On this day in history in ....
1961 - Pat Tanaka is born.
1969 - Hiro Matsuda & Missouri Mauler defeated Cyclon Negro & Jack Brisco for the NWA Florida Tag Team Title in Tampa, starting their second reign.
1980 - Championship Wrestling from Florida ran Tampa at the Fort Homer Hersterly Armory, featuring the following results:
*Reggie Parks fought Geoff Portz to a draw.
*Bubba Douglas defeated Bill White.
*Wendi Richter defeated Leilani Kai.
*Bobby Jaggers & Lord Alfred Hayes defeated Jim Garvin & Scott McGhee.
*Mike Graham defeated Mr. Saito.
*Florida Tag Team Champions Jack & Jerry Brisco defeated The Spoiler & The Super Destroyer.
*Barry Windham defeated Southern Champion Dick Slater by DQ.
*Bobo Brazil & Bugsy McGraw & Dick Murdoch defeated Ivan Koloff & The Magnificent Muraco & Nikolai Volkoff.
1981 - Georgia Championship Wrestling ran Columbus, GA at the Municipal Auditorium with the following results:
*Bryan St. John and David Sierra fought George Wells and Ted Oates to a time limit draw.
*Ted Oates defeated the French Angel.
*Michael Hayes defeated Jim Duggan.
*Ken Patera defeated Steve O.
*Terry Gordy defeated Bruce Reed.
*NWA World Champion Dusty Rhodes defeated Jimmy Snuka.
1982 - Central States Wrestling ran Kansas City with the following results at Memorial Hall:
*Tiny Tom beat Wee Willie Wilson.
*Baron Von Raschke beat Tom Andrews.
*Rufus R. Jones beat Abdullah the Great.
*Manny Fernandez beat Hercules Hernandez & Gary Royal in a handicap match.
*Dewey Robertson vs. Mark Romero ended in a draw.
*Avalanche Buzz Tyler beat Central States Champion Roger Kirby in a Texas Death Match.
1983 - The NWA ran St. Louis, Missouri at the Kiel Auditorium, featuring the following results:
*Ron Ritchie defeated Steve Hall
*Bulldog Bob Brown & Princess Victoria defeated Roger Kirby & Lelani Kai
*Barry Windham defeated Tonga John
*Super Destroyer defeated George Wells
*Bob Orton Jr. defeated Rick Martel by countout
*Dick the Bruiser & Hulk Hogan, & Ron Ritchie defeated Blackjack Mulligan & Crusher Blackwell, & Baron Von Raschke.
*NWA World Champion Harley Race defeated Ric Flair in a Best of Three Falls encounter.
1983 - The WWF ran Baltimore, Maryland with the following results:
*Bob Bradley fought Jeff Craney to a draw.
*Tony Garea fought Iron Mike Sharpe to a draw.
*Swede Hanson defeated Don Kernodle.
*WWF World Champion Bob Backlund vs. Sgt. Slaughter ended in a double DQ.
*Big John Studd defeated Salvatore Bellomo.
*Ivan Koloff defeated the Tonga Kid.
*Andre the Giant & Rocky Johnson & Jimmy Snuka defeated the Wild Samoans in a best 2/3 falls match 2-0.
1985 - Memphis Wrestling ran The Mid South Coliseum in Memphis, TN with the following results:
*The Spoiler beat Tommy Montana.
*Man Mountain Link beat Tracy Smothers.
*Koko Ware & Jerry Oski beat the Night Riders.
*CWA International Tag Team Champs Kenya & Kondorie beat Billy Travis & Ron Sexton.
*Jerry Jarrett & Tojo Yamamoto beat the Master Blaster & Jerry Bryant.
*Bill Dundee beat Bota the Witch Doctor.
*AWA Southern Tag Team Champions the Sheepherders (Jonathan Boyd & Rip Morgan) beat The Fabulous Ones (Stan Lane & Steve Keirn) by disqualification.
*International Champion Phil Hickerson beat Harley Race.
*Jerry Lawler & Austin Idol vs. The Fabulous Freebirds, Michael Hayes & Terry Gordy ended in a no contest.
1985 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Greenville, SC at the Memorial Auditorium, featuring the following results:
*The Rising Sun defeated Ricky Reeves.
*Denny Brown pinned Joe Lightfoot.
*Abdullah the Butcher defeated Starship Eagle.
*NWA United States Champion Tully Blanchard defeated Manny Fernandez.
