants to know what he has to say. Miz says that he has told Cena everything and John has done nothing. He calls Cena a coward. Cena says that it is interesting that Miz is calling him a coward while he is on the stage while John is in the ring. Miz makes his way to the ring and he gets in Cena’s face. Miz calls Cena a coward to his face. Cena goes for the fourth wall and he says that this is the time when the Miz would be picking up his teeth. Cena says that he will give Miz exactly what he wants. Cena says that Miz wants to be awesome and he tells Miz that he has his chance. Cena says that it is a good news/bad news situation. Cena says that Miz will main event a pay per view at the Bash when he has a match against John Cena. The bad news is that on Sunday, the Miz has a main event pay per view match with John Cena.

Cena suddenly gets serious and he says that for two months, Miz has been coming out saying whatever he wants to get Cena rattled. Cena talks about all of the times when he has had the odds against him, but he is still here. Cena says that he doesn’t get rattled. Cena says that rattled is when you hear your bones start to crack when he puts you in the STF. He says that you are rattled when you look around and see that you brought a knife to a gun fight. Cena says that in six days, Miz will realize that the Real World has been cancelled. He says that Miz will be a WWE never was instead of a Reality Show Has Been after Sunday. Cena says that this is when Miz goes to the back and pray that he makes it out of Sunday in one piece. Miz starts to walk away, but he tosses his mic at Cena and then he punches Cena before heading to the back.

We go to footage from earlier in the day when Vince has limo problems. Vince says that he has the back up limo since Trump has the main one. The driver suggests going to a gas station and Vince says that he has never been to a gas station. The driver suggests that they walk to the arena. Vince says that he does not walk. Vince tells the driver that they are going to walk, well the driver is because Vince is getting a piggy back ride. Vince says that he is going to drive to the arena while the driver is down with an injury.

It is time to go to Jim ‘Stone Cold Brett Favre’ Ross and Todd ‘Kentucky Grilled’ Grisham and they talk about Vince’s farewell address.

We see footage of Rey Mysterio’s heinous attack on Chris Jericho to give Jeff Hardy a non-title victory over Chris Jericho last week on Smackdown.

Before the match starts, World Champion CM Punk comes to the ring and he is going to join Jim Ross and Todd Grisham at the announce table.

Match Number One: Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, and Great Khali with Runjin Singh versus Dolph Ziggler, Edge, and Chris Jericho

Ziggler and Khali start things off and Khali with a punch to the head and then he chops him in the corner and Ziggler goes down. ZIggler tags in Jericho and Jericho is not anxious to get in the ring. Jericho slaps Khali and Khali tosses Jericho around. Khali with a chop to Jericho and then he clotheslines Jericho over the top rope to the floor. Khali sends Edge over the top rope to the floor and then he does the same thing to Ziggler. Hardy with a flip pescado onto all three. Rey gets on top of Khali’s shoulders and he hits a dive. Khali goes up top at the urging of Hardy and Rey but Jericho stops him. Khali with a punch to Jericho and then Rey tags in.

Rey with a kick to Jericho’s leg. Rey with an enzuigiri and Jericho falls into the ropes. Rey sets for the 619 but he is stopped and then Jericho with a clothesline for a near fall. Ziggler is tagged back in and Ziggler with a leaping elbow drop for a near fall. Edge tags in and he hits Rey with a double sledge to the back. Edge misses a drop kick and then Rey kicks Edge in the head. Hardy and ZIggler tag in and Hardy with a series of clotheslines and then he goes after Jericho and Edge. Hardy with a reverse atomic drop and a leg drop. Hardy with a gourdbuster driver but Edge with a spear on Edge. Khali gets Edge up and Jericho tries for a codebreaker but Edge with a spear to Khali. Rey sends Edge and Jericho into the ropes but Jericho gets out of the way but Edge gets the 619. Hardy with the Twist of Fate to Ziggler and then Hardy goes up top and hits the Swanton for the three count.
Winners: Rey Mysterio, Jeff Hardy, and the Great Khali

After the match, CM Punk leaves the chicken at the announce table and he goes into the ring to congratulate Jeff Hardy. Punk holds up his arm and Hardy realizes that it was Punk. Hardy leaves the ring.

