The Wrestling News Experience: 04.28.08

Posted by Stephen Randle on 04.28.2008

Randy Orton felt the Backlash, and we've got all your results. Plus, a Raw preview for tonight, Mick Foley taking Coach's job, and dancing around that word that people like me but not me tended to abuse in the past. Plus, is Hurricane a jobber? Our (not really) in-depth study investigates!

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Experience. I am Stephen Randle, and none of the TV shows that I wanted to watch made a post-strike return. I miss Heroes and Pushing Daisies. So very much. Fortunately, Hell's Kitchen has returned and with it, the knowledge that I'm definitely a much better chef than anyone they found to do that show. Seriously, how come they end up with a restaurant of their own? They can't even cook eggs!

But more importantly, things happened in wrestling. Moving on.

PPV In Review - WWE Backlash 2008

Larry, of course, has the live coverage recap.

Matt Hardy defeated MVP to win the WWE United States title (pinfall, Twist of Fate)

Well, we certainly took a long time to get here, but fortunately they had a really good dueling promo on Smackdown to really add some heat to this extended feud. So, a year later, where do both men go from here?

Kane defeated Chavo Guerrero to retain the ECW title (pinfall, chokeslam)

Probably the right result, although neither man should really be carrying a brand at this point. I realize it's only ECW, but look at the talent on the show that could be holding the belt versus the two men feuding over it. I know.

The Big Show defeated The Great Khali (pinfall, chokeslam)

Absolutely the right result, and like I said in the Roundtable, this match had to happen at some point, so at least it happened with a motivated Show.

Shawn Michaels defeated Batista (pinfall, Sweet Chin Music)

I'm confused as to the reasons for Jericho being involved in this match in the end, although I guess Batista could argue that Jericho prevented him from finishing Shawn off. I dunno, and really, I was hoping for a different result.

Beth Phoenix, Melina, Jillian Hall, Layla, Victoria, and Natalya Neidhart defeated Mickie James, Ashley, Maria, Cherry, Michelle McCool, and Kelly Kelly (Phoenix pinned Ashley, Fisherman's Buster suplex)

Cluster. Moving on.

The Undertaker defeated Edge to retain the World Heavyweight Championship (submission, gogoplata)

I don't think anyone expected anything different here, so now we have to see where the story goes. Edge doing the stretcher job suggests some sort of rematch involving a banned gogoplata, but maybe that's just me.

Triple H won the Fatal Four-Way Elimination Match to win the WWE title

1. John Cena eliminated JBL (submission, STFU)
2. Randy Orton eliminated John Cena (pinfall, kick to the noggin)
3. Triple H eliminated Randy Orton (pinfall, Pedigree)

So, we finally pick Orton to retain and he loses the belt. And people doubt that WWE pays attention to the 411 Roundtable.

Overall, I didn't feel this was a PPV worth spending money on based on the card, and I'm going to stand by my decision based on the results. This seems like a well-wrestled PPV (outside of the obvious), but nothing earth-shattering really happened. Okay, Triple H won the title, but still, not in a memorable fashion, I'd say.

What's On Tap: WWE Raw for April 28th

Last night at Backlash, Triple H became a 12-time World Champion by outlasting three other men in the Fatal Four-Way Elimination match. Tonight, in Triple H's first night as champion, who will step forward as the first challenger to the throne of the King of Kings?

Speaking of Kings, tonight on Raw will be new King of the Ring William Regal's coronation ceremony, and where you hear "ceremony", you've probably been trained by now to think of the term "interruption". This also works with "birthday cake" or "trophy", if you were interested.

Also, Beth Phoenix has been on a rampage since losing her Women's title to Mickie James. What does that mean for the champion tonight?

All this, plus the return of Mr. Kennedy, tonight on Raw!

…Kennedy!

Around The Horn

The big news this week is the nearly simultaneous release of information from WWE's marketing department that they desire more African Americans on WWE TV, and the suspension of Smackdown creative team head Michael Hayes for allegedly uttering a racial slur at Mark Henry. Frankly, when a man weighs 400 pounds and made his gimmick by leg lifting a Jeep, I wouldn't be calling him anything that he might take offense to, but that view is apparently not shared by everyone. Anyway, the directive from marketing is really the bigger news, as apparently there aren't enough black wrestlers in prominent positions in WWE. I suppose having Teddy act as a servant to Vicki and Edge isn't helping, either. I do recall related information from a few months ago surfacing, about how WWE felt they could only push one athletic black wrestler for each brand, for some reason, citing MVP on Smackdown, Bobby Lashley (at the time) on ECW, and, of course, Ron Simmons on Raw. I kid, I kid (or do I?). And with Kofi Kingston getting the push on ECW, maybe that explains why Big Daddy V really dropped off TV.

Honestly, people get paid to think of these things? Yes, Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio brought in the Latino audiences, but they were also supremely talented performers who could entertain and have great matches. Pushing somebody just because of their ethnicity doesn't guarantee that demographic will suddenly start watching again. Seriously, if Bobby Lashley was really bringing in the black viewers, why were ECW's ratings in the toilet during his title run? Wait, don't answer that.

I could make comments about Hayes and his comments here, but I already got in enough trouble the first time I talked about people who wore the Confederate flag as part of their gimmick, and it hasn't been long enough since that incident that I want to try and start a new version.

Rumours ran wild this morning that Mick Foley may be making a return to WWE TV, and at Backlash, those rumours were confirmed, as Foley took the place of Jonathan Coachman at the Smackdown announce table. When it was pointed out that removing Coachman from TV at a time when WWE is allegedly supposed to be putting more African Americans on TV might be a step back in following the directive, sources were quick to point out that as possible the whitest black man in the history of everything, Coachman is exempt from the rules.

Apparently there are plans for another three hour Raw on June 23rd, just in case there hadn't been enough of them lately. Insert rampant speculation about another roster draft here. Except, to have a roster draft, wouldn't there have to actually still be a valid brand extension at this point?

Some sad news this week, as Elevera Anoia Fatu, one of the matriarchs of the Samoan wrestling dynasty, sister of Afa and Sika and mother of Rikishi, Umaga, and the Tonga Kid, passed away after a long battle with cancer. All of us at the Experience send our condolences to her many friends and family.

In similar, but slightly brighter news, the wife of Rob Van Dam, who was diagnosed with colon cancer recently, underwent surgery last week and is said to be doing well. Best wishes to her on a speedy recovery, and I would like to join my voice to RVD's in saying that if you're of the appropriate age, make sure you get yourself checked out for things like colon cancer. If caught early, it can be treated easily.

And before I leave this segment, apparently TNA is planning to debut a new gimmick match on Impact this week. And at the Sacrifice PPV. And at the Impact following Sacrifice. Somebody tell them that putting a different object on a pole doesn't make it a new gimmick.

In Case You Missed It

WWE Raw - April 21st

Match Results

- Chris Jericho defeated MVP in a King of the Ring quarterfinal match (submission, Walls of Jericho)
- CM Punk defeated Matt Hardy in a King of the Ring quarterfinal match (pinfall, GTS)
- Finlay defeated The Great Khali in a King of the Ring quarterfinal match (DQ, ref's decision)
- William Regal defeated Hornswoggle in a King of the Ring quarterfinal match (submission, Regal Stretch)
- Carlito defeated Hardcore Holly (pinfall, Backstabber)
- CM Punk defeated Chris Jericho in a King of the Ring semifinal match (pinfall, GTS)
- William Regal defeated Finlay in a King of the Ring semifinal match (submission, Regal Stretch)
- "Barack Obama" vs "Hillary Clinton" went ten minutes too long (no contest, Umaga-ference)
- William Regal defeated CM Punk to become King of the Ring (submission, Regal Stretch)
- Edge, Chavo Guerrero, Randy Orton, and JBL defeated John Cena, Triple H, Kane, and The Undertaker (Edge pinned Kane, spear)

Notes

- The six "good" Divas and the six "evil" Divas had a faceoff, resulting in a brawl. A twelve-woman tag match was made for Backlash as a result.

- Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain all delivered taped promos to entice wrestling fans to vote. Or treat us like idiots who only understand major political issues if they're wrapped in badly delivered wrestling catchphrases, I'm still not quite sure.

- Shawn Michaels and Batista had yet another confrontation in the ring. I'd be more sarcastic, but the feud is awesome.

- It was announced that Mr. Kennedy will return on this week's Raw
ECW on Sci Fi - April 22nd

Match Results

- Kelly Kelly and Tommy Dreamer defeated Mike Knox and Layla (Kelly pinned Layla, Rocker Dropper)
- Jimmy Wang Yang defeated John Morrison (pinfall, Yang Time moonsault)
- Kofi Kingston defeated Shelton Benjamin (pinfall, Trouble In Paradise)
- Mark Henry defeated Nunzio (pinfall, World's Strongest Slam)

Notes

- Kane was a guest on The Cutting Edge, and was attacked by Edge, Hawkins, Ryder, Bam Neely and Chavo Guerrero, who injured Kane's knee.

TNA Impact! - April 24th

Match Results

- Team 3D defeated Black Reign and Rellik in a Deuces Wild qualifying match (pinfall, 3D)
- Christian Cage and Rhino defeated The Motor City Machine Guns in a Deuces Wild qualifying match (Cage pinned Sabin, Unprettier)
- Sting and Booker T defeated Robert Roode and James Storm (Sting pinned Storm, Scorpion Deathdrop)
- Samoa Joe defeated Kurt Angle to retain the TNA World Title (pinfall, piledriver following Steiner-ference)

Notes

- A "Deuces Wild" tournament was announced for Sacrifice, featuring four existing tag teams who will qualify via matches and four tag teams made up of random singles wrestlers. Whomever wins the tournament becomes TNA Tag Team Champions

- A "Makeover Battle Royal" was announced for Sacrifice, featuring all Knockouts except Awesome Kong and Raisha Saeed. The match is a battle royal, and when two Knockouts remain, a ladder match ensues, with the winner receiving a TNA Knockouts title shot, and the loser having their head shaved.

- I swear to God, I'm not making either of those up.

WWE Smackdown - April 25th

Match Results

- Shannon Moore defeated The Miz (pinfall, backslide)
- Natalya Neidhart defeated Cherry (submission, Sharpshooter)
- Edge defeated CM Punk (pinfall, Spear following Ryder-ference)
- Vladimir Kozlov defeated Marty Garner (pinfall, reverse DDT)
- The Undertaker defeated Batista to retain the World Heavyweight Championship (pinfall, Tombstone following HBK-ference)

Notes

- MVP and Matt Hardy had an in-ring confrontation, and MVP attacked and injured Matt Hardy's previously injured knee.

The Injury Bug Bites

Inactive List as of 04.21.08

WWE Raw

- Candice Michelle, out indefinitely as of March 24th (shoulder surgery)
- Jeff Hardy, out 60 days as of March 4th (Wellness suspension)
- Robbie McAllister, out indefinitely as of March 29th (sent home)
- Rory McAllister, out indefinitely as of February 12th (torn pectoral)

WWE Smackdown

- Gregory Helms, out one year as of May 17th, 2007 (neck surgery)
- Kenny Dykstra, out indefinitely as of January 18th (knee)
- Rey Mysterio, out 6-9 months (or maybe weeks) as of February 21 (torn bicep)
- Torrie Wilson, out indefinitely as of December 1st (back)

ECW

- Big Daddy V, out indefinitely (weight problem)
- The Boogeyman, out indefinitely (calf)

TNA

- Abyss, out indefinitely (kayfabe)

Transactions

- Mick Foley, promoted to new Smackdown colour commentator

Who's Holding Gold

MVP's reign ends at a staggering 336 days, nearly all of which involved feuding with Matt Hardy, but still isn't actually the longest title run of the last year, for those who have forgotten Cena's year-long run with the WWE title. Well, at least no one can accuse them of hot-shotting title changes. Plus, now Michael Cole can actually say who Matt won the United States title from.

Also, we have a new WWE Champion, ending Randy Orton's reign at a decent-sized 196 days, which is more impressive considering a lot of people picked him to lose the title several times before now.

WWE

**NEW** WWE Champion: Triple H
- 1 day reign, defeated Randy Orton in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination Match involving JBL and John Cena on April 27th (Backlash PPV)

World Heavyweight Champion: The Undertaker
- 22 day reign, defeated Edge on March 30th (WrestleMania 24)

ECW Champion: Kane
- 22 day reign, defeated Chavo Guerrero on March 30th (WrestleMania 24)

WWE Intercontinental Champion: Chris Jericho
- 42 day reign, defeated Jeff Hardy on March 10th (Raw)

**NEW** WWE United States Champion: Matt Hardy
- 1 day reign, defeated MVP on April 27th (Backlash PPV)

World Tag Team Champions: Cody Rhodes and Hardcore Holly
- 134 day title reign, defeated Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch on December 10th (Raw XV special)

WWE Tag Team Champions: John Morrison and The Miz
- 156 day reign, defeated MVP and Matt Hardy on November 16th (Smackdown)

WWE Women's Champion: Mickie James
- 14 day reign, defeated Beth Phoenix on April 14th (Raw)

TNA

TNA Heavyweight Champion: Samoa Joe
- 8 day reign, defeated Kurt Angle on April 13th (Lockdown PPV)
- Next title defense: vs Scott Steiner and Kurt Angle, Sacrifice PPV

TNA Tag Team Champions: VACANT
- Title vacated on April 17th Impact after Eric Young and Kaz defeated AJ Styles and Tomko in a triple threat match involving LAX via…sigh…interference from Super Eric

TNA X-Division Champion: Petey Williams
- 11 day reign, defeated "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal on April 17th (Impact), "Feast or Fired" briefcase stipulation

TNA Knockouts Champion: Awesome Kong
- 109 day reign, defeated Gail Kim on January 10th (Impact)

Links For Fun And Nonprofit

Once more, Larry's coverage of Backlash.

Lansdell and Prag have the weekend news reports.

From the glowing box, Larry has Chick Fight TV, Borchardt and Michael O have Smackdown, and Larry has Impact.

Bond has Please Don't Hate.

Minotti has Can They Be Champ?

Traverson has Are We Having Fun Yet.

Chin has The Importance Of.

The Triple Threat talks Cena and previews Backlash.

Short has The Navigation Log.

Sforcina has Evolution Schematic.

Ari has Column of Honor.

Hubbard has The Wrestling Bard.

And Corke has The Seventh Dimension.

The Gab Bag

Good to see that there are still people who are not in favour of the "Super Eric" push. I'm just confused why they keep giving Eric Young massive amounts of TV time for all his comedy storylines. Sure, he's a talented guy and kids love him, but he's been given a whole lot of TV time ever since the days of "searching for Sting", way out of proportion to his placement on the card.

MC42 contends that the Hurricane was more than an opening match jobber, but citing pinfall wins over the Rock mean nothing, as the Rock has also been pinned by luminaries like Al Snow and Stephanie McMahon over his career, because that's the kind of generous guy he is. Also, Hurricane's tag team title run with Kane came about when Kane singlehandedly won TLC 4 with Hurricane not even involved in the match. I'm not saying Hurricane being an opening match guy is a bad thing, it was great for his career and merchandise sales, but don't tell me he was ever more than a comedy act who lost a lot more matches than he ever won.

Wow, not only did someone catch the fairly obvious Family Guy reference last week, but whitley actually got the Bam Neely-Cam Neely-Seabass-Farrelly Brothers movies reference. Seriously, when did they decide to name all their new guys after derivations of retired athletes? Did they think nobody would notice?

And One To Go On

411 will have live coverage of Raw tonight starting at 9 pm EDT. That's our show, before we go, we check in with our good friend, Larry Csonka, for a preview of tomorrow's Your News, My Views. Larry?

Hello, Randle. Did you have a good weekend?

Actually, no, Larry, I spent most of the weekend fighting off a cold.

Oh really, that's too bad.

Yes, and it's really strange, because the weather was beautiful and I wasn't really in contact with anyone who had a cold, so I'm not sure how I got it.

Yes….it's strange how that happens, sometimes.

Well, that was ominous.

What? No, no, I was just…remarking on the strangeness of the situation.

…

You can't prove that I had anything to do with it, Randle! I've covered my tracks too well!

Wait, are you telling me that you purposely infected me with a cold virus?

So, you've figured it out, have you! Well, no matter. You have no choice but to suffer the consequences of this incurable disease that I've inflicted upon you!

What?

After all, Randle, everybody knows there is no cure for the common cold!

I see.

Yes, it's my most fiendish plan ever! How does it feel, Randle?

Well, it's really only a minor inconvenience, Larry. After I post this and have a nice evening of bed-rest, I should be ready to go again.

…

All right, Randle, you and your freakish mutant healing powers win this round. But I shall return!

Larry Csonka, ladies and gentlemen. He's in tomorrow, I'll be back next week.

Have a good one, and always be a fan.