ECW Results 9/23/08

The opening montage aired.

Jim Ross introduced the show.

John Morrison and The Miz walked to the ring together. Meanwhile, Matt Striker told Ross that he was honored to be sitting next to him. “Let’s have some fun tonight,” Ross said.

In the ring, Miz and Morrison delivered a promo. Miz said the only reason Evan Bourne beat him last week was because Ricky Ortiz distracted him. Highlights of the match aired. “That nappy hair is disgusting,” Morrison said. They complained about Teddy Long’s new talent initiative.

Teddy walked onto the stage with a mic in his hand and reminded them that Bourne and Ortiz are members of the new talent initiative. Teddy said the new talent initiative has brought in some promising young talent. “Good call on that Braden Walker,” Morrison said. He noted that he’s sure Walker is doing well pursuing his future endeavors after working just two matches.

Long said they can’t all be home runs, but ECW will continue to feature young talent. Morrison and Miz challenged Bourne and Ortiz to a match. Teddy said they knew Bourne wasn’t in the building. Ortiz walked onto the stage and said he’d take them on. Instead, Teddy booked Miz vs. Morrison in a singles match. He said the winner would face Ricky Ortiz immediately after their match.

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Highlights from Raw aired of Kane defeating Evan Bourne and then beating up Rey Mysterio.

Backstage, Teddy talked to Ricky about his match later in the show. He pulled a rally towel out of his pocket and gave it to Tiffany. “I like it,” she said. She said it felt good as she rubbed the towel against her neck.

1. Finlay (w/Hornswoggle) vs. Bam Neely in 3:50. A brawling style match. Finlay hit a swinging neckbreaker at 3:00. He wet up to the second rope for some reason, but Neely caught him and locked him in the Boston Crab. Horny entered the ring and distracted Neely. Meanwhile, Finlay picked up the shillelagh used it as a weapon behind the ref’s back and got the pin.

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The WWE 24/7 classic segment featured Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper vs. Ric Flair and Sid Justice.

J.R. reminded viewers that ECW is moving to 8 p.m. CT permanently beginning next week.

2. Maryse defeated Michelle McCool in a non-title match in 3:30. Striker said young women everywhere can look up to McCool because she knows grappling moves. Late in the match, Maryse caught Michelle up top and then played to the crowd before DDT’ing her for the win.

The announcers hyped the pay-per-view and ran through the matches.

Mark Henry and Teddy Long walked onto the stage. Henry complained that Hardy never pinned him to win the ECW Title. “Because he can’t pin me and he’ll never pin me,” Henry hollered. Henry vowed to leave Hardy laying at the pay-per-view and said proclaimed that he is still the World’s Strongest Champion.

The announcers hyped the main event.

3. Mike Knox squashed Chase Stevens in 1:40. After Knox plowed through Stevens and headed toward the back, Jack Swagger’s music played and he past Knox on the stage with a smile on his face. Swagger attacked Stevens. Tommy Dreamer ran out for the save. Knox came back to the ring and distracted Dreamer. Swagger hit his finisher on Dreamer and then smiled for the camera.

Split-screen shots aired of John Morrison and The Miz.

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4. The Miz fought John Morrison to a double in-ring countout in 11:30. Striker wondered aloud whether Miz or Morrison would become the Art Garfunkel of their team. After some back and forth action, Morrison dove at Miz near the ropes and they tumbled to ringside.

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Highlights aired from during the break of Morrison taking a big tumble to ringside.

Back live, the back and forth battle continued as the program reminder told viewers about the time change next week. Striker said the fans wouldn’t let either wrestler forget if they lost to their tag team partner. The tension between the two teammates grew more intense as the match went on and they exchanged more punches and kicks down the stretch.

At 10:45, both men were on the top rope in one of the corners. Miz hooked Morrison’s head with his legs and jumped. The both tumbled awkwardly to the mat and neither wrestler made it to his feet before the referee’s 10 count.

After the match, Ricky Ortiz ran out and splashed Miz. Morrison tried to attack him, but Ortiz fought off with a shoulder block and hit that splash of his. Ricky waved the rally towel at ringside and gave one of his rags to a blond woman at ringside.

End of show…

Report by Jason Powell and ProWrestling.net

WWE Monday Night Raw Results 9/22/08

Report by Richard Trionfo and PWinsider.com

We are live from Cincinnati, Ohio and your announcers are Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler.

Chris Jericho comes out and he climbs the ladder in the ring and he sits under his title belt. Chris hears the chants of ‘HBK’ and then he tells them to leave it to HBK to rewrite history. Last week, Shawn Michaels, in an attempt to permanently disfigure him to take away Chris’s title in a ladder match. Then Shawn said that he created the ladder match. Chris points out that the fans blindly accepted what Shawn said. Just because Shawn Michaels says something, it is not true. But when Chris Jericho says something, it is real because he is an honest man, and a good man. Chris says that he always tells the truth. Chris says that he won three titles in ladder matches and has won more high profile ladder matches than Shawn has been in during his entire life. When the match is through at No Mercy, everyone will see Chris taking the belt off the hook.

Shawn wants to disfigure him? Shawn already did that when he was whipped. He says that he has trapped Shawn in a corner because in order for Shawn to feed his ego, he has demanded a ladder match, but he has given Chris the weapon to finish off Michaels.

Randy Orton’s music plays and he comes out and he eventually makes his way to the ring. Chris addresses Randy and he says that it would be a matter of time before Randy came out to talk to the champion. Randy points out that if it weren’t for him kicking CM Punk in the skull, Chris would not be champion. Randy says that it does not matter who wins at No Mercy because the winner of the ladder match will be on borrowed time. Jericho says that Orton talks a lot of trash but he cannot back it up. Jericho calls Orton a dreamer with a big mouth. Jericho wonders what would stop him from punching Orton in the mouth. When he punched Rebecca, it was an accident. If he does it tonight, it will be on purpose. Orton tells Jericho that he is not going to do a damn thing to him. Orton says that he talked to Mike Adamle. Orton says that he is the future of the company so he needs to be protected. Orton says that he cannot hit anyone, and nobody can hit him. Orton says that if anyone touches him, they are suspended. Orton tells Jericho that he is untouchable. When you are a third generation superstar and the most valuable commodity on Raw, you tend to get what you want. Jericho says that the most valuable commodity on Raw is the World Champion. He says that he tends to get what he wants. Jericho says that he wants to get away from Randy Orton because Orton is wasting his time. Jericho tells Orton to get well soon.

Orton tells Jericho that he will be champion once again and long after Jericho’s days in the industry are gone. Orton throws the ladder out of the ring.

CM Punk’s music plays and he comes out and he has a new t-shirt. Punk approaches the ring and he gets in Orton’s face. Punk and Orton snarl in the center of the ring and then he backs Orton up a few steps. Punk slaps Orton twice.

Mike Adamle comes out and he runs to the ring. He tells Punk to stop what he is doing. Adamle tells Punk to calm down. Adamle says that Punk defied one of his edicts, and as a result of his actions, Punk is suspended.

Shane McMahon comes out and he jogs to the ring. Shane tells Mike that they will do their review later. Shane tells Mike that he is doing a lot of on the job training as general manager. Shane says that what Punk just did is a ‘receipt’. Shane says that normally he would respect Mike’s edict, but not tonight. Shane overrules the suspension of CM Punk. Orton wants to know what Shane is doing because Adamle is the general manager.

Shane tells Randy that he can do that. He also expects Randy to respect him as a third generation superstar. The ‘Touch Randy get Suspended’ edict starts now. Shane tells Randy to leave the ring. Shane tells Punk that he is going to be in the opening match. Punk will wrestle Cody Rhodes tonight. Shane reads Adamle’s mind and the main event will be Chris Jericho and Bradshaw versus Batista and Shawn Michaels. Shane does the Shane-O Shuffle and then leaves the ring.

We go to commercial.

We are back and this time, the ego stroke is read to us by Michael Cole.

