Hulk Hogan puts over the Open Fight Night/Open Call Out and the Bound for Glory series tournament before moving on to A Double for his answer. (which has something to do with Plan C-check twitter for his response) Option A would have him hand over the title and challenge Roode at Destination X but if he lost he would have nothing. Option B he would decline and walk away still X Division champion and not be in the main event. And it appears Option C is where starting this year the current X Division champion will be allowed to turn in the belt for the chance at the World Title holder. Hogan is pleased. (So does that mean that if the X division champion loses he keeps the belt and if he wins we have an X division tournament for the title after the PPV? Um-okay.
Roode of course comes out and throws a tantrum saying that the X Division title is a paper championship and that he is the real world champion Austin Aries calls him out and the two battle it out. Security/Referees come out to break it up. Anderson comes down out and announces that basically when they’re done with each other Anderson will be waiting. (more…)
In a secret warehouse… they come to fight… for cold hard cash… and control of…. The Underground. Like something out of the cabinet era of fighting video games a la Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat, The Underground kicked into high gear today with it’s debut episode. We’re introduced to the concept by “former” champion “King.” King earned his title fighting in the elite fighting circle of this alternate wrestling universe. He opens the show walking towards the camera with his promo, and strolls towards an above level overview of the pit and ring. Our combatants make their way out to do battle. (more…)
NXT has been relaunched, albeit not on television in the US. But I’m Canadian, so why should I care? I’m like Bret Hart, after all, a Calgarian… a heel in the States and a face EVERYWHERE else. But this isn’t about me, it’s about this new version of NXT, after all. I’m not even supposed to be here today, so let’s hop to it… shall we?
The Underground, (aka Wrestling Revolution Project) created by Jeff Katz debuts officially tomorrow (June 22, 2012) online on the Youtube Awesomeness TV channel. (more…)
We open with a recap of No Way Out, showing John Cena victorious over Big Show and Vince McMahon firing Johnny Laurenitis as Cena puts him through a table. Also, Cyndi Lauper guest stars tonight. (Why?)
Mick Foley is here as special guest GM for tonight and Smackdown this Friday! His first official act is booking a tag team match between Kane and Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus and C.M. Punk. Also, we get the farewell address from Johnny Ace.
Big Johnny comes out in a neck brace, a sling, and on a crutch. As he enters the ring, Foley goes in for a hug or pat on the back, which aggravates Johnny’s injuries. Johnny demands the crowd be quiet, they refuse, Johnny ask Mick for help. Mick asks the crowd to quiet down. Mick then claims Johnny said “Long Island Sucks.” Johnny gets fed up and decides to do the speech later, but announces in his last official act as GM of both RAW and Smackdown, he has booked a handicap match with John Cena against Him, David Otunga, and Big Show.
As Johnny leaves, Sheamus makes way to the ring for his big match. He locks eyes with Johnny and smirks. Punk is out next. With the kicking of dirt and the big thumb to the back, he mimics a baseball umpire and tells Johnny “you’re outta here.”
COMMERCIAL
We come back to see a recap of last week when AJ locked lips with Kane, taking him out of the match and giving her and Punk the win.
Kane comes out to the pyro and scary Halloween music, followed by “The Flight of the Valkeries,” and Daniel Bryan. The crowd starts in with the “Yes! Yes! Yes!” chant.
WWE CHAMPION C.M. PUNK / WORLD’S CHAMPION SHEAMUS VS. DANIEL BRYAN / KANE
This is a fast paced brawl with a lot of high-impact spots. Both Sheamus and Punk play the face in peril, as Kane and Bryan do the most double teaming. The big tide changer is when AJ runs to ringside DRESSED UP EXACTLY LIKE KANE! MASK AND ALL! AJ skips around the ring and back up the stage. Kane follows her while Bryan takes a GTS/Brogue Kick combo from the champions and goes down for a three count.
WINNERS: C.M. PUNK AND SHEAMUS
Later tonight, we find out if Brock Lesnar will accept Triple H’s challenge for a match at Summer Slam.
COMMERCIAL
We come back to see Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger arguing over who the weak link in their team is. Vicki comes in with an “EXCUSE ME!” and demands they settle this in the ring. The men walk off and Vicki smiles.
