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November 1st
On this day in history in ....
1944 - One of the greatest performers and managers in the history of professional wrestling, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan is born.
1949 - NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) World Heavyweight Champion Orville Brown is injured in an automobile accident, forcing him to retire. He is stripped of the title, and it is awarded to National Wrestling Association Champion Lou Thesz, who Brown was scheduled to wrestle in a unification match later that month.
1978 - Former WWE talent Tyler Reks was born.
1980 - Roddy Piper defeats Paul Jones in a tournament final for the Mid-Atlantic Title in Richmond, Virginia.
1981 - Ted DiBiase defeats Paul Orndorff in Louisiana to win the Mid-South North American Heavyweight Title for the second time.
1981 - Dory Funk Jr. defeats Bruiser Brody in Tokyo, Japan to win the NWA International Heavyweight Title for the third time.
1985 - WWF wrestler Rick McGraw passed away of a heart attack at the age of 30. There were rumors of steroid abuse being the cause of the heart attack, but it was never confirmed. There was also a ridiculous rumor that McGraw died of injuries suffered in a match with Roddy Piper that was televised the weekend of his death.
1986 - During a WWF event at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, Don Muraco came to the ring for his match wearing a kilt and with Roddy Piper's music playing. Piper then hit the ring, and went on to defeat Muraco with a rollup after Muraco accidentally collided with his manager, Mr. Fuji.
1990 - At Budokan Hall in Tokyo, Japan, Jushin Liger defeats Pegasus Kid (Chris Benoit) to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title for the third time. Also on the show, IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Riki Choshu defeats Shinya Hashimoto, Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki defeat Keiji Mutoh & Masahiro Chono, and Shiro Koshinaka defeated Seiji Aoyagi in a "wrestler vs. karate" match.
1997 - WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bret Hart gives his notice to the World Wrestling Federation and signs a contract with World Championship Wrestling. A confidentiality agreement is made to keep word of Hart's decision a secret until after the Survivor Series Pay-per-view on November 10th in Montreal.
1998 - ECW held their November To Remember Pay-per-view in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Lakefront Arena. Here are the results:
- Terry Funk came out at the start of the show, upset that Tommy Dreamer did not come to him when he needed a tag team partner for the show.
- The Blue Meanie & Super Nova defeated Danny Doring & Roadkill when Meanie pinned Doring after the Blue Light Special (DDT/powerbomb combo). Terry Funk interfered during and after the match, and had to be dragged off be security.
- Tommy Rogers defeated Tracey Smothers with a Tomikaze. This match saw interference from Tommy Rich & Little Guido (on Smothers' behalf) and Chris Chetti (on Rogers' behalf) and resulted in Ulf Hermann and Mabel (as new members of the FBI) interfering as well. Spike Dudley then entered, and defeated Ulf and Mabel with an Acid Drop in an impromptu match.
- Lance Storm defeated Jerry Lynn. Mikey Whipwreck and Tammy Lynn Sytch were the special referees. The finish of the match (which also saw interference from Tammy Lynn Bytch aka Dawn Marie) was that Lynn had hit Mikey earlier in the bout, so when Lynn had Storm pinned with a small package, Mikey turned them over and counted the pin for Storm.
- Masato Tanaka & Balls Mahoney defeated D-Von & Buh Buh Ray Dudley to win the ECW World Tag Team Title when Balls pinned D-Von and Tanaka pinned Buh Buh after Sabu & Rob Van Dam had interfered, putting the Dudleys through tables.
- Jake Roberts & Tommy Dreamer defeated Justin Credible & Jack Victory when Dreamer and Roberts pinned Credible after a DDT on a ladder. The match saw interference from Rod Price, Nicole Bass and Jason, who more or less substituted for Victory when he was hurt early in the match. After the match, Terry Funk came out to confront Dreamer, and when Dreamer wouldn't fight him, Funk beat him up. Unfortunately, Funk would contract Hepatitis a short time later, and the Funk-Dreamer storyline would never reach a climax.
- Sabu, Rob Van Dam & Taz defeated Bam Bam Bigelow, Chris Candido & Shane Douglas when Sabu pinned Douglas. The finish of the match saw Taz holding Shane in the Tazmission, but Sabu came off the top rope with a chairshot so that he could get the pin on Douglas.
1998 - WWF taped the first episode of their short-lived lucha libre show, Super Astros, at the Frank Irwin Center in Austin, Texas. Matches saw Armando Fernandez defeat Scott (Scotty 2 Hotty) Taylor, El Merenguero defeat Christopher Martinez, and El Hijo Del Santo defeat Super Loco.
2003 - Jay & Mark Briscoe defeat Special K (Izzy & Dixie) in Elizabeth, New Jersey to win the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Championship.
2005 - WWE held their Taboo Tuesday Pay-per-view, headlined by John Cena vs. Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels (who was selected for the match over Big Show and Kane) and Ric Flair vs. Triple H in a steel cage match. Buck Woodward filed the following PPV report:
Taboo Tuesday opened with a video putting over the various matches of the card. They referred to the Jim Ross situation in the video, saying that "One man's redemption is now another man's battle" and showed Batista. Obviously, the video was put together in the last 24 hours.
Todd Grisham is manning the "Taboo Tuesday Control Center", which is a few computers set up on a stage.
The Smackdown vs. Raw match is first, with all the Smackdown talent assembled together with Theodore R. Long backstage. Matt Hardy came in first, with Rey Mysterio second. JBL finished third, Christian was fourth, and Holly was fifth. JBL acted annoyed at the result.
Edge & Chris Masters, with Lita vs. Matt Hardy & Rey Mysterio.
Lita got on the mic before the match, saying that "her man" (Edge) was not wrestling tonight. Edge said it does nothing to further his career to beat Hardy or Rey. Edge said he doesn't care about Raw, or about what the fans want. Edge said he only cares about himself. Edge then brought out his replacement, Gene Snitsky.
Snitsky & Chris Masters, with Lita vs. Matt Hardy & Rey Mysterio.
Masters attacked Rey & Matt from behind as Snitsky came out. Masters gave Rey a vertical suplex for a two count. There are two referees for the match, one from Raw and one from Smackdown. Snitsky tagged in, but Rey rolled him in a small package. The referees were arguing with each other over the speed of their respective counts. Snitsky slammed Rey for a two count, then tagged in Masters, who gave Rey a backbreaker, and pushed down on his chin to add pressure to it. Rey battled back, ducked a clothesline and went for a bodyscissors, but Masters stumbled with it, then lifted Rey and threw him to the mat. Masters put Rey in a chinlock, but Rey elbowed out and caught him in a tilt-a-whirl headscissors.
Hardy got the hot tag, and started going at it with Snitsky, hitting a flying forearm, and dropkicking Masters in the legs to knock him off the apron. Hardy went for a Side Effect, and after some struggling, Matt hit it for a two count. Matt went for a Twist of Fate, but Snitsky shoved it off. Snitsky missed a boot in the corner, and crotched himself on the top rope. Matt gave him a DDT off the second rope, but Masters ran in to break it up. Hardy went for the Twist of Fate on Masters, but Masters shoved it off, and Snitsky caught Matt with a boot to the face. Masters tagged in, and they worked over Hardy in a corner. Masters gave Hardy a double underhook suplex for a two count, then drove his knee into Matt's back and applied a surfboard.
Hardy fought out of it, and slugged it out with Masters before Hardy was floored with a clothesline. Snitsky tagged in and gave Hardy a vertical suplex for a two count. Snitsky worked over Hardy with an overhead wristlock. Snitsky gave Hardy a spinebuster, but Hardy grabbed the ropes to break up the count. Snitsky gave Hardy a catapult into the bottom rope. Masters tagged back in, and stomped Matt before putting him in a front facelock. Hardy elbowed Masters as he went for a charge, and Hardy followed with a second rope clothesline. Masters trapped Hardy's leg and tagged Snitsky, who knocked Rey off the apron, then slammed Hardy. Snitsky dropped an elbow on Hardy for a two count.
Snitsky whipped Hardy across the ring, but Hardy caught him with a double boot to the face. Hardy jumped off the second rope, Snitsky caught him, but Hardy floated over and gave Snitsky an inverted DDT. Hardy made the hot tag to Mysterio, who gave Masters (who also tagged in) a springboard senton, a springboard bodypress off the middle rope, and a dropkick to the face. Snitsky came in, and Rey went for a tornado DDT on him, but Snitsky threw Rey into Masters, and Masters put him in the Masterlock. Rey kicked off the turnbuckles, so they fell to the mat with Rey on top. The Smackdown referee started to count Masters down, but the Raw referee stopped him. While they argued, Hardy came in and knocked Masters and Snitsky to the floor. Hardy and Rey then hit Snitsky and Masters with top rope dives to the floor.
Back in the ring, Rey went for a sunset flip on Masters with a Matt clothesline assist, but Masters kicked out. Rey went to bounce off the ropes, but Snitsky tripped him. Masters gave Rey an over the shoulder backbreaker into a suplex, but couldn't get the pin. The match broke down with all four men getting in. Snitsky was sent out of the ring, and Rey and Hardy double teamed Masters with a sequence of 619, Twist Of Fate and Springboard splash by Rey for the pin at the fourteen minute mark. The announcers put over the controversy from the fall not being counted earlier.
Winners: Matt Hardy & Rey Mysterio.
Backstage, they did a bit where Mick Foley and Maria had their luggage mixed up, with Maria wearing the Mankind mask, and Foley holding a piece of lingerie. Maria gave Foley his mask back, and because she is Maria, she gave Foley the bra and panties she was wearing (off camera) as well, thinking they were his.
Eugene & Jimmy Snuka vs. Rob Conway & Tyson Tomko.
Jimmy Snuka beat out Duggan (second) and Kamala (third) to get in the match. Eugene started out with Tomko, with Tomko slamming Eugene at the start. Eugene called for a test of strength, then would switch hands as Tyson tried to lock up. Eugene ducked under a punch by Tomko, and Snuka hit a chop from the apron. Eugene slammed Tyson, then teased tagging Snuka, but Conway ran in and hit Eugene from behind. Tomko hit Eugene on the mat a few times, then tagged in Conway, who choked Eugene in a corner. Conway dropped an elbow for a two count, then complained about the count. Conway hit a standing dropkick, then tagged in Tomko, who gave Eugene a powerslam for two.
Conway tagged in and put Eugene in a rear chinlock. Eugene fought out and hit some headbutts to the gut, but Conway delivered a knee to the head, then took a shot at Snuka on the apron. Tomko and Conway took Eugene to their corner and worked him over, but Eugene rallied, ducking a Tyson boot to the face (Tomko crotched himself on the top rope) and giving Conway a clothesline. Eugene made the hot tag to Snuka, but he was soon double teamed. Eugene came back, and Tyson was knocked out of the ring. Eugene and Snuka took turns headbutting Conway, then Eugene gave him the Rock Bottom. Jimmy Snuka, taking his time, hit Conway with the Superfly Splash for the pin at the six minute mark.
Winners: Eugene & Jimmy Snuka.
Tyson Tomko attacked Snuka after the match, but Hacksaw Duggan and Kamala ran in for the save, with Duggan giving Tomko the three-point stance clothesline, and Kamala following it up with the big splash.
Carlito came to the ring, then they announced that Mankind (Cactus Jack second, Dude Love third) had won the fan voting. They then showed a video package on the Carlito-Foley feud.
Carlito vs. Mankind.
Makind had on a shirt and tie, sweatpants and sneakers, along with the leather mask, so I guess this is the "Corporate" version of Mankind. Carlito went right at Mankind at the bell, hitting a standing dropkick and hitting some punches. Mankind came back with a back elbow and raked his nails across Carlito's back. Mankind hung Carlito in the Tree of Woe and hit a double sledge to the chest. Foley catapulted Carlito into the second rope, then hit a baseball slide kick, sending Carlito to the floor. Mankind gave Carlito a neckbreaker on the floor, then grabbed a chair. Foley stalked Carlito around ringside, but Carlito gave him a drop toe hold, and Mankind fell into the steps, hitting himself with the chair as a result. Carlito gave Foley a dropkick on the floor, and Foley hit the back of his head on the edge of the steps.
