The Steel Cage

From the AP wire:

EVERETT, Mass. (AP) — Pro wrestling pioneer Walter “Killer” Kowalski has died from a heart attack. He was 81.
Kowalski died Saturday after his family decided to have him taken off life support. Kowalski had been in critical condition at a hospital in Everett, Massachusetts, since the heart attack on Aug. 8.
The death was announced on Kowalski’s Web site.
The 6-foot-7, 285 pound Kowalski earned his nickname in 1954 after dropping opponent Yukon Eric during a match in Montreal. He became famous for various moves, including a stomach vice grip called the “Killer Clutch.”

Even when I was covering the Town of Huntington for Newsday way back when, I was still finding ways to convince my editors to let me write about pro wrestling. One of my more creative endeavors was this Part II cover story on Foley's first foray into fiction writing.

With Foley in the news, I thought I'd revisit this story, in which I spent an afternoon with Mick and his family at their Saint James home. As I recall, it was my day off, so I didn't even get paid for my troubles. But what did I care? I was hanging out with Mick Friggin' Foley.

He was quite hospitable and I remember fondly visiting his famous "Christmas room," flipping through the stack of notebooks in which he wrote his books, and just chit chatting with him at his kitchen table about the cover art for "Teitam Brown." He showed me an alternative version which, we both agreed, was way cooler.

I called him after the story came out, and he was really happy with it, but for my choice to include the dig by Publishers Weekly.

A colleague of mine recently ran into Foley at a minor league ball game somewhere and mentioned my name, and sure enough Mick remembered me even five years later, or so my colleague says. Anyhow, if you're reading this Mick, pick up a phone.

Ex-Lord Of The Ring; After 15 years of pounding as a professional wrestler, Mick Foley finds his new passion - as a fiction writer

By Alfonso A. Castillo. STAFF WRITER

On a Monday night last month at Madison Square Garden, a group of professional wrestlers stood in the ring and, before an audience of thousands, paid tribute to the man known as "The Hardcore Legend."

One of the big headlines coming down this week has been TNA’s signing of Long Island’s own Mick Foley. As many fans know by now, Mick was reportedly unhappy with the treatment he had received during his most recent WWE stint as color commentator on Smackdown.

Although it’s still not clear exactly in what capacity TNA will use Foley, there is no question that he will be valuable addition to the company – in any role – and brings with him a reputation as a legitimate legend and one of the most recognizable stars coming out of one of wrestling’s most successful periods in the late 1990s.

But while some observers are predicting – and I’m sure Dixie Carter and Jeff Jarrett are praying – that Foley may be a big difference maker in ratings, I just don’t see it happening, for a combination of reasons.

Long-Island based independent wrestling promotion FTW is coming to Lindenhurst on September 13th with its “Rise Against” show. The action will take place at Lefty’s Bar & Grill at 543 W. Hoffman Avenue with a 4 p.m. start time. Tickets are $15 on FTW’s official website, which you can access here.

FTW officials tell me they pride themselves on delivering a product that’s high on production value and star power, as evidenced by their upcoming show, which features such recognizable names as Brutus “The Barber” Beefake, The Sandman, and Balls Mahoney.

I caught up with Mr. Mahoney [I’m not sure Newsday editorial style allows me to print his first name too often] and he sounded excited about working for FTW, as well as the unique stipulations to his upcoming match.

In this extensive interview, Mahoney also talked about the cirsumstances behind his WWE release, his future aspirations in WWE, TNA and even ROH, his thoughts on the new ECW, being left out of the “ECW Originals” angle, the dangers of chairshots in pro wrestling, and portraying one of the most peculiar wrestling characters of all time – Xanta Klaus.

AC: Do you like working the indie scene? I imagine that’s a pretty crazy pace.

BH: I enjoy having the freedom of creativity. And I enjoy being able to be myself and have more interaction with the fans. Like in the last couple of weeks, two of my shows have been canceled, and that kind of hurts the paybook. I mean you go from WWE back down to the indies. Yeah, I’m making a lot more money, but I have a lot more expenses. I have a son now.

