JoeDirt

After Bret won the title in 1992, he wrestled on house show main events for a few shows, beating Nailz. Now THAT is a styles clash.

It just goes to show you that a lot of the time it's the little things that make wrestling, especially indy wrestling, a lot of fun.

Doc's Indy Journal - IWA Mid-South The owner of voiceofwrestling.com, Chris Cash, had been on my BUTT lately. He had been saying for a long time that I needed to do something new and exciting for the website. Well, Chris should've known that if I was full of new and exciting ideas, I'd have been in marketing, coming up with the next McDonalds jingle, and not in radio broadcasting. But alas, I came up with an idea, lame as it may be. You see, Being a wrestling fan myself, I figured I would only have to come up with something that was interesting to me. 'Hmmm, What is interesting to Doc Young?', I thought. Then the idea came to me.....ME! I am no more interested in any other person than myself! I fascinate myself, and that's HARD to do. The realization hit me soon after, that Chris may not think that's good enough. Who wants to read about me watching TV all friggin day? So I needed to combine the first hook...ME...with something about wrestling, since that's what our site and show happens to be about. 'How about you get off your BUTT and out from behind your keyboard and actually GO to a wrestling event?', I told myself. Then I answered to myself, "Ok!" So here I was, A man with a plan. Something deep and in-depth that indy fans may actually WANNA READ! I just now needed somewhere to go..... IWA MID-SOUTH WRESTLING- 12/10/04 PRE-SHOW: I emailed back and forth with Dave Prazak of IWA Mid-South, and made plans to attend their December 10th show. Dave explained to me that I would NOT get free tickets, and I would NOT be allowed backstage. He said Mid-South was a 'southern style' dressing room where only the staff and workers were allowed. 'Not cool', I thought. 'But, oh well." It wouldn't be the first time I wasn't allowed backstage at a show. (apologies again to Britney and her security staff for that little misunderstanding.) Dave assured me I could have any interviews I wanted, though. To brush up on my subject, I spent a little time on their official website, www.iwamidsouthwrestling.com. What do I find, but that they were having a live chat right at that time! I pointed my browser to their chat room, and was immediately in the midst of a heated argument. Live, in chat, The IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Champion CM Punk was verbally ripping a wrestling fan a new rectum. You have to remember that this is the guy who once wrote in his official website's commentary: "Dear New Jersey.....F$%k off. Tenderly, I remain, XpunkX". CM Punk, who is mostly famous as the guy who decked Bret Hart's nephew Teddy in the mouth at a TNA show this past spring, was in the midst of an argument because the fan in question said that other fans should not yell rude things at the wrestlers during IWA shows. "When a fan pays his money, he has the right to say anything he wants! I don't care what people say to me at all. I've heard it all, and I don't care. It's part of the job." was the nicest part of what Punk said. I can't print the rest. In the midst of the nearly two hour argument between Punk and the fan, I managed to get some basic information from Prazak who was watching the chargument (that's a "Doc'ism" that means "chat argument") with amusement. Prazak again assured me of interviews before I turned in for the night, with visions of interviews dancing in my head. After emailing my interview requests for Ian Rotten, Chris Candido, and Zach Gowen a few days before the show, those visions of interviews dancing in my head soon started to seem as real as Santa himself. In other words, I had heard NOTHING from Mid-South confirming my interviews. Not good news. so I attended the next Mid-South live chat on the internet.....LATE,of course.....Prazak had been long gone by the time I got there, and Ian "I'm Sorry, am I bleeding on you?" Rotten left a few minutes after I got there, giving me no chance to speak with any head honchos. The personnel that WAS still left was the tough-cookie female wrestler, Mickie Knuckles (trained by Ian himself and wrestler Chris Hero), and her life-long, hetero-partner Misty, who I have since affectionately named "Gimmick Table Misty", since.....DUHHHH...she works the gimmick table at IWA Mid-South shows. Within a couple hours of having chat fun with the Mid-South fans, I managed to make nice with Mickie, as she is a cool cat. Even though she couldn't understand my fondness for old school rap music. We set a time for an interview with her before the show, and again it was off to beddy-bye-time for the Doc. I didn't hear from anyone in IWA Mid-South except Mickie, and ONLY Mickie, and ONLY on the day of the show. THE VENUE: I showed up at the National Guard Armory at 6:25pm EST. There didn't seem to be a lot of cars there, and I was afraid it would be bomb scare attendance. I parked into my comfy handicapped parking space, got out and smoked a last cigarette. "Dorals". I would always tell the cashier. "Full flavor, in a box" (they are cheaper, and not so strong). The cashier would always have to ask, "longs or shorts?"....I never heard the phrases 'long or shorts' where I grew up in the Chicago area. If you wanted 'longs' you would say '100's'....if you DIDN'T say '100's', then it was assumed that you wanted regular sized ciagrettes, or 'shorts', as they call them here in Vincennes, Indiana. But hey...."When in Rome, right?" 6:35pm: I walk into the lobby and there's about 18 people already waiting. I'm assuming that 18 people in the lobby, a little less than an hour before the show starts, is not TOO bad for an indy show. Half the people in the lobby, though, are kids around 10 years old. Some of the people waiting in line are talking about the ultimate wrestling pastime. WWE. The others were standing around looking bored. It was easy to look at each other and say "Hi". After all, we were in the same boat; waiting in a sauna of a lobby for the doors to open. The friendliness of the few early-birds of the evening was a complete juxtapostion of the reputation of IWA, a violent-natured show. 6:48pm: The doors were supposed to open at 6:45. Wrestler Corporal Robinson and another wrestler I didn't recognize show up in the lobby, wheeling one of those new-fangled suitcaes in. The come straight through the lobby and into the venue. 'Hmmm, they are kinda late, aren't they?', I think. About 15 more people have showed up since I did, and the line to get in is starting to head out the front door. It's apparant, at least to me, that something is wrong, the show is running late, and people are restless. 6:51pm: A short, pretty, young, red-haired lady comes from the main doors into the lobby to make an announcement. She says her name is Mickie, and she tells us that the woman who was to sell the tickets is stuck in traffic behind an accident. "She will be here in at least the next 10 minutes!", says Mickie. I recoginzed the name and make my move to escape from the hot, crowded, WWE-talking lobby. "I'm Doc Young from voiceofwrestling.com", I tell her, trying to be as quiet about it as I can. "Oh, ok...come on in." Mickie motions me toward the doors. I start to feel weird as I enter the venue, because everyone is staring at me as if Mickie Knuckles was a Goddess who had just granted me Heaven privileges....getting into the venue early. I felt queasy at the attention, which is why i'm on radio and not TV in the first place. Mickie led me to a few places, trying to find a quiet place for the interview. We passed the ringside area, where many IWA wrestlers where sitting around. One of them came up to me and wanted to see my flyer. I assume he was looking to see if the card may have been printed on it, or maybe their names had been printed on it. Well, whoever it was, he was destined to be disappointed, I knew...because the only name on the flyer was Zach Gowen's. Mickie told him I needed the flyer back to get my discount (Hey, Doc counts his dollars, too!), and after retrieving my flyer, we headed for the back. As it was my first time in the venue, I kind of lost track of where we were going. I knew Mickie Knuckles as the woman who took on her trainer, Ian Rotten himself, at the famous 2-day Ted Petty Invitational Tournament in 2003. I also knew her as the 20-year-old (19 at the time) who took quite a beating at the hands of the man she called her trainer. He was reluctant at first to fight her, but when she told him she lost respect for him for not facing her, he beat some respect into her in the middle of the ring. Mickie suprisingly got some good offense in, including a nice suplex, and a couple of pin-counts on the much-larger beast that is Ian Rotten. Mickie has been regulated to fighting girls for the most part lately, mainly because of her affliction for low-blows on the men to gain the upper-hand. I was hoping I wouldn't ask her the wrong questions and end up singing soprano like so many other men before me. We ended up in the 'locker room', which looked basically like a very, very small school cafeteria. There were only about three wrestlers lounging around in there, and when they saw me pull out a tape recorder, they respectfully left to give Mickie her time in the spotlight with out background noise. Chris Candido was in this particular room, who my boss Chris Cash really wanted me to get an interview with. I had never seen Candido in person, so I was kinda trying to soak in first impressions on the guy while I was back there. Chris was dressed to the 'T' in an oufit that the new WWE dress code would find quite pleasing. To be quite frank, Candido looked PIMP in a nice suit, in the middle of Indiana! "I'll get some words from him for Sunday's show, yet!" I promised myself. The other thing I noticed was that he looked VERY tan. We are talking Regis Philbin tan. "I KNOW this guy hasn't been wrestling on the west or south coasts THAT long!", I thought to myself. The reason for his tan would turn out to be another new thing I learned that night. The other thing I noticed was, he didn't look to be in a very good mood at all. Now, I guess I can understand that a man who was once a WWE Tag Team champion, who strutted his stuff in front of tens of thousands of fans, would now be performing in front of less than 100 fans. He would be bitter, obviously. And me being a rookie in the reporting biz, I assuredly didn't need more enemies, especially one who would no doubt be back in the big time soon enough. (laugh if you want, smarks, but reality IS reality.) I decided to back away from asking for an interview for now, and hoped I would be able to wrangle one later off my wits. But back to Mickie for now. We both sat down in the 'dressing' room and did a short interview, the highlights of which you'll see in my new semi-regular feature "VOW Indy Spotlight" (original, huh?) Mickie's Spotlight will be printed on Thursday. Mickie Knuckles covered all the basics in our interview, as far as getting into the business, being scared s$&tless about taking on Ian at the Ted Petty Invitational, and plans for the future. I turned off the tape and we started to talk non-chalantly about what kind of market Vincennes, Indiana was. Chris Candido was back in the room at the time, and Mickie mentioned that she had heard the last time a federation came to Vincennes, the attendance was 25. I had told her, from my sources, the last time a fed came here, the attendance was 300, and that it was at Vincennes University. We both agreed there was a nice line outside the venue right now, though, and Chris Candido perked up when he heard that. "Really?" Said Candido. "Yeah", said Mickie. "There's a line out the door." Candido's face brightened, and so did my chance at the interview my boss wanted. Then, I was walked back to the lobby by Mickie, where I would have to pay my line-waiting-dues (as CM Punk would call it), and wait for the doors to open, along with everyone else. And yes, I was looked upon by everyone else in line as a fallen angel....someone that got backstage and somehow screwed it up and got put back in line. Woe is the mid-sized reporter. Check back for part 2 of Doc's Indy Journal! -Read details of the entire card! -Will Doc get ANY of his requested interviews? -When the hell did the show finally start? -Who gets Doc's thumbs up and thumbs down from the card? -Why should the wrestler's READ THE RULEBOOK before getting into the ring? -What do you do when audio disaster strikes your show? -Which body part is Chris Candido most proud of? PART 2 7:20 pm: Over half an hour after the doors at Friday's IWA Mid-South show were supposed to open, THEY OPENED! I had managed to keep my place in line even after my little "trip into the beyond" to interview female IWA star Mickie Knuckles. Fans quickly grabbed their seats as we entered. I took a seat in the corner of the front row just in case someone got thrown into our side of the audience. This way I could make a quick getaway, and not get crippled again, this time by a wayward, flying wrestler. "Gimmick Table Misty" and Ian Rotten's wife Patti went to work as the tapes, DVD's, and shirts were laid out neatly for fans to peruse. 7:49 pm: I could hear a couple of staff members telling some fans that a lot of IWA guys didn't know there was a time-zone change, and that some wrestlers were showing up late, thinking they were on time. Things were starting to not look good. Tracey Russell, of prowrestling.com, and his girlfriend showed up. Tracey was a lot smarter than me in showing up late and not having to endure the 'lobby of heat.' Tracey didn't have to wait in line, and STILL secured a front row seat right next to mine. That punk. Chris Candido came out to the gimmick table and started to set up little 8x10 photos to sign and sell to fans. Being the 'mark with a pen' that I am, I treated myself to an old WWF black and white photo of the Bodydonnas. "The good ole' days", I commented to Candido as he autographed the photo. He nodded in agreement. To Doc Young. voiceofwrestling.com. Chris Candido., it said. "Thanks, buddy." said Chris. Here's my chance. "If you have time after the show...I don't know if you'll be taking off right away - but we'd really love to get a short interview with you." I half-said/half-asked. "Sure. No problem." He replied. Jackpot! Who needed Dave Prazak to set up interviews for me, anyway? Certainly not 'Doc Young, Ace Reporter'! Ha! I did find out later that Prazak did not make it to the event for a reason unknown to me, and I assume this is the reason he never emailed me back. So I forgive you anyway, Dave! 8:08pm (38 minutes after the show was to start): Music plays, and 'it's on', baby! After purchasing a tape and a shirt from Gimmick Table Misty, I was ready for some wrestling action. Better late than never, I always say! Jim Fannin grabbed the mic and thanks us for coming out before announcing the first match. A battle royal! The battle royal would determine the matches for the evening, meaning that the first two wrestlers thrown out would fight each other one on one, then next two, and so on. The wrestlers all stormed out from the back at the same time, which surprised me. The mass of humanity in the ring was all set when the bell rang, and it was showtime! IWA Lightweight Champion Jimmy Jacobs and Breyer Wellington were the first two thrown out, which gave Wellington a shot at the title. If it had been me, and I saw Jacobs get thrown out, I would've just plunged myself over the ropes to get a a title shot and saved myself a beating. The action was fast, and people were being tossed over as fast I could write down their names. 