This Day in History - 6th May, 2013

May 6th

On this day in ....

1921 - Dtanislaus Zbyszko defeats Ed "Strangler" Lewis in New York City, New York to win his second World Heavyweight Title, ending Lewis' third reign.

1938 - Don McIntyre defeats Vic Christy for the Montreal World Heavyweight Title in Buffalo, New York.

1946 - Al Szasz defeats Paavo Ketonnen to win the Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight Title in Portland, Oregon, ending Ketonnen's second reign.

1953 - Killer Kowalski defeats Verne Gagne to win the Montreal World Heavyweight Title in Montreal, Quebec, beginning Kowalski's second reign.

1953 - Leo Nomellini and Enrique Torres defeat Ben and Mike Sharpe for the San Francisco NWA World Tag Team Title in San Francisco, California. This ended the Sharpes' seventh reign.

1958 - Black Hawk and Nelson Royal defeat Doug Donovan and Bill Savage for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title.

1960 - Ed Francis and Bill Savage defeat Tony Borne and Shag Thomas to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title, to begin their second reign.

1964 - Brian Knobbs is born in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

1966 - Georgia Championship Wrestling held an eight-team tournament for the vacant Georgia NWA Southern Tag Team Title in Atlanta, Georgia. The results:
Quarterfinals:
- The Infernos defeated The Scufflin' Hillbillies.
- Alberto and Enrique Torres defeated Swede Karlson and Jack Vansky.
- Chief Crazy Horse and Bobby Shane defeated Bad Boy and Billy Hines.
- The Mysterious Medics defeated Darrell Cochran and Jack Pesek.
Semifinals:
- Alberto and Enrique Torres defeated The Infernos.
- The Mysterious Medics defeated Chief Crazy Horse and Bobby Shane.
Finals:
- Alberto and Enrique Torres defeated The Mysterious Medics to win the vacant Georgia NWA Southern Tag Team Title.

1969 - Alberto and Ramon Torres defeat Treach Phillips and Karl Von Stroheim for the Tri-State NWA United States Tag Team Title in Little Rock, Arkansas.

1974 - Rip Tyler defeats Bob Sweetan in Shreveport, Louisiana to win the NWA Tri-State Brass Knuckles Title.

1976 - Bob Kelly defeats Duke Miller for the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. This ended Miller's second reign and began Kelly's 17th.

1978 - Carlos Colón defeats Ox Baker in Bayamón, Puerto Rico to win his second WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title. At the same event, The Hollywood Blondes (Jack Evans and Larry Sharpe) defeat Victor Jovica and Chief Thundercloud for the WWC North American Tag Team Title, beginning their second reign. Also, Hurácan Castillo and Pierre Martel win the WWC World Tag Team Title from Invader I and José Rivera, ending their second reign.

1978 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran the Greensboro Coliseum, featuring the following results:
-Ted Oates defeated Charlie Fulton.
-Don Kernodle defeated Steve Muslin.
-Swede Hanson defeated Hartford Love.
-Johnny Weaver & Jay Youngblood defeated Mr. X #1 & Mr. X #2.
-Tony Atlas defeated Ciclon Negro.
-Ricky Steamboat & Blackjack Mulligan defeated the Masked Superstar & Baron Von Raschke in a Texas Death Match.
-Wahoo McDaniel fought Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion Ken Patera to a double disqualification.

1979 - Ashura Hara defeats Miles Zrno in Tokyo, Japan to win the World Wrestling Union World Junior Heavyweight Title.

1980 - Masa Saito defeats Steve Keirn for the NWA Florida Television Title in Tampa, Florida.

1982 - Black Tiger (Marc Rocco) defeats Gran Hamada for the WWF Junior Heavyweight Title in Fukuoka, Japan. The title had been vacated in April by The Dynamite Kid due to injury.

1982 - Joyce Grable and Wendi Richter defeat Princess Victoria and Sabrina to win their second NWA Women's World Tag Team Title in Kansas City, Missouri.

1982 - King Kamaka and Baron Von Krupp defeat Mark Lewin and Steve Rickard for the NWA Australasian Tag Team Title in Auckland, New Zealand.

1983 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Charleston, SC, headlined by NWA World Tag Team Champions Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood defeating NWA U.S. Champion Greg Valentine & Dick Slater in the main event.

1984 - The first-annual Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions was held by World Class Championship Wrestling at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. 32,123 fans attended the show, held in honor of the recently deceased David Von Erich, who died on February 10 in Japan. The results were:
- Johnny Mantell and Kelly Kiniski fought to a draw.
- Chris Adams and Sunshine defeated Jimmy Garvin and Precious, when Adams pinned Garvin.
- Butch Reed defeated Chick Donovan.
- Kamala and The Great Kabuki fought to a double-disqualification.
- The Junkyard Dog defeated The Missing Link by disqualification.
- Rock 'n' Soul (King Parsons and Buck Zumhofe) defeated WCCW American Tag Team Champioons The Super Destoyers (I and II (Bill and Scott Irwin)), when Parsons pinned Super Destoyer I, to win the title, ending the Super Destroyers' second reign.
- Fritz, Kevin and Mike Von Erich defeated WCCW Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy, Michael Hayes and Buddy Roberts), when Kevin pinned Roberts, to win the title. Kerry later replaced the retired Fritz in the championship team.
- Kerry Von Erich defeated NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair to win the title.

