King Cucaracha

I'm interested in the crowd reaction whether or not there were any "Chave" chants. I believe you mean 'Chav'.

You don't really believe that do you? Yes. I don't see why you wouldn't believe it. He doesn't have a terrible record putting people over when it was called for and made sense. The main reason he didn't do it more was partly because he wasn't always in a position to. The only name I can think of (Brock withstanding, he had a valid reason) that he vetoed was Jeff Jarrett. As for whether he's actually able to physically wrestle, that's the only thing he said that I'd really doubt. I'm sure any ex-wrestler who can still walk 'believes' they're still physically able.

Robbie Brookside~! Shame he got squashed, but still.

One people seem to have missed (unless I skimmed over it): Rob Van Dam over Bam Bam Bigelow, TV Title.

You know what`s great about the news? How they spend 20 minutes on how NBC were wrong for showing the tape, after having spent 20 minutes recapping the tape themselves.

Hawk- Any chance of an update to the recommendation list?

It depends on your definition I guess. I always understood it as Hogan was a draw because he drew people into watching WWF shows over NWA shows and later drew people into watching WCW shows over WWF shows. Austin was a draw because he drew people into watching WWF shows over WCW shows. Nowadays, there's no real alternative for someone to draw people in from. People watch WWE because they want to watch wrestling. There's of course certain factors like certain matches, certain gimmicks, whatever, that alter how strong of a draw the WWE product is, but they alone don't draw people in, as such. I dunno, that seems like a weird concept maybe, but that's how I always viewed it

At the risk of repeating what other people have said, this was my first thought when I saw the thread. The idea of one person drawing over another isn't nearly as important now that there's only one legitimately national wrestling promotion. When WCW was around, it was more of an arguement. Now, I think it's safe to say the WWE name alone draws in at least 95% of people. That's definately true in terms of live attendance, I'd say. PPV buys, maybe workers come into it more. But let's face it, 99% of people bought WrestleMania because it was WrestleMania, not for HBK/Cena or Batista/Taker or really for anyone or anything else.

Indeed. At the risk of sounding anal, if people have a match planned then please could they use the booking threads and announce it? If possible. Seems like we've been slacking on that recently and hopefully, people will see if there's a need for another match on a certain week and scramble something together. On that note: OAOAST 6-Man Tag Team Championships Rematch Brock Ausstin & America's Team © -VS- The Beverly Hills Blonds and CPA 'Who The Hell Hired Russo!?' Blindfold(~!) Match Shayne Brave vs. "The Natural" Christian Wright

I'm not sure how different markers handle commentary gigs (gee, I've only been here three and a half years, you'd think I'd know by now), but I'll write, assuming it's on the previso that it only goes on the show if there's another DNS.

Obviously, this needs to go before Cuban Wall vs. Zack Malibu. Thank you. Cut backstage to the Lightning Crew locker room, now being vacated by The Cuban Wall! COLE And coming up next on HeldDOWN~!, Cuban Wall to take o... *CRACK!* COLE ...what the hell!? Suddenly the moody 'Coming Up Next' music screeches to a halt as a steel chair slams across Cuban Wall's left shoulder, at the hands of JAMIE O'HARA!! The 24/7 Champion, caught completely off-guard by the sneak attack, collapses back into the wall behind him as O'Hara retrieves the chair that flew out of his hands from the force of it rebounding off of Wall's body! COACH What the hell is this!? Wall's got a match! COLE Damn right he's got a match, he's got his first title defence, right here and right now! Cuban Wall learning what it's like to be the 24/7 Champion! O'Hara stalks over Cuban Wall as he angrily shakes off the unexpected chairshot and pulls himself away from the wall. The LA wall. Wall, the human one (man, too many walls! And now I just broke the fourth wall! AAAHHH!) , turns around in search of where the attack is coming from... *CRACK!* ...and FINDS IT, in the form of another chairshot, right over the head! Wall goes down from the second shot and quickly O'Hara dives on top of the 24/7 Champion, as referee Charles Robinson scrambles into view... "ONE!" "TWO!" Kickout by Wall! Regaining control of the chair again, O'Hara again waits on Wall to get back up... O'HARA C'MON GEEZ', GEDDUP YA OVERSIZED BASTARD! ...before swinging down with the chair... *CLANG!* ...and getting it PUNCHED clean out of his hands by the 24/7 Champion! O'Hara is understandably surprised by that and doesn't react in time to block the knee to the gut that follows, as Wall climbs back to his feet. Shaking his head clear of cobwebs, Wall then grabs O'Hara behind the head... AND PITCHES HIM FACE-FIRST INTO THE WALL!! Unfortunately for The Birmingham Bad Boy, The Staples Center doesn't consist of those flimsy walls you can get thrown clean through. They're hard. And they hurt. O'Hara slides down the wall with his flesh screeching down the paintwork, ending up slumped against the wall and seeings stars. Growling under his breath, Cuban Wall now grabs the chair... *CLANG!* ...and simply TOSSES the chair at O'Hara's head, the steel impliment bouncing off of O'Hara skull and coming to a rest at his side. Having finally gained his bearings in this unexpected 24/7 Title match, Wall finally afford himself a sneer as he looks down at the Brit. WALL Nice try kid. And with that Wall strolls off, leaving the dazed Birmingham Bad Boy slumped against the wall. COLE ...uhm, Cuban Wall on the way to the ring! Hopefully, this time. COACH And he's still the 24/7 Champion! A fine title defence!

