News to Start Your Weekend 09.22.06
Posted by Nick Marsico on 09.22.2006
There's a lot going on in this one. COMPTON.
It's another edition of the News to Start Your Weekend! HUZZAH~! I had a story I wanted to tell, but then I forgot what it was, so I won't tell that story, although I can tell you the short and fairly uninteresting story of how I met an Australian, Samoa Joe and Roderick Strong on the same night, so I will. So I went to Ring of Honor's debut at the Manhattan Center (the ballroom that RAW used to tape in back in the day) for night 2 of Glory by Honor V weekend, and yes, the show was quite incredible. Like a dope I forgot to bring the tickets with me, and I didn't realize this until my friend and I got to the train station, so we had to walk back to my apartment to get them, and then we ended up just getting some dinner at Blimpie and taking the 5:30 train instead of the 4:30 one into the city. That caused us to show up at the Manhattan Center, obviously, an hour late, and we were met with quite a long line, one that wrapped around the building. It was only about a 25 minute wait on line, though, and then once we got in, we found out that the Grand Ballroom is on the 6th or 7th floor, which means there was a lot of walking up stairs. I can't fathom how some of the huge motherfuckers that go to ROH shows possibly could have made it up there, but there were plenty of large gentlemen there.
In any event, I mention forgetting my tickets because it ended up leading to us sitting like 8 or 9 rows back in the general admission section, which, if you can't guess, is a bad thing. They didn't have bleacher seating; the GA section was just a whole bunch of chairs set up on the stage, and obviously that was a bad idea that I (and a lot of others) hope they amend for the December 23 show where Homicide WILL win the ROH title. But yeah, the GA tickets were sold out a few days (at least, maybe even over a week), yet maybe half of the GA section was full. It turned out that a bunch of people who showed up late and couldn't get the first few rows of general admission just gave up and stood in the balcony area. That ended up working out well for me, though, because there weren't many people behind us, so a bunch of us just stood on our chairs for the whole show and saw everything perfectly. Plus, throughout the show a bunch of the guys were standing right next to us watching the show. Colt Cabana (who hates me – well, he seemed annoyed at me when I continually interrupted him during an interview I helped conduct with him and questioned the reality of a man named Colt Cabana), Christopher Daniels (who loves me – well, he pointed in my general direction at the Joe vs. Kobashi show), Xavier (with his young kid), Takeshi Morishima, and most often, J-Train, who was hanging out there for a lot of the show.
GBH V was just a fantastic show, not a match on the card that was anything less than quite good, a couple really, really good matches and two AMAZING matches -- Marafuji defending the GHC Heavyweight Title against McGuiness was ridiculous and Danielson's ROH World Title defense against KENTA was just simply unbelievable. You need to see the running headbutts from Dragon, especially the second (of three). Just frightening.
The main part of the story that I like to tell people, however, is that I got to meet Samoa Joe and Roderick Strong. Joe was behind the merch table, and he was even back there helping the dudes selling stuff, and taking money for things. Of course, he was also signing autographs, so I got one on the ROH shirt I bought for my friend who wasn't able to make it for the show. I gotta say, Joe has a heck of a manly handshake. There was a security guy just yelling at the top of his lungs, over and over, "If you're not buying something, you have to leave! Get out of the way if you aren't purchasing something! Stop with the autographs! If you don't listen, we will not be able to come back here again!" All of which Joe was just laughing at and making faces at the fans, as if to say "Don't listen to that douche, I'll sign whatever you want." Class act that Joe is. Also, I bought his TNA DVD, but my dumb friend lost it as he was giving Joe the shirt I wanted to get signed (I was busy meeting a kindly Australian man named Steve), and he wandered away and left me looking for the DVD. Roderick Strong had walked up to the table a minute or two before and was looking through the DVDs, and he was standing right next to me as I asked the merch dude if he saw my DVD (it was the last copy they had), and Mister Strong looked for a few moments, got my attention and handed me the DVD, saving me 20 bucks (that was actually my friend's money anyway). So that was pretty cool. It was a fun Saturday, although that damn Australian fellow I met ended up having dinner with Joe, Delirious, Cary Silken, Julius Smokes and a bunch of the other guys, so I'm eternally jealous. I can't wait for this show to come out on DVD. Just like Joe vs. Kobashi, it'll be an immediate buy. Plus, this show was like 50 times better than that one.
(9.18) MONDAY'S NEWS ITEMS. HOLLYWOOD.
Ring of Honor newswire… The Manhattan Center crowd was a sellout 1,200, and it was a really good crowd. There were plenty of morons, but that's to be expected any time you go out.
The Friday night show in Connecticut was held underneath a tent due to some issues with the fire marshal, which they also had issues with for the Manhattan Center show, which almost ruined Bruno Sammartino's speech early on, because the damn radios the security guys were way too loud. Next time they go to East Windsor, CT, though, they have cleared up the problem and will be inside the building. That will be December 22, the night before Homicide gets his title shot in NYC.
They're also looking to schedule the Samoa Joe/Takeshi Morishima match that was teased by a pull apart brawl on the 16th, and it will be set to take place at some point in 2007.
Fans kicked out of Unforgiven… Apparently security thought that during the show a couple of girls decided to spit on John Cena, so they were ejected from the Air Canada Centre. It turned out that they didn't do what they were accused of. I wonder if they got their money back? Granted it was very close to the end of the show, but that's still a shitty thing to do, especially when they and a bunch of other witnesses denied that it happened and eventual video proof showed that they didn't do anything. At least give them some free merch or something.
It's all about The Game… West Coast Rydaz magazine had an interview with rapper The Game. They asked him about WWE going after him for the rights to his name, since, ya know, it's also one of Triple H's nicknames. The Game's answer to WWE's pursuit of him (which he probably didn't even know about): "Man, fuck them. Compton." Uh… I don't get it.
RAW thoughts… Whenever RAW doesn't completely suck, I always begin a tally of sorts keeping up on how many times in a row the show is good. This week starts another one of those. Surprisingly, there were no McMahons and not too much DX, and the show was quite good. They started off with Edge (hopefully for real) calling Cade and Murdoch "The Redneck Whirling Dervish", which would be an AWESOME name for their tag team. Plus, I've always liked the guys, and with Cade's new look and a bit of time away from seeing them, they're quite fresh right now. The Hi & Lo move they did (which I think they called the Sweet ‘n Sour) looked fantastic, and Cade really does throw one hell of a lariat. The combo inverted atomic drop/mafia kick was also quite awesome during the 6 man main event.
The Kane versus Umaga match up is just awesome. Two nights in a row they just had a pair of really fun, fast paced, full of action matches, the best that Kane has had in a long time. Plus they're both giving and taking some nasty chair shots. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm quite looking forward to more from these two.
The Six Pack Challenge was pretty good and it makes me happy that all of a sudden the barren Intercontinental Title division has a whole slew of competitors, and it's not half bad. The action was fun and the match had a fantastic finish.
Ya know, there wasn't really a whole lot going on, but it was a cool down kind of show after a surprisingly good Unforgiven PPV (the matches had good build up but the card looked quite undesirable), and while the only thing they actually set up was a Lita vs. Mickie program, the holding pattern was quite inoffensive and entertaining. Kane and Umaga are continuing their feud and Lita and Mickie are getting into one. That's what we know right now leading up to November 4th's Cyber Sunday show, but that's a ways away, obviously, with 6 RAW shows to go before it. It's a good sign when I'm not put off by RAW, though, so there we go.
"In the course of history, there are defining moments that change the fabric of a company forever. These are moments that are spoken about for years, not days, and serve as benchmarks in the annals of a company's growth. And on occasion, those moments transcend the individual company and re-write the history of an industry. This Sunday at the NO SURRENDER PPV, an announcement will be made that will do just that. You will not want to miss the NO SURRENDER PPV."
I wonder what it could be…
Cyber Sunday cross promotion; ECW at Survivor Series… NBC and WWE are going to be doing some sort of cross promotion thing for Cyber Sunday. The prize of the contest they will be running is a driving school lesson with a WWE superstar. I kinda don't get it… is there a show on NBC that has to do with driving lessons? Meh, whatever.
Also, it has been confirmed that ECW will be a part of the Survivor Series pay-per-view event.
ECW on Sci-Fi thoughts… Eh. It was a decent waste of an hour I guess, but not much else. The 6-man tag was okay, the Thorn/Balls match was decent (highlighted by Ariel's FANTASTIC ass), CM Punk got a good pop and looked good beating up Moore for a second time, and the King Booker/RVD main event was pretty good, if not a bit on the short side.
I'm really not digging the Van Dam/Holly feud. Bobcore just seems so fucking out of place in ECW. He doesn't have a look that fits whatsoever and he's just such an odd element and I don't like him there. He'd fit right back in with SmackDown, especially in the current US Title division. He's just an unnecessary guy to have in ECW, and I don't like it.
(9.20) NEWS FROM WEDNESDAY. BRENTWOOD.
Ring of Honor newswire… Four matches have been announced for the 10/6 "Survival of the Fittest" show in Cleveland. If you're unfamiliar with the concept of the Survival of the Fittest tournament, 6 matches are announced, and the winners of each of the matches face off in a 7th match, which is a Six Man Elimination match. They intended to announce all 6 of the matches, but something changed that up, and we'll know more about that next week, it appears. The first four matches announced for October 6th in Cleveland:
- Christopher Daniels versus Austin Aries
- Matt Sydal versus Davey Richards
- Jimmy Rave versus Delirious
- Bryan Danielson versus Samoa Joe
Commissioner Jim Cornette has set out to make Homicide's life a living hell leading up to his title shot at the final show of the year on December 23rd's Final Battle 2006 in Manhattan. Homicide is already scheduled to face his long time nemesis Steve Corino on November 4th in Philadelphia, and on October 27 in Dayton Homicide will be able to choose his own partner to take on Steve Corino & Adam Pearce in a tag team match.
Prince Nana is no longer in Ring of Honor. The Embassy is no more, but I hope that doesn't mean that Rave, Haze and Rinauro will split up. That would suck.
Colt Cabana is going to be hosting the first ROH Video Wire, which is coming soon.
Kurt Angle releases a statement on his future… Click the link for the statement. It looks like Kurt will be getting into MMA, and fuck does that scare me. God damn it Kurt, just fucking stop it.
The Boogeyman is no more… So he got released. Whoop-de-fucking-do. The only reason he appeared to ever be any good in the first place was because of the masterful reactions and fantasticness of both JBL and Booker T. Anybody who will miss the Boogeyman deserves to have at least three of their toes cut off.
FINALLY, THURSDAY ITEMS. ANAHEIM.
Ring of Honor newswire… Austin Aries will be getting a shot at the Ring of Honor World Title on 10/7 against Bryan Danielson in Detroit. It is just a week short of a year after their last one-on-one match.
Also that night, Aries' tag team partner Roderick Strong will have a grudge match against one half of the new ROH Tag Team Champions, that mother fucker Chris Hero. I was quite dejected having to watch Aries and Strong lose the titles to the Kings of Wrestling last Saturday.
A women's match from the SHIMMER promotion has also been signed for October 7 in Detroit, a tag team match between Allison Danger & Lacey vs. Daizee Haze & MsChif.
The debut of the ROH Video Wire, hosted by "Classic" Colt Cabana, will be posted today at ROHWrestling.com.
Cena to appear on SmackDown… I assume because he's the main star of the company right now and SmackDown will be debuting tonight on the CW, they want to have him on there. He's also going to show up at all of the shows leading up to No Mercy. I wonder if he'll end up getting a match there, too. Interesting.
New TNA DVD… TNA will be releasing a "50 Greatest Moments" DVD on November 21st. Here's a list of some of what's included:
- Jeff Jarrett attacking Hulk Hogan in Japan
- Sting's epic return to professional wrestling
- Music icon Toby Keith makes his in-ring wrestling debut
- The bloody, brutal and sadistic scalping of Raven
- Bouts featuring Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock
- The debut of Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Randy Savage
- Elix Skipper walks the Six Sides Of Steel At Turning Point
- NFL Star Brian Urlacher brings the gridiron to the TNA ring
- Chris Rock gets a taste of Total Nonstop Action
- World Series champion AJ Pierzynski battles in "Basebrawl"
- The surprise debut of Jeff Hardy against AJ Styles
- And many more moments – plus exclusive comments from all your favorite TNA stars!
It might be worth a look.
News on TNA's major announcement… Vince Russo has been signed, but that's not the big announcement. I can't believe that anybody actually believe that THIS was going to be the big major announcement. Yes, I'm aware TNA has made some really dumb moves in the past, but they're not THAT dumb, you foolish bastards. Check out these other links for a possible idea of what the announcement might end up being: 1, 2, 3, 4.
Here's a new little feature. I don't really feel like writing out a whole big spiel about Unforgiven, so I'll give some of my opinions through this.
Johnny Nitro def. Jeff Hardy My Pick: Nitro (1 for 1)
They gave this match a heck of a lot of time, and to my surprise it was actually quite good. A bit slow, certainly, but the structure was all there. They both looked good, and Jeff didn't blow any spots (although he still has a lot of trouble with the rail-walk clothesline), and the bump he took off the top rope from the dropkick by Nitro where he just about landed on his head was sweet.
Kane & Umaga fight to a no contest My Pick: Umaga (1 for 2)
I don't like taking a point off for a match without a finish, but I could have guessed a no contest and didn't. Like I said earlier, the match was quite fun and Kane's best in a long time.
The Spirit Squad def. The Highlanders My Pick: The Highlanders (1 for 3)
Match was boring and I, along with just about everybody else, don't care. Meh.
DX def. The McMahons & Big Show My Pick: DX (2 for 4)
I saw this show after reading peoples' comments about it, and I heard from a number of people that it was the worst Hell in a Cell since Taker/Bossman, which it clearly wasn't. The match was actually quite entertaining. Not a good match, but I enjoyed it.
Trish Stratus def. Lita My Pick: Trish Stratus (3 for 5)
What a way for her to go. It was a very good match, just as good as the one she and Lita had that main evented a RAW a couple years back, and the emotion was real and it was fantastic. I'm so glad that they gave the match time and made it really feel important, and that they didn't do the dumb thing and make Trish lose on her way out. Sometimes that's the way to go, but not in a match against an already established star with whom she's already had years and years of feuding against and teaming with. The Sharpshooter was a great touch, and the whole thing came off just about perfect.
Randy Orton def. Carlito My Pick: Carlito (3 for 6)
Short and decent, and Carlito is just light years ahead of Orton. Randy just completely relies on the damn chinlock and it really destroys every match he's in. As I said, I saw the show after reading a bunch of peoples' thoughts on it, and the spot that closed the match was really disappointing. I kept reading that it was the best RKO ever, but it really wasn't all that special. The one he did to Mysterio during the build up to WrestleMania 22 at the end of the Angle vs. Mysterio match on SmackDown was WAY better.
John Cena def. Edge My Pick: Edge (3 for 7)
Hell of a match. I don't really have much to say about it, but it was very entertaining. Great way to close the show.
friday night smackdown…
- Batista & Bobby Lashley versus Sir William Regal & Sir Finlay
- Matt Hardy versus Gregory Helms
- The Miz versus Funaki
- Rey Mysterio versus Chavo Guerrero
- Paul London & Brian Kendrick versus The Pitbulls versus KC James & Idol Stevens
- Sylvan versus Tatanka
- King Booker versus The Undertaker (World Heavyweight Championship)
tna no surrender…
- AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels versus LAX (Ultimate X, NWA World Tag Team Championship)
- Samoa Joe versus Jeff Jarrett (Fans' Revenge Lumberjack Match)
- Senshi versus Chris Sabin (X Division Championship)
- Rhino versus Christian Cage
- Abyss versus Raven versus Brother Runt
- Petey Williams versus Jay Lethal
- Eric Young versus A1
- America's Most Wanted versus The James Gang versus The Naturals versus The Paparazzi versus Diamonds in the Rough versus Bentley & Kazarian versus Ron Killings & Lance Hoyt versus Shark Boy & Norman Smiley (Triple Chance Tag Team Battle Royal)
AND THUS ENDS ANOTHER FANTASTIC COLUMN
Don't forget to check out my comments on last week's SmackDown and iMPACT in wRestling's 3 Rs. My picks for this Sunday's No Surrender PPV:
