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January 19th
On this day in history in ....
1880 - At the original Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, William Muldoon defeats Thiebaud Bauer to become the first American Greco-Roman Heavyweight Champion. He would hold the title until his retirement at the end of 1891.
1937 - Red Devil (Elmer Guthrie) defeats Dobie Osbourne for the Florida Heavyweight Title in Jacksonville, Florida.
1940 - Bobby Bruns defeats Orville Brown in Kansas City, Kansas to become the first Kansas City Midwest Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Champion.
1941 - Pat Patterson, the first man to be WWF Intercontinental Champion, is born in Montreal, Quebec.
1948 - Arthur White defeats Mike Chacoma to win the Mid-America World Light Heavyweight Title in Birmingham, Alabama, ending Chacoma's second reign.
1951 - Nell Stewart wins her second NWA Texas Women's Title, defeating Mars Bennett in Houston, Texas.
1954 - "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase is born in Miami, Florida.
1960 - Tex Riley and Len Rossi defeat Don and Jackie Fargo to win the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Title in Nashville, Tennessee. This began Riley and Rossi's second reign and ended the Fargos' sixth.
1960 - Mike DiBiase defeats The Red Raider (Pedro Godoy) for the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Tampa, Florida.
1960 - In Winnipeg, Manitoba, George Eakin defeats John DePaulo to win the Madison Wrestling Club Heavyweight Title, beginning his second reign.
1961 - The Medics (Tony Gonzales and Donald Lortie) defeat John Paul Henning and Sonny Myers in a tournament final in Kansas City, Kansas to become the first NWA Central States Tag Team Champions.
1962 - King Curtis and Haru Sasaki end Herb and Seymour Freeman's second NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title reign.
1966 - Ripper Collins defeats Ron Reed to win the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Title in Honolulu, Hawaii.
1968 - Ray Gunkel and Buddy Fuller defeat Butcher Vachon and Stan Vachon (Stan Pulaski) for the Georgia NWA World Tag Team Title in Atlanta, Georgia.
1970 - Karl and Kurt Von Steiger defeat Tony Borne and Moondog Maybe for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title, beginning the Von Steigers' fifth reign and ending Borne and Mayne's eighth reign.
1970 - Dennis Hall and Johnny Walker defeat Al and Don Greene to win the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Title in Memphis, Tennessee. This ended the Greene's fourth reign and began Hall and Walker's second.
1972 - Mitsu Arakawa and Yoshino Sato defeat Dominic DeNucci and Tony Parisi in a tournament final for the vacant National Wrestling Federation World Tag Team Title in Buffalo, New York.
1972 - Bob Kelly wins the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Title for the sixth time, defeating Donnie Fargo in Mobile, Alabama, ending Fargo's second reign.
1973 - Johnny Valentine defeats Harley Race for the held up NWA Missouri Heavyweight Title in St. Louis, Missouri. The title was held up after a December 16 match between them, with Race as champion.
1973 - Ken Lucas defeats The Wrestling Pro to win the NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title in Dothan, Alabama. This began Lucas' third reign and ended the Pro's second.
1976 - Jerry Lawler defeats Ricky Gibson for the held up Mid-America NWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee. The title was held up after a match between them earlier in the month. This began Lawler's fifth reign.
1977 - Greg Valentine defeats Rufus R. Jones in Raleigh, North Carolina for the NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Title, beginning his second reign.
1979 - Ole Anderson and Ivan Koloff win their third NWA Georgia Tag Team Title in Atlanta, Georgia, defeating Jack and Jerry Brisco.
1980 - Kato Kung Lee defeats Americo Rocca to win the NWA World Welterweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico.
1981 - Carlos Colón and Invader I defeat Danny (Dennis) Condrey and Dutch Mantel for the WWC North American Tag Team Title in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1984 - Johnny Saint wins his third British World Lightweight Title in Hastings, England, defeating Jackie Robinson.
1985 - Rick Davis and Tim Patterson defeat Butch Moffat and Elton Stanton to win the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Title in Cloverdale, British Columbia. Stanton wouldn't be without gold for long, as he defeated Moffat in a tournament final on the same day for the vacant Vancouver NWA Canadian Heavyweight Title.
1987 - The WWF holds an event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
- Brad Rheinghans pinned Frenchy Martin after a middle-rope shoulderblock.
- Rick Martel and Tom Zenk defeated Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine, when Martel pinned Valentine with a springboard splash.
- Ron Bass pinned Special Delivery Jones after a double underhook facebuster.
- Paul Orndorff defeated George Steele by disqualification after Steele swung a steel chair at the referee.
- Tiger Chung Lee pinned Jerry Allen after an elbow drop.
- WWF Champion Hulk Hogan pinned Kamala after a legdrop in a no disqualification match.
- Lanny Poffo pinned The Red Demon with a somersault splash.
- The Junkyard Dog defeated King Harley Race by countout.
- Billy Jack Haynes (subbing for The Dynamite Kid) and WWF Tag Team Champion Davey Boy Smith defeated The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart), when Haynes made Hart submit with a full nelson. If one of the Hart Foundation members had defeated Smith, the title would have changed hands.
1987 - Owen Hart defeats Makhan Singh (Mike Shaw) for the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title in Medicine Hat, Alberta.
1987 - Hercules Ayala defeats David Schultz in Montreal, Quebec to win the International Wrestling International Heavyweight Title.
1991 - The WWF holds the third-annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view event in Miami, Florida. The results:
- In a dark match, Jerry Sags pinned Sam Houston.
- The Rockers (Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels) defeated The Orient Express (Tanaka and Kato), when Jannetty pinned Tanaka with a sunset flip.
- The Big Bossman pinned The Barbarian after he rolled through a high crossbody.
- Sgt. Slaughter pinned WWF Champion The Ultimate Warrior after an elbow drop, after Randy Savage came out and hit Warrior with his scepter, to win the title.
- The Mountie pinned Koko B. Ware after a two handed chokeslam. This was Jacques Rougeau's debut as The Mountie.
- Ted DiBiase and Virgil defeated Dusty and Dustin Rhodes, when DiBiase pinned Dusty with a roll-up. After the match, DiBiase demanded that Virgil put the Million Dollar Belt around his waist. Virgil, after months of abuse from DiBiase, finally stood up to him, and hit him with the belt.
- Entering at #24, Hulk Hogan won his second consecutive Royal Rumble Match, last eliminating Earthquake, who entered #22. The ironman of the 1991 Rumble match was Rick Martel, who broke Ted DiBiase's 1990 longevity record of 44:47, lasting 52:17 in the match.
1991 - Jumbo Tsuruta wins his third AJPW Triple Crown Title, ending the second reign of Stan Hansen in Matsumoto, Japan.
1992 - The WWF holds the fourth-annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view event at Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York. The results:
- In a dark match, Chris Walker defeated The Brooklyn Brawler by reverse decision.
- The New Foundation (Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart) defeated The Orient Express (Tanaka and Kato), when Hart pinned Tanaka after a Rocket Launcher.
- Roddy Piper defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion The Mountie by TKO with a sleeper hold to win the title.
- The Beverly Brothers (Blake and Beau Beverly) defeated The Bushwhackers (Luke and Butch), when Blake pinned Butch after a double axehandle from Beau.
- The Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon) defeated WWF Tag Team Champions The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) by countout, LOD retained the title.
- Ric Flair, entering from the #3 spot, won the Royal Rumble match to win the vacant WWF World Title. The final two participants were Flair and Sid Justice (#29). Hulk Hogan (#26), who was just eliminated by Sid, was not pleased over the result and grabbed Sid's arm. This help from Hogan assists Flair's elimination of Sid to win the match. Flair was the ironman in this Rumble match, at 59:26, which broke Rick Martel's 1991 record of 52:17.
1992 - Art and Jesse Barr defeat The Bruise Brothers (Ron and Don Harris) for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title in Vancouver, Washington, ending their fifth reign.
1992 - The UWA World Tag Team Title changes hands twice in Tokyo, Japan, as Gran Hamada and Kendo defeat Brazo de Oro and Brazo de Plata for the vacant title, then The Cowboys (Silver King and El Texano) win the titles from Hamada and Kendo in Tokyo, Japan. At the same event, Manami Toyota and Toshiyo Yamada defeat Lady Apache and Kaoru to become the first UWA Women's World Tag Team Champions. Also, El Solar I defeats Canelo Casas to become the first UWF Super Middleweight Champion.
1997 - The WWF holds the ninth-annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view event at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The event featured several wrestlers from the AAA promotion in Mexico. The results were:
In Free For All matches:
- Venum and Perro Aguayo, Jr. defeated Maniaco and Mosco de la Merced.
- Octagón, Blue Demon, Jr. and Tinieblas, Jr. defeated Heavy Metal, Abismo Negro, and Histeria
- Mascarita Sagrada and La Parkita defeated Mini Mankind and Mini Vader, when Sagrada pinned Mini Vader.
In PPV matches:
- WWF Intercontinental Champion Hunter Hearst Helmsley pinned Goldust after the Pedigree to retain the title.
- Ahmed Johnson defeated Faarooq by disqualification, after the Nation of Domination interfered and attacked Johnson. Johnson put one of the Nation members through Jacques Rougeau, Sr. and Raymond Rougeau's French announce table.
- Vader pinned The Undertaker after a Vaderbomb.
- Perro Aguayo, Canek and Héctor Garza defeated Jerry Estrada, Fuerza Guerrera and Heavy Metal, when Aguayo pinned Metal after a diving double foot stomp.
- Steve Austin, who entered from the #5 position, eliminated #21 entrant Bret Hart to win the Royal Rumble match. After being eliminated, Mankind and Terry Funk began a brawl outside the ring that had to be broken up by the two referees at ringside. As this was going on, Hart eliminated Austin but as the referees were preoccupied with the brawl, Austin's elimination was unseen. Austin snuck back in and illegally eliminated Vader and the Undertaker and then Bret Hart. When the referees' attention returned to the ring, they saw Austin alone, and gave him the victory. Austin was the ironman of this Rumble match, in the ring for 45:07.
- Shawn Michaels pinned WWF Champion Sycho Sid, after the Sweet Chin Music, following a shot with a television camera, to win the title. The camera shot was payback for Sid's attack on Michaels' mentor, José Lothario, with a camera at November's Survivor Series. This began Michaels' second reign as champion.
1997 - Super Uchuu Majin and Goro Tsurumi defeat Iron Hercules I and Iron Hercules II in Yokohama, Japan for the International Wrestling Promotion World Tag Team Title for the second time, ending the Iron Hercules' second reign.
1998 - This week of the Monday Night War was a close one, with WWF RAW is WAR posting a 4.0 rating, featuring the WWF debut of Mike Tyson, and subsequent confrontation with Stone Cold Steve Austin, which garnered much mainstream attention. WCW Monday Nitro won the night, however, with a 4.5 rating on their show.
