January 2021 – Page 8

Brighton boss Graham Potter thinks Yves Bissouma has the right attributes to excel in the Champions League.

The midfielder has been linked with some of Europe’s top clubs, most notably Liverpool and Man Utd.

The Seagulls are understandably desperate to keep one of their star players. That won’t stop a potentially massive bid from football’s elite, however.

READ: Ex-Arsenal player cites lack of ‘fair opportunity’ for Ozil

Bissouma scored a fantastic goal as Brighton edged past League One Blackpool in the FA Cup.

He struck from 30 yards out to beat keeper Chris Maxwell and open the scoring.

Gary Madine equalised for Blackpool just before half time, giving the Seasiders hope they could continue their cup run.

Stephen Alzate secured the victory for Brighton in the second half through fortuitous circumstances.

Alexis Mac Allister’s shot deflected off Alzate’s back and into the net.

Speaking about Bissouma after the win, Potter told reporters: “He’s got that quality (to play in the Champions League), he’s got those attributes that you need at that level.

“It’s about him being consistent enough to do that. I think he’s made steps with that but there’s still more to do and more to come.

“It’s just nice that our players have taken a step forward, it’s nice for Yves that he’s taken a step forward. You never know anything in football these days.

“But from his perspective, I think he’s happy here, he wants to help the team, so we are quite relaxed about everything.”

Speaking about the midfielder’s goal, Potter continued: “We were getting a bit frustrated with him because he had a couple of shots before that which were scuffed along the floor.

“When he shot, I was nearly close to getting frustrated again and then you see it fly in the top corner and it’s hard to argue with that.

“He keeps telling me he’s got that quality and that ability to strike from distance. We’re happy for him, happy that he’s contributed to the game and is getting us through to the next round.”

WWE Vintage Collection Report: 9th August 2009
By Shaun Best-Rajah.com Reporter
Hosted by: Mean Gene Okerlund

Welcome to the Lex Express! That is this week’s theme as the 1991, 1992 and 1993 SummerSlams come under scrutiny. 1991 took place August 26th from Madison Square Garden. 1992 was held August 29th from the old Wembley Stadium in London, England. Finally, 1993 was held at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit Michigan on August 30th.

The show opens aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid on July 4th 1993 for the ‘Stars and Stripes Body Slam Challenge.’ Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan are announcing. Yoko had challenged any athlete to try and slam him on Independence Day and was intent on humiliating the USA, even calling breaks to feast on bowls of rice. Since Hulk Hogan’s untimely exit threw a wrench into the year’s plans, a hasty backup plan was put into place to turn bland mid-card heel ‘Narcissist’ Lex Luger into the next babyface star. This was the start of Luger’s megapush, as he was later packed on a bus, sent across the country and literally shoved down fans throats. Before Luger makes his grand entrance, many WWF and sporting stars try and fail to slam the near 600lb sumo star. These include the Steiners, Tatanka, Crush, Bob Backlund and Randy Savage. Luger enters by helicopter, calls Yoko a disgrace, plants him with a steel plate-packed forearm shot and slams him to a big crowd pop. After disposing of Fuji, Luger is held aloft by the superstars as Vince puts him over huge.

Okerlund is in the studio with the SummerSlam board and cutouts of Yoko and Luger behind him. That’s today’s main event. We begin with…………..

SummerSlam 1992
El Matador vs Papa Shango
Okerlund reveals this was a rare, extra match not seen on the original telecast, then calls it a gem. Huh? Joined in progress, with Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan. Shango runs Matador into the corner to escape a sleeper. Shango then puts the crowd to sleep, as the match slows down to a snails pace. Shango delivers a slam, drops an elbow, then walks around the ring muttering. The voodoo man (and future Godfather) was probably cursing the gimmick he was saddled with. Shango delivers a side slam, misses a dive from the second rope, allowing Matador to beat away in the corner with a ten punch assault. Matador continues with a backbodydrop and his patented flying forearm, but Shango kicks out. Shango sends a fired up Matador into the corner then pins him following a shoulderbreaker. This was a boring squash. Shango had just come off of a failed feud with the Ultimate Warrior. It would take six years, and a couple of failed incarnations as Kama for Charles Wright to find the right gimmick as the fun-loving, ho-sporting Godfather. Winner: PAPA SHANGO.

We switch gears to 1993. Shawn Michaels had just hired Diesel (Kevin Nash) as his bodyguard to win back the Intercontinental Title from Marty Jannetty. Here, Okerlund was mediating a face-to-face interview segment via satellite between Michaels, Diesel and Perfect to set up a bout for SummerSlam. Michaels says you can’t have a SummerSlam without the Heartbreak Kid and Intercontinental Champion. If you want to fill the arena, the Kid has to be on the card. Perfect says if Michaels runs into him beforehand he’ll lose the title and not figure in SummerSlam at all. Michaels puts Perfect over but says he wouldn’t come between him and his title. Perfect notes it’s a nice compliment of Michaels putting himself at Perfect’s level. Perfect questions the need for Diesel as insurance. Michaels says it’s to stop chicks coming over the rail and tearing his clothes off. Perfect mocks Michaels’s earrings, but Michaels says he’s 100% man and can’t help it if Diesel happens to be 6″10 and 330 (lbs). Perfect mocks Diesel for his name, with Diesel responding in a fake Italian/New York accent saying that he wants to smack the taste out of Perfect’s mouth. Michaels warns Perfect from making Diesel mad as, while he’s there to keep the girls off him, if Perfect gets in the way then Diesel will run him over. Perfect makes light of being scared and says he and Michaels are going to meet. Michaels finishes by saying it’s every wrestling fan’s dream match. This was a good segment.

SummerSlam 1993 – Intercontinental Title
Shawn Michaels w/Diesel vs Mr Perfect
This match was to determine the greatest Intercontinental champion of all time. Somewhere in Memphis, Honky Tonk Man was up in arms. Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan are once more the announcers. Perfect gets the better from an early collision and hammerlock exchange. Diesel looks on menacingly from the floor. Perfect counters out of Michaels’s early offense leading to HBK pitching a fit. Perfect telegraphs a float over but Michaels surprises Perfect by quickly drilling him with a backelbow. Michaels moonsaults over a charge, but does a 360 in mid-air after eating a clothesline. Perfect works over the arm, and catches Michaels coming off the top rope, turning it into an armdrag. Perfect counters a dropkick by slingshotting Michaels to the floor. Diesel distracts Perfect enabling Michaels to superkick Perfect. Following commercials, Michaels has Perfect in a backbreaker across the knee. Perfect comes back with a dropkick, backbodydrop, running kneelift and inverted atomic drop. Perfect blocks a hiptoss, then turns a backslide attempt into the Perfect Plex. Diesel swipes Perfect’s leg at two, pulling him out of the ring. Perfect knocks Diesel’s shades off, as Heenan scolds him fot hitting a man with glasses. Michaels is caught coming off the apron with a gut punch. As Perfect rolls Michaels back in, Diesel sends Perfect into the ringpost and the referee counts him out. Michaels retains the title. After the match, Perfect goes after both, but the numbers game catches up to him and Diesel lays him out with a closed fist to the face. The seeds for a Diesel/Perfect feud were planted, but Perfect spent the next few years in and out of the company so the feud didn’t materialize. This was a good match. Winner by Countout: SHAWN MICHAELS.

SummerSlam 1991
“The Dragon” Ricky Steamboat, Texas Tornado & British Bulldog
vs Power & Glory & The Warlord w/Slick
I remember this match fondly as it was the first match on the first PPV I ever saw as a youngster. Okerlund glosses over the Match Made in Hell and Match Made in Heaven before joining this match in progress. The announcing trio for this match is Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan and Rowdy Roddy Piper. Roma takes a face first bump into the corner after Dragon avoids a charge. Dragon uses armdrags and a standing dropkick to keep Power and Glory at bay. Tornado winds up Herc’s arm and punches away. Tornado dazes Hercules with ten head rams in the corner followed by a mounted ten punch assault. Bulldog and Warlord then go at it. Shoulder tackles don’t faze Warlord, so Bulldog hits him with two clotheslines and a delayed vertical suplex. The tide turns when Dragon tries to monkey flip Warlord out of the corner, but he stays firm, and the Dragon takes a tumble. Roma works him over then jawjacks with Tornado and Bulldog. Dragon scores a rollup, ducks a Herc clothesline, but Roma pushes him off into a Warlord clothesline. Roma spikes Dragon as Warlord holds, before Herc halts a brief flurry to drop Dragon throat first across the top rope. Warlord slams, spends too long posing on the second rope and dives into Dragon’s feet. The crowd go wild for Tornado’s hot tag as he cleans house on all three heels. Tornado and Warlord almost botch a sunset flip, as Tornado tags out, just as Warlord flips him over. Warlord quickly recovers to catch an airborne Bulldog in a bearhug. Tornado clocks Warlord with a Tornado punch and Bulldog falls on top for a nearfall. Roma tags in and rushes into a Bulldog running powerslam. Tornado ties Hercules up in the corner with a claw hold. Roma kicks out of the powerslam, as Warlord is late to break it up. Dragon tags back in, surprising Roma with a top rope bodypress for the 1-2-3. Generic music is played at the end for the Dragon, who bolted back to WCW not long after this. He wasn’t too fond of playing an actual Dragon. This was a fun match with a very hot crowd. Winners: THE DRAGON, TEXAS TORNADO & BRITISH BULLDOG.

Footage airs of the Lex Express travelling across the USA to the sound of a cheesy tune called ‘Hero.’ It was filled with footage of Luger posing, sleeping on the bus, and meeting fans, designed as a feel-good piece, but it came across as forced. Luger was not a natural babyface. This reminded me of the Bobby Lashley megapush in 2007 at the expense of Rob Van Dam, and the failed Randy Orton babyface experiment in late 2004. Fortunately, the latter was fixed and Batista was plugged in instead.

SummerSlam 1993 – WWF Title
Yokozuna w/Mr Fuji & Jim Cornette vs Lex Luger
The Lex Express’s final stop. Cornette had put in the contract that this was Luger’s one and only title shot. Luger thwarts a Fuji sneak attack to send Yoko to the corner and hammer away. From the start it’s clear to see the two whispering spots to each other or awkwardly pausing for split seconds. This is blatantly evident when Luger counters a slam to try a rollup, only for Yoko to elbow him away. Luger avoids a legdrop and kicks away at the leg until Yoko falls. Luger drops a big elbow for a nearfall. Luger gets caught in a slam, but recovers to use generic punch/kick offense in the corner. Yoko wraps his hands around Luger’s throat. Luger catches Fuji trying to throw salt in the eyes and punches it into mid-air. Luger fails with slam attempt. A clearly blown up Yoko superkicks Luger and keeps him on the outside while he gets his breath back. If Yoko was getting blown up so quickly, why was he the champion and why was he put into long matches. The mind boggles. Following commercials, Yoko has a nerve hold applied. Luger gets free, tries to slam again, with Yoko falling on top for two. Yoko drops a leg, then misses the Banzai drop. Both go at it in the corner. Yoko misses a charge and Luger finally manages the slam, to a big pop. Heenan protests calling it a hipblock, but to to avail. Luger knocks Fuji off the apron, removes his arm pad and forearms Yoko, who falls out of the ring and is out cold. Luger sends Cornette off the apron and Yoko is counted out. This wasn’t good and was quite underwhelming. What happens next is the equivalent of a presidential rally. American flags are waved. Red, blue and white balloons fall and Luger is hoisted onto the shoulders of Tatanka and the Steiners who have come out to celebrate with Randy Savage. In-between asking for someone to come and help Yoko, Heenan accurately states that Luger hasn’t won the belt. Vince says he’s beat Yoko, but this was the height of Luger’s popularity in the WWF. Fans weren’t interested in his long chase for the title. They were more interested in Bret Hart and plans were altered accordingly in early 1994. Even Okerlund in wrapping up the show states this was Luger’s most memorable WWF moment, despite the hollow victory. Winner by Countout: LEX LUGER.

More SummerSlam moments are promised next week. Three years of shows is too much to recap in one show. They should slow down and perhaps just feature two shows. Best match for me this week was the six man tag. Worst was the Main Event. See you next week. Shaun.

Comments/praise/feedback/criticism/discussion points please direct to [email protected].

— The August 10th edition of WWE Raw drew a 3.8 cable rating, up from last week’s 3.55. The hourly numbers were 3.6 and 4.0.

— Earlier this year, Midway Games, the developer of TNA Wrestling’s video game franchise, went bankrupt. Most of Midway’s assets were acquired by Warner Brothers for $33 million, but the San Diego studio responsible for the TNA iMPACT! game was left behind. SignOnSanDeigo.com reports that game developer THQ has purchased Midway San Diego for a cheap $200,000 and will use the studio’s motion capture technology to enhance its WWE and UFC games. “As the leading publisher of fighting video games, we saw this as a good opportunity to strengthen our team dedicated to this important and growing business,” said Julie MacMeden, vice president of corporate communications at THQ. “We also liked the team’s successful history of developing arcade-style wrestling games.”

– Triple H appeared on NBC’s Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday night. They showed an old clip of Jimmy talking about how if they ever had Triple H on the show they would have him rise up from the floor with smoke machines going off. The live band played Triple H’s music and out he came. Fellow guest Ashton Kutcher says his dog barks at the TV every time Triple H is on but not any of the other wrestlers. They hyped SummerSlam, which Fallon says is the Summer version of WrestleMania. Triple H jokes that he and Shawn Michaels might make Legacy admit defeat on Twitter when they lose. He says he doesn’t know how to “Tweet or Tw*t or any of that.” The segment ended with Triple H and Jimmy Fallon fighting in the new WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2010 videogame.

** SHAQ vs. The Big Show On Raw Next Month – Full Details

— The current Mayoral race in the city of Memphis has gotten to the point where one candidate is suggesting that another take a drug test. Jerry Lawler, who is running for Mayor, said he is willing to take a test, adding: “I wrestle … and travel to a different city every Monday night with the World Wrestling Entertainment group. I go all over the United States and I can tell you our city government and the Memphis race is the laughingstock of the country.” (Possible Drug Tests For Mayoral Candidates)

— You can follow Curt Hawkins on Twitter at twitter.com/TheCurtHawkins. It has been confirmed by the WWE page.

— Click here to see a promotional poster advertising Florida Championship Wrestling’s “Summer Heat” tour. However, it’s a bit dated as Tyler Reks is no longer the FCW Champion, Beverly Mullins is no longer affiliated with Alex Riley, and Ricky Ortiz is no longer employed. Considering Reks is no longer a regular in FCW, Heath Slater beat him last week in Tampa to win the title.

*SPOILER* on Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk at SummerSlam (>>)

The John Report: Thoughts on Summerslam 2009 (Hardy/Punk TLC, Orton/Cena)

This will be a column recapping my thoughts on Summerslam. Go elsewhere for full detailed results. I’ll give you my immediate reactions to the matches with star ratings and whatever else might come to mind. I wrote this all “live” and am posting it about 30 minutes after the show has ended.

Rey Mysterio d. Dolph Ziggler
Great choice for the opener because the crowd is always going to be into a Mysterio match. I loved how Ziggler kept going for pins. Awesome 619 counter by Ziggler although then he hit Billy Gunn’s finisher. Ugh, I don’t like things that remind me of Gunn. How many nearfalls in the match? At least 25, if not more. Great “Let’s go Ziggler” chant too. It lived up to the hype as the opener and it was better than their match a month earlier. I would have liked to see Ziggler with the belt, but it’ll happen sooner or later. ***1/2

I really liked the MVP/Swagger face to face promo. MVP was especially great. Why can’t they do it on Raw when more people are watching and may be influenced to buy the PPV?

MVP d. Jack Swagger
The crowd was pretty dead for much of it, sadly. They cheered for the signature spots of MVP, but not much else. I guess 40 second matches on Raw aren’t helpful, huh? I’m glad that MVP got a clean win because he certainly needs it. They need to put each of these guys into longer matches on Raw so the crowd can get used to their styles. The right guy won. We’ll see what’s next for MVP. I don’t have much faith. *3/4

Classy move to support the Nancy O’Dell charity. I don’t mind that. Nice to see Freddie Prinze Jr. survived the week.

Chris Jericho & Big Show d. Cryme Tyme
New theme for Jerishow. I think it’s better than what they had before, so good for them for realizing it needed change. The match was a pretty standard tag with the champs working over the faces. The crowd bought the Cryme Tyme nearfallss because they were made to look credible in the build to this. Wow, what a cool finish. Jericho with the Walls of Jericho, JTG gets ropes and Show decks him with the punch. Love that ending. **1/2

Another classic promo from CM Punk. This guy rules. I’m drinking beer, by the way. Nothing Straight Edge here.

Kane d. The Great Khali
Kane won with a DDT after a low dropkick. That’s enough about this match. To their credit, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it could be. So kudos for that. See how positive I am? 1/2*

DeGeneration X d. Legacy
Wow, that was an elaborate entrance complete with the firing off of cannons in order to make the dick jokes. I think that it took longer than the MVP/Swagger match, but the crowd was really hot for it. This match reminded me of how much I missed HBK. I’m glad that it wasn’t a squash. They gave Legacy enough offense to make you think that maybe they’d get the win. It was really booked evenly with Legacy scoring some genuine nearfalls. Loved how they took turns cheating at the end too. HBK destroying Rhodes with the Sweet Chin Music when they were both tired was the perfect finish. Very fun old school tag match that surprised me with how good it was and 20 minutes was the right amount of time. Kudos to all four guys, but especially to Legacy for coming up big in the biggest match of their careers. This was definitely one of the better WWE tag matches of the year, if not the best. ***3/4

Christian d. William Regal to retain the ECW Title
Christian pinned him immediately after the bell rang with the Killswitch. I’m talking like a seven second match. Post match, Regal beat him up along with his stable of Vladimir Kozlov and Ezekiel Jackson. I guess this means the feud will continue. No match rating.

Randy Orton d. John Cena to retain the WWE Title
Slow pace to this as expected so that Orton could do his patented gazing. I am a huge fan of the DDT off the ropes that Orton does, by the way. The false finish was pretty weak with Orton shoving the ref and the bell ringing. Then Lillian screwed up the announcement. Good for her, it’s her last day tomorrow. You’re allowed to screw up on the way out. Anyway, the match got re-ordered by Vince McMahon (we never saw him). A couple of minutes later he walks out for the countout. We then find out if Orton gets DQ’d or counted out he loses the belt. Seconds after that, Orton wins with his feet on the ropes in the most obvious use of the ropes and another ref comes in to tell the current official what happened. The match restarts, Cena slaps on the STF and Orton’s about to tap when some random fan runs in. Security jumps on him while the wrestlers stop what they’re doing. It looks real, but it’s clearly not because everybody stops what they’re doing. If it was real there’d be more people jumping on the guy. My guess is it’s something where the person was Orton’s friend that was there to make sure Orton didn’t lose. The fact that people think it was real showed it worked perfectly. The match continues with Randy hitting the RKO while on the apron for the pinfall. The voices in my head tell me there will be a rematch, folks. This was more of a storyline than a match. **1/2

CM Punk d. Jeff Hardy to win the World Title
I’m genuinely happy that this is the last match on the show. Pretty cool to know that hard working smaller wrestlers like Punk and Hardy are main eventing the second biggest show of the year. It’s the best feud in WWE right now and maybe this year (along with Rey/Jericho), so they definitely deserve it. This was as brutal (in the good way, not the Kane/Khali way) as advertised. Hardy going straight through the table was great and the powerbomb off the ladder spot always works for me too. Wow, when Jeff’s leg went across the top rope after falling off the ladder it looked really scary especially for his neck. That superplex onto the ladder on the mat was brutal. Maybe Punk needs to take some painkillers after that. You know Jeff will. (High five to all those that use drugs.) JR said Hardy’s addicted to adrenaline. Just not addicted enough to sign a long term contract extension. Hardy’s offense with the use of the chair was great because he took so much shit from Punk that as a fan you feel that Punk deserves that. HOLY FUCK Jeff’s insane. That ladder was HUUUUUUUUUUUUGE. Swanton off the ladder through Punk lying on the table. Might as well go all out with no more matches on the horizon, but wow, that was fucking nuts. That might top his previous huge spots from 8 or 9 years ago. They lay their dead for a couple of minutes until the refs helped them. Then a climb up the ladder, Punk goes after the ribs, Jeff falls off and Punk wins. Thank you Punk. Thank you Jeff Hardy. This is the kind of match that makes me continue to be a wrestling fan…just as long as both guys are safe. It was an epic match in the top three of the year with Michaels/Undertaker and Jericho/Mysterio (from the Bash). ****1/4

Post match, as Punk was standing over Hardy the gong hit. The lights went out and when they came back on it was Undertaker there. He chokeslammed Punk to end the show. Cheesy? A little, but it worked for me. I liked it. Good way to end the show on a positive note too. I’m glad that they didn’t overbook the match with Matt Hardy being involved. It wasn’t necessary here. What they did worked.

Three Stars of the Show
1. Jeff Hardy – It was probably his last match in WWE for a while, but hopefully not ever. What a way to go out.
2. CM Punk – Awesome job again. The guy continues to impress. Other than Jericho, my favorite performer in WWE.
3. Legacy – Both of them. Their best performance in WWE to date.

Final Thoughts
I think this was the best PPV of 2009 in WWE. We got three really good matches ending with a main event that was definitely the best PPV main event this year. You can make a very good case that Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk has been the feud of the year, along with Jericho/Mysterio. Sounds like a good poll question one of these days.

I think Ziggler looked credible against Rey while Legacy performed very well with DX. Cryme Tyme looked better than they ever have too. Losing the matches doesn’t matter in the long run. It’s the experience of working with top guys that will make them better performers. They’ll get their wins when the time is right. It’s just not right now. I’m also happy that MVP got a decisive win that hopefully shoots him up the ladder a bit. And hey, Kane/Khali wasn’t brutal. Please no more of them, alright?

I wasn’t a huge fan of the Orton/Cena booking, but I understand it. They never book Cena to lose a match clean especially in singles, so they had to be creative in order to build to the rematch. The positive is that the chemistry between Orton/Cena was pretty good. I look forward to their next match because it could be great even with the submission gimmick on it.

8 out of 10.

If you missed it find some way to check it out. It’s worth it. Best PPV of the year. Congratulations to WWE for a successful Summerfest…err Summerslam.

——

I appreciate any feedback you guys can give so please send me your thoughts at [email protected] about anything related to WWE past or present. If you add me on facebook (just head to Facebook.com/thejohnreport) you’ll see the links to my columns as well because I post them there just as soon as I post them on this website.

See you on Tuesday for the next Raw Deal.

Smell ya later,
John Canton – [email protected]
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Visit My Archives to view ten years of The John Report columns.

Thanks to reader Chris Gabbard for sending in this live report of what happened after Raw went off the air:

After RAW:

– Orton and Legacy went up the ramp and Orton, with his back to the crowd, held the WWE Title up with both hands to the fans to see.

-Triple H got on the mic and did a similar promo to the one that he did when Ted and Cody beat him in a Handicap Match, where he didn’t envision that being the way things went down. Triple H challenged Legacy to come back for a 6 man Tag.

Dark Match Main Event:

Degeneration X & John Cena ( & Dusty Rhodes) def. Legacy- During the match Dusty was sitting on the ring steps of DX/Cena’s corner. Crowd was very into this match. Shawn was the guy that got beat down while Legacy exchanged tags in and out. Orton got tagged in and Dusty Rhodes tagged in and gave Orton a Bionic Elbow, which knocked him down. Cody tried to hit his Dad but he got taken out, along with DiBiase. This left Dusty Rhodes, Triple H, Shawn Michaels and John Cena in the ring and Orton in corner with the “ I’m screwed” look on his face. He received another Bionic Elbow from The American Dream. Shawn Michaels hit Sweet Chin Music. Triple H hit the Pedigree and then Cena applied the STF and Orton hung on for a couple seconds finally tapped out. Crowd was very into the 6 man Tag and loved that Dusty Rhodes got involved in the match.

Post Match DX Stuff:

DX, Cena, Dusty Rhodes DX Stuff Promo – I tried it keep up with it, it might not be word for word some is and some is paraphrasing.

DX, John Cena and Dusty Rhodes are in the ring and Shawn says every time he comes out to help Cena it doesn’t work out well and while he can accept getting beat up for 20 years, he was upset that they didn’t get to do their DX stuff earlier and he wasn’t going to let the fans leave without them doing it. Michaels makes a joke that he got beat up for 10 minutes and has the ability to run around in circles because he is such a great athlete. Dusty Rhodes gets on the mic and asks “Are You Ready?” then Triple H gets on the mic and said “No, the American Dream said ARE YOU READY?” Triple H then gets John Cena and Dusty Rhodes in form to do the DX line together.

Triple H goes to do his usual lines and we get to the point where the millions around the world part and Shawn starts waving his arms to get Hunter’s attention saying this isn’t on TV. Triple H asks some fan which he made a joke by saying to a fan “Hey Arn Anderson Brother, What time is it” It’s 11:20pm. Then Shawn getting beat up was on TV and then Hunter is like so us rebounding and running Legacy off isn’t? Shawn said no and Triple H went into saying he didn’t know because he pointed out the red lights on the camera side and said it was confusing whether they were on TV or not.

So Triple H says for the thousands in attendance and the millions not watching this at home and for the American Dream… Let’s get ready to Suck It. Dusty says and if your not down with that we got two words for ya, Suck It. John Cena, Dusty Rhodes and DX do the chop to the DX fireworks and that is about it. Hunter hugs Dusty and they starts slapping peoples hands, Cena walks up the ramp and exits.

Most fans stayed after RAW went off the air as the crowd was still pretty packed. I enjoyed most the show and had a good time.

** Picture of Christopher Daniels & Shane Helms Drinking Before Daniels’ DUI

— As reported earlier this week, nude photographs of TNA women’s wrestler Traci Brooks will not be appearing in Playboy as originally planned. Instead, her photos will be published on the company’s subscription based premium website, the “Cyber Club.”

In a further update on the story, the decision to remove Brooks from the publication was actually made some time back as there was a rumor going around a week or two after it was revealed that she had shot the nude pictorial that Playboy decided against putting her pictures in the magazine.

She shot the photos several months ago, and was at one point scheduled to grace the cover of the November issue. Playboy had requested that TNA push her hard during the period before the issue came out. TNA decided to finally bring her back to television after a several month long hiatus mere days after it was publicly revealed she would be appearing in the magazine.

As noted, Playboy decided against publishing her photos in the publication a week or two after word got out, which could lead some to speculate that perhaps TNA was a bit late in deciding to promote her again as it would appear the magazine became dissatisfied and/or disinterested by that point. (source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

— TNA will be heading to Illinois and Wisconsin in late October as they have live events scheduled in Chicago, Racine and Green Bay from the 23rd to the 25th. Click here for more details.

— Here is the updated line-up for TNA’s No Surrender pay-per-view on September 20th:

TNA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle vs. Sting vs. AJ Styles vs. Matt Morgan

“THE BOSS” MAKES HIS PAY-PER-VIEW DEBUT
“The Boss” Bobby Lashley vs. “The War Machine” Rhino

$50,000 BOUNTY VS. THE LEGENDS CHAMPIONSHIP
Abyss vs. Kevin Nash

*HUGE SPOILER* on winner of Angle vs. Sting vs. Styles vs. Morgan

— Former WWE performer Shelly Martinez (a.k.a. Ariel) announced on her Twitter page that she will be featured in the January 2010 issue of High Times.

— Rob Van Dam won the WSU European Championship in a tournament at last night’s World Stars of Wrestling event in Portimao, Portugal. Regarding his title win, RVD tweeted: “RVD won the WSW world championship last night in Portimao, Portugal with what? 5 Star Frog Splash bitches!”

— A clever video has surfaced on YouTube lampooning Jeff Hardy’s arrest on drug charges yesterday to the tune of The Devil Went Down to Georgia. You can view Jeff Hardy Went Down To Georgia at the following link.

See photo of a wrestling star getting high and eating McDonalds (>>)

Independent wrestler Matt “Riot” Lowry passed away Tuesday after being rushed to Hahnemann Hospital following a training exercise in South Philadelphia at The Arena (formerly known as the ECW Arena) the previous evening, reports CBS 3 in Philadelphia. He was 22 years old.

According to police, Lowry died as a result of severe head injuries, though a man who trained him told CBS 3 that he was not injured inside the ring. The man said Lowry suffered an aneurysm while warming up outside the ring. An autopsy to determine the cause of death is scheduled to take place on Wednesday.

Combat Zone Wrestling holds wrestling training sessions every Monday evening, according to the official website for the Arena.

Lowry had been staying in New Jersey as of late, though he’s wrestled for some independent promotions in the Midwest.

To read CBS 3’s report and see a picture of Lowry, click here.

— Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made his first appearance in a wrestling ring in over five years last night at an WXW show in Mineola, Florida. Johnson was in attendance to support Sarona Snuka (daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka), who made her successful professional wrestling debut by defeating WXW Diva LACE. He came out to the ring to address the fans and said he was there to support Sarona, his family, and WXW.

To see images of Johnson backstage at the event, visit WXW’s Twitter page at twitter.com/WXWOffice.

— Even though Lilian Garcia has left World Wrestling Entertainment, she is not disappearing. Now that Lilian’s no longer busy with WWE, she plans on furthering her music career as she is looking to get her band back together. Additionally, fans will still have the opportunity to see the “Decade Diva” as she plans on appearing at various wrestling conventions in the Northeast over the next few months. Fans can also keep up with her on Twitter.

This week, Lilian will be marrying her longtime fiancée Chris. They will be spending their honeymoon in Mexico.

— At last night’s EWF show in Muncie, Indiana, former WWE wrestler Kevin Thorn held the arms back of local wrestler Matt Columbine and let ten to fifteen fans give him nipple twisters (if you read the book Ring of Hell, Thorn is quite familiar with this particular endeavor). The main event saw Scotty 2 Hotty wrestle Jimmy Jacobs. (source: www.f4wonline.com)

See DX’s going-away party for Lilian (complete video) (>>)

Month: January 2021

Potter: Bissouma has ability to excel in the Champions League

WWE Vintage Collection Report (08/09/09)

Raw Rating, WWE & TNA Video Game News, Recap Of HHH On Jimmy Fallon

Lawler Says He Would Take A Drug Test, SmackDown Star On Twitter, Tyler Reks

The John Report: Thoughts on Summerslam 2009 (Hardy/Punk TLC, Orton/Cena)

What You Didn't See After Raw Went Off The Air (Dark Match & More)

Did TNA Fumble Traci Brooks' Playboy Deal?, Updated No Surrender PPV Card, More

Ex-WWE Star To Be Featured In "High Times", "Jeff Hardy Went Down To Georgia"

Independent Wrestler Passes Away Following Training Session At The ECW Arena

Dwayne Johnson Appears At Wrestling Show, Lilian Garcia's Future Plans, More