Shop WWE Columns – Ask Your Ayatollah – 9/8/08

Hey there, kids, and welcome back to yet another fun filled edition of Ask Your Ayatollah. The response to the debut was pretty good, I must say. Most everyone seemed to like it alright, and I got more email and general feedback off of it than I ever got back when I was rocking All About the Game on the LoP main page a few years back. So yeah, that was spiffy, and I do very much thank every single one of you who read it, with a special tip of my rockin’ Alice in Chains hat to those of you who took the time to tell me so.

I do hope that life has been good for all of you in the two weeks since we last got together. Been a rocky couple for the Toller, I must say. Some personal drama flaring up, and a bit of uncomfortableness here and there. Nothing I haven’t been able to handle, though, as lord knows I’ve seen worse. In the end, it’s all just made things better, in an oddly roundabout way. Life has been very good for Your Ayatollah for the past couple months. I’m tickled pink.

Tonight, though, I’m in a rare mood. Feeling it, if you will. Thus, I’ll cut with the chit chat and get right into the festivities at hand. Strong bunch of questions this time out, with a couple solid music questions tossed my way, a fairly epic one that I’m thinking I’ll tackle at the end, and the very, very welcome return of a long missed name from my past. I do believe this shall be fun.

We’ll kick off the playlist tonight with Addicted by Saving Abel. Yeah, we will.

Back to the front.

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Remember that long missed name from my past I mentioned? We’re going to kick it off with him. The one, the only, the legendary…

1,000,000 BC says…
I might as well chuck in a question seeing as you’ve decided people care about your opinions and all. With ‘Mania headed your way in ’09, any thoughts on a potential Steve Austin match? Opponents, angles, will it/won’t it?

Man, I love Steve Austin. Always have, since before he was Stone Cold, back in his Stunning days, running around with Paul E. and the Dangerous Alliance. It would be all sorts of awesome to see the Texas Rattlesnake make his WrestleMania return and have that one big last match that he so richly deserves here in his home state of Texas, and I would be all over it, man.

Unfortunately, I just don’t see it going down. I would hope he would make an appearance of some sort, but a match? Nope, not gonna happen. I mean, honestly, who could he face? Orton would probably be the best candidate, with the whole Legend Killer thing and all that, but I don’t see why they would have Randall lay down for Austin. Of course, Austin could just lay down for Orton…..but yeah, that ain’t happening. Nor should it, in my estimation, as I think Stone Cold deserves to go out with those middle fingers raised to the air in victory.

Hogan? I know it’s perhaps the fanboy dream match to end all dream matches, and that they’ve even hinted towards it here and there, most notably at the Hall of Fame a few years back. Let’s get real here, though, kids. It ain’t going to happen. Again, slowly. It. Ain’t. Going. To. Happen. First of all it would cost a fortune to get those two even on the card, let alone in the ring with each other. Second, neither of them would do the job for the other. (would? by alice in chains) Ego is what it is, and they’ve both got healthy ones. Austin has gone on record as saying that he thinks the Hulkster is a “piece of trash”, and you just know it eats Hogan alive that Steve is now routinely referred to as the biggest superstar in the history of the business. Even with that being as asinine a statement as it is.

Who else is there? Cena? Maybe, but really? Is anyone REALLY dying to see Austin vs Cena? I’m alright with both dudes, with an admittedly large preference towards SCSA, and even I would be hard pressed to come up with a good reason to want to see that go down. Batista? Frankly, Steve deserves better than that. Those who saw the HoF this year may say Rocky, even, but uh uh, don’t think so. We’ve seen that three times at Mania already, and as much as I’d love to see him come back, our pal Dwayne would be a damn fool to give up his phat movie cash to do the training and such necessary to make any sort of return to the ring worthwhile.

So no, I don’t see Austin wrestling at WrestleMania this year. Nor do I really see Austin ever wrestling again, for that matter. A stray Stunner here and there, perhaps a few Steveweisers on a special occasion, maybe even a guest referee spot or something. For all intents and purposes, though, that walk up the aisle at WM 19 was the last of Steve Austin’s professional wrestling career. Wish I could say it ain’t so, but then, I’d rather have a healthy sometimes Rattlesnake appearance over him rolling around in a wheelchair.

Thank you, BC. (walk on water by ozzy osbourne) It was fucking excellent to hear from you, and I sincerely hope it wasn’t just a one time deal. Shoo-dee-doo-bop-ba-dow, indeed.

Matt asks…
Are you..How do they say? GAY!

Do you really think this is quality work that should go on the MP?

Is it sad that I get joy out of making other people angry?

No, not last I checked. Let me check again right quick…..ah, as I suspected. Still no.

I don’t suppose I’m the one who should be answering that second question, as it’s frankly up to the readers to determine what is and isn’t worthy of inclusion on the Lords of Pain main page. Sure, they don’t put us here, but they damn sure keep us here. As yours was the only real complaint I saw tossed my way, I would wager the guess that it’s quality enough.

And yes. Yes, that is sad.

Bencif asks…
What do you think are the chances of Jericho getting the WWE or World Heavyweight title again? Also how do you see the rest of his career going?

Guess I should have gotten off my ass last weekend to write a column, huh? Well, given the way Unforgiven turned out, My Ayatollah’s chances at World title glory are quite obviously pretty good, as he is, once again, the World Heavyweight Champion. Sorry I didn’t get to that question before it went down, Ben. (suck my kiss by red hot chili peppers) Though I’d have said he would get it again, anyways.

As to the rest of his career, I see it going quite well, actually. This recent heel turn has been fucking brilliant, sir, just brilliant. With the exception of the little tights. Those are just wrong, man. So wrong that for his first World title match, I want to see Chris Jericho vs a full length mirror. Upon seeing how ricockulous he looks, he would surrender the title in disgust and begin work on his next book, A Lion’s Tale II: Around the World in Entirely Too Little Spandex.