RAW was live from Selland Arena in Fresno, California. The January 24 Shotgun Saturday Night was also taped beforehand. The results were:
- Mike Tierney defeated Christopher Daniels in a dark match,
Shotgun Saturday Night:
- The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) defeated NWA World Tag Team Champions The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) (with Barry Windham and NWA North American Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett) by disqualification.
- Mark Henry defeated The Black Phantom.
- Steve Blackman defeated Bob Bradley by submission.
- Max Mini pinned El Torito with a backslide.
- El Pantera pinned Chilongo with a roll-up.
RAW is WAR:
- The Disciples of Apocalypse (8-Ball, Skull and Chainz) fought The Nation of Domination (D'Lo Brown, Faarooq and Kama Mustafa) to a double disqualification when everyone started brawling in the ring.
- The Quebecers (Jacques and Pierre) defeated Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie (Terry Funk) by disqualification, when Cactus put the Mandible Claw on the referee.
- NWA North American Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett (with Jim Cornette and NWA World Tag Team Champions The Rock 'n' Roll Express) pinned Blackjack Bradshaw (with Blackjack Windham), after Windham accidentally clotheslined Bradshaw. Windham turned on Bradshaw after the match, which means Windham was aligned with the NWA stable before he actually joined it, since the Shotgun episode aired later.
- Owen Hart, The Headbangers (Mosh and Thrasher) and WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Taka Michinoku defeats Los Boricuas (Jesús, José, Miguel and Savio), when Hart made José submit with the Sharpshooter.
- WWF Intercontinental Champion The Rock pinned Ahmed Johnson, after Mark Henry hit Johnson with a chair.
- WWF Tag Team Champions The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn and Road Dogg) defeated The Godwinns (Henry and Phineas), after Gunn hit Phineas with a stuffed pig loaded with a brick.
- In a dark match after the show, Ahmed Johnson and The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) defeated The Nation of Domination (WWF Intercontinental Champion The Rock, Faarooq and Mark Henry), when Hawk pinned Faarooq after the Doomsday Device.
Nitro was live from the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The results:
- Rick Martel defeated Eddie Guerrero.
- Chris Benoit defeated Mart Jannetty.
- Ernest Miller defeated Jerry Flynn.
- WCW World Tag Team Champions The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) defeated Buff Bagwell and Konnan.
- WCW World Television Champion Booker T defeated Mortis.
- Chris Jericho defeated Juventud Guerrera.
- Lex Luger defeated Scott Hall.
- The Giant defeated Hollywood Hulk Hogan by disqualification.
1999 - Gator B. Long defeats J.R. James for the Future of Wrestling Heavyweight Title in Tampa, Florida.
2000 - The Holy Rollers (Earl the Pearl and Rich Myers) defeat Chad Austin & Jimmy Cicero and Joey Matthews & Christian York in a three-way match in Glen Burnie, Maryland to win the vacant Maryland Championship Wrestling Tag Team Title. The title was vacated on December 5 when Jerry Lawler, who held the title with The Bruiser, was unable to defend.
2000 - Ali defeats Steve Bradley to win the Power Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee, ending Bradley's third reign.
2001 - 3 Count (Shane Helms and Shannon Moore) defeat Suicidal Tendencies (Adam Jacobs and John Phoenix) for the NWA Wildside Tag Team Title in Cornelia, Georgia.
2001 - The Black Attack (Mike Anthony and Al Jackson) defeat Hell's Crew (The Dark Angel and Gravedigger) to win the NWA Texas Tag Team Title in North Richland Hills, Texas.
2001 - The Damned defeat Hooch Hollar Boy Skeeter and Draven McKnight (subbing for the injured Hooch Hollar Boy J.D.) for the International Wrestling Association Tag Team Title in Reading, Pennsylvania. The Damned would be recognized as the first Tag Team Champions in Steve Corino's Premier Wrestling Federation in March.
2001 - Two Atlantic Terror Championship Wrestling titles change hands in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Mark Shrader and Gregory Martin defeat Jimmy Cicero and Dino Divine for the ATCW Tag Team Title and Terry Allen defeats Nick Fury for the ATCW Hardcore Title.
2001 - Al Katrazz defeats Brooklyn Thrill Kill to win the United Independent Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Title in Port Hueneme, California.
2002 - Jimmy Jacobs defeats John E. Bravo to win the Great Lakes Wrestling Cruiserweight Title in Westland, Michigan. Also, Nova defeats Elvis Elliot for the vacant GLW Heavyweight Title.
2002 - B.J. Turner wins a tournament final for the vacant NWA Texas Junior Heavyweight Title in Beaumont, Texas.
2002 - Colt Steele defeats The Russian Assassin to win the NWA Mid-Atlantic Hardcore Title in Walterboro, South Carolina.
2002 - Shirley Doe defeats Kid Senstation for the International Wrestling Cartel High Stakes Heavyweight Title in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, beginning Doe's second reign.
2003 - The WWF holds the 15th-annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view event at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts. This was the first Rumble event since the Brand Extension.
- In a match airing on Sunday Night Heat, Spike Dudley defeated Steven Richards.
Here is Tim Whitehead's original report on the event:
WWE's Royal Rumble (1/19 from the Fleet Center in Boston) was a two match show, but they were more than enough to put the show into the usual thumbs' up column. Until the last two matches, the show was overall mediocre at best. The opener was good, followed by a tag match that was average. But the catfight and the Triple H vs. Scott Steiner bout were not good and they had the effect of weakening the live crowd until Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit revived them. Commentary from the split crews was fine. Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler handled the Rumble commentary, even though it featured 15 wrestlers
each from RAW and Smackdown.
BROCK LESNAR defeated BIG SHOW in 6:28 to earn a spot in the Royal Rumble. Lesnar gets better matches out of Big Show than just about anyone because he can credibly toss the big man around, so it isn't the usual match where a much smaller guy gets squashed until either losing or winning on a fluke. Show shoved Lesnar around until Lesnar retaliated with a shoulder block into the corner. Lesnar gave Show some belly-to-belly suplexes (and, by the way, suplexes were almost a theme of this show as they were highlighted in three of the matches). Those suplexes on Show always look scary because it almost
appears as if he'll come down on top of his head. Show tossed Lesnar out for a rough looking bump on the edge of the ring apron. Show pounded Lesnar. Lesnar came back with a German suplex. Paul Heyman grabbed Lesnar's leg, allowing Show to boot him in the face. Lesnar did a neat arm drag into a roll-up for a near fall. Lesnar dragged Heyman into the ring and was about to F5 him, but Show made the save by chokeslamming Lesnar. Lesnar kicked out at two to a big pop.
The finish saw Show somewhat weakly collide with Heyman, setting him up for the F5 and the Lesnar win. Good pop for the three count. Lesnar has clearly been WWE's one big success story of the past year, and Show's stock has risen thanks to Lesnar and Angle.
Terri interviewed Chris Jericho, who was upset that Shawn Michaels got the #1 entry position in the Rumble, leaving him with #2. I'm not sure what difference there is between being #1 and #2. Maybe #1 should have to wrestle himself for
90 seconds before #2 comes in, just to be sure there's some wear and tear. Anyway, Jericho vowed to hurl 29 other guys over the top rope to win the Rumble and earn the Wrestlemania shot at the World Title.
THE DUDLEYS defeated WILLIAM REGAL & LANCE STORM in 7:23 to capture the RAW World Tag Titles. The ref searched Regal & Storm for brass knux before the bell. This was pretty much a standard tag match. The Dudleys, as babyfaces, dominated early. D-Von then got tied up in the heel corner for a while. Bubba hot tagged in and did his Dusty routine. They did the wazzup. The Dudleys had just done the flapjack on Storm (JR mentioned it as an old Midnight Express move) when Chief Morley arrived at ringside. He was out there to distract the ref so that Regal could retrieve the knux from wherever it was they were hidden. But the scheme failed as the Dudleys 3D'ed Regal, who dropped the knux. D-Von KO'ed Storm with them, and scored the pin as the ref returned to action. On RAW last week, Vince McMahon requested that the Dudleys do their tables
routine in this match, but I guess that got forgotten somewhere along the line.
Nathan Jones did a promo from prison, as he'll be doing an ex-con shoot gimmick.
TORRIE WILSON defeated DAWN MARIE in 3:36. This was billed as the first ever step-mother vs. step-daughter match, as if anyone cared. It sucked, and was made even worse by the stupid angle leading up to it. All those people on the WWE writing crew who get a kick out of either weddings or funerals should get a job writing bad schlock for some of the daytime soap operas. One good way to get them started on that new career would be to fire them from WWE. At least this death angle got Al Wilson off TV, unless he comes back as a ghost, or has a twin brother who comes back for revenge, or was cloned by some UFO cult. None of those ideas, sadly, are beyond the realm of WWE possibility. As for this match, Torrie won with a neckbreaker.
Stephanie encountered Eric Bischoff, who was talking with Randy Orton. Steph began talking to Orton, angering Bischoff since Orton is a RAW wrestler. Steph sneeringly began predicting that Bischoff's days are numbered, thanks to Vince's 30 day warning. Bischoff promised to drop a bombshell which will turn his fortunes around. Steph said she has a bombshell of her own for Smackdown.
They aired a Sean O'Haire promo. He was basically encouraging people to go ahead and be as bad as they want because if God exists, he'll forgive them, and if he doesn't exist, everyone's free to behave however they wish. Apparently O'Haire's gimmick is that he's a moral relativist. I'm not sure how that relates to wrestling, but.....Oh wait, I do see how that relates to wrestling.
SCOTT STEINER defeated TRIPLE H by DQ in a RAW World Title match in 18:11. Earl Hebner told both wrestlers, plus Ric Flair, that he wouldn't take any crap from them. They started out brawling. Steiner hit HHH with a ton of chops. They went out to the floor and continued brawling. It looked weak out there. Steiner dominated the match so much that it telegraphed that he wasn't going to win the title. Steiner no-sold a facebuster and locked on a bearhug. The crowd didn't die, but the heat dropped to a lukewarm level for this match since it was so slowly paced. Steiner threw a ton of suplexes, which did look good since they're his specialty. HHH came back finally after Flair's interference. He put Steiner down with a boot to the face and went on a methodical offense. They traded some more suplexes. Steiner slipped and fell going for what looked to be a powerbomb, and the crowd booed and sort of turned on him from that point forward. Flair tried to lead HHH back to the locker room in an effort to deliberately get counted out, but Steiner ran after them. HHH tried to use the title belt as a weapon. Steiner blocked it and then juiced HHH big with the belt. Back in the ring, Steiner threw a few more suplexes. Flair asked the ref to stop the match for HHH's blood loss. Presumably he thought that would be like a DQ or count-out loss and not lead to a title change, though logically it should. Logic, of course, doesn't always prevail in WWE. HHH then grabbed Hebner and threw him out of the ring. Hebner started to call for the DQ, but changed his mind since he knew that's what HHH wanted. The crowd heat began to pick up a little. HHH got the sledgehammer from beneath the ring. He hit Steiner in the stomach with it, and this time Hebner did call for the DQ, which seemed a little silly after making such a big deal out of not DQ'ing him earlier. So HHH retained the title. Hebner stopped HHH from mauling Steiner with the sledgehammer. In the struggle, Steiner got the weapon and used it on HHH and Flair. The crowd was booing the ending, and they didn't seem to like the match at all. Steiner put HHH in the recliner, which did look good because of all the blood streaming down HHH's face. It took a bunch of refs and agents, and finally Bischoff, to get Steiner to release the hold.
