cawthon777 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2006 I sometimes like to check out the prelim matches from recent years and see just how far the relative unknowns have come since their squash match on Velocity or Jakked. Here's a mix of dark matches and prelims dating back to 2000 involving talent that have gone from no names to stars. Some pretty interesting matches. WWF @ Anaheim, CA - Arrowhead Pond - October 9, 2000 Dark Match at Raw taping: K-Krush (Ron Killings) pinned Christopher Daniels WWF @ Indianapolis, IN - Conseco Fieldhouse - November 14, 2000 Dark Match at Smackdown taping: Shelton Benjamin pinned Rob Conway WWF @ Memphis, TN - Pyramid - December 11, 2000 Dark Match at Raw taping: Spanky pinned American Dragon WWF @ Phoenix, AZ - America West Arena - February 26, 2001 Jakked: Essa Rios defeated Samoa Joe WWF @ Cincinnati, OH - May 14, 2001 (12,022) Dark Matches during Raw Taping: Nick Dinsmore vs. Leviathan (Batista) Rico Constantino vs. Randy Orton WWF @ San Jose, CA - May 21, 2001 Jakked: WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Jerry Lynn pinned Christopher Daniels with the tornado DDT at 4:36 WWF @ Tacoma, WA - Tacoma Dome - July 3, 2001 Dark Match during Smackdown taping: Essa Rios pinned Christopher Daniels at 4:18 with a moonsault WWF @ Memphis, TN - Pyramid - September 18, 2001 (11,345) Dark Matches during Smackdown taping: The Island Boys (3 Minute Warning) defeated Charlie & Russ Haas after Ekmo hit a top rope splash Justin Credible pinned Kid Kash with the superkick WWF @ Kansas City, MO - Kemper Arena - October 22, 2001 Dark Matches during Raw taping: Chuck Palumbo pinned Randy Orton with the superkick Billy Gunn pinned Brock Lesnar with the Fameasser WWF @ Wichita, KS - November 27, 2001 Dark Match during Smackdown taping: Brock Lesnar pinned Randy Orton with a powerslam WWF @ Greenville, SC - Bi-Lo Center - January 21, 2002 (9,420) Jakked: The Hurricane (w/ Molly Holly) pinned AJ Styles with the Vertebreaker at 4:36 after Styles missed a Shooting Star Press WWF @ Jonesboro, AR - Convocation Center - February 11, 2002 Dark Match during Raw taping: Shelton Benjamin defeated Leviathan (Batista) WWF @ Little Rock, AR - Alltel Arena - February 12, 2002 Dark Match during Smackdown taping: Leviathan defeated Randy Orton WWF @ Chicago, IL - AllState Arena - February 18, 2002 (13,967) Dark Match during Raw taping: WWF Tag Team Champions Tazz & Spike Dudley defeated Brock Lesnar & Leviathan WWE @ Oakland, CA - Arena - June 17, 2002 Dark Match during Raw taping: Shelton Benjamin defeated Prototype (John Cena) WWE @ Minneapolis, MN - Target Center - September 10, 2002 Dark Matches during Smackdown taping: Val Venis defeated Horace Hogan via submission with an inverted figure-4 Mark Jindrak & Lenny Lane defeated Bull Buchanon & Doug Basham WWE @ Cincinnati, OH - November 11, 2002 Dark Matches during Raw taping: Nathan Jones defeated Rob Conway Charlie Haas & Lance Cade defeated Chris Kanyon & Damaja (Danny Basham) when Haas forced Kanyon to submit to a leglock WWE @ East Rutherford, NJ - Continental Airlines Arena - January 12, 2003 Dark Match during Smackdown taping: Nova (Simon Dean) defeated Aaron Stevens (who be on TV soon) WWE @ St. Louis, MO - Savvis Center - August 12, 2003 Velocity: Sean O'Haire pinned Ken Anderson (Ken Kennedy) at 3:49 WWE @ Detroit, MI - Joe Louis Arena - August 19, 2003 Velocity: Chuck Palumbo & Johnny Stamboli defeated Eric Young & Bobby Roode when Palumbo pinned Young with the Jungle Kick to the back of the head WWE @ Raleigh, NC - RBC Center - September 16, 2003 Velocity: Matt Hardy pinned Joey Matthews (Mercury) with the Twist of Fate WWE @ Chicago, IL - Allstate Arena - September 29, 2003 Sunday Night Heat: Rodney Mack pinned Ken Anderson (Kennedy) with a spinebuster Tommy Dreamer pinned Sheik Shawn Daivari with the DDT WWE @ Long Island, NY - Nassau Coliseum - January 12, 2004 (6,100) Dark Match during Raw taping: Lance Storm & Val Venis defeated Travis Tomko & Kevin Fertig (Mordecai) following the Hart Attack WWE @ Houston, TX - August 3, 2004 Dark Match during Smackdown taping: Sho Funaki pinned Carly (Carlito) Colon with a roll up WWE @ Charlotte, NC - December 6, 2004 (4,000) Dark Match at Raw taping: Chris Masters pinned CW Anderson with a fisherman's suplex Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Silence 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2006 WWE @ Houston, TX - August 3, 2004 Dark Match during Smackdown taping: Sho Funaki pinned Carly (Carlito) Colon with a roll up So THAT'S who Carlito learned the Fruit Roll-Up from. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