*Dusty Rhodes & Magnum TA defeated NWA National Tag Team Champions Ole & Arn Anderson by DQ.
*NWA World Champion Ric Flair fought Nikita Koloff to a double countout.
1986 - Akira Maeda & Osamu Kido defeated Tatsumi Fujinami & Kengo Kimura to win the IWGP Tag Team Title in Tokyo, Japan.
1988 - Iceman King Parsons defeated Kerry Von Erich (subbing for Kevin Von Erich) to win the World Class Texas Heavyweight Title in Dallas.
1988 - An independent event in Harrisonburg, VA at Spotswood High School featured the following results:
*Heidi Lee Morgan vs. O'Sheena (no result known.)
*The MOD Squad defeated Tony Atlas & Golden Boy.
*Nelson Royal defeated Hurricane Scott Hudson.
*Shane Douglas defeated Buddy Landell.
1992 - Smoky Mountain Wrestling ran Richwood, West Virginia at Richwood Junior High School before 350 fans, featuring the following results:
*Bart Batten pinned Joe Cazana.
*Brad Batten fought Hector Guerrero to a time limit draw.
*Tim Horner pinned Buddy Landell.
*Brian Lee pinned the Dirty White Boy.
*Killer Kyle pinned Dixie Dynamite (Scott Armstrong) in a Taped Fist match.
*Hector Guerrero won a battle royal.
1992 - WCW ran Raleigh, NC at the Dorton Arena before an announced 3,000 fans with the following results:
*Scotty Flamingo (Scott Levy, the future Raven) defeated Marcus Alexander Bagwell.
*Johnny B. Badd defeated Diamond Dallas Page.
*Dustin Rhodes defeated Greg Valentine.
*Dan Spivey & Dick Slater defeated Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk
*Nikita Koloff defeated Cactus Jack.
*Sting defeated Super Invader (Hercules Hernandez).
*Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Unified NWA & WCW World Tag Team Champions Steve Williams & Terry Gordy in a non-title match.
*WCW World Champion Ron Simmons defeated Big Van Vader via disqualification when Vader threw the champion over the top rope.
1994 - The Rock n' Roll Express defeat Chris Candido & Brian Lee for the Smoky Mountain Tag Team Title in Knoxville, Tennessee, starting their eighth run with the belts.
1994 - The World Wrestling Council ran Hatillo, Puerto Rico with the following results:
*The Tahitian Warrior defeated La Ley.
*El Profe and Isaac Rosario defeated El Exotico and Joe Don Smith.
*Ciclon Salvadoreno defeated Gama Singh.
*Chris Youngblood defeated Mohammad Hussein.
*Pulgarcito defeated Moondog Rex by disqualification.
*Invader #1 defeated Moondog Spot.
*Doomsday defeated Mark Youngblood.
*Carlos Colon defeated Mr. Hughes.
*Eddie Gilbert and Dutch Mantell defeated Ray Gonzalez and Huracan Castillo Jr. in a steel cage match.
1995 - Smoky Mountain Wrestling ran Knox Central High School in Barbourville, Kentucky before 750 fans, featuring the foll
*Brian Armstrong pinned Headbanger Mosh.
*USWA Tag Team Champions PG-13 beat Robert Gibson & Bobby Blaze.
*Tracy Smothers & The Dirty White Boy beat Al Snow & Unabom (Glen Jacobs, the future Kane.)
*Terry Gordy & Tommy Rich beat The Mongolian Stomper & Boo Bradley (Balls Mahoney.)
*The Heavenly Bodies beat The Dirty White Boy & Tracy Smothers when Tom Prichard pinned Smothers.
*Buddy Landel vs. Brad Armstrong for the held-up SMW Championship resulted in a no contest.
1995 - Extreme Championship Wrestling ran WrestlePaloooza '95 at the ECW Arena, featuring the following results:
-JT Smith pinned Hack Myers.
-Big Val Puccio beat Tony Stetson.
-Raven & Stevie Richards & Little Snot Dudley & Big Dick Dudley beat Tommy Dreamer & Cactus Jack & The Pitbulls when Richards pinned Dreamer after Cactus turned on Dreamer.
-Too Cold Scorpio & Dean Malenko & Cactus Jack (substituting for Chris Benoit) beat Eddy Guerrero & The Steiners when Malenko pinned Guerrero.
