July 2007 News Archive (Page 3)

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

- MVP defeated Matt Hardy to retain the WWE United States Championship. Matt Hardy got a big reaction from the crowd in San Jose. The match kicked off with MVP leaving the ring right away to compose himself. In the ring, MVP pulled off a big superplex. Hardy pulled off a quick bulldog. Another bulldog and MVP continues to kick out. Hardy with a big leg drop on MVP. Hardy hits the Side Effect on MVP, covers and MVP once again kicks out. Finish saw MVP hit the Playmaker on Hardy to get the pinfall and retain his title. Very good match.

- Backstage, Todd Grisham was with Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes had a bull rope around his neck. Rhodes brought up how many feel he created the Great American Bash. He said Randy Orton has a lack of respect and said the cow bell was going to be used on Orton tonight.

- Hornswoggle won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship in a "Cruiserweight Open" Match over Jamie Noble, Chavo Guerrero, Funaki, Shannon Moore & Jimmy Wang Yang. Not a very long match here. The first person to gain a pinfall or submission is the winner and the Cruiserweight champion. All five competitors were in the ring to start the match. Tons of nearfalls early on in the match. Hornswoggle then appeared out of no where from under the ring and splashed Jamie Noble off the top rope as Chavo Guerrero gave Jimmy Wang Yang a superplex off the top rope while on the shoulders of Noble. I guess he is legal? Hornswoggle pinned Noble to become the new Cruiserweight champion. After the match, Hornswoggle ran to the back and a frustrated Chavo Guerrero yelled out that his title was stolen from him.

- A promo hyping Triple H's return airs.

- A video package on Bobby Lashley airs.

- Carlito defeated The Sandman in a Singapore Cane on a Pole Match. The first one to get the singapore cane can use it legally in the match. Sandman with some big right hands and offense on Carlito early on. Sandman took the action to the ground and worked on Carlito's left arm. Carlito responded with some shoulder charges to the corner on Sandman. The finish saw Sandman eventually get up and get the singapore cane. Sandman swung at Carlito, but Carlito ducked and hit Sandman with the Backcracker. Carlito got the pinfall to get the win.

- Backstage, Todd Grisham was with Randy Orton. Orton noted today was Shawn Michaels' birthday, but that he probably couldn't remember it since he took him out. He promised he was going to kill the legend of Dusty Rhodes tonight.

- Candice Michelle defeated Melina to retain the WWE Women's Championship. Jim Ross points out an interesting fact about Candice Michelle in that she is the first person to take part in the WWE Diva Search to become Women's champion. Another short match tonight on the card. Candice got the win with her new finisher called the Candy Wrapper (which is a modified standing bulldog/headlock) on Melina to get the pinfall to retain her title.

- A promo for WrestleMania 24 in Orlando airs.

- Backstage, Jeff and Matt Hardy were talking. Matt said he lost focus tonight in his match with MVP and that is why he lost. Candice then walks by and grabs a water, pouring it all over her chest. This distracts both Hardys. Candice pours even more water on herself still distracting Jeff and Matt. Simmons looks at The Hardy's and gives out his "DAMN" line of the night.

- Umaga defeated Jeff Hardy to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Umaga took the action to the ground working on Jeff's head. Jeff attempted a comeback by lifting Umaga up, but Umaga came back down splashing Jeff. Umaga splashed Jeff across the chest jumping off the top rope near the corner. Big sidewalk slam by Umaga on Jeff. Jeff responded with an impressive cross-body over the top rope on Umaga. They did a nice series of near-falls with Hardy hitting the Twist of Fate and Swanton Bomb, but Umaga kicked out each time. The finish saw Umaga hit Jeff with the splash to Jeff's head in the corner and then hit the Samoan Spike to get the pinfall and retain his title. Fans were really into this match and it was a nice change of pace.

- A video package on John Cena airs.

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It could have been the highlight of his career. But the match never happened.

CM Punk was scheduled to face Chris Benoit for the vacated ECW world title on the evening of June 24 at WWE's Vengeance pay-per-view in Houston. Benoit, of course, never showed. The following night Punk and the other superstars of WWE received the chilling news that Benoit, one of the most respected performers in the company, had allegedly killed his wife and his 7-year-old son before taking his own life.

CM Punk, like the rest of his colleagues, was stunned and saddened.

"Mind, you, when I first heard, there were no details. I was pretty sad. I was disappointed because I was supposed to wrestle him at the pay-per-view. I guess I was confused and disappointed. Obviously my confusion would grow the next day."

The tragedy hit Punk especially hard since he grew up a fan of Benoit.

