June 2007 News Archive (Page 6)

Just a short recap of this week's Smackdown tapings...

- Another 10 bell salute for Vince McMahon opened the show.

- Jimmy Wang Yang defeated Jamie Noble, Daivari & Shannon Moore.

- Deuce & Domino defeated Paul London & Brian Kendrick to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles.

- Matt Hardy defeated William Regal.

- Batista defeated WWE United States Champion MVP.

- Ric Flair defeated World Heavyweight Champion Edge via DQ. MVP interfered to cause the DQ finish.

John Cena appeared on The Conan O'Brien show last night. Here's a recap:

The scene begins with Cena being introduced as the WWE Champion, and shows a clip of the F-U on Khali from Raw. Cena joked as being born with the muscles that he currently has, and tells Conan he can do it. Conan rebuts with "No, I cant!"

Cena says that he doesn't oil up, and said that it is not 'his cup of coffee.' He also jokes that he is meaner than a dog crapping tacks when he goes through the curtain. Cena talks about the TLC match, and Conan jokes that they should put an ottoman in the ring to hit someone with.

Conan mentions that Cena is a Make a Wish spokesman, and Cena says that WWE/Make a Wish has a project called "Destination Joy." The project has an auction on wish.org for four ringside tickets to Wrestlemania 24 in Orlando. The winning bidder gets those four seats, a private jet flight to Orlando, hotel accomodations, and gets to hang with Cena.

The segment closes with Conan plugging Raw, Fast Cars and Superstars, and Destination Joy.

The Wrestling Observer is reporting that the 6/12 edition of ECW on Sci Fi drew a final 1.7 cable rating.

This is way up from last week's 1.4 rating and a lot higher than what the show has been averaging lately. This big ratings jump was likely due to the fallout of the stupid, stupid Vince McMahon death angle the night before on Raw.

This would be a sad WWE spoiler if true: Ashley Massaro is leaving the wrestling ring for a reality TV island.

Paul London told Prowrestling.com that Ashley "was written out of the WWE storylines because she's leaving to be a contestant on the Survivor reality show."

This could explain this week's "suspension" of Massaro on SmackDown! WWE reps had no comment, maybe because they were busy pretending Vince McMahon is dead.

PWInsider released press material for the upcoming Bret Hart autobiography titled "My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling", which will be released on October 16:

“Bret Hart is the best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be.”
- Ric Flair

“Bret Hart still makes me believe that wrestling is good.”
- Hulk Hogan

“A legend!”
- The Rock

In his own words, this is Bret Hart’s honest, perceptive, startling account of his life in and out of the pro wrestling ring.

The sixth-born son of the pro wrestling dynasty founded by Stu Hart and his elegant wife, Helen, Bret Hart is a Canadian icon. As a teenager, he could have been an amateur wrestling Olympic contender, but instead he turned to the family business, climbing into the ring for his dad’s western circuit, Stampede Wrestling.

From his early twenties until he retired at 43, Hart kept an audio diary, recording stories of the wrestling life, the relentless travel, the practical jokes, the sex and drugs, and the real rivalries (as opposed to the staged ones). The result is an intimate, no-holds-barred account that will keep readers, not just wrestling fans, riveted.

Hart achieved superstardom in pink tights, and won multiple wrestling belts in multiple territories, for both the WWF (now the WWE) and WCW. But he also paid the price in betrayals (most famously by Vince McMahon, a man he had served loyally); in tragic deaths, including the loss of his brother Owen, who died when a stunt went terribly wrong; and in his own massive stroke, most likely resulting from a concussion he received in the ring, and from which, with the spirit of a true champion, he has battled back.

Widely considered by his peers as one of the business’s best technicians and workers, Hart describes pro wrestling as part dancing, part acting, and part dangerous physical pursuit. He is proud that in all his years in the ring he never seriously hurt a single wrestler, yet did his utmost to deliver to his fans an experience as credible as it was exciting.

He also records the incredible toll the business takes on its workhorses: he estimates that twenty or more of the wrestlers he was regularly matched with have died young, weakened by their own coping mechanisms, namely drugs, alcohol, and steroids. That toll included his own brother-in-law, Davey Boy Smith. No one has ever written about wrestling like Bret Hart. No one has ever lived a life like Bret Hart’s.

