by Mr. Ray Rhodes
I missed the first 15 minutes but it seems I didn't miss much. I came during Orton-Flair-Carlito and promptly went upstairs to take a shower. I made it back in time to see Orton lay out Carlito with the RKO and qualify for the Money in the Bank. That wasn't even remotely clever. Have Carlito and Flair get interrupted one week and throw in Orton to qualify. Whatever. It seems that Edge and Orton will overshadow the match itself. Thanks for showing up, King Booker.
Normally I'd applaud any RAW air time for Super Crazy and I marked out for his Super (see also, Crazy) Offense but the Masterlock Challenge was so like, 2006. Yawn.
Lilian Garcia directs us to the TitanTron for...THE ROCK! Even though it would have been 100 times more intense if he was live, the video feed was enough for me. I might have wet my pants just a lil'. Great touch!!
Cena and HBK are in a Gauntlet match for the tag titles. One, I love gauntlet matches. Two, this is a perfect way to drop the tag titles that I've been moaning on about for weeks. WGTT...DAMMIT! Cade and Murdoch . . . DAMMIT! We go to commercial as the cage drops, come back and it's mid match with MNM. Uh...not so great on tonight's segment and break layout, guys. Someone's getting fired. Well, if anyone is going to win, it's gonna be MNM.
....
DAMMIT!
Waitasecond, you mean the WWE used it's tag division as storyline fodder and buried everyone in it even more? They wouldn't do thaaattttt. Sigh.
Well, Jeff Hardy is out and so is Edge but Edge bails out and allows the The Great Khali to consume Jeff's flesh right off the bone, and then squat and take an Extreme dump on the first row. Part of that is true, at any rate. Kane comes out with his See No Evil hook-and-chain and scares off Khali and his bologna nipples. Kane loses on Smackdown (to Batista, but still) and we're supposed to take him as a threat to Khali? I JUST DON'T GET IT. I do, however, hope this brings Kane back to another level. Only thing better than his hook-and-chain would have been a flail or a mace. Every time Edge has a big gimmick match upcoming he takes like, 3 weeks off, has anyone noticed that?
Mr. Fuji is the next Hall of Famer. Strange, I thought he already was. Welcome aboard. Again.
Foley. Todd Grisham. Ashley. All in one segment. That's all I need to say.
Melina takes on Torrie in a match where the kept moving around but nothing seemed to be happening. Afterwards, plain clothes Mickie ran out looking HOT but had crazy hair and soon after Victoria got involved as well. Ashley gets herself some and Melina bails out. Torrie and Mickie throw her back in so Ashley can...throw her out. It seems Ashley is destined to follow in Christy Hemme's footsteps. Diva Contest. Pose Nude. Awful Wrestlemania match. Fired.
Backstage Edge and Mcmahon have a strange talk, Edge convinces Mcmahon to have Lashley fight Orton on ECW and if Orton doesn't show up, he'll get thrown out of the Money in the Bank. He also touched Mcmahon like, 3 times. I was waiting for Mcmahon to tell him to stop. Alas!
I have no idea what Wrestlemania Reversal means.
In a long ass segment, all the players from the Battle of the Billionaires meet up for a contract signing. Estrada has become almost phantom-like. He's there, and you can kind of see him, but he just blends into the background now. Austin comes out, and in a humorous fashion, gets in Trumps face. The segment kept going and going and there is so much tension in the air while I wait for Trump to say something ridiculous. Then, finally, Trump pushes Mcmahon over the table.
This segment had promise but was riddled with the inherent problem of lack of physicality. The main event of a wrestling show for Wrestlemania hype and the "pay off" was Mcmahon getting shoved on a table. Didn't do it for me.
Final Thoughts: Raw just didn't do it for me tonight. Some more decent build up for Wrestlemania but it's beyond me why the Edge and Orton feud is taking place in the midst of the train wreck that is Money in the Bank. It was fun seeing Rock and Austin and they prove once again that they have "it" and say, Chris Masters does not. I'll give it 3 and a half Khali Nipples which will give tonight's RAW a C+.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
New IWW Episode: Week TWO of WM Trivia
40 MINUTES OF ZIP WHITTLE NEWS & NOTES!
This covers a TON of news including:
* WWE's plan for international expansion (TONS of news on this important story and plenty of ZW analysis)
* Kurt Angle's payoff for a New Japan Match & his latest STEROID woes
* Big Changes for a major Japanese Company
* Lots of ratings news with WWE & TNA
* Some comments from Dana White that would get a public executive fired & maybe sued!
* Chaos between PRIDE & PRIDE USA
* Latest on ECW's new tag divison and which teams might be getting switched over
* Other international stars who recently tried out for WWE (besides Mistico!)
* WWE Tour of Mexico not looking great
* LOTS MORE PLUS WEEK TWO OF IWW TRIVIA FOR WRESTLEMANIA 23 PRIZES~!!!
This covers a TON of news including:
* WWE's plan for international expansion (TONS of news on this important story and plenty of ZW analysis)
* Kurt Angle's payoff for a New Japan Match & his latest STEROID woes
* Big Changes for a major Japanese Company
* Lots of ratings news with WWE & TNA
* Some comments from Dana White that would get a public executive fired & maybe sued!
* Chaos between PRIDE & PRIDE USA
* Latest on ECW's new tag divison and which teams might be getting switched over
* Other international stars who recently tried out for WWE (besides Mistico!)
* WWE Tour of Mexico not looking great
* LOTS MORE PLUS WEEK TWO OF IWW TRIVIA FOR WRESTLEMANIA 23 PRIZES~!!!
Friday, March 09, 2007
TC Watts comments on Randy Couture's win last week!
by TC Watts (elusive IWW cohost!)
Randy Couture at the age of 43 is the NEW UFC Heavyweight Champion of the World. I never thought I would hear those words again but on March 3, 2007 in the city of Columbus, Ohio in front of 19, 049 rabid fans, Captain America AGAIN defied the odds.
This is the same man who lost his last heavyweight fight to Ricco Rodriguez in 2002. This is the same man who lost 3 of his last 5 fights by knockout. This is the same man who dropped to light heavyweight at the end of his career. This is the same man who was retired for the previous 12 months. This is the man who DOMINATED former champion and 6' 8" (203 cm) 255 (116 kg) slugbot Tim Sylvia.
Coming into the championship bout, not many thought that the old man Couture could manage the ridiculous reach and height advantage that Sylvia possessed. The odds in the betting world told the same story. Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia (-256) vs. Randy Couture (+236) was the line in Vegas. That simply means you have to bet $256 to win $100 on Sylvia and $100 to win $236 on Couture.
I am sure there were many happy souls in Vegas and the world around come Sunday morning and many kicking themselves that they didn't BELIEVE in Mr. Couture.
Why would you believe?
Sylvia, possibly the cockiest UFC heavyweight champion ever and hated by many, was still a feared striker. With an 84 inch reach he should have had no problem battering Randy's head, right? Sylvia was 23-2 with 15 KO's. One of those KO's was against the man with the hardest head in the world, Wesley Cabbage Correira. I remember watching him pepper Cabbage with shots and Cabbage being out on his feet and thinking maybe Sylvia really is worthy. Sylvia went on to then beat heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez (you know the same one who beat up Couture) for the UFC title, only to have his arm legit snapped at the hands of Frank Mir. He eventually lost to Andrei Arlovski, by achilles lock for the vacant title after Mir nearly lost his life in a brutal motorcycle accident. That didn't stop Tim Sylvia from pushing forward and continuing his trek back to the title.
Training with some of the best at Miletich Fighting Systems, Sylvia eventually went on to throttle Mike Block, Tra Telligman(brutal head kick) and Assuerio Silva (another KO) before his rematch with the 'Caveman' Andrei Arlovski. Sylvia knocked out Arlovski in 2:43 of the first round. He then beat Arlovski and noted grappler and 5’9 Jeff Monson in 2 of the most boring fights known to man. Yet, the Maineiac continued to talk like he was the greatest heavyweight in the world even saying he would handle ANYONE in the world with ease. The temerity of Sylvia to say these things after not being able to put away a hurt Arlovski and a non striker in Monson, the world turned on him.
Right around this time, Randy Couture, who commentated, the Monson/Sylvia, fight went on to say he saw many weaknesses in Tim's game and that he could beat him. Sylvia took great offense to this and Couture signed a 3 fight deal to come back at HEAVYWEIGHT.
So the fight was set and the world began to doubt Couture again. Why not? In the real world 43 year old wrestlers with a 12 inch reach disadvantage against a striker, just have no chance in hell, right? Couture took all this to heart and formulated a phenomenal game plan to dispatch of the brash champion.
As the main event arrived the crowd was electric. I am getting chills just thinking about it again. Chants of RANDY, RANDY broke out before the fight even started and didn't stop until the arena was emptied. As hey both stood in the cage staring at each other during introductions, there was a special feeling in the air. Still though, how could Randy overcome that reach and striking ability? All questions were answered about 15 seconds into the first round.
The combatants came out circled and sized each other up. 15 seconds in Randy threw a leg kick followed by a ROCKY like right hand and dropped the big doofus right on his ass. The crowd exploded bigger than anything I have ever seen in MMA or pro wrestling. Sylvia though was not out, just rocked and as Randy charged he turned his back and Randy kept control of said back, working for a rear naked choke for the remaining 4 minutes of the first round.
The two came out in round 2 and decided to have a kickboxing match. Something Sylvia should easily get the best of, right? Well, Randy had the head and body movement of a polished championship boxer. Bobbing and weaving and circling and making Sylvia miss over and over. Meanwhile while Sylvia was striking out, Couture kept hitting the same combo over and over. Left to the body, right hand over the top, and it was effective. They clinched midway in to round 2 and despite the size and weight disadvantage
(255 to 222) Couture took him down with ease. With 30 seconds left the referee stood them up. Advantage Sylvia, right? Wrong, Couture took him right back down as the bell sounded and the current heavyweight champion of the world looked flustered and beaten.
Round 3 began and Sylvia looked tired. A round full of kickboxing followed, and with a one foot reach disadvantage he was outclassing Sylvia on his feet. The fight was dramatic because everyone knew that one punch or kick from the feared striker could floor Couture and end the fairytale. Sylvia, though, was afraid to kick out of fear of being taken down. The bobbing and weaving this round from Couture was simply a thing of beauty and something to behold. Round 3 ends and both men looked completely gassed and breathing hard. (Sylvia was even BURPING between rounds.)
Randy again took him down to begin round 4 and stayed there until the ref stood them up with 2:52 left in the round. Couture went to work and gained side mount before going for his back. Sylvia being a monster reversed and ended up in north south position. In a moment of genius, Randy left his hands on the ground so Sylvia couldn't knee him. The first 'championship' round ended and it seemed Couture was up 4-0. The crowd was ridiculous at this point, with RANDY chants breaking out more and more. Matt Hughes in the corner of Sylvia (I wonder where Tim gets his cockiness?) looked near tears at the impending doom of his friend big Tim.
Round 5 began and as Sylvia left his corner he muttered, ‘Is this the 5th?’ Not a good sign for the CHAMP. Randy Couture took him down again and went to work, grinding on him and just simply beating on him. Sylvia's left eye was now closed from all the right hands over the top. Couture garnered mount and Sylvia finally got up, only to be dumped back on the mat by the accomplished wrestler. The round finally ended and the chills began as Couture raised his hands in anticipation of the impending announcement.
The announcement came and the HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP of the WORLD was strapped around the waist of 43 friggin year old Randy Couture. In a very fitting moment, Joe Rogan appeared to interview Randy and near tears, said, 'I don't know what to say, there are no words.' Randy simply said in that Captain America style that we all love, 'Not bad for an old man!'
No, Randy, not BAD at all.
Randy Couture at the age of 43 is the NEW UFC Heavyweight Champion of the World. I never thought I would hear those words again but on March 3, 2007 in the city of Columbus, Ohio in front of 19, 049 rabid fans, Captain America AGAIN defied the odds.
This is the same man who lost his last heavyweight fight to Ricco Rodriguez in 2002. This is the same man who lost 3 of his last 5 fights by knockout. This is the same man who dropped to light heavyweight at the end of his career. This is the same man who was retired for the previous 12 months. This is the man who DOMINATED former champion and 6' 8" (203 cm) 255 (116 kg) slugbot Tim Sylvia.
Coming into the championship bout, not many thought that the old man Couture could manage the ridiculous reach and height advantage that Sylvia possessed. The odds in the betting world told the same story. Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia (-256) vs. Randy Couture (+236) was the line in Vegas. That simply means you have to bet $256 to win $100 on Sylvia and $100 to win $236 on Couture.
I am sure there were many happy souls in Vegas and the world around come Sunday morning and many kicking themselves that they didn't BELIEVE in Mr. Couture.
Why would you believe?
Sylvia, possibly the cockiest UFC heavyweight champion ever and hated by many, was still a feared striker. With an 84 inch reach he should have had no problem battering Randy's head, right? Sylvia was 23-2 with 15 KO's. One of those KO's was against the man with the hardest head in the world, Wesley Cabbage Correira. I remember watching him pepper Cabbage with shots and Cabbage being out on his feet and thinking maybe Sylvia really is worthy. Sylvia went on to then beat heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez (you know the same one who beat up Couture) for the UFC title, only to have his arm legit snapped at the hands of Frank Mir. He eventually lost to Andrei Arlovski, by achilles lock for the vacant title after Mir nearly lost his life in a brutal motorcycle accident. That didn't stop Tim Sylvia from pushing forward and continuing his trek back to the title.
Training with some of the best at Miletich Fighting Systems, Sylvia eventually went on to throttle Mike Block, Tra Telligman(brutal head kick) and Assuerio Silva (another KO) before his rematch with the 'Caveman' Andrei Arlovski. Sylvia knocked out Arlovski in 2:43 of the first round. He then beat Arlovski and noted grappler and 5’9 Jeff Monson in 2 of the most boring fights known to man. Yet, the Maineiac continued to talk like he was the greatest heavyweight in the world even saying he would handle ANYONE in the world with ease. The temerity of Sylvia to say these things after not being able to put away a hurt Arlovski and a non striker in Monson, the world turned on him.
Right around this time, Randy Couture, who commentated, the Monson/Sylvia, fight went on to say he saw many weaknesses in Tim's game and that he could beat him. Sylvia took great offense to this and Couture signed a 3 fight deal to come back at HEAVYWEIGHT.
So the fight was set and the world began to doubt Couture again. Why not? In the real world 43 year old wrestlers with a 12 inch reach disadvantage against a striker, just have no chance in hell, right? Couture took all this to heart and formulated a phenomenal game plan to dispatch of the brash champion.
As the main event arrived the crowd was electric. I am getting chills just thinking about it again. Chants of RANDY, RANDY broke out before the fight even started and didn't stop until the arena was emptied. As hey both stood in the cage staring at each other during introductions, there was a special feeling in the air. Still though, how could Randy overcome that reach and striking ability? All questions were answered about 15 seconds into the first round.
The combatants came out circled and sized each other up. 15 seconds in Randy threw a leg kick followed by a ROCKY like right hand and dropped the big doofus right on his ass. The crowd exploded bigger than anything I have ever seen in MMA or pro wrestling. Sylvia though was not out, just rocked and as Randy charged he turned his back and Randy kept control of said back, working for a rear naked choke for the remaining 4 minutes of the first round.
The two came out in round 2 and decided to have a kickboxing match. Something Sylvia should easily get the best of, right? Well, Randy had the head and body movement of a polished championship boxer. Bobbing and weaving and circling and making Sylvia miss over and over. Meanwhile while Sylvia was striking out, Couture kept hitting the same combo over and over. Left to the body, right hand over the top, and it was effective. They clinched midway in to round 2 and despite the size and weight disadvantage
(255 to 222) Couture took him down with ease. With 30 seconds left the referee stood them up. Advantage Sylvia, right? Wrong, Couture took him right back down as the bell sounded and the current heavyweight champion of the world looked flustered and beaten.
Round 3 began and Sylvia looked tired. A round full of kickboxing followed, and with a one foot reach disadvantage he was outclassing Sylvia on his feet. The fight was dramatic because everyone knew that one punch or kick from the feared striker could floor Couture and end the fairytale. Sylvia, though, was afraid to kick out of fear of being taken down. The bobbing and weaving this round from Couture was simply a thing of beauty and something to behold. Round 3 ends and both men looked completely gassed and breathing hard. (Sylvia was even BURPING between rounds.)
Randy again took him down to begin round 4 and stayed there until the ref stood them up with 2:52 left in the round. Couture went to work and gained side mount before going for his back. Sylvia being a monster reversed and ended up in north south position. In a moment of genius, Randy left his hands on the ground so Sylvia couldn't knee him. The first 'championship' round ended and it seemed Couture was up 4-0. The crowd was ridiculous at this point, with RANDY chants breaking out more and more. Matt Hughes in the corner of Sylvia (I wonder where Tim gets his cockiness?) looked near tears at the impending doom of his friend big Tim.
Round 5 began and as Sylvia left his corner he muttered, ‘Is this the 5th?’ Not a good sign for the CHAMP. Randy Couture took him down again and went to work, grinding on him and just simply beating on him. Sylvia's left eye was now closed from all the right hands over the top. Couture garnered mount and Sylvia finally got up, only to be dumped back on the mat by the accomplished wrestler. The round finally ended and the chills began as Couture raised his hands in anticipation of the impending announcement.
The announcement came and the HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP of the WORLD was strapped around the waist of 43 friggin year old Randy Couture. In a very fitting moment, Joe Rogan appeared to interview Randy and near tears, said, 'I don't know what to say, there are no words.' Randy simply said in that Captain America style that we all love, 'Not bad for an old man!'
No, Randy, not BAD at all.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
IWW Trivia Week One Question
Roddy Piper was a stable of early Wrestlemanias. However, there was one that the Hot Rod wasn't at. Was it:
A) Wrestlemania II
B) Wrestlemania III
C) Wrestlemania IV
D) Wrestlemania V
email your answer to: iwwtrivia@gmail.com with your name & address to enter this contest. Answer all four weeks of trivia correctly is all it takes to be eligible to win a prize!