Carlito rolled Foley into the ring and got a two count, then pounded him with right hands. Mankind fought back, but Carlito gave him a Russian legsweep for two. Carlito gave Foley a version of a back suplex, then applied a rear naked choke. He turned it into a sleeper, and got on Mankind's back, but Mankind flipped him off. The two men charged into each other with simultaneous clotheslines. Mankind sat up, and yanked some chunks of hair from his head (like the old days). Mankind then pounded Carlito down in a corner with punches and forearms, then delivered a running knee. Mankind hit the Cactus Clothesline, sending them both over the top rope and to the floor. Mankind then delivered the elbowdrop off the apron to the floor on Carlito. Mankind rolled Carlito back into the ring for a two count. Mankind kicked Carlito in the gut and hit a double underhook DDT. Mankind then pulled out Mr. Socko (who had a Carlito-style afro). Mankind applied the Mandible Claw, and Carlito submitted at the seven minute mark.
Winner: Mankind.
Backstage, Eric Bischoff was on the phone complaining about Theodore R. Long when Vince McMahon walked into his office. Vince said he was looking forward to the Raw vs. Smackdown match, and asked if it happened yet. Eric started to whine about it, and Vince ripped into Bischoff for having Raw lose a match on their own PPV. Bischoff started to make excuses, and Vince shut him down, saying Bischoff wasn't the man that once competed with him. Bischoff asked what Vince was going to do about Long "cheating". Vince said he wasn't going to "change his diapers" anymore, and told Bischoff he needed to take care of it himself by showing some "creativity". Vince then wished Bischoff luck in the other Smackdown vs. Raw match tonight, Batista vs. Coach.
The main event voting results were revealed. Shawn Michaels came in first, then Kane, then Big Show. Backstage, Show shook Michaels' hand, but Kane didn't. As a result, Kane & Big Show get the tag title shot.
World Tag Team Champions Trevor Murdoch & Lance Cade vs. Big Show & Kane.
Show and Kane attacked the champions on the floor as they argued about who would start the match. Murdoch got rolled into the ring, and immediately got frustrated as he was trapped between Kane and Show. Murdoch shoved Kane, and Kane decked him, then worked him over with punches and elbows in a corner before choking him. Kane hit Murdoch with a clothesline in a corner, but when he went for a second, Murdoch got the boot up. Murdoch hit a clothesline and tagged Cade, but soon Kane was pounding him. Big Show tagged in and kept up the pounding of Cade, including chops in the corner. Show stomped Cade down in a corner, then hit another chop. Show kicked Cade in the face, but Cade raked his eyes and tagged Murdoch. Murdoch threw some kicks and elbows, but then tried to whip Show across the ring. Show put on the brakes and chopped Murdoch.
Murdoch begged off, and Show headbutted him. Show chopped Murdoch down and stepped on him, then tagged in Kane. Kane choked Murdoch in a corner, but Murdoch poked him in the eyes. Cade tagged in, and Kane sort of caught him with a boot to the gut. Kane went to the top rope, but was distracted by Murdoch. Cade went for a superplex, but Kane blocked it and shoved him down. Murdoch then shoved Kane off the top rope and he fell to the floor. Murdoch and Cade then hit Sweet N' Sour (clothesline/chopblock combo) on Kane on the floor. In the ring, Murdoch put Kane in a surfboard variation, but Kane backed him into a corner to break it up. However, it was Murdoch's corner and he tagged in Cade. Murdoch and Cade hit a reverse atomic drop/neckbreaker combo, but Kane sat up. Cade went for a clothesline, but Kane grabbed him by the throat. Murdoch came in for a double backdrop, but Kane kicked Murdoch and punched Cade, then tagged Big Show. Big Show headbutted both men, then piled them in a corner. He went for a avalanche on both, but Murdoch moved and Cade took the brunt of it. Kane gave Murdoch a top rope clothesline, then knocked him out of the ring. Big Show and Kane gave Cade a double chokeslam for the pin at the eight minute mark.
Winners and new World Tag Team Champions: Big Show & Kane.
Big Show and Kane hugged in celebration. Todd Grisham came out to interview both the new champions. Murdoch got on the apron and complained about the loss, and Show dragged him into the ring. Show and Kane gave him a double chokeslam as well.
Backstage, Coach bragged to Goldust and Vader about how he slapped Batista on Raw last night. Coach said that if they get through Batista, there is no limit to how far they can go together. Coach boasted that he would go on and eventually become the first announcer to become WWE Champion.
Todd Grisham brought the WWE Divas, wearing robes, out to the Taboo Tuesday Control Center. They confirmed that Trish Stratus' Women's Title is on the line tonight. Lingerie won, then Leather & Lace, then Cheerleaders outfits. The Divas then left to go change.
A video package on the events leading to Jonathan Coachman vs. Batista was shown.
Jonathan Coachman, with Goldust & Vader, vs. Batista.
They had podiums and an arm wrestling table at ringside. Goldust made his entrance first, then Vader, then Jonathan Coachman. Coach had a T-Shirt that said "I'm the Coach, the voice of the people" on the front and "I talk, you listen" on the back. The voting was then revealed before Batista came out. Street Fight won, with 91% of the vote, with verbal debate second (6%) and arm wrestling last (3%). Batista then made his entrance.
As the bell rang, Coach was on the apron, and Vader & Goldust were in the ring with Batista. Batista went back and forth, slugging both men, until they went to the floor to regroup with Coach. Goldust and Vader got back in the ring, and cornered Batista, then pounded him down with Coach offering encouragement from ringside. Batista fought back, kicking Goldust away and giving Vader shoulderblocks in the corner. Batista tackled Goldust, hit Coach as he tried to come in, then went to suplex Vader. Before he could get him up, Goldust came in with a kendo stick and blasted Batista in the back. Coach grabbed the belt off a camera man, and with Vader and Goldust holding him down, Coach whipped Batista. Coach had them turn him around, but Batista kicked away Vader and shoved off Goldust. Batista knocked down everyone, including Coach. Batista grabbed the belt, whipped Vader, then Goldust, then whipped Coach. Batista tripped Vader (I think it was a spinebuster attempt), gave Goldust (who had grabbed a chair) a spinebuster, then gave Vader a spinebuster. Batista picked up Coach, then slapped him. Batista gave Coach a Batista Bomb for the pin at the four minute mark.
Winner: Batista.
Todd Grisham interviewed Shawn Michaels backstage, pointing out that HBK has been voted into the main event at Taboo Tuesday two years in a row. Michaels said he was going to show why he is the "Showstopper", when Kurt Angle walked in on the interview. Angle said the he and Michaels don't like each other, but neither wants Cena to be champion after tonight. Angle said they should join together, take Cena out, and then they can settle the issue of who is the "best in the business" between themselves. Michaels said he would "think about it" and Angle said he'd better "think good".
"Fulfill Your Fantasy" Lingerie Battle Royal For The Women's Title
To be eliminated, you have to be thrown out of the ring (not over the top rope) and have both feet touch the floor. The Divas were wearing wrestling boots with their lingerie. Trish and Victoria paired off at the start, and were fighting on the ropes at the start. Mickie James pulled Trish down when it looked like she was in trouble. Trish and Mickie James dumped Maria over the top rope first. Candice went for a headscissors choke over the ropes on Ashley. But she celebrated after releasing it, and Ashley knocked her off the apron to the floor, eliminating her. Victoria gave Trish a spinning side slam. Mickie James and Ashley tried to eliminate Victoria, but she held on and fought her way back in. Victoria catapulted Ashley over the top rope and to the floor, eliminating her. Victoria gave Mickie James a spinning side slam. Trish went after Victoria giving her a spinning headscissors. Trish and Victoria fought on the apron, with Trish almost eliminated, but Mickie James made the save again. Victoria clotheslined Mickie James. Trish matrixed under a Victoria clothesline, but Victoria dropped her weight on her. Victoria went for Trish again, but James made the save again. Mickie James charged Victoria, driving both of them through the ropes and to the floor, eliminating both of them at the six minute mark.
Winner: Trish Stratus.
The announcers put over how Mickie James sacrificed herself so Trish could win. Todd Grisham tried to interview Trish at ringside, but James grabbed the mic and started gushing over how great Trish is and how Trish "kicked Victoria's butt". James spent so much time on the mic praising Trish, they ran out of time for the interview before Trish could talk.
A video package on the events leading to Triple H vs. Ric Flair was shown. Steel Cage won the voting, with Submission Match second and regular match third.
Intercontinental Champion Ric Flair vs. Triple H, Steel Cage Match.
Match can end via pinfall, submission or escaping the cage. Triple H came out first, and stood on the top rope as Ric Flair made his entrance. Ric Flair chopped Triple H at the start, let out a "Whoo!" then delivered some more chops. Triple H fired back with punches, but Flair returned fire with punches and chops, sending Triple H to the mat. Triple H reversed a whip and delivered a jumping knee. Triple H choked Flair down in a corner with his boot, but Flair started throwing chops and punches again. Triple H reversed a whip and hit a spinebuster. Triple H picked Flair up off the mat and threw him headfirst into the cage. Flair was busted open, and Triple H drove him head first into the mesh again. Triple H gave Flair a snap mare, then hit a kneedrop to the bloody head of Flair.
Triple H raked the head of Flair across the cage, then rammed him into the steel again and again. Triple H got a running start and avalanched Flair, who was between the ropes and the mesh, forcing Flair headfirst into the cage again. Triple H pounded Flair's wound with punches, then mocked Flair with a "Whoo!" before delivering a kneedrop. Flair tried to fight back with a punch, but Triple H drove him into the cage again. Triple H then waved at Flair, and started to climb out of the cage. Flair climbed up after him, and the two fought on the top rope, with Flair hitting some punches. Triple H responded with headbutss and punches, but Flair kept chopping. Both men fell, simultaneously getting crotched on the top rope. Flair fell to the mat, while Triple H started to climb again, but then stopped when he pulled a piece of chain that was on the top of the cage (presumably part of the support beam of the cage) off into his hand. Triple H went for a top rope fistdrop with the chain, but Flair got a boot up and caught Triple H in the face. Flair gave Triple H a shinbuster and went for a Figure Four, but Triple H, the chain still wrapped around his hand, punched Flair for a two count.
Triple H hit a fistdrop with the chain, and Flair screamed "Jesus Christ!" in pain. The referee took the chain away from Triple H, to the boos of fans, and handed it through the door to another ref at ringside. Triple H hit Flair with some punches, working him over in the corner. Flair flopped in the ring, and Triple H hit a knee to the back of the head. Flair screamed "Oh God!" as Triple H mocked Flair with a "Whoo!" and a strut. Triple H put Flair in a figure four leglock, and Flair said "You mother f***er, I'll kill you" as he screamed in pain. Triple H punched Flair while keeping him in the figure four. There was a brief "Nature Boy" chant. Flair started spitting at Triple H, gave him a middle finger and said "F*** you", then reversed the figure four and they rolled into the ropes. Triple H got to his feet, mocked Flair again, then went for a figure four, but Flair kicked him off and into the cage. Triple H was now busted open. Flair got up, lunged at Triple H, and bit into his forehead.
Flair, revitalized, threw Triple H into the cage, and started punching and chopping him. Flair threw Triple H face first into the cage again, and Triple H was bleeding a gusher. Flair raked Triple H's face across the cage and rammed him into it repeatedly. Flair hooked his fingers into Triple H's wound, then punched him. Flair chopped him against the cage, then gave him a delayed vertical suplex. The crowd was rallying behind Flair now, and Flair gave Triple H a kneedrop. Flair picked up Triple H and hit a series of chops and punches, then gave Triple H a chopblock to the leg. Joey Styles pointed out that it was the same leg Triple H suffered a torn quad in. Flair punched at the leg, then gave it another chopblock. Flair dropped an elbow to the leg, then stomped it. Flair screamed "Now!" and kicked Triple H in the face. Ric Flair then put Triple H in the figure four leglock. Triple H screamed in the hold, and his shoulders went down for a two count. Flair gave Triple H a middle finger, and dragged the hold back into the middle of the ring. Triple H's shoulders went down for another two count. Triple H reached up and pulled the referee on top of them in order to break the hold.
