Road Dogg

NXT – November 29, 2022

29th November 2022 by Thomas Hall
NXT logo

NXT
Date: November 29, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Booker T., Vic Joseph

This week is about the past and the future, as a group of Hall of Famers, led by Shawn Michaels, will announce the participants in the Iron Survivor Challenge. That would be quite the segment and it will determine most of the Deadline card. The main event is a rather big six woman tag so let’s get to it.

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Evening Daily News Update

9th November 2022 by Adam Morrison
The Elite

Big Return Set For Tonight’s AEW Dynamite (SPOILER)

Just over a week ahead of Full Gear on November 19, a new report has teased a huge return for the forthcoming AEW Dynamite on November 9.

A Wrestling Legend Is Seemingly Competing On The Masked Singer

With the eighth season The Masked Singer ongoing, it’s believed that a true legend of professional wrestling may be behind one of the characters.

Road Dogg – “I Don’t Think That Bret Hart Was A Great Wrestler”

Road Dogg has boldly claimed that he never saw what the “big deal” was with Bret Hart, adding that he was a better sports entertainer than The Hitman.

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Morning Daily News Update

26th October 2022 by James Holder
MJF makes his entrance on AEW Grand Slam Dynamite 2022

William Regal Fires Back At “Entitled Pr**k” MJF After AEW Dynamite Promo

After their explosive exchange on AEW Dynamite William Regal has taken aim at MJF once more, branding the star an “entitled pr*ck.”

Shawn Michaels Recalls Apologizing To WWE Locker Room Upon 2002 Return 

Shawn Michaels has revealed that he apologised to the entire WWE locker room when he returned to the company in 2002.

Jeff Jarrett Claims Road Dogg Is D-Generation X’s Most Creatively Talented Member 

WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett has claimed that Road Dogg doesn’t get enough credit for his in-ring skills while hailing him as the most creative member of DX.

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Evening Daily News Update

12th October 2022 by Sondra Ruth
Renee Paquette AEW All Elite

Renee Paquette Is All Elite
After much speculation it’s finally official: Renee Paquette has signed with All Elite Wrestling.

Road Dogg Discusses “Problematic” WWE Name Changes
WWE Hall of Famer Road Dogg has explained why he thinks letting WWE stars stick with their character and name is a “weight lifted off people’s shoulders.”

Dustin Rhodes – “Time Comes For All Of Us”
AEW star Dustin Rhodes may have life beyond the wrestling ring on his mind as he says he’s giving serious consideration to “the next step.”

Donald Trump’s Ex-Wife Hired Security Guards To Beat Up Jake Roberts
Jake Roberts loves a bizarre story. Ever heard the one about Donald Trump’s ex-wife trying to hire security guards to “beat the sh*t” out of him?

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Afternoon Daily News Update

15th September 2022 by Lyle Kilbane
CM Punk

Dutch Mantell Wants AEW Stars Fined & Suspended

Having witnessed a number of nasty landings in All Elite Wrestling, Dutch Mantell has called for those guilty to be treated as such.

Match Called Off During NXT Tapings

A top NXT star could be set for a spell on the sidelines after their match came to an early end at the most recent set of tapings.

Road Dogg Claims CM Punk Is “Not A Nice Person”

Road Dogg has claimed that CM Punk is not a nice person, accusing him of not showing the WWE Hall of Famer respect when they worked together.

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Sting & The Ultimate Warrior vs. Tracy Smothers & Robert Gibson…’s Brother (and other Dream Matches!)

7th September 2022 by Jabroniville

Ever see an Ultimate Warrior match and wondered what it would be like if he was even WORSE? Have I got the match for you today!

Welcome back to another Dream Matches column! This week I have a column of sheer insanity for you, as we start off with the infamous Blade Runners (Sting & the Ultimate Warrior as paralyzingly-bad bodybuilders in their rookie year) taking on Tracy Smothers and Ricky Gibson, the chubby brother of Robert! Some see the most horrible double-team move in the entire history of wrestling! I dare you!

More weird tag team action, as the random duo of useless failed gimmicks “Double J” Jesse James & Rockabilly are thrown together and sent against “the other two Los Boriquas”- you know, not the hairy one or Savio. Yeah, THIS is the formation of the New Age Outlaws, more or less. Then it’s over to WCW as the Japanese Invasion continues, with Masahiro Chono & Kensuke Sasaki take on the NASTY BOYS of all people, while of course a better worker than all four sits in the crowd watching her husband work.

And finally, on recommendation I check out Don Leo Jonathan, a 6’6″ worker DECADES ahead of his time, taking on Strong Kobayashi in the best match I’ve ever seen from the 1970s!

THE BLADE RUNNERS (Rock & Sting) vs. TRACY SMOTHERS & RICKY GIBSON:
(Mid-South, NE State University, Tahlequah- March 3rd 1986)
* Oh yeah, it’s BLADE RUNNERS time! This is of course Sting & the Ultimate Warrior as ultra-roided (like, even more than they were later!), green-as-grass rookies wearing lipstick and dark eyeshadow in some kind of KISS/New Wave style (I was expecting more of a “Road Warriors” thing). And their opponents are also wild- future legendary Southern also-ran Tracy Smothers teaming with Robert Gibson…’s brother, Ricky. Ricky could not possibly look more jobbery in his red singlet & dad-bod (he even stands all weird, with his arms held out awkwardly at his side), while Tracy is way more ripped than I’ve ever seen him before, wearing white trunks.

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Evening Daily News Update

22nd August 2022 by Sondra Ruth
Road dogg

Toxic Attraction Out Of Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament
The WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Tournament curse has struck once again after it was announced that Toxic Attraction have been ruled out.

Road Dogg Returns To WWE In “Executive Position”
According to a new report Road Dogg has returned to WWE in what has been described as an “executive position.”

Jake Atlas Arrest Footage Leaked
Footage has emerged online of Jake Atlas’ May arrest on charges related to allegations of domestic violence.

Brian Gewirtz Recalls Pitch For Torrie Wilson To Appear Nude On TV
Former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz has revealed that a pitch from “Paul Heyman’s protégé” for Torrie Wilson to appear nude led to him and the former ECW boss getting suspended.

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Evening Daily News Update

11th August 2022 by Sondra Ruth
Vince McMahon Donald Trump

What Was Vince McMahon’s Latest Unrecorded $5 Million Spent On?
Vince McMahon has been found guilty of making further unrecorded expenses – except this time, it may be related to payments made to the Trump Foundation.

Former NXT Star Expected At SmackDown
Former NXT Superstar AJ ‘Top Dolla’ Francis is expected to be backstage at this week’s WWE SmackDown taping amidst Triple H’s rapid re-signing of cut NXT talent.

Road Dogg Claims He Doesn’t See The Shield As An Iconic Faction
The Road Dogg knows a thing or two about being in an iconic wrestling stable, but he wouldn’t class The Shield in that category.

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Morning Daily News Update

10th July 2022 by Craig Ballantyne
Bayley

Positive Update On Bayley’s WWE Return

https://itrwrestling.com/news/positive-update-on-bayleys-wwe-return/

WWE Legend “Devastated” Over Nixed Plans To Manage CM Punk

https://itrwrestling.com/news/wwe-devastated-nixed-plans-cm-punk/

Brody King Attacks Darby Allin At Autograph Signing

https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/brody-king-attacks-darby-allin-autograph-signing

Road Dogg Talks Backstage Fight With CM Punk

https://tjrwrestling.net/news/road-dogg-talks-backstage-fight-with-cm-punk/

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King of the Ring Qualifying Matches- 2000 (some Dream Matches!)

2nd February 2022 by Jabroniville
King of the Ring (2000) - Wikipedia

KING OF THE RING (Qualifying Matches) 2000:
* So I finally remembered to do another one of these, though we’re past the point where I can recall most of the angles. The name of the game this tournament is the same as last one- Make A New Star. Hopefully this “Kurt Angle” guy will prove more successful than Billy Gunn. This will be a MONSTER set, so I’ll split it up for today and tomorrow.

This tournament is unusual due to the MASSIVE roster of guys- the jam-packed company and no Russo at the time (therefore his attention span couldn’t wreck it) made for a 32-man tournament! We’ve got a huge assortment, though, as all four Radicalz (then newly-hired by the company), Chyna, Jericho & Rikishi provide serious competition, while the company’s vast tag ranks fill out slots left & right for “easy wins” or upsets- Too Cool, APA, T&A, the Hollies, Dudleys & Edge/Christian. This is a verrrrrrrrry interesting time for the company, as they put the final nail in WCW by hiring away four of their top workers, while Jericho & Rikishi had gotten over and Angle was now a completely miraculous rookie find. And what was a company based around having shitty 2-minute brawling matches now had a ton of great wrestlers all over the place, which was kind of shifting the basic style to longer matches with high spots.

Of course, having looked at all these matches… they’re still mostly super-short (as KOTR matches have been since 1994, to be fair), and OH GOD a ton of guys are still stuck in the “Punch & Kick” mode. Bad agenting was all around at this time, with only a handful of guys avoiding it. But it’d be a long, hard road to hit the point of improvement, and a lot of dudes who couldn’t make that transition saw their careers die. You’ll see a very high level of “the guy who loses the match does most of the offense”, probably in a way to look a bit strong or make him feel better about losing- this goes back a ways (you see mid ’90s joshi do this a bunch, too).

I’ll do the first round in one post, then see what I can find for the second round for next week.

RIKISHI vs. SHANE McMAHON:
(May 29th, RAW)
* Okay, I forget the story behind this. Shane is entered in the KOTR, but has to fight Rikishi, who is in the midst of his biggest year ever before everything went horribly wrong. Shane, in a WWF shirt & regular jogging pants, boasts about “beating the Big Show” and how Undertaker couldn’t beat him, marking him as a smart-mouthed wimpy heel.

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What the World Was Watching: Monday Night Raw – February 1, 1999

19th January 2016 by LScisco

–Footage of Mankind defeating the Rock for the WWF title during Halftime Heat is shown.  There was a spoiler for that match since this show was taped nearly a week before that match aired.

–Shane McMahon tells the Corporation that Vince McMahon is on a separate assignment in Texas, so he lets them know that he is in charge.  Test, Ken Shamrock, and the Big Bossman have no idea where Kane is.

–Michael Cole and Jerry “The King” Lawler are in the booth and they are taped from Tucson, Arizona.

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What the World Was Watching: Monday Night Raw – January 4, 1999

16th June 2015 by Scott Keith
I had a small scare
last week as I could not find my 1999 RAW DVD set to recap these shows.  I eventually found it, so we trudge forth
into another year of WWF action.  One
could argue that 1999 was a turning point in the Monday Night Wars as the WWF
expanded its lead over WCW, although there were several times when WCW may have
been able to capitalize on the WWF pushing some midcard talents up the card to
regain the lead.  This is also the height
of Vince Russo’s power within the company as he will be booking RAWs until
October.
­–Michael Cole and Jerry “the King” Lawler are
doing commentary and they are taped from Worchester, Massachusetts.

–A video package recaps
Shawn Michaels getting fired on last week’s show and giving Sweet Chin Music to
Vince McMahon.  Kevin Kelly narrates a
small tribute to his career, which Vince hilariously interrupts by shouting “Get
that sentimental crap off the screen!” 
The Corporation walks out with him and Vince promises that Michaels will
not be attending the show since he is not brave.  As Vince talks, Brisco sneakily attaches a Brisco
Brothers Body Shop sign to Kane’s back without him knowing, which is a great
touch.  The Titantron
shows that Michaels has showed up backstage and quickly comes onto the stage
with D-Generation X.  Michael Cole
screams about whether this means DX and Shawn Michaels are back together, a
question that should obviously answer itself. 
We get some corporate speak as Michaels says that he has an ironclad
contract as commissioner so Vince cannot fire him.  After replaying the Royal Rumble drawing that
Vince and Shane McMahon held several weeks ago where Vince received #30 after
wishing he was #2, Michaels gives Vince his wish.  I have to give them credit for justifying
this with Michaels saying that when Vince entered the Rumble he became a
wrestler and under Michaels power. 
Michaels also promises to give Vince a surprise before tonight’s show is
over and that it will drive him “Stone Cold crazy.”
–Opening Non-Title
Contest:  Steve Blackman pins Ken
Shamrock (Champion) after Billy Gunn gives Shamrock a Fameasser at 3:25:
The former mixed martial arts allies collide here and Dan
Severn walks out a minute into the bout still sporting a neck brace.  After a few brief minutes of action, Shamrock
nails Severn when Severn gets on the apron and Billy Gunn uses that opportunity
to interfere and cost Shamrock the match. 
How Severn fits into all of this, since he is feuding with Owen Hart, is
not explained.  Rating:  *
–The Rock and Vince
McMahon are on the cover of Southwest Spirit magazine!
–The camera catches
Ken Shamrock and Billy Gunn brawling backstage before WWF officials separate
them.
–Mankind comes out
and says that he wants a WWF title shot against the Rock at the Royal Rumble
since he beat him at Rock Bottom.  He
calls out Vince, who walks out and runs down how Mankind doing things to
appease the people is pathetic.  Vince
says that Mankind does not deserve to be the number one contender because he
has not paid his dues and that he will probably never wrestle for the title
again.  Instead, Vince books a match
between Mankind and Triple H, with the winner getting to enter the Royal
Rumble.  A guest referee will officiate
the match and that referee will be Shane McMahon.  Austin-McMahon gets a lot of attention from
1998-1999, but the Vince-Mankind interactions were a close rival to that feud
in terms of compelling and entertaining television.
–Chyna and her friend
Sammi are shown talking backstage.
–Mark Henry beats
Goldust via disqualification after Goldust hits Shattered Dreams at 3:40:
Henry really needs a new ring attire as he is still
sporting his Nation of Domination-style gear. 
Cole makes sure that we know all about Henry’s “tree trunk size legs.”  Word is that such a moniker was quite an
honor before Big Show showed up the following month with his “frying pan size
hands.”  Henry has Goldust beat until
Chyna and Sammi appear on the ramp and this distractions causes Henry to fall
prey to Shattered Dreams.  I never got
the logic of the Shattered Dreams move. 
Why use something like that in clear view of the referee when you know
it will get you disqualified?  Rating: 
¾*
–After the match,
Chyna and Sammi come to the ring, with Chyna confessing to Henry that he is too
much man for her, and that she and Sammi want to take a load off of his
mind.  Henry faints at this offer.
–Congratulations to
Jesse Ventura, who was inaugurated as Minnesota’s governor earlier in the
day.  You see, all of this was due to the
WWF giving him an opportunity years ago! 
What is interesting is that Arnold Schwarzenegger was at the inauguration
and would become California’s governor four years later.
–Dennis Knight is
shown chained in a cellar at an undisclosed location.
–Test and The
Godfather (w/the Hos) wrestle to a double disqualification at 1:59:
This is before Test got the theme that repeated his name
over and over again so he has this weird country-style tune that is not fitting for a former Metallica bodyguard. 
The Godfather does not offer Test the hos, so you know that he means
business.  Cole also lets us know that
Test has “amazing athletic ability” for – get this – stepping over the top
rope!  Test and the Godfather brawl on
the floor as the referee loses control of the match and Val Venis runs down to
fight with Test before WWF officials break them up.  If you recall, Test and Venis have a
lingering issue from the last show where Test cost Venis his Hardcore title
shot.
–Shawn Michaels is
shown having a fun conversation with DX backstage.  Cole is still shocked that they are back
together!
–Royal Rumble
Qualifying Match with Shane McMahon as the Special Guest Referee:  Triple H (w/Chyna) defeats Mankind with a
sunset flip at 2:55:
This is a pretty mediocre match, but there’s a reason behind
all of it.  Mankind dominates much of the
action until Triple H hits a sunset flip from the apron and Shane McMahon,
after kicking Mankind’s hands away from the ropes, registers a quick three
count.  Triple H gets on the mic to tell
Mankind that he does not regret winning in such a fashion as it gets him closer
to the WWF title, but he also wishes him a “Happy New Year!” by Pedigreeing
Shane.  Mankind proceeds to put Shane in
a submission hold and threatens to break his shoulder unless Vince gives
him a title shot later in the evening. 
Vince agrees to that and also agrees to make it no disqualification
under duress.  This was such a great
piece of storytelling as the McMahons master plan backfired and babyface
elements that shared a common hatred of the McMahons worked together to make
that happen.
–After the segment,
WWF Champion The Rock angrily walks out and complains to Vince about being
booked to defend the title.
–D-Lo Brown
wrestles Edge to a no contest at 4:30:
This match does not have a story, but it serves as a
small trial run for two guys that the company had high hopes for at the
time.  Only one of them eventually made
it to main event status, but that is the way things go sometimes.  D-Lo hits a nice Sky High when Edge dives off
the top rope, but PMS walks out to take all of the attention away from that.  Terri
Runnels, who is showing her “pregnancy,” distracts D-Lo and when D-Lo goes
after her, Terri falls off the steps. 
This is the infamous “miscarriage angle” that Jim Cornette still gets
hot about in shoot interviews and with good reason as this served little purpose and probably bothered some viewers who may have gone through
such an awful experience in their lives. 
And of course, the whole thing also ruined this match.  Rating:  *½
–Shane McMahon,
Gerald Brisco, Pat Patterson, and Kane walk out, with Kane still sporting the
sign on his back from earlier in the show. 
I love how Kane is such an outcast that not a single person backstage
bothered to tell him about it for the last ninety minutes.  Shane gets on the mic and books an impromptu
handicap match that pits the stooges against Kane since they were “remotely
responsible” for Mankind’s attack him a few weeks ago.  Patterson hilariously offers Kane a
cigarette, which is rebuffed, and the stooges eat some chokeslams.  Kane also teases chokeslamming Shane, but is
convinced not to do so under threat of going back to the insane asylum.
–Dennis Knight begs
for help as the Acolytes tell him that “It’s time.”  I would be begging for mercy if someone tried
to get me to watch that pay-per-view again too!
–Hardcore
Championship Match:  The Road Dogg
(Champion) beats Al Snow (w/Head) 8:35 with a piledriver on some wooden crates:
Snow has still not gotten over his bloodbath at the hands
of the Brood, sporting his blood drenched shirt from several weeks ago.  Snow kills himself to get over here, going
through a table on a moonsault off the ringside barrier and taking chairshots
and cookie sheet shots to the head. 
Speaking of cookie sheets, Road Dogg adds a small touch by unbending a
cookie sheet after he smacks Snow with it, which in wrestling terms makes his
blows pack more power or something like that. 
What the match is notable for is that spills out of the arena
where a snow shower is taking place. 
Referee Jack Doan cannot even maintain his footing as he keeps sliding
on black ice.  Road Dogg ends the match
with a piledriver, continuing his run of entertaining title defenses.  Rating:  ***
–The Acolytes toss
Dennis Knight into a smoky room where screams can be heard and close the door
behind him.
–Shawn Michaels
leaves the arena to get the “Stone Cold surprise” and wishes DX well.  After Michaels leaves, Triple H suggests to
the camera that things may not turn out well and sure enough, Michaels cannot
get into his car because he has the wrong key. 
He is locked out of the arena and a voice calls his name as we head to
commercial.  When we return, he is a
bloody mess on the hood of his car and is attended to by medical personnel.  A
replay shows that the Corporation was responsible for the assault.
–No
Disqualification Match for the WWF Championship Match:  Mankind (w/D-Generation X) pins The Rock
(Champion w/The Corporation) to win the title after Steve Austin hits the Rock
with a chair at 8:48:
The Rock is recovering from his gyno surgery, so he is
wrestling his track outfit here.  An
entertaining sequence takes place when the Rock rips off Cole’s headset to give
some comments and then Mankind beats up the Rock, takes the headset, and
announces to the world that he has “testicular fortitude” in a really corny
way.  They make full use of the no
disqualification stipulation, with the Rock putting Mankind through the
announce table with a Rock Bottom and punishing him with the stairs and ring
bell.  Lawler makes sure to take a dig at
WCW too by saying that this “is not a title match that begins two minutes
before the show ends.”  Despite being no
disqualification, the Rock feels that he has to hide hitting Mankind with the
title and the same is true for the return of Steve Austin to arguably the
loudest pop in the history of the company – interference that gives Mankind an
improbabe WWF championship run.  It
never gets old seeing Austin return here as people jump up and down in the
front row and lose their mind at the title change.  Another great part of the end sequence is Billy
Gunn moving at 100 miles per hour to knock Shamrock for a loop after Shamrock
blasts Mankind with a chair.  The match was
not good, but the heat for the closing sequence was incredible.  Rating:  **¼
The Final Report:  This is a notable show in the company’s
history because WCW famously had Tony Schiavone spoil Mankind’s victory
by saying that “Cactus Jack” would be winning the title and sarcastically
saying “that’ll put butts in the seats!” 
The spoiler did not cause RAW to lose the ratings battle that night, but
it is a myth that viewers immediately turned off Nitro when they heard
Schiavone’s words and flocked over to RAW. 
Still, that idea has acquired its own place in WWF lore like the DX “tank”
turning the Monday Night Wars around. 
The title change and the build up to it is what makes this RAW fun and
it overshadows the offensive stuff such as the Terri miscarriage angle and the
other silly booking related to Mark Henry and Sammi.  Unfortunately, not all shows would be able to
make up for Russo’s weird ideas in 1999, but at least this one hit a
home run to start the year.
Monday Night War Rating:  5.7 (vs. 5.0 for Nitro)

Show Evaluation: 
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