KURT ANGLE defeated CHRIS BENOIT in 19:46 to retain the WWE World Title. The ref sent Team Angle (Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin) back to the locker room. This was one of those matches that starts out good and then gets better. It didn't have much crowd heat at first because the prior two bouts cooled the crowd, or drew the wrong kind of heat. But by the end, the crowd was on fire. They started out with mat action, with Benoit going after Angle's bad knee. Angle threw forearms while Benoit threw chops. Benoit gave Angle a hard DDT on the apron. Angle rolled clear of a diving headbutt attempt. Benoit hooked the sharpshooter, with Angle making the ropes. They started throwing the suplexes, helping to make this show a suplex showcase. They were throwing suplexes all over the place, scoring some twos, which ignited the crowd for the remainder of the match. Benoit hooked a crossface out of nowhere. Angle escaped to the ropes. Benoit hooked an ankle lock, which Angle countered with an ankle lock of his own. Angle used an Olympic slam to escape a crossface. The crowd was popping like crazy for each two count. They went back to the suplexes, with Angle doing a complete flip on one released German suplex for a big bump. Angle kicked out after a diving headbutt. Benoit did the same following an Olympic slam. These near falls were excellent. Tazz & Michael Cole put over big that this was a fantastic match. Benoit hooked another crossface, which Angle reversed into an ankle lock. Benoit kicked Angle off, but Angle re-hooked it and Benoit finally tapped. Huge pop for the clean win, a big contrast from the negative response to the previous match. Haas & Benjamin ran out and hoisted Angle up on their shoulders. The crowd also gave Benoit a standing ovation as he left, which was a class act.
Kane told tag partner Rob Van Dam that the Rumble is every man for himself, and that he'd oust RVD if he had to. RVD said he'd do the same to Kane.
BROCK LESNAR won the 30 MAN ROYAL RUMBLE at the 53:44 mark to earn the Wrestlemania WWE World Title shot. You all know the rules, so here's how it went. The first two in were SHAWN MICHAELS (#1) and CHRIS JERICHO (#2). Christian actually served as a decoy, pretending to be Jericho (shrouded in the light from the pyro and the Titantron) which allowed the real Jericho to come in from behind and give a low blow to Michaels. Jericho stomped the hell out of Michaels, and bloodied him up big time with a chairshot (blading, of course). CHRISTOPHER NOWINSKI (#3) came in. Actually, he stood around at ringside and shewdly didn't go in for a while. Jericho continued pounding on Michaels, shockingly eliminating him by tossing him over the top. REY MYSTERIO JR. (#4) was next. He had Jericho reeling with springboard dropkicks and other fast paced moves. EDGE (#5) came in. Nowinski finally went in, too. Mysterio hit a huracanrana on Jericho, who bumped out through the ropes (not an elimination since you must be thrown over the top for that). Edge and Mysterio went at it, highlighting the "every man for himself" aspect. Edge avoided a 619. Edge ended up bumping over the top in a spot where he was supposed to just miss
touching the floor. It looked like both feet did hit the floor, but everyone had to pretend they didn't since it wasn't his time to be eliminated. CHRISTIAN (#6) was in next. He hugged Edge and tried to make a deal with his "brother" to work together. Edge speared him. Nowinski tried to hoist both Edge and Mysterio out, but they saved themselves and went for a double missile kick on Nowinski. It was a scary looking spot because Mysterio hit Nowinski first, and he went down and Edge landed right on his face. Up next was CHAVO GUERRERO JR. (#7). Mysterio hit him with a 619. He also gave Christian a 619 and then ousted Nowinski. Jericho immediately ousted Mysterio. TAJIRI (#8) came in, opening up with some kicks. Next was BILL DEMOTT (#9), the former Hugh Morrus. All six remaining wrestlers brawled. TOMMY DREAMER (#10) came in with a garbage can and two canes. He began caning everyone. One cane shot hit Jericho right in the forehead at a bad angle and a bloody knot raised up. It looked sick. Edge & Dreamer eliminated DeMott, while Jericho & Christian threw Dreamer out. Jericho eliminated Tajiri when he tried for a tarantula. Bull Buchanan, now called B2 (#11), came in. He was quickly eliminated by Edge. Edge then ousted Chavo. Jericho eliminated both Edge and Christian as they struggled to throw each other out. Earlier, Jericho had nearly been thrown out but he skinned the cat. It looked pretty close. Jericho was now alone until RVD (#12) arrived. RVD hit his kicks and the rolling thunder. He nearly tossed Jericho out, but he held on. MATT HARDY (#13) arrived. He and Jericho teamed up on RVD, but RVD still flattened them both. Jericho missed a moonsault and RVD frog splashed him. EDDIE GUERRERO (#14) came in. Matt laid RVD out and Eddie frog splashed him. Matt then gave Eddie the twist of fate. JEFF HARDY (#15) arrived. Matt wanted to make up with him, but Jeff attacked him. They did a funny spot where Jeff threw Matt over but he was kept from hitting the floor by his lackey Shannon Moore at ringside. Moore also protected Matt from a swanton. In next was ROSEY (#16). Rico was with him. Everyone was brawling. TEST (#17) went in, getting a good luck kiss from Stacy Keibler. Test began lariating everyone, but no one went over the top rope. In next was JOHN CENA (#18). It took him a while to actually go in, as he did a long rap routine. RVD finally went out and threw him in. Next was CHARLIE HAAS (#19). The ring was starting to fill up, but Test reduced things by one by tossing Jeff out. RIKISHI (#20) went in. He and blood relative Rosey teased an alliance, but quickly broke up. JAMAL (#21) came in. Rikishi backed his ass into Jamal's face. KANE (#22) arrived, and cleaned house on just about everyone. He eliminated Rosey. In next were SHELTON BENJAMIN (#23) and BOOKER T (#24) as the ring was filling up even more. Booker scissor kicked Kane, flattened Matt, did a spinaroonie, and eliminated Eddie Guerrero. A-TRAIN (#25) was in next. He went at it with Rikishi. At this point, Michaels ran in illegally, his head all bandaged up. He attacked Jericho, which provided the opening for Test to send Jericho over the top. Jericho, who was furious, had a pull-apart with Michaels on the floor. MAVEN (#26) arrived, followed 90 seconds later by GOLDUST (#27). Goldust didn't last long before being eliminated by Haas. Haas & Benjamin then ousted Booker. BATISTA (#28) came in and quickly eliminated Test. He also ousted Rikishi. BROCK LESNAR (#29) arrived, obviously having "drawn" a good number after winning his earlier match to get into the Rumble. Lesnar ousted Haas & Benjamin, and then F5'ed Matt out on top of them for another elimination. The final entrant was UNDERTAKER (#30). UT ousted Jamal, and as he was doing so, Maven tried to dropkick him over from behind (as he did last year). It didn't work, and UT ousted him. A-Train powerbombed UT. Kane chokeslammed Lesnar. RVD & Kane joined forced to throw A-Train out, but then Kane surprised RVD by dumping him over, too. This left Lesnar, UT, Kane, and Batista (whom they were clearly wanting to elevate). Lesnar gave Kane an F5 while UT put Batista down. Lesnar and UT had a staredown and then went at it. UT gave Lesnar a tombstone piledriver, which is a move only used for special occasions. UT then eliminated Batista. UT shook hands with Kane, but then turned on him and threw him over the top. Batista came back in illegally with a chair, but UT blocked the shot and used the chair on Batista. But this gave Lesnar, who had recovered from the piledriver, the opening he needed and he threw UT out for the win. Good pop to end a good Rumble. The winner wasn't really a surprise, and a few deserving guys like Eddie Guerrero got kind of lost in the shuffle during periods when there were a lot of guys in the ring, but in a 30 man match you can't highlight everyone, and they did a good job with this overall, ending the show with a credible winner. UT was a good sport about losing, congratulating Lesnar as the show left the air.
2003 - Eric Alexander and Andy Anderson and Abyss and Miguel Pérez, Jr. for the IWA World Tag Team Title in Levittown, Puerto Rico.
2003 - In Livonia, Michigan, Maximum Pro Wrestling sees two titles switch as Truth Martini defeats Chris Sabin for the MXPW Cruiserweight Title and Gangrel defeats Simon Diamond for the MXPW Heavyweight Title.
2005 - The Thrillseekers (Matt Cappotelli and Johnny Jeter) defeat MNM (Joey Matthews and Johnny Nitro) to win the OVW Southern Tag Team Title in Louisville, Kentucky.
2006 - The Filipino Crippler defeats Nightmare for the NWA Hawaii Junior Heavyweight Title in Waipahu, Hawaii.
2007 - Former WWE, WCW and ECW wrestler Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow was found dead in his Hudson, Florida home. The cause of death was not known at the time, but nearly two months later it was reported that the autopsy showed high levels of cocaine and an anti-anxiety medication in his system, and that he was suffering from arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. "The Beast from the East" was 45 years old. Bigelow made his WWF debut in 1987 before leaving to work for Jim Crockett Promotions and New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he won its tag team title with Vader in 1992. He returned to the WWF that same year, where he remained until 1995. That year, he had a match which gained mainstream attention, his WrestleMania XI match when he was defeated by former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor. Bigelow left the WWF for ECW in 1996, where he won the World Heavyweight and Television titles and was a member of the Triple Threat with Shane Douglas and Chris Candido. Bigelow was a member of another three-man stable in WCW in 1999, the Jersey Triad, with Diamond Dallas Page and Chris Kanyon. He left when the WWF bought WCW in 2001, and spent the remainer of his career on the independent circuit until he retired in October 2006.
2007 - Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX holds "Over the MAX: Night One" at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, airing live on Samurai TV. The results:
- Shota Takanishi defeated Osamu Namiguchi.
- Gha-cha-ping besiegt Rikiya Fudo.
- Bambikiller and AWA World Heavyweight Champion Steve Corino defeated Kamikaze and Tatshuito Takaiwa.
- Mammoth Sasaki and Daisuke Sekimoto defeats Yoshihito Sasaki and NWA United National Heavyweight Champion Ryouji Sai.
- Ikuto Hidaka defeated AWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion Minoru Fujita to win the title.
- Kohei Sato, NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Champion Yoshihiro Takayama and Hirotaka Yokoi defeated Kazunari Murakami, Takao Omori and Shinjiro Otani.
2007 - The Majors Brothers (Brian and Brett Majors) defeat William Regal and Dave Taylor and The Samoan Fight Club (Afa, Jr. and Sonny Siaki) in McDonough to win their second Deep South Wrestling Tag Team Title. The title was vacated the previous day, when The Gymini, who had held the title since December 14, were released along with several other WWE talent.
2007 - Dingo defeats Kraig Keesman, Mark Sterling and Jeremy Wyatt in a four-way match in St. Joseph, Missouri, for the vacant NWA Missouri Heavyweight Title. The title was vacated on December 29, after champion Abyss had won the NWA World Title at TNA's Genesis on November 19.
2008 - Jim Ross' website announced the following -
A new, two year contract has been signed between Jim Ross and World Wrestling Entertainment. Ross, a 34 year veteran of pro wrestling/sports entertainment, is a member of the WWE Hall of Fame and has been with the company since debuting at Wrestlemania 9 in 1993. Ross and his fellow WWE Hall of Fame partner, Jerry "the King" Lawler, comprise the broadcast team on the WWE’s longest running, flagship broadcast, "Monday Night Raw" which airs live on the USA Cable Network every Monday night at 9/8 central time and globally in over 100 countries. No other details on the terms of the contract have been released
2009 - WWE broadcast Raw. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV report:
Today is a day to remember the contributions of Martin Luther King Junior, there is another ‘Junior’ who will be making an impact today. After months of speculation and weeks of hype, Vincent Kennedy McMahon Junior returns to Raw. Will Vince be there to praise his daughter Stephanie McMahon for what she has done to the Raw brand with the firing of Chris Jericho or will she be the next person to be fired in the way that only Vince McMahon can? It is also the final push for the Royal Rumble on Sunday night. Who will be added to the Royal Rumble match that will allow the winner to point at a sign for Wrestlemania for the next two and a half months? Will there be any new matches to be added to the pay per view? What is next for Shawn Michaels since he had his ‘Wrestlemania Match’ last week against John Cena? Will he find a way to get into a match at the pay per view? Will CM Punk finally succeed in his quest for the Intercontinental Title since there will be no disqualification by either participant? We also have a contract signing for the World Title match between John Cena and John Bradshaw Layfield. Will someone else get their name on the contract? What will Rosa Mendez do next to endear herself to Beth Phoenix and Santino Marella? Now that the Legacy is back and the roster is likely finalized, what is next for Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Ted DiBiase. Did you know that Vince McMahon is coming back tonight? Will Rey Mysterio be able to swashbuckle his way past Mike Knox?
Remember to check out the other coverage of Raw on PWInsiderElite.com including the Mike and Mike Post Raw Audio Show sponsored by Dream Come True Garage Door Openers (It is a dream come true); Buck Woodward’s written thoughts on Raw; and Dave Scherer’s audio recap of Raw in his weekly audio hotline. Also make sure to check out the PWInsider.com’s Five Year Audio featuring Dave, Buck, Mike, and some guy named Jess McGrath.
We are live from Chicago, Illinois and your announcers are Michael ‘Did Adamle really get more votes than I did on PWInsiderElite.com?’ Cole and Jerry ‘And Adamle is sitting in the front row to rub it in and call you Natalie Cole’ Lawler.
We start off tonight’s show with the annual footage from Martin Luther King Junior’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.
We see footage from six months ago when the economy was not too bad and Vince McMahon was giving away millions of dollars. Then the bottom fell out . . . of the stage.
Match Number One: Randy Orton versus Kofi Kingston versus Kane versus Santino Marella versus Cody Rhodes versus Ted DiBiase in an Over the Top Rope Challenge
Before the match starts, Lillian Garcia explains that in an over the top rope challenge, you have to be thrown over the top rope and have both feet hit the floor.
The Legacy enter the ring together and the match starts. Santino and Kofi battle while Kane deals with the Legacy. Kane with a side slam to Orton and the lights go out. Kane kicks Orton while Rhodes and DiBiase try to stop him. The Legacy attack Kane while Santino with forearms to Kofi. Santino wants to join in the attack on Kane and then Cody kicks Santino and DiBiase eliminates him. Now the Legacy goes after Kingston. Ted punches Kofi while Rhodes holds him. Kofi is eliminated. Kane with an uppercut to Orton and then Kane sends Rhodes over the top rope. DiBiase is sent to the apron but he stays in. DiBiase attacks Kane while Kane has Orton by the throat. DiBiase with a cross body and all three go over the top rope but Orton holds on to the ropes while Kane and DiBiase are eliminated.
Winner: Randy Orton
After the match, The Legacy stand in the ring and celebrate Randy’s victory.
We go to commercial.
We are back and CM Punk is in the back getting ready for his match against William Regal.
Match Number Two: Kelly Kelly in the cheap pop attire of the night [a Blackhawks shirt] versus Beth Phoenix
They lock up and Beth pushes Kelly to the mat but Kelly with kicks to Beth and she sends Beth into the ropes. Kelly flips over and lands on her feet but Beth with a body block. Beth sets for the butterfly face driver for the three count.
Winner: Beth Phoenix
Randy Orton is in the locker room with Ted DiBiase and he says that if he wins, they all win. Cody says that they have a problem. Cody says that Manu and Sim were in Stephanie’s office today. He says the rumor is that Stephanie is going to fire Randy. Randy cannot believe his ears. Randy has some business to take care of but we go to commercial.
We are back and we see a photo of President Bush with a WWE Title Belt.
Beth Phoenix is walking in the back and Santino congratulates her on her victory. Santino says that in anticipitation of the win, he has a special prize for her. It is Rosa Mendez. Beth wants to know why she is here. Santino says that he has given Rosa an internship. Rosa says that she wants to be a Diva and she wants to learn from Beth. Santino asks if they can keep her. Beth says that she will think about it. Santino tells Rosa how she can impress the Glamazon and she can do it toniiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
Stephanie is on the phone telling someone about her daughter. Randy Orton appears and he says that Stephanie did the right thing by firing Chris Jericho. Stephanie says that she thinks she knows where he is going. She says that she will not be firing him so he can stop sucking up to her and he can get out of her office. Randy says that he was being nice. He is not worried about Stephanie firing him because Vince is coming back. Randy says that Stephanie should be worried about her job. Randy says that nobody respects Stephanie and they laugh behind her back. Randy says that if Stephanie’s last name wasn’t McMahon, she would be a nobody. Stephanie slaps Randy and we have the makings of another Soup Moment. Randy leaves and we go to commercial.
We are back and we will see the premiere of 12 Rounds next week on Raw. (I assume it will be the trailer).
We see highlights from the last two matches between CM Punk and William Regal that saw two disqualifications.
Match Number Three: CM Punk versus William Regal with Layla in a No Disqualification Match for the Intercontinental Title
They lock up and Regal backs Punk into the corner but they continue around the ring while still locked up. Regal with a side head lock and Punk with a drop kick and a near fall. Punk with kicks to the chest for a near fall and Regal rolls outside the ring to regroup. Punk goes out after Regal and Regal kicks Punk and then he tries to suplex Punk on the floor. Punk sends Regal into the ring post and then he kicks Regal in the back. Punk with a cover for a near fall. Punk with a snap suplex and near fall. Punk with a kick to the back and another near fall. Punk with an arm bar and then he turns it into a Fujiwara arm bar. Regal makes his way to the ropes and Punk refuses to release the hold as we go to commercial.
We are back and Punk has Regal in an Anaconda Vice in the ropes and he does not release the hold. Layla tries to get Punk out of the hold and Punk releases the hold and Regal goes to the floor. Regal pulls Punk off the apron and Punk hits the apron. Punk’s head is put against the ring post and Regal kicks Punk’s head. Regal gets a near fall. Regal tries for a full nelson but Punk with an elbow and take down. Regal with a drop toe hold and he knees Punk in the head as he puts Punk in a full nelson. Punk gets out of the hold and he connects with elbows. Then it is time for forearms to be exchanged. Punk with a spinning back fist but Regal with a kick to the midsection. Punk with a kick to the head for a two count as Regal barely kicks out. Punk with a knee into the corner and then Regal blocks the bulldog with a half nelson suplex. Regal with a two count. Regal with knees to the head and then he puts Punk on the top turnbuckle and kicks him in the chest. Regal with a head butt and then he goes up. Punk punches Regal and then he kicks Regal off the turnbuckles. Punk gets a second wind but he misses a cross body. Regal misses the big knee and Punk gets Regal up for the Go To Sleep and he hits it and gets the three count.
Winner: CM Punk
After the match, Punk celebrates in the ring and then takes it into the crowd.
It is time to take a look at last week’s Raw when John Bradshaw Layfield gave Shawn Michaels that pep talk before Shawn’s match against John Cena. We then see highlights from the match.
We are back and Jerry Lawler is in the ring for the contract signing. Jerry reminds us that John Cena will face Bradshaw at the Royal Rumble. Jerry says that he is going to moderate the signing. The challenger comes out and John Bradshaw Layfield is with his Number Two, Shawn Michaels. The champion, John Cena comes out next.
Jerry tells them that once the documents are signed, the match becomes official. Cena decides to sign the contract first because you need a champion for a title match. Bradshaw takes the contract and he looks it over and signs it. We have a match. Bradshaw says that it is official and the reign of JBL as champion is just a matter of time. Cena tells Bradshaw that he is a scumbag. He tells Bradshaw to get over himself. He came out to talk to Shawn Michaels.
Bradshaw says that it is between them and if there are issues with Shawn Michaels, he is only making excuses. Shawn is under a personal services agreement so Shawn will be in his corner so that will be his only role at the pay per view. Cena tells Bradshaw that he is not going to waste all of his money to have Shawn stand in his corner.
Cena tells Shawn that when Shawn first made his choice, he tried to support it but the people cannot understand why he did it. Last week they had a match and he did not compete against a broken man or an employee. He looked into the eyes of the main event and showstopper. He wrestled like he belonged and Cena tells Shawn that he still has it. His wife, children, peers, and the people loved Shawn because of what he does because he does it better than anybody else. Maybe Shawn was doing this because he was hurt or lost a step, but last week Shawn proved that he still has it and can do it between the ropes. Cena reminds Shawn that he is Mister Wrestlemania and not Bradshaw’s puppet.
Bradshaw tells Cena that an employee is not a puppet. He still knows what Shawn has and that is why he hired Shawn. They work for him because they choose to and because he pays them handsomely. He says that the employees of Layfield Energy probably don’t care about what Cena thinks. Bradshaw says that he hired Shawn to make sure that he returns to Texas as the champion. He says that Shawn does not care about Cena’s opinion, but he cares about a large paycheck. Bradshaw tells Cena that it is not rocket science and it is not personal. It is merely a business decision.
Shawn tells Bradshaw to shut up as he takes the mic and throws his hat off. Shawn says that the idea of taking money from a disgusting individual like Bradshaw makes him sick and he hates what he has become, but he will continue to do it. He tells Cena that he does not live in his world. He says that he has obligations and people who depend on him. He has two kids he wants to put through college. He has a wife that he has to look in her eyes and know that he squandered their life savings. Shawn says that Cena lives his life. He will get out of this and everyone can judge him all they want. He is going to do what he has to do. If it means having to take money from Bradshaw, he will do it. If it overshadows everything that he has done or puts an asterisk by his name, if it costs Cena his title, so be it.