1984 - King Kong Bundy and The Masked Superstar defeat The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk) to win the NWA National Tag Team Title in Atlanta, Georgia, ending the Road Warriors' second reign.

1984 - Crusher Lisowski and Baron Von Raschke defeat The Sheiks (Jerry Blackwell and Ken Patera) for the AWA World Tag Team Title in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

1984 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran three live events in one day-

Savannah, GA matinee at the Civic Center, featuring the following results:
-Ben Alexander defeated Gary Quartenelli.
-Mark Fleming defeated Chuck Marbary.
-Jeff Sword defeated Gene Ligon.
-Johnny Weaver & Larry Hamilton defeated Kurt Von Hess & Bobby Bass.
-Pez Whatley defeated NWA TV Champion Tully Blanchard in a non-title bout.
-Ernie Ladd defeated Rufus R. Jones.
-Jimmy Valiant defeated Adrian Street.

Asheville, NC matinee, featuring the following results:
-Vinnie Valentino defeated Doug Vines.
-Sam Houston defeated Ali Bey.
-Jesse Barr defeated Bob Orton Jr..
-Ivan Koloff & Don Kernodle defeated Angelo Mosca Sr. & Jr.
-Dick Slater defeated Brian Adidas.
-NWA World Tag Team Champions Wahoo McDaniel & Mark Youngblood defeated Jack & Jerry Brisco.

Charlotte, NC evening, featuring the following:
*Sam Houston defeated Barry O.
*Doug Vines defeated Barry Hart.
*Keith Larson defeated Gary Royal.
*Adrian Street defeated Brian Adidas.
*Jim Valiant defeated Tully Blanchard.
*Angelo Mosca Jr. defeated Ivan Koloff.
*NWA US Champion Ricky Steamboat defeated Dick Slater.
*NWA Tag Team Champions Wahoo McDaniel & Mark Youngblood defeated Jack & Jerry Brisco.

1987 - Championship Wrestling from Florida, which at this point was being run by Jim Crockett Promotions, ran Miami, Florida, featuring:
-Tracy Smothers & Steve Armstrong defeated Bill & Randy Mulkey.
-Jerry Gray defeated Jim Backlund.
-Ed Gantner defeated Ron Bass.
-Jimmy Valiant defeated Colt Steele.
-Ron Simmons defeated Shaska Whtley.
-Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated the MOD Squad via disqualification.
-Dusty Rhodes & Mike Rotundo defeated Kevin Sullivan & Teijo Khan.
-NWA World Champion Ric Flair defeated Jimmy Garvin via disqualification.

1988 - Makhan Singh defeats Owen Hart to win the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title in Calgary, Alberta, ending Hart's second reign and beginning Singh's third reign.

1989 - Chigusa Nagayo retires from the ring, as she had reached age 26, the mandatory retirement age for female wrestlers in Japan at the time. At her retirement, she was one-half of the WWWA World Tag Team Champions with Lioness Asuka as The Crush Gals, as well as IWA Women's World and All Pacific Champion. She wrestled her last two matches, at least at the time, that night at AJW's Wrestlemarinpiad event in Yokohama, Japan. The Crush Gals successfully defended the WWWA World Tag Team Title against Akira Hokuto and Mitsuko Nishikawa. Immediately following that match, Asuka defeated Nagayo in her retirement match.
Nagayo returned to competition a few years later, after that retirement rule was waived.

1990 - Matt Derringer defeats The Lightning Kid (Sean Waltman) for the Pro Wrestling America Light Heavyweight Title in Barron, Wisconsin, beginning his second reign.

1991 - WCW ran Johnson City, TN, headlined by WCW World Champion Ric Flair, WCW TV Champion Arn Anderson, Barry Windham, & the One Man Gang fighting El Gigante, Brian Pillman, PN News, & Tommy Rich to a double disqualification.

1993 - UWFI ran Tokyo at Budokan Hall, drawing 16,500 for an event headlined by Nobuhiko Takada defeating Dan Severn. WCW World Champion Big Van Vader defeated Tatsuo Nakano via KO at 3:35 after a punch and uranage; Vader was referred to as Super Vader in ring introductions. Others on the undercard included Gary Albright, Bad News Allen and Tom Burton.

