Thanks to Brit for the following TNA Impact Wrestling spoilers for 2/27/14 from London, England.
– MVP kicks off the show with a promo about Team Dixie and Lockdown.
* BroMans defeated The Wolves and Kazarian & Daniels in a three-way tag team match when Robbie E stole a pin from one of The Wolves. This was said to be a very good tag match. There was apparently a funny moment where Zema Ion broke some of his DJ equipment.
* Douglas Williams returns to TNA and gets a huge pop from the UK crowd. He’s facing Ethan Carter III. Ethan actually gets the win to much heat from the crowd.
– James Storm comes out and talks about how he screwed Gunner last week. Gunner is called out and they argue. Our correspondent thinks a match was made for later.
* Magnus comes out to huge heat from his home country crowd. Magnus calls out Samoa Joe and has an opponents for him, German wrestler Bad Bones. Joe destroys Bones in a match.
– Kurt Angle’s Hall of Fame induction is next. They air a video package and Jeremy Borash does the induction. Angle comes out to a massive ovation and is presented with a Rolex watch by Borash. Angle gives an emotional speech. This was described as a very good moment until Ethan Carter III interrupts. They argue for a few minutes and Angle vs. Ethan for TNA Lockdown is announced.
* MVP vs. Bobby Roode with Austin Aries as special referee is up next. Aries is apparently wearing some really short shorts with his referee attire. Roode got the win after Aries turned on MVP and laid him out.
* Lei’D Tapa and Alpha Female vs. Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky is up next. Alpha came out with Chris Sabin on her shoulder. Sabin and Gail Kim watched from ringside. It was noted that Alpha and Tapa looked massive standing next to each other in the ring. Tapa and Alpha get the win and Gail joins in for a post-match beatdown until ODB makes the save.
* They may be taping some things out of order here but Christy Hemme was in the ring when Sam Shaw confronted her and began to creepily obsess over here some more. Mr. Anderson comes out to interrupt. It was noted that Anderson and Shaw were dressed almost the same and looked just like each other. Anderson called Shaw a creepy bastard and got a “creepy bastard” chant going. This was described as a segment with not much to it. Hemme ended up slapping Shaw.
WWE returns to Full Sail University on Thursday night for a live NXT special, “NXT Arrival,” airing on the WWE Network. Included are scheduled appearances by top star John Cena and Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels.
WWE’s first live wrestling show on the Network airs at 8:00 p.m. EST following a pre-show panel discussion at 7:30 p.m. EST. The panel is scheduled to feature Bret Hart, Kevin Nash, and Paul Heyman.
“NXT Arrival” will then feature two title matches and a big re-match from last year’s NXT match of the year:
* NXT Title match: Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville (PAC).
* NXT Divas Title match: Paige vs. Emma.
* Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn (El Generico) in the NXT 2013 MOTY re-match.
Alexander Rusev (with Lana), the WWE NXT Tag Team Champions “The Ascension”, Enzo Amore and partner Colin Cassady have all been announced for tonight’s Arrival event on the WWE Network.
We’ll have full results from the show during the event, so check back often.
The source of the following is sourced from The Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The latest news on Jeff Jarrett’s new pro wrestling promotion is that it will be financed by a group of partners, not just country music star Toby Keith. Keith reportedly has a net worth of $500 million, which is said to be more than what Vince McMahon was worth before WWE stock shot up. The financial backers for the promotion, when the group was looking at buying TNA, were described as “Nashville music investors.”
Jarrett also recently appeared at a sports convention in Nashville on February 22. He wouldn’t talk much about the promotion, but he did confirm that it was “a go.” He also discussed the idea of doing a weekly Tuesday night TV show.
The source of this news is credited to: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter
WWE is reportedly changing their initial plans for The Authority. Originally, there was talk about bringing Vince McMahon back to TV as a regular character and having him battle Triple H for control of the company going into WrestleMania 30. Those plans have apparently been jettisoned. In addition, for whatever reason, WWE opted to change the on-air role for Stephanie McMahon and stopped referring to her as one of the owners of the company.
– Apparently there is talk in WWE right now of having a multiple-Divas match for the WWE Divas Championship at WrestleMania XXX. There is also said to be discussion about something similar for the tag-team division, as they are planning on a possible multi-team match for the WWE Tag-Team Championships.
– Bill Apter reports that Jake “The Snake” Roberts had about 5 1/2 hours of surgery on Tuesday but is very concerned because doctors don’t know what kind of cancer he has. He also has two more growths on his other leg, although not as large. The good news is doctors think they got the cancer in its early stages.
– Regarding the WWE Network, there is discussion of releasing the entire collection of Madison Square Garden events on the Network over the next several months. As far as new content being added to the WWE Network, there is said to be a time consuming process in getting footage available to be added.
– Apparently WWE kicked two fans out of Monday’s RAW in Green Bay, Wisconsin for holding up what were deemed inappropriate signs. One fan noted that he gave his “Randy Savage for WWE Hall Of Fame” sign to the person sitting next to him and felt bad when that person was kicked out with him. Other signs that were reportedly deemed a problem by security were ones that read, “Ronda Rousey can armbar John Cena and make him tap” and “Less Talk, More Wrestling.” One of the fans also had a sign that said CM Punk was right when he said the UFC is better than WWE.
– As previously reported, Ring Of Honor stars Roderick Strong and Kevin Steen were considered pretty likely candidates for the next WWE NXT tryout camp at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. Apparently Strong and Steen are confirmed to take part in the next WWE tryout, which takes place from March 24th through March 26th. Independent wrestling star Michael Elgin was also reportedly trying to get into the next tryout camp, but there is no definitive word yet as to whether or not he will be a part of it.
– Shelton Benjamin tweeted the following regarding WWE’s snub of Big Daddy V on RAW this week: “I am extremely disappointed in the WWE for not acknowledging the passing of Nelson Frazier AKA Big Daddy V, AKA Viscera, AKA Mabel. Brother put in too much time and deserved at very least and R.I.P. package. i understand there is something on smackdown but it should have been on Raw, the Flagship show”
– WWE has reportedly been editing out old footage with chair shots to the head on their YouTube channel since late 2013. A lot of content has also been taken down from YouTube in general since a lot of the content is now planned to only be available on the WWE Network.
– Full Sail University, the site of the WWE NXT tapings, is scheduled to host an event titled, “The Future Is Now: A Conversation with WWE” on February 28th from 10:30am until 12pm. WWE talents Michael Cole, Triple H, Dave “Ranjin Singh” Kapoor and John Saboor will all be attending the event and will talk about WWE’s creative process, the WWE Network and more. Seating for the event is limited but it is free to all students who attend Full Sail University.
– Alexander Rusev and Lana have been announced for tomorrow night’s WWE NXT Arrival event on the WWE Network.
– There is a potential legal issue looming between WWE and former Superstar and MMA fighter Frank Shamrock. Shamrock reportedly trademarked an insignia that WWE is using for Sheamus t-shirts and merchandise.
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Former WWE Superstar Tyler Reks recently appeared on the Pancakes and Power Slams radio show and was asked about several WWE Superstars. Here are some highlights:
On Triple H: Nice guy. He’s got everything dialed in for the company and he’s taking it in theright direction. Definitely into helping his talent.
On Sheamus: Was nice in the beginning, then I realized that he steps on heads and suddenly isn’t your friend anymore. He only does what’s good for Sheamus.
On John Laurinaitis: If you’re not on the radar, he doesn’t care about you. I got belittled by him quite a bit. When I came back as T. Reks, that was Vince. Next thing you know, I was Johnny’s best friend. And when all that ended, he wouldn’t give me the time of day. He is not a nice person. He is all strictly business.
On John Cena: He’s a workhorse. He does incredible things for the company and he busts his butt. Outside the ring, I can’t stand the guy. He’s not a nice guy, he holds talent down. He steals ideas. He’s a prick.
On why he quit WWE: My daughter was 8 months old and she was starting to notice that I was leaving. Infants change everyday. I was missing out and I realized that I just couldn’t do both. I wanted to be a dad.
Below is a list of the full Thursday schedule for the WWE Network scheduled on 2/27/14.
12am EST – Royal Rumble 2013
3am EST – Legends of Wrestling – Renegades
4:30am EST – WrestleMania Rewind – WrestleMania I
5:30am EST – RAW Backstage Pass – 2/23/2014
6am EST – Old School – 10/21/1984 MSG event
8:30am EST – RAW Flashback – 2/21/1993
9:30am EST – RAW Flashback – 2/28/1993
10:30am EST – WWE Countdown – Catchphrases
11:30am EST – Beyond The Ring – Shawn Michaels & Bret Hart
1:30pm EST – Royal Rumble 2013
4:30pm EST – Best of RAW – 9/27/1998
6:30pm EST – WWE Main Event Replay – 2/25/2014
7:30pm EST – WWE NXT Arrival Pre-show
8pm EST – WWE NXT Arrival Live
10pm EST – WWE Superstars – 2/26/2014
11pm EST – WWE NXT Arrival replay
[spacer height=”20px”]If the 1980’s were full of “One Hit Wonders” in the music world, then the 1990’s had their share of the same in the world of professional wrestling. You’ve heard the saying “one and done”, well that covers our next Mission as part of Operation Gimmick Impossible. It’s Cpl. Dick Peters back from the baseball world after watching the famous Knuckleball Schwartz strike out. And this week we fast forward a year to 1995, and we’re in the midst of the hot summer. If you saw this character on your TV sets back then, you may have thought it was just a heat mirage, but you’d be wrong. He was real…. very real, and as much as his character may specialize in pulling off illusions, he was unable to get one over on the WWF. What’s the old saying, “the hand is quicker than the eye”? Well this guy wasn’t quick enough to fool the eyes of the WWF officials. This week’s mission, is the one and only Magician of the mat, no not Paul Christy, though that might be a fun one for down the line. No not the Black Scorpion either, although I can’t wait to get sent on THAT mission. No, I’m referring to the WWF’s answer to the Black Scorpion, I’m talking PHANTASIO!
Objective 1: The Spellbinder
Before his arrival in the WWF, Harry Del Rios, also known as “The Spellbinder”, had a nice run in the USWA promotion throughout 1993 into 1995 while using a takeoff on the Papa Shango gimmick, but based more on dark magic rather than Voodoo Black Magic. This was also during the years that the WWF was working closely with the USWA, using the Memphis-based promotion to cross-promote shows and to some extent also using the USWA as a farm system during this period. There’s no doubt that Del Rios size, agility, and appearance caught the eye of one Vince McMahon. The Spellbinder was well put together, a nice physique and standing 6’3″ and 275 solid pounds. Not only was Del Rios blessed with the physique that basically guaranteed you a job with the WWF at the time, he was also fairly good in the ring, especially with only a couple of years experience under his belt. With the size, agility, and “look” in place, there was only one of two places for the Spellbinder to go. So it was off to the WWF! Enter Phantasio….
Objective 2: The Magician Arrives
One step up from a clown (sorry Doink), Phantasio would use magic tricks as his shtick, prior to, during, and following his match. He was the family friendly version of the Black Scorpion, and rather than having a real magician perform his acts in a mask, Del Rios performed his own magic show. Del Rios has claimed the idea for this gimmick started out as a cross between the The Ultimate Warrior and Legion of Doom, it somehow boiled down into a Magician gimmick once Vince was made aware of Del Rios past in working with magic. On his way to the ring the magic tricks almost began immediately as Phantasio walked out of the curtain turning a flaming candle into a cane, and providing a magic powder explosion from his top hat.
Once in the ring, Phantasio would slowly remove a mask which matched his face paint so perfectly that it was almost impossible to even detect the mask was present. Phantasio would then hand off his mask to a ringside fan as a souvenir. I hope they kept that and put it on ebay! But he wasn’t done there. Before Phantasio could lock up with his first (and last) opponent, Tony DeVito, he would have to remove a never-ending supply of thin scarves from his mouth.
Now THAT my friends, is Magic!
Finally the match is underway, and he just isn’t done with the shenanigans yet. As DeVito comes racing off the ropes, Phantasio throws a web of streamers over his head, shocking his opponent, even forcing DeVito to take a bump from the shock.
After surprising his opponent with his best impression of Arachnaman (no doubt another future Mission), Gorilla even calls him Spiderman Phantasio would finish him off by reaching down into DeVito’s trunks and yanking his boxers off. I’m not making this up folks.
DeVito becomes so surprised by the one handed removal of his Joe Boxers, that Phantasio is able to catch him off guard with a school boy rollup for the win.
But Phantasio wasn’t done there! As referee Earl Hebner renders the decision to the ring announcer, Phantasio sneaks up from behind Earl and removes his boxers as well!
We learn that Earl keeps it real, matching his boxers with his referee shirt, black and white strips baby! Now that’s comedy people!
I have added video footage (provided by the WWE) of Phantasio’s first, and only, match. Most of the bout remains in tact, however a portion of his pre-match shenanigans have been edited off. Enjoy!
Objective 3: Wow, Great Disappearing Act!
In Phantasio’s second recorded match… Wait. What? Oh yeah, that’s right. Phantasio’s WWF career spanned ONE television match (DeVito) and one untelevised match against Rad Radford (Louie Spicolli).
Making his tenure in the WWF one of the shortest, or possibly the shortest of that era (Buff Bagwell has him beat in this century). Phantasio provided us with the greatest magic trick of all, and it was no illusion, it was a true disappearing act. It was literally “now you see him, now you don’t”. I’d think that his time with the company was over before his match ever even made it to air, which is unfortunate because this is something Vince may have actually been able to make work to some degree versus some of the other mid-90’s flops that clearly had no business ever making it to air, much less being given 6-month and one year runs..
Debriefing Mission 6: Phantasio
Very few guys can say that they have an unblemished record in the WWF, but Phantasio is one of the few who can look himself in the mirror and proudly know that during his entire tenure, he was never defeated. The amount of matches he had may skew that figure a little, but who’s counting. Just think of all the inspirations Phantasio brought to this sport, from Mick Foley’s removable thumb trick to Cody Rhodes’ “Smoke & Mirrors” theme song, Phantasio’s stay in the WWF may have been a short one, but his legacy lives on. All joking aside for a moment, can someone please tell me how Man Mountain Rock, Duke the Dumpster, the Portuguese Man O’ War, and Mantaur gimmicks all got runs during this period, but a guy with the size and agility of Phantasio was kicked to the curb so quickly? My only guess is that he pissed off the wrong person backstage. That’s purely speculation of course, but maybe he should have made like his gimmick and stayed invisible in the locker room. Phantasio, we barely knew ye!
Del Rios would return to the Indy circuit, mainly around the Memphis area, for the next several years, working under the character “Streak” in Memphis Power Pro, and even taking part in the very first TNA PPV using his real name of “Del Rios”. The Spellbinder has been quiet for the better part of a decade, but you never know when this magical mat mechanic will perform his reappearing act.
Mission Accomplished! All be it a short mission, it was fun to take a look at a character that “could have been”. Now I know the guy wasn’t a wrestler’s wrestler, but with Vince directing his program towards kids at the time, and the guys ability, it’s really unfortunate that we didn’t get to see this thing evolve into a black magic type character. The Spellbinder character was fun in the USWA. Anyway, it’s time to leave the house of fun and head back to HQ for my next mission. What that will be, I never know. This has been Cpl. Dick Peters, standing at attention!
WWE issued a statement on Tuesday saying that most of their on demand streaming issues for the WWE Network would be fixed by 6pm EST but that’s not the case. Much of the same issues with on demand streaming are still going on this morning. As of early this morning, only a select few PPV’s from each promotion was listed under their respective areas. The search option does pull up the missing PPV’s, but it’s almost impossible to find anything that will stream.
We heard from a customer this morning that was told by Network customer service that the Xbox 360 and Playstation 4 issues wouldn’t be resolved for a few days. The same customer service rep said the issues with streaming pay-per-views would not be resolved for a few days also.
We’ve also heard from customers who report they were hung up on when talking to Network customer service reps. Regarding the customer service call center that we mentioned yesterday, one fan was told by a rep that it’s located in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
F4Wonline.com reports that people within WWE close to the Network note that if you want to watch WrestleMania XXX, you should sign-up for the Network long before the day of the show because things will be hectic that day.
