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On this day in history in ....
1964 - Killer Kowalski defeated WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino via disqualification in Waterbury, CT.
1965 - WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino defeated Waldo Von Erich in Patterson, NJ at a matinee event.
1965 - The WWWF ran Baltimore, MD at the Civic Center with the following results:
Arnold Skaaland defeated Johnny Rodz
Bob Boyer defeated Frank Martinez
Haystacks Calhoun fought Waldo Von Erich to a draw
Wahoo McDaniel defeated Clyde Steeves
Vittorio Apollo defeated Smasher Sloan
Gorilla Monsoon & Bill Watts defeated WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino & Bobo Brazil
1967 - WWWF ran Washington, DC with the following results:
The Fabulous Moolah & Diamond Lil defeated Barbara Galento & Dagmer
Ernie Lassiter defeated Pete Sanchez
Cecil February defeated Johnny Rodz
Arman Hussian defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna
Miguel Perez defeated Smasher Sloan via disqualification
Prof. Toru Tanaka pinned WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino; the champion’s leg was under the ropes during the cover and thus the title did not change hands
U.S. Champion Bobo Brazil defeated Luke Graham
1968 - WWWF ran Bangor, Maine with the following results:
Earl Maynard defeated Prof. Toru Tanaka via disqualification
Victor Rivera defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna
Gorilla Monsoon defeated Bill Miller
Crybaby Cannon fought Hans Mortier to a double disqualification
Eduard Carpentier & Louis Cerdan defeated Bull Ramos & Homer O'Dell
1969 - WWWF ran Washington, DC at the National Arena with the following results:
Dominic DeNucci defeated Duke Savage
Guillotine Gordon defeated Arnold Skaaland
Thunderbolt Patterson defeated Carlos Colon
Rocky Johnson defeated Lou Albano
Killer Kowalski & Prof. Toru Tanaka defeated Chuck Richards, Angelo Savoldi, & Pete Sanchez in a handicap match
WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino defeated Luke Graham
1970 - WWWF ran Scranton, PA at the CYC, featuring the following results:
Eric the Red fought Joe Turco
Karl Kovacs defeated Frank Hickey
The Mongols defeated Gorilla Monsoon & Arnold Skaaland
Victor Rivera defeated Ivan Koloff via disqualification
Mario Milano defeated Prof. Toru Tanaka
1971 - WWWF ran Wilmington, DE with the following results:
Miguel Feliciano defeated Akim Manuka via count-out
Donna Christianello & Toni Rose defeated Vicki Williams & Sandy Parker
Sky Low Low & Little Brutus defeated the Haiti Kid & Sonny Boy Hayes
Jose Rivera defeated Jack Evans
1972 - WWWF ran Allentown, PA with the following results:
Arnold Skaaland (sub. for Vincente Pometti) defeated Al Nelson
Manuel Soto defeated Juan Caruso
Little Brutus & Sky Low Low defeated Sonny Boy Hayes & the Tahiti Kid
Victor Rivera defeated Jimmy Valiant via disqualification
Chief Jay Strongbow defeated Prof. Toru Tanaka in an Indian strap match
1976 - WWWF ran Philadelphia, PA with the following results:
Rocky Tomayo defeated Mark Tendler via submission with a Boston crab at 14:56
Johnny Rodz fought Johnny Rivera to a 20-minute draw
Vincenti Pometti defeated Frank Williams at 15:52
Stan Hansen defeated Jose Gonzalez at 6:32
WWWF Tag Team Champions Tony Parisi & Louis Cerdan defeated Lou Albano & Ivan Koloff in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match, 2-0; fall #1: Albano was disqualified at 6:34; fall #2: the challengers were counted-out at 4:22
1978 - WWWF ran The Boston Garden, featuring:
Tank Patton defeated Silvano Sousa
Steve King defeated Dennis Johnson
SD Jones defeated Gypsy Rodriguez
Peter Maivia defeated Butcher Vachon
Stan Stasiak fought Larry Zbyszko to a draw
WWWF World Champion Bob Backlund defeated Spiros Arion via count-out
Dino Bravo & Dominic DeNucci defeated Luke Graham & Strong Kobayashi
1980 - WWF ran Worcester, MA at the Auditorium featuring:
Johnny Rodz defeated Frank Williams
Larry Sharpe defeated Jose Estrada
WWF Tag Team Champion Sika defeated Rene Goulet
Hulk Hogan defeated Pete Doherty & Sylvano Sousa in a handicap match
Tor Kamata defeated Angelo Gomez
WWF World Champion Bob Backlund defeated Bobby Duncum
1980 - WWF ran Johnstown, PA featuring:
The Red Demon defeated Ron Lee
WWF Tag Team Champion Afa defeated Johnny DeFazio
WWF IC Champion Ken Patera defeated Dominic DeNucci via disqualification
Baron Mikel Scicluna defeated Bill Berger
Larry Zbyszko defeated Ivan Putski via count-out
Mike Milhalko defeated JoJo Andrews
Johnny Valiant defeated Tony Altimore
1981 - Harley Race defeats Tommy Rich for the NWA World Heavyweight Title in Gainesville, Georgia. This ended Rich's reign after four days, and began Harley's sixth NWA title run.
1981 - Gene & Ole Anderson defeats Paul Jones & Masked Superstar for the NWA World Tag Team Title in Richmond, Virginia. This would begin the eighth and final NWA World Tag Title run for Gene & Ole.
1981 - Bob Backlund defended the WWF title against NWF World champion Antonio Inoki in, Mexico City, Mexico at El Toreo De Cuatro Caminos. The two fought to a draw in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match; fall #1 - Backlund pinned Inoki with a body press at 18:05; fall #2 - Inoki pinned Backlund with a body press at 5:17; fall #3 - double count-out at 8:01; only Backlund’s title was on the line.
Other results on the show featured Billy Robinson, Fishman, & Gran Hamada defeated Ray Mendoza, El Escorpion, & Strong Kobayashi...El Canek defeated Tatsumi Fujinami via disqualification in a bout for the UWA Championship.
1981 - WWF ran Abington, MA featuriong the following results:
Dan Petty defeated Fred Marzino
Baron Mikel Scicluna defeated Pete Doherty
SD Jones defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna via disqualification
WWF IC Champion Pedro Morales defeated Killer Khan
Rick Martel & Tony Garea defeated Capt. Lou Albano (sub. for Moondog King) & WWF Tag Team Champion Moondog Rex via count-out
1982 - WWF ran the Capitol Centre in Landover, MA, featuring the following results:
Charlie Fulton pinned Baron Mikel Scicluna at 7:35
Laurent Soucie (sub. for Jose Estrada) pinned Jeff Craney at 10:13
Blackjack Mulligan defeated Tony Garea at 10:19
Adrian Adonis pinned Johnny Rodz at 6:02
Rick McGraw & Steve Travis defeated Mr. Fuji & Mr. Saito in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match
WWF IC Champion Pedro Morales defeated Greg Valentine in a brass knuckles match at 10:48
Jesse Ventura defeated Tony Atlas at 20:08
WWF World Champion Bob Backlund pinned Bob Orton Jr. at 22:27
1983 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran The Greensboro Coliseum with the following results:
Keith larsen defeated Ken Timbs
Jos LeDuc defeated Rick Harris
Bugsy McGraw defeated the One Man Gang
Jake Roberts defeated Mike Graham
Dick Slater defeated Sweet Brown Sugar
Jack & Jerry Brisco defeated Angelo Mosca & Gene Anderson
Jimmy Valiant defeated the Great Kabuki in a New York Streetfight
Greg Valentine defeated NWA U.S. Champion Roddy Piper to win the title
NWA World Tag Team Champions Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood defeated Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle
1983 - Georgie Championship Wrestling ran Atlanta, GA at Omni with the following results:
Bob Roop defeated Joe Lightfoot
Ray Candy defeated Chick Donovan
Arn Anderson & Matt Borne (w/ Paul Ellering) defeated Brian Blair & Tito Santana
Ron Garvin defeated the Iron Sheik (w/ Paul Ellering)
Dick Murdoch defeated Buzz Sawyer via count-out
Tommy Rich & Paul Orndorff defeated Larry Zbyszko & Killer Brooks
Tony Atlas defeated NWA World Champion Ric Flair via disqualification
1984 - During a broadcast of World Championship Wrestling, Tully Blanchard defeats Mark Youngblood for the NWA Television Title. During Blanchard's reign, the belt was renamed the "NWA World Television Title".
1984 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Raleigh, NC at the Dorton Arena featuring the following results:
Jesse Barr defeated Jeff Sword
Keith Larson defeated Doug Vines
Brian Adidas defeated Kurt Von Hess
Ernie Ladd defeated Rufus R. Jones
Dick Slater defeated Jay Youngblood via disqualification
Wahoo McDaniel defeated NWA TV Champion Tully Blanchard
1984 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Columbia, SC with the following results:
Barry Hart defeated Ali Bey
Larry Hamilton defeated Bob Orton Jr.
NWA Tag Team Champions Ivan Koloff & Don Kernodle defeated Angelo Mosca Sr. & Jr.
Pez Whatley defeated the Great Kabuki
Jimmy Valiant defeated Adrian Street
1985 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Trenton, NJ at the CYO Building, featuring the following results:
Denny Brown defeated LP
Stoney Burke fought John Tatum to a draw
Buzz Tyler defeated Krusher Kruschev via disqualification
Pez Whatley defeated Bob Roop
Thunderbolt Patterson & Manny Fernandez defeated NWA National Tag Team Champions Arn & Ole Anderson via disqualification
NWA National Heavyweight Champion Ron Garvin defeated NWA World TV Champion Tully Blanchard
1986 - WWF ran Providence, Rhode Island for Saturday Night's Main Event taping (the show would air two days later on 5/3) featuring the following results:
Lanny Poffo defeated Rene Goulet
Iron Mike Sharpe defeated SD Jones
Pedro Morales defeated Tiger Chung Lee
Danny Spivey defeated Moondog Spot
Saturday Night's Main Event: WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan & the Junkyard Dog (w/ Haiti Kid) defeated Terry & Dory Funk Jr. (w/ Jimmy Hart) when Hogan pinned Terry with a clothesline and the legdrop at around 13:30; midway through the contest, Hart nailed Haiti in the head with the branding iron - causing the Junkyard Dog to take him backstage for treatment before Haiti returned ringside; after the bout, Hogan & JYD saved Haiti from further injury
King Kong Bundy pinned Uncle Elmer at 2:35 with an elbow drop after Elmer missed a splash in the corner
Adrian Adonis (w/ Jimmy Hart) defeated Paul Orndorff via disqualification at around the 12-minute mark when Orndorff began choking Adonis with his own shirt before shoving the referee across the ring
Jake Roberts fought Ricky Steamboat to a no contest when Roberts attacked Steamboat before the bell and executed the DDT on the concrete floor before rolling Steamboat back inside the ring and allowing his snake to crawl all over Steamboat until a number of officials swarmed the ring; after the bout, Steamboat was taken from ringside on a stretcher while his wife looked on from ringside
WWF Tag Team Champions The British Bulldogs (w/ Capt. Lou Albano) defeated Nikolai Volkoff & the Iron Sheik (w/ Freddie Blassie) in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match, 2-1; fall #1 - Smith submitted to Sheik's Camel Clutch at 1:28 after sustaining a back suplex; fall #2 - Smith pinned Volkoff with a roll up at 5:58 after sending Volkoff into Sheik on the apron after Volkoff thought he had scored the pinfall; fall #3 - Smith, the illegal man, pinned Sheik with an inside cradle after breaking Sheik's Camel Clutch on Dynamite behind the referee's back at 9:10.
1986 - WWF ran a house show in Salt Lake City, Utah at the Salt Palace, featuring:
King Tonga defeated Alexis Smirnoff
Bret Hart defeated George Wells
Hercules defeated Sivi Afi
Bob Orton defeated Steve Gatorwolf
The Killer Bees, B. Brian Blair & Jim Brunzell defeated The Dream Team, Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake via disqualification
Don Muraco defeated George Steele
Tito Santana defeated WWF Intercontinental champion Randy Savage via disqualification
1987 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran The Omni in Atlanta, GA with the following results:
The New Breed, Chris Champion & Sean Royal defeated Jeff Sampson & Jeff Belk
Baron Von Raschke defeated Thunderfoot #1
Vladimir Pietrov defeated Jimmy Valiant
The Midnight Express, Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane defeated Bob & Brad Armstrong
Barry Windham defeated Lex Luger via disqualification
Arn Anderson & NWA World TV Champion Tully Blanchard defeated Ole Anderson & Tim Horner
NWA U.S. Champion Nikita Koloff defeated Ivan Koloff in a Russian chain match
NWA World Champion Ric Flair defeated Jimmy Garvin in a lumberjack match at the 17-minute mark
1987 - Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat rematched their Wrestlemania III classic inside a Steel Cage as the main event of a WWF event in Uniondale, Long Island NY at the Nassau Coliseum. Steamboat won after Savage accidentally knocked him out of the cage door. Other results for the show saw:
SD Jones defeated Terry Gibbs
Nick Kiniski defeated Frenchy Martin
Brutus Beefcake defeated Johnny V (substituting for Adrian Adonis)
B. Brian Blair fought Demolition Ax to a double disqualification
King Harley Race pinned Sivi Afi
Tito Santana fought Butch Reed to a draw
WWF Tag Team Champions The Hart Foundation, Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart defeated The British Bulldogs, Davey Boy Smith & the Dynamite Kid via disqualification
1987 - WWF ran Pittsburgh, PA at the Civic Arena, featuring the following results:
Outback Jack defeated Steve Lombardi
Ron Bass defeated Lanny Poffo
Jacques & Raymond Rougeau defeated The New Dream Team, Greg Valentine & Dino Bravo
The Honkytonk Man pinned Pedro Morales
The Can-Am Connection, Tom Zenk & Rick Martel defeated Don Muraco & Bob Orton Jr.
Jim Duggan pinned the Iron Sheik
Koko B. Ware pinned Danny Davis
WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan defeated Kamala via disqualification
1988 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Indianapolis, Indiana at the Convention Center with the following results:
Jimmy Garvin defeated Kevin Sullivan
Brad Armstrong & Tim Horner defeated Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane
Steve Williams defeated NWA World Tag Team Champion Arn Anderson
The Road Warriors defeated the Powers of Pain
Lex Luger & Nikita Koloff defeated the Sheepherders
Dusty Rhodes fought NWA World Tag Team Champion Tully Blanchard to a double count-out when both men began fighting on the floor
NWA World Champion Ric Flair pinned Sting
1988 - WWF ran Los Angeles, CA at the Sports Arena featuring the following results:
Brady Boone pinned Steve Lombardi with a German suplex
Lanny Poffo pinned Barry Horowitz
Rick Rude pinned Don Muraco
Dino Bravo defeated Ken Patera via forfeit after Bravo attacked Patera during an arm-wrestling contest and Patera was unable to compete
The Ultimate Warrior pinned Hercules
Bret Hart fought Bad News Brown to a 20 minute time-limit draw
Ted Dibiase (with Virgil) defeated WWF Champion Randy Savage via countout after Virgil pushed Savage off the top as he attempted the flying elbowsmash
Strike Force, Rick Martel & Tito Santana defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition via disqualification
1988 - WWF ran Milwaukee, WI at the Mecca featuring:
Scott Casey defeated Iron Mike Sharpe
WWF Women's Champion Sensational Sherri defeated Desiree Peterson
Jacques & Raymond Rougeau defeated B. Brian Blair & Jim Brunzell
The Islanders & Bobby Heenan defeated Koko B. Ware, & The British Bulldogs
Jake Roberts pinned Greg Valentine
WWF Intercontinental Champion The Honkytonk Man defeated Brutus Beefcake via countout
Andre the Giant defeated Hacksaw Duggan via countout after Andre hit Duggan with his own 2x4
1989 - WWF ran Phoenix, AZ at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum with the following results:
Paul Roma defeated Boris Zhukov
WWF Women's Champion Rockin Robin defeated Judy Martin
The Warlord defeated Koko B. Ware
Dino Bravo defeated Hercules
The Bushwhackers defeated The Brainbusters, Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard
Jake Roberts defeated Ted Dibiase
Randy Savage pinned Brutus Beefcake after Sensational Sherri threw salt into Beefcake's eyes.
1989 - WWF ran Hamilton, Ontario at The Copps Coliseum in a show that was locally broadcast, with the following results:
The Honkytonk Man (w/ Jimmy Hart) pinned Jim Powers at 12:19 with the Shake, Rattle, & Roll
The Blue Blazer pinned the Brooklyn Brawler at 9:19 with a reverse flying bodypress off the top
Greg Valentine (w/ Jimmy Hart) pinned Hillbilly Jim at 7:45 with a roll up and grabbing Jim's overalls for leverage; prior to the bout, Hillbilly danced with ring announcer Billy Red Lyons
WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition fought The Twin Towers, Big Bossman & Akeem to a double disqualification at 8:57 when Bossman hit Ax with his nightstick as Ax covered Akeem, while at the same time Smash shoved down the referee; after the bout, Smash was thrown to the ring and Ax was double teamed by the Twin Towers until another referee came out to order them backstage
The Red Rooster defeated Richard Charland via submission with an elevated chicken wing at 9:44
Rick Martel pinned Bret Hart at 11:07 with his feet on the ropes for leverage as Hart went to punch Martel in the corner
Mr. Perfect pinned Tito Santana at 10:40 with a roll up and grabbing the tights for leverage after Santana was distracted by Rick Martel at ringside, moments after Martel prevented Santana from making the cover after hitting the flying forearm
The Ultimate Warrior defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion Rick Rude (w/ Bobby Heenan) via count-out at 12:04 when Rude began walking backstage as Warrior chased Heenan into the ring; after the bout, Warrior cleared both Heenan and Rude from the ring
Bret Hart won a 16-man battle royal at 10:52 by last eliminating Mr. Perfect.
1990 - Paul Heyman returned to the NWA as Paul E. Dangerously during a TV taping in Rainesville, AL, kicking off his second and most successful run with the promotion. During the run, Heyman would rise to a main event position as the leader of the Dangerous Alliance and work as a broadcaster for the NWA/WCW until being fired in 1992, setting the stage to become the booker and eventual owner of ECW.
1991 - WCW ran a TV Taping in Greenville, SC at the Memorial Auditiorium, headlined by WCW World Champion Ric Flair defeating Sam Houston and Sting & WCW U.S. Champion Lex Luger defeated Jack Victory & Rip Morgan
1991 - WWF ran Brighton, England at the The Centre with the following results:
The Barbarian pinned Greg Valentine with his feet on the ropes
Haku pinned Koko B. Ware
Jim Duggan pinned the Berzerker
The Hart Foundation, Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart defeated Power & Glory, Paul Roma & Hercules when Hart pinned Roma
WWF Intercontinental champion Mr. Perfect pinned Tito Santana with the Perfect Plex
The Bushwhackers defeated Demolition when Butch scored the pin after Mr. Fuji accidentally hit one of his men with his cane
Davey Boy Smith defeated the Undertaker via disqualification
1992 - A planned WWF event in Long Beach, CA is cancelled due to the Rodney King riots on the West Coast.
1992 - WCW ran a WCW Worldwide TV Taping at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, FL - Bayfront Center. The following results are courtesy www.thehistoryofwwe.com:
WCW Nintendo Top Ten Challenge Semi-Finals: Ricky Steamboat fought Steve Austin to a 15-minute time-limit draw; because Steamboat & Austin were both eliminated, the other scheduled semi-final between Rick Rude & Dustin Rhodes became the final round in the tournament
Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton via disqualification
Nikita Koloff pinned Mr. Hughes
Scotty Flamingo pinned Brad Armstrong
Ricky Steamboat & Nikita Koloff defeated Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko via disqualification at the 5-minute mark when Bobby Eaton interfered
Terry Taylor defeated Kenny Kendall
The Junkyard Dog & Big Josh defeated Randy Starr & Tony Mello
WCW Nintendo Top Ten Challenge First Round: Steve Austin defeated Ron Simmons via disqualification
WCW Nintendo Top Ten Challenge Quarter-Finals: Dustin Rhodes pinned Larry Zbyszko
WCW TV Champion Barry Windham pinned Joe Cruz with the superplex
The Super Invader (w/ Harley Race) defeated Carl Robertson & Eddie Martin in a handicap match by pinning both men simultaneously after hitting the powerbomb on each
Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Rick Thames & Sonny Trout
The Diamond Studd pinned an unknown
WCW Nintendo Top Ten Challenge Finals: WCW US Champion Rick Rude (w/ Madusa) pinned Dustin Rhodes at around the 12:30 mark with the Rude Awakening after hitting Rhodes with his title belt
Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin defeated John Peterson & Chris Sullivan when Garvin pinned Peterson
Vinnie Vegas pinned Jim Cain
The Super Invader (w/ Harley Race) defeated Rick Ryder & Scott Allen in a handicap match by pinning both men simultaneously after hitting the powerbomb on each
Johnny B. Badd pinned Scotty Flamingo (w/ JT Southern) after Brad Armstrong interfered and reversed Flamingo's cover behind the referee's back
Ricky Steamboat & Nikita Koloff defeated Steve Austin & Arn Anderson (w/ Paul E. Dangerously) via disqualification when Larry Zbyszko interfered; after the bout, Zbyszko accidentally hit Anderson with Paul E's phone and then almost came to blows with Anderson but the two were separated by Austin
Dark match: Ricky Steamboat defeated WCW US Champion Rick Rude via disqualification in a steel cage match after Arn Anderson & Steve Austin interfered
1993 - Brian Christopher defeats Jeff Jarrett for the USWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee, starting his eighth run with the title while ending Jarrett's seventh.
1993 - WWF runs three events the same day. Here are the results:
matinee at the Landover, MD Capital Centre:
The Brooklyn Brawler pinned Jim Powers with a swinging neck breaker
Damien Demento pinned Tito Santana by holding onto the top rope as Santana attempted to slam him into the ring, with Demento falling on top for the win
The Headshrinkers defeated the Smoking Gunns (substitution for the Nasty Boys) after Afa interfered
Yokozuna pinned Jim Duggan with the Bonzai Drop after Mr. Fuji grabbed Duggan's leg as he attempted the running clothesline
Bam Bam Bigelow pinned Kamala with a roll up after Kamala became confused by the referee
Mr. Perfect fought WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels to a 20-minute time limit draw; Michaels had almost pinned Perfect earlier after hitting him with the IC belt but the Smoking Gunns and Jim Powers rushed in the ring and told the referee what had happened so the match continued; Michaels was in the Perfect Plex when the bell rang
Bob Backlund pinned Blake Beverly with a roll over
Bret Hart defeated Lex Luger via disqualification when Razor Ramon interfered as Hart had Luger in the Sharpshooter; after the bout, Hart was double teamed until Luger accidentally knocked Razor out with a running forearm, with Hart then knocking Luger to the floor; the bout was scheduled for earlier in the show but was postponned after the referee ordered Luger to wear a protective pad over his forearm or face losing the match via forfeit.
Rochester, NY evening event:
Owen Hart pinned Damien Demento with a roll up
Crush fought Doink the Clown to a double count-out when two Doinks attacked Crush on the floor
Mr. Hughes pinned Virgil
The Undertaker defeated Giant Gonzalez via disqualification when Gonzalez used the urn as a weapon
Tatanka pinned Terry Taylor (sub. for Razor Ramon) with the Samoan drop
Papa Shango pinned Typhoon after Typhoon missed a splash
Rick & Scott Steiner defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Money, Inc. via disqualification when IRS prevented the pin by hitting Scott with one of the title belts
Uniondale, Long Island, NY evening event at the Nassau Coliseum:
The Brooklyn Brawler pinned Jim Powers
Bob Backlund pinned Blake Beverly
The Headshrinkers defeated the Smoking Gunns
Yokozuna defeated Jim Duggan via count-out
WWF Intercontinental champion Shawn Michaels fought Mr. Perfect to a 20-minute time limit draw
Bam Bam Bigelow defeated Kamala
Bret Hart defeated Lex Luger via disqualification
1994 - Shinya Hashimoto defeats Tatsumi Fujinami for the IWGP Heavyweight Title at the Fukuoka Dome, ending Fujinami's fifth run with New Japan's top title, and starting his second.
1995 - Jerry Lawler defeats Razor Ramon for the USWA Unified Heavyweight Title, starting his 21st run with the belt, in Memphis, Tennessee. On the same show, PG-12 defeats Brickhouse Brown & The Gambler for the USWA Tag Team Title. This would begin JC Ice & Wolfie D's seventh run with the straps.
1998 - All Japan Pro Wrestling held the biggest show in the company's history, their first event at the Tokyo Dome (previously, All Japan had only run the Dome as part of joint promotions with other companies). The show drew 58,000 fans, and here are the results.
- Satoru Asako defeated Yoshinobu Kanemura.
- Manukea Mossman (Tayyo Kea) defeated Daisuke Ikeda.
- Jumbo Tsuruta, Rusher Kimura & Mitsuo Momota defeated Masa Fuchi, Haruka Eigan & Tsuyoshi Kikichi.
- The Headhunters defeated Tamon Honda & Shigeo Okumura.
- Johnny Smith & Wolf Hawkfield (Jim Steele) defeated Gedo & Jado.
- Akira Taue, Takao Omori & Masao Inoue defeated Mike Awesome, Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Hideki Hosaka.
- Steve Williams & Gary Albright defeated Masahito Kakihara & Yoshihiro Takayama.
- Giant Baba, Kentaro Shiga & Hayabusa defeated Hakushi, Jun Izumida & Giant Kamala II.
- Jun Akiyama defeated Hiroshi Hase.
- Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace defeated Vader & Stan Hansen.
- Toshiaki Kawada defeated Mitsuharu Misawa to win the All Japan Triple Crown.
1998 - Booker T defeats Chris Benoit for the WCW World Television Title in Greenville, South Carolina, beginning his third title reign. The complete results of that live event featured:
Ernest Miller defeated Yuji Nagata
The Barbarian defeated Bobby Eaton
Perry Saturn defeated Fit Finlay
High Voltage defeated Billy Kidman & Sick Boy
Diamond Dallas Page defeated Raven
The Giant defeated WCW World Tag Team Champion Kevin Nash via disqualification
1999 - WWF ran the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, CA with the following results:
Gangrel pinned Test with a DDT
WWF Hardcore Champion Al Snow defeated Hardcore Holly following a powerbomb through a table
Mankind defeated Mideon with the Mandible Claw
WWF Tag Team Champions X-Pac & Kane defeated the Acolytes after Kane chokeslammed Bradshaw
The Big Show defeated Viscera in a $5,000 slam match
Owen Hart & Jeff Jarrett defeated the New Age Outlaws and Edge & Christian in a triple threat match when Owen pinned Road Dogg with a spin wheel kick
Val Venis & Tori defeated D-Lo Brown & Ivory when Tori pinned Ivory with a DDT
The Undertaker defeated Ken Shamrock in a casket match
WWF Intercontinental champion Godfather defeated Goldust following the Pimp Drop
WWF World Champion Steve Austin & the Rock defeated Triple H & The Big Bossman in a steel cage match after Austin executed the Stunner on Bossman
1999 - ECW ran Cocoa Beach, FL at the Expo Sports Center with the following results:
Super Crazy defeated Mosco de la Merced
Spike Dudley won a battle royal
Steve Corino defeated Nova
Yoshihiro Tajiri defeated Little Guido
Balls Mahoney defeated Rod Price
ECW World Tag Team Champions Buh Buh Ray & D-Von Dudley defeated Danny Doring & Roadkill
ECW World TV Champion Rob Van Dam defeated Spike Dudley
Tommy Dreamer, Jerry Lynn, & Francine defeated Justin Credible, Lance Storm, & Dawn Marie
1999 - WCW ran the First Union Spectrum in Philadelphia, PA with the following results:
Chavo Guerrero Jr. defeated Blitzkrieg
Fit Finlay defeated Prince Iaukea
Konnan defeated Horace
Bam Bam Bigelow defeated Perry Saturn
Raven defeated Hak in a hardcore match
WCW Cruiserweight Champion & WCW World Tag Team Champion Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated Juventud Guerrera
Rick Steiner defeated Meng
Bill Goldberg defeated Curt Hennig
WCW World Champion Diamond Dallas Page defeated Sting and Ric Flair
2000 - WCW broadcast Nitro, featuring the following results from Birmingham, Alabama:
Norman Smiley & ? defeated Crowbar in a handicap hardcore match
The Wall defeated Horace in a tables match
Hugh Morrus defeated Jeff Jarrett and WCW U,S. Champion Scott Steiner in a non-title match
Sting fought Vampiro to a no contest in a Graveyard match
Tank Abbott defeated Diamond Dallas Page
WCW World Champion David Arquette defeated Tank Abbott in a non-title match.