1993 - WCW ran Terre Haute, Indiana at South High School before 300 fans, with:
-Robbie V (Rob Van Dam) defeated Rip Rogers.
-Chris Benoit defeated Steve Regal.
-Maxx Payne defeated Rip Morgan.
-Marcus Alexander Bagwell defeated Wrecking Crew Rage.
-Erik Watts defeated WCW TV Champion Paul Orndorff via disqualification.
-Sting & Ricky Steamboat, & 2 Cold Scorpio defeated Rick Rude & Unified WCW and NWA World Tag Team Champions The Hollywood Blondes in an elimination match at 18:53; Austin pinned Scorpio at 14:10 by grabbing the bottom rope for leverage after Pillman grabbed Scorpio's leg as he attempted to suplex Austin into the ring; Sting pinned Austin with a roll up at 14:20; Steamboat and Rude were both counted-out at 17:45; Sting pinned Pillman with a roll up after accidentally landing a headbutt to the groin.
-WCW U.S. champion Dustin Rhodes defeated NWA World Champion Barry Windham via disqualification when Windham hit Rhodes with his boot; after the bout, Rhodes cleared Windham from the ring

1994 - Jack Steel defeats Scott D'Amore to win the Border City Wrestling Can-Am Heavyweight Title in North Bay, Ontario.

1994 - The Mongolian Stomper defeats Mike Samson for the Southern States Wrestling Heavyweight Title in Fall Branch, Tennessee.

1995 - Extreme Championship Wrestling ran Tampa, Florida at the Expo Park, drawing 735 fans, with the following results:
-Joe Malenko defeated Miguel San Juan.
-Death Row 3260 & Stevie Richards defeated Phi Delta Slam.
-The Tazmaniac defeated the Evil Snake.
-Ron Simmons pinned Marty Jannetty.
-Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko defeated Mikey Whipwreck & Norman Smiley.
-Axl Rotten defeated Ian Rotten in a death match.
-Raven pinned Tommy Dreamer.
-ECW World Champion the Sandman pinned Cactus Jack; Shane Douglas was the guest referee for the bout and wanting to regain the title for himself, used his power as a referee to insure Jack lost.
-ECW World Tag Team Champions the Public Enemy defeated the Pitbulls in a dog collar match.

1996 - WCW broadcast Monday Nitro from Daytona Beach, FL at The Ocean Center. The broadcast opened with a graphic noting the recent death of Ray Stevens and that donations could be made in his memory to the Cauliflower Alley Club.

-Hugh Morrus defeated Randy Savage via disqualification at around the 5-minute mark after Savage used his ring jacket to hang Morrus over the top rope; moments later, Savage hit the flying elbowsmash on Morrus; the referee then shoved Savage and raised Morrus's hand in victory, with Savage then slapping the referee and throwing Morrus to the floor; referee Nick Patrick then ran out, with Patrick trying to prevent Savage from a further assault but Savage hit the flying elbowsmash on the initial referee anyway; several more referees then arrived ringside flanked by half a dozen armed law enforcement officers; the referee was then tended to in the ring while Savage was escorted backstage.

-Dean Malenko pinned Jushin Liger (w/ Sonny Onoo) at around the 8:50 mark with a double underhook into a sit-down powerbomb; prior to the bout, it was noted Shinjiro Ohtani was the new WCW Cruiserweight Champion, would debut on WCW TV with the title during the weekend of May 18, and would defend the belt as part of Slamboree; during the bout, it was announced Randy Savage had been ejected from the building by police; moments later, Ric Flair, wearing a tuxedo, Elizabeth, & Woman appeared and took their seat at the Horsemen's VIP table near the entrance stage.

--WCW World Tag Team Champion Sting pinned Lord Steven Regal (w/ Jeeves) at 6:13 when Sting reversed a butterfly suplex into a backdrop and bridge; Regal had tape above his eye and around his right thigh following the parking lot brawl shown the previous week against Fit Finlay; during the bout, it was noted.

-WCW World TV Champion & WCW World Tag Team Champion Lex Luger still had not arrived to the arena for his match against WCW World Champion the Giant and that Finlay, who Regal was to team with at Slamboree, was out injured and would be replaced by Dave Taylor.

-WCW World Champion the Giant (w/ Jimmy Hart) pinned Jim Duggan (sub. for WCW TV Champion & WCW Tag Team Champion Lex Luger, who had not arrived to the arena) at 3:16 with the chokeslam as Duggan attempted to tape his fist; after the bout, Giant hit the move a second time; after the bout, Cobra, David Sierra, and Alex Wright attempted to make the save but all sustained chokeslams; Ric Flair then came out and smashed a chair over the champion but the Giant was unaffected by it; moments later, Sting ran out, attacked Giant's leg, and eventually knocked him to the mat with a double axe handle off the top; after Flair left ringside, Sting put Giant in the Scorpion Deathlock only for Hart to hit Sting with the megaphone; Luger then ran out with his bag and cleared the ring; moments later, Gene Okerlund conducted an in-ring interview with Sting & Luger, with Sting questioning where Luger was since all the chaos was his doing for not being in the building for his match; Luger then asked Sting if he had ever missed a flight in all his years of wrestling, with the show then coming to a close.

1996 - Dick Togo defeats Danny Collins in Nakayama, Japan to win the British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Title.