"I was always a huge fan of Chris Benoit and was extremely influenced by him and his work ethic," says Punk. He says he was even more flattered when he first met Benoit, and the Canadian-born wrestler told the youngster that he was a fan of his.

"That paints a picture of who Chris Benoit was. He was a student of the game. He was a student when he really didn't need to be anymore."

But, says Punk, Benoit was first and foremost a teacher.

"I think that's the relationship he and I had. We were buddies, and he'd go out of his way to talk to me. Not only about wrestling, but about the music I liked and what was going on in my life. He took care of everybody in the locker room. He asked questions, and he wanted to know what was going on with everybody."

Benoit was a product of the old school of wrestling, a graduate of Stu Hart's infamous dungeon facility in Calgary, and knew when to push the right buttons, says Punk.

"He could also be very stern. I remember staying late many times cleaning up the locker room. But I did it not just because I had to do it, but because it was what needed to be done."

Click here to read the full interview with CM Punk.

• Some time ago before the Benoit tragedy, WWE had a storyline planned (but later dropped) over the Eddie Guerrero estate where Chris Benoit would be the one to discover shady dealings between Chavo and Vickie Guerrero.

• Early numbers for the WWE Judgment Day PPV are 245,000 buys, the best "B" show total since last year's Unforgiven in Toronto.

• WWE recently asked Tajiri if he was interested in coming back and he said no.

• Cody Runnels promotion to WWE was because the creative team and producers felt he was the most ready in developmental, after Vince McMahon suggested they needed new faces on television.

• The Randy Orton and Dusty Rhodes feud is not expected to last long, if at all, after the Great American Bash PPV.

• Updated Summerslam rumors have Triple H returning to beat Booker T. Randy Orton would win the title from John Cena. This would build to Triple H vs Randy Orton as the top feud with John Cena right in the middle.

1. Smackdown opens up with Teddy Long introducing Edge for some major announcement. Edge comes out unusually heartbroken as he is about to surrender his belt due to a torn pectoral announcement. Edge babbles on as he is a true Canadian athlete and shows a video about his storied career. Teddy Long then forces him to surrender and Edge leaves and continues to look back at the belt. Long then announces that there will be a 20 man over the top battle royal to determine a new champion. That champion will defend the title at the GAB.

2. Two veteran WWE Divas lock up next as Victoria and Torrie Wilson go one on one. Some great action as Victoria nails her black widow finisher for the W.

3. The 20 man battle royal which included MVP, Finlay, Major Brothers, Deuce and Domino, Kenny Dyksta, Matt Hardy, Jimmy Wang Yang, Pitbull Noble, Funaki, Dave Taylor, Khali, Mark Henry, Kane, and Batista. Last three men were Batista and Kane who were forcing each other out when The Great Khali hoisted them both out to capture the title.

4. Matt Hardy and Kenny Dystra are next as the two young men hook up with a few good minutes of good action. Both men were in the battle royal earlier and were visibly hurt throughout the match. Matt gets good pops. MVP is shown in his locker room and calls Hardy lucky for his victory and cuts a promo on their match at GAB.

5. Teddy Long announces that Batista and Kane will meet for the #1 contenders match next. As the match between the 2 monsters are in progress, Khali comes in and pummels both men causing a double DQ. Long comes out to confront the new champ to tell him that his defense at the GAB will be a triple threat between him, Kane and Batista as the show ends!

• The Big Daddy V gimmick in ECW is based on the One Man Gang character from the 80's.

• Rey Mysterio is expecting to return full time at the July 24th SmackDown taping in Fresno, CA. Rey has requested that he first work a program with Chavo Guerrero since it would continue the storyline where Chavo injured him last year.

• WWE RAW writer Brian Gerwitz is pushing for William Regal to become the full time RAW GM. Gerwitz specifically likes his facial expressions in interviews that he feels help get the storylines over.

On Comcast Digital Cable, in its On Demand section, you can watch some of the people's video entries for the WWE's Biggest Fan contest.

Afterwards, they have a promo where Steve-O is talking about how at SummerSlam, him and the crew from Jackass will be taking on Umaga.

John Kronus, better known to fans as one-half of the popular former ECW Tag Team Championship team The Eliminators with Perry Saturn, was found dead today in his apartment in New Hampshire.

There are no further details right now as to what lead to Kronus's death. We will keep you informed as more information is released. All of usat The Wrestling Post wish to express our condolences to the friends and family of John Kronus during this time of mourning.

Here are the full spoilers from the next two weeks of TNA iMPACT tapings...

TNA iMPACT! Tapings for July 19:

Jeremy Borash was sent by Jim Cornette to find World champion Kurt Angle. But he found Angle in a tanning bed and he refused to go see Cornette. Angle also accused Borash of “checking out his package.” Angle felt Samoa Joe was going to surrender the tag titles after he was screwed over on Sunday.

(1) XXX (“PrimeTime” Elix Skipper, “Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels & Senshi) defeated Serotonin (Raven, Havok & Martyr)

That’s right the multi-time former World Tag Team champions reunited last Sunday when Daniels became #1 contender to the World X Division title. XXX wasted no time in their trickery as Skipper went to lockup with Havok and Daniels jumped him from behind. The XXX advantage ended when raven hit Daniels in the back with the Singapore cane. That allowed Serotonin to take over Daniels in their corner of the ring. Martyr had Daniels in a front facelock when Skipper hit a slingshot move that let Daniels free so he could tag in Senshi. The end came for Havok who got hit with a Skipper legdrop, Daniels’ BME and Senshi’s Warrior’s Way.

After the match Frankie “the Future” Kazarian attacked Serotonin and left before he could suffer any real damage. Jeremy Borash came back to Angle’s tanning bed to find Angle tanning his buttocks. He told Angle that Cornette would fine him $10,000 if he didn’t come to the office. Angle got out of the tanning bed to find all of his clothes and two title belts missing. So he left the room in his bikini briefs. Mike Tenay & Don West were addressing the home audience when Team 3D crashed the party. They said they knew the Steiner Brothers were not in the building but were watching at home.

Ray said they cost Team 3D their World Tag Team titles and wanted to repay them face to face next week. Devon didn’t like something Tenay said and he choked him as Ray grabbed the timekeeper’s hammer threatening to hit Tenay. Kurt Angle began his search for his clothing and he questioned the TNA locker room. He accused Shark Boy of smiling like it was a joke, so he attacked him. Maybe Angle wasn’t wearing his glasses broke by Serotonin last Sunday or he just didn’t realize Shark wears a mask.

(2) Voodoo Kin Mafia member Kip James (w/BG James & Roxxi Laveaux) defeated Lance Hoyt (w/Christy Hemme).

Both Kip and Hoyt fought a power match in the early moments until Kip sent Hoyt to the floor where he followed and laid in some punches. Hoyt tried to avoid the punches and Laveaux as best he could and the tide turned when Kip focused on Hemme instead of Hoyt. Hoyt attacked and took the match back to the ring. Kip fought back with a Thesz press and avoided a Hoyt boot to hit “the One and Only” to win. After the match Hemme tried to crotch shot Kip but got stopped and Laveaux came in to hit a Styles Clash-like move sending Hemme to the locker room in Hoyt’s arms.

Kurt Angle met with the TNA production crew trying to find his lost items. He told everyone he would count to ten and they could return his stuff. Poor David Sahadi had to endure Angle’s package being near his face as the countdown occurred. A cameraman decided to leave but Angle attacked him thinking he was the thief.

(3) “Instant Classic” Christian Cage & “Tennessee Cowboy” James Storm (w/Jacqueline Moore, a six pack of longnecks & Tomko) defeated “War Machine” Rhino & “Wildcat” Chris Harris.

These four men met in singles matches on Sunday night so Jim Cornette decided to let them settle their differences. Harris jumped Cage at the opening bell and went to work with the punches before tagging in Rhino. However Rhino took his focus off Cage for too long and looking for Storm cost him. Cage hit Rhino with a clothesline off the ring apron. Cage & Storm kept Rhino isolated from his corner for several minutes. Harris tried to aid Rhino but it only did harm as Cage kept the referee busy, Storm hit a running boot to the face. Somehow Cage ended up on Storm’s shoulders as Rhino was on the top buckle and Rhino raked Storm’s eyes. Rhino hit Cage with a clothesline and tagged into a fired up Harris. Rhino had Storm set for the GORE but Cage pulled him to the floor. Storm went for the Superkick but Harris blocked it and hit the Catatonic but Tomko pulled referee Rudy Charles to the floor.

Harris looked for the referee and Dustin Rhodes hit him in the back with a chair. Storm crawled over and covered Harris to win. After the match the real fun began as Rhino attacked anyone that moved including Moore but Rhino picked her up for a powerslam. He made the mistake of losing sight of Tomko, who kicked Rhino in the face making Moore fall onto Rhino. When you thought things were done Abyss came looking for revenge on Cage. Cage hightailed it but backed into Sting and the baseball bat. Sting tossed Cage into Abyss for some retribution.

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We assume you don't mind if we post a couple more photos of WWE Diva Candice Michelle in a bikini.

No? Okay, good. Here they are...

Is she the best looking WWE Diva out there? Let us right now in our forums...

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

The new ECW intro is shown.

Tonight is a press conference with Johnny Nitro.

Some guy standing in front of Nitro's dressing room says tonight is the last night you will ever see Johnny Nitro on ECW. He says all questions will be answered in the ring later tonight.

Match 1: CM Punk vs. Elijah Burke
Lock up but the referee breaks it up in the corner. CM Punk works on Burke's am and snapmares him and applies an arm lock. Punk nails an elbow drop and begins to work on Burke with kicks and tosses Burke shoulder first into the turnbuckle for a two count. Leg drop by Punk for another two. Punk nails a suplex and Burke counters with a boot in the corner. Burke hurricanrana's Punk over the top rope to the outside and both wrestlers are down.

Burke has a single leg boston crab applied to Punk. Burke changes it into a double leg boston crab and Punk makes it to the ropes. Punk kicks off Burke and takes the advantage with kicks but runs into an elbow from Elijah. Burke with a shoulder block to Punk's back. Burke applies a bow and arrow. Burke then nails a back breaker unto his knee for a two count. Burke with more elbows to Punk's back and then suplexes him. Burke with a scoop slam. Punk counters with kicks directly to Burke's head and then works on Burke's legs with some roundhouse kicks. Punk nails a clothesline and follows it up with a flapjack. Punk with a kick directly to Burke's chest. Burke with a back suplex for a two count. Punk nails a DDT and Burke lands right on his head! Punk gets a two count. Burke counters again this time with a german suplex! Burke cradles Punk and gets a two count. Burke nails a clothesline. Elijah charges but CM Punk catches him and nails the GTS for the win!
Winner: CM Punk

The Raw Rebound is shown focusing on John Cena vs. Bobby Lashley.

Matt Striker's music hits and he comes down to the ring and grabs a microphone. He introduces himself as our teacher. We are shown Big Daddy V destroying The Boogeyman last week on ECW.

Match 2: Big Daddy V with Matt Striker vs. Ted Storm
Big V destroys Storm and splashes him in the corner. Big V with a samoa drop and nails a spinning sidewalk slam for the win.
Winner: Big Daddy V

The Miz is in the ring. He says he's a chick magnet. He doesn't know why he just is. He says every woman in this arena wants him. He says the next three chicks he calls out has a surprise for him. Extreme Expose come out to the ring. Layla El grabs a chair and Miz sits on it. Brooke, Kelly, and Layla then begin to dance to Ciara's "Like a Boy" for Miz. He seems to be enjoying it as Layla, Kelly, and Brooke each rip off the others shirts then they one by one give Miz a lap dance. The women end by posing with Miz in the chair as fireworks go off.

We are shown Tommy Dreamer vs. Johnny Nitro from last weeks extreme rules match. Nitro was declared the winner.

Match 3: Tommy Dreamer vs. Kevin Thorne
Lock up and Dreamer nails a punch to Thorne. Thorne fights back and spears Dreamer into the corner. Dreamer nails a hip toss and drop toe hold. Thorne hotshots Dreamer's injured arm from last week into the ropes. Thorne applies an arm lock. Thorne then nails a shoulder block takedown and continues to work on Dreamer's arm. Dreamer counters with a neck breaker. Dreamer goes up top but Thorne catches him. Dreamer rakes Thorne's eyes and pushes him off the ropes and to the mat. Dreamer nails a frog splash for a two count. Thorne counters with an arm breaker. Thorne goes for the kiss of death but Dreamer counters with a clothesline. Thorne then tosses Dreamer shoulder first into the ring post and gets the win.
Winner: Kevin Thorne

Paul McBride, who is Nitro's personal assistant, is in the ring and talks about Nitro's success in the WWE. He says tonight is the last time Johnny Nitro will be on ECW because Nitro has changed his name. Nitro comes down to the ring with new music (rock type music) and a new look (a rockstar type look). Nitro takes the mic and says his name is not Johnny Nitro anymore, it's John Morrison. John says he was given that name at birth and since then he was made for greatness. At four months he could walk and eight months he could run. He said he skipped a grade because he was extremely smart and that in high school his peers voted him to be class president and he didn't even run.

He says he is the ECW Champion and he will beat CM Punk at The Great American Bash. He wonders what is a name like CM Punk? Morrison says CM probably stands for chick magnet, no he says. Maybe chases men, he says that sounds about right. Cookie monster maybe he says. And what is Punk? He says Punk is a little kid with silly tattoos who needs to learn their place. CM Punk's music hits and he makes his way to the ring. Morrison asks him directly how did you come up with the name CM Punk? Nitro hands Punk the microphone and tricks him and lands a right hand to Punk. Morrison then nails Punk right in the face with the microphone! John then nails his cork screw neck breaker and poses with his title on the ramp as Punk stares him down to close the show.