Vince McMahon is in the arena and he tries to get into Trump’s office. Vince says that there must be a mistake and he looks for security. Instead, Santina Marella appears behind Vince and she introduces herself to him. Vince slaps her hand away. Vince talks about the refund and how he is locked out of his office.

Trump comes out and Vince says that there might be a mistake. Trump says that the mistake must be on his part. Vince asks where his office is and Trump says that it is down the hall. Trump asks Santina who she is and he says that he is going to do the same thing to Santina that he did to Miss California. He fires her. She runs away and Santino wants to know where she is going. Santino thinks that there must be something he can do. Then he figures that she had a good run.

Did you know that a lot of male viewers watched Raw last week (but nothing about Smackdown’s ratings compared to the Stanley Cup Finals Game 7).

Primo has the mic and he says that Cody and Teddy call themselves ‘The Legacy’. They get to hang out with the WWE Champion. Carlito says that is cool because they get to do errands for Randy and they go to the beach together and rub oil on Randy. Primo says that they will still be the Unified and Undisputed Tag Team Champions.

Match Number Two: Primo with Carlito versus Cody Rhodes with Ted DiBiase

They lock up and Rhodes works on the arm and then he pulls Primo down by the hair. Primo with a head scissors but Rhodes escapes. Primo with an arm bar but Rhodes with punches and Primo punches back. Rhodes is sent into the turnbuckles. Rhodes with a hot shot and a bulldog for a near fall. Rhodes sends Primo into the turnbuckles as he works on the neck. Rhodes with a snap mare and a kick to the back followed by a rolling knee drop that would make Ric Flair proud. Rhodes with a cravate. Primo with a shoulder tackle and then Rhodes sends Primo over the top rope. Primo tries to skin the cat, but Rhodes knocks Primo off the apron to the floor. Rhodes gets a near fall. Rhodes with a reverse chin lock and he has Primo in a variation of a camel clutch. Primo punches Rhodes but Rhodes with an Irish whip but Primo with a head scissors. Primo punches Rhodes and then he hits a drop kick and clothesline. Primo with a cartwheel followed by an elbow for a near fall. Primo with a jackknife cover for a two count. Primo with more punches and Rhodes with a kick and a side Russian leg sweep for a near fall. Primo with an inside cradle for a near fall. Primo with a cross body but Rhodes rolls through and gets the three count.
Winner: Cody Rhodes

Vince walks into a locker room and Hornswoggle and Goldust are in there. Goldust reminds Hornswoggle of the son angle. Goldust suggests giving Trump his wig since it worked for Goldberg. Goldust puts it on Vince’s head and they laugh. They tell Vince where his office is and it turns out to be a bathroom stall. Vince says that he wants a little dignity. We hear a flush and Festus emerges. He hands Vince a copy of the Wall Street Journal.

It is time for a Randy Orton video package.

Match Number Three: Randy Orton with Voices in his Head versus Triple H with Game Fountain in a Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Title

Orton with a kick and punch to Hunter and then Hunter responds with punches of his own and then he punches Orton as he comes out of the corner. Hunter sends Orton shoulder first into the ring post and Orton goes to the floor. Hunter goes out after Orton and then he slams Orton into the chicken free announce table. They return to the ring and Hunter with a spinebuster but Orton gets back up. Hunter tries for the Pedigree but Orton with an Irish whip and Hunter does the Hunter flip to the floor. Orton goes out after Hunter and Hunter with a clothesline as he favors his leg. Hunter drops Orton onto the ringside barrier and then he punches Orton into the crowd.

Hunter goes into the crowd and he punches Orton and they go to the back of the floor seating and Hunter sends Orton into the hockey boards. Orton sends Hunter over the ringside barrier into the ring. Orton with a clip to Hunter’s injured knee and the referee starts his count. Hunter is back up and Orton kicks the ring steps into Hunter’s leg. Orton grabs the ring steps and he hits Hunter in the head with them. The referee starts his count again.

They return to the ring and Orton kicks Hunter in the leg. Hunter punches Orton but Orton punches back and he kicks Hunter in the leg. Orton with a knee drop but when he tries for another one, Orton misses when Hunter moves his leg. Orton wrings Hunter’s leg into the ring post. Orton slowly walks to get a steel chair and Hunter kicks it into Orton’s face.

