This Day in History - 12th May, 2013

[LG]

May 12th

On this day in history in ....

1964 - The WWWF ran a television taping in Bridgeport, CT at the City Arenafeaturing:
-WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino defeated Magnificent Maurice.
-WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino defeated Dave Morgan.
-Jerry & Luke Graham defeated Tony Marino & Manuel Soto.
-Miguel Perez defeated Frank Hickey.
-Bobo Brazil defeated Matt Gilmore.
-Don McClarity defeated Boris Malenko.
-Ernie Ladd defeated Pedro Rodriguez.
-Gorilla Monsoon defeated Carlos Milano.
-Killer Kowalski defeated Ted Lewin.

1965 - WWWF champion Bruno Sammartino competed in two different markets on the same day. Sammartino teamed with Argentina Apollo to defeat Waldo Von Erich & Smasher Sloan in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match, 2-1 in Fredericksnburg, VA before heading to Pittsburgh, PA to successful defend his championship, defeating Bill Miller by DQ.

1965 - The undercard of the aforementioned WWWF event in Virginia featured:
-Arnold Skaaland pinned Tony Newberry.
-Miguel Perez defeated the Golden Terror via disqualification.
-Wahoo McDaniel fought Bill Watts to a draw.

1966 - WWWF champion Bruno Sammartino & Antonio Pugliese fought Curtis Iaukea & Bill Miller to a draw in the main event of a card in Washington, D.C.

1972 - WWWF ran two events on the same day. Here are the complete results:

North Attleboro, MA at Witschi's Sports Arena:
-Tony Contilles defeated Joe Nova via disqualification when Nova hit the referee.
-Jimmy Valiant pinned Ricky Sexton.
-Chief Jay Strongbow pinned Smasher Sloan; stipulations stated the loser would have to leave New -England.
-Sonny King pinned Juan Caruso
-Rene Goulet fought the Black Demon to a double count-out; Demon was unmasked as Tony Nero.

Queens, NY at Sunnyside Gardens:
-The Haiti Kid & Sonny Boy Hayes defeated Frenchy Lamont & Sky Low Low.
-Baron Mikel Scicluna defeated Manuel Soto.
-Thomas Marin defeated Chuck Richards.
-Victor Rivera defeated King Curtis via disqualification.

1976 - The WWF ran White Plains, NY at the Westchester County Center, headlined by Ivan Putski defeating Superstar Graham.
-Kevin Sullivan defeated Johnny Rodz.
-Skandar Akbar defeated Louis Cerdan.
-Tony Parisi fought Baron Mikel Scicluna to a draw.
-Susan Green & Vivian St. John defeated Paula Kaye & Kitty Adams.

1978 - WWF ran Pittsburgh, PA at the Civic Arena with the following results:
-Dewey Robertson defeated Chris Tolos.
-Ivan Putski defeated George Steele via disqualification.
-Billy Lyons defeated Nick Busick.
-WWWF World Champion Bob Backlund defeated Spiros Arion via countout.
-Gorilla Monsoon defeated Butcher Vachon.
-Superstar Billy & Luke Graham defeated Dusty Rhodes & Haystacks Calhoun.

1979 - WWF ran Baltimore, Maryland with the following results:
-Nikolai Volkoff defeated Johnny Rivera.
-Tito Santana defeated Johnny Rodz.
-Cowboy Lang & Tiny Thumb defeated Little Tokyo & Butch Cassidy.
-Hussein Arab defeated SD Jones.
-WWF North American Champion Ted DiBiase defeated Jimmy Valiant via disqualification.
-Ivan Putski defeated Bulldog Brower.
-WWF Tag Team Champions Johnny & Jerry Valiant defeated Steve Travis & Dominic DeNucci.
-WWF World Champion Bob Backlund fought Greg Valentine to a no contest.

1980 - WWF ran Totowa, NJ at Ice World with the following results:
-Baron Scicluna defeated Jose Estrada.
-Larry Sharpe defeated Angelo Gomez.
-Tor Kamata defeated Frank Williams.
-Rick McGraw defeated Johnny Rodz.
-WWF Tag Team Champions the Wild Samoans defeated Dominic Denucci & Rene Goulet.
-WWF Intercontinental Champion Ken Patera defeated Pat Patterson.
-Larry Zbyszko defeated Ivan Putski.

1981 - WWF ran Portland, Maine with the following results:
-The Great Yatsu defeated Don Serrano.
-Rick McGraw defeated Johnny Rodz.
-SD Jones defeated Frank Savage.
-Tony Garea & Rick Martel defeated Lou Albano & Moondog Rex.
-WWF World Champion Bob Backlund defeated Killer Khan.

1983 - NWA World champion Ric Flair defeated Billy Jack Haynes via disqualification in Yakima, Washington.

1983 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Norfolk, Virginia, featuring Mike Rotundo & Rufus R. Jones defeating Dory Funk Jr. & Jake Roberts and NWA U.S. Champion Greg Valentine defeating Johnny Weaver in the main events.

1983 - WWF ran Manchester, NH at JFK Coliseum with the following results:
-Johnny Rodz defeated Frankie Williams.
-Jose Estrada defeated Pete Sanchez.
-Salvatore Bellomo defeated Pete Doherty.
-Chief Jay Strongbow defeated Victor Rivera.
-Iron Mike Sharpe defeated SD Jones.
-Jules Strongbow defeated Samula via disqualification.
-WWF World Champion Bob Backlund defeated Afa via disqualification.

1984 - NWA World champion Kerry Von Erich defeated Ric Flair in San Antonio, Texas.

1984 - New Japan Pro Wrestling ran Niage, Japan, headlined by Tatsumi Fujinami defeating John Quinn,
WWF Tag Team Champion Adrian Adonis defeating Otto Wanz and a tag bout where Riki Choshu & Mr. Saito defeated WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan & the Masked Superstar via disqualification.

1984 - The Masked Outlaw (Dory Funk Jr.) defeated NWA Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Champion Angelo Mosca Jr. to win the championship at a Jim Crockett Promotions event in Spencer, NC. On the same card, Mark & Jay Youngblood defeated NWA Tag Team Champions Ivan Koloff & Don Kernodle (with Gary Hart) via disqualification at around the 7:40 mark after Kernodle struck Jay with a clothesline using a loaded forearm pad; after the bout, Wahoo McDaniel and Pez Whatley ran out to make the save.

1985 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran the Omni in Atlanta, GA featuring the following results:
-The Barbarian defeated Sam Houston.
-Superstar Billy Graham defeated the Italian Stallion.
-Buzz Sawyer fought Krusher Kruschev to a draw.
-NWA U.S. Champion Magnum TA defeated John Tatum.
-Tully Blanchard defeated National Heavyweight Champion Ron Garvin.
-Jimmy Valiant fought Abdullah the Butcher to a no contest.
-Thunderbolt Patterson & Manny Fernandez defeated National Tag Team Champions Ole & Arn Anderson
-Dusty Rhodes & Dick Slater defeated NWA World Tag Team Champions Ivan & Nikita Koloff.

1986 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Oakwood, VA headlined by NWA World Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express, Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey defeating Manny Fernandez & Hector Guerrero.

1986 - JCP also ran Greenville, SC at The Memorial Auditorium featuring the following results:
-Thunderfoot defeated Rocky Kernodle.
-Black Bart fought Don Kernodle to a draw.
-Ron Garvin defeated Ivan Koloff.
-Wahoo McDaniel defeated Jimmy Garvin via disqualification.
-NWA National Heavyweight Champion Tully Blanchard & NWA TV Champion Arn Anderson fought The Rock N' Roll Express to a no contest.
-Nikita Koloff defeated Magnum TA in a Russian chain match.

1987 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Columbia, SC for a TV Taping, featuring NWA TV Champion Tully Blanchard (with JJ Dillon) defeated Robert Gibson (with Ricky Morton) via disqualification around the 17 minute mark when the referee was knocked to the floor, allowing Morton and Dillon to interfere. Gibson backdropped Blanchard over the top rope. After the bout, NWA World Champion Ric Flair came out, attacked Morton in and out of the ring, and helped triple team him before Gibson made the save.

1987 - The WWF ran a long Superstars taping in Anaheim, CA headlined by Hulk Hogan defeating King Harley Race to retain the WWF championship in a dark match main event. The same taping featured Hogan making a rare televised wrestling appearance on the syndicated series (Hogan would wrestle on NBC specials but never on syndication, which was designed to sell tickets to live events) as he pinned Bob Orton in a match that aired Memorial Day weekend. Bobby Heenan was introduced as the manager of the Islanders at the taping as well.

