Wrestling History Today - 5th Mar, 2021

Wrestling in history today - 5th Mar, 2021

1934 - Leroy McGuirk defeats Hugh Nichols for the World Light Heavyweight Title in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

1934 - Hugh Winn defeats Fred Lassiter in Atlanta, Georgia to become the first Atlanta City Heavyweight Champion.

1942 - Tom Zaharias defeats Orville Brown for the Midwest Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title in Kansas City, Kansas, ending Brown's second reign.

1942 - Jules Larance wins his fourth Midwest Wrestling Association World Junior Heavyweight Title in Columbus, Ohio, defeating Ali Pasha.

1949 - Buddy Rogers defeats Shei Lawrence to win the Jack Pfeffer-promoted version of the World Heavyweight Title in Pomona, California, beginning his third reign.

1949 - Ben Sherman defeats Jack O'Reilly for the Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight Title in Eugene, Oregon.

1953 - Antonino Rocca defeats Buddy Rogers to win the American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title in Cleveland, Ohio. This title was the Ohio branch of Boston's AWA title.

1953 - Allen Sherry defeats Alf Greer in Leichhardt, Australia for the Australian Light Heavyweight Title.

1959 - The Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello and Roy Heffernan) defeat Mike DiBiase and Danny Plechas to win the Amarillo NWA International Tag Team Title in Amarillo, Texas.

1959 - Chico Garcia and Chet Wallick defeated George and Sandy Scott for the Stampede International Tag Team Title, ending the Scotts' second reign.

1962 - Mr. Kleen and Whipper Billy Watson defeat Gene Kiniski and Killer Kowalski for the Vancouver NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Title in Vancouver, British Columbia.

1963 - Bob Brown and Bill Kochen defeat Frenchy Champagne and George Eakin to win the Madison Wrestling Club Tag Team Title in Winnipeg, Manitoba, ending Champagne and Eakin's second reign.

1964 - Johnny Valentine wins the Toronto NWA United States Heavyweight Title for the fourth time, by defeating The Beast in Toronto, Ontario.

1965 - Johnny Barend and Magnificent Maurice defeat Chris and John Tolos to win the Detroit NWA World Tag Team Title.

1969 - Chris Markoff defeats George Cannon for the NWA Beat the Champ Television Title in Los Angeles, California.

1970 - Randy and Rip Tyler win their second NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Title in Panama City, Florida, defeating Dick Dunn and Ken Lucas.

1971 - Wahoo McDaniel ends Toru Tanaka's second NWA American Heavyweight Title reign in Houston, Texas.

1977 - Billy Robinson defeats Jumbo Tsuruta for the NWA United National Heavyweight Title in Akita, Japan.

1977 - Dick the Bruiser defeats The Masked Stranger (Guy Mitchell) to win the World Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title, beginning his sixth reign.

1978 - Johnny Weaver defeats Baron Von Raschke for the NWA Television Title in Charlotte, North Carolina.

1980 - Jumbo Tsuruta defeats Dick Murdoch to win the NWA United National Heavyweight Title in Kuroiso, Japan, to begin his third reign.

1980 - Hans Schroder defeats Peter Maivia for the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Title.

1980 - Rocky Brewer and Pat Rose defeat The Blond Bombers (Wayne Farris (Honky Tonk Man) and Larry Latham) to win the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Title in Nashville, Tennessee, ending the Bombers' second reign.

1983 - Buddy Landel defeats Pierre Martel to win the WWC North American Heavyweight Title in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, ending Martel's third reign.

1984 - Rip Rogers defeats Larry Hamilton for the NWA Southeastern United States Junior Heavyweight Title in Birmingham, Alabama, to begin his second reign.

1985 - Jay and Mark Youngblood defeat The PYT Express (Norvell Austin and Koko Ware) for the Florida NWA United States Tag Team Title in Tampa, Florida, to begin their fifth reign.

1986 - Kendall Windham wins the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title for the second time, defeating The Cuban Assassin in Tampa, Florida.

1986 - Chicky and Ron Starr defeat Invaders I and III in a double-title match in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Starrs won the Invaders' WWC North American Tag Team Title, and by scoring the pin on Invader III, Chicky Starr won the WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title, ending Invader III's third reign.

1987 - Marty Jones wins the World Mid-Heavyweight Title for the seventh time, defeating Owen Hart for the vacant title in Bradford, England.

1988 - The WWF held an event at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The results were:
- Steve Lombardi pinned Special Delivery Jones with a small package. This match aired on the March 21 edition of Prime Time Wrestling.
- Danny Davis pinned Sam Houston after a suplex into the ring from the apron.
- Demolition (Ax and Smash) defeated The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers (Jacques and Raymond), when Smash pinned Jacques after a double-clothesline.
- The Ultimate Warrior pinned Harley Race with a roll-up after blocking a suplex into the ring from the apron. This match aired on the March 21 edition of Prime Time Wrestling.
- Dino Bravo pinned David Sammartino after a side suplex. This match aired on the April 11 edition of Prime Time Wrestling.
- Jake Roberts defeated Ron Bass by countout. This match aired on the July 4 edition of Prime Time Wrestling.
- WWF Women's Tag Team Champions The Jumping Bomb Angels (Noriyo Tateno and Itsuki Yamazaki) defeated The Glamour Girls (Leilani Kai and Judy Martin), when Kai was pinned with a backslide.
- Randy Savage and WWF Tag Team Champions Strike Force (Rick Martel and Tito Santana) defeated The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart and WWF Intercontinental Champion The Honky Tonk Man in a Steel Cage match.

1988 - The Southern Boys (Steve Armstrong and Tracy Smothers) defeat Robert Fuller and Jimmy Golden for the NWA Southeast Continental Tag Team Title in Dothan, Alabama, ending Fuller and Golden's ninth reign.

1989 - Phil Apollo and Eric Sbraccia defeat Joe Savoldi and Vic Steamboat for the International Championship Wrestling Tag Team Title in Augusta, Maine.

1993 - Denny Kass defeats The Canadian Patriot for the Border City Wrestling Can-Am Heavyweight Title in Warren, Ontario.

1994 - ECW held an event at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The results:
- 911 pinned both Paul Lauria and Mikey Whipwreck in a handicap match in 18 seconds.
- J.T. Smith and Pat Tanaka defeated Pitbull #1 and Rockin' Rebel.
- Tommy Dreamer pinned Jimmy Snuka.
- The Bruise Brothers (Ron and Don Harris) defeated The Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock) in a Falls Count Anwyhere match.
- Road Warrior Hawk pinned Mr. Hughes.
- ECW Television Champion Sabu pinned Mike Awesome.
- Kevin Sullivan and The Tazmaniac defeated The Bruise Brothers (Ron and Don Harris) to win the held-up ECW Tag Team Title.
- The Sandman pinned Chad Austin.
- ECW Heavyweight Champion Terry Funk defeated Shane Douglas by knockout in a Taped Fists match.

1994 - The Billionaire Boys' Club (Mike Roselli and Randy Tyler) defeat The New Canadians (Johnny Canuck and Mike Starr) to win the West Coast Championship Wrestling International Tag Team Title in Cloverdale, British Columbia, beginning their second reign.

1996 - The WWF issues a statement that Diesel (Kevin Nash) will be leaving the company for WCW, with his last day with the WWF scheduled to be June 6.

1997 - Tarek the Great defeats The American Kickboxer for the IWA Mid-South Lightweight Title in Campbellsville, Kentucky, ending the Kickboxer's fourth reign and beginning Tarek's fifth.

1998 - The ninth edition of Thunder airs live on TBS from Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The show got a 4.3 rating, which was its highest to date. The results:
- Goldberg defeated Vincent.
- Eddie Guerrero defeated Prince Iaukea.
- Juventud Guerrera defeated El Dandy.
- Curt Hennig defeated Jim Neidhart.
- Chris Jericho defeated Ciclope.
- Scott Norton defeated The Renegade by disqualification.
- WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Diamond Dallas Page defeated Raven by disqualification to retain the title, after The Flock interfered.
- Brian Adams vs. Randy Savage ended in a no-contest.

1999 - The Ultimate Fighting Championship held UFC 19: Young Guns at Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The results:
- Sione Latu defeated Joey Roberts by TKO (cut) at 10:01.
- Pete Williams defeated Jason Godsey by submission (kneebar) at 1:53.
- Evan Tanner defeated Valeri Ignatov by TKO (strikes) at 2:57.
- Kevin Randleman defeated Maurice Smith by unanimous decision after 15:00. Randleman earned the right to face Bas Rutten for the vacant UFC Heavyweight Title at UFC 20 with the win.
- Jeremy Horn defeated Chuck Liddell by technical submission (katagatami) at 12:00.
- Gary Goodridge defeated Andre Roberts by submission (broken nose) at 0:42.
- Tito Ortiz defeated Guy Mezger by TKO (strikes) at 9:55.

1999 - Logan Caine defeats Viper in a tournament final in Parkersburg, West Virginia for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title. Caine was the first champion since Shinjiro Otani vacated the title in November 1997.

2000 - Fantasy and The Star Boy defeat Yasushi Kanda and Susumu Mochizuki to win the IWRG Intercontinental Tag Team Title in Naucalpan, Mexico.

2001 - The Monday Night War continued, with WWF RAW is WAR's 4.5 rating beating WCW Monday Nitro's 2.1 rating.

The 283rd WCW Monday Nitro was live from the BI-LO Center in Greenville, South Carolina. The results were:
- Kid Romeo and Elix Skipper defeated Air Raid (Air Paris and Air (A.J.) Styles) in a WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Title Tournament first round match.
- Sean O'Haire defeated Lex Luger.
- Dusty Rhodes defeated Jeff Jarrett.
- WCW Cruiserweight Champion Chavo Guerrero, Jr. defeated Shane Helms.
- Hugh Morrus defeated Mike Awesome.
- Booker T and Diamond Dallas Page defeated The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott).

The 406th WWF RAW is WAR was live at the MCI Center in Washington, DC. The show featured the debut of ECW owner Paul Heyman in the color commentary spot along with Jim Ross after Jerry Lawler had quit the WWF a week earlier, after the company released his wife Stacy "The Kat" Carter. Heyman's WWF debut all but literally told of ECW's demise. It had been nearly two months since ECW's last event, and the company officially declared bankruptcy, nearly $7.5 million in the red, on April 11. The results were:
Jakked:
- X-Factor (Justin Credible and X-Pac) defeated Kaientai (Funaki and Taka Michinoku).
- Raven defeated Crash Holly.
- Billy Gunn defeated JR Ryder.
- Essa Rios defeated Gregory Martin.
RAW is WAR:
- WWF Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho defeated Eddie Guerrero.
- WWF Women's Champion Ivory defeated Lita.
- Kane and The Undertaker defeated Haku and Rikishi.
- The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) defeated WWF Tag Team Champions The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) to win the title, ending the Dudleys' second reign and beginning the Hardys' fourth.
- WWF Hardcore Champion Big Show defeated Al Snow.
- Steve Austin and WWF Champion The Rock defeated Kurt Angle and Triple H.

2003 - TNA held its 34th weekly pay-per-view event live at the TNA Asylum in Nashville, Tennesee. The results:
Matches taped for the March 8 Xplosion:
- Ron and Don Harris defeated Brad Hunter and B.A.D., when Don pinned Hunter.
- NWA World Tag Team Champion Elix Skipper pinned J.C. Ice.
- A.J. Styles pinned David Young.
Live matches:
- Jerry Lynn pinned Super Crazy.
- The New Church (Brian Lee and Slash) defeated The Hotshots (Chase Stevens and Cassidy O'Reilly), when Slash pinned O'Reilly.
- TNA X Division Champion Kid Kash pinned The Amazing Red to retain the title.
- Glenn Gilberti and Mike Sanders defeated America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm), when Gilberti pinned Harris.
- Raven defeated The Sandman in a Clockwork Orange House of Fun match.

