WWE

World Heavyweight Champion Undertaker def. Batista (Chair Match)

2009-12-15T07:50:00.000-08:00

SAN ANTONIO – With a bone-jarring Tombstone, World Heavyweight Champion Undertaker stopped the ragingBatista inside the packed AT&T Center. (PHOTOS)

But the victory was not without controversy.

With chairs scattered about the outside of the ring from the start – and entirely legal to use against the opponent – the match could only end in pinfall or submission.

After exchanging chair shots throughout the brutal encounter, The Animal appeared to have captured the World Title after capitalizing on an ugly low blow he delivered to the champion. With The Phenom dazed from the dastardly deed, Batista struck with a chair shot to the head, followed up with the apparent pinfall.

However, SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long ordered the match to be restarted, after explaining that although chairs were legal, low blows were not.

An angry Deadman seized the opportunity, stopping The Animal cold with the Tombstone.

Ever since regaining the World Heavyweight Title earlier this year at Hell in a Cell, The Undertaker has shown no signs of accepting anything but victory. The Phenom chalked up subsequent wins at WWE Bragging Rights, Survivor Series, and tonight at WWE TLC.

As 2009 comes to a close and Royal Rumble looms, The Phenom appears to be on course to successfully defend his inhuman 17-0 record at WrestleMania XXVI.

To find out if The Animal – or any Superstar – will try to derail the champion as 2010 approaches, don’t miss the next edition of SmackDown this Friday at 8/7 CT on MyNetworkTV.

SHEAMUS STUNS CENA AND ENTIRE WWE UNIVERSE!

2009-12-15T07:41:00.000-08:00

SAN ANTONIO - Every second seemed like the most important tick in squared circle history during Sunday’s epic Tables Match for the WWE Championship at WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. In the end in San Antonio, however, it was Sheamus who utilized the timber to defeat John Cena to capture the WWE Title for the first time in his career and stun the WWE Universe.

From bone-crushing blows to each competitor’s extreme passion, John Cena and Sheamus delivered a battle for the ages as each gladiator in this blockbuster bout aimed to slam their adversary through a table. In the closing moments of the collision, it appeared Cena was ready to suplex Sheamus onto a table from the top rope. But Sheamus used his raw power to shove the former champion off the top and through the table to claim shocking victory.

Similar to his violent outbursts on Raw recently when he smashed Cena and guest host Mark Cuban through lumber, The Celtic Warrior capitalized on the opportunity to become one of the fastest rising Superstars to earn the WWE Title in WWE history.

Just less than two months after debuting on Monday Night Raw, the vicious Irishman proved he is as dominant as he has alleged to be. The ferocious warrior never backed down from the renowned Cena, and showed that even an inexperienced Superstar can pull off the unexpected.

In the Tables Match fallout, a rare look of disappointment in the eyes of the former WWE Champion told a tale of a defeated warrior, but don’t expect this to last long. This year alone, Cena has been involved in some of the memorable matches including ones against Triple H,Shawn Michaels, Edge, Randy Orton, Big Show and now Sheamus – the new WWE Champion.

The WWE Universe may clamor for Sheamus and Cena’s paths to once again intersect. But now that even John Cena has been unseated by The Celtic Warrior for the title, can he (or anyone) possibly stop the uncontrollable Irish champion?

DX FINALLY WINS TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP!

2009-12-15T07:38:00.000-08:00

SAN ANTONIO — Just when it appeared as if the iconic pairing of Shawn Michaels and Triple H couldn’t ascend any higher in WWE, D-Generation X climbed to a new pinnacle in a Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match against Unified Tag Champions Jeri-Show. Capturing their first and only taste of tag titles together, DX thus established themselves as the holders of the glistening gold prizes.

Appropriately enough at the inaugural WWE TLC pay-per-view, The Game & HBK competed in their first TLC Match together – united – and prevailed despite the 7-foot leviathan, Big Show, swinging weapons of aluminum, steel and wood in their general direction. Thwarting Chris Jericho’s equally unrelenting defense as well in a match where virtually anything goes, Michaels scaled the rungs of fortune to not only clinch Jeri-Show’s titles, but also to vanquish Jericho from Monday Night Raw. (PHOTOS)

After chair jousting, ladder suplexes, tabletop combat, DX’s two-man, Texas-sized Pedigree on The World’s Largest Athlete, and a Jeri-Show headstand, the more cohesive team rose to the occasion. Utilizing a halved ladder previously dismantled by Big Show, The Cerebral Assassin bolstered the hardware upright for HBK to climb and reach the championships dangling overhead in his hometown of San Antonio.

The keepers of the tag titles are empowered (and also more susceptible to challenge) in their ability to compete on any WWE brand, despite their assigned roster. Defeated and devoid of the championships, Jericho & Big Show’s association comes to a most probable conclusion. More importantly, SmackDown’s Jericho is now without his golden inter-brand passport, thus liberating Raw from his insults, vainglory and smug grimace beside his towering tag partner.

Just eight months after the birth of the prestigious Unified WWE Tag Team Championship crown at The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania, The King of Kings & The Showstopper have initiated a new legacy in WWE’s tag team lineage at the close of the year.

With two top-tier foes in Jeri-Show now fallen, the DX army marches onward into 2010 for perhaps even bigger wars for the lustrous Unified WWE Tag Team Titles.

WWE News

2009-12-15T07:23:00.001-08:00

WWE announced the following Slammy Award winners on tonight's three-hour Raw.

-- Superstar of the Year: John Cena by virtue of being booked to win a tournament over Randy Orton in the finals and C.M. Punk in the semi-finals.

-- Match of the Year: Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker from WrestleMania. Michaels was then scripted to challenge Taker to a re-match at WrestleMania 26, but the challenge was left open.

-- Tag Team of the Year: Chris Jericho & Big Show. Jericho & Show then took a re-match against DX for the Unified tag titles, but DX was scripted to intentionally DQ themselves to use Jericho's re-match and remove him from Raw.

-- Diva of the Year: Maria. During Maria's victory speech, Batista interrupted ala Kanye West on Taylor Swift at the MTV Music Awards and he complained about being screwed out of the World Title at the TLC PPV.

-- Best Raw Guest Host: Bob Barker. Barker recorded a speech for the show, then tonight's Raw guest Dennis Miller asked McMahon about bringing back Bret Hart to host. McMahon repeated the "Bret screwed Bret" line before Miller encouraged the audience to cheer for Hart.

-- Shocker of the Year: C.M. Punk retiring Jeff Hardy on the Smackdown following Summerslam.

-- Extreme Moment of the Year: Jeff Hardy at Summerslam. Matt Hardy accepted the award after another name-drop for Hardy.

-- "Oh My" Moment of the Year: Michael Cole's "Vintage" vomit on Chris Jericho at the 10th Anniversary of Smackdown. Cole was scripted to cut a tongue-in-cheek promo on Jim Ross, who is in the middle of contract negotiations with WWE.

The Undertaker

2009-11-22T03:10:00.000-08:00

The Undertaker

Return; feud with Mankind (1994–1997)

Paul Bearer betrayed Undertaker by hitting him with the urn he is seen carrying here.
After WrestleMania X, Ted DiBiase introduced an Undertaker back to the WWF. This Undertaker, however, played by Brian Lee, was an impostor Undertaker (dubbed the "Underfaker" by fans) and led to the return of the real Undertaker at SummerSlam, appearing as a new version of his original Deadman persona, replacing grey with purple. The Undertaker defeated the impostor after three Tombstone Piledrivers.[15] At Survivor Series, Undertaker defeated Yokozuna in a rematch, another casket match. Throughout most of 1995, The Undertaker feuded with members of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation. At WrestleMania XI, while Undertaker was facing King Kong Bundy, Kama stole The Undertaker's urn, and antagonized him by melting it into a large gold necklace and attacking the Undertaker.[15] Later, The Undertaker defeated Kama in a casket match at SummerSlam.[15] Several weeks later, The Undertaker injured his orbital bone near his eye, forcing a period of absence for surgery, until his return at Survivor Series.
The Undertaker returned at the 1995 Survivor Series, wearing a Phantom-like, grey upper mask.[15] At the Royal Rumble, The Undertaker was unmasked in a WWF Championship match against Bret Hart, when Diesel interfered in the match to cost the Undertaker the championship.[16] One month later, at In Your House: Rage in the Cage, while Diesel was facing Hart in a steel cage match, Undertaker came bursting through the ring apron from under the ring, dragging Diesel underneath, allowing Hart to get the victory.[16] This feud culminated in a match between Diesel and the Undertaker at WrestleMania XII, in which the Undertaker was victorious.[12]
His next feud commenced the very next night, when Mankind made his debut, interfering in the Undertaker's match with Justin Hawk Bradshaw. For the next few months, Mankind ambushed and cost the Undertaker several matches.[16] The feud intensified, and they began taking their battles into crowds, backstage areas, and in the boiler rooms of different arenas. As a result, the first ever Boiler Room Brawl was booked between the two at SummerSlam. During the match, when Undertaker reached for Paul Bearer's urn, Bearer hit him with it, betraying the Undertaker and allowing Mankind to "incapacitate" The Undertaker with the Mandible claw, giving him the win.[16] After Bearer's betrayal, the Undertaker took his rivalry with Mankind to a new level, resulting in a Buried Alive match at In Your House: Buried Alive. Undertaker won the match after a chokeslam into the open grave, but after interference from The Executioner, as well as the help of several other superstars, The Undertaker was ultimately "Buried Alive".[16] After being buried alive, the Undertaker returned at the Survivor Series again pitting him against Mankind, but with a unique stipulation; hanging 20 ft above the ring was Paul Bearer, enclosed in a steel cage. If Undertaker won the match, he would be able to get his hands on Bearer. Even though the Undertaker won the match, interference from The Executioner enabled Bearer to escape the Undertaker's clutches.[17] The Undertaker then briefly turned his attention to The Executioner, who had become a thorn in his side since his arrival. At In Your House: It's Time, the Undertaker defeated The Executioner in an Armageddon rules match.[17] By the end of 1996, the Undertaker began a feud with Vader, culminating in a loss to Vader at the Royal Rumble after Bearer interfered on behalf of his new protégé.[17] After this loss, the Undertaker began to focus his attention on the WWF Championship.

Hell in a Cell; Brothers of Destruction (1997–1998)
See also: Hell in a Cell and Brothers of Destruction
At WrestleMania 13, The Undertaker defeated Sycho Sid for the WWF Championship, marking his second time as WWF Champion.[18] After the event, Paul Bearer attempted to rejoin with the Undertaker, using the threat of revealing Undertaker's "biggest secret". In the storyline, Bearer announced that Undertaker was a murderer, who as a child had burned down the family funeral home business (where Bearer worked), killing his parents and his younger half-brother. Undertaker claimed there was no way for Bearer to have that information, but Paul announced that he was told this by Undertaker's half-brother Kane, who was still alive but horribly burned and scarred. Bearer raised Kane after the fire, having him institutionalized. Now, Kane was waiting for revenge after all these years. In defense, Undertaker responded that Kane, a pyromaniac, had been the one to set the fire and could not have possibly survived.

The Undertaker with Lord of Darkness attire
His next major storyline began at SummerSlam in 1997 when referee Shawn Michaels accidentally hit Undertaker with a steel chair shot meant forBret Hart, costing the Undertaker his WWF Championship.[18] The feud culminated at In Your House: Badd Blood, where the Undertaker challenged Michaels to the first ever Hell in a Cell match. During this match, Undertaker's storyline half-brother Kane made his debut, ripping off the door to the cell and giving Undertaker a Tombstone Piledriver, Undertaker's trademark finisher, allowing Michaels to pin him.[18]

The match would get a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer. As the storyline progressed, Kane, with Paul Bearer, challenged the Undertaker to fights, but the Undertaker consistently refused to fight his brother. The Undertaker's final encounter with Michaels was in the return of the casket match at the Royal Rumble, where Kane cost the Undertaker the win by trapping him in the coffin, padlocking the casket lid, and setting it ablaze. The Undertaker, however, had disappeared when the casket lid was reopened.[19] After a two month hiatus, Undertaker returned and defeated Kane at WrestleMania XIV.[19] The two had a rematch, the first ever Inferno match, one month later at Unforgiven: In Your House, where The Undertaker won by setting Kane's right arm on fire.[19]
Undertaker's feud with Mankind was renewed afterward, and they faced each other in a Hell in a Cell match at King of the Ring. During the match, Undertaker threw Mankind off the roof of the 16 foot cell onto the Spanish announce table below, in what was a preplanned move. He later chokeslammed Mankind through the roof of the cell into the ring which legitimately knocked Mankind unconscious and finished the match by Tombstone Piledriving mankind.[19]
At Fully Loaded, Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Kane and Mankind to win theWWF Tag Team Championship.[19] Undertaker and Austin's reign as tag champions lasted for only two weeks, as Kane and Mankind regained the titles on an episode of Raw is War.[20] Undertaker then became the number one contender for the WWF Championship at SummerSlam, now held by Austin. Shortly before SummerSlam, however, Undertaker revealed that he and Kane were working together as brothers. Despite this revelation, Undertaker told Kane that he did not want him to interfere in the match with Austin, and even though Undertaker lost the match, he handed Austin his belt back after the match in a show of respect.[19] In September, the storyline continued, and Undertaker began to show some villainous characteristics when he and Kane revealed the fact that they were in cahoots to rid Austin of his title for Vince McMahon. At Breakdown: In Your House, Undertaker and Kane were booked in a Triple Threat match with Austin for his WWF Championship; McMahon stated that the brothers were not allowed to pin each other. Undertaker and Kane pinned Austin simultaneously after a double chokeslam,[19] so the title was vacated by McMahon. This event led to a match at Judgment Day: In Your House between the two brothers for the title, with Austin as the Special Guest Referee. Near the end of the match, Paul Bearer seemed about to assist Kane by handing him a steel chair to hit Undertaker with, but as Kane had his back turned, both Bearer and Undertaker hit Kane with the chair. Undertaker went for the pin, but Austin refused to count the fall, attacked the Undertaker, and counted out both brothers.[19] Finally, Undertaker became a villain the next night on Raw is Warfor the first time in over six years, reconciling with Bearer and claiming that he and Bearer would unleash their Ministry of Darkness on the World Wrestling Federation. As part of this new storyline, he admitted that he had indeed set the fire that killed his parents, for which he had previously blamed Kane.[20]
After Survivor Series, Undertaker returned his attention back to his previous feud with Austin for costing him the title at Judgment Day, viciously hitting Austin in the head with a shovel during a title match with The Rock, returning the favor for what happened a month earlier. With this twist in the storyline, McMahon scheduled a Buried Alive match between Undertaker and Austin at Rock Bottom: In Your House. In the weeks leading up to Rock Bottom, the Undertaker attempted to embalm Austin alive, tried to have Kane committed to a mental asylum, and had his druids chain Austin to his symbol and raising it high into the arena.[20] Undertaker, however, lost the match after Kane interfered.[21]

The Undertaker

2009-11-22T02:54:00.000-08:00

The Undertaker

Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965)[4] is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name The Undertaker. He is signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), currently wrestling on the SmackDown brand where he is the current World Heavyweight Champion.
Calaway began his wrestling career with World Class Championship Wrestling in 1984. He joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as "Mean" Mark Callous in 1989. When WCW did not renew Calaway's contract in 1990, he joined the World Wrestling Federation (which later became World Wrestling Entertainment in 2002) as The Undertaker in November of that year. Having remained with that company ever since, Calaway is currently one of the senior performers in the WWE. The Undertaker remains, along with Shawn Michaels, one of only two people that made an appearance in the very first episode of Monday Night Raw, who are still with the company today.
The Undertaker has two contrasting gimmicks which are the Deadman and the American Bad Ass. The specialty matches connected to The Undertaker (or more specifically, his "Deadman" persona) are the Casket match, the Buried Alive match, the infamous Hell in a Cell, and the Last Ride match. The Undertaker's (kayfabe) half-brother is Kane, whom he has teamed up with as the Brothers of Destruction. The Undertaker is undefeated at WrestleMania with a 17–0 record and is recognized by WWE as a seven-time world champion, having won the WWE Championship four times and the World Heavyweight Championship three times. He was also the winner of the 2007 Royal Rumble in which he became the first man to win the Rumble at number 30, a record which was overturned by John Cena the following year in the 2008 Royal Rumble.

