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WWC - Saturday Night Main Event 03.31.03

rey619Posted on 06/30/06 at 18:47:16

Location: Philadelphia, PA
Attendance: 3728
PPV buyrate: 0,2

Pre-show (broadcast on livestream on the Internet)

- World Wrestling Confederation chairman Shane McMahon came out and presented the huge Tag Team World Cup 2007 trophy, which is to be presented to the winning nation in two months time, at the next Saturday Night Main Event. He then brought out the 8 participating teams. Team US (Brian Kendrick & Paul London), Team Canada (Hart Foundation 2G), Team Mexico (Mexicools), Team Japan (The Dojo members Genki Horiguchi & Dragon Kid), Team UK (Burchill & Spud), Team Scotland (The Highlanders), Team Italy (Nunzio & Tony Mamaluke) and Team Europe (Claudio Castagnoli & Emil Sitoci).

This was very puro-like, and may be a sign of things to come here in WWC.

- MNM are frustrated over the whereabouts of Melina. She hasn't replied to any of the calls they've made in the last 24 hours. Last night was Smackdown, and as you might remember, she and CM Punk locked each other up to a bed at a nearby motel.

- Michael Cole (again relegated to backstage interviews by his less-than-thrilled partner Taz interviews Test, who says that after he proves his mettle in front of the hard-to-please Philly crowd, he can score so many chicks he wants.

- In a pre-show match, Super Crazy prevailed in a four-corners match that perhaps dragged on for too long.

Four Corners Match:
Super Crazy defeated Chris Cage, Gregory Helms and Ace Steel when Crazy pinned
Steel with the Moonsault in 0:16:36.
Rating: ** 3/4

Saturday Night Main Event

The Dojo (Genki Horiguchi, Dragon Kid & Naruki Doi vs Paul London, Brian Kendrick & Nunzio)

The SNME was kicked off with 6 of the lightning fast cruiserweights that call WWC their home. The Dojo had arrived in WWC to wreak havoc on Rey Mysterio for costing their Japanese employer a great deal of money when he won the WWC World Heavyweight Title at Royal Rumble, but was largely unsuccesful in bringing the pain to the champ, though.

The biggest man in the match, Naruki Doi, manhandled Nunzio in the opening minutes, always testing ref Korderas limits with regards to illegal holds. Doi worked over Nunzio for a while, before the Italian managed the hot tag to London, who caught Doi in a springboard tornado DDT and a follow-up flying dropkick. Genki Horiguchi broke off London's momentum with a clothesline, earning him an H-A-G-E chant from the fantastic Philly crowd, obviously happy with this two-nighter of wrestling goodness from WWC.

Kendrick almost got a pin on Genki when he first took him to the canvas with a top-rope frankensteiner, then hit him with a flying senton. Dragon Kid got involved now, and Kendrick really needed to make the tag, barely escaping a brain buster from Horiguchi. A Dragon Rana sent Kendrick down again, but London made the save. It all went gonzo bonzo now, with a lot of near falls from both sides. Doi took out Nunzio with a lariat, sending both over the ropes, while London dropsaulted Genki out of the ring, and flew at him. The crowd chanted "This is awesome", as Dragon Kid finally put Kendrick down with a frankensteiner from the top rope which catapulted him across the ring.

What a start to the Saturday Night Main Event! But it didn't end there, as Nunzio made his way back into the ring and started berating both London and Kendrick for wrestlig sloppily throughout the match, risking everything on some silly high-risk moves. Nunzio started to get the crowd against him, especially when he flipped the bird to the Philly crowd and told them to shut up and let grown ups with a job talk. London and Kendrick took matters into their own hands, first by Kendrick hitting Nunzio with the Sliced Bread. London then went to the top for the London Calling, but Tony Mamaluke ran down and pushed him away, causing him to land awkvardly. Mamaluke and Kendrick brawled in the ring, but Mamaluke got the upper hand when Nunzio low blowed him. Nunzio took Kendrick down with the Arrividerci as the Italians left the ring.

The Dojo (Dragon Kid, Genki Horiguchi and Naruki Doi) defeated
Nunzio, Paul London and Brian Kendrick when Dragon Kid pinned B. Kendrick after
a Frankensteiner from the top rope in 0:15:06.
Rating: ****

Burchill vs Test

Shortly after the match started, a very tiny guy (not a midget though) came out dressed as a pirate, cheering Burchill on. (British Indy wrestler Spud).

Not only is Burchill as big as Test, he's much quicker, and he used this to his advantage in the opening minutes of the match, softening Test up for the C4. Unfortunately, the C4 is a move that is not easily done to big guys like Test, and each time Burchill tried it, Test powered out, responding with big power moves himself, like a full nelson slam on one occasion, or just simply irish whipping him and meeting him with a big boot.

Test knew he couldn't outwrestle Burchill, so he tried to out-fight him instead, dragging him to the outside and brawling at ringside, trying to avoid that pesky rodent of a pirate that ran around waving a pirate's flag. The Philly crowd rarely appreciates these kinds of silly gimmicks, and Burchill's was no different, as they actually started cheering when Test out of nowhere hit a powerslam on Burchill. Only a distraction from Spud helped Burchill surive the match-up. We clearly saw something happen to Burchill's mindset, as Spud retrieved a trashcan from underneath the ring, tossing it into the ring. Burchill used it on Test while the ref was distracted, and tossed it into the corner. Ref Robinson didn't want to count, however, suspecting foul play. That earned him a powerslam from Burchill. And now, the crowd started cheering for this newly turned, vicious pirate! Philly crowd.. you never know where you got 'em. Spud and Burchill now brought a table into the ring, driving Test through it with a backdrop driver. Ref Jimmy Korderas came running, but the delay made sure Test could kick out at two. Burchill now went for the Emerald Erosion, but Test reversed it into an inside cradle for the close call. Burchill stomped away on Test and went for a power bomb, ut Test powered out of it and hit the Test Drive for the win.

A great win for Test, who was booed on his way in, and cheered on his way out.

- We see some spectacle going on at the entrance, as Chris Benoit gives his ticket to the guard and makes his way down to the guardrail. Chris Benoit purchased that ticket we saw last night on WWC Smackdown!

Test pinned Burchill with the Test Drive in 0:15:10.
Rating: ***
[Spud interfered against Test.]

Hart Foundation 2G (Harry Smith & Teddy Hart) vs MNM (Johnny Nitro & Joey Mercury) for the WWC Tag-team titles

It's judgment day for Hart Foundation 2G, as they get their last shot at the WWC Tag Team Titles, where Melina is not allowed ringside. This did not stop Merciless from coming down, though, and he made his presence felt early on, attacking Harry Smith on the outside. The match paused for a short minute as CM Punk came down the aisle, dressed in the same clothes as when we saw him yesterday at the Smackdown show! Punk said that fighting Merciless tonight would be almost like the Monster's Ball concept from TNA. He was going into a match after a night with no sleep and no nutrition, except for a bottle of cheap champagne that is. Not only that, he was quite exhausted after the nightly activities he and Melina had partaken in. He also told Merciless that if they wanted to find Melina, he should go pick her up at the motel, and he should do it now, cause he had just told a gang of randy bikers where to find her. Merciless sprinted out as Hart Foundation used the distraction to get the momentum in their match.

Even without Melina and Merciless, MNM proved to be a force to be reckoned with. Teddy Hart barely made it back to the ring when Mercury DDT'ed him on the outside, and almost didn't kick out of the follow-up pinfall attempt.
Harry desperately tried to help Teddy, sending both Mercury and Nitro to the floor with stiff lariats. Nitro went down hard with a vertical facebuster, but when he was about to do the same with Mercury, he nailed him with a low blow. Mercury roused Nitro, and the tag champs took Smith down with the Snapshot. Teddy Hart was still out of it after that DDT, and the champs retains. Again.

MNM (Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro) defeated
Hart Foundation 2G (Teddy Hart and Harry Smith) when Mercury pinned Smith
after the Snapshot in 0:08:02.
Rating: *** 3/4
(MNM retained the WWC Tag Team Titles.)
[Merciless interfered against Harry Smith.]
[Merciless interfered against Teddy Hart.]

CM Punk vs Merciless

CM Punk did have everything stacked against him in this one. Not only did he have Mercury and Nitro on the outside, constantly trying to interfere, and not only did have to face a crazed, Austrian 250 pounder, according to himself, he hadn't slept all night, and had been up to quite other.. stuff which we won't mention here cause maybe some children may be reading. The odds were against him, and Taz was very vocal about the fact that Merciless would butcher Punk here tonight. Josh Matthews agreed, saying that it was an honor doing announcing with Taz. Taz told Matthews to shut up with the ass-licking, he was supposed to disagree with Taz. Taz then mumbled something about missing Cole.

Punk was brutalized by the European in the opening minutes. Punk received a great many european uppercuts across the chest, and we could see the red blisters marring the pecs of Punk after the match. Merciless didn't go for any pinfalls so soon though, basking in the pain he inflicted upon his foe. Everytime Punk mounted a small comeback, one of the MNM's distracted the ref long enough for the other MNM to aid Merciless in stopping the momentum shift. Things didn't look good for Punk. Things looked a little brighter when Mercury missed a lariat, taking out Merciless instead, which led Punk to hit both opponents with the Welcome to Chicago backbreaker. Matthews called the move perfectly, but Taz gave him a hard time about it, being in Philly and all.. no point in welcoming someone to a different town.. duh.

Ref Patrick finally had enough of MNM's skylarking, sending Mercury and Nitro to the back. This caused a little ruckus, giving Merciless the time he needed to bust Punk open with a well-placed chair shot. Unfortunately, the distraction lasted long enough for Punk to kick out of the resulting cover.
Merciless used the chair again though, first placing Punk in a sitting postion on it before nailing him with a flying forearm. He then executed a backspin DDT on the chair, but Punk amazingly kicked out! The blood was now flowing down Punk's face, but when Colt Cabana suddenly came down to ringside to cheer for his old friend, a new fighting spirit emerged within Punk. He launched an extensive attack on Merciless, attacking him with fists and kicks. The big Merciless only needed one well-placed punch to stop the charge, though, and as he hoisted Punk up in the Death Shot position, everyone feared that this was it! But no, Punk wriggled out of it and took Merciless down with a sunset flip for the 3-count! Punk quickly rolled out of the ring and embraced Cabana, as Merciless couldn't believe what just happened. As MNM and a pissed-off Melina with a messy hair came down the aisle, Cabana and Punk retreated among the crowd.

CM Punk pinned Merciless after a sunset flip in 0:17:09.
Rating: **** 1/2
[Johnny Nitro, and Joey Mercury interfered against CM Punk.]

Lashley vs Ken Kennedy

As Lashley awaited Kennedy in the ring, a ref ran down to give ring announcer Tony Chimel a message. Chimel then announced that unfortunately, Ken Kennedy is unable to be here tonight.. because his pet spider died of old age earlier today. The crowd booed at this blatant attempt to escape Lashley's wrath. Lashley took hold of the microphone, saying that he came here looking for a fight, so if anyone in the back had the stomach to face him, just bring it.

This brought out Claudio Castagnoli! The Swiss wrestler who's here for the Tag Team World Cup said he could use a practice match before becoming world champ. Well, even though Double C lasted all of six minutes, and actually gave Lashley a few stiff Europan uppercuts, Lashley had this under full control as he powered out of a resthold and delivered the Dominator.

Lashley pinned Claudio Castagnoli with the Dominator in 0:06:30.
Rating: * 1/2
(Ken Kennedy no-showed.)

Jamie Noble(c) vs William Regal for the WWC Strong-Style Championship

Can anyone spell c-l-a-s-s-i-c? Because that's what this match promised to be, and that was what it became. Two of the best submission wrestlers in the US today fighting it out for the Strong-Style Championship in front of the demanding Philly crowd who had just crapped all over the Lashley vs CC squash match. Well, they were in for a treat in this one.

This was a back and forth contest for the first 10 miutes, both men locking in various submission moves, cradles and near falls. At the 10-minute mark, Noble opened up a can of worms when he pulled Regal into a chopping competition. Regal may look like a decent, civilized human being, but when he's chopped, he turns into this maniac who desperately wants to pay back with interest.

At the 12th minute mark, we have an interesting situation as both men are perched on the top ropes. Noble clearly goes for the super tiger driver that won him the belt, but Regal out-maneuvers Noble, hitting a superplex on him instead. Regal clasps on the Regal Stretch, but as the ref is almost about to call the match, an in-human burst of strength from the champ makes him fight his way out of the hold, roll over Regal and lock in the Dragon Sleeper! Amazing, but his strength is severely weakened now, and Regal manages to get out of the hold. Noble goes for the tiger driver, but Regal flails with his feet and counters with a backdrop, unfortunately taking out ref Robinson (second ref bump of his tonight). This is obviously Dusty Rhodes' cue, as he smashes a chair straight between Regal's eyes. Noble gets back and locks on the Dragon Sleeper. Ref Robinson sees Regal out cold and calls the match.

Jamie Noble defeated William Regal when William Regal passed out in the
Dragon Sleeper in 0:17:42.
Rating: ****
(Jamie Noble retained the WWC Strong-Style Championship.)

Elijah Burke vs Kid Kash

Elijah Burke took offense earlier this month when his friend Beth Phoenix came home from a date with Kash, bruises on her pretty face. Kash has been vocal earlier in his career about what he thinks of disobeying women, and showed no regrets as he took on the determined Burke tonight.

Burke didn't dance and prance as he used to do, as he and Kash clashed outside of the ring before the bell rung. Burke tossed Kash into the guardrail repeatedly, despite Beth's attempts trying to stop him. Kash got the upper hand with an eye gouge, ramming Burke repeatedly into the ring steps and taking his knee away with a dropkick.

Later, when Burke went for a high risk maneuver, Dusty Rhodes pushed him down from the turnbuckle. This brought out Michael Cole who demanded that Dusty leave the ringside area. Dusty refused, causing Cole to slap the American Dream. Rhodes was about to give Cole a severe whipping when Taz left the announce booth, leaving all responsibility to Josh Matthews as he made his way over to the quarreling Cole and Rhodes. In the ring, Burke got a two-count on Kash after a flying sunset flip. Or as Matthews would have it, a flying sunset boulevard by Jeremiah. His nervousness shone through.

At ringside, Beth Phoenix and Jamie Noble had joined the quarrelers, and it almost came to blows between Taz and Jamie Noble before Taz promised to take care of Cole. In the ring, Kid Kash kicked out puro style on 1 after Burke's Elijah Experience, but was quickly brought down again by a vertical facebuster. Burke showed fighting spirit as well, getting his shoulder up at 2 after the Death Penalty. Burke gained the momentum in the latter stages of the match, and had Kash in the corner for your typical 10-punch sequence. He was brutalizing Kash with stomps in the corner, ignoring the ref, when Beth came in, trying to stop Burke from getting dq'ed or something. Only problem, Burke didn't quite know it was her, and gave her a lariat, sending her down to the mat. As what he did became apparent to him, he turned his back to Kash trying to help Beth, who didn't move. Kash recovered, caught Burke with an inside cradle and used the ropes as leverage to win the match.

After the match, Beth left shakily, not willing to let Burke help her out. As Burke stood distraught in the ring, we see Taz practically throwing Cole into the ring with a microphone. Cole then nervously and officially comes out of the closet. Burke says he's got a lot on his mind right now, but it's probably wise for Cole to come out now. He's been feeling the vibes Cole's sent out for some time now. Cole smiles, but Burke crushes his hopes by actually telling him he's straight! Burke leaves Cole as he walks away.

Kid Kash pinned Elijah Burke after an inside cradle in 0:17:33.
Rating: *** 1/2
[Dusty Rhodes interfered against Elijah Burke.]

- Rob van Dam visits Rey Mysterio's locker room. The tension is definetely there, but RVD tells Rey that tonight, they will have an athletic contest. He promises no foul play from Alfonso or himself, and that there will be a clean finish. Rey hesitates, but shakes RVD's hand.

Rey Mysterio(c) vs Rob van Dam w/Bill Alfonso for the WWC World Heavyweight Championship

Cole comes back down to the announce booth, and Taz tells Josh Matthews to split, as he is not ready to announce a World Title match yet. Taz comments that he thinks Josh wet his pants announcing on his own earlier, and gives Cole a new chair. Cole seems happy that his secret is out, even though he's somewhat disappointed in the reception it got from Burke.

Bill Alfonso originally came down along with RVD, but the challenger told him to go to the back. This was something he wanted to do on his own.

The crowd started a "holy shit" chant after just a few minutes, when Rey tried to take RVD down with a rana on the outside, but was countered into a power bomb on the mats. Both men had earlier promised this to be an athletic contest free for interference and shenanigans, and that was just what we witnessed as these two great wrestlers exchanged holds and struggled for position in this very important match. RVD missed a Frog Splash when Rey rolled away, and RVD countered a 619 attempt, playing possum and backdropping Mysterio out of the ring when he charged.