1988 - WWF ran three events the same evening with the following results:

Erie, PA at the Civic Center in front of 1,000 fans:
-Iron Mike Sharpe pinned Scott Casey.
-Brady Boone pinned Steve Lombardi.
-The Junkyard Dog pinned Ron Bass.
-The Ultimate Warrior pinned Hercules.
-Bret Hart fought Bad News Brown to a double countout.
-WWF Women's Champion Sensational Sherri pinned Desiree Peterson.
-Strike Force, Rick Martel & Tito Santana defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition via disqualification.

Columbus, GA at The Municipal Auditorium in front of 3,600 fans:
-Hillbilly Jim pinned Steve Lombardi.
-The Young Stallions Paul Roma & Jim Powers fought The Bolsheviks, Nikolai Volkoff & Boris Zhukov to a draw
-Greg Valentine pinned Outback Jack.
-Dino Bravo pinned Ken Patera.
-WWF Intercontinental Champion the Honkytonk Man defeated Brutus Beefcake via countout.

Winnipeg, Manitoba at the Arena in front of 4,000 fans:
-Jacques & Raymond Rougeau defeated The Killer Bees, B. Brian Blair & Jim Brunzell.
-Don Muraco (sub. for Bam Bam Bigelow) pinned the One Man Gang.
-George Steele defeated Jim Neidhart via countout.
-Koko B. Ware pinned Bobby Heenan.
-Haku & Sivi Afi defeated Hillbilly Jim & Don Muraco.
-Jake Roberts fought Rick Rude to a double countout.
-WWF champion Randy Savage pinned Ted Dibiase,

1989 - Roddy Piper, who had retired at Wrestlemania III in March 1987, made a surprise return to the ring in the main event of the WWF house show in Los Angeles, CA before 15,000 fans. Piper was a surprise substitute for the injured Jake Roberts, returning to the ring and pinning Ted DiBiase. The same card saw Randy Savage defeat WWF champion Hulk Hogan by countout while Bret Hart and Mr. Perfect went to a 15 minute time limit draw.

Other results from the LA card:
-Paul Roma pinned Boris Zhukov.
-WWF Women's Champion Rockin Robin pinned Judy Martin.
-Dino Bravo pinned Hercules.
-The Bushwhackers defeated The Brain Busters, Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard.

1989 - Beyond the Los Angeles card, WWF also ran two other events the same night. Those results saw:

Miami, FL at the Arena:
-Greg Valentine pinned the Blue Blazer.
-The Honkytonk Man pinned Hillbilly Jim.
-Rick Martel pinned Tito Santana.
-The Ultimate Warrior fought WWF IC Champion Rick Rude to a double count-out.
-The Genius pinned Jim Powers.
-Brutus Beefcake pinned Bad News Brown; Ron Garvin was the guest referee for the match.
-WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition defeated the Big Bossman & Akeem via disqualification.

Springfield, MA at the Civic Center in front of 5,100 fans:
-Tom Magee pinned Tim Horner
-The Red Rooster pinned the Brooklyn Brawler
-The Warlord pinned Koko B. Ware
-Big John Studd defeated Andre the Giant via disqualification
-Jim Duggan pinned Haku
-Barry Horowitz pinned Mike Reskin
-Jacques & Raymond Rougeau defeated The Rockers. The Rockers won the match via pinfall but the referee, groggy after being knocked down moments earlier, mistakenly awarded the bout to the Rougeaus.

1990 - The NWA ran Detroit, Michigan at The Cobo Arena, drawing 1,700 fans, featuring the following results:
-Robbie Idol pinned Ned Brady.
-Bam Bam Bigelow pinned Paul Drake.
-Jonnie Stewart defeated Kevin Sullivan via disqualification at the 42-second mark; after the bout, Sullivan attacked Stewart.
-NWA U.S. Tag Team Champions Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk defeated the Samoan Swat Team; Zenk sustained an injury during the match.
-Mike Rotunda (substituting for NWA Tag Team Champion Rick Steiner, who was bumped up to the main event) & NWA Tag Team Champion Scott Steiner defeated The Midnight Express, Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane.
-The Road Warriors defeated Doom in a Street Fight.
-NWA Tag Team Champion Rick Steiner (substituting for NWA U.S. Champion Lex Luger, out with a staph infection) defeated NWA World Champion Ric Flair via disqualification at the 21-minute mark when Flair hit the referee. Due to Luger's illness, refunds were offered to fans in attendance.

1991 - WWF ran Albuquerque, NM at Tingley Coliseum, drawing 5,500 fans with the following results:
-IRS pinned Jimmy Snuka.
-Bret Hart pinned the Barbarian.
-The Bushwhackers defeated the Orient Express.
-Ricky Steamboat pinned Haku.
-The Big Bossman defeated the Mountie.
-Sgt. Slaughter defeated WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan via disqualification.

1991 - WCW ran Dayton, OH at The Nutter Center with the following results:
-Sam Houston defeated Ron Cumberledge.
-Brad Armstrong defeated the Black Scorpion.
-The Junkyard Dog & Sam Houston defeated Rip Morgan & Jack Victory when Rhodes pinned Morgan.
-Bobby Eaton defeated Terrance Taylor.
-Big Josh & Tommy Rich defeated the Angel of Death & Dan Spivey when Rich pinned the Angel of Death.
-Sting defeated WCW World Champion Ric Flair via disqualification.

1994 - WCW taped WCW Worldwide at the Disney-MGM Studios. Several one hour tapings were filmed over the course of the day with admission being free to those attending the parks. The most newsworthy results saw Ron Simmons defeat Maxx Payne in a Streetfight,"Stars and Stripes" (Marcus Alexander Bagwell and The Patriot) debuting as a team defeating Dick Slater & Chris Sullivan and the first ever Marquee of Queensbury Rules bout in WCW with featuring European Rounds rules and several judges. In Round 5, WCW World Champion Ric Flair defeated WCW World TV Champion Lord Steven Regal. The match was originally ruled a draw by judges Jimmy Jet, Randy Anderson, and Sgt. Craig Pittman but referee Nick Patriot issued an overtime period.

1994 - WWF ran a rare show in Guam while heading to Japan for a tour, featuring the following results for their event at the University of Guam Fieldhouse:
-Adam Bomb defeated the 1-2-3 Kid.
-WWF Women's Champion Alundra Blayze defeated Bull Nakano.
-WWF Tag Team Champions the Headshrinkers defeated the Smoking Gunns.
-Doink the Clown defeated Bob Backlund.
-The Undertaker defeated Yokozuna via disqualification.
-Bam Bam Bigelow defeated Tatanka.
-Randy Savage defeated Rick Martel (substituting for Shawn Michaels).
-WWF World Champion Bret Hart defeated Owen Hart.

1994 - Smoky Mountain Wrestling ran Norfolk, Virginia with the following results:
Tracy Smothers defeated Steven Dunn
SMW champion the Dirty White Boy defeated Kendo the Samurai
Rock N' Roll Express defeated SMW Tag Team Champions Brian Lee & Chris Candido via disqualification
Tracy Smothers won a pole battle royal

1995 - WWF ran Providence, RI at the Civic Center featuring the following results:
-Man Mountain Rock defeated Kwang.
-Jacob & Eli Blu defeated the Bushwhackers.
-WWF IC Champion Jeff Jarrett defeated Bob Holly.
-Razor Ramon defeated The Roadie.
-Bret Hart defeated Jerry Lawler in a Kiss My Foot match.
-Bam Bam Bigelow defeated Tatanka.
-The New Headshrinkers defeated the Heavenly Bodies.
-WWF World Champion Diesel & the Undertaker defeated Psycho Sid & Kama.

1996 - The multi-day WWF Kuwaiti Cup tournament ends Kuwait City, Kuwait, with Ahmed Johnson defeating Hunter Hearst Helmsley to win the Cup. Here are the results from the full event:
-Bushwhacker Luke defeated Aldo Montoya.
-Bushwhacker Butch defeated Leif Cassidy.
-Duke Drose defeated Marty Jannetty.
-Yokozuna & Savio Vega defeated Bob Backlund & Isaac Yankem DDS.
-Bret Hart & the Undertaker defeated Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith.
-WWF World Champion Shawn Michaels defeated Steve Austin.