Flair gave Triple H a kneedrop to the bad leg, then climbed to the top rope. Triple H went to grab him, but Flair raked his eyes, then hit a forearm off the rope for a two count. Flair let out a "Whoo!", then gave Triple H a low blow. Triple H crumbled to the mat. The door was opened, and Flair crawled halfway out, but Triple H grabbed his boot and dragged him back in. Flair grabbed a steel chair as Triple H pulled him in, but Triple H saw it and stepped on the chair, crushing Flair's hand. Triple H picked up the chair and went to hit Flair with it, but Flair grabbed Triple H in a Testicular Claw. Flair chopped Triple H, maintaining his grip. Flair went for a backdrop, but Triple H put on the breaks and went for the Pedigree, but Flair backdropped him onto the steel chair. Flair blasted Triple H with three chairshots to the head. Flair then crawled out of the cage at the twenty five minute mark for the win.
Winner: Ric Flair.
A bloody Ric Flair walked off triumphant, as Triple H slowly got up in the ring with the help of two referees. There was applause for Triple H as the referees helped him down the aisle.
WWE Champion John Cena vs. Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels.
Angle punched Michaels out of the ring at the bell and went to work on Cena, pounding him with punches. There was a "Cena" chant. Michaels got on the apron and Angle knocked him off. Cena hit Angle with a back elbow, then knocked Michaels off the apron. Cena gave Angle a suplex, but Michaels broke up the cover. Michaels went back and forth, kicking and punching both men. Angle went for a back suplex, but Michaels shifted his weight and landed on top, but Cena broke up the cover. Angle went on offense, going back and forth between opponents. Angle kicked away a backdrop from Cena, but charged and Cena backdropped him to the floor anyway. Michaels went after Cena in the ring, hitting a chop and ramming him into the turnbuckle. Cena reversed a whip, and Michaels gave Angle a baseball slide as he was trying to get back in the ring. Michaels went back at Cena, floating over a slam and shoving him into Angle. Angle gave Cena a German suplex, then one for Michaels. Angle gave Cena an overhead belly to belly suplex, then gave one to Michaels. Angle went for the Angle Slam, Michaels blocked it, Angle went for the Ankle Lock, Michaels kicked it away and Angle almost fell into an FU, but Angle escaped. Cena blocked a superkick attempt by Michaels. Angle went for a sunset flip on Cena, but Michaels gave Cena a flying bodypress as he was doing it for two. This is nonstop spots so far.
Michaels and Angle began beating down Cena, with Michaels acting like he was going along with Angle's plan from earlier. Michaels and Angle threw Cena shoulder first into the ringpost. Cena fell to the floor. Angle went after Cena, ramming him into the steps, while Michaels cleared off the Spanish Announcers table. Angle and Michaels gave Cena a gourdbuster through the table. With Cena down, Michaels and Angle began exchanging chops on the floor. Back in the ring, Michaels gave Angle a powerslam for a two count. Angle reversed a whip by Michaels and hit a back elbow. Angle hit Michaels with a kneelift, rammed him into a turnbuckle, then worked him over with punches and forearms. There was a "Angle" chant from some fans. Angle gave Michaels a vertical suplex for a two count. Angle put Michaels in a bodyscissors and rubbed his forearm across Michaels' face, then applied a chinlock. Michaels rolled so Angle's shoulders were on the mat, but Angle kept moving at the two count to avoid being pinned. There was a chant for Cena, who was still down on the floor. Michaels turned his body in towards Angle and broke free with punches.
Michaels and Angle got to their feet, and Michaels hit some chops, but Angle grabbed an overhead belly to belly suplex. Angle rammed Michaels into a corner and set him up on the top turnbuckle. Angle went for a superplex, but Michaels punched him down off the ropes. Michaels went to stand on the top rope, but Angle ran up the ropes and hit a second rope Angle Slam for a two count. Angle pulled the straps down, but Cena ran in and hit Angle with a series of shoulderblocks and clotheslines. Cena clotheslined Angle from the ring, then backdropped Michaels and whipped him hard into the corner, flipping him. Cena hit a backsuplex into a powerbomb. Cena did the "You Can't See Me" but Angle tripped him from the outside. Angle dragged Cena from the ring and threw him into the crowd. Michaels hit Angle with a slingshot senton on the floor. All three men were down on the floor.
Michaels and Angle got in the ring. Michaels hit a flying forearm and did a kip up. Michaels stayed on offense, slamming Angle and chopping Cena as he came in. Michaels gave Cena a flying forearm, then kipped up again. Angle grabbed Michaels and gave him a belly to belly suplex, sending Michaels over the top rope and to the floor. Angle boasted about what he had done, and Cena grabbed Angle in a back suplex. Cena went for the FU, but Angle floated over into a sunset flip and grabbed the ankle lock. Cena struggled in the hold, and the crowd went nuts. Cena tried to roll out, but Angle kept it on. Cena crawled for the ropes, but Angle dropped down, adding a leglace to the move. Shawn Michaels went to the top rope and gave Angle an elbow drop, just as it appeared Cena was about to tap. Michaels hit Angle with the Sweet Chin Music superkick. Angle crumbled to the mat, and Cena scooped up Michaels and hit him with the FU for the pin at the sixteen minute mark.
Winner: John Cena.
Cena, limping, stood up triumphant, then slumped back down to the mat to end the show.
2006 - WWE officially releases Psicosis, who had not wrestled on WWE shows for several months, and had recently made headlines for allegedly stealing a car in Mexico.
2006 - Legendary luchador Huracan Ramirez passed away at 80 years old. Cesar Cadena penned the following look at his career:
Daniel Garcia, his real name, was born in 1926 in Mexico City. He was famous for hiding his identity even from his closest friends, going even further than Santo and Mil Mascaras.
Garcia was the youngest and most famous of four brother wrestlers (La Pantera Roja, Rudy Garcia, El Demonio Rojo). He practiced the sport during 15 years until he debuted as "El Buitre Blanco" (The White Vulture).
The character of Huracan Ramirez was born in 1952 from the movie "Huracan Ramirez". His debut as a luchador occured a year later wrestling Medico Asesino in the Arena Mexico.
During his start, he wrestled luchador titans as El Santo, Blue Demon, El Verdugo, Murcielago Velazquez and others.
His career in the ring lasted for 36 years until his retirement on February 5th, 1987 at the Toreo de Cuatro Caminos.
During part of his career he had a legendary feud with Karloff Lagarde over the Welterweight NWA Title and won the masks of Espanto III and El Enfermero.
Huracan Ramirez is famous inside the ring for creating the move Huracarrana. He is also one of the few cases where the character preceded the luchador as he was not the Huracan Ramirez of the first couple of movies (it was played by an actor by the name of David Silva and was doubled in the ring by a wrestler by the name of Fernando Oses). He did play himself in several movies such as "Huracan Ramirez y la Monjita Negra", "De Sangre Chicana", "Torito de Oro", "Torito de Tepito".
Huracan Ramirez did not own his character. It was owned by the son of the director of the original movie, Mr. Juan Rodriguez-Mass. Several people played the character in the ring before and four actors played him on the screen. Also some "descendants" of the characters where released such as Huracan Ramirez, Jr. and Hijo del Huracan Ramirez, none able to catch the mystique of the character played by Daniel Garcia.
After his retirement the Rodriguez-Mass wanted to release a new movie with a new luchador in order to make the character go on. Garcia refused and on May 1988 he unmasked and revealed his real name. The movie "Huracan contra los Terroristas" was released but was a total flop.
Garcia continued to make personal presentations until very recently.
2007 - As of this date, WWE began publicly disclosing Wellness test failures.
2007 - Shelly Martinez was eliminated from FOX Reality's "Search for the Next Elvira" after a panel of judges decided her acting in a funeral scene wasn't strong enough. The same episode featured Martinez shopping for lingerie.
2007 - TNA announced the departure of Leticia Cline, who did a good job as a backstage interviewer. Cline wrote on her Myspace blog that she was offered a release and took it. The writing was on the wall when TNA began using another backstage announcer, Crystal.
2007 - WWE released Diva Brooke Adams. Brooke was one-third of the "Extreme Expose" dance team on ECW broadcasts. She first came on the WWE radar as part of the 2006 WWE Diva Search. She was offered a developmental deal and spent some time in Deep South Wrestling before being brought up to the ECW Roster in January of 2007. Brooke made her last WWE appearance the week before at Cyber Sunday and on Raw, dressed as "Jungle Jane" for the Halloween-themed Diva contest and battle royale.
2008 - TNA released agents Pat Kenney and Glen Gilberti. Kenney would later be brought back and remains with the company today.
2008 - Pro Wrestling Guerrilla ran their Battle of Los Angeles 2008 Night One event in California. Saul Stradlin filed the following live report:
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla presented it's 4th annual Battle Of Los Angeles Tournament in Burbank, CA in front of around 400 fans. The show started late due to technical difficulties, but everyone booked for the event made it to the show. Things started
out with each participant being introduced and everyone taking a group picture with the BOLA trophy.
Match 1: TJ Perkins over Chuck Taylor: Taylor started off with various Lucha style armdrags. TJ would later gain control. He introduced some brass knuckles in the middle of the match, which resulted in Taylor stealing them and using them for the victory. After the match, the referee saw the brass knuckles, and disqualified Taylor and awarded the match to TJ.
Match 2: Brandon Bonham over Kenny Omega: Really good match. Lots of comedy from Omega in this match, which also saw him push his tights into his ass, giving himself a wedgie. The final moments of the match started to get exciting, with several
counters, and Bonham picking up the victory with a pin following a Canadian Destroyer. Kenny Omega received a "please come back" chant from the fans after the match.
Match 3: Nigel McGuinness over Austin Aries: Great match. Lots of back and forth action, and some really cool spots in this such as Nigel hitting Aries with a Tower Of London onto the ring apron. The finish was very exciting, with Nigel going for a
lariat several times only for it to be countered by Aries. Nigel also counted several of Aries' attempts to lock in the Last Chancery. The finish saw Nigel make Aries tap out to the London Dungeon. Great match.
Match 4: Low Ki over Roderick Strong: Another great match. Pretty much what you'd expect with these two. Lots of hard hitting with some pretty intense moments through out. One cool spot saw Roderick going from a Fireman's Carry into a Gutbuster, but Low Ki countered in midair with a double stomp onto the knees of Strong. Ki gets the win after making Strong tap out to a Dragon Clutch.
Match 5: Scott Lost over Joey Ryan: This was a post-intermission match, so the crowd wasn't really into it as they were getting settled in. Several cool spots in this, with plenty of counters as the story going into this was that since they were partners, they'd know each other really well. Finish saw Scott Lost get the victory after kicking Joey in the face and then pinning him.
Match 6: Bryan Danielson over Davey Richards: Great match. Davey Richards played a tremendous heel in this. Lots of fun to watch. Danielson was tremendous as usual, and the finishing segment of the match was really heated and the fans were eating
things up. Danielson wins after getting Davey to tap to the Cattle Mutilation. Post match, Davey Richards knocked out the Danny Devito looking referee. Hilarious moment.
Match 7: Masato Yoshino over El Generico and Nick Jackson: Another great match. Standard triple threat affair with two guys going at it while one guy was on the outside, but it was well done. The fans really enjoyed this match.
Match 8: Chris Hero over Necro Butcher: This started out with Hero and Necro doing some wrestling, but it quickly degenerated into a brawl around the venue with several weapons involved. The finish saw Hero deliver multiple elbows to Necro Butcher. After Necro went down, Hero applied the Hero's Clutch to make Necro tap. Post match Hero put over Necro as being one of his toughest opponents.
