November 2007 News Archive (Page 3)

Former WWE and WCW tag team The Nasty Boys worked a dark match last night at the SmackDown tapings, defeating Dave Taylor and Drew McIntyre.

The former Tag Team champions had been rumored be working a dark match at the show for months. Reports indicate the team actually looked solid in the ring.

Matt Hardy has undergone an emergency appendectomy and will be sidelines for one to three months. As the following announcement on WWE.com shows, the company is incorporating the incident into Hardy's angle with MVP:

TAMPA, Fla. – SmackDown Superstar Matt Hardy underwent an emergency appendectomy at a Tampa area hospital tonight. Doctors expect the surgery to keep Hardy out of action anywhere from 1-3 months.

An appendectomy by definition is the removal of the appendix from the lower right area of the abdomen. Oftentimes, if the surgery is not performed immediately, severe consequences can follow.

Hardy’s emergency surgery comes less than a week after suffering a knee injury at the hands of his former partner, the United States Champion MVP. Did the attack by MVP help lead to the appendectomy that Hardy underwent tonight?

PWInsider.com reports that Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton and Batista vs. Edge vs. The Undertaker are tentatively scheduled to main-event the upcoming Armageddon pay-per-view.

At press time, sources also believed a third Armageddon match would involve Jeff Hardy vs. Snitsky in some capacity.

Another possible scenario would be a tag match featuring Triple H and Umaga and the aforementioned superstars. We'll keep you posted as details become available.

After the credits, Shawn Michaels' music hits to a massive pop. Shawn comes down to the ring and grabs a mic. HBK says no excuses, the better man won last night. The reason he's out here is that he wants to invite Randy Orton to the ring so that he can shake his hand. Orton appears on the jumbotron. He's battered and bruised, and says its a result of another superkick. He's not coming to the ring. HBK says "you got me, if you came down here I was gonna kick you again, but if it makes you feel better, I was going to wait until after I challenged you to a rematch."

Orton tells Shawn that he's not getting his rematch, as he already proved he's the better man over HBK, Triple H, and John Cena.

Kennedy's music hits, and Mr. Kennedy comes to the ring. As soon as the mic comes down, Michaels hits Kennedy and clotheslines him out of the ring. Kennedy pulls Michaels out of the ring and begins punching him, irish whipping him into the ringpost. Kennedy gets back in the ring and says HBK has had his shot, and its his turn. Shawn attacks him again, pulling him out of the ring and clotheslining him. Shawn tells Kennedy to cry him a river, he just got his chance at the Showstopper, right here, right now. Kennedy tells Shawn that nicknames are given, not chosen, so he can stop calling himself the Showstopper. Kennedy says Shawn is known for losing all the time; he's a loser.

Kennedy vs. Shawn Michaels
We come back to see Kennedy and Michaels fighting on the outside, and we find out that the bell has yet to sound. The ref is standing there, unable to ring the bell until they get in the ring. The two men are brawling, and eventually make their way into the crowd. Kennedy slams Michaels hard back over the security wall to the ringside area. HBK slams Kennedy into the announce table, and this is totally out of control. HBK gets into the ring, and Kennedy grabs a chair and goes to follow. As Kennedy gets on the ring apron, HBK lands Sweet Chin Music, planting the chair into Kennedy's face. This fight has ended with HBK standing tall.
Winner: Shawn Michaels

Santino Marella vs. Jerry "the King" Lawler
After talking some trash to each other, King hits a dropkick which dazes Marella and sends him running away. They lock up, and King puts Marella into the corner, which is then reversed by Santino, who irish whips King into the other corner and hits him with a shoulder. King grabs Santino, hits a few punches, and throws him into the opposite turnbuckle, but misses a tackle and hits the ring post. Santino takes control, hitting an armbar takedown and a flying headbutt to Lawler's back. Marella gets out of the ring, puts on Jerry's crown, and starts making fun of JR and Lawler. Lawler responds by smacking him, putting him into the ropes and hitting an armdrag takedown. Marella begins begging Lawler, only to put King into the rope and attempting an armdrag takedown. Jerry reverses this into a backslide and gets the pin!
Winner: Jerry Lawler

Orton comes out of nowhere and puts King out with an RKO out of nowhere. Orton says he's sorry. Tonight, Orton says, he'll have a "Passing of the Torch" ceremony.

Grisham is in the back talking with Kennedy. Kennedy says all he did was go out there to show HBK some respect, but Shawn Michaels decided to superkick a chair into his face. He asks Shawn why he would do that? Kennedy says it's because HBK sees his career evaporating, and is doing everything he can to hold Kennedy down. He says that won't happen, because Father Time is catching up with Shawn, but next time HBK won't have to worry about Father Time, only Mr. Kennedy. VERY strong, intense promo by Kennedy.

Jeff Hardy v. Umaga
Jeff Hardy starts off trying to hit Umaga, but Umaga's not phased. Jeff stays out of Umaga's way until both men end up outside. Umaga hits him a few times, but when they get back in the ring, Hardy hits a low dropkick, and a sunset flip. Hardy hits a running elbow, but when he tries again, Umaga throws his shoulder into Hardy. Umaga starts stomping away on Jeff, and picks him up by the hair. Jeff starts hitting back, but gets caught with a big back elbow by the Samoan Bulldozer. Umaga locks in a shoulder nerve hold, and Jeff is fading fast. Jeff struggles back to his feet, but Umaga grabs the hair and yanks Hardy back down, locking in the nerve hold once again. The crowd gets behind Hardy as he gets back to his feet again. Umaga puts Hardy in the corner, but misses a shouldersmash. Hardy capitalizes with a DDT and heads to climb the ropes. Umaga pushes Hardy off the apron to the outside as we go to commercial...

We're back, and Umaga once again has the nerve hold on Hardy. come...on... Jeff Hardy gets back to his feet, goes for a bodyslam and actually picks him up, but Umaga falls back on him and gets a 2 count. Umaga locks in the nerve hold AGAIN. Jeff gets up and starts reaches for the ropes but can't reach them. Hardy to his feet again, hits the ropes, and is caught by Umaga in a back body drop. Umaga hits a big leg drop and a body splash, but still only manages a two count. Umaga picks Hardy up and hits two kicks to the stomach and spinning heel kick, getting only a two count again. Umaga hits Hardy with a a series of big right hands that send Hardy to the apron. Jeff grabs Umaga's neck and snaps it across the ropes. Jeff gets on the top rope and goes for a flying body press, but Umaga catches it and hits a massive sidewalk slam. Umaga goes for the pin, but Jeff kicks out again! Jeff, like his brother Matt, will not die.

Banzai Drop by Umaga... and another nerve hold. Jeff gets out of it once more, only to catch a big boot to the face. Umaga climbs to the top rope but misses a flying headbutt. Both men back to their feet, but Umaga hits Jeff into the corner. Umaga misses a wrecking ball, but Hardy runs and hits a Whisper in the Wind. Jeff gets a two count, and two men start exchanging blows. Jeff hits his mule kick, Umaga goes for a big splash but misses. Jeff tries to capitalize with a Swanton, but misses. Umaga hits the Samoan Drop, and goes for a samoan strike, but Hardy counters with a twist of fate. Umaga rolls out of the ring, but is caught with a baseball slide by Jeff Hardy. Hardy then goes over the top rope with a plancha on to Umaga.

Hardy gets back in the ring, but Snitsky comes out of nowhere and attacks Hardy. Hardy turns the tables on Snitsky, only to get blindsided with a clothesline by Umaga. Both men throw Jeff out of the ring, but the Game's music hits! Triple H decks Snitsky! Triple H decks Umaga! Umaga tries for a big splash but hits the ringpost and catches a spinebuster! Snitsky is put over the ropes with a big clothesline, and Jeff and Triple H stand tall as Snitsky and Umaga recover on the outside.
Winner: Jeff Hardy by DQ

Cody Rhodes v. Hardcore Holly
Holly with the upper hand early, with an inside cradle for a two count. Cody comes back with a clothesline and a 2 count. Both men come ot their feet, stare off, and Holly hits 2 bodyslams back to back. Holly starts choking Rhodes with the middle rope, and after a snapmare, locks in a sleeper. Cody powers out with a few punches, only to be hit hard by Holly. Holly puts Cody in the corner and smacks away. Cody comes back with a few right hands, hitting a russian legsweep. Cody into the ropes, but Holly catches him and lifts him up for an Alabama Slam. Cody reverses it with a sunset flip. Holly rolled out of it, got to his feet, but Cody was waiting with a DDT for the win!
Winner: Cody Rhodes

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Here's the official Monday Night Raw preview for tonight:

After a brutal night of battles at Survivor Series, sunny Fort Lauderdale, Fla., will feel the fallout when Monday Night Raw emanates from the Bank Atlantic Center.

Randy Orton retained the WWE Championship at Survivor Series, defeating Shawn Michaels. What will the WWE Champion have to say about his victory? And will HBK be looking to settle the score (or earn a rematch)?

With Raw's Triple H and Jeff Hardy surviving the tri-branded Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match, will opposing team captain Umaga be on the rampage, seeking revenge for his humiliation?

And finally, after months of sleuthing by fans and cyber-cryptologists, what will happen when the billions of lines of binary code are finally broken and deciphered?

To find out the answers, tune in to Monday Night Raw from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., live at 9/8 CT on USA Network.

Her are highlights from the Chris Jericho interview in this months WWE Magazine:

Q: "What was going through your mind when you stepped away from WWE in August 2005?"
A: "I was just mentally burned out after wrestling for 125 years straight. I felt I didn't have the extra spark or push. If you want to be in this business and continue to compete at a top level, you need 100-percent mental commitment. If you don't, you can get hurt, or worse, hurt somebody else. My contract was up and I was able to leave on good terms, which is rare. There were a lot of other projects I wanted to work on, so I thought it would be a good time to step back from wrestling. And I needed to spend a little more time at home with my family, because in July 2006 we had twin daughters.”

Q: “At what point did you start feeling that itch to return to the ring?”
A: “I really wasn’t feeling an itch. When I was done, I was done. I didn’t watch wrestling for a while. I was just really fried. I didn’t have any animosity. If you love pizza and you eat an entire pizza, then you don’t want to look at one for a while. I wrote a book, and without trying to be too sappy, it helped me find myself. I realized that as a kid I had this dream to become a wrestler and I was able to succeed in my dream at a very high level. How many people get to do that? I remembered how much I loved wrestling. I just needed time to reignite that passion.”

Q: “When did you start watching WWE again?”
A: “A year ago. I always followed it and read the reports on the ‘Net. But watching it? I just wasn’t interested. I had to take a step back and chill. I watched John Cena and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 23 and that was good. But what they did in the hour-long match on Raw [ April 23, 2007 ], that’s when I started thinking, “Holy smokes, I love wrestling!” I e-mailed Vince and J.R. to tell them that that was a match, and that was why I watch wrestling.”

Q: “Are there any Superstars on the roster you’re especially looking forward to taking on?”
A: “I love wrestling John Cena, and our last two matches were two of my best and two of his best. I’ve still got some unfinished business with Triple H and Shawn Michaels. I’ve yet to have a singles match with the Undertaker, which is a rare thing. I’d like to take him and teach him a few lessons. A lot of these new guys need to get experience, but they’re doing really well. I’ll still slap them down like schoolchildren. I think Mr. Kennedy deserves a little bit of a beating. He’s cocky, MVP, too.”

Q: “What advice did some of the other celebs give you?”
A: “I saw Smokey Robinson backstage, and he was sucking on some lemons. I asked him, “Is that good for your voice?” He said, “No man, I just like lemons.” It sucked being the first kicked off, but the ratings went from about eight million to four million after I left.”

Q: “You also just released a new book, A lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex. How hard was it to sit down and put the last 15 years of your life on paper?”
A: “I have a journalism degree, and I always wanted to write a book. A week after I left WWE, I got an agent, and soon after that, a book deal. I wanted to write it myself, I just didn’t realize how hard the process would be. So I hared a collaborator, who was king of like a producer I could bounce ideas off of. But I wrote every word in that book. It took me 18 months. I’m a bit of a control freak, so I also picked all of the pictures, captions, the inner sleeve, outer sleeve, back cover quotes, I even swept up under the table and cleaned the toilets of the publishing office. Whatever was needed.”

- CM Punk defeated The Miz & John Morrison in a Triple Threat Match to retain the ECW Championship. Although it was a rather quick match, it was a very solid way to open up the PPV. CM Punk took out Miz early on with a quick kick to the head followed by sending both Miz and Morrison to the floor. Miz and Morrison started double-teaming Punk in the ring until Miz shoved Morrison away. Morrison sent Miz to the floor until both started exchanging offense in the ring. Morrison hit a quick corkscrew from the corner on Miz, but Punk broke up the pinfall attempt. Impressive spot saw Punk hit a huricanranna on Morrison from the top rope which sent Morrison into Miz who hit Morrison with a quick powerbomb. Punk with a bulldog and and underhook backbreaker on Miz. The finish saw Miz take out Morrison sending him to the floor and Punk hit the Go To Sleep on Miz for the win.

- Backstage, MVP informs the audience that Matt Hardy will be unable to wrestle tonight. They showed footage from Smackdown on Friday night when MVP attacked Hardy's knee.

- Mickie James, Maria, Torrie Wilson, Michelle McCool & Kelly Kelly defeated WWE Women's Champion Beth Phoenix, Jillian Hall, Melina, Victoria & Layla in a 10 WWE Divas Tag Team Match. Funny moment saw Melina attempt her usual entrance doing the splits, but she missed the ring apron. She laughed it off and did it a second time. Another quick match here that saw Mickie James kiss Melina and then kick her in the head for the win.

