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November 5th
On this day in history in ....
1986 - Alexander Wolfe was born.
1987 - Allysin Kay was born.
1990 - Terry Funk defeats Jerry Lawler for the USWA Unified Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee, ending Lawler's seventh reign with the belt.
1994 - ECW held their "November To Remember" card in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the ECW Arena. Here are the results:
- The show opened with a local guitar player doing the national anthem, only to mess up, and then get chokeslammed by 911. Timekeeper Rocky Musciano was then chokeslammed as well.
- JT Smith defeated Hack Myers with a Northern Lights Suplex.
- The Pitbulls defeated The Bad Breed (Ian & Axl Rotten) when Ian was pinned after a superbomb.
- 2 Cold Scorpio defeated Mr. Hughes (subbing for Matt Borne) with a 450 Splash.
- Tommy Dreamer defeated Tommy Cairo in a violent bloody brawl when the referee declared that Cairo was unable to continue.
- ECW Champion Shane Douglas defeated Ron Simmons with a crucifix. Post-match, 2 Cold Scorpio and Simmons beat down Douglas, with Scorpio giving him a moonsault.
- The Sandman, who was "blinded" during a match with Tommy Dreamer, was supposed to have a retirement ceremony next. As part of the build to this moment, Sandman's manager, Woman, had dumped him (saying he was useless now), and had promised to reveal her new charge at this event. At the same time, Dreamer announced that he was devoting his career to the Sandman, which is why he destroyed Sandman's enemy, Cairo, earlier in the show. This angle is considered to be one of the greatest in ECW history. Sandman came to the ring in a suit, with dark glasses and tape over his eyes. ECW Commissioner Tod Gordon helped him into the ring, and got emotional on the microphone, saying Sandman was his best friend. Peaches (Sandman's former valet/real life wife) came out and told the Sandman that she had "changed" (she had breast implants). Sandman said he didn't care if she was fat (remember, he's blind), he wanted to get back together. Woman then came to the ring, and knocked out Peaches with a cane. She was threatening to hit Sandman when Tommy Dreamer came to the ring to stop her. As Dreamer was stopping Woman, Sandman knocked out Gordon and ripped off his glasses and bandages. Sandman jumped Dreamer and beat him down, whipping him with his belt. Woman then announced that her charge was ... The Sandman. Woman and Sandman left together. having tricked everyone, including getting Dreamer to destroy Cairo for them.
- Shane Douglas was interviewed, with a phone in his hand, and announced that he had called in a partner to face Ron Simmons & 2 Cold Scorpio at the next ECW Arena show. He revealed that the partner would be "Stunning" Steve Austin (however, when the show happened, Brian Pillman ended up taking Austin's place).
- ECW World Television Champion Dean Malenko defeated Tazmaniac (Taz) after knocking him out with an ether-soaked towel.
- The Public Enemy defeated Cactus Jack & Mikey Whipwreck in a Brawl Games match to win the ECW World Tag Team Title. The rules stipulated that when one wrestler couldn't answer a 10 count, the other opposing team would be given baseball bats to use. Cactus accidentally DDT'd Mikey, and when he couldn't respond to the ten count, Public Enemy were given bats. During the match, Rocco Rock went to dive off the top stage onto Mikey Whipwreck, who was on top of two tables, but Sabu interfered, shoving Rock off the stage and through the tables. Cactus then elbowdropped Rock through a table from off the stage. Whipwreck was eventually pinned by Grunge after a top rope shot with the bat. Later that night, Cactus announced that he was bringing in Kevin Sullivan to face The Public Enemy at the next ECW Arena event on November 19, 1994.
- The main event was scheduled to be Chris Benoit vs. Sabu. However, less than two minutes into the match, Sabu took a high backdrop from Benoit and came right down on his head, breaking his neck. The match was stopped, and Sabu had to be helped to the back. 2 Cold Scorpio came out and fought Benoit in an impromptu match, ending in a double countout. The footage of Benoit dropping Sabu on his head was replayed numerous times on ECW television, and resulted in Benoit gaining the "Crippler" nickname.
2000 - ECW held their final "November To Remember" PPV card in Villa Park, Illinois at the Odeum. Here are the results:
- Simon Diamond & Johnny Swinger defeated Christian York & Joey Matthews when Swinger pinned York after a Problem Solver.
- Kid Kash defeated CW Anderson with a tornado DDT.
- Danny Doring, Roadkill & Spike Dudley defeated EZ Money, Julio Dinero & Chris Hamrick when Spike hit the Acid Drop on Hamrick.
- Nova defeated Chris Chetti in a Loser Leaves ECW match with a Kryptonite Krunch off the top rope.
- Balls Mahoney & Chilly Willy defeated Da Baldies (Tony DeVito & Angel) in a Flaming Tables match.
- ECW Television Champion Rhino defeated New Jack after a gore through a table.
- ECW World Tag Team Champions Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke defeated Yoshihiro Tajiri & Super Crazy. Crazy replaced Mikey Whipwreck, who was injured during the match.
- Steve Corino won a "Double Jeopardy" match to win the ECW World Heavyweight Title. The rules were that two separate matches (Steve Corino vs. The Sandman and champion Jerry Lynn vs. Justin Credible) would take place in the ring at the same time. You could fight anyone you wanted, but could only score a pinfall on your opponent. The winners of those two matches would then face each other. Corino pinned Sandman with the Old School Expulsion at the same time Credible pinned Lynn with That's Incredible. Corino then defeated Credible with a superkick to win the title.
2001 - During an edition of Raw at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, Long Island, Test defeats Edge for the WWF Intercontinental Title, ending Edge's third title reign. On the same show, the Rock defeats Chris Jericho for the WCW World Heavyweight Title.
2002 - Edge & Rey Mysterio defeat Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit for the WWE (Smackdown) Tag Team Title in Manchester, New Hampshire.
2009 - During a WWE investor conference call, Vince McMahon discussed how Linda McMahon was no longer Chief Executive Officer of WWE, but was still on the board of the company, due to her plans to run for Senate. Regarding the departure of his son Shane from WWE, Vince said "The other aspect of family, because some people perceive this to be a family business, but I do not. But none the less, my son Shane, as well, has decided to pursue other opportunities in the marketplace. Nonetheless, I've mentioned before that the strength of our management team, is stronger now than it has ever been. And if your last name is McMahon or not, decisions are always made on your abilities, in terms of whatever position you hold now and/or will in the future, and be judged on your performance, not because your last name is McMahon. So, I'm pretty strong on that as well. And other than that, we will entertain questions, from everyone, and I hope there would be any number of them."
2010 - WWE broadcast Smackdown. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV report:
We are live on tape from Bridgeport, Connecticut and your announcers are Todd ‘I had a horrible nightmare that there was a third person at the announce table’ Grisham, Michael ‘The Rally to Maintain My Sanity’ Cole, and Matt ‘We Need Abed to Comment on Cole’ Striker.
Before the match starts, Edge intimidates Ricardo Rodriguez to the point where Ricardo does not do the introduction in the ring and does it on the ring steps.
We see highlights from last week’s Triple Threat match that involved Alberto Del Rio, Edge, and Rey Mysterio and Ricardo Rodriguez’s interference.
Match Number One: Edge versus Alberto Del Rio
They lock up and Alberto with a waist lock. Edge goes to the ropes and Del Rio goes to the floor. Edge goes out and hits a double sledge from the apron to the back. Edge hot shots Del Rio on the ringside barrier and then he connects with a forearm to the back. Edge rolls Del Rio back into the ring and kicks Del Rio in the back. Edge with an elbow to the head and then he puts Del Rio in an arm bar. Del Rio with punches but Edge with forearms of his own. Edge with a kick to the midsection and punches. Edge chokes Del Rio in the ropes. Edge with an Irish whip but he sidesteps Edge when Edge charges into the corner and Edge hits the ring post with his shoulder. Edge is sent into the ring post again and Edge goes to the floor as we go to commercial.
We are back and Del Rio with an arm bar on Edge and Edge gets to his feet. Edge with punches to Del Rio followed by a kick and sunset flip for a near fall. Del Rio with a kick and then he hits a single arm breaker for a near fall. Del Rio with knees to the arm and then he wraps his arm in the ropes. Del Rio pulls Edge’s arm into the rope and Edge goes to the floor. Del Rio goes back to the floor and Del Rio kicks him in the arm. Del Rio slams Edge’s arm into the ringside barrier and then he rolls Edge back into the ring and gets a near fall.
Del Rio with an arm bar on Edge as he continues to work on the arm. Edge returns to his feet and he punches Del Rio. Del Rio with a kick to Edge’s shoulder but he misses a splash into the ropes and Del Rio goes through the ropes to the floor. Del Rio gets on the apron and Edge with a drop kick that sends Alberto back to the floor. Edge rolls Del Rio back in and he goes up top but Del Rio stops Edge. Del Rio with head butts to Edge but Edge punches Del Rio and head butts him to the mat. Edge with a cross body but he can only get a near fall. Edge with a running forearm and clothesline followed by a flapjack to Del Rio and he gets a near fall.
Edge sets for the Impaler DDT but Del Rio escapes. Edge also sets for the Edge-o-Matic but Del Rio counters with a German suplex and bridge for a near fall. Del Rio with a kick to the head and he gets Edge on his shoulders. Edge escapes and hits the Impaler DDT but only gets a two count.
The crowd chants for a spear but Edge goes up top and Del Rio hits the rising enzuigiri but Edge gets his hand on the rope to stop the count. Del Rio kicks Edge in the arm. Edge with a big boot to Del Rio and then he gets that look in his eyes as he sets for the spear.
Before Edge can hit the spear, he is interrupted by Nexus’ music and they circle the ring. All five members of Nexus attack Del Rio and Edge and send them to the floor.
David Otunga gets a mic and he says that the last time they came to Smackdown they dominated. This time they are taking over. He says that you are either Nexus or you’re Against Us.
Big Show’s music plays and he comes out to the ring as Nexus gets into their attack position. Show is joined by Rey Mysterio.
Kane comes out as well and they are joined by Edge as they send Nexus to the back.
We go to commercial.
We are back and have a Moments Ago Moment of Nexus interfering in the match between Del Rio and Edge only to see those two men unite and help Big Show, Rey Mysterio, and Kane.
Teddy Long comes out to the Smackdown stage and he says that Nexus will face Kane, Alberto Del Rio, Big Show, Edge, and Rey Mysterio in a ten men tag match.
Cole, Grisham, and Striker wonder where Wade Barrett was during the Nexus attack.
We see footage of what happened with Dolph Ziggler, Vickie Guerrero, and Kaitlyn during NXT.
Match Number Two: Dolph Ziggler versus JTG in a Non Title Match
Ziggler with a punch to the head as he is the aggressor in the match. JTG blocks a punch and then he punches Ziggler and he takes Ziggler to the mat. JTG with forearms and the referee pulls him off. JTG charges into a boot from Ziggler. Ziggler with a neck breaker and he gets a near fall. Ziggler rubs JTG’s face in the canvas. Ziggler kicks JTG while yelling at him. JTG with punches to Ziggler but Ziggler with a kick. JTG with a drop kick and then he misses a splash in the corner and Ziggler with the Zig Zag but Ziggler pulls JTG up at two. Ziggler puts JTG in the sleeper and JTG is out and the referee calls for the bell.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
After the match, Kaitlyn comes to the ring and she wants to celebrate with Dolph but Dolph refuses.
Vickie comes to the ring throwing out a few Excuse Mes and she wants to know who Kaitlyn thinks she is. Vickie slaps Kaitlyn and the referee pulls her away. Dolph tries to force peace between the two women.
We are back and Did You Know that WWE has sold more than 50 million video games worldwide?
We see a Moments Ago Moment of Kaitlyn and Vickie Guerrero brawling.
Hornswoggle is with Teddy Long and Teddy says that he has everything under control. Vickie enters and she says a few excuse mes before she reminds Teddy that she is the official consultant. She will not be shown up by that rookie hussy. Vickie says that she was embarrassed and she made Dolph a champion and now he is with Kaitlyn.
Teddy says that Vickie will get justice by facing Kaitlyn in the ring.
We see Nexus in the back and they are beating someone up. We see that it is Rey Mysterio. They figure they are done with Rey and they leave. Rey is holding his arm as we go to commercial.
We are back and Nexus are in the back and David Otunga says that they will be successful if they listen to him. Josh Mathews wants to know why they assaulted Rey Mysterio. David says that Wade went to the UK to visit friends and they will join him next week. They wanted to show that the Nexus is more than John Cena and Wade Barrett. They attacked Rey Mysterio because they can.
Michael Cole says that Wade is probably not going to be happy with what he has seen from Nexus tonight.
We see footage from last week when The Dashing Ones faced Big Show and Kofi Kingston only to see the team break up after their loss.
Match Number Three: Montel Vontavious Porter versus Drew McIntyre versus Dashing Cody Rhodes in a Number One Contenders Match
Cody and Drew face off in the center and Cody goes after Porter but Porter with an overhead belly to belly throw. Porter punches Drew. Cody is taken down with a drop toe hold and Porter with a knee to the back of Rhodes. Drew backs off and then he wants to work with his former tag team partner. Cody and Drew attack Porter and they punch and kick him. Drew with a boot to the head and Cody does the same. Porter punches Drew but Cody with a knee. Cody with a kick and then he goes after Drew but Drew ducks down and Cody goes over the top rope to the floor. Drew slams Cody on the ramp as we go to commercial.
We are back and Drew kicks and punches Porter in the corner and Cody is still down outside the ring. Drew with a short arm clothesline on Porter and then he puts Porter in an arm bar while we see Cody still on the floor. Cody goes up top and hits a missile drop kick on Drew and then Cody hits a knee drop for a near fall on Porter. Cody with a punch and gourdbuster followed by a Harley Race knee drop for a near fall. Cody with a spinning hammer lock into a rear chin lock by Cody. Cody gets on Porter’s back but Porter turns it into an Electric Chair drop and both men are down in the ring. Cody with a forearm that knocks Drew off the apron. Rhodes with a side Russian leg sweep for a near fall on Porter.
Porter with an Irish whip but Porter misses the boot into the corner. Porter was in the ropes and Rhodes hits a neck breaker and Rhodes gets a near fall. Porter rolls to the floor and Rhodes goes after McIntyre and sends him into the ringside barrier. Rhodes rolls back into the ring and he wants the referee to count out both men but there are no count outs. Rhodes goes up top but he takes too long and Drew crotches Cody.
Drew returns to the ring and he has something to say to Cody before punching him and connecting with forearms to the back. Drew sets for a superplex but Drew takes too long and Porter takes them down with the assist on the superplex and then he gets near falls on Drew and Cody.
Porter with punches Drew followed by a few clotheslines and an Exploder. Porter faceplants Cody and then hits a facebuster as he sets up for the Ballin’ Elbow. Drew with a kick, but Porter sends Drew into the turnbuckles. Porter with a double thrust followed by a facebuster to Drew. Porter with the Ballin’ Elbow and he sets for the Playmaker but Drew escapes and hits a clothesline on Porter. Drew wants to hit the Future Shock DDT but Cody with a springboard round kick. Porter throws Cody out of the ring and Porter with the running boot to Drew’s head and he gets the three count.
Winner: Montel Vontavious Porter
We go to commercial.
Match Number Four: Vickie Guerrero versus Kaitlyn in a Dolph Ziggler on a Proverbial Pole Match
Kaitlyn with a kick and forearm to Vickie but Vickie goes to the floor and she doesn’t want any more as she screams and Michael Cole stands up for Vickie. Vickie does some exercises but she turns her back on Kaitlyn and Kaitlyn hits her from behind. Kaitlyn sends Vickie back into the ring. Kaitlyn with a boot to the midsection and Vickie is going to be sick while Kaitlyn laughs at Vickie. Kaitlyn sends Vickie into the turnbuckles and then Kaitlyn kicks Vickie as Vickie doesn’t want any more. Vickie holds on to the ropes but Kaitlyn pulls her out to the center of the ring and gets a near fall. Vickie slaps Kaitlyn in the face and she tries to slam Kaitlyn but she loses her balance and Kaitlyn gets a lateral press for a near fall. Kaitlyn charges into the corner and then she kicks Vickie but Vickie takes Kaitlyn down and gets the three count with some help from the ropes.
Winner: Vickie Guerrero
After the match, Vickie tells Kaitlyn that Dolph is her man.
It is time for the Stand Up for WWE video package.
Michael Cole and Todd Grisham talk about the many videos on wwe.com.
We go to commercial.
We are back and MVP and Kaval are walking in the back. Porter says that he only needed a chance and he got it tonight for a shot at the Intercontinental Title. Kelly Kelly stops Porter and wishes him luck next week.
From out of nowhere, Nexus attack Kaval and Porter and then they walk away.
Match Number Five: Tyler Reks versus Chris Masters in an As Seen on Last Week’s Superstars Match
Reks with a knee and forearms to Masters but he misses a short arm clothesline. Masters with chops and then he throws Reks over the top rope to the floor. Masters with a chop and Reks is rolled back into the ring. Reks kicks Masters as he comes back into the ring and he sends Masters into the ring post. They returns to the ring and Reks with knees to the back and double sledges to the midsection. Reks with a surfboard to Masters. Masters with a lateral press to counter a belly-to-back suplex for a near fall. Masters with a reverse atomic drop and chops followed by a flying shoulder tackle and clothesline. Masters with an Irish whip and Stinger Splash. Masters with a spinebuster to Reks for a near fall. Masters gets ready for the Masters Lock but Reks avoids it and he sends Masters into the top rope. Reks runs Masters into the turnbuckles and Reks hits the Burning Hammer for the three count.
Winner: Tyler Reks
We go to commercial.
Match Number Six: Kofi Kingston, Alberto Del Rio, Kane, Edge, and Big Show versus Michael McGillicutty, Husky Harris, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, and David Otunga in a Could this be a preview for the Survivor Series and David Otunga’s Fiancé said he Could be in Charge Tonight Match
Kofi and McGillicutty start things off and Michael with a kick and punches. Michael with kicks and punches in the corner and the referee warns him. Michael misses a clothesline into the corner and Kofi kicks and punches Michael and he lets Michael out of the corner and he hits a drop kick and gets a near fall. Show tags in and he punches Michael and then he chops him. Show has something to say to Heath Slater and then he slams Michael. Show stands on Michael’s chest.
Edge tags in and he kicks Michael in the corner. Edge sends Michael into the corner and follows it with an Irish whip and shoulder in the corner. Edge kicks Michael but Michael with a knee and he tags in Gabriel. Gabriel kicks and punches Edge. Gabriel misses a round kick but Edge does not miss a kick and he gets a near fall. Gabriel sends Edge into the ropes and he gets a near fall. Gabriel chokes Edge in the ropes and Harris is tagged in.
Harris punches Edge and gets a near fall. Harris sends Edge into the turnbuckles and he punches Edge. Harris with a forearm to Edge and then he hits a flying cross body. Slater tags in and he kicks Edge. Slater chokes Edge in the corner and then he gets a near fall. Slater with a rear chin lock on Edge but Edge gets to his feet. Slater punches Edge and Edge with a flapjack to Slater and both men are down.
Show tags in and he connects with a few clotheslines on Slater followed by an Iris hwip and a running butt splash and shoulder tackle. Del Rio is knocked to the floor. Kofi tags in and he is Irish whipped into Slater in the corner and Kofi with punches and a European uppercut. Del Rio walks away as we go to commercial.
We are back and Slater punches Kingston followed by an Irish whip but Kofi gets his boots up and then Kofi with a cross body for a near fall. Kofi with a Superman punch and then he sets for the Boom Drop but Gabriel grabs Kofi’s leg. Kofi takes care of Gabriel and then Kofi sends Slater onto Harris and Gabriel. Kofi with a plancha. Slater knocks Kofi off the apron onto the announce table after Kofi kicked Otunga.
Gabriel rolls Kofi back in and gets a near fall. Gabriel with kicks to Kofi followed by knees. Otunga tags in and he kicks Kofi until the referee warns him. Michael hits Kofi while Otunga was with the referee. Otunga slams Kofi’s head into the apron and then he gets a near fall. Otunga with a side head lock. Kofi with elbows but Otunga pulls Kofi to the mat by his hair. Michael tags in and kicks Kofi. Harris tags back in and he kicks Kofi. Gabriel tags in and he kicks Kofi followed by a snap mare and reverse chin lock.
Kofi with punches to Gabriel but Gabriel keeps Kofi from tagging in. Otunga tags back in and he slams Kofi. Otunga with a front face lock but Kofi punches Otunga. Otunga with a slam and then Gabriel tags in and hits a slingshot senton for a near fall. Slater tags in and Gabriel with a slam and then Slater with a knee drop for a near fall. Michael tags in and he kicks Kofi and hits a drop kick for a near fall.
Gabriel tags in and he kicks Kofi and Irish whips him into the corner and he connects with a forearm. Kofi with a kick and then he this a belly-to-back suplex and both men are down. Kofi tags in Kane and Otunga tags in too. Otunga has something to say to Kane and Kane responds with an uppercut. Kane with Irish whips and running clotheslines followed by a side slam. Kane goes up top for the clotheslines and he hits it. Kane sets for the choke slam but Slater and Gabriel comes in. Show sends Gabriel and Slater to the floor. Kane choke slams Show and Edge tags in. Edge with an Edge-o-Matic to Otunga and then Edge sets for a spear but he misses Otunga. Kane grabs Edge by the throat but Edge escapes and he hits a spear on Kane. Remembering that there is still a match going on and Edge hits a spear on Otunga for the three count.
Winners: Edge, Kane, Big Show, Kofi Kingston, and Alberto Del Rio
We go to credits.
2011 - Ring of Honor on Sinclair was broadcast over the Sinclair Broadcasting Group's networks. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV report:
We begin this week’s show with a look back at last week’s match between Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly. Then we see the post match battle between the members of Team Richards and The House of Truth.
We are live on tape from Louisville, Kentucky and your announcers are Kevin ‘Papa John’s’ Kelly and Nigel ‘Pitino’ McGuinness.
Kevin and Nigel talk about the main event tonight with Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin against Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander.
We to the ring where Jim Cornette is ready to make an announcement. Jim announces that the main event of Final Battle is the biggest match on the biggest show of the year. He says that they have discussed the man who would be the challenger for Davey Richards’ title. The opponent for the Davey Richards is Eddie Edwards.
Jim tells Eddie that it is great for him to be here. He talks about how New York is a magic town for him and that Final Battle is a magic night.
Eddie says that a lot of people have been asking when we would have Richards/Edwards 3 and it will take place at Final Battle. Eddie says that he won the first time, while Davey won the second time. Eddie says that we don’t know what will happen the third time they meet. Eddie says that he knows the type of training that Team Richards does and how much of a maniac Davey is when he trains. He mentions that they do submissions, grappling, jujitsu, and maybe even bring out some kung fu.
Eddie says that he has a new head trainer who is teaching him things.
Jim wants to know who this trainer is, but Eddie says that we will know in due time.
Eddie says that the last time they met in the ring, Davey won the match. At Final Battle, there will be two wolves, but only one beast.
Davey Richards makes his way to the ring and they shake hands.
Cornette asks Davey if he has any comments.
Davey tells Jim to relax for a minute. Davey asks Eddie if they are going to do this one more time for the fight of their lives and for one of the few titles that mean anything in this business. He says that it is befitting in the era of the American Wolves that they go out with a bang. Davey tells Eddie that they will fight with honor, with intensity, and to the death. Davey says that they will see each other in New York.
Davey says that he has one small piece of business to attend to. Davey says that there are a few guys that he doesn’t like, that the fans don’t like, that Jim Cornette doesn’t like, and that Eddie probably doesn’t like. Davey says that he is talking about The House of Truth.
Davey mentions the Vince Neil look-a-like Truth Martini, Roderick Strong, and Michael Elgin. Davey says that they should do it one more time as the American Wolves and do it Ring of Honor style.
Eddie says that is all well and good, but he tells Davey to remember that when the fans would chant ‘Next World Champ’ during their matches, they were talking about him as the next World Champ. If the fans will chant that again, Davey will know who they are talking about.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Kevin talks about what the Edwards/Richards match means for Roderick Strong at Final Battle. We go to highlights from Eddie Edwards’ match against Michael Elgin.
We go the back where Truth Martini is telling Michael that his job is to tell the truth even when it hurts. He says that it hurts Michael to let people down. Michael agrees. Truth reminds Michael that he was in the car with him and he could have easily taken the keys from him but Michael chose not to and he will have to live with that for a long time. The words he said to his father the last time were words of anger and he never got the chance to apologize.
Truth says that Michael let Roderick down. If Michael had beaten Eddie Edwards, Roderick might be champion now. Truth says that he can take all of the anger away but it is up to Michael to do what he knows what he has to do. Truth says that people say that God made everyone equal, and Elgin says that they were wrong.
Shiloh Jonze is interviewed and he talks about how he moved from Seattle two years ago and he has been sweating and bleeding to get the chance to wrestle the biggest star he has ever faced. Jonze says that if he can win tonight, he becomes a star. Jonze says that Elgin’s head is messed up in the head and he has a chance. He will get the win or die trying.
Match Number One: Shiloh Jonze versus Michael Elgin with Truth Martini and Roderick Strong
Jonze gets backed into a corner and Elgin with a punch. He sends Jonze back into the corner with shoulders and forearms. Elgin with a forearm to the chest followed by an Irish whip but he misses a charge. Jonze gets in a few shots but Elgin pushes him away. Elgin sends Jonze into the air and down to the mat. Elgin with a splash and then he sends him into the turnbuckles and hits a flying shoulder tackle for a near fall.
Elgin with a forearm to the back but Jonze with elbows and forearms but they have no effect. Elgin sends Jonze into the turnbuckles and then he hits a running forearm. Jonze with an elbow and then he tries for a tornado DDT but Elgin counters with a power slam for a near fall. Elgin with a surfboard on Jonze and Jonze with a jawbreaker and clothesline but Elgin stays on his feet. He tries for another clothesline but does not move. Jonze tries for a sunset flip but Elgin does not go over and Elgin drops down but Jonze moves.
Jonze with punch off the turnbuckles for a near fall. Elgin with a back fist and buckle bomb followed by a sit out power bomb for the three count.
Winner: Michael Elgin
We go to commercial.
We are back and it is time to go Inside ROH with Kevin Kelly. The first thing that they discuss is the demand by the fans for the return of Kevin Steen. Kelly mentions that Jim Cornette has banned the mention of Steen’s name on television. We go to comments from Jim Cornette. Kelly mentions that Jim Cornette was served with papers and Cornette will respond in due time.
We see a video message from Kevin Steen’s legal team and he says that they have obtained a temporary injunction to allow Kevin Steen to return to Ring of Honor wrestling. They claim that Jim Cornette has engaged in coercion, misrepresentation, fraud, and collusion with referees licensed in New York to influence the outcome of a sporting event. They will also sue Ring of Honor if they find out that they are part of the conspiracy. They give Jim Cornette four weeks to make a settlement offer or they will make more details of Cornette’s misconduct available to the public. The only acceptable settlement is the full reinstatement of Kevin Steen to the Ring of Honor roster.
Kevin says that his attorney told everyone what they are doing but he wants to tell Cornette why they are doing this. He says that he is finally doing things Cornette’s way. Cornette told him if he was not happy with what Cornette was doing, that he should sue him. That is why he went to Louisville to sue him. If he was doing things his way, he would just beat the s*** out of Cornette, but his attorneys would get him off.
Steen says that Cornette is lucky that he did not add slander for calling him insane. Kevin says that he thinks that it is just a different point of view on things. Cornette says that he is keeping Steen out of Ring of Honor because Steen is a danger to the company. Steen says that they are keeping him out of the company because he will not lay down, roll over, and play dead like everyone else. Steen says that he is not going away. Steen says that he is sick of not being in the best wrestling company in the world because he belongs there. The best people could not be controlled. Steen says that there are a few things that he wants to do when he gets back.
He wants to see his good old buddy Steve Corino. Steen says that Corino is the legend who neutered himself because of Cornette. He also wants to see Jimmy Jacobs who is trying to get a career revival out of this by following Steve around like a cute little puppy. He is coming back for El Generico because he said that he was going to be a never ending nightmare for him. He is going to prove that he is the best until Jim Cornette admits it. He does not care if it means beating up Davey Richards, something that nobody else can do, that is what is going to happen. When he stands in front of Cornette with the World Title, Cornette will have to admit that he belongs.
Kevin turns the attention to the Television Title situation between Jay Lethal and Mike Bennett. Kevin mentions the potential controversy over Bennett refusing to wrestle for five more minutes after their time limit draw.
Bennett says that he did not run away. He says that he is not a coward. Mike says that he did not go back into the match because he already beat Lethal. We see footage of the last half minute of the match while Bennett talks about how the referee refused to stop the match. Bennett says that he was not going to continue the match with that referee because he was screwed already. Bennett says that with him as television champion, he would triple the ratings, especially with the women. Bennett demands a rematch as soon as possible, but with a different referee.
Referee Todd Sinclair says that Bennett was all over Lethal but Lethal was defending himself and Lethal refused to give up. Sinclair says that he does not care if Bennett has a problem with his decision during that match.
Jay Lethal says that Mike Bennett’s ego is so big that he cannot see around it to know what really happened. Lethal mentions that when he missed the elbow, Lethal says it messed him up and gave Bennett the chance to capitalize but Bennett did not hurt him. Lethal says that he waited for that one opportunity and he said that he was not ready to give up.
We go to commercial.
We are back with highlights from last week’s match between the Briscoes and the All Night Xpress to see who would get to face Haas and Benjamin for the Tag Titles at Final Battle.
It is time to discuss the Proving Ground Match concept. Jim Cornette says that they want to give the fans great matches and have the champions face the best competition. The champion cannot defend their title all the time so they have the Proving Ground system. A credible opponent, whether in Ring of Honor or outside the roster, can challenge a champion to a match. If ROH approves, they will get a match with a set time limit. If the wrestler wins the match or goes to a time limit draw, they will get a contract for a title match within the next 90 days.
Match Number Two: Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander versus Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin in a Proving Ground Match
Benjamin and Coleman start things off and Benjamin with a side head lock and shoulder tackle. Benjamin with a waist lock and side head lock take down but Coleman with a head scissors. Benjamin escapes and goes for a side head lock. Benjamin with a hammer lock but Coleman escapes and he works on the wrist. Benjamin with an Arabian press to escape the hold and go for an armbar.
They lock up again and Benjamin with a knee. Coleman tries for a cross body but Benjamin catches him. Benjamin misses a kick but Coleman misses a Shining Wizard and Haas is tagged in. Haas takes Coleman to the mat and he rolls Coleman on the mat as he maintains the front face lock. Haas works on the shoulder and maintains a wrist lock.
Coleman with kicks to the head and he gets to his feet and arm drags Haas. Alexander tags in and he hits a drop kick to the knees and Coleman with a leg drop. Alexander with a near fall and then he hits a running knee to the chest in the corner. Alexander with a chop but Benjamin with the blind tag and Benjamin with a super kick followed by one from Haas and Benjamin gets a near fall.
Benjamin with a step over toe hold and then he applies a heel hook and Haas is tagged in. Haas with a kick to the leg and a knee to the hamstring. Haas with a leg drop to the injured leg by Haas followed by a kick.
Alexander with forearms but Haas with a leg sweep and then he goes to the turnbuckles for a leg whip and he gets a near fall. We go to commercial.
We are back and Alexander with punches to Benjamin but Benjamin with a kick to the chest and he gets a near fall. We see footage from the commercial break before we return to the action in the ring and Benjamin with a chin lock on Alexander. Alexander with elbows but Benjamin with a drop toe hold. Haas tags back in and he kicks Alexander in the head. Haas with kicks to Alexander.
Haas with a single leg crab and then he steps over and Alexander makes it to the ropes. Haas with more kicks and punches. Haas tries for an atomic drop to the knee but Alexander counters with a sunset flip for a near fall. Alexander with an elbow and then he hits a tornado DDT and both men are down.
Benjamin and Coleman tag in and Coleman with punches and a sunset flip for a near fall. Coleman with a leaping leg lariat for a near fall. Benjamin with an Irish hwip but he flips over and Coleman with a rana from the turnbuckles. Coleman and Alexander with a double drop kick to Haas on the floor. Something happens in the ring that we miss because we see a shot of Charlie Haas and Coleman gets a near fall.
Alexander is tripped by Haas on the floor. Haas with a German suplex to Coleman. Benjamin with a super kick to Alexander and then Haas hot shots Alexander and then Benjamin with a leap frog splash to Alexander. Haas and Benjamin get Coleman up for a double choke slam and get the three count.
Winners: Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin
The post match handshake is interrupted by the Briscoes who make their way into the arena and Jay congratulates Haas and Benjamin for beating the biggest greenhorn rookies on the entire roster. He tells them that in New York it ain’t going down like that. Jay says that they will become seven time ROH Tag Team champions in New York.
2011 - WWE Raw ran Manchester, England. Peter Bentley filed the following live report:
I attended the show and we were treated to an unadvertised appearance by Mick Foley.
The opener saw Santino Marella beat Drew McIntyre with The Cobra.
Alex Riley and Primo beat David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty.
As Riley left the ring, Jack Swagger attacked him and said he would beat anyone who wasn't American. He got Mason Ryan, who won easily. And I mean easily.
Dolph Ziggler beat John Morrison and Kofi Kingston to retain his US Title.
Beth Phoenix beat Eve to retain her Divas Title.
Next was The Miz and R Truth vs. John Cena and Zach Ryder, with Micl Foley as guest ref. A lot of fans expected to see Foley, even though he was not advertised. This was what you would expect, the heels beating up Ryder until Superman made the save and got the win.
The main event saw Alberto Del Rio defend the WWE Title against CM Punk. This turned into cluster city when Miz and Truth came out and attacked Punk. This led to Cena and Ryder coming out, with Eve, and they made the save. Foley came out with Socko and the crowd cheered.
2011 - TNA ran Rob Van Dam's hometown of Battle Creek, Michigan. Stacey Davidson filed the following live report:
X Division champion Austin Aries defeated Jesse Sorensen.
Knockouts champion Velvet Sky defeated ODB.
Mr. Anderson defeated Abyss by DQ when Abyss hit Anderson with a chair.
James Storm defeated Magnus in a short match. Storm gave Magnus a beer, Magnus starting talking and superkicked and pinned. About 30 seconds.
AJ Styles defeated Gunner. Styles looked like he was hurt. Gunner threw AJ over the top rope and AJ went to land on the apron and fell off to the floor. The ref when out to check out him as Gunner stalled by yelling at the fans. The ref came in the ring said something to Gunner who went out and threw AJ in lifted on his shoulder AJ slid down Pele kicked him and it was over. AJ started holding his ankle. Two guys came out and checked on him as AJ limped to the back.
*Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy defeated Bully Ray and Scott Steiner.
Ric Flair did a promo saying that no matter how hard he tries he still cant get people to hate him. He thanked everyone for coming and supporting TNA and talked about all the great wrestlers in the company like AJ Styles. He said that if he could get his hair to grow back he probably could last another 10 years in the business. He did the usual strut, then bounced off the ropes and strutted again. He told anyone who had young kids in the crowd to cover there eyes then told some lady he was going to give her this tonight and started thrusting the ropes like he was banging her.2011 - WWE's Smackdown side ran Vienna, Austria. Christian Skrianz filed the following live report:
I attended tonight’s SmackDown! house show at the Civic Center in Vienna, Austria and figured I‘d send you a report of what went down. As far as attendance goes, I’d estimate there were about 5500 to 6000 people in attendance. I’m not good at estimating crowds, though. So it could very well be that the actual attendance was higher/lower. The arena wasn’t sold out, but still I’d consider it a nice turnout for Vienna. The following are the results of the show:
(1) Daniel Bryan beat William Regal via submission
That was a nice opener that saw a lot of mat wrestling. It was a true honor to see William Regal wrestle. He still got it, that’s for sure.
(2) Justin Gabriel & Trent Barreta beat Johnny Curtis & Jinder Mahal
The crowd didn’t care for this one, but I thought they put on a nice little match that ended when Justin Gabriel hit the 450 Splash on Curtis (if my memory serves me right).
(3) Brodus Clay beat Yoshi Tatsu
That was a squash. It lasted only about 2 minutes.
(4) Hunico beat Tyson Kidd
Hunico was actually announced as Sin Cara and came out to a nice pop. He took a fan’s sign and brought it into the ring – only to rip it up. He then removed his mask and said that Sin Cara would not be here tonight because he doesn’t like the country. He also said something in Spanish but I could not understand. The match itself was okay, but nothing special. Hunico pinned Kidd after a swanton bomb.
(5) Sheamus beat Christian after a Brogue Kick
Sheamus received a huge pop when he came out. The fans loved him! That really was a great match that lasted about 15 minutes. The finish came when Christian was about to hit the spear but Sheamus countered with a huge brogue kick to win the match.
Intermission. The ring announcer recommended us to buy merchandise…
(6) AJ & Alicia Fox beat Natalya & Tamina
Aksana worked as the special guest referee for this bout. No-one really seemed to care about that match. To be honest, I can’t even remember the finish.
(7) Randy Orton & Ted DiBiase beat Cody Rhodes & Wade Barrett
Prior to the match, Cody Rhodes cut a promo and insulted us by saying that the Viennese fans are the ugliest fans in the world. He got massive heat for that one, obviously. Subsequently, a huge „Cody sucks“ chant broke out. Randy Orton came out to a monster pop, it was ridiculous. The crowd went totally nuts! The finish saw Randy Orton delivering an RKO to Wade Barrett to win the match. I heavily enjoyed this bout.
(8) The Big Show beat world heavyweight champion Mark Henry via DQ; Henry retained the world title as a result.
Henry was disqualified when he hit Big Show with a steel chair. Afterwards, Big Show knocked Henry out and celebrated with the fans to close the show.
Overall, it was a pretty good show. Not the best I’ve seen but still fairly decent. The guys worked hard all night and seemed to enjoy wrestle in front of the Viennese crowd. The bottom line is that the show was worth the money. Unfortunately, no return date was announced.
Biggest Pops:
(1) Randy Orton (by far)
(2) Sheamus
(3) The Big Show
Most Heat:
(1) Cody Rhodes
(2) Christian
(3) Mark Henry
2012 - WWE broadcast Raw. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV report:
Do you remember last week when we found out that there would be a ‘traditional’ Survivor Series match with the teams captained by CM Punk and Mick Foley? Did you think that Mick Foley would be involved in the match, or were you like all but 6 people in the building who didn’t expect Ryback.
Miz and Paul Heyman are in the office and Miz wonders why the captain ran away last week.
Paul says that it was strategic for him to walk away. It was the Art of War. Everyone needs to be on the same page.
Miz says that he is not on the same page and he thinks that Paul and Punk are full of crap. He does not need them. Miz says that he quits the team and he walks away.
More of the Do You Remember? What was Brad Maddox thinking at Hell in a Cell? Did CM Punk have anything to do with it?
Do You Remember when Vickie Guerrero went rogue and was making up stories about John Cena and AJ Lee. Was the walk in the hallway more than a walk or was it just a walk? Only Vickie Guerrero thinks she knows.
We are live on tape from Birmingham, United Kingdom and your announcers are ‘Sir’ Michael Cole and Jim ‘V for Vader’ Ross.
Match Number One: Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara, and R Truth versus Antonio Cesaro, Darren Young, and Titus O’Neil
Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio mock Darren and Titus’ Millions of Dollars Dance like they did on Friday.
Sin Cara and Cesaro start off and they lock up. Cesaro with a waist lock take down and then he grabs the legs and stomps on the abdomen. Cara with an arm drag and head scissors take down. Truth tags in and he works on the arm. Cesaro with European uppercuts and Young is tagged in.
They lock up and Truth with a side head lock and shoulder tackle. Truth with a punch to Young and then he tags Rey in. Truth with a slam and Rey with a snap leg drop for a near fall. Rey with forearms but Young with a hard Irish whip. Titus tags in and he kicks Rey and connects with a shoulder in the corner. Rey escapes a slam attempt but Titus with a kick and he tries for a power bomb but Rey counters with a seated splash.
Cara tags in and they kick Titus. Truth tags in and he hits a drop kick to Titus and gets a near fall. All six men are in the ring and we go to commercial.
We are back and Truth with a leg lariat to Young. Cara tags in and hits a springboard double sledge to Young. Young catches Cara on the handspring back elbow but Cara with an arm drag using the ropes and then he kicks Young.
Rey tags in and Rey uses Cara for extra leverage to help send Young into the ropes but Cesaro tags in and he hits a tilt-a-whirl back breaker for a near fall. Cesaro tosses Rey into the corner and Titus tags in and he presses Rey over his head and he hits a series of back breakers then Titus barks and he tags Cesaro back in. Cesaro with a European uppercut that helps give Titus some extra leverage to the slam.
Cesaro with a dead lift side salto for a near fall. Cesaro with a front face lock to keep himself between Rey and his corner. Cesaro sends Rey back into his corner but Rey with a drop toe hold to Cesaro. Cesaro grabs Rey’s leg but Rey hits a DDT and both men are down.
Truth tags in and he punches Cesaro. Truth with a clothesline and then he knocks Young off the apron. Truth with a flying corkscrew forearm. Titus charges at Truth and Titus goes over the top rope to the floor. Truth with a suplex into a stunner. Cara with kicks to Young and Cara escapes the Orange Crush gutbuster.
Cesaro is sent into the ropes by Cara and then Rey with a 619. Cesaro staggers into Little Jimmy and the three count.
Winners: Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara, and R Truth
We go to commercial.
We are back and Jerry Lawler will be back next week on Raw after suffering a heart attack in Montreal.
In case you missed Raw last week and the ‘overwhelming’ evidence from Vickie Guerrero about the affair between John Cena and AJ Lee, you get to relive it. They walked into an elevator together.
Vickie Guerrero makes her way to the ring and she says that she is very proud of herself and her accomplishment. She is thrilled that AJ Lee resigned as General Manager of Raw. Vickie says that hanky panky is not allowed and people must act like professionals. That is something that John Cena has a problem with.
Vickie wants everyone to join her and look back at this ‘scandal’. We go to video clip one. John asking AJ out (remember that John said it was a joke). Video clip two shows a slow motion hug of John after AJ resigned. Video clip three is the elevator ride of lust. Then we go to John Cena’s explanation of the situation because, heck John was there so he knows what happened.
John Cena’s music plays and he makes his way to the ring.
Vickie says that John will not stop her from showing . . .
John says that he heard Vickie talk about running a clean show. John says that is like him learning another wrestling move and that ain’t gonna happen. John says that Vickie is going to expose this scandal, but he reminds Vickie that she was married to Edge when she was in charge of Smackdown. Then after Edge left her, she hooked up with Dolph Ziggler. John says that Vickie is not a cougar.
Vickie says that John is employing the oldest trick in the book by turning the tables.
We go to the newest video clip and AJ is wearing a bathrobe and she enters a hotel room.
Vickie has footage from the alternate angle of the security footage. We see John Cena emerge from the room and he has a towel around his waist.
Vickie asks John if it was one heck of a business meeting.
John points out that the footage is from two different cameras. John admits to putting a Do Not Disturb sign on his door because he did not want to be bothered.
Vickie suggests that AJ come out and tell her side of the story (which Vickie will say is not true).
AJ appears on the TitanTron and she is not happy. She tells Vickie that she does not want her to come out there. She says that if she goes out there to explain herself, she will give Vickie the beating of her life. Vickie will fire her and then she will be out of a job doing what she loves to do.
Dolph Ziggler appears next to AJ and he says that we all know what she loves to do.
Vickie cackles as John Cena goes to the back.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Paul Heyman says that the Miz is contemptable, conniving, and cowardly. That is why he wants Team Punk to have this man on its team. We see that it is Wade Barrett.
Wade says that this is the same tired routine from last week. He refused him last week and he refuses him now. He does not trust Paul. Wade walks away and he comes back and he says that he will do it on one condition. That condition is that Paul owes him. Wade says that he wants it in writing.
Match Number Two: Daniel Bryan (with Kane) versus Cody Rhodes (with Damien Sandow)
They lock up and Bryan with a clean break but Cody with a kick and drop down uppercut. Cody chokes Bryan in the ropes. Cody with a head butt. Bryan flips over in the corner and hits a flying clothesline. Bryan with kicks to Cody. Cody with a kick but Bryan sends Cody over the top rope to the floor. Cody retreats from Kane and Sandow attacks Kane from behind. Bryan with a kick to Cody and then Bryan with a suicide dive onto Sandow.
Cody with Beautiful Disaster off the apron and then Rhodes hits CrossRhodes for the three count.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
Cody says that was an impressive victory for one half of the next Tag Team Champions. Cody says that Damien Sandow can beat Kane just as easily as he beat Daniel Bryan.
Sandow does not appreciate Cody’s proclamation and Kane pulls Sandow into the ring. Sandow goes to the floor and Kane follows after him as we go to commercial.
Match Number Three: Kane (with Daniel Bryan) versus Damien Sandow (with Cody Rhodes)
Kane works over Sandow in the corner and Kane with a back elbow and elbow drop. Kane with a back body drop and Sandow backs into the corner. Kane with punches to Sandow. Kane with punches and elbows in the corner. Sandow with forearms and a shoulder.
Kane with an Irish whip but he runs into an elbow. Sandow comes off the turnbuckles and into an uppercut. Kane with a boot to the chest. Rhodes gets on the apron but Bryan pulls Cody off the apron and Bryan with kicks. Rhodes runs through the ring and Bryan is sent to the back by the referee.
Cody is sent to the back as well.
Kane with an Irish whip and clotheslines. Kane with a side slam and then he goes up top for the clothesline and he hits it. Kane with a choke slam and the three count.
Winner: Kane
We go to commercial.
We are back and Michael Cole is in the ring and he brings out the most controversial referee in WWE history, Brad Maddox.
Michael asks Brad about the Board of Inquiry and then we see footage of the nut shot heard round the world.
Michael asks Brad for his explanation and he wants to know if Brad is working with Paul Heyman and CM Punk.
Brad takes the mic and he says that it was all him. He says that it was his plan. All his life, all that he has ever wanted to do is be a WWE Superstar. For years, he tried to get his foot in the door and for years, everybody shut the door in his face. Brad says that he has sent tapes everywhere. He has been to tryouts and live Raw and Smackdown events. He paid $2,000 for a tryout.
Finally, after all of that, he was given a chance with a developmental contract. Brad says that even down there he wasn’t good enough. Is it because he is six feet tall and he weighs 207 pounds. Is it because he isn’t a giant, have a mohawk, or doesn’t wear a mask. Is it because he can’t flip three times in the air.
Brad says even when WWE officials told him he would never never never never never make it to the main roster of WWE, his dream did not die. His dream got stronger because he wants to be somebody. He doesn’t care how many people tell him that he is nobody.
Brad says that he made a vow to do whatever it takes to get to the WWE. That is why he became a referee. When Raw expanded to three hours, AJ called him for a job. All he needed was one chance to make an impact.
CM Punk had no idea what Brad was going to do. Punk was as surprised as Ryback and the fans. He made an impact and they were driven by his desire to be someone. He says that he is famous now. People know his name everywhere. They know his name in England.
His dream is to be a WWE Superstar. That is why he wants a contract and a match with Ryback. People will not forget who Brad Maddox is now.
Vince McMahon comes out and he asks Brad if he wants a contract and to face Ryback. Vince says that it is one thing to want to be famous, but it was one thing to have a death wish.
Vince says that he does not believe a word that Brad said and he thinks that Punk and Heyman are involved with him.
Vince says that he will give Brad a million dollar contract if he can beat Ryback next week. Vince tells Brad to get out of his ring.
Vince walks to the back and he brings out Vickie Guerrero. Vince says that he does not want to usurp her authority to offer Brad a contract. Vince asks Vickie if she thinks that Brad worked with Punk and Heyman.
Vince wants to know why Vickie is letting CM Punk hide behind four other men and not defend his title? Vince asks Vickie if she was thinking about that. Maybe CM Punk could face . . .
Vince wants Vickie to say it . . .
Vickie mentions Dolph Ziggler and Vince says that maybe Vickie will give a shot to the man who got screwed at Hell in a Cell. Vickie says Ryback and Vince likes that.
Vince says that Vickie is thinking that is not good enough. It should be a Triple Threat Match. Vince tells Vickie if she says Dolph Ziggler, he will fire her on the spot.
Vickie says that the person that she thinks Vince is talking about is involved in a scandal.
Vince encourages Vickie to add John Cena to the match.
Vince says that sometimes Vickie makes the right decision.
Vickie goes to the back and Sheamus makes his way to the ring for his match and he shakes hands with Vince.
We go to commercial.
Before our next match, Big Show, in the world’s largest hoodie, makes his way to the ring to scout his opponent at Survivor Series. We see the footage that led to the title change. We see footage from last week’s Raw.
Match Number Four: Miz versus Sheamus
Sheamus with a side head lock and shoulder tackle. They lock up and Sheamus with a side head lock take down. Sheamus with a shoulder tackle and then he blocks a hip toss and Sheamus hits a short arm clothesline and gets a near fall. Sheamus puts Miz on the apron and he sets for the forearms but Miz gets to the floor.
Miz has a kick blocked and Sheamus sends Miz to the mat and hits a series of elbow drops and gets a near fall. Miz with a kick and he sends Sheamus into the turnbuckles and punches the former World Champion. Sheamus with a punch and forearm. Sheamus with an Irish whip and Miz tries to float over but Sheamus catches Miz and hits a fireman’s carry slam. Miz with a kick and clothesline for a near fall. Miz works on Sheamus’ back and then he punches Sheamus.
Miz with a reverse chin lock. Sheamus puts Miz on the top rope and then he connects with the cross faces across the chest. Miz sends Sheamus into the announce table and then they return to the ring and Miz with a kick to the head for a near fall.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Miz with the Awesome Clothesline and then he goes up top and hits the double sledge and gets a near fall. Miz chokes Sheamus in the ropes and then he splashes Sheamus in the ropes and gets a near fall. Miz drives Sheamus’ throat into the apron. Miz sends Sheamus into the ring steps.
Miz sends Sheamus back into the ring and he applies a reverse chin lock. Miz climbs on Sheamus’ back to add more pressure and he brings Sheamus to his knees. Sheamus falls back and gets out of the hold. Miz hits the Reality Check and gets a near fall. Miz kicks Sheamus and chokes him in the corner.
Miz punches Sheamus and rakes the eyes. Miz returns to the punches and then he sets for another Awesome Clothesline but Sheamus with two double sledges followed by a shoulder into the corner and the knee lift. Miz gets off Sheamus’ shoulders. Miz with a boot but Sheamus with a power slam and he gets a near fall.
Miz sends Sheamus to the apron and then Sheamus punches Miz and he goes up top and hits the shoulder tackle and gets a near fall. Miz runs Sheamus into the turnbuckles and he gets a near fall with a rollup. Miz with a DDT for a near fall. Miz misses the running boot to the head and Sheamus tries for the Cloverleaf but Miz escapes. Miz avoids the Brogue Kick and then he kicks Sheamus in the knee and head.
Miz runs at Sheamus and Sheamus hits White Noise. Sheamus looks around and he pounds his chest before hitting the Brogue Kick and the three count.
Winner: Sheamus
After the match, Big Show stands up at the announce table and shows Sheamus the World Title Belt.
We see Vince McMahon’s office and Dolph Ziggler paces outside. Vickie emerges and she tells Dolph that she will be very happy. Dolph is on the team and he is in charge.
CM Punk stops by and he says that he is real happy that Dolph is happy. The only reason why Dolph is the captain is because the cranky old bastard is messing with him. Punk says that he is doing this because of his ego. Vince is trying to get his revenge.
Vickie says that she okayed a match. Dolph and Punk will face Ryback and John Cena.
Punk and Ziggler wonder what is wrong with Vickie.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Sheamus sees William Regal in the back. Sheamus says that he owes a lot to Regal. Sheamus tells Regal to hold off on the congratulations until he beats Big Show and wins the title back.
In case you missed it earlier, we see Vickie Guerrero’s smoking gun of the ‘relationship’ between John Cena and AJ Lee.
Match Number Five: Eve Torres and Aksana versus Layla El and Kaitlyn
Aksana and Layla start things off and they lock up. Aksana shimmies because that is what you do in a match. Aksana sends Layla to the mat but Layla with a rollup for a near fall. Layla with a jackknife cover and then she gets a near fall after running her rear end into Aksana. Layla is knocked from the ropes and Aksana kicks her.
Aksana with a forearm and she throws Layla around by the hair. Aksana with a leg drop to the abdomen and she gets a near fall. Layla punches Aksana but Aksana with a clothesline. Aksana with an Irish whip and she tags in Eve. Eve chokes Layla. Eve with an elbow drop to the back and she applies a front face lock.
Layla tries to get to Kaitlyn to make the tag but Eve kicks Kaitlyn’s hand away. The referee sends Kaitlyn back to the apron while Eve kicks Layla in the corner. Eve with a snap mare but she misses a kick. Layla with a rollup for a near fall. Eve with a kick to Layla followed by a knee to the midsection.
Eve with the butt shaking moonsault set up but Layla kicks Eve and then Kaitlyn tags in. Kaitlyn with a back body drop and clotheslines. Kaitlyn with a flying shoulder tackle for a near fall. Aksana tries to interfere but Layla takes care of her. Eve with a swinging neck breaker to Layla but Kaitlyn with an inverted DDT for the three count.
Winners: Kaitlyn and Layla El
Ricardo tells Alberto that as long as he is on the team, Alberto is the captain.
Alberto turns into Rosa and they have a shared moment.
We go to commercial.
Match Number Six: Kofi Kingston versus Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez)
They lock up and Del Rio backs Kofi into the corner. Del Rio with a kick and side head lock and take down. Del Rio with a shoulder tackle and Kofi with a leaping back elbow for a near fall. Kofi with a front face lock and arm bar. Kofi with a key lock and Del Rio backs Kofi into the corner. Del Rio with a kick to the midsection and then into the turnbuckles. Del Rio with kicks to Kofi.
Kofi with an Irish whip and he climbs the turnbuckles and punches Del Rio. Kofi with a European uppercut. Del Rio with a back heel kick and punches. Del Rio with an Irish whip but Kofi floats over and hits a head scissors. Kofi with a drop kick but Del Rio sends Kofi to the apron.
Ricardo distracts Kofi and that allows Del Rio to push Kofi off the apron and into the ringside barrier. Del Rio Irish whips Kofi into the ringside barrier and Ricardo applauds Del Rio’s performance. Del Rio with a near fall when they return to the ring.
Del Rio with a body scissors but Kofi with elbows to escape. Del Rio with a tilt-a-whirl back breaker for a near fall. Del Rio with a suplex for a near fall and then he returns to the body scissors.
Kofi punches Del Rio and then he gets a near fall with a rollup. Del Rio with a savate kick to Kofi and then he stomps Kofi a few times. Del Rio kicks Kofi in the ribs and then he rakes the eyes in the ropes. Del Rio goes to the turnbuckles and he applies a cross arm breaker while hanging from the ropes.
Del Rio misses a charge into the corner and his shoulder hits the ring post. Kofi with a chop and clothesline followed by a drop kick. Kofi with a superman punch and then he sets for the Boom Drop and he hits it. Kofi sets for Trouble in Paradise but Del Rio ducks and Del Rio tries for the Cross Arm Breaker but Kofi blocks it and hits SOS but only gets a near fall.
Del Rio runs into boots from Kofi. Kofi misses the Best Crossbody Ever when Del Rio moves. Del Rio gets distracted by Randy Orton’s music. Del Rio gets rolled up and Kofi Kingston gets the three count.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
After the match, Del Rio looks up the ramp but then he turns around and sees Randy Orton for a split second, before Orton hits an RKO.
We go to some of Brad Maddox’s comments from earlier in the show and the announcement of his match with Ryback next week on Raw.
Match Number Seven: Santino Marella and Zack Ryder versus Epico and Primo (with Rosa Mendes)
Primo and Santino start things off and they lock up with Primo working on the arm but Santino with a reversal and hammer lock. Primo with a reversal. Santino with another reversal and side head lock. Santino with an arm drag but he tries for another one but comes up empty. Primo with a punch and then Santino power walks and avoids a clothesline. Santino with an arm drag and he tags in Ryder.
Ryder with a sunset flip for a near fall. Ryder with a flapjack and he gets a near fall. Ryder misses a cross body and he bounces off the ropes. Primo kicks Ryder in the corner and Epico tags in and he kicks Ryder while Rosa bounces at ringside. Primo tags back in and he hits a slingshot senton after a suplex from Epico. Primo gets a near fall and then he goes after Santino.
Ryder with an inside cradle, but the referee has to deal with Santino so the count is not made. Epico tags in and he hits a drop kick and gets a near fall. Epico with a reverse chin lock and then he keeps Ryder from making the tag. Primo tags back in and he gives Ryder a snap mare and he kicks Ryder in the back of the head and he gets a near fall. Primo with a reverse chin lock.
Primo with a kick and he tries for a suplex but Ryder lands on his feet and he hits a neck breaker. Santino and Epico tag in and Santino with punches followed by a split and hip toss. Santino with a diving head butt for a near fall but Primo breaks up the cover. Ryder with the Rough Ryder to Primo and then he connects with knees to the head on a charging Epico. Santino pulls out the cobra and gets the three count.
Winners: Santino Marella and Zack Ryder
We go to commercial.
Match Number Eight: Brodus Clay (with the Funkettes) versus Wade Barrett
They lock up and Clay pushes Barrett away. Barrett with a kick but Clay with a punch and kick. Clay with a knee lift and Sheeeplex on Barrett. Clay with a leg drop and he gets a near fall. Barrett with the Blackpool Slam on Clay and then he punches Clay. Barrett kicks Clay and then he connects with knees to the head.
Barrett gets a near fall. Barrett with a reverse chin lock. Barrett with a knee to the midsection. Clay with a clothesline or two. Clay with a head butt to the midsection followed by an Irish whip and splash into the corner. Clay with another Irish whip but he goes for a second splash but he misses. Barrett with a back heel kick and then it is time for the Souvenir for the three count.
Winner: Wade Barrett
We go to commercial.
Match Number Nine: Heath Slater (with Jinder Mahal) versus Jey Uso (with Jimmy Uso)
Slater plays a few chords but Jey with an uppercut and head butt. Jey with a slam. Jey with a running forearm to Slater. Slater with a kick and punches. Jey returns fire with punches. Slater with boots to Jey’s head and then he kicks Jey in the ribs. Slater with an elbow to the neck followed by a reverse chin lock.
Jey with a punch but Slater sends Jey to the mat and Slater plays a few more chords. Slater with an Irish whip to the sternum and he gets a near fall. Slater with a reverse chin lock. Jey with punches but Slater with a kick to the head for a near fall. Slater with a reverse chin lock.
Jey with an uppercut followed by a savate kick and Jey points to the turnbuckles and he goes up top but he hits Slater’s boots when he goes for the Superfly Splash and Slater with the Smash Hit for the three count.
Winner: Heath Slater
We go to commercial.
We are back and CM Punk comes out and he wants to recap everything. He reminds us that he beat the undefeated monster Ryback at Hell in a Cell. People are trying to tarnish his victory. They are saying that him or his friend Paul Heyman had something to do with Brad Maddox. Brad told everyone that he acted alone.
At Survivor Series, Team Punk is being demoted to Team Ziggler. Now Vince McMahon continues his tradition of screwing his most talented performer at Survivor Series. Vince McMahon is screwing him to get John Cena or Ryback take what has belonged to him for 351 Days. For 351 days, he has proven that he is better than everyone here in this arena. He is better than everyone in the back. He is better than anyone worldwide who wants to step in the ring and lace them up with him.
He has set the bar at an unattainable level. At the Survivor Series, he promises that he will celebrate 364 consecutive days as WWE Champion. His reign of excellence will continue and his reign of dominance will prove that he is the best in the world.
Match Number Ten: CM Punk (with Paul Heyman) and Dolph Ziggler versus John Cena and Ryback
Cena and Punk start things off and Punk with a side head lock take down but Cena with a head scissors. Punk escapes and he applies a side head lock. Cena with a snap mare and a reverse chin lock. Punk with a top wrist lock but Cena returns to the side head lock.
Cena with a shoulder tackle and Ziggler tags in. Cena with an arm drag into an arm bar. Cena with a snap mare and he stretches Ziggler. Cena with a front face lock but Ziggler with a punch and kicks. Cena with an Irish whip and bulldog.
Punk tags back in and Cena with a hip toss and he gets a near fall. Cena with an Irish whip but he misses a charge into the corner. Punk with elbows and kicks to Cena. Ziggler tags back in and they make a wish with Cena. Ziggler with a neck breaker and then he hits a series of elbow drops, ending with the hesitation leaping elbow drop. Ziggler does a few sit ups and Cena gets a near fall.
Ziggler with a drop kick and he tags Punk back in. Punk sets for the running knee into the corner and he hits it. Punk with knees to Cena and he gets Cena on his shoulders for Go To Sleep but Cena escapes and he gets Punk up for an Attitude Adjustment. Punk with a kick to the back of the head for a near fall.
Punk with a front face lock. Cena gets to his feet and he hits an Attitude Adjustment to try to get away from Punk. Ziggler tags in and he keeps Cena from making the tag. Ziggler with a punch. Cena with a back elbow and both men are down.
Ziggler with a Fameasser to get a near fall and keep Cena from making the tag. Punk tags in and he kicks Cena and hits a neck breaker and gets a near fall as Punk reacts to the crowd’s demand for Ryback to finally get into the match. Punk with a figure four head scissors. Cena gets Punk up and hits an Electric Chair drop and both men are down again.
Punk with an elbow drop to the neck. Punk with chops to the neck and he connects with a shoulder to Cena and Ziggler tags in. Punk with a snap mare and Ziggler kicks Cena. Ziggler with a drop kick for a near fall. Ziggler goes up top and he misses a missile drop kick and both men are down.
Punk and Ryback tag in and Ryback with clotheslines and a back body drop. Ryback takes care of Ziggler and then he hits a spinebuster on Punk. Ryback press slams Ziggler onto Punk. Ryback with a clothesline to Ziggler and then one to Punk.
Ryback with the marching musclebuster for the three count.
Winners: John Cena and Ryback
After the match, Ryback does the Chong Li as he wants to be fed more. John Cena goes into the ring and he stares at Ryback while Ryback wants to be fed more.
2013 - TNA talents that were stationed in Louisville, Kentucky for OVW were ordered to move to Orlando, so TNA's relationship with OVW began coming to an end.
2014 - The second episode of Lucha Underground aired on The El Rey Network. Mike Johnson filed the following TV report:
Episode 2 of Lucha Underground on The El Rey Network opened with clips from last week’s premiere, followed by a lot of establishing shots showing off Los Angeles.
They went to the ring where the crew that attacked Johnny Mundo and Prince Puma were in the middle of cutting a promo. Cortes Castro (Ricky Reyes) ripped on the crowd telling them to shut up and that the only name they need to remember is his. Cisco (Lil’ Cholo) then introduced himself. The former Ezekiel Jackson told the audience to shut up and listen and said his name is Big Rick. He already showed more charisma here then his entire WWE ECW run. He said that last week, Johnny Mundo found out exactly who he is.
Mundo (John Morrison) hit the ring and caught Cisco with a double leg takedown. Castro attacked him and they brawled in the corner. Mundo drilled Cisco with a big boot and then went for a lariat but Castro avoided it and slid to the outside. Castro grabbed a chair at ringside, as did Cisco. Rick watched from the stands. Just as they were about to attack Mundo, Prince Puma hit the ring to even up both sides. Lucha Underground promoter and owner Dario Cueto told them to stop and said that if they were going to beat the hell out of each other, they might as well do it officially and ordered a referee sent to the ring.
Johnny Mundo & Prince Puma vs. Cortes Castro & Cisco
Castro and Puma started out. Puma ducked a clothesline and used a series of flips to take him out. He took out Cisco as well. Castro tried to nail him but was drilled with a kick. Puma worked him over with right hands. He tagged out to Mundo and the two double teamed him with kicks and a pair of enziguiris for a two count. Mundo began stomping the hell out of Castro. There was some good back and forth action as Mundo worked over Castro.
Mundo went for a springboard move but the ropes were shaken and he crashed and burned. Cisco nailed a back senton splash for a two count. Castro nailed a big clothesline and aggressively went after Mundo’s face, raking at his nose and eyes. Mundo and Cisco double-teamed Mundo as Big Rick sat on the stairs smoking a cigar.
Puma tried to rally the audience as Castro continued to work over Mundo. Mundo finally avoided his opponents and made the hot tag to Puma. Puma hit some hot offense that popped the crowd and scored a two count on Cisco after a combination clothesline and neckbreaker. Puma hit a standing shooting star on Cisco but Castro broke it out. Mundo nailed a rana on Castro. He went for a spinning dive to the outside but missed.
Cortes and Cisco worked over Puma with a pair of kicks but Puma kicked out at the last minute. Mundo nailed a cutter on Cisco and Mundo nailed Moonlight Drive but Cisco kicked out at the last minute. Puma nailed an awesome drive on Castro to the outside.
Puma and Mundo nailed dropkicks on their opponents and went to the top rope in stereo. They nailed stereo 450 splashes and scored synchronized pinfall.
Your winner, Johnny Mundo & Prince Puma!
Fun tag team match that was a mixture of hot highspots, stiff kicks and some fast paced wrestling. This was designed to make the audience lose their breath and did a nice job of it.
Prince Puma and Mundo embraced after the match.
Somewhere backstage, Konnan tells Prince Puma that he was right and was everything people were talking about. He tells Puma that he is Lucha Underground. Konnan tells Puma that he needs to stay away from Johnny Mundo. He said that Mundo’s fight isn’t his fight and that Mundo isn’t his friend. He said that in this business, Puma’s only friend is Konnan. He asks Puma if he understands and Puma sadly shakes his head. They leave the building.
Matt Striker and Vampiro noted that Dario Cueto has brought in a new Luchadore to take out Blue Demon Jr. Striker said that his name is Mil Muertes, which translates into “A Thousand Deaths.” Vampiro said that he is a scary dude and they are going to look into his backstory right now.
They went to a vignette voiced over by the former Maxine in NXT. She warned that 1000 Deaths are coming. It was shot to look like a horror movie trailer.
Son of Havok & Ivelisse vs. Chavo Guerrero & Sexy Star
Vampiro noted that other promotions won’t let the women mix it up with the men, but this is 2014 and it’s “equal opportunity, brother.”
Guerrero and Havok started out. Guerrero took him to the mat and cinched in a side headlock. Havok slipped out and sent him into the rope but was kicked down. He grabbed at Havok’s beard. Havok caught him with a kick as they were about to lock up. Guerrero rebounded off the ropes but Ivelisse kicked him in the back. This allowed Havok to work him over. Ivelisse tagged in and stomped the hell out of him in the corner.
Ivelisse kicked a series of stiff shots but was shoved down. From the mat, she kicked up at Guerrero, nailing him in the head and covered him for a two count. Havok tagged in and drilled Chavo with a series of shoulderblocks. Guerrero finally escaped, dispatched Havok and tagged in Sexy Star.
Star nailed a flying headscissors, avoided a shot and nailed a superkick. She was cut off with a clothesline. Ivelisse tagged in and beat Star’s head into the mat over and over. Star fought back with chops and Velez nailed her hard with forearms. Velez finally caught her with a superkick and tagged Havok back in. Havok stood over Star and went for a standing moonsault. Star moved and tagged in Chavo.
Guerrero hit some hot offense including the rolling kick Jushin Liger always does. Ivelisse nailed Guerrero, which brought in Star who attacked her. They battled on the mat. Star sent her to the floor and came off the apron with a Thesz Press to the floor.
Back in the ring (and an apparent edit), Havok laid out Guerrero but was caught with a dropkick. Guerrero went to the top for a frog splash, then tagged in Sexy Star who used a forward roll on Havok for the pin. The story was that Guerrero was letting Star gets her revenge after Havok cheated to beat her on the first episode.
Your winner, Sexy Star & Chavo Guerrero!
Good match. Guerrero wrestled with a lot more intensity then he showed last week and far more when compared to his TNA and WWE work. Velez was absolutely awesome. Sexy Star looked good and Lucha Underground has easily made her into a likeable character in just two weeks. Havok looked good as well. As a TV bout, nicely paced and entertaining.
When we returned from commercial, they showed Blue Demon Jr. warming up in the back. A shadowy woman came into the room and tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned around, she wasn’t there. She stepped from the shadows before him and introduced herself as Katrina, an associate of Mil Muertes. She said Muertes was sending a message. She licked his lips and said, “A taste before a thousand deaths” and walked off. Demon stared after her intensely as he wiped his face off.
The announcers said we were about to learn more about Prince Puma. They showed Puma working out as Konnan pushed him harder. Konnan said a friend that we would know very well suggested Puma to him, saying he saw Puma in a fight in the Barrio and just when the friend was going to step in and help him, Puma took out his opponents himself in dazzling fashion. Konnan said that as soon as he saw him in the ring, he “knew the kid could fight” and they showed clips of Puma training in the ring and showing off flips. Konnan said he came from a special breed, a direct descendant from the most feared tribe of the Aztecs. Konnan said he’s bringing Prince Puma to Lucha Underground. His past may be dark but his future is very bright. Puma was seen beating on a hanging boxing bag and as Konnan finished, Puma punched it down (think Captain America’s first scene in “The Avengers”). As a way to establish Puma to new viewers, it was fine.
Matt Striker said last week they introduced the world to a brand new Luchadore and this week they would do the same thing.
Blue Demon Jr. vs. Mil Muertes (with Katrina)
Muertes is Ricky Banderas aka Judas Mesias during his run in TNA. Katrina looked smoking in a tight black dress. Muertes wss wearing a black mask with a giant M on it. He held what appeared to be a stone and handed it to Katrina, who then helped him get his ring gear off.
Muertes attacked Demon before the bell and stomped the hell out of Demon on the mat. Demon got back to his feet but was chopped down. He kicked at Demon until Demon rolled out of the ring. Muertes followed and slammed his head into the announcing position.
Back in the ring, Demon reversed an Irish whip and nailed a series of armdrags. Demon chopped Muertes in the corner and avoided a Muetes charge in the corner. Katrina got on the apron, distracting Demon, which allowed Muertes to drill him with a big right hand. Katrina snapped Demon’s neck across the ropes.
Demon used an elbow as Muertes charged him and nailed a bulldog for a two count. Demon was going for the ropes but Muertes nailed him and caught Demon with a backstabber for another two count. Muertes dove off the ropes but was kicked as he came down for a pinfall attempt.
Demon nailed a series of chops in the corner and followed up with some big right hands. He whipped Muertes into the corner and charged but was nailed with a big right hand. Muertes charged and speared Demon. Muertes leapt and brought Demon down with a DDT variation, scoring the pin.
Your winner, Mil Muertes!
Muertes kept working over Demon and took the stone from Katrina. Chavo Guerrero hit the ring with a chair to back off Muertes. Guerrero helped Demon up, then nailed him with the chair. Several referees came out but Guerrero laid them out. The crowd chanted, “Why Chavo Why?” The unidentified Famous B and B-Boy hit the ring and were laid out with the chair. ‘
Sexy Star hit the ring to try and calm Guerrero. The announcers said that she’s known Guerrero since she was a girl growing up in Mexico. Guerrero looked at her and drilled her across the head with the chair, which got a big reaction from the crowd. Guerrero drilled Demon across the back with the chair and posed in the ring.
EMTS brought a stretcher to the ring as the crowd chanted, “You suck.” Demon was placed on a back board with a neck brace as Guerrero sat in a chair in the ring laughing. The crowd began chanting, “Rudo.” Demon was rushed out. Striker bemoaned the actions of Guerrero. They showed the ambulance racing off down the street as the credits rolled.
Thoughts: A solid, good show. The wrestling in the opener was easily the best thing on the show in terms of crazy fast paced action. The mixed tag was good. The main event was OK in that it told the story of the monster Muertes being introduced but wasn’t anything to really celebrate inside the ring. The Guerrero turn was fine but it felt rushed to be doing this on Week Two just as the storylines and characters are coming together. Why would Guerrero help Sexy Star out and then hit her in the head with a chair in the next match? Too soon for my personal taste. The look of the show and the production is very good. The only downsides on that front are that some of the crowd reactions looked forced when they are closed in on and I can see why some feel there are too many different angles being jumped around during the matches. But, Lucha Underground wanted to be something different and from my perspective, they are doing a good job at differentiating themselves from the way WWE and TNA produce their TV. This week’s show lacked the electricity and blow-away bout of Mundo vs. Puma, but that’s not the sort of thing you will be able to produce on a weekly basis. Bottom line: for the second week in a row, I enjoyed my visit into their universe.
2014 - WWE ran in London, England. Ian Hamilton filed the following report:
Quick results from the opening night of the latest WWE European tour. The tshirt branded this as a Raw show, despite that split ending a year ago, so yeah...
Merchandise available was really limited. Roman Reigns shirt was available, plus Seth Rollins, Paige, Sheamus and Bad News Barrett... And four different Cena shirts.
Byron Saxton handled the ring announcing tonight.... They announced a six man before the show - Los Matadores and Torito vs Slater Gator and Hornswoggle, complete with a fake twitter vote - wrestling match vs dance off. Hmm....
They have put black tape on the ring aprons, covering up any mention of the network...
1. Sheamus beat The Miz (w/ Damien Mizdow). Mizdow was absolute Gold on the outside, selling phantom bumps. Sheamus took the win with a Brogue kick after an even match.
They actually aired the Vince McMahon apology video about the UK WWE Network launch. A lot of boos for that.
2. Fans choice...Los Matadores and Torito vs. Slater Gator (with Hornswoggle in the suit). We got a six man tag... Matadores won the comedy match when Torito hit the lionsault on Hornswoggle.
3. Mark Henry vs. Xavier Woods. Henry wins with the World's Strongest Slam in a squash.
Seth Rollins promo ahead of the street fight main event against John Cena.
4. Paige and Nikki Bella vs. AJ and Brie Bella. Nikki reminded us all of the Hell in a Cell stipulation, and Brie is forced to manage the heel team. So this is now a handicap match. AJ scored the win with a rollup when Brie distracted Nikki with yes chants (after Nikki had hit the Rack Attack on AJ).
5. Rusev vs. Big Show. Show wins by dq after Rusev used a chair. It was what you'd expect - pray these guys don't have a drawn-out program any time soon! Post-match, Rusev put Show in the Accolade and left with the title... Only to the stopped by Mark Henry, who ignored the evil Russians so he could attack Show, who got the upper hand with the KO punch.
Intermission...
6. Damen Mizdow vs. Jack Swagger. Swagger wins when he reversed a Skull Crushing Finale into the Patriot Lock. Nothing match...
7. Kofi Kingston and Big E vs, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. Big E and Kofi win with a double team Big Ending and elbow drop on Rowan for the pin. Xavier Woods ran in to celebrate... Just because!
8. Street fight - John Cena vs Seth Rollins. Pre match, Cena tried to rally the crowd by saying that London deserves a WrestleMania. A) hell will freeze over first and B) I've heard too many false promises in this same building by Dixie Carter.....
Your Standard streetlight - only weapons involved were chairs and a table. Rollins grabbed the mic and cut a rolling promo during the match (a la Jerry Lawler back in the day). Crowd struggled to buy into Rollins as a credible threat, despite Cena selling for most of the match. Finish came when Cena blocked a curb stomp attempt through a table, then hit Rollins with a top rope attitude adjustment for the win.
Decent show - would guess crowd was 6,500.
They announced a return for next April at the O2 Arena in London for the annual Raw and SmackDown tapings
2015 - WWE NXT ran in Lakeland, Florida. Andrew Twiss filed the following live report:
Here are full results from NXT Live in Lakeland, FL on 11/5/15
- Enzo Amore def. Angelo Dawkins. Solid opener. Enzo was the babyface in peril for most of the match while Dawkins talked trash to the crowd. Enzo did his usual opening speech, minus the mention of Big Cass.
- Billie Kay w/Sylvester Lefort def. Gionna Daddio. OK match. They've been testing Lefort out at various house shows with different clients. Match was moving okay until at some point Gionna must have got busted in the nose. The ref took his gloves out and was checking on her. Gionna worked through it, but Billie got the win after a Lefort distraction.
- Riddick Moss def. Josh Woods. Josh Woods is a former MMA fighter and spent a lot of the match working submissions. The bout was decent for the most part.
- Dasha brought Levis Valenzuela Jr. out for a promo. He said that NXT is a phenomenon. He's going to go out there and dance, work hard, and become the first Dominican NXT Champion. This brought Emma out, who told Levis that dancing never got her anywhere. She went to slap him, but he grabbed her arm and twirled her like a dancer and called for something from the back. Out came a conga line of various developmental talents, including several of the Tough Enough competitors. Emma got mad and left.
- Solomon Crowe def. Tino Sabbatelli. Pretty solid match. Crowe does yeoman's work for NXT. He's a veteran guy who goes out and works matches with a lot of the young talent. Sabbatelli has the look and power of a star, but Crowe made him look good tonight. It was a solid, hard hitting match.
- Jason Jordan and Chad Gable def. Sawyer Fulton and Marcus Louis. OK match that was probably a little too long. Jordan and Gable are awesome together, but the crowd really didn't care about Fulton or Louis and it hurt the match when Gable was in peril.
- Bull Dempsey def. Alexander Wolfe. Kind of a nothing match. Wolfe worked on the arm for a while until Bull made the comeback.
- Nia Jax def. Aliyah. OK match with a bad looking ending. Nia was the monster dominating while Aliyah got some hope spots in. The ending looked badly botched. Aliyah went to the top rope and left at Nia, almost like she was going for a hurricanrana. When she made contact, Nia fell backwards and Aliyah just fell, hard. I'm not sure if Nia was supposed to catch her and just lost her balance, or they were going for a different spot and it went wrong. Once it happened, Nia went right to the pin. Aliyah walked to the back, but definitely needed help from the ref.
- The Vaudevillains def Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder by dq. Really fun match. These teams know how to work a match for the house show audience, which includes some hard hits and some comedy thrown in. At one point, Gotch tied Dawson's arm up and started doing squats before he would fall backwards. He actually asked a fan in the front row what year she was born. She said 84, so he did 31 squats in honor of her 31 years on earth. In the end, The Vaudevillains looked to have the titles won until Dash pulled the referee out for the dq. Dash and Dawson proceeded to attack Hotchkiss and English until Enzo came out for the save.
Overall, a decent show, especially considering the amount of talent that is either overseas or on Dallas.
Notes:
- Aliyah is the new ring name for Nhooph al Areebi.
- Gionna Daddio is the talent who wrestled Eva Marie on this week's NXT tv. At the tapings, she was announced to the crowd as Marley. They decided to not to mention that name on TV and they haven't used it any subsequent house shows, so it looks like that rebranding isn't moving forward.
- Josh Woods has competed on NXT House Shows before, under the name Preston Cunningham Jr. He played a spoiled rich kid using his dad's money to get to the top. It appears that gimmick may not be moving forward.
- Meet and Greet before the show was with Billie Kay, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder.
2015 - WWE ran Cardiff, Wales. Alistair Rimes filed the following results:
Here are full results from NXT Live in Lakeland, FL on 11/5/15
- Enzo Amore def. Angelo Dawkins. Solid opener. Enzo was the babyface in peril for most of the match while Dawkins talked trash to the crowd. Enzo did his usual opening speech, minus the mention of Big Cass.
- Billie Kay w/Sylvester Lefort def. Gionna Daddio. OK match. They've been testing Lefort out at various house shows with different clients. Match was moving okay until at some point Gionna must have got busted in the nose. The ref took his gloves out and was checking on her. Gionna worked through it, but Billie got the win after a Lefort distraction.
- Riddick Moss def. Josh Woods. Josh Woods is a former MMA fighter and spent a lot of the match working submissions. The bout was decent for the most part.
- Dasha brought Levis Valenzuela Jr. out for a promo. He said that NXT is a phenomenon. He's going to go out there and dance, work hard, and become the first Dominican NXT Champion. This brought Emma out, who told Levis that dancing never got her anywhere. She went to slap him, but he grabbed her arm and twirled her like a dancer and called for something from the back. Out came a conga line of various developmental talents, including several of the Tough Enough competitors. Emma got mad and left.
- Solomon Crowe def. Tino Sabbatelli. Pretty solid match. Crowe does yeoman's work for NXT. He's a veteran guy who goes out and works matches with a lot of the young talent. Sabbatelli has the look and power of a star, but Crowe made him look good tonight. It was a solid, hard hitting match.
- Jason Jordan and Chad Gable def. Sawyer Fulton and Marcus Louis. OK match that was probably a little too long. Jordan and Gable are awesome together, but the crowd really didn't care about Fulton or Louis and it hurt the match when Gable was in peril.
- Bull Dempsey def. Alexander Wolfe. Kind of a nothing match. Wolfe worked on the arm for a while until Bull made the comeback.
- Nia Jax def. Aliyah. OK match with a bad looking ending. Nia was the monster dominating while Aliyah got some hope spots in. The ending looked badly botched. Aliyah went to the top rope and left at Nia, almost like she was going for a hurricanrana. When she made contact, Nia fell backwards and Aliyah just fell, hard. I'm not sure if Nia was supposed to catch her and just lost her balance, or they were going for a different spot and it went wrong. Once it happened, Nia went right to the pin. Aliyah walked to the back, but definitely needed help from the ref.
- The Vaudevillains def Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder by dq. Really fun match. These teams know how to work a match for the house show audience, which includes some hard hits and some comedy thrown in. At one point, Gotch tied Dawson's arm up and started doing squats before he would fall backwards. He actually asked a fan in the front row what year she was born. She said 84, so he did 31 squats in honor of her 31 years on earth. In the end, The Vaudevillains looked to have the titles won until Dash pulled the referee out for the dq. Dash and Dawson proceeded to attack Hotchkiss and English until Enzo came out for the save.
Overall, a decent show, especially considering the amount of talent that is either overseas or on Dallas.
Notes:
- Aliyah is the new ring name for Nhooph al Areebi.
- Gionna Daddio is the talent who wrestled Eva Marie on this week's NXT tv. At the tapings, she was announced to the crowd as Marley. They decided to not to mention that name on TV and they haven't used it any subsequent house shows, so it looks like that rebranding isn't moving forward.
- Josh Woods has competed on NXT House Shows before, under the name Preston Cunningham Jr. He played a spoiled rich kid using his dad's money to get to the top. It appears that gimmick may not be moving forward.
- Meet and Greet before the show was with Billie Kay, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder.
2016 - WWE Smackdown ran Manchester, England. Nathan Cortes filed the following live report:
Building was practically a sell out, hardly any seats available and as always the crowd in Manchester is a lively one.
Started with a video of The Uso's announcing they were facing Breezango and Heath Slater & Rhyno for the Tag Team Titles later when they were interrupted by Fandango and Tyler Breeze who kept shushing the Uso's because they were trying to take a selfie.
Dolph Ziggler defeated The Miz via Pinfall. Good match to get started, The Miz when given the chance is one of the best heels in the WWE. He was a coward but when he was on the offensive he was slow and methodical while Ziggler had quick bursts of offense it was usually short lived due to underhanded tactics by Miz and Maryse. Eventually the ref caught Maryse hitting Ziggler and threw her out (To large jeers by every adult male in sight) Miz then turned around into a Superkick and the pinfall for Ziggler.
Heath Slater & Rhyno defeated The Uso's & Breezeango via Pinfall. Interesting that the Uso's were still get a babyface reaction from most of the crowd. The match started with a dance off between Slater and Fandango. Slater was the victim for a good portion of the match then you had the mandatory brawl with everyone involved. Finish was a cool piece that started with Jimmy Uso superkicking Fandango, then Heath Slater superkicked Jimmy Uso, Then Tyler Breeze superkicked Heath Slater then Jey Uso superkicked Tyler Breeze and then turned round to receive a gore from Rhyno. Rhyno pinned Jey to take the win.
Jack Swagger defeated Curt Hawkins via Submission. Curt Hawkins talking a lot of smack about Jack Swagger should leave or face the facts, Hawkins getting the "What" treatment. Hawkins then ran at Swagger who hit an elevated Flapjack on Hawkins and went straight into the Ankle Lock submission for the victory. 1 minute match at most.
Nikki Bella & Naomi defeated Carmella & Natalya via Pinfall. Nikki Bella was insanely over with the crowd probably getting the best reaction so far in the night. Match was sort of similar to matches seen on SD Live recently. They are letting the women show their athleticism and trying to build a solid division. Match ended when Nikki Bella hit Carmella with the Rack Attack 2.0.
Baron Corbin defeated Kalisto via Pinfall. Short but really fun match. When Kalisto was doing his flip over the rope during his entrance Corbin interrupted it by catching Kalisto with a big boot and then proceeded to throw him round ringside. The match started and Kalisto rallied by sending Corbin shoulder first into the ring post and hit some high flying moves to keep Corbin at bay for a while but everntually Corbin caught Kalisto mid air and hit him with end of days. Corbin came across quite well by not doing too many of the usual taunts, he acted like he didn't care which suits his character.
Kane & American Alpha defeated Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper & Randy Orton via Pinfall. Kane was super over here and has probably over taken for the most over so far. Randy Orton and Wyatt's also very over, crowd wasn't as loud for American Alpha which was a shame but it was a solid effort by all involved. Randy was getting cheered at first but managed to turn that round by refusing to stay in the ring (Which caused a confrontation between him and Harper) and perform or dropping Gable face first on crowd barrier when he wasn't legal man. Kane got the hot tag and started beating on his opponents. Kane had Orton and Wyatt in a double Chokeslam position but got kicked in the face by Harper. American Alpha did a double dropkick on Harper. Orton then hit RKO on Jordan and Wyatt hit Sister Abigail on Gable. Kane hit both Orton and Wyatt with a double clothesline before chokeslamming Harper for the win. Gable and Jordan looked good here rolling with some of the bigger talent was a good rub for them.
The Hype Bros defeated The Ascension via Pinfall. This was first match back after intermission, It was a fun match to get the crowd going again but nothing overly special, Mojo Rawley got good pops for his dance moves. Match finished with Mojo and Ryder hitting the Spinebuster/Rough Ryder off top rope combo.
Becky Lynch defeated Alex Bliss via Submission. Good match, Alexa Bliss really put in a solid effort and they had a good back and forth match that showed off some good offense for Bliss. Becky was the star she always is but if this is the kind of match they have on Tuesday then it should be a good showing for them. As you would expect the crowd loved Becky Lynch.
AJ Styles defeated Dean Ambrose via Pinfall. This was an incredible match, in my genuine opinion better than the match they had at Backlash. It didn't feel like an untelevised match, it felt like they were going out there to steal the show and they did just that. They had "This Is Awesome" chants as well as duelling chants for both of them. Styles got a lot of cheers first but managed to turn them to boo's with his underhanded tactics. A lot of solid mat wrestling to begin with before nearly everything seemed like a big moment. A lot of reversals and a lot of moments where you thought they were about to go to the finish and instead it was another swerve to carry on.
Ambrose kicked out of a Styles Clash and went on his rally but Styles managed to push him into an exposed turnbuckle and roll him up for the win. Even with a finish like that the crowd were eating it up. AJ Styles went back after Ambrose to hit him with the title belt but Ambrose ducked and hit Styles with Dirty Deeds to send fans home happy.
This match was everything it needed to be, both men did a great job in playing their rolls and keeping everyone on the edge until the final bell of the night. Ive been watching WWE events in the UK since the late 90's but this was probably the best match ive seen in all of them.
Overall the show was enjoyable, nothing really dragged too long and crowd were into it and solid performance by all.
2016 - New Japan Pro Wrestling held Power Struggle 2016. Matthew Macklin filed the following report:
NJPW Power Struggle, Osaka, November 5th:
Pre-show match: Juice Robinson, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Teruaki Kanemitsu, Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata
Right out of the blocks Kanemitsu went after Tenzan and had a very good showing for himself. He has improved a lot over the last few months. The epic Robinson vs Nakanishi feud continued here. Robinson has to be in the running for 2016's most improved wrestler. He was as intense as hell here and got to score the win when he nailed Kanemitsu with a wicked lariat and an Unprettier. If he keeps this up, he could have a spot in the G1 next year.
David Finlay, Ricochet, Tiger Mask IV & Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Fuego, Titan, Angel De Oro & Ryusuke Taguchi
This was a really fun junior tag with a lot of international flare. The CMLL guys looked excellent, especially Titan. Ricochet had some amazing interactions with them. This wasn't particularly long, but was a great show opener. Finlay & Ricochet hit the Finlay Roll/Shooting Star Press on Fuego with Finlay getting the pin as his push in New Japan continues.
Yujiro Takahashi, Chase Owens & BONE SOLDIER defeated Yoshitatsu, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma
Owens worked the majority of this match for his team, so it wasn't awful. Owens has stepped up big time over the last few months and has been working hard to carry matches involving the likes of Yujiro. This was fine for what it was. BONE SOLDIER added nothing to the match as usual. He hasn't a clue how to be a heel. He hit a full nelson slam on Tatsu that allowed Yujiro to hit his low DDT and score the win. That DDT is one of the least convincing finishers in wrestling. After the match Bullet Club choked Tatsu with a chain.
IWGP Tag Team Championship: Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa defeated YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii
This was excellent and by far the best performance The Guerrillas of Destiny have had as a team this far in NJPW. The crowd reacted to them, and in large part to how over Ishii & YOSHI are, the crowd were hot for the whole match. Loa was put over as a beast. He got the better of Ishii on several occasions and fought out of double team scenarios on his own. Tonga was impressive as he bolted around the ring. GOD put together lots of really slick double team moves. YOSHI is by far the best underdog in NJPW right now. The crowd popped every time he kicked out. Tonga kicked out of his senton bomb for a great near fall. There were lots of great false finishes with YOSHI fighting out of Guerrilla Warfare and Ishii making one last attempt at a save before Ishii was taken out. YOSHI mounted one last attack before Tonga hit an absurd move when he countered YOSHI's finish, Karma into a Gun Stun. GOD then hot Guerrilla Warfare to retain the titles. This was great.
Super Jr Tag Tournament Final: Beretta & Rocky Romero defeated ACH & Taiji Ishimori
This was a great final to the junior tag tournament. It was give lots of time and as always when junior tag matches are given time, it was able to build into something really exciting. The story here was how would RPG Vice get along. They seemingly got on the same page when they won their semi final match. Early on we had Beretta getting mad when Romero was messing around and not taking things seriously. ACH & Ishimori are such an exciting team. This match had some superb action and saw the crowd get behind RPG Vice in a big way when either man was on the defensive. There were big dives from Beretta, ACH & Ishiori. One cool spot saw ACH sell his own foot when he punted Beretta off the apron. RPG Vice countered the double shooting star presses for a good near fall. Beretta was unable to get the Strong Zero locked in on a few occasions, so when he finally got the move and Romero came down to assist, the crowned popped for it. Beretta pinned ACH to win the tournament. There was lots of great stuff in this and is definitely worth watching. After the match RPG Vice called out The Young Bucks and challenged them to a title match at The Tokyo Dome, which The Bucks seemingly accepted. So for once, we might get a straight up two vs two title match at Wrestle Kingdom.
ACH was outstanding in this tournament, so it's a pity that this may be the end of him in NJPW due to his impending departure from ROH. There's a good chance that he and Ishimori were scheduled to win this if it wasn't for the issues with ROH.
IWGP Jr Heavyweight Championship: KUSHIDA defeated BUSHI
KUSHIDA regained the gold here in what was a much better match than their September meeting. KUSHIDA was out for revenge, and was boo'd when he launched an aggressive attack on BUSHI and piledrove him on the floor. BUSHI targeted the neck, the same neck he injured in October forcing KUSHIDA out of action for a month. This was a very different side to KUSHIDA and the match felt like a gritty fight. BUSHI hit several variations of the back stabber and Codebreaker. He hit an torpedo like suicide dive. A Canadian Destroyer wasn't enough to get the win. KUSHIDA was boo'd heavily when he hit a straight punch on BUSHI. KUSHIDA got the win after he hit a Codebreaker and twisted the arm of BUSHI in the Hoverboard Lock. This felt like a completely pointless reign for BUSHI. All it did was break up what would have been a year long reign for KUSHIDA.
After the match the Time Bomb counted down to zero and it was revealed to be Hiromu Takahashi, formerly Kamaitachi, who makes his return to NJPW after excursion in both CMLL & ROH. It's a pity he isn't keeping the Kamaitachi name, because he had created a following under that moniker and we already have a Takahashi on the roster. He challenged KUSHIDA to a Jr title match at the Tokyo Dome. That match will be amazing.
Kenny Omega, Adam Cole & The Young Bucks defeated Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, Will Ospreay & Gedo
This was so ridiculously entertaining. This Bullet Club team was so much fun and this was a hell of a match. There were a whole load of superkicks, a four way terminator dive and we had Gedo mock Adam Cole with a "Gedo Baybay!" taunt. There was a great shot of Cole doing the same taunt only for Ospreay to appear into frame and take him out with a flying forearm. Ospreay his some spectacular moves, including a handspring Pele kick taking out three men. Bullet Club hit a four way superkick on both Okada and Gedo. The finish saw an awesome back and forth between Okada & Omega before Omega hit the V-Trigger and One Winged Angel to score a monumental clean win over the IWGP champion ahead of their title match on January 4th.
NEVER Openweight Championship: EVIL defeated Katsuyori Shibata
What an incredibly hard hitting match this was as EVIL scores the biggest win of his career winning his first title in NJPW. EVIL went after the taped arm and shoulder of Shibata, just as he did in their G1 match. The striking in this was as stiff as hell. Shibata in particular was nailing EVIL with hard kicks and elbows. Shibata went for the sleeper, but EVIL fought out by wrenching at the bad arm. When he went for the ropes, Shibata caught the arm and suplexed EVIL right onto his head. Outside the ring EVIL was able to hit Shibata with the title belt behind the refs back and with the ref fallen on the floor, EVIL attacked Shibata with two chairs in the ring and hit him with a Fishermans buster onto the chair. He then hit the STO to take the NEVER title to Los Ingobernables de Japon. This was another excellent match. NJPW have done an incredible job of building EVIL over the course of the year.
Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated SANADA
This was another unbelievable Tanahashi performance. He's going to go down as one of the greatest ever at this point. The story going into this was Tanahashi simply wanting to avenge his loss to SANADA in the G1. This built slowly around Tanahashi working over the knee. Tanahashi hit a sling blade on the apron and a High Fly Flow to the floor to kick the match into high gear. They played off the finish of their G1 match, but this time Tanahashi avoided the moonsault. Towards the end Tanahashi ravaged the knee of SANADA with all sorts of Dragon Screw variations and held him in the Texas Cloverleaf, but SANADA got the ropes. They exchanged suplexes and had a full on forearm battle. As always with a Tanahashi match, the excitement built at the end with Tanahashi going for the HFF, but SANADA got his knees up, but it also damaged the knee of SANADA further. The finish saw a Slingblade and two High Fly Flows, giving Tanahashi the win. This was excellent.
IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Tetsuya Naito defeated Jay Lethal
These guys were in a no win situation here. Lethal means very little in NJPW and was nowhere near ready for a main event title match on a major show. There wasn't a single person in the crowd that believed Lethal had a chance, and on top of that he was playing the babyface against the ultra popular Naito. The last time Lethal was in NJPW he was a heel and the NJPW audience have very little knowledge of his turn in ROH. This was a pretty good match, but it was heatless. Lethal worked hard to win them over, but it just wasn't happening. He hit a really nice inverted Finlay Roll into a crossface. They blocked each other's attempts at finishers, until Naito hit Destino, seemingly out of nowhere to score the win.
After the match Hiroshi Tanahashi came out and challenged Naito to a championship match at Wrestle Kingdom.
This was a great show despite the main event giving it a flat ending. It is available now at NJPWWorld.com.
2016 - WWE's Raw brand ran Minehead, England. Gil Tiles filed the following results:
The New Day beat Enzo/Cass, Sheamus/Cesaro and The Club to retain the Tag Titles.
Sin Cara beat Curtis Axel.
The Golden Truth and Darren Young beat The Shining Stars and Titus O'Neil.
Sami Zayn beat Chris Jericho.
Roman Reigns beat Rusev to retain The US Title.
Neville beat Bo Dallas.
Sasha Banks, Bayley and Alicia Fox beat Charlotte, Nia Jax and Dana Brooke. Emma was the ref.
Kevin Owens beat Seth Rollins in a London Street Fight. Chris Jericho helped his best friend.
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