3/31 WWE Raw Results

(pics from WWE.com)

~This episode of Raw is the first after Wrestlemania 24. I'm curious to see where WWE is going to go with some of the things set up from Wrestlemania, like Randy Orton retaining the WWE title, Ric Flair retiring and what's gonna happen to Big Show and Umaga after losing their matches to Floyd Mayweather and Batista, respectively.


-The show starts out with John Cena's music playing, but Cena doesn't come out. Then Triple H's music plays but after a while, you get the sense that he isn't coming out either. Finally, the music of the WWE Champion, Randy Orton, who survived a triple threat match against both HHH and Cena at WM24, plays and he comes out. Orton asks the crowd if they were "expecting someone else" [nice!]. He pretty much says he's the greatest champion ever and that everyone is witnessing the "Age of Orton".


-Then JBL, who defeated Finlay in a Belfast Brawl at Wrestlemania, comes down to the ring. JBL says that Orton's whole title reign has been built on luck. He goes on to say that Orton could never beat him, declares himself the new #1 contender to the WWE title and leaves the ring.


-Then Matt Hardy, who made his return at Wrestlemania during the Money in the Bank ladder match, comes into the ring from the crowd and attacks Orton. Hardy was put on the "injured list" a few months back after being attacked by Orton.

-Matt Hardy runs into Raw General Manager, William Regal, backstage and demands a match with Randy Orton. Regal says he'll think about it.


-CRYME TYME~! returns to Raw and pick up a win over Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch


-Shawn Michaels, who ended Ric Flair's career at Wrestlemania, comes down to the ring and complains about "pulling the trigger" and being the one responsible for putting an end to the career of the Nature Boy.

-It's announced that Matt Hardy will face Randy Orton in a non-title match.

-Shawn Michaels is backstage and he runs into Batista, who saw Ric Flair as a mentor to him. Batista gives Michaels the evil eye.


-Brian Kendrick & Paul London (Huh? More on this near the end of my post) beat WWE World Tag Team Champions, Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes in a non-title match.


-WWE Intercontinental Champion, Chris Jericho, defeats CM Punk, who won the Money in the Bank Ladder match at Wrestlemania meaning he can get a WWE, World Heavyweight or ECW World Title Shot whenever he wants within the next year (although we all know no one would bother to waste that kind of opportunity on the ECW title). Boooooo, good match though.


-Big Show, fresh off getting knocked out by Floyd Mayweather at Wrestlemania, comes down to the ring. He starts talking but then The Great Khali comes down to the ring. It seems like they're about to fight but Khali punks out and leaves the ring.

-Santino Marella gets a slap from his ex-girlfriend, Maria, after making some sexist comments about the WWE's female wrestlers.


-WWE Champion, Randy Orton, beats Matt Hardy in a non-title match.


-Santino Marella gets beat down by all the female wrestlers in the WWE and as a result, ends up losing an inter-gender match to Maria.




-Ric Flair comes out and officially retires from professional wrestling. He then receives one of the greatest send-offs I, personally, have ever seen, to close out the show.


I think the "Age of Orton" is a cool name.

CRYME TYME CAME BACK!!! They were fired a while back and I was pretty bummed out about it because they were a really entertaining team plus the WWE tag team division is pretty non-existant. Maybe this means WWE is going to renew their focus on tag team wrestling, I doubt it but you never know.

Highlights of Ric Flair's career were shown throughout the night, which I thought were cool to watch.

WHAT?!? Didn't Brian Kendrick walk out on Paul London a few weeks back? Am I just supposed to forget that and pretend like it didn't happen? Well, I guess I'm just gonna have to because, thankfully, WWE seems to really want to re-establish their tag teams, once again I don't think anything will come of this but who knows. Kendrick and London are a good team though.

Hardcore Holly put down a huge whuppin' on Paul London in their match. London seems to be getting a lot of that lately.

It was a little disappointing to see CM Punk lose to Chris Jericho. Not because it's Chris Jericho, but because as "Mr. Money in th Bank", it shows that WWE wants to make Punk their next big star and I feel a lost puts all that on the wrong foot. However, you can't win them all and WWE has up to a year to build Punk into a legit WWE or World Heavyweight Title contender whenever he cashes in the "Money in the Bank".

