The official wrestling sim topic

[loopydate]

Yeah, I moved most of the tag wrestlers to RAW, so I was hoping to get some midcard guys over by making up some SD tag teams, and the whole Metro thing seemed like it could be fun.

[Impeccable]

Great move Loopy!

[Evil Vito]

With school now over, I have some free time, and I feel like playing some EWR, getting back into my WWE game.

I re-drafted the rosters into WWE, ECW, and WCW and I treat them as three separate companies. I don't have the rosters intermingle except in rare circumstances like a KOTR final, Rumble, MITB, Draft, etc.

I'll post my rosters in the next post.

[Evil Vito]

WWE Roster (as of 5/19/08)

Al Snow: Face
Batista: Heel
Beth Phoenix: Heel
Bobby Lashley: Face
D’Lo Brown: Face
Elijah Burke: Heel (WWE Tag Team Champion)
Eugene: Face
Jeff Hardy: Face
John Bradshaw Layfield: Heel (Announcer)
Marcus Cor Von: Heel (WWE Tag Team Champion)
Matt Hardy: Face
Melina: Heel
Michael Cole: Announcer
Mickie James: Face (WWE Women's Champion)
Molly Holly: Heel
Mr. Kennedy: Tweener
MVP: Heel (WWE Champion)
Robbie McAllister: Face
Rory McAllister: Face
Santino Marella: Heel
Shawn Michaels: Heel (WWE Intercontinental Champion)
Steve Blackman: Face
Steve Corino: Heel
Stevie McMahon: Heel
Stone Cold Steve Austin: Face (Enforcer)
Theodore Long: Face (Manager)
Triple H: Face
Victoria: Heel
Vince McMahon: Heel (GM)


ECW Roster (as of 5/19/08)

Balls Mahoney: Face
Carlito: Heel
CM Punk: Face (ECW Champion)
Cody Rhodes: Face
Deuce: Heel (ECW Tag Team Champion)
Domino: Heel (ECW Tag Team Champion)
Edge: Heel
Funaki: Face
Hardcore Holly: Face
Joey Styles: Announcer
Kane: Face
Lance Cade: Heel
Matt Striker: Heel
Mick Foley: Face (Enforcer)
Paul Burchill: Face
Paul Heyman: Heel (GM)
Randy Orton: Heel
Rob Van Dam: Face (ECW Television Champion)
Shelton Benjamin: Heel
Sir Charles Palumbo: Heel
Tazz: Announcer
The Sandman: Face
Tommy Dreamer: Face
Trevor Murdoch: Heel
Umaga: Tweener
Val Venis: Heel


WCW Roster (as of 5/19/08)

Ace Steel: Face (WCW United States Champion)
Booker T: Face
Brian Kendrick: Face
Cassidy James: Face
Chavo Guerrero: Heel
Chris Jericho: Face (WCW Champion)
Colt Cabana: Heel
Dave Taylor: Heel (WCW Tag Team Champion)
Eric Bischoff: Heel (GM)
Finlay: Face
Gregory Helms: Heel
Jim Ross: Announcer
Jimmy Wang Yang: Face
John Cena: Heel
John Morrison: Heel
Johnny Jeter: Face
Kasey James: Face
Kenny Dykstra: Heel
Kevin Thorn: Tweener
Mike Mizanin: Heel
Nunzio: Face
Paul London: Face
Rey Mysterio: Face (WCW Cruiserweight Champion)
Ric Flair: Face (Enforcer)
Shane McMahon: Heel (Announcer)
Shannon Moore: Heel
Super Crazy: Face
The Undertaker: Face
William Regal: Heel (WCW Tag Team Champion)

[Evil Vito]

Starting things off...I have a whopping 83 workers in development (thanks largely due to me sending down most of the divas when I started and also buying out a small indy promotion at one point). 19 of them are finished improving and are ready to be called up. I have plans for several of them, but am waiting for the right time to bring them in. However, some of them I just have no immediate plans for and/or they aren't talented enough to warrant sticking around.

Therefore, I would like to wish Charles Evans, Chet the Jett, Derrick Neikirk, Jacob Duncan, Josh Prohibition, Keith Walker, Krissy Vaine, and Russell Simpson the best in their future endeavors.

[Evil Vito]

WWE Raw - May 19, 2008

Our show opens up with Vince McMahon backstage, who announces that he plans on dealing with Triple H. He thinks he has the right to be a thorn in the McMahons' side for months at a time? He thinks he can demand a title match at WWE Vengeance in six weeks? Well, he's going to need to earn that right Vince's way. Triple H will be competing in a series of grueling matches throughout the next several weeks, and if he slips up on any of them...his opportunity to face MVP will be GONE! And it all starts tonight, when in tonight's main event, Triple H will face Mr. Kennedy.

Continuing with the McMahon family, the delusional Stevie McMahon was in the ring. He plans on earning back his dad's respect, and he is doing that by issuing an open challenge to anyone in the locker room, right now! He'll show you, you'll see!

The challenge was answered by the fun-loving Eugene! He caught McMahon off guard with his silly antics, being sure to mock the mannerisms of several WWE greats. Stevie lands a bulldog off the ropes, but Eugene narrowly kicks out. Eugene follows it up with a big Swinging Neckbreaker for the win! Eugene runs around the ring celebrating whilst Stevie McMahon pounds the mat in frustration.

WWE Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels delivered an interview from his home in San Antonio, TX. He says that Jeff Hardy needs to move on and find somebody else to take up an issue with, because he is done with him. The crowd booed viciously, because they want to see Jeff Hardy get his rematch for the Intercontinental Title.

Mickie James defends her WWE Women's Championship next against Melina. Melina brings it to the champion, getting several near falls. However, showing the heart of a champion, Mickie is able to overcome it and win following a Mickie-DT! Mickie extends her hand to Melina after, and surprisingly, Melina accepts it! This might not be the last time these two face off.

The vicious Batista is out next. His victim is poor D'Lo Brown. D'Lo doesn't get much offense in before Batista ends it with the Batista Bomb. It would be wise to not mess with this Animal.

Matt Hardy is backstage. He says he is standing up for his brother. If Shawn Michaels won't give Jeff an Intercontinental Title match, maybe he'll have the balls to accept Matt's challenge for next week!

One week after cleanly pinning one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions Marcus Cor Von in the middle of the ring, Bobby Lashley tries to replicate those results against the other half, Elijah Burke. Burke tries to cheat his way to victory on several different occasions, but each time, Lashley's manager Theodore Long has been right there to bring it to the ref's attention. Burke is getting clearly frustrated, which doesn't help. Lashley lifts Burke for the Dominator, but Cor Von comes out of nowhere and lands a Pounce! The referee calls for the bell! Lashley might have won the match, but the Tag Champions make a statement by assaulting Lashley after the bell.

Jeff Hardy is out next, hoping to pick up a win to show Shawn Michaels that he is still looking for his title re-match. His opponent is no walk in the park, "The King of Old School" Steve Corino. Some high spots in this one including a top rope DDT from Hardy and a stalling brainbuster from Corino. Hardy whips Corino into the corner, and leaps up for a splash. Corino falls to the mat in pain, in perfect position for the Swanton Bomb! Jeff Hardy wins and stays on the right path.

WWE Champion Montel Vontavious Porter cuts a promo backstage saying that Triple H is out of his league. He beat Triple H at Backlash to retain his Money in the Bank briefcase, and then cashed it in the very next night during the Draft. He fails to see why Triple H feels he is worthy of a title opportunity, and he assures The Game that he won't get through these next several weeks, and it will be game over.

Our main event was very intense, with Mr. Kennedy and Triple H slugging the shit out of each other in the early going. Plenty of near falls got the crowd into this one, Triple H being just one second away from losing his title opportunity with each nearfall. Kennedy whips Triple H into the turnbuckle, conveniently while the ref is there. MVP sees this and rushes out of the back, WWE Title in hand. Kennedy holds Triple H back...MVP charges...and of course, Triple H ducks and Kennedy is blasted in the face with the title belt. MVP hightails it, the ref recovers, and Triple H plants Kennedy with a Pedigree to stay on his quest. Triple H celebrates while MVP retreats up the ramp, dumbfounded, to end the show.

---

What do Vince McMahon and MVP have in store for Triple H on next week's Raw? Will Bobby Lashley seek some retribution on the WWE Tag Team Champions? And just announced on WWE.com, Shawn Michaels has ACCEPTED Matt Hardy's challenge! Can Matt win the gold and bring it back to the Hardy family? Tune in next week!

[Evil Vito]

ECW Hardcore TV - May 20, 2008

We kicked the night off with action from the get-go with Carlito looking to take out his frustrations on losing his ECW Championship match on Sunday on Funaki. Certainly a great athletic contest to start us off, got the crowd into it...and ECW's Number One Announcer brought his A game. Unfortunately it wasn't enough for him, as Carlito wins with a Backstabber.

Carlito grabs a mic and heeds a warning to the ECW locker room. A new wave will soon be making it's way to ECW...and it will be cool. What does Carlito mean by this?

Our next contest was certainly much less athletic, and for lack of a better word, a squash. Kane roughs up the man from Nutley, New Jersey...Balls Mahoney. Big Chokeslam and that's all she wrote. Kane ignites the pyro after to celebrate his victory, the locker room would be wise to watch out.

ECW Enforcer Mick Foley is backstage...and he says we have a great main event tonight for the wonderful fans in *insert city name and cheap pop here*. It'll be a golden man event tag team match...pitting the new ECW Tag Team Champions Deuce 'n Domino against new ECW Television Champion Rob Van Dam and ECW champion CM Punk!

Tag team action was next on the bill as two teams who lost to Deuce 'n Domino on Sunday went head to head, hoping to get back into the thick of the tag team ranks. Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman went up against the odd couple team of Cody Rhodes and Hardcore Holly. Pretty standard tag match, Holly and Rhodes lose on an opponent miscommunication that leads to Holly eating a Dreamer DDT to grab the win for his team. Rhodes and Holly bicker afterwards, much like they did on Sunday night.

When we come back from commercial, we see Holly and Rhodes walking backstage, still arguing. Shit-stirrer Paul Heyman informs the two that because they can't seem to get on the same page, he's booking them one on one against each other, next week! Heyman walks off laughing, Holly and Rhodes can't believe it.

Next we see Shelton Benjamin warming up for his match backstage. Why? Could it be because I already have my big name ECW guys booked for two segments and I don't want the crowd to get tired of them? I think yes! Shelton faces off against the swashbuckling Paul Burchill NEXT!

Benjamin and Burchill put on a pretty nifty contest, the crowd was into it and they seem to have close enough styles. It's a back and forth affair early on before Shelton takes the lead. Benjamin seemingly channels the spirit of Tazz, hitting Burchill with a flurry of suplexes before finishing up with a T-Bone Suplex for an impressive victory!

Deuce 'n Domino are interviewed backstage on getting the chance to face off against two other champions. They say that this is their chance to really put their names on the map, and that they forsee Punk and RVD both winding up with cracked mouths in the very near future. OHHHHH!!!

Our golden main event was a really entertaining contest (everything scoring in the 80s). Deuce 'n Domino show why they are the tag team champions by isolating CM Punk (who gets to play Ricky Morton in this match), making fast tags in and out while not allowing Punk to tag in the Television Champion. However, Punk inevitably breaks free and tags in RVD. RVD comes in like a house of fire, knocks around the opponents...Punk recovers and handles Domino outside, RVD lays out Deuce with a kick in the middle of the ring, and then...SPEAR! Edge came from out of nowhere and Speared RVD! The referee calls for the bell! Punk jumps back in to save his partner, but Randy Orton comes in and RKO's him! Deuce 'n Domino make the correct move and hightail it while Orton and Edge stand tall. What is this about?

Edge and Orton soak in the heat for a bit before they both leave the ring. They kick the announcers, timekeeper, and ring announcer out and grab their chairs. Punk and RVD both end up on the receiving ends of separate one-man Conchairtos. What is this all about? A Rated RKO reunion?

---

How will Edge and Randy Orton justify their actions? Will Rob Van Dam and CM Punk be in any condition to be there next week? Plus, Hardcore Holly and Cody Rhodes are forced to compete against one another. Be sure to catch ECW next week!

[loopydate]

Originally Posted by Big Vito 22 Next we see Shelton Benjamin warming up for his match backstage. Why? Could it be because I already have my big name ECW guys booked for two segments and I don't want the crowd to get tired of them? I think yes! Shelton faces off against the swashbuckling Paul Burchill NEXT!

[loopydate]

Btw, I'm on vacation until Tuesday, so I won't be able to do any more of my game until probably Thursday at the earliest. But I'm looking forward to seeing where Vito's going with his game.

[Evil Vito]

WCW Friday Nitro - May 23, 2008

High octane tag team action started the night off with John Morrison and his protege Mike Mizanin taking on Paul London and Brian Kendrick. The bout deviated from the normal tag team match formula, as nobody needed to play Ricky Morton. Lots of quick tags on both sides and plenty of high flying action. Morrison and Mizanin whip Kendrick over the ropes, causing Kendrick to land hard on the floor. The ref checks up on him, enabling Mizanin to low blow London from behind. Morrison plants London with the Moonlight Drive and the heels pick up somewhat of an upset victory.

Morrison and Mizanin take the time to gloat on the microphones after the match. In a nutshell they say that they are officially in the hunt for the WCW Tag Team Championships, and their performance tonight showed why they will win the belts in due time. BE JEALOUS!

No break in the high-flying action as we have a cruiserweight match up next. Gregory Helms looks to pick up his second victory since returning with a victory from his major neck injury on last week's show. His opponent is the game feisty Italian Nunzio. Nunzio gets off to a red hot start, planting Helms with a spin kick and a hurracarana. Helms works his way back into it, getting several near falls following a standing splash from the top rope. Nunzio clotheslines Helms, but Helms gets right back up and returns the favor. As Nunzio gets back to his knees, he is met with a Shining Wizard to the jaw! Helms wins! Quite an impressive victory.

The ring is set up for WCW World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho's Highlight Reel. His guest this week...Colt Cabana. Cabana generates heat in his interview by insulting the fans and local sports teams. Jericho decides to stick up for the fans by mocking Cabana on his own. Colt gets fed up and jumps Jericho, security needs to break the brawl up.

From backstage, Eric Bischoff announces that based on what we just saw, Chris Jericho will take on Colt Cabana in tonight's main event!