Match Number One: CM Punk versus Cody Rhodes
They lock up and they go into the corner and the referee has to separate them. Punk misses a kick as Rhodes moves out of the way. They lock up again and Punk is separated again by the referee. Rhodes with a side head lock followed by a forearm. Punk with a forearm of his own and Rhodes goes down. Punk grabs Rhodes’s leg and hits an elbow. Punk with a back kick, but Rhodes sends Punk out of the ring to the floor. Punk kicks Rhodes from the floor and then kicks Rhodes in the chest. Punk with kicks on the floor. Rhodes slams Punk’s head into the apron. They return to the ring and Rhodes with a cross body from the top but Punk rolls through and gets a two count. Punk with punches to Rhodes. Punk with a kick to the chest. Rhodes with a kick but Punk sends Rhodes into the corner. Punk with a snap mare followed by a kick to the back. Punk continues the attack with punches. Orton reverses an Irish whip and Rhodes works on the back with a knee and gets a near fall. Rhodes with an elbow to the head and then he tries to work on the head. Punk gets Rhodes up for the Go To Sleep but Rhodes escapes the hold and goes to the floor.

We go to commercial.

We are back and Rhodes is working on Punk’s ankle. During the commercial Rhodes was able to crotch Punk on top and then he started to work on the leg. We return to live action and Rhodes is still working on the leg. Punk punches Rhodes but Rhodes hold on to the leg. Punk with knees to Rhodes and then Punk returns the favor and he puts Rhodes in an ankle lock. Rhodes does not want to tap and Rhodes tries to make his way to the ropes and Rhodes is able to do so. Punk takes his time releasing the hold. Punk with slaps to Rhodes followed by a kick to the head and a kick to the back. Punk with a spin kick followed by a knee lift. Punk with the knee into the corner followed by a bulldog attempt but Rhodes gets out of the hold. Rhodes cannot get out of the Go To Sleep and Punk gets the three count.
Winner: CM Punk

After the match, DiBiase and Manu attack Punk and Manu punches Punk in the head. Kofi Kingston comes out and he drop kicks DiBiase. Kingston kicks Manu out of the ring. Rhodes falls out of the ring.

We go to commercial.

We are back and we see some members of the Cincinnati Bengals because when you are 0-3, why not see some wrestling.

Time for the Smackdown Rebound.

Mike Adamle is with Shane McMahon and he says that he felt embarrassed. Shane says that sometimes you have to step on some toes to get things done.

Kane enters and he says hello to Shane while looking at Adamle. Kane appreciates getting Evan Bourne tonight, but he wants Rey Mysterio. Adamle tells Kane that the match has been made for No Mercy. Kane tells Shane to say hello to his mom.

Adamle wants to know if he did okay. Mike asks Shane how Kane knows Linda and Shane tells Mike about some of the things that Kane has done to his family.

Kelly is in the back talking to a production worker. Kelly turns around and see Beth and Santino. Santino says that Batista almost brokeded his face. Beth says that she asked for her match with Kelly tonight. Santino says that Kelly was laughing at him because Batista is not funny. Santino makes fun of Batista’s open but then he turns around and sees Batista. Beth tells Batista not to get involved or her boyfriend will take care of him.

Santino’s music plays and Santino says that Batista is lucky. Santino runs away as we go to commercial.

We are back and we see footage of Batista giving Beth a spinebuster onto Santino’s face. Santino gets on the mic and he says that is not funny. It is time for the Honk-A-Meter. The Honky Donkey Man was champion for 64 weeks. Santino has been champion for five weeks. Santino is interrupted by Deuce’s music. Santino has one thing to say. He tells Batista that he hopes he is watching because he is going to beat him up the same way that he is going to beat up Fonzie. Santino says that that happy days are over.

Match Number Two: Santino Marella versus Deuce
They lock up and Deuce with a clean break. Deuce with a kick and then he slams Santino’s head into the turnbuckle. Deuce with a side head lock and then he punches Santino in the face followed by a knee to the head. Deuce with a leaping fist drop for a two count. Deuce with an Irish whip but Deuce and Santino bang heads. Santino with a sunset flip for the three count.
Winner: Santino Marella

After the match, Santino says that is one win for Glamarella. Santino tells Kelly Kelly Kelly that she will lose to the woman who orders him to be the contraceptics. Beth Phoenix comes out and kisses Santino.

Evan Bourne and Rey Mysterio are walking in the back and Rey is telling Evan what to do. Evan is now able to walk on his own. We go to commercial.

We are back with the Slam of the Week: Rey Mysterio versus Kane last week on Raw and Evan Bourne making the save.

Match Number Three: Kane versus Evan Bourne
Bourne leaps over Kane and kicks Kane in the arm. Bourne with an enzuigiri as he continues to use his athletic ability to outquick Kane. Kane backs Bourne into the corner but Bourne with forearms. Kane with a kick but Bourne with a drop kick to the knees. Kane with a kick and a forearm to the back. Kane with a boot to the head. Kane misses an elbow drop but Bourne does not miss a drop kick to the head. Bourne with a kick and double stomp. Bourne continues to kick Kane. Bourne tries for a crucifix but Kane does not go down. Bourne tries for a sunset flip but Kane with a punch. Bourne with a running drop kick but Kane does not budge for an Irish whip. Kane charges into knees from Bourne. Kane sends Bourne to the apron and Kane misses a big boot and gets caught in the ropes. Bourne sends Kane to the floor and then Bourne with an Asai Moonsault.

Kane rolls back into the ring and Bourne goes up top for the knees to the throat and he gets a near fall. Kane tosses Bourne into the air and hits an uppercut. Kane punches Bourne in the corner and then he kicks him. The referee tries to keep Kane off Bourne. Kane with a tilt-a-whirl back breaker and then he picks Bourne up for another back breaker. He hits a third back breaker. Kane runs Bourne into the turnbuckles and then hits a power slam. Instead of finishing off Bourne, he taunts him. Kane with a choke slam for the three count.
Winner: Kane

After the match, Kane stands over Bourne and chokes him. Rey Mysterio comes to the ring and Rey with forearms to Kane. Rey kicks Kane but when Rey tries for a springboard cross body, Kane with a big boot to Rey. Kane punches Rey and then he choke slams Rey.

Jamie Noble is talking to Shane and he wants another shot at William Regal. Dolph Ziggler stops by to say hello. Randy Orton arrives and Shane asks Noble to leave. Orton says that he does not want Shane to take things the wrong way, but what Shane did out there was not cool. Shane says that he respects Orton and everything that he accomplished. Shane says that Orton got off easy after what he did to Punk. Orton points out that they are third generation superstars, and it would be a bad thing if they got on their bad side. Shane points out that he is fourth generation. Shane walks away and we go to commercial.

Match Number Four: Beth Phoenix with Santino Marella versus Kelly Kelly Kelly
Beth with a side head lock followed by punches to the head. Beth with a forearm in the corner followed by an Irish whip. Beth misses a charge and Kelly kicks Beth. Kelly works on the arm and then hits an arm drag after using the ropes for leverage. Kelly tries for a rana, but Beth holds on and she power bombs Kelly into the corner. Beth rakes the face and tells Kelly to call for Batista. Beth with an elbow to the shoulder followed by a key lock.

We see Candice staring at the monitor that happens to have the match. Beth misses an elbow as we return to the ring. Kelly with forearms and a kick to Beth followed by a drop kick and flying clothesline. Beth sends Kelly onto the turnbuckles and then Kelly hits a cross body for a near fall. Kelly is tripped by Santino and then Santino gets on the apron. Kelly moves out of the way and Beth almost hits Santino. Kelly gets the three count with a rollup.
Winner: Kelly Kelly

After the match, Beth holds Kelly for Santino and Batista’s music plays. Beth gets in Batista’s face and that allows Santino to get in a shot. Batista uses the face mask and then he hits a spear on Santino. Batista leaves the ring and Beth checks on Santino.

We see footage from the Dirt Sheet and Word Up from Cryme Tyme. Each team tries to one up the other. We go to commercial.

Match Number Five: John Morrison and Mike Mizanin versus Cryme Tyme
JTG and Morrison start things off. They lock up and Morrison backs JTG into the corner and then Morrison misses a punch on the break and JTG connects with a punch of his own. Morrison draws Shad in and while the ref deals with Shad, Miz attacks JTG from behind. JTG with a punch to Morrison followed by a neck breaker for a two count. Shad tag in and Morrison turns into Shad and Shad presses Morrison over his head. Miz tags in and he gets a back elbow. Miz with a kick but he misses a knee lift. Shad does not miss Miz. Shad sends JTG over the top rope onto Miz and Morrison on the floor. We go to commercial.

