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April 2nd
On this day in history in ....
1989 - WCW held their Clash Of The Champions VI event at the New Orleans Superdome in Louisiana, and broadcast on TBS as competition to Wrestlemania V.
- The Samoan Swat Team defeated The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane) when Samu pinned Eaton after Fatu hit Eaton with Paul E. Dangerously's phone.
- The Great Muta defeated Steve Casey with a moonsault.
- The Junkyard Dog defeated Butch Reed after Reed collided with manager Hiro Matsuda.
- Bob Orton defeated Dick Murdoch after manager Gary Hart tripped Murdoch during a brainbuster attempt and Orton fell on top.
- Mike Rotunda & Steve Williams defeated The Road Warriors to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship when Williams pinned Hawk with a rollup after referee Teddy Long had refused to count a Road Warriors cover.
- Ranger Ross defeated The Iron Sheik via DQ when Rip Morgan attacked Ross.
- United Stated Tag Team Champions Eddie Gilbert & Rick Steiner defeated Dan Spivey & Kevin Sullivan when Gilbert pinned Sullivan with a cradle after hitting him with Missy Hyatt's purse.
- NWA World Champion Ricky Steamboat defeated Ric Flair in a 2 out of three falls match that lasted over 55 minutes. Ric Flair won the first fall with a small package. Ricky Steamboat won the second fall by forcing Flair to submit to a double chicken wing. Steamboat won the third fall with a bridge out of a double chicken wing, but Flair's foot was under the ropes, setting up the WrestleWar '89 rematch between the two.
- Dark Match: NWA Television Champion Sting defeated Rip Morgan with a Scorpion Deathlock.
- Dark Match: Lex Luger defeated Jack Victory with a Torture Rack.
1989 - WWF broadcast Wrestlemania V on PPV from Atlantic City, NJ featuring the following results:
-Hercules defeated King Haku with a back suplex.
- Big Bossman & Akeem defeated Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty when Akeem pinned Michaels with a splash. This was Shawn Michaels' first Wrestlemania.
- Brutus Beefcake vs. Ted DiBiase ended in a double countout.
- The Bushwackers defeated Jacques & Raymond Rougeau when Luke pinned Raymond after a Battering Ram.
- Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig defeated The Blue Blazer with a Perfect Plex.
- WWF World Tag Team Champions defeated The Powers Of Pain & Mr. Fuji in a handicap match when Ax pinned Fuji after the Demolition Decapitation.
- Dino Bravo defeated Ronnie Garvin with a side suplex. Before the match, Jimmy Snuka was introduced to the crowd, marking his return to the company after being gone for over four years.
- Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard defeated Tito Santana & Rick Martel when Arn pinned Tito with a spike piledriver after Martel had walked out on the match.
- Jake Roberts defeated Andre The Giant via DQ after Andre headbutted guest referee John Studd.
- Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart defeated Honky Tonk Man & Greg Valentine when Hart pinned Honky after hitting him with Jimmy Hart's megaphone.
- Rick Rude defeated The Ultimate Warrior to win the WWF Intercontinental Title when Bobby Heenan tripped Warrior on a suplex attempt and held his leg down for the pin.
- Hacksaw Duggan vs. Bad News Brown ended in a double DQ when Brown grabbed a chair and Duggan grabbed a 2x4 and they started swinging at each other.
- The Red Rooster defeated Bobby Heenan in under a minute.
- Hulk Hogan defeated Randy Savage to win the WWF World Title after a legdrop.
1995 - Wrestlemania XI took place at the Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut with the following results:
- Lex Luger & Davey Boy Smith defeated Jacob & Eli Blu when Smith pinned Eli with a sunset flip off the top rope as he went to piledrive Luger.
- Razor Ramon defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett via DQ after The Roadie interfered.
- The Undertaker defeated King Kong Bundy with a top rope clothesline.
- Owen Hart & surprise partner Yokozuna defeated The Smoking Gunns to win the WWF World Tag Team Title when Owen pinned Billy following a Yokozuna Bonzai Drop.
- Bret Hart defeated Bob Backlund in an I Quit match with a Crossface Chicken Wing. Roddy Piper was the guest referee.
- WWF World Champion Diesel defeated Shawn Michaels with a powerbomb.
- Lawrence Taylor defeated Bam Bam Bigelow with a forearm off the second rope. Pat Patterson, who was the referee for the match, helped put the bout together with the New York Giants great and Bigelow. Taylor was accompanied for the match by several former NFL stars, including Ken Norton Jr., Chris Spielman, Ricky Jackson, Carl Banks and future WCW main eventers Reggie White and Steve McMichael. Bigelow was accompanied by Ted DiBiase, Tatanka, King Kong Bundy, Nikolai Volkoff and Kama.
2000 - Wrestlemania 2000 took place at Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California with the following results:
- Big Bossman & Bull Buchanan defeated The Godfather & D'Lo Brown when Bull pinned Brown with a legdrop off the top rope.
- Hardcore Holly won a 15-minute Hardcore Battle Royal to win the WWF Hardcore Title in a match where the title could change hands at any point for 15 minutes. Crash Holly was the champion at the start of the match.
*Tazz pinned Crash Holly.
*Viscera pinned Tazz.
*Funaki pinned Viscera.
*Rodney pinned Funaki.
*Joey Abs pinned Rodney.
*Thrasher pinned Joey Abs.
*Pete Gas pinned Thrasher.
*Tazz pinned Pete Gas.
*Crash Holly pinned Tazz.
*Hardcore Holly pinned Crash Holly.
- Test & Albert defeated Al Snow & Steve Blackman when Test pinned Blackman after a top rope elbowdrop.
- Edge & Christian defeated The Hardys and The Dudleys in a ladder match to win the WWF World Tag Team Championship. The Dudleys were the defending champions going into the match.
- Terri defeated The Kat in a match where the winner was the first wrestler to throw her opponent from the ring. Bizarrely, this was the only singles match on the whole show.
- Chyna & Too Cool defeated Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn & Dean Malenko when Chyna pinned Guerrero after a sleeper slam.
- Chris Benoit won the Intercontinental Title and Chris Jericho won the European Title in a two fall match with Kurt Angle, who entered the match holding both titles. The Intercontinental Title was on the line in the first fall, and Benoit pinned Jericho with a top rope headbutt. The European Title was on the line in the second fall, and Jericho pinned Benoit with a Lionsault. Angle lost both titles without being pinned.
- Kane & Riskihi defeated X-Pac & Road Dogg when Kane pinned X-Pac with a tombstone.
- Triple H defeated The Rock, Mick Foley and The Big Show in a Four Way Elimination Match to retain the WWF World Title. Rock eliminated Show with a Rock Bottom. Triple H eliminated Foley with a Pedigree on a chair. Triple H pinned Rock after Vince McMahon turned on Rock and hit him with a chair. This marked the first time Wrestlemania would end with a heel winning the final match.
2006 - Wrestlemania 22 took place at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois with the following results:
- Dark Match: Viscera won a battle royal, then kissed Lilian Garcia at ringside. The final three competitors were Road Warrior Animal (who received a lot of support from the Chicago crowd, despite being a heel), Gene Snitsky and Viscera. Snitsky and Viscera eliminated Animal, then Viscera dodged a running kick from Snitsky, who went over the top rope, to end the match.
- WWE Tag Team Champions Kane & Big Show defeated Carlito & Chris Masters when Kane pinned Carlito with a chokeslam.
- Rob Van Dam won the Money In The Bank Match, outlasting Ric Flair, Matt Hardy, Shelton Benjamin, Bobby Lashley and Finlay. Rob Van Dam would cash in the briefcase at One Night Stand to win the WWE Title.
- JBL defeated Chris Benoit to win the United States Title when he reversed a Crippler Crossface into a cradle and hooked the ropes for leverage.
- Edge defeated Mick Foley in a Hardcore Match by pinning him on the floor after spearing Foley off the apron and through a flaming table at ringside.
- Boogeyman defeated Booker T & Sharmell with a double handed chokeslam on Booker.
- Mickie James defeated Trish Stratus to win the Women's Title with a Chick Kick.
- The Undertaker defeated Mark Henry with a tombstone in a Casket Match.
- Shawn Michaels defeated Vince McMahon in a No Holds Barred match with a superkick following an elbowdrop off a ladder that put Vince through a table while he was in a garbage can. Prior to the elbow, Michaels delivered a DX "crotch chop".
- Rey Mysterio defeated Kurt Angle and Randy Orton to win the World Title in a Triple Threat match when he pinned Orton after a West Coast Pop. Angle, the defending champion, wasn't pinned in the match.
- Torrie Wilson defeated Candice Michelle in a "Playboy Pillow Fight" with a cradle.
- WWE Champion John Cena defeated Triple H with the STFU. The match became infamous for over-the-top ring entrances, as Cena entered the ring dressed as an old school gangster, while Triple H was dressed like a Viking warrior. Future WWE and World champion CM Punk would quietly make his Wrestlemania debut dressed as a Chicago gangster hanging on the side of a car Cena drove to the ring.
2009 - TNA star (and former WWE World champion) Booker T posted the following letter on the official website for his Booker T's Legends of Wrestling Fanfest in regard to World Wrestling Entertainment pulling talents that agreed to appear on his event but later pulled out after WWE contacted them:
AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL PRO-WRESTLING FANS:
I want to take this opportunity to let the entire wrestling world understand both my frustration and anger, at what should be a momentous time for myself and those close to me. It was nearly two years ago when I made one of the toughest decisions in my life and decided not to re-sign a contract with the WWE. Several factors came into this decision, but at the end of the day I wanted to be able to prove to myself and to anyone with any doubts, that I was indeed a “self-made” man. I had achieved so much in this business that I love before the WWE, and I felt that with the help of my wife and beloved family and friends, that I could achieve so much more.
Many of you are aware of the labor of love to me that is the PWA (Pro-Wrestling Alliance). PWA has honestly been the culmination of hard-work, sacrifice and undying determination by several people. This organization continues to be a driving force in helping me to entertain and improve the community that I came from. The PWA is also the catalyst for my ultimate calling in life which is the Booker T. Fights For Kids Foundation. I, along with my wife have had several sleepless nights, as we’ve fought to build an organization that we can be proud of. We face the same challenges that many independent promoters around the world face, in bringing fans an alternative to experiencing professional wrestling.
Just as many fans are aware of the PWA, even more fans were excited to hear about the upcoming Booker T “Legends of Wrestling” Fanfest taking place this Friday (4/3/09) here in my hometown of Houston, Texas. The Fanfest is totally independent of TNA Wrestling, and is being produced solely by my wife, myself and the PWA staff. The Legends of Wrestling Fanfest will be the biggest and best ever event where fans can come face-to-face with some of the biggest stars (past and present) that this business has ever known. This event has been well- planned over the last year, with many of my peers (friends and foes alike) offering to donate their time and prized possessions in an effort to make this event a success for the benefit of the Fights for Kids Foundation.
We suffered a setback recently when the WWE unexpectedly pulled eight of the invited participants from our Fanfest. Each of these participants had already either gotten clearance from WWE or were not previously contacted to appear in any Wrestlemania weekend activities this year. It was only after we published the list of participants, that the WWE unlawfully interceded and deceptively worked to pull these talents from our event. As a side note, I have contacted legal representation about this deceitful tactics and will weigh my options. I do want to sincerely thank each of the pulled participants for their interest in helping to make this Fanfest the best ever, and I hold no malice towards them. It was instilled into me a very long time ago that the show must go on, so I want to formally announce that “The Hardcore Legend” Mick Foley is yet another recent addition to an already sensational Legends of Wrestling Fanfest Lineup!
I want to believe that the WWE, as large and as powerful as it is, would be beyond examples of such pettiness. This event, as well as the PWA, are supporting the Fights for Kids foundation so it consumes me with remorse to see the WWE act in this fashion. Make no mistake however, I have been an underdog my entire life, so I have no problem in taking on yet another Goliath. And we all know what happened to Goliath, and I know you can dig that...
Booker T.
2009 - TNA broadcast Impact. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV report:
We start off tonight’s show with a look back at Samoa Joe’s return to the ring and his desires to bring his ginsu machete into the Impact Zone.
We are live on tape from Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida and your announcers are Don ‘Buy from me if you can, save if you want to’ West and Mike ‘Charity starts at home’ Tenay.
Jeff Jarrett finds his way to the ring and he has his guitar and a mic. Jeff says that last week Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe won the right to be the team captains for Lethal Lockdown. Over the next few weeks, the captains would be able to name their participants to find out who the other three men would be so we could have a series of matches to determine who would get the advantage. Jeff says that Joe has no problem being on the team, but he does not want to be the captain and he did not want to choose the wrestlers on the team. Jeff says that as the founder of TNA, he will announce the captain of Team Not Main Event Mafia. That man is A.J. Styles.
Jeff says that he found the opportunity to name A.J. the captain. Jeff tells A.J. that Samoa Joe is on his team and he will need to pick two more men to face Kurt Angle’s team. A.J. says that he is honored, but he has to decline the offer because he says that he is not qualified to be team captain. A.J. says that he has let Jeff down. A.J. points out that Jeff founded this company seven years ago and he put it on a bunch of independent wrestlers who he believed in. They were a bunch of nobodies. Jeff took a chance on him, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, Eric Young, and James Storm because they are the originals. A.J. says that he will be on the team, but he thinks that the man who believed in them and a bunch of independent wrestlers should be the captain. That man should be Jeff Jarrett . . . TNA Founder. A.J. says that they will be led to victory by Jeff and they will not let him down.
Scott Steiner comes to the ring and he has something to say. He tells Jeff to listen to A.J. because he is telling the truth. Steiner points out that when TNA was started, it was filled with a bunch of nobodies and wannabes. Other than the Main Event Mafia, the roster is still full of nobodies and wannabes. Steiner says that he came out here as Jeff’s friend of over twenty years. Scott talks about going down the highway trying to make a name for themselves. Scott says that they are the same. He says that Jeff and the Main Event Mafia are the same. Scott points out that Mick Foley went crazy last week. There is no way that Jeff can trust the future of TNA with the young punks. Scott tells Jeff that he is just like him and the Mafia. Scott says that he also met Jeff’s wife twenty years ago. Scott says that he respected and loved her. He says that she told him to help Jeff with his girls. Scott says that he was there when Jeff’s children were born and helped while they were growing up. Scott asks Jeff who would he trust if something was wrong with the girls.
A.J. tells Jeff that there is a roster of wrestlers he can trust, and it does not include the Main Event Mafia. A.J. tells Jeff to have faith with the originals. A.J. tells Jeff to do what is right. A.J. suggests that he wrestle Steiner in the first match of the ‘Who Gets the Advantage Challenge’. Steiner tells A.J. that if he wants a match, he has a match.
We go to the Main Event Dressing Room. Jeremy wants to know about the offer for Jarrett to join the Main Event Mafia. Angle says that everything changed when Mick Foley hit Sting with the chair and now it is time for the plan to work. Angle says that Foley and Jarrett had a plan to bring Sting to their side at Destination X, but Mick Foley went into business for himself. Angle says that Sting is back in the Mafia and Jarrett is on an island of his own. Angle says that Steiner went out to tell Jarrett that he had a spot in the Main Event Mafia. Angle says that Sting has always been with the group. Angle says that he was a bit paranoid. Angle says that Sting saved him and he is going to make a public apology. Angle tells Nash to get some money from Jenna. Booker lets out a forceful RESPECT as we go to commercial.
We are back and it is time for Sheik Abdul Bashir to talk. He is with Lauren. He has fifteen seconds. Bashir says that TNA management’s problem is much bigger than the Middle Eastern Nightmare. It starts tonight and continues through Lockdown, United they Stand, Divided the USA falls.
Match Number One: Jay Lethal, Consequences Creed, and LAX versus Sheik Abdul Bashir, Kiyoshi, Yujiro, and Naito
Homicide and Bashir start things off and Bashir punches Homicide. Homicide with an overhead belly-to-belly throw. Hernandez is tagged in and they double team Bashir and Hernandez with a body block for a near fall. Hernandez gets Bashir on his shoulders and Lethal is tagged in and he hits a double sledge for a near fall. Lethal punches Bashir in the corner but Bashir with an Irish whip and he runs into an elbow. Lethal is pulled off the turnbuckles by Bashir and then Yujiro is tagged in. Him and Naito double team Lethal and hit a double hip toss followed by a drop kick and leg drop. Kiyoshi is tagged in and he hits a chop from the top turnbuckle to Lethal for a near fall. Kiyoshi with a kick to the head of Lethal but Lethal fights back but Kiyoshi stops Lethal. Lethal out of a belly-to-back suplex and Creed is tagged in. Creed punches Kiyoshi and then he hits a cross body. No Limit pull Creed out of the ring. Lethal and Homicide with baseball slides followed by a tope con hilo by Homicide and a Suicide dive by Lethal. Hernandez comes off the apron and he lands on everyone on the floor.