But seriously, Jericho’s just too good to not excel for the rest of his in ring career, and I see no good reason that they would hold him back from doing so. While the roster isn’t exactly paper thin at moment or anything, Jericho very obviously stands out as one of the absolute best they’ve got. He always has, to a degree, but there’s no Austin, Rock, or Triple H around to overshadow him on RAW anymore. My Ayatollah will conclude his career brilliantly, in my opinion, and hopefully will do so a long, long time from now.

Thank you, sir. (touch too much by ac/dc)

The Freak, Himself asks…
Alot of the more popular wrestlers have run the gammut of very, well, unpopular gimmicks in the past that went over like a meat and cheese platter at a PETA meeting. Some, however, had gimmicks that were changed due to marketability, changing companies, or because someone thought it would help their career. Throughout time though, we’ve seen some of these gimmicks return to grandeur that was as high, and sometimes higher, than it was in the first place. When Mick Foley came back as Cactus Jack and tore Trips a new a-hole, for a good example. When Chris Daniels decided he wanted to be funny and brought Curry Man to TNA.

So, on to my question: Are their any old gimmicks you would like to see return today, or any that you think would have made it TODAY that failed horrible years ago?

Well, I spoke of Hakushi last time out, and I think that gimmick, which was brilliant, would work better in today’s environment. We’ve been over that, though, so I’ll move along.

Most gimmicks that have failed have done so for a reason. Namely, because they suck. I’d most assuredly not like to see Kane go back to Issac Yankem, DDS, or see a return to form for Big Show as the “son of Andre”. So I guess the answer is no, there aren’t any gimmicks that failed horribly in the past that I think would really make it today.

That said, there are a few gimmicks I’d like to see make a return from years gone by, with one that stands out in particular. Muhammad Hassan was an excellent heel character, and his run was cut short well, well before it should have been. If the reasoning behind the premature abandonment was any good, like if he wasn’t getting over or if he just straight up sucked, then I wouldn’t have beef with it. (rainbow in the dark by dio) But the Hassan character was, ironically, martyred due to unfair pressure applied by outsiders who had no real understanding of the world of professional wrestling.

I know it’s still a sore subject with some people, but let’s look at the facts, here. Hassan was just the most recent in a long line of foreign heels. After World War II we had Fritz Von Erich and Baron von Raschke. During the Cold War, there were Nikolai Volkoff and Nikita Koloff. Hell, Sgt. Slaughter during the original Gulf War stands out as perhaps the best example of the past 20 some odd years. A topical, controversial foreign heel character is nothing new.

And that’s all that Hassan was, for all intents and purposes. Used the same gimmicks we’d seen previously, like speaking in a foreign tongue via the afore mentioned Volkoff, or performing ceremonial “rituals” during his entrance via a Yokozuna or Mr. Fuji. And the thing that pisses me off about it is that he did it well. Really well. Perhaps too well.

Thus, people got pissed, (which is kinda the point), and the dude was shut down before he really got out of blocks. That guy would be a multiple time World champ by now, no doubt, and would have had a shot at going down as possibly the best heel of that type in the modern history of the business. (only by nine inch nails) Alas, it wasn’t meant to be, all because some suits who likely couldn’t pick the dude out of a lineup deemed it inappropriate. Apparently they can do stuff like that on 24 or in countless movies, but pro wrestling just isn’t allowed to tackle a sensitive issue. Which is why our favorite form of entertainment, friends, will always be viewed as little more than a sideshow attraction.

Thank you for a question that I probably just took entirely too seriously.

DaveyBoy asks…
Which member of New Kids On The Block do you think is most talented…???

Man, I came up back in the day, when NKOTB were The Shit. Yes, capitalized and everything. Giant buttons, t-shirts galore, Saturday morning cartoon shows, on and on and on and on. So yes, I’m not ashamed to say that I know a thing or two about them. Well, not too ashamed.

My favorite back in the day was Donnie Wahlberg, the “bad boy” of the group. As many know, he has since gone on to have a moderately successful acting career, breaking out a pretty damn good turn in Saw II and a brief but haunting performance in The Sixth Sense. Of course, his brother Marky Mark has vastly overshadowed everything he’s done. (swamped by lacuna coil) Boogie Nights alone is better than Donnie’s entire resume.

Really, though, considering how little we’ve heard from the rest of them since the group’s demise way on back in the day, I would say that Donnie is probably the most overall talented of the bunch. Best singer was probably Jordan, who actually managed a reasonably decent sized solo hit in the late ’90s. I always liked Joey, too, because he sounded every single bit of the 12 years old or whatever he was. Funny to hear that voice singing about some chick leaving and ruining his whole world. Please don’t go, girl.

I understand they’re getting back together, actually, which should pretty much tell you just how well they’ve all been doing since their split. For the record, the best thing to come out of the New Kids phenomenon is the sex tape scene featuring Ben Affleck in Mallrats.

Thanks, Davey. Keep hangin’ tough.

Jesus, that was lame.

Dan H. asks…
You mentioned in your most recent column that you were as shocked if not more so then myself with the Kane/Mysterio happenings on Raw. This is really just the most recent in a long line of surprises, starting with John Cena’s return at the Royal Rumble, moving on to the Draft and Punk’s title win, and now this. At first I thought it was great that the WWE was sending out new material for our viewing pleasure, but now it seems like they’re booking illogical stories simply to surprise people. Do you think this is the case?

To be honest, man, I was just talking to my good buddy Anthrax the other day about how it seemed almost as if they lost Kane’s old mask right before the bag segment was set to go on, and they just grabbed a Rey one from the merch stand to stick in there. It was just so fuckin’ random, you know? I joked about The Hurricane’s mask being in there last week, but damn, even that would have made more sense than Rey’s.

So yeah, it kinda does look like they’re doing nonsensical shit just to throw us off a bit, at least in terms of that one storyline. (the death song by marilyn manson) Aside from that one, though, I’d say all the other stuff they’ve done has been pleasantly surprising for the most part. The only other thing I can think of offhandedly that made as little sense as the Kane/Rey thing is the whole Adamle as GM bit, which I still think has been a damn fun storyline despite what someone else keeps telling me. Really, the dude just had incredible heat all by his lonesome, and it was a stroke of mild brilliance to put him in a position other than that of announcer, where he couldn’t really interact with the crowd to any real degree.

Anyways, on the front of the Kane storyline, I would lean towards them just being illogical to keep us on our toes. Everything else, though, has been pretty alright thus far. I just hope that the answer to the Mystery of Kane’s Sack isn’t an indicator of what’s to come.

Thank you kindly, sir.

Alright, this is the last one for this time around, and it’s kinda epic.

anonymous asks…
If you’re in for a bit of a challenge: List every member of the Raw Roster in the order of how important you feel they are to the company.

I’m always in for a bit of a challenge. Here goes nothing. (my girlfriend’s girlfriend by type o negative) I’ll take it in reverse order, from least important to most.

Deuce – Has this motherfucker even been on TV yet?

Snitsky – Um, yeah. But hey, it’s not his fault.

Ron Simmons – Only because I refused to rank him below the baby killer.

Val Venis – I love this dude, but he’s looked into more bright lights than Wayne Newton.

Paul London – I had hopes for this guy, but man, he’s just fucked.

Chuck Palumbo – He’s on RAW? I honestly didn’t even remember that shit.

Hardcore Holly – Is he still alive?

Hacksaw Jim Duggan – I got mad love for Hacksaw, but he’s little more than filler.

Primo Colon – Unproven, but at least he’s on TV, unlike most of the previously mentioned guys.

Layla – She don’t do shit but get Jamie’s ass kicked. Which I must admit is pretty fun.

Kelly Kelly – Same thing, only she’s actually “wrestled” a couple times.

D-Lo Brown – Dig him, but have a sneaking suspicion he’s the next Val.

Charlie Haas – Doesn’t do much, but has been entertaining lately.

Melina – Would be higher if she weren’t injured. But she is.

Paul Burchill – Had some potential, but that looks to be fading. I miss the pirate gimmick.

Lance Cade – Could be something, but it’s really too early to tell.

Jamie Noble – One of my favorite parts of the show. Love this guy.

Katie Lea – I dig her, but she hasn’t done a whole lot yet. More than her brother, though.

Candice – Been gone a while, but always good to see her. She’s just fun. But Christ, that music sucks.

William Regal – One of my all time favorites, but the time away hurt him.

Beth Phoenix – I dig this chick a lot, and she’s part of maybe the best thing going on the show with Glammarella.

Rhoades and Dibiase – These guys are going to be something special.

Cryme Tyme – More over than the previous tag team, but are still a tag team. Thus, not exactly integral to the show these days. (rush by poisonblack)

Rey Mysterio – Hasn’t done much yet, and really just kinda doesn’t fit in. Still, he’s hella over with kids and stuff.

Mickie James – Meh, she’s Mickie.

Kofi Kingston – This dude has all the potential in the world. Six months from now he will maybe be near the top of this list.

Santino Marella – That’s all that needs to be said, really.

JBL – I hate this prick, but he’s always in the mix.

Lilian Garcia – I mark for Lilian. Sue me.

Mike Adamle – Guy’s a fuckin’ trip.

Kane – I’d love to have him on top of the list. Alas, he’s not.

Batista – Still in the hunt at all times, but his time is kinda drawing to a close, I think.

CM Punk – I’m a big fan of this dude. He’s the future.

Shawn Michaels – RAW’s MVP for the past, like, five years, at least when he’s around. HBK is damn near untouchable.

Randy Orton – I hate this fucking cocksucker. But goddamn is he good. Fuckin’ dick with ears.

Chris Jericho – Dude, he’s fuckin’ Jericho. Best reason to watch the show, especially lately.

John Cena – John Cena, regardless your thoughts on him, IS RAW. He’s the masthead on the flagship, and will be for the as long as he’s healthy and on the roster.

Thanks a lot, nonymo. There’s a reason you’re one of my favorite people around this joint.

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That just took foreeeeever. Fun, though.

The rest of it was, as well, and I do thank each and every one of you who sent a question my way. If you’d like to join in the fun, then please feel free to do so. You can hit me up via my email address at AskYourAyatollah@rock.com, or via my very own personal feedback thread on LoPForums, which you can find by clicking right here. Or, if you’re a member of said LoPForums, just hit me with a Private Message.

If you’re not a member of the Forums, well, get that way. I especially encourage you to visit the Columns Forum, where you’ll find some of the absolute best wrestling writing on the net, bar none.

I thank you all for taking the time to check this out. I’ve been doing this column thing for a long time, now, and I’ve never quite enjoyed doing anything quite as much as I do this. I do hope that came through, and that this was a halfway decent way to spend five or ten minutes of your time. I also send my thanks out to my editor, without whom I wouldn’t be doing this in the first place. Thanks for being my sounding board.

Alright, that’ll do it. Playlist wraps tonight with Leper Messiah by Metallica. Hell yes. I shall return in a couple weeks’ time with even more Asky goodness. Again, I encourage you all to send your questions my way, be they about wrestling , music, life in general, whatever. It’s what I do. Until we get together to do it all again, you guys and gals take care of yourselves out there in the big bad really real world. Much love, kids.

Fire at will.

-Steve
AskYourAyatollah@rock.com

WWE Unforgiven Results 9/7/08

Report by Jason Powell and ProWrestling.net

The show opened with a Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels video.

Todd Grisham and Matt Striker introduced the show and handled the call for the first match.