We are back and Morrison with a head scissors and arm bar combination. We see footage during the commercial when JTG was knocked off the turnbuckles by Miz. We return to live action and Morrison slams JTG to the mat and holds on to the arm. Morrison kicks and punches JTG after a near fall. Miz tags in and then Miz with a running clothesline into the corner. Miz gets a near fall and then he goes to the arm bar and cross face combination. Miz runs JTG into the corner but JTG fights his way out of the corner. Miz with a drop toe hold and he stops JTG from making the tag. Morrison tags back in and he returns to the reverse chin lock. JTG avoids Miz and Morrison and Shad is tagged in. Shad takes care of Miz and Morrison. Shad with a flapjack to Morrison and a back body drop to Miz. Shad with a power slam to Miz for a two count but Morrison breaks it up. Morrison trips JTG and Miz gets a two count with a rollup on Shad. Miz with forearms to Shad but Shad with a gourdbuster for a two count. Morrison sends JTG into the ring post and Miz tries for a rollup using the ropes. The referee focuses on Miz and he misses the kick from Morrison that allows Miz to get the three count.
Winners: John Morrison and Mike Mizanin

We go to commercial.

Chris Jericho and Lance Cade are in Mike Adamle’s office. He says that Shane is here to challenge him to see what kind of spin he puts on what Shane sets. Chris has some ideas for the main event.

Time to run through the card for No Mercy.

Michael Cole mentions Charlie Haas. We have footage of Haas from earlier today. We go to nighttime at Dave and Busters and he introduces himself and he says that he is here to pay tribute to Mr. Perfect. Charlie says that is the perfect tribute. Charlie has some trouble with the things that Curt did in his vignettes. Charlie even injures a few people. Charlie says that it proves that there is only one Mr. Perfect.

We go to commercial.

We are back and it is time for Jerry Lawler to read the same ‘WWE fun fact of the night’ that Michael Cole did earlier.

Lillian Garcia makes an announcement that the match is now a two-on-three handicap match.

Match Number Six: Chris Jericho, Lance Cade, and Bradshaw versus Batista and Shawn Michaels
Michaels stares at Jericho as the bell rings and Cade starts off the match. They lock up and Michaels with a clean break. Michaels slaps Cade and then they exchange punches. Michaels does the Michaels flip off the Irish whip. Michaels punches Cade and then he goes after Jericho, but Jericho goes to the floor and Bradshaw punches him. Jericho tags in and he punches Michaels while he is down. Jericho with punches to the head followed by a belly-to-back suplex. Jericho with a snap mare and reverse chin lock and arm bar combination. Jericho slams Michaels’s head into the turnbuckle and the referee admonishes Jericho. Michaels with chops to Jericho but Jericho with an enzuigiri and Bradshaw is tagged in. Bradshaw with punches to Michaels followed by a kick and swinging neck breaker. Bradshaw with an elbow drop for a near fall. Bradshaw with a forearm and boot to the head. Bradshaw with an abdominal stretch and Bradshaw applies more pressure by holding the leg. Michaels with a hip toss and both men are down. Cade tags in and he punches Michaels.

Cade follows that with kicks and he chokes Michaels. Cade takes the ref out of the corner while Jericho attacks Michaels. Bradshaw tags in and he kicks Michaels. Bradshaw punches Michaels, but Michaels blocks a punch and Michaels fights back. Bradshaw with a big boot and then he punches Batista to draw Batista into the ring. Bradshaw gets a two count on Michaels. Bradshaw with a forearm but Michaels with a chop. Michaels with a punch followed by a cross body but Bradshaw catches him and he tries for the fallaway slam, but Michaels is able to counter it with a DDT. Jericho and Batista tag in and Batista runs Jericho into the corner and follows that with shoulders. Batista with a running clothesline into the corner. Jericho with a kick but Batista with a spinebuster and it is time to shake the ropes. Batista punches Cade and then Batista with a power slam. Michaels with the elbow drop and he sets for Sweet Chin Music. Jericho moves out of the way and Jericho tries for the Walls of Jericho but Michaels with a rollup for a two count. Jericho tries for the Codebreaker but Michaels avoids it. Batista and Bradshaw battle in the ring but Bradshaw back body drops Batista over the top rope to the floor. Batista with a spear to Bradshaw on the floor. Jericho with a bulldog to Michaels but he misses the Lionsault. Cade is tagged in and Michaels with punches followed by a flying forearm and kip up. Michaels does not care who he kicks. Jericho goes to the floor and Cade hits the sit out spinebuster for the three count.
Winners: Lance Cade, Chris Jericho, and Bradshaw

End of show…

WWE Smackdown Preview: Big Show’s Announcement

From WWE.com:

Apology expected

Following their surprise attack on Undertaker at Unforgiven, SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero and Big Show emerged together to explain their actions as well as to make a startling announcement to the WWE Universe.

The dubious duo announced a powerful new business alliance between them, explaining that its primary focus will be to make SmackDown into what Guerrero wishes it to be – and for The World’s Largest Athlete to “get the WWE Championship around his waist” — by forcing The Phenom to give the General Manager the apology she has demanded. But, how will this shocking business union change Friday nights? And what will The Deadman’s response be to this new threat?

WWE Champion Triple H watched as Jeff Hardy became No. 1 contender to his title last week, but The Game will stand toe-to-toe on SmackDown with another Superstar who feels it is his destiny to be a World Champion – Montel Vontavious Porter. Can MVP show that his words are more than just talk when he steps into the ring with Triple H?

Jeff Hardy may have won the Fatal Four Way Match over United States Champion Shelton Benjamin, Montel Vontavious Porter and The Brian Kendrick — earning him the chance to face WWE Champion Triple H at No Mercy. After the match, Hardy was attacked by the competition hungry Vladimir Kozlov. On SmackDown, Hardy faces another hungry challenge when he goes one-on-one with The Brian Kendrick. Will Hardy be able to keep his focus on Kendrick or will the high-flying Legend Thriller find himself distracted?

In a bizarre turn of events, Festus & Jesse executed a first-class package job to Kenny Dykstra, before wheeling the furious Superstar away on a hand truck. (PHOTOS) Is it possible that these two wacky country boys have “Fed-Ex’d” the outspoken Dykstra out of WWE?

The ecstatic brothers Carlito & Primo celebrated their sibling allegiance with a non-title victory over WWE Tag Team Champions Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder. (PHOTOS) Will it be long before they get a chance at bringing home the gold?

Find out the answers to these questions and more on SmackDown, Friday night at 8/7 CT on The CW Network.

And don’t miss the premiere of SmackDown on its new home – MyNetwork TV – on Oct. 3 at 8/7 CT.

The Complete ‘PWI 500′ List For 2008 – Randy Orton Comes In At #1

Pro Wrestling Illustrated has published its list of the top 500 wrestlers each year since 1991, in an annual special edition magazine called the ‘PWI 500′. Randy Orton tops the list this year. Orton is on the cover of the magazine and the headline reads: “Randy Orton #1 – “Who Else?” John Cena topped the list the past two years.

Here is the list in its entirety.

