WWF(E) Review

[GhostofSalvtore]

Well I don't know why people what job to guys like Goldberg and Lesnar, cuz if they don't then who will work with them. HHH has beaten everyone now, who is left for him. The Kevin Nash thing is a REALLY good chance of happening. And now Lesnar is left w/no big name talent so he will be working with the GREAT John Cena.

Anyway Raw note:
Goldberg and Jericho were in a pretty heated fight last night.
After the show ended, the two were in a corner backstage, talking about the situation in WCW where Goldberg didn't want to work with Jericho because of his small size. The talk soon erupted into an altercation, with both men throwing punches and rolling on the floor.

Reportedly, none of the punches landed and trainers broke the fight up before anyone was hurt.

[ThePikasElbow]

I'm not too excited about any of them, but if I had to pick, Goldberg. He will definitely add something more than any of the other comebackers ever will. He is also the bigger rating grabber of the four. I personally never really liked him as a wrestler, but maybe he will surprise me.

Nash will probably get injured in like a week, I don't see why he keeps coming back anyways. Maybe reviving his old Diesel persona will give him the push he needs, but I really doubt him getting a huge push any time soon, if ever.

As for Sable and Piper, I have no real opinion on them. Sable might spark some new interest in the women's division. Maybe now people won't use the Women's title match as a bathroom break.

As Galvatron said, it would be neat if Shamrock came back. I could see a huge feud with him and Angle.

Wow, just too many comebacks. I'll just wait patiently for the amazing comeback of K-Kwik.

[Nomad]

[color=blue][size=5]SMACKDOWN! SPOLIERS[/color][/size]

April 8, 2003
Chicago, Illinois
Report by: [spoiler](hehe not tellin)[/spoiler]

Smackdown! Tapings: [Airdate - 4/10]

- Michael Cole and Tazz come out for commentary. They announce that Brock Lesnar will fight Matt Hardy and that Piper's Pit will return to WWE after a 14 year absence all tonight.

- Matt Hardy vs. Brock Lesnar. This is a champion vs. champion match, not title vs. title. Lesnar starts off the match with a huge clothesline but Matt uses his title to the back of Brock's head to turn the tide. Brock spends much of the match selling his "concussion" but he ends up hitting the F-5 for the pinfall victory.

- We see clips from last week where Vince McMahon supposedly "killed" Hulkamania, saying it will die a death of leprosy, etc. etc.

- Torrie Wilson & Brian Kendrick vs. Nidia & Jamie Noble. Sable comes down before the match and sits down for commentary. She flips through Torrie Wilson's Playboy and applauds Torrie when she comes out. Nidia and Noble double team quite a bit, but they have a little miscommunication problem which allows Torrie to hit a DDT for the pinfall. Sable acts impressed afterwards.

- Backstage, Chris Benoit congratulates Brock Lesnar for his title win at Wrestlemania 19 but he says he's looking forward to facing him at Backlash. Rhyno comes up and says that it's going to be him facing Brock at Backlash. Lesnar tells them to go out tonight and beat the hell out of each other but come Backlash, one of them will have hell to pay.

- Chris Benoit vs. Rhyno (Semi-final). Rhyno misses a Gore mid-match, while Benoit hits a pretty long flying headbutt which gets a near three count. Benoit ends up winning the match via a simple backslide.

- Vince McMahon Interview. Vince says that it was just one week ago that he permanently terminated Hulkamania. As a matter of fact, he gave Hulkamania a lethal dose of leprosy. But he will honor his contract with Hogan - he will pay him every nickel of his contract to stay at home. By the time his WWE contract expires, Hogan will be so old he'll be confined to a wheelchair. But don't worry Hogan - Vince says he will make sure there is a reservoire below his wheelchair to collect his bodily fluid. Vince goes on to say that he looked on the shelf beside Hogan and decided to pull off another one of his creations - fourteen years later: Piper's Pit with Rowdy Roddy Piper.

- Piper's Pit. Vince introduces himself as Piper's special guest this week. Piper says let's get one thing clear: nobody but nobody named Piper or Piper's Pit except him. Vince makes fun of Piper's belly saying the last time he saw a belly that big, Mae Young was nine months pregnant. Vince then asks Piper if he wants to join the Kiss My *** Club but then changes his mind. Piper then talks about Vince's failures - the bodybuilding federation, the XFL, etc. The only job Vince has been able to hold is the one his daddy gave him. Vince says that they have one thing common though - their dislike for Hogan. Roddy says that Vince did make Hulkamania, he created everything about you. Vince puts his arm around Piper so Roddy tells him to get his arm off him because he hates Vince too. McMahon calls Piper a son of a ***** so Piper says it takes one to know one. They end up shaking hands and Roddy says he hates Hogan too. Vince's music hits so Roddy asks for it to stop and says that even though Vince created Hulkamania, he did something that even Piper himself couldn't do - he got beat by Hogan 1-2-3. Rikishi then comes out with a coconut and asks him if it looks familiar. Since he was a little kid, he's remembered a lot of things. For 20 years, he remembers what he did to Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Piper says that's not between you and me, but Rikishi says he's one of his family members. As this going on, Sean O'Haire comes from behind and clotheslines Rikishi. He uses a chair to Rikishi's gut and back area, laying him out. Piper then says "you wanna be like Snuka" and then smashes the coconut over Rikishi's head just like he did to Snuka 20 years ago.

- They show the promo for the two French-Canadiens that aired on Raw. Sylvain Grenier and Rene Dupree, I think?

- Team Angle vs. Tajiri & Rey Mysterio. I guess this is not for the title. Before the match, they say they will dedicate this match to Kurt Angle, who will be undergoing neck surgery tomorrow. They demand the fans to lower their heads but get booed so they make fun of Cubs inability to win the World Series for some more heel heat. Apparently, Tajiri picked Mysterio as his partner because Funaki was injured last week at the hands of Haas & Benjamin. Mysterio hits a legdrop on Haas to pick up the pinfall victory.

- Backstage, Josh Mathews interviews Undertaker about John Cena's comments last week. Taker talks about being respected and says that he has more showertime than John Cena has ring time. He promises to beat up John Cena tonight, saying he'll find out why his mouth shouldn't write checks that his *** can't cash.

- Nathan Jones vs. Bill DeMott. This is obviously Jones' in-ring debut (at least on TV). Match was quick and pretty standard with Jones pinning DeMott after a boot to the face.

- Backstage, the FBI talk to the police about some of their items that have gone missing. They say they have a pretty good idea who might have done this but don't say anything.

- Backstage, Sable knocks on Torrie's dressing room. Torrie says she's in the shower, so Sable says it's okay, it's just her. She congratulates her on the match and on her Playboy, which is apparently selling almost as fast as hers. Torrie asks Sable if she's seen her towel and Sable says yes "right here" and tells her to come and get it.

- Backstage, the cops arrest Nathan Jones saying they need to take him in for questioning. Undertaker comes up and snaps, saying that Jones has already paid his debt to society. The officer says that Jones isn't under arrrest - they just want to ask him some questions.

- John Cena vs. Undertaker (Semi-final). Cena cuts another one his promos before the match, basically saying he'll beat Undertaker. Taker almost pins Cena with a chokeslam about halfway through but Cena gets his foot on the ropes. Soon after this, they cut to a commercial. Cena then uses the chain on Taker before going to work on his injured elbow on the outside. Cena tells the ref to count Taker out and continues to keep him out of the ring when he tries to get back in. The ref ends up getting bumped by Taker so Cena goes for the Death Valley Driver but it's countered into the Last Ride. With the ref still out, the FBI comes down and attacks Undertaker. Palumbo hits Taker with a steel chair and they continue to beat him up as Jones isn't here due to being taken out of the building earlier in the night. As the ref comes to, Cena crawls on Undertaker and gets the win and advances to the finals against Chris Benoit next week. - End of show.

[Schrat]

yo Nomad, i dont think you get it man, The page loads at the bottom, so you see the last post in the thread. So even if you put 'Smackdown Spoilers' in huge font, you still get a glimpse of the spoilers. Why dont you just put it in Spoiler tags, thats what there made for!

[GhostofSalvtore]

Been a lil while since any news and such has come around, but today there is some good stuff....

-It is Jim Ross that is the main reason behind Eric Bischoff keeping his job in WWE. The main reason for this is because Ross actually convinced Steve Austin to return to the company before Bischoff's thirty-day probation period ended. Ironically, Bischoff has now gone out of his way to make their lives miserable as he is still hurting from No Way Out, but it has to be wondered if Bischoff is hurting himself in the long run.

Forget the fact that the Rock will leave WWE after his match with Goldberg at Backlash, the fans are begging for the RAW title to be taken from Triple H, as well as wanting to see Austin return for ratings. The truth is that Austin will want some big time revenge on Bischoff.

It is expected that Goldberg will defeat the Rock at Backlash and go on to feud with Triple H. After this, a decision is likely to be made on whether Goldberg could meet Austin at Summerslam or whether he could jump to Smackdown.

-Shortly after WrestleMania, a press release came out claiming Piper would be wrestling at Backlash. This press release was deemed fake by sources close to Piper.

Nonetheless, there were indeed plans coming out of WrestleMania to have Hulk Hogan take on Piper at Backlash. The actual match would be set up this Tuesday at the SmackDown! tapings, when Hulk Hogan would be on Piper's Pit and challenge Piper.

At this point, plans likely have been changed as Hogan was not advertised for the segment this week, so WWE would automatically be lowering potential ratings. That's not to say that WWE may not do it as a surprise, but it would most likely have to be announced this week for effectiveness, as a big match like this needs ample promotion.

So, as of now, this match is not looking likely for Backlash (although don't totally count it out), but definitely should be expected at one point in the near future.

-Originally, it was thought that William Regal had a stomach virus that he contracted on the trip to India a few months ago. Now, however, there's talk that it's something else.

Doctors now believe he is suffering from a blood clot in his Inferior Vena Cava, which is cutting off circulation to his lower body. This is serious, and even with blood thinning medication, it would take up to nine months for the clot to totally heal. At this point, no one really knows when he'll be able to make his return to the ring.

Regal mentioned something similar on Byte This on Friday, calling an irregular heartbeat the source of the problem.

[Schrat]

Actually, Goldberg is unlikely to beat to beat HHH in may, because Raw HouseShows in June are scheduled to have HHH vs. Nash, which will likely be practice for bad blood, where Nash will likely beat HHH.
If goldberg were to win the title at Judgement Day, then It would'nt really make any sense, now would it?

[GhostofSalvtore]

Well I just report the news as I see it...so yah...never know what can happen when its the WWE. But I do see H}{H battling Nash after Backlash. Don't know where Goldberg will be..
So maybe thats a question I will ask you all... Who do you think Goldberg will feud with after Rock?

[Charles]

I would love to see him feud with Jericho. I would love to see promos with real life bad blood between the two spilling out. Like, how Goldberg refused to work with Jericho in WCW. But, I don't see it happening due to the animosity between the two. Especially after the events that transpired after last week's Raw.

Other than Triple H or Jericho, I could only assume that they would turn Steiner heel and put him in a program with Goldberg. I mean, Steiner isn't really going anywhere as a face. And, his wrestling skills and mic skills aren't suitable to someone with a face persona. He's very rough neck. You know?

So, turning Steiner heel would be a nice move for the WWE on many levels. He's a big name that they have no intention of pushing to title status, so why not feed him to Goldberg? Plus, Steiner has always worked better as a heel. So, yeah, that's what I would do.

[Nomad]

SMACKDOWN SPOILERS {you wanna see the spoiler tags?... alright...}

April 15, 2003
Norfolk, Virginia
Report by: [spoiler](yeah I'm gonna tell ya_

- As usual, I missed any dark matches and/or any Velocity tapings that may have occured. If anyone can send us the results to these, it would be much appreciated.

- Michael Cole & Tazz come out for commentary after which the American national anthem is sung. Tony Chimmel then welcomes the audience and tells everyone to cheer.

- Rey Mysterio & Tajiri vs. A-Train & The Big Show. Mysterio & Tajiri put up a decent fight for much of the match, but they are basically overpowered in the end as Show and A-Train pick up the pinfall victory. After the match, A-Train tries to beat up Tajiri some more but gets the mist in the face. Big Show takes exception and goes after Tajiri so Mysterio hits the 619 and knocks Big Show down. Big Show gets angry and embarassed.

- Backstage, Brock Lesnar arrives.

- Backstage, Big Show is still mad at what happened, mainly the fact that everyone was laughing at him. He tells A-Train that he is going to go to Stephanie McMahon's office right now to ask for a match against Rey Mysterio.

- Brock Lesnar Interview. Cole conducts the interview and congratulates Lesnar for his Wrestlemania 19 victory over Kurt Angle. They show footage of the finish of the match. Cole asks Brock how he felt after the match and Lesnar says he was feeling the pain. He landed on his head and is thankful for being here today. Lesnar says that when he first lost his title, he thought he'd get it back easily. But Angle pulled every trick in the book to keep the title away from him. That's why he knew he had to bring it. Kurt Angle kicked out of the F-5 twice and Brock says he knew he had to do something out of the ordinary to bring the title home. Brock talks about the concussion he suffered but says if he had the option of doing it again, he would. Cole then asks him about Angle, the former champion. Brock says Kurt is probably sitting at home watching after neck surgery but at Wrestlemania, Kurt took him to another level. He has the utmost respect for Angle, but before he can say anything else, John Cena's music hits. Cena comes out and says that Lesnar is disrespecting everyone by lying. He is nothing but a big liar. Cena says he watched the Wrestlemania footage 400 times and he didn't get a concussion. To get a concussion, you need a brain first. But anyway, here's to say that Wrestlemania is over and he better focus on the new big thing. At Backlash, he'll find out that John Cena is bigger than Brock Lesnar, bigger than these people and bigger than that WWE title. Before he can finish his thought, Chris Benoit's music hits and out he comes. Benoit says Cena has no idea about respect. Before you even think of facing Lesnar at Backlash, you better worry about going through the Wolverine, the best damn technical wrestler in the world. Benoit says that no one, not him not you, is bigger than the WWE title - you have to respect it even if you don't respect the man wearing it. Lesnar jumps in and asks Benoit if this means he doesn't respect him. Benoit says he never said that, unless you're saying you don't respect me. Cena says you both better show me some respect right now. Lesnar says let's all respect whoever wins tonight but Cena then cheapshots Benoit.

- Eddie Guerrero (w/ Chavo) vs. Jamie Noble (w/ Nidia). Before the match gets underway, Team Angle comes out. Benjamin mocks the Guerreros' accent and Haas says that the Guerreros' grandmother is the best housekeeper money can buy. This basically allows Noble to gain the advantage for much of the beginning of the match. Nidia tries to interfere on Noble's behalf, but it doesn't help as Eddie hits the Frog Splash for the pinfall victory.

- After the match, Guerrero addresses Team Angle saying the rumor is that they go down on each other all the time. Chavo says from what he hears, they give new meaning to the term "You Suck". Team Angle swarms the ring and all four men go at it and it's revealed that these two teams will go at it for the tag team titles at Backlash.

- Backstage, Nathan Jones catches up to Nunzio and roughs him up, saying he set him up with the police. Nunzio pleads innocence, but Jones will have none of it.

- They announce that Undertaker has undergone elbow surgery and will return in a couple of weeks.

- Backstage, Sable meets up with Torrie says she was impressed with her Playboy but it wasn't as good as the real thing, as she saw first hand last week. She asks Torrie to help her with her zipper and then asks Torrie if she'd mind if she changed in here with her. Torrie says she can change wherever she likes, but right now she has a match to worry about. Sable wonders: "was it something I said?"

- It is announced that at Backlash, Sean O'Haire (with Roddy Piper in his corner) will take on Rikishi.

- Piper's Pit. Piper talks a bit about useless nothing before getting footage to roll where he hit Jimmy Snuka with a coconut. He says that for 20 years he has been taking on all comers and he's back to take on the rest. Piper's Pit is making friends...Rikishi, one big tough kid and he asks for footage from last week where O'Haire and Piper laid him out. Piper introduces Sean O'Haire and says that he needed someone tough to watch his back and help him take on the world. O'Haire says he's out here for one reason - Piper is a legend and it's an honor for him to stand here in this ring with him. For 25 years, Piper's been on top of this business. His style and intensity is unparalleled. He wants to learn from the only mind that might be more evil than his. Snuka's music hits and the Superfly comes out. Snuka says there is a problem here - Piper. Then he mumbles some more but I can't understand what he's trying to say. Piper suggests that they bury the hatchet. Piper tries to cheapshot Snuka, but can't so O'Haire helps. This prompts Rikishi to come out but Piper and O'Haire beat him out too and leave. Rikishi grabs a mic and basically says he'll beat O'Haire at Backlash and he challenges Piper to a match next week, which Roddy accepts later in the show.

- Torrie Wilson vs. Nidia (w/ Jamie Noble). Sable ends up being the referee for the match. Torrie stares at Sable when she enters the ring, allowing Nidia to blindside her for the early advantage. Torrie gets some help from Sable to hit a DDT for the win and then dropkicks Noble for good measure.

- Matt Hardy (w/ Shannon Moore) vs. Brian Kendrick. This match is for the Cruiserweight title. Matt hits the Twist of Fate but Kendrick gets his foot to the ropes, so several seconds later, with Shannon Moore distracting, Matt hits it again and grabs the pinfall victory.

- Backstage, the Full Blooded Italians talk about something, presumably about Nunzio's upcoming match against Nathan Jones.

- Nunzio vs. Nathan Jones. Match doesn't even last one minute as the other FBI members interfere. They triple team Jones and slam the steel steps on his ankle/leg area before leaving.

- John Cena vs. Chris Benoit. Great match, split in the middle by a commercial break as expected. Benoit hits the German suplexes and then climbs to the top for the flying headbutt but Cena moves out of the way. Near fall results, but Benoit snaps on the Crippler Crossface, but Cena fights his way to the ropes. Benoit goes for the Crippler again, Cena counters and goes for the Death Valley Driver, but Benoit counters. Cena then sits on Benoits chest and hooks his legs for the pinfall victory to earn the title shot against Brock Lesnar at Backlash.

- End of show. [/spoiler]

[GhostofSalvtore]

Rumors and News
-Mr. American is rumored to be none other than Hulk Hogan, to have him return as Mr. American so it would not contradict Vince's statement that Hogan is out.
-Austin is rumored to return Monday, because of a page on WWE.com that says "Rock and Austin WILL be there"(talkin bout RAW)
-WWE has been having some negotions w/..........Sting. They will probably not give into all of Sting's demands like they did with Goldberg since they don't see any of there recent signings contributing much to higher ratings.
On a different note, it was a pretty good SD for the night. John Cena of course is the #1 contender and I guess he is the #1 heel right now and I am interested in seeing what he will do, even tho I still don't like him. I don't know what Benoit will be doing at Backlash but hopefully something. So all and all, a good SD.

[Outlaw]

Man, and here I thought we where rid of Hogan. Damn.

Well atleast we finally got some real legends, Piper and Snuka. Man, I think Rikishi/Snuka v. O'Haire/Piper at Backlash is gonna steal the show.

[GotenksSSJ343]

Yeah that would be a good match but I'm looking foward to Goldberg Vs. The rock and Lesnar vs. Cena.

[Galvatron]

Sting huh, fine I can be glad with Sting , I wonder who he will feud with if he dose sign the contract. Anyhow I want to see Shamrock come back.

[BigCajones]

[color=blue]Man the WWE is getting crowded with potential now, but it leaves other wrestlers left with events like Velocity when it should be their turn to shine instead of finding more people. Those two French wrestlers I'm really not looking forward to at all, but they look like good competition for Team Angle.
I've enjoyed watching Sting throughout his career he's been in some amazing match-ups and I would love to see him return!! I reckon Hogan should return, but only to get some revenge and resign in good fashion other than just leaving like Vince had in mind. Saying goodbye to all the Hulkamaniacs over the year, but I quite like the idea of getting payed at home for doing absolutely nothing! :D *Knows it's just a storyline*.
Shamrock would also be a great return as well he definetely deserves the title in my eyes. I could imagine him Benoit and Angle having a rivalry.

As for Backlash's most anticipated match in my eyes ... Well so far it has to be Rock vs. Goldberg followed closely behind by Cena vs. Lesnar. Who do you think will win out of Cena and Lesnar (state reasons)? [/color]

[Heaven's Cloud]

[color=indigo]Unless Brock has injured himself more then we are led to believe, I think he will retain the title. Although Cena will remain a contender, I think this match is just a way to place Cena in the hiearchy of the WWE.

Goldberg will knock out the Rock, Rocky is just there to put him over the top for his introduction...I really liked how Rock beat the snot out of him last night though. I don't want Goldberg to be an indestructible charecter that shrugs off chair shots with a growl.

Sean O'Haire will beat Rakishi and Los Gueraros will defeat team Angle. I also think that Test and Stiener will rumble, with Test Stiener edging out Test.

I also think that the Clique will be reformed at Backlash...any time HHH talks to someone behind closed doors schemeings going on, the whole angle with Nash last night was just a fiegnt so Booker T won't know what hit him...also Jerhico is going down as well.[/color]

[Charles]

I just stumbled upon some interesting news; Jeff Hardy has been fired from the WWE. I suppose I could see this coming. His house show schedule was basically nonexistent and his passion for music was said to be stronger than his passion for wrestling. But, it does come as a bit of a disappointment to me. Hardy had a vast amount of potential. His wrestling style was sloppy--but he reminded me of a young HBK. The charisma was there.

As far as Backlash goes, I too, predict Lesnar retaining the title. Cena is merely being pushed as the top heel of SmackDown due to Angle's absence. I'm not too sure that the WWE sees him as a long-term solution in fixing the lack of top quality heels on that brand. Which, of course, is a shame because his mic skill are absolutely incredible [i]and[/i] he's solid in the ring to boot. Just look at his matches with Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerro.

On the clique:

[spoiler] Don't look for a reformation. I've read that the WWE has no plans in bringing that stable back as a television presence. In fact, Triple H will probably feud with Nash until his program with Goldberg begins for the Bad Blood pay per view. The vignettes that took place on Raw were most likely run to build tension and suspense for the Booker T/Triple H main event.[/spoiler]

Lastly, I don't know if I like how Goldberg was beaten down. The WWE should be doing everything they can to get him over as an indestructible monster. The Rock is only there to put him over--and he certainly didn't do that last night.

[GotenksSSJ343]

I think Lesnar will win unless his injury is really that bad, then again I think deserves a chance to shine.

Then again I could be speaking nonsense.

[Outlaw]

Well, granted the Rock did beat the crap outta Goldberg the other night, Goldberg got up after just a few seconds from the Rock Bottom, a move that has flattened even the biggest of wrestlers. And he stold up reletivly quickly after being assaulted with the chair. Just goes to show his toughness. I just hope he preforms better than Scott Steiner, and that this time around hes got more than just 2 moves in his repitore(sp), The Jackknife/hammer/can't remember which, and the Spear.

Now, on to a more pressing matter, the release of Jeff Hardy. HAS THE WWE GONE INSANE? I mean, sure his matches have gotten sloppy, but he is still a HUGE drawing force. Whenever he comes out, he always gets a HUGE pop. Sorry about all the caps. Plus, the WWE never used the whole Jeff Hardy v. Matt Hardy angle, which is a shame, as it could have been a long running, intence feud, even more so than E v C. However, it seems that Matt has moved to bigger and better things, with Shannon Moore as the 1st MFer, and Crash as the 1st Mooreon, and now Lita will most likely be the 1st female MFer, while Jeff will most likely follow D Lo and Raven over to the NWA TNA. Hopefully there he will regain a passion for wrestling, as the NWA is a more pure form, focusing more on matches than drama. All I can say is god bless and good luck. See ya around Jeff.

[BigCajones]

[color=royalblue]Goldberg's moves are the Jackhammer and the spear. I also hopes he gets a more vast library of moves.

On to Jeff Hardy leaving I agree it is stupid as when WWE give him a chance he gives his best to put out some brilliant high flying match-ups! TLC or whenever a ladder is involved with Jeff it's superb. Well I guess WWE just felt like they didn't need him anymore. :confused:[/color]

[Heaven's Cloud]

[color=indigo]All wrestlers have certian moves that they preform night after night. I always thought that Goldberg had a pretty good amount of moves, his matches just didn't last long enough to showcase most of them. Unless it was a pay-per-view Goldberg was only in the ring for a few seconds, during which time he would utterly destroy his opponents. Obviously, during pay-per-views, he would showcase more moves. The two instances where I saw Goldberg do a phenomenal job in the ring was when he wrestled Sting and when he wrestled DDP.
He gorilla pressed Sting over the top rope, it was wicked cool.

Another Goldberg match that stands out in my mind was a triple cage title match featuring Booker T, Sting, Kevin Nash and Scott Steiner (I think there were a couple other wrestlers as well). At this time Nash also had help from Pallumbo, O'Haire, Gingerack, and Staziak. It ended up with Goldberg getting handcuffed in the bottom cage, while Booker T fought his way to the title. Goldberg was just manhanling the other wretlers why he was chained up, throwing them across the cage. He has so much brute force it is incredible. C'Mon, he Jackhammered the Giant (Big Show) cleanly.[/color]

[Outlaw]

Triple Cage eh? I thought that that was only in Ready to Rumble and the DDP, Jarret, Arquete match. Oh well, never was a big WCW fan. The only thing about it i really liked was the crusierweight divison. 3 count, the LWO, little rey-rey, kidman in his chill jeans and tank, its was pure gold man. The only thing that can rival it now is the X-Division over in NWA, but even AJ Styles and the Amazing Red can't match Kidman, Rey-Rey, and all the LWO in their prime.

[Nomad]

First some News/Rumors for everyone (from most recent to oldest)

[b]Submitted by ----- on April 22, 2003 at 3:18 AM[/b]

- Goldberg's contract is reported to expire shortly after next year's Wrestlemania. The plan right now for a Goldberg/HHH feud is to hold off on it until Summerslam with Triple H feuding with Kevin Nash until then. Goldberg would then probably feud with Chris Jericho.

- Undertaker had elbow surgery on April 10 and will be out for about a month. Kurt Angle had neck surgery on April 11 and it was said to have gone well and he was out of the hospital two days later.

- The Road Warriors have told indy promoters that they will be joining WWE shortly. The plan right now is to give them a tryout to see how they look and how the fans react and then go from there in regard to a decision on whether they should be brought back on TV.

- WWE is considering adding a PPV to air on December 31, 2003.

[b][i]Source: Re-written from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Subscription information & prices available @ wrestlingobserver.com[/b][/i]

[b]Submitted by ----- on April 22, 2003 at 3:10 AM[/b]

- As reported before and even though there has been no public announcement of any sorts, Steve Austin's in-ring career could very well be over due to his neck problems. Austin is still scheduled to return to Raw within the next few weeks as a co-GM opposite Eric Bischoff. At this point, Austin has opted not to undergo any additional surgery because if he did, he would be off TV for several months even if he took no bumps.

- More on Kurt Angle's injuries: he suffered his hamstring injury at Wrestlemania only 20 seconds into the match. Tests showed that it's the type of hamstring pull that is slowly healing and prone to re-occur. Angle also had an MRI done before Wrestlemania on his neck and the results showed a cyst in his thyroid which doctors originally feared were the early stages of cancer. However, additional tests have revealed that the cyst as "benign fluid buildup".

- Jim Ross is expected to be off TV for at least a few more weeks. The tentative plan right now is for Steve Austin to come back as a co-GM along with Eric Bischoff and then to turn around and re-hire Ross. Jonathan Coachman will continue to fill in for Ross on Raw.

[b][i]Source: Re-written from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Subscription information & prices available @ wrestlingobserver.com[/b][/i]

[b]Submitted by Richard on April 21, 2003 at 5:26 PM[/b]

The much talked about Sting/WWE deal seems like it has potential to happen sometime this summer. Sting recently told promoter Andrew McManus of the WWA (who he has been working for) that he cannot commit to dates beyond May. However, the deal with WWE needs to happen soon, as many say this will be Sting?s final chance to get a big money contract before his recognition completely runs out.

[b]Submitted by Richard on April 19, 2003 at 11:11 PM[/b]

WWE.com has removed Tough Enough under the television section of the website and the official Tough Enough website has been taken down from the web. As to what this means is still unknown, many felt that Tough Enough would continue on with another season after the recent re-signing of head trainer Al Snow and WWE?s big interests in the show. However, we will have more on this as we receive further updates.

[b]Submitted by Richard on April 18, 2003 at 1:57 PM[/b]

The following tidbit contains a major spoiler in the upcoming direction of a SmackDown storyline. To read it, please highlight below:
[spoiler]The current plan for the Mr. America angle is for it to be revealed as Hulk Hogan in disguise, which will be obvious once fans see him. This is how WWE will bring the ?suspended? Hogan back into the storylines.[/spoiler]

[color=blue][b]Smackdown! Spoilers[/b][/color]

April 22, 2003
Nashville, TN
Report by: Tony M., -------.com reader

*SmackDown! Tapings*

[spoiler]
Immediatley after the opening, John Cena's music hits to a big face pop, which soon turns to boos when Cena comes out. He gets on the mic and runs down Brock as well as the crowd. Rhyno's music soon interrupts to a nice pop and we are ready for out first match.

John Cena defeated Rhyno via a roll up. Good, solid action from these two. Rhyno fought out of the DVD and went for the Gore, but Cena moved and rolled up Rhyno for the clean 1..2..3. Match lasted about 7 minutes.

The F.B.I talked to Benoti about their bet with him over the outcome of his match with Cena. They tell him to pay up, but Benoit says he will pay..... in the ring.

Chris Benoit defeated Nunzio in another good match. On his way to the ring, Benoit was attacked by Palumbo and Stamboli, allowing Nunzio to gain the advantage. Benoit eventually made Nunzio tap out to the Crossface after about 5 minutes. After the match F.B.I attacked again but Benoit fought them off, untill eventually the numbers were too big and the F.B.I beat the hell out of Benoit.

Stephanie McMahon announced that Mr America would debut next week.

Rey Mysterio defeated Crash Holly in another solid, yet a little quick match. Rey win after nailing the 619 and Springboard Leg Drop in a match that lasted about 4 or 5 minutes.

Rikishi defeated Roddy Piper via dq. This match was pretty poor, but eventually Sean O'Haire ended it, running in and nailing a couple of superkicks and an Electric Chair on Kish.

Shelton Benjamin defeated Chavo Guerrero in a very good 6 minute match, eventually ending when Shelton ~Cheats To Win~ with help from the ropes. After the match, Los Guerreros chase off Team Angle.

Tajiri defeated Big Show via Count Out in a quick match. Tajiri all over Show early on, but Show ended up on offense and destroying Tajiri. Rey Mysterio then appeared in the crowd and Show gave chase, giving the win to Tajiri.

Dawn Marie and Nidia defeated Torrie in a Sable Swimsuit Competition. Sable declared Dawn and Nidia co-winners, and the two then attacked Torrie.

Backstage John Cena convinced A-Train to take out Brock.

Brock Lesnar defeated A-Train via dq after John Cena interfered and laid out Brock with the chain and then the title belt. Cena then hit a DVD as SD! went off the air. This match lasted about 6 minutes or so.

After the show ended, Brock gave Cena the F-5
[/spoiler]

- [b]Nomad[/b]

[Syutaku]

That great that u guys have a review I'm gonna have to check in here on for Raw reviews I don't get to cathc it that much

[Heaven's Cloud]

[color=indigo]Well, Backlash just ended, and you have one pumped-up (and slightly inebriated) cloud. I had to witness [b]The Man[/b] come back with my own eyes. It was an electrifying night boys and girls. My two favorite wrestlers clashed, [spoiler]Goldberg[/spoiler] was left standing. Incredible, I was so excited during the watch that I was shaking. Afterwards, I was so excited, I speared my waiter (he is one of my few friends here in Ohio, and I am sure my spear didn't hurt him, he weighs 65+ lbs more then I do).

Backlash was almost as good as Wrestle Mania, the matches were well done, and the highlights were incredible. I didn't have high hopes for Backlash but three hours, 18 buffalo wings, and three pitchers of beer later (personal consumption) I left thoroughly amused.[/color]

[Schrat]

[size=1] I thought Backlash was alright. There were a few matches I had higher hopes for, ex. Dudley's match, I thought Morely was going to make it a tlc but intead he made himself a sgr. Im glad Goldberg one, as well as O'haire, this will push them I think to a higher status in the company. As well as Cena, who put on an excellant match.
I also had higher hopes for the six-man tag, but I guess it ended up with an alright ending.
Just my opinion, I think what Bigshow did was ridiculious and un called for. Thank god Mysterio walked out of Backlash with just minor bruises, he could have been seriously hurt, which would be terrible.[/size]