Cena says that he does not believe Shawn because he tells Shawn that he has the ability to be better than everyone else. Everyone wants to see HBK, and not this. Cena tells Shawn that he has another choice. There will be a moment when Shawn has to choose. Will he be the guy who helps Bradshaw become the next World Champion. After what he saw last week, Shawn still has it and he does not believe Shawn and he does not think that Shawn will help Bradshaw on Sunday.
Shawn tells John that he is sorry that he feels this way and then Shawn gestures towards Cena and Cena gets ready to defend himself. Bradshaw with a punch and then Shawn tries for Sweet Chin Music, but Cena moves out of the way. However, Cena does not miss the big boot. Shawn leaves the ring while Bradshaw hits the Clothesline from Wall Street.
We go to commercial.
We are back with the Slam of the Week: Mike Knox attacking Rey Mysterio from behind.
Todd Grisham stops Mike Knox in the back and wants to know what Mike has against Rey Mysterio. He says that he has nothing against Rey. Todd asks Mike why he continues to attack Rey and Mike says that he does not know why.
Match Number Four: Rey Mysterio versus Mike Knox
Rey punches Knox but Knox pushes Rey into the ropes. Rey ducks down and Knox goes to the floor. Rey kicks Knox as he reenters the ring. Rey with a drop kick to the knees and then from his knees, Knox hits a clothesline. Knox sends Rey into the corner and he kicks Rey. Knox with a big boot to Rey for a near fall. Rey is placed in a bear hug. Knox with an Irish whip but he misses a charge into the corner. Rey with a shoulder and punch to Knox. Rey with a rana that sends Knox into the ropes and then he tries the 619 but Knox holds Rey and then he catapults Rey into the rope. Knox kicks and punches Rey and then when he does not stop the referee calls for the bell.
Winner: Rey Mysterio by disqualification
After the match, Mike grabs Rey and hits the corkscrew DDT.
We see Chris Jericho in Stephanie’s office and she tells Chris to leave. Chris refuses to leave. Chris says that he called Vince’s office and he told Vince that it was a rash decision to see Stephanie fire the Superstar of the Year. Chris says that he has been given a chance to give his side of the story. We go to commercial.
We are back with the Smackdown Rebound.
It is time to go through the card for the Royal Rumble.
John Morrison and the Miz are in the ring and they are going to talk. The Miz says that he wants to commemorate this Royal Rumble by beating the first winner of the Royal Rumble. Morrison says that Duggan can choose the one who he will lose to.
Cryme Tyme interrupt with some yo-yo-ing. Shad says that Duggan is on a special assignment and he would like to counter their offer. Shad points out that today is Martin Luther King Day and tomorrow Barack Obama will be sworn in as President. Why not start their path to the tag titles.
Miz wants to know why Cryme Tyme deserve a title match. Morrison says that they are worse than the Cubs. JTG says that they are willing to earn their title shot. If they lose, they will never bother them again. Morrison and Miz accept that offer.
Match Number Five: John Morrison and The Miz versus Cryme Tyme
Shad and Morrison start things off and Morrison with forearms to the back and a kick. Morrison with forearms and a European uppercut. Morrison with a Shining Wizard to Shad and then he knocks JTG off the apron. Shad with clotheslines and then Shad knocks Miz off the apron. Shad tosses Morrison into the air. Miz drops Shad on the ropes while the referee was out of position. JTG drops Morrison on the top rope and Shad hits the STO for the three count.
Winners: Cryme Tyme
We go to an Earlier Tonight Moment of Randy Orton yelling at Stephanie and Stephanie slapping Orton in the face.
We go to commercial.
It is time for the Royal Rumble by the numbers video package.
Cody Rhodes is with Mickie James and Cody asks why he should be getting career advice from her. Mickie says that she has been champion four times. Goldust arrives and he says that it has been a while. Goldust says that in order to be a true champion, he should watch the Starrcade DVD. It can teach more in one night than Randy Orton can teach in a lifetime. Cody says that he has heard of it. He says that there is a classic two-out-of three falls match between Steve Austin and a young Dustin Rhodes. He joined up with Randy Orton so he would not be like Goldust. He will surpass his father, just like Randy Orton. When they make the Cody Rhodes DVD, he will make sure to give The Dream and him a copy.
The McLimo arrives at the arena and we go to commercial. (at least we assume it is the McLimo).
We are back and Jillian Hall is ‘singing’ in the ring. We see footage of the attack on Melina by Rosa Mendez from last week.
Match Number Six: Jillian Hall versus Melina
Jillian mocks Melina and what happened to her last week. Melina misses a charge into the corner and Jillian attacks Melina and Melina is caught in the ropes.
Beth, Santino, and Rosa come to the ring to get a closer look.
Jillian with a side slam for a two count and then throws her down to the mat. Jillian screams in Melina’s face and then connects with shoulders. Melina with a code red from the corner for the three count.
Winner: Melina
After the match, Melina sees Beth outside the ring and Santino lets Rosa loose and she goes after Melina. Melina and Rosa fight in the ring and then Beth comes out and she takes over and hits the butterfly face driver.
Dolph Ziggler is in the back with Candice Michelle and he says that when he is in the Royal Rumble match, everyone will know his name.
Vince McMahon appears and introduces himself. Dolph is speechless as we go to commercial.
We are back with the Barry O Moment about the Most Popular Sports DVDs.
Lawler and Cole recap what happened earlier tonight and we have an Earlier Tonight moment of John Cena and Shawn Michaels from earlier tonight.
It is that time as NO CHANCE plays and Vince McMahon makes his second appearance of the night. Vince does that stunt walk to the ring. Vince has a mic and he says that it appears that everyone is happy that he is back. Vince says that tonight is about business. He wants to take care of some business. Vince brings out a former superstar who has a grievance and Vince says that he will give a public forum for that grievance. Chris Jericho comes out.
Chris admires Vince’s suit and thanks him for hearing him out. Chris says that he is the best in the world at what he does. Chris says that he carried Raw while Vince was out and then Stephanie fires him. Now that Vince is back, he knows that Vince will do things right. Chris asks to be rehired and returned to the Royal Rumble match. Chris says that Vince is a great businessman and he knows that Vince will do what is right. Vince says that he watched last week and he says that Stephanie can be a bit impulsive. Chris says that she is worse than ever. Vince suggests that they bring the princess out here.
Stephanie comes to the ring. Vince says that he does not want to go over Stephanie’s head but he is thinking about reinstating Chris Jericho because he is the superstar of the year. However, he is not going to reinstate him. He is also not going to fire his daughter. Vince says that him and his daughter Stephanie are going to run Raw together. Vince tells Stephanie if she wants to be benevolent and give Jericho a second chance, she can do so. Stephanie walks around Chris and sighs before telling Jericho if he wants his job back, he needs to apologize. Chris refuses to apologize and Stephanie says that she will get security to escort him from the building. Chris gives a half-hearted apology. Stephanie makes Chris apologize with a little more oomph. Chris says that he is sorry, but Stephanie says that he will have to do better than that. Chris says that he is sorry that he spoke out of turn against her. He was frustrated at himself and he shouldn’t have taken it out on her. He asks her to find it in her heart to forgive him. Stephanie says that it is good, but not good enough. Stephanie says that the fans have been called hypocrites so it is time for Chris to apologize to the fans. The fans want Jericho on his knees and Stephanie wants him to assume the position.
Jericho says that he has to explain to everyone. When you have a gift like him that makes you perform better than everyone on the planet, you come off as arrogant. Chris says that he knows that he has said a lot of mean things about them. Anything he has said to offend them, he apologizes.
Stephanie tells Chris to get off his knee and she will see him at the Rumble. She tells Chris that he should walk to the back so the fans can really tell him what they think about him.
Vince says that he loved to see Jericho grovel like that and he says that it warms his cockles. Vince tells Stephanie that she is still daddy’s little girl.
Randy Orton comes out while Jericho makes his way to the back. Randy rubs his face from Stephanie’s earlier slap. Randy says that he thinks that there is another apology in order. Vince’s daughter slapped Randy in the face earlier in the evening for no reason at all. Randy thinks that Vince should tell Stephanie to apologize to him. Vince wants to know why he should do that. Randy says that he is worth more to the company that Stephanie. Randy says that he will win the Royal Rumble and make Vince millions of dollars. People pay to see Randy more than Stephanie. Randy says that since Stephanie popped out a few grandkids, she has been worthless. Vince stops Stephanie from doing anything to Randy and she leaves the ring. Vince turns around and he stares at Randy and wants to know who the hell he thinks he is. Vince tells Randy that it is his ring and his universe. Randy is privileged to be here. Vince gives Randy a history lesson and brings up Bob Orton. Randy says that he was a mediocre rassler until Vince came along. Now Bob is in the Hall of Fame. If he had not done that, Randy would not be in the ring right now. Maybe Randy would be a gym teacher in St. Louis. Vince tells Randy to apologize to him. Randy thinks about it and Vince tells him to apologize to him . . . or else. Vince tells Randy he is not going to ask him again. Vince says that he will terminate Randy if he does not apologize. Randy tells Vince that he does not want to do that and then Randy calls Vince, sir. Vince starts to say that Randy is Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaahred, but Orton slaps Vince and then connects with the kick to the head. Stephanie comes to the ring and she starts to yell for help. Randy is told to leave the ring by the agents while they check on Vince.
The Legacy come to take Orton out of the ring.
We go to credits.
Raw Thoughts
I am so glad that Lillian told us the concept of an over the top rope match.
The opening match was too short, but I was not surprised that Orton won the match. The only thing we really saw during this match was that the Legacy is probably going to work as a team.
Why would Kelly Kelly have to wear a Blackhawks shirt in order to get a pop?
The Phoenix/Kelly match was too short and it only hurt Kelly’s position in the women’s division.
I almost expected to see Melina try to attack Beth after the match only to see the return of Rosa Mendez.
I wonder if Cody was ‘testing’ Randy with the statement about Manu and Sim going to Stephanie.
How long before Beth turns on Rosa to set up their feud?
So Randy Orton is using the nepotism card on Stephanie? Based on the last segment, is Orton the pot or the kettle?
I guess if we were going to get two short matches at the start of the show because we were going to get a long Punk/Regal match, it was worth it. I really liked the Intercontinental Title Match. It was a stiff match that made both men look strong. I liked that Punk was not releasing holds because Regal was in the ropes and what could the referee do . . . disqualify him? I only wish that the referee had sent Layla to the back after she interfered in the match.
I liked that they let Punk celebrate and that the announcers did not talk too much over the celebration.
There was one thing in the commentary during the Punk/Regal match that I had issue with. They were making such a big deal about how Punk was looking forward to winning the Intercontinental Title, but he was a former World Champion so shouldn’t the World Title mean more than a lesser title?
Should they be announcing matches if the contract has not been signed?
If John Cena had refused to sign the contract, would that mean that the match would not take place?
I wanted to see Shawn Michaels find a way to get his signature on the contract, and if not Shawn, then Chris Jericho.
Since the show was in Chicago, where was A.J. Pierzynski?