"For as long as I can remember, my world was filled with liars and bullsh**ters, losers and pretenders, but I also saw the good side of pro wrestling. To me there is something bordering on beautiful about a brotherhood of big tough men who pretended to hurt one another for a living instead of actually doing it. Any idiot can hurt someone."

The following is an article from The Times-Leader in Pennsylvania...

Did Vince McMahon, who’s bluffed and blustered his way into the ringmaster’s role of the testosterone-fueled soap opera that is professional wrestling, really fall for the old bomb-in-the-limo trick?

Though World Wrestling Entertainment would have you believe otherwise, the answer is no.

“No one was in any danger,” said Steve Poremba, a Wachovia Arena spokesman, of Monday night’s WWE RAW spectacle at the arena, though he would not elaborate.

A WWE spokesman echoed that, but also wouldn’t elaborate, instead pointing to a news release from the company and “reports” on its Web site. The release inferred that celebrities who have “less than flattering things to say about” McMahon, including real estate mogul Donald Trump, sportscaster Bob Costas, rapper Snoop Dogg and wrestler “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, might be behind a plot to bump him off.

Despite articles on the Web site that firefighters and federal agents are investigating, workers at the Luzerne County 911 Center confirmed that it was “a stunt” and that no emergency vehicles were called to the arena on Monday night.

“The ‘federal agent’ (referenced on the Web site) is definitely not the FBI,” said Jerri Williams, a special agent spokeswoman with the FBI’s Philadelphia office. “We have not been made aware of any car bombings. … We would definitely have been informed.”

But fans from across the country have been contacting local media to find out if McMahon, the chairman of the board of WWE, was actually blown up in a fiery limo-bombing on his so-called “Mr. McMahon Appreciation Night,” which was televised on USA Network. McMahon had walked out of the building to the waiting vehicle, so fans inside the arena saw the same televised live scene.

Only it was wasn’t live. Supervised by Zenith Pyrotechnology, based in Deer Park, N.Y., the explosion was actually filmed at the arena late Saturday night, the footage of the burning hulk taped Sunday night and the whole mess spliced together, said Andy Kratz, the township’s zoning officer.
Continue Reading...

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

Joey Styles and Tazz tell us Mr. McMahon was found dead after the car explosion last night from Raw. We see a recap of Vince walking out to the ring looking distraught and fans booing him. He leaves looking depressed. Vince walks through all the WWE Superstars and WWE Divas on all rosters and leaves to go to his limo. He gets in and it explodes!

Tonight there will be a series of matches in memory of Vince McMahon. The bell rings ten times in memory of Vince as fans boo. Tazz call the fans disrespectful.

Match 1: Extreme Rules Match: Tommy Dreamer vs. Balls Mahoney
Dreamer with a drop toe hold. Dreamer fights off Mahoney with punches but Mahoney counters him with a back suplex. Dreamer sends Mahoney over the top rope to the outside. Dreamer nails Mahoney with a kitchen sink! Mahoney counters and sends Dreamer neck first into the steel steps! In the ring, Mahoney nails Dreamer with a garbage can lid for a two count. Dreamer counters and nails Mahoney three times in the head with the garbage can. Dreamer throws in a couple of chairs. Dreamer sets up up a chair but Mahoney counters and drop toe holds Dreamer face first into the chair! Mahoney goes up top but Dreamer crotches him and Mahoney is placed in the tree of woe. Dreamer places a garbage can in front of Mahoney and nails a baseball slide to Mahoney! Dreamer brings out a table and sets it up. Mahoney nails Dreamer in the head with a garbage can and Mahoney sets Dreamer on the table. Mahoney goes up top but Dreamer moves and Balls leg drops the table! Tommy nails the DDT on the chair for the win!
Winner: Tommy Dreamer

Match 2: Matt Striker vs. The Boogeyman
Boogeyman with clubs to Matt Striker's arm. Boogeyman chops Striker down. Striker fights back but Boogeyman wrenches on Striker's arm. Striker with a dropkick. Striker fights back and nails another dropkick for a one count. Boogeyman dances and nails a clothesline. Boogeyman with a splash. Boogeyman nails a clothesline in the corner and nails the chokeslam powerbomb for the win.
Winner: The Boogeyman

We see footage after Raw when firetrucks arrive and firefighters take out the fire with their hoses. This is courtesy of WWE.com and they have the video online there.

Match 3: Chris Benoit and CM Punk vs. Elijah Burke and Marcus Cor Von
CM Punk and Cor Von start out. Lock up but a side headlock takeover by Punk on Cor Von. Punk with a side headlock but Cor Von counters into one of his own. Cor Von tags Burke. Burke with a knee for a two count. Punk tags Benoit. Benoit with a clothesline and Burke goes to the outside. Benoit with a snap suplex for a two count. Burke tags Cor Von. Benoit chops Cor Von, Cor Von tags back out to Burke. Punk runs in and nails a spinning heel kick on Burke. Punk with a running knee and enziguri. Benoit chops Burke to the outside as Cor Von rolls to the outside as well.

Punk with a jaw breaker. Burke nails an elbow drop. Punk comes back with a clothesline but Burke takes control. Burke tags out to Cor Von. Cor Von sling shots Punk into the turn buckle. Punk counters with a small package for a two count. Cor Von slams Punk and the referee just rings the bell! What!

After the match Punk nails an enziguri to Cor Von and Benoit nails three german suplexes to Burke. Benoit nails the diving headbutt. Benoit applies the sharpshooter on Burke and Burke taps out!

Jim Ross has updated his blog over at JRsbarbq.com. Here are some highlights from it:

Jim Ross On Nash/Hall WWE Return: I don’t know if Hall and Nash will ever return to the WWE to wrestle a full time schedule, but I would strongly doubt it, at this stage of their lives. I would surmise that Hall and Nash have better odds of going into the WWE Hall of Fame than resuming their tag team career in the WWE.

Jim Ross On Bret Hart Return: I have not heard a single word about Bret Hart returning to the WWE in any capacity. I find this rumor to be “highly unlikely,” even though personally it would be great to see The Hitman on a regular basis. There is no doubt that Bret would be a positive influence on all young wrestlers, but I hear he’s busy working on his autobiography and has no interest in a full time gig with the WWE, or anywhere else.

Jim Ross On Victoria In Playboy: Will you ever see Victoria in Playboy? Never say never, as I assume she would be willing to bare all. That would be “a nice.”

Jim Ross On Muta Coming To WWE: doubt if the Great Muta will ever wrestle in the WWE, and certainly not on a regular basis. Muta’s knee problems would prevent him from wrestling full time or from being his same old self, especially on a regular basis. In his prime, Muta was definitely special. I am sure we will all enjoy some of Muta’s best moments on WWE 24/7, when his old WCW stuff airs.

Jim Ross On JBL Return To The Ring: There was apparently some talk about JBL making an attempt to return to the ring if his back injury healed to the point he could function as he once did. I have not heard anything about this matter recently and don’t know the condition of John’s back, except I suspect it is still problematic. If it is, I would recommend that JBL either stick with announcing, or call it a day in the business. One’s health is our greatest gift and not even our beloved business is worth mortgaging our health for. John is too smart to do that anyway, but I do feel he is very frustrated that he can’t compete and to end his in ring career on his terms.

Continuing the absolutely insane story line from last night's RAW, WWE issued the following press release:

Who Blew Up WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon?

STAMFORD, Conn., June 12, 2007 – While some might say The Sopranos went out with a whimper, last night on USA Network, WWE’s Monday Night RAW went out with a bang. At the end of his self-anointed “Mr. McMahon Appreciation Night,” WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon entered his limousine when it suddenly exploded. The shocking ending raised a myriad of questions: How could Mr. McMahon have survived the fiery explosion? And who could’ve committed such a heinous act?

Although full details have not been disclosed, initial reports indicate that Mr. McMahon is presumed dead. An official investigation into Monday night’s events is currently underway with no one being ruled out as a suspect.

Throughout the night, people from Mr. McMahon’s past - from Donald Trump to Snoop Dogg to Bob Costas to Stone Cold Steve Austin - had less than flattering things to say about the WWE Chairman, but would any go so far as to actually blow him up?

The question of “whodunit,” as well as the fate of Mr. McMahon, will be on everyone’s minds as the WWE saga continues on Monday Night RAW on USA (9 p.m. ET/8C).

Is there any doubt that RAW is treated like the top show? The results of last night's WWE Draft even made it seem like Smackdown is now third behind ECW.

Just take a look at this wrestlingmag.com analysis of who went where...