Several near falls occurred at the end of the match. RVD with a flying legdrop which seemed to decapitate Rey, and the champ got his when he began his normal routine, the sitdown faceslam and dropping the dime. RVD finally connected with the Frog Splash, but Rey found it in him to kick out, just in the nick of time. Rey ducked a clothesline and came back with a dropkick to the knees. Rey then picked RVD up on his shoulders, and sent him crashing down with a Gory Special 2000! RVD's foot reaches out for the ropes, but the ref doesn't see it and counts the 3! Rey retains, but in controversial fashion.

As Rey celebrates with the belt, Bill Alfonso comes running down whistling like crazy as he protests the ref's decision. Rey doesn't know what's going on, and when Alfonso starts heckling him, he decks Alfonso with the belt. RVD then attacks Rey from behind, taking him out with a DDT. The crowd shouts with glee as Chris Benoit, who has been sitting in the crowd all night walks toward the guardrail. A couple of security guards is punched down on the way as the Rabid Wolverine climbs the fence and gets into the ring. He takes RVD down with the single-leg takedown and clasps on the STF! He makes RVD tap out before he releases the hold. He then gives Rey Mysterio the World Heavyweight Championship before raising his hand in victory!

Rey Misterio pinned Rob Van Dam after the Gory Special 2000 in 0:21:18.
Rating: **** 1/4
(Rey Misterio retained the World Heavyweight Championship.)

What a match, what an end, what a Saturday Night Main Event here from the wrestling capital of the US - Philadelphia!
americamamushiPosted on 06/30/06 at 23:42:19

OoOoOo... World tag team cup,  I likey.  I'm gonna have to root for Team Scotland.

Not a bad internet pre-show by any means.

Good start to the show.

Haha, I love that, "a very tiny guy, but not a midget." :) I dunno though, maybe Burchill does need a midget pirate. ;)

I heart the bit with Kennedy no showing.  That's perfect.  I bow to you sir.  :)

Great cap to your show too.  RVD & Rey can put on a helluva show together.

Good stuff. :)
MatteusPosted on 07/04/06 at 01:49:08

Ouch... The Dojo goes from main eventing to jerking the curtain. At least they get a win for their troubles...

MNM retains!! Woo! Hart Foundation 2G looked good, put up a fight, blah blah blah... they're not MNM ;)

You actually had me believing Punk might lose to Merciless right there. Punk... he should be huge and you're building him so so well. Kudos!

Noble/Regal looks like a c-l-a-s-s-i-c no doubt. Dammit the finish! LoL this match was awesome, and I LOVE the Strong-Style title, but damn Dusty for interfering in that match... dammit. The Philly fans should destroy him for that :P

Team Dusty wins again, but more importantly Michael Cole is officially gay. If anyone watches Five Questions with John Cena (very funny, IMO) Michael Cole also doesn't like boobies.

I did not see that finish coming, honestly. Great finish, great match. Happy Rey retained and it's awesome to see Benoit here! Things are looking up big-time for WWC, Rey!
rey619Posted on 07/05/06 at 19:11:56

I realize my booking of the Dojo may be a little weird, and I may not have been able to push them the right way. It's all tied up in the storyline regarding Mysterio, Orton (which is kayfabe imprisoned and in reality suspended for behavioral problems) and the Dojo's leader, which for now remains a secret. That's why I put a series of matches between Dojo and RVD/Rey, as well as build up Rey/RVD as best friends and allies, and then Alfonso sowing distrust. And since I use Socko's Finance Rules, and my promotion is a hybrid, good match ratings help me survive  ;D

*** NEWS ***

- No less than Ken Kennedy, Elijah Burke, William Regal and Johnny Nitro are out with injuries for a few months now, which initially was seen as a catastrophe for WWC. However, with the coming of Benoit, and the Tag Team World Cup, WWC management feel they have bought themselves more time. The tag-team matches will take up time on both Smackdown, dark matches and live events, and will culminate in the semi-finals and final at the next Saturday Night Main Event, scheduled at the end of May.

- WWC management isn't quite pleased with Burchill's lack of crowd response, and his pairing with the small Spud may see some sort of tweener/heel turn, and there will most likely be some comedy involved in the team.

- Both the WEW and TNA has noticed WWC frustration regarding Bobby Lashley, and have both offered a trade. According to Dave Meltzer, WEW has offered Carlito in exchange, while TNA will trade Sabu. WWC has been keen on Sabu, but Heyman will probably not trade a future superstar such as Lashley for the much older Sabu.

- Over a dozen contracts are coming up for extension soon, don't be surprised to see faces leave as they are tempted by WEW or TNA.