1996 - WCW ran Knoxville, TN in front of 2,800 fans with the following results:
-Alex Wright pinned Disco Inferno.
-The Booty Man pinned Arn Anderson.
-Eddie Guerrero pinned Chris Benoit.
-The Nasty Boys defeated Public Enemy.
-WCW TWorld V Champion Lex Luger defeated Jim Duggan.
-Randy Savage pinned Ric Flair; Flair originally won the match but the bout continued after the referee found him with a foreign object.
-WCW World Champion the Giant defeated Sting via disqualification.

1996 - The WWF ran a second show in Binghamton, NY, drawing 3,278 fans with the following results:
-Justin Bradshaw defeated Barry Horowitz.
-Marc Mero defeated the Brooklyn Brawler.
-The Smoking Gunns defeated Samu & the Tahitian Warrior.
-WWF Tag Team Champions Skip & Zip defeated Henry & Phinneas Godiwnn.
-Mankind defeated Jake Roberts.
-Jerry Lawler defeated Razor Ramon; Mr. Perfect was the guest referee for the bout.
-The Ultimate Warrior defeated Vader.

1997 - WCW broadcast Nitro from Baltimore, Maryland in front of 8,058 fans with the following results:
-Meng defeated Rick Fuller.
-Mortis defeated Super Calo.
-Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated Psychosis.
-Glacier defeated Villano IV.
-The Giant & Diamond Dallas Page defeated Harlem Heat.

Nitro:
-WCW World TV Champion the Ultimo Dragon defeated Juventud Guerrera.
-WCW U.S. Champion Dean Malenko pinned Steve McMichael.
-Wrath pinned Scotty Riggs.
-Konnan & Hugh Morrus defeated Alex Wright & Ice Train.

1997 - Meanwhile, WWF filmed Raw in Newark, Delaware with the following results from the taping:

Shotgun Saturday Night- (airing 5/17/97):
-Jim Neidhart pinned Marty Garner with a bodyslam
-Leif Cassidy pinned Matt Hardy with a fallaway slam
-Rocky Maivia defeated Rockabilly disqualification when Honkytonk Man hit Maivia with his guitar
-Farooq pinned Jason Ahrdnt with the Dominator

Raw is War:
-King of the Ring Quarter-Finals: Ahmed Johnson defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/ Chyna) via disqualification when Chyna interfered and hit Ahmed with a steel chair
-Scott Putski pinned Leif Cassidy with a suplex; after the bout, Putski won a brief brawl with an incensed Cassidy
-The Legion of Doom defeated PG-13 following the Doomsday Device on both Wolfie D and JC Ice; after the bout, the Nation left their fallen teammates behind
-WWF World Champion the Undertaker defeated Savio Vega (w/ the Nation) via disqualification in a non-title match when Farooq interfered after the champion hit the tombstone and began whipping Taker with his belt
-Rob Van Dam pinned Jeff Hardy with a split-legged moonsault at 2:29; prior to the bout, Jerry Lawler introduced RVD to the crowd, nicknaming him “Mr. Monday Night”, and then both he and RVD cut an anti-ECW promo in RVD's first-ever WWF appearance.
-WWF Tag Team Champions Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith defeated the Headbangers, the New Blackjacks, and Doug Furnas & Phil LaFon in an elimination match; order of elimination: Furnas & LaFon, Blackjack Windham & Blackjack Bradshaw by the Headbangers via interference from Furnas & LaFon who remained ringside, the Headbangers.

Dark Matches:
-WWF World Champion the Undertaker defeated Mankind
-Steve Austin & Legion of Doom defeated Brian Pillman, WWF Tag Team Champions - WWF IC Champion Owen Hart & WWF European Champion Davey Boy Smith

1999 - WCW ran Springfield, MO at the Shrine Mosque with the following results:
-Vampiro defeated Lash Laroux.
-Hugh Morrus defeated Jerry Flynn.
-La Parka & Silver King defeated Super Calo & Lizmark Jr..
-Chavo Guerrero Jr. defeated Juventud Guerrera.
-Konnan defeated Disco Inferno.
-WCW World TV Champion Booker T defeated Brian Adams.
-Sting defeated Ric Flair and Diamond Dallas Page.

1999 - WWF ran Tallahassee, FL, drawing 8,203 fans with the following results:
-Matt & Jeff Hardy defeated Brian Christopher & Scott Taylor
-Steve Blackman defeated Darren Drozdov
-WWF Hardcore Champion Al Snow defeated Hardcore Holly
-Kane & Test defeated Skull & 8-Ball
-Mankind & Ken Shamrock defeated the Acolytes; the Acolytes played the faces for the match due to Farooq being a Florida State alum; to help in that effort, Mankind & Shamrock wore University of Florida jerseys to the ring
-The Big Show defeated the Big Bossman in a steel cage match
-WWF Intercontinental Champion the Godfather defeated Goldust
-Val Venis & Jackie defeated D-Lo Brown & Ivory
-Owen Hart & Jeff Jarrett defeated Christian & Edge
-The Rock defeated Billy Gunn

2001 - John Zandig defeats Wifebeater in Smyrna, Delaware to win the Combat Zone Wrestling World Heavyweight Title for a fourth time, ending Wifebeater's second reign.

2002 - Keiji Mutoh, George Hines & Kaz Hayashi defeat Genichiro Tenryu, Arashi & Nobutaka Araya to win the All Japan Giant Baba Memorial Cup Six-Man Tournament.

2002 - WWE ran Halifax, Nova Scotia at the Metro Centre before 4,500 fans with the following results:
-Christian defeated Sho Funaki.
-Hardcore Holly defeated Randy Orton.
-WWE Cruiserweight Champion Tajiri defeated Billy Kidman and Chavo Guerrero.
-WWE Tag Team Champions Billy Gunn & Chuck Palumbo defeated Al Snow & Maven when Palumbo pinned Maven after Rico interfered and hit a spin kick
-Mark Henry, the Hurricane, & Val Venis defeated Lance Storm, .Albert, & the Godfather when Henry pinned Storm.
-Test pinned Farooq with the boot to the face.
-D-Von Dudley defeated Tazz.
-Chris Jericho defeated Rikishi.
-Torrie Wilson defeated Ivory and Stacy Keibler in a swimsuit contest.
-Edge defeated Kurt Angle in a steel cage match, despite interference from Chris Jericho, by leaving through the door.

2002 - Southern States Wrestling promoted the Third Annual Mark Curtis Memorial event. Tim Whitehead filed the following live report:

Southern States Wrestling (SSW) promoted the third annual Mark Curtis Memorial Show at the Civic Auditorium in Kingsport, TN on 5/11. For those who are new fans of pro wrestling, Mark Curtis was a legendary WCW & SMW referee who was one of the most respected men in the history of the sport. A fan of wrestling from childhood, he trained under Dominic DeNucci in his hometown of Pittsburgh. Classmates included Shane Douglas and Mick Foley. Though considered too small to make it as a wrestler, he frequently had very good matches on the indie circuit using masked gimmicks such as the Ninja Turtle or El Technico Rudo. But Curtis, whose real name was Brian Hildebrand, made his biggest mark as a referee, first in SMW, and later in WCW. Even after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, he continued to work as often as possible and to study classic and Japanese tapes.


Curtis was so deeply respected that Ric Flair presented him with a replica of the World Title at a WCW show in Knoxville. And a few weeks before his death on September 9, 1999, many of the top stars in the industry volunteered their time for a fundraising show for him in Rostraver, PA. No one who was at that show will ever forget it, or the get-together afterward at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh.

The key ingredient in the Mark Curtis Memorial Shows is old-fashioned wrestling, the type of grappling Curtis loved the most. In the era of "sports entertainment", it's easy to forget how much fun basic wrestling can be. SSW promoter Beau James ran an afternoon show using local talent, and also a show the night before in nearby Bristol. But the main card was the evening show in Kingsport. There was also catering (barbeque) for Golden Circle ticket holders. And lots of great road stories from area veteran Jim White, George South, and Beau James in the hours leading up to the show.

The show itself was very good, with everyone working hard, including bumping on the unpadded floor. It was traditional southern style wrestling with lots of brawling and working the crowd.

GEORGE SOUTH JR. & KID APOLLO defeated NEW YORK ASSASSIN & JASON KING. Fast-paced opener. Apollo was flying around all over the place. He hit a quebrada and a huracanrana. He also bumped like crazy, including on the unprotective floor when the heels got heat on him. South Jr. got the pin with a forward roll (what some call a victory roll) on King.

It was announced that Ivan Koloff, who was scheduled against Jimmy Valiant in a match billed as their last Russian Chain Match, would not be there due to transportation problems.

SSW announcer Joe Wheeler noted all the recent passings in the wrestling world, including Wahoo McDaniel, Lou Thesz, and referee Randy Anderson. There was a ten bell salute and a moment of silence. That was a real touch of class.

IRON CROSS beat ROGER ANDERSON. Anderson did the traditional complaining heel ("He pulled my hair, ref") role. It's a role he's very good at. Cross, who looks to be in very good shape, gives out religious tracts before his matches. Cross won with a Thesz press. The babyfaces went over in most of the matches.

THE MIGHTY YANKEE beat ANDY DOUGLAS. Yankee was accompanied by manager Steinbrenner. Douglas looks like Jeff Hardy without the weird hair colors. He does the fast mat stuff while Yankee is a traditional brawler. Yankee won clean with an elbow after Douglas missed a legdrop in a rare heel victory.

JIMMY VALIANT defeated GEORGE SOUTH in a Legends Match. Commissioner Ken Bowles was about to declare Valiant the winner via forfeit over Koloff when South (Sr., not Jr.) came out. He cut a promo that was better than most of the WWF roster. Unfortunately, there was a "what" chant from the crowd as well. I can't escape that no matter where I go. Anyway, South said he hates Tennessee and put over Mid-Atlantic wrestling as superior to any sissy Tennessee stuff. He called himself the only true legend in the building. He said Tennessee may have had Ken Bowles, Ron Wright, and Jim White, but the Carolinas had the Andersons, Johnny Weaver, and Rick Steamboat. He vowed to take a stand for Jim Crockett Promotions and Mid-Atlantic. He went off pretty good on the crowd as well, and kept screaming that he was a legend.

So the match began and, as expected, South started stalling and kept bailing out to avoid Valiant (who, ironically, was also a big star for Crockett and Mid-Atlantic). Eventually, Bowles got on the mic and said we need some lumberjacks, so serveral guys surrounded the ring, including White (who was Jerry Lawler's tag partner in the early 70's) and Super Mario (who looks just like the video character of the same name). Valiant did as many of his old spots as he could, with South bailing and being thrown back in by the lumberjacks. South finally got on offense after raking the eyes but soon got locked in a sleeper which was dropped into a roll-up for the pin. The crowd loved this match.

JOHN NOBLE beat TRACY SMOTHERS. Tracy was managed by The Duke (our old friend Allan Barrie). Duke and Tracy threatened violence if the fans chanted "Tracy sucks". They did. The crowd around here really hates Tracy since he turned "scalawag". Tracy said the fans here make him ashamed to be from the Volunteer State. Both guys really worked hard here. Tracy sold until Duke's interference put him in command. Noble came back and nailed Duke. He hit a crossbody to the floor on Tracy. He also hit one off the top inside the ring. Duke caused Noble to bump out and he put the boots to him. They did a ton of near falls at the end and were chopping each other like crazy. Noble won with seconds to spare with a cradle. Tracy flipped the crowd off afterward and promised never to return to Kingsport.

CODY MICHAELS defeated BUDDY LANDEL. Landel came out and greeted the crowd as a babyface, but then wrestled as a heel. Michaels is an old friend of Mark Curtis from Pittsburgh. Landel used all the old heel tactics, such as raking the eyes, pulling hair, and biting until Michaels won out of nowhere with a simple roll-up. Buddy attacked Michaels afterward and put him in a figure four until Valiant made the save with a chair. Before leaving, Landel got on the mic and was gasping as if totally out of breath (it was a work) and demanded to know if Michaels wants any more of him. He thanked the crowd for standing with him during his victory and said he couldn't have done it without them.

Up next was this year's Hall of Fame and special awards ceremony. Several prior inductees were there, including Sandy Scott, Ken Bowles, Melvin Johnson, and Jim White. Pam Hildebrand, Mark Curtis' widow, was also present. A special humanitarian award was given to Tony Richardson for his work with special needs kids. Super Mario, who has faced some personal tragedies in recent years, received an award. Hall of Fame inductees were the late Bud Adams (this area's version of the Spoiler), former athletic commissioner Paul Steele, veteran local competitors Kim Birchfield and Charlie Peters, and "White Lightnin'" Tim Horner. Ricky Harrison, whose retirement match was the scheduled main event, received a special friendship award for his 15 years of working the indies.

BRANDI ALEXANDER beat BRANDI WINE to capture the U.S. Ladies Title. Both ladies were in great shape. This was a total serious style women's match like in the old days. Duke came out with Wine (the wrestler, not the beverage) and ran down Alexander on the mic. They did everything by the book, and while both ladies were very attractive, it wasn't the WWF-style T & A. The finish saw Duke accidentally trip Wine, leading to her loss. They teased a break-up afterward, but ended up hugging.


BRIAN OVERBAY & RAY IDOL beat EQUALIZER & CHIC WHITE. Equalizer takes a lot of bumps for a guy his size. Like Roger Anderson, he does the traditional complaining heel gimmick. Overbay & Idol are local guys who are always over with the crowds here. Overbay chopped the hell out of White. The heels then got heat on Idol and worked on his leg. All four ended up brawling, leading to a double pin after the heels collided for another babyface win.

SHANE DOUGLAS beat TIM HORNER by DQ. Douglas looked in a lot better shape than at the end of his ECW & WCW runs, where he had taken so much punishment it was starting to overtake him. The long rest while his Time-Warner contract ran out did him a lot of good. He was great on the mic, though he may have overdone it a little on the profanity for this area. He said he had heard East Tennessee is God's country, and after seeing it he now knows heaven has a ghetto. He put over being from Pittsburgh and said it's home to wrestling legends like Bruno Sammartino, Larry Zbyszko, Kurt Angle, and himself. He ran down the Hall of Fame inductees as not being good enough to lace his boots or carry his jock strap. He called himself the savior of the business. Horner arrived and put over area legends such as Ron Wright, Don Wright, Whitey Caldwell, Ron Fuller, and Ron Garvin. The match began and Horner kept out-wrestling Douglas, who would flee from the ring after each lock-up. He even threatened to exit the building at one point. He almost got counted out and barely beat a ten count to get back to the ring, but immediately bailed out again. Horner continued to dominate until Douglas hit the greatest low blow of all time. He went on offense using basic moves and brawling, with the crowd staying with it. There was a ref bump. Douglas pulled out a chain and KO'ed Horner. He then put the chain in Horner's hand. The ref revived and saw Horner holding the chain while Douglas writhed on the mat in mock agony, pretending to have been hit in the mouth with the weapon. Horner, who was just starting to regain consciousness, was DQ'ed. It was pretty funny as Douglas kept checking his teeth in front of the ref, but would smirk to the crowd behind the ref's back. Before leaving, Douglas got on the mic and said, "He knocked a tooth loose, damn it....that cheating son of a bitch!"

BEAU JAMES & WAR MACHINE beat K.C. THUNDER & STEVE FLYNN. The entire Duke Dynasty came out with Thunder & Flynn, including Duke himself. P.J. Sharpe was with Beau & Machine. Duke ran down Beau for alleged dirty tactics, including the "banned in Tennessee" piledriver. Earlier on the TV show, Beau had vowed to refund all the fans' money if he failed to send a member of the Duke Dynasty out on a stretcher. Duke said Beau would fail, and the fans would get their welfare money back and could then spend it on booze and prostitutes. The fine art of heel managing may be dead in WWE but it's alive and well in the small promotions. As for the match, well, it was a brawl all over. Nothing fancy, just brawling. Duke set new speed records fleeing from Beau, Machine, and Sharpe, and he wasn't above sacrificing other Dynasty members to save himself. Beau juiced, which was the only blood on the show. Beau threw a fireball in Flynn's face and he staggered out blinded. This left Thunder to get massacred, as his arm was tied up in a submission hold and then wrapped around the post. The match just sort of ended with Beau announcing that he heard Thunder's arm breaking. Thunder was stretchered, as Beau had promised.

RICKY HARRISON beat TERRY TAYLOR. This was Harrison's retirement match after 15 years as a regular on indies throughout the region. Harrison, who loves any wrestling from 1987 and before, does a "Rock & Roll" gimmick and patterns his style off of the Southern wrestling he grew up on. Duke came out once again, this time as Taylor's manager. Sandy Scott was special referee. Harrison went out with style, with a good match. He did a fast criss-cross sequence with Taylor. He also took a major bump into the post to put Taylor on offense. Harrison made a comeback and hit a neckbreaker but Duke distracted Scott. Taylor then laid Harrison out and pinned him using the ropes for leverage. But Ken Bowles ran in and told Scott about the infraction and the match was re-started. They kept going for a few more minutes rather than having a quick babyface win after the re-start. Harrison hit a ton of dropkicks, including one on Duke, before scoring the pin. Harrison thanked the fans afterward. A good ending to a very entertaining show.

2002 - It was announced that the Paul Hough documentary "The Backyard" had been picked up for theatrical distribution. The film, which featured Rob Van Dam and followed several backyard wrestlers, would pick up several awards on the festival circuit:

HQI MEDIA & IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT ACQUIRE AWARD WINNING DOC THE BACKYARD AND SET THEATRICAL RELEASE

New York/Tribeca Film Festival- HIQI Media & Image Entertainment have acquired the critically acclaimed backyard wrestling documentary THE BACKYARD hot on the heels of its audience award at the BROOKLYN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. In this real-life "Fight Club", director Paul Hough traveled the backyards of America to find kids with dreams of wrestling stardom and names like The Lizard, Scar, and Big Mac with a Spork. These amateur wrestlers put on shows for parents and friends using staple guns, razor blades, and barbwire covered bats in their bloody bouts. It 1s a world that most Americans and many wrestling fans would prefer not exist. Hough, with a keen observant eye, takes a close look at the cockeyed world of these masochistic performers and their friends and families that support them.
HIQI Media will open the film theatrically in New York and Los Angeles July 25th with additional dates leading to Image Entertainment1s DVD release.

THE BACKYARD premiered at SXSW and has garnered awards and special attention at other film festivals including The Silver Lake Film Festival, Edinburgh Film Festival (Best of the Fest), Sonoma Film Festival, the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival (Closing Night Film), the Texas Film Festival and the Coachella Independent Film Festival.

HIQI Media (www.HIQI.com) is a distributor of music-based and lifestyle documentaries and recently released SYNERGY: VISIONS OF VIBE, WORD, and DRIVER 23 on DVD in conjunction with Image Entertainment.

Paul Hough is a graduate of NYUs film school. THE BACKYARD is his first feature film. THE BACKYARD deal was negotiated by Josh Braun on behalf of director Hough, and Oren Bitan on behalf of HIQI Media.

2002 - WWF broadcast Sunday Night Heat. John Keane filed the following report:

Heat Report for 5/12/2002.
Matches taped on 5/6 in Stamford CT.
Your Announcers are Jonathan Coachman and Raven.

The pyros go off, Coach and Raven welcome us in, and we go straight to work…

1st Match; For the Intercontinental Championship: Tommy Dreamer vs. champ Eddy Guerrero.

Eddy gets fantastic heel heat, nice pop for Tommy. Eddy attacks before the bell, laying in forearms to Tommy at the ropes. Eddy whips Tommy off opposite ropes, sends him down with a shoulder. Eddy lays in boots, brings Tommy up, scores belly-to-back suplex. Tommy down, takes a kick, Eddy brings him up, lays in more forearms. Tommy to corner, Eddy hits an uppercut, snapmare, Tommy down, Eddy does classic spinning boot-grind to face. Eddy keeps up assault as Tommy crawls toward corner, Eddy continues with forearms, Tommy down in corner. Eddy brings Tommy up, hits textbook bodyslam. Eddy goes outside to apron, goes for springboard senton splash, Tommy rolls out of way, Eddy down and up quickly. Tommy gets in a Spinebuster, both men down. Up, they exchange punches, Tommy forces Eddy toward ropes, whips him off opposite, scores big back-body drop, Eddy down. Up, Eddy goes for kick, Tommy catches boot, leg whip sets up a Russian leg-sweep, both men again down. Up, Eddy to corner, Tommy scores forearm to face, whips Eddy to opposite, charges, Eddy scores with a shoulder, Tommy staggered-nope, he was playing possum, Eddy walks into a powerslam, goes down for 2. Up, Tommy goes for whip, reversed, Tommy off ropes, Eddy goes for crucifix, Tommy counters with Death Valley Driver attempt, Eddy rolls over, attempts roll-up, Tommy gets leverage, gets Eddy's shoulders down for another 2. Up, Tommy gets in boot to gut, DDT, JUST good for 2.

(Commentary: Tommy Dreamer, Intercontinental Champ-has a nice sound to it. Oh well.)

Eddy down, Tommy goes to apron, ascends top turnbuckle, goes for Frog Splash (!), Eddy rolls out of way, Tommy eats mat. Up, Eddy scores boot to gut, brainbuster suplex, ascends top turnbuckle, hits the Frog Splash, 1-2-3.

Winner and Still Intercontinental Champion: Eddy Guerrero.

Raven sounded a LOT more excited than usual during this match. Break.

Coach and Raven return to recap last weeks Raw. We see footage of The Big Show explaining his turning on Stone Cold Steve Austin and joining the n.W.o. 2 weeks ago. He felt Stone Cold had been holding him down, reminding us that he was headlining Wrestlemania 16 while Austin was injured. However, since Stone Cold's return, he feels he's been buried, wrestling on Heat and signing autographs in restaurants. As he ranted, Ric Flair made his entrance, and shut the whining Big Show up. Scott Hall then got on the mic, declaring that later on the show, the n.W.o. would reveal a surprise that would change the future of the company.

We see Ric backstage attempting to gather some clues regarding Hall's statement. He found some circumstantial evidence that seemed to indicate a possible alliance between Bradshaw (who, along with Stone Cold, he'd be teaming with against the n.W.o. in the nights main event) and the boys in black and white. When confronted by the former Acolyte, Flair was told he was (in a nutshell) full of crap. We then see the currently suspended founding member of the n.W.o. Kevin Nash arriving at the arena.

The match eventually went on. Austin, Flair and Bradshaw had severe problems working as a team, all seeming to harbor deep suspicions regarding each other. No such problem for Hall, X-Pac and Show, who meshed just fine. End saw Show and Austin alone in the ring after a ref bump. Flair came in with a chair, but walked into a Show chokeslam attempt. Austin made the save, hit Show with a Stunner and made the cover-no ref. As Austin went to revive him, Flair got the chair and laid out Stone Cold. He then got a mic, and informed Austin that he'd be facing himself and Show in a handicap match at Judgment Day. He then put Stone Cold in the Figure-4, getting some help from Show.

Coach feels Mr. Flair has some explaining to do. Break.

After a video for Rocky's 'Scorpion King' flick, we get an update on Lita's condition. She suffered a severe neck injury doing a stunt on the TV show 'Dark Angel', and had surgery 2 weeks ago. From all reports, she'll be out at least 6 months.

Back to the ring…

2nd Match: Matt Hardy vs. Curt 'Mr. Perfect' Hennig.

(Commentary: Bit surprised this match is airing. As I'm sure you're aware, Curt was fired last week for getting in Brock Lesnar's face on the becoming-legendary 'plane ride from hell' bringing the wrestlers home from the U.K.-only 'Insurrexion' PPV.)

Nice pop for Matt even without Lita or Jeff, big heat for Curt. They circle, lock up, break, circle and lock up again. Both try to apply hammerlocks, Matt succeeds, Curt trips him, sending him through ropes and out of ring. Curt gets in a knee to the face as Matt tries to come in, reaches for Matt outside, takes punch. Curt joins Matt outside, chase ensues, Matt re-enters, Curt follows, Matt goes off ropes, Curt drops to mat in preparation for leapfrog, Matt puts on brakes, lays in series of 'bi**h slaps' to Curts head. Matt bails from ring, the enraged Curt follows, he pauses to yell at crowd, Matt takes the opportunity to score another humiliation shot to the back of Curts head. Curt re-enters, Matt by apron, Curt drags him up by hair, snapmares him into ring. Curt scores uppercut, applies headlock, Matt gets him to ropes, breaks hold, whips Curt off ropes, Matt drops to canvas, leapfrog sequence ends with Curt scoring dropkick. Both men down, Curt up first, lays in boots. Curt sets Matt in corner, lays in chop, whips him to opposite corner, charges, takes boot to face. Matt scores Side Effect (reverse DDT variation), Curt down. Matt brings Curt up, slams him right back down, goes to 2nd turnbuckle, scores with the legdrop. Curt up groggily, Matt signals for Twist of Fate, gets it he does, 1-2-3.

Winner: Matt Hardy. Later, Mr. P.

Coach and Raven wish Matt's girlfriend Lita a quick recovery. Break.

Back, we get a HIGHLY edited video recap of the Hulk Hogan/Undertaker confrontation from last week, where the Hulkster first stole and later destroyed 'Takers prized motorcycle. Break. 'Taker gets a shot at the Hulkster's Undisputed Championship at Judgment Day. Break.

Slam of the Week: William Regal defeats Spike Dudley for the European Championship last week. Post-match, Regal continued the assault on Spike, save made by former Euro Champ D'Lo Brown.

Coach and Raven recap last weeks Women's Title match. Hardcore Champ Steven Richards accompanied Jazz to ringside, and assisted her in retaining the belt. This was followed by run-ins from a horde of wrestlers, all focused on Stevie's HC strap. In rapid succession, Bubba Ray Dudley, Raven, Justin Credible, Crash Holly and Jazz's original opponent Trish Stratus (!) had seconds-long reigns as Hardcore Champion. The schmozz ended when Steven covered Trish, who had just been 'mistakenly' put through a table by Bubba Ray (he'd taken a fire extinguisher blast to the eyes, courtesy of Jazz). Steven Richards is once again Hardcore Champ. Afterward, Bubba Ray realized his mistake and carried Trish from the ring.

(The shot of Trish going through the table was edited for MTV.)

Raven reminds us he's now a 22-time Hardcore Champion. Break.

Burn of the Night: Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy defeat Booker T and Eddy Guerrero last week. Bungled interference from Goldust on Eddy and the Book's behalf was partially responsible for their loss. RVD gets his shot at Eddy's IC belt at Judgment Day.

This leads nicely into our Main Event…

3rd Match: Rob Van Dam vs. Goldust.

Standard big pop for RVD, crowd hates the Man from Hollywood. Stalling to start, lockup, Rob applies a side headlock, Goldust makes it to ropes, breaks hold, shoots Rob off opposite ropes. Rob ducks a clothesline, nails Goldust with a standing dropkick. Goldust rolls out of ring, Rob backflips out, Goldust sidesteps, misses with another clothesline, Rob scores boot to gut, brings Goldust up, sets him on barricade. Rob to apron, spinning legdrop sends both men down outside. Rob scores quick kick, rolls Goldust in, follows, covers for 2. Goldust to corner, Rob attempts whip, reversed, Rob to corner, Goldust charges, takes elbow to face. Rob to 2nd turnbuckle, Goldust avoids dropkick, Rob to mat, Goldust slingshots him face first into top rope. Rob down, Goldust boots him toward corner, brings him up, sends him face first into turnbuckles. Goldust gets in chops, kicks, applies boot-choke, ref calls for break. Goldust brings Rob up, shoots him off ropes, sets for backdrop, Rob back-somersaults over. Goldust ducks a kick, scores Atomic drop, clothesline sends Rob down for 2. Rob up at ropes, Goldust gets in a quick punch, sends Rob off ropes, sets for another backdrop (dummy), Rob counters with a facebuster. Goldust quickly but groggily gets to feet, goes for kick, Rob catches boot, connects with stepover spin-kick, Goldust down. Rob gets in quick kick, Goldust to feet, Rob gets him to corner. Whip attempt reversed, Rob to opposite corner, Goldust charges into a boot to face, staggers, Rob goes up top, scores single-leg dropkick, Goldust down. Rob scores modified Rolling Thunder (set up rather like Rocky's finisher-Peoples's Thunder?), covers Goldust for 2. Both up, Rob avoids bodyslam attempt, scores spinning kick to lower back, Goldust down. Rob sets him up, goes up top, 5-Star Frog Splash, 1-2-3.

Winner: Rob Van Dam.

Hype for tomorrow nights Raw ends the show.

Didn't I read that Heat was going to focus more on matches than recap? If so, why did we get 3 short matches that totaled less than 10 minutes? Well, I read on the spoilers that the show started about a half hour late last Monday, guess they were pressed for time. Hope things pick up after Judgment Day.

2002 - WWE ran Halifax, Nova Scotia. Justin Heisler filed the following live report:

I just got back from the WWE House show in Halifax, NS and thought I'd send along the results.

Tony Chimel welcomes us to the WWE Live and goes over all the rules.

1st Match: Christian vs. Sho Funaki
In the surprise of the night, Christian makes an appearance to a mild pop. He gets some heat for ragging on Halifax until he's interrupted by Funaki! Indeed! Funaki mocks Christian's temper tantrums. In a replay of their Jakked/Metal classics, Christian gets the duke after the Impaler.

2nd Match: Tough Enough Challenge - Hardcore Holly vs. Randy Orton
Surprisingly enough, Orton comes out to a chorus of boos, while the crowd loves Hardcore. Orton plays the heel in the match for some reason. Hardcore is stiff. Real stiff. He gets the win after an Alabama Slam much to the delight of the crowd. Orton is booed out of the ring after the match.

3rd Match: WWE Cruiserweight Championship Triple Threat Match - Tajiri vs. Kidman vs. Chavo Guerrero, Jr.
Chavo, who was scheduled to meet Funaki, was a late addition to this one. Lucky us. He gets no reaction. Kidman gets a small pop. Tajiri gets the biggest pop, despite being the heel. Strange stuff. Anyway, Tajiri gets the win following a vicious kick to the head. Good match, but way too short.

4th Match: Test vs. Faarooq
Test comes out to a pretty big pop, as does Faarooq. Test gets the win following a boot on the former WCW Champion. Unfortunately, we don't get to see a stiff Faarooq spinebuster. The crowd chants "APA" as Faarooq leaves.

5th Match: WWE Tag Team Championships - Billy & Chuck w / Rico vs. Al Snow & Maven
Decent pop for Snow and Maven. Snow chases Tony Chimel around the ring for some reason. The champs come out to MASSIVE heat and plenty of chants regarding their "alternative lifestyle." Rico constantly interferes. With the referee distracted, he spin kicks Maven allowing his boys to retain their titles. After the match, Al and Maven have a bit of an argument, but hug and make up. While they hug, Maven puts his hands on Snow ass. Snow chases Chimel around some more. Best match so far. Very entertaining. Snow is a riot!

6th Match: Six Man Tag - Albert, Godfather & Lance Storm vs. Hurricane, Mark Henry & Big Valbowski
Albert and Storm come out to minimal reactions. Godfather comes out to a decent pop. The biggest so far. Apparently the crowd missed his heel turn on Metal. His pop is surpassed by my favorite superhero, The Hurricane! Mark Henry and Val Venis come out to small pops. While Henry and Albert, who really needs to wear a shirt or something, plod around the ring, the crowd chants "We Want Storm." Lance almost ruins his serious gimmick by cracking a smile. They get it alright. Moments later he does the J-O-B to the Big Show wannabe O'Henry. It's a shame the WWE is wasting a talent like Storm. After the match, Hurricane and Mark Henry use his cape as a towel and poke fun at Val.

Intermission: No Hulk Hogan merchandise! Wassupwitdat?!?

Chimel announces the winner of the 50-50 draw. After every number, the crowd screams, "What?"

7th Match: Reverend D-Von vs. Tazz
D-Von cuts a promo - I mean sermon for us. Deacon Batista is nowhere to be found. He says everyone in Halifax are sinners. He tells us to give money to the D-Von building fund or we won't get into heaven. OK. Sure. Tazz comes out. He says he's making himself an official resident of Halifax, and he'll make D-Von just another victim. D-Von wins by covering Tazz and using the ropes for extra leverage. After the match, Tazz puts him in the Tazzmission.

8th Match: Chris Jericho vs. Rikishi
Jericho comes out to a Y2J chant and a decent pop, but gets his heat by, that's right, running down Halifax. Rikishi comes out to a few boos and not much else for some reason. He says he thinks Halifax is cool to get a bit of a pop, but we still love Jericho. Jericho teases throwing his t-shirt to the crowd, but doesn't. Rikishi grabs it and is about to throw it to the crowd, but decides to wipe his ample anus with it first, and then throw it out. Great...I really want that t-shirt now. Jericho knocks the Phat Man down in the corner and pulls down his tights to reveal a Speedo. Looks to be the one he was wearing in his revolting poolside interview on Smackdown! around Christmas. Anyway, he tries for the Stink Face, but Rikishi counters. Rikishi survives the lionsault and Walls Of Jericho. Rikishi goes for the Bonzai Drop, but Jericho gets his knees up for a low blow, and the win. After the match, Rikishi gives him a Stink Face.

9th "Match": Smackdown! Swimsuit Challenge - Stacy vs. Torrie vs. Ivory
Stacy and Torrie come out to HUGE pops. Ivory comes out to a chorus of boos. She says we're all perverts for watching a degrading swimsuit challenge on Mother's Day. She's probably right, but oh well. She says she won't participate and is about to leave when Torrie and Stacy attack her and rip off her clothes to reveal a yellow bikini. An embarrassed Ivory runs to the back. Torrie and Stacy disrobe. The crowd decides the outcome. Torrie wins. Stacy kicks her. Torrie fights back and knocks Stacy out of the ring.

10th Match: Steel Cage Main Event - Kurt Angle vs. Edge
The puny looking cage is put up. Still, it's somewhat of a bonus since there's no Hogan or HHH. Angle comes out to HUGE heat and YOU SUCK chants. Edge comes out to a big pop, beaten out only by Torrie and Stacy. Edge and Angle put on a great cage match. These guys are two of the best in the business. You'd never know it was a house show from the quality of this match. It totally saved an otherwise mediocre show. Canada chants for Edge. Angle has the chance to leave the cage, but comes back in to inflict some more punishment. Big mistake. Angle gets slingshotted into the cage and is hit with Edge's reverse neckbreaker thing for a near fall. Angle hits the Angle Slam for a near fall. Edge hits the spear for a two count. Angle climbs to the top of the cage, put Edge pulls him back in and crotches him on the ropes. Edge crawls towards the door, but Jericho runs down and slam the door on his head. Angle puts Edge in the Ankle Lock, but he rolls onto his back and kicks him in the face. He crawls out the door t

After the match, Angle gets the mic and says he's not leaving Halifax without kicking someone's ass. He's met by a chorus of "What's." He chooses referee Tim White. He smacks him around, but White low blows him and escapes. Angle says there's no need to worry. He's OK. His balls hurt, but he's OK. Angle says it hurts his feeling when we tell him he sucks, and chant what...but not nearly as much as his balls hurt right now! Kurt continues to rip up the Canadian crowd to some more "What's." He talks about his new t-shirt and the one Edge made up. He says he's going to beat Edge at Judgment Day and we'll have a bald Canadian. Angle's music hits and he leaves to a chorus of "You Suck's." Show's over.

Other notes:

The building, which holds a little less than 11 000 with floor seats, was only a little over half full. Not a good sign. I know there was no Hogan or HHH, but there were over 10 000 there in September for a card headlines by Angle vs. Rhyno and a six man tag featuring Undertaker. The small attendance doesn't bode well for a return any time soon.

Biggest Pops:
1. Torrie
2. Stacy
3. Edge
4. The Hurricane
5. Tie - Al Snow & Maven / Christian / Chris Jericho

Most Heat:
1. Kurt Angle
2. Billy & Chuck
3. Ivory
4. Chris Jericho (after insulting Halifax)
5. Reverend D-Von

Overall, a decent show which was saved by the fantastic main event. And for the record, Kurt doesn't suck, though it is really fun to chant!

2003 - WWE taped Raw and Sunday Night Heat in Philadelphia, PA at The First Union Center. Former WCW tandem Devon "Crowbar" Storm and Daffney reunited for a WWE tryout as Storm defeated Mike Bell. Daffney was signed by WWE, but Storm was not. ROH star CM Punk defeated Khalsha Singh at 2:44 in a tryout match as well. Punk was signed by WWE to a developmental deal two years later.

In matches taped for Sunday Night Heat, which aired internationally only:
-WWE Women's Champion Jazz (with Teddy Long) defeated Jackie at 3:59.
-Lance Storm defeated Joey Matthews at 4:57.
-Maven defeated Steven Richards at 4:43.
-Rico defeated Spike Dudley at 4:17.

Tim Whitehead filed the following report on the Raw broadcast:

The 5/12 edition of RAW IS A PENCIL NECKED GEEK aired live from Philadelphia. I enjoyed much of the show, though a few things didn't click, and I fail to see anything on the RAW side selling many buys for the Judgment Day PPV. There was more emphasis on wrestling this week and less on the Steve Austin vs. Eric Bischoff controversy.

The show opened with Christian in the ring, which was surrounded by a steel cage. He complained that Austin scheduled his cage match against Goldberg as the opening bout. He said the match should be cancelled on the grounds that no one wants to see the new people's champ (i.e., himself) brutalized in a cage. He also claimed to have a photo shoot tomorrow and said he can't show up for that with bruises. Jerry Lawler agreed with Christian, but Jim Ross said he had the limbertail. Austin came to the ring and got a zillion "whats" by making a series of snide comments about Christian. It appears, unfortunately, that Austin likes the "whats" because every time they started to fade, Austin would repeat whatever statement he had just made with more enthusiasm so as to jump start the "whats" again. Austin told Christian that Goldberg wasn't even at the arena yet so it wasn't time for his match. Christian said he asked backstage when the match was scheduled and that Austin had held up a finger to indicate it was match number one. Austin said he was just flipping Christian off. Christian, who kept referring to the crowd as his peeps (people), accused Austin of forcing him into this cage match because of resentment over losing to his close friend Rock at WrestleMania. Austin said he was trying very hard not to lose his patience. A "lose it" chant started. Austin threatened to pull Christian from the IC Title battle royal at Judgment Day if he didn't stop whining. Rob Van Dam then came out for no apparent reason, other than to note that he was entering the IC battle royal, which he vowed to win. Christian said if RVD thinks he's so great, he should take his place against Goldberg in the cage. Austin asked the crowd for a big "hell yeah" if they want to see Goldberg kick Christian's ass in the cage. Of course, they said "hell yeah". RVD asked them to chant "RVD" if they think he'll win the IC belt in the battle royal. So they chanted it. Christian then asked the peeps to shout "Christian rules" if they think he should be given the night off. No one said anything, so Austin said that proves the crowd thinks Christian sucks. Austin warned both RVD and Christian not to copy his material. He then told Christian to leave or get stunnered. Kane came out (yes, this was a long segment). He vowed to win the IC battle royal even if he has to go through his partner RVD to do it. RVD said he'll eliminate Kane if that's what he has to do. Austin said he sensed some tension between the tag partners, and recommended drinking some beer to alleviate it. At this point, Bischoff came out. He said that last week he promised to raise the bar, sarcastically informing Austin that he wasn't talking about the type of bar where you drink beer. Instead, raising the bar meant he had hired a team to challenge RVD & Kane for the World Tag Titles. Bischoff called this team the greatest of all time and said RVD & Kane have never faced them before. It turned out to be Hawk & Animal, the Legion of Doom. They came out to a good pop, and the match just sort of began (by the way, during this overly long segment the cage was raised back up).

RVD & Kane defeated the Legion of Doom to retain the tag belts in 3:11. Not too much heat once the match began. It wasn't a pretty match, though RVD stayed very active with his kicks and acrobatics. RVD hit a rolling thunder on Hawk after a kick. The finish looked really bad. Animal had RVD on his shoulders for the doomsday device, or devastation device, or whatever it's now being called. Hawk came off the top with the lariat, which RVD was supposed to duck. However, Hawk got such poor altitude that RVD essentially ducked nothing. Kane went to boot Animal in the face, which missed by a mile but Animal still sold it. Kane then chokeslammed Hawk and RVD frog splashed him for the three count. Not sure why they A) brought the LOD back or B) squashed them in three minutes after bothering to bring them back.

Trish Stratus was backstage getting her make-up applied for her scheduled hardcore bout against Victoria. Why wear make-up to a hardcore match? Anyway, Victoria & Steven Richards began taunting her. Victoria said Trish might someday get her women's belt back, but she'll never get her pretty face back after it gets smashed.

Highlights aired of last week's long Triple H vs. Kevin Nash brawl. Through the magic of editing and sound enhancement, it looked much better than it did live.

A heavily bandaged HHH visited Chris Jericho, who was scheduled to fight Nash in the main event. HHH said they were in a famous arena. Jericho asked what was so famous about it, given that every Philadelphia sports team sucks. HHH said it was famous because it was the arena where Nash tore his quad last year. Jericho noted that he was the one who tore HHH's quad two years ago. Technically, that tear was accidental but in storyline Jericho was sort of given "credit" for the injury. HHH noted that Jericho became Undisputed World Champion by milking the fame he got off of that. He then told Jericho he could advance his career again by injuring Nash. Jericho said that would also help HHH out by eliminating his Judgment Day opponent. They ended the segment by shaking hands, though there was some tension there as each had made some sarcastic comments about the other.

Goldberg arrived in his limo. As his door opened, a car roared by and hit it, knocking it shut. Goldberg was unhurt, since he hadn't yet stepped out. JR & Lawler sold it like it had been an attempted hit on Goldberg.

