Kurt Angle to ECW

As many of you out there are aware of this past Monday Paul Heyman announced that he was drafting Kurt Angle to the new ECW. This was clearly done for a few reasons. The first being that they wanted to add a main-event caliber wrestler to the ECW roster. The second reason is that his body is wearing down and ECW will provide a lighter schedule. Without a doubt Kurt Angle is going to thrive in the more extreme environment. Whether or not the ECW crowds embrace him at first is another question, but I have no doubt that he will eventually win them over. I do however have one problem with Angle being moved to ECW; ECW only has one PPV each year as it stands now although there is rumored to be another ECW PPV in the works for December and I am sure that ECW will be featured on the 'Big 4' PPVs. Here's my problem - Kurt Angle is at his best on PPVs. He is phemoninal wrestler on Smackdown, but when it comes to PPVs he raises it up to another level. Remember his match with Shawn Michaels @ WM21?? I sure hope that the WWE plans to give ECW (Angle in particular) more PPV exposure. Will a match or 2 from ECW be featured on each RAW/SD PPV? Will the WWE turn the RAW/SD PPV cycle into a RAW/SD/ECW PPV cycle? I sure hope not.

More to come...

wrestleblogger@yahoo.com

Raw 5.29.2006 - News & Notes

Raw started out with a video package honoring the troops on Memorial Day.

Vince McMahon made his way to the ring. He then gloated about Shawn Michaels getting injured last week. He then announced that despite reports that he would that he was not going to name a new General Manager just yet. He did announce that Coach was his new personal assistant. Coach came out and said that per Vince's orders that John Cena would be defending his WWE title against a mystery opponent that he has never faced before and that Edge and Big Show would be facing off to determine the #1 contender for the WWE title at Vengeance ( A little strange since Cena may not make it through RVD) . He also announced that Shelton would be defending his IC title against Kane. The IC match started immediately.

Kane was about to defeat Shelton, but those dumb voice-overs and video started playing. This time Kane's original music started playing and a man dressed like Kane (in Kane's original costume and mask) came out. They stared at each other until the imposter chokeslammed the real Kane. In fact, when he chokeslammed Kane he (the imposter) lost his balance and feel to one knee. The imposter looked really stupid. He was around Kane's height, but around 50 pounds lighter. He also had wild frizzy hair. It looked so dumb that words can't describe it.

Big Vis was supposed to face Umaga tonight. As Vis was coming down to the ring Umaga attacked him and eventually got him into the ring and pinned him.

Vince was talking to HHH in his office and told him that the match between Triple H and Kenny tonight will be a lumberjack match. The rest of the S. Squad are going to be the lumberjacks. Vince said it was going to be called a 'Spirit-Jack' Match.

Torrie and Beth Phoenix defeated Victoria and Candice when Beth hit Candice with a Michinoku Driver-type move. It looks like Torrie has improved and Candice has lost ability.

Lawler was ripping into ECW until RVD came out to do commentary for the Cena v. Mystery Oppoment match. The opponent turned out being Johnny Nitro w/Melina. Cena won with the STFU. Throughout the match J.R. kept saying that this is Nitro's Raw debut when in fact he was on Raw for a few months when Bischoff was still GM. Also during the match Lawler and RVD kept bickering about ECW. Don't either of them remember when Lawler invaded ECW and had an alliance with RVD? RVD's character became pro-WWF and anti-ECW during the angle too.

Paul Heyman (representing ECW) debated Foley (representing WWE). They basically ripped into each other. Foley said that when people leave ECW they are drunks, druggies, criminals, or corpses. Heyman announced that Vince told him that he could draft any one superstar from Raw and any one superstar from Smackdown to join the new ECW. His obvious choice for Raw was RVD and his Smackdown choice was Kurt Angle. Angle then came out and battled with Foley.

This Week In Wrestling History was Andre the Giant's 1971 U.S. debut.

Edge beat Big Show after a chair shot and spear to become the #1 contender for the WWF title @ Vengeance.

Triple H defeated Kenny. After the match all 5 members of the S. Squad attacked HHH. Triple H then took out a seldgehammer that he was hiding (Vince took his original sledgehammer backstage earlier). Triple H then cleared out all 5 members of the S. Squad. Vince then came down and said that next week Triple H would have to join a certain 'club'. I'm guessing that it's the 'Have Mr. McMahon give you a Roman Soldier Helmet' Club, but it may end up being the 'Kiss My Ass' Club. We'll have to wait and see which one it is.

wrestleblogger@yahoo.com

Weekend Roundup

Just a little news coming out of the wrestling world this weekend...

JBL lost to Rey Mysterio at Smackdown after stating that he would leave Smackdown if he lost. Reports indicate that JBL needs time to let his body heal from nagging injuries and that is the reason that he will be off Smackdown. As I stated in the Judgment Day PPV result, he looked very chubby. Maybe he can use this time off to drop some extra pounds. There are also reports that he will be jumping to RAW and possibly joining DX, but I seriously doubt it. JBL has also been outspoken as of late saying that he would like to retire some time in the near future but would like to feud with some of the RAW superstars such as HHH and HBK before he decides to hang up his boots.

Looks like the plan may be to have The Great Khali beat Rey for the title....Yes, you've read that correctly - Khali may get the belt. The plan then would be for Batista to come back and take the belt from him. I wonder if they will reprise the angle where Batista raped Melina.

On Friday it was announced that during this Monday's RAW Vince McMahon would be announcing who the new GM of Raw is going to be. Here is a list of who I think it may turn out being. Dusty Rhodes (he was rumored before Vince decided to fill the role himself), Shane McMahon (he looked like an obvious choice when Bischoff was fired), Eric Bischoff (He actually filled the role quite well so why not bring him back - he is still under contract after all), and JBL (he would only have to be on the road 1 day per week allowing him time to rest / get into better shape). There are rumors that it may be Stephanie, but she's over 7 months pregnant so I would have to rule her out. The Coach's name has also been thrown around, but I just can't see it. He's not really a big enough name.

Benoit is also being taken off of the road to heal nagging injuries. Ever since Eddie Guererro died there has been a plan to have Benoit take on Dean Malenko in an Eddie tribute match at ECW's 1NS. I hope the match is still planned. It's only 2 weeks away.

Orlando Jordan has been released from the WWE. He supposedly had a lot of heat on him for bringing unauthorized people with him backstage to WWE events and to WWE pubic apperences. I wonder if it's the same person that the WWE was thinking of bringing in to portray Orlando's boyfriend before they decided to drop the whole angle.

A friend of mine has told me that he has read that the WWE has come to terms with the New Age Outlaws, but I have yet to confirm the story. Like I have written in a DX-related post earlier this weekend - They are under contract to TNA and bringing them in is more trouble than they are worth. We'll see...

Randy Orton's suspension is going to be lifted on June 13th. I haven't done the math, but that seems like around 60 days. Here's to hoping that he's learned his lesson and will behave in a professional manner. By the way, June 13th falls on a Tuesday which is the day that they film Smackdown. It also happens to be the day of tapings for the debut edition of ECW's weekly show on the Sci-Fi network. I am curious as to see if he will return as a member of Smackdown or if he'll jump to ECW.