1998 - WCW ran Des Moines, Iowa, headlined by Sting defeating Scott Hall and Lex Luger defeating Scott Norton on top. WCW United States champion Goldberg pinned Perry Saturn underneath.

1999 - Frenchy Riviera defeats Silky Boom Boom for the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title in Loganville, Georgia.

2000 - The WWF held the first of four annual Insurrextion pay-per-view events, which aired exclusively in the United Kingdom, at Earls Court in London, England. The results were:
- Too Cool (Grandmaster Sexay and Scotty 2 Hotty) defeated The Radicalz (Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn), when Sexay pinned Saturn after the Hip Hop Drop.
- Kane (with Paul Bearer) pinned Bull Buchanan after a chokeslam.
- Road Dogg (with Tori) pinned Bradshaw (with Faarooq) after a pumphandle slam.
- The Kat (with Mae Young) defeated Terri Runnels (with The Fabulous Moolah) in an arm wrestling match.
- The Big Show and Rikishi defeated The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von), when Big Show pinned Bubba Ray after a chokeslam.
- Kurt Angle pinned Chris Benoit after an Angle Slam.
- The British Bulldog pinned WWF Hardcore Champion Crash Holly after a powerslam on a chair to win the title.
- The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian by disqualification, when Edge hit Matt with the ring bell. Edge and Christian retained the title.
- WWF European Champion Eddie Guerrero (with Chyna) pinned Chris Jericho, after hitting him with his title belt while the referee was distracted, to retain the title.
- WWF Champion The Rock defeated Shane McMahon (with Vince McMahon) and Triple H (with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) in a Triple Threat match, by pinning Shane after the People's Elbow, to retain the title.

2000 - Shane Black defeats Zero Gravity to win the World Xtreme Wrestling Cruiserweight Title in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. This began Black's fourth reign and ended Zero Gravity's second reign.

2000 - Boyce LeGrand and Robert Thompson defeat Frank and Vic Murdoch for the All-Pro Wrestling Tag Team Title in Pacifica, California.

2001 - Steve King defeats Jason Rumble in Melrose, Massachusetts to win the NWA New England Heavyweight Title.

2001 - The Bloody and Fang Suzuki defeat The Masked Angels (Fleia and Rosetta) for the TWF World Women's Tag Team Title in Tokyo, Japan.

2002 - The infamous plane ride from hell, featuring a number of instances where WWE performers were out of hand, including an out of it Scott Hall (who ended up fired), Goldust taking the public address system to address his ex-wife, Curt Hennig and Brock Lesnar getting into a physical altercation (with Hennig ended up fired), Ric Flair allegedly prancing naked in the aisles, Michael Hayes being given a haircut while he was sleeping and other antics, took place. Lawsuits from the flight attendants were filed and later settled and a number of talents were reprimanded, as were several officials in position of power, since they were on the flight as well.

2002 - WWE issued the following press release a day after the word of their name change was broken:

World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Drops The "F" To Emphasize the "E" for Entertainment

New Name And Logo Reflects International Growth Plans and Increasing Diversity of Entertainment Properties

STAMFORD, CONN., May 6, 2002 - To further capture a greater share of the global marketplace and to represent the growing diversity of its entertainment properties, World Wrestling Federation Entertainment today announced it is changing its name to World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE). The company's website, one of the most popular in the world, will now be found at WWE.com.

A new logo reflecting the name change will be introduced tonight on WWE's top-rated television show RAW on TNN at 9 p.m. (ET).

"As World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, we have entertained millions of fans around the United States and around the globe," said Linda McMahon, CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment. "Our new name puts the emphasis on the "E" for entertainment, what our company does best. WWE provides us with a global identity that is distinct and unencumbered, which is critical to our U.S. and international growth plans."

Mrs. McMahon said the company began considering dropping the word "Federation" from its name when World Wildlife Fund (a/k/a World Wide Fund for Nature) prevailed in a recent court action in the United Kingdom. The court ruling prevents the World Wrestling Federation from the use of the logo it adopted in 1998 and the letters WWF in specified circumstances. The "Fund" has indicated that although the two organizations are very different, there is the likelihood of confusion in the market place by virtue of the fact that both organizations use the letters WWF. The Fund has indicated that it does not want to have any association with the World Wrestling Federation. "Therefore," said, Mrs.McMahon, "we will utilize this opportunity to position ourselves emphasizing the entertainment aspect of our company, and, at the same time, allay the concerns of the Fund."

Mrs. McMahon said the name change provides a distinct and unencumbered global identity that will further cast World Wrestling Entertainment as an integrated entertainment and media company. "World Wrestling Entertainment and WWE will now be the identity that we use from the television base we have established in 130 countries," she said. "As WWE, we will launch our further expanded U.S. and international touring, our international expansion of branded merchandise and licensed products, and our further integration into the film, publishing and music businesses."

