Select Next Article by Category

WE ARE A PROUD UGO AFFILIATE SINCE 1999
|
TV Reports
CALDWELL'S WWE SD/ECW TV TAPING REPORT 2/6: Ongoing report from site of event (contains spoilers)
Feb 6, 2008 - 11:06:50 PM |
|
By James Caldwell, Torch columnist
CALDWELL'S WWE SMACKDOWN/ECW TV TAPING REPORT
February 6, 2008
Houston, Texas
The ticket-taker at the door said 15,000 tonight without a sellout on Wednesday morning. And there was a long line at the box office, so this is probably going to be a sellout with walk-up ticket sales. We'll see how the arena fills up when the show starts.
Dark match: Vladimir Koslov beat Funaki in 1:00 with a weak fireman's carry forward slam. NW - needs work. Funaki was bleeding afterward. Hardway blood in the dark match. Nice.
TAPING FOR FEB. 12 ECW TV
Arena was packed, so close to a legit sellout of available seats for TV.
They opened with a recap video of the Gulf of Mexico match last night...er...last week.
Chavo Guerrero came out first and complained about his ailments after being dumped in the water. Big heat, as Chavo said he had infections all over his body. (Cue up the Arn Anderson world's smallest violin.) He wants revenge right now by defending his title tonight against Punk. Armando came out and said no way because he has a PPV main event to protect. He instead booked Punk vs. Henry tonight.
They showed Stevie's promo from last night.
(1) Stevie Richards beat Rory Foxx in 3:00. Baby Bash came to his front row seat a minute in. (He stayed the entire show and was very cordial with the fans.) Richards with a butterfly suplex for the win. Good crowd reaction for Richards. This program has a lot of potential.
They aired a video promo for Henry.
(2) Kelly Kelly beat Layla in 4:00. All psychology here as Layla worked the left armpit. For real. Kelly with a rocker dropper for the win. Not bad.
(3) Kofi Kingston beat Mike Knox in 4:00. Kofi with the Kofi Kick for the win. OK match.
(4) Tommy Dreamer (w/Colin Delaney) beat John Morrison (w/The Miz) in 4:00. Dreamer countered the spinning neckbreaker into a DDT for the win. Afterward, Miz and Morrison beat up Colin for good measure. He sure does know how to take a whooping.
Henry and Chavo talked turkey backstage.
(5) C.M. Punk beat Mark Henry via DQ in 3:00. Faced with impossible odds, Punk prevailed when Henry didn't break a choke in the ropes before a five count. Afterward, Chavo took a G2S and Punk stood tall at the end of the show.
***
TAPING FOR FEB. 15 SMACKDOWN TV
Of note, Michael Cole has a thesaurus on the announce desk. American Heritage, I believe.
(1) Batista beat MVP clean in 15:00. Nice, solid match. Good psychology here. Batista with the Batista Bomb for the win after MVP effectively worked over his left arm. (***1/2)
Edge blew off Hawkins and Ryder backstage. He's got bigger things to worry about.
(2) Yang & Moore & Jesse & Festus beat Hawkins & Ryder & Deuce & Domino (w/Cherry) in 3:00. Yang with a moonsault on one of the Greasers for the win. Yang was very popular with the audience. Afterward, the heels tried to beat up the rednecks, but Jesse rang the bell and Festus snapped to attention to beat up the opposition and clear the ring.
Vickie got a makeover backstage.
They showed a clip from last night's taping, which will air on Friday, of Palumbo beating the crap out of Noble part 5.
(3) Victoria beat McCool in 3:00. Before the match, Palumbo came out for a closer look at the action. He proceeded to rev his engine the entire time very annoyingly. I had to double-check this wasn't Hog Wild and Leno wasn't in the ring. Michelle was distracted by Palumbo being a heel, setting up Victoria for the Widow's Peak for the win. Afterward, Palumbo cut a promo. Didn't really say anything we haven't heard in the storyline already. Of note, Cole had a good laugh with the photographers ringside. Must have been something funny in the thesaurus.
(4) Undertaker beat Big Daddy V (w/Matt Striker) in 7:00. Taker with yeoman's work trying to work a good match in slow-mo. Taker won with a chokeslam before choking out Striker post-match. Striker bled from the mouth for added effect. He then did a stretcher job. Greatest line ever from a fan screaming for everyone to show respect and take a knee. You had to be there.
They showed Edge pacing in his locker room. He's a Nervous Ned.
(5) Kane & Punk beat Shelton & Chavo in 5:00. Punk with the G2S on Chavo for the win when Shelton walked out. Chavo with another TV defeat.
(6) Finlay (w/Hornswoggle) beat Khali (w/Singh) in 5:00. One conclusion to draw from two nights of TV is that Hornswoggle, or at least his entrance music, is very, very, very popular with the kids. And WWE is going to make a ton of money at the merch. tables selling his green derby hat. $10 a pop with about $3 of variable costs on a paper hat with some green dye means a ton of profit. The match followed the usual formula match of Horny in peril, then Finlay with shillelagh shots behind the ref's back for the win.
After a crew took some time setting up the flower shop in the ring, they went to Vickie's Valentines Day segment. Edge came to the ring first to the tune of live violins. He was so very nervous about his special question. He then brought on Vickie to the top heel reaction of the night. Edge proceeded to sing horribly (on purpose). He even got some of the audience to mockingly sway back and forth. It was great. He then popped the question and Vickie said yes to being his wife. He gave her a ring and they kissed, which grossed out the kids. Same reaction as seeing Vince's ass on Monday night. Rey interrupted to a huge pop after Edge built up all the heat. Rey said this is disgusting. Edge wanted an apology, so Rey entered the ring and Edge attacked him. Rey came back with the 619, and went for a seated sentaun, but Edge moved and Vickie ate the sentaun from her wheelchair. Rey just shrugged his shoulders with a "did I do that?" look and left the ring to another strong reaction. They did a stretcher job for Vickie to close the show.
Send everyone home happy match: Hawkins and Ryder then called out Rey for a handicap dark match, which ended in DQ. Batista ran out to make the save and Rey splashed Edge's cronies to clear them from the ring. Rey and Batista then posed to close the taping. They did several victory laps for the fans on the floor while posing for pictures. The taping wrapped up around 11:00 p.m., well past the target demo's bed time.
For more BREAKING NEWS on WWE, TNA, ROH
visit our affiliate: JASON POWELL'S PROWRESTLING.NET
For UFC AND MMA NEWS & BLOGS
visit our affiliate: MMATORCH.COM - now featuring Jamie Penick's MMATorch Daily Audio Updates!
REACT TO THIS STORY IN OUR FREE PWTORCH FORUM
PWTORCH VIP SIGN-UP INFO - NO ADS, EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
|
| MORE "TV Reports" ARTICLES
|
| 11/18 ECW on Sci-Fi Report: Mayer's "alt perspective" report including Team Hardy vs. Team Henry, dancing debut, Dreamer vs. Swagger |
| CALDWELL'S ECW TV REPORT 11/18: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of WWE's Sci-Fi show featuring Matt Hardy, Finlay, Miz & Morrison |
| KELLER'S WWE RAW REPORT 11/17: Ongoing coverage of live show including Santino raps for Akon, Orton-Punk |
| CALDWELL'S WWE RAW REPORT 11/17: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Orton vs. C.M. Punk, Stephanie McMahon starting show |
| Hulk Hogan's CCW TV Report 11/15: Smart Tools, Dumb Celebrities, and a "Special Purpose" |
| TNA IMPACT ALT PERSPECTIVE REPORT by Wilkenfeld: TNA comes off entertaining PPV with mediocre show, garbage on Cage |
| KELLER'S TNA IMPACT REPORT 11/13: Christian meets the Main Event Mafia, Joe & Styles vs. Beer Money, Sting vs. Lethal |