I was sorry to read that the WWE has started confiscating anti-Cena signs. That's the kind of stuff that WCW used to pull. Vince is supposed to be such an advocate of free speech. It's not as if the signs were obsene.

It may have taken a few months, but it looks like the first two violators of the WWE 'Talent Wellness Program' (Drug Testing Policy) are now known. The first one being MNM's Joey Mercury. This most likely played a role in WWE's decision to break MNM up. Reports have Mercury entering a substance abuse program. The second violator is reported to be none other than Chris Masters. There aren't many detail, but a source close to the situation has said, "your first guess would be the correct guess." My first guess would be steroids.

The WWE has decided to raise the prices for their PPVs. The price increase is going to be $5.00. It has been a long time since the WWE has made a PPV worth the price.

Finlay's leprechaun debuted on Smackdown this past week. After a match with Chris Benoit, Finlay lifted the ring apron up and the leprechaun came crawling out. Finlay threw him into the ring and then threw him on top of Benoit. Finlay then told him to crawl back under the ring. It looked pretty lame.

wrestleblogger@yahoo.com

The Return of Degeneration X

Ever since Wrestlemania 22 one of the most talked about stories in the WWE has been the reformation of Degeneration X. The exact date and location are already determined. June 25th in Charlotte, NC at WWE Vengeance. There is however one aspect of DX's return that is yet to be determined. Who exactly are going to be the members? Shawn Michaels and Triple H are no-brainers. There was some talk of bringing back some of the group's earlier members. Let's quickly run through them.

Chyna (The only other original member) - After she left the WWE she tore into the company, Triple H, and the McMahons. She's pretty much burned her bridges as far as the WWE goes. She's also made a variety of media appearances that put her mental stability into question.

The New Age Outlaws - They are under contract with TNA. The WWE could go after them, but they would be opening themselves up to a lawsuit that would be more trouble than the Outlaws are worth. They've also released a shoot video where they tore into Triple H so that can't help them.

X-Pac - He has the most likely chance of returning, albeit tiny. The problem is that he is so universally hated in the wrestling industry. The boys in the back hate him (except HHH and HBK) and the fans hate him. In fact, the term 'X-Pac Heat' has been coined in his honor. It means that not only do the fans hate your character, they also hate your very existence as a human being. Anyways, as far as I know he is still involved with the upcoming disaster-to-be MTV wrestling promotion. By the way, I strongly feel that X-Pac's continued involvement in the wrestling industry is due to the fact that all of these indy promotions don't want to turn him down so that they don't hurt a possible working relationship with the WWE sometime down the line.

There is also talks of bringing in a member (or two) from the current roster to 'get the rub' as they say; someone to get over with the crowd from an association with Shawn and Trips. Similar to what happened to Batista and Randy Orton as part of Evolution with Triple H and Ric Flair. Let's throw a few names out and see who should get the rub.

RVD - He's way over with the crowd. His problem is with the bookers. He'll be too involved in ECW anyways.
Shelton - For some reason his reaction crowd seems to fluctuate. One night he'll get a strong reaction and the next night the crowd is chanting boring. The problem with him is that his mic work needs a lot of improvement. I'd have to rule him out.

Carlito - I just don't see him fitting into DX for one reason of another.

Chris Masters - His stock has fallen a lot. For the first few months of his WWE career is it looked like he was being groomed to be a future main eventer. Since then however he has become a bit of a jobber. It's like he's only used when they need to further an angle by incorporating the 'Masterlock Challenge' into it (even if the angle has nothing to do with him). Although I don't see much of a possibility I would have to say that he's got the best shot.

Any member of the Spirit Squad - All 5 of these guys are amazing athletes and would benefit a lot by joining DX, but I just don't see it happening. I still see them becoming big stars in the future though.

I really can't think of anyone else on the RAW roster that is a serious candidate. Let's look as a couple of Smackdown superstars.

Kid Kash - Let's face it - the cruiserweight division is pretty stupid, at least to me. Moving Kid Kash to RAW to join DX would be excellent. He's got the whole 'bad ass' character going and he's an awesome wrestler. I don't think that the WWE higher-ups think that he's got what it takes to be a top star. He may not be a future WWE main eventer, but he can put on a great match. I would definitely give him serious consideration. The problem is that he is a former ECW wrestler and that may mean that he may be heading back there once it starts back up.

Johnny Nitro & Melina - The thing about the Tough Enough wrestlers is that the WWE has seriously dropped the ball once they came into the WWE, but that's a topic for another day. Internet reports say that they were 'fired' from Smackdown because they were being suspended due to backstage misbehavior. Therefore I see a good chance that when they come back they would be moved off of Smackdown and brought into RAW. Storyline-wise they are considered free-agents, right? They both are over with the crowd and both possess the cockiness that is required to be a member of DX. Nitro is actually a good wrestler and from what I have heard Melina is good as well. Maybe she would be able to get into the ring a little more if she was to join DX. Nitro also looks to have a bright future in the WWE so associating him with Shawn and Trips would definitely be a great move. Overall, having Nitro and Melina join DX would be a smart move.

There has been talks of also bringing possibly someone from the WWE developmental promotions such as OVW and DSW, but I really don't see the chance that they will bring in an unknown face. If the names that I have given aren't picked to join DX I would have to say that DX will consist of just Shawn Michaels and Triple H. Also, DX is rumored to not be a long-term angle. For the time being it is only going to be for a couple months at the very most.

wrestleblogger@yahoo.com

RAW 5.22.2006 - News & Notes

Vince started RAW from backstage stating that later in the night he would be demanding Triple H apologize for hitting Shane with a sledgehammer last week.

2 matches were announced for later in the show - Shawn Michaels v. All 5 members of the S. Squad and John Cena defending his WWE title against Chris Masters.

Mick Foley, dressed in a suit, came out and told the Las Vegas crowd that he wasn't a 'bad guy' and that it's alright for them to cheer him. He then introduced Edge. After trading compliments Foley presented Edge with the original WWE Hardcore title that Foley was awarded in the ceremony referred to last week. Edge said that he couldn't accept the belt and both of them decided that maybe they should both be considered co-champions. Paul Heyman then came out onto the stage and told Foley that he was prostituing himself by turning his back on his ECW roots. Heyman challenged Foley and Edge to a match at One Night Stand against 2 ECW wrestlers. Foley declined the offer, but Edge accepted. They both then went up the ramp to attack Heyman, but Heyman introduced their opponents - Tommy Dreamer and Terry Funk. After some fighting Edge, Foley, and Lita took off through the crowd. I get the feeling that this is all a set-up for Foley to turn on Edge.

Another RAW Diva search was announced.

RVD failed in an attempt to regain his IC title from Shelton Benjamin. He got DQ'd when he gave Shelton a Van Daminator with the belt.

Vince was shown backstage with Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top and some other guy I didn't catch the name of. Candice then came in and started flirting with them.

Vince came down to the ring and called out Triple H for his apology. Vince told Triple H that he wanted to hear those 'two words'. Triple H then teased that he was going to say 'Suck It' by telling Vince that he had 'two words for him'. Instead Triple H said 'I'm Sorry'. Vince told him that he would accept the apology if he (HHH) crushed Shawn Michaels' skull with the sledgehammer later in the show. Triple H agreed.

Todd Grisham was backstage with Kane. Kane revealed that on May 19th his parents and family were killed in a fire when he was a kid. No mention as to whether this is the same fire that 'scarred' him. He said that he is going to take his aggression out on his opponent later which turned out to be Trevor Murdoch. The match took about 20 seconds, but Kane kept beating him up after the bell. The red lights came on and the same stupid video came on only this time it said that 'it will never be over'. Kane looked confused.

Cena beat Masters via the STFU. After the match RVD came to the ring and said that if he wouldn't have won the MiTB title shot than he would have never gotten a title match. He then told Cena that he was cashing in the title shot at One Night Stand for his WWE Title. They then started fighting and Masters tried to take Cena out with RVD's briefcase. Cena managed to get the briefcase away from him and chased Masters off. RVD then gave Cena a Van Daminator with the Briefcase.

Carlito and Maria were shown backstage. They approached Snitsky who told them that he was getting ready for a date with a showgirl. He then spotted the showgirl and started rubbing her legs from behind and was bragging about killing Kane and Lita's unborn fetus. The showgirl turned around and it was really Goldust in a showgirl outfit.

This Week In Wrestling History showed Scott Hall's 1996 'invasion' of WCW Nitro and how it started the Monday Night Wars.

Torrie's wrestling has improved a lot. She wrestled and lost to Mickie James after a Mickie-D-T. Trish came out after the match and announced that Beth Phoenix has signed with the WWE. Beth then attacked Mickie from behind.

Viscera, the world's largest love machine wearing the world's largest pair of pajamas, came out and called Lillian into the ring. She reminded him of how last time they were in Las Vegas that he dumped her for the Godfather's hoes. He then pulled out a cheeseburger and told Lillian that he wouldn't have to eat junk like that if she would marry him and cook for him. He then proposed, but before she could answer Armando Alejandro Estrada came out. He introduced Umaga who made short work of Big Vis.

The bell was about to ring to start the main event of Shawn v. S. Squad, but Vince came out and said that there wasn't going to be a referee in the match. The S. Squad then proceeded to quintuple-team HBK. He eventually made a comeback, but the S.Squad them attacked his leg and kept working it over. Vince then called out Triple H to crush Shawn's skull with the sledgehammer. Triple H came out and showed some hesitation until Kenny grabbed the sledgehammer from him. Triple H then took out the whole S. Squad. Raw ended with Triple H and Vince staring each other down.

wrestleblogger@yahoo.com

WWE Judgment Day Results [Updated]

Once again we find ourselves coming off of a WWE PPV. Let's see how things shaped up at Judgment Day and how well David and myself did with the predictions...

Tag Team Championship
MNM (C) v. Brian Kendrick & Paul London
An average match as far as tag matches are concerned. Nothing special. Nitro was holding Paul London and Mercury went to hit London, but he ducked and Nitro got nailed instead. London then did a sunset flip into a bridge to get the pin. London and Kendrick are now tag champs. I hope it's only for a short time. After the match Melina started yelling at Mercury. She then slapped him and he grabbed her arm. Nitro then attacked Mercury. A bunch of officials had to seperate them. Teddy Long came out to help break them up but he got shoved down.
Me: 0/1
David: 0/1

Finlay v. Chris Benoit
It looked like a very stiff match. No leprechaun. Benoit won with a crossface.
Me: 0/2
David: 1/2

King Of The Ring Finals
Booker T v. Lashley
An OK match. Finlay came out and nailed Lashley with a shilelagh while the ref was distracted. Booker picked up the win. After the match Booker was posing with the cape and crown. Lashley then speared him into the throne knocking it backwards onto the floor. I'm looking forward to seeing King Booker's reign as King Of The Ring. It should be very comedic.
Me: 0/3
David: 1/3

Jillian Hall v. Melina
I was expecting to see Mercury get involved after the way the tag match ended up, but he wasn't. A good women's match. While it wasn't spectacular, it was actually watchable. Jillian pinned Melina, but Melina was holding the ropes. The ref didn't see it though. After the match she went to Teddy Long's office to complain that she should not have been pinned since she was holding the ropes. Teddy Long (still angry about being shoved down earlier) said he wasn't going to do anything about it. Melina then slapped him and he fired both Melina and Nitro.
Me: 1/4
David:1 /4

Cruiserweight Championship
Gregory Helms (C) v. Super Crazy
Looked a little too rehearsed. Overall a decent match...barely.
Me: 2/5
David: 2/5

Kurt Angle v. Mark Henry
A lackluster match as far as Kurt Angle matches go, but look who he was in the ring with. What did you expect? Henry gave Angle an avalanche into the ring post. Angle was unable to make it back into the ring in time. Henry picks up the victory. Yes, Kurt Angle lost to Mark Henry. After the match Henry started pounding and slapping Angle on the chest. Angle then started to fight back and gave Henry an Angle Slam onto the announce table. Henry just slid off though. Angle then nailed him with a chair and he fell onto the table and broke it.
Me: 2/6
David: 2/6

Undertaker v. Great Khali
Before the match an old looking woman came out...Nevermind, that was Undertaker. A very slow and boring match. They managed to stretch 3 minutes of action into 8 minutes of match. I only counted 1 wrestling move in the entire match. I'm not kidding - 1 move. It was a bodyslam - the most remedial of all moves. The rest of the match was punching and kicking. Oh, Yeah - a lot of Khali posing and growling. Was it a classic? Probably not. At one point Khali irish whipped 'Taker into the steps. After running into them he proceeded to leapfrog over them - Very phoney looking. After a chop to the head and a kick to the head Khali pinned Undertaker. Undertaker actually lost. I couldn't believe it. This can only mean 2 things - Khali will be around a little while longer and Undertaker will be gone for the next 2 months.
Me: 2/7
David: 2/7

World Championship
Rey Mysterio (C) v. JBL
JBL was looking a little tubby. I know that he's never been in real great shape, but he just looked really bloated. Rey got busted open, which is something I don't think I have ever seen. One funny spot in the match was when Rey went for the Bronco Buster, but JBL put his foot up and nailed Rey right in the balls. Rey went for the West Coast Pop, but JBL shielded himself with the ref. A second ref came down and JBL went for a pin, but Rey kicked out. In anger, JBL nailed the new ref. Eventually the original ref came to and counted the 1-2-3 after a 619 and frogsplash by Rey onto JBL. I broke the rule and paid the price. After the match Chavo came out and celebrated with Rey. I was waiting and rooting for Chavo to turn on Rey, but it never happened. I get the feeling that it will somewhere down the line though.
Me: 2/8
David: 3/8

Summary: I did even worse than David did at Backlash. I only got 2/8 matches correct. David didn't do much better though. He got 3/8 right. I guess I better stop fast-forwarding through Smackdown.

Update: At first I was skeptical of WWE's decision to break MNM up. I have now learned part of the reason that the WWE had gone in that direction. Reports indicate that Nitro and Melina have been getting a lot of backstage heat lately and have alienated many of their fellow wrestlers, including Joey Mercury. By breaking up MNM the WWE was able to come up with a storyline to explain Nitro and Melina's real-life suspension from the Smackdown roster by having Teddy Long 'fire' them. I wonder where this leaves the Smackdown tag tam division. Besides the champs (London and Kendrick), there are very few tag teams. There's Gymini, The Mexicools, and....that's it. It seems like the WWE either has a really good tag division or a really bad one. MNM was the only quality team on Smackdown and now they're broken up.

wrestleblogger@yahoo.com

WWE Judgment Day Predictions

Hello World! Canada, thanks for joining us. Finland, it's always a pleasure. Much love to the Philipines! Sri Lanka made the trip. Oman, nice of you to make it. Romania, you're looking great as always. G'Day Australia and New Zealand. Chile, have a seat and relax. Malta, off of the top of my head I can't remember where you are located, but thanks for coming nonetheless. United Arab Emirates, feel free to help yourself to some refreshments. Bulgaria, you look great! United Kingdom, pip pip! Mexico, thanks for crossing the border to join us (hope you crossed legally - Just Kidding!). USA, we couldn't do it without you. And to all of the other countries that have taken time to visit Wrestleblogger, All of us here at Wrestleblogger thank you. Now let's start the festivities.

We once again find ourselves going into a WWE PPV. This time it's Smackdown's Judgment Day. Various dignitaries and world leaders have flown into town to witness the PPV picks of myself and regular contributor David here at Wrestleblogger Central Command (or the W-Double-C as we in the biz call it). I can't speak for David, but I expect at least one very memorable match. Dare I say a classic? I'll get to that a little later though. To remind all of the Wrestlebloggermaniacs around the world - last time at Backlash I would have picked all of the matches perfectly, but Shawn Michaels and God let me down and I had to settle for 6/7 correct picks. As for David - Let's just say that he had an off-night when he picked 2/7 matches correctly. Here's to hoping that I can continue my winning ways and David can bounce back. On to the picks...

Tag Team Championship
MNM (C) v. Brian Kendrick & Paul London
I Say: I have been fast-forwarding though a lot of Smackdown lately. What I have gathered is that over the past few weeks London and Kendrick have been getting over on MNM is a variety of matches and as a result they are getting a shot at the belts. I really do see a strong chance of Kendrick and London winning the belts, but I have to pick MNM to retain. If London and Kendrick do win, their title reign will be very short - just like both of them are.
David Says: I'll go with MNM because Paul London is a dork and Brian Kendrick is... who is Brian Kendrick?


Finlay v. Chris Benoit
I Say: I really have no idea how this match came about. Does it have anything to do with the King Of The Ring tournament? As much as I am a fan of Benoit the fact of the matter is that he's becoming a jobber, but he's not there yet. I am going to have to pick Finlay here. Internet reports say that the WWE is bringing in a 'little person' wrestler to be Finlay's leprechaun (no joke!). I expect him to debut here and possibly cause Benoit to lose. I also see the chance of Benoit winning by DQ, but I'm sticking with Finlay.
David Says: Fit Finley??? When did Fit Finley start working PPV's? I'm going with Chris Benoit.


King Of The Ring Finals
Booker T v. Lashley
I Say: I am going under the assumption that the King Of The Ring Tourney is used to elevate a future star. Therefore I have to pick Lashley. Booker T is already established as a star so him winning doesn't make sense. I know that I have mentioned this before, but I am becoming a fan of Booker and Sharmell. I wonder if Boogeyman will somehow get involved. By the way, David is going to say that he's never seen Lashley wrestle, but the truth is that he has seen him wrestle. I saw him see it. Don't believe the hype!
David Says: Booker T always seems to lose so I'll go with Lashley whom I have never once seen wrestle. I'll pick Lashley.

Jillian Hall v. Melina
I Say: First off, how the hell did this feud start? One week I saw JBL fire Jillian and the next thing I know she is feuding with Melina. I can only remember seeing Jillian wrestle once. It was at the RAW after Eddie died. She won a diva battle royal. As for Melina, from what I have heard she is a pretty good wrestler and from what I have seen she is a decent wrestler. In the looks department I would have to go with Melina hands down, but I have seen some old pictures of Jillian and to her credit she's come a long way. For the match - I'll go with Jillian, although I'm sure that I'll be wrong.
David Says: I go with Melina because she's unbelievably hot.


Cruiserweight Championship
Gregory Helms (C) v. Super Crazy
I Say: I don't think that Helms has been on Smackdown in a while leading up to his appearance last week. Maybe he's been on Velocity. I really don't give a shit though. I have never ever been a fan of cruiserweight matches. They have always looked way too rehearsed. Especially lucha libre matches. Chain wrestling never really appealed to me. With that said I am picking Helms to retain and Super Crazy to get fat(ter). Hopefully Kid Kash will just come out and give them both brainbusters.
David Says: I SO don't care, but I'll pick Helms.

Kurt Angle v. Mark Henry
I Say: The build-up for this match is that Mark Henry legitimately broke Angle's ribs. I am picking Mark Henry to cripple Angle. I'm not talking about breaking more ribs or dislocating his shoulder. I'm talking about severing Angle's spinal cord. Seriously, I see a strong chance that Henry will injure Angle even more. He's careless and why the WWE resigned him is beyond me. He should just go back to what he does best - showing off his strength in 'Strongest Man' contests. I expect to see Henry target the injured ribs, but then ultimately lose to Kurt. I'm also predicting that Angle will snap Henry's ankle and gravy will pour out. After that the halarity will ensue with people slipping and sliding around the ring like keystone cops.
David Says: Mark Henry remains a glorified jobber. Kurt Angle wins.


Undertaker v. Great Khali
I Say: This is my main event! This is the match that I want to see the most. I've read that Khali is such a bad wrestler that all of his matches up to this point (except the one v. Rey last week, but that wasn't really a real match) have had to be cancelled. Couldn't the WWE see how poor of a wrestler he was when he was training in Deep South Wrestling? It's no secret that Undertaker isn't even close to being the wrestler / entertainer that he was earlier in his career. I've heard tons of compliments directed towards that Undertaker - He's a legend, he's got longevity (I'd have longevity too if I wrestled once every 2 months. I'd like to see him go out there are wrestling a full-time road schedule like Ric Flair still does), he's so well-respected, blah, blah, blah. So many fans and wrestlers are so far up his ass it's not even funny. It's actually becoming a joke. The one thing that I have never heard has been that he can carry a match and he's going to have to if he wants to protect his own image. This match has the potential to be one of the low points of his WWE career. In fact, I am sure it will be. Maybe 'Taker will be forced to retire out of embarrassment at how bad the match will be. This match will be so horrendous that it will be a classic. Flair v. Steamboat? Forget about it! Hart v. Austin? Get Real! Flair v. Race in a steel cage? Are you serious? All of those matches are considered some of the all time great matches in the modern era, but mark my words - Less than a week from now you'll be able to add 'Taker v. Khali to the list. When it comes to rating the quality of wrestling matches there is a small area near the bottom of the scale where you can find matches that are so bad that they are great; an instant classic. This will likely be Khali's last WWE match ever. It took over 20 years, but it looks like we've finally found a wrestler with less ability than Hulk Hogan (Khali). I am also predicting that this match will be the slowest match ever. Imagine watching grass gow. Now imagine watching grass grow in slow-motion. That's about the speed I'm expecting out of these two. Also, I really don't see this match going on for too long. The longer this match goes on the more obvious the wrestlers' weaknesses will look. For some people it was the bombing of Pearl Harbor. For some others it was the assassination of JFK or even September 11th 2001. But for me it will be 'Where was I on the night of May 21st 2006 when Undertaker and The Great Khali put on their classic match?'' Bottom Line - I am expecting so much out of this match because I am expecting so little (If that makes sense). Oh Yeah, One last thing...I'm picking Undertaker to come out on the winning end. I would however, love to see him lose, but let's be realistic here.
David Says: The Great Khali will win in a squash. Sure. I'm picking Undertaker.


World Championship
Rey Mysterio (C) v. JBL
I Say: There was a little speculation that since JBL has a history with ECW (See ECW One Night Stand last year) that he may take the title and then be challenged by RVD @ this year's ECW PPV as opposed to RVD challenging John Cena. For that reason I would pick JBL, but those talks have gone away for the most part so I would tend to say that Rey is going to retain. On the other hand, Rey's title reign has been very forgettable. Eddie died, Rey dedicated his Royal Rumble to Eddie's memory, he lost his title shot, got it handed back to him (ruining a potentially great WM22 main event), and went into WM22 and beat Randy Orton and Angle for the title. The story is complete. There's no reason for Rey to remain champion. I'm going to have to say that JBL regains the World title. Yes, I did it - I broke one of the rules. I picked against Rey. JBL still has the US title so that leads me to believe that he probably won't beat Rey, but I'm picking him anyways. I hope that Eddie's Rey's son Dominic is sitting ringside so he can witness his dad getting nailed with the Clothesline from Hell. I hope to also see Rey go for the West Coast Pop only to have JBL clothesline him out of mid-air. I see a remote chance of the 'retired' Chavo somehow getting involved.
David Says: If there is a God JBL will win. I'll pick Rey though.

Summary:
I picked MNM, Finlay, Lashley, Jillian, Helms, Angle, Undertaker, & JBL
David picked MNM, Benoit, Lashley, Melina, Helms, Angle, Undertaker, & Rey
We matched on 5/8 matches. It looks like the Finlay v. Benoit, Jillian v. Melina, and JBL v. Rey matches are going to determine who wins.

Note: If there are any late additions to the card in the coming days I will try to update my picks.

I gotta go for now...I'm late for a Pog tournament. I've got this new Slammer with Carmen Sandiego on it that I am anxious to try out. Wish me Luck! See you after Judgment Day!

wrestleblogger@yahoo.com

RAW 5.15.2006 - News & Notes [Updated]

The title shot that Vince promised Triple H last week started RAW. When John Cena was introduced Vince's music began playing and Vince came out. Vince then announced that he was changing the match. Instead of a one-on-one match it would now be a 3-on-2 handicap Texas Tornado (non-tag format) match for the WWE Title and IC Title. The match would be Cena and RVD v. HHH, Shelton, and Chris Masters. If Cena or RVD were to get pinned then the title of the person pinned would lose his respective title to the person who scored the pin. At one point Triple H pulled Shelton off of RVD, Masters broke up Cena's STFU on Shelton, and both Shelton and Triple H broke up a Masterlock that Masters had on RVD. Shelton covered (and pinned) RVD a second or so before Triple H covered Cena. Therefore Shelton regained the IC title. When the bell rang at the end of the match Triple H (who didn't realize that Shelton had covered RVD) thought that he had pinned Cena and pedigreed the referee out of anger. Triple H is now 0 for 3 in WWE title matches against Cena.

Trish came to the ring and called Mickie out. Mickie came out and tried to attack Trish, but was attacked by the same woman who attacked her last week, Beth Phoenix. Phoenix said that Mickie screwed her over. It looked like Phoenix is playing Mickie's ex-girlfriend or something to that effect. We'll have to wait and see.

This Week In Wrestling History highlighted Bruno Sammartino's 1963 title win over Buddy Rogers.

Triple H was shown in the locker room. Shane then came in and announced that he (Shane) would be the guest referee in the Michaels v. Kenny match later in the night. Shane then said that Vince wants HHH to be in Kenny's corner (The S. Squad is banned from ringside) as payback for Vince giving him a title shot earlier in the night.

Johnny and Nicky of the Spirit Squad successfully defended the tag team titles against Snitsky and Goldust. While the referee was distracted Mickey used the trampoline to jump into the ring and give Snitsky a bulldog while still in the air. Very impressive. Prior to the match it sounded like J.R. made an error by calling Mitch 'Nick' (his real name). I don't think he was referring to Nicky.

Mick Foley then came out to explain his actions last week when he attacked Tommy Dreamer. He told the crowd that he could give them an excuse, but instead he was going to apologize. He said he was sorry and then introduced Terry Funk (RAW was in Texas). Funk came hobbling out looking as old and crippled as ever. Funk said numerous times that he knew why Foley did what he did last week, but then proceeded to ask Foley why he did it. Foley explained that the hardcore match @ WM22 was so great that he wanted to show ECW that he was more hardcore than they were (or something like that). Funk then told Foley that he thought of Mick as a son. Foley then said that if he really thought of him as a son then he wouldn't have asked for so much money to show up at a ceremony honoring Foley at Madison Square Garden a few years back (WWE didn't want to give Funk the money so he didn't attend). Foley then said that when he gets a call saying that Funk was dead that he was going to ask for a lot of money to attend the funeral. Foley then decided that he would show up for free so he could spit on Funk's casket. Funk than started taunting Foley by slapping him. Foley was going to just leave the ring, but Funk called Foley's wife a whore and his kids bastards. They both then started fighting and Edge came out and attacked Funk. Once Funk had Foley and Edge down Lita came up from behind and low blowed Funk and then they beat him with a barb wired covered baseball bat. They finished him off with a Mr. Socko/Mandible Claw and Spear like they did to Dreamer last week. Funk did a horrible job selling Foley's punches. He snapped his head back a split second too late. Just enough to make it look totally phoney. This pretty much sets up the yet-to-be-announced match for ECW One Night Stand - Foley/Edge v. Funk/Dreamer.

Striker beat Eugene with a weird neckbreaker.

Vince and Candice were cuddling backstage when Triple H interrupted. Vince then gave him a sledgehammer to use on Shawn Michaels during the match against Kenny.

Umaga beat some jobber...AGAIN! Note to Umaga: I think that the Samoan Savage gimmick would work a little better if you weren't wearing a silver grill in your teeth like Nelly.

Shane was walking backstage and the Spirit Squad approached him and did a cheer in his honor.

They showed the same exact video from the See No Evil premiere...TWICE!

During the HBK/Kenny match Shane pushed Shawn off of the top rope and gave Kenny his belt to whip Shawn with. Shawn eventually got the belt and whipped Shane who then ran away. HBK then gave Kenny the superkick, but was then attacked by Shane from behind. Shane then held Shawn up and yelled for HHH to come in and hit Shawn with the sledgehammer. Shawn ducked and Shane got hit by accident. Vince came running down and called for the medics. RAW went off of the air with Vince cradling Shane as if Shane was dying in his arms. Very over the top.

Update: I had forgotten to mention this when I originally written this post. I don't remember the exact setup to the angle, but JBL has been picking Rey Mysterio's opponents for the past few weeks (in all non-title matches) leading up to their match at this weekend's Judgement Day PPV. 2 weeks ago Rey had to wrestle (and lost to) Mark Henry. Last week The Great Khali defeated Rey as well. It looks like on this week's Smackdown Rey's opponent will be none other than Kane. After all, Smackdown airs this Friday - May 19th. I find this a little odd since Kane isn't even part of Smackdown and the only reason that he is going to be on Smackdown is because of the day it airs. Nevermind the fact that it's taped on Tuesday and that the date is really May 16th. I'm still standing by my prediction that the whole May 19th angle is going to be really lame.

wrestleblogger@yahoo.com

RAW 5.8.2006 - News & Notes

It looks like the WWE has dropped the slogan 'The Power Is Back' which they adopted when RAW moved back to USA network.

Jim Ross is back as RAW's lead play-by-play announcer. No Coach.

Triple H comes out to start RAW and demands another WWE Title shot. Cena comes out an eventually agrees to give Triple H another shot at the belt. They are about to start fighting when Vince comes out and cancels the match only to eventually agree that Triple H should indeed get a title shot. However, the title shot will be some time in the future - no time or place was announced. He then gave Triple H the rest of the night off and told Cena that he will be teaming with Shawn Michaels against all 5 members of the S. Squad. He also said a 4-way match for the IC title is coming up next.

RVD came to the ring and cut a short promo about how he agrees with what Joey Styles said last week and said that instead of chanting R-V-D that they should chant E-C-W. RVD's opponents in the match were Shelton, Charlie Haas, and Chris Masters. The format of the match was that all 4 men are in the ring at the same time and whomever got the first pinfall/submission would win the IC title. RVD won with a sunset flip on Masters while he had Haas in the Masterlock.

They played clips of Kane's movie....again! Afterwards they had 3 of Kane's co-stars backstage and Todd Grisham was asking them about what Kane was like on the set. They all said that Kane was mean and that he had a bad attitude. The male co-star said May 19th and Kane attacked him from behind and started chokeing him. Judging by the way the co-stars were 'acting' like Kane was really a mean person I realized why I have never seen them in any other shows or movies. Their acting leaves a lot to be desired.

Matt Striker defeated Carlito by DQ when Eugene attacked him.

The Hardcore rematch of Foley and Edge's WM22 match was up next. Before coming to the ring Foley cut a promo from the stage. He said that they can't have a hardcore match without having ECW involved and since Edge told him that the match was whatever match that Foley wanted it to be he was making it a 3-way match with Tommy Dreamer as part of the match. As Foley and Dreamer came to the ring Edge's jumped out. Foley then started the match by knocking down Dreamer. Edge then re-entered the ring and was about to mix it up with Foley, but instead Foley handed Edge a barbed-wire wrapped baseball bat. Edge then laid out Dreamer. Foley then pulled out socko and gave Dreamer a mandible claw. Edge them speared Dreamer and both Edge and Foley pinned Dreamer for the win. Edge, Lita, and Foley all left the ring with their arms raised. As rumored over the weekend - Foley did in fact turn heel. Foley is expected to explain his actions next week.

Mickie beat Maria w/Trish via a Mickie-D-T (DDT). After the match Trish went after Mickie. Mickie ended up kicking Trish in her injured shoulder. Mickie was then attacked by a 'mystery woman' who Mickie seemed to know. The woman is from OVW and goes by the name Beth Phoenix. Whether or not she still uses that name remains to be seen.

Umaga beat 2 local jobbers.

In a rematch from Backlash Kane took on Big Show. The match was pretty bad. It was really slow and looked rehearsed. Just like Backlash, during the match a bunch of red lights came on and they played those stupid 'voices' saying 'May 19th'. I'm not sure of the winner.

The This Week In Wrestling History segment was a look back at the first Saturday Night's Main Event from May of 1985.

S. Squad beat Shawn and Cena when Kenny nailed Shawn with one of the tag belts and pinned him while the ref was distracted. Kenny then nailed the referee and took the ref's belt and whipped Shawn with it. Cena then made the save and Triple H then came to the ring and gave Cena a pedigree and did a few DX crotch chops.

They have been having a lot of tension between HHH and Vince. That will probably be how DX is reformed - both HHH and HBK uniting against a common enemy - Vince.

wrestleblogger@yahoo.com

TV This Past Weekend

This past Saturday MTV2 ran a handful of episodes from their documentary series entitled 'True Life'. For those who aren't familiar with the show, each episode documents various people going through a variety of issues in their lives. Some episodes focus of people who suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, people who are overweight, and people who are embarrassed of their parents. The particular episode that I saw was called 'True Life: I'm a Backyard Wrestler'. I had seen the episode when it originally aired a few years ago and I had forgotten how ridiculous the people on the show were. The show basically focused on a group of teens operating out of a backyard in Los Angeles. While some people might call these people creative, passionate, innovative, or talented I would just call them stupid. You should have seen the 'ring' that they were using. It consisted of old tires, old carpeting, and those mattress pads that look like egg crates. The surface of the ring was lumpy at best. Add to that the performing of powerbombs, piledrivers, and brainbusters and you have a recipe for disaster. As dangerous as the moves were, they should and do know better and are perfectly aware that they are putting themselves at high risk of killing themselves. There was one guy in particular that I want single out for now. I don't remember his name though. He came off as the unofficial leader of the group. In one segment he is talking about why he is a backyard wrestler. Is he trying to get noticed by WWF or some other legit wrestling company? Does he like entertaining his friends? Nope. He wants to be famous so he could meet a specific person. Baby Spice from the Spice Girls (That shows how old this program was). However 5 minutes later in the program he says that the reason that he's a backyard wrestler is because God told him to. So God told him to go out there and do things to himself and his friends that could result in a broken neck? Enough about him though. There was also another kid on the show that has his mind set on blading himself. He says to the camera backstage that he is going gush blood. During the match he does in fact blade himself and does manage to bleed a lot. I'd say a little less than Ric Flair level. After the match the father of the house whose backyard the match is in comes out and starts wiping the kids face off before his wife sees it. No such luck though. She sees and goes ballistic. She starts yelling and calls his mom on him. When he gets on the phone he tells his mother 'I was wrestling and I got blood on me'. Also, one of the guys says that what they do is the same as when someone horses around when wrestling with their children. It's a little different. Don't ya think? The end of the show is a little funny though. 2 of the backyard wrestlers are about to get into a legit fight over whether what they do can be considered 'art'. Throughout the show they have clips of Mick Foley talking about how dangerous and stupid backyard wrestling is and how he does not endorse it. He also squashes the rumors about how his leap off of a roof in his Dude Love video led to his WWF contract. He explains that it was years of hard work and training that led to his WWF contract and success.

Also, I didn't feel like going out on Saturday night so I decided to stay home. I managed to be flipping through the channels just in time to catch the last 15 minutes or so of the replay of this week's TNA Impact. At the next TNA PPV the main event is scheduled to be Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner taking on Sting and a mystery partner. I guess for the past few weeks Sting has been presenting Jarrett with opportunities to pick who the mystery partner is going to be. Each week Sting has a wrestler hidden behind a door and before the wrestler's identity is revealed Jarrett has to decide whether he wants the mystery man to be Stings partner or not. It's basically a rip-off of the show 'Deal or No Deal'. In fact, Sting asks Jarrett 'Deal or No Deal' as they play a cheesy version of the Jeopardy theme. Jarrett rejected this week's mystery man after which Sting ran down the mystery man's accomplishment before revealing his identity. Here's the funny part. Sting is saying stuff about how the mystery man is a former All-American wrestler, a multiple time tag team champion, and how this man is a member of the school board of so-and-so city. Throughout this build up Scott Steiner looks totally confused as to who the guy is. Then the guy comes out and it's his own brother Rick Steiner and Scott acts totally surprised. How the hell can't Scott tell that Sting is talking about his own brother? How many other professional wrestlers are sitting on a school board?

wrestleblogger@yahoo.com

Random Things

I am a little skeptical about WWE's decision to have Joey Styles cut his 'heel' promo on Monday. I understand that the WWE's restarted ECW brand is going to be billed and marketed as a 'renegade' promotion, but I think that they could have come up with another way to remove Styles from RAW. What's going to happen if the new ECW fails? What are they going to do with the 4½ years left on his contract? Just pay him to sit home like they are doing with Eric Bischoff? Only use him for the annual ECW PPV and voiceovers for upcoming ECW DVDs? Also, how are they going to explain Styles' return once the new ECW starts up? Does the WWE expect the fans to not realize that it's a WWE owned ECW and not an independent promotion? How's it going to look when a WWE owned promotion is using an announcer who ripped into the WWE, Vince McMahon, and the fans? These questions can go on and on. I am just curious as to see what the answers will be.

I mentioned Eric Bischoff in the previous paragraph. Why is he not on TV? As I've written before, I had become a HUGE fan of Bischoff. Why are they just letting him sit home? Can they not come up with an angle to bring him back to TV? Remember what they did with Paul Heyman after he was 'fired'? They brought him back as Brock Lesnar's manager. Can't they do something like that with Bischoff? Maybe he can have a change of heart and manage Eugene. They have to do something. I'm not a huge advocate of the practice of keeping guys under contract just to avoid having them go to TNA, but I think that Bischoff can be an exception. I'm not saying that they should keep him under contract and just have him sit home though. They've got to bring him back to TV. Maybe those Internet reports about him rubbing Stephanie the wrong way were true and that she is the reason he was taken off of TV.

Speaking of bringing people back to TV, why did the WWE get rid of Shelton's mama? I thought the angle was pretty good. It was far from being stale. I understand that she had legitimate health problems and that's the reason that they gave her on-screen character health problems as well (to explain her absences). From what I have heard the issues with her health are behind her and the WWE has no plans to bring her back.

Sometime later this year (maybe even in a month or two) one of the WWE's biggest contracts is set to expire. I am of course taking about Mark Henry. Reports have his contract being for $1 million / year. The reason behind his huge contract is due in large part to the WWE's expectations that he would become a huge star stemming from his 1996 Olympic appearance. My advice to the WWE is to NOT resign him. They only thing that he has going for him is his size and strength. He is a horrible wrestler. Add to that the fact that he is nowhere close to being over with the crowd and you have no reason to keep him around. He's injured Batista and within the past few weeks he's injured Kurt Angle as well. They only thing that he's ever done that I have found even mildly entertaining has been when he was doing those feats of strength a few years back and even then it got old after a few weeks.

I'm going on record right now and saying that this whole May 19th angle with Kane will be a huge flop. I haven't got a clue how it's going to play out, but I know that it's going to be a disaster. I could be wrong, but chances are I'm not.

Umaga's gimmick is going to be a disaster as well. I know that I said the same thing about the Boogeyman initially, but at least Boogeyman talks. The whole jungle gimmick / islander gimmick where a rich business man brings in a savage to do his dirty work is played out. Why didn't they just keep Rosey and reform 3 Minute Warning?

What's with Vince McMahon fooling around with Candice? It serves no purpose. During one of the matches this past Monday they cut to a shot of Vince and Candice making out backstage. What's the storyline? Vince is a horny old man and Candice is a whore who's trying to sleep her way to the top?

Why isn't Stacy back on WWE TV yet? She has gained huge popularity after her appearance on Dancing With The Stars, and the WWE isn't capitalizing on it. The only WWE-related thing that she has done is do a public appearance a week or two ago in England. She's under contract for crying out loud. Use her for something.

I'm not sure if it's been officially announced, but I expect to see Undertaker v. The Great Khali at the Judgement Day PPV. I am once again going on record and predicting that this will be one of the worst matches ever. Imagine a Candice Michelle v. Torrie Wilson match. That's how bad the Taker/Khali match will be. It may not look as rehearsed as a Candice/Torrie match, but it's going to be pretty bad. I don't think Khali will be around too much long after Undertaker disposes of him. I am thinking that Khali will be gone by Summerslam at the very latest. To be honest though, I am really looking forward to seeing the match between them. I can't wait to see how horrible it will be.

I've found Booker T and Sharmell very entertaining over the last month or two.

It's no secret that the WWE's revenues and profits have slimmed down in the past few years. Why don't they stop signing so many unnecessary people? Maybe they can save a few bucks. The other day I was reading about how Johnny Ace (WWE VP of Talent) was sitting around thumbing through a women's swimsuit catalog and there were 2 models that caught his eye. What did he do? He called around and eventually got a hold of their agent(s) and offered them WWE contracts. According to report, neither woman had any knowledge of or interest in the WWE. Actually, one of the women said that she used to watch wrestling....when she was 5 years old. Although neither woman was particularly interested in signing with the WWE, their agent(s) encouraged them to do so for the money and exposure. I'm thinking that once they are called up to the main roster it should be about 3 weeks until they are making out with Vince. 6 months later they will be in Playboy and a year after that they will be released from the company. Couldn't this money be better spent on signing some of the unsigned talented wrestlers on the indy scene?

They have been teasing a DX reunion for a little more than a month. Is that actually a good idea? If I recall correctly, DX was WWE's answer to WCW's NWO. When they tried to bring back the NWO is was a total failure. Will a restarted DX have the same fate? Part of DX’s appeal was that they were very edgy a lot of what they did was risqué – Will Shawn Michaels’ religion allow him to do the same kind of edgy stuff? I'm also curious to see who besides HHH and HBK will be in the new DX if anyone. X-Pac is supposedly under contract with MTV's upcoming promotion, Road Dogg and Billy Gunn are in TNA, and Chyna claims that she hates Vince and would never return to the WWE. Chyna's old news anyways. I doubt anyone has any interest in her anymore. By the way - the return of DX is rumored to take place at June's RAW PPV, Vengeance.

I wonder when Cena is going to turn heel and when Triple H turns face. It seem inevitable.

wrestleblogger@yahoo.com

RAW 5.1.2006 - News & Notes

Vince started RAW by gloating backstage about his victory over Shawn and God at Backlash. He said that just like God, he was taking a day off. He named the Spirit Squad as the Co-GMs for the night. The S. Squad announced that Kenny would face Cena for the WWE title and that there would also be a diva cheerleader match.

The announce team was Joey Styles and Lawler; No Coach and no Jim Ross.

The cheerleader match was a tag match with Maria and Torrie v. Mickie and Victoria. It was a normal match, but all 4 divas were dressed as cheerleaders. Trish (who separated her shoulder last night) interfered enabling Maria to pin Mickie for the win.

Johnny, Nicky, and Mikey of the S. Squad took on a team that they called the 'Odd Squad'. It was Goldust, Eugene, and Snitsky. S. Squad won after a spin kick from Mikey on Eugene. The S. Squad seems to be wrestling in tank tops now. Afterwards backstage Matt Striker attacked Eugene and beat him over the head with a dictionary.

There was a parody of the weekly 'This Week In Wrestling History' segment. Vince did the voiceover and showed a clip of the McMahons defeating Shawn Michaels and God at Backlash.

The next match was Kane v. Conway. Before the match backstage the S. Squad told Shawn Michaels that he was going to be the special guest referee and he had to wear a shirt with 'May 19th' printed all over it. After Conway was in the ring and before Kane came out Shawn hit Conway in the nuts and put the shirt on him instead. Once Kane came down he destroyed Conway.

Umaga beat some jobber in a squash match.

Vince was shown backstage sitting with Candice. She asked him to help cure her 'Labiagitis' (is that a real illness?) like he cured her chest cold at Backlash. Triple H then interrupted and Vince told him that he would be the guest referee in the main event. Triple H didn't want to do it, but Vince threatened him and Triple H accepted.

Edge's interview segment, 'The Cutting Edge' returned. He said that he didn't get pinned at Backlash and therefore he should get another title shot. He also ripped into Joey Styles. Edge then introduced his guest - Mick Foley. Foley put over Edge by saying that their match at WM22 was the best of his (Foley's) career and that he did get his WM moment. He showed a shot of Edge's face from after the WM22 match and said that the match took years off of Edge's career. Foley then challenged Edge to a rematch for later in the night. Edge declined but said that he would accept it for next week instead.

Chris Masters cut a short promo on Carlito calling his win at Backlash a fluke. He then turned his attention to RVD and challenged him to take the Masterlock Challenge. RVD came down and as soon as Masters locked it in Shelton nailed RVD with a chair. Carlito then made the save. Nicky came out and did a cheer to announce that Carlito and RVD would face Masters and Shelton in a tag match.

In the middle of the match they showed Vince and Candice making out backstage. During the match Styles was passed a note saying that the S. Squad wanted to see him immediately. Styles left and Haas interfered in the match to give the faces the win.

Styles was then shown backstage with the S. Squad. They said that his announcing was 'lacking spirit'. They said that if he didn't show more spirit during the Kenny v. Cena match that they would tell Vince to make Styles wear a women's cheerleader outfit next week. They then made him practice announcing Kenny as the new WWE champ.
After the commercial Styles was shown coming back down to ringside. Lawler (on the arena microphone) then tried to get Styles to practice announcing Kenny as the new champ some more (jokingly). Lawler then jokingly mocked Styles' 'Oh My God' ECW catchphrase. Styles then said that if he was back in ECW that he would have a hack as a broadcast partner. Lawler found that funny and then Styles shoved him a few times. Lawler thought that he was joking around until Styles slapped him. Lawler then threw Styles down by the face who promptly got up and stormed backstage. Cut to commercial

After the break Lawler apologized to Styles and asked him to come back down to ringside. Styles came out from the back and stood on the stage. He refused to go back down to ringside and pretend like nothing had happened. Styles then cut a 'worked shoot' promo. He said that 6 months ago after the WWE had humiliated Jim Ross, the WWE called him asking him to join RAW. He stressed that he didn't call the WWE and that the WWE called him. Styles then explained how he has been lectured every week about how to call a WWE-style match (Vince does in fact lecture him every week and feed him lines from backstage). He also said that he is constantly being told not to say 'wrestling' or 'wrestlers' and instead use 'sports entertainment' and 'superstars'. Styles went on to talk about how he is also told to call less moves during matches and do more storytelling instead. Styles mentioned how he was bumped from WM22 and Backlash and how he is sick of the WWE and Vince McMahon. He said that he doesn't like hearing about Vince's semen and watching Vince make out with divas to feed his ego. Styles also ripped into Vince for mocking God and said that he hates the WWE fans for buying into all of it. Styles then quit. Afterwards Lawler said that the WWE found Joey Styles in the gutter and that he must have gotten homesick. Lawler also said that Styles should go back to kissing Paul Heyman's ass.

Todd Grisham came out to do play-by-play for the main event. Triple H acted totally uninterested in the match (in character). At one point he punched Cena and was making slow counts. Even when Kenny went for the pin. Triple H later decided to just leave the ring. As he was walking up the aisle Shawn Michaels came walking down in a referee’s shirt. They two of them had a short staredown. It looked as if Shawn was going to do the 3-count enabling Kenny to win, but he stopped and gave the S. Squad the DX crotch chops instead (payback for trying to get Kane to attack him by making him wear the May 19th shirt). Cena went on to win.

It should be interesting to see how the whole Joey Styles angle (quitting, shooting, etc...) plays out since the ECW PPV and restarted promotion are obviously under the WWE umbrella. I'm also curious to see the angle they use to bring Jim Ross back permanently.

wrestleblogger@yahoo.com