k thx 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2006 WWF @ Wichita, KS - November 27, 2001 Dark Match during Smackdown taping: Brock Lesnar pinned Randy Orton with a powerslam SMEKED~! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ripper 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2006 I can only shake my head at what talent the fed could have had Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spaceman Spiff 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2006 Chuck Palumbo pinned Randy Orton with the superkick Fantastic! Billy Gunn pinned Brock Lesnar with the Fameasser Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Fook Report post Posted January 2, 2006 WWF @ Chicago, IL - AllState Arena - February 18, 2002 (13,967) Dark Match during Raw taping: WWF Tag Team Champions Tazz & Spike Dudley defeated Brock Lesnar & Leviathan (Batista) That'd be quite the team nowadays if they ever get Brock back. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Mandarin 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2006 I can't believe 14,000 people saw Tazz and Spike Dudley beat freakin' Brock Lesnar and Batista. That's incredibly sad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Team Angle Pusher 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2006 WWE @ Detroit, MI - Joe Louis Arena - August 19, 2003 Velocity: Chuck Palumbo & Johnny Stamboli defeated Eric Young & Bobby Roode when Palumbo pinned Young with the Jungle Kick to the back of the head WWE @ Chicago, IL - Allstate Arena - September 29, 2003 Sunday Night Heat: Rodney Mack pinned Ken Anderson (Kennedy) with a spinebuster Tommy Dreamer pinned Sheik Shawn Daivari with the DDT Team Canada had a dark match in the WWE?! WWE could have had so much talent.... Also, I'm surprised to see Ken Kennedy and Davairi wrestled in 2003 in dark matches already. Davairi debuted in the end of 2004 and Ken Kennedy in 2005. I guess they weren't ready.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cawthon777 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2006 Kennedy worked dark matches, Jakked, Velocity, etc. off and on for several years. I would say back to at least 2002. A quote from his old website: Kamikaze Ken is currently enjoying wrestling in the midwest independent circuit and has been contacted several times by the WWE. He has appeared on Smackdown as an extra, twice on Jakked. Once against Essa Rios, and again with Skullkrusher vs Chuck Palumbo and Billy Gunn. He has also had a dark match against Scot Vick. (formerly Sick Boy from WCW). http://www.geocities.com/kamikazekenanderson/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisMWaters 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2006 WWF @ Phoenix, AZ - America West Arena - February 26, 2001 Jakked: Essa Rios defeated Samoa Joe Picturing that nowadays makes me laugh MUCH harder than it should. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
normam 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2006 hurricane beating AJ styles gunn beating lesnar tazz & spike beating lesnar & batista - LAUGHABLE! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haws bah gawd 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2006 WWF @ Greenville, SC - Bi-Lo Center - January 21, 2002 (9,420) Jakked: The Hurricane (w/ Molly Holly) pinned AJ Styles with the Vertebreaker at 4:36 after Styles missed a Shooting Star Press You can Add the following to this since I attended this show: Brock Lesnar pinned Rico with the F-5 Randy Orton pinned Ron Waterman with a small package. After the match, Ron destroyed him with a couple Pearl River Plunge's. Also, that AJ vs Hurricane match is pretty easy to track down. I believe it is on Putfile and Youtube. Its a good match with a very skinny AJ Styles bumping like a champ for the Hurricane. Vertebreaker was a thrill to see. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Epic Reine 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2006 WWF @ Chicago, IL - AllState Arena - February 18, 2002 (13,967) Dark Match during Raw taping: WWF Tag Team Champions Tazz & Spike Dudley defeated Brock Lesnar & Leviathan That one really caught my eye. It's funny to see Lesnar and Batista job to two men not even a quarter of their size combined. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LivingLegendGaryColeman 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2006 (edited) I didn't see it on here, but I remember seeing a dark match of Shannon Moore vs. Spanky months before Spanky debuted in the WWE. I want to say it was October 2002... can't remember for sure. All I remember was it was before a Smackdown taping and it was a fun little match, but a mark next to me was complaining the whole time because it wasn't the Undertaker. I'm not even exaggerating either. It was like a 40 year old man just sitting there during Kendrick/Moore saying stuff like "Dead Man Walking!" That match was followed by a second dark match of Val Venis/Bill DeMott vs. Bull Buchanon/Shelton Benjamin. Edited January 2, 2006 by LivingLegendGaryColeman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pochorenella 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2006 Interesting stuff, cawthon. Great post. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cawthon777 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2006 WWF @ Greenville, SC - Bi-Lo Center - January 21, 2002 (9,420) Jakked: The Hurricane (w/ Molly Holly) pinned AJ Styles with the Vertebreaker at 4:36 after Styles missed a Shooting Star Press You can Add the following to this since I attended this show: Brock Lesnar pinned Rico with the F-5 Randy Orton pinned Ron Waterman with a small package. After the match, Ron destroyed him with a couple Pearl River Plunge's. Also, that AJ vs Hurricane match is pretty easy to track down. I believe it is on Putfile and Youtube. Its a good match with a very skinny AJ Styles bumping like a champ for the Hurricane. Vertebreaker was a thrill to see. Thanks for that, I appreciate it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Conspiracy_Victim 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2006 I've got that Hurricane/AJ Styles match on the computer. Good match for 4 and a half minutes. AJ (looking about 18) plays the cocky heel and gets a little bit of offense including a fairly nice superkick. The announcers really build him up. Then he missed the Shooting Star and Hurricane nails him with what I think was the last Vertebreaker in the WWE. Fun. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haws bah gawd 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2006 (edited) AJ Styles vs Hurricane There is a link to the AJ vs Hurricane match. Conspiracy Victim, IIRC, the last Vertebreaker was taken by Stevie Richards on an episode of Sunday Night Heat in the Summer of '03. Edited January 2, 2006 by Haws bah gawd Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Desperate Housewife Report post Posted January 2, 2006 Tommy Dreamer pinned Sheik Shawn Daivari with the DDT Team Canada had a dark match in the WWE?! WWE could have had so much talent.... Also, I'm surprised to see Ken Kennedy and Davairi wrestled in 2003 in dark matches already. Davairi debuted in the end of 2004 and Ken Kennedy in 2005. I guess they weren't ready.... That wasn't a darkmatch - it was a regular Heat match. It WAS noticeable, because Davairi (who, UI remember on this website, most people assumed was Jimmy Yang, for some reason, did the Magic Carpet Ride, and someone backstage going BANANAS over it (we'll assume Gerwitz). He was signed to a deal immediatly Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Team Angle Pusher 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2006 If he went bananas over it, why is he not doing it now then? It sucks ass. I think we would all mark out if he did the Magic Carpet Ride on Cena. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kardo 0 Report post Posted January 3, 2006 Seeing Xavier taking on Burchill this week on Velocity was weird enough for me. Anyone know why he doesn't wretle full time any more? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
razazteca 0 Report post Posted January 3, 2006 If he went bananas over it, why is he not doing it now then? It sucks ass. I think we would all mark out if he did the Magic Carpet Ride on Cena. It would as cool as the other side of the pillow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jericholic82 0 Report post Posted January 3, 2006 I remember the syles match, I marked out for the vertebreaker. and I can recal l ken andersons appearances back then too. who knew they would be major stars someday Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mole 0 Report post Posted January 3, 2006 WWF @ Greenville, SC - Bi-Lo Center - January 21, 2002 (9,420) Jakked: The Hurricane (w/ Molly Holly) pinned AJ Styles with the Vertebreaker at 4:36 after Styles missed a Shooting Star Press You can Add the following to this since I attended this show: Brock Lesnar pinned Rico with the F-5 Randy Orton pinned Ron Waterman with a small package. After the match, Ron destroyed him with a couple Pearl River Plunge's. Also, that AJ vs Hurricane match is pretty easy to track down. I believe it is on Putfile and Youtube. Its a good match with a very skinny AJ Styles bumping like a champ for the Hurricane. Vertebreaker was a thrill to see. How in the blue hell do you remember that? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarvinisaLunatic 0 Report post Posted January 3, 2006 2 Smackdown Tapings in Charleston SC: I think I have the years right.. 2001 - Brock Lesnar/Ron "H2O" Waterman vs APA 2002 - AJ Styles vs Rico Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
