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May 19th
On this day in history in ....
1905 - Tom Jenkins defeats Frank Gotch to retain the American Heavyweight Championship in Madison Square Garden in New York City in a bout with a total match time of two hours, fifteen minutes and thirty four seconds. The first fall was taken by Jenkins in 1:27:57. Gotch scored the second in 36:27, and Jenkins won the match in 11:10 of the third fall.
1946 - Andre Rene Rousimoff was born in Grenoble, France. He would go on to become, arguably, the most popular wrestler of all time, Andre The Giant, a WWF Champion and the first-ever inductee to the WWE Hall of Fame.
1963 - The Destroyer (Dick Beyer) defeats the legendary Rikidozan in Osaka, Japan, making him an instant star in that country. It marks the last time that Rikidozan would ever lose a singles match.
1964 - WWWF ran Bridgeport, CT at the City Arena for a TV Taping with the following results:
-Killer Kowalski fought Bill Watts to a double countout.
-Killer Kowalski defeated Roger Dupree.
-Bill Watts defeated Pedro Rodriguez.
-Jerry & Luke Graham fought Pedro Morales & Jerry Miller to a draw.
-Don McClarity defeated Klondike Bill via disqualification.
-Arnold Skaaland defeated Umberto Mercado.
-Smasher Sloan defeated Carlos Milano.
-Bobo Brazil defeated Sonny Love.
-Gorilla Monsoon defeated Matt Gilmore.
1970 - WWWF ran Scranton, PA at the Catholic Youth Center with the following results:
-Arnold Skaaland defeated Joe Turco.
-Mario Milano defeated Frank Hickey.
-Gorilla Monsoon fought Prof. Toru Tanaka to a draw.
-The Mongols defeated Dominic DeNucci & John L. Sullivan.
-WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino defeated Killer Karl Kovacs.
1971 - WWWF ran Washington DC at the National Arena with the following results:
-Arnold Skaaland (substituting for Al Nelson) defeated Louis Torres in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match
-Bill White pinned Mike Pappas
-Miguel Feliciano defeated Phil Rita
-Jose Rivera (substituting for Beautiful Bobby) defeated Arnold Skaaland
-Tomas Marin defeated Al Coco
-Jose Rivera fought Ernie Lassiter to a draw.
1972 - WWWF ran North Attleboro, MA at Witschi's Sports Arena, featuring the following results:
-Tony Constilles pinned Dean Ross.
-Sonny King fought the Black Demon to a time-limit draw.
-Chief Jay Strongbow pinned Curtis Iaukea; after the match, Strongbow refused the victory because Curtis sustained a bloody cut to his forehead.
-Joey Russell & the Haiti Kid defeated Pee Wee Adams & Frenchy Lamont in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match, 2-1.
-Chuck Richards defeated Henry Depaulo via disqualification.
1972 - WWWF ran Harrisburg, PA at Zembo Temple with the following results:
-Al Nelson (substituting for Arnold Skaaland) fought Juan Caruso to a draw
-Rene Goulet pinned Nikita Mulkovitch (sub. for the Black Demon) at 13:57
-Jimmy Valiant defeated Manuel Soto at 18:20
-WWWF World Champion Pedro Morales defeated Prof. Toru Tanaka via disqualification at 7:07 after the challenger threw salt into the referee's eyes
-Victor Rivera defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna via count-out at 18:10.
1973 - WWWF ran Philadelphia, PA at the Arena with the following results:
-Gorilla Monsoon defeated Juan Caruso & Vincenti Pommetti in a handicap match.
-El Olympico defeated Ben Ortiz.
-Joe Turco defeated the Cisco Kid.
-Mike McCord defeated Miguel Feliciano.
-WWWF Tag Team Champions Prof. Toru Tanaka & Mr. Fuji defeated Tony Garea & Manuel Soto in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match; fall #3: Tanaka defeated Soto at 6:09.
-WWWF World Champion Pedro Morales defeated Freddie Blassie in a steel cage match at 5:42.
1975 - WWWF ran New York City, NY at Madison Square Garden with the following results:
-SD Jones defeated Johnny Rodz.
-Haystacks Calhoun defeated Jack Evans & Hans Schroeder in a handicap match.
-Baron Mikel Scicluna defeated Bill White.
-The Wolfman defeated Maike Paidousis.
-Bobby Duncum defeated Dean Ho.
-Domenic DeNucci defeated Johnny Valiant.
-Victor Rivera defeated Greg Valentine.
-Ivan Putski defeated Butcher Vachon.
-Chief Jay Strongbow fought Jimmy Valiant to a 20-minute time-limit draw.
-Spiros Arion defeated Tony Garea.
-Waldo Von Erich defeated WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino when the match was stopped due to blood.
1976 - WWWF ran Bangor, ME with the following results:
-Jose Gonzalez defeated Tony Altimore
-Kevin Sullivan defeated Rocky Tamayo
-The Executioners defeated Tony Parisi & Louis Cerdan in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match
-Stan Hanesen & Skandor Akbar defeated Pat Barrett & Ivan Putski in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match.
1977 - WWWF Champion Superstar Graham defeated Larry Zbyszko in the main event of a WWWF event in Worcester, MA.
1979 - WWF ran Binghamton, NY with the following results:
-Jose Estrada defeated Steve King.
-Tiny Thumb defeated Little Tokyo.
-Tito Santana defeated Johnny Rodz.
-Steve Travis fought Bulldog Brower to a draw.
-Hussein Arab defeated Frank Williams.
-WWF World Champion Bob Backlund fought Greg Valentine to a draw.
1979 - WWF ran Landover, MD at the Capital Centre with the following results:
-Ivan Koloff defeated Johnny Rodz at 9:14.
-SD Jones defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna at 8:22.
-Allen Coage defeated Johnny Rivera at 12:11.
-Cowboy Lang defeated Butch Cassidy at 7:28.
-Jerry Valiant defeated Dominic DeNucci at 9:14.
-Ivan Putski defeated Johnny Valiant at 6:40.
-Bruno Sammartino defeated Ernie Ladd at 22:14.
1980 -WWF ran Madison Square Harden in New York City with a card televised on the MSG Network, featuring the following results:
-Rick McGraw defeated Jose Estrada at 10:38.
-Larry Zbyszko won a 16-man $15,000 battle royal at 11:25 by last eliminating Dominic DeNucci and Bobby Duncum at the same time when, as DeNucci had Duncum in an airplane spin, Zbyzsko dropkicked them both to the floor. Zbyszko earned a world title shot for the next show at MSG.
-Larry Sharpe defeated Frankie Williams at 8:24
-Larry Zbyszko pinned Dominic DeNucci at 7:08 following a kick to the face as DeNucci charged the corner
-Tor Kamata pinned Johnny Rodz at 7:58 after a double karate chop to the throat
-WWF World Champion Bob Backlund pinned WWF IC Champion Ken Patera in a Texas Death Match at 22:56 with a crossbody off the top.
-Gorilla Monsoon pinned Baron Mikel Scicluna at 3:11 with a chop and splash
-Bobby Duncum defeated Rene Goulet at 5:42
-Tony Atlas, Ivan Putski, & Pat Patterson defeated Peter Maivia & WWF Tag Team Champions the Wild Samoans in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match at 16:25; fall #1: Patterson pinned Maivia with a roll up at 8:26; fall #2: Maivia pinned Patterson after a double team from the Samoans at 4:31; fall #3: Atlas pinned Samoan #1 with a splash after the Samoans accidentally headbutted each other at 3:28.
1981 - It was officially announced by the American Wrestling Association that, due to Verne Gagne retiring and vacating the AWA World Heavyweight Title, Nick Bockwinkel, the former champion and current number one contender, was being awarded the belt.
1984 -WWF ran Landover, MD at the Capital Centre in a card that was televised on the USA Network, featuring:
-WWF Women's Champion the Fabulous Moolah defeated Wendi Richter. This bout was not televised.
-B. Brian Blair defeated Rene Goulet via referee's decision after the 15-minute time limit had expired.
-George Steele (w/ Mr. Fuji) defeated Akira Maeda via submission with the flying hammerlock at 3:13.
-Jesse Ventura (sub. for Israel Matia) pinned Chief Jay Strongbow at 4:51 with an elbow drop.
-Greg Valentine pinned Tony Garea at 4:50 when the momentum of a crossbody by Garea put Valentine on top.
-Tiger Chung Lee pinned Jose Luis Rivera (sub. for Jimmy Snuka) at 5:04 with a backbreaker.
-Sgt. Slaughter fought the Iron Sheik to a double disqualification at 10:24 after both men shoved the referee down; after the bout, Slaughter had to be pulled off the Sheik by Akira Maeda, Jose Luis Rivera, and Rene Goulet.
-Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff, & David Schultz defeated Rocky Johnson, SD Jones, & Bobo Brazil (sub. for Tony Atlas) at 9:32 when Piper pinned Jones after hitting him in the back of the head with a foreign object; after the bout, Monsoon interviewed Brazil at ringside. The match marked Brazil's return to the WWF after a 6-year absence,
Bob Backlund defeated Mr. Fuji via submission with the Crossface Chicken Wing at 5:51.
1984 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Greensboro, SC with the following results:
-Doug Vines defeated Keith Larson.
-Kurt Von Hess defeated Gary Royal.
-Paul Kelly defeated Sam Houston.
-Dick Slater defeated Barry Hart.
-Angelo Mosca Sr. defeated Assassin #1.
-Jimmy Valiant defeated Adrian Street.
-Tully Blanchard defeated Wahoo McDaniel.
-Ivan Koloff & Don Kernodle defeated Mark Youngblood & Pez Whatley.
1985 - Malakai Black, formerly known as Aleister Black in WWE and Tommy End internationally on the independent scene, is born.
1985 -WWF ran Birmingham, AL with the following results:
-Rick McGraw fought Les Thornton to a draw.
-Nikolai Volkoff defeated Tony Garea.
-Tony Atlas fought the Iron Sheik to a draw.
-Randy Barber defeated Paul Garner.
-Mr. Wrestling II & the Junkyard Dog fought WWF Intercontinental champion Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake to a draw.
1985 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran three events:
Asheville, NC at the Civic Center:
-Sam Houston defeated Black Bart.
-Krusher Kruschev defeated Ricky Reeves.
-Ivan Koloff defeated Rocky Kernodle.
-Buzz Tyler defeated Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion Ron Bass via disqualification.
-The Barbarian defeated Sam Houston.
-Jimmy Valiant defeated Superstar Billy Graham in a streetfight.
Columbia, SC at the Township Auditorium :
-Buddy Landell defeated Stoney Burke.
-Black Bart defeated Ricky Reeves.
-Buzz Tyler defeated Ron Bass.
-Dick Slater defeated Ivan Koloff.
-NWA World TV Champion Tully Blanchard defeated NWA U.S. Champion Magnum TA.
-Dusty Rhodes defeated Nikita Koloff.
-Jimmy Valiant defeated Superstar Billy Graham in a streetfight.
Roanoke, VA at the Civic Center:
-Gene Ligon defeated Mark Fleming.
-The Golden Terror defeated Gene Ligon.
-Buddy Landell defeated Stoney Burke.
-Denny Brown fought Pat Tanaka to a draw.
-Dick Slater defeated Nikita Koloff via disqualification.
-NWA U.S. Champion Magnum TA fought NWA World TV Champion Tully Blanchard to a no contest.
1986 - WWF ran New York City, NY in Madison Square Garden with a card broadcast on the MSG Network, featuring:
-Lanny Poffo pinned Tiger Chung Lee at 11:15 with a hurricanrana.
-Hercules Hernandez pinned Sivi Afi at 13:07 when the momentum of a crossbody by Afi put Hercules on top for the win.
-Bret Hart pinned SD Jones with a backbreaker.
-Nikolai Volkoff defeated Cpl. Kirchner at 11:30.
-King Kong Bundy pinned Tony Atlas at 8:04 with an elbow drop after blocking an attempted splash.
-Jake Roberts defeated Ricky Steamboat via disqualification at 7:03 when Steamboat shoved the referee.
-Dan Spivey defeated Paul Christy at 4:41.
-Jim Neidhart fought Jim Brunzell to a 20-minute draw.
-Tito Santana fought WWF IC Champion Randy Savage to a no contest at 9:59 when Adrian Adonis interfered and attacked guest referee Bruno Sammartino and then Santana, Sammartino attacked Adonis until Savage and Adonis double teamed Sammartino, Santana made the save with a steel chair.
-WWF Tag Team Champions Davey Boy Smith & the Dynamite Kid defeated Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake at 8:0
1986 - Jim Crockett Promoptions ran Fayetteville, NC, headlined by NWA World Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express, Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey defeating Dusty Rhodes & NWA U.S. Champion Magnum TA
1986 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Greenville, SC at Memorial Auditorium with the following results:
-Hector Guerrero defeated Leo Burke.
-Denny Brown fought Steve Regal to a draw.
-Ivan Koloff defeated Sam Houston.
-Nikita Koloff defeated Ron Garvin.
-The Rock N' Roll Express,Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated NWA TV Champion Arn Anderson & NWA National Heavyweight --Champion Tully Blanchard in a Texas Tornado match.
-Jimmy Garvin defeated Wahoo McDaniel in a lumberjack match.
1987 - WWF ran their first-ever show in Eugene, OR at the Lane County Convention Center, drawing 300 fans, headlined by WWF Tag Team Champions The Hart Foundation defeating The British Bulldogs, Davey Boy Smith & the Dynamite Kid in a steel cage match.
1987 - During a taping of WCW Worldwide in Raleigh, NC, Dark Journey is introduced as Tully Blanchard's "secretary."
1989 - The Patrick Swayze film "Roadhouse", which featured Terry Funk, was released theatrically. In its seven week theatrical run, the film made $30,050,028. While not well received critically, the film would go on to become extremely popular via cable television and is considered a cult classic, even spawning a musical theater version.
1989 - WWF ran three live events on the same night:
Altoona, PA -at Jaffa Mosque, before 2,764 fans:
-Barry Horowitz pinned Jeff Bronsky at 16:18.
-Dino Bravo pinned Hercules at 11:36.
-WWF Women's Champion Rockin' Robin pinned Judy Martin at 9:42.
-Big John Studd defeated Andre the Giant via disqualification at 6:24.
-King Jim Duggan pinned Haku at 9:17.
-Tom Magee pinned Tim Horner at 11:18.
-The Bushwhackers defeated Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard at 10:16 when Butch pinned Blanchard.
Chicago, IL at theRosemont Horizon before 16,000 fans:
-Paul Roma pinned Boris Zhukov
-The Warlord pinned Koko B. Ware
-Bret Hart fought Mr. Perfect to a double disqualification
-Brutus Beefcake pinned Greg Valentine
-The Rockers, Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty defeated Jacques & Raymond Rougeau
-Jimmy Snuka (substituting for Jake Roberts) pinned Ted Dibiase
-Randy Savage defeated WWF Champion Hulk Hogan (with Miss Elizabeth) via countout
New Haven, CT at the Coliseum before 6,500 fans:
-Lanny Poffo defeated Jim Powers.
-The Honkytonk Man pinned Hillbilly Jim.
-The Barbarian pinned Jim Neidhart.
-The Ultimate Warrior defeated WWF Intercontinental champion Rick Rude via count-out.
-Bad News Brown pinned the Blue Blazer.
-Rick Martel pinned Tito Santana.
-The Red Rooster defeated the Brooklyn Brawler.
-WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition defeated the Big Bossman & Akeem via disqualification.
1990 -WWF ran Winnipeg, Manitoba at the Arena before 1,500 fans with the following results:
-Hillbilly Jim defeated the Brooklyn Brawler.
-Jim Powers pinned Pez Whatley.
-The Barbarian pinned Jimmy Snuka.
-The Bushwhackers defeated Greg Valentine & the Honkytonk Man via disqualification.
-Sensational Sherri defeated Sapphire.
-Dusty Rhodes defeated Randy Savage.
1990 - The NWA held their "Capital Combat" Pay-per-view in Washington, DC at the DC Armory. Here are the results:
- The Road Warriors & Norman The Lunatic defeated Kevin Sullivan, Bam Bam Bigelow & Cactus Jack.
- Mark Callous (later to become the Undertaker) defeated Johnny Ace.
- The Samoan Swat Team (Fatu & Samoan Savage) defeated Mike Rotundo & Tommy Rich.
- Paul Ellering defeated Teddy Long in a hair vs. hair match in under two minutes.
- The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane) defeated Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk to win the U.S. Tag Team Title.
- The Rock N' Roll Express defeated The Freebirds (Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin) in a Corporal Punishment (strap) match.
- Doom (Ron Simmons & Butch Reed) defeated Rick & Scott Steiner to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship.
- Lex Luger defeated NWA World Champion Ric Flair via disqualification in a steel cage match. The Four Horsemen interfered, and put Sting, who was at ringside, in a smaller cage used earlier in the night to prevent Jim Cornette from interfering in the Midnight Express match. Robocop (yes, you read that right, the one from the movies) came down and "bent" the bars of the cage to free Sting.
1991 - WCW holds the very first Superbrawl Pay-per-view at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, Florida at the Bayfront Center. Here are the results:
- The Freebirds (Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin) defeated Tracey Smothers & Steve Armstrong to win the vacant United States Tag Team Title.
- Danny Spivey defeated Ricky Morton.
- Nikita Koloff defeated Tommy Rich.
- Dustin Rhodes defeated Terrance Taylor.
- Big Josh defeated Black Bart.
- Oz (Kevin Nash doing a horrible gimmick based off the Wizard Of Oz) defeated Tim Parker in under thirty seconds.
- Barry Windham defeated Brian Pillman in a taped fist match.
- El Gigante defeated Sid Vicious in a Stretcher match in under three minutes without actually using the Stretcher. Gigante pinned Sid with a claw, and Sid just walked away while the One Man Gang and Kevin Sullivan attacked Gigante. This was the final match of this run in WCW for Sid, who had already agreed to go to the WWF.
- Ron Simmons defeated Butch Reed in a steel cage match.
- WCW World Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Sting & Lex Luger when Scott pinned Sting after Nikita Koloff interfered and hit Sting (he was aiming for Luger) with a chain.
- Bobby Eaton defeated Arn Anderson to win the WCW Television Title.
- WCW World Champion Ric Flair defeated Tatsumi Fujinami. As far as the NWA records go (this is during the muddy period where Flair had one title belt, but the NWA was separate from WCW), Flair regained the NWA World Title from Fujinami.
1991 - WWF ran Pittsburgh, PA at the Civic Arena with the following results:
-IRS pinned Jimmy Snuka.
-Jim Duggan pinned Col. Mustafa
-Ricky Steamboat pinned the Brooklyn Brawler.
-The Ultimate Warrior defeated the Undertaker via disqualification after the Undertaker used the urn as a weapon.
-The Legion of Doom defeated WWF Tag Team Champions the Nasty Boys via countout.
-Bret Hart pinned the Barbarian.
-Earthquake defeated Jake Roberts via disqualification when Roberts attempted to throw his snake, Lucifer, onto Earthquake.
-WWF Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect fought Davey Boy Smith to a draw.
1991 - WWF ran Milwaukee, WI at the Bradley Center with the following results:
-Ted Dibiase defeated Roddy Piper.
-Greg Valentine pinned Demolition Smash.
-The Berzerker defeated Tugboat.
-The Rockers, Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty defeated the Orient Express.
-The Bushwhackers defeated Power and Glory, Paul Roma & Hercules when Luke pinned Roma.
-Kerry Von Erich fought the Warlord to a double countout.
-The Big Bossman pinned the Mountie.
-WWF champion Hulk Hogan pinned Sgt. Slaughter.
1992 - Nailz made his WWF in-ring debut during a WWF Superstars taping in Lexington, Kentucky.
1992- Kip Sabian is born.
1992 - Eastern Championship Wrestling ran the Original Sports Bar in Philadelphia with the following results:
-Don Rock pinned the Anchor.
-Larry Winters pinned Max Thrasher.
-Tony Stetson defeated the Metal Maniac via disqualification.
-ECW Champion Johnny Hot Body pinned Mr. Sandman.
-JT Smith fought Jimmy Jannetty to a double count-out.
-Chris Michaels pinned Vladimir Markoff.
-The Super Destroyers defeated the Pitbulls via disqualification.
-Salvatore Bellomo defeated Jim Neidhart via disqualification.
1993 -WCW ran Anderson, SC at the Civic Center featuring:
-Big Sky & Vinnie Vegas defeated Keith & Kent Cole.
-Keith & Kent Cole defeated Big Sky & Vinnie Vegas.
-Dustin Rhodes defeated NWA World Champion Barry Windham via disqualification.
-Arn Anderson defeated Bobby Eaton.
1994 -WWF ran Uniondale, NY on Long Island at the Nassau Coliseum, featuring the following results:
-Thurmann Sparky Plugg (Bob Holly) defeated Kwang.
-WWF Tag Team Champions the Headshrinkers defeated the Smoking Gunns.
-Mabel defeated Bam Bam Bigelow.
-WWF Women's Champion Alundra Blayze defeated Luna Vachon.
-Doink the Clown defeated Jeff Jarrett.
-Harvey Wippleman defeated Howard Finkel in a tuxedo match.
-WWF Intercontinental Champion Diesel fought Razor Ramon to a double countout.
-Lex Luger defeated Crush.
-WWF World Champion Bret Hart defeated Owen Hart.
1994 - WCW ran Salisbury, MD drawing 350 with the following results:
-Johnny B. Badd defeated Terra Ryzing (the future Triple H).
-Cactus Jack & Kevin Sullivan defeated WCW Tag Team Champions the Nasty Boys in a non-title match.
-Paul Orndorff defeated Erik Watts.
-Dustin Rhodes & Brian Pillman defeated WCW U.S. Champion Steve Austin & Bunkhouse Buck.
-Vader defeated the Guardian Angel (Ray Traylor).
-Ricky Steamboat defeated Lord Steven Regal.
1994 - Smoky Mountain Wrestling ran Morgantown, NC with the following results at the Rec Center before 150 fans:
The Thrillseekers, Chris Jericho & Lance Storm defeated Well Dunn
Bruiser Bedlam defeated Tracy Smothers
The Dirty White Boy defeated Kendo the Samurai
Ricky Morton defeated SMW Tag Team Champion Chris Candido
1995 - Razor Ramon defeats Jeff Jarrett in Montreal, Quebec to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship in a Ladder match, marking Ramon's third title reign. The rest of the results from the Forum, before 8.500 fans, saw:
-Techno Team 2000 defeated Tom Prichard & Barry Horowitz.
-Tatanka pinned Bob Holly.
-Jean Pierre Lafitte pinned Jerry Lawler; Lawler originally won the match with his feet on the ropes but another referee disputed the call.
-Man Mountain Rock defeated Mantaur.
-Jacob & Eli Blu defeated the New Headshrinkers after Uncle Zebakiah interfered.
-WWF World Champion Diesel pinned Psycho Sid.
-Bret Hart defeated Hakushi via submission with the Sharpshooter.
-Razor Ramon defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett to win the title in a ladder match.
1995 - Extreme Championship Wrestling ran Hazelton, PA at St. Joe High School before 225 fans for day one of the "Malenko-Guerrero Classic" weekend, where the competitors would face off in The Best of Three Matches over two days for the ECW World Television championship. In the first bout, reigning champion Eddie Guerrero defeated Dean Malenko. The other results of the card saw:
-Mikey Whipwreck pinned Stevie Richards.
-The Tazmaniac pinned Hack Meyers.
-Shane Douglas defeated Tommy Dreamer.
-Ron Simmons defeated 2 Cold Scorpio.
-Marty Jannetty pinned Raven.
-ECW World Champion the Sandman defeated Cactus Jack.
-ECW World Tag Team Champions The Public Enemy defeated the Pitbull.
1996 - One of the most infamous moments in the history of wrestling at Madison Square Garden (and at the time, a really controversial one) took place as The Kliq, Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, Diesel and Hunter Hearst Helmsley broke kayfabe following the main event of WWF's card in the Garden, which was also Kevin "Diesel" Nash and Scott "Razor Ramon" Hall's final contracted night before leaving for WCW. Dave Scherer reported the following at the time in the Wrestling Lariat Newsletter:
"In a shocking moment, one that I never thought I would see from either of the big two promotions, four wrestlers willfully broke kayfabe in one of the most touching moments in wrestling history on Sunday May 19th at Madison Square Garden, in what was the farewell appearances of both Razor Ramon and Diesel.
After an awesome cage match in which Shawn Michaels beat Diesel to retain the WWF title, Michaels went back into the cage and stood and danced over the prone Diesel. He then bent over and kissed him. Razor Ramon came out and hugged Michaels. Then out came Hunter Hearst Helmsley, making the clique sign. He hugged both guys. Diesel then “awakened” and stood up. Four of the five members of the clique then went to the corners of the top of the cage and extended the clique sign to the fans, most of whom ate it up completely.
We were told that the guys did this on their own and that Vince McMahon did not endorse it. In fact, we were told he was dead set against them doing it. But obviously, he did not stop it, and I think was the right move. Throughout the night, the fans in the building knew that both men were leaving as they heard alternating chants of “Please don’t go” and “You sold out,” with Diesel hearing much more of the latter (Lord only knows why).
A precursor to what was to come came earlier in the night. After Ramon’s match, most of the crowd was chanting, “You sold out” to him so he rubbed his fingers together in a money gesture. He took the mic and said, All I have to say is say goodbye to the Bad Guy.” Midway through, the company cut the mic off. They could not stop what happened at the end of the show, as the friendship of four men was more important, to them, than breaking kayfabe.
Given the professionalism that both men showed on their way out of the promotion, and also the classy way that the company did not bury them upon leaving, it was one of those times in this business that it makes all of us proud to be wrestling fans. In addition, I think all sides handled the situation the right way. No bridges were burned on either side, and if WCW handles the departing wrestlers the way they did the last time they had them, they could come back to Titan.
There are some who will be aghast by the breaking of kayfabe, but personally, I have no problem with it. Very few, if any, people “believe” that the business is anything but a work, and those who got to see this event will never, ever, forget it.