| PARKS' WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 11/14: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of the show, including Undertaker vs. Hardy |
| CALDWELL'S TNA IMPACT REPORT 11/13: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Spike TV broadcast |
| CALDWELL'S ECW TV REPORT 11/11: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of WWE's Sci-Fi show featuring Hardy vs. Finlay |
| KELLER'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 11/7: Kozlov vs. Undertaker, Hardy goes Extreme, Triple H & Hardy vs. Miz & Morrison, MVP vs. Khali |
| KELLER'S WWE RAW REPORT 11/10: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho, Batista demands rematch, Rey vs. Kane |
| CALDWELL'S WWE RAW REPORT 11/10: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Michaels vs. Jericho, Batista vs. Orton, Santino vs. Regal |
| KELLER'S TNA IMPACT REPORT 11/6: Final hype for Turning Point, Rhino acts like a sexist dumbass, Samoa Joe vs. Scott Steiner |
| Hulk Hogan's CCW TV Report 11/8: Celebrities cut promos, unfortunately; Another female contestant booted from the show |
| KELLER'S TNA IMPACT REPORT 10/30: Scott Steiner joined the MEM, Angle vs. Abyss, Nash & Booker vs. Styles & Joe, Turning Point hype |
| PARKS' WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 11/7: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of the show, including Undertaker vs. Kozlov |
| 11/6 TNA Impact ALT PERSPECTIVE REPORT by Wilkenfeld: TNA manages to build to two main events without sacrificing immediate quality |
| CALDWELL'S TNA IMPACT REPORT 11/6: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Spike TV broadcast |
| KELLER'S ECW ON SCI-FI REPORT 11/4: Henry vs. Finlay to earn title shot, a star-making promo performance by rookie |
(c) 1999-2008 TDH Communications Inc. - All rights reserved.
|
|
ARE YOU VIP? SIGN UP NOW FOR $7.50 A MONTH FOR INSTANT ACCESS TO AD-FREE, BENEFIT-PACKED VIP VERSION OF PWTORCH.COM (see screen capture)

INFO ON SUBSCRIPTION TO AD-FREE VIP SITE
INCREDIBLE BENEFITS!
Over 50 full-length audio updates per month (iPod compatible)... New weekly award-winning Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter (text and printable pdf versions) with latest exclusive insider news, new Torch Talks, great columns, Keller's cover story, much more... Hundreds of full-length back issues of PWTorch Newsletter from late-'80s to today... Ad-free access to PWTorch.com's Main Listing... VIP Forum with interaction with other subscribers and Torch staff... Torch Talk Library with text and audio of hundreds of interview installments from last 20 years... Great layout... Deepest archives on pro wrestling history anywhere... Keller's PWTorch Today PDF Bulletins with email alerts... VIP Email reports on major PPVs and TV shows... Staff Roundtable Reviews (text and audio) followiing major events... The best staff of writers and world class reporting since 1987... We'd love for you to join us and experience the most entertaining, authoritative, experienced staff of professional reporters and commentators in the business... SIGN ME UP NOW!
|
| Articles Grouped by Category |
 |
| Torch Today |
| TORCH STORE: Buy Two, Get One Free November Special on Back Issue Sets, Keller DVD |
| TORCH TODAY: PWTorch invading WWE Universe - join the official PWTorch.com reader group |
| THE DAILY WORD 11/17: Caldwell looks at Raw tonight, Triple H up for major movie role, NWA tapings in Hollywood, Where's Orlando Jordan? |
 |
| WWE News |
| WWE News: WWE stock price takes an absolute beating on Wednesday |
| WWE News: WWE video game accessible on your Mobile phone; Video preview included |
| WWE News: WWE trying to re-energize fanbase through social networking to challenge Myspace, Facebook |
 |
| TNA News |
| TNA News: Kurt Angle positioning himself as future leader of TNA; why TNA started Main Event Mafia angle |
