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Bull Ray Teases Going After “Other” Tag Titles, Dolph Ziggler IC Title Update

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– WWE Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler indicated on Wednesday that United Airlines still has not returned his luggage, including his title belt. Dolph tweeted the following:

“update: still no bag or contact. bought new clothes & supplies just to go to work! lose my number @united #PRAYFORDOLPHsbag”

– Bully Ray had been hyping a major announcement on Twitter before tonight’s episode of TNA Impact Wrestling. He just posted the following teaser:

“Despite not winning tonight, me and @TestifyDevon #Team3D have decided to go after 1 of our other favorite sets of Tag titles…stay tuned.”

Why WWE Is Keeping Paul Heyman Off TV

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Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

As seen earlier, Paul Heyman cut a dark promo before last night’s WWE SmackDown tapings that ended up being posted to YouTube. No word yet if it will air on Friday’s SmackDown but as of earlier this week, WWE was going with the idea of keeping Heyman off TV for a while. Heyman was reportedly not at Monday’s RAW in Brooklyn.

That plan could change but they don’t want to call attention to the fact that the WWE World Heavyweight Champion is away and missing pay-per-view events. As noted, Brock Lesnar isn’t scheduled to return until January.

The “OH MY GOD!” Review: ECW’s Bloodiest Matches / ECW’s Wildest Matches

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ECW Bloodiest Matches (taped various dates at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, PA)

This is the first compilation tape that ECW ever released. It has a one hour run time and features as you may have guessed from the title some of the Bloodiest Matches from ECW. This tape was never advertised on ECW TV so it is difficult to determine when it was released. It features matches that took place in 1993. It features some matches that did not make it to TV.

Tag Team Champions Eddie Gilbert & The Dark Patriot vs. Miguel Perez & Mitsuhiro Matsunaga, ref John Finnegan (1993-08-08)
This would be the only title defense for Gilbert and Patriot as Gilbert would quit the company shortly after. They go to the crowd as soon as the bell rings. Perez is with Gilbert and Matsunaga with Patriot. Gilbert is bleeding before 1 minutes passes. Gilbert slams Perez’s head into a chair. Gilbert slamming a soda can into Matsunaga’s head. Perez and Patriot slamming each other into the wall of the building. In the ring Perez is busted wide open and Gilbert hits him with the time keeper’s hammer. We reach the 6 minute mark and this finally turns into an actual tag match. Patriot puts something in his mask and head butts Perez. Gilbert on the apron gets a tennis racket and hits Perez with it. This gives Paul E. Dangerously a chance to shit talk Jim Cornette. Perez goes nuts and starts hitting everyone including his own partner and the ref. The champions retain the title in 7.22 via DQ

Kevin Sullivan vs. Abdullah the Butcher, ref Jim Molineaux (Bloodfest Day 1 1993-10-01)
Sullivan attacks Abby with a briefcase in the aisle and we get the bell. Abdullah bleeding right away. After over 2 minutes of brawling on the floor they finally make it into the ring. Abdullah makes a come back with an object from his tights and they go back to the floor. Into the crowd they go and up towards the Eagle’s Nest. Sullivan now bleeding and these two guys are all over each other. Abby seems to have lost Sullivan in the crowd somewhere and I think we’ll call this match over after about 7 minutes. Abdullah starts throwing chairs and ripping apart the set looking for Sullivan.

Steel Cage Match: Kevin Sullivan vs. Abdullah the Butcher, ref Jim Molineaux (Bloodfest Day 2 1993-10-02)
Since Sullivan ran away last night this match takes place in a steel cage and this time Abdullah attacks Sullivan in the aisle with a piece of wood. Sullivan bleeding already. Woman charges the ring and attacks Abby. Abdullah grabs her and begins to choke her. Sullivan comes from behind with a chair. They make it into the cage and we get the bell to officially begin the match. Abby uses the fork on Sullivan. Sullivan fights back using the cage and busting open Abby. Both men bleeding like crazy. Sullivan tries to go out the door but is stopped and gets his face shoved into the cage. The Tazmaniac comes to ringside and throws the briefcase in the ring and begins climing the cage. Abby stops him but Sullivan picks up the case and starts hitting him with it. Sullivan goes for the door but Abdullah grabs the case and uses it. Abdullah goes to the door but Taz slams the door on him and helps Sullivan out of the cage ending the match in 6.51. Abby comes out of the ring and attacks both Sullivan and Tazmaniac with chairs and the ring steps. This was never shown or even explained on TV but this is where Sullivan and Tazmaniac join together.

The final two matches have already been recapped and are taken directly from those reviews. The next aired on the 8-31 TV episode and the final match is from UltraClash.

W*ING Tag Team Champions The Headhunters vs. Miguelito Perez & Mr. Danger, ref John Finnegan (1993-08-07)
They go right to the floor to brawl. Back in the ring Danger is power bombed but he kicks out. Perez is bleeding within the first minute of the match. Perez with a superplex and then he goes up top. Perez comes off with a missle dropkick. The Headhunter rolls to the floor and Perez hits a plancha. Perez nails the Headhunter with a chair to the head that busts him open. Tag to Mr. Danger and all 4 men come into the ring. Perez misses a 2nd rope senton. Headhunter with a moonsault he goes for the cover but Danger and the other Headhunter come in the ring. The first Headhunter gets off his cover and Danger gets a small package. Splash on Perez and NOW the ref counts. Each team has a man pinned and the match is declared a no contest at 4.59. So the legal man had a pin attempt but the ref didn’t count it. Then the illegal man had a pin and the ref didn’t count that then both teams had pins and he counts that?

Terry Funk & Stan “The Lariat” Hansen vs. Abdullah the Butcher & Kevin Sullivan, ref Jim Molineaux (UltraClash 1993-09-18)
The bell sounds a big brawl breaks out. With out Eddie Gilbert in this match has no back-story in ECW. Sullivan and Funk fight on the scaffold, Hansen and Butcher in the ring. Funk is busted open as all four men are back in the ring. Funk uses a chair on Butcher as we cross the 5 minute mark. Abdullah is cut opened. Sullivan hits Funk with a hammer. Sullivan hold Funk and Butcher goes to hit him with a spike but Funk moves and he hits Sullivan. Funk with a spinning toe hold and “Hotstuff” Eddie Gilbert hits the ring and attacks Funk causing a DQ in 7.01. Dark Patriot comes down also and he and Hansen fight to the back. Sullivan attacks Abdullah and a bunch of wrestlers come to try and break it up but get beat back. Hansen and Funk come back to the ring and lay a beating on Johnny Hotbody.

My thoughts on the show…
Nice to have some matches exclusive to the tape here. Nothing ground breaking, as it is all just a bunch of brawls with blood of course. I love ECW brawls but this is from before the crazy crowds and before Joey Styles was any good at his job, and because of that these didn’t have the same feel as the classic ECW brawls we all remember. Thumbs in the middle on this one.

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ECW Wildest Matches (taped various dates at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, PA)

Another one hour comp tape released by ECW. This tape was released in the early months of 1994 but all matches took place the previous year. All but the final match on the tape have already been recapped so will just be copy and past jobs from their old reviews.

Dark Patriot (w/ “Hotstuff” Eddie Gilbert) vs. JT Smith, ref Kevin Christian (1993-05-14)
This show was filmed before Super Summer Slam so the ref is not Freddie Gilbert yet. Patriot forces Smith back to a corner and gives him a hard shot to the face. Dangerously points out that Gilbert and the Dark Patriot don’t actually like each other. Side slam by the Patriot. Smith with a flying head scissor, body slam and top rope moonsault for 2. Patriot whipped into the corner and Smith misses the charge and hits his shoulder on the post. They go to the floor and Smith whips Patriot into the ring post. Corner whip is reversed and the ref gets in the way and goes down. The go back outside the ring and into the crowd. Smith gets sent into the wall and they go up to the eagles’ nest. Patriot throws Smith at least 15 foot to the floor and then dives onto him. Gilbert helps Patriot back into the ring as the ref wakes up and counts out Smith in 5.51.