2003 - The Disciples of Synn (Seven (Kevin Thorn) and Travis Bane (Travis Tomko)) defeat Lance Cade and René Duprée for the OVW Southern Tag Team Title in Louisville, Kentucky. The title was vacated when both members of then-champions The Dogg Pound (Shelton Benjamin and Redd Dogg (Rodney Mack)) were called up to WWE.

2004 - Jason Blackmon defeats Rick Michaels to win the NWA Wildside United States Heavyweight Title in Cornelia, Georgia.

2004 - Crazy Sexy Mike defeats X-Dream for the German Stampede Wrestling Breakthrough Title in Lennestadt, Germany.

2005 - Ring of Honor held Trios Tournament 2005 at the National Guard Armory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The results were:
- Generation Next (ROH Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries, Jack Evans and Roderick Strong) defeated The ROH Students (Davey Andrews, Anthony Franco and Shane Hagadorn) in a Trios Tournament first round match.
- Steve Corino and The Second City Saints (CM Punk and Colt Cabana) defeated The Embassy (Jimmy Rave, Oman Tortuga and The Weapon of Mask Destruction #3) in a Trios Tournament first round match.
- The Rottwielers (Homicide, Ricky Reyes and Rocky Romero) defeated El Generico and The Ring Crew Express (Dunn and Marcos) in a Trios Tournament first round match.
- Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe and Vordell Walker defeated James Gibson, Nigel McGuinness and Spanky in a Trios Tournament first round match.
- Generation Next defeated Steve Corino and Steve Corino and The Second City Saints in a Trios Tournament semifinal match.
- Rebel's Army (Greg Matthews and Rockin' Rebel) defeated Blueblood and Drew Moore.
- The Rottweilers defeated Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe and Vordell Walker in a Trios Tournament semifinal match.
- Azrieal defeated B-Boy, Deranged, Dixie, Izzy and Kevin Steen in a Six-Man Mayhem match.
- Jay Lethal defeated ROH Pure Champion John Walters to win the title.
- The Rottwielers defeated Generation Next to win the Trios Tournament.

2005 - Takeshi Rikio defeats Kenta Kobashi to win the NOAH GHC Heavyweight Title in Tokyo, Japan.

2005 - Pomp and Circumstance (Ace Rockwell and Shaun Tempers) defeat Iceberg and Tank for the NWA Wildside Tag Team Title in Cornelia, Georgia. At the same event, Jeremy V. wins his third NWA Wildside Television Title, defeating Todd Sexton. Jeremy V. was the final TV champ, as NWA Wildside closed in April.

2005 - Stan Sweetan defeats Brother Love for the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title in Magee, Mississippi.

2005 - Steve Anthony defeats Bitty Little to win the NWA New South Cruiserweight Title in Greenville, Mississippi.

2005 - Super Destroyer defeats Latin Tornado for the National Wrestling League/House of Pain Wrestling Federation Television Title in Hagerstown, Maryland.

2006 - Ryouji Sai and Wataru Sakata defeat Genichiro Tenryu and Tadao Yasuda in Yokohama, Japan for the HUSTLE Super Tag Team Title.

2006 - Nikki Roxx defeats champion Violet Flame and Mercedes Martinez in a three-way elimination match in Somerville, Massachusetts to win the New England Championship Wrestling Women's Title.

2007 - The Tampa Tribune reported that former WWF, WCW, and ECW star Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow's death was caused by toxic levels of cocaine and the antianxiety drug benzodiazepine in his system. The death was ruled accidental by the Pasco-Pinellas Medical Examiner's Office. A contributing factor in Bigelow's passing was arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, narrowing of small blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart. Bigelow, a former ECW World champion, was found dead at home by by his live-in girlfriend in January 2007.

2007 - Memphis Wrestling aired an angle where Hulk Hogan signed a contract to wrestle Jerry Lawler. The match didn't come to take place as WWE pressured Lawler to drop out, leading to a lawsuit from promoter Cory Maclin, which was later settled.

2008 - WWE issued the following press release, touting celebrities for Wrestlemania 28 in Orlando, FL:

Celebrities Pack a Punch at WrestleMania® XXIV:
John Legend, Snoop Dogg, Raven-Symoné Join WWE® Superstars March 30

STAMFORD, Conn., March 5, 2008 – In addition to recently announced Floyd Mayweather, who will wrestle 7-foot, 399 lb Big Show® in a David vs. Goliath match up, WWE is packing a Hollywood punch confirming four more celebrities for WrestleMania XXIV.

Five-time Grammy-winner and multi-platinum singer, songwriter and performer John Legend will perform “America the Beautiful” live at this year’s bash in Orlando, Fla. on Sunday, March 30. Snoop Dogg will also be on hand as Celebrity Ring Announcer for a “BunnyMania” match with Playboy cover girls Candice Michelle™ and Maria™ squaring off against the Glamazon™ Beth Phoenix™ and Melina.

Also confirmed is popular actress/musician Raven-Symoné, who will be a part of the WWE’s biggest wish-granting event ever, hosting the Bacon, Bagels and Biceps brunch and accompanying more than 50 Make-A-Wish children at WrestleMania XXIV. Rounding out the extravaganza, Red Hot Chili Peppers will lend their hit single “Snow (Hey Oh)” as the theme song this year.

John Legend’s albums -- "Get Lifted" and "Once Again" -- have secured his place as one of the most striking, vital and important American musical artists to emerge in the 21st century. Legend originally gained notoriety as an in-demand all-star studio session writer and musician whose credits included work with Lauryn Hill, Black Eyed Peas, Alicia Keys, Common and Kanye West, among others

Calvin “Snoop Dogg” Broadus is a rare exception in the turbulent world of Hip-Hop, managing to stay tremendously relevant throughout his 16-plus years in the game. From music to movies, video games to clothing lines and now his own hit TV show (E!’s reality series Snoop Dogg’s Father Hood), Snoop Dogg is an all-out pop culture icon and household name.

Raven-Symoné is well known as the star of “That’s So Raven,” “The Cheetah Girls” series and “The Cosby Show” as well as the Dr. Dolittle film series. Raven is starring in and executive producing the upcoming film “College Road Trip,” which will be released on March 7 by Walt Disney Pictures and co-stars Martin Lawrence. Her fourth album - titled Raven-Symoné - will be released on April 29, 2008.

Additional information on World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/

2009 - John Carle, who worked on the WWE Creative team for two years, was let go by WWE. He had been working on the Smackdown brand at the time of his departure.

2009 - Commercials for ROH on HDNet began airing. The series would have a two year run.

2009 - Yvon "The Beast" Cormier passed away. Beast competed for Stampede Wrestling in its heyday and toured around the world quite a bit. I believe he also had stints working for Crockett Sr. He was one of four wrestling brothers - Leo Burke, Rudy Kay and Bobby Kay. They were considered to New Brunswick what the Harts were to Calgary.

2010 - Sean Morley and Roxxi departed TNA.

2010 - Dragon Gate USA debuted their Fearless PPV. Mike Johnson filed the following PPV report:

Dragon Gate USA Fearless PPV

Chicago, IL at the Haunted Congress Theater

The DGUSA Fearless PPV opened with the crowd applauding as the competitors for the opening bout made their way to the ring.

CIMA & SUPER CRAZY vs. JIGSAW & MIKE QUACKENBUSH

There was some good back and forth stuff early before CIMA and Crazy began working over Jigsaw. Crazy grabbed inflatable thundersticks from a fan and began beating the hell out of Jigsaw, which was funny. The ref took a shot and a bump from them. Now that was hilarious! Crazy was in full heel mode, messing with Quackenbush while Quack was on the apron unable to tag in. CIMA tagged in and spit at Quack to mess with him, then began using a leglock submission around Jigsaw's neck. He then rolled him into a pinfall combination. Jigsaw finally came back with a DDT and made the hot tag.

At this point, it was highspots central. The babyfaces came back with a double tope con hilo to the floor on Crazy and Quackenbush. Crazy came back with a sit-down powerbomb for a near fall. He and CIMA continued to work over Quack.to lock Quackenbush in a surfboard, at which point CIMA drilled him with a monster kick. It was so bad I cringed watching it and think of everything I've seen. CIMA and Crazy just kept destroying Team CHIKARA, but CIMA accidentally superkicked Crazy and Quack caught Crazy with a La Magistral cradle and scored the surprise win. I didn't expect that to be the finish at all.

Your winners, Jigsaw and Quackenbush!

Crazy and CIMA jumped the CHIKARA duo, who made their own comeback.

Really fun Lucha tag match. In the last year, DGUSA has done a good job establishing Quack and Jigsaw as the next generation of high flyers for the company, so seeing them working the more established Lucha names was fun. Crazy and CIMA were an interesting duo but due to international commitments, this was Crazy's last booking with DGUSA.

Davey Richards cut a promo promising to win the FIP championship. FIP is the Sal Hamoui promotion in Florida formerly affiliated with ROH. Richards admitted he had been knocked out and lost the belt in Japan. He talked about the history of the belt with names like Bryan Danielson and Homicide. Richards promised that tonight, "I am taking my belt back." Knowing the back story of everything that happened after this was taped, man was this strange and weird to watch. Solid promo.

TJP vs. GRAN AKUMA

They began slapping each other at the bell. Akuma ran him into the corner but TJP began using a lot of mat wrestling and pinfall attempts to get an early advantage. The announcers put over his international experience. Perkins used a series of kicks to the chest in the corner and then used a handstand in the corner into headscissors on Akuma. Akuma went to the floor to retreat but was hit with a dive. Akuma's facial expressions are hilarious.

Back inside, Akuma drilled him with a kick to the chest and worked over TJP. TJP went for a rolling Sharpshooter but Akuma got to the ropes. Several near falls for Akuma. Lots of near falls. TJP went for a move off the ropes on the outside but Akuma killed him on the floor with kicks to the back.

Back inside the ring, Akuma locked in an Indian Death Lock but Perkins tried to battle out. Akuma turned it around to increase the pressure but TJP made it to the ropes. Akuma used a cravate as a submission attempt but TJP breaks out. TJP bodypresses Akuma and they crash to the floor. They started beating the crap out of each other hard, to the point, it was ridiculously stiff with back and forth shots. Akuma worked TJP down with a series of kicks. TJP came back with a flying knee.

They go back and forth with near falls including a tombstone by Akuma that looked great. TJP fought back but started getting drilled with strikes. TJP comes back with a superkick but is caught by a lariat. They battle on the top rope,. Akuma is shoved off. Perkins whipped out an incredible finish, hitting a top rope sunset flip but after rolling through, locking on a Sharpshooter. I loved the hell out of that!

Your winner, TJP, TJ Perkins!

All good action from bell to bell with hard hitting strikes and unique moves. TJP sort of reminded me of a young Paul London with all the unique offense and Akuma really grows on me as a heel each PPV.

They showed Dragon Kid backstage preparing for his main event.

JIMMY JACOBS VS. BRIAN KENDRICK

Jacobs gets a nice reaction coming out. So does Kendrick. Kendrick cut a promo before the match, saying that they are similar and that wrestling is an art, so they are both artists. He said that just like Jacobs, he also wrestles on a psychological level and studying tapes, he found out about someone who knows all about Jacobs "psychologically" and introduced Jacob's old Ring of Honor girlfriend/valet Lacey. I don't know if it was the acoustics or the crowd but this didn't seem to get over as a huge shock to anyone live beyond the announcers.

Jacobs lost it and attacked Kendrick. Kendrick powdered out, so Jacobs turned to Lacey, where Kendrick pounced on him. They went right to the floor where Jacobs was whipped into the railing. They were telling the story that Jacobs was finally past Lacey and now she's reemerged. Jacobs bled early as Kendrick just ravaged him, biting him face before locking in a camel clutch.

Jacobs pulled to his feet and slammed Kendrick backwards into the corner. Kendrick smothered Jacobs' throat with his boot and went back to the Camel Clutch. Kendrick looked really good as the aggressive heel early. Kendrick locked in a sleeper while scissoring Jacobs with his legs but Jacobs fought back. Jacobs' comeback was really good as he really had to fight to get out of the sleeper as opposed to two elbows to the gut and home free.

Jacobs missed a plancha over the top and crashed on the floor, so Kendrick continued working him over. Jacobs avoided the Sliced Bread #2 and cinched in a guillotine choke. Kendrick was close to being out, which led to Lacey getting in the ring and distracting Jacobs by teasing a reconcilitation. Kendrick used the distraction to hit Sliced Bread #2 and score the win.

Your winner, Brian Kendrick!

Solid match and Kendrick's best showing in DGUSA to date, Jon Moxley, Kendrick's cohort, came to the ring to join in the celebration. Jacobs, still on the mat, took the mic and told Kendrick that he might have gotten Lacey, but he knows Kendrick's "pretty little wife Taylor is at home...she might not have been Tough Enough, but she's good enough for me." Kendrick is married to Taylor Matheny from Tough Enough season one. Kendrick told Jacobs he could kill him right now. He teased kissing Taylor but instead Moxley destroyed her with a clothesline, so the idea wasn't that Kendrick could have what Jacobs wanted the most, but discarded it like trash. I loved that. Great heel moment.

They showed BxB Hulk preparing for his main event.

FULL IMPACT PRO CHAMPION MASAAKI MOCHIZUKI VS. DAVEY RICHARDS

Holy crap was this awesome. These guys just beat the hell out of each other. They beat each other down with a bunch of hard kicks back and forth and treated this like it was a MMA bout the way they faced off and battled. Richards finally got the advantage. He nailed several kicks while they were outside on the apron, but Mochizuki avoided one and Richards drilled the ring post and began selling his leg.

Richards made a comeback and locked in his Kimura submission but Mochizuki made it to the ropes. He began focusing on Richards' bad leg. Richards tried to battle back and go for an enziguiri to the back of the head, but Mochizuki stopped it and cinched in an anklelock. I bet Kurt Angle steals that the next time he works AJ Styles. They plugged the DGUSA Phoenix weekend. Davey looked like he was going to submit but made it to the ropes.

They went back and forth with Yakuka Kicks and boots. Mochizuki got the better of the exchanged and suplexed him. Richards came back and caught Mochizuki with an INSANE dive to the floor where he landed somewhere in general admission he went so far into the crowd. I was seriously worried for not just Richards but anyone he caught during his flight. It was just the most awesome ridiculous dive ever.

Sadly, Richards overshot Mochizuki, which meant a lot of the effect was lost. Mochizuki brought Richards back to the ring and began killing him but Richards made a comeback with another Kimura. Lots of crazy shots to the head and kicks. Richards jumped onto the ropes and dumped Mochizuki with an insane German suplex. Richards nailed a shooting star press and as Mochizuki kicked out, Richards went for the Kimura. Mochizuki fought back and they went back and forth before Richards finally got the submission.

Your winner and new FIP champion, Davey Richards!

This was awesome. Richards, whether he planned to or not, departed with a final great match for DGUSA to use as a selling point for this PPV. I give DGUSA credit for not going back and burying him on the commentary or in how they used the match, since they were left in a bad position by his departure from a storyline standpoint. This one is worth the price tag alone.

Backstage, Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw were talking. Quack said people are saying they are the best American tag team in DGUSA. Jigsaw said they were going to find out they were just "The Best."

YOUNG BUCKS VS. MASATO YOSHINO & NARUKI DOI VS. SHINGO & YAMATO

This was all over the place insanity and let me just say, I am really going to miss the Bucks on these PPVs. They really provided a great domestic team for the Japanese talents to work all their insane spots and Lucha magic on. This one would be impossible to recap while doing this justice and like a lot of the intricate Lucha style matches DGUSA puts on, is better seen than described.

Some of the highlights included five workers all having headscissors on each other. Shingo then grabbed someone in a Sharpshooter and the ENTIRE crew turned around with it. Talk about a genius way to get him over as a powerhouse. That was awesome.

Matt Jackson made a comeback after Nick was awhile. It turned into the Titanic, where everyone was diving overboard with one crazy spot after another. The Bucks were first out after a Shingo suplex. Makes sense, given they are off playing Generation Me.

Doi showed his fighting spirit and began drilling Takagi with a bunch of elbows to the face and head. He locked a submission on Shingo but was lifted up off the mat to his shoulders, or at least that was the plan. Shingo tried and couldn't get him. He kept trying but finally failed. Shingo finally tapped.

Your winners, Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino!

If you are looking for an old school type of bout here, look elsewhere. If you are looking for all sorts of futuristic insanity and aerial moves, you found your match. Watching this, I almost wish it was 1995 as Sabu would have been awesome in this environment. It was just great. Doi, Shingo, YAMATO and Yoshino all shined. I love a good awe-inspiring cluster in the right place and this was it.

They plugged the www.dgusa.tv website.

DGUSA OPEN THE FREEDOM GATE CHAMP BxB HULK VS. DRAGON KID

The dancing girls were back for Hulk's entrance. They should ALWAYS be there. It adds something to his entrance, especially for an audience where the entrance is part of the show. That said, these girls were nowhere near the level of the first girls Hulk had in Philly in July, so bring them back. Kid was with CIMA and the announcers noted his change in affiliation in Japan.

Hulk controlled a lot of the match early with Kid doing hope spots to make a comeback, only to be cut off. There was some great back and forth matwork as well. Kid finally got over on Hulk and nailed a moonsault off the top rope to the floor. Back in the ring, Hulk cut off Kid again and they went back and forth with a lot of near fall.

Kid came back again with a Tornado DDT and nearly scored the pin. Hulk caught him with a uranage. Kid hit a springboard into a rana but Hulk kicked out. This was actually a fun David vs. Goliath type of bout. They took it into high gear and at that point, good luck to anyone keeping up. I shook my head for the poor announcers at this point.

Hulk finally caught Kid with a superkick to the face and his finisher, the Evop for the pin.

Your winner and still DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate champion, BxB Hulk!

Fans threw streamers in the ring after the finish. This was great but following the Richards match, they weren't able to hit that level. Akuma and Richards hit the ring and began beating both men. CIMA went to aid Kid but YAMATO cut him off. Shingo hit the ring and tried to stop everyone but instead turned on his pal Kid and laid him out. CIMA pulled Kid out of there and headed to the back. All the heels stomped on Hulk. Security hit the ring and were beaten down, as were several low level wrestlers. Arik Cannon got some offense in but was tossed. The "CHIKARA Locker room" hit the ring and began brawling with the heels. YAMATO and Quack brawled on the floor. Shingo finally arrived with a broom and was out for blood with it clearing the ring, so we closed with an old school TV angle to build to the future. Fun close!

Final Thoughts:

In terms of in-ring wrestling, you've got an awesome match with Davey Richards vs. Masaaki Mochizuki for the FIP championship and the DGUSA title bout with Dragon Kid challenging BxB Hulk. Like every other offering from the company, it's a solid to great ride in each match and this is going to be an interesting show to look back on from a historical standpoint as it was Richards' unplanned exit, Crazy's last appearance (for now) and one of the last appearances of the Young Bucks. For the $20 pricetag you more than get your money's worth again, especially in the aforementioned matches.

If anything, DGUSA's reputation will be that no matter what the show is, you are going to find at least one thing you'll love on the show. Much like the ECW Arena shows of yore, there's always that one great moment of match - and on this show, it's Richards vs., Mochizuki. Beyond that, there is nothing bad on the show. Brian Kendrick finally got to have a good showing. Jimmy Jacobs looked good. The three way was a ton of fun. Kid vs. Hulk delivered. There was a fun, wild scene to close the show. You can't say this is anything but a thumbs up show.

Was it perfect on the level of the early PPVs? No, but that's an impossible bar to top, especially when you consider the first show. If there's one thing DGUSA has to improve, it's the level of the audio on the ring mic. It was hard to ear the mic work and when that's a big part of setting up the stage for a segment, like Kendrick vs. Jacobs, it's imperative they make that work. You don't want to look second rate on any level when fans are paying you money, no matter what. I'd rather see them cut promos backstage and splice them into the PPV since its more important that the viewing audience know what's going on than the live crowd. Still, when that's the only real complaint, you have a damn fine PPV.

If this PPV doesn't convince fans new to the promotion to sample the Wrestlemania weekend events, I don't know what would, short of putting a gun to their heads and forcing them there. You can get information on those events at www.dgusa.tv.

Continued:

2010 - WWE broadcast Smackdown. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV report:

We take a look back at Chris Jericho’s comments about going to Wrestlemania and Edge’s announcement that he would face Chris at Wrestlemania and his speary promo.

We are live on tape from Wichita, Kansas and your announcers are Todd ‘Shocker’ Grisham and Matt ‘He sounds a lot like Mike and Mike’ Striker.

Edge comes to the ring to address the fans. We see highlights from Edge’s match with The Miz from last week before Edge talks.

Edge says that Wrestlemania is 23 days away and he is a bit concerned. He is concerned about his opponent at Wrestlemania, Chris Jericho. Week after week they have been face to face and Chris has told him the same thing every week. He told him that he is a dangerous man, the best in the world, and that he will hurt him at Wrestlemania. Edge says that the same thing keeps happening to Jericho . . .he gets speared. Edge says that the same thing is going to keep happening until Wrestlemania. At Wrestlemania, Jericho will be speared speared speared speared speared speared speared speared speared speared.

The spearing stops when Big Show’s music plays and Edge’s opponent later tonight comes to the ring. Edge welcomes Big Show to the ring and calls it a depressing surprise. Edge wonders why Show is on Smackdown but then Edge remembers what he did to Show’s little buddy on last week’s Smackdown. Miz ran his mouth and then he ended up getting SPEARED. Edge remembers that they have a match tonight and he tells Show that he is going to get speared tonight.

Show says that Edge is not the only reason why he is on Smackdown tonight. He will find out who they will face at Wrestlemania when they defend their Unified Tag Titles. Show tells Edge that he got lucky last week when he beat the Miz. The luck ends tonight when Edge faces the largest and most dominant athlete in the WWE.

Show starts to talk about what he is going to do when he gets his hands on Edge and Edge wonders if Show is going to eat him. Show says that he eats pieces of crap like Edge for breakfast. Show vows to knock out Edge tonight.

Edge points out that Show said he eats pieces of crap and then backs away from Show. Edge says that Show’s promises don’t mean anything. Edge promises to win the title at Wrestlemania and then he promises to spear Show tonight. Edge fakes the spear set up and Show backs away. Edge wonders if Show thought he was going to be speared. Edge starts to have a spear spasm and then Show charges at Edge but Edge ducks down and Show goes over the top rope to the floor. Edge stands alone in the ring as we go to commercial.

Teddy Long is in his office reading a WWE publication and Drew McIntyre enters. Drew says that a lot of people are under the impression that he lost his match against Kane last week. He would like Teddy to set the record straight. Teddy says that by order of the Chairman, Drew’s alleged loss has been expunged so Drew is still considered undefeated. Teddy tells Drew that Kane is in the Money in the Bank match so Drew gets another chance to qualify. Drew will face Matt Hardy and that match is next.

We go to commercial.

We are back and we see highlights from last week’s win by Kane (but non-loss for Drew McIntyre). We also see highlights from Hardy and Gabriel’s victory on NXT.

Match Number One: Drew McIntyre versus Matt Hardy with Justin Gabriel in a Money in the Bank Qualifying Match

They lock up and McIntyre with a clean break and then McIntyre points to the Wrestlemania sign. They lock up and Hardy with a side head lock and McIntyre with a kick and punch followed by a back elbow for a near fall. Drew with a reverse chin lock and Hardy with forearms. Hardy with a hip toss or two and a rollup for a near fall. McIntyre with a kick and head butt but Hardy with a kick and clothesline over the top rope to the floor. They fight on the floor and Hardy slams McIntyre’s head into the apron and then McIntyre hot shots Hardy onto the ringside barrier and McIntyre wants the ref to start his count. McIntyre kicks Hardy as he returns to the ring and we go to commercial.

We are back and McIntyre with a reverse chin lock and arm bar. Hardy punches McIntyre and then he tries for a Side Effect but McIntyre blocks it. Drew with a neck breaker over Drew’s knee and he gets a near fall. Drew continues the attack with forearms across the chest and a near fall. McIntyre with a kick to the head. Hardy punches Drew but Drew with a kick and he tries for a slam but Hardy escapes and applies a side head lock. McIntyre with a Northern Lights suplex and bridge for a near fall. McIntyre punches Hardy as he mounts him and the referee warns Drew. McIntyre with a seated abdominal stretch but Hardy with punches to escape. Hardy with a knee to a charging McIntyre and Hardy goes up top but Drew stops him and Drew tries for a superplex but Hardy with a head butt and Drew falls to the mat. Hardy goes for the screaming elbow and he hits it. Hardy waves his arms in the air and he tries for the Twist of Fate but McIntyre blocks it. Drew tries for the double underhook DDT but Hardy blocks it and hits a back body drop to counter. Hardy with a kick but Drew with a jackknife cover but Hardy counters with a rollup for the three count.
Winner: Matt Hardy

After the match, Hardy celebrates with his rookie while Drew is despondent that he lost again for the first time and he stares at the Wrestlemania sign. Drew destroys the announce table and then he yells at Matt Striker and says that he will be at Wrestlemania. Drew continues to attack inanimate objects by kicking the ring steps before going to the back.

We go to commercial.

We go to the locker room and Slam Master J is watching John Morrison’s DVD and he shows John his abs and then he leaves as R Truth enters. Truth is with David Otunga and he introduces David to John. He talks about what happened on Tuesday and they are cool now. David says that they are cool now. Truth turns his attention to their match tonight because Ziggles jacked their spot at Wrestlemania last week. Truth says that they weren’t in sync that night. Morrison says that everyone is pointing at the Wrestlemania sign, but they have one more chance to have a reason to point at the sign and they will have to beat two teams that have a history of working together. Truth and Morrison suggest a few team names.

We go to commercial.

We are back with the Smack of the Night: Shelton Benjamin’s victory over CM Punk thanks to interference by Rey Mysterio.

Match Number Two: Shelton Benjamin versus Dolph Ziggler in a Battle of Money in the Bank Participants

They lock up and Benjamin with a side head lock and shoulder tackle. Benjamin blocks a kick and he punches Ziggler. Ziggler with a float over and he applies a sleeper but Benjamin with a jawbreaker. Benjamin misses a splash into the corner when Ziggler moves and Ziggler gets a rollup. Ziggler with kicks to the head as the referee pulls him away. Ziggler with a drop kick to Benjamin and then he applies a reverse chin lock. Benjamin with an elbow but Ziggler with a knee and neck breaker. Ziggler gets a near fall and then hits a double sledge to the back. Ziggler with an Irish whip and he tries for a monkey flip but Benjamin lands on his feet. Benjamin with a neck breaker and both men are down. Ziggler and Benjamin exchange punches but Benjamin with the advantage. Benjamin with running forearms to Ziggler but Benjamin with a German suplex and bridge for a near fall. Ziggler sends Benjamin into the turnbuckles and Ziggler tries for the sleeper again. Benjamin tries for a belly-to-back suplex but Ziggler lands on his feet. Benjamin with a catapult into the turnbuckles and then he hits Paydirt and gets the three count.
Winner: Shelton Benjamin

We go to commercial.

Match Number Three: Jimmy Wang Yang versus Ezekiel Jackson

They lock up and Jackson sends Yang to the mat. Yang goes for the leg but Jackson picks him up. Yang with a drop kick but he runs into a shoulder and goes hard to the mat. Jackson throws Yang into the turnbuckles and connects with a forearm. Jackson with forearms to Yang and then he sets for a running clothesline into the corner but Yang with a kick and then Yang hits the running spin kick into the corner. Yang comes off the turnbuckles and Jackson catches him and hits the uranage for the three count.
Winner: Ezekiel Jackson

We go to the back where we see a young girl and it appears to be Rey’s daughter who is playing with a doll. Rey brings one of his action figures. Tiffany enters the dressing room and Rey welcomes her and introduces her to his daughter. Rey thanks Tiffany for watching his daughter during his match. Rey tells her that she can watch him on the monitor.

We go to commercial.

We are back and the Straight Edge Society comes out and CM Punk has something to say. Punk says that Rey’s popularity stems from one thing and that is parent’s inability to be proper role models for their children. The children love Rey Mysterio, fill the arena and buy his merchandise. They watch every week to see their hero. Punk tells the children that they do it to fill the hole left by their neglectful parents. Punk says that Rey is not a superhero. He is the further from that. Punk says that if the rumors are true, Rey is a neglectful parent just like everyone else. Punk says that everyone cheered Rey and his act of cowardice because they are all cowards like Rey Mysterio. Punk says that we are talking about a man who refuses to face him man to man. He will not face him adult-to-adult. Punk says that Rey has stripped him of the right to be a three time straight edge Money in the Bank winner. Punk says that Rey put his hands on Rey and Luke has been feeling the guilt all week. Punk says that it is not his fault and he forgives Luke. Punk says that he does not forgive Rey and he wants Luke to make Rey pay for his actions. Punk tells Luke that he is not just fighting for himself or Punk, he is fighting for an entire society.

Match Number Four: Luke Gallows with CM Punk and Serena versus Rey Mysterio

Gallows with a knee and forearm to Rey and then he punches Rey in the corner. Rey with a drop kick to the knee but Gallows with a belly-to-back suplex and then he kicks Rey. Rey with a head scissors but he runs into a flying shoulder. We see Darren Young watching in the back as Gallows chokes Rey in the corner. Gallows with an uppercut to Rey and Punk applauds Luke’s performance so far. Gallows with a knee to the midsection followed by a knee to the head. Gallows punches Rey in the head but Rey with a kick. Luke charges at Rey and Rey ducks down. Luke goes over the top rope to the floor and Punk has some advise for him. We go to commercial.

We are back and Rey with kicks to the leg but Luke with a clothesline and elbow drop for a near fall. Luke walks into a boot but Luke sends Rey to the apron and then he punches Rey in the head. Luke Irish whips Rey into the ring post. Luke goes to the floor and then he presses Rey into the ring. Rey backs into the corner but Luke with a punch. Luke with an Irish whip and a belly-to-belly suplex for a near fall. Luke with a knee to the back. Luke with a reverse chin lock but Rey with kicks to the head. Luke with a fallaway slam and he gets a near fall. Gallows with a bear hug on Rey and Rey punches Luke but Luke sends Rey into the turnbuckles and hits a shoulder. Luke charges into the corner but Rey moves and Luke hits the ring post. Rey goes to the apron and he hits a springboard splash and a springboard cross body for a near fall. Luke with a kick and clothesline for a near fall. Rey counters with an X Factor and he goes up top but Luke stops him. Luke and Rey fight on the turnbuckles but Rey knocks Luke off. Rey comes off the turnbuckles but Luke punches him in the midsection and hits a splash for a near fall. Rey with a guillotine choke on Luke and Luke tries to get to the ropes and he eventually does get to the ropes. Rey clips Luke and guess where Luke falls. Rey sets for the 619 but Serena gets on the apron and she keeps Rey from finishing the move. Punk tries to interfere but Rey sees him. Punk goes to the floor and Luke hits Rey but Rey counters and hits a seated splash for the three count.
Winner: Rey Mysterio

After the match, Punk attacks Rey and tries for the Go To Sleep but Rey escapes the hold and goes to the floor.

We go to the back where Big Show is in his locker room and his former tag team partner, Chris Jericho enters. Chris says hello to Show and then he wants to congratulate Show on winning the tag titles. Show tells Chris to shut up. Jericho tells Show to go out there an annihilate Edge. He wants to see Show prove that he is the giant destroyer he knows he is. Show says that he knows why Jericho is here because it is all about Chris. Show says that he isn’t doing this for Chris, he is doing it for himself. Show holds up his title belts and leaves.

We go to commercial.

We are back and did you know they are still telling us where people attending Wrestlemania are coming from.

It is time for the Raw Rebound.

We see highlights from Tuesday night’s NXT and R Truth’s rookie’s performance in and out of the ring.

Match Number Four: John Morrison and R Truth versus Cryme Tyme versus David Hart Smith and Tyson Kidd with Natalya in a Number One Contenders Match for the Unified Tag Titles

Shad and Morrison start things off and they have something to say to each other as they point to the Wrestlemania sign. Morrison kicks Shad in the leg and then he tries for an Irish whip but Shad tries to slam Morrison. Morrison lands on his feet and then he tries for a springboard move but Shad catches him and hits a spinebuster for a near fall. Shad with an elbow drop and then he pulls Morrison into the corner and we go to commercial.

We are back and JTG with a reverse chin lock. We see footage from the commercial break when Shad uses JTG for a wheelbarrow slam onto Morrison for a near fall. JTG sends Shad into the corner and he splashes Morrison. Kidd makes a blind tag as JTG hits a back elbow. JTG with a drop kick to Kidd before he leaves the ring. Smith tags in and he punches Morrison. Smith with two rolling belly-to-belly suplexes followed by an overhead belly-to-belly suplex for a near fall. Smith with a boot to the abdomen as he continues to work on Morrison. Smith tries for a suplex but Morrison lands on his feet and Morrison with a side head lock. Morrison and Smith collide in the ring but Kidd tags in and he knocks JTG off the apron and then he drop kicks Shad in the knee. Truth tags in and he hits a clothesline and a flying shoulder. Truth floats over and does a split to avoid Kidd and then he kicks Kidd in the head. Smith breaks up the cover. Shad comes into the ring and fights with Smith. Morrison with a cross body to Smith and Shad and all three men go over the top rope to the floor. JTG grabs Truth but Truth punches JTG off the apron. Kidd with a springboard drop kick for a near fall. Kidd with a forearm or two but Truth with the flying corkscrew forearm for the three count.
Winners: R Truth and John Morrison

After the match, Truth and Morrison point to the Wrestlemania sign since they are in a match at Wrestlemania. Then it is time on Smackdown for some dancing.

We go to commercial.

We are back and Michelle McCool and Layla are with Smackdown consultant and part time referee Vickie Guerrero in the back. Michelle asks Vickie if she is okay after slapping Mickie last week. Michelle and Layla re-enact the slap. Michelle says that Vickie looked great in her referee gear last week. Michelle says that they have a gift for Vickie and it is a ‘Simply Flawless’ shirt. Michelle smells something and it is Beth Phoenix. Michelle and Layla walk away.

Beth wants to know when she is going to get her title match. Beth says that she is the most dominant Diva on Smackdown. Vickie tells Beth that she isn’t the most dominant Diva on Smackdown because Vickie says she is. Vickie tells Beth won’t get a title match until she says so and it isn’t going to happen. Beth tells Vickie that she shouldn’t mess with her but Vickie tells Beth not to intimidate or cross her. Vickie tells Beth to ask Mickie.

It is time to run through the card for Wrestlemania.

Match Number Five: Big Show versus Edge

They lock up and Edge punches Show but Show with a head butt. Show chokes Edge in the turnbuckles and then punches him in the ribs. Show chokes Edge and then the referee warns Show. Edge rolls to the floor and Show pulls him to the apron but Edge drops Show on the top rope. Show with a running shoulder tackle to Edge and then he chops Edge. Show chokes Edge again and then Show goes to the floor and he wants to send Edge into the ring post, but Edge turns the tables and sends Show into the ring post. Edge punches Show as they return to the ring but Show with a head butt. Show with a slam and then he chokes Edge in the ropes. Show with a punch to the midsection and Edge goes down to his knees. Show with a head butt but Edge with punches. Show with a forearm to the back and then he puts Edge in a reverse chin lock. Edge with a jawbreaker followed by punches to the head. Show with a knee and slam to Edge. Show tries for the Vader Splash elbow but Edge rolls out of the way. Show charges into a boot and Edge tries for a tornado DDT but Show pushes Edge away. Show charges at Edge in the corner but Edge with a drop kick to the knees and then Edge with a bulldog for a near fall. Show tosses Edge into the corner and then he signals for the choke slam. Show grabs Edge but Edge counters with a DDT and then he sets for the spear and he hits it for the three count.
Winner: Edge

After the match, Chris Jericho comes through the crowd and tries to hit Edge with the title belt but Edge moves out of the way and he SPEARS Chris Jericho. Jericho goes to the floor and Edge gets on the mic and he tells everyone that if they missed it Chris Jericho got a spear spear spear spear spear spear spear spear spear.

2011 - Former WWE star Shad Gaspard was arrested for jaywalking while in Columbus, Ohio attending the Arnold Classic. Former UFC champ Josh Barnett, who was with Gaspard at the time, posting the following on his Twitter page, backing up the claims: "Shad Gaspard arrested because a Columbus officer abuses his authority. False jaywalking charge + attitude turns to handcuffs and tackling." The charges were later reduced and Gaspard's wife claimed at the time it was a case of racial profiling.

2011 - WWE ran Alexandria, LA. Ronnie Frank filed the following live report:

1. R Truth vs. Zack Ryder - Pretty boring match. R Truth won and of course did the whole "what's up thing".

2. The Usos vs. Santino and Kozlov - Again nothing amazing. A comedy match. Santino wins with The Cobra.

3. William Regal vs. Great Khali. Wow this made the first two matches look like 5 star classics. Khali won.

4. Daniel Bryan vs. Ted DiBiase. (U.S. Title match). Now this was good! Bryan won after about 15 minutes of great action. After the match Bryan was attacked by Sheamus, who issued a challenge to Evan Bourne, setting up match 5.

5. Sheamus vs. Evan Bourne. Another Good match. About 10 minutes and Bourne won after blocking a superplex with knees to the head and hitting Air Bourne.

6.John Morrison vs. Alex Riley. As much as I like Morrison the match was just so-so. Morrison won with Starship Pain after about 8 minutes.

7. Eve Torres vs. 1 of the Bellas. It started as a "dance off" and progressed to a match for the Divas Title. Wow this was bad. How watching 3 of the hottest women I have ever seen can bore me to tears is beyond me. Same old Bella switch stuff and Eve won. Yeah.

8. CM Punk vs. John Cena vs. The Miz. (WWE title match). Pretty Good match. Miz won after hitting Cena with the Title belt. After the match, Miz attempted to use a chair on Cena only to receive and Attitude Adjustment on the chair.

2012 - WWE broadcast Raw. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV report:

We are live from Boston, Massachusetts and your announcers are Michael ‘Yes, I really apologized to him’ Cole and Jerry ‘Scorpion King’ Lawler.

The man who can captivate the fans makes his way to the ring. Shawn Michaels stops the show on the way down the ramp.

Shawn tells someone to turn a sign the proper way before he speaks. He says that nowadays, the best thing about the HBK chant is that he gets to catch his breath because he isn’t used to that any more. Several weeks ago, he came out and caused a little trouble. Shawn thanks everyone and he says that he has his breath back so the chanting can stop.

Things got heated between him and Triple H. Shawn says that he wanted Hunter to take this match with Undertaker at Wrestlemania to take down the streak because of what happened last year. Something changed Hunter’s mind and Shawn says that Hunter not only accepted the match, but he upped the ante to make it a Hell in a Cell Match.

Shawn says that he wants to know why Hunter finally accepted the match. He wants Hunter to come to the ring and Hunter obliges.

Shawn says that he was pretty hard on Hunter a few weeks ago and he threw everything including the kitchen sink at Hunter. Shawn says that it is amazing and why Hunter is the responsible one. He took every cheap shot at Hunter and said things that friends would never say to each other. He pushed the envelope and he is amazed that Hunter did not buckle or waver. He says that Hunter is an oak.

Shawn says that he thought of every dirty underhanded and despicable thing and Hunter would not do it. He says that Hunter is a man of conviction, a man of honor, and a man of integrity.

Shawn says that Hunter said a lot of cool corporate stuff and Shawn reminds Hunter that he called him a coward, which is something that nobody says to his face.

Shawn wants to know what made Hunter change his mind to accept the match with the Undertaker. What was it that made Hunter mad and have a revelation that brought him to his knees and was so humiliating and degrading that he couldn’t turn down the match.

Hunter starts to talk and Shawn interrupts and then he wants to get the footage of when Hunter accepted the match with the Undertaker. He wants to stand with his friend of seventeen years to see what broke Hunter down to say that he can do it and beat the Undertaker.

We see the footage from two weeks ago.

We go back to Hunter and Shawn and Hunter is very serious and Shawn is looking at Hunter.

Hunter starts to talk again and Shawn interrupts and says that is all it took. The worst thing that anybody could say to Hunter is that Shawn is better than him.

Hunter says that it has nothing to do with that. He knows that Shawn did not see it live but he heard and got Hunter’s voice mail. Hunter says that it has nothing to do with who is better than whom. Hunter says that he is tired of it and tired of listening to people like the Undertaker talk behind his back, saying that he couldn’t get the job done. He is tired of people talking about Shawn behind his back, calling him a failure. He was tired of people saying that Shawn was never as good as he thought he was as he was leaving.

Hunter says that he thinks that Shawn is the greatest in ring performer of all time. Hunter says that it kills him and pains him to look at Shawn as a loser. That is why he is going to do it. He is going to finish it and end the Undertaker. He will end the streak and end an era. He will do what everybody runs their mouth saying that Shawn couldn’t do. He is going to do it for himself and as much he is going to do it for Shawn.

Shawn thanks Hunter for that and he does not sound sincere. He says that he thought there was a problem, but Hunter is in his nice suit and he has everything under control. It hurt him last year to have to look Hunter in the eyes that he couldn’t get it done. Then he sat down at Wrestlemania and he saw Hunter dominate the Undertaker and show the world why he is the Game and the Cerebral Assassin. He saw Hunter beat Taker within an inch of his life, but then Hunter lost and Shawn was right.

This year, he knows who will win and he will be right again. Shawn starts to walk out of the ring but he tells Hunter that he knows because he has been made the special referee.

We go to commercial, and we still have Dwayne to talk.



Match Number One: Jack Swagger with Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler versus Santino Marella for the United States Championship



Swagger with a kick and forearms to the back and John Laurinaitis and Starbucks’ Employee of the Month makes his way to the ring.

Santino with a split and hip toss followed by the diving head butt and then he pulls out his sock and Otunga distracts the referee. Ziggler hits Santino and then Swagger hits the Doctor Bomb but Santino kicks out.

Teddy Long, Aksana, and Kofi Kingston make their way to the ring and where is Daniel Bryan to be overshadowed and we go to commercial.

We are back and Swagger with a hard Irish whip followed by a double jump Swagger Bomb but he connects with Santino’s boots. Laurinaitis gets on the apron and Teddy pulls him off. We get more fighting from those two.

Ziggler hits Santino from the apron and then Ziggler takes care of Kofi. Santino with the cobra to Ziggler and then he goes for Vickie but she gets to the floor. Aksana pushes Vickie down.

Santino tries for the Cobra but Swagger with the ankle lock and then Long knocks Laurinaitis down. Santino sends Swagger into the turnbuckles and gets the three count with a rollup.

Winner: Santino Marella

After the match, John Laurinaitis says that this is his show and Teddy cannot do this. Teddy says that this is his show and he is going to give everyone in the WWE Universe a present. He gets security and they are going to send John onto the streets of Boston.

After the match, Santino celebrates with Teddy and his minions.

We go to commercial.

We are back and it is time for a history lesson from Dwayne. We see Dwayne at the Boston Harbor earlier today. Finally, Rock is back in Boston. He tells John Cena tonight he gets much needed history lessons from Dwayne. In 1773, the great people of Boston had enough of the British. Just like John Cena, the British were in their faces and the people of Boston started a Revolution. The people took England’s tea and threw it in Boston’s Harbor. Tonight, there is going to be a party of their own and it starts now. Dwayne wants the people to take all of the people to take John Cena’s garbage and get rid of it. The Revolution begins tonight so he can take all of his hot garbage and hot trash because the people are sick of it. He tells someone to get all of the John Cena merchandise from the harbor and put it in the trash.

Kelly Kelly is at the announce table for the next match.

Match Number Two: Alicia Fox versus Eve Torres

They lock up and Alicia with a waist lock but Eve with a side head lock and shoulder tackle. Alicia with a split into an arm drag but Alicia misses a kick and Eve clips Alicia and gets the three count.

Winner: Eve Torres

After the match, Zack Ryder comes out and he says that he is glad that they never hooked up because they say ‘Broskis before Hoskis’.

We go to John Cena and he is sitting in the arena earlier today and he has thoughts for Dwayne. We have to go to commercial before we can hear from Cena.

We are back and Eve has something to tell to Zack. She hesitates and then she kisses Zack and then walks away with the evil smile on her face. Zack has a goofy look on his face.

It is time for Cole and Lawler to talk about the fact that Shawn Michaels is the special guest referee for Hell in a Cell. It is time for Cole to read some tweets.

It is time to get comments from John Cena inside the empty arena earlier today.

Wrestlemania 28 will be the end of an era and legends will be remembered. All eyes will be focused on two men in one match. It is more than a match. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Despite his personal differences, there is no denying that Dwayne Johnson is the most successful superstar in WWE history. He vaulted to stardom outside of the WWE. He said he would not come back until he found a worthy opponent.

John says that he will not be happy to just be there or to be there for the ride. John says that he intends to win. Cena says that Boston is now known as the City of Champions after years of being known as the City of Heartbreak. Cena talks about when the Patriots had a chance for a perfect season only to lose in the Super Bowl. No one remembers second place. John says that he has done some wonderful things in the WWE and he is proud of what he has done.

Wrestlemania 28 is everything. If he does not win, he becomes another name in the notebook of people Dwayne has defeated. If he can go into Dwayne’s back yard and get his hand raised, then he wins the big one. This is a match . . . an event that will make history. It is what it is supposed to be. It will be the most successful event in the history of the WWE. No one remembers second place. That is why he needs to win. That is why Wrestlemania is so important. It is all or nothing. It is his legacy. Wrestlemania 28 is once in a lifetime.

We go to commercial.

We see footage from last week’s attack on CM Punk by Chris Jericho.

Match Number Three: CM Punk and Sheamus versus Daniel Bryan and Chris Jericho

Punk and Jericho start things off and they lock up and Jericho with a side head lock take down but Punk escapes. Punk and Jericho with side head lock take downs and head scissors. Punk with a shoulder tackle. Punk with a monkey flip and arm drags followed by a clothesline. Jericho holds on to the ropes and tags in Bryan.

Bryan punches Punk but Punk with punches and he tags in Sheamus. Sheamus kicks Bryan and connects with punches and forearms. Bryan with a kick but Sheamus sends Bryan to the apron. Sheamus with a knee when Bryan tries for a shoulder and then Sheamus with the forearms o’plenty. Sheamus gets a near fall.

Punk tags in and he hits a double sledge from the turnbuckles. Punk with a reverse atomic drop and a back heel kick and a kick to the chest. Jericho with a kick to Punk’s back and Jericho tags in.

We go to commercial.

We are back and Jericho with a quarter nelson and chin lock on Punk. Punk with punches but Jericho with a side slam for a near fall. Jericho with a knee to Punk but Punk with a leg lariat. Sheamus makes the tag and he connects with running double sledges and a clothesline in the corner followed by a power slam. Sheamus with a uranage back breaker for a near fall. Sheamus goes to the floor and Bryan with a running drop kick to Sheamus.

