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Latest on CM Punk’s Status for Monday’s Raw From Chicago

By
Brian Grey
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0

The following news is sourced from PWInsider.com

People who spoke to CM Punk at last weekend’s UFC pay-per-view from Las Vegas noted that he seemed very non-committal about his status with WWE and treated it like it was something in his past.

At last Monday’s RAW from Green Bay, there was no talk among the talents that anyone would be seeing Punk next week.

Internally, Punk is not expected to be at Monday’s RAW from his hometown of Chicago and there is concern over what the crowd will do without him there.

WWE Smackdown Results for 2/28/14

By
Jim Somers
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2

WWE Smackdown Results for 2/28/14 from Milwaukee, WI at the Bradley Center (taped 2/25/14)

– Batista opens SmackDown and gets booed heavily. Batista says how he really feels, how he’s better than everyone and how he will defeat everyone that gets in his way. Dolph Ziggler appears and challenges Batista to a match. Batista laughs and Ziggler and accepts the challenge. Dolph ends up dropkicking Batista from the ring.

* Jack Swagger and Cesaro defeated Mark Henry and Big E. when Cesaro hit the Neutralizer on Henry for the pin. There was a lot of tension between Swagger and Cesaro throughout the match.

– There was a segment backstage with Alberto Del Rio and Vickie Guerrero. ADR asks for the night off but doesn’t get it. Sheamus comes in and challenges him to a match instead.

– Alexander Rusev & Lana appear on the stage for a promo. One step closer to getting to the ring for a TV match.

* Sheamus defeated Alberto Del Rio via DQ after Christian interfered. Christian attacked Sheamus and laid him out with the Killswitch. Del Rio & Christian them stomped down Sheamus afterwards.

* Batista (in complete heel mode) destroyed Dolph Ziggler

– Wyatt Family Promo leads to the Shield confronting them. Triple H makes a six-man rematch between the two teams for next week on Raw.

* WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee defeated Cameron. Tamina was thrown out from ringside.

– It’s announced that Brock Lesnar will confront the Undertaker on Raw next week.

* Daniel Bryan and The Usos defeated Kane and The New Age Outlaws in the main event, when Bryan pinned Kane following the running knee.

Vitor Belfort Out Of Weidman Fight Following TRT Ban, Replacement Announced, Dana Comments

By
MMA Dan
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Credited Source for this news goes to Raj Giri

As noted yesterday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission voted unanimously to ban therapeutic use exemptions for testosterone replacement therapy. Following the ruling, top UFC middleweight contender Vitor Belfort pulled out of his planned title fight with UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman at UFC 173. Belfort, who has previously been granted therapeutic use exemptions, agreed to withdraw from the fight and recognized that he needs an extended period of time to become licensed in the state of Nevada.

The UFC announced that former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida will replace Belfort and face Weidman in the main event of UFC 173 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, May 24.

“Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, who’s undefeated since dropping to 185 pounds, will fight champion Chris Weidman in the main event of UFC 173 in May,” UFC President Dana White said. “Machida was dominant in his last two fights, beating Gegard Mousasi and knocking out Mark Munoz.

“He’s earned this shot at Weidman, who’s coming off two straight wins over the greatest fighter of all time, Anderson Silva. Machida wants nothing more than to avenge the losses of his friend and training partner, and become just the third fighter in UFC history to win titles in two separate weight classes.”

WWE News 2/28/14: Tons of News on the Network, NXT, PPV’s, and more

By
Jim Somers
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– WWE Network issued the following service advisory late tonight in regards to the streaming problems during NXT Arrival: “During tonight’s live NXT ArRIVAL special, we unfortunately experienced technical difficulties, which are to be expected when launching a new digital network. We will work aggressively to solve these glitches and deliver quality service. The complete event will be available on-demand overnight.”

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– Below is the full schedule for Friday, day 5 of the WWE Network launch:
1am EST – WWE Superstars – 2/25/2014
2am EST – WWE Main Event – 2/25/2014
3am EST – ECW Hardcore TV – 4/25/1994
4am EST – Beyond The Ring – Bret Hart & Shawn Michaels
6am EST – ECW Hardcore TV – 11/1/1993
6:30am EST – WWE Countdown – Catchphrases
7:30am EST – WrestleMania Rewind – WrestleMania I
8:30am EST – RAW Flashback – 3/7/1993
9:30am EST – RAW Flashback – 3/14/1993
10:30am EST – NXT Arrival
12:30pm EST – WWE Superstars – 2/25/2014
1:30pm EST – WWE Survivor Series 2012
4:30pm EST – This Is NXT – 2/23/2014
5:30pm EST – RAW Backstage Pass – 2/23/2014
6pm EST – Legends of Wrestling – Renegades
7:30pm EST – SmackDown Pre-Show
8pm EST – Legends of Wrestling – Worst Characters
9pm EST – Old School – 4/5/1981 MSG event
10pm EST – SmackDown Backstage Pass
10:30pm EST – ECW Hardcore TV – 11/1/1993
11pm EST – Legends of Wrestling – Worst Characters

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– WWE Network will be adding a lot more content once the one-week free trial is over on Monday. The idea is that they wanted the free trial users to sample enough to get them to pay but not give them everything at once.

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– Jim Ross was at WWE HQ on Thursday being interviewed for WWE’s upcoming Paul Heyman DVD.

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– The dark match before tonight’s WWE NXT Arrival event at Full Sail University saw Mason Ryan defeat Sylvester Lefort.

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– After Arrival went off the air, John Cena entered the ring while new NXT Champion Adrian Neville was celebrating. Cena praised Neville in the match and said the future is bright. One fan was heckling Cena, and Cena made a joke about the guy still living with his mom. Neville went up the ramp where Triple H was. Triple H raised Neville’s arm and got another pop for him. Triple H had Neville go back down and around the ring for one more ovation from the crowd. Neville did a moonsault and landed on his feet to celebrate with the title more and end the show. Cena stopped production from closing the show with his theme song and said Neville deserved to close the show, so they played Neville’s theme as everyone left.

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– WWE’s website has a new poll asking fans who impressed the most at NXT Arrival – Sami Zayn, Cesaro, Mojo Rawley, CJ Parker, Too Cool, The Ascension, Paige, Emma, Xavier Woods, Tyler Breeze, Alexander Rusev, Adrian Neville or Bo Dallas. With just under 5,000 votes cast, Sami is leading with 31%. Cesaro is next with 19% and Neville is the next closest with 17%.

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– As noted, WWE is working on a new Batista DVD. WrestlingDVDNews.com reports that promotional material they received for the DVD stated, Batista’s “life story is very compelling and continues in this program.”

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– Comcast has reportedly made the decision to continue airing monthly WWE pay-per-views.

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– Chris Jericho tweeted the following update on his next book: “After almost 8 months of daily work, I handed in the final draft of my THIRD BOOK today. You’re gonna LOVE it! #Oct13”

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– Brandi Rhodes, who did ring announcing for NXT Arrival last night, has changed her Twitter handle to @RealEdenWWE.

