This Day in History - 27th Jul, 2014
July 27th
On this day in history in ....
1945 - Buddy Rogers defeats Dave Levin to win the Texas Heavyweight Title in Houston.
1956 - Duke Keomuka & Tony Martin defeat Iron Mike DiBiase & Danny Plechas to win the Texas Tag Team Title in Houston, ending DiBiase & Plechas' second reign. Complete results from the card saw:
Buddy Rogers and Pepper Gomez fought to a no contest
Jerry Woods won by DQ over Johnny Valentine
Gene Kelly beat Ramon Torres
Irish Danny McShane beat Al Kashey
Larry Chene and Chico Casasola fought to a 15 minute draw.
1963 - WWWF ran Baltimore, MD with the following result:
The Shadow defeated Al Smith
Tim Woods defeated Gordo Chihuahua
Hans Mortier defeated Jack Miller
1963 - WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino & Bobo Brazil defeated the Fabulous Kangaroos in Atlantic City, NJ.
1965 - WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino fought Bill Watts to a no contest in Staten Island, NY.
1966 - WWWF ran Newark, NJ for a TV Taping, headlined by Miguel Perez & Pete Sanchez defeating Angelo Savoldi & Tomas Marin and Jerry Graham defeating Frank Martinez
1966 - WWWF ran Hershey, PA with the following results:
Ricky Sexton defeated Ronnie Etchison
Curtis Iaukea defated Arnold Skaaland
WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna
Little Beaver & the Jamaica Kid defeated Sky Low Low & Little Brutus
Louis Cerdan defeated Smasher Sloan
Antonio Pugliese defeated Waldo Von Erich
1968 - WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino defeated George Steele via disqualification in Boston, MA at the Boston Garden.
1972 - WWWF ran North Dartmouth, MA at Lincoln Park with the following results:
Chuck O'Connor defeated Joe Turco via count-out
El Olympico fought the Black Demon to a draw
Chief Jay Strongbow fought George Steele to a double count-out in an Indian strap match; Tomas Marin was the guest referee for the match
WWWF Tag Team Champions Prof. Toru Tanaka & Mr. Fuji fought Sonny King & Gorilla Monsoon to a draw in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match; fall #1 and #2: the teams traded wins; fall #3: the two teams fought to a double count-out
1974 - A Mid-Atlantic Wrestling event in Spartanburg, SC at the Memorial Auditorium featured the following results:
Tommy Seigler beat John Heidemann
Bob Bruggers defeated Gene Lewis
Nelson Royal & Tommy Seigler defeated Mr. Hayashi & Mr. Ota
Tiger Conway Jr. & Paul Jones beat Ivan Koloff & Johnny Valentine
1977 - WWWF ran Hamburg, PA, headlined by WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Jose Gonzales
1978 - During a New Japan Show at Budokan Hall in Tokyo, WWWF World Champion Bob Backlund wrestled Antonio Inoki to a one-hour draw in a three fall match. Inoki won the first fall twenty minutes into the match, and Backlund won the second at the 36 minute mark, before they went the distance. Additional results from the show saw:
Makoto Arakawa fought Yoshiaki Fujiwara to a draw
Bad News Allen pinned Haruka Eigen
Osamu Kido pinned Peter Maivia
Chabo Guerrero pinned Kantaro Hoshino
Riki Choshu defeated Haystacks Calhoun via disqualification
Seiji Sakaguchi & Strong Kobayashi defeated Pedro Morales & Larry Zbyzsko when Kobayashi forced Zbyzsko to submit to a backbreaker
WWWF Jr. Heavyweight Champion Tatsumi Fujinami pinned Ryuma Go at 13:52
1978 - WWWF ran Lewiston, Maine, featuring:
Butcher Vachon defeated Tony Russo
Victor Rivera defeated Johnny Rodz
Stan Stasiak defeated SD Jones
Luke Graham fought Tony Garea to a draw
1979 - Former WCW, TNA, and WWE star Shannon Moore is born.
1980 - Current WWE star Dolph Ziggler is born.
1980 - WWF ran New Haven, CT at The Coliseum with the following results:
Rick McGraw fought Johnny Rodz to a 20-minute draw
Rene Goulet defeated Jose Estrada
Larry Zbyszko defeated Ivan Putski via count-out
Pedro Morales defeated Tor Kamata (sub. for Don Muraco)
Andre the Giant & Angel Marvilla defeated WWF Tag Team Champions the Wild Samoans in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match, 2-0; fall #1: the champions were disqualified; fall #2: Andre pinned Afa; the titles remained with the champions due to the DQ finish of the first fall
Women's Champion the Fabulous Moolah & Beverly Shade defeated Kandi Malloy & Peggy Lee in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match, 2-0; fall #1 - Beverly pinned Lee; fall #2 - Moolah pinned Lee
1982 - WWF ran Portland, ME at the Civic Center featuring the following results:
Johnny Rodz pinned Fred Marzino (sub. for SD Jones) at 14:45
Tony Atlas pinned Swede Hanson at 10:55
Bob Orton Jr. pinned Tony Garea at 11:40
Ivan Putski defeated Jimmy Snuka via count-out at 15:30
Chief Jay & Jules Strongbow defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Mr. Fuji & Mr. Saito in a Best 2 out of 3 falls non-title match at 18:14, 2-0; fall #1: Fuji was disqualified at 14:44 for choking Chief Jay; fall #2: Chief pinned Saito and Jules pinned Fuji at the same time at 3:30
1983 - NWA World Tag Team Champions Jack & Jerry Brisco defeated Ric Flair & Roddy Piper via disqualification in the main event of a Mid-Atlantic Wrestling TV taping in Spartanberg, SC.
1984 - The AWA ran the Showboat Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada with the following results:
Billy Robinson wrestled Larry Zbyszko to a draw
Tony Atlas beat Steve Regal
AWA World Tag Team champions The Road Warriors defeated Curt Hennig & Steve O
Jim Brunzell beat King Kong Bundy by DQ
The Fabulous Ones beat Nick Bockwinkel & Mr. Saito
1984 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Hampton, VA at the Coliseum with the following results:
Sam Houston defeated Paul Kelly
Brian Adidas defeated Jeff Sword
NWA TV Champion Tully Blanchard defeated Johnny Weaver
Pez Whatley defeated Kurt Von Hess
Adrian Street defeated Paul Jones
Angelo Mosca Jr. defeated Buzz Sawyer
Dusty Rhodes & Jimmy Valiant defeated the Assassins
1984 - WWF ran The Dunn Center in Elizabeth, NJ featuring the following results:
Salvatore Bellomo fought Rene Goulet to a draw
Samula (aka Samu) defeated Jose Luis Rivera
Johnny V defeated SD Jones
Bob Backlund defeated Bob Orton
Andre the Giant defeated Greg Valentine
Roddy Piper defeated Rocky Johnson
Ivan Putski defeated George Steele via disqualification
1984 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Charleston, SC at the County Hall:
Tom Shaft defeated Jeff Sword
Vinnie Valentino defeated Bobby Bass
Nikita Koloff defeated Brett Hart
The Junkyard Dog & Rufus R. Jones defeated Gary Royal & Jesse Barr
NWA Tag Team Champions Ivan Koloff & Don Kernodle defeated Mark Youngblood & the Renegade
1985 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Greensboro, NC at the Coliseum featuring the following results:
Ricky Reeves defeated Mark Fleming
Sam Houston defeated George South
Ron Bass defeated Joel Deaton
Jimmy Valiant defeated Paul Jones in a dog collar match
NWAWorld Tag Team Champions Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson fought Ivan & Nikita Koloff to a draw
NWA TV Champion Dusty Rhodes defeated Buddy Landell
NWA World Champion Ric Flair defeated Nikita Koloff
1985 - WWF ran Philadelphia, PA at the Spectrum with a card that was broadcast on the PRISM Network featuring the following results:
Jim Neidhart pinned Tony Garea at 9:25 with a powerslam
Bret Hart pinned Swede Hanson at 8:53 with an elbow drop after raising his knees to prevent a splash
The Missing Link (w/ Bobby Heenan) pinned Salvatore Bellomo at 4:16 with a diving headbutt from the middle turnbuckle
Pedro Morales pinned Rene Goulet at 12:38 wit a reverse roll up
Paul Orndorff fought Roddy Piper to a double disqualification at 5:31 after Orndorff shoved referee Joey Marella and Piper threw Marella to the floor; after the bout, both men continued brawling in and out of the ring until they were separated by Tony Garea, George Wells, and Swede Hanson
Brutus Beefcake pinned George Wells at 9:01 after reversing a powerslam attempt from the apron into a small package