Tag Team Champions Suicide Blondes (w/ Hunter Q. Robbins III) vs. Super Destroyers & “Wildman” Sal Bellomo, ref Jim Molineaux (1993-05-14)
Christopher Candido starts off with the Super D 1. He overpowers Candido so Jonathan Hotbody comes in to try and help but he also gets over powered. Candido goes for a power bomb but gets tossed off. Press slam and Candido bails and tags Hotbody and Super D 2 comes in. We go to a commercial break before they lock up. Back to the action and Hotbody is thrown into the corner and body slammed as Bellomo is tagged in and hits a big splash. Super D 1 back in with a pump handle slam and suplex. Hotbody bails to the floor and the Blondes regroup. Back in and Hotbody gets power bombed. Tag to Super D 2 and he comes in with a standing senton and then tags Bellomo. Bellomo with a drop kick and again Hotbody goes to the floor. Back in the ring Super D forces Hotbody to tag Richard Michaels. Michaels gets the advantage but misses a big top rope splash. Super D 1 ones back in a gets a powerslam for 2. Bellomo comes back in and Michaels is able to get him into the Blondes’ corner. Candido tagged in and as Michaels distracts the ref they use Robbins cane. Robbins gets hit and Dangerously gets so mad he goes to ringside to check on him. Paul E. gets nailed which bring the Dangerous Alliance to the ring and we get a 3 team brawl. The ref calls for the bell after 7.55 of the match is shown. We go off the air with everyone still in the ring brawling and hitting each other with trash cans.

TV Champion “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka (w/ Paul E. Dangerously) vs. Terry Funk, ref Kevin Christian (1993-05-15)
Funk gets whipped into the corner and slammed a few times. Funk favors his lower back and we go to commercial about 3 minutes into the match. Back from break Snuka comes off the second rope with a headbutt to a standing Funk. Suplex by Snuka gets 2. Funk blocks a second attempt and gets a suplex of his own. Swinging neck breaker by Funk. Funk goes for the spinning toe hold but Snuka pokes him in the eyes. They trade off small packages and then Funk headbutts Snuka ten times. Snuka head butts the ref and more refs hit the ring. Funk double noggin knockers the refs with Snuka. A few wrestlers come to the ring to break it up as we get a bell at 8.13 shown. The Dangerous Alliance come to the ring and attack Funk. The Koloffs come out and attack the Dangerous Alliance. The rest of the locker room empties and a WILD brawl breaks. Tod Gordon who was at the commentary table for the match goes to ringside and gets on the mic screaming for the brawl to stop. He gets laid out when Sal Bellomo and Jonathan Hotbody crash into him.

South Philly Hood Match: Public Enemy vs. Badd Company ref John Finnegan (November to Remember 1993-11-13)
Paul Diamond and Rocco Roc start off. Roc throws Diamond to the floor for a little brawling. The first guy to bleed must leave making the match 2 on 1. Back in the ring Diamond charges at Roc in the corner but misses. Roc gets clotheslined to the floor and his face smashed into the apron. Roc makes the tag to Johnny Grunge and Pat Tanaka also tags in. Tanaka hits a flying forearm. Roc tags back in and they hit a double back drop. PE makes a few tags back and forth until Tanaka gets busted open with brass knuckles at 7.42. Diamond attacks PE on the floor with a chair and throws both of his opponents into the walls of the building. The 2 on 1 eventually proves to be too much for Diamond and PE work him over with a chair. Grunge holds Diamond and Roc goes up top for a standing moonsault but Diamond moves and it hits Grunge. PE immediately back on top though. Diamond clotheslines both PE and then hits a double DDT. Diamond with a gordbuster on each and then a rocker dropper on Roc. Diamond throws Grunge to the floor and slams him. Missile dropkick on Roc gets two. Diamond goes up top again but Grunge pushes him off to the mat. Roc takes out the brass knuckles again and hits Diamond. Grunge hits the reverse DDT and Roc lands the somersault senton of the top to end the match in 16.01. After the match PE keeps on Diamond until Tanaka comes out to make the save and they all brawl to the back.

My thoughts on the show…
Pretty decent comp here. The first and last match are worth seeing and of course as I mentioned, this is the only place to see the November to Remember tag match. Thumbs up.

WWE Main Event Results 10/7/14

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Credit: Marc Middleton

– Tonight’s WWE Main Event kicks off from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Michael Cole welcomes us and he’s joined by Byron Saxton.

WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Bo Dallas vs. Dolph Ziggler

We go right to the ring to Eden. She introduces WWE Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler to a pop. Cesaro is also on commentary. Bo Dallas is out next to some heat. Bo cuts a promo on the way to the ring. He says he threw away a Philly cheesesteak earlier and Mark Henry ate it out of the trash.

They lock up and break. They go at it again and Ziggler takes Bo down with a headlock. Bo ends up taking control and fans boo him. Bo with a 2 count. Bo ends up dumping Ziggler on his head outside of the ring and we go to commercial.

Back from the break and Bo is still in control. Bo drops knees and covers for another 2 count. Ziggler gets in a shot and they both go down as the referee counts. Ziggler makes a comeback now. Ziggler with a splash in the corner and a neckbreaker. Bo blocks a Fame-asser and drops Ziggler for a 2 count. Ziggler counters with a back drop. Ziggler nails the big DDT for a 2 count. Bo blocks a superkick and drops Ziggler with a DDT for 2. More back and forth. Bo gets a close 2 count after holding the ropes. Bo argues with the referee, allowing Ziggler to hit a Zig Zag for the win.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

– We get a look back at Adam Rose, Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb on RAW.

– We come back from a break and Tyson Kidd approaches Kane backstage. He says he’s his own man and more than just Natalya’s husband, that’s a fact. Kane laughs and says everyone knows Natalya wears the pants. Kidd wants a match. Kane says Natalya has requested one for him against Jack Swagger. Kane tells Kidd try not and tap out to Swagger like he does Natalya.

Brie Bella vs. Nikki Bella, Cameron, Layla and Summer Rae

We go to the ring and out first comes Nikki Bella. Brie Bella is out next. Layla, Summer Rae and Cameron are also waiting. Summer starts off with Brie and they go at it.

Layla comes in and goes to work on Brie, dropping her with a DDT for a 2 count. Layla keeps control and puts a knee to Brie’s back. Brie finally turns it around on Cameron and hits a missile dropkick. Brie decks Nikki. Cameron catches Brie with an elbow. Layla also gets involved, allowing Cameron to take over. Summer with a cheap shot. Nikki tags herself in and hits a running knee to the face on Brie. Nikki with the Rack Attack for the win.

Winners: Nikki Bella, Cameron, Layla and Summer Rae

– We get a look back at The Rock and Rusev on RAW.

– We see Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter walking backstage. Back to commercial.

Tyson Kidd vs. Jack Swagger

Back from the break and Natalya waits in the ring with Tyson Kidd. Jack Swagger is out next with Zeb Colter.

Zeb cuts a promo on Kidd not being a man. The bell rings and Kidd unloads to start. Back and forth throughout the match. Kidd hits a big shot from the apron and springboards in with a pin out of nowhere for the win.

Winner: Tyson Kidd

– After the match, Kidd celebrates by himself at ringside and leaves Natalya hanging.

– We get highlights from Total Divas and RAW.

Stardust vs. Jey Uso

We go to the ring and out come WWE Tag Team Champions Stardust and Goldust. We go to commercial.

Back from the break and out come The Usos. Back and forth to start the match but Stardust takes over. Jey fights back but Stardust kicks him to the mat and works him over. Stardust tosses Uso across the ring and shows off. Stardust charges but runs into boots. Uso goes to the top and hits a crossbody for 2. Uso with chops and a superkick. Uso with a big right hand. Stardust counters a move and hits the drop down right hand. Uso comes right back with a Samoan Drop. Uso with the Rikishi splash in the corner. Uso goes to the top for the big splash but Stardust shoves him off, out to the floor. Jimmy Uso checks on his brother. Uso ends up going back to the top and hitting the splash for the win.

Winner: Jey Uso

– After the match, the two teams taunt each other as we go to replays. Main Event goes off the air with The Usos celebrating.

CM Punk Attends Wrestling Event, Jim Ross Talks His Wrestling Future

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Source: Voices of Wrestling

Former WWE Superstar CM Punk was backstage at Ohio Valley Wrestling’s Saturday Night Special event in Louisville, Kentucky this past weekend.
This would be the first time that Punk has attended a wrestling show since walking out on WWE earlier this year.

