RAMBLING ABOUT SMACKDOWN, TAPE
By: Ron Lemieux
1/14/2004 9:53:00 AM
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RAMBLINGS
Ramblin' while wondering if pro wrestling could have done a better job of scripting
Roger Clemens' "retirement".
Hey gang. It's been a while. Like about 2 months? I appreciate all the e-mails
asking where I was. Sorry but the combination of my work load, family load,
and the nature of the business made it hard for me to get motivated to do a
weekly column. So I decided starting with this column I will go monthly which
is much easier to do with my schedule. Since I will be going monthly I will
no longer take off the 4 summer months that I use to. Bottom line is I can't
stay away from spouting off my opinions on this business for very long or I
get the itch. Or could it be the "sickness" that Roddy Piper describes.
In any case, let's go to Mohegan Sun Casino where I was for last night's Smackdown
tapings.
SMACKDOWN SPOILERS
I would say it was very close to capacity. The arena is not very big. It holds
about 10,000 for a full set up so with the wrestling set I would say about 6-7,000.
I had friends who tried to get tickets a week from the show and all they had
left were nosebleeds........They showed a couple of cool WrestleMania videos
before Tony Chimmel got on the mic.
DARK MATCH:
Akio beat Paul London using the ropes for leverage. They announced London was
from Hartford so he'd get a good reaction.
VELOCITY:
Billy Kidman over Arch Kincaid with a shooting star press. Not good. I've seen
Kincaid a few times and this was by far his worst outing. ... Ultimo Dragon
beat Shannon Moore. Decent. … A fan was wearing a homemade Mr. Socko.
Pretty funny, but wrong show pal. Maybe he thought Mick would make the drive
up from the island. ... Tony Chimmel was throwing t-shirts to the crowd. He
tried to get a couple to the upper deck and when he failed the crowd starting
chanting, "You suck". He then asked for the shirts back. ... Matt
Morgan used a sit down powerbomb to beat Orlando Jordan. Match was bad and way
too long. ... Bradshaw over A-Train with the clothesline from hell.
SMACKDOWN:
During the pyro opening they showed a graphic of a tag title match with the
Bashams defending against Scotty and Rikishi. Paul Heyman starts the show in
the ring. He talks about the Royal Rumble and because of the "inferior"
brand Raw can only send 15 Smackdown superstars to the Rumble. So tonight he
would have several matches where the winner goes to the Rumble and the loser
busts. (Tying in his usage of the word bust to being at a casino.) A sign in
the crowd says, "Heyman, put your hat back on." John Cena comes to
the ring and interrupts. He cuts a rap promo on Paul with a great line of, "I'll
bounce you quicker than an ECW check." As he lifts Paul up for the FU,
Rhyno makes the save and gores Cena. You know Rhyno will just be fodder for
Cena later but this was good stuff.
Jamie Noble beat Tajiri to earn a shot at the cruiserweight title at the Rumble.
Rey Mysterio was at ringside doing commentary. Akio and Sakoda were both out
there and tried to interfere but Mysterio helped out. Noble then slammed Rey
into the ringside barrier. Tajiri did a dive outside the ring but Noble pulled
the "blind" Nidia in his way and she took the bump. Noble got back
in the ring and hit a tiger driver for the win. He then helped Nidia to the
back. I have a feeling that after Rumble, Nidia will be with Mysterio.
Heyman comes out on the ramp and says he's tired of Cena corrupting the country's
youth with his foul mouth etc. He says he's going to do to Cena what his mother
should have done a long time ago. So he announces the first ever (at least in
WWE) "Loser Gets His Mouth Washed Out With Soap Match". It will be
Cena vs. Rhyno. But if Rhyno loses Paul E. gets his mouth washed out with soap.
Josh Matthews is in the back interviewing Big Show, who has a cervical collar
around his neck from the incident last week with Bob Holly. He is also surrounded
by a group of cops and says he has a 50-foot restraining order on Holly. Brock
Lesnar comes out and says he will also be by Show's side.
Highlights of the Bashams-Guerreros match from last week are shown. Kurt Angle
goes into Eddie's locker room and tells him Chavo Jr. is not here tonight but
his father and Eddie's brother, Chavo Sr., is and that he wants to apologize
on behalf of his son. He also says that Paul Heyman has signed Chavo and Eddie
to face each other at the Rumble. Eddie goes off about not wanting to hurt his
own blood etc. Kind of long.
Rikishi and Scotty come out for their tag title match. Dawn Marie then comes
out to the ramp looking absolutely fantastic. She says that Paul Heyman says
this won't be a tag title match but a single match for a spot in the Rumble
between Rikishi and Scotty. Rikishi wins with the butt drop in the corner. So
Rikishi gets to be one of the guys thrown out.
A fan walked around the arena taking his life in his hands with a sign that
said, "Let's Go Colts".
They showed some footage from the house shows over the weekend in Michigan.
Puff piece. They could do so much more with these but they don't.
Bashams come out to defend tag belts against Haas and Benjamin. Taz stands
up at the announcers’ desk and says Heyman just told him in his headset
that this isn't a title match but a Rumble qualifying match. Haas pins Doug
Basham to advance to the Rumble.
A stagehand tells Angle that Chavo Sr. has come to the building.
Chimmel intros Chavo Sr, who comes to the ring and says he's sorry for the
actions of his son. He calls out Eddie who comes to the ring. Chavo Sr. apologizes
for Chavo Jr. Eddie asks why Chavo Jr. couldn't do it himself. Chavo Jr. comes
out. As he standing on the outside of the ring, Chavo Sr. attacks Eddie from
behind. They double-team until Angle makes the save.
Shot of Guerreros leaving the building.
The FBI comes out to the ring. Dawn Marie comes back out and says that Paul
Heyman has ordered a 3-man battle royal between them to determine a spot for
the Rumble. After a few minutes of action, Chuck Palumbo kicks Stamboli off
the apron and Nunzio then pushes Chuck over the top rope. Nunzio goes to the
Rumble.
Eddie confronts Angle in the locker room and thanks him for helping him see
the light and he wants to kick Chavo's butt at Rumble.
A kid had a sign that said, "Vince = Steroids". A WWE crony near
the ring had security take it from him and then sent for the kid and admonished
him near ringside. I would have loved to have heard that conversation. A******.
Big Show beat Funaki with a punch to the head. The cops and Brock were out
with him. Show had great facials working his hurt neck. Holly came to the ramp
and challenged Brock but Lesnar just laughed at him behind the wall of policemen.
They had a "Best Of Billy Gunn segment. Gunn said his number 2 moment
was the 1999 King Of The Ring.
Cena beat Rhyno. Before the match Heyman told the ref that any minor infraction
by Cena would result in him being disqualified. But Rhyno will work under ECW
rules. Match was good but Rhyno ended up missing a gore in the corner and crashing
into a table. Cena hit the FU for the win. Paul tried to escape up the ramp
but Chris Benoit's music played and hey dragged Paul back. He locked him in
the sharpshooter and Cena badgered Paul and made him lick and eat the soap.
Any time Paul would refuse, Cena said, "CHRIS" and Benoit would put
on more pressure. This went very long and would assume at some point the cameras
stopped rolling.
I would say this was an average show at best. Good buildup for the PPV and
I like how on Raw and Smack they've done a decent job of keeping the guys away
from each other. Good to see a fresh face in a big spot in Holly but is there
anyone out there that really believes he has a shot of beating Brock??????
THIS 'N THAT: It's been a while so some of these thoughts may be outdated.
Just call me Ron "The Brain" Heenan.......The Rock's return on Raw
was incredible. The guy has so much charisma. I could watch the guy do an hour-long
promo and never get bored. I saw his trailer for his new movie "Walking
Tall". I didn't like "The Rundown" that much. This looks great........Great
timing by WWE in their WM moment the week Pete Rose came clean. They featured
Kane tombstoning Rose. They never miss a beat do they?.......Say what you want
about Vince but the trip to Iraq was a class move. I truly think the man was
actually humbled for once in his life. Typical snide comment from the Hartford
TV reporter for the Courant that day. "If there's such a thing as a heartwarming
episode of WWE Smackdown it may come tonight when the whole steroid enhanced
crew from Stamford touches down in Iraq to perform in sports entertainment for
the troops."..........While watching the Baltimore Ravens-Tennessee Titans
playoff game, I was amazed at how much Ray Lewis intro and entrance to the field
reminded me of being at a WWE taping. If you were a Ravens’ fan, you had
to have goose bumps........I wish Bruno would put all his bitterness aside and
agree to go to WrestleMania......Speaking of Mania, I think it's going to be
a heck of an event. I won't be going near the Garden but will be hosting a party
at my house that night. The night before though, I will be in Elizabeth at the
ROH show. A great wrestling weekend........I'm encouraged about the future of
the business. Not sure why. It could be the situation here in New England. With
ROH running a few times a year and now the addition of Pro Wrestling Noah which
debuts Feb. 8th in Fall River, MA, it gives us some good alternatives to WWE......
5 YEARS AGO THIS MONTH: Long time St. Louis promoter and NWA president Sam
Muchnick died at the age of 93.......Hulk Hogan won the WCW title from Kevin
Nash at the Georgia Dome in the infamous 1 finger pin finish.......Andre the
Giant's business manager Frank Valois passed away at the age of 77.......The
settling of the NBA strike cancelled palns WCW had of running specials on NBC.......ECW
drew 2,600 to Kissimmee, FL for "Guilty As Charged". Main vent saw
Tazz win the ECW title from Shane Douglas.......Shawn Michaels had back surgery
in San Antonio. Doctors told him his career was over. We know the continuing
story there......WCW's "Souled Out" drew 10,833 to Charleston, WV
to see Goldberg spear Scott Hall in a ladder match. Also, they ran a great angle
during a Ric and David Flair vs. Curt Hennig/Barry Windham match. After the
bout the NWO charged the ring and destroyed David Flair.......Vince McMahon
won the Royal Rumble at the Pond in Anaheim. On the same show, the Rock won
the WWF title beating Mankind in an "I Quit" match. This was the famous
taped "I Quit" from Foley with the ridiculous number of chair shots
to the head........
10 YEARS AGO THIS MONTH: Jesse Ventura signed a 1 year extension as announcer
for WCW......Police Blotter: Jerry Lawler left a hearing in Louisville with
charges still pending on assault of a 13 year old girl. Calgary police were
looking for Davey Boy Smith who had a warrant out for aggravated assault stemming
from a bar fight. Two Charlotte residents pressed charges against the Nasty
Boys and Rick Rude for assault in a bar..........The Quebecers won the WWF tag
belts from the 1-2-3 Kid and Marty Jannetty in MSG after a 1 week reign.......Dusty
Rhodes resigned as booker of WCW.......Lex Luger and Bret Hart touched the floor
at the same time ending the Rumble in Providence, RI. Yokozuna retained the
WWF title in a casket match over the Undertaker.......Clash of Champions in
Baton Rouge saw the announcing debut of Bobby Heenan. Ric Flair and Sting won
an elimination tag from Vader and Rude.......
15 YEARS AGO THIS MONTH: The NWA signed Ricky Steamboat and booked him to face
Ric Flair at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago at Wrestle War in Feb........NBC's
Saturday Night's Main Event saw Hulk Hogan beat Akeem via DQin a match to further
the Hogan-Savage-Liz angle........Dusty Rhodes resigned as booker of NWA (a
pattern here) and bought 60% of the near dead Florida Championship Wrestling.
George Scott took over the book.......There was a split between the AWA and
Jarrett Promotions stemming from the money divied up from Superclash........Steamboat
made his surprise return on TBS as Eddie Gilbert's mystery partner vs. Flair
and Windham.........John Studd won the Royal Rumble in Houston, TX.......WCW
had plans on going head to head with WWF on WM Sunday with a PPV at the Omni......Key
front office official J.J. Dillon jumped to the WWF.....
TAPES FOR SALE: I'm continuing to unload my tape collection slowly but surely.
TAPE #81: This is a copy of the commercial tape of the 1987 Crockett Cup. Excellant
quality. Highlights from the early rounds of the tag tourney. The middle of
the tape is a tribute to Magnum TA who many say if it wasn't for the car accident
would have been heir to Flair as champion. The famous Magnum-Tully Blanchard
cage "I Quit" match is here as well as matches against Wahoo McDaniels
and Kamala. Also on the tape are the quarter final and semi finals of the tourney,
a grudge match between esteemed author Ole Anderson and Big Bubba Rogers (Boss
Man), a world titlematch with Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham, and the emotional
finals with NikitaKoloff and Dusty Rhodes vs. LexLuger and Tully Blanchard.
PRICE is $15.00 which includes shipping.
TAPE #471 Super Brawl 1996
Public Enemy vs. Nasty Boys......Dallas Page vs. Jonny B. Badd......Harlem
Heat vs. Luger and Sting......One Man Gang vs. Konnan......Kevin Sullivan vs.
Brian Pillman (famous "Bookerman" match), Road Warriors vs. Sting
and Luger.....Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage......Giant (Show) vs. Hogan.. PRICE-
$10 which includes shipping.
That will do it for this month. Great to be back. I'm heading for Syracuse
on business in a few hours. Never been there but I heard I'm in for some wild
weather. Take care everyone. Ron
Any feedback or tape requests can be sent to me at Soxmark@webtv.net.
For those interested in tapes I'll be back in town Sat. and I'll answer your
requests then.
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