1.Randy Orton
2.Kurt Angle
3.Triple H
4.Samoa Joe
5.Edge
6.The Undertaker
7.Shawn Michaels
8.Nigel McGuiness
9.John Cena
10.Shinsuke Nakamura
11.Takeshi Morishima
12.Ultimo Guerrero
13.Bryan Danielson
14.Christian Cage
15.Batista
16.Keiji Muto
17.Mistico
18.Jeff Hardy
19.Ric Flair
20.Hiroshi Tanahashi
21.AJ Styles
22.Perro Aguayo Jr.
23.MVP
24.CM Punk
25.Tomko
26.Mesias
27.Jay Lethal
28.Dr. Wagner Jr.
29.Chris Jericho
30.Kensuke Sasaki
31.Austin Aries
32.Cibernetico
33.Kane
34.Booker T
35.Mr.Kennedy
36.Chavo Guerrero Jr.
37.Umaga
38.Robert Roode
39.Suwama
40.JBL
41.Matt Hardy
42.James Storm
43.John Morrison
44.Adam Pearce
45.Kaz
46.CIMA
47.Minoru Suzuki
48.Petey Williams
49.Jay Briscoe
50.Mark Briscoe
51.Big Show
52.Claudio Castagnoli
53.Giant Bernard
54.The Miz
55.William Regal
56.Finlay
57.Yuji Nagata
58.Chris Hero
59.Rey Mysterio Jr.
60.Eric Young
61.Rhino
62.Shelton Benjamin
63.Carlito
64.Scott Steiner
65.Mark Henry
66.Chuck Palumbo
67.Homicide
68.Averno
69.Chris Sabin
70.Alex Shelley
71.Zorro
72.Hernandez
73.Dos Caras Jr.
74.Jimmy Jacobs
75.Orlando Colon
76.Kofi Kingston
77.Alan Stone
78.Brother Ray
79.Cody Rhodes
80.Lance Cade
81.Sonjay Dutt
82.Brother Devon
83.The Great Khali
84.Sting
85.El Hijo del Santo
86.Kenta Kobashi
87.Mitsuharu Misawa
88.Tyler Black
89.Masato Tanaka
90.Naomichi Marufuji
91.Santino Marella
92.Hardcore Holly
93.Satoshi Kojima
94.Ron Killings
95.Curry Man
96.Trevor Murdoch
97.KENTA
98.Charly Manson
99.Elijah Burke
100.Toshiaki Kawada
101.Nick Dinsmore
102.Chessman
103.Roderick Strong
104.Abyss
105.Mephisto
106.Festus
107.Davey Richards
108.Rocky Romero
109.Atlantis
110.El Condor
111.Brian Kendrick
112.Negro Casas
113.Halloween
114.Tommy Dreamer
115.Rey Bucanero
116.Paul London
117.Jerry Lynn
118.Wataru Inoue
119.Jushin Liger
120.Brent Albright
121.Blue Demon Jr.
122.Shark Boy
123.Hector Garza
124.Blitz
125.Jamie Noble
126.Matt Morgan
127.Black Reign
128.Black Warrior
129.Kevin Steen
130.Johnny Devine
131.Paul Birchall
132.Kip James
133.Sangre Azteca
134.Snitsky
135.Togi Makabe
136.Erick Stevens
137.Masato Yoshino
138.Mr.Niebla
139.B.G.James
140.Zack Ryder
141.Curt Hawkins
142.Juventud Guerrera
143.El Generico
144.Jimmy Wang Yang
145.Jack Evans
146.Mr.Aguila
147.Jesse
148.Joe Doering
149.Vladmir Kozlov
150.Lance Hoyt
151.Mike Knox
152.BJ Whitmer
153.Joey Matthews
154.Big Daddy V
155.Masahiro Chono
156.Delirious
157.Mike Quackenbush
158.Milano Collection AT
159.Shannon Moore
160.Jimmy Rave
161.Rellik
162.Necro Butcher
163.Eddie Colon
164.Yoshihiro Takayama
165.Deuce
166.Matt Striker
167.Chicano
168.Mike DiBiase
169.Domino
170.Steve Corino
171.Shawn Spears
172.Marco Corleone
173.Bryan Logan
174.Yoshinobu Kanemaru
175.Glen Osbourne
176.Manabu Nakanishi
177.Shad Gaspard
178.Go Shiozaki
179.Eric Perez
180.Rory Fox
181.Dragon Kid
182.Toru Yano
183.Joey Ryan
184.Charlie Haas
185.JTG
186.Kevin Nash
187.Ted DiBiase Jr.
188.Human Tornado
189.Nic Nemeth
190.Chris Harris
191.Volador Jr.
192.La Sombra
193.Heath Miller
194.Super Crazy
195.Consequences Creed
196.Rory McAllister
197.D.H. Smith
198.Robbie McAllister
199.Ruckus
200.Pac
201.Katsuhiko Nakajima
202.Jigsaw
203.Scott Lost
204.Rob Eckos
205.Ricky Reyes
206.Billy Bax
207.Tiger Mask IV
208.Matt Cross
209.El Sagrado
210.Stevie Richards
211.Tatsumi Fujinami
212.L.A. Park
213.Rikishi
214.Ryusuke Taguchi
215.Evan Bourne
216.Jay Bradley
217.Josh Prohibition
218.Shinjiro Otani
219.Drew McIntyre
220.D’Lo Brown
221.Elix Skipper
222.Jake Hager
223.Chris Masters
224.Shawn Daivari
225.Naruki Doi
226.Sheamus O’Shaunessy
227.Low-Ki
228.Kid Kash
229.Hiromi Horiguchi
230.2 Cold Scorpio
231.Ace Steel
232.Adam Flash
233.Kenzo Suzuki
234.Hiroyoshi Tenzan
235.Ricky Vega
236.Teddy Hart
237.Minoru Fujita
238.La Mascara
239.Puma
240.Heavy Metal
241.T.J. Wilson
242.Taru
243.Balls Mahoney
244.Danny Doring
245.Colt Cabana
246.Chris Cage
247.Josh Daniels
248.KUDO
249.La Parka
250.Sabu
251.Takeshi Rikio
252.Chad Collyer
253.Jason Blade
254.Olimpico
255.Masaaki Mochizuki
256.Pepper Parks
257.Damian 666
258.Matt Logan
259.Ephesto
260.Christian York
261.Mike Mondo
262.Rob Conway
263.Shocker
264.Nunzio
265.Xavier
266.Vito
267.Kenny Dykstra
268.Chris Joel
269.Alex Koslov
270.Gran Akuma
271.Ron Zombie
272.Icarus
273.Derek Frazier
274.Noriega
275.Lince Dorado
276.Intocable
277.Jun Akiyama
278.Eddie Kingston
279.Mad Man Pondo
280.Scott Cardinal
281.Michael Sain
282.Lizmark Jr.
283.Shingo Takagi
284.Super Hentai
285.Chad Parham
286.Maximo
287.Kevin Dunn
288.Mean Marcos
289.Hallowicked
290.Kotaro Suzuki
291.Brazo de Plata
292.Joe Bravo
293.Phoenix Star
294.Brain Damage
295.Ricky Landell
296.Bam Neely
297.Felino
298.Larry Sweeney
299.Joker
300.Devon Moore
301.Ricky Marvin
302.Zokre
303.Bobby Fish
304.Tank Toland
305.Helios
306.Black Pain
307.Pelle Primeau
308.Naoya Ogawa
309.Chuck Taylor
310.Bruiser
311.Rhett Titus
312.Abismo Negro
313.Blue Panther
314.Savio Vega
315.Ultimo Dragon
316.Kevin Thorn
317.Frederick of Hollywood
318.Val Venis
319.Tom Brandi
320.Mitch Ryder
321.TAKA Michinoku
322.Damian
323.Tyson Dux
324.Aden Chambers
325.Crazy Boy
326.Adam Flash
327.Taku Iwasa
328.Incognito
329.Anthony Bravado
330.Thunder
331.Andrew Ryker
332.Spike Dudley
333.Jorge Rivera
334.The Atomic Dogg
335.Lightning
336.Bryan Kelly
337.Judas Young
338.Taiyo Kea
339.Kaz Hayashi
340.Hyjinx
341.Sterling James Keenan
342.Arik Cannon
343.Shane Hagadorn
344.El Pantera
345.Kassidy James
346.Max Von Bauer
347.Doug Williams
348.Al Snow
349.Sinn Bowdie
350.John McChesney
351.Shayne Hawke
352.Truitt Fields
353.John Kermon
354.Cruzz
355.Orlando Jordan
356.Robert Anthony
357.UltraMantis Black
358.Steve Lewington
359.Johnny Kashmere
360.2 Dope
361.Mikey Whipwreck
362.Tajiri
363.Mike Kurel
364.N8 Mattson
365.Takashi Iizuka
366.Noel Rodriguez
367.El Gran Apache
368.Afa Jr.
369.Qeenan Creed
370.Diabolico
371.Shane Storm
372.Johnny Curtis
373.Kahagas
374.Romeo Roselli
375.Bobby Dempsey
376.Rudy Switchblade
377.Jim Duggan
378.Trent Acid
379.Kafu
380.Jerry Lawler
381.Shiima Xion
382.Atlas DaBone
383.Scott Wright
384.Navajo Warrior
385.Sal Rinauro
386.Robin Knightwing
387.Scott Zenzen
388.Joey Knight
389.Sean Waltman
390.Jamin Olivencia
391.Kevin Grace
392.BxB Hulk
393.Sho Funaki
394.Azrieal
395.J.D. Michaels
396.Richard Rondon
397.Titan
398.Antonio Thomas
399.Ace Darling
400.Colin Delaney
401.Larry Huntley
402.Chasyn Rance
403.Rycklon
404.Billy Roc
405.Nate Bash
406.Iceberg
407.Armando Estrada
408.Charles Evans
409.Mike Reed
410.Johnny Gargano
411.Jumping Jeff Jeffrey
412.Jonny Puma
413.Benjamin Sailer
414.The Stro
415.Leslie Leatherman
416.Freak Nastty
417.Ali Akbar
418.Luke Hawx
419.Derek Wylde
420.Milwaukee Mauler
421.Robere Shields
422.Omega
423.Dan Eckos
424.Hawaiian Lion
425.Johnny Ova
426.Zachary Shane
427.Cody Deaner
428.Ric Converse
429.Mega
430.Sami Callahan
431.Soldier Ant
432.Sean Royal
433.Kornbred
434.Tank
435.Hade Vansen
436.Prince Nana
437.Brodie Lee
438.Rob Terry
439.Fire Ant
440.Dan Paysan
441.Red Anderson
442.Andy Dalton
443.Zach Gowan
444.Carlitos
445.Dylan Starr
446.Eric Everlast
447.Ron Falco
448.Joe Gibson
449.Jeremy Wyatt
450.Mister St.Laurent
451.Omar Akbar
452.Shawn Cook
453.Kenny King
454.Kirby Mack
455.Drew Blood
456.Nate Laws
457.Brian Soscia
458.Shorty Smalls
459.Crazy Rudy
460.Ric Byrne
461.T.J. Mack
462.Maifu
463.Mikal Judas
464.Phil Shatter
465.Robby Starr
466.Saifu
467.Phil Atlas
468.Jimmy Olsen
469.Mike Tobin
470.Corporal Robinson
471.Slim J
472.Ryan McBride
473.Chance Prophet
474.Hiram Tua
475.Mozart Fontaine
476.Matt Riviera
477.Hook Bomberry
478.Mastiff
479.Pinke LaRue
480.Chris Stone
481.Supreme Lee Great
482.Teddy Stigma
483.Greg Marasciulo
484.Apovslypse
485.Player Uno
486.Jimmy DeMarco
487.Wade Chism
488.Tim Donst
489.Leono
490.Dre Blitz
491.Igotta Brewski
492.Larry Zbyszko
493.Super Calo
494.Marshall Gambino
495.Hydra
496.Mickey Gambino
497.Worker Ant
498.The Guy with Red Hair
499.Kliff Hanger
500.Kurt Adonis

How Many WWE / WWF Titles Has Jake The Snake Roberts Won?

Jake the Snake Roberts has NEVER won a WWE / WWF title in his WWF Career.

Update On Batista’s Frustration & Talks Of Retirement

As previously reported, Batista is frustrated with his push and has considered retirement. The feeling from WWE sources is that Vince McMahon will go out his way to keep Batista happy. Batista said in the past he may retire in a year or two, and those close to him believe he means it and isn’t trying to work a better deal with WWE. They also feel that Vince will meet his demands to keep him happy and active in the ring. Batista has a reputation of being a big spender, which could keep him from leaving WWE. He is the biggest draw overseas and WWE would hate to lose him.

Credit: ProWrestling.net

Chuck Palumbo & Paul London Close To WWE Release

- Chuck Palumbo is said to be on the “endangered species list.” Vince McMahon was high on him and favored the motorcycle gimmick but overtime has lost interest. WWE’s agents have never been high on Palumbo, and his only supporter is John Lauranitis due to their friendship from WCW. Lauranitis got Palumbo his job with All Japan and convinced WWE to rehire him, claiming he had reinvented himself in Japan. He has yet to appear on TV since being drafted to RAW.

- Paul London is also believed to be on the “endangered species list.” He is said to be a likeable person, talented, bi-lingual and he has invested in acting classes to improve his character. One source indicated that he has “no instincts for this” and doesn’t have a relationship with anyone that has power in WWE.

Credit: The Figure Four Weekly Newsletter

DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu – HBK DVD Review + HBK’s Retirement?

THE WRESTLING MENU #282

Welcome one and all to the 282nd edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

I think it has been almost a year since I last served up a DVD Review for you all and while they are not always my most popular columns, I do often get thanks from readers who have made purchasing decisions partially based on my reviews. Time has clearly been a major issue for me here (especially since most worthwhile WWE DVD’s nowadays are 3 discs & 9 hours long), but with a weekend or two spare of late, I have been able to get through the relatively new Shawn Michaels 3 disc set. And today obviously sees the first part of my review of that particular release, before it concludes in my next column.

Furthermore, for those looking for something other than a DVD review, I will use the ‘Dessert’ section of today’s column to speak briefly about a possible upcoming retirement for Shawn Michaels.

Before I get started, I have another little update on the Canadian prize situation that I have discussed briefly over the past 2 weeks. ‘Wrestling Menu’ reader James sends word that one of the main reasons why the law was established was for taxation purposes. Apparently, if something is earned, as opposed to won, the taxation rate is significantly reduced. Who said Canadians weren’t a clever bunch!?!?!?

On with the show-stopping show…..

‘SHAWN MICHAELS’ DVD REVIEW

As already insinuated, this is a 3 disc set & its full title is ‘The Shawn Michaels Story: Heartbreak & Triumph’. As per usual with most WWE DVDs, it has a documentary portion which lasts 123 minutes (containing over 30 chapters), some non-match extras (including stories, deleted scenes & promos), as well as a number of matches which are shown in full. And yes, there are even some Easter Eggs for those with a keen eye (or a printed out version of my review).

APPETIZERS – Documentary

The documentary portion of this DVD opens with the usual childhood reflections by his parents. Shawn got drawn into watching wrestling at approximately 12 years of age and often attended local wrestling shows (to the dismay of his parents) with a friend. The 2 also emulated their heroes everywhere from in their pool to their school gym & football field. Michaels started college, but it wasn’t for him & he eventually talked his dad into letting him train & work for SouthWest Championship Wrestling. It wasn’t long later that he then moved to the larger Mid-South territory where he worked predominantly as a jobber, but at least it was against some of the best wrestlers in the country.

The next territory Shawn worked was in Kansas City and this was where he met eventual longtime tag-team partner Marty Jannetty. In 1986, the team hit AWA as The Midnight Rockers and many current & former stars put over how fast, entertaining & ahead-of-their-time the team was as they took double-teaming to a new level. The 2 soon became #1 contenders and eventually feuded with champions Buddy Rose & Doug Somers for almost a year before winning the titles.

Pat Patterson was the WWE employee who was eventually won over by Shawn & Marty, so he brought them across to the east coast. Unfortunately, the stay was extremely short as a Jimmy Jack Funk backstage story got out of hand and Vince McMahon fired the 2 new guys. This caused Shawn’s life to spiral downwards and he admits that he began taking drugs and even contemplated suicide. Kicking around the independents, The Midnight Rockers knew there was only one place to make it big, so they went through the proper channels & soon ended up back in the WWF. The likes of Chris Jericho, Triple H & Arn Anderson explain how exciting the now named Rockers were and how good a feud with The Brainbusters (Anderson & Tully Blanchard) turned out. Shawn & Marty were soon booked to win the titles over The Hart Foundation, but the top-rope broke during the bout & Vince eventually pretended as if the match did not take place.

We next see the infamous Barber Shop segment where Shawn turned heel on Marty in what was still to this day one of the best heel turns of all time. Pat Patterson then had the idea to pair Sensational Sherri with him, an idea Michaels did not like at all initially. But he now sees that it was a stroke of genius that propelled him to new heights. The 2 soon began playing with their characters and The Heartbreak Kid moniker was born! After consolidating his midcard position, HBK won the InterContinental Title in November 1992 from Davey Boy Smith. To consolidate his position even further, Shawn had the idea to bring in Kevin Nash (then working in WCW as Vinnie Vegas) as his bodyguard. Unfortunately, Michaels soon failed a drug test & was suspended, but Shawn’s ego did not allow him to return the IC Tile to Vince. Razor Ramon won a tournament (& different IC Title belt) and upon Shawn’s return, the 2 had their classic ladder match at WrestleMania 10, which we see highlights of.

The next chapter speaks on the backstage group known as The Clique (HBK, Razor, Diesel, Triple H & 1-2-3 Kid). They were close friends in real life & began causing some trouble for the company. But they were all top stars so what could WWF do? During this period, Shawn got beat up at a bar which ultimately resulted in a concussion angle being played out on air to give him some time off. Upon return, he won The Royal Rumble leading up to the infamous WrestleMania 12 Iron Man match where Michaels defeated Bret Hart to win the WWF Championship. Of course, things were about to change big time in the professional wrestling industry as Kevin Nash & Scott Hall were about to spearhead a defection to WCW. This resulted in the infamous Curtain Call incident at a Madison Square Garden house show, which resulted in Triple H being penalized by Vince McMahon with a demotion.

Following a look at Shawn’s proud moment of wrestling at the recently opened AlamoDome in his hometown of San Antonio, we take a look at the controversial period where a knee injury apparently resulted in HBK forfeiting the title after the infamous “I lost my smile” speech. Of course, the rumor was that Michaels did not want to drop the title back to Bret Hart. Michaels neither confirms or denies this rumor on this DVD. Upon return, HBK wrestled the first ever Hell In A Cell match against The Undertaker and we see highlights of some of the big spots from that match here.

WCW was now beating the WWF in the television ratings and Shawn’s idea to kick-start his company back to the top was the formation of D-Generation X (initially Shawn, Triple H, Chyna & Rick Rude). Vince & JR suggest that DX were almost uncontrollable at the time and the USA network were receiving public complaints due to what they were doing on-screen. This only fueled DX’s fire and they took their antics to new levels, which eventually won over the fans and finally Vince McMahon.

If there was anything more controversial than DX, then it had to be the infamous Montreal Screwjob. I won’t go over the facts here as every wrestling fan should already know about it by now. It is thankfully well covered here and a few extra facts are made clearer on this DVD. Man, I still clearly remember watching that show live and rewinding the videotape back over & over again to see what exactly had occurred. Anyway, moving on, Michaels did not hold the title much longer due to a back injury sustained during a Casket Match against The Undertaker at The Royal Rumble. This resulted in his eventual defeat to ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin at WrestleMania 14 when Mike Tyson basically turned on HBK.

Shawn struggled without life at the top and he once more turned to drugs. Even when he found love and married WCW Nitro Girl Whisper and had a child with her, he continued to take drugs to a dangerous extent. At this stage, Shawn and his wife tell a story of the incident at home that made him take stock of his life. His wife got him into bible study and the rest was history as Michaels became a born-again Christian. We even hear from his pastors here!

We then fast-forward to 2002 and Shawn’s amazing return match against Triple H at SummerSlam. He surprised everyone with how good he was in that bout, including himself. A few months later, Michaels took part in the first ever Elimination Chamber match and surprisingly won the World Title, something he never thought possible over the last few years. But there were even more great matches to come and one of them was the ‘fan vs idol’ bout against Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 19. It was this bout that finally convinced HBK that he could return to WWE on a full-time basis.

The next thing on Shawn’s ‘To-Do’ list was a feud against the immortal Hulk Hogan. It was a difficult feud to pull off as Vince, Shawn & Bruce Prichard suggest it was always difficult to find the correct balance of heel & face in Shawn’s character at the time. We see clips of the hilarious “Brother, Brother, Brother” Larry King segment and then hear how the Hulkster was really not liking all that was going on behind the scenes and would not lose to Michaels in their eventual match-up. Onwards & upwards Shawn went and come WrestleMania 22 his opponent would be none other than his boss Vince McMahon. Many in-the-know commend Michaels here for how good of a match he got out of a 62 year old non-wrestler. Of course, it ultimately resulted in the silly God feud, which even HBK failed to save!

2006 also saw the return of D-Generation X and their trademark brand of immature humor. Of course, this was always going to be difficult for Shawn, since he was now very religious. The return was hit & miss but very popular, as JR & Jericho suggest it really could be drawn on any time in the future & still be a hit with the fans. Following a look at HBK’s WrestleMania 23 main-event match against John Cena in front of 80,000+ in attendance in Detroit, we close this documentary portion of the DVD by having the likes of Cena, Jericho, Triple H, JR & Vince discuss how good Shawn Michaels really has been and whether or not he is in fact the greatest professional wrestler that has ever lived!

ENTREE – Disc-1 Extras

PROMOS

Heartbreak Hotel – Raw (April-4 1994): The 3 minute debut of Shawn’s Heartbreak Hotel interview segment where he & Diesel pretty much introduce the segment and then waffle on about Razor Ramon.

Tell Me A Lie Music Video: This was the sappy music video highlighting some of HBK’s career achievements that WWE played over & over again whenever Shawn took an extended break from the ring. 3 minutes in length.

Larry King Spoof – Raw (August-1 2005): The full 8 minute segment shown on Raw where Shawn impersonates Hulk Hogan hilariously on The Larry King Show. Pure gold and obviously a bit close to home for Hogan in real life. It also includes a great little HBK highlights package and Hogan feud recap.

DELETED SCENES

Wrestling Academy: Following back surgery, Michaels trained a group of wrestlers for a couple of years. The batch included Brian Kendrick, Lance Cade & Bryan Danielson. 2 minutes in length and probably should have been included on the documentary proper.

Bible Teacher: 2 minutes worth of extra information regarding Shawn’s religion and work with teenagers at his church.

Colorado Expedition: A further extension of Shawn’s religious mentoring saw him take a few teenage boys on a 10 day mountain climb. 2 minutes in length.

Who’s The Greatest Wrestler?: Another segment that should have been on the documentary proper, this DVD Extra documents Shawn’s WrestleMania 21 match against Kurt Angle. A fantastic match, many highlights are shown and it is stressed by many, including Shawn himself, that HBK really felt like he had to step up on the night and that was very much what he did. 4 minutes in length.

STORIES

High School Prankster: A 1 minute long story told by his mother regarding Shawn’s stealing of an opposition sign & getting ID’d by his jersey number that he was wearing!

High School Talent Show: Told by his friend, this is a 2 minute story detailing the wrestling match Shawn put on for his senior year talent show.

Letter Jacket: A rather boring 2 minute story told by Shawn regarding how he gained a letter jacket & used it to his advantage.

Mom’s Approval: An amusing story contributed to by Shawn’s mother & Marty Jannetty detailing some of the outfits The Rockers used to wear & how HBK used to always call his mother for approval.

The Bruise: An extension of a chapter on the documentary proper, Marty tells a story of how The Rockers once bruised themselves by constantly rubbing a towel on their face. It was eventually for no reason as the angle was not used. 2 minutes in length.

The Rockers Fight: A fascinating little-known story told by Marty who claims that ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper once provoked The Rockers into a fight against each other that was so bad that the police got called in. Thankfully, ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage smoothed things over with the police, explaining it away as rehearsing for a match. HBK almost quit after this incident & Marty calls it the beginning of the end for the tag-team. 3 minutes in length.

This Is A Little Higher Than I Thought: Shawn recounts the WrestleMania streetfight against Vince and how HBK did not want the 16 foot ladder used, yet that was what happened to be placed under the ring during the bout.

Brown Pants: Triple H & Chris Jericho amusingly tell the story of how they lied to HBK that his brown tights looked good at Survivor Series 2002.

MAIN – Disc-2 Matches

SHAWN MICHAELS vs BILLY (JACK) HAYNES (WCCW. January 11, 1985): Shawn is actually introduced as “Sean Nichol” and “from Georgia” here, while there was no ‘Jack’ when “Billy Haynes” was introduced. Michaels is playing the show-boating heel in this early bout and when he pulls off a moonsault for no reason at all, Haynes locks him up in his trademark full-nelson and it’s all over prior to the 2 minute mark. Short squash match which was a decent early look at Michaels I suppose. Match Rating… 3

THE MIDNIGHT ROCKERS vs BUDDY ROSE & DOUG SOMERS (AWA. February 10, 1987): After almost a year of The Rockers chasing the tag champs, they finally win the titles here in this bout. Lots of stalling by the heel champs initially, predominantly to increase the incredible heat they received at the time. Shawn is then way too quick for both opponents, as the challengers dazzle the crowd with their speed & high-flying double-teaming. It isn’t long until the heels (along with valet Sherri Martel) use under-handed tactics to gain control though and they methodically pick apart Jannetty with rather standard action. Michaels finally gets tagged in, but his up-tempo flurry of offense is disappointingly brief and it is he who then plays the face-in-peril for minutes on end.

Thankfully, a couple of very good HBK counters leading to 2 counts are sporadically thrown in to keep the fans on the edges of their seat, but for the most part it is all the heel champions. They finally go for the kill with a DDT & pile-driver, but Michaels keeps resiliently kicking out at 2.5. The near-falls come thick & fast and this is almost a version of rope-a-dope. The hot tag eventually comes to Marty and he cleans house. A top-rope double-team maneuver then gets the job done after 20 minutes. Following the amazing series these 2 teams had, this bout was actually a little disappointing (check out ‘From The Vault’ or ‘AWA: Blood On The Sand’ for better bouts). However, this is still pretty solid, if overlong and containing too much heel offense. The pop for the exciting final minute was definitely well-deserved though. Match Rating… 7

THE MIDNIGHT ROCKERS vs SUPER NINJA & NINJA GO (AWA. June 12, 1987): This match was for The Rockers’ AWA TagTitles and the challengers are rather big guys who wear masks that cover all but their eyes. Shawn makes both of them look silly initially as he runs rings around them at an incredibly fast pace. Jannetty continues the face momentum and there is also some crowd-popping double-teaming thrown in there for good measure. It actually is not until about the 8 minute mark where the heel team gets any sort of sustained offense. When they do, it is constant under-handed cheating with the referee struggling to keep control of the 4 participants. The action hardly lets up, with only a sleeper-hold resembling a lengthy resthold.

Following a chaotic sequence at ringside, Michaels begins slapping his partner, which seems to be their version of hulking up! It is enough to allow the hot tag to Shawn who cleans house, eventually leading to some terrific back & forth action, before the faces get the pinfall victory with a double super-kick at the 17 minute mark. Wow… What a secret gem of a bout this was! An interesting structure saw the faces entertainingly dominate for a lot longer than usual, while there was always something involving happening while the heels were in control. Very impressive by all concerned, even though the 2 Japanese didn’t exactly look like solid technicians inside the ring. Match Rating… 8.5

THE ROCKERS vs THE BRAINBUSTERS (WWF. January 23, 1989): This appeared to be a simple Madison Square Garden house show bout and for those unaware, The Brainbusters are Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson. Arn looks incredibly agile in getting his a$$ kicked in the opening minutes of the match, while his cocky veteran heel tactics actually fire The Rockers up to prove themselves. An excellent sequence just short of the 6 minute mark sees the youngsters totally take The Brainbusters by surprise and a succession of moves ends with stereo super-kicks sending the heels to ringside. When the match breaks down soon after, the result is similar as The Rockers excitingly hit drop-kicks to assert their supremacy. The action hardly lets up and it is not until the 9 minute mark when the heels gain control by setting up a ringside trap.

The heel team then writes the manual on cheating to keep control of the offense, but it is thankfully in amongst occasional offensive flurries to keep the action moving. Arn pulls out his huge spine-buster for a 2 count, but Shawn gets the hot tag to Marty soon after, who predictably cleans house. In the ensuing chaos, Marty suplexes Blanchard, but Arn sweeps Jannetty’s leg for a 3 count after 16 minutes. Not too dissimilar to the Ninjas match both in structure & content, this had the added bonus of including the professionals that were Arn & Tully, while also including a slightly better mix of all styles of wrestling. The cheap finish was a little disappointing though. Match Rating… 8.5

THE ROCKERS vs THE HART FOUNDATION (WWF. October 1990): This was the infamous ’2 out of 3 Falls’ match for the Hart’s tag-team titles, where Shawn & Marty won the belts for the first time, only to have the reign ignored & voided due to what occurred during the bout. There is no commentary provided here and in addition to that, this is not helped by the fact that the crowd was pretty quiet for the most part. Bret & Marty begin with some standard back & forth stuff, but the action really hots up when the pace of Michaels meets the strength of The Anvil. The Rockers use some nice double-team moves to simultaneously impress & frustrate the champions, but it isn’t for long as Neidhart gets a 2 count with a power-slam & then Bret gets the same result numerous times over with his usual set-up moves plus a pile-driver. The lack of a successful cover frustrates Bret to no end and as he begins to argue with the referee, Shawn is able to tag out to Jannetty, who ends up countering a sunset-flip for the first pinfall after 9 minutes.

The Harts dominate the action for the opening minutes of the 2nd fall, but The Rockers are able to make it a 2 on 2 in the ring for a while. In the ensuing chaos, Anvil misses a charge to the corner and it appears to be this which causes the top-rope to break on one side of the ring. The leads to Bret slowing the action down with resthold after resthold as the wrestlers attempt to keep away from the damaged side of the ring. The bout literally treads water for minutes on end until The Hart Foundation even things up with their double-team Hart Attack finisher at the 19 minute mark. In the moments leading up to the final fall, Bret is clearly upset with the way the referee handled things relating to the top-rope incident and a break is taken to re-attach it.

The Harts begin where they left off as Bret looks genuinely annoyed scoring with some stiff European Upper-Cuts to Shawn, before withstanding a Rockers double-team to come out on top of a lazy looking running of the ropes. This results in the champs isolating Marty to their advantage. They then set up the Hart Attack, but Shawn drop-kicks Jannetty on to The Anvil for the decisive pinfall after 24 minutes. I think Bret must have known this match could end up a Shawn Michaels DVD some time in the future as he was predominantly to blame for this bout not reaching its potential. Bret was most put off by the broken rope & then seemed rather uninterested during the final fall. It is a shame as the 1st fall was very good and there were glimpses of what these 4 guys could do scattered elsewhere. Overall though, this was only fairly good and nothing to write home about. Match Rating… 7

THE ROCKERS vs THE ORIENT EXPRESS (WWF Royal Rumble. January 19, 1991): The Mr Fuji-managed Orient Express were made up of Pat Tanaka & Kato, who attacked the faces before the bell while The Rockers were playing to the crowd. But it isn’t long until The Rockers were double-teaming their way to control with stereo suicide dives appearing early. Strangely, Marty heads for headlock city very early, but the resultant counters & reversals that occur are impressively crisp & entertaining. Similar action occurs no matter which duo is opposed, with another early highlight being Tanaka’s sensational looking flying chop during a running of the ropes. HBK has a sleeper-hold broken up by a double-teaming & the heels take control for a moment before HBK pulls out a moonsault from nowhere. The Rockers then dazzle the crowd with a double drop-kick & then hit stereo cross body-blocks from the top-rope to the floor! A nice underhanded double-team move to block a HBK monkey-flip shifts the momentum once more as Fuji’s cane even makes a cameo.

A heel resthold follows for far too long, before Shawn answers the crowd and is able to withstand the onslaught with an excellent counter to a belt-assisted double-team that sees The Orient Express knock heads. The hot tag to Jannetty follows & seemingly everyone in the arena lose their voice as Marty cleans house with slams, drop-kicks & a power-slam for a 2 count. The 2 faces then super-kick Kato and are able to withstand a heel comeback by finishing things off at the 19 minute mark with a perfectly executed slingshot sunset-flip. This was a fantastic bout that is one of those often forgotten pay-per-view openers which is worthy of being a main-event match. Everything was just so darn crisp & natural here, with many moves looking rather realistic as the heels impressed just as much as the faces. The live crowd should also be praised as they overcame the occasional slow patches in this bout that was probably 2-3 minutes overlong. Ultimately, this was very impressive. Match Rating… 9

SHAWN MICHAELS vs THE BRITISH BULLDOG (WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event. November 8, 1992): This was the match where HBK won the InterContinental Title fpr the very first time. Davey Boy shows his greater strength in the opening minutes as he first dead-lifts out of HBK’s arm-bar attempt, then press-slams him and finally clotheslines Shaw to the outside. Michaels attempts to quicken things up, but he continuously gets out-muscled by The Bulldog until sending the IC Champ to ringside & sneakily loosening a turnbuckle pad. The heel challenger then strikes with knees to the back before locking in an abdominal stretch twice.