*Mikey Whipwreck pinned The Sandman in a Loser is Caned match. Sandman refused to be lashed until being threatened with being stripped of the ECW World title. He attacked Whipwreck after taking several shots with The Public Enemy saving Mikey.
-The Gangstas beat The Public Enemy in a Stretcher Match after The Sandman attacked Flyboy Rocco Rock, setting the stage for the Gangstas Paradise Steel Cage match the following month.
1996 - The Great Sasuke defeats Ultimo Dragon in the finals of a tournament to unify eight separate junior heavyweight titles into one unified J-Crown championship. By winning the tournament Sasuke, already the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, became the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion, WAR International Junior Heavyweight Champion, British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Champion, WWF World Light Heavyweight Champion, UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Champion, WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Champion, and NWA World Welterweight Champion.
1996 - The USWA ran the Big One Expo Center in Memphis, TN before an announced 875 fans, featuring the following:
*Bart Sawyer defeated The Punisher.
*Flex Kavana defeated Leon Downs.
*Tony Falk defeated Tony Williams.
*Johnny Rotten defeated Ashley Hudson.
*The Moondogs (Moondog Rover and Moondog Spot) defeated Brickhouse Brown and Reggie B. Fine to win the USWA Tag Team Championship.
*JC Ice defeated Wolfie D.
*Koko B. Ware defeated Bill Dundee.
*USWA Champion Brian Christopher defeated Tommy Rich by DQ.
*Koko B. Ware defeated Unified champ Jerry Lawler via DQ.
2000 - Pro-Wrestling Noah, the new wrestling company formed by Mitsuharu Misawa and a group of wrestlers who left All Japan Pro Wrestling, ran their first ever event at Differ Ariake in Tokyo, Japan. Here are the results:
- Takeshi Morishima defeated Makato Hashi.
- Haruka Eigen, Jun Izumida & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi defeated Rusher Kimura, Mitsuo Momota & Takeshi Rikio.
- Kentaro Shiga & Naomichi Marufuji defeated Masao Inoue & Yoshinobu Kanemaru.
- Yoshinari Ogawa, Masahito Kakihara & Daisuke Ikeda defeated Takao Oomori, Yoshihiro Takayama & Satoru Asako.
- Jun Akiyama & Kenta Kobashi defeated Mitsuharu Misawa & Akira Taue in two straight falls of a three fall match. Akiyama forced Misawa to submit to win the first fall, then pinned Taue to win the second for his team.
2002 - WWE broadcast Monday Night Raw. Tim Whitehead filed the following TV report:
The 8/5 edition of RAW IS INTRIGUE FOLLOWED BY PATHOS aired live from Baltimore. It was a decent show, but not at the same level of the past couple of weeks. It was fine as far as continuing storylines is concerned.
They opened with footage of the incident last week where Shawn Michaels was left laying after a bloody mystery assault. Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler wondered who the assailant was, which was the main theme of the show.
Chris Jericho came out to the ring. Video aired of his surprise debut on RAW last week, where he walloped Ric Flair with a chair. Jericho grabbed a mic and declared RAW to be his show, calling it Monday Night Jericho. He said everyone must be wondering why the biggest star on Smackdown would leave that show to work for Eric Bischoff. Well, he said, it's because Bischoff is a genius who knows the difference between a superstar and a loser. That was the first of several ironic comments during this show. Jericho put himself over as a superstar, while asserting that the fans are losers. In fact, he said the fans are pathetic, common morons, while calling himself a majestic king of the world. He called Flair a has-been who, even in his prime, lacked the talent of Chris Jericho. Triple H came down to the ring. He said he didn't care why Jericho came to RAW. All he cared about was that his best friend Shawn Michaels was attacked last week in the parking lot. HHH said he and Jericho have hated each other ever since Jericho arrived in the WWE. He called Jericho a bitter little man who is still angry over the fact that he lost the Undisputed World Title to him at Wrestlemania. HHH suggested that Jericho might have attacked Heartbreak Kid. Jericho called HHH a "cerebral ass" and said he was unaware HHH and HBK were still friends, given the fact that HHH had laid HBK out with a pedigree two weeks ago. He also noted that HHH is something of an expert at attacking people in parking lots. HHH asserted that he was in the ring when HBK was attacked (not true...he was in the ring when HBK was found, but not when he was attacked, as we learned later). He also claimed to have pedigreed HBK for his own good, I guess sort of the "tough love" deal. HHH swore he still considers HBK to be his best friend. He believed Jericho's denials of responsibility for the assault, on the grounds that Jericho lacks the balls to carry out such an attack. HHH left, vowing not to leave the arena until he discovers who attacked HBK. That reminds me, didn't O.J. Simpson vow to find Nicole's "real" killer? I wonder how he's doing? Anyway, Jericho sarcastically wished HHH luck and was about to start bragging again when Rob Van Dam arrived and interrupted him. Jericho was pissed, but RVD insisted he just came out to welcome him. Jericho asked if that was all he came out for, dude (emphasis on "dude", as Jericho was mocking RVD). RVD mentioned Jericho's claim that RAW is his show, and also ran down his choice of clothes. He asked what Jericho has been smoking. Heh! RVD said there can be only one Mr. Monday Night, and that's Rob...Van....Dam. Jericho insisted that he's Mr. Monday Night. They argued back and forth, each claiming the title, which originally was RVD's heel gimmick in ECW where the story was that he wanted to dump the ECW fans and wrestle instead on either RAW or Nitro on Monday nights. Anyway, RVD slugged Jericho and got the better of him in a brief brawl until Jericho hit a spin kick and took the opportunity to bail out to the floor. Jericho left up the ramp, bragging about his escape. In the midst of all this, they agreed to fight later on the show.
Footage aired of the "concerto" the Unamericans delivered last week on Undertaker.
Bubba Ray Dudley beat Big Show in 4:29 in a Tables match. Man, Show is really out of shape. He slowly pounded Bubba, who again sold like crazy. Bubba held down the ropes and Show bumped over. They brawled some more in slow motion. Show broke a table trying to kick Bubba. Bubba walloped Show with the shattered table remains. Bubba brought in a new table, but Show pounded him again. Show had Bubba beaten down when Trish Stratus arrived. She acted like she wanted to kiss Show, and he fell for it. I guess that rules out a CIA career for Show. She ended up slapping him. Spike Dudley then ran in and gave Show a spear wearing a Baltimore Ravens helmet. This allowed Bubba to put the wounded Show through the table for the win. Show was furious afterwards.
Terri interviewed the Unamericans. Lance Storm ran down the U.S. and accused George W. Bush of being unable to defend the country. He noted that Bush and Undertaker are from the same hometown in Texas. He accused America of aggression and of slaughtering innocent civilians, and said that the U.S. is no longer respected, same as Undertaker. Some of this stuff could get WWE in trouble, like happened during the Gulf War angle in 1991. And speaking of that angle, Sgt. Slaughter walked up. He didn't appreciate the Unamericans' comments. Test got in Sarge's face and called him G.I. Joe. They set up a Sarge vs. Test match for later.
Footage aired from last week of the Island Boyz destroying Fabulous Moolah & Mae Young. Lawler said after that beating, Moolah & Mae have been rubbing themselves down all week with Absorbine Sr..
Tommy Dreamer beat Bradshaw in 5:24 to retain the Hardcore Title. The match started "impromptu" when the two encountered one another in a hallway. Bradshaw pounded Dreamer out toward the ring with a kendo stick. Dreamer got thrown into a glass pane, which broke. Dreamer got choked with the bullrope. They brawled with garbage can lids. Bradshaw hit a fall-away slam off the top. Dreamer used the kendo stick. Bradshaw speared Dreamer through the ropes to the floor. Dreamer came back and scored a pin on the floor after DDT'ing Bradshaw on the stairs. Dreamer escaped afterward through the crowd.
William Regal & Christopher Nowinski agreed with one another that the Hardcore match was barbaric. Molly Holly arrived with Victoria, making her WWE debut. Actually, it was her WWE return since she was previously on the show as one of Godfather's hos, but I don't think we're supposed to remember that, especially since she's allied with Molly. Molly introduced her and said they've been training together. She suggested that Victoria needs some new ring attire (i.e., less revealing). After Molly left, Nowinski asked Victoria if Molly is really a virgin. Victoria said she is. Clinton, I mean, Nowinski then winked at Regal and said, "Not for long!"
Goldust complained that Austin Powers stole his Goldmember idea. So to retaliate, he said he has stolen an idea from Powers. He brought in a midget dressed like himself, called MiniDust. MiniDust began "humping" Booker T's leg, which Booker didn't appreciate. HHH arrived and confronted Booker over the HBK assault. He noted that Booker threatened HBK last week. Booker admitted being happy that HBK got laid out, but denied being responsible. HHH displayed a sledgehammer and said Booker would pay if it turns out he's lying.
Bischoff was on the phone with Sony Pictures executives, discussing the promotional tie-in with Van Diesel's XXX movie. Howard Finkel interrupted him. Fink said he's the senior WWE employee, and that he's been so motivated by Bischoff's arrival, that he wants to challenge Lilian Garcia for his old job back as ring announcer. Bischoff didn't like being bothered. He condescendingly suggested that Fink and Lilian should take turns announcing and the fans could then decide who's best.
A promo aired for the soon-to-be-returning Kane.
Test vs. Sgt. Slaughter never officially got started. Lilian and Fink both did intros. Lilian introduced Test, while Fink did Sarge. For the next few matches, they did this angle with each doing one of the intros. Sarge came out with an American flag. Test had a flag upside down. Test attacked Sarge from behind before the bell and beat him up on the floor. He finished Sarge off with the boot to the face, KO'ing him, so the match didn't really take place.
Hour two began with Booker & Goldust beating Regal & Nowinski in 6:15. Booker & Goldust attacked before the bell and doubled on Nowinski. The heels came back and Goldust got the double team treatment. Regal & Nowinski did the old Andersons routine of quick tags and working on one body part, in this case Goldust's left arm. A "Harvard sucks" chant started. Booker made the hot tag and cleaned house. There were some near falls back and forth before Booker scored the pin after a scissor kick on Regal. Booker did the spinaroonie afterward.
A sledgehammer accompanied by HHH confronted the Unamericans. HHH recalled that last week, just before HBK got attacked, the Unamericans had been talking about taking care of some unfinished business. Christian admitted that they had planned to attack HBK, but said when they got there, someone had already beat them to it. HHH warned that they had better not be lying, and smashed a table with the sledgehammer to show what will befall them if they aren't being truthful.
RVD and Jericho were shown in their respective dressing rooms, doing warm-up exercises.
Victoria beat Trish in 4:23. Molly did color commentary and Lawler kept asking her about her virginity, and kept making remarks about cherries. Molly took it all in stride. About a minute into the match, Victoria sold a leg injury. Some refs ran in and she acted seriously hurt. Trish held the ropes open so the refs could help her out, but Victoria suddenly "recovered" and kicked Trish from the ring. Victoria pounded Trish, but meanwhile, Lawler was asking Molly about what she and Spike did together when they were dating. Victoria went for a somersault and landed on her ass. Trish went for the pin but Victoria reversed it and scored a pin using the ropes. Pretty good debut for Victoria. Afterward, Molly ran in and went after Trish, but Trish made her own save and ran both Molly and Victoria off.
HHH confronted Big Show. He reminded him that HBK called him a big, fat, lazy piece of crap and gave him the sweet chin music. But Show swore he didn't attack HBK, and stormed off.
The Hardys beat Christian & Lance Storm by DQ in a WWE Tag Title match in 3:48. Good, but short, and with a screwjob ending. Jeff started off hot. He got doubled on briefly but came back with a springboard splash on Storm. The Hardys did the poetry in motion on Christian. Christian got one of the title belts but got vaulted over for a big bump. Jeff hit a swanton on Storm after a twist of fate from Matt, but, in a lame DQ, Christian pulled the ref out during the count. A really weak, title-saving DQ. Test ran in afterwards and the Unamericans did a three-on-two on the Hardys until Undertaker arrived and cleaned house, swinging a chain. The Unamericans fled to the back and escaped in a car. UT stole a police motorcycle and went after them. I guess some poor Baltimore cop will get fired for leaving the key in the ignition.
Bischoff came out to the ramp top. He said he will have a surprise for HHH later. But first, he told Lilian and Fink that they had both been equally good in their ring intros so far. So to break the tie, he aired a promo for the XXX movie on the Titantron and then had each do a wrap-up. Both put the movie over, and Bischoff still couldn't decide who was best. He said both have experience. Fink piped up and said he has way more experience than Lilian, unless the experience in question is putting out for sailors. Lilian accused Fink of being unable to keep his sail up. Bischoff then got that smirk on his face and said this segment had gone about three minutes too long, meaning we were about to see a repeat of the three minute segments from prior weeks. The Island Boyz thus materialized in the ring. Fink shoved Lilian to them and ran off. They gave Lilian that cool looking Samoan drop and big splashed her off the top. Bischoff loved it.
After a break, Lilian did a full stretcher and neck brace job. If it weren't for the fact that she has a pretty face, a hot figure, and nice legs, you'd have thought she was a government mule. After three weeks of these segments, I hope they move on to something else next week, such as a wrestling match for the Island Boyz.
RVD beat Jericho in 7:49. There were no ring intros for the match, for obvious reasons. RVD sent Jericho reeling with a series of flips, including vaulting Jericho over to the floor. RVD did a senton. Jericho gave RVD a released German suplex and RVD took a sick bump on his neck. JR put over that this episode of RAW was their 480th show. He said it's the longest running sports entertainment show in history. That's true if you don't count the sports entertainment shows that ran longer. He sort of amended it to specify live shows, but of course, RAW wasn't always live every week. Jericho went on offense but RVD came back with kicks and the rolling thunder. They traded some hot spots leading to a ref bump. RVD went for a pin but, of course, there was no ref. Jericho got a chair and hit RVD with two shots. Ric Flair then ran in and clobbered Jericho with a chair. RVD recovered and hit the frog splash just as the ref revived. RVD scored the pin to end a good match. Flair did his strut on the ramp top as Jericho seethed in anger in the ring.
Bischoff came back out. He started to call HHH out but HHH came out before he could finish his sentence. Bischoff's surprise was that he had set up a satellite feed from San Antonio so that HHH could talk directly to HBK. HBK appeared on the Titantron, looking like 40 miles of bad road with all the cuts and bruises on his face. HHH acted apologetic, saying sometimes family members fight, but later they regret it and feel guilty. HBK seemed understanding, saying they've had differences in the past and always worked their way through them man to man. Bischoff acted bored and told them to hurry up since satellite time is expensive. HHH asked HBK if he saw his attacker. HBK said no, because whoever it was came up from behind, and the next thing he remembers is waking up in the hospital. HHH said that whoever it is, he's a marked man. But HBK had a bombshell. He revealed that the Greensboro police gave him a parking lot surveillance camera tape that captured a brief glimpse of the assault. The footage aired, but only a split second glimpse of the assailant could be seen on the edge of the tape, sending HBK head first into the car window. HHH, who seemed a little nervous, stammered that the tape didn't reveal anything since it all happened so fast on the edge of the tape. But HBK said he had had the tape frozen frame by frame and digitally enhanced. In blown-up freeze frame, it revealed the attacker as none other than HHH! "It was you, Hunter", said HBK sadly. HHH was silent for a few seconds, but then said, "You're damn right!" to a babyface pop. He said he attacked HBK to prove to him that he's vulnerable. He said he could have finished HBK off permanently, as some others would have done, but didn't, since his goal was to show HBK that he needs him and should have joined him as his manager. HBK said his doctors have said he'll be back to 100% by SummerSlam and issued a match challenge, which HHH accepted. HHH ran down HBK as being unable to wrestle anymore and vowed to cripple his ass when they get in the ring. He said that afterward, HBK will be unable to hold his two year old son or satisfy his wife sexually. HBK warned HHH not to ever even think about his wife and son. He said he knows he can no longer wrestle, but he can fight, and he will show his family at SummerSlam that he will fight like a man. The show thus ended with HBK vowing to return to the ring. It should be intriguing to see how they work this.
RHETORICAL QUESTIONS:
Were you really surprised that Bischoff didn't reveal the early Smackdown spoilers?
How stupid was Big Show to get set up by Trish so easily?
After this angle, and the Austin car angle from a couple of years ago, who in their right mind would believe a word HHH says?
So what was Flair's announcement last week supposed to be?
Aren't you glad the mystery assailant wasn't Rikishi?
Why was Regal happy that Nowinski plans to put the moves on Molly? Wasn't he interested in Molly just a few weeks ago?
Isn't it apparent that HHH needs someone to play off of during his promos, and that sometimes even that isn't enough to get heat?
2008 - The Gillespie Agency, on behalf of WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, issued the following statement to PWInsider.com:
WWE and I parted on the best of terms. This gives me the chance to pursue new opportunities...corporate speaking engagements, product sponsorships, autograph shows for my loyal fans (who made me what I am today) and film and television roles. My agent and I are very excited about what the future holds!
Ric Flair
2009 - WWE held a conference call with investors this morning to discuss their second quarter financial results, which you can read by clicking here. Participating in the call were Chief Executive Officer Linda McMahon, Chief Operating Officer Michael Sileck and Chief Financial Officer George Barrios.
Linda read a prepared statement, noting that Wrestlemania, normally a part of the second quarter, fell into the first quarter this year. She also put over the Million Dollar giveaway, and praised their international growth, specifically their new television deal in India. Linda mentioned their targeting of younger fans with the new kid's magazine, and pointed out that all WWE programming was now rated PG. She noted the rise in expenses due to growth, and that they are working to slow down those expenses going forward.
Michael Sileck then read his statement and put over the success of the European and Australian tours. It was noted an increase in PPV buyrates and revenue has made up for the removal of New Year's Revolution from the PPV calendar. In discussing WWE.com traffic, he noted it was down from last year due to the major boost the website got last year from the Vince McMaion limo explosion angle, but that all other Internet indicators were up.
George Barrios reemphasized that WWE is going to be looking to control the expenses that they have been incurring due to their growth. Barrios then reviewed the financial numbers that you can view at the link above. He also reemphasized that Wrestlemania being in the first quarter this year made the PPV numbers look weaker in this quarter in comparison. He noted that year-to-date PPV numbers for 2008 show a 6% increase compared to last year. He put over the 25% growth in home video sales versus last year.
They then held a Q&A session. Here are some highlights:
- When discussing the economic downturn in the U.S. having an impact on WWE revenue, it was noted that they are also starting to see a drop in the U.K. as well.
- Concerning the launch of WWE Fan Nation, they noted the creation was done, in part, to bring back fans that were going to other websites for rumors and news. They also said that they were working to make the videos on WWE.com more important to the storylines and characters.
- Regarding the WWE Film business, they have one theatrical release (12 Rounds) and one straight-to-DVD release (Behind Enemy Lines 3 with FOX) in post-production.
- They talked about being careful not to "burn out" their International strongholds by only visiting certain cities a certain number of times a year. Linda stressed that their European tours are always "very calculated" in terms of areas and building sizes, allowing them to always be a success.
- They sort of steered clear of explaining where cost cuts would be made to reduce expenses going forward, only to say that they were looking for more than a "one quarter fix".
- The JAKKS-Pacific lawsuit is starting to "speed up" as discovery continues and they have a court date scheduled for 2010.
- One person asked if there would be more emphasis on the undercard matches on PPV events, rather than just pushing the top matches with storylines. The person also asked if Freddie Prinze Jr. being added to the creative team was going to make a change in whether more matches would have storyline background. Linda avoided it, noting she isn't the "creative expert", but they like the direction they are going in.
- The same person continued to ask about the lack of storylines and emphasis put on ECW and the tag division, and Linda McMahon point blank said "I do not follow storyline creation, in fact it is not always told to me". Linda said she likes that "surprise" element, and pretty much brushed off the creative questions by once again saying she likes "the direction we're going in".
- The last caller (and I don't think it was a coincidence he was last) was a long-time investor who took them to task as being "disingenuous" in their explanation of the $100 million expense WWE is incurring to expand their production facility. The caller noted that WWE's sole explanation for the expense was that it was for "raw materials and maintenance" and said the "long suffering" stockholders deserved more of an explanation, saying that the company has been spending money "like drunken sailors". Sileck responded by stating that they hadn't upgraded the production facility in 20 years, and that they had done a "damn good" job of bringing in revenue and that the expense was justified with the upgrade to HD and expansion of their television and video product. That ended the Q&A session of the call.
2008 - WWE broadcast ECW on Sci Fi. Mike Odd filed the following TV report:
ECW comes to us from Atlanta, GA and our announcers are Todd Grisham and Matt Striker (filling in for Taz)
Match #1
Chavo Guerrero and Bam Neely vs. Evan Bourne and Ricky Ortiz
During the entrances they showed Ortiz's win over Chavo followed by him being beat down and saved by Bourne. Match begins with Bam and Ortiz. Ortiz gets the early advantage. Neely rolls out of the ring to converse with Chavo. The action resumes. They go back and forth. Ortiz tags in Bourne. Bam brings Bourne into Chavo's corner, tags Chavo in, and he and Bourne go back and forth. Bourne tags in Ortiz. Ortiz hits a shoulder block on Chavo and goes for the pin. Ortiz goes for the ropes and is distracted by Bam. This gives Chavo and Bam the advantage. Neely works over Ortiz, gets a couple two counts, and tags Chavo back in. Ortiz powers his way out of a chin lockand turns it into a back suplex. Chavo tags Bam and Ortiz gets the hot tag on Bourne. Evan Bourne hits a double knee drop off the top rope on a standing Bam Neely and Chavo runs in. He and Ortiz go over the top rope; Even Bourne rolls up Bam Neely for the three count.
