twiztor

and the Devil Rays are officially >.500! been quite a while this season!

oddly enough, the announcers never figured this out and argued about it a bunch

Raw 6/25/01 @ New York City, NY (Madison Square Garden) Hardcore Title: Test (c) vs Rhyno pretty middling match. they wander around backstage and hit each other with things. Rhyno GORES! Test into a wall to regain the Hardcore TItle. Somebody runs up from behind. Mike Awesome powerbombs Rhyno into a ladder to win the title. A WCW wrestler just won a WWF Belt! Light HeavyWeight TItle: Jeff Hardy (c) vs X-Pac very anti-X-Pac crowd. match is shorter than last night but worlds better, incredibly crisp and fast paced. X-Pac rolls out of a Swanton Bomb and backslides Jeff Hardy. X-Pac puts his feet on the ropes and steals a victory and the title. Tag Team Titles: Kane & Undertaker vs Dudley Boyz (c) we get about 5 minutes. solid, but i'm getting tired of the the unstoppable badass undertaker biker bit. taker & kane dominate most of the match. Albert runs in and BaldoBombs Kane and the Dudleyz retain. Taker chokeslams Bubba in retaliation. As Taker & Sara celebrate on the entrance ramp, DDP hits him twice with a chair. Then he pulls out some of Sara's hair and runs away. European Title: Matt Hardy (c) w/Lita vs Big Show w/Trish Big Show dominates, Lita rips Trish's top off. Show goes to chokeslam Hardy, but Lita with a Low Kick for the DQ. bleh. Shane McMahon is @ WWF NY. so is Booker T. backstage, a crowd of wrestlers has formed in APA's office. Faarooq says WCW never gave any of them a chance. (huh? Maybe he forgot when he beat Vader to win the World Title?) Bradshaw says they'll take the fight to the WCW guys. As Vince is in the ring telling us how smart he is, Austin & Angle invade WWF NY looking for Shane & Book. They've already left. In fact, Shane comes out to the MSG ring. Booker T (from behind) axe kicks Vince. The WWF troops run to ringside, but Shane and Booker escape...... SmackDown! 6/28/01 @ New York City, NY (Madison Square Garden) Vince & Linda in the ring. The next PPV will be WCW vs WWF. It will be called Invasion. InterContinental Title: Kane (c) vs Albert Albert dominates early. Goes to powerbomb Kane, but Kane reverses it with a hurracanrana (!) Chokeslams Albert, DDP runs in and Diamondcuts Kane. Albert is the new champ! Tag Team Titles / Tables / Elimination Match: Hardy Boys vs Dudley Boyz (c) D-Von gets Swanton'd through a table and eliminated. Jeff gets backdropped over the top rope to the floor through a table. WCW Tag Champs Chuck Palumbo & Sean O'Haire run in and attack both men. About 20 WWF wrestlers run down and obliterate the two men. Just a complete beatdown. Torrie Wilson debuts in a backstage segment where Austin and Angle are competing for Vince's affection. Austin in the ring, blah blah blah, Booker T runs in, attacks him, and escapes while the WWF troops storm the ring. Jakked 6/30/01 Raven vs Low-Ki. Raven wins with the Evenflow DDT but a cool artifact nonetheless.

how long is Rose out for? an interim strawweight title seems unnecessary

HeAT: European Title: Matt Hardy (c) w/Lita vs Justin Credible decent enough match. crowd is pretty ambivalent. Credible has Hardy in trouble until Lita performs a hurracanrana. Hardy follows up with a Twist of Fate to retain. i mostly wonder what happened to the Women's Champion, Chyna, while this match happens. She was last seen at the previous PPV, Judgment Day, retaining her title against Lita. King of the Ring 6/24/01 @ East Rutherford, NJ DDP's music hits to open the show. He tells Undertaker that he's here. He'll be the one in the front row with the "Make Me Famous" sign King of the Ring SemiFinal: Kurt Angle vs Christian very good match. Angle keeps control most of the time, but Christian holds up his end and looks great here. Shane McMahon comes to ringside. Christian fights out of the Ankle Lock and counters the Olympic Slam with the Unprettier. Shane breaks up the pinfall attempt, allowing Angle to hit the Olympic Slam to advance after about 8 minutes of great action. King of the Ring SemiFinal: Edge vs Rhyno another very good match. Hard hitting offense, with Rhyno working over Edge's midsection. We get a mid-ring collision as both men attempt their signature spears. Ultimately, Edge sidesteps a GORE! attempt and Rhyno runs headfirst into an exposed turnbuckle. This opens him up for Edge to Impale him with a DDT. A solid 9 minutes to send Edge to the finals where Angle awaits. Tag Team Titles: Dudley Boyz (c) vs Spike Dudley & Mystery Partner Kane match told a good story, with Spike bumping big for his brothers, but the Dudleyz bump big for Kane. Bubba is excellent as a base for Spike. Lots of Spike hope spots, which the crowd loved. At 8 1/2 minutes, Spike eats a 3D and the Dudleyz retain. In return, Kane powerbombs D-Von and drives Bubba through a table. King of the Ring Finals: Kurt Angle vs Edge feels a bit too early for this. should've had another match in between. they shake hands. Kurt asks Edge to lay down for him. Edge responds with a right hand. Angle belly-to-belly suplexes Edge from inside the ring all the way to the floor. ouch. Angle then dominates, breaking down Edge with a variety of headlocks and submission holds. Edge with a top rope hurracanrana, and then the match really picks up. They trade moves, counters, and roll throughs, all for 2s. A ref bump later, Edge is tapping to the Ankle Lock. Shane-O-Mac enters again, spearing Angle so Edge can DDT him and become the new King of the Ring. a solid 10 minute match that is told in two halves. Both are good, but the latter is much more exciting. Light HeavyWeight Title: Jeff Hardy (c) vs X-Pac they announce the next PPV as Fully Loaded on 7/22. hmmm. X-Pac dominates almost all of this match. X-Pac gets a three count after an X-Factor (the move, not the group) but Jeff's foot was on the ropes, so the match continues. Jeff wins after a Swanton Bomb. this match was OK but didn't really do much for me. DDP vs Undertaker DDP is at ringside. they've aired a few videos of someone stalking him earlier today. DDP gets all upset (huh?) and jumps in the ring. DDP's stalker is Sara, and the Undertaker comes out. this is a total one sided beatdown that lasts about five minutes but feels like triple that. DDP gets virtually no offense, but Taker is relentless with punches and some kicks. This is not a beatdown that garners sympathy for DDP. It really doesn't look impressive, as there are literally no high impact moves (powerbomb, chokeslam, tombstone, etc.). It is just complete ass. How one sided was it? Well, i watched it a second time to get a complete strike count. DDP: six punches, one low blow, two chair shots. Undertaker: 93 punches/kicks. Now, this does include his "rapid-fire" punches in the corner, but come on. 93-6? Street Fight: Shane McMahon vs Kurt Angle Angle uses him amateur skills to decimate Shane in the early going. Some of those shots look pretty stiff. Shane pulls out the Plundah to even the odds (or at least hold his own) worked well. Some of these shots are definitely stiff. Angle suffers a couple small cuts. And then they brawl at ringside. This is when it really gets crazy. Shane suplexes Angle on the entrance ramp, breaking Angle's tailbone. Angle tries to overhead belly-to-belly suplex Shane through some KotR branded glass panes. The first one lands Shane on the top of his head, concussing him. The second sends him through the glass. Two more suplexes and a throw send Shane back to our side of the next glass pane. Back in the ring, Angle delivers a top-rope Olympic Slam for the win. I unapologetically love this match. I'm not sure what it's reputation is now, but it is absolutely crazy. It's by far the most insane Street Fight in WWF history. so much carnage. WWF Title: Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho vs Steve Austin (c) starts out with Benoit and Jericho double teaming Austin. Jericho inadvertently hits Benoit with a spinning heel kick and it's all men for themselves. Jericho gets back suplexed over the top rope to the floor. JR says that he hit his head on the apron on the way down, but i didn't see that. At any rate, it leads to an extended Benoit-Austin segment, so no complaints here. Benoit Stunners Austin, but Jericho breaks it up, sending Benoit outside. Now we get a Jericho-Austin faceoff for a while. Benoti brains Jericho with a chair, but we only get a 2 count. Austin taps out to the Crossface/Liontamer combo. The match continues. While Benoit and Jericho face off in the ring, Austin escapes outside. Booker T enters through the crowd, gives Austin the Axe Kick, and throws him through an announce table before escaping the same way he arrived. Benoit gives Jericho a top rope back suplex but immediately clutches his neck. Austin rolls over and pins Benoit to retain. a solid show with some very, very good stuff. The main ending the way it did was odd, but i imagine that Benoit realized he was injured and couldn't continue. Pretty sure we don't see him until his big comeback next summer. It also is probably the most blatant in the style of a triple threat match, but there's always one person outside the ring. Can't say that i enjoy that aspect so much. The Austin-McMahon paranoia continues into this show, should be switching gears any week now. The DDP-Undertaker segment was atrocious. They really need to amp it up tomorrow on Raw, as they lost any momentum they had from the stalker vids. The street fight is absolutely bat shit crazy. if you haven't seen it, check YouTube or the WWE Network. it must be seen to be believed.

HeAT 6/17/01 hey, did you know Tough Enough starts this Thursday? they air 2-3 highlight packages for it and mention it practically every segment. Raw 6/18/01 @ Tampa, FL King of the Ring QuarterFinal: Kurt Angle vs Jeff Hardy Angle's high impact suplexes vs Hardy's high risk antics. Hardy connects on the Swanton but Kurt gets to the ropes. He tries it again but Kurt yanks him off the top turnbuckle and immediately locks in the Ankle Lock. King of the Ring QuarterFinal: Rhyno vs Tajiri very fun match. Tajiri (or "ty-jiri" as Austin keeps calling him) uncorks more offense and the crowd eats it up. Rhyno catches Tajiri with a blindside GORE! to advance. Undertaker's music hits and the crowd loses it. The Stalker (not Barry Windham) comes out, riding Taker's bike to the ring. Stalker stands in the ring, one arm up like the 'Taker. He slowly pulls off his mask. It's DDP! Diamond Dallas Page is the Stalker! Crowd goes bonkers. Mix of cheers and jeers. "Like the Diamond Cutter, you never saw it coming!" DDP did it to make an impact. "Make Me Famous!" King of the Ring QuarterFinal: Edge vs Saturn quick match and kinda pointless. Christian eats a superkick so that Edge can plant Saturn with the DDT for the win. King of the Ring QuarterFinal: Big Show vs Christian total squash. Add some Kurt Angle distractions and a dash of Con-Chair-To, and you get a quick Christin upset. It's an all Team RECK final four! SmackDown! 6/21/01 @ Orlando, FL Austin gives McMahon a bunch of gifts Shane McMahon hits Angle with a kendo stick Austin bullies and beats up Michael Cole. this is actually pretty intense and comes off as very real. #Triggered ? Test successfully defends his Hardcore Title vs Saturn. Saturn shows remorse for a broken mop Taker calls out DDP. Page takes us on a tour of Taker's house Tag Team Titles: Dudley Boyz vs Benoit & Jericho (c) pretty good match, par for the course. Austin nails Benoit with a title belt, leading to Bubba pinning Benoit to win the titles. SmackDown was pretty mediocre, definitely felt like a stopgap until King of the Ring this Sunday. see ya then!

@OSJ, i badly need to see your Wonderman figure. those other ones all look fantastic!

i want to disagree with Ultimo Dragon, as he hovers near my personal top-10, but i agree. he's great but not HoF great when you look at non-subjective matters like drawing and impact. as for Sakuraba, i agree that it's a stretch, but as a big MMA fan, let me tell you why his accomplishments could arguably translate while others' may not. Sakuraba entered the UFC Japan tournament with the fighting style "pro wrestling", which would be laughed at here in the states, but since he was from the worked shoot organization UWF-i, it was accepted in Japan. He won the tournament and cut a post fight promo which basically said "this proves pro wrestling is strong!" and added legitimacy to what he had been doing. This (along with Takada/Gracie in Pride) helped open the doors for other Japanese pro wrestlers to try their hand at MMA (mostly to their own detriment). He held true to his pro wrestling background and returned to the ring in 2012 after his mma career was over. All that said, i'm not arguing for/against his inclusion, just adding some context. Kurt Angle was a top level WWF performer from the day he made his TV debut. he picked up on the in-ring stuff from the beginning, has amateur credentials to the utmost, and was a natural at promos. To put him in the Hall in 2004 is odd, since he was still a top performer, but i have no doubt that he 100% deserves to be in. I remember in 2000 when he won the WWF World Title, i felt it was too early and that he wasn't as good as his reputation. In my Monday Night Wars rewatch, i completely disagree with my earlier assessment. He's committed to whatever role he has to play (whether that be goofy dork, serious ass kicker, or chickenshit heel) and the audience always has a strong opinion of him. He was absolutely considered the best in the world at one point, he was a huge signing for TNA (so much so that people speculated that TNA would really become crazy popular.........that never happened). As for accomplishments, KotR winner, 6x World Champ in WWF (all versions), 6x TNA World champ, WWF Grand Slam Champion, WM 19 Main Event. I just don't see the argument against Angle (unless we're specifically saying in 2004).

RIP Vader. his biggest moments were always opposite of what i was watching but his presence was undeniable. the more i watch of Vader, the more i love it.

Raw 6/11/01 @ Richmond, VA dark match: Chilly Willy vs Pat "Q-Sic" Cusick. i didn't know this ever happened. Chilly Willy gets a big crowd reaction and the pin after a bad looking Falcon Arrow. King of the Ring Qualifier: Kane vs Christian. total squash match by Kane until Albert runs in and hits the Baldo Bomb, allowing Christian to advance King of the Ring Qualifier: Perry Saturn (w/Terri) vs Steve Blackman (w/Trish). Saturn gets the surprising upset win. Steel Cage Match: Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle Six Man Tag: Dudleyz vs Hollys. match is pretty mediocre, but it does deliver the first kiss between Spike Dudley and Molly Holly that they've been teasing all night. Since it happens in-ring, it gets a big pop from the crowd. very good match. Austin on commentary is a lot of fun. match features Kurt Angle missing a moonsault from the top of the cage as well as Benoit connecting with a headbutt from all the way up. Angle wins after a bit of Austin interference. Post match, Austin beats down Benoit with a steel chair. SmackDown! 6/14/01 @ Baltimore, MD Tag Team Titles: Edge & Christian vs Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho (c) excellent match that gets about 15 uninterrupted minutes. lots of tried-and-true heel tag staples (blind tag, isolating one opponent, etc.) Big pop when Jericho gets the hot tag. Jericho pins Edge after the lionsault. Post-match, Edge and Christian argue to the back. King of the Ring Qualifier: Big Show vs Raven. Show makes up for a week of jobbing by chokeslamming his way into the tournament. Hardcore Title: Test vs Rhyno (c) decent enough match. test has a prone Rhyno after elbow dropping him through a table. WCW logo on the tron. crowd pops. Shane comes out with Stacy Keibler, who distracts Rhyno for Test to Big Kick him and win the Hardcore 24/7 title. King of the Ring Qualifier: Crash Holly vs Tajiri this is Tajiri's in-ring WWF debut, and a damn fine one at that. Crowd eats up all of the big kicks and the Tarantula. Regal's facial expressions continue to impress. a smattering of ECW chants. Tajiri advances after the Buzzsaw Kick. the main event is Spike Dudley vs Steve Austin, and while a one sided ass whooping, it was a lot of fun and the crowd was completely into it. Jakked/Metal 6/16/01 in a tag match that is WCW levels of WTF, Haku & Ivory (still in RTC gear) face K-Kwik & Jacquelyn. Jackie powerbombs Ivory for the pin. also, a boss Jerry Lynn vs Taka Michinoku match happens that's worth checking out.

was never a fan of the Burnside costume/concept, so i am happy to see that go. the new costume isn't perfect (too much uncovered cranium) but i like the callback to Batgirl Year One. this will probably get me to pick up the series again.

i call it the Punk-otine.

when does the "Modern era" start?

HeAT 6/3: Test pinned the Big Show, clean. either they're REALLY pushing Test, or they're creatively bankrupt on what to do with Big Show. no way should this have happened on Heat. Raw 6/4/01 @ Minneapolis, MN InterContinental Title: Kane (c) vs Christian w/Edge: Edge tries to interfere and gets a chokeslam for his effort. WCW's Hugh Morrus runs in, hits the No Laughing Matter Moonsault, and gets outta Dodge. Kane chokeslams Christian to retain. Mick Foley announces Austin vs Jericho for tonight. Vince balks, but Foley brings out Gov. Jesse Ventura to sponsor it. neat segment. King of the Ring Qualifier: Matt Hardy vs Jeff Hardy. 4 minutes of nonstop action. Matt goes for the Twist of Fate but Jeff reverses it into a backslide Chris Benoit makes the Big Show tap out. how long will the depush continue? King of the Ring Qualifier: Rhyno vs Tazz. 3 1/2 minutes. Rhyno wins with the GORE! decent match, but Heyman's commentary made it seem like a bigger deal than it otherwise would've. WWF World Title: Steve Austin (c) vs Chris Jericho good match. Austin is really firing on all cylinders lately. He even takes a top rope hurracanrana! typical overbooked finish: ref bump, Foley (the outside enforcer) in, Regal interferes, Foley accidentally hits Jericho with a chair, Stone Cold Stunner for the win. SmackDown! 6/7/01 @ Grand Forks, ND King of the Ring Qualifier: Kurt Angle vs Hardcore Holly. solid match and given some time, a bit over 6 minutes. Angle advances after the Olympic Slam. Light Heavyweight Title: Jerry Lynn (c) vs Jeff Hardy. good fast paced match. Jeff Hardy wins. questionable booking. JL has only been with the company a month and a half. he barely gets mentioned as is, taking his one accomplishment away will likely leave him without anything happening. King of the Ring Qualifier: Edge (w/Christian) vs Test. they're teasing dissention between E&C, with both men looking for singles success. solid match, Test has it fully in hand before Christian interferes, eating a Big Kick but allowing Edge to land the Implant DDT to move on in the tournament. Tag Team Titles: Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho (c) vs Steve Austin & Vince McMahon but first, Jericho & Benoit have to beat the Acolytes in a non-title match. which they do, with a Lionsault to Faarooq. and then, they must face Big Show & Rhyno. again they do, but DQ when Rhyno smashes Jericho with a weapon. this match was OK. Austin delivered a top rope superplex. Jericho eats a Stunner, but Benoit rolls Austin up (holding the tights) to retain.

the only offensive thing Colby said IMO is that Chicago-style deep dish pizza sucks. the whole "local sports team sucks" thing is cheap heat 101 and he found that the pro-Trump supporting thing seems to be working, so whatever.

as far as Claudia-Carla, i guess it was more obvious on tv. live it definitely seemed like Carla had rds 1 and 3, but oh well.

that Punk fight was an absolute embarrassment. his striking was worse than rudimentary, his takedowns were horrendous, and whatever jiu jitsu he learned didn't show. and Mike Jackson, while clearly superior, showed exactly nothing. chalk that up as a loss on every level.

wow, definitely seems like a robbery for Esparza. couldn't hear a word Claudia said over all the boos

dear Lamas: position before submission.

i gave it to Benavidez from the stands. Pettis seemed to land the bigger shots but Benavidez landed more and controlled better. tough call either way. that knee to Rashad tho. damn!

Ricky Steamboat had a dvd. don't remember the name. good calls all around though. i didn't even think of the bulldogs or harley race! a Meng set would be boss.

so, seeing Dibiase, Slaughter, and Rude on that list got me thinking. best 80s WWF wrestler that hasn't had a career dvd? edit: Greg Valentine is the dvd set that i'd be most interested in. it would have to include NWA of course. Jimmy Snuka is the name i'm most surprised hasn't had one yet. ditto Cowboy Bob Orton.

this card is STACKED! it's also the first event i'll be watching live. i am unbelievably pumped for being at the United Center this Saturday

worst theater experience: a double date where we saw the movie "Say it isn't so". i found it terribly unfunny, but the group found it hilarious. obnoxious people in the theater. no follow up date. worst movie/great experience: the local pop radio station was hyping the scariest, goriest horror movie 'Pool Party Massacre'. went with a buddy to see how dumb it would be. it was worse. boom mikes on screen, terrible English dubbing, awkward camera cuts, horrible acting. it was great. released on dvd as 'the pool' if you're interested, but they've cleaned up the worst bits.

been a Moraes fan since his WSOF run. a title shot must be forthcoming after that ko. Gillespie looked damn good. looking forward to see what's next.