The successful development of the "Tough Enough" television series on MTV, a new book deal with Simon and Schuster, and the hit motion picture, "The Scorpion King," executive produced by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and WWE, are examples of the types of activities the company plans to undertake as it expand its horizons in the global entertainment industry.

New logo art has been provided to business partners, licensees and vendors. The company expects that, for the most part, the changeover to the new name and logo will be completed within five months.

WWE will continue to trade as WWF on the New York Stock Exchange until a suitable replacement symbol is found. The company will be providing the appropriate documentation and filings with regulators to solicit shareholder approval of the name change.

In conjunction with the name change, WWE announced it has changed the name of its entertainment complex in New York City's Times Square from WWF New York to The World, currently the name of its popular night club.

World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWF) is an integrated media and entertainment company headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York City, Chicago, Toronto and London. Additional information on the company can be found at wwe.com and wwecorpbiz.com. Information on television ratings and community activities can be found at wweparents.com.

2002 - WWE held a live RAW at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut, which got a 4.6 rating on TNN. Tim Whitehead filed the following TV report:

The 5/6 episode of RAW IS HEADING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION aired live from Hartford. A couple of the secondary matches on the show were pretty good but the main stuff was pretty bad. In fact, it sucked.

They opened with a montage of visual images, ending with the word "entertainment". They then cut to a promo to alert the viewers about the company name change, though no explanation was given for the change. That probably was just as well since explaining that they lost a copyright suit to the World Wildlife Fund in a London courtroom would be difficult to put over. Anyway, the promo showed a somewhat elderly lady trimming her hedge into the shape of the WWF logo. She then chopped off the "F" part, poured gasoline on the remaining esoteric double "W", and ignited it. The flames burned it down to a frazzled "W", which will be the new logo of WWE, meaning World Wrestling Entertainment. The slogan "Get the F Out" then flashed on the screen.

So from now on, WWF will be known as WWE. That ends almost 40 years of using the WWF name, or its WWWF variation. In 1963, Vince McMahon Sr. and his business partner Toots Mondt tried to monopolize the NWA World Title by keeping reigning champ Buddy Rogers, whom they had under contract, from defending the belt in other NWA territories in the U.S. When Rogers went to Toronto for a match against Lou Thesz, the NWA hierarchy had Thesz give Rogers one of those "easy way or hard way" ultimatums to drop the belt to him. Rogers complied, and when he got back to New York without the belt an infuriated Vince Sr. created his own title, called the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) belt. The name of the promotion was later shortened to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).

Throughout the show, Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler worked to put over the new WWE name, though JR slipped up a couple of times, which was understandable after so many years of saying WWF.

The show opened with Jazz defeating Trish Stratus to retain the WWE Women's Title in a no DQ match in 3:11. Footage aired from last week where Jazz helped Steven Richards win the Hardcore Title and they left together. JR & Lawler reported that they had been together all week. The match was fast paced as Trish really works hard when she's out there. Richards kept distracting the referee. Jazz sent Trish over the top rope. JR called Jazz a female Mike Tyson. Luckily, she didn't try to bite Trish's ear off. She put Trish in a chicken wing and then dropped her on her face. That looked like it hurt. Trish made a comeback and hit the Stratusfaction but Richards pulled Jazz to safety and hit Trish with the Stevenkick, which was legal in this no DQ bout. Jazz scored the pin. Afterward, Bubba Ray Dudley ran in doing the 24/7 deal. He beat up Richards and gave Jazz a bionic elbow. He set up a table, but instead of putting Richards through it, he pinned him with a Bubba Bomb and regained the Hardcore Title. Raven ran in and surprised Bubba with a DDT for the pin. Raven was then kicked in the head and pinned by Justin Credible. Crash Holly pinned Credible after a missile kick. Bubba hit Crash with a garbage can but Trish sneaked in and stole the pin. So Trish was now Hardcore champ, and Bubba grabbed her by the hair to obviously put her through the table. But Jazz shot off a fire extinguisher which blinded Bubba. In his sightlessness, he again grabbed Trish, and this time plastered her through the table. JR sold it as if he had meant to put Jazz through. Blind Bubba was unable to pin Trish, and Richards ended up pinning her to regain the title. He and Jazz fled with the belt. When Bubba got his sight back, he acted sorry that he put Trish through the table and picked her up and carried her out. JR said Jazz, by blinding him, had caused Bubba to do something he wouldn't have done otherwise. That was an enigmatic statement since A) Bubba was about to put Trish through the table when Jazz blinded him, B) Bubba has put Trish through a table before, and C) One of Bubba's gimmicks is putting chicks through tables. Anyway, that aside, it was a fun segment. One of the reasons for doing this during the opening match was to help establish the WWE name, as Lilian Garcia announced each Hardcore Title change using the term "WWE Hardcore Champion", so the WWE name was used several times, as well as for the women's belt.

The NWO came down to the ring. X-Pac was wearing the Kane mask. Big Show got on the mic and said all the "little" fans also have little attention spans. So to remind them what happened two weeks ago, he had footage shown of his turn on Stone Cold Steve Austin. A mild "what" chant started up, but Show turned it into a major chant by threatening bodily harm to the fans if they said "what" after each of his statements. What an idiot. I mean, really, it pissed me off that he caused a bigger "what" chant. Show tried to explain his turn by noting that two years ago, when Austin was out injured, he was in the Wrestlemania main event, but this year, with Austin back, he was stuck at a restaurant (The World, formerly known as WWF New York) where he had to pretend to enjoy hanging out with a bunch of kids. Yeah, but Austin was stuck wrestling Scott Hall, so who got the worst end of the deal? He also noted that at Backlash he was in a prelim match which aired on Heat. Show called himself the biggest and baddest guy in the company and said nobody can stop him. Well, except maybe for the people who put him in those prelim matches and stuck him in that restaurant. He said he's a real life, seven foot tall, walking, talking, fire breathing, pissed off giant. According to him, the NWO just got bigger, and no one, including Ric Flair, can do anything about it. This brought Flair out, who did an uncharacteristically weak promo. He put over Show's size and strength, but noted that he didn't whine and cry like Show. Instead, he said he went out and won 16 world titles by busting his ass night after night in the ring. Flair also said it's tough s**t if the NWO don't like the way he officiated last week's tag match (where he counted X-Pac down even though his foot was on the ropes). Flair said once again that he likes Austin, and announced that the main event would be himself & Austin & Bradshaw against the NWO, as if that was a revelation. Hall asked Flair if that was his big surprise. I must have missed something somewhere, because I could have sworn Flair announced that match a week ago. This very weak segment ended with Hall claiming the main event would include a surprise that would change the company forever.

William Regal beat Spike Dudley in 0:36 to capture the European Title. Footage first aired from the British Insurrexion PPV where Spike retained the European belt over Regal despite suffering an ankle injury, and afterward Regal used the brass knux on him. Spike then limped down to the ring, with JR saying he was in no condition to compete. Regal got on the mic and gentlemanly offered to let the injured Spike forfeit the belt to him. He then called Spike a series of ungentlemanly names. Spike acted like he would forfeit, but then attacked Regal. However, the bad ankle was too much for Spike, and Regal quickly forced him to tap to an ankle lock (though not Kurt Angle's version). Afterward, Regal declared himself to be the greatest European champ ever, and attacked Spike on the ramp as he was being helped out by the ref. Regal mauled Spike's ankle until D-Lo Brown made his long-awaited RAW return by making the save. Regal retreated after a powerbomb from D-Lo. Good seeing D-Lo back!

Backstage, Flair told Arn Anderson that if there's an NWO surprise coming, he wants to know about it. So he announced that he was going to visit the NWO. Arn said, "You're the boss!"

Booker T visited a 7-11 store. Damn, they're getting a lot of mileage out of that sponsorship. They should have made it complete by having Booker arrive at the 7-11 on a Greyhound bus, eating Skittles. Booker asked the store clerk if he's seen a gold freak hanging around. Booker was pleased to know Goldust was nowhere to be seen, and went to get a Slurpee. Some kids were at the Slurpee machine and Booker promised to get them a Booker T Slurpee cup. Of course, there were none, so Booker said they must have sold out. He spotted a picture of Rob Van Dam on a Slurpee advertising sign and ran RVD down. Booker got his Slurpee and went to pay for it, but there was a guy in a jersey and baseball cap there. It turned out to be Goldust in disguise. Booker called Goldust a creep for following him. Goldust said their losses last week on RAW were because they didn't team, claiming they're unstoppable together. Goldust, who was eating a hot dog, offered Booker a bite of his weiner in return for a taste of Booker's Slurpee. Booker got the hell out of there, and who can blame him?

Footage aired from the Insurrexion PPV of Paul Heyman talking to Shawn Stasiak backstage. Stasiak was scheduled to team with Brock Lesnar against the Hardys, and Heyman told Stasiak to just stay in the corner and Lesnar would win the match himself. But when they got to the ring, Stasiak went in and, of course, ended up getting pinned. Heyman was mad as hell. After this footage concluded, Lesnar was shown doing pull-ups on a ladder as Heyman vowed to gain revenge on Planet Stasiak.

Flair arrived at the NWO locker room and no one was there. He was surprised to find an APA cap among the NWO's items.

Undertaker arrived at the arena on his motorcycle. He told a crew guy to watch his bike. That was a 99.7% guarantee that that bike was gonna get reduced to scrap metal.

The NWO were shown standing in the parking lot, as if waiting on someone.

Brock Lesnar squashed Shawn Stasiak in 2:06. Heyman was hysterical at ringside, screaming for Lesnar to make Stasiak pay and to make an example of him. After a two minute beating, Lesnar hit the Brockbuster and Heyman gave the go-ahead to pin Stasiak. There was a modest "Goldberg" chant directed at Lesnar.

