This Day in History - 7th April, 2013

On this day in ....

1986 - WWF holds the second Wrestlemania, airing from three different locations across the United States. Mike Johnson penned the following:

WRESTLEMANIA 2

April 7, 1986

Locations: Uniondale, New York; Chicago, Illinois; Los Angeles, California
Arenas: The Nassau Coliseum, The Rosemont Horizon, The LA Sports Arena
Combined Announced Attendances: 47,688

RESULTS

For the second installment of Wrestlemania, the WWF braintrust went with three locations in three time zones, with each Arena watching the other shows via closed circuit television. Interesting to note that the California building watched the remainder of the show after their portion of the live event, while everyone else saw the show in the order of Nassau, Chicago, Los Angeles.

Uniondale Results: Don Muraco fought Paul Orndorff to a double countout....WWF Intercontinental champion Randy Savage pinned George Steele with his feet on the ropes....Jake Roberts pinned George Wells with a DDT....Mr. T defeated Roddy Piper via DQ in the fourth round of a worked boxing match. T hardly trained for the bout, leading to a horrible performance and most of the Nassau crowd chanting for Piper. Piper eventually bodyslammed T to end the New York portion of the show.

Uniondale Celebrities: Susan St. James commentated along with Vince McMahon...Lou Duva managed Piper while Smokin' Joe Frazier was T's cornerman....Ray Charles sang "America the Beautiful", starting a Wrestlemania tradition....Joan Rivers was the special ring announcer for the main event....Judges for the boxing match were jazz singer Cab Calloway, NBA player Darryl Dawkins, and G. Gordon Liddy, a political figure from the Nixon Presidential scandal.....The guest timekeeper was "Herb" a character from a Burger King ad campaign of the time which featured a hunt for the one man in the world who hadn't tasted a Whopper. Years before Where's Waldo, consumers were wondering "Where's Herb?"

Chicago Results: WWF Women's champion The Fabulous Moolah pinned Velvet McIntyre after McIntyre missed a bodypress off the top.....Cpl. Kirchner pinned Nikolai Volkoff after catching Freddie Blassie's cane and hitting him with it. The finish would avenge Blassie's use of the cane to help Nikolai attain a Tag title a year before....Andre the Giant eliminated Bret Hart to win a 20 man Battle Royal that featured wrestlers as well as NFL football players. The Battle Royal was built around Chicago Bear star William "The Refrigerator" Perry and a rivalry with Big John Studd. Studd eliminated Perry from the bout, only to be pulled over when Perry offered to shake his hand. Much of the national news telecasts that night aired the clip. Others in the bout included Bruno Sammartino (in his only Wrestlemania match), Pedro Morales (ditto), Jim Cobert, Pedro Morales, Tony Atlas, Ted Arcidi, Harvey Martin, Danny Spivey, Hillbilly Jim, King Tonga (Haku), The Iron Sheik, Ernie Holmes, The Killer Bees, Bill Fralic, Jim Neidhart, and Russ Francis....The British Bulldogs defeated Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake to win the WWF Tag Team championships in the blowoff of their feud. The finish of the bout saw Davey Boy Smith run Valentine headfirst into Dynamite Kid's head, while Kid was perched on the top rope, sending him crashing to the floor in a frightening bump to set up the pin.

Chicago Celebrities: Obviously, the NFL players who worked the Battle Royal. Cathy Lee Crosby (TV's "That's Incredible") did commentary with Gorilla Monsoon and Gene Okerlund...Claire Peller (who starred in the Wendy's "Where's the Beef?" ad campaign) was the guest timekeeper for the Battle Royal....Dick Butkus and Ed "Too Tall" Jones were the guest referee for the Battle Royal....Heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne was in the corner of the British Bulldogs, nearly a decade before he truly hit with the mainstream American audience as the patriarch of "The Osbournes."

Los Angeles Results: Ricky Steamboat pinned Hercules Hernandez with a flying bodypress....Adrian Adonis pinned Uncle Elmer with a splash....Terry and Hoss (Dory Jr.) Funk defeated the team of Tito Santana and The Junkyard Dog. Terry Funk was awesome here, getting bodyslammed through a table years before Tod Gordon came up with the initials ECW. Terry cracks JYD with Jimmy Hart's megaphone for the pin....WWF champion Hulk Hogan escaped a Steel Cage match to defeat King Kong Bundy, then took liberties in the cage with Bundy's manager Bobby Heenan. This was the debut of the "reinforced" blue Steel Cage that the promotion continued to use all the way until the Attitude era came about. Bundy had destroyed Hogan in a tremendous angle on NBC's Saturday Night's Main Event "injuring" his ribs in the process.