'God, I hope no one gets tossed on top of me', I thought, furiously scribbling names down as I kept up the body-flight count. I don't think this is what the Weather Girls had in mind in the 70's when they recorded 'It's Raining Men'. People were surprised, myself included, when Candido and Ian Rotten were tossed out. Being one of the headliners, I figured the former Bodydonna would win. That left only one headliner left, and sure enough, he was there at the end. Zach Gowen, famous as the one legged-wrestler who took on Vince McMahon on PPV, had been holding his own throughout the match. Oddly, he was wrestling with his prosthetic leg on. He was left at the end of the match with only one foe to defeat. The mean, intense Corporal Robinson. Afer some nice wrestling and painful moves, Robinson picked up Zach, and in the process, Gowen's prosthetic leg fell off and plunked on the mat. The crowd gasped, including me. How embarrassing for Zach, I thought. Robinson didn't care and tossed Gowen onto the floor. A lot of the crowd was cheering as Robinson held up his hands and was posing for the crowd. I noticed Zach on the floor motioning for the ref to be quiet. Be quiet about what? His leg falling off? How can we not notice!? Gowen climbed back in the ring, hopped over on one leg behind Robinson, and shoved him over the top rope to the floor. The bell rang, and Zach's music played. "What the hell?!", Screamed Robinson after taking a mic. "I beat Zach fair! I tossed him over the top rope!" "The rules state", Fannin started, in the funniest ending I'd ever seen, "that BOTH feet must touch the floor...." The crowd heard enough. They were ROLLING in the aisles laughing before Jim even finished the sentence. It was then that we had all realized that both of Gowen's feet never touched the floor, because his prosthetic one was still laying in the ring. Classic. Robinson, not amused, challenged the cocky Gowen to a match right then and there. He didn't want to. "I'm a headliner! I'm a main-eventer!" Said Gowen smugly. No matter. The bell rang and the match was on. The match between the two was entertaining, as Gowen amazed the crowd with his balance and agility on one leg, and Corporal Robinson dished out solid technical skill and realistic brawling. Brawling realistically was easy for Robinson. He would just simply hit Gowen. Hard. I had taken to yelling things at Gowen like, "Do it for the handicapped!", and offering him my cane to use as a weapon. After all, we had a bond. We both get to park in handicapped spaces. My colleague Tracey Russell was just looking at me, and shaking his head, probably ashamed to know me. Robinson was punishing Gowen, and then got out of the ring and walked over to our part of the seats. He waved his hands in a sweeping motion at us and demanded only one thing. "MOVE!" 'Rut roo', as Scooby-Doo would say. We got up and ducked for cover as Robinson grabbed Gowen, yanked him out of the ring, and sailed him straight into the 3rd row. Now, don't misunderstand me here. He didn't pick him up and throw him so he LANDED in the 3rd row, because he actually threw him through the FRONT row. It just so happened that by the time he came to a rest, Gowen ended UP in the 3rd row. Needless to say, Corporal Robinson ended up getting his revenge by pinning Gowen. Zach wobbled his way back through the curtain, whining "I'm going to back to WWE, man." Thanks for coming out, Zach. 8:21pm: Vito Thomaselli and "Sypder" Nate Webb were next. Webb has a good look and is a little different. Different meaning this: When a wrestler comes out for a match, he usually marches straight from the curtain to the ring and gets ready to fight. When WEBB comes out, it's like a little kid with an A.D.D. problem. The man they call "Spyder" may see something interesting on the way to the ring, and seem to forget he's supposed to wrestle. He'll take someone's chair and play it like a guitar. He may see a man in the audience that looks like Santa, and go sit on his lap. He may go all the way to the highest seat in the venue, and then sit down for a minute up there. Alone. On this occasion, among his many distractions on his way to the squared circle, Webb ran into the concession area, grabbed handfuls of Cheetos, and started tossing them to the fans as he ran a circle around the ring. I hope they were fresh, because I ate the ones he threw at me. Vito Thomaselli is the opposite. He's built like a freakin statue, and doesn't take to foolishness. He and his brother Sal were new to IWA, and he was there to make an impact. They were equally as impressive though, as Webb has developed a "spider stance" in the ring, and Thomaselli hit some very difficult moves, making them look like anyone can do it. Webb won they match, and invited Vito to dance after the match. He motioned to the DJ to hit Vito's music, yet nothing came. The DJ shrugs and says, "The music's broke!" Rut roo. Something tells me this isn't part of the show. Webb improvises, and gets the audience clapping while doing some impressive beat-box noises on the mic. Vito looks like he's about to dance, but changes his mind. He gives some offensive italian hand gestures to the crowd, and leaves. Webb stands there stunned, just staring at the empty curtain Vito left through. Finally, "Spyder" sums it up. "You dick!" 8:32pm: There is an intermission, and Jim Fannin announces that Gimmick Table Misty's phone number is available at the gimmick table for a dollar. "You jerk!" yells Misty, laughing. A crowd of workers had gathered at the sound system, and something was obviously wrong. Not wanting to overstep my "non-worker" bounds, I discreetly made my way over and told Jim quietly. "I'm a professional DJ. Maybe I can help?" Ian Rotten, sitting at the table behind the system, looks up at me, frustrated. "You're welcome to come back here and look if you want." After an examination that only a reporter named Doc can do, my professional diagnosis was that the system needed to be cleaned, but no one had a CD head cleaner. "We'll just go without music and get a new player by Sunday." Ian said, and headed backstage. "There's a Wal-Mart five minutes from here", I told the DJ. "If you could have someone run up there, you could get a cleaner before the match after this one." The DJ and Jim Fannin then hatched a plan that would make McGyver go, "Hey. Why didn't I think of that?" More on that later. After the intermission, Drake Younger and Josh Abercrombie came out, music-less. We fans were improvising our own music that had Abercrombie laughing as he circled the ring and slapped high-fives. Drake had a different way of interacting with the fans. He just came out and told people to shut up. It was a good, solid match for a mid-card event. I had never seen either of them wrestle before, and was entertained. Abercrombie won, and I was disappointed that the music wasn't working. I REALLY wanted to hear what the theme music would be for a wrestler named after a clothing line that is supposedly popular with homosexuals. Drake again requested that we fans "shut up!", on his way backstage. Sal Thomaselli and Ian Rotten were next in a brutal-looking match. I had never met Ian before, and had only seen him wrestle on ECW. I somehow expected Ian to be bigger than he actually was, but the power in those hits tell why he never needed to be. His body is riddled with signs of years and years of abuse, all in the name of entertaining the fans. His forehead is one big mass of lesions from blading, and his arms are zig-zagged with straight-edged scars, no doubt from unforgiving barbed wire. I found myself wondering if God would be mad at Ian on judgment day, for purposely marring the gift that was his body. I hope not, because he IS responsible for making people happy, after all. Rotten was very athletic, though, for a stocky man. His headstands and Liger dropkicks alone proved that. I felt Thomaselli's pain as Rotten beared down on him. Bigger and more powerful than his brother Vito, Sal had a good showing against Rotten and I would love to see the Thomaselli's in a tag team match. Rotten got the victory and came on the mic. He shook hands with Sal and told him that the Thomaselli brothers are welcome in IWA anytime. The crowd cheered. Then Rotten gave a speech. "Here in IWA Mid-South, we do our damndest to give you what's advertised, and more!" I had to agree. A lot of times, some independents advertise big names that mysteriously never show up. Candido and Gowen, on this night, at least showed. "I just got off the phone with the IWA World Heavyweight Champion, CM Punk", he continued. "And come our return date on January 13th you will see the