Fade in to Johnny and David Otunga sharing a laugh. Show comes in and wants to know what’s so funny. Johnny explains they were laughing at Cena and how bad he’s gonna get hurt tonight in the three on one handicap match, and how the WWE universe doesn’t deserve him. Johnny promises he’s going to leave a lasting impression tonight. Show doesn’t find anything funny anymore.
COMMERCIAL
We’re back with Ziggler and Swagger in the ring.
DOLPH ZIGGLER VS JACK SWAGGER
This was kind of a slow paced match until Ziggler tweaked his leg. From then on it was Swagger working the leg until Ziggler hit the Zig-Zag and scored a three count. Ziggler gets a kiss from Vicki and struts off into the sunset.
WINNER: DOLPH ZIGGLER
COMMERCIAL
We’re back, and Lawler is reminiscing about the night we got the debut of Mr. Socko and a Stone Cold beat down in Vince’s hospital room. Lawler’s favorite part is Vince taking a bedpan to the head.
Paul Heyman is here on behalf of Brock Lesnar to respond to Triple H’s challenge.
•No, Lesnar will not drop his suit against WWE
•No, Heyman will not drop his suit against Triple H
•No, Brock Lesnar will not face Triple H at Summerslam
Thank you for your time, good night.
Time to Play the Game…
Triple H is in the ring and this becomes a trade off of two of the best mike workers in this business. I’d fail at trying to quote this verbatim, so please try to find this on line. Basically, both men take shots at each other with winks to the smart marks, but the highlight is Heyman dressing down the game, taking shots at his new position in life. Of course it ends with Heyman out on his back, but it’s still an example of why the WWE needs him back on the stick.
Up next, U.S. Champion Santino Morella vs. Alberto Del Rio
COMMERCIAL
We come back and Ricardo Rodriguez introduces Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio enters in a 150 thousand dollar Audi-T1000 as we get a promo for the Night of Champions PPV. Santino is out next and power-walks quickly to the ring.
U.S. CHAMPION SANTINO MORELLA VS ALBERTO DEL RIO
This is a quick match that has Del Rio working particularly vicious, as he’s taking out his frustration over being pulled from No Way Out on the arm of Santino. Santino gets in some offense but it amounts to little as he takes an inziguri to the head while setting up the Cobra. Del Rio hits the arm-bar and Santino taps.
WINNER: ALBERTO DEL RIO
Roberto actually gets some payback on Santino with a shoulder-drop as Alberto walks off.
Promo for Cyndi Lauper making an appearance, featuring her “girls just wanna have fun,” video
COMMERCIAL
The lovely Layla, Divas champion, is in the ring introducing Cyndi Lauper AND WENDI RICHTER! She credits both women with setting the foundation for the Divas division. Cyndi looks “influenced,” Wendi has looked better, and the crowd does not love this.
Heath Slater comes out to call this the train wreck it is. He gets in the ring, makes some snide remarks, and demands the chance to debut HIS NEW SINGLE.
Slater wants to sing.
Slater-haters gonna Slater-hate.
And they do.
Cue the bagpipes and its ROWDY RODDY PIPER out to make the save. He looks like he had some of what Cyndi had. He’s in the ring with a gold record, making reference to Capt. Lou Albano.
CROWD: LOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!
He mentions having “a bad day,” all those years ago when he bashed Lou in the head with Cyndi’s gold record in Madison Square Garden, and wants to present her with a new one. They kiss and make-up, when Slater demands he get to finish his song. The segment ends with Lauper bashing Slater with the record. (Might’ve been a botch there as she did it twice, and left Slater with a cut on his head)
COMMERCIAL
We come back to a recap of the four way tag team match at No Way Out, featuring AW helping the Prime Time Players win the no.1 contenders spot for the tag team title, at the expense of Primo/Epico, the team he originally expressed interest in managing.
AW comes out to introduce himself as the owner of All World productions and the new manager of The Prime Time Players.
COMMERCIAL
PRIMO/EPICO VS THE PRIME TIME PLAYERS
It’s a very basic tag team match, with the bruisers (PTP) trying to out-muscle the high-flyers (P/E.) The match is cut short when AW simply pushes his team out of range and they take a count-out loss, explaining that his team already has the no.1 contender spot and doesn’t need this.
WINNERS: EPICO/PRIMO
Side Note: The crowd is DEAD for this match. No real faces to root for.
COMMERCIAL
We’re back with a promo for the upcoming 1000th show, July 23rd. We OFFICALLY go three hours on that night. (Question: didn’t we do that already?) DEGENERATION X will make a special appearance. That should kill the first two hours.
Back in the ring, we have Johnny Ace, in a neck brace, arm-sling, and a crutch, cutting a promo, calling the WWE universe losers, (one by one,) because we’ve lost the era of “people power.” Next time we’ll see him is his hall of fame induction. This is the darkest day in WWE history, and he promises Cena will get an epic beat down. He introduces his tag team partner David Otunga, who comes to the ring making his usual pose-down, and next, the Big Show.
COMMERCIAL
We come back with Teddy joining the announce team and ripping up the name tag Johnny made him wear. Michael Cole gives him an epic ass-kissing. Big Show has the mike. He thanks Johnny for his Iron clad contract, his huge bonus, the chance to be a real giant, says he has nothing to prove, AND WALKS OUT ON THE MATCH!
The music hits and John Cena is out.
HANDICAP MATCH: JOHN CENA VS JOHNNY ACE/DAVID OTUNGA
The crowd is really split tonight with the “Let’s go Cena/Cena Sucks” chant. The match begins with Cena dominating Otunga and Johnny Ace backing off every time Otunga tries for a tag. Johnny changes his mind once Otunga gets back in control. Once tagged in, Johnny ditches his wrappings and stomps away on Cena. Cena kicks out of a pin, Johnny tries for a tag AND OTUNGA WALKS OUT ON ACE!
Johnny, in disbelief, turns around slowly. Cena unloads big on Johnny Ace with the “five moves of doom.” Three AA’s and an STF later, Johnny Ace taps out.
That’s right folks, we’re back at it again, as Joe and G discuss this week’s pro wrestling programming, this week’s wrestling news with JT (via voicemail), and our rundown of the WWE No Way Out card!
Don’t forget, folks, you too can leave us a voicemail by dialing 716-HOGAN-97 (716-464-2697)! We’ll pick the best ones and air them on the show!
This was my first time to attend a Texoma Pride Wrestling show. It was an hour and a half drive so I took my mother. To begin with, this crowd was rabid. If you like old-school “rasslin’, ” this is the crowd for it. There was merchandise out the wazoo, which is my favorite part. The ring announcing intros weren’t real professional, but it gave it a kind of home-country charm. Sign Guy is a great host though. He works really well at the facilitation of it all. I liked the Pledge of Allegiance. They introduced all 8 competitors ECWA Super 8 style.
First match: Erica Torres vs. Kyra Myra
All but one of these competitors, this was my first match. Kyra was the hometown girl and is over like Nolan Ryan in Arlington. I liked Erica. I would like to nickname her “The Latina Portia Perez.” She reminded me a lot of Portia Perez, which is not a name I use lightly. Erica knew her role pretty well. I coulda told you during the introductions that Kyra was going to win. I’m pretty sure that this crowd would have rioted had anybody else won. Erica knew it was her role to make Kyra look important and she did. Erica was a good engaging heel. What I wrote down is that she never forgot she was in front of the crowd. Each wrestler played up each others’ strengths really well. I wrote down that it was a good “big man-little man” match, but with women. One of the things that stood out to me is that there were a few moments in the match where I thought Erica would win. So even though there was no possible way Erica would have won, I still found myself getting lost. Very good match.
Winner: Kyra
Second match: Jen Alise w/Bree Ann vs. La Reina Pink
Here Pink was announced simply as “Pink.” And of course, the irony was that “Pink” was wearing no pink. Jen was over nice as a heel. Jen is the only one I had seen before tonight. This was a very nice short match. Jen won with her feet on the rope. What I loved about this crowd is that they were near-riot over the feet on the ropes. I loved it.
Winner: Alise
Third match: Barbi Hayden vs. Angel Blue w/Niki Night
Newsflash: Barbi Hayden is hot. You know when you watch the teen romantic comedy and Freddie Prinze, Jr. is with the really hot blond with the cheerleader, beach bunny body that is somehow the villain to the Rachel Leigh Cook character? Yeah, that’s Barbi. And Angel Blue is VERY striking as well. I’ve heard her name for a long time and I was struck by how short she is. Angel was very good with the crowd. I was very struck by Barbi’s style. I think both of these would fit in just fine in a WSU or SHIMMER. They really can go. Needless to say, this match put me in my happy place. Barbi won.