Los Angeles Celebrities: Horror TV show host Elvira commentated with Jesse Ventura and Lord Alfred Hayes....Tommy LaSorda of the Dodgers was the special guest ring announcer while Ricky Shroeder, fresh of NBC's Silver Spoons was the timekeeper.

Notes: The show was available to limited homes via PPV. It would be a year later that PPV and WWF become known hand in hand...The show marked the final Wrestlemania appearance of Paul Orndorff, who main evented the first show....The show was another huge hit in the rental stores....The show aired on cable on Showtime several weeks after the event...King Kong Bundy was a focal point of much of the media coverage building up to the event. His stature as a monster was never bigger and the match was the highlight of his career....Future Mania main eventers Randy Savage and Bret Hart made their Wrestlemania debut with this show.

King Kong Bundy on Main Eventing Wrestlemania 2: It was exciting, being in the main event with Hogan. It was a good match, a lot of fun...But if you check the tape, you'll see that my feet hit the floor first - I never lost! I should have been the champion! (March 2003, Slam! Wrestling)

Dory Funk Jr. on Working Wrestlemania 2: Wrestling Trivia - Wrestlemania 2 was the only Wrestlemania represented by the number 2 as opposed to Roman numerals. Wrestlemania 2 originated from Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City. Terry and I were in Los Angeles. Marti and my daughter Penny traveled with us to Los Angeles for the show and together for the first time shopped on Rodeo Drive and visited Saks Fifth Avenue and the Gucci store. The match was Terry Funk and myself against Tito Santana and The Junkyard Dog. (Tito's real name is Merced Solice and he comes from the same West Texas State University the same university Terry and I played football at. It is little known in wrestling that Tito was an outstanding receiver for West Texas State University.) With his reputation as a football player, I could not understand why he would change his name, but why would I ever wrestle as Hoss Funk? In Los Angeles, Terry and I were on next to last. The main event was Hulk Hogan against King Kong Bundy. Tito and Junkyard Dog were a hot team. Tito being the great worker and Junkyard Dog the character personality. This was the final match for a feud that began with Terry and Junkyard Dog and was enhanced when the Booker, George Scott called and asked if I would come in for WWF and work a program. My first match ever for WWF was at the TV taping in Poughkeepsie where I interfered in a Terry/Junkyard match and beat the Hell out of Junkyard Dog. This began a program that culminated in the Wrestlemania 2 match. My time working with WWE was challenging because of the work schedule. (At one stretch we did 46 shows in a row.) At the end of the year I had 38 different state tax returns to fill out. It was also a fun time in my life. The money was good and I was able to travel with my wife Marti and at times bring other family members. Being a part of Wrestlemania is an honor, It gives you a unique place in history. It is like being able to say, "I played in the Super Bowl." It would be nice if in the future WWE would give out Wrestlemania Rings. For me, it was one of my biggest paydays working in the wrestling business.

Velvet McIntrye on Wrestlemania 2: The biggest thing that stands out about that is I wanted to go to Kuwait, but I got WrestleMania II instead. There was a trip for the girls to Kuwait, and I always liked to go where I hadn't been. But I was told, 'Nope, you get to stay here and do Wrestlemania', so I was pretty bummed out about that. I didn't really care for my opponent. (March 2003, Slam! Wrestling)

Dave Scherer: There are two things that I recall about Mania 2, and really two things only. One was the ambitious way that they did the show from three locations. It was a logistical nightmare, but also a very interesting idea that was worth trying. I also think that they made a great choice by never doing it again. It was not a good concept. The other thing I remember, from sitting in the building where I watched on closed circuit TV (and I am sure most of you don't even remember such a thing) was that the show was pretty dull and there was nothing memorable on it. At this point in time, I loved actual wrestling and the WWF didn't give us much of that.

Mike Johnson: I can recall waiting weeks to find a copy of the show on video and being completely underwhelmed once I watched it. There were very few highlights of the show with the best matches being The Bulldogs vs. Dream Team, and The Funks vs. Tito Santana & JYD. The Battle Royal was a fun spectacle, making Andre look like a monster to begin the build for the biggest Wrestlemania match of all time, Andre's challenge of Hulk Hogan. The boxing match was beyond awful. This isn't one of the best showings for the Wrestlemania event, period. The idea of the three sites was one that made sense on paper but when you were paying top price for a third of a show, it must have been hell on the fans live.

Jess McGrath: I had similar feelings to Mike's when I saw it. They tried too hard to make this feel "special". And they went overboard in downplaying the wrestling, instead hyping the three locations and the 25 celebrities. The reason for doing three locations was that Starrcade, the NWA's big show, in 1985 was done in two sites (Greensboro and Atlanta), so Vince of course had to top that. New York fans got the shaft big-time when it came to what they saw live vs. the other sites. Jake Roberts vs. George Wells was really a squash match. Aside from some quick finishes and gimmicky matches like Terry Taylor vs. Bobby Heenan at WM 5, they really did away with the concept of Wrestlemania squash matches after this one. The T-Piper stuff bored me at the time, and the "match" was just terrible. Chicago got the battle royal and the tag title match, both of which were entertaining. I remember the women's title match and Kirchner-Volkoff being really short and essentially a total waste. Los Angeles was the best of the shows, Adrian Adonis-Uncle Elmer notwithstanding. The Funks vs. Santana & JYD was pretty much the highlight of Mania.

2007 - Kurt Schneider, World Wrestling Entertainment's Executive Vice President of Marketing gave notice that he would be leaving the company to take a position working with the Harlem Globetrotters organization.

The word going around as to Schneider's departure is that he wasn't happy in his current position and was tired of micro management issues forced upon him by higher-ups (which in that company, meant the McMahon family), so he decided to move on.

Schneider had been with the company since February 2003 and was responsible for overseeing the marketing for all of WWE's PPV events, live events, global marketing and strategic business operations. Scheider also oversaw all of the company's advertising, promotions, Public Relations, Corporate Communications and other associated responsibilities.

Many of the marketing techniques and themes you've seen from WWE in recent years have had Schneider's fingerprints all over them and he was very valuable asset to WWE. Schneider was very hands on with many of the upgrades in WWE's different revenue streams including WWE.com, the revamping of WWE Magazine, and the majority of PPV and Television events, including special themed shows like the Raw Family Reunion, the WWE Homecoming, Saturday Night's Main Event, WWE vs. ECW, etc.

In 2004, Schneider's Wrestlemania XX advertising theme (building the entire year around marketing the company's flagship event) helped lead WWE to its first major PPV revenue increase overall in several years.

There were a lot of employees unhappy about his decision to leave. Schneider was considered one of the best department heads to work under and his division was said to have had the best morale of any part of WWE's office end. Obviously, his departure was a major loss to the company.

2008 - Former WWE star Andrew "Test" Martin was arrested for DUI in Pasco County, FL.

2008 - World Wrestling Entertainment told the FOX affiliate in Atlanta was then-ECW performer Mike Knox was among four developmental talents who rented a home together at an address were steroids and syringes were found in a crawl space by the new owner. They told the station that only Knox is still under contract to the company and that he has denied ownership. A second box found in the vicinity of the drugs contained documents relating to Knox's WWE employment, including his contract. PWInsider.com ndependently confirmed that Ryan O'Riley and Derek Niekirk were two of the other three residents of the home. Niekirk was released last year due to WWE Wellness Policy issues while O'Riley, who was about to be called up to the Raw brand, requested his release as he and girlfriend Kristy Vaine decided they didn't want a life on the road. Years later, O'Riley would sign another deal with the company. The mystery of who's steroids were in the home was never solved.

2008 - TNA countersued former star Konnan.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, in response to Charles "Konnan" Ashenoff bringing action against the company via EEOC, filed a complaint on in the United States District Court, Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, seeking declaratory judgment against the international star. For simplicity's sake, I will refer to Ashenoff simply as Konnan from this point forward.

TNA's 15 page complaint specifically rebuts charges of racism made by Konnan against the company as well as his 'bodily injury claims, racial discrimination claims and trademark claims' against the company while he was under contract to the company:

TNA claimed that in March 2008, they received "a demand letter" filed outside of the agreed upon jurisdiction of Texas, where Konnan "threatened suit" against the company because of the bolded claims made by Konnan (verbiage is from TNA's complaint, not Konnan's). TNA's responses to those claims appear following the bolded allegations.

a) Konnan's pre-existing hip injury became a chronic problem.

b)TNA negligently hired, trained and supervised its personnel and that negligence led to chronic renal failure due to Konnan's "ingestion of performance enhancing drugs and/or the illegal use of prescription medication while wrestling at TNA."