Really fun show. MOTN honors goes to Richards/Danielson, with Aries/Nigel, Ki/Strong, and the triple threat trailing behind. Matches announced for tomorrow:
-Round 2: Brandon Bonham vs. Nigel McGuinness
-Round 2: Low Ki vs. Masato Yoshino
-Round 2: TJ Perkins vs. Bryan Danielson
-Round 2: Chris Hero vs. Scott Lost
-9 man tag featuring the losers of the first round
2008 - TNA ran Anaheim, CA. Mark Carpowich filed the following live report:
TNA wrestling made its first swing through Southern California this weekend, stopping at the Anaheim Convention Center on Saturday night. Though it featured only six matches, the event was stronger, from both a workrate and fan-interaction perspective, than any WWE house show I’ve attended in the past 10 years.
For starters, the small-arena setup really worked to TNA’s advantage. Although the PA system was pretty bad, the seating arrangement worked well, as it was fairly easy (relative to a WWE event) to see the action on the floor most of the time. There was no overhead lighting rig, either; instead, the ring was illuminated by free-standing poles. There were very few signs in the crowd. And even right from the start, the audience – including “Beyond the Mat” filmmaker Barry Blaustein and UFC heavyweight Shane Carwin – was live.
Starting promptly at the advertised 8 p.m. start time, the event kicked off with Jeremy Borash welcoming fans, then introducing the first match. Motivated by chants of “USA,” Consequences Creed took on Sonjay Dutt and Hiroshi Tanahashi in a three-way match. The bout featured tons of great spots, and ended when Tanahashi hit a top-rope splash on Creed, only to be thrown out by Dutt. Dutt then covered Creed for the win. Afterward, Tanahashi went after Dutt, who retreated to the locker room.
The next match featured Curry Man and Super Eric against LAX. This match really kept up the fast pace of the first, with lots of great action and selling. Hernandez popped the crowd by reversing a double suplex attempt by Curry Man and Super Eric, into a double suplex of his own. The bout ended with LAX coming out on top, after Homicide landed a splash for the win. Afterward, the two teams shook hands, and Curry Man even got Homicide to do some dance moves. Then, they brought in five or six kids from the crowd, to dance with Curry Man.
The Knockouts were up next, as Awesome Kong (with Raisha Saeed) defended her title against Roxxi in a no-disqualifications match. Saeed came out first and cut a promo on the crowd. Roxxi came out to AC/DC’s “Dirty Deeds (Done Dirt Cheap).” Another great match, with Kong on the offensive most of the time. At one point, Kong tossed Roxxi out of the ring, then threw her over the railing and into the crowd. Kong continued the beatdown amid the fans, and at one point picked up a small row of interconnected chairs – yes, an entire row of them – and threw them down on Roxxi. Most of the crowd got close to the action, through a strong “we can’t see you” chant broke out on the opposite side of the arena. Well, so much for being able to see all the action on the floor. Roxxi got in a little bit of offense toward the end, but Kong walked away with the victory.
Our next bout was announced as a tag-team title match, as Borash introduced Miss Jacqueline and Beer Money, Inc. Jackie came out alone, however, and whispered into JB’s ear. Borash then announced that Jackie had said Beer Money was refusing to compete “in front of the ugliest crowd she’s ever seen,” and had already left the building.
Instead, Borash announced that our next match would be Christian vs. AJ Styles. Gee, poor us. Christian got on the mic before the match, and asked how many AJ Styles fans were in attendance. He said to count himself among them. He then asked how many fans of the Instant Classic – then said, “No, how many peeps” – were in the house. Christian promised two things: that he and AJ would bring down the house, and that he would walk out with his hand raised. The match was excellent, of course, with the crowd picking up alternating “let’s go Christian”/”let’s go AJ” chants. The bout also got the only “this is awesome” chant of the evening. The match featured lots of great action and near falls, and ended with AJ getting the win. Afterward, AJ took the mic and said, “That was TNA!” He then told Christian that he isn’t about picking sides, but insisted that TNA needs him. Christian asked if AJ wanted his decision right then and there, but then simply dropped the mic and walked out.
After a 20-minute intermission, JB announced that TNA had brought along a Spike TV camera crew, and wanted to film the crowd going crazy. JB said that TNA is seriously considering bringing a pay-per-view to the Los Angeles area, or possibly a live version of Impact. Borash announced that the footage would be posted on the TNA web site, and also would be featured on a future edition of Impact.
After the cameraman left the ring, JB announced that Beer Money Inc. had returned, but were not willing to put their belts on the line in their match against Team 3D. The champs came out first, and the crowd began the “you suck” chant. James Storm took the mic, and mocked the fans for their chant when they live in a state trying to pass a “gay law bill.” OK, so Storm wasn’t a political science major in school. Team 3D then came out, and Brother Ray said that since Beer Money Inc. were doing what they wanted in making it a non-title bout, 3D would do what they wanted…make it a tables match. The action was good, and included a few semi-gay spots from Beer Money Inc. (of the Billy & Chuck/Too Much variety), as well as a couple of run-ins from Miss Jacqueline. Her final interference resulted in her receiving the Wassup. The match ended when Team 3D put Storm through a table in the middle of the ring.
Afterward, Brother Ray spoke again, and said Anaheim was special because it was the site of the 2002 TLC match. To commemorate the event, he offered to give a piece of the table to a fan. They brought in a kid who was probably about 5 (and not even alive when the TLC match happened), talked to him on the mic a little bit, and then handed him a huge, jagged shard of broken table to take home. Hmmmm….
The final match of the evening featured Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe, the latter of whom was announced as being “back in his home state of California.” The two had their usual excellent showing, with Joe on the offensive most of the way. Angle did manage to apply the ankle lock and, later, the Angle Slam, but then missed a moonsault. Angle got up and charged at Joe, who picked up Angle and positioned him for the Muscle Buster. Joe got the three count, then took the mic and addressed Angle. Joe said he hated Angle’s guts, but that he had earned Joe’s respect. He also said he was happy to be home, and that he wanted to “bring backstage to the fans.” The locker room then came out to sign autographs at ringside, and Angle returned to pose for pictures inside the ring (at $20 a pop).
TNA management has to be happy with the way this show turned out. The crowd was enthusiastic, and the fluidity of the matches was far superior to most of what the WWE offers, especially at a house show. The locker room definitely seemed motivated to make an impression on the fans. Hopefully their efforts pay off, as Borash said that TNA was looking at bringing a pay-per-view to the area sometime in early 2009.
2008 - CMT broadcast an episode of Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV report:
We begin this week’s show with a look back at last week and the tension between both teams. Frank Stallone was sent to the sidelines.
We start off in the gym where everyone is training. Dustin comments on their loss last time and how they need to bring it this time. Danny talks about how he is in pain and we see footage of Danny taking bumps. Danny says that nothing is going to slow him down and how he has a spot on his shelf for the belt.
Brutus and Brian enter the gym. Brutus says that he has a sore throat and he apologizes, but Knobs says that it was because Brutus was too busy yelling at them for being bad wrestlers. Knobs says that they have to bust their asses to get things right. Trishelle talks about how as soon as Knobs is done telling them that they suck, Hogan, Bischoff, Jimmy Hart come in. Trishelle thinks someone might be getting eliminated.
Hogan says that with fewer people, they can focus on everyone’s performance. Hogan says that when they were looking at the matches, they appeared to be focusing on the new moves too much and they could not focus on the showmanship and working with the crowd. Hogan says that if you lack something physically, you connect with the people. He wants everyone to reconnect with the crowd. Bischoff says that their challenge this week is for everyone to get their own in ring persona. Bischoff says that it is not as easy as it looks. He tells them to make sure that the person sitting in the cheap seats can connect with you when you enter the ring. Hogan says that Jimmy Hart will help with this task.
Dustin talks about how great Jimmy is for the business. Hogan talks about how Jimmy has turned jabronis into main eventers.
They go to the CCW Lounge and there are a variety of clothing for everyone. Jimmy says that in the music industry to get a hit record, you need a hook. In wrestling, to be a star, you need to have a special look. Jimmy talks about Dennis for a great example. Dennis runs through some of the crazy things that he has done. Dennis says that he is the gimmick.
Jimmy tells the ladies that they need to sex it up a bit in the ring, but not too much. Jimmy says that it is about showmanship and he suggests that they choose something that the people will connect with.
We see them trying on different outfits. Trishelle says that Todd could do anything in the ring. Erin says that she wants to be a hot mom in the ring, and Todd asks her if she is going to bring a stroller into the ring with her. Erin says that she cannot compete with Nikki and Trishelle, but she will try.
Jimmy returns to see what they are doing and Jimmy is in shock. Jimmy asks them what character they want to be. Jimmy tells them to think about how the people are going to react to them. He tells them to find out who they really are. Jimmy says if you want the people to laugh at them, they have done a good job, but if they want to get the crowd behind them, they need to think about it.
We go to the ring and Hogan asks Jimmy how things went, and he says that it went horrible. Hogan asks Jimmy if he fixed it. Jimmy says that he thinks we will see it in the ring. Eric says that he is starting to get pissed off. This is where he knew everyone would treat this like a joke. He says that they are with some of the greatest coaches but if you don’t take it seriously, it does not matter.
It is time for this week’s MOVES OF DOOM . . . BROTHER. They are basic tie up, working the arm, and working the ropes.
Hogan says that he is looking forward to seeing their personas tonight.
We go to the Team Nasty training ring and Nikki complains about getting a rope burn. Erin does not mind going back to the basics. Knobs warns them about what happens if you don’t grab the top rope. Knobs tells them to sell the arm and not work on it too hard. Hogan enters the room and Erin talks about what it is like to enter the room.
Dustin talks about how Rodman is not going to go off the ropes after a side head lock. Hogan comes into the ring and he tells Dustin to focus and he works on Dustin’s arm. He talks about what it was like to be in the ring with Hogan.
Now it is time to see Team Beefcake and Hogan enters their training room. Hogan wants to work a two minute match with Danny. Trishelle talks about how she feels a bit jealous of Danny getting so much attention. Butterbean talks about how Hogan makes it look easy, but also makes it look real.
It is the day of the next match. Knobs wants to know their personas. Beefcake also wants to know what his team is going to do.
We see Team Knobs practicing an hour before the match, and Erin wants to do something big during the match. She wants it to seem like she is doing something.
It is time for the show and Hogan welcomes everyone to the CCW Arena. Jimmy tells everyone that he told the celebrities to work on their personas.
The first match is from Team Nasty. Nikki Ziering comes out as ‘Candy Girl’ and her tag team partner is Dustin Diamond who comes out as ‘The Winner’. Their opponents are Erin Murphy who is the ‘Mistress of Mayhem’ and Dennis Rodman who is ‘Rodzilla’.
Dustin gets frustrated with the fans reacting to Rodman and Murphy. Rodman works on the arm as he applies one of the moves of doom and Dustin sells it. Rodman stops any offensive attempt. Dustin almost gets pinned by Murphy on a schoolboy but he kicks out. Rodman distracts the referee and that allows Diamond and Ziering to work over Murphy. Rodman continues to spend more time with the referee so Diamond can continue to work over Murphy. Diamond and Ziering collide and that allows Murphy to tag in Rodman. Rodman and Murphy hit a Rocket Launcher on Diamond for the three count.
Team Beefcake comes out with their personas. Todd Bridges comes out as ‘Mr. Not So Perfect’ and his tag team partner Butterbean is ‘Mean Bean’. Their opponents are Trishelle who is ‘The Red Hot Redneck’ and Danny Bonaduce who is ‘Dangerous Danny Bonaduce’.
Bonaduce and Trishelle double team the larger Butterbean, but he kicks out. Bonaduce works on Butterbean’s arm and so does Trishelle. Butterbean remembers that he is bigger than everyone and he takes control and then he works over Trishelle in the corner. Todd misses a few moves and that allows Danny to tag back in. Danny hits a flying shoulder tackle on Bridges and then he takes his frustration out on Butterbean. Bridges holds Bonaduce, but Butterbean clotheslines Todd instead. Trishelle pantses Butterbean and there is a full moon out tonight. Bonaduce goes up top for a crossbody for the three count.
It is time to find out which one of the eight is going home. Hogan says that he was very happy with the personas tonight. Hogan praises Jimmy Hart. Hogan announces that Team Beefcake won tonight. It is time to see which member of Team Nasty goes home. Eric says that the only problem he saw was with the timing. Hogan says that Dustin and Rodman are both safe because he was impressed with them. Jimmy tells Erin that her outfit is adorable and he thinks the fans love her; but it seemed like she was a bit lost during the match. Hogan tells Nikki that she was on point in the ring, but she needs to step up her game more. When you are standing next to your team members and they are electric, you have to run with them. Hogan says that he is torn about the Candy Girl because at the end of the day, even though she is very good looking . . . Erin Murphy is a jabroni.
We see Erin on the walk of shame . . . brother. Erin talks about the experience.
We go to credits and there are going to be some fireworks next week.
2009 - Rey Mysterio's autobiography "Behind the Mask" was released.
2009 - Former WWE Women's champion Candice Michelle announces that she's expecting her first child.
2010 - Legendary flyer Edouard Carpentier passed away at the age of 84.
2010 - Former WWE star Ken Doann announced he was turning down a TNA tryout, citing that he wasn't flying himself to their TV Taping to work for free.
2010 - On the eve of Linda McMahon losing her first bid at becoming Senator, WWE sent out the following press release after WWE announced they would give away t-shirts once the State of Connecticut backed off on their ban of voters wearing WWE clothing at the polls:
ON EVE OF ELECTIONS, WWE THREATENED BY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
STAMFORD, Conn., November 1, 2010 – Not so coincidently after President Obama’s visit to Connecticut this past weekend and on the eve of the midterm elections, WWE® is being threatened by the U.S. Department of Justice of the Obama Administration (see attached letter) with potential criminal activity for distributing WWE t-shirts near select polling stations tomorrow on Election Day.
“This is clearly heavy-handed bullying from big government and would appear to be desperate political activity in closely contested elections in Connecticut,” said Vince McMahon, Chairman and CEO World Wrestling Entertainment. “This is consistent with some Attorney Generals’ tactics that threaten litigation for political gain.”
Under this ambiguous threat of legal action by the U.S. Department of Justice, WWE has reluctantly decided not to give away WWE merchandise near select polling stations tomorrow.
The controversy began with Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz’s directive stating “if poll workers feel like the wearing of WWE paraphernalia is in any way interfering with the voting process, they can ask the individual to cover it up or come back with something else on.” The directive was ultimately overturned by a Federal Judge last week. Subsequently, to celebrate the victory of restoring voters’ rights, WWE had planned to give away WWE merchandise at select polls to anyone regardless of political affiliation or whether they intended to vote.
2010 - Pee Wee Herman, who was in the middle of a run on Broadway, hosted Raw. WWE loved him so much, he was brought back for a cameo at Wrestlemania 27. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV report:
We are live from Uniondale, New York and your announcers are Michael ‘The Magic Word is VINTAGE’ Cole and Jerry ‘The Magic Word is PUPPIES’ Lawler.
Randy Orton comes to the ring and he holds the belt over his head. He says that there isn’t a man alive that can take the title from him, but if someone did, he would not be happy with it. He would not want it to be because of a crooked referee. Especially if that crooked referee was John Cena. Randy says that he would like John Cena . . . Crooked Referee to come to the ring because if he is going to screw him over at Survivor Series, he should be man enough to do it to his face.
John Cena comes to the ring and he is in his alternate Nexus gear which looks a lot like John Cena’s shirt. Cena says that he wants Orton to cut him some slack. He knows that Randy is the WWE Champion. They have both been there before. He says that they know that titles are won or lost. John says that if Barrett wins, he is out of Nexus, but if Orton wins, Cena is fired. Cena says that he will call it down the middle, but if something happens in the ring, he doesn’t . . . Cena says that this chaos and unrest in the WWE Universe means that he doesn’t know what he is going to do.
Orton says that this is Cena’s bleeding heart way of saying that he will screw him over at Survivor Series. Orton says that if Cena screws him over, he keeps his job, but John Cena will be the biggest phony in the WWE. He tells Cena that he shouldn’t talk about Hustle, Loyalty, or Respect if he is going to do Wade Barrett’s bidding. Orton tells Cena to get out of his ring.
Orton says that Cena can’t get out of the ring without asking his master for permission.
Cena says that he hates having to be an errand boy. He says that Barrett has everyone under his control. Cena says that Barrett might have enough skill to compete for the WWE Title, but we know that he is classless so he will not do it the right way. He says that Wade Barrett doesn’t know about respect.
Nexus comes out and they are now a team of six men with two title belts as they stand on the stage in their warrior formation. Barrett thanks Cena for those kind words. Wade says that he will allow Cena to say whatever he wants about Wade because he knows that actions speak louder than words. When push comes to shove, he will do what he is told and at Survivor Series, Cena will raise Barrett’s hand as WWE Champion.
Cena says that in three weeks it is over. He is either out of Nexus or he is fired (as Wade Barrett reminds him). Cena wants a moment with his ‘boss’. In three weeks, it comes to a head and regardless of what happens, he will not go quietly. He will leave a parting gift and he will beat the hell out of Wade Barrett.
Orton says that he doesn’t have to wait until Survivor Series. He says that Wade is nothing more than a pathetic child who has to hide behind seven other guys. He will beat on Wade until he is unconscious. Orton says that all his boy will have to do is count to ten and raise his hand. Orton challenges Wade to come to the ring but before that can happen . . .
The official Buzzkill of the WWE makes its presence known. Michael Cole climbs Mount Buzzkill and he quotes. As the WWE Champion, he feels for his position. Everyone wants to know what John Cena is going to do and we will find out tonight. Wade Barrett and a partner of his choice will face Randy Orton and a partner of his choosing. The guest referee will be John Cena.
We go to commercial.
Match Number One: Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater versus David Hart Smith and Tyson Kidd
Kidd and Slater start things off and they lock up with Kidd giving Slater an arm drag and then he tags in Smith who hesitates before kicking Slater. Smith takes Slater to the mat and then he drops a leg on Slater’s arm and follows it with an elbow drop. Smith with a delayed vertical suplex for a near fall. Smith with a European uppercut and Gabriel makes the tag and he hits a distracted Smith from behind. Gabriel with kicks and then he tags in Slater and they kick Smith. Gabriel tags back in and they continue to kick Smith in the corner while Kidd looks like he would rather be anywhere else.
Slater tags in and he punches Smith. Gabriel tags back in and he gives Smith a snap mare before applying a reverse chin lock. Smith tries for a belly-to-back suplex but Gabriel with a punch to stay in the chin lock. Smith with a power slam and Kidd tags in. Kidd with a drop kick and running back elbow and clothesline. Kidd with a kick and a corkscrew fisherman suplex for a near fall. Smith throws Slater out of the ring while Kidd with a back heel kick. Kidd with a drop kick that sends Gabriel to the floor. Slater pushes Smith into Gabriel and Kidd was in midair and he hits a somersault dive onto Smith.
Slater tries to hit Kidd on the apron but he misses. Gabriel hits Kidd from behind and hits the 450 Splash for the three count.
Winners: Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel
After the match, Smith yells at Kidd.
We go to the Nexus locker room and R Truth enters. Truth says that Cena got booked tonight. He stood up to Wade Barrett and told him what he will do after Survivor Series. Truth says that we need to know what he is going to do at the moment of truth.
Cena walks away and we go to commercial.
We are back and we take a look back at Santino Marella’s impossible dream of beating Sheamus last week on Raw.
Sheamus says that everyone thought he would come out and throw a tantrum because Santino upset him last week. Sheamus says that Santino didn’t beat him, Sheamus beat himself. He gave Santino a week to bask in the glory of the victory, but he wants him to come out tonight to face him.
Santino comes out and he is not dressed to wrestle. He tells Sheamus that he would like to say that he respects Sheamus as a human beings. He says that he is a fan of Sheamus’ and he went out trick or treating as Sheamus. Everyone thought that he was a ghost. Santino say that was irritating and he knows why Sheamus is so angry. Santino says that he consumed a lot of candy last night and bad things happen. Santino says that he has bad news for Sheamus. The doctor told him that if he wrestles tonight, he will accidentally throw up . . . in his face. Santino says that he has a suitable replacement.
Vladimir Kozlov comes out and he says that Sheamus talks funny and now he crush him.
Match Number Two: Sheamus versus Vladimir Kozlov with Santino Marella
They lock up and Kozlov goes for the leg but Sheamus gets to the ropes. Sheamus with a knee to the head but Kozlov with a kick and head butt followed by a hip lock take down. Sheamus with a series of knees in the corner. Kozlov with a neck breaker for a near fall. Sheamus with a knee drop to the head but Kozlov with head butts to the chest followed by a boot to the chest and Sheamus gets his foot on the rope to stop the count. Sheamus with the Celtic Hammer followed by the pump kick for the three count.
Winner: Sheamus
After the match, Sheamus kicks Kozlov out of the ring and Santino tries to attack Sheamus from behind but Sheamus turns around in time. Santino backs out of the ring and he offers candy to Sheamus and then Santino offers him some money. Santino turns his attention to giving Sheamus his credit card. Santino wants to write him a check. Sheamus pushes Santino down and he sets for the Celtic Cross but John Morrison comes out and he forgot to put on his shirt.
Morrison kicks Sheamus in the chest and the head as Sheamus falls off the ramp.
Randy Orton is walking in the back and R Truth says that he feels for Orton. Truth says that he talked to his friend Cena and he feels bad for Orton. Truth says that Cena should have quit when he had the chance. Truth says that Cena won’t let himself get fired. Truth says that he thinks we will see Cena looking Orton in the eyes as he counts Wade Barrett victorious. Orton suggests that he make R Truth his tag team partner since Truth and Cena are friends, even though they don’t see eye to eye. Orton says that we will find out tonight that John Cena doesn’t have any friends.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Mark Henry says that things haven’t been the same since his tag team partner Evan Bourne got hurt a few weeks ago. Pee Wee says that he had a similar situation with a splinter and he was in a lot of pain. Mark says that he still hasn’t found a tag partner and that is why he is here to see him. Mark says that Pee Wee is an icon, is super strong and his idol. He is just the man to give him a big hug. Pee Wee tells Mark that he can’t breathe. Pee Wee suggests that we have some Diva Twister to cheer Mark up.
Pee Wee introduces himself and says that he is here to take over Monday Night Raw. He says that there will be some surprises, like Lita.
We go to commercial.
Match Number Three: Zack Ryder versus Ezekiel Jackson in a Hometown Boy Gets Hurt Match
Zack with a kick and punches but Zeke shows no effect. Jackson with a body block or two and then he presses Ryder over his head and slams him. Ryder kicks Jackson but Jackson with a uranage for the three count.
Winner: Ezekiel Jackson
After the match, Zeke poses longer than the match before we see the match again in highlights.
We find out that in order to counter R Truth, Wade Barrett has named David Otunga as his tag team partner in the main event.
We go to commercial.
We are back and it is time for Pee Wee Herman to come to the ring. Pee Wee thanks everyone and then he gets close to the camera as he thanks people. He says that he is totally feeling ‘Raw’. He says that he wants to explain tonight’s secret word and he goes over the rules. Tonight’s secret word is ‘ring’. He says that he feels like a Million Dollars.
It is time for the Miz to come out and he is joined by the man who Michael Cole is jealous of because he gets to stand near Miz all the time, Alex Riley.
Pee Wee offers his hand to Miz but Miz refuses. He says that he thought that Raw losing at Bragging Rights was the lowest point but he was wrong. Miz says that he was a He Man fan, not Pee Wee.
Pee Wee tells him to marry He Man. Miz tells Pee Wee to get out of the ring and everyone screams. Miz tells him to get out of the ring again and you know what happens. Miz wants to know if Pee Wee is trying to embarrass him. He says that Pee Wee is a poor excuse for a man, not a cultural icon.