We rejoin HeldDOWN~! in the bustling metropolis that is Los Angeles, with the cameras taking us into the bustling metropolis that is the backstage area. Standing by is someone who has nothing to do with metropolises (metropoli?), bringing that runner to an abrupt end, one of the legion of OAOAST interview staff Tony Schiavone, alongside two more of the Battle Royal competitors. SCHIAVONE Landon Maddix, Todd Cortez, after varying levels of success at AngleMania you return to action tonight in the big Tag Team Championship Battle Royal. Victory tonight would mean you become the first team to win both the OAOAST and SWF World Tag Team Championships, a potentially history making night. MADDIX It's funny how things sometimes work themselves out in life. You know, a few months ago me and Todd here were gunning for the tag team titles. HI-YAH, OAOAST, whatever. We were after tag team gold. We came to an agreement to let bygones be bygones and leave the past in the past. Let sleeping dogs lie, don't cry over spilt milk, two heads are better than one... we followed virtually every cliché going right to the letter. Until, that is, ONE of us ballsed up our plans. Todd's eyes narrow a little, which apparantly goes unnoticed by Landon or Megan. MADDIX But, as it turned out, everything worked out just fine. Instead of me and Todd going to AngleMania and challenging for those Japanese titles, Todd found himself in a high-profile AngleMania match and yours truly went on to capture this... Reaching off screen, Landon picks a piece of paper up off the floor. Not just any piece of paper though, a contract. MADDIX Don't worry, it's laminated. SCHIAVONE Oh. MADDIX Yeah. Apparantly they ran out of briefcases, what with all these guaranteed title shots flying around. But briefcase or no briefcase, at AngleMania, I earned myself this Money In The Bank contract, a contract that guarantees me a shot at the OAOAST World Heavyweight Championship at any point I so choose within the next twelve months. Infact, you can just go ahead and call me 'Dinero Del Señor En El Banco'. Silence. SCHIAVONE Uhm, say what? CORTEZ It means Mister Money I... MADDIX MR. Money In The Bank! Never a more fitting name than when associated with yours truly, Landon Maddix. You see, I've got this contract. (looks down at his waist) I've got this, the [i]SWF[/i] World Heavyweight Championship. I've got a lucrative endorsement deal with the good people at Pepsi. Megan not so subtely holds a can of Pepsi Max up over Schiavone's shoulder. This blatant advertisement doesn't seem to impress Todd though. MADDIX Nothing like a can of Pepsi Max to prepare you for battle. And now, tonight, it's right back to where we were. Landon Maddix and Todd Cortez going right back after those OAOAST World Tag Team Championships, one more time. We've cleared the air after what happened at Syndicated and we've made it pretty clear that nobody is above this team. One of us has been warned over his future conduct... of course, in the interests of fairness, I won't say [i]which[/i] one of us, but I'm sure you can all figure it out for yourselves. In the background, Todd's eyes narrow again. MADDIX But the point is, Martial Law has been RE-declared on the OAOAST! Landon Maddix and Todd Cortez are back in synch and back in pursuit of the gold. In a Battle Royal no less! It's so perfect, it almost reads like a Hollywood script! I think my track record in Battle Royals speaks for itself. And I've been training my buddy Todd here on the finer points of the art of the Battle Royal for the past week to make sure he can hold up his end, so there is no weak link on this team. You're looking at the new, history making OAOAST Tag Team Champions... Landon holds his contract up again. MADDIX ...the perfect thing to tide me over, until it's time to cash this baby in. And, by the way, Drek... Zack... I've got my ticket stamped for Houston and I will be there at School's Out. Watching. Waiting. *BACK TO THE ARENA*