Wrestling Observer MOTY & Runner-Ups
1980
1.) Bob Backlund vs. Ken Patera (5/19 - Madison Square Garden)
2.) Bruno Sammartino vs. Larry Zbyszko (9/8 - Shea Stadium)
1981
1.) Pat Patterson vs. Sgt. Slaughter (4/21 - Madison Square Garden)
2.) Dusty Rhodes vs. Ric Flair (9/17 - Kansas City)
1982
1.) Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid (8/5 - Tokyo)
2.) Ric Flair vs. Bob Backlund (4/7 - Atlanta)
3.) Bob Backlund vs. Jimmy Snuka (MSG)
4.) Bob Backlund vs Adrian Adonis (1-30 MSG)
5.) Buddy Rose vs David Schultz (Chain match Portland)
6.) Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat (2-7 Greensboro)
7.) Ric Flair vs Stan Hansen (10-3 Atlanta)
1983
1.) Harley Race vs. Ric Flair (11/24 - Greensboro)
2.) Rick Steamboat & Jay Youngblood vs. Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle (3/12 - Greensboro) (actually outvoted Flair-Race)
3.) Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid (4/23 - Tokyo)
4.) Antonio Inoki vs. Hulk Hogan (6/2 - Tokyo)
5.) Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr. vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (8/31 - Tokyo)
6.) Von Erichs vs Freebirds 7-4 Ft. Worth
7.) Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich (12-25-82 Dallas)
8.) Don Muraco vs Jimmy Snuka (7-23 Landover)
9.) Kerry Von Erich vs Michael Hayes cage match (11-24 Dallas)
10.) Roddy Piper vs Greg Valentine dog collar match (11-24 Greensboro)
984
1.) Freebirds vs. Von Erichs (7/4/84)
2.) Sgt. Slaughter vs. Iron Sheik (6/16/84)
3.) Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich (5/6 Texas Stadium)
4.) Dynamite Kid vs The Cobra (7/5 Tokyo)
5.) Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Nobuhiko Takada (4/19 Tokyo)
6.) Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat (5/29 Meadowlands)
7.) Nobuhiko Takada vs Kazuo Yamazaki (12/5 Tokyo)
8.) Hulk Hogan vs Iron Shiek (1/23)
9.) Davey Boy Smith-Dynamite Kid-David Schultz vs Antonio Inoki-Fujinami-Cobra (7/13 Japan)
10.) Bruiser Brody vs Jerry Blackwell (10/21 St. Paul)
11.) Dynamite Kid vs Davey Boy Smith (7/20 Osaka)
12.) Super Tiger vs Akira Maeda (9/11 Tokyo)
13.) Ricky Steamboat vs Dick Slater (early June Greenville)
14.) Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich (5/24 Yokosuka, Japan)
15.) The Cobra vs Kuniaki Kobayashi (8/2 Tokyo)
1985
1.) Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Tiger Mask (Misawa) (06/21/85)
2.) Jaguar Yokota vs. Lioness Asuka (08/22/85)
3.) Ted Dibiase vs Jim Duggan cage match (3/22 Houston)
4.) Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich (1/25 St Louis)
5.) Freebirds vs Road Warriors (9/28 Chicago)
6.) Ric Flair vs Harley Race (2/24 Meadowlands)
7.) Roddy Piper & Paul Orndorff vs Mr T & Hulk Hogan (3/31 New York)
8.) Rick Martel vs Jumbo Tsuruta (9/29 St Paul)
9.) Hulk Hogan vs Roddy Piper (2/18 New York)
10.) Fabulous Ones vs Sheepherders (8/12 Memphis)
11.) Antonio Inoki vs Bruiser Brody (8/1 Tokyo)
12.) Riki Choshu vs Genichiro Tenryu (6/21 Tokyo)
1986
1.) Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham (2/14 - Orlando)
2.) Yoshiaki Yatsu & Riki Choshu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu (1/28 - Tokyo)
3.) Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Akira Maeda (6/12 - Osaka)
4.) Midnight Express vs. Rock 'n Roll Express (8/16 - Philadelphia)
5.) Shiro Koshinaka vs. Nobuhiko Takada (9/19 - Fukuoka)
6.) Fantastics vs Sheepherders (4/19 New Orleans)
7.) Midnight Rockers vs Buddy Rose & Doug Somers (8/7 Las Vegas)
8.) The Cobra vs Nobuhiko Takada (6/27 Nagoya)
9.) Ric Flair vs Ricky Morton (7/5 Charlotte)
10.) British Bulldogs vs Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake (4/7 Chicago)
1987
1.) Rick Steamboat vs. Randy Savage (3/29 - Pontiac)
2.) Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham (1/20 - Greensboro)
3.) Chigusa Nagayo vs. Lioness Asuka (2/26 - Kawasaki)
4.) Nobuhiko Takada vs. Shiro Koshinaka (2/5 - Tokyo Sumo Hall)
5.) Akira Maeda & Nobuhiko Takada vs. Shiro Koshinaka & Keiji Muto (3/20 - Tokyo Korakuen Hall)
6.) Ric Flair vs Barry Windham (4/11 Baltimore)
7.) El Hijo del Santo vs Negro Casas (7/27 hair vs hair match Los Angeles)
8.) Jerry Lawler vs Austin Idol hair vs hair match (4/27 Memphis)
9.) Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu (10/6 Tokyo)
10.) War Games I (7/4 Atlanta)
11.) Choshu & Maeda & Takada & Fujinami & Strong Machine vs Inoki & Saito & Sakaguchi & Fujiwara & Murdoch (9/17 Osaka)
12.) Akira Maeda & Nobuhiko Takada vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kazuo Yamazaki (9/1 Fukuoka)
13.) Antonio Inoki vs Masa Saito (4/27 Tokyo)
14.) Nick Bockwinkel vs Curt Hennig (5/2 San Francisco)
1988
1.) Ric Flair vs. Sting (3/27 - Greensboro)
2.) Midnight Express vs. Fantastics (3/27 - Greensboro)
3.) Midnight Express vs. Fantastics (4/26 - Chattanooga)
4.) Footloose vs. Shinichi Nakano & Shunji Takano (7/19 - Tokyo Korakuen Hall)
5.) Ted DiBiase vs. Randy Savage (4/25 - Madison Square Garden)
6.) Chigusa Nagayo vs Lioness Asuka (8/25 Kawasaki)
7.) Antonio Inoki vs Tatsumi Fujinami (8/8 Yokohama)
8.) Tatsumi Fujinami vs Riki Choshu (6/24 Osaka)
9.) Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/30 Osaka)
10.) Midnight Express vs Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson (8/26 Greensboro)
11.) Ted Dibiase vs Randy Savage (7/22 MSG Cage match)
12.) Owen Hart vs Hiroshi Hase (5/27 Sendai)
13.) Hiroshi Hase vs Shiro Koshinaka (3/19 Tokyo)
14.) Jumbo Tsuruta vs Tiger Mask (3/9 Yokohama)
15.) Owen Hart vs Keiichi Yamada (6/10 Hiroshima)
16.) Akira Maeda vs Kazuo Yamazaki (5/12 Tokyo)
17.) Owen Hart vs Shiro Koshinaka (6/24 Osaka)
18.) Kazuo Yamazaki vs Nobuhiko Takada (8/13 Tokyo)
1989
1.) Ric Flair vs. Rick Steamboat (4/2 - New Orleans)
2.) Ric Flair vs. Rick Steamboat (5/7 - Nashville)
3.) Ric Flair vs. Rick Steamboat (2/20 - Chicago)
4.) Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (11/15 - Troy, NY)
5.) Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (9/20 - Osaka)
6.) Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu (6/5 Tokyo)
7.) Ric Flair vs Terry Funk (7/23 Baltimore)
8.) Footloose vs Doug Furnas & Dan Kroffat (6/5 Tokyo)
9.) Jushin Liger vs Naoki Sano (7/13 Tokyo)
10.) Bob Backlund vs Nobuhiko Takada (12/22/88)
11.) Rockers vs Brainbusters (2/17 Hershey)
12.) Akira Maeda vs Nobuhiko Takada (1/10 Tokyo)
1990
1.) Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (1-31) Osaka
2.) Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (6-8) Tokyo
3.) Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane vs. Tracy Smothers & Steve Armstrong (7-8) Baltimore
4.) Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior (4-1) Toronto
5.) Steiners vs. Nasty Boys (10-27) Chicago
6.) Atsushi Onita & Tarzan Goto vs Dragon Master & Masanobu Kurisu (4-1) Tokyo
7.) Keiji Muto vs. Hiroshi Hase (9-14) Hiroshima
8.) Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger (2-25) Greensboro
9.) Tommy Rogers & Bobby Fulton vs. Joe Malenko & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi
10.) Yoshihiro Asai vs. Negro Casas (6-7) Tokyo
11.) Jushin Liger vs. Chris Benoit (8-19) Tokyo
1991
1.) Steiners vs. Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki (3-21) Tokyo
2.) Bull Nakano vs Akira Hokuto (1-4) Tokyo
3.) Ric Flair & Larry Zbyszko & Sid Vicious & Barry Windham vs. Steiners & Sting & Brian Pillman War Games (2-24) Phoenix
4.) Cactus Jack vs. Eddie Gilbert (8-3) Philadelphia
5.) Steiners vs. Sting & Lex Luger (5-19) St. Petersburg
6.) Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko vs. Ricky Steamboat & Dustin Rhodes (11-18) Savannah
7.) Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior (3-34) Los Angeles
8.) Curt Hennig vs. Bret Hart (8-27) New York
9.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada & Kenta Kobashi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi (4-20) Tokyo
10.) Jushin Liger vs. Hiroshi Hase (5-6) Tokyo
11.) Keiji Muto vs. Masahiro Chono (8-11) Tokyo
12.) Jushin Liger vs. Chris Benoit (10-18) Hiroshima
13.) Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kenta Kobashi (5-24) Osaka
14.) Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair (10-25) Oakland
15.) Jushin Liger vs. Owen Hart (4-27) Okinawa
16.) Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Toshiaki Kawada (10-24) Yokohama
17.) Aja Kong & Bison Kimura vs. Esther Moreno & Manami Toyota (4-29) Tokyo
18.) Ric Flair vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (3-21) Tokyo
1992
1.) Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (5-25) Miyagi
2.) Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman (2-29) Milwaukee
3.) Manami Toyota vs. Kyoko Inoue (4-25) Yokohama
4.) Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (4-30) Tokyo
5.) Manami Toyota vs. Toshiyo Yamada (8-15) Tokyo
6.) El Hijo del Santo & Atsushi Onita & Tarzan Goto vs. Negro Casas & Tim Patterson & Horace Boulder (5-16) Los Angeles
7.) Sting & Nikita Koloff & Dustin Rhodes & Ricky Steamboat & Barry Windham vs. Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton & Steve Austin & Larry Zbyszko & Rick Rude War Games (5-17) Jacksonville
8.) Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog (8-29) London
9.) Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Yumiko Hotta & Suzuka Minami (3-17) Tokyo
10.) Eddie Gilbert vs. Terry Funk (11-14) Wayne, NJ
11.) Royal Rumble (1-19) Albany, NY
12.) Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman (12-27) East Rutherford, NJ
13.) Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage (4-5) Indianapolis
14.) Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (11-27) Richfield, OH
15.) Sting vs. Cactus Jack (6-20) Mobile
16.) Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Masa Fuchi & Yoshinari Ogawa (7-5) Tokyo
17.) Sting vs. Big Van Vader (7-18) Albany
18.) Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Aja Kong & Kyoko Inoue (4-20) Tokyo
19.) Rick Rude vs. Masahiro Chono (8-12) Tokyo
1993
1.) Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki (4-11) Osaka
2.) Steve Williams vs. Kenta Kobashi (8-31) Toyohashi
3.) Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori (4-2) Yokohama
4.) Cactus Jack vs. Vader (10-24) New Orleans
5.) Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi (7-29) Tokyo
6.) Hikari Fukuoka & Cuty Suzuki & Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki vs. Aja Kong & Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue & Sakie Hasgewa (7-31) Yokohama
7.) Sting vs. Vader (2-21) Asheville
8.) Lightning Kid (X-Pac) vs. Sabu 4-17 Minneapolis
9.) Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty (7-10) New York
10.) Stan Hansen vs. Toshiaki Kawasda (2-28) Tokyo
11.) Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (4-14) Nagoya
12.) El Hijo del Santo vs. Heavy Metal (1-29) Mexico City
13.) Winners [Abismo Negro & Rey Misterio Jr. & Super Calo] vs. Jerry Estrada & Heavy Metal & Psicosis (1-29) Mexico City
14.) Bret Hart vs. Curt Hennig (6-11) Dayton
15.) Mitsuhau Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (3-27) Kyoto
16.) Atsushi Onita vs. Terry Funk (5-5) Kawasaki
17.) Devil Masami vs. Bull Nakano (4-18) Tokyo
18.) Steiners vs. Tom Prichard & Jimmy Del Rey (8-30) Auburn Hills, MI
19.) Heavy Metal & Psicosis & Picudo vs. Winners & Serup Calo & Rey Misterio Jr. (2-14) Mexico City
1994
1.) Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon [Scott Hall] (3-20) New York
2.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (6-3) Tokyo
3.) Great Sasuke vs. Chris Benoit (4-16) Tokyo
4.) Love Machine & Eddy Guerrero vs. El Hijo del Santo & Octagon (11-6) Los Angeles
5.) Terry Funk vs. Shane Douglas vs. Sabu (2-5) Philadelphia
6.) Ric Flair vs Vader (12-27-93) Charlotte
7.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (5-21) Sapporo
8.) Nasty Boys vs. Cactus Jack & Maxx Payne (4-17) Chicago
9.) Jushin Liger vs. Great Sasuke (4-16) Tokyo
10.) Cactus Jack & Kevin Sullivan vs. Nasty Boys (5-22) Philadelphia
11.) Aja Kong vs. Manami Toyota (11-20) Tokyo
12.) Akira Hokuto & Kyoko Inoue vs. Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada (12-10-93) Tokyo
13.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Steve Williams (7-28) Tokyo
14.) Great Sasuke vs. Jinsei Shinzaki (4-29) Tokyo
15.) Chris Benoit & Shinjiro Otani vs. Black Tiger [Eddy Guerrero] & Great Sasuke (10-18) Odawara
16.) Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (8-29) Chicago
17.) Steve Williams vs. Kenta Kobashi (9-3) Tokyo
18.) Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (3-20) New York
1995
1.) Manami Toyota vs. Kyoko Inoue (5-7) Tokyo
2.) Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (8-27) Pittsburgh
3.) Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psicosis (10-7) Philadelphia
4.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada (1-24) Yamagata
5.) Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (1-19) Osaka
6.) Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (4-15) Philadelphia
7.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada (6-9) Tokyo
8.) Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psicosis (9-22) Mexico City
9.) Ultimo Dragon vs. Chris Jericho (7-7) Tokyo
10.) Manami Toyota vs. Akira Hokuto (9-2) Tokyo
11.) Oleg Taktarov vs. Tank Abbott (9-8) Casper
12.) Cactus Jack & Head Hunters vs. Terry Funk & Shoji Nakamaki & Leatherface (Rick Patterson) (4-2) Tokyo
13.) Manami Toyota & Sakie Hasegawa vs. Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue (8-30) Osaka
14.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi & Stan Hansen vs. Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada & Johnny Ace (4-2) Tokyo
15.) Shawn Michaels vs. Jeff Jarrett (7-23) Nashville
16.) Sabu vs. Devon Storm (10-28) Woodbury, NJ
17.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (7-24) Tokyo
18.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue 4-15 Tokyo
19.) Rey Misterio & Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Fuerza & Juventud Guerrera (3-2) Xalapa
20.) Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (5-13) Philadelphia
21.) Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (8-26) Philadelphia
22.) Manami Toyota vs. Aja Kong (6-27 Sapporo
23.) Pit Bulls vs. Raven & Stevie Richards (9-16) Philadelphia
1996
1.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (6-7) Tokyo
2.) Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera (3-9) Philadelphia
3.) Dick Togo & Mens Teioh & Shiryu [Kaz Hayashi] & Taka Michinoku & Shoichi Funaki vs. Gran Hamada & Super Delfin & Tiger Mask & Gran Naniwa & Masato Yakushiji (10-10) Tokyo
4.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (5-23) Sapporo
5.) Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels 3-31 Anaheim
6.) Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psicosis 7-7 Daytona Beach
7.) Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin 11-17 New York
8.) Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel [Kevin Nash] 4-28 Omaha
9.) Ultimo Dragon vs. Shinjiro Otani (8-4) Tokyo
10.) Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psicosis (12-13-95) Tokyo
11.) Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind (9-22) Philadelphia
12.) Bas Rutten vs. Masakatsu Funaki (9-7) Tokyo
13.) Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada (10-18) Tokyo
14.) Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Ultimo Dragon (11-24) Norfolk
15.) Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Dean Malenko (10-27) Las Vegas
16.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (9-5) Tokyo
17.) Don Frye vs. Amoury Bitetti (5-17) Detroit
18.) Antonio Inoki vs. Vader (1-4) Tokyo
19.) Manami Toyota & Mima Shimoda vs. Mariko Yoshida & Kaoru Ito (8-6) Hakata
20.) Sabu vs Rob Van Dam (4-20) Philadelphia
21.) Rey Misterio Jr. & Ultimo Dragon vs. Psicosis & Heavy Metal (6-1) Los Angeles
1997
1.) Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin (3-23) Chicago
2.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (1-20) Osaka
3.) Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (10-5) St. Louis
4.) Eddy Guerrero vs. Rey Misterio Jr. (10-26) Las Vegas
5.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (6-6) Tokyo
6.) El Samurai vs. Koji Kanemoto (6-5) Tokyo
7.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (12-6-96) Tokyo
8.) Great Sasuke & Gran Hamada & Masato Yakushiji vs. Mens Teioh & Dick Togo & Taka Michinoku (4-13) Philadelphia
9.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (10-21) Tokyo
10.) Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Otani (2-9) Sapporo
11.) Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (11-9) Montreal
12.) Bret & Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith & Jim Neidhart & Brian Pillman vs. Steve Austin & Ken Shamrock & Goldust & Legion of Doom (7-6) Calgary
13.) Ultimo Dragon vs. Dean Malenko (12-29-96) Nashville
14.) Hector Garza & Juventud Guerrera & Lizmark Jr. vs. La Parka & Psicosis & Villano IV (7-13) Daytona Beach
1998
1.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (10-31) Tokyo
2.) Undertaker vs. Mankind (6-28) Pittsburgh
3.) Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (6-27) Yokohama
4.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (5-1) Tokyo
5.) Steve Austin vs. Dude Love (5-31) Milwaukee
6.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (12-5-97) Tokyo
7.) Juventud Guerrera vs. Billy Kidman (11-16) Wichita
8.) Rock vs. HHH (8-30) New York
9.) Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada (6-12) Tokyo
10.) Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama (7-25) Tokyo
11.) Koji Kanemoto vs. Dr. Wagner Jr. (6-3) Osaka