Undertaker returned from wherever it was he went (probably the urinal) and found his motorcycle was gone. The terrified crew guy said Hulk Hogan took it. UT grabbed the guy by the collar, but then just told him to leave, which he did. Since when does UT let someone off so easy for such an offense?

They re-aired the WWE promo with the woman trimming her hedge. JR & Lawler put over that the company has a new name and look, but the same attitude. No explanation was offered. They then aired footage of last week's angle where Undertaker bloodied Hogan up.

Hour two began with Hogan riding UT's motorcycle down to the ring. Hogan did get a big pop and standing ovation. He got on the mic and dared UT to come out and get his bike. UT came out to the ramp top. JR said that no one before had ever dared to take UT's bike and flaunt it in front of him. That's true, unless you count the time Triple H took UT's bike and shoved it off a ledge. Maybe JR meant no one had ever taken that particular bike before. Or, of course, he could have meant that HHH didn't flaunt it. UT said that Hogan's a motorcycle rider himself so he knows better than to take another man's bike. He said he's sent guys to the hospital just for looking at his bike funny. The crowd started the "what" crap again. Don't they flog people in Singapore with the bamboo cane for doing that? If not, they should. UT said Hogan probably wasn't in the right state of mind after the beating he took last week, so he gave him a chance to get off the bike or else he'd be forced to kick Hulk's ass. Hogan cut UT off by saying "blah blah blah" about 324 times. He dared UT to come down and fight rather than standing up there on the ramp top like a bitch. Hulk then started the cycle up and was supposed to ride up the ramp and chase UT on it. But fate reared its ugly head and the bike stalled. Hogan started it again and it stalled again. UT stood there, caught in a time warp. Finally, Hogan got off the bike and chased UT off on foot. UT came off looking like a complete wuss. JR & Lawler tried their best to cover for this. Hulk returned and finally got the motorcycle to run. He drove around all over backstage, looking for UT and calling him out, but he was nowhere to be found. Then Hulk spotted one of the WWF's....uh, WWE's....big semi trucks which conveniently had the doors unlocked and was ready to go. So he parked the bike in front of it and started the truck. And then they went to a commercial break. Maybe the truck stalled and they needed to kill time. Just kidding! Anyway, when they came back from the break, Hogan was still revving the truck. And then he ran over the motorcycle. It wasn't all that great of a visual, as the bike just sort of got stuck under the truck cab. Hogan got out of the truck and continued looking for cowardly UT.

RVD & Jeff Hardy beat Booker T & Eddie Guerrero in 5:41. As Jeff came to the ring, JR reported that Lita's neck surgery was a success. He also announced that Guerrero will defend the IC belt against RVD at Judgment Day. RVD was on fire out there against both Guerrero and Booker. Some really good stuff here. Some near falls as well. Goldust ran in and was immediately dumped out by Jeff. He landed on Booker. RVD & Jeff then laid Guerrero out and Jeff did the swanton followed by RVD's frog splash for the pin. That was a great pinning combo. They didn't do any follow-up on the Booker-Goldust angle.

They replayed Hogan driving the truck over UT's bike two more times. It didn't look any better on replay.

Jonathan Coachman interviewed Terri, who had challenged Molly Holly to a bikini showdown. Terri complained that Molly keeps calling her and the other divas "slutty" and "trashy". She mentioned the Insurrexion PPV as one of the venues where Molly did this. Terri then opened her robe to give Coach a peek and his eyes got as big as her implants. Lawler wondered if Terri had meant erection when she said Insurrexion. You can tell ratings are down when they say stuff like that.

Flair told Arn that there was something fishy about the NWO having an APA cap. He noted that no one actually witnessed Big Show attacking Bradshaw two weeks ago, hinting that maybe Bradshaw and Show were part of some big plot or something.

Terri beat Molly in the bikini showdown. Lawler was in the ring to host the segment, which was not surprising. Both Terri and Molly came out wearing robes. Molly was carrying a pair of scuba flippers. JR called Molly the Hillary Clinton of the WWF. Since when is Hillary pure and wholesome? I guess he meant the condescending and arrogant part, like Tammy Sytch in SMW circa 1993. Molly took her robe off first, and she had on a swimsuit from the turn of the century. That is, the turn of the last century, not the current one. She also put on a bathing cap. Terri then removed her robe and was wearing one of those atom bathing suits, meaning, if you've studied your physics, that it was 99% not there. Molly accused her of being disgusting and having no dignity. Terri said Molly was just jealous because God gave her a better body. Does that mean she even had those implants in her mother's womb? Molly accused Terri of looking like a stripper and said they may as well install a pole in the middle of the ring. Lawler said he could provide a pole. Ratings are definitely down. Anyway, the crowd voted for Terri via their cheers. Molly said they don't deserve to see her virgin body. Before leaving, she gave Terri a lame shot with one of the flippers.

Flair, who, by the way, was wearing a "Get the F Out" T-shirt, went to visit Bradshaw. He wasn't in his locker room. Flair found a Kane mask there and acted concerned. He encountered Jackie in the hallway and asked her for directions to Austin's locker room.

