Welcome yet again to another trip down Stampede Wrestlings historic and classic past. As Ed Whalen would perfectly put it, last week I had a “Malfunction at the junction”, but I am back this week for a ” Ring-A-Ding-Dong-Dandy!”. This time around lets have a look at tag team wrestling in the form of two very good teams. First up is “The Kiwis”, a tag team who became very famous later in the WWF under a new name “The Bushwhackers”. The Kiwis opponents on this particular night were two brothers who belong to one of the most famous families in the sports history, the Harts. This time around a young Bret teams up with his big brother Keith. Perhaps it was because he was older, or because he wanted to help his famous father run the family wrestling business, or maybe Vince just didn’t see the same potential in him, Keith Hart would not become a famous WWF champion as his little brothers Owen and Bret both did. That said, however, he was still a major force to be reckoned within the Stampede promotion and in my opinion could have made it just as big as his little brothers became worldwide. Although the Kiwis would become international wrestling stars in the future it was in Stampede that they really started to shine as a tag team. The extra time training in the famous dungeon along with the experience on the road across Canada gave the Kiwis their first ever tag team titles, right here in the Stampede promotion. Worth noting in this match, in classic Stampede Wrestling style, the referee turns a blind eye to most of the Kiwis heel tactics while preventing the hometown boys from making clean tags. Man, did those Stampede Wrestling Refs ever drive the fans crazy back in those days! Enjoy the tag team action and I will return again with more Stampede Wrestling classics next time!
I was looking at an issue of WWE Magazine from a couple months back and saw an ad for Night of Champions with Kane holding the World Heavyweight Championship, and I’ve realized how far Kane has come in the last few months since he started this storyline with The Undertaker. He’s consistently cutting some of the best promos on WWE television, and his eulogy for his brother was strong enough to keep him at the top of the Power Poll. (My vote: 2)
2. Edge (6)
The Rated R Superstar still manages to thrive in a PG setting, defeating Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio in a triple threat match this past Friday on SmackDown to become the number one contender to the aforementioned Kane’s World Heavyweight Championship. (My vote: 1)
3. Randy Orton (4)
The Viper may well be screwed this Sunday at Survivor Series, but didn’t seem that way when he led himself and R-Truth to victory over Wade Barrett and David Otunga this past Monday with special guest referee John Cena. (My vote: 3)
4. Daniel Bryan (3)
Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit, kill the waaaaabit! Dolph Ziggler on Friday, Ted DiBiase on Monday, who’s next to tap out to the WWE United States Champion? (My vote: 7)
5. Wade Barrett (2)
With John Cena stuck between the proverbial rock and hard place, things are looking good for Barrett as Survivor Series draws nearer, despite a loss this past Monday in tag team action. (My vote: 6)
6. John Cena (5)
Despite being Wade Barrett’s errand boy, John Cena continues to impress the Power Poll voters with great promos and body language. (My vote: N/A)
7. The Miz (7)
Despite not making any effort to cash it in as of late, The Miz is not letting anybody forget that he’s still got that Money In The Bank briefcase. Isn’t that right, Big Show? (My vote: N/A)
8. Matt Morgan (NR)
Matt Morgan standing up for an injured Mr. Anderson has endeared him to the fans, Christopher Nowinski, and Power Poll voters alike. (My vote: 5)
9. Jeff Hardy (8)
The self proclaimed new AntiChrist of professional wrestling, Jeff Hardy, may not have seen much in ring action on last week’s iMPACT, but the video packages kept him, and what he did at Bound For Glory, fresh in our minds. (My vote: 4)
10. Alberto Del Rio (NR)
Interrupting Kane? Now that takes some juevos. Alberto Del Rio steps back up and jumps back in to the top 10 this week. (My vote: N/A)
Dropped out: Dolph Ziggler, Big Show
Also voted on by me: Sheamus (8), Santino (9), and Big Show (10)
Here’s something interesting I just noticed – in the opening bumper, it no longer has “Hulkamania is runnin’ wild” as one of the featured audio clips – instead, it’s “Everybody’s got a price!”
Let’s roll! Tonight we’ve got John Cena “defending his title” against Chris Jericho, but first…
BOOYAKAH, BOOYAKAH! Whatever that means.