Theodore Long approached Austin, calling him a "playa". Austin asked not to be called that, but Long kept it up. He wanted Austin to put a "man of color" in the IC battle royal and kept plugging Rodney Mack. Austin said it was a great idea to put a man of color in the battle royal, which pleased Long until Austin informed him that the man of color he was talking about was Booker T.

Rodney Mack defeated Mike & Ken Phoenix in a white boy challenge handicap match in 1:30. At least these two white boys got their names mentioned. Long did (man of) color commentary again. He said Mack is "hungry", so Lawler suggested he should get a Philly cheesesteak. Might I recommend Tony Luke's, where I always used to go when I went to see ECW? Long said Austin is controlled by "the man", which is why he picked Booker over Mack. The rules here required Mack to beat both white boys in 5:00, and he forced them to submit at 1:05 and 1:30 respectively.

Jonathan Coachman tried to interview Bischoff about the car nearly running down Goldberg. Bischoff had no comment, and ran Coach off when he kept asking questions. Bischoff then encountered Freddie Blassie, who was in his wheelchair, accompanied by his wife (Blassie had the good taste to marry a Japanese lady years ago). Blassie was there to promote his new book (titled "Listen you Pencil-Necked Geek", and it should be great given the type of career Blassie had). Bischoff said the deal to hype Blassie's book was put together by his fired chief of staff (Chief Morley), and that with him gone, the deal was off. Bischoff acted like it would be beneath him to plug a book for Blassie. At this point, Rico walked up. He said Three Minute Waning, er, I mean, Warning have been in a slump for the past two months and asked Bischoff for some ideas to jump start their careers. Bischoff smirked and said he had an idea. So he returned to Blassie and told him he would plug the book after all. Everyone could see what was coming.

Austin visited Goldberg, who was furious and very intense with anger that someone had tried to run him down. Austin said he understood, given what had happened to him in the past. Goldberg said he didn't see the driver. I hope it wasn't Rikishi. Goldberg promised to take his anger out on Christian.

A promo for Confidential aired, and yes they're still exploiting the Miss Elizabeth tragedy.

Bischoff brought Blassie out to the ramp top and put over his book. He then began making fun of his age, saying he might have only three minutes left. Rosey & Jamal & Rico appeared in the ring. Bischoff wheeled Blassie down to ringside where the heel trio surrounded him. But before they could act, Austin came out. He unilaterally announced that he had lifted the suspension on the Dudleys, and out they came at full speed. A match began immediately....

The Dudleys defeated Three Minute Warning in 1:58. I guess this was a handicap match since Rico was involved. They did ring the bell to start the match, but there was no referee. The Dudleys laid all three foes out, but when Bubba started to ask for the tables, Austin stopped him. Instead, Blassie told D-Von to get the tables. The Dudleys put Rico through the table, which just sort of ended this impromptu match, I presume with a TKO victory for the Dudleys, though nothing was made official.

Hour two began with Goldberg defeating Christian in the cage match in 6:48. Christian came out with a chair, boasting that it was the chair Rock beat Goldberg up with a few weeks ago. He called it the people's chair. He swung it at Goldberg immediately but missed. Christian tried to climb out but Goldberg pounded him. Christian hit a low blow and retrieved the chair. He hit Goldberg with several chairshots, a couple of them pretty stiff. Christian also laid in the stomps. Christian almost climbed out (why he didn't just go through the door is a bigger mystery than the origin of UFOs) but got pulled back down. Christian went for a spear but Goldberg moved and Christian crashed into the cage, juicing big time. Goldberg hit the spear and jackhammer and pinned Christian clean in the middle, so I guess you could win this either by pinfall, submission, or escaping.

Jericho was shown doing warm-up exercises.

Austin encountered Ric Flair. Flair was friendly to Austin, but was also adamant that Austin should defer to HHH's demands since HHH is the guy who calls the shots. Hurricane popped up and said Nash will turn HHH into "Triple Bitch" at Judgment Day. Flair and Hurricane argued, so Austin told them to go ahead and fight it out, but to be sure to fight down toward the ring. Flair said he wasn't in his gear, but Austin didn't care and just said "ding ding" to start the match....

Flair beat Hurricane in 4:47. They fought out to the ring, including a brief skirmish at the announcers' desk which knocked Lawler's headset off. In the ring, Flair's pants got ripped and his ass exposed. Hurricane hit a bodypress for a near fall. Flair laid Hurricane out and did a strut. Hurricane chokeslammed Flair and did a strut of his own. Hurricane scored two after a shining wizard. Flair hit the chop block and began stomping the hell out of Hurricane's leg. He hooked the figure four and Hurricane tapped out. Flair was so elated to finally win one that he was bouncing all over the ring in celebration. HHH came out and congratulated him. He also gave Hurricane a pedigree and left him laying.

Scott Steiner & Test & Goldust beat La Resistance & Christopher Nowinski in 4:26. La Resistance ran down the U.S. over the Iraqi war and praised Nowinski as a rare American who isn't a barbarian. The babyfaces dominated until Test got tied up in the heel corner. Test hot tagged Steiner and he lit the lariats and suplexes on everyone. Rene Dupree took a major suplex bump. The finish saw everyone brawl out to the floor except Steiner and Nowinski. Steiner plastered Nowinski with his neckbreaker type move for the pin. Afterward, Stacy Keibler wanted to celebrate the win, but Steiner and Test remained a little aloof from one another.

Richards gave Victoria a pep talk.

JR & Lawler did a promo for Judgment Day, hyping the RAW matches, and then cut to Stamford where their colleagues Tazz & Michael Cole hyped the Smackdown bouts. Once again, so much for the brand separation, though I guess in its own way, it did sort of keep them separate.

Terri asked Jericho if he knew anything about the attempt to run down Goldberg in the parking lot. Jericho took offense and said if he was going to assault Goldberg, he'd do it man to man. He promised to win the IC belt at Judgment Day, and to beat Nash in the RAW main event.

Trish beat Victoria in a hardcore match in 4:45. Richards came out with Victoria, and to balance him off, Tommy Dreamer came out to support Trish. This got a good pop in Philly due to Dreamer's ECW popularity there. Trish did a headscissors takedown. They messed up a spot where Trish was supposed to kick a pan into Victoria's face, so they re-did it and got it right the second time. Trish did a really cool marital arts arch backward to avoid a shot from a garbage can lid. It was like in movies where someone arches backward like doing a limbo routine and then pops right back up. Victoria whipped Trish with a strap. Richards attacked Dreamer and tried to go after Trish, but Dreamer recovered and hit Richards with the kendo stick. Trish got the stick, walloped Victoria twice with it, and hit the Stratusfaction for the pin.

Kevin Nash vs. Chris Jericho ended inconclusively in either 6:55 or 8:13, depending on the call. Jericho deserves some type of special award for bumpng like crazy to make this a watchable match. Nash just did power moves and deflected blows, while Jericho was flying and bumping all over to make the match entertaining. Jericho finally hit a low blow and began working over Nash's leg (the one with the torn quad last year). He wrapped the leg around the ring post. Jericho hit a bulldog and a lionsault and scored two. At this point, which was the 6:55 mark, HHH & Flair ran in, which theoretically should have earned Jericho a DQ, though no call was made since they threw referee Earl Hebner out of the ring. Shawn Michaels ran in to help Nash. The heels quickly ejected Michaels, but Nash made a big babyface comeback. He gave HHH the snake eyes (looked a little weak) and then lariated him out. Michaels came back in and gave Flair the sweet chin music. Nash plastered Jericho with the jackknife and Michaels counted Nash's pin on him at 8:13, though I presume that didn't really count, but in WWE you never know. I guess Nash was sort of the winner either way. HHH came back in and Nash jackknifed him, with Michaels counting Nash's pin on him as well to end the show and set up the PPV showdown.

RHETORICAL QUESTIONS:

Doesn't Freddie Blassie rule?

If the Goldberg vs. Christian match wasn't the opener, then why was the cage down?

Shouldn't Philly fans know better than to chant "what"?

Why didn't Austin argue with Bischoff over his unilateral hiring of the LOD?

Why didn't Bischoff argue with Austin over his unilateral lifting of the Dudleys' suspension?

When Bischoff said he had signed the greatest tag team ever, did anyone besides me expect Manami Toyota & Toshiyo
Yamada to come out?

Remember the good old days when promoters, commissioners, general mangers, etc., only came out about twice a year to make a major announcement or something like that?