1. Matt Hardy defeated Mark Henry (w/Tony Atlas) and Finlay (w/Hornswoggle) and Chavo Guerrero (w/Bam Neely) and The Miz in a Championship Scramble to win the ECW Title in 20:00. Matt Hardy and The Miz opened the match. The announcers noted that Henry would retain the title if there were no pinfalls or submissions before the 20-minute time limit.

Good action while Hardy and Miz were in together. Miz hit a great neckbreaker and then showed frustration when Hardy’s momentum carried him to ringside and he couldn’t cover him. Chavo was out next and he immediately hit a frogsplash on Hardy to become the interim champion at 5:30.

At 9:00, Hardy fought off both heels and hit the Side Effect on Chavo for the pin. One of the announcers mentioned that fans have “waited so long” for the moment. Henry entered at the 10:00 mark and dominated the offense. Henry pinned Chavo after a powerslam at 12:00.

Finlay entered the match at the 15:00 mark and the 5:00 countdown clock started for the end of the match. Hornswoggle ran in and distracted Henry and the referee. Finlay hit Henry with the shillelagh. Hardy and Finlay dumped Henry over the top rope. Finlay hit the Celtic Cross on Hardy and pinned him. A short time later, Hardy used the Twist of Fate on Miz for the win.

Miz came up bleeding from the eye. Henry recovered and desperately tried to score pinfalls during the last two minutes of the match. However, the clock expired and Hardy walked away with the strap.

A commercial noted that WrestleMania 25 tickets go on sale Sept. 20.

The announcers recapped Matt’s title win.

Backstage, Jeff congratulated Matt, who said it’s the best night of his life. He said the only thing that could make it better is if Jeff also won gold.

Split-screen shots aired of Triple H and C.M. Punk. Jim Ross and Tazz checked in and discussed what must be going through their minds after seeing Henry lose his title without being pinned.

2. Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes beat Cryme Tyme for the World Tag Titles in 11:35. Micahel Cole and Jerry Lawler on commentary. Solid tag action with the momentum building nicely. In the end, JTG had Rhodes pinned in a small package when DiBiase reversed it so Cody got the win. After the match, an unnamed man entered the ring and attacked Cryme Tyme, then hugged Rhodes and DiBiase.

Backstage, a trainer taped up Shawn Michaels’s injured arm and warned him that he could rip the tendon off the bone.

An HBK vs. Jericho video aired.

3. Shawn Michaels defeated Chris Jericho in an unsanctioned match in 27:00. Jericho entered the ring and the announcers laid out while he scowled and soaked up the boos from the live crowd. HBK came out wearing a tank top, jeans, and boots. His left arm was heavily taped. HBK charged at Jericho. He took his boot off and struck Jericho with it early.

Jericho set up a table at ringside, which led to some great teases. Jericho tried to powerbomb HBK through the table, but HBK punched him in the head and Jericho fell backward and dropped HBK face first on the ring apron. Later, Jericho teased suplexing HBK off the ring apron through the table, but HBK couldn’t do it.

At 9:00, Michaels set up for Sweet Chin Music. He teased it and then stopped when he could have hit the move. He looked at Jericho and shook his own head no. The announcers explained that he hadn’t dished out enough punishment.

At 13:00, Jericho applied the Walls of Jericho. Michaels reached the ropes, but Jericho wouldn’t break the hold. HBK reached underneath the ring and grabbed a fire extinguisher and then sprayed it at Jericho to break the hold. Michaels took control of the match and beat up Jericho at ringside.

Lance Cade ran out to help Jericho, but HBK cut him off with a couple of punches in the aisle. Cade ran at Michaels again and punched his injured arm. Cade clotheslined HBK. Jericho wrapped HBK’s bad arm around the ring post and Cade ran at him and kneed his wounded wing.

Cade entered the ring and held HBK from behind while Jericho continued to attack him. Cade held Michaels’s arm down and then Jericho struck it with a chair a couple times. Cade wrapped HBK’s arm in a chair while Jericho climbed the ropes. HBK recovered and knocked Cade into Jericho, who fell off the second rope and through the table at ringside.

HBK grabbed a chair and headed to ringside with it. Michaels swung the chair with one arm and slammed it on Jericho twice. Jericho cried out in agony both times. HBK cleared the announcers’ table and placed Cade on top of it. HBK climbed to the top rope and then stopped. He headed back to ringside and placed Jericho on top of Cade on the table. HBK climbed to the top rope and elbow dropped both men through the table.

HBK stood up and Lawler yelled: ‘He’s up! He’s up!” HBK dragged Jericho, who was bleeding from the nose, back inside the ring. Michaels took off his belt and whipped Jericho with it repeatedly. Michaels got down on his knees, grabbed Jericho’s arm and said, “An eye for an eye.”

HBK locked Jericho in the STFU and punched him in the eye repeatedly. He released the hold and went back to punching Jericho’s eye. The referee called for the bell, presumably because Jericho couldn’t defend himself. After the match, Michaels backed off and then dove at Jericho and punched him repeatedly.

The referee tried to talk HBK into stopping. HBK stopped briefly and then hit Sweet Chin Music on the referee. A big “HBK” chant broke out as three other referees ran out. HBK continued to glare at the fallen Jericho.

Backstage, DiBiase, Rhodes, and the mystery man celebrated inside a locker room. Randy Orton entered the room. The tag champs introduced the mystery man as “Manu” and acknowledged that he is the son of former WWE star Afa. Orton said the champs were lucky and added that he was not impressed.

At ringside, Jim Ross and Tazz hyped the Motorhead theme song they used this month. They also ran through the Scamble rules again.

4. Triple H defeated Jeff Hardy and MVP and Shelton Benjamin and The Brian Kendrick (w/Ezekiel) in a Championship Scramble for the WWE Title in 20:15. The Brian Kendrick was in next and he debuted a new jacket. Ross noted that it was Kendrick’s first WWE Title match.

