January 2007 News Archive

Last week, The Chop Shop focused on Monday Night RAW and how this fan was enjoying its content recently.

In this edition, our columnist expands on those thoughts ...

I hate quoting JR, but " business is about to pick." I'm not sure if Taker will be on WWE RAW moving forward, but his presence was electric and chilling for this viewer this week. It'll be great to see who the Taker will take on.

Seems like John Cena would be the ideal choice with RAW being the true championship. Smackdown and ECW don't count to me. A Cena-Taker main event would be one for the history books.

It appears that Edge and Randy Orton will be feuding. That should be a " slobberknocker " (thanks, JR). That leaves us with Shawn Michaels, who has been carrying the product since Triple H went down. They need to find him a meaningful battle. Maybe Kennedy or a fued with Lashley.

Who will the Great Khali be brawling with? There seems to be talent and story lines that could be used with each other.

I am not a huge fan of Smackdown or ECW; however, there is some huge talent on both those shows. A Boogeyman/Lashley/Monty Brown three-way tango woud be fun to watch. I like Kennedy and CM Punk, but that seems to be it.

TRIM DOWN THE ROSTERS!!!

I would be tickled pink if Umaga went to Smackdown and had some wars with Batista. What a fight that would be.

TNA Wrestling is just running okay I guess , but I have lost interest in it since Angle appeared. I also will be investigating the Indy circuit in upcoming articles.

At this week's Smackdown tapings, the following main event was made for No Way Out on February 18:

• WWE Champion John Cena & Shawn Michaels vs. World Heavyweight Champion Batista & The Undertaker.

The initial months for CM Punk with WWE were plagued by heat from a few key members of the WWE power bloc - but he now has heat with most of the locker room, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports.

Management has received multiple complaints from wrestlers who claimed that Punk carries a "main-event" attitude backstage despite being relatively new.

Sources say that Punk doesn't say or do anything inherently disrespectful, but his sarcastic attitude is not well-received by a WWE locker room that doesn't believe he's earned the right to possess such an attitude.

Also, ending his relationship with Maria didn't help Punk's standing in the locker room.

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

Vince McMahon was in the back with Motavious Cor Von and told him he was a breath of fresh air in ECW. He moved along and saw the Sandman drinking beer and reading the newspaper. He asked him why he was drinking on the job. Sandman just stared at him. He asked him where he got his name and then began singing “Mr. Sandman”. He said the Sandman would be interested in his announcement later tonight. Sandman drank a beer, cracked it off his head and spat it in the air as McMahon walked off.

CM Punk v. Matt Striker
After back and forth action, CM Punk sent Striker into the ropes and connected with a back elbow and a clothesline. Punker hit a body slam before playing to the crowd a bit more. Punk hit some Muy Thai knees to the face before hitting his running knee/bulldog combo.

Punk waited for Striker to get to his feet before hitting “Welcome to Chicago”. Punker went for the cover but Striker kicked out. Punk went for splash in the corner, but ducked out of the way. Punk flipped onto the apron then back into the ring looking for a sunset flip. Striker, however, sat out and grabbed the ropes for leverage to steal the pin fall victory.

Winner: Matt Striker via pin fall

Vince McMahon stumbled across Tommy Dreamer in the back. He asked him what the hell kind of name was Dreamer. He asked what people could be ‘dreaming’ about. He said he didn’t deal in dreams, he deals in reality. He walked off as Dreamer showed contempt.

Rob Van Dam v. Hardcore Holly
After a commercial, we came back to Holly in control, putting the boots to the back of RVD. Holly bullied RVD into the corner and began choking RVD out on the road. The two exchanged some stiff slaps and kicks before RVD won the battle. RVD hopped on the bottom rope and hit a leg drop before going for the cover. RVD got whipped to the corner but planted an elbow into the face of Holly before leaping up to the top rope. Holly quickly recovered and shoved RVD who went crashing hard-way into the guardrail on the outside.

Holly chased Van Dam to the outside and tossed him head first into the ringside steps. Holly tossed RVD back into the ring and laid some more boots before sticking him in a modified camel clutch in an effort to wear Van Dam down.

RVD rallied with the help of the crowd and hit a nasty jawbreaker on Holly, breaking the hold. Holly hit a boot to RVD’s face though and kept the advantage. Holly hit his suspended on the ropes kick to the hoo has thing before RVD came roaring back after a rest hold with a spinning heel kick.

RVD went to the top rope to retrieve Holly but got pushed off. Holly came flying off only to eat a boot to the face. RVD went for the five star again, but Holly got out of the way. Holly went for the Alabama slam but RVD blocked it so Holly threw him into the ring post. Holly loaded up the Alabama slam again and connected, getting the cover for the win.

Winner: Hardcore Holly via pin fall

Mr. McMahon was walking through the back and ran across Sabu. He said he wasn’t in Texas, he was in Afghanistan. He called Sabu a member of the Taliban. He said he heard all about Sabu. He was homicidal, genocidal maniac. He stared Sabu down and walked off.

Mr. McMahon was still in the back when he stumbled across Balls Mahoney. He put over Balls’ name being Irish. Mahoney said it was just like McMahon. Vince said he wasn’t Irish, not like McMahon Irish. He said the last name was okay, but the first name, well, we’d find out if he had any. Mahoney laughed as McMahon walked away.McMahon dismissed Kelly Kelly and Layla El and told them to get out of his ring. He said he was sorry to disappoint all these people, but he didn’t need security. He said he will not be embarrassed tonight like he was last night on Monday Night RAW. He said history was being made tonight, as this was his first time in an ECW ring. He said quite frankly, he thought the ECW originals ‘sucked’. In fact, anything about the original ECW ‘sucks’ as well he said.

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Yesterday, we showed you just how gigantic Brooke Hogan can appear. Yikes, we're still afraid of her.

Here's a more serene picture of Brooke and her father, Hulk Hogan, as they take in a sporting event together.

Perhaps these two can team up together against Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump at Wrestlemania 23. Just an idea.

Fans of former WWE Women’s Champion Trish Stratus will get one more chance to see the reality series “Armed & Famous,” which features the smoking hot diva as a police officer.

The show was recently pulled by CBS for low ratings - but VH-1 has agreed to air a five-hour marathon of the series this Saturday starting at 5 p.m. EST; it will include the fifth episode that never aired on CBS.

“Armed & Famous” featured several celebrities as they trained and worked as police officers in Muncie, Indiana. The series started out strong in the ratings, but fell fast with the competition of American Idol.

It is also likely that VH-1 will air two more episodes which were scheduled to air on CBS.

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

TNA iMPACT! Tapings for February 1:

Jeremy Borash ran into Chris Sabin who was using a walker to get around, obviously mocking Jerry Lynn. Also, outside Jim Cornette’s office was Voodoo Kin Mafia and Bob Backlund - but we went to the ring.

(1) The Austin Starr defeated Jay Lethal vs. Alex Shelley vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. vs. Jerry Lynn.

As the match went on Sabin and his walker came out to ringside. Early on it turned into a tag match with Lynn on an island to himself. You need to watch this since too much went on to keep up. Lynn went for the Cradle Piledriver but Sabin got on the apron and disrobed. He showed off the title belt and a brand new Depend undergarment. With Slick Johnson following the action on the floor, Lynn ended up being pinned by Starr after Sabin entered the ring and leveled Lynn.

Christian Cage and Tomko were talking about catering to the Consultant. Back from the break, Mike Tenay and Don West spoke to the home viewers. They were interrupted by Samoa Joe who power walked to the ring. Joe said Tomko was not babysitting him since he was not the consultant. He was the unofficial ringside enforcer for Against All Odds. Cage appeared on screen and said Joe was lying to the fans and he was the consultant. But Cage promised a third hint after calling Joe “Jo-Jo Bear."

Jeremy Borash pushed the new TNA Wrestling mobile phone service as Bob Backlund and VKM stood outside Cornette’s office. JB talked to “Tennessee Cowboy” James Storm and Ms. Tennessee about their PPV match. Eric Young spoke about his friend, as Christy Hemme cut off VKM and they went to enter Cornette’s office.

(2) Robert Roode (w/Ms. Brooks) defeated Petey Williams (w/Gail Kim)

Williams went on the attack early. Roode went to the floor to avoid Williams but got hit with a huricurana. Roode stopped the momentum sending Williams crashing to the floor. Back in the ring Roode used his power advantage with suplexes and slams. Williams went to fight back but he got hit with a power sideslam. Williams recovered and hit two dropkicks. As Kim and Brooks fought around ringside, Williams set for the Canadian Destroyer. But James Storm slid in and hit Williams with a superkick to allow Roode to win. Stay with me because it gets fun from here. Ms. Tennessee came out and joined in the beat down on Williams and Kim. Eric Young hit the ring and attacked Roode, Storm and anyone else he could hit. Brooks left with Young as confusion sat in.

Borash was in Cornette’s office with Kip James and Christy Hemme arguing when Jim Cornette said Hemme would be wrestling a TBD opponent at the PPV. Brother Devon spoke to the interview girl. Devon said Ray was with his family after LAX took out his uncle. He promised to show LAX respect.

(3) Samoa Joe and “the Phenomenal” AJ Styles fought to a no contest

After catching AJ Styles in a corner Joe hit an enziguri and hid behind Andrew Thomas. This allowed Styles to get in a sucker punch and a dropkick for two. Joe fired in some punches but Styles raked the eyes. Joe fought out of a chinlock but got hit with a judo shot to the throat. Joe sidestepped Styles and it sent Styles to the floor. He feigned a knee injury but Rhino came out and tossed Styles back in the ring. But Rhino joined the action and began trading punches with Styles with some assistance from Joe. The referee threw the match out and Joe took a chair onto the ring saying he wasn’t leaving until Cage came out. Instead of Cage we got Kurt Angle who said he was tired of the charade Cage and Joe were playing. Punches got tossed when Angle called Joe a lair. Cage hit the ring and then Angle with a chair. He extended his hand to Joe but got flicked off. As Joe choked out Cage, Styles came out and got Joe’s attention. Joe got decked with the same chair used on Angle. As hour one ended Cage choked out Angle with his ring jacket as Styles choked Joe out with the end of the folding chair.

A prison motif was set up at the bottom of the entry ways complete with fencing, white towers with barbwire and lights on the top and wire wrapped on the ring posts. Mike Tenay and Don West talked to the home viewers about the show and Lockdown being held in St Louis in April. Father James Mitchell came out to the prison setup minus Abyss. He said Sting played with fire last week and got burned.

He brought up Sting’s behavior since he lost the World title to Abyss and the revealing of Abyss’ past. As Mitchell spoke the black tarp covered box lowered into the ring. Mitchell said Sting was going to pay for his crimes in one of two ways. One was sending the attack video to the police which would gain Sting 15-20 years. The other was facing Abyss in a prison yard match at the PPV where the loser gets locked in a cell which was under the black tarp. Mitchell wanted an answer and above the ring appeared Sting wearing Abyss’ mask on his face.

• The debut of Kurt Angle in New Japan Pro Wrestling on February 18 will see Angle team with Yuji Nagata against Giant Bernar (former WWE star Albert/A-Train) and current TNA star Tomko.

• According to the website for the Family Arena in St. Louis, Missouri, ticket prices for TNA Wrestling's Lockdown PPV on April 15 will be $150, $125, $65, $55, $40 and $20. Tickets go on sale Friday, February 16.

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

The show opened with HBK coming to the ring. He grabbed a mic and said that last week, he said that no mere mortal man would keep him from winning the Rumble. Well, Taker is no mere mortal man. HBK said that he was still going to main-event Wrestlemania 23 and take the WWE Championship.

He said he knew the people were saying that Taker gets to choose who he’s going to face. HBK knew all that, but he said that if Taker chooses Batista, it leaves the WWE Champion wide open. Thus, Michaels threw his hat into the championship ring, which brought out the WWE Champion John Cena. Cena limped to the ring, grabbed a mic, and made sure he was hearing HBK correctly. However, Cena reminded Shawn that it wasn’t up to them, but rather the Undertaker. At that point, Edge came out with a microphone and said that Michaels vs. Cena wasn’t going to happen. Edge reminded HBK how he’d predicted that Michaels would come away from the Rumble with a feeling of “close, but no cigar.”

The Rated-R Superstar also reminded Cena of his numerous wins over the champ and that he’s undefeated at Mania. Edge, thus, believes he should get the title shot if Taker chooses Batista. Randy Orton came to the ramp at that point. Orton addressed his tag partner first. He said that they may be tag champs, but it’s every man for himself when it comes to the WWE title. Orton said Edge had faced Cena like 30 times…Randy has never even had one. Edge said the reason for that would be that…Cena interrupted the “puss bags” and told them to either shut up or come to the ring and fight him and HBK. Rated-RKO headed to the ring, but Vince McMahon appeared on the Titantron and told them to stop right there. VKM made a tag title match b/t Rated-RKO and Cena/HBK.