Creed and Bashir are in the ring and Bashir with a rake of the eyes as Creed tries for a TKO. Creed with a kick to the knee followed by a DDT for the three count.
Winners: Sheik Abdul Bashir, Kiyoshi, Yujiro, and Naito
Jeff Jarrett and Mick Foley are in the Founder’s Lounge and Jeremy says that he is in shock at the offer for Jeff Jarrett to join the Main Event Mafia. Mick says that it only matters if they have fun. Jarrett says that he cannot believe that he would find the day that he regretted allowing Mick Foley invest in TNA. Jeff says that he sees the point of what Steiner had to stay. Jeff says that they were so close to taking down the Main Event Mafia. Then four days later, he tries to take off Sting’s head with a chair. Mick says that he had a chair in his hand and he almost took off Sting’s head. Mick says that they need the Mafia. Jeff wonders if Mick is someone who can lead the company. Mick says that he is going to make a big decision tonight and that he is someone who can lead the company. We go to commercial.
We are back and Jeremy Borash is with Team 3D and Jim Cornette. Devon asks if Cornette is going to live up to their bargain. Cornette says that if Team 3D kept the Mafia away from the ring, they will give it back to them.
Main Event Mafia security enters and they blame Cornette for getting Team 3D involved in their business. They want Team 3D in the ring. Ray says that is very funny. Ray wants to know who they are.
Velvet Sky and Angelina Love come to the announce table and he calls the fans a bunch of perverted dogs. She says that none of them will ever have a chance with them. Angelina tells Tenay that if they want to plug the show, Taylor Wilde is getting her hair cut.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Mike Tenay is with Mick Foley. Mike asks about the plan to possibly bring Sting away from the Main Event Mafia. Then Mike brings up the chair shot when Sting was trying to protect Mick in their match. Mick calls Sting arrogant and condescending. Mick says that something snapped and when it was done, he felt a freedom and enjoyment in his action. Mike points out that Foley praised Sting for his career achievements. Mick says that he might have given Sting too much credit. Mick says that he will drop the best elbow on Sting. Mike wants Foley to look him in the eye that he was not looking to be the champion six months ago. Mick says that six months ago, he was settling and now things have changed and he says ‘why not’.
Time for Dr. Stevie and Abyss. Abyss talks about how him and Lauren will not have fourteen children. Abyss says that he does not use weapons any more and he says that he is better. Stevie wonders why Abyss missed the last two sessions. Abyss says that he will be in the Doomsday Chamber of Blood Match against Matt Morgan at Lockdown where you need to make your opponent bleed before trying to pin him. Stevie closes the door and then he slaps and punches Abyss while Abyss yelps like a dog being disciplined.
We go to commercial.
We are back with a Rough Cut of Team 3D talking about being hardcore. He says that it is not about weapons, it is about giving everything in the ring. Ray talks about the injuries and concussions that he has suffered in the ring. Devon talks about what has to be done in a steel cage match.
James Storm and Robert Roode are at the announce table with Don and Mike and they say they are here to watch.
Match Number Two: Rocco and Sal versus Team 3D
Sal and Rocco attack Devon and Ray before the match starts. Rocco punches Ray and kicks him in the back of the neck. Sal is tagged in and he kicks Ray. Sal chokes Ray in the ropes. Ray punches back but Sal rakes the eyes. Rocco tags in and he hits a splash on Ray and Ray winces in pain. Rocco punches Ray followed by a hard Irish whip. Rocco kicks Ray in the head. Ray punches back but Rocco bites Ray’s forehead. Sal tags in and he punches Ray. Ray with an uranage to Sal and both men are down. Devon is tagged in and he knocks Rocco down. Devon with a back elbow to Sal followed by a swinging neck breaker. Rocco with a splash onto his partner when Devon moves. Devon with a flying shoulder to Rocco. Devon with a clothesline to Sal but Rocco breaks up the cover. Rocco with a slam to Devon and Rocco goes to the apron and then he goes up top. Devon stops Rocco and they hit a double press slam and then they hit a neck breaker belly-to-back suplex combination to Sal for the three count.
Winners: Team 3D
After the match, Main Event Mafia Security attack Team 3D with a chair. Roode and Storm enter the ring and they attack Main Event Mafia security. Roode and Storm give Team 3D their tag title belts.
Jeremy Borash is walking with Mick Foley and he tells Mick to reconsider and make up with Jarrett. Mick calls Jarrett a party pooper. They walk by Samoa Joe. Joe says that he wants the Mafia and he tells Foley that he can make it happen. Foley tells Joe to take the knife from Borash’s throat and he will see what he can do.
We go to commercial.
We are back with a Moments Ago Moment of James Storm and Robert Roode being nice to Team 3D.
We go to Lauren with Roode and Storm and she asks them why they did what they did. Roode says that people took notice of their interview because they saw a serious side. At Lockdown, in Philadelphia, they want Team 3D at their best. No injuries, no excuses. Until the pay per view, they have Team 3D’s back. Storm says that they have sacrificed everything to prove that they are the best tag team. They want Team 3D to bring their crazy fans to Philadelphia and don’t care if the fans come into the cage. Storm says that he wants to see everyone’s faces when they are announced the New Japan and TNA Tag Champions.
Kurt Angle comes to the ring and he is flanked by Booker T, Kevin Nash, and Sharmell. Angle tells Sting that with all due respect, he would like him to come out because he has something to say.
Sting obliges and comes out. Angle says that it takes a pretty big man to come out and admit that he is wrong. He says that he questioned Sting’s loyalty and honesty. He even spit in Sting’s face. Angle tells Sting that if he lived his life, he would know why Angle is paranoid. Angle says that he is going to humble himself and apologize.
Sting wants to know if Kurt is kidding. After everything that he has done over the last month if a simple handshake will work Kurt. Sting tells Kurt that he questioned everything about him. Angle tells Kurt that it was about one thing when they shook hands in Las Vegas. It was about respect Kurt. Sting tells Kurt that they have talked about the spoiled brats in the back, but Sting tells Kurt that he is the biggest brat in TNA. Sting tells Kurt that Kurt’s ego has gone too far.
Angle tells Sting that he is right about everything. Angle says that he cannot change, but he can apologize. Angle says that he is sorry.
Nash takes the mic and he asks Steve that a man apologizes in front of all of these people and now Steve is going to walk away. Nash asks Steve about turning the other cheek. Sting tells Nash not to go there, but Nash tells Steve that they are already there. Nash says that the fans want Sting to walk away. Nash tells Steve that there are a few people in the business he respects and Steve is one of them. Nash begs Steve to help because he is Angle’s only help.
Mick Foley comes out and he is in the rafters. He says that it looks like the band is back together. Foley apologizes for not being in the ring because he was being reacquainted with a friend and that friend is a barbed wire baseball bat. Foley says that he wants to make sure that Sting is ready for their match. Foley says that he has booked Sting in a match tonight. Sting will wrestle Samoa Joe tonight.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Dr. Stevie is with the Governor who has returned as Daffney. She talks about what she has done while she was away from the ring. Then she talks about the call from Roxxi and Taylor about being the Governor. It was just a joke, but then they took out the scissors and started hacking. The feelings she tried to suppress came back.
We see footage of Madison Rayne cutting Daffney’s hair.
Match Number Three: Madison Rayne with Sheer Madness (Velvet Sky and Angelina Love) versus Taylor Wilde
Wilde with a waist lock but Rayne with a standing switch. They lock up and Rayne with a side head lock but Wilde with a hammer lock and arm drag take down. Wilde with a drop kick and then Rayne goes outside. Wilde is kept at bay by Love and Sky while the referee is distracted by Rayne. They pull Wilde off the apron and then they roll her back in to allow Rayne to hit a hot shot for a near fall. Wilde with a drop kick for a near fall. Rayne with a kick to the midsection and then a kick to the head. Rayne with a front face lock followed by knees to the head and swinging neck breaker for a near fall. Wilde with a wristlock Northern Lights suplex for a near fall. Rayne sends Wilde into the turnbuckles followed by an Irish whip but Rayne misses a charge. Wilde with a rollup for the three count.
Winner: Taylor Wilde
After the match, Love and Sky attack Wilde and they hold Wilde for her haircut appointment. Wilde escapes the ring and runs to the back. Love and Sky yell at Madison for letting Wilde escape. They tell Rayne to get Wilde. We go to commercial.
We are back and Madison Rayne and Taylor Wilde are in the back and they have found Taylor in the shower area. Taylor is in a fetching white robe while Velvet and Angelina hold Taylor for Madison to cut her hair. Security enter the shower area and try to stop them.
We run through the card for Lockdown.
Now it is time for Scott Steiner and A.J. Styles to start the walk to the ring since their match is next.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Lauren is with Jenna and she asks Jenna about Kurt Angle’s comments about her. Kevin Nash stops by and they talk about leaving. Jenna says that she wants to hear what Kurt said about her and Nash cuts off Lauren and Nash says that Kurt said nice things about her. Lauren tries to say something but for a change, she is speechless.
Match Number Four: Scott Steiner versus A.J. Styles in a Lethal Lockdown Who Gets the Advantage Best of Three Challenge A-Go-Go
They lock up and Steiner with a side head lock and shoulder tackle. Steiner sends Styles into the turnbuckle and he chops Styles. Steiner with an Irish whip but Styles with a reverse atomic drop and clothesline followed by punches to Steiner. Styles with a punch to Steiner in the corner. The ref tells Styles to stop punching Steiner. Steiner with a rake of the eyes. Steiner with a slam followed by a boot to the back. Steiner with a chop and Styles avoids a slam but Steiner with a low kick when the referee looked and turned away just after the kick happened. We go to commercial.
We are back and Steiner punches Styles. Steiner with an Irish whip but he charges into a boot and Steiner goes down. Styles and Steiner exchange punches but Styles with an enzuigiri for a near fall. Styles sets for the Styles Clash but Steiner with a back body drop. Styles with a Northern Lights suplex for a near fall. Steiner with a rake of the eyes and a punch. Styles tries for a rana but Steiner blocks it into a power bomb for a near fall. Steiner with a chop to Styles but A.J. chops back. Styles with a back breaker and then A.J. goes to the apron for a springboard forearm but the referee gets in the way and the referee goes down.
Kurt Angle comes to the ring and he gives the chair to Steiner. Steiner misses Styles and A.J. hits the Pele kick but the referee is still out. Jarrett attacks Angle and Styles grabs the chair. The referee warns Styles and Jarrett grabs the chair. The referee tells Jarrett to get off the apron and Angle pulls him off. Steiner with a Flatline onto the chair for the three count.
Winner: Scott Steiner
Jeremy Borash is in the back with Sting and Borash asks Sting about his match at Lockdown and the match that Foley made for Sting against the Governor of the Nation of Violence. Sting says that Joe is not dealing with a full deck. Sting tells Mick that he is a survivor and that next week, Mick will pay. We go to commercial.
Match Number Five: Sting versus Samoa Joe in a Joe starts to get revenge on the Main Event Mafia for what they did to him even though Sting didn’t do anything Match
Joe with a kick to Sting followed by punches as he enters the ring. Joe chokes Sting but Sting kicks back followed by chops and punches. Joe with kicks to Sting’s leg. Joe with kicks to the chest but Sting blocks a kick and Sting applies the Scorpion Death Lock. Sting with a clothesline followed by an Irish whip and clothesline. Sting tries for the Stinger Splash and Joe with an STO. Joe slams Sting’s head into the turnbuckles and then he puts Sting on the top turnbuckle and punches him as he sets up for the musclebuster. The referee gets in Joe’s way and Joe throws him down and the referee calls for the bell.
Another referee comes into the ring and Joe with a knee to the nard area. Joe hits a muscle buster on Sting and then he puts Sting in the choke. Booker T comes to the ring and he connects with knees and then he tries for the axe kick but Joe moves and Joe hits a Pele kick. Joe with forearms to Booker and then Joe goes to the floor to get a steel chair. Joe brings the chair into the ring and Sharmell tries to be a human shield. Joe thinks about what to do and he drops the chair and leaves the ring. Joe grabs Sharmell and pulls her out of the ring and Joe takes Sharmell out of the Impact Zone.
2010 - Lance Cade was released by WWE for the second and final time. Cade was brought back to the company in October 2009 but was never used on the main roster. He popped up in developmental and waited for a new role to be assigned to him but nothing ever came about. During his previous run, he was last associated with Chris Jericho during Jericho's feud against Cade's trainer Shawn Michaels.
2010 - WWE broadcasts Smackdown. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV report:
We are live on tape from Las Vegas, Nevada and your announcers are Matt ‘Why are people looking at me when I split queens in black jack’ Striker and Todd ‘I wish there was a Money in the Bank for Announcers’ Grisham.
Chris Jericho does what he normally does on Smackdown and that is come to the ring to start off the show. He still has the World Title but he is walking a bit slower than usual. We see photos from the match at Wrestlemania between Jericho and Edge and we see the spear through the ringside barrier protecting the ring announcer and ring bell from the announcers.
Jericho says that he is still the World Heavyweight Champion and the best in the world at what he does. Jericho says that he told everyone last week that he was genetically superior to them and they were inferior like Edge. Jericho says that he wrestled a perfect match and proved that he is the greatest champion of this or any other generation. He says that he dismantled Edge piece by piece to remain the World Champion. Jericho says that in a cowardly act by Edge, he tried to permanently injure him by standing him on the announce table to spear him through the dasher boards. Jericho says that he was lying in a jumbled heap wondering what he did to deserve it. He says that he was internally bleeding while hearing 70,000 hypocrites cheered Edge’s name and chanted ‘SPEAR’. Chris says that he realized why. It is because they are like Edge. They have never been successes. They have cut corners and used short cuts so they are all losers. As a result, Edge is a loser and Chris reminds us that he is the champion. Chris says that he is an honest man who says what he will do and that is why he still has the title. He stands here not to say ‘I told you so’, he is here to say ‘It is so’.
Edge’s music plays and he comes to the ring. Edge tells Chris that he makes a valid point. Edge says that he has a lot of things in common with the fans. He says that they all enjoy watching Chris get speared. He says that he thinks that they would love to see him spear Jericho again tonight. Edge says that he wants a rematch for the World Title and he wants it right now.
Jericho wants to make sure that is what Edge and the fans want. Jericho says that he doesn’t care because Edge does not hold the cards. He is the champion and Edge lost his shot at the title at Wrestlemania. That puts Edge at the back of the line because he is a loser. Nothing that Edge says or does will change Edge from being a loser. Jericho threatens to tear Edge’s Achilles before telling him to leave the ring.
Edge punches Jericho and then he takes off Jericho’s shirt and jacket to reveal taped ribs. Edge with an Impaler DDT and then he sets for the SPEAR and hits it. Jericho holds his ribs in pain while Edge celebrates over Jericho.
As Edge heads to the back, he is attacked from behind by Mr. Money in the Bank, Jack Swagger who hits Edge in the back with the briefcase. Swagger gets a mic and demands a referee so he can cash in the briefcase.
Match Number One: Chris Jericho versus Jack Swagger for the World Title
Swagger gives the briefcase to the referee and then the ref checks on Jericho to see if he can participate. The bell rings and Swagger hits a Doctor Bomb and gets the three count.
Winner: Jack Swagger
After the match, Swagger stands over Jericho holding the title belt over his head while we see Jericho down in the ring and Edge down on the floor.
We go to commercial.
We are back with a Moments Ago Moment of Jack Swagger taking a page out of Edge’s playbook by becoming the Ultimate Opportunist by cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase to win the World Title.
Match Number Two: R Truth and John Morrison versus Cryme Tyme
Shad and Truth start things off and they lock up with Truth putting Shad in a side head lock. Shad with a shoulder tackle and then he presses Truth over his head but Truth gets out of the hold and then Truth with a kick and the scissors kick before tagging in Morrison who hits the split legged corkscrew moonsault for the three count.
Winners: R Truth and John Morrison
After the match, Truth and Morrison go to the back while Shad and JTG have some words in the ring. Shad grabs JTG by the throat and then JTG pushes him and Shad with a big boot and knees to JTG. Shad with a forearm to JTG and then he stands over JTG before picking him up and hitting an STO. The referee checks on JTG while Shad leaves the ring.
We go to the back where the new World Champion is walking and he stops to talk to Slam Master J, Tony Atlas, and Mickie James as they congratulate him on his win. Then Jack turns the corner and walks by Shelton Benjamin and suggests that they should start calling him the gold standard now.
We go to commercial.
We are back with a Moments Ago Moment of the end of Cryme Tyme.
We go to Josh Mathews who is with Shad in the back. Josh asks Shad about all the time that he had been with JTG. Shad says that there is no more Cryme Tyme. He says that it is now his time.