Jericho rolls Sheamus back in and he keeps Punk from making the tag. Jericho sends Sheamus’ head into the mat. Jericho with a forearm to the back and he applies a sleeper. Sheamus with punches and he sends Jericho into the corner but Jericho with a kick and he tries for a bulldog but Sheamus sends Jericho into the turnbuckles and Jericho appears to have hurt his knee.

Bryan and Punk tag in and Punk with a springboard clothesline and swinging neck breaker.

Punk with a running knee into the corner and a slam. Punk goes up top and he goes for the elbow drop despite a bad back. Punk hits the elbow drop but Punk’s back makes it difficult for him to make a good cover and he gets a near fall.

Bryan misses a round kick and Punk with an O’Connor Roll. Punk with a clothesline to Jerihco and Bryan with a drop kick into the corner. Sheamus goes for the Celtic Cross but Jericho blocks it. Bryan misses a charge into the corner and Bryan and Sheamus are on the floor.

Jericho goes for the Walls of Jericho but Punk tries for an inside cradle and Jericho rolls through and gets the three count.

Winners: Chris Jericho and Daniel Bryan

After the match, Jericho takes the WWE Title Belt and holds it. Then he brings the belt to the ring and pushes it to Punk.

Dwayne has moved inland and he has his second history lesson. He is in front of a statute of Paul Revere. What if it wasn’t Paul Revere, but it was ‘this goof’. What if it was John Cena. He says that they would have shot him on sight with that stupid outfit. He says that everyone would be playing cricket, sipping tea, and blessing the Queen. The people would be crying into their Johnny Cakes hoping for someone to help them. Then Dwayne would appear thanks to a time machine and his music would play. He steps out after the Flux Capacitor is still smoking.

Benjamin Franklin would have said that Dwayne invented electricity. Then the women of Boston would be giving Dwayne some Boston Cream Pie. Dwayne then gives his lyrics for Yankee Doodle Dandy.

If Paul Revere was alive today, he would be saying that Dwayne is coming to Wrestlemania, but first he is coming to the TD Garden to get in Cena’s face.

We go to commercial.

We are back and it is time to see how Teddy Long removed John Laurinaitis from the building.

Match Number Four: Miz versus Big Show

The bell rings and Miz goes to the floor.

Cody Rhodes makes his way out and he says that there is no better wake up call than embarrassment. He does not have a clip of Show losing at Wrestlemania. He has Show in his natural habitat. We go to Show at Wrestlemania 18 eating at WWF New York when Show shared a hairdo with Mason Ryan.

Miz kicks Show and punches him. The referee backs Miz up and Show sets for the Awesome Clothesline but Show with a spear and it is time to knock out Miz and her comes the punch and Show gets the three count.

Winner: Big Show

We go to commercial.

We are back with more history from Dwayne. Now he is in front of the State House overlooking Boston Common. He talks about the fighting spirit that is inside everyone. It led to the birth of the greatest country under God’s hot sun. Something else will be overthrown after ten long years. He will overthrow John Cena. He can entertain around the world, but there is only one place that he can fight. That is the WWE.

Dwayne says that he has the charisma of George Washington, the brilliance of Ben Franklin, and the you know what of John Hancock. Now that Dwayne has taken John Cena on a history lesson, he is going to make history. On April 1st at Wrestlemania, he will beat John Cena. John will fall to Dwayne.

Tonight is March 5th and the Dwayne Revolution is going and he is going to go into the center of the ring and look John Cena in the eye and tell everyone what he sees.

It is time to smell.

We go to commercial.

We are back and next week we will see Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker together again.

We go to footage in the Goldman Box and R Truth talks about the explosions when Kane comes out. Truth wants to know who he is talking to.

We see footage of Kane and Randy Orton fighting on Smackdown.

Match Number Five: R Truth versus Kane

Truth avoids Kane and then Truth punches Kane in the corner. Kane pushes Truth away. Truth with punches to Kane and Kane pushes him away and Kane with a kick to Truth. Kane sends Truth into the turnbuckles and punches him. Kane with a snap mare and a leg drop for a near fall.

Kane with an Irish whip and splash into the corner. Kane with another Irish whip but Truth with an uppercut and split followed by a leg lariat. Kane avoids the scissors kick and Kane with a choke slam for the three count.

Winner: Kane

After the match, Kane’s pyro sets off Randy Orton’s music and Randy makes his way to the ring. Truth grabs Kane’s leg to keep him from getting away. Orton with an RKO to Kane.

Orton gets a mic and he says that it is good to be back.

John Cena is walking in the back because he is actually in the arena.

We go to commercial.

We are back and John Cena makes his way to the ring and the home town fans are not happy to see him.

John says that he thought everyone would be excited. John says that everyone is here because Dwayne is finally back. He says that the real Rock is back. He talks about Dwayne’s history lessons. They are exciting, entertaining, and electrifying. They are everything that Dwayne needs to be. If you sift through all of the infomercial yelling and the dramatic head whips, what is Dwayne saying.

John mentions that he told Dwayne what his problems were last week and what he was going to do about it.

Cena says that Dwayne is obsessed with breakfast cereal, what Cena is wearing, and whatever he is calling his penis. Cena wants to know if he is facing Dwayne or the Situation. He wonders if Dwayne is going to have a midlife crisis.

He talks about how Dwayne was shook up last week. He spent twenty minutes dealing with hashtag stuff. Then he got flustered and sounded like Rain Man, not Dwayne.

Who was the man with the smoking gun in his hand. It was John Cena. Dwayne got shook up by a prep school thug who looks like a Wonder Woman transvestite. John says that he is wearing orange shoes and black socks. Cena mentions that he is wearing knee pads even though he is only talking.

It looks like the University of Miami swagger is back for Dwayne. Now he wants to meet John in the center of the ring. Dwayne’s best stuff recently has been pre-recorded or via satellite. Cena likes the idea because he wants to know if it is going to be the dude who is going to waste twenty minutes talking about Chinese take out or will it be the greatest superstar in the history of the WWE that he will face at Wrestlemania.

Cena says that he doesn’t want to beat the second best at Wrestlemania. Cena wants to know if everyone wants to see him in the ring with Dwayne.

Dwayne’s music plays and he makes his way to the ring.

Dwayne says that with the history that he has in this city, he is going to tell us Finally, he has come back to Boston.

Dwayne says that he was going to look Cena in the eye and tell everyone what he sees. Dwayne gets close to Cena and he says that he sees fear. He sees fear that Dwayne is taking everything away. It is fear that everything that he worked for over the last ten years is going to go away when he loses at Wrestlemania. He hears the fear and doubt in John’s words.

He sees through Cena. Did Cena shake his confidence? Dwayne tells John to look at him. He says that he has never ever been more confident about anything in his life.

Cena wants to know what the fans are chanting and he wants to see if it is Newberry or Tooth Fairy.

Dwayne tells John that if you strip away Wrestlemania, the movies, the catchphrases, and trending worldwide at Dwayne’s core you have six foot four and two hundred sixty-five pounds of man who will rip his throat out.

At Cena’s core, he will always be a little boy who will go down in history as the Rock’s bitch.

Dwayne walks away.

John is still in the ring and he says that Dwayne’s height and weight but he says that Dwayne will have to rip his throat out. He says that he is not afraid of Dwayne. Cena says that Captain Catchphrase will make Cena his bitch, but Dwayne is wrong because he will be the son of a bitch who will make history by whipping Dwayne’s ass. Cena does a curtsey and then does a Lambeau Leap into the crowd.

2013 - William Moody, professionally known as Paul Bearer and Percy Pringle passed away. Mike Johnson penned the following:

We are sorry to report the passing of William "Paul Bearer" Moody, one of the top managers of the 1980s and 1990s. He would have been 59 next month.

Details aren't known as of this writing, but Moody had openly told several that he hadn't been feeling well for some time. He had pulled himself off some of his regular bookings next month, citing that he wasn't feeling well.

Moody was a lifelong wrestling fan (he and Michael Hayes were friends way before either broke into the business) before breaking in the Gulf Coast area as a photographer. After serving in the military, he returned to pro wrestling as a manager in Championship Wrestling from Florida, Percy Pringle III, not realizing at the time that he was indeed the third person to use the name.

Pringle would move onto World Class Championship Wrestling, where his high pitched promos, heavyset body and platinum blonde hair provided the perfect foil for the buff, cut, ripped, chiseled and jacked Rick Rude, who had a run as the World Class champion. He also managed the Dingo Warrior, who would go on to morph into the more famous Ultimate Warrior.

Amazingly, the Pringle character would eventually turn babyface, aligning with Eric Embry in his war against Skandar Akbar's Devastation, Inc. during a storyline that saw the USWA name replace the WCCW name during a time period where the Jarretts took over control of the company from the Von Erichs. While the storyline was entertaining as hell (and still holds up today), it was also the last hurrah for the promotion and in some ways, Texas wrestling.

In 1990, Pringle signed with WWE (WWE actually signed Konnan the same day, although his run was much shorter) and was immediately paired with The Undertaker after being re-christened as Paul Bearer. With jet black hair and ghoulish make-up, Moody was the perfect mouthpiece and mascot for the Undertaker during the heyday of Taker's undead persona, leading the way to the ring while carrying the mystical urn that held the power of the Undertaker.

The two were immediately inseparable as an act. Moody was in many ways born to play the role, as he was, in real life, an actual mortician, a job he returned to after leaving WWE full-time.

We all know the story. The streak. WWF title runs. Feuds with Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Mankind and any and every major name that came through the WWF and WWE doors from 1990 on. The duo were made to be together.

But in pro wrestling, nothing is ever forever and WWF actually booked Pringle to turn on Undertaker to side with Mick Foley's Mankind. The heel turn led to the introduction of another of WWE's longest tenured performers, Kane, who was the illegitimate son of Paul Bearer and Undertaker's mother in a story so convoluted that WWE jumped back and forth over the lines of good taste and continuity in order to tell it.

In the end, Undertaker went back to the dark side and was reunited with Bearer again. The pair remained together until 2000 when Moody was removed from TV and worked for the company as a talent scout and road agent/producer. He eventually left and made some forgotten appearances in TNA.

WWE wanted him back but Moody initially refused, citing his weight. It had gotten away from him and he was morbidly obsese, by his own admission. WWF signed him and paid for Moody to undergo gastric bypass surgery. Moody would tell everyone that WWE saved and lengthened his life with the surgery.

The Bearer persona returned with the return of the undead version of the Undertaker at Wrestlemania 20. Fittingly, it was against Kane. He remained with Taker until a silly storyline where he was kidnapped by Paul Heyman and the Dudley Boyz that climaxed with Bearer trapped in a concrete crypt and if Undertaker didn't agree to lose to the Dudleys, a switch would be thrown, filling the chamber. Undertaker won the match, then flipped the switch, effectively killing off the character, although since WWE didn't "do" murder - the explanation was that Bearer was badly hurt and he was written off.

Moody was done with the company at that point, but returned to once again turn on Undertaker during a storyline feud with Kane during another reprisal of that feud. This led to a storyline where Edge later kidnapped him to torment Kane. Beyond a few cameos for comedic purposes, including a funny bit where Kane left him trapped in a meat freezer, the Bearer character was not used again.

Moody was still active, however on the indy scene, working as a manager and appearing at different conventions and signings. He popped up in ROH for a show and filmed a number of excellent DVD interviews about his career. He was a regular on Championship Wrestling from Hollywood TV. He tried his hands at promoting independently in the Gulf Coast and was very proud of his son, Daniel, getting into the business. He regularly conversed with fans via Twitter, Facebook and his website. Through it all, he loved pro wrestling as much as he did when he was just a fan.