The other big moment of the card, which drew a sellout of more than 20,000 people we were told, was when the Godwins beat the Bodydonnas for the WWF Tag Team Titles. There is a lot of talk that the straps were taken off of the Bodydonnas because Sunny seems to be too outspoken for her own good, grating on the nerves of many in company. As the story goes, she has gotten too cocky for her own good and the taking of the titles was meant to take her down a peg. WWE had cameras present for the title change, but not the farewell."
With Michaels firmly in place as the WWF champion, and the future Outsiders off to WCW, the lion's share of the punishment went to Helmsley, who had his planned King of the Ring win the next month nullified and spent several months in purgatory, losing every match. That decision set the stage for Steve Austin to instead win the tournament, allowing him to cut his Austin 3:16 promo, sparking his career and legend. While WWF did not film the farewell themselves, a fan with a camcorder in the upper deck did. That footage was eventually shown on WWF television years later during the early vignettes for the DX group.
The complete results of the MSG card saw:
-The Bushwhackers defeated Marty Jannetty & Leif Cassidy
-Savio Vega pinned Bob Backlund
-Ahmed Johnson defeated Davey Boy Smith via disqualification when Owen Hart interfered
-In his return to MSG for the first time in five years, The Ultimate Warrior pinned Owen Hart with two hands on his chest after landing three clotheslines and a flying shoulderblock (Warrior's return to MSG after a 5 year absence)
-Steve Austin pinned Jake Roberts
-Vader pinned Yokozuna with the Vader Bomb
-Henry & Phinneas Godwinn defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Skip & Zip to win the titles when Phinneas pinned Skip with a kick to the midsection and the Slop Drop after kissing Sunny on the ring apron; after the bout, the champions, Hillbilly Jim, Howard Finkel, and a young fan danced in the ring
-Hunter Hearst Helmsley pinned Razor Ramon with the Pedigree moments after referee Tim White was knocked down as Ramon lifted Helmsley up for the Razor's Edge; after the bout, Ramon attempted to say goodbye to the fans but his mic was cut off
-WWF World Champion Shawn Michaels defeated Diesel in a steel cage match.
1996 - WCW's Slamboree PPV was held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at the Riverside Centroplex. The show was built around the "Lord Of The Ring" concept in which tag teams were randomly formed, and had to win two matches in order to gain entrance in a battle royal. Paul Herzog filed the following PPV report for The Wrestling Lariat Newsletter, which is archived in the PWInsider Elite section:
Too Long at best, or worst
Dave Scherer asked me to do this. I didn’t want to, not particularly. I haven’t been watching too much of the WCW stuff recently. And I’ve never liked the “BattleBowl” concept. In a truly random drawing, you would not have two current teams being kept intact, and three other teams on opposite sides of the ring from each other. But if you have a random drawing, there’s no angles, and no heat. So WCW did the right thing in announcing the first-round match-ups.
The first thing I saw on the Main Event pre-show was an interview with Jim Duggan and V. K. Wallstreet-Rotundo (the hyphenation being my own). Duggan doesn’t trust Wallstreet, and to show how much he doesn’t trust him, Jim shouts a lot.
There a video of the Giant chokeslamming everyone, including the nice bump Luger took through a table on the 5/13 Nitro. Sting and Luger do an interview, Lex telling Sting he’s got nothing to worry about from Jimmy Hart, and Sting sounding ready to go. The Giant, with Jimmy Hart, interrupts the interview from the video wall. The Giant says that Sting doesn’t sound fired up, asks Luger how his back is, and then warns that the same will happen to Sting, that he’ll end up on a stretcher.
We then go *LIVE* to the Riverfront Centroplex in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The place looks sold-out (I’ll be interested in hearing ticket sales when that information is available), and the crowd is primed. On the mic is Tony Schiavone, Dusty Rhodes, and Bobby Heenan. So far, so good. A WCW show without my two least-favorite people: Hogan and Bischoff. Throughout the night, they do an OK job of focusing on the matches. Heenan gets off some good one-liners. Dusty Rhodes is a cabbage.
Road Warrior Animal/Booker T & Road Warrior Hawk/Lex Luger go to a double count-out in 5:55. There’s early heat between Hawk & Booker T, Luger and Animal. The match itself is one big tease to see if the Road Warriors will face each other. Oh yeah, and a bunch of no-sells and blown spots. Booker T in particular looks terrible with some kicks that don’t come within a foot of their target. When the Warriors are finally both in, they brawl, Animal against Luger, Hawk against Booker T, all the way back to the locker room. A most inauspicious beginning.
Public Enemy beat “Taskmaster” Kevin Sullivan/Chris Benoit in 4:43. Benoit gets a nice pop. He’s over, due to the Four Horsemen thing. Chris and Rocco Rock do some nice spots to begin with. Rocco lands a flying head scissors, then a Frankensteiner. A second Frankensteiner is countered with a powerbomb, Benoit tags Sullivan, and the brawl is on. Kevin is throws chairs everywhere, and Johnny Grunge tries to catch them with his forehead. Sullivan is laid out on a ringside table, but Benoit clotheslines Rocco as he runs to flip outside of the ring. Benoit gets suplexed to the outside. Kevin Sullivan is draped on top of Benoit, who is on the table. Sullivan moves at the last second as Grunge & Rock both crash through Benoit in an awesome-looking spot. Sullivan gets helped back to the locker room by Jimmy Hart as Benoit is dragged into the ring and pinned. ECW-style match, short as it was. Tony Schiavone questions the reaction of the Horsemen to Kevin Sullivan’s actions, so it looks like the Horsemen vs. DoD feud will continue for awhile.
Rick Steiner/Booty Man beat Scott Steiner/Craig Pittman in 7:57. “Booty Babe” Kimberly looks unbelievable. Booty Man looks even worse than he normally does compared to the background of the Steiners and Pittman. When held next to these three potatoes, he looks like an Easter Egg. The Booty’s spots are all offensive, both in nature and in execution. Pittman gets a German suplex on Rick, then takes a crotch-lift suplex in return. At 3:45 of the match, the teasing is over, and it’s Rick against Scott. Rick with a textbook hip throw, then some mat work. Scott comes back with a Saito-style suplex. Rick with the Steiner Line. Scott puts Rick in a full nelson, Rick reverses, lands a dragon suplex. Rick goes to the top rope so that he can get belly-to-bellied off it. Booty Man tags in, instantly misses a shoulder block on Scott. Pittman tags in, works over the arm, gets the Code Red. The Code Red, for you purists, has been changed from the Fujiwara-style arm bar that Maxx Payne used, to the straight arm bar called a jujigatame in judo. Booty fights it off, tags Rick, who lands a German suplex with a bridge on Pittman for the pin. In my opinion, best match of the first round.
Jim Duggan/V.K. Wallstreet-Rotundo beat Steve Regal'David Taylor in 3:13. Duggan gets a really strong crowd reaction from a fan base that used to idolize him in Mid-South. Heenan says Duggan recovered really quickly, with the punchline being that he just served as a brain donor. There’s lot of heat between Duggan & Wallstreet-Rotundo. As V.K. is outside with Regal, Duggan tapes his fist and decks Taylor for the pin. Whatever.
Dick Slater/Bobby Eaton beat Alex Wright/Disco Inferno in 2:57. Inferno’s gimmick just kills me every time. As the first collar-and-elbow leads him into a corner, Inferno complains loudly that Slater is messing up his hair. Wright and Disco get some offense going, but as Inferno starts to dance in celebration, Slater nails him in the back of the head with his cowboy boot.
“Diamond” Dallas Page/Barbarian beat Hugh Morrus/Meng in 5:21. The commentary during the match was all about Page’s fall from the top, due to the Booty Man, then how he was rescued from the gutter by some anonymous benefactor. How long do you think this “who is helping DDP?” angle will run? I’ll guess that the unveiling occurs at Fall Brawl, maybe even later. Anyway, Hugh Morrus goes for a plancha over the top early, but Page moves and Morrus lands with a sickening “thud.” Morrus sells his butt off for the Barbarian for awhile, then tags Meng. The two tag-team partners chop the sh** out of each other, Meng getting the upper hand. Morrus hits an elbow drop from the top rope, goes up again, but is caught by the Barbarian with a belly-to-belly from the top rope, Meng making the save on the pin attempt. Morrus hits a great moonsault, DDP makes the save. Finally, Meng covers Page, Barbarian covers Morrus. Page has his foot out of the ring, so the ref just counts the fall for Dallas & the Barbarian, as he should. This match was a highlight for Hugh Morrus. Man, I hope they use him more. He’s got the “psycho” gimmick down cold, works his butt off, and has some tremendous looking spots. That’s why the DoD tends to opt for Ze Gangsta types, I guess.
Scott Norton/Ice Train beat Big Bubba/Stevie Ray in 3:50. Lots of beef in there. No wrestling to speak of. But this raises a question: if Bubba changes his gimmick, but there’s no one there to hear it, and he doesn’t get a push, does anyone care? Not me. Bubba gets jobbed out to a double-clothesline, the standard Fire & Ice finisher.
Ric Flair/Randy Savage beat Arn Anderson/Eddy Guerrero. Flair doesn’t come out the first time his music plays, so Savage comes down first. He gets beat on by Arn, then Flair comes out and joins in. Eventually, Eddy Guerrero saves Savage and we start a real match. Flair and Guerrero work superbly together. Savage struggles to his feet after about two minutes, so Flair elbows him in the head, tags him, and then forces Guerrero to tag Arn. Randy rallies after a minute, but gets caught in a spinebuster for a 2-count. Guerrero comes back, hits a swinging DDT on Flair (my favorite spot in wrestling). Eventually, Flair and Arn double-team Savage outside the ring after Arn laid Eddy out with a DDT and let Flair pin him. Miss Elizabeth slaps Savage while the Horsemen hold him, then they leave him laying on the outside, helpless. Whooooo, or something.
Mean Gene then draws a couple of teams for the next round of Battlebowl and hits on some Baton Rouge Hooters' talent.
Dean Malenko beat Brad Armstrong in 8:28 to retain the WCW Cruiserweight title. I was very impressed at how much the announcers talked about this match, and how it was the first Cruiserweight title defense on PPV. My non-wrestling friends thought this was the second-best match of the night, but the Baton Rouge crowd was more interested in trying to see themselves on the video wall. They didn’t care at all about what was a pretty solid match. Armstrong dominates early, Malenko owns the middle five minutes. Brad comes back, hits the Texas Cloverleaf, but Dean gets to the ropes. Eventually, Dean gets Brad on the top rope, delivers a gutbuster from the top for the pin. Great-looking move, but the setup was clumsy and it took forever.
The PPV has an ad stating “Our World is About to Change,” “Blood Runs Cold,” then shows a Japanese hubcap and states “Coming to WCW.” What? Huh? We have been told that, in spite of the rumors, Brian “Adam Bomb” Clark has not signed with WCW.
Mean Gene is lecherous as hell while having the Hooters girls draw the rest of the Battlebowl teams. That poor poor man.
Dick Slater/Bobby Eaton beat Jim Duggan/V. K. Wallstreet-Rotundo in 4:09. Duggan and Wallstreet-Rotundo brawl each other before the bell, then Slater and Eaton attack both of them. Duggan and V. K. fight their opponents off, then turn to each other. At four minutes of the match, V. K. swings wildly at Eaton in the corner, hitting Duggan. Duggan decks him back, and knocks Wallstreet-Rotundo right into a rollup by Eaton for the pin.
Public Enemy beat Ric Flair/Randy Savage by default. Savage doesn’t come out for his music, so Flair comes down first with Elizabeth and Woman. Randy runs Ric down in the entrance aisle, creating a brawl that took two cops and a bunch of security hacks to break up. No match, so P.E. dance again. Did I mention that I think Johnny Grunge’s new haircut makes him look like a Breck Girl??
Dallas Page/Barbarian beat Booty Man/Rick Steiner in 4:33. Dallas talks to Kimberly as the match begins, then gets knocked out of the ring by Booty Man in a great bump. Page ends up tangled in electrical cables, and choked with them. Rick Steiner sells (!) for a couple of minutes, since Booty can’t spend too much time in the ring. Rick makes the hot tag, Booty with the jumping knee for a pin, Page makes the save. Page makes another save with an elbow drop to the back of Booty’s head, Barbarian makes the cover, 1-2-3.
Konnan beat Jushin Liger in 9:28 to retain the U.S. heavyweight title. Konnan is knocked out of the ring early, then attacked with some nice-looking kicks by Sonny Onno. As he chases Onno around the ring, Liger dives out with an over-the-top plancha. Not only does Konnan deflect Liger, so that Jushin has to take all of the bump, but then he sells it anyway, so that he can lay down for awhile and rest after 30 seconds. Konnan has a great physique, but no work ethic whatsoever. He can go, which pisses me off when he doesn’t. Liger hits a belly-to-belly from the top rope, then a splash for a 2 1/2-count. Konnan goes out for a breather, Liger goes for a plancha from the top turnbuckle, Konnan counters with a boot to the gut. Liger comes back in the ring with a Fishermanbuster suplex for a 2 3/4-count. Konnan turns a head scissors into a powerbomb, 1-2 3/4. Konnan goes for his Splash Mountain-style power drop, Liger rolls into a cradle, 1-2. Inside cradle, 1-2. Liger hits a powerbomb, 1-2 3/4. Liger goes to the top rope, dives, Konnan gets his feet up. Hits the Splash Mountain drop for the pin. The last three minutes were fine, but Konnan needs to realize he has to work from the opening bell to the close. You can’t generate rest opportunities that aren’t there.
Ric Flair/Arn Anderson interview, bagging on the Macho Man and then turning their attention to Steve McMichael. Mongo comes down, says that his partner for any match they want to sign in the future will be Kevin Greene. Greene comes out, there’s a staredown that’s broken up by Doug Dillinger’s crack team.
Dallas Page won Battlebowl in 9:35. Page is knocked out of the ring early, but catches himself and slides back in. One foot touched the floor, but Schiavone made a big deal out of pointing out that the referee didn’t see it. Why do I get the feeling that Page will get “screwed again?” Rocco Rock is tossed out at 3:43. Bobby Eaton is next at 4:03. As Eaton hits the floor, Col. Robert Parker comes over and smacks Bobby with his hat. Eaton retaliates with a right, and Dick Slater comes out of the ring at 4:14 to join in the fray. Page hits the Diamond Cutter on the Barbarian, Ice Train, and Johnny Grunge, in quick succession. He covers Grunge for a pin at 5:38, Ice Train for a pin at 5:44, then covers Barbarian, who kicks out at 2 1/2. Barbarian hits a good-looking tombstone piledriver at 7:34, Page kicks out. Dallas is put in a sleeper hold, uses a strategically-placed mule kick to get out of it. But he’s groggy, and the Barbarian powerbombs the sh** out of him. Still can’t finish Dallas off as Page rolls out of the way of the Barbarian’s head butt from the top rope. DDP hits the Diamond Cutter, getting the pin. He wins the Battlebowl ring, the “Lord of the Ring” title, and a shot at the WCW champ. Nice night for Page, and in my opinion, well-deserving of the push he’s getting.
The Giant beat Sting in 10:39 to retain the WCW heavyweight title. Sting gets the biggest pop of the night. Luger and Jimmy Hart are handcuffed to each other. They do a lot of little-man-trying-to-get-big-man-and-failing spots early, with the Giant missing a drop kick. This is the best big-man athlete I’ve seen since Ernie Ladd. Sting sells his butt off, getting dragged out of the ring at 6:30 to get chokeslammed through a table. Luger holds Jimmy Hart down on the table, so the Giant can’t do it. Sting makes his comeback a minute later, lands a Stinger Splash on the Giant, who is draped over the top turnbuckle. Jimmy Hart gets up on the corner apron, pulling Luger (?) up with him. The Giant grabs Luger by the throat, and it takes several splashes and kicks to the leg by Sting to save his partner. There’s a ref bump, and the Giant is down. Luger drapes Jimmy Hart on the turnbuckle, but when Sting goes for the splash, Luger falls down and drags Jimmy Hart off the turnbuckle. There’s a question of Luger’s intent, and I’d say believably so. Sting hits a Snuka-style dive from the top rope as the ref comes around, covers, 1-2 1/2. When the Giant kicks out, Sting lands on referee Randy Anderson and the poor guy is out again. Sting hits another dive. Luger and Hart are up in the corner again, this time fighting over the megaphone. Sting puts the Giant in the Scorpion Death Lock, but too near the corner, and Luger and Hart swing the megaphone around in their struggle, decking Sting with it. The Giant chokeslams Sting, the ref comes around, 1-2-3. Again, more question of intent. My friends thought this was the best match of the night, and I thought it was pretty good for what it was supposed to do. I'm looking forward to seeing Sting vs. the Giant on June 1st in Los Angeles, which I wasn’t before.
Overall, this wasn’t a bad show. There were too many matches, and this is compounded by the fact that most matches in the Battlebowl format are meaningless and make guys look bad. After all, these are supposed to be four of your best, and yet they get beat consistently in five minutes or less. No, sir, I don’t like it.
This show, for me, took a lot of the heat off of Kevin Sullivan as a booker. It was relatively fresh, there were no screwjob finishes (minor screw in the main event, but Sting still ended up lying down clean), and the Page push worked out fine. No coffee, no shoes, no handcuffs. No Hogan.
1997 -WCW ran Asheville, NC for a Monday Nitro taping at the Civic Center featuring the following results:
-WCW US Champion Dean Malenko defeated Rey Mysterio Jr.
Wrath defeated Johnny Swinger.
-Hugh Morrus defeated Yuji Yasuraoka.
-Public Enemy defeated Konnan & Psychosis.
-Diamond Dallas Page defeated Mortis.
Monday Nitro:
-WCW World TV Champion Lord Steven Regal defeated Prince Iaukea.
-Masahiro Chono defeated Dave Taylor.
-Scotty Riggs defeated Michael Wallstreet.
-Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Jeff Jarrett & Steve McMichael.
-Ric Flair defeated WCW Cruiserweight Champion Syxx via disqualification when the nWo interfered.
1999 - The second annual Brian Pillman Memorial Show was promoted by Les Thatcher's Heartland Wrestling Association in Cincinnati, OH at the Cincinnati Gardens featuring with the following results:
-Shark Boy pinned Matt Stryker.
-Terik the Great pinned Jeremy Jeff.
-Chip Fairway defeated Chad Collyer via submission.
-Tim Horner & Rob Conway defeated Flash Flannagan & Bull Pain when Horner pinned Flannagan.
-Shark Boy pinned Terik the Great.
-Terry Taylor defeated Tom Pritchard.
-Shark Boy pinned Chip Fairway.
-Al Snow defeated Road Dogg.
-Mankind pinned D-Lo Brown.
-Konnan & Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko when Mysterio pinned Malenko.
2000 - WCW ran Tupelo, MS before 1,566 fans with the following results:
-Three Count's Shane Helms & Shannon Moore defeated The Jung Dragon's Yang & Kaz Hayashi.
-Mona defeated Dee Dee Venturi via disqualification.
-Tank Abbott defeated Meng.
-Prince Iaukea defeated Chris Candido via disqualification.
-Kronik defeated Big T & Stevie Ray, Ron & Don Harris, and Big Vito & Johnny the Bull.
-Billy Kidman defeated Horace.
-Sting defeated Konnan.
-Diamond Dallas Page defeated Jeff Jarrett.
-Kevin Nash defeated Mike Awesome in a powerbomb match.
2002 - WWE Judgment Day, the first Pay-per-view since the name change from WWF to WWE, was held. Here is Tim Whitehead's report on the show:
The first PPV of the WWE era aired live from the Gaylord Center in Nashville. I thought it was overall a good and enjoyable PPV, with enough good to override the bad. It may have left some bad feelings at the end, as the final two matches weren't good and included a lame WWF surprise which got over about as well as Booker T joining the NWO. In that sense, it will encourage more WCW analogies, with the show having an undercard better than the upper card, though we should remember that the WWE has had a horrendous record delivering on surprises ever since the Gobbledy Gooker's debut.
The crowd was hot for most of the matches. They did cool somewhat for the Hell in the Cell, but that came off more like they were paying attention to the match rather than being bored. The opening match was good, as was the Kurt Angle vs. Edge match. The handicap match with Steve Austin came off well for the most part. The main problem there was the booking, as Flair shouldn't be an NWO heel, and they should probably phase the NWO out completely since it's finished as a concept. They should have had a cruiserweight match on the show. Not only would it have been good, but if they plan to push that division as they claim, they need to make it important enough to appear on all PPV's as a regular matter.
Commentary from Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler was solid. They had Smackdown announcers Michael Cole & Tazz host the segments where they would review the feuds prior to the big matches.
EDDIE GUERRERO defeated ROB VAN DAM in 10:57 to retain the IC Title. Someone in the crowd had a "Mullet Heat" sign but JR & Lawler pleaded ignorance as to what it could possibly mean. They did a series of hot fast spots early, with RVD going for a bunch of pin attempts. RVD went to the top and started to go for a moonsault. Guerrero saw it coming and dropped to the mat. But RVD never went through with it and instead split-leg moonsaulted Guerrero on the mat. That was a neat spot and the crowd loved it. RVD kept getting near falls to the point that it seemed almost apparent that Guerrero was going to go over in the end. They did a surfboard spot, with RVD getting a pop for flipping Guerrero up high afterward. Guerrero finally got in some offense with fists and stomps, but when he went to the top, RVD flipped him three-fourths of the way across the ring and then dropped him throat-first across the ropes. RVD did the rolling thunder. RVD got crotched and Guerrero bodyslammed him. Guerrero went for the frog splash but stopped to pose and the end result was that RVD recovered and rolled clear. Commenting on his delay, JR said Guerrero nearly took a siesta up there. RVD then went for a frog splash on Guerrero but missed his splash as well. They did a fast criss-cross spot where RVD got another near fall after a crossbody. RVD got a two count with a backslide, but afterward Guerrero blocked an RVD kick, and did his own backslide using the ropes for leverage and scored the pin to retain. Good opener, and Guerrero has looked awesome since returning. They really should have given this match more mic time on the build-up on RAW these past few weeks.
Reverend D-Von said a prayer for Stacy Keibler's safety and victory over that no-good jezebel Trish Stratus in her upcoming match. Vince McMahon was there and worried about Bubba Ray Dudley being in Trish's corner. D-Von said Bubba knows better than to show up and, if he does, there will be hell to pay. Stacy asked Vince if he'd be watching and he said he would, but would have to miss the victory party afterward because he would be meeting with someone.
TRISH STRATUS defeated STACY KEIBLER in 2:54 to retain the WWE Women's Title. This ended the recent streak of Trish Stratus bouts that have shown consistent improvement. Stacy really isn't a wrestler. On the other hand, she's a five star babe. Lawler said, "Lead me not into temptation, I can find my way there myself". D-Von & Deacon Batista came out with Stacy. Bubba defied D-Von's threats and came out with Trish. Trish bumped for a kick from Stacy that missed by about the distance between Nashville and Knoxville. Stacy bumped out. Bubba laughed at her and she slapped him. He started getting that "I want to put a girl through a table" look but Stacy escaped. Batista sneaked in and bodyslammed Trish. Trish recovered and pinned Stacy with a bulldog after Stacy accidentally collided with Batista. After the match, D-Von and Bubba had a staredown. They ended up shaking hands, but Batista attacked Bubba on D-Von's orders. Bubba threw Batista from the ring but D-Von then laid him out. D-Von told Batista to get a table. Bubba fought back but was flattened with the money box and put through the table to start a Dudley vs. Dudley feud. This won't make much sense unless they work some form of trade to allow them to both be in the same division.
Vince visited Ric Flair and Arn Anderson. Vince shook both their hands and had an "I told you so" smirk on his face. Flair admitted that Vince had been right all along about Austin being an S.O.B. and said Austin was trying to destroy the RAW brand. However, Flair added that, unlike Vince, he'll take Austin down and put him under control. Vince and Flair hugged, but Vince had an angry look on his face about Flair's inference that he could beat Austin down while Vince couldn't.
BROCK LESNAR & PAUL HEYMAN beat THE HARDYS in 4:46. Heyman had the good sense not to wear tights. He was fully clothed, including a baseball cap. Jeff hit a plancha on Lesnar before the bell, followed by a baseball slide from Matt. They chased Heyman but Lesnar made the save. Pretty much the usual stuff for the next few minutes with the Hardys trying to take the monster down but he just shook them off. There was another "Goldberg" chant. Lesnar finally did bump out and the Hardys got to splash Heyman in the corner and his cap came off, revealing why he wears it. Lesnar returned and laid Jeff out with the Brockbuster (I can't believe the WWE still hasn't named that move). Heyman demanded that Lesnar tag out to him so that he could score the pin, which he did. Lawler said Heyman has the body of a god, and identified Buddha as the god in question. They probably should end this feud now since the Hardys are getting killed. Having Heyman score the pin was almost like a wooden stake.
Marc Lloyd interviewed Booker T about joining the NWO. Booker said business is business and Flair's the boss. He said Flair thinks he can get the job done, and he's down with that. Yeah, he got the job done against Austin on RAW all right. Booker then spotted a hot girl standing nearby. He came on to her and she encouraged his advances. She ended up giving Booker her hotel room key. He was elated. Lawler said Booker got a Magic Johnson. Booker should have asked his new boss Flair how these hotel room deals usually end.
STEVE AUSTIN beat RIC FLAIR & BIG SHOW in a handicap match in 15:35. JR said Big Show has the strength and intelligence of a government mule. In other words, he's strong as an ox, and almost as smart. The ref here was Charles Robinson, and JR mentioned Flair's influence over him in the past (Robinson was "Little Nature Boy" in WCW), but nothing came of it and Robinson called it right down the middle. Austin sent Flair up for a high backdrop. Flair took a lot of backdrops in this match. Show came in and Austin hit him with fists until he finally went down. Austin put the figure four on Show but Flair made the save. Austin then put the figure four on Flair but it got broken up as well. Austin got two separate chairs but both times the ref took it from him. Austin sat in the second chair and flipped the ref off. Austin got a beer but the ref took it as well. The crowd was into all this and it was entertaining throughout and good when Austin and Flair were working. They traded chops. The crowd shouted "whoooo" when Flair chopped and "what" when Austin chopped. Flair did his face-first bump. He begged and then raked Austin's eyes. Show managed to overpower Austin and Flair put the boots to him. Austin reversed a Flair figure four. He also did Thesz presses on both Flair and Show. Austin gave Show a stunner and was about to do a second one when X-Pac ran in. X-Pac accidentally thrust kicked Show. Austin then gave stunners to both X-Pac and Flair, pinning Flair afterward. Some might think this match ran a little too long, but remember that it took time away from the main event, so count your blessings.
EDGE beat KURT ANGLE in a hair match in 15:30. Edge dominated early with fast spots which sent Angle out. Edge pounded Angle on the floor. Angle got tied up in the ropes and Edge speared him there. Angle belly-to-bellied Edge over the top rope for a big bump. They traded chops. Lawler kept telling bald jokes on commentary and acted as if he'd never lost a hair match before. Check your Memphis tapes on that one. They went to a period of rest holds which killed the crowd heat for a few minutes. Edge started dominating Angle again and Angle sold and bumped like crazy for him. It's probably no coincidence that they've been able to elevate Edge by giving him an unselfish opponent like Angle. Edge hit a crossbody over the top and a missile kick for a near fall. Angle came back with suplexes, including one nearly across the ring for a two count. The heat went way up as they went to the great near falls. Angle dodged a spear and the ref took it. Angle hit a killer suplex and got a chair, but Edge speared him. The ref was still out. Edge hit another spear and this time the ref revived but Angle kicked out at two. Angle hit a spear and Olympic slam but also got only a two. These near falls were great. Angle hooked the ankle lock but Edge made the ropes. Edge hit an enzuigiri. Angle went for the ankle again but Edge kicked him off into the ropes and rolled him up on the rebound for the pin. Another great match between these two. For pure wrestling, this is the best feud in the WWE. Angle attacked Edge afterward but Edge gave him the Edgecutioner and dragged him over to the area where there was a barber waiting to deliver the haircut. However, Angle recovered and fled, with Edge in pursuit.
Booker arrived at the Marriott and was soon under the covers. The hot babe came out in a negligee and crawled in bed with him. She said she likes to do it in the dark, so Booker turned off the light. I guess the cameraman being there didn't bother her. I know....I know....I'm supposed to ignore that aspect of these angles. Booker asked her to talk dirty, but instead he heard Goldust's voice saying, "I want you to leave the NWO and come back to....hisssssssss....Goldust". On came the lights and Booker was furious to find Goldust in bed with them. Booker stormed out in anger, with his naked ass in full view. Goldust whined that he bought the nightgown he was wearing for nothing.
TRIPLE H defeated CHRIS JERICHO in 24:29 in the Hell in the Cell. The first couple of minutes were regular action in the ring but they soon headed out to the floor. The crowd heat wasn't all that great. To me, it came across like they were interested and were watching, rather than being bored, but I guess there are alternative interpretations. One negative of the Hell in the Cell is that the famous Mick Foley vs. Undertaker match set such dangerous standards that nothing can equal it. Now that they've bought WCW out, maybe they should try the first ever War Games in the WWE. But please, don't let the NWO be one of the teams. Anyway, both HHH and Jericho took shots into the cage. Jericho juiced from the shoulder. Jericho got a ladder and juiced HHH with it. Jericho hit HHH with the ladder a second time and then threw the ladder out of the ring onto him. HHH blocked another ladder shot attempt with a chair and then used the chair on Jericho. Jericho bulldogged HHH on the ladder. They took more shots into the cage. Referee Tim White took a major bump into the cage and juiced big. Jericho laid HHH out with a chair but there was no ref to count the pin. Other refs tried to come in but the door was chained shut and the key was in White's pocket. The refs had to use a bolt cutter to cut the chain and get inside.
HHH revived and kicked a chair into Jericho's face. He then bloodied Jericho with a sledgehammer shot, but the refs were too busy helping White to count the fall. Jericho recovered and started out of the cage, with HHH getting the door slammed on his head when he followed. They brawled outside. Jericho tried to give HHH a pedigree on the Spanish table but ended up getting DDT'd through the desk by HHH. HHH retrieved a barbed wire 2x4 he had planted out there. Jericho climbed the cage, with HHH following, and ref Mike Ciotta going up as well. Jericho got the 2x4 and used it. They started doing the bumps up on top. Those always look scary with the cage sagging beneath them. I think they now have one large piece of fencing up there rather than individual panels, which makes it unlikely that they will break through but it still looks very dangerous. HHH took a backdrop and they used the 2x4 some more before HHH got the pin on the cage top with a pedigree. The ending was expected. Still, it was a very good match and both guys worked very hard.
Backstage, Edge was still chasing Angle. Angle put on a shower cap and hid in the make-up lady's area, but Edge eventually recognized him and the chase was on again.
Torrie Wilson flirted with Maven at The World (formerly WWF New York).
RIKISHI & RICO beat BILLY & CHUCK to capture the WWE World Tag Titles in 3:50. The story here was that Mr. McMahon planned to give Rikishi a weak partner to get even with him for the angle last year where his face got shoved up Rikishi's ass. I guess that should have told us the mystery man wouldn't be Goldberg or Scott Steiner. The partner ended up being Rico, with the idea he would help B & C retain the belts. They all seemed to work hard but the match didn't click and the crowd died when Rico was announced. Rico tried to kick Rikishi but accidentally kicked Chuck and Rikishi pinned him. Afterward, Rikishi took his half of the belts and left alone, stopping to dance at the ramp top. Rico made up with B & C, but as they were leaving, he quietly picked up his tag belt as if happy that he had won it, but not wanting B & C to know that.
JR announced that Gene Okerlund will return to the WWE with a new interview show t called Confidential. The first show will feature an interview with Shawn Michaels about the (what else?) Montreal screwjob. I have this great fear that a few decades from now, hardly any fans will remember Flair, Austin, Rock, or Angle, but they'll all know of the Montreal screwjob because that's the only history the WWE seems interested in keeping alive. JR said Okerlund's show will be like mixing 60 Minutes with Behind the Music, but credibility-wise it sounds more like mixing Miss Cleo and Geraldo Rivera.
Angle blindsided Edge backstage. He beat him up and dragged him out to the barber's chair, where he planned to personally cut Edge's hair. Of course, Edge revived, put Angle out with a sleeper, and shaved him bald. Angle came to and was about to cry when he saw himself in the mirror. Edge said the fans from now on will chant "you're bald" when they hear Angle's music, and they did just that. Entertaining!
UNDERTAKER defeated HULK HOGAN to capture the WWE Undisputed World Title in 11:18. Undertaker still had Hogan's weight belt. He used it on Hulk before the bell. Hulk then got the belt and used it on UT until referee Earl Hebner got it and threw it from the ring. UT took a backdrop. Hogan tore off his shirt to a big pop. There was good crowd heat, which was the otherwise weak match's only saving grace. UT took a bump into the stairs. He also got crotched. UT slowly worked on Hulk's leg to supposedly prevent him from doing the legdrop. Hogan still hit the boot to the face and went for a legdrop but UT rolled clear. UT got a busted lip. UT hooked a half crab but Hulk made the ropes. UT went for a chokeslam but Hulk didn't go up for it and it looked very bad. Hogan then did the no-sell Hulkamania comeback. He hit the boot and legdrop but UT kicked out at two. Hulk booted a chair into UT's face and hit another legdrop. This time, Vince arrived and distracted the ref. Hogan walloped Vince and gave him a legdrop. But UT clocked Hulk with a chair and hit a chokeslam, which Hulk went up for this time, and got the three count. Vince smiled. Afterward, UT vowed to make Hogan pay for destroying his motorcycle and jammed Hulk's throat into a chair, doing an apparent injury angle. A bad WWE main event but at least the live crowd got into it.
This would be the last WWE title, to date, Hulk Hogan has held.
2002 - Prior to the PPV, WWE broadcast a live episode of Heat. John Keane filed the following TV report:
Live from the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
Your hosts are Jonathan Coachman and Raven.
Your Judgment Day pre-game show.
Show opens with video hyping tonight’s PPV Main Event: The Undertaker challenging Hulk Hogan for the Undisputed Championship.
Coach and Raven say howdy as the crowd files in. They talk up the above and 2 of our other matches: Chris Jericho vs. HHH in Hell in a Cell, and Stone Cold Steve Austin taking on The Big Show and Raw owner Ric Flair in a handicap match. Video rolls documenting the bad blood between Austin and Show/Flair. Coach informs us that Stone Cold suffered internal injuries during a beatdown on last weeks Raw, and isn’t expected to be at 100% tonight. As we see Ric Flair and his crony Arn Anderson entering the arena, Coach informs us we’ll be having a match right here on Heat later on: D’lo Brown challenges William Regal for the European Title. Break.
(Commentary: D’lo/Regal! Got my wish!)
Back, we get our Tough Enough 2 recap. Male contestant Hawk dropped out due to unspecified personal problems, and female contestant Jackie appeared to suffer a leg injury in the ring. The season finale will air after Smackdown week after next. Break.
WWE Rewind: The Hardyz get a DQ victory over Brock Lesnar last week on Raw.
Coach and Raven return to go over some of the other matches on tonight's card. The Hardyz take on Brock Lesnar and his ‘agent’ Paul Heyman, also Billy and Chuck (presumably with Rico) against Rikishi and a mystery opponent to be chosen by Smackdown boss Mr. McMahon-Billy and Chuck’s Tag titles will be on the line for that one. Focus is on Edge vs. Kurt Angle in a ‘hair vs. hair’ match-the loser gets his head shaved. After video of their recent in and out of ring exploits rolls, we see the barber chair and haircutting utensils backstage. More hype for the Euro title match precedes a break.
Snap of the Night: Trish Stratus defeats Jazz last week on Raw to re-gain the Women’s Championship.
Back, we see Vince and his personal assistant Stacy Keibler arriving at the arena. They’re accosted by Billy, Chuck and Rico, who want to know who Rikishi’s partner will be. Vince knows, but he won’t spill. He and Stacy then take their leave-the lovely Miss Keibler has a match to prepare for.
Coach and Raven talk up the above-mentioned match-tonight, Stacy gets her shot at Trish’s Women's title. This one features a Dudley Boyz reunion of sorts-Vince has assigned the Reverend D-Von to be in Stacy’s corner, and Bubba Ray is expected to accompany Trish. We also have another title match tonight-Rob Van Dam challenges Eddy Guerrero for the Intercontinental strap.
Cut to Terri interviewing Eddy backstage-he does his standard lascivious promo, wonders if RVD is ‘feeling froggy’.
Back to our announcers, who have what I feel is a pretty big announcement. Next Saturday at 11 p.m. on TNN, the WWE will debut ‘Confidential’, hosted by (drumroll please…) Mean Gene Okerlund! The show will feature personality profiles, and Shawn Michaels will be the guest for the debut episode. Break.
Coach and Raven return to hype tonight's main events, focusing on the HHH/Chris Jericho ‘Hell in a Cell’ match. Video documents their recent feud. We see the roofed enclosure, unused for nearly 2 years, hanging over the ring. Break.
(Slanted Commentary: Go Y2J, break down the walls-clean!)
Our hosts return to send us down to Jim Ross and Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler at ringside…
Heat match: For the European Championship: D’lo Brown vs. champ William Regal.
Crowd despises William (who looks like he needs to start watching his weight), likes D’lo fine. Lockup, D’lo forces William to corner, ref calls for break. William retreats for a bit, exchange of wristlocks follows, William then slaps on a side headlock. D’lo makes it to ropes, breaks hold, shoots William off opposite ropes, William scores with a shoulder, D’lo down, William gets a trio of 2-counts. Up, William scores an uppercut, forces D’lo to corner, lays in elbows to face, ref calls for break. William tries for whip, reversed, William to corner, takes back body drop as he bounces back in. Up, D’lo scores with a clothesline/dropkick pair of knockdowns, William rolls out of ring for a breather. William attempts to ascend apron, D’lo gives him an assist, suplexing William in for a 2-count. William crawls to corner, begs off, D’lo scores boot to gut, William up, D’lo lays in punches and forearms. D’lo attempts whip, reversed, D’lo off ropes, William tries for hiptoss, D’lo blocks, scores with a backslide, only good for 2. Up, D’lo gets in boot to gut, punch, bodyslam, William down, D’lo drops the elbow, covers for 2. D’lo up, scores his famous legdrop, still just gets 2. Up, D’lo gets in a forearm to face, whips William off ropes, sets for back body drop, not this time, William scouts it, scores boot to face. D’lo doubled over, William off ropes, gets in another boot to face, D’lo down. William slowly covers, just gets 2, he brings D’lo up, tosses him neck first into second rope, D’lo down again. Regal wave is followed by choke on ropes, ref calls for break. William scores boot to gut, then another neck first toss into ropes. D’lo down, William drops the knee, gets a 2-count. William slaps on a reverse chinlock, ref checks D’lo’s consciousness, arm drops once, twice, stays up at 3. D’lo gets to feet, elbows out of hold, goes off ropes, William scores with a knee, D’lo down. William lays in boots, gets warned by ref, brings D’lo up, scores pair of knees, headbutt, D’lo down yet again. D’lo to ropes, William whips him off opposite, D’lo ducks a clothesline, tries for powerslam, William counters with modified facebuster, both men down for a 7-count. Up, the 2 exchange punches and forearms, D’lo whips William off ropes, scores a kneelift/clothesline/sidekick series of knockdowns, covers, just gets 2. William groggily to feet, D’lo scores punch, D’lo attempts whip, reversed, D’lo off ropes, ducks a clothesline, off ropes again, attempts crossbody block, William catches him, D’lo gets crotched on top rope. He falls to mat, William scores a schoolboy rollup with the requisite tug on the tights, gets the 1-2-3.
Winner and Still European Champion: William Regal.
J.R. and the King go over the nights main events. Video package for Hogan/Undertaker ends the show.
Yep, standard PPV preview show. Match was pretty good, maybe William has finally found someone he can work with that won’t send the crowd to the concession stands-hope this is the start of a feud. Enjoy the PPV, and don’t forget to set your VCRs for ‘Confidential’.
2003 - The WWE Raw roster paid tribute to Ric Flair in Greenville, SC at the Bi-Lo Center after Raw went off the air. The main event of the taping saw World Heavyweight Champion Triple H pin Ric Flair with the Pedigree at 7:24 after blocking the challenger's attempt at a Pedigree with a backdrop. After the show went off the air, many of the Raw roster filled into the ring as a surprised Flair was hoisted onto their shoulders in a showing of respect and tribute. The tribute, an idea Tommy Dreamer suggested, would later be released on WWE's Ultimate Ric Flair Collection DVD release.
Tim Whitehead filed the following Raw TV report:
The 5/19 edition of RAW IS IN FLAIR COUNTRY aired live from Greenville, SC. I liked most of the show, especially the Flair angle. I thought the car assault stuff was stupid, though, and I still think Austin is upstaging the active wrestlers too much.
Steve Austin came out to the ring as Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler noted that Austin got Eric Bischoff drunk at Judgment Day. Austin put over the PPV to the usual "whats", but said the one negative was having to share his skybox with a jackass like Bischoff. Austin had the footage shown of Bischoff throwing up after drinking too much. It aired a ridiculous number of times, including in slow motion. He predicted Bischoff wouldn't be very active tonight due to a hangover. Austin called himself the hardest working redneck in show business, and said June's PPV will be called "Stone Cold Steve Austin Presents Bad Blood". He said with his name on it, it will be guaranteed to be good. He looked into the camera and said "trust in me and I will never let you down". Austin next turned his attention to the car attack on Goldberg. He claimed to have been investigating the incident all week, and vowed to reveal the assailant's identity later. He promised to give Goldberg a match against the assailant, whomever he may be. Next, Austin turned his attention to the RAW World Title, bringing Triple H out as still the champ. Ric Flair came out with HHH. Austin cut HHH's entrance routine short, saying he didn't have time to watch him spray that stupid-ass water all over the crowd. HHH didn't appreciate the interference. Austin said he was trying very hard to maintain composure and asked HHH to take his sunglasses off so he could look him in the eye. HHH removed them and got right in Austin's face. Austin told HHH that he got his ass whipped last night by Kevin Nash, and retained the belt only by virtue of the DQ rule. He asked HHH if he felt proud over the fact that he used a sledgehammer on referee Earl Hebner to get himself DQ'ed. Austin said he would make HHH wrestle on RAW. HHH said most people think Austin's a drunk, but that he's really drunk with power. HHH noted that the bottom line is he's still the champ. He claimed to have enough stroke not to have to wrestle on RAW if he doesn't want to. Austin repeated that HHH would have to wrestle, but said he'd give him the choice of fighting any former world champion, which meant he could choose from Kane, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, or Nash. Apparently they were limiting this to WWE champs, because Goldberg and Booker T weren't included. HHH shrewdly reminded Austin that Flair was a former world champion, and said he'd wrestle him. HHH said "that's the bottom line, because HHH said so". Austin looked a little upset that HHH appeared to have outsmarted him, but since Flair was indeed a former WWE world champ, Austin had no choice but to agree to HHH's selection.
JR & Lawler announced a poll on WWE.com where fans could vote on who they thought tried to run over Goldberg.
The Dudleys defeated Rosey & Jamal in 6:09. D-Von got doubled on until hot tagging Bubba. The Dudleys delivered the wazzup. They went for a table but it got kicked into D-Von's face. Jamal hit Bubba with a Samoan drop but he wasn't the legal man so the ref wouldn't count his pin attempt. Rico slid the table in and Jamal tried to put D-Von through it, but D-Von rolled clear and Jamal went through. Bubba then pinned Rosey after a 3D. Afterward, Rico threw a tantrum and said he was sick of Rosey & Jamal losing. He arrogantly announced that he was leaving them (like a wife walking out on her husband or something) and stormed off.
Austin visited Bischoff, who was sick as dog from last night's drinking and food binge. Austin offered him another beer but Bischoff said he just couldn't take Austin's redneck lifestyle. Austin said that lifestyle has served him very well and held a beer can under Bischoff's nose. Bischoff got sicker and threw up all over his big photo on the wall. Clearly someone on the writing staff is still hooked on the Beavis & Butthead humor stuff.
Austin encountered Nash after leaving Bischoff's office. Austin told Nash that he kicked HHH's ass all over the arena last night until the DQ. He said that makes Nash the number one contender, and that he'll get a title shot against whoever wins the HHH vs. Flair match later. Nash was pleased.
Flair told HHH he was honored that he chose him as his opponent. Flair was talking like he planned to make it a serious match, as if HHH had selected him because he wanted the best competition or something. HHH told Flair that he was sore and bruised up from last night's match against Nash and did the old "wink-wink, nod-nod" routine of explaining to Flair that his job was to go out there, maybe talk a little trash, but in the end to just lay down and let himself be pinned. Yeah, that gimmick really did wonders for WCW and their title. Flair didn't seem to like HHH's attitude, especially since they were in Flair country.
Chris Jericho came out for his Highlight Reel segment. He put over his segment as the hottest on TV, and proudly displayed his new plasma TV monitor. He called it the Jeritron 5000 and said it cost more than the fans' homes did. Jericho aired footage from Judgment Day of Christian eliminating him in the IC Battle Royal, and accused him of betraying him. He thus called out Christian to be his guest. Christian came out, sporting a new haircut and clothes. Jericho at first went off on him for eliminating him, but then admitted that he would have eliminated Christian if he had had an opening, and they hugged. He congratulated Christian on his success. Christian said he couldn't have done it without the support of all the fans, saying "My heart beeps for my peeps". He said to forget about Clay and Rubin, since he's the real American Idol. Jericho said he achieved that without even being American. He then noted that there are people who say Christian won by cheating, and aired the closing moments of the battle royal where Booker T eliminated Christian, but the ref didn't see it since he was unconscious. Christian went illegally back in and eliminated Booker, which the revived ref saw. After this aired, Christian said the fact is that Booker just isn't championship material and he doesn't have wicked-ass clothes or a cool-ass haircut. Jericho said Booker's hair looks like a pineapple. Christian tried to inaugurate "Christian rules" as a new catch phrase. This brought Rob Van Dam out. RVD said he had a better catch phrase: "You've got the belt, you're making big bucks, but everyone still knows, Christian sucks." RVD challenged Christian to defend the title against him. Christian refused and said he didn't appreciate RVD intruding on his victory celebration. He then sucker punched RVD. Jericho joined in and they doubled on RVD until Kane made the save. As Christian & Jericho were retreating, Austin appeared on the Titantron. He said Christian will have to defend the IC belt soon, but for now he was scheduling an RVD & Kane tag title defense against Jericho & Christian. That didn't make a whole lot of sense coming from a supposedly babyface general manager. But in any event they went to a commercial break so Jericho's Highlight Reel props could be removed from the ring.
Hour two began with RVD & Kane beating Jericho & Christian by DQ in 10:26 to retain the tag titles. Kane threw both foes from the ring and RVD hit them with a somersault plancha. RVD did the rolling thunder on Jericho. The heels got heat on RVD, tying him up in their corner. JR & Lawler got off on a tangent talking about who the car assailant was who tried to run down Goldberg. Lawler mentioned Kane as a poor driver and I was scared to death he was going to mention Katie Vick, but he didn't. Kane hot tagged in and had both Jericho and Christian reeling. He chokeslammed Christian and RVD went up for the frog splash, but Jericho shoved him off to the floor. Christian revived enough to give Kane a low blow. Jericho hit Kane with the lionsault but only scored a two. Jericho and Christian each got a chair and they were about to do the "concerto" on Kane. They didn't complete it, but the ref still DQ'ed them for ignoring his warning to drop the chairs. Before they could hit Kane, Booker T ran in for the save to a big pop. Booker cleaned house and pounded Christian into the mat. Jericho & Christian fled as Booker did the spinaroonie. Pretty good match!
Shawn Michaels approached Flair backstage. He told him it would be wrong for him to lay down for HHH. He said that fifteen years ago he saw Flair doing a promo as world champion where he called himself the greatest and said he was the measuring stick for all wrestlers to aspire to. Michaels said that promo motivated him to go out and become the best he could be, and that he likes to think he reached that level. He told Flair that a wrestler is only as good as his last match, and that he knows Flair still has it in him to beat HHH. Flair actually cried, acting legitimately touched by what Michaels had to say.
Rodney Mack beat Spike Dudley in 4:59. Theodore Long & Mack came out. Mack complained that the crowd was too white. Long said that over the past few weeks, Mack has defeated a lot of white boys, but admitted they weren't exactly top competition. So he issued a challenge for any established white boy superstar to come out and last five minutes with Rodney. Spike Dudley came out. Long did color commentary as always. He accused JR of having once employed a black nanny. The match continued, with Long starting to get a little worried as Spike had Mack confused with his aerial tactics. But in the end, Mack hooked on a cobra clutch-type submission hold which Long called the Blackout. Spike tapped with only one second to go in the white boy challenge.
Footage aired of Trish Stratus getting a busted lip during the women's title match at Judgment Day. JR reported that she had the night off as a result. JR also reported that Flair seemed to be having second thoughts about laying down for HHH.
Austin barged into Bischoff's office shouting over a megaphone, which did wonders for Bischoff's hangover. Austin also banged on a garbage can lid and set off a siren. He told Bischoff that the way to overcome a hangover is to have a couple of women. Bischoff said he was too sick for that, but Austin said he had a couple of "girls" for him. The girls turned out to be Fabulous Moolah & Mae Young. Hey, Bischoff said he likes mature women! Bischoff was enraged and threw them both out.
Flair stood in front of a mirror in his sequined robe. He started getting self-motivated, strutted, and shouted "whoooo!"
La Resistance defeated Scott Steiner & Test in 2:05. Steiner took a bump out almost immediately and got rammed into the stairs. Stacy Keibler went over to help him. This left Test to fight both Frenchmen on his own. Steiner recovered and got on the apron, where Test collided with him. Test staggered back and was cradled for the pin by Sylvan Grenier. Steiner and Test argued afterward. Test tried to leave with Stacy but Steiner grabbed Stacy and tried to leave with her himself. After some more shoving and arguing, Stacy walked out on both of them, leaving them in the ring as she stormed off up the ramp.
Austin entered a room with a sign on the door reading "Interrogation Room". Meanwhile, it was revealed that the top 10 assailant suspects voted for by fans on WWE.com were: 1) Rock 29% of the vote, 2) Christian 18%, 3) HHH 14%, 4) Austin 13%, 5) Jericho 10%, 6) Eric Bischoff, Rodney Mack, and Lance Storm tied at 4%, 9) Theodore Long 3%, 10) Flair 1%.
After a break, Austin interrogated Lance Storm in the darkened room. Austin was acting like some out-of-control police detective while Storm was acting scared to death. Austin revealed that it was Storm's rental car that struck Goldberg's limo door. Storm stayed quiet at first but then admitted he was the driver. He claimed it was an accident, that the accelerator got stuck, and that he wasn't used to driving in America, claiming they drive on the other side of the road in Canada. Austin said Storm was insulting his intelligence, noting that Canadians don't drive on the other side. Storm then claimed it wasn't his idea to try to run Goldberg down. Austin sent Storm out to take his punishment by wrestling Goldberg, not even trying to follow up on the lead of who it was who put Storm up to the attack. Sorry, but this was silly.
HHH had his ribs taped up by the doctor. Flair walked in and HHH tried to engage him in small talk by mentioning some funny stories from Fred Blassie's book, but Flair wanted to be serious. He did an awesome promo, saying that six months ago HHH took him on as a manager because he wanted the best there is to be in his corner. He said HHH inspired him to rise to the occasion. Flair agreed that HHH was banged up from last night's match but said he went into the ring thousands of times banged up after a brutal match the night before. He said HHH is The Game and he can rise to the occasion and they can have a great match. Flair left triumphantly, having stood up for himself in Greenville. HHH looked worried.
Goldberg squashed Storm in 1:10 with the spear and jackhammer. Afterward, he choked Storm until he agreed to tell who put him up to try to run him down. Storm said it was Chris Jericho. Goldberg smiled, seemingly happy to find out it was Jericho.
HHH beat Flair in 7:27 to retain the RAW World Title. Flair came out to a great pop. Footage aired of the ugly bump HHH took at the PPV when Nash sent him through the announcer's desk. HHH tried to talk Flair into laying down for him. HHH strutted and refused. Flair hit some chops. HHH came back with an elbow. Flair punched HHH in his sore ribs and sent him over the top to the floor. They traded more chops and Flair did his bump over the turnbuckles. This time he did it successfully, and came off the top to nail HHH. Flair hit a chop block and hooked the figure four. HHH made the ropes. The traded a ton of chops. The ref got bumped and HHH went out to get the title belt. He swung it at Flair but missed. Flair raked the eyes, hit a low blow, and flattened HHH with the belt. The ref revived and counted, with HHH kicking out at two. HHH then caught Flair with a pedigree out of nowhere for the three count. Good match with great heat. Clearly the live crowd was disappointed that Flair didn't win his seventeenth world title, but I guess that just can't be in the cards at this stage. I still enjoyed seeing Flair be Flair. After the match, Nash came out and HHH beat a hasty retreat, though he collapsed when he reached the ramp top. Austin came out to end the show by informing HHH that he'll face Nash to defend the title in the Hell in the Cell at Bad Blood. HHH looked very worried. Nash was delighted.
RHETORICAL QUESTIONS:
How great is the Nature Boy?
Since when is the punishment for attempted murder a singles match against the proposed victim?
Why does anyone act shocked when Rosey & Jamal lose?
Why didn't someone the caliber or Goldberg or Steiner come out when Long made his white boy challenge?
How silly was this entire car attack scenario?
And what was in it for Lance Storm to try to run down Goldberg for Chris Jericho?
2003 - WWE Smackdown ran Johnson City, TN at Freedom Hall. Tim Whitehead filed the following live report:
WWE ran a heated Smackdown house show at Johnson City's Freedom Hall this evening. The crowd was red hot and into every match. It was the first WWE show in Johnson City in 14 years (though they ran nearby Bristol about a year-and-a-half ago). For years Freedom Hall featured events several times per year from Jim Crockett's NWA and later WCW. It also housed monthly shows for Smoky Mountain Wrestling from 1992 through 1995. Tonight's show was the first wrestling event in the building since a WCW house show more than two years ago, shortly before the promotion's demise.
MATT HARDY defeated JAMIE NOBLE to retain the Cruiserweight Title. Shannon Moore was with Hardy, while Nidia was with Noble. I love watching Nidia work the crowd. It was a good opener with both guys doing their standard spots. The finish saw Moore wallop Noble with the Hardys' book, setting him up for a chokeslam.
NIDIA defeated TORRIE WILSON in a match where Sable was ring announcer and Dawn Marie was special ref. Not much wrestling but everyone loved the puppies. Torrie went for a pin but Dawn Marie faked an arm injury to stop at two. Torrie argued with her. Nidia cradled Torrie from behind and scored the pin when Dawn Marie's injury miraculously healed. Torrie stripped Nidia's top and Dawn Marie's bottom off afterwards.
RHYNO defeated A-TRAIN. Standard match, with A-Train dominating most of the bout with brawling and power moves. Rhyno made the big comeback and won with the gore.
CHRIS BENOIT defeated SEAN O'HAIRE. O'Haire got in some early offense to get himself over. Benoit looked sharp as always. O'Haire rolled clear on a diving headbutt attempt by Benoit. Benoit immediately rebounded and won with the crossface.
THE FULL BLOODED ITALIANS defeated RIKISHI & BILL DEMOTT & KANYON. The FBI sold early, fleeing the ring to avoid Rikishi's ass. They threatened a walk-out. Eventually, the FBI tied DeMott up in their corner and worked him over. Rikishi came in and would have backed his ass up on Johnny Stamboli had Chuck Palumbo not saved him. The surprise finish saw Kanyon pinned by Palumbo after a double team slam. Afterward, the babyface team laid the FBI out, with Rikishi backing his ass up on both Palumbo & Nunzio. Kanyon pulled his tights down in the back and backed his ass up on Stamboli. Rikishi and his partners got a huge pop afterward for dancing.
EDDIE GUERRERO & TAJIRI beat TEAM ANGLE to retain the WWE World Tag Titles. They did comedy at first, with Shelton Benjamin getting crotched over and over. Tajiri told Team Angle that they suck in Japanese. Eddie was hilarious, doing his cheating routine over and over. Good solid back-and-forth action. The finish saw Eddie pin Charlie Haas after a frog splash as Tajiri tied Benjamin up with a tarantula.
BROCK LESNAR & REY MYSTERIO JR. beat BIG SHOW & JOHN CENA. Cena did his rap routine and said the Vols suck. Show acted terrified of Lesnar, to the point of tossing his own partner Cena into the ring to avoid fighting. The heels finally got heat on Mysterio, pounding him in their corner. Lesnar hot tagged and Show fled again. The finish had Mysterio give Cena a 619, which kicked him back into an F5 from Lesnar for the pin.
Overall a really fun house show with excellent crowd heat. I'm not the best guy at estimating crowds but I'd guess the place was two-thirds full, or about 4,000 attendance.
2004 - NWA: TNA ran their weekly Wednesday night PPV in Nashville, TN, featuring Ron Killings (now known as R-Truth) winning his first and only NWA championship. Mike Johnson filed the following PPV report:
Interesting Note: The words "FOX Sports Network" were deleted out of all the clips from last week during the pre-game show. The Total Nonstop Action Wrestling name was pushed as well.
This week's edition of NWA:TNA opened with X-Division champion Frankie Kazarian asking everyone not to steal the PPV signal from their cable company. I agree, if I have to pay $10 a week because my crummy cable company doesn't carry the monthly gimmick, so should all of you people! I think they should have Team Canada do these every week, as they were hysterical!
They aired a video feature on last week's PPV to get everyone caught up on the storylines, including clips of David Young losing to D-Ray 3000 on the syndicated Xplosion show.
The opening bout featured Jerry Lynn taking on Team Canada's Bobby Rude with the special stipulation that Lynn would get five minutes in the ring with Lynn if Rude lost while Lynn would step down as the Team NWA captain if he was not victorious. Lynn hit Rude with a headscissors, followed by a dropkick, sending Rude to the floor. Lynn soon followed with a dive off the ring apron. Lynn threw Rude into the apron and tossed him into the ring. Rude and Lynn battled in the corner and Lynn hit a facebuster off the ropes. Lynn hit a back elbow off the ropes on Rude and hits a guillotine legdrop through the ropes on Rude. Rude takes over and gets several near falls, including one after a neck breaker. Rude tried to keep Lynn down but Lynn battles out and hits a flip into a sunset flip out of the corner for a two count. Rude hits a flapjack maneuver. Ruder drops an elbow and nearly gets a two count. Rude locks in a reverse chinlock but Lynn bridges out. Rude goes for a senton off the ropes but misses. Lynn hits a clothesline off the ropes. Lynn covered Rude but Scott D'Amore pulled the referee out of the ring. Rude went to hit Lynn with the Canadian Flag but Lynn ducked and hit a side russian leg sweep using the flag. Lynn got a 2 count as the referee tried to get back in the ring. Rude went for the Canadian Bomb (spinning powerbomb) but Lynn landed on his feet, kicked Rude and hit the Cradle Piledriver for the pin. Your winner, Jerry Lynn.
Interesting to note that while plugging Impact! During the bout, Mike Tenay said, "check your local listings of your regional sports carrier to see where you can see Impact! Every week." I am guessing that is because it's not on FOX Sports in every region, as we've heard of numerous markets not carrying the series.
As a result of winning, Lynn got 5 minutes with Scott D'Amore in the ring. They had a countdown clock in the corner, which was a nice touch. Lynn was exhausted. D'Amore began stripping down to a red t-shirt and black running shorts and began kicking Lynn and clotheslined him. Mike Tenay noted that D'Amore wrestled for well over a decade although in recent years he's been working as a trainer. D'Amore dropped a legdrop on Lynn. D'Amore continued to beat down Lynn and hit an overhead release suplex. D'Amore grabbed the Canadian flag and wrapped it around Lynn's shoulders to mock him. It only enraged Lynn who began battling back, but was cut off with an thumb to the eye. Lynn hit a headscissors and dropkicked D'Amore, who landed in the corner. Lynn came off the turnbuckles with a low headbutt. Lynn set him for the cradle piledriver, but Bobby Rude attacked him.
Scott Hudson interviewed Vince Russo and said that the scuttlebutt is that there are rumors of new stipulations for tonight's main event. Russo said that all "the usual suspects", naming Konnan, Sabu, BG Jammes, and Sabu, will be fired if they interfere tonight. Russo all said that AJ will be in with "his equal" tonight so no one can say Russo is favoring him.
They went back to the Arena, where David Young made his way to the ring. Mike Tenay noted that Young is now 0-38 in recent bouts. D-Ray 3000 (who reminds me of a thin Rocky King from early 1990s WCW) made his way to the ring as Tenay noted his Xplosion victory was the biggest of his career. Young attacked D-Ray at the bell. D-Ray nearly got a 3 count with a bodyblock. Young hit a powerslam but D-Ray kicked up. Young hit a sitdown powerbomb but D-Ray put his arm up. D-Ray hit a small package for a two count. Young backdropped D-Ray. D-Ray hits a forearm for a two count. Ray got another off a legdrop. Another two count off a back elbow. In the crowd, the NYCs were beating down Irish Pat Kenny. Kenny began fighting them back with a leather strap. Young was distracted by the melee and looked to see what was going on. D-Ray rolled up Young and scored the 3 count. Kenny and the NYCs brawled into the ring and began whipping them. Trinity jumped off the top but was laid out by Kenny. Kenny began slapping Trinity in the rump with the strap. The NYCs all tripled on Kenny as Young watched. The announcers wondered if Young was confused or if he was watching out of loyalty to his old friends. The NYCs stuffed Irish Spring soap in Kenny's mouth and made him eat it. Security hit the ring as Young still looked on, shocked from his loss.
They aired a video feature on the World X Cup.
Backstage, Team Canada was interviewed by Scott Hudson. He said that what happened to Lynn was uncalled for. D'Amore said it was called for by Lynn last week and he couldn't last 5 minutes with D'Amore but his ego put the whole NWA Team in jeopardy. D'Amore said Lynn won the battle but Team TNA lost the war.
Back in the Arena, Team Japan's Nosawa,Ryuji Hijikata, and Mitsu Hirai Jr. battled Team Mexico's Heavy Metal, Mr. Aguila, and Abismo Negro. Nosawa hit a boot to the head off Aguila. Aguila hit a powerslam for a two count. Negro and Hijikata had a test of strength. Heavy Metal and Hirai Jr. tagged in. Team Japan hits a triple team powerbomb on Metal. Aguila tagged in but is locked in a camel clutch as Hijikata hit a kick to the face. Negro cleaned house with clotheslines and back breakers. Metal began kicking Hijikata. Hirai interfered to break it up and tagged in. Hirai hit a sitdown powerbomb but Aguila his a missile dropkick off the ropes to break up a pin. Nosawa went for a splash and missed. Metal missed a moonsault. Hirai accidentally hit Nosawa. Team Mexico doubled on Hijikata and scored the pin. Fun match but way too fast to cover. They were pushing that Team Mexico is undefeated in the X Cup tournaments during the bout and whether they would remain that way "next week." Your winners, Team Japan!
Goldilocks and Abyss made their way to the ring. Goldi got a house mic and said she was looking for Erik Watts. Tenay said that Watts wasn't there and they had to go to Sonjay Dutt vs. Amazing Red next. She said she can do anything she wants because she can play the legal card. West made a joke about her and she went off on West. The idea is that Goldy swindled Watts out of all his money. That 1992 WCW contract sure lasted him awhile! The announcers tried to get the crowd to chant "Crazy" at Goldilocks. Watts showed up with a baseball bat. He took out Abyss and chased her into the crowd. He grabbed her for what looked to be a chokeslam but Abyss slammed a chair across his back. Abyss propped a chair in the corner, but Watts reversed it and sent Abyss into it headfirst. Watts hit Abyss in the stomach with a bat. Security hit the ring and calmed Watts as Goldylocks and Abyss bailed out.
They went to a video feature on Sonjay Dutt vs. The Amazing Red.
NWA:TNA X-Division champion made his way to the ring to join the announcers for commentary. Kazarian lasted for the first minute of the bout before excusing himself to scout his future opponent. They started out fast with Red tossing Dutt over the top and hitting a running flip dive on Dutt, hitting him glancingly in the aisle. Red whipped Dutt towards the ring steps but Dutt grabbed the ring ropes and pulled himself around in a "619" like move. Dutt brings him back to the ring for a one count. Kazarian hit a springboard moonsault press for a near fall. Dutt springboarded off the corner ropes twice and dove on Red, but overshot and missed Red, which the announcers called. The announced pushed how hard the timing of the high impact maneuvers can be, which was great improvisation. Dutt got another near fall and peppered him with forearms. Red and Dutt began kicking each other in the legs. Each man hit clotheslines on the other at once. Red went for his sunset flip powerbomb but Dutt powered him over and red slipped out. Red hit an enziguiri on Dutt. Red hit Infrared for a two count. Red went for a top rope hurrancanrana, but Dutt caught him and hit a top rope powerbomb for a two count. Red and Dutt battled in the corner and Red came off the top with a sunset flip powerbomb for a two count. Red came off the top. Dutt moved and Red rolled through. Dutt cut him off and hit Red's Infrared standing shooting star for a two count. Dutt went for the 450 splash but Red moved. Dutt rolled over on his feet. Red hit the Infrared for a two count. Red went for a tornado DDT but Dutt broke free. Red finally hit it and scored the three count. Your winner, The Amazing Red, who will challenge Kazarian in two weeks on PPV. Kazarian got in the ring and began mockingly praising Red, and offered a handshake. Kazarian pulled him close and tried to intimidate Red. Red kicked off Kazarian and sent him flying out of the ring and held the X-Division championship aloft in the air.
They went to a video feature on Kid Kash & Dallas vs. James Storm & Dusty Rhodes.
Backstage, James Storm and Dusty Rhodes were interviewed. Rhodes said he made the National Wrestling Alliance and the Bunkhouse Brawl famous. Rhodes cut a hell of a promo saying Kash and Dallas need to be taught a lesson.
The next bout was the Bunkhouse Brawl with NWA Tag Team champions Kid Kash and Dallas against Dusty Rhodes and James Storm. Oddly enough, only Rhodes looked to be in Bunkhouse attire. Kid Kash tried to lure Dusty in to start the bout. He punched Dusty and then acted arrogant while stalling. Dusty hit the bionic elbow and Kash retreated. Dallas and Storm tagged in and Dallas shrugged off a running shoulderblock. Storm hit a series of kicks to take down Dallas, who tagged out to Kash. Kash takes over and locks a figure four on Storm. Storm hits a powerslam for a two count. Storm tagged in Dusty but the referee didn't see it and wouldn't allow it. Dallas and Kash continued to doubleteam Storm's leg. Storm escaped. Kash dove off the top but Storm moved. Dallas caught him. Dallas and Storm battled in the ring and Storm hit a facebuster, then tagged in Dusty. Dusty cleaned house but the referee "didn't see the tag" and forced him out. Storm used a trash can on Kash and Dallas. Storm came off the ropes with a spinning reverse DDT for the pin but Kash came off the top and hit him with a lead pipe. Dusty attacked Kash and laid him out on a table outside. Dusty tossed his cowboy boot to Storm in the ring and hit a superkick with the boot for the pin. Your winners, Dusty Rhodes and James Storm.
Backstage, Scott Hudson interviewed Monty Brown. Brown made Hudson get down on the floor and said Hudson was at the bottom of the food chain. Brown then said he is at the top of the food chain. Brown bullied Hudson and said he will have his eye on the Deadly Draw because it's taking place on his hunting ground with his animals. He said that the winner will have to face Brown. Brown vowed that tonight someone will be his prey. Brown is showing tons of charisma and has a lot of enthusiasm. I'm really enjoying his stuff.
Mike Tenay and Don West plugged the NWATNA.com website, the TNA wrestling school, and Impact! They plugged next week's PPV. Team NWA came out and Christopher Daniels cut a promo, running down each team. Daniels said that the difference is that TNA invented and perfected the X-Division style. He promised victory next week.
Backstage, Scott Hudson interviewed Konnan. Konnan said that Vince Russo was behind everything that happened to 3 Live Kru last week and they are tired of talking to Russo. BG Jammes said that everything points to Russo and if Russo thinks they are just going to watch Ron Killings get screwed out of the title, he has another thing coming. Jammes said that tonight may be the night 3 Live Kru gets even with Russo.
They aired a video feature on the Deadly Draw featuring comments from each competitor.
They went to the ring for the Deadly Draw. NWA champion AJ Styles made his way to the ring first. Chris Harris came out, as he drew #1 so he gets five minutes with Styles before the second contender comes out. They had a clock in the corner counting down the round. Harris hit an inverted atomic drop on Styles, then hit a lariat for the pin. Harris whipped Styles into the corner where he took an upside down bump into it. Harris got a two count. Styles battles back. Styles hit a bicycle kick on Harris. Styles drops a high knee on Harris. Styles and Harris battled back and forth as the "first round" ended. Harris went for the pin after a Catatonic but the referee stopped him. Raven hit the ring as he drew #2. Raven threw Styles out of the ring and peppered Harris with punches. Raven bulldogged Harris. Everytime Styles tried to get back in the ring, Raven would knock him back to the floor. He finally got back into the ring and tried to go for the Styles Clash on Raven, but Raven charged him into the corner. Styles locked on a sleeper. Raven shot him into the ropes and locked in a sleeper of his own. Styles tried to slam Raven into the turnbuckles, but Raven held it. Harris locked a sleeper on Raven, so they did the classic ECW Night the Line Was Crossed spot. All three collapsed. Styles hit a clothesline on Raven but Harris broke it up. Raven tried to cover Harris but Styles broke it up. Raven went to kick Styles, but he ducked and it connected with Harris. Styles hit a discus clothesline on Raven and all three were down as the clock counted down to zero. Ron Killings hit the ring, as he drew #3. Killings beat down all three. Everyone ended up on the floor and AJ hit a springboard shooting star press on all three challengers. They showed Monty Brown watching in the back. AJ tried to climb to the top but Raven held his leg. Killings hit an over the shoulder fisherman's buster, getting a two count. Harris locked on a sharpshooter as Styles locked on a spinning toehold. Raven kicked off Styles, slamming him into Killings and Harris. Styles was tossed out of the ring. Harris went for the Catatonic but Raven stopped it and hit a superkick. Styles climbed back in the ring, left with Killings. They brawled back and forth. Styles went for a monkey flip out of the corner but Killings stopped it. Styles went for a styles clash off the ropes but Killings blocked it. Styles finally hit it for a two count, but Raven broke it up. Styles went for one on Raven but Jeff Jarrett came out. He hit Styles with a guitar. Raven made the cover but Harris pulled him out of the ring. Harris came off the top with an elbow and covered Styles for a two count, but the referee was pulled out of the ring by Killings. Raven tackled Harris through the ropes and they went to the floor. Killings hit an axekick and scored the three count. Vince Russo came out with a bunch of officials and after several seconds of arguing, they announced that the decision stands. Jarrett challenged Killings for next week as the other members of 3 Live Kru held Killings back. Raven and Harris weren't happy with the ending because there was interference. Your winner and new NWA champion Ron Killings.
2006 - WWE releases its first theatrical film, the horror film "See No Evil" starring Kane. The film would go on to make $18,564,467 worldwide in its theatrical run, the best showing of any WWE film
2007- WWE Raw ran Cape Girardeau, MO at the Show Me Center, drawing 4,575 fans with the following results:
o date. To promote the film, WWE ran a storyline where the date May 19th drove Kane mad.
-Cryme Tyme defeated Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas.
-Daniel Rodman defeated Eugene.
-Chuck Palumbo defeated Viscera.
-WWE IC Champion Santino Marella defeated Kenny Dykstra.
-WWE Raw Tag Team Champions Matt & Jeff Hardy defeated Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch.
-Ric Flair defeated Carlito Caribbean Cool.
-Candice Michelle & Mickie James defeated WWE Women's Champion Melina & Victoria.
-WWE World Champion John Cena defeated Randy Orton.
2007 - WWE ran a combined Smackdown! & ECW event in Rolla, MO at the Gale Bullman Building, drawing 2,082 fans with the following results:
-The Daltons (the future Jesse and Festus) defeated William Regal & Dave Taylor.
-Mark Henry defeated Jimmy Wang Yang.
-Marcus Cor Von defeated Tommy Dreamer.
-Kane defeated Finlay.
-WWE Smackdown! Tag Team Champions Deuce & Domino defeated Paul London & Brian Kendrick.
-CM Punk defeated Elijah Burke.
-Batista & WWE U.S. Champion Chris Benoit defeated World Heavyweight Champion Edge & MVP.
2008 - WWE broadcast Raw from Kansas City, Missouri. The episode scored a 3.2 cable rating, down from last week's 3.3. The show did hours of 3.15 and 3.23. Richard Trionfo issued the following TV Report:
Your announcers are Jim 'Is there any good BBQ in this town' Ross and Jerry 'I am the only Royal in this building' Lawler.
Match Number One: Jeff Hardy versus Umaga
Umaga punches Hardy instead of locking up like Hardy expected. Hardy with a sunset flip but Umaga will not go over. He tries to drop down but Hardy moves. Hardy hits a drop kick for a near fall. Hardy punches Umaga but Umaga with a Samoan drop. Umaga with a nerve hold on Hardy. Umaga with a Kane-like uppercut and then he slams Hardy into the turnbuckles and puts him in the tree of woe. Umaga tries for the diving headbutt and he connects. Umaga goes to the second turnbuckle for another head butt but Hardy moves. Umaga grabs Hardy but the hair and Hardy tries for the Twist of Fate but Umaga gets out of the hold. Hardy tries for the Whisper in the Wind but Umaga pushes Hardy away like he was another Samoan. Umaga drags Hardy into the corner and he punches Hardy to set up for the running butt splash. Hardy moves out of the way and Hardy punches Umaga. Hardy with the delayed baseball slide drop kick. Hardy with a mule kick that sends Umaga out of the ring and then he hits a somersault plancha and both men are down. Umaga with a knee and then he tries to send Hardy into the ring steps but Hardy stops short. Umaga charges at Hardy but Hardy moves and Umaga goes into the steps. Hardy tries for a cross body after running the ringside barrier. Umaga with an uranage and the ref makes the ten count.
Winner: Nobody . . . Double Count Out
As they check on Hardy at ringside, we go TO THE BACK
Where Chris Jericho is in the locker room. Batista tells Jericho that he better not get in his way to deal with Shawn Michaels. Jericho says that he might as well forfeit the match or wait until Batista cheap shots him and hits the Batista Bomb like he did in the Highlight Reel. Batista says that Jericho and Michaels beat the hell out of each other and is not in any condition to wrestle. Each wishes the other luck but will not turn their back on the other. We go to commercial.
We are back and the lights are out. Either Vladimir Kozlov or William Regal will be in this segment. It looks like it is King General Manager William Regal. Regal reminds us that One Night Stand is in two weeks, and that pay per view will have Extreme Rules. Jeff Hardy will face YouManga in a Falls Count Anywhere Match. We go to Bradshaw and Randy Orton in the back on the TitanTron since it is time to talk about rematches. Regal tells Orton and Bradshaw that they will be facing Triple Haitch and John Cena in a tag team match, even though they would like to get rematches. If they win, they will get the rematch in a stipulation of their choice. If Cena and Triple Haitch win, they will meet in an Extreme Rules Match of Regal’s choosing.
Before Regal can continue, he is interrupted by Ken Kennedy. Regal asks Kennedy how many times we have to go through this. Kennedy says that he knows that there will be consequences for this. Kennedy reminds Regal that he has been asking him a question since Regal won King of the Ring. Kennedy wants to face Regal tonight. Regal tells Kennedy that he does not get it because Kennedy is not his equal. He does not take challenges from common wrestlers. Regal says that he will fire the next person who interrupts him.
THERE is NO CHANCE as Vince McMahon walks to the ring as only Vince McMahon can. Vince enters the ring and Kennedy tells Vince that he shouldn’t have done that. Kennedy tells Regal to fire Vince. Vince tells Kennedy to shut up. Vince reminds Regal that he gave Regal his 100 percent endorsement. Vince says that ever since he got the endorsement, due to Regal’s abuse of power and arbitrary complaints, they have received more complaints than ever. Vince says that Regal might not care what the people think about him, but what he cares about is the money. Regal tells Vince you sometimes have to take a half-step back before taking two steps forward. Vince says that he is talking about ratings. When Regal comes on the air, the ratings plummet. The longer that Regal stays on the air, the ratings go lower. In the interest of fairness, Regal wants Kennedy gone and so does Vince. Vince tells Kennedy that he does not like him, but the fans want Regal gone. Tonight there will be a match between Regal and Kennedy and the loser will be gone. Vince clarifies and says that the loser will be FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHRED. We go to commercial.
We are back with the Slam of the Week: Mickie James retaining the WWE Women’s Title despite Beth Phoenix’s Feat of Strumph (copyright Mark Henry)
Melina joins Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler at the announce table, but not before she does her entrance for them on the announce table.
Match Number Two: Beth Phoenix versus Maria
Maria charges at Beth and has Beth in a waist lock but Beth with a standing switch and she tosses Maria to the mat. Beth runs Maria into the corner and then she presses Maria over her head before dropping Maria behind her. Maria with forearms but Beth with a back breaker and then she stretches Maria over her knee. Maria with knees to the head to get out of the hold. Maria slams Beth’s head into the turnbuckles followed by a bulldog for a two count. Maria with a rollup for a two count, but Beth with a shoulder tackle. Maria kicks Beth but Beth grabs Maria and hits a wheelbarrow slam into a rocking chair submission and Maria taps.
Winner: Beth Phoenix
After the match, Melina gets in the ring and then she runs through the ring and goes after Beth and attacks her from behind. Melina chokes Beth but Beth slams Melina to the ramp. We see Beth look at Melina in the background as officials check on her.
We go to commercial.
We are back and so is Piper’s Pit. Speaking of Piper, Roddy showed up on Jimmy Kimmel Live. We see footage including Jimmy taking Buck’s side in the Royal/Royale debate.
Katie Lea is with Mickie James and Katie says that when she wins the Women’s Title, she will bring more class. Katie says that Mickie is sleeping her way to the top. Mickie says that she was out with John, her brother, and his girlfriend. Mickie says that John was a gentleman. Katie says that if Cena went out with her and her brother, they would be having more than just fun. Katie says that she knows what is going on.
William Regal is in his office and Shawn Michaels enters. Shawn says that he knows that Regal is busy and wishes him luck in his match against Ken Kennedy. Shawn says that he gets to sit back and watch. Regal says that Shawn will be wrestling at One Night Stand. Someone is going to get hurt because Shawn will wrestle the winner of the Jericho/Batista match in a Stretcher Match.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Jim Ross talks about the Golden Patriot Award that the WWE won at the GI Film Festival, which was accepted by Ric Flair.
Match Number Three: Chris Jericho versus Batista in a Winner faces Shawn Michaels in a Stretcher Match at One Night Stand (and the loser probably faces Michaels next week on Raw) Match
Jericho with forearms to Batista but Batista pushes Jericho out of the corner. Batista punches Jericho and follows that with shoulders. Batista charges into a boot from Jericho followed by forearms and punches. Batista pushes Jericho down again. Jericho with a kick to Batista but Batista tosses Jericho into the air and face first into the mat. Batista with a back elbow for a near fall. Batista with an Irish whip and running clothesline into the corner. Batista connects with another one. Batista chokes Jericho with his boot. Jericho appears to have tweaked his knee on an Irish whip and Batista is ready to call BS on that. The referee checks on Jericho as we go to commercial.
We are back and Batista with a hard Irish whip and a cover but Jericho has his foot on the ropes. Batista with a forearm and punches. Batista charges at Jericho but Jericho drops down and Batista has hurt his knee. Batista gingerly makes his way back into the ring and Jericho kicks Batista in the leg and connects with a clip. Jericho continues to work on the leg. Batista uses his leg strength to send Jericho out of the ring and Jericho pulls Batista to the mat. Batista kicks Jericho into the announce table. Batista with a big boot when Jericho returns to the ring and both men are down. Batista with forearms but Jericho with kicks to the leg. Batista with a spinebuster and then he sets for the Batista Bomb but Jericho with forearms to the knee. Jericho with a single leg crab but Batista finally makes it to the ropes. Jericho kicks Batista in the leg again but Batista pushes him off. Batista misses a clothesline and Jericho with another clip. Jericho misses a Lionsault when Batista moves. Batista tries for the Batista Bomb but Jericho holds on to the ropes. Jericho is sent to the apron and he kicks Batista. Jericho goes up top but Batista with a clothesline but Jericho kicks out. Jericho struggles to get up and Batista misses a charge into the corner. Jericho tries for the Codebreaker but Batista catches him and Batista hits a Batista Bomb for the three count.
Winner: Batista
After the match, the referee checks on Batista and Shawn Michaels comes out and he stares down Batista.
We go to commercial.
We are back and William Regal is getting ready for his match and Vince McMahon enters. Regal wants to know why Vince set up this match. Vince asks Regal if he is afraid of Kennedy. Ted DiBiase enters the office and Vince wants to do some business with Ted and he wants to use Regal’s office. Vince tells Ted to take a seat. Vince starts to talk about his investments and we go
TO THE ARENA and it is time for Piper’s Pit. Roddy looks very Italian tonight because it is Santino Marella dressed up like Rodney Piper. He introduces himself as Rodney the Piper and he talks about beating a fat transvestite in a retirement match at Wrestlemania 3. Santino continues to mock Piper and he says that he is sick of Rodney Piper. Santino shows us footage of Santino interrupting Cousin Sal’s birthday party and then get attacked by Roddy Piper.
Santino talks about Cousin Sal and how he is the cousin of Jiminy Kimmel, a man who wrote a song about humping Ben Affleck. Santino brings out Cousin Sal. Santino welcomes Sal to the Pit. According to Jiminy Camel, Sal idolized Rodney the Piper as a kid. Santino asks why he idolized Rodney. Sal says that the thing he admired the most was his ability to back up everything that he says. Sal mentions how Santino said that he would be a tag team champion, beat up Stone Cold Steve Austin, and sleep with a Playboy Cover Girl. Sal says that Maria says that is impossible because Santino is hung like a fourth grader. We see Ron Simmons for his DAMN moment. Santino says that he brought Sal here to give him an apology. Santino has an “I’m Sorry” cake and he tells Sal that Jiminy cannot save him. Santino holds the cake for Sal and Roddy appears behind Santino and Piper grabs Santino by the back of the neck and he tastes the cake. Sal pushes the cake into Santino’s face and Roddy throws Santino out of the ring.
Santino says that is funny, so why not have a match against him. Roddy accepts the match for Sal and Santino says that Christmas came early for him.
Ken Kennedy is walking in the back as we go to commercial.
We are back with the WWE Rewind: Lance Cade turning on Trevor ‘WWE Idol’ Murdoch last week.
Jim Ross says that Cade and Murdoch are finished as a tag team. Lawler wonders if Cade does not like country music and Ross wonders if there is any other type of music.
Kennedy says that soon there will be no more tea and crumpets; fish and chips; or pompous windbags who will lose their family jewels to Ken Kennedy. . . Kennedy.
Match Number Four: Ken Kennedy versus King General Manager William Regal in a Vince McMahon said that the loser will be FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHRED Match
They lock up and Regal backs Kennedy into the corner and connects with forearms. Kennedy with a kick and punches. Regal and Kennedy exchange punches and kicks. Kennedy with an Irish whip and back body drop for a near fall. Kennedy with a running boot to the head of Regal and Regal goes to the floor. Regal pulls Kennedy onto the apron and he hits his head. Regal takes advantage of the situation and connects with knees. Kennedy tries for a back slide but Regal holds on and then he gets a near fall. Regal with forearms to Kennedy in the corner followed by an Exploder suplex for a two count. Regal with an arm bar and crossface. Regal with an Irish whip but Regal charges into a knee. Kennedy with punches and he misses a kick but he connects with the second one and gets a two count. Regal with a knee that sends Kennedy out of the ring to the floor. Regal lets go of Kennedy and grabs the mic. Regal says that he is still general manager so this is a No Disqualification Match.
Regal takes brass knuckles from a production team member at ringside. Regal kicks Kennedy and then sends him into the ring steps. Regal rolls Kennedy into the ring and he still has his mic. Regal waits for Kennedy to get up and Kennedy with a low kick and Mic Check for the three count.
Winner: Ken Kennedy
After the match, it is time to serenade Regal. The crowd also chants ‘USA’ and Jim Duggan is not in the ring. Regal walks to the back and we go to commercial.
We are back and William Regal is trying to get into his office. The door opens and Regal has a shocked look on his face. Teddy Long walks out of the office and he asks Regal what is up playa. Then Teddy walks away.
Todd Grisham is with Triple Haitch. Todd congratulates Hunter on his victory last night. Todd asks if Orton and Bradshaw have the edge over Cena and Hunter tonight. Hunter says that whether him and Cena are friends is irrelevant because Orton and Bradshaw are not going out on lunch dates. Hunter says that he thinks they are the favorites. He does not care who he faces at One Night Stand. There are many changes going on, but there is one constant, that he is the best.
Match Number Five: Randy Orton with Ashley’s music and Bradshaw with JBLimo versus John Cena with Dave humming the theme and Triple Haitch with the GameFountain in an If Hunter and Cena win, they face each other at One Night Stand; but if Orton and Bradshaw win, we have yet another rematch at One Night Stand Match
Cena and Orton start things off and they lock up with Cena applying a side head lock. Orton backs Cena into the corner and he punches Cena in the head. Can with an Irish whip and bulldog to Orton and Hunter is tagged in. Hunter punches Orton but he charges into an elbow and he punches Hunter. Orton with a kick but Hunter hits the high knee. Hunter knocks Bradshaw down on the apron and then Hunter Irish whips Orton and Cena pulls down the ropes and Orton goes over the top rope to the floor. We go to commercial.
We are back and Bradshaw covers Hunter for a near fall. Bradshaw with a Cobra Clutch on Hunter and Hunter is going out but he gets his second wind. Orton tags in and he punches Hunter. Orton with kicks and punches. Orton with a kick to the chest and punches to the head. Orton tries for a drop kick but Hunter holds on to the ropes and both men are down. Cena tags in and he connects with a clothesline and flying shoulder followed by a Blue Thunder Bomb. Cena hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle but Bradshaw hits Cena from behind. Hunter hits Bradshaw. Cena avoids the RKO and gets Orton up for the FU but Bradshaw with a boot to the face and Orton cannot get the three count because the referee is out of position. Orton punches Cena followed by an Irish whip but Cena and Orton collide and both men go down. Hunter and Bradshaw tag in and Hunter with punches. Hunter hits a flying clothesline followed by more punches and a face buster. Hunter follows that with a neck breaker for a near fall. Hunter with a spinebuster on Bradshaw and then he throws Orton out of the ring. Cena puts Bradshaw in the STFU and Orton hits a backbreaker on Hunter. Orton kicks Cena in the head and Orton punches Hunter while Bradshaw makes the cover and gets the three count.
Winners: Randy Orton and Bradshaw
After the match, Hunter sets for the Pedigree on Orton but Bradshaw with a clothesline. Bradshaw holds Hunter and then Orton hits the RKO.
Bradshaw gets on the mic and he tells Cena that they will be wrestling in a First Blood Match. Orton tells Hunter that they will be wrestling for the WWE Title the same way he won it from Hunter in the same way he won it from him, in a Last Man Standing Match. We go to credits.
Raw Thoughts
The Matches
The opening match was okay, but it did not like the double count out finish. At least we will see this match again because it has not been done enough. While it was a double count out, at least we did not see Umaga lose one more time. I liked the uranage on the floor that led to the double count out.
The Beth/Maria match was a good squash for Beth. With Beth’s recent performances, there is a chance that the WWE could get some really strong women’s matches to add to their pay per views and regularly air on television. The finish was good and may set up an inter-brand match between Michelle and Beth that focuses on submissions.
The Jericho/Batista match was good. I liked how they went to commercial teasing Jericho’s ‘knee injury’ and then after they come back, it is Batista who ‘hurt his knee’. I was a bit surprised to see Batista use so many power moves when he was supposed to be ‘injured’. I liked the finish and how Batista was able to catch Jericho on the Codebreaker attempt and hit the Batista Bomb for the victory.
The Regal/Kennedy match was a stiff brawl. I liked how Regal tried to use his role as General Manager to try to get the advantage over Kennedy. It was also good to see the attempt to screw over Ken Kennedy backfire with the low blow into the mic check.
I thought the main event was good. I guess by having the heels getting the chance for rematches, they will work together and not try to screw the other over. Hunter and Cena worked well as a team. There was some good action in the match. The only problem that I had with the match was that Cena was not the legal man in the ring so the pinfall shouldn’t have been allowed. Maybe we will get another four way (it would be a rematch).
The Rest
Did anyone else want to see Mike Adamle make a cameo so we could see him looking for Kane all night to try to ask him about May 19th because everyone told him to ask Kane.
I guess someone from the production team for the WWE is among the .87 who watch Impact because they took the to the back concept and ran with it.
The Jericho/Batista segment in the locker room was a good build for their match to find out who would face Shawn Michaels at One Night Stand. I also liked how they did not trust each other even though we have not been told if either of them are heels.
When the lights were out when we came back from the first commercial, was anyone afraid that Vladimir Kozlov was traded to Raw?
I liked that Regal gave Bradshaw and Orton the added bonus of being able to name the stipulation if they could win the main event.
The Kennedy/Regal interaction was good. When Kennedy was told by Regal that the next person to interrupt him would be fired, was there any doubt that Vince (or any other McMahon) would be coming to the ring? Kennedy was hilarious as the cocky kid who wanted to see Regal try to fire the boss.
How would a relationship with John Cena be considered sleeping your way to the top if your name is Mickie James and there is one person the possible couple who has the title, and it is not Cena? At least we got to hear a longer promo from Katie Lea.
What Melina lacks in announcing skills, she is no female Mike Adamle. The less she talked during the match, the better. Her post-match sprint to attack Beth Phoenix was the best part of Melina’s performance in that segment.
If One Night Stand is all Extreme Rules Matches, why are they using the same gimmick for matches that we always see?
I mentioned this on the message board, but when the preview announced the Batista/Jericho match, I was hoping we would see the following scenario. Batista and Jericho battle to a double count out and then Regal announces that both men will face Shawn Michaels; only to see Vickie Guerrero come out to announce that matches cannot be awarded by count out so Shawn Michaels still has no opponent; and then Armando Estrada comes out and he orders Colin Delaney into the match after he beats Delaney four times.
Is Teddy Long really the new General Manager of Raw?
2009 - Ion William Kroitoru, who wrestled as Johnny K-9 and Bruiser Bedlam in the WWF and Smoky Mountain Wrestling, was charged with conspiracy to murder as one of the members of the United Nations Gang plotting to kill members of the Red Scorpians, according to The Vancouver Sun.
2009 - WWE broadcast ECW on Sci Fi. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV Report:
We are live on tape from Cincinnati, Ohio and your announcers are Josh ‘Andy Travis’ Mathews and Matt ‘Nessman’ Striker.
We start off tonight’s show with Jack Swagger sitting in the center of the ring. He says that it is bad enough what happened to him at Backlash, but what happened to him at Judgment Day was a travesty and he is not going to leave the ring until he gets justice. Some officials come to the ring to try to get Swagger to leave but Jack refuses. Jack tells them to have Blondie come out herself to get him to leave but he is not budging.
Tiffany makes her way to the ring and she tells the officials to leave the ring. Tiffany tells Jack to get out of the ring and she tells Jack that they can discuss it in the ring. Jack says that it is too bad if he is disrupting her show. Jack says that he will not leave until she makes it right. He says that Christian has his title belt and he never beat Swagger. Jack says that it is not fair that Christian cheated twice. Jack blames Tiffany for the problem. Tiffany tells Jack Swagger that he cannot hold her show hostage. Jack says that he does not have to listen to Tiffany because he will be around a lot longer because people come to see him, not the next Brittney Spears. He says that he is the franchise while Tiffany is a temp. Tiffany finally takes the mic and she says that the temp has the right to make sure that Swagger does not get his title back. Tiffany tells him to get out of the ring and go to her office right now. Jack finally leaves the ring.
Tiffany apologizes for what just happened and she says that they will have a great show. Tiffany brings out Christian and he crosses paths with Swagger on the ramp. Swagger pushes Christian off the ramp and then he goes to the back while Christian holds his knee.
We go to commercial.
We are back and next Monday, Ric Flair will be on Raw, wherever it may be.
Match Number One: Christian versus Paul Burchill with Katie Lea
Christian holds his knee and favors it as the match starts. Burchill goes after the leg but Christian avoids him. Burchill goes after the leg but Christian punches him and works on the arm and then has Burchill down with a double leg take down into a front face lock. Burchill with a hammer lock and a single leg take down but Christian kicks him off. Christian with an arm drag into an arm bar and key lock. Burchill with a knee to Christian’s leg but Christian responds with an arm drag and returns to the key lock. Burchill backs Christian into the corner but Christian with an uppercut. Burchill pulls Christian off the turnbuckles and Christian goes to the floor. Christian punches Burchill but Burchill returns to the leg and then he Irish whips Christian into the ring steps.
They return to the ring and Burchill with a near fall. Burchill with a single leg crab. Burchill with an atomic drop to the knee and then he hits a Saito suplex for a near fall. Christian with kicks but Burchill holds on to the ropes when Christian tries for a drop kick. Burchill returns to the knee and he gets a near fall. Burchill with a leg lace but Christian tries to escape and he gets to the ropes. Burchill with a European uppercut and then he kicks the leg in the ropes. Burchill misses a charge into the corner and Christian hits a tornado DDT and both men are down until Christian gets a near fall. Christian punches Burchill followed by a back body drop. Christian with an inverted DDT for a near fall. Burchill with a hard Irish whip and then he kicks Burchill followed by a sunset flip from the turnbuckles for a near fall. Burchill tries to return to the knee but Christian counters and tries for the Killswitch but Burchill blocks it and hits a suplex for a near fall. Burchill runs Christian into the corner and then he misses a charge and Christian hits the pendulum kick and then he hits the flying European uppercut from the turnbuckles followed by the Killswitch for the three count.
Winner: Christian
After the match, Josh Mathews interviews Christian in the ring and he asks Christian about what Jack Swagger did to him. Christian says that if Jack did not like what happened at Judgment Day, then he won’t like what he has to say. Christian mentions Tommy Dreamer’s request for a title match at Madison Square Garden where Swagger interfered. Since Swagger had his rematch and lost, Christian is going to challenge Tommy Dreamer to a match for the ECW Title.
We go to commercial.
We are back and did you know that for 33 weeks, nothing else on SciFi had better ratings.
Jack Swagger is with Tiffany and he cannot believe what Christian did. Tiffany tells Jack to take the night off.
Match Number Two: Zack Ryder versus Adam Green
Ryder with a slap before they lock up and Ryder with forearms across the face. Ryder with a side head lock and shoulder tackle and elbow drop. Ryder with kicks and a swinging neck breaker. Ryder with an Irish whip but he charges into a boot and forearm. Ryder kicks Green in the ribs and then he woo woo woos. Ryder works on the neck and then he chokes Green in the ropes. Green with an elbow but Ryder with a leaping leg lariat as Matt Striker with the first Nuggets reference. Ryder with a swinging neck breaker with the knee in the neck for the three count.
Winner: Zack Ryder
Josh and Matt talk about David Hart Smith and his actions against Finlay.
Smith is doing dips in the locker room and Tyson and Natalya enter. They talk about what he is going to do to Finlay. Natalya says that Smith’s dad would be proud of him and David says that he should because he is already better than his father. We go to commercial.
We are back with the Extreme Rewind: Vladimir Kozlov destroying Chad Collyer.
Vladimir Kozlov comes out and he pays tribute to Hunt for Red October with his outfit. Kozlov says that he is the greatest fighting force in ECW because of the Russian army. He says that there will be no retreat, there will be no surrender.
Gregory Helms has breaking news that Tommy Dreamer has accepted the challenge from Christian and the match will take place on Thursday. Tommy wants to thank Christian for the opportunity and it shows the type of man and champion that Christian is. Tommy says that this could be his last ECW title match and he vows to be the ECW Champion.
Finlay is walking in the back as we go to commercial.
Match Number Four: David Hart Smith with Natalya and TysonKidd versus Fit Finlay
They lock up and Smith backs Finlay into the corner but Finlay with a head butt and side head lock. Finlay with punches to the throat followed by European uppercuts and a short arm clothesline and an elbow to the top of the head for a near fall. Finlay with another European uppercut and then he connects with a knee drop to the head. Finlay pulls Smith to the mat and gets a near fall. Finlay kicks Smith to the floor and then he rolls him back in. Smith with an elbow to Finlay and then he kicks Finlay. Smith with a European uppercut followed by kicks. Finlay with a short arm clothesline for a near fall and a key lock. Smith gets his foot on the rope so Finlay pulls Smith into the center of the ring. Smith gets back to the ropes and Finlay pulls him back into the center of the ring. Finlay returns to the key lock. Smith gets back to his feet and he knees Finlay but Finlay with a forearm and an inverted face lock and neck breaker for a near fall. They fight on the floor and Smith hits a running power slam on the floor as we go to commercial.
We are back and Smith has Finlay in a rear chin lock. Smith with a leg drop and a near fall. Smith with knees to the back as he wears down Finlay and then he puts Finlay in a rear chin lock with his knee in the back. Finlay with a jawbreaker but Smith with a clothesline for a near fall. Smith with a punch to Finlay followed by kicks to the head. Finlay goes to the floor and Smith pulls Finlay back to the apron but Finlay with a forearm and kicks as he returns to the ring. Smith with a head butt to the midsection. Smith with more boots to the head and a knee to the back. Smith with a waist lock. Finlay works on the back by jumping onto it. Smith with a camel clutch and Smith adds crossfaces. Smith with an abdominal stretch and Finlay escapes and he runs Smith into the turnbuckles and he punches Smith. Finlay walks into a boot but Smith misses an elbow drop. Finlay with a punch and forearms but Finlay is sent into the turnbuckles. Smith returns to the camel clutch and he turns it into a reverse chin lock. Smith pulls Finlay to the mat and he applies extra pressure to the neck. Smith with a forearm that staggers Finlay followed by an Irish whip. Finlay sends Smith into the ring post and then he gets a rollup for a near fall. Finlay with clotheslines followed by the seated splash for a two count. Finlay with a shoulder into the corner but he cannot get Smith up for the Celtic Cross or Fireman’s Carry Slam. Finlay with a back body drop and then he clotheslines Smith over the top rope to the floor. Natalya and Kidd try to interfere and Finlay sends Kidd into the ringside barrier. The referee is distracted by Kidd and Smith hits Finlay with Natalya’s boot and then he hits the Saito Suplex for the three count.
Winner: David Hart Smith
2010 - Randy Savage announced on his official website that he had gotten married.
2010 -In a letter sent to the Hartford Courant, Michael Benoit, the father of the late Chris Benoit, wrote about Linda McMahon's political aspirations and denounced McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment for their role in the early deaths of professional wrestlers.
An excerpt:
"My son, Chris Benoit, 40, was one of WWE's top superstars. In June 2007, our lives changed dramatically, when he tragically killed his wife, son and himself. The press jumped on steroids as the cause of his actions. But tests showed that brain damage in the form of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE, not steroids, was responsible for our loss. CTE, caused by repetitive trauma to the brain, can bring on serious disorders such as a loss of emotional control, addictions to drugs and alcohol, depression, aggressive and violent behavior.
Most people view wrestling as fake and the McMahon family pushed that theory to avoid regulation. But in its lust for higher ratings and dollars, WWE began demanding that performers use more weapons and dangerous stunts in wrestling matches. Although matches are rigged and scripted, the harsh physical abuse in the form of blunt force steel chair shots to the head and power bombs through tables onto cement floors are real. I believe that this change in the industry is responsible for the majority of deaths it experienced in the last 20 years.
Another WWE wrestler, Andrew Martin, was 33 when he died. What did Andrew Martin have in common with my son? He was one of many of McMahon's former wrestlers who died prematurely, and he was the second wrestler to have his brain examined for signs of CTE after death. Martin had the same shocking brain damage as my son. The human skull is not designed to withstand and protect the brain from the abuse the McMahon's insisted their wrestlers endure. Yet, since the late '80s, these are the matches into which the McMahon's have pushed their talent."
***
"You might say that these young wrestlers make their own choices, and that is true. And the McMahons entice them with prospects for fame, wealth and glory that few achieve. If this were any other business or sport, there would be congressional hearings and laws passed to reform this dirty and dangerous enterprise. The McMahons have steadfastly held that wrestlers are just independent contractors and not entitled to health care benefits, pensions or unionization to represent their best interests.
This is how Linda McMahon made the money she uses for her Senate race. This is how she ran her business. This is the true character behind the fancy, Hollywood advertisements. I pray the people of Connecticut do not allow her to buy her way into the world's most distinguished legislative body."
2011 - With talk of CM Punk's potential departure from WWE in several months (Punk actually signed a new deal just hours before his scheduled departure), Paul Heyman took to his Twitter account at www.twitter.com/heymanhustle to complain about how Punk was used by the company. Heyman wrote, "I'm sure he will get heat for me saying this, but @CMPunk is STILL the most underutilized talent on the WWE roster. And my apologies to @CMPunk for the heat he'll get, but come on already. Punk is the best heel in the biz today! WAKE THE F**K UP! It's amazing to me (and not in a good way) that WWE doesn't see how @CMPunk has brought out the best in every opponent."
WWE Hall of Fame Steve Austin, who routinely verbally jousts with Punk via Twitter, quoted Heyman and responded, "Agreed."
In the midst of all this Punk commented to Heyman, "oh you know me, if I don't have heat I'm doing something wrong. Keeps me warm."
Within two months, Punk would be the most talked about WWE personality...and the WWE champion.
2011 - TNA broadcast Impact Wrestling. Stu Carapola filed the following TV report:
Welcome to the TNA Impact Wrestling Report here on PWInsider.com!
We kick the show off with a recap of Mick Foley's “wrestling matters” speech and introduction of Chyna from last week and comments from Kurt Angle after Sacrifice, plus highlights of Sting vs Rob Van Dam and the postmatch confrontation between Sting and Ken Anderson.
From there we go into the new opening, which is way better than the old one, and then we're off to the newly redesigned Impact Zone as Eric Bischoff and Immortal kick the show off with an in-ring promo. Bischoff asks the fans if they like what he and Hogan did with the place, even though Mick Foley had nothing to do with it and if it were up to him, it'd be thumbtacks matter, not wrestling, and he wonders when he woke up and saw Frank Gotch in the mirror. Bischoff says Hogan is in New York meeting with Mick Foley and network executives, and he'll be done with Mick Foley soon. Since everyone else is gone, Eric Bischoff, Ric Flair, and Immortal are running the show, and anybody who gets in their way is going to pay the price.
Brian Kendrick's music hits, and he comes out with the X-Division crew out to the ring. Kendrick says Bischoff's accusing of wrestlers getting in his way on a wrestling show, and that's funny coming from a non-wrestler who has leeched off the business since Kendrick was a kid. Bischoff comes out to the aisle to meet Kendrick face to face and he says he's glad Kendrick came out to express his feelings, but Bischoff says he's going to make history by wiping out the X-Division once and for all. Since it's not about weight limits but no limits, there really will be no limits when Frankie Kazarian faces Abyss, Mildly Moderately Red will face Samoa Joe, and Generation Me will have their dream come true when they get into the ring with one of their idols, Matt Hardy, and Hardy's partner...Eric Bischoff, who is going to kick some vanilla **** ass. Kendrick asks if Bischoff has anything for him, and Bischoff responds by slapping him in the face, leading to an all-out brawl with Immortal laying out the X-Division guys. Fortune runs out and attacks Immortal and clears them out of the ring. The fight continues out to the aisle before cooling off, but Flair goes after James Storm and the fight breaks out again. The X-Division guys recover and go after Immortal, clearing them out of the ring and hitting a series of big dives. It is just bedlam as the fight tears its way around ringside, and then Flair challenged Robert Roode to meet him out in the ring later in the evening.
Up next: Knockouts six-woman action, and outside the building, someone wearing Sting's old neon outfit is getting out of a limo! Is there ANY chance at all that it will actually be Sting? Find out...NEXT!
Time for our first match...
Sarita, Rosita and Madison Rayne vs Mickie James, Tara and Miss Tessmacher
Hernandez and Anarquia come out to the broadcast booth for the next match. Madison and Tara start, but Madison tags out to Rosita before any contact is made, so Tara steps out and Mickie comes in to face Rosita. Rosita gets up in Mickie's face, so Mickie shoves her on her ass and gets a hammerlock into a side headlock. Rosita uses the hair to take Mickie back to her corner and tags out to Madison, and the three of them triple team Mickie in the corner. Mickie fires back with right forearms and tags in Tara, but Madison runs back to her corner and tags Sarita in, and Sarita dropkicks Tara in the back and charges her in the corner, Tara gets a sunset flip, Sarita rolls through, and Tara wipes Sarita out with a clothesline dn tags Tessmacher in. They take Sarita out with a double clothesline and Tessmacher hits a running elbowdrop for 2. Tessmacher with a series of forearms but Rosita grabs her from the outside and now the heels beat Tessmacher down 3-on-1 in the corner. Tessmacher gets a rollup for 2 and then tags out to Tara, and Madison again tags out to Rosita, who gets killed by clotheslines from Tara. Tara with a spinning side suplex for 2, then all hell breaks loose in the ring as Madison sneaks up on Tara. Madison tosses Rosita to Tara, who hits a Sky High and pins Rosita for the win.
Winners: Tara, Mickie James & Miss Tessmacher
Solid match, Tessmacher needs to learn how to sell but otherwise pretty good.
Frankie Kazarian defends the X-Division Title against Abyss...next!
Whoever is impersonating Sting is wandering around backstage, and then we see Eric Bischoff telling Abyss that he wants him to destroy Kazarian, and ask himself what would Sansu do. No idea what that means, so we'll just move on to the match...
X-Division Title Match: Frankie Kazarian vs Abyss
Abyss charges Kazarian in the corner, but Kazarian dodges out of the way and lays in right hands. Kazarian dodges another charge and goes up for the ten punches in the corner. Kazarian with a flying forearm, slides between the legs of Abyss, and hits a dropkick, but then Abyss catches him with a back elbow. Abyss whips Kazarian to the corner and follows in with a running splash and tries a chokeslam, Kazarian slips out of the way and dodges yet another charge, then hits a springboard dropkick and both men are down. Kazarian with a flying headscissors out of the corner, a springboard elbow, and a Lionsault gets 2. Kazarian tries kicking Abyss' legs out and gets backdropped to the apron, Kazarian nails Abyss and goes up top but Abyss catches him coming off and goes for a chokeslam and Kazarian reverses to a victory roll for 2. Abyss picks Kazarian up and hits Shock Treatment and goes for the Vader Bomb, but Kazarian rolls out of the way and Abyss hits hard on his knee. Kazarian goes right after the knee like a shark, but the referee backs Kazarian off. Kazarian brushes past him, but Abyss kicks him coming in with the big boot, revealing the leg injury to be a ruse, and hits the Black Hole Slam for the win and the title.
Winner and NEW X-Division Champion: Abyss
Taz says he bets the internet is burning up right now as Abyss tells the camera how smart he is for faking the leg injury to sucker Kazarian in.
Gunner is stalking around angrily backstage as we head back to the ring for our next match...
Samoa Joe vs Amazing Red
Red charges Joe in the corner and runs right into the STJoe. Joe unloads with hard right hands, Red ducks and dodges around Joe and tries a spinning enziguiri, but Joe ducks and rams Red to the corner, hits a leaping enziguiri of his own, and finishes with the Muscle Buster for the win in just over a minute.
Winner: Samoa Joe
Joe continues attacking Red after the match and repeatedly drills him in the corner with punches, drawing Crimson out and the two of them start brawling. Crimson hits a T-bone suplex and Joe scurries out to the floor and hightails it to the back.
Still to come: Matt Hardy and Eric Bischoff take on Generation Me!
AJ Styles is in the ring wearing a neck brace and tells Tommy Dreamer to get out to the ring so they can talk. Tommy comes on out, and AJ tells Tommy that he'll be in the neck brace for the next few weeks because Tommy Dreamer gave him a piledriver through a table. Maybe AJ came back a little too early because he's a pro wrestler and that's what he does, and they went out at Sacrifice and killed themselves because of Bully Ray, Hulk Hogan, and Immortal, and if Dreamer wasn't at their beck and call, his contract would cease to exist and that's why AJ doesn't hold him responsible for Sacrifice. Truth be told, he would have done the same thing in Tommy's position, but he knows that wrestling means as much to Tommy as it does to him. Tommy asks him if AJ thinks he couldn't beat AJ if he didn't have a hurt neck already, and if AJ thinks he can walk a mile in his shoes for all he has done for this business? Is AJ saying that he's better than him? Tommy says he built a wrestling company and didn't have his hand held through the whole time, he wrestled hurt and would get put out and didn't get paid for it. The first time he piledrove AJ through the table, it's because he was forced to do it, but now he does what he does because he wants to do it. Tommy suckerpunches AJ and says the fans will turn on him in a heartbeat because they don't care about him. He elbowdrops and stomps the crap out of AJ while yelling at the fans for turning on him after all he had done, and tells AJ to do it for the fans who will turn on him, the fans who pay his bills for him. AJ takes Tommy down with a double leg but Tommy twists the neck, yanks the neck brace off, and drills him with right hands. Finally, Christopher Daniels runs and and shoves Dreamer off of AJ and asks what's wrong with him. Dreamer goes to leave but comes back to nail Daniels, but Daniels saw him coming and went after him first. Daniels beats Dreamer down in the corner, but bully Ray runs in from behind, suckerpunches AJ with the chain, and then Daniels turns around and sees Ray. Dreamer lowblows Daniels from behind and Ray boots him in the face as the fans chant “you sold out” at Ray and Dreamer. Dreamer yells at the fans “I sold out, right?” and then picks AJ up and delivers another piledriver as we go to commercial.
Sting is backstage saying he hasn't forgotten his focus, because it's still on Hogan and Bischoff and he'll have more to say later in the evening. Meanwhile, the guy who is dressing up as Sting is walking around backstage.
Back to the ring, and a broadly smiling Kurt Angle comes down to the ring to share his thoughts. He says ding dong, the bitch is dead because after months and months, the big fat throbbing pain in his ass is gone. He gives credit to Chyna for coming back after ten years in hiatus to do a special favor for him, and asks the crowd if any of them saw the match, and if they didn't (crowd starts a “this is awesome” chant), Chyna planted Karen's face in the mat and proceeded to break her ankle. He wants to thank Chyna and is indebted to her, but after six long, grueling months, he gets a one-on-one match with Jeff Jarrett at Slammiversary, and Mick Foley just told Kurt that the winner of that match will become the #1 contender to the TNA World Title, and he's going to make Jarrett tap at Slammiversary. Jeff Jarrett comes out to confront Angle, and says that Kurt ought to ask Foley what he did to deserve one final match with him, and Kurt can come out and cry foul all he wants because every time they've faced one another, he's beaten Angle. He can put all the heat he wants on Karen, but they both know that's total bull(bleep), because it was Kurt who allowed himself to be distracted due to his ADD and mental incompetence. Crowd starts a “you tapped out” chant at Jarrett, who says he's kept his eye on the ball and stayed focused and didn't allow any distractions because he's better then Kurt. Kurt gets right in his face and Jarrett repeats that he's better than him, and he can't believe that a gold medalist who is adored by millions of kids will come out here and make excuses, but if they want to go one final time, then Jarrett's up for that and if Kurt believes that he's better than Jeff, then he'll have no problem agreeing to a special stipulation because if he beats Kurt at Slammiversary, he wants Angle's gold medal. Jarrett extends his hand to Angle, who smiles and shakes it, then pulls Jarrett in and they go face to face. Suddenly Jarrett's music hits and Karen Jarrett, in a wheelchair, comes up through the floor a la Kurt's entrance and tells Kurt that Jeff won't be alone at Slammiversary and (Velvet Sky sneaks out of the back behind Karen) Kurt will never, ever take her out. Velvet snatches the mic out of Karen's hand and asks the crowd if they want to see Karen go for a ride. She shoves Karen's wheelchair down the ramp and Jeff tries to stop her, but she comes flying out of the chair anyway and gets knocked silly while Velvet and Kurt laugh it up.
Generation Me are backstage talking about the bad things they did to each other, but they're going to put it aside to defend the X-Division, and tonight they're going to show that bloodis thicker than water.
Eric Bischoff is getting ready for the match and the phone rings and it's Hulk Hogan, and Bischoff is apparently happy with what he hears and tells Hogan that he's going to lay out a couple of vanilla *****es.
The Jarretts are backstage and Jeff is on the phone with Eric Bischoff and tells Karen that Velvet will never be a problem again because she will take on Winter and Angelina Love in a handicap match tonight.
Generation Me vs Matt Hardy & Eric Bischoff
Jeremy and Matt start, and Matt gets a go behind and a cheap forearm to the back. Jeremy gets a boot to the gut and exchangex wristlocks and headlocks with Matt, Matt takes Jeremy down with a pair of shoulderblocks, but Jeremy gets a dropkick and tags out to Max, who comes off the top with a double axhandle to Matt's arm. Tag out to Jeremy, who comes in with a double stomp to Matt's arm, but Matt catches Jeremy with the Side Effect, then hits it a second time. Matt points to Bischoff and says he's going to set him up nice, then gets a three quarter nelson and cranks it hard. Jeremy elbows his way out and makes a blind tag to his brother, and they hit a quick series of double teams. The Bucks continue double teaming Matt and hit him with Poetry In Motion, then Jeremy spears Matt and starts drilling him with punches until Bischoff kicks him from the outside. Max tags in and trades punches with Matt, and Matt comes out on top and hits a vertical suplex for 2. Matt with a side neckbreaker and crawls over to make the tag, but Bischoff tells him to get back to fighting the Bucks. Jeremy tags in and hits a top rope splash on Matt for 2, then goes back up for a 450 but Matt gets the knees up. Jeremy quickly tags out to Max, who quickly gets caught in the Icepick, but Hardy lets Max out of the hold and then tags out to Bischoff and holds Max so Bischoff can hit a leaping spinkick and a knockout kick to the head. Bischoff then rolls Max over and cradles him for the win.
Winners: Matt Hardy & Eric Bischoff
Bischoff and Hardy stand with their arms raised in victory in the middle of the ring acting like they just won the World Tag Team Title.
Winter says that it's over after tonight and once Velvet Sky is gone, they'll be alone just like before, in a different time and place. Winter asks Angelina if she remembers, then kisses Angelina (who is still zombified) and leads her out to the ring.
Okay, time to get our obligatory insane segment out of the way...
Winter & Angelina Love vs Velvet Sky
Velvet and Winter tangle briefly before Winter tags in Angelina. Velvet suckerpunches Winter off the apron and then nails Angelina, but Angelina no-sells and tags out to Winter. Winter with a go behind into a waistlock, but Velvet pops out and gets a snapmare and a diving baseball slide for 2. Winter rams Velvet into her corner and tags out to Angelina and they go for a double clothesline, but Velvet ducks and wipes both of them out with stereo clotheslines. Velvet with a sleeper on Angelina, but Angelina doesn't have the required equipment to make this hold effective and easily escapes. Winter snaps Velvet down on the top rope and Angelina wipes her out with a clothesline and then rains punches down on Velvet. Winter and Angelina tag in and out on Velvet and work her over, then Winter hits a spinning uranage backbreaker. Angelina comes in and goes to pick Velvet up, but Velvet small packages her and gets the win out of nowhere.
Winner: Velvet Sky
Winter is irate, and suddenly ODB comes out of nowhere and blindsides Velvet, laying her out and telling her to “kiss my ass, you dirty whore!” I wonder how ODB really feels.
Miss Tessmacher is backstage and freaking out because nobody told her that she had a photo shoot, and it looks like Eric Young is the one conducting the photo session. Eric takes his shirt and pants off and shows Tessmacher how to pose, but Gunner comes in and gets in Young's face. Eric says they took each other to the limit last Thursday to get the TV Title, and they have respect and love each other, but-Gunner tires of Young's talking and beats the crap out of him and says this isn't a joke. He takes the belt and walks off, and Young says that's a great idea, and Gunner better hold the old belt while he handles the TV Title.
Ric Flair comes out to the ring and tells Robert Roode to come out to the ring and come face to face with him. Roode joins him, and Flair says he hasn't slept since he tapped out to Roode in Cincinnati, and he asks what makes Roode think he can jump on Flair like that. Roode says that flair came to TNA and taught him a lot, but Lockdown was a war and one of the things Flair taught him was taking advantage of opportunities and if the shoe was on the other foot, Flair would have done the same to him. Flair says he's wrong because if the shoe was on the other foot, he would have put Roode out for the rest of his career. He got Roode drunk and got him laid and taught him how to wrestle and play harder and wrestling is what they're selling now. Roode says that he's a man and don't underestimate him and they can just forget about what happened at Lockdown and Flair's had his time. Flair says people have been telling him that for 25 years, and he's not Ken Anderson, he's Ric Flair. He's glad Roode did it and he's said to be the man, you have to beat the man, but becoming the man and staying the man are two different things and tells Roode to come at him again right now. Roode says this is over, but Flair slaps him and says it's not over until he says it's over. Flair grabs Roode by the throat, so Roode takes Flair down with a Fujiwara armbar and cranks on it until the rest of Immortal run into the ring and beat himdown 4-on-1. Hardy holds Roode down while Bully Ray whips him with his chain, then he tells Abyss to go get two chairs. Ray continues to whip Roode as Abyss gets the chairs, then Gunner puts one chair vertically on Roode's arm and Hardy slams the other chair onto it to drive it into Roode's arm like a spike. Roode starts writhing around on the mat in agony.
Sting is backstage, and he's...WALKING! And so is his impersonator!
Sting comes out to close the show and gets a big reaction from the crowd, then says he wants to take a minute to acknowledge a great wrestler: Rob Van Dam, who took him to the limit last Sunday. RVD chant starts, and Sting says he got by by the skin of his teeth last Sunday, but he hasn't lost his focus on Hogan and Bischoff and taking the power away from them and putting it back where it belongs. Being the World Champion makes you a target and he knows that because it wasn't even a minute after getting his hand raised that Ken Anderson was in his face. Suddenly, Sting's music hits again and as if we all didn't know exactly who it was going to be, the lights go out and when they come back up, Ken Anderson is dressed as the old neon Sting, nails him with a baseball bat, and gives him a Scorpion Deathdrop, then kneels over him and yells ANDERSON in his face as we go off the air.
2011 - Bo Rotunda defeated Lucky Cannon to win the FCW title at a Florida Championship Wrestling TV taping in Tampa, FL. Dusty Rhodes and Mike Rotunda both came to the ring to celebrate with Bo. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV taping results:
Before the first show was taped, they filmed a segment for the Tough Enough Finale on June 6th. The announcers were Matt Martlaro and Booker T.
In an exhibition match, Bill Demott faced Tough Enough finalist Christina Crawford.
In an exhibition match, Bill Demott faced Tough Enough finalist Luke Robinson.
The turnbuckles and ring apron were switched for the first episode of FCW Television.
Results for June 12, 2011
Your announcers are Matt Martlaro and William Regal.
Match Number One: FCW Tag Team Champions Big E Langston and Calvin Raines defeated Los Aviadores (Hunico and Epico) to retain the FCW Tag Team Titles when Langston pinned Hunico after hitting the Big Ending.
Match Number Two: Percy Watson defeated Bobby Dutch with a floatover DDT
James Bronson was interviewed.
Match Number Three: Desean Bishop defeated Rick Victor with a full nelson slam.
Leakee was interviewed and he said that he has dealt with adversity his entire life, but he will win the FCW Championship.
Maxine comes to the ring with Damien Sandow, FCW Champion Lucky Cannon, and FCW Divas Champion and Queen of FCW Aksana. Maxine mentioned the issues she has had with Mr. Florida and she knows that it is Bo Rotundo. Mr. Florida will be facing Lucky Cannon later on this week’s show.
Match Number Four: Mr. Florida defeated FCW Champion Lucky Cannon in a non-title match after Bo Rotundo interfered and speared Cannon, allowing Mr. Florida to get the win. Rotundo was sitting in the front row and throughout the match, Cannon and other members of the FCW All Stars would get into arguments with Rotundo.
After the match, Rotundo returned to the ring and he speared Damien Sandow. Rotundo also speared Mr. Florida.
Results for June 19, 2011
Your announcers were Matt Martlaro and William Regal.
Match Number One: FCW 15 Champion Seth Rollins defeated Damien Sandow to retain the FCW 15 Title. The final totals were Seth Rollins with three falls and Damien Sandow with two falls. Rollins got two falls in the last minute of the match to win.
FCW Tag Team Champions Big E Langston and Calvin Raines were interviewed.
They showed a segment in FCW General Manager Maxine’s office with Lucky Cannon and Aksana. Maxine told Lucky that he would have to defend the FCW title tonight against Lucky Cannon. Steve Keirn enters and tells Maxine that she is being relieved of her duties as FCW General Manager and her replacement is Norman Smiley. Smiley tells Maxine that she will have a match later tonight.
Match Number Two: Leakee defeated Ricardo Rodriguez (with Brodus Clay) with a running forearm.
Leo Kruger was interviewed and he said that he was overlooked and he pointed out that he wrestled with a broken neck. Kruger vowed that he would win the FCW Title next week.
Match Number Three: Ms. Florida defeated Maxine (with Aksana) with a rollup in about five seconds. Before the match started Maxine wanted Aksana to take care of Ms. Florida who Maxine thought was Naomi, but Aksana said that she does not work for Maxine any more since she isn’t the General Manager so she wished Maxine good luck before leaving the ring.
Match Number Four: Bo Rotundo defeated Lucky Cannon (with Damien Sandow) to become the new FCW Champion with a spear.
After the match, the faces in the locker room came to the ring to celebrate Bo’s victory. After they left the ring, Bo’s father Mike ‘IRS’ Rotundo came to the ring and celebrated with his son. Dusty Rhodes was also at ringside for the celebration.
The Tough Enough ring apron and turnbuckles replaced the FCW ring apron and turnbuckle pads for the next set of Tough Enough segments.
Your announcers were Matt Martlaro and Booker T.
In an exhibition match, Bill Demott faced Tough Enough Finalist Andy Leavine.
In an exhibition match, Peter Orlov faced Tough Enough Finalist Jeremiah Riggs.
Results for June 26, 2011
Your announcers are Matt Martlaro and William Regal.
New FCW General Manager Norman Smiley comes to the ring and he brings out the New FCW Heavyweight Champion Bo Rotundo. Norman mentions that Bo is the youngest FCW Champion (which was true when Bo held the title for about five minutes before he lost it to Lucky Cannon). Norman announces a Fatal Four Way Match for the FCW Title as Bo’s first title defense of this title reign. Bo will be facing Richie Steamboat, Leo Kruger, and the former FCW Champion Lucky Cannon.
Cannon comes out and he says that it is a sham and a fluke. He mentioned that he has beaten Rotundo for the last five months in every redneck town. He also demands to get his rematch in a one-on-one match.
Rotundo punches Cannon and then Leo Kruger and Richie Steamboat get involved in the brawl until referees separate the men.
Jinder Mahal cuts a promo before his match and he says that we will see the new and refined Punjabi superstar.
Match Number One: Titus O’Neil defeats Jinder Mahal by disqualification after Damien Sandow interfered. Sandow and Mahal attacked O’Neil.
In the back, Maxine tries to convince the new General Manager Norman Smiley to reconsider his decision after she apologizes to Norman.
Match Number Two: Xavier Woods defeated FCW Tag Team Champion Calvin Raines (with Big E Langston) with a rollup.
Match Number Three: FCW Tag Team Champion Big E Langston (with Calvin Raines) defeated Briley Pierce with the Big Ending.
Match Number Four: FCW Champion Bo Rotundo defeated Leo Kruger, Lucky Cannon, and Richie Steamboat in a Fatal Four Way Match to retain the FCW Title when Bo pinned Kruger after a spear.
Thoughts on the Tapings and Other information
Before the show Ricky Steamboat was signing autographs as you entered the arena.
The Wild Samoans Afa and Sika were in the crowd for the tapings. Sika is the father of FCW wrestler Leakee.
I don’t know if it was because of the Tough Enough taping, but it was the biggest crowd that I saw outside the building before the doors opened. It was also the largest crowd of the four tapings that I have attended.
I have to give credit to Elite subscriber Jacob Cohen for this, but the unofficial nickname for FCW Tag Team Champions Calvin Raines and Big E Langston is Chocolate Raines.
I thought the best match of the night was the FCW 15 Match between Damien Sandow and Seth Rollins. Because they took the tag titles off Steamboat and Rollins, I was thinking that they were going to take the FCW 15 medal off Rollins with the hope that he would make it to the ‘big show’ very soon. I was surprised that there were five falls in the match. The first fall went to Seth Rollins by disqualification after Sandow refused to release a Boston Crab while on the turnbuckles. Despite this, Sandow was able to get the next two falls on Rollins to take the lead in the match. I thought Sandow did a great job working on Rollins back throughout the match. He also impressed me with the way that he hit the Maple Leaf on Rollins during the match. I thought Sandow was going to take a three to one lead only to see Rollins get a desperation fall to cut it to three-to-two in the same way that a hockey team falls behind and gets what some consider a meaningless goal to cut the lead. Rollins got the fall to tie the match with just under a minute left with an inside cradle. Then even though he did not need to get another fall, Rollins was able to win the match instead of retaining after a tie.
I was surprised to see Maxine’s group disintegrate, but with what was reported on the site this week, it seems reasonable.
It appeared that they were trying to set up some issues between the members of Chocolate Raines with the matches on the third show. I was not surprised that Xavier Woods got the win over Calvin Raines because it would set up a tag title match with Woods and a partner of his choice. Then I thought they were going to have Briley Pierce get the major upset over Langston. Instead, Langston squashed Pierce.
This was the first time that I saw Briley Pierce in the ring and he looked okay, at least what you could tell from someone being destroyed by Langston.
Since he is Dolph Ziggler’s brother, maybe they can call Briley Pierce “Mr. Zigglerico II”
I really liked that they had Mike Rotundo come to the ring to celebrate with his son since the episode that he wins the FCW title will air on Father’s Day.
Also in attendance were Mike Rotundo and Dusty Rhodes.
Mr. Florida was Trent Barreta.
Ms. Florida was Naomi Knight.
While he did not appear in any matches on this week’s show, I did see Jon Moxley at the building. I know that I was looking forward to seeing his FCW television debut this week.
The next FCW Television Tapings are on Thursday, June 9, 2011 with a 7:00 PM Bell Time.
Because of the Tough Enough segments, they did not have an intermission like they normally do for the television tapings between the first and second episodes.
My Thoughts from the Tough Enough Segments in my detailed spoilers
They used the cameramen for Tough Enough during the first three segments. I did not see them during the exhibition with Jeremiah and Peter Orlov. I don’t know if this means that Jeremiah is going to be eliminated before the finals. I thought it was weird that Bill Demott did not participate in the exhibition with Jeremiah.
Based on the ending of this week’s episode of Tough Enough, I was surprised to see Christina come out for the first exhibition.
It appears that AJ finally gets eliminated on next week’s episode of Tough Enough. I wonder if they will avoid an elimination on the Memorial Day episode and then get rid of someone at the start of the finale and then show the exhibition matches, with Jeremiah getting a match if he is eliminated in fourth.
Of the three exhibition matches with Bill Demott, the crowd gave the best reaction to Andy. The second best reaction was given to Christina, with Luke getting the worst reaction of the three who wrestled with Bill Demott. It felt like Jeremiah got a better reaction than Luke.
I thought Andy looked the best in the ring of the four finalists. Christina surprised me with her performance and I thought she did a better job than Luke. Jeremiah looked okay with Orlov but he was a little awkward when he came off the top turnbuckle.
2011- WWE broadcast WWE Superstars. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV report:
We start off this week’s show with the Smackdown brand and your announcers are Matt Striker and Jack Korpela.
Match Number One: Tyson Kidd with Michael Hayes versus Yoshi Tatsu in a Battle of NXT Pros
Before the match starts, Michael Hayes says that it has been a long time since he has been in Corpus Christi and he mentions the Von Erichs and Freebirds. He says that everyone is having a good time and it makes sense because they have escaped from their pathetic lives. Michael says that it helps to hear the truth. The truth is that they don’t have what it takes to get. They have nothing special about themselves, just like Yoshi Tatsu. Tyson Kidd has something special because he has something that everyone else lacks . . . ambition. He says that you can sit back and watch everyone get to the top because they don’t have ambition. Hayes wonders if the people can spell ambition. The referee tells Michael that they have a match to take place.
Kidd kicks and punches Yoshi while the referee deals with Hayes.
Kidd sends Yoshi into the turnbuckles and then he hits a snap suplex and gets a near fall. Kidd with an elbow to the nose followed by a back heel kick and a drop kick to the head for a near fall. Kidd stands on Yoshi’s hand and then he kicks Yoshi in the chest. Kidd sends Yoshi into the turnbuckles and he punches and kicks him while the referee warns Kidd.
Yoshi with chops in the corner and Hayes gets on the apron to talk to the referee. This allows Kidd to hit a neck breaker. Kidd with a snap mare and drop kick to the back followed by a knee drop. Kidd gets a near fall on Yoshi. Kidd with a cravate on Yoshi. Kidd with a knee but Yoshi with a kick and drop kick. Yoshi clotheslines Kidd over the top rope to the floor.
Hayes argues with the referee while Yoshi hits a pescado onto Kidd. Yoshi sends Kidd back into the ring and Kidd with a baseball slide that sends Yoshi into the ringside barrier. Kidd with kicks to Yoshi while the referee starts his count. Kidd with a kick to the chest and Kidd returns to the ring and Hayes with a moonwalk on the apron as we go to commercial.
We are back and Kidd with a reverse chin lock on Yoshi. Yoshi gets back to his feet and he connects with elbows but Kidd with a kick. Yoshi gets a near fall on a lateral press but Kidd with a clothesline and then he chokes Yoshi in the ropes. Hayes taunts Yoshi and then Kidd kicks Yoshi.
Hayes talks to the referee while Kidd chokes Yoshi in the ropes. Kidd has Yoshi on the middle rope and Kidd hits a running boot to the head but Kidd can only get a near fall. Kidd returns to the reverse chin lock on Yoshi. Yoshi with a snap mare and then he gets a near fall with a crucifix. Yoshi misses a drop kick when Kidd holds on to the ropes. Kidd with a kick to the head and then he slaps Yoshi and puts him in a rear chin lock.
Hayes tries to convince the referee that Yoshi tapped out. Kidd with an Irish whip but Yoshi with a drop toe hold into the turnbuckles. Hayes warns Kidd but Yoshi with a kick and chops to Kidd. Yoshi with more chops followed by kicks. Yoshi kicks Kidd into the corner. Yoshi with the running knees into the corner followed by a spinning heel kick for a near fall.
Yoshi goes to the apron and the top turnbuckle but Kidd crotches Yoshi. Kidd sets for a superplex and he hits it and both men are down. Kidd gets a two count and that shocks Hayes because he thought the match was over. He tells Tyson to stop showboating. Kidd puts Yoshi in the Sharpshooter but Yoshi is able to get to the ropes. Kidd chokes Yoshi in the ropes again and then he tries for a slingshot leg drop to the apron but Kidd misses.
Kidd with a shoulder from the apron and then tries for a rollup but Yoshi counters with a rollup of his own. Yoshi with a round kick for the three count.
Winner: Yoshi Tatsu
After the match, Hayes checks on Kidd and he applauds him, but it is simply faint praise? Hayes picks up Kidd and Hayes punches Kidd. Hayes tells Kidd that he failed him.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Did You Know that a lot of videos are available on YouTube?
It is time for the Raw portion of this week’s show and your announcers are Josh Mathews and Scott Stanford.
We see footage from last week when Curt Hawkins helped his former tag team partner Zack Ryder get a win over Vladimir Kozlov.
Match Number Two: Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov versus Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins
Ryder and Marella start things off and Santino goes for the legs and he takes Ryder down and gets a near fall. Ryder with a knee to the midsection followed by a forearm to the back and a choke with his knee. Ryder with an Irish whip but Santino floats over and sets up for the Cobra.
Hawkins tags in and he hits a hip lock take down. Kozlov tags in and Kozlov with an arm drag. Hawkins with a waist lock but Kozlov with a take down. Hawkins with a punch and side head lock. Kozlov with a shoulder tackle and Hawkins goes to the floor.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Kozlov with a slam to Ryder and then he sends Zack into the turnbuckles. Kozlov with a running shoulder tackle followed by a fallaway slam on Ryder. Ryder rolls to the floor and he drops Kozlov on the ropes. Hawkins tags in and he hits a flying clothesline and gets a near fall.
Hawkins with a knee to the head and then he runs Kozlov into the turnbuckles. They hit a side Russian leg sweep and Downward Spiral combination for a near fall. Ryder with a kick to Kozlov’s head and he gets a near fall. Ryder with a reverse chin lock on Kozlov but Kozlov with a fireman’s carry to get out of the hold. Ryder grabs Kozlov’s legs and then he knocks Marella off the apron. Ryder and Hawkins are able to pull Kozlov into their corner. Hawkins tags back in and he chokes Kozlov.
Hawkins with a kick to Kozlov and then he gets a near fall. Hawkins with a front face lock but Kozlov tries to power his way to his corner to make the tag. Hawkins prevents Kozlov from making the tag but Santino punches Hawkins and Hawkins gets back body dropped and Santino tags in. Santino with a split followed by a hip toss. Kozlov with a spinebuster on Ryder as Santino hits the diving head butt on Hawkins. Santino hits the Cobra for the three count.
Winners: Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov
We take a look at the Over the Limit Pay Per View card.
We go to commercial.
Match Number Three: Drew McIntyre versus Evan Bourne
They lock up and Drew with a waist lock take down into a front face lock. Bourne with a hammer lock on Drew but Drew with an elbow and Drew with a side head lock. Drew with a shoulder tackle and he looks impressed with what he did. Bourne with an arm drag followed by a Japanese arm drag. Drew puts Bourne on the turnbuckles and he slaps Bourne. Bourne comes off the turnbuckles with an arm drag and then he drop kicks Drew and Drew goes to the floor and he almost pulls off the cover on the announce table.
Drew with a forearm but he misses a clothesline. Bourne with a head scissors but he is sent ot the apron. Drew clotheslines Bourne on the apron and it flips Bourne. Bourne lands awkwardly on the apron and the referee checks him on the floor.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Drew tries for a suplex but Bourne escapes the hold. Drew with a big boot to Bourne. Drew with kicks in the corner. Drew looks bored with his match and then he puts Bourne on the turnbuckles and he punches Bourne. Drew goes up top and he sets for a superplex but Bourne punches Drew. Drew responds with head butts and Drew with a delayed superplex for a near fall. Drew shows some frustration that he hasn’t finished off Bourne yet and they go to the apron. Drew tries to send Bourne into the ring post but Bourne escapes and he sends Drew into the ring steps.
They return to the ring and Bourne with kicks to Drew and then he gets a near fall on Drew. Bourne sets for the Yakuza kick into the corner and then he goes up top for the Shooting Star Press but Drew goes to the floor. Bourne with a clothesline to Drew on the floor.
They returns to the floor and Drew blocks a rana and he turns it into a Buckle Bomb and then Drew hits the Future Shock DDT for the three count.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
2012 - Austin Aries, at the time the reigning X-Division champion, announced that he had come to terms with TNA on a new long term deal. Aries had been working on a short term deal since his return to the company earlier in 2012, which was about to expire.
2013 - WWE presented their Extreme Rules 2013 PPV. Mike Johnson filed the following PPV report:
Welcome to PWInsider's ongoing coverage of the 2013 WWE Extreme Rules PPV.
Pre-Game Show
They had a panel discussing the PPV featuring Renee Young, Mick Foley, Titus O'Neil and Wade Barrett. Foley said it's one of his favorite nights of the year. Barrett pushed the Orton vs. Show match. O'Neill said he was looking forward to the Sheamus-Henry Strap match. Foley said he was looking forward to the Last Man Standing match, saying it doesn't get more simple and primitive than that.
They aired a promotional video on Ryback vs. John Cena.
The panel discussed the WWE title match. Barrett predicted that Cena's injury would mean the end of his WWE title run.
The WWE feed seemed to crash as they were promoting a Facebook poll.
The pre-show never returned, at least for me. I checked WWE.com, the WWE App and Youtube.
The PPV started with a great video piece.
Chris Jericho vs. Fandango
Fandango was with Summer Rae. Jericho sat in the corner unimpressed as Fandango and Raw danced in front of the Fandango outline pyro. Big Y2J chant at the bell.
They locked up and Jericho backed Fandango into the corner. Fandango came back and shoulderblocked Jericho down. Jericho responded with a dropkick as he rebounded off the ropes. Jericho went after him but Fandango pulled himself out of the ring to slow down the momentum. Jericho chased him back into the ring and drilled him with an elbow. Jericho then nailed him with sliding dropkick to the outside.
Jericho worked over Fandango on the floor and tossed him back into the ring. Fandango stomped the hell out of Jericho as he returned to the ring. Jericho reversed a whip into the corner but was kicked down as he was charged. Fandango kicked Jericho as he was hung up in the ropes. Fandango locked in a chinlock but Jericho fought his way out. Jericho tried to roll up Fandango but was drilled. Fandango nailed a slingshot legdrop into the ring for a two count.
Jericho came back with a forearm off the top and a running bulldog. Fandango came back with a series of punches and went to the top. Jericho nailed him as he came down and chopped him hard in the corner. Jericho whipped him into the corner and followed him but Fandango went up and over for a sunset flip attempt. Jericho turned that into The Walls of Jericho but Fandango made it to the ropes.
Fandango kicked Jericho as he charged him. Fandango went to the top and leapt off but Jericho caught him with the Codebreaker in mid-air and scored the pin.
Your winner, Chris Jericho!
Much better than their Wrestlemania bout. Solid back and forth encounter.
Sheamus was interviewed backstage. He said that Mark Henry was real impressive dragging trucks but they don't hit back. Sheamus does. He promised that he was going to show Henry how extreme Sheamus can be.
They aired clips building Ryback vs. Cena for later.
WWE United States champion Kofi Kingston vs. Dean Ambrose
Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns came out with Ambrose in the crowd but left and returned to the back. Ambrose took down Kingston with a takedown early. There was a noticeable "Let's go Ambrose" chant. Kingston went for Trouble in Paradise early but Ambrose grabbed the ropes to avoid it.
Kingston worked him over with some hot offense and drilled him with punches in the corner. Ambrose cut him off with a stiff clothesline. Ambrose worked him over with strikes and dropkicked Kingston as he was against the ropes.
The announcers noted on commentary that Harley Race was in attendance.
Kingston leapt at Ambrose but was locked in a choke and scissored him. Kingston pulled himself out and ran into the corner to break it. Kingston nailed several dropkicks and a leaping clothesline before scoring with the Boom Drop. Kingston set up for Trouble in Paradise but Ambrose avoided it. They had a moment where Kingston and Ambrose connected by accident but saved it with an SOS. Ambrose kicked up at the last second.
Kingston and Ambrose battled on the top. Ambrose went for a superplex but was knocked off. He returned and worked over Kingston, finally nailing it and scoring a two count. Kingston came back with a slingshot into a cross body for a two count. Kingston caught him with Trouble in Paradise, knocking him off the apron to the floor. Kingston rolled him back into the ring for the pin but Ambrose grabbed the ropes. JBL buried Kingston for not just taking a countout win.
Ambrose tried to roll up Kingston who kicked out. Kingston went for Trouble in Paradise but Ambrose ducked and Kingston wiped himself out in the ropes. Ambrose spiked him with a DDT and scored the pin.
Your winner and new WWE United States champion, Dean Ambrose!
The Shield hit the ring to celebrate.
Solid match. Nothing that was going to be remembered as a classic but they worked a good pace and style and historically, a big moment for Ambrose and The Shield.
They pushed that on the App, you can change the face of WWE via voting.
They aired some clips building to the Strap Match.
Mark Henry vs. Sheamus: Strap Match
They had green and red lights set up on each ringpost so fans could easily follow along with whether the wrestlers had reached all the corners needed to win the Strap Match.
They were attached at the wrist by the strap.
They began brawling back and forth. Sheamus nailed a clothesline and drilled Henry in the back of the leg to bring him down. He touched a turnbuckle but was pulled into a clothesline. Henry tied to hog-tie Sheamus so he could drag him around and hit two buckles before Sheamus broke free. He pulled himself out of the ring and nailed Henry. He returned to the rin but was clotheslined over the top to the floor. Henry pulled him back into the ring. Sheamus nailed him and on the outside, ran across the apron and touched three corners but was sent off the apron to the floor by Henry.
Henry pulled him back onto the apron and pulled the strap around Sheamus before yanking him back in over the top. Henry lashed him across the back several times. Henry placed him on his shoulders and began nailing the buckles but Sheamus hit them as well. Henry realized Sheamus' lights were on as well, so he slammed Sheamus down. Sheamus grabbed the strap and pulled it into a lowblow on Henry. He drilled Henry with a series of kneedrops. Sheamus lashed Henry over and over, then began touching the corners but was cut off before he could touch the final one.
They went to the outside with Sheamus nailing Henry several times. He used the strap to wrap up Henry and trap him to a ringpost so he can nail him. Sheamus released him, then pulled the strap so Henry hit the ringpost. Henry rolled into the ring and Sheamus nailed three corners. Henry stood in his way to stop him. Sheamus tried to dive past him but was caught. Henry went for the World's Strongest Slam but Sheamus slipped out, nailed the Brogue Kick and touched the final corner for the win.
Your winner, Sheamus!
OK match. They played well to the gimmick but the finish seemed really hokey since Henry had obviously broken Sheamus' momentum. Nowhere near the hard hitting war you would expect after the lashing angle.
AJ was talking sweet to Dolph Ziggler on the phone. Kaitlyn showed up and said that Vickie Guerrero told her AJ was too distraught over Dolph to challenge her for the title. They exchanged some really bad insults, one of which seemed to be designed to get fans to chant "Looney Toon" at AJ. AJ called Kaitlyn a pig and she was attacked. They had a decent catfight before referees pulled them apart. The verbiage was cringe-worthy, almost like a bad indy segment. So bad I can't believe it mad it to WWE TV.
Jack Swagger vs. Alberto Del Rio: I Quit Match
Zeb Colter cut a promo on the government for letting the IRS target certain groups and for tapping the AP's phones. He asked who was going to jail and ripped on the fans for allowing it to happen. He blamed St. Louis and The Cardinals for allowed foreign born players to come here and then take their money back home. He said that when fans support them and Alberto Del Rio, it just proves they have given up on America. He promised Swagger would make Del Rio quit in two languages and send him back to Mexico. They are then going to go hunting for Dolph Ziggler and the World title. Great promo. Colter is great.
They started out hit with Swagger being clotheslined over the top to the floor and Del Rio nailing a tope to the outside. Del Rio began using a Singapore Cane. Swagger got the better of it and worked Alberto over but he didn't want to quit. Swagger exposed the metal under the barrier and tried to suplex Del Rio onto it but Swagger was sent into the stairs and worked over but he refused to quit.
They returned to the ring where Swagger worked him over hard with the cane. He choked Del Rio against the ringpost but Alberto refused. Swagger began focusing his attack on Del Rio's leg as a way to soften it up for the Patriot Act. Del Rio finally blocked an attack but was quickly cut off and tied up in the ropes. Swagger beat him again and again with the cane but Del Rio refused to quit. He was released from the ropes and grabbed Swagger in the armbreaker while hanging over the ropes. There was no rope break but Swagger finally nailed him with the stick to break it.
Del Rio was worked over but ducked a running kick. Del Rio unloaded a ton of offensive maneuvers. He tied up Swagger against the ropes and beat him with the cane, then nailed a backstabber with it while using the cane for additional leverage.
Swagger came back with an amateur takedown. Swagger nailed a Vader splash out of the corner, followed by a Doctor Bomb. Del Rio refused to quit. Swagger nailed another Doctor Bomb but again, Del Rio would not quit. He grabbed the cross armbreaker out of nowhere. Swagger turned that into the Patriot Act. Swagger scissored it in the center of the ring. Ricardo teased throwing in the towel and was told not to do it by Del Rio. Colter grabbed it off the apron and threw it in the ring. The ref rang the bell, not seeing who threw it into the ring.
Ricardo protested and a second referee came into the ring. The ref explained that Ricardo did not throw the towel. The referee asked to see an instant replay on a monitor. The referee ruled that if Alberto can continue, they will restart the match. They did a deal with Alberto dramatically pulled himself up and agreed to continue.
Swagger attacked him in the corner but was kicked off. Del Rio kicked him and nailed the rolling cross armbreaker. Swagger tried to roll over and power out but Del Rio pulled him back over. Swagger finally quit.
Your winner, Alberto Del Rio!
Del Rio is now the number one contender to the World title.
Good match with some really vicious shots and good storytelling and brawling but they were really overbearing with the referee asking about submissions immediately to the point of ridiculousness. The instant replay deal come off unique but now if every screwy finish from this point on doesn't get overturned....
Ryback cut a promo backstage. He said that he tells the truth. He says that Cena is a liar and Ryback should have been champion six months ago. He said that it didn't happen because certain people play by their rules. Tonight, Ryback Rules. He said Cena isn't getting up because he isn't going to let it happen.
Ryback cut a promo backstage. He said that he tells the truth. He says that Cena is a liar and Ryback should have been champion six months ago. He said that it didn't happen because certain people play by their rules. Tonight, Ryback Rules. He said Cena isn't getting up because he isn't going to let it happen.
WWE Tag Team champions Team Hell No vs. The Shield.
All four are legal. Bryan drilled Rollins with a great clothesline and cinched in a bow and arrow. Kane worked over Reigns in the corner. Pretty much just brawling with no flow early. The Shield took out Bryan and then hit a double suplex on Kane.
They set up Bryan for a Superbomb but he nailed a rana off the top. Kane grabbed both by the throat and forced them over the top to the floor. Bryan nailed a tope to the floor on both. Kane and Bryan brought the challengers to the ring and worked them over. They each charged the opposite corner nailing their opponents and then double teamed them. Kane went to the top and nailed a clothesline.
Bryan locked in the No Lock. Reign nailed Kane and broke the No Lock. Kane chokeslammed Reigns but was speared by Rollins. Reigns began working over Bryan in the corner but Kane attacked him. Kane went for a tombstone but Reigns slipped over and shoved him into Bryan. Kane went for a chokeslam but Rollins came off with a flying knee. Reigns speared Kane but Bryan broke it up at two.
Bryan began killing him with knees to the chest. Reigns rolled him up but Bryan turned it into the No Lock. Rollins nailed him. Reigns held him in a Torture Rack. Rollins came off with the flying kneedrop and killed Bryan. The Shield scored the win.
Your winners and new WWE Tag Team champions, The Shield!
OK match. There was no real flow to this but some of the latter sequences were very good. Crowd was really into this one. Nice to see The Shield continue to flourish. Loved their finisher.
Thus far, a very eh show.
Big Show vs. Randy Orton: Extreme Rules
They went to the floor really early. Orton used a Singapore Cane. Show was thrashed with it but got it away and broke it. Then, he didn't use it as a weapon, because, well, it's WWE.
Orton grabbed another from under the ring and beat Show with it. Show got it and broke it again. Show worked him over by the announcers and went to ram Orton into the ringpost but Orton slipped behind him and shoved Show into the post.
Orton pulled a ladder out from under the ring. He went to bring it to Show but had it slammed into his face. Show brought him into the ring and locked in an armbar. EXTREME! Orton mounted a comeback but was caught and slammed down by Show for a two count.
Show brought a ladder and several chairs into the ring. He set up the ladder on the chairs and then hit a sideslam on Orton for a two count. He then placed Orton on the ladder for a Vader bomb off the ropes. Orton rolled out of the way and Show landed on the ladder.
Orton worked over Show and his hometown got really into it. He nailed the RKO for a two count. Orton continued working over Show but was caught with a spear. Orton came back with an RKO on the chair. Orton set up for the punt kick and nailed it. First time in a while he's done that move. Orton scored the pin.
Your winner, Randy Orton!
Orton was super over in his hometown and it was entertaining to watch him reacting to that. The match was OK but again, nothing really over the top amazing, which has been the theme here. For an Extreme show, it's been more pedestrian than anything else you'd expect. Just some weapons shots.
WWE champion John Cena vs. Ryback: Last Man Standing
Ryback shoulderblocked Cena down early. Cena tried to mount some offense but was shoulderblocked down again. Ryback controlled the match early but was kicked off as he charged Cena in the corner. Cena leapt off the buckles but was caught and slammed. The referee began counting Cena out. Cena got up at the six count and Ryback pounced on him, beating him down. The referee began counting Cena out again.
Cena returned to his feet but Ryback grabbed him and pressed and dropped him. Cena slowly pulled himself to his feet at the eight count. Ryback charged but Cena dropped down and Ryback flew over the ropes to the floor. Cena pulled a table into the ring as Ryback was outside recovering.
Cena went for the Attitude Adjustment when Ryback returned to the ring but was caught and spiked down. Ryback saw the table and set it up in the corner. Cena tried to mount some offense and nailed a sholderblock but was caught and hit with a Fall Away Slam into the table.
Cena avoided a charge in the corner and nailed a pumphandle slam on Ryback. Ryback cut him off almost immediately with a shoulderblock to the mid-section. Cena came back with a powerbomb. He charged Ryback in the corner and leapt on him but they apparently forgot what the hell was supposed to happen as time stood still. Fans began chanting for CM Punk live. Ryback slammed Cena down. This is just not good.
Cena locked in the STF. Ryback passed out in the move far too quickly for anyone to buy it. Cena pulled another table into the ring. Ryback grabbed him and slammed him to the mat. Ryback grabbed him for Shellshock but Cena slipped out and hit the AA through the table. Ryback made it to his feet at nine.
Cena went to the top but Ryback caught him and nailed Shellshock. Ryback recovered. He took over on Cena and pulled him over to the ringpost. He grabbed the chair to hit Cena's bad ankle with but was kicked into the barrier. Cena speared him through the barrier, which exploded under the force of the move.
Cena crawled into the audience with Ryback following. They battled in front of some production equipment. Ryback removed a piece of the wall section from the Arena set up and nailed Cena with it. That was unique. Cena recovered at nine. Cena locked on a sleeper as Ryback tried to walk towards several workers with laptops. Ryback dropped to his knees. Cena placed him on an empty table and went into the first level of the crowd, leaping off with a splash. Cena came up selling his mid-section.
Cena grabbed a fire extinguisher and squirted Ryback with it several times. They ended up on the entrance stage. Cena squirted him and teased nailing Ryback with it. Cena nailed him but Ryback returned to his feet. Cena nailed him again but Ryback returned to his feet at seven. Cena went for an AA off the stage but Ryback slipped out, grabbed Cena and speared him through the digital light boards of the set. Charles Robinson sold it like WTF am I supposed to do, before running around the set to the back. That was a cool spot.
We went to a shot backstage of Ryback and Cena both out cold. Cena was laid out across some metal rigging. Ryback was out on the floor. EMTS began checking on them. The crowd began booing the idea that this was the finish. Ryback was walked off by referees. They actually put Cena on a stretcher and a neck brace and stretchered him out. Cena sold it like he was out cold.
The crowd must have spotted Mick Foley because they began chanting for Foley.
The stunt at the end was a cool visual but to have that as the finish of an "extreme" PPV is pretty ridiculous, especially since it's a Last Man Standing match. Technically, Cena should have been counted out and Ryback, who was walked out, should have won. In a lot of ways, this was pretty the story of this PPV. It was advertised of having a concept that WWE today just can't deliver.
Steel Cage: Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H
Triple H attacked Lesnar as he walked to the ring then nailed Paul Heyman. HHH tossed Lesnar in and came off the ropes with a shot. They noted the new cage and said it was a foot taller and reinforced for Lesnar.
HHH sent Lesnar into the cage several times and nailed a spinebuster. He went for the Pedigree but Lesnar reversed it and shot HHH into the cage.
They noted UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes was at ringside.
HHH and Lesnar battled near the cage and Lesnar smashed him backward into the cage. He grabbed HHH and launched him into the cage. The shots into the cage were more vicious than 99% of the rest of this show. HHH finally escaped one and shoved Lesnar into the cage. He worked him over with right hands and a big clothesline.
Lesnar shot HHH into the cage again and charged him with a high knee. Lesnar missed and drilled his knee into the cage. He went down and immediately said, "Paul, my knee." He went after HHH and nailed an over the shoulder powerslam. He immediately screamed and sold the knee and told Heyman, "My knee broke."
Lesnar was selling the knee, allowing HHH to recover and realize the weakness. He went right after the knee and drilled Lesnar's face into his own knee. HHH went for a Pedigree but Lesnar locked on a Kimura. HHH began beating on his knee to get Lesnar to release it. HHH went for Lesnar but was clotheslined.
Heyman had the cage door opened and told Lesnar to get out. Lesnar began limping out but HHH chopblocked him. HHH tried to get out of the cage but Heman slammed the door in his face. Lesnar nailed the F5 for a two count. Lesnar asked for a chair and Heyman went to retrieve it. He shoved the referee away in order to get it to Brock.
Lesnar used the chair with several stiff shots across HHH's back. Lesnar's knee buckled when he went for a move and HHH drilled it. HHH grabbed the chair and killed Lesnar with a shot across the back that was more vicious than anything on the entire show. He then drilled Lesnar with more shots across the leg.
Lesnar tried to go back to the Kimura but HHH rammed him into the corner. Lesnar grabbed his leg and snapped it, then locked on a figure four leglock in the center. Lesnar tried to fight his way out but HHH beat on his bad leg. Lesnar grabbed the ropes but it didn't mean a break. Heyman told him to turn it, which he finally did.
Lesnar tried to scale the cage and made it to the top but as he got there, HHH drilled him with a chair across the leg. Lesnar dropped back into the cage where he and HHH battled on the top rope. Lesnar was nailed and crashed into the ring. HHH revealed he had hidden a sledgehammer at the top of the cage but before he could use it, Lesnar nailed him and HHH crashed into the ring.
Lesnar grabbed the sledgehammer but HHH nailed him and locked in a Sharpshooter. Heyman entered the cage but was drilled by a HHH kick and nailed with a Pedigree. HHH caught Lesnar coming with a hammer shot and nailed a Pedigree but Lesnar kicked up.
HHH grabbed the sledgehammer but Heyman nailed him with a low blow. Lesnar was hobbling but used the sledgehammer to drill HHH in the jaw. Lesnar pulled HHH up, nailed the F5 and scored the pin.
Your winner, Brock Lesnar!
A hell of a main event. Far and away the best thing on the show. Nothing comes even remotely close. This was vicious, brutal and it told a really well done story. It was in another world in comparison to everything that came before it.
2014 - WWE broadcast Raw. Richard Trionfo filed the following report:
We are in London, England and your announcers are Michael ‘See No Evil’ Cole, Jerry ‘Goodbye Warehouse 13’ Lawler, and John ‘Can Jack Bauer save the WWE Championship’ Layfield.
The Wyatt Family is in the ring and Bray starts to sing. He says that they are sharing something now. It is something real. He wants everyone to sing with him. He sings again.
Every night we lay our heads down to dream and that is when our minds start to tick. We remember these horrible things that happen to us during our lives. In our dreams, we are superheroes and we can fix everything. We dream of revenge. We dream of payback. Just like that, we wake up and reality sets in. Then we remember that we are not superheroes and we cannot fix everything. We bottle that rage and go on and live our lives.
He plans on fixing that. He used to have a mean old teacher. She looked down upon him and she went to great measures to tell him that he was a piece of trash and would not amount to anything. Everything that he believed in was a lie. Bray says that he went up to Miss Teacher Lady and he asked her what made her better than him. Is it because your mommy and daddy paid for you to go to school and wave your diploma in front of the students.
She told Bray that he was rotten and he stands for nothing. The first time that she looked inside his eyes, she knew that he was evil.
Bray laughs. He says that she is now rotting away in a retirement home while he is a conquerer and the leader of a thousand troops. He has the whole world in his hands.
Bray says that is his payback. His ends justify his means. She was right about one thing. He is evil. He is the necessary evil that must exist in this world to balance everything out. He is evil. His tongue is the scorpion’s tail. People get behind him because he gives hope.
John Cena hides behind that plastic smile and tries to play hero while everything burns.
Bray says that this will end at Payback. He will be the last man standing, or no one will stand at the end of the night.
Tonight, Luke Harper puts John Cena down. Tonight, Luke Harper destroys . . .
John Cena’s music plays and Harper and Rowan wait for Cena to come to the ring, but Cena comes through the crowd and he attacks Wyatt from behind and gives Bray an Attitude Adjustment. Harper and Rowan return to the ring and Cena is able to escape.
Cena goes to the back.
Michael, John, and Jerry mention that Daniel Bryan had successful surgery and he is recovering at home.
We have a video package from last week featuring Stephanie McMahon commenting on Daniel Bryan’s injury as well as her reaction to Kane’s attack.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Paul Heyman is in the ring with Cesaro. Paul introduces himself and he says that it is a pleasure and a privilege to . . .
Paul wants to get this straight. The cameras broadcast live around the world and he wants to define the roles. They are the stars and everyone else are the wannabes. You shall worship the ground that his client walks on and the microphone into which he speaks.
Paul starts to talk about his client Brock, but he stops. Paul lies down on the mat and he asks what he is now. He says that he is not their queen dying and making Charles their king. He is the Undertaker at Wrestlemania. However, Paul can sit up. It is because his client Brock Lesnar conquered the Undertaker’s undefeated streak at Wrestlemania.
Just like tonight, when the United States Champion Sheamus will be emasculated by his client, the Paul Heyman Guy and the King of Swing Cesaro.
Match Number One: Sheamus versus Cesaro (with Paul Heyman) in a Non Title Match
They lock up and go to a deadlock. They lock up again and Cesaro backs Sheamus into the corner. Cesaro slaps Sheamus and Sheamus with a clothesline. Sheamus throws Cesaro to the apron and he sets for the forearm but Cesaro gets to the floor to regroup with Paul. Paul gives Cesaro advice and Sheamus goes to the floor and chases after Cesaro.
They get back into the ring and Cesaro with kicks. Cesaro with a European uppercut. Sheamus blocks a hip toss and Sheamus with a short arm clothesline. Sheamus with forearms to Cesaro on the apron. Sheamus brings Cesaro back into the ring but Cesaro gets to his feet and he goes to the floor.
Sheamus chases Cesaro around the ring and Sheamus avoids a clothesline and Sheamus with a punch. Cesaro rolls back to the floor and then he drops Sheamus on the top rope. Cesaro with a boot to Sheamus. Sheamus with an Irish whip and a running knee into the corner. Sheamus goes to the apron for the slingshot shoulder tackle and he connects.
Sheamus with a European uppercut and he goes for a cross body but Cesaro moves and Sheamus goes to the floor.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Cesaro with a knee and European uppercuts followed by an Irish whip and sleeper. Sheamus with punches and two running double sledges and then he goes for the shoulder into the corner but Cesaro knows it is coming and he moves out of the way while Sheamus hits the ring post with his shoulder. Cesaro goes to the second rope for the deadlift gorilla superplex and he gets a near fall. Cesaro gets another near fall.
Cesaro runs into the corner but he is met with a uranage back breaker and a near fall from Sheamus. Sheamus runs Cesaro into the corner and he hits the running knee lift and then he hits a Finlay slam for a near fall. Sheamus gets Cesaro up for a slam but Cesaro with a European uppercut to the back of the neck. Cesaro runs into an elbow but Cesaro with an Irish whip that sends Sheamus sternum first into the turnbuckles.
Sheamus kicks Cesaro and then Sheamus pulls himself up to the turnbuckles. Sheamus goes for the shoulder tackle but Cesaro with a European uppercut for a near fall. Cesaro picks up Sheamus but Sheamus with a short arm clothesline. Sheamus and Cesaro go back and forth with forearms and European uppercuts but Sheamus with a power slam for a near fall.
Heyman gets on the apron and Heyman throws his jacket to the mat. Cesaro takes advantage of the distraction and he hits a German suplex and gets the three count.
Winner: Cesaro
After the match, Sheamus backs Cesaro into the corner and he offers his hand to Cesaro. Cesaro walks past Sheamus and Paul appreciates what his client just did.
Michael Cole reminds us that Payback is in less than two weeks and he reminds us of the announcement during the Pre Show that the six man tag match between The Shield and Evolution will now be a No Holds Barred Elimination Match.
We take a look back at what happened last week on Raw between the Shield and Evolution.
We see the photo of the injury suffered by Roman Reigns last week.
Tonight, Seth Rollins will face Batista and no member of Evolution or The Shield will be allowed at ringside.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Michael Cole tells us that the German announce team is at ringside with them, and they are wearing matching ties.
Ryback is in the Goldman Box and he says that he is bigger than Big Ben. The clock is ticking down on his opponent tonight. Time’s Up Big E.
Match Number Two: Big E versus Ryback (with Curtis Axel) in a Beat the Clock Match
They lock up and Ryback with a side head lock and shoulder tackle for a near fall. Big E with a side head lock and shoulder tackle for a near fall. Ryback with knees to the midsection and then he punches Big E in the corner. Ryback with an Irish whip and Big E with a clothesline for a near fall. Big E with punches to Ryback’s midsection. Big E with a shoulder in the corner and then Ryback with a back elbow.
Ryback gets a near fall. Ryback with a forearm and punches to Big E. Big E with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex for a near fall. Big E with a kick to the midsection and Axel gets on the apron to distract Big E. Ryback clips Big E and then he kicks Big E. Ryback with a suplex and he gets a near fall.
Ryback with punches and he gets a near fall. Ryback pushes Big E and punches him in the corner. Ryback with elbows. Ryback with more punches and chops. Ryback with a snap mare and kick for a near fall while Ryback watches the clock. Ryback with knees and then he starts to work on the shoulder. Ryback goes for another shoulder but Big E with a belly-to-belly. Big E goes for the Ultimate Warrior Splash but Ryback gets up and hits a spinebuster for a near fall.
Ryback pounds his chest and he sets for the lariat and he connects but he can only get a near fall. He gets a few more near falls. Ryback goes for a power bomb but Big E lands on his feet. Big E with a shoulder tackle and he hits the Big Ending for the three count.
Winner: Big E (Time to beat: 5:02)
We go to commercial.
We are back with footage of Special Olympians at the WWE Performance Center.
Match Number Three: R Truth and Naomi (with Cameron) versus Fandango and Layla El
Before the bell rings, Summer Rae makes her way to the ring and she grabs Fandango and kisses him. Layla is in shock and then Summer takes down Layla and they CATFIGHT in the ring. Fandango pulls Layla out of the ring and holds her back.
We go to commercial.
We are back and we are told that there will be a Season 3 of Total Divas.
Daniel Bryan’s music plays and Stephanie McMahon is the one who comes out to the anger of the crowd.
Stephanie says that you should all be chanting ‘yes’ because Daniel Bryan underwent successful neck surgery on Thursday. Daniel has an incredible story. At Wrestlemania, he became the WWE World Champion. Then he went to marry Brie Bella. Part 1 of the wedding will air on Total Divas on Sunday.
Daniel Bryan has overcome so many obstacles. His chants have entertained so many people. Daniel is doing everything he can to get back into active competition. Daniel is your champion and he knows that you need an active champion. She knows that Daniel is convalescing at home and waiting on every word.
Stephanie plays a montage of Wade Barrett saying that he’s got some BAD NEWS.
Stephanie says that she has some bad news. She is contemplating stripping Daniel Bryan of the WWE World Champion and awarding it to The Demon Kane . . . or she can strip it and award it to Bad News Barrett. She says that the people are so predictable to like that. Why not award the title to Batista. If there is anyone deserving of being the champion, it is the COO of the WWE, HHH.
She says that she is not going to strip Daniel of the title, but she demands that Daniel Bryan be at Raw next week to personally surrender the WWE Championship because that is what is best for business.
We go to commercial.
We are back and 3MB are dressed as the Union Jacks.
Heath says that the Union Jacks are home. He wants everyone to get up and get ready . .
They are interrupted by Lana who walks onto the stage and does her Iron Curtain pose. She says that similar to mindless American attempting to interfere with something more superior. It will be the cause of your downfall. You cannot stop or alter the destiny of a great leader like Vladimir Putin. He succeeded in resurrecting Mother Russia as a great power house unlike the United States which has failed. She says that America’s future will be like this and she shows a photo of the White House with a Russian Flag. She says that the United Kingdom will be no different.
Match Number Three: Heath Slater (with Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre) versus Rusev (with Lana)
Rusev catches Slater on a plancha and sends him into the apron. Rusev kicks McIntyre and then he sends Mahal into the ring steps.
The referee starts the match and Slater with a kick and punch but Rusev with a body block and Slater goes down. Rusev pick up Slater and hits a uranage slam. Rusev with a boot to the back and then he applies the Accolade and Slater taps out.
Winner: Rusev
Dean Ambrose says that Triple H talked about humbling them and eliminating them. Then Triple H hides behind his goons. That looks like Evolution might be afraid of the Shield. He hopes that is not the case. They wanted Evolution who wanted to fight. This 20 on 3 crap is not what they wanted.
Reigns mentions that he got nine stitches. Is that all that he’s got. If that is all you have, you have so many problems. You keep knocking them down, but they keep coming back.
Seth says that they keep trying to hold them down. Two weeks ago, he took one risk too many and Batista took advantage. Batista nearly beat him to death and put him out of action when he could not stand. He could not get the job done. Tonight, Dave . . . he won’t make any mistakes. Believe that Batista and believe in the Shield.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Alberto is in the Goldman Box. He says that he was bred to be a champion. He is doing this for the children. They need a role model to look up to and someone to follow so they can achieve greatness.
Match Number Four: Rob Van Dam versus Alberto Del Rio in a Beat the Clock Match (time to beat 5:02)
They lock up and Del Rio with a waist lock but Van Dam with a rollup for a near fall. Van Dam with an inside cradle for a near fall. Van Dam with a body scissors rollup for a near fall. Del Rio with a kick to the head while Van Dam hangs over the apron. Del Rio gets a near fall. We see Big E watching on a monitor while Del Rio hits a suplex and gets a near fall.
Van Dam with an Irish whip and Van Dam with a monkey flip. Del Rio rolls to the floor and Van Dam follows and he sends Alberto back into the ring. Del Rio with a super kick as Van Dam gets back into the ring and Van Dam falls to the floor. Del Rio sends Van Dam back into the ring and he gets a near fall. Del Rio with a reverse chin lock.
Van Dam with clotheslines and then he hits a thrust kick when he ducks a clothesline from Del Rio. Van Dam with a leg drop for a near fall. Del Rio with a DDT for a near fall. Del Rio signals for the cross arm breaker and he sets for the float over but Van Dam with a kick and he hits a flip senton. Van Dam goes up top and misses the Five Star Frog Splash. Del Rio with a La Magistral for a near fall.
Del Rio sends Van Dam into the turnbuckles and then he hits a step up enzuigiri for a near fall. Del Rio sets for the super kick but he misses. Van Dam with a rollup for the three count.
Winner: Rob Van Dam (Time To Beat 4:15)
We go to commercial.
We are back and Michael Cole tells us about NXT Takeover featuring Adrian Neville versus Tyson Kidd for the NXT Title.
We take a look back at Bray Wyatt’s comments to John Cena and John’s response.
Renee Young is with John Cena in the back. She asks him about what John did to Bray and his match against Luke. John says that his plan is the same as last week. Invite the tag team champions to keep the odds even. The crowd is full of followers of Bray Wyatt. Things might be even in the ring, but the crowd will be behind Bray. The same will probably happen at Payback. It leads to desperation and he likes that. Does he run and give up? They fear no man and turn down no fight. They will fight and take that opportunity and win.
John says that he has the heart of a champion.
Evolution is in their office and Hunter says that they are wrong if they think that is all they have. Randy says they need to take them out one by one at Payback. Hunter says the blood is in the water already. Make it so Rollins does not make it to Payback. Batista says that he will do it all by himself.
We go to commercial.
We are back and tomorrow on Main Event, Cesaro faces Mark Henry.
Before Seth Rollins’ opponent comes to the ring, we have our special guest ring announcer Triple H. He says that he will ensure that all of these matches are as big as possible. There is a guest timekeeper as well, Randy Orton.
Match Number Five: Batista versus Seth Rollins
Before the match starts, Seth Rollins takes the mic and he says that he has some special guests of his own to make this as big as possible. He brings out the special commentators Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose.
Batista talks to Hunter and Orton before locking up and he kicks Rollins and connects with a forearm to the back. Batista with a punch to the midsection and he connects with a shoulder. Rollins with a knee and chops. Rollins punches Batista in the corner. Rollins kicks Batista in the corner. Batists goes to the floor and he pulls Rollins to the floor and he sends Rollins into the ringside barrier.
Rollins escapes a slam attempt and he hits an enzuigiri and we go to commercial.
We are back and Rollins is on the floor and Batista goes out to send Rollins into the ring steps and Rollins goes over the steps. Batista with a baseball slide to send Rollins to the floor. Batista goes to the floor to bring Rollins back in. Batista gets a near fall. Batista with a reverse chin lock and body scissors. Batista with punches to Rollins and he returns to the reverse chin lock and body scissors. Rollins gets to his feet and he hits a jawbreaker and chops. Batista with a back elbow and Rollins lands hard and Batista gets a near fall.
Batista with a hard Irish whip and Hunter says something to Rollins while he is down. Batista chokes Rollins in the ropes. Batista puts Rollins on the turnbuckles and Batista with punches. Batista goes up top for a superplex but Rollins with punches and head butts to knock Batista to the mat. Rollins with a Blockbuster and then Rollins runs into a boot in the corner.
Rollins with a kick and wraparound clothesline and both men are down. Rollins with a running forearm into the corner and then he connects with a second one. Batista with a waist lock and he tries for a belly-to-back suplex but Rollins lands on his feet. Rollins with a drop kick and Batista goes to the floor. Rollins with a suicide dive onto Batista and both men are down.
Rollins sends Batista back into the ring and then Orton distracts Rollins at ringside. Reigns and Ambrose stand get up from the announce table. Rollins misses a springboard move and then he runs into a spinebuster from Batista. Batista sets for a spear but he runs into a kick from Rollins. Rollins with a springboard knee to the head and he gets a near fall.
Rollins goes up top but Hunter pushes him off the turnbuckles. Ambrose attacks Hunter and then Orton gets involved and he sends Ambrose over the German announce table. Reigns with head butts to Orton and then Orton hits Reigns with a chair. Orton looks for another chair but Ambrose attacks Orton off the announce tables.
Hunter sends Ambrose into the ring post and then he punches Ambrose. Hunter punches Rollins when he goes for a suicide dive and the referee calls for the bell.
Winner: Seth Rollins (by disqualification)
Batista with a spear to Rollins. Hunter tries to pedigree Ambrose on the announce table, but Ambrose with a back body drop. Reigns spears Batista and then Hunter is sent to the floor. Orton saves Batista from the Cerberus Bomb.
We go to commercial.
Match Number Six: Alicia Fox versus Paige in a Non Title Match
Alicia with a boot to the head followed by an uppercut. Paige with a kick and head butts. Paige tosses Alicia by the hair a few times. Alicia goes to the floor to regroup. Paige goes to the floor and Alicia puts Paige on the ringside barrier and knocks her off. Alicia slams Paige’s head into the mat.
Alicia with a tilt-a-whirl back breaker for a near fall. Alicia slaps Paige. Alicia with an Irish whip and she sends Paige into the turnbuckles. Alicia with a side head lock. Paige with a Paige Turner and Alicia kicks out at two. Alicia with a tilt-a-whirl back breaker and then she puts Paige on the middle turnbuckle. Alicia with a kick to the head.
Alicia gets the three count.
Winner: Alicia Fox
After the match, Alicia takes Jerry’s crown and she takes a drink from a fan.
We see Erick Rowan in his lamb mask and then we see Luke Harper. He says that John is playing a very dangerous game. The snake is growing very tired. Come out come out wherever you are.
Bray says that it appears that the great hero is bringing reinforcements. The Usos are just dominos on the line. Falling down one by one.
We go to commercial.
Dolph says that he loves Beat the Clock because it allows him to do what he does best. Show off. He does not care who his opponent is . . . Mark Henry enters the Goldman Box and Dolph stops talking.
Match Number Seven: Mark Henry versus Dolph Ziggler in a Beat the Clock Match (time to beat 4:15)
Henry misses a clothesline but he does not miss with a shoulder tackle. Henry with a running power slam for a near fall. Ziggler rolls to the apron but Henry brings him back into the ring with a hip toss. The referee checks on Ziggler and Dolph rolls to the floor. Ziggler struggles to get back into the ring and Henry with an Irish whip. Ziggler with an uppercut.
Ziggler leaps over Henry from the turnbuckles and he hits a Fameasser for a near fall. Ziggler gets sent to the floor by Henry. Ziggler gets back into the ring and hits a drop kick. Ziggler with another drop kick and both men are down.
Ziggler gets a near fall but Henry with a powerful kick out that sends Ziggler back to the apron. Ziggler goes up top but Henry catches him on a cross body and Henry with a power slam for a near fall. Henry takes his time picking up Henry for the World’s Strongest Slam but Ziggler gets to his feet and he hits a Zig Zag. Time runs out before Ziggler can cover Henry.
Time Limit
After the match, Rob Van Dam comes out to see that he is the man who will face Wade Barrett at Payback. Rob does his thumbs deal but Wade Barrett attacks Van Dam from behind with a Bullhammer.
Barrett takes a mic and he says that he is afraid that he’s got some bad news. Because Rob beat the clock, that means he has to fight him for the Intercontinental Championship. It won’t happen right now. We are in London right now. His capital city. It just so happens that this is the home of Greenwich Mean Time. Rob may have set the best time, but it is the English who have set the time for the entire world. Wade tells Rob that there is no way in the world that this Englishman is going to lose to a bloody Yank at Payback.
We go to commercial.
We are back and we take a look back at what Stephanie McMahon said about the WWE World Championship.
Renee Young is in the ring and she brings out Adam Rose along with his Exotic Express.
Adam says hello to Renee and to London. He wants to know where his Cheeseburger is. Adam says that his name is Ethan and he has sesame seeds on his buns. He will take him to the doctor next week to check it out.
Renee asks what does it mean to be a rosebud. Adam says that it means to not be a lemon.
Renee asks Adam if he is targeting Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter.
Adam is not targeting Jackie and Zebbie. He tells them to have some fun.
Jack Swagger’s music interrupts and he is joined by Zeb Colter. He tells everyone to shut up. Adam Rose is just the ‘it’ he was looking for. He asks Raylene what is she doing in the ring with that person with questionable morals. He runs around with a bunch of 1969 Woodstock rejects. He says that he has a bone to pick with Adam.
Zeb tells Jack to stand back because it is between him and Adam. He tells everyone that Adam is the problem in his country. If he hangs around this country long enough, he will be the problem here. He does not know how Adam got into the US or into this country, but Adam fits in better with these freaks than in the United States.
He calls everyone hedonistic. Zeb says they will let anyone into the United States. He wants to know if they have taken any medical tests because he could catch anything. He says that Adam has embarrassed him the last few weeks. Why not resolve this. Get his people out of the ring and he will get Jack out of the ring so they can settle this right here and right now.
Jack punches Adam and the ring clears. Swagger kicks Rose and then he gets the Exotic Express to flinch. Swagger turns around and Rose with a clothesline and he punches Swagger. Swagger goes to the apron and he knocks Swagger off the apron.
We go to commercial.
We are back and John Layfield is excited for the return of Bo Dallas on Smackdown. We are also told that Hulk Hogan will be on Smackdown.
Match Number Eight: John Cena (with Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) versus Luke Harper (with Bray Wyatt and Erick Rowan)
Harper runs Cena into the corner and he punches Cena. Harper with an elbow to the back of the head. Harper with a hard Irish whip. Cena with an Irish whip and bulldog followed by a boot to the head for a near fall. Cena with an Irish whip but Harper moves when Cena charges into the corner. Harper with a pump handle suplex for a near fall.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Harper is in control of the match. Harper with an uppercut and then he looks to Bray for advice. Cena with a flying shoulder tackle and then he runs into a boot when he tries for the second one and Harper gets a near fall. Harper with a Gator Roll and then he hits a front face lock suplex for a near fall.
Cena with a single leg take down and then he hits a Blue Thunder Bomb. Cena sets for the five knuckle shuffle but Harper gets up and hits a German suplex and he gets a near fall. Harper goes for a boot into the corner but Cena moves and Harper goes over the top rope to the floor.
Cena with another Blue Thunder Bomb followed by the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Harper avoids the Attitude Adjustment and then he hits a front driver to Cena for a near fall. Cena with a back body drop. Harper with a head scissors and drop kick that sends Cena to the floor. Harper with a suicide dive onto Cena.
They return to the ring and Harper runs into an elbow and then Cena with a tornado DDT for a near fall. Both men are down and the referee starts his count. Cena with a rana but Harper with a super kick for a near fall. Harper puts Cena on the turnbuckles and he connects with forearms to the back and then Harper with a torture rack into a neck breaker for a near fall.
Harper takes too long and Cena recovers long enough to connect with a clothesline. Harper with a sunset flip but Cena rolls through into the STF but Harper is able to get to the ropes to force Cena to break the hold. Jey with a super kick to knock Rowan off the apron. Jimmy runs the guardrails and he hits a cross body onto Rowan and Wyatt.
Wyatt with Sister Abigail to Jey and then to Jimmy. Bray charges at Cena and Cena drops down. Harper with a Michinoku Driver for a near fall. Cena hits an Attitude Adjustment on Harper and Rowan attacks Cena and it forces the referee to call for the bell.
Winner: John Cena (by disqualification)
After the match, Rowan holds Cena and Cena punches Rowan but Wyatt hits Sister Abigail on Cena. Harper and Rowan push Cena to the floor and Rowan with a forearm to Cena. Harper with a European uppercut to Cena. Harper feeds Cena to Rowan for a Fallaway slam onto the ramp. Wyatt hits Sister Abigail on the stage.
Bray sings while Luke Harper counts Cena out to signify that this is what is going to happen during the Last Man Standing Match at Payback.
We go to credits.
2020 - Former WWE star Shad Gaspard died after he and and his son were among a group of swimmers caught in a strong rip current at 3:56 PM local time Sunday off Venice Beach in California, pulled 200 feet from shore.
In his last act, Gaspard asked that his ten year old son be rescued first by Baywatch lifeguards. His son was assisted by the lifeguards but Gaspard was not seen again after being pulled under by another big wave. A search continued until being called off at 7:30 PM Sunday night, although periodic watch was kept from the shore. Underwater searching using sonar and divers as well as searches from the air via helicopter resumed yesterday.
A native of Brooklyn, NY Gaspard, 39, was signed to a WWF developmental deal in 2002 after initially trying out for the second season of their MTV reality series Tough Enough. He didn't make the cut for the series but was given guidance about where to train, including time with Tom Prichard and Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker. Gaspard moved to Louisville, Kentucky, bouncing with other future WWE stars as they trained as pro wrestler and worked towards their mutual goal of getting a WWE deal.
Originally debuting as "Da Beast", a nickname that remained with him in pro wrestling forever, Gaspard worked as the bodyguard to perennial OVW heel manager Kenny Bolin and teamed with Carly Colon (Carlito). He was signed officially to a WWE developmental deal within a year of debuting. Gaspard was put together with The Neighborhoodie (more famously known now as JTG) as a team after Gaspard had a short feud with CM Punk in OVW.
The roots of Cryme Tyme was born in OVW with the team being called up in late 2006 with a series of vignettes that presented them as a fun-loving, over the top team that tapped into urban culture. They were an immediate hit as an act for live audiences, who loved their promos and energy as well as the team stealing items from heels to then give them away to fans in arena or "selling them off" in vignettes - stealing title belts, cars, clothing, etc. They were pushed hard, even teaming with John Cena and the act was easily getting over. Since they were from NYC, they would routinely get one of the biggest pops when they appeared in Madison Square Garden. The team was extremely popular, especially as a live act, everywhere for the company during that run.
The duo had two WWE runs as the team. Despite their popularity and merchandise sales, they were released in 2007 after having issues with Trevor Murdoch and Lance Cade, who they were rivals with inside and outside the ring. They returned in 2008 and were drafted to the Smackdown brand, challenging Big Show and Chris Jericho at Summerslam 2008 for the Smackdown Tag belts. In 2010, WWE opted to split the team with Gaspard turning heel, adopting a new look for a short feud with JTG before again departing. Truth be told, Gaspard never really had a chance to develop his singles persona enough to truly gauge whether it could have worked long-term.
Since leaving WWE, Gaspard has worked regularly as an actor and stuntman in theater, film and television and had written several projects that were in different stages of development for Hollywood. Gaspard had worked as a stuntman on the DC Comics Harley Quinn & The Birds of Prey film released earlier this year.
In 2016, Gaspard was credited with stopping a man intent on robbing a gas station when an armed man approached him as he was planning to rob the station. Gaspard disarmed the man and held him until police arrived.
This is an absolute unthinkable tragedy.
PWInsider.com sends its deepest condolences to Gaspard's family, friends and fans. He died a hero, making sure his ten year old son was rescued, which is the most heroic thing any man can ever hope to do.
Again, our condolences to everyone who knew and loved Gasard.
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