The Shawn Michaels/John Cena/John Bradshaw Layfield segment was saved by Shawn Michaels’s performance. The confrontation at the end of the segment was good. I expected to see Shawn hit the super kick on Cena, but I liked that he avoided the move.
I did not like the segment in the back with Todd Grisham asking Knox why he attacks Rey. What about why he attacked Evan Bourne?
I guess if William Regal and CM Punk could not have a disqualification, we needed one in the Knox/Mysterio match.
I thought they did a good job with the tag title picture. While most teams would expect to be given a title match, Cryme Tyme asked for a match to see if they could get a future tag title match. Let’s hope the title match does not take as long as the last time Cryme Tyme earned a title match in January.
I thought the commentary was okay during the tag match because they acknowledged that Cryme Tyme cheated to win the match but did not condemn the same methods used by Miz and Morrison.
Who will Mickie James be talking to in the back next week since she is not being used in the ring?
The Runnels family reunion was okay. Since Cody is part of The Legacy, he should have an attitude. I liked the shot he took at Dustin for what he had become after being in a match featured in the Starrcade DVD. Maybe it will set up a future match between the two or lead to a darker streak in Goldust.
Jillian and Melina made five of the six matches that meant little or nothing in terms of showcasing the talent because of the length of the match.
While I hope it does not happen, I expect to see Rosa cost Beth the title on Sunday night to start the Battle for Santino.
Since Dolph Ziggler was speechless in Vince’s presence, does that mean that people will have photos of Vince with them to keep him quiet?
I think this was the longest overrun in a while (about ten minutes). The Vince/Jericho portion of the final segment of the show was okay. I liked how Vince was defending his daughter so you figured that Vince was going to side with Stephanie.
Things started to go downhill when Stephanie came out to the ring. When she made Chris beg, I was hoping that Chris would have said that he would rather pick up dog crap (or clean Stephanie’s daughter’s dirty diaper) than apologize. I wonder what Chris’s role at the Royal Rumble will be and will it deal with Randy Orton after what Randy did to Vince at the end of the segment.
So they spend the last few weeks hyping Vince’s return to Raw and his first segment is with Dolph Ziggler and Candice Michelle before his twenty minute in ring segment. While Randy Orton has a point that he will bring Vince a lot of money the fact that Vince would stand up for his family was a good touch.
Since Randy decided to go for the kick to the head, does that mean that he is going to tone back on the RKO?
What dastardly thing will Stephanie have for Randy at the Royal Rumble?
2011 - Wrestlicious announced cable clearances for cable in Canada and the United States. The female wrestling based comedy would run for one season of episodes.
2012 - WWE broadcast Superstars. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV report:
We start off this week’s show with the Smackdown brand and your announcers are Matt Striker and Josh Mathews.
Match Number One: Tamina versus Natalya in a Best of Until Natalya Can Win Match
They lock up and Tamina with a wasist lock but Natalya with a standing switch and forearm to the back. Natalya runs to the ropes to avoid Tamina. Natalya with a side head lock and shoulder tackle. Tamina with a chop and then she gets a near fall. The referee keeps Tamina out of the corner and that allows Natalya to send Tamina into the turnbuckles. Natalya puts Tamina on the ropes and she kicks Tamina in the ribs. Natalya slams Tamina’s head into the mat.
Natalya with a kick to the midsection and she chokes Tamina in the ropes. Natalya gets a near fall. Natalya with an abdominal stretch on Tamina but Tamina gets out of the hold and hip tosses Natalya.
Natalya with a clothesline for a near fall. Natalya gets another near fall as Tamina exerts more energy to kick out. Natalya slams Tamina’s head into the mat and Natalya applies a modified figure four but Tamina does not tap.
Natalya misses a leg drop when Tamina rolls out of the way. Natalya runs into a boot and avoids a clothesline. Tamina with chops followed by a leaping head butt. Tamina tries for a super kick but Natalya blocks it and tries for the Sharpshooter but Tamina rolls up Natalya to get a near fall.
Tamina with a Samoan drop and Natalya is out. Tamina goes up top for the Superfly Splash but Natalya recovers and crotches Tamina. Natalya tries for a superplex but Tamina blocks it and sends Natalya to the mat. Tamina with the Superfly Splash for the three count.
Winner: Tamina
We go to commercial.
We are back with a look at what happened at the end of last week’s Smackdown when Big Show deliberately ran over a defenseless AJ Lee who was at ringside to give her boyfriend some support.
We go to commercial.
We are back and it is time for the Raw portion of the show and your announcers are Josh Mathews and Scott Stanford.
Match Number Two: Santino Marella and Mason Ryan versus Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks
Hawkins and Ryan start things off and they lock up with Ryan sending Hawkins into the corner. Hawkins has something to say to Ryan but Ryan with a shoulder tackle and he tags in Reks. Ryan hip tosses Reks into the ring from the apron and then he runs Reks into the corner and connects with shoulders.
Santino tags in and Ryan sends Santino into the midsection of Reks. Reks with an Irish whip but he misses a splash into the corner and Marella with a drop kick. Santino sets for the cobra but Reks goes to the floor. Hawkins tries to interfere and Santino avoids him and Ryan press slams Hawkins onto Reks and we go to commercial.
We are back and Reks works on the midsection and head with double sledges. Reks keeps Santino from making the tag and he sends Santino into Curt’s boot. Curt tags in and he kicks Santino. Curt with a suplex and he gets a near fall. Hawkins with a reverse chin lock. Hawkins with a knee to the midsection but Santino sends Hawkins into the turnbuckles.
Reks tags in and he keeps Santino from tagging in Ryan. Reks with a quarter nelson and chin lock. Santino gets to his feet but Reks pulls Santino back to the mat and he tags in Hawkins. Curt with a boot to the abdomen followed by an elbow drop for a near fall. Hawkins with a head scissors and Reks is tagged back in and he kicks Santino.
Reks with a hard Irish whip and he gets a near fall. Hawkins tags in and he punches Santino. Hawkins with a reverse chin lock but Santino with punches. Santino with a jaw breaker and both men are down and Ryan is tagged in.
Ryan with a shoulder and clotheslines to Hawkins. Ryan with a running shoulder into the corner followed by a running big boot. Ryan with a full nelson and he sends Hawkins into Reks and Reks is sent to the floor. Ryan tags in Santino and it is time for the Cobra and he puts on his pet cobra and hits it and gets the three count.
Winners: Santino Marella and Mason Ryan
We go to commercial.
We are back with the Raw Rebound.
Match Number Three: Alex Riley versus Jinder Mahal
Mahal with a kick and forearm to the back and then he connects with forearms and kicks before the referee pulls Mahal out of the corner. Riley puts Mahal into the corner and he punches Mahal but Mahal with an Irish whip. Riley avoids a charge into the corner and hits a clothesline of his own. Riley with a modified DDT from the turnbuckles for a near fall.
Mahal with a kick to Riley followed by a leaping knee for a near fall. Mahal chokes Riley in the ropes. Mahal with a neck breaker for a near fall. Mahal with a cravate. Riley with punches to Mahal and then he hits a running forearm. Riley with a clothesline and spinebuster.
Riley gets Mahal up for the TKO but Mahal with an elbow and a slam. Mahal locks in the camel clutch and Riley taps out.
Winner: Jinder Mahal
2012 - TNA broadcast Impact Wrestling. Stu Carapola filed the following TV report:
Welcome to the Impact Wrestling Report here on PWInsider.com!
We start with a look at last week as Robert Roode was ordered to defend the World Title against Jeff Hardy in a match where he'd lose the title if he was intentionally disqualified, and did end up losing by DQ, but saved his title because it was due to interference from Bully Ray and not anything he did on his own.
In the meantime, James Storm defeated Kurt Angle to earn a shot at the winner of the Roode-Hardy match, and he comes out to start the show and say how good it feels to be the #1 contender. He said Kurt Angle is the greatest wrestler in the history of the business, but he said he was going to beat him and he did. Now Bobby Roode will have to stand face to face with him at Against All Odds and get his ass whooped, and all he has to say to him is that he's sorry about Roode's- wait a minute, Storm is cut off by Jeff Hardy's music, and the Charismatic Enigma himself comes out in his "sleeping on a park bench" duds to high five fans and get his name chanted. Well, while he's out here, he also has some stuff to discuss with Storm. He got screwed at the PPV and again last week, and it seems the Creatures keep getting screwed, and he wants Storm to know that nobody else gets a shot at Roode until he has his final encounter with him. Storm says he got screwed too, and with all the screwing he's been doing, Roode's got to be paying a lot of child support by now, but- wait, here comes the World Champion! He tells Hardy and Storm to stop it so they can all get along for once. He's flattered that they're fighting over a shot at his title, but he reminded Storm that Sting said he'd become the #1 contender to the winner of the match between himself and Hardy, but since there was no winner, that means that Storm's title shot is now null and void. As far as Hardy's concerned, he's allabout giving to the needy, but come on, he came him two title shots within five days and Hardy failed both times, so no more title shots for him either.
Sting's music hits, and I have a feeling he's going to set things straight. Shouldn't Roode be expecting this when he comes out and says these things by now? Sting congratulates Roode for finding a loophole with the Bully Ray thing, but we're going to fix this all tonight by having a #1 contender match tonight, IN THIS VERY RING, between...Who? Jim Neidhart is wrestling tonight? He says it's going to be between Jeff Hardy and James Storm, and bids the fans ta-ta for now. As Mike Tenay says, short and to the point and a good way to start the show.
Tonight: Madison Rayne faces Mickie James in a steel cage!
The Mystery Cameraman is backstage asking Angelina Love how she feels about Eric Young getting up close and personal with her, and she says that it was disgusting, but if he wants to put his hands on her, to come to the ring and face her in a match tonight and to leave her boyfriend ODB at home.
Gunner vs AJ Styles
Tie up to start and AJ takes Gunner to the corner, but breaks clean. Gunner shoves him, so AJ slaps him and kicks at Gunner's knee. AJ with a side headlock, but Gunner shoots him into the corner and clubs him from behind with a double axhandle. AJ counters a hiptoss attempt to a backslide for 2, then shoots Gunner to the ropes and hits a dropkick that sends Gunner scurrying to the floor. Gunner is angry, and kicks the stairs until the guy who's going to be showing up at the competition's Hall of Fame ceremony comes over to calm him down. Gunner heads back in and chops at AJ's throat and rains down with heavy elbow smashes and a hard vertical suplex for 2. Gunner with a seated bearhug on AJ, lets him go briefly to attack the ribs, and goes back to the bearhug. AJ does a smart job of escaping the bearhug by shimmying his arm between Gunner's hand and indeed escapes, but comes off the ropes right into a high knee from Gunner that gets 2. Gunner with a big kneedrop off the ropes for 2, AJ tries to fire back with right hands from his knees but Gunner shuts him down. Gunner shoots AJ to the corner and goes for a charge, but AJ gets the boot up and takes him out with a clothesline, then goes out to the apron and comes back in with a springboard forearm. Christopher Daniels drags Frankie Kazarian down the ramp and tells him he knows what he has to do and to do it as Gunner gets AJ in a fireman's carry. AJ slips out and hits an enziguiri, but Flair distracts the referee as Kazarian jumps up onto the apron and clotheslines AJ, setting Gunner up to hit a NASTY spike DDT for the win.
Winner: Gunner
Excellent match, and I'm glad to see Gunner's push has returned, he could use a bit of momentum coming off the losses to Garett Bischoff. Gunner pulls back the ringside mats and Kazarian looks like he wants to help, but Daniels stops him and AJ has to escape on his own and go into the crowd to save himself.
Brutus Magnus is backstage with Samoa Joe and says he's ready and he's going to take it to that meathead Crimson. Matt Morgan and Crimson come in and Crimson says they can go right now, but Morgan says to save it and take care of Magnus in the ring. Magnus closes the promo by turning to the Mystery Cameraman and assuring him that he's got this.
Bully Ray is backstage with Sting and he knows that Sting's not happy with him, but he hasn't lost one singles match since he'sbecome a singles wrestler, so he wants Sting to do him a favah and grant him a title shot. Sting says he's not going to do him a favah, and to remember that he's the boss and Bubba's the employee, and next time he wants to talk to him, to make an appointment. Bubba says he doesn't make appointments because he's Bully Ray, and Sting shoves Bubba hard on the chest and takes off his sunglasses, then when Bubba doesn't do anything, Sting says he thought so and walks off as Bubba stares angrily after him.
Brutus Magnus vs Crimson
Magnus jumps Crimson from behind before the bell and nearly tears through him with a running clothesline. Magnus chokes Crimson with his knee, then pops Crimson up and drops him in a vertical suplex. Magnus goes for a series of pinfall attempts, but can't get morethan a two count, so he repeatedly rams Crimson into the turnbuckle instead. Magnus tries a charge in the corner, but Crimson catches him coming in and hits the Red Sky for the win.
Winner: Crimson
Quick, but Magnus looked great here. Samoa Joe runs in and attacks Crimson from behind, beating him down to the mat and putting the boots to him before knocking out the referee when he tries to intervene. Joe goes back to beating down Crimson and yells at him to get up. Magnus comes over to join in and chokes Magnus out with his boot, and now FINALLY Morgan runs in to save his partner, but barely makes a dent before Joe clips Morgan's knee and then they hit their tag team finish on Morgan and Magnus looks really pleased with himself as Joe just looks like he wants to kill someone. We see Crimson laid out on the floor as Joe stands over Morgan and gets right in his face shouting at him.
Eric Young is running around somewhere and sees a giant poster for a Bellator Fighting Championship show and thinks about becoming a pro fighter. He sees one of the catering women come over and he wants to spar with her, but she says she's just a caterer and not a fighter. Young says it's okay because he doesn't fight women, but ODB comes over and says he's got a match tonight. Young seems less than enthusiastic, but ODB says if he does a number on Angelina, she'll do a number on his booty. My mind fills up with all kinds of ideas of what that could have meant,but Eric assumes she meant holding hands and that's just one step away from marriage.
We take a look back at Garett Bischoff standing up to his father last week, and mentioning that he's got a new trainer, then we go to a training montage as Garett Bischoff trains hard to become a professional wrestler while mixing in his regular MMA training. He finally turns to the camera and tells his old man that he can't wait to get back to the Impact Zone and see the look on his face when he finds out who his trainer is.
From there, we go to a video package detailing the history of the latest chapter of the Mickie James-Madison Rayne feud leading into last week when Sting made tonight's cage match. We then go to the Knockouts locker room as Madison's freaking out over having to do this match, but Gail Kim tells her to relax because they're a team and she'll be there for Madison just like she always has been for Gail.
Time for main event #1!
Cage Match: Mickie James vs Madison Rayne
Gail walks off before the match, leaving a perplexed and terrified Madison alone to face Mickie in the cage. Mickie goes right after Madison, yanking her down by the hair and plowing over her with a clothesline before putting the boots to her in the corner. Madison tries to climb out of the cage, but Mickie carries her out to the middle of the ring and hits a sitout powerbomb. Mickie looks like she's dropped some weight recently and looks in good shape as she hits a snapmare and running boot to the face for 2. Mickie catches Madison in the Tazmission, and Taz just describes the hold and says she might get a submission out of it, completely no-selling how many matches he's won with that very same hold. Madison does manage to escape and PUNTS Mickie square in the face. DAMN THAT WAS UGLY! We're at commercial while Mickie pulls her jaw out of her nose.
Okay, we're back and Mickie has recovered enough to fire off several forearms in the corner, but Madison goes to the eyes and tries to climb the cage. Mickie drags her down and hits a flapjack and tries to go to the top rope, but Madison nails her and hits a neckbreaker over the top rope. Madison grinds Mickie's face into the cage and hits a snap suplex, then rolls through and gets a textbook neckbreaker for 2. I was hoping she'd do two more suplexes so I could call in the Three BFFs, but alas. Madison yanks Mickie down to the mat by the hair, then humps Mickie's face repeatedly into the mat, or as Mike Tenay calls it, a scissor stomp. Madison goes to a rear chinlock, Mickie tries to fight out, but Madison gets a kneelift to the ribs and shoots her to the corner, charges in with a running knee, then a spinning bulldog puts Mickie down on the mat. Madison yells at Mickie to get up and then whips her to the corner, following in with a butt splash a la Yokozuna, albeit with far less mass to do damage with. Indeed, Mickie still has enough to hit a neckbreaker out of nowhere, and Madison slams her face into the mat, but Mickie elbows her and then repeatedly slams Madison's face into the mat. They go strike for strike before Mickie connects with a series of clotheslines and forearms, but Madison again breaks the momentum by going to Mickie's eyes. Madison with another kick right to the head and covers Mickie for 2, then mounts her and drills several right hands into the skull of Mickie. Madison tries to ram Mickie into the cage, but Mickie reverses and sends Madison into the steel with an audible thwack, then does it again before hitting the spike DDT for the win.
Winner: Mickie James
Austin Aries is backstage saying that all he's going to do is talk about what he's going to talk about in the next segment, and people still can't tear themselves away from the TV, and then says to imagine how amazed people will be when he actually goes out to the ring to say what he's got to say. What a card that Austin Aries is!
We go backstage as Tara and Velvet Sky are all "OMG OMG OMG" as Mickie comes to the back after her match and tell her how hardcore she is. Mickie says she feels amazing, but there's one more girl she wants to get her hands on and she's coming for Gail Kim's Knockouts Title. Madison screwed her over and over, but Gail was really quick to leave Madison hanging and then talks about a knee injury she suffered last time she faced Gail before the girls go to celebrate with some shots.
Jeff Hardy is backstage saying he's been screwed twice now, and he's in desperate need for a payoff, and that payoff's going to be the World Title. It's not fair, and it would be better to get Roode in a no DQ match, but right now he has to beat James Storm and earn another shot at the World Title.
We go to a video package as Austin Aries puts himself over as not just the best men, but the greatest man and nobody's going to stop him. He walked in wearing a shiny, turquoise outfit and people don't take him seriously, but he's a tough MF and he uses that to throw people off their game. He's had to be smart his whole life because he's never been the biggest or strongest, but he may have been the toughest and smartest and he might just have to retire with the X Division Title.
Speaking of Aries, the X Division Champion makes his way out to the ring in a slick button down shirt and grabs a microphone out of So Cal Val's hand to share his thoughts on SOPA and Rick Perry dropping out of the GOP nomination race. Oh yes, and he also says everyone's going to need to excuse him for sounding like a broken record, but this is the time of month when he comes out after another successful title defense and says again that there's nobody here in Impact Wrestling who's in his league. He's beaten every X Division wrestler put in front of him, and the fans can say he sucks all they want, but if he sucks so bad, how come he's still holding the X Division Title? Crowd starts chanting for Aries, and he says that if they think he wants them chanting his name, they're sadly mistaken because he doesn't need a bunch of nobodies telling him that he's the Greatest Man Who Ever Lived. There's nobody in the back to take him on, so maybe it's time to set sail and see if there's real competition elsewhere because there's obviously none in Impact Wrestling.
Suddenly, the Motor City Machine Guns music hits and Alex Shelley comes out to go face to face with a man he knows very well and has battled many times. Shelley thanks the fans for their cheers and tells them he missed them, and says that he separated his shoulder a year ago and four mounths later, he comes back and Chris Sabin tears his ACL and goes on the shelf as well. Shelley's life has always revolved around wrestling, with some punk rock and video games thrown in. He was going to wait around and come back with Sabin because he knows the fans love the MCMGs, but he wishes TNA PPVs came with a noose because Aries' matches are so painful to watch. I can think of other reasons I wish they came with a noose, but I'll continue recapping as Aries says he wants men to challenge him, and Shelley tells him to shut up because last time he faced Aries, he had to low blow him to beat him. Aries says that's all very sad and it's too bad Sabin's not here because he's been latching onto his coattails for three years because before they teamed up, Shelley was nobody. Shelley says if he sucks so bad, then he should have no problem putting that title on the line against him. Aries says he needs to earn a title shot just like everyone else around him, so he suggests Shelley go to the back and find an X Division wrestler he's beaten, which is all of them, and when he beats them, he'll get a title shot. Shelley says he'll let Aries pick his opponent, and then when Shelley beats him, he'll be coming for the title at Against All Odds. Another great promo, really good stuff!
ODB is backstage getting liquored up, and the Mystery Cameraman asks what she wants EY to do to Angelina tonight. ODB says she wants her to go tear Angelina's weave out and all kinds of stuff like that, but Winter runs in and attacks ODB from behind and they brawl until Winter cracks ODB in the ribs with a metal pipe, then takes her belt off and whips ODB with it, then chokes ODB with the belt and tells her that they're going to take care of her little boyfriend.
Angelina Love vs Eric Young
Eric goes and ties up with the referee, and Angelina keeps telling him to fight her, but he keeps going back to tie up with the referee. The referee finally has enough and says he's the official and he needs to wrestle Angelina, so Eric goes to the floor and ties up with a fan instead. He finally comes back into the ring and tries to shake her hand, but instead goes back after the referee and gets a go behind into a waistlock, then uses his body to bulldoze Angelina into the corner and counts at him for a break. Angelina finally has enough and kicks Eric in the cajones...
Winner: Eric Young by DQ
...and then she and Winter begin pummeling Eric and stomping the crap out of him. ODB runs in and goes after Winter, but Angelina blindsides her and the two of them put the boots to ODB. Winter gets her belt again, but EY grabs the belt out of her hand and dumps the both of them to the floor. Eric is still holding his nuts, but helps ODB back to her feet so she makes out with him. Angelina looks absolutely appalled from the rampway, and even ODB can't help but smile at Eric before they walk out arm in arm. What a crew.
James Storm is backstage saying he's all in for otnight because he helped build this company and he's seen people come and go, but it's his time to be World Champion and he's not going to let Hardy stop him. The Mystery Cameraman asks if he's been watching Hardy's matches, and he says of course he has because he needs to do his homework when he wants to be the World Champion. The time for talking is done, and it's time to go do it and prove that he can be the World Champion in this company.