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– WWE will tape more episodes of NXT TV tonight from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. WWE Superstar Sheamus will be appearing along with others.

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– WWE has added this week’s episode of NXT on Hulu but it’s not the episode with Bayley vs. Sasha Banks, CJ Parker vs. Colin Cassady and Mason Ryan vs. Bo Dallas. Instead, they aired the “This Is NXT” special that has been airing on the WWE Network.

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– Ryback tweeted the following about Monday’s RAW from Chicago: “Cannot wait for Raw in Chicago big homecoming for The Best Big Guy In The World! Oh wait Chicago sucks Outlaws > Bears #HeHateMe”

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– A fan on Twitter asked Bill Goldberg what he thought of Batista being booed by the WWE fans since returning. Goldberg replied: “I feel for him. Hopefully he’ll get things turned around.”

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– Here are some more notes from last night’s WWE NXT Arrival event:
* Most of the NXT roster watched the show from a neighboring auditorium due to the lack of space backstage in the NXT Arena.

* Sylvestor Lefort noted on Twitter that his neck was sore after the dark match against Mason Ryan.

* Emma tweeted Paige after their match:

“#NXTArRIVAL has ended but the memories will last a lifetime! @RealPaigeWWE thanks for a hell of a fight! #EMMAlution #WWE #NXT #DIVA”

* New NXT Champion Adrian Neville tweeted the following:

“YOUR NEW NXT CHAMPION. Thank you to EVERYONE who supported along the way. An amazing night I’ll always remember. #NXTArrival”

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– Elimination Chamber will debut on the WWE Network on March 24th due to a contractual obligation with pay-per-view replays. Going forward, all WWE pay-per-views will be available on demand the very next day after they air. The 2014 Royal Rumble was just added yesterday. These two shows were part of previous agreements with pay-per-view providers that did not give WWE the right to put the shows up or release them elsewhere for 30 days.

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– The Honky Tonk Man posted a photo of his new house on Twitter and said it was all thanks to WWE stocks. Knowing this business is cyclical, he picked a good time to cash in with the WWE Network causing stocks to rise several weeks back.

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– There were just under 200 ticket holders turned away from last night’s WWE NXT Arrival event at Full Sail University, apparently because Full Sail oversold the event. Fans were told right before the event that the 400-seat NXT Arena was over capacity. Customer service was described as horrible. NXT wrestlers were sent out to sign autographs but apparently refunds weren’t offered, at least not at first. The explanation from Full Sail staff was they oversold because generally they have 200 no-shows on the free tickets at each taping since students and those associated with the school get in free, while outsiders have to pay. Apparently, to make sure the building is full, they give out far more tickets than there are seats available. For Arrival, virtually nobody with the free tickets showed up.

“MEMORY LANE” EPISODE 5 – The Funker Goes Crazy, Roddy Gets Rowdy, and The Monster!!!

By
Crazymax Jack
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0

 

INTRO

It was later in 1990, after the Ultimate Warrior had defeated Hulk Hogan for the WWF Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania VI… Vince had gotten the idea to build the entire opening of the WWF “Superstars of Wrestling” program around his champion, The Ultimate Warrior… The opening itself looked kind of hi-tech at the time, certainly more elaborate than anything else that had been tried in wrestling by that point. We seem to be on planet Warrior as a camera navigates through the rocks to find the Warrior, holding his belt high in the air before staring into the screen and shooting us with his laser beam eyes… You know, the more I write about this, the more it sounds like a Warrior idea… I think Vince was dead on here… Even the background music was a lighter version of the Warrior’s theme… This speicific opening would continue running up through WrestleMania VII. Even though the Warrior had dropped the belt to Sgt. Slaughter at Rumble 1991, it was better off keeping the Warrior opening as they sure weren’t going with an Iraqi/Slaughter one. Though knowing WWF at the time, it would have been perfect exploitation.. It’s almost as if they knew Slaughter would drop the belt to Hogan, because immediately following Mania 7, we had a new Superstars opening. How cool would it be if this thing played right before Warrior’s induction speech?!!!!

 

SEGMENT OF THE WEEK

This is another famous angle from Georgia Championship Wrestling. It involves Gordon Solie, the Magnificent Muraco, and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. Some may know where I’m going with this, but for those who don’t… stay tuned! It was the early 1980’s and the heel Muraco was currently engulfed in a feud with Tommy “Wildfire” Rich, while Roddy Piper had been working not only as a heel, but also as co-host of the GCW program, alongside legend Gordon Solie. Gordon had been scheduled to interview Don Muraco, when Muraco became infuritated with Gordon over some of the comments that were made. Muraco went after Solie, grabbing him by his suit. Just when it looked like Muraco was going to deck the Dean of announcers, RODDY PIPER COMES FLYING INTO THE SCREEN AND ATTACKS MURACO!!! It’s a great angle, and it’s followed up by a second part. After the initial brawl, you’ll see footage that was shot later in the week from the Omni. It involved Tommy Rich pinning Muraco in a falls count anywhere match due to a distraction from Piper. Following the match, Muraco confronted the calm, cool, and collected, Hot Rod and even took a swing… But Roddy was ready, retaliating with a punch filled with a roll of quarters! Piper KO’s Muraco flat out in the ring, calmly puts his sports coat back on, and walks away. Two really well done angles, and with that, one of the most hated wrestlers in wrestling, became one of the most beloved.

 

SQUASH OF THE WEEK

We go to the WWF, it’s 1987, and the Demolition are kicking butt and taking names… In this particular match, Ax & Smash have the opportunity to make short work of two guys who were generally considered just above jobber status. Watch as Demolition, demolish and destroy the team of Special Delivery Jones, and the one time prospect Outback Jack. G’day Mates!


I guess those vignettes didn’t do Outback any good. Crocodile Dundee he wasn’t.

 

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE WEEK

.Twuz the dying days of the Lebell’s Los Angeles territory… It’s 1981, and if you thought Vince McMahon came up with some goofy gimmicks down the line, you haven;t seen anything yet! Enter, THE MONSTER. Reportedly created in a laboratory (no, I’m not making this stuff up), the Monster debuted as a “monster” heel. This gimmick was portrayed by wrestler Tony Hernandez, who was forced to walk around in four inch lifts while attempting to wrestle in a Frankenstein costume. There was little mobility, and the guy sold less than the Undertaker in his early years. For nearly three decades, the only knowledge of this character was based on memories from fans on the West Coast, and Dave Meltzer’s polls which voted the Monster as the “Most Disguting Promotional Tactic” of 1981. To give you an idea of what that means, The Monster joins the ranks of things like the Katie Vick Angle, Vince exploiting the Gulf War, and the various exploitations of wrestling deaths from the Von Erichs to Bruiser Brody. A few years back, as I was surfing youtube I came across an actual match of the Monster!!! A complete match!!! Up to that point, nothing but a single, blurry picture had ever been seen of the character on the internet… I was excited… I had finally gotten the opportunity to see the Monster in all his glory!!! Unfortunately, some time later, the person who opened the account took down the video without explanation. Some time would go by, and I would do some searching from time to time, hoping we’d see this footage again. Finally, I came across the below… While it’s not the original full length match, someone has re-uploaded the Monster in action set to a music video. The majority of the match, if not the entire match, is shown throughout the duration of the video. Since the original match was removed, I don’t recall the Monster’s opponent here, but I can confirm his manager in this instance was none other than the Great Goliath (of Black Gordman Goliath fame). I’ll have a little more on the Monster after the video, but sit back and enjoy. AND CHECK OUT THIS GUYS CHOKESLAM!!!!