Chris Benoit
A move to ECW makes sense on a lot of levels. There had been some discussion of moving Benoit to RAW, but if you think about it, a move to ECW makes more sense. After spending way too long stuck in a midcard rut, Benoit now has the chance to do two things in ECW. Firstly, he gets to be one of the top guys on the brand, and it’s quite likely we’d imagine that Benoit is wearing the ECW Title in the very near future. Secondly, he has the chance to make several of the ECW roster stars. You only need to look at the recent feud with MVP on Smackdown to see how Benoit can help make somebody. The likes of Elijah Burke and Marcus Cor Von will benefit greatly from working with him, plus a program down the line with CM Punk already sounds good to me.

The Boogeyman
Seems an obvious choice really. His character fits in with the whole Sci Fi side of things, even if the guy is extremely (no pun intended) limited in the ring. He had nothing to do on Smackdown, so if WWE are to continue using him, this is a move that makes sense.

SnitskyAgain, he’s limited in the ring, and once a program with Cena is done and dusted, it’s hard to see where Snitsky will fit in, both on RAW, or in WWE at all.

Bobby Lashley
A trade from ECW to RAW isn’t a huge deal at all since Lashley has been on RAW pretty much most weeks since WrestleMania. That made the announcement that he had to drop the ECW belt seem pretty dumb, but that was nothing compared to Lashley’s reaction to having to drop the belt. If he didn’t care about it, why did he spend all that time chasing the damn thing from Vince?

The pick does show that it’s impossible to become a star if you’re stuck on the ECW roster though. His promos and soft spoken nature work against him, and he’s still relatively green in the ring. That said, he had what was possibly his best match in a WWE ring last night. You can thank a certain Mr. Benoit for that.

The Great Khali
Please, please, please do not put this guy in a feud with Kane or Batista. That would just be awful. The ridiculous thing about the entire draft process is that Khali is a guy who jumped from Smackdown to RAW without any explanation whatsoever. If that starts happening again over the next few months, last night’s show will have been a bigger waste of time than it already was. It’s hard to see who they’ll throw Khali in the ring with on Smackdown. Kane or Batista do seem like the two front runners for that “honor", but we're wondering whether poor Rey Mysterio will return to action and wish he’d stayed in San Diego for a few months more.

Torrie Wilson
While JBL may have thought Torrie heading to Smackdown was the greatest thing ever, does anybody really care? She could have shown up on this week’s edition of Smackdown without being drafted, and nobody would have noticed anything different. Another piece of eye candy for the show, and nothing more.

Chris Masters
Well, I guess there’s only so many weeks in a row you can lose to Santino Morella. We're expecting nothing from Masters that we haven’t seen before on RAW, and for him to be stuck in the midcard for some time. If I had to have a guess, I’d say his first program on Smackdown will be with Matt Hardy.

Ric Flair
Every cloud has a silver lining, and the big, black cloud that is Smackdown has been brightened up by the draft of Naitch. Flair has never been on Smackdown, which means we have a lot of fresh matches in the pipeline. In his role of putting over the young guys, we can look forward to what should be some decent matches with the likes of MVP, plus looking at things behind the scenes, having Flair around backstage should really help the younger guys on the roster. We wouldn’t be against seeing another Flair-Edge match take place after the success of their TLC match from RAW back at the start of 2006, plus the reaction we saw from Batista suggests we could see those two teaming up. Other possibilities include some potentially very good matches with the likes of Finlay and William Regal. Given that JBL has upped his game recently and does an awesome job of telling viewers about the history of the wrestlers who are in the ring, having him call Flair’s matches on Friday’s nights could be good also.

King Booker
We’ve loved the King Booker character, and it’s great to see him back. But will a character who was given a lot of TV time on Smackdown (both in the ring and also on commentary) at the top end of the card be given a chance to shine? We really hope Booker isn’t only there to put Cena (and possibly down the line Triple H) over, as he’s been one of the better wrestlers and characters on WWE over the past year or so.

Mr. Kennedy
Again, further proof that RAW is the ‘A’ show, and Smackdown is the ‘B’ show. WWE will of course deny that, and if you recall the most recent shareholders meeting, Linda McMahon made comments (I forget her exact words) denying that RAW was seen as the superior show. Last night’s draft picks confirmed that as being utter tosh, and no further proof is needed than the draft of Kennedy, who when he returns from injury had a ready-made feud with Edge on the cards. A massive loss for a Smackdown brand that is looking considerably weak compared to RAW