Winner: Barbi
Fourth match: Starr Venus vs. Bree Ann w/Jen Alise
Bree Ann is the local talent. Seeing her actual wrestling outfit, I hope she does not lay down otherwise people might picnic on top of her. Starr is so enthusiastic. I know I say that a lot, but she has a very infectious enthusiasm that flows into her matches. The chemistry didn’t quite happen in this match. However Bree did the loudest b****-slap I’ve ever seen in my life. After that happened, the work flowed a lot more smoothly. Especially since Bree Ann was the home girl, I was expecting her to win. But she did not. So it was a nice surprise booking-wise.
Winner: Starr
Fifth match: Cody Jones & Ken Carson vs. Michael Faith & Double D
I was very pleasantly surprised by this match. The first team should probably be called “The Boyfriends.” Both teams kept the fans engaged. Carson had a lot of fun with the crowd and the referee. They were kind of the cool heels that you boo with a smile. The match also had a nice crescendo with action. I had not seen or heard of Double D before, but he has a nice chiseled look and some great athleticism. I definitely knew his name after that match. While being in its role to give the fans a place to take a break from the women wrestlers, it was very entertaining. I want to see Faith some more. I think he has the potential to be the next Samoa Joe. These were two experienced wrestlers to help Faith & D get over as a tag team.
Winner: Double Faith (If that’s not their name, it needs to be)
During the intermission, the faces came out, signed autographs and mingled with the crowd. Starr was a total class act. She was so enthusiastic and really loves what she’s doing. She has such a genuineness that comes out through her work. Also, Tim Storm was such a class act as well. There wasn’t a single person he didn’t get his picture with. If anybody wants to know how to be a babyface, watch Tim Storm in how he wrestles AND how he treats the crowd.
Sixth match: Kyra Myra vs. Jen Alise
Well, I was a little surprised that THIS was not the main event, but I liked the booking. Bree Ann stayed at ringside in Jen’s corner and kept the crowd into it. This wasn’t much of a match, but I did see a gore for the first time in a woman’s match. Jen was choking her and so the referee disqualified her.
Winner by dq: Kyra
Bree was threatening with some handcuffs, and Kyra took the handcuffs from her and cuffed Jen to the ropes. A little too Super Cena for me. But Jen can say she never was pinned. I would have liked more of a beatdown that Kyra could overcome to win the tournament.
Seventh match: Starr Venus vs. Barbi Hayden
I’ve already gushed about how great Starr was. And Barbi was wearing a new outfit, including one of her t-shirts (which she didn’t have in XL or larger, hint, hint). It’s an interesting thing about Barbi. She is really good in the ring and can really go. But she doesn’t necessarily do a lot of moves. She does a lot of stalling and comedy before she gets into the work. Her ring style is geared towards a wide range of crowds. This match had my favorite finish of the night. Barbi had Starr in the sharpshooter, and Starr was really struggling. Great drama and great finish.
Winner: Hayden
Eighth match: Tim Storm (c) vs. Mike Foxx vs. Byron Wilcott
At first this started out as Storm vs. Foxx. I put my pen down and enjoyed. There were two legends in the history of Texas just doing their thing. I remember in his book Terry Funk referred to it as “the dance.” It was a total thing of beauty. Then Byron Wilcott got on the mic and that guy has such a good voice. He is so well-spoken on the mic. He’s also a great heel and knows how to make the crowd hate him. There was one really scary moment in the match, but Byron got up and was moving. It was a really good match.
Winner: Storm
Main event: Kyra Myra vs. Barbi Hayden
By this time, both wrestlers had worked their tails off. It was announced it was a No Holds Barred/Falls Count Anywhere match. So they did a totally wild brawl. It didn’t go out into the crowd quite like I thought it would. But somehow Barbi found a “fun-noodle” and they started whacking each other with it. Added to bucket list: Getting whacked by Barbi Hayden with a fun noodle. It was just kind of a formality until Kyra won.
Winner: Kyra
All in all… What a GREAT crowd. They soaked up every minute and were wild. I like the decision for Kyra to start off with the championship. She’s the hometown girl. But I think if she loses it rather quickly, to somebody like Barbi or Jen Alise, I can see them drawing some money in the pursuit of Kyra trying to get that belt back. I totally love the country atmosphere of it all. It was a really good experience.
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