Flair arrived at Austin's room and, wouldn't you know it, he wasn't there. Locker rooms must be out of vogue or something. But Debra was there and Flair told her he needs to talk to Austin. Bradshaw then walked up and wanted to know what was going on. Flair demanded to know why Bradshaw was in possession of a Kane mask. Bradshaw didn't know what Flair was talking about and said all he was concerned about was kicking the NWO's ass.

Undertaker found his broken motorcycle under the wheels of the truck. He shouted "damn" a few times and threw some things.

A limo arrived and Kevin Nash emerged from it. That was a surprise. Not a good surprise, but a surprise.

Austin & Bradshaw & Flair vs. The NWO went to a no-contest in 15:47. Austin acted kind of suspicious of Bradshaw. Austin started off by tagging himself in off of Bradshaw and destroying both Hall and X-Pac. Big Show tagged in to only modest heat. He gave Austin a high backdrop, which was the match's only real highlight. Bradshaw came in and was on offense, but eventually got tied up in the NWO corner. They pounded him forever to no heat. Flair finally tagged in but, after a couple of chops on X-Pac, got thrown from the ring. Flair sold it as if he was hurt taking the bump and stayed out on the floor. Show then put Bradshaw through the announcer's desk, putting him out. This left Austin to get destroyed three-on-one. He held them all off for a while, including a double stunner on Hall and X-Pac. Austin took a bump that didn't look planned. Show taunted JR, who called Show an "overbearing bully". Show hit Austin with a big boot and it also nailed the ref. Flair then "recovered" and went in with a chair. Show grabbed Flair like he was going to chokeslam him. Austin gave Show a low blow and a stunner but there was no ref to make the count. Austin went to revive the ref but, as everyone could see coming a mile away, Flair turned on Austin and hit him with a chair. He hit Austin with more chairshots after he was down but they looked bad because they missed so clearly. Flair grabbed a mic and, after telling some kid in the crowd to kiss his ass, said he was booking an Austin vs. Flair & Show handicap match for Judgment Day. Flair put the figure four on the wounded Austin. The show ended with JR all bent out of shape over Flair's turn and Big Show laughing hysterically. Lame ending to a mostly lame show.

RHETORICAL QUESTIONS:

Will the real New World Order (the UN and EU and NAFTA and all that stuff) sue the WWE (WWF) NWO and make them become NWE (New World Entertainment)?

Or how about BWO (Boring World Order)?

What was the value of Kevin Nash's grandiose arrival (other than a dull swerve)?

Will the Teamster's Union sue Hogan for driving so many trucks without a union card?

How obvious was Flair's turn?

And how stupid was it?

2002 - KCAL Ch 9 in Los Angeles reported that the Los Angeles Police Department arrested 45 workers (illegal aliens mostly), 7 managers and 2 co-owners for illegal counterfeiting of WWF products at a small warehouse in the Fashion District near downtown. They seized $700,000 worth of WWF product. DA's office spokesman said co-owners could go to prison for 15 years to life if found guilty of illegal counterfeiting, money laundry, extortion and tax evasion. 7 managers got a 5-year sentence to prison after they agreed to cooperate with police and DA's office and testify against the co-owners. An INS spokeswoman told KCAL news they will send 41 workers to Mexico and 4 to El Salvador for violation of immigration.

2003 - All Star Wrestling held an eight-man tournament for the vacant World Heavy-Middleweight Title in Croydon, England at Fairfield Halls. The results were:
Quarterfinals:
- Five-Star Flash defeated Mal Sanders.
- Bryan Danielson defeated Santino Herbert.
- Robbie Dynamite defeated Murat Bosporus.
- James Mason defeated Steve Grey.
Semifinals:
- Bryan Danielson defeated Robbie Dynamite.
- James Mason defeated Five-Star Flash
Non-tournament match:
- PN Newz defeated Ricky Knight and Zebra Kid in a handicap match.
Finals:
- Bryan Danielson defeated James Mason to win the vacant World Heavy-Middleweight Title.

2003 - The Great Sasuke arrived for his first day on the job as a member of the Iwate Prefectural Assembly in Japan, sporting a new mask revealing from his nose down covered with the Iwate Coat of Arms. Sasuke was voted into the office and received permission to wear his trademark mask while working in office.

2004 - Paul Gomez, better known as Pepper Gomez, dies from kidney failure at age 77. Gomez was involved in an infamous angle with Ray Stevens that led to a red hot feud between the two. Gomez had been peforming a series of challenges where he would allow people to jump off a ladder onto his stomach. Stevens took him up on the challenge, but instead of landing on Gomez' stomach, Stevens landed on his throat.

2004 - During an appearance on WWE.com's Byte This, Tommy Dreamer announced that he was done as a wrestler for the company and would be staying on working in an office role for the company. Dreamer would continue to work independents and would return to the ring fulltime in 2006 when WWE revived ECW as a third brand. He would later leave the company in 2010 when it became obvious they were shutting down ECW.