Posts Tagged ‘Vince McMahon’

Been a crazy and hectic week.  Sorry for a couple of days of nothing new, I will hit it hard over the next couple of days.  I attended The Mahoning Valley Thunder practice earlier today and did a few short interviews with players and coaches to be featured over the next few weeks.  Without further ado… here are some great stories from other sites!

Sidney Crosby Doesn’t Have A Dark Side Or Kick Puppies * PSAMP
Author Bill Reynolds Discusses 1978 And Boston Baseball * Hugging Harold Reynolds
Briny Baird Hits Bullseye From 300′ Elevated Tee * Steady Burn
NBA Rookies: Here Is The money , Don’t Talk During The Commercials * NESW Sports
Seperated At Birth: NBA Playoffs Part 2 * Fansided
The 5 Scariest Ice Skating Lacerations Of All Time * Total Pro Sports
Did The Celtics Choke Or Puke On Themselves? * Zoner Sports
Washington Nationals Having All Sorts Of Problems and more * Sports Rubbish
The Top-10 Undrafted NBA Players * Hoop Doctors
5 Things The Indians Have To Differently To Get Better * Sports2Debate
“The Happy Youngster” Needs To Be Real * Detroit4Lyfe
Nuggets And WWE In A Smackdown Over Who Will Be On The Arena Floor Monday Night * FOX Sports
Jon Gruden Newest MNF Announcer: Chuck In The Box * Gear Up For Sports
Athletes And Their Ridiculous Cars * YepYep
Will The Indians Trade Victor Martinez? * Tribe Daily
Whats Wrong With Jimmy Rollins? * Baseball Reflections
NBA Conference Finals Schedule * Talk Hoops
Penguins Hockey Coverage * The Program
NBA Photo Caption Contest * In Game Now
NBA Western Conference Finals Preview * Sharapova’s Thigh

The Covelli Centre in Youngstown was the setting as The WWE Raw roster made a stop.  It was an interesting night on many levels.  First of all, this was a traditional house show, so there was no McMahons around, no Jerry Lawler, no Jim Ross, and no TV cameras.  There was no Titantron or raised ramp.  Just a ring, an old microphone and a bell.  My seat was right next to the railing where the wrestlers entered about five rows from the ring.  My cousin Vito and I attended many of these shows in Struthers way back when, but this was the first in Youngstown in awhile.

Howard Finkel came out and welcomed everyone right at 7:30 as he asked the sold-out arena to stand for The National Anthem.  Afterwards, Mickie James’ music played and the place went nuts. 

Match #1  Mickie James vs Maryse in a non-title match.  Pretty good match back and forth with the crowd really working for Mickie.  Interesting observation, Maryse lost a couple of blond hairs everytime she did anything, you could see them drift toward the canvas.  Mickie got the win on a clean pinfall.

Match #2  Chavo Guerrerro vs Festus.  Chavo came out to a loud chorus of boos.  He grabbed the microphone and riled the civilians up for a minute.  Bell rings and Festus grabs the microphone and starts singing “I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight“.  Festus dominated the match but Chavo hit the frog splash and pinned Festus for the win.

Match #3  Jamie Noble vs O’Shaughnessy  I never heard of O’Shaughnessy before but learned he is from Youngstown.  He was about 6’5″, very pale complected, and red hair — the perfect Irish hero since Finlay wasn’t going to be around.  Maybe he was filling in for Santino who was advertised but didn’t show.  Noble told O’Shaughnessy he was the whitest guy he ever saw and worked the mic pretty good.  O’Shaughnessy came away with the victory.

Match #4  The Miz vs Kofi Kingston.   One of the best matches of the night as WWE continues to push Miz as a singles competitor.  Miz might have the best mic skills in the company right now.  He really got under the crowds skin and made a crack about being in Youngstown of all places.  The match was really well paced and Kobe did some high flying.  Miz scored the win after avoiding Kobe diving off of the top rope for the three count.

20 minute intermission.  This freed me up to check Pens and Cavs scores as well as grab a Gatorade.

Match #5  Matt Hardy vs Goldust.  Hardy mumbled without direction for about five minutes, four were about his brother Jeff.  Goldust got a pretty nice reception.  The tourettes angle they did with him a few years back was one of my all-time favorites.  Matt favored his injured right arm most of the match and would run out of the ring.  He even got about halfway back to the dressing room and ran back into the ring to beat a ten-count.  Predictably, Hardy scored the win.

Match #6  MVP vs William Regal.  Regal takes about an hour to get to the ring with his arrogant stares.  This guy is still the ultimate villain.  MVP came out to a huge pop.  Very physical match which saw Regal in control most of the way.  Quite a few MVP chants filled the arena.  Again, predictibaly, MVP comes away with the win.

Match #7  Primo & Carlito vs Legacy (Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes).  As Legacy was walking to the ring, I noticed a nose piercing in the right nostril of Cody Rhodes that I never saw on television.  He was a little bigger than I thought he would be.  Good match back and forth.  Carlito took about ten minutes of torture and when Primo finally tagged in he went off for about forty seconds before Legacy used a couple of chairs and took the disqualification.

Match #8  Big Show and Randy Orton vs John Cena and Batista.  The Big Show got a beer dumped on him as soon as he came out and was instantly angered.  By the time he got to me, he stopped even with my seating to look around, this guy is huge in real life.  Orton came out with that goofy glazed look in his eye like he just smoked again before he came to the ring.  Batista got a good pop on his way out and he is probably the most ripped WWE Superstar.  The place went absolutely nuts for Cena.  I always hear some boos mixed in on television, but couldn’t hear any in Youngstown.  We decided to leave before this match ended to beat traffic and catch the end of what was a close Cavs game at that time. 

My general observations:

• A security guard obstructed my view all night.  He was about even with the third row and I was in the fifth.  He did not move and I had to watch him yawn about forty times trying to see around him.
• I will never sit on the seat closest to the entrance ramp again.  Before and after every match, kids swarmed from three sections over to try to touch hands with the superstars.  I had a six year old on my shoulder all night as he would stand on my seat.  I felt like a parakeet trainer.
• There were no empty seats and The Covelli Centre was loud!
• I did not bring a camera to the event because with various lens sizes and strobes I carry a large bag which I figured would not make it in.  I was angered to see several folks carrying photography bags and realized I could have really got some great shots.  A couple sitting next to me promised to e-mail me some pics but never did, so I held out on posting these results as long as I could.

This weekend, the WWE will induct “Stone Cold” Steve Austin into their Hall of Fame.  Austin was the top dog in the WWE for a for a few years. His plain ring attire and beer drinking, middle-finger throwing persona were legendary with fans of wrestling.  Austin first broke into the WWE as The Ringmaster, a thug that Ted DiBiase Sr. paid to do his dirty work. 

Once Austin adopted the “Stone Cold” personality, he had legendary feuds with Mick Foley, The Rock, and Vince McMahon.  McMahon will be giving the induction speech for Austin’s induction ceremony.  Austin personified what Mickey Rourke was all about in the wrestler.  Bad knees were his obvious undoing, forcing him to retire as an active competitor. 

Often portrayed as rebelious, Austin made McMahon look perfect as the overbearing boss who had no control of his champion.  I still think his greatest stretch in the WWE was as a champion.  The storyline was for Vince McMahon to demand Austin to be “corporate”.  This meant wearing a suit, not throwing the bird, eliminating the drinking, and being polite and respectful.  The writers of the era (Vince Russo deserves the credit), really sold McMahon going nuts as Austin would repeatedly push his buttons to see how far he could go.

Steve Austin’s biggest contribution to the sport was his attitude.  He breathed arrogance every step he took while on camera.  He didn’t care who he was competing against or who rooted for him.  He didn’t have any in-character friends or true allies, and WWE did the best they possibly could at maximizing his cocky and foul-mouthed persona.   

With Wrestlemania XXV just a week away, I am going to attempt to predict the results of the big card.  It gets tricky trying to follow the storyline and thought patterns of Vince McMahon.  Wrestlemania is in Houston, Texas this year.  Keep in mind, I stand by my predictions if there are no huge swerves in stoylines leading up to Wrestlemania on next weeks Monday Night Raw or Smackdown shows.

Chris Jericho vs WWE Legends : The WWE legends are Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, Ricky Steamboat, and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.  Jericho should destroy the three legends as he has been for the past several weeks on Raw.  I see Stone Cold Steve Austin getting involved somehow, perhaps as “guest enforcer”.  I also see Ric Flair attacking Jericho after the match.  My prediction for the match is that Jericho will be rolling along, the ref gets squished in the corner “accidentally” as Jericho continues to control things.  When he feels he is ready to win officially, he starts screaming for a ref to come out and count, look for this to be Stone Cold Steve Austin.  The legends will get the tainted upset victory after Chris Jericho gets punked.  Look for Mickey Rourke to be at ringside or in the legends corner.

25 Diva Battle Royal:  I didn’t know there were 25 divas in the WWE.  I can only come up with about 18, so it will be interesting to see someone like Mae Young get tossed over the top rope.  The only other possibilities I can see are Gail Kim making a WWE debut, Lillian Garcia competing, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley competing, and possibly bringing back Wendy Richter for nostalgic purposes.  Santino Marella is supposedly trying to get into this match as a diva participant.  Look for the entertaining Santino to get his wish but cost his girlfriend the Glamazon her chance at winning.  I see that relationship ending in this match.  My prediction is that Gail Kim will show up and be the last eliminated by winner and suprise entrant Trish Stratus.

Money In The Bank Ladder Match: First of all, I don’t think Mark Henry can climb a ladder without breaking it, so we will eliminate him now and focus on the other seven combatants.  Kane, Kofi Kingston, CM Punk, Finley, Shelton Benjaman, Christian Cage, and MVP will be participating in this years ladder match.  These have been the most exciting matches for me over the past few WM’s.  I do not think that Kane or Finley will win.  Kane is no good in a high risk match like this one and Finley will employ his dwarf son Hornswaggle at some capacity.  Usually the WWE will make the winner of this match someone who is ready for a big push to main event status.  Last year CM Punk won, so I don’t think he will repeat.  It comes down to two guys in my opinion – Christian Cage and MVP.  My official prediction is that MVP will win as the WWE is really trying to push him as a babyface. 

Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker:  This should be interesting.  16-0 is the Undertakers unblemished Wrestlemania record and Shawn Michaels has had the nickname Mr. Wrestlemania for years.  Something has to give here.  I am going to say that Undertaker wins and keeps his perfect record at Wrestlemania in a long and tough match.  I would guess this match will go over a half hour which is epic, especially from two 40+ year old veterans.  The Undertaker will use questionable tactics to win.

Primo and Carlito vs Miz and Morrison:  The big tag team unification match.  I am kind of sick of this angle and am hoping for Carlito and Primo to win to end the Miz and Morrison run.  I think John Morrison is the WWE star in waiting as a singles wrestler.  Unfortunately, I feel that Miz and Morrison will win this match.  The newly divided Bella Twins will start on opposite ends of the ring but end up walking out with unified champions Morrison and The Miz at the end of the match.

JBL vs Rey Mysterio:  This match has received the least amount of promotion on WWE programming.  It is another weird matchup as big, bulky, and powerful faces off against, fast, risky, and high-flying.  I hope WWE lets JBL keep the belt because he is such a great heel.  However, the WWE loves to give Mysterio gold he should not have.  I predict that Rey Mysterio wins the Intercontinental Title.

Edge vs Cena vs Big Show:  I’m sure if everyone voted on this that Cena would have about 90% of the votes to win the match.  I don’t see it that way.  I am sticking by my gut instinct here and saying that Christian will be out to give Edge the assist.  Look for the Big Show to land outside somehow and lay there for most of the match.  Cena will have the match pretty well in control and just when it looks like he is going to win, I am calling for Christian Cage to come out and help his lifelong pal, Edge, retain the title.  When Big Show comes to his senses, he will swear off Vicki Guerrerro, as will Edge, leaving her broken hearted in this contest to win not only the belt, but Vicki’s love.  Edge retains the belt here!

Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy :  This is the hardest matchup to predict.  Either Jeff is going to dominate and win or Matt will do something underhanded to win.  Saying that Jeff will win is just too easy, so I am going to call for Matt Hardy to win this match.  Something really goofy is going to shock Jeff before he gets pinned.  Momma Hardy yelling for her boys to stop fighting each other, drug relapse, car wreck footage, firework mishap, or the reappearance of the dog Jeff thought died in the fire.  Somehow, Matt is gonna win.

Triple H vs Randy Orton:  This is the match getting the most WM 25 hype.  Pretty good storyline that Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase have been a part of from the word go.  I am sure they will appear at some point in the match.  Someone will come to the aid of Triple H, and I am guessing it will be Vince and Shane McMahon.  Look for the McMahons to prevent Rhodes and DiBiase to interfere allowing Triple H to get the win here.     

Andrew “Test” Martin, 33,  was found dead at his Tampa home Friday.  Police responded to a call from a concerned neighbor who claimed she could see Martin lying motionless in his home and saying he was unresponsive to phone and doorbell attempts.  The officers who responded forced entry and proclaimed Martin dead.  Test had a history of steroid and alcohol abuse.  He got a DUI in April of 2008 and had problems passing drug tests eventually leading up to his career coming to a halt.

Martin started wrestling in 1997 after meeting with Bret “Hitman” Hart and performing on a Canadian independent circuit for a year or so under the names of Martin Kane and TJ Thunder.  He debuted with WWE in 1998 under the name of Test.   

While an active WWE wrestler, Martin was a European, Intercontinental, Tag Team, and a Hardcore Champion.  Perhaps his best known angle was his scripted onscreen engagement to Stephanie McMahon.  Triple H eventually drugged her and snuck her through a drive-thru wedding chapel in Las Vegas to complete the storyline.  He also had success as half of T & A, along with his partner Albert and managed by Trish Stratus.

Martin was romantically linked with current WWE Diva Kelly Kelly and had dated Stacey Kiebler in the past as well.  Martin would have been 34 in a few days.  Hopefully, for the sake of McMahon and the WWE the death is not performance drug related.  The WWE is reeling from the recent deaths of Davey Boy Smith, Eddie Guerrerro, Chris Benoit, and Brian Pillman, in drug related autopsies.