They plug the Dirt Sheet later tonight with Mark Henry and Matt Hardy and then we go to commercial.
The WWE Slam of the Week is Morrison's beat down of Hornswaggle followed by Mike Knox attacking Finlay.
Mike Knox is in the ring. He's not here to explain why he did what he did last week. He's here to expose the fraud that is Finlay. He shows the video of Finlay and Hornswaggle dancing from the Summer Slam commercial. He says Finlay used to be tough, now he dances like a leprechaun. He's interrupted by Finlay's music. Finlay tells Mike Knox that the video was funny. He says he still loves to fight but he also likes to have fun and he loves his son. He tells Mike Knox that if he has a problem with that to look him in the eyes and take a shot. Finlay takes off his coat and tells Mike Knox to take his shot and he better knock him out or he'll find out whether Finlay has gone soft or not. Mike Knox leaves the ring.
Now we're watching the RAW Rebound and they show John Cena and Batista winning the tag team titles.
Match #2
Armando Estrada vs. Tommy Dreamer
The announcers put over that this is Armando's last chance to get an ECW contract. The match starts with some back and forth with Armando and Dreamer. Dreamer with a hip toss and clothes lines Estrada over the top rope. Dreamer tries to bring Armando back into the ring with a suplex but it is reversed and Armando gives him a stunner on the ropes. Dreamer hangs Estrada in the tree of woe. Colin Delaney shows up at ringside with a chair. Dreamer sees him and Delaney jumps behind the announcers desk. Delaney interferes again distracting Dreamer long enough for Estrada to win with a school boy.
They push the Dirt Sheet again for later tonight and we go to commercial.
They show a recap of the end of the Dreamer/Estrada match. Armando is shown in the back celebrating. Colin Delaney comes in and Armando asks why he would help him after all of the hell he put him through. Teddy Long comes in and tell him after his antics tonight he will be in an Extreme Rules Match next week with Tommy Dreamer.
We are treated to a Smackdown Rebound recapping the awesome Edge/Foley angle.
We then go down the card for Summerslam.
Edge vs. Undertaker - Hell in a Cell
John Cena vs. Batista
Triple H vs. The Great Khali - WWE Title
CM Punk vs. JBL - World Title
Mark Henry vs. Matt Hardy - ECW Title
Braden Walker is shown walking backstage and we go to commercial.
We're back and the same clip that they showed last night involving Sargent Slaughter and Steve Austin is shown again.
Match # 3
Braden Walker vs. James Curtis
Curtis starts with a wrist lock before being overpowered by Walker and having the wrist lock reversed. Curtis tries some offense and Walker counters. Suplex by Walker. Walker continues to work the arm of Curtis. Curtis pokes Walker in the eye to gain the advantage. The crowd is chanting "boring!" Walker hits a couple of clotheslines followed by a flying clothesline. Walker goes for another suplex. Curtis fights out of it. It's Walker in the corner. Walker powers out and hits another clothesline. Walker then hits a Fisherman's Suplex out of nowhere for the three count.
Up next is the Dirt Sheet.
We're back. Mizorrison is in the ring and they welcome us to The Dirt Sheet. They introduce their first guest, the great Mark Henry. We see a picture of Mark Henry on the screen with someone else's mouth moving (a la Conan O'Brien), they ask him questions and he replies by grunting. They taunt him about his weight and how much better looking they are. Now we hear Mark Henry's music and he storms to the ring followed by Tony Atlas. The Miz assures them they were just messing around. Atlas says they didn't come on The Dirt Sheet to be made fun of. They then bring out Matt Hardy and do the same gimmick. They make Matt Hardy sound like Forrest Gump. For some reason Mark Henry cuts a promo on the picture, then Matt Hardy's music hits. Hardy comes out microphone in tow. He applauds Mizorrison. Hardy brings up that they must be big Conan O'Brien fans; he says he's here to join the party. Hardy then turns his attention to Mark Hardy and says he'll be the ECW champion by Summerslam. The Miz gets in Matt Hardy's face. Hardy hits The Miz. Morrison swings at Hardy who ducks and Henry gets hit. Mark Henry then destroys John Morrison while Hardy gives Miz a Twist of Fate. The show ends with Henry and Hardy staring each other down.