TNA's complaint claims that Konnan's signed Independent Contractor Agreements with the company noted that he understood the level of health risk involved in professional wrestling and by signing , "I (meaning Konnan) hereby waive, discharge and release any and all claims I have, may have, or that I may ever have in the future, against TNA, its parent and affiliates, and against all of their respective agents, officers, employees and directors....(The "TNA" parties) that arise from or relate in any way to my participation in the activity of professional wrestling or in any related activities, whether caused by the negligence of TNA or otherwise."

The same agreement noted that Konnan agreed that he or his estate would not file suit or assert any demands or claims for "liabilities or damages of any and all losses, injuries or damages of any kind" coming out of his participation in working for the company and that he would "assume full responsibility for any and all risk of personal or bodily injury, death or property damage" and that he would hold TNA harmless from any of the above.

Konnan's agreement also noted that he understood "injuries received may be compounded or increased by negligent assistance or procedures of the TNA Parties" and that he understood the agreement would extend to "all acts of negligence by the TNA Parties, including negligence in providing assistance."

*The agreements agreed that any issues that arose legally would be subject to the laws and regulation of Texas (where TNA Entertainment parent company Panda Energy is based), which is why TNA has filed the complaint there. I am not sure where Konnan filed his initial complaint, but it was not within the State of Texas.

c) Konnan "supposedly suffered from racial discrimination" in connection with having to portray the Konnan character.

TNA claims that Konnan signed an independent contractor agreement with the company in January 2004 and another in August 2005 and that he voluntarily entered into those agreements with full knowledge that he would be working "subject to TNA direction" and "knowing the contracts required him to portray characters of Hispanic origin, including the Konnan character."

TNA noted that Konnan, "believed to be Cuban-American" has been portraying himself as Hispanic The complaint read, "Despite assertions to the contrary, this was not a character which TNA created; rather, the "Konnan" character was a mix of several different wrestling characters created by Ashenoff and others over twenty years in the business. When Ashenoff first began providing services to TNA, TNA incorporated Ashenoff's existing character role into its dramatic story lines and scenes for the purposes of providing creative entertainment to its audience."

The company again pointed out that he had been working as that character "long before" he was an independent contractor with TNA later in their complaint when responding to Konnan claims that he was instructed to speak with a Spanish accent and/or slang, to hit another wrestler with a Tequila bottle, dress and adopt the characteristics of a Latino street gang, and was directed to use "racially charged" language towards a Caucasian wrestler. Konnan also alleged that members of TNA management used a number of racially insulting references to minorities, which I'm not going to reprint. TNA's response to that claim was that Konnan had been suspended prior to raising any issues of alleged racial discrimination, but that he complained the company was retaliating against him for making complaints of that nature.

TNA also responded that, "While Defendant suggests that he complained to TNA concerning racial discrimination, he continued to perform for TNA and to accept compensation from TNA rather than pursue other opportunities which he has admitted were readily available to him. Defendant continued to provide services to TNA, portray his "Konnan" character, and participate in the creatively developed storylines well after Defendant suggests those events took place. As is evidenced by his continued participation and his own previously existing character, Defendant was simply not offended by TNA's conduct."

TNA noted that Konnan took part in collaboration and development of the Konnan character's TNA storylines "which included creative elements related to racially-related topics as part of its entertainment and marketing." TNA claims that any "comments related to race" Konnan "allegedly heard, or participated in, were actually uttered, they were part of, and necessary to, the creative process" and were "facilitated by TNA's successful development of its entertainment product."

TNA noted that "like any entertainment role", they utilized Konnan's physical appearance because it met the character and storyline. "TNA did not treat the Defendant less favorably because of his race or subject him to a racially hostile environment. Instead this was an entertainment role Defendant chose to play and help create."

d)TNA was committing trademark infringement for their usage of the LAX logo.

In their complaint, TNA pointed out LAX was "a trio of Hispanic 'stage characters' created by Konnan and "other wrestlers." TNA also noted that in their 2005 agreement with Konnan allowed the company to use "original intellectual property", including trademarks Konnan owned prior to the agreement and any "new intellectual property" created after the execution of the agreement.

TNA is asking that the court award them damages based on Konnan's breach of his Independent Contractor Agreement with TNA, all attorney's fees and court costs, pre and post-judgment interest, a ruling that Konnan was never an employee and always an Independent Contractor with TNA, that all claims against TNA by Konnan and his estate be released, that TNA has the legal rights to the LAX name and trademark, and a number of additional claims that basically boil down to a ruling TNA did not violate any federal laws by placing Konnan into his on camera roles and backstage environment.

A court summons was issued to Konnan on 3/27, but as of this writing, has not been executed.