There are going to be a lot of people very saddened by Moody's passing and with good reason. He was loved by just about everyone. I talk to a lot of wrestlers and all of them have gripes and complaints about each other, promoters, etc. I can't remember one negative thing ever said about the man. In pro wrestling, that's pretty damn rare.

If there is one silver lining, it's that Moody is no longer left behind by his late wife Dianna, who passed away following a long battle with cancer. Moody spoke often and lovingly of her and how much he missed her, both privately and publicly during interviews. There was an obvious sadness and pain that he never recovered from after she passed away. One can only hope they are happily reunited in whatever the next world truly is.

There's no doubt that Percy, as everyone called him, left a unique, colorful mark on the world of pro wrestling. More importantly, he left as much of a mark on everyone he encountered. He was a good man. For all of that and so much more that can't ever be properly conveyed with words, we thank him. We will deeply miss him here at PWInsider.com, where he was a very good friend and supporter of the site.

One year after his passing, WWE announced he would be inducted into the 2014 WWE Hall of Fame class. He was inducted by Kane, with his sons accepting and The Undertaker, in his lone appearance ever at a HOF event, silently paying tribute as well.

2014 - Former AWA star Buck Zumhofe was found guilty of six counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and six counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct in Minnesota.

Continued:

2015 - New Japan Pro Wrestling held the opening round of the 2015 New Japan Cup. Matthew Macklin filed the following report:

New Japan Cup First Round Results:

Mascara Dorada, Sho Tanaka, Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Jay White, KUSHIDA, Yohei Komatsu & Jushin Liger. I didn’t get to see this match, but Dorada pinned White with a corkscrew senton.

Yujiro Takahashi defeated YOSHI-HASHI. Yujiro wasn’t as reckless as he usually is. This was a fun match with YOSHI showing how underrated he is. It looked like Yujiro had it won, but YOSHI kicked out of the Miami Shine. But he followed up with Tokyo Pimps for the win. Yujiro Takahashi advances to the second round.

Togi Makabe defeated Tomoaki Honma. This was great as expected with Honma missing several Kokeshi’s and Makabe working over Honma’s knee. Honma looked like he would pull out the upset several times. The finish came when Honma brilliantly escaped the Spider German Suplex and attempted a Kokeshi as Makabe hung from the turnbuckle. Makabe followed up with two King Kong Knee Drops for the win. This was yet another great Honma match to add to the list. Makabe meets Takahashi in round two.

Katsuyori Shibata defeated Satoshi Kojima. This two went to war straight away with flurries of forearm exchanges. They kept up the intensity and pace for most of the match with Kojima hitting a nasty looking lariat as Shibata was on the apron. There was a cool sequence as they exchanged suplexes and stereo forearms with both going down. Kojima hit a brainbuster and lariat, but it wasn’t enough as Shibata hit the Go To Sleep and a PK for the win in another great match.

Hirooki Goto defeated Yuji Nagata. Nagata was on fire here. This was another intense battle with Nagata hitting Goto with everything he could, with Goto somehow surviving everything from a top rope exploder suplex and the Nagata lock. Goto got the win after a vicious lariat and Shouten Kai. This might have been the match of the show at this point. Meiyu Tag collide in round two as Goto faces Shibata.

Tomohiro Ishii, Shinsuke Nakamura & Kazushi Sakuraba defeated Captain New Japan, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Manabu Nakanishi. This turned out better than expected. Thankfully Nakanishi & Sakuraba weren’t in the ring too much. Captain survived a Boma Ye and Ishii lariat, until Ishii hit a Brainbuster for the win. After the match Ishii & Tenzan had to be broken up.

Kota Ibushi defeated Doc Gallows. This was a decent size vs speed match. Ibushi spent most of the match on the back foot as Gallows turned it into a brawl for the most part. Ibushi took out Gallows, Tama Tonga & Cody Hall with his triangle moonsault. Ibushi survived the heavy artillery late on and snuck the win with a hurricanrana into a pin.

Tetsuya Naito defeated Karl Anderson. I think this just edges it for my pick for match of the night. Anderson jumped Naito before the bell, so it started hot. There was lots of great counter wrestling here, as you’d expect with Anderson involved. Naito fell on the top of his head when Anderson caught him with a running boot, he also took a huge powerbomb from the second rope. There were some incredible near falls near the end with Naito hitting the Stardust Press for the win.

Toru Yano defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi. This was the first shock of the tournament as Yano beat Tanahashi in four minutes! Yano did his usual trickery with low blows and exposed buckles until he grabbed Tanahashi by the hair and rolled him up. This was a huge shocker and a disappointment for me as I was really hoping Ibushi would get a big win over Tanahashi in round two. Ibushi will instead face Yano.

Bad Luck Fale defeated Kazuchika Okada. Shocker number two! Fale pinned Okada cleanly with the Bad Luck Fall to send Okada out of the tournament and presumably back into his slump. It was too predictable that Okada would beat Fale and get revenge for his two prior loses. The match itself was good considering Fale was involved. Fale’s splash from the top rope is always a sight to behold. Okada survived a lot, but the Bad Luck Fall was one move too much.

This now opens up a chance for someone to score huge win in the tournament, with both Okada and Tanahashi out. NJPW are sometimes criticised for not doing something different. Well we are guaranteed something different, whether it be Naito, Fale, Ibushi, Shibata or someone else that wins. NJPW always keep you guessing and that’s what makes it so great. I’m sure we will have another upset or two before we reach the final, but my prediction is Ibushi vs Shibata.



The second round matches are:

*Toru Yano vs. Kota Ibushi

*Tetsuya Naito vs. Bad Luck Fale

*Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata

*Togi Makabe vs. Yujiro Takahashi

This show is on demand at NJPW World and is well worth checking out. Four of the tournament matches were great and the two upsets make it worth taking the time to watch.

2015 - The incriminations against Bill DeMott, at the time a Coach for WWE NXT, continued as Brian Beaker, who performed as Brandon Traven while signed to WWE developmental, commented via Twitter about his letter to WWE's Canyon Cemen regarding his alleged treatment at the hands of Bill DeMott leaking yesterday. Traven commented, "I haven't said anything publicly on the issue regarding my name on certain things. However I will discuss it on my next podcast, which will drop Sunday March 8th. I never set out to seek attention positive or negative, the story was leaked by someone else. I was happy living my life being an Indy wrestler, having a podcast and spending time with my family which I had missed for 6 years. I've been getting a lot texts, messages calls etc. about my time with WWE when I was Brandon Traven...everything will be address (sic) on my own podcast so that you get the story from me and know one else. But know this, I leaked nothing it was sent out without my knowledge, I am not bitter. In fact I'm very happy with my life now, if you have listened to my podcast before you know I'm in a good place. But, what's out is out. And it will be addressed this Sunday."

Another former WWE developmental talent, Drew Donovan took to his Facebook page to write, "For the record, Everything coming out in this WWE Developmental fiasco is pretty much one hundred percent true. More people would speak out if it weren't for that "maybe they'll hire me back" mentality. Not bitching, complaining, trying to correct an injustice, looking for a handout, or anything. Just saying. Now stop messaging me for confirmation and let me be depressed about turning 30."

Donovan later wrote, "A certain point comes where you just lose respect for a dude for NOT punching someone in the face. Nude top rope squats is pretty much that point. Luckily I must have missed that day."

The allegations eventually led to DeMott resigning his position with WWE.

2015 - WWE broadcast Smackdown. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV report:

We are in Washington, D.C. and your announcers are Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, and Jerry Lawler.

Dolph Ziggler makes his way to the ring and he is the current possessor of the Intercontinental Title belt. We see how Dolph took possession of the title belt without winning the title.

Dolph says it feels right. He is not one to hold a grudge against his boss, but it seems to him that he never got his rematch for the Intercontinental Title against Wade Barrett. He says he hasn’t gotten the rematch because he saved the day to get rid of the Authority and he got fired.

Now he has a second chance. This title meant a lot to him. This title not only changed his career, it changed his life. The title is back where it belongs. Dolph says this is why he is officially entering the Ladder Match at Wrestlemania for the Intercontinental Title.

Dolph says it feels like something or someone is missing. It is someone he would like to share the ring and help blow the roof off the place. Someone who proved it is not how big you are. He showed that with a movement behind you, you could become the World Champion. Dolph says that is why he wants that superstar to come out . . .

It is not Daniel Bryan, but the man who has had his title belt pilfered, Wade Barrett who comes out. He says that he is not the person Dolph was referring to, but Dolph has something that belongs to him.

Dolph asks if that is charisma, a great Twitter account, a non-broken nose.

Wade says that Dolph is the comedian, but he is not a good one. People like you, Luke Harper, R Truth, Dean Ambrose can play all of the juvenile games, but it does not change the fact that he is the Intercontinental Champion. Who do you think you are to put yourself into his match for his championship.

He tells Dolph he can hand him the title back, or he can go into the ring and take it from his unconscious body.

Dolph asks Wade if he wants it, but Luke hits Dolph from behind and he kicks Dolph. Barrett and Harper stand across from each other with the title belt between him. Wade goes to pick it up but Harper stands on it and we have a tug of war.

Ziggler hits Harper and Barrett and the belt falls again. Harper and Barrett work over Ziggler.

Dean Ambrose’s music plays and he comes to the ring and he clotheslines Harper and punches Barrett. Ziggler and Ambrose clothesline Barrett over the top rope to the floor. Harper goes to the floor while Ambrose and Ziggler remain in the ring. They both stand over the title belt and Barrett and Harper try to get back into the ring. Ziggler and Ambrose go to the floor to fight Harper and Barrett while Truth hides behind the ring post.

Truth rolls around and then he crawls into the ring and he goes for the title belt and he grabs it and he leaves the ring and goes under the ring. Ziggler and Ambrose go into the ring and they wonder where the belt went.

Truth is on the other side of the ring and he comes out and Ziggler and Ambrose see him, but Truth’s music plays so he is able to leave with the title belt.

Truth is walking in the back and Renee Young asks Truth about taking the title belt. Truth says ‘took’ is a hard word to use. When he heard he was in the Intercontinental Title Match at Wrestlemania, he had to come up with a plan. If he has the title belt under his arm, he won’t have to climb the ladder. Just like he eats when he is not hungry.

Renee tells Truth they have to hang the title over the ring. Truth wants to give the belt to Renee but she refuses. Truth wants to know where Gene Ambrose is and Renee corrects him. She does not know where he is so Truth goes to find someone else.

Tyson Kidd, Cesaro, and Natalya walk in the back as we go to commercial.

We are back and we are going to have a tag team match in the main event with Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose facing Wade Barrett and Luke Harper.

Tyson and Cesaro were in the Goldman Box and Tyson says they are the best tag team in the WWE. They have the titles. Cesaro says they are no nonsense and the hardest workers. FACT. Tyson says if you want to face them for the titles at Wrestlemania, you will have to earn it. Cesaro wishes everyone good luck.



Match Number One: Tyson Kidd and Cesaro (with Natalya) versus Fernando and Diego (with El Torito) in a Non Title Match



Kidd and Diego start off and Fernando tags in right away. Diego with a punch to the midsection followed by a neck breaker from Fernando for a near fall. Cesaro tags in and he kicks Fernando and punches him. Cesaro with an Irish whip but Fernando with a kick and rana off the turnbuckles. Diego tags in and he connects with a shoulder and hits a head scissors. Cesaro with a tilt-a-whirl back breaker to Diego followed by a double stomp and he gets a near fall.

Cesaro with an Irish whip but he runs into an elbow. Kidd tries to stop Diego but he ducks and Kidd goes to the floor. Kidd stops Fernando from tagging in and Cesaro with a rollup and his feet on the ropes. Torito alerts the referee. Diego with a rollup for a near fall but Cesaro with a European uppercut and then Cesaro brings Torito into the ring. Torito gets away and Natalya trips Torito. Cesaro with the Giant Swing to Diego and Kidd with a drop kick to the head and Cesaro gets the three count.



