Wrestling News 06/01

The following news is compiled from PWInsider.com, wrestlingtorch.com, bellaonline.com and wrestlingonthefringe.com

WRESTLING SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

From a news bulletin on WWE.com

"WWE vs. ECW on USA April 27, 2006 The USA Network will get extreme on Wednesday night, June 7, when it brings to you WWE vs. ECW Head to Head. This two-hour special will feature Superstars from RAW, SmackDown and ECW and will originate from the Nutter Center in Dayton, OH. To charge tickets by phone, call (937) 228-2323."

WWE ANNOUNCES 28 HOUSE SHOWS FOR THIS SUMMER

There are 28 announced house show dates that will feature a combination of Smackdown TV tapings and ECW tapings. The July 22nd HS from the LC Walker Arena in Muskegon, MI has my particular attention as I am originally from there, and I might be thinking that would be a great time to go home and visit some family and friends, and check out the show while I am doing it. This list was taken from pwtorch.com:

Tuesday June 20 - Albany, N.Y. - Pepsi Arena Saturday June 24 - Philadelphia Pa. - Alhambra Arena Sunday June 25 - Elizabeth, Pa. - Court Time Sports Center Monday June 26 - Beckley, W. Va. - Armory Civic Center Arena Saturday July 1 - Toms River, N.J. - Poland Springs Arena Sunday July 2 - York, Pa. - Toyota Center Saturday July 8 - Racine, Wis. - Memorial Hall Sunday July 9 - Green Bay, Wis. - Brown County Expo Center Monday July 10 - La Crosse, Wis. - La Crosse Center Tuesday July 11 - Minneapolis, Minn. -Target Center (on sale June 10) Saturday July 15 - Tyler, Texas - Oil Palace Sunday July 16 - Huntsville, Texas - Sam Houston Coliseum Monday July 17 - Austin, Texas - Palmer Event Center Tuesday July 18 - Corpus Christi, Texas - American Bank Center Saturday July 22 - Muskegon, Mich. - L.C. Walker Arena (YAY!) Sunday July 23 - Saginaw, Mich. - Dow Event Center Monday July 24 - Battle Creek, Mich - Kellogg Arena Tuesday July 25 - Detroit, Mich. - Joe Louis Arena (On Sale June 24) Saturday July 29 - Durham, N.H. - Whittemore Center Sunday July 30 - Fitchburg, Mass. - Wallace Civic Center Saturday August 5 - Poplar Bluff, Mo - Black River Coliseum Sunday August 6 - Jackson, Tenn. - Oman arena Monday August 7 - McMinnville, Tenn.- McMinnville Civic Center Tuesday August 8 - Nashville, Tenn. - Gaylord Entertainment Center Saturday August 12 - Elmira, N.Y. - First Arena Sunday August 13 - White Plains, N.Y. - Westchester County Center Monday August 14 - Salisbury, Md. - Wicomico Center Tuesday August 15 - Washington, D.C. - MCI Center (on Sale June 24)


KANE vs. KANE, THE FAKE KANES IDENTITY AND HUH?

A lot of people have been asking me who the person was who dressed like the old Kane. Will the real Drew Hankinson aka Deacon Deville aka Freakin' Deacon please stand up?

Wrestling historians will remember SummerSlam 1994 when The Undertaker faced , um himself, in an angle that quickly fizzled. I can't remember off the top of my head (or maybe I just never knew) who played the fake Undertaker then, but WWE is calling Kanes new look alike Jacob Goodnight. I think if Kane faces, hum, himself in an upcoming PPV it might be better received then Undertakers foray into madness a decade ago. But, maybe that's just my own madness wishful thinking. I like the angle.

By the way, Undertaker having a fake. Kane having a fake. Mickie James turned herself into a mini Trish Stratus, Trish returned the favor. Now Beth Phoenix looking a lot like Trish. Is anyone besides me seeing anything in common here? WWE must LOVE these angles. With the exception of the Kane VS Kane one, they can keep their angles! IMHO of course.


5/27 RAW HOUSE SHOW RESULTS - 5/30 WWE Raw house show May 27, 2006 Kennewick Washington www.pwtorch.com

From the above mentioned PWtorch.com, verbatim:

"This was the WWE's first visit to the Toyota Center in the Tri Cities. The building was about sixty percent full, with about seven thousand the entire capacity. After the playing of the national anthem (during which no spotlights illuminated the flag so it could barely be made out in the darkness) the show began. The PA system in the Toyota Center was terrible, so many introductions were hard to make out. (1) Robbie McAllistair & Rory McAllistair (The Highlanders) beat Cade & Murdoch. The two unknowns were popular just for not being Cade & Murdoch, who played toward breaking up as a team when they lost, only to hug and make up to the crowd's disgust. (2) Harry Smith beat Matt Striker. My friend and I were excited to see the British Bulldog's son, since he was my favorite wrestler when I was growing up. Harry looks just like his father in the face, although not as muscular and standing much taller, probably about six five. He's quick and athletic, but sold a lot for Conway, playing the youngster that kept getting outmaneuvered by the veteran. Harry won the match with a great version of his father's running powerslam. This kid is going to be good. Matt Stryker in the ring with Jim Duggan. Duggan did the whole bit with the flag, the chants, and the two by four, and the crowd loved it. He seemed to enjoy every minute of it, too. Not much beyond the predictable with Stryker running down the locals and Duggan playing the hero. (4) Umaga (w/Estrada) defeated Eugene. Pretty much a squash with Eugene selling a beating by the fat guy. (5) Shelton Benjamin beat RVD and Carlito in a three-way to retain the IC Title. RVD was way over with the crowd, while my friend and I tried to start chants for Carlito. It's funny to compare how some faces work the crowd. While other performers in the show would implore the crowd, slap the ring and shake their fists to get a crowd reaction, Carlito did it all with subtle expressions and very little overt body language. This guy is a natural when it comes to playing to the crowd. Good match between the three of them, with all the wrestlers pulling out all stops. They didn't go half speed because there wasn't cameras rolling. Shelton pulled out the cheap win after an RVD splash on Carlito. After the match Carlito and RVD shook hands to show they were still "cool." 6) Victoria and Mickey James vs Torrie Wilson and Beth Phoenix(?). Couldn't make out Torrie's partner's name over the PA, but it looked like the girl that Trish introduced recently. The match itself was ugly, with several missed spots, but Torrie and Victoria especially made up for it by looking so good. Victoria up close (we were about five rows back) is even better looking than she is on television. Torrie and Beth won, after a Torrie pin on Victoria, I think. The end of the match was kind of a mess. (7) Spirit Squad beat Snitsky & Goldust. The morons behind us were cheering their lungs out for Goldust & Snitsky, so of course later on they were booing Cena. What kind of bizarro world do we live in? The crowd were behind the freaks from the beginning, but the Squad danced, hollered and cheated their way to a victory. (8) John Cena beat Edge (w/Lita) in a cage to retain the WWE Title. The special referee was Ricky Steamboat, and the crowd reaction to him was huge. He probably got the second biggest response of the night, next to Cena. Lita looked incredible in one of her low cut shirts. Cena played to the crowd before he and Edge got it on. After Lita interfered a few times by keeping Cena from escaping the cage, Steamboat got a big reaction by sending her from ringside. After some fighting on the edge of the cage, Edge knocked out Steamboat which allowed Lita to return, only to be FU'd by Cena, with Edge tapping to the STF soon after. After the match, a bloody Cena played to each side of the building for cheers for a few moments before leaving. Nothing else occurred afterwards. Overall, it was a very good show. I'd heard something about low quality how shows, but this was better than any Raw I've seen in recent memory. The wrestlers gave everything they had and didn't appear to be saving anything for a bigger show somewhere else down the line. I encourage every fan to get out and see the live events, they're worth the money." Well, that's it for now. I would like to thank you all for attending TGO Show. I'll bring you more news and reviews after I snoop around some more.

~Chris