Contents
1 Professional wrestling career
1.1 Early career (1984–1990)
1.2 World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment
1.2.1 Debut (1990–1994)
1.2.2 Return; feud with Mankind (1994–1997)
1.2.3 Hell in a Cell; Brothers of Destruction (1997–1998)
1.2.4 Ministry of Darkness (1998-1999)
1.2.5 American Bad Ass/Big Evil (2000–2003)
1.2.6 Return of the Deadman (2004–2006)
1.2.7 Brothers of Destruction reunion (2006–2007)
1.2.8 World Heavyweight Champion (2007–2008)
1.2.9 Return and various feuds (2008–2009)
1.2.10 Return and World Heavyweight Champion (2009-present)
2 Other media
3 Personal life
4 In wrestling
5 Championships and accomplishments
5.1 WrestleMania record
5.2 Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
6 References
7 External links

Early career (1984–1990)
Calaway made his debut in 1984 in World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) under the ring name "Texas Red". .[5] He wrestled and lost his first match against Bruiser Brody [5] In 1988, after four years in the promotion, he left and joined the CWA (which became the USWA after Jerry Jarrett merged CWA with WCCW), wrestling under several names gimmicks. On April 1, 1989, he was booked to win his first professional wrestling title, the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship, defeating Jerry "The King" Lawler, under the stage name "The Master of Pain". While performing as "The Punisher", Calaway won the WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship on October 5, 1989 when Eric Embry forfeited the title.[6]
His first mainstream exposure was in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). While there, he was known as "Mean" Mark Calous and wrestled as part of the "Skyscrapers" tag team along with "Dangerous" Dan Spivey managed by Teddy Long.[7] During his time in the Skyscrapers, he and Spivey were involved in a feud with the Road Warriors,[8] but Spivey left before the feud came to an end. Calaway then took on the guidance of Paul E. Dangerously and defeated Brian Pillman and Johnny Ace. During this time, he wrestled against Lex Luger for the NWA United States Championship at The Great American Bash, but lost when Luger pinned him after a clothesline. WCW declined to renew Calaway's contract, after losing his last match toSting on September 1, 1990 at a live event. Calaway then briefly wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling as Punisher Dice Morgan and in October 1990, he signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). After leaving WCW, he briefly returned to the USWA to participate in a tournament to determine the new USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion; he defeated Bill Dundee in the first round, but lost to Jerry Lawler in the quarterfinals.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment
[edit]Debut (1990–1994)
Calaway made his WWF debut as "Cain The Undertaker" at a taping of WWF Superstars on November 19, 1990.[9] The appearance of The Undertaker's first Deadman persona was modeled after a mortician from old Western movies, wearing a trench coat and black hat with grey gloves and boot covers. Under this Deadman persona, he was "impervious to pain," something accomplished by Calaway no-selling his opponents' attacks. Calaway made his official on-camera debut on November 22 at Survivor Series as a heel when he was the mystery partner of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar team, where he was simply called The Undertaker.[10] Approximately one minute into the match, Undertaker eliminated Koko B. Ware with hisfinisher, the Tombstone Piledriver. He also eliminated Dusty Rhodes before being counted out. Shortly after Survivor Series, "Cain" was dropped from his name, and he was called simply The Undertaker. It was at this time that The Undertaker switched managers from Brother Love to Paul Bearer — a histrionic, ghostly character, almost always seen bearing an urn from which The Undertaker drew mystical power from, reviving his strength during his matches. After defeating his opponents in the ring, he would perform a post-match ritual which involved him putting his defeated opponent in a bodybag and carrying him to the back.[11]
He made his WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania VII, quickly defeating "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka.[12] The win was the first in his undefeated streak at the event. He began his first majorfeud with The Ultimate Warrior, when he attacked the Warrior and locked him in an airtight casket on the set of his manager, Paul Bearer's Funeral Parlour interview segment. After a year of battles with the Warrior, Randy Savage,[10] Sgt. Slaughter, and Hulk Hogan, he defeated Hogan to win his first WWF Championship at Survivor Series.[13] WWF President Jack Tunneyordered a rematch for This Tuesday in Texas six days later, where Undertaker lost the title to Hogan.[13]
In February 1992, Undertaker's ally Jake "The Snake" Roberts tried to attack Randy Savage's manager/wife Miss Elizabeth with a steel chair when Undertaker stopped him, becoming a fan favorite for the first time. Then, Undertaker defeated Roberts at WrestleMania VIII.[12] He then feuded extensively with wrestlers managed by Harvey Wippleman throughout 1992 and 1993, including Kamala,[13][14] whom he faced and defeated in the first televised coffin match in WWF history at Survivor Series, and Giant Gonzales, whom he defeated by disqualification atWrestleMania IX and by pinfall at SummerSlam in a "Rest in Peace" match.[12][14] In January 1994, he challenged WWF Champion Yokozuna to a casket match at the Royal Rumble. At the Royal Rumble, Yokozuna sealed Undertaker in the casket with the assistance of several other villainous wrestlers, winning the match. The Undertaker's "spirit" appeared from inside the casket on the video screen, warning that he would return.[15] This began Undertaker's first hiatus.

DX GENERATION

2009-11-18T22:11:00.000-08:00

DX GENERATION

WWE Champion John Cena delivered a memorable performance against Randy Orton at WWE Bragging Rights to capture his seventh World Title. The Champ, however, will have no time to rest or celebrate as he will have to defend his gold against a pair of allies, DX’sShawn Michaels and Triple H, in a Triple Threat Match at Survivor Series.
Unlike most Triple Threat Matches which generally feature three existing foes, this extraordinary contest carries a much different outlook.
Cena, for one, will be forced to resist punishment from two former World Champions and future WWE Hall of Famers. The Game and HBK are two of WWE’s most illustrious all-time ring warriors, and unquestionably, each expect to reclaim the title

The prominent question, though, will relate to Triple H and Michaels’ motives. Will the effervescent duo work as a team to ravage The Champ? Or, in contrast, will each DX Superstar focus on their individual quests to repossess the WWE Championship?
The WWE Universe has witnessed many allies throughout WWE’s storied history get into scuffles when the title is on the line. Most recently, for example, even longtime friends Batista and Rey Mysterio divided at WWE Bragging Rights during their Fatal Four Way Match when The Animal blamed his former buddy for his own defeat.While DX asks Cena if he will be ready for Survivor Series, it’s also imperative for The Cerebral Assassin and The Showstopper to ask themselves if they will be ready. It will be uncustomary for the two partners to be opponents – something they haven’t done since DX’s fallout earlier this decade.

Cena, meanwhile, has stepped up to every challenge throughout his career, including proving he was the ultimate champion in his unforgettable rivalry with The Viper. The esteemed gladiator also has plenty of experience battling Triple H and Michaels. In fact, the 12 Rounds star defeated The Game and HBK, respectively, at back-to-back WrestleManias in 2006 and 2007.
Retaining the gold, however, may not be in The Champ’s control. The first man to pin one of their opponents will be the champion.

All three combatants realize what they are up against, and it will be up to each of them at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. to show to the WWE Universe that they are Monday Night Raw’s most electrifying champion.
Be sure to catch this awe-inspiring title match at Survivor Series on Sunday, Nov. 22, at 8/5 PT, exclusively on pay-per-view.

SMACK DOWN

2009-11-18T21:50:00.000-08:00

PITTSBURGH – In the first-ever WWE Bragging Rights Tag Team Match, Team SmackDown emerged victorious when co-captain and Unified Tag Team Champion Chris Jericho pinned Kofi Kingston. (PHOTOS)
The tag team victory proved to be pivotal for SmackDown, allowing the blue brand to break the 1-1 tie with Raw on the night and take home the coveted WWE Bragging Rights trophy. (Earlier matches: The Miz def. John Morrison SmackDown Divas def. Raw Divas)
But, the tag team victory came via perhaps one of the biggest betrayals in WWE history when Unified Tag Team Champion Big Show turned his back on Team Raw by chokeslamming Kingston, setting him up for the pinfall by Jericho. The World's Largest Athlete also turned the tables on Triple H by dropping him with a brutal punch to the head.

2009-11-09T13:12:00.000-08:00

Acquisition of WCW and ECW
With the success of the Attitude Era, WCW's already shaky financial situation deteriorated even further. It only survived because Ted Turner retained control over it as a result ofTurner Broadcasting System's merger with Time Warner. However, after Time Warner merged with AOL, Turner's power was considerably reduced, and the newly merged company decided to shed its dead weight, namely WCW which was now losing scores of millions of dollars each year. In March 2001, WWF Entertainment, Inc. acquired World Championship Wrestling, Inc. from AOL Time Warner for a number reported to be around $7 million. With this purchase, WWF was now the largest wrestling promotion in the world, and practially the only one in North America. It would remain so until the launch of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2002.
The assets of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), which had folded after filing for bankruptcy protection in April 2001, were purchased by WWE in mid-2003.

World Wrestling Entertainment

In 2000, the World Wildlife Fund (also WWF), an environmental organization now called the World Wide Fund for Nature, sued the World Wrestling Federation. A British court agreed that Titan Sports had violated a 1994 agreement which had limited the permissible use of the WWF initials overseas, particularly in merchandising.[4]
On Sunday May 5, 2002, the company quietly changed all references on its website from "WWF" to "WWE", while switching the URL from WWF.com to WWE.com. The next day, a press release announced the official name change from World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. to World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., or WWE, and the change was publicized later that day during a telecast of Monday Night RAW, which emanated from the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut. For a short time, WWE used the slogan "Get The 'F' Out". The company had also been ordered by court to stop using the old WWF Attitude logo on any of its properties and to censor all past references to WWF, as they no longer owned the trademark to the initials WWF in 'specified circumstances'.
In April 2002, about a month before the name change, WWE decided to create two separate rosters, one on RAW, the other on SmackDown! due to the overabundance of talent left over from the Invasion storyline (which involved talent from the absorbed ECW and WCW rosters interacting in WWF storylines). This is known as the WWE Brand Extension. Following the Brand Extension, a yearly Draft Lottery was instituted to exchange members of each roster and generally refresh the lineups.
In August 2002, the company launched WWE Niagara Falls, a retail establishment in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
On May 26, 2006, WWE revived Extreme Championship Wrestling as its third brand. The new ECW program airs Tuesday nights, on the Sci Fi Channel.

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) is a publicly traded, privately controlled integrated media (focusing in television, internet, and live events), sports, and entertainmentcompany dealing primarily in the professional wrestling industry, with major revenue sources also coming from movies, music, product licensing, and direct product sales. Vince McMahon is the majority owner and Chairman of the company and his wife Linda McMahon holds the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Together with their children, Executive Vice President of Global Media Shane McMahon and Senior Vice President of Creative Writing Stephanie McMahon-Levesque, the McMahons hold approximately 70% of WWE's economic interest and 96% of all voting power in the company. The company's global headquarters are located at 1241 East Main Street in Stamford, Connecticut, with international offices in Los Angeles, New York City, London, and Toronto. The company was previously known as Titan Sports, Inc. before changing to World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc., and most recently becoming World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
WWE's business focus is on professional wrestling. It is currently the largest professional wrestling promotion in the world, and holds an extensive library of videos representing a significant portion of the visual history of professional wrestling. The promotion previously existed as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, which promoted under the banner of the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), and later the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). WWE promotes under three brands; RAW, SmackDown! and ECW. WWE is also home to three of the eight world heavyweight championships recognized by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.

WWE's revenue in fiscal 2006 (from May 2005 to April 2006) was approximately $400 million (US), with a net profit of approximately $47 million. As of August 2006, the company'smarket capitalization is over $1 billion (US). Its stock is traded on the NYSE as WWE.

History
The beginning/Capitol Wrestling
Roderick James "Jess" McMahon was a boxing promoter whose achievements included co-promoting a bout in 1915 between Jess Willard and Jack Johnson. In 1926, while working with Tex Rickard (who actually despised wrestling to such a degree he prevented wrestling events from being held at Madison Square Garden between 1939 and 1948), he started promoting boxing in Madison Square Garden in New York. The first match during their partnership was a light-heavyweight championship match between Jack Delaney and Paul Berlenbach.
Around the same time, professional wrestler Joseph Raymond "Toots" Mondt created a new style of professional wrestling that he called Slam Bang Western Style Wrestling to make the sport more appealing to spectators. He then formed a promotion with wrestling champion Ed Lewis and his manager Billy Sandow. They persuaded many wrestlers to sign contracts with their Gold Dust Trio. After much success, a disagreement over power caused the trio to dissolve and, with it, their promotion. Mondt formed partnerships with several other promoters, including Jack Curley in New York City. When Curley was dying, Mondt moved to take over New York wrestling with the aid of several bookers, one of whom was Jess McMahon.