12.) Ric Flair vs. Bret Hart (1-25 Dayton
13.) Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels (3-29) Boston
14.) Shinjiro Otani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs. Koji Kanemoto & Dr. Wagner Jr. (8-8) Osaka
15.) Shinjiro Otani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs. Jushin Liger & El Samurai (8-2) Tokyo
16.) Genichiro Tenryu vs. Shinya Hashimoto (8-1) Tokyo
1999
1.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (6-11) Tokyo
2.) Edge & Christian vs. Hardys (10-17) Cleveland
3.) Bret Hart vs. Chris Benoit (10-4) Kansas City
4.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (3-6) Tokyo
5.) Steve Austin vs. Rock (4-25) Hartford
6.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (1-22) Osaka
7.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (10-23) Nagoya
8.) Shinjiro Otani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs. Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto (10-11) Tokyo
9.) Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto (6-24) Tokyo
10.) Juventud Guerrera vs. Blitzkrieg (4-11) Tacoma
11.) Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn (3-21) Asbury Park
12.) Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psicosis vs. Blitzkrieg vs. Juventud Guerrera (4-19) Gainesville, FL
13.) Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn (5-16) Poughkeepsie
14.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Vader (5-2) Tokyo
15.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Vader (10-30) Tokyo
16.) Great Sasuke vs. Magnum Tokyo (2-7) Yokohama
17.) Masato Tanaka vs. Mike Awesome (11-7) Buffalo
18.) Jushin Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto (3-17) Hiroshima
19.) Rock vs. Mankind (1-24) Anaheim
2000
1.) Atlantis vs. Villano III (3/17 - Arena Mexico)
2.) Triple H vs. Cactus Jack (1/23 - Madison Square Garden)
3.) Dudley Boys vs. Edge & Christian vs. Hardy Boys (8/27 - Raleigh)
4.) Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kensuke Sasaki (10/9 - Tokyo Dome)
5.) Shinjiro Otani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs. Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka (6/25 - Tokyo)
2001
1.) Keiji Muto vs. Genichiro Tenryu (6/8 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan)
2.) Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho vs. Steve Austin & Triple H (5/21 - San Jose)
3.) Toshiaki Kawada & Masanobu Fuchi vs. Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka (12/14/00 - Osaka)
4.) Minoru Tanaka vs. Takehiro Murahama (4/20 - Tokyo Korakuen Hall)
5.) Triple H vs. Steve Austin (2/25 - Las Vegas)
2002
1.) Chris Benoit & Kurt Angle vs. Edge & Rey Mysterio (10/20 - Little Rock)
2.) Genichiro Tenryu vs. Satoshi Kojima (7/17 - Osaka)
3.) Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels (8/25 - Madison Square Garden)
4.) Keiji Muto vs. Toshiaki Kawada (2/24 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan)
5.) American Dragon vs. Low Ki (3/30 - Philadelphia)
6.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata (2/17 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan)
7.) Spanky vs. Low Ki vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Doug Williams (7/27 - Philadelphia)
8.) Naomichi Marufuji vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa (12/9/01 - Tokyo)
9.) Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle (9/22 - Los Angeles)
10.) Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge (9/24 - San Diego)
2003
1.) Misawa/Kobashi 3/1 Tokyo
2.) Angle/Benoit 1/19 Boston
3.) KENTA&Marufuji / Kanemura&Hashi 9/12 Tokyo
4.) Jerchio/Michaels 3/30 Seattle
5.) Danielson/London 4/12 Philly
6.) KENTA&Marufuji/Liger&Murahama 7/16 Osaka
7.) Angle/Lesnar 3/30 Seattle
8.) Kobashi/Nagata 9/12 Tokyo
9.) Tenzen/Akiyama 8/17 Tokyo
10.) Angle/Lesnar 9/16 Raleigh
2004
1.) Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama 7/10 Tokyo Dome (362) 2,270
2.) HHH vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit 3/14 New York City Madison Square Garden (218) 1,974
3.) Samoa Joe vs. C.M. Punk 10/16 Chicago Ridge (163) 1,681
4.) Kenta Kobashi vs. Yoshihiro Takayama 4/25 Tokyo Budokan Hall(38) 410
5.) Randy Orton vs. Mick Foley 4/18 Edmonton (28) 352
6.) Eddie Guerrero vs. Brock Lesnar 2/15, San Francisco Cow Palace(7) 209
7.) Samoa Joe vs. C.M. Punk 6/12 Dayton (12) 140
8.) Kensuke Sasaki vs. Yoshihiro Takyama 8/8 Osaka (1) 124
9.) HHH vs. Shawn Michaels 12/30/03 San Antonio (4) 108
10.) HHH vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit 4/18 Edmonton 94
2005
1.) Kenta Kobashi vs. Samoa Joe 10/1 New York (263) 1,968
2.) Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels 4/3 Los Angeles (176) 1,580
3.) Kenta Kobashi vs. Kensuke Sasaki 7/18 Tokyo Dome (177) 1,574
4.) Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels vs. AJ Styles 9/11 Orlando (94) 1,195
5.) Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiosaki vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima 11/5 Budokan Hall (62) 514
6.) AMW vs. XXX 2/5-04 Orlando (25) 443
7.) Satoshi Kojima vs. Toshiaki Kawada 2/16 Tokyo Gym (13) 371
8.) Mistico vs. Ultimo Guerrero 2/15 Arena Mexico (12) 161
9.) AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels 2/13 Orlando (12) 148ls
10.) KENTA vs. SUWA 9/18 Budokan Hall (4) 145
2006
1.) Do Fixer vs Blood Gen. (ROH 3/31/06)
2.) KENTA vs Marufuji (NOAH 10/29/06)
3.) Bryan Danielson vs KENTA (ROH 9/16/06)
4.) Bryan Danielson vs Nigel McGuiness (ROH 8/12/06)
5.) Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles (TNA 12/11/05)
6.) KENTA vs Low Ki (ROH 12/17/05)
7.) Chris Benoit vs Finlay (WWE 5/21/06)
8.) Cage of Death: CZW vs ROH (ROH/CZW 7/15/06)
9.) Rikio/Morishima vs KENTA/Marufuji (NOAH 7/6/06)
10.) Kurt Angle vs The Undertaker (WWE 2/19/06)
11.) Averno & Mephisto vs. El Hijo del Santo & Negro Casas 12/16/05 Mexico City
12.) Samoa Joe vs. A.J. Styles vs. Christopher Daniels
13.) Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Takashi Sugiura (3/5 Tokyo, NOAH Budokan)
14.) Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong 3/31 Chicago Ridge (ROH)
15.) Edge vs. Mick Foley 4/2 Chicago (WWE WM22)
16.) Chris Hero & Super Dragon & Necro Butcher vs. Samoa Joe & Adam Pearce & B.J. Whitmer 4/22 Philadelphia
17.) Edge vs. John Cena 9/17 Toronto
18.) Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe 11/19 Orlando
2007
1. Bryan Danielson Vs. Takeshi Morishima (8/25/07) (118) - 1,199 pts.
2. KENTA & Taiji Ishimori Vs. Kota Ibushi & Naomichi marufuji (7/15/07) (131) - 1,108 pts.
3. Bryan Danielson Vs. Nigel McGuiness (6/9/07) - (146) - 1,061 pts.
4. John Cena Vs. Shawn Michaels (4/23/07) (74) - 809 pts.
5. John Cena Vs. Umaga (1/28/07) (46) - 458 pts.
6. Briscoes Vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico (9/15/07) (28) - 403 pts.
7. John Cena Vs. Shawn Michaels Vs. Edge Vs. Randy Orton (4/29/07) (26) - 280 pts.
8. Cima, Shingo Takagi & Susuma Yokosuka Vs. Dragon Kid, Ryo Saito & Masaaki Mochizuki () (45) 267 pts.
9. Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs. Hirooki Goto (11/11/07) (2) - 212 pts.
10. Hiroshi Tanahasi Vs. Yuji Nagata (4/13/07) - (1) - 196 pts.
11. Bryan Danielson Vs. Takeshi Morishima (9/15/07) - 184 pts.
12. Undertaker Vs. Batista (4/1/07) - 173 pts.
13. John Cena Vs. Shawn Michaels (4/1/07) - 167 pts.
14. BJ Whitmer Vs. Jimmy Jacobs (3/31/07) - 127 pts.
15. Briscoes Vs. Ricky marvin & Kotaro Suzuki (1/21/07) - 125 pts.
16. Takeshi Morishima Vs. Claudio Castragnoli (8/10/07) - 119 pts.
17. Chris Harris Vs. James Storm (5/13/07) - 96 pts.
18. Briscoes Vs. Claudio Castragnoli & Matt Sydal (5/12/07) - 88 pts
19. Kurt Angle Vs. Samoa Joe (12/10/06) - 67 pts
2008
1. SHAWN MICHAELS VS. CHRIS JERICHO 10/5 PORTLAND (179)1,146
2. Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels 3/30 Orlando (140)933
3. Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe 4/13 Lowell (33)622
4. Blue Panther vs. Villano V 9/19 Mexico City (30)594
5. Kenta Kobashi & Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama 12/2/07 Tokyo (36)539
6. Nigel McGuinness vs. Austin Aries 12/29/07 New York (37)475
7. Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson 2/23 New York (49)405
8. Undertaker vs. Edge 3/30 Orlando (22)386
9. Naomichi Marufuji & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. KENTA & Kota Ibushi 9/14 Tokyo (39)360
10. Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino & Genki Horiguchi vs. Cima & Ryo Saito & Dragon Kid 3/29 Orlando (12)348
11. KENTA vs. Naomichi Marufuji 10/25 Tokyo 313
12. Undertaker vs Edge 8/17 Indianapolis 301
13. Nigel McGuinness vs. Tyler Black 3/16 Philadelphia 280
14. Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black 7/26 Detroit 251
15. Naomichi Marufuji vs. Shuji Kondo 11/3 Tokyo 217
16. Kenta Kobashi & KENTA vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima 6/14 Tokyo 198
17. Volador Jr. & Sagrado & La Sombra vs. El Hijo del Fantasma & La Mascara & Valiente 4/30 Mexico City 192
18. KENTA & Taiji Ishimori vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Kotaro Suzuki 9/6 Tokyo 114
19. Kurt Angle vs. A.J. Styles 8/10 Trenton 113
20. HHH vs. Jeff Hardy 10/5 Portland 113
21. Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Masato Yoshino & Naruki Doi 3/28 Orlando 109
22. Kurt Angle vs. Yuji Nagata 1/4 Tokyo 78
23. Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Tyler Black & Jimmy Jacobs 9/19 Boston 76
24. Takeshi Morishima vs. Naomichi Marufuji 12/2/07 Tokyo 72
2009
1. UNDERTAKER VS. SHAWN MICHAELS 4/5 HOUSTON (304) 2,110 points
2. Davey Richards vs. Shingo Takagi 9/6 Chicago (81)855 points
3. KENTA vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima 3/1 Tokyo (51)737 points
4. Bryan Danielson vs. Naruki Doi 9/6 Chicago (66)706 points
5. KENTA & Go Shiozaki vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima 6/22 Tokyo (63)517 points
6. Davey Richards vs. KENTA 4/3 Houston (29)432 points
7. Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho 6/28 Sacramento (19)322 points
8. Bryan Danielson vs. Davey Richards 9/25 Boston (19)199 points
9. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels vs. A.J. Styles 11/15 Orlando (4)187 points
10. KENTA vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima 2/11 Tokyo (2)143 points
11. Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima 12/27/08 New York 143 points
12. Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe 11/15 Orlando
13. John Cena vs. Randy Orton 9/13 Montreal 112 points
14. C.M. Punk vs. Jeff Hardy 8/25 Phoenix 90 points
15. Rey Mysterio vs. John Morrison 9/1 Cleveland 82 points
1.) Bob Backlund vs. Ken Patera (5/19 - Madison Square Garden)
2.) Bruno Sammartino vs. Larry Zbyszko (9/8 - Shea Stadium)
1981
1.) Pat Patterson vs. Sgt. Slaughter (4/21 - Madison Square Garden)
2.) Dusty Rhodes vs. Ric Flair (9/17 - Kansas City)
1982
1.) Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid (8/5 - Tokyo)
2.) Ric Flair vs. Bob Backlund (4/7 - Atlanta)
3.) Bob Backlund vs. Jimmy Snuka (MSG)
4.) Bob Backlund vs Adrian Adonis (1-30 MSG)
5.) Buddy Rose vs David Schultz (Chain match Portland)
6.) Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat (2-7 Greensboro)
7.) Ric Flair vs Stan Hansen (10-3 Atlanta)
1983
1.) Harley Race vs. Ric Flair (11/24 - Greensboro)
2.) Rick Steamboat & Jay Youngblood vs. Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle (3/12 - Greensboro) (actually outvoted Flair-Race)
3.) Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid (4/23 - Tokyo)
4.) Antonio Inoki vs. Hulk Hogan (6/2 - Tokyo)
5.) Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr. vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (8/31 - Tokyo)
6.) Von Erichs vs Freebirds 7-4 Ft. Worth
7.) Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich (12-25-82 Dallas)
8.) Don Muraco vs Jimmy Snuka (7-23 Landover)
9.) Kerry Von Erich vs Michael Hayes cage match (11-24 Dallas)
10.) Roddy Piper vs Greg Valentine dog collar match (11-24 Greensboro)
984
1.) Freebirds vs. Von Erichs (7/4/84)
2.) Sgt. Slaughter vs. Iron Sheik (6/16/84)
3.) Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich (5/6 Texas Stadium)
4.) Dynamite Kid vs The Cobra (7/5 Tokyo)
5.) Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Nobuhiko Takada (4/19 Tokyo)
6.) Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat (5/29 Meadowlands)
7.) Nobuhiko Takada vs Kazuo Yamazaki (12/5 Tokyo)
8.) Hulk Hogan vs Iron Shiek (1/23)
9.) Davey Boy Smith-Dynamite Kid-David Schultz vs Antonio Inoki-Fujinami-Cobra (7/13 Japan)
10.) Bruiser Brody vs Jerry Blackwell (10/21 St. Paul)
11.) Dynamite Kid vs Davey Boy Smith (7/20 Osaka)
12.) Super Tiger vs Akira Maeda (9/11 Tokyo)
13.) Ricky Steamboat vs Dick Slater (early June Greenville)
14.) Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich (5/24 Yokosuka, Japan)
15.) The Cobra vs Kuniaki Kobayashi (8/2 Tokyo)
1985
1.) Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Tiger Mask (Misawa) (06/21/85)
2.) Jaguar Yokota vs. Lioness Asuka (08/22/85)
3.) Ted Dibiase vs Jim Duggan cage match (3/22 Houston)
4.) Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich (1/25 St Louis)
5.) Freebirds vs Road Warriors (9/28 Chicago)
6.) Ric Flair vs Harley Race (2/24 Meadowlands)
7.) Roddy Piper & Paul Orndorff vs Mr T & Hulk Hogan (3/31 New York)
8.) Rick Martel vs Jumbo Tsuruta (9/29 St Paul)
9.) Hulk Hogan vs Roddy Piper (2/18 New York)
10.) Fabulous Ones vs Sheepherders (8/12 Memphis)
11.) Antonio Inoki vs Bruiser Brody (8/1 Tokyo)
12.) Riki Choshu vs Genichiro Tenryu (6/21 Tokyo)
1986
1.) Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham (2/14 - Orlando)
2.) Yoshiaki Yatsu & Riki Choshu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu (1/28 - Tokyo)
3.) Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Akira Maeda (6/12 - Osaka)
4.) Midnight Express vs. Rock 'n Roll Express (8/16 - Philadelphia)
5.) Shiro Koshinaka vs. Nobuhiko Takada (9/19 - Fukuoka)
6.) Fantastics vs Sheepherders (4/19 New Orleans)
7.) Midnight Rockers vs Buddy Rose & Doug Somers (8/7 Las Vegas)
8.) The Cobra vs Nobuhiko Takada (6/27 Nagoya)
9.) Ric Flair vs Ricky Morton (7/5 Charlotte)
10.) British Bulldogs vs Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake (4/7 Chicago)
1987
1.) Rick Steamboat vs. Randy Savage (3/29 - Pontiac)
2.) Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham (1/20 - Greensboro)
3.) Chigusa Nagayo vs. Lioness Asuka (2/26 - Kawasaki)
4.) Nobuhiko Takada vs. Shiro Koshinaka (2/5 - Tokyo Sumo Hall)
5.) Akira Maeda & Nobuhiko Takada vs. Shiro Koshinaka & Keiji Muto (3/20 - Tokyo Korakuen Hall)
6.) Ric Flair vs Barry Windham (4/11 Baltimore)
7.) El Hijo del Santo vs Negro Casas (7/27 hair vs hair match Los Angeles)
8.) Jerry Lawler vs Austin Idol hair vs hair match (4/27 Memphis)
9.) Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu (10/6 Tokyo)
10.) War Games I (7/4 Atlanta)
11.) Choshu & Maeda & Takada & Fujinami & Strong Machine vs Inoki & Saito & Sakaguchi & Fujiwara & Murdoch (9/17 Osaka)
12.) Akira Maeda & Nobuhiko Takada vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kazuo Yamazaki (9/1 Fukuoka)
13.) Antonio Inoki vs Masa Saito (4/27 Tokyo)
14.) Nick Bockwinkel vs Curt Hennig (5/2 San Francisco)
1988
1.) Ric Flair vs. Sting (3/27 - Greensboro)
2.) Midnight Express vs. Fantastics (3/27 - Greensboro)
3.) Midnight Express vs. Fantastics (4/26 - Chattanooga)
4.) Footloose vs. Shinichi Nakano & Shunji Takano (7/19 - Tokyo Korakuen Hall)
5.) Ted DiBiase vs. Randy Savage (4/25 - Madison Square Garden)
6.) Chigusa Nagayo vs Lioness Asuka (8/25 Kawasaki)
7.) Antonio Inoki vs Tatsumi Fujinami (8/8 Yokohama)
8.) Tatsumi Fujinami vs Riki Choshu (6/24 Osaka)
9.) Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/30 Osaka)
10.) Midnight Express vs Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson (8/26 Greensboro)
11.) Ted Dibiase vs Randy Savage (7/22 MSG Cage match)
12.) Owen Hart vs Hiroshi Hase (5/27 Sendai)
13.) Hiroshi Hase vs Shiro Koshinaka (3/19 Tokyo)
14.) Jumbo Tsuruta vs Tiger Mask (3/9 Yokohama)
15.) Owen Hart vs Keiichi Yamada (6/10 Hiroshima)
16.) Akira Maeda vs Kazuo Yamazaki (5/12 Tokyo)
17.) Owen Hart vs Shiro Koshinaka (6/24 Osaka)
18.) Kazuo Yamazaki vs Nobuhiko Takada (8/13 Tokyo)
1989
1.) Ric Flair vs. Rick Steamboat (4/2 - New Orleans)
2.) Ric Flair vs. Rick Steamboat (5/7 - Nashville)
3.) Ric Flair vs. Rick Steamboat (2/20 - Chicago)
4.) Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (11/15 - Troy, NY)
5.) Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (9/20 - Osaka)
6.) Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu (6/5 Tokyo)
7.) Ric Flair vs Terry Funk (7/23 Baltimore)
8.) Footloose vs Doug Furnas & Dan Kroffat (6/5 Tokyo)
9.) Jushin Liger vs Naoki Sano (7/13 Tokyo)
10.) Bob Backlund vs Nobuhiko Takada (12/22/88)
11.) Rockers vs Brainbusters (2/17 Hershey)
12.) Akira Maeda vs Nobuhiko Takada (1/10 Tokyo)
1990
1.) Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (1-31) Osaka
2.) Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (6-8) Tokyo
3.) Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane vs. Tracy Smothers & Steve Armstrong (7-8) Baltimore
4.) Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior (4-1) Toronto
5.) Steiners vs. Nasty Boys (10-27) Chicago
6.) Atsushi Onita & Tarzan Goto vs Dragon Master & Masanobu Kurisu (4-1) Tokyo
7.) Keiji Muto vs. Hiroshi Hase (9-14) Hiroshima
8.) Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger (2-25) Greensboro
9.) Tommy Rogers & Bobby Fulton vs. Joe Malenko & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi
10.) Yoshihiro Asai vs. Negro Casas (6-7) Tokyo
11.) Jushin Liger vs. Chris Benoit (8-19) Tokyo
1991
1.) Steiners vs. Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki (3-21) Tokyo
2.) Bull Nakano vs Akira Hokuto (1-4) Tokyo
3.) Ric Flair & Larry Zbyszko & Sid Vicious & Barry Windham vs. Steiners & Sting & Brian Pillman War Games (2-24) Phoenix
4.) Cactus Jack vs. Eddie Gilbert (8-3) Philadelphia
5.) Steiners vs. Sting & Lex Luger (5-19) St. Petersburg
6.) Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko vs. Ricky Steamboat & Dustin Rhodes (11-18) Savannah
7.) Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior (3-34) Los Angeles
8.) Curt Hennig vs. Bret Hart (8-27) New York
9.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada & Kenta Kobashi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi (4-20) Tokyo
10.) Jushin Liger vs. Hiroshi Hase (5-6) Tokyo
11.) Keiji Muto vs. Masahiro Chono (8-11) Tokyo
12.) Jushin Liger vs. Chris Benoit (10-18) Hiroshima
13.) Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kenta Kobashi (5-24) Osaka
14.) Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair (10-25) Oakland
15.) Jushin Liger vs. Owen Hart (4-27) Okinawa
16.) Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Toshiaki Kawada (10-24) Yokohama
17.) Aja Kong & Bison Kimura vs. Esther Moreno & Manami Toyota (4-29) Tokyo
18.) Ric Flair vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (3-21) Tokyo
1992
1.) Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (5-25) Miyagi
2.) Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman (2-29) Milwaukee
3.) Manami Toyota vs. Kyoko Inoue (4-25) Yokohama
4.) Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (4-30) Tokyo
5.) Manami Toyota vs. Toshiyo Yamada (8-15) Tokyo
6.) El Hijo del Santo & Atsushi Onita & Tarzan Goto vs. Negro Casas & Tim Patterson & Horace Boulder (5-16) Los Angeles
7.) Sting & Nikita Koloff & Dustin Rhodes & Ricky Steamboat & Barry Windham vs. Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton & Steve Austin & Larry Zbyszko & Rick Rude War Games (5-17) Jacksonville
8.) Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog (8-29) London
9.) Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Yumiko Hotta & Suzuka Minami (3-17) Tokyo
10.) Eddie Gilbert vs. Terry Funk (11-14) Wayne, NJ
11.) Royal Rumble (1-19) Albany, NY
12.) Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman (12-27) East Rutherford, NJ
13.) Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage (4-5) Indianapolis
14.) Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (11-27) Richfield, OH
15.) Sting vs. Cactus Jack (6-20) Mobile
16.) Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Masa Fuchi & Yoshinari Ogawa (7-5) Tokyo
17.) Sting vs. Big Van Vader (7-18) Albany
18.) Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Aja Kong & Kyoko Inoue (4-20) Tokyo
19.) Rick Rude vs. Masahiro Chono (8-12) Tokyo
1993
1.) Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki (4-11) Osaka
2.) Steve Williams vs. Kenta Kobashi (8-31) Toyohashi
3.) Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori (4-2) Yokohama
4.) Cactus Jack vs. Vader (10-24) New Orleans
5.) Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi (7-29) Tokyo
6.) Hikari Fukuoka & Cuty Suzuki & Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki vs. Aja Kong & Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue & Sakie Hasgewa (7-31) Yokohama
7.) Sting vs. Vader (2-21) Asheville
8.) Lightning Kid (X-Pac) vs. Sabu 4-17 Minneapolis
9.) Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty (7-10) New York
10.) Stan Hansen vs. Toshiaki Kawasda (2-28) Tokyo
11.) Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (4-14) Nagoya
12.) El Hijo del Santo vs. Heavy Metal (1-29) Mexico City
13.) Winners [Abismo Negro & Rey Misterio Jr. & Super Calo] vs. Jerry Estrada & Heavy Metal & Psicosis (1-29) Mexico City
14.) Bret Hart vs. Curt Hennig (6-11) Dayton
15.) Mitsuhau Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (3-27) Kyoto
16.) Atsushi Onita vs. Terry Funk (5-5) Kawasaki
17.) Devil Masami vs. Bull Nakano (4-18) Tokyo
18.) Steiners vs. Tom Prichard & Jimmy Del Rey (8-30) Auburn Hills, MI
19.) Heavy Metal & Psicosis & Picudo vs. Winners & Serup Calo & Rey Misterio Jr. (2-14) Mexico City
1994
1.) Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon [Scott Hall] (3-20) New York
2.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (6-3) Tokyo
3.) Great Sasuke vs. Chris Benoit (4-16) Tokyo
4.) Love Machine & Eddy Guerrero vs. El Hijo del Santo & Octagon (11-6) Los Angeles
5.) Terry Funk vs. Shane Douglas vs. Sabu (2-5) Philadelphia
6.) Ric Flair vs Vader (12-27-93) Charlotte
7.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (5-21) Sapporo
8.) Nasty Boys vs. Cactus Jack & Maxx Payne (4-17) Chicago
9.) Jushin Liger vs. Great Sasuke (4-16) Tokyo
10.) Cactus Jack & Kevin Sullivan vs. Nasty Boys (5-22) Philadelphia
11.) Aja Kong vs. Manami Toyota (11-20) Tokyo
12.) Akira Hokuto & Kyoko Inoue vs. Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada (12-10-93) Tokyo
13.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Steve Williams (7-28) Tokyo
14.) Great Sasuke vs. Jinsei Shinzaki (4-29) Tokyo
15.) Chris Benoit & Shinjiro Otani vs. Black Tiger [Eddy Guerrero] & Great Sasuke (10-18) Odawara
16.) Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (8-29) Chicago
17.) Steve Williams vs. Kenta Kobashi (9-3) Tokyo
18.) Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (3-20) New York
1995
1.) Manami Toyota vs. Kyoko Inoue (5-7) Tokyo
2.) Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (8-27) Pittsburgh
3.) Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psicosis (10-7) Philadelphia
4.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada (1-24) Yamagata
5.) Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (1-19) Osaka
6.) Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (4-15) Philadelphia
7.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada (6-9) Tokyo
8.) Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psicosis (9-22) Mexico City
9.) Ultimo Dragon vs. Chris Jericho (7-7) Tokyo
10.) Manami Toyota vs. Akira Hokuto (9-2) Tokyo
11.) Oleg Taktarov vs. Tank Abbott (9-8) Casper
12.) Cactus Jack & Head Hunters vs. Terry Funk & Shoji Nakamaki & Leatherface (Rick Patterson) (4-2) Tokyo
13.) Manami Toyota & Sakie Hasegawa vs. Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue (8-30) Osaka
14.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi & Stan Hansen vs. Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada & Johnny Ace (4-2) Tokyo
15.) Shawn Michaels vs. Jeff Jarrett (7-23) Nashville
16.) Sabu vs. Devon Storm (10-28) Woodbury, NJ
17.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (7-24) Tokyo
18.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue 4-15 Tokyo
19.) Rey Misterio & Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Fuerza & Juventud Guerrera (3-2) Xalapa
20.) Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (5-13) Philadelphia
21.) Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (8-26) Philadelphia
22.) Manami Toyota vs. Aja Kong (6-27 Sapporo
23.) Pit Bulls vs. Raven & Stevie Richards (9-16) Philadelphia
1996
1.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (6-7) Tokyo
2.) Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera (3-9) Philadelphia
3.) Dick Togo & Mens Teioh & Shiryu [Kaz Hayashi] & Taka Michinoku & Shoichi Funaki vs. Gran Hamada & Super Delfin & Tiger Mask & Gran Naniwa & Masato Yakushiji (10-10) Tokyo
4.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (5-23) Sapporo
5.) Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels 3-31 Anaheim
6.) Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psicosis 7-7 Daytona Beach
7.) Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin 11-17 New York
8.) Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel [Kevin Nash] 4-28 Omaha
9.) Ultimo Dragon vs. Shinjiro Otani (8-4) Tokyo
10.) Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psicosis (12-13-95) Tokyo
11.) Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind (9-22) Philadelphia
12.) Bas Rutten vs. Masakatsu Funaki (9-7) Tokyo
13.) Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada (10-18) Tokyo
14.) Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Ultimo Dragon (11-24) Norfolk
15.) Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Dean Malenko (10-27) Las Vegas
16.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (9-5) Tokyo
17.) Don Frye vs. Amoury Bitetti (5-17) Detroit
18.) Antonio Inoki vs. Vader (1-4) Tokyo
19.) Manami Toyota & Mima Shimoda vs. Mariko Yoshida & Kaoru Ito (8-6) Hakata
20.) Sabu vs Rob Van Dam (4-20) Philadelphia
21.) Rey Misterio Jr. & Ultimo Dragon vs. Psicosis & Heavy Metal (6-1) Los Angeles
1997
1.) Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin (3-23) Chicago
2.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (1-20) Osaka
3.) Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (10-5) St. Louis
4.) Eddy Guerrero vs. Rey Misterio Jr. (10-26) Las Vegas
5.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (6-6) Tokyo
6.) El Samurai vs. Koji Kanemoto (6-5) Tokyo
7.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (12-6-96) Tokyo
8.) Great Sasuke & Gran Hamada & Masato Yakushiji vs. Mens Teioh & Dick Togo & Taka Michinoku (4-13) Philadelphia
9.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (10-21) Tokyo
10.) Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Otani (2-9) Sapporo
11.) Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (11-9) Montreal
12.) Bret & Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith & Jim Neidhart & Brian Pillman vs. Steve Austin & Ken Shamrock & Goldust & Legion of Doom (7-6) Calgary
13.) Ultimo Dragon vs. Dean Malenko (12-29-96) Nashville
14.) Hector Garza & Juventud Guerrera & Lizmark Jr. vs. La Parka & Psicosis & Villano IV (7-13) Daytona Beach
1998
1.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (10-31) Tokyo
2.) Undertaker vs. Mankind (6-28) Pittsburgh
3.) Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (6-27) Yokohama
4.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (5-1) Tokyo
5.) Steve Austin vs. Dude Love (5-31) Milwaukee
6.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (12-5-97) Tokyo
7.) Juventud Guerrera vs. Billy Kidman (11-16) Wichita
8.) Rock vs. HHH (8-30) New York
9.) Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada (6-12) Tokyo
10.) Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama (7-25) Tokyo
11.) Koji Kanemoto vs. Dr. Wagner Jr. (6-3) Osaka
12.) Ric Flair vs. Bret Hart (1-25 Dayton
13.) Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels (3-29) Boston
14.) Shinjiro Otani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs. Koji Kanemoto & Dr. Wagner Jr. (8-8) Osaka
15.) Shinjiro Otani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs. Jushin Liger & El Samurai (8-2) Tokyo
16.) Genichiro Tenryu vs. Shinya Hashimoto (8-1) Tokyo
1999
1.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (6-11) Tokyo
2.) Edge & Christian vs. Hardys (10-17) Cleveland
3.) Bret Hart vs. Chris Benoit (10-4) Kansas City
4.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (3-6) Tokyo
5.) Steve Austin vs. Rock (4-25) Hartford
6.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (1-22) Osaka
7.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (10-23) Nagoya
8.) Shinjiro Otani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs. Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto (10-11) Tokyo
9.) Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto (6-24) Tokyo
10.) Juventud Guerrera vs. Blitzkrieg (4-11) Tacoma
11.) Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn (3-21) Asbury Park
12.) Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psicosis vs. Blitzkrieg vs. Juventud Guerrera (4-19) Gainesville, FL
13.) Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn (5-16) Poughkeepsie
14.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Vader (5-2) Tokyo
15.) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Vader (10-30) Tokyo
16.) Great Sasuke vs. Magnum Tokyo (2-7) Yokohama
17.) Masato Tanaka vs. Mike Awesome (11-7) Buffalo
18.) Jushin Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto (3-17) Hiroshima
19.) Rock vs. Mankind (1-24) Anaheim
2000
1.) Atlantis vs. Villano III (3/17 - Arena Mexico)
2.) Triple H vs. Cactus Jack (1/23 - Madison Square Garden)
3.) Dudley Boys vs. Edge & Christian vs. Hardy Boys (8/27 - Raleigh)
4.) Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kensuke Sasaki (10/9 - Tokyo Dome)
5.) Shinjiro Otani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs. Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka (6/25 - Tokyo)
2001
1.) Keiji Muto vs. Genichiro Tenryu (6/8 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan)
2.) Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho vs. Steve Austin & Triple H (5/21 - San Jose)
3.) Toshiaki Kawada & Masanobu Fuchi vs. Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka (12/14/00 - Osaka)
4.) Minoru Tanaka vs. Takehiro Murahama (4/20 - Tokyo Korakuen Hall)
5.) Triple H vs. Steve Austin (2/25 - Las Vegas)
2002
1.) Chris Benoit & Kurt Angle vs. Edge & Rey Mysterio (10/20 - Little Rock)
2.) Genichiro Tenryu vs. Satoshi Kojima (7/17 - Osaka)
3.) Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels (8/25 - Madison Square Garden)
4.) Keiji Muto vs. Toshiaki Kawada (2/24 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan)
5.) American Dragon vs. Low Ki (3/30 - Philadelphia)
6.) Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata (2/17 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan)
7.) Spanky vs. Low Ki vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Doug Williams (7/27 - Philadelphia)
8.) Naomichi Marufuji vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa (12/9/01 - Tokyo)
9.) Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle (9/22 - Los Angeles)
10.) Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge (9/24 - San Diego)
2003
1.) Misawa/Kobashi 3/1 Tokyo
2.) Angle/Benoit 1/19 Boston
3.) KENTA&Marufuji / Kanemura&Hashi 9/12 Tokyo
4.) Jerchio/Michaels 3/30 Seattle
5.) Danielson/London 4/12 Philly
6.) KENTA&Marufuji/Liger&Murahama 7/16 Osaka
7.) Angle/Lesnar 3/30 Seattle
8.) Kobashi/Nagata 9/12 Tokyo
9.) Tenzen/Akiyama 8/17 Tokyo
10.) Angle/Lesnar 9/16 Raleigh
2004
1.) Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama 7/10 Tokyo Dome (362) 2,270
2.) HHH vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit 3/14 New York City Madison Square Garden (218) 1,974
3.) Samoa Joe vs. C.M. Punk 10/16 Chicago Ridge (163) 1,681
4.) Kenta Kobashi vs. Yoshihiro Takayama 4/25 Tokyo Budokan Hall(38) 410
5.) Randy Orton vs. Mick Foley 4/18 Edmonton (28) 352
6.) Eddie Guerrero vs. Brock Lesnar 2/15, San Francisco Cow Palace(7) 209
7.) Samoa Joe vs. C.M. Punk 6/12 Dayton (12) 140
8.) Kensuke Sasaki vs. Yoshihiro Takyama 8/8 Osaka (1) 124
9.) HHH vs. Shawn Michaels 12/30/03 San Antonio (4) 108
10.) HHH vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit 4/18 Edmonton 94
2005
1.) Kenta Kobashi vs. Samoa Joe 10/1 New York (263) 1,968
2.) Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels 4/3 Los Angeles (176) 1,580
3.) Kenta Kobashi vs. Kensuke Sasaki 7/18 Tokyo Dome (177) 1,574
4.) Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels vs. AJ Styles 9/11 Orlando (94) 1,195
5.) Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiosaki vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima 11/5 Budokan Hall (62) 514
6.) AMW vs. XXX 2/5-04 Orlando (25) 443
7.) Satoshi Kojima vs. Toshiaki Kawada 2/16 Tokyo Gym (13) 371
8.) Mistico vs. Ultimo Guerrero 2/15 Arena Mexico (12) 161
9.) AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels 2/13 Orlando (12) 148ls
10.) KENTA vs. SUWA 9/18 Budokan Hall (4) 145
2006
1.) Do Fixer vs Blood Gen. (ROH 3/31/06)
2.) KENTA vs Marufuji (NOAH 10/29/06)
3.) Bryan Danielson vs KENTA (ROH 9/16/06)
4.) Bryan Danielson vs Nigel McGuiness (ROH 8/12/06)
5.) Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles (TNA 12/11/05)
6.) KENTA vs Low Ki (ROH 12/17/05)
7.) Chris Benoit vs Finlay (WWE 5/21/06)
8.) Cage of Death: CZW vs ROH (ROH/CZW 7/15/06)
9.) Rikio/Morishima vs KENTA/Marufuji (NOAH 7/6/06)
10.) Kurt Angle vs The Undertaker (WWE 2/19/06)
11.) Averno & Mephisto vs. El Hijo del Santo & Negro Casas 12/16/05 Mexico City
12.) Samoa Joe vs. A.J. Styles vs. Christopher Daniels
13.) Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Takashi Sugiura (3/5 Tokyo, NOAH Budokan)
14.) Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong 3/31 Chicago Ridge (ROH)
15.) Edge vs. Mick Foley 4/2 Chicago (WWE WM22)
16.) Chris Hero & Super Dragon & Necro Butcher vs. Samoa Joe & Adam Pearce & B.J. Whitmer 4/22 Philadelphia
17.) Edge vs. John Cena 9/17 Toronto
18.) Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe 11/19 Orlando
2007
1. Bryan Danielson Vs. Takeshi Morishima (8/25/07) (118) - 1,199 pts.
2. KENTA & Taiji Ishimori Vs. Kota Ibushi & Naomichi marufuji (7/15/07) (131) - 1,108 pts.
3. Bryan Danielson Vs. Nigel McGuiness (6/9/07) - (146) - 1,061 pts.
4. John Cena Vs. Shawn Michaels (4/23/07) (74) - 809 pts.
5. John Cena Vs. Umaga (1/28/07) (46) - 458 pts.
6. Briscoes Vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico (9/15/07) (28) - 403 pts.
7. John Cena Vs. Shawn Michaels Vs. Edge Vs. Randy Orton (4/29/07) (26) - 280 pts.
8. Cima, Shingo Takagi & Susuma Yokosuka Vs. Dragon Kid, Ryo Saito & Masaaki Mochizuki () (45) 267 pts.
9. Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs. Hirooki Goto (11/11/07) (2) - 212 pts.