Match Number Three: Drew McIntyre versus Matt Hardy
Before the match starts, Drew attacks Matt as he comes into the ring and then he sends Matt shoulder first into the ring post. McIntyre with the double underhook DDT. Drew gets his title belt and then he stands over Matt before leaving the ring.
It is time to take a look at John Cena’s appearance on True Jackson VP which will be on this weekend.
We go to commercial.
We are back with an Earlier Tonight Moment of Edge’s attack on Chris Jericho and Jack Swagger’s subsequent attack on Edge and Jericho leading to our new World Champion.
We see footage of Jericho’s reaction to losing the title when he destroyed the announce table followed by Jericho throwing a chair and the briefcase.
It is time for a video package for Shawn Michaels’ farewell.
We are in the Guerreroffice and Vickie is with Michelle and Layla. Vickie says that Wrestlemania was amazing. Vickie is angry that they are calling her move the ‘Hog Splash’ and Michelle and Layla say that people are jealous. Then they suggest that it should be called the Cougar Splash (along with sound effects).
Jack Swagger enters the office to applause from Michelle and Layla. Jack wants to know if they have seen Teddy Long and Vickie asks why he would want to talk to Teddy. Vickie says that she is the official consultant on Smackdown. Jack says that since he is the new champion, he would like to make a State of the Championship address tonight. Vickie congratulates Jack and gives him all the time he wants. Jack starts to leave and then he gives Vickie a kiss on the cheek before leaving. Vickie, Michelle, and Layla giggle like school girls.
Match Number Three (This time we mean it): Great Khali with ‘Dance Fever’ Runjin Singh versus Dolph Ziggler
Ziggler goes to the floor before locking up. Then he returns to the ring and Khali with a clothesline and then he sends Ziggler into the turnbuckles. Khali with a chop to the chest followed by a big boot but Ziggler rolls to the floor. Khali pulls Ziggler back onto the apron but Ziggler drops Khali on the top rope and then Ziggler locks in the sleeper. Khali uses the turnbuckles to loosen the hold and Khali with a snap mare. Ziggler recovers and puts Khali in the sleeper and Khali tries to do everything to get out of the hold but he passes out.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
After the match, Singh tries to plead his case to the referee and then he checks on Khali. Khali gets to his feet and he asks for the mic. Khali gets on the mic and he says that he has been doing a lot of soul searching and it is time to go home to India to spend time with his family to regroup. He will return and become World Champion.
CM Punk is walking in the back with Serena and Luke Gallows as we go to commercial.
We are back with the Smack of the Night: Photos of Rey Mysterio defeating CM Punk at Wrestlemania.
The Straight Edge Society comes out and Punk addresses the crowd in Las Vegas. Luke tells everyone to open their ears and listen because Punk saved him and Punk can save everyone. Luke talks about the transformation that he has made since he took the pledge to accept CM Punk as his savior. All of his impurities have been washed away. Luke says that the time is now and the time to make a change for the better is right here and right now.
Before Punk starts his comments, Serena takes the mic and tells everyone to show him some respect. She says that Punk is perfect in every way. He is selfless and remarkable. He is a healer. If you would take a moment to look into his beautiful eyes, you would see that he is not blinded by a world of sin and addiction like everyone else is. She says that Punk can save you just like he saved her and Luke. If it weren’t for Punk, they would both be like everyone else. She says that when she looks around this crowd, she sees a sea of demons. When she looks at her savior, she sees an angel.
Punk takes the mic and he says that if there ever was a city in the WWE Universe that needed to be saved, we are in it. He tells everyone that he envies everyone sitting at home because they are not here. Punk wants to explain Las Vegas to everyone. He says that you can get an alcoholic beverage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Punk says that you can smoke in any public place without any fear of reprisal. Punk says that the savage denizens of Las Vegas cheer those things. He says that it is like sheep following the herd that believes ‘What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.’ Punk says that is a lie. He says that the people are a lie and the town is a lie. He says that it is full of liars lying to themselves. He says that they are just like Rey Mysterio.
Punk says that he was supposed to save Rey on the grandest stage, but Rey continues to lie to himself. Punk tells Rey that whether he likes it or not, he needs straight edge. Punk tells Rey that he needs CM Punk. Punk says that Rey was his shining light and crown jewel to show that anyone could be saved by Straight Edge. Punk says that he is not going to give up. He wants a rematch against Rey. Punk says that he knows that Rey will think that there is nothing for him. Punk says that he is willing to sacrifice something very important to him. Punk says that he will sacrifice something free of foreign chemicals and something that represents his eternal purity and his position as leader of the Straight Edge Society. Punk says that if he loses to Rey, he will sacrifice his hair. Punk says that is how much he cares about Rey. He will sacrifice a piece of himself just to save Rey.
We go to commercial.
Match Number Four: Michelle McCool and Layla with Vickie Guerrero versus Beth Phoenix and Tiffany
Tiffany and Michelle start off and they lock up. Michelle backs Tiffany into the corner and Michelle pushes Tiffany after the break. Layla and Michelle pose. Tiffany with a drop toe hold and gutbuster. Tiffany with a monkey flip and then she tries for another one in the corner but Michelle pushes her off and gets a near fall. Michelle chokes Tiffany in the ropes and slams her head into the mat. Layla tags in and they hit a double stroke and then Layla with a leg drop for a near fall. Layla with a chin lock and she stretches Tiffany. Tiffany escapes the hold and tags in Beth. Beth with a running shoulder tackle to Layla and then Michelle goes to the floor to avoid Beth. Beth with an airplane spin followed by a clothesline. Beth gets to knock Michelle off the apron. Layla misses a kick and Beth hits the Glam Slam for the three count.
Winners: Beth Phoenix and Tiffany
After the match, Vickie teases getting into the ring but Michelle holds her back.
Teddy Long is watching in the back and Chris Jericho comes up behind Teddy. Chris says that he will say it one time. He demands that the decision be reversed so he can get his title back. Teddy says that he will not do that and then he asks Chris if he wants his rematch tonight. Jericho says that his ribs are hurt so he cannot wrestle tonight. Teddy says that if Chris doesn’t want his rematch tonight, he is done talking to him. Jericho says that Swagger will not get away with this because he is still the champion.
We are back and Todd and Matt talk about the Hart and McMahon match from Sunday and we see a photo of the Hart Attack from the top turnbuckle to the floor.
Josh Mathews is in the back with the Hart Dynasty. Natalya says that they couldn’t be more excited and they know that they aren’t going to let anyone down. David says that it was great to see the entire family there to, an honour to see Stu inducted into the Hall of Fame, and to be a part of Bret’s match against Mr. McMahon. Tyson says that not it is their time to carry on the tradition of the Hart family.
Jack Swagger stops by the interview area to stand in front of the Hart Dynasty with the World Title.
Kane comes to the ring and he has something to say. He says that he is getting a little bored and when he gets bored, he gets frustrated. He says that a frustrated monster is not good for anybody. Kane says that he needs to take his frustration out on someone and the more the better. Kane says that he will take on the entire NXT roster . . . starting NOW.
Match Number Five: Kane versus David Otunga, Daniel Bryan, Heath Slater, Darren Young, Wade Barrett, Skip Sheffield, Michael Tarver, and Justin Gabriel in an Epsenhart Special . . . to Infinity and Beyond
Kane and Bryan start things off and Bryan with a kick to the leg. Bryan with more kicks to the leg but Kane pushes Bryan down. Bryan with forearms but he is caught by Kane and Kane with a slam and drop kick. Young tags in and Kane with a kick and uppercut followed by a punch. Young with an elbow and punch but Kane does not feel it. Kane sends Young into the turnbuckles followed by an Irish whip but he misses a charge into the corner. Kane with a punch to Young as Darren comes off the turnbuckles. Kane with a hip toss and Gabriel tags in but Barrett gets into the match. Kane sends Barrett into the turnbuckles and punches him. Kane with elbows in the corner followed by a punch. Tarver distracts Kane and Barrett punches him. Barrett with shoulders in the corner but Kane with an uppercut. Barrett with a kick but he comes off the ropes and runs into a big boot and gets pinned.
Skip Sheffield comes into the match as we go to commercial.
We are back and Sheffield with a side head lock and shoulder tackle but Kane does not budge. Kane with an uppercut and he sends Sheffield into the turnbuckles and then hits an Irish whip and running clothesline into the corner. Kane with a running power slam and Slater breaks up the cover. Slater backs up and he kicks Kane. Slater comes off the turnbuckles and Kane grabs him and hits a choke slam to pin him.
Tarver comes in and he kicks Kane in the back of the leg and Kane throws Tarver over the top rope to the floor.
Otunga comes into the ring but then he goes to the apron and then the floor as they have a strategy session to deal with Kane in a five-on-one situation. Young goes after Kane and so does Gabriel but Kane fights them off. Bryan chokes Kane and then everyone attacks Kane and the referee calls for the bell.
Winner: Kane by disqualification
After the match, they hold Kane while Tarver kicks him. Kane kicks Tarver back and then everyone attacks Kane. Bryan goes up top and hits a missile drop kick while everyone holds him. Otunga with an elbow drop while Young hits a leg drop. Sheffield with a splash and then they hold Kane again while Gabriel goes up top for the 450 splash.
The rookies celebrate in the ring before leaving. Kane follows after them and they head to the back.
We have another Earlier Tonight Moment of Jack Swagger’s victory and Jericho’s outrage.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Did You Know that they are now up to 16 million views of photos of the Undertaker/Shawn Michaels match.
It is time for the State of the Championship Address by the new World Champion Jack Swagger.
Swagger says that this is the first of many State of the World Championship addresses that he will be giving. He has prepared a few statements. Jack congratulates everyone for being a part of history and says that this might be the apex of their lives. They are all witnesses to when Jack Swagger became the new World Heavyweight Champion. He says that he will be champion for an extremely long time so he tells them to show him respect by being absolutely silent until the speech is over. Swagger says that all of his life he has been the odds on favorite at everything he does. Jack says that while he was a two time All-American at the University of Oklahoma, he set an NCAA record for most pinfall victories. Within four months of coming to the WWE, he was the ECW champion. Then at Wrestlemania he won Money in the Bank. He says that it did not matter if there were ten, twenty, or one hundred people in the match, he would have won. He did not plan it this way, but becoming the World Champion couldn’t have come at a better time because everyone has found their replacement for Shawn Michaels as the greatest living wrestler on the planet. As his career . . . is interrupted by Chris Jericho who comes to the ring and he has not even put his shirt back on.
Jericho wants the title given back to him. Swagger says that it is his right now and Jericho cannot do anything about it. Jericho tells Swagger that he is the champion, not Jack. He says that Swagger committed the biggest crime in WWE history because Swagger stole the title from. Jericho says that when he gets better, he will take the title from Swagger. He wants to make sure that the parasites understand. Jericho says that he wants this travesty righted tonight.
Before it can be righted, Edge comes to the ring. Jack leaves the ring while Edge arrives. Edge says that if Swagger wants to show what kind of champion he is, he should defend the title against him. Edge says that if it wasn’t for him, Jack wouldn’t be the champion. Edge says that he understands about cashing in the briefcase and says that it was well played. He tells Jack to face someone who is not injured and not afraid to face him. Jericho says that Edge has no right to request that match. Jericho says that he beat Edge at Wrestlemania and he was the champion. Edge reminds Jericho that he hit Jericho with the two spears that made him an ex-champion. Edge tells Jericho to shut his mouth.
Teddy Long comes out and he has something to say to the playas. Teddy says that there is a situation here. Teddy says that Jericho has a rematch, but he doesn’t want to take it. Edge doesn’t have a rematch, so next week Edge and Jericho will wrestle for the right to face Jack Swagger for the World Title.
Swagger gets on the apron and distracts Edge long enough to allow Jericho to hit the Codebreaker on Edge. Swagger gets in the ring and hits a Doctor Bomb on Jericho and Edge. Swagger stands over Edge and Jericho with the title belt on his shoulder.
2011 - Shawn Michaels led the 2011 WWE Hall of Fame Class. Mike Johnson filed the following live report from the event:
We are live at the 2011 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, which will kick off at 8 PM. WWE is currently seating family and friends.
The WWE talents began arriving. Sharmell is with Booker T. Linda and Stephanie McMahon are here. Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat arrived together. Wendi Richter arrived. There are tons of Woos for Flair, who received the biggest reaction up to that point for his arrival.
John Cena was loudly booed when he arrived.
JBL and Lex Luger are here. Bob Orton is with Randy Orton. DDP is here as well.
Todd Grisham reminded everyone to be respectful of those honored tonight. WWE had lots of signage to that effect all over the venue.
They played a trailer for the new WWE videogame as they are the sponsors of the Hall this year.
Drew Carey was booed when his name was shown on the opening video.
Jerry Lawler is the host again. He welcomed everyone to the evening saying it's his favorite of the year. He asked everyone to show their appreciation for the current stars.
Lawler talked about patriotism in wrestling and they played a video for Hacksaw Duggan.
After the video, Ted DiBiase was introduced. He said that a year ago he was honored to be inducted but is even more honored to induct a good friend he has known for many years. DiBiase teased he was going to drop money down like he did last year but then said, "how does it feel to want?"
DiBiase talked about the passion that Duggan had not just in WWE but in all sports, discussing his sports career in High School, College and the Atlanta Falcons. He said the first time he met Duggan, it was 1981 for Georgia while teaming with Tommy Rich. He said after tying up with Duggan he tagged out to Rich and said he's all yours. Duggan was all go go go.
DiBiase tells a story about Duggan busting his head open on a bolt in the ring. Duggan was pacing angry after and had bandages that slipped up so he looked like a Conehead and when he saw himself he laughed and then went out to work a battle royal the same night.
DiBiase told the story of working the Tuxedo match against Duggan in Mid South and then spoke proudly of Duggan beating kidney cancer.
Duggan brought the 2x4 with him and is wearing a tie. Duggan said it's been thirty years since he became a wrestler and he couldn't imagine that a chance meeting with Fritz Von Erich opened the door for wrestling. He said Fritz opened the door to the strange and wonderful world of wrestling.
He talked of working as Big Jim Duggan and talked of Arnold Skaaland telling him to come up with something better. He went to Hawaii and worked as the Convict under a mask. He moved onto Georgia Championship Wrestling where he met DiBiase and Terry Gordy, who he called a wonderful friend.
He talked about having a run as Wildman Duggan before becoming Hacksaw Duggan for Joe Blanchard. He said that his mentor Bruiser Brody advised him to carry something he can use to the ring and that's where the board came from.
Duggan said his first big break was for Bill Watts and told of the angle where Ted DiBiase joined forces with Skandar Akbar, which allowed Duggan to defend America.
He said his biggest accomplishment was main- eventing the Garden against Andre the Giant. He said working for WWF changed his life in ways he can't even explain. He talked about moving to WCW and how Atlanta was important to his career and now he's being inducted here.
Duggan said he's wrestled in every state and dozens of countries and talked about the power of wrestling. He said he had the chance to travel the world and even wrestle with the children of his friends. He said he was never in a group or a clique but he always had the flag and his 2x4.
Duggan thanked his sister and his parents. He asked his daughters to rise and thanked them. He spoke lovingly of his wife and all her support through the years. Duggan thanked all the forces around the world for fighting for us and closed out with a big Hooo.
Lawler introduced a video on Bob Armstrong.
Introducing Armstrong are Brian, Scott and Brad Armstrong. No Steve. They came out to the Road Dogg music and he did a Road Dogg style promo and then said he was going to break character and shoot.
He thanked the fans for their support of the family and thanked WWE for all they did for the family. He said 50 years ago his father became engaged to their mother and pro wrestling both and they both still love him as well.
Brian said that watching that video he realizes he stole everything from his father. He said he's never been prouder of his dad than he is right now. He did a Road Dogg ring introduction for his father.
Bob came out and acted like he was asleep then joked a few times before starting. He thanked everyone in WWE for the honor. He said his other son couldn't be here but he'd see him soon. He joked that his wife raised five boys including him. He joked she has the best wristlock in the world and would apply it on the boys when they got too rough imitating their dad. He thanked her for never giving up on him.
He said that he remembers seeing his first match like it was yesterday, in 1942. He saw Gorgeous George, who was a master showman, and when he came to Marietta he sold the house out by going to a ladies beauty parlor. He said Marietta set a record that night that was never broken.
Bob begged his father to take him. He was six years old at the time and when he saw George it was like watching an angel floating across the ring. When George through a bobby pin into the crowd it was the biggest fight he ever saw. An elderly woman got it and was helped in the ring with blood on her face and a smile on her face.
Bob said he wanted to be a pro wrestler and became one. He did it while he worked as a firefighter and one day had to decide between the two. Tonight he knows he made the right decision.
He thanked everyone from the bottom of his heart and wished them goodnight.