Mike Awesome defeated Hulk Hogan
2000 - WWF broadcast Raw, featuring the following results from Baltimore, Maryland:
Test & Albert defeated the Dudley Boyz at 4:49 when Test pinned D-Von after Edge & Christian interfered
WWF Hardcore Champion Crash Holly fought a parking attendant to a no contest when the champion ran away
Too Cool defeated Matt & Jeff Hardy at 4:50 when Grandmaster Sexay pinned Matt with the superkick
The Kat & Jackie defeated Terri Runnels & Ivory at 4:04 when Kat pinned Terri after Jackie interfered behind the referee's back
Chris Jericho defeated X-Pac (w/ Tori) via disqualification at 3:44 when X-Pac shoved the referee; Jericho fended off the Road Dogg after the match while referee Earl Hebner had to be restrained by other officials
Rikishi & the Big Show defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Edge & Christian via disqualification at 1:46 when Edge hit Show with the ring bell as Christian was set up for the chokeslam
WWF European Champion Eddie Guerrero (w/ Chyna) pinned Essa Rios (w/ Lita) at 2:04 with an airplane spin backbreaker
WWF Intercontinental champion Chris Benoit pinned Tazz at 1:22 with a fisherman's suplex after Perry Saturn distracted the challenger; Hardcore Holly took out all three men after the match
WWF Hardcore Champion Crash Holly fought Steve Blackman to a no contest at 2:50 when the champion ran away
WWF World Champion the Rock defeated Shane McMahon in a steel cage match at 9:14 by escaping over the top after Earl Hebner interfered on behalf of the champion following interference from Triple H, Gerald Brisco, Pat Patterson, and Vince McMahon
2001 - WWF ran a Smackdown taping in Indianapolis, Indiana at the Conseco Fieldhouse, featuring:
Dark Matches: Damaja defeated Rob Conway...Mark Henry defeated Flash Flanagan
Billy Gunn pinned Randy Orton at 3:34 with the One and Only; prior to the bout, Orton cut an in-ring heel promo in which he said he would beat Gunn
Scott Vick pinned Race Steele at around the 4-minute mark with the Kryptonite Krunch
Taka Michinoku defeated Crash Holly
Steve Blackman defeated Perry Saturn (w/ Terri)
The Acolytes defeated Justin Credible & Albert
Smackdown:
WWF Intercontinental champion Triple H (w/ WWF World Champion Steve Austin & Stephanie McMahon) defeated Jeff Hardy (w/ Matt Hardy & Lita)
Raven defeated X-Pac (w/ Justin Credible & Albert)
Hardcore Holly defeated Kurt Angle
Chris Jericho & Matt Hardy defeated Edge, Christian, & Rhyno in a handicap match
WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Jerry Lynn defeated Grandmaster Sexay
The Undertaker fought Rikishi to a no contest
2002- WWF's Raw brand ran Cologne, Germany, featuring the following results, including three Hardcore title changes:
WWF European Champion Spike Dudley pinned William Regal
WWF Women's Champion Jazz defeated Jackie via submission with the STF
Brock Lesnar pinned Crash Holly
X-Pac pinned Jeff Hardy with his feet on the ropes
Tommy Dreamer defeated WWF Hardcore Champion Steven Richards, Shawn Stasiak, and Justin Credible to win the title by pinning Richards
Goldust pinned WWF Hardcore Champion Tommy Dreamer to win the title
Steven Richards pinned WWF Hardcore Champion Goldust to win the title
Jerry Lawler & Trish Stratus defeated Mr. Perfect & Molly Holly when Trish pinned Molly with the bulldog
WWF IC Champion Eddie Guerrero pinned Rob Van Dam with the frogsplash after using the title belt as a weapon
Ric Flair defeated Booker T via submission with the figure four leglock
The Big Show pinned Bradshaw after Scott Hall and Kevin Nash interfered
Steve Austin pinned the Undertaker with the Stunner
2002 - WWF's Smackdown brand ran Wheeling, WV at the Civic Center, featuring:
WWF Cruiserweight Champion Tajiri pinned Billy Kidman with a kick to the head
Chavo Guerrero Jr. pinned Sho Funaki
Tazz defeated D-Von Dudley via submission with the Tazzmission
Randy Orton pinned Hardcore Holly with a roll up
Mark Henry & Hurricane & Val Venis defeated Christian & Lance Storm, & Albert when Henry caught Storm coming off the top and hit a powerslam
Torrie Wilson defeated Stacy Keibler and Ivory in a swimsuit contest
Test pinned Rikishi with the boot to the face
WWF Tag Team Champions Billy Gunn & Chuck Palumbo defeated Al Snow & Maven after Rico interfered
Edge defeated Kurt Angle in a steel cage match, despite interference from Lance Storm, by escaping through the door
2003 - Elizabeth Hulette, known in wrestling as Miss Elizabeth, died at the age of 42. Elizabeth had been mixing alcohol and painkillers, then began to choke while eating food in the early morning hours of May 1st at the home of Larry Pfohl (Lex Luger). The Marietta Daily Journal reported she had an alcohol level of 0.29 along with a mix of painkillers, nausea medication and tranquilizers in her system. The 0.29 level is more than three times the driving alcohol limit in Georgia. Her death was ruled an "accidental overdose". During the investigation of her death, controlled substances were found in Pfohl's home. He was arrested and charged with 13 felony counts of possession of a controlled substance and a misdemeanor count of distribution of dangerous drugs.
2004 - WWE's Raw brand ran Lubbock, Texas, featuring:
Chris Jericho defeated Christian via submission with the Walls of Jericho, despite interference from Trish Stratus and Tyson Tomko
Tajiri defeated Rhyno and Garrison Cade by pinning Cade after spitting green mist into his face
WWE Intercontinental Champion Randy Orton pinned Shelton Benjamin with a roll up after faking a knee injury
WWE Women's Champion Victoria & Lita defeated Molly Holly & Gail Kim when Lita pinned Kim with the DDT; after the bout, Matt Hardy came out to protect Victoria and Lita from Kane
Kane pinned Matt Hardy with the chokeslam
Batista pinned Val Venis with a sidewalk slam
The Hurricane & Rosey & Eugene defeated Rob Conway & Sylvian Grenier, & Johnny Nitro when Hurricane pinned Grenier following the double team neckbreaker
WWE World Champion Chris Benoit defeated Triple H via submission with the Crippler Crossface, despite interference from Randy Orton and Batista
2005 - WWE ran their Backlash PPV in Manchester, New Hampshire, featuring Hulk Hogan teaming with Shawn Michaels and HHH vs. Batista on top. Buck Woodward filed the following PPV report:
Brief Heat Recap
- Ivory and Todd Grisham hosted outside, while Jonathan Coachman hosted from inside.
- A video package on the Chris Benoit-Edge feud was shown.
- Christian was interviewed by Lilian Garcia. Lilian asked Christian why he wasn't competing on Backlash, but Christian instead talked about Tyson Tomko's Heat match tonight with Val Venis, then made fun of Lilian before promising a surprise tonight during the PPV.
- A music video on Triple H's Pedigree was shown.
- A video package on the Hassan & Daivari vs. Michaels & Hogan match was shown. Lilian Garcia interviewed Hassan & Daivari, who claimed that beating World Tag Team Champions William Regal & Yoshihiro Tajiri proved they were a better team than Michaels & Hogan, who have never teamed before. Daivari spoke English for a change. Hassan promised that this would be Hogan's last match, and that "Hulkamania would die".
- A video on WWE's European tour was shown.
- The Trish Stratus-Viscera "arrangement" and date was recapped.
- Batista was shown arriving at the arena.
- In the only match of the show, Tyson Tomko defeated Val Venis with a boot to the face. Christian didn't accompany Tomko to the ring, and there was actually a "We Want Christian" chant during the match.
- The show ended with hype for the Triple H vs. Batista match.
Backlash
The Pay-per-view opened with a short video package on Hulk Hogan's return, before going into a longer package on how Triple H "owns" the World Title, and how Batista should be afraid of the Pedigree.
Intercontinental Champion Shelton Benjamin vs. Chris Jericho.
Jericho seemed the favorite with this crowd at the start. They traded waistlocks at the start, and went back and forth on the mat with some counter wrestling. Benjamin grabbed an armdrag, then applied an armbar. Jericho reversed it, and tried to pull Benjamin to the mat, but Shelton kept kipping up. Benjamin springboarded off the ropes to escape an armbar. Jericho couldn't maintain the armbar, so he slapped Benjamin. Benjamin tackled Jericho and they began to brawl. Jericho hit some chops on the ropes, then the two jockeyed for position on a vertical suplex. Jericho was suplexed to the apron, but Jericho backdropped Shelton to the floor. Shelton held on and went for a powerbomb to the floor, but Jericho turned it into a rana on the floor, although Jericho did hit his head on the move.
Jericho ripped the padding off the top of the security wall, then dropped Shelton chest first on it. Jericho tossed Shelton back into the ring and kicked him in the gut. Jericho hit a vertical suplex, then stood on his chest with the old "Come on, baby" flex for a one count. Jericho applied a rear chinlock, driving his knee into Benjamin's back. Jericho hit a chop, but missed a clothesline and Shelton hit a flying forearm, only for Jericho to come right back with a dropkick. Jericho choked Benjamin against the bottom rope, but Benjamin planted Jericho with a back suplex. Benjamin chopped Jericho in a corner and headbutted him. Jericho dodged a charge and hit a bulldog. Jericho went for a Lionsault, but Shelton shoved him over the ropes and to the apron. They battled on the ropes, with Jericho shoving Shelton to the mat. Shelton got up, and jumped to the top rope in one leap to grab Jericho with a superplex for a two count.
Shelton hit a flapjack for a two count, then applied a sleeperhold with a bodyscissors. Jericho battled out with elbows, then the two clotheslined each other to the mat. Both men were up at the eight count, and Shelton went for a Stinger Splash, but missed. Jericho it a forearm and shoulderblock, then stomped Benjamin's back. Jericho tripped Benjamin into the ropes and went for the straddle, but Benjamin caught him in a Samoan Drop for a two count. Benjamin worked over Jericho in a corner, but ran into an elbow. Jericho hit an enzugiri for a two count. Jericho stomped Benjamin in the head, but missed a clothesline. Jericho tossed Shelton over the top rope, but Shelton landed on the apron and hit a springboard bulldog for a two count. Benjamin went for an Oklahoma Roll, but Jericho reversed it for a two count. Jericho went for the Walls Of Jericho, but when he couldn't get it, he catapulted Benjamin into a corner. Benjamin jumped to the ropes, and faked a move, then grabbed a T-Bone suplex, only for Jericho to get his foot on the ropes. Benjamin pulled Jericho to the center of the ring for a two count. Benjamin went for the move again, Jericho blocked it, and Benjamin went for a back heel kick, but Jericho ducked it and applied the Walls Of Jericho.
Benjamin struggled in the hold, but made the ropes for a break. Jericho stomped Benjamin, and kicked him in the midsection. Benjamin came back with a spin kick to the face, and crawled onto Jericho for a two count. Benjamin went for a dropkick, but Jericho avoided it. Jericho went for a Lionsault, but Benjamin put his knees up. Jericho saw it, and landed on his feet, and grabbed the legs for the Walls of Jericho. Benjamin rolled through it into a pinning position, but Jericho reversed, only for Benjamin to reverse again into a rollup for the pin at the fifteen minute mark. Winner: Shelton Benjamin.
Post-match, Jericho was left in the ring, frustrated over his loss. Todd Grisham tried to get an interview at ringside with Jericho, who just walked away.
Jonathan Coachman interviewed Edge. Edge said that he was going to continue to frustrate Chris Benoit, pointing out his win in the Ladder match at Wrestlemania. Edge promised to show Benoit why he is "Money In The Bank".
Tag Team Turmoil Match
The Heart Throbs vs. William Regal & Yoshihiro Tajiri.
Regal and Romeo started off, with Romeo hitting a shoulderblock for a two count. Romeo and Regal traded armbars, and Antonio tagged in. Regal outwrestled Antonio on the mat, and tagged in Tajiri for a drop toe hold into a dropkick. Tajiri unloaded with some kicks, and hiptossed Antonio before kicking him in the back. Tajiri used a double underhook submission, then hit a double underhook suplex. Romeo broke up the cover. Antonio suplexed Tajiri for a two count, then tagged in Romeo for a double clothesline in the corner for a two count. The Heart Throbs hit a double elbow for a two count. Tajiri battled out of their corner, but Antonio kept him from making a tag. Tajiri caught Antonio out of a corner with a sunset flip for the pin at the three minute mark.
Simon Dean & Maven vs. Regal & Tajiri.
Dean and Maven hit the ring and immediately attacked Tajiri. They worked him over in their corner, but Regal hit Dean from the apron and Tajiri decked him with a spinkick. William Regal tagged in and cleaned house, suplexing Dean and backdropping Maven. Regal hit Dean with a running knee to the head, and pinned him at the six minute mark (total match time).
La Resistance vs. Regal & Tajiri.