When John Cena suffered a torn pectoral last fall that threatened to keep him on the sidelines for up to a year, the news hit WWE like a ton of bricks. WWE had been reeling from a plague of injuries that had affected many of its top stars for much of the year, and losing Cena - the company's top act and Raw's world champion at the time - seemed like a near-crippling blow.

Fast forward less than a year, and again WWE is facing the prospect of losing Cena indefinitely with a serious neck injury. Yet, this time I'm guessing WWE is not fretting nearly as much as they last fall. And that's a good thing.

I had a good time at the Madison Square Garden house show I attended on Saturday night. Although I wrote last week about how much I looked forward to watching an MSG house show free of the Titan Tron, pyrotechnics and other glitz that usually comes with TV tapings and pay per views, WWE had a far bigger production than I anticipated – complete with entrance videos on the garden’s big screen, a Raw logo animation playing on video screens that covered the perimeter of the arena, a fairly elaborate entry way, and plenty of pyro. But no matter how you dressed it up, it was an MSG house show, and it was long overdue.

I also wrote last week that I hoped that it wouldn’t be another three years before WWE returned to the Garden for a house show, especially considering the fact that they were near monthly fixtures in the building for about 30 years. Well, the wrestling gods must have been listening, because Tony Chimmel announced Saturday that WWE is returning to the Madison Square Garden on Sunday Dec. 28 for another non-televised event. I believe tickets go on sale this Saturday.

After going three years without a house show, it’s amazing that WWE would run two in the building in four months. WWE officials must have been happy with the turnout for Saturday’s show. The place was packed and looked to be a legit sell out. It’s amazing how many kids are coming out to WWE shows these days. I don’t think I’ve seen so many children at a WWE show since I was going to them myself in the mid-1980s.

It should also be noted that the Dec. 28 house show comes just a day after Ring of Honor plays just across the street from MSG at the Hammerstein. It’ll be a big weekend for wrestling in New York.

Here’s a quick rundown of Saturday’s card, and some thoughts on the matches:

So I'm watching some of the monthly programming on WWE 24-7 when I come to an episode of Stampede Wrestling from back in the day.

OK, I think, should be interesting -- I've never actually seen an episode, though I've read some pretty incredible things.

It's a fun show, ridiculous themesong notwithstanding -- the ring action isn't terrible, there's a promo from a very young Brian Pillman promoting his first Stampede match and there's build-up for a big title match between Owen Hart and Makhan Singh.

And then they come to a Makhan Singh promo in the ring.

You may know Makhan from one of his other personas -- Norman the Lunatic, Friar Ferguson or Bastion Booger, among others. As Makhan, he was quite a physical presence, and, I must say, he cut a decent promo.

But this is one promo you have to hear to believe.

Makhan is in the ring with several others, including the massively muscled Ted Arcidi, who apparently was feuding at the time with the also massively muscled Bill Kazmaier in a series of matches that no doubt won Match of the Year honors that year.

Anyway, Singh's cutting a promo on Kazmaier -- and mid promo, he pulls out a needle and basically says that Kazmaier's muscles are all injected! And then, he says that Arcidi's muscles are all natural, which announcer Ed Whalen questions!!!

Yes, this is a promo on an 80s wrestling show where the guys are turning steroid use into a storyline -- being replayed by a company that's been trying to shake the steroid thing for decades!

I did a double-take when I heard the thing. More like a triple- or quadruple-take.

Isn't anyone screening this stuff before it goes on the air?

One half of WWE's world tag team champions, Cody Rhodes, was still six years from being born on the night his old man captured his first world title by defeating NWA Heavyweight Champion Harley Race on August 21, 1979 in Tampa Florida - 29 years ago today.

I couldn't find the actual match, but here's some footage of the American Dream celebrating in the locker room moments after winning the championship. The SuperBowl victory-like atmosphere is a sight to behold, and something that we unfortunately don't see that much of in pro wrestling these days. I enjoyed watching C.M. Punk's interview after his win, where he thanked his family and fans, but unfortunately, it was mostly a backdrop for an angle with JBL.