COLE As we will see later on tonight, HI-YAH Promotions have a big live event running in conjunction with HeldDOWN~! tonight in Yokohama, Japan. Obviously, the HI-YAH World Title will be on the line and also scheduled was to be a HI-YAH World Tag Team Championship defence by the gaijin heartthrobs D*LUX. That was, until last week, when D*LUX found themselves in an unscheduled title defence here on HeldDOWN~! against The Mardi Gras Homewrecking Crew... [QUOTE=LAST WEEK ON HELDDOWN~!] Rolling his own, illegal partner away from the ring, Rico turns Tyler over. Another big elbow finds the mark, this time to the chest. And staying sat beside the boybander, Rico then sits Tyler up and grabs him by the head, locking on an Anaconda Vice! COACH The Rico Vice! He's got it locked it! COLE And look at him sit back with it, Rico trying to cut the air off on "Tremendous" Tyler! Already struggling to breathe as it is Tyler immediately starts to flail around as the hold gets clamped on. With his head bent completely forward over his throat Tyler fights and fights but the more he fights, the more pressure he finds his airways under... "D - LUX!" "D - LUX!" "D - LU..." *TAPTAPTAPTAP!* *DINGDINGDING!* COLE I... I don't believe it! We've got new Champions! The crowd completely sink as the bell sounds and Rico releases the hold and flops backwards, punching his fists into the air in celebration. Lucius looks up from behind the ring apron and his eyes bulge, hardly able to contain himself as Michael Buffer walks over and lays the titles down on the apron. Lucius grabs the belts and looks at them in disbelief, before breaking out into a dance right there in front of the announce table. BUFFER Your winners of this contest... and the NEEWW HI-YAH WORLD Tag Team Champions... "SWEET" LUCIUS SOUL and RICO DE JANEIRO... THE MARDI GRAS HHHOOOOMMEEEWRECKING CCRRRRREEEEEEWWWWW!!! [/QUOTE] COLE A stunning victory, which has thrown plans up in the air across the world. The Mardi Gras Homewrecking Crew tonight look to make history in the Tag Team Battle Royal for the OAOAST Tag Team Championships, with the chance to become the first team to hold both sets of titles at the same time. Differing fortunes for the former champions though. They're still out in Japan to fulfill their commitments, still to take on two of HI-YAH's homegrown stars... but, without titles to defend. COACH And, obviously, out of the running for the OAOAST Tag Titles tonight. COLE Yes. Obviously they weren't scheduled to be here tonight anyway, but they had no to chance to re-arrange their bookings with HI-YAH and the OAOAST and trade places with the new champions. Or, rather, Jade Rodez had no time to re-arrange the contracts she'd signed. Conveniently, she was 'busy'. All week. COACH Of course she was busy! She's involved in a very high-maintence and above all very professional operation now she's with The Enterprise, you can't just expect her to be available at the drop of a hat anymore. COLE So, D*LUX were left up the creek without a paddle again and they're in Japan as we speak. But we understand they will be back here, live, next week on HeldDOWN~! I wonder what 'certain people' have in store for them when they return to these shores.

The slogan is pretty dumb, but #4 and #5 are the better ones of the five.

The Hurricane sold merchandise too and nobody wanted him as World Champion. Also, I'm still shocked that Johnny Nitro used the Rude Awakening as his finisher against Eugene. Nothing like a Rude Awakening as a finisher.

Oh, the delivery was ass, don't get me wrong. It's just that the complaint seemed to be about what he said, which wasn't the problem.

Because it seemed like he 'botched' the finish to that tag battle royal on Raw a few weeks ago (where he eliminated Chavo, but got bumped off the apron in the process) and that Londrick were supposed to win the World Tag Team Titles, not The Hardyz. I don't know if that was ever confirmed, but that'd be the reason people alluded to.

Nothing beats an intense fast talking Orton, like that promo against Edge that happened not so long ago. "THE RING YOU BETTAH GET OUT OF THIS RING. THE RING YOU BETTER GET OUT. ARGRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH" And he's yelling this out all mush mouthed like while Edge has got out of the ring before even Orton got in there. He didn't say "You'd better get out of this ring", as if there were someone in the ring. He said it as "You'd better get out of this ring", as in 'yeah you damn well better run'. He clearly emphasised the right word. Of all the things to bitch about regarding Orton, this ranks somewhere near the top on the 'bitch for the sake of bitching' list.

There's only so many times they can do this thing with Londrick where they bat away the new heel challengers. Being long-time champions has gotten them to a certain level of popularity. I think them chasing the titles is what's needed to really cement them as people the fans get behind. Although 'Crack 'Em In The Mouth' may be the lamest name for a finisher ever. And it looks like I'm going have to watch ECW this week.

Yeah, that'd be a great gimmick to give the Intercontinental Champion, 'guy who's never watched wrestling'. Watch the buyrates soar!

I'm pretty sure Carlito cheated to win.

Exactly. It was funny, having seen him wrestle pre-WWE, seeing them actually bring someone in on their debut with the previso that they weren't good enough. It's a credit to the guy that he's still on the roster, let alone got over at all, with that gimmick. No, that was because he was a great worker. The Benoit clone gimmick sucked and nobody bought it, that's why he didn't get over with anyone. The only people who knew he was a great worker were those familiar with his OVW work, those who could see past the gimmick or now those familiar with his ROH work.

Yes! I win at the internet! Never been prouder.

1. Yes. 2. You should use quotation marks instead of apostrophes, even when quoting your own hypothetical remarks. 3. When using quotation marks, the punctuation (in this case, the question mark) goes inside the quote marks, not outside. Technically my quote wasn't a question, I was questioning the quote itself, thus the question mark outside of the apostrophes. Thank you.

KENTA vs. SUWA SUWA is my new favourite person. The fact he happily threw his GHC Junior Heavyweight Title shot in a minute and a half, by hitting KENTA in the head with a metal case twice in front of the referee, in Japan no less, and came off looking the BETTER for it says it all. The 'actual' match was pretty good too.