La Resistance ran to the ring and worked over both tag champions, until Tajiri hit a double springboard elbow on both men. Tajiri hit a spinkick on Grenier, then tagged in Regal for a hiptoss/double kick combo. Regal hit Grenier with a forearm for a two count. Tajiri tagged in and hit some kicks to the gut and back. Tajiri hit a legdrop for a two count, then tagged in Regal. Regal got hit with a knee to the gut, and Conway tagged in. Conway got a two count with a kneelift, but Regal battled back and applied the Regal Stretch, but Grenier broke it up. Tajiri knocked Grenier to the apron and went for the Tarantula, but Grenier blocked it. Regal knocked Grenier off the apron, but Conway rolled up Regal from behind and hooked the trunks for the pin at the ten minute mark (total match time). We're guaranteed new champions now.
Hurricane & Rosey vs. La Resistance.
Hurricane scored two counts on Grenier with a flying bodypress and a blockbuster, while Rosey battled Conway on the floor. Grenier tossed away Hurricane on a headscissors attempt, and Hurricane hit his leg on the ringpost on his way to the floor in a scary moment. Conway dropped an elbow on Hurricane on the floor, then tossed him back into the ring. La Resistance worked over Hurricane in the ring, with Conway hitting a clothesline, and Grenier hitting a uranage. Grenier slammed Hurricane, but missed a second rope elbow. Rosey got the hot tag and cleaned house, but missed an avalanche on Grenier. Rosey caught a Grenier bodyblock and powerslammed him for two. The match broke down, and La Resistance hit a double spinebuster on Rosey for a two count. Rosey shoved La Resistance together, knocked Grenier to the floor. Rosey slammed Conway, then sat on the top rope. Hurricane climbed onto Rosey's shoulders and gave Conway a splash for the pin at the fourteen minute mark (total match time). Winners and new World Tag Team Champions: Hurricane & Rosey.
A video package on the Edge-Benoit feud was shown.
Last Man Standing: Edge vs. Chris Benoit.
Edge charged Benoit as he entered the ring, and Benoit took Edge down and started pounding on him. Benoit hit a knee to the gut, and a "You Screwed Matt" chant rung out for Edge. Benoit stomped Edge and hit a snap suplex. Benoit chopped Edge and pounded his back, then rammed him face first into the buckles. Benoit chopped Edge's chest, and worked him over in a corner. Edge reversed a whip and sent Benoit chest first into the corner. "We Want Matt" chant as Edge went on offense, dropping a knee on Benoit's chest. Edge stomped Benoit and choked him against the ropes. Edge slammed Benoit, then measured him for a spear. Edge charged, but Benoit grabbed a drop toe hold. Benoit hit a running forearm, then went for the Crippler Crossface, but Edge was under the ropes and Benoit never got it locked in. Benoit hit some knees to the head, but Edge battled back with a kick to the side of the head. Edge went under the ring for a trash can, but Benoit hit him with a baseball slide.
They battled on the outside, with Benoit backdropping Edge into the crowd. They two brawled amongst the fans, and back to ringside. Back in the ring, Benoit applied a Sharpshooter, and Edge tapped, but it doesn't matter in a Last Man Standing match. Edge got to the ropes and pulled out of the hold, but Benoit gave him five consecutive German suplexes. Edge rolled to the floor and collapsed on the outside. Edge got to his feet at eight on the floor, and got on the apron. Benoit charged and knocked Edge back to the floor. Edge was down for a nine count. Benoit went for a tope, but Edge hit Benoit with a trash can lid as he came at him. Benoit was down on the floor for an eight count, as Edge put a trash can in the ring. Edge hit Benoit with the trash can lid on the floor. Back in the ring, Edge set up Benoit for a superplex onto the trash can, but Benoit battled back on the ropes. They traded punches, and Edge hit the superplex, with Benoit's back crushing the trash can.
Edge got up at the seven count, while Benoit was up at eight. Edge hit a running knee and blasted Benoit repeatedly with a trash can lid. Edge went under the ring and got a ladder. Edge set up the ladder in a corner, but Benoit fired off some chops as Edge approached him. Edge slammed Benoit, then went to climb the ladder. Benoit followed him, and gave Edge a German suplex from the middle of the ladder. Both men were up around eight, and Benoit gave Edge another German suplex. Benoit climbed the ladder and went for the diving headbutt, but Edge rolled out of the way and Benoit crashed on the mat. Edge went for his briefcase and tried to hit Benoit with it, but Benoit ducked and grabbed the Crippler Crossface. Edge tapped again, not that it mattered. Edge started to fade, and Benoit released the hold.
The referee started to count both men, as Benoit was slow to get up. They both made it up in time, and Edge went for the briefcase again, but Benoit grabbed Edge in two more German suplexes. Edge fought out of a third, and grabbed Benoit in the Edgecution DDT (implant DDT, now being called the Impaler), right on the briefcase. Benoit got up at nine, but Edge hit the spear. Benoit was up at nine again, so Edge hit another spear. Benoit was up at nine again, so Edge opened the briefcase, pulled out a brick, and hit Benoit with it. Benoit out, and the referee counted to ten at the nineteen minute mark. Winner: Edge.
Benoit was helped to his feet by the referees after Edge had left, with the fans giving him an ovation, and Benoit selling the shot from the brick (which they replayed over and over) in a big way.
Backstage, Lita and Kane talked about Kane's match with Viscera. Lita talked about how gross it would be if Trish had to sleep with Viscera, but said she liked Kane's plans for them much better. Lita and Kane then started making out.
Jerry Lawler brought out Christy Hemme, Maria, Stacy Keibler, Candice Michelle, Victoria, and had Lilian Garcia join them in the ring. Lawler then went into a long plug for the Divas swimsuit issue, showing some of their favorite pictures. Lawler was about to ask the Divas "personal questions" when Chris Masters came out. Masters entered the ring, and the Divas & Lawler left without incident.
Chris Masters talked about his streak with the Masterlock Challenge, and said he was now offering $3,000 to anyone who could break the hold. Masters picked someone from the crowd, not realizing at first that he had picked a girl. The girl introduced herself as Melissa Coates, and Masters made some jokes about her muscular physique being man-like. Masters put her in the full nelson, yanked her out of the chair, and easily laid her out with the hold.
Trish Stratus and Viscera were backstage talking about the match tonight. Viscera said it would be "on like neckbone" and showed Trish some lingerie he purchased for her, and said he was going to be taking her to a "Bed And Breakfast" after the match (because Vis likes those two things). Trish reminded Vis that if he didn't take care of Kane, there wouldn't be any fun for him tonight. Vis slapped Trish's rear end as they walked off.
Kane, with Lita, vs. Viscera, with Trish Stratus.
Lita was walking on a single crutch. Kane went for a shoulderblock at the bell, but Viscera didn't move. Kane hit a shot to the head, but Viscera came back with a clothesline. Viscera missed a charge in the corner, and Kane kicked him to the floor. Kane hit a top rope dive on Viscera on the floor. "We Want Matt" chants rang out. Kane dropped an elbow on Viscera in the ring and followed with a legdrop for a two count. "She's A Slut" chants started up. Viscera hit a charging Kane with a spinkick, and implied to Trish that they would be getting busy later. Viscera slammed Kane, but missed an elbowdrop. Trish stalked Lita on the floor, and and Kane grabbed Trish by the hair from the ring. This allowed Viscera to hit an avalanche and deliver a Samoan Drop for a two count. A brief "Let's Go Mabel" chant. Viscera hit Kane with a sidewalk slam for a two count. Viscera choked Kane, then headbutted him. Viscera went for a backdrop, but Kane hit him with a DDT. Kane went to the top rope, and hit a clothesline. Kane called for a chokeslam, but Viscera elbowed it off. Viscera clotheslined Kane to the floor. Viscera went after Kane on the floor, but Lita stood between them. Viscera shoved Lita out of the way, and went to avalanche Kane. Kane moved and Viscera hit the ringpost. Kane rammed Viscera into the ringpost a second time. Trish went for a chair to hit Kane, but Lita blasted Trish with her metal crutch. Kane put Viscera in the ring, and went to the top rope. Viscera caught Kane as he came off the top and hit a double chokeslam/powerbomb for a two count. Viscera pulled Lita into the ring, and acted like he was going to kiss her. Kane sat up in the ring, hit a big boot and a chokeslam for the pin at the seven minute mark.
Winner: Kane.
Post-match, Trish got on the mic and belittled Viscera for losing to Kane. Trish said that even if Viscera had won, she wasn't going to sleep with him. Trish said she was going to get a "real man" to take care of business. Viscera tossed around Trish with a bear hug, then acted like he was going to leave, but returned to the ring and gave Trish a big splash. Viscera did some pelvis thrusts to the delight of the crowd, then left the ring. Trish was taken out of the ring on a stretcher.
A video package on the events leading to Hassan & Daivari vs. Hogan & Michaels was shown.
Hulk Hogan & Shawn Michaels vs. Muhammad Hassan & Khosrow Daivari.
Michaels and Hogan made separate entrances. They had a long pause between Michaels' music ending and Hogan's starting, and Hogan's entrance (big shock coming) got a huge pop. Hogan and Michaels had a long discussion over who would start the match. Hogan started against Hassan. Hogan drew a line in the ring and dared Hassan to cross it. They locked up, and Hogan shoved Hassan in a corner and started flexing. They locked up again, and Hogan grabbed a side headlock. Hogan hit a shoulderblock, and Hassan retreated to his corner. Hogan grabbed an arm wringer, then drove an elbow into the arm. Hassan pulled Hogan into his corner by the hair. Hassan and Daivari double teamed Hogan, who came back with a double clothesline. Hogan punched Hassan to the mat, then hit a clothesline. Hogan rammed Hassan into Michaels' boot, then had Michaels come in for a double boot to the face. There was no tag, but the ref let Michaels stay in the ring anyway.
Michaels booted a charging Hassan, then chopped him to the mat. Michaels slammed Hassan, but missed an elbowdrop. Daivari tagged in, and worked over Michaels with chops in a corner. Michaels came back with his own chops, then backdropped him. Hogan tagged in, and Daivari was given a double back elbow. Hogan tossed Daivari to the floor, then rammed him into the security wall. Hogan rammed Daivari shoulder first into the ringpost. Hogan took a Hulkamania hat from a fan, put it on Daivari's head and punched him down. Hogan rolled Daivari back into the ring and choked him. Hogan dropped two elbows, then stopped on a third and raked Daivari's eyes with his foot instead. Michaels tagged in, and Daivari leapfrogged him, but was chopped to the mat. Michaels did the kip up, gave Daivari a reverse atomic drop, and knocked Hassan off the apron. Michaels slammed Daivari, then hit a top rope elbow. Michaels set up for Sweet Chin Music, and Hassan got on the apron. Hogan knocked Hassan down. As the referee got Hogan to his corner, Hassan got in the ring with a pipe and hit Michaels with it. Daivari crawled onto Michaels for a two count.
Hassan tagged in and worked over Michaels with elbows. Daivari tagged in and hit a second rope elbow, then whipped Michaels hard into a corner and choked him. Daivari snapmared Michaels and put him in a surfboard. Michaels battled out, but Daivari yanked him by the hair to the mat. Hassan came in and worked over Michaels with a reverse chinlock. Michaels battled out and applied a sleeper, but Hassan broke out with a back suplex. Hassan applied a camel clutch on Michaels, and Michaels struggled in the hold, as Hogan rallied the crowd and told Michaels not to give up. Michaels escaped with an electric chair, and both men were down on the mat. Daivari tagged in, just as Michaels made the hot tag to Hogan.
Hogan hit cleaned house on both opponents, hitting a double noggin knocker. Hassan rolled out of the ring. Hogan gave Daivari the boot to the face, psyched up the crowd, and went to the ropes, but Hassan tapped Hogan in the back with the pipe, and Hogan fell down. Daivari covered Hogan, but Hulk kicked out at two. Hogan hulked up, gave Daivari a boot to the face, and went to bounce off the ropes again. Hassan grabbed Hogan, but Hulk knocked him off the apron, as Michaels gave Daivari a superkick. Hogan covered Daivari for a three count at the seventeen minute mark. Winners: Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels.
Hogan and Michaels tossed Daivari out of the ring, and as Hassan & Daivari left, Hogan & Michaels posed for the crowd. They even brought a fan in from the crowd who had a Hulk Hogan tattoo covering his back and had him join in the posing.
A video package of ECW clips, voiced over by Paul Heyman, was shown, announcing the ECW: One Night Stand Pay-per-view for June 12th.
Todd Grisham interviewed Triple H, who said that Batista got lucky at Wrestlemania, and that tonight he would become an 11-time World Champion.
Christian & Tyson Tomko came to the ring, with Christian saying this might be the last time he is on a Raw PPV, due to the upcoming draft. Christian said he wanted to take this time to talk to his "fellow main eventers" and would be doing so with a rap. Christian did his rap, ripping on Batista, Triple H, Ric Flair, and JBL, before acting like he had forgotten John Cena. Christian then laid into Cena, saying he "talked like Snoop Dogg, but looked like Corey Haim". Christian promised to be champion, regardless which brand he ended up on after the draft.
A video package on the Batista-Triple H feud was shown.
World Champion Batista vs. Triple H.
Ric Flair came to the ring to personally introduce Triple H. Flair tried to grab Batista from the floor as the match started, allowing Triple H to ambush Batista. Batista reversed a whip and went for a backdrop, and Triple H tried for a Pedigree, but Batista shoved him away. They brawled in a corner, and Triple H tried for it again, but Batista shoved it off and tried for his Batista Bomb, but Triple H shoved it away. They locked up and Triple H worked over Batista in a corner, but Batista reversed a whip and backdropped Triple H. Batista hit some right hands, but Triple H kicked Batista in the gut and went for a Pedigree. Batista backdropped out of it, sending Triple H over the top rope and to the floor. Batista went outside, but Triple H gave him a spinebuster into the wall. Triple H knocked Batista over the security wall and into the crowd. Triple H suplexed Batista back into the ringside area.
Back in the ring, Triple H used to bottom rope to launch an elbowdrop to the back. Triple H drove a knee into the back of Batista, but then ran into a Batista elbow. Batista went for a powerbomb, but his back was hurting him. Triple H hit a flurry of shoulderblocks to the back of Batista, then whipped him hard into the opposite corner. Batista rolled to the floor, and Flair rammed Batista into the ring apron and hit a series of chops. Back in the ring, Batista and Triple H exchanged right hands, with Batista getting the better of it, but Triple H hit a spinebuster for a trio of two counts. Batista was whipped into a corner, but came back with a clothesline. Batista hit a series of right hands, then planted Triple H with a side slam. Batista clotheslined Triple H over the top rope and to the floor. Batista went after him, ramming Triple H into the security wall and whipping him into the steps. Batista rammed Triple H into the steps again, then stalked him in the ring.
Batista hit a series of shoulderblocks on Triple H in the corner, then hit a powerslam. Batista shook the ropes ala the Ultimate Warrior. Ric Flair tried to get in, and Batista hit him. Batista went for the Demon Bomb, while the referee was trying to keep Ric Flair out of the ring. Batista lifted Triple H, who had possession of the World Title belt, and Triple H nailed Batista with the belt. Triple H covered Batista, but only got a two count. Triple H complained about the count, then went for a Pedigree, but Batista backdropped him. Batista went for a clothesline, but Triple H ducked and the referee was knocked out of the ring. Triple H hit the Pedigree. Flair threw the referee into the ring, but he was out cold and couldn't count. Triple H had Batista covered for over ten seconds. Triple H and Flair tried to wake up the referee, but couldn't.
A second referee came down, and Triple H went for the Pedigree again. Batista blocked it and hit a spinebuster for a two count. Batista went for a backdrop, but Triple H hit a facebuster on the knee for a two count. Batista came back with a series of clotheslines in a corner, and a dazed Triple H kicked the referee between the legs. Batista went for a powerbomb, but Flair ran in. Batista hit Flair, and Triple H grabbed Batista for a Pedigree. Batista blocked it and catapulted Triple H. Triple H hit Batista with a low blow, then pounded him in a corner. Batista came out of the corner with a powerbomb and the original referee, who was now awake, counted to three at the seventeen minute mark. Winner: Batista.
Batista left with the title belt, while in the ring, Triple H went bezerk, shoving Flair and giving the referee a Pedigree. The end of the PPV saw Batista holding up the belt and smiling on the stage, while Triple H was in the ring yelling "No!"
2006 - WWE signed a deal to hold the first house show for the newly relaunched ECW brand at the former ECW Arena. It would be the only show the new brand would hold there.
2006 - WWE Raw was highlighted by a "shoot style" promo from Joey Styles in which he, in storyline, quit the company. This was done are part of the push by WWE to launch an ECW brand. Thanks to Paul LaPorte for doing the following write-up of the promo.
Events leading up to the promo:
The GMs for the evening, the Spirit Squad, called Joey into their office(?) to tell him that if he didn't do a good job of commentary on the title match they would make him wear a cheerleader outfit. Joey then came back out to King mocking Joey and the fact that he may be a cheerleader next week. He was telling Joey to "have spirit" and noted that if this was ECW he'd have spirit, to which Joey replied "If this was ECW, I wouldn't be working with a hack, like you." This led to Joey shoving Lawler a few times, which Lawler liked (he was showing "spirit") then Joey slapped him in the face, which led to King shoving him to the floor and Joey running off to the back.
After the break King apologized to Joey and asked him to come back out and finish out the show. Joey came back out and said the following:
"You want to apologize? Like nothing happened. Like you didn't knock me on my ass in front of millions of people worldwide, and I'm going to come down there and work with you. I'm not coming back, and now thanks to the magic of live television I'm going to show the whole world, why for seven years in ECW I was the unscripted, uncensored, loose cannon of commentary.
Six months ago, WWE called me, I didn't call this company because I was looking for a job. I didn't need a job. WWE called me because they had humiliated and fired...again, Jim Ross. So I get JR's spot, and from week one, week after week I've got an ongoing lecture about the differences in professional wrestling and sports entertainment. I'm not allowed to say 'pro wrestling', I'm not allowed to say 'wrestler'. I have to say 'sports entertainment' and refer to the wrestlers as 'superstars'. I'm told to deliberately ignore the moves and the holds during the matches so I can tell stories. Well ignoring the moves and the holds is damn insulting to the athletes, the 'wrestlers', not the entertainers who leave their families three hundred days a year to ply their craft in that ring.
Here's the best part, because I'm not a sports entertainment storyteller I get pulled from Wrestlemania, and the reason I'm given is, is because I don't sound like Jim Ross, who's the guy they fired in the first place. That makes sense, right?
So I swallow the bitter pill, I'm a company guy. I get bumped from Wrestlemania. Then I get bumped from Backlash? I'm not good enough to call Backlash!? In ECW, I called live pay-per-views on my own, solo, no color commentators dragging me down. Wasn't done before me, hasn't been done since. But I'm not good enough to call Backlash because I'm not a sports entertainment storyteller.
Well you know what? I am sick of sports entertainment. I am sick of male cheerleaders. I am sick of boogers and bathroom humor and semen and I am sick of our chairman. Who likes to talk about his own semen, he mocks God... he mocks God! And makes out with the Divas, all to feed his own insatiable ego. I am sick of sports entertainment, and most of all I am sick of you fans who actually buy into that crap! This sports entertainment circus! I never needed this job, and I don't want this job anymore."
[At this point Joey pulls the WWE collar off the microphone and tosses it away.]
"I quit!"
Other results from the Raw broadcast:. which featured The Spirit Squad as GMs
Torrie Wilson & Maria defeated WWE Women's Champion Mickie James & Victoria at 2:19 when Maria pinned Mickie after Trish Stratus, her arm in a sling, came out and tripped Mickie as she attempted to suplex Maria into the ring; the four wore cheerleading outfits under the order of the Spirit Squad.
WWE Raw Tag Team Champions Mikey, Nicky, & Johnny defeated Eugene, Goldust & Gene Snitsky at 4:22 when Johnny pinned Eugene with a Johnny-Go-Round spin kick after avoiding the Stunner.Todd Grisham interviewed Eugene about the match, with Eugene insulting Eric Bischoff, until he was attacked by Striker
Kane pinned Rob Conway with the tombstone at 2:48; Kane hit Conway over the head with a trash can and hit the chokeslam but then walked out of the match until guest referee Shawn Michaels grabbed the mic, repeatedly said "May 19th," and then laid the mic on Conway's body so Kane would think he was the one who said it; under orders of the Spirit Squad, Michaels was forced to wear a shirt that had "May 19th" written across it but he hit a low blow on Conway before the match and put the shirt on him prior to Kane's entrance
Umaga (w/ Armando Allejandro Estrada) pinned Rory Fox with a splash off the top and the thumb strike to the throat at 1:14
WWE Intercontinental champion Rob Van Dam & Carlito defeated Shelton Benjamin & Chris Masters in an impromptu match at around the 8-minute mark when Carlito pinned Benjamin with a roll up and grabbing the tights for leverage after Charlie Haas, who came through the crowd, prevented Benjamin from using a steel chair; the match was originally a Masterlock Challenge for RVD but turned into a tag match when Benjamin attacked RVD, with Carlito then making the save; moments later, Mikey of the Spirit Squad came out and ordered the four to face off in a tag team match.
WWE World Champion John Cena pinned WWE Raw Tag Team Champion Kenny (with the Spirit Squad) with the FU at 8:03 after he and guest referee Shawn Michaels laid out the Spirit Squad; Triple H was the initial referee for the match, after being ordered to do it by Vince McMahon who threatened him by not giving him any more title matches, but walked out of the contest late in the match after a confrontation with Kenny and dropping Mitch with the Pedigree; as Triple H walked up the ramp, Michaels came out wearing a referee shirt and the two had a lengthy staredown before eventually glancing at the crowd and going their different ways.
2007 -WWE's website announced this evening that Tough Enough 3 champion Matt Cappotelli underwent surgery in Boston, MA to remove a malignant brain tumor, with the surgery being deemed "successful." Cappotelli would never return to the ring following surgery.
2007 -Jim Bell, the former World Wrestling Entertainment senior vice president of licensing and merchandising who was featured in wrestling documentary Beyond the Mat, and Stanley Shenker, a former WWE licensing agent who worked with the company, were both sentenced for a kickback scheme in which they defrauded WWE over the span of several years. Bell, 52 years old, received an eight month prison sentence and three years of probation. Shenker, 61 was sentenced to two years, nine months in prison, followed by three years of probation. Shenker plead guilty in January 2006 of conspiring to defraud WWE of honest services by paying close to $1 million in kickbacks to Bell. Bell plead guilty in 2005 to the scheme. Shenker, the sole corporate officer of licensing company Stanley Shenker and Associates, agreed to pay Bell kickbacks in exchange for him sending WWE business his way. The fraud took place from 1998 to 2002, with Shenker paying Bell around $950,000. The two created fake paperwork, not only to trick WWE, but to allow Shenker to deduct the payments as business expenses on his taxes. During sentencing, Shenker was ordered to pay $2.8 million in restitution to World Wrestling Entertainment. Bell was ordered to pay a $6,000 fine and more than $950,000 in restitution. Bell was seen in the Barry Blaustein documentary Beyond The Mat discussing WWE's merchandising while making an analogy between The Muppets and the then-World Wrestling Federation. In another scene, Bell presents new products to Vince McMahon.
2007 -Rob Van Dam defeated The Sandman, Sabu and Tommy Dreamer in the main event of ECW on SyFy. Here is Mike Johnson's ECW TV report:
Welcome to PWInsider.com's live, ongoing coverage of ECW on SciFi from Birmingham, Alabama. last time "ECW" broadcast live from Birmingham it was Guilty as Charged 2000 headlined by ECW World champion Mike Awesome defeating Spike Dudley in one hell of a main event. Tonight's show is scheduled to be based around the ECW Originals confronting Vince McMahon about his ECW title win, plus appearances by Bobby Lashley, CM Punk, Elijah Burke, and Snitsky. The Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer promos on ECW.com about Vince's title win were both really good, so hopefully this will be the start of something interesting. Well, a guy can hope, right?
ECW opened with a video feature on Mr. McMahon winning the ECW championship at Backlash this past Sunday. In ECW tradition, a shot of McMahon as champion was added to the end of the opening montage.
Bobby Lashley made his way to the ring, dressed to wrestle. He stopped to let his pyro explode. Perhaps I'm being nitpicky but if I lost the World title, I certainly would be mad enough that I wouldn't want to play pomp and circumstance. The crowd chants his name. Lashley says that McMahon finally got revenge for what happened at Wrestlemania 23. He says that outside of the McMahon family no one is happy about it - not the fans, not the Originals, and not him. Lashley says that he has a way to make it all better and promises to give McMahon the beating of a lifetime. He says that he doesn't care that he has an injured shoulder and demands a rematch right now.
Armando Alejandro Estrada came out in wheelchair, channeling Ron Wright. Estrada says because of Lashley, he's in a wheelchair and McMahon is bald. He says he's being prevented from doing his job as Umaga's manager. He promises that Lashley won't ruin McMahon's special night. Estrada claims he was instructed to deliver a message and that is that Lashley will get a rematch. He says that unless Lashley is "physically provoked", he can't come into contact with any of the McMahons or Umaga. If he does, he'll forfeit that future title rematch. Of course, Armando didn't say his own name, so Lashley came out of the ring and attacked him, running his wheelchair into the ringsteps.
Joey Styles noted that the ECW Originals are furious and wondered what would happen when they confront Vince McMahon.
Promo for the Condemned, which is playing before empty movie theatres across the country.
Elijah Burke was backstage with the other members of the New Breed. He said last week CM Punk set them all up and turned his back on the New Breed. He tells them that Punk wasn't really trying to motivate them and tonight, they follow Burke's lead.
CM Punk came to the ring. They showed what happened last week week. Elijah Burke tells Punk on the mic that last week he used the New Breed for his own purposes and told Punk that he was going to fight. Punk responded, "I came here to fight!" Burke then told Punk he was fighting Kevin Thorn.
CM Punk vs. Kevin Thorn
Thorn beat Punk down in the corner early. He worked over Punk with clubbing blows to the chest, then locked in a side chinlock. Punk hit a high cross bodyblock after rebounding off the ropes, but was caught and slammed down. Punk kicked Thorn in the face then hit a series of offensive moves. He nailed the Go To Sleep and pinned Thorn.
Your winner, CM Punk!
Matt Striker and Marcus Cor Von wanted to come to the ring but Burke held them back in the aisle.
They showed clips of the ECW Originals promos.
They pushed that Extreme Expose was back next.
Extreme Expose is dancing to Warrant. 1990 says hello. Now if Snitsky chokeslammed Jani Lane through a table, we'd be in business. I've got Scatterbrain and Krokus in the betting pool for future bands. No Snitsky.
Backstage, Kevin Thorn demanded to know where they were for him. Burke told him they were watching him get pinned. Burke told him not to question him because anyone else in the New Breed, including Ariel, could have beat Punk. Thorn told him that as far as Burke and the New Breed go, "I quit."
Tazz and Joey Styles said the New Breed could be falling apart, but the ECW Originals are unified against Vince McMahon. They aired more ECW.com comments from the Originals. The Dreamer and Van Dam promos were among the best they've ever given in their WWE runs.
Snitsky video feature.
Matt Striker & Marcus Cor Von vs. Brian & Brett Major
The Majors are WWE developmental stars who most recently were with Deep South. They are from the NYWC in Long Island, NY, originally using the names Matt Matthews and Bryan Myers. We noted on PWInsider.com that when DSW was shut down, some of the talents may be brought to the main roster. The Majors double teamed Striker early. Cor Von worked over one of the brothers outside the ring. He pressed one over his head and hit a Fall Away Slam. Cor Von controlled the match, then missing a flying shoulderblock in the corner. The other Major Brother tagged in and cleaned house on Striker, hitting a one man flapjack for a two count. Cor Von broke up the pin and tossed one of the Majors out of the ring. The other sunset flipped Striker, who grabbed Cor Von from the ring. Striker fell into the move but kicked up at two. They went back and forth. Striker whipped him into the corner but he came off with a bodypress and scored the pin. Burke was shocked.
Your winners, The Major Brothers!
Burke and Striker argued in the corner. Burke told Striker that he disgusted him and claimed he made Striker. He told Striker he should leave with his head down after that embarrassing loss. Striker was mad but eventually walked off.
They showed clips of Umaga vs. RVD from Raw.
They aired a video feature on The Condemned. I am truly surprised by how much of a bomb this is, considering that Austin has much more of a fan base than any other performer who WWE have put into films. I guess the timing was completely wrong, because I really expected it to have a good first week before Spider-Man obliterated it to pieces.
Vince McMahon walked to the ring as if he was recreating the "I Got No Strings" song from Pinocchio. McMahon bragged about being ECW champion. He said that he'll get to Bobby Lashley and will defend the title against him when he's ready. He noted that the "so-called Originals" had derogatory things to say, but it's easy to say something behind someone's back. He said it's different to say it to his face. He says he wants to see if they have the gumption to say to his face what they really feel and invites them to come to the ring.
The Originals came to the ring. The fans chanted "ECW" so McMahon thanked them. McMahon said he wanted to start Rob Van Dam. Van Dam said that he killed ECW and him wearing the belt is mockery of everything they stood for. Vince tried to get Sabu's commented, but Sabu just sneered at him. He went to Sandman. Sandman told him to read between the lines if he's so smart. McMahon went to Dreamer. Dreamer asks him if he thinks he brought back ECW in his image. He says that the fans demanded it to come back. not McMahon. He tells McMahon that his name may be on his paycheck, but the fans are the ones who pay his salary. He says that they know about the spirit of ECW.
McMahon mocked them and asked which of them had the guts to take him on, one-on-one. All of them wanted the shot. McMahon eliminated them all one by one before telling them they were going to have to compete tonight for a shot against McMahon next week. He said it would be a "one fall to a finish Four Way Dance." He demanded a referee. He said it would be an Extreme Rules match and demanded that weapons be brought to the ring.
Rob Van Dam vs. Tommy Dreamer vs. Sabu vs. Sandman
This really should be a PPV match, not a main event made at the last minute with 4 minutes to go.
All four touched knuckles at the bell. Sabu tried to roll up Van Dam early. Sandman tried to backslide Sabu. All four began battling. Sandman dropkicked RVD and Sabu out of the ring. Dreamer hit a clothesline off the ropes on Sandman. Van Dam and Sabu tossed weapons into the ring, then drilled Dreamer with a chair. They drilled Dreamer with Rolling Thunder. RVD set up for Air Sabu but Sabu turned on him and legdropped Van Dam. Dreamer nailed Sandman and Sabu with a trashcan. Crowd doesn't seem to know how to react to the babyfaces fighting each other early, but popped for the big spots.
Dreamer clotheslined Sandman over the ropes. He went to the floor and tried to suplex Sandman on the guard rail. Sandman reversed it and dropped Dreamer on it. VVan Dam took out Sandman and went for his corkscrew legdrop off the apron. Sabu splashed Van Dam from behind and they crashed to the floor. It wasn't pretty but the crowd chanted ECW anyway.
Dreamer nailed Sandman with a chair, tied him to the tree of woe and dropkicked him. Dreamer got the chair from McMahon, teasing he was going to hit him. Sabu laid out Dreamer but was in turn laid out by Van Dam. Van Dam drilled Sandman with a chair then hit a skateboard dropkick in the corner. Dreamer hit a a piledriver on RVD, who took his old school bump off of it, bouncing into the air. Dreamer did his scream but was caned by Sandman. Sabu through a chair in Sandman's face and hit a triple jump moonsault for a two count.
Sabu put Sandman on a table and went to the top but Dreamer caught him and superplexed Sabu through the table. Van Dam nailed the five star frog splash off the top and pinned Sandman to earn the title shot.
Your winner, Rob Van Dam!
McMahon tried to walk off but Van Dam left the ring and told him that next week, the belt was coming back to him. He did his thumb posing routine, with the crowd chanting RVD. They faced off. Joey Styles ran down Vince McMahon's accomplishments but warned that McMahon has never dealt with a fired up, motivated RVD.
Thoughts: After several weeks of ECW being based around CM Punk, he's been given three minutes?....The New Breed falling apart is happening so fast, you'd think it was taking place on TNA Impact....Van Dam vs. Vince should create some interesting talk considering Van Dam is near the end of his tenure, has the reputation of "being stiff" and hasn't signed a new WWE deal yet....That was a damn good promo by Tommy Dreamer. Too bad the audience that it would mean the most to has already written off this ECW....I got a big kick out of Vince being scared of Sabu....Punk vs. Thorn was too short to be any good...The Major Brothers debut was done well, but WWE has a habit of giving characters a big debut and then failing to follow up. We'll see it they follow suit here....The final few minutes of the main event were entertaining, but early it was really painful to watch. After Sabu and Van Dam crashed out of the ring, they finally found their groove.
2008 - Superstar Graham, who had been recently released by WWE from a consultant's position, made public scans of his release paperwork, including a WWE claim that they were retaining the rights to his name and persona. WWE later backed off on that claim. Graham and WWE have been at odds since that release with Graham often publicly decrying the company.
2008 - TNA released former Knockouts champion Roxxi. Roxxi and Rhaka Khan had been serving a 60 days suspension following a backstage issue that became physical several weeks back at an Impact taping. In the midst of the suspension, the decision was made not to bring her back.
2008 - TNA sent Shark Boy, who was suffering from the flu, home from the road.
2009 - In the NASCAR Nationwide Race from Richmond, The TNA Wrestling Car driven by Hermie Sadler finished 32nd, 6 laps back. Former Raw Guest Hosts Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Joey Logano finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.
2010 - EVOLVE 3 was held in Rahway, New Jersey. Stu Carapola filed the following report:
I attended the third EVOLVE event this past weekend in Rahway, New Jersey, and thought I'd write a quick column sharing my thoughts on the event. The first thing I noticed, which EVOLVE management surely can't be happy about, is that it was very lightly attended, and I'd say they were lucky if they had 200 people there. Last time they had an excuse because of the massive rainstorm that was affecting the Northeast, but this time the only thing I can attribute it to was poor promotion. Their first event was very heavily hyped and drew a good crowd, but I nearly forgot this event was happening because it wasn't in my face the way the first one was.
-I liked the opener between Sami Callahan and Adam Cole, it was really intense and a good match to put on first and get the crowd going. Callahan has really grown on me in the last year or so and I like how he is innovative with his moves without making them overly complex or contrived like you see far too often on the indies. Callahan's stuff looks good and doesn't take 20 minutes to set up.
-After the first match, they made an announcement that from here on out, all EVOLVE matches would have no time limit and must have a winner. This pretty much told me that they were giving up on doing 12 or 13 matches at 7-10 minutes apiece and would instead have shorter matches that each got a decent length of time. I know Gabe made a conscious decision not to go long with his stuff the way he did at ROH, but even though I enjoyed most of the action on EVOLVE 1 and 2, I thought the matches were a little too short, and by the end of this evening I thought they struck a good balance.
-Match #2 saw Johnny Gargano defeat Ricochet in what amounted to two different matches: it was solid and well-worked when Gargano was in control and was a flippy dippy spotfest when Ricochet was in control. I think Gargano has a ton of personality but it doesn't come through at all in his matches because when he's wrestling, he just has this stone dead face on and he really needs to emote more. I think his wrestling is fine, but he just needs to make that connection with the audience who doesn't see his stuff on the internet. The match ended in a double countout, but as we conveniently were told before this match, every bout in EVOLVE must have a winner, and the first man to make it back in the ring would win the match. Ricochet almost made it, but Gargano pulled him back to the floor and dove in the ring to score the win. Jimmy Jacobs came out to confront him from the aisleway after the match, so it looks like that storyline is going to continue.
-Next was our traditional Mercedes Martinez squash of some local girl, and as usual it took all of two minutes. I really like Mercedes and think she's improved a lot over the last few years, and I would love to see her and Del Rey work another series of matches. Mercedes challenged Amazing Kong to a future match in EVOLVE, which I can't wait to see.
-From there we go to a three way tag match as Aeroform defeated Up In Smoke and Team Beyond in your standard indy spotfest match. This was basically the CHIKARA match with guys who look 12 years old instead of the CHIKARA guys. They ran, they jumped, they flipped, they took stupid bumps that meant nothing, and overall did nothing to make me care about any of them. Aeroform got the win and then had a confrontation with Up In Smoke, as each team has one win in an EVOLVE match that included the other team.
-Next up we got new FIP Champion Jon Moxley taking on Drake Younger. This was my first time seeing Younger and he looked like a miniature version of Eddie Kingston, except that Younger appeared to have some wrestling talent. This was a solid match until both men were on the top rope and Younger very obviously had a blade in his hand and was trying very hard to gig Moxley, but it just wasn't happening and he spent a ton of time blatantly running the blade over Moxley's head and headbutting to try and get him to bust open before he finally got color, and then Younger visibly stuffed the blade back in the front of his singlet. Not very subtle, and the blood was completely unnecessary and didn't play into the match at all since this wasn't a match between two guys who really had it out for each other. As for Moxley, I've only seen him a few times but he's really grown on me, I like his look and his persona as this big mouth dirtbag who can back up everything he says and I'm impressed with what he does in the ring.
-Next we got a terrific match between Chris Hero and Bobby Fish, and this was easily the best I've ever seen Fish look. To me he's always been this journeyman midcarder who just doesn't have what it takes to hit it big, but he showed a ton of heart and drive in this match and Hero literally had to throw everything he had at Fish to put him away, finishing him with a flash kick and three rolling elbows. There were a couple of points where it looked like Fish was going to get the upset, and this is one of those matches that shows that you can lose and still come out of it looking stronger than when you went in, and that's exactly what Bobby Fish did. I really liked this and for the first time ever, am interested to see what happens next with Bobby Fish.
-From there we went to a four way match that saw Brodie Lee defeat Gran Akuma, Hallowicked, and Chris Dickinson, and also saw these guys blow half the spots they tried, and Chris Dickinson was responsible for most of those blown spots. I've seen the other guys do better so I'll give them a pass, but I am not at all impressed with Dickinson and wouldn't be hearbroken if he weren't brought back for EVOLVE 4. I liked that Brodie got the win because he's this gigantic guy who can really move for a guy his size and he ought to be able to just roll over everybody, yet inexplicably does a clean pinfall job in nearly every match I've seen him in. I really hope this is the start of him getting a push because I see Sid Vicious monster potential in this guy, albeit at the indy level.
-Next was my personal favorite match of the night as TJP defeated Kyle O'Reilly in a really good match that saw both guys work an MMA style with a lot of submissions, escapes and reversals. I really like watching both these guys wrestle, and when you put them together like this they're both able to show just how good they are while working with a guy who can hang with them in their style of match. I was a little surprised to see TJP win since O'Reilly seemed to be the guy who was getting the big push, but I was really happy to see it because TJ is a guy who I think has talent coming out of every pore on his body and I've never seen him have a bad match, but for some reason has just never gotten the push that I feel is commensurate with his talent. After the match he cut a promo putting over Kyle O'Reilly in a nice gesture of sportsmanship, then challenged Munenori Sawa to a rematch of their bout back on EVOLVE 1. I'm all for that, I thought that was one of the strongest matches in EVOLVE so far and would like to see them try and top it. I'd also be totally up for a series of matches between TJ and O'Reilly.
-From there we went to the first of our two main events, both of which featured wrestlers who were undefeated in EVOLVE. The first main event saw Jimmy Jacobs defeat Brad Allen in a match that I found puzzling for a number of reasons. First, Allen has been building to a big match with Chris Hero, and having him suffer a clean loss like this seemed to kill his momentum for me, and if he can't beat Jimmy Jacobs, how are we supposed to believe he can beat Chris Hero? The other thing was that Jimmy was too physically dominant of the much larger and stronger Brad Allen, outbrawling him on a couple of occasions. I feel that a lot of the work that had gone into making Allen seem like a star on the rise was blown with the way he was booked in this match.
-Finally we had our second main event, as Chuck Taylor defeated Claudio Castagnoli. Claudio is an absolute monster, that dude is so strong and did one really impressive spot where he was standing on the top rope and reached down, grabbed Taylor by the arms, and yanked him up to the top rope with him. Claudio is just a beast, and is a terrific worker to boot, and the fact that this guy is not making tons of money in a national promotion is just mind-boggling to me. As for Taylor, I really like his style, I think he's a good wrestler and he has a lot of charisma, and he's obviously someone that Gabe has big plans for otherwise he wouldn't be in the position he is in, and the fact is that we may not be looking at guys like Hero and Claudio being around long term, so even though it's a little difficult to accept a guy like Taylor, who isn't very big, as beating a guy the size of Claudio, I think it's wise to use the stars to help get over the guys who are going to be around EVOLVE as regulars, as Hero did with Fish and as Claudio did here with Taylor.
Overall, an excellent show and I feel like after two shows of feeling things out and trying to figure out what works for them, EVOLVE has finally hit their stride and I'm really looking forward to seeing where they go from here. They've successfully taken guys like Bobby Fish, Brad Allen, Johnny Gargano, and Chuck Taylor, who I either had no familiarity with or no regard for, and turned them into characters whose future exploits I'm interested in watching. Great effort all around, and if you could have made it to this show and didn't, you really missed out on a great event and should make a point of trying to get to EVOLVE 4. EVOLVE returns to Rahway on September 11th as part of Wrestlereunion weekend, and are currently working on finalizing a July date as well.
2010 - WWE ran a Smackdown house show in Knoxville, TN featuring the following results:
John Morrison pinned Dolph Ziggler with Starship Pain
WWE Unified Tag Team Champions David Hart Smith & Tyson Kidd defeated Caylen Croft & Trent Barretta when Kidd forced a submission with the Sharpshooter
JTG pinned Shad Gaspard with the Shout Out
WWE Women's Champion Beth Phoenix pinned Layla with the Glam Slam
Goldust pinned Tyler Reks with the Final Cut
Kane pinned Chris Jericho with the chokeslam
WWE Intercontinental champion Drew McIntyre pinned R-Truth with the Future Shock
Rey Mysterio Jr. pinned CM Punk with the 619 and springboard splash after avoiding the Go To Sleep
Randy Orton defeated World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger via disqualification when Swagger hit the challenger with the title belt outside the ring; after the bout, Orton dropped Swagger with the RKO
2011 - WWE presented their Extreme Rules PPV from Tampa, FL, highlighted by Christian winning his first World title in a Ladder Match, defeating Alberto del Rio, John Cena capturing his eighth WWE title in a Three-Way Cage match, defeating The Miz and John Morrison and Kofi Kingston winning a Tables match to win the United States title from Sheamus. Underneath, Layla El defeated Michelle McCool in a Loser Leaves WWE bout. After her loss, McCool was destroyed by the debuting Kharma, formerly known as Awesome Kong in TNA. Here is Mike Johnson's PPV report:
Last Man Standing: Randy Orton vs. CM Punk
Orton entered the ring first, alone. Punk was flanked by David Otunga, Michael McGuillicuty and Mason Ryan. As he made his way to the ring, the Raw General Manager emailed and announced that Orton and Punk must resolve their issues tonight, so all members of the Nexus were banned from ringside.
An obviously annoyed Punk came to the ring alone, ripping a turnbuckle off of one of the corners before the bell rang. Punk nailed Orton but Orton fired back with a series of punches and drilled him with a clothesline. Orton kicked Punk, who rolled through the ropes to the floor.
Orton whipped Punk into the ringside barricade and nailed him on the floor, slamming Punk’s face into the ring steps. Orton continued working over Punk on the floor. Punk rolled back into the ring, where he begged off from Orton, then used that to kick Orton in the stomach. Punk nailed Orton with several kicks. He tried to run Orton into the exposed turnbuckle but Orton saved himself. He tried to nail Punk with the exposed buckle but Punk escaped as well.
Punk nailed a snapmare and a kneedrop. Orton came back with a leaping kneedrop of his own. Punk rolled out to the floor. Orton followed but Punk pulled a kendo stick out from under the ring and nailed Orton with it in the stomach, then measure and nailed him across the back.
Orton was tossed back in the ring. Punk grabbed another kendo stick and drilled it over Orton’s chest, then posed like a warrior brandishing a sword. Orton came back but was cut off with a back kick from Punk. Orton drilled Punk over the shoulder with the kendo stick. Punk nailed a back suplex and told the referee to start counting. The referee made it up to five. Orton made it to his feet. Punk had climbed the ropes and tried to come off with a springboard clothesline but Orton had grabbed a kendo stick and lit up Punk with it several times.
Orton followed up with several clotheslines. He went for the hanging DDT but Punk slipped out and nailed a catapult into the exposed turnbuckle. Punk wedged a chair between the turnbuckles in the opposite corner. Punk charged and nailed a knee in Orton’s face. Punk went to charge Orton into the chair but Orton slipped out. Punk put on the brakes. Orton went for the RKO but Punk grabbed him for a GTS. Orton slipped out and sent Punk into the chair. Punk wiped out the chair and fell to the outside, where the referee counted seven before Punk broke the count.
On the outside, Orton beat Punk into the barrier and the ring apron, then clotheslined him on the floor. Punk escaped the count at nine this time. Orton began ripping apart the announcing table. He approached Punk but was nailed hard by a roundhouse kick to the head. Orton made his way to his feet at the eight count. He and Punk fought on the outside. Orton nailed a back suplex onto the barricade on Punk. The referee began to count him out but Orton grabbed Punk and threw him into the ring.
Orton began signaling for the RKO but Punk drilled him. Punk nailed the GTS. Orton made his way to his feet at nine but then stumbled into the corner, not able to stand. Punk argued that Orton never made it to his feet. Punk nailed him again and Orton fell to a sitting position. Punk grabbed a chair and nailed a Russian legsweep onto it. Orton made it to his feet, using the ropes for leverage.
Punk set up a chair in a sitting position but out of nowhere, Orton drilled him with the RKO. Punk made it to his feet at nine, then stumbled through the ropes on the floor. Orton followed and clotheslined him over the barricade into the crowd. Orton tried to use the hanging DDT but Punk pulled his legs down and charged Orton, slamming him backward into the ringpost. Punk grabbed a chair and placed it over Orton’s head, then ran it into the ringpost. Orton pulled himself up to his feet at nine.
Punk worked over Orton with punches and dragged him over to the announcing table. He picked up Orton for the GTS but Orton slipped out and nailed the RKO on the table, which didn’t budge. Ouch! Punk pulled himself up to his feet at the nine count and then collapsed again. The referee started counting again. Orton teased punting Punk on the floor. He charged Punk, who saw him coming and grabbed him in a Fireman’s Carry, nailing a GTS onto the ring steps. Pretty creative.
Orton pulled himself up to his feet as Punk grabbed a kendo stick. Punk was noticeably hurting as he climbed up to the top rope. Orton cut him off and beat the hell out of Punk’s back with the stick. Punk was out and hanging off the ropes. Orton set up Punk and nailed an RKO off the top rope. The referee began counting both men down. Orton returned to his feet at nine and Punk was counted out.
Your winner, Randy Orton!
A fine opening match. They worked really hard and there was some nice drama to the counts and some unique offense. The final sequence with Orton beating the hell out of a trapped Punk was great and brutal. Punk looked to be limping after the RKO on the table, so hopefully that isn’t a sign he aggravated his hip injury from last year. Overall, A nice ending to their feud.
They promoted tomorrow’s Rock birthday Raw.
Jerry Lawler headed to the back to prepare for his match.
Josh Mathews and Booker T ran down some of the major names that moved to new brands courtesy of the 2011 WWE Draft. They noted that Sheamus was scheduled to face Kofi Kingston on Smackdown but he attacked Kingston and laid him out. They aired footage from the beating. Booker said it made Sheamus one of his favorite five guys.
Backstage, Sheamus told Teddy Long he didn’t like this. Long said that he was giving the WWE fans a bonus match, as Sheamus will be defending his title against Kofi Kingston in a Tables Match. Sheamus said that wasn’t it. He said he was the U.S. champion and he was defending against someone who wasn’t from the United States. He demanded to see Kofi’s birth certificate. OK, that was pretty funny. Long told him not to worry about it since after tonight he might not be the champion anymore.
They showed John Morrison preparing for his WWE title match.
Tables Match: Kofi Kingston vs. WWE United States champion Sheamus
Kingston watched to make sure Sheamus wasn’t lurking to attack him before he posed for his pyro. Nice attention to detail!
Kingston attacked Sheamus immediately. Sheamus tried to kick him off but was nailed with a double leg takedown. Kingston mounted him and rained down with the punches. He went to the floor for a table but Sheamus attacked him and sent him into the barricade. Sheamus kicked him while Kingston was down. He pulled out a table but Kingston leapt and nailed a flying punch.
Kingston set up a table on the floor, then continued beating Sheamus with punches and uppercuts. He set up Sheamus on the table but the champion rolled off before Kingston could leap off the apron, They battled on the floor with Sheamus getting the better of the exchange. Sheamus set up a table and went for the High Cross on the floor. Kingston slipped out but was nailed several times and tossed back into the ring.
Kingston shoulderblocked Sheamus several times from the inside, nearly sending Sheamus off the apron through the table. He rebounded off the ropes but Sheamus nailed a slingshot shoulderblock into the ring. Nice sequence. Sheamus went to the floor for another table but Kofi grabbed him and pulled him up to the apron. Sheamus slammed him into the buckles. He grabbed the table and shoved it into Kingston’s chest. He placed the table across Kofi’s prone body and stomped it, then stood atop the table and Kofi.
Sheamus slammed Kingston into the table, which was placed into the corner. He picked up Kofi to drive him into it but Kingston slipped over with a sunset flip attempt. Kingston punted him in the chest, setting up Sheamus near the table. Kingston dove at him but Sheamus moved. Kingston landed on the ropes. Sheamus went for the High Cross into the table but Kingston slipped out. Sheamus went for the Brogue Kick but Sheamus got caught up on the ropes. He was supposed to crotch himself but didn’t catch the ropes right. He started selling his hamstring, which was smart.
Sheamus avoided Kofi and nailed the pump kick on Kofi, who was on the apron. Kingston leapt to avoid a table set up on the outside. Back in the ring, Sheamus went for an over the shoulder powerslam off the ropes through a table but Kingston fought his way out. Sheamus nailed him with a big kick to cut him off again. Sheamus tried to suplex Kingston out of the ring through a table on the floor but Kofi broke free and nailed Trouble with Paradise. Sheamus bumped onto the apron and rolled onto the floor. He pulled himself up using the table, where Kingston came off the top rope with the Boom Drop to put Sheamus through the table.
Your winner and new United States champion, Kofi Kingston!
The U.S. title will return to Raw.
Decent match. They both worked hard but the crowd didn’t seem to be too into the match and while they did a decent job, it never felt like they were out of the early gears. They did some nice teasing spots with the tables before the Boom Drop at the end. Good but not great.
Todd Grisham interviewed R Truth. He asked Truth how he felt knowing he was once part of the main event. Truth asked him how he would feel but before Grisham could answer, he told Todd to shut up. Truth says that not only is he not in the main event, but he’s not on the entire show. He asked how long the show is and then said he smelled a conspiracy. He said that conspiracies are as bad as John Morrison’s breath. He said that he knows for a fact that Miz and Cena don’t want him in that match and neither does Morrison. He said Morrison stole his opportunity and if there’s one thing he can’t stand, it’s a thief. Good, intense promo from Truth.
Country Whipping Match: Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler vs. Jack Swagger & Michael Cole
Cole came out covered in bubble wrap. That made me laugh. Cole cut a promo saying that everyone keeps asking him if he’s afraid of the country whipping match. Cole said he was an award winning journalist that covered Waco and the civil war in a Yugoslavia, so if anyone thinks he is scared of a couple of hicks, they are mistaken. He said they were going to whip Ross and Lawler like a pair of government mules. He said their opponents, like the rest of Florida, are old, useless, incontinent, retirees.
Ross’ hand was bandaged. They noted that as reported on Twitter, Ross had broken his hand on Raw.
Swagger and Lawler started. Ross lashed Swagger from the outside. Swagger sold it like a champ. Lawler lashed the hell out of Swagger, who tagged into Cole. Cole was lashed and acted like it didn’t faze him because of the wrap. Cole mouthed off, so Lawler punched him in the mouth and started ripping off the wrap. He went to lash Cole, who scampered out and tagged Swagger.
Swagger nailed Lawler in the corner and lashed the WWE Hall of Famer. He tied Lawler to the ropes with the whip and kicked the hell out of him. Swagger then began lashing Lawler. He tagged in Cole, who began lashing away at the trapped Lawler, then mocked Ross.
Swagger tagged back in and worked over Lawler some more. He whipped Lawler into the turnbuckles, then dragged him to the center of the ring. Swagger went for the Vader Bomb out of the corner but Lawler rolled out of the way. Lawler nailed a series of rights. Cole came in from behind and nailed Lawler. Lawler grabbed Cole by the throat but Swagger nailed a chop block from behind and cinched in an ankle lock. Ross distracted Swagger, allowing Lawler to fight out.
Lawler tagged in Ross, who began lashing Swagger, then locked in an anklelock of his own. Kurt Angle’s Twitter is being hacked as we speak. Swagger slipped out and tagged Cole. Cole didn’t want in. Ross nailed him and dragged Cole in. Ross slammed him head first into the buckles. It looked awful but they aren’t wrestlers, so what else would it looks like. Ross fired himself up and clotheslined Cole. Ross began whipping Cole and lashed at Swagger on the apron.
Ross locked in an anklelock but Swagger grabbed him. Ross lowblowed Swagger and began lashing him. Cole rolled up Ross from behind and scored the pin.
Your winners, Michael Cole and Jack Swagger!
The match was about as good as you could expect. They smartly kept the hurt Ross out as much as possible.
They aired a pretty funny promo to push the Over the Limit PPV on 5/22.
John Cena was interviewed. He said he hadn’t been WWE champion for 10 months but “son of a mustard sandwich” (really, he said that and whoever scripted that should be slapped), he would win the belt tonight in the Cage and once again, “The champ would be here.” The Cena promos continue to be lame.
They aired a really good video piece on the Rey vs. Cody feud.
Falls Count Anywhere: Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes
Rhodes took the mic and told fans to put paper bags on their head because they are extremely ugly. Some fans did it. Dopes!
Rhodes attacked Rey right at the bell. Rey slipped underneath and nailed several kicks. Rhodes slipped down and punched Rey. Rey came back with flying headscissors, sending Rhodes to the floor. Rey then slid out of the ring and nailed headscissors to the floor as well.
Cody cut off Rey as he came at him in the aisle, nailing him with punches and kicks., He dragged Rey to the stage and tried to throw him into one of the digital screens but Rey tossed him in instead. Rhodes went to the floor, where Rey nailed a Thesz Press off the stage to the floor for a two count.
They battled on the floor. Cody nailed an atomic drop onto one of the walls in front of a section of fans. They battled through the crowd. Rhodes slammed Rey backwards into the wall. Rey came back with a kick to the face. He dragged Rhodes up into the stairway of the arena. Cody fought back with a headbutt. He placed Rey through one of the handrails and locked on a Boston Crab. Pretty creative idea. He let Rey go and continued beating him as he dragged Rey up the stairs. He slammed Rey’s arm into another handrail, then peppered him with punches.
They battled into the tunnel and ended up in the lobby area. Rey tackled Cody into a trashcan. Rhodes smacked the concrete hard. Rey nailed him with the rubber top of the trash can and covered him for a two count. They battled into a bar area. Rey tried to toss Cody into a mirror. Cody cut him off and jumped off the bar with a leaping kick to the face. They continued to battle around the bar. Rey nailed a flying bodypress off onto Rhodes for a two count. The fans nearby were chanting that it was awesome.
Rhodes tried to make his way back into the arena but Rey nailed him in the tunnel. Cody made his way down the stairs but Rey caught him halfway down. Rey went to nail a dive but Rhodes didn’t realize it and headed towards the ringside area. Rey followed and nailed Rey, hiptossing him over the barricade back into the railing.
They battled back and forth on the floor. Rhodes wheelbarrowed him and slammed Rey into the ring steps for a two count. Rhodes deadlifted him back into the ring. Rey nailed a springboard bodypress for a two count as he tried to mount a comeback. He charged Cody and was backdropped onto the apron. Rey landed on his feet and nailed a headbutt off the top for a two count. Rey set up Cody for the 619 and exposed the knee brace, wanting to hurt Cody but was cut off before he could nail the move.
Rhodes hung Rey up on the ropes and kicked him low. He then nailed an overhead sidewalk slam on Rey for a two count. Cody stomped away on Rey in the corner as fans chanted for the 619 to rally Rey. Cody set up Rey on the top rope and worked him over with several elbows. Rey kicked him off. Cody charged and Rey spewed mist into Rhodes’ face!
Rey nailed a 619 and scored the pin.
Your winner, The Great Mysterio!
Really entertaining brawl here. Much better than their bout at Wrestlemania. The crowd loved the stuff on the outside.
Backstage, all the babyface Divas were talking. Layla walked in. They all stopped and stared. She said that she knows they don’t like her. She said that tonight may be her last night here and she said she just wanted to apologize them if she ever offended her. Kelly Kelly told her that they don’t like her, but they like Michelle McCool even less so she wishes her luck. Layla left and the Divas all noted that was pretty honest of her.
Loser Leaves WWE: Layla El vs. Michelle McCool
McCool attacked Layla from behind, dumping her to the floor. She tossed Layla back in and drilled her with a kick to the head for a two count. McCool grabbed Layla but Layla fired back with a series of stiff punches. McCool dumped her out of the ring. She followed but Layla slammed her into a table. McCool cut her back off and kicked her stiffly in the gut.
McCool tossed her back in the ring and covered Layla for a two count. Layla ducked a big boot and kicked McCool several times, covering her for a two count. McCool started to beg off but Layla grabbed her and kicked Michelle. Michelle came back with a belly to belly suplex for a two count.
McCool kicked her out of the ring. She charged Layla on the floor with a kick but Layla moved and McCool was caught on the barricade. Layla tried to pull her up on the barricade but McCool slammed her down to the floor. McCool went for a move out the corner but Layla cut her off and nailed a sitdown Diamondust for a two count.
McCool came back with a kick to the face for a one count. McCool went for the Styles Clash, but Layla slipped out, kicked her and nailed a neckbreaker. McCool got her foot on the rope at the last second to break the count. McCool came back with a knee to the head for a two count.
Layla used a double leg takedown. She went to roll over for a pinfall but McCool reversed it into a sunset flip. She turned it into the Styles Clash and nailed it. She was too spent to cover Layla but once she did Layla turned it into a crucifix for a three count.
Your winner, Layla!
Both women were bawling when it was over.
They worked really hard and did a good back and forth pace here and were given a lot more leeway than your usual Divas match. As we broke a few days ago in the Elite section, this was McCool's exit from the company.
After the match, McCool was crying in the ring and out came Kharma (Awesome Kong) for her official WWE debut. The announcers put her over a huge, monstrous woman and they used the type of camera angle for her entrance they save for Big Show and other monsters. McCool was scared to death as Kharma came to the ring.
Kharma entered the ring as McCool tried to beg off. Kharma stared her down as McCool tried to back up and escape. The former Kong nailed the Implantbuster (you know that name will be changed) on McCool and left her laying.
No, THAT was McCool's exit.
They showed all the other Divas staring, worried, at the monitor.
They showed Alberto Del Rio trying to get Ricardo to announce him as the new champion just right.
Ladder Match to determine new World champion: Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio
They battled back and forth at the bell. Del Rio got the better early. Big “Let’s go Christian” chant. Del Rio drilled Christian with a headbutt. He slammed Christian and went towards the outside. Christian stopped him and nailed a series of rights. Cole was giving Alberto credit for ending Edge’s career.
Christian went to the middle rope and came off with a flying back elbow. He went to the outside for a ladder but was cut off and slammed into the apron. Del Rio kicked Christian and kicked him under the ring. He grabbed a ladder but Christian emerged on the other side of the ring and nailed dropkick through the ropes on Del Rio.
Christian set the ladder up and began climbing it but Del Rio pulled his legs out from under him and Christian crashed to the mat. Del Rio started climbing up but Christian tipped the ladder. Del Rio landed on his feet and nailed an enziguri on Christian and worked him over with kicks.
Del Rio grabbed a ladder to nail Christian but as he lifted it overhead, Christian popped him in the face and backdropped him over the ropes. Christian grabbed a ladder but Del Rio tripped him up. Christian fell to the mat. Del Rio pulled him to the outside. Del Rio bridged a ladder between the ring and the announcing table. Del Rio tried to suplex Christian onto it but Christian slipped out and tried to catapult Del Rio. Del Rio kicked him off, sending Christian into the ring steps. You could see blood coming from the scrape on Christian’s back.
They battled back and forth. Christian went to the top but was shoved off by Del Rio, who was on the apron. Christian landed on a ladder set up on the outside and came off with a bodypress. Nice sequence. Christian started climbing a ladder in the middle but was cut off by Del Rio. Alberto slammed him head-first into the ladder.
Del Rio set up a ladder in the corner, wedging it under the top turnbuckle. He went to grab Christian, who fired back with a series of rights. Del Rio went for the Cross armbreaker but Christian slipped out and went for the Tomakaze. Del Rio slipped out but was flapjacked onto the ladder.
Alberto pulled himself up on the apron. Christian charged at him with a ladder, sending Alberto to the floor. Christian set up a ladder in the center of the ring and began pulling himself up. Del Rio threw another ladder at Christian, nailing him in the back. Ouch. Alberto drilled Christian off the ladder and began stomping the hell out of him. He locked in an armbar and yanked backward, trying to set him up for the cross armbreaker. He then slammed Christian’s arm into a ladder. Del Rio grabbed a smaller ladder and broke it down over Christian’s arm.
Del Rio set up the larger ladder in the corner and whipped Christian into it. He charged Christian with a smaller ladder but was drop toehold-ed into the corner, eating ladder. Christian set up the ladder and climbed up. Del Rio followed but was fought off. Christian tried to grab the belt but Del Rio grabbed him in a powerbomb attempt. Christian turned it into a rana and Del Rio ended up on the outside. He nailed Christian and tried to grab Christian to pull him out but was instead backdropped into the ring on one of the ladders.
Christian set up a ladder in the corner to drive it down on Del Rio but was instead nailed with a leaping enziguiri. Christian fell forward off the top, tumbling down with the ladder. That looked nasty. Del Rio set up the ladder and started ascending it. Christian shoved the ladder off but Del Rio landed on his feet and immediately took out Christian. Christian was sent to the floor. Ricardo grabbed a chair and handed it to Del Rio. He went to place it on Christian’s arm but was kicked off and hit his head on the ring post.
Inside the ring, Christian waited for Del Rio to recover and speared him. The place went nuts for the homage to Edge.
Christian set up the ladder and climbed up but Del Rio grabbed his legs and pulled him through, trapping him inside one of the rungs. Del Rio almost reached the belt but Christian pulled himself through and tipped the ladder. Del Rio crashed into the corner. Del Rio nailed Christian with a ladder as he charged him in the corner.
Del Rio set up Christian on the ladder that was bridged on the outide. He went for a back senton splash off the ropes but Christian moved. That was sick.
Christian made it to the top but Brodus Clay hit the ring and tipped the ladder. Christian was left dangling with the belt. Clay pulled him down. Clay tried to send Christian into a ladder but Christian slipped out and Clay ate the ladder. Christian nailed him with the smaller ladder, sending him to the floor. Christian then turned into a kick from Del Rio and was locked into a rolling armbreaker. Christian was bleeding at this point and went to the floor. I think they were cleaning him up as it wasn’t a planned deal.
Del Rio set up the ladder and made it to the top only to be distracted by Edge driving a jeep into the Arena, honking the horn. Del Rio was distracted and Christian tipped him over, sending him into Clay and Ricardo on the floor. Del Rio almost got caught up in the ropes, which could have been a disaster. Edge ran to ringside. Christian climbed to the top and pulled down the World title.
Your winner and new World champion, Christian!
An excellent ladder match.
Christian looked like the happiest man in the world when he won the belt. He celebrated on the top of the ladder and then embraced Edge when he made his way back to the ring. Edge left to allow his best friend to have the moment. Christian was crying in the ring as he celebrated.
They aired a piece on “That’s What I Am” being selected for the Santa Barbara Film Festival. That actually happened last January but for promotional purposes, they acted like it was recently.
Backstage, WWE champion The Miz was with Alex Riley. Riley said that he was being railroaded by being forced into the Cage match to defend his title. Miz got pissy when Riley intimated he was going to lose. Riley changed tactics and said that he was going to win tonight because he’s the Miz and he’s…. Miz cut him off and told him to never do that again. Miz walked off.
Lumberjack Match: WWE Tag Team champions Big Show & Kane vs. WWE Intercontinental champion Wade Barrett & Ezekiel Jackson
Bonus match. All the undercard and NXT types are working as Lumberjacks. For the NXT crew, it’s their PPV debuts.
Show chopped Barrett hard several times. Big Show ended up on the floor. The heels all worked over Show but he fought back. He tossed Tyler Reks into the ring, where he was nailed. Kane then nailed one of the Usos. That allowed Jackson to nail Kane from behind and the Corre worked over Kane in the corner.
Barrett nailed a series of lefts while Kane was down on the mat. Jackson tagged back in and went back and forth with Kane. They did the double clothesline deal in the middle. Both went down. All the Lumberjacks were pounding on the mat. Barrett was tagged in as was Show. Show cleaned house but was sent to the outside by Jackson. It took a ton of Lumberjacks to send Show back in the ring.
Jackson picked up Show and slammed him. He was going to go for the pin but Barrett tagged in. Barrett went for the Wasteland but Show caught him with the chokeslam and pinned him.
Your winners and still WWE Tag Team champions Big Show & Kane!
Jackson was mad about Barrett tagging himself in. All the Lumberjacks started brawling. Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel tried to attack the champions but ate a double chokeslam.
Nothing of note here.
WWE champion The Miz vs. John Morrison vs. John Cena – Steel Cage Match
They pushed that it was Morrison’s first PPV main event.
Miz tried to scale the cage at the bell. Morrison and Cena grabbed him and pulled Miz back into the ring. They worked him over and nailed him with a flapjack. Morrison worked over Cena with several leaping kicks but was caught with a Miz clothesline. Bigtime heel reaction to Miz early – more than anyone else really on the show. Miz maintained control, working on Cena and Morrison, picking his spots.
Miz tried to run Cena into the cage but Cena halted Miz and started working over him. Morrison nailed a Russian legsweep on Cena for a two count. Miz tried to climb out but Morrison scaled the cage and fought him off. Miz pulled Morrison down off the cage. He started to scale again but this time was stopped by Cena.
They battled back and forth on the top rope. Cena worked him over and bulldogged him off the top into the ring. All three men were down. Cena recovered first, nailing Morrison with several shoulderblocks and the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Miz grabbed him from behind and nailed the Skull Crushing Finale.
Meanwhile, Morrison climbed to the top of the cage where Miz caught him. Miz pulled him back inside the cage and tried to escape. Morrison halted that. They traded punches while sitting on top of the cage. Miz tried to climb down but Morrison grabbed him in a front facelock and started to pull him back in. Cena joined Morrison and they superplexed Miz while standing on the top rope. Miz landed in nasty fashion right on the back of his neck.
Morrison began climbing to the top but was caught by Cena. Cena just pulled him down. Morrison elbowed him in the face, sending Cena to the mat. Morrison hit a double springboard kick but Cena ducked and he nailed Miz. Morrison nailed a standing Spanish Fly on Cena for a two count. Nice stuff from Morrison.
Morrison tried to climb out but Miz slipped underneath and powerbombed him into the turnbuckles. Cena grabbed Miz for an STF. Miz tried to pull himself out the door but was unable. Cena pulled him back in. Morrison went to the top but Cena caught him. Miz opened the door and started to climb out but Morrison, dangling from top, kicked the door into Miz’s head. Cena crotched Morrison on the open door. Miz sees him and pulled him in.
They go back and forth into some good back and forth near fall sequences. Miz punted Cena in the face with a kick. Cena gets drilled in the face again. Cena’s face is forced into the cage. Behind them, Morrison recovered and scaled the cage. Miz caught him and Morrison was hanging from the top of the cage. Miz and Morrison battled back and forth with punches on top of the cage. Miz tried to slide off the top but Morrison used the ropes to leap up and grab him, pulling Miz back in the cage.
Morrison knocked Miz into the ring and pulled himself to the top. Cena tried to stop him and was shoved off into the ring. Morrison hit Starship Pain into the ring from the top of the cage on both. That was pretty impressive. The announcers explained that John knew he wasn’t getting anywhere trying to get out so he took out both at once. Smart cover to explain the spot.
Morrison called for them to open the door but R Truth came out and nailed him. Morrison nearly fell out of the ring to the floor but Truth shoved him back in. Truth entered the ring and closed the cage door. He began kicking the hell out of Morrison for “taking from him” and beat the hell out of him with punches.
Cena made his way to his feet so Truth nailed him with the Ax Kick. Truth then climbed over the top to the outside to show that he “could have won the title.” He said it should have been him and stared at the ring.
Miz climbed to the top of the cage and tried to escape but Cena made his way to the top and stopped him. They battled back and forth on top of the cage. Cena got the better of the exchange and tried to get over to the outside but Miz grabbed his leg. They ended up on the top rope. Miz tried to set up for Skull Crushing Finale but Cena turned it into Attitude Adjustment off the top and scored the pin.
Your winner and new WWE champion, John Cena!
A really well done main event. Morrison looked like a star and they did well pushing R Truth in his new role. Miz and Cena were both strong here as well. A fitting end to a very entertaining main event. Everything that was advertised delivered on the level you’d hope it would. Worth tracking down to see via replay, DVD, etc.
2012 - Anarquia of Mexican America was released by TNA.
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