2008 - WWE broadcast Raw. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV report:
Last week on Raw (that is war spelled backwards) we saw the official sendoff for Ric Flair after losing his match at Wrestlemania against Shawn Michaels. While it appeared that Flair had forgiven Michaels for beating him, Batista was not so forgiving. What will happen between Michaels and Batista on tonight's show? Who will emerge as the next challenger for Randy Orton's WWE Title? Will it be John Cena or Triple H, who wrestled for the title at Wrestlemania; Chris Jericho, the unofficial number one contender because he is the Intercontinental Champion; or will it be Bradshaw because he called it first? What is next for Santino Marella since his allies among the Divas appear to have turned on him? What is next for the tag team division . . . I can't even finish that thought. What other matches will be announced for Backlash?

We are live from Albany, New York and your announcers are Jim ‘Pepsi goes well with BBQ’ Ross and Jerry ‘Client Number 9’ Lawler.

We begin with William Regal in the ring and he is going to talk about hair care and mispronounce names. Regal says that the title match at Backlash will be between the following two men. He says that the first man proved that it was the Age of Orton at Wrestlemania, the Legend Killer (that is Rellik spelled backwards) Randy Orton. The man who will face Randy Orton at Backlash is the most deserving Number One Contender in WWE history (if the WWE was just formed), John Bradshaw Layfield.

Regal tells them that it will be one of the most fiercely competitive matches, but we are interrupted by Triple Haitch before Regal can continue to speak. Hunter has a mic and he tells Regal to wait a second. Hunter wants some clarification. Hunter says that he has respect for Orton but he wants to know if Regal is out of his fricken mind. Hunter says that he was busy with Flair’s retirement last week, but he must have missed something on the way. While Orton said that he was finished with Hunter because he won the match, he did not beat anybody. Orton points out that he beat John Cena. Hunter wonders what the big move he used to get the pin on Cena and Hunter tells Orton that he did not do anything. Hunter says that Orton took advantage of the situation, took a cheap shot, and got the cover by falling on Cena. Hunter wonders how a guy who was retired for the last two years on Smackdown and the biggest claim to fame since he came back was slapping around a midget. Hunter says that he found that funny but that does not put you in line for a title shot.

Regal says that he might have a solution. If Triple Haitch wants to be a part of the main event at Backlash, he will have to earn it in a handicap match against Randy Orton and Bradshaw. If Hunter wins, it will be a Triple Threat Match. Bradshaw and Orton are not happy. We go to commercial.

Match Number One: Youmanga versus Val Venis
Umaga with forearms to Venis followed by a back elbow. Venis with kicks but Umaga sends Venis into the corner. Venis charges into an uppercut and then Venis goes shoulder first into the post. Umaga throws Venis to the mat and then he kicks Val in the back and it is time for the nerve hold. Umaga with a double chop to Venis and he returns to the neck. Val punches Umaga and connects with forearms but Umaga with a Samoan drop to Venis. Umaga pulls Venis into the corner and it is time for the running butt splash. Umaga sets for the Samoan Spike and he connects and gets the three count.
Winner: YouManga

It is time to take a poll (not the TNA type) and text in if you thought Shawn Michaels did the right thing at Wrestlemania. We go to commercial.

Match Number Two: Melina and Jillian Hall (that is Brooke Hogan spelled backwards) versus Mickie James and Ashley Massaro
Ashley and Jillian start things off and Jillian with a knee and forearm. Ashley with a gingerly placed rana for a two. Ashley goes up for punches in the corner and Melina pulls Ashley to the mat. Melina tags in and they hit a double team move on Ashley and get a two count but Mickie breaks it up. Melina with an Irish whip and Ashley moves out of the way before gingerly making the tag. Mickie with a clothesline and flying double sledge. Mickie knocks Jillian off the apron but Melina works on Mickie in the corner. Melina with knees to Mickie, but when Melina tries again and Mickie gets her knee up. Mickie with a neck breaker and Ashley takes care of Jillian’s interference. Mickie hits an Impaler DDT for the three count.
Winners: Mickie James featuring Ashley Massaro

We go to commercial and if you missed the Ric Flair ceremony, or the recap on ECW, or the recap on Smackdown, or the recap on AM Raw, or the replay on Univision, we will see footage next.

We are back and Batista will get to complain about Shawn Michaels beating Ric Flair on the Highlight Reel, but before we get there, it is time to take a look back at the end of the road for Ric Flair in Orlando.

We go to commercial.

We are back and Wrestlemania 25 is coming in April 2009, so get your tickets sometime in the future when they eventually go on sale.

Match Number Three: Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch versus Paul London and Brian Kendrick
London and Kendrick attack Cade and Murdoch as the bell rings and Kendrick is sent out of the ring while Cade slams London. Cade misses an elbow drop and London hits a dropsault on Murdoch and then gets a near fall on Cade. Murdoch trips London and then Cade kicks London. Cade with a reverse atomic drop followed by a clothesline for a two count. Murdoch is tagged in and Cade gets Murdoch up for a leg drop on London for a near fall. Murdoch with a forearm to the back followed by a kick and then he connects with an elbow for a near fall. Cade tags back in and he chops London. Cade with a knee to London’s back and then he works on London’s neck. Cade slams London’s head into the turnbuckles. Cade charges into the corner and he gets an elbow fro his troubles. Kendrick with a drop kick as he comes into the ring and then he hits some more drop kicks on Cade. Kendrick with a kick and drop kick. Cade with a sit out spinebuster on Cade. Murdoch takes too long to make the cover and Kendrick with an inside cradle for the three count.
Winners: Brian Kendrick and Paul London despite what Lillian Garcia says

Randy Orton tells Bradshaw that he did the impossible by walking into and out of Wrestlemania as champion. Orton tells Bradshaw that he beat Hunter before so Bradshaw should stay out of the way. We go to commercial.

Match Number Four: Triple Haitch with GameFountain versus Bradshaw and Randy Orton without ring entrances in a Handicap Match
Hunter starts off the match against Orton and Orton tries to punch Hunter but Hunter blocks it and he punches Orton. Hunter with a clothesline as he comes out of the corner on an Irish whip. Orton with knees to Hunter followed by a European uppercut. Hunter fights his way out of the corner and then we get an HD shot of nothing in the ring. William Regal is at ringside watching the match.

Bradshaw tags in and Bradshaw backs Hunter into the corner using his size advantage. Bradshaw has some words for Hunter when he breaks and then they pause before Bradshaw backs away. Hunter with a side head lock and shoulder tackle. Hunter with a side head lock take down. Orton tags in and he punches Hunter in the corner and then when Orton was with the referee, Bradshaw kicks Hunter. Orton with more punches and kicks in the corner. Orton is pulled back by the referee but Mike Chioda is no Earl Hebner and he sees Bradshaw cheating and he admonishes Bradshaw. Orton with a drop kick for a near fall. Orton with the Garvin (you know, he beat Andre) Stomp. Orton finishes it off with a leaping knee drop for a near fall. Bradshaw is tagged in and he punches Hunter. Bradshaw with a swinging neck breaker and elbow drops for a near fall. Orton tags in and he kicks Hunter and then he punches the potential challenger at Backlash in the corner. Hunter punches back and he gains control. Orton with a snap power slam for a two count. Bradshaw tags in and he kicks Hunter followed by a forearm to the back. Hunter and Bradshaw get to exchange punches. Bradshaw with a sleeper to Hunter. Hunter gets out and he hits the facebuster. Hunter punches Bradshaw but Orton tags himself in. Orton tries for the RKO but Hunter sends Orton into Bradshaw and then Hunter hits the Pedigree for the three count.
Winner: Triple Threat Haitch

After the match, William Regal and his magical hair enter the ring. Regal announces that it will be a Triple Threat . . . until we are interrupted by John Cena’s music (without the Dave Scherer Mouth Orchestra). Cena congratulates Triple H for being part of the main event at Backlash. Cena has an idea and he remembers what Hunter said earlier about losing because of the Pedigree at Wrestlemania. Cena points out that he beat Hunter twice and that he beat Bradshaw to win his first World Title and then he made Bradshaw quit. Cena points out that he beat Orton last year at Backlash. Cena has a proposition. They have four of the biggest dogs in the ring. Cena proposes that there be a Fatal Four Way at Backlash for the WWE Title.

Regal says that Cena gave him a great idea. It is his duty to make the main event at Backlash the biggest it can be, John Cena gets the same deal as Triple Haitch. Regal tells Cena that he needs to face Bradshaw and Triple Haitch in a handicap match tonight.

We go to commercial.

