This Day in History - 18th May, 2013

[LG]

May 18th
On this day in history in ...

1943 - WWE Hall of Famer "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka is born.
1963 - WWWF ran Philadelphia, PA with the top matches featuring the following results:
-Vittorio Apollo defeated Tommy O'Toole.
-Johnny Barend defeated Pete Sanchez.
-WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino defeated Miguel Torres.

1964 - Gorilla Monsoon defeated WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino via disqualification in Pittsburgh, PA.

1968 - WWWF ran Philadelphia, PA at the Arena with the following results:
-Sammy Rubin defeated Mike Padoulious.
-Baron Mikel Scicluna defeated Arnold Skaaland.
-Hans Mortier defeated Earl Maynard.
-Prof. Toru Tanaka defeated Crybaby Cannon.
-Bull Ramos & Col. Homer O'Dell defeated Eduard Carpentier & Louis Cerdan.
-WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino & Victor Rivera fought Gorilla Monsoon & Virgil the Kentucky Butcher to a time-limit draw.

1968 - A live event in Spartanburg, SC at the Memorial Auditorium saw the following results:
Southern Tag Team Champions George Becker & Johnny Weaver beat Rip Hawk & Swede Hanson
The Infernos beat Bobby Red Cloud & Chief Little Eagle
Paul DeMarco beat Frank Hickey
Johnny Heidman beat Alex Medina

1969 - WWWF ran Washington DC at the Coliseum with the following results:
-Prof. Toru Tanaka fought Dominic DeNucci to a draw.
-The Mongols defeated Victor Rivera & Al Nelson via disqualification.
-Mario Milano pinned Karl Kovacs.
-Manuka Akim defeated Angelo Savoldi.
-Sandy Parker & Vicki Williams defeated Kathy O'Day & Rita Boucher.
-U.S. Champion Bobo Brazil fought Crusher Verdu to a double count-out .

1973 - WWWF ran Albany, NY at the Washington Avenue Armory, featuring:
-Ricky Sexton defeated Tito Torres.
-Miguel Feliciano defeated Bull Pometti.
-Joe Turco defeated Luis Torres.
-Manuel Soto defeated Mike Conrad.
-WWWF World Champion Pedro Morales defeated Mike McCord at the 13-minute mark.

1973 - Former WWF and ECW star The Blue Meanie is born.

1974 - WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino defeated Nikolai Volkoff via countout in the main event of a card in Philadelphia, PA.

1979 - WWF ran Uniondale in Long Island, NY at the Nassau Coliseum featuring:
-SD Jones fought Johnny Rivera to a draw.
-Baron Mikel Scicluna defeated Mark Tendler.
-Johnny Rodz defeated Tony Altimore.
-Hussein Arab defeated Dominic DeNucci.
-Bruno Sammartino defeated Johnny Valiant.
-Cowboy Lang & Tiny Thumb defeated Little Tokyo & Butch Cassidy.
-Ivan Putski defeated Bulldog Brower via count-out.

1979 - NWA World champion Harley Race fought Ron Fuller to a double DQ in Knoxville, TN on a Southeastern Championship Wrestling event. Other results from the card saw:
Alexis Smirnoff beat Ronnie Garvin to win Southeastern Title
Mongolian Stomper beat Ken Lucas
Crusher Blackwell & Dean Ho beat Bob Roop & Bob Orton Jr by DQ
Thunderbolt Patterson beat Prof. Boris Malenko
Kevin Sullivan beat Mike Graham to win United States Junior Title
Mr. Fuji beat Terry Gibbs

1981 - A live event in Greenville, SC saw the following results:

Gene & Ole Anderson beat The Masked Superstar & Mr. Wrestling II
Sweet Ebony Diamond (a masked Rocky Johnson) beat Greg Valentine
Jimmy Valiant beat Dewey Robertson (the future Missing Link)
Ken Timbs beat Mike Fever
Ron Ritchie beat Gene Lewis

1981 - A Mid-South Wrestling event in Chalmette, LA saw the following results:

Jake Roberts beat Kelly Kiniski
Tony Charles & Carol Summers beat Carl Fergie & Leilani Kai
The Samoans beat Jim Garvin & Don Diamond
Dick Murdoch beat Super Destroyer
Paul Orndorff beat Leroy Brown

1982 - NWA World champioin Ric Flair defeated Teddy Gordy in Mobile, Alabama. Other results from the card saw:

Ron Fuller & Robert Fuller beat New Zealand Sheepherders in a Southern street fight match
Jos LeDuc beat Jacque Rougeau
Ted Oates fought to a draw against Scott McGhee
Tony Charles beat Juan Reynosa via pinfall
Roy Lee Welch beat Eric Embry

1982 - A live event in Oshawa, Ottawa saw the following results:

Keith Larson beat Tito Senza
Kelly Kiniski beat Tim Horner
Tony Parisi beat Tarzan Tyler
Angelo Mosca beat John Studd by countout
Pvt. Nelson & Pvt. Kernodle beat Johnny Weaver & Billy Red Lyons

1982 - A Mid-Atlantic Wrestling event in Raleigh, NC saw the following results:

Don Muraco beat Sgt. Slaughter
Wahoo McDaniel beat Roddy Piper
King Parsons & Porkchop Cash beat Carl Fergie & David Patterson
Ron Ritchie beat Gary Moore

1982 - A Mid-Atlantic Wrestling event in Columbia, SC saw the following results:

Jack Brisco & Jimmy Valiant beat The Ninja & Ivan Koloff
Killer Kahn beat Paul Jones
Mike Rotundo beat Jim Dalton
Mike Davis beat Tony Russo
Abe Jacobs beat Steve Sybert

1984 - NWA World champion Kerry Von Erich defeated Superstar Billy Graham in Lake City, FL, headlining a Championship Wrestling from Florida card.

1984 - Gino Hernandez is claimed to have defeated Jimmy Garvin for the World Class Championship Wrestling America's Title in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The title change was actually a phantom change with no match ever having taken place.

1984 - World Class Championship Wrestling ran Dallas, Texas with the following results:
Killer Khan beat Tony Torres
Jules Strongbow beat John King
Gino Hernandez beat Johnny Mantell
Kevin Von Erich beat Michael Hayes by DQ
Jimmy Garvin beat Tony Torres
Jules Strongbow beat Missing Link by DQ
Chris Adams & Iceman Parsons beat Terry Gordy & Killer Khan by DQ

1985 - Jim Crockett Promotioins ran Greensboro, NC at the Coliseum with the following results:
-Ricky Reeves defeated Doug Vines.
-Pat Tanaka fought Denny Brown to a draw.
-Black Bart defeated Sam Houston.
-Ron Bass defeated Stoney Burke.
-NWA U.S. Champion Magnum TA defeated Buddy Landell.
-Jimmy Valiant defeated Superstar Billy Graham.
-NWA TV Champion Tully Blanchard defeated Dusty Rhodes.
-NWA World Tag Team Champions Ivan & Nikita Koloff defeated Dick Slater & Buzz Tyler.

1987 - Ron & Jimmy Garvin defeated NWA U.S. Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express, Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane in a non-title match, headlining a Jim Crockett Promotions card in Fayetteville, NC.

1987 - WWF ran at Madison Square Garden in New York City with the following results:
- Sam Houston defeated Terry Gibbs.
- Paul Roma & Jim Powers defeated Bob Orton & Don Muraco.
- Lanny Poffo defeated Dave Barbie.
- WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan defeated Harley Race. After the match, Race attacked Hogan with the title belt and bloodied him, leading to Hogan challenging Race to a No Holds Barred match at the next MSG show.
- Debbie Combs defeated WWF Women's Champion The Fabulous Moolah via countout.
- Demolition defeated The Killer Bees.
- Ron Bass defeated Jose Luis Rivera.
- Ken Patera defeated Honky Tonk Man via DQ.

1991 - WCW ran Daytona Beach, FL with the following results:
-WCW TV Champion Arn Anderson pinned Powerhouse Parker.
-The Junkyard Dog defeated El Cubano.
-Dustin Rhodes pinned Black Bart.
-Big Josh fought Dan Spivey to a double countout when both men began brawling on the floor.
-WCW U.S. Champion Lex Luger fought Nikita Koloff to a double disqualification.
-Ron Simmons pinned Butch Reed.
-Bobby Eaton pinned Terrance Taylor.
-El Gigante defeated the One Man Gang via disqualification.
-Sting & Brian Pillman defeated WCW World Champion Ric Flair & Barry Windham in a steel cage match.

1996 - Extreme Championship Wrestling debuted in Allentown, PA at Ag Hall, drawing 1,200 fans. Mike Johnson filed the following live report:

Extreme Championship Wrestling debuted in front of a hot crowd of over 1,000 paid, with reports of up to 1,400 in the building, on 5/18/96 in Allentown, PA at the Ag Hall in Allentown. This show was taped for television, and came off as more on an angle-driven show than a workrate-driven show. However, there must have been enough Arena regulars there, as Poor Joel Gertner was inundated with a “Shave Your Neck” chant.
In the opener, Rob Van Dam pinned El Puerto Ricano in a decent match. Van Dam seemed really comfortable in his new role as a heel. Fans were chanting “Sabu” at Van Dam at times throughout the match. They started off with some decent matwork, and Van Dam began using some martial arts kicks to take down Puerto. They do several pinfall attempts and reversals. Van Dam set Puerto up with his neck exposed on the ring apron, and jumped over the top rope, coming down with a guillotine legdrop on Puerto’s throat. Van Dam got a chair, but Puerto took it and hit a few chairshots. Van Dam then spinkicked the chair, and it hit Puerto in the face. Van Dam set Puerto up in the corner, and somersaulted into a monkey flip. Puerto takes over, and ascends to the top rope, but as he leapt, Robby dropkicked him in the mush. Ouch. Van Dam somersaults into a splash, and finishes him up with the split-legged moonsault.

Next up was Devon Storm and Damian Kane against those bastions of incredible workrate, the Bad Crew. Crew is announced as hailing from BadStreet, USA. Do they pay Hayes and Gordy rent? Fans chant “You all suck” at the bell, which was cruel considering Devon’s improved greatly. Kane had Lady Alexandra at ringside, and fans were chanting “Lady Lard Ass” at her. The match was pretty bad, but to be honest, no one gave them a chance either. All four brawled at ringside, and Storm then hit a senton on one of Bad Crew. Fans start chanting “We want Sandman” as Storm is suplexed out of the ring. Bad Crew then hit some horrible clotheslines. Storm hit a moonsault press on one of the Crew. Kane wasn’t paying attention, and was knocked off the apron by his own partner when he rebounded off the ropes. Will someone please explain how Kane can run a school in Reading when he’s so lost in the ring? I mean, you might as well go to Ultimate Warrior’s school. He’ll teach you how to suck and still make money. Devon pins one of Bad Crew as the fans start chanting, “Get the F**k Out.” Has the fact that people did not want to see any of these guys come across at all?

Next up was Axl Rotten against Brian Lee. Lee jumps him and they brawl in the corner, and Axl hits a stiff clothesline. Axl missed a second but kicked him in the gut. Axl got a chair, and they brawled with it. Out of nowhere, Lee gets the pin in about two minutes. Fans were not happy with the short match. Given that it was taped for TV, chances are they needed some short matches to make it easier to format, but it really blows that they put together good matches and then fail to let them work to their potential. This is one of the things that make the “Big Two’s” house shows so hard to attend half the time.

Unfortunately, the next match followed suit, as the Bruise Brothers returned from their suspension against the Pitbulls in a Falls-Count-Anywhere match. Pit 1 came out with his arm in a sling, as he was “injured” in an attack by the Eliminators a few weeks back. Francine looked beyond description. The two teams brawled in the ring, and Pit 2 tossed one of the Bruises into the corner, and then hit that insane spinkick he does, sending himself over the top. They pull the brace and sling off of Pit 1 and trash him until Pit 2 makes the save with a chair. They then double-team Pit 2 and put a chair to his head, and hit the big boot, getting the pin.

Fans were chanting “Bullsh**” because it was a two minute match. They trashed the Pitbulls until Tommy Dreamer made the save. Some fans chanted “Smoking Gunns” at the Bruises, but thankfully they didn’t have to duck a flying chair, as Arena fans did a few months back. An enraged Pit 2 then destroyed a wooden chair over the top of the ringpost, showering the front row with its debris. Fans chant “ECW.”

Joel Gertner announced that ECW World Champ Raven vs. Chris Jericho is next up. Stevie Richards comes out, dressed like one of the American Males (You know, those pretty boys in WCW) and says it’s going to be a non-title match. ECW Commissioner Tod Gordon comes out and says the fans paid to see a World title match, and he turns his back on Richards. Richards grabs a chair, and goes to swing, but Tod turns around, and Richards says he was getting Tod a chair. Tod sits, Stevie gets a second chair, and they face each other negotiating.

The sound system was the sh**s, but the gist of it was Stevie tried to pay off Tod, saying, “Vince and Eric would take this.” Tod said they would sneer at it, so Richards adds more to the booty. Tod takes the payoff, then clocks Stevie with a chair to a huge pop, adding that it was still a World title match.

Raven comes out with the Fabulous...er....Dudes With..uh American Males, Stevie Alexander Bagwell and Meanie Riggs, MeanieBabe Miss Patricia, and Brian Lee. Jericho comes out alone to an anemic reaction, with some fans chanting “LionHeart.” Stevie gets the mic, and he and Meanie sing the American Males theme song lyrics. Just the fact that Stevie has the words memorized makes me feel sorry for him. The bells rings, and the two do some matwork. Jericho backdrops Raven, then dives over the top rope onto Stevie. Raven takes over and throws Jericho out of the ring, where Lee abuses him. Raven suplexes him back in. Some fans are chanting “ChickenHeart” at Jericho. Jericho comes back to hit a Lionsault, but misses a second as Stevie pulled the middle rope as he jumped on it, and Jericho fell out of the ring. Miss Patricia is a babe, but stands there totally stiff at ringside, which is about what all the guys behind her were as well.

The match isn’t much at this point. Jericho & Raven brawled outside. Raven goes for a powerbomb, but Jericho powers out and sidekicks the champ. Jericho hits a rana off the top rope on Raven. The ref gets knocked down, and a second ref comes in, but he’s knocked down as well. Jericho misses a moonsault press, and Raven hits a belly-to-back suplex with both shoulders down, but both guys get their shoulders up. The two refs argue, then decide to restart the match. From this point on, the match got pretty good. They trade a lot of fast 2 counts. Raven gets a belly-to-belly suplex for a two count. Raven gets a chair, but Jericho hits it, so he hits himself with it. Raven DDT’s Jericho on the chair for the pin. Richards gets in the ring, and says he’s going to double dropkick Jericho. Jericho holds the ropes, so they miss, then double clotheslines them over. Fans chant “ECW” after Jericho gets the mike and says, “F*** you” to Raven.

Next match has the Full-Blooded Italians, (JT Smith & Little Guido) and Stevie Richards against Hack Myers, D-Von Dudley, and Buh Buh Ray Dudley. Dudleys get a huge pop. Go figure. My guess is that the Arena got tired of seeing the same shtick, but in new markets where it’s never been seen, it’s still fresh. Richards says he can’t wrestle because of his facial injuries (He did bump his butt of in the previous match, however) and says he’s got a sub for them from “The Land of the Titans,” Slice & Dice Ramirez. In reality, it’s Big Titan from WAR coming out to Hispanic music, with a vest, greasy hair, and a toothpick behind his ear. It seems vaguely familiar somehow. Fans chant “JT’s got a boyfriend” and Guido says they are cousins, so the fans chant “Kissing Cousins.” JT is great interacting with the crowd. Ramirez takes the mic and says, “Yo..I got no problem with you Dudleys, chico, but Hack Myers..I’m going to cut you up.” The place laughs.

The six man is hard for the crowd to get into for some reason, so they spend most of their time insulting Smith. The three babyfaces hit simultaneous belly-to-belly suplexes. Ramon, er Ramirez, hits a dive on one of the Dudleys. JT & Guido beat on Buh Buh on the floor, but he comes back with a chair. Buh Buh splashes JT in the ring for a two count. Ramirez hits a Frankensteiner which looked good, then followed it with a fall away slam on Buh Buh. D-Von goes to attack Ramirez with a chair, but Buh Buh tries to stop him, and D-Von hits him with a chair, followed by Guido getting the pin on Hack after a stuff piledriver. Buh Buh & D-Von argue, and the Dudleys hold them apart. It’s basically the same thing that happened at the last ECW Arena show. Buh Buh then dances and takes a cop’s hat and then teases hitting the flatfoot with a chair before smiling and patting him on the head. The D-Von angle looks to be the start of a decent feud.

Taz then finally got his hands on the man that broke his neck last July, Too Cold Scorpio. Bill Alfonso insults Allentown women, saying he went to three different Allentown massage parlors and all the women they brought him had a bubble butt like Scorpio. Scorpio came out and as the bell rang, Shane Douglas ran out and clocked him with the TV title in the back of the head. Scorp stumbles into a TazPlex, and is choked out in the Tazmission in 17 SECONDS. WHAT! Real disappointing given what it could have been on paper, but it was about doing a TV angle. Taz smacks the prone Scorp, saying he’s been waiting 10 months to choke Scorp out as payback for his neck. Taz trashes Sabu, and fans chant “F**k you, Taz.”

Next up was the best match of the night, Sabu and Mikey Whipwreck in their third ever meeting. As a fan of great wrestling, let me tell you, with total honesty, YOU WANT A COPY OF THIS MATCH! Trust me! OK, that out of the way, the match starts out with some good matwork, and Sabu and Mikey trade some highspots. Sabu sets Mikey up for a guillotine legdrop off the top, with Mikey’s head resting on a open chair. The chair was destroyed, and so was Mikey. It made me cringe. Fans were mostly into Sabu, but Mikey had his normal following as well. Sabu hits a Mexican armdrag, but Mikey comes back with a Tigerdriver. Mike armdrags Sabu off the top rope to the Floor. Sabu tosses Mikey into the crowd, and springboards off the top roe into a bodypress on Mikey. AWESOME!

Sabu tries to set Mikey up on a table, but Mikey recovers and does an elbow drop off the middle rope on Sabu through the table, which was bridged between the ring and the railing. Mikey tosses him into the same section of the crowd, and springboards into a senton. Mikey Rules! Mikey hits a FrankenMikey in the ring for a 2 and a half count. Sabu tosses a chair at Mikey’s head while he’s climbing the top rope, then dropkicks him off, sending Mikey to the outside of the apron.

Sabu sets up a second table, but it broke when he bridged it, and Mikey was tossed, rudely, on top of it. Sabu was furious. Sabu sets up a third table, and puts Mikey on top of it and gets a chair. He springboards off the chair, OVER the top rope, and catches Mikey, now standing on the table and DDT’S him through the table! I stood there totally speechless in amazement at the move. Sabu then rolled Mikey back in the ring for the pin. Excellent match!

Sabu shakes Mikey’s hand afterwards, and Mikey is helped to the back. Whipwreck deserves a much more prominent role than he currently has. I am dumbfounded as to why some fans find reasons not to like him.

Joey Styles comes out to do the TV show opener. Joey mentions he saw WWF TV today, particularly the Warrior University ad, and says he’ll put $1,000 down that the Warrior wouldn’t last one day at the House of Hardcore. Joey opens the show to huge pop, and brings out the ECW World champion Raven, with his nest. The champ says that Beulah said she was pregnant because she wanted to get away from Raven.

Raven says that he knew Kimona and Beulah were having an affair, and that is why he brought Kimona to ECW. He says that he wanted to still be close to Beulah. He says there were nights he was with Kimona where he could still taste Beulah on her. I won’t even touch that line. He tells of how he detests all women now but tells Richards to find him the lowliest, sleaziest woman he can to be his new valet. I hate to be the voice of reason when it comes to this, as I love beautiful women as much as anyone, but they currently have 6 women in the storylines, and they are adding another? Unless they are building to a Battle Royal or something, this is a bad idea as the total will begin to dilute to effectiveness of each individual lady.

Next up is the Three Way Dance for the ECW TV championship. Sandman and Missy Hyatt come out first, and Sandy is on crutches as he hurt himself at the last Arena show pretty bad. He was unable to work and really should not have been in the building, but he’s a gamer. He will be on the shelf for a while. Next out is the new ECW TV champ, the “Franchise” Shane Douglas, and last out is Tommy Dreamer with his ladies. Kimona lapdances Tommy in the corner, and then Beulah lapdances Kimona and Tommy at once. That’s hardcore.

Raven’s goons jump Tommy before the bell and post him, and the place groaned. Sandman, with the cane, faces off with Shane, who is holding a chair. Tommy tried to get back in the ring, but Shane knocks him back to the floor. Sandman takes a shot at Shane, who hops out of the ring. Sandman canes Shane stiffly in the face to a crowd pop. Tommy returns to the ring. Tommy tried to roll up both guys, but the match never started. Tommy takes out Shane, but Sandman canes Dreamer. Shane takes out Sandman’s knee, and locks him in the Texas Cloverleaf. Missy Hyatt jumps on Douglas’ back, but he doesn’t let go.

Scorpio hits the ring, and superkicks Douglas, Dreamer, and then Sandman by accident. Scorp says he’s throwing in the towel for Sandman and is going to take the third slot for him. Sandman is carried out screaming against his will. Scorp hits a cartwheel into a kick on Douglas. Scorp has gotten even better the last few months. Scorp goes for the pin, but Dreamer breaks it up. Scorp hits a back wheel kick on Dreamer. Shane hits a tombstone on Scorp, but Dreamer breaks it up. Dreamer powerslams Douglas, but misses a nuclear splash.

Shane hits a chicken wing suplex on Tommy, and locks a sleeper on Scorp, while Scorp locks one on Douglas at the same time. All three charge the rope, and Tommy & Shane both go over the top. Scorp topes over on them. Shane whips Tommy into the railing, but he comes back and clotheslines both guys. Shane picks up Scorp for an atomic drop outside, but instead rams him groin first into the ringpost. Tommy hits a running DDT on Shane in the ring. The back and forth stuff continues until the Bruise Brothers hit the ring, and destroy Tommy on the floor. Shane rolls up the beaten Dreamer, who is then destroyed on the floor by the Bruises. Scorp & Shane go back and forth, until the ref gets knocked down, and Scorp sets Shane up for a move off the top rope.

Taz hits the ring and belly-to-back suplexes Scorp off the top onto his head. Shane hits a belly-to-belly suplex for the pin. Shane went after Beulah and Kimona afterwards, and rudely trashed a ring crew guy who tried to intervene. Tommy ends up doing a stretcher job.

Finally, the main event, announced as an “Allentown Exclusive.” In their first meeting ever, the ECW World Tag team champions, The Eliminators take on The Gangstas. New Jack hits the ring with a garbage can, and tosses it. It hits Saturn right in the mush painfully. Ouch. I like the gimmick of playing The Gangstas’ music while they brawl, as long as the crowd isn’t unruly, which it wasn’t tonight. New Jack chokes out Saturn with a plastic bag. Jack and Saturn brawl to the back of the building with the handheld camera following their every move in the crowd.

Fans chant “Moose” at Mustafa after he hits a VaderBomb on Kronus. Jack and Saturn worked really stiff. Saturn dives off the top rope top Jack on floor. Kronus leapfrogs over Mustafa and hits a back kick. Mustafa kicks out after a splash. An “ECW” chant breaks out as soon as the theme music ends. Mustafa is tossed in the crowd, and Saturn hits an Awesome Asai moonsault. New Jack jumps Saturn as he returns to the ringside area. Kronus kicks Mustafa back into the crowd as he tried to jump over the rail. The four continue to brawl around the ring, and Saturn slams a plastic carton of water on Jack. The Eliminators accidentally hit each other twice trying to hit Mustafa, and New Jack dives off with the diving chair, but Saturn kicks the chair into his face in mid-air.

Jack begins to bleed (the only blood of the night). They continue to brawl until they hit Total Elimination on Jack for the pin. The crowd seemed shocked. The Eliminators mock their beaten opponents by creating an “X” with their arms and leave.

Allentown Notes: Super Nova was there but did not work. This guy deserves a regular spot ... I heard complaints about security, but did not see any problems myself. I was told morons were being ejected but were able to return via other doors. When I walked in, a guard stopped me and asked me if I had weapons in my bag. I said no, as I didn’t and he said, “OK. Go ahead.” If that line of thought was used here and Allentown turned out to be a NY-like riotous crowd, it could have been asking for a series of incidents ... The merchandise tables were mobbed before and after the show. They almost completely sold out of stuff. The building seemed to be mostly teenagers and adults with some kids mixed in. Everyone seemed familiar with the character and storylines. The show suffered from overbooking and constant run-ins live, but will seem better on television once it's fleshed out with promos, etc. ... When I arrived at 6 PM there were already 600 fans waiting outside ... In my opinion, ECW should make this building their TV taping site, and use the Arena as a House Show venue. It would allow for an all around better show at the Arena, and creates a third city where they can draw large crowds after NYC and Philadelphia.

1996 - WCW ran Lake Charles, LA, drawing 4,000 fans with the following:
-The Booty Man defeated Kevin Sullivan.
-Dick Slater defeated Lord Steven Regal via countout.
-Randy Savage defeated Arn Anderson.
-Sting defeated Ric Flair.
-WCW World TV Champion Lex Luger defeated Eddie Guerrero.
-Public Enemy defeated the Nasty Boys in a streetfight.
-WCW World Champion the Giant defeated Jim Duggan
.
1997 - WCW ran Slamboree '97 at the Independence Arena in Charlotte, NC. Tim Whitehead filed the following PPV report for the Wrestling Lariat Newsletter:

Diamonds are forever, and so is Ric Flair. Well, maybe nothing is really forever, but Flair’s status as the most over wrestler in the history of the Carolinas and surrounding territory may not be challenged for a very long time. That was never more apparent than at WCW’s Slamboree, as the sold-out Charlotte Independence Arena once again paid homage to the Nature Boy, a ritual that has been often repeated over the past two decades or more, and if Flair’s performance at this show was any indication, we may still be seeing Charlotte light up for his presence a decade or more from now. The better-than-expected main event featuring Flair in the WCW vs. NWO match was the capstone of a generally “thumbs up” show, though by the time Flair’s match began the show was in a down period following the two worst matches on the show. With the exception of the good main event, the show unfolded in a manner similar to other recent WCW PPV’s, with strong lower card bouts leading into generally lower quality matches higher on the roster. The Steiners vs. Konnan & Hugh Morrus match, which was third from the top, was pretty bad and the Steve McMichael vs. Reggie White grudge bout semi-final was every bit as awful as feared going in. There was only a single DQ on the entire nine match show, which definitely is a positive trend (assuming it lasts long enough to become a trend). The other noteworthy item was the prominence of submissions on this show. Several matches ended in submission, and don’t think that’s a coincidence since Ken Shamrock is starting to get over in Titan.

STEVEN REGAL beat ULTIMO DRAGON with the Regal Stretch in 16:03 to capture the TV Title. Regal is no longer using the “Lord” moniker. WCW continues to bill Ultimo as “Ultimate” Dragon. They started off by trading mat wrestling holds. There was little crowd reaction even though what they were doing was good, mainly because fans now expect a flurry of action at the beginning of a match and thus grow restless if there’s a slow start. At around the 5:00 mark the action picked up with Dragon laying in his trademark kicks. They traded submission holds, with Dragon going for a cross armbreaker on several occasions and Regal of course going for his stretch. Regal took a bump to the floor where Sonny Onno laid in some martial arts kicks. Dragon acted upset by Onno’s interference, signalling the turn later in the match. Dragon hit a handspring elbow and a hurancanrana off the top for a two count but missed a moonsault. Regal went for a power bomb but Dragon converted it into a frankensteiner. Dragon hit a quebrada, though just barely as toward the end of the match they were starting to be off a little bit. Regal again ended up on the floor where Dragon hit his trademark Asai moonsault. Onno again kicked Regal, prompting Dragon to push him out of the way. Onno reacted by kicking Dragon, setting him up for a kick from Regal as well. Regal then hit a front suplex followed by his finisher for the submission win and title change. Onno took credit for Regal’s win afterward. A good opener, with the crowd gradually getting into it, and a huge pop at the end for Regal’s win.

MADUSA beat LUNA VACHON in 5:07 with a German Suplex. The commentators discussed the controversy surrounding who owns the Women’s Title. For the record, Akira Hokuto has never lost the belt to Madusa, but they’re claiming Madusa beat her in Japan and that Hokuto & Sonny Onno stole the belt so WCW officials are looking into the matter, which is totally bogus. Anyway, this was an OK match, short enough to not expose either wrestler. Luna opened up fast but Madusa hit a spin kick to a nice pop. Madusa continued on offense with chops and a good clothesline. After trading some hair pulling spots, Luna missed a splash and Madusa hit the suplex for the pin.

Up next, they did a strong angle with RANDY SAVAGE & MISS ELIZABETH coming out for an interview. Savage took the mic from Gene Okerlund (he should get a public service award of some kind for that one) and began running down DALLAS PAGE. Page ran in with a crutch he took from Savage in an earlier TV angle and Savage fled the ring. Page then accused Savage of kissing Hogan’s ass, which led Savage to run back in the ring where Page destroyed him with ECW-style shots from the crutch. Page also bent and broke the crutch on NWO members Marcus Bagwell, Vincent, and even Eric Bischoff when they came to Savage’s aid. Finally, Scott Norton took Page down and he got pounded by the NWO members until GIANT made the save. Page was over like crazy.

REY MYSTERIO JR. beat YUJI YASURAOKA in 14:58 with a springboard hurancanrana. This was yet another good match though it got only a lukewarm fan reaction since no one had the slightest idea who Yasuraoka was (he’s a regular with the WAR promotion in Japan). Yasuraoka started strong with kicks and stomps, getting a two count after a lariat kick. Mysterio frankensteinered Yasuraoka over the top and went for a follow-up move but the ref was in the way, which was a planned spot as Mysterio then did an awesome somersault plancha over the top onto Yasuraoka for the biggest pop of the match. Back in the ring, Mysterio went for another springboard move but Yasuraoka brought him down with a kick. Yasuraoka hooked on a wakigatamae (arm bar submission hold) but there was no crowd response and a “boring” chant started. Yasuraoka then locked on a cross armbreaker. This was followed by several good moves from Yasuraoka (who is something of an unheralded worker since he wrestles for one of Japan’s less publicized groups), including a dive to the floor which the camera missed. Yasuraoka got a two count with a lariat. Mysterio came back, getting two with a split-leg moonsault. They traded twos with Mysterio hitting a rana and Yasuraoka then reversing it. Yasuraoka got two with a double arm DDT. Mysterio got a two with a fisherman suplex before hitting Yasuraoka with a dropkick and the finisher for the pin.

GLACIER defeated MORTIS by DQ in 1:50. Basically, they brawled for about 90 seconds before Mortis signaled for Wrath (the name they finally devised for Bryan “Adam Bomb” Clark) to come in. Wrath used James Vandenberg’s staff on Glacier for the quick DQ. Mortis, Wrath, and Vandenberg then worked Glacier over, including a neat looking spot where Mortis straddled Glacier’s neck and forced his face into the ring stairs. Ernest Miller (a martial arts specialist from the Power Plant) then made the save. Miller looked great doing his limited moves and the heels sold like crazy to put him over. Brief, but entertaining.

DEAN MALENKO defeated JEFF JARRETT with the Texas Cloverleaf submission in 15:01 to retain the U.S. Title. There was a huge “Jarrett sucks” chant at several points throughout this match. They started off with traditional spots and mat wrestling, which cooled the crowd since this style just isn’t over nowadays even when well done. Malenko spent a good deal of time working over Jarrett’s left leg. Jarrett came back with an abdominal stretch, with Debra McMichael helping him out a little. Malenko regrouped with kicks, punches, and a suplex for a two count. Jarrett hit a neckbreaker and went for the figure four but Malenko kicked his sore left knee. Jarrett still managed to score two with an inside cradle. Jarrett worked Malenko over on the floor. Back to the ring, Jarrett hit a crossbody but Malenko rolled through on it for two. Jarrett hooked on the figure four but Malenko made the ropes. Both wrestlers collided in a weak looking spot and Jarrett fell from the ring. Steve McMichael then arrived and tossed Jarrett back in and led Debra away. Malenko then hooked on his cloverleaf finisher for the submission. On balance a decent match, but it ran too long.

MENG beat CHRIS BENOIT in 14:53 with a nerve hold submission in a Death Match. Pinfalls didn’t count here. Woman’s screams at ringside here were really irritating. Benoit has reached the point where he’s so good he can carry just about anyone to at least a decent match and can work all styles from mat wrestling to aerial attacks to brawling. Meng kicked the daylights out of Benoit early. Both wrestlers traded suplexes. After brawling on the floor, they returned to the ring where Benoit hit his hard chops and Meng responded with clubbing elbows. Jacqueline briefly came out and had a staredown with Woman. Meng used a headbutt and a piledriver on Benoit. Benoit retaliated with a wakigatamae and a cross face submission hold. Meng literally clubbed Benoit down with stiff blows, leading to an eight count. The crowd heat by this time had fallen due to the lack of pin attempts and prevalence of submission moves, but Benoit drew a pop with a tope. Benoit then suplexed Meng off the second rope and went for a splash off the top but Meng caught him in a nerve hold. Woman went nuts at ringside but Benoit waved her off when she threatened to interfere, preferring to win or lose by his own abilities (or so the storyline went). The ref ruled that Benoit was out and awarded the upset win to Meng. A somewhat unusual match but Benoit carried it to an acceptable level.

RICK & SCOTT STEINER defeated KONNAN & HUGH MORRUS in 9:33. The Steiners dominated early with suplexes and clotheslines to no heat. The heels then double teamed Scott, and the match began to really deteriorate. Rick finally hot tagged in and cleaned house but it all came off really bad with loads of missed spots. All four began brawling in the ring. Morrus missed a moonsault, enabling Scott to frankensteiner him. Rick then pinned Morrus. Konnan was angry with Morrus for losing and attacked him and walked out as Jimmy Hart tried in vain to patch things up. The teams just didn’t work well together, leading to a very bad match.

STEVE McMICHAEL pinned REGGIE WHITE following a shot from the briefcase in 15:15. This match had good heat early due to the status of McMichael and especially White as football legends, but it ran so long and came off so badly that the heat was gone after the first five minutes or so. White wore a Green Bay Packers jersey with a WCW logo. They traded shoulderblocks early, which was really the only move either could do. McMichael “drew” a scrimmage line on the mat and dared White to cross it. White ended up knocking Mongo to the floor, where he did the old Ric Flair “walkout” routine and headed for the locker room, only to be hauled back by Gilbert Brown of the Packers, who was at ringside for White. White went for a dropkick which got a lot of altitude for his size but also barely grazed Mongo. White then barely hit McMichael with a clothesline, which Mongo sold by crashing to the floor. In the funny line of the night Tony Schiavone said it shows how powerful White is that he could knock McMichael from the ring even though he hardly touched him. McMichael weakly clipped White from behind. They continued trading weak and/or missed spots. Mongo rammed White’s arm into the turnbuckle, but he sold it as if his head hit it. McMichael went for a figure floor but a weak kick from White again sent him to the floor. Mongo returned to the ring but got clotheslined back out again. Finally (in fact, almost mercifully) White hit a splash but Debra distracted the ref. Mongo got his briefcase but Brown took it from him in a clumsy-looking spot. Jarrett then ran out and tossed another briefcase to McMichael which he used to flatten White for the pin. A really, really bad match.

RIC FLAIR & RODDY PIPER & KEVIN GREENE defeated KEVIN NASH & SCOTT HALL & SYXX in 17:19. This match had incredible heat and was far better than it looked to be on paper. It was great that Syxx was included here as he certainly added to the match. Flair was naturally over to the highest degree, as was Piper. Greene was over and actually looks to have potential. Compared to McMichael or White, he’s Kenta Kobashi. Syxx hit a terrific spin kick on Flair, followed by a series of Flair’s patented chops. Flair looked great considering that he’s coming off an injury, and was awesome in taunting the NWO. Nash’s shocked facial expressions were hilarious as he watched the “old man” Flair clean everyone’s clock. Greene tagged in but Hall spit on him and tagged out to Nash. Greene drew a huge pop by shoulderblocking Nash to the mat, sending him from the ring with a bodyslam. Greene then double clotheslined Hall & Syxx. Piper came in and did his routine of going berserk with his fists. He hit a neckbreaker on Hall but Syxx subdued him by kicking his bad (that is, artificial) hip. Hall continued to pound on the hip, saying, “Now we’re going to school” to taunt Flair. Piper managed to tag in Flair, who cleaned house again until being caught by Hall coming off the top. Flair got hurled over the top and appeared to scrape his elbow on the side of the ring as he was bleeding hardway from it shortly afterward. Nash kicked Flair on the floor, and rolled him back in where Syxx did the “hump” on him in the corner. Piper kept trying for the save, limping badly to sell the hip. Piper tagged in and went after Syxx but referee Randy Anderson didn’t see the tag and ordered Piper out. Piper slugged the ref, knocking him out, which under normal circumstances would have led to a DQ (WCW just can’t keep its rules straight even in a hot match). Suspended former NWO referee Nick Patrick then ran in as the unofficial substitute. Flair and Hall were going at it as the others fought on the floor. Flair locked on the figure four to an incredible pop, while Greene powerslammed Syxx and Piper hooked a sleeper on Nash. Patrick ended up counting down all three NWO members simultaneously to give the WCW team the big win. A great main event!

NOTES:

Referee Nick Patrick was reinstated the next evening on Nitro for his “honorable” actions in this match.

For those with an interest in history, Jeff Jarrett is playing Pompey to Steve McMichael’s Julius Caesar, as that relationship is obviously one-sided.

Commentary was terrible, especially Bobby Heenan making fun of the wrestlers’ names and moves.

Schiavone mentioned that Flair regained the World Title from a huge wrestler (i.e. Vader) in December 1993 in Charlotte, and that the huge wrestler had not been seen since, which, to put it bluntly, was a categorical lie.

The dark match saw Public Enemy beat Harlem Heat in a match reported to us as poor.

1998 - WCW ran Providence, RI at the Civic Center with a Monday Nitro broadcast, featuring:
-Perry Saturn defeated Psychosis
-Juventud Guerrera defeated Damien
-WCW U.S. Champion Bill Goldberg defeated Glacier
-Chris Jericho defeated Ciclope
-Lex Luger defeated Brian Adams
-The Ultimo Dragon defeated Eddie Guerrero.

2000 - WCW ran Jackson, MS, drawing 2,133 fans with the following results:
-Three Count's Shane Helms & Shannon Moore defeated The Jung Dragon's Yang & Kaz Hayashi.
-Jim Duggan defeated Fit Finlay.
-Mona defeated Juventud Guerrera, Lash Laroux, David Flair, and WCW Cruiserweight Champion Crowbar in an elimination match by last defeating Guerrera.
-Booker T defeated Shawn Stasiak.
-Ron & Don Harris defeated Stevie Ray & Big T and Big Vito & Johnny the Bull.
-WCW U.S. Champion Scott Steiner defeated Capt. Rection.
-Lex Luger defeated Shane Douglas & Chuck Palumbo in a handicap match.

2002 - Davey Boy Smith passed away due to a heart attack while on vacation in British Columbia, Smith, a former WWF Tag Team, European and Hardcore champion, was only 39 and at one point, was one of the biggest singles babyfaces in the world for WWF during the time period in the early 1990s when the company began touring the UK regularly.

2002 - Erich Kulas, whose one match stint in ECW as Mass Transit led to one of the most infamous moments in recent wrestling history, passed away at his home in Cranston, RI, on 5/14 due to complications stemming from a recent gastro-bypass surgery. He was only 22 years old. In 1996, Kulas, when he was 17, worked a tag match for ECW in Revere, MA, subbing for Axl Rotten and teaming with D-Von Dudley vs. the Gangstas. New Jack destroyed Kulas, billed as “Mass Transit”, during the match, including cutting him open with an Xacto knife. Anyone who saw the tape of the match will not soon forget the sight of Kulas pouring blood out of his forehead. Charges of criminal assault were brought against Jack. He was found not guilty. Kulas later sued Jack and ECW (among others), claiming permanent disfigurement and emotional distress. That suit was also dismissed. The aftermath of the incident saw ECW's initial PPV canceled for a short time. Kulas had not disclosed his age to ECW when he entered the ring.

2002 - WWF aired the final episode of their Saturday evening "Excess" series on the USA Network, making room for WWF Confidential. John Keane filed the following TV report:

Recorded at the WWE TV Studios in Stamford, CT.

1st Hour: Smackdown recap, hosted by Michael Cole and Mark Loyd.

Show opens with footage hyping one of the Main Events taking place at Sunday nights Judgment Day PPV-Chris Jericho vs. HHH in Hell in a Cell.

Cole and Loyd waste no time delving into the history of the Hell in a Cell match, pointing out its legacy as a career shortener with references to Mick Foley and Shawn Michaels. Also on the card at the PPV: The Undertaker challenges Hulk Hogan for the Undisputed Championship. We get video recap of the Hulkster's appearance on last weeks show-the Montreal crowd was awesome in their show of respect for the champ. Hogan finally got a chance to talk, and simply thanked the crowd for their response tonight and 2 months past, on the Raw the night after Wrestlemania (when he formally severed his ties with the n.W.o.). Hulk briefly played to the crowd, and was about to talk about his upcoming match with 'Taker, when Smackdown boss Vince McMahon made his entrance. Vince ragged on Hogan, mentioning how much he'd enjoyed watching 'Taker drag him around the arena behind his motorcycle on Raw. He continued the verbal assault, claiming that Hulkamania has cancer, and will finally be destroyed by 'Taker at Judgment Day. Vince continued to rant, then slapped Hogan. The champ then laid into Vince, laying him out and dropping the leg as the crowd went nuts.

Cole mentions he's never heard a crowd response like the one Hogan received. Break.

Back, we recap the stormy Tajiri/Torrie Wilson relationship. Tajiri has recently been putting his kimono-clad 'girlfriend' in harms way in his efforts to retain his Cruiserweight championship. 2 weeks ago when Tajiri faced The Hurricane, Torrie finally had enough and ditched the kimono atop the announce table. Last week, Tajiri (sans Torrie) faced Billy Kidman and Hurricane in a triple-threat match for the Cruiserweight strap. End of the match saw Hurricane hitting his Chokeslam on Tajiri to get the 1-2-3. The Hurricane is our new Cruiserweight Champion.

Cole and Loyd remind us someone's been leaving cryptic notes for the Hurricane in the backstage area. Whoever's been leaving them claims to know his 'secret identity'. We take a break.

(Commentary: Most folks seem to think the note's author will turn out to be Rey Mysterio Jr. Myself, I'm hoping for Nova.)

When we return, Cole gets in a shot at the poor condition of Loyd's hair. This leads to a discussion of Rico, 'stylist' for Tag champs Billy and Chuck. 2 weeks ago, Rico got involved in his clients tag match and ended up taking a Stinkface from Rikishi. This led to them going one-on-one on last weeks show. Despite interference from B&C, Rikishi picked up the win. Our hosts remind us that at Judgment Day, Billy and Chuck will put their titles on the line against Rikishi and a partner of Vince's choice. Break.

Back, Cole makes the big announcement-this is the final episode of Excess. Next week, the first hour of this time slot will be taken up by 'Velocity', which will feature members of the Smackdown roster in first-run matches (this show will replace Jakked/Metal). The second hour will be occupied by 'Confidential' which, Cole informs us, will go behind the scenes and focus on individual wrestlers-next weeks debut will feature Shawn Michaels. Back to the recap-also on the Judgment Day card is Kurt Angle vs. Edge in a 'hair vs. hair' match, the loser adopting the Stone Cold/Justin Credible/Albert hairstyle. We get video of the events leading up to the announcement of the stipulation. Cole mentions that a barber chair will be set up at ringside to allow the haircut to be administered directly after the match-no mention of the barber…

(Commentary: You don't think…Brother Bruti? Oh hell, why not?)

Back, we get our Tough Enough 2 recap. Male contestant Hawk, citing unspecified problems, voluntarily left the show. Female contestant Jackie appeared to suffer an injury in the ring-no mention on her future from our hosts. As usual, Tough Enough talk leads in to a discussion of first season winner Maven-he successfully asked the now-available Torrie out on a date last week. AND speaking of Torrie, she further asserted her independence by taking on her bitter rival Stacy Keibler in a 'swimsuit contest' last week. Well, that was the intention anyway, her crazed former 'boyfriend' Tajiri covered her up and dragged her from the ring before she could remove her robe. Stacy declared herself winner without even granting a look at the goods, when new Women's Champion Trish Stratus entered the scene (remember, Trish, as champ, can appear on both Raw and Smackdown). She hit the ring and removed her robe to reveal, not a swimsuit, but a very nice set-of lingerie. Crowd voted Trish the winner, Stacy tried to attack, Trish nonchalantly kicked her from the ring.

Our hosts remind us that after the contest, the livid Stacy went crying to Vince and demanded a shot at Trish and her Women's title at Judgment Day. Vince agreed, adding in the Reverend D-Von Dudley to 'watch Stacy's back (Bubba Ray Dudley is expected to be accompanying Trish, probably more on that in the next hour). Break.

After a clip of Shawn Michaels interview that will air in full next week on 'Confidential', we get a video recap hyping tomorrow nights Hell in a Cell.
(Shawn was in the first HIAC, defeating the Undertaker with help from Kane, making his debut.) End of first hour.

2nd Hour: Raw recap, hosted by Jonathan Coachman and Raven.

We open up with footage from Raw 2 weeks past. Ric Flair, after turning his back on Stone Cold Steve Austin in favor of the nWo, announced that the Rattlesnake would be facing himself and The Big Show in a handicap match at the upcoming Judgment Day PPV.

Coach and 22-time Hardcore Champion Raven welcome us in to the final hour of Excess. We see video of Flair explaining his reasons for turning on Austin. . He reminded us that all his attempts to befriend Austin were met with physical assaults. He describes Stone Cold as trash, just like the crowd and the Maple Leafs (show was from Toronto last week). He talked briefly about the handicap match at Judgment Day, then dropped the bomb-later in the evening, he would face the Hulkster in a 'no-DQ' match for the Undisputed Championship.

Coach feels the boss has no place in the ring-Raven disagrees, feels Flair was making a statement to assert his dominance over Raw. We go to the match. Flair, after getting tossed around for a bit, went for a chair-inexplicably the ref confiscated it (no-DQ match, right?). Hogan eventually put Ric in his own signature move, the Figure-4…Ric makes the ropes. Hulk eventually dropped the leg and made the cover-broken up by an X-Pac run-in. Hogan quickly disposed of him, next The Big Show made an appearance-followed by Bradshaw, who tossed him outside and then gave chase. Flair then put the boots to Hogan until a smiling Stone Cold made his entrance. He gave Ric a Stunner, Hogan dropped the leg once again, made the cover, 1-2-3. Hulk Hogan is still our Undisputed Champion.

Hype for the handicap match precedes a break.

We come back to footage from Raw 2 weeks past. During an impromptu Hardcore title match, Bubba Ray Dudley, after taking a fire extinguisher shot to the face which apparently blinded him, mistakenly put Trish Stratus through a table. Afterward, Bubba Ray realized his mistake, and carried Trish from the ring.

Coach and Raven show us highlights of one of last weeks matches-Bubba Ray and Trish taking on Women's Champ Jazz and Hardcore Champ Steven Richards. Both titles were on the line in this Hardcore rules mess. In a nutshell, Trish scored the Stratusfaction on Jazz to get the 1-2-3. Steven abandoned his partner to make an escape, retaining his HC title. Post-match, Trish told Bubba Ray to get the table. He obliged, and took Jazz for the ride.

Raven mentions Jazz joins the long list of women, which includes Coach's former girlfriend Mae Young, to go through tables. After a pause, Coach informs us that Jazz re-aggravated an injury during the match, and will be out 4 to 6 months. Break.

(Commentary: In reality, Jazz was scheduled to go on the shelf due to injury before the match, and Bubba Ray took most of the impact himself in the table spot.)

WWE Rewind: Brock Lesnar clubberin' (thanks Dusty) of the Hardyz over the last month or so.

Back to Coach and Raven for more on the Hardyz/Lesnar saga. Last week it was Brock Lesnar vs. Matt and Jeff Hardy in a handicap match. Brock was accompanied to the ring by his 'agent' Paul Heyman. Brock tossed the boys around for most of the match, but the Hardyz seemed about to pull off the miracle upset after scoring on consecutive dives off opposite turnbuckles. Jeff made the cover, but Paul pulled the ref from the ring before he could count 3. Surprisingly, ref called for the DQ, Hardyz get the win. Brock went on his standard rampage afterwards, the Hardyz eventually make their escape and headed up the entry ramp. Heyman, livid at his client having a loss on his record, got on the mic and challenged the Hardyz to face Brock at Judgment Day-no sweat. Then Paul announced Brock would have a tag partner for that match-himself! Brock seemed pretty shocked, as did the Hardyz, who nonetheless still agreed.

Coach feels purchasing the PPV may be worth the money just to see Paul get his butt kicked. Raven doesn't think Brock will let any harm come to his 'agent'. Break.

We come back to video detailing the events leading up to tomorrow nights 'Taker/Hogan matchup, including the aforementioned bike drag. Raven thinks the Dead Man has the edge in the contest-Coach keeps mum. Break.

Coach and Raven return to discuss the aftermath of Flair's loss to Hogan. The enraged Nature Boy booked Austin in a 'lumberjack match', in which he'd square off with a 'mystery' n.W.o. member. We go to video of Goldust-he's ecstatic about being asked to be a lumberjack. We pan to his reluctant 'pal' Booker T, who's dressed in traditional lumberjack gear, complete with fake beard. Funny the first time… Raven feels we've seen the last of the Booker/Goldust alliance. Oh well. On to the match. The lumberjacks ended up consisting of every heel on the Raw roster, including our co-host Raven and Flair himself. As Austin struggled to enter the ring through the gauntlet, Ric announced his opponent…the newest member of the nWo….. the surprised-looking Booker T. In a nutshell, Austin got his butt kicked by everybody, then eventually rolled up Booker to get the 1-2-3. As he left up the ramp, Flair's pal Arn Anderson attacked from behind and forced Austin back to the ring. Raw ended with Stone Cold getting his butt kicked some more.

Coach mentions that Austin suffered internal injuries in the beatdown. Raven hopes tomorrow night will put an end to 'WHAT' and the career of the Rattlesnake. Break.

Our hosts return and go over next weeks lineup changes. We get an update on Lita-she underwent surgery for injuries sustained on the season finale (and apparently last show ever) of the TV show 'Dark Angel' Surgery went well, but she'll be out of action at least 6 months. We see footage of her filming a TNN commercial (an older one, it seems, the one in the boardroom.) Lots of talk about Lita's underwear.

Let's call it a show. Tomorrow night, Raven and Coach will host Heat live from the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, TN, the site of Judgment Day. Here's the card for the PPV as it stands:
1. Rikishi and a mystery partner (to be chosen by Mr. McMahon) challenging Billy and Chuck, with Rico, for the Tag Championships. Raven's pick-Billy and Chuck retain.
2. Stacy Keibler challenging Trish Stratus for the Women's title. The Reverend D-Von will be in Stacy's corner, and Bubba Ray is expected to accompany Trish. Raven-interesting to see how Dudz will interact.
3. Rob Van Dam challenging Eddy Guerrero for the Intercontinental title. Raven-Eddy retains.
4. Matt and Jeff Hardy vs. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman. Raven-Brock destroys both, allows Paul to cover for the 1-2-3.
5. Edge vs. Kurt Angle in a 'hair vs. hair' match. Raven-As long as Brutus Beefcake doesn't make an appearance, should be great. (BOO!)
6. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Ric Flair and The Big Show in a handicap match. Raven-Flair and Show in a walk.
7. HHH vs. Chris Jericho in Hell in a Cell. Raven-should be incredible. (Me-get extra EMTs…)
8. The Undertaker challenging Hulk Hogan for the Undisputed Championship. Raven-'Taker.

Coach and Raven quietly send Excess to that sad place occupied by Superstars and Livewire.

2003 - WWE Judgment Day was held in Charlotte, North Carolina at the Charlotte Coliseum. Buck Woodward filed the following PPV report:

Welcome to our coverage of Judgment Day. Here is a brief Heat recap.

- Jonathan Coachman & Al Snow hosted the show.

- The events leading to the bikini showdown were recapped. Sable arrived at the building, and Josh Matthews approached her for an innuendo filled interview.

- They plugged Freddie Blassie's book, and showed the incident from Monday where Steve Austin reinstated the Dudley's and they laid out Three Minute Warning after they tried to bully Blassie around.

- They re-aired the video from a few months ago looking at the history of the Intercontinental Title. Of course, the video was made when they retired the title. Tonight, the title comes back.

- Eric Bischoff was backstage, and approached Sean Morley. Bischoff asked him what he was doing here. Morley said he wanted to wrestle in the Intercontinental Title battle royal. Bischoff said "Chief Morley" was never Intercontinental Champion. Morley said that he was right, and walked away. I don't think I am spoiling anything when I mention that Val Venis (Morley's old persona) was Intercontinental Champion.

- Terri interviewed Teddy Long and Jazz about how "the man" was keeping them down by putting Jazz in the ring with three challengers tonight.

- The events leading to Triple H vs. Kevin Nash were shown.

- They showed Kevin Nash and Shawn Michaels arriving at the building.

- Mr. America's visit to an Armed Forces hospital was recapped.

- Tazz and Michael Cole reviewed the Mr. America-Roddy Piper incident from last week on Smackdown.

- Josh Matthews interviewed Team Angle about their ladder match tonight. Team Angle took credit for injuring Chavo Guerrero, saying Eddie Guerrero would now have to forfeit the match, or wrestle it as a handicap match.

- Hurricane defeated Steven Richards (without Victoria) with the Shining Wizard in the only match of the show.

- The Stretcher Match was discussed. A yellow line was placed at the end of the aisle, with the rule being that the loser must be stretchered down the aisle and over the line before a winner can be declared. The events leading to the match were then recapped. They even tossed in a few frames of Andre The Giant vs. Killer Kahn, which was the last time WWF/E had a stretcher match.

- Brock Lesnar was shown arriving. We saw that Big Show was standing in the shadows, watching him walk in, as Heat ended.

Judgment Day is next!

Judgment Day began with a video package focusing on the Show-Lesnar, HHH-Nash, Piper-America matches, with spooky clips interspersed.

The set for this PPV is just one huge set of scaffolding and fake brick walls, with video screens and pyro behind it.

All three sets of announcers (Raw, Smackdown, Spanish) welcomed us to the show.

Steve Austin came to the ring. He welcomed to the fans to the show, then said he was going to watch the whole show from his skybox while he drinks beer. Austin grabbed two beers, gave one to Tazz, and toasted him at ringside before heading through the crowd to his skybox.

The first match was the unannounced (at least by WWE) six-man tag match with John Cena & The FBI (Johnny Stamboli & Chuck Palumbo) with Nunzio vs. Rhyno, Spanky & Chris Benoit. Spanky vaulted off of Rhyno and Benoit onto their opponents on the floor to start the match. It settled into Cena and Spanky in the ring, with Spanky hitting an enzugiri, but the FBI ran in and H-Bombed Spanky. The FBI worked over Spanky in their corner. Palumbo applied a bearhug and got a two count on Spanky. Palumbo went back to the bearhug, and clotheslined Spanky as he punched out of it. Spanky headscissored Palumbo into Cena, and tagged in Benoit. Benoit and Rhyno cleaned house, and Benoit hit Cena and Palumbo with German suplexes. Benoit hit the top rope headbutt on Palumbo. Nunzio ran in, and Rhyno gored him. Spanky got a blind tag from Benoit and dropkicked Cena in the back of the head. Benoit, not realizing he was tagged out, put Cena in a Crippler Crossface. Meanwhile, the FBI hit the Kiss of Death (legdrop/backbreaker) on Spanky as he went for Sliced Bread #2, which Nunzio stopped. Spanky was then pinned, even though Benoit was making Cena tap at the same time. FBI & Cena were the winners in just under four minutes.

Eric Bischoff joined Steve Austin in his skybox. Austin gave Bischoff a beer, and when Austin toasted him, he splashed most of the beer onto Bischoff.

Members of the Carolina Panthers are at the show.

The history leading to Scott Steiner & Test vs. La Resistance was recapped. Their match was next.

La Resistance got some heat on the microphone, saying the U.S. government promotes hatred, and that Americans are barbarians. Test was already glaring at Steiner as they came to the ring with Stacy Keibler. Rene started out with Test, trading slaps, and Test pounded him in the corner. Steiner tagged in after Test backdropped Rene, then chopped and pounded Rene. Test and Steiner kept knocking Sylvan off the ring apron as he tried to get involved. Steiner hit an elbow on Rene, then did some pushups. Sylvan kneed Steiner from the apron, and Steiner slugged him for it. This allowed Rene to dump Steiner to the floor, and Sylvan worked him over on the outside. In the ring, Sylvan tagged in, and La Resistance hit a double suplex on Steiner. Sylvan put Steiner in a rear chinlock, and booted him when Steiner tried to battle back. Sylvan hit a second rope clothesline for a two count. Rene tagged back in, and came off the top rope, but Steiner caught him and hit a released Northern Lights suplex. Steiner tagged Test, as Sylvan tagged in. Test cleaned house, hitting shots on both men. Test hit a full nelson slam on Sylvan, but Rene broke it up. The match broke down, until Steiner suplexed Rene, and kicked Sylvan from the ring. Test hit a pumphandle slam on Rene, but the referee was distracted by Steiner leaving the ring. Rene dropkicked Test into Stacy on the apron, and Steiner caught Stacy and put her down on the security wall, while Test glared at him. The match broke down again, with Steiner then cleaning house, until Test accidentally gave Steiner the big boot. La Resistance tossed Test into the ringpost, then hit Steiner with a double spinebuster, and Sylvan got the pin at just under the six minute mark.

After the match, Test dragged Stacy to the back, even though she wanted to check on Steiner.

Backstage, ace reporter Gregory Helms asked Mr. America if he was Hulk Hogan. America said he heard that Helms was actually a superhero. Both agreed that their respective "sources" was wrong, and wished each other luck.

Josh Matthews interviewed Eddie Guerrero about whether he would wrestle a handicap match, or forfeit the match to Team Angle. Guerrero said he had a third option, to pick a substitute partner. Eddie said it was tough, but he found someone "loco" enough to take Chavo's place. He then introduced Yoshihiro Tajiri as his partner, and Tajiri delivered the "We lie, we treat, we steal" catch phrase.

A Kurt Angle promo aired, hyping his impending return. As Team Angle came to the ring, the events from last week on Smackdown, when Eddie got the better of Team Angle alone, was shown.

Team Angle vs. Eddie Guerrero & Yoshihiro Tajiri, in a ladder match for the WWE Tag Team Championship, was next. Eddie and Shelton started brawling on the floor, while Tajiri went at it with Haas in the ring. Benjamin whipped Guerrero into the ladder on the floor, allowing Team Angle to work on Tajiri. Eddie made it back to the ring, and Team Angle then focused on him, hitting a press slam into a gutbuster. Team Angle pulled out a second ladder from under the ring. Tajiri hit a mistimed tope, catching himself on the ropes, but still landing on Haas. Guerrero hit a pescado on Benjamin, but Shelton rammed him into the security wall. Team Angle went to climb the ladder, and Tajiri hit a handspring into the ladder, knocking them down. Tajiri dropkicked the ladder into Benjamin, sending him from the ring. The ladder was placed on Haas groin in the corner, and Eddie & Tajiri dropkicked it into his crotch. Another ladder was brought into the ring. Haas was laid out on one ladder, and Tajiri placed another one on top of him. Eddie then hit a slingshot somersault backsplash onto the ladder sandwich. Tajiri set up a ladder and climbed up, but Benjamin got in and pulled him down. Benjamin climbed the ladder, but Eddie dropkicked him off. Eddie put a ladder in the corner, but Benjamin blocked a whip and powerslammed Eddie into the ladder. Eddie was dumped to the floor, and Benjamin slammed Tajiri in the ring. Haas was back up and he rammed Tajiri into a ladder against the ropes. Haas then held up the end of the ladder, with Tajiri lying across it like a bridge. Shelton climbed another ladder, then jumped onto Tajiri straddle style. Haas then climbed a ladder, but Eddie shoved it, and Haas fell to the floor. Eddie wedged a ladder in the corner, but Benjamin reversed a whip and sent Eddie into it back first. Tajiri kicked the ladder so it swung into Benjamin's face. Tajiri hit kicks on Haas and Benjamin. Tajiri hit Team Angle in the gut with a ladder, then hit them in the face with it. Benjamin fell to the floor, and Tajiri hit a baseball slide, sending one ladder into him. Tajiri put Haas in the Tarantula, but Benjamin hit Tajiri with the ladder from the floor to break it up. Team Angle worked over Guerrero in the ring. Guerrero monkeyflipped Shelton into Haas, who was holding a ladder. Eddie dumped both members of Team Angle to the floor, then set up a ladder. Eddie climbed up, but had to keep fighting off Team Angle. He gave Benjamin a frog splash from the ladder. Haas started to climb the ladder, while Eddie climbed the other side. They slugged it out on the ladder, then Eddie hit a sunset flip style powerbomb off the ladder on Haas. The fans were chanting "Eddie" as he went to climb up again. Shelton went up the ladder after Guerrero, and grabbed Eddie's legs to stop him. Tajiri climbed the other side of the ladder and spit the green mist in between Eddie's legs into Shelton's face. Benjamin fell to the mat, and Guerrero and Tajiri grabbed the belts for the win in fourteen and a half minutes. Eddie Guerrero & Yoshihiro Tajiri are the new WWE Tag Team Champions.

In the skybox, Austin and Bischoff commented on how good the previous matchwas , and how they wanted to get Guerrero on Raw. Austin had Bischoff drink a beer and eat a hamburger. Austin opened the window to the Skybox, and complained about the way Bischoff drank his beer (he sipped it). Austin chugged his beer, and tried to get Bischoff to do the same.

Terri interviewed Chris Jericho about the Intercontinental Title battle royal. Jericho said his chances of winning the match were excellent. Roddy Piper interrupted, saying Jericho ripped off "Piper's Pit". Jericho blasted Piper for ripping the leg off the "fan" last week. Piper said it was an accident, like Jericho's conception. Both men then boasted that they were going to be victorious tonight. Piper started to say they had something in common, but stopped himself, and both men walked off.

Some commercials for various WWE products and shows aired.

The history video on the Intercontinental Championship was shown. The battle royal for the Intercontinental Title was next. Pat Patterson, the first Intercontinental Champion, was on hand to present the title belt to the winner of the match. Jim Ross mentioned that Honky Tonk Man was the longest reigning champion, and that Jeff Jarrett had held it the most, with six title reigns.

Val Venis (Sean Morley in his old gimmick) came out, saying he was back, and cut a promo in his old "porn star" character. The other participants are Chris Jericho, Goldust, Lance Storm, Rob Van Dam, Christian, Test (without Stacy), Kane and Booker T.

Van Dam and Kane went at it at the bell. Kane booted RVD down, then everyone attacked Kane. Kane fought them all off. Kane then tossed Lance Storm over the top rope to the floor.

Lance Storm is eliminated.

Rob Van Dam kicked Kane's leg out, but Kane knocked him down. Kane was then attacked by everyone else, and dumped tot he floor.

Kane is eliminated.

Kane then ran back in the ring booting everyone and chokeslamming Test, Val Venis and RVD. Kane then left.

Booker T tossed out Test.

Test is eliminated.

Goldust tossed out Val Venis.

Val Venis is eliminated.

Christian tossed Rob Van Dam from the ring. RVD landed on the apron, but Jericho hit a springboard dropkick to knock him to the floor.

Rob Van Dam is eliminated.

Jericho and Christian then worked as a team, but Goldust hit them with a double bulldog. Goldust and Booker then worked as a team, and Goldust hit Shattered Dreams on Christian and Jericho. Booker hit a sidekick on Jericho. Goldust called for a spinarooni, and Booker did one. Goldust then grabbed Booker and tried to toss him out, but Booker reversed it and tossed Goldust.

Goldust is eliminated.

Booker and Goldust smiled at each other, and touched hands.

Jericho and Christian then double teamed Booker T. Christian held Booker so Jericho could punch him. Jericho hit a clothesline, then Christian said they should toss him. Booker fought back, and hung onto the ropes. Booker started to rally with punches, but Christian and Jericho took back over on him. Christian whipped Jericho towards Booker, but Booker ducked and clotheslined both men. Jericho was tossed over the top, but Jericho skinned the cat back in. Jericho had a bloody nose. Jericho hit a clothesline on Booker. Christian hit a reverse DDT on Booker. Jericho went for a Lionsault on Booker, but Christian shoved Jericho over the top as he went for the springboard.

Chris Jericho is eliminated.

Jericho was so angry, he ripped apart a section of the security wall.

Christian punched Booker, but Booker rallied back with forearms and hit a spinkick. Booker hit a flapjack, but missed a spinning heel kick, and Christian yanked Booker to the mat by his hair. Christian went for a lowdropkick, but Booker moved and Christian dropkicked the referee at ringside, knocking him out. Booker tossed Christian from the ring, and Christian landed on the ring apron. Christian grabbed Booker and tried to ram him into the corner. Booker blocked it and rammed Christian into the corner instead, then kicked Christian off the apron to the floor. Booker T's music played, and Pat Patterson went to give the belt to Booker. Christian stopped him, and slugged Patterson. Christian then went back into the ring, hit Booker with the belt, and tossed Booker from the ring in front of the "now conscious" referee to be declared the official victor at the eleven minute mark

Backstage, Torrie Wilson and Sable tried to psyche each other out over their bikini contest. They went over the "tale of the tape" for the contest (Sable: 36-24-36 vs. Torrie: 36-25-36), and the history leading to this epic encounter was shown. Tazz and Michael Cole joked that Jerry Lawler had offered Tazz a lot of money to be the host of the contest, but Tazz said he was going to do it.

The bikini contest was next. Torrie Wilson danced behind a white screen with Lilian Garcia, who was singing, and Wilson then put on her robe as the screen was dropped and she went to the ring. Unfortunately, Garcia who was dancing, was not wearing a bikini. Sable entered to her usual entrance music. Tazz went over the rules, which were basically that both women had 15 seconds to do their thing, then the fans would decide the winner. Sable went first, revealing her G-String bikini. Jerry Lawler was shown marking out over Sable. Tazz made a joke about having his hand in his pocket during her dance. Torrie was next, wearing a black bikini (not a thong) with the Playboy logo on the front. (For the purposes of the report, I should point out that Sable was showing more skin, and had much better dance moves). The judging was next, and Sable actually got more cheers, while Torrie received some boos. Torrie then said she was not done, and stripped off the black bikini to reveal a silver G-String bikini that was much smaller. Tazz then declared Torrie the winner, without going back to the crowd. Torrie said she wanted to make sure there was no hard feelings with Sable, and approached her and kissed her on the lips. Torrie left the ring, as Sable stared at her.

In the skybox, Eric Bischoff was getting sick from all the beer and food Steve Austin was giving him. Austin then started giving Bischoff pickles to eat. Bischoff complained about how spicy they were, and said he needed something to drink, so Austin handed him the pickle jar, and Bischoff drank the juice. Austin then forced some beer down Bischoff's throat.

Backstage, Sean O'Haire and Roddy Piper were preparing to head to the ring. Vince McMahon entered and psyched up Piper for his match with Mr. America.

They recapped the incident from Thursday where Piper ripped the prosthetic leg off of a "fan" who tried to help Mr. America.

Rowdy Roddy Piper vs. Mr. America was next. Piper was accompanied by Sean O'Haire. Mr. America came out with a steel chair. America took the mic and said the chair was for a friend of his, and introduced Zach Gowen (the fan from last week, aka Tenacious Z, using his real name). Gowen walked down with a cane and sat at ringside. O'Haire and Piper attacked America before the bell, and the referee ordered O'Haire out of the ring. Piper kicked America, and O'Haire reached in and choked America when he had the chance. America came back, ramming Piper into the turnbuckles and punching him in the corner. America lifted the mask up so he could bite Piper. O'Haire tripped America and pulled him to the floor. America came back, and choked O'Haire with his weightlifting belt. Piper came off the ring apron and hit America. Back in the ring, Piper whipped America with the belt. America hulked up and returned fire with belt shots. O'Haire interfered again, pulling America throat first across the top rope. Piper applied a sleeperhold, wearing down America until he powered up, but Piper slugged him back down. America hulked up as Piper hit him, then America hit a series of rights, and knocked O'Haire off the apron. America hit a boot to the face on Piper, as Mr. McMahon came out. This distracted America, and Piper hit a low blow. McMahon handed O'Haire a steel pipe at ringside. McMahon distracted the referee, and O'Haire went to hit him with the pipe, but missed and hit Piper. America knocked O'Haire from the ring, and hit a legdrop on Piper. McMahon went to run in, but Gowen grabbed McMahon to stop him from interfering as America got the pin on Piper at the five and a half minute mark. Hogan got Gowen in the ring to protect him, as McMahon acted like he wasn't bothered by Gowen stopping him, but was obviously steaming. America then posed for the crowd, with Gowen watching from the corner.

Backstage, Stephanie McMahon approached Triple H, and told him to "be careful".

A video package on the events leading to Triple H vs. Kevin Nash was shown.

Shawn Michaels, who will be in Nash's corner, made his own entrance, including his music. Nash then made his entrance. Ric Flair then made an entrance, to a huge ovation, as Jim Ross noted that this show was in Flair's hometown. Triple H then made his entrance, and Nash charged him in the aisle as he came down. Flair and Michaels immediately got involved, and brawled to the back, with security and referees trying to keep Flair and Michaels apart. Jim Ross put over that referee Earl Hebner was ordering Flair and Michaels to be kept in the back. Nash and Triple H brawled to ringside, with Nash tossing him into the ringsteps. They got into the ring, as the bell rang to start the match. Nash hit a backdrop, and Triple H went to the floor. Nash and Triple H fought outside, with Nash ramming Triple H into the ringpost. Nash hit a big boot and a slam, then dropped an elbow. Nash dropped a second elbow, then a third. Triple H poked Nash in the eyes. He argued with the referee, and shoved him. Nash hit Triple H with a clothesline, but Triple H came back with a neckbreaker. Nash reversed a whip and clotheslined Triple H in the corner. Nash pounded Triple H with fists, and shoved referee Earl Hebner when he tried to break it up. Hebner pulled Nash off of Triple H by the hair. Triple H went to the floor, and Nash gave chase. When they got back in the ring, Nash ducked a clothesline and Hebner got wiped out. Triple H kicked away a Nash backdrop, which had no effect. Triple H then kicked Nash in the nads. Triple H pulled off one of the turnbuckle covers to expose the steal. Nash stopped Triple H from ramming him into it, and hit a sidewalk slam. Nash hit a series of elbows in the corner, then a boot to the face. Nash went for Snake Eyes on the exposed corner, but the referee got in the way. Nash shoved him away, but Triple H floated over the slam, and rammed Nash into the exposed steel. Triple H hit a pedigree, but Hebner was low on the count and Nash kicked out. Triple H went for another pedigree, but Nash backdropped him over the top rope to the floor. Triple H reached under the ring and grabbed a sledgehammer. Hebner stopped Triple H from using it on Nash, so Triple H hit Hebner with it. Triple H was disqualified at just under the eight minute mark.

Nash then hit Snake Eyes on Triple H on the exposed corner, then delivered a jackknife powerbomb. Nash went for the sledgehammer, as referees started pulling Triple H to the back. Nash dropped the hammer and gave chase, attacking Triple H in the aisle. Ric Flair ran back out, but Nash shoved Flair away after taking a few chops. Nash took Triple H onto the Raw announcers platform. Shawn Michaels went to calm Nash, but Nash shoved him away. Nash then powerbombed Triple H through the Raw announce table. Nash stood over Triple H and did the old Diesel salute, then walked off to the back.

Triple H was helped to the back by officials, as they replayed Nash's powerbomb through the announcers table.

A commercial for Fred Blassie's book was shown. I am halfway through it, and I highly recommend it.

In the skybox, Bischoff was obviously sick, and we saw that it was jalapeno peppers that Austin had said were pickles before. Bischoff puked onto the skybox hostess and out the window of the skybox. Austin dumped a beer on him. They actually replayed the puking. Twice.

The women's four way match was next, with Trish Stratus, Jacqueline, and Victoria (with Steven Richards) challenging Jazz, with Teddy Long, for the Women's Title. First pinfall wins the match. All four women were in the ring at once. Richards tripped Trish early in the match. Trish and Jacqueline cleared out Victoria and Jazz, then went at it with each other. Trish and Jackie traded armbars and headlocks, until Victoria dragged Trish from the ring. Jazz got in and went at it with Jazz. Victoria whipped Trish into the ringpost. Jackie got a two count on Jazz, but Victoria broke up the pin. Victoria slammed Jackie. Jazz hit her double chickenwing on Victoria and Jackie. Trish got in and hit Jazx with a series of forearms. Trish hit a clothesline for a two count. Jazz caught a kick and applied an STF on Trish. Jackie got Victoria in a half crab. Trish made the ropes, so Jazz released her hold and kicked Jackie from the ring. Jazz put an STF on Victoria, but Trish dropkicked her. Victoria rolled from the ring. Jazz hit a jawbreaker on Trish. Jazz and Trish traded blows. Trish matrixed under a shot, and hit a sidekick for a two count. Jackie and Victoria brawled back into the ring. Trish headscissored Jazz off the top rope. Trish hit the same move to Victoria, who had blocked a Jazz superplex. Trish went for a Stratusfaction on Victoria, who tossed Trish over the top rope to the floor. Jackie hit a Northern Lights suplex with a bridge on Victoria, but Jazz splashed Jackie. Jazz then hit a DDT on Jackie for the pin at just under the five minute mark. Jazz retains the title. After the match, we saw that Trish was bleeding from the lip.

A video package on the events leading to Big Show vs. Brock Lesnar in a stretcher match, including Big Show's attacks on Rey Mysterio, was shown.

Three stretchers were placed at ringside for the match, with the rules simply being that whoever gets wheeled on a stretcher past the yellow line at the end of the aisle is the winner, and the WWE Champion. Big Show, still carrying his backboard stretcher, came out first, then Brock Lesnar made his entrance.

Big Show went after Brock before the bell, but Brock ducked his attacked, and Lesnar blasted Show with the backboard several times, knocking him out of the ring. Lesnar kept up the attack on the floor, but Show battled back, knocking Lesnar down several times. Show propped his board in the corner, and picked up Brock, but Brock floated over and rammed Show into it. Brock then took one of the stretchers at ringside and rolled it into Show. Show fought back, and pressed Brock over his head before dropping Brock chest first onto the stretcher. Show hit Brock with the backboard. Show tossed Brock back into the ring. Show was slow getting in, and Brock got him in the corner for some shoulderblocks. Show blocked a whip and hit a chokeslam. Show put Lesnar on a backboard, then hit a legdrop. Show pulled a stretcher to ringside and placed Brock on it. Show started to drag the stretcher up the aisle, but Brock kicked Show away. Show clotheslined Brock off the stretcher. Big Show took the backboard and hit Brock with it. Big Show and Brock brawled back near the ring, then back down the aisle. Brock hit Show several times with the backboard. Lesnar then choked Show with camera cables. Brock hit Show with the backboard, then set up a stretcher, lowering it to the ground. Lesnar choked Show onto the stretcher, and pulled Show towards the yellow line. However, the cables were still around Show's neck, so when Brock pulled, Show came off the stretcher. They fought near the scaffolding that made up the set, and Brock used it to lift himself for a double kick. Brock then hit a charging shoulderblock. Brock slammed Big Show onto the stretcher, and Show fell off. Brock and Show got on opposite sides of the stretcher, and Show used it to ram Lesnar back into the ring apron. Show rammed Lesnar back first into the ringpost. Show began looking under the ring, and found another backboard. Show hit Lesnar with it across the back twice. Show tossed Brock into the ring, but Show was slow in getting on the apron. Brock hit Show twice, knocking him off the apron onto the stretcher, then he fell off to the floor. Brock walked off to the back, as Big Show got back in to the ring. Rey Mysterio's music then hit, and Mysterio showed up in the ring. Show was getting up near the ropes, and Rey hit a 619 to Big Show's gut. Show then clotheslined Rey. Big Show called for a chokeslam on Rey, when Brock Lesnar drove a forklift to ringside. Mysterio jumped on Show's back and started choking him. Show tossed him off. Brock dove off the top of the forklift into the ring, hitting Show with a cross bodyblock. Brock hit a series of shoulderblocks in the corner, then gave Show a vertical suplex. Brock hit Show with an F5, then placed a stretcher on the palate of the forklift. Brock rolled Big Show onto the stretcher on the forklift, then lifted it, so Show was about 14 feet in the air. Brock then backed up the forklift down the aisle, and got the win by crossing the yellow line at a little over the fifteen minute mark. Brock then lifted the forklift as high as it would go, so Show was about twenty feet in the air. Brock stood on top of the cab of the forklift with his belt to end the show.

2004 - During a Smackdown taping in Las Vegas, Nevada, Chavo Guerrero Classic defeated his son, WWE Cruiserweight Champion Chavo Guerrero Jr., and Spike Dudley in a a three-way match to win the Cruiserweight title when Classic accidentally fell on top of Chavo Jr. for the pin after colliding with Spike.

2004 - The Charleston Post Courier featured a long profile of Jesse Ventura, looking at the future aspirations of the former wrestling star turned Governor of Minnesota. The article features rare comments from Ventura, who has more or less ignored all press requests for interviews since leaving his position as Governor.

In discussing the idea of running for President in the 2008 elections, Ventura commented, "I'll make a decision about it at some point, but am I serious about it right now? Not particularly. I like to do things to remind people that we need more than two choices. It's like I said one time on the Larry King show when I was on with (former) Sen. Alan Simpson, who was expounding the two-party system and how great it was. It's so great it gives us one more choice than communist Russia. What could Simpson say? He sat there and couldn't deny it. Why do we get only two choices? We need three or four choices."

WWE owner Vince McMahon discussed backing his former wrestling announcer partner in the article as well, noting that, "Jesse has been talking about being president of the United States for many years. He is convinced he will be president."

In the end, Ventura never ran for President and made it clear that when he later approached WWE about endorsing a run, they never responded to him. Ventura would instead go on to author several books and host a Conspiracy Theory based "reality" show on TruTV.

2005 - PWInsider.com reported the following: "According to several sources, former WCW World champion Diamond Dallas Page is gone from TNA. Page finished at the Hard Justice PPV this past Sunday. TNA management may not be seeing Page's departure as a loss as they were unhappy that he didn't want to put over Monty Brown without outside interference from Phi-Delta Slam. It is believed that Page's status was a byproduct of the change in political power with Dusty Rhodes (who Page has always credited for helping make him a star and was close to) stepping down as booker. There really wasn't much left for Page to do in the company at this point either beyond putting over others."

2005 - TNA officially suspended Jeff Hardy. TNA announced at the very last minute of their pre-game show for Hard Justice several days earlier that Sean Waltman would be replacing Jeff Hardy on the PPV. They waited until the last second to announce it, hoping Hardy would make it from North Carolina to Florida. Hardy did arrive after the PPV and was at the hotel where the wrestlers stay but arrived so late TNA needed to substitute Sean Waltman into a match he had been advertised for against Raven. Hard Justice wasn't been the first time that Hardy was late (or an outright no-show) at TNA events, although he had been on his best behavior in recent months.

2006 - Hardcore Homecoming: November Reign was released nationally on DVD. However, the main event of the show, featuring Team 3D vs. Sabu & Terry Funk was not included due to 3D's TNA contracts, which prevented their matches from being sold nationally by any company other than TNA.

2007 - World Wrestling Entertainment released developmental talent Angel Williams (who would go on to stardom as TNA Knockout Angelina Love), ECW Diva Ariel (Shelly Martinez), long tenured undercard star Scotty Too Hotty and former Spirit Squad member "Mitch" (real name Nick Mitchell) from their contracts. In the case of Ariel, she was released after a backstage argument with WWE star Batista over his relationship with WWE Diva Melina. Martinez would later term it as "standing up for someone" and politically, ended up iced over the situation.

2007 - PWInsider.com reported the following: "Former WWE Cruiserweight champion Gregory Helms is suffering from a neck injury, said to be caused not by a single incident but instead the result of the years of pounding he's taken while working in the business. It's believed Helms is going to require neck fusion surgery, like other WWE performers before him, including Steve Austin and Chris Benoit, which means Helms will likely be out of action for well over a year. Helms has been with WWE since they acquired WCW in 2001, most notably portraying the undercard superhero babyface Hurricane before discarding the gimmick and moving to Smackdown."