"The Vampire Warrior" Kevin Thorn is up against "The Fighting Irishman" Finlay next. Certainly our stiffest match of the night, as Thorn and Finlay more or less slug the shit out of each other with brutal punches and forearm shots. A lot more false finishes before Thorn connects with a Big Boot. He picks Finlay back up and shows off his power by planting him with a Crucifix Powerbomb for the win.

John Cena is backstage. He says he doesn't need the fans and he can make it on his own. In fact, he plans on being the star player in this new WCW. And to make his point, he says he will defeat The Undertaker tonight.

Almost taking a page out of ECW's book, we see a golden tag team match next. United States Champion Ace Steel and Cruiserweight Champion Rey Mysterio team up to go against WCW Tag Team Champions William Regal and Dave Taylor. Quite simply, this match ruled...got a 98% quality. Once again, the ending to this match happened when the damn ref couldn't keep his eye on the ball. Regal and Taylor both outside the ring, pounding on Ace Steel. As Rey Mysterio gets down on his knee, preparing to charge and dive onto his competitors, Gregory Helms runs in and connects with a Shining Wizard to the skull. Regal spots this and hops back into the ring to record the cheap pinfall victory.

And we back up that 98% quality match with another one...John Cena and Undertaker. However, this style of match was far different than the previous. A lot of serious brawling going on. Cena tried as he might, but he just couldn't seem to put Taker away. Cena was growing increasingly frustrated...so much so that he simply decided to grab a chair and take it to Taker's skull. Cena is disqualified but he continues to pummel the Deadman. This is a much more ruthless side of John Cena.

Booker T cuts an interview, hyping himself up. Not much to say here really, I just wanted to fit him on the show and I didn't have any matches for him. Now can you dig that, sucka?

Fuck me, yet ANOTHER classic. This one was slightly lower rated in terms of quality (97%)...but fuck, this might have wound but being the best three match sequence I've ever booked, and I totally didn't expect it. Anyway, Chris Jericho and Colt Cabana wrestle an absolute classic that has the fans on the edge of their seats, wondering how lucky they are to see three top quality matches like this.. Jericho wins with a Codebreaker out of nowhere. But much credit must be given to Colt for hanging in there like he did. We certainly hope this is not the last time these two face off.

---

Is Gregory Helms trying to make his case to get a Cruiserweight Title match? Will Morrison and Mizanin continue their push towards tag team gold? Can next week in any way, shape, or form top this week? Join us for Friday Nitro next week!

[Evil Vito]

WWE Raw - May 26, 2008

Vince McMahon starts us off by announcing that tonight, the hell he plans on putting Triple H through will continue. Triple H will face WWE Tag Team champions Elijah Burke and Marcus Cor Von in a handicap match! If he loses, he forfeits his right to face MVP for the WWE Championship.

Steve Corino is in the ring, holding a microphone. Last week's loss was just a fluke, and he plans on getting back on track tonight. He will show everybody why he is the King of Old School.

Corino's opponent is Eugene, fresh off a victory against Stevie McMahon last week. And with a 76% Crowd Reaction and 82% Match Quality, this match only netted a 71% Overall Rating, so this will be a non-clicking show unfortunately. Damn. Anyway, Eugene brings his A game, but Corino lives up to his word and locks away a victory following a Northern Lights Bomb.

When we come back from commercial, we see Eugene backstage...still looking optimstic as he shakes off his injuries. Then from out of nowhere, he is blasted in the back with a steel chair! The culprit is Stevie McMahon, obviously incensed over the loss last week. Several midcard faces intervene before Stevie can do anymore damage. Stevie probably WOULD have gotten some overness from this segment...but once again, non-clicking show.

Shawn Michaels is backstage to deliver a promo. He reiterates what he said last week, he is through wasting his time on Jeff Hardy. And tonight, he is going to send that message further by defeating his brother Matt and retaining his Intercontinental Title.

Bobby Lashley faced Mr. Kennedy next. Both men were looking to avenge disappointments from last week...Lashley from getting attacked by the tag champions, and Kennedy from losing to Triple H. Really intense match here, far better than I was expecting in terms of match quality (86%). Shame the overall rating still wound up low, that episode of 24 had to have been must-see TV. Lashley picks up a huge win with a Dominator.

Mickie James continues to be a fighting WWE Women's Champion, putting her gold on the line against Victoria. Victoria unloads offense on Mickie but she simply can't put the champ down. Mickie gets a head of steam and fires back, until Molly Holly runs in and clotheslines her. Mickie wins by DQ and keeps her title. But that's of little concern to her as Victoria and Molly put a beatdown on Mickie. Melina runs out from the back and chases off the heels, officially turning face and giving WWE a much-needed secondary face diva.

WWE Champion MVP is next in line to cut a promo, and he trashes Triple H. MVP says that if by some miracle Triple H can defeat both tag team champions tonight, he will grant Triple H a match next week.

Matt Hardy and Shawn Michaels put on a simply awesome display in their Intercontinental Title match....crowd reaction and match quality both got 90% but unfortunately only an 80% overall rating. Hardy got several near falls before the champ came back and hit a cross body. HBK tuned up the band, went for the Sweet Chin Music...Matt Hardy ducked, and rolled up HBK...who in turn rolled through and wound up pinning Matt, grabbing the ropes with his hands for extra leverage. Michaels retains in a most imperfect way. As Shawn walks up the ramp, Jeff Hardy thwarts him and hits a few punches before throwing him back into the ring. Twist of Fate from Matt and then Swanton from Jeff. The brothers have made HBK pay.

Triple H delivers a message to MVP: Elijah Burke and Marcus Cor Von are merely obstacles in getting his hands on the champ and that title gold again. He looks forward to meeting him in the ring next week. Our main event is NEXT!

After Triple H got off to a hot start, the WWE Tag Team champions put on an extremely valiant effort against The Game, making frequent tags and utilizing double team maneuvers to keep Hunter on edge. The tag champs appear poised to finish Triple H off, the numbers game appears to be too much. But the crowd erupts when Bobby Lashley starts walking down the ramp. Cor Von goes to confront Lashley, as the champs forget that that leaves Burke alone with Triple H! Pedigree, three count, and Triple H gets his match next week. MVP can't believe it!

---

How will the arena be able to stand next week after Triple H finally gets his hand on MVP? Shawn Michaels might be done with Jeff Hardy, but Jeff Hardy clearly is not done with Shawn Michaels...how will this be resolved? Will Stevie McMahon explain his actions and assaulting the innocent Eugene? Watch Raw, next week!

[Evil Vito]

TNA just signed Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Randy Savage, and Lex Luger to written contracts in my game. God I'd love to see their product.

[Evil Vito]

ECW Hardcore TV - May 27, 2008

Edge and Randy Orton are out first to explain their actions from last week. They are both bitter that they not only came out on the short end of the stick in the ECW Television Title tournament at One Night Stand, but they feel their talents are being wasted and they are worthy of ECW Title contention instead. CM Punk and Rob Van Dam rush out of the back with chairs, the same chairs that Rated RKO beat them with last week. Edge and Orton quickly leave the ring.

Paul Heyman, sensing possible ratings gold here, announces that in tonight's main event we will see CM Punk and Rob Van Dam team up once again, this time to face Edge and Randy Orton in tag team action.

LOL are you kidding me...for the second straight night, I have a non-clicking show. Cody Rhodes and Hardcore Holly put their team aside and put on an absolutely shitty match that not even the crowd gives a fuck about. Holly wins with an Alabama Slam. Rhodes recovers, and tries to get a handshake out of Holly, but Holly just shakes his head and walks off, apparently feeling that the rookie Rhodes has more to learn.

"The Big Red Machine" Kane is out next, taking on a very game Lance Cade. Lance provided far more of a challenge than Balls Mahoney did the previous week. Kane gets Lance in a chokeslam grip, as Trevor Murdoch jumps up on the apron. Kane boots him off while retaining his grip on Cade...chokeslam, pinfall, Kane wins.

Three straight match segments? You bet. The pompous Sir Charles Palumbo has a tough task at hand, squaring off against "The Innovator of Violence" Tommy Dreamer. Palumbo whips out spinebusters, neckbreakers, and apparently even a piledriver, but it isn't enough to keep the ECW legend down. Dreamer hoists Palumbo up and plants him with a Spicolli Driver! Tommy Dreamer wins.

The Sandman celebrates Dreamer's victory in the ring with...what else...beer. Sandman grabs a mic and delivers a promo to hype up ECW and the extreme lifestyle. However, he must already be drunk as the promo only scores a 75%.

Now we go backstage for another promo with ECW Tag Team champions Deuce 'n Domino. They claim they had Punk and RVD beaten last week were it not for the outside interference. However, tonight, it's not about tag action...as Domino has solo action up next as he looks to take Val Venis to school. OHHH!!!

Val Venis is apparently now suddenly a tweener somehow ()...bookers must have decided they had entirely too many heels in the midcard. Anyway, Domino and Venis put on a pretty good match. Val stuns Domino with a few clotheslines and a punch in the face, staggering him. Val shoots off...the ropes and Deuce grabs his foot. Val turns around and yells at Deuce, and finds himself rolled up by Domino for the three count. Deuce re-enters the ring as Domino sits Val up and holds his head...Deuce charges off the ropes...Crack 'em in the Mouth! The Tag Team champions leave on a winning note tonight.

Carlito and Paul Burchill continue this action-packed edition of ECW by working a singles match. Once again, thanks to the show not clicking, this nets a mere 68% overall rating despite the reaction and quality both being 77%. Anyway, Carlito gets his second victory in as many weeks, finishing Burchill off with the painful Backstabber.

Much like last week, Carlito demands a microphone after his match and makes the same point he made last week. A new wave will be coming to ECW, and dat's cool! What does Carlito mean?

And my main event would have scored in the 90s...not that I'm bitter or anything. But regardless, Rated RKO and CM Punk/Rob Van Dam put on a great match. RVD gets the Ricky Morton role this week instead of Punk. They sort of just go through the motions...basic tag wrestling but still entertaining. Punk gets the hot tag, cleans house, all four men wind up in the ring, and Edge spears his own partner in the commotion. Edge and RVD wind up outside, Punk lifts up Orton for the GTS! Punk and Orton win! Edge takes exception and grabs a chair again and lays out RVD and Punk with it after the match. Orton recovers and sets up a table in the corner, laying RVD in front of it. Spear through the table! Another table is set up, RKO to Punk through the table! Edge and Randy Orton may have lost the battle, but they certainly aren't losing the war.

---

After getting the upper hand for a second straight week, can Edge and Randy Orton be denied? Will any light be shed on the "new wave" Carlito says will be coming to ECW? Will the show not click yet again? Find out next week!

[Evil Vito]

WCW Friday Nitro - May 30, 2009

We start the night off with yet another edition of the Highlight Reel, with host, the WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Chris Jericho! Tonight, his guest is Gregory Helms. Helms justifies his attack of Rey Mysterio next week, by saying he demands to get back that Cruiserweight Title that he held for over a year. The crowd erupts as Mysterio comes from out of nowhere and springboards off the ropes, West Coast Pop! The game Mysterio gets a little revenge.

Paul London and Brian Kendrick asked for, and received, a re-match against John Morrison and Mike Mizanin. This match was just as good and thrilling as their last encounter. This time, however, the faces don't fall for any of Miz and Morrison's trickery. Brian Kendrick picks up the pinfall following a Sliced Bread #2 on Morrison. The fans applaud yet another great effort from these four.

When we come back from commercial, a recuperating John Morrison and Mike Mizanin are seen talking to Eric Bischoff. They say that they want London and Kendrick in a rubber match next week...and to raise the stakes, the winners become number one contenders to the WCW Tag Team Titles! Bischoff likes the idea and books it for next week.

WCW United States champion Ace Steel is out next to defend his gold against the accomplished Chavo Guerrero. Fast paced bout, Chavo hits Steel with an implant DDT early on. Steel recovers long enough to hit a DDT of his own, this one of the inverted variety, the Steel Spike. Ace Steel retains the gold after a great match.

Booker T and John Cena meet face to face backstage. They hurl insults back and forth, Cena says that what he did to the Undertaker last week is just a sample of what Booker is gonna get in tonight's main event.

Gregory Helms met up in cruiserweight action against (former fellow Three Count member) Shannon Moore. This match bombed surprisingly...only a 79% quality and the crowd sat on their hands. Nevertheless, despite some token offense from Moore, it was pretty much all Helms in this one. Shining Wizard picks up the win as Helms continues to make a statement. After the bell, Rey Mysterio upends him yet again, with another springboard West Coast Pop out of nowhere! Mysterio has humiliated Gregory Helms twice tonight.

Finlay is out next, in a foul mood after losing to Kevin Thorn last week. His opponent is one half of the WCW Tag Team champions, William Regal (with Dave Taylor accompanying him). Hey, weren't Regal, Taylor, and Finlay all stablemates in the old WCW? Ah, forget it. Anyway this match is both absurdly stiff and absurdly awesome. Nice back and forth stuff going on...until Taylor takes matters into his own hands and hops up onto the apron, tossing a set of brass knuckles to Regal while the ref wasn't looking. Power of the Punch! Regal steals one!

"The Vampire Warrior" Kevin Thorn is backstage, and he delivers a very cryptic promo. America might be all about red, white, and blue...but he plans on winning the United States Title and making it all turn black. Thorn must have gotten Ace Steel's attention with this promo.

Another fast paced match on the bill as Colt Cabana faces Johnny Jeter. Top rope belly to bellies, flying axe handles, spinning bulldogs, and gutwrench powerbombs were all present in this match, it was evident that both guys were pulling out all the stops...and the 94% match quality shows that. Colt Cabana picks up a very impressive victory following a Colt 45. Boom Boom!

Colt Cabana and grabs a mic. He basically tells Chris Jericho that he is not finished with him yet. Jericho just got lucky last week, it won't happen again, and soon enough, Colt Cabana will be the WCW World Heavyweight champion.

Our main event is on as Booker T faces John Cena in what was a re-match of one of the main events I had at WrestleMania 24. Even contest, sucked the crowd into it. Ending comes when both guys try to hit each other with their finishers but it is to no avail. More specifically, Booker locks Cena for a BookEnd, Cena elbows him in the head. Booker staggers, as Cena picks him up for an F-U, but the lights go out and the gong sounds! When the lights come back on, the Undertaker is standing in the ring! Big boot to Cena, followed by a Chokeslam! Cena might officially be the winner of this match, but his actions from last week have drawn the ire of the Deadman.

---

How will Chris Jericho address Colt Cabana's desires to be WCW World Heavyweight champion? What's next in this Cena/Undertaker saga? Will it be London/Kendrick or Morrison/Mizanin that will be the next challengers for the WCW Tag Team titles? Tune in next week!

[loopydate]

APRIL 5, 2004 - MONDAY NIGHT RAW

With Backlash looming on the horizon, the RAW superstars seem to be of the mind that there is strength in numbers. Over the last two weeks, we've seen the formation of a new Ministry as well as the return of the Natural Born Thrillers! Plus, as RAW went off the air last week, Edge and Kurt Angle stood tall, having driven off their rivals Chris Benoit and Shawn Michaels. Tonight, those four men will tangle in a huge tag-team main event!

But first, Rikishi has struggled since making his RAW debut, and he's looking to get back on the winning track tonight against La Resistance's Rob Conway (who hasn't exactly been on a winning streak, either). Conway controls the early part of the match until Rikishi starts to utilize his strength advantage. Conway manages to keep some distance with kicks and a slingshot clothesline that he almost botches, but Rikishi's size winds up being too much as he puts Conway away with the Rikishi Driver.

The Natural Born Thrillers cut a promo next, with United States Champion Sean O'Haire doing most of the talking. Rob Van Dam has done nothing noteworthy over the last several months, yet he's insistent that he deserves a shot at the title after winning one measly battle royal. Every time RVD starts to climb near the top of the mountain, he's always his own worst enemy. Those... personal demons can't be held at bay. But he's not telling us anything we don't already know.

Last week, O'Haire beat RVD's friend Tommy Dreamer in a one-on-one match, and tonight Tommy looks for revenge against NBT member Chuck Palumbo. The two men brawl to start until Tommy pulls out a piledriver for two. More brawling and a couple of suplexes, but Palumbo finishes it off with the Jungle Kick.

Chris Jericho has been on a steady decline over the last six months, but you can bet that Jericho's ego won't let him accept his new role in the midcard. He's bringing his main-event swagger into tonight's match with a struggling Val Venis, a man without a mission since his tag-team partner Rico jumped to SmackDown! in the draft. The crowd was into this one, and the two men didn't disappoint. Both hit some big moves, including a picture-perfect Steamboat-style cross body from Jericho. In the end, Jericho puts Venis away with the Lionsault.

The Ministry heads to the ring next. Undertaker announces that tonight, we will see the debut of the newest of his acolytes. As he and Big Show prepare to take the WWE Tag Team Titles from Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin, they have a new ally - the monstrous Damien!

Damien's first victim-- er, opponent is A-Train. This one is very one-sided with Train managing only a punch and a suplex before falling victim to a massive DDT. After the match, Damien continues his assault on Train, leaving him lying and making himself out to be a serious threat.

Rob Van Dam can't possibly be in a good mood after the verbal assault from the Natural Born Thrillers earlier tonight, but can he focus his anger on William Regal? It doesn't look like it early as Regal hits a series of high-impact moves that almost put RVD away before the match can even get started. RVD manages to get his head on straight and fires off kicks and moves that target Regal's head. Regal fights back with suplex variations, but RVD utilizes his educated feet to set upt he Five-Star Frogsplash and the win.

During the 2004 WWE Draft, La Resistance picked up a cheap win over the World's Greatest Tag Team to pull Haas and Benjamin to RAW. Tonight, WGTT is looking for revenge, but La Res is looking for the WWE Tag Team Titles! The champs dominate Dupree early by keeping him isolated until he manages to tag in Grenier. Grenier gets in some offense on SHelton, but when Haas tags back in, he nails Haastruction. But before he can go for the pin, Big Show slides into the ring! Shelton goes to make the save, but Undertaker takes him out! Show nails Haas with the Showstopper, and the referee calls for the bell! Undertaker and Show continue to pound on the champions until the locker room empties of officials and referees to pull them apart.

Next week, Trish Stratus will defend the Women's Title against the winner of tonight's match pitting Trish's friend Mickie James against the former champion Molly Holly. Both women are hot, and so is the crowd from the opening bell. Molly controls the early-going, but Mickie fights back and shows why she's the fastest-rising star in the Women's Division. Lots of high-flying spots in this match, including a diving headbutt from Mickie and a slingshot clothesline from Molly. In the end, Mickie hits a superkick to set up a tornado DDT for the win and the title shot!

Sean O'Haire hopes to continue running through Rob Van Dam's friends tonight as he takes on the manbeast Rhyno. Rhyno must be looking over his shoulder, waiting for the next ambush from The Ministry. The U.S. Champ controls the match early. Rhyno finally manages to turn things around, but while the referee is distracted by O'Haire, Kane hits the ring and chokeslams Rhyno! After the match, O'Haire capitalizes by going after Rhyno until "One Of A Kind" hits the speakers, and RVD chases his rival and the Big Red Machine off!

It's now time for our main event! The Backlash title match opponents start the match on the apron, allowing Benoit and Edge to get a shot at each other. Benoit takes some shots at Edge, then tags in HBK for a Hart Attack. And the nation of Canada riots. Edge manages to save himself with a spear and get Angle into the match, and the two rivals would tear the house down, except HBK isn't feeling it and tags in Benoit. Edge gets back in, and the Canadian rivals go at it until Benoit clamps on the Crippler Crossface for the submission victory. After the match, all four men brawl up the ramp and out of view as RAW goes off the air!

Next week, we know that Trish Stratus will defend the Women's Title against her friend Mickie James! Plus, a huge eight-man tag team match has been signed pitting the Natural Born Thrillers against Rob Van Dam, Rhyno, Tommy Dreamer, and Lance Storm! Plus, we can expect more fallout from tonight's main event as well as the continuing saga between the World's Greatest Tag Team and The Ministry!

[loopydate]

APRIL 8, 2004 - SMACKDOWN!

Two big title matches signed for tonight, plus we'll hear from the participants in the WWE Title match at Backlash, as well as The Rock and Brock Lesnar, all leading to a Rock/Matt Hardy main event!

But first, Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley have been unstoppable since winning the World Tag Team titles in September, and tonight they defend their belts against the new team of Billy Gunn and Chris Kanyon, the Metro Connection! The champs isolate Kanyon early until the Innovator of Offense manages to pull off a full nelson slam on Bubba to tag in Gunn. Both teams utilize quick tags to keep the fresh man in the match. D-Von sends Kanyon into the corner, then charges in after him, but the referee gets pulled into D-Von's path and eats a clothesline. He DQs the Metro Connection, who start to walk off until the champs chase them down and fight them all the way up the ramp and backstage.

The Champ is here! WWE Champion John Cena cuts a promo about Matt Hardy Version 2.0. Matt may have upgraded his system, but Thuganomics is the virus that's going to make him crash at Backlash. Word Life!

The Cruiserweight Division is on display next as former champion Billy Kidman takes on the red-hot Paul London. Lots of kicks and strikes early until London hits Kidman with his own Kidman Bomb for two. Both men then take to the air with cross bodies, tornado DDTs, and bulldogs. London tries to set Kidman up for a piledriver, but Kidman backdrops out of it and hits the Shooting Star Press for the win.

More cruiser action next as Rico takes on Tajiri. Tajiri dominates the start of the match with hard-hitting offense until Rico fights back with martial arts moves of his own. These two put on a stiff kick and chop contest with some punishing aerial maneuvers thrown in for good measure. In the end, Tajiri reverses a hip toss into a back suplex and takes Rico out with the Kick of Death for the win.

Up next, it's Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman, and Heyman's doing the talking. If The Rock wants to blame Heyman for costing him a shot at John Cena at Backlash, that's just fine. But it won't be Heyman that's looking across the ring at him in three weeks. It's going to be the most dominant force in professional wrestling, the next, the last, the only Big Thing Brock Lesnar!

Our second title match of the night pits the Intercontinental Champion Hurricane against the man who pinned him in an eight-man tag match last week, Ric Flair's animal Batista! Back-and-forth action to start until Hurricane manages to pull of a spinebuster, only to miss a legdrop to put Batista on offense. He controls most of the rest of the match until Hurricane snaps off a super Frankensteiner. But before he can capitalize, Ric Flair is up on the apron! Hurricane turns and falls victim to a blindside attack and the Batista Bomb! We have a new champion! After the match, Batista shakes hands with Flair. This has all gone according to plan.

Now it's time to hear from Cena's Backlash challenger. Matt Hardy Version 2.0 isn't afraid of the Thuganomics virus. Matt Hardy Version 2.0 isn't afraid of anything! He's scaled ladders, he's shattered tables, he's been obliterated by chairs, but he just keeps coming. Version 2.0 is crash-proof, and he'll prove it at Backlash.

Up next, it's Chavo Guerrero's third appearance in the Cruiserweight Title Series as he takes on Christian. Chavo has lost both matches and is essentially out of the running for the belt, but he can play spoiler to Christian's shot at the gold by picking up a win tonight. Lots of counter wrestling to start until Christian catches Chavo with a stun gun and his diving reverse DDT for two. Chavo manages to put up a valiant fight, but he falls victim to the Unprettier. Christian climbs to 2-0 and is sitting pretty heading into his match next week against Eddie Guerrero.

Speaking of Guerrero, his third match in the series is up next against Rey Mysterio. Eddie is also 2-0 in the Series and looking to essentially clinch a spot in the title match at Backlash with a win against his best friend Rey Mysterio. Rey takes to the air early, but makes a fundamental mistake trying to outwrestle Guerrero, and he pays for it. Eddie dominates for several minutes until Rey can again get some momentum going before he eats a high kick from Eddie. Rey manages to pull off a minor upset by trapping Eddie long enough to hit the West Coast Pop for the win! Now Rey is 2-0 and Eddie has dropped to 2-1! His match next week with Christian has become a must-win!

The Rock is the last star of our promo parade, cutting a short but sweet promo about Lesnar. The Rock knows that Paul Heyman isn't going to be across the ring from him at Backlash. And he knows what Lesnar is capable of. But that's not going to stop The Rock from checking Lesnar's monkey ass into the SmackDown! Hotel and whipping his candy ass all over The People's Ring!

Our main event of the evening pits The Rock against Matt Hardy Version 2.0! The match has barely started before the referee takes a bump. Rock hits Hardy with a spear, but there's no one to count. They continue to put on a hot match with no referee until Rock misses The People's Elbow. Suddenly, Lesnar is in the ring with a chair and lays out Rock! As the ref regains consciousness, Hardy hits the Twist of Fate for the win! After the match, John Cena hits the ring to go after Hardy, while Rock and Lesnar battle it out as SmackDown! goes off the air!

Next week, the Cruiserweight Title series continues as Eddie Guerrero takes on Christian and Rey Mysterio faces Tajiri. Plus, Hurricane is exercising his rematch clause to take on Batista for the Intercontinental Title! All that, plus more build-up to the two massive SmackDown! main events at Backlash, and you don't want to miss next week's show!

[loopydate]

APRIL 12, 2004 - MONDAY NIGHT RAW

Two weeks away from Backlash, and a huge six-man tag-team main event has been signed for tonight! It's Kurt Angle and the World's Greatest Tag Team against Chris Benoit, Undertaker, and Big Show!

But first it's a triangle tag-team match pitting La Resistance against their own stablemate Rob Conway and Lance Cade as well as the team of Booker T and Luther Reigns. Cade and Conway take turns working over Booker in the early-going until Booker manages to tag in Reigns, who takes out Cade. Cade tags in Dupree, but Reigns tags in Conway, and it's La Res versus La Res! In the end, though, Conway winds up tagging Reigns back in so that Dupree can finish him off with a Figure Four.

The Big Red Machine Kane is out next to take on Rikishi. Kane dominates almost the entire match, but ultimately, interference from the newcomer Damien is what costs Rikishi the match. After the match, Kane and Damien pound on the giant Samoan.

Two of the top contenders for the Women's Title are up next as Victoria takes on Jazz. Sadly, this battle between two of the better female wrestlers in the world isn't very good and is fairly repetitive. Victoria picks up the win with the Widow's Peak.

Speaking of underwhelming performances, both Val Venis and William Regal have struggled mightily in recent weeks, and now both are looking for a much-needed win at the other's expense. Lots of back-and-forth action in this one that ends with Regal getting out of a suplex attempt to hit Power of the Punch for the win.

Our second Divas match is a big improvement, largely because the crowd was really into Lita vs. Molly Holly. Both women get in their spots, but Lita takes the win with the Litacanrana.

Chris Jericho is on a mission to clamber back to the top of the card, and after last week's win over Val Venis, he looks well on his way. But in his way tonight is the massive A-Train. Train utilizes his power advantage early, but Jericho's speed is just too much. Train gets in a bit of offense (honestly, more than I would have expected), but he winds up tapping out to the Walls of Jericho.

After the match, Jericho grabs the ringside mic and proclaims that the days of Chris Jericho: Midcarder are over! Now begin the days of Chris Jericho: ...UPPER MIDCARDER!

For weeks, the Natural Born Thrillers have made life difficult for Rob Van Dam and his friends. Tonight, it's an eight-man war pitting NBT against Van Dam, Rhyno, Tommy Dreamer, and Lance Storm! Storm and Dreamer work over Palumbo early, then Rhyno and Jindrak work their way into the match, and Rhyno continues the assault. RVD tags in, and he uses his martial arts background to pummel Jindrak. Storm tags back in and continues the punishment until Sean O'Haire manages to tag in and turn things back in NBT's favor. O'Haire and Stamboli work on Storm for a while until Tommy Dreamer tags in to reverse the momentum. RVD and O'Haire tag in, and the Backlash opponents go at it until RVD catches O'Haire with a flying cross bodyblock to set up the Five-Star Frogsplash and the win!

Our featured title match of the evening pits Women's Champion Trish Stratus against her friend Mickie James. Both women look like a million bucks (both in the technical execution of the match and the fact that they're gorgeous), and the crowd is way into it. Mickie almost picks up the win following her trademark DDT, but Trish's experience winds up being just too much as she wins following Stratusfaction. After the match, the friends hug it out and... start making out! OMG, this is... Wait, what? Oh, no, wait. It was just a hug. Sorry. Overactive imagination.

The Shawn Michaels Not Giving A Shit World Tour continues as the World Champion takes on Edge in our next contest. HBK controls the early part of the match, but Edge fights back with a big neckbreaker. HBK takes to the skies to regain the lead, and the match ends as he whips Edge to the ropes, where he hits a chair being held up by Chris Benoit, allowing HBK to roll Edge up for the win. After the match, Kurt Angle hits the ring and goes after Michaels! He chases the champ off while Edge clears Benoit from the ring.

The evening's main event is the aforementioned six-man tag match! Former partners Benoit and Angle go at it early on until Benoit tags in Undertaker, who repeatedly slams Angle before tagging in Show. The Ministry partners hit a double suplex, and Angle continues to get pounded until he manages to tag in Haas. Haas uses his speed to take the advantage, then tags in Shelton, who shows impressive power before Show tags Benoit back in. Benoit works over Benjamin until Angle tags in. Amidst the confusion, the referee doesn't notice Shawn Michaels hit the ring for Sweet Chin Music on Angle! The referee turns around just in time to see Benoit cover Angle, and the heels have stolen one as RAW goes off the air!

[Evil Vito]

Originally Posted by loopydate After the match, the friends hug it out and... start making out! OMG, this is... Wait, what? Oh, no, wait. It was just a hug. Sorry. Overactive imagination.

[loopydate]

APRIL 15, 2004 - SMACKDOWN!

Last week's World Tag Team Title match between the Dudley Boyz and the Metro Connection ended with the champions retaining their gold via DQ. But, unsatisfied with the result, we kick off tonight with D-Von Dudley taking on Chris Kanyon! Lots of brawling in this one, and it's pretty much beneath both men, which is a disappointment. Kanyon picks up the win with I'm Betta Than You.

Right on the heels of that match, Kanyon's partner Billy Gunn takes on Bubba Ray Dudley. Bubba uses his strength early, but Billy fights back with quickness and superior technical acumen. Bubba fights back with big power moves (piledriver, powerbomb, fallaway slam, etc.), but Gunn picks up the win with the One and Only.

Backstage, new Intercontinental Champion Batista is warming up for his rematch against Hurricane when his manager, Ric Flair enters. Batista wants to know where Flair's been all day, and Flair confesses that he's been in meetings with the McMahon family. Batista likes where this is going. Does this mean title shots? Main event matches? Flair tells him he wishes it was that kind of good news. But he's been giving it a lot of thought, and he's decided that he's done with wrestling. In two weeks, when SmackDown! goes to Charlotte, he's officially retiring. He's been hanging on until he could find someone that he really believed in to carry on the Nature Boy's legacy, and he found it in Dave Batista. So good luck tonight, champ, because you've got big shoes to fill.

A shaken Batista heads to the ring for the match, and it looks like Flair's announcement has gotten to him until the bell rings and he goes right after Hurricane. But Hurricane uses his emotions against him and goes to work with some moves of his own until he eats a massive kick from the champion. Batista hits his spinebuster for a long two, then more power moves to set up the Batista Bomb for the win and the successful title defense.

Just ten days away from his big match with Brock Lesnar, The Rock faces a very tough challenge in the form of John Layfield. Layfield gets in a fair amount of offense, definitely making himself look like a credible threat, but Rock is just too much as he hits the Rock Bottom. But before he can go for the cover, Lesnar hits the ring and nails Rock with an F5! The official calls for the bell, but Lesnar continues the punishment, leaving Rock laying and needing assistance to return to the locker room.

Lesnar's match is up next as he takes on Rico. Rico gets some early offense in until Lesnar capitalizes on his power advantage with some high-impact moves. Lesnar actually lands a pretty sweet dropkick at one point, but trading kicks with Rico was a mistake. Eventually, though, Lesnar is just too strong for Rico and puts him away with the F5. After the match, The Rock returns to the ring for some revenge, hitting Lesnar with the Rock Bottom!

The Cruiserweight Title Series is up next as Rey Mysterio takes on Tajiri. These two put on an awesome match filled with back and forth action. Kicks, shining wizards, flying elbows, superkicks, and top-rope DDTs are flying everywhere as these two put on a clinic that ends with Mysterio catching Tajiri with the West Coast Pop for the win! Rey Mysterio now controls his own destiny. Win next week against Christian, and he's in the title match at Backlash!

Or, possibly, the next match could determine Mysterio's opponent. Chavo Guerrero and Tajiri have been eliminated from contention due to their 0-3 records, but the 2-1 Eddie Guerrero and 2-0 Christian are both still in the running. If Christian wins, he and Mysterio are guaranteed spots in the title match. If Eddie wins, he climbs to 3-1, which puts him in the title match if Rey also can beat Christian next week. Or possibly, if Eddie beats Christian tonight and Christian beats Rey next week, all three men will be 3-1, each with a win and a loss against one of the others, negating the tie-breaker and resulting in Stephanie McMahon needing to make a decision about the finals. Sound complicated? Well, it is.

So, anyway, Eddie Guerrero and Christian are up next, with all that nonsense hovering in the backs of their minds. Eddie starts off hot with a rolling kick and a flying cross body, but Christian fights back, and we've got a match on our hands! Christian uses suplexes to his advantage while Eddie uses his aerial offense. In the end, Christian whips Eddie off the ropes, but Tajiri has snuck down to ringside with a chair, and he slams it into Eddie's back, allowing Christian to capitalize with the Unprettier! After the match, Tajiri nails Eddie with the Kick of Death! As Eddie tries to drag himself up to his feet, Tajiri hits another! Referees and officials pour into the ring to try and separate them, but they keep their distance as Tajiri has them all scared. He lands a third Kick of Death on Eddie, then walks off as medics attend to Eddie, who isn't moving.

Stephanie McMahon appears on the TitanTron and makes it official. Next week's Rey Mysterio/Christian match doesn't need to happen, as the two will instead meet at Backlash for the vacant Cruiserweight Title!

Chavo Guerrero was warming up backstage and missed the entire segment, so it isn't until he hits the ring for his match with Matt Hardy Version 2.0 that he realizes what's happened. Hardy takes the brunt of his anger, as Chavo starts off with a big DDT and a legdrop. From there, the #1 contender to the WWE Title mounts some offense, and this turns into a four-star-rated match! They trade Tiger suplexes and high-flying tackles and axehandles until Matt finally catches Chavo with the Twist of Fate for the win. After the match, he turns around... right into a chair shot from John Cena! The champ has sent a message to Hardy! A bloodied Hardy is helped to the back.

Cena remains in the ring for tonight's main event against Billy Kidman. Kidman looks good in the match, but it's mostly all Cena, with the champ putting him away with the FU. After the match, Matt Hardy, forehead taped, comes to the ring, and lays out the champ with the Twist of Fate as SmackDown! goes off the air!

[loopydate]

APRIL 19, 2004 - MONDAY NIGHT RAW

The last RAW before Backlash kicks off with a solid tag-team match pitting Lance Storm and Tommy Dreamer against Lance Cade and Natural Born Thrillers member Mark Jindrak. Cade and Jindrak haven't teamed in several months, how much ring rust have they accrued? Storm and Dreamer double-team Jindrak for the first several minutes of the match, and the match seems well in hand until Cade tags in. When Jindrak is rested enough to tag back in, Cade scoops up Storm for a slam, but Storm's boots catch Jindrak in the face allowing Storm to hit a Superkick for the win! After the match, Jindrak gets in Cade's face for costing him the match before storming off.

Backstage, the World's Greatest Tag Team cut a promo about their upcoming WWE Tag Team Title match against Undertaker and Big Show. Taker and Show are two big, bad men who have held multiple world titles between them. And as a tag team, they're cohesive and brutal. But in six days, they're going to find out that for all their skill, they're still far from the World's Greatest.

Jindrak's NBT stablemate Chuck Palumbo is out next for a match against Booker T. They trade punches to start, and high-impact moves throughout. Booker T continues to be sluggish and not giving his all to these matches, and Palumbo doesn't look good as a result. After Palumbo manages to mount some offense by getting separation from Booker, the referee doesn't notice Johnny Stamboli hit the ring to lay out Booker T with the Fugettabout It! Palumbo gets the cheap pin, and the tag partners go to work on Booker until Val Venis (?) makes the save.

Edge is backstage, when he's approached by Chris Benoit. The two opponents this Sunday get in each other's faces and a war of words is on! Before it can escalate to physical violence, cooler heads prevail and they decide to wait until the main event tonight to get their hands on each other.

The Ministry's enigmatic rookie Damien is out next for a match against Rikishi. Damien hits a forearm and a neckbreaker early for two, but Rikishi fights back with a clothesline in the corner, a headbutt, and some strikes. But Damien utilizes his power with a piledriver and a Chokeslam for the win.

Al Snow is in the ring, and the crowd goes nuts, forgetting that he's technically a heel. He hasn't been on TV for a while, so they're very excited. He's out to conduct an interview with the United States Champion Sean O'Haire and his Backlash opponent, Rob Van Dam. Snow tries to keep the two men to the rundown, but it doesn't take long before O'Haire's answers start to turn personal again, and RVD's had enough! They go after each other, tearing Snow's interview set apart in the process.

William Regal got himself back on the winning track last week, and he hopes to continue that tonight as he faces the massive A-Train. Regal goes on control early with back suplexes, kicks, and a legsweep. But Train starts to overpower Regal until Regal uses his technical advantage to take the lead again. In the end, Regal takes the cheap way out, hitting Power of the Punch for the win.

Kurt Angle is backstage now, and he cuts a promo about Shawn Michaels. HBK has been phoning it in for weeks now, and Angle knows that if Michaels takes that attitude in six days, there's going to be a new World Champion. Oh, it's true. It's damn true.

Rhyno and Chris Jericho are two men looking to insert themselves into the main event picture by the start of summer, and tonight they both hope to make a statement against each other. And do they ever! They put on a 90%-rated match (89% overall, thanks to an 89% crowd reaction) that sees both men utilizing a lot of high-impact offense. Rhyno finally winds up hitting the GOOOOOOORE, but before he can make a cover, Kane hits the ring and lays him out! The referee calls for the bell, but Jericho and Kane start to work over Rhyno, until the manbeast fights back, sending both men out of the ring!

Rhyno grabs the ringside microphone and says that if The Ministry is so intent on taking out Rhyno, they should do it face-to-face. At Backlash, he's challenging Kane to a one-on-one match! Kane accepts the challenge!

Tonight's main event is a ten-man tag team match pitting Kurt Angle, Edge, Rob Van Dam, and the World's Greatest Tag Team against Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit, Sean O'Haire, Undertaker, and Big Show. It's a huge Backlash preview! Like most ten-man tags, this one is a bit of a clusterfuck, so I'll just skip to the end, where Rob Van Dam picks up a clean pinfall victory for the second week in a row by hitting Sean O'Haire with the Five-Star Frogsplash. The faces celebrate as RAW goes off the air!

[loopydate]

Originally Posted by TPWW.net Main Page After tonight's Monday Night RAW live event, World Champion Shawn Michaels was overheard in a screaming match with head WWE booker Pat Dooley. Michaels accused Dooley of not having any idea how to write for a performer of HBK's stature, and essentially told him that he's never going to work for WWE again. This creates a bit of a dilemma, as Michaels is scheduled to defend the World Title against Kurt Angle at Backlash. Obviously, HBK isn't going to appear, so it will be interesting to see how the WWE brash handles this. Michaels still has over two years left on his contract, and seems content to sit at home collecting what is rumored to be over $200,000 per month rather than accepting a release.

[loopydate]

APRIL 22, 2004 - SMACKDOWN!

It's the last show before Backlash, and every superstar on the SmackDown! roster will be involved tonight!

An easy way to do that is to start things off with a twenty-man battle royal! The winner will earn an Intercontinental Title match next week on SmackDown! Doug Basham is the first man out, courtesy of John Layfield, followed by Ultimo Dragon eliminating Matt Morgan. Mark Henry is the next to go, thanks to Akio, then Shannon Moore eliminates Test and Danny Basham back-to-back. Paul London is the next victim, eliminated by Hurricane, while Nunzio takes out Jamie Noble. Shannon Moore continues to put on a good show, as he takes out Funaki. Nunzio eliminates Nova next, then Scotty 2 Hotty takes out Boss Man. Hurricane makes another elimination, taking out Carlito, followed by Nova taking out Chris Nowinski. Spike Dudley takes out Akio, only to get bundled out by Ultimo Dragon. Shannon Moore's run comes to an end, courtesy of Scotty 2 Hotty, but Nova capitalizes and dumps him out. We are down to the final four: Hurricane, John Layfield, Nova, and Ultimo Dragon! One of these men will go on to an Intercontinental Title match next week. Well, it won't be Nova, as Ultimo Dragon takes care of him, only to get taken out by Layfield. Hurricane turns right into a Clothesline From Hell, and John Layfield has earned a title shot next week!

Backstage, a limousine pulls up. We see a foot step out, then the camera tilts up to reveal... RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff?!?!? He heads off toward the arena as everyone is left wondering what he's doing here.

The ongoing rivalry between the Dudley Boyz and the Metro Connection continues next as D-Von Dudley takes on Billy Gunn. Gunn spends most of the match striking D-Von, while D-Von hits pretty sloppy power moves. In the end, Billy hits the Fameasser for the win to go 2-0 in singles matches against the champs.

Backstage, Christian cuts a brief promo about his Cruiserweight Title match this Sunday at Backlash against Rey Mysterio. Rey and Christian both tore through the Cruiserweight Title Series, to the point where they didn't even bother booking this week's match between them. Tonight, they'll be on opposite sides of the six-man main event, but in six days, Christian's walking out with the gold, 'cause that's how I roll.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell... Well it's a dud show! Yep, our woes continue as Bubba Ray Dudley takes on Chris Kanyon. Blah blah blah, fight fight fight. Kanyon hits I'm Betta Than You for the win.

Ric Flair cuts a promo on John Layfield about how - after Batista gets past Rico tonight - he's going to absolutely destroy Layfield in their Intercontinental Title match next week. The crowd is loving Flair, essentially turning him face one week before his retirement.

Last week, Tajiri absolutely destroyed Eddie Guerrero with a brutal series of Kicks of Death. Tonight, Eddie's nephew Chavo looks for revenge! These two wind up putting on an excellent wrestling match with both men getting in a lot of offense. 84% crowd rating, 87% match rating, but the dud show drags it down to a 76% overall. Just when Chavo looks ready to put Tajiri away, Billy Kidman hits the ring with a chair, hitting Chavo with it, allowing Tajiri to roll him up for the win. After the match, they go to work on Chavo with the chair until a badly beat-up Eddie Guerrero makes his way to the ring to chase them off and save his nephew.

Eddie asks for (and receives) the ringside microphone and issues a challenge for a tag match at Backlash - Los Guerreros versus Billy Kidman and Tajiri!

Now it's time for our Intercontinental Title match as Batista defends the belt against his former rival Rico. The winner must defend the gold next week against John Layfield. Just like the series of matches they put on leading up to WrestleMania, this one goes back and forth several times before Batista finally manages to put his opponent away with the Batista Bomb to retain the gold. After the match, he continues the punishment, pummeling Rico before walking off with the gold.

"I'm ba-ack! And better than ever..." Eric Bischoff makes his way to the ring, carrying the World Heavyweight Title. Fans are well aware of the recent backstage controversy surrounding that title and Shawn Michaels walking away after RAW. He enters the ring and grabs the microphone. "As I'm sure everyone has heard by now, RAW's World Champion has decided to take his ball and go home. And if that sounds familiar... well, that's because it is. This World Title has become an albatross. Triple H was our World Champion until he dropped it to The Rock. And he was never the same, and eventually he walked away from WWE. The Rock dropped the World Title to Michaels at WrestleMania XX, then jumped ship to SmackDown! And now Michaels himself has decided that he cares more about his own ego than he does about this title. So I am begging for a new outcome at Backlash. I am pleading for a champion who wants this belt and isn't going to turn into a freaking crybaby. So tonight, I am announcing that at Backlash, Kurt Angle still gets his shot at the World Title. And his opponent will be... Chris Jericho!" Bischoff walks off with the gold, and a new main event for Backlash!

And now for our main event, pitting WWE Champion John Cena, The Rock, and Rey Mysterio against their Backlash opponents Matt Hardy Version 2.0, Brock Lesnar, and Christian. Lots of quick tags all around, with there being a couple of direct Backlash previews (oddly enough, Cena and Hardy are never in the ring at the same time). Rock and Christian carry most of the match, but in the end, Rock puts Lesnar away with the Rock Bottom and the faces stand tall as SmackDown! goes off the air.

[loopydate]

APRIL 25, 2004 - BACKLASH

Five titles will be on the line tonight, and we're guaranteed at least two new champions as both the vacant World and Cruiserweight Titles will be on the line!

The night kicks off with a match a month in the making. Rhyno won a triple-threat match at WrestleMania XX, ending Undertaker's undefeated WM streak. Since then, Undertaker's new Ministry has taken every opportunity to attack Rhyno, culminating in tonight's one-on-one opener.

Rhyno vs. Kane

Kane bodyslams Rhyno. Rhyno blocks a kick from Kane. Rhyno hits a bulldog off the ropes. Rhyno scores with a standing spinebuster. Lance Cade comes running down the aisle with a chair! Kane and Rhyno continue fighting, unaware of the intrusion. Lance Cade slides in and prepares to swing the chair...but Rhyno moves! Cade accidentally blasts Kane with a chair to the head! Rhyno throws Cade out of the ring! Kane is in trouble. Gore!!! That shook the ring. 1....2....3!! Lance Cade remains in the ring. Kane pushes the referee away. Kane spins Cade around. Kane hits the Choke Slam! This gets a **3\4 rating. Perfectly Acceptable Wrestling.

Overall Rating: 72%
Crowd Reaction: 70%
Match Quality: 74%

The Ministry's other main targets have been Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin, the World's Greatest Tag Team, and their WWE Tag Team Titles. Ever since WGTT came to Rhyno's aid a few weeks back, Undertaker and Big Show have been gunning for the gold. Tonight, they get their shot.

WWE Tag Team Titles - World's Greatest Tag Team (c) vs. Undertaker and Show

Charlie Haas takes a right hand to the temple from Undertaker. Undertaker with a badly-executed spinning neckbreaker on Haas. Hooks the leg for a two count. Undertaker tags out to Big Show. Undertaker and Show hook up Haas, then hit a double suplex. There's a two count on the pin. Haas takes a weak clothesline. Haas ducks a wild right hand. Flying reverse elbow by Charlie Haas. Hooks the leg for a two count. Tag between Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin. Spear by Shelton Benjamin. Cover, but there's a last second kick-out. Shelton Benjamin snap suplexes Show...with authority! ('With authority', trademark G.Monsoon 1986.) Shelton Benjamin misses a clothesline. Weak slam from Show. Tag between Big Show and Undertaker. Weak headbutt on Shelton by Undertaker. Tag to Charlie Haas. Haas gets squashed in the corner with a clothesline. Charlie Haas is in big trouble...Double Choke Slam!! 1....2....3! *** rating, as it was good, but nothing too special.

Overall Rating: 80%
Crowd Reaction: 82%
Match Quality: 78%

In both men's RAW debuts after WrestleMania, Chris Benoit got himself disqualified against Edge. Benoit's temper has continually gotten the better of him, but Edge has gone blow-for-blow with him throughout the month, leading up to our next contest.

Edge vs. Chris Benoit

Back suplex on Edge, which is a backdrop to you NOAH fans. Chris Benoit uses move #193 (arm-BAR). Big dropkick by Chris Benoit, who got good elevation. Edge gets caught with a short powerbomb from Benoit. Edge avoids a Chris Benoit avalanche. Bodyslam by Edge. Spear by Edge. Cover for a two count. Chris Benoit comes up with a right hand out of nowhere. Edge walks into a killer lariat. Hooks the leg for a two count. Back suplex off the top rope, Edge landed hard. Hooks the leg for a close fall. Edge counters a backdrop attempt with a kick to the face. Benoit receives some punishment. Chris Benoit takes the advantage after a i-block-your-punch-you-don't-block-mine routine. Hard impact russian legsweep by Benoit. If you're going to get impact, 'hard' is probably a good way to go. Edge gets knocked to the ground by Benoit, who is already climbing the turnbuckle. Through the air, Swandive Headbutt! 1....2....3. **1\2 rating for a decent contest.

Overall Rating: 78%
Crowd Reaction: 83%
Match Quality: 68%

The reunited Los Guerreros have had their hands full in recent weeks with Eddie's former rival Billy Kidman and his new tag team partner Tajiri. Two weeks ago on SmackDown!, Tajiri injured Eddie to the point where his participation at Backlash seemed in doubt, but Eddie made the save just three days ago to issue the challenge for tonight's tag-team grudge match.

Los Guerreros vs. Billy Kidman & Tajiri

Hard back suplex on Chavo. Anyone remember when that was Shawn Michaels's finisher? Super kick by Billy Kidman. Cover for a two count. Kidman tags out to Tajiri. Tajiri \ Kidman whip Chavo into the ropes and hit a double backdrop. Tajiri uses a basement dropkick to the knee. Hooks the leg for a two count. Tajiri strikes Chavo. Tajiri drops an elbow...but misses. Fate can be so cruel. Diamond Dust from Chavo Guerrero, Tajiri is out. Chavo tags out to Eddie Guerrero. Second rope flying axe handle, Tajiri goes down. Eddie crushes Tajiri with a running senton. Eddie only gets knees on a splash. Tag to Billy Kidman. Kidman crushes Eddie with a running senton. Tiger suplex on Eddie, right from out of the Misawa playbook. Pin, but Eddie is out just before the three count. Dropkick connects, Eddie goes down. Eddie counters an avalanche with a raised foot to the face. Flying cross body off the top rope! I'll give a 0.8 on the Steamboat scale for that effort. Billy Kidman is all alone...Brainbuster!! 1....2....3! That was good. **** rating.

Overall Rating: 88%
Crowd Reaction: 85%
Match Quality: 91%

Five weeks ago, Rob Van Dam won a twenty-man battle royal to earn a shot at Sean O'Haire's United States Title and - since that win - has had his hands full with O'Haire and the reunited Natural Born Thrillers. RVD has picked up back-to-back wins in multi-man matches over O'Haire. Can he continue his success tonight and walk out with the United States Title?

United States Title - Rob Van Dam vs. Sean O'Haire (c)

Stiff chop lights up RVD. RVD gets slammed. Back elbow connects, RVD staggers backward. Rude Awakening on Rob Van Dam by O'Haire. O'Haire walks into a trip. Driven DDT by Rob Van Dam. The ring shook violently, instantly making it better at selling than some of the current roster. Vicious lightning kick by RVD on O'Haire. Cover for a two count. Rob Van Dam gets taken down out of nowhere. Full nelson slam on RVD. Cover for a two count. Lifting DDT by Sean O'Haire, looked good. Pin : 1 - 2 - 2.9999999. O'Haire drops an elbow...but misses. Fate can be so cruel. Dropkick connects, O'Haire goes down. O'Haire blocks the suplex attempt. Sean O'Haire with a spinning neckbreaker on RVD. Rob Van Dam is in trouble. Here it comes - Prophecy. 1....2...3, it's finished. I'm knocking off half a star for some blown spots, so that's a ***1\2 rating.

Overall Rating: 83%
Crowd Reaction: 78%
Match Quality: 88%

Billy Kidman won the Cruiserweight Title at WrestleMania from Eddie Guerrero, but was stripped by Stephanie McMahon for continuing bad behavior. A five-man series was arranged to determine a new champion, and Rey Mysterio and Christian dominated to earn the shot.

Cruiserweight Title - Rey Mysterio vs. Christian

Hard impact russian legsweep by Christian. If you're going to get impact, 'hard' is probably a good way to go. Christian hits a bulldog off the ropes. There's a two count on the pin. Rey counters a sleeper hold by turning it into a jaw breaker. Standing leg lariat by Rey Mysterio on Christian. Rey Mysterio hits a rolling kick on Christian. Cover for a two count. Diamond Dust from Rey Mysterio, Christian is out. Pinfall attempt gets a 2.9999. Driven DDT by Rey Mysterio. The ring shook violently, instantly making it better at selling than some of the current roster. Christian kicks Rey Mysterio in the gut to reverse the momentum. Vicious back suplex! Rey Mysterio got nailed. Cover for a two count. Belly to belly off the top rope, Rey got folded up big time. Pin : 1 - 2 - 2.9999999. Vertical suplex by Christian. Christian uses move #193 (arm-BAR). Christian only gets knees on a splash. Rey uses a basement dropkick to the knee. Diamond Dust from Rey Mysterio, Christian is out. Christian is in trouble. West Coast Pop! 1....2....3. Rey Mysterio is still in the ring celebrating. Christian pushes the referee away. Christian spins Rey around. Christian hits the Unprettier! I can't decide whether it's a *** or a ***1\2 match...let's go for a ***1\4 rating to make it fair.

Overall Rating: 88%
Crowd Reaction: 93%
Match Quality: 78%

Our next match is for the vacant World Heavyweight Title. Kurt Angle was set to face off against Shawn Michaels for the belt before Michaels walked off after last week's RAW. On SmackDown!, Eric Bischoff announced that Michaels' replacement in the match would be Chris Jericho! It's Angle versus Jericho for the World Heavyweight Title!

World Heavyweight Title - Kurt Angle vs. Chris Jericho

Angle hits a right hand. Chanelling the spirit of Misawa, Kurt Angle uses a forearm to the face. Running knee lift from Kurt Angle. Bodyslam by Angle. Jericho backdrops Kurt Angle out of a piledriver attempt. Jericho hits a dropkick on Kurt Angle. Super kick by Chris Jericho. There's a two count on the pin. Chris Jericho misses a big legdrop after stalling too long. Massive backbreaker, Jericho got nailed. Hooks the leg for a two count. Lifting DDT by Kurt Angle, executed well. Cover, but there's a last second kick-out. Jericho reverses a Kurt Angle hammerlock. Jericho hits a massive spinning kick to the jaw. Angle counters a sleeper hold by turning it into a jaw breaker. Big clothesline on Jericho. Kurt Angle floors Chris Jericho. Chris Jericho gets locked in the Angle Lock! Submission victory! Kurt Angle climbs each turnbuckle in turn, working the crowd as he celebrates his victory A **** rating for a good contest.

Overall Rating: 89%
Crowd Reaction: 90%
Match Quality: 88%

Matt Hardy Version 2.0 shocked the world last month when he beat The Rock and Brock Lesnar in a triple threat match to earn a shot at John Cena's WWE Title. The two have feuded since then, but tonight Hardy finally gets his one-on-one shot.

WWE Title - John Cena (c) vs. Matt Hardy Version 2.0

Matt takes a headbutt from John Cena. Cena hits a right hand. Running knee lift from John Cena. John Cena with a spinning neckbreaker on Matt. Matt Hardy Version 2.0 avoids a John Cena avalanche. Cena takes a flying neckbreaker from Matt Hardy Version 2.0. Cena takes a hurrancarana from Matt Hardy Version 2.0. Hooks the leg for a two count. Cena pushes out of a Matt Hardy Version 2.0 hold. Matt walks into a spike slam. Cover for a two count. Death valley driver by John Cena, Matt Hardy Version 2.0 got planted. Cover, but there's a last second kick-out. Matt Hardy Version 2.0 powers out of a John Cena headlock. Kick from Matt Hardy Version 2.0 to the leg. Cena pushes out of a Matt Hardy Version 2.0 hold. Cena slams Matt Hardy Version 2.0 down. Matt Hardy Version 2.0 is in trouble. Here it comes - F-U. 1....2...3, it's finished. I'll give this a ***1\4 rating.

Overall Rating: 87%
Crowd Reaction: 92%
Match Quality: 78%

Tonight's main event isn't for any title, but it is a battle between the two biggest stars in the industry. The Rock blamed Brock Lesnar's manager Paul Heyman for costing him the shot at Cena's title tonight, and since then Rock and Brock have gone at it several times. Tonight, though, they're main eventing Backlash!

The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar

Lesnar hits a right hand. Rock blocks a kick from Brock Lesnar. The Rock fires off some right and left hands. Brock Lesnar charges, Rock moves, and the referee is conveniently placed to get knocked out. The Rock scores with a big spinebuster. Pinfall attempt, but the ref is conveniently laid out. The Rock gets taken down out of nowhere. Hard impact russian legsweep by Lesnar. If you're going to get impact, 'hard' is probably a good way to go. Big piledriver on Rock. There's a two count on the pin. Brock Lesnar scores with a big spinebuster. Pinfall attempt gets a 2.9999. Rock blocks a punch. Nice piledriver on Lesnar. Cover, but there's a last second kick-out. Brock Lesnar ducks a clothesline attempt. The Rock is in trouble. F5!!! That shook the ring. 1....2....3!! This one gets a ***1\4 rating, it was a good bout.

Overall Rating: 93%
Crowd Reaction: 100%
Match Quality: 79%

[Evil Vito]

Shawn Michaels is such a dick in EWR. Luckily he hasn't acted up yet in my game, though there's still time.

Anyway, haven't posted a show in a few days...I think I might just do abbreviated results, as it takes me a long time to do full write-ups. Doing abbreviated results will allow me to still say what happened while also giving a glimpse of what is going on in the stories.

[Evil Vito]

WWE Raw - June 2, 2008

MVP starts off the show by hyping up tonight's main event, where he will give Triple H his match. BUT WAIT - he never said TITLE match. Crowd boos as MVP claims Triple H still has yet to earn a shot at the gold.

One week after turning face, Melina takes on Molly Holly. Standard woman's match here...Melina gets the win following botched interference from Victoria. As the heels prepare to attack Victoria, WWE Women's Champion Mickie James runs in to save the day...brawl ensues between the four ladies.

Stevie McMahon addresses his assault on Eugene. He said it needed to be done to show us all that he means business.

Stevie remains in the ring for a match against Al Snow, where he wins following a roll-up with the omnipresent hook of the tights. Stevie was relentless after and continued to beat Al down until Steve Blackman comes out to help his partner, Stevie flees.

Backstage, we see Matt Hardy laid out in the hallway. A crowd forms, including a very concerned Jeff Hardy. Jeff needs to get his head in the game because he faces Shawn Michaels in a non-title match later.

Elijah Burke and Marcus Cor Von defeated the Highlanders to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles in a surprisingly good match. Bobby Lashley comes out after and double clotheslines both champions...getting the better of them for the second straight week.

Mr. Kennedy defeats D-Lo Brown, not much to say here. Poor D-Lo, much like the real WWE I can really only afford to use him as a jobber because I have so many other guys ahead in the card that I'm trying to push.

Jeff Hardy vs. Shawn Michaels is excellence as always, and the crowd is solely behind Jeff. Michael Cole spends the match insinuating that HBK must have been the one who attacked Matt, while JBL defends the heel. Ref bump, and STEVE CORINO runs in and plants Jeff with a Northern Lights Bomb. Ref recovers in time to see a Sweet Chin Music and pin on Hardy. HBK and Corino shake hands after, what is going on here?

They grab a set of mics, and it is announced that Steve Corino, the King of Old School, has decided to make the smart move and associate himself with the most old school guy on Raw, Shawn Michaels. Corino was behind the attack on Matt, as well. Shawn Michaels certainly knows how to pull strings.

MVP and Triple H put on a very good main event, with the crowd cheering on Triple H, hoping to see the champ get a Pedigree. It doesn't happen though, as after Triple H kicks out of a Playmaker, MVP decides he's had enough for one night and takes the countout loss. Crowd doesn't like it one bit.

In a shock of shocks...Mr. McMahon comes out and announces that Triple H STILL hasn't done enough to warrant a title match, citing his kicking out of the Playmaker as being "lucky". Next week, to keep his title hopes alive, Triple H must face, and defeat one of his former allies..."The Animal" Batista! McMahon and MVP laugh as Raw goes off the air.

[Evil Vito]

ECW Hardcore TV - June 3, 2008

Rob Van Dam starts us off by discussing his match against Randy Orton tonight. Orton enters with Edge...and the match never starts. Instead, Edge and Orton lay down a two-on-one beatdown. The crowd's chants of "CM PUNK!" go unanswered.

After unfairly losing a match against Domino last week, Val Venis looks to rebound against Deuce. However, the result is more of the same...as Domino distracts Val and allows Deuce to pick up the victory. After the match, Val is Cracked in the Mouth for the second straight week.

Deuce 'n Domino cut a promo in the ring, hyping themselves up. OHHH!!!

Shelton Benjamin defeated Funaki in a good match via T-Bone Suplex. I wonder if Funaki will ever win a match.

Carlito is interviewed backstage, and he once again references this "Cool" New Wave that is meant to be coming. He says it will be rolling in sooner than you think.

In a match similar to last week, Kane this time defeats Trevor Murdoch via botched interference attempt from Lance Cade. Cade and Murdoch try to double-team Kane but it doesn't work out.

CM Punk arrives in the arena with his gear...way to show up late, Punk. He sees a bruised RVD and wonders what happened. RVD warns Punk that Rated RKO will try to attack him too...but that he has his back. Punk tells RVD that he doesn't need to come out and risk injury, because he has another backup...someone Edge should be very familiar with.

Carlito takes on Cody Rhodes. Rhodes has a very good showing, as Hardcore Holly looks on at ringside. Carlito tries to cheat on several occasions and it keeps drawing the ire of Holly. Carlito grabs his apple and spits it at Holly at ringside, and Bob has seen enough! He decks Carlito, and the ref calls for the bell! Cody Rhodes looks pissed, his partner just cost him the match.

Holly tries to justify his actions, saying Cody would have done the same thing. Carlito comes back into the ring and Holly tries to go after him, but Rhodes spins Holly around and plants him with a DDT! Carlito and Cody leave Holly battered in the ring, and they leave together.

Umaga makes his return after missing the last few weeks due to injury, and he has a tough opponent from the get-go in Tommy Dreamer. Really intense match, and Umaga wins it with a Samoan Spike. After the bell, Umaga continues to beat down Tommy, so much so that the referee thinks better of it and calls for the bell, reversing the decision! Sandman runs in and canes Umaga in the skull, saving Dreamer from further abuse.

CM Punk is in tonight's main event against Edge, who of course brings Randy Orton to ringside with him. Unlike at the start of the show, the match actually takes place...and it is quite good. As you might expect, Orton makes a nuisance of himself at ringside and costs Punk the win, giving Edge a victory over the champion. However, before a beatdown can occur...out comes BUBBA RAY DUDLEY...table tucked under his arm (bet everyone thought it would be Christian...oops). Orton takes a folded-up table to the gut, and retreats. Edge is powerbombed from the top rope through another one, revenge for last week's table attack. Bubba Ray Dudley has returned home to ECW!

[loopydate]

APRIL 26, 2004 - MONDAY NIGHT RAW

Kurt Angle's theme hits the speakers to kick off RAW, and the crowd rises to its feet, and out comes the new World Champion. Red, white, and blue balloons and confetti fall from the ceiling as he hits the ring and grabs a microphone. He's about a minute into a celebration promo when he's interrupted by the man he beat last night, Chris Jericho. Last night, Jericho had his first taste of the main event in months... and he loved it! And he knows that he's probably not the #1 contender at the moment, but until Angle gives him a rematch, he's going to make his life a living hell!

Coming off that 96% segment, we get yet another dud show. Yay! Ugh. Our opening contest pits Lance Storm against The Ministry's rookie monster Damien. Storm tries to use his speed and experience to his advantage, but Damien is just too strong, finishing him off with a Chokeslam for the win. After the match, Damien chases Storm up the ramp and lays him out with a massive clothesline.

Last week, Johnny Stamboli cost Booker T a match against his NBT teammate Chuck Palumbo, only to have Val Venis hit the ring to break things up. Tonight, the score should be settled in a tag-team match! The veterans work over Palumbo early, keeping him isolated from Stamboli. He finally manages to make the tag, and The Bull is a house of fire, pummeling Booker. Val gets the hot tag, but the tag experience of the Natural Born Thrillers is just too much as they put him away with the Kiss of Death. Afterwards, Val and Booker jump them, sending them to the floor. Well, apparently the score isn't settled.

The Ministry come to the ring next to a chorus of boos. Undertaker leads the way with his WWE Tag Team Title belt strapped around his waist, followed by his partner Big Show, Kane, and Damien. The four monsters take up most of the ring, and it's a truly imposing sight. Taker calls for the microphone. "Over the last three weeks, one man has been on a mission of acceptance. RAW is a dangerous place for a man to stand on his own, and he has wisely sought the assistance of others to make a name for himself. Lance Cade was rejected by La Resistance and the Natural Born Thrillers, and last night at Backlash, he attempted to ingratiate himself with The Ministry by attacking Rhyno during his match with my brother, Kane. Despite the fact that he wound up giving Rhyno the victory, I applaud Cade's initiative." He proceeds to call Cade out to the ring. Cade looks like he's in Heaven, that he's finally found a place he belongs. But, with one signal from Undertaker, The Ministry pounces, pummeling Cade into the mat. After a trio of chokeslams from his underlings, Undertaker hits a Tombstone and crosses his arms over his chest, leaving him resting in peace in the center of the ring. The crowd is all over The Ministry for taking their frustrations out on a relatively helpless Cade.

Rob Van Dam came up just short in his bid to win the United States Title from Sean O'Haire at Backlash last night, and he hopes to bounce back against O'Haire's Natural Born Thrillers stablemate Mark Jindrak. RVD controls a majority of the match, putting him away with his trademark flying kick off the top rope. After the match, O'Haire appears in the ring and hits the Prophecy, leaving RVD laying. Clearly this feud isn't over.

WWE Tag Team Champion Big Show is out next for a match against one-half of the former champions, Charlie Haas. These two put on a pretty disappointing match that the crowd is nonetheless pretty in to. In the end, Haas lays Show out with a big kick to the face before surprising him with the Haas of Pain! Show is right in the middle of the ring, and he just can't get to the ropes, so he... TAPS OUT! Haas pulls off a huge upset!

Backstage, Rhyno is warming up, and he cuts a brief promo about the fact that he's so close to the main event that he can taste it. He was held back by the Dangerous Alliance on SmackDown, and since he's come to RAW, he's had to deal with The Ministry. But now that it appears they have shifted their sights to Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin, he's finally, for the first time in almost a year, got a clear path to the title. And he's going to start that run tonight.

Rhyno comes out for his match against Chris Benoit, and it's a doozy. Great action from both men with a number of killer spots. The match ends with Rhyno setting up for a suplex, but Benoit catching him with an undetected low blow, then rolling him up with a small package for the cheap win. After the match, Edge hits the ring with a chair and lays his rival out.

Edge grabs the microphone and issues Benoit a challenge for a rematch at Judgment Day. A woozy, yet angry Benoit agrees to it.

In a follow-up to our earlier Haas/Show match, it's Shelton Benjamin vs. Undertaker! Decidedly average match that gets a huge crowd reaction (and a low rating because of the stupid dud show) ends with the distracted referee missing Kane accidentally clothesline his own brother, allowing Shelton to lay UT out with a Superkick for the win! After the match, the Brothers of Destruction go after Benjamin until Charlie Haas hits the ring, and the World's Greatest Tag Team chase off the Brothers of Destruction.

Our main event pits the two biggest stars on RAW - World Champion Kurt Angle and United States Champion Sean O'Haire - against each other in a one-on-one contest. Good back-and-forth match ends when Angle prepares to clamp on the Angle Lock, but is blindsided by Chris Jericho! Jericho clamps on the Walls of Jericho as the referee calls for the bell. Rob Van Dam hits the ring to chase off O'Haire, and Angle gets the advantage on Jericho, and the two stand together in the ring as their rivals run off as RAW goes off the air.

[loopydate]

APRIL 29, 2004 - SMACKDOWN!

The arena in Charlotte explodes as SmackDown! kicks off. Tonight, in front of his hometown fans, the legendary "Nature Boy" Ric Flair will officially announce his retirement. On top of that historic moment, three titles will be on the line, and the Chairman of the Board Vince McMahon is here for an announcement about the main event for Judgment Day!

The night kicks off with Flair's protege Batista hitting the ring for an Intercontinental Title defense against John Layfield, who won a battle royal last week to earn this shot. Batista controls the early going with strikes. Layfield gets in a seris of slams, but Batista is just too strong and athletic for Layfield, and one Batista Bomb later he walks away still the champion.

The Cruiserweight Division is on display next with an exciting four-way exhibition match pitting Chavo Guerrero against Paul London, Rico, and Ultimo Dragon! Tremendous action that involves mat wrestling and a ton of aerial acrobatics. The end comes with Rico and Chavo in the ring after Rico was tagged in by Dragon, and the referee trying to maintain order, missing Billy Kidman hitting the ring to hang Chavo out across the top rope. As Kidman turns around, he runs into a spinning leg lariat from Rico, who picks up the win.

"No chance! 'Cause that's what you've got..." Vince McMahon makes his way down the aisle with his usual swagger, although there's an unusual expression on his face. "Last week, at an untelevised show, my daughter the SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon severely injured her bicep and is undergoing surgery almost as we speak. As such, she's had to temporarily relinquish her status as the head of SmackDown!, a position I will be filling until she returns. That's why I'm out here tonight, to steer SmackDown! toward Judgment Day and beyond. In just over two weeks on pay-per-view, the WWE Title will be defended... in a fatal fourway match! John Cena will defend his title against his rival Matt Hardy Version 2.0, as well as arguably the two biggest stars in the industry today - The Rock and Brock Lesnar! The winner of that match will walk away WWE Champion, and the other three..." A broad smile crosses his face. "Will be entered into my latest act of brilliance. It has been three years since World Wrestling Entertainment last crowned a King of the Ring, but starting the night after Judgment Day on RAW, we will begin the 2004 King of the Ring tournament... with a twist. This year's winner will not only receive the ceremonial crown, robe, and scepter, but he will receive something much more valuable. The 2004 King of the Ring will receive a briefcase containing a contract for a shot at any title of their choosing, a contract they can cash in at an opportunity of their choosing any time until next year's King of the Ring is crowned! It's a little insurance... Money in the Bank, if you will!" As Vince walks off, Michael Cole, Tazz, and all the WWE fans are left in complete disbelief.

Our second title match is up next as the World Tag Team Champions the Dudley Boyz defend their titles against a team who has been a thorn in their sides for weeks - the Metro Connection! The Metros double-team Bubba early until D-Von can tag in. The heels eventually again regain the advantage, showing remarkable continuity for such a new team. In the end, Kanyon winds up catching Bubba Ray with a low blow that the referee misses, allowing him to roll Bubba up for the win. We have new champions! After the match, the Dudleyz chase the heels off, but Metro Connection have ended the eight-month long reign of the Dudley Boyz as World Tag Team Champions!

The rivalry pitting Los Guerreros against Billy Kidman and Tajiri has produced some incredible matches over the last several weeks, and the latest chapter is written tonight as Eddie Guerrero takes on the Japanese buzzsaw Tajiri. These two put on an absolute clinic that has the crowd on their feet almost from start to finish. For the second straight match, the referee misses a low blow, allowing Tajiri to roll up Guerrero for the cheap pinfall. After the match, the two rivals brawl all the way up the ramp and backstage.

The cameras follow them past the Gorilla position, and as they fight their way toward Catering, an army of officials and referees separate them. An incensed Eddie challenges Tajiri to a rematch at Judgment Day, a match the Buzzsaw accepts!

Two of the biggest acquisitions made by SmackDown! during March's Draft were additions to the Cruiserweight Division in the form of Hurricane and Christian. Tonight, these two stars on the rise go head-to-head! For the second straight match, aerial offense and technical expertise bring the house down, but this one has a clean ending, with Christian catching Hurricane with the Unprettier for the win.

The Cruiserweight Title is on the line tonight in our final title match as Rey Mysterio faces former champion Billy Kidman. These two put on the match of the night and one of the best of the year. The former tag-team partners know each other's every move, and it shows as reversals abound. Kidman looked to have the title won after a superkick, but his Shooting Star Press catches Rey's knees, allowing Rey to hit the West Coast Pop for the victory.

"Thus Spoke Zarathustra" hits the speakers, and the crowd comes absolutely unglued as the greatest wrestler in the history of the industry, the Nature Boy Ric Flair comes to the ring. It takes several minutes for the crowd to quiet down long enough for him to begin his farewell address. He can't even speak, because he's so overcome with emotion. Fortunately, the production crew quickly gets a video montage of Flair's greatest moments on the TitanTron. This just chokes up Flair even more, and the crowd is loving this moment. Just as Flair is about to speak, Batista hits the ring and takes the microphone. "Ric, I think I speak for everyone in this arena when I say 'Thank you.' Thank you for showing two generations of wrestling fans how this business is supposed to be. And thank you for all your guidance. I wouldn't be in the position I'm in now if it weren't for you leading me down the road to success, showing me how to style and profile like you. So that's why..." Inexplicably, Batista kicks Flair in the midsection and nails him with a brutal Batista Bomb! What the hell, Tazz?!?!?!? He grabs the mic again. "That's why I have to put you out of your misery! You showed me that this business is about more than just coming out here and collecting a paycheck. It's about seeing opportunity and taking it! And with you still floating around here and soaking up these people's adoration, all it does is close doors for the rest of us who are trying to be you. If you come out here and walk off with your head high, who benefits from that except you? Ric, you taught me what it meant to be the Nature Boy, and from here on out, you'd better believe that Dave Batista... WOOOOOOOOO!" He breaks into an awkward version of Flair's strut, then clamps on the Figure-Four Leglock! Flair is in absolute agony. Batista continues the pressure until officials, security, and a handful of workers from the back come out to pry Batista off of Flair. Flair is an absolute wreck, and Batista is a wild man.

When we come back from break, they've finally cleared the ring for the first half of our double main event. It's two of the participants in Judgment Day's main event - The Rock vs. Matt Hardy! Hardy goes after the People's Champion early with martial arts kicks and high flying, but The Rock's power gives him ontrol that he maintains through most of the match. Matt manages to fight back with more aerial offense, but The Rock manages to put him away with the Rock Bottom for the win.

And now for the main event, it's a rematch from WrestleMania XX pitting WWE Champion John Cena against the man he beat for that title, Brock Lesnar! These two put on a match that is very near the equal of their Mania epic, but it ends the same, with Cena picking up the duke with the F-U!

[loopydate]

World Wrestling Entertainment has come to terms for the release of SmackDown! superstars Scotty 2 Hotty and Shannon Moore. We wish both men the best in their future endeavors.

[loopydate]

APRIL 2004 RECAP


RAW

(Overall Won-Loss) Main Event (Apr. W-L, Overness) (Matches)
(27-16) Sean O'Haire (2-3, 91) (W Rhyno, L 8-man tag, L 10-man tag, W RVD, L Angle)
(23-20) Kurt Angle (3-2, 94) (L w/Edge vs HBK/Benoit, L 6-man tag, W 10-man tag, W Y2J, W O'Haire)

(Overall Won-Loss) Upper Midcard (Apr. W-L, Overness) (Matches)
(5-2) Mickie James (1-1, 87) (W Molly, L Trish)
(23-9-1) Rhyno (3-2, 85) (L O'Haire, W 8-man tag, W Y2J, W Kane, L Benoit)
(23-18-1) Big Show (2-2, 63) (W 6-man tag, L 10-man tag, W w/UT vs WGTT, L Haas)
(18-21-1) Undertaker (2-2, 68) (W 6-man tag, L 10-man tag, W w/Show vs WGTT, L Shelton)
(15-18) Charlie Haas (3-2, 76) (W w/Shelton vs La Res, L 6-man tag, W 10-man tag, L w/Shelton vs UT/Show, W Show)
(17-21-3) Chris Benoit (4-1, 85) (W w/HBK vs Angle/Edge, W 6-man tag, L 10-man tag, W Edge, W Rhyno)
(16-24-1) Chris Jericho (2-2, 87) (W Val, W Train, L Rhyno, L Angle)

(Overall Won-Loss) Midcard (Apr. W-L, Overness) (Matches)
(3-0) Damien (3-0, 78) (W Train, W Kish, W Storm)
(10-5) Victoria (1-0, 72) (W Jazz)
(25-15) Rob Van Dam (4-1, 73) (W Regal, W 8-man tag, W 10-man tag, L O'Haire, W Jindrak)
(10-6-1) Trish Stratus (1-0, 78) (W Mickie)
(8-6) Jazz (0-1, 73) (L Victoria)
(17-18) Shelton Benjamin (3-2, 79) (W w/Haas vs La Res, L 6-man tag, W 10-man tag, L w/Haas vs UT/Show, W UT)
(17-20) Edge (1-3, 75) (L w/Angle vs HBK/Benoit, L HBK, W 10-man tag, L Benoit)
(16-19-1) Kane (1-1, 44) (W Kish, L Rhyno)
(10-14) Lance Storm (2-1, 64) (W 8-man tag, W w/Dreamer vs Cade/Jindrak, L Damien)
(11-16) Chuck Palumbo (3-1, 69) (W Dreamer, L 8-man tag, W Booker, W w/Stamboli vs Booker/Val)
(9-15) A-Train (0-3, 77) (L Damien, L Y2J, L Regal)
(11-19) Tommy Dreamer (2-1, 72) (L Palumbo, W 8-man tag, W w/Storm vs Cade/Jindrak)
(4-8-1) Gail Kim (0-0, 69) (N/A)
(7-14) Johnny Stamboli (1-1, 66) (L 8-man tag, W w/Palumbo vs Booker/Val)
(7-15) Sylvan Grenier (1-1, 71) (L w/Dupree vs WGTT, W 3-way tag)
(10-23) William Regal (2-1, 70) (L RVD, W Val, W Train)
(3-7) Molly Holly (0-2, 74) (L Mickie, L Lita)
(7-17) Val Venis (0-3, 75) (L Y2J, L Regal, L w/Booker vs NBT)
(7-18) Rene Dupree (1-1, 72) (L w/Grenier vs WGTT, W 3-way tag)
(3-9) Lita (1-0, 77) (W Molly)
(3-13) Rikishi (1-2, 69) (W Conway, L Kane, L Damien)
(2-18) Rob Conway (0-2, 69) (L Kish, L 3-way tag)

(Overall Won-Loss) Lower Midcard (Apr. W-L, Overness) (Matches)
(7-6) Mark Jindrak (0-3, 60) (L 8-man tag, L w/Cade vs Storm/Dreamer, L RVD)
(13-19-2) Booker T (0-3, 60) (L 3-way tag, L Palumbo, L w/Val vs NBT)
(0-2) Luther Reigns (0-1, 43) (L 3-way tag)

(Overall Won-Loss) Openers (Mar. W-L, Overness) (Matches)
(1-2) Lance Cade (0-2, 59) (L 3-way tag, L w/Jindrak vs Dreamer/Storm)

Holding Out
(25-15) Shawn Michaels (2-1) (W w/Benoit vs Angle/Edge, W Edge, L 10-man tag)

Non-Wrestlers (Overness)
Eric Bischoff (95)
Steve Austin (92)
Shane McMahon (89)
Al Snow (75)

Managers
Terri Runnels (70) (None)
Torrie Wilson (70) (None)
Nidia (62) (Jamie Noble)

RAW Title Changes
World Heavyweight - Title Vacated (4/19), Kurt Angle over Chris Jericho (4/25)
WWE Tag Team - Undertaker and Show beat World's Greatest Tag Team (4/25)
Women's - Trish Stratus beat Victoria (3/8)
United States - None (Sean O'Haire has been champ since 2/29)

RAW Feuds
Kurt Angle vs. Chris Jericho (90 Heat)
Edge vs. Chris Benoit (82 Heat)
Rob Van Dam vs. Sean O'Haire (78 Heat)
World's Greatest Tag Team vs. Undertaker and Show (77 Heat)

[loopydate]

APRIL 2004 RECAP

SmackDown!

(Overall Won-Loss) Main Event (Apr. W-L, Overness) (Matches)
(29-13) Brock Lesnar (3-2, 98) (W w/Matt vs Rock/Cena, W Rico, L 6-man tag, W Rock, L Cena)
(27-14) John Cena (4-1, 100) (L w/Rock vs Lesnar/Hardy, W Kidman, W 6-man tag, W Matt, W Lesnar)
(25-13) The Rock (3-3, 100) (L w/Cena vs Lesnar/Hardy, L Matt, W Layfield, W 6-man tag, L Lesnar, W Matt)

(Overall Won-Loss) Upper Midcard (Apr. W-L, Overness) (Matches)
(22-15) Matt Hardy (3-3, 86) (W w/Lesnar vs Rock/Cena, W Rock, W Chavo, L 6-man tag, L Cena, L Rock)
(16-15-2) Billy Kidman (1-4, 83) (L Rico, W London, L Cena, L w/Tajiri vs Guerreros, L Rey)
(20-19) Christian (3-3, 86) (L 6-man tag, W Chavo, W Eddie, L 6-man tag, L Rey, W Hurricane)
(13-14) Rico (2-3, 83) (W Kidman, L Tajiri, L Lesnar, L Batista, W 4-way)
(17-22-1) Eddie Guerrero (2-3, 83) (W Tajiri, L Rey, L Xian, W w/Chavo vs Tajiri/Kidman, L Tajiri)
(15-21) Hurricane (0-5, 82) (L 8-man tag, L Batista, L Batista, L battle royal, L Xian)
(15-22-1) Chavo Guerrero (1-5, 74) (L Rey, L Christian, L Matt, L Tajiri, W w/Eddie vs Tajiri/Kidman, L battle royal)
(12-19-1) Tajiri (3-3, 82) (L Eddie, W Rico, L Rey, W Chavo, L w/Kidman vs Guerreros, W Eddie)

(Overall Won-Loss) Midcard (Apr. W-L, Overness) (Matches)
(24-12) D-Von Dudley (2-3, 77) (W 6-man tag, W w/Bubba vs Metro, L Kanyon, L Gunn, L w/Bubba vs Metro)
(22-14) Bubba Ray Dudley (2-3, 75) (W 6-man tag, W w/D-Von vs Metro, L Gunn, L Kanyon, L w/D-Von vs Metro)
(23-16) Batista (5-0, 80) (W 8-man tag, W Hurricane, W Hurricane, W Rico, W Layfield)
(15-12) John Layfield (2-2, 74) (W 8-man tag, L Rock, W battle royal, L Batista)
(7-9) Billy Gunn (4-1, 70) (W 3-way tag, L w/Kanyon vs Dudleyz, W Bubba, W D-Von, W w/Kanyon vs Dudleyz)
(7-9) Chris Kanyon (4-1, 69) (W 3-way tag, L w/Gunn vs Dudleyz, W D-Von, W Bubba, W w/Gunn vs Dudleyz)
(8-13) Nova (1-1, 70) (W Nunzio, L battle royal)
(9-17) Test (1-1, 70) (W 8-man tag, L battle royal)
(4-10) Jamie Noble (0-2, 65) (L 3-way tag, L battle royal)
(6-16) Spike Dudley (1-1, 65) (W 6-man tag, L battle royal)
(5-15) Nunzio (0-2, 68) (L Nova, L battle royal)
(4-13-1) Ultimo Dragon (0-3, 80) (L 8-man tag, L battle royal, L 4-way)
(4-13) Carlito (0-2, 72) (L 6-man tag, L battle royal)
(3-11-1) Paul London (0-4, 82) (L 8-man tag, L Kidman, L battle royal, L 4-way)
(3-13) Boss Man (1-1, 47) (W 8-man tag, L battle royal)
(2-17) Doug Basham (0-2, 44) (L 3-way tag, L battle royal)
(2-17) Danny Basham (0-2, 43) (L 3-way tag, L battle royal)
(1-11) Chris Nowinski (0-2, 66) (L 6-man tag, L battle royal)

(Overall Won-Loss) Lower Midcard (Mar. W-L, Overness) (Matches)
(10-10) Matt Morgan (0-2, 61) (L w/Funaki vs Akio/Henry, L battle royal)
(4-9-1) Akio (1-1, 65) (W w/Henry vs Morgan/Funaki, L battle royal)
(2-9) Mark Henry (1-1, 55) (W w/Akio vs Morgan/Funaki, L battle royal)
(0-3) Funaki (0-2, 64) (L w/Morgan vs Akio/Henry, L battle royal)

Future Endeavors
(3-15) Shannon Moore (0-2) (L 3-way tag, L battle royal)
(0-12) Scotty 2 Hotty (0-2) (L 8-man tag, L battle royal)

Non-Wrestlers (Overness)
Vince McMahon (92)
Tazz (72)
Sable (70)

Managers (Overness) (Clientele)
Paul Heyman (90) (Billy Kidman and Brock Lesnar)
Theodore Long (66) (Chris Nowinski and Mark Henry)

SmackDown! Title Changes
Intercontinental - Batista beat Hurricane (4/8)
Cruiserweight - Rey Mysterio beat Christian in a tournament final (4/25)
World Tag Team - Metro Connection beat Dudley Boyz (4/29)
WWE World - None (John Cena has been champ since 3/14)

SmackDown! Feuds
The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar (97 Heat)
Rey Mysterio vs. Christian (92 Heat)
Los Guerreros vs. Billy Kidman & Tajiri (88 Heat)
John Cena vs. Matt Hardy (87 Heat)

[loopydate]

MAY 3, 2004 - MONDAY NIGHT RAW

May of 2004 kicks off with... yet another dud show from the fine people at RAW. Dammit. In just under two weeks, WWE returns to pay-per-view with Judgment Day, and after the blockbuster announcement by Vince McMahon, we know that we are just two weeks away from the start of King of the Ring!

One of the favorites in that tournament has to be the red-hot Rhyno, and tonight he takes on La Resistance's Rene Dupree. Rhyno dominates almost from the opening bell, picking up the dominant win with the GOOOOOOORE!

The WWE fans are in for a treat next as Terri Runnels makes her return to RAW. The blonde bombshell is looking especially... sort of funny-looking, actually. Never really thought she was that hot. Anyway, she's there to announce her newest clients, a tag team that's looking to put aside their recent individual struggles in a quest to become WWE Tag Team Champions. Ladies and gentlemen, The Playboys - Val Venis and Lance Cade!

The Playboys get their first action next in a six-man match, teaming with the equally down-on-his-luck Booker T to take on Natural Born Thrillers Chuck Palumbo, Johnny Stamboli, and Mark Jindrak. The babyfaces get off to a hot start, isolating Johnny The Bull with quick tags and lots of high-impact offense. Once Chuck Palumbo comes in, though, momentum quickly shifts to the NBT side of the ring. Palumbo pummels Cade, then he and Jindrak double-team him a bit. We get a double-hot-tag spot with Stamboli and Booker hitting the ring at the same time, and Stamboli picks up the win for NBT with his Mamaluke DDT.

Last week, Chris Benoit picked up a win over Rhyno, only to get blindsided by Edge after the match. We now know that they will face off once more at Judgment Day. Benoit has a tune-up match tonight against the massive A-Train. Train uses his power early, but Benoit, with the use of evasive maneuvers, takes control and throws Train around the ring with myriad suplexes. Benoit hits Train with an incredible Emerald Fusion, and Train never stood a chance as he taps out to the Crippler Crossface. After the match, Edge once again hits the ring and lays Benoit out with the Edgecutioner! These two aren't waiting until Judgment Day!

Sean O'Haire is backstage, and he's there to issue a challenge. He thought he had put Rob Van Dam behind him. He issued one final statement last week on RAW, but then RVD had to go and stick his nose in O'Haire's business again after the main event. This is going to end, and it's not going to end with tonight's tag-team main event. O'Haire wants RVD at Judgment Day, and he's willing to put the United States Title on the line again to do it!

The Women's Division is on display next in eight-Diva tag-team action. Trish Stratus leads her team of Lita, Victoria, and her best friend Mickie James against Gail Kim, Jazz, Molly Holly, and the returning Shaniqua! Ugh. This dud show is pissing me off. Anyway, Mickie picks up the win with a tornado DDT on Shaniqua.

Edge clearly has Chris Benoit on his mind tonight, but he has to focus his energies next as he takes on The Ministry's undefeated rookie monster Damien! Edge looks to be on the verge of handing Damien his first loss, but during a bit of confusion, Chris Benoit nails Edge with a chair, allowing Damien to snatch him up and hit a Chokeslam for the win! After the match, Benoit ties Edge up in the ropes. The referee tries to hold him back, but it's too late, as Benoit pulls off his version of the Chairshot Heard 'Round The World, leaving an unconscious Edge slumped in the ropes. Benoit has completely snapped, and finally the officials and agents manage to get him out of the ring.

Last week, the World's Greatest Tag Team got into it once again with their rivals, the WWE Tag Team Champions Big Show and Undertaker. Tonight, they take on Undertaker and his half-brother Kane. If they can beat the re-united Brothers Of Destruction, they earn a title match against Show and Taker at Judgment Day! This match turns out to be not much more than a set-up. WGTT control most of the match, but they leave themselves open for Big Show to hit Shelton Benjamin with a chair, costing the Brothers the match. They clearly just wanted to soften up their rivals before Judgment Day!

Eric Bischoff appears on the TitanTron and makes the match official. It's Undertaker and Show defending the WWE Tag Team Titles against the team they defeated at Backlash, the World's Greatest Tag Team!

Time now for our main event, as the World Champion Kurt Angle teams with Rob Van Dam against Angle's new rival Chris Jericho and the United States Champion Sean O'Haire! Good match that the crowd is into, even though Angle isn't really into it, and it's a dud show. Even still, it gets a decent rating. In the end, Jericho rolls up Angle with a handful of tights for the cheap win. He's pinned the World Champion! After the match, Angle and RVD take their rivals down.

Angle grabs the microphone and issues a challenge to Jericho. Jericho's right. He's not supposed to be the #1 contender, but if he's going to keep being a pain in Angle's ass, Angle's going to return the favor by being a pain in Jericho's... freakin' ankle! Oh, it's true! It's damn true!

[Evil Vito]

Damn, I can't believe you are having so many dud shows. I had two in a row but never anything that bad. Is the market down or something?

[loopydate]

Yeah, the market's down, and for whatever reason, morale is way low on RAW. I haven't had a problem with anyone on SD having low morale, but I've got four guys on RAW with 30% or lower morale. I wonder if it's because Spike doesn't get the ratings UPN does?

[loopydate]

MAY 6, 2004 - SMACKDOWN!

SmackDown! kicks off with a pair of WWE debuts! Newcomer Johnny Jeter plays the cocky heel against Aaron "The Idol" Stevens' teen idol babyface gimmick. And these two make a name for themselves quickly, tearing up their debut match. Stevens picks up the win with the Downer, but after the match, Jeter attacks him and gains a measure of revenge. These two are SmackDown! stars in the making!

Paul Heyman leads Brock Lesnar and Billy Kidman, the only remaining members of his Dangerous Alliance, to the ring. He cuts a promo about the struggles his team has had since the draft, about how losing Big Show to RAW seems to have sucked some of the life out of them. So he decided that it's time once again to expand the Alliance. But instead of adding another big body to the fold, he's going the other way. Lately, Billy Kidman has had his greatest success in tag team matches, and so Paul Heyman is proud to introduce the newest member of the Alliance, Kidman's tag team partner... the Japanese buzzsaw Tajiri!

Tajiri makes his debut as a member of the Alliance next against Rico. These two top-tier cruiserweights put on a good match with lots of aerial offense and martial arts wizardry. In the end, though, Tajiri resorts to cheating and lays out Rico with brass knuckles. Unfortunately for the buzzsaw, the official sees it and disqualifies him.

Once Rico regains his bearings, he asks for a microphone. He cuts a promo about the despicable acts perpetrated by Dave Batista last week, when he viciously assaulted the biggest icon in the industry, Ric Flair, ruining his retirement announcement. Rico and Bats have had their issues in the past, and their WrestleMania match should have put all that behind them, but Rico wants one last shot at Batista, and he wants it at Judgment Day! "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" hits the speakers, and the crowd erupts! Their cheers turn quickly to boos as - instead of Flair - they get "Nature Boy" Dave Batista, strutting out onto the ramp wearing very Flair-like attire. He accepts the challenge, and lets out a triumphant WOOOOOOO!

It's champion versus champion next as Batista takes on the Cruiserweight Champion Rey Mysterio! This match pretty much goes as you'd expect it, Batista using power, Rey going aerial. In the end, Rey's rival Christian hits the ring with a chair and takes advantage of a distracted referee to hit Rey, allowing Batista to hit the Batista Bomb and pick up the win. After the match, Christian lands two more chair shots, then hits Rey with a drop toehold across the chair. Rey is bloodied, and Christian is standing tall!

As Christian walks away, Rey manages to drag himself to ringside and grab the microphone. He issues a challenge to Christian for Judgment Day, and Captain Charisma happily accepts. It looks like the Cruiserweight Title is within his grasp!

Last week, Metro Connection pulled off a tremendous upset when they defeated the Dudley Boyz for the World Tag Team Titles. Tonight, they defend those belts for the very first time against Los Guerreros! The champions isolate Chavo for most of the early-going until Chavo manages to pull out a Steamboat-style cross body. Unfortunately, the size advantage of the Connection is just too much, as they quickly take down Eddie after a hot tag. After Chavo tags back in, he gets blindsided by Billy Kidman, wielding a chair! Gunn takes advantage with the Fame-Ass-Er for the win and the successful title defense.

The Rock is backstage, and he's got a big match against the WWE Champion John Cena tonight, but he's there to hype up his feud with Brock Lesnar. At Judgment Day, it may be a fatal fourway for the title, but Rock only has eyes for Lesnar, and he's going to show Lesnar that all the embarassments he's suffered over the last couple of months will be nothing against what he does to Lesnar at Judgment Day!

Those words must be ringing in Lesnar's ears as he heads to the ring for a tune-up match against Matt Hardy Version 2.0. Two of the three #1 contenders for the WWE Title go at it in a competitive match that again shows that Matt Hardy is so very close to the main event. In the end, though, Lesnar's power is just too much for the rebooted Hardy, and he picks up the win with the F5.

WWE Champion John Cena heads to the ring for the main event, but first he has some things he wants to say to Matt Hardy. If Hardy wants to keep pretending that he's ready to fight for the WWE Title, he's going to need to do better than he did against Lesnar. Plus, next week, when Cena and Hardy go one-on-one in their final tune-up for Judgment Day, Cena's going to again walk out with the win.

As mentioned before, tonight's main event pits WWE Champion Cena against The Rock! The crowd absolutely eats this match up! Unfortunately, they're cheated out of a clean finish as Matt Hardy hits Cena from behind with a chair allowing Rock to pick up the win with the Rock Bottom. After the match, Rock shows something of a lack of appreciation, as he lays out Hardy with the Rock Bottom as well! The Rock stands tall as SmackDown! goes off the air.

The Judgment Day card is coming together! Cena versus Rock versus Lesnar versus Hardy for the WWE Title, Batista versus Rico for the Intercontinental Title, Rey Mysterio versus Christian for the Cruiserweight Title, and Eddie Guerrero versus Tajiri! Next week, it's the last show before Judgment Day, and we know that it's going to be Cena versus Hardy and Rock versus Lesnar, plus everyone else (including the damaged Cruiserweight Title Rey Mysterio) will see their last action before Judgment Day!

[loopydate]

MAY 10, 2004 - MONDAY NIGHT RAW

Okay, so something fucked up on my laptop and I lost the first several segments worth of stuff I'd written up. Molly beat Lita with the Molly Go Round.

Kane beat Lance Storm with a Chokeslam.

Trish and Mickie had a random backstage hanging out thing to boost ratings with T&A.

Up next is a match between The Ministry's undefeated rookie monster Damien and a man who was once known in ECW as the... undefeated... rookie monster, Rhyno. These two tear the house down and the crowd eats it up. They are absolutely on the verge of superstardom. Damien continues his winning streak with his trademark DDT, but after the match, Rhyno gets revenge and sends him to the floor.

And my stupid laptop fucked up again. Chris Benoit beat Charlie Haas thanks to help from Big Show. After the match, Edge hits the ring to even the odds.

It's unclear what the next segment is until... GLASS SHATTERS! HOLY SHIT! STONE COLD! STONE COLD! STONE COLD! BAH GAWD, MAH CHAIR'S STICKY, KING! Austin comes out to address his hometown faithful. It sounds like he's about to become a more permanent addition to the RAW roster. Which means at least one segment a week that TPWW.net poster loopydate gets to see what's happening on other channels.

Up next is a hell of a disappointing match between Rob Van Dam and Big Show. Sean O'Haire accidentally takes Show out, allowing RVD to hit the Five-Star Frogsplash for the win. After the match, Shelton Benjamin hits the ring to make the save.

Fortunately, the match that occurs right after, pitting Benjamin against O'Haire, is amazing. Tons of back-and-forth action, with both guys pulling out all the stops. The night o' interference continues, as Undertaker hits the ring to hang Shelton out across the top rope. RVD makes the save, and the feuds continue. It's almost like I'm trying to wrap all this stuff up over the next few shows to build to new feuds or something.

"I'm ba-ack!" Eric Bischoff hits the ring. He asks for a microphone. "For the better part of a decade, Vince McMahon and I went head-to-head. He was leading this very company, while I was running World Championship Wrestling. Three years ago, Vince put me under. Then he brought me in, and he thought he'd won the war. But when Vince announced that he was taking over as acting General Manager of SmackDown! last week, he unwittingly restarted the war! Vince, you may have my old secret weapon - the cruiserweight division - dominating your shows, but I've learned some things since we last tangled, Vince. And you'd better believe that it's not going to be long before RAW runs SmackDown! into the ground in the ratings, and you'll have no choice but to step down as the head of World Wrestling Entertainment and give me the victory I so rightly deserve! And when it's all said and done, I'm slapping a giant WCW logo on the front of Titan Towers!"

Number-one contender for the World Title Chris Jericho takes on Edge in our next contest. You can pretty much imagine what happens at the end of this one (if you've been paying attention through the rest of the show), as Chris Benoit hits Edge with a chair, allowing Jericho to pick up the win. After the match, Kurt Angle makes the save and drives off Jericho.

And, thanks to Undertaker's crappy work ethic and Kurt Angle's not giving a damn, their main event match is a dud. Angle wins it by DQ after Chris Jericho interferes, and Charlie Haas makes the save. Ugh.

[loopydate]

Boss Man has announced that he's an alcoholic and has been sent to rehab.

[Evil Vito]

Seems like so many of your main eventers stop caring. I've had that problem.

One way to get around it is to make all your main eventers/upper midcards managers...this way they won't care if they don't make an appearance on every single show.

[loopydate]

For whatever reason, it's only happening on RAW, though. I asked Sophie what the show needs, and she suggested a new color commentator. So, starting with Judgment Day and every Monday night thereafter, JR will be joined by... James E. Cornette!

[Impeccable]

Originally Posted by loopydate For whatever reason, it's only happening on RAW, though. I asked Sophie what the show needs, and she suggested a new color commentator. So, starting with Judgment Day and every Monday night thereafter, JR will be joined by... James E. Cornette!

Amazing!