Pee Wee repeats everything that Miz says. Alex starts to talk and Pee Wee repeats him. Miz tells Riley to stop. Miz asks Pee Wee if he is stupid. He says that he doesn’t care if Pee Wee is on Broadway or was in movies. Miz asks Pee Wee if he wants to hurt him. Pee Wee asks if he wants to hurt him.
Pee Wee says that they can play the ‘Really’ Game but he warns them not to anger the ‘Pee’. Pee Wee says that he has his cousin here tonight. Miz mocks Pee Wee and he says that Pee Wee should bring out his family.
Pee Wee says that his cousin will come out and he is Awesome.
Big Show comes out dressed like Pee Wee. Show grabs Riley and Miz and sends them over the top rope to the floor. Pee Wee asks them if they had a nice trip out of the ring.
We have a Buzzkill and Cole climbs to Mount And I Quote. Miz won’t get out of this so easy. He said that he would beat anyone in Pee Wee’s family so tonight’s secret word is pain because he will face Pee Wee’s cousin ‘The Big Pee Wee’ and that will be next.
We go to commercial.
Match Number Four: Big Show versus Miz
Show sends Miz into the corner and he chops Miz. Show sends Miz into the turnbuckles and then he chops Miz one more time. Miz goes to the floor to avoid a clothesline. Miz talks some strategy with Riley. Miz gets back into the ring and Show biels Miz across the ring. Show with a chop followed by a kick to the chest and then he stands on Miz’s chest. Miz with a drop kick to the knee as he tries to take out one of Show’s legs.
Show with a clothesline to stop Miz’s kicks. Show with a slam and then he hits an elbow drop for a near fall. Show with a head butt and Miz is staggered. Miz kicks Show in the leg and follows it with punches. Miz with a knee to the midsection followed by a drop kick to the knee and Show goes down. Miz punches Show and he connects with elbows. Miz with a choke on Show but Show gets to his feet and then he drops back and falls onto Miz.
Show gets to his feet first and he connects with a head butt that drops Miz to the mat. Show goes for a Vader Bomb but Show takes too much time talking to Riley and Miz rolls out of the way. Miz gets a near fall and he kicks Show. Miz with a boot to the head and a punch. Miz goes up top and hits a double sledge. Miz goes up top again and hits another double sledge. Miz tries for a third one to knock Show to the mat and it connects. Miz with a cover but Show presses Miz off on the cover. Miz with a reverse chin lock. Show with a back body drop to Miz and he misses a splash into the corner. Show grabs Miz by the throat and then he sends Miz into Riley. Miz gets the briefcase and he hits Show with it and the referee calls for the bell.
Winner: Big Show by disqualification
Now it is time for Cole to get off the Miz soapbox and it is time to talk about how the WWE has been misrepresented. Now it is time to see a bunch of celebrities talk about WWE.
John Cena is with Wade Barrett and Wade tells him that after he has done the right thing, he wants Cena to clean his locker. He wants him to sweep and mop. Then he can scrub his back. David Otunga tells Cena that he won’t have to scrub Wade’s back because he will be raising his arm, not Wade’s. Otunga says that he has more talent than anyone in Nexus and is more talented than Cena.
We go to commercial.
Match Number Five: Ted DiBiase with Maryse versus Daniel Bryan
They lock up and Ted backs Bryan into the corner and he misses a punch. Bryan with a series of kicks in the corner but Ted with a boot to the head and then he kicks and punches Bryan. Ted chokes Bryan while Maryse talk to Cole during the match. Ted with a hard Irish whip. Bryan with punches and foreams but Ted with a kick. Bryan with a boot when Ted charges into the corner. Ted knocks Bryan off the turnbuckle.
Ted punches Bryan and then he gets a near fall. Ted with an elbow to the top of the head and he puts Bryan in a reverse chin lock. Bryan with elbows and he counters the short clothesline with a crucifix. Bryan with a rollup for a near fall. Bryan flips over DiBiase and hits a flying clothesline and Bryan gets ready for a round kick to the chest. Bryan with more kicks to the chest but Ted with a sit out spinebuster for a near fall. DiBiase sets for Dream Street but Bryan applies the LeBell Lock and Ted taps.
Winner: Daniel Bryan
After the match, Maryse talks to Ted and Ted tells her to shut up and he wants his title back. Ted tells Maryse that they are going to a wedding.
We go to commercial.
Michelle McCool and Layla come out and it is time for some Real Talk. Michelle says that she thinks they got off on the wrong foot with everyone. They apologize to the WWE Universe. They say that they need a fresh start. They say that they are compassionate people. They call Natalya ‘special’. They point out that she is Canadian. Layla says that they are going to be nice to ‘that special girl’ and give her one more shot at their title at Survivor Series of Natalya beats Michelle tonight. That won’t happen because Michelle is the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be.
Match Number Six: Natalya versus Michelle McCool with Layla in a Non Title Match
Natalya with a waist lock but Michelle with elbows. Natalya with a fireman’s carry but Michelle with a head scissors. Natalya with a wheelbarrow suplex followed by a kick and forearm. Michelle with an Irish whip but Michelle runs into an elbow. Natalya goes to the turnbuckles but Michelle pulls her off and gets a near fall. Michelle continues to work on the back with a boot and forearm. Michelle with more knees to the back and she gets a near fall. Michelle with a kick to the midsection and she applies a body scissors. Michelle uses the ropes for extra leverage and the referee makes her release the hold. Michelle with a kick but Natalya with a kick of her own. Michelle with a Northern Lights suplex and bridge for a near fall. Natalya blocks a kick and tries for a Sharpshooter but Michelle gets to the floor. Natalya takes care of Michelle and Layla on the floor. Michelle accidentally kicks Layla when Natalya moves and Natalya gets the three count with a rollup.
Winner: Natalya
We go to the back and Freddy Prinze Junior is checking on a patient who is still in a coma and says that he will miss the election. We see that it is Mr. McMahon.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Vince is still in a coma and Freddy says that Mrs. McMahon stops by even though she is running a campaign. He mentions that Linda has spent $50 million on her campaign and that gets Vince out of his coma. Vince wants to know what Linda spent $50 million on and Vince says that he hates politics and that as long as everything is okay with the WWE, he is okay. Vince wants to know if Nexus has been destroyed and Vince is told that they are stronger than ever. Vince is told that Cena is part of Nexus. Vince is also told that Paul Bearer is back, Goldust is getting married, and Pee Wee Herman is running Raw. Vince says that the next thing he will be told is that Daniel Bryan is the WWE Champion. Vince says that if his Wife can run for Senate then he can run for President.
Someone wakes up from a nightmare and it is Stephanie McMahon. She says that she had the strangest dream. She asks if her dad is still in a coma. Her husband tells her that he is also brain dead.
We go to commercial.
Match Number Seven: David Otunga and Wade Barrett versus R Truth and Randy Orton with Guest Referee John Cena in a Let’s See if Cena can be Fair at Survivor Series Match
Orton and Otunga start things off because their last names start with O. They lock up and Otunga backs Orton into the corner and Otunga with a knee and punches. Otunga with kicks and the referee starts his count. Orton with a kick but Otunga with an Irish whip. Orton with a clothesline and kick to Otunga’s arm. Orton with an Irish whip but Otunga with an elbow and he tags in Barrett. Orton with a kick and punches to Barrett followed by European uppercuts and punches. Orton is pulled out of the corner but he referee and Barrett with a rollup for a near fall. Orton with a kick and then he sends Barrett into the turnbuckles. Orton argues with the referee and Barrett attacks Orton from behind.
Otunga tags back in and Orton with a power slam. Orton looks around and he kicks Otunga in the chest and David rolls to the floor. Orton follows and he connects with a European uppercut. Otunga Irish whips Orton into the ring steps and the referee tells them to get back into the ring. Otunga gets a near fall as they return to the ring. Barrett tags back in and he kicks Orton and punches him. Barrett with a reverse chin lock. Orton escapes with a belly-to-back suplex and both men are down.
Otunga and Truth tag in and Truth with clotheslines followed by a hip toss. Otunga with an Irish whip but Truth floats over hits the split and then connects with the leg lariat for a near fall. Truth punches Otunga and Truth with a clothesline but Barrett makes the blind tag and hits a Black Hole Slam for a near fall. Barrett with a back breaker to Truth and then he punches Truth. Barrett goes to the turnbuckles but he takes too long and misses an elbow drop and both men are down.
Otunga comes in and the referee stops him and that means that he did not see the tag so Orton is not allowed to come in. Barrett pulls Truth into his corner and he makes the tag to Otunga. Otunga with a slam and then he hits an elbow drop for a near fall. Barrett tags back in and Barrett kicks him. Barrett punches Truth and then he tags Otunga back in. Otunga gets a near fall and then he goes to a reverse chin lock.
Truth with punches to Otunga and then each man was thinking of a cross body and both men are down. Orton distracts the referee and that prevents a Barrett tag from taking place. Orton with an RKO to Otunga and then Orton goes after Barrett while Truth gets the three count.
Winners: Randy Orton and R Truth
After the match, Barrett yells at John Cena for doing his job.
2012 - TNA broadcast an Open Fight Night edition of Impact Wrestling. Stu Carapola filed the following TV report:
Joseph Park is in the ring to start the show, and he said from day one that he is an attorney and not a wrestler, but after the civil violations commited upon him by Aces & Eights, he decided that it doesn't matter if he's a wrestler or attorney because he's a man and he's going to stand up for himself when his rights are violated. He asked Hulk Hogan for a match with Aces & Eights, but Hogan has yet to give him an answer, but through his own legal work, he discovered a loophole in Open Fight Night. So with that being said, he challenges any member of Aces & Eights to fight him right now. He kind of gets his wish, because four members of Aces & Eights come out and surround the ring. They climb into the ring and prepare to attack Park as Kurt Angle comes running out to intervene. Park cowers in the corner as Aces & Eights beat Angle down, but then Sting runs in as well and chases Aces & Eights off with a baseball bat. Sting and Angle ignore Park's cowardice as Sting mentions how Devon said the masks mean everything to Aces & Eights, but says that someone is going to lose their mask tonight.
Tonight: ODB takes on Jesse from Big Brother, Devon battles Bully Ray, and Christian York comes back to TNA after a decade to try his luck in the Gut Check!
The Mystery Cameraman is backstage asking Magnus about Aces & Eights, and Magnus says he's not concerned with them because he's going to unmask someone else who is a fraud.
Jesse is backstage complaining to Tara about having to fight ODB, and he has her rub some hand sanitizer on him before he has to touch her.
Brutus Magnus comes out to the ring and says he's calling Samoa Joe out for a TV Title match because, even though they have a long and storied history, he has an issue with Joe being the TV Champion since he's not the image we're looking for at Impact Wrestling for a TV Champion. He's like Howard Stern because people like him, but he has a radio face, while Magnus does not. Joe's music hits, and it looks like we have a (rem)atch.
TV Title Match: Samoa Joe vs Brutus Magnus
Joe goes right after Magnus, tears his shirt off, and then tears into him with chops. Joe whips Magnus into the corner and charges in with a forearm and connects with a leaping enziguiri. Magnus gets his boot up on a charge, but comes off the second rope right into an inverted atomic drop from Joe, who follows up with a running boot and a senton for 2. Magnus finally gets some offense by connecting with a flying knee, but Joe kicks out before even a 1 count. Magnus takes Joe's head off with a hard clothesline and covers for 2, then we hit the chinlock. Joe escapes and they go toe to toe in the middle of the ring, Joe gets the Kokina Clutch, Magnus escapes and tries a charge, but runs into the STJoe and gets clotheslined out to the floor. Magnus looks under the ring apron and reaches for something, but Joe grabs him before he can get ahold of it and rams him into the ringpost. Magnus goes down, but this time he manages to get ahold of a wrench and he sneaks it back into the ring as Joe argues with the referee. Joe finally rolls back inside and goes after Magnus, who smashes him in the head with the wrench right in front of the referee, who immediately calls for the bell.
Winner: Samoa Joe by DQ
Magnus seems pleased with his handiwork and strolls off to the back as Joe is out cold in the ring.
Hulk Hogan is in his office with Sting and Joseph Park, but Kurt Angle barges in with Wes Brisco and Garett Bischoff demanding Devon in the ring tonight. Hogan says Bully Ray has Devon tonight, but he can have whatever's left at Turning Point. Angle says he still wants to fight tonight, and Sting says that since everyone's ready to fight, that the four of them should go rip off some masks.
Samoa Joe is backstage icing the lump on his forehead, and screams that Magnus made a huge mistake, and that it's time to throw out the rules and the DQs because Joe is gonna kill him.
We look back at last week when Austin Aries jumped Jeff Hardy, announced that he's cashing in his rematch at Turning Point, and stole the original World Title belt. We then go backstage to an intense video of Jeff Hardy...painting his face as we are once again reading his thoughts. He says that since it's Open Fight Night and anyone can call him out, he needs to stand out because Austin Aries is nothing but a thief and his overconfidence will kill him.
Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels come out to the ring and say that the biggest frauds around here aren't Aces & Eights, it's Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez. They came out here last week and did what they always do by telling the truth and looking good doing it, but some folks in the back got muy caliente over it. They're getting their rematch at Turning Point, but tonight is Open Fight Night, so they're calling out two men who are fiercely proud of their heritage: a member of the famous Guerrero wrestling family, and the other is renowned for his size, so they call out...Hector Guerrero and Willie Urbina. They're the Spanish announce team, in case you weren't aware. We'll see what happens after the commercial.
We're back and Daniels & Kazarian are throwing all kinds of insults at Urbina and Guerrero, and Urbina is trying to calm Hector down until Daniels shoved Urbina down. Guerrero nails Daniels, but Kazarian blindsides him and they beat down the Spanish announce team until Chavo and Hernandez run in and make the save. Daniels and Kazarian beat a hasty retreat as Daniels gets a microphone and continues taunting them from the entry ramp.
We take another look at this month's Gut Check contestant, Christian York, as he talks about how this may be his last chance to make something out of his career. We'll see him in action next!
ODB is backstage telling Eric Young to get to the Impact Zone because she's fighting Jesse, and that he better not forget the fried chicken.
Christian York comes out to the ring and looks like a million bucks, then Jeremy Borash introduces his Gut Check...
Gut Check: Christian York vs Zema Ion
York takes Ion's spray can and throws it out to the crowd, then unloads on Ion like a huse of fire. Ion tries a flying headscissors, but York cartwheels through and nails Ion. York gets the boot up on a charge by Ion and catches him with a forward rolling kick and a half nelson suplex. York with a charging cannonball in the corner and then goes to the top, but Ion rolls out to the apron. York gets him by the hair and Ion snaps York's throat down on the top rope, then he floats between the ropes into a tornado DDT. Ion starts putting the boots to York and goes to his eyes, but tries a springboard moonsault and comes down right onto York's knees. York takes Ion's head off with a clothesline and hits the Mood Swing for a very close 2. Ion goes to the floor and dodges a baseball slide, but York rebounds off the ropes and catches Ion with a tornado DDT. Ion kicks the middle rope into York's groin on his way back into the ring and then gets York in Submission Impossible and York calls it quits.
Winner: Zema Ion
I have not seen anyone come through the Gut Check who looked like they deserved the contract more than Christian York, he came in looking to be in great shape, and he worked his ass off and did terrific.
The Mystery Cameraman asks Austin Aries about taking the title belt, and Aries says he still considers himself the champion and not a guy who hides behind facepaint like Jeff Hardy. He's all about being the face of the company, and he excuses himself to step into Robbie E and Robbie T's locker room to discuss some business.
Garett Bischoff comes up to Bully Ray and says that Devon stabbed him in the back like he did everyone else, and if Bubba needs anything, he's there. Bubba says he appreciates it and shakes his hand, but...wait a second, Aces & Eights is outside and we need to go fight. Bubba and Garett go out into the parking lot and fight five of the masked men as Devon taunts Bubba into chasing him away. The brawl continues as Sting yells that the night is still young and someone is losing their mask tonight.
ODB vs Jesse Godderz
Jesse tries to get the jump on ODB with a clothesline, but she ducks and starts unloading on him until he bails out to the floor. Tara comforts him until he gets back in the ring...and continues getting beat up. Jesse holds onto the rope as ODB tries to whip him across the ring, but she kicks him in the gut and goes up for some right hands until Jesse shoves her off. He stops to pose and tries an elbowdrop, but ODB rolls out of the way and Jesse connects with nothing. He tries to escape to the outside again, but ODB chases Jesse and Tara around the ring and back inside where she flattens Jesse with a wheelbarrow into a faceplant. Jesse whips ODB to the corner and tries a charge, but ODB gets her boot up and sits on the top rope and repeatedly rams Jesse's face into her crotch. She tries a double flying knee out of the corner, but Jesse collapses out of her way out of sheer luck, then goes to get a kiss for good luck from Tara. Jesse with a slam and he stops to pose for the crowd and make out with Tara, giving ODB plenty of time to get up, nail Jesse, and put him over her knee to spank him. Tara gets onto the ring apron and ODB goes after her, but Jesse rolls ODB up from behind and gets the win.
Winner: Jesse Godderz
ODB looks pissed off, and I can't blame her since her husband and co-Knockouts Tag Team Champion Eric Young wasn't there to watch her back.
Mike Tenay takes over for Todd as we enter Hour Two, and they wish the folks in the Northeast (like Taz) the best in dealing with the damage that resulted from Hurricane Sandy. Yep, it's a mess up here! Tenay and JB discuss the battle we're going to see tonight between Devon and Bully Ray, but first, we've got more action going on in the ring!
Robbie E and Robbie T come out to the ring, and E says that the most memorable part of this year's Bound For Glory Series was him beating Jeff Hardy, so he's calling out the World Champion tonight so he can get beat a second time.
World Champion Jeff Hardy vs Robbie E
E jumps Hardy on his way into the ring, but Hardy barely breaks a sweat turning the momentum around and pummeling E. Hardy comes off the second rope with a splash for 2, and E rolls out to the floor to try and catch a break. He pulls Hardy under the bottom rope, but Hardy nails E and whips him into the ring steps. Hardy springboard off the steps and hits Poetry In Motion against the guardrail, then rolls E back into the ring. Hardy tries to follow him back in, but T grabs him from behind and slams him into the barricade as we go to commercial.
We're back, and E is still in control of Hardy, standing over him and calling him a loser as Hardy is down on the mat. That doesn't last long, as Hardy fires back at E, catches T with a surprise baseball slide, but E escapes the Twist of Fate and hits an implant DDT for 2. Hardy quickly comes back and hits a gourdbuster, the Twist of Fate, then he comes off the top with the Swanton for 3.
Winner: Jeff Hardy
Austin Aries comes out to the ring with his title belt in hand to congratulate him on his win. He says the difference between the two of them is three seconds, and other than three seconds at Bound For Glory, he's been the most dominant man in the company. He worked his way up the ladder and Hardy managed to knock him off, but he's going to be back at the top of the heap at Turning Point when he regains his World Championship. Hardy gets a microphone and says that if Aries wants to do it at Turning Point, they ought to do it right. He pulls a ladder out from under the ring, sets it up, and climbs to the top as Aries says he only meant climbing the ladder as a metaphor. Hardy says they ought to do it for real and says that Hardy-Aries II is going to be a ladder match.
We go to a video package looking at the opening of Hulk Hogan's Beach Shop as Matt Morgan pushes his way to the front of the crowd to tell Hogan that he's finished with his excuses, but he may be missing one thing. Hogan says to stop and not to touch his memorabilia, but Morgan takes the robe he wore at Shea Stadium and says to watch the history he makes with it. Hogan says not to take it, but Morgan says he just did and walks off.
We then go to the back as Hogan watches a monitor and says he finally got it, but James Storm comes in and says that he got his head straight after finishing matters with Bobby Roode and wants a chance. Hogan says he might have an idea for Storm and he walks off as Storm looks confused.
Bobby Roode comes out to the ring with microphone in hand and says that it is Open Fight Night, but he's not here to fight, he's here to state the fact that he is getting screwed once again. Hulk Hogan had four contenders in his office looking for a shot at the World Title, but the contract stating he couldn't get a rematch for the title as long as Austin Aries was champion is no longer applicable, so he thinks he should have been the guy challenging for the title last week. He says he and Hogan both know he would have kicked Hardy's ass and won the title if that happened, but Roode's monologue is cut short as AJ Styles comes out to the ring to say that he should be the World Champion, and asks if Roode forgets how he held the title longer than anyone in history, and says to stop complaining because that's a major accomplishment. During that year, he was dealing with other people's issues where he was being framed for all kinds of stuff he didn't do, but all people care about is who is going to be the #1 contender for the World Title. Talking isn't going to get either of them any closer to that title shot, but fighting will, so he's calling Roode out right now. Roode says he's not here to fight and that the answer is no, and Roode turns to leave but then turns back around and suckerpunches AJ. AJ slugs him back and clotheslines him out to the floor as Hulk Hogan comes out with James Storm in tow and says he hears them loud and clear and agrees that they both deserve title shots. He makes a match between AJ, Roode, and Storm at Turning Point where the winner gets a title shot and the loser can't get a title shot until at least next year's Bound For Glory.
Joey Ryan and Matt Morgan are backstage, and they're...WALKING!
Joey Ryan and Matt Morgan come out to the ring, and Morgan says he was tired of being ignored by TNA management, so he took the ball in his own hands and started attacking wrestlers at house shows to get Hogan's attention. It still wasn't good enough, so since Hogan made a lot of history in the robe he wore to Shea Stadium, he's going to make even more history with it and will now eat through the entire roster one by one until he owns the World Title. He hands the microphone to Ryan, who says that he's normally good at avoiding VDs, but tonight he's calling out RVD to prove that the X Division Title can be X rated.
X Division Champion Rob Van Dam vs Joey Ryan
RVD gets in the ring and starts unloading on Ryan, but allows himself to be distracted by Morgan and Ryan dumps him out to the floor. RVD pops back up on the apron and spinkicks Ryan in the face, then comes inside and continues destroying Ryan with kicks and shoulderblocks in the corner. Ryan is literally getting no offense as RVD hits Rolling Thunder and goes for the Five Star Frogsplash, but Morgan reaches into the ring and pulls Ryan out of the way, allowing Ryan to get a rolling cradle and pin RVD with his feet on the ropes.
Winner: Joey Ryan
RVD goes after Ryan after the match, but Morgan gets in the ring and takes RVD's head off with the Carbon Footprint.
Devon is backstage with Aces & Eights, and he's...SCOWLING!
We're told that AJ Styles will wrestle Bobby Roode in singles action next week, and then Bully Ray comes out to the ring to tell all the fans in the northeast to stay hardcore, then he demands that Devon come out to the ring so he can kick his ass. Devon takes his time taking his jacket off and getting in the ring, but then he bails out to the floor before making contact. Bubba goes after him and pulls a table out from under the ring, he brings the table into the ring and sets it up in the corner, then yells at Devon to get in the ring and fight him. Devon slowly gets back on the ring apron, but drops back to the floor when Bubba charges him. The rest of Aces & Eights comes out to the ring, and it looks like the entire gang is thereas they all get in the ring and back Bubba into the corner. Bubba grabs his chain and dares the gang to make a move, but then Sting, Angle, Storm, AJ, Chavo, and Hernandez come out to the ring and another huge brawl breaks out. The bell never rang, so I guess there's no match. The fight spills out to the floor as Devon and Bubba are left alone in the ring, Devon takes a swing at Bubba, but Bubba blocks and lays Devon out with a right hand as the crowd chants for the table. One of the members of Aces & Eights comes in and nails Bubba from behind, but Joseph Park runs in and goes face to face with the guy, who punches him in the gut and unloads on him with right hands before putting the boots to him. Park gets to his feet and pulls his mask off, and it's Luke Gallows! Gallows chokeslams Park through the table, then heads for the hills as Sting and Angle chase him off, and that's it for this week.
2012 - WWE ran Nantes, France. Antoine Baronet filed the following results:
It is in the Zenith of Nantes : around 70% of the arena is full, around 4500 spectators. The show began at 6 p.m.
Opener : Brodus Clay & Santino Marella vs. Primo & Epico (with Rosa Mendes).
Brodus & Santino wore shirts with a tiger. Santino is very over, he can speak french.
Winner : Brodus Clay & Santino Marella after a combo "Cobra - Fall of Humanity". Around 10 minutes.
2. Michael McGillicutty vs. Tensai. McGillicutty wins. The crowd didn't like the babyface attitude of McGillicutty.
3. WWE Diva Championship : AJ Lee vs. Eve Torres vs. Layla. Slow match with some AJ chants. AJ Lee wins in 6-7 minutes but Vickie asks a restart of the match. Eve Torres wins with a pinfall on AJ Lee.
4. John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler. Cena wins. Huge chants for Cena and Ziggler is over too. The best match of the night.
20 minutes of intermission with Justin Roberts promo about Cena & Punk signing poster.
5. United States Championship : Antonio Cesaro vs. Zack Ryder. Cesaro retains the title after the neutralizer. Good match and the speech of Cesaro in French (and German) at the beginning was very good.
6. WWE Tags Team Championship : Daniel Bryan & Kane vs. Rhodes Scholars (Damian Sandow & Cody Rhodes). Bryan/Kane wins. Great match with comedy part with Bryan and Kane. Very entertaining.
Main Event for the WWE Championship : Ryback vs. CM Punk. Ryback wins with a disqualification after a chair shot from CM Punk.
The new House Show entrance design is better than the previous. At the beginning, some sound problems with microphones (for Vickie Guerrero in the Diva Championship match).
2012 - Brad Armstrong passed away at the age of 51.
2012 - WWE held a conference call for their third quarter earnings report for 2012. Mike Johnson filed the following recap:
Welcome to PWInsider.com's coverage of WWE's conference call regarding their financial results of the third quarter of 2012.
The call opened with Michael Weitz welcoming everyone and saying that they hope everyone on the East Coast weathered the storm well. Vince McMahon and George Barrios were also present on the call.
Vince welcomed everyone. He said the quarter was not where they wanted it to be. He said that home video and licensing were down a slight bit. The latter was due to the lack of a second video game. They had a reduced cost of the movie business and they were about where they expected to be. He said social media is through the roof.
Live event is up 6% domestic. International was up about 17%.
PPV buys were up 13% in this quarter.
Vince said ratings were good. Well, what else is he going to say?
Expenses were up due to Network expenses, the loss of WWE All-Star video game and payment of management incentives.
They remained the top shows on USA and SyFy and have added 2/12 additional hours of TV. He said the new hour of Raw is doing "extremely well." Wow, really? He said Saturday Morning Slam is the top kid's show across all networks in its time slot. He said they were continuing their expansion with Hulu Plus and added the Ion Network for Main Event. He said it was the number one show on Ion. Saturday Morning Slam did a 50% jump from what was previously on the CW Network in its timeslot.
Vince plugged the Scooby Doo and ABC Family Christmas movie deals and mentioned the completion of their Susan G. Komen partnership "which gave us a different audience and gave us a way to promote the WWE name in a different way."
He said they renewed their National Guard sponsorship and promoted the Rolling Stone PPV distribution, noting it was something different for them.
Vince pushed the Brawlin' Buddies from Mattel, saying he thought they were going to be doing well for the Holidays. He said Christmas, then corrected himself and said holidays.
Vince said in a few weeks, their Mobile App is going to be interactive in a way that no other television in history will be. He said they have phenomenal growth and feel confident with their content and distribution. He sounded really excited about that.
Vince announced the Network would be a premium subscription model and very interactive. He said they have confirmed they will distribute the network as a paid subscription channel through traditional means and more details would be announced as they were available. So, there was the Network announcement I suppose.
George Barrios, the company's CFO, began reviewing the points of the WWE Quarter Earnings.
Licensing was down, mostly due to the loss of sales of a second WWE videogame, WWE All-Stars, which will not return. He said royalties on the videogames are down 32% but said mobile and online material are showing growth.
Their Brawlin' Buddies toys have been recognized as one of the top toys of the holiday season.
Home video revenue was down 23% due to lower price adjustments and returns on unsold material. The lower priced Superstar Collection series contributed to lower revenue, but that series has been mothballed so they won't have that happen again.
Magazine publishing continued to decline. They have re-engineered it so its profitable.
Digital revenue continued to do well, partially because of the Youtube channel.
E-Commerce sales were down 16% due to the online volume of sales dropping but the actual amount of money per order was up.
WWE Studios revenue was up due to the release of No Holds Barred, Barricade and The Day. No Holds Barred made $300,000 in its DVD release. The Day did not record any revenue this quarter. They plugged all of their WWE Studios deals to work with partners to co-produce and distribute their films and plugged the upcoming films. No mention of Leprechaun 2!
They referred to the Scooby Doo film as "Scooby Doo at Wrestlemania."
Their balance sheet remains strong. No long term debt and $150 million in investments and cash.
They continue to believe their content will show returns under any distribution format.
They expect modest growth but that will be offset by the cost of the WWENetwork and management incentives. They expect their 2012 results will be below their 2011 results due to the money spent to launch the network, build its headquarters, develop material for the network and staffing it.
They have conducted research on the size of their fan base. 1/2 the households in the U.S. has a "level of affinity" for WWE. They claimed 12 million are diehard, hardcore fans. 24 million are casual fans. 23 million homes are lapsed fans who have some interest in returning for some form of content, including archival material. They expect to see similar research as they extend their research globally None of those numbers explain the current ratings viewership being so low.
They are excited for all their business streams, especially the Network. They feel the premium subscription model is the best way to distribute the network and continue to negotiate with cable and satellite distributors. They don't feel they can discuss potential launch dates while negotiating.
They claimed that the WWE brand remains one of the strongest brands worldwide. They have tremendous confidence they can continue to create compelling, new content and distribute it via traditional and digital platforms.
At this point, they went to a Q&A segment of the call.
Vince was asked about what thinking has been done to prevent PPV buys and other revenue streams from being cannibalized on the Network. Vince said they would not cannibalize PPV revenue. He said they have business models for it that includes PPV and without. He called it an "add on" to their current product. He was asked whether it would be a HBO like model that would include PPVs and said "it depends."
Vince was asked about WWE material on USA and SyFy. He said the Smackdown deal would be coming up for re-negotiation first and painted it as the company needing to have placement on major networks to help promote the other endeavors and outlets the company has.
Vince said they have to have a blended mix of programming that would appeal from casual to hardcore fans.
They were asked what the driver for the current attendance is and how quickly the numbers can ramp up or have limitations. McMahon said it was due to a "better product" and the different ways they are reaching people, such as social media and new TV series. He was asked what sort of growth they are expecting. He said he didn't want to speculate but "it will be good."
They were asked about the performance of films in this quarter. George Barrios said each release was unique. They had small expectations for No Holds Barred and it exceeded that. The Day won't be recorded until the participation comes in down the line. Barricade was impaired in the last quarter but it performed where they expected it to be.
They were asked about what sort of increase they will be with all the new series and the Raw third hour addition. Hulu Plus revenue will go to the digital media revenues. He said that the two additional hours has made them really happy with the economic side. He said they are really happy with the creative and the economic side.
They were asked if they needed to capture all the fans mentioned for the Network to be successful. McMahon said they don't need to capture "all that much" of the audience for it to be successful.. He said that if they only capture the hardcore fans, they can be successful but the older, lapsed audience has indicated what they want to see. He said they can reach a large percentage of them but their revenue would not be relying on the lapsed fans.
They were asked how much would be required financially to launch the Network. Barrios said they have 80-90% of the Network right now in terms of their infrastructure done. The next variable will be the launch date and then it will be marketing, which they are not going to talk about.
That was it as they had no additional questions.
2012 - WWE broadcast Superstars. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV report:
We are live on tape from Charlotte, North Carolina and your announcers are Josh Mathews and Matt Striker.
Match Number One: The Usos versus Epico and Primo (with Rosa Mendes)
Jimmy and Primo start things off and they lock up with Jimmy applying a side head lock and take down. Jimmy with a shoulder tackle and then he blocks a hip toss and hits a short arm clothesline. Jimmy with an uppercut and then he tags Jey into the match. They hit a double back elbow and a double elbow drop and Jey gets a near fall.
Primo with a head butt, but you do not give a head butt to a Samoan. Epico tags in and he tries for a head butt as well and he suffers the same fate as his cousin. Jey with a head butt to Epico for a near fall. Jey tags Jimmy back in and Jimmy with a forearm from the turnbuckles after a back breaker from Jey.
Epico with an Irish whip but Jimmy floats over and does a little dancing. Jimmy with an uppercut and he sends Epico into his corner. Jey tags in and he hits a clothesline and gets a near fall. Jey slides into a reverse chin lock. Epico escapes but Jey with a side head lock take down. Jey with another side head lock take down and he traps the arm.
Primo makes a blind tag and he sends Jey through the ropes to the floor. Primo with a kick and we go to commercial.
We are back and Epico kicks Jey on the apron. Epico gets a near fall. Primo tags back in and Primo hits a drop kick and then he kicks Jey in the head. Primo with a snap mare and a reverse chin lock. We see Rosa shake her moneymaker at ringside while Primo continues with the head lock. Primo sends Jey to the mat and he tags Epico back in and he kicks Jey.
Epico with a double sledge and he gets a near fall. Epico with a reverse chin lock. Jey gets to his feet but Epico with forearms and punches. Jey with punches but Epico with a kick. Jey with an Irish whip and back body drop. Both men are down.
Primo and Jimmy tag in and Jimmy with clotheslines followed by a flying back elbow and a savate kick. Jimmy with an alley oop Samoan drop. Jimmy with the running butt splash into the corner for a near fall that is broken up by Epico. Jey sends Epico to the apron and Jey with a savate kick. Primo misses a splash into the corner and Jimmy with a savate kick. Jey is tagged in and he hits a Superfly Splash for the three count.
Winners:The Usos
We go to commercial.
We are back with the Raw Rebound.
We go to commercial.
We are back with the video package about the money that WWE raised for cancer research.
Match Number Two: Brodus Clay (with Funkettes) versus Michael McGillicutty
They lock up and Brodus sends Michael to the mat a few times. Clay with a shoulder tackle and Michael goes to the floor to regroup. Michael returns to the ring and he applies a waist lock. Clay shimmies to escape the hold and then Michael punches Brodus but Brodus sends Michael into the corner and he punches Michael.
Brodus with head butts to the center of the back. Clay with a fisherman’s suplex and an elbow drop. Clay with a punch to the ribs and Michael is having trouble breathing. Clay with a slam and Irish whip. Clay misses a splash into the corner and Michael sends Clay over the top rope to the floor as we go to commercial.
We are back and Michael sends Clay into the ring post and then he wrings the arm into the ring post. Michael continues to use the ring post to work on the arm. Michael with a kick to Clay when they return to the ring. Michael with a single arm DDT and he gets a near fall. Michael with an arm bar on Clay. Clay with punches but Michael avoids a slam and hits a drop kick to the injured arm.
Michael with punches to the head. Michael with a kick to the head and he tries for an arm bar submission but he has trouble keeping Clay on the mat. Clay punches Michael in the midsection but Michael returns to the injured arm. Clay sends Michael back to the mat and Clay with an elbow and clothesline.
Clay with an Irish whip and splash into the corner followed by the Sheeeplex. Clay with a running head butt to the chest and then Clay stomps around the ring before hitting the big splash and getting the three count.
Winner: Brodus Clay
After the match, Brodus Clay celebrates in the ring with some children.
We go to commercial.
We are back with another Raw Rebound of the announcement of the teams for the ‘Traditional Survivor Series Match’
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