Together, Roderick McMahon and Raymond Mondt created the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC). The CWC joined the National Wrestling Alliance in 1953. Also in that year, Ray Fabiani, one of Mondt's associates, brought in Vincent J. McMahon to replace his father Jess in the promotion. McMahon and Mondt were a successful combination, and within a short time, they controlled approximately 70% of the NWA's booking, largely due to their dominance in the heavily populated Northeast region. Mondt taught McMahon about booking and how to work in the wrestling business.

RIKISHI

2009-11-06T11:48:00.000-08:00

RIKISHI
Rikishi Phatu comes from a long line of wrestling stars of Samoan descent. He is the brother of the Tonga Kid, the nephew of the legendary Afa the Wild Samoan, and the cousin of the likes of Samu, Yokozuna and The Rock. He gained his first wrestling notoriety at an early age when he began wrestling for the Montreal-based International Wrestling under the name of Alofa the Polynesian Prince in 1986. Alofa wrestled in various parts of Canada at this time, and held the International Wrestling Television Title for a time.

Name. Rikishi Phatu
Short Name. Rikishi
Real Name. Solofatu Anoai Jr
Height. 6,1 feet
Weight. 350 pounds
Born. Samoa
Hometown. San Francisco, California
Finishing Move. Bonzai Drop, Super Kick, Rikishi Driver.
Favourite Move. Stink Face
Highlights. Intercontinental Champion, Tag Champion x2
Also Known As: Alofa the Polynesian Prince, Headshrinker Fatu, The Sultan
WWE has been home to many giants, but few big men have been as agile as the 400 plus-pound Samoan wonder known as Rikishi. A member of the famed Anoa'i wrestling family, Rikishi made his WWE debut in the early 90s under the name Fatu. The Superstar immediately teamed up with his cousin, Samu, to form the Headshrinkers, a savage duo cut from the same cloth as their uncles, The Wild Samoans. The mad pair captured the World Tag Team Championship on April 26, 1994, defeating The Quebecers on Monday Night Raw. After losing the gold toShawn Michaels & Diesel, The Headshrinkers split. Rikishi would then try his luck with a new partner, Sionne, but the pair had limited success. The Samoan then briefly competed in singles action, before leaving WWE in 1997.

t was in tag team competition that Phatu enjoyed the most success. He teamed with brother the Tonga Kid on the indy circuit (known as the Islanders) and entered World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Fatu, along with the Tonga Kid and Samu to form the Samoan Swat Team (SST). Samu and Fatu in particular formed a phenomenal team, and captured the Texas-based World Class tag team titles a record four times. In 1992, Fatu and Samu made their way to the WWF under the name of the Headshrinkers, along with Captain Lou Albano and Fatu's uncle (and Samu's father) Afa. The two were extremely successful, capturing the WWF tag team titles on more than one occasion. Samu would leave the WWF, and was replaced in the Headshrinker team briefly by Seone, better known as the Barbarian. In late 1996 after a few year hiatus, Fatu returned to the WWF in singles action. This time, he donned a mask, had Bob Backlund and the Iron Sheik as his handlers, and portrayed the Iranian character, the Sultan. The Sultan's biggest achievement was earning a shot at the Intercontinental title at Wrestlemania 13 against his cousin, The Rock. The Sultan was unsuccessful in his attempt, and left the WWF again before the end of 1997. For the next two years, Fatu primarily worked the independent circuit and trained in preparation for a WWF return. And return he did, in late 1999 as Rikishi Phatu. Almost immediately he donned a striking resemblance to his cousin Yokozuna. He also formed a partnership almost immediately with Too Cool (Scott Taylor and Brian Christopher). The three became a popular WWF attraction, especially with their post-match ritual of dancing in the ring. Phatu though also became known for his wrestling, including an awesome standing piledriver and in a move reminiscent of Yokozuna, the butt drop.

Rob Van Dam

2009-11-06T01:59:00.000-08:00

Profile of Rob Van Dam
Rob Szatkowski was born on December 18, 1970 in Battle Creek, MI. He was trained by the Sheik and made his pro debut in 1990. He is currently married to Sonja. She was seen on TV atOne Night Stand celebrating her husband's WWE title victory. In addition to wrestling, RVD holds a power lifting record for the Van Dam lift and owns his own comic book store. He has also appeared in several movies and television shows.
Start of his Wrestling Career:
Rob Van Dam was first seen by a national audience as a teenager kissing the feet of the"Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. When he got into the business, he was given the name Rob Van Dam by a local promoter due to his resemblance to and style that was similar to Jean Claude Van Dam. He briefly wrestled as Robbie V in WCW from late 1992 to early 1993.

ECW:
Rob Van Dam returned to the national stage in 1996 when he joined ECW. He quickly found himself in a feud with Sabu, the nephew of his trainer the Sheik. The men had several classic matches over respect. Once they gained each others respect, they formed an unstoppable tag team combination. In 1997, RVD started to show up on Monday Night RAW as part of the Jerry Lawler vs ECW angle. He then started to call himself Mr. Monday Night and later was known as Mr. PPV due to his undefeated PPV record.
The Whole F'n Show:
In 1998, Rob Van Dam won the ECW TV title and held the belt for 23 months before being stripped of the title due to an injury. When he came back from the leg injury, he got into a classic feud with Jerry Lynn. In 2000, he debuted the Van Terminator, a new wrestling move that saw him fly from one corner of the ring to another, in a match against Scotty Anton.

The Alliance:
When ECW closed in 2001, Rob Van Dam showed up in the WWE as part of the invasion angle. While the angle is generally considered one of the biggest flops in WWE history, the one good thing that came out of it was the fans reactions to RVD. His matches against Jeff Hardy stole the show.
Intercontinental, European, Hardcore, and Tag Team Champion:
Rob Van Dam became a top contender for the Intercontinental title and has won it on several occasions from men like Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, and Chris Jericho. As champion, he unified the belt with both the European and Hardcore titles. He has won tag team gold with Booker T, Kane, and Rey Mysterio.

WWEWWE Championship
6/11/06 ECW One Night Stand - beat John CenaIntercontinental Championship
3/17/2002 WrestleMania X8 - beat William Regal
5/27/2002 - beat Eddie Guerrero
8/25/2002 SummerSlam - beat Chris Benoit
9/29/2003 - beat Christian in a ladder match
10/27/2003 - beat Chris Jericho in a cage match
4/30/2006 Backlash - beat Shelton BenjaminEuropean Championship
7/22/02 - beat Jeff Hardy in a ladder match to unify the European and I-C TitlesHardcore Title
7/22/2001 Invasion - beat Jeff Hardy
8/19/2001 SummerSlam - beat Jeff Hardy in a ladder match
9/10/2001 - beat Kurt Angle
8/26/2002 - beat Tommy Dreamer to unify Hardcore and I-C TitlesWorld Tag Team Championship
3/31/2003 - w/Kane beat champs Lance Storm & Chief Morley and The Dudley Boyz
2/16/2004 - w/Booker T beat Ric Flair & BatistaWWE Tag Team Championship
12/9/2004 - w/Rey Mysterio beat Kenzo Suzuki & Rene Dupree
Sources: PWI Almanac, WWE.com, RobVanDam.com, Onlineworldofwrestling.com, & Rise and Fall of ECW by Thom Loverro

Edge Biography

2009-11-06T01:32:00.000-08:00

Edge Biography

Adam Copeland is a Canadian professional wrestler known as Edge (born October 30, 1973 in Orangeville, Ontario) who performs for World Wrestling Entertainment on the RAW brand.

In late February 2005, Edge had a real-life adulterous affair with WWE Diva Lita, causing her and her long time boyfriend and WWE Superstar Matt Hardy to split, when Matt was contacted by Edge's wife. The fallout of this affair resulted in Matt Hardy being released from the WWE, although he was eventually rehired.

Statistics
Stage names
Sexton Hardcastle
Adam Impact
Conquistador Uno
Edge
Height 6'5" (196 cm)
Weight 250lbs (113 kg)
Born October 30, 1973
Hometown Orangeville, Ontario
Billed from Toronto, Ontario
Trained by Ron Hutchinson
Sweet Daddy Siki
Sully's Gym (Toronto)
Bret and Stu Hart
Dory Funk, Jr.
Tom Prichard
Debut 1993

Career
Throughout the 1990s he wrestled for many independent promotions in Ontario as well in the Great Lakes region of the United States under the name Sexton Hardcastle. His previous managers were Johnny Bradford and Judd the Studd. He showed much potential and was signed by the then-WWF in 1998.

Many thought that upon his arrival, he would be the next Shawn Michaels. So far, Copeland has found some success in WWE, but not to the magnitude as Michaels has found. He was at first introduced as an enigmatic character, who quickly was teamed with his former tag team partner and on-screen brother, from independent promotions, Christian. The two joined The Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness, and eventually found success as a heel comic duo of surfer dudes/teenyboppers, winning the WWE Tag-Titles 7 times. After with an on-screen feud, the team then dropped the storyline brotherhood gimmick when he and Christian broke out on their own. After the split of the team Edge continued with the character for the most part, only as a face.

Personal
During his high school years, he was voted, "the most likely to win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship," which he has yet to do, though he was positioned as a title contender for the World Heavyweight Championship before that belt was moved to SmackDown!.

Edge's own autobiography, entitled "Adam Copeland On Edge" (The On Edge Book), tells of his own voyage in the wrestling industry and how he found success on the independent circuit and the WWE. It features details of his personal life before and after becoming a wrestler.

Edge has a tattoo of a sun on his upper bicep.

Kurt Angle Biography

2009-11-06T01:25:00.001-08:00

Kurt Angle Biography

Kurt Steven Angle (born in December 9, 1968 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), is an American 1996 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling and now a professional wrestler performing for World Wrestling Entertainment on its RAW brand. Among his trademarks is the audience--whether he is face or heel--chanting "you suck!" in tune with his entrance music.

Statistics
Stage names Kurt Angle
El Gran Luchadore
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 220 lb (100 kg)
Born December 9, 1968
Hometown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Trained by Dr. D David Schultz
Tom Prichard
Dory Funk, Jr.
Debut 1999

Amateur wrestling
Angle had a distinguished career in amateur wrestling even before winning in the 1996 Olympics. He was a 2-time NCAA Division I champion and a 3-time NCAA Division I All-American while attending Clarion University of Pennsylvania. He was also 1987 USA Junior Freestyle champion, 2-time USA Senior Freestyle champion, and 1988 USA FILA Junior World Freestyle champion. Angle reached the pinnacle of his amateur career at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, winning the 100 kg (220-pound) freestyle wrestling competition even while suffering from two fractured cervical vertebrae in his neck.

Not long after his high-profile Olympic success, he decided to enter the world of broadcasting. He was hired to do sports commentary during the 10 PM nightly newscast on Pittsburgh TV WPGH channel 53. Promoted as "The Angle on Sports", Kurt was visibly nervous and had trouble speaking on camera. His news career lasted only a few short months before he turned to pro wrestling. The move brought sharp criticism from his peers in the freestyle wrestling community who regard pro wrestling as a mockery of their sport.

Extreme Championship Wrestling
On October 26, 1996 Angle was convinced to attend the taping of an ECW event named High Incident by Shane Douglas. Angle provided guest commentary during a match between Taz and Little Guido, but walked out of the building after the infamous "crucifixion storyline" (where Raven attached The Sandman to a cross using barbed wire). Angle was shocked by the controversial imagery and feared that his career prospects would be damaged if he was associated with the incident, so threatened to sue ECW owner Paul Heyman if he was shown on TV in the same broadcast as the stunt.

Big Show

2009-11-06T01:13:00.000-08:00

Big Show Biography

Paul Wight, Jr. (born February 8, 1972 in Aiken, South Carolina, now residing in Tampa, Florida), best known by his ring names, The Giant, and, later, The Big Show, is an American professional wrestler, currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment on the RAW brand.

Statistics
Stage names
Paul Bunyon
The Giant
The Big Show
Height 7'2" (218 cm) [Listed]
7'0" (213 cm) [Actual]
Weight 470lbs (213.2 kg)
Born February 8, 1972
Hometown Aiken, South Carolina
Tampa, Florida
Trained by Larry Sharpe
WCW Power Plant
Debut July 16, 1995

World Championship Wrestling
Paul Wight became involved in professional wrestling when Danny Bonaduce introduced him to Hulk Hogan at a charity basketball event in early 1995. Wight trained at Larry Sharpe's Monster Factory for seven months and then signed with World Championship Wrestling. He polished his skills at the WCW Power Plant, where at one point he possessed the ability to perform a moonsault.

Wight debuted in WCW at the 1995 Bash At The Beach. He introduced himself as The Giant, claiming to be the son of the late André the Giant, and blaming Hogan for the death of his "father." He joined the Dungeon of Doom, who were at war with Hulk Hogan and his allies, and immediately began a heated feud with Hogan. At Fall Brawl 1995, Wight attacked Hogan while he was fighting the leader of the Dungeon of Doom, "Taskmaster" Kevin Sullivan, in a cage match. After Wight destroyed Hogan's Harley-Davidson Motorbike using a monster truck, Hogan challenged him to a "Monster Truck Battle" at Halloween Havoc, which was to be held, fittingly enough, in Detroit.

World Wrestling Federation
Wight signed a multi-year contract with the WWF in early 1999. He debuted as a member of Vince McMahon's heel stable, The Corporation, at the February 1999 St. Valentine's Day Massacre event. During the McMahon versus Stone Cold Steve Austin cage match, Wight came from under the ring and attacked Austin. However, he cost McMahon the match when he threw Austin into the side of the cage and the cage broke, spilling Austin outside to the floor and granting him the victory. This meant that Austin would face The Rock at WrestleMania XV for the WWF Championship.

Wight was renamed The Big Show and acted as McMahon's bodyguard. McMahon wanted to ensure that Corporation member The Rock would retain his title at WrestleMania, so he faced Mankind at WrestleMania for the right to referee the main event. Wight incapacitated Mankind, but disqualified himself in the process, meaning that neither man would be referee. After a furious McMahon slapped Wight, he punched McMahon and was arrested, turning face. Wight concluded his feud with Foley in a Boiler Room Brawl before joining Mankind, Test and Ken Shamrock in a stable known as "The Union" who fought against the Corporation, then later the Corporate Ministry. Wight and Undertaker later formed an unlikely alliance against X-Pac and Kane, with Wight turning heel in the process. Wight and The Undertaker twice won the WWF Tag Team Championships.