WWE, and all wrestling promoters, would be wise to watch Rhodes' celebration closely. Nothing gets a championship over like having a wrestler make a hell of a big deal when he wins it.

So here’s the good news. I spent my Saturday night a couple weeks back at the release party for Midway’s new videogame, TNA iMPACT! Eager to bring to you interviews with the many TNA stars that were on hand for the event, I made the trek all the way to lovely Princeton, NJ, hauling the latest in Newsday digital video recording equipment, and, on camera, pressed the likes of Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle and A.J. Styles with some of the toughest questions they’ve ever been asked!

But, unfortunately, the microphone didn’t work.

I kicked around the idea of bringing you the video interspersed with Charlie-Chaplinesque title cards that would communicate to you the gist of our conversation. But they don’t make those cards big enough to capture my long windedness.

So, I decided to go with Plan B, and from memory, try to recall and paraphrase for you some of my discussions with the many wrestlers who were kind enough to speak with me Saturday night.

I should note that everyone at the party seemed to be really enjoying the new iMPACT! videogame, which was set up on a couple of monitors in a ballroom of the Princeton Hyatt. It was all I could do to pry A.J. Styles away from it for just five minutes. The game really does look impressive, and does an excellent job of capturing the look and feel of the TNA product – right down to the amazing “Ultimate X” mode in which players precariously hang off of the cable set up above the ring. The graphics are among the best I’ve seen for a wrestling game ever. Midway and TNA both have high hopes for the game, and having seen it up close, they have good reason.

Here’s some highlights, as best as I can remember, from my conversation with Kurt Angle:

I've gone to a ton of wrestling shows this summer - everything from the Great American Bash at the Nassau Coliseum, to Ring of Honor at the Hammerstein to TNA Hard Justice in Trenton. But no show all summer has me as excited as one coming up this Saturday.

We all know that Madison Square Garden has long been the Mecca of many of WWE's greatest moments. And at least once a year, WWE is sure to make a stop in the "World's Most Famous Arena." But despite the close relationship between MSG and WWE, the Garden has not hosted a house show in more than three years.

Indeed, the Garden has hosted its share of Monday Night Raws and live pay per views in recent years, including this year's Royal Rumble. But there's something about watching a house show at the Garden that just makes you feel like your both witnessing history, and traveling back in time.

I recently wrote about the magic of the house show experience and how, despite the evolution of wrestling over the last three decades, house shows have managed to keep their intimate charm. No pyro, no elaborate stage set. Just a ring under some lights.

A Garden house show takes it a step further. Anyone who grew up watching Garden house shows each month on the MSG Network knows what a special place they have in wrestling history. Before the era of regular pay per views, or even blockbuster weekly shows like Raw and Smackdown, the Madison Square Garden house show was as big as it got. Eight WWE world championships changed hands at MSG house shows, including Bruno Sammartino's defeat of Buddy Rogers in 1963, Hulk Hogan's win over the Iron Sheik in 1984, and Diesel's championship victory in 1994.

When I became old enough to ride the Long Island Railroad on my own, Garden house shows became a nearly monthly fixture for me and my buddy G-Man, who would regularly watch main events featuring the likes of Diesel, Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon and Jeff Jarrett.

Watching a WWE house show in a dimly lit Madison Square Garden - the ring dwarfed by the massive vaulted roof of the iconic building - is an experience every wrestling fan should have.

Sadly, big time house shows have long fallen by the wayside. But whenever fans are lucky enough to have a non-televised live event come to the Garden, WWE still takes some steps to make it feel extra special. The last time a WWE house was held in the Garden, Triple H and Batista squared off in a steel cage match preview of their WrestleMania 21 main event.

This Saturday, the steel cage will once again be erected in the Garden, as C.M. Punk defends his world heavyweight championship against C.M. Punk. Batista also takes on John Cena in a rematch of their SummerSlam battle.