Match 1: Cryme Tyme vs. The World’s Greatest Tag Team
- Haas, with corn rows, started it off against Shad. They locked up, with Haas going after Shad’s leg and then his arm. Haas switched form an armbar to a headlock, but Shad came back with a series of shoulder tackles. Shelton came in while the ref’s back was turned and superkicked Shad in the back of the leg. Haas went to work from there. Shad tried to fight back, but Haas used a single leg takedown to continue to build momentum. Shelton tagged in and further worked over Shad’s leg. Shad again tried to fight back, but Shelton used a single-leg takedown and quickly switched right into a half Boston Crab. JTG eventually got the tag and cleaned house. He scored back elbow on Shelton and went after Haas. Shad tried to take Shelton out of the ring to leave his partner alone with Charlie, but Benjamin skinned the cat and caught Shad with a head scissors that sent the big man out of the ring. JTG came up from behind Shelton with a roll up, but Haas gave him a DDT. Shelton scored the pin soon after. TWGTT defeated Cryme Tyme at 3:38.

Match 2: Melina vs. Maria
- Maria scored a quick near fall with a roll-up. She then gave Melina a wedgy and a Bronco Buster. Melina came back with several hard shots to the face and a hair pull that sent Maria to the mat. She then placed Maria between the second ropes near a corner turnbuckle and kicked her in the back. Maria came back with another roll-up and eventually scored with a jawbreaker. However, Melina regained control with a one-woman flapjack and a unique submission move. The finish came when Maria tapped. Thus, Melina defeated Maria to become #1 contender at 2:45.

Backstage, HBK was interviewed. Michaels looked annoyed and said that he’d done pretty well against Rated-RKO and tonight he’d win the tag titles. When asked how his chemistry would be with Cena, HBK said that with all due respect to the champ…Cena is no Triple H.

Further backstage, Super Crazy told Mickie James that he was super and crazy. Melina said it was crazy for Mickie to think she’d be women’s champ after they wrestled for the belt.

Match 3: Val Venis vs. Umaga (w/ Armando Alejandro Estrada)
- Venis tried to gain first strike points before the bell rang, but Umaga wasted no time putting the Big Valbowski down with a Samoan Drop. The Samoan Bulldozer then placed him in the tree-of-woe and clobbered him with several right handed shots. He followed with a jumping/diving headbutt. Umaga repositioned Venis and sat him in the corner. He then connected with a running rear smash and got the win soon after following the Samoan Spike. Umaga defeated Venis at 1:49.

Vince McMahon came to the ring sporting a cowboy hat with the Coach and some security guards. JR and King mentioned that Vince would be having “Fan Appreciation Night” on ECW tomorrow night, as well. Vince said that the first thing he wanted to say was “Howdy partner!” He said phrases like that were as ridiculous as people that wear cowboy hats. He called those that wear hats stupid. Vince had a huge picture frame behind him with a large cloak over it. He said tonight was his night to give back to the little people. The crowd chanted, “You Suck.” He said it was his night to say “Thank You” to all the fans for helping make him a billionaire. He then promised to give one member of the crowd a gift of material wealth. After searching thru the crowd, he picked out an attractive woman in a mini-skirt. She came into the ring. Vince said he understood that she must be nervous standing in the ring with him. Her name was Jackie. After a drum roll, Vince pulled the cloak off the frame to reveal a huge, framed version of his Muscle and Fitness cover from early last year. That was Jackie’s prize. The crowd booed the hell out of him, as he told her to return to her seat.

Donald Trump appeared on the Titantron at that point. Trump said that Vince claimed to tell the audience what they wanted, when in actuality they had no choice and no alternative to Vince and his product. Donald said he knew the audience better than Vince…he said they want value for what they paid for. Trump had buckets of money dumped from the rafters. Vince said those were just pieces of paper, but King insisted it was real. The fans in the crowd certainly acted like it was real. Vince was pissed, as it rained cash all over the arena. McMahon said Trump had not heard the last of this. He said the fans didn’t deserve that money and tried to take it from the fans at ringside. Vince stormed off.

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Forget The Great Khali.

We've got the inside scoop on the true behemoth of WWE:

Brooke Hogan.

Look at Hulk's daughter below, towering over the women on her left. We'd be afraid to face this talentless singer in the ring: