The Custom Made News Report 12.16.07

Posted by Ryan Byers on 12.16.2007

Three wrestlers retire, two wrestlers become American Gladiators, one wrestler is seriously injured, and a preview of Armageddon (the PPV, not the actual end of the world).

Welcome one and all to the Custom Made News Report for December 16, 2007. We're nine days away from Christmas and some folks may assume that wrestling news would slow down due to the holiday season . . . but that's simply not the case. We've got a ton of topics to cover today from promotions throughout the world, so let's head right in to it.

All the Stuff from Stamford

PPV Preview: WWE Armageddon

WWE Armageddon

- This will be the eighth WWE Armageddon pay per view.
- Armageddon debuted as the name for WWE's December pay per view in 1999.
- It is interesting to note that, in 2001, the name went unused, reportedly due to concerns that it would be inappropriate in light of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
- The December 2001 pay per view was known instead as Vengeance, the name later adopted for WWE's July pay per view.
- The Armageddon name was used again in 2002 and has been used ever since.
- This will be only the second year that Armageddon has not taken place in a southern state, as the show emanates from Pennsylvania.
- Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Rhode Island have all played host to Armageddon in the past.
- There have been a total of twenty-five title defenses in Armageddon history.
- In those twenty-five defenses, titles have changed hands thirteen times.
- The title most frequently defended at Armageddon is the Raw Tag Team Title with five defenses.
- The title that has changed hands the most frequently at Armageddon is the Intercontinental Title with three changes.
- Neither the Raw Tag Title nor the Intercontinental Title is scheduled to be defended on this edition of Armageddon.

CM Punk & Kane vs. Mark Henry & Viscera

- It is interesting to note that, despite both men having lengthy WWE careers, this will be only the second Armageddon appearance for Viscera and only the third for Mark Henry.
- Henry and Viscera were both on the 1999 Armageddon card, both of them oddly enough in tag team matches.
- Henry teamed with the Godfather and lost in a tag team battle royale.
- Viscera teamed with Rikishi and lost to Bob and Crash Holly.
- This match will be CM Punk's Armageddon debut.
- Viscera's Armageddon record is 0-1.
- Mark Henry's Armageddon record is 0-1.
- Kane's Armageddon record is 3-3.

Beth Phoenix (c) vs. Mickie James for the WWE Women's Title

- This will be the fifth match for the WWE Women's Title in Armageddon history.
- In the prior four defenses, the Women's Title has only changed hands once, which was in 1999.
- Of the Women's Title matches that have taken place on the show, this will be only the second one-on-one contest.
- In addition to the four prior Women's Title matches, Armageddon has also played host to five matches involving female competitors which were not for the Women's Title.
- This match will be the Armageddon debut for both Beth Phoenix and Mickie James.

Fit Finaly vs. The Great Khali

- Since the WWE roster split occurred, there have been interpromotional matches on two prior editions of Armageddon.
- This match, though technically not interpromotional, has the unique distinction of being a contest between two Smackdown competitors that was set up through an angle primarily featured on the Raw brand.
- This will also be the first time in Armageddon history that two non-American wrestlers have faced each other in singles action.
- This will be the Armageddon debut of the Great Khali.
- Fit Finlay's Armageddon record is 0-1.

Montel Vontavious Porter (c) vs. Rey Misterio for the United States Title

- This will be the third time that the United States Title has been defended at Armageddon.
- In both of the prior Armageddon defenses, the champion retained.
- Rey Misterio's Armageddon record is 1-1.
- Misterio's record in title matches at Armageddon is 1-0.
- However, this is the first time that Misterio will be wrestling in a singles match at Armageddon.
- MVP's Armageddon record is 0-1.

Shawn Michaels vs. Ken Kennedy

- This is the second consecutive year in which Kennedy is wrestling a significantly more experienced opponent at Armageddon, as last year he faced the Undertaker.
- This will be the second year in which Michaels is wrestling a significantly less experienced opponent at Armageddon, as he wrestled Batista in 2003.
- Ken Kennedy's Armageddon record is 0-1.
- Shawn Michaels' Armageddon record is 1-1.

Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy for the number one contendership to the WWE Raw Title

- Triple H's Armageddon record is 2-1.
- Jeff Hardy's Armageddon record is 0-2.
- This will be Jeff Hardy's first singles match at Armageddon.
- This will be Triple H's first non-title match at Armageddon.

Dave Batista (c) vs. The Undertaker vs. Edge for the WWE Smackdown Title

- This is the third time that the WWE Smackdown Title has been defended at Armageddon.
- The two prior defenses of the Smackdown Title at Armageddon have both resulted in title changes.
- This will be the fifth time that a championship has been defended in a three-way match at Armageddon.
- In the four prior three-way title matches at Armageddon, titles have changed hands twice.
- This will be the Undertaker's third title match at Armageddon.
- Taker has been unsuccessful in his two prior title bids on the show.
- This will be the first time that either Edge or Dave Batista has wrestled for a singles title at Armageddon.
- Edge's Armageddon record is 1-1.
- Dave Batista's Armageddon record is 3-2.
- The Undertaker's Armageddon record is 2-2.

Randy Orton (c) vs. Chris Jericho for the WWE Raw Title

- This will be the fourth time that the WWE Raw Title has been defended at Armageddon.
- In the three prior Raw Title defenses at Armageddon, the title has changed hands once.
- Chris Jericho's Armageddon record is 3-1.
- Chris Jericho has the odd distinction of wrestling women at not one but two prior Armageddon shows.
- In 1999, Jericho defeated Chyna for the Intercontinental title, and Jericho and Christian wrestled Trish Stratus and Lita in 2003.
- Randy Orton's Armageddon record is 1-1.
- If this is the last match aired on the show, it will be Orton's second time in the Armageddon main event.
- His first main event appearance was on the 2005 version of the show, facing the Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match.

Former WWE Talent to Become an American Gladiator

Most wrestling fans are already aware that NBC will be reviving the 1990's television sports game show American Gladiators in 2008. Though most everybody who reads this site could already tell you that wrestling legend Hulk Hogan is set to host the program along with the daughter of boxing legend Mohammed Ali, what you may not know is that there are more wrestling tie-ins with the new version of Gladiators. The show, for those who may not be familiar with it, involves contestants facing off against a cast of "gladiators" in a variety of athletic events, and the new crop of gladiators features two former professional wrestling personalities.

The first and most recognizable of these individuals is Justice Smith, who will be referred to on the show as simply "Justice." WWE fans may recall Smith as one of the competitors in the fourth installment of the company's Tough Enough series, which was won by mixed martial artist Daniel Puder and also featured current ECW wrestler Mike Mizanin. It is interesting to note that Smith, in addition to appearing in Tough Enough, was also part of the cast for the short-lived television series Battle Dome. That show was by and large a knockoff of the original American Gladiators, and its cast was part of a brief and poorly-received "invasion" angle in WCW.

In addition to Justice, the show will also feature a gladiator nicknamed "Wolf," who in reality is named Don Yates. In the late 1990's and the early part of the twenty-first century, Yates competed under the ring name Hollywood on the Southern California independent wrestling circuit. He was trained by and primarily featured in UPW, the company which is notable for launching the career of John Cena and many other WWE wrestlers. Yates and Smith will be joined by several other gladiators, including Michael O' Hearn (another Battledome alumnus), Tanoia Reed (a stuntman and cousin of the Rock), and Gina Carano (perhaps America's best known female MMA fighter). The show is set to debut on January 6.

Who Didn't We See on Monday Night?

One of the highlights of Monday night's Raw anniversary special was seeing many former stars make a one night only return to the show. However, there were apparently several more wrestlers backstage who didn't show up on camera. According to PW Insider, Sid Vicious, Henry Godwinn, and Brutus Beefcake were all present at the event.

Godwinn was actually under WWE contract from September of last year until May 2007. He never appeared on WWE programming during that time but worked primarily in the group's Deep South Wrestling developmental territory, teaming with Ray Gordy, the wrestler who ultimately became Jesse Dalton. Gordy and Godwinn did work a few Smackdown house shows and dark matches as a new version of the old Godwinns tag team (with Gordy being dubbed "Cousin Ray"), but ultimately the decision was made to replace HOG with developmental wrestler/former fake Kane Drew "Freakin' Deacon" Hankinson when Gordy was called up to Smackdown. Sid, despite being the victim of one of the most horrific looking injuries in wrestling history at the beginning of 2001 and despite the fact that he's getting up there in years, has been taking limited independent dates and reportedly looks as good as he ever did. There are also rumors that contacted WWE in the recent past about making a comeback. God help us all if that happens. Beefcake also makes sporadic indy appearances and, despite having really fallen out of shape several years ago, actually had a six pack when I saw him earlier this year.

There is no known reason for these individuals not receiving appearances on television. However, I'm sure that they were all perfectly happy just to get back together with old friends and reminisce.

Raw Fifteenth Anniversary DVD Preview Continued

For those of you who missed last week's column, I started to preview the new Best of Raw three disc DVD set that WWE is putting out in conjunction with the show's fifteenth anniversary. I was going through the list of contents for the DVD and giving my thoughts on each segment chosen. This wound up being far too long to include in just one week's edition of the news report, so I broke it up in to three installments. Last week I talked about disc one, this week I'm hitting disc two, and next week I'll get to disc three.

Disc Two

"Tyson and Austin!"- January 19, 1998

This is one of few WWF moments to create a maelstrom of mainstream media attention, and, unlike recent attempts by wrestling promotions to use sport stars on television, this actually attracted viewers to Raw AND got them to buy a pay per view. (Take note, TNA.)

DX Special Report – February 2, 1998

If I'm not mistaken, this is the "State of the Union" style address which contains a few infamous lines from both Trips and HBK. Though it is fondly remembered by a lot of fans and was one of the highlights of the original "D-Generation X" home video release, I'm having a hard time remember any particular lines to comment on.

Dumpster Diving – February 2, 1998

Here's an angle which looked brutal when it was originally run and, though imitated a couple of times, has never been perfectly duplicated. The New Age Outlaws stuffed Cactus Jack and Terry Funk in to a dumpster and shoved it off of the side of the Raw stage. Given the amount of padding that was in the dumpster when it took the plunge, the bump was probably fairly safe, but the announcers and the wrestlers did a great job of selling it as something that could have potentially killed both men.

Formation of the New DX- X-Pac Returns – March 30, 1998

With Shawn Michaels on the shelf, Triple H takes the reigns of DX and makes long-time associates Billy Gunn and Road Dogg in to full-fledged members in addition to introducing X-Pac, who was recently fired by WCW. Pac naturally cuts a promo on Eric Bischoff, which a lot of guys seemed to be doing around this time.

Stone Cold vs. Vince McMahon – April 13, 1998

This was supposed to be the first match between Austin and McMahon, although it was interrupted by Mick Foley in his Dude Love persona, who would go on to become Stone Cold's major rival for the next several months. This was also the first time that many fans realized just how jacked to the gills Vincent K. McMahon really was.

DX Invades WCW – April 27, 1998

Now that several years have gone by and Triple H has risen to prominence within WWE, these skits get a lot more credit than the really deserve in the history of the "Monday Night War." In reality, they were just a bunch of amusing bumpers before commercials on Raw which featured some inside jokes that the majority of the company's viewers probably didn't get. However, if you listen to anybody talk about it now, it's an epic turning point in which the WWF finally got the upper hand on WCW. Those claims are ridiculous.

DX Nation – July 6, 1998

Though WCW loyalists saw it as nothing more than a thinly veiled knockoff of the nWo's parody of the Four Horsemen, viewers who watched nothing but Raw in the late 90's absolutely loved this skit and with good reason. There are some hilarious lines from all of the DX members, particularly if you can ignore the fact that a bunch of white guys wearing blackface is usually considered just the tiniest bit racist. One historical note that is often forgotten is that this skit also gave birth to the Godfather character, as, up to this point, Kama Mustafa was just a big tough guy in the Nation. After Billy Gunn portrayed him as a pimp in this skit, that actually became Kama's character.

Zamboni 3:16 – September 28, 1998

This is another one of those moments that has been replayed so many times over the years that I really don't think I need to say much about it.

The Debut of Mr. Socko – October 5, 1998

They've chosen to bill the series of skits involving Vince McMahon's hospitalization (for a leg injury inflicted by the Undertaker) as "the debut of Mr. Socko," but I'd be willing to bet that far more fans remember it as the evening on which Steve Austin cracked Vinnie Mac over the head with a bedpan and attempted to give him an enema. That's just as entertaining, if not moreso, than the debut of everybody's favorite sock and Yurple the Clown. (That was the clown's name, right?)

McMahon's Cement Corvette – October 12, 1998

There was so much hilarious, over the top stuff from the Austin/McMahon feud that this angle often gets forgotten in retrospectives despite the fact that it likely cost thousands of dollars. From what I understand, Vince McMahon's actual car was used for the segment, and WWE still owns it and carts it around the country to put on display at various live events. What the company really needs is a museum in which they can collect stuff like this. I want Vince's Corvette on display next to a dummy wearing Max Moon's outfit, dammit.

Bang 3:16 – October 19, 1998

Yet another chapter in the McMahon/Austin saga unfolds, as Vince is kidnapped at "gunpoint" and hauled around by Austin for an extended period of time. When this took place, I was surprised that they'd do such an angle given the backlash against the Pillman gun incident, thought at the end of the night it was revealed that Stone Cold was packing toy heat all along. Sadly, Vince McMahon did not realize before he wet himself on live television. Between this and the Corvette, I was quickly becoming aware that McMahon would do virtually anything for an angle . . . which is one of the things that makes him the greatest character in the history of Raw.

Mankind wins the WWE Championship – January 4, 1999

Maybe it's just me, but Mick Foley's status as a "legend" seems to have really plummeted lately. Despite the fact, his first title win will always be burned in to mind, as it was one of those rare moments in which fans were legitimately happy for a wrestler instead of simply being happy for his character. Foley seemed to actually consider this title win an honor. Some folks might say that makes him as big of a "mark" as the people he is trying to entertain, but others consider it an integral part of what made this such a magical moment.

Stone Cold Beer Truck – March 22, 1999

Again, I think we all know what this one is. It's interesting to note that it has spawned more knockoffs, parodies, and clones than just about any segment in WWF history. Of the top of my head, I can recall both Eddy Guerrero and Kurt Angle doing their own versions, as well as the recent remake of the Austin angle involving Santino Marella.

Monster Truck vs. Town Car – April 19, 1999

Eh. I can't say much positive about this one, as it's just a car being run over by a monster truck. It too spawned a series of knockoffs over the years, as it seemed like every couple of months until 2003 somebody in wrestling somewhere was slamming one vehicle in to another.

Mean Street Posse vs. the Stooges – May 10, 1999

If I'm not mistaken, this was a segment in which Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson hit the ring for a match and did a fairly biting parody of Hulk Hogan, who at the time was featured on Monday Nitro. I remember that when this occurred I couldn't stop laughing at it, although I'm surprised it showed up on this DVD given that the company currently has a much better relationship with Hogan than it did eight years ago.

The Greater Power Revealed – June 7, 1999

Oh, the greater power. It was during this angle that I first realized that the internet is largely populated by wrestling fans who, though they like to pretend they're in the know, really have no clue about what's going on. For those of you who missed the storyline, the Undertaker was leading his "Ministry of Darkness" stable and alluded periodically to a "higher power" being in control of the group. He then announced that he was going to reveal this higher power, and it was readily apparent to anybody who even had the most basic grasp of the WWF's booking at the time that Vince McMahon would be under the hood. However, this didn't stop people online from assuming that this angle HAD to be signaling the return of a wrestler to the promotion, with some people claiming that it would be Jake Roberts and (I swear to god) some people speculating that it would be BROTHER LOVE. Then, when Vince McMahon was unmasked, these same people legitimately got ANGRY. They swore up and down that the company had promised them something and not delivered, when in fact the WWF had never once teased on television that the greater power would be a new or returning wrestler. My other big memory of this segment is that I skipped watching it when it first aired because at the same time WCW was running an absolutely awesome "hardcore lucha libre match" between the teams of La Parka & Silver King and Damian & Ciclope.

Y2J – August 9, 1999

Hey, remember when Chris Jericho was awesome? I do. Though it was fairly common knowledge that he'd be the man walking out from behind the curtain at the end of the "Millennium Countdown," the reaction both in the arena and on the internet was insane. I loved everything about the segment, and it's one of the few things in professional wrestling that actually managed to give me goosebumps when it took place. I was even willing to forgive the fact that the Rock made the debuting Jericho look like an absolute pansy by the end of their dueling interviews.

Rock: This is Your Life – September 27, 1999

I believe that this still holds the record for being the highest rated segment in Raw history. To this day I still can't figure out why. Don't get me wrong, it was funny. I enjoyed it. However, it wasn't as though it was the culmination of a months-long storyline or even a segment that had been heavily promoted the previous week. It was just two of the best promo guys in the WWF coming out and killing some time. Yet, for whatever reason, it captivated several million people and became an historic angle . . . which really didn't even lead anywhere storyline-wise. Oh well, I suppose there's no arguing with the numbers.

Bossman Sympathy – November 8, 1999

Unfortunately, we probably won't get to see the phenomenal visual of the Big Bossman stealing the Big Show's father's casket complete with Show hopping on board and body surfing through the funeral. That took place on Smackdown. What we will probably see is the Bossman breaking in to the Big Show's home and forcing his mother to reveal to the world that the giant was, in the former prison guard's words, a "big, nasty bastard." This was one of those angles which was completely unrealistic but hilarious despite that fact.

What Happens in Vegas… – November 29, 1999

Triple H drugs Stephanie McMahon and marries her at a drive-thru chapel in Los Vegas, which he then reveals during her Raw wedding to Test. For some reason you'd think that this would lead to Test wanting to murder Trips, but his reaction on subsequent episodes of WWF programming lead me to leave that he was largely okay with it. Test is a pretty mellow guy, after all. Anyway, this was one of those ridiculous WWF storylines from the 1990's that contained five hundred logic holes, all of which were generally forgiven by fans because the performers involved were so talented.

Jericho not the new Champion – April 17, 2000

Triple H and Chris Jericho wrestle fro Trips' WWF Title, and Jericho gets the pin only to have the decision reversed on him later in the night when the H's threaten the referee. There are plenty of people who complain about this one, thinking that the company actually should have put the belt on Jericho that night or at least put it on him in a match following up on this angle. I can't say that I agree with either of those arguments, but I will say that I don't think this is nearly "classic" enough to be included on such a compilation.

Shane Purchases WCW – March 26, 2001

One of these days I'd like to see the final episode of Nitro released on DVD in its entirety, but I'm aware that's pretty much a pipe dream. If we're only going to see bits and pieces of it, we may as well go with this one (especially since the greatest segment of the show – Ric Flair's promo – is already available elsewhere). The angle itself may have wound up being a flop over the long haul, but this opening shot being fired was a truly captivating moment and deserves to be recorded for posterity.

Milk-o-Mania – August 20, 2001

Everybody remembers this as the Kurt Angle segment in which he sprayed down the ECW/WCW Alliance with milk, but the funniest part of the angle actually happened BEFORE that, with Steve Austin's cronies hosting an "Austin Appreciation Night" which featured a stirring rendition of "Wind Beneath My Ring," a song destined to be a classic.

Triple H Returns – January 7, 2002

Trips' return was just him standing around and posing for an extended period of time, and, though it worked on that night, I don't know that it will hold up on video years later. My only hope is that they also include one of the awesome video packages set to U2's "Beautiful Day," although that seems unlikely given the rights fees that would be involved.

Past Meets Present – February 18, 2002

Huh?

Worlds Unite- Bischoff Hugs Vince – July 15, 2002

Many people consider this to be an historic moment, but I look at it as a tribute to wasted potential. Though Eric Bischoff is a fine on-camera performer and did an exemplary job as Monday Night Raw's general manager, a feud between Bischoff and McMahon could have been a great way to play off of history and reinvigorate what was, in 2002, a stagnant product.

Be sure to check back next week when we preview disc three!

The Word from Dixieland

TNA Wrestlers' International Matches to Air

For the last several months, we've been keeping you updated as the card for the January 4 New Japan Pro Wrestling Tokyo Dome show takes shape. This card will feature numerous stars from TNA wrestling, and now American fans will have an opportunity to see some of the action on free television. SpikeTV has announced that highlights of the show will be featured on a television special airing on Thursday, January 17 immediately after the regularly scheduled Impact episode goes off the air. Though most weeks I'd have difficulty stomaching three straight hours of TNA, the fact that this special will in no way be booked by Jeff Jarrett, Vince Russo, or Dutch Mantell leads me to believe that it may be one of the best television shows that the company has ever aired.

What we do not know at this time is which matches will be airing, as the New Japan event will likely last for several hours, while the SpikeTV version will be edited down to forty-two minutes. Several matches had been announced for the show prior to this week, including Kurt Angle putting his fake IWGP Title on the line against Yuji Nagata, Travis Tomko and the Giant Bernard (A-Train) defending their IWGP Tag Team Titles against the Steiner Brothers, and Manabu Nakanishi wrestling Abyss. Three more TNA vs. NJPW matches were added to the card this week, with Togi Makabe and Toru Yano teaming to face the Dudley Boys, a six man tag featuring Christian, Petey Williams, & AJ Styles against Minoru, Milano Collection AT, & Prince Fergal Devitt, and Wataru Inoue defending the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Christopher Daniels. There will also be several matches on the card not featuring TNA wrestlers, including Hiroshi Tanahashi putting the real IWGP Title up against Shinsuke Nakamura, Hirooki Goto facing the Great Muta, and an eight man tag match and a ten man tag match, both of which feature NJPW factions taking on teams of Japanese outsiders.

In addition to not all of the matches being able to air in the time allotted by Spike, there are a couple of other issues with the show. The first is the inclusion of Christopher Daniels on the card, as he was fired in TNA storylines on Thursday night. How TNA deals with his match on the New Japan show will be interesting. Obviously, since they're going to have to cut time from the card, they could leave it out altogether. The could also attempt to work it in to the "Daniels is fired" angle, claiming that he's at the NJPW show not as a TNA representative but as an independent contractor.

The other potentially tricky issue is the Angle vs. Nagata match. Though New Japan has only billed it as a match for Angle's fake IWGP Title, some SpikeTV press materials have billed it as being for both the fake IWGP belt AND Kurt's TNA Championship. Before Spike TV's announcement, many speculated that Angle would be losing his version of the IWGP Title to Nagata so that Nagata and legitimate IWGP Champ Tanahashi could then have a unification match. However, it seems highly unlikely Angle would lose the match and the TNA Title to Nagata, a man who has virtually no name value in the United States. It is technically possible that the Spike report was a mistake and that the special will make no mention of the TNA Title. It is also possible, though, that Angle will now win the match despite the conventional wisdom amongst fans of puroresu. The third possibility is that the match is booked in such a way that there are two "finishes," with Angle first winning only for the match to be restarted for some reason. After that, Nagata could win, with the reversal of the Kurt's victory being edited out of the SpikeTV special. That allows both companies to tell their fans that it was their man who scored the important victory.

Regardless of how TNA edits the footage together and regardless of how the aforementioned political issues are resolved, this has the potential to be a highly enjoyable show that will help kick the year of right for TNA. For once, I'm looking forward to something that the company is putting together.

Homicide Push Axed?

Two weeks ago at TNA's Turning Point pay per view, the company had to scramble to find a replacement for Scott Hall, who did not appear for his scheduled tag team match. The replacement selected was Eric Young, though the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has reported that other individuals were originally under consideration for that role. Apparently Samoa Joe wanted the spot to actually go to Homicide, a man that he has worked with on the independent circuit for numerous years. Joe's idea was ultimately rejected in favor of Young. Clear reasons for the rejection were not noted, though this author is certainly of the belief that Homicide would have been a better choice for the role. Though he certainly lacks the size often associated with main event caliber wrestlers in both WWE and TNA, he is certainly one of the most talented and underutilized members of the TNA roster. This would have made him a natural fit for the storyline that TNA was attempting to put together through Joe's promo prior to the show's main event.

Origins of Eric Young's Character

This isn't really a news story per se, but it was a funny piece of information that I thought I would pass along. Konnan recently sat down for an audio interview with Wrestle Zone, and he discussed several things that took place backstage during his time in TNA. The most amusing tidbit to come out of the interview involved Eric Young. Apparently Young's "paranoid" gimmick originated as a bit of a rib on Abyss, as the man behind the monster character is constantly worried about whether he will be let go by TNA. Konnan also implied that some of Abyss' more gory spots in his matches – particular those involving thumbtacks and heavy bleeding – are his way of making sure that he keeps in the good graces of the promotion and therefore keeps his job. Personally I think that Young should take his character to the next level by emulating these behaviors as well. Just imagine the hilarity if EY barged in to Jim Cornette's office next week on Impact yelling, "Jimmy, I'll do anything for you to keep my job, Jimmy! I'll slice my arms open! I'll take a weedwacker to my chest! I've been watching CZW tapes, and I've just come up with thousands of new ways to mutilate myself and appease you, boss!"

Then Cornette, upon hearing the name "CZW" could launch in to a tirade about how he hates hardcore wrestling. It would be magical.

Random Video Interlude

Maybe I'm heartless, but I laughed at this. It's the Great Muta and Tajiri frightening a small child.



To view videos that have appeared in previous editions of the Custom Made News Report, be sure to check out my new YouTube page.

2007 Holiday Shopping Guide

Two years ago, I was writing a column on 411 called Cheap Wrestling for Cheap People. As a part of that column, I put together a holiday shopping guide for wrestling fans, putting together gift packages related to different styles of wrestling that contained three gifts which, in total, would cost under $30 (U.S.) Since it's been a couple of years, I've decided to revive the idea here in the Custom Made News Report. Thus, from November 25 through December 23, you'll be able to find five new cheap gift packages for five different genres of wrestling.

This Week: Gifts for Japanese Wrestling Fans

Item #1: GAEA Sixth Anniversary Program
Cost: $12.99
Available At: Highspots

I don't talk much about women's wrestling from Japan much in this little column, mainly because the scene is by and large dead. However, during its glory days, the ladies of the ring put on some of the best matches in the world. GAEA was one of the top promotions in the heyday of joshi, and by picking up this program you can own a piece of its history.

Item #2: Tiger Mask Action Figure
Cost: $9.99
Available At: Highspots

The character of Tiger Mask has thrived in Japan for several decades, with great performers Satoru Sayama, Mitsuhara Misawa, and Koji Kanemoto all donning the hood before the current Tiger Mask began thrilling crowds in both Michinoku Pro and New Japan. This action figure depicting the character is small but rather posesable, reminding me of the G.I. Joe toys of my youth.

Item #3: Bam Bam Bigelow & Friends VHS Tape
Cost: $5.00
Available At: Wrestling Superstore

New Japan Pro Wrestling released a handful of home video titles in the U.S. market several years ago, and you can still find copies of many of them floating around in discount bins and on wrestling websites. "Bam Bam Bigelow & Friends" is one such tape, featuring several NJPW matches from the 1980's, including Bigelow's singles bouts against Japanese legends Tatsumi Fujimani and Akira Maeda. There are many other American wrestlers who appear on the video, including but not limited to "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, Bad News Brown, and Rick Steiner. Of course, given that we're dealing with New Japan, you'll see some top foreign talent as well, with superstars Antonio Inoki and Keiji "The Great Muta" Muto getting screen time.

Foreign Fanatics

Major Mexican Star Out of Action

Last week, one of the biggest stars for Mexico's CMLL promotion suffered a neck injury that could keep him out of action for as long as three months. Mistico, who has been booked at the top of the promotion for quite some time now, attempted to hit a dive from the outside of the ring to the floor and tweaked his neck. He has really gotten banged up this year, also having difficulty with one of his knees recently. This can in large part be attributed to the man's schedule, as a top level talent in Mexico will work virtually every day of the week while participating in multiple shows on the weekends. In fact, on the day that he injured himself, Mistico had several more appearances scheduled which he had to miss. This continues a string of bad news for CMLL, as they have seen their attendance figures drop off drastically in the latter half of 2007 after having a red hot financial period in the first six months of the calendar year.

It is worth noting that some individuals are suspicious of whether this injury is legitimate. There is a group of fans and analysts who think that it is awfully convenient that Mistico got "hurt" just as the company was beginning to run fewer shows for the holiday season, and they find it equally convenient that he will be available to return when the promotion's schedule picks up again in early '08. Their theory is that the neck injury the wrestler supposedly suffered was not legitimate but instead an excuse to give him some time off during a down period so that he can heal up from nagging physical problems. If this is actually the case, I'm glad to see CMLL making such a move, because Mistico does wrestle an extremely physical style, and he wrestles it in more matches a week than any performer should wrestle. Hopefully they can continue to cycle him on and off cards in this manner until he is back at 100%.

However, if the neck injury is indeed legitimate, this is a sign that Mistico needs to get out of CMLL for his own good. This would be the most recent in a series of several injuries suffered by the luchadore, and, if his physical problems continue to mount at this rate, he may wind up being the next Dynamite Kid, an excellent wrestler who was confined to a wheelchair by the age of forty. Earlier this year there was word that WWE was interested in signing Mistico and booking him as a protege of Rey Misterio, and Mistico was even brought in to have a tryout match prior to a Smackdown taping in southern California. If I were Mistico, at this point I would strongly consider reaching out to the E to see if they are still interested. Though working for Vince McMahon and company would likely result in a pay cut unless Mistico became one of the absolute top wrestlers in the company, the schedule would be nowhere near as demanding and the style would be much more relaxed. Though he would receive less money in the short term, the amount of money he makes in the long term will be much greater if the WWE style and schedule allow him to prolong his career by several years.

Two Huge Tournaments Conclude in Japan

Last weekend was a busy one in Japan, as two major promotions had tournaments wrap up. The first was a rare single elimination tournament in Dragon Gate, which was dubbed the "King of Gate." The sixteen man tourney took place over an eight day period, with many of the promotion's top names (and ROH star Austin Aries) participating. The semi-finals and finals were held on DG's December 9 show in Aichi, with the final four consisting of CIMA, Masaaki Mochizuki, Gamma, and Dragon Kid. CIMA defeated Mochizuki to advance, while Gamma took out the Kid by nefarious means, tearing at his mask and then catching him off guard with a small package. Gamma's heelish tactics continued in the finals, when he hit CIMA with a low blow so hard that the former leader of Crazy MAX was unable to continue the match. Thus, the referee stopped the contest and awarded the victory to Gamma, which confused many since they (rightly in my opinion) thought that a disqualification should have been rendered. DG apparently realized that fans would not be happy with this decision, so they immediately put on an impromptu main event, with Dragon Kid running out and challenging Gamma to a rematch. Kid won cleanly to send the crowd home happy, though Gamma remains the 2007 King of Gate winner. Dragon Gate has since announced that they are attempting to put together a grudge match between Gamma and CIMA.

However, that was not the only tournament to wrap up recently in the Land of the Rising Sun. All Japan Pro Wrestling's prestigious Real World Tag League, which has operated since the 1970's and in the past featured such legendary names as the Giant Baba, Terry Funk, Dory Funk, Steve Williams, and Terry Gordy, concluded its 2007 installment on December 9. As the name implies, this was a league style tournament instead of a single elimination event. Coming in to the last show of the company's tour, the team of Keiji Muto & Joe Doering was on top of the league with eleven points, while the teams of Suwama & Satoshi Kojima and Kensuke Sasaki & Toshiaki Kawada were tied with ten points apiece. This meant that the Suwama/Kojima and Sasaki/Kawada units met in a semi-final match on the 12/9 show before moving on to wrestle Doering/Muto in the main event. It was Kojima and Suwama who ultimately advanced, with Kojima scoring a somewhat surprising pinfall on All Japan's reigning heavyweight champion Sasaki. However, Kojima's luck was not to continue, as he watched Suwama get pinned by a Muto moonsault in the finals. As a result of this win, Muto & Doering will receive a shot at AJPW's Tag Team Titles on January 3. Oddly enough, the belts are currently held by Kojima and another wrestler by the name of TARU.

Three American Women Head Abroad

I'll leave you to decide whether "women head abroad" is an intentional pun or merely a coincidence.

Earlier this week it was announced that two ladies familiar to American wrestling fans would be making their debuts in Japan. According to Frank Pozen (one of the three people on the face of the earth left who cares enough about women's wrestling in Japan to actually cover it), a small indy fed named MAHEKEN will be promoting a show on January 5 called "Big Van Crush," which commemorates the twentieth anniversary of Vader debuting in Japan. MAHEKEN is run by a gentleman named Tomo Hashimoto, who was one of Vader's closest friends with the man from the Colorado Rocky Mountains was one of the biggest stars in all of Japanese wrestling. Hashimoto has apparently reached out to some American talent to fill out the card, because none other than ROH and SHIMMER sensation Daizee Haze will be appearing as part of a women's tag team match. Current TNA wrestler Angel Williams (a.k.a. "Angelina Love") will also be appearing on the card, though Williams' match has yet to be announced. It's interesting to note that the previously mentioned New Japan Pro Wrestling card that features several of Williams' TNA coworkers will be taking place the day before this show. There is, however, no indication that she will be on the NJPW show.

Former ROH star and current SHIMMER wrestler Allison Danger isn't going to Japan. (She's already been.) Instead, the Canadian born grappler will soon become one of the handful of indy wrestlers from North America able to boast that they have wrestled in AFRICA. Word is that a wrestling tour of Madagascar will be taking place from January 4 and January 14. Danger will be accompanied by former ROH and WWE developmental wrestler Chad Collyer as well as Swiss wrestler Ares, a former tag team partner of Claudio Castagnoli who has made a few guest appearances in the US for CHIKARA.

Indy-Sent Headlines

Heenan Goes Under the Knife

According to several sources, legendary pro wrestling manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan will be undergoing major surgery in the near future. Most wrestling fans will no doubt remember Heenan's recent battle with throat cancer. Though he managed to beat the disease, the Brain is not out of the woods yet, as the radiation treatment that he underwent left him with a massive infection in his jaw. Parts of the man's jaw bone now must be replaced, which doctors hope to accomplish by inserting fragments of bone from Heenan's hip and thigh. Word is that the WWE Hall of Famer will have to be placed in to a coma for several days after the surgery while he heals. Obviously surgery of this nature has its dangers under any circumstances, but the recovery of any surgery is more difficult when older patients are involved. All of us here at 411mania wish the Brain the best in pulling through and using that new jaw to deliver some of the verbal jabs that made him a superstar.

Wave of Retirements Hits Indy Scene

Not one, not two, but three wrestlers have retired from independent wrestling competition in the past week. The first is Alicia, a New Jersey based performer who has competed all across the country, including with major indy groups ROH, SHIMMER, and JAPW. Alicia, who is in her early 20's, will be taking time away from the sport in order to participate in a collegiate study abroad program which could see her leaving the United States for anywhere between six and twelve months. Though she has not completely ruled out a return to the ring, it at this point appears that Alicia's final matches will take place on December 22 for "Women Superstars Unleashed," an all-ladies' promotion in New Jersey. Alicia is the reigning champion of the group, and she will defend her title that night in two separate matches. The first sees Alicia go up against rival Becky Bayless in a last woman standing match, while the second pits her against Amber O' Neal.

Retirement number two may take the individual involved out of the ring, but it will not take him out of the wrestling business. Ian Rotten wrestled his last match on December 9, losing to Mickie Knuckles, a female wrestler who he trained. Rotten is probably best known for his work in the original ECW, where he teamed with his brother Axl as the "Bad Breed" and later had a feud against him which culminated in an infamously brutal "Taipei Deathmatch." Since the late 1990's, Ian has run an indy promotion named IWA Mid-South, primarily running shows in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. IWA-MS is often credited with helping to launch the careers of men like CM Punk, Chris Hero, and Colt Cabana, as they all received exposure in that group before moving on to Ring of Honor and (in the case of Punk and Cabana) WWE. Despite his in-ring career coming to a close, Rotten will continue to operate his promotion, which is currently on a "hiatus" but scheduled to return in March 2008.

The biggest star saying goodbye to the wrestling industry is none other than Luna Vachon. Vachon, a second generation wrestler who wrestled and managed at various times for the WWF, WCW, AWA, and ECW, had been wrestling sporadically while earning the majority of her income behind the wheel of an eighteen wheeler. Vachon remains married to fellow wrestler David "Gangrel" Heath, a relationship that began when Luna managed Heath as one half of the masked "Blackhearts" tag team in territories such as Stampede Wrestling and Herb Abrams' UWF.

Following Up

Here are a couple of small updates to stories that I have discussed in previous editions of the report:

~ The Todo X Todo lucha libre show that I previewed last week took place as scheduled, and apparently it was a success as far as attendance is concerned, as 12,000 fans paid to see the card. It was also announced that the group who put together the show, headed by El Hijo del Santo, would be forming a regular promotion in 2008. The main draw of the show as a tag team tournament in which the losers advanced, with the two men who lost the whole tournament having to wrestle each other in a mask vs. mask match. The finals were El Hijo del Santo & Blue Demon Jr. again Super Muneco & Pentagon Black. Muneco was injured halfway through the match and carted out, and the officials on hand restarted the contest as a mask vs. mask vs. mask three way with Pentagon taking on Santo and Demon. Santo ultimately pinned Pentagon to win his mask. Word is that Muneco actually did hurt himself but that his being taken out of the match and it being restarted as a three-way may have been planned all along despite the legitimate injury.

Wrapping Up

Before we head out, here are links to other articles that I've written on 411 in the last week just in case you missed any of them:

~ If you want my thoughts on this past Monday night's Raw anniversary show, then you need to look no further than Larry Csonka's Your News, My Views, where I filled in for Larry in the "Raw Ramblings" section.

~ If you're not a WWE guy and want to see me talk about TNA, head over to the Impact Crater for my review of this week's episode and a lengthy discussion of what I want to see on the typical episode of Impact.

~ If you're not a WWE guy OR a TNA guy and want to see me talk about independent and foregin wrestling, check out this week's edition of Buy or Sell in which Mike Campbell and I discuss IWA Mid-South, All Japan, Dragon Gate, and ROH.

~ If you just freaking hate professional wrestling these days, I'm also in the Movie Zone, this week doing a review of the first half of the new Melrose Place Season 3 DVD set.

~ Also, for those of you who had me as a friend on MySpace, I had some technical difficulties a couple of weeks ago that required the creation of a new profile. If you're interested in getting a bulletin notification every time I post a new column here on 411 (which, as you can see above, happens rather frequently), add me as a friend.

Enjoy what remains of your weekend, and I'll see you back here in seven.