Kendrick attacked Hardy with some good kicks for a couple minutes, but Hardy came back and scored the pin at 7:20 to become the interim champion. At 9:00, Benjamin hit Paydirt on Hardy, but Kendrick broke up the pin and followed up with The Kendrick for the win. “The Brian Kendrick is The current WWE Champion,” Ross exclaimed.

MVP was out next. MVP took control and he went for the Drive-by kick on Shelton, but Kendrick cut him off with a great kick and then danced. Awesome. Kendrick was the interim champion when Hunter entered the match and the five-minute countdown clock started. One minute later, Hunter Pedigree’d Kendrick and scored the pin.

With three minutes remaining, Hardy hit the Twist of Fate on MVP and got the pin. One minute later, Hunter hit the Pedigree on Kendrick and pinned him. Hardy came off the top with a Swanton and pinned Kendrick moments later. Hunter kicked Hardy and went for the Pedigree, but Hardy backdropped him to ringside and then dove onto him.

Hunter remained at ringside while the other guys brawled and went for covers. With 15 seconds to go, Hunter entered the ring, Pedigree’d MVP, and pinned him. Hardy also went for a cover on Benjamin with two seconds to go, but the clock expired just after Hunter scored the pin.

After the match, Hardy approached Hunter and applauded him. Hunter signified that Hardy was one-second away.

A Mr. Perfect DVD commercial aired.

Backstage, Shawn Michaels talked about going home to be with his wife. He said he’s content. “Am I satisfied? Do I feel a sense of closure? No, no. If I had my choice, I would do what I did to Chris Jericho tonight every night for the rest of my life. He awoke something inside of me that I don’t know if I can control and I don’t know if I want to. And Chris Jericho, the worst is definitely yet to come.”

Backstage, C.M. Punk’s promo was interrupted by Randy Orton. Punk noted that Orton wasn’t wearing his sling. DiBiase, Rhodes, and Manu attacked Punk from behind. Kofi ran onto the scene and tried to help, but the heels outnumbered him. Orton punt kicked Punk. “Now that’s impressive,” Orton said.

5. Michelle McCool pinned Maryse to retain the WWE Divas Title in 5:40. Early in the match, Tazz noted that Maryse likes to refer to herself as the sexiest of the sexiest. Ross asked Tazz if he tried to use that monicker earlier in his own career. Funny. At 4:00, McCool went for the heel hook, but Maryse reached the ropes.

77 percent of the WWE Mobile voters felt Vickie Guerrero should have given Big Show a shot in the WWE Scramble match. Ross said he was surprised by the landslide, then said he wasn’t surprised by it.

Mike Adamle came out and said it looked like C.M. Punk would not be able to wrestle in the main event. He said they would find a suitable replacement if Punk were unable to wrestle and there would be a WWE Championship match either way.

Big Show walked to the ring for a promo. He recommended himself as a potential replacement for the Raw Championship Scramble. He said he’s tired of the way Vickie Guerrero runs Smackdown and complained about her “oversight.” He asked the fans if they’d vote for him to be in the match. They cheered. He said that meant a lot to him.

Vickie Guerrero walked to the ring. She entered the ring and chastised Show. She said he would have to deal with the “circumstances” (she must have meant consequences.” She told him to get out of her ring. The Druids music played and they brought a casket to ringside. Show laughed and clapped while standing next to Vickie.

Undertaker appeared on the big screen. He said the only question was whether Vickie would voluntarily go with him. She tried to get away, but Big Show held her arm and laughed. Taker made his full entrance. Once at ringside, Taker opened the casket and Show forced her to look inside.

Taker walked toward Vickie, who was still being held by Show. He grabbed her by the throat and then Show released her. Show punched Taker. Show dominated Taker as the brawl spilled to ringside. Taker got a couple punches in, but Show picked him up and rammed his back into the ring post.

Show picked up Taker and dropped him headfirst onto the casket. Back inside the ring, Show continued his assault on Taker. He knelt down and picked up Taker and held him in place while Vickie slapped him and spat in his face. Show and Vickie left the ring together.

Another WrestleMania 25 commercial aired.

Highlights aired from Raw of the Randy Orton and C.M. Punk confrontations, followed by the attack from earlier tonight.

Backstage, William Regal was wearing his wrestling gear and he tried to talk Mike Adamle into letting him wrestle. Adamle said there is still a chance that Punk will wrestle.

6. Chris Jericho defeated Batista and Rey Mysterio and JBL and Kane in a Championship Scramble two win the World Hvt. Championship in 17:20. They ran through the rules again. Batista and JBL started the match. Five minutes later, Kane checked in while JBL sold a knee injury on the floor. At 7:30, Kane chokeslammed JBL and pinned him. There was zero crowd reaction for the pinfall. Ouch.

The fans counted down with the time clock for the next entrant, which, not so surprisingly, turned out to be Rey Mysterio. At 10:00, Rey and Batista worked together and Rey hit a splash off Batista’s shoulders. Moments later, Mysterio teased a similar move, but rolled up Batista for a nearfall.

At 12:00, WWE’s clock counted down for the final entrant. Chris Jericho came out with a bloody nose and welts all over his back. Mysterio and Batista continued to take shots at one another in between brawling with the heels. With two minutes left, Jericho was still at ringside selling his injuries.

With 30 seconds left, Batista speared Kane and then hit the spinebuster for the pin. Mysterio springboarded off the top rope toward Batista, who caught him and turned it into a powerbomb. Meanwhile, Jericho snuck in and pinned Kane, who was still out from the Batista pinfall. Time expired about five seconds later and Jericho won the World Hvt. Title.

Report by Jason Powell and ProWrestling.net

Top 10 Unforgiven Matches

Top 10 Unforgiven Matches

1.      John Cena def. Edge to win the WWE Championship (TLC Match) 2006

It seems like all the upsets take place in Canada. Obviously not as upsetting as the infamous Montreal Screw Job, still Edge’s lose to Cena in Canada is something to be spoken for. As Mr. America took on Captain Canada this match was a dooms day for the Canuk from day one. The facts are simple, it was Edges home town and he was wrestling his match (TLC) so with the cards stacked in the favor for the Champion it would naturally make sense for the upset to occur and Cena to become “The Champ” again. However, this match did deliver in terms of quality, both Edge and Cena took a ladder bump through a table. In addition one cant help but laugh when Jr calls Lita a Bitch. Overall this match was a very good main event to the 2003 Unforgiven.

HIGHLIGHTS: Cena FU’s Lita, Jr calls lita a bitch, FU off the ladder

2.      Chris Benoit Vs Kurt Angle Unforgiven 2002

Wrestling at it’s best, nothing more really needs to be said. With a pay per view being the show everyone wants to get on for that month usually a gimmick goes with the match such as: ladder match, steel cage or even a title on the line. However with Benoit and Angle it was simply to put on an amazing show. Both wrestlers are on the top of their game during this match and it can been seen with the many german suplexs both men deliver to one another. Along with an excellently executed finish that Bret Heart would be proud of.

HIGHLIGHTS: Perfect German Suplexs, fluent submissions

3.      Randy Orton def. Shawn Michaels 2003

With the Legend vs Legend Killer gimmick in full swing it was only a matter of time before one of the best wrestlers of all time would face the new generation. Michaels and Orton took a good hunk of the pay-per-view (23 minutes) and delivered what one would expect witnessing these two at their best. With Ric Flair at ring side for Randy Orton one can notice the usefulness of having a “manager” in your corner.

 HIGHLIGHTS: Ortons RKO, Michales elbow drop, Flair being Flair, Controversial ending

 

 

4.      Kurt Angle def. Steve Austin to win the WWE championship 2001

Obviously with names such as Kurt Angle, Steve Austin and WWE Championship one can imagine a great match. However, what this title match brought was more then just technical wrestling. Kurt Angle won his first ever Heavyweight title and he did it in his home town.
HIGHLIGHTS: bumps outside the ring, Angles family lifting him on their shoulders

5.      Shane McMahon vs Kane (Last Man Standing) 2003

Shane O Mac seems to be one of the few in the company who has a passion for the sport and business at an equal pace. He has only wrestled a handful of times but everyone is memorable. Besides being a straight up hardcore match this bout is filled with a ridiculous number of spots in and around the ring. The creativity of this match intense as Shane and Kane attacked each other with everything from: chairs, cords, crane cameras, and announcer both. Ultimately Shane proved his worth with another insane high risk spot jumping from the top of the stage into nothing more then a crash matt. Now after reviewing the video some spots are obviously a little bit more on the fake side but no matter what gravity is gravity and a 40 foot jump is still pretty intense for the sake of a show, props to Shane O Mac

HIGHLIGHTS: Van Daminator, 40 foot bump

6.      Triple H def. Owen Hart to retain European Championship 1998

At the first Unforgiven one of the best matches took place between two “mid carders” at the time. Owen Heart brought his A-game to the ring and once again reminds us how much of a lose professional wrestling took upon his death. Seeing a younger less bulky Triple H is an additional treat as he was much more athletic ten years ago. Both wrestlers brought a lot to the table and interestingly enough it was simply for a title which no longer exists.

HIGHLIGHTS: Owen Harts piledriver, Reverse power bomb into DDT, German Suplex Pin

7.      John Cena Vs. Randy Orton WWE Championship 2007

With an intense build up to this Championship match one wouldn’t expect the WWE to book this match the way they did. Ultimately you expect the main event of a wrestling match to go anywhere form 15-25 minutes. In this match up the fans received a massive 7:20. How did this outcome emerge? With Randy Orton in the corner a raged John Cena began laying blow after blow (mostly body shots) which we have seen in several matches through the years. For some reason the ref decided to break them up but Cena wouldn’t let that happen. Finally the ref called the match due to, punching? The only reason I see this happening is the WWE was looking for a more realistic finish with UFC being big at the time. However in the end we all know wrestling is entertainment and the fans were not entertained.

HIGHLIGHTS: WWE ruining a potentially amazing match

8.      World Heavyweight Championship 2003
Goldberg def. Triple H to win the championship

By 2003 the WWE was in a low spot. Many wrestlers such as The Rock and Stone Cold were no where to be seen. However, the newly signed Goldberg was ready to take the championship from the prodigal son of the WWE. Many had suggested Triple H would never drop the title to Goldberg. But in the end we see how the WWE has a master plane. With the win of Goldberg the feud between Lesnar and Goldberg was created which led to the meet at Wrestlemania.

9.      Undertaker vs. Kane (Inferno Match) 1998

The Brothers of Destruction have had many great matches both against and along side one another. With Undertaker feuding for the first time with his brother Kane we also witness one of the last times Paul Bearer was involved with the story line. As 1998 holds a special place as apart of the WWE attitude era we witness a masked Kane vs the true deadman.

HIGHLIGHTS: Paul Bearer gets drummed, Kane set a blaze

 

10.  The Hardy Boyz def. Edge & Christian in a Steel Cage Match to win the World Tag Team championship 2000

With the several times these two teams have battled it only seems right that one of their many encounters makes the top ten at Unforgiven. Unfortunately this match was not given its credit as during 2000 the WWE was at an all time high. With names such as The Rock, Chris Benoit, Triple H and Kurt Angle main eventing this match was seen as filler. Sadly in today’s standards had this been on this years card we would be seeing a match of the year being made.

HIGHLIGHTS: Big cage bumps

 Written by: Lord Gonzo of Shop WWE

WWE – Did You Know?

The Rock won the WWE Title 15 years to the day that his father and Tony Atlas won the WWE Tag Titles.

WWE News – WWE Confirms Foley’s Departure, Mickie James On Candice Michelle, Mexico Show Cancelled

– WWE.com has confirmed the departure of Mick Foley from the company. His contract actually expired on Sunday night. Here is WWE’s statement:

Mick Foley and WWE part ways
Written: September 3, 2008

Three-time WWE Champion Mick Foley allowed his contract with WWE to expire on August 31, 2008. WWE and Foley have mutually agreed to sever businees ties at this time as the former SmackDown announcer pursues other opportunities.

– WWE has cancelled a house show that was scheduled for Auguascalientes, Mexico on October 17, reports ProWrestling.NET.

– FoxNews.com has posted video and a transcript of Mickie James and Josh Mathews at the Republican National Convention on ‘On the Record’ last night. During the interview host Greta Van Susteran asked James about Candice Michelle, who was on her show the week before for the Democratic Convention. She was asked if she had wrestled Candice before – Mickie said yes. Yes, I have. “I think that I`ve won every time I`ve wrestled Candice,” James said. Van Susteran then asked, “Really?” James replied, “Yes, but I haven`t and she`s my friend now and this is when we were enemies on TV and this was a few years ago. And she`s my friend now and so I wouldn’t wrestle her right now. Van Susteran replied, “And I should have learned that friend-enemy thing and because it`s actually quite intriguing the whole story. WWE is actually quite fascinating and it`s unbelievable the stories.” {WWE’s Mickie James and Josh Mathews at the RNC ‘On the Record’}

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WWE – Did you know?

WCW paid Ric Flair $75,000 to give back the WCW title after he had departed to the WWE in 1991.

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WWE News: The Great Khali’s Long-Term Future In Doubt, Pressure On Shelton Benjamin, Hawkins & Ryder Make History

source: www.prowrestling.NET

– WWE is looking to get as much out of The Great Khali while they still can. The belief is that he won’t be with the company for the long haul due to his ailing knees, as they continue to give him problems. Khali was said to not be too aggressive in rehab during his last round of knee surgeries. Nowadays, Khali struggles to get around and people are questioning his long term future in the business.

– SmackDown star Shelton Benjamin is getting pressure to step up his game during his latest push. A number of people believe Benjamin is a great athlete, but that he could be a better in-ring performer if he applied himself more and got motivated.

– WWE.com has a story on Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder capturing the WWE Tag Team Championship at The Great American Bash. In case you don’t know, they made history by becoming the youngest champions to hold tag titles in the history of WWE. Hawkins said, “What we’ve accomplished is pretty spectacular. I want people out there who are over the age of 23 to stop and reflect on what they were doing at our age, because what have you accomplished? I know Zack Ryder and I are 23 years old and we’re already WWE Tag Team Champions.” {Hawkins and Ryder: WWE’s youngest Tag Team Champions}

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WWE News: Raw Star Suffers Injury At House Show, The Brand Prinze, Jr. Is Writing For, Jillian Hall, DVD Notes

source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

– Lance Cade may be out of action. He broke his nose during a match at last Saturday’s Raw brand house show in Evansville, Indiana. He wasn’t on Raw this week, likely as a result of the injury.

– Michael Hayes will be taking Freddie Prinze, Jr. under his wing. Prinze, Jr. is slated to work under him on SmackDown. Prinze, Jr.’s hiring was not really a major topic of discussion backstage compared to other mainstream stories involving the company in the past.

– Here are the top units shipped figures for the company’s DVD releases so far this year: Wrestlemania 24 (305,000), Triple H (233,000), “Stone Cold” Steve Austin (221,000), The Rock (160,000) and The Hardys (140,000).

– WWE.com has posted a brand new photo shoot of Jillian Hall in a small white top dubbed “Wind Swept.” You can see the photos at this link. Hall was actually used this past Monday at the Raw taping in Knoxville, Tennessee. Jillian (badly) sang “Georgia On My Mind” before the crowd during a commercial break.

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WWE House Show Results from Evansville, Indiana 8/2/08

Matt Prater’s August 2nd RAW House Show from Evansville, IN Review

Howard Finkle was the ring announcer and Jillian Hall was the hostess (she
was in the crowd and gave a couple of people in the nosebleeds some
ringside seats and allowed a kid to be Mickie James’ manager).

* Kofi Kingston vs. Paul Burchall (w/ Katie Lea)*
-This was a good, fast paced match. Kofi won with his finisher.

* Snitsky vs. DLo Brown*
-At the end of the match, Dlo went for the Low Down and Snitsky rolled out
of the way. When they returned to their feet, Snitsky hit the running big
boot and got the win. That was surprising, considering that Snitsky never
wins anymore and DLo just made his return.
*
Lance Cade vs. Paul London*
-This match was pretty fast paced. At one point during the match, Cade got
his nose busted open and was bleeding pretty bad. Cade won the match with
his finisher. After the match, refs came into the ring to disinfect the
ring.
*
Mickie James & Kelly Kelly vs. Burchall & Beth Phoenix*
-This was a good match. They allowed a fan to be Mickie James’ manager for
the evening. In the end, Mickie James got the win with her jumping DDT.

Santino came to the ring and got the microphone and Beth was still in the
ring. He told her she has lost her focus because she has been distracted
since they kissed a week ago. He then said that he was going to retire his
opponent after the match.

* Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. Santino Marella*
-This match lasted about 10 seconds as Hacksaw hit the 3 point stance and
got the win. After the match, Beth Phoenix put Santino on her shoulder and
carried him out.

* Intermission* – During the intermission, my friend went to the concession
stand. There was a long line, so he didn’t get back in time for the next
match, but he met Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat walking around and that made
his day. My friend said that when Kane’s music hit all the little kids
came running back into the arena and then when Batista’s music hit, every
little kid that was left ran back in as soon as they could.

Jillian came out to the ring and said she was going to give the crowd a
gift. She then started singing, but was cut off by Kane’s music.

* Kane vs. Batista*
-This match got off to a REALLY slow start. They literally walked around in
circles with no action for a few minutes. When my friend got back to his
seat, he asked if he missed anything and I was like, “what you’re seeing
right now is all that has happened.” When the match finally got going, it
was actually decent. They made their way outside and used the steel steps
a couple of times. At the end of the match, Kane hit the chokeslam, but
Batista kicked out after a 2 count. Kane went to get his bag and the ref
tried to take it away and Batista speared Kane to pick up the victory.

* John Cena vs. Ted Dibiase Jr. & Cody Rhodes in a Handicap Match*
-Finkle said that RAW GM Mike Adamle ruled this to be a Handicap match. In
the end, Cena won with the STFU. I personally thought it was a bad idea to
have Cena squash the tag champs, but oh well. After the match, Cryme Tyme
entered the ring to help Cena and Cena FUed Dibiase Jr.

* CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho in a No DQ Match for the Title*
-They had been urging the fans to send in a text message to vote on the
match stipulations throughout the night. The choices were something I
can’t remember, 2 out of 3 Falls, and a No DQ match. I have been to enough
House Shows to know that the “fans” always choose the third option, so it
was a No DQ match.

Even though it was supposed to be a No DQ Match, the ref prevented Cade from
getting involved. When it spilled to the outside, the ref urged them to get
back into the ring. It was a good match, but the No DQ stupidity killed it
for me. Personally, I would have prefered a 2 out of 3 Falls match.
Anyway, during the match, Punk went for the GTS, but Y2J raked his eyes
and put him in the Walls of Jericho. Punk reached the ropes. In the end,
Jericho grabbed a chair (and the ref tried to stop him) and Punk kicked the
chair in his face and hit the GTS for the win. Punk celebrated by holding
the title up in the corner and bowing to the fans.

* Biggest Pops:*
John Cena (even though it was mixed, he still got the loudest reaction,
mostly positive)
Batista
CM Punk
Kane

*Biggest Heat:*
Jericho (for ranting on HBK)
Santino

---

Report sent in by Derek

I attended tonights RAW house show at the beautiful but slightly ran down Roberts Stadium in Evansville, Indiana. It was my son’s first WWE live event and he had a great time watching the action from our second row seats. Anyway. here are the results to best of my memory.

Opening match was Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston against Paul Burchill. It was back and forth but Kofi hit his finisher for the win. We all won since Katie Lee Burchill was at ringside.

The next match was D-Lo Brown against Snitsky. It warmed my heart to see D-Lo, minus his protective vest, facing ol’ yellow teeth. Too bad for D-Lo that Snits had his a-game on tonight and beat the crap out of D-Lo after mising a frogsplash. Snitsky was nice enough to pose post victory with a grin to show us his yellow teeth.

Lance Cade came out and reminded us that we were all crap and the only person he could trust besides himself was Chris Jericho. Good luck with that Lance. Anyway, Paul London made his way down to the ring and put up a decent fight for a guy who has been moved to jobber role. He was even kind enough to break open Cade’s nose bridge and give us a fair amount of blood flow. Cade hit his finisher and promptly left the ring while the refs scrubbed his blood out of the mat.

Next up was a Divas tag team match, Mickie James and Kelly Kelly (along with some random kid as guest manager) against Katie Burchill and Beth Phoenix. How it ended exactly I can’t remember, but I think James pinned Burchill. Lots of hooting and hollaring during this match.

Then of course we have Santino come out and face off with Beth Phoenix, telling her she was distracted and that he would retire an old man that night with his new hold the Santino clutch. Anyway, the old man was Hacksaw Jim Duggan who came out with US flag and chanting USA. To make a short story shorter, he pinned Santino in about twelve seconds. Hacksaw left and Beth Phoenix carried out Santino like a sack of potatoes.

Intermission

Kane vs. Batsista. A back and forth macth with Kane getting most of the offense. Until Kane goes for his bag that he is keeping his mask in (come on, you know it is his mask) and Batista hits the spear for the pin.

The next match is a handicap match between Cena and the tag champs Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. I have never wanted to jump the rail more than now at a wrestling match. I hate Cody Rhodes. Rhodes and DiBiase dominate Cena for awhile and then Cena fights back, puts Rhodes in the STF and wins. Then Crime Time hits the ring to even things up. Cena and the Crime Time pose and leave. What no witty John Cena promo????

Finally the main event. CM Punk defends his title against Chris Jericho in a No DQ match. Supposedly we fans texted in our votes and chose this match. Jericho started out with grabbing the mic and telling us we were all garbage and he would do to all the men , women and children (and maybe your pet dog) what he did to HBK . He then called down Lance Cade and the match was on. It was back and forth with everything from Jerich baring a turnbuckle to Punk throwing Jericho into the crowd but the end came as already before. Jericho grabs a chhair, Punk dropkciks it into Jericho’s head and then hits the GTS for the win. Punk is my kids’ new favorite wrestler. And Katie Le Burchill is mine.

Fun show, lots of stuff going on with Jillian Hall running around in a short black dress. She even sang for us, and I like her singing. Maybe not but I do like her. Anyway that was the Raw house show for Evansville, Indiana on 8/02/08

---

Report sent in by Tony Clutter

I went to the Evansville, Indiana WWE RAW house show and here’s what happened:

Jillian Hall was acting like a hostess throughout the evening.

Kofi Kingston beat Paul Burchill
(Katie Lea was at Paul Burchill’s side)

Snitsky beat DLO Brown

Lance Cade beat Paul London

Mickie James and Kelly Kelly beat Katie Lea and Beth Phoenix

Hacksaw Jim Duggan beat Santino in like a 5 second match
then Beth Phoenix picked up Santino and carried him out.

Batista beat Kane.

By order of new GM Mike Adamle it is a Handicap match
as John Cena beat Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr

In a world title match CM Punk beat Y2J

Howard Finkle and Arn Anderson was seen also.
It was a lot of fun it was my 2nd WWE event ever!

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