Winners: Tyson Kidd and Cesaro



Kane and Big Show are in the back and Show says that Kane owes him an apology. Show says that he was right about Orton helping Seth win. Kane says he might have been wrong about Orton but he won’t apologize. Show says that he is going to enter the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal and when he wins, he is going to remove Andre’s head and put his on the trophy.

Kane says that Show is a giant, but not Andre the Giant. Kane says that he is also going to be in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and he does not intend to lose.

Show asks if it is going to be the Devil’s Favorite Demon or the Spokesman for the Men’s Wearhouse.

Kane tells Show to have a seat at ringside to watch his match against Ryback.

Kane gives us the slogan for Men’s Wearhouse before leaving.

We go to commercial.

We are back with a look at the main event from Raw when Roman Reigns faced Seth Rollins.



Match Number Two: Kane (with Big Show) versus Ryback



Kane with a kick and Ryback with a flying shoulder tackle and then he goes to the turnbuckles but Kane with a punch to the midsection followed by kicks. Kane with elbows in the corner followed by a punch. Kane with an Irish whip and splash into the corner. Kane gets a near fall. Ryback with a neck breaker and both men are down.

Kane runs into the corner and Ryback with a belly-to-belly suplex and then Ryback goes to the turnbuckles for a belly flop and he hits a spinebuster. Ryback looks around and he sets for the lariat but Show gets on the apron and Kane tries to attack him but he is too slow. Ryback with a clothesline and he gets the three count.



Winner: Ryback



After the match, Ryback knocks Show off the apron. Kane leaves the ring and Show and Kane have an argument. Kane takes the mic and he tells Ryback to stay in the ring because you have a match right now against The Big Show.

We go to commercial.



Match Number Three: Big Show (with Kane) versus Ryback



Show starts the match off on the floor and he yells at the referee for doing that. Show gets in the ring and Ryback punches him. Show with punches to Ryback in the corner and the referee warns Show. Show with an Irish whip and short arm clothesline. Show with a slam and then he picks up Ryback for another slam. Show with a head butt and Irish whip. Show misses a splash into the corner and Ryback with shoulders to Show.

Ryback is pulled off by the referee despite the referee probably getting to five. Ryback comes off the turnbuckles and he is caught by Show. Ryback with a kick and a spinebuster. Kane gets on the apron and Ryback brings him into the ring. Ryback with a clothesline into the corner on Show and then he hits Kane with a clothesline. Show with a knockout punch for the three count.



Winner: Big Show



It is time to take a look back at Fastlane when many people thought the Undertaker had returned, only for it to be Bray Wyatt.

Bray Wyatt tells Undertaker his reckoning at Wrestlemania is coming. You refuse to answer its call. He says he has something, something the Undertaker can relate to. Bray shows an urn. He will unleash its spirit on Raw. Not even you can outrun your fate. He tells the Dead Man to rise.

We go to commercial.

We are back and it is time to take a look back at when The Daily Show merged with Raw on Monday Night.

Nikki Bella says that everyone is talking about the Give Divas A Chance hashtag. It is not about giving AJ a chance. They have been giving the Divas a chance. Brie says that none of them have lived up to the Bella’s standard. Brie says that is why Nikki is still your fearless Divas Champion. That is why they will always be the stars of Total Divas. Nikki says no diva can think they can come in to save the day, especially Paige and AJ. Nikki says that there is only one voice in the Divas Division and that is the voice coming from the top. Brie tells AJ to come out with her frenemy. She will give AJ her precious little chance.



Match Number Four: Brie Bella (with Nikki Bella) versus AJ Lee (with Paige)



They lock up and Brie with an arm drag. They lock up again and Brie backs AJ into the corner and she slams AJ’s head into the turnbuckles. AJ with a kick and arm drag into an arm bar. AJ with a wrist lock into a hammer lock. Brie with an elbow to the head but AJ with a back elbow. AJ slides to the floor and she trips Brie. AJ goes up top and hits a cross body for a near fall. Brie with an elbow and she goes to the turnbuckles for a missile drop kick and she gets a near fall. Brie punches AJ and gets a near fall. Brie with a flying clothesline and she gets a near fall.

Brie with a seated abdominal stretch. AJ with elbows to get out of the hold but Brie with a forearm to the back. Brie with a drop kick to the back of the head and she gets a near fall. Brie sends AJ into the turnbuckles. AJ moves out of the corner and she gets a near fall with a rollup. Brie with a clothesline and she gets a near fall. Brie with a rear chin lock.

AJ with elbows but Brie with a forearm and DDT for a near fall. Brie gets another near fall. Brie says something to Paige and she gets a near fall. Brie with a snap mare and leap frog neck snap for a near fall. Brie with a rear chin lock. AJ with elbows but Brie with a knee and she sets for the running knee and connects. Brie goes to the turnbuckles for the missile drop kick but AJ moves out of the way.

Both women are down but they get back to their feet at the same time. AJ with a Thesz Press and punches. AJ with a drop kick and clothesline into the corner followed by a neck breaker. AJ with a kick to the midsection followed by a drop kick that sends Brie to the floor. Paige goes to check on Brie and Nikki comes over and holds up her title belt. AJ comes to the floor as well and she brings Brie back into the ring.

AJ with a Black Widow and Paige stops Nikki from interfering and Brie taps out.



Winner: AJ Lee



Renee Young is in the interview area with Daniel Bryan. She asks Daniel about Dolph’s comments. Daniel says the Intercontinental Title is so exciting. The title will be held above the ring in a multiperson ladder match at Wrestlemania. It could steal the show. Daniel says he cannot wait to see who ends up the night with the title.

We go to commercial.



Match Number Five: Kofi Kingston and Big E (with Xavier Woods) versus Miz and Damien Sandow



The bell rings and Miz tries to fly out of the ring but takes off his sunglasses. Miz prevents Sandow from getting the crowd to cheer his sunglass removal. Kofi and Miz start things off and Miz with a side head lock. Miz with a shoulder tackle but Kofi with a leaping back elbow and arm drag for a near fall. Kofi with an arm bar and Miz gets to the ropes. Miz with a DDT to Kofi and Kofi blocks a punch and he kicks Miz.

Miz with a kick and Sandow tries to tag in and Miz yells at him. Kofi with a drop kick and Sandow tags in when Miz falls into the corner. Sandow with clotheslines followed by a Reality Check and kip up.

We see Kidd and Cesaro watching in the back with Natalya.

Sandow with a kick to Kofi and Miz tags himself back in and he yells at Sandow and tells him to get out of the ring. Miz tells Sandow to get off the apron and turn around. Big E tags in and he they hit Big Ending and splash combination for the three count.



Winners: Kofi Kingston and Big E



We go to commercial.

We are back and we take a look at Paul Heyman’s comments from Raw.

It is time for a Brock Lesnar video package.

Byron Saxton interviewed Roman Reigns for his response.

Roman says that Paul Heyman has made a living running his mouth and lying. He did put out one piece of truth. Brock Lesnar is going to hurt him at Wrestlemania. Everyone who steps into the ring with him is going to be hurt. Look at what he did to Undertaker and John Cena. He will take everything that Brock can throw at him and then he is going to lock and load and then hit him in the jaw and then he will spear Brock and win the WWE Title. Whether Heyman or Brock want to, they will believe that.



Match Number Six: Jack Swagger versus Rusev (with Lana) in a Non Title Match



Rusev sends Swagger to the floor but Swagger punches Rusev before sending Rusev back into the ring. Swagger with a clothesline to Rusev and then he throws Rusev to the floor. We go to commercial.

We are back and Rusev with a kick and drop kick for a near fall. Rusev stomps on the midsection and then he kicks Swagger in the back. Rusev with elbows to the chest and then he applies a rear chin lock. Swagger powers out of the hold but Rusev regains position and reapplies the hold. Rusev with a kick but Swagger with an Irish whip and splash into the corner. Swagger with another Irish whip and clothesline. Swagger goes for the We The People Swagger Bomb but Rusev gets his feet up and Swagger with an ankle lock but Rusev gets to the ropes.

Swagger knocks Rusev off the apron and to the floor. Swagger runs Rusev into the ringside barrier. Swagger sends Rusev back into the ring and Rusev with a jumping thrust kick and then he stomps on the back and applies the Accolade. Swagger taps out.



Winner: Rusev



After the match, Curtis Axel appears on the TitanTron and he tells Rusev that AxelMania is running wild. He says that Rusev doesn’t have an opponent for Wrestlemania, but Axel has not been eliminated from the Royal Rumble and it has been 39 days. He says that he is coming after Rusev on Monday night. Then he is coming after the United States Title at Wrestlemania.

We go to commercial.

We are back and Cameron says there has been so much talk about Give Divas a Chance and she says it is about time to give Cameron a chance. Summer says that it will be her time. Eva says that as long as she is around, you have no chance.

R Truth is at the announce table and he calls Byron ‘Byron Jackson’ tonight. Truth still has the title belt in his possession.



Match Number Seven: Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler versus Luke Harper and Wade Barrett



Harper and Ziggler start things off and Ziggler goes for the leg but Harper with a Gator Roll. Ziggler escapes and he applies a side head lock. Harper with a side head lock of his own. Harper with a yeah yeah shoulder tackle and then he catches Ziggler on a leap frog attempt. Harper avoids a sunset flip but Ziggler with a drop kick. Ziggler tries for the hesitation DDT but Harper sends him to the mat.

Barrett tags in and while they stare at each other Ambrose tags in and he sends Barrett into the corner and kicks him. Ambrose runs the forearm across the bridge of the nose and then he chops Barrett. Ambrose with an Irish whip and splash followed by a bulldog. Ambrose goes up top and he hits an elbow drop but Harper breaks up the cover. Ziggler knocks Harper to the floor and Ambrose clotheslines Barrett over the top rope. Ambrose and Ziggler back into each other and we go to commercial.

We are back and Barrett with a reverse chin lock on Ambrose. Ambrose with punches and a head butt but Barrett with a knee and Harper tags in. Harper with an elbow and he gets a near fall. Harper with a Gator Roll into a suplex and he gets a near fall. Harper with a reverse chin lock.

Ambrose with a jawbreaker and then he connects with a series of jabs and chops but Harper gets a near fall and he tags in Barrett. Barrett with a boot to the chest and then Harper gets in a kick on Ambrose before going to the apron. Barrett kicks and punches Ambrose in the corner and the referee warns him. Barrett with an Irish whip but Ambrose with an elbow. Ambrose with a Tornado DDT and both men are down. Ziggler and Harper tag in and Ziggler with a clothesline and Stinger Splash followed by a neck breaker. Ziggler with a leaping elbow drop and he gets a near fall. Ziggler misses the Fameasser but Ziggler avoids a boot. Ziggler with a hesitation DDT and he gets a near fall.

Ziggler with a kick and he tries for the Fameasser again but Harper catches him and Ziggler with an X Factor. Harper with a side slam and then Ambrose with a rebound clothesline to Barrett. They go to the floor and Barrett sends Ambrose into the ringside barrier. Ziggler avoids a clothesline and hits a super kick followed by a Zig Zag for the three count.



Winners: Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose



After the match, Barrett with a Bullhammer to Ziggler and then Ambrose. Barrett sees Truth with the title belt and he sets his sights on Truth. Truth starts to leave and Barrett wants his belt back. Truth is confused and he is about to give Barrett the belt, but Ambrose with a suicide dive onto Barrett.

Truth decides to leave with the title belt. Harper stops him as he gets around the ring and Harper blocks his escape. Truth puts the belt down again but Truth kicks Harper and he walks away.

Daniel Bryan’s music plays and he makes his way onto the stage. Truth has something to say to Bryan and then he wants to give Daniel the title belt. Truth starts to yes after giving Daniel the title belt and then Truth dances to the back.

From out of nowhere, Stardust attacks Daniel Bryan from behind and he grabs the Intercontinental Title belt. Stardust climbs the ladder as we go to credits with a new Possessory Intercontinental Champion.