November 2006 News Archive (Page 4)

In what must be taken as a positive sign, WWE wrestlers are receiving mainstream press attention these days. First, John Cena was featured in USA Today.

Next, Batista sat down with The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Now, it's Ric Flair's turn. The Baltimore Sun recently ran a piece about the legend. We've paraphrased it below ...

Professional wrestling aficionados have long considered Ric Flair a wrestler for the ages.

These days, however, the 16-time former world champion also could be called a wrestler for the aged. Three months shy of his 58th birthday, he is easily the oldest member on the active roster in World Wrestling Entertainment.

But while Flair's signature blond mane has started to thin a bit and he has significantly more wrinkles than the buff young studs he mixes it up with in the ring, he remains one of WWE's star attractions.

Flair will be among the "sports entertainers" appearing tonight at 1st Mariner Arena for a live broadcast of USA Network's WWE Monday Night Raw.

After 34 years in the wrestling business, Flair - whose real name is Richard Fliehr - still would rather take a steel chair over the head than take a seat in a rocking chair. So ,why does a man who is a grandfather continue to subject his body to frequent poundings that are predetermined but anything but painless?

"Because I can," Flair says with a laugh. "I'd be a liar if I didn't say that I like being in the spotlight. And [WWE] still wants me to, which is the most important part of it."

Unlike Hulk Hogan and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, two wrestling legends also in their 50s who wrestle a handful of matches a year and get by mostly on star power and showmanship, Flair is wrestling several times a week and taking the same big bumps in the ring that he took when he was in his prime.

"It's challenging to go out there and wrestle guys 25 years younger than me," says Flair, who is calling from Charlotte, N.C., on his way home from the airport after performing on eight shows during WWE's tour of the United Kingdom.

"It forces me to work out harder and stay in better shape," he adds, "and it gives me an opportunity to do something that nobody else has ever done. I don't think anybody else [in wrestling] has ever excelled at this level at my age. It's a pretty rewarding feeling."

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• The Undertaker suffered a severe rib injury during the WWE trip overseas. He worked a few matches with what many believe to be a broken rib - but plans on competing in Survivor Series against Mr. Kennedy anyway.

• Remember: Jeff Hardy will take on Johnny Nitro tonight in a ladder match for the Intercontinental Title.

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

Match One: Voodoo Kin Mafia v. Kazarian, Bently and Devine
- A quick match that displayed the new James Gang’s dominance. Fans chant “DX sucks,” The finish was Kip James hitting a reverse DDT on Devine for the win. Afterwards BG James got on the mic and addressed Vince McMahon, HHH and Shawn Michaels. He said that the ground war will be starting this Thursday night on iMPACT!.

Next, Johnny Devine is walked back to the ring by Kazarian and Maverick Matt. Devine is bound and tied and the two former X-Division champions have cane poles at the ready. They placed Devine on his knees and struck an odd pose as Raven’s entrance hit. Devine looked as if he knew what he was about to go through and seemingly accepted it. The always overdressed Raven and Kazarian struck at Devine’s back until it was blistered over. Almost as quickly as it ended Raven left and the show switches to backstage.

Match Two: The Franchised Naturals v. Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal
- A fast paced bout that saw both teams takes the advantage. Sonjay and Lethal displayed high risk double team maneuvers but it was The Franchise’s interference that gained the Naturals the quick victory in this short match.
Winner: The Franchised Naturals

Match Three: TNA X Division Championship, Christopher Daniels (C) v. Chris Sabin
- AJ Styles made his way ringside to watch over his friend and tag partner seemingly after Sabin’s attempt to bring chairs into the match. The Fallen Angel hits the Saving Grace and BME but Sabin managed to kick out as the fans chant “This is awesome.” After a short back and forth exchange Chris Daniels secures the win with an inside cradle to successfully defend his title. Sabin is not happy about the loss and he tries to attack Daniels with a chair, but the X Division father Jerry Lynn makes the save and demands that Sabin show Daniels respect. After an argument Sabin shakes his hand but hits the Cradle Shock and rolls out of the ring.
Winner: The Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels

Paparazzi Productions are seen in a skit where Kevin Nash explains to his team that they must win. Austin Starr and Alex Shelley agree, but Starr insists that Shelley pay him the $100 for losing his Paparazzi court case from Thursday.

Match Four: Paparazzi Productions v. Lance Hoyt and Ron “Truth” Killings
- In filler match that sees Kevin Nash sitting ring side calling the match with Tenay and West. He reveals that on Thursday's "Impact," he is calling a meeting with all the X-Division stars. Both teams show inexperience working together but when Shelley demands that Starr repositions the ringside camera. He complies but in the process Hoyt rolls up Shelley and gains the upset.
Winner: Hoyt and Killings

Match Five: Christian Cage v. AJ Styles
- The match had many near falls but the fans were not into the match. Styles hit an amazing hurricanrana off the top rope. However Cage eventually gained the upper hand but was met by Christopher Daniels who came in for the save stealing the chair. However, it backfired and Cage pinned Styles for the win. After the match AJ Styles verbally berated his tag partner for what he believed was Daniels costing him the match. Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal run in to separate the two followed by Rhino. He says he won't let Styles and Daniels have a falling out like he had with his former best friend, Christian Cage. AJ calls Rhino Dr. Phil and leaves the ring in disgust to the surprise of Tenay and West.
Winner: Christian Cage

Match Six: NWA World Tag Team Championship, LAX (C) v. AMW
- The fans are whole heartedly behind AMW in the match as chants of USA ring out early and often. The teams fight back and forth with no team in clear control. AMW hits the death sentence on Hernandez but the referee can’t go to the pin as Konnan jumped onto the apron for the quick distraction. This gave Homicide the chance to hit James Storm on the back of the head with the blow torch and Hernandez covered for the pinfall. Afterwards Homicide tries to hit the Gringo Killer on Gail Kim but Petey Williams comes in for the save.
Winner: LAX

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Despite heavy hype for the two-hour special of TNA Wrestling Thursday night, iMPACT only drew a 1.0 rating. While the number is up a bit from the show's recent average, it's still a disappointing figure for TNA.

Even the Kurt Angle signing has not brought the brand the sort of attention and popularity it had hoped for. TNA will need to win over a majority of casual wrestling fans if it ever truly wishes to compete with the WWE.

According to WWE.com, Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper has been hospitalized in Oregon for surgery after being sent home from WWE’s tour of the United Kingdom. Piper’s original diagnosis was kidney stones. However, sources close to the situation say the former World Tag Team Champion’s surgery may be a result of disc problems.

Due to Piper's injury, he will not participate at Survivor Series and will be replaced by a legend to be named later. Ric Flair will now be the lone captain of the team, while Kenny will captain the Spirit Squad.

The following report is courtesy of lordsofpain.net ...

The Boogeyman def. The Miz & Krystal
- The Miz came down to the ring with Krystal before the start of the taping and his match with the Boogeyman opened the show. There was little reaction from the crowd throughout the match. After about two minutes of nothingness, the Miz left the ring and was counted-out, while the Boogeyman tortured Krystal with the worms for the third week in a row.

Chris Benoit def. Tatanka
- Benoit got a great reception from the crowd, and looked great as always in the ring. Tatanka got a decent amount of offense in, targeting Benoit’s ribs, but he was eventually forced to tap out to the sharpshooter. Benoit picked up the win after about 6-8 minutes or so. Immediately after the match, Chavo ran-in and attacked Benoit, hitting his knee with a steel chair.

- Teddy Long and Bobby Lashley spoke backstage about Lashley’s decision to
answer the open challenge in the Extreme Elimination Chamber at December to Dismember.

William Regal def. Paul London
- As Regal moved out of the way of the charging Paul London, he caused London to inadvertently take out Ashley in what looked like a rough bump. Kendrick came sprinting from backstage to check on her condition, as the match continued. Obviously distracted by the injury to his manager, London got pinned after a boot to the head from Regal.

MVP df Kane in a Street Fight
- The two brawled all around ringside, and all the way up the entrance way. MVP got a cut on his forehead when Kane smashed his head into the glass telephone box on the stage. And after shutting MVP inside, Kane tipped the phone box over!

MVP took a lot of punishment. Kennedy eventually charged to the ring, and he and MVP double-teamed Kane, taking him down with a shot with the steel steps. With that MVP picked up the win, but continued the assault after the match, until the Undertaker made the save. Kennedy threw the unsuspecting MVP back into the ring, where he got dismantled by the Brothers of Destruction, as Kennedy escaped out of the arena.

Michelle McCool then hosted the Kiss Cam.

Matt Hardy def. Gregory Helms
- This was a quick match, and was a decent standard. But it was nothing we hadn’t seen before in their numerous matches this year. Hardy got a clean win with the Twist of Fate.

Batista & Lashley df Finlay & King Booker
- Booker got great heat for this match, and Batista got the louder pop out of the two babyfaces. After a dominant start by Batista and Lashley, the heels took over, as Bobby played the babyface in peril. Batista cleaned house of the hot tag, and not even an interfering Sharmell could prevent him picking up the pin on Booker following a spinebuster.

** Click here for more WWE photos from this week's Smackdown

• Chris Jericho will be signing autographs Saturday at the Columbus Civic Center in Columbus, GA from 12-2. It's part of "God Bless Fort Benning Day," honoring the troops stationed at near by Fort Benning. The night before, Fozzy will be performing at SOHO in Columbus; tickets are $10 and showtime is 10 p.m.

• The following is the final card for Sunday’s TNA Genesis pay-per-view:

NWA World Heavyweight Title Match
- Sting vs. "The Monster" Abyss

Dream Match Of The Decade
- Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe

NWA World Tag Team Title Match
- LAX vs. AMW

X Division Title Match
- Christopher Daniels vs. Christ Sabin

- "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles vs. Christian Cage

- The Truth & Lance Hoyt vs. Austin Starr & Alex Shelley

- Voodoo Kin Mafia vs. Kazarian, Bentley & Johnny Devine

- The Rober Roode Open Challenge

- The Naturals vs. Sonjay Dutt & Jay Lethal

• This week’s edition of ECW on Sci-Fi did a 1.5 cable rating with a 2.0 share. This is the exact same as last week.

• Monday’s RAW did a 3.8 cable rating with a 5.7 share. This is higher than last week’s 3.7 rating. The show did hours of 3.6 and 3.9.

The following report is courtesy of wrestleview.com ...

- Eric Young is shown leading a bunch of people around ringside pumping his fist. He continues to march around with his legions of fans, as Tenay and West hype the show with confetti falling. Young jumps on top of the announce table to make an announcement. LAX's theme with the bullet sound at the beginning started up, and Young yelled, "Sniper!"

- LAX comes to the ring. Konnan talks about how the US holds down Latinos and minorities. AMW interupts them and they brawl. Gail Kim ran out, making her return. She gave Homicide a huracanrana off the top. Hernandez was about to give her the Border Toss, but AMW broke that up with Storm superkicking him.

Samoa Joe defeated Jay Lethal
Lethal got in briefs amount of offensive moves in flurries, but it wasn't enough. Joe got in all his signature spots as the crowd chanted, "Joe's gonna kill you!" He won with the Kokino Clutch.

- After the match, Samoa Joe held the hold so Sonjay Dutt ran out. Joe ended up putting the Kokino Clutch on him. Chris Sabin came out too, but refused to get in the ring to help his teammate. Joe got on the mic and said he wants Angle's blood tonight.

- Christy Hemme approached LAX outside. Konnan has an American flag and says they are going to burn it later. He tells her to start being a journalist and they'll give her the scoop of a lifetime. Petey Williams passed by, and Konnan invited him along to wherever they are going to burn the flag.

- A Paparazzi Productions segment airs. Austin Starr and Alex Shelley are arguing while each is standing at a urinal. Starr says he lost because of Shelley. Shelley wants Kevin Nash to solve their argument. They say they are going to "shake on it" (not their hands). Nash says he graduated with a law degree and puts on a white judge wig. He says they are going to have court and by the end of the day he'll declare who is guilty.

- Borash is backstage with Team 3D. Ray says the Naturals made themselves known last week. Ray says he welcomes them to the jungle, but says tonight they will hear him say Devon get the tables.

The Naturals (Chase Stevens & Andy Douglas) defeated Team 3D (Brother Ray & Brother Devon) in a Tables Match
Shane Douglas ran in a couple minutes in. Team 3D put him through a table. West and Tenay noted that Douglas was sacrificing himself for the Naturals. The Naturals then gave Ray a 3D and put Devon through a table for the win.

- Eric Young came out to the ring. He says he has a big announcement, but before he can tell everyone out comes Kazarian, Johnny Devine and Maverick Matt Bentley in their new goth attire. Kazarian talks about their "great redeemer" opening their eyes, and this is the start of a new movement in TNA Wrestling. He says they were taught by this person that it's not about winning or losing but how much you sacrifice. A video interupts them, with the words "Voodoo Kin Mafia." A theme song came on and out came the former James Gang, BG and Kip.

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After a few weeks of speculation, former TNA Wrestling star, Monty Brown, has signed with the WWE. Here's the brief about it from WWE.com:

"Monty Brown, formerly of the Buffalo Bills, has signed with World Wrestling Entertainment. Stay tuned to WWE.com for more information."