Punk may have been there to support his good friend Cliff Compton, who won the OVW Heavyweight Title that night.

Punk was backstage and reportedly spoke to trainer Rip Rogers, a wrestler named Trailer Park Trash and Compton only. Others backstage were reportedly told to not bother the former WWE Champion. Punk left the arena with Compton and was not seen by fans.

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross published a new blog over the weekend and commented on recent speculation about his future in pro wrestling:

“To clear up some speculation regarding my return to pro wrestling, while I am a ‘free agent’ as it relates to broadcasting pro wrestling events, my interest level in pursuing such is moderate at best. Would I re-engage the process in some form? Yes, but I’m uncertain as to what those terms would have to be. I still love the business and get the ‘itch’ to broadcast the genre that I spend 40 years of my life doing but there are so many things that I’m doing or going to do career wise that I simply don’t know where the pro wrestling opportunities fit. Time will tell but I’m still a student of that game and more importantly a fan.

“I have personally had zero talks about doing pro wrestling in the future but there has been some contact with my representative but as I understand it those talks were exploratory and preliminary at best. I’ve been asked about the New Japan January 4 PPV event but I’d say that jumping on board with that assignment is a long shot at this time although I do wish all involved the best in this endeavor. I can certainly see where the PPV component in the English speaking, worldwide marketplace has potential if it is marketed strategically and aggressively.”

New Wyatt Family Members?, Wyatt Family Movie To Be Made?

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Source: F4WOnline

– Apparently there are rumors of NXT stars The Ascension being called up to WWE’s main roster to be put with Bray Wyatt. This is an unconfirmed rumor but it could have something to do with Erick Rowan and Luke Harper being “freed” by Wyatt.

– Directors and noted wrestling fans The Soska Twins, who have worked on WWE Studios’ See No Evil 2 and Vendetta, say they want to make a movie about The Wyatt Family. They tweeted the following on Monday:

“We wanna make a @WWEBrayWyatt film with the whole family SO BAD. Would you guys wanna see that??? #RAW #twinning #Idreamedadream”

News On The Rock’s WWE Return, Possible Match With Rusev, Great Muta, More

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Source: F4WOnline

As seen on last night’s WWE RAW from Brooklyn, The Rock made a surprise return and confronted Rusev. An in-ring segment led to The Rock attacking Rusev and sending him out of the ring.

WWE officials did not want Rock to do any more than what he did to Rusev; no Rock Bottom, People’s Elbow or anything like that, possibly to keep Rusev strong.

The feeling among people backstage at RAW last night that that a match between Rock and Rusev is doubtful but obviously it could be possible for WrestleMania 31 season some time.

– Yahoo Japan has an article with The Great Muta talking about how he’s going to “attack” The Rock when Rock visits Japan later this month to promote the DVD release of Hercules. This will be the first time that Rock has been in Japan in 12 years and it appears Muta is using that as a way to get Wrestle-1 some publicity.

Breaking It Down: Sting – The Franchise, Or Just A Mirage?

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Breaking It Down: Random thoughts from a wrestling junkie!

Volume 1: Sting: The Franchise, Or Just A Mirage?

Forward: This will be a column where I express my views on a number of wrestling topics that pique my interest at that specific time. I watch wrestling all the time (mainly old stuff) and there are a lot of things that really bother me, and also interest me, about what I am watching. Therefore, I have decided to put my thoughts down on paper so to speak and share them with all of you. Again, these are just MY thoughts and opinions, therefore you can either agree with them, or we can agree to disagree. That is the beauty of opinions. Everyone can have one and it can spark a great debate every once in a while. No matter how you feel, all feedback is appreciated. So, without further ado it is time to get this column going.

Lately, I have been watching WCW Monday Nitro on the WWE Network and one of the constant figures on this show, of course, is Sting. He was the quintessential face of the WCW. No matter what others say or do, Sting was always THE guy. Upon his arrival in the NWA in late 1987 he had that “IT” factor that everyone talks about but nobody can explain. When he came on your screen you paid attention because he was different than everything else you were seeing in the NWA at the time. He had the spiked blonde hair, the face paint, the charisma, and everything else you could ask for in a future star to have. His first major break came at the very first Clash of the Champions when he had a marathon of a match with Ric Flair that essentially put him on the map. After that match you could say pretty much that the rest was history.