I can't wait to be there and witness the continuation of one of wrestling's most storied traditions. I only hope WWE doesn't wait another three years to host another house show at MSG.

I've been criticized by some readers here for being overly critical and negative toward WWE. I think that’s absurd, as I am always more than happy to heap praise on WWE writers and talent for a job well done. However, I am proud to call WWE, and any wrestling promotion, out when poor decisions are made.

But, for the sake of balance against posts dealing with all that is wrong with WWE, I thought I’d dedicate some space to some of what WWE is very much doing right.

1. Mark Henry: I’ve thoroughly enjoyed his work since becoming ECW champion. Mark seems to be having a lot of fun in his bully character, and it is infectious. I’m happy to see him mow down ECW’s babyfaces for the foreseeable future. Even Tony Atlas has played his role well.

2. C.M. Punk: While I may not be thrilled with every booking decision made along the way, the fact is WWE has put one of its two top titles around the waist of a young, up-and-comer who was legitimately a couple years away from earning a world title run. I don’t have a problem with him struggling in some of his matches, as the storyline is that he somewhat lucked into his title win. He may not have the size or seasoning to beat all his opponents, but he’s got the heart to hold his own against them. WWE seems to recognize that.

3. MVP: Here’s a guy who WWE saw something in before a lot of us did. MVP is fantastic on the mic, credible in the ring, and a student of the sport. He should have a world title in his future.

4. Brian Kendrick: He’s still green on the mic, but it’s good to see WWE invest some creative energy and TV time in one of its smallest wrestlers. He’s doing a nice job as a mix between Brian Pillman and a young Shawn Michaels. If only they did the same for his old partner Paul London.

5. ECW: With Teddy Long’s “new talent initiative,” ECW is quickly becoming what many of us had been recommending for a while – a showcase for developmental talent. Some might flounder, but it’s encouraging to see WWE using its C-brand to invest in its future.

Who's that Punk?

After reading C.M. Punk's interview last week with Time Out Chicago, in which he revealed that he is not allowed to wear street clothes on television "because Vince McMahon says I don’t look like CM Punk when I’m not in my gear," I dug through some photos I took during the 2007 THQ videogame challenge over WrestleMania 23 weekend in Detroit to find this.

Sorry the quality isn't so good, but that's Punk in a baseball hat and polo shirt. He also had jeans on, and maybe sandals. In a room full of WWE fans, I don't think anybody had a hard time recognizing him. But I've got to admit that if you didn't follow WWE and ran into Punk in a bar, you would never think you were standing next to wrestling's world heavyweight champion.

While it may seem innocent enough, the subtext of McMahon's mandate may say a lot about what he really thinks of Punk, and how serious he is about making him a top player in WWE for years to come. McMahon obviously thinks Punk doesn't look like a wrestler, much less a heavyweight champion who can hold his own against big men like Batista, Kane, and John Cena.

And forget about Punk's quote, all the evidence you need to prove that notion has been in Punk's title reign so far. After pinning JBL with some outside distraction in his first title defense the night he won the belt, Punk hasn't exactly been mowing down his competition. He survived by the skin of his teeth in matches against Batista and Kane, and got a second clean win against JBL at SummerSlam. I was willing to give WWE the benefit of the doubt that they planned to make a good faith effort to get Punk over as a top star, but I'm starting to wonder.

As I wrote yesterday, with the Hell in a Cell match and the first ever Cena-Batista match both booked on the same night, you could find a valid reason why Punk's title defense was not one of the centerpieces of SummerSlam. But there was no reason why they couldn't clear the way to give Punk a money, one-on-one title defense to headline Unforgiven - or at least a second to the top match behind a possible Jericho-Michaels showdown. Instead - obviously convinced that Punk lacks the star power to carry a meaningful main event on his own - WWE announced yesterday their newest concept match – a five-man world heavyweight championship “scramble” match.