Rey Mysterio makes his way out to the ring as that terrible announcer who got canned from ECW, Lauren Mayhew, does the ring introductions. Mysterio is in tag team action, and his partner tonight is The World’s Strongest Man, Mark Henry. They’re opponents tonight are Carlito and CM Punk.
Rey Mysterio & Mark Henry def. Carlito & CM Punk
I love the matches on these Tribute to the Troops shows. It’s really awesome what the WWE does for the troops, and the guys on the card always give their best. Mysterio nails a double 619 on Carlito and Punk, followed by a West Coast Pop on Punk and a World’s Strongest Slam on Carlito, as the faces pick up the win in the opening contest.
Photo Slideshow: Images from the WWE’s latest trip to Iraq set to a Bob Dylan song.
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Eve introduces Santa Claus. Santa is played this year by R-Truth, who doesn’t even bother to change the lyrics to “What’s Up” to anything Christmas or Troops related. He complains that he’s gaining weight because everybody leaves him goodies when he comes to deliver the presents. He’s got a sweet tooth, and he’s going to bring out honey right now – in the form of his helpers, the WWE Divas. The Divas come down to the ring and pass out swag from WWEShop.com.
Video Message: President Obama wishes the troops well.
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Still to come, John Cena defends a belt that isn’t even his anymore against Chris Jericho
Video Package: The interaction between the Superstars and Troops. In a touching moment, Rey Mysterio gives one of the troops the mask he wore the first time he came over to Iraq with Eddie Guerrero as his partner.
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Video: The Commander of the US Central Command thanks the WWE for supporting the troops.
The WWE United States Champion, The Miz, makes his way to the ring. We’ve got a rematch from Bragging Rights, as his opponent is the (former) Intercontinental Champion, John Morrison, who even gets a slow-mo entrance in Iraq.
The Miz def. John Morrison
Michael Cole takes a moment that despite John Morrison having the championship at the time of this match, he’d lost it this past Sunday to Drew McIntyre. The Miz picks up the victory with his feet up on the ropes.
Video Package: John Cena’s Tribute To The Troops history.
Up next, Cena defends the WWE Championship against Chris Jericho!
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Chris Jericho is out first for his match. At least they’re going the traditional route and letting the Champion come out last for the Troops show. His opponent was the WWE Champion at the time of the taping, and say what you will about John Cena, you have to respect him for his dedication to performing for the Troops.
John Cena def. Chris Jericho
In another great match, Cena picks up the victory with the Attitude Adjustment.
Video Package: The Superstars in Iraq
My Thoughts: This is the best WWE show of the year. It’s bigger than WrestleMania, and the WWE considers these trips to be more important than WrestleMania. Another great show, but I know I’m not the only one who feels like an hour isn’t long enough. I’d gladly give up RAW or SmackDown for a week to see a two hour Tribute to the Troops broadcast. Thank you, WWE, for what you do for the Troops, and thanks to the Troops for what they do for us.
I’ll be back tomorrow with the Final Resolution Roundtable. JT should be here tomorrow with a new Random Randomness, and making his BWF debut, chjpacheco will be covering tomorrow night’s Final Resolution PPV!
I have no idea of what’s supposed to be going on this week on SmackDown, though I’m sure it will involve the Unified Tag Team Champions Jeri-Show, and the World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker as they get set for their triple threat match at Survivor Series. So screw it, let’s dive right in!
“Bound for Glory” is TNA’s “Wrestlemania.” We’ve heard about the matches. We’ve made our predictions. Come with your Empress of “iMPACT” and cross the line!
Last week, interim General Manager William Regal was pinned in a tag team match by Yoshi Tatsu.
Speaking of Regal, he’s the first one out to start the show tonight, along with Vladimir Kozlov and Ezekiel Jackson. He sends his best wishes to Tiffany as she recovers from her injury. Last week, Regal was told not to make any decisions regarding the ECW Championship. However, in the face of adversity, sometimes you have to bend the rules, and therefore, William Regal is the new number one contender. Zack Ryder disagrees, bro. Regal and Ryder argue, until Christian comes out and has news for them – neither one of them deserve it. Need proof? A janitor, Tony Atlas, and Yoshi Tatsu come out to the stage. The janitor replaced all the urinal cakes in the bathrooms in section 105 today, which means he accomplished something, which is more he can say for Regal or Ryder, which makes him more deserving of an ECW title shot than either of them. Tony Atlas may hang out with Abraham Washington, but he’s a hall of famer, and he does the laugh, which is a great accomplishment, and better than anything Regal or Ryder’s done. Yoshi Tatsu has won some matches, including matches over Regal and Ryder. Regal protests, and Christian tells him to be quiet and calls him Bill. Christian says that Tatsu should be the number one contender. It’s not up to Bill who the number one contender is, because Christian happened to run into somebody in the hallway…
I know I want that girl so bad…
Tiffany is here, arm in a sling and she’s ready to be General Manager again. She has not yet decided who the number one contender is, but all of them can make their case tonight in singles competition. Ryder will face Christian, Regal will face Tatsu, and Jackson and Kozlov will be in tag team action, next!
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So, just who are Kozlov and Jackson’s opponents? Well, the generic Alice In Chains knockoff of a theme song indicates Tommy Dreamer, and the fact that my picture just went into letterbox format despite the fact this show is already airing in widescreen seems to indicate Goldust.
Vladimir Kozlov & Ezekiel Jackson vs. Tommy Dreamer & Goldust
I haven’t really paid a lot of attention to ECW lately, and that includes last week when I watched the show, and Goldust seems to be in much better shape right now than he was the last time I actually watched one of his matches. In the end, Dreamer takes his eyes off of Jackson to focus on Kozlov for a split second and falls victim to the Uranage, allowing Jackson to get the pinfall.
Backstage, Regal is sucking up to Tiffany, who seems to think that John Cena would actually come to ECW instead of SmackDown if he were to lose at Bragging Rights. She tells Regal to get ready, because his match is next.
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RAW Rebound: Complete with SportCenter highlights.
Yoshi Tatsu and his DDR music make their way to the ring. William Regal is not in a good mood when he makes his entrance, and seems like he just wants to dispose of Tatsu and get this over with. By the way, the new ECW ring announcer SUCKS!
William Regal vs. Yoshi Tatsu
Because Regal doesn’t believe in runsheets, he wasn’t ready for his match and he has to take up two minutes of our time to lace up his boots. Yes, advertisers, you’re sponsoring a show where we get to watch one of the top stars tying his shoes. In fact, he actually knocks Tatsu down and goes back to trying to tie his boots. It didn’t matter anyway, Tatsu ultimately picked up the win with a roundhouse kick to the face.
After the match, Matt Striker mentions on commentary that Regal’s foot appeared to be outside of the rope. Kozlov and Jackson came down to argue with the referee on Regal’s behalf. Josh Matthews reminds us there’s no instant replay, and that the referee’s decision is final.
Last week, Shelton Benjamin was attacked before the match and still managed to get a clean victory over Paul Burchill. Benjamin will face his attacker, Sheamus, this Thursday on Superstars – Enjoy that one, tharvey1!
Oh radio, tell me everything you know
Zack Ryder makes his way to the ring while Regal continues to protest his loss.
<COMMERCIAL BREAK>
William Regal is still ringside as the ECW Champion, Christian comes out to face Zack Ryder, who made his entrance before the break.
Christian def. Zack Ryder via disqualification
Hey, here’s a question. What the hell ever happened to Curt Hawkins? Anyways, the action spilled to the outside, and the match ended when Regal, Kozlov, and Jackson attacked Christian, giving him the disqualification win.
After the match, Ryder questioned why Regal and his associates would attack Christian – and he gets dropped by the trio for his troubles as well.
That’s it for me tonight, time to go watch Homer Simpson by a Canyonero. Goodnight from the land of Extreme everybody!
Well after a long week if doing what it is I do during the week, I like nothing more than to tell you all my views on things. I wont keep you waiting any longer so here we go: (more…)
Tonight on ECW, Evan Bourne returns to action after missing several months with an ankle injury – and since it’s St. Patrick’s Day, I’d venture to guess that Finlay and Hornswoggle will be featured in some way.
Tonight on Raw from the AT&T center In San Antonio Texas, it’s tag team action as Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker will take on Vladimir Kozlov and JBL. Also tonight, another must see as Chris Jericho challenges WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair to come out of retirement and face him in a match, as Raw continues on the road to The WrestleMania 25!
