The Final Countdown

<p>June 2003: Pre-Great American Bash News and Notes</p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p> </p><span>http://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>Austin's been hitting the gym hard, and he's looking more ripped recently. If it's possible for the fans to view him as even more of a star than they already did, I guess this will help.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Nigel McGuinness impressed me at Mayhem and again the next night in his singles match with Minoru Tanaka, so I decided to sign him to a full-time deal. He reported to Wildside to further hone his skills.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Our Canadian TV deals with The Score (Nitro) and Much Music (Renaissance) were both coming due, and I was able to strike six month deals to move both onto Global TV. This is a nice step forward for Renaissance, but a massive leap for Nitro. The station heads aren't fans of wrestling in general, which may be why I couldn't get them to give us a prime time slot, but getting into more homes makes it a worthwhile tradeoff. Canada is the one region we're lacking in popularity, but this big increase in TV exposure will help change that. That's good, because I'd love to eventually run in my homeland more often than just the brief trip for the annual Calgary Stampede show. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> This is a random one: Ric Flair did an out-of-character interview for a wrestling radio show recently, and he went on a huge rant about Jinsei Shinzaki, so I guess there are problems there.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Tracy Brooks signed an extension. I haven't been thrilled with her performance as the Renaissance color commentator so far, but she has shown some improvement and I don't feel like there are any more suitable options out there.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Akira Hokuto and Toshiyo Yamada both signed contract extensions to remain on the Renaissance brand.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Brian Adams agreed to a pay-per-appearance extension.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Kaori Yoneyama chose not to renew her contract so she could go work freelance. There's really nowhere else for her to work, but okay.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Elix Skipper asked for a pay raise, but I refused. He was furious about it, but he's welcome to leave if he wants.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/7AiYO6E.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>Judgment Day was held at Yankee Stadium on May 25th. This show featured The Rock carrying recent call-up Leviathan to a great match in the midcard, as well as Kurt Angle retaining the ECW title against young Brock Lesnar in a great semi main. Both of those matches were slightly outperformed by the main event in which Jericho defended the WWE title against Big Show. It was their best PPV since No Way Out in February, but not as good as Mayhem. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/JO5PDMM.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>Bad news for Jeff's group. Apparently they've been severely mismanaged and misled by their accountants from the very beginning, with Jarrett and the other people in charge having no clue how bad things were. They've lost millions upon millions of dollars, though based on what I've heard they aren't in financial crisis mode just yet.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> The day before that news broke, they held their Retaliation event on May 26th. They brought in NWA champion Kazushi Sakuraba for the show, and he retained the title over Jeff Jarrett in one of the best matches in company history. Unfortunately that was only the semi main event, because Russo devoted the main event to Mantaur defending TNA's world title against BJ Whitmer. That match wasn't even close to the level of the one right before it, and it turned what could have been the group's best show by far into one right in their usual range.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> They turned right around with 'Epic Event' on June 3rd. Mantaur was nowhere to be seen on this show, and it was to everyone's benefit. The main event was actually the best match on the show for a change, as Marc Mero and Sonjay Dutt won a tag match over Matt Sydal and Eddie Colon. This was on the same level as the Sakuraba/Jarrett match from the last show, and since it was in the main event spot, this wound up being the best show TNA has put on. Hopefully they learn from this.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p> </p><span>http://i.imgur.com/sDkxtEI.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>Road Warrior Hawk is now a free agent after his contract expired.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> They decided not to hold their annual Best of the Super Juniors tournament this year, but still called their sold-out Budokan show on June 7th 'Best of the Super Juniors' for some reason. That naming quirk didn't make sense, but foregoing the tournament was probably a good decision for the quality of the show. The main event in which Manabu Nakanishi beat Koji Kanemoto was a match of the year contender, and based on the strength of that match this was the best big event they've put on in years. Kanemoto has been their standout performer this year without question, so if I were them I'd go all the way and put the heavyweight title on him.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/syuSRKH.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>'Blue Army' took place on May 26th. This show was fine for their level, but nowhere near as good as the awesome string of PPVs they'd been on the past few months. Keiji Mutoh beat Takao Omori in a match well above anything else on the show. The next best match was the main event in which Hiroshi Hase and Genichiro Tenryu retained the Unified tag titles over Johnny Smith and Masanobu Fuchi.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> They re-signed Sabu to a long term extension. I tried to jump in and sign him, figuring he'd be a natural fit with the new Van Dam/Heyman pairing. I probably could have gotten him if I'd pulled out all the stops, but it wasn't vital and I didn't want to make too long or large a financial commitment on him given his age and all the damage he's done to his body.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p> </p><span>http://i.imgur.com/ebDwXEW.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>"Classy" Freddie Blassie passed away at 85. A nice guy who lived up to his nickname. He'll be missed. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p> </p><span>http://i.imgur.com/1eeVS9d.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>Everyone has seen it coming for awhile, but Big Japan is officially out of business. The business has evolved past the hardcore fad at the turn of the century, and BJPW never adapted.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Zero-One's Heavyweight title was vacated when Ricky Marvin didn't return for the current tour, so Katsuyori Shibata beat Mr. Gannosuke to win the vacant title. That's an interesting choice since he splits time between wrestling and MMA.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Speaking of wrestlers who dabble in MMA, apparently Tomoaki Honma from Zero-One and DDT is going to give it a shot. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <hr noshade size=3></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="DGenerationMC" data-cite="DGenerationMC" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> General diary comments/questions/critiques: I didn't think this diary could get more interesting, but the backstories for this PPV have done just that! Lots of good twists and turns going into The Bash. Oh, and GO PATS <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p></div></blockquote><p> When you watch the movie Armageddon, do you root for the asteroid? <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Danny_H22" data-cite="Danny_H22" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> General diary comments/questions/critiques: the new format has really grown on me and I might adopt something similar when/if I ever revive my dynasty, it you don’t mind.</p></div></blockquote><p> I don't mind. </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Out of interest, do you play with promotion loyalty on? And if so, who is loyal to WCW?</div></blockquote><p> I can't figure out how to check it in-game, but I think I may have turned it off at some point, at least in the US. Corino still wound up with loyalty to me somehow, and Sting has had it from the beginning.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="GingeyOne" data-cite="GingeyOne" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> General diary comments/questions/critiques: Awesome to see Heyman in the diary. I wonder what his manager / talking skills are like and if they are up to his run as CM Punk and Brock Lesnar's manager?</p></div></blockquote><p> He's not the best talker in the company, but I think he'll be good enough to do the job.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Smasher1311" data-cite="Smasher1311" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Fan Scorecard:<p> </p><p> World Heavyweight Championship: Eddie Guerrero vs. The Unnatural vs. <strong>Rey Mysterio Jr. {©}</strong></p><p> <em>Unnatural is obviously here to take the fall and allow a true Eddie-Rey match at...BatB?</em></p></div></blockquote><p> Like most of my multi-man matches, this is actually elimination style ala ECW. I've never liked the idea of a champion being able to lose his title without being beaten. Generally the only exception is the six man 'Cruiserweight Shootouts' I sometimes run, but those are to earn a shot at the title rather than being for the title itself. (There will probably be a different match in a couple of months that will go against everything I just said, though. <img alt=":o" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/redface.png.900245280682ef18c5d82399a93c5827.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />)</p>

<p>June 2003: Road to Great American Bash</p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="aceMub4.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/aceMub4.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> </p><p> <strong><span style="font-size:18px;">The Backstories:</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">The Ties That Bind Us</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>-After Eddie Guerrero returned to WCW and won the Mayhem match and Rey Mysterio Jr. retained the World Heavyweight Championship against King Corino in the main event, the path to Great American Bash was set. At the start of Nitro the following night, Rey welcomed Eddie back to WCW with open arms. They talked about how they'd been both strong friends and heated rivals, but the respect had always been there. They'd had classic matches against each other in the past, but this was going to be the biggest yet, because this time they'd be fighting for the most important title in wrestling. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Corino interrupted the "mutual admiration society", as he called it, to complain that Guerrero had robbed him, and it was only because of him that his "little buddy" still had the title. This set up a main event match between Guerrero and Corino. It was a classic match, but ended in disqualification when several other members of The Empire attacked Guerrero. The beating continued after the match, until Mysterio ran in with a chair to save his friend and future challenger.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Eddie and Rey met in Piper's Pit the following week. It played out much the same as their in-ring conversation the week before. Despite Roddy bringing up events from their past like Eddie pulling Rey's mask off of his face and trying to take his mask for good, neither man took the bait. They were talking about what a great match it was going to be when the party was crashed by The Unnatural. He told them not to get ahead of themselves--because he was going to use his UFS title shot to turn the Great American Bash main event into a triple threat match!</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Rey and Eddie beat his "brothers" Alexander and The Destroyer in a tag match on June 2nd, but The Unnatural wasn't concerned. After the match, he said that a lot of people were questioning why he would use his title shot for a three way instead of simply entering a one on one match. Some were calling him stupid, but it was compassion that motivated him.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>The Unnatural, 6/2/03</strong><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> "The bonds of friendship are truly a wonderful thing. Friendship, true friendship, should be treasured, just as I treasure each one of my Salvation brothers. But greed and ambition all too often sever these precious bonds. You are both ambitious men, and you were set on a collision course at Great American Bash, with the most prestigious prize in this sport hanging in the balance. Could your friendship have survived such strain? You may think so, but can you truly be certain? Especially after your checkered pasts? We will never have to find out, because I have taken it upon myself to offer a solution. I will take the burden of the championship myself, and your friendship will be preserved."</strong></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> <em>Eddie and Rey did pre-taped promos on the go home show. Neither of them bought Unnatural's explanation, and both said they believed he was trying to drive a wedge between them and use it to backdoor his way to the championship. Rey said he'd been fighting against the odds his entire career, and he'd do it again this Sunday by retaining his championship against two top opponents, even if one of them was one of his best friends. Eddie talked about his frustrations at banging his head against the glass ceiling in his previous WCW tenure, and leaving and achieving great success elsewhere, but the whole time believing that his career wouldn't be complete unless he could go back to WCW and make it to the top. The Unnatural beat Kidman in the main event, and afterwards called both Rey and Eddie out to the ring. He advised them to not let the heat of the moment come between their friendship. They could take the competitive fire of wanting to be the champion, and unleash every bit of it on him. He would take it all, and it would forge him into a tougher being, a being capable of bearing the great burden that will be thrust upon him once he emerges from the Great American Bash as the new World Heavyweight Champion. Rey and Eddie, tired of listening to him, worked together to beat him down to close the show. But as Mike and I pointed out, only one of them could stand tall on Sunday. </em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Brick by Brick</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>-Steve Austin tried to attack Goldberg again on May 19th, but this time Eric Bischoff had a small army of security in place to prevent it from happening. As Austin tried to find a way through the human wall, Bischoff took the mic to blame him for throwing The Empire off their game and ruining their carefully laid plans at Mayhem, and he promised Austin had "empirical retribution" coming his way.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Austin called out Goldberg the next week, but got Bischoff instead. Eric said he was a man of his word, and he meant it when he said he would NEVER give Austin the satisfaction of a match between he and Goldberg. But that didn't mean The Empire didn't want to make him pay for throwing them in disarray before the biggest match in their history. So no, Austin couldn't have Goldberg, but Eric would be more than happy to set up a match between he and TAKA. It wasn't what he wanted, but Austin accepted the challenge. Later in the night Sting approached him backstage to say that he knew Bischoff's MO better than most, and he knew The Empire would try and take him out when he least expected it, so he'd be more than happy to help Steve out and watch his back. Austin's response was that he works best when he can raise hell on his own, so thanks but no thanks.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> On June 3rd, The Empire (minus Goldberg) jumped Austin in the ring after a squash match. He stood his ground and fought, but the numbers overcame him. TAKA really rubbed it in by posing and flexing over Austin. The group gloated about it on the 9th, but were interrupted by Austin "via satellite" from his home in Texas.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>Steve Austin, 6/9/03</strong><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> "You boys think ya done somethin' last week? That wasn't the first time Steve Austin's been beaten down, and it sure as hell won't be the last! But there ain't never been a beating I haven't gotten up from. Steve Austin's gonna tear your whole damn Empire down, brick by brick, and TAKA, it starts with you, son!"</strong></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> <em>Steve isn't used to working big matches with a heel as small as TAKA, but I think this will work out great. TAKA plays a shifty little punk heel really well.</em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Is "Da Man" Still a Man?</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>-It was a tougher test than his usual squash, but Goldberg still came out on top against Rick Steiner on May 26th. He was about to beat his fallen opponent up further after the match, but Scott ran in and they had a stare-down that the crowd popped big for. On June 2nd Scott called Goldberg a coward and dared him to come out and fight "Freakzilla." Goldberg came out as if to answer the challenge, but King Corino held him back while Rick Steiner did the same with Scott.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Goldberg racked up another squash on the 9th, but afterwards Scott came out and taunted him, saying he didn't know you had to get a vasectomy and give your manhood up to join The Empire, and if he were still a real man he'd fight him! Goldberg made a beeline for him, but Corino was again there to restrain his stable mate. Steiner began taunting Corino, and Rick had to come down to prevent his brother from walking into a 2 on 1 situation. Corino, feeling very confident with Goldberg at his side, said The Empire could use a nice cut of the PPV revenue this Sunday and so he and Bill would be happy to meet The Steiners in one of the featured matches. Scott naturally accepted. </em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Calling Your Shot</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>-By defeating Fit Finlay for his 10th successful TV title defense, Sean O'Haire had the option of vacating the title and challenging AJ Styles for the United States belt. The following night, he addressed the world and made his intentions known: he was NOT going to go for the US title. It hadn't been that long ago since he'd beaten a five time world champion in just two minutes, so he knew he had what it took to win the biggest prize of all. He was shooting for fifteen title defenses, and a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship!</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Defense #11 came the next week when he survived the kicks and submissions of Minoru Tanaka. Now he was catching everyone's attention, and on June 2nd Shane Douglas said he wanted to ruin O'Haire's grand dreams and carve the path to the top for himself by taking his title. O'Haire came out and nodded to accept the challenge.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> They met in the ring for an interview with Bobby Heenan on June 9th. It was a fairly standard interview until the end, where Douglas was clearly setting up for a cheap shot. When O'Haire saw it coming, though, Shane backed off and left the ring. He'd have to exercise that same caution on Sunday, because O'Haire had already proven his ability to bulldoze through even the toughest challengers.</em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Positively Phenomenal</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>-AJ Styles has been making waves in WCW, and he's caught the attention of a 3-time world champion. Diamond Dallas Page did an interview on May 19th in which he said that "Phenomenal" wasn't just a fancy slogan; based on everything he'd seen, this kid really was something special! But Page wanted to step into the ring with him and test him to find out how good he really is. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> During a Page victory over Psychosis the next week, Styles sat in on commentary to discuss the US title match that he'd agreed to, saying he respected DDP but he would find out that he truly is phenomenal at the Great American Bash. They both stood in the ring on June 2nd for an interview with Bobby Heenan. It was a cordial interview that ended with a handshake, but Page pulled him in and teased hitting a Diamond Cutter before letting him go with a smile. The message was clear: AJ may be the superior athlete, but Page has the experience as well as one of the most effective finishers in the game.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> It was DDP's turn to watch from commentary on June 9th as AJ was victorious in a non-title match against Tony Mamaluke. Page expressed his admiration of AJ's ability throughout the match, but reminded everyone that all he needed was one chance to hit the Diamond Cutter, and if he got that chance, we'd have a new champion. </em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">A Hardcore Homecoming</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>-Bobby Roode and Ric Flair gloated about once again beating "Mr. Hardcore" Rob Van Dam at his own game by putting him through the table and eliminating him at Mayhem. RVD stepped out, and with a defeated smile he admitted they were right. They'd gotten the best of him every step of the way, and they'd done it in the kind of situations he'd used to excel. But he guaranteed that everything was going to change next week. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="0exeVr7.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/0exeVr7.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> The "change" came in the form of Paul Heyman, who RVD revealed was the man he'd been speaking with on the phone in the weeks before Mayhem. He'd been forced to admit that he'd lost something, and Paul was going to help him find it. Heyman got on the mic to promise to help RVD get back to basics, and with that in mind, he challenged Roode to meet RVD in a hardcore rules match at the Great American Bash!</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Flair and Roode came to ringside the next week to watch Van Dam in action against Fit Finlay. Flair sat on commentary and insisted they had nothing to worry about, but their faces told a different story as they watched RVD, with Heyman at his side, wrestling with an edge he'd been missing. Both sides offered their thoughts in a pre-taped promo package for the go home show. Roode and Flair again claimed to have no concern about RVD, and Flair referred to Heyman as a "fatso who came crawling to WCW and begged RVD for a job when the bingo hall closed down!", but Heyman and RVD weren't buying it. They'd seen the concern on Roode's and Flair's faces, and their worst fears would be realized when they saw just how hardcore Rob Van Dam could get!</em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Divine Punishment for False Idols </span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>-Christopher Daniels and Brian Adams dropped in on the Hardys during an autograph signing, and Daniels had a message.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>Christopher Daniels, 5/26/03</strong><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> "For too long, you have been allowed to represent this tag team division as false idols for these gullible fans to worship, but no longer. Your time is up, because at the Great American Bash, Brian and myself will use our Ultimate Fan Series title match to give these fans a championship team they can truly worship!"</strong></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> <em>The Hardys were watching backstage the next week as Daniels and Adams looked impressive in a win over Volador and Aguila. The two teams had a singles clash on the go home show, and it was Christopher Daniels claiming the edge for his team by beating Matt, though only after some interference from Adams.</em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">An Honorable Champion</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>-Bryan Danielson knew there was plenty of controversy surrounding his victory over Hayabusa at Mayhem. The next night on Nitro, he met with both Hayabusa and Arn Anderson in the latter's office to say that he was a fighting champion, and he wanted to give Hayabusa a rematch for the title. Arn agreed, and sanctioned a championship rematch for the Bash. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Champion and challenger teamed up against the Jung Dragons the following week, with the Dragons getting the pin on Hayabusa while Stacy Keibler distracted Danielson. Danielson apologized to Hayabusa the next week, but the Jung Dragons interrupted and Keibler rubbed the situation in both their faces by teasingly showcasing her legs. June 9th saw Hayabusa one on one against Yang. Hayashi and Keibler tried to swing things in Yang's favor, but Danielson came out to fend them off. With the coast clear, Hayabusa won the match with the Phoenix Splash. </em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Heroes to the Rescue!</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>-Chavo Guerrero Jr. welcomed his Uncle Eddie back to Nitro, but it was clear his mind was preoccupied. When Eddie asked him what was wrong, Chavo admitted that he was afraid Salvation was going to try and pay him back for outsmarting The Destroyer and breaking up their dominant run in the Mayhem match. His fears were well-founded, because the group surrounded him in the ring the next week, with Unnatural grabbing the mic to tell him that he can be eradicated at any time they choose. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> They attempted to back that up on June 2nd, but the cavalry arrived in the form of True Heroes. Later in the night, Punk explained to Chavo that they'd helped him because they had their own grudge to settle with Salvation, referencing their UFS battles with the group as well as the ambush the Monday before Mayhem. June 9th saw Lance Storm absorb lots of punishment from The Destroyer before pinning him with a beautiful cradle, but the real story came post-match. Mortis returned from his "journey", and he, Destroyer and Alexander demanded a six man tag against the Heroes and Chavo. Punk accepted the challenge on his team's behalf, so here we are. Initially I was thinking about Chavo vs. Destroyer one on one on this show, but I wanted to work the Heroes onto the card somewhere and this was a logical continuation of what they've been involved with.</em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">The Cocky New Kid</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>-Kidman came out on May 26th to provide fans with an update on the status of his partner Teddy Hart, but Brian Kendrick strolled out and told him he was wasting his breath, because nobody cared about Kidman OR Teddy now that "the greatest thing since sliced bread" had arrived on the scene. Kidman didn't appreciate that, and after a victory over Psychosis on June 2nd he challenged Kendrick to a match. Brian came out and accepted the challenge, but took things up a notch when he invited Torrie Wilson to leave with "the greatest thing since sliced bread." That set off a brawl in the ring.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Kidman got the main event spotlight against Unnatural on June 9th, putting on a great effort before the interference of Kendrick was instrumental in his defeat. This will be a big test for Brian, his first singles PPV match, but I'm hopeful he'll be up to it. </em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="color:#FF0000;"><span style="font-size:18px;">Show Summaries:</span></span></strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>5/19:</strong></p><p> <img alt="iX0Aj7Y.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/iX0Aj7Y.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <em>Notes from this show:</em></p><p><em> -Who knew Nick Patrick was a cartoonist? He entertained the boys with a caricature of Scott Steiner before the show. Thankfully for him Scott found it funny too, but he said Nick should give him more muscles next time if he wants to get it right.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -The RVD vs. David Flair pre-show match was run just to make sure there wouldn't be any problems with RVD and Paul Heyman working together. Not only were there not problems, but they worked together pretty well.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -Konnan sustained a concussion during his match with Shane Douglas. It's believed it happened after a stiff elbow to the face by Shane, who got some heat with some of the boys as a result. Fortunately it was a very mild concussion, and Konnan was cleared for action just a few days later.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -Bob Holly was here on a one night deal. He wasn't happy about putting Kendrick over. Oh well. Maybe he phoned in his performance as a result, because he seemed off his game.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <strong>5/26:</strong></p><p> <img alt="KPJA6w5.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/KPJA6w5.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <em>Notes from this show:</em></p><p><em> -Ric Flair apparently felt Volador snubbed him by walking by without shaking his hand, so he brought him before the wrestler's court. All was forgiven when Volador bought a round of drinks after the show.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -Goldberg and Rick Steiner didn't do well together at all. It's a good thing I didn't put that match in the main event, which I did consider.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -"Kendrick's definitely connecting with the fans as a cocky heel. Keep it going." -CM Punk</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -"You just got the good Guerrerrerrero, so why are you still bookin' the one nobody cares about?" -Scott Steiner</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <strong>6/2:</strong></p><p> <img alt="AWdOtyQ.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/AWdOtyQ.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <em>Notes from this show:</em></p><p><em> -Mike Awesome and TAKA kept things interesting before the show by setting up a poker tournament. Lance Storm won; apparently his poker face is fantastic.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -Mark Jindrak bruised his pectoral muscle during his match with Chavo. He could have worked through it, but I sent him home for a couple of weeks to heal up fully.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -Yang's gimmick is getting stale. He needs a change to fit better with what Hayashi is currently doing.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -We completed Chavo Guerrero's face turn on this show, and the fans reacted really well to it.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -The Unnatural came up with a new catchphrase in the show-closing angle, and it should boost his future promos even further.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -"I like what Kendrick's doing. He might be a big time heel some day." -Jeff Hardy</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <strong>6/9:</strong></p><p> <img alt="qdnqLdD.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qdnqLdD.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <em>Notes from this show:</em></p><p><em> -Rey Mysterio Jr. brought in a Playstation 2 and played games with a lot of the younger guys before the show. It's nice to see he hasn't gotten a big head and distanced himself from the locker room after getting his big push.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -"I don't think the fans are ever going to care about Cash. He just doesn't have it." -Dustin Rhodes</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -"Why're you still usin' those wannabe dancing kids? Shannon especially; ain't nobody gonna pay to see a pretty boy with a girl's name!" -Scott Steiner</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> </p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> </p><p> Fan Scorecard:</p><p> </p><p> World Heavyweight Championship: Eddie Guerrero vs. The Unnatural vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. {©}</p><p> </p><p> The Steiner Brothers vs. Goldberg and King Corino</p><p> </p><p> "The Hellraiser" Steve Austin vs. TAKA</p><p> </p><p> United States Heavyweight Championship: Diamond Dallas Page vs. "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles {©}</p><p> </p><p> World Television Championship: Shane Douglas vs. Sean O'Haire {©}</p><p> </p><p> World Tag Team Championship: "Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels and Brian Adams vs. The Hardys {©}</p><p> </p><p> Cruiserweight Championship: Hayabusa vs. "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson {©}</p><p> </p><p> Hardcore Rules: Rob Van Dam vs. Bobby Roode</p><p> </p><p> True Heroes and Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Salvation</p><p> </p><p> Billy Kidman vs. Brian Kendrick</p><p> </p><p> What will be match of the night?</p><p> </p><p> How many championships will change hands?</p><p> </p><p> TIEBREAKER: How long is the main event? (minutes and seconds)</p><p> </p><p> General diary comments/questions/critiques:</p><p> </p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> <hr noshade size=3></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Should I be looking at creating my own broadcaster any time soon? I've read that it's more expensive to incrementally raise the size of your broadcaster rather than doing it all at once, so my natural thought was to wait until I could justify going Enormous in the entire world. That would cost over $100 million more than I currently have though, so it sounds like a pipe dream. Should I just wait until I hit the 'break even' level (which I'm already past everywhere except for Canada), start with something smaller and gradually increase it as time goes on and I hopefully have more money to spend?</p><p> </p><p> And another one: if a worker can't increase in size, is it a good idea to ask them to go down instead? Will that see the same potential star quality benefits?</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="KnowYourEnemy" data-cite="KnowYourEnemy" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Maybe Vince could make a deal with Inoki... sounds like both have something the other guy wants. Are we still considering that? <p> </p><p> I'm not saying that the AI will manage it perfectly, but I'm saying split correctly, they won't feel the need to cut half the New Japan roster. Gotta spread evenly those guys with no pop in the US.</p></div></blockquote><p> Maybe they wouldn't cut them all, but they'd all slot in as enhancement talent. I speak from experience there, because that's what happens any time I bring in one of the Japanese guys on a loan. Maybe the very best like a Misawa or somebody like that would autopush as a lower midcarder, but I kind of doubt it even for him.</p><p> </p><p> For now I think I'm content to just leave New Japan alone and see if they can turn themselves around. Perhaps I'll limit them to not being able to rise above cult, because hitting national when they have negative relationships with both me and WWE is a recipe for disaster for them.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="K-Nection" data-cite="K-Nection" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> Also I see RVD has reclaimed his spot in Japan lol. I bet Vince is furious now that he is actually losing national battles.</p></div></blockquote><p> Yeah, unfortunately I think O'Haire's surge was short-lived. It looks like that win over Booker pushed him past his overness cap, at least in Japan, and now it's gone back down.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="smartman" data-cite="smartman" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Dang, what the hell has Vince been doing to poor Eddie that he doesn't even hit #5 spot for you on the US list? What are his SQ and Pop in the US? It is great that you've now taken control of the battle. Now, it is on to win the war!</div></blockquote><p> Eddie's never going to sniff my top 5 for national battle purposes. His popularity is pretty good, though ideally he'll be able to gain at least 3-5 more points before he caps out. Star quality is a different story though. I tallied up all my active wrestlers (male and female) with higher star quality than Eddie, and I believe it finished at 26.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="kinnikuniverse" data-cite="kinnikuniverse" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> I know it's off-topic, but I hope we get at least the prediction card before the other get american bash: the super bowl!</p><p> </p><p> Speaking of which, anybody here making their predictions?</p></div></blockquote><p> I beat it by three days, so yes! <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> I'd love to see the Eagles win, but I don't expect it.</p>

<p>Taichi is awful. But that's practically part of his gimmick, so I guess it's okay.</p><p> </p><p> I wouldn't call Chase or Fale the worst in the Bullet Club. I think that award goes to Yujiro. Obviously it would be Bone Soldier if he were still around, but I guess he's been buried in the same desert Goldberg took Vince Russo to.</p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="CQI13" data-cite="CQI13" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Bailey needs a new gimmick though. It was perfect for NXT, not the main roster. She got no pop at the Rumble. Maybe she does something between now and then, but who knows.</div></blockquote><p> I was still watching when she was called up, and she was getting fantastic reactions from the moment she debuted. Was it really the gimmick that was the problem, or shoddy writing on the main roster? That said, she probably does need an overhaul now, because the damage seems to be done.</p>

<p>ROH World: <strong>Cody</strong> {C} vs. Jay Lethal</p><p> ROH Tag Titles, Handicapped: <strong>Jay Briscoe</strong> {C} vs. Titan and El Soberano Jr.</p><p> ROH Television: <strong>Marty Scurll</strong> {C} vs. SANADA</p><p> #1 Contendership Tag Turmoil: Caprice Coleman/Shane Taylor vs. Good Burger (Josh "The Goods" Woods and Cheeseburger) vs. <strong>Matt Taven/Odinson</strong> vs. The Dawgs</p><p> #1 Contendership Tag Turmoil: <strong>War Machine</strong> vs. Winners of Tag Turmoil Four-Way</p><p> <strong> "Filthy" Tom Lawlor</strong> vs. "The King of Bros" Matt Riddle</p><p> -Riddle has more upside, but Filthy should win unless he's signed to a regular contract.</p><p> Grudge Match: <strong>Damien "Punishment" Martinez</strong> vs. Low-Ki</p><p> CCK (Jonathan Gresham, Kid Lykos and Chris Brookes) vs. <strong>SoCal Uncensored 2.0</strong></p><p> 6-Man Tag Action: <strong>Los Ingobernables (Tetsuya Naito, Rush and EVIL)</strong> vs. The Hung Bucks</p><p> -Tough to call, but I feel like something is brewing there in the Club. Or maybe that's just current NJPW spilling over into my predictions...</p>

<p>May 2003 Renaissance Update and June 2003 National Battle Report</p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/2aDyraK.png</span></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">May 2003 Update</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>-The month was built around the opening round of the tag team title tournament, with three of the four shows featuring a tournament match in the main event (and the odd week out had a world title match in the prime spot.) The first round played out as follows:</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> May 10th: Chigusa Nagayo and Meiko Satomura over Daffney and LuFisto</em></p><p><em> May 17th: Our Generation over Takako Inoue and Katarina Waters</em></p><p><em> May 24th: Manami Toyota and Toshiyo Yamada over Las Cachorras Orientales (Etsuko Mita and her old partner Mima Shimoda, in on a one night deal)</em></p><p><em> May 31st: Aja Kong and Devil Masami over Kyoko Inoue and Momoe Nakanishi</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Looking ahead to the next two weeks, the semifinals will look like this:</em></p><p><em> June 7th: Chigusa Nagayo and Meiko Satomura vs. Our Generation</em></p><p><em> June 14th: Manami Toyota and Toshiyo Yamada vs. Aja Kong and Devil Masami</em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="color:#FF0000;"><span style="font-size:18px;">Show Summaries:</span></span></strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>5/10:</strong></p><p> <img alt="vF3GLwq.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/vF3GLwq.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <strong>5/17:</strong></p><p> <img alt="scURl2i.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/scURl2i.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <em>Notes from this show:</em></p><p><em> -Lisa Moretti is nowhere near the performer Manami Toyota is, and it showed during their match.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <strong>5/24:</strong></p><p> <img alt="pVhiorE.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/pVhiorE.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <em>Notes from this show:</em></p><p><em> -Kaori Yoneyama cheered up the locker room by providing food for everyone.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <strong>5/31:</strong></p><p> <img alt="phWMX9V.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/phWMX9V.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <em>Notes from this show:</em></p><p><em> -Kyoko Inoue and Shinobu Kandori were apparently having a great time backstage before the show, and it lifted the overall mood.</em></p><p> </p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> <hr noshade size=3></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;">National Battle Report: June 2003</span></span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="ebDwXEW.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ebDwXEW.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;"><span style="font-size:18px;">USA</span></span></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:18px;"><strong>#1:</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <img alt="nUYCk9q.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <strong>World Championship Wrestling</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>Top 5 Stars:</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> 1) Steve Austin (1000 points)</em></p><p><em> 2) Bill Goldberg (965)</em></p><p><em> 3) Rey Mysterio Jr. (786)</em></p><p><em> 4) CM Punk (755)</em></p><p><em> 5) Rob Van Dam (738)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Total Points: 4,244</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:18px;"><strong>#2:</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <img alt="7AiYO6E.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7AiYO6E.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <strong>World Wrestling Entertainment</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>Top 5 Stars:</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> 1) The Rock (1000 points)</em></p><p><em> 2) Hollywood Hogan (855)</em></p><p><em> 3) The Undertaker (810)</em></p><p><em> 4) Triple H (807)</em></p><p><em> 5) Big Show (728)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Total Points: 4,200</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="ieBLbQ1.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ieBLbQ1.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;"><span style="font-size:18px;">British Isles</span></span></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:18px;"><strong>#1:</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <img alt="7AiYO6E.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7AiYO6E.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <strong>World Wrestling Entertainment</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>Top 5 Stars:</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> 1) The Rock (1000 points)</em></p><p><em> 2) Hollywood Hogan (881)</em></p><p><em> 3) The Undertaker (810)</em></p><p><em> 4) Triple H (797)</em></p><p><em> 5) Big Show (734)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Total Points: 4,222</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:18px;"><strong>#2:</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <img alt="nUYCk9q.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <strong>World Championship Wrestling</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>Top 5 Stars:</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> 1) Steve Austin (1000 points)</em></p><p><em> 2) Bill Goldberg (962)</em></p><p><em> 3) Rey Mysterio Jr. (775)</em></p><p><em> 4) Scott Steiner (706)</em></p><p><em> 5) Rob Van Dam (705)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Total Points: 4,148</strong></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="1eeVS9d.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/1eeVS9d.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;"><span style="font-size:18px;">Japan</span></span></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:18px;"><strong>#1:</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <img alt="nUYCk9q.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <strong>World Championship Wrestling</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>Top 5 Stars:</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> 1) Steve Austin (995 points)</em></p><p><em> 2) Bill Goldberg (964)</em></p><p><em> 3) Rey Mysterio Jr. (821)</em></p><p><em> 4) CM Punk (812)</em></p><p><em> 5) Rob Van Dam (751)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Total Points: 4,343</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:18px;"><strong>#2:</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <img alt="7AiYO6E.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7AiYO6E.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <strong>World Wrestling Entertainment</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>Top 5 Stars:</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> 1) The Rock (1000 points)</em></p><p><em> 2) Hollywood Hogan (865)</em></p><p><em> 3) Triple H (819)</em></p><p><em> 4) The Undertaker (809)</em></p><p><em> 5) Kurt Angle (732)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Total Points: 4,225</strong></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>June 1st</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> I could just imagine the snarl on Vince's face when he was handed the latest issue of the Observer. He was still drawing bigger houses, larger TV ratings and PPV buy rates and making more money, but the walls were closing in. The additions of Austin and now Goldberg were huge, and when combined with the elevation of Mysterio and Punk into the upper echelon, we now had the bigger star power in the eyes of the sheets. This business is built on stars, as Vince well knows. If we can keep this up, we could be breathing down his neck by the end of the year.</p><p> </p><p> He might have stolen Booker T, but I responded in turn by signing away Eddie Guerrero, who fits our product better. He tried to deal us a major blow by taking Rey as well, but we re-signed him and he'll remain a key piece for us in this fight.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> <hr noshade size=3></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Uncrewed" data-cite="Uncrewed" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Dixie owning WCW with Heyman as booker would have been very interesting. If I remember correctly, that was supposed to happen to TNA in 2010.</div></blockquote><p> Yep. I think Heyman asked for a percentage of ownership that prevented that from happening?</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="kinnikuniverse" data-cite="kinnikuniverse" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Just to tell you, I don't have the game on me anymore, as I cleaned up my computer to make some space. And I don't want to pay again for it, so I can't play as WWE.</div></blockquote><p> You'd only need the game if you were to book one of the big 3 WWE shows, so you can just choose an optional prize if it comes down to that. You wouldn't need the game to do either this Raw/ECW draft or the UFS draft.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="smartman" data-cite="smartman" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>To the last two posters. There are explicit instructions on how to unlicense the game for either moving to a new computer or wiping an existing one. You only ever have to pay for the game once <strong>EVER</strong>. There are also explicit instructions on how to recover your license if you need to do it. It might take a week to do, but it involves sending one or two emails. Go to the tech support forum section for the game to find out how to do either. I moved literally everything two Christmases ago, and it was super-easy.</div></blockquote><p> Yeah, I had to contact GDS to unlicense TEW2013 when my old laptop died. I think they did it within a day or two, and then I moved it to a different computer. Painless and easy.</p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Hashasheen" data-cite="Hashasheen" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42193" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>and Bruce lies through his teeth whenever he thinks he can get away with it. <p> </p></div></blockquote><p> I don't listen, but I heard he actually claimed that WWE made a "slight profit" on the original XFL. <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p>

Yeah, I saw that too. I'd be more okay with a tag match, as long as Ronda finishes Stephanie quick when they're actually in together. I'm not sold on Rock as the partner being a good idea, and I kind of doubt it anyway. Unless it's going to be a 5 minute match where he doesn't do anything beyond some punches and maybe a Rock Bottom, Hollywood wouldn't be thrilled. The last time he worked a legit match, he got hurt and it screwed up the schedule of the movie he was shooting.

Was just chatting with a friend about how interesting it is that both Rumbles were won by Japanese people. They really have come a long way from the many years where every Japanese guy that came in used the Orient Express theme.

I really like what you're doing with Flair and the Thrillseekers.

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="CQI13" data-cite="CQI13" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>You could tell she even told Charlotte "see you there" as she pointed to the sign and left the ring.</div></blockquote><p> Yeah, I saw that too. But with all the focus on the unhappy look on Stephanie's face, it felt to me like that was the clear direction. Hopefully you're right and I'm wrong.</p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="K-Nection" data-cite="K-Nection" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>You are currently listening to Smackdown's! NUMBER ONE ANNOUNCER!<p> </p><p> <span>http://i.imgur.com/ATT8mEa.jpg</span></p></div></blockquote><p> I'm pretty sure he really is on the team too! He was probably the one who kept shouting "NICE!" after all the signature moves. <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> So...Ronda vs. Stephanie at Mania? Ugh. Imagine if when they brought in Mike Tyson, it was all designed to make Vince a mainstream star. <img alt=":rolleyes:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/rolleyes.png.4b097f4fbbe99ce5bcd5efbc1b773ed6.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> Cool factoid though: the jacket Ronda was wearing was Roddy Piper's actual jacket, given to her by his son.</p>

<p>...Do they really need to explain the rules for the Rumble match? WE JUST WATCHED ONE.</p><p> </p><p> I'm watching this match with Japanese commentary. I don't understand anything they're saying, but it's still better than Stephanie on commentary for an hour.</p>

Is Rusev normally as over as he was tonight?

<p>I haven't turned on any WWE show since Jinder Mahal first became #1 contender, but I reactivated my subscription on an impulse because I've always loved the Rumble match. I'm also curious to see how the women's match goes, though I'm cringing at the idea of an hourlong match with Stephanie McMahon commentary. Even bad Rumble matches are usually fun to watch, so I figure I'll get my $10 worth tonight.</p><p> </p><p> I'm LOLing at the people (not here but elsewhere) speculating that the ending of the most recent NJPW show means Kenny Omega might be a surprise entrant tonight. Ignoring the fact that he just signed an extension with NJPW like two weeks ago, it'd be literally impossible for him to fly from Sapporo to Philadelphia in time. <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/cool.png.f00d2562b2c1d873a09323753efdb041.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p>

<p>Mayhem 2003 Stats</p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Order of Entry:</span></p><p> 1. CM Punk</p><p> 2. Brian Kendrick</p><p> 3. Christopher Daniels</p><p> 4. Hugh Morrus</p><p> 5. Brian Adams</p><p> 6. Harry Smith</p><p> 7. Kaz Hayashi</p><p> 8. Rob Van Dam</p><p> 9. Fatu</p><p> 10. Scott Steiner</p><p> 11. Yang</p><p> 12. Teddy Hart</p><p> 13. Diamond Dallas Page</p><p> 14. Jamie Knoble</p><p> 15. Nigel McGuinness</p><p> 16. Rick Steiner</p><p> 17. Minoru Tanaka</p><p> 18. Lance Storm</p><p> 19. Shane Helms</p><p> 20. The Destroyer</p><p> 21. The Unnatural</p><p> 22. Mark Jindrak</p><p> 23. Chavo Guerrero Jr.</p><p> 24. TAKA</p><p> 25. Bobby Roode</p><p> 26. Alexander</p><p> 27. Shane Douglas</p><p> 28. Billy Kidman</p><p> 29. Konnan</p><p> 30. Eddie Guerrero</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Order of Elimination:</span></p><p> 1. Hugh Morrus, by Christopher Daniels</p><p> 2. Brian Kendrick, by CM Punk</p><p> 3. Christopher Daniels, by CM Punk</p><p> 4. Brian Adams, by CM Punk</p><p> 5. Fatu, by RVD, Punk, Hayashi and Harry Smith</p><p> 6. Harry Smith, by Scott Steiner</p><p> 7. Teddy Hart, by CM Punk</p><p> 8. Kaz Hayashi, by DDP</p><p> 9. CM Punk, by DDP</p><p> 10. Yang, by Jamie Knoble</p><p> 11. Nigel McGuinness, by Minoru Tanaka</p><p> 12. DDP, by Scott Steiner</p><p> 13. Rick Steiner, by Jamie Knoble</p><p> 14. Jamie Knoble, by Scott Steiner</p><p> 15. Scott Steiner, by Rob Van Dam</p><p> 16. Minoru Tanaka, by The Unnatural</p><p> 17. Shane Helms, by The Destroyer</p><p> 18. Mark Jindrak, by The Unnatural</p><p> 19. The Destroyer, by Rob Van Dam</p><p> 20. Rob Van Dam, by Bobby Roode</p><p> 21. Chavo Guerrero Jr., by Alexander</p><p> 22. TAKA, by Shane Douglas</p><p> 23. Alexander, by Lance Storm</p><p> 24. Bobby Roode, by Billy Kidman</p><p> 25. Billy Kidman, by The Unnatural</p><p> 26. Konnan, by Lance Storm</p><p> 27. Lance Storm, by The Unnatural</p><p> 28. Shane Douglas, by Eddie Guerrero</p><p> 29. The Unnatural, by Eddie Guerrero</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Eliminations:</span></p><p> CM Punk, 5</p><p> </p><p> The Unnatural, 4</p><p> </p><p> Rob Van Dam, 3</p><p> Scott Steiner, 3</p><p> </p><p> Eddie Guerrero, 2</p><p> Jamie Knoble, 2</p><p> Diamond Dallas Page, 2</p><p> Lance Storm, 2</p><p> </p><p> Shane Douglas, 1</p><p> Billy Kidman, 1</p><p> The Destroyer, 1</p><p> Bobby Roode, 1</p><p> Alexander, 1</p><p> Christopher Daniels, 1</p><p> Kaz Hayashi, 1</p><p> Harry Smith, 1</p><p> Minoru Tanaka, 1</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Total Time:</span></p><p> Rob Van Dam, 35:52</p><p> </p><p> Lance Storm, 29:16</p><p> The Unnatural, 27:16</p><p> CM Punk, 23:28</p><p> Scott Steiner, 21:43</p><p> </p><p> Kaz Hayashi, 12:55</p><p> Shane Douglas, 12:36</p><p> </p><p> Bobby Roode, 10:52</p><p> </p><p> Harry Smith, 09:48</p><p> Brian Kendrick, 09:31</p><p> Diamond Dallas Page, 09:30</p><p> Jamie Knoble, 09:22</p><p> Eddie Guerrero, 09:16</p><p> Christopher Daniels, 09:12</p><p> </p><p> Minoru Tanaka, 08:57</p><p> </p><p> The Destroyer, 07:47</p><p> Alexander, 07:32</p><p> TAKA, 07:22</p><p> Yang, 07:19</p><p> </p><p> Chavo Guerrero Jr, 06:57</p><p> </p><p> Shane Helms, 05:49</p><p> Brian Adams, 05:33</p><p> Konnan, 05:20</p><p> Billy Kidman, 05:11</p><p> Nigel McGuinness, 05:07</p><p> </p><p> Rick Steiner, 04:47</p><p> </p><p> Hugh Morrus, 02:50</p><p> </p><p> Fatu, 01:51</p><p> Mark Jindrak, 01:04</p><p> </p><p> Teddy Hart, 00:40</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <hr noshade size=3></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> I knew I forgot something! That's fine though, because I've got something to share.</p><p> </p><p> I decided to do a test run to make sure WWE could sustain a brand split. I took over as Vince for a day, set up a brand split, and had Bret leave WCW so I could skip a year ahead and make sure the split was something the AI could handle.</p><p> </p><p> The answer was yes, so I believe I'll be going ahead with the plan to make that part of the prediction contest. I also found some of the things that happened over that year fascinating, so I'll share some of it with you:</p><p> </p><p> -Perhaps to support the split, WWE greatly increased the size of their roster over the year, going from 57 to 84. Among those 84? Probably 7 or 8 WCW guys, including Goldust, Sean O'Haire and DDP! It wasn't all one-sided though, because AI WCW stole William Regal, Kane, Trish Stratus, and...someone whose identity I don't want to give away, in case I can steal them for real! </p><p> </p><p> -WWE's popularity in the US declined. Not drastically, but enough to be noticeable. They remained at National throughout the year. WCW's popularity increased; they not only became more popular than WWE, but made it to International. Despite them being International and WWE National, WWE is still somehow ranked #1.</p><p> </p><p> -I have women's wrestling in WCW set as Integrated (not so I can do intergender matches, but just so the women can have regular pushes instead of 'Women's Division'.) Because of that, WCW's roster looks wonky. Both Nitro and WWR are treated the same, so the Renaissance brand includes the likes of Goldberg, Danielson, and Lance Storm.</p><p> </p><p> -Rey Mysterio remained champion throughout the year, but he didn't defend the title on every PPV. He continued to have amazing matches every single time though; his worst title defense from this period was against Goldberg, and that was 'only' a 91. Almost every other one was either a 98 or 99. For some reason, the AI has kept the title on him while mainly using him in the Filthy Animals team with Kidman, and in a sim that ended in May 04, he hadn't defended the title since January. (He and Kidman did have some amazing matches with Made in Italy though!)</p><p> </p><p> -The women's title was all but forgotten. Toyota defended it exactly once in an entire year. She did have an awesome TV match teaming up with Eddie against Goldberg and The Unnatural though!</p><p> </p><p> -Austin won wrestler of the year. He had two perfect 100 matches; a Nitro match against Mortis which won MOTY, and a win over Sean O'Haire in the finals of the Stu Hart Classic.</p><p> </p><p> -With Bret out of the picture, Dixie Carter became the owner of WCW. Making a much better decision than she ever did in real life, she hired Paul Heyman as booker.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="JMike" data-cite="JMike" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>57 is a good amount, I thought it would be in the 30s or 40s because WCW has half the roster they had irl at this point. I'd say, with the reception of the Fatu surprise, maybe sign the man to a short term deal. What to do with him? Idk, my best idea would be having him believe the Yung Dragons conspiracy. What do I know? Thankfully I'm not bookerman here. I'm not a good bookerman.</div></blockquote><p> 57 seemed like a good amount to me. It's got nothing on WCW though; we're in the <strong>90s!</strong> <img alt=":eek:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/eek.png.0e09df00fa222c85760b9bc1700b5405.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> (The numbers would probably be closer if I just had a women's division instead of an entire brand.)</p><p> </p><p> I'd never even considered having another wrestler or wrestlers being sympathetic to the Jung Dragons' "objections." That idea has some potential, with or without Fatu.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Kijar" data-cite="Kijar" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> I almost always overload my roster and have to do a brand split. I find it works best with roughly 5 main eventers on each brand, maybe one more each, if one was to be stingy about face/heel divide equality <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> But yeah, they are sitting pretty well for a brand split at 57 with 20 in the uppercard. Better than the AI usually do with one <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p></div></blockquote><p> I could easily justify a genuine split with WCW as well, but I'm liking the setup with a 2 hour Nitro and 1 hour just for the women, and I don't really want to add any more. I should probably just scale back and let some people walk when their contracts are coming due.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="James The Animator" data-cite="James The Animator" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Well, seeing as I'm doing so well in the prediction contest, I'm beginning to get excited about participating in the next Ultimate Fan Series! I know it's a bit soon to start saying that, as it just ended, but that's going to be a lot of fun if I can join in! <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div></blockquote><p> Consider this a practice session for that! Next month's Great American Bash will be the end of this contest, with doing the WWE draft and booking Summerslam available as prizes. Then the UFS contest starts in July and runs all the way through Starrcade.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="kinnikuniverse" data-cite="kinnikuniverse" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>To be honest, that event was pretty easy to predict, except for the mayhem match.</div></blockquote><p> Yeah, there were lots of perfect 8/8s on the non-Mayhem match part of the show. One of those matches could very easily have gone the other way though. </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Also, cool that you reduced Joe's contract for one year only. The joe we know and love didn't exist till 2004, so you're right in the money on that. Maybe you can do the Akuma character on joe, in that he's a merciless warrior looking for the strongest opponents to face for a fight to the death ( well, not exactly death, but u know what I mean.)</div></blockquote> <p> That's a good comparison.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Look, I know I'm beating on a dead horse, and I probably should stop annoying you with it, but I really want dragon gate to be founded! They're one of my favorite promotions back then, and I recently watched their recent shows and got hooked!</div></blockquote><p> It'll happen; I just need to make time to get around to it.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Wait, can't new japan become a child company to you? Because do child companies work exactly what I described in the previous post? Or something similar?</div></blockquote><p> They could, yeah. NJPW was still hanging around in my yearlong sim; still in debt, but the debt hadn't gone up hardly at all. They yo-yoed back to National and then back down to Cult again, but they were still hanging in there. With that in mind, I might leave them alone for the time being and hope they can pull through on their own.</p>

<p>War of the Worlds TV, August 2018, Week 2</p><p> <strong>Rush and Tetsuya Naito</strong> vs. The Addiction</p><p> <strong>Tom Lawlor</strong> vs. Enhancement Talent</p><p> <strong>Matt Riddle</strong> vs. Enhancement Talent</p><p> Flip Gordon vs. <strong>Titan</strong></p><p> <strong>EVIL and SANADA</strong> vs. Marty Scurll and Cody</p><p> </p><p> War of the Worlds TV, August 2018, Week 3</p><p> Motor City Machine Guns vs. <strong>War Machine</strong></p><p> <strong>Titan</strong> vs. Vinny Marseglia</p><p> <strong>Dalton Castle and The Boys</strong> vs. Jonathan Gresham/Chris Brookes/Kid Lykos</p><p> <strong>Matt Riddle</strong> vs. Tim Hughes</p><p> Bullet Club (Marty Scurll and The Hung Bucks) vs. <strong>Los Ingobernables (Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, Rush) </strong></p>

I really enjoyed Tanahashi vs. Suzuki from Night 1 of The New Beginning. Fantastic finish.

<p>May 2003: Mayhem Wrap-up</p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p> </p><span>http://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>Starting with the bad news: Teddy Hart broke his pelvis and will be out for a few months. That's a tough break, but he'll bounce back and we'll get things going with the Shooting Stars again. Until then, Kidman will be on his own. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> In some cases, bringing in somebody from WWE and having them win a big match like Mayhem their first night in might have angered the locker room. That wasn't really an issue here though. Eddie still has friends here, including our current world champion. He's also someone many of our younger roster members were heavily influenced by and have great respect for, plus he's considered an all-around great guy. The only objection was from Dustin, but that had more to do with him believing he was a bigger star. It was only a minor complaint though, and he's still very happy with his recent booking overall. I also made sure to thank him for doing the favor during my post-show speech, in between praising Corino for his great performance and complimenting Goldberg with the assurance that he still has 'it.'</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Mike and I made sure to stress Eddie's history in WCW during his entrance, basically reminding everyone that he first rose to prominence in the US with our organization. We're hoping to stave off accusations of relying on a 'WWE star' by really playing up his past with us and presenting him as a true born WCW star, and the initial reaction to that portrayal has been very good.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Knoble continues to grow more comfortable in his position as a slimy lackey for The Empire.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> The fans didn't know what to make of Kaz Hayashi's "Objection!" sign. We're trying to play up the "Give Dragons a Chance!" thing by turning him into a cocky conspiracy victim, but it seems to have missed the mark. Hopefully the fans will warm up to it over time.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> The fans are getting tired of seeing Rick Steiner, so we might need to move away from his simple bad ass character and try to come up with something new.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Fatu was a one night only deal. I couldn't resist the temptation of teasing our fanbase that this was going to be the big surprise entrant instead of Eddie. Fatu sure took his sweet time accepting my offer to appear on the show though. If he'd taken any longer to confirm, I probably would've called up Misawa and asked if we could fly in one of the NOAH guys on short notice.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Akira Hokuto has been checked out of rehab and cleared to return to the ring. Good news.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <hr noshade size=3></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Prediction Scores (out of a possible 21 points):<p> </p><p> ((+3 = correctly predicted Satyr's Hopeful Few to win the UFS))</p><p> </p><p> Rateddc: 16 ((+3))</p><p> </p><p> Satyr24: 15 ((+3))</p><p> Kijar: 15</p><p> </p><p> Happy0wns: 14</p><p> James The Animator: 14</p><p> kinnikuniverse: 14</p><p> crackerjack: 14</p><p> </p><p> Smasher1311: 13</p><p> </p><p> Uncrewed: 12</p><p> K-Nection: 12</p><p> michgcs: 12</p><p> deanohbk: 12</p><p> GingeyOne: 12</p><p> The Lariat: 12</p><p> </p><p> The Pitbull: 11</p><p> </p><p> cbacon87: 10</p><p> DHK1989: 10</p><p> jscotty: 10</p><p> ElectricX: 10</p><p> Theheel: 10</p><p> </p><p> Danny_H22: 9</p><p> Dead_Jester: 9</p><p> Wolfman84: 9</p><p> Spirophore: 9</p><p> Cro Cop Rules: 9</p><p> </p><p> bonnie: 8</p><p> Warhawk8492: 8</p><p> evileddie10: 8</p><p> chrismday: 8</p><p> Beejus: 8</p><p> DavidCorperial: 8</p><p> </p><p> DGenerationMC: 7</p><p> JMike: 7</p><p> Nobby_McDonald: 7</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Standings in prediction contest after three shows:<p> </p><p> Kijar: 30</p><p> Satyr24: 30</p><p> </p><p> Happy0wns: 28</p><p> </p><p> James The Animator: 27</p><p> Rateddc: 27</p><p> </p><p> kinnikuniverse: 26</p><p> </p><p> Warhawk8492: 23</p><p> </p><p> Theheel: 22</p><p> K-Nection: 22</p><p> </p><p> michgcs: 21</p><p> Smasher1311: 21</p><p> crackerjack: 21</p><p> </p><p> chrismday: 20</p><p> Dead_Jester: 20</p><p> DGenerationMC: 20</p><p> </p><p> jscotty: 19</p><p> ElectricX: 19</p><p> GingeyOne: 19</p><p> </p><p> evileddie10: 18</p><p> deanohbk: 18</p><p> Uncrewed: 18</p><p> </p><p> DavidCorperial: 17</p><p> JMike: 17</p><p> The Pitbull: 17</p><p> </p><p> Danny_H22: 16</p><p> </p><p> Beejus: 15</p><p> Cro Cop Rules: 15</p><p> DHK1989: 15</p><p> </p><p> Wolfman84: 14</p><p> </p><p> Nobby_McDonald: 13</p><p> bonnie: 13</p><p> </p><p> cbacon87: 12</p><p> The Lariat: 12</p><p> </p><p> Spirophore: 9</p><p> </p><p> Texasrangers13: 6</p><p> 2Sweet: 6</p><p> KnowYourEnemy: 6</p><p> </p><p> WilburTrey: 5</p><p> Ian carlisle: 5</p><p> </p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> <hr noshade size=3></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="kinnikuniverse" data-cite="kinnikuniverse" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> WUT??? JOE EXCLUSIVE IN JAPAN??? Now that, I didn't see coming! How long is his contract? Since when are michinoku pro able to do written contracts??? Will you make a working agreement with them so you can bring joe back to the states?</p></div></blockquote><p> M-Pro are at Cult, so they have the ability. I thought I'd set it up so all the Japanese companies with touring schedules would only bring in foreigners on touring deals, but I guess not. It was originally a three year deal, but I used the editor to shorten it to one year. My justification for that is I assumed they were only making a PPA or tour offer, and if I'd known they were offering him a written deal I would've swooped in and signed him. So I'll let them have him for a year, and then we'll see where we're at. By then I'll probably be ready to sign him. No need to do a working agreement. I'll wait until I can sign him to a written deal and use him full time.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>As for new japan, look, I don't know if it's possible in game, but the way I see it, in real life, bret would have bought NJPW, and inoki would retire from NJPW, bret would hire a better booker ( presumably jado and gedo) and just let them run the show themselves, only providing them financial help. Basically, what disney does with marvel studios.</div></blockquote><p> I'd love to do something like that, but it's not really possible. My only real options are to give them more money via the editor, or buy them out and either do title unification matches or turn them into a developmental territory. If I bought them, I'd probably go with the developmental option just so the heritage of NJPW could live on in some form. </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="JMike" data-cite="JMike" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> EDIT: If you want WWE, a company who really doesn't have enough workers to have a brand split to have one, why not have them buy NJPW? That could really shake things up</p></div></blockquote><p> Hmm...I took a look, and WWE currently has 57 active wrestlers (I'm assuming their women's division is counted into that.) They've got 10 main eventers and 10 upper midcarders. Is that a sufficient amount for the AI to maintain a brand split in the game? I don't know since I've never run a true split in TEW, so I'd like to hear if anyone has any insight to offer.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="K-Nection" data-cite="K-Nection" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Actually I could see the New Japan roster being very useful for a ECW brand....</div></blockquote><p> The problem with that is none of those guys have any popularity in the US, so I'm assuming AI WWE would either use them as job guys or fire them outright.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Danny_H22" data-cite="Danny_H22" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>It would be a shame to see NJPW disappear, so I wouldn't be opposed to you stepping in and either buying them or using the editor to save them.</div></blockquote><p> I'd really rather not see them go away either. The Japan scene would probably be okay since NOAH is doing great and AJPW is healthy as well, but I have a personal attachment to NJPW since they're pretty much singlehandedly keeping me interested in modern wrestling. But even if they hold on financially and make it back to National, I think they're destined to be destroyed by the national battle. IIRC, the negative effects of losing a national battle are amplified if you have antagonistic relationships with the companies that beat you, and they have hostility with WWE and declared war on me after I ended our working agreement. I guess I could use the editor to get them out of debt and then limit them so they can't rise above cult.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="kinnikuniverse" data-cite="kinnikuniverse" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> JAPANESE TABLES IS UNBREAKABLE! ( or is not crash, whatever!)</p></div></blockquote><p> Jericho found a way! (He also cut his leg open though...)</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Nice that Kendrick is getting support from punk. Is Paul London coming soon?</div></blockquote><p> London's been down in Wildside as well. He's probably at the point that he's not improving much down there anymore, but he hasn't complained yet and I don't have any plans lined up for him, so I'm content to leave him down there for the moment. I'm not sure he'll be teaming with Kendrick when he does come up. I tried more than once to force Wildside to use them as a team, but they simply would never book them together, so they have zero experience as a team.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>So, two Mexicans will headline the great American bash? EXCELLENTE!!!</div></blockquote><p> Well, Mexican Americans. <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Oh boy, you totally got me with rikishi!</div></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Uncrewed" data-cite="Uncrewed" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Amazing show! Loved the fake out with Fatu.</div></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="JMike" data-cite="JMike" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>What a show! The Fatu fake out was great! Mysterio vs Corino was great! Eddie was great! Nigel McGuinness... huh? It's all great! I screwed up predictions and I don't care! I've waited so long for this and it all feels fine</div></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="K-Nection" data-cite="K-Nection" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I loved the Fatu swerve you threw in there!</div></blockquote><p> Given that you all knew someone was coming in, I couldn't resist that little tease!</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Beejus" data-cite="Beejus" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> It looks like Jeff Hardy isn't turning out to be the future of WCW right away, if he can't get over the psychology hump. I mean I guess that's about right because he didn't really turn into a major headliner in real life until like 2008? So he does legitimately have a few years to go before he can be a huge star. I guess in this world, Lance Storm just made him look like a million bucks and no one else is on his level!</p></div></blockquote><p> Honestly, his in-ring skills in general aren't as impressive as one might think. I have 15 guys the game considers 'Excellent' in ring workers, and he's not one of them. (Neither is CM Punk, come to think of it.)</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="James The Animator" data-cite="James The Animator" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>First off, I'm going to pat myself on the back for correctly predicting the winner of every single match (<strong>especially</strong> the Mayhem match).</div></blockquote> <p> <img alt="3WQr6hK.gif" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/3WQr6hK.gif" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="KnowYourEnemy" data-cite="KnowYourEnemy" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Oh, but it was, and it was glorious in... <div class="ipsEmbeddedVideo"><div><iframe width="200" height="150" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ayH7uNArXmE?start=29&feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" title="2002.02.23 - IWA Puerto-Rico Intercontinental Title: Super Crazy vs. Eddie Guerrero (ROH)"></iframe></div></div>. <p> </p><p> But, yes, Smooth is great choice here, suprised no one in the fed ever picked it up -- Alberto Del Rio or Juventud Guerrero, for example, would've done well with it.</p></div></blockquote><p> You saved me the trouble of having to explain it! <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Yeah, I can claim no credit for Eddie getting "Smooth." I think it fits him really well though.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Personally, I would have booked him to come in under a mask and later reveal himself in a program with the champion -- I don't know what moveset he had as "Black Tiger" in Japan, but I think he wrestled at least a little differently. Really play up the "career long" rivalry between the two stars. <p> </p><p> But, that wouldn't be as fun for the readers, so this was probably for the best.</p></div></blockquote><p> A storyline like that can be interesting. I've even done something similar with Corino as Mr. Wrestling III in my ROH game, but I don't think think it would've worked in this scenario for a few reasons.</p><p> </p><p> It's been many years since I've watched Eddie as Black Tiger, but I think a lot of his moveset was similar, aside from using the Black Tiger Bomb as his finisher. (He'll probably use it as a signature/second-tier finisher in here as well.)</p>

<p>May 18th, 2003: Mayhem</p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="uaYxsqn.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/uaYxsqn.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> </p><p> <strong>May 18th, 2003</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> From Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Attendance: 32,969</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Announce Team: "The Professor" Mike Tenay and Bret "The Hitman" Hart </strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <img alt="2nqjRO5.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/2nqjRO5.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="nG8aWZm.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/nG8aWZm.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <strong>Official Theme Song: "The Leaving Song Pt. II" by AFI </strong></p><p> </p><p> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="<a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5fwGZohSJ9g" rel="external nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/embed/5fwGZohSJ9g"</a> frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe> </p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/S0cu0uO.jpg</span><p> <strong>Made in Italy (w/Dawn Marie) vs. The Hardys {©} </strong></p><p> <img alt="wjcJIfQ.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/wjcJIfQ.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><span>http://i.imgur.com/h1ELRYf.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/racEiy5.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/YIpiDFE.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/1tytiqE.jpg</span></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>A big spot for Made in Italy here, working with the Hardys. I'd say it was kind of a big one for Matt and Jeff too, who haven't exactly been setting the world on fire with the quality of their title matches after the unforgettable feud with True Heroes ended at Starrcade. I think both teams had something to prove here, but unfortunately I'd say they missed the mark. It's not that the match was terrible. It still was good enough to get the show off to a good start, but they should have been capable of better. Parisi was the weak link here, with Mamaluke doing pretty good and the Hardys being awesome. There were some major storytelling issues at play. Hopefully Jeff can work on his psychology a bit, or else it might be tough for him to be a front line main eventer despite his talent and 'it factor'. When the match in which Made in Italy beat The Shooting Stars and Volador/Aguila to earn this title shot was actually slightly better than the title match itself, that's a problem. It was also the worst tag title match since the Natural Born Thrillers were champions (to be more specific, it was the worst since the Thrillers made their last successful title defense, against Doomsday in November 2001.) </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Jeff and Johnny both showed some improved technical chops during their brief mat exchange, and the younger Hardy also looked more convincing with his punches and kicks when the match spilled out to the floor. In the end, Matt hit the Twist of Fate on Parisi to bring this forgettable opener to a close. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: B-</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/fn8zdsQ.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/GoltiY2.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/9hagqOD.jpg</span><img alt="CsQnr5C.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/CsQnr5C.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><span>http://i.imgur.com/OophliK.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/4Hgahfk.jpg</span><img alt="tUGU31v.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/tUGU31v.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="QRf7nqe.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/QRf7nqe.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Tim, aka Satyr24, joined his team in the ring as Arn Anderson presented them with the trophy for winning the UFS last month. Mortis was noticeable by his absence, which we did not comment on. Tim revealed who would be challenging for what championships:</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> The Unnatural: World Heavyweight</em></p><p><em> Mortis: TV</em></p><p><em> Alexander: US</em></p><p><em> Christopher Daniels: Tag Team (w/Brian Adams)</em></p><p><em> Melissa: Women's World</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> The team got chances to comment on the decisions. Adams' presence there helped Daniels as he talked about him providing the brains and Adams the brawn, which would be just the formula necessary to dethrone the Hardys. Father Isaac's performance wasn't great, but Unnatural carried himself well and ended the segment on a strong note.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> "You are a compassionate man, Tim, and I salute you," he said. "You understand the duty I must see through. Unfortunately I failed to take this burden on when I had my opportunity in January, but I will not fail a second time. Your decision gives me a chance to redeem myself, and I will also win tonight's Mayhem match to ensure no one else has to assume this heavy weight of responsibility. It is up to me to save Rey Mysterio Jr. from himself. Me, and no other."</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: B+</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/u0cJ04Z.jpg</span><p> <strong>Hayabusa vs. "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson {©} </strong></p><p> <span>http://i.imgur.com/p13CqOT.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpg</span><img alt="lAlFtSW.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/lAlFtSW.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>As usual, I trusted Danielson to structure this one himself. His psychology is as sound as ever, but this match was always going to be hurt by neither man working as a true heel. There was still some solid work though, with the technical Danielson targeting Hayabusa's legs and keeping the match on the mat as much as possible, and the challenger always trying to create some space so he could utilize his aerial skills.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Danielson rolled out of the way of an attempted Lionsault, but when he got up he was surprised to find that Hayabusa had landed on his feet and was waiting for him. The masked man rocked Danielson with a palm thrust, then planted him with the Falcon Arrow! </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Unfortunately for Hayabusa, the referee had been standing a bit too close and got clipped in the head by Danielson's foot. It wasn't an exaggerated ref bump where he went down like he was shot by a gun and was unconscious for five minutes. It was just a realistic collision that knocked him down for about five seconds before he shook it off, but that was enough of a reprieve for Danielson to kick out once the count was actually being made. The match continued on for a few minutes more, with Danielson eventually retaining the title with a dragon suplex. The booking of the match detracted from it, with Hayabusa being protected instead of it being an open back and forth. I didn't NEED to protect Hayabusa; it was a choice I made deliberately for storyline purposes, knowing full well it would hold this match back from its full potential.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: B-</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="OSPVvmB.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/OSPVvmB.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="lAtBjKF.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/lAtBjKF.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="mMpBlKk.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/mMpBlKk.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="Z3xclCp.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Z3xclCp.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>The ladies donned patriotic gear for a short vignette promoting next month's Great American Bash.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: C+</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="rrRBDgP.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/rrRBDgP.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> <strong>Fit Finlay vs. Sean O'Haire {©} </strong></p><p> <span>http://i.imgur.com/5Xhxf90.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/zbQxlTu.jpg</span></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>I liked the backstory here, with O'Haire having ended Fit's title reign one defense short of the magic #10, and Fit now wanting to repay the favor. Finlay wrestled a different style of match this time. In January he tried to fight O'Haire head on and it was a failure, so in this rematch he tried to take the big man's legs out from under him and avoid his strength. Not the most innovative story in the world, but why fix what isn't broken? The match was good, largely due to O'Haire, who is coming across as more and more of a star with each passing week.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> It was all going to come down to whether or not O'Haire could break through the veteran Finlay's gameplan and hit that one big power move. The answer was yes, and the Widow Maker finished off O'Haire's tenth title defense.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: B</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/fn8zdsQ.jpg</span><img alt="CsQnr5C.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/CsQnr5C.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><span>http://i.imgur.com/4CP35O5.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/4Hgahfk.jpg</span><img alt="QRf7nqe.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/QRf7nqe.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>While they were being interviewed for WCW.com, Tim tried to ask Salvation where Mortis was and why he didn't show up for the trophy presentation tonight. Obviously the real reason is that he's suspended, but we weren't going to say that in storyline. Instead, The Unnatural provided a confusing answer about Mortis "needing to go on a sabbatical to cleanse the darkness corrupting his mind and spirit." Tim didn't know what to make of that, but Unnatural carried this segment and came across as a big star. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: B+</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Sting vs. Goldberg (w/Eric Bischoff)</strong></p><p> <img alt="womNFVP.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/womNFVP.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><span>http://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpg</span><img alt="oWRzmsy.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/oWRzmsy.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="JYc2Jmc.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/JYc2Jmc.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>This was a test for Goldberg, working his first significant match in years. The ring rust was still readily apparent here; it's probably going to take quite some time before he fully shrugs it off. Despite that, he stood out as the bright spot of the match. I told them to focus on telling a story here, as I usually do whenever Sting appears on PPV now, but his physical decline is becoming more and more noticeable. That said, this match was honestly better than I expected it to be. If Goldberg is capable of this while still shaking off the ring rust and working with a way past his prime opponent, that's a promising sign for the future.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Sting hit a Stinger Splash, but Goldberg stood there and shouted "Is that the best you got?!" Sting went for the move a second time, only to struck down mid-flight with a spear! The Jackhammer ended the match and gave Goldberg a clean win.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: B</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <img alt="dIHv4ym.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/dIHv4ym.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <em>Moments after the bell, Steve Austin ran through the crowd and hopped the rail. Bischoff shouted in warning, but could only watch as Austin slid into the ring and charged towards his client. Goldberg stood his ground, and the two iconic figures of the original Monday Night War traded punches in the center of the ring! The crowd came unglued, and the camera flashes lit up the venue as everyone wanted to commit this moment to memory. Bischoff continuously shouted for Bill to leave, but he was ignored.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Officials and security came flooding out of the back to pull them apart, and when that wasn't enough, various wrestlers did as well. Both men struggled to break free, and Goldberg looked like he was about to succeed when Bischoff finally got his attention. Eric shouted "He's not worth it!" and frantically gestured for Goldberg to leave the ring. Bill still clearly wanted to shove through the mass of humanity to get at Austin again, but listened to his employer's instructions. He left the ring and followed Eric back up the ramp, but still looked furious. Austin came across well here; the crowd erupted when they saw him running in. Eric's performance didn't come across the best, probably just because these two guys are both such superstars, but it didn't do anything to harm this fantastic piece of business. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: A*</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/mitTbCm.jpg</span><p> <strong>Chuck Palumbo (w/Tammy Sytch) vs. "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles {©} </strong></p><p> <img alt="wZR2OGz.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/wZR2OGz.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><span>http://i.imgur.com/3ZTpoTU.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpg</span><img alt="ICMDAHo.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ICMDAHo.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>I think we all knew this wasn't going to be as good as AJ's match last month, because let's face it: Chuck Palumbo is no Rey Mysterio Jr. He did have Tammy Sytch with him, and she did good work at ringside, taunting the fans and building some additional heat when Chuck was on the offense. Palumbo also looked a bit better than usual technically. Not that he was doing any actual technical wrestling himself, but it looked smoother when he transitioned out of it and hit his power moves. All in all, I have no complaints about this match. They were out there to put on a quality David vs. Goliath match, and they did just that. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Styles, knowing he couldn't hit the Styles Clash on an opponent this large, knocked Palumbo to the ground and hit the Spiral Tap to wrap this title defense up.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: B</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="LEPRnye.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/LEPRnye.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="oWRzmsy.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/oWRzmsy.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="ZZPLj6h.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ZZPLj6h.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><span>http://i.imgur.com/3ZTpoTU.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/ncMyE2p.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/CCq92jB.jpg</span><img alt="Z3xclCp.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Z3xclCp.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Back in the Empire dressing room, a furious Goldberg was destroying anything that wasn't nailed down. The rest of the group kept a safe distance, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire as he raged. Bischoff stayed well back himself, but tried to reason with Goldberg. He said he understood that Bill wanted to tear Austin limb from limb, but he had to understand why it couldn't happen. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> "That match, it's exactly what WCW wants! They wanted nothing to do with you before, but now they know that people want to see Austin vs. Goldberg. It's a dream match the world has been waiting for! It's a match people will pay any price to see, and WCW knows it! If we let that match happen, it's WCW who reaps the benefits instead of us, and we CANNOT allow that!"</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Goldberg nodded in reluctant agreement with Eric's point, but he was still ready to headbutt the wall at a moment's notice. When Palumbo and Sytch returned to the room after the last match, Eric seized on an opening. He asked them to head back to the hotel suite with Goldberg and keep an eye on him, because in Bill's current frame of mind there was no telling what he might do. If he stayed at the arena his temper could very well ruin everything, and they couldn't afford that tonight. When Sytch objected, saying the world title match was too important and they needed to be at full strength, Eric assured her that the rest of the group would handle business and King Corino would be crowned the champion of the world tonight.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: A*</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/FIVYBul.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/l0qRIIJ.jpg</span></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Just before the Mayhem match, Roddy Piper and Bobby Heenan did a quick backstage segment hyping the match, going over the rules and running down some of the major names entered. They both predicted winners, with Roddy backing Rob Van Dam while Heenan humorously declared half a dozen different names throughout the segment were "his pick." Roddy was awesome here, playing off of Heenan perfectly, but Bobby lost his train of thought after blanking on Christopher Daniels' nickname (calling him 'Angel of Death' instead of Fallen Angel) and he struggled to recover. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> As the segment was ending, they reacted to someone walking by off-camera by saying this must be "the big surprise debut" everyone had been talking about. "They weren't kidding about the BIG surprise! Look at the size of that man!" Bobby shouted. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: B</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="DZfKm2b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/DZfKm2b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> </p><p> <strong><span style="font-size:18px;">THE MAYHEM MATCH</span></strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>#1:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="IyPxuzp.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/IyPxuzp.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> CM Punk</strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>#2:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="waBVEEI.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/waBVEEI.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Brian Kendrick</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Seeing as Punk told me I should get behind Kendrick right after his debut, I figured I'd let them work together to get this match started. Punk backed up his words, selling admirably for the newcomer and making him look like a credible threat. They did some fast-paced back and forth stuff, neither coming close to a near-fall in this opening two minute period.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#3:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><span>http://i.imgur.com/GoltiY2.jpg</span></p><p><strong> "Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels</strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> CM Punk, 02:00</p><p> Brian Kendrick, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>The former Cruiserweight Champion immediately signaled to Kendrick that they should work together, and the cocky upstart agreed. Punk stood his ground and fought them off at first, but they did gain the upper hand and do some double teaming. The heels controlled the former tag champion for most of the two minute period, but could not put him away.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#4:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><span>http://i.imgur.com/nfnKuFX.jpg</span></p><p><strong> Hugh Morrus</strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> CM Punk, 04:00</p><p> Brian Kendrick, 04:00</p><p> Christopher Daniels, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Rather than joining in for a 3-on-1 that would've been very bad for CM Punk, Hugh Morrus elected to peel Daniels off and give him a solid punch to the face. With the double team broken, we settled into two one on one bouts for this period. Hugh had the early edge on Daniels, until an eye poke stopped him in his tracks and allowed the cruiserweight to take over. Kendrick continued to press his advantage on Punk, but the Chicago native fought back and hit a leg lariat.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#5:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><span>http://i.imgur.com/uY8UroB.jpg</span></p><p><strong> Brian Adams </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> CM Punk, 06:00</p><p> Brian Kendrick, 06:00</p><p> Christopher Daniels, 04:00</p><p> Hugh Morrus, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>The entry of Brian Adams meant only good things for Daniels. The two put their alliance to use against Hugh Morrus, who fought as best he could but was quickly battered. After Adams dropped him with a big boot, Daniels hit the </em><a href="https://i.imgur.com/5MtEfyq.gifv" rel="external nofollow"><em>Angel's Descent</em></a><em> to make Hugh the match's first elimination. The duo then turned their attention to CM Punk. Punk had been doing well against Kendrick, but now found himself the victim of a 2-on-1 beating.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#6:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><span>http://i.imgur.com/q5GmbOH.jpg</span></p><p><strong> Harry Smith </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> CM Punk, 08:00</p><p> Brian Kendrick, 08:00</p><p> Christopher Daniels, 06:00</p><p> Brian Adams, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>The son of the Bulldog showed no fear, going right after Adams and Daniels. His head-on charge was bold but effective, as he caught Daniels with a running clothesline that sent him over the top rope and down onto the entrance ramp. Harry then squared off with Adams, and the two had an even brawling battle. Brian Kendrick tried to capitalize on a weakened Punk. He positioned him for his finishing move, Sliced Bread, but Punk countered with a Russian legsweep and smoothly transitioned into the Second City Stretch. Kendrick struggled ineffectually before tapping out.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#7:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="frhLUo7.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/frhLUo7.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Kaz Hayashi </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> CM Punk, 10:00</p><p> Christopher Daniels, 08:00</p><p> Brian Adams, 04:00</p><p> Harry Smith, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>The fans didn't react much to Kaz Hayashi carrying a sign that read "Objection!" to the ring, but he did make a quick impact with a springboard dropkick to the back of Harry Smith. As Hayashi did his thing, Adams and Daniels zeroed in on Punk. Adams held Punk's arms back so Daniels could get a free shot. Daniels took flight with a flying clothesline, but Punk broke free and Adams took the blow instead! As Daniels stared at Adams in shock, Punk rolled him up for a 3-count! Adams wrapped his hand around Punk's throat for a chokeslam, but Punk shifted it into a rolling body scissors for another flash pin!</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#8:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><span>http://i.imgur.com/uj4FkBt.jpg</span></p><p><strong> Rob Van Dam </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> CM Punk, 12:00</p><p> Harry Smith, 04:00</p><p> Kaz Hayashi, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>The fans popped big for RVD, who was the biggest star to enter the match thus far. He made a quick splash, entering the match with a flying thrust kick that sent Smith through the ropes, and then hitting a leaping Hayashi with a spin kick on the way down. That left RVD and Punk as the only two standing, and they stopped for a dramatic staredown that the crowd ate up. Finally they locked up, and thus began a back and forth which saw both men perform several counters and counters of counters, as well as a few quick pin attempts reminiscent of RVD's matches with Jerry Lynn in ECW.</em> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#9:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="0Gq4EsT.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/0Gq4EsT.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Fatu </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> CM Punk, 14:00</p><p> Harry Smith, 06:00</p><p> Kaz Hayashi, 04:00</p><p> Rob Van Dam, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>As Fatu slowly walked down the ramp, Mike and I remarked that this must be the "big" new arrival we've heard so much talk about online in recent weeks. "Maybe this wasn't the man people thought was coming in, but he's here and he's looking to make an impact!" Tenay shouted. He made his presence felt right away by interrupting the Van Dam/Punk battle with a double clothesline. Fatu knocked Harry down with a headbutt, then turned his attention to Kaz Hayashi. Kaz tried to flee, but Fatu grabbed him by the hair and lifted him over his shoulder for what used to be known as the "Rikishi Driver." </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Hayashi would be granted an unexpected reprieve when Smith hit Fatu from behind with a chop block to the knee. That dropped the big man to one knee, and Punk put him flat on his back with a Shining Wizard. Van Dam followed with a Rolling Thunder and made the cover. Punk, Smith and Hayashi all piled on as well, and Fatu was unable to throw all that bulk off before the three count! He'd come in from WWE looking to make a big splash, but his night had come to a sudden end!</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#10:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><span>http://i.imgur.com/k45HPCq.jpg</span></p><p><strong> "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> CM Punk, 16:00</p><p> Harry Smith, 08:00</p><p> Kaz Hayashi, 06:00</p><p> Rob Van Dam, 04:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Big Poppa Pump hit the ring and did what he does best: namely, he suplexed a lot of people. All four combatants were on the receiving end of some suplex variation from Scotty, who flexed in the middle of the ring and kissed his bicep while everyone else was down. He eventually focused exclusively on Harry Smith. Harry fought back with some nice power offense of his own that momentarily had Scott on the back foot, but a spinning belly to belly put him down and the Steiner Recliner sent him out.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#11:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="CtEcIzq.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/CtEcIzq.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Yang </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> CM Punk, 18:00</p><p> Kaz Hayashi, 08:00</p><p> Rob Van Dam, 06:00</p><p> Scott Steiner, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Predictably, the Jung Dragons worked together. Their double team efforts put Scott on the defensive for the first time in the match, and they got in some shots on Punk and RVD for good measure. They very nearly sent Punk packing after a double flying legdrop, but he got a shoulder up just in time.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#12:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><span>http://i.imgur.com/0QMJTAT.jpg</span></p><p><strong> Teddy Hart </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> CM Punk, 20:00</p><p> Kaz Hayashi, 10:00</p><p> Rob Van Dam, 08:00</p><p> Scott Steiner, 04:00</p><p> Yang, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Teddy Hart was full of energy as he ran down the ramp, and he sprang into action with a moonsault bodyblock off the top rope. Unfortunately he landed on the mat awkwardly, and it was immediately obvious that he was in tremendous pain. After the boys spent a few moments trying to figure out what to do, Punk gingerly covered Teddy so our medical staff could help him. The situation derailed the flow of this period, and the guys were still doing some generic brawling by the time the buzzer rang.</em> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#13:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="Pi7V8Vw.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Pi7V8Vw.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Diamond Dallas Page </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> CM Punk, 22:00</p><p> Kaz Hayashi, 12:00</p><p> Rob Van Dam, 10:00</p><p> Scott Steiner, 06:00</p><p> Yang, 04:00</p></div><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <em>Last year's winner was the immediate target of the Jung Dragons, who attacked him as soon as he stepped through the ropes. He was ready though, back bodydropping Yang over the top rope and onto the ramp as he charged. Hayashi prepared to fly off of the top rope, but Page shook the ropes, causing him to crotch himself. From that position he hit a </em><a href="https://imgur.com/5x7uhh3" rel="external nofollow"><em>hanging Diamond Cutter</em></a><em> to finish Hayashi. Seeing an opportunity to catch the freshest man in the match off-guard, Punk broke away from his three way battle with RVD and Steiner to run over and connect with a knee to the face which knocked Dallas back into the corner. Punk looked to follow up with a bulldog, but Page put on the brakes, slipped out, spun him around by the arm, and....DIAMOND CUTTER! One three count later, and CM Punk's night was over!</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#14:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><span>http://i.imgur.com/CCq92jB.jpg</span></p><p><strong> Jamie Knoble </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> Rob Van Dam, 12:00</p><p> Scott Steiner, 08:00</p><p> Yang, 06:00</p><p> DDP, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Even if Knoble had been forced to join The Empire and had also been reluctant to embrace their methodology, he seemed to be a full-fledged member of the group based on the way that he took advantage of a defenseless Yang. Yang was slowly getting up on the ramp as Knoble walked down, and he struck his unsuspecting opponent with a forearm to the back of the head. From there he locked in the guillotine choke, not releasing Yang until he'd passed out. Though you can't get pins or submissions outside the ring, Yang was eliminated when he remained motionless during the referee's ten count, making him a knockout victim.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Inside the ring, DDP's momentum had cooled thanks to a Steiner clothesline, but Scott himself had been dropped by a Van Dam spinning heel kick. RVD hit a split-legged moonsault, but Scott got a shoulder up just in time.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#15:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="biOYfFh.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/biOYfFh.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Nigel McGuinness </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> Rob Van Dam, 14:00</p><p> Scott Steiner, 10:00</p><p> DDP, 04:00</p><p> Jamie Knoble, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>McGuinness isn't much of a name here in the US, but he's had a couple of Japanese tours with Zero One in addition to his work in Premier Promotions and Irish Whip Wrestling, and he's been on my radar due to his technical wrestling prowess. He got to show off some of those technical skills here, as he and Knoble got right into a mat-based exchange. Elsewhere, RVD and DDP had paired up and were double teaming Steiner, and it was all Big Poppa Pump could do just to hang on until the period ended.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#16:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><span>http://i.imgur.com/JJpe0Lr.jpg</span></p><p><strong> "Dogfaced Gremlin" Rick Steiner </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> Rob Van Dam, 16:00</p><p> Scott Steiner, 12:00</p><p> DDP, 06:00</p><p> Jamie Knoble, 04:00</p><p> Nigel McGuinness, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Rick's arrival couldn't have come at a better time for his younger brother. He came to Scott's aid right away, blasting DDP with a Steiner Line and tossing RVD away with a belly to belly suplex. Rick helped Scott up and the Steiners went to work, dominating all four of their opponents. They struck their classic pose for the fans as the buzzer sounded to bring #17 out.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#17:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="MLumza7.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/MLumza7.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Minoru Tanaka </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> Rob Van Dam, 18:00</p><p> Scott Steiner, 14:00</p><p> DDP, 08:00</p><p> Jamie Knoble, 06:00</p><p> Nigel McGuinness, 04:00</p><p> Rick Steiner, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Minoru entered the ring and promptly dropped Knoble with a roundhouse kick to the side of the head. Then he got into a technical exchange with McGuinness, and though Nigel is better than most in that department, Tanaka is a master. He lured the Englishman into a false sense of security, then caught him unaware with a cross armbreaker when Nigel tried to press his advantage. McGuinness had to tap out with his free arm lest he suffer serious injury.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> On the other side of the ring, Rick and Scott hit their trademark Steiner Bulldog on DDP, and Scott covered him while Rick attacked RVD.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#18:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="heiyf1p.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/heiyf1p.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Lance Storm </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> Rob Van Dam, 20:00</p><p> Scott Steiner, 16:00</p><p> Jamie Knoble, 08:00</p><p> Rick Steiner, 04:00</p><p> Minoru Tanaka, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>If anyone in WCW might be able to outwrestle Minoru Tanaka, that man was Lance Storm. The two began trading holds and counterholds, seeking an advantage, while elsewhere the Steiners were doing a number on RVD. They looked to be well on their way to eliminating him, but Jamie Knoble crept up from behind and rolled Rick up for a surprising three count! Knoble was quite pleased with himself for that, but now he had an angry Scott Steiner to deal with. Scott picked a struggling Knoble up, carried him over to the top rope and snapped off a super Frankensteiner! That was all she wrote for Knoble, who probably regretted his sneaky elimination of Rick Steiner now.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#19:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><span>http://i.imgur.com/hlbUlLo.jpg</span></p><p><strong> "Sugar" Shane Helms </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> Rob Van Dam, 22:00</p><p> Scott Steiner, 18:00</p><p> Minoru Tanaka, 04:00</p><p> Lance Storm, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Helms came in and broke up the scientific wrestling display by attacking both Tanaka and Storm, putting them both down with a double neckbreaker and grinning. The two longest tenured members of the match had their own battle going, resuming their former world championship rivalry. Scott wrestled Van Dam to the mat and tried to apply his Steiner Recliner, but Van Dam somehow had enough left to roll to his back and knock him back with a kick to the head.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#20:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><span>http://i.imgur.com/4CP35O5.jpg</span></p><p><strong> The Destroyer </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> Rob Van Dam, 24:00</p><p> Scott Steiner, 20:00</p><p> Minoru Tanaka, 06:00</p><p> Lance Storm, 04:00</p><p> Shane Helms, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>The Destroyer walked halfway down the ramp, and...stopped? No one knew quite what to make of it, but he just stood there and watched as the action continued inside the ring. And speaking of that action, Tanaka and Storm had recovered and were now treating Helms to a double team attack. RVD put Steiner on his back with a wheelbarrow kick and summoned enough energy to deliver a Five Star Frog Splash to eliminate him.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#21:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><span>http://i.imgur.com/fn8zdsQ.jpg</span></p><p><strong> The Unnatural </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> Rob Van Dam, 26:00</p><p> Minoru Tanaka, 08:00</p><p> Lance Storm, 06:00</p><p> Shane Helms, 04:00</p><p> The Destroyer, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>The Destroyer remained where he was until The Unnatural came out, and the two of them walked side by side the rest of the way down the ramp. A winded RVD was there to greet them, but Destroyer shrugged off his forearm strikes and almost casually chucked him through the ropes. The two Salvation members worked in concert, knocking Tanaka, Storm and Helms down in turn. Tanaka got up and tried to grab Unnatural's leg to take him down with a submission, but Destroyer put a stop to that and drove him into the canvas with a gutwrench suplex. Unnatural Selection eliminated Tanaka not long thereafter, and then they put Helms on the chopping block. Shane tried to cower away, but Unnatural grabbed him by the hair and fed him to the big man for a Destruction Bomb, and Salvation had claimed their second victim.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#22:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><span>http://i.imgur.com/J3M8Nhg.jpg</span></p><p><strong> Mark Jindrak </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> Rob Van Dam, 28:00</p><p> Lance Storm, 08:00</p><p> The Destroyer, 04:00</p><p> The Unnatural, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Jindrak showed no fear, going right after the dominant Salvation duo. His courage was rewarded with a debilitating running shoulder block from Destroyer, and then they combined for a spike piledriver! Unnatural pinned Jindrak for the elimination, and afterwards they went after Storm. Lance took a beating, though at least he was still alive by the end of the period.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#23:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="0qRNVUJ.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/0qRNVUJ.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Chavo Guerrero Jr. </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> Rob Van Dam, 30:00</p><p> Lance Storm, 10:00</p><p> The Destroyer, 06:00</p><p> The Unnatural, 04:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Salvation was waiting for Chavo, but he wasn't going to come at them head-on like Jindrak had attempted to do. Instead he threw the timekeeper out of his seat and claimed it as a weapon. There was a bit of a stand-off, with Chavo standing outside the ring with his chair and Unnatural and Destroyer motioning for him to come and try his luck. Rather than entering the ring himself, Chavo threw the chair at them, but it sailed way over their heads. What at first looked like a horrible throw was actually a ploy, because RVD caught the chair, and....Van Daminator on The Destroyer! He made the cover, and the three count was made before The Unnatural even realized what had happened! Chavo watched it all happen with a smirk and pointed to his head.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#24:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><span>http://i.imgur.com/ncMyE2p.jpg</span></p><p><strong> TAKA </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> Rob Van Dam, 32:00</p><p> Lance Storm, 12:00</p><p> The Unnatural, 06:00</p><p> Chavo Guerrero Jr., 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>The Unnatural no longer had his man advantage, but he was plenty frightening enough on his own. He was angry with Chavo for his deception and pursued him around ringside, with Chavo jogging around the edges and slipping in and out of the ring, anything he could do to avoid fighting an angry Unnatural. TAKA hit a running dropkick on Storm and then turned to RVD, thinking he'd be an easy out after over a half hour of action. Van Dam still had plenty of fight though, and was able to hold his own against his fresh opponent.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#25:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><span>http://i.imgur.com/BSCxEF8.jpg</span></p><p><strong> Bobby Roode </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> Rob Van Dam, 34:00</p><p> Lance Storm, 14:00</p><p> The Unnatural, 08:00</p><p> Chavo Guerrero Jr., 04:00</p><p> TAKA, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>RVD was waiting for Bobby Roode, who seemed to be in no hurry as he slowly walked down the ramp. He veered off the ramp and onto the floor instead of into the ring, and challenged Van Dam to join him. RVD accepted the challenge, rolling underneath the ropes to go after him. It was all a ploy, though...</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="6Q4ZNvd.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/6Q4ZNvd.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Ric Flair came out and hit RVD in the back with a chair! Roode and Flair put the boots to RVD as Tenay yelled that Bobby should be disqualified, which led to me explaining that a wrestler CAN be disqualified from the Mayhem match if someone enters the ring and interferes clearly to help them, but this was happening on the floor rather than in the ring. As such, the referee could do nothing as Flair helped Roode get RVD up onto the Japanese announce table and drive him through it with a DDT! Roode high fived Flair and rolled into the ring, and RVD was eliminated via knock out.</em> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#26:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="CsQnr5C.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/CsQnr5C.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Alexander </strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> Lance Storm, 16:00</p><p> The Unnatural, 10:00</p><p> Chavo Guerrero Jr., 06:00</p><p> TAKA, 04:00</p><p> Bobby Roode, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <em>The Unnatural finally got some help in his pursuit of Chavo. Alexander came from one side, Unnatural the other, and Guerrero was trapped. He tried to beg off and play nice, but they grabbed him and dragged him back into the ring. After a two on one beatdown, Alexander slapped on an STF and forced Chavo to tap out. At the same time, Storm ducked underneath a double clothesline and knocked both Roode and TAKA down with a double dropkick.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#27:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><span>http://i.imgur.com/mS6Goca.jpg</span></p><p><strong> Shane Douglas</strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> Lance Storm, 18:00</p><p> The Unnatural, 12:00</p><p> TAKA, 06:00</p><p> Bobby Roode, 04:00</p><p> Alexander, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <em>Douglas was in no hurry to enter the ring. He walked around ringside, surveyed the situation, and then reached under the bottom rope to trip TAKA by the foot. Then he slid into the ring and applied the crossface, eliminating TAKA via submission. He remained active after the elimination, going after Lance Storm. Bobby Roode found himself the target of the two Salvation members, and it was all he could do just to avoid being eliminated.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#28:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="vtYAboC.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/vtYAboC.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Billy Kidman</strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> Lance Storm, 20:00</p><p> The Unnatural, 14:00</p><p> Bobby Roode, 06:00</p><p> Alexander, 04:00</p><p> Shane Douglas, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>There were plenty of bodies in the ring, and Kidman took down four of them with a quick diving crossbody. Douglas had been wise enough to see it coming and roll to the safety of the floor, but he wasn't prepared for Kidman to then target him with a plancha to the floor. The cruiserweight was ruling the roost, and he got a near-fall on Roode with a slingshot leg drop. His momentum finally came to an end with a short arm clothesline from Unnatural, who gouged at Kidman's face as the buzzer sounded.</em> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>#29:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><span>http://i.imgur.com/a0mKYEd.jpg</span></p><p><strong> Konnan</strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> Lance Storm, 22:00</p><p> The Unnatural, 16:00</p><p> Bobby Roode, 08:00</p><p> Alexander, 06:00</p><p> Shane Douglas, 04:00</p><p> Kidman, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Konnan came to the ring and started brawling with Roode, backing him into a corner and punching away. The ring was really filling up now, meaning there was less room to maneuver and less space to evade attacks. Salvation cornered Lance Storm with the intent of taking him out, but Kidman helped out with a missile dropkick to the back of the head on Unnatural. That left Alexander open for a superkick from Storm. Lance took a glance over at Douglas, who was crouched in one corner away from the action. Shane motioned for him to have at it, and Lance seized the opportunity to put on the Calgary Clutch and force Alexander to tap.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> The conclusion of the match was beginning to take shape. There were six wrestlers still standing, several legitimate world title contenders among them. But there was still one participant yet to enter. Would they be a difference maker, or an also-ran who would quickly gave way to a victory for someone like Storm, Unnatural, Roode, or Douglas? </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> It was time to find out.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="</p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QcUxrpIwuQ4" rel="external nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/embed/QcUxrpIwuQ4"</a> frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <strong>#30:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><img alt="JJHE89M.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/JJHE89M.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><strong> Eddie Guerrero</strong></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Still Alive:</span></p><p> Lance Storm, 24:00</p><p> The Unnatural, 18:00</p><p> Bobby Roode, 10:00</p><p> Shane Douglas, 06:00</p><p> Kidman, 04:00</p><p> Konnan, 02:00</p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>It was no secret to the smarks that Eddie had left WWE and was on his way in; they'd been chanting his name intermittently on Nitro the past couple of weeks, and even moreso tonight. Everyone in the entire building reacted huge when he finally stepped out and began his walk down the ramp. This was a guy who'd been the WWE Champion two months ago, and just main evented Mania; truly a big name acquisition! He'd caught the attention of the remaining men in the ring as well, and Bobby Roode tried to catch him with a clothesline as soon as he stepped through the ropes. Eddie ducked it, gave him a boot to the gut and tornado DDT, and things went from bad to worse for Roode when Kidman followed up with a Shooting Star Press. That was the end for Flair's protege. Unfortunately for Kidman, he had no time to bask in his elimination before he was pulled up by the hair and hit with Unnatural Selection to be sent packing himself.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Konnan was the freshest man still left aside from Guerrero, and he proved it by showing lots of movement as he ran around the ring and struck anyone within range. He was able to knock Douglas down with a running dropkick and Unnatural with a forward rolling clothesline, but Storm got hold of him and executed a Northern Lights suplex, maintaining a perfect bridge to secure the pin.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> It was down to the final four: Storm, Unnatural, Douglas and Guerrero. They paired off, the more worn down Storm and Unnatural trying to find out who had more left in the tank while Douglas and Guerrero fought for superiority. Lance's best bet was to try and catch Unnatural in a hold, but his time in the ring made him just a half a step slower, and that proved fatal for him when he stumbled into a knee to the jaw and received an Unnatural Selection. He'd lasted almost 30 minutes, but his night was finished.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> More or less simultaneously, Douglas and Guerrero were trading punches near the ropes. Shane believed he could win a fistfight, but he was underestimating the fire of his opponent. Douglas eventually realized his mistake and switched things up by grabbing Guerrero for a belly to belly suplex, but Eddie rocked him with an elbow to the face and hit a brainbuster to finish him.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> And then there were two. The Unnatural had been out there eighteen minutes longer than Guerrero, so he knew his best bet was to try and take him out quickly. He threw caution to the wind and went on the offensive. Eddie stood his ground and came out swinging as well, but Unnatural proved to be a more effective brawler than Douglas. He got Eddie in the corner and battered him, and after getting a near-fall with a swinging vertical suplex, he took advantage of the no DQ nature of the match by hitting his old 'Shattered Dreams' groin kick. That kick was the prelude to him hooking Eddie for a move that had already claimed several victims tonight, Unnatural Selection.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Eddie was able to not only slip out of that attempt, but hop up to the second rope and connect with a tornado DDT. Pressing his advantage, he went up top and came down with a frog splash! Nick Patrick counted once, twice...</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> and three times!</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: B+</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/haJKoFv.jpg</span><p> <strong>King Corino (w/Eric Bischoff) vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. {©} </strong></p><p> <img alt="JYc2Jmc.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/JYc2Jmc.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="ZZPLj6h.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ZZPLj6h.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><span>http://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/ffZqipS.jpg</span></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Everyone watching, myself included, had extremely high expectations for this match. Both of their previous matches have been great, and Rey has been on fire since becoming champion. As long as they were on their game this was going to be a fantastic main event, and they were indeed. Both guys were awesome here, with Corino's performance eclipsing Rey's. He's such a great heel, and he drew great heat every time he took control. This was another classic PPV closer, in what is becoming a regular tradition since Rey won the title. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Some suggested I should keep this match short and all-action after the fans had just sat through the lengthy Mayhem match, but I disagreed. They started off slow to give the fans some time to come down off the high of Eddie Guerrero's debut win, with lots of stalling, brawling and mat work from Corino to keep the match at the deliberate pace that favored him. Both guys did well at pacing the match out so that by the time they kicked things into higher gear, the fans had recharged and were fully invested in the match.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Corino went for the figure four, but Rey rolled him up into a small package for a two count. When Corino popped back up, Rey took him down with an arm drag, then a tilt-a-whirl headscissors, and finally a snap rana. Bischoff could see things starting to turn against his client, so he signaled to the back.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/ncMyE2p.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/CCq92jB.jpg</span></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <em>Out came TAKA and Jamie Knoble. Referee Nick Patrick was still alert and warned them not to get involved or he would disqualify Corino. Bischoff held up his hands as if to reassure Patrick, then looked into the camera and said they were here only to offer morale support, but the smug grin on his face betrayed him. Everyone knew he had something up his sleeve, and it was only a matter of time before we found out what it was.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="JJHE89M.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/JJHE89M.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <em>Eddie Guerrero slowly walked down the ramp, and everyone from Corino to Mysterio to Bischoff all looked surprised to see him. How would this wild card affect the balance of this championship match, and what were his motives, knowing that his earlier win meant he would be penciled in to challenge the winner at Great American Bash?</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Eddie made his move, blasting TAKA with a clothesline! Knoble took a swing, but Eddie blocked it, fired off several punches of his own and hit a suplex on the ramp! Then he stared down Bischoff, almost as if daring him to try anything. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Now it was down to Mysterio and Corino to decide it one on one, as it should have been. Rey got the upper hand and went out to the apron for his springboard hurricanrana, but Corino shook the ropes and he fell flat on his face. Then he picked Rey up and nailed the piledriver! He hooked the leg and Patrick counted once...</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> twice...</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> ...but Rey got a shoulder up! Corino screamed in disbelief and frustration, threw five or six punches to the face of his downed opponent, and pulled him back up to his feet. He grabbed Rey's arm as if he was going to whip him into the ropes, but the champion surprised him by springing onto the top rope, and...</em><a href="https://i.imgur.com/CgQkt3i.gifv" rel="external nofollow"><em>springboard DDT!</em></a><em> Now Rey hooked the leg, and the count was made once...</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> twice...</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> three times!</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: A</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <em>As the bell rang, Eddie grabbed the championship belt from the timekeeper and entered the ring with it. There was a pause as Rey stood and waited to see what Eddie would do. Eddie stared at the belt for a moment, then looked up at Rey, and finally held the belt out towards him. Rey accepted it, and Eddie helped him throw it over his shoulder. They shook hands and hugged, and Guerrero raised the champion's arm in the air and encouraged the fans to cheer. It was a nice moment, but Mike and I were quick to wonder if these good feelings would continue next month when it was Mysterio vs. Guerrero for the title at the Great American Bash.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: A*</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="font-size:18px;">Show Overall Grade: A*</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p>

I enjoyed the Last Jedi more than The Force Awakens, and far more than the first two prequels. It seems like a pretty divisive movie among Star Wars fans though. Most people either really enjoyed it or really disliked it, with not a lot of middle ground.

The New Japan Cup is in March. The next 'big shows' are The New Beginning, which has been split into three shows this year. The first two are this Saturday and Sunday. Then there are a couple of smaller 'Road to' shows on February 5th and 6th, and the 3rd New Beginning show is on Saturday the 10th. I don't remember which matches are on which shows, but Okada/SANADA, Ospreay/Hiromu, Tanahashi/Suzuki, Omega/Jay White, Goto/EVIL, and Naito/YOSHI-HASHI are all in there somewhere. They haven't announced anything w/r/t Jericho and Naito, but I'm guessing it'll either happen at their show in Long Beach in March, or at Dominion in June. Those would make the most sense to me anyway. Eh, you won't get any flack from me. They booked that match with the express purpose of getting new eyeballs on their product, and it worked. I was really impressed by the match too. I honestly didn't know Jericho still had that in him. Jericho did let Vince know about it out of respect (before it was announced, but after everything was agreed to and finalized with NJPW), but it isn't really up to WWE. Jericho isn't under contract with WWE and can go wherever he wants.

<p>ROH World Title: Chris Jericho vs. <strong>Cody</strong> {C}</p><p> -I would honestly love to see Jericho win. After his WK match earlier this month, I'm more interested in him than I've been in a decade. But unless he's signed beyond this cruise, which I doubt, he can't win.</p><p> </p><p> ROH Six-Man Titles w/ Special Referee DDP: Dalton Castle and The Boys vs. <strong>SoCal Uncensored</strong> {C}</p><p> WOH Title: <strong>Brandy Rhodes</strong> {C} vs. Deonna Purrazzo</p><p> Sea of Honor Tournament First Round: Beretta vs. <strong>Jay Lethal</strong></p><p> Sea of Honor Tournament First Round: Chris Sabin vs.<strong> Hanson</strong></p><p> Sea of Honor Tournament First Round: Damien "Punishment" Martinez vs. <strong>Low-Ki</strong></p><p> Sea of Honor Tournament First Round: Kenny King vs. <strong>Will Ospreay</strong></p><p> Sea of Honor Semi-Final Match 1: Winner of Beretta/<strong>Lethal</strong> vs. Winner of Hanson/Sabin</p><p> Sea of Honor Semi-Final Match 2: Winner of Martinez/Low-Ki vs. King/<strong>Osprey</strong></p><p> Sea of Honor Finals: Winner of Semi 1 vs. Winner of Semi 2 <strong>Lethal</strong></p>

<p>May 2003: Pre-Mayhem News and Notes</p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p> </p><span>http://i.imgur.com/sDkxtEI.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>For the past year or more, New Japan has been treading water at best. I think our own rise to being a national player in Japan might spell doom for the lion mark, because they're a distant third to us and WWE and the Japanese fans know it. They've been demoted to Cult status, and they've also accumulated big amounts of debt. I'm under the impression that Inoki would probably sell his assets off to us if I made him an offer, but I'm not sure if that's a worthwhile purchase for us.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Amidst all that, they ran their Wrestling Dontaku show on May 11th. New champion Riki Choshu was in the semi main, where he and Osamu Nishimura beat Koji Kanemoto and Hawk in a subpar tag team match. The main event was Manabu Nakanishi and Masahiro Chono retaining the Heavyweight tag titles over Tatsumi Fujinami and Satoshi Kojima in a good match. The runaway match of the night was El Samurai beating Jushin Liger in the midcard. This was a big improvement over last month's weak show, and more in line with what their big shows have been doing recently. 'Par for the course' isn't really what they need right now though. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p> </p><span>http://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>Unfortunately, Chris Kanyon tested positive for hard drugs. He was going to be in the Mayhem battle royal, but I made the decision to suspend him for a month and give his spot to someone else. He seemed to appreciate the tough love, because he told me he was very happy with the wake-up call and he would not let this happen again. I'd booked myself into a corner by previously ruling out several eligible replacements in "Mayhem qualifier" matches on Nitro. I could have always ignored it and slipped one of them back in, but I'd like to honor our stipulations as much as possible so they mean something. As a result I called up Brian Kendrick, who was just about ready to hit the main roster anyway, and debuted him with a win over Mike Lockwood (aka Crash Holly, who was with us for one night only) in a qualifier. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Davey Boy's contract expired. He's nowhere near being finished with his rehab, so obviously I wasn't going to continue paying him ten grand a month. We'll revisit it once he's out, but if I do bring him back it'll probably be a pay-per-appearance deal only.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Looking to boost their careers, Shane Douglas and Konnan have both bulked up and are looking more muscular. It certainly doesn't hurt Shane, but his spot was relatively secure anyway. For Konnan, though, this could make a big difference.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Some fans have been spreading around a picture of Sting taken after a show in which he looks pretty flabby. I guess it's inevitable as he enters his mid 40's, but still sad to see. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> I've signed Madison Eagles, a young Australian women's wrestler who has previously worked with us as an enhancement talent, to a developmental contract. Opportunities for her to gain experience were almost nonexistent in Australia, but she'll be working plenty now that she's in 5SSW.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Devil Masami signed a 1-year contract extension.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Kimberly Page, Shawn Stasiak and Big Vito are all gone after I chose not to renew their contracts.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Lisa Maria Varon and Shelton Benjamin have both reported at our developmental territories, 5SSW and Wildside. I doubt either of them will be there very long though, because they're both pretty much ready. I've already got plans in place for Lisa on Renaissance, and I have the beginnings of an idea for Shelton that might amount to something if I can flesh them out.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Sumie Sakai and Wesna Busic have reached PPA agreements with us. They'll basically be working as enhancement talent on Renaissance. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> We've signed a deal with TPS to air our events across Europe.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> DDP has taken Ric Flair's son David on as a protege, which I'm sure Ric appreciates.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Nick Patrick's been looking pretty flabby, but I don't care. No one is buying a ticket or tuning in to see Nick Patrick, so as long as his refereeing isn't affected he can look as out of shape as he pleases. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/7AiYO6E.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>His first night in WWE, Booker T opened Raw with an in-ring promo about finally making it to the big time (har har), and then he beat Ron Waterman in a so-so match. He did the exact same thing to open Smackdown the next night, this time beating Rhyno in a good match. He was nowhere to be seen on either show the following week. Maybe Vince is already tired of paying him a 20% bonus on every single show he's booked?</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> In addition to the wrestler and non-wrestling personality I signed away from them, WWE let a handful of their contracts expire. Ivory is an obvious one, since I decided to offer her a PPA with us afterwards. They also did not re-sign Bob Holly, Crash Holly (another obvious one after his one night appearance with us), Rikishi, The Godfather and Samu. Charles 'Godfather' Wright announced his impending retirement days later.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Molly Holly's bulked up recently. I guess it's to make her look more physically imposing and hopefully boost her career, but I feel like she's working for the wrong company if that's the case.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p> </p><span>http://i.imgur.com/1eeVS9d.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>Samoa Joe is leaving Zero-One behind to sign an exclusive contract with Michinoku Pro. As a result the NWA World Tag Team titles, which he'd won with Kendo Ka Shin in February, have been vacated. Joe is someone I've had my eye on, and if I'd known Michinoku Pro was attempting to lock him down to a written deal I might have acted. I guess it's not the worst thing though. He's still young, and I'll keep an eye on his progress during his time in M-Pro. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p> </p><span>http://i.imgur.com/HLY8nvy.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>NOAH's 'Silver Explodes' show took place on May 15th. Akira Taue retained the GHC Heavyweight title against Yoshinari Ogawa in a good main event, but they were thoroughly outshined by the semi main event, where Jun Akiyama beat Kenta Kobashi in a MOTYC. The show would have come across very differently if those two matches had been flipped, but as it was this was at the same level as their last PPV, meaning it was well below their usual standard.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/JO5PDMM.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>TNA held their latest event, 'Adrenaline Rush', on April 29th. The best thing on the show was Frankie Kazarian beating BJ Whitmer in the semi main. The main event was once again devoted to Mantaur, who retained the TNA World title over former NWA champion Matt Sydal in a match that was better than it had any right to be. This was their best show since December, but it could be so much better if they let guys like Sydal and Jarrett headline without having to try and carry freaking Mantaur, who is one of the worst workers on their roster.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p> </p><img alt="ieBLbQ1.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ieBLbQ1.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>Great Britain Hardcore (GBH) ran their last show in April and officially announced they're done. Another "extreme" promotion bites the dust. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <hr noshade size=3></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Taking a break from writing Mayhem to get this up. I wrote the opening match, then got impatient and skipped ahead to start on the Mayhem match itself. #15 just came in, so I figured that was as good a place as any to take a break and post this update.</p><p> </p><p> So I've been mulling something recently. I feel like it's somewhat silly for WWE to have both the WWE and ECW titles as main event belts with their current setup, so I've been leaning towards temporarily taking control of them to turn Smackdown into ECW and institute a brand split. I was going to set up the rosters myself, but I thought it might be a good idea to offer this as a prediction prize for the current contest, with one person drafting for Raw and another for ECW. Anyone have any thoughts on that?</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="K-Nection" data-cite="K-Nection" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> General diary comments/questions/critiques: Loving how you are keeping Bill away from Austin until a certain big deal PPV in the future <img alt=";)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/wink.png.686f06e511ee1fbf6bdc7d82f6831e53.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p></div></blockquote><p> Didn't you hear Easy E? We're NEVER going to see that match! <img alt=":eek:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/eek.png.0e09df00fa222c85760b9bc1700b5405.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> (Watch one of them suffer a career-ending injury, and we really DON'T see it ever.)</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Poor Book I almost feel bad for him if he wasn't such a traitor lol.</div></blockquote><p> Don't feel bad for him. Bret bent over backwards to appease him every time he complained about a loss. The least he could do was help give Big Sean and Knoble a rub on his way out. Not like I had him job to Lash Leroux or something. <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I really did not see you officially indoctrinating Jamie Knoble. I could have sworn you would have had him fight his way out eventually.</div></blockquote><p> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="<a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QiZNSzWIaLo" rel="external nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/embed/QiZNSzWIaLo"</a> frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I'm putting all my eggs in the Eddie basket so I hope it is him.</div></blockquote><p> I can't wait for you guys to see the BIG signing! <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />:D:D</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="michgcs" data-cite="michgcs" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> World Tag Team Championship: Made in Italy vs. <strong>The Hardys {©}</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><em>You might have to split up the Hardys for the sake of the tag division. M.I.A.'s still not in their league... and so are the rest of the teams?</em></p></div></blockquote><p> Excluding the Steiners, who are a part-time team (and just failed in their shot last month anyway), the only team at or near the Hardys' level in popularity is True Heroes. But per the stipulation of their Starrcade match, those two teams CANNOT square off again until next Starrcade at the absolute earliest...</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>General diary comments/questions/critiques: <p> <em>Gotta admit, I wasn't too keen on the new format when it started, but it fits your writing style and it makes the month that much easier/faster so that's a huge plus. </em><em><strong>It also makes the flow of your plans and stories better, IMO</strong></em></p></div></blockquote><p> It really does make getting through my two weekly shows so much easier. And I completely agree with the bolded too. All in all, I'm really liking it so far.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Danny_H22" data-cite="Danny_H22" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> The new format is growing on me actually. Well done dude</p></div></blockquote><p> Glad to hear it!</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="smartman" data-cite="smartman" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Sting: "Sure, I'll be Goldberg's first victim. It's at Mayhem so I'll be able to bring my baseball bat and use that, right?"<p> </p><p> Bret: "No, that's just the name of the PPV and Royal Rumble rip-off match. So, no you can't use the bat."</p><p> </p><p> Sting: "But the name of the PPV is Mayhem, surely the fans will expect it..."</p><p> </p><p> Bret: "No! He'll likely grab it and end your career too <span style="font-size:10px;">(which I should be doing soon)</span>."</p></div></blockquote><p> His best bet is to track Goldberg down in a desert in the middle of nowhere and hit him with a shovel! <img alt=":cool:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/cool.png.f00d2562b2c1d873a09323753efdb041.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="K-Nection" data-cite="K-Nection" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>As long as they don't fight for custody of Dominic in a ladder match I'm fine with that feud <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div></blockquote><p> I'M YOUR PAPI! <img alt=":rolleyes:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/rolleyes.png.4b097f4fbbe99ce5bcd5efbc1b773ed6.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> I'm randomly reminded of some kid (or at least I hope it was a kid), who I guess didn't fully understand how wrestling works, saying they didn't understand why people were so sad about Eddie dying after all the horrible things he'd done to Rey and his family.</p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Uncrewed" data-cite="Uncrewed" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> Name the three mystery entrants (one point each):WWE guy, Jim Duggan, & Stevie Ray</p></div></blockquote><p> You'd have to actually <em>name</em> the WWE guy to get credit for it. <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p>