Nevermind the TNA-inspired convoluted rules, in which the title can change hands several times within the allotted 20 minutes. It would seem to me that the biggest reason WWE decided to go with this match as the main event of Unforgiven is that they don't have faith in Punk's drawing ability. So they decide to throw more established draws like Cena and Batista in the match.

I'll reserve judgment until I watch the match, which could conceivably feature Punk never getting pinned, and surviving the match with his championship in tow. But in between the announcement of the scramble, and Punk unceremoniously doing a clean job to Chris Jericho in his hometown last night on Raw, I'm starting to wonder if this whole Punk experiment is less about sincerely trying to create a new star, and more about proving those "Internet marks" wrong.

And if some people think I'm being too pessimistic, let me remind you of another undersized wrestler who, against all odds, captured the world heavyweight championship and seemed to embody a new direction for WWE - one in which substance, not size, would dictate what the company's main eventers would look like.

After three months of holding on to his belt through DQ wins and count outs, Rey Mysterio lost the title to Booker T. The next month, he wrestled in the opening match of SummerSlam against Chavo Guerrero.

Nevertheless, I'm still willing to believe that WWE has big plans for Punk - regardless of how he looks in cargo shorts and a button down.

First off, I'd like to thank Jason Powell over at ProWrestling.net for having me on to discuss SummerSlam on his podcast last night. We ended up going an hour and half and having a lot of fun dissecting not only the show, but the WWE product as a whole. I strongly recommend checking it out.

As I told Jason last night, were last night's show named Unforgiven or Armageddon, I would be raving about how fantastic it was. But bearing the name of SummerSlam - traditionally the second biggest WWE pay per view of the year - it was just good. Maybe even very good. But I can't help but feel a little underwhelmed. It's not that the show disappointed. On the contrary, it met expectations, and maybe even exceeded them in some places, but I'm still left feeling that something was missing from this show.

None of that blame falls on the wrestlers, who in every match - and one heck of an angle - delivered to the best of their ability. But in some cases, they were going into the show with a strike against them because of poor booking that made at least this fan a little sour on the show before it began. Three weeks of build for what should have been treated as a Wrestle-Mania main-event worthy dream match? Two world title matches treated like afterthoughts? No matter how well the wrestlers performed in those matches, it didn't change the fact that they quite simply should never have been made.

Here's a quick rundown of the action:

SummerSlam has always held a special place in my heart ... SummerSlam 1990 was the show that made me a lifelong wrestling fan -- I was 11 years old, absolutely mesmerized by what is still my favorite WWE Pay-Per-View of all time. SummerSlam 1997 was the first PPV I ever attended in person. Clad in my Austin 3:16 shirt, I sat in the last row of the Continental Airlines Arena to watch Stone Cold win his first IC Title (and get his neck broken in the process), and also watched Bret Hart win his fifth and final WWE Championship. SummerSlam 2001 was one of my first big shows on the road as a writer for WWE.com. SummerSlam 2002 was my first PPV as part of creative -- right here on Long Island! That was fun.

This year's show will be unique in that neither of the top two matches (Edge vs. Taker, Batista vs. Cena) is for a World Title. I can't remember the last time a big PPV had TWO such matches.

So without further ado, here's some quick predictions for tonight's show ...

Just a quick note that I'll be joining Jason Powell from ProWrestling.net for a post-SummerSlam audio show where we'll be reviewing all of tonight's actions.

Pro Wrestling Revolution returns to the Upper Room World Center at 722 Deer Park Avenue in Dix Hills Saturday night for another loaded show featuring the young stars of PWR, as well as faces from the past. Tickets are just $10 and $15. More information on the show is available at PWR’s official web site.

Along with Jimmy Hart and Bushwacker Luke, one of the legends who will be on hand for the show will be one of my favorite wrestlers growing up, multi-time Intercontinental champion Tito Santana, who will be selling and signing a few rare copies of his book “Tales from the Ring.”

I had the opportunity to chat with Tito about his book, returning to New York, his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, WWE’s history of casting racial gimmicks, working with Shawn Michaels early in HBK’s singles career, and his few regrets in a storied career.