Orton drills Hunter in the top of the head with the chair and he tells referee Mike Chioda to start his count. Hunter gets to his feet and Orton punches Hunter in the head. Orton rearranges the announce table and he knees Hunter before slamming his head into the table. Orton punches Hunter and he appears to be setting up for the RKO but Hunter with a low blow. Hunter tries for a Pedigree on the announce table, but Orton hits an RKO on the table and Hunter bounces off the table.

Hunter makes it to his feet as he comes off the table. Hunter back body drops a charging Orton onto the announce table and Orton bounces off of it. Both men return to their feet and Hunter has the monitor and he hits Orton with it. They fight to the ramp area and Hunter punches Orton and sends him into the barrier. Orton and Hunter fight up the Trump Ramp to the Trump Stage but the stop by the barrier so Hunter can send Orton into it. Orton with a kick but Hunter with a spinebuster on the ramp. They both get up and Hunter sets for a Pedigree on the ramp but Orton with a back body drop onto the ramp and it is time to count.

Hunter falls to the floor from the ramp but Orton punches Hunter. Orton and Hunter fight on the floor as they slide along the padding on the floor. Orton does his RKO push ups as he waits for Hunter to get back up and Hunter sends Orton into the stands to escape the RKO. They return to their feet. Hunter gets a ladder and he tries to hit Orton with the ladder, but he hits two backstage workers instead. Orton continues his attack on Hunter while they bring out a trainer. Orton slams Hunter’s leg into the stage. Orton gets the ladder and he throws it onto the stage. Orton hits Hunter in the leg with the ladder and then a shot to the head.

Orton puts Hunter’s leg in the ladder and he stomps on it as Hunter writhes in pain. Orton with a forearm to the back as he yells at the referee. Orton sets up the ladder. Orton climbs the ladder for an RKO but Hunter pushes him off and Hunter hits Orton with the ladder. Hunter with a pedigree onto the stage and both men are down. Hunter struggles to get to his feet with help from the ladder and both men are counted out.
Winner: Double Count Out

After the match, they check on Hunter. He is helped to the back but he gets a shot in on Orton.

They help Orton to the back.

We see Maryse in the back and Miz stops by to talk to her. Miz says that he gets the whole thing and it is cute. Maryse tells him not to waste her time until he does something impressive to John Cena. Maryse says that one cheap shot is not enough. Miz says that he will show that he owns John Cena. She tells him to do something impressive.

It is time for Donald Trump to come out and he is joined by Eve and Maria, who are Smackdown Divas. We see footage of the Trump arrival at Green Bay.

Donald asks everyone if they are having a good time. He says that there is nothing like really good ownership. They get rid of McMahon and there is nothing like it. Trump reminds everyone that they are getting their money back. Trump says that he is giving everyone at home a commercial free show. Trump says that he is not going to appoint a general manager. He says that he will appoint a celebrity host every week. Trump says that they are going to run things properly. Fans are going to get a lot of freebies from Donald Trump. He says that it will be seen at Wrestlemania 26.

Vince McMahon’s music plays and he walks to the ring with the McSwagger. Vince says that he has had enough of this. It is one thing to do the commercial free stuff. Vince says that he is losing money with the commercial free deal. Vince says that it is not going to happen every week. Vince tells Trump that the fans don’t deserve their money back. Vince asks if the rumors are true for free Raws and commercial free Raws. In six months, Vince says that he would be bankrupt. Trump tells Vince that this is peanuts and he paid a big price for Raw so he can do whatever the hell he wants. Trump says that he has a lot of people and friends who want to buy Raw from them. Trump says that he could double his money any time.

Vince says that Trump played him. Vince says that that this is a well orchestrated plan to drive him into bankruptcy. Vince tells Trump that he is smarter than him so Vince offers to buy Raw back at the same price. Trump says that he has no interest whatsoever. Vince says that Trump should have a return on his investment. Vince offers to pay 25 percent over what Trump did. Trump says that he likes the people. Vince offers 50 percent over the price he got from Trump. Trump says that is good for some people, but not for him. Trump refuses 75 percent over the sale price. Vince offers double the price. Trump accepts the offer. Vince tells Trump that if he ever crosses his path again, he will knock Trump on his billionaire butt. Vince utters those two words and tells Trump ‘You’rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre Fahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhred’. Trump slaps Vince and well dressed security separates them.

Vince storms away to the boos of the fans.

Things are back to normal because the grilled chicken is back at the announce table.

We have footage of the John Cena/Big Show feud.

Randy Orton is being checked out and Vince tells the medical staff to leave and he tells Rhodes and DiBiase to leave. Vince asks Orton if he is in pain because he just bought Raw back. Vince tells Orton to wait for the Bash on Sunday. Orton says that he can’t stand or fight. Orton tells Vince if he has any decency, and Vince scoffs at that. Vince tells Orton that he will face Hunter again. It will be a two-out-of-three falls match. It will start off with a standard match. The second fall will be a Falls Count Anywhere Match. The third fall will be a stretcher match. Vince calls it a Three Stages of Hell Match.

Match Number Four: Mickie James and The Bellas versus Maryse, Beth Phoenix, and Rosa Mendes

Mickie throws something at Maryse before the match starts. Rosa and Mickie start things off. They lock up and Rosa works on the arm and escapes with a cartwheel and a forearm. Beth tags in and they lock up and Beth gets Mickie on her shoulders and sends her to the apron. Mickie goes up top and avoids Beth but Beth with a running shoulder. Nikki tags in and Beth with a clothesline. Rosa tags in and she punches Nikkie. Rosa with a forearm but Nikki with a tilt-a-whirl head scissors and an arm drag into an arm bar. Nikki with an Irish whip and a monkey flip. Maryse and Mickie distract the referee and Beth sends Brie into the turnbuckles. Rosa works on the arm and then Maryse tags in. Maryse with a back breaker for a near fall. Maryse slams Brie’s head into the mat. Maryse with a rear chin lock. Rosa tags back in and she snap mares Brie and has her in a rear chin lock. Rosa runs into Brie and then Brie pulls Rosa down by the hair. Mickie tags in and she hits a flying clothesline or two. Mickie with a drop kick to Beth on the apron. Mickie with a neck breaker to Rosa but Beth breaks up the cover. The Bellas with a double drop kick to Beth and they go to the floor. Rosa hits Mickie in the head but Mickie with a super kick for the three count.
Winners: Mickie James and The Bellas

After the match, Maryse yells at Rosa for the loss.

Did you know that WWE has more programming than HBO or Showtime.

Cole says that Donald Trump’s idea has spread to other programs on USA Network since they will be showing a movie without commercials (something they have done before).

We see John Cena at a Cubs game and he talks about Alfonso Soriano.

Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler are in the ring to talk about The Bash on Sunday night.

Match Number Five: Big Show versus John Cena

Show and Cena get face to chest and Cena pie faces Show. Show misses a punch and Cena with punches of his own. Cena wit a flying shoulder tackle that sends Show to the floor. Show catches Cena and drops him on the ringside barrier. They return to the ring and Cena punches Show. Show with a spear to Cena and Cena is in pain. Show stands on Cena’s throat. Show gets a near fall. Show with a punch to the midsection. Show with a chop. Show misses the shhhh chop and Cena punches Show but Show with the fallaway power bomb and Cena rolls to the floor.

Cena drops Show on the top rope and returns to the ring. Cena tries for a flying shoulder tackle and he bounces off Show. Show punches Cena in the ribs. Cena with a side head lock but Show with a belly-to-back suplex to get out of the hold. Show gets a near fall. Show with another punch to the midsection. Show charges into the corner and he hits a running butt splash. Show charges again but Cena moves. Cena with punches but he runs into a back elbow from Show. Show with the step over leg drop but he only gets a two count. Show with an Irish whip and then he charges into boots from Cena and Cena with a DDT. Cena goes up top for a leg drop to the back of Show’s head. It is time for the Five Knuckle Shuffle and Cena turns into a choke slam but Show can only get a two count. Show steps on Cena’s chest and then he goes to the turnbuckles for the Vader Splash. Show pulls Cena into the center of the ring and then he sets for the rear chin lock of doom. Cena escapes and hits the STF. Cena releases the hold when he sees Miz come to the ring. Cena gets Show up for the Attitude Adjustment but Miz helps Show get the cover and the three count.
Winner: Big Show

After the match, Miz hides under the apron and when everyone leaves, Miz comes into the ring and sees the lifeless Cena in the ring. Miz stands over Cena.