Match Number Five: Bob Holly and Cody MAH THUN Rhodes versus Carlito and Santino Marella
Carlito and Cody start things off and Carlito works on the arm but Cody with a drop toe hold into a side head lock. Cody with a wrist lock. Holly tags in and they hit a double hip toss on Carlito. Holly punches Carlito but Carlito punches back. Santino tags in and he runs into an elbow. Carlito hits Holly on the apron but Santino interferes. Holly sets for the Alabama Slam but Carlito with a kick and DDT. The referee sends Carlito to the apron but Santino tags in. Holly punches Santino but Santino with shoulders. Carlito tags in and he kicks and punches Holly. Santino tags in and then he poses for Cody. Santino with a forearm to the back and then he covers Holly but only gets a near fall. Carlito tags in and he hits a suplex for a near fall. Carlito with a rear chin lock. Carlito with a leaping leg drop for a near fall. Carlito punches Holly but Holly with a half nelson slam and both men are down. Holly rolls to Cody but Santino tags in and he keeps Holly from making the tag until Holly hits an enzuigiri. Rhodes with a drop toe hold into the corner followed by a slam and knee drop. Rhodes charges into boots from Marella, but Rhodes crotches Marella. Marella pushes Rhodes off the turnbuckles and Santino with a diving head butt for the three count.
Winners: Santino Marella and Carlito

We go to commercial.

We are back and Cryme Tyme is back and it is time for their Wrestlemania Clearance Sale. They have a shaker of soul from Rocky Johnson. Shad has an autographed copy of Maria and they look at the photos and the magazine is not for sale. JTG has a pair of Kim Kardashian’s panties from the Hall of Fame. Shad points out that Kim was not at the Hall of Fame and JTG went into Mae Young’s dressing room.

It is time to take a look at the problems between the two biggest men in sports entertainment, Big Show and Great Khali.

Triple Haitch is wrapping his wrists and Bradshaw enters. He talks very quickly about some strategy for the match and how it is better to have one chance in three than one in four. Bradshaw asks Hunter if he is listening and Hunter pulls out his earphones and asks Bradshaw if he said something. Bradshaw wonders why nobody listens to him and Hunter points out that Bradshaw is an ass.

We go to commercial.

Match Number Six: Maria (I also miss the Ditzy girl) versus Beth Phoenix
They lock up and Beth slaps Maria in the arm but Maria slaps Beth. Maria with a kick and then she tries for a handstand but Beth with a knee to the back. Beth with a slam to Maria and then she kicks Maria in the corner. Beth with a baseball slide and Maria goes into the ring post. Beth rolls Maria back into the ring. Beth sends Maria face first into the mat. Beth with a standing cloverleaf and turns it into a back breaker. Maria with an inside cradle for a two count. Maria with forearms and kicks. Maria with a handstand and kick. Maria with a head scissors and then she goes to the second turnbuckle for a cross body. Beth rolls through and gets Maria on her shoulders but Maria with an inverted DDT for a two count. Beth with a hot shot to Maria and then Beth with the fisherman’s suplex for the three count.
Winner: Beth Phoenix

Batista and Shawn Michaels walk in split screen in the back as we go to commercial. I guess the Highlight Reel is next.

We are back and it is time for the Highlight Reel featuring Chris Jericho and Herman Menderchuk. Jericho brings his title belt to the ring. Chris says that tonight could be one of the most intense and emotional Highlight Reel. Things started on Smackdown. Chris Jericho says that his first guest needs no introduction, but he still introduces Batista. It is time for Chris’s other guest and he points out that the name Heartbreak Kid is appropriate because of the number of hearts he broke on Sunday. That man is Shawn Michaels with his cowboy hat.

Chris tells Shawn about the poll results and 65 percent say that Shawn was right (Batista has a few thousand skulls to crush for their responses). Chris says that none of the tears had to be shed last week if Shawn had lost to Flair. Shawn reminds Jericho that Ric Flair challenged him to have the match at Wrestlemania. We go to the Monkey Monitor for the missed moonsault at Wrestlemania. We see it about as many times as we have seen Ric Flair retrospective video packages. Jericho points out that Shawn’s A Game meant ending Ric Flair’s career. Jericho asks Shawn why he would say that he loved Flair when he put his body through so much. Shawn says that he is sorry, but Batista does not believe him. Batista tells Shawn that his ego made Shawn Michaels end Ric Flair’s career.

Jericho wants to know if Batista would have done the same thing and Batista says that he wouldn’t. Shawn wants to know if Batista would have put his ego aside over a five year friendship. Where was the friendship in the weeks before Wrestlemania. Shawn asks Dave where he was to try to talk Flair out of the match. Isn’t it convenient that he is talking up now. Shawn tells Batista that Flair did not ask him to be the other man to wrestle Flair because Batista did not have the nerve and that there was only one man to give Flair the match that he wanted. Shawn tells Dave to look at his hands because there is so much blood on those hands. He is proud of some of the blood. Wrestlemania was the hardest night of his career.