The Spider Lady pinned Susan Starr at 9:08 with a powerslam and grabbing the tights for leverage
George Steele defeated Big John Studd (w/ Bobby Heenan) via disqualification at 3:57 when Heenan interfered as Steele was about to attempt a bodyslam; after the bout, Steele was double teamed
Terry Funk pinned SD Jones at 10:13 with a reverse roll up and grabbing the tights for leverage
Andre the Giant & Ricky Steamboat defeated Don Muraco & Mr. Fuji at 4:32 when Andre pinned Fuji following a boot to the face
1985 - WWF ran Kansas City, MO with the following results:
Jim Brunzell defeated Barry O
Randy Savage defeated Rick McGraw
B. Brian Blair defeated Steve Lombardi
Lanny Poffo fought Moondog Spot to a draw
WWF Tag Team Champions The U.S. Express, Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo defeated Nikolai Volkoff & the Iron Sheik
WWF Intercontinental Champion Tito Santana defeated Tiger Chung Lee
WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan defeated Greg Valentine
1986 - WWF ran Toronto, Ontario at the Maple Leaf Gardens with the following results:
Sivi Afi defeated Jake Roberts via forfeit when Roberts appeared in street clothes, grabbed the microphone, and said he would not wrestle in Toronto again until he could face Ricky Steamboat in his own type of match; as Roberts began to leave ringside, he returned to the ring, attacked Afi, and hit the DDT; moments later, Afi was helped backstage by Jacques & Raymond Rougeau
Hercules Hernandez defeated Scott McGhee via submission with the backbreaker at 6:59
Jacques & Raymond Rougeau defeated the Moondogs at 11:25 when Jacques pinned Spot with a roll up
Billy Jack Haynes pinned the Iron Sheik at 5:27 after Sheik accidentally kicked an interfering Nikolai Volkoff on the ring apron
Jimmy Jack & Dory Funk Jr. defeated Mike Rotundo & Danny Spivey at 15:25 when Dory pinned Spivey after Jack hit a clothesline while Spivey attempted the bulldog
Cpl. Kirchner pinned Nikolai Volkoff in a Bootcamp match after hitting him with his boot
The Junkyard Dog defeated King Kong Bundy (w/ Bobby Heenan) via disqualification when Heenan broke up JYD's pinfall attempt at 6:16
Ricky Steamboat defeated WWF IC Champion Randy Savage via count-out after Savage failed a bodyslam on the floor, with Steamboat falling on top of him
1986 - WWF ran Scranton, PA at the Catholic Youth Center with the following results:
Iron Mike Sharpe defeated Brickhouse Brown
Lanny Poffo defeated Les Thornton
Bob Orton Jr. defeated King Tonga
George Steele defeated Adrian Adonis via disqualification
WWF Tag Team Champions The British Bulldogs, Davey Boy Smith & the Dynamite Kid defeated Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake
Tito Santana fought King Harley Race to a draw.
1986 - The Universal Wrestling Federation ran Dallas, Texas with the following results:
Road Warriors & Bill Watts beat The Fabulous Freebirds by DQ
NWA World Champion Dusty Rhodes beat Ric Flair
Hacksaw Duggan beat Kamala by DQ
Missing Link won a Battle Royal
The Fantastics beat John Tatum & Jack Victory
Magnum TA beat Baron Von Raschke
Terry Taylor beat Eddie Gilbert
The Rock & Roll Express fought The Midnight Express to a draw
Chavo Guerrero beat Rick Steiner
One Man Gang beat Jeff Gaylord
Koko Ware beat Gustavo Mendoza
Sting beat Brett Sawyer
1987 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Fayetteville, NC featuring the following:
The Italian Stallion defeated Thunderfoot #1
The Barbarian defeated Todd Champion
Paul Ellering defeated Paul Jones
NWA Jr. Heavyweight Champion Lazertron defeated MOD Squad Basher
NWA U.S. Tag Team Champions Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane defeated UWF Western States Heritage Champion Barry Windham & Kendall Windham
NWA World Tag Team Champions Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated NWA TV Champion Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson
The Road Warriors defeated Manny Fernandez & Ivan Koloff
Ron Garvin defeated NWA World Champion Ric Flair
Nikita Koloff defeated NWA U.S. Champion Lex Luger in a non title match
1987 - A card at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, TN featured the following results:
The Clone beat Lou Winston.
Brickhouse Brown beat John Paul.
Don Bass beat Jerry Bryant.
Pat Tanaka & Paul Diamond beat Mark Starr & Alan West.
Billy Joe Travis & Jeff Jarrett beat The Nasty Boys via DQ.
The Moondogs beat Big Bubba & Goliath.
George Barnes & Blooey beat Rocky Johnson & Bill Dundee.
Jerry Lawler beat Nick Bockwinkel.
1987 - WWF ran Allentown, PA at Ag Hall, featuring the following results:
Omar Atlas defeated Frenchy Martin
Outback Jack defeated Jose Estrada
Ron Bass defeated Jerry Allen
Superstar Billy Graham defeated Don Muraco
Koko B. Ware defeated Nikolai Volkoff
Davey Boy Smith & the Dynamite Kid defeated Demolition
1988 - Stan Hansen defeats Genichiro Tenryu in Nagano, Japan to win the PWF World Heavyweight and NWA United National Heavyweight Titles, which would later become part of the All Japan Triple Crown.
1988 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Jacksonville, FL for a Worldwide TV taping featuring the following results:
Ricky Morton pinned Cruel Connection with a crossbody off the top at 1:20
Rick Steiner (w/ Kevin Sullivan), Ron Garvin, & Al Perez (w/ Gary Hart) defeated Curtis Thompson, Larry Stephens, & an unknown at 3:58 when Garvin pinned Stephens after landing several punches in the corner; during the bout, Hart briefly joined the commentary team to remind them that Garvin was a former NWA World Champion; after the contest, David Crockett conducted a ringside interview with Garvin, Sullivan, Hart, Perez, & Steiner in which Crockett said Dusty Rhodes had accepted Hart's challenge to face Garvin in a dog collar match; moments later, Hart gave Garvin an envelope of cash before then cutting a promo on what Garvin would do to Rhodes in the match
NWA U.S. Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express, Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane (w/ Jim Cornette) defeated George South & an unknown at 2:37 when Eaton pinned South after hitting the Double Goozle; during the bout, JJ Dillon cut an insert promo in which he said Cornette's mother obviously wore the pants in the family and he would put Cornette over his knee and teach him the manners his father never did
Ivan Koloff & the Russian Assassin (w/ Paul Jones) defeated Trent Knight & Bob Emory at 3:58 when Emory submitted to the Assassin's Cobra Clutch; after the bout, Koloff pulled the Assassin off Emory and shoved him; moments later, Crockett conducted a ringside interview with Jones, Koloff, & the Assassin in which Jones said he wanted victims, not necessarily victories; Jones then said he had a rocky summer but he would have Koloff & Assassin bring him victims
Dick Murdoch pinned Agent Steel with the brainbuster at 2:31
Lex Luger & Dusty Rhodes (w/ Magnum TA) vs. NWA World Champion Ric Flair & NWA US Champion Barry Windham (w/ JJ Dillon); Rhodes came to the ring wearing a Road Warriors T-shirt; Jim Ross was the ring announcer for the match; less than a minute of the match aired before the broadcast ended
1989 - NWA ran Jacksonville, FL with the following results:
Brian Pillman defeated Bill Irwin
The Dynamic Dudes defeated the New Zealand Militia
Norman defeated Steve Casey
Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Kevin Sullivan & Mike Rotunda
Steve Williams & The Midnight Express defeated Terry Gordy & NWA World Tag Team Champions Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin
Eddie Gilbert won a battle royal
The Great Muta defeated Eddie Gilbert via count-out in a Dragon Shi match
NWA U.S. Champion Lex Luger defeated Tommy Rich
The Road Warriors defeated the Samoan Swat Team
Sting defeated Terry Funk via disqualification
1990 - Stan Hansen defeats Mitsuharu Misawa in Matsudo, Japan to win the vacant All Japan Triple Crown (NWA International, NWA United National and Pacific Wrestling Federation World Titles). The title had been declared vacant when previous champion Terry Gordy was hospitalized.
1990 - WWF ran three live events the same day, featuring the following results:
WWF in Los Angeles, CA at the Sports Arena:
Black Bart pinned Shane Douglas
Hercules defeated Jim Powers
Jimmy Snuka defeated the Barbarian via disqualification
Jake Roberts defeated Bad News Brown
Nikolai Volkoff defeated Boris Zhukov
The Rockers, Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty defeated the Orient Express via countout
WWF World Champion the Ultimate Warrior defeated Rick Rude
WWF in Landover, MD at the Capital Centre:
The Big Bossman pinned Ted Dibiase with a small package
WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition Smash & Crush (w/ Ax) defeated Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart when Ax involved himself in the match and pinned Hart
The Warlord pinned Sam Houston with a powerslam
Dustin Rhodes pinned Buddy Rose with a clothesline and elbowdrop
Paul Roma pinned Paul Diamond with a powerslam
Akeem pinned Pez Whatley with a splash
Jim Duggan & Tugboat defeated Earthquake & Dino Bravo when Duggan pinned Bravo after hitting him with the 2x4
WWF in Hamilton, Ontario at Copps Coliseum:
Haku pinned Jim Brunzell at 14:50 with a backbreaker
Koko B. Ware pinned the Genius with a bulldog; after the bout, Koko took off the Genius' blonde wig, put it on, and danced in the ring
Sensational Sherri pinned Sapphire
Dusty Rhodes pinned Randy Savage in a Texas Bullrope Match after hitting Savage with Sensational Sherri's loaded purse
Greg Valentine & the Honkytonk Man defeated the Bushwhackers via count-out
The Brooklyn Brawler pinned Barry O at around the 10-minute mark with a reverse roll up
Tito Santana defeated WWF Intercontinental champion Champion Mr. Perfect via disqualification after the champion hit the referee; the match replaced the scheduled Brutus Beefcake vs. Rick Martel bout, as both men were out with injuries
1991 - WWF ran Denver, CO at the Coliseum, featuring:
Ricky Steamboat defeated Haku
Kerry Von Erich defeated Demolition Smash
The Bushwhackers defeated the Orient Express
Col. Mustafa defeated Shane Douglas
Davey Boy Smith defeated Typhoon via count-out
The Big Bossman & the Legion of Doom defeated the Mountie & WWF Tag Team Champions the Nasty Boys
WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan defeated Sgt. Slaughter; Randy Savage was the guest referee for the bout
1991 - WWF ran Chicago, IL at the Rosemont Horizon with the following results:
The Barbarian defeated Koko B. Ware
Typhoon defeated Greg Valentine
The Berzerker defeated Jimmy Snuka
Power & Glory, Paul Roma & Hercules defeated Jim Powers (sub. for Shawn Michaels, who was out with a knee injury) & Marty Jannetty
Jake Roberts (with Andre the Giant) defeated Earthquake
Money Inc., Ted Dibiase & IRS defeated Hacksaw Duggan & Virgil
The Ultimate Warrior defeated the Undertaker in a bodybag match
1991 - Steve Simpson & Chris Walker defeat Scott Anthony (Raven) & Rip Rogers in the tournament final to win the Global Wrestling Federation Tag Team Champions in Dallas, Texas.
1992 - WCW ran Atlanta, GA at Center Stage for a WCW Saturday Night taping featuring:
Tom Zenk & Marcus Alexander Bagwell defeated Terry Taylor & Scotty Flamingo
8/1/92 -
Brian Pillman pinned Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker at 3:35 with a dropkick off the middle turnbuckle
Tom Zenk & Brian Pillman defeated Greg Valentine & Dick Slater via disqualification when the Barbarian interfered
The Barbarian pinned Chad Bird with a boot to the face at 1:33
WCW/NWA Tag Team Champion Steve Williams (w/ WCW/NWA Tag Team Champion Terry Gordy) pinned Jimmy Garvin at 7:41 with the Oklahoma Stampede; the ring announcer almost named Williams the victor 20-seconds earlier after he thought the match had ended
Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Mike Thor & Danny Deese at 2:03 when Scott pinned Thor with the Frankensteiner; after the bout, the Steiners brawled in the ring with WCW/NWA Tag Team Champions Williams & Gordy, who watched the match from ringside, until referees swarmed the ringside area
Van Hammer pinned John Peterson at 2:27 with the slingshot suplex
WCW World Champion Big Van Vader (w/ Harley Race) pinned Jim Nash at 2:07 with a splash
WCW TV Champion Steve Austin (w/ Paul E. Dangerously) defeated Ricky Steamboat via reverse decision at around 18:08; Steamboat originally won the match and title but referee Nick Patrick awarded the title to Austin after realizing Steamboat scored the win after knocking Austin out with a foreign object, which was thrown in the ring by Dangerously
8/8/92 -
Dustin Rhodes pinned Mark Cantabury at 2:54 with the bulldog; during the bout, Greg Valentine & Dick Slater cut an insert promo on Rhodes & Barry Windham; it was announced during the contest that Sting would not be in Chicago or Chattanooga, TN in the coming days due to the injury he sustained in Baltimore at the hands of Jake Roberts
Dan Spivey defeated Randy Stallings via submission with a dragon sleeper at 2:01; during the bout, Spivey cut an insert promo in which he said he wanted the WCW World Title from Ron Simmons
The Junkyard Dog & Big Cat defeated Chris Sullivan & James Motes at 2:08 when Cat pinned Motes with an elbow drop; during the match, it was announced the Nikita Koloff vs. WCW US Champion Rick Rude match taped 8/2/92 in Baltimore would be shown in its entirety
Van Hammer pinned Tracy Smothers with the slingshot suplex at 6:24
Greg Valentine & Dick Slater defeated Ian Weston & the Itallian Stallion at 8:17 when Weston submitted to Valentine's figure-4; during the bout, Valentine & Slater cut an insert promo on Slater's match with Dustin Rhodes the following night on The Main Event; it was also announced Jake Roberts would be in Chicago later in the night and Chattanooga, TN the following night and that Clash of the Champions 20 would celebrate 20 years of wrestling on TBS and Gordon Solie would be part of the broadcast
The Barbarian pinned Tommy Angel with a boot to the face at 3:21
Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton (w/ Paul E. Dangerously) defeated Larry Zbyzsko & Brian Pillman via referee's decision at around the 21-minute mark as Zbyzsko was caught in an armbar by Eaton after Eaton his a kneedrop onto Zbyzsko's already injured arm; the off-the-top rule was waived for the match, allowing the wrestlers to come off the top without it resulting in a disqualification; the match ended during the commercial break; when the show returned, Zbyzsko was being attended to by medics in the ring before the finish was shown
1993 - WWF held a Wrestling Challenge taping in Plattsburgh, NY featuring the following results:
Tatanka fought Bam Bam Bigelow to a double count-out after Tatanka hit the Samoan Drop on the floor
Damien Demento defeated Van Hammer
Bastion Booger pinned Phil Apollo with the sit-down splash at 2:34
The Heavenly Bodies defeated Virgil & Glen Ruth at 5:33 when Jimmy Del Ray pinned Ruth with the moonsault
The Bushwhackers defeated the Quebecars at around the 7-minute mark when Butch pinned Jacques with a roll up; after the bout, the Quebecars attacked the Bushwhackers in the aisle until several referees pulled them away
Well Dunn defeated Mike Khoury & Scott Amonte at 2:50 when Steven Dunn pinned Khoury following a double DDT
Razor Ramon & Marty Jannetty defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels & Diesel when Razor pinned Michaels at 11:30 with a uranagi after Jannetty hit Michaels with a superkick (Inside the WWF)
Randy Savage defeated Mr. Hughes
Bret Hart defeated WWF World Champion Yokozuna via disqualification
Men on a Mission (w/ Oscar) defeated Reno Riggins & Gus Kantarakis at 2:39 when Mabel pinned Kantarakis after being pushed onto him by Mo on the top rope
Adam Bomb (w/ Johnny Polo) pinned Scott Despres at 1:38 with the powerbomb
Bam Bam Bigelow (w/ Luna Vachon) pinned Dan Dubiel at 1:01 with the diving headbutt
The Bushwhackers defeated Barry Horowitz & Blake Beverly at 2:31 when Butch pinned Horowitz following the battering ram after Blake threw his partner back in the ring following a miscommunication between the two
The Quebecars defeated Mike Bucci & Mike Moraldo at 2:19 when Pierre pinned Moraldo following the Tower of Quebec
Razor Ramon pinned Barry Hardy at 2:11 with the Razor's Edge
The Heavenly Bodies defeated Darren Trujillo & Curt Sloan at 2:06 when Jimmy Del Ray pinned Trujillo with a moonsault
The 1-2-3 Kid pinned Fred Williams at 2:26 with a somersault splash off the top
The Smoking Gunns defeated Duane Gill & the Brooklyn Brawler at 1:36 when Bart pinned Gill following the Revolver
The Ludvig Borga defeated Bert Centeno at 2:25 with a clothesline off the top
Marty Jannetty pinned Iron Mike Sharpe at 3:53 with the flying fistdrop
Mr. Hughes (w/ Harvey Wippleman) pinned Dan Dubiel at the 2-minute mark with the sidewalk slam; after the match, Hughes destroyed a black wreath placed at ringside (Hughes' last TV appearance for more than 3 years)
Tatanka pinned Bobby Who at 2:08 with the Samoan Drop
WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels (w/ Diesel) pinned Rich Myers at 2:52 with a superkick and piledriver
1993 - WCW held a TV Taping for the Main Event in Anderson, SC, featuring:
Mark Starr & Sean Royal defeated Rip Rogers & Pat Rose
Lord Steven Regal (w/ Sir William) pinned Marcus Alexander Bagwell with a roll up and grabbing the tights for leverage after Sir William hit Bagwell with his umbrella
Maxx Payne defeated an unknown
Davey Boy Smith defeated Fred Avery
WCW/NWA Tag Team Champions Steve Austin & Brian Pillman defeated Keith & Kent Cole when Austin made the pin with a roll up and grabbing the tights and Pillman for leverage
The Nasty Boys defeated two unknowns
Yoshi Kwan defeated Mike Winner
The Equalizer defeated Chris Sullivan
2 Cold Scorpio & Marcus Alexander Bagwell defeated WCW TV Champion Paul Orndorff & Lord Steven Regal (w/ Sir William) via disqualification when Orndorff ran Scorpio into the ringpost
Johnny B. Badd pinned Maxx Payne with a roll up after avoiding a charge in the corner
Sid Vicious defeated Brad Anderson (sub. for Van Hammer)
Thunder & Lightning defeated Bobby Eaton & Chris Benoit when Benoit was pinned following a shoulderblock off the top
Harlem Heat defeated Joe Cruz & Mike Thor
2 Cold Scorpio fought Lord Steven Regal (w/ Sir William) to a time-limit draw; Scorpio had Regal covered following the 450 splash when the bell rang
NWA World Champion Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, & Paul Roma defeated WCW TV Champion Paul Orndorff (sub. for Barry Windham), WCW/NWA Tag Team Champions Steve Austin & Brian Pillman when Anderson pinned Pillman with the DDT at around the 18-minute mark
1995 - WWF ran Cohasset, MA at the South Shore Music Circus with the following results:
Skip pinned Aldo Montoya with a reversal
Jean Pierre Lafitte defeated Duke Drose
The Smoking Gunns defeated Jacob & Eli Blu
Bob Backlund pinned Man Mountain Rock
Razor Ramon vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley
King Mabel pinned Bam Bam Bigelow
1996 - Dr. Wagner Jr. defeats Aquarius (Yoshihiro Tajiri) to win the CMLL World Light-Heavyweight Title in Sapporo, Japan. Wagner had lost the title to Aquarius eight days earlier, and neither of these title changes (which took place on Big Japan cards) were authorized by EMLL, who control the title.
1996 - WWF ran Anaheim, CA at the Arrowhead Pond with the following results:
Justin Bradshaw pinned Bob Holly
WWF Tag Team Champions the Smoking Gunns defeated Henry & Phinneas Godwinn, Skip & Zip, and Marty Jannetty & Leif Cassidy
Psycho Sid defeated Davey Boy Smith
Owen Hart defeated Aldo Montoya
Marc Mero defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley
Steve Austin defeated Savio Vega in a No DQ match
WWF World Champion Shawn Michaels defeated Vader via disqualification when Goldust interfered
Goldust defeated Yokozuna
The Undertaker defeated Mankind
1996 - Extreme Championship Wrestling debuted in Warwick, PA, featuring the following results
Taz & Bill Alfonso defeated the Sandman & Tod Gordon when Sandman submitted to Taz
Super Nova defeated El Puerto Ricano
Hack Myers defeated Devon Storm
Mikey Whipwreck defeated Stevie Richards
ECW World Tag Team Champions The Eliminators defeated Buh Buh Ray Dudley & Pitbull #2
The Gangstas defeated the Bruise Brothers
ECW World TV Champion Shane Douglas defeated Chris Jericho
Taz & Brian Lee defeated Terry Gordy & Tommy Dreamer
1996 - WCW ran Dayton, Ohio featuring the following results:
Alex Wright defeated Disco Inferno
The Nasty Boys defeated Public Enemy in a dog collar match
Eddie Guerrero defeated Dean Malenko
Harlem Heat defeated WCW World Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner to win the titles
Kevin Nash & Scott Hall defeated Sting & WCW World TV Champion Lex Luger via disqualification
Randy Savage defeated WCW U.S. Champion Ric Flair in a non-title steel cage match
1997 - WCW ran Johnstown, PA featuring the following results:
Chris Jericho defeated Alex Wright
Chris Benoit defeated Lord Steven Regal
Eddie Guerrero defeated Dean Malenko
Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Buff Bagwell & Scott Norton
WCW U.S. Champion Jeff Jarrett defeated Steve McMichael
Randy Savage defeated Diamond Dallas Page via count-out
Ric Flair defeated Syxx
WCW World Tag Team Champions Scott Hall & Kevin Nash defeated Lex Luger & the Giant
1998 - WCW broadcast Monday Nitro, featuring the following results in San Antonio, Texas:
Jim Duggan pinned the Barbarian with a roll up
Scott Norton pinned Jim Neidhart
WCW Cruiserweight Champion Chris Jericho defeated Dean Malenko via disqualification at around the 9-minute mark when referee Mark Curtis stopped the match after spotting Malenko in possession of a foreign object, which Jericho brought in the ring moments earlier and Malenko used against the champion behind the referee's back; stipulations stated it would be Malenko's last shot at the title (Breaking the Code: Behind the Walls of Chris Jericho)
Curt Hennig pinned Steve McMichael
Konnan pinned Eddie Guerrero
Sting defeated Scott Hall via disqualification
WCW World & US Champion Bill Goldberg pinned Brian Adams
Diamond Dallas Page defeated Hulk Hogan via disqualification
Dark match after the show: WCW World & US Champion Bill Goldberg defeated the Giant
1998 - WWE broadcast Raw from Anaheim, CA featuring the following results:
Marc Mero defeated Dustin Runnels.