| TNA News: Results and News from Monday's event in Nashville with the Tennessee Titans (w/VIDEO) |
| TNA News: TNA challenging WWE for market share in key region after WWE finishes European tour (w/VIDEO) |
 |
| ROH News |
| ROH News: New video wire with promos for Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson, Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs |
| ROH News: Nigel McGuinness says whether he enjoys being a wrestler; comments on C.M. Punk and Colt Cabana |
| ROH News: Replay times for Ring of Honor's "Driven" PPV featuring Steen & Generico, Nigel, Briscoes, Danielson, Jerry Lynn |
 |
| Other News |
| Other News: Where is he now? "The Model" Rick Martel missing the wrestling travel schedule (w/VIDEO) |
| Hogan News: Did RVD help boost viewership for Week 5 of Hulk Hogan's CCW? Complete series ratings analysis |
| Other News: Bret Hart discusses whether his wrestling career is over; describes second book project |
 |
| PPV Reports |
| RADICAN'S ROH DRIVEN PPV REPORT: Strong-McGuinness, Steen & Generico vs. Black & Jacobs |
| KELLER'S TNA TURNING POINT PPV 11/9: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Sting vs. Styles, Nash vs. Samoa Joe, Main Event Mafia |
| CALDWELL'S TNA TURNING POINT PPV REPORT 11/9: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live PPV |
 |
| TV Reports |
| 11/18 ECW on Sci-Fi Report: Mayer's "alt perspective" report including Team Hardy vs. Team Henry, dancing debut, Dreamer vs. Swagger |
| CALDWELL'S ECW TV REPORT 11/18: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of WWE's Sci-Fi show featuring Matt Hardy, Finlay, Miz & Morrison |
| KELLER'S WWE RAW REPORT 11/17: Ongoing coverage of live show including Santino raps for Akon, Orton-Punk |
 |
| Arena Reports |
| 11/12 WWE in Newcastle, U.K.: Batista & Mysterio vs. Jericho & Orton, Shawn Michaels vs. JBL, Haas Hogan in the house |
| WWE News: Complete Smackdown tapings report for next two weeks - Jeff Hardy, Triple H, Koslov set up Survivor Series |
| WWE News: Second detailed report from England with full results of tonight's Raw telecast |
 |
| MMA / UFC Coverage |
| MMATorch Briefing: Fedor wants to fight Lesnar, Filho out of WEC, Heavyweight rankings, Big announcement |
| MMA Update: New Top Ten Heavyweight Rankings by MMATorch Staff Just Released |
| UFC 91 AUDIO ROUNDTABLE (free): Pennick, Ennis, Pelkey, Bent (67 min.) |
 |
| KELLER'S TAKE |
| KELLER: A look back at Mike Adamle's infamously disastrous and embarrassing debut as ECW announcer |
| KELLER: WWE addressed a lot of problems with Raw last night - a march through the eight in our reader poll |
| KELLER SHORT: What was missing from last night's celebration of 800 episodes of WWE Raw... |
 |
| MITCHELL'S TAKE |
| MITCHELL SHORT: WWE Raw Wrestlers Have No Guts Part 2 |
| MITCHELL: Scott Steiner and The Main Event Mafia: The Comeback Promo |
| MOJO MITCHELL'S WWE RAW 11/10: Stream of Stephanie McMahon Gets Creative And Ends All The Bad Storylines (Okay, One of Them) |
 |
| MCNEILL'S TAKE |
| McNEILL's Mailbag: On Lauren Thompson and 70's Style Booking |
| Indestructible: McNEILL previews TNA Turning Point 2008! |
| McNEILL's Mailbag: Should Michaels face 'Taker at WrestleMania? |
 |
| CALDWELL'S TAKE |
| CALDWELL'S MEDIA CLUB: Eddie Guerrero DVD review Day 6 - Eddie vs. Rey Mysterio... 'Nuff Said |
| CALDWELL'S MEDIA CLUB: Eddie Guerrero DVD review Day 5 - Eddie vs. Chris Jericho; the day no one cared |
| CALDWELL'S MEDIA CLUB: Eddie Guerrero DVD review Day 4 - Eddie vs. Ric Flair; the importance of the U.S. Title |
 |
| RADICAN'S TAKE |
| TALES FROM THE PULPIT 11/18: Too small to be big and too big to be small: ROH's fight to get the buzz back (pt. 1) |
| RADICAN: Last Call with Raven & Sandman dissapoints despite fantastic production and high expectations |