Lawler said that he didn't think anyone was a bigger fan of the Divas than him and they played a video for Sunny.
All of the Divas came out to induct Sunny. LayCool said everyone came to see them. Michelle said she is speechless and Layla joked that was the first time. They said tonight wasn't about them but someone who made it possible for them to be an us.
They said the term WWE Diva would not exist without her, she was groundbreaking and was ahead of social media by being one of the most downloaded women ever. They said she was the original Diva and now the Hall was flawless.
Sunny came out and pointed out the Divas, saying look at what she started. She said that she's still been in shock at this. She said everyone knows her life was a roller coaster and now her life has come full circle.
She talked of being a huge fan of the business and meeting wrestlers as a child. She said that she never intended to get in the business and was just the girlfriend of a really underrated wrestle, Chris Candido. There was a huge pop for Candido.
She told the story of being recruited into SMW by Jim Cornette when she wanted to go into medical school. Two years later, WWE offered her a tryout and she flew to Stamford on her birthday. She said she had no idea how to be an announcer and had a horrendous audition. She put WWE out of her mind forever but they asked her to start several weeks later.
She began working as Tamara Lynn Murphy and six months later Sunny was born. She said she had the chance to show what a woman had to offer. She said it was all thrown at her and she did it all from refereeing, announcing, managing and doing the first on- location bikini video.
She said there was a debate on who was the first Diva and tonight they can put that debate to rest.
Tammy thanked her parents and her boyfriend, saying he got her back in Sunny shape. She thanked the makeup artists for making her look so great and thanked WWE for always inviting her back.
She talked of Terry Funk giving her advice to give the same show no matter how large the crowd is. She noted she was the youngest inductee and said you never know if she might be able to come back for another run since what Sunny wants Sunny gets.
Lawler introduced Terry Funk. The Funker said it was time to get down to the real deal. He was here to induct someone into the Hall of Fame. He said Abby is an ugly guy but was the toughest guy. He said that he and Dory had a love hate relationship with him. He said they hated to wrestle him but loved the money. He said Abby filled asses every 18 inches without speaking one word on the mic.
Funk did a Dusty impression as he told a story about facing Abby in Japan. Terry tried to tell the referee Joe Higuchi that there was an object in his pants and the ref said we all have objects in our pants.
Abby pulled out a fork and forked him in Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo and everywhere else all the way to Texas. He said Abby made brutality beautiful and made Terry so much money he would marry him if he could.
Abby came out and pulled out a fork, teasing he would use it. Abby said that at 3 a.m. he received a phone call from Johnny Ace and was told he wanted to put Abby in the Hall of Fame. He punched himself in the face and asked who it was again. Abby got emotional and said he wishes his parents were here but they are gone. He said his 90 year- old aunt and his friends and family are here. He got the fans to chant his name.
Abby said he was really happy to be here but wishes Ace was here so he could fork him. He said he's been around a long time because the man upstairs takes care of him. He thanked everyone.
They aired an awesome video on the Road Warriors and Lawler introduced Dusty Rhodes.
Dusty said it was a powerful night and when you talk about power, you talk about the Warriors. He said the Class this year set the table for today's stars.
Dusty talked about Paul Ellering's career and said that he was the real deal. He and the Warriors crossed paths and when they started their trip to stardom, Ellering legitimately managed them. Dusty talked about Ellering's exploits in the Iditarod. He said Ellering led those dogs and he led the Warriors.
Dusty spoke of Hawk, who he loved to call Hank. He said that only the good die young and Hawk was proof of that. He didn't slow down for anyone and ran life hard. His presence is being felt tonight. Dusty said he knew the booker at the time and told the story of the Warriors against the Midnight Express in the Night of the Skywalkers. He told the story of Bubba Rogers missing the chance to catch Jim Cornette. Dusty said Hawk was a good friend and we miss him dearly.
Dusty said that Animal would puff up like a toad frog when he was mad at him. Dusty said he was a leader and one of the most powerful men around. He said Animal was a loving father and made some jokes about his son's football career.
Dusty said the LOD were the best tag team of all time. He told the story of Animal having his back when a fan sucker punched Dusty in a bar, making it funny. Dusty used a sound bite of Hawk and said it was his honor to induct the mighty Road Warriors.
There was a huge LOD chant as Ellering and Animal came out. Ellering was carrying a rolled up Wall Street Journal. Ellering and Animal thanked Dusty. Animal said their career started in Georgia Championship Wrestling. He said that three weeks into their career, they were told to hit the ring on Dusty and Ole Anderson told them go get yourselves over and they didn't know what that meant. They hit the ring and were told to open him up. Animal said he didn't know what that meant. They were told not to let anyone get in the ring and Stan Hansen was then told that no matter what, he was to get in the ring and take out the Warriors. The rib ended with Animal outside crying and having to pull a knocked out Hawk from the ring.
Animal thanked Dusty for seeing something in the Warriors they didn't see in themselves. He said he will always be indebted to Dusty for what he did for them.
Ellering said he was starting to think they weren't going to make it here and were exiled to the land of misfit toys. Animal said they were very blessed and thanked the man above for allowing him to be in the sports entertainment business. He ran down the titles they won and said he would give them all up for what they are being given tonight.
Ellering said that the Warriors were like kids without adult supervision and he was the adult. They told some funny stories about Hawk's toughness.
Animal told a story about all the tough guys that came from Minnesota like, Rick Rude, Nikita Koloff and Smash being from the same school. He is recruited by Ole Anderson to become the Road Warrior and was all full of himself until he learned a lesson of humility from Roddy Piper. He told Piper how he wanted to learn to control the crowd and Piper told him that he just didn't see it in him. Today that's something they joke about today.
Animal talked about Johnny Weaver putting him to sleep and how that was a learning experience.
Ellering said they were here for the last laugh of wicked mirth. He said they give thanks for being named a symbol of excellence in the industry.
Animal started talking about his family, thanking his father and talked about his father's reaction to Animal becoming a wrestler. He thanked his brothers for being here. He asked his wife Julie to please stand and told her she was a true saint. He talked of her support. Animal told his son Joe that he was a hero and thanked him for fighting in Iraq. He thanked his son James, who got a pop. He said that James was always his buddy and his son turned back into a little kid when he found out Animal was going into the Hall. He praised his daughter.
Ellering thanked all his family in the business and all of his real family for allowing him to have his career. He said the night wasn't about them, but rather the fans. Animal said they were the fuel that fed them and thanked them forever.
Ellering said he was proud of the chance to be part of something special. He said that he has one special friend with him and Hawk. He said Hawk was a son, a brother, a warrior and a friend. He said today they are dancing to the music Hawk plays. He said that Hawk was a friend to all that knew him.
Ellering talked about the day Hawk passed away and that Hawk would have wanted a celebration of life...and what a life he loved. He said that Hawk only wanted to make one person proud...his wife Dale.
Animal thanked everyone who paved the way for them and everyone who put them over. The Warriors were only as good as the people they were with in the ring.
Animal said Hawk was a great man but was rough around the edges. Animal said that he wishes he could explain the connection they had but he can't. He knew what Hawk was thinking by the look of his eyes. He said he misses him terribly and thinks of him every day.
Ellering pulled out a Hawk action figure and placed it on the podium. They received a standing ovation. Ellering said that he misses Hawk. He said he's not an angel but he knows one and that angel says....
Animal closed with "Oh what a rush!"
Awesome speech.
Lawler pitched it to the Drew Carey video. Fans were booing it.
Kane is inducting Carey. Kane talked about eliminating 11 Royal Rumble competitors in one Rumble but after he set that milestone people were only talking about Drew Carey.
Kane gave a funny induction saying Carey was the embodiment of pure evil and that reminds him of him. Kane introduced Carey.
Carey thanked everyone. He was getting booed. He said he didn't care if they booed because he was rich so do whatever you want. He told a bunch of jokes that bombed. He said he's having such a great time here he might change his name to Dwayne Johnson.
Carey plugged The Miz since he's from Cleveland. He said he was surprised when he was invited but since he loves wrestling and loves it outwardly he said let's do it. He praised wrestlers for being so great at what they do and for putting their bodies on the line.
Carey said he was thankful to be a small part of the WWE Universe and would see everyone at WrestleMania.
They played the awesome Shawn Michaels music video.
Lawler introduced Triple H. He asked if they were sold out. The crowd yelled yes. Triple H said that now Shawn is going to be able to brag about this the rest of his life. He joked that Shawn asked him to do this so he had to say nice things about him.
Triple H joked about what he could talk about, making cute smart ass remarks about Shawn's height and wardrobe. He said he could talk about the titles or The Rockers or the unbelievable matches like the Iron Man match against Bret Hart, the ladder match against Razor Ramon or the Hell in a Cell against Undertaker.
He said he could talk about about the guy who returned after four years following back surgery on PPV and had a great 45 minute match. He said the second they touched he knew Shawn was the best he was ever in the ring with.
He said he could talk about the clique but those stories won't play in a PG environment. He could talk about DX but those shouldn't have played even in the Attitude era. He could talk about the wrestlers he inspired. He could talk about the family man or his best friend or what a giving performer Shawn was.
Triple H talked about their comedy vignettes in DX. He said that he gave Shawn the comedy of his nose and Shawn gave him the comedy of his wardrobe, his mullet and Playgirl. Shawn told him the chicks were going to love it. He said Shawn doesn't want to admit his place in the Hulk Hogan haircut and that's a comedy gift...as is his google eye.
Triple H said he could talk about all that or just talk about his best friend. He got choked up as he said Shawn was his brother. He told Michaels that he loves him. He said Michaels was the greatest performer he has ever seen in his life and the greatest he ever stepped in the ring with, period.
He started recounting Michaels' nicknames and said he has a new one that is more deserving than any other..... Mister Hall of Fame.
He introduced Michaels.
Michaels came out and hugged Triple H for a long time. The entire place gave him a standing ovation for a LONG time before he was able to speak.
Michaels said somehow a roast broke out on the greatest night of his life. He said that he knew there was no way Hunter was going to say anything nice about him. He said that it was a huge deal for Hunter to even recognize Michaels worked in this business.
Michaels said he didn't bring a speech and was thinking about what he was going to say and what would happen if he forgot someone. He joked with fans catcalling him, asking if for once it could be about him.
Shawn said he didn't know where to start and there are things you aren't supposed to say and there are politically correct things you have to say, which was a reason he was happy he was retiring since he can't do those things. He joked that he wasn't on TV because it was him and he couldn't be trusted.
Michaels said when he was 19 he didn't want to be a sports entertainer but wanted to wrestle in front of 25 people in San Antonio and his life would be complete. He said that now he's 45 years old and he's had a hell of a ride and is so blessed.
Michaels said that when he got into the business he was searching for validation and he didn't know why. He said he worked himself into the ground
He spent his life wanting all the fans and his peers to think he did a good job. He said he's very thankful to all the other inductees and Triple H for making tonight fun.
He said he doesn't want this to become a cryfest but he wanted and worked so hard to do this for so many years. He said that has brought up questions of whether he would be OK away from wrestling and Undertaker said he was going into the Hall full of regrets.
Michaels said if he was done and went in in 1998 there would have been a lot of sadness for himself and someone backstage he can't mention.....Vince obviously. He said he came back for one more match and that, as they joke, was nine years ago.
Today he can say he has no regrets. That is in thanks to God and his family in the front row. He introduced his wife, son and daughter. He said that from the moment they came into his life there hasn't been a second that he isn't thankful for them and the best gift of all is his family. He thanks them for being so selfless in letting Dad finish what he started.
Michaels said it was important to walk away on his own terms. He thanked his son for letting daddy go play wrestling.
Michaels said there are lots of many special moments he had a chance to create with. He said he didn't want to be that guy keeping people up late because someone goes long. Shawn said that those wrestlers know who they are because he pulled them aside and thanked them for dealing with him when he went nuts dissecting a match and getting deep into the job.
He said that a lot of times all they have is each other. He said they love their women but when they are together, it's like being in a foxhole. They may stab each other in the back but don't someone else do it.
Michaels thanked them for letting him into their fraternity.
Michaels thanked the fans for supporting him even when they bother him at 5 a.m. at airports. He said they have been part of his life and his world for many years. He said it comes down to why a kid wanted validation from a bunch of strangers. He said he doesn't know if he's connected to the fans but they are so connected to him.
Michaels said he was never prom king but what was important was knowing how the fans felt about him. He said tonight he knows it, he feels it and he loves his ring. He said if you aren't down with that he has two words for you.
Shawn and Hunter hugged and they played the DX theme. They recreated the curtain call with Sean Waltman and Kevin Nash coming on stage with him. Shawn acknowledged Ric Flair with a wave. Flair was never shown on camera.
The others left Shawn alone on stage and his Sexy Boy music played. Michaels jumped off the stage and hugged his children then kissed his wife forever and a day.
Shawn returned to the stage and received a long standing ovation before departing. The building chanted his name.
Lawler returned and thanked everyone for joining them this year.
2011 - Dragon Gate USA ran their Mercury Rising 2011 iPPV. Stu Carapola filed the following report:
Welcome to PWInsider.com's live coverage of Dragon Gate USA's Mercury Rising 2011 iPPV! Click here for information on ordering the iPPV.
Okay, had a bit of trouble with the video stream and missed the first few minutes, so we join the first match in progress:
Jon Moxley vs Arik Cannon
As we join the match, Moxley has Cannon in a sleeper with a body scissors, but Cannon fights his way out and they go toe-to-toe in the middle of the ring. Moxley catches Cannon with a hard forearm, but Cannon ducks a lariat and turns it into a swinging neckbreaker. Cannon unloads on Moxley with chops and runs him over with a pair of lariats and a leaping back elbow. Moxley comes off the second rope, but Cannon catches him and hits a T-bone suplex for 2. Crowd is solidly getting behind Cannon, but Moxley gets an ACe Crusher and wipes Cannon out with a running lariat, but makes a casual cover and only gets 2. Moxley gets a chair and swings it at Cannon, but Cannon dodges and Moxley hits the ropes, causing the chair to bounce back and hit him in the head. Cannon gets a rollup for 2 and hits his twisting brainbuster, but Valerie Malone comes into the ring and distracts the referee, allowing Moxley to kick Cannon low and small package him for the win.
Winner: Jon Moxley
Reby Sky comes out with a microphone to protest the decision, and Moxley shoves Valerie Malone at Reby, leading to a catfight between them. Reby gives Valerie a DDT, but Trina Michaels takes her shoe off and knocks Reby out from behind. Moxley dips Trina and lays one on her to celebrate.
Good for what it was, I like both guys and I'm glad to see Cannon finally get something of a push.
We go to a backstage promo from Austin Aries saying he doesn't need to be here in DGUSA but wants YAMATO's title. Aries says nothing short of unconsciousness will put him down tonight, and tonight he will become a champion.
Elimination Match: Jimmy Jacobs vs Brodie Lee vs Stalker Ichickawa vs Silas Young vs AR Fox vs Jon Davis
Ichikawa and Fox start us out, and Ichikawa goes around playing to the crowd, so Fox rolls him up for 2 and then Young and Davis both get in the ring and go after Ichikawa and comedy ensues as he tries to outrun them all, but ends up falling on his face and they all take turns elbowdropping him. Ichikawa yells DANGEROUS at his opponents, then they all stand around staring at him as he stands them side by side next to each other and walks down the line slapping them all until Brodie catches his arm. Ichikawa counters by pointing at the ceiling and making buzzing noises, then slaps Brodie after all. Ichikawa comes off the ropes and Brodie just decks him in the face, so the other four guys all team up on Brodie and hit running clotheslines into the corner on Brodie. Ichikawa tries a cartwheel elbow thing, but falls on his head so Davis rips his head off with a hard clothesline and eliminates him.
Stalker Ichikawa is eliminated.
Brodie and Davis exchange blows in the middle of the ring, Davis lays in a series of kicks and a big right hand, but Brodie comes off the ropes and hits a flying headscissors to send Davis to the floor and follows him out with a dive through the ropes. Silas and Fox wind up in the ring and Fox does a Matrix escape to duck under a clothesline and dropkicks Silas to the floor, and then Fox hits a dive over the ringpost and wipes everybody out on the floor, leaving only Jacobs in the ring. Jacobs goes out to the floor and rolls Ichikawa back in and tells him to go up top and hit a dive. Ichikawa obeys and goes to the top and dives to the floor...and hits nothing. Davis and Jacobs go at it in the ring with Davis hitting a windmill powerslam. Fox comes in to go at it with Davis and hits a Stratusfaction and split legged twisting senton. Brodie superkicks Fox in the face and Silas comes in to go
at it with him, Silas hits a pair of big boots and goes for a waistlock, but Brodie shrugs him off so Silas hits a hard forearm and a chop, then ducks a clothesline and hits a German suplex for 2. Brodie rolls out of the ring so Young and Fox go at it and Fox gets dumped to the apron, so he moonsaults onto Brodie, then comes in and hits...something on Silas that gets 2. Jacobs hits a double Ace Crusher on Silas and Fox and then a double Contra Code as well and eliminates Fox.
AR Fox is eliminated.
Jacobs then goes to cover Silas, but he's too close to the ropes. Jacobs goes for a spear, but Davis comes out of nowhere and plows through Jacobs with a Pounce, then powerslams Silas for 2. Davis tries another Pounce but Silas dodges and hits his backbreaker/lariat combo for 2. Brodie comes in behind Silas and goozles him, but Silas fights out and dropkicks Brodie, then hits a flying headscissors from the top rope. Brodie just cracks Silas in the face but Jacobs comes in and catches him in the End Time. Silas breaks it up and hits the Finlay Roll and goes for his delayed headstand moonsault, but misses and Jacobs catches Silas in the End Time and Silas taps.
Silas Young is eliminated. Davis goes after Jacobs and gets him in a fireman's carry, but Brodie hits a big boot and Jacobs turns it into a crucifix to eliminate Davis.
Jon Davis is eliminated.
Jacobs goes right for the End Time, but Brodie shrugs him off and hits a big boot. Brodie goes for a leaping Yakuza Kick in the corner, but Jacobs dodges and Brodie goes to the floor. Jacobs screws up his dive through the ropes, but Brodie's nice enough to help Jacobs give him a flying headscissors, then Jacobs follows that up with a Contra Code on the floor. Jacobs picks Brodie up, but Brodie goozles him and launches him back into the ring. Jacobs kicks the middle rope into Brodie's groin coming back in the ring and hits the Contra Code, but only gets 2. They wind up on top and Brodie hits a buttefly superplex, a big running boot in the corner, and the Truckstop for the win.
Winner: Brodie Lee
There was way too much going on at the beginning, but it got much better once the first couple of guys cleared out. Jon Davis looked like a monster, and I really liked the last bit between Brodie and Jacobs, Brodie is such a talented guy and an imposing monster, and Jacobs comes up short once again.
We go backstage to Arik Cannon, who says he's been doing this for a long time, and there are nights when you win and lose, but then there are nights like tonight where you get f***ed. He's pissed off, and now it's time to do things his way.
Masato Yoshino vs Sami Callihan
Fast paced sequence to start and Callihan kills Yoshino with a clothesline and a hard chop for 2. Callihan gets a hard slam and a series of elbowdrops for 2. Callihan tears at Yoshino's face and puts the boots to him, then lays him out with a hard chop, picks him back up, and hits another one for 2. Callihan with a slingshot splash for 2, then dishes out more chops in the corner on Yoshino. Callihan whips Yoshino hard across the ring, but hesitates before charging and Yoshino is able to dodge and hit the Slingblade. Yoshino gets a nasty looking hammerlock DDT for 2 and goes for a running boot, but Callihan ducks and hits a leaping Russian legsweep for 2. Callihan gets fired up and goes for a powerbomb, but Yoshino fights his way out and locks in his twisty abdominal stretch thing, then turns it into a sunset flip for 2. Callihan uses the ropes to haul himself to his feet, but Yoshino comes off the top with a double stomp to the arm, then goes back up and tries it again and Callihan dodges and hits a leaping enziguiri and running facewash for 2. Callihan goes up for a top rope splash, but Yoshino moves and then heads up top himself for a swank missile dropkick for 2. Callihan starts nailing Yoshino with double chops and open hand strikes, but Yoshino blocks a pair of clothesline attempts, ducks a third, but Callihan nearly rips his head off with a third. That only gets 2 so he hits a sitout Tombstone for a close 2. Callihan goes for it again but Yoshino slips out and they go back and forth with a series of pinfall attempts and nobody gets a win, but Callihan comes off the ropes right into the Lightning Spiral. Yoshino gets 2 from that, then gets the Thumbelina and then locks in the Solo Siete and Callihan give up the ghost.
Winner: Masato Yoshino
This was really good, Callihan looked like a monster here and I thought he was going to win with the sitout Tombstone. Callihan gets the mic after the match and says this isn't over, and he's through f***ing around. Lots of adult language on this show!
We go backstage to Jon Moxley, and he says he's a trendsetter and everyone follows everything he does, but Austin Aries is yesterday's news and he'll be out of DGUSA forever after he loses tonight...FOREVER! FOREVER! FOREVER! FOREVER! FOREVER! FOREVER! (In case you don't know, he's mocking an old Terry Funk promo)
Open The Brave Gate Title Match: PAC vs Akira Tozawa
They tie up and PAC goes behind and takes Tozawa down with a waistlock, but Tozawa floats out to a front facelock. PAC goes to a wristlock and hits a drop toehold into a side headlock. PAC takes Tozawa down with a top wristlock, but Tozawa escapes and goes back to the headlock and PAC escapes. They do a chain wrestling sequence until Tozawa takes PAC down with a shoulderblock, then a fast paced sequence on the ropes and Tozawa dropkicks PAC to the floor. Tozawa nails PAC coming back in the ring and locks him in a three quarter nelson, then snapmares PAC and kicks him in the back. PAC returns the favor with the same sequence, then rams Tozawa to the corner and cracks him in the chest with a pair of hard chops. Tozawa fires back with chops of his own and goes for a vertical suplex, but Tozawa puts the brakes on and reverses to a snap suplex of his own for 1. Tozawa gets a rear chinlock but PAC makes the ropes, so Tozawa picks him up and hits a hard slam and a senton for 2. Tozawa chokes PAC in the corner with his boot and then catches him in a kneeling abdominal stretch. PAC hiptosses out of the hold, so Tozawa hits a charging dropkick to the abdomen, then another hard slam followed by the diving headbutt he always misses, but when he tries again PAC gets the feet up and knocks Tozawa silly.
Now PAC is in control and chokes Tozawa with his boot and hits a snap suplex for 2. Standing shooting star press gets 2 and then a short armdrag into a Northern Lights suplex gets 2. PAC catches Tozawa in a headscissors as the cut in his head from last night opens back up. Tozawa makes the ropes for the break and PAC makes the referee pull them apart. PAC talks trash in Tozawa's face so Tozawa nails him, and PAC just beats him down with forearms. Finally Tozawa reverses a whip and hits a dropkick, a dropkick to the knees, and a running dropkick that sends PAC to the floor. Tozawa follows him out with a dive through the ropes, then a second. The crowd chants for one more time, so Tozawa hits a somersault dive off the apron that wipes PAC out yet again. Tozawa rolls PAC back into the ring and hits a running forearm and a big backdrop suplex for 2. Tozawa motions for the German suplex and gets the waistlock, but PAC blocks so Tozawa gets an O'Connor roll right into a high angle German, but only gets 2.
Series of Irish whip reversals ends with PAC getting backdropped to the apron where he hits a springboard dropkick, and then a second one to the back for 2. Crowd starts a "this is awesome" chant as PAC gets a climbing enziguiri in the corner and a springboard 450 splash that only gets 2. Tozawa is getting fired up and they exchange hard forearms in the middle of the ring that you can hear at home. Tozawa comes out on top and drops PAC to a knee, but PAC comes back with a spinkick, Tozawa responds with a pair of his own, PAC hits a leaping enziguiri, and Tozawa kicks PAC's leg out and hits a Shining Wizard. Crowd is going nuts as they get back to their feet and Tozawa hits a running bicycle kick in the corner, misses a second, dodges a charge by PAC, and hits the second bicycle kick. Tozawa misses a charge and PAC kills him with a German suplex, but Tozawa fires up, hits a leaping bicycle kick to PAC's back and a German, but PAC pops Tozawa into the air and flapjacks him, then superkicks him in the face and both men are down again.
Another forearm exchange in the middle of the ring until Tozawa hits a nother boot to the face. PAC gets the feet up on a charge and goes for a twisting Phoenix Splash out of the corner but misses and Tozawa gets a Frankensteiner into a cradle for 2, then the bridging German suplex gets a VERY close 2. Tozawa pulls PAC up and goes for a straitjacket suplex but PAC slips out, fast paced series of reversals ends with PAC hitting a German suplex and bridge for 3.
Winner: PAC
Excellent match, by far the best thing on the show so far. They shake and share a hug after the match and the crowd is chanting Tozawa's name. I really liked this, and Tozawa lost nothing in losing. Suddenly, members of Blood Warriors rush the ring and attack PAC 4-on-1. Brodie hits a Truckstop and a big boot, then CIMA gets a mic and says that tomorrow night, he and Ricochet will win the tag title.
We go backstage to Ronin, who say that they're going to do the Dragon Gate six man a little different this year by proving that they belong in the ring with Blood Warriors and can beat them.
After intermission, we're back for a tag match featuring wrestlers who took part in the DGUSA seminar earlier in the day. I didn't catch their names, but it doesn't really matter because Sami Callihan comes out and trashes two of them, then goes on to describe in vulgar fashion how he's tired of getting buried by DGUSA management and he's here to cause some damage. Arik Cannon comes out and gets in Callihan's face because he's sitting in the back hearing Callihan...well, to keep it PG, he's tired of hearing Callihan complain because Callihan lost clean. Cannon says they're both pissed off and nobody cares, and Cannon destroys the other two guys Callihan left standing, and then they go after each other. They trade blows inside the ring and then spill out to the floor and keep fighting back there and all the way to the back. MORE profanity, but I loved their match at EVOLVE last year and am totally on board with seeing them lock up again.
We go backstage to PAC, who simply tells Blood Warriors that they've got his attention, then walks off.
Open The Freedom Gate Title vs DGUSA Career: YAMATO vs Austin Aries
YAMATO sends Jon Moxley to the back because he wants to be a fighting champion. Feeling out process to start, Aries takes a side headlock and YAMATO goes to the corner and Aries breaks clean. Tie up and Aries takes YAMATO down with a drop toehold and gets a modified STF, then half nelsons YAMATO to his back for 2 and YAMATO reverses to a pin attempt of his own for 2. They go to the mat again and nobody gets an advantage, they get to their feet and YAMATO takes Aries to the corner and breaks clean, but Aries hits the brainbuster and only gets 2, then goes up top and hits the 450 splash and still only gets 2. YAMATO rolls out to the floor and Aries goes out to fight with him out there and backdrops YAMATO into the crowd. Aries goes after him and rams him into somebody's chair, then dumps him back to ringside and fires YAMATO back into the ring. Aries comes in with a slingshot senton for 2, then hits a diving, rolling elbow to YAMATO's back for 2. Aries fires kicks at YAMATO's leg and DDTs the foot, then snaps the knee and covers for 1. Aries whips YAMATO into the corner (with YAMATO stumbling the whole way) and followed him in with a clothesline and a bulldog out of the corner for 2. Aries fires kneestrikes into YAMATO's skull, then takes YAMATO to the corner and slings his leg over the middle rope and dropkicks it. YAMATO tires to escape to the apron, but Aries grabs the leg and legdrags him. YAMATO climbs under the ring and surprises Aries from behind and dumps him to the floor.
Now YAMATO has the advantage and beats Aries down with a broom, then lays in a couple of hard chops before rolling Aries back into the ring. YAMATO now goes to work on Aries' leg and gets a toehold, then lets him out and hits a running dropkick to the knee. YAMATO chokes Aries in the corner with his boot and then continues to unload on Aries with hard strikes. YAMATO gets a spinning toehold and turns it into a modifed version of the Condo Clutch, but Aries makes the ropes. Aries suddenly gets an STO out of nowhere, but YAMATO immediately goes to the anklelock. Aries makes the ropes so YAMATO drags him back out to the middle and gets a conventional figure four. Aries reverses the hold and really cranks on it, but YAMATO gets the bottom rope to force the break. Aries hits another STO and the pendulum elbow, then both men make it back to their feet and exchange blows, then exchange sleeper holds. YAMATO tries a German suplex but Aries flips through and lands on his feet and hits a German of his own, clotheslines YAMATO to the floor, and goes for a dive, but YAMATO tried climbing under the ring to sneak up on Aries again. This time Aries knows it's coming and sidesteps YAMATO to send him to the floor, then follows out with the heat seeking missile.
Aries and YAMATO get back up to the apron and YAMATO suplexes Aries over the top, but Aries lands on his feet, drags YAMATO in, and hits a twisting brainbuster for 2. Aries goes for another brainbuster but YAMATO blocks and hits a gourdbuster and tries a kick to the head but Aries blocks and rolls YAMATO into a weird leglock thing. Aries hits the shinbreaker but tries it again and YAMATO rolls through into a sunset flip for 2 and then into a Boston Crab. YAMATO changes it up to a single leg crab but Aries breaks free, so YAMATO sets up and hits a running forearm in the corner, but Aries fights back with forearms and YAMATO hits a big boot and gets a sleeper, then turns it into the sleeper suplex for 2. YAMATO gets ready to hit his finish, but Aries slips out and hits a roaring elbow and then gets dumped hard to the floor. YAMATO goes after Aries and pulls him up to the apron, but Aries gets YAMATO up and hits a DVD on the apron. Aries rolls YAMATO back into the ring and covers for 2, then goes up to the top to try for the 450 splash again, but YAMATO shakes the ropes and Aries slips. YAMATO goes up with Aries to try for a superplex and hitsit, but Aries cradles him when they land and all four shoulders are down, the referee counts but only gets 2.
Aries starts unloading on YAMATO in the middle of the ring and YAMATO goes down to his knee, then Aries hits the shinbreaker and suplex and YAMATO looks like he comes down on his face. Aries hits the IED in the corner, hits it again, and hits the brainbuster but only gets 2. Aries goes right back up and goes for the 450, YAMATO dodges and hits a leaping enziguiri, kick to the head, and tries a brainbuster but Aries rolls through and cradles YAMATO for 2 and goes for another brainbuster but YAMATO reverses and hits a brainbuster and only gets 1, and Aries pops right back up and hits a brainbuster and only gets 2. Aries pulls YAMATO back up and goes for yet another brainbuster but YAMATO shoves him off and they exchange forearm blows in the middle. Aries hits a roaring elbow off the ropes and tries another brainbuster but YAMATO slips out the back and hits the sitout Tombstone, but still only gets 2. YAMATO hits the kick to the head, then another, and drags Aries back up for a second sitout Tombstone and that's FINALLY enough to get the win.
Winner: YAMATO
This match was just unbelievable, it started slow but kept building and building to the point where you were popping for every move because it looked like the finish. Crowd chants "thank you Austin" as the referee straps the belt around YAMATO's waist. YAMATO leaves as Aries gets back to his feet, and the crowd chants his name as he leaves the ring and heads to the back to "please don't go" chants from the crowd.
We go backstage to Jimmy Jacobs who says sometimes he gets past the roadblocks and sometimes he doesn't, because Brodie Lee beat him for the second time, but now he's going to get back up tomorrow and wrestle Austin Aries in his last match in DGUSA. He says that while Aries had a hell of a match tonight, he didn't get the job done, and tomorrow's not going to see Aries ride off into the sunset, he's going out with a bang and tomorrow will be his End Time.
Chuck Taylor, Johnny Gargano & Rich Swann vs CIMA, Naruki Doi & Ricochet
All hell breaks loose during introductions and all six men go right at it. Doi beats Swann down and puts the boots to him in the middle of the ring. CIMA comes in and lays in some chops and then they take turns hitting leapfrog drops onto Swann, followed by a top rope somersault senton onto Swann. Doi runs Swann over with a shoulderblock, then they do a fast paced exchange with Swann nailing Doi with a dropkick then tags out to Gargano, who comes right in and eats a dropkick from CIMA. Gargano recovers and hits a double stomp to CIMA's back, then a kneelift and neckbreaker. Ricochet pops in with a missile dropkick, but Taylor comes in and goes at it with Ricochet, who rotates completely around Taylor and hits an armdrag. Taylor retaliates with a twisty armdrag into a cradle for 2, then a windmill backbreaker and Gargano hits a running knee. Ronin hits a series of triple teams on CIMA, then Swann pokes CIMA in the eye just for kicks. Gargano and Taylor whip CIMA into the ropes for a double back elbow, dance, then stomp the hell out of CIMA and TAylor covers for 2. CIMA finally tags out to Doi, who comes in and unloads with kicks on Taylor, then ties Taylor's leg in the ropes and hits a running dropkick to the knee. Ricochet comes in and Taylor drives him into the Ronin corner, and Gargano tags in and puts the boots to Ricochet. Ricochet trips Gargano and goes for a standing moonsault, but Gargano kicks him right out of the air and mocks Blood Warriors' little cheer thing. Taylor dropkicks Ricochet right in the mouth, then gets a headscissors on Ricochet and humps his head into the mat as Gargano puts on an Indian Deathlock and bridges it into the Muta Lock. Ricochet makes the ropes, then pops off his back and hits a headscissors, AJ Styles-style.
CIMA tags in and superkicks Gargano and follows up with a rolling senton for 2. CIMA gets an upside down double chickenwing stretch, but Swann comes in and grabs CIMA's ass to force the break. Okay. CIMA hits a slingshot senton on Gargano and tags in Ricochet, and Gargano just tackles Ricochet to his back, repeatedly drills him in the face with punches, and tags out to Swann, who comes in and stomps on Ricochet's head for 2. Doi comes in and nails Swann from behind, and Ricochet and hit a nice dropkick and standing moonsault for 2. Ricochet gets a snapmare and swinging enziguiri to Swann for 2. CIMA and Doi come in and hit a wheelbarrow suplex into a Codebreaker from CIMA, and then they dance to mock Ronin. Doi hangs Swann upside down in the corner and puts the boots to him, then hits a running dropkick. Ricochet comes back in and hits a hard kick to the chest, followed by a spinebuster, and then Blood Warriors does so much stuff in about a seven second period that I just can't recap it all, but they did a lot of damage. Ricochet gets Swann in an Indian Deathlock while Doi and CIMA hit repeated double curb stomps, then put a chair under Swann's face and do it again because Taylor and Gargano were distracting the referee. CIMA just repeatedly swats Swann in the head with his boot and then slaps him around in the corner. CIMA whips Swann across the ring and Swann puts on the brakes, but CIMA dropkicks him into the corner and goes up top, but Swann gets a leaping Frankensteiner and standing 450, and dirves CIMA into the Ronin corner and both Taylor and Gargano come in.
Gargano gets CIMA in a Tarantula in the corner as Taylor hits a running boot to CIMa and then dives over CIMA and wipes out Ricochet on the floor. Gargano gets a short cutter on CIMA for 2 and then CIMA rolls to the floor so Gargano hits a dive, then tries another off the apron and Doi sweeps his legs out from under him. Ronin gets Doi alone in the ring and hit a repeated series of splashes for 2, then Taylor hits Sole Food, a uranage, and a kick to the chest for 2. Doi gets Taylor tangled in the ropes and just goes nuts slapping him in the face and hits a running tackle, running dropkick, and top rope rolling senton on Taylor. Taylor goes for the Awful Waffle, but Doi escapes and hits the Rydeen Bomb for 2. CIMA goes after Swann, who slips off the top rope and gets dropkicked by CIMA, who follows up with an electric drop for 2. Swann comes back with a superkick and guillotine legdrop for 2. CIMA goes for a double stomp and Swann dodges, but now Blood Warriors all take turns hitting big moves on Swann but only gets 2.
Okay, it's picking up and I'll do my best to recap. Ricochet goes for a Lionsault but Gargano dropkicks him out of midair and lawn darts him into the second turnbuckle. Gargano with a superkick and twisting cutter for 2 on Ricochet. Crowd chants "this is awesome" as Ricochet pulls himself up in the corner, and Gargano hits a running elbow in the corner, Ricochet leapfrogs Gargano and hits a Flatliner and a standing double moonsault for 2. Taylor comes in and goes at it with Ricochet as they exchange chops, Taylor rolls under a charge and Ronin hits a triple leaping enziguiri. Gargano with the full nelson faceplant to Doi and then Gargano and Taylor hold Ricochet up and Swann springboards off of Ricochet's chest to hit a flying headscissors on CIMA, then Taylor and Gargano parachute drop Ricochet. Swann goes up top for another triple team, but the other members ofBlood Warriors break it up and CIMA hits an Iconoclasm on Swann onto Gargano. Ricochet with an inverted Frankensteiner on Taylor for 2, then fires kicks at Taylor's leg but eats a spinning enziguiri from Swann and a running boot from Taylor. Swann oges for a handspring move but Doi dropkicks him in the face, hits Doi Fives, and a sliding kick for 2. CIMA dumps Gargano to the floor as all three members of Blood Warrios have Swann alone in the ring. They take turns nailing high impact moves on Swann, and CIMA and Ricochet hit stereo missile dropkicks on Swann. Ricochet goes for a twisting dive over the top rope but gets caught up, and since Gargano and Taylor are nice guys, they sell it anyway. CIMA hits the Schwein, Doi hits a cradle driver, and that's all she wrote.
Winners: Blood Warriors
Lots of action going on in this one, and Ricochet blowing his dive at the end took some air out of the finish, but there was a lot going on in this one and it was generally good if not quite at the level of past years.
Masato Yoshino and PAC run in and attack Blood Warriors, and they end up having a standoff. CIMA grabs a mic and tells them that they're going to take their title tomorrow. Yoshino tells CIMA that World-1 will never give up, and CIMA will see that tomorrow. PAC says that tonight was a historic night for being DGUSA's first in-house iPPV, and he and Yoshino thank everyone for joining them tonight. Yoshino asks them if they liked the show (the fans cheer), and Yoshino says thanks and they'll see everyone back there tomorrow.
* * *
Okay, Aries-YAMATO and PAC-Tozawa were both really, really good, but nothing else on the show really stood out to me that much. I felt like the Dragon Gate six man was okay, but a step down from what they've done in years past and nothing else really grabbed my interest to any great degree.
On the bright side, however, is that the video quality was excellent for this show. For their first time out doing this, I thought the whole thing came off great and, other than a bit of a hiccup when I tried to get in at the start, the video was 100% reliable the entire evening, didn't freeze once, and delivered great picture quality. This was light years better than what Gofightlive does and it came off like more of a professionally produced TV product. I also like that they ran videos during intermission instead of making us stare at a logo for 20 minutes.
Overall, I'd give this a thumbs up and certainly think it's worth the $15 price tag. The two matches I liked are well worth the price and, if you're not going to compare the six man to the ones they did in previous years, I think it stands out as a good, fast paced match as well.
2011 - Ring of Honor ran Honor Takes Center Stage Part Two on iPPV. Stu Carapola filed the following iPPV report:
Welcome to PWInsider.com's live coverage of Honor Takes Center Stage: Part Two! For information on ordering the iPPV, click on the poster above.
Kings Of Wrestling vs Adam Cole & Kyle O'Reilly
The Kings brutally attack Cole & O'Reilly before the opening bell, and Claudio kills Cole with a hard back elbow. Hero tags in and hits a hard slam and then nails O'Reilly off the apron. Shane Hagadorn joins Kevin Kelly & Dave Prazak at the announce booth where Kevin Kelly suggests that there might be some dissension between Shane and the Kings. Cole catches Claudio with a bulldog and then O'Reilly tags in and nails a hard dropkick, and Claudio responds with a European Uppercut. Claudio tries another and O'Reilly catches the arm and gets a backslide for 2, but Hero comes in and they hit the double parachute drop on O'Reilly. Hero with a running senton for 2 and then starts unloading with heavy strikes. Claudio comes in and easily lifts O'Reilly into the air and press slams him for 2. Hero back in for a delayed atomic drop, leaping elbow into the corner, and then whips O'Reilly into a running clothesline from Claudio for 2. Claudio tags out to Hero, clocks O'Reilly with a European Uppercut, and then Hero gets a hard elbow to the back of the head for 2, then O'Reilly gets a sunset flip out of nowhere for 2. Claudio back in and a complex series of moves leads to O'Reilly slipping past the Kings to make the hot tag to Adam Cole, who comes in and takes out Claudio with a flying headscissors and then gets the knees up on Hero on a senton attempt and then catches him with a leg lariat from the second rope. Cole blocks a German suplex attempt and hits a leaping enziguigi on Hero and dodges a move from Claudio, dropkicks him to the floor, and then hits a diving flying headscissors on the floor on Claudio, followed by O'Reilly with a diving dropkick off the apron, then Cole comes back in and hits a flying bodypress for 2. O'Reilly gets Hero in a fireman's carry but Hero slips out and hits rolling elbows on both opponents and makes the tag to Claudio. The Kings go for the waterslide elbow but Cole grabs Hero's ankle from the outside and O'Reilly converts to a front guillotine on Claudio. Hero repeatedly kicks O'Reilly in the head, but O'Reilly refuses to break, and Cole comes in and superkicks Hero to the floor and follows him out with a dive. O'Reilly nearly puts Claudio out, but claudio recovers and pops O'Reilly into the air for a European Uppercut, then a double bicycle kick puts O'Reilly down for 3.
Winners: Kings Of Wrestling
Awesome opener, O'Reilly and Cole did great this weekend and got a big pop from the crowd, who chanted "that was awesome" at them. Adam Cole & Kyle O'Reilly arrived in ROH this weekend.
Prince Nana comes out with his entourage to introduce his latest acquisition for the next match...
Dave Taylor vs Colt Cabana
I've been looking forward to this one. They tie up and Taylor takes Cabana to the corner and breaks clean. Taylor gets a three quarter nelson and snapmares Cabana, but Cabana rolls to his feet. Another three quarter nelson from Taylor and another snapmare with Cabana landing on his feet so Taylor hits a pair of dropkicks to send Cabana to the floor where he pantomimes his shock that Taylor can still hit dropkicks. Taylor ties Cabana up again with a straitjacket hold and steps on the back of Cabana's knees to break him down, but Cabana reverses to one of his own. Taylor reverses back to the advantage and rams into Cabana's shoulder a couple of times, but Cabana uses Taylor's momentum to backdrop him across the ring. Cabana goes for a handshake and pulls Taylor in, but Taylor backdrops him and just wallops Cabana with a European uppercut, then hits a second one and traps Cabana in an armbar/crossface combo. Taylor breaks Cabanadown flat and drops elbows across Cabana's arm, then lets him out and whips Cabana to the ropes but Cabana ducks the clothesline and hits some jabs, only to eat another European uppercut from Taylor. Taylor with an ankle pick and applies a stepover toehold, then releases Cabana and stretches the leg out before smashing his elbow into the bridge of Cabana's nose. Taylor back to the armbar/crossface and Cabana makes the ropes, so Taylor breaks clean and whips Cabana across the ring, but Cabana slips through the legs, whips Taylor to the corner and hits the Flying Apple. Taylor smashes him with another European uppercut, but Cabana gets a schoolboy rollup and gets the three count.
Winner: Colt Cabana
That was terrific, so much psychology in that one and everything they did meant something. I really hope they bring Dave Taylor in again at some point, there's so much he can bring to the company both in the ring and behind the scenes.
Taylor gets a "thank you Dave" chant on his way out and Prince Nana gets mad that Taylor lost, but Barrister RD Evans tells him not to worry about it because they have another match up next...
Homicide vs Tommaso Ciampa
Ciampa sneak attacks Homicide with a dropkick, but Homicide quickly responds by tossing Ciampa to the floor and ramming him repeatedly into the guardrails, then ramming the guardrails into Ciampa. Homicide grabbed a chair and the referee pulled it away, so Homicide rammed Ciampa into the rail again. Homicide drops Ciampa throat first on the guardrail and then rolls him back into the ring where he catches Ciampa with a flying back elbow. Homicide whips Ciampa into the ropes and catches him again with an overhead release suplex. Ciampa scurries back out to the floor and Homicide goes for the tope suicida, but Ciampa's entire group jumps up on the apron to distract Homicide and allow Ciampa to sneak up from behind and pick Homicide up in a torture rack into a sitout F5 for 2. Ciampa whips Homicide hard in to the corner and hit a running knee to the jaw and covered for 2. Homicide nailed Ciampa and went up in the corner for punches and Ciampa tried to carry him out into the ring for a powerbomb, but Homicide kept drilling him and Ciampa goes down. Homicide goes for a lariat, but Ciampa kicks the arm and hits a lariat of his own for 2. Ciampa yells at Homicide and slaps him in the face, but Homicide gets fired up and goes toe-to-toe with Ciampa in the middle of the ring. Ciampa tries a charge and Homicide sidesteps him to send Ciampa back to the floor. Homicide goes out and continues the assault on the floor, then goes up to the stage and hits a running suicide dive off of the stage and onto Ciampa at ringside. That was just insane. Homicide sends Ciampa back into the ring and hits a tornado DDT and a T-bone suplex for 2. Homicide goes for another lariat but Ciampa catches Homicide for a Boss Man Slam into a backbreaker for 2. Homicide recovers and beats Ciampa down in the corner and hits the Facewash, then goes for a Butterfly something, but Mia gets on the apron to distract the referee and Ciampa hits a neckbreaker cutter for 2. Ciampa goes to finish Homicide with the powerbomb backbreaker, but Homicide slips out and hits the Ace Crusher. Homicide sets for the Cop Killa but Mia is up on the apron again and Homicide goes after her, but Ciampa sneaks up on Homicide and hits a Northern Lights Suplex for 3.
Winner: Tommaso Ciampa
Homicide is so happy for the biggest victory of Ciampa's career that he grabs a chair and brings it into the ring. RD Evans warns Homicide not to do it, so Homicide launches it at Evans and knocks him out. Mia gets in Homicide's face and Homicide grabs her by the hair, but Prince Nana is able to drag Mia to safety on the floor.
Kevin Kelly and Dave Prazak talk about how Christopher Daniels refused to shake Eddie Edwards' hand after their match last night, and Dave Prazak reminds us that Daniels refused to follow the Code Of Honor going all the way back to the beginning of ROH.
Michael Elgin vs Christopher Daniels
Daniels attacks Elgin right at the bell and beats him senseless and rams him from corner to corner. Daniels with a running forearm in the corner and then knocks Elgin to the floor and follows him with a dive over the top rope. Daniels rams Elgin into the ring apron and then into the guardrail, then back into the apron again before rolling him back in the ring. Daniels comes right back in but Elgin picks him up and just dumps him with a Bodybag. Elgin with a hard whip into the corner and follows him in with a charging clothesline. Daniels with a chinbreaker and a leaping enziguiri sends Elgin back to the floor, but Elgin dodges a baseball slide and picks Daniels up to try and ram him into the ringpost, but Daniels slipped out and Elgin hits the post instead. Elgin gets back in the ring and tries to suplex Daniels in, but Daniels lands on his feet so Elgin charges him with a shoulderblock that sends Daniels to the floor. Elgin goes to the outside and rams Daniels all the way across the ring and through the barricade. Elgin tosses Daniels back into the ring and hits a Patriot Missile for 2, then a very delayed vertical suplex for another 2. Daniels fights back and hits another chinbreaker, but Elgin nails him and rams him into the ringpost, then sits on the top rope and puts Daniels in a Boston Crab in the corner! Elgin is so awesome. Elgin goes back up top but misses whatever he was trying and Daniels comes back with jabs and a flying leg lariat. Daniels drops Elgin to his knees and hits a Northern Lariat and a second rope curb stomp for 2. Elgin blocks Angel's Wings and another second rope curb stomp and hits a twisting pump handle driver for 2, then powerslams Daniels into the corner, hangs onto him, and hits a Cyclone for 2. Elgin goes up top but misses a twisting senton, and Daniels goes for a uranage but Elgin blocks and gets an O'Connor roll into a pair of forearms to the back of the head and comes off the ropes into an STO from Daniels. Elgin scores with a back elbow, Daniels ducks a lariat, but Elgin hits a second one and yells at Daniels to get up. Elgin goes for a powerbomb, Daniels lands on his feet, and lowblows Elgin, drawing boos from the fans. Daniels regards them for a moment before hitting the BME for the win.
Winner: Christopher Daniels
Well, that was interesting. I figured Daniels might start to go down a more heelish role after last night, and it looks like some of the old Daniels will start to come back. Kevin Kelly notes that Truth Martini barely moved a muscle during that match and suggests that he might be starting to sour on Michael Elgin.
Jim Cornette kicks off the second half by saying he won't take too much time since the ROH main events go longer than a minute and 28 seconds, drawing a f*** TNA chant from the crowd. He politely asks them who is at their first ROH show (getting a loud reaction) and how many people think ROH is the best wrestling around today (getting an even louder reaction). Cornette guarantees everyone there and on iPPV that they will always do their best to justify our time and money on their product. He then asks Davey Richards to come join him in the ring, and asks him for his thoughts on his match tonight against Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin. Davey says he has a lot of respect for Benjamin and Haas, but even though they've come into ROH and steamrolled over everyone, but the American Wolves are on another level and when they get in the ring with them, they'll be in for a fight. He thanks the fans for the reaction they gave Eddie Edwards because he embodies everything there is to do with honor. Davey is proud of Eddie and people might think he's getting jealous, but he's known what Eddie was about all along and he's always had the spirit and honor it takes to be a champion. Cornette brings up Davey's tough break against Roderick Strong at Final Battle, but points out that Davey has been undefeated since and avenged that loss to Roderick last night. Cornette brings up Davey's quest to make sure he's at his best the next time he challenges for the World Title since it will be the last time and he wants to be ready, but tells Davey that ROH is a business and needs to sell tickets and DVDs and says that they're going to make that match. Davey looks very unhappy about being put in the position to fight Eddie, and says he understands ROH's position, but this is Eddie's time and he's not saying he'll never fight Eddie because they've already done it once, but this is Eddie's time and he's not going to be the guy to destroy his brother's dream.
Eddie Edwards' music hits and he comes out to join in the conversation, and Cornette asks for his position on this. Eddie says he feels the same way as Davey because they're partners, Wolves, and family...but Davey said he didn't want to be the one to crush his dreams and he made it sound like it would be a foregone conclusion that he would beat Eddie. He knows Davey didn't mean it that way, and points out that the one time they did wrestle, he came out on top. Cornette says he's not trying to break up any friendships, but there's a lot of money on the table and asks them to consider it. Davey says he knows that at the end of the day Cornette is a promoter, and if they end up having to fight each other then that'll happen, but tonight it's about the American Wolves against the ROH World Tag Team Champions. Eddie finishes by telling Haas & Benjamin that tonight, the hunt is on!
SHIMMER Tag Team Title Match: Daizee Haze & Tomoka Nakagawa vs Hiroyo Matsumoto & Ayumi Kurihara
Nakagawa and Matsumoto start off and Matsumoto runs over Nakagawa with a series of shoulderblocks, but Daizee comes in and nails Matsumoto from behind. Matsumoto bowls through a double clothesline attempt and hits a double crossbody for 2. Kurihara tags in and nails Nakagawa with a clothesline and locks in a kneeling figure four, but Daizee comes in and boots Kurihara in the chest and then Nakagawa goes to the eyes. Daizee tags in and does a fast paced sequence with Kurihara, who locks Daizee into the cross armbreaker in the ropes that actually drags Daizee over the top to the floor. Kurihara goes to the top and Nakagawa runs over and sprays water in her eyes, allowing Daizee to dump her off the top rope and cover for 2. Nakagawa snapmares Kurihara, rakes her boots across the face, and dropkicks her in the face for 2. Nakagawa gets caught with a running victory roll from Kurihara for 2, but Daizee runs across the ring and nails Matsumoto and they follow it up with a double baseball slide to Kurihara for 2. Nakagawa comes back in and gets caught with a dropkick, and Kurihara makes the hot tag to Matsumoto, who comes in and runs over both girls with shoulderblocks. Matsumoto went for the backdrop driver, Makagawa tries to counter to a victory roll, but Matsumoto hangs on and hits the suplex anyway. Daizee tries a sleeper on Matsumoto and hangs on her back, but Kurihara jumps onto Matsumoto's front and she carries them both over for a double kneedrop on Nakagawa. Kurihara and Matsumoto hit a series of running knees to Nakagawa and then Kurihara hits a running dropkick to send Nakagawa through the ropes. Nakagawa manages to make the tag to Daizee, but Kurihara gets a lungblower and tags Matsumoto and then all hell breaks loose with all four girls in the ring. Kurihara hits an overhead uranage on Daizee and then Matsumoto hits a backdrop driver on Daizee but Nakagawa pulls the referee out of the ring before he can count 3. Daizee recovers and hits a heart punch and running Yakuza Kick on Matsumoto, Nakagawa hits a leaping enziguiri, and Daizee finishes with a Tiger Suplex.
Winners: Daizee Haze & Tomoka Nakagawa
That was awesome, great match and the SHIMMER crew had a great overall showing this weekend.
All Night Express vs Jay & Mark Briscoe
The Briscoes got the jump on King and Titus by coming out of the crowd and attacking them from behind, and the fight quickly spilled out to the floor with the Briscoes basically destroying the ANX. Mark went for a piledriver but Titus backdrops him on the floor as Jay rammed King into the guardrail. They head back into the ring and try to double team King, and Mark gets backdropped to the floor but Jay superkicks King. Titus makes a blind tag and comes in with a slingshot shoulderblock for 2. Mark comes back in and beats King down as a second referee comes in the ring to try and control this. This is so going to end in a DQ. The referees put Mark and King out to the apron as Titus works Jay over with a chop and a sweet dropkick for 2. Inverted atomic drop/clothesline combo gets 2 for King, and then King gets a snap suplex and starts drilling Jay in the face with rights. Titus with a charging elbow in the corner and then whips Jay into a leaping spinkick from King for 2. Jay makes a blind tag to Mark, who comes in with a clothesline to Titus and then pummels titus with crossfaces and punches. Mark takes a shot at King and then the Briscoes take Titus out to the floor, ram him into the barricade, and then double whip him into the ringpost, busting him open. Jay walks him around ringside to show off his handiwork, then dumps him back into the ring so Mark can gouge at his face and drill him with more punches and crossfaces. Briscoes with a double football tackle to Titus, and then Jay unloads with chops and punches in the corner, then just stomps him into oblivion. Mark comes in and lights Titus up with chops and then bites him on the head. Jay clears off the timekeeper's table as Mark hits a slingshot double stomp for 2. Titus desperately tries to make the tag, but Mark cuts him off and puts him in the corner so Jay can hit a running boot to the face and a charging clothesline, followed by a snapmare and baseball slide for 2, and Titus counters with a crucifix for 2 but gets right up into a superkick from Jay. Mark comes in and puts Titus on top, but Titus shoves him off and hits a double kneedrop from the top and tags King in. King comes in and destroys Jay with clotheslines and a cartwheel kick followed by a cradle suplex for 2. King leapfrogs Jay and hits shotgun knees in the corner for 2. King gets Jay in a fireman's carry and Jay slides out to the apron to escape, but Titus comes out of nowhere to hit the Sex Factor through the timekeeper's table. King and Mark are going at it in the ring, and Titus joins in for a 2-on-1 beatdown on Mark. ANX goes for the double football tackle, but Jay drags Titus to the floor and Mark hits King with a superkick and then a bloody Jay Briscoe comes in and kills King with a clothesline and sprays blood out of his mouth at the audience. Jay with a Falcon Arrow suplex for 2 on King, then Mark puts Titus up top and goes for a top rope suplerplex, but Titus slid under and dumped him face first on the ringpost. Jay and Titus go face to face and exchange blows in the middle of the ring, and Jay sprays more blood at Titus and fires rights at him, but that just fires Titus up who comes back with a hard clothesline to lay Jay out. Titus and King hit the Blockbuster/powerbomb combo and go for the cover, but Mark makes the save and then gets summarily dumped to the floor. The ANX go for a double team on Jay, but Mark nails Titus and Jay hits the Jay Driller on King for the win.
Winners: Jay & Mark Briscoe
What a hell of a fight, the blood was just insane and Jay Briscoe was covered with crimson, and him repeatedly spraying it out of his mouth was a hell of a visual. King and Titus looked amazing here as well. Jay gets the microphone after the match and tells the fans to look at Rhett Titus bleeding like a bitch. He says this is the new side of the Briscoes and they don't care if the fans don't give a s*** about the Briscoes because they don't give a s*** about them, and they don't care who it is because they're not losing anymore.
Roderick Strong vs El Generico
They do wristlock exchanges to start, but Roderick gets a cheap kick to the gut and then starts stomping Generico, but Generico comes back with some chops. Roderick kicks at Generico's knee and then boots him in the head, but Generico catches him with a series of armdrags and goes up in the corner for the diez punch count and then hits a leg lariat for 2. Generico goes for a springboard move from the apron, but Truth Martini yanks Generico down by the ankle and puts the boots to Generico on the floor. Generico gets back in the ring and Roderick covers for 2, then goes to a neck vice. Roderick with a vertical suplex for 2 and then goes to a chinlock, Generico fights his way free but Roderick gets a dropkick for 2 and then locks him in a Sabu clutch. Generico makes the ropes and goes to the floor, so Roderick follows him out and works him over with hard forearms. Generico fires back with some shots of his own so Roderick cracks him with a leaping knee to the jaw and whips him into the barricade, and then whips Truth Martini into Generico, getting a pop from the crowd. Roderick rolls Generico back into the ring and covers for 2, then gets a leg nelson, then leans forward and nails Generico with a few crossfaces. Generico rocked backward to put Roderick to his back for a 2 count, but Roderick comes right back and just destroys Generico in the corner with chops and stomps. Generico gets whipped hard to the corner but comes out with a series of clotheslines, Roderick responds with some forearms of his own but Generico hit a Blue Thunder Driver for 2. Roderick blocked the half nelson suplex and went for a superkick, but Generico rolls him up for 2. Roderick comes off the ropes and Generico catches him with a Michinoku Driver for 2, then feeds off the fans and goes for the running Yakuza Kick in the corner, but Roderick gets the boot up and follows right up with a leaping enziguiri, then a pair of running forearms in the corner and a cradle backbreaker for 2. Generico goes for the climbing DDT but Roderick blocks and hits a leaping knee for 2. They exchange forearms in the middle of the ring with Roderick coming out on top, Generico spits in Roderick's face, Roderick spits back and boots Generico in the face, Generico comes back with a big boot of his own and now hits the climbing DDT. Roderick spills to the floor and Generico goes for a dive, but Truth Martini grabs his ankle and pulls him to the floor, then gets in the ring and sets up for a dive of his own, but Roderick pulls the ropes down as he tries to drag himself back up and Truth tumbles to the floor then Generico knocks Roderick back to the floor and finally wipes both men out with the dive. Generico hits the running Yakuza Kick in the corner and the half-and-half suplex for 2. Generico motions for the top rope brainbuster and sets Roderick up top, but Roderick blocks. Generico is persistent and tries again, but Truth Martini distracts the referee while Michael Elgin runs in and tries to attack Generico. Generico takes him out and Roderick tries to catch him unawares, but Generico catches him coming in and hits the brainbuster for the win.
Winner: El Generico
Good match, though not the blowaway classic I expected after the way the SoCal Showdown II match was talked up. Michael Elgin and Truth Martini attack Generico after the match, but Colt Cabana runs out to make the save. Cabana goes to nail Truth Martini, but Elgin attacks him from behind and puts the boots to Cabana. Daniels runs in with the Book of Truth in his hand and goes to nail Elgin with it, but instead turns and hits Generico. Daniels hands a smiling Truth Martini the Book of Truth, then gives Cabana the Angel's Wings. Daniels and Roderick go face-to-face, then smileat each other and go back to beating up Cabana and Generico, finishing with Roderick hitting a uranage through a chair on Generico. The new and improved House of Truth raise their arms in victory to the booing fans, and then Daniels and Truth Martini shake hands before heading to the back.
ROH World Tag Team Champions Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin vs American Wolves
This is non-title. Davey and Haas start us off, with the crowd evenly split between both men. They do a mat wrestling sequence with neither man getting a clear advantage. Davey asks the fans if they want him to team Eddie in, and the fans react positively so he makes the tag and Haas goes and makes the tag to Shelton. Shelton shoots in with a double leg takedown and pretty easily outwrestles Edwards, but Eddie goes to the ropes and tries a test of strength instead. Shelton powers Eddie down into a bridge and tries straddling Eddieand bouncing his body weight onto Eddie, but can't break the bridge and Eddie ends up kicking to his feet and hitting a Frankensteiner. Crowd chants "that's our champ" at Eddie, and they tie up again. Shelton takes Eddie to the corner and tags out to Haas, but Eddie breaks cleans and tags out to Davey, who takes Haas down with a single leg and hooks the ankle. Davey tags Eddie and and they do a wishbone split and Eddie covers for 1. Davey back in and locks Haas in an Indian Deathlock and then turns it into a Muta Lock, but Haas makes the ropes so the Wolves tag in and out and work over the left arm of Haas. Davey hit a top rope double stomp on the arm and covers for 2, then tries a cross armbreaker but Haas clasps the hands, so Davey goes to a top wristlock instead. Eddie comes in with a double stomp to the arm and gets a nasty armbar where he kneels on Haas' shoulder and pulls up on the arm.
Davey comes in and rams Haas to the corner, but Haas returns the favor by literally launching Davey into the corner and making the tag to Shelton, who comes in and ties Davey up with a half nelson while ramming knees into the ribs and then ramming Davey hard into the corner and then covering for 2. Shelton with a gourdbuster for 2 and tags out to Haas for a wishbone of their own. Haas again rams Davey into the corner and covers for 2, then gets a chinlock with a bodyscissors. Davey reverses to a surfboard and Shelton comes in to save his partner, then tags in for a headbutt to the lower adbomen of Davey. Shelton fights for it and turns Davey over into a Boston Crab, but Eddie comes in and saves his partner with a kick to the face. Haas tags in and hits a running kneedrop for 2 and goes back to the chinlock, but Davey fights free and hits the handspring enziguiri. Haas rolls to the outside and Davey goes for the dive but Shelton comes in and nails him. Shelton tries to toss Davey to the floor, Davey reverses and tries to dump Shelton, Shelton tries to skin the cat back in but Eddie dropkicks him in the face and dumps him again, then the Wolves hit stereo dives and nearly drive Haas & Benjamin through the barricade.
They head back in where Eddie slams Haas and Davey hits an assisted flying headbutt for 2. Eddie with a chop on Haas and rams him to the corner for a charging elbow, then a snap suplex gets 2. Crowd chants "let's go champ" at Eddie, then locks him in a kneeling abdominal stretch and cradles Haas back into a crucifix for 2. Haas drives Eddie back to the corner and tags Shelton in, and Shelton superkicks Eddie's knee out from under him. That was unique. Shelton DDTs Eddie's foot multiple times and goes for a figure four until the crowd starts whooing at him and he just drops the legs and tags out to Haas. Haas drops on the leg and gets a side angle Indian Deathlock, and he and Eddie exchange chops while still locked in the hold. Eddie comes out on top to break the hold, but Haas just drops Eddie with a vicious single leg takedown, then tags in Shelton, who comes over the top with a vertical drop on the knee. Shelton picks Eddie up atomic drop-style, but just rams Eddie's knee into the top turnbuckle before hooking a toehold. Eddie makes the ropes so Shelton goes for a powerbomb, Eddie tries to fight it off, but Shelton powers him up and Eddied goes over the top and gets a sunset flip for 2. Shelton does "superkick uh oh you caught my foot but haha you threw my leg away so I'm going to spinkick you now" and then tags out to Haas. Eddie slips out of a suplex attempt and gets a second rope Codebreaker onto his bad knee, kicks away from Shelton, and makes the hot tag.
Davey comes in with a double missile dropkick and assaults Haas in the corner, then sets him up top. Haas tries to fight Davey off and headbutts him into the ring, but Davey fires up and goes back to the top to deliver repeated headbutts back to Haas, just headbutting him over and over until Haas is knocked silly, and then hits a top rope superplex on Haas for 2. Haas blocks a suplex and tries to counter to one of his own, but Davey slips out the back and gets a victory roll into the anklelock. Haas rolls through and sends Davey hurtling into the corner, and Shelton makes a blind tag and Haas catapults Davey into a fireman's carry by Shelton, but Davey counters to a crucifix for 2. Davey with kicks and kicks in the corner and now all four men are in the ring. Wolves with a pair of leaping enziguiris and dump Haas to the floor, then hit a double knockout kick to Shelton for 2. Wolves with the double team Alarm Clock on Shelton, then they go for the superkick German Suplex combo, but Haas breaks it up and they hit stereo rolling Germans to the Wolves, and then the Wolves hit stereo rolling Germans of their own, then switch opponents and hit more rolling Germans. Haas & Benjamin both hit switches and start delivering more rolling Germans to the Wolves until the Wolves get stereo victory rolls that get 2, and then a pair of double clotheslines wipe all four men out.
The crowd is really into this as Davey and Haas regain their footing and exchange blows in the middle of the ring. Haas comes out on top so Davey hits a spinning enziguiri out of nowhere, then eats a nasty superkick from Shelton. Shelton turns around and gets superkicked by Eddie, and then Haas comes over and hits an Angle Slam on Eddie. It's back to Haas and Davey, and Davey fires repeated forearms at Haas, but Haas gets an inverted atomic drop and Shelton follows with another superkick for 2. Haas & Benjamin put Davey on top, but Davey dumps Haas to the floor so Shelton comes up the ropes and Davey knocks him off, so Shelton runs up the ropes for a hard kick to Davey. Eddie nails Shelton and they hit a double team powerbomb into a super lungblower for 2, then Davey gets Shelton in an ankle lock as Eddie gets Haas in an Achilles Lock. Shelton kicks Davey off into Eddie and then hits the leaping Flatliner for the win.
Winners: Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin
Really good match with the champs getting the win after the expected miscommunication between the Wolves. Both teams go to one knee and shake each other's hands, but then Eddie and Davey have words and Eddie walks out on Davey. The crowd chants "next world champ" at Davey, and he looks around at them nodding, as if saying "Yeah, screw Eddie. I want my World Title." The Wolves' music hits and Davey heads to the back to close the show.
This was a bit of a letdown after last night's show, but I even said at the end of last night that they set a standard that would be hard to live up to. It was still solid and had some good stuff on here, but was more about setting up storylines for the next few months than killer workrate like last night. Thumbs up overall, and I'd still recommend buying the replays of both shows, which you can do by clicking the poster at the top of this report.