AC: I know you still come around every once in a while for independent shows in New York. Going back to your days headlining in Madison Square Garden, this has always been a big city to perform in. Can you talk about how the crowds here are different than in other places?

TS: To me, the New York crowd is probably one of the most difficult crowds there is. I always heard that if you can get over in New York, you can get over anywhere. But once you get over, if they like you, they like you. It’s a good feeling. It’s just like in any professional team. Look at the Yankees and the Mets. A lot of people are not able to wrestle in New York.

Blink, and quite literally, you would have missed it. But, luckily, my Tivo didn't.

While half paying attention to last night's TNA iMPACT! I thought I noticed during the Christy Hemme - Taylor Wilde match what appeared to be a single frame on the screen displaying white letters on a black background. It was so quick, I almost thought I imagined it, but sure enough, while advancing frame by frame on my Tivo, I found the single frame that displayed the words, "WhoIsSuicide.com"

That URL will link you to this Myspace profile, which shows a picture of a masked man who looks like a across between La Parka and Mortis. It describes him as a "99 year-old" male from Zacatecas, Mexico. It offers the following profile information:

About me:

It comes and goes...my memory...the flashbacks...waking up on the side of the road...the blood...the pain...how did I get here?...the surgery...the anger.

The only thing that is clear...the only thing that makes sense...is to get revenge. Try to remember. Find them. Make them pay.

My time will come. TNA will soon know me. But I must remember to be patient. I'm not ready to unleash him yet. I'm not strong enough yet. But I will be soon.

PATIENCE...THEN PAYBACK
Who I'd like to meet:
The ones that did this to me

According to a reader at prowrestling.net, Suicide may has some connection to a playable character on TNA's new videogame. There's also some speculation that it may be a returning Kaz behind a mask. With Homicide rumored to get a singles push in the X Division, maybe they're bringing in a luchador to feud with him.

Whatever the case, I think it's great that TNA is going the viral marketing route, which movie studios have been doing for years with big success. I was sure to go to that URL as soon as I got to a computer, and I'm sure anybody who caught it did the same.

Four years ago this Friday, Randy Orton defeated Chris Benoit in the main event of SummerSlam 2004 to capture the world heavyweight championship.

It was the first world title win for Orton, who became the youngest world champion ever with his win. It might be easy to conclude that Orton was not quite ready carry the world champion flag - and maybe he wasn't - but the truth is he was never really given the chance. They rushed a babyface turn the very next night when the rest of Evolution attacked him, and booked Orton vs. Triple H at the very next pay per view - a match many speculated at the time would be held off until WrestleMania.

Nevertheless, this match may have helped cemented Orton's place as a legit WWE main eventer. From here Orton went on to have a money feud with the Undertaker, and competed for the Smackdown world title at WrestleMania 22. When Orton finally won another world title last October, he was more mature, more developed, and certainly more over with fans.

As for Benoit, this night marked the end of what was the biggest national push he received during his 20 year history. Benoit captured the world heavyweight championship four months earlier at WrestleMania XX, but like Orton at the time, it became quickly clear that WWE was not serious in investing in Benoit as a top headliner.

While the visual of Benoit celebrating in the ring at Madison Square Garden with his family and Eddie Guerrero was a truly historic moment - made tragically more poignant in recent years - his reign as champion was largely forgettable, and he would never again return to his position at the top of WWE cards.

I'll also throw out a question for anyone who may have recently purchased WWE's SummerSlam DVD box set: Is this match included on the 2004 DVD?

You'll have to pardon me for not posting much the past couple of weeks -- what with being on vacation, then getting caught in a ton of work, and my general malaise (a/k/a boredom) toward the current WWE product, I haven't been especially motivated to do so.

But given the build-up to the first-ever PPV singles match between John Cena and Batista at SummerSlam, I thought I'd write a little something about just how awful the build to this match has been.

A press release from the FUSE network:

WWE SUPERSTAR CHRIS JERICHO TAPPED TO HOST FUSE TV’S “SHAME 2 FAME”
10 Down on Their Luck Women Are Given One Last Chance to Become Music Stars

New York, NY (August 13, 2008) - Fuse, the national music television network, has signed Chris Jericho, a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstar and lead singer of the heavy metal band Fozzy, to host the new original series “Shame 2 Fame,” premiering Wednesday, October 29 at 11pm ET. The series follows ten women as they compete for a last chance at musical stardom. The winner will receive a major record deal and star in a music video to air on Fuse.

“Many people know Chris Jericho as a WWE legend but he is also a musician and the lead singer of his own band Fozzy,” said Matt Farber, executive vice president, Programming, Development and Digital. “Chris is someone who has worked hard to get to where he is today, and that experience makes him a valuable resource and mentor for these women vying for a chance at stardom.”

What has traditionally been known as the second biggest wrestling pay per view of the year is set to take place this Sunday, as WWE hosts SummerSlam in the Conseco Field House in Indianapolis. Whether this year’s card lives up to the annual event’s high standards depends mostly on what you think of the current WWE product. With four matches all making cases for the main event slot, there is no shortage of high-stakes contests on the show. But still, there are some reasons to be disappointed with this year’s line up.

Let’s go through the matches, in my perceived order of importance:

Batista vs. John Cena:
John Cena was right weeks ago when he said the first ever meeting between he and “The Animal” is the kind of match that most fans might expect to see at WrestleMania. And the closer we get to the show, the more I’m wishing WWE did in fact hold out until ‘Mania. With less than a month of real hype, what is being billed as “dream match” instead feels a little rushed. WWE writers and both performers have done an admirable job of building a foundation for this showdown, but it still seems a bit paint by numbers. One of the problems, of course, is that both men are babyfaces, making their rivalry a bit too friendly to really build the anticipation among fans that should come with this match. What’s more, taking place at SummerSlam – rather than Mania – and without a title on the line, the match is not clearly the biggest attraction on the show – something that should be an absolute given for the first showdown between the two biggest stars of WWE’s current generation. The upside of there being no title on the line, nor a clearly defined good guy or bad guy, is that it really is anybody’s guess who comes out on top here. With Batista showing some early signs of a heel turn, I’ll predict Cena wins it – sending Dave into a frustrated tizzy.

Here’s the conclusion of my rankings of 20 years of SummerSlam. I offered you my 20-11 rankings a few weeks ago, and is always the case with any kind of ranked list, it stirred some debate in the comment section. I’m glad. That’s what anybody who puts together a list hopes for. That said, even I wouldn’t consider these rankings gospel, and if you took the list away from me and asked me to recreate it, I’d probably shuffle around the order a bit. So, of course, it’s all a matter of opinion.

That said, I would offer a couple revisions. I neglected to include near the bottom of the list SummerSlam 1989, which had few redeemable qualities and was headlined by none other than Zeus and Brutus Beefcake in the main event. Ugh. I’m also not crazy about SummerSlam 2003, which had featured Triple H winning an Elimination Chamber match that included Goldberg. So if you go back to my original entry, you’ll find both more appropriately ranked.

That pushes SummerSlams 2006 and 2004 into my top ten. I know a lot of you especially thought the latter, headlined by Randy Orton winning his first world title, has no business in even the top 15, but I’ll stick to my guns. There was some good stuff on that show.

10. SummerSlam 2006: There was some really good stuff on this show, but, in retrospect, it lacked the historical significance to really make it memorable. This card could have just as well taken place on a Vengeance or Unforgiven. It was headlined by Edge defeated John Cena for the WWE championship in one of a long series of matches between the two that year. It also featured D Generation X beating Vince & Shane McMahon, and Batista defeating Booker T to retain the world heavyweight championship. The highlight may have been a dramatic and intense "I Quit" match between legends Mick Foley and Ric Flair.

The weapons in the cage include the aforementioned Reynolds Wrap cookie sheets, trash cans and lids, some hockey sticks, kendo sticks, