Blog Archives
TEN YEARS AFTER: WWE Friday Night Smackdown (04.27.07)
WWE: Friday Night Smackdown
April 27, 2007
London, England
Earls Court
The current Smackdown champions are as follows:
World Heavyweight Champion: The Undertaker (4/2/2007)
WWE United States Champion: Chris Benoit (10/13/2006)
WWE Tag Team Champions: Deuce N Domino (4/20/2007)
WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Chavo Guerrero (2/18/2007)
Read along if you have the WWE Network!
Your hosts are Michael Cole and JBL.
Read the rest of this entry
TEN YEARS AFTER: WWE Friday Night Smackdown (04.20.07)
WWE: Friday Night Smackdown
April 20, 2007
Milan, Italy
Datchforum
The current Smackdown champions are as follows:
World Heavyweight Champion: The Undertaker (4/2/2007)
WWE United States Champion: Chris Benoit (10/13/2006)
WWE Tag Team Champions: Paul London & Brian Kendrick (5/21/2006)
WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Chavo Guerrero (2/18/2007)
Read along if you have the WWE Network!
This is the 400th Smackdown, ya’ll! Your hosts are Michael Cole and JBL. Read the rest of this entry
TEN YEARS AFTER: WWE WrestleMania 23
WWE: WrestleMania 23
April 1, 2007
Detroit, MI
Ford Field
The current WWE champions are as follows:
WWE Champion: John Cena (9/17/2006)
WWE Intercontinental Champion: Umaga (2/19/2007)
World Tag Team Champions: John Cena & Shawn Michaels (1/29/2007)
WWE Women’s Champion: Melina (2/19/2007)
ECW World Champion: Bobby Lashley (12/3/2006)
World Heavyweight Champion: Batista (11/26/2006)
WWE United States Champion: Chris Benoit (10/13/2006)
WWE Tag Team Champions: Paul London & Brian Kendrick (5/21/2006)
WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Chavo Guerrero (2/18/2007)
From the Figure Four Weekly dated April 9, 2007:
Between pay-per-view revenue, live attendance and merchandise, this show should gross in the neighborhood of $46 million. WWE claimed 80,103 fans from 24 countries paid $5.38 million to attend. The gate is legit and it is a new company record. I cannot confirm the attendance, but they had sold all 70,000 available tickets in the weeks before the show and more were released in the final seven days. I believe the building was set up for 75,000, but they were also selling SRO (standing-room only) tickets, so that number may be legit. It likely broke the attendance set at WrestleMania III of 78,000 fans, which the company inflated to 93,173 and has since become part of legend. The most-attended WWE show in history remains the 1992 SummerSlam at Wembley Stadium, which drew 80,355. The biggest gate in wrestling history remains the Antonio Inoki retirement show in 1998 which made over $7 million at the Tokyo Dome. WrestleMania XXIII will likely do around $1 million in merchandise, and the expected 740,000 domestic buys would net the company $22 million. It should be noted that it still falls below the December 30, 2006 Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz fight both in the gate ($5.4 million, which is actually fantastically impressive because that show only drew 1/6 the attendance) and the domestic buyrate (1.05 million buys). Worldwide, WWE should pull in 1.2 million buys.
They replay Vince McMahon’s introduction of Aretha Franklin from WrestleMania 3 as she returns to sing the National Anthem.
Your hosts are Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole & JBL, and Joey Styles & Tazz.
Read the rest of this entry
TEN YEARS AFTER: WWE Friday Night Smackdown (03.30.07)
WWE: Friday Night Smackdown
March 30, 2007
Grand Rapids, MI
Van Andel Arena
The current Smackdown champions are as follows:
World Heavyweight Champion: Batista (11/26/2006)
WWE United States Champion: Chris Benoit (10/13/2006)
WWE Tag Team Champions: Paul London & Brian Kendrick (5/21/2006)
WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Chavo Guerrero (2/18/2007)
Read along if you have the WWE Network!
Your hosts are Michael Cole and JBL.
Read the rest of this entry
TEN YEARS AFTER: Cyber Sunday 2006
WWE: Cyber Sunday
November 5, 2006
Cincinnati, OH
US Bank Arena
The current RAW champs are as follows:
WWE Champion: John Cena (9/17/2006)
WWE Intercontinental Champion: Jeff Hardy (10/2/2006)
World Tag Team Champions: The Spirit Squad (4/3/2006)
WWE Women’s Champion: Vacant (9/18/2006)
So there was this new PPV concept that WWE started in 2004 where they went – why don’t we let the fans choose stipulations to the matches and see how it goes? This was the age of American Idol and felt like a fresh idea. Since technology had finally made it easier than ever to make this work, why not give it a shot. Now whether or not the decisions were a work like everything else in wrestling is up for debate, but I think it’s always fun at least for the markiest of mark fans to think they are picking what they want to see. While the PPV started out as “Taboo Tuesday” in 2004, this is the first “Cyber Sunday” PPV. However, the concept did not produce dollar signs and was scrapped in 2008.
Your hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler. Read the rest of this entry
TEN YEARS AFTER: WWE No Mercy 2006
WWE: No Mercy
October 8, 2006
Raleigh, NC
RBC Center
The current Smackdown champions are as follows:
World Heavyweight Champion: King Booker (7/23/2006)
WWE United States Champion: Mr. Kennedy (9/1/2006)
WWE Tag Team Champions: Paul London & Brian Kendrick (5/21/2006)
WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Gregory Helms (1/29/2006)
Your hosts are Michael Cole and JBL.
Read the rest of this entry
TEN YEARS AFTER: WWE The Great American Bash 2006
WWE: The Great American Bash
July 23, 2006
Indianapolis, IN
Conseco Fieldhouse
The current Smackdown champions are as follows:
World Heavyweight Champion: Rey Mysterio (4/2/2006)
WWE United States Champion: Finlay (7/14/2006)
WWE Tag Team Champions: Paul London & Brian Kendrick (5/21/2006)
WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Gregory Helms (1/29/2006)
WEIRD NIGHT FOR WRESTLING: So FOUR matches on this PPV have been forced to be changed by no fault in WWE’s booking. First, we’ll talk about the US title rematch between the new champ Finlay and the man he beat for the title Bobby Lashley who happens to be the up and coming guy that Vince has gotten behind and wants to push all the way over the moon. At least that’s how it appeared in 2006. It was announced the day before the PPV that Bobby Lashley was being taken off the PPV because a test revealed he had “elevated liver enzymes” showing up in his blood. This can be caused by a variety of different things namely medications like antibiotics, it can come about through drinking too much alcohol, scary things like hepatitis, even by just taking something innocuous like herbal supplements. Oh, I almost forgot, you can have elevated liver enzymes from STEROID USE as well. Now of course since he’s being pushed over the moon and well into outer space, Lashley has never failed a test for steroids in WWE. Too bad I can’t find any images of how Bobby Lashley looked before he signed a WWE contract.
If that wasn’t bad for the Smackdown brand, Mark Henry was injured with a torn patella tendon on Saturday Night’s Main Event just a week before the Bash. He was scheduled to wrestle a returning Batista tonight in a big revenge match since Henry was the man who put Batista out of action in the first place six months earlier.
The Great Khali was set to debut his own gimmick match on this show – the Punjabi Prison match – with the Undertaker after pinning him WITH ONE FOOT ON HIS CHEST two months ago at Judgment Day when it was announced that Khali was being pulled from the show for having a liver problem.
And to top it all off, Super Crazy was originally planned to face Gregory Helms over the Cruiserweight title in a rematch from Judgment Day and gets pulled from the show for also having “elevated liver enzymes”. I didn’t know elevated liver enzymes was contagious.
Let’s see how this puppy turns out though with all these last minute changes.
Your hosts are Michael Cole & JBL. They still talk like the Great Khali is going to wrestle tonight. They stress that the Undertaker has no idea what the Punjabi Prison match is all about and neither do we at this point.
Read the rest of this entry
TEN YEARS AFTER: WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event (07.15.06)
WWE: Saturday Night’s Main Event
July 15, 2006
Dallas, TX
American Airlines Center
The current WWE champions are as follows:
WWE Champion: Edge (7/3/2006)
WWE Intercontinental Champion: Johnny Nitro (6/25/2006)
World Tag Team Champions: The Spirit Squad (4/3/2006)
WWE Women’s Champion: Mickie James (4/2/2006)
World Heavyweight Champion: Rey Mysterio (4/2/2006)
WWE United States Champion: Finlay (7/14/2006)
WWE Tag Team Champions: Paul London & Brian Kendrick (5/21/2006)
WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Gregory Helms (1/29/2006)
ECW World Championship: Big Show (7/4/2006)
Your hosts are the three teams of Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler (RAW), Michael Cole & JBL (SD!), and Joey Styles & Tazz (ECW).
Read the rest of this entry