We see Randy Orton walking out of the building and he goes to his car but Hunter attacks Orton from behind and slams the trunk on Orton’s back. Hunter lies down next to Orton and he says that it is not over by a long shot and Orton is going to hell.

2010 - Martha Hart, the widow of Owen Hart, sued WWE and Vince and Linda McMahon.  Her law firm issued the following press release:

Representatives of Martha Hart sent out the following this morning.

Widow of Deceased Professional Wrestler Owen Hart Files Lawsuit Against World Wrestling Entertainment, Vince McMahon & Linda McMahon

WWE continues to use Owen Hart's Name and Image for Marketing more than 11 Years After he Was Killed in a WWE-sponsored Stunt; In Violation of Contract and Contrary to Family's Wishes

HARTFORD, Conn., June 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Martha Hart, the widow of the late Owen Hart, a professional wrestler who was killed in a May 1999 stunt orchestrated by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) today filed suit in the U.S. District Court here against WWE, Vince McMahon (current chairman and CEO) and Linda McMahon (CEO until 2009). The lawsuit alleges the WWE and the McMahons used Owen Hart's name and likeness without right in dozens of commercial videos and other materials, violated a contract restricting the use of Owen Hart's name, likeness and wrestling footage, and disregarded Martha Hart's wishes against further association of her late husband's name with WWE following his death. (Mrs. Hart and WWE settled a wrongful death lawsuit in 2000. Mrs. Hart established the Owen Hart Foundation later that year.)

"In the eleven years since Owen's tragic and avoidable death, I have worked tirelessly to disassociate Owen's name and likeness from anything related to WWE in order to protect our children from any reminder of the circumstances surrounding their father's death, and to avoid any misplaced perception that I endorse WWE," said Martha Hart in a statement.

"Unfortunately, even though WWE, Vince McMahon and Linda McMahon were and are well aware of my wishes and desire to shield my children from WWE and its activities, I was shocked to learn earlier this year that they have been using Owen's name and likeness in videos, websites, television programs and print materials. Given this callous, insensitive and irresponsible behavior, one must question the moral character of Vince and Linda McMahon and the manner in which they conduct their business."

According to the lawsuit filed today before the U.S. District Court in Hartford,

"Since Owen's death, the WWE and McMahons have sought every available opportunity to further exploit Owen's personality for their own commercial benefit. Their use of Owen's name and likeness draws attention to the WWE's ongoing violent and highly questionable theatrical activities that caused Owen's death. Defendants' use of Owen's name and likeness is also in direct disregard of Martha's and her children's objections...The WWE's wrongful use of Owen's name and likeness, over Martha's continuing objection to any association with defendants and in the absence of any legal right of use, creates the wrongful impression that Martha and the Estate now support, approve or condone the video (which they do not)."

The lawsuit seeks to enjoin the WWE from further use of Owen Hart's name and likeness, and seeks unpaid royalties as well as damages for breach of contract, copyright infringement, unjust enrichment, accounting and unfair and deceptive trade practices.

Mrs. Hart is represented by the law firm Nixon Peabody LLP.

As today, the lawsuit is still ongoing, although many of the allegations have been thrown out.

2011 - The New York Times announced the following:

Kristoffer Diaz is the winner of the 2011 New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award for “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity,” his satire of professional wrestling and the ethnic stereotypes and political imagery of that industry, The Times has announced.

The award, created in 2009, recognizes an American playwright whose work recently received its professional debut in New York; “Chad Deity” was produced Off Broadway in 2010 by Second Stage Theater, drawing mostly positive reviews. (The play was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in drama that year.)

Previous recipients of the Times playwright award, which comes with a cash prize of $5,000, were Tarell Alvin McCraney for “The Brothers Size” and Dan LeFranc for “Sixty Miles to Silver Lake.”

The selection committee included the Pulitzer-winning playwrights Richard Greenberg, James Lapine and Lynn Nottage, as well as Times writers and editors. The committee chairwoman, Sylviane Gold, said in the statement announcing the award, “The play appropriates both the comedy and cruelty of professional wrestling in order to explore the complex dance America does with its minorities.” She added, “We were floored by its swaggering language, vivid theatricality and sheer energy.”

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