Triple H

2009-11-05T10:25:00.000-08:00

Triple H

The Beginnings of Triple HThe man who we now know as Triple H was born as Paul Levesque on July 27, 1969 in Greenwich, Connecticut. During his teenage years, he started body building with much older guys and began his dream of becoming a professional wrestler in the late 1980s. Paul trained at Killer Kowalski's wrestling school in Reading, Massachusettsand entered the Independent Wrestling Federation in 1992 using the name Terra Ryzing. After winning the IWF Title, Paul Levesque entered the world of the WCW and changed his name once again.
From French Snob to Triple HDuring his career in the WCW, Paul Levesque changed his name to Jean-Paul Levesque and adopted the character of a snobby French Canadian aristocrat. He wrestled under this name for one year before heading to the WWE and renaming himself, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, or Triple H. Professional wrestling would never be the same. As a snobby, rich kid from Connecticut with an endless trail of girlfriends,Triple H is now one of the most loved and hated characters in the WWE.

Triple H Triumphs
Since entering the WWE, Hunter Hearst Helmsley has piledriven and body-slammed his way to the top of the wrestling world. Triple H's legendary finishing move, the Pedigree (a double-underhook piledriver) has made him a virtually unstoppable force in the ring. Triple H has won the WWE World Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles and teamed up with Steve Austin to win the World Tag Team title. Hunter Hearst Helmsley recently joined up with wrestling villains, Ric Flair, Randy Orton and Batista to form an evil wrestling alliance known as Evolution. His most recent wrestling triumph was a victory overGoldberg in the Elimination Chamber at Summer Slam which allowed him to keep his World Heavyweight belt. Along the road to wrestling supremacy, Triple H has also dated several of his female wrestling counterparts including Chyna and Stephanie McMahon, to whom he was briefly married (that's the WWE story, anyway.)

World Heavyweight Championship
9/2/02 - first champion by order of Eric Bischoff
12/15/02 Armageddon - Shawn Michaels
12/14/03 Armageddon - Goldberg
9/12/04 Unforgiven - Randy Orton
1/9/05 New Years Revolution - won vacant title in Elimination Chamber match also featuring Randy Orton, Batista, Chris Jericho, Edge, & Chris Benoit
World Tag Team Title
4/29/01 Backlash - with Steve Austin beat Kane & The Undertaker

WCW:
Triple H started his career as Terra Ryzing. After a brief run in the indies, he made it to WCW. He did not wrestle much on TV and was only in one PPV match under his new gimmick, Jean Paul LeVesque. He signed with the WWF in spite of having to work more dates for less money.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley:
In April 1995, he made his WWF debut as Hunter Hearst Helmsley. His gimmick was being a rich snob from Connecticut. He quickly developed a friendship with The Clique. He was part of the infamous MSG curtain call (broke kay-fabe by celebrating in the ring with his enemies Kevin Nash and Scott Hall). All the heat from the incident fell on him and he was punished by not winning the 1996 King of the Ring. In his place, Steve Austin won the tournament and made his infamous Austin 3:16 speech that night.

Hulk Hogan Biography

2009-11-05T04:37:00.000-08:00

Hulk Hogan Biography

The son of Ruth, a homemaker and dance teacher, and Peter Bollea, a construction foreman, he was raised in Tampa, Florida. As a boy, he was a pitcher in Little League Baseball. He began watching professional wrestling at 16 years old. While in high school, he revered Dusty Rhodes, and he regularly attended cards at the Tampa Sportatorium. It was at one of those wrestling cards where he first turned his attention towards "Superstar" Billy Graham and looked to him for inspiration.[11] Hogan was also a skilled musician, spending ten years playing bass guitar in several Florida-based rock bands.[1] Many of the wrestlers who competed in the Florida territory at that time visited the bars where Hogan was performing. He then attended the University of South Florida, of which he later dropped out; he spent most of his time at a local gym, where he met pro wrestler Mike Graham, the son of legendary wrestler and National Wrestling Alliance president Eddie Graham. Hogan's physical stature also caught the attention of Jack Brisco and his brother Gerald. Together, they convinced Hogan to try wrestling. Having been a wrestling fan since childhood, Hogan agreed, and in 1976, Mike Graham introduced Hogan to Hiro Matsuda, who was among the sport's top trainers. According to Hogan, during their first training session, Matsuda sarcastically asked him, "So you want to be a wrestler?" and purposely broke Hogan's leg.[12]

Where Are They Now

(June 2003) Left WWE for the second summer in a row
(November 2003) Currently under contract with the NWA:TNA (National Wrestling Alliance: Total Nonstop Action).
(November 2003) Was supposed to compete for NWA-TNA, but injured his knee in Japan, wrestling Masahiro Chono. By the time it heals, it is up in the air whether or not he will compete for NWA-TNA, or go back to the WWE for Wrestlemania XX
(July 2004) Is supporting his daughter Brooke's music career.
(January 2005) Negotating with the WWE about an appearence and possibly a match at Wrestlemania 21.
(March 2005) Has been announced as an inductee in the WWE Hall Of Fame Class of 2005. He will likely make an appearance at WWE WrestleMania XXI.
(May 2005) Won his tag-team match with Shawn Michaels at Backlash against Muhammad Hassan and Daivari.
(July 2005) Is scheduled to face Shawn Michaels at Summerslam.
(April 2006) Will be inducting Mean Gene into the 2006 WWE Hall Of Fame
(January 2008) Host of the new "American Gladiators" (2008) on NBC.
(1986) Release of the book, "Hulk Hogan: Eye of the Tiger" by 'Barry Janoff'.
(1986) Release of the book, "Hulk Hogan" by 'William R. Sanford'.
(2000) Release of the book, "Hollywood Hulk Hogan: The Story of Terry Bollea; a Real-life Reader Biography" by 'Susan Zannos'.
(2002) Release of his book, "Hollywood Hulk Hogan" by Hulk with Michael Jan Friedman.
(October 2009) Release of his autobiography, "My Life Outside the Ring".

Wrestling career

Early career
Within a year, Matsuda had prepared him for his professional debut, in which Eddie Graham booked him against Brian Blair in Fort Myers, Florida on August 10, 1977.[13] A short time later, Bollea donned a mask and assumed the persona of "The Super Destroyer," a hooded character first played by Don Jardine and subsequently used by several other wrestlers. A few months later, he joined Louie Tillet's Alabama territory, where he tag teamed with Ed Leslie (later known as Brutus Beefcake) as Terry and Ed Boulder. These early matches as a tag team with the surname Boulder being used by both men prompted a rumor among wrestling fans unaware of the inner workings of the sport that Hogan and Beefcake were brothers, as few people actually knew their real names outside of immediate friends, family, and of course the various promoters the two worked for. During this time, he appeared on a talk show, where he sat beside Lou Ferrigno, star of the television series The Incredible Hulk. The host commented how Terry, who stood 6 ft 7 in and weighed 295 pounds with 24 inch biceps, actually dwarfed "the Hulk." As a result, Bollea began performing as Terry "The Hulk" Boulder and sometimes wrestled as Sterling Golden.[1]

In May 1979, Bollea had an early shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, whose holder was at the time generally recognized as the industry's best. In June 1979, Bollea won his first wrestling championship, the NWA Southeast Heavyweight Championship, recognized in Alabama and Tennessee when he defeated Ox Baker.

World Wrestling Federation (1979-1980)

Later that year, former NWA World Champion Terry Funk introduced Bollea to World Wrestling Federation (WWF) chief Vincent J. McMahon, who was impressed with his charisma and physical stature. McMahon gave Bollea the last name Hogan, as he was obsessed with using Irish names.[14] At this time, Hogan wrestled Bob Backlund for the WWF Championship,[15] and he started his first big feud with André the Giant, which culminated in a match with André at Shea Stadium.[16]Hulk Hogan claims in his autobiography that he and André the Giant were the reason for the Shea gate. However, Sammartino/Zbyszko sold out everywhere they wrestled leading up the show. Hogan and Andre wrestled in White Plains, New York, drawing 1,200 in a building that held 3,500 as the main event before they wrestled at Shea.

2009-11-04T01:05:00.001-08:00

Rey Mysterio
Oscar Gutierrez was born on December 12, 1974. He was trained by his uncle Rey Misterio Sr. and made his pro debut in 1989. He currently lives in San Diego, CA. He is married to Angie and has a daughter (Aalyah) and a son (Dominick). The battle with Eddie Guerrero for the custody of Dominick was just a fictional story line.

Cruiserweight Champion:
Rey's most famous moment in WCW occurred in 1996 when he was lawn darted into the side of a trailer by Kevin Nash. His career recovered nicely and he became a mainstay in the cruiserweight title scene. He had many great matches against both luchadores and cruiserweights alike. His most famous match of this era was a title vs mask match against Eddie Guerrero at Halloween Havoc 1997. In 1998, he lost a match and was forced to join the Latino World Order.

No Mask, Giant Killer, & No Limit Soldier :
At Super Brawl 99, Rey lost a tag team match to Scott Hall and Kevin Nash and was forced to unmask. The new Mysterio became a giant killer and quickly gained wins against the giants of the territory including Kevin Nash, Scott Norton & Bam Bam Bigelow. Later in the year he formed a successful tag team with Billy Kidman and eventually joined Master P's No Limit Soldiers.
The Filthy Animals:
After Master P left WCW, Rey formed the Filthy Animals with Konan and Eddie Guerrero. Billy Kidman and Juventud Guerrera joined the group soon afterwards. In 2000, they joined the New Blood and later feuded with the Misfits in Action and Team Canada. At the final WCW Nitro, Kidman & Misterio won the recently created cruiserweight tag team championship. After WCW shut down, Rey was off national TV for over a year.

WWE Debut:
Rey made his WWE debut in the summer of 2002. He was back to wearing his mask and the WWE blurs out all old footage that shows his face. His first feud was with Kurt Angle. In early 2003, he was injured by the Big Show when he was swung, while attached to a stretcher, into a ring post. When Rey returned to action he briefly held the cruiserweight title and then reformed his tag team with Billy Kidman. Most of 2004 saw him battle for the cruiserweight title.
Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio:
In 2005, Eddie & Rey won the tag team titles. Eddie was jealous of the fact that he never beat Rey and turned on his partner. He held a secret over Rey's head which turned out to be that Dominick was really adopted and Eddie wanted his son back. Rey won a ladder match to retain the custody of his son. Since Eddie's tragic death, Rey has been dedicating his matches to his fallen friend.

2009-11-04T00:54:00.001-08:00

Stone Cold Steve Austin

Steve Austin is Born!
Steve Austin was born in 1990 when a 25 year old Steve Williams decided to pursue a life long interest and enrolled in a wrestling school run by Chris Adams. In 1991 'Stunning' Steve Austin debuted in World Championship Wrestling.
Time in WCW and ECW
Steve Austin spent five years in WCW. He held the TV Title twice, the US Title twice, and the Tag Titles once with the late Brian Pillman.
1991-06-03 Steve defeats Bobby Eaton winning the WCW World TV Championship. On 1992-04-27 Barry Windham defeats Austin for the TV Title in a best of three.Austin's reign fell 9 days short of Arn Anderson's record. 1992-06-23 Steve Austin defeats Barry Windham for his second TV Title reign. On 1992-09-02 Austin loses the title to Ricky Steamboat in a no-DQ match.
1993-03-02 wins Tag Titles with Brian Pillman defeating Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas. The Hollywood Blondes become a top team. Several months later (1993-08-18) Pillman goes on the injured list and Austin loses the Tag Titles, with replacement Steven Regal, to Arn Anderson and Paul Roma. The Blondes breakup.
1993-12-27 Steve defeats Dustin Rhodes (aka Goldust) two out of three to win the US Title. 1994-09-18 Austin regains US Title from Ricky Steamboat, who forfeited due to injury. Jim Duggan defeats Austin immediately after. At this point Austin is no longer given a push and is held back. Eventually Austin goes on the injured list and leaves WCW.
In the summer of 1995 'Superstar' Steve Austin debuts in Extreme Championship Wrestling. Later that year Austin signs with the WWF.

Steve Austin's rise thru the WWF
Steve Austin debuts as Ted Dibiase's Ringmaster. Soon a feud with Savio Vega leads to a match, 1996-04-28, stipulating that if Austin loses Dibiase must leave the WWF. Austin later claims he threw the match to get rid of Dibiase. Austin begins to take on his Stone Cold persona.
1996-06-23 King of The Ring. Stone Cold defeats Jake 'the Snake' Roberts marking the rise of Austin 3:16. Later that year, Austin begins bad mouthing Bret Hart. At the 1996 Buried Alive, Austin defeats Hunter Hearst-Helmsley (Triple H). 1997 Royal Rumble Austin defeats Bret Hart. At WM XIII Stone Cold loses to Bret Hart in a submission match, passing out rather than submitting. Thus elevating his career even higher.
(1997-05-27) Austin and HBK Shawn Michaels win the Tag Titles defeating Owen Hart and Bulldog. HBK takes time off, Austin is stripped of the Tag Titles. On July 14 Stone Cold is prepared to fight Owen and Bulldog by himself to reclaim the Tag Titles when none other than Dude Love, perhaps better known as Cactus Jack (Mick Foley) came to Stone Cold's aid. Together they defeat Owen and Bulldog to recapture the Tag Team Championship belts.
(1997-08-3) Summer Slam. Austin defeats Owen Hart for his first IC Title win. But vacates the IC and Tag titles due to an injury sustained during the match by a badly executed pile-driver. Stone Cold returns to defeat Owen Hart at Survivor Series (1997-11-09) to win the IC Title a second time. On 1997-12-06 Austin defeats Rocky Maivia (The Rock) retaining the IC Title, however the next night on Raw he hands it to Rocky and goes after the WWF Championship. Actually the Rattlesnake took the IC belt and threw it in a river. Stone Cold eliminated Rocky at the 1998 Royal Rumble, earning his title shot at WrestleMania XIV. Steve Austin defeated HBK with Mike Tyson as the enforcer/referee and has fought to hang on to the title as much as possible since then. Stone Cold held the Tag Titles for a third time with, his then number one contender, the Undertaker. They defeated Kane and Mankind at Fully Loaded 1998. Austin's most recent WWF Championship reign ended when Mankind won a Triple Threat match at Summer Slam 1999.
When Stone Cold walks to the ring in his black boots and black trunks everyone watching the show knows anything can happen (and probably will). Most of Stone Cold's success may be attributed to three words: "Don't trust anybody!"

Austin's Injury and Return
At Survivor Series (1999-11-14) Steve Austin was hit by a car (scripted) in the parking area and Big Show took his place in the Triple Threat WWF Championship match defeating Triple H and Rock. Austin took the time off to undergo surgery to repair some prior injuries to his neck as well as film two more episodes of Nash Bridges which airedMay 5 and May 19.
Austin underwent surgery in January of 2000. His return to the WWF in some capacity was definite but his in ring ability was questionable. The doctors stated a recovery time of around 6 months. On 2000-01-30 Stone Cold was interviewed at his home by Jim Ross, the Rattlesnake plans to be back in the ring in 3 to 4 months. But refuses to get back in at less than 100%. Steve was at the pre-WrestleMania show but did not get involved in any matches. His rehabilitation was going well but doctors still were reluctant to say he could ever compete again.
Austin appeared on WWF TV on SmackDown (2000-04-27). The Rattlesnake blew up the DX Express bus after Rock announced that Austin would indeed make an appearance. Then Stone Cold made his presence known at Backlash as he assisted Rock to regain the WWF Championship. Although it was a premature return since he was not physically ready for action.
On 2000-09-13 Steve Austin married Debra in a small Las Vegas ceremony. A couple weeks prior to Unforgiven 2000 Stone Cold announced he was going to be at the show to open the Stone Cold Court of Law and find the person who ran him down. Stating he had waived any legal proceedings he promised to open the biggest can of 'whoop ass' the WWF had ever seen.
Stone Cold continues his investigation through October, which mostly consisted of handing out stunners to much of the locker room. Commissioner Foley ends up suspending Austin until the investigation is finished. Finally on October 09 Rikishi (which didn't make much sense) admits to running Austin down for The Rock. Commissioner Foley signs a match against Rikishi at No Mercy. Then Triple H reveals himself as Rikishi's accomplice, marking his return as a heel. Stone Cold defeats Triple H in a no-DQ match atSurvivor Series. Austin finds himself in a Six-Way WWF Championship Match at Armageddon.
January 2001 Stone Cold Steve Austin wins the Royal Rumble for a WWF Championship match. And then at WrestleMania XVII (aka X-Seven) Austin made one of the most surprising heel turns.
Stone Cold defeated The Rock on 2001-04-01 for the WWF Championship (5th time) then defected to the Alliance (WCW and ECW resurrected to take over Sports Entertainment). Austin's ring time decreasesd during this period. He lost the title to Kurt Angle then regained it for a 6th reign as WWF Champion. Austin (WWF Champion) and The Rock (WCW Champion) were defeated by Chris Jericho in a tournament match to name an Undisputed Champion (2001-12-09).

2002 Austin Walks Out
Austin walked out on the WWF in June 2002. Mostly due to the frustration with his character and past injuries hindering his performance. While he was out of the WWE Austin and Debra went their separate ways.
Around this time the ECW and WCW were reabsorbed, then the WWF became the WWE, and RAW and SmackDown split the roster.
2003 Austin Returns in Limited Capacity
On March 30, 2003 Stone Cold made his way to WrestleMania XIX where he was finally defeated by The Rock.
2003-04-28 While Stone Cold was gone, Eric Bischoff mocked Austin a couple times and eventually drove Jim Ross to quit. Lita quit about a week later when Bischoff insisted she pose for Playboy. Linda MacMahon made one of her infrequent visits to Raw, on April 28th, and announced a co-general manager to keep Eric inline - Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Stone Cold remained as co-GM till November of 2003. Circumstances occurred that forbid Austin from striking a wrestler without being provoked. Austin put his career on the line at Survivor Series but his team lost and Stone Cold left Raw. He made an appearance at a special Christmas event for the troops in Iraq, he posed as Santa Clause and gave vince a stunner for a present. Fan response helped to bring Stone Cold back under his own terms; as Sheriff of Raw near the end of 2003.
Stone Cold Walks Again
Austin's appearances were limited during his Sheriff reign in early 2004. (I went to one of the events where he road an ATV to the ring with Earl Hebner on the back. I'll try to post some pictures eventually.) He refereed the Brock Lesnar vs Goldberg match at WrestleMania XX and shortly after WWE and Stone Cold went their separate ways, apparently over some contract dispute.
There was news of a multiple-movie contract with Stone Cold, backed by the WWE. One of the being The Longest Yard (2005) (Buy DVD)
2005 Steve Austin Returns Part Time
Stone Cold's first TV appearance in about a year was at WrestleMania XXI. He made a couple appearances before making a bigger impact at WWE Homecoming. The three hour special return of WWE to the USA Network (here's hoping they don't get preempted by a dog show again...). Stone Cold showed up at Homecoming and gave a stunner to Vince, Shane, Stephanie, and for the first time ever Linda McMahon. Also during Homecoming, Hogan challenged Austin to a match.

2009-11-04T00:41:00.000-08:00

The Great Khali Biography
By October of that year, news came that Khali would return to WWE, along with Daivari, to join its revived ECW brand. Khali then feuded with Tommy Dreamer, where Khali would assault Dreamer and chokebomb him on a regular basis. Sometimes it would be on the steel entrance stage,
a steel chair, or the padded floor outside the ring.
Feuding with Kane (2007)
On the January 8 episode of "Raw", Jonathan Coachman announced that Khali's contract with "ECW" had expired, he had signed with "Raw" (without his manager Daivari), and would battle John Cena in the main event. Khali won by disqualification after Cena took a steel chair held by Armando Estrada and hit Khali with it. After the match, Khali chokebombed Cena to the mat and left the ringside area, leaving Cena prone to an attack by Umaga.
On the February 19 edition of "Raw", Khali demanded better competition after easily defeating The Highlanders. Four days later on "SmackDown!", Khali interfered in a Falls Count Anywhere Money In The Bank qualifying match between Kane and King Booker. Khali cost Kane the match, leading to a match at "WrestleMania". In his first appearance at the event, Khali defeated Kane at "WrestleMania 23" after slamming him with the Khali Bomb. Right after the match, Khali choked Kane with his own hook and chain.
"Dalip Singh Rana" (born August 27 1972) better known by his ring name "The Great Khali", is an Indian professional wrestler, actor, and former powerlifter who won Mr. India in 1995 and 1996. He is currently signed to WWE on its "SmackDown" brand. Before embarking on his professional wrestling career, he was an officer in the Punjab state police; he was also a labourer.
Singh is a one-time World Heavyweight Champion, and has appeared in the films "The Longest Yard" (2005) and "Get Smart" (2008). The World Heavyweight Championship is also his first ever championship through out his wrestling career

New Japan Pro Wrestling (2001-2002)
In August 2001, Singh was brought into New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) by Team 2000 leader, Masahiro Chono, as "Giant Singh", along with another big man, Giant Silva. They were the tallest tag team in pro wrestling history at an average height of 7 ft 2½ in, and a combined weight of 805 lb. The two teamed up for the first time at the Tokyo Dome in October, labeled 'Club 7' by Chono, and they defeated Yutaka Yoshie, Kenzo Suzuki, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Wataru Inoue in a Handicap Match when Silva pinned Tanahashi and Inoue at the same time. Singh suffered his first loss in a tag match at the Tokyo Dome in January 2002 after Hiroyoshi Tenzan pinned him with a cradle. He suffered another big tag defeat during March, being pinned by Manabu Nakanishi after a German suplex pin. His most critical loss came in August at Tokyo Nippon Budokan when, after a falling out, he was pinned by Silva in a singles match.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2006-Present)
WWE debut
On January 2, Singh became the first Indian professional wrestler to be signed to a contract by WWE; he was assigned to the Deep South Wrestling developmental territory for training, where he wrestled under his real name. With Daivari by his side, the unnamed Singh debuted on WWE television on the April 7 episode of "SmackDown!", attacking The Undertaker and leaving him out cold during his match with Mark Henry, and thus causing a no-contest.
Feuding with The Undertaker (2006)
The next week he was introduced as "The Great Khali". Daivari explained that he now finally had a client that would destroy The Undertaker (after Muhammed Hassan and Mark Henry had previously failed).
Khali made his in-ring debut on the April 21 edition of "SmackDown!", defeating Funaki.
On the May 12 edition of "SmackDown!", JBL put Khali against World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio. Khali had a height advantage of two feet and a weight advantage of 250 pounds, and gained an easy victory over Mysterio.
In his match against The Undertaker at Judgment Day, Khali landed a series of blows to his opponent, and finally defeated The Undertaker with a kick to the head after receiving some illegal help from Daivari during the phase when The Undertaker had him under control. Khali continued on a rampage for several weeks, winning handicap matches, beating superstars up in a display of power, and mocking The Undertaker's signature pin and victory pose.
Khali then challenged The Undertaker to a Punjabi Prison Match. The two were scheduled to meet in such a match at The Great American Bash, but Khali was removed from the match due to elevated liver enzymes and replaced by The Big Show.
Khali later received a clean bill of health, and the August 4 episode of SmackDown would see Khali being challenged by The Undertaker to a Last Man Standing match at SummerSlam. However, the match was moved to the SmackDown! just prior to SummerSlam and was won by The Undertaker, giving Khali his first definite loss in WWE.

Chasing the WWE Championship (2007)
On the April 30 edition of "Raw", The Great Khali attacked Shawn Michaels, Edge, and Randy Orton (all three top contenders to the WWE Championship at the time) backstage. He then attacked WWE Champion John Cena as well, sending a message that he wanted Cena's title. The next week on "Raw", Khali defeated Michaels in a No. 1 contender's match for the WWE Championship at Judgment Day. At the event, Khali's efforts came up short as he lost via submission for the first time ever, tapping out to John Cena's STFU. However, at Judgment Day, Khali's foot was under the rope when he tapped out, which went unnoticed by the referee. The next night on "Raw", Khali expressed his outrage via his translator over the outcome. At One Night Stand, Khali lost to John Cena after he was FU'd off a crane bed. This would be the first time that The Great Khali had ever been pinned.
Return to SmackDown! and claiming the World Heavyweight Championship (2007)
On the June 11 edition of "Raw", as part of the WWE Draft, Khali was drafted from "Raw" to "SmackDown!" as SmackDown!'s first draft pick. He would soon enter a feud with Batista in July before The Great American Bash. The two were scheduled for a match on PPV on Sunday, July 22. However, because Edge vacated the World Heavyweight Championship due to an injury, a twenty man Battle Royal was held for the title on the July 20 (taped on July 17) edition of "SmackDown!"; Khali won after eliminating both Kane and Batista in one move. Khali dominated and defeated both Batista and Kane in a Triple Threat match that same week at The Great American Bash. Khali then debuted a new finisher called the 'Khali Vise Grip' which he used to wear down Ric Flair, Batista, and Kane. At SummerSlam, Khali lost by disqualification when he used a steel chair but retained the title.
Khali then began a feud with Rey Mysterio after Mysterio won a 'Championship Competition' making Mysterio the No. 1 contender. On the September 7 edition of "SmackDown!", after Mysterio defeated Chavo Guerrero in an 'I Quit' match, Khali applied his Vice Grip on Mysterio until Batista came to the rescue. After the assault, General Manager Theodore Long informed Khali that he would be defending his World Heavyweight Championship against both Rey Mysterio and Batista in a Triple Threat Match at Unforgiven, which Khali lost to Batista after receiving a spinebuster. Khali challenged Batista to a rematch in a Punjabi Prison Match at "No Mercy" in which Khali lost by failing to escape the Punjabi Prison before Batista.

2009-11-04T00:36:00.000-08:00

Mark Henry: Biography
Mark Henry was billed as the "World's Strongest Man" after he qualified for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Weightlifting Competition, where he finished tenth in the super heavyweight class. After the WWF sponsored Mark Henry in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, he was signed to a ten-year contract in pro wrestling. He is currently on WWE on the Smackdown brand.
Breaking records, pumping iron and devastating opponents with his unmatched strength, it's no wonder they callMark Henry "The World’s Strongest Man."
Mark Henry’s rise to fame began in 1992 at the Olympics in Barcelona, where he competed in weightlifting in the super-heavyweight division.
Three years later at the Pan American Games, Henry captured a gold, silver and bronze medal, solidifying his place as one of the strongest men ever to walk the planet. He has also engaged in Strongman competitions, including the 2002 “World’s Strongest Man” competition at the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic, where Henry earned first prize.
Henry began his WWE career in 1996. He worked on his own, but in 1997 he was soon lured into the faction known as the Nation of Domination, which also featured The Rock. The group broke up in late ’98, and Henry went back to singles competition.

After holding the WWE European Championship in 1999, Henry took time off in 2001 to train for another Strongman competition. Henry returned to the ring in 2002, and was drafted to the SmackDown roster and later briefly appeared on Raw after a big trade.
Mark Henry has gone toe-to-toe with top stars such as Rob Van Dam, Shawn Michaels, Batista, Undertaker, and Big Show. This big man is a force to be feared every time he steps into the ring.
The future looks frightening for anybody that gets in Henry's way. After battling back from many obstacles including periods of down time and uncertainty due to injuries suffered through the years of his career, he is now at the top of his game.

After being drafted to the Land of the Extreme, Henry reached the pinnacle of his career by capturing the ECWChampionship. He was also named the "Second Strongest Man That Ever Lived" by Flex Magazine. And above all else, he has vowed to destroy anyone who gets in his way.
Now that he's on Raw, The World's Strongest Man can look to add more gold to his resume. With his unmatched strength, it might not be long before we see Henry reigning supreme as WWE Champion on Monday nights.

2009-11-04T00:32:00.000-08:00

Matt Hardy Biography

Before his then-WWF debut with his brother Jeff, Matt was trained by former wrestler Dory Funk, Jr. Before signing with the WWF, Matt and Jeff ran their own wrestling promotion, OMEGA Wrestling, in which Matt competed under the name High Voltage. Other wrestlers associated with OMEGA include Christopher Daniels, the future Lita, Shannon Moore and The Hurricane. Once signed, the brothers formed an acrobatic tag team and became known as The Hardy Boyz. Although they had several managers during their tag team run, the five-time WWE Tag Team Champions were most prominently accompanied to the ring by Lita. The three together became known as "Team Extreme." Hardy and Lita were an off-screen couple for six years, and used to share a home in North Carolina. Their romance came to an end in late February 2005 (according to Matt's official website) due to Lita's affair with fellow WWE superstar Edge.

Release from WWE

Along with his friend Rhyno, Matt Hardy was released by WWE on April 11, 2005. Matt's release was officially due to his public handling of the Lita/Edge incident (posting disparaging remarks towards Edge on his website) his release was confirmed publicly by WWE. It has also been speculated that Hardy was going to confront Edge during a RAW episode, but these claims are largely unfounded. However, it was further speculated that Hardy was released because management did not generally like him, and an excuse to fire him had been presented. In fact, Triple H, allegedly said of Hardy's release: "he never drew money anyway." Hardy countered this statement in an online interview stating that he and his brother Jeff, as the Hardy Boyz, had been top sellers of merchandise.

It should be noted that some people believed that Hardy's release (and subsequent rehiring) was part of an elaborate work. The WWE frequently referenced the Hardy situation on televised broadcasts, whereas normally they would not acknowledge real-life situations which reflected badly on the WWE onscreen. Given Matt's vitriolic interviews and the fact that Edge's wife accused him of steroid abuse, this seems possible, but it remains uncertain. Since Matt has now been re-hired by WWE, his comments could have been partially or completely worked.

Matt Hardy released two character promotional vignettes, that he was planning to use before he was offered a new contract by WWE. Hardy called himself The Angelic Diablo with the tagline "the scar will become a symbol" in reference to the way in which he has been treated by Lita and WWE

Return to WWE
On the June 20 edition of RAW, during the storyline wedding of Edge and Lita, Matt Hardy's entrance music and video were played when the priest asked if anyone had a reason why the wedding should not go on. Moments later, it was revealed as a joke played by Edge and Lita. On the July 11 episode of RAW, Matt Hardy made his return, attacking Edge as he made his way to the ring for his match against Kane and calling him out by his real name (Adam). On the July 14th edition of WWE's webcast Byte This!, which featured Lita as its guest, one of the callers was Matt himself. The two engaged in a huge argument, believed to have been a complete shoot, which led to Lita walking off the set. It has been confirmed that Matt reached a verbal agreement with WWE return to the promotion in early June, giving up the chance to sign a contract with TNA, where he would likely have reformed the Hardy Boyz with Jeff. His new WWE contract is rumored to be both longer and far more lucrative than his old contract.

Matt appeared at a scheduled Ring Of Honor event on July 16 in Woodbridge, Connecticut where he defeated Christopher Daniels via submission. Hardy also cut a brief promo where he continued in full 'worked shoot' mode, attacking WWE and John Laurinaitis. Following his official return to WWE, Hardy was met with a backlash which involved him getting booed out of the arena at an ROH event following a match with Homicide, which Hardy won. His final ROH appearance happened the day after this event, where he lost to Roderick Strong.

It was recently confirmed through a TNA press release that Matt Hardy will not be appearing at any of their future shows, including their 17 July pay-per-view No Surrender. There was previously heavy speculation that Hardy would make a run-in at the event.

On July 18, Matt Hardy again attacked Edge, this time before his steel cage match with Kane, before Matt could be handcuffed, however, he managed to escape and left through the crowd.

Seven days later on RAW, Matt Hardy ambushed Edge yet again, this time after a stretcher match with Kane, which Edge had won. Matt, however, was quickly restrained by security.

On August 1, Vince McMahon came out on RAW and officially acknowledged Hardy's return to WWE, adding that Hardy would face Edge at the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view. On August 8, Matt Hardy made his in ring return, defeating Gene Snitsky on RAW. Seconds after the Victory, Matt was attacked by Edge and as he was being carried backstage, Matt counterattacked Edge in a locker room.

On August 21, 2005, at SummerSlam, Matt Hardy and Edge faced each other in a battle which was hardly considered a wrestling match but an all-out brawl calling the "Kill or Be Killed" Match. The match wound up coming to a premature end when Edge dropped Hardy onto the top of a ring-post, causing him to bleed and eventually leading to the referee ending the match on the grounds that Hardy couldn't continue. Edge was declared the winner.

On August 22, 2005, Matt Hardy had a match against Rob Conway. While this match was running, Edge and Lita were sitting on the commentator's desk trying to distract him. Edge was a guest commentator. Conway defeated Matt and then Edge came over with a smiling Lita to attack Matt and then put his head in between the steel steps and the ring post and kicked it causing Matt to stay practically paralyzed.

TrademarksSignature finishing move:
The Twist of Fate (a slight variation of the three-quarter facelock bulldog)Other signature techniques include the Side Effect (Side Slam variation), a Top-Rope Diving Moonsault a Northern Lights Suplex, and a Middle-Rope Leg Drop that is dubbed the "Downfall"Had a computerized entrance thanks to editing via television effects.

2009-11-03T10:52:00.000-08:00

History and Biography of The Rock

Date of Birth2 May 1972,

Hayward, California, USA
Birth NameDwayne Douglas Johnson

Nickname
The People’s Champion
The Brahma Bull
The Great One
The Rock

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was born on May 2, 1972 in Hayward, California. He is a third generation wrestler. His father is Rocky Johnson and his grandfather, on his mother’s side, was the late Peter Maivia. He was a member of the 1991 national champion Miami Hurricane football team. While attending Miami, he met and later married Dany Johnson (Garcia). In 2001, they had a daughter named Simone Alexandra. The couple got divorced in 2008.

Rocky Maivia:
Dwayne was trained to wrestle by his father and Pat Patterson. He started wrestling in 1995. As Rocky Maivia, he made his WWE debut at the 1996 Survivor Series. He quickly went on to become the Intercontinental champion. Even though he was a face (good guy), the fans hated him. During his matches, the fans would chant “Rocky Sucks”. After a brief absence, Rocky Maivia turned into the Rock.

The Nation of Domination:
The Rock was an arrogant heel that spoke about himself in the third person. As a bad guy, his promos were incredible and he seemed to come up with a new catch phrase on a continual basis. It was during this time that he came up with his signature gimmicks “The People’s Eyebrow” and “The People’s Elbow” with the joke being that he was the bad guy that the people hated.

The People’s Champ:
While Steve Austin was the top performer in the company, it was obvious that The Rock was about to reach that level. The Rock became WWE Champion at the 1998 Survivor Series, which was his second anniversary in the WWE. He would go on to main event 3 WrestleMania shows against Austin. Starting in 2000, the Rock would take a lot of time off due to his new film career.

Best Selling Author and the Start of a New Career:
In 2000, his autobiography, The Rock Says, went to number 1. Hollywood took notice and he hosted Saturday Night Live to promote WrestleMania 2000. His performance was so good that he received the role of the Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns. While it was only a cameo role, he stole the movie and starred in the prequel, The Scorpion King.

The Transition From Wrestler to Actor:
By 2001, his wrestling career was a few months on and a few months off. However, his matches were always the main event and while his feuds were short they were memorable. In 2002, the fans were treated to a dream match when he finally got in the ring against Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X-8. In 2004, he wrestled his final match at WrestleMania XX.

Biography:
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was born on May 2nd 1972 in Hayward California. Dwayne has many Relitives that were/are professional wrestlers. His father Rocky Johnson inspired him to do alot, and to get into the wrestling biz. Dwayne was very good at football and carried it into college and high school. Johnson received collegiate football scholarship offers from several universities and settled on the University Of Miami. In 1991, he was part of the Miami Hurricanes’, but after getting an injury that kept him sidelined, he was replaced. There at Miami, Johnson met his future wife, Dany Garcia. Johnson graduated from the University of Miami in 1995 with a degree in criminology. Johnson continued his football career by after being passed over by the NFL, but he was cut two months into the season.
Johnson married Dany Garcia on May 3rd, 1997 a day after his 25th birthday. Dwayne and his wife have a daughter, Simone Alexander, born August 14th 2001. But sad things happen because on June 1, 2007, Johnson and Garcia announced that they would be splitting up after 10 years of marriage. But they said that they would stay bestfriends.
The Rock actually has made many charity donations and has started a charity called The Dwayne Johnson Rock Foundation.
Finnaly, Dwayne Johnson joined the WWE in 1996 as Rocky Mavia! He was WWE’S first 3rd generation superstar. He debuted at Survivor Series 1996 as a babyface(good guy). On RAW Feburary 1997, he won the Intercotinental championship from Hunter Hearst Helmsley and it was only his 3rd month with the company. But fans were getting sick of his good guy gimmick due to the popularity of Stone Cold Steve Austin. So during some of his matches the fans would chant “Die Rocky Die!” and “Rocky Sucks!”
After losing his Championship to Owen Hart and coming back from an injury, Dwayne was able to turn Heel(bad guy). He joined the Nation Of Domination.
He used the nickname of “‘The Rock’ Rocky Maivia,” which was eventually shortened to just “The Rock.” The Rock soon drove out the leader, Faarroq and soon starting his sentences with “The Rock says……” Johnson was regonized as for the best cutting promos in the industry.
As you could see, he took classes at Miami university for speech, which he got “A’s” in. Rock spent the end of 1997 and the beginning of 1998 feuding with both Austin and Ken Shamrock.
Johnson next feuded with Faarooq, who was angry at the Rock for usurping his position. The Rock Recieved the Intercotinental after Vince told Stone Cold to release it to the Rock. He soon moved to a feud with Triple H and D-Generation X. Nation members would fight DX while the Rock would fight Triple H over the Intercontinental Championship. The Rock had many battles with Triple H for the belt, but soon lost it to him in a ladder match at SummerSlam 1998. At BrekDown, Rock defeated Ken Shamrock and Mankind in a triple threat steel cage match to become the #1 contender to the WWF Championship. After feuding with Mark Henry, The Nation was disbanded.
Johnson’s popularity as The Rock propelled him to the WWF Championship. Soon the reaction from the Crowd turned him Face again, and he began a fued with Mr. McMahon who said he has a “problem with the people” and thus he should target the “People’s Champion” (as The Rock claimed himself to be).The Rock soon won his first WWF Championship against Mankind in Survivor Series 1998 in the finals of the “Deadly Game” tournament. At the time, he was the first African American Champion, and the youngest one too. Once again, The Rock turned heel after joining Vince and Shane Mcmahon in the Corporation. Later, At the Paper View In Your House, The Rock had a rematch against Mankind for the WWF Championship. Mankind won by submission but Mr. McMahon said that since The Rock did not tap out that The Rock would retain his title. The Rock began a feud with Mankind over the WWF Championship, during which the title changed hands back and forth between the two. Soon The Rock won his 2nd WWF Championship.
This feud lasted until Feburary 15th edition of RAW is WAR, where The Rock won his third WWF Championship in a ladder match after The Big Show chokeslammed Mankind off a ladder.before losing to Undertaker at King Of The Ring 1999, for Undertaker’s WWF Championship where Undertaker retained the title. With Mankind out of the way, The Rock had to defend his WWF Championship at WrestleMania XV, but lost the belt to Stone Cold. Rock also lost the tittle rematch at Backlash. WWF fans began to cheer The Rock despite him being a heel, due to his comedic interviews, promos and segments which mocked wrestlers and announcers and made him popular to the fans. Soon The Rock turned Face again after being betrayed by Shawn Micheals, and started a feud with The Undertaker, Triple H, and the Coporate Minisrty. Sometimes he found himself working together with Austin. Rock defeated Triple H at historic Over The Edge 1999 before losing to Undertaker at King Of The Ring 1999, for Undertaker’s WWF Championship where Undertaker retained the title. He continued his rivalry with Triple H, after losing to him in a #1 contender’s match at Fully Loaded.
The Rock found himself in several singles and tag championship opportunities, so he teamed with former enemy Mankind to create The Rock N Sock Connection. And The Rock N Sock connection won the WWF tag team tittles 3 times. Aside from the championships, the team was regarded as one of the most entertaining teams in history, as Mankind imitated The Rock, who ignored Mankind, with both wrestlers having support from the crowd.. The team was also involved in a segment which occurred on RAW is WAR called “This Is Your Life,” in which Mankind brought out people from The Rock’s past, such as his high school girlfriend and gym teacher. The segment earned an 8.4 Nielsen Rating and is, to this day, one of the single highest rated segments in terms of viewership in RAW history.
The Rock soon entered the 2000 Royal Rumble and was left with the Big Show as the final two. The Big Show looked like he was going to eliminate The Rock in a choke-slam position, but The Rock reversed it, and sent the Big Show flying down the ropes, as the Rock came back up. The Rock’s feet, however, hit the floor first, although those watching the event did not see that. The Big Show attempted to prove that the Rock’s feet, not his, touched the ground first. He did manage to prove it, by providing video footage showing that he was the rightful winner. . Despite that, the decision that The Rock had won the Rumble match could not be reversed, so a number one contender’s match for the WWF Championship at No Way Out 2000 was held, which saw the Big Show come out on top after Shane McMahon interfered, knocking The Rock in the head with a steel chair. The Rock soon won agaist The Big Show again, and earned the right to face Triple H at the WrestleMania 2000. Triple H retained the title when Vince turned on The Rock, giving him two vicious chair shots, allowing Triple H to pin The Rock for the three-count. Over the next couple of months The Rock feuded with Triple H over the WWF Championship. A month after the match at WrestleMania 2000, The Rock had a rematch with Triple H at Backlash 2000 in which The Rock won his fourth WWF Championship. Later he won his fifth WWF championship at the 2000 King Of The Ring in a tag team match. He successfully defended the championship against superstars such as Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, Triple H, Kane, The Undertaker, and Shane McMahon. He soon lost his Tittle to Angle at No Mercy in 2000. Before the match of the Amageddon Hell In A Cell, The Rock cut one of his most successful promos ever, making fun of the other five competitors. Around that same time, Rock held the WWF Tag Team Championship with The Undertaker and the duo exchanged the titles with Edge and Christian.After fueding with Angle for the WWF championship, The Rock finally came out on top and regained the WWF Championship.
Afterwards, he feuded with the Royal Rumble 2001 winner, Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Rock went into Wrestle Mania 17 as the WWF Champion, but he was defeated after a shocking turn from Austin, who used Mr. McMahon to win the title. Soon Rock went on to film the movie “The Mummy Returns” after a storyline suspension from Mr. McMahon.
In early 2002, Rock feuded with Jericho and challenged him for the WWF Undisputed Championship at Royal rumble 2002, but lost the match. After losing to Jericho, Rock engaged in feuds and wrestled the likes of The Undertaker at No Way Out 2002 and Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8. On July 21st, The Rock won his record-breaking seventh and final WWE Championship, which was then under the name “WWE Undisputed Championship”.
After fueding with Lesnar, UnderTaker, Angle and Triple H, The Rock lost his last Championship reign to Lesnar.
The Rock’s last heel turn began on SmackDown in February 2003, where he publicly criticized Hulk Hogan. The Rock later drafted himself to RAW and started a feud with the Hurricane and other babyfaces.He also had a comical gimmick, where he played the guitar and sang songs mocking the host city for the event.When Stone Cold Steve Austin returned, they once again feuded, and the Rock defeated Austin at WrestleMania XIX, which was Austin’s last major appearance in a wrestling role. The Rock then had a feud with former WCW star Bill GoldBerg, to whom Rock lost at Backlash 2003. In this match, both superstars received a mixed reaction from the fans. The Rock then turned face once more by engaging in a one night feud against then-heels Chris Jericho and Christian. Despite that, he declared Christian as his favorite wrestler, and Christian began calling himself the “new people’s champion” and referring to his fans as “his peeps.”
The Rock has made occasional appereances with the WWE. Including standing up for Eugene, making a cameo appearance in his home-town of Miami and helping Foley turn back La resistance. He hosted a “Pie-Eating Contest” during the Diva Search 2004 and ended the segment by giving Johnathan Coachman a Rock Bottom and a People’s Elbow. After this appearance, Johnson reported in several interviews that he was no longer under contract with WWE. He also reported that the reason he was able to continue using the name “The Rock” was part of a dual ownership between him and WWE. The Rock made an appearance on WWE after a near three year absence, appearing on RAW via a pre-taped segment on the titantron.The Rock’s latest apperances was inducting his father and his granfather into the WWE Hall Of Fame.

2009-11-03T10:43:00.000-08:00

The History Of Kane

Glenn Thomas Jacobs was born on April 26 1967 in Madrid-Spain, making him 36 years of age at the moment. The WWE list him as 7 feet tall, but most sources have him at 6'9". He is currently around the 280-300 pound mark. Jacobs was raised in St.Louis, Missouri & went to college at Northeast Missouri State. He currently resides in Tennessee with his wife & 2 daughters, where he also owns a gym.At the age of 25, Glenn Jacobs made his debut in a wrestling ring in the USWA. His first gimmick was a cheap looking & hideously masked character by the name of 'The Christmas Creature'. This was to be the first of many terrible gimmicks that Jacobs had to endure, but even in his rookie year many scouts could see the potential in this huge man. He steadily climbed his way up the rankings, but then lost a Mask vs Title match against the USWA champion, Jerry Lawler. After unmasking, he took on the persona of 'Doomsday'. He continued wrestling under this name in both the USWA & the WWC promotion based in Puerto Rico. He was moderately successful & improving, but Jacobs believed he needed a change to get to the next level.
The change came in January 1995 when Jacobs secured a position in Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) promotion. He was renamed UnaBomb & won the SMW Tag Team Titles with Al Snow only 3 months later on April-7, when the duo beat The Rock 'N' Roll Express. Snow & Jacobs held the titles for 3 months before falling to the team of Tracy Smothers & Tony Anthony on July-6. It was at this stage that Jacobs' career was about to take a turn for the better. You see, the WWF had their eyes on Jacobs, and it was about at this time, when the WWF had a real affection for huge wrestlers. The first step was to send Paul Bearer & The Undertaker down to their affiliate SMW to get involved in a mini-feud with UnaBomb. On August-4, UnaBomb (Jacobs) wrestled The Undertaker at a SMW event called 'The SuperBowl Of Wrestling'. The Undertaker obviously came out on top of this match, but that match was the last piece of information that the WWF needed before signing Jacobs to a contract. Eight days later, UnaBomb & Snow got their rematch against Smothers & Anthony, but this time it would be in a 'Loser Of The Fall Leaves SMW' match. Needless to say, Jacobs was pinned by Smothers in that match & Jacobs was on his way out of SMW, but on his way into the WWF.
So, what would be the gimmick that Glen Jacobs would be given for his WWF debut? You see, not only did the WWF love big men in the mid-nineties, but they also loved gimmicks. So in July of 1995, Glen Jacobs made his debut on WWF Monday Night Raw in a series of vignettes portraying Jerry Lawler's deranged dentist, Dr Isaac Yankem DDS. Needless to say, this was a shocker of a gimmick that Jacobs was handed. It was never going to work & was only going to be short-term. However, the opportunity to compete in the WWF & get the proverbial foot in the door was an opportunity too good to miss out on. The fact that wrestling as a dentist was such a bad gimmick may actually have been an attraction. Think of it this way; foot in the door with a short-term gimmick, then become himself & enjoy super-stardom.On August-27 1995 at SummerSlam, Isaac Yankem made his in-ring debut against Bret Hart. It was a slow boring match that ended up in a disqualification win to The Hitman. Unfortunately, probably the worst thing about the match was the lack of crowd response. I think what the WWE wanted was for the viewers to simultaneously laugh & be afraid of the character. But apart from a few teenagers with bad teeth, the only reaction the gimmick received was that of indifference with a few laughs here and there. The subsequent months saw Yankem involved in meaningless lower-card feuds with the likes of Spark Plugg Bob Holly & Ahmed Johnson. In fact, the only time Yankem made any sort of impact as a WWF wrestler was in multi-wrestler pay-per-view events such as Survivor Series & The Royal Rumble. Unfortunately, even these were minimal & not enough to suggest singles success.
For the 6 months between March & September of 1996, Jacobs basically sat around doing nothing while the WWF paid him. I'm sure they had numerous gimmicks to re-package him with, but if they didn't see the light of day, they must have been truly awful. Finally, the call-up came in September & if you think that The Christmas Creature & Isaac Yankem were bad gimmicks, then this one was the icing on the cake. You see, it was late 1996 when WCW was starting to get on top of the WWF in terms of who the better promotion was, for the very first time. WCW achieved this through their New World Order gimmick, which included two wrestlers in Scott Hall & Kevin Nash, who had just crossed over from their WWF persona's of Razor Ramon & Diesel. So, in retaliation, the WWF ran a storyline where Jim Ross basically went crazy & tried to sabotage the promotion by bringing in 2 former wrestlers. You guessed it; Razor Ramon & Diesel. But not the real ones, fake ones. Jacobs was unfortunately saddled with the 'Fake Diesel' gimmick due to a similar stature, style & look to Kevin Nash.A lot, and I mean, a lot of tv time was wasted on the fake duo at a time when the WWF needed nothing but quality to compete with the barnstorming WCW. Following a forgettable match at Survivor Series '96, the team was given a title shot against Davey Boy Smith & Owen Hart at In Your House: It's Time, on December-15. At one point it appeared as if the WWF was so much behind this terrible gimmick, that they might actually give the titles to the fake duo. But luckily, it didn't eventuate and Owen & Davey Boy retained their titles. Surprise, surprise!!! The WWF finally came to their senses early in 1997 & decided that enough tv time had been taken up by the fake Razor & Diesel. I was going to say that the WWF quickly came to their senses, but taking 3 months to realize that this gimmick was a waste of time is actually bordering on incompetence for such a large company facing it's biggest challenge at the time.The WWF at this stage basically said that Jacobs & Rick Bogner (the man that portrayed the fake Razor Ramon) could now do anything. So they wrestled for a few months with the gimmick in Mexico's AAA. This resulted in more lack of enthusiasm from crowds, so Jacobs took Bogner with him back to the USWA for another try. Same result fortunately. I say fortunately because it must have finally got through that the fake Diesel gimmick was never, and I mean, never going to work. Jacobs resurrected his Doomsday gimmick & due to it going over fairly well with the USWA crowds, it resulted in a Heavyweight title shot. Doomsday finally won the USWA Heavyweight Title on July-13, 1997. He only held the title for approximately 2 months. Why? Because the WWF came ringing Jacobs' doorbell with yet another idea.During his USWA title reign, the WWF began to air a storyline where Paul Bearer was warning The Undertaker that a family member from his past was about to catch up with him. The mind-games had started, but a debut date for the brother that The Undertaker had supposedly burnt to near-death was unknown. The Undertaker was in a transition stage of his career at this time. He was still a main-event wrestler, having won the WWF World Heavyweight Title for the second time in March at WrestleMania 13. But it was evident that after feuds with Mankind, Psycho Sid & finally Shawn Michaels, that his character was going to become very stale very quickly. On October 5 1997, The Undertaker was involved in the first ever Hell In A Cell match against Shawn Michaels at the Badd Blood pay-per-view. The match itself was a genuine Match-Of-The-Year candidate which successfully mixed the styles of the 2 wrestlers in a bloodied cage atmosphere. After 20+ minutes of grueling action, The Undertaker was ready to finish The Heartbreak Kid off with a Tombstone Piledriver. Suddenly, a strange organ sound came over the loud-speakers & Paul Bearer wobbled his way down the aisle toward the cell. With him was a red & black-clad, leather-masked monster. It was The Undertaker's brother Kane & he was intent on lifelong retribution. He proceeded to literally tear the cage door off its hinges, disposed of the referee & then summoned fire from the ringposts. As The Undertaker looked at Kane with a look that portrayed many emotions, Kane picked Undertaker up & planted him on the canvas with his version of the Tombstone. A blood-soaked Shawn Michaels made the cover & Kane wandered off from wherever he came from.At this stage it was becoming widely known that it was Glen Jacobs under the mask playing the role of Kane. Most fans who knew, thought it was just going to be another gimmick that would bomb. But it was such a tremendously handled debut, that if Jacobs was talented enough & had become experienced enough, he would make it successful. For the next month or so, Kane & Bearer made regular appearances on WWF television trying to talk The Undertaker into a match. When The Undertaker continued to refuse on the grounds that he wouldn't fight a family member, Kane went on a mission to destroy every WWF superstar until only his (screen) brother was left. Along the way, he incurred the wrath ofMankind (Mick Foley) & it was against him that he made his wrestling debut as Kane at Survivor Series '97. The demolition of Mankind at this event was just what the monster character needed & it appeared as if Glen Jacobs had finally found his niche in the big time. For the next month or so, Kane continued to demolish opponents in an attempt to force The Undertaker into a one-on-one match. He finally succeeded at the 1998 Royal Rumble, when he interfered in the world title match between his brother & Shawn Michaels. It was a Casket match that The Undertaker was expected to win, but when Kane choke-slammed the challenger & set the casket alight, it was the final straw.The long-anticipated meeting was set down for March-29 at WrestleMania 14 in Boston. It was a very good match considering the size & styles of the 2 wrestlers, which ended in a win to the face. But it was the way in which Kane was defeated which actually gave The Big Red Machine, as he was now dubbed, the impetus for further success. You see, Kane kicked out of 2 Undertaker Tombstones. No-one kicked out of a tombstone from The Undertaker back then. It needed a 3rd piledriver to get the three count. To add to Kane's persona, he quickly recovered after the match & gave his brother a tombstone of his own, on a chair. The next month at the Unforgiven pay-per-view, the 2 locked horns again in an Inferno match, where the winner had to set his opponent on fire. Undertaker prevailed again as Kane's arm was set ablaze. After a forgettable feud with Vader, Kane's stock was about to rise markedly. On the June-1 edition of Raw, with assistance from Mankind, Kane defeated The Undertaker in a Number 1 contenders match for Steve Austin's world title. Less than a year after his debut as Kane, Glenn Jacobs had a shot at the most prestigious title in wrestling at King Of The Ring '98. It was definitely a far cry from Isaac Yankem & The Fake Diesel.When it was announced that the KOTR title match was going to be a First Blood match, an unpredictable air of expectancy fell over the title match. Surely, Austin's successful title reign was going to continue against a character that was still being tweaked, but how could Kane lose the match with such a stipulation? In fact, before the match, with the aid of an electronic voicebox, Kane stated that he would set himself on fire if he lost the match. As history tells us, Kane won his first & only world title thus far that night (June 28), with a little accidental help from none other than his brother, The Undertaker. Wow!!! Talk about going from boiled lollies to chocolates in less than a year. Unfortunately for Kane, the rematch was set down for the very next night on Raw, and this time, the result was reversed & Kane was world champion for only 24 hours.Kane stuck around the main event scene though & won his first WWF tag-team title with Mankind on July-14. They subsequently relinquished the titles to Austin & The Undertaker at the Fully Loaded ppv, but regained them in a Fatal Four Way match on August-10. At this stage, The Undertaker was set to challenge Austin for the world title at SummerSlam & an alliance between Kane & his brother was insinuated. Nothing really eventuated at SummerSlam except for Kane turning on Mankind & costing them the tag titles to The New Age Outlaws. At the September Breakdown ppv, Kane & his brother simultaneously pinned Austin in the main event resulting in a held-up title. The brothers then had their own title match at the following months Judgment Day ppv, but guest referee Austin somehow declared himself the winner.It was not long after this that the WWF started what I call the humanization period of Kane's career (which arguably is still happening today), that was leading to an obvious face turn. Throughout the remainder of 1998 & most of 1999, Kane was affiliated with one or more of the following; Chyna, X-Pac, Tori, Vince McMahon & The Corporation. The two women & Vince were mainly to try & convey a human side of the character to the viewers, while X-Pac strangely made a very good tag-team partner. They won the tag titles twice, defeating Owen Hart & Jeff Jarrett on March-30 1999 & The Acolytes on August-9 of the same year. For the remainder of 1999 & practically all of 2000 though, it seemed as if the Kane character had possibly run out of batteries. Battling injuries & feuding with the likes of X-Pac & The Big Show was doing nothing for his career & the world title seemed so far away yet again. His skills in the ring looked to have slightly diminished during this period as well.However, in early 2001, Kane appeared to grow an extra leg in the ring. The now fully-fledged face Kane was starting to look agile for a big man yet again. The WWF wisely noticed this & started to give him a little push. A hardcore title win at WrestleMania was followed by a fifth tag title win (this time with The Undertaker) in mid-April. But tag-team wrestling would hold the new & improved Kane down, so at the Judgment Day ppv in May, Kane defeated Triple H in a chain match to win his first ever Intercontinental title. Two more tag-team title reigns (1 WWF & 1 WCW) in August with The Undertaker seemed to suggest that not only was Kane headed back up the rankings, but he would remain in the main event scene for a while to come.In early 2002, the WWF made a make-or-break decision regarding Kane's character. They opened up or humanized his character even more. We started to see a funny & charismatic Kane that played to the audience. It was a fresh idea that would see the end of the monster persona to a certain extent, but possibly provide a chance to send Kane back to genuine main-event status. The persona caught on with the crowd & Kane started to do more backstage segments & interviews. Practically all of these had touches of comedy included & when the crowd continued to eat it all up, Kane seemingly signed the deal when he took part in a segment with The Rock & Hulk Hogan, where he hilariously hulked up & summoned the power from his fans, now called The Kane-anites. All the while, his in-ring work continued to improve, as was evident in a couple of excellent matches with Kurt Angle. It seemed as if it was just a matter of time until Kane got out of the shadow of The Undertaker & made another run at the world title. But alas, it was not meant to be, as a bicep injury struck at the wrong time, forcing Kane to miss many months of action.Fast forward to late-July when vignettes started to air to proclaim that the return of Kane was near. Subsequent weeks without the return fueled the anticipation of the fans. Unfortunately, the return on an episode of Raw was a little anti-climactic. We saw a slimmed-down Glenn Jacobs continuing the role of Kane in a new mask. The WWE correctly returned Kane as a face, with the continuation of the humanizing process leading to more comedy & a clearer voice. There was no doubt that Kane was in line for a big push. Within 2 months of his return, Kane received an InterContinental Title shot against Chris Jericho. In Houston-Texas on September 30, 2002, Kane defeated Jericho for his 2nd InterContinental Title reign.At this stage, the WWE was stupidly deciding to scrap some of their titles. The Hardcore & European Titles had already been merged, and in October of 2002, the WWE took it one step too far. They announced that at No Mercy in Little Rock-Arkansas, the unstoppable Kane would face World HeavyWeight Champion Triple H, in a title unification bout. The InterContinental Title would cease to exist after this match. As bad as this idea to scrap the IC Title was, it was nothing compared to what the WWE were about to do. It actually pains me to even write this, because it is undoubtedly one of the worst angles in professional wrestling history.The WWE had to put some heat into this important feud between Triple H & Kane as quickly as practically possible. But what they did was inexcusable. Not only to the fans, but to Jacobs himself. The angle will forever be known as the'Necrophilia' angle, and basically consisted of Triple H digging up an episode of Kane's past. The episode was allegedly a drunken Kane killing his girlfriend (Katie Vick) while driving under the influence of alcohol many years ago. Furthermore, the WWE had Triple H turn the angle into a ridiculous comedy. This included the infamous edition of Raw where Triple H humped a mannequin in a coffin. The angle was ridiculous, demeaning & insulting. To top things off, Kane predictably lost the title unification bout at No Mercy, which was rather interestingly placed during the middle of the card, and not as the main event.The angle copped a lot of flack from basically anyone who had anything to do with professional wrestling. Most importantly, both the fans & the wrestlers themselves voiced their displeasure. The creative team (aka Vince McMahon) predictably dropped the angle immediately & acted as if it didn't happen. Kane was seemingly headed back to the midcard. But due to the lack of depth on the Raw roster at the time, Kane got another title shot in the 6 manElimination Chamber match at Survivor Series. Unfortunately, he did not come out of this match looking strong, and by the time the next ppv rolled around (Armageddon), Kane was jobbing to the rookie Batista. It seemed as if Kane's career had been genuinely ruined by the necrophilia angle. It should be noted that in a subsequent angle with Batista on Raw, Kane had his mask removed & quickly scampered to the back with his hands covering his face. As you can see, the seeds of an angle involving Kane's mask were planted way back in January.Come January of this year, in what I thought was a good move, the WWE paired Kane with another wrestler they didn't know what to do with, Rob Van Dam, and made a regular tag-team out of them. At first, it seemed like the team was only together for comedic purposes, but they clicked in the ring better than what people expected. But first, The Royal Rumble was upon us, and it's an event where Kane annually leaves his mark. He entered the match as one of the last 10 entrants, and was therefore always a possibility to win the battle royal. Come the final 5 participants, Kane was still there with RVD, Batista, The Undertaker & Brock Lesnar. In an entertaining touch, Kane eliminated his new tag-team partner by tricking him into an ill-advised double-team move. Unfortunately, Kane fell victim to a similar trick, as after eliminating Batista, Kane & Taker appeared to set their sights on Lesnar as a team. That is, until The Undertaker threw Kane over the top rope for his elimination.Despite a top 3 finish at the rumble, it was pretty much straight back to teaming with RVD, for Kane. Like I said previously, their team was coming along well (possibly stalling the unmasking angle), and they genuinely earnt a shot atLance Storm & William Regal's tag titles at No Way Out. In a really good match, the heels retained after Kane's mask was rearranged so that he couldn't see clearly (more seeds being planted for what we saw this past Monday). Come WrestleMania, Kane & RVD were still motoring along & it appeared as if it was just a matter of time before they were the world tag-team champions. Then for some inexplicable reason, the WWE took their title match against Storm & Chief Morley (substituting for an injured Regal) off the WrestleMania 19 card. The match took place on Heat & the heels retained once more, with help from The Dudley Boyz.But this was fortunately a small spanner in the works, as the next night on Raw from Seattle-Washington, Kane & RVDfinally won the titles by defeating both Storm & Morley and The Dudleyz in an exciting 13 minute, 3 team elimination tag match. While the duo was not what everyone called the prototypical tag-team, they consistently got the job done in the ring over the next couple of months. While the depth of teams in the division was ordinary & the storylines mediocre, Kane & RVD got the most out of their teaming. They continued to defeat Storm & Morley in decent Raw matches, and then at Backlash, they retained against The Dudley Boyz in what I thought was clearly the match of the night. Throughout the rest of April & May, the team continued to put on above-average performances against the likes of Christian & Chris Jericho, as well as Triple H & Ric Flair. At Judgment Day, the 2 lasted a combined total of about 2 minutes in the battle royal for the returning InterContinental Title. In the lead up to that battle royal, there were a few subtle hints that the team could be breaking up soon. Things weren't going all that smoothly in the ring, and when Stone Cold Steve Austin publicly berated Kane for his lackluster performances over the last few months, you just knew something was going to happen. When the new team of La Resistance came along & received a title shot at Bad Blood, the titles were all but gone. And so they were in what was probably Kane & RVD's worst match together. Fortunately, a rematch took place on Raw the next night & the match was a lot better. Kane & RVD had decided before-hand that if they were to be unsuccessful, then the team were finished. And so the teaming came to an end as Kane (remembering Austin's words from a few weeks back) went absolutely ballistic knocking out the Frenchmen with a chair for the DQ loss. This fire impressed both Triple H & Austin, which resulted in a 'title vs mask' match between Kane & Triple H on this past edition of Raw from Madison Square Garden. As we all would know by now, Triple H would once more emerge victorious (with heaps of help from Flair & Orton), and Kane would not become the world champion for the second time. Following the match, Kane did unmask. An un-scarred face with smeared face-paint was complemented by the strangest of strange haircuts. I would best explain it as a cross between 'The Missing Link' (from the late 80's) & 'Mankind' (who initially had patches of shaved hair all over his head).To say that the new look for Kane is going to be a turning point in his career, is a huge under-statement. He has been a face for quite some time now, yet this new look would tend to suggest that he will turn heel soon. Or will he? Only the WWE knows, well, I hope they do. I really hope that they have thought this one through extremely carefully & for the long-term. Because if they have not & all their ideas regarding Kane are for the short-term, then they have basically lost a potential main-eventer. Not only that, a very loyal one. This is one where we are just going to have to trust the WWE. Whatever occurs in the future of Glen Jacobs, I wish him the best of luck. He has been a loyal servant to the WWE, despite not always being treated properly. Furthermore, he has proven that adversity can be overcome in the world of professional wrestling.Wow, that was one hell of a long column!!! If you have gone through every word of it, I apologize for taking up so much of your time. But I sincerely hope that it was worth it & I have enlightened you all about what Glenn Jacobs has been through over his 11 year professional wrestling career. Whether you love him or hate him, you must admit that his history is a fascinating one. To say that I spent a lot of time writing this column is an under-statement. It would therefore be much appreciated if you sent me an e-mail to let me know what you thought of the column & your feelings on Kane himself. I will even include some feedback that I receive, in next week's column. My e-mail address is DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com Also, if you are a relatively new reader to my column, I have done one other 'history' column in the past. You can access that (and all my other previous columns) by clicking "Columns" & then "The Wrestling Menu" from the LOP front page. The other history column was on Al Snow & was edition #25.Next Wednesday in The Wrestling Menu, I will give my opinion on the NWA/TNA anniversary show. I know it won't be very timely, but if I included it in this column, it would have been way too long. I will also review a new release DVD & post some feedback concerning Kane. Look out for the column same Wednesday time & same LOP channel next week. Until then, this is Davey Boy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses.

2009-11-03T10:38:00.000-08:00

JOHN CENA BIOGRAPHY
Maybe no WWE Superstar can relate to the fans quite like SmackDown!'s John Cena.After all, before Cena became a household name in sports-entertainment, before he became an accomplished rapper and before he grabbed the leading role in a major motion picture, he was a WWE fan.Cena came to live events, created home made signs and even collected WWE action figures. All in hope of one day performing in the ring himself.
And Cena's dream came through in resounding fashion at WrestleMania 21 when he defeated JBL for the WWE Championship. In the Staples Center, the same arena where he watched so many matches as a fan, Cena won the WWE Championship.

A former football star at Springfield College, Cena was addicted to training and music growing up. After a successful bodybuilding career, he began his wrestling journey not long after he left college. The rest is history. Now, his superior physique and impressive mic skills make him one of the top young Superstars on SmackDown! But Cena can do more than look good and drop a smooth rhyme. He's also an accomplished WWE competitor, despite making his debut less than three years ago.Cena is a multi-time United States Champion. He began his first reign in amazing fashion by defeating Big Show at WrestleMania XX.In June of 2002, Cena had one of the more memorable debuts in SmackDown! history. After Kurt Angle challenged anyone backstage to a match, Cena, a young wrestler looking for a big break, made his way to the ring.Angle would win that match, but Cena took him to the brink, impressing everyone in attendance that night, including the entire SmackDown! roster. In his relatively short time with WWE, Cena has already built up quite a resume.
By April of 2003, Cena was already in his first pay-per-view main event, battling Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at Backlash. He defended his United States Championship in a thrilling best-of-five series with Booker T in the fall of 2004. In the 2005 Royal Rumble, Cena was the last Superstar to be eliminated, as RAW's Batista went on to emerge victorious.Most recently, at No Way Out, Cena defeated Angle in the final of the No. 1 Contender's Tournament, landing Cena a spot opposite JBL for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 21.
Through all of his success, Cena has never forgotten his roots, which began in the bleachers watching the likes of Hollywood Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. He refers to his fans as members of his "Chain Gang." Together, he figures, they can't lose. And so far, the combination of their support and his talent, have made John Cena one of the top Superstars around.

2009-11-03T10:27:00.000-08:00

1990
He made his debut at the 1990 Survivor Series as the mystery partner for Ted DiBiase's "Million Dollar Team" (Undertaker, Ted DiBiase, and Rhythm & Blues). There opponents that night were the "Dream Team" (Dusty Rhodes, Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, and Koko B. Ware). The Undertaker went on to pin both Koko B. Ware and Dusty Rhodes before getting counted out while he wasn't even the legal man!
1991
The Undertaker made his next big impact at Wrestlemania VII when he disposed of "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka. Snuka would not be seen in the WWF again until 1996.
The biggest impact he had betweem Wrestlemania VII and Survivor Series '91 was after the Macho Man and Elizabeth wedding at Summerslam '91, The Undertaker and Jake "The Snake" Roberts crashed the reception.
At Survivor Series '91 The Undertaker got his first title shot against Hulk Hogan. The Undertaker came into this match still without his first defeat. The match saw Hulk Hogan giving shot after shot to the Undertaker yet not being able to bring him down. The Undertaker tombstoned the "Hulkster" but Hulk Hogan kicked out. Hogan was finally able to knock the Undertaker down, but Ric Flair made his way to ringside. While Hogan was distracted by Flair, the Undertaker got up and was able to tombstone Hogan on a chair that Flair slid into the ring. The Undertaker got the pin and the title. After the match Hogan was out for about 3 minutes before being helped back to the locker room.
A rematch was scheduled the next week which Hogan won when hitting the Undertaker in the head with the urn, thus ending the Undertaker's first title reign.
1992-1993
1994-1995
1996-1997

1992At the 1992 Royal Rumble the Undertaker was looking to clean house. He preceeded to eliminate a few guys before "the Hulkster" came down to the ring. Within his first minute in the ring, Hogan eliminated the Undertaker.At Wrestlemania VIII the Undertaker was put against Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Roberts didn't pose much of a challenge as the Undertaker pinned him in about 7 minutes.When Summerslam '92 came around the Undertaker was being challenged by Kamala. Kamala seemed to be terrified by the Undertaker and the casket brought to ringside. The Undertaker dominated Kamala. Kamala attempted intemidate the Undertaker but failed horribly. The Undertaker continued the dominance until Kamala fled with the Undertaker stalking him.The two met in a rematch at Survivor Series '92 in a Coffin Match. This match would lead the way to what would later be know as a casket match. In this match, however, the rules were to pin your opponent, put him in the coffin, and nail the lid shut. Kamala, obviously terrified of the Undertaker, proved to be not much of a match for the Undertaker. The Undertaker pinned Kamala and threw him into the casket.1993At the '93 Royal Rumble the Undertaker was involved in the Royal Rumble match. He came to the ring taking care of several guys before Giant Gonzales, who wasn't entered in the Royal Rumble, made his way to ringside. Being led by Harry Wendlesteit, the former manager of Kamala, Giant Gonzales seemed to be focus on the Undertaker. The Undertaker took the worst beating he had ever taken since coming into the WWF.Giant Gonzales was the Undertaker's opponent at Wreslemania IX. After 7 minutes of a basically even match, Giant Gonzales put a rag over the mouth of the Undertaker, knocking him out. Gonzales was disqualified and the Undertaker was brought out of the ring on a stretcher. A moment later, a bell tolled in the arena. The Undertaker made his way back to the ring. Giant Gonzales and Harry Wendlesteit fled. The Undertaker would seek revenge.Before Summerslam, Paul Bearer came up missing. He was even rumored to be dead. Wendlesteit had possession of the Undertaker's urn. Giant Gonzales was again the Undertaker's opponent at Summerslam '93. The match was a "Rest In Peace" match. I'm not sure what the difference was than a regular match, but I believe it was no disqualifications. The match went back and forth for a while. About 6 minutes into the match the Undertaker went after the urn only to have Wendlesteit snatch it away at the last moment. The Undertaker dove between the Giant Gonzales' legs reaching out for the urn once more when bells went off in the arena. Down the entrance way came Paul Bearer carring a black wreath. Harry Wendlesteit immediately came after Paul Bearer only to be knocked down by a Bearer forearm. With Wendlesteit out of the way, Paul went for the urn and recovered it. A short time later the Undertaker connected with a flying closeline from the top rope on Giant Gonzales for the pin. After the match, Giant Gonzales chokeslamed Harry Wendlesteit in frustration from the defeat.At Survivor Series '93, the "All Americans" (Lex Luger, The Steiner Brothers, and Tatanka) were scheduled to face the "Foreign Fanatics" (Yokozuna, Crush, Ludwig)in a Survivor Series rules match. However, a few weeks before Survivor Series, Tatanka was hurt in a match on Raw, therefore being knocked out of competition for Survivor Series. His replacement was none other than the Undertaker. In the match, the Undertaker didn't enter the match 'til about half-way into it. When entering, he took on Yokozuna. The Undertaker put up a great fight but was eventually knocked down. Yokozuna pulled the Undertaker over to the turnbuckle and executed a Banzai Drop. However, the Undertaker sat up. Seeing this, Yokozuna was in shock. No one had ever kicked out of a Banzai Drop. The Undertaker went after Yokozuna, eventually fighting their way to the ringside area. Both Yokozuna and the Undertaker were counted out, but continued to fight there way to the back. Moments later Lex Luger made the final pin giving the All Americans the victory.1990-1991 1994-1995 1996-1997