| TALES FROM THE PULPIT 11/13: Why should you buy ROH's "Driven" PPV when it debuts tomorrow? (spoilers) |
 |
| The Specialists |
| 11/18 WWE ECW Hits & Misses: Miz & Morrison, All American Challenge, 6 Man Tag |
| PARKS: The Mike Adamle Experiment - How much blame for his failure is on his shoulders? |
| UNDER THE MICROSCOPE - 11/17 Raw: Clearance sale for Released Wrestlers merch, Relationship Building with Punk & Kofi, Batista vs. Ref |
 |
| Guest Editorials |
| EDITORIAL: Career vs. Career - The Undertaker vs. John Cena at WrestleMania 25 |
| EDITORIAL: A plan for a dramatic make-over of WWE through massive downscaling of TV, PPVs, roster size, titles |
| EDITORIAL: Vetter examines problems with ROH product |
 |
| Torch Feedback |
| ECW on Sci-Fi Reax #1: "I was waiting for someone to take a shot at Swagger's lisp, but Ricky Ortiz?" |
| WWE Raw Reax #4: "Manu came away from his match with Batista stronger than when he walked in." |
| WWE Raw Reax #3: "...Easily the coolest moment on the show besides Santino's rap." |
 |
| Ask the Editor |
| Ask the Editor: Wouldn't incorporating MMA-style holds into pro wrestling matches just be trying to be something it's not? |
| ASK THE EDITOR: Have the Michaels-Batista promos crossed a line with use of insider terms, references to "jobs"? |
| ASK THE EDITOR: Why do wrestlers in WWE refer to wrestling as "the business" and not "the sport"? |
 |
| DVDs - VGames - Books |
| RADICAN: Last Call with Raven & Sandman dissapoints despite fantastic production and high expectations |
| RADICAN: Hey! The Claudio Castagnoli delivers one of the best independent releases of the year |
| DVD REVIEW by Brian Hoops: Magnum T.A. and Nikita Koloff reflections |
 |
| Torch Flashbacks |
| WWE News Flashback: Mike Adamle the new G.M. of Raw: Controversial announcer shifted off of ECW announcing duties |
| RADICAN'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 5 YRS. AGO (11-13-03): Benoit & John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar & Big Show, Vince McMahon rubs his temples, Kurt Angle |
| KELLER'S NWA-TNA PPV REPORT 5 YRS. AGO (11-12-03): Sting & A.J. Styles together vs. Lex Luger & Jeff Jarrett, Raven & The Sandman team, X Division Gauntlet |
 |
| VIP Exclusive Features |
| 11/19 Daily Keller Hotline: A specific proposal to overhaul the look and feel of WWE utilizing current talent in a new way (16 min.) |
| ECW ON SCI-FI ROUNDTABLE REVIEWS 11/18: Mayer, Mezzera, Parks rate and review |
| PWTorch Newsletter #1054 (19 Pages!): Your weekly megadose of news, analysis, columns, TV reports, more |
 |
| Torch Trivia |
| Torch Trivia: How much do you know about Curt Hennig? - Part Two |
| Torch Trivia: How much do you know about Curt Hennig? - Part One |
| Torch Trivia: How much do you know about Champion vs. Champion matches? |
 |
| Torch Instant Polls |
| Who was the MVP of the Nov. 17 Raw if you saw the show? |
| Rate the 11/17 WWE Raw on a 0-10 scale if you saw the event |
| POLL: What's your prediction for the Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Couture fight? |
 |
| PWTorch Free Podcast |
| 11/19 East Coast Audio: ECW - Miz & Morrison continue to shine, A guy debuted, Swagger punished (8 min. clip) |
| 11/17 WWE Raw post-game Show: Caldwell and Parks discuss final hype for Survivor Series, John Cena's lack of presence, beards-a-plenty (7 min. clip) |
| 11/17 VIP East Coast Audio: Smackdown - Matt Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin, Intense debate on Jeff Hardy's character change (7 min. clip) |
 |
| Annual Obituaries |
| SPECIALIST: List of Deceased Wrestlers for 1999 - Muchnick, Rick Rude, Owen Hart, Renegade... |
| SPECIALIST: List of Deceased Wrestlers for 2000 - Solie, Albright, Duncum, Tsuruta, Blue Demon, Al Costello |
| SPECIALIST: List of Deceased Wrestlers for 2001: Johnny Valentine, Terry Gordy, Chris Adams, Bertha Faye, Helen Hart |
 |
|
|