- A promo for WrestleMania 24 airs.

- Backstage, a shot of a concerned Hornswoggle is shown as Jonathan Coachman and William Regal are smiling about his match with The Great Khali later tonight.

- Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch defeated Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes to retain the World Tag Team Titles. Early on in the match, Holly sent Cade to the floor and Rhodes sent Murdoch to the floor as well. Cade and Murdoch began to isolate Holly from getting a tag to Rhodes. Rhodes got the high tag later on and took out Murdoch with a big high back body drop. Rhodes continued the offense on Murdoch with a bulldog and a big dropkick from the top rope. The finish saw Holly hit the ring and send himself over the top rope to the outside along with Cade. In the ring, Murdoch hit Rhodes with a modified Canadian Destroyer and got the pinfall. After the match, Holly got in Cody's face and left to the back without him.

- At ringside, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole and JBL talk about how Matt Hardy is out of the 10-Man Elimination Match. JBL added that Mysterio is working injured as well.

- Triple H, WWE Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio & Kane defeated Umaga, Mr. Kennedy, WWE U.S. Champion MVP, Finlay & Big Daddy V in a Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match. Eliminations were as follows: Kane was eliminated first by Big Daddy V after a samoan drop and elbow drop. Rey Mysterio was eliminated second by Umaga after a samoan spike. MVP was eliminated third by Jeff Hardy after a Twist of Fate. Mr. Kennedy was eliminated fourth by Triple H after Big Daddy V went for an elbow drop on Triple H but missed and hit Kennedy instead. Big Daddy V was eliminated fifth by Triple H after he was hit with a double DDT by Triple H and Hardy. We are down to Triple H & Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga & Finlay. Finlay was eliminated sixth by Triple H following a Pedigree. Umaga was eliminated last after a Pedigree by Triple H and a Swanton Bomb by Jeff Hardy, with Jeff getting the pinfall on Umaga. I bet that surprised some people. Very solid match.

- The Great Khali defeated Hornswoggle via DQ. Wasn't much of a match at all. Shane McMahon came out first and introduced his father and then his half-brother Hornswoggle. A loud "WE WANT SHAQ" chant started up. Shaq is in the house tonight by the way. During the match, Hornswoggle kicked Khali's translator to the floor and spit green mist in his face. Hornswoggle then hid under the ring. The finish saw Finlay run down and hit Khali with the shillelagh followed by a low blow. Both Vince and Shane McMahon leave the ringside area to the back.

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As many of you all know, the latest Save_Us video aired on Raw this week and pretty much outright said Chris Jericho was debuting next week.

It said 6_DAYS, 23 HOURS, AND 33 MINUTES and which aired at 9:55 p.m., meaning he's scheduled to show up 27 minutes short of a full 24 hours from that moment, which would mean 9:28 p.m. next Monday night.

Are you ready for Y2J? Talk about it now on our wrestling forum.

On WWE.com, there is a long interview with John Cena, regarding CNN taking his comments on steroids out of context in the documentary that aired last week.

Cena requested that CNN apologize for their misportrayal of his personal character on the show. CNN's Director of Public Relations, Jennifer Dargan sent the following statement to WWE last night at 10:00 pm EST:

"CNN felt that Mr. Cena's statement in the interview: "My answer to that question 'have you ever used steroids' is -- the only thing I can say -- I can't tell you that I haven't, but you'll never be able to prove that I have" was a more expansive and complete answer -- and that's why we used it in the first run of the program.

And we stand by that decision. But, we added the other quote on the Sunday replay where Mr. Cena first denied using steroids. We did this because of his complaint and the attention it received so that viewers could see how he said it both times."

Here are the quick results for the Smackdown taping, airing tomorrow night...

- Jeff Hardy defeated Finlay via DQ.

- John Morrison and The Miz defeated Matt Hardy & MVP to become the NEW WWE Tag Team Champions. After the match, MVP requested an instant rematch and Hardy and MVP lost again. MVP then attacked Matt Hardy and slammed his knee into the steel steps.

- The Undertaker cut a promo about Survivor Series this Sunday.

- Rey Mysterio defeated Mr. Kennedy.

- WWE Women's Champion Beth Phoenix and Victoria defeated Mickie James and Torrie Wilson.

- They did an official weigh in for Hornswoggle vs. The Great Khali this Sunday at Survivor Series. Hornswoggle weighed in at 138 pounds. Khali broke the scale when he tried to weigh in. Hornswoggle started crying.

- World Heavyweight Champion Batista defeated Mark Henry.