It's main event time!
James Storm vs Jeff Hardy
They tie up and Storm takes Hardy down with a side headlock, but Hardy escapes and gets a headlock takeover of his own. Storm pries Hardy off with a headscissors, then they trade armdrags with Hardy again coming out on top. Storm makes it to his feet and gets a headlock, Hardy fires Storm into the ropes and Storm takes Hardy down with a shoulderblock. Hardy comes back with a series of clotheslines, then a double leg takedown and the double legdrop to the nads. Storm dodges a charging forearm in the corner and both men go down as we head to commercial.
We're back, and Storm gets backdropped to the apron on a charge into the corner and Hardy knocks him to the floor and comes over the top rope to wipe him out with a dive. Hardy slams Storm's face into the ring apron and rolls him back into the ring to cover for 2. Storm starts a comeback and hits a slingshot suplex that was not quite Tully Blanchard quality, but still good enough for a two count, and then he goes to a rear chinlock. Hardy gets a Russian legsweep and the double leg cradle for 2, then comes off the top rope with the Whisper In The Wind for 2. Now Hardy goes to the chinlock, but Storm gets out and goes for the Eye Of The Storm, Hardy slips out, but Storm with a move that starts like an Air Raid Crash, but then spins Hardy around and plants him face first like the Wave of the Future. It looked cool, anyway. Storm sets for the Last Call, but Hardy blocks it and hits a Twist of Fate. Hardy tears off his shirt and goes up top for the Swanton, but Storm nails him to disrupt the move. Storm goes for a top rope superplex, but Hardy shoves him off into the ring and goes for the Swanton again, but Storm with a leaping enziguiri and goes back up for another shot at the superplex. He hits it this time and makes a cover, but Bully Ray casually slides into the ring and lays the referee out, then takes the chain out of his pocket and begins whipping both Storm and Hardy with it. He takes a sip of Storm's beer and spits it in his face, then goes back to working them over with the chain. Okay, I think it's fair to call it...
NO CONTEST
...at this point. Another referee comes out but Bubba lays him out too and goes back to enjoying himself with the chain until, finally, Sting comes out and goes after Bubba with the bat, laying in several nice shots and sending Bubba running to the back with Sting in pursuit. After all that, Bobby Roode now comes into the ring and lays the both of them out with the title belt, then takes a microphone and tells the fans that with the power vested in him as the most dominant World Champion in the history of Impact Wrestling, he declares this match a no contest. Hey, great minds think alike. He then declares himself still the World Heavyweight Champion and mugs for the camera as Storm and Hardy are both out cold. Storm finally starts to stir and stares out at Roode as his former partner makes his way back up the ramp with the belt held high.
That's it for this week, another really strong episode from Impact Wrestling as it continues to build a lot of momentum and once again become a show I look forward to watching every week. Great stuff.
2013 - WWE ran Ontario, CA. Al Knows filed the following live report:
I attended the Saturday Raw World Tour event in Ontario, California Saturday night.
The show opened with a promo from CM Punk, he reinjured his knee and had a note from his doctor saying he wasn't cleared to wrestle tonight. Dolph Ziggler and company come out to the ring and Ziggler is wearing a surgical mask. Seems he has a cold and has a note from his doctor, excusing him from action. Vickie Guerrero, wow, at a house show? Yep she said you can't compete in singles but you will team up tonight to face Ryback and John Cena in the main event. Vickie also reminded us the Miz will face Antonio Cesaro for the U.S. belt, and we get to pick the stipulation. It will either be No DQ or 2 out of 3 falls.
The first match was Brodus Clay and Funkadactyls getting a win over Jack Swagger. Remember him? Me either.
Next up was Tensai and Bo Dallas. And how the mighty have fallen as Tensai actually loses to Bo Dallas.
Damien Sandow was out to dazzle us with his brilliance. The crowd what-ed him so his first question was what is his least favorite English word? WHAT? Well, the crowd guessed that one next up was an insulting Cali question and then who in the back was worthy of being in a match with him? Alex Riley, that's who. Sandow wins in an entertaining match.
Time now for the Twitter and tweet results and we have a no DQ match for the U.S. belt. Outstanding match as both guys worked their butts off. Eventually we had a kendo stick, an exposed turnbuckle, two chairs, one propped in a corner and of course a table. Cesaro won with a Neutralizer out of nowhere but got thrown through a table after the decision. Great match, easily best of the night. Miz has some nasty looking welts on his back from the kendo attack.
Intermission and we're back with Tamina and Kaitlyn for the Divas title. Kaitlyn retains after surviving a superfly splash.
Next up, Zack Ryder faces Cody's moustache. In a bit of a surprise Ryder gets the win.
Tag team main event with Ryback and Cena against Punk and Ziggler. Cena and Ryback took turns as face in peril, before making tags. AJ slaps Cena in the face at one point. More distraction and Big E Langston hits his finisher on Ryback, in the move of the night. Big E gets booted by the ref, AJ loses her mind and she gets booted too. The faces win with an AA from Cena on Ziggler.
Great show. I did not expect promos or a Vickie Guerrero sighting at a house show so that was different. They were in LA Friday and Ontario is only a 45-minute drive so it has to be one of the easiest trips of the year.1. Adam Cole defeats Silas Young to retain the TV title with the cross arm belly to back suplex. Really good opener, crowd is really hot.
2. Bobby Fish defeats Tadarius Thomas via leg lock. Lots of strikes and kicks to start but Thomas misses a kick and hits the ring post and Fish took advantage.
3. Charlie Haas defeats Rhett Titus after he got his knees up on an attempted frog splash from Titus. Tons of interaction with the crowd and beer sprayed into the crowd by Haas.
4. Jacobs, Corino and Rhino defeat Jay Lethal and The Briscoes after Rhino gored and pinned Mark Briscoe. Lots of heat for SCUM and a good brawl.
5. Matt Hardy defeats BJ Whitmer with a guillotine choke via referee stoppage when Rhett Titus threw in the towel. Whitmer and Titus argued as they left. Hardy says he is the true TV champ. Adam Cole comes out and says he wants redemption for Final Battle. A pull apart brawl ensues and all the refs come out to break it up. Hardy lays out Cole after hitting him with the TV belt. Hardy leaves with the belt.
6. Davey Richards defeats Kyle O'Reilly after multiple kicks to the head. Amazing match. Too much to describe. Go out of your way to see this match.
7. Main Event: Defy or Deny - Kevin Steen retains after pinning Eddie Edwards. Edwards cannot challenge for the title while Steen is champion. Great match. Definitely recommend getting this show when it comes out.Albany Civic Center holds about 10,000 for concerts. I estimate the house to be 300-400 in attendance.
Atlas Security in the house.
Unadvertised appearance of Christie Hemme. Well that's a nice surprise to start the show.
1. Some local wrestler, Dad Savage, steals the mike from Christie. It is him vs. Dewey Barnes???? Barnes wins with school boy roll up in less than 3 minutes. Thank you Jesus.
Earl Hebner comes out to Man in the Box. Reveals a dam right I did it shirt and wears Bret Hart glasses. Ok the joke is really old. Why TNA ?
2. Gunner vs. Bully Ray. Bully wins 1st fall with a sneak attack before the bell and knocks him out. Well that was fast. Gunner wins second fall a minute later with a roll up. Man I didn't realize how much Gunner looks like the live version of the Bobby Rude action figure. Resemblance is uncanny. Gunner wins the last fall.
3. Gail Kim vs. Madison Rayne. OMG Madison looks amazing live. What baby? Madison gets the win.
4. Chris Sabin. vs. Austin Aries. Chris Sabin wins with a roll up. Austin gets the last laugh with attacking Sabin with his finishing move after the bell and holding the X title.
5. EC3 vs. Eric Young. Eric Young really knows how to work the crowd. Funny guy. EC3 wins with a front face slam. No reaction for EC3. Eric Young gets a modest sympathy cheer.
6. Bobby Rude vs. James Storm. The cowboy wins with a super kick.
7. Main Event: Steel Cage Match
Samoa Joe vs. Magnus. Magnus steals a win thanks to EC3 slamming the cage door on Samoa Joe.
Before we started the show Justin Roberts announced Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer was in attendance and in the front row. I was surprised he wouldn't be at home watching the championship games. Side note, I dvr'd them and surprisingly no one around me shared what the scores were.
Match 1: Ryback & Curtis Axel v. Prime Time Players
Prime Time Players (not sure who) pinned Axel. Ryback jawed it up pretty intensely with a pair of ringside fans. He did get a great deal of cheers, even in his heel role. Funny spot when Darren Young stopped to sit on the top turnbuckle to pick out his hair. Following the match, the PTPs did the million dollar jam with Meyer and his son. His son was sporting a PTP shirt over his hoody. After that Meyer moved to the second row.
Match 2: Alicia Fox v. Aksana
Fox won with a roll up. This was a fan vote which we were to choose from a diva dance off or a traditional match. The match won - 51%. I never thought Aksana looked out of shape, but she looks even better live.
Match 3: Brodus Clay (with new music) v. Xavier Woods
Quick match with Woods going overwith a rollup. Woods has great charisma. Brodus has lost the dance gimic and had new music. He needs booked as a monster - we will see how it goes...
Match 4: Real Americans v. Goldust and Cody Rhodes - Tag Team Championship match
Rhodes brothers won with a pin. Before the match, Zeb heeled the crowd bringing up THE OSU's recent losses to Michigan State and Clemson. I'm sure Urban loved that. Cesaro's spin on Goldust made me dizzy - they do a good job working through that spot. At one point Goldust was looking for the hot tag, but Cody was knocked off the apron further teasing tension building between the two.
*Intermission*
Match 5: Kane (no mask) v. Big Show
Bad Maddox came out to state the Big Show was unable to make it due to travel issues. He continued by saying as the GM he is the most powerful member of the RAW management team (insinuating Kane is #2), he has a replacement opponent(s).
Match 5 part two: Kane v. Rowen and Luke from the Wyatts - handicap match
Wyatt's pinned Kane. Both Wyatts were in the ring at the same time. I was surprised the Wyatts were there (no Bray Wyatt) thinking they would be at the Michigan show.
Match 6: Sin Cara (Hunico version) v. Alberto Del Rio
Alberto wins with the arm submission. Great showing by both. Sin Cara didn't hold back on any moves - he even did an outside dive. When Del Rio came out the guys running the sound board, lights board, and more stood up and clapped and mimicked him. This looked like it took Del Rio of guard since he laughed his way down to the ring.
Match 7: Randy Orton v. John Cena
Cena wins by DQ when Orton gives Cena a low blow. Good back and forth with Cena making Randy tap out once the ref was knocked out. Orton then recovered and hit John with the belt. The ref revived, but Cena kicked out. Cool moment came when John singled out and recognized my daughter (with sign) and son when on the stage.
I'd guess they had between 5k to 7k in attendance. I know they had tough competition with the NFL Championship games running at the same time.
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