Now I don’t normally show custom made videos, but that deserves to be seen by the masses… That, my friends, was the Monster… He came in as a terrifying legit threat, but it was obvious he had no mobility in the outfit, and if he tried to do anything he’d likely snap an ankle. During this run the Monster would actually wrestle Andre the Giant, and lose. Boy, wouldn’t you like to have seen that??? Andre vs. The Monster!!! The Monster would eventually have his mask ripped off, he’d turn face, and continue working the character as more of a cartoony kids thing. Needless to say, shortly thereafter, even with great gimmicks like the monster, the Lebells were forced to close up shop, and the legacy of the Monster would live on through this bit of footage!

 

BLAST FROM THE PAST

For those young’uns out there that want to scroll past this black & white feature, before you even think about skipping this small gem, here’s a little insight. We head down to Mexico for the legend of all legends, El Santo as he takes on a young Black Gordman. There’s more action in these two minutes of clips of a 2 out of 3 falls match (looks to be taped for a Santo movie) than in most matches you see on RAW today. I know Jake Roberts likes to tell the story of having the Grappler in a front facelock, tripping backwards, and inventing the DDT, so he may want to sweep this under a rug. Gordman was known for his DDT two DECADES before the Snake Man. You’ll catch Gordman’s “Diamond Twist” DDT early in this exciting match. Video footage doesn’t lie. Didn’t mean to burst anyone’s bubble, but this is some true classic action. The footage looks to be from around the end of the 1950’s – going into the 1960’s.

 

FEATURE MATCH OF THE WEEK

We’re going to thing a little out of order this week. Generally, I feature the interview of the week at some point during the show, but this week we’ll save that for our feature. There’s good reason as the interview I have planned to show you coincides with the fallout from our feature match. What’s the match you ask? We go to Memphis, Tennessee, home of the KING. And this match just happens to involve the King… As Jerry Lawler squares off against the legendary Terry Funk in one of the more unique matches for the ages. It’s the very first “Empty Arena” match. A match in which Terry Funk had come on Memphis TV and challenged Lawler to a fight at the Mid-South Coliseum during the day. A ring would be set up, but the arena would be empty. The only people permitted in the Coliseum would be Funk, Lawler, Lance Russell to commentate, and a camera man… There would be no referee, there would be no rules.. It’d be a true fight to the finish… Funk would show up at the Coliseum, and wait to see if Lawler would show. The King finally does show up, and the fight begins. Some of you may know the outcome, but for those who don’t, I won’t spoilt it… Watch the video and I’ll continue my commentary on the other side!

MY EYE! MY EYE! Interesting ending to a unique match. It was made to look as if Funk had lost his eye after the King inadvertently knocked the piece of wood up into the face of the former World Champion. Things wouldn’t end there though… Oh no they wouldn’t’….

 

INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK

After having his eye nearly blinded by the King, Terry Funk shows up on Memphis TV the following week sporting a patcvh over his eye and a missing front tooth. Funker shows up during a Nightmares squash match and he is A MAN POSSESED!!! Terry asks Lance where Lawler is, but Lance explains that the King is down in Florida wrestling this weekend. Funk didn’t want to hear that! Terry hops into the ring and beats the crap out of the enhancement guys, squealing like Cactus Jack. Terry acts like a crazy nut, and this was long before his time in ECW, or even WCW. Funk then returns to the announce table for more interview time. Funk calls out Lawler again, even though the King isn’t there. Terry punches the hell out of a chair and then cracks it over his own head repeatedly before yelling and screaming words I can’t even make out… It makes for a great look!

 

I can’t think of a better way to close a show than with a wild Terry Funk promo… It certainly makes you want to come back for more… I certainly hope you guys come back for more, with the next trip down Memory Lane!!!

 

NXT “ARRIVAL” RESULTS 2/27/14

By
Crazymax Jack
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0

NXT ARRIVAL PRE-SHOW

– We kick things off with a panel of experts hosted by Renee Young. Her special guests are Bret Hart, Kevin Nash, and Paul Heyman, as noted in the image above. They’re all stuck at a table that’s made to fit 2, so it looks sort of awkward and Nash & Hart are crammed up against each other. The energy from the panel is pretty cool, Heyman is “ON” as usual and Renee blows Josh Matthews away in her position. Renee may be the best female announcer I’ve heard.

– Promo of the WWE performance center follows, showing off all the new things the training center has to offer. Renee interviews the panelists to put it over, but Nash makes a joke of it, and Bret hardly sells it as anything better than “The Dungeon”. Heyman likes it because he can find the next “Paul Heyman guy”.

– Video Package of stars who started and NXT and has made it to the WWE, including Big E, Fandango, Xavier Woods, The Wyatt Family, and the Shield. The Shield actually cut a humorous promo against the Wyatts which morphs into a promo about them coming from NXT and excelling in the WWE. Renee discusses both the Wyatts & Shield with the panel. Bret rambles on quite a while about the Wyatts.

If this crowd can keep this up, they’re going to be hot for the entire special! Heyman interviews a couple of fans from the crowd and it seems like Paul is genuinely excited to be a part of this special.

– A video plays on NXT Women’s Champion Paige. The panelists disucss all the up and coming Divas of NXT. An Emma interview follows conducted by Natalya. Emma kills her goofy gimmick long enough to have an emotional promo. The former Tensai, now an interviewer for WWE, speaks with Paige.

– They discuss the NXT Title match, Bret & Nash talk about winning their first championship. Heyman discusses when Brock first won the WWE title. Alex Riley interviews Bo Dallas. Dude has to do something about that smile. Adrian Neville has reportedly declined an interview. Back to the panel who discuss who they think will win the Ladder match. Bret thinks Bo is cocky and will lose. Nash compares Bo’s cockiness to Shawn Michaels, and he selects Bo will win. Paul Heyman predicts that the WINNER will win, and he will have a contract in hand to hand to the champion as the next Paul Heyman guy. We’ll have to see about that.

– NXT General Manager JBL sends us off as we prepare for the first match, it’s Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro!!!

NXT ARRIVAL BEGINS NOW!!!

– A nice video package airs of the lead into this rematch from their first encounter last year and the rematches that followed. We see Zayn’s constant attempts to request being shot down by Cesaro, before HHH signs the match. (I thought JBL was the commissioner?)

– HHH, in the ring and gets himself over with the “Are You Ready” line, before we kick off the first match. Trips says NXT is the NEXT Generation, and the Next Generation…. HAS ARRIVED!!!

– Commentators are Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, and Williams Regal

1. Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro. Hot crowd with “Match of the Year” chant, followed by dualing chants of “We the People”/”Sami Zayn”. Nice wrestling bit to start things off, Zayn tries a huracan rana and Cesaro counters for the Giant Swing, but Sami backflips onto his feet to escape. Cesaro takes a bump outside and Zayn lands a somersault plancha to the floor. Back inside Cesaro catches Zayn and turns it into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Cesaro works over Zayn, even cracks him with a nasty looking European uppercut before going to Zayn’s previously injured leg. Great old school work on the leg, nice dragon screw leg whip. Sami fights back and sends Cesaro to the floor. Zayn tries an Asai Moonsault to the floor, but Cesaro catches him with a tilt-a-whirl slam on the NXT ramp!!!!

Zayn beats the count on the count of 9, Cesaro rushes, but Zayn catches him and tosses Cesaro upside down in the corner with an Exploder Suplex. Cesaro tries to run off the ropes, but Zayn grabs his trunks and turns it into a BLUE THUNDER BOMB for 2!!! Zayn with the Koji Clutch, but Cesaro counters by wrenching Sami’s leg behind Cesaro’s neck. Zayn finally gets the ropes for a break. CESARO SWING and Zayn fights the hold the entire 10 revolutions rather than just hanging there.  SEVERAL NEAR FALLS from both men follow. Looks like Zayn busted himself open on the ropes during the Giant Swing spot. Zayn tries a top rope Huracan Rana by Zayn gets blocked, Cesaro tries a Superbomb, but Zayn counters again and hits the Huracan Rana off the top after all!!!

Zayn with the trademark big boot in the corner. Cesaro battles right back with some more nasty European Uppercuts. Zayn comes back with a nice suplex spot, and counters a Neutralizer into a Sunset flip bomb for a near fall… GREAT MATCH, by the way….

Cesaro tosses Zayn up in the air for another stiff European Uppercut that ONLY GETS ONE!!! ANOTHER EXPLOSIVE UPPERCUT that just makes an exploding sound across the chest of Sami. Cesaro finally lands the Neutralizer and this match is over at 23:00 even.

– After the match Cesaro shows a sign of tremendous respect, helping Zayn up and embracing him after the match. The fans chant for Zayn as Cesaro leaves the ring to let him bask in the spotlight.

– Mojo Rawley promo airs. He stays HYPER you know…

2. “The Hype Man” Mojo Rawley vs. “The Moon Child” CJ Parker. Rawley’s gimmick is that “he stays hyper”. Have fun with that. CJ Parker is a different kind of loon, funky hair, funky gear, funky entrance, and preaches peace. Nothing better than a wrestler who wants peace. It worked for the Love Brothers anyway. Mojo applies a HYPER armbar, nothing says full speed like an armbar. Parker takes over, but it’s your generic offense. Rawley comes back with the Butt-butt (or Rear View) and an Earthquake Buttdrop which he calls “Hyper Drive” for the win in maybe 4:00 . This was little more than a way to put Rawley over on the show.

– A video on Emma and her time in NXT. I can see why she’s over here in NXT, I just hope they can find a way to make it transition over into WWE.

– The Ascension Video airs.

3. NXT Tag Team Champions The Ascension vs. TOO COOL. That’s NOT a typo. Scotty Too Hotty & Grandmaster Sexay are the mystery challengers. Sexay does a little dancing to get going and he’s immediately cut off and the Ascension take over with a more serious tone. It’s just funny hearing William Regal say “Grandmaster Sexay” repeatedly while calling a serious match. Five minutes in and the Ascension have just OWNED Brian Christopher since the beginning. Sexay finally get the tag to Scotty, who comes in like a house-o-fire. Scotty sporting a shaved hear here. Scotty with the BULLDOG and here comes the….W-O-R-M… Sexay dumps Konnor as Scotty tries the Worm on Viktor, but it’s blocked by Viktor and he kills Scotty with a clothesline. The Ascension then hit their running version of Total Elimination for their finisher for the win at 6:36.

– Ric Flair and his daughter, NXT’s “Charlotte” are in the front row.

– Surprise (and unwanted, at least by me) promo by Stephanie McMahon. Steph puts over NXT and their Divas Division. Steph introduces the NXT Divas match. Emma is out first with a (I can’t believe I’m saying this) FUN entrance. Hey, it works in NXT… Even Regal is dancing… The NXT Woman’s Champion Paige is out next. I should note that Stephanie does NO introductions, the girls just come out and Steph holds the belt up.

4. NXT Women’s Champion Paige vs. Emma. Paige tries to slap around Emma, but Emma fires back and these girls show a lot of aggression as we get going. Lots of good stuff from both early on with Paige eventually grounding Emma. Regal namedrops Lance Storm training Emma, so cue Lance Storm’s Twitter appreciation on our main sit under the Twitter comments. Emma comes back with a little flipping, a little dancing, and lands a slingshot into an Emmalock, but Paige escapes before she can apply. Emma works the back of Paige, and this feels like an ACTUAL WRESTLING MATCH, and not a “Divas” match. How pathetic that these girls are better than ANYTHING they have up on the main roster, Divas wise. Emma with the Tarantula on the ropes. Paige comes back, trying a superplex, but Emma counters with a sunset flip from the top, but Paige holds onto the ropes so Emma walks her out into a sit-out Powerbomb!!! 1…..2………..Paige kicks out!!! Paige comes back with her finisher “the Paige Turner”, but EMMA KICKS OUT!!! Paige applies a sick looking inverted Scorpion Death Lock with a double arm hook, bending Emma every which way. Emma is forced to tap in 13:00! Can you imagine a WWE Divas match going 13:00? This was MUUUUCH better!!!

After the match, Paige shakes the hand of Emma and gives her a hug before celebrating. It’s hard to see Emma in the goofy gimmick on Raw and then come here and work in such a serious fashion. It was very believable tonight, I just don’t know how to buy into the happy-go-lucky character when she pops back up on Raw playing kissy face with Santino.

– Adrian Neville Promo

– NXT Promo

– Dusty Rhodes & Pat Patterson in the front row

5. Xavier Woods vs. Tyler Breeze. Woods out to the “Call My Momma” song. Apparently it’s free reign for everyone to use now… Alexander Rusev hits the ring before the match can begin. He just destroys both men. It should be noted the Stream FREEZES THREE TIMES during this and I miss all but Rusev’s big slams. I had to refresh to get the picture back, and every time it would freeze again after 5 seconds. I’m not the only one who had the problem. I caught Rusev talking in his native language after the attack. Since Rusev was already planning to be on the PPV, and didn’t have a match, so this wasn’t much of a shocker. Xavier becomes the next guy they called up and just buried after just debuting him. This segment seemed VERY rushed, it was in and out in no time.

– Bo Dallas Promo (the stream seems to be working again, so far…)

– Larry Zbyszko, and as Regal referred to him as “Skinner” Steve Keirn in the front row.

– MORE FREEZING during the Ladder Match Promo Video. If this happens at WrestleMania, just… WOW…. They don’t have NEAR the viewers for NXT that they expect for Mania and they’re having these issues. If they don’t do something to fix this fast, there’s going to be a lot of people leaving the Network after the first 6 month period.

– Shawn Michaels makes a surprise appearance in the ring, after being pulled from the show a few days earlier. Shawn eats up more time than he should out there, putting himself over for several minutes. Then puts over his DVD. The stream is skipping all around, missing sentences here and there. Shawn FINALLY puts over the match and we get going with the main event.

6. NXT Champion Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville in a LADDER MATCH. Bo won the NXT Championship 260 days ago, making him the longest reigning NXT Champion of all time. Neville starts off flipping all over the place, but Dallas puts him in his place with Neville taking a nice bump on the back of his head. Dallas turns Neville inside out with a clothesline and tied him in the ropes so he can get a ladder. Adrian frees himself and takes the fight to the floor with a plancha. Dallas rams Neville’s spine into the steel steps in a nice spot. Bo tries to throw a Ladder in Neville’s face, Adrian ducks and the ladder goes sliding into the ring. Bo tries to drop Neville on the ramp but Adrian reverses and Bo takes a backdrop on the ramp.

Neville is the first to climb the ladder towards the title, but Dallas cracks Neville with a second ladder from behind. Dallas sets the ladder up with the bottom rung pinning Neville down, but Adrian shoves the ladder over and Bo bumps off into the top rope. Neville then climbs up and Bo shoves him over. The two men fight over a ladder and Dallas drives the ladder into the ribs of Adrian. Neville battles back by running up the ropes and landing a swinging tornado DDT. Both men continue to fight for the climb and they crack heads, leading to Neville taking a bump into the ladder.

Bo tries to battering ram Neville’s head into a ladder in the corner, but Adrian shoves him off and Bo eats the ladder instead. Both men meet each other at the top of the ladder. Bo works on Neville’s arm and both men get off the ladder, Neville with a kick to Bo’s head. Neville climbs up the ropes but gets throws off, smacking his back on the apron and bumping to the floor.

Bo is alone in the ring and ascends the ladder. Dallas is half way up the ladder when Neville SPRINGBOARDS back into the ring, OVER THE TOP OF DALLAS and lands on the upper rungs of the ladder! Neville is above Bo!, Dallas tries to German Suplex Neville off the ladder, but Neville turns around and hits a sunset powerbomb off the ladder onto Dallas who takes it into a ladder in the corner. Neville lays Bo out on a ladder and hits a wild looking twisting flipping shooting star gimmick onto Bo, and Dallas rolls to the outside.

Neville climbs the ladder, he’s at the title… But HERE COMES BO!!! Dallas tries to climb the opposite side, but Neville SECURES THE TITLE!!! ADRIAN NEVILLE IS THE NEW NXT CHAMPION in around 16:00!!!!

Neville becomes the 4th ever NXT Champion!

– John Cena shown applauding in the crowd. Well they promised a special appearance…

Other than that 10 minute period of freezing, the stream held up well otherwise, at least from my laptop. I know people on Apple TV were having some major issues from the Xavier Woods match onward…

From the Beginning… WWF Monday Night Raw – January 18th, 1993

By
xstat32x
-
0

Monday Night Raw: January 18th, 1993
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Randy Savage, and Rob Bartlett
Main Event: Ric Flair vs. El Matador Tito Santana

We are back with another exciting episode of Monday Night Raw. Today, we are going to review the January 18th, 1993 edition of Raw (Episode #2). This show set up one of the all-time great matches in Raw history for the following week so before we get to that we must get through this one. So let’s get started, shall we.

We open up the show with Vince McMahon, Randy Savage, and Rob Bartlett standing ringside welcoming every to Raw. Bartlett has a picture of Bobby Heenan and as he is ripping it up he says “fight the real enemy.” Vince kind of just looks at him like “what are you doing?”. Meanwhile, the Repo Man comes out of nowhere and nails Macho Man from behind. Wow, that was out of nowhere! Savage gets laid out on the ground as the Repo Man steals Savage’s hat and runs off. They then cut to the opening video.

Match 1: Mr. Perfect vs. Terry Taylor
Interestingly enough Terry Taylor comes out first, to his old Red Rooster music (minus the crows). Pretty awesome to hear that if you ask me. Perfect comes out and the match is underway. They start the match jawing at each other and having a stare down. Perfect just looks at like Taylor like are you serious my friend? Perfect takes Taylor down and he rolls on his back then when he gets up he slaps Taylor on the back just to infuriate Taylor some more. They go for a collar and elbow tie-up and Taylor pushes Perfect back into the ropes and during the break Taylor pushes him. They go for the collar and elbow tie-up again but this time Perfect gets out of it and slaps Taylor in the face. Taylor backs up and runs a little doing some stall tactics. They go for the collar elbow and tie-up one more time and Taylor gets Perfect into the corner and nails him with a couple of chops. Taylor attempts to irish whip Perfect into the other corner but Perfect reverses it and hits Taylor with a hip toss. Taylor then gets up and Perfect nails him with a perfect drop kick. Taylor rolls out to the ring and Perfect jumps over the top rope with ease and chases after him.

Both men get back in the ring and Taylor attempts to attack Perfect on his way in by running up against the ropes but Perfect stops him in his tracks while Taylor rolls outside again while Perfect poses for the crowd. Perfect gets Taylor in a side headlock then gets him on the ground and tries to pin him but gets a 2 count. During the match Bobby Heenan calls into the broadcasting team to talk about Rob Bartlett. Perfect stays in control and gets Taylor in the corner and nails him with a few chops. Perfect irish whips Taylor again and gets him in a hip toss and gets him in an arm bar. Taylor gets back to his feet and irish whips Perfect into the ropes and hits him with a hip toss. Perfect then kicks Taylor from the ground and then he gets him in a body slam. Perfect tries to lift Taylor up but Taylor returns the favor by kicking Perfect. Perfect gets up and gets Taylor into the hip toss into an arm bar again. We come back from commercial right when Taylor throws Perfect to the outside and smashes him into the guardrail. Taylor gets Perfect back into the ring and hits him with a pretty good jaw breaker to keep control of the match.

Taylor keeps control and gets Perfect in a side headlock and behind the refs back he nails him with a thrust right to the throat. Taylor then gets Perfect in a side slam and goes for the pin but only gets a 2 count. Taylor continues to pound away at Mr. Perfect then gets him in a reverse chin lock. Perfect fights out of the chin lock and bounces off the rope but Taylor nails him with the Arn Anderson style spine buster and gets a quick 2 count. Taylor then picks Perfect back up and nails him with a nice gut wrench power bomb right into a pin but gets a 2 count only. Taylor gets up and scolds the referee for a slow count. Taylor and Perfect then start to trade punches and Taylor gets the upper hand. Perfect starts to wake up and they trade punches more and more and Perfect gains control. Perfect rings the ears of Taylor then slams his head into the top turnbuckle. Perfect then whips Taylor into the ropes and nails Taylor with a HUGE atomic drop. Perfect then hits his patented flipping neck breaker. Just when Perfect is about to finish off Taylor, Ric Flair comes out and distracts Perfect. Taylor knocks Perfect outside the ring and Flair attacks him. He slams him into the steel steps then rolls him back into the ring. Taylor tries to get Perfect in a suplex but Perfect reverses it and nails Taylor with the Perfect Plex for the 1-2-3. After the match Perfect rolls right out of the ring and goes after Flair in the back.

(Post match thoughts: This was a real fast paced match and it kept you interested throughout. There were a few rest holds but they didn’t last long at all and the action kept going. Also, some great moves by Taylor here. Such as the Anderson style spine buster and gut wrench power bomb into a pin. You really weren’t seeing those type of high impact moves on a regular basis back then so it was cool to see them here. Also, the interference from Flair was a given considering the feud they have been having since right before Survivor Series. Overall, a very good match between two very good performers.)

We come back from commercial break with the lovely Raw girl holding up her Monday Night Raw sign as she walks around the ring. This leads us into an interview with the WWF Champion Bret “Hitman” Hart. Razor got the interview last week so it is Bret’s turn this week. He discusses his match with Razor Ramon coming up at the Royal Rumble and he talks about how Ramon is going to pay for what he did to his brother Owen. Bret says he doesn’t have any respect for a guy that would attack somebody the way Razor attacked Owen. He also says that Razor is at the bottom of the barrel as far as scum is concerned. Bret got in all of his favorites during this promo. Bret says at the Royal Rumble he is going to throw out the rule book and that he is going to “kick him down Unconscious Street.”

(Post interview thoughts: Just your typical Bret Hart promo here. Nothing special but he covered all of his bases and it made the match seem important because it felt personal. Especially, after Razor threatened to slap his father and after what he did to Owen. That to me is why Bret Hart was always good because he made it personal with everyone. It was very subtle things that he would say or do that would make all of his matches feel personal and when things feel personal the matches tend to be better.)

After the Bret Hart interview we go right into an Undertaker and Paul Bearer promo talking about WWF’s Headlock on Hunger to help the Somalian relief efforts.

Match 2: Marty Jannetty vs. Glen Ruth
Bartlett says Glen Ruth is Babe Ruth’s illegitimate son. I think that’s all you need to know about Bartlett. Ruth and Jannetty shake hands to start the match then Jannetty turns around to take off his shirt and Ruth attacks him from behind. Ruth throws Jannetty into the corner but Jannetty nails him with an elbow then jumps off the second rope and drives Ruth to the canvas. Ruth backs down into the turnbuckle but Jannetty comes in and irish whips him to the other turnbuckle then hits him with a hip toss into an arm bar. During the match Shawn Michaels calls into the broadcast and talks about his match with Marty Jannetty. Jannetty whips Ruth into the ropes then drops down and Ruth jumps over him, Jannetty then leap frogs Ruth and tries to go for a kick but Ruth catches the leg and spins Jannetty around and he tries to hit Jannetty with a clothesline but Jannetty ducks and nails Ruth with his own clothesline.

Jannetty arm drags Ruth over and gets him in another arm bar. Ruth gets back to his feet and pushes Jannetty into the ropes and knees him. Ruth then whips Jannetty into the ropes and ducks like he’s going for a backdrop but Jannetty grabs him and gets him in a nice snap suplex. Jannetty gets Ruth in another arm bar. Ruth gets back up and reverses it and gets Jannetty in his own arm bar. Ruth drops a couple of elbows but Jannetty reverses it and gets Ruth in another arm bar. It seems to be a trend at this point. Ruth gets back up and gets Jannetty into the turnbuckle and punches him a couple of times but Jannetty reverses that and nails him with 5-6 straight shots to the face. Jannetty whips Ruth into the turnbuckle and then he picks him up and gets him in another arm bar. Ruth whips Jannetty into the ropes but Marty slides through Ruth’s legs then he punches him in the gut. Jannetty then nails him with the Rocker Dropper and gets the 1-2-3.

(Post match thoughts: This match was complete trash if you ask me. It was different to see the jobber, in this case Glen Ruth (the future Headbanger Thrasher), get some offense in on Jannetty. However, this match just dragged on because Jannetty kept going back to the arm bar when he’s not even going to finish the match with a move that goes after the arm. I always found it dumb to go for a move the whole match, such as the arm, when your finisher or your ending move has nothing to do with that part of the body. If you are going to use a figure four work the leg the whole match. But if you are going to use the Rocker Dropper (the famouser) then why work the arm the whole match? Just a complete waste of time and if you have to happen this show just skip this match.)

They show highlights of Doink attacking Crush from this past weekend’s Superstars. Vince announces that Crush will no longer be a part of the 1993 Royal Rumble Match. Vince announces that they believe Crush has suffered a concussion and that they hope to have more information this weekend.

They go outside where Sean Mooney interviews the Repo Man. Repo Man talks about how Macho Man was late on his payments for his hat and that is why he took his hat. How much did that damn hat cost anyway? Repo Man challenges Macho Man to a match for next week’s show. Macho Man leaves the broadcast area and goes outside where the Repo Man was standing. Savage walks right through the traffic to try and find the Repo Man.

Gene Okerlund does the Royal Rumble report. We get a promo from Razor Ramon talking about his WWF Title Match.

Match 3: Ric Flair vs. Tito Santana
This should be a great match just because of the two people involved. The match starts out with Flair stalling and doing his infamous woo chant. Flair also taunts Savage before the two get going. They start with Tito getting the upper hand by putting Flair into a headlock. Flair backs him into the ropes and Tito hits him with a shoulder block. Flair stalls some more and gives the fans the woo chant. Flair gets shoulder blocked again and then Tito gets Flair in a body slams. Tito then gets Flair in a takeover into a headlock. Flair gets his back to his feet and Tito gets walked into the corner and Tito walks up to the top rope and flips back over and continues to hold Flair in the headlock. Flair breaks it gets whipped into the ropes again. Tito hits Flair with another shoulder block. Tito then hits the ropes and nails Flair with a clothesline then a nice drop kick. Tito grabs Flairs head and drags him over into the head lock again as the show goes to commercial break.

We come back from commercial with Flair in the corner and Tito going for a monkey flip but Flair holds on and Tito falls back to the mat and Flair goes for the cover but gets a 2. Both men get up and Flair pokes Tito in the eyes. Flair then lays in a few punches in the corner. Flair snaps Tito over then drops the big knee right on Tito’s face. Afterwards Flair goes over and taunts Savage again. Flair then drops another knee on Tito’s forehead. Flair picks up Tito and puts him in the corner and nails him with a vicious chop. Flair attempts to irish whip Tito into the other corner but Tito reverses it and then hits Flair with a huge back body drop. Tito gets up first and backs Flair down in the corner. Flair is begging Tito to back up but Tito comes in anyways and lays in a few punches. He climbs to the top and gets in 5 more punches. However, Flair pokes Tito in the eye again then Flair climbs to the top rope. Tito catches him and throws him off the top rope. Flair then cowers down in the corner once again and again Tito comes after him. Tito irish whips Flair into the other turnbuckle and Flair does his infamous flip over the top rope but instead of running to the next turnbuckle he falls to the outside.

Tito goes outside after Flair and nails him with a clothesline that nearly took Flairs head off according to Vince McMahon. Tito rolls Flair back into the ring and then irish whips him and hits flair with another back drop. Tito then hits Flair with a knee lift then nails him with his flying forearm. Tito hits the ropes and tries to hit Flair with a flying cross body but Flair ducks and Tito goes flying over the top rope. Flair is trying to regroup in the ring but out comes Mr. Perfect and he pulls Flair under the bottom rope and starts attacking him. Flair and Perfect brawl on the outside as the referee calls for the bell. Ric Flair will win the match by disqualification. Referees and officials come out to separate the two men. Flair throws Patterson to the ground and gets back at Perfect.

(Post match thoughts: This was a pretty good match and it accomplished what it was supposed to. Both men came out looking good and it set up the Flair vs. Perfect match for next week after both men interfered in each other’s matches on tonight’s show. The match itself seemed kind of rushed because neither man really had the upper hand for long. All in all though, it was a pretty good match and I enjoyed it. Also, having these guys brawl and interrupting matches gave Raw that feeling that anything could happen and you really don’t have that feeling anymore when you watch today’s product. That is one of the key elements that are missing today. It was fresh and unique then, almost a throwback to the old studio wrestling format of other territories. Everything seems over scripted today and it takes away from the unpredictability.)

They go to commercial break with both men running backstage. When they come back from commercial Vince McMahon wants to interview Ric Flair but when they come out from the backstage area both men are fighting. Flair finally gets separated from Perfect so Vince gets the interview in. Ric Flair says the “WWF isn’t big enough for both of us.” So, Flair challenges Mr. Perfect to a career ending match. During the interview Flair gets a kiss in from one of the fans at ringside. Flair then says that Perfect isn’t man enough and doesn’t have the guts to take on Ric Flair.

Mr. Perfect then comes out and he accepts the challenge of Ric Flair to the career ending match. Vince McMahon tries to tell Mr. Perfect that he is risking too much by putting his career on the line and he tries to talk Mr. Perfect out of it. However, Perfect doesn’t back down and he accepts the challenge and next week we have Mr. Perfect vs. Ric Flair in a career ending match.

Right before the show goes off the air Repo Man is shown outside repossessing Rob Bartlett’s car. Repo Man jumps on the back of the tow truck as it drives off the show goes off the air.

Overall thoughts on the show: The matches featuring Mr. Perfect and Ric Flair were both really good and fun to watch. They got a good amount of TV time and they delivered. I really liked the Perfect/Taylor match just because of the moves that were involved and just the way the match went. It was fast paced from the get go and was really entertaining. The best part about this show was the ending with Flair and Perfect brawling throughout the building. I also like the interviews at the end where they set up next week’s show perfectly. Also, the opening scene where Repo steals Savage’s hat was very good as well. Just simple things like that to set up a match for the following week is all it takes. If they just announced Repo Man vs. Randy Savage nobody would care. But since Repo stole Savage’s hat and attacked him from behind, you will want to tune in to next week’s show so you can see Savage get his revenge. Little things like that go a long way in making matches matter and it seems like today’s product doesn’t really have that. They just throw matches together and hope people care.

Anyways, enough of the rant. I hope you enjoyed the review and I can’t wait to get into next week’s show when we have Ric Flair vs. Mr. Perfect in a career ending match as well as Randy Savage seeking revenge against the Repo Man for stealing his hat. Join me next time as we go over the January 25th, 1993 edition of Monday Night RAW!!!

The “OH MY GOD!” Video Review of ECW @ The Lulu Temple 4/19/96

By
Heels Inc
-
0

1996-04-19 from Lulu Temple in Plymouth Meeting, PA

Champions
World: Raven
TV: 2 Cold Scorpio
Tag Team: The Eliminators

What we missed
Going off a few different websites the video for this show comes in a little late and we have missed The Pitbulls defeating the Bad Crew
 and Brian Lee and Axl Rotten wrestling to a no contest.

Our video opens up to what appears to be the end of the Lee vs Rotten match and it appears to have broken down into a brawl. Lee and the Bruise Brothers are hammering on Axl Rotten and Hack Myers when Buh Buh Ray Dudley hits the ring. Buh Buh gets triple teamed so Sign Guy and Chubby Dudley hit the ring. They are however no match for the three big men. D-Von Dudley hits the ring and cleans house. Buh Buh gets on the mic and stutters his name. D-Von grabs the mic from him runs down the crowd and gives us the Dudley Commandments. D-Von kicks Buh Buh out of the ring and doesn’t let him dance.

“The Shah” Hack Myers vs. Little Guido (w/JT Smith) ref John Finnegan
Myers starts off with a running elbow smash for two. Guido bails and runs around the ring. Back in hip toss by Hack and the exchange leg sweeps. Guido bails again to talk strategy with Smith. Hack out wrestles Guido some more, which gets under Guido’s skin and has him yelling at the fans. Smith grabs the leg as Myers hits the ropes and Guido attacks with boots. Guido distracts the ref so Smith and choke Hack. Guido with a leg lock and Smith pulls on him to give him some added leverage. Guido catches a back elbow on a turnbuckle charge and Myers is back on top. Guido draped over the bottom rope and Hack drops the leg. Myers goes for his top rope face buster but Smith pushes him down. Guido drops to his knees and Smith grabs his arms giving him the leverage again allowing Guido to get the 3 count. Time of the fall was 6.06. Smith tries to sing after the match but Hack chases them off.

Taz (w/ Bill Alfonso) vs. Mikey Whipwreck (w/ Todd Gordon) ref Jim Molineaux
Gordon and Alfonso are yet again being handcuffed at ring side. Ground wrestling by Taz to start and Mikey gets to the ropes to escape a leg lock. And once more to get out of an arm bar. Drop kick and hip toss by Mikey and Taz drops to the floor. Mikey goes back out after and throws Taz back into the ring. Taz with an overhead belly to belly. Mikey misses a diving clothesline Taz picks him up and throws him right into the ref. Taz goes and gets the key to let Alfonso out. Mikey with a plancha but Taz pulls Gordon in the way! Back in the ring and Mikey has the advantage but Alfonso shakes the ropes as Mikey stands on them. Tope rope belly to belly and the Tazmission puts an end to the action at 4.44

A strange edit brings us to The Bad Crew beating down El Puerto Ricano they get on the mic and tell the Eliminators to come to the ring with “their belts” hmmm I don’t think Bad Crew has won a single match in ECW and now they are claiming the titles?

Tag Team Champions Eliminators vs. Bad Crew ref John Finnegan
Saturn with a big top rope elbow. Kronus with a corner drop kick to one Bad Crew and a hand spring elbow to the other kick to the back of the head by Kronus and a superkick by Saturn. Bad Crew bails. New Jack comes through the crowd with a garbage can Mustafa hits the ring. Wild brawl time!!!! After about 1 minute the locker room empties but they can’t keep these four men apart. Things calm down after about four minutes.

TV Champion 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Sabu ref John Finnegan
Both men very cautious to start. Really feeling each other out to begin neither man wants to take that first big risk. Scorpio misses two leaping spin kicks but lands with a clothesline. Sabu is down near the ropes Scorpio charges him but gets monkey flipped out of the ring. Sabu hits a somersault from the apron on to Scorpio and then back drops him into the crowd. Triple jump crossbody from the ring into the crowd gets an “E-C-W” chant from the crowd. Sabu sets up a table on the apron and guardrail but Scorpio rolls off. Sabu jumps at Scorpio with a double axe handle but misses and hits the guardrail. Superkick to Sabu on the floor. Sabu now placed on the table but he monkey flips Scorpio into the crowd. Sabu runs off the table with a cross body. Scorpio climbs back on the table Sabu in the ring charges but Scorpio flings himself back in the ring and kicks Sabu. Handspring elbow in the corner onto Sabu. Powerbomb gets a 2 count for Scorpio. Moonsault onto a standing Sabu for another 2. Powerbomb attempt but Sabu lands on his feet and gives his own powerbomb. Springboard leg drop by Sabu. Sabu slows down the pace with an arm bar. Irish whip by Sabu Scorpio ducks a clothesline misses a drop kick and gets thrown to the floor. Sabu hits a slingshot somersault onto Scorpio and they fight into the crowd. Back in the ring Sabu sent hard into the corner Scorpio follows him in with a clothesline. Scorpio picks up a chair and charges but Sabu gets his feet up and sends the chair into Scorpio’s face. Air Sabu, Scorp rolls to the apron and gets drop kicked into the guardrail. Scorpio back up on the apron that the table is at Sabu runs up the chair bounces his butt on the ropes grabs Scorpio with his legs and hurricanrana’s him through the table. A very awesome looking spot. Sabu puts Scorpio on the top rope and runs up the chair again for another hurricanrana. Scorpio fights back with a super kick. Scorpio hits a cartwheel splash off the top and then throws Sabu into the air on an irish whip rebound. Scorpio goes for something but Sabu reverses it into a DDT onto the chair and hits a triple jump moonsault which gets a 2 count. A top rope moonsault connects but Sabu is to injured to go for the cover. Scorpio hits a superkick and we get the bell signaling a 20 minute time limit draw. Scorpio, Sabu and the crowd ask for 5 more minutes. Scorpio grabs a chair and smacks Sabu a few times with it and that’s that.

“The Franchise” Shane Douglas is coming down to the ring. Already in the ring are Billy Black “The Godfather of Professional Wrestling” Damien Kane and Lady Alexandra. Kane gets on the mic and says he has had his eye on Black since he came to the ECW. Kane says that he hand picked a partner for Black tonight and it’s Rob Van Dam. Douglas gets on the mic and calls out his partner The Sandman. Kane, Black and Van Dam attack Douglas before Sandman gets to the ring. Sandman clears the ring with his cane. Alexandra and Missy also brawl back to the locker room.

Billy Black (w/“The Godfather of Professional Wrestling” Damien Kane & Lady Alexandra) & Rob Van Dam vs. “The Franchise” Shane Douglas & Sandman ref Jim Molineaux
Van Dam and Douglas start it off as Sandman swings his cane from the ring apron. Douglas backs Van Dam into the corner and we get a clean break. Duck under go behind by Douglas headlock takeover, head scissor kick up by Van Dam. Van Dam with a side headlock on Douglas. Sandman gets on the mic and is either encouraging or taunting his partner I can’t tell. What I can tell is that he is super drunk. Sandman leans over the ropes and slaps the crap out of Van Dam who looks legit pissed. He jumps at Sandman allowing Douglas to attack. Van Dam with some splits to avoid Douglas and lands a superkick. Douglas drops to the floor Van Dam leaps over the ropes with out touch them and lands a somersault body block. Black throws Douglas back in and Van Dam hits a kick off the top and a standing moonsault for a 2 count. Tag to Black and Douglas goes to tag Sandman who won’t tag out until he finishes his beer. Black with a headlock takeover some elbow drops and he throws Sandman outside. Kane holds Sandman and Black comes off the top but Sandman moves and Black hits Kane. Tag to Van Dam who does his crappy looking karate chops and kicks and covers for 2. Van Dam with a submission hold and out comes Kimona Wanalaya. She calls Douglas over which allows Van Dam to attack Sandman in the corner that Douglas should be in. Tag into Black he locks in a high boston crab. Black lets it go and hits a back drop. Van Dam comes back in with a springboard karate kick. Sandman gets whipped into his own corner and Van Dam charges and spin kicks Douglas before they can tag. Black with an abdominal stretch on Sandman and Van Dam comes in the they switch. Sandman reverse it with a hip toss but Van Dam puts him right into a body scissor. Black in now and he misses a top rope elbow. Sandman makes the tag to Douglas who comes in and hits body slams on both Black and Van Dam and walks over and tags Sandman who is still laying in the corner. Sandman gets the cane and starts going to town. Douglas gets back in the ring hits a belly to belly on Black and sneaks away with the win for his team. Shane leaves with Kimona right away and Sandman is pissed.

Tommy Dreamer vs. World Champion Raven (w/ “Primetime” Brian Lee, ”Dancin’ Stevie Richards & The Blue Meanie) Lumberjack Match ref John Finnegan
Bruise Brothers attack Tommy before he hits the ring and all the lumberjacks get into it with each other. We get the action in the ring for the first time and Dreamer dumps Raven by the Dudleys. Back in and Raven dumps Tommy on the heel side. Tommy throws Raven into the guardrail. Back in the ring Raven throws Dreaming into the turnbuckle snapmare and he fist drops Dreamer in the balls. Meanie hands Raven a chair and Dreamer takes it to the back. DDT on the chair. A few more chair shots as we hear Buh Buh yell “Come on Ta..Ta…Tommy” I love his gimmick. Dreamer fights back and brings the ring bell into the ring and tries to piledriver Raven onto it. Little Guido hits the ring and attacks Tommy. Dreamer throws him to the corner and throws Meanie in on top of him. The lumberjacks hit the ring. Brian Lee crotches Tommy into the ring post. All hell has broken loose. Back in the ring and Dreamer DDTs both members of Bad Crew but then gets DDTed by Raven. Raven charges with a chair but Dreamer kicks it back at him. DDT to Raven on a chair big boot by Lee as he gets up. Raven covers and retains the title. After the match the Pitbulls superbomb Dreamer onto Meanie through a table. Beulah and Francine hit the ring to celebrate.

My Thoughts on the Show
Nothing at all special on this show. Scorpio and Sabu had a few nice spots but for the most part didn’t seem to be giving it 100%. The main event was poorly filmed so lots of the action was missed. Shockingly Raven has been World Champion for 2 months 3 weeks and this is Dreamers first title match with him. I was starting to wonder if he ever actually gets one. This is a very sad show for me as my least favorite wrestler of all time Rob Van Dam has officially joined the roster and will be around to bore me for the next four years worth stuff. While not a terrible show there is absolutely zero that you must see.

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