10. Hiroshi Tanahasi Vs. Yuji Nagata (4/13/07) - (1) - 196 pts.
11. Bryan Danielson Vs. Takeshi Morishima (9/15/07) - 184 pts.
12. Undertaker Vs. Batista (4/1/07) - 173 pts.
13. John Cena Vs. Shawn Michaels (4/1/07) - 167 pts.
14. BJ Whitmer Vs. Jimmy Jacobs (3/31/07) - 127 pts.
15. Briscoes Vs. Ricky marvin & Kotaro Suzuki (1/21/07) - 125 pts.
16. Takeshi Morishima Vs. Claudio Castragnoli (8/10/07) - 119 pts.
17. Chris Harris Vs. James Storm (5/13/07) - 96 pts.
18. Briscoes Vs. Claudio Castragnoli & Matt Sydal (5/12/07) - 88 pts
19. Kurt Angle Vs. Samoa Joe (12/10/06) - 67 pts
2008
1. SHAWN MICHAELS VS. CHRIS JERICHO 10/5 PORTLAND (179)1,146
2. Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels 3/30 Orlando (140)933
3. Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe 4/13 Lowell (33)622
4. Blue Panther vs. Villano V 9/19 Mexico City (30)594
5. Kenta Kobashi & Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama 12/2/07 Tokyo (36)539
6. Nigel McGuinness vs. Austin Aries 12/29/07 New York (37)475
7. Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson 2/23 New York (49)405
8. Undertaker vs. Edge 3/30 Orlando (22)386
9. Naomichi Marufuji & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. KENTA & Kota Ibushi 9/14 Tokyo (39)360
10. Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino & Genki Horiguchi vs. Cima & Ryo Saito & Dragon Kid 3/29 Orlando (12)348
11. KENTA vs. Naomichi Marufuji 10/25 Tokyo 313
12. Undertaker vs Edge 8/17 Indianapolis 301
13. Nigel McGuinness vs. Tyler Black 3/16 Philadelphia 280
14. Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black 7/26 Detroit 251
15. Naomichi Marufuji vs. Shuji Kondo 11/3 Tokyo 217
16. Kenta Kobashi & KENTA vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima 6/14 Tokyo 198
17. Volador Jr. & Sagrado & La Sombra vs. El Hijo del Fantasma & La Mascara & Valiente 4/30 Mexico City 192
18. KENTA & Taiji Ishimori vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Kotaro Suzuki 9/6 Tokyo 114
19. Kurt Angle vs. A.J. Styles 8/10 Trenton 113
20. HHH vs. Jeff Hardy 10/5 Portland 113
21. Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Masato Yoshino & Naruki Doi 3/28 Orlando 109
22. Kurt Angle vs. Yuji Nagata 1/4 Tokyo 78
23. Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Tyler Black & Jimmy Jacobs 9/19 Boston 76
24. Takeshi Morishima vs. Naomichi Marufuji 12/2/07 Tokyo 72
2009
1. UNDERTAKER VS. SHAWN MICHAELS 4/5 HOUSTON (304) 2,110 points
2. Davey Richards vs. Shingo Takagi 9/6 Chicago (81)855 points
3. KENTA vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima 3/1 Tokyo (51)737 points
4. Bryan Danielson vs. Naruki Doi 9/6 Chicago (66)706 points
5. KENTA & Go Shiozaki vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima 6/22 Tokyo (63)517 points
6. Davey Richards vs. KENTA 4/3 Houston (29)432 points
7. Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho 6/28 Sacramento (19)322 points
8. Bryan Danielson vs. Davey Richards 9/25 Boston (19)199 points
9. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels vs. A.J. Styles 11/15 Orlando (4)187 points
10. KENTA vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima 2/11 Tokyo (2)143 points
11. Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima 12/27/08 New York 143 points
12. Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe 11/15 Orlando
13. John Cena vs. Randy Orton 9/13 Montreal 112 points
14. C.M. Punk vs. Jeff Hardy 8/25 Phoenix 90 points
15. Rey Mysterio vs. John Morrison 9/1 Cleveland 82 points
Deceased Wrestlers
Gary Will has compiled a very informative list of professional wrestlers who have passed away. People often ask about whether there an epidemic of wrestlers dying young.
So, there are about 1324 wrestlers listed there. Only 1085 have at least a year of death listed and only 854 of those have an age listed. I don't know when every person started their wrestling career, but let's just pretend they debuted when they were 18 years old. (Now granted, that puts a guy like Mike Awesome as debuting in 1983 when in reality it was several years later in 1989.)
So, by decade using this idea of a start date here are the counts:
[u]debut year[/u]
1860s -- 2
1870s -- 9
1880s -- 2
1890s -- 11
1900s -- 28
1910s -- 55
1920s -- 110
1930s -- 161
1940s -- 166
1950s -- 108
1960s -- 65
1970s -- 65
1980s -- 51
1990s -- 18
2000s -- 3
If you want to argue that most wrestlers weren't really into their career until they were about 25 (age David Von Erich died at), the list moves a bit further:
[u]decade when they were 25[/u]
1860s 1
1870s 2
1880s 8
1890s 2
1900s 19
1910s 27
1920s 67
1930s 142
1940s 156
1950s 162
1960s 82
1970s 68
1980s 63
1990s 50
2000s 5
Not perfectly scientific, but some basic analysis. Of the last five groups they divide as follows:
debuted in 1960s : 31%
debuted in 1970s : 25%
debuted in 1980s : 24%
debuted in 1990s : 19%
debuted in 2000s : 2%
Now, let's take into account average age of death for each decade:
(again I'm listing the decade of when they were 25)
1860s: 41.0 years old
1870s: 73.0 years old
1880s: 64.5 years old
1890s: 81.0 years old
1900s: 66.5 years old
1910s: 69.9 years old
1920s: 64.9 years old
1930s: 72.5 years old
1940s: 70.0 years old
1950s: 65.4 years old
1960s: 54.6 years old
1970s: 45.4 years old
1980s: 37.2 years old
1990s: 31.4 years old
2000s: 23.8 (for anyone who was less than 25 years old, I adjusted their debut date back to when they were 18)
Now, this list seems to be mostly US & Canadian wrestlers with some Mexican & Japanese personalities.
Now, it's not exactly fair to just compare 68 deaths from 70s personalities vs 50 deaths from 90s personalities because there has been more time for aging to occur. As of twenty years ago, how many people from the 70s had died and what was the average age?
As of the end of 1987... (by debut decade)
1930s: 73 deaths, avg age 61.5
1940s: 52 deaths, avg age 54.2
1950s: 28 deaths, avg age 46.9
1960s: 23 deaths, avg age 39.7
1970s: 13 deaths, avg age 32.0
1980s: 8 deaths, avg age 28.0
So, the average age of death from stars of 1990s as of now is 31.4 years old. However, there have been 50 deaths. This compares to only 13 deaths from stars of the 1970s (measured 7 years into the following decade) but at an average age of 32 years old.
Indeed.
So, there are about 1324 wrestlers listed there. Only 1085 have at least a year of death listed and only 854 of those have an age listed. I don't know when every person started their wrestling career, but let's just pretend they debuted when they were 18 years old. (Now granted, that puts a guy like Mike Awesome as debuting in 1983 when in reality it was several years later in 1989.)
So, by decade using this idea of a start date here are the counts:
[u]debut year[/u]
1860s -- 2
1870s -- 9
1880s -- 2
1890s -- 11
1900s -- 28
1910s -- 55
1920s -- 110
1930s -- 161
1940s -- 166
1950s -- 108
1960s -- 65
1970s -- 65
1980s -- 51
1990s -- 18
2000s -- 3
If you want to argue that most wrestlers weren't really into their career until they were about 25 (age David Von Erich died at), the list moves a bit further:
[u]decade when they were 25[/u]
1860s 1
1870s 2
1880s 8
1890s 2
1900s 19
1910s 27
1920s 67
1930s 142
1940s 156
1950s 162
1960s 82
1970s 68
1980s 63
1990s 50
2000s 5
Not perfectly scientific, but some basic analysis. Of the last five groups they divide as follows:
debuted in 1960s : 31%
debuted in 1970s : 25%
debuted in 1980s : 24%
debuted in 1990s : 19%
debuted in 2000s : 2%
Now, let's take into account average age of death for each decade:
(again I'm listing the decade of when they were 25)
1860s: 41.0 years old
1870s: 73.0 years old
1880s: 64.5 years old
1890s: 81.0 years old
1900s: 66.5 years old
1910s: 69.9 years old
1920s: 64.9 years old
1930s: 72.5 years old
1940s: 70.0 years old
1950s: 65.4 years old
1960s: 54.6 years old
1970s: 45.4 years old
1980s: 37.2 years old
1990s: 31.4 years old
2000s: 23.8 (for anyone who was less than 25 years old, I adjusted their debut date back to when they were 18)
Now, this list seems to be mostly US & Canadian wrestlers with some Mexican & Japanese personalities.
Now, it's not exactly fair to just compare 68 deaths from 70s personalities vs 50 deaths from 90s personalities because there has been more time for aging to occur. As of twenty years ago, how many people from the 70s had died and what was the average age?
As of the end of 1987... (by debut decade)
1930s: 73 deaths, avg age 61.5
1940s: 52 deaths, avg age 54.2
1950s: 28 deaths, avg age 46.9
1960s: 23 deaths, avg age 39.7
1970s: 13 deaths, avg age 32.0
1980s: 8 deaths, avg age 28.0
So, the average age of death from stars of 1990s as of now is 31.4 years old. However, there have been 50 deaths. This compares to only 13 deaths from stars of the 1970s (measured 7 years into the following decade) but at an average age of 32 years old.
Indeed.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
RAW March 5, 2007 BLOG by Ray Rhodes
Indeed Wrestling Weekly: RAW Blog 3/6/07 by Ray Rhodes
RAW kicks off with Cena and HBK talking backstage. Good promo exploiting the tension, with HBK saying he doesn't want or need Cena's help. The promo, at least locally, strangely cuts off and goes to commercial. When we come back, HBK is walking down the ramp. Not sure if that was a mistake or what.
It's HBK against Orton to kick off in a sweet hot opener. HBK's body is showing it's age but give the man credit, he still brings it like no one else. Good match but after Michaels takes a hard drop to the outside, the MID MATCH COMMERCIAL BREAK hits and ruins any momentum. We're back and HBK hits his patented comeback and after a series of traded reversals, a ref knock, and an attempted belt shot, Michaels gets the roll up victory. Good finish here, building on the Edge-Orton split as well. Orton gives HBK the RKO on a chair (which looked like it hurt HBK's knee just as much) but before they can continue to assault, Cena makes the save.
They show a graphic for the upcoming Guest Referee selection with the bald black shadow figure. My girlfriend remarks that if rumors are correct, the shadow actually looks like the mystery man (Austin).
Jeff Hardy gets a rematch with Umaga and since we're still in Phase One of "Let's forget Umaga lost to Cena twice and get him back on track as a monster" the outcome is already signed, sealed, and delivered. Hardy gets a few more shots in here, but can't sustain the pressure for too long. Eventually, Hardy succumbs to Umaga's Two Minutes of PAIN also known as his Signature Move Bonanza. While I get the idea of Umaga killing one of the most over face to make him more of a monster, I can't help but think he deserves better then to be eventually squashed out. He has, after all, lost some of the GUT he came back with.
Flair and Carlito have a little exchange, setting up the final Money in the Bank Qualifier. With Flair pretty much a non-factor last year with the mid-match injury angle, I hope if one of these guys has to make it, it's Carlito.
The MasterLock Challenge with....Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Is Hacksaw seriously on the roster? This has to be the most odd pity job in the company now that Animal was released. The Masterpiece wins, and one wonders if the writers actually watch week-to-week. Is Masters a goof or is he the real deal? I liked when they were breaking the hold and he was finding a technicality for saying it wasn't officially broken. Now I guess he's back to being the real deal but honestly, does anyone buy it anymore?
McMahon, Bishoff, Foley, The Phenoix Gorilla, Shane McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin have a Classic Raw Segment which really, makes no sense but it was entertaining and channeled some of the glory days of RAW. It's good to see Austin back and McMahon's faces were priceless.
Mickie James takes on Melina in a Falls Count Anywhere match for the Women's Title.
Hardcore Women's matches are always a hoot, remember Ivory and Ninja Tory from a few years back? Fun match which takes it backstage and into the women's lockerroom. Camera man gets taken out and we go to commericial. We come back and the women are making their way back to the ring. For a second time in a match with Melina, Mickie winds up falling on her head, this time going for a top-rope hurricanrana. That's a little thing IWW likes to call OUCH! Melina wins and Ashley, who was the guest announcer, gets into a little thing with Melina, taking the spot Mickie's more than earned. If there is one thing Christy Hemme and Ashley have taught the Divas: Pose for Playboy, Get a Wrestlemania Push. Nothing like selling out your self worth for a Wrestlemania pay day, right?
I talked with Zip on the last IWW podcast about Ashley briefly but man, she has the body of a 12 year old boy with ginormous fake breasts. Eat something! And what a pretentious entrance with the playboy cover coming down. She's so not-over Playboy has to put Chyna, Torrie, and others in the same issue. Showing the playboy bunnies on her Bazooms at No Way Out should have been a Diva Mark Out Moment...instead it was turned into another wasted moment.
Carlito and Flair wrestle for awhile until The Great Khali comes down and interrupts the match, eventually killing and eating both men, Torrie, and Chloe. He then takes a dump on the Announcer's table which looks like the pile of poop from Jurassic Park. He then utters what translator's eventually distinguish as, "I want Kane". Some of this is true, and one wonders–if Khali wanted Kane so bad why wouldn't he just you know, show up at Smackdown where KANE IS?! LIKE HE DID LAST WEEK?!
Orton tells Edge he doesn't have his back. Interesting!
Nick Bockwinkel joins Mr. Perfect, Jerry Lawler, and Dusty Rhodes in this year's Hall of Fame. Next IWW show I hope to go over this year's choices and debate with Zip on if he thinks they are good or bad choices.
Edge takes on Cena....sort of. Instead, Edge has MNM come down and in a strange promo talks about how he's colorblind and he's from Canada so Johnny Nitro gets to fight Cena. I'm honestly not sure what he was saying but RAW totally broke down at this point. Edge's promo and MNM's involvement made no sense and all it did was set up HBK's "will I, won't I" moment. Mercury and Edge beat on Cena, HBK starts to make the save but doesn't. As Edge leaves and Mercury and Nitro continue the beating, HBK still stalls. Eventually, he makes the save and walks away.
Final Thoughts: As Wrestlemania gets closer I think we're going to see less and less clean matches and lot's of interference and BS so it's going to be hard to judge on match quality. Entertainment wise, RAW moved along briskly and it was good to see a lot of old faces. The Women's match was fun and the hot opener was main event quality. I'll give it 4 out of 5 Viscera Heads, which marks a solid B, but mostly due to it's entertainment value and Wrestlemania build-up and not on it's matches.
RAW kicks off with Cena and HBK talking backstage. Good promo exploiting the tension, with HBK saying he doesn't want or need Cena's help. The promo, at least locally, strangely cuts off and goes to commercial. When we come back, HBK is walking down the ramp. Not sure if that was a mistake or what.
It's HBK against Orton to kick off in a sweet hot opener. HBK's body is showing it's age but give the man credit, he still brings it like no one else. Good match but after Michaels takes a hard drop to the outside, the MID MATCH COMMERCIAL BREAK hits and ruins any momentum. We're back and HBK hits his patented comeback and after a series of traded reversals, a ref knock, and an attempted belt shot, Michaels gets the roll up victory. Good finish here, building on the Edge-Orton split as well. Orton gives HBK the RKO on a chair (which looked like it hurt HBK's knee just as much) but before they can continue to assault, Cena makes the save.
They show a graphic for the upcoming Guest Referee selection with the bald black shadow figure. My girlfriend remarks that if rumors are correct, the shadow actually looks like the mystery man (Austin).
Jeff Hardy gets a rematch with Umaga and since we're still in Phase One of "Let's forget Umaga lost to Cena twice and get him back on track as a monster" the outcome is already signed, sealed, and delivered. Hardy gets a few more shots in here, but can't sustain the pressure for too long. Eventually, Hardy succumbs to Umaga's Two Minutes of PAIN also known as his Signature Move Bonanza. While I get the idea of Umaga killing one of the most over face to make him more of a monster, I can't help but think he deserves better then to be eventually squashed out. He has, after all, lost some of the GUT he came back with.
Flair and Carlito have a little exchange, setting up the final Money in the Bank Qualifier. With Flair pretty much a non-factor last year with the mid-match injury angle, I hope if one of these guys has to make it, it's Carlito.
The MasterLock Challenge with....Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Is Hacksaw seriously on the roster? This has to be the most odd pity job in the company now that Animal was released. The Masterpiece wins, and one wonders if the writers actually watch week-to-week. Is Masters a goof or is he the real deal? I liked when they were breaking the hold and he was finding a technicality for saying it wasn't officially broken. Now I guess he's back to being the real deal but honestly, does anyone buy it anymore?
McMahon, Bishoff, Foley, The Phenoix Gorilla, Shane McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin have a Classic Raw Segment which really, makes no sense but it was entertaining and channeled some of the glory days of RAW. It's good to see Austin back and McMahon's faces were priceless.
Mickie James takes on Melina in a Falls Count Anywhere match for the Women's Title.
Hardcore Women's matches are always a hoot, remember Ivory and Ninja Tory from a few years back? Fun match which takes it backstage and into the women's lockerroom. Camera man gets taken out and we go to commericial. We come back and the women are making their way back to the ring. For a second time in a match with Melina, Mickie winds up falling on her head, this time going for a top-rope hurricanrana. That's a little thing IWW likes to call OUCH! Melina wins and Ashley, who was the guest announcer, gets into a little thing with Melina, taking the spot Mickie's more than earned. If there is one thing Christy Hemme and Ashley have taught the Divas: Pose for Playboy, Get a Wrestlemania Push. Nothing like selling out your self worth for a Wrestlemania pay day, right?
I talked with Zip on the last IWW podcast about Ashley briefly but man, she has the body of a 12 year old boy with ginormous fake breasts. Eat something! And what a pretentious entrance with the playboy cover coming down. She's so not-over Playboy has to put Chyna, Torrie, and others in the same issue. Showing the playboy bunnies on her Bazooms at No Way Out should have been a Diva Mark Out Moment...instead it was turned into another wasted moment.
Carlito and Flair wrestle for awhile until The Great Khali comes down and interrupts the match, eventually killing and eating both men, Torrie, and Chloe. He then takes a dump on the Announcer's table which looks like the pile of poop from Jurassic Park. He then utters what translator's eventually distinguish as, "I want Kane". Some of this is true, and one wonders–if Khali wanted Kane so bad why wouldn't he just you know, show up at Smackdown where KANE IS?! LIKE HE DID LAST WEEK?!
Orton tells Edge he doesn't have his back. Interesting!
Nick Bockwinkel joins Mr. Perfect, Jerry Lawler, and Dusty Rhodes in this year's Hall of Fame. Next IWW show I hope to go over this year's choices and debate with Zip on if he thinks they are good or bad choices.
Edge takes on Cena....sort of. Instead, Edge has MNM come down and in a strange promo talks about how he's colorblind and he's from Canada so Johnny Nitro gets to fight Cena. I'm honestly not sure what he was saying but RAW totally broke down at this point. Edge's promo and MNM's involvement made no sense and all it did was set up HBK's "will I, won't I" moment. Mercury and Edge beat on Cena, HBK starts to make the save but doesn't. As Edge leaves and Mercury and Nitro continue the beating, HBK still stalls. Eventually, he makes the save and walks away.
Final Thoughts: As Wrestlemania gets closer I think we're going to see less and less clean matches and lot's of interference and BS so it's going to be hard to judge on match quality. Entertainment wise, RAW moved along briskly and it was good to see a lot of old faces. The Women's match was fun and the hot opener was main event quality. I'll give it 4 out of 5 Viscera Heads, which marks a solid B, but mostly due to it's entertainment value and Wrestlemania build-up and not on it's matches.
Friday, March 02, 2007
New IWW episode - with DEBUT OF IWW TRIVIA CONTEST! (win great prizes)
1 HOUR MP3 LINK
Ray Rhodes & Zip Whittle spend an hour covering the new & notes from around North America including:
* WWE Developmental (bunch of 2nd generation guys&girls coming in)
* Current Wrestlemania Card
* WWE & TNA firings
* No Way Out review
* TNA state in this world
* Chavo's lunch habits
* Possible stips for Khali/Kane
* WSX collapse?
* DVD news
* and random banter!
It was fun. We also debuted "THE GREAT IWW TRIVIA CHALLENGE." Listen for the question and then email your answer to: iwwtrivia@gmail.com to enter our big contest! ROCK. Prizes include a replica John Cena spinner belt! (Remember, we're only a month away from WM23 on April 1, 2007 in Detroit!)
Ray Rhodes & Zip Whittle spend an hour covering the new & notes from around North America including:
* WWE Developmental (bunch of 2nd generation guys&girls coming in)
* Current Wrestlemania Card
* WWE & TNA firings
* No Way Out review
* TNA state in this world
* Chavo's lunch habits
* Possible stips for Khali/Kane
* WSX collapse?
* DVD news
* and random banter!
It was fun. We also debuted "THE GREAT IWW TRIVIA CHALLENGE." Listen for the question and then email your answer to: iwwtrivia@gmail.com to enter our big contest! ROCK. Prizes include a replica John Cena spinner belt! (Remember, we're only a month away from WM23 on April 1, 2007 in Detroit!)
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
IWW ECW Report for 2/27/07 by RAY RHODES
Another IWW exclusive ECW report with your man of the hour.... RAY RHODES!
Money in the Bank qualifiers and we have Kennedy against Sabu. Kennedy, the WWE's new golden boy comes in and knocks off Sabu. I'm so glad we have Kennedy and Booker T in this match and not Shelton Benjamin and Sabu. Ray Rhodes sarcasm alert! Not a terrible match but with Sabu getting the majority of the offense it was only a matter of time before he does the JOB. Again here, Kennedy shows that going to Wrestlemania is a big deal but I can't help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, Sabu has paid enough penance to get out of the perennial dog house. I guess not.
Balls Mahoney takes on Striker but only for a few moments before SNITSKY comes in and lays out Balls, giving him a DQ win. One only knows why they bothered to give him a win since SNITSKY boots Striker as well. SNITSKY is perhaps the most vile man ever created by the hand of God. If you connect the dots of his body acne, you would surely draw the face of the Devil himself. On the bright side, Test and his Big Boot are now gone from the WWE so SNITSKY's boot reigns supreme.
Kevin Thorne and Marcus Cor Von takes on RVD and Tommy Dreamer with a bunch of people at ringside. If you've been paying attention, you've already guessed the outcome. The "New Breed" pick up the win. Originally, I was a fan of this angle since I thought it would be an opportunity for the New Breed guys to get some much needed experience and a good way to keep the Originals on TV. But typically, it's just another way to bury the originals even more. If you bury a bunch of guys and then have some other guys beat them, you aren't doing anyone a service. Ho-Hum. Still and all, RVD and Dreamer still show up to work, it's a paycheck, and they're toughing it out. I give them credit.
Now, I don't know this for a fact and it's something Zip would have to check on but I would imagine ratings for ECW starting going down around the same time RVD and Sabu both were de-pushed, Extreme Rules matches became all but extinct and then again when the Big Show left. This is when ECW became truly a dumping ground for green and uninspiring wrestlers. Don't get me wrong, I'm not the biggest fan of the old ECW and I wouldn't want it back. But I liked this new ECW, when it combined some of the old, some of the new, and a 4-4 and half star main event each week. Now it's become ham n' egger city and that's no one's fault but McMahons. We've been getting a more clear view on what his vision for ECW is, and it doesn't look good for anyone, fan of the old ECW or not.
Steven Richards makes his yearly match proving he still has a job. CM Punk defeats him using Knee-Based Offense which is sweeping the indy scene. We're back to Punk squash matches on his road to Wrestlemania. My guess for next week? Little Guido.
Extreme Expose leads me to turn the channel to Law and Order. Olivia looks like she had her nose smashed with a frying pan. Back to ECW just in time for the CAGE MATCH.
I like how they make it seem like 5 minutes is such a short time but the majority of RAW and ECW matches are 5 minutes and under. However, I think they've found a way to make Lashley watchable–5 minute time limits. Run with it. Seriously though, Holly gets his ass handed to him again and if the rumors of elbow surgery are legit, this would be the excuse. In case Lashley forgot which elbow, he made sure to hit both of them a bunch with the chair. As ECW went off the air we get a outstanding WWE classic moment with Lashley throwing himself at a section of the cage and having it break and fall on Umaga sending both men sprawling to death. What I don't understand is why Lashley is so angry at Umaga. I realize they're both representing important people and Wrestlemania is a big deal. But really, what is in it for Lashley? They should have had a promo with Trump promising Lashley a comical sack full of golden doubloons or something. While I like the intensity, I'm just don't buy their hatred for each other rests solely on a haircut that neither man is involved in.
Final Thoughts: 5 matches in an hour, none of them had any time to get anything going. Best match would be the opener just because watching Sabu jump around entertains me. And he successfully used the leg takedown on Kennedy as the opening move. Main event was effective with a lasting memory. The rest of the show was trying to build up talent: SNITSKY as a monster, the New Breed as legitimate, and CM Punk back on a push. I know I've been complaining a lot lately but I just don't agree with Wrestlemania booking and some of these angles. I'll give this show 3 and half Chuck Palumbo heads, which in my book is a solid C Plus. Wait, SNITSKY BOOTS bump this up to 4 Palumbo heads...which squeaks out a very low B.
Money in the Bank qualifiers and we have Kennedy against Sabu. Kennedy, the WWE's new golden boy comes in and knocks off Sabu. I'm so glad we have Kennedy and Booker T in this match and not Shelton Benjamin and Sabu. Ray Rhodes sarcasm alert! Not a terrible match but with Sabu getting the majority of the offense it was only a matter of time before he does the JOB. Again here, Kennedy shows that going to Wrestlemania is a big deal but I can't help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, Sabu has paid enough penance to get out of the perennial dog house. I guess not.
Balls Mahoney takes on Striker but only for a few moments before SNITSKY comes in and lays out Balls, giving him a DQ win. One only knows why they bothered to give him a win since SNITSKY boots Striker as well. SNITSKY is perhaps the most vile man ever created by the hand of God. If you connect the dots of his body acne, you would surely draw the face of the Devil himself. On the bright side, Test and his Big Boot are now gone from the WWE so SNITSKY's boot reigns supreme.
Kevin Thorne and Marcus Cor Von takes on RVD and Tommy Dreamer with a bunch of people at ringside. If you've been paying attention, you've already guessed the outcome. The "New Breed" pick up the win. Originally, I was a fan of this angle since I thought it would be an opportunity for the New Breed guys to get some much needed experience and a good way to keep the Originals on TV. But typically, it's just another way to bury the originals even more. If you bury a bunch of guys and then have some other guys beat them, you aren't doing anyone a service. Ho-Hum. Still and all, RVD and Dreamer still show up to work, it's a paycheck, and they're toughing it out. I give them credit.
Now, I don't know this for a fact and it's something Zip would have to check on but I would imagine ratings for ECW starting going down around the same time RVD and Sabu both were de-pushed, Extreme Rules matches became all but extinct and then again when the Big Show left. This is when ECW became truly a dumping ground for green and uninspiring wrestlers. Don't get me wrong, I'm not the biggest fan of the old ECW and I wouldn't want it back. But I liked this new ECW, when it combined some of the old, some of the new, and a 4-4 and half star main event each week. Now it's become ham n' egger city and that's no one's fault but McMahons. We've been getting a more clear view on what his vision for ECW is, and it doesn't look good for anyone, fan of the old ECW or not.
Steven Richards makes his yearly match proving he still has a job. CM Punk defeats him using Knee-Based Offense which is sweeping the indy scene. We're back to Punk squash matches on his road to Wrestlemania. My guess for next week? Little Guido.
Extreme Expose leads me to turn the channel to Law and Order. Olivia looks like she had her nose smashed with a frying pan. Back to ECW just in time for the CAGE MATCH.
I like how they make it seem like 5 minutes is such a short time but the majority of RAW and ECW matches are 5 minutes and under. However, I think they've found a way to make Lashley watchable–5 minute time limits. Run with it. Seriously though, Holly gets his ass handed to him again and if the rumors of elbow surgery are legit, this would be the excuse. In case Lashley forgot which elbow, he made sure to hit both of them a bunch with the chair. As ECW went off the air we get a outstanding WWE classic moment with Lashley throwing himself at a section of the cage and having it break and fall on Umaga sending both men sprawling to death. What I don't understand is why Lashley is so angry at Umaga. I realize they're both representing important people and Wrestlemania is a big deal. But really, what is in it for Lashley? They should have had a promo with Trump promising Lashley a comical sack full of golden doubloons or something. While I like the intensity, I'm just don't buy their hatred for each other rests solely on a haircut that neither man is involved in.
Final Thoughts: 5 matches in an hour, none of them had any time to get anything going. Best match would be the opener just because watching Sabu jump around entertains me. And he successfully used the leg takedown on Kennedy as the opening move. Main event was effective with a lasting memory. The rest of the show was trying to build up talent: SNITSKY as a monster, the New Breed as legitimate, and CM Punk back on a push. I know I've been complaining a lot lately but I just don't agree with Wrestlemania booking and some of these angles. I'll give this show 3 and half Chuck Palumbo heads, which in my book is a solid C Plus. Wait, SNITSKY BOOTS bump this up to 4 Palumbo heads...which squeaks out a very low B.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
RAW REPORT (2/26/07) by RAY RHODES
A SPECIAL IWW TREAT~! EXCLUSIVE FOR INDEED WRESTLING WEEKLY by HOST RAY RHODES
Tonight starts off with Cena and HBK firing up the crowd before their TAG TEAM TITLE DEFENSE. I sincerely hope the tag titles get from HBK/Cena to Rated RKO to Cryme Tyme, or the Highlanders, or WGTT or Cade/Murdoch, or even Flair and Carlito before Wrestlemania but I'm not holding my breath. It's truly beyond me why the tag titles are not in the tag title division right now as we zoom towards Wrestlemania. I'm sure they could have done the same storyline without them.
Edge and Orton on the Titantron (is it still called the Titantron?)and they don't want to fight just yet. Edge says, "Roll that beautiful bean footage", or at least, he probably wanted to. Excellent little montage of HBK's ruthless turns on his partners and friends which is a nice touch to set the two a bit ill at ease. Good set-up here for later in the night.
Shelton takes on Jeff Hardy for a spot in the Money in the Bank ladder match at Wrestlemania. If you're in the know, you know that we already have CM Punk, King Booker, and Edge. I feel Edge is being wasted here! Decent match between the two of the most sloppiest workers (though talented!)and Shelton crashes and burns on a Springboard attempt. I wouldn't be overly surprised if that was PLANNED. Hardy picks up the win and earns his slot in Spotfest 2007. Keeping Benjamin out of this match is like having an Inferno match without Kane, it just isn't the same.
McMahon goes over his haircut ideas for the Donald. Not quite sure how having a haircut would produce MORE HAIR rather than less but whatever. We get it already, thanks.
Melina, who is turning into a capable wrestler, and Maria, who is well, trying, have a decent RAW women's bout but a thought occurred to me earlier in the week–the WWE must actually encourage and demand women to use hair-based offense in their matches. Hair-biels, Hair pulls, hair slams must be ordered upon these women and it's shame, it really undercuts them and they deserve better. Not that I don't think a good hair-biel or two has a place, because they do. Melina picks up the roll-up after blocking a Maria Bronco Buster. Strange how old homo-erotic men's moves are now the signature moves of the women (Maria=Bronco Buster, Torrie=Stinkface).
Vince brings out Umaga and does a speech running down the Donald before Trump appears on the Titantron from what looked to be a virtual reality set of his boardroom. Am I the only one who thought that it didn't look real? He touts his representative as being an animal and in one pick instantly makes the single most disappointing match in Wrestlemania History: ECW Champion Bobby Lashley v I-C Champ Umaga. So, you take two of your champions and put them in one match, where the titles are meaningless. So, you take a guy who has had a string of hideous matches and give him a huge spot. So, you try to pretend Umaga wasn't watered down after being Cena's cannon fodder. If Cena could beat him in singles, and in a Last Man Standing, Lashley should have no problem here. So, McMahon is now the underdog in this match. I'm baffled and disappointed by the whole thing. The brawl was something that RAW has needed badly but I just can't get into this match.
Next up, Masters attempts to give Khali the MasterLock Challenge but cannot get his arms wrapped around him and is visibly frustrated. Out comes KANE to fell the great beast, but not before wrapping a chair around Masters' skull and chokeslamming him. Thanks for showing up for work, Chris. I know I'm being a Negative Nancy here but this would have been the perfect match for Trump-Vince. Vince brings out a Monster, Trump brings out someone who is still an underdog but has a legitimate shot at winning. Now it seems we're going to have two train wreck matches., although I am a MARK for Khali. I love him.
Remember not so long ago when the Brand Split meant something? I don't mind the occasional jump but they've spent so much time and energy trying to make the split mean something and they're always talking about Raw contracts, and Smackdown contracts. Having Khali and Kane just show up to different shows should be something the GM of both brands should be pissed about–in theory. I just don't get it.
Jerry Lawler enters the Hall of Fame. Perhaps this is their way of saying, "It's time to hang it up?" Maybe he has cancer or something. Not my first, third, or any choice for this year.
Carlito takes on Kenny Dystra in mid-card mambo securely in the Viscera Slot of match before the main event. Good angle between Flair and Carlito, Flair is being used correctly by helping get the younger guys over one way or the other. He's already done so much for Kenny, now he's helping Carlito get to the next level. Good stuff here.
Tag Team titles are on the line and well, Edge walks out leaving Orton for the dreaded Superkick-FU combo. Won't Edge feel silly after Orton shows him the FOOTAGE. The Superkick teases each week are tremendous and I'm not sure which would be better: waiting until Wrestlemania or kicking his face off a week prior. Personally, I think Cena turning on HBK first would be more intriguing.
Final Thoughts: The Wrestlemania build up is fun, and even though I'm griping an awful lot, I think they're doing a great job making the Title Matches seem really important and having underlying tension build. I just don't agree with a lot of the undercard matches already and I'm quite perplexed as to why they're working on this Edge-Orton split when Edge is already locked in the Money in the Bank match. Seems like a waste. I'm anxious to see if the Tag Division gets their belts back and to see if Smackdown can produce a couple interesting matches before it's too late to get any interesting hype going. I might not agree with the booking but Raw produced several solid matches and good build-up for Wrestlemania so on a scale of Funaki's, I give it 4 Funaki's out of 5, which is about a B grade for me. Special guest Referee in an already clogged up Battle of the Billionaires Match next week, the Internet already knows who it is.
Tonight starts off with Cena and HBK firing up the crowd before their TAG TEAM TITLE DEFENSE. I sincerely hope the tag titles get from HBK/Cena to Rated RKO to Cryme Tyme, or the Highlanders, or WGTT or Cade/Murdoch, or even Flair and Carlito before Wrestlemania but I'm not holding my breath. It's truly beyond me why the tag titles are not in the tag title division right now as we zoom towards Wrestlemania. I'm sure they could have done the same storyline without them.
Edge and Orton on the Titantron (is it still called the Titantron?)and they don't want to fight just yet. Edge says, "Roll that beautiful bean footage", or at least, he probably wanted to. Excellent little montage of HBK's ruthless turns on his partners and friends which is a nice touch to set the two a bit ill at ease. Good set-up here for later in the night.
Shelton takes on Jeff Hardy for a spot in the Money in the Bank ladder match at Wrestlemania. If you're in the know, you know that we already have CM Punk, King Booker, and Edge. I feel Edge is being wasted here! Decent match between the two of the most sloppiest workers (though talented!)and Shelton crashes and burns on a Springboard attempt. I wouldn't be overly surprised if that was PLANNED. Hardy picks up the win and earns his slot in Spotfest 2007. Keeping Benjamin out of this match is like having an Inferno match without Kane, it just isn't the same.
McMahon goes over his haircut ideas for the Donald. Not quite sure how having a haircut would produce MORE HAIR rather than less but whatever. We get it already, thanks.
Melina, who is turning into a capable wrestler, and Maria, who is well, trying, have a decent RAW women's bout but a thought occurred to me earlier in the week–the WWE must actually encourage and demand women to use hair-based offense in their matches. Hair-biels, Hair pulls, hair slams must be ordered upon these women and it's shame, it really undercuts them and they deserve better. Not that I don't think a good hair-biel or two has a place, because they do. Melina picks up the roll-up after blocking a Maria Bronco Buster. Strange how old homo-erotic men's moves are now the signature moves of the women (Maria=Bronco Buster, Torrie=Stinkface).
Vince brings out Umaga and does a speech running down the Donald before Trump appears on the Titantron from what looked to be a virtual reality set of his boardroom. Am I the only one who thought that it didn't look real? He touts his representative as being an animal and in one pick instantly makes the single most disappointing match in Wrestlemania History: ECW Champion Bobby Lashley v I-C Champ Umaga. So, you take two of your champions and put them in one match, where the titles are meaningless. So, you take a guy who has had a string of hideous matches and give him a huge spot. So, you try to pretend Umaga wasn't watered down after being Cena's cannon fodder. If Cena could beat him in singles, and in a Last Man Standing, Lashley should have no problem here. So, McMahon is now the underdog in this match. I'm baffled and disappointed by the whole thing. The brawl was something that RAW has needed badly but I just can't get into this match.
Next up, Masters attempts to give Khali the MasterLock Challenge but cannot get his arms wrapped around him and is visibly frustrated. Out comes KANE to fell the great beast, but not before wrapping a chair around Masters' skull and chokeslamming him. Thanks for showing up for work, Chris. I know I'm being a Negative Nancy here but this would have been the perfect match for Trump-Vince. Vince brings out a Monster, Trump brings out someone who is still an underdog but has a legitimate shot at winning. Now it seems we're going to have two train wreck matches., although I am a MARK for Khali. I love him.
Remember not so long ago when the Brand Split meant something? I don't mind the occasional jump but they've spent so much time and energy trying to make the split mean something and they're always talking about Raw contracts, and Smackdown contracts. Having Khali and Kane just show up to different shows should be something the GM of both brands should be pissed about–in theory. I just don't get it.
Jerry Lawler enters the Hall of Fame. Perhaps this is their way of saying, "It's time to hang it up?" Maybe he has cancer or something. Not my first, third, or any choice for this year.
Carlito takes on Kenny Dystra in mid-card mambo securely in the Viscera Slot of match before the main event. Good angle between Flair and Carlito, Flair is being used correctly by helping get the younger guys over one way or the other. He's already done so much for Kenny, now he's helping Carlito get to the next level. Good stuff here.
Tag Team titles are on the line and well, Edge walks out leaving Orton for the dreaded Superkick-FU combo. Won't Edge feel silly after Orton shows him the FOOTAGE. The Superkick teases each week are tremendous and I'm not sure which would be better: waiting until Wrestlemania or kicking his face off a week prior. Personally, I think Cena turning on HBK first would be more intriguing.
Final Thoughts: The Wrestlemania build up is fun, and even though I'm griping an awful lot, I think they're doing a great job making the Title Matches seem really important and having underlying tension build. I just don't agree with a lot of the undercard matches already and I'm quite perplexed as to why they're working on this Edge-Orton split when Edge is already locked in the Money in the Bank match. Seems like a waste. I'm anxious to see if the Tag Division gets their belts back and to see if Smackdown can produce a couple interesting matches before it's too late to get any interesting hype going. I might not agree with the booking but Raw produced several solid matches and good build-up for Wrestlemania so on a scale of Funaki's, I give it 4 Funaki's out of 5, which is about a B grade for me. Special guest Referee in an already clogged up Battle of the Billionaires Match next week, the Internet already knows who it is.
Monday, February 19, 2007
WWE Buyrates
| New Yrs Rev | Royal Rumble | No Way Out | Wrestlemania | Backlash | Judgment Day | Bad Blood | ECW ONS | KOTR | ||||||||||
| 2001 | 625 | 590 | 1040 | 375 | 405 | 445 | ||||||||||||
| 2002 | 670 | 575 | 840 | 400 | 373 | 320 | ||||||||||||
| 2003 | 585 | 450 | 560 | 345 | 315 | 385 | ||||||||||||
| 2004 | 500 | 265 | 885 | 295 | 235 | 290 | ||||||||||||
| 2005 | 275 | 575 | 240 | 980 | 320 | 260 | 340 | |||||||||||
| 2006 | 300 | 550 | 220 | 930 | 220 | 252 | 304 | |||||||||||
| RAW | Combined | Smackdown | Combined | RAW | SM | RAW | ECW | Combined | ||||||||||
| Jan | Jan | Feb | March/April | April | May | June | June | June | ||||||||||
| HITC | Elimination | RAW | ECW | Smackdown | ||||||||||||||
| Vengeance | Invasion | Summerslam | Unforgiven | No Mercy | Cyber/Taboo | Surv Series | Armageddon | D2D | ||||||||||
| 2001 | 315 | 775 | 565 | 350 | 325 | 450 | ||||||||||||
| 2002 | 375 | 520 | 300 | 300 | 340 | 335 | ||||||||||||
| 2003 | 365 | 465 | 360 | 275 | 450 | 240 | ||||||||||||
| 2004 | 240 | 415 | 239 | 183 | 174 | 325 | 230 | |||||||||||
| 2005 | 420 | 650 | 250 | 230 | 250 | 400 | 320 | |||||||||||
| 2006 | 337 | 541 | 307 | 197 | 228 | 383 | 239 | 90 | ||||||||||
| RAW/SM | Combined | Combined | RAW/SM | Smackdown | RAW/Comb | Combined | RAW/SM | ECW | ||||||||||
| June/July | July | August | Sept | October | Nov | Nov | Dec | Dec |
Friday, February 16, 2007
Looking at WWE's latest PPV numbers...
The question: did increasing the cost of PPVs to $39.99 from $34.99 hurt WWE?
Let's look at all the PPV results they announced this quarter vs last quarter. I'm looking at domestic buys @ domestic prices. So that's 63% of the buys for 2005 at $34.99 and 61% of the buys for 2006 at $39.99.
# of buys decreased (2005 vs 2006)
JUDGMENT DAY: 266 -> 252; $5.9m -> $6.1m (+$284k)
ECW ONS: 333 -> 304; $7.3m -> $7.4m (+$75k)
VENGEANCE: 429 -> 337; $9.5m -> $8.2m (-$1.2m)
GAB: 279 -> 232; $6.2m -> $5.7m (-$491k)
SUMMERSLAM: 634 -> 541; $14m -> $13.2m (-$779k)
NO MERCY: 224 -> 197; $4.9m -> $4.8m (-$132k)
ARMAGEDDON: 280 -> 239; $6.2m -> $5.8m (-$342k)
overall for decreased buy PPVs: -$2.6m
# of buys increased (2005 vs 2006)
UNFORGIVEN: 240 -> 307; $5.3m -> $7.5m (+$2.2m)
CYBER/TABOO: 207 -> 228; $4.6m -> $5.6m (+$1m)
SURVIVOR SERIES: 375 -> 383; $8.3m -> $9.3m (+$1m)
overall for increased buy PPVs: +$4.3m
[b]total change in domestic PPV revenue for these ten PPVs in the 8 month period from 2005 to 2006: +$1.65m[/b]
2005 domestic revenue of these PPVs total: $72.0m
2006 domestic revenue of these PPVs total: $73.7m
There were two other PPVs listed: Backlash (no 2006 buyrate listed) & ECW December to Dismember (no 2005 comparison.)
Looking at the Key Performance Indicators, it looks like:
Backlash 2005: 308k buys = 194k domestic buys = $6.8m domestic revenue.
Backlash 2006: ~240k buys = 146k domestic buys = $5.9m domestic revenue.
ECW D2D: ~$2.2m in domestic revenue.
Again, there this doesn't mean WWE made $72m last year on these PPVs. They only get a cut of the total domestic revenue. I was under the impression it was about $15 of the $40 domestic price. Let's check the numbers...
The report said they made $53.4m for this period for PPVs. 61% of the buys were domestic so let's take 61% of that revenue, so $32.57m domestic revenue. The total for 2007 was 3287 PPVs buys (or 3110 if you don't include prior events). 3287 x $39.99 x 61% = $80.182m. ($75.865m if you're discounting the Prior event buys.)
So, $32.57/$80.182 = 41%. ($32.57/$75.865m = 43%.)
41% of a $39.99 price (i.e. what WWE gets for a domestic buy) is $16.25.
(43% of a $39.99 price is $17.17).
So, my fifteen dollar estimate seems pretty close. Also, that means the ECW PPV gave WWE about $16.25 x 90k buys x 61% = $892k. I think it costs at least a $1m to run a PPV so they definately didn't make money on that one domestically!
Now, my figures have 2006 being better than 2005 while the actual PPV revenues were $53.4m (2006, 8 month period) vs $54.5m (2005, 8 month period). Why the difference? Because they didn't include any 2006 Backlash PPV revenue in their numbers this year. Essentially, those numbers compare 2005 Backlash vs 2006 ECW D2D, which obviously is going to favor 2005 numbers. As I show above, if you compare the PPV buys on a per-PPV basis, overall, the 2006 numbers are superior.
What we're seeing here:
* Summerslam was bound to go down. Hogan/HBK was a HUGE success in 2005 so 2006 numbers were going to be weaker. The price increase really offset the difference so it was probably a very good move and really took advantage of the fact that core WWE audience buys the major PPVs (RR, Surv Series, Summerslam, Wrestlemania).
* Unforgiven had a huge improvement over last year. (CENA/EDGE TLC, 2006) vs (ANGLE/CENA, 2005).
* Moving the "CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE" PPV (taboo tuesday) to the traditional day, Sunday, vastly improved the buys & profit.
* ECW ONS and Judgment Day actually made more money with less buys this year!
* There were two PPVs with Hell in the Cell stipulations in 2005: RAW's Vengeance and Smackdown's Armaggedon. HITC is one of the stipulations that has shown to still increase buys quite a bit. It was natural that straight matches (DX/Spirit Squad) and (Batista/Cena vs Booker/Finlay) would not be as strong the next year.
In the end, there are two PPVs where buys were down and generated less revenue than last year.
SMACKDOWN GREAT AMERICAN BASH (Booker/Mysterio, 2006) vs (JBL/Batista, 2005)
SMACKDOWN NO MERCY (LASHLEY/BATISTA/FINLAY/BOOKER, 2006) vs (Batista/Eddy, 2005)
So, it looks like Smackdown branded PPV shows without a strong gimmick stipulation (i.e. Hell in the Cell) were probably hurt by the price increase & decreased interest in Smackdown. However, on the whole, it doesn't look like the price increase negatively affected business at all!
Let's look at all the PPV results they announced this quarter vs last quarter. I'm looking at domestic buys @ domestic prices. So that's 63% of the buys for 2005 at $34.99 and 61% of the buys for 2006 at $39.99.
# of buys decreased (2005 vs 2006)
JUDGMENT DAY: 266 -> 252; $5.9m -> $6.1m (+$284k)
ECW ONS: 333 -> 304; $7.3m -> $7.4m (+$75k)
VENGEANCE: 429 -> 337; $9.5m -> $8.2m (-$1.2m)
GAB: 279 -> 232; $6.2m -> $5.7m (-$491k)
SUMMERSLAM: 634 -> 541; $14m -> $13.2m (-$779k)
NO MERCY: 224 -> 197; $4.9m -> $4.8m (-$132k)
ARMAGEDDON: 280 -> 239; $6.2m -> $5.8m (-$342k)
overall for decreased buy PPVs: -$2.6m
# of buys increased (2005 vs 2006)
UNFORGIVEN: 240 -> 307; $5.3m -> $7.5m (+$2.2m)
CYBER/TABOO: 207 -> 228; $4.6m -> $5.6m (+$1m)
SURVIVOR SERIES: 375 -> 383; $8.3m -> $9.3m (+$1m)
overall for increased buy PPVs: +$4.3m
[b]total change in domestic PPV revenue for these ten PPVs in the 8 month period from 2005 to 2006: +$1.65m[/b]
2005 domestic revenue of these PPVs total: $72.0m
2006 domestic revenue of these PPVs total: $73.7m
There were two other PPVs listed: Backlash (no 2006 buyrate listed) & ECW December to Dismember (no 2005 comparison.)
Looking at the Key Performance Indicators, it looks like:
Backlash 2005: 308k buys = 194k domestic buys = $6.8m domestic revenue.
Backlash 2006: ~240k buys = 146k domestic buys = $5.9m domestic revenue.
ECW D2D: ~$2.2m in domestic revenue.
Again, there this doesn't mean WWE made $72m last year on these PPVs. They only get a cut of the total domestic revenue. I was under the impression it was about $15 of the $40 domestic price. Let's check the numbers...
The report said they made $53.4m for this period for PPVs. 61% of the buys were domestic so let's take 61% of that revenue, so $32.57m domestic revenue. The total for 2007 was 3287 PPVs buys (or 3110 if you don't include prior events). 3287 x $39.99 x 61% = $80.182m. ($75.865m if you're discounting the Prior event buys.)
So, $32.57/$80.182 = 41%. ($32.57/$75.865m = 43%.)
41% of a $39.99 price (i.e. what WWE gets for a domestic buy) is $16.25.
(43% of a $39.99 price is $17.17).
So, my fifteen dollar estimate seems pretty close. Also, that means the ECW PPV gave WWE about $16.25 x 90k buys x 61% = $892k. I think it costs at least a $1m to run a PPV so they definately didn't make money on that one domestically!
Now, my figures have 2006 being better than 2005 while the actual PPV revenues were $53.4m (2006, 8 month period) vs $54.5m (2005, 8 month period). Why the difference? Because they didn't include any 2006 Backlash PPV revenue in their numbers this year. Essentially, those numbers compare 2005 Backlash vs 2006 ECW D2D, which obviously is going to favor 2005 numbers. As I show above, if you compare the PPV buys on a per-PPV basis, overall, the 2006 numbers are superior.
What we're seeing here:
* Summerslam was bound to go down. Hogan/HBK was a HUGE success in 2005 so 2006 numbers were going to be weaker. The price increase really offset the difference so it was probably a very good move and really took advantage of the fact that core WWE audience buys the major PPVs (RR, Surv Series, Summerslam, Wrestlemania).
* Unforgiven had a huge improvement over last year. (CENA/EDGE TLC, 2006) vs (ANGLE/CENA, 2005).
* Moving the "CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE" PPV (taboo tuesday) to the traditional day, Sunday, vastly improved the buys & profit.
* ECW ONS and Judgment Day actually made more money with less buys this year!
* There were two PPVs with Hell in the Cell stipulations in 2005: RAW's Vengeance and Smackdown's Armaggedon. HITC is one of the stipulations that has shown to still increase buys quite a bit. It was natural that straight matches (DX/Spirit Squad) and (Batista/Cena vs Booker/Finlay) would not be as strong the next year.
In the end, there are two PPVs where buys were down and generated less revenue than last year.
SMACKDOWN GREAT AMERICAN BASH (Booker/Mysterio, 2006) vs (JBL/Batista, 2005)
SMACKDOWN NO MERCY (LASHLEY/BATISTA/FINLAY/BOOKER, 2006) vs (Batista/Eddy, 2005)
So, it looks like Smackdown branded PPV shows without a strong gimmick stipulation (i.e. Hell in the Cell) were probably hurt by the price increase & decreased interest in Smackdown. However, on the whole, it doesn't look like the price increase negatively affected business at all!
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Best WWE matches for 2006
TOP WWE SINGLES PERFORMERS FOR 2006
EDGE (RAW)
9/17/06 John Cena vs Edge (Tables, Ladders, and Chairs) ****1/4
4/30/06 John Cena vs Triple H vs Edge ****1/4
1/16/06 Edge vs Ric Flair (Tables, Ladders and Chairs) ****
4/2/06 Mick Foley vs Edge (Hardcore) ****
8/20/06 Edge vs John Cena (Title Can Change Hands on DQ) ***3/4
Great matches against Cena, Flair & Foley.
CHRIS BENOIT (SMACKDOWN)
11/24/06 Chris Benoit vs Finlay ****1/4
5/21/06 Chris Benoit vs Finlay ****
1/27/06 Chris Benoit vs Randy Orton (No Holds Barred) ***3/4
1/13/06 Chris Benoit vs Randy Orton ***3/4
10/9/06 Chris Benoit vs William Regal ***3/4
Great matches against Finlay, Orton & Regal.
JOHN CENA (RAW)
9/17/06 John Cena vs Edge (Tables, Ladders, and Chairs) ****1/4
4/30/06 John Cena vs Triple H vs Edge ****1/4
10/2/06 John Cena vs Edge (Cage) ***3/4
4/2/06 John Cena vs Triple H ***3/4
8/20/06 Edge vs John Cena (Title Can Change Hands on DQ) ***3/4
Great matches against Edge & HHH.
FINLAY (SMACKDOWN)
11/24/06 Chris Benoit vs Finlay ****1/4
5/21/06 Chris Benoit vs Finlay ****
4/2/06 Rob Van Dam vs Shelton Benjamin vs Matt Hardy vs Finlay vs Bobby Lashley vs Ric Flair (Ladder) ****
3/24/06 Rey Mysterio vs Finlay ***1/2
10/9/06 King Booker vs Batista vs Bobby Lashley vs Finlay ***1/2
Great matches against Benoit, good Ladder performance & other Smackdown stars.
RVD (RAW & ECW)
4/2/06 Rob Van Dam vs Shelton Benjamin vs Matt Hardy vs Finlay vs Bobby Lashley vs Ric Flair (Ladder) ****
4/30/06 Rob Van Dam vs Shelton Benjamin ***3/4
9/26/06 Rob Van Dam vs Hardcore Holly ***3/4
10/3/06 Rob Van Dam vs Test ***3/4
6/25/06 Rob Van Dam vs Edge ***1/2
Great matches against Benjamin, Test, Edge & Hardcore Holly.
RIC FLAIR (RAW)
4/2/06 Rob Van Dam vs Shelton Benjamin vs Matt Hardy vs Finlay vs Bobby Lashley vs Ric Flair (Ladder) ****
1/16/06 Edge vs Ric Flair (Tables, Ladders and Chairs) ****
8/20/06 Ric Flair vs Mick Foley (I Quit) ***1/2
TOP WWE TAG TEAMS FOR 2006
Paul London & Brian Kendrick - SMACKDOWN
12/17/06 Paul London/Brian Kendrick vs Joey Mercury/Johnny Nitro vs Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy vs Dave Taylor/William Regal (Ladder) ****1/4
10/9/06 Paul London/Brian Kendrick vs Idol Stevens/KC James ***1/2
5/21/06 Joey Mercury/Johnny Nitro vs Paul London/Brian Kendrick ***1/2
MNM (Nitro & Mercury) – SMACKDOWN/
12/17/06 Paul London/Brian Kendrick vs Joey Mercury/Johnny Nitro vs Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy vs Dave Taylor/William Regal (Ladder) ****1/4
5/21/06 Joey Mercury/Johnny Nitro vs Paul London/Brian Kendrick ***1/2
2/3/06 Johnny Nitro/Joey Mercury vs Super Crazy/Psicosis ***1/4
HARDYZ (Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy) – SMACKDOWN/RAW/ECW
12/17/06 Paul London/Brian Kendrick vs Joey Mercury/Johnny Nitro vs Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy vs Dave Taylor/William Regal (Ladder) ****1/4
12/3/06 Matt Hardy/Jeff Hardy vs Johnny Nitro/Joey Mercury ***1/4
12/4/06 Matt Hardy/Jeff Hardy/Shawn Michaels/Triple H vs Randy Orton/Edge/Joey Mercury/Johnny Nitro ***
DX (Shawn Michaels & Triple H) - RAW
9/17/06 Shawn Michaels/Triple H vs Vince McMahon/Shane McMahon/Big Show (Hell in a Cell) ***1/4
8/20/06 Shawn Michaels/Triple H vs Vince McMahon/Shane McMahon ***1/4
12/11/06 Ric Flair/Triple H/Shawn Michaels vs Randy Orton/Edge/Kenny ***1/4
FINLAY/REGAL/TAYLOR - SMACKDOWN
12/17/06 Paul London/Brian Kendrick vs Joey Mercury/Johnny Nitro vs Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy vs Dave Taylor/William Regal (Ladder) ****1/4
6/16/06 Finlay/William Regal vs Matt Hardy/Gunner Scott ***1/4
5/19/06 Chris Benoit/Gunner Scott vs Finlay/Booker T ***1/4
TOP WWE MATCHES FOR 2006
1/16/06 Edge vs Ric Flair (Tables, Ladders and Chairs) ****
2/19/06 Kurt Angle vs Undertaker **** (won #10 for WO MOTY)
4/2/06 Mick Foley vs Edge (Hardcore) **** (WO MOTY HONORABLE MENTION)
4/2/06 Rob Van Dam vs Shelton Benjamin vs Matt Hardy vs Finlay vs Bobby Lashley vs Ric Flair (Ladder) ****
4/30/06 John Cena vs Triple H vs Edge ****1/4
5/21/06 Chris Benoit vs Finlay **** (won #7 for WO MOTY)
6/2/06 Rey Mysterio vs Kurt Angle ****1/4
9/17/06 Trish Stratus vs Lita
9/17/06 John Cena vs Edge (Tables, Ladders, and Chairs) ****1/4 (WO MOTY HONORABLE)
11/24/06 Chris Benoit vs Finlay ****1/4
12/17/06 Paul London/Brian Kendrick vs Joey Mercury/Johnny Nitro vs Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy vs Dave Taylor/William Regal (Ladder) ****1/4
1/16/06 RAW: EDGE/FLAIR (TLC), ANGLE/HBK
2/19/06 SMACK PPV (NO WAY OUT): ANGLE/UT, BOOKER/BENOIT, ORTON/MYSTERIO
4/2/06 WM 22: LADDER; FOLEY/EDGE; CENA/HHH; HBK/VINCE; Rey/Angle/Orton
4/30/06 RAW PPV (BACKLASH): CENA/HHH/EDGE; RVD/SHELTON; HBK/MCMAHON; CARLITO/MASTERS
5/21/06 SMACKDOWN PPV (JUDGMENT DAY): FINLAY/BENOIT; MNM VS L-K; REY VS JBL
6/2/06 SMACKDOWN: (REY/ANGLE)
9/17/06 RAW PPV (UNFORGIVEN): TRISH/LITA, CENA/EDGE (TLC); DX/MCMAHON (HITC)
9/26/06 ECW: RVD vs HARDCORE HOLLY
10/3/06 ECW: RVD vs TEST
11/24/06 SMACKDOWN: FINLAY/BENOIT
12/17/06 SMACKDOWN PPV (ARMAGGEDDON): TAG LADDER; HELMS/YANG; Benoit/Chavo
EDGE (RAW)
9/17/06 John Cena vs Edge (Tables, Ladders, and Chairs) ****1/4
4/30/06 John Cena vs Triple H vs Edge ****1/4
1/16/06 Edge vs Ric Flair (Tables, Ladders and Chairs) ****
4/2/06 Mick Foley vs Edge (Hardcore) ****
8/20/06 Edge vs John Cena (Title Can Change Hands on DQ) ***3/4
Great matches against Cena, Flair & Foley.
CHRIS BENOIT (SMACKDOWN)
11/24/06 Chris Benoit vs Finlay ****1/4
5/21/06 Chris Benoit vs Finlay ****
1/27/06 Chris Benoit vs Randy Orton (No Holds Barred) ***3/4
1/13/06 Chris Benoit vs Randy Orton ***3/4
10/9/06 Chris Benoit vs William Regal ***3/4
Great matches against Finlay, Orton & Regal.
JOHN CENA (RAW)
9/17/06 John Cena vs Edge (Tables, Ladders, and Chairs) ****1/4
4/30/06 John Cena vs Triple H vs Edge ****1/4
10/2/06 John Cena vs Edge (Cage) ***3/4
4/2/06 John Cena vs Triple H ***3/4
8/20/06 Edge vs John Cena (Title Can Change Hands on DQ) ***3/4
Great matches against Edge & HHH.
FINLAY (SMACKDOWN)
11/24/06 Chris Benoit vs Finlay ****1/4
5/21/06 Chris Benoit vs Finlay ****
4/2/06 Rob Van Dam vs Shelton Benjamin vs Matt Hardy vs Finlay vs Bobby Lashley vs Ric Flair (Ladder) ****
3/24/06 Rey Mysterio vs Finlay ***1/2
10/9/06 King Booker vs Batista vs Bobby Lashley vs Finlay ***1/2
Great matches against Benoit, good Ladder performance & other Smackdown stars.
RVD (RAW & ECW)
4/2/06 Rob Van Dam vs Shelton Benjamin vs Matt Hardy vs Finlay vs Bobby Lashley vs Ric Flair (Ladder) ****
4/30/06 Rob Van Dam vs Shelton Benjamin ***3/4
9/26/06 Rob Van Dam vs Hardcore Holly ***3/4
10/3/06 Rob Van Dam vs Test ***3/4
6/25/06 Rob Van Dam vs Edge ***1/2
Great matches against Benjamin, Test, Edge & Hardcore Holly.
RIC FLAIR (RAW)
4/2/06 Rob Van Dam vs Shelton Benjamin vs Matt Hardy vs Finlay vs Bobby Lashley vs Ric Flair (Ladder) ****
1/16/06 Edge vs Ric Flair (Tables, Ladders and Chairs) ****
8/20/06 Ric Flair vs Mick Foley (I Quit) ***1/2
TOP WWE TAG TEAMS FOR 2006
Paul London & Brian Kendrick - SMACKDOWN
12/17/06 Paul London/Brian Kendrick vs Joey Mercury/Johnny Nitro vs Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy vs Dave Taylor/William Regal (Ladder) ****1/4
10/9/06 Paul London/Brian Kendrick vs Idol Stevens/KC James ***1/2
5/21/06 Joey Mercury/Johnny Nitro vs Paul London/Brian Kendrick ***1/2
MNM (Nitro & Mercury) – SMACKDOWN/
12/17/06 Paul London/Brian Kendrick vs Joey Mercury/Johnny Nitro vs Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy vs Dave Taylor/William Regal (Ladder) ****1/4
5/21/06 Joey Mercury/Johnny Nitro vs Paul London/Brian Kendrick ***1/2
2/3/06 Johnny Nitro/Joey Mercury vs Super Crazy/Psicosis ***1/4
HARDYZ (Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy) – SMACKDOWN/RAW/ECW
12/17/06 Paul London/Brian Kendrick vs Joey Mercury/Johnny Nitro vs Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy vs Dave Taylor/William Regal (Ladder) ****1/4
12/3/06 Matt Hardy/Jeff Hardy vs Johnny Nitro/Joey Mercury ***1/4
12/4/06 Matt Hardy/Jeff Hardy/Shawn Michaels/Triple H vs Randy Orton/Edge/Joey Mercury/Johnny Nitro ***
DX (Shawn Michaels & Triple H) - RAW
9/17/06 Shawn Michaels/Triple H vs Vince McMahon/Shane McMahon/Big Show (Hell in a Cell) ***1/4
8/20/06 Shawn Michaels/Triple H vs Vince McMahon/Shane McMahon ***1/4
12/11/06 Ric Flair/Triple H/Shawn Michaels vs Randy Orton/Edge/Kenny ***1/4
FINLAY/REGAL/TAYLOR - SMACKDOWN
12/17/06 Paul London/Brian Kendrick vs Joey Mercury/Johnny Nitro vs Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy vs Dave Taylor/William Regal (Ladder) ****1/4
6/16/06 Finlay/William Regal vs Matt Hardy/Gunner Scott ***1/4
5/19/06 Chris Benoit/Gunner Scott vs Finlay/Booker T ***1/4
TOP WWE MATCHES FOR 2006
1/16/06 Edge vs Ric Flair (Tables, Ladders and Chairs) ****
2/19/06 Kurt Angle vs Undertaker **** (won #10 for WO MOTY)
4/2/06 Mick Foley vs Edge (Hardcore) **** (WO MOTY HONORABLE MENTION)
4/2/06 Rob Van Dam vs Shelton Benjamin vs Matt Hardy vs Finlay vs Bobby Lashley vs Ric Flair (Ladder) ****
4/30/06 John Cena vs Triple H vs Edge ****1/4
5/21/06 Chris Benoit vs Finlay **** (won #7 for WO MOTY)
6/2/06 Rey Mysterio vs Kurt Angle ****1/4
9/17/06 Trish Stratus vs Lita
9/17/06 John Cena vs Edge (Tables, Ladders, and Chairs) ****1/4 (WO MOTY HONORABLE)
11/24/06 Chris Benoit vs Finlay ****1/4
12/17/06 Paul London/Brian Kendrick vs Joey Mercury/Johnny Nitro vs Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy vs Dave Taylor/William Regal (Ladder) ****1/4
1/16/06 RAW: EDGE/FLAIR (TLC), ANGLE/HBK
2/19/06 SMACK PPV (NO WAY OUT): ANGLE/UT, BOOKER/BENOIT, ORTON/MYSTERIO
4/2/06 WM 22: LADDER; FOLEY/EDGE; CENA/HHH; HBK/VINCE; Rey/Angle/Orton
4/30/06 RAW PPV (BACKLASH): CENA/HHH/EDGE; RVD/SHELTON; HBK/MCMAHON; CARLITO/MASTERS
5/21/06 SMACKDOWN PPV (JUDGMENT DAY): FINLAY/BENOIT; MNM VS L-K; REY VS JBL
6/2/06 SMACKDOWN: (REY/ANGLE)
9/17/06 RAW PPV (UNFORGIVEN): TRISH/LITA, CENA/EDGE (TLC); DX/MCMAHON (HITC)
9/26/06 ECW: RVD vs HARDCORE HOLLY
10/3/06 ECW: RVD vs TEST
11/24/06 SMACKDOWN: FINLAY/BENOIT
12/17/06 SMACKDOWN PPV (ARMAGGEDDON): TAG LADDER; HELMS/YANG; Benoit/Chavo
Monday, January 08, 2007
Royal Rumble Review!
TOP FIVE ROYAL RUMBLE MATCHES (NON-RUMBLE)
#5: Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jeannette (1993 – Sacramento, CA)
#4: Chris Jericho vs. The Rock (2002 – Atlanta, GA)
#3: Diesel vs. Bret Hart (1995 – Tampa, FL)
#2: Triple H vs. Cactus Jack [STREET FIGHT] (2000 – MSG NY)
#1: Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit [LADDER] (2001 – New Orleans, LA)
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
1/22/95 Bob Holly/123 Kid vs Bam Bam Bigelow/Tatanka
1/24/99 Rock vs Mankind (I Quit)
1/21/01 Kurt Angle vs Triple H
1/19/03 Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit
1/18/98 Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker (Casket)
1/18/98 Max Mini/Nova/Mosaic vs Battalion/Torito/Tarantula
1/19/92 Owen Hart/Jim Neidhart vs Pat Tanaka/Kato
1/24/93 Bret Hart vs Razor Ramon
1/22/95 Razor Ramon vs Jeff Jarrett
1/23/00 Matt Hardy/Jeff Hardy vs Bubba Ray Dudley/D-Von Dudley (Tables)
1/30/05 HHH vs Randy Orton
1/30/05 Shawn Michaels vs Edge
1/24/88 Jumping Bomb Angels vs Glamour Girls (2/3 falls)
1/24/93 Rick Steiner/Scott Steiner vs Beau Beverly/Blake Beverly
1/25/04 Triple H vs Shawn Michaels (Last Man Standing)
TEN BEST ROYAL RUMBLES:
1992: Ric Flair wins it all! (ALBANY)
2004: Chris Benoit is going to Wrestlemania! (PHILLY)
1988: Jim Duggan defeats 20 other men to begin a WWF tradition! (SAN JOSE)
1995: Shawn Michaels goes on to face Diesel in April! (TAMPA)
2002: Longest rumble on record at nearly 70 minutes, HHH’s quad wins the Royal Rumble! (ATLANTA)
2006: Rey Mysterio sets the modern endurance record at 62 minutes winning the rumble! (MIAMI)
2001: MENG’s surprise DEBUT did not win; Steve Austin beat Kane! (NEW ORLEANS)
2003: Brock Lesnar (#29) beat Big Show to qualify then #30 Undertaker to win the Rumble! (BOSTON)
1990: Hulk Hogan won to set the stage for the huge showdown with the Ultimate Warrior! (ORLANDO)
1997: Steve Austin wins and goes to WM for a bloody battle with Bret Hart! (SAN ANTONIO)
#5: Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jeannette (1993 – Sacramento, CA)
#4: Chris Jericho vs. The Rock (2002 – Atlanta, GA)
#3: Diesel vs. Bret Hart (1995 – Tampa, FL)
#2: Triple H vs. Cactus Jack [STREET FIGHT] (2000 – MSG NY)
#1: Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit [LADDER] (2001 – New Orleans, LA)
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
1/22/95 Bob Holly/123 Kid vs Bam Bam Bigelow/Tatanka
1/24/99 Rock vs Mankind (I Quit)
1/21/01 Kurt Angle vs Triple H
1/19/03 Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit
1/18/98 Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker (Casket)
1/18/98 Max Mini/Nova/Mosaic vs Battalion/Torito/Tarantula
1/19/92 Owen Hart/Jim Neidhart vs Pat Tanaka/Kato
1/24/93 Bret Hart vs Razor Ramon
1/22/95 Razor Ramon vs Jeff Jarrett
1/23/00 Matt Hardy/Jeff Hardy vs Bubba Ray Dudley/D-Von Dudley (Tables)
1/30/05 HHH vs Randy Orton
1/30/05 Shawn Michaels vs Edge
1/24/88 Jumping Bomb Angels vs Glamour Girls (2/3 falls)
1/24/93 Rick Steiner/Scott Steiner vs Beau Beverly/Blake Beverly
1/25/04 Triple H vs Shawn Michaels (Last Man Standing)
TEN BEST ROYAL RUMBLES:
1992: Ric Flair wins it all! (ALBANY)
2004: Chris Benoit is going to Wrestlemania! (PHILLY)
1988: Jim Duggan defeats 20 other men to begin a WWF tradition! (SAN JOSE)
1995: Shawn Michaels goes on to face Diesel in April! (TAMPA)
2002: Longest rumble on record at nearly 70 minutes, HHH’s quad wins the Royal Rumble! (ATLANTA)
2006: Rey Mysterio sets the modern endurance record at 62 minutes winning the rumble! (MIAMI)
2001: MENG’s surprise DEBUT did not win; Steve Austin beat Kane! (NEW ORLEANS)
2003: Brock Lesnar (#29) beat Big Show to qualify then #30 Undertaker to win the Rumble! (BOSTON)
1990: Hulk Hogan won to set the stage for the huge showdown with the Ultimate Warrior! (ORLANDO)
1997: Steve Austin wins and goes to WM for a bloody battle with Bret Hart! (SAN ANTONIO)
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