Batista tells Shawn that it was because of all of the blood on his hands, he expected to see Shawn do the right thing. He will never trust Shawn again. Michaels tells Batista that he is sick of this and if he wants to do something about it, go ahead. Batista says that he already has. Batista goes to the apron and he puts on his sunglasses.

John Cena is walking in the back as we go to commercial.

We are back and William Regal is on the phone and Randy Orton enters the office. Regal says that he got off the phone with Vickie Guerrero and the match is on for Backlash as Shawn Michaels will face Batista. Orton likes the idea of one-on-one matches but now he might be in a four-way match. Regal says that Orton will learn about respect next week in London when Randy Orton will face William Regal.

Match Number Seven: John Cena versus Triple Haitch and Bradshaw
Bradshaw tells Hunter he wants to start and he will as Cena starts for his team. Randy Orton comes out and that distracts Cena and Bradshaw attacks Cena. Bradshaw slams Cena’s head into the turnbuckle and then he kicks Cena. Bradshaw with a forearm and punches for a near fall. Hunter wants the tag but Bradshaw refuses. Cena punches Bradshaw and Bradshaw with a forearm to the back. Hunter wants to tag in but Bradshaw with a DDT for a near fall. Bradshaw with a forearm and punch. Bradshaw still refuses to tag and Hunter is not happy. Bradshaw with a snap mare and diving forearm to the back. Bradshaw with a forearm to Cena but Cena with punches. Cena with an Irish whip but Bradshaw moves and Cena hits the turnbuckles. Hunter wants the tag and Bradshaw refuses. Bradshaw with a running shoulder tackle for a two count. Cena with punches to Bradshaw and Bradshaw goes down but Bradshaw sends Cena through the ropes to the floor. Bradshaw with a short arm clothesline on the floor.

They return to the ring and Bradshaw with a near fall. Bradshaw with Youmanga’s nerve hold. Cena gets back to his feet and the crowd is not happy. Cena with a kick and punch. Cena with a clothesline followed by flying shoulder tackles. Hunter refuses the tag and Cena with a Blue Thunder Bomb. Cena sets for the Five Knuckle Shuffle and he hits it. Cena signals for FU and Hunter gets crocodile arms when Bradshaw wants the tag. Cena tries for the FU but Bradshaw gets out of the hold. Bradshaw with a big boot and then Bradshaw looks at his tag team partner. Hunter and Bradshaw argue and Hunter punches Bradshaw. Hunter and Bradshaw exchange punches and then they fight outside the ring. Orton tries to separate Hunter and Bradshaw but Orton is punched by Bradshaw. Orton gives Bradshaw an RKO and Cena gets the three count.
Winner: John Fatal Four Way Cena

We go to credits wondering who will get involved to make it a Fabulous Five Way or a Super Six Way or a Stupendous Seven Way.

Raw Thoughts:

As soon as you heard that it would be Randy Orton versus Bradshaw at Backlash, was there any doubt that Hunter and Cena wouldn’t get involved in the match? Why must it only be limited to the four of them? Jericho was the first Unified Champion. Kennedy won last year’s Money in the Bank. Val Venis has wrestled on Raw in the last year.

Outside of the two matches that even one of the Japanese soldiers who thinks World War II is still going on could have told you that Cena and Hunter were going to make it into main event at Backlash, the other five matches really did not do much. You had Umaga defeat Val Venis because . . . I have no idea; Paul London and Brian Kendrick beat Cade and Murdoch again even though Lillian Garcia did not think so; Melina and Jillian Hall wrestled Mickie James (featuring guest star Ashley) to give Mickie a win over someone; Cody Rhodes and Bob Holly lost to Carlito and Santino because they are the tag champions; and Maria lost to Beth Phoenix because they were trying to beat the stupid back into her?

Did people really text in whether they thought Shawn Michaels did the right thing at Wrestlemania? Can some of these people just send me their money instead? I was a bit surprised that the vote was the way that it was; and how does Batista feel. He complains about Michaels ending Flair’s career, and the fans say that Michaels did nothing wrong.

I guess tonight was Show Bradshaw no Respect Night on Raw. Is he really from Albany instead of Texas?

While I have had a change of heart on Santino Marella, I still cringe when I have to hear Cryme Tyme talk.

At least there are three weeks until Backlash because tonight’s show did not really do too much to make me care about the pay per view.