Debut Sunday Night Heat episode:
Edge pinned Jeff Jarrett (w/ Tennessee Lee) at 3:59 after Lee accidently tripped Jarrett
Droz & the Headbangers defeated Dick Togo, Mens Teioh, & Sho Funaki (w/ Yamaguchi-San) at 6:20 when Droz pinned Teioh with a sit-out powerbomb; prior to the match, Val Venis appeared atop the entrance stage with Mrs. Yamaguchi, causing Yamaguchi-San to throw a fit; following the match, Venis gyrated in front of 'Pacific Blue''s Amy Hunter Cornelius and shoved Mario Lopez, with Lopez then hopping the rail and tackling Venis before security broke up the fight
WWF European Champion D-Lo Brown (w/ Mark Henry) defeated Ken Shamrock via disqualification at 2:53 when Dan Severn interfered after Brown shoved him on the arena floor; after the bout, Steve Blackman attempted to calm down Shamrock, who yelled at Severn for costing him the title match
WWF IC Champion the Rock & Owen Hart defeated Mankind & Kane (w/ Paul Bearer) via count-out in 8:53; stipulations stated the winners would receive a WWF Tag Team Title match the next night on Raw
Raw:
Vader defeated WWF European Champion D-Lo Brown via count-out in a non-title match after ripping D-Lo's chest protector off and hitting a splash outside the ring
Brawl for All Quarter-Finals: Bart Gunn defeated Steve Williams
Owen Hart defeated Dan Severn via disqualification when Ken Shamrock interfered and attacked Owen; after the match, Severn locked Shamrock in a Dragon sleeper until Steve Blackman and a host of referees broke it up
Farooq & Scorpio fought Skull & 8-Ball (w/ Paul Ellering) to a no contest when all four men and Bradshaw began brawling in and out of the ring
Triple H (w/ Chyna) and X-Pac defeated WWF IC Champion the Rock via count-out at 6:55 when the champion left ringside as Triple H and X-Pac were busy fighting in the ring
Brakus pinned Jesus Castillo with a spinebuster in under 2 minutes
Val Venis pinned Brian Christopher (w/ Scott Taylor) with a fisherman's suplex; Taka Michinoku made the save after the match
Mark Henry & Kama defeated the Legion of Doom after Kama hit the DVD on Road Warrior Animal after Road Warrior Hawk tripped while attempting the flying clothesline
WWF Tag Team Champions - WWF World Champion Steve Austin & the Undertaker defeated Billy Gunn & the Road Dogg when Austin pinned Road Dogg with the Stunner
1999 - WWF taped an episode of Raw in Columbus, OH at the Schottenstein Center featuring the following results from the taping:
Kurt Angle pinned Rick Keyes with the Angle Slam
Super Astros:
Jose Estrada (w/ Miguel Perez) fought El Mangero (w/ Papi Chulo) to a no contest when the seconds began brawling in the ring
Papi Chulo & Apollo Dantes defeated Pantera & Sean Casey when Chulo pinned Casey with a Shooting Star Press
Sunday Night Heat:
Edge pinned Meat (w/ Terri & Jackie) with the Downward Spiral
Steve Blackman fought Mideon to a no contest when Blackman attacked Mideon before the bell with knunchucks
WWF Tag Team Champions the Acolytes defeated the Undertaker & the Big Show via disqualification when Taker used a chair; Hardcore Holly attacked the Acolytes after the match
Matt & Jeff Hardy (w/ Michael Hayes) defeated Papi Chulo & Sho Funaki when Jeff pinned Funaki
Shotgun: Joey Abs defeated Johnny Paradise
Raw is War:
Edge defeated Gangrel in a Bloodbath match when Christian turned on Gangrel to join his brother; a bucket of blood sat outside the ring and the first to use it would win the match
WWF European Champion D-Lo Brown pinned WWF IC Champion Jeff Jarrett (w/ Debra) to unify both titles after hitting him with one of the title belts, brought in the ring by Debra
The Undertaker & the Big Show defeated the Road Dogg & Kane when Taker pinned Kane with the tombstone; Hardcore Holly jumped the Acolytes after the match with a baseball bat
WWF Hardcore Champion the Big Bossman pinned Viscera
Test defeated Rodney
Steve Blackman fought Val Venis to a no contest when Ken Shamrock chased Blackman all over the building
WWF World Champion Steve Austin fought the Undertaker to a no contest in a No Holds Barred match when the Big Show, Triple H, the Acolytes, Kane, the Road Dogg, Hardcore Holly, Billy Gunn, and the Rock interfered; after the match, Austin hit the Stunner on Triple H and the Big Show
2001 - Former WWF Women's champion Rhonda "Bertha Faye" Singh passed away.
2001 - WWF and IWA Puerto Rico held a joint card in Bayamon, featuring the following results:
Crash Holly defeated NWA-IWA Junior Heavyweight Champion Super Crazy to win the title
The Big Show defeated Agente Bruno & Andy Anderson in a handicap match
Tiger Ali Singh defeated Test
Gran Nuevo Apolo & Ricky Banderas defeated Russ McCullough & Diamond Dallas Page
2001 - Pro Wrestling Noah celebrated their 1st anniversary as a promotion with an event at Budokan Hall in Tokyo. The main event of the show saw Jun Akiyama defeat Mitsuharu Misawa to win the Noah Global Honored Crown, becoming the second man to hold the title.
2001 - Kayo Noumi defeats Miho Wakizawa to win the All Japan Women's Singles Title in a tournament final in Tokyo.
2002 - Low Ki defeats Spanky, Christopher Daniels & Doug Williams in a 60-minute Iron Man match to become the first Ring Of Honor Champion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mike Johnson and Jess McGrath filed the following live reports:
ROH CROWNS FIRST CHAMPION IN ONE HOUR MATCH
by Mike Johnson
RF Video's Ring of Honor promotion crowned it's first ROH champion last night at their Philadelphia, PA event in the Murphy Recreation Center as Low Ki outlasted Christopher Daniels, Spanky, and Doug Williams in a One Hour Marathon Match which received a standing ovation from the estimated 450+ fans in attendance.
With rules stating that a win would give the wrestler 2 points and a loss would subtract a point, Christopher Daniels handed Low Ki his first pinfall loss in ROH in 25:31. Low Ki forced Spanky to tap out, bringing the scores at Daniels 2 points, Low Ki 1 point, Spanky -1, Williams 0. Low Ki then forced Doug Williams at 48:47, bringing Ki's total up to 3 points and putting him in the lead. No other falls took place and Ki became the champion as the 60 minute time limit expired as he fought not to tap out to Daniels while trapped in his own finisher The Dragon Clutch. The bout ran a legitimate 60 minutes from bell to bell.
Interestingly enough, the booking featured Daniels pinning Low Ki in the match, and never getting pinned once, thus giving "The Fallen Angel" a reason to continue his storyline tirades against the Ring of Honor promotion. The final point totals were Low Ki 3 points, Daniels 2 points, Spanky -1, Williams -1.
Spanky headed to a Zero-One tour and Daniels to a Michinoku Pro tour late because they didn't want to miss the booking. That says worlds about what they think of ROH as a company. The match was excellent and a very well laid out bout that never slowed down, and this was easily one of best live bouts I can recall seeing, but that said, I honestly felt like the four could do even better if given another chance, which is almost mind-boggling to say even as I write it. The match is a must-see when the video is available.
Other results from ROH's event last night:
*Tony Mamaluke forced the debuting Jeremy Lopez to tap out.
*Christian York and Joey Matthews defeated Prince Nana and Jacobs Ladder. York and Matthews were accompanied by Alexis Laree. After the match, the victors were confronted by the Christopher Street Connection and Alison Danger which turned into a brawl after Danger hit on Laree.
*In a Texas Wrestling Academy Challenge, Michael Shane and Biohazard defeated Paul London and Don Juan with Shane scoring the pin to win a "ROH contract." London had a simultaneous pin at the same time, but the referee awarded Shane the win. London and Shane got into it after the bout, but were held apart by TWA trainer Rudy Gonzales and the others in the match.
*Da Hit Squad defeated Quiet Storm and Chris Divine.
*James Maritato (aka ECW's Little Guido) pinned Jay Briscoe with the Kiss of Death after Jay's younger brother Mark distracted Jay by walking out on the match. There has been an ongoing storyline where the younger Briscoe has been happy to see his brother losing, and when Jay was on the verge of victory, Mark walked out to distract him and cause his pinfall loss.
*In an old school Bunkhouse match complete with Dusty Rhodes-esque jeans with the kneepads atop of them, The Natural Born Sinners, Homicide and Boogaloo defeated The Carnage Crew, HC LOC and Tony Devito. All four men bled with Devito submitting after Boogaloo choked him out with barbed wire across his mouth. The Crew attacked the Sinners afterwards and laid them out. Da Hit Squad made the save, but afterwards the Sinners were upset with Da Squad.
*NWA TNA X Division champion AJ Styles defeated David Young and Adam Jacobs in a Three-Way Dance. Young was pinned by Styles, followed by Styles pinning Jacobs in a top rope Styles Clash. AJ busted his head open hardway on the ring apron early in the match.
*In a six man tag, Mike Tobin of the Boogie Knights, Marcos and Dunn defeated Dixie, Brian XL and Black Gordon. A large unnamed African American male in a suit hopped the railing and chokeslammed everyone before hopping the rail again and leaving through one of the side doors of the building.
*Scoot Andrews pinned Xavier with the Force of Nature. Andrews had promised to leave ROH had he lost the bout.
Notes: Amazingly hot crowd for the show, as the fans were into everything. There were fans from all over the Northeastern seaboard and from as far away as Scotland at the event....Mark Briscoe makes his in-ring debut for the promotion on 8/24 at the promotion's Boston debut....Steve Corino vs. American Dragon and the debut of Michael Modest from Pro Wrestling NOAH was announced for the ROH return to Philadelphia on 9/21....Gary Michael Cappeta was in attendance and got a nice round of applause from the crowd when announced.
CROWNING A CHAMPION THOUGHTS
by Jess McGrath
Last night, Ring of Honor promoted their fifth show in Philadelphia, built around a 60:00 four-way Ironman match to determine the first ROH champion. The first time I went to ROH was back in March, and my feeling at the time was that, for my tastes, they were doing too much of the same thing in every match. That's no longer the case. This was an excellent show that gave a little bit of everything. There was the Moondogs style plunder match (Loc & DeVito vs. Homicide & Boogalou), which got over strong with the crowd. There was the Christopher Street Connection's ha-ha stuff, including a catfight between Allison Danger and Alexis Laree. And of course there was lots of solid wrestling.
It's a waste of words to attempt to describe just exactly how good the main event was, because it can't be done justice in print. This was probably the best match I've ever seen live. Just tremendous. Near flawless execution, amazing moves, a great storyline throughout with Christopher Daniels and Low-Ki. Doug Williams is phenomenal. I was very impressed by his work in the King of Indies tournament in California last year, but he was off the charts here. Any arguments about Match of the Year can't be made without first seeing this one.
The undercard was very good. The only thing that seemed to be universally panned was the six-man tag that came right after intermission, which thankfully I missed. The Mamaluke-Lopez opener was solid. Another thing I was thankful about was the shortness of the Christian & Joey vs. Prince Nana & his new partner match. Nothing against Christian and Joey, of course. The Texas Wrestling Academy match was pretty good. Paul London took some bumps that made me cringe. He's going to have a short career if he keeps that up. The finish where two guys are scoring pins simultaneously is always a tough one to pull off credibly, but they did a decent job with it. Post-match angle with London and Michael Shane was good. James Maritato-Jay Briscoe was a backdrop for the angle with Jay and brother Mark. Crowd seemed to be into it. Maritato is a great worker. Mike Johnson called him the "2002 version of Beautiful Bobby Eaton", which if you think about it seems pretty apropos. Hit Squad-Divine Storm was fine. Finish was a little weak, as one of the Hit Squad appeared to have trouble getting his opponent up high for the powerbomb. DHS seemed to run out of gas near the finish. I liked Styles-Young-Jacobs, although Jacobs was a bit disappointing here. Styles looked fantastic. That was a nasty hardway gash on his head too. Scoot Andrews-Xavier was a victim of card placement. Going on right before the strongly anticipated main event, they had no chance. It was smart to keep it short.
For the next Philadelphia show on 9/21, they announced American Dragon vs. Steve Corino, plus Michael Modest and the crowning of the first ROH tag team champions. Dragon-Corino stemmed from a promo cut by Rudy Boy Gonzalez. Corino has been dogging Gonzalez as a trainer in his commentary on the ROH video tapes. Low-Ki's first title defense will be at the 8/24 Wakefield, MA show vs. A.J. Styles.
One note about those ROH tapes: One of the best things they do on those is cut down ring entrances and the extra-curricular BS to just a few seconds. Nothing is more tedious for me than turning on a tape and being greeted by ten minutes of the ring announcer coming out, making introductions, the playing of the national anthem, every guy's ring entrance taking five minutes, etc. Other indies would be smart to follow their lead on that one and tighten up the tapes.
2002 - WWE Smackdown ran Jonesboro, AR at the Convocation Center featuring:
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Jamie Noble defeated Sho Funaki and Billy Kidman
Test defeated Albert
Tajiri & Chavo Guerrero Jr. defeated Shannon Moore & Rey Mysterio Jr.
Rico, Billy Gunn, & Chuck Palumbo defeated Farooq Bull Buchanon, & Mike Awesome
Mark Henry & the Hurricane defeated D-Von Dudley & Batista
WWE Tag Team Champions Lance Storm & Christian defeated Hardcore Holly & Jerry Lawler
Torrie Wilson defeated Dawn Marie in a Bra & Panties match
Edge & John Cena defeated Kurt Angle & Chris Jericho
2002 - WWE Raw ran San Antonio, TX at the Freeman Coliseum featuring the following results:
Steven Richards defeated Tommy Dreamer
Goldust defeated Christopher Nowinski
Trish Stratus & Linda Miles defeated WWE Women's Champion Molly Holly & Jackie Gayda
Raven pinned Matt Hardy by using the ropes for leverage
Chris Benoit & Eddie Guerrero defeated Bubba Ray & Spike Dudley in a table match
Justin Credible defeated Shelton Benjamin
Raven pinned WWE Hardcore Champion Bradshaw to win the title after he and Justin Credible interfered during Bradshaw's title defense against Shawn Stasiak
Justin Credible pinned WWE Hardcore Champion Raven to win the title
Shawn Stasiak pinned WWE Hardcore Champion Justin Credible to win the title
Bradshaw pinned WWE Hardcore Champion Shawn Stasiak to win the title
WWE Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam pinned William Regal
The Undertaker & Booker T defeated Brock Lesnar & the Big Show when Booker pinned Show
2003 - WWE held their Vengeance Pay-per-view, the first ever Smackdown brand-only event, in Denver Colorado at the Pepsi Arena. Here is Tim Whitehead's original report on the event:
Vengeance, WWE's first ever Smackdown brand PPV, was a big success. It was easily the best PPV since WrestleMania, and it highlighted how much stronger the Smackdown brand is when it comes to in-ring action. The show benefited from great heat from the live crowd in Denver. Commentary was also strong from Tazz & Michael Cole. Tazz has the ability to be funny without being silly and distracting from the seriousness of the matches. There were three terrific matches on the show. There were also three gimmick matches, two of which were better than expected. Only one was truly bad, and it was short. Some might question the booking for a couple of the matches, but any booking quirks were more than overridden by the strong match quality on the show.
EDDIE GUERRERO defeated CHRIS BENOIT in the finals of the U.S. Title tournament in 22:12. They need fewer titles, not more, and this one is supposedly the revived WCW version of the U.S. belt which traces its lineage back to the Mid-Atlantic area. They at least had two awesome competitors for the finals. They started out trading fast mat spots. Guerrero went on offense, and got a babyface reaction. He wasn't the only supposed heel to get a face reaction on this show. Guerrero used a kick to win a test of strength. He hit a huracanrana on Benoit and they traded twos as each kept reversing the pin attempt. Benoit bailed out for a while. Guerrero locked on a headlock. They traded tombstone piledriver attempts, with Benoit eventually nailing Guerrero with a shoulderbreaker and hooking the crossface. Guerrero made the ropes. Guerrero went to the floor and Benoit caught him with a tope. Guerrero did a huracanrana off the top. Guerrero scored some twos until Benoit came back with a high backdrop and a superplex. Benoit scored a two. Benoit hit two German suplexes but Guerrero blocked a third. Benoit hooked the crossface again. The crowd popped big for the crossfaces, as that hold is over big time. Guerrero made the ropes once again. Guerrero hit some suplexes and a high superplex. He went for the frog splash but Benoit rolled clear. Benoit hooked yet another crossface, with Guerrero again making the ropes. There was a ref bump. Guerrero got the title belt and laid Benoit out. He then hit the frog splash but the revived ref only counted two before Benoit kicked out. Guerrero then hit the ref with the belt and tried to set it up to look like Benoit did it. The ref stayed down forever, and Guerrero became frustrated when he wouldn't revive. Meanwhile, Benoit revived and hooked the crossface. Guerrero tapped but the KO'ed ref didn't see it. Benoit tried to revive the ref. Guerrero tried to use the tite belt again. Benoit ducked and caught Guerrero with a suplex. Benoit went for the diving headbutt but hit the ref when Guerrero moved. The ref stuff was starting to get old and it hurt the match a little. At this point, Rhyno ran in and turned on Benoit, nailing him with a gore. This turn had been building off and on for weeks, but as of the most recent TV Rhyno was fully in Benoit's corner. Anyway, Guerrero hit the frog splash on the gored Benoit as the ref finally revived and counted the pin. The ending was way overbooked but the match was a great opener.
Vince McMahon gave daughter Stephanie a small bouquet of artificial flowers. He had a huge bouquet of real flowers for Sable. Steph didn't appreciate the size difference. Vince also reported that he'll appear on RAW on Monday to confront Kane over his attack on Linda.
JAMIE NOBLE beat BILLY GUNN in 4:59. The stipulation here was that Noble would get to "sleep" with Torrie Wilson on Smackdown if he won the match. He came out with a briefcase, saying it was full of sex toys. Gunn kicked the case into Noble's face. He opened it and looked inside. The cameras only caught a glimpse but it appeared to be a lot of lotions and various "objects". Noble gave Gunn a plancha and pounded him on the floor. Nidia came out, jealous because Noble wants to have sex with Torrie. Gunn went on offense and scored some twos. Noble hit Gunn with a DDT, but when he went for the pin, Nidia put Gunn's foot on the rope to break the count. Noble went out and confronted her and ended up getting his face slapped by both Nidia and Torrie. Noble, by the way, was another supposed heel treated by the fans as a face. The finish saw Gunn almost collide with Torrie, which allowed Noble to roll him up and score the pin with a handful of tights. Noble got a big babyface pop from the crowd. Torrie acted horrified that she will now have to have sex with Noble on Smackdown, but of course it'll be a lame screwjob (no pun intended), since technically she promised to "sleep" with him. Guess she'll show up with a bottle of Sominex and take a nap. Noble was later shown drooling over a well "used" copy of the Torrie Playboy issue. This was an okay short match.
BRADSHAW won a barroom brawl in 4:32. They had a fake barroom set up, and the rules were that the last man left standing would win. The other participants were (and forgive me if I miss someone here, as they didn't do intros for most of the guys) Faarooq, Spanky, Nunzio, Chuck Palumbo, Johnny Stamboli, Matt Hardy, Shannon Moore, the Basham Brothers, Kanyon, Sean O'Hair, Funaki, Orlando Jordan, Brooklyn Brawler, Doink the Clown, Brother Love, and some guy dressed as the Easter Bunny. Brother Love asked everyone to bow their heads for a pre-fight prayer, but then sneak attacked someone with a bar stool. They just sort of brawled around using beer bottles, bar stools, and assorted other objects as weapons. It was a mess. One guy after another went down and stayed down. Funaki just sat and drank beer. It came down to Bradshaw, Brother Love, and Funaki. Bradshaw broke a beer bottle over Love's head and he went down. Funaki then passed out drunk. Bradshaw was declared the winner. Faarooq was standing there, too, but I guess he went down at some point. It was pretty bad.
CHARLIE HAAS & SHELTON BENJAMIN defeated REY MYSTERIO JR. & BILLY KIDMAN in 14:53 to retain the Smackdown World Tag Titles. Let me start off by saying the Haas & Benjamin are improving at an amazing rate. WWE needs to start building some regular tag teams who stay together long term. And by long term I mean years and years and years. Haas & Benjamin are good enough that I'm afraid there are already plans to break them up. As for Mysterio & Kidman, they were off the charts here. Mysterio started off against Benjamin. Mysterio hit a spinning headscissors. Kidman hit a dropkick and another spinning headscissors. Haas came in and was caught by Mysterio with a springboard legdrop. Haas gave Mysterio a sit-down slam and a powerslam. Haas vaulted Mysterio high for a huge bump. Mysterio kept kicking out of pin attempts at two. Benjamin came back in and did a great roll through on a huracanrana, but Mysterio then caught him with a dropkick out of nowhere. Benjamin evaded a 619 but Mysterio still caught him with a springboard splash to the floor. The Denver altitude certainly didn't hurt anyone in this match. Kidman did a shooting star press to the floor onto both opponents. Haas recovered and posted Kidman, who got worked over for a while. Kidman made the tag but the ref disallowed it since he didn't see it. They doubled on Kidman some more until he finally made the hot tag. Mysterio hit a somersault springboard dropkick on Benjamin. He then kicked Haas from the ring. Benjamin tried for a suplex but Mysterio reversed it into a DDT. Mysterio hit Haas with the 619 and went for the West Coast Pop. It ended up as more of a springboard Thesz press, leading to a near fall. Kidman vaulted Mysterio up and he gave Haas a huracanrana off the top. They've been teasing a Kidman turn but I'm glad they didn't do it here. The finish saw Haas hoist Mysterio on his shoulders, allowing Benamin, who made a blind tag, to crossbody him off to the mat for a clean pin. Excellent match with great heat!
They aired a great SummerSlam promo. It was a takeoff on the movie "Jaws", with everyone on a beach running from a shark. But Brock Lesnar ran into the water and gave the shark an F5.
SABLE beat STEPHANIE McMAHON in 6:25. This was billed as a no-countout catfight. Steph attacked Sable on the ramp. Sable fled into the crowd, with Steph chasing her down and throwing her back across the barrier. Sable came back and stomped Steph through the mat. Sable kicked and bitch slapped Steph. Steph got a chair but the ref took it from her. They fought some on the floor to tease the no-countout stips. This wasn't good, but it wasn't nearly as bad as one would expect. It was actually passable. Steph tore off Sable's top and the ref took his shirt off to cover her up. While this was going on, A-Train ran in and gave Steph a lariat. I guess they needed to find something for A-Train to do. Sable crawled on top of Steph and got the pin on the boss' daughter. Steph had to be helped to the back afterward, selling it as a rib injury even though A-Train gave her a lariat.
UNDERTAKER defeated JOHN CENA in 16:01. Undertaker manhandled Cena for the first few minutes. He unceremoniously kicked Cena out to the floor. Cena got mauled on the floor by UT's methodical offense. UT did the legdrop on the apron and the old school rope walk. He chokeslammed Cena, but pulled him up at the two count to inflict more punishment. UT went for the last ride but Cena blocked it and hit a DDT. Cena removed the padding from a turnbuckle and UT hit the exposed steel on a charge. Cena went on offense. which included bumping UT off the apron onto the ring barrier. UT began coughing up blood, and it was sold that he had internal injuries. Cena kept it up, stomping on UT's rib area. Cena scored a bunch of twos. The pace slowed as they were out there a long time in the Denver thin air. UT came back with a lariat and went for the tombstone, but Cena blocked it. UT blocked the FU. UT caught Cena with a boot to the face for a near fall. Cena hit UT with UT's bike chain. Cena hit the FU but UT kicked out at two. Cena, by the way, was yet one more heel who got his fair share of cheers. Cena backed UT into the corner with punches but UT lifted him up and nailed him with the last ride for the pin. It was a little long, but an okay match. A good case could be made that Cena should have gone over here, but if they do a follow-up at SummerSlam with Cena winning, this will turn out okay, as UT did sell it big as if he had been through a war at the end.
VINCE McMAHON defeated ZACH GOWEN in 14:00. You didn't think two McMahons would job on this show, did you? Vince looks totally freakish for a man his age. He toyed with Gowen, who got a fair number of boos, for the first half of the match. He kept bodyslamming Zach and kicking his one leg out from under him. Yes, Vince also strutted and smirked. Vince lariated the hell out of Zach. Zach made a comeback when Vince bumped out to the floor. He hit the Asai moonsault on Vince. Vince grew enraged and went after Zach's one leg. He hooked a crab hold, and Zach nearly tapped. In fact, he did a spot where he pounded his fist on the mat to gain strength, and it looked like a tap, but wasn't. Zach made the ropes. Zach hit a dropkick and crotched Vince on the post. He also wrapped Vince's leg around the post. Vince came up limping and was hit with a missile kick. Vince got his foot on the rope to keep from being pinned. Vince got a chair, but as he fought with the ref over it, Zach dropkicked it into Vince's face. It appeared to cut Vince hardway, as he juiced a major gusher. I mean, seriously, Vince was spouting blood like a fountain. Blood was all over the mat. Zach went up for a moonsault off the top, but Vince rolled clear and scored the pin when Zach crashed to the mat. Vince limped out with blood all over his face, but victorious. Zach got a standing ovation for his loss. This one was good for a gimmick match, and everyone worked hard. The crowd liked it.
KURT ANGLE defeated BROCK LESNAR and BIG SHOW in a three way no-DQ match to capture the WWE World Title in 17:29. Lesnar and Angle attacked Big Show to start things off. Show shook them off, hurling Angle out to the floor and chokeslamming Lesnar. Angle broke Show's pin attempt up. They've done a real good job rehabbing Show after he was reduced to a gimmick jobber on RAW. He didn't look out of place at all in this match. Show overpowered Angle, including using his ass as a weapon. Show blocked an Angle ankle lock attempt. Show legdropped Angle, with Lesnar stopping the pin. Show scored two on Lesnar with a neckbreaker. Angle and Lesnar used garbage can lids on Show. Show suplexed them both. They came back and chokeslammed Show. Lesnar covered Show for the pin but Angle broke it up. Angle and Lesnar then went at it. Lesnar gave Angle an F5, but on the bump Angle rolled out to the floor, saving him from being pinned. Lesnar went back after Show and gave him an F5. Angle recovered enough to pull the ref out of the ring to stop his three count when Lesnar went for a pin. Lesnar rammed Angle into the stairs and posted him. Angle juiced. Show tried to superplex Lesnar but Lesnar, in an amazing move, gave Show a running powerbomb. Angle stopped Lesnar's pin with two chairshots, the second of which busted Lesnar open and he juiced. Show recovered and laid Angle out on the floor. Show cleared the Spanish broadcast desk and was preparing to smash Angle through it. But Angle recovered and Olympic slammed Show through the desk. By this point, the altitude was getting to Show and this KO'ed him long enough to get some rest. Angle and Lesnar brawled, both in the ring and on the floor. Angle gave Lesnar two German suplexes, the second one flipping Lesnar all the way over when released. Lesnar hit a spinebuster for a near fall. Lesnar hooked a choke submission hold on Angle but Show recovered and legdropped them both. He then chokeslammed both but only scored twos when trying to pin them. Angle put the ankle lock on Lesnar. Show broke it up and got Olympic slammed by Angle. Angle then Olympic slammed Lesnar and got the surprise three count to win the title. The thinking was that they put Show in to do the job for either other guy but it didn't come down like that, and it was better that the title changed with a pin on the champ. A great main event to cap off a hot show.
2004 - WWE taped Smackdown in Cincinnati, OH at the US Bank Arena featuring the following results:
Hardcore Holly pinned Carly Colon with the Alabama Slam
Velocity:
Mark Jindrak pinned Scotty 2 Hotty at 2:39 by blocking a sunset flip and holding onto the ropes for leverage
Chavo Guerrero Jr. pinned Sho Funaki with the Gory Bomb at 4:10
Nunzio & Johnny Stamboli defeated Doug & Danny Basham at 6:51 when Stamboli scored the pin with a roll over and grabbing the tights for leverage after Nunzio hit a kick as Stamboli was covered
WWE World Champion John Bradshaw Layfield pinned Shannon Moore with the powerbomb in a non-title match at 2:25
Smackdown:
Spike Dudley pinned WWE Cruiserweight Champion Rey Mysterio Jr. to win the title at 6:25 with the Dudley Dog after Bubba Ray Dudley tripped the champion as Rey prepared to hit the 619, while D-Von Dudley distracted the referee; after the bout, Spike apologized to Rey after realizing that the Dudley Boyz interfered.
WWE Smackdown! Tag Team Champions Paul London & Billy Kidman defeated the Dudley Boyz at 11:37 when London pinned D-Von after Rey Mysterio Jr. came out of the crowd and dropkicked a steel chair into Bubba Ray's face as he prepared to hit Kidman with the chair
Booker T won an 8-man elimination match to win the vacant WWE US Championship; order of elimination: Billy Gunn pinned Charlie Haas at 3:05 with the Fameasser; Luther Reigns pinned Rene Dupree with a neckbreaker at 8:22; Kenzo Suzuki was disqualified at 11:00 after hitting John Cena with the title belt; Cena pinned Gunn at 19:12 with the FU; Cena pinned Reigns at 20:58 with the FU; Booker T pinned Cena at 23:11 after Cena sustained the Five Star Frog Splash from Rob Van Dam; Booker pinned RVD at 23:21 with the scissors kick
2007 - WWE released Rene Dupree.
2007 - Ring of Honor ran Race to the Top Tournament Night 1 in Deer Park, NY with the following results:
Pelle Primeau defeated BJ Whitmer
Davey Richards defeated Jigsaw
Claudio Castagnoli defeated Hallowicked
Mike Quackenbush defeated Matt Sydal
Chris Hero defeated Erick Stevens
FIP Champion Roderick Strong defeated Austin Aries, Gran Akuma, and Jimmy Rave
El Generico defeated Delirious
Brent Albright defeated Matt Cross
Jack Evans defeated Kevin Steen
ROH Tag Team Champions Mark & Jay Briscoe defeated Bryan Danielson & Nigel McGuinness
2007 - WWE developmental Ohio Valley Wrestling ran Six Flags in Louisville, Kentucky, featuring the following results:
Beth Phoenix won an elimination match
Harry Smith & Teddy Hart defeated Jamin Olivencia & TJ Dalton
WWE World Champion John Cena defeated Shawn Spears
Jerry Lawler defeated KC James
2008 - WWE Smackdown and ECW ran Cape Cod, MA. Eljae Lake filed the following live report:
Cape Cod at the Melody Tent
Carlito defeated Ricky Ortiz. Carlito played to the crowd well. Ortiz did his best to get the crowd with him but hardly anyone knew who he was. He wore warm-up type pants that you could buy at an Olympia and after losing, bowed to the crowd like we were his sensei's. I found that odd since I didn't see one move from him that resembled anything close to any martial art.
R-Truth (Ron Killings) had a nice pop as he went over "Then Natural" Nick Nemeth. Nemeth looks like a good prospect as he was very athletic and interacted with the crowd. Again, some people knew Killings, no one knew Nemeth
There was a diva dance-off. Yep. Victoria wore a Yankees jersey which garnered much heat. Cherry won without dancing because Victoria clotheslined her and the fans were sympathetic. Maryse is so hot in person. It was hosted by Lena of ECW fame.
Finlay (w/Hornswaggle) got a huge reaction from the crowd in a losing effort against The Great Khali. Kids were brought into the ring afterwards to run around with Hornswaggle, which was very nice.
Evan Bourne defeated Chavo with a shooting star. Bam Neely got ejected half-way through the bout due to grabbing Evan's leg.
The Gold Standard, Shelton Benjamin, was victorious over Jimmy Yang.
ECW champion Mark Henry closed out the show with a victory over Matt Hardy. Matt easily got the biggest pop of the night. Crowd went home happy when Colin Delany (who was at ringside along with Tony Atlas) came in the ring to get the twist of fate.
Notes: It was absolutely pouring throughout the show. Wrestlers were led to the tent by staff with umbrellas. Howard Finkel was the announcer and teased that "anything could happen." Unfortunately, all that meant was that HHH never showed and Maria was a "guest host." ....Sign Guy was there and was over HUGE. He had to hold a couple impromptu autograph and picture sessions. I assume he's not on WWE payroll as he was downing beers all night, but I was amazed at how much interaction he has with the wrestlers. Khali grabbed his hat and threw it into the crowd and Shelton Benjamin poured water all over him from the top rope.....The show was entertaining, we had a good time, but I have a bone to pick with WWE. If I payed what I paid for tonight's event a few years ago, I would have seen all the stars. As it was, tickets went on sale a few months ago and we bought a few. We then found out about a month ago that it was a Smackdown/ECW show which we were fine with. But, then they split the ECW/Smackdown roster in half and ran shows all weekend in New England and in New York. While New York was enjoying the main event of Jeff Hardy vs. Edge, we were watching Mark Henry and Matt Hardy (a good feud but they don't mesh styles well). Nothing against Matt Hardy, Finlay, or Mark Henry, but there wasn't one A-list wrestler on the card (a wrestler that's main-evented a PPV within the last 12 months). That would be OK if ticket prices weren't just as high as getting a lodge seat at a PPV!! Hardly anyone knew wrestlers in the first two matches. I certainly understand the business perspective, but they better be careful to give people what they think they're paying for. I'll be thinking twice before buying more tickets to a house show, which is a shame.
2008 - WWE Raw ran White Plains, NY at the Westchester County Center featuring:
Tommy Dreamer defeated Armando Estrada
Vladimir Kozlov defeated Stevie Richards
The Brian Kendrick defeated Sho Funaki
Umaga defeated Nunzio & Shannon Moore in a handicap match
WWE Divas Champion Michelle McCool defeated Natalya
WWE Smackdown! Tag Team Champions Curt Hawkins & Zach Ryder defeated Jesse & Festus and John Morrison & Mike Mizanin
Jeff Hardy defeated Edge
2009 - TNA announces they will their run first shows in Switzerland and Germany.
Continued ...