A Big Show/Khali feud? Spare me now. The crowd dumped all over this segment but the "Show is gonna kill you" chants toward Khali were funny.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be all into a possible Randy Orton/JBL feud either.

Santino Marella was comedic gold again. However, I personally don't agree with his comments on the WWE Divas because they're not all terrible in the ring. Unfortunately, Santino's "views" are echoed by a lot of WWE fans.

That beatdown he got later was...interesting.

I think Matt Hardy and Randy Orton had, what I thought was, the match of the night. But, I hope Hardy will now go back to Smackdown and go back to feuding with WWE United States Champion, MVP, which was what he was doing before he got injured. By the way, I really dug the finish to that match.

I hope Flair meant it when he said he is never going to wrestle again, it would be a shame for him to tarnish such a great farewell by coming back two, three or eight more times. That entire moment was just...wow...my words just can't do it justice.


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part 2

WWE Wrestlemania 24 Results

(pics from WWE.com)

~WWE's 24th annual Wrestlemania event occured last night from the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. This is WWE's biggest event of the year and is always good for producing a memorable moment or two, or ten. I would normally include "Monday w/ the Smart Marks" in this post, but I think Wrestlemania deserves a post by itself. I'm still pumped about the show, here's what went down:


-Kane wins the 24 man battle royal and earns the right to fight Chavo Guerrero for the ECW Championship later on in the show.


-JBL beats Finlay in a “Belfast Brawl”. A really good opener.


-Mr. Kennedy yells in Kim Kardashian’s face.


-CM Punk won the amazing Money in the Bank Ladder Match and earns the right to receive a WWE, World Heavyweight or ECW Title shot at any time within the next year.


-Santino Marella tries talking some more trash to Snoop Dogg, but he’s not having it and has Festus attack him. Funny stuff.

-Smackdown wins the Smackdown vs. Raw challenge match when Batista beats Umaga.


-Kane defeats Chavo Guerrero in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it match to become the new ECW Champion.


-Shawn Michaels ends Ric Flair’s career by beating him in a match. This match was WAY better than I thought it would be.


-After the match, Flair takes one last walk to the back while receiving a standing "o" from the Orlando crowd.


-In the Bunnymania match, Raw Color Commentator, Jerry Lawler tries to play the hero again and punches Santino Marella when he prevents Maria from winning the match. Eventually, WWE Women’s Champion, Beth Phoenix & Melina pick up the win over Maria & Ashley Massaro.


-Afterwards, Snoop Dogg comes out of nowhere and clotheslines Santino Marella, kisses Maria (I thought Snoop was married) and leaves with her and Ashley.


-Randy Orton retains the WWE Title over Triple H and John Cena.


-Floyd Mayweather knocks out the Big Show with a chair and a pair of brass knuckles.


-The Undertaker goes 16-0 in Wrestlemania matches and defeats Edge for the World Heavyweight Title to close out the show.


I kind of wanted the Money in the Bank Ladder match to open the show but the Belfast Brawl was a surprisingly good opening, hard-hitting match, so I’m not that upset about it.

The blonde haired Shelton Benjamin was all decked out in gold last night. That man nearly killed himself in the Money in the Bank ladder match.

Speaking of Money in the Bank, that match was CRAZY~! Bodies were flying everywhere. The match continues to be a Wrestlemania highlight every year and I think this year's was the best out of the four. I was pretty shocked that Punk pulled out the win and I’m interested to see where WWE goes with this.

Why was that Kane/Chavo match so short? I actually went to go use the bathroom before Chavo made his entrance and when I came back, Kane was walking out with the ECW belt.

I was not feelin’ that robe Ric Flair had on last night. He looked like a cross between a superhero and a religious cult leader.


There was a point in the Michaels/Flair match where Michaels missed a moonsault from the ring and I thought he broke his ribs. He actually went for the move twice and looked to have missed both of them.

Speaking of things broken, I thought Michaels broke Flair’s jaw with Sweet Chin Music. Michaels went for that move three times.

Flair vs. Michaels was one of the surprises of the night to me. The build-up was great and I was certain that Flair's age would show and he'd drag the match down. I was glad to be wrong on that one. Eventhough he lost, witnessing Flair take his final bow sure was a sight to see.

Edge delivered an awesome promo about him as a kid watching Wrestlemania 6 and how he planned on ending the Undertaker’s undefeated streak.

Snoop Dogg clotheslining Santino Marella was hilarious. I didn’t see that coming at all.

John Cena’s Entrance!!!! That was so sick! One of my new favorite Wrestlemania entrances of all time! I used to play drums in my high school school band and I never got to play anywhere as cool as Wrestlemania.

I DID NOT expect Randy Orton to retain his title. Wow! He really came out of nowhere with that one. I thought HHH would be walking out with the belt, I guess I was wrong, again.

Big Show/Mayweather was another pleasent surprise of the night. I thought they were going to have Mayweather try and pull of wrestling moves, which would have been a mistake. Thankfully, they let Floyd do what he does best, which is punch and run, and they made Big Show lose in a way that I don't think made him lose his credibility.

I really thought the Edge/Taker match was gonna get the short end of the stick and be buried in the middle of the card, it was surprising to see them get the main event. I haven’t made up my mind if it’s a good surprise or a bad surprise yet but I thought the match was decent.

Wow, overall, a damn good show. I don’t know if it is worth $70 in HD but it was a damn good show. Match of the night for me was the Money in the Bank Ladder Match (in terms of excitement) and the Flair/Michaels match (in terms of importance and because it was Flair’s last match). I completely missed the Chavo/Kane match but I thought every other match was surprisingly solid, even the Bunnymania match which I thought was gonna be complete trash.

I've read other fan reports and have seen that people had various petty complaints about the show, like it sucked that Flair/Michaels wasn't the main event or they thought Bunnymania killed the show (the lights actually went out halfway through the match and the women were wrestling in the dark for about a minute or so).

I think sometimes, wrestling fans are so focused on finding and pointing out the negatives in everything, that they forget to sit back and be a wrestling fan instead of a wrestling critic, which leaves them never satisfied no matter how good the show is.

Anyway, I was thoroughly entertained for 4 hours and I don't think I could have asked for more.

Weekend Update

ROH "Supercard of Honor III" Results

~Ring of Honor closed out their weekend with the second of two shows in Orlando yesterday featuring wrestlers from the Dragon Gate promotion in Japan. Here's what went down:

-Go Shiozaki beats Delirious.

-Kenny King, Sal Rinauro & Chasyn Rance (The Young, Rich & Ready) beat Dingo, Luke Williams & Alex "Sugarfoot" Payne.

-ROH Tag Team Champions Rocky Romero & Davey Richards (The No Remorse Corps.) defend their titles against Jigsaw & Ruckus (The Vulture Squad).

-Tyler Black & Jimmy Jacobs (The Age of the Fall) beat The Briscoes.

-BxB Hulk & Shingo (from Dragon Gate) defeat El Generico & Kevin Steen

-Nigel McGuinness beats Austin Aries to successfully retain the ROH World Title.

-After the match both the AOTF and Tammy Sytch try, once again, to get Aries to join them. He ends up joining the Age of the Fall. AOTF are about to attack Sytch but The Briscoes come out to make the save.

-Genki Horoguchi, Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino defeat CIMA, Dragon Kid & Ryo Saito in an all-Dragon Gate six man tag match.

I really didn't expect Aries to join the Age of the Fall, but he would definetely fit in with their whole "death to society" look. I'm interested if ROH is going to do anything with The Briscoes and Tammy Sytch, hopefully she becomes their manager and speaks for them because the Briscoes, although talented in the ring, are god-awful on the mic.

I'm glad to see Richards & Romero get a run with the tag belts. When they won them a few months ago, I was sure they would drop the belts to the Briscoes or the AOTF by the next week. I dig Davey Richards and Rocky Romero as singles wrestlers and from the few matches I've seen of them as a team, I like the pair just as much.

-There goes Kevin Steen's winning streak.

2008 WWE Hall of Fame

WWE held their 2008 Hall of Fame ceremony last night. The inductees included Ric Flair, Rocky Johnson, "High Chief" Peter Maivia, Jack & Gerald Briscoe, Eddie Graham, Gordon Solie and Mae Young.

I wasn't even alive when any of these people were in their prime, despite that, I still found the show enjoyable. Seeing The Rock aka Dwayne Johnson, a former wrestler who I witnessed in his prime, induct his father, Rocky Johnson, was pretty cool.


Also, Flair's speech was really heartfelt.


I wish I could have seen all the speeches but I guess there goes one bonus feature on the Wrestlemania 24 DVD.

Speaking of Wrestlemania 24, it's going on right NOW. I'll be sure to have results up tomorrow. So far, the show is extremely good.

3/25 ECW Results, Wednesday Wrestler Spotlight

3/25 ECW Results

(Pics from WWE.com)


~The show starts with a 12-on-12 tag team match featuring the 24 wrestlers that will compete in a battle royal this Sunday at Wrestlemania 24, where the winner will face Chavo Guerrero for the ECW title immediately afterwards.


-Snitsky *sigh* picks up the win for his team. I honestly don't remember who was on his team but I know it wasn't Tommy Dreamer, who got pinned by Snitsky.

-Not content with the beating he just got, Tommy Dreamer challenges ECW Champion, Chavo Guerrero, to a non-title match. Guerrero accepts.


-Shelton Benjamin beats Carlito in a preview to the Money in the Bank Ladder match at Wrestlemania.


-Mike Knox & Layla defeat Stevie Richards & Kelly Kelly.


-To the surprise of no one, Chavo Guerrero beats Tommy Dreamer in a non-title match.


-Afterwards, it seemed like the whole world came out to jump the ECW champ after his win.


I thought the opening tag match was pretty fun to watch and it seems like everyone got a chance to shine...



...But, SNITSKY? Snitsky picks up the win?!? Why this guy?


Carlito and Shelton Benjamin had a really solid match and I think it was match of the night.

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part 2

You know who I wish was featured more on ECW, Layla El.

I don't think I have to say anything else.

I believe it was Dave Chappelle who once said “everything looks cooler in slow motion”. A part of John Morrison’s entrance has him standing at the top of the entrance ramp while the wind is blowing his hair and fur coat in slow motion. I know Morrison wasn't even on the show last night, the entrance sounds pretty goofy and I’ve been trying for months to continue hating on it, but I’ve officially thrown in the towel. I want an entrance like that (with the oversized fur coat and sunglasses).




Wednesday Wrestler Spotlight

~This week's spotlight is on a wrestler who I find to be very entertaining and charismatic and he could also be wrestling the last match of his career this Sunday.



"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair

Personally, I'm not old enough or eager enough to watch pro wrestling from the 1980's in order to fully know or have an appreciation for everything Ric Flair has brought to the business.

Although, Flair has spent the latter part of his career in WWE, I was first exposed to the man known as "The Dirtiest Player in the Game" by watching World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

My first impressions of him were that he was the man with the million bathrobes who said "wooo" a lot.

Here are some of the "bathrobes" in the Ric Flair collection

Like this one


And this one


And this one


As for the "wooo"s, I don't think an explaination from me would do it justice, so I'll have Ric Flair explain it himself.


In the years that I've seen Ric Flair, I've learned that he is a pretty damn good showman and I honestly can't remember ever seeing a Ric Flair interview or promo where he wasn't enthusiastic or giving 100%. As a matter of fact, he would give so much in his interviews that at times, it kind of seems like he's going overboard.


Nevertheless, Flair is a former 16-time World Champion, considered a living legend in pro wrestling and I'm pretty sure if he is going to wrestle his last match at Wrestlemania this Sunday, I know he'll go out with a bang. Wooo!

3/24 Raw Results, WWE Diva out of WM24 Match, New ROH Tripleshot Weekend Pics

3/24 Raw Results

(pics from WWE.com)

Its the last Raw before Wrestlemania 24 this Sunday, that means its supposed to be BIG. Well, it's supposed to be anyway. Here's what went down:


~To the delight of screaming children and young girls everywhere but the chagrin of everyone else, John Cena opens the show by coming down to the ring and pretty much says that he's leaving Wrestlemania as WWE champion. All of a sudden, The Big Show, who takes on Floyd Mayweather at Wrestlemania, makes his way to the ring and pimps out his match. JBL, who faces Finlay in a Belfast Brawl this Sunday, comes out next and promises to "deliver the greatest beating in the history of Wrestlemania".


-Eventually, WWE Champion, Randy Orton, Umaga and Triple H all come down to the ring each making reference to their matches on Sunday. Raw General Manager, William Regal decides to join the fun and announces that the night's main event would be a "Wrestlemania Showcase Match" featuring Big Show, JBL, Umaga and Randy Orton vs. John Cena, Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair.


-WWE United States Champion, MVP, and Carlito defeat WWE Intercontinental Champion, Chris Jericho, and CM Punk. All four men will take part in the (sure to be sick!) Money in the Bank Ladder match on Sunday.


-The Great Khali walks all over Hardcore Holly.


-Ric Flair comes out, maybe for the last time if he loses to Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania, and calls out his opponent for another heart-to-heart on not going easy on him eventhough if he loses his match, he'll be forced to retire. Flair tells Michaels to give him his best at Wrestlemania, Michaels says he's gonna end Flair's career, Flair FLIPS OUT and slaps Michaels, Michaels repeats what he said and leaves.


-Maria and Melina try to have a match but WWE Women's Champion, Beth Phoenix, Ashley Massaro (more on her connection to these women after the Raw results), Santino Marella and Raw Color Commentator, Jerry Lawler, all feel the need to just walk into the ring before the two women start wrestling. Raw GM Regal makes his second appearance of the night and announces that Melina, Phoenix and Marella will face Maria, Massaro and Lawler instead.


-Team Santino end up winning the match.


-The 8-man tag main event happens next and a bunch of craziness goes on.


-Finlay comes out about a minute after the match starts and him and JBL get into a brawl, so JBL leaves the match.


-Then Umaga is tackled by Batista, his opponent at Wrestlemania, and he's taken out of the match. Big Show then lays out Randy Orton, his partner, and then he leaves the ring. After that, Triple H and Cena start going at it and they disappear leaving Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels vs. Orton.


-Flair is about to beat Orton, when he is sucker-punched by Michaels, who then tries to win the match himself. Flair hits Michaels with a low blow and he rolls out of the ring, making Flair and Orton the only two left.


-Flair picks up the win to close out the show.


Overall, I really enjoyed this episode of Raw. I thought Flair winning the main event was a nice touch. I thought the buildup to Orton vs. Cena vs. HHH was pretty decent. Money in the Bank wasn't talked about much but I don't think it needs much hype. The only problem I had was the complete disappearence of Floyd Mayweather, where the hell was he?

They actually let Umaga speak on the mic during the opening segment!! It was so sick! I don't know what he said, he don't care but they need to do more of it because I think it's cool.


WWE premiered a really good tribute video for Ric Flair, who is going to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame the night before Wrestlemania. Things are looking like Flair will lose his match against Shawn Michaels and then retire. However, with WWE, you really never know what's really gonna happen until it happens. I wouldn't be shocked if Flair beats Michaels and then loses a match the next night on Raw and then retires. Anyway, once again, I thought the tribute was good.


On the subject of Ric Flair, What an exchange between him and Shawn Michaels! Right next to the Money in the Bank ladder match, I am looking forward to this match and I really hope they deliver.


One Less "Bunny" in Bunnymania Match

~According to an article from WWE.com, WWE Diva, Candice Michelle, underwent successful surgery early Monday afternoon to repair a broken clavicle (collar bone), an injury she suffered during a match on last week's episode of Raw. As a result, she will be unable to compete in her match this Sunday at Wrestlemania 24.

Michelle, a former WWE Women's Champion and Playboy covergirl, was scheduled to team up with Maria, the latest WWE Diva to pose for Playboy, to face current Women's champ, Beth Phoenix, and Melina.

Collar bone problems are not anything new for the WWE performer, she originally broke it during a match against Phoenix on Raw last October.



Michelle was out of action until she reappeared on WWE television last month. Her match last week was her first televised match since the injury last fall.

Despite Candice Michelle being pulled from the match, Bunnymania (?) will live on. Ashley Massaro, yet another WWE Diva to have graced the covers of Playboy, will take her place and team with Maria instead.

This is some rather sad news to hear, not that I was really looking forward to her match at Wrestlemania, but to just come back from an injury only to be sidelined from the same thing as soon as you return must be heartbreaking. Hopefully she makes a speedy recovery.

New Photos from ROH's Tripleshot Weekend

~Pictures from Ring of Honor's last three shows (3/14-3/16) were posted a few days ago, so I've edited my previous posts featuring results from those events to include the pics.

The edited posts can be found here and here.