August 2006 News Archive

These aren't exactly new stories. In fact, they're almost as old as any storyline pitting the owner against a wrestler (can you hear us, Vince McMahon?).

Nevertheless, we wanted to give fans a glimpse of a few of their favorite stars outside the ring. And almost behind bars. Take a look at these mugshots:

Charges were dropped against The Big Show back in 1998, after he allegedly exposed himself to a female motel employee. Maybe that's where the ECW Champion's rage comes from. DX may feel it at Unforgiven.

Similarly, a case was never presented against Brock Lesnar for distributing steroids in 2001. Still, the big man was booked on the charges. Now? We just want him to return to a WWE ring.

Ric Flair doesn't look too happy. Would you, after being arrested last year on misdemeanor charges of assault? This angle was then used in a storyline with Mick Foley.

Wait, people weren't dying to watch yet another owner get into the ring? Amazing.

Indeed, Paul Heyman's first-ever match wasn't exactly a ratings winner for ECW this week. The final number came in at 1.9, a drop from the 2.3 of seven days earlier.

Rumor has it, however, that the WWE has signed a long-term deal to keep ECW on the Sci-Fi channel for many months now. We'll have more details on this story as it develops.

Due to the U.S. Open, RAW was showcased on the Sci-Fi channel Monday night.

Nevertheless, the show drew strong ratings: it earned a 3.3 rating (5 share/2.9 million households, 4.1 million viewers), well above the Sci-Fi average in that timeslot of 0.8.

The ratings were steady throughout the show, beginning at a 3.2 and ending at 3.2 with peak rating of 3.5.

Well, that didn't last long.

Last night, on the premiere edition of Celebrity Duets, a certain former WWE Champion was the first contestant eliminated.

Indeed, Chris Jericho can be lauded for his attempt to be accepted into the mainstream, but the adventure was short-lived.

Despite recording experience as Fozzy's lead singer, Jericho failed to match the talent celebrities such as Alfonso Ribiero and Lea Thompson. Ouch.

Jericho didn't garner a lot of judge support for his version of "Mendocino County Line" with country music star Lee Ann Womack. At least"Signed, Sealed and Delivered," his duet with Peter Frampton, received a better reaction ... but it wasn't good enough.

Solid effort, Y2J. Now stop this singing thing. Smackdown could really use you.

The following is courtesy of wrestleview.com ...

The show kicks off with highlights from last week on ECW when Big Show defeated Sabu to retain the ECW World Title.

- Paul Heyman is then shown backstage. Heyman says he is the father of Extreme Championship Wrestling, it is his concept and his life. He notes that he has never competed in an ECW ring because he has never had to. Heyman says he has been left with no other choice but to face Sabu in an Extreme Rules Match. He showed his taped up hands and promised to beat Sabu tonight 1...2...3.

- The ECW promo hits. We then go live to Reading, PA. Rob Van Dam's music and pyro hit to kick off the first match of the night.

- Hardcore Holly defeated Rob Van Dam via DQ. The finish saw RVD hit a Rolling Thunder and then miss a Five Star Frog Splash attempted on Hardcore Holly. Holly left the ring, brought in a steel chair, the referee gets in Holly's face, RVD ducks a chair shot from Holly and kicks him in the face. RVD then grabs the chair and hits Holly with it to cause the DQ finish. RVD then hit Holly with another chair shot on the outside, sending Holly over the padded guard railing into the crowd. RVD then celebrated with the fans.

- Backstage, Rene Dupree is shown working out on an exercise bike. Dupreee said he is in the best physical shape of his career and that he will prove to everyone that he is the most extreme athlete in ECW.

- The Big Show's music and pyro hit to start the next segment. Big Show appeared, in ring gear, with the ECW World Title over his shoulder. Big Show came in the ring, got on the mic and put himself over as the most dominant champion in WWE history (wait, isn't this ECW?). He mentions how he will team with Vince & Shane McMahon against D-Generation X in a Hell in a Cell Match at Unforgiven. Big Show then invited Shawn Michaels and Triple H to ECW next week in a Handicap Match.

- "The Reject" Shannon Moore is shown again saying "Fight the power" into the camera.

- CM Punk defeated Stevie Richards. One spot saw Punk dive through the ropes and take out Richards on the outside. Punk also hit an impressive double underhook suplex into a backbreaker. The finish saw Punk take down Richards with a modified Rock Bottom into an Anaconda Vice. Richards refused to tap and tried to fight out, but eventually tapped out to give Punk another submission victory.

- A trailer and behind the scenes clips from The Marine starring John Cena was shown.

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After RAW this Monday, the following two matches were confirmed for Unforgiven, airing live, Septmeber 17:

WWE Championship - TLC Match
(If John Cena loses, he leaves Raw)
- Edge (c) vs. John Cena.

Hell in a Cell Match
- The McMahons & ECW Champion Big Show vs. D-Generation X.

Okay, the multi-time WWE Champion definitely used a stronger word than that. But in the October issue of WWE Magazine, here's what Triple H had to say about the rumors that he abuses backstage power:

I haven't read a dirt sheet in 10 years. And that's the damn truth. Yes I'm in a top position. Yes I'm married to the boss's daughter. Yes I sit in production meetings. But, at the end of the day, there is only one person with the stroke in this business. And that's Vince McMahon.

If he doesn't like something , whether it's my idea or not, it's not going to happen. I want guys like John Cena around. I want to bring new guys up and help make them. People always accuse me of not wanting to drop the belt to a guy.

That's complete crap. I didn't drop the belt to RVD because no one asked me to drop it to RVD. I've yet to see Hulk Hogan lose to anybody. He wrestles once every 6 months, and it doesn't matter if you're the biggest name in active competition today, he's not going to lose to you. There was suppose to be a Hogan/Michaels 2, and Hogan was supposed to lose. All of a sudden his knee starting "bugging" him.

Hmmm, wonder how he really feels.

As the WWE Champion, Edge receives many benefits. And we're not even referring to whatever it is Lita offers!

But he flies first class, he gets to be announced second for any title defense (such as the major TLC showdown with John Cena at Unforgiven next month).

Apparently, he also gets to be a special in-game host for the baseball game between the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Devil Rats on September 15.

We have no idea what that means. But Carl Crawford better watch his back!

Hey, the WWE makes the matches. We just post the sexy pictures. It's a tough job.

This week on RAW, Torrie Wilson and Candice squared off in a "Back to School, Paddle on a Pole Match." Everyone was a winner, as these photos prove:

The following results are courtesy of lordsofpain.net ...

A recap aired of the DX antics from last week and the subsequent breakdown of Chairman of the Board, Vince McMahon.

The show opened with Shane McMahon coming down to the ring. He wasn’t his usual dancing-fool self either, as he came to the ring with a straight face and looking all-business, so to speak. Shane grabbed a microphone and said that DX had a lot of balls and had reached new lows with their sophomoric pranks. He said they’d gone too far when they endangered him and his dad’s lives at the end of Raw last week. He continued by saying that they’d managed to tear out a piece of Vince’s heart, to the point that the man couldn’t even enjoy his birthday last Thursday.

Vince, for that reason, was not going to be here tonight and would be staying at the hotel. Shane, thus, was in charge of the show and immediately made a match b/t DX and opponents that were on a strictly need-to-know basis. He said that by the end of the night, DX would not only learn the identity of their opponents, but also their fate for Unforgiven. Shane said that without further ado, he’d like to send DX straight to hell, but at that point WWE Champion Edge (w/ Women’s champ Lita) showed up. Edge, looking frustrated, said that Shane needed to do something about John Cena throwing the champ into the harbor last week. He said he was the champion and you don’t throw him in the Long Island Sound.

Edge said he wanted Cena fired and out of his life, but at that point John Cena came to the ring. Cena, to a mixed reaction, called Edge “Skeletor” and mocked Edge’s storytelling that ends happily for the champion. The former champion also made fun of Lita, calling her a whore and suggesting Shane give her ten bucks and enjoy the ride. Cena said that if Edge wanted him gone, then all he needs to do is give him one more match for the title. If he loses, he’ll go to Smackdown (he had already pulled out a signed contract from Teddy Long). Edge agreed, but on two conditions: 1) He gets to decide where the match takes place and 2) He gets to name what kind of match they face off in. Cena agreed to the terms and tried to leave…but Shane said he was not dismissed, yet. Shane said that Cena cannot disrespect the champion like he did last week and get away with it. Thus, he’d have to wrestle in a match that would begin right now…

Match 1: John Cena vs. Chris Masters
- Cena caught Masters with a belly-to-belly suplex as we returned from the break. He followed with a fisherman’s suplex for a near fall. Masters came back with a boot to the face and a running clothesline. Chris was supporting a goatee. A “Cena Sucks” chant broke out, as Masters continued to dominate. Cena fought back, but ended up getting powerslammed for his troubles. Masters then locked in a modified Camel Clutch. Cena broke the hold and hit a pair of diving shoulder tackles. A Prototype spinning back drop and Five Knuckle Shuffle followed, but when Cena went for the FU, Masters countered and hit a reverse DDT.

Chris tried for the Master Lock, but Cena countered into the STFU. Masters was about to tap, but Edge came to the ring and blasted Cena with a steel chair. Thus, Cena won via DQ at around 4:00. After the match, Edge got a ladder from under the ring and clocked Cena right in the forehead. The champ shook his head to indicate he wasn’t finished and retrieved a table from under the ring. He set it up in the corner and threw Cena shoulder-first through it. Edge grabbed a mic, said that Cena’s title match was going to take place in Toronto, Canada at Unforgiven … and it’d be a TLC match.

Backstage, Haas/Viscera and Cade/Murdoch asked Shane if they could face DX tonight. Shane got a call from Vince. Via a split screen, Vince talked of how happy he was to be back at the hotel eating food, drinking wine, and relaxing. The door bell rang at Vince’s hotel. Vince told whoever it was to come in, assuming it was room service. He turned around when he heard the sound of a rooster. DX had delivered to “cocks” in cages to Vince’s room. On the other end of the phone, Shane was asking what was going on.

Further backstage, Carlito and Trish Stratus talked about what they were going to do tonight after the show. Carlito asked Trish when she was planning on telling him that she was retiring. Apparently, wwe.com mobile alerts had indicated that Lita found out about Trish retiring after Unforgiven and spilled the beans. Trish got a little pissed about Lita letting the cat out of the bad. Carlito said it was cool and supported her decision … but he gave her a kiss to make sure she was going to get a proper goodbye. Randy Orton snuck up behind them, though, and blasted Carlito, sending him right into Trish. Orton finished up his attack by throwing Carlito into a crate.

JR and King showed footage of Umaga’s attack on Kane, which led to Kane bleeding from the mouth.

Match 2: Back to School, Paddle on a Pole Match - Torrie Wilson vs. Candice Michelle
- They each tried to get the pole for about the first-minute, but Candice locked on her unique leg choke hold while draped over the top rope to take control. Candice nearly reached the Paddle, but decided to rip off her top instead. Torrie caught up to her and powerbombed her into the turnbuckle. She then took off her skirt and gave Candice the Stink Face. The finish came when Candice pushed Torrie ass-first out of the way. Candice defeated Torrie and got to spank her. After the match, they took turns spanking each other.

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