Kam
16-08-2003, 06:43 PM
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Talk Wrestling Online Newsletter - Issue 6 - Mar 30th 2003
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Hey,
Seems to be one problem after the other with this newsletter, doesn't it. But with every cloud, there's a silver lining, and for the newsletter, this is it. A bumper Wrestlemania edition, full of news and views, not only on Wrestlemania but on wrestling in general. So what better way to prepare for the greatest spectacle of them all than to sit back with a can of Pepsi, and read the wonders of the TWO newsletter.
Don’t forget the WrestleMania Quiz and Chat tonight, should be good fun!
http://www.talkwrestlingonline.com/Chatrooms/chatrooms.shtml
- Mitchell Jones
TWO Newsletter Editor
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TWO Site News - By Mitchell Jones
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- Wrestlemania X9 Quiz and Chat
As is our monthly tradition here at Talk Wrestling Online, we will be holding our monthly PPV Quiz and Chat night. And this month is the Granddaddy of them all... Wrestlemania XIX. So in anticipation for the big event, with such matches as Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar and Triple H vs Booker T looming, why not head over to the TWO chatroom tonight at 8pm to enter our highly popular quiz. Then from 9pm until 2am, why not stay along for a good ol' chat about the PPV with all the TWO regulars? The more, the merrier. Let's head into Wrestlemania XIX in style.
Wrestlemania XIX Quiz and Chat
Sunday, March 30th
Quiz: 8pm - 9pm
Chat: 9pm - 2am
- Fantasy Wrestling League (FWL) Returns
All you have to do is pick 5 WWE wrestlers within your budget of $3000, the better your wrestlers perform the more points you receive. Once the period is over, whoever has the most points gets to win a prize from the prizes section. For more information see the *NEW* FWL page. Make sure you send your entries are in before the deadline (April 6th). Its open to UK/USA residents
*It based on real results from Raw/Smackdown and PPV’s
http://www.talkwrestlingonline.com/FWL/fwl.shtml
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US News - Cactus Jack
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(News from various sites around the web)
The cage match between Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar on Smackdown a couple of weeks ago was actually heavily edited from the version that occurred live in the arena. At one point, Kurt Angle was due to enter the cage through the door, but the door to the cage was locked by mistake. There was an awkward point in the match with some stalling until Angle decided to simply climb the cage to enter over the top. To fans live, the sequence seemed slow and disjointed, but due to the magic of editing, the TV version went smoothly. Incidentally, Kurt Angle risked more serious injury by climbing the cage, as he only had about 50% strength in one of his arms due to his neck injury
Before the decision was made to go with Kurt Angle/Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania, the original plan was to have Brock win the title on Smackdown and then defend the title against Chris Benoit at the PPV. There was debate as to whether Benoit would be kept consistent and do a face vs. face match with Lesnar, or turned heel. The plan for the heel turn would have been to have Benoit behind attacks of both Edge and Kurt Angle, and have Team Angle turn and become Team Benoit. This would give Benoit a bunch of heel momentum for the match at Wrestlemania, and create natural rivalries for the returns of Edge and Angle in a year. Creative was leaning towards a face vs. face showdown, but the final decision never had to be made.
More details have come in regarding the backstage fight between Ric Flair and Eric Bischoff a week or so ago at RAW. The whole thing started today when Eric Bischoff was on the phone in his office. Ric Flair apparently came in and started blasting Bischoff for incidents dating back to their days together in WCW. The two had heat dating back to WCW because many thought Bischoff never showed Flair the respect he deserved. The two men then got in a face-off and went as far as throwing punches before being pulled apart. The fight was not serious enough to cause any injuries. Later on, Bischoff went to Flair in the catering area and asked to talk with him about their altercation. This resulted in another heated discussion, which had to be broken up by Arn Anderson. Anderson then got into a verbal war with Bischoff and Triple H eventually came and calmed the entire situation down. Bischoff, Flair, and Anderson were all set to meet with Vince McMahon to talk about the incident.
The WWE hierarchy are said to be upset with the WWE's involvement in the recent Girls Gone Wild PPV. Jonathan Coachman is the main target as the feeling is he destroyed whatever credibility he may have had with his showing on the disappointing show. Fans were upset by the hyping of Torrie & Nidia taking part in a stripping contest, which turned out to be just part of an angle, with Nidia attacking Torrie before any stripping occurred.
Due to the recent injuries as of late within WWE, they are starting to ask their superstars to tone down their in-ring styles and work a slower match. WWE wants matches to have more submission and mat-based moves instead of superstars taking big bumps.
Many were shocked to hear Booker T admit to being an ex-convict, when he's supposed to be a face going into WrestleMania. Unlike Nathan Jones, the armed robbery charges really had no part in his gimmick, so hearing Booker T make such an announcement was surprising, to say the least.
Rumors in the back insist that WWE had Booker T make the announcement as a way for Booker T to possibly win the title from HHH at WrestleMania. Although no winner is confirmed as of this writing, many feel that WWE would receive unfavorable media attention if news sources began to report on the angle that WWE put their title on an ex-convict. Thus, having Booker T announce it "on his own terms" makes such a win for Booker possible and prevents bad press.
Last week’s Raw rating is terrible for WWE as they head on towards WrestleMania XIX. Raw scored a 3.8 cable rating, with a 5.8 share, according to Nielsen Media Research. That is down from the previous 4.0 and lower form the 4.5 three weeks ago. The first hour of the show did a 3.5 and the second did a 4.0. It's likely that WWE lost viewers because of the coverage of the US‘s coverage of the impending war with Iraq. If that was the case, this isn't a good approach for WWE leading into their biggest show of the year.
As many of you know The Rock will be leaving WWE once again to film yet another movie. The movie, which is a remake of the "Walking Tall" will start filming on June 2nd from Vancouver.
For the week ending March 16th, WWE SmackDown! was once again UPN's top rated show
WWE announced that their June pay-per view for this year will be called "Bad Blood". Of course, every year before their June pay-per view was "King of the Ring", but due to the brand extension, things change this year. As widely documented the past few months, WWE will be holding split roster pay-per view. The first is expected to be the June "Bad Blood" pay-per view which is tentatively scheduled to be a RAW pay-per view show. After that, each brand will have 4 pay-per views per year, with both sides coming together to hold joint pay-per views at WrestleMania, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, and SummerSlam.
Bill Goldberg has officially signed with the WWE. The deal has said to have been complete for around two weeks now. The current plan is for Goldberg to debut on the RAW right after Wrestlemania, to start a feud with The Rock.
While speaking to various radio stations, Stone Cold said the reason he walked out on WWE was because he was the one selling out the arenas, selling all the merchandise, and thought he deserved to be treated first class. He said they treated him like he was nothing more than a normal superstar. He said that 'Budweiser' got a little upset over WWE using the term "Steveweisers." He finished the interview by saying this very well could be the last time you ever see The Rock and Steve Austin headlining a WrestleMania.
Kevin Kelly was cut from the WWE work team in an effort to cut costs for the company.
It's mentioned in last week's Observer that during a NOAH tour in January, Vader was apparently a victim to a multiple stabbing attack. Rumour has it he was attacked by the Yakuza. He was stabbed in his legs, arms and stomach, but survived the attack. NOAH claimed he withdrew from the tour due to a knee injury, but that's obviously not the case. Misawa has close ties with the Yakuza, but I'm pretty sure that there's no involvement on his part. It's still a fascinating story, and I wonder what Vader must've done to be attacked like this.
According to some, there's a possibility of Kevin Nash making his return at WrestleMania XIX as Eric Bischoff's bodyguard. It's been widely documented that Nash won't be able to work a match by March 30th, but still wants to be involved in the show. This seems to be one of a few ideas creative has come up with to involve "Big Sexy". Another rumor going around strongly is that Nash is to return as "Diesel" and team with Shawn Michaels, or join a new version of the New World Order.
Rumor has it that Vince McMahon has met up with Lex Luger and is very interested in bringing him back into the WWE to reform WCW's nWo Wolfpac group. Apparently, Vince was very happy with Luger's last run in the WWE (the one where he bombed as a top line face) and in an effort to turn around the WWE's sagging fortunes, believes that Luger can help deliver the goods.
Perry Saturn and Viscera made their debuts on TNA this past week, although it is not known how long they will be kept in the company. Also, D'lo Brown and Jeff Jarrett will go one-on-one next week on PPV for the NWA championship.
Ring of Honor has a new World Champion in Samoa Joe. He defeated Xavier at a recent show, to win the title. Many have called this a bad move, and have said that the show in general was a disappointment because of the logic in most of the angles and booking.
Indy promotion Major League Wrestling, featuring such stars as Mike Awesome, La Parka, Jerry Lynn, Steve Corino and former ECW announcer Joey Styles, have reached a deal with The Sunshine Network to broadcast a show in the Florida state and elsewhere every Monday Night after RAW. Beginning April 7th, MLW will be broadcast from 11pm to 12am ET/PT.
It was revealed this past week that 'Mr Perfect' Curt Hennig died from 'acute cocaine intoxication'.
I thought in closing I’d leave some of my views, or to be more precise, “Cactus Jack’s Pile Driving Views”. I might keep this as a regular “feature” if editors allow.
-Will NWA-TNA continue to be the main hope in the form of competition for the WWE? I certainly hope so.
-Is AJ Styles better off in the Indy’s, or can he do one better than most new recruits and avoid being “lost in the shuffle”?
-Am I the only one looking forward to Goldberg’s debut?
Thats all for now. Until next week, peace.
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UK News - Pabster/Goldy
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Hey and welcome to this week's TWO UKScene Newsletter Update. Here are the results from recent shows in the UK:
All Star - 11/03/03 - Fairfield Halls, Croydon
-Broady Steele def. Nigel McGuinness.
-"American Avalanche" PN Neuz def. Flash Barker
-Slyk Wagner Brown def. "Anarchist" Doug Williams.
-Dave Swift def. Hade Vansen.
-The Continentals/The Superflys/The Canadian Chip n' Dales vs The Midlanders ended in a No Contest
NWA UK - 15/03/03 - Stour Centre, Ashford, Kent.
-Quarter Final
Technico def. Jon Ryan
-Quarter Final
Luke LeGrande def. Dave McMillian
-Quarter Final
Psyscho Steve def. Hugh Mungus by DQ.
-Quarter Final
Tony McMillian def. Mike Mendosa.
-Semi Final
Tony McMillian def. Technico to progress to the final.
-Semi Final
Psycho Steve was injured so Luke LeGrande earned a bye to the final of the tournament.
-Final
Tony McMillian def. Luke LeGrande
-Tank was victorious in the 30 man Rumble.
Premier - 15/03/03 - Grange Centre, Midhurst
-Lord Mountevans Gold Belt Championship
Brian Maxine def. Johnny Kidd by TWO falls to ONE.
-Jace the Ace & Lee Darren def. The Masked Emperor & Baxter Burridge by TWO falls to ONE.
-Stace Smith def. Phil Lea by TWO falls to ONE.
-Johnny Kidd was declared the winner of the Battle Royal.
BRAWL - 15/03/03 - Northampton
-MTX def. The Judge.
-Cruiserweight Championship Match
The Face def. Lou Zerr, El Mistique, Rob Hunter, Spud & Jonny Pesci.
-Tag Team Championships Match
Blood & Pyro def. Static & Greebok.
-Havoc def. Chris Peacock.
-Jake "The Snake" Roberts def. Major Destruction.
-BRAWL Heavyweight Championship
Scottie Daniels def. Spatch
FWA Crunch - 16/03/03 - Broxbourne Civic Hall
-James Tighe def. Hade Vansen.
-JX def. Zebra Kid.
-FWA Tag Team Championship Match
Travell and Parker def. Herman and Shane to become new champions.
-Simmons def. Raj Gosh.
-Doug Williams def. James Tighe.
-XPW European Championship Match.
-Jonny Storm def. Jerry Lynn to become the first XPW European Champion.
(The FWA put on yet another good show and Jonny Storm turned heel seconds after winning the XPW European Title! It was a great week for Jonny after his debuting for NWA TNA and now winning the European Title. The guy deserves it.)
Premier wrestling - 23/03/03 - Victoria Centre Crewe
-Phil Powers & Jonathon Allen defeated Baxter Burridge and The Masked Emporer.
-Mike Weaver defeated Keith Myatt.
-Robbie Brookside defeated Flash Barker by DQ (good to see Barker back in action)
-Robbie Brookside won the battle royal.
TWA Wrestling - 23/03/03 - St Georges Hall, Exeter
-James Tighe defeated Tagouri.
-Phil Lea defeated Stace Smith.
-Nikita defeated Paul Travell by DQ.
-Mark Sloan defeated Raj Gosh.
-TWA British Heavyweight Championship:
Alex Shane defeated James Mason to win the vacated belt.
TWA - 24/03/03 - Southhampton
-James Tighe & Mark Sloan def. Raj Ghosh & Aviv Magam & Phil Lea
-Steve Grey def. Mal Sanders to win British middleweight title
Nikita def. Paul Travell
Jake Roberts def. Tagori
Karl Harker & Andrew Huntinghton def. Nattrass Boys
Alex Shane def. James Mason (thanks to Phil Jones)
TWA Wrestling- 24/03/03 - Southampton Guildhall, Southampton, Hampshire
-Mark Sloan & James Tighe defeated the team of Aviv Magam, Raj Gosh & Phil Lea.
-British Middleweight Championship:
Steve Grey defeated Mal Sanders to become the new champion.
-Nikita defeated Paul Travell.
-Jake "The Snake" Roberts defeated Tagouri
-The Natrass Boys defeated The Brit Pack.
-TWA British Heavyweight Championship:
Alex Shane defeated James Mason.
TWA Wrestling - 25/03/03 - Bournemouth International Centre
-The Brit Pack defeated The Natrass Boys.
-British Middleweight Championship:
Steve Grey defeated James Tighe to retain the championship.
-James Mason defeated 'Superstar' Mal Sanders.
-Nikita and Raj Gosh defeated Mark Sloan and Paul Travell.
-Phil Lea defeated Tommy Stevens.
-TWA British Heavyweight Championship:
Alex Shane battled Jake Roberts to a no contest following interference from James Mason. Following the match promoter Scott Conway stripped Alex Shane of the title.
Chic Cullen last week left All Star and he has already set up an "International Wrestling Academy". Go to www.i-w-a.biz for details. All of us at the TWO UKScene wish Chic the best of luck in his new venture.
Flash Barker had breathing problems at Crunch so he didn't compete. We are glad to tell you that he is fine now, although he did spend the night in hospital.
The FWA have now confirmed Juventud Guerrera and Chris Chetti for every night of the British Breakout Tour. Tickets are now on sale for all of the dates on the tour. With matches like Doug Williams vs Juvi Guerrera in a best of three falls match in Ware, it's looking like it could be a great tour! An extra London date has also been added to the tour, details are yet to be announced but it is expected to be in either Battersea or Acton town hall. For further details go to www.frontierwrestling.com/britishbreakout. We at TWO hope to see you all at the Portsmouth show!
Continuing with the FWA they are again appearing at the memorabilia show at the NEC in Birmingham on the 5/6th April. There will be a merchandise stand. FWA stars confirmed for the show are Jonny Storm (both days), The Pitbulls (both days), Jack Xavier (both days), and Family members Brandon Thomas and Ian Daciple.
Following on with the FWA, their fan club is now up and running. Membership costs £40.00. Included in the price is a free FWA video, CD and T Shirt. Aswell as money off house shows and job squad events. For details of how to join check out www.frontierwrestling.com
Ring of honours show on the 22nd of March featured both Doug Williams and Jodi Fleisch. Williams defeated Chris Daniels to regain the FWA title and number one contendership to the ROH championship. Jodi Fleisch defeated Low Ki in a good highflying match.
Doug Williams wrestled James Storm in a dark match for NWA TNA this week. Alot of fans believed that Doug was going to wrestle on the PPV, but it wasn't to be. Hopefully Doug will get another chance soon.
Finally Alex Shanes long awaited 'Shooting gallery' is now up on www.alexshane.com. Its a very interesting read this week. Alex talks about his feeling on the Crunch show, the British Breakout tour, the upcoming Frontiers of Honour show and his three day tour with TWA.
Thats it for this week, make sure you check Adam Sibleys UK Scene column every week where he covers everything in the UK scene aswell as more updates for the forth coming FWA 2 shows. (This weeks should be on the site on Monday)
Thanks for reading
Pabster/Goldy.
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International News - Matt Singh
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Hi readers, it’s another results-packed Puro and Lucha Libre news this week, enjoy…
-Puroresu-
-All Japan Pro Wrestling:
House show results;
On 22/3 at Korakuen Hall with 2,300 paid attendance:
-- Prior to the first match, they did a ten-bell salute to Kodo Fuyuki… also the annual Champion Carnival kicked-off on the show
1. Masa Fuchi over Nobukazu Hirai at 10 minutes 57 seconds with a small-package for the pinfall
2. George Hines, Hideki Hosaka & Ryuji Hijikata over Tomoaki Honma, Kazushi Miyamoto & Kazuki Okubo at 14 minutes 57 seconds when Hines used a Michinoku Driver on Miyamoto for the pin
3. Kendo Kashin & Nobutaka Araya over Johnny Smith & Shigeo Okumura at 11 minutes 32 seconds when Araya landed a moonsault press on Okumura for the pin
4. Arashi over Kohei Sato at 4 minutes 45 seconds with a Frog Splash for the pinfall
5. In the Champion Carnival B Block, Gigantes over Yoji Anjoh at 9 minutes 18 seconds when Gigantes hit chokeslam/goozle on Anjoh for the pin
6. In the Champion Carnival A Block, Big John Tenta (formally Earthquake of the former WWF) over The Gladiator (Mike Awesome) at 13 minutes 40 seconds with a running body press for the pin
7. Keiji Mutoh & Kaz Hayashi over Satoshi Kojima & Jimmy Yang at 21 minutes 22 seconds when Mutoh applied a cross-arm scissors hold on Kojima for the referee stoppage
-New Japan Pro Wrestling:
House show results;
On 18/3 at Sun Arena in Mie with 1,600 paid attendance:
1. Toru Yano over Ryusuke Taguchi at 7 minutes 32 seconds with a front suplex for the pinfall
2. Dan Devine & American Dragon over Gedoh & Jadoh at 9 minutes when Devine hit a double-arm screw suplex on Gedoh for the pin
3. Kengo Kimura & Osamu Nishimura over Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto at 11 minutes 50 seconds when Kimura used an inside cradle on Saito for the pinfall
4. In the U-30 League B-Block, Blue Wolf over Minoru Fujita at 8 minutes 24 seconds when Wolf landed a lariat on Fujita for the pinfall
5. In the U-30 League A Block, Masahito Kakihara over Makai Mask 2 at 8 minutes 5 seconds with a leg lariat for the pin
6. Koji Kanemoto, El Samurai & Jushin Liger over Heat, Stampede Kid & AKIRA at 13 minutes 28 seconds when Kanemoto applied a crab hold on Heat for the referee stoppage
7. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Michiyoshi Ohara over Makai Mask 4 & Ryushi Yanagisawa at 10 minutes 16 seconds when Tenzan landed a diving headbutt on 4 for the pin
8. Tadao Yasuda, Makai Mask 5 & Kazunari Murakami over Hiroshi Tanahashi, Takashi Iizuka & Yuji Nagata at 10 minutes 17 seconds when Yasuda used a Tiger Driver on Tanahashi for the pin
9. Manabu Nakanishi, Yutaka Yoshie & Masa Chono over Shinya Makabe, Rick Steiner & Scott Norton at 14 minutes 04 seconds when Nakanishi applied a Torture Rack on Makabe for the tap-out
On 20/3 at Saitama City Gym with 1,600 paid attendance:
1. Jadoh over Naofumi Yamamoto at 2 minutes 53 seconds with a cross-face hold for the tap-out
2. Makai Mask 2 over El Samurai at 8 minutes 18 seconds with a facebuster for the pinfall
3. Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto over Takashi Iizuka & Yutaka Yoshie at 12 minutes 17 seconds when Saito hit a senton bomb on Iizuka for the pin
4. In the U-30 League B Block, Makai Mask 4 over Toru Yano at 6 minutes 48 seconds when Mask 4 applied a chicken-wing lock on Yano for the tap out
5. In the U-30 League A Block, Shinya Makabe over Masahito Kakihara at 6 minutes 4 seconds when Makabe landed a Fisherman's Buster on Kakihara for the pin
6. Gedoh, Minoru Fujita, Jushin Liger & Koji Kanemoto over American Dragon, Stampede Kid, Heat & AKIRA at 12 minutes 11 seconds when Gedoh applied a Gedoh Clutch on Dragon for the tap out
7. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura over Makai Mask 5 & Ryushi Yanagisawa at 14 minutes 49 seconds when Tenzan landed a Tenzan Tombstone Driver on 5 for the pinfall
8. Scott Norton, Dan Devine & Rick Steiner over Hiroshi Tanahashi, Blue Wolf & Yuji Nagata at 13 minutes 34 seconds when Norton hit a Powerbomb on Tanahashi for the pin
9. Tadao Yasuda, Kazunari Murakami & Makai Mask 1 over Michiyoshi Ohara, Manabu Nakanishi & Masa Chono at 14 minutes 22 seconds when Yasuda hit a Tiger Driver on Ohara for the pin
On 21/3 at Yoyogi National Gym with 4,000 paid attendance:
--Prior to the first match, they did a ten-bell salute for Kodo Fuyuki
1. Masahito Kakihara over Ryusuke Taguchi at 4 minutes 53 seconds with a crab hold for the tap-out
2. AKIRA, Stampede Kid, American Dragon & Heat over El Samurai, Gedoh, Jadoh & Koji Kanemoto at 14 minutes 19 seconds when Nogami applied a standing heel-hook on Samurai for the tap out
3. Ryushi Yanagisawa over Hiroshi Tanahashi at 6 minutes 41 seconds with a Yanagi-Lock for the tap-out
4. In the Osaka Pro Tag Titles Mtch, Jushin Liger & Takehiro Murahama over BK Kid & Gamma at 16 minutes 42 seconds when Liger landed a brainbuster on BK Kid for the pinfall
--In an angle, Mark Coleman (former UFC Champion) showed up and challenged current IWGP Heavyweight title holder Yuji Nagata to a match
5. Tadao Yasuda, Kazunari Murakami & Makai Mask 1 over Tatsutoshi Goto, Michiyoshi Ohara & Enson Inoue at 3 minutes 38 seconds when Yasuda used a Tiger Driver on Goto for the pinfall
6. Takashi Iizuka over Makai Mask 5 at 3 minutes 21 seconds when Takashi applied a choke sleeper for the referee stoppage
7. Hiroyoshi Tenzan over Makai Mask 4 at 4 minutes 35 seconds when Tenzan used a Tenzan Tombstone Driver (TTD) for the pin
8. Masa Chono over Shinya Makabe at 2 minutes 30 seconds with a school-boy for the pinfall
9. Manabu Nakanishi, Osamu Nishimura & Yuji Nagata over Dan Devine, Rick Steiner & Scott Norton at 15 minutes 54 seconds when Nakanishi applied a Torture Rack on Devine for the tap-out
On 22/3 at Hamamatsu City Gym with 2,400 paid attendance:
1. Toru Yano & Ryusuke Taguchi over Naofumi Yamamoto & Blue Wolf at 9 minutes 22 seconds when Yano applied a Canadian Backbreaker on Yamamoto for the tap out
2. Heat & American Dragon over Gedoh & Jadoh at 10 minutes 9 seconds when Heat used a Fisherman's Buster on Gedoh for the pinfall
3. Tatsutoshi Goto & Hiro Saito over El Samurai & Osamu Nishimura at 11 minutes 29 seconds when Goto landed a senton bomb on Samurai for the pinfall
4. Jushin Liger & Koji Kanemoto drew with Stampede Kid & AKIRA via double countout at 8 minutes 21 seconds, they did a re-start and Kanemoto went over Stampede Kid at 2 minutes 32 seconds when Kanemoto applied a standing heel-hook for the tap out
5. In the U-30 League A Block, Hiroshi Tanahashi over Dan Devine at 8 minutes 4 seconds with a bridging Dragon Suplex for the pin
6. Yuji Nagata, Michiyoshi Ohara & Takashi Iizuka over Makai Masks 4 & 5, & Ryushi Yanagisawa at 10 minutes 43 seconds when Nagata applied the Nagata Lock III on 4 for the tap out
7. Kengo Kimura & Masa Chono over Makai Mask 1 & Tadao Yasuda at 8 minutes 50 seconds when Kimura hit a leg lariat on 1 for the pinfall
8. Scott Norton, Shinya Makabe & Rick Steiner over Yutaka Yoshie, Manabu Nakanishi & Hiroyoshi Tenzan at 14 minutes 9 seconds when Norton used a Powerbomb on Yoshie for the pin
The current standings for the -30 League are as follows:
A Block:
--Makabe - 6 points
--Tanahashi - 5 points
--Devine - 4 points
--Makai 2 - 3 points
--Kakihara - 2 points
B Block:
--Yoshie - 8 points
--Wolf - 4 points
--Makai 4 - 4 points
--Yano - 2 points
--Minoru Fujita - 0 points
Pro Wrestling NOAH:
House shows results;
On22/3 at Odawara Sub-Arena with 1,400 paid attendance:
1. Haruka Eigen over Mitsuo Momota at 7 minutes 14 seconds with a back-slide for the pinfall
2. Daisuke Ikeda over Donovan Morgan at 7 minutes 11 seconds when Daisuke used his ‘Mr. Big Bomber’ finish for the pin
3. Takashi Sugiura & Yoshinobu Kanemaru over Yasuhiro Suzuki & Naoki Sano at 13 minutes 26 seconds when Sugiura hit an Olympic Slam on Suzuki for the pinfall
4. Tamon Honda over Vinnie Valentino at 6 minutes 5 seconds via pinfall
5. Bull Schmitt, Michael Modest & IZU over Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Masao Inoue & Kenta Kobashi at 20 minutes 9 seconds when Modest used his ‘Reality Check’ finish on Kikuchi for the pin
6. Yoshinari Ogawa & Mitsuharu Misawa over Kishin Kawabata & Akira Taue at 13 minutes 47 seconds when Ogawa used a bridging back-drop suplex on Kawabata for the pinfall
7. Naomichi Marufuji, Takeshi Morishima & Takeshi Rikio over Makoto Hashi, Akitoshi Saito & Jun Akiyama at 20 minutes 2 seconds when Morishima used a back-drop suplex on Hashi for the pin
Fighting World of Japan:
On 19/3, in a big blow to the up-start promotion, the group was forced to ditch it’s already underway Genichiro Tenryu versus Riki Choshu ‘best of 6 series’ after Tenryu suffered a head injury, and was taken to hospital to be examined. Since Tenryu will be out for at least 3 weeks, there’s been talk that Choshu (the promotions founder) will bring in Atsushi Onita to fill-in for Tenryu.
House show results:
On 18/3 at Ota City Gym with 2,450 paid attendance:
1. Masahiko Kochi over Kazushi Miyamoto at 7 minutes 46 seconds with a crab hold for the tap out
2. Tomohiro Ishii over Tomoaki Honma at 11 minutes 38 seconds with a bridging German suplex for the pin
3. Yoji Anjoh over Takashi Uwano at 8 minutes 20 seconds with an elbow smash for the pin
4. Todd & Mike Shane over Steve Madison & Big Vito at 12 minutes 16 seconds when Todd hit a chokeslam on Madison for the pinfall
5. In a No-Rope Barbed Wire Death Match, Yoshiaki Yatsu, Shiro Koshinaka & Riki Choshu over Ichiro Yaguchi, Ricky Fuji & Atsushi Onita at 12 minutes 50 seconds when Yatsu made Yaguchi tap-out
6. Takao Omori over Nobutaka Araya at 10 minutes 43 seconds with an Axe Bomber for the pin
7. Kensuke Sasaki & Kenzo Suzuki over The Road Warriors 11 minutes 20 seconds when Sasaki landed a Northern Lights Bomb on Hawk for the pin
On 19/3 at Saitama City Heath and Sports Gym with 1,380 paid attendance:
1. Tomohiro Ishii & Kazushi Miyamoto went to a 20-minute time-limit draw
2. Takashi Uwano over Tomoaki Honma at 10 minutes 6 seconds with a bridging German suplex for the pinfall
3. Yoji Anjoh over Masahiko Kochi at 8 minutes 38 seconds via pinfall
4. Big Vito over Nobutaka Araya at 8 minutes 30 seconds with a front neck lock for the tap out
5. Takao Omori over Steve Madison at 11 minutes 7 seconds with an Axe Bomber for the pin
6. The Road Warriors over Yoshiaki Yatsu & Kenzo Suzuki at 5 minutes 51 seconds when Hawk pinned Yatsu after a ‘Double-Impact’ finish
7. Kensuke Sasaki & Shiro Koshinaka over Todd & Mike Shane at 10 minutes 32 seconds when Sasaki used a Northern Lights Bomb on Todd for the pin
Elsewhere:
Kodo Fuyuki passed away on 19/3, after a lengthy battle with intestinal cancer, aged 42. Fuyuki first made a name for himself when he broke-into the industry in 1980’s with the All Japan promotion in Hokkaido and after a decade working for All Japan, he jumped to Genichiro Tenryu’s WAR promotion in 1992 and worked several great matches under that banner. Fuyuki then jumped to Atsushi Onita’s Frontier Martial Arts (FMW) garbage promotion, gaining a spot helping on the creative end of the group. After the death of one of FMW’s head-management, Shoichi Arai, Fuyuki decided to go it alone and put together his own promotion, World Entertainment Wrestling (WEW) in late 2001. Fuyuki’s last public appearance came on 11/3 at the legendary Korakuen Hall during an angle involving him challenging Triple Crown title holder Shinya Hashimoto to an Exploding Death match for 5/5 at the Kawasaki Stadium car-park.
The likes of Yoji Anjoh and Shiro Koshinaka have led the public condolences for Fuyuki
Titles held by Kodo Fuyuki ~
--WEW 6 Man tag team titles
--FWM Double Titles
--FWM Asia tag team titles
--WAR Man tag team titles
--WEW World Brass Knux tag team titles
--WEW World 6 Man Street Fight tag team titles
In a related story, former FMW referee, Go Ito, will take charge of WEW after Fuyuki’s passing. WEW’s next show will be the aforementioned 5/5 Kawasaki car-park Stadium show.
Super-over star in Japan, Bob Sapp, recently said during a radio interview that George w. Bush and Saddam Hussein should settle their differences in a K-1 rules match, with Sapp promoting the event. For any readers who don’t know who Sapp is, he’s a 6’6, 290lbs (legit. stats) kickboxer, who has found unexpected huge in Japan, and is more famous and well-known in Japan than Hogan is in the U.S, tenfold. Sapp has worked pro wrestling matches before, most notably for AJPW at their last Wrestle-1 show against a fellow kickboxer, Ernesto Hoost
Garbage legend Atsushi Onita had to cancel a scheduled appearance at FWJ’s 20/3 due to the violence in and around Iraq. Onita has a seat in the Japanese senate
-Lucha Libre-
EMLL:
House show results:
On 18/3 at Arena Coliseo:
1. Pequeno Olimpico & Ultimo Dragoncito over Guerrerito del Futuro & Pierrothito
2. El Jeque & Reyes Veloz over Alacran & Sombra de Plata
3. Brazo de Oro, Ringo Mendoza & El Sicodelico Jr. over Halcon Negro, Hooligan & Violencia
4. Averno, Mephisto & El Satanico over Genetico, El Hijo del Anibal & Olimpico
5. Cien Caras, Emilio Charles Jr. & Mascara Ano 2000 over Brazo de Plata, Rayo de Jalisco Jr. & Tinieblas Jr
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Final Wrestlemania XIX Card (with predictions) - Mitchell Jones
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Two nights from now, WWE will be presenting to the world the nineteenth instalment of the biggest PPV of it’s year: Wrestlemania. The matches are set, the attractions have been signed. So right now, lets take a look at the PPV as it lines up, complete with my own personal opinions.
LIMP BIZKIT PERFORMANCE:
As a fan of this band, and having heard the song they'll be performing, I am looking forward to this. Don't expect the fans to be too into it though.
PREDICTED RESULT: Rock
MILLER LITE CATFIGHT GIRLS:
One question: Who?
PREDICTED RESULT: Finding out who the hell they actually are.
WORLD TAG TITLE MATCH - MORLEY/STORM v KANE/RVD:
Well to be honest, I don't expect much from this match. But then I guess lets just be thankful William Regal isn't in this match. After all the build-up, I expect the Dudleyz to get involved somehow, and either for them to cost RVD and Kane the match (if one doesn't turn on the other) or for the Dudleyz to turn face again and reveal the "It was a set up all along". For some reason, I got a feeling that with RAW needing teams, and with there being no sense in Morley and Storm retaining the belts, I'll side with Rob Van Dam and The Big Red Machine for this one.
PREDICTED RESULT: RVD/Kane
WWE TAG TITLE MATCH - TEAM ANGLE v BENOIT/RHYNO v LOS GUERREROS:
Seemingly the better of the two tag title matches on the PPV, at least on paper, this one should be a short but sweet intense contest. Given fair build up, I expect some great work from all six involved, especially from Rhyno, who has looked in fantastic shape since his return. Los Guerreros have also been on a bit of a role, but I fail to see what relevance they serve in this match after spending their past few weeks feuding with the F.B.I. But you know, as Team Angle not long won the titles, and WWE seemingly would like to keep pushing Team Angle as a credible team, I expect Team Angle to pick this one up.
PREDICTED RESULT: Team Angle
WOMENS TITLE MATCH - VICTORIA v TRISH v JAZZ:
Well the build-up to this has been awful. Face v Face, Heel v Heel, Face and Heel v Heel and Heel. Not the most sensical of booking. Don't expect two much from this, although I expect Victoria to be a lot better than Lita was last triple threat. Still, the build up has been built around Jazz, and that's how I expect it to stay. So expect the former ECW killer to pick up the title.
PREDICTED RESULT: Jazz
CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE MATCH - MATT HARDY v REY MYSTERIO:
Given the right amount of time and allowed to go all out, this could steal match of the night. Rey has been better than he has in a long time since coming in to the WWE, and Matt has been on a role (up until his push was halted). Both men can work fantastically when they want to, and with Shannon Moore at ringside, anything can happen. Logic would say Rey overcomes the odds and wins the title, but with the Hardyz autobiography out now, I predict they'll have Version 1 retain for another month or so. Never count out a monster Wrestlemania special 619 though.
PREDICTED RESULT: Matt Hardy
UNDERTAKER/NATHAN JONES v A-TRAIN/BIG SHOW
The wild card in my opinion. Everyone pretty much expects this match to be the worst match ever. So why do I have a nagging feeling that everyone will be in for a shock? I seriously expect to see a better match than what is expected. Although it will be overshadowed somewhat in my opinion by Nathan Jones. WWE wants to build him up, so what better way than to have him turn on Taker, costing Taker his winning streak at Wrestlemania. I can't see any other reason for the Taker/Jones union. And it would be the most sensical move in my view. So I say why not?
PREDICTED RESULT: A-Train/Big Show
SHAWN MICHAELS v CHRIS JERICHO
A dream match of mine in a way. Being a huge fan of Jericho, and having respected the in-ring work of Michaels for many many years, this to me is something that should have happened back in 1996. Unfortunately, this is 2003, where neither man is the man they once were, whether due to injury or lack of a decent push and usage by bookers. Both are outdated and both need to do something new. Maybe this can bring the end of an era, and move both on to new things. But who puts who over? Logic would say Jericho goes over. WWE would say Michaels does. Unfortunately, logic never wins in WWE, so as much as it pains me, I can only see one man emerging victorious, and its ol' HBK.
PREDICTED RESULT: *sigh* Shawn Michaels
WHO CREATED HULKAMANIA - HULK HOGAN v VINCE McMAHON
Now THIS is the match I'm predicting for Dud of the Year. I know McMahon can pull off some decent matches every now and then (as his Royal Rumble battle with Ric Flair proved last year), but Hogan is another washed up guy, a lot less talented ring wise than Flair. But he is super over, and it is a Street Fight. So saying that, I can only imagine that Hogan will also surprise us somewhat, and produce to us a mean streak we've never seen before. And who are they kidding by ending Hogan's career? McMahon doesn't go over one-on-one on Pay per view, so look for the Immortal one to go over.
PREDICTED RESULT: Hulk Hogan
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - TRIPLE H v BOOKER T
Booker was a rising star. Booker was getting over. Booker was well liked by the fans. Booker was entertaining. Booker was ready for a main event push. Then came HHH. End of push. Sorry, but HHH has totally ruined this feud completely. Turning it into a racism thing? Destroying Maven, Al Snow and Goldust for no reason whatsoever? What's the point? Oh thats right... HHH's ego. There's only room for HHH on RAW, and Booker ain't got a chance. So wave goodbye to any credibility Booker has ever got, and get ready for another dominant HHH win. Somethings never change...
PREDICTED RESULT: Triple H
WWE CHAMPIONSHIP - BROCK LESNAR v KURT ANGLE
The match everyone has been waiting for a long time now, unfortunately may not be remembered for the wrestling showcase originally expected. For Brock Lesnar, this is his first taste of proper Wrestlemania stardom. His chance to shine. For Kurt Angle, it's realisation that this could be the end of his career, or even his life. It's a shame, but Kurt vowed to fight through it, even though doctors advised against it. Everyone will be on the edge of their seats, ooh'ing and ahh'ing, as Angle pains his way to the end. Because of this, I can see no reason why Angle can retain the belt, and therefore think it’s obvious that Lesnar is walking home with the gold, and look for Team Angle to turn on their leader at the end too. This'll probably lead to an Angle face turn as he walks out on the WWE for a good while. Lets just pray to God he makes it to the end.
PREDICTED RESULT: Brock Lesnar
STONE COLD v THE ROCK
The match I think will main event, this is round three of these two guy's Wrestlemania rivalry. Although some may argue it's old and passé now to have these two main event WM, the two never fail to deliver something special in the ring. True, Stone Cold is ring rusty, and this will be his first full match, but the electricity should still be huge. As for a winner.. well common sense would say Rock wins, as Austin owns two victories out of two over Rocky already, but Austin needs this win. Rock is holding WWE together right now. He is super over and about to jump into a feud with Bill Goldberg, before going off for another movie. Austin is in for the long haul, and losing would only make him look weak in the long run. So I say Austin picks up the pin. On the subject of Goldberg, expect him to make some sort of appearance at WM, in one way or another.
PREDICTED RESULT: Stone Cold
OVERALL:
Well the build-up has been a shambles, thats for sure, and it surely won't have the "special" feel that most Wrestlemania's have. Even the Axcess event has been branded a huge disappointment. But for some reason, I think WM will shock us all this year. While there is a lack of gimmick matches and "stand-out" matches so to speak, never count the WWE out. I'm sure that they realise it's all or nothing now, and for this reason, I expect everyone involved to pull out all the stops in the four hour extravaganza.
PREDICTED RESULT: Another top=notch Wrestlemania, one way or the other.
You can post your predictions on the event below:
http://www.talkwrestlingonline.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6186
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Flashback - Daniel Evans
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-WrestleMania 3, March 29th 1987-
Hey Ho folks, welcome to another edition of Flashback, the column that delves deep into that past of wrestling, the column that looks at some of the best, and some of the worst events and products in wrestling history. I was going to review Unforgiven 1999 in this edition, but I have put that on the backburner because I sort of got carried away with all the Wrestlemania hype. So I got my Wrestlemania videos out and went through each tape to see which would be suitable to review, I was really stuck, some of them had good points, a lot had bad points. After some deliberation I finally decided to review Wrestlemania 3.
So lets have a look at it, it certainly is the most talked about Wrestlemania, it seems every month or so we hear Hogan exaggerating about how he picked Andre up over his head and slammed him on the floor, while this is indeed true, I’m sure Hogan wasn’t the first person to do it, and he hardly picked him up over his head. Anyway getting back to business, the event was massive to the WWF, not just had some superb matches on the card, but it also had the largest attendance record of a Wrestlemania to date, but taking all this into account, does this Wrestlemania deserve all the hype it gets? I aim to find out.
As usual I’m going to pick my three best matches from the night and give you a little rant about each one, by the way, its not because I can’t be arsed to review all the matches, its just merely a way of me giving you my personal highlights from the PPV, rather than the lowlights, trust me, it really is.
The first match I’m going to pick from the card is one of my favourite Wrestlemania matches of all time. Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage for the Intercontinental Championship. To fully understand this match I’ll give you a brief look at the history of this pair, in a match between Savage and Steamboat for the IC Championship, Savage took the ring bell to Steamboat’s throat and “damaged” it, subsequently this put Steamboat out for a couple of months. Upon his return Steamboat interfered in a match with George Steele and Randy Savage on a Saturday Night Main Event show. With no love lost between George Steele and Savage, Steamboat invited Steele to be in his corner at WrestleMania 3, in which he would take on “Macho Man” Randy Savage for the Intercontinental Championship.
To say that this match was good would be the biggest understatement in history, this match was superb. I have often said matches have been superb, but this, this was superb in every single aspect possible. Both Savage and Steamboat performed to the best of their ability and it certainly paid off for the fans as well as both men’s careers. The match was full of offensive moves by the part of Savage as he dominated the match for a good proportion. He worked on Steamboat’s throat continuing the assault he carried out months ago, he went outside the ring-throwing Steamboat into the barriers trying to damage Steamboat’s throat even more. As the match continued Steamboat gained the momentum, with what I think is the best succession of pin attempts in any match I have seen, 1 & 2 counts were happening all over, one after the other, to have been sat in that crowd must have been the greatest experience a wrestling fan could have had. Then Savage came back and threw Steamboat into the ropes, knocking down ref Dave Hebner and Steamboat. As both Dave and Steamboat lay on the floor, Savage went to the top rope and he hit the flying elbow, but as the ref was out didn’t get the two count. Savage went to the outside to the use the ring bell, as he got in the ring, George Steele attempted to get the bell off Savage but failed to do so, as Savage went up to the top rope with the ring bell, George Steele again tried to prevent Savage, this time he was successful as he pushed Savage off onto the mat with roars of cheers from the crowd. As both Savage and Steamboat got up, Savage went to slam Steamboat onto the mat, but Steamboat reversed the move into a pinning hold and got the 3 count in the most epic-wrestling match I have witnessed. This match was sound in every way, the wrestling was sound, the booking was sound, the momentum of offensive moves from each guy was sound, and to the tiniest of detail this match was sound. Wrestling wise, it was technical, but not to technical, it offered the most basic moves but performed the best way I have ever seen them. Entertainment wise this match must have been planned out to the tiniest of detail, because it worked so well, every thing flowed and the match was like a well oiled machine it just kept on working. It didn’t really matter much who won this match, it was so good it turned both men in to legends, and I’m sure it paved the way for Savage to become WWF World Champion just one year later. I think most people will find it impossible to talk about the history of the Intercontinental Championship without referring to this match some where down the line, it ranks up there with Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog at Summerslam ’92, with Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Roman at WM 10 and with Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect at Summerslam ’91, it may even be the greatest Intercontinental Championship match of all time.
Moving on, the next match is a bizarre choice of mine because a lot of people think it’s not really that special, it’s just crazy little me thinks it is. I’m talking about Honky Tonk Man vs. Jake Roberts. Indeed this all stemmed from “the guitar shot that rocked the world”, in which HTM hit Jake with a “real” guitar, not one of your Jeff Jarrett specials made out of paper and compressed wood. Anyways, the match also featured a special guest by the name of Alice Cooper who accompanied Jake “the Snake” Roberts to ring side. Pretty much basic match with Robert’s doing most of the offensive moves, HTM came back with some offence of his own, but Roberts gained the advantage, he then went to hit a DDT, but Jimmy Hart grabbed his legs and prevented him from planting HTM, Honky took advantage of this and rolled up Robert’s while holding the ropes and he got the victory. I liked this match, it was not to long, and I think it offered a nice does of ring physiology on behalf of Roberts, something that the WWE product often lacks nowadays. This match was also important from HTM as it was one of his biggest victories and set him up nicely to capture the Intercontinental Championship just a few weeks later. Not bad stuff at all, I like it anyways.
Finally the match that made WWF history, the match that people have talked about for years, the match that will be talked about for many years to come and the match that will be forever embedded in everybody’s head as the peak of a little known craze called Hulkamania, if you haven’t guessed yet, I’m talking about Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant. Before we start to look at the match I’ll give you a little history lesson about this feud. Hogan and Andre had been sort of running buddies, sort of good friends. This all changed when Andre challenge Hogan to a shot at his WWF Championship, and in a scene that will be screened forever, Andre ripped Hogan’s shirt from him along with his crucifix and this practically brought Hogan to tears. To add more salt to the wounds of Hogan, Andre got the help of the Bobby Heenan in his crusade to capture the WWF Championship.
So with 93, 000 fans in attendance the match was set, and to be quite blunt the match sucked like hell, wrestling wise that is, entertainment wise it was the greatest match of all time. The match was a matter of Andre dominating Hogan with a few slow powerful moves such as sleeper holds and big chops, and then Hogan would make a comeback. As Andre dominated the pace of the match he hit Hogan with a boot to the face and knocked him outside the ring, As both men fight with each other, Hogan gains a small advantage when Andre accidentally head buts the ring post, Hogan then attempts to piledrive Andre to the floor, but Andre reverses the move into a back body drop. As both men get in the ring Hogan nails Andre with a clothesline, knocking the big man down. As Hulk Hogan starts to Hulk up, Andre struggles back to his feet only to be met with a mighty powerslam from Hogan followed by the legdrop that has beaten so many people, Hogan then pinned Andre for the biggest victory of his career. Andre was the last big step for Hogan in his career, when he beat Andre he truly became the biggest superstar in pro-wrestling history. As I said before the match was pretty awful, but that didn’t matter, every fan’s dream had come true. Andre was pretty broke down, I had seen a match with Hogan and Andre from 1980 in the Shea Stadium and that had been a lot different, but nevertheless respect to both Andre and Hogan because they done the best they could. I can’t really explain how important this match was, it was the peak of Hulkamania and probably the main reason all the 93,000 fans jammed packed the Pontiac Silver Dome. This was the height of the WWF popularity; I don’t know if it will ever be this popular again, I’d like to think so, but I doubt it.
OTHER MATCHES:
Rick Martel & Tom Zenk vs. Bob Orton & Don Muraco
Billy Jack Haynes vs. Hercules
Hilly Billy Jim, Haiti Kid & Little Beaver vs. King Kong Bundy, Little Tokyo & Lord Littlebrook
Harley Race vs. Junk Yard Dog
Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake vs. The Rougeau Brothers
Roddy Piper vs. Adrian Adonis
Hart Foundation & Danny Davis vs. The British Bulldogs & Tito Santana
Butch Reed vs. Koko B Ware
Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff vs. The Killer Bees
OVERALL:
Wrestlemania 3 should be that one WWF video every fan has; no matter if you are relatively new to the world of pro-wrestling, or if you are a long-term fan, you should have this video on your shelf at home. Its not just got some top notch matches on the card, its also much more significant than that, it is historically the biggest and grandest WWF PPV of all time, with what is probably the biggest WWF match in the history of the WWF, in which I don’t think Vince McMahon will ever be able to top. It is not my favourite PPV at all, but you can’t take away the fact that it is so historical to wrestling fans its worth buying. So if like me you get little carried away with all this Wrestlemania hype, I’d get down to your local VHS store, hunt on ebay and search every car boot sale in town until you get your copy of the biggest sports extravaganza in the history of the WWF.
Until the next time I decide to take a flash, bye!
Points: 10/10
Dan.
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Superstar Spotlight (WM Special) - Mitchell Jones
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=WWE CHAMPION: KURT ANGLE=
Trademark Moves-
Ankle Lock submission
Angle Slam
German Suplex
Arm Drag from the top rope
Titles Held-
WWE Championship
WCW Championship
WWE Intercontinental
WWE European
WWE Hardcore
WWE Tag Team (w/ Chris Benoit)
1996 Olympic Gold Medal (Freestyle Wrestling)
Tournaments Won-
WWE King Of The Ring 2000
After winning the 1996 Olympic Gold Medal for America in the 220 freestyle wrestling competition, Angle was scouted by the glamorous world of Pro Wrestling. After turning down ECW, Angle signed with the World Wrestling Federation and debuted at the 1999 Survivor Series against Shawn 'Meat' Staziak, as the "most celebrated real athlete in WW(F) history". He immediately made a huge impact, providing some top quality entertainment and proving that a witch from amateur to pro wrestling was a wise choice. He quickly picked up on a batch of titles, including becoming "Euro-continental" champion, before losing both belts in a triple threat match with Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania 2000.
The meteoric rise continued when Angle went through 3 men in one night to be crowned 2000 King of the Ring. And in October of the same year, Angle capped off quite possibly the most successful debut year in WW(F) history by defeating The Rock in a scorcher to become WWE champion. Unfortunately, the Olympic one got caught by the "end of year champion curse" and his title reign wasn't as successful as it should have been, often playing second fiddle to Stone Cold and HHH. He dropped the belt at No Way Out 2001 in another cracker with The Rock and then played it cool for a while, before leading the charge as the WCW/ECW Invasion angle began. Turning face, Angle was a scream with Austin and Vince McMahon, before Austin turned his back on the WW(F). This caused Angle to be pushed into the main event again as serious straight-faced face Angle, and was given the World title yet again in an uninspiring run, set up only to promote his autobiography. But not to worry... he soon turned heel a few months later, before costing the Alliance their jobs as he sided with Vince McMahon.
Once again the cocky heel, Angle enjoyed a successful run in the upper mid card, engaging in a gripping feud with Edge, which lead to him having his hair shaved off. As the brand split took off, Angle was then utilised as part of the SmackDown six, as he, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Chavo Guerrero, Edge and Rey Mysterio stole shows around the world, earning rave reviews for his top quality matches with whoever was laid in front of him. Fans gained a new respect for him as he showed the world why he was quite simply the very best WWE has to offer. This lasted until Armageddon, where he defeated WWE Champion Big Show to become champion once again, thanks to Brock Lesnar, before turning on Brock and siding with Paul Heyman. Acquiring the services of developmental graduates Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas, Angle become the most serious he ever has, and adopted the name "Team Angle" for his group, showing tremendous courage and strength, and setting up a heated feud with Brock Lesnar, another former NCAA champion.
Unfortunately for everyone, Angle suffered a severe injury to his neck, so severe that one false move and he could be paralysed, if not killed. But ever the dedicated star, he told WWE he was going ahead with the WM match with Lesnar, and would wrestle with as much dedication and skill as he does without the neck injury. How will it all end? Will Angle carry on? Will his career be cut short? Was saying 'no' to the 2004 Olympics the worst move he ever made? Who knows? All we know for sure is, wherever Kurt Angle is, you are guaranteed the most dedication and skill you will see from any wrestler in North America. And that my friends... is damn true.
Recommended Angle Matches-
v The Rock: No Way Out 2001
v Edge: Judgement Day 2002
v Rey Mysterio: Summerslam 2002
=NUMBER 1 CONTENDER: BROCK LESNAR=
Trademark Moves-
F5
Overhead Belly to Belly Suplex
Spinning Powerbomb
Titles Held-
WWE Championship
NCAA Heavyweight
Tournaments Won-
WWE King of the Ring
WWE Royal Rumble
A former NCAA runner-up, and eventually champion, the 6 foot 4, 295 pound chiselled machine was signed to a developmental deal by WWE in 2000, and sent down to Jim Cornettes Ohio Valley Wrestling, making great strides as one half of the Minnesota Stretching Crew with Shelton Benjamin. Turning down several NFL offers, Lesnar continues to learn the craft, until 2002 marked his big break.
With WWE crying for new stars, Vince McMahon saw his own version of Goldberg staring right at him in the form of Lesnar. So the push was laid out, and on an April edition of RAW, systematically laid out Spike Dudley in an act of total brutality. Accompanied by Paul Heyman, who was assigned as Lesnar's mouthpiece to make up for his shortcomings in the charisma department, Lesnar went on a rampage, destroying the Hardy Boys left, right, and centre, before wiping out Test and Rob Van Dam to become 2002 King of the Ring. Beginning a few with RVD over the Intercontinental title, Lesnar came up short, but still put a beating to his high flying opponent. Displaying great improvement in the ring, Lesnar was still not ready in many peoples eyes to make it to the next level. But the decision was made. The Rock, on his way out to film a new movie, put Brock over on the way out, and dropped the Undisputed title to him. The youngest champion in WWE history, Lesnar's push was complete.
Unfortunately, Lesnar was still suffering in the charisma department, but on the plus side, his matches were becoming more brutal, and WWE did a fine job in hiding his weaknesses and exposing his strengths... most notably his power and awe-inspiring speed, which to his credit were fantastic to watch. Lesnar had a two month feud with The Undertaker, ending in an absolutely brutal Hell in a Cell match. Lesnar displayed his power, resilience, and improvement in the way he conducted himself in the ring. Even the little things, like the way he bumped out of the ring, and got frustrated at ringside, were praised by many. But the big moment came at Survivor Series, when Lesnar dropped the title to Big Show. In one of Big Show's better performances, the match set the scene for Heyman turning on his agent. But the story of the match was Lesnar managing to haul the 500 pound tub of flab onto his shoulders and spin him around for an absolutely jaw-dropping F5. The display of raw power got him hugely over with the fans, and earned him a reputation with the WWE faithful. After taking a break to rest nagging injuries, Lesnar came back and won the Royal Rumble, setting up a match with WWE champion, Kurt Angle, in a match many insiders had been waiting for for a LONG time.
With Angle's injury in the way, Lesnar has to be careful. He has destroyed Team Angle, and has set up a credible feud with another bright new star, John Cena. But he has to get past Angle first. Although his life is at risk, Angle is a consummate professional. Yet Lesnar is still relatively green. Angles life is in Lesnar's hands. Will he take the title from Angle? Will he end his career in the process? Or will the Olympic champion prove too much for an NCAA champion? Whether with him or against him, theres no denying Lesnar's sheer power. But when push comes to shove, he is still up against someone seemingly far superior all-round to himself. So can he prove himself once and for all? We can't be sure. But if one thing is for sure, it's that Angle can bring Team Angle and Paul Heyman with him, but he better be more prepared than ever, because in the words of Michael Cole... "Here comes the Pain".
Recommended Lesnar Matches-
v The Rock: Summerslam 2002
v The Undertaker: No Mercy 2002
v Big Show: Survivor Series 2002
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Indy 101 - Trinity
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When one mentions XPW, large majorities of people automatically respond with the typical disdainful remarks. Some just funny, other’s vicious, and some just pathetic in their ignorance. I think I’ve heard them all but the usual ones closely resemble:
“XPW sucks”
“They have horrible wrestlers”
“I hate their owner, I have no respect for him”
“I don’t like them, they’re funded by a porn company”
Yet strangely when they’re asked, a large majority have never even seen a show. I never understood how they automatically garner ignorant opinions when they have never seen a show. For those who have seen the product, that’s their own choice, of course. I don’t write this to shill a specific fed, but despite all the comings and goings, XPW was my first real taste of independent federations so in the end it still holds a place somewhere in the expansiveness of my memory.
Its beginnings were shitty, yes I agree. After I saw the original Baptized in Blood, I did question the intelligence it took for me to buy it. But you can’t help noticing that they do have wrestlers now. They’ve tried to build themselves up with the money that they have. It’s the same exact strategy that Vince and Turner used during their war, but for an indy fan, its bad for business. People are not exclusive so why not?
But that’s not the point of it, the wrestlers are the real point. Guys like Chris Hamrick, Vic Grimes, Angel, and Salem who go out there and do bust their ass for fans, just to get insulted because their boss is a hated man is really sad. For all those people that complain about Rob Black, please go check out John Zandig and Rob Feinstein. They more than likely will have some skeletons in their closet. Technically those men (and women) get spit on by those with established opinions of the owner, which is sad, because they try to put out good shows for those that venture out to see, save the MBV Philly disaster, and that was solely the fault of the company.
The sad thing is in their road to expansion, they forgot to actually put out tapes for people to see, so there has not been a tape out since Hostile Takeover, their first Philadelphia show. With all their accusations of “stealing” maybe it was too much of an issue. Maybe they are going out of business with the lackluster sells in Philly, who the hell knows. Math bores me. I just give out what’s a good match and what isn’t. But if you are looking for some pretty decent tapes, actually there are some good pre-Philly tapes such as 'Go Funk Yourself', 'Baptized in Blood 2', 'Fallout' and 'Redemption'. I would give you scoops on the shows but it saves you all from actually checking them out. For those that want to bash yet never see, go check it out. Stop reading guys that bash them, the hardons they get for their attacks strokes their egos even more. Don’t be ignorant enough not to try it, unless you enjoy having the media feed you all your opinions.
I’m out; you know the routine just email me all your comments, hate mail, death threats, propositions and so forth to the email at the bottom. I’m off to watch some old CZW tapes. Until next time, whenever that may be: Peace, love and blood!!!
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Contributors
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TWO Site News - Mitchell Jones (Mitchell@talkwrestlingonline.com)
US News - Cactus Jack (zaneyinternet@hotmail.com)
UK News - Pabster (Pabster@talkwrestlingonline.com)
International News - Matthew Singh (Singhy@talkwrestlingonline.com)
Wrestlemania Predictions - Mitchell Jones (Mitchell@talkwrestlingonline.com)
Flashback - Daniel Evans (QM@talkwrestlingonline.com)
Superstar Spotlight - Mitchell Jones (Mitchell@talkwrestlingonline.com)
Indy 101 - Trinity (Trinity@talkwrestlingonline.com)
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That's it for this week. Any feedback would be gladly appreciated. Send it, along with any questions or queries, to Mitchell@talkwrestlingonline.com or to any of our contributors. We want your input to help make the newsletter the best we can.
Oh, and anyone who wishes to send in a column or who wishes to help out with various sections may contact me also. Unlike what some may think, this isn't a close-knit policy. If you have good, quality work to offer, you are always welcome to send it in. And all opinions and views are welcome too, whether to praise or criticise.
With that in mind, have a good week.
The TWO Newsletter - "The World of Wrestling, straight to your Inbox!!!"
Talk Wrestling Online Newsletter - Issue 6 - Mar 30th 2003
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Hey,
Seems to be one problem after the other with this newsletter, doesn't it. But with every cloud, there's a silver lining, and for the newsletter, this is it. A bumper Wrestlemania edition, full of news and views, not only on Wrestlemania but on wrestling in general. So what better way to prepare for the greatest spectacle of them all than to sit back with a can of Pepsi, and read the wonders of the TWO newsletter.
Don’t forget the WrestleMania Quiz and Chat tonight, should be good fun!
http://www.talkwrestlingonline.com/Chatrooms/chatrooms.shtml
- Mitchell Jones
TWO Newsletter Editor
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TWO Site News - By Mitchell Jones
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- Wrestlemania X9 Quiz and Chat
As is our monthly tradition here at Talk Wrestling Online, we will be holding our monthly PPV Quiz and Chat night. And this month is the Granddaddy of them all... Wrestlemania XIX. So in anticipation for the big event, with such matches as Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar and Triple H vs Booker T looming, why not head over to the TWO chatroom tonight at 8pm to enter our highly popular quiz. Then from 9pm until 2am, why not stay along for a good ol' chat about the PPV with all the TWO regulars? The more, the merrier. Let's head into Wrestlemania XIX in style.
Wrestlemania XIX Quiz and Chat
Sunday, March 30th
Quiz: 8pm - 9pm
Chat: 9pm - 2am
- Fantasy Wrestling League (FWL) Returns
All you have to do is pick 5 WWE wrestlers within your budget of $3000, the better your wrestlers perform the more points you receive. Once the period is over, whoever has the most points gets to win a prize from the prizes section. For more information see the *NEW* FWL page. Make sure you send your entries are in before the deadline (April 6th). Its open to UK/USA residents
*It based on real results from Raw/Smackdown and PPV’s
http://www.talkwrestlingonline.com/FWL/fwl.shtml
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US News - Cactus Jack
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(News from various sites around the web)
The cage match between Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar on Smackdown a couple of weeks ago was actually heavily edited from the version that occurred live in the arena. At one point, Kurt Angle was due to enter the cage through the door, but the door to the cage was locked by mistake. There was an awkward point in the match with some stalling until Angle decided to simply climb the cage to enter over the top. To fans live, the sequence seemed slow and disjointed, but due to the magic of editing, the TV version went smoothly. Incidentally, Kurt Angle risked more serious injury by climbing the cage, as he only had about 50% strength in one of his arms due to his neck injury
Before the decision was made to go with Kurt Angle/Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania, the original plan was to have Brock win the title on Smackdown and then defend the title against Chris Benoit at the PPV. There was debate as to whether Benoit would be kept consistent and do a face vs. face match with Lesnar, or turned heel. The plan for the heel turn would have been to have Benoit behind attacks of both Edge and Kurt Angle, and have Team Angle turn and become Team Benoit. This would give Benoit a bunch of heel momentum for the match at Wrestlemania, and create natural rivalries for the returns of Edge and Angle in a year. Creative was leaning towards a face vs. face showdown, but the final decision never had to be made.
More details have come in regarding the backstage fight between Ric Flair and Eric Bischoff a week or so ago at RAW. The whole thing started today when Eric Bischoff was on the phone in his office. Ric Flair apparently came in and started blasting Bischoff for incidents dating back to their days together in WCW. The two had heat dating back to WCW because many thought Bischoff never showed Flair the respect he deserved. The two men then got in a face-off and went as far as throwing punches before being pulled apart. The fight was not serious enough to cause any injuries. Later on, Bischoff went to Flair in the catering area and asked to talk with him about their altercation. This resulted in another heated discussion, which had to be broken up by Arn Anderson. Anderson then got into a verbal war with Bischoff and Triple H eventually came and calmed the entire situation down. Bischoff, Flair, and Anderson were all set to meet with Vince McMahon to talk about the incident.
The WWE hierarchy are said to be upset with the WWE's involvement in the recent Girls Gone Wild PPV. Jonathan Coachman is the main target as the feeling is he destroyed whatever credibility he may have had with his showing on the disappointing show. Fans were upset by the hyping of Torrie & Nidia taking part in a stripping contest, which turned out to be just part of an angle, with Nidia attacking Torrie before any stripping occurred.
Due to the recent injuries as of late within WWE, they are starting to ask their superstars to tone down their in-ring styles and work a slower match. WWE wants matches to have more submission and mat-based moves instead of superstars taking big bumps.
Many were shocked to hear Booker T admit to being an ex-convict, when he's supposed to be a face going into WrestleMania. Unlike Nathan Jones, the armed robbery charges really had no part in his gimmick, so hearing Booker T make such an announcement was surprising, to say the least.
Rumors in the back insist that WWE had Booker T make the announcement as a way for Booker T to possibly win the title from HHH at WrestleMania. Although no winner is confirmed as of this writing, many feel that WWE would receive unfavorable media attention if news sources began to report on the angle that WWE put their title on an ex-convict. Thus, having Booker T announce it "on his own terms" makes such a win for Booker possible and prevents bad press.
Last week’s Raw rating is terrible for WWE as they head on towards WrestleMania XIX. Raw scored a 3.8 cable rating, with a 5.8 share, according to Nielsen Media Research. That is down from the previous 4.0 and lower form the 4.5 three weeks ago. The first hour of the show did a 3.5 and the second did a 4.0. It's likely that WWE lost viewers because of the coverage of the US‘s coverage of the impending war with Iraq. If that was the case, this isn't a good approach for WWE leading into their biggest show of the year.
As many of you know The Rock will be leaving WWE once again to film yet another movie. The movie, which is a remake of the "Walking Tall" will start filming on June 2nd from Vancouver.
For the week ending March 16th, WWE SmackDown! was once again UPN's top rated show
WWE announced that their June pay-per view for this year will be called "Bad Blood". Of course, every year before their June pay-per view was "King of the Ring", but due to the brand extension, things change this year. As widely documented the past few months, WWE will be holding split roster pay-per view. The first is expected to be the June "Bad Blood" pay-per view which is tentatively scheduled to be a RAW pay-per view show. After that, each brand will have 4 pay-per views per year, with both sides coming together to hold joint pay-per views at WrestleMania, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, and SummerSlam.
Bill Goldberg has officially signed with the WWE. The deal has said to have been complete for around two weeks now. The current plan is for Goldberg to debut on the RAW right after Wrestlemania, to start a feud with The Rock.
While speaking to various radio stations, Stone Cold said the reason he walked out on WWE was because he was the one selling out the arenas, selling all the merchandise, and thought he deserved to be treated first class. He said they treated him like he was nothing more than a normal superstar. He said that 'Budweiser' got a little upset over WWE using the term "Steveweisers." He finished the interview by saying this very well could be the last time you ever see The Rock and Steve Austin headlining a WrestleMania.
Kevin Kelly was cut from the WWE work team in an effort to cut costs for the company.
It's mentioned in last week's Observer that during a NOAH tour in January, Vader was apparently a victim to a multiple stabbing attack. Rumour has it he was attacked by the Yakuza. He was stabbed in his legs, arms and stomach, but survived the attack. NOAH claimed he withdrew from the tour due to a knee injury, but that's obviously not the case. Misawa has close ties with the Yakuza, but I'm pretty sure that there's no involvement on his part. It's still a fascinating story, and I wonder what Vader must've done to be attacked like this.
According to some, there's a possibility of Kevin Nash making his return at WrestleMania XIX as Eric Bischoff's bodyguard. It's been widely documented that Nash won't be able to work a match by March 30th, but still wants to be involved in the show. This seems to be one of a few ideas creative has come up with to involve "Big Sexy". Another rumor going around strongly is that Nash is to return as "Diesel" and team with Shawn Michaels, or join a new version of the New World Order.
Rumor has it that Vince McMahon has met up with Lex Luger and is very interested in bringing him back into the WWE to reform WCW's nWo Wolfpac group. Apparently, Vince was very happy with Luger's last run in the WWE (the one where he bombed as a top line face) and in an effort to turn around the WWE's sagging fortunes, believes that Luger can help deliver the goods.
Perry Saturn and Viscera made their debuts on TNA this past week, although it is not known how long they will be kept in the company. Also, D'lo Brown and Jeff Jarrett will go one-on-one next week on PPV for the NWA championship.
Ring of Honor has a new World Champion in Samoa Joe. He defeated Xavier at a recent show, to win the title. Many have called this a bad move, and have said that the show in general was a disappointment because of the logic in most of the angles and booking.
Indy promotion Major League Wrestling, featuring such stars as Mike Awesome, La Parka, Jerry Lynn, Steve Corino and former ECW announcer Joey Styles, have reached a deal with The Sunshine Network to broadcast a show in the Florida state and elsewhere every Monday Night after RAW. Beginning April 7th, MLW will be broadcast from 11pm to 12am ET/PT.
It was revealed this past week that 'Mr Perfect' Curt Hennig died from 'acute cocaine intoxication'.
I thought in closing I’d leave some of my views, or to be more precise, “Cactus Jack’s Pile Driving Views”. I might keep this as a regular “feature” if editors allow.
-Will NWA-TNA continue to be the main hope in the form of competition for the WWE? I certainly hope so.
-Is AJ Styles better off in the Indy’s, or can he do one better than most new recruits and avoid being “lost in the shuffle”?
-Am I the only one looking forward to Goldberg’s debut?
Thats all for now. Until next week, peace.
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UK News - Pabster/Goldy
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Hey and welcome to this week's TWO UKScene Newsletter Update. Here are the results from recent shows in the UK:
All Star - 11/03/03 - Fairfield Halls, Croydon
-Broady Steele def. Nigel McGuinness.
-"American Avalanche" PN Neuz def. Flash Barker
-Slyk Wagner Brown def. "Anarchist" Doug Williams.
-Dave Swift def. Hade Vansen.
-The Continentals/The Superflys/The Canadian Chip n' Dales vs The Midlanders ended in a No Contest
NWA UK - 15/03/03 - Stour Centre, Ashford, Kent.
-Quarter Final
Technico def. Jon Ryan
-Quarter Final
Luke LeGrande def. Dave McMillian
-Quarter Final
Psyscho Steve def. Hugh Mungus by DQ.
-Quarter Final
Tony McMillian def. Mike Mendosa.
-Semi Final
Tony McMillian def. Technico to progress to the final.
-Semi Final
Psycho Steve was injured so Luke LeGrande earned a bye to the final of the tournament.
-Final
Tony McMillian def. Luke LeGrande
-Tank was victorious in the 30 man Rumble.
Premier - 15/03/03 - Grange Centre, Midhurst
-Lord Mountevans Gold Belt Championship
Brian Maxine def. Johnny Kidd by TWO falls to ONE.
-Jace the Ace & Lee Darren def. The Masked Emperor & Baxter Burridge by TWO falls to ONE.
-Stace Smith def. Phil Lea by TWO falls to ONE.
-Johnny Kidd was declared the winner of the Battle Royal.
BRAWL - 15/03/03 - Northampton
-MTX def. The Judge.
-Cruiserweight Championship Match
The Face def. Lou Zerr, El Mistique, Rob Hunter, Spud & Jonny Pesci.
-Tag Team Championships Match
Blood & Pyro def. Static & Greebok.
-Havoc def. Chris Peacock.
-Jake "The Snake" Roberts def. Major Destruction.
-BRAWL Heavyweight Championship
Scottie Daniels def. Spatch
FWA Crunch - 16/03/03 - Broxbourne Civic Hall
-James Tighe def. Hade Vansen.
-JX def. Zebra Kid.
-FWA Tag Team Championship Match
Travell and Parker def. Herman and Shane to become new champions.
-Simmons def. Raj Gosh.
-Doug Williams def. James Tighe.
-XPW European Championship Match.
-Jonny Storm def. Jerry Lynn to become the first XPW European Champion.
(The FWA put on yet another good show and Jonny Storm turned heel seconds after winning the XPW European Title! It was a great week for Jonny after his debuting for NWA TNA and now winning the European Title. The guy deserves it.)
Premier wrestling - 23/03/03 - Victoria Centre Crewe
-Phil Powers & Jonathon Allen defeated Baxter Burridge and The Masked Emporer.
-Mike Weaver defeated Keith Myatt.
-Robbie Brookside defeated Flash Barker by DQ (good to see Barker back in action)
-Robbie Brookside won the battle royal.
TWA Wrestling - 23/03/03 - St Georges Hall, Exeter
-James Tighe defeated Tagouri.
-Phil Lea defeated Stace Smith.
-Nikita defeated Paul Travell by DQ.
-Mark Sloan defeated Raj Gosh.
-TWA British Heavyweight Championship:
Alex Shane defeated James Mason to win the vacated belt.
TWA - 24/03/03 - Southhampton
-James Tighe & Mark Sloan def. Raj Ghosh & Aviv Magam & Phil Lea
-Steve Grey def. Mal Sanders to win British middleweight title
Nikita def. Paul Travell
Jake Roberts def. Tagori
Karl Harker & Andrew Huntinghton def. Nattrass Boys
Alex Shane def. James Mason (thanks to Phil Jones)
TWA Wrestling- 24/03/03 - Southampton Guildhall, Southampton, Hampshire
-Mark Sloan & James Tighe defeated the team of Aviv Magam, Raj Gosh & Phil Lea.
-British Middleweight Championship:
Steve Grey defeated Mal Sanders to become the new champion.
-Nikita defeated Paul Travell.
-Jake "The Snake" Roberts defeated Tagouri
-The Natrass Boys defeated The Brit Pack.
-TWA British Heavyweight Championship:
Alex Shane defeated James Mason.
TWA Wrestling - 25/03/03 - Bournemouth International Centre
-The Brit Pack defeated The Natrass Boys.
-British Middleweight Championship:
Steve Grey defeated James Tighe to retain the championship.
-James Mason defeated 'Superstar' Mal Sanders.
-Nikita and Raj Gosh defeated Mark Sloan and Paul Travell.
-Phil Lea defeated Tommy Stevens.
-TWA British Heavyweight Championship:
Alex Shane battled Jake Roberts to a no contest following interference from James Mason. Following the match promoter Scott Conway stripped Alex Shane of the title.
Chic Cullen last week left All Star and he has already set up an "International Wrestling Academy". Go to www.i-w-a.biz for details. All of us at the TWO UKScene wish Chic the best of luck in his new venture.
Flash Barker had breathing problems at Crunch so he didn't compete. We are glad to tell you that he is fine now, although he did spend the night in hospital.
The FWA have now confirmed Juventud Guerrera and Chris Chetti for every night of the British Breakout Tour. Tickets are now on sale for all of the dates on the tour. With matches like Doug Williams vs Juvi Guerrera in a best of three falls match in Ware, it's looking like it could be a great tour! An extra London date has also been added to the tour, details are yet to be announced but it is expected to be in either Battersea or Acton town hall. For further details go to www.frontierwrestling.com/britishbreakout. We at TWO hope to see you all at the Portsmouth show!
Continuing with the FWA they are again appearing at the memorabilia show at the NEC in Birmingham on the 5/6th April. There will be a merchandise stand. FWA stars confirmed for the show are Jonny Storm (both days), The Pitbulls (both days), Jack Xavier (both days), and Family members Brandon Thomas and Ian Daciple.
Following on with the FWA, their fan club is now up and running. Membership costs £40.00. Included in the price is a free FWA video, CD and T Shirt. Aswell as money off house shows and job squad events. For details of how to join check out www.frontierwrestling.com
Ring of honours show on the 22nd of March featured both Doug Williams and Jodi Fleisch. Williams defeated Chris Daniels to regain the FWA title and number one contendership to the ROH championship. Jodi Fleisch defeated Low Ki in a good highflying match.
Doug Williams wrestled James Storm in a dark match for NWA TNA this week. Alot of fans believed that Doug was going to wrestle on the PPV, but it wasn't to be. Hopefully Doug will get another chance soon.
Finally Alex Shanes long awaited 'Shooting gallery' is now up on www.alexshane.com. Its a very interesting read this week. Alex talks about his feeling on the Crunch show, the British Breakout tour, the upcoming Frontiers of Honour show and his three day tour with TWA.
Thats it for this week, make sure you check Adam Sibleys UK Scene column every week where he covers everything in the UK scene aswell as more updates for the forth coming FWA 2 shows. (This weeks should be on the site on Monday)
Thanks for reading
Pabster/Goldy.
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International News - Matt Singh
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Hi readers, it’s another results-packed Puro and Lucha Libre news this week, enjoy…
-Puroresu-
-All Japan Pro Wrestling:
House show results;
On 22/3 at Korakuen Hall with 2,300 paid attendance:
-- Prior to the first match, they did a ten-bell salute to Kodo Fuyuki… also the annual Champion Carnival kicked-off on the show
1. Masa Fuchi over Nobukazu Hirai at 10 minutes 57 seconds with a small-package for the pinfall
2. George Hines, Hideki Hosaka & Ryuji Hijikata over Tomoaki Honma, Kazushi Miyamoto & Kazuki Okubo at 14 minutes 57 seconds when Hines used a Michinoku Driver on Miyamoto for the pin
3. Kendo Kashin & Nobutaka Araya over Johnny Smith & Shigeo Okumura at 11 minutes 32 seconds when Araya landed a moonsault press on Okumura for the pin
4. Arashi over Kohei Sato at 4 minutes 45 seconds with a Frog Splash for the pinfall
5. In the Champion Carnival B Block, Gigantes over Yoji Anjoh at 9 minutes 18 seconds when Gigantes hit chokeslam/goozle on Anjoh for the pin
6. In the Champion Carnival A Block, Big John Tenta (formally Earthquake of the former WWF) over The Gladiator (Mike Awesome) at 13 minutes 40 seconds with a running body press for the pin
7. Keiji Mutoh & Kaz Hayashi over Satoshi Kojima & Jimmy Yang at 21 minutes 22 seconds when Mutoh applied a cross-arm scissors hold on Kojima for the referee stoppage
-New Japan Pro Wrestling:
House show results;
On 18/3 at Sun Arena in Mie with 1,600 paid attendance:
1. Toru Yano over Ryusuke Taguchi at 7 minutes 32 seconds with a front suplex for the pinfall
2. Dan Devine & American Dragon over Gedoh & Jadoh at 9 minutes when Devine hit a double-arm screw suplex on Gedoh for the pin
3. Kengo Kimura & Osamu Nishimura over Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto at 11 minutes 50 seconds when Kimura used an inside cradle on Saito for the pinfall
4. In the U-30 League B-Block, Blue Wolf over Minoru Fujita at 8 minutes 24 seconds when Wolf landed a lariat on Fujita for the pinfall
5. In the U-30 League A Block, Masahito Kakihara over Makai Mask 2 at 8 minutes 5 seconds with a leg lariat for the pin
6. Koji Kanemoto, El Samurai & Jushin Liger over Heat, Stampede Kid & AKIRA at 13 minutes 28 seconds when Kanemoto applied a crab hold on Heat for the referee stoppage
7. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Michiyoshi Ohara over Makai Mask 4 & Ryushi Yanagisawa at 10 minutes 16 seconds when Tenzan landed a diving headbutt on 4 for the pin
8. Tadao Yasuda, Makai Mask 5 & Kazunari Murakami over Hiroshi Tanahashi, Takashi Iizuka & Yuji Nagata at 10 minutes 17 seconds when Yasuda used a Tiger Driver on Tanahashi for the pin
9. Manabu Nakanishi, Yutaka Yoshie & Masa Chono over Shinya Makabe, Rick Steiner & Scott Norton at 14 minutes 04 seconds when Nakanishi applied a Torture Rack on Makabe for the tap-out
On 20/3 at Saitama City Gym with 1,600 paid attendance:
1. Jadoh over Naofumi Yamamoto at 2 minutes 53 seconds with a cross-face hold for the tap-out
2. Makai Mask 2 over El Samurai at 8 minutes 18 seconds with a facebuster for the pinfall
3. Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto over Takashi Iizuka & Yutaka Yoshie at 12 minutes 17 seconds when Saito hit a senton bomb on Iizuka for the pin
4. In the U-30 League B Block, Makai Mask 4 over Toru Yano at 6 minutes 48 seconds when Mask 4 applied a chicken-wing lock on Yano for the tap out
5. In the U-30 League A Block, Shinya Makabe over Masahito Kakihara at 6 minutes 4 seconds when Makabe landed a Fisherman's Buster on Kakihara for the pin
6. Gedoh, Minoru Fujita, Jushin Liger & Koji Kanemoto over American Dragon, Stampede Kid, Heat & AKIRA at 12 minutes 11 seconds when Gedoh applied a Gedoh Clutch on Dragon for the tap out
7. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura over Makai Mask 5 & Ryushi Yanagisawa at 14 minutes 49 seconds when Tenzan landed a Tenzan Tombstone Driver on 5 for the pinfall
8. Scott Norton, Dan Devine & Rick Steiner over Hiroshi Tanahashi, Blue Wolf & Yuji Nagata at 13 minutes 34 seconds when Norton hit a Powerbomb on Tanahashi for the pin
9. Tadao Yasuda, Kazunari Murakami & Makai Mask 1 over Michiyoshi Ohara, Manabu Nakanishi & Masa Chono at 14 minutes 22 seconds when Yasuda hit a Tiger Driver on Ohara for the pin
On 21/3 at Yoyogi National Gym with 4,000 paid attendance:
--Prior to the first match, they did a ten-bell salute for Kodo Fuyuki
1. Masahito Kakihara over Ryusuke Taguchi at 4 minutes 53 seconds with a crab hold for the tap-out
2. AKIRA, Stampede Kid, American Dragon & Heat over El Samurai, Gedoh, Jadoh & Koji Kanemoto at 14 minutes 19 seconds when Nogami applied a standing heel-hook on Samurai for the tap out
3. Ryushi Yanagisawa over Hiroshi Tanahashi at 6 minutes 41 seconds with a Yanagi-Lock for the tap-out
4. In the Osaka Pro Tag Titles Mtch, Jushin Liger & Takehiro Murahama over BK Kid & Gamma at 16 minutes 42 seconds when Liger landed a brainbuster on BK Kid for the pinfall
--In an angle, Mark Coleman (former UFC Champion) showed up and challenged current IWGP Heavyweight title holder Yuji Nagata to a match
5. Tadao Yasuda, Kazunari Murakami & Makai Mask 1 over Tatsutoshi Goto, Michiyoshi Ohara & Enson Inoue at 3 minutes 38 seconds when Yasuda used a Tiger Driver on Goto for the pinfall
6. Takashi Iizuka over Makai Mask 5 at 3 minutes 21 seconds when Takashi applied a choke sleeper for the referee stoppage
7. Hiroyoshi Tenzan over Makai Mask 4 at 4 minutes 35 seconds when Tenzan used a Tenzan Tombstone Driver (TTD) for the pin
8. Masa Chono over Shinya Makabe at 2 minutes 30 seconds with a school-boy for the pinfall
9. Manabu Nakanishi, Osamu Nishimura & Yuji Nagata over Dan Devine, Rick Steiner & Scott Norton at 15 minutes 54 seconds when Nakanishi applied a Torture Rack on Devine for the tap-out
On 22/3 at Hamamatsu City Gym with 2,400 paid attendance:
1. Toru Yano & Ryusuke Taguchi over Naofumi Yamamoto & Blue Wolf at 9 minutes 22 seconds when Yano applied a Canadian Backbreaker on Yamamoto for the tap out
2. Heat & American Dragon over Gedoh & Jadoh at 10 minutes 9 seconds when Heat used a Fisherman's Buster on Gedoh for the pinfall
3. Tatsutoshi Goto & Hiro Saito over El Samurai & Osamu Nishimura at 11 minutes 29 seconds when Goto landed a senton bomb on Samurai for the pinfall
4. Jushin Liger & Koji Kanemoto drew with Stampede Kid & AKIRA via double countout at 8 minutes 21 seconds, they did a re-start and Kanemoto went over Stampede Kid at 2 minutes 32 seconds when Kanemoto applied a standing heel-hook for the tap out
5. In the U-30 League A Block, Hiroshi Tanahashi over Dan Devine at 8 minutes 4 seconds with a bridging Dragon Suplex for the pin
6. Yuji Nagata, Michiyoshi Ohara & Takashi Iizuka over Makai Masks 4 & 5, & Ryushi Yanagisawa at 10 minutes 43 seconds when Nagata applied the Nagata Lock III on 4 for the tap out
7. Kengo Kimura & Masa Chono over Makai Mask 1 & Tadao Yasuda at 8 minutes 50 seconds when Kimura hit a leg lariat on 1 for the pinfall
8. Scott Norton, Shinya Makabe & Rick Steiner over Yutaka Yoshie, Manabu Nakanishi & Hiroyoshi Tenzan at 14 minutes 9 seconds when Norton used a Powerbomb on Yoshie for the pin
The current standings for the -30 League are as follows:
A Block:
--Makabe - 6 points
--Tanahashi - 5 points
--Devine - 4 points
--Makai 2 - 3 points
--Kakihara - 2 points
B Block:
--Yoshie - 8 points
--Wolf - 4 points
--Makai 4 - 4 points
--Yano - 2 points
--Minoru Fujita - 0 points
Pro Wrestling NOAH:
House shows results;
On22/3 at Odawara Sub-Arena with 1,400 paid attendance:
1. Haruka Eigen over Mitsuo Momota at 7 minutes 14 seconds with a back-slide for the pinfall
2. Daisuke Ikeda over Donovan Morgan at 7 minutes 11 seconds when Daisuke used his ‘Mr. Big Bomber’ finish for the pin
3. Takashi Sugiura & Yoshinobu Kanemaru over Yasuhiro Suzuki & Naoki Sano at 13 minutes 26 seconds when Sugiura hit an Olympic Slam on Suzuki for the pinfall
4. Tamon Honda over Vinnie Valentino at 6 minutes 5 seconds via pinfall
5. Bull Schmitt, Michael Modest & IZU over Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Masao Inoue & Kenta Kobashi at 20 minutes 9 seconds when Modest used his ‘Reality Check’ finish on Kikuchi for the pin
6. Yoshinari Ogawa & Mitsuharu Misawa over Kishin Kawabata & Akira Taue at 13 minutes 47 seconds when Ogawa used a bridging back-drop suplex on Kawabata for the pinfall
7. Naomichi Marufuji, Takeshi Morishima & Takeshi Rikio over Makoto Hashi, Akitoshi Saito & Jun Akiyama at 20 minutes 2 seconds when Morishima used a back-drop suplex on Hashi for the pin
Fighting World of Japan:
On 19/3, in a big blow to the up-start promotion, the group was forced to ditch it’s already underway Genichiro Tenryu versus Riki Choshu ‘best of 6 series’ after Tenryu suffered a head injury, and was taken to hospital to be examined. Since Tenryu will be out for at least 3 weeks, there’s been talk that Choshu (the promotions founder) will bring in Atsushi Onita to fill-in for Tenryu.
House show results:
On 18/3 at Ota City Gym with 2,450 paid attendance:
1. Masahiko Kochi over Kazushi Miyamoto at 7 minutes 46 seconds with a crab hold for the tap out
2. Tomohiro Ishii over Tomoaki Honma at 11 minutes 38 seconds with a bridging German suplex for the pin
3. Yoji Anjoh over Takashi Uwano at 8 minutes 20 seconds with an elbow smash for the pin
4. Todd & Mike Shane over Steve Madison & Big Vito at 12 minutes 16 seconds when Todd hit a chokeslam on Madison for the pinfall
5. In a No-Rope Barbed Wire Death Match, Yoshiaki Yatsu, Shiro Koshinaka & Riki Choshu over Ichiro Yaguchi, Ricky Fuji & Atsushi Onita at 12 minutes 50 seconds when Yatsu made Yaguchi tap-out
6. Takao Omori over Nobutaka Araya at 10 minutes 43 seconds with an Axe Bomber for the pin
7. Kensuke Sasaki & Kenzo Suzuki over The Road Warriors 11 minutes 20 seconds when Sasaki landed a Northern Lights Bomb on Hawk for the pin
On 19/3 at Saitama City Heath and Sports Gym with 1,380 paid attendance:
1. Tomohiro Ishii & Kazushi Miyamoto went to a 20-minute time-limit draw
2. Takashi Uwano over Tomoaki Honma at 10 minutes 6 seconds with a bridging German suplex for the pinfall
3. Yoji Anjoh over Masahiko Kochi at 8 minutes 38 seconds via pinfall
4. Big Vito over Nobutaka Araya at 8 minutes 30 seconds with a front neck lock for the tap out
5. Takao Omori over Steve Madison at 11 minutes 7 seconds with an Axe Bomber for the pin
6. The Road Warriors over Yoshiaki Yatsu & Kenzo Suzuki at 5 minutes 51 seconds when Hawk pinned Yatsu after a ‘Double-Impact’ finish
7. Kensuke Sasaki & Shiro Koshinaka over Todd & Mike Shane at 10 minutes 32 seconds when Sasaki used a Northern Lights Bomb on Todd for the pin
Elsewhere:
Kodo Fuyuki passed away on 19/3, after a lengthy battle with intestinal cancer, aged 42. Fuyuki first made a name for himself when he broke-into the industry in 1980’s with the All Japan promotion in Hokkaido and after a decade working for All Japan, he jumped to Genichiro Tenryu’s WAR promotion in 1992 and worked several great matches under that banner. Fuyuki then jumped to Atsushi Onita’s Frontier Martial Arts (FMW) garbage promotion, gaining a spot helping on the creative end of the group. After the death of one of FMW’s head-management, Shoichi Arai, Fuyuki decided to go it alone and put together his own promotion, World Entertainment Wrestling (WEW) in late 2001. Fuyuki’s last public appearance came on 11/3 at the legendary Korakuen Hall during an angle involving him challenging Triple Crown title holder Shinya Hashimoto to an Exploding Death match for 5/5 at the Kawasaki Stadium car-park.
The likes of Yoji Anjoh and Shiro Koshinaka have led the public condolences for Fuyuki
Titles held by Kodo Fuyuki ~
--WEW 6 Man tag team titles
--FWM Double Titles
--FWM Asia tag team titles
--WAR Man tag team titles
--WEW World Brass Knux tag team titles
--WEW World 6 Man Street Fight tag team titles
In a related story, former FMW referee, Go Ito, will take charge of WEW after Fuyuki’s passing. WEW’s next show will be the aforementioned 5/5 Kawasaki car-park Stadium show.
Super-over star in Japan, Bob Sapp, recently said during a radio interview that George w. Bush and Saddam Hussein should settle their differences in a K-1 rules match, with Sapp promoting the event. For any readers who don’t know who Sapp is, he’s a 6’6, 290lbs (legit. stats) kickboxer, who has found unexpected huge in Japan, and is more famous and well-known in Japan than Hogan is in the U.S, tenfold. Sapp has worked pro wrestling matches before, most notably for AJPW at their last Wrestle-1 show against a fellow kickboxer, Ernesto Hoost
Garbage legend Atsushi Onita had to cancel a scheduled appearance at FWJ’s 20/3 due to the violence in and around Iraq. Onita has a seat in the Japanese senate
-Lucha Libre-
EMLL:
House show results:
On 18/3 at Arena Coliseo:
1. Pequeno Olimpico & Ultimo Dragoncito over Guerrerito del Futuro & Pierrothito
2. El Jeque & Reyes Veloz over Alacran & Sombra de Plata
3. Brazo de Oro, Ringo Mendoza & El Sicodelico Jr. over Halcon Negro, Hooligan & Violencia
4. Averno, Mephisto & El Satanico over Genetico, El Hijo del Anibal & Olimpico
5. Cien Caras, Emilio Charles Jr. & Mascara Ano 2000 over Brazo de Plata, Rayo de Jalisco Jr. & Tinieblas Jr
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Final Wrestlemania XIX Card (with predictions) - Mitchell Jones
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Two nights from now, WWE will be presenting to the world the nineteenth instalment of the biggest PPV of it’s year: Wrestlemania. The matches are set, the attractions have been signed. So right now, lets take a look at the PPV as it lines up, complete with my own personal opinions.
LIMP BIZKIT PERFORMANCE:
As a fan of this band, and having heard the song they'll be performing, I am looking forward to this. Don't expect the fans to be too into it though.
PREDICTED RESULT: Rock
MILLER LITE CATFIGHT GIRLS:
One question: Who?
PREDICTED RESULT: Finding out who the hell they actually are.
WORLD TAG TITLE MATCH - MORLEY/STORM v KANE/RVD:
Well to be honest, I don't expect much from this match. But then I guess lets just be thankful William Regal isn't in this match. After all the build-up, I expect the Dudleyz to get involved somehow, and either for them to cost RVD and Kane the match (if one doesn't turn on the other) or for the Dudleyz to turn face again and reveal the "It was a set up all along". For some reason, I got a feeling that with RAW needing teams, and with there being no sense in Morley and Storm retaining the belts, I'll side with Rob Van Dam and The Big Red Machine for this one.
PREDICTED RESULT: RVD/Kane
WWE TAG TITLE MATCH - TEAM ANGLE v BENOIT/RHYNO v LOS GUERREROS:
Seemingly the better of the two tag title matches on the PPV, at least on paper, this one should be a short but sweet intense contest. Given fair build up, I expect some great work from all six involved, especially from Rhyno, who has looked in fantastic shape since his return. Los Guerreros have also been on a bit of a role, but I fail to see what relevance they serve in this match after spending their past few weeks feuding with the F.B.I. But you know, as Team Angle not long won the titles, and WWE seemingly would like to keep pushing Team Angle as a credible team, I expect Team Angle to pick this one up.
PREDICTED RESULT: Team Angle
WOMENS TITLE MATCH - VICTORIA v TRISH v JAZZ:
Well the build-up to this has been awful. Face v Face, Heel v Heel, Face and Heel v Heel and Heel. Not the most sensical of booking. Don't expect two much from this, although I expect Victoria to be a lot better than Lita was last triple threat. Still, the build up has been built around Jazz, and that's how I expect it to stay. So expect the former ECW killer to pick up the title.
PREDICTED RESULT: Jazz
CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE MATCH - MATT HARDY v REY MYSTERIO:
Given the right amount of time and allowed to go all out, this could steal match of the night. Rey has been better than he has in a long time since coming in to the WWE, and Matt has been on a role (up until his push was halted). Both men can work fantastically when they want to, and with Shannon Moore at ringside, anything can happen. Logic would say Rey overcomes the odds and wins the title, but with the Hardyz autobiography out now, I predict they'll have Version 1 retain for another month or so. Never count out a monster Wrestlemania special 619 though.
PREDICTED RESULT: Matt Hardy
UNDERTAKER/NATHAN JONES v A-TRAIN/BIG SHOW
The wild card in my opinion. Everyone pretty much expects this match to be the worst match ever. So why do I have a nagging feeling that everyone will be in for a shock? I seriously expect to see a better match than what is expected. Although it will be overshadowed somewhat in my opinion by Nathan Jones. WWE wants to build him up, so what better way than to have him turn on Taker, costing Taker his winning streak at Wrestlemania. I can't see any other reason for the Taker/Jones union. And it would be the most sensical move in my view. So I say why not?
PREDICTED RESULT: A-Train/Big Show
SHAWN MICHAELS v CHRIS JERICHO
A dream match of mine in a way. Being a huge fan of Jericho, and having respected the in-ring work of Michaels for many many years, this to me is something that should have happened back in 1996. Unfortunately, this is 2003, where neither man is the man they once were, whether due to injury or lack of a decent push and usage by bookers. Both are outdated and both need to do something new. Maybe this can bring the end of an era, and move both on to new things. But who puts who over? Logic would say Jericho goes over. WWE would say Michaels does. Unfortunately, logic never wins in WWE, so as much as it pains me, I can only see one man emerging victorious, and its ol' HBK.
PREDICTED RESULT: *sigh* Shawn Michaels
WHO CREATED HULKAMANIA - HULK HOGAN v VINCE McMAHON
Now THIS is the match I'm predicting for Dud of the Year. I know McMahon can pull off some decent matches every now and then (as his Royal Rumble battle with Ric Flair proved last year), but Hogan is another washed up guy, a lot less talented ring wise than Flair. But he is super over, and it is a Street Fight. So saying that, I can only imagine that Hogan will also surprise us somewhat, and produce to us a mean streak we've never seen before. And who are they kidding by ending Hogan's career? McMahon doesn't go over one-on-one on Pay per view, so look for the Immortal one to go over.
PREDICTED RESULT: Hulk Hogan
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - TRIPLE H v BOOKER T
Booker was a rising star. Booker was getting over. Booker was well liked by the fans. Booker was entertaining. Booker was ready for a main event push. Then came HHH. End of push. Sorry, but HHH has totally ruined this feud completely. Turning it into a racism thing? Destroying Maven, Al Snow and Goldust for no reason whatsoever? What's the point? Oh thats right... HHH's ego. There's only room for HHH on RAW, and Booker ain't got a chance. So wave goodbye to any credibility Booker has ever got, and get ready for another dominant HHH win. Somethings never change...
PREDICTED RESULT: Triple H
WWE CHAMPIONSHIP - BROCK LESNAR v KURT ANGLE
The match everyone has been waiting for a long time now, unfortunately may not be remembered for the wrestling showcase originally expected. For Brock Lesnar, this is his first taste of proper Wrestlemania stardom. His chance to shine. For Kurt Angle, it's realisation that this could be the end of his career, or even his life. It's a shame, but Kurt vowed to fight through it, even though doctors advised against it. Everyone will be on the edge of their seats, ooh'ing and ahh'ing, as Angle pains his way to the end. Because of this, I can see no reason why Angle can retain the belt, and therefore think it’s obvious that Lesnar is walking home with the gold, and look for Team Angle to turn on their leader at the end too. This'll probably lead to an Angle face turn as he walks out on the WWE for a good while. Lets just pray to God he makes it to the end.
PREDICTED RESULT: Brock Lesnar
STONE COLD v THE ROCK
The match I think will main event, this is round three of these two guy's Wrestlemania rivalry. Although some may argue it's old and passé now to have these two main event WM, the two never fail to deliver something special in the ring. True, Stone Cold is ring rusty, and this will be his first full match, but the electricity should still be huge. As for a winner.. well common sense would say Rock wins, as Austin owns two victories out of two over Rocky already, but Austin needs this win. Rock is holding WWE together right now. He is super over and about to jump into a feud with Bill Goldberg, before going off for another movie. Austin is in for the long haul, and losing would only make him look weak in the long run. So I say Austin picks up the pin. On the subject of Goldberg, expect him to make some sort of appearance at WM, in one way or another.
PREDICTED RESULT: Stone Cold
OVERALL:
Well the build-up has been a shambles, thats for sure, and it surely won't have the "special" feel that most Wrestlemania's have. Even the Axcess event has been branded a huge disappointment. But for some reason, I think WM will shock us all this year. While there is a lack of gimmick matches and "stand-out" matches so to speak, never count the WWE out. I'm sure that they realise it's all or nothing now, and for this reason, I expect everyone involved to pull out all the stops in the four hour extravaganza.
PREDICTED RESULT: Another top=notch Wrestlemania, one way or the other.
You can post your predictions on the event below:
http://www.talkwrestlingonline.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6186
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Flashback - Daniel Evans
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-WrestleMania 3, March 29th 1987-
Hey Ho folks, welcome to another edition of Flashback, the column that delves deep into that past of wrestling, the column that looks at some of the best, and some of the worst events and products in wrestling history. I was going to review Unforgiven 1999 in this edition, but I have put that on the backburner because I sort of got carried away with all the Wrestlemania hype. So I got my Wrestlemania videos out and went through each tape to see which would be suitable to review, I was really stuck, some of them had good points, a lot had bad points. After some deliberation I finally decided to review Wrestlemania 3.
So lets have a look at it, it certainly is the most talked about Wrestlemania, it seems every month or so we hear Hogan exaggerating about how he picked Andre up over his head and slammed him on the floor, while this is indeed true, I’m sure Hogan wasn’t the first person to do it, and he hardly picked him up over his head. Anyway getting back to business, the event was massive to the WWF, not just had some superb matches on the card, but it also had the largest attendance record of a Wrestlemania to date, but taking all this into account, does this Wrestlemania deserve all the hype it gets? I aim to find out.
As usual I’m going to pick my three best matches from the night and give you a little rant about each one, by the way, its not because I can’t be arsed to review all the matches, its just merely a way of me giving you my personal highlights from the PPV, rather than the lowlights, trust me, it really is.
The first match I’m going to pick from the card is one of my favourite Wrestlemania matches of all time. Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage for the Intercontinental Championship. To fully understand this match I’ll give you a brief look at the history of this pair, in a match between Savage and Steamboat for the IC Championship, Savage took the ring bell to Steamboat’s throat and “damaged” it, subsequently this put Steamboat out for a couple of months. Upon his return Steamboat interfered in a match with George Steele and Randy Savage on a Saturday Night Main Event show. With no love lost between George Steele and Savage, Steamboat invited Steele to be in his corner at WrestleMania 3, in which he would take on “Macho Man” Randy Savage for the Intercontinental Championship.
To say that this match was good would be the biggest understatement in history, this match was superb. I have often said matches have been superb, but this, this was superb in every single aspect possible. Both Savage and Steamboat performed to the best of their ability and it certainly paid off for the fans as well as both men’s careers. The match was full of offensive moves by the part of Savage as he dominated the match for a good proportion. He worked on Steamboat’s throat continuing the assault he carried out months ago, he went outside the ring-throwing Steamboat into the barriers trying to damage Steamboat’s throat even more. As the match continued Steamboat gained the momentum, with what I think is the best succession of pin attempts in any match I have seen, 1 & 2 counts were happening all over, one after the other, to have been sat in that crowd must have been the greatest experience a wrestling fan could have had. Then Savage came back and threw Steamboat into the ropes, knocking down ref Dave Hebner and Steamboat. As both Dave and Steamboat lay on the floor, Savage went to the top rope and he hit the flying elbow, but as the ref was out didn’t get the two count. Savage went to the outside to the use the ring bell, as he got in the ring, George Steele attempted to get the bell off Savage but failed to do so, as Savage went up to the top rope with the ring bell, George Steele again tried to prevent Savage, this time he was successful as he pushed Savage off onto the mat with roars of cheers from the crowd. As both Savage and Steamboat got up, Savage went to slam Steamboat onto the mat, but Steamboat reversed the move into a pinning hold and got the 3 count in the most epic-wrestling match I have witnessed. This match was sound in every way, the wrestling was sound, the booking was sound, the momentum of offensive moves from each guy was sound, and to the tiniest of detail this match was sound. Wrestling wise, it was technical, but not to technical, it offered the most basic moves but performed the best way I have ever seen them. Entertainment wise this match must have been planned out to the tiniest of detail, because it worked so well, every thing flowed and the match was like a well oiled machine it just kept on working. It didn’t really matter much who won this match, it was so good it turned both men in to legends, and I’m sure it paved the way for Savage to become WWF World Champion just one year later. I think most people will find it impossible to talk about the history of the Intercontinental Championship without referring to this match some where down the line, it ranks up there with Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog at Summerslam ’92, with Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Roman at WM 10 and with Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect at Summerslam ’91, it may even be the greatest Intercontinental Championship match of all time.
Moving on, the next match is a bizarre choice of mine because a lot of people think it’s not really that special, it’s just crazy little me thinks it is. I’m talking about Honky Tonk Man vs. Jake Roberts. Indeed this all stemmed from “the guitar shot that rocked the world”, in which HTM hit Jake with a “real” guitar, not one of your Jeff Jarrett specials made out of paper and compressed wood. Anyways, the match also featured a special guest by the name of Alice Cooper who accompanied Jake “the Snake” Roberts to ring side. Pretty much basic match with Robert’s doing most of the offensive moves, HTM came back with some offence of his own, but Roberts gained the advantage, he then went to hit a DDT, but Jimmy Hart grabbed his legs and prevented him from planting HTM, Honky took advantage of this and rolled up Robert’s while holding the ropes and he got the victory. I liked this match, it was not to long, and I think it offered a nice does of ring physiology on behalf of Roberts, something that the WWE product often lacks nowadays. This match was also important from HTM as it was one of his biggest victories and set him up nicely to capture the Intercontinental Championship just a few weeks later. Not bad stuff at all, I like it anyways.
Finally the match that made WWF history, the match that people have talked about for years, the match that will be talked about for many years to come and the match that will be forever embedded in everybody’s head as the peak of a little known craze called Hulkamania, if you haven’t guessed yet, I’m talking about Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant. Before we start to look at the match I’ll give you a little history lesson about this feud. Hogan and Andre had been sort of running buddies, sort of good friends. This all changed when Andre challenge Hogan to a shot at his WWF Championship, and in a scene that will be screened forever, Andre ripped Hogan’s shirt from him along with his crucifix and this practically brought Hogan to tears. To add more salt to the wounds of Hogan, Andre got the help of the Bobby Heenan in his crusade to capture the WWF Championship.
So with 93, 000 fans in attendance the match was set, and to be quite blunt the match sucked like hell, wrestling wise that is, entertainment wise it was the greatest match of all time. The match was a matter of Andre dominating Hogan with a few slow powerful moves such as sleeper holds and big chops, and then Hogan would make a comeback. As Andre dominated the pace of the match he hit Hogan with a boot to the face and knocked him outside the ring, As both men fight with each other, Hogan gains a small advantage when Andre accidentally head buts the ring post, Hogan then attempts to piledrive Andre to the floor, but Andre reverses the move into a back body drop. As both men get in the ring Hogan nails Andre with a clothesline, knocking the big man down. As Hulk Hogan starts to Hulk up, Andre struggles back to his feet only to be met with a mighty powerslam from Hogan followed by the legdrop that has beaten so many people, Hogan then pinned Andre for the biggest victory of his career. Andre was the last big step for Hogan in his career, when he beat Andre he truly became the biggest superstar in pro-wrestling history. As I said before the match was pretty awful, but that didn’t matter, every fan’s dream had come true. Andre was pretty broke down, I had seen a match with Hogan and Andre from 1980 in the Shea Stadium and that had been a lot different, but nevertheless respect to both Andre and Hogan because they done the best they could. I can’t really explain how important this match was, it was the peak of Hulkamania and probably the main reason all the 93,000 fans jammed packed the Pontiac Silver Dome. This was the height of the WWF popularity; I don’t know if it will ever be this popular again, I’d like to think so, but I doubt it.
OTHER MATCHES:
Rick Martel & Tom Zenk vs. Bob Orton & Don Muraco
Billy Jack Haynes vs. Hercules
Hilly Billy Jim, Haiti Kid & Little Beaver vs. King Kong Bundy, Little Tokyo & Lord Littlebrook
Harley Race vs. Junk Yard Dog
Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake vs. The Rougeau Brothers
Roddy Piper vs. Adrian Adonis
Hart Foundation & Danny Davis vs. The British Bulldogs & Tito Santana
Butch Reed vs. Koko B Ware
Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff vs. The Killer Bees
OVERALL:
Wrestlemania 3 should be that one WWF video every fan has; no matter if you are relatively new to the world of pro-wrestling, or if you are a long-term fan, you should have this video on your shelf at home. Its not just got some top notch matches on the card, its also much more significant than that, it is historically the biggest and grandest WWF PPV of all time, with what is probably the biggest WWF match in the history of the WWF, in which I don’t think Vince McMahon will ever be able to top. It is not my favourite PPV at all, but you can’t take away the fact that it is so historical to wrestling fans its worth buying. So if like me you get little carried away with all this Wrestlemania hype, I’d get down to your local VHS store, hunt on ebay and search every car boot sale in town until you get your copy of the biggest sports extravaganza in the history of the WWF.
Until the next time I decide to take a flash, bye!
Points: 10/10
Dan.
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Superstar Spotlight (WM Special) - Mitchell Jones
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=WWE CHAMPION: KURT ANGLE=
Trademark Moves-
Ankle Lock submission
Angle Slam
German Suplex
Arm Drag from the top rope
Titles Held-
WWE Championship
WCW Championship
WWE Intercontinental
WWE European
WWE Hardcore
WWE Tag Team (w/ Chris Benoit)
1996 Olympic Gold Medal (Freestyle Wrestling)
Tournaments Won-
WWE King Of The Ring 2000
After winning the 1996 Olympic Gold Medal for America in the 220 freestyle wrestling competition, Angle was scouted by the glamorous world of Pro Wrestling. After turning down ECW, Angle signed with the World Wrestling Federation and debuted at the 1999 Survivor Series against Shawn 'Meat' Staziak, as the "most celebrated real athlete in WW(F) history". He immediately made a huge impact, providing some top quality entertainment and proving that a witch from amateur to pro wrestling was a wise choice. He quickly picked up on a batch of titles, including becoming "Euro-continental" champion, before losing both belts in a triple threat match with Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania 2000.
The meteoric rise continued when Angle went through 3 men in one night to be crowned 2000 King of the Ring. And in October of the same year, Angle capped off quite possibly the most successful debut year in WW(F) history by defeating The Rock in a scorcher to become WWE champion. Unfortunately, the Olympic one got caught by the "end of year champion curse" and his title reign wasn't as successful as it should have been, often playing second fiddle to Stone Cold and HHH. He dropped the belt at No Way Out 2001 in another cracker with The Rock and then played it cool for a while, before leading the charge as the WCW/ECW Invasion angle began. Turning face, Angle was a scream with Austin and Vince McMahon, before Austin turned his back on the WW(F). This caused Angle to be pushed into the main event again as serious straight-faced face Angle, and was given the World title yet again in an uninspiring run, set up only to promote his autobiography. But not to worry... he soon turned heel a few months later, before costing the Alliance their jobs as he sided with Vince McMahon.
Once again the cocky heel, Angle enjoyed a successful run in the upper mid card, engaging in a gripping feud with Edge, which lead to him having his hair shaved off. As the brand split took off, Angle was then utilised as part of the SmackDown six, as he, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Chavo Guerrero, Edge and Rey Mysterio stole shows around the world, earning rave reviews for his top quality matches with whoever was laid in front of him. Fans gained a new respect for him as he showed the world why he was quite simply the very best WWE has to offer. This lasted until Armageddon, where he defeated WWE Champion Big Show to become champion once again, thanks to Brock Lesnar, before turning on Brock and siding with Paul Heyman. Acquiring the services of developmental graduates Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas, Angle become the most serious he ever has, and adopted the name "Team Angle" for his group, showing tremendous courage and strength, and setting up a heated feud with Brock Lesnar, another former NCAA champion.
Unfortunately for everyone, Angle suffered a severe injury to his neck, so severe that one false move and he could be paralysed, if not killed. But ever the dedicated star, he told WWE he was going ahead with the WM match with Lesnar, and would wrestle with as much dedication and skill as he does without the neck injury. How will it all end? Will Angle carry on? Will his career be cut short? Was saying 'no' to the 2004 Olympics the worst move he ever made? Who knows? All we know for sure is, wherever Kurt Angle is, you are guaranteed the most dedication and skill you will see from any wrestler in North America. And that my friends... is damn true.
Recommended Angle Matches-
v The Rock: No Way Out 2001
v Edge: Judgement Day 2002
v Rey Mysterio: Summerslam 2002
=NUMBER 1 CONTENDER: BROCK LESNAR=
Trademark Moves-
F5
Overhead Belly to Belly Suplex
Spinning Powerbomb
Titles Held-
WWE Championship
NCAA Heavyweight
Tournaments Won-
WWE King of the Ring
WWE Royal Rumble
A former NCAA runner-up, and eventually champion, the 6 foot 4, 295 pound chiselled machine was signed to a developmental deal by WWE in 2000, and sent down to Jim Cornettes Ohio Valley Wrestling, making great strides as one half of the Minnesota Stretching Crew with Shelton Benjamin. Turning down several NFL offers, Lesnar continues to learn the craft, until 2002 marked his big break.
With WWE crying for new stars, Vince McMahon saw his own version of Goldberg staring right at him in the form of Lesnar. So the push was laid out, and on an April edition of RAW, systematically laid out Spike Dudley in an act of total brutality. Accompanied by Paul Heyman, who was assigned as Lesnar's mouthpiece to make up for his shortcomings in the charisma department, Lesnar went on a rampage, destroying the Hardy Boys left, right, and centre, before wiping out Test and Rob Van Dam to become 2002 King of the Ring. Beginning a few with RVD over the Intercontinental title, Lesnar came up short, but still put a beating to his high flying opponent. Displaying great improvement in the ring, Lesnar was still not ready in many peoples eyes to make it to the next level. But the decision was made. The Rock, on his way out to film a new movie, put Brock over on the way out, and dropped the Undisputed title to him. The youngest champion in WWE history, Lesnar's push was complete.
Unfortunately, Lesnar was still suffering in the charisma department, but on the plus side, his matches were becoming more brutal, and WWE did a fine job in hiding his weaknesses and exposing his strengths... most notably his power and awe-inspiring speed, which to his credit were fantastic to watch. Lesnar had a two month feud with The Undertaker, ending in an absolutely brutal Hell in a Cell match. Lesnar displayed his power, resilience, and improvement in the way he conducted himself in the ring. Even the little things, like the way he bumped out of the ring, and got frustrated at ringside, were praised by many. But the big moment came at Survivor Series, when Lesnar dropped the title to Big Show. In one of Big Show's better performances, the match set the scene for Heyman turning on his agent. But the story of the match was Lesnar managing to haul the 500 pound tub of flab onto his shoulders and spin him around for an absolutely jaw-dropping F5. The display of raw power got him hugely over with the fans, and earned him a reputation with the WWE faithful. After taking a break to rest nagging injuries, Lesnar came back and won the Royal Rumble, setting up a match with WWE champion, Kurt Angle, in a match many insiders had been waiting for for a LONG time.
With Angle's injury in the way, Lesnar has to be careful. He has destroyed Team Angle, and has set up a credible feud with another bright new star, John Cena. But he has to get past Angle first. Although his life is at risk, Angle is a consummate professional. Yet Lesnar is still relatively green. Angles life is in Lesnar's hands. Will he take the title from Angle? Will he end his career in the process? Or will the Olympic champion prove too much for an NCAA champion? Whether with him or against him, theres no denying Lesnar's sheer power. But when push comes to shove, he is still up against someone seemingly far superior all-round to himself. So can he prove himself once and for all? We can't be sure. But if one thing is for sure, it's that Angle can bring Team Angle and Paul Heyman with him, but he better be more prepared than ever, because in the words of Michael Cole... "Here comes the Pain".
Recommended Lesnar Matches-
v The Rock: Summerslam 2002
v The Undertaker: No Mercy 2002
v Big Show: Survivor Series 2002
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Indy 101 - Trinity
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When one mentions XPW, large majorities of people automatically respond with the typical disdainful remarks. Some just funny, other’s vicious, and some just pathetic in their ignorance. I think I’ve heard them all but the usual ones closely resemble:
“XPW sucks”
“They have horrible wrestlers”
“I hate their owner, I have no respect for him”
“I don’t like them, they’re funded by a porn company”
Yet strangely when they’re asked, a large majority have never even seen a show. I never understood how they automatically garner ignorant opinions when they have never seen a show. For those who have seen the product, that’s their own choice, of course. I don’t write this to shill a specific fed, but despite all the comings and goings, XPW was my first real taste of independent federations so in the end it still holds a place somewhere in the expansiveness of my memory.
Its beginnings were shitty, yes I agree. After I saw the original Baptized in Blood, I did question the intelligence it took for me to buy it. But you can’t help noticing that they do have wrestlers now. They’ve tried to build themselves up with the money that they have. It’s the same exact strategy that Vince and Turner used during their war, but for an indy fan, its bad for business. People are not exclusive so why not?
But that’s not the point of it, the wrestlers are the real point. Guys like Chris Hamrick, Vic Grimes, Angel, and Salem who go out there and do bust their ass for fans, just to get insulted because their boss is a hated man is really sad. For all those people that complain about Rob Black, please go check out John Zandig and Rob Feinstein. They more than likely will have some skeletons in their closet. Technically those men (and women) get spit on by those with established opinions of the owner, which is sad, because they try to put out good shows for those that venture out to see, save the MBV Philly disaster, and that was solely the fault of the company.
The sad thing is in their road to expansion, they forgot to actually put out tapes for people to see, so there has not been a tape out since Hostile Takeover, their first Philadelphia show. With all their accusations of “stealing” maybe it was too much of an issue. Maybe they are going out of business with the lackluster sells in Philly, who the hell knows. Math bores me. I just give out what’s a good match and what isn’t. But if you are looking for some pretty decent tapes, actually there are some good pre-Philly tapes such as 'Go Funk Yourself', 'Baptized in Blood 2', 'Fallout' and 'Redemption'. I would give you scoops on the shows but it saves you all from actually checking them out. For those that want to bash yet never see, go check it out. Stop reading guys that bash them, the hardons they get for their attacks strokes their egos even more. Don’t be ignorant enough not to try it, unless you enjoy having the media feed you all your opinions.
I’m out; you know the routine just email me all your comments, hate mail, death threats, propositions and so forth to the email at the bottom. I’m off to watch some old CZW tapes. Until next time, whenever that may be: Peace, love and blood!!!
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Contributors
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TWO Site News - Mitchell Jones (Mitchell@talkwrestlingonline.com)
US News - Cactus Jack (zaneyinternet@hotmail.com)
UK News - Pabster (Pabster@talkwrestlingonline.com)
International News - Matthew Singh (Singhy@talkwrestlingonline.com)
Wrestlemania Predictions - Mitchell Jones (Mitchell@talkwrestlingonline.com)
Flashback - Daniel Evans (QM@talkwrestlingonline.com)
Superstar Spotlight - Mitchell Jones (Mitchell@talkwrestlingonline.com)
Indy 101 - Trinity (Trinity@talkwrestlingonline.com)
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That's it for this week. Any feedback would be gladly appreciated. Send it, along with any questions or queries, to Mitchell@talkwrestlingonline.com or to any of our contributors. We want your input to help make the newsletter the best we can.
Oh, and anyone who wishes to send in a column or who wishes to help out with various sections may contact me also. Unlike what some may think, this isn't a close-knit policy. If you have good, quality work to offer, you are always welcome to send it in. And all opinions and views are welcome too, whether to praise or criticise.
With that in mind, have a good week.
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