Now, let’s fast forward through all his early accolades to 1996 when arguably the biggest angle in the history of wrestling is about to go down. Sting has been built up over the years as the face of the company and the guy that is going to carry the torch for the WCW in this battle with the nWo. After Hogan’s turn, Sting was arguably the biggest name left on the WCW side of the fence, and the guy that the war should have been based around as far as WCW was concerned. However, some idiot running the company decides to let Sting wrestle all of his dates on his contract earlier than he should have. Therefore, Sting has the option to mail it in and not wrestle during this time. Of course, like most smart people would, he decided not to wrestle and not renegotiate his contract to add dates to his contract. Or Maybe it was a company decision, either way, the ball was dropped here on keeping Sting from competing with the NWO early on.

This is where I have the problem. If you are the franchise of the company, THE guy, the top face in the company, and it is during the hottest time in recent memory for the company and you decide to go hang out in the rafters for 15 months? I’m not blaming the guy for getting paid to pretty much do nothing. More power to him. But if you are a franchise guy, then you go out there and do your part. That’s like Peyton Manning getting to the Super Bowl then saying “Whelp, my contract only asks me to play 17 games so I am not going to play this. I am going to sit at home and get paid while I watch the biggest game on TV.” It’s as if he didn’t want to be in the middle of it and he just wanted to hang out and watch everybody else make the company as big as it has ever been.

This leads me to my other problem. I always thought it was very curious that Sting never went to the WWF/WWE during his prime. I get that he was a company guy and didn’t want to leave and all of that is fine. However, I feel like (and this is just my opinion) there is a lot more to it. He always spouts off his religious beliefs didn’t go with the image of what the WWE was producing. However, I doubt that is the case. He has been with TNA for the last 7-8 years and they put out the more adult oriented product than the WWE does in the last 7-8 years. Therefore, that argument is out of the picture. My thoughts on this matter is I feel like he didn’t like the pressure. Name a big show that Sting was a part of that was on the level of a WrestleMania? The only one you can think of is Starrcade 1997 and that match with Hogan completely bombed. I know it was a cluster and the booking of the match was terrible. However, Sting looked like total crap in arguably what was the biggest match of his career. He looked terrible.

This is why I feel like he can’t handle the pressure. If he would have jumped ship to the WWF he would be asked to either main event or co-main event the biggest events in wrestling and I don’t think he could have handled or lived up to the expectations. I feel like he loves the comfort of the small time because it won’t magnify how mediocre Sting is as an in-ring performer. Everybody says that WCW got the better end of the bargain when they ended up with Sting and WWF ended up with the Ultimate Warrior. But I strongly disagree. In the biggest of matches Warrior showed up and put on classics that people still talk about today matches with house hold names like Hulk Hogan and the “Macho Man” Randy Savage. How many matches of Sting do you bring up and talk about as “classics” outside of the Clash of the Champions 1 match? Not many.

The last point I want to get to is the “Crow” gimmick. The best part about Sting was his high energy, charisma, crazy surfer guy look and when he decided to do the Crow gimmick he cut off his nose to spite face. He took away the best part about Sting, and when he did that he got exposed as just another guy. He was never the same after he switched gimmicks because he no longer did the things that made the Sting character so awesome to begin with. He traded his energy for appearance, and after a while things get old without personality involved.

In closing, I really like Sting. I think he could have helped any wrestling company that he was a part of. However, I don’t think he could ever be considered a franchise guy or a cornerstone guy because he never rose to the occasion to take the bull by the horns and actually CARRY his company. He had the perfect opportunity in 1996 to become the guy in the company and instead of doing that, they decided to have him hang out in the rafters with a bird and watch while the hottest time of his company passed him by.

Editor’s note: This is just column 1. I’m not sure what the topic will be next week but hopefully you’ll check back to see what’s on my mind next. If you have any comments leave them and hopefully we can get a good conversation going. Thanks again for reading and I will see you again next week.

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