The finishing sequence then sees Bulldog get 2 counts off of an impressive offensive flurry that has the crowd in raptures, but HBK Irish-whips Davey Boy into the exposed turnbuckle. A subsequent superplex attempt by the British champion sees his back collapse & HBK falls on top of Bulldog from the top-rope for the pinfall victory after 11 minutes (excluding commercial time). Pretty much a prototypical spotlighted television match that was very good, but saw neither man able to combine the storyline of the bout with their talent due to the short duration. A few too many slow spots existed here, while the finish almost seemed anti-climactic, if not necessarily predictable. This would have been better placed on that year’s Survivor Series card with some extra minutes, but Vince obviously wanted to see Bret vs Shawn that soon. Match Rating… 7

1995 ROYAL RUMBLE (WWF. January 27, 1995): It is super important to note that the intervals of entry in this particular Rumble were only one minute each. That is important as HBK is the very first entrant here & ‘The British Bulldog’ Davey Boy Smith is #2. Michaels attacks before the bell, but the Bulldog is too strong & has the better of the opening minute. Various jobbers… & Doink The Clown… follow every minute, with Rick Martel entering 10th and only one wrestler being eliminated when he gets in the ring. Owen Hart is then scheduled to enter at #11, but his brother Bret attacks him before he has a chance to, and he gets immediately eliminated upon entry into the squared circle. This kick-starts a succession of eliminations that leave only HBK & Bulldog in the ring! King Kong Bundy & Mabel then enter 15th & 17th respectively to add a whole lot of beef to this Rumble, with Mabel coming out on top. The big fella & The Bulldog then target HBK, but Lex Luger makes the save & eliminates Mabel.

The best gimmick of all time (not really folks) Mantaur then enters at #20 with a whole bunch of tag-team wrestlers following that (includes the likes of The Smoking Gunns & Henry Goodwin). Bob Backlund is entrant #25, but he also falls victim to a Bret Hart attack. By the way, Bret was angry at interference from both Owen & Backlund earlier in the night during his WWF Championship match against Diesel. Anyway, more jobbers enter with Adam Bomb, Fatu (aka Rikishi) & Crush being the last 3 to hit the ring. The eliminations then come slowly & painfully, with the eventual final 4 being HBK, Bulldog, Luger & Crush. Luger is first to go as Michaels blindsides him and then makes a deal to double-team Bulldog. Crush backstabs him though, but is soon eliminated by a Bulldog clothesline that was meant for Shawn!

This leaves the #1 & #2 entrants into the Rumble as the final 2 participants remaining! Bulldog thinks he has it won quickly (with his entrance theme even playing) when he clotheslines Michaels over the top-rope. But it seems that only one of HBK’s feet touched the floor (a fact later backed up on replay) & Shawn soon re-enters the ring to knock a celebrating Davey Boy off of the top-rope for the Rumble victory following 38 minutes of action. While Rumbles are always fun to watch and this was no exception, it was pretty much purely for nostalgic reasons here. Many of the participants were nothing more than 2nd rate tag-team wrestlers, while there were very few built-in storylines apart from the obvious Shawn/Bulldog one, as well as the 2 Bret Hart attacks. The fact that the intervals of entry had been shortened definitely did not help that last weakness and also didn’t allow too much to occur that wasn’t so chaotic that it was almost indefinable. I will be nice with the rating though just because Rumbles are simply so fun to watch back in the future. Match Rating… 7.5

DESSERT – HBK’s Retirement

Just in case this gets confusing, this is NOT part of the ‘Heartbreak & Triumph’ DVD Review above. I will be back next week with the final part of that DVD Review, but just thought I would include something different for your reading pleasure in today’s column

Over the past couple of months I have actually had a variation of the same question asked of me during feedback sent to me via email. The question would be something similar to: Do you think Shawn Michaels’ recent habit of taking weeks and/or months away from WWE programming is a hint that he may be winding his career down and he could actually retire some time in 2009, possibly at WrestleMania 25…???

It is a decent question and one which could be seen as fact when looking at it from one perspective. But I actually look at it from completely the opposite direction. Similarly to what The Undertaker has been doing over the past couple of years, I see HBK’s regular breaks as a sign that he is not contemplating retirement any time soon. He is simply giving his body the sufficient time to heal for one reason and one reason alone; To prolong his career.

Yes folks, I actually feel that we could still be seeing Shawn Michaels hamming it up in the squared circle come WrestleMania 30! While that may seem like it is pushing it a little (and it probably is), it would not surprise me at all to see HBK going out on a big note at the 30th anniversary of the event that he has made such a huge splash at over his 20+ year career.

The only thing which may impede Shawn Michaels’ progress to such a large-scale retirement are genuine injuries. His recent arm muscle example is exactly the kind of injury which could derail him as it predominantly comes about due to wear & tear, while meaning a significant layoff from the ring. A succession of similar types of injuries may end in HBK reading the writing on the wall somewhere along the line and calling it quits.

The positive in all this is that I now think that Vince McMahon knows exactly how important Shawn Michaels is to his product. Always reliable and still able to perform a top quality match no matter who is standing opposite to him in the ring, Vince will want this safety net around in his company for as long as practically possible. It is a not so dissimilar situation with The Undertaker, who simply always gets a great crowd reaction and puts bums in seats. Because of this, McMahon will be more open to allowing Shawn Michaels the schedule he requires to prolong his career as best as possible.

And so he should too. Some, including myself, already consider HBK to be the greatest professional wrestler of all time. Add another 5 or so years of wrestling at the current high standard that he is to his legacy and he may well have just won over a further significant percentage. That is befitting someone who has remained so loyal to WWE and fought back from so much adversity.

Ok, so there is part-1 of the HBK DVD review out of the way. If I can, may I ask you to hold back any feedback regarding it until after my next column. This may actually give me a little time to complete my pending emails from columns past that I am still behind on. Just in case you cannot wait, my e-mail address is DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com, but if you are an LOP Forums member, it would be much appreciated if you could leave feedback on my thread at http://www.lopforums.com/showthread.php?t=159

In all honesty, I have yet to view the 3rd disc of the HBK DVD set and with a busy weekend upcoming, I will probably have to take next Wednesday off from column-writing so that I can complete my review come the 1st of October. By that time, I will also have another pay-per-view to predict. So my column will be posted at the same Wednesday time on the same LOP channel in a fortnight’s time. Until then, this is DaveyBoy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses.

And remember that DaveyBoy’s Album Reviews can be viewed at: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/user_reviews.php?memberid=268913

WWE News: RAW Rating Tanks – Not A Single Segment Above 3.0

Source: PWInsider.com

The rating is in for the September 15th edition of WWE Raw and it’s not good news for WWE or the USA Network. This week’s Raw did a 2.6 rating. The show did hourly numbers of 2.51 and 2.7.

Not a single quarter hour broke 3.0. The highest rated segment, which came at 10:15, drew a 2.91. Granted – Raw was up against a very exciting Monday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles. However – fall competition from the NFL is nothing new for WWE, which hasn’t seen ratings like this in a decade.

WWE Signs New Talent, McMahon High On Smackdown Wrestler

- Recently signed WWE development talent Jon Cutler will begin working in FCW next month. He appeared on RAW last month in a match with Paul Burchill and Katie Lea.

- Vince McMahon is said to be high on SmackDown wrestler Vladimir Kozlov, and has some big plans for the Russian wrestler. The general feeling backstage is that he has work hard to become a better wrestler which has lead to WWE officials believing in him.

Credit: F4WOnline.com

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