IWA World Heavyweight Champion here in Vincennes!" Now this was a double-surprise. It was well-known that IWA was unsure about coming to Vincennes because they weren't sure if enough fans would show up to make it worth it. Now they were not only coming back, but bringing the champ with them! There were some loud fans in the front row, a bunch of buddies from the local college radio station, who were making the night fun. They were leading the chants and claps, and really getting into the matches. These guys were now yelling for AJ Styles. "You're gonna have to get some more people in here before you get AJ", said Rotten. The buddies promised to make good on it. Rotten got into the WWE a little bit. "We don't suck on little boys toes", he said, referring to the 1994 WWF sex scandal. The audience laughed. "No i'm serious. What was his name? Mel Phillips?" I was shaking my head in agreement. He pointed at me. "Am I lying?" I shook my head no. "He liked to suck on boys' toes! We don't do that here!" "At IWA, we don't tell our wrestlers they need to put on 10 pounds and stick a needle in their ass." "We're a small, independent, little company, as I said. And our biggest advertisement is you, the people that come here and enjoy yourself. And If you enjoy yourself, tell somebody, we'd appreciate it. I'm gonna shut up now....and we'll go into our next match." Ian left the ring, and passed by me. He stopped, and pointed at my trusty notebook. "And you can put that in your little column, too." he said. I smiled and told him I would. 9:33pm: Chris Candido and Matt Sydal came out. Matt is usually a fan favorite wherever he goes, but tonight, because he was facing the NWA Midwest Champion Chris Candido, he was booed relentlessly. Candido came out to a huge pop. Was Candido rusty in the ring? HA! Was he slacking off because he was in the middle of Indiana? HA! Of course not. Chris was as crisp as ever. Very impressive. Sydal showed why we was one of the top IWA workers in the match also. I believe he's only missing that one little unknown ingredient needed to be a break-out star. In the match, Sydal rolled up Chris by his trunks, pulling them half down, and exposing Candido's tanned hind side for all the venue to see. The audience was 'cracking' up, pun intended. "Get a picture, get a picture!" I was elbowing Tracey Russell, who had a camera with him. He just smiled and shook his head no. "Come on, front page of prowrestling.com! Candido's ass!" Alas, Russell just couldn't bring himself to care about his ass enough to point a camera at it and capture it for posterity, pun again intended. The funnier thing was, Candido didn't seem to care that his rump was hanging out in the breeze. He wrestled for a few good minutes like that, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. It got funnier and funnier as time went on, until he finally got cold (i assume), and absent-mindedly pulled his trunks back up. "Candido's a really nice guy, and I really like him," Gimmick Table Misty would later tell me. "But i'm getting really tired of seeing his ass." "He does that a lot?" I asked. "That's like, the 4th time he's done that on this tour. I don't wanna see his ass!" "Maybe he's proud of it." I offered, smiling. "He IS!" She exclaimed. Classic. 9:44 pm: Candido won his match, and took the mic. "I'm not into this 'shaking hands, I respect you, hugging' crap. To me, pro wrestling is good guys, bad guys, cheating and kicking ass. But Matt Sydal is a fantastic wrestler, and he gave a hell of a match." Ian Rotten took the mic and suggested a match for the return to Vincennes. IWA World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk vs. NWA Midwest Champion Chris Candido, in a title vs. title match. Chris agreed. The final match was for the IWA Lightweight title. Champion Jimmy Jacobs against Breyer Wellington. It was another match of two opposites. Jacobs is flamboyant, a sort-of-cross between Superfly Snuka and a crusierweight. Wellington was mean and ripped with muscles. I had never heard of Wellington before. He was impressive in that he never broke character. Sometimes, you could get the feeling that most heels are just playing their part, but Wellington never relented in the portrayal of his persona. Wellington came out to....MUSIC! Yes, someone had gone to Wal-Mart and purchased one of those table-top CD players, and The DJ played the music while Jim Fannin just held the microphone up to it, for an 'almost-as-good-as-the-system' quick fix. The problem was the music itself. Jimmy Jacobs music was the theme song from 'The Transformers', which I associate more as the song that Mark Wahlberg's Dirk Diggler character tried to sing in the movie Boogie Nights. I think Jacobs was offended after the show as I told him that, too. Wellington picked up the player as Jacob's theme music played. I thought he was gonna smash it, but he didn't. "I HATE that song!" Wellington yelled. Thanks, I thought. Me too. Good stuff in the match as Jacobs did some Snuka-like moves, and he and Wellington did a good job of combining classic wrestling story-telling with amazing high spots. Jimmy is another guy with a great look, and moves that could take him very far. Maybe we'll see him on a cable network show one day, who knows? The odd thing is, Jacobs was not doing the "huss" chants I knew him from. I guess that's an old gimmick. I never did get to learn what "huss" ever meant in the first place, either. Jacobs retained his title, and Jim thanked everyone for coming out. THE AFTERMATH I asked Table Gimmick Misty if Candido was still in the back. She said yes. "Could you tell him I'll be out here for the interview?" I asked. She said she would. I said goodbye to Tracey Russell and his girlfriend, and went into the bathroom. While doing my 'business', someone walked in from a door on the opposite side of the lavatory that I didn't know was there. It was Chris Candido, clad only in a towel. We were both shocked to see each other. He, probably shocked that someone was in the bathroom, and me shocked that the wrestlers here had to take showers in the public bathroom. We agreed to do the interview and I headed back to the ring and made small talk with Gimmick Table Misty and Mickie Knuckles. 10:16 pm: Candido came out from the back, once again in his 'pimp' suit and a backwards cap reminiscent of the late Crash Holly. We went by the back door of the venue and did our interview. You can hear the interview at VoiceofWrestling.com. I became acutely aware for the first time, as he was talking about maybe getting back into WWE or TNA, that I was actually taller than him by an inch. Of course, he was ripped to the 'T', and I was.....well, not. As I did my final goodbye to the listeners at the end of the interview, I lost my train of thought and stopped short, right after "Doc Young for Voiceofwrestling.com, at the IWA Mid-South...." I just trailed off and got silent. Chris had been drinking from a bottle of water and laughed so hard, he spit it out on the floor. Woe is the mid-sized reporter. 10:25 pm: After leaving the venue, I went to Wal-Mart to buy a six-pack of beer, as it is the fuel that runs the typing engine that is myself. And I knew I had a LOT of typing to do after THIS great show. As I was in line paying for my refreshing adult beverages, I saw him: The DJ from the IWA, in line at the return counter, holding a very familiar table-top CD player. Classic. FINAL THOUGHT It's no secret that IWA Mid-South is struggling. Attendance is down, and many people are worried. But what is a FACT, is that the attendance problem IS NOT because of the quality of the show. It is evident that these IWA guys bust their butts everyday, and give 100% no matter HOW many people are there. I mean, after all: They DID give 100% in a one-horse town named Vincennes. And no matter what technical or time-zone problems there where, they kept their cool and acted like total professionals. And they even have a booker who doesn't put himself on the top of every card. Do YOURSELF a favor. Do what I did. Turn off the TV, get out from behind the keyboard, and see some LOCAL wrestling! You'll be glad you did.

What's the worst thing you ever laughed at? Something that you KNOW you shouldn't be laughing at, but you are anyways...

Saw Hero vs. Super Dragon in CZW...so the matches I want to see here would be vs. Homicide and vs. Danielson. I guess I'll vote for Amdrag, and let B-Boy and Homicide team up for the tag titles.

ROH boards say it was Angle vs. Matt Stryker.

Looks decent so far, though I don't know why Kaos would get a title shot at B-Boy. But the tag title match should be great.

What are some matches where even though a guy lost he became more over than he had been previously? So often we see matches that are supposed to do this...take Taker vs. Heidenreich as Survivor Series, for instance. Is Heidenreich more over now? Very arguable. But there are some clear cases. I'll take the easy one and say Steve Austin, after losing to Bret Hart at WM13. You could also make the case for Austin and Survivor Series 1996. What are some other examples?

Was there anything to Taker/Snuka at WM7? Was there any real feud to Bret Hart vs. Diesel at RR95? The 2/3 falls match at Rumble 89?

The original character name for the Wall, who debuted as the German bodyguard of Berlyn (Alex Wright's new character) was Mercedes Diesel, but they changed it at the last second.

Thanks for the info so far.

As always, post your thoughts, comments, memories, questions, etc. WrestleMania II "What the World is Coming To" April 5, 1986 live on PPV (7.0) CCTV drawing 320,000 ($4,000,000) ---------------------------- Long Island, NY at the Nassau Coliseum drawing 16,585 ($414,615) 1. Don Muraco DCO Paul Orndorff (4:10). 2. WWF I-C Champ Randy Savage pinned George Steele (5:10). 3. Jake Roberts pinned George Wells (3:15). 4. Mr. T (managed by Joe Frazier) beat Roddy Piper (managed by Lou Duva) (1:15 - 4th) in a "boxing" match. Cab Calloway, Darryl Dawkins, and G. Gordon Liddy were the judges. Guests: Susan St. James (announcer), Joan Rivers (ring announcer), Burger King's Herb (timekeeper), Ray Charles (vocalist) ----------------------------- Rosemont, IL at The Horizon drawing 9,000 ($294,000) 5. WWF Women's Champ Fabulous Moolah pinned Velvet McIntyre (1:25). 6. Cpl Kirschner pinned Nikolia Volkoff (2:05) in a "flag" match. 7. The British Bulldogs (seconded by Ozzy Osbourne) beat Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake (13:03) to win the WWF Tag Title when Smith pinned Valentine. 8. Andre the Giant won a "battle royal" which included both wrestlers and NFL players. The other wrestlers were: Ted Arcidi, Tony Atlas, Brian Blair, Jim Brunzell, Bret Hart, Hillbilly Jim, Iron Sheik, King Tonga, Pedro Morales, Jim Niedhart, Bruno Sammartino, Danny Spivey, & John Studd. The NFL players were: Jimbo Covert, Bill Fralic, Russ Francis, Ernie Holmes, Harvey Martin, & William Perry. Dick Butkus and Ed "Too Tall" Jones were the special referees. Guests: Cathy Lee Crosby (announcer), Clare Peller (timekeeper) ------------------------------ Los Angeles, CA at the Sports Arena drawing 14,500 ($380,000) 9. Ricky Steamboat pinned Hercules Hernandez. 10. Adrian Adonis pinned Uncle Elmer. 11. Terry & Dory Funk beat Junkyard Dog & Tito Santana (13:00) when Terry pinned JYD. 12. WWF World Champ Hulk Hogan beat King Kong Bundy (11:00) in a "steel cage" match. Robert Conrad was the special referee. Guests: Elvira (announcer), Tommy LaSorda (ring announcer), Ricky Schroeder (timekeeper) ====================================================== Superstars on the Superstation February 2, 1986 in Atlanta, GA The Omni drawing 10,000 Shown February 7, 1986 on TBS (3.2) 1. Ron Bass drew The Barbarian. 2. Baron Von Raschke beat Italian Stallion. 3. Jimmy Valiant beat Arn Anderson via DQ. 4. The Midnight Express (Eaton & Condrey) beat The Rock-n-Roll Express (17:00) to win the NWA Tag Title when Eaton pinned Morton. 5. The Road Warriors beat Ivan & Nikita Koloff (6:00) via DQ. 6. National Champ Dusty Rhodes drew Tully Blanchard (20:00). 7. NWA World Champ Ric Flair pinned Ronnie Garvin (16:00). ===================================================== Starrcade 1986 "Night of the Skywalkers" November 27, 1986 --------------------------------------------- Greensboro, NC at the Greensboro Coliseum drawing 16,000 ($380,000) 1. Tim Horner & Nelson Royal beat Don & Rocky Kernodle (7:30) when Horner pinned Kernodle. 2. Hector Guerrero & Baron Von Raschke beat Shaska Whatley & The Barbarian (7:25) when Raschke pinned Whatley. 3. Wahoo McDaniel beat Rick Rude (9:05) in an "Indian strap" match. 4. Jimmy Valiant pinned Paul Jones (4:00) in a "hair vs hair" match. 5. Tully Blanchard beat Dusty Rhodes (7:30) in a "first blood" match to win the NWA TV Title. 6. NWA Tag Champs The Rock-n-Roll Express beat Ole & Arn Anderson (20:20) in a "steel cage" match when Morton pinned Ole. --------------------------------------- Atlanta, GA at The Omni drawing 14,000 1. Brad Armstrong drew Jimmy Garvin (15:00). 2. NWA US Tag Champs Krusher Khruschev & Ivan Koloff beat Bobby Jaggers & Dutch Mantel (9:10) in a "no DQ" match when Koloff pinned Jaggers. 3. Central States Champ Sam Houston beat Bill Dundee (10:24) via DQ. 4. Big Bubba Rogers beat Ronnie Garvin (11:50) via knockout in a "Louisville street fight" match. 5. The Road Warriors beat The Midnight Express (Eaton & Condrey) (7:00) in a "scaffold" match. 6. NWA World Champ Ric Flair beat Nikita Koloff (20:00) via DQ. Note: The matches alternated from site to site. Match orders are correct for each site, but not for the overall card.

Nashville, TN December 14th, Smackdown By: Crispy, rajah.com reader Dark- Nunzio Vs. Chad Collier, with a short victory going to Nunzio Velocity- Paul London Vs. Shannon Moore This was a good back and forth match but I missed the last half due to Security telling me to put away my still camera because it says the word video on it. London ends up with the victory and good sportsmanship was shared by both competitors. Sinn/Tony Cilanto Vs. Hardcore Holly/Charlie Haas Sinn and Cilantro came into no music at all, and after the macth began there were numerous, and quite loud, Hardcore chants. Needless to say Hardcore/Haas dominated with Hardcore winning with an Alabama Slam! Smackdown! Tazz and Cole come out, and the ring begins to get decorated for tonight’s show. Orlando comes in, the ring is set, and we are ready for tonight’s Smackdown! The intro/pyro rolls and Orlando, in the middle of a ring decorated in red, white, and blue banners, ask us to welcome the WWE Champion, John Bradshaw Layfield! The limo pulls up with JBL and Amy riding on top if it like a bull, with the Bashams dressed as Secret Service closely in tow. As the confetti and balloons rain, JBL makes his way to the ring. He then proceeds to tell us how tonight is the return of a heo, and tonight will be a moment that you will never forget! All great things come in 3’s, FDR, Regan, and JBL for examples. He also fought three of the best superstars at Armageddon, Booker T, Eddie Guerrero, and The Undertaker, and he beat them all to retain the title once more. That his was the greatest title victory and he is the greatest champion of all time, despite having a GM more biast and corrupt and fans that refuse to chant his name. Thus starts a massive “You Suck!” chant. He then screams at the audience to chant his name! Chant my name! All of a sudden, Kurt Angle’s music rolls and in walks Angle with Reigns and Jindrak in tow. They go right for the ring and Kurt goes nose to nose with JBL. Bradshaw tells him that he is interuppting his party, and that unless he is here to congratulate him, he better get out! Angle then asks what was that about JBL being the greatest champion, sorry, but no. I am! Do you remember Armageddon, 2000? Angle beat 5 men, The Rock, Stone Cold, Rikishi, Triple H, and The Undertaker in a 6-Man Hell in a Cell match for the Title. And besides, I invented the over the top championship celebration, BUCKO! (Yes, Angle called JBL Bucko, and he never lets it drop. It is a riot! Numerous Bucko chants during this segment) Bradshaw states that wasn’t that four years ago? My, how the mighty have fallen! Angle then calls out John BUCKO Layfield and challenges him to a title match tonight, for the WWE Championship. JBL says that would be a great match, and it’s an excellent idea, but no. He is going to take time off for the holidays and it just isn’t going to happen! In walks the Smackdown GM, Teddy Mac. Teddy tells JBL that you don’t control when you take time off, I do. You don’t make matches, I do. Let me ask the audience if they would like to see this match. JBL then states that the audience shouldn’t be asked but his pleas are not heard as Teddy as an informal poll. Needless to say, resounding cheers fill the arena. Tonight, says Teddy, it will be JBL Vs. Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship. Ho, ho ho JBL, or should I say, Holla…Holla, Holla and with that Teddy leaves the ring, followed by everyone else during the break. During the break a video package rolls for the new Diva video, South of the Border. Akio/Kidman Vs. RVD/Rey Mysterio (Non-title match) Back in the ring, Akio and Kidman have made their way to the ring to face RVD and Rey for a non title tag team match. Kidman and Rey start it off but soon it is Akio and Rey, and Akio is in the ropes set up for a 619. (It being Nashville, I was prepared for 615 chants, our area code, but yet I heard none, sadly.) Akio tries to retort but ends up kicking Kidman out of the ring. Soon it is RVD and Kidman in the ring, and RVD hits the Rolling Thunder, but to no avail. Postions change and Kidman ends up dragging RVD to the corner for the Moonsault, but he misses. RVD then drags Kidman to the center of the ring and connects with a five star for the 3 count. Winners - RVD and Mysterio Don’t forget, tonight we crown the next Tough Enough Champion and later on tonight JBL defends his title against Kurt Angle. Another Blade commercial runs and we are shortly joined by Torrie Wilson in an Uncle Sam outfit. She says that she is proud to wear these colors, and then talks about the troops in Iraq and how great it was to go. She reminds us that next week is the Annual Christmans in Baghdad Smackdown! and then leaves the ring. Right after that, Heidenreich comes from the audience, behind Cole and Tazz, and Cole flips out and heads to the entrance, looking nervous. Heidenreich grabs a chair and sits in the middle of the ring, and we are graced with more poetry by Heidenreich. The poem is anti-Taker and this gets a solid Taker chant going. Finally it ends and he leaves…but never soon enough. Eddie and Booker T are shown in the back saying that even though they were fighting at the pay per view, they were on the same page, and get along great. Some random TNA comes in and they ogle it. The conversation leads into a tease fight between them until Booker cracks up and begins to laugh saying that he loves to push Eddie’s buttons, it’s so easy. Now, let’s go kick some ass! There was some words spoken about the Cena match from the PPV but we never heard them, so I have no clue why the image was shown. Also, don’t forget that next week is the Best of RAW 2004! After that, the Royal Rumble commercial airs. Being and actor, this is the best commercial, and the funniest that I have ever seen! We come back to Orlando at the GM’s door, but another girl is there saying that Mr. Long is meditating and cannot be interuppted. Orlando walks away angry and runs into Reigns. Luther is laughing at Orlando trying to get JBL out of the match and the two begin to get into swapping ways their champion is better than the other, until Orlando states that JBL provides healthcare. Luther get seriously interested but quickly throws it away and they get angry a little more before they depart. Kenzo/Dupree vs. Booker T/Eddie Eddie enters to the largest pop of the night. This was a pretty solid match but I got into the match and forgot to take notes. The heels never really dominanted and the crowd seemed very into the match. Booker gets the Book End on Kenzo and starts to feel it. He hits the spinarooni, as Hiroko sneaks in the ring behind Booker with a Kendo stick. She makes to hit him with it just before Booker turns around and scares her out of the ring. Eddie is the actual legal man and hits the frog splash, sealing the victory. Winners - Booker T/Eddie Orlando walks into JBL’s dressing room telling him the match is still going on. JBL gets angry when he thinks no one has confidence in him. Amy then tells him that it is ok, that he will be champion and get to go overseas next week. JBL gets nervous saying that it is a war zone, but Amy says the whoever the champion is has to go and represent WWE. Then Carlito shows up, with a proposition for JBL. They both have a problem, Teddy. Long is always on both their backs, so after your match tonight, let’s talk. Sounds like a plan, says JBL. Carlito takes a big bite out of his apple and the Cabinet gets nervous. Mr. Cool just smiles and walks away. The WWE Slam of the week is Funaki beating Spike for the Cruiserweight Belt at Armageddon. Tazz and Cole get some screentime here I think, and then a ThemeAddict comercial airs. Some footage from the new Smackdown Vs. Raw game shows us what the JBL/Angle match could be like. WHAT DOES EVERYBODY WANT?! Time for to crown the next Tough Enough Champion. Al Snow is in the ring and invites Mike Mizanin and Daniel Puder to the ring where the trophy is. This took no time at all, and Al Snow crowns Puder as the next champion. He also asks him how would he like a chance to headline Wrestlemania? Puder has been entered into the 30 Man Royal Rumble in January. Both guys were very good sports about it all, but Mizanin says that this is where he wants to be now, and will find a way! Angle is shown in the locker room as Reigns comes in. Angle begins to bash on all pro-sports for awhile and Reigns tells Angle not to worry, that he and Jindrak will be there to take on the cabinet. He then complains about his back to Jindrak and Angle asks him what he is talking about. It’s nothing says Luther…Well..Orlando gets health care from JBL….Angle gets furious, forget health care! I’ve got a match, next! ECW commericial, and Teddy makes his way to Tazz and Cole to comment on the match. The older Iraq commercial is shown and we come back to two local 101st Airborne members and we are shown that the Air Force Commander is in attendance. Man, that explains the beef in security in the house. Some new Diva makes her way down to the ring in a Mrs. Santa outfit, passing out candy canes before we start our main event. JBL Vs. Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship Kurt and crew make their way to the ring first. Then JBL comes out with the Cabinet, and as he begins to enter the ring, the Diva offers JBL a candy cane, and Amy gets furious. Could it be? Are we that lucky? YES! Catfight! This ends with each girl getting held back until Amy decides to rip the Diva’s top off, and the favor is returned. Finally Teddy Mac has had enough and throws everyone out but the two competitors. Finally our match gets under way as Angel is chewing on JBL’s hat. More Bucko chants fill the air, as well as numerous Let’s Go Angle chants! They go back and forth for awhile, ankle lock here and there, until after awhile Orlando Jordon comes running into the ring while Angle has JBL in an ankle lock, but he misses and flies out the ring. The Bashams show up followed by Jindrak and Reigns. While the ref is distracted, our course JBL is tapping. Orlando gets back in the ring and JBL gets DQ’ed. Angle wins, but no title. WELLLLLL!!!!!! Big Show’s msuic hits and he makes his way to the ring. A choke slam for Jindrak, as well as one for Reigns. A dual choke slam for the Bashams, and Show picks up Orlando and takes him out with a F-5. JBL has snuck his way up the ramp as Show signals from the ring that he is coming for the belt! I am pretty sure this is where the cameras end. Winner - Angle by DQ And here is the recap of the Casket Match: Chimmel tells us that Long has ordered OJ and JBL to face Taker in a handicapped casket match, right now. JBL comes out, whines while they set up the casket, until Taker’s music hits. Taker makes his slow way into the ring, and JBL is there with his face in his hands. JBL and OJ want to run but they come back and peak in the casket, and in doing so decides to get back in the ring. Swings are swapped and eventually JBL quickly ends up in the casket, but no lid has been closed because OJ shows up just in time. Taker now has JBL in the casket acting a fool, and is beating OJ down into a corner. JBL gets out and together they team up on Taker in the corner. They try to get him in the casket but can’t! OJ ends up in the casket while Taker and JBL duke it out in the ring. JBL low blows Taker, as Taker falls out of the ring. They team up on Taker using the stairs, but a missed stair shot turns the tables. Taker is back in control and beats OJ into the top of the casket, and throws JBL’s face into the lid as well. JBL gets back up and regains control as they lead Taker near the ramp and begins to choke Taker with some cable. Taker lowblows JBL and tossed OJ into the casket, but too hard and OJ flies through, out the other side. JBL outmaneuvers Taker and grabs a steel chair but not in time as he gets a facefull of Taker’s boot. Taker tosses JBL, then OJ into the ring. He performs a little oldschool on JBL. Then OJ begins to wail on Taker some more as JBL opens the casket. This ends with OJ falling over JBL and into the casket. Taker gets a chokeslam in on JBL, and closes the lid on OJ. The crowd calls for a tombstone, and Taker gives one as requested to JBL and throws him inside with OJ. The casket is rolled out with both men inside and Taker makes his way to the back, sucking up the crowd response. Winner - The Undertaker The arena was almost completely full. It was awesome to see that many people in the there. The crowd got into everythign and rarely was silent. For the record, Tony Chimmel is one of the funniest people I’ve seen. The guy is a riot! Overall it wasn’t a bad final show of the year, but there was no Cena, as I assume he was off filming his movie still. There was no acknowledgement of Funaki other than the Slam of the Week. And only a few matches. Not many complaints really. This is my 6th show in Nashville, and the only one better I have been to was Judgment Day a few years back. Hope the show translates to tv well, because we all had a great time!

Might be missing a Velocity match here unless they only taped two. We'll see as more spoilers come in. Velocity: 1) Paul London vs. Shannon Moore 2) Haas/Holly vs. Sinn and Tony Cilantro Smackdown: 1) RVD/Misterio vs. Kidman/Akio (non-title) 2) Booker/Eddie vs. Kenzo/Dupree 3) JBL vs. Kurt Angle (WWE title)

Okay, so these aren't really old school...but they're over 5 years ago, so they count. Anyways, as always, post your thoughts, comments, memories, etc...anything you want to relating to these shows: No Mercy 1999 October 17, 1999 in Cleveland, OH Gund Arena drawing 18,742 ($478,156) Shown live on PPV (0.84) 1. The Godfather pinned Mideon (7:31). 2. The Fabulous Moolah pinned Ivory (3:01) to win the WWF Women's Title. 3. Hardcore & Crash Holly beat The New Age Outlaws (10:11) via DQ. 4. Chyna pinned Jeff Jarrett (8:37) in a "good housekeeping" match to win the WWF I-C Title. 5. The Rock pinned The British Bulldog. 6. Matt & Jeff Hardy beat Edge & Christian (16:30) in a "ladder" match. 7. Val Venis pinned Mankind (9:26). 8. X-Pac won a "four corners" match (10:08). * Kane pinned Bradshaw (8:25). * X-Pac pinned Kane. * X-Pac pinned Farooq (10:08). 9. WWF World Champ Hunter Hearst Helmsley pinned Steve Austin (21:53) in an "anything goes" match. =========== Halloween Havoc 1999 October 24, 1999 in Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena drawing 8,464 ($314,000) Shown live on PPV 1. WCW Cruiserweight Champ Disco Inferno pinned Lash Leroux (7:35). 2. Harlem Heat beat Billy Kidman (subbing for Rey Misterio, Jr.) & Konnan and Brian Knobbs & Hugh Morrus (5:02) in a "triangle" match to win the WCW Tag Title when Booker pinned Knobs. 3. Eddie Guerrero beat Perry Saturn (11:12) via DQ. 4. Brad Armstrong pinned Berlyn (4:23). 5. Rick Steiner pinned Chris Benoit (12:50) to win the WCW TV Title. 6. Lex Luger beat Bret Hart (7:46) via submission. 7. WCW World Champ Sting pined Hulk Hogan (0:03). 8. Bill Goldberg TKO Sid Vicious (7:11). 9. Diamond Dallas Page pinned Ric Flair (12:49) in a "strap" match. 10. Bill Goldberg pinned Sting (3:08) to win the WCW World Title. (Decision reversed the next night) ================= November to Remember 1999 November 7, 1999 in Buffalo, NY Bert Flickinger Center drawing 3,000 Shown live on PPV (0.21) 1. Spike Dudley pinned Simon Diamond (2:59). 2. Little Guido pinned Nova (4:20). 3. Jerry Lynn beat Yoshihiro Tajiri and Super Crazy (10:59) in a "three way dance." * Tajiri pinned Crazy (6:44). * Lynn pinned Tajiri (10:59). 4. Spanish Angel, Tony DeVito, Vito Lograsso, & PN News beat New Jack, Axl Rotten, & Balls Mahoney (8:21) in a "handicap" match when Angel pinned New Jack. 5. Sabu beat Chris Candido (17:42) via submission. 6. ECW Champ Mike Awesome pinned Masato Tanaka (12:26). 7. ECW TV Champ Rob Van Dam pinned Taz (14:34). 8. Rhino, Justin Credible, & Lance Storm beat Raven, Tommy Dreamer, & Sandman (9:19) when Credible pinned Sandman.

These two have the most ridiculous storylines in WWE history, I think. But let's work with the crap given us and put something together here. Okay, first off they were brothers and Kane set the house on fire, causing Kane and Taker's parents to die. Or wait, did Undertaker get revealed as having set that fire? Anyways, Paul Bearer raised Kane and Taker separately. And Bearer was really Kane's father, so Kane and Undertaker are half brothers. Right? Oh, and when Kane was little he might have had sex with Katie Vick's dead body. And then they finally collided in the WWF. And Kane buried Taker alive, so Taker came back as the dead man again and beat his brother at Wrestlemania this year. Can you add any "facts" to this shit?

King of the Ring 1997 June 9, 1997 in Providence, RI Civic Center drawing 9,312 ($202,963) Shown live on PPV (0.5) 1. The Headbangers beat Bart Gunn & Jesse Jammes (6:10) when Thrasher pinned Gunn. 2. Hunter Hearst Helmsley pinned Ahmed Johnson (7:42). 3. Mankind pinned Jerry Lawler (10:24). 4. Goldust pinned Crush (9:56). 5. Owen Hart, Jim Niedhart, & Davey Smith beat Sycho Sid & The Legion of Doom (13:37) when Hart pinned Sid. 6. Hunter Hearst Helmsley pinned Mankind (19:26) to win the King of the Ring Tournament. 7. Shawn Michaels DDQ Steve Austin (22:29). 8. WWF World Champ The Undertaker pinned Farooq (13:43). The Great American Bash 1997 "Savage/Page II" June 15, 1997 in Moline, IL Mark of the Quad Cities Arena drawing 9,613 ($142,118) Shown live on PPV (0.60) 1. Ultimo Dragon beat Psicosis (14:20) via submission. 2. Harlem Heat beat Rick & Scott Steiner (12:02) via DQ. 3. Konnan beat Hugh Morris (10:34) via submission. 4. Glacier pinned Wrath (12:02). 5. WCW Women's Champ Akira Hokuto pinned Madusa (11:41). Due to the loss, Madusa retired. 6. Chris Benoit beat Meng (14:59) via submission in a "death" match. 7. Kevin Greene pinned Steve McMichael (9:21). 8. WCW Tag Champs Scott Hall & Kevin Nash beat Ric Flair & Roddy Piper (10:02) when Hall pinned Piper. 9. Randy Savage pinned Diamond Dallas Page (16:56) in a "falls count anywhere" match. Wrestlepalooza 1997 June 6, 1997 in Philadelphia, PA ECW Arena drawing 1,250 1. ECW TV Champ Shane Douglas pinned Chris Chetti (6:52). 2. The Pitbulls beat Little Guido & Tracey Smothers (7:33). 3. D-Von & Buh Buh Ray Dudley beat Sandman & Balls Mahoney (8:30) when Buh Buh pinned Mahoney. 4. ECW Champ Terry Funk pinned Chris Candido (12:57). 5. Tommy Dreamer pinned Raven. 6. Sabu pinned Taz. 7. Taz beat Shane Douglas (2:50) via submission to win the ECW TV Title. 8. ECW Tag Champs The Eliminators beat D-Von & Buh Buh Ray Dudley when Saturn pinned D-Von.

Apparently Lesnar vs. Big Show, if Brock comes back.

He'll be champ at least to Mania. Maybe Cena will take the belt from him there, but JBL will have it back by Summerslam 05.

Ha! We really ARE getting Taker/Kane vs. Snitsky/Heidenreich at WM21. Wow.

Judgment Day 2003 - Big Show vs. Brock stretcher match.

Keller: "Before the match, JBL solemnly hugged his title belt as his Cabinet looked on with sad faces. Basically, they played up JBL's resignation to losing the title so strongly, it was the equivalent of the announcers yelling, "This is it! It's over" during a pin attempt that ends with a kickout before three. In other words, JBL is retaining the title based on WWE's predictable, hammer-over-the-head reverse psychology."

I think with Angle's neck the way it is they decided not to have him in the main event again. Could we possibly see Angle vs. HBK and Taker/Kane vs. Heidenreich/Snitsky? It's quite possible...

If you're hoping JBL loses tonight, you're going to be really disappointed. If you're hoping JBL isn't in the title picture for all of 2005, you're going to be really disappointed. My suggestion is to start liking JBL or not watch Smackdown.

I believe it's the strongest classification of tornados.