2012 - Brock Lesnar returned to WWE as part of Monday Night Raw. Mike Johnson filed the following TV report:
It's the night after Raw in Miami, so here we go with Monday Night Raw!
The entire roster is gathered for a meeting with John Laurinaitis, now in charge of both Raw and Smackdown. Laurinatis said that he became the most powerful person in WWE by becoming the man running both shows, but he's going to use his power to give to the people. He announces Santino Marella will defend the US title against both Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger in a Triple Theat match. At least it's not a handicap match. They scared me there for a second. The challengers are loving this while Santino knows he's sunk.
WWE champ CM Punk pushed his way through everyone and said he has a statement to make on behalf of the fans and the roster. He said that despite the fact Laurinaitis is now the GM of both shows, they all still consider him to be a giant toolbox. Ace said that Punk is always telling jokes. Punk says he likes a good rib, but he's not joking. Punk is told he's going to have to defend the WWE title against Mark Henry. Ace says this will be a new era, the era of "People Power." The members of Team Johnny are loving this while everyone else is disgusted.
Following the theme song, out comes the victorious Rock making a grand entrance to the ring in his hometown. The crowd chants, "Boots to Asses." Rock tries to start his promo but is stopped by the fans chanting, "You still got it." He thanks them and says that 14 months ago, he returned to WWE and they had all sorts of fun electrifying arenas across the country, but it wasn't until last night, when Rock stood before a history making crowd in Sun Life Stadium victorious, that he was able to say, "Finally, the Rock has come back....home." Big pop for that. You can see Rock has goosebumps. No sooner than I typed that did he show everyone.
The Rock said that there is one man he has to thank, John Cena. The crowd booed the hell out of that idea. He said last night, Cena brought it to The Rock like never before. Rock started to recount the things that Cena did to himself in the ring, saying that when he was in the STF, he was having a JHC Moment - Jesus H. Christ, get this guy off of me! Rock said that it was an honor to compete in the biggest match of all time last night. He said that win or lose, they did it for the fans.
Rock said he wanted to thank Cena and his family and friends who came from all over the world, but more importantly, he wanted to thank the people. Rock said in 1995, he was cut from the Canadian Football League. He asked if anyone had any idea how bad you have to be to be cut by the Canadian Football League. He said it was thanks to the people of Miami that he stands before everyone today as the People's champion.
Rock said that for those who believes this the end of the Rock's WWE return, he guarantees that this is just the beginning. The crowd starts doing the Daniel Bryan "Yes! Yes! Yes!" chant. He said that ever since last night, Rock has had this vision in mind. He told a story of going out celebrating last night after winning last night and had a vision. He woke up this morning and started telling people about it, but was told it was impossible. Rock said that he wipes the monkey's a** with the world impossible and asked if they wanted to hear his vision. Rock says that one day, he will walk down the aisle as the WWE champion. He promised it would come true one day.
Rock vs. Punk works for me!
As Rock exits, they pitch it to a video package about John Cena, noting that he stated if he lost to the Rock, he would lose everything. They tease he will be here later to call out Rock and wonder what his mindset may be.
WWE United States champion Santino Marella vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Jack Swagger
The challengers worked over Santino together, then took turns controlling him while also mocking him. Marella ducked a charge and backdropped Zigger over the top to the floor. Swagger laid out Marella as they went to commercial.
When they returned, Marella was still in a compromised position as the challengers teamed on him. Marella kicked Swagger off and nailed Ziggler. He hit several hiptossed and pulled out the Cobra, but was nailed by Ziggler and drilled. They doubleteamed Santino. Ziggler went for the cover, which upset Swagger. They had words and Swagger nailed a belly to belly on him.
Santino avoided a Vader splash. He nailed a catapult into the turnbuckles on Ziggler, then drilled Swagger with the Cobra and scored the pin.
Your winner and still United States champion, Santino Marella!
The challengers attacked Marella, who escaped and ran up the aisle. They followed him but out came Brodus Clay. Swagger and Ziggler backed off. Clay challenged them. The place started chanting for the Funkasaurus. Ziggler charged and leapt at Brodus but was nailed with a headbutt and took a hard bump onto the ramp. Guerrero's team backed off. Clay, Santino and Clay's dancers began dancing on the stage, effectively turning Swagger and Ziggler into a complete non-threat by showing the world they were so unimportant, the heroes could goof off and dance.
As an angle to make Clay, it was a fine way to integrate him into their storylines but they lost me the second they started dancing.
Lord Tensai vs. Alex Riley
Tensai came out dressed like The Great Kabuki, complete with a second who tossed salt in the air. They explained he was a former WWE star who went to Japan after leaving WWE. They said he dominated in Japan. The crowd chanted, "Welcome back" and "A Train."
Tenai elbowed Riley and worked him over in the corner, while looking stoic. Tenai whipped Riley hard into the buckles, then drilled him with a series of headbutts in the corner, forcing Riley to crumple in the corner. He powered Riley up with a double wing suplex, then held him in the air, before dropping him down. Tensai killed him with a pair of running elbowdrops and a big splash.
Tenai continued to beat down Riley in the corner. With each move, the crowd yelled, "Yes!" then started chanting for Daniel Bryan. Lots of Wrestlemania holdovers from last night still in Miami. Tensai nailed the sitdown Baldo Bomb. The referee called for the bell, ruling the match was over.
Your winner, Lord Tensai!
Riley tried to pull himself up but was too hurt. He finally used the ropes to his feet. Tensai spewed his own hand with mist and then applied the IRON CLAW!
It was an OK debut in terms of introducing a new monster but he really needed someone smaller to be bouncing like a pinfall. That said, I like the character thus far. I have to think that fans who haven't seen him since Tensai left WWE will be surprised at how much he's improved.
They showed some stills from Wrestlemania. When they showed one of Sheamus as the World champion, the live crowd booed.
We went to a video package on Cena losing the biggest match of his career. The announcers said that the only thing they know for sure is that Cena will call out Rock.
WWE champ CM Punk vs. Mark Henry.
Henry used his power to control the champ early. Punk fired back with chops and kicks, then a dropkick or two. The crowd chanted for Punk. Henry absorbed the dropkicks and nailed Punk when he went for another. Henry stood over Punk's back, squashed him underneath.
Henry went to set up for a move but Punk fired away with knee strikes. Henry cut him off with a running clothesline. Henry covered Punk for a two count. He began screaming at Punk that he owned him. We're seeing signs of the monster evil Henry that became World champion before he was hurt with the groin injury. He beat down Punk in the corner. The crowd chanted for Punk, who fought back with a series of kicks to the chest. Punk leapt at Henry but was caught in a bearhug. Punk was able to elbow himself out and DDT Henry for a two count.
Punk fired away with kicks to the chest and rebounded with a leaping knee to the face for a two count. Henry cut him off and went for the splash off the ropes. Punk tried to stop him but was taken out. Henry missed the splash. Punk went for the springboard clothesline but Henry clobbered him with a big clothesline.
When they returned from commercial, Punk came off the top but was drilled in the mid-section by Henry. Henry locked on a trapezious hold, trying to force a submission. Punk pulled himself up and dropped down into a jawbreaker. Punk nailed several kicks but was nailed. Henry missed a charge in the corner and was peppered with chops and a roundhouse kick. He is finally felled by a superkick.
Punk went to the top for the Savage elbowdrop but hurt his mid-section. Punk nailed the running knee in the cornee, then a second. He went for the bulldog out of the corner but Henry just grabbed him and dumped him over the top to the floor. Punk is unable to return to the ring in time and is counted out.
Your winner, Mark Henry by countout!
Henry realized that he didn't win the title. They explained he was dazed from the knees to the head and wasn't thinking about what he was doing. He grabbed Punk and nailed the World's Strongest Slam on the floor.
John Laurinaitis came out and said that going forward, Punk is going to be defending the belt against top competition on a regular basis. He said it was going to be like a natural disaster. Punk was out cold on the floor.
Chris Jericho showed up from, I guess, the crowd and took a ring mic. He asked if that was the man that beat him last night laying there. Jericho said that they had a classic match last night and they should celebrate with a drink. He had a bottle of jack daniels. Michael Hayes on standby. Jericho said he promised Punk he would be the reason Punk had his first drink and would end up just like Punk's father. He said he was proposing a toast to his father and Wrestlemania, then poured them entire bottle all over Punk's face, head and mouth. The taste of it woke Punk up somewhat. Jericho kicked Punk but slipped on the wet mat. Jericho said Punk was down and out and wanted another drink. He had another bottle. Hayes must be restrained at this point. Punk was facedown on the mat. Jericho said that he needed to warn Punk that he was going to want another and another, but to be careful or it would go straight to his head. He smashed the bottle over Punk's head. Jericho walked off. Medics were checking on Punk as they went to commercial. Great angle.
They showed stills of Sheamus winning the belt last night from Daniel Bryan.
Justin Roberts introduced Sheamus. The majority of the Arena booed him. It's going to be a promo. I expect Daniel Bryan chants aplenty. Nope, no time as Sheamus was about to cut a promo when out came Alberto Del Rio, introduced by Ricardo. The announcers put it over as the last two Royal Rumble winners being face to face.
Del Rio told Sheamus that he won the World title in record time. The Arena chanted for Daniel Bryan. Del Rio told him that no one will remember the title win in a month, because he has a new challenger, one that doesn't hide behind a chica - Alberto Del Rio. The crowd chanted "Thief" at Sheamus. Sheamus told Alberto it was great to see him because the people don't want to see him talk but kick someone in the face. More boos for Sheamus. The fans chanted, "No! No! No!"
Del Rio said that he isn't looking for a fight, since he has one already. Del Rio announced John Laurinaitis has given him a match against Sheamus for Friday and if he wins, he gets a title shot. He started to cut a promo as the Bryan chants began again. Del Rio's mic went out so he stammered and started again, then it went dead. He turned to Ricardo to get his and turned back into a Brouge Kick.
The crowd reactions completely killed the segment, which was pretty damn funny.
Backstage, Daniel Bryan and AJ were watching on a monitor. The Arena went nuts chanting "Yes! Yes! Yes!" John Mathews asked Bryan for comment. The crowd chanted for Bryan. He just glared at Mathews, who got the hint and backed off.
They show Machine Gun Kelly at ringside.
Cody Rhodes vs. Kofi Kingston
They had a nice back and forth. Rhodes nailed a Beautiful Disaster and began working over Kingston.
Big Show's music played. Out came Show, who showed a video of what happened last night, getting Rhodes back for all the videos he played mocking Show.
Kingston nailed Rhodes with the Trouble in Paradise while he was distracted and got the pin.
Your winner, Kofi Kingston!
Nothing match. Just an angle.
I am surprised that after that heavy angle with Punk, we haven't been given any updates.
Backstage, Mark Henry was pissed, Abraham Washington (remember him?) showed up and said Henry needed help. He offered his management services and walked off after giving Henry a business card.
Michael Cole said tonight was the culmination of a great week. Well, actually that was last night. They talked about the Hell in A Cell match and Kane beating Randy Orton. Jerry Lawler said the only lowlight of the show was John Laurinaitis getting the win thanks to Eve Torres.
Eve came out and said that everyone wants to have their Wrestlemania moment, so last night, she had hers. She said that she manipulated Zack Ryder and it was easy. She said it's easy to manipulate any man except John Laurinaitis because powerful men can't be manipulated. She said that if her actions helped him, then so be and declared herself behind "People Power." Nothing promo.
We had a recap of Rock's comments earlier tonight.
Zack Ryder vs. The Miz
Odd this is going on at 10:50. They said Cena just arrived.
They go back and forth. Ryder went for the Bootscrape but was cut off. Miz locked on a side chinlock. Ryder tossed him off, then kicked off a charge. Ryder slammed Miz's face into the mat and nailed Miz in the corner.. Ryder nailed the Broski Boot for a two count.
Miz grabbed Ryder and ran him shoulder-first into the ringpost, then nailed the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin.
Your winner, Miz!
Short match but they were working hard.
We saw a shot of Cena's locker room. He's going to call out Rock next.
They announced the Smackdown main events.
A somber John Cena came to the ring. He stood in the ring getting booed and acted like he didn't know what to say. He said that he never thought of losing, but now that it's happened, it's time to do it right. He said that is the obligation of those who believe in him. Cena said that we all take defeats in life, quoting Muhammad Ali. Cena said that he talked a lot during the road to Wrestlemania that anyone else in his shoes would be making excuses but that's not him. Cena said that he meant every single thing that he said. He meants it there and means it now. He said there was never a moment where he thought he would lose, because if you think about losing, you do. He said a true champion maintains himself in defeat.
Cena said there was speculation about how he would react. The crowd chanted, "You're a loser." He said that people wondered if this would be the day he lashed out at the WWE Universe. "YES! YES! YES!" chants. Cena said that it wouldn't happen. They booed him for that.
Cena said that he was a man and as a man, he will own up and accept defeat. He said that last night he lost to the Rock. More "YES!" chants. Cena said that there will be critics that will make last night the most important of his career but it will not be his fans. Cena thanked everyone for their support - family, friends, loved ones and even Machine Gun Kelly, who also gets booed out. Cena said that he is going to scrape off his boots and move on.
He said that he's not here to call out The Rock because they settled it last night. HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE "We want Lesnar" chant. Cena said it was, "An always interesting crowd here on Monday Night Raw" and said he would like the Rock to return to the ring. He said that Rock has earned his respect after all they have been through. Cena said he wants The Rock and the world to know that Cena considers him a champion and an inspiration. Cena said that after last night, he considers Rock to be the best Superstar in this industry.
Cena says that he wants one more moment of celebration for Dwayne Johnson in the ring. Cena said it's been an exhausting year mentally and verbally laying it out. HUUUUUUUUUUUGE Lesnar chants again. Cena said that he understands the excitement in the air but he put his heart and soul into last night (that got booed) but he came up short. The crowd chanted, "YES! YES! YES!" so Cena did it with them and said, "Daniel Bryan, you owe me one." That got a Bryan chant. Cena said that this is why he loves Raw and asked Rock to come out so he can congratulate him on his victory.
Brock Lesnar's music hit and out he came. Huge pop. Lesnar smirked and stalked around the stage. Cena smirked at him. Lesnar made his way to the ring. "Holy sh**" chant. He walked around ringside. Cena clapped for Lesnar as he entered the ring. He offered Cena his hand. Cena took it and was nailed with an F5.
Lesnar stepped on the ropes as Michael Cole declared that Brock Lesnar is back.New Series on Thursday Nights Beginning April 4th!
New England Championship Wrestling (NECW) proudly announces its broadcast television debut with a weekly half-hour broadcast on Boston’s PLUM TV, WMFP TV, Channel 62 in Boston, Thursday nights at 12:30 AM beginning April 4, 2013.
Presenting professional wrestling “from New England, for New England fans,” New England Championship Wrestling has been presenting live events throughout the region since 2000. The emphasis is on local stars.
“In many ways, New England Championship Wrestling is a throwback to how pro wrestling was presented before the national expansion of pro wrestling in the 1980’s, said NECW promoter, Sheldon Goldberg. “We are strictly a regional operation. We operate in smaller venues and bring our fans a very up close and personal experience.”
Over the years, NECW has featured many stars that went on to become big names in professional wrestling, such as John Cena, Beth Phoenix, Kofi Kingston, Doug Williams and others.
NECW’s current Heavyweight Champion, Antonio “The Promise” Thomas is a former WWE star who actually spent the early part of his career competing in NECW rings.
“The quality of athlete here in NECW is very high and just because it’s a local presentation doesn’t mean you’re seeing also-rans,” Goldberg added. “The action is top notch. We’re a family-oriented business that attracts fans in all age categories, and unlike a lot of pro sports today, this is affordable to the average family as a live event experience, and now that we’re on conventional TV it’s going to be a lot more accessible.”
WMFP TV will bring New England Championship Wrestling into approximately 2.3 million homes throughout Greater Boston, Metrowest, the Blackstone Valley area and north into southern New Hampshire and the southern most tip of Maine.
While this program will mark the company’s broadcast TV debut, NECW is no stranger to producing video programming. “We were the first company in our industry to use the Internet as a means of distributing original video content. In 2004, before YouTube, Facebook, My Space, etc., we produced a weekly online TV show. In 2010, we did a weekly broadcast on Comcast On Demand. This new program, while a late night offering, will have 100% availability to viewers in our primary area, so we expect more people to watch.”
In addition to its weekly airing, New England Championship Wrestling will also be making each episode available on its YouTube channel.
“What you are going to be seeing is the real drama of young men and women dedicated to professional wrestling, who are realizing a dream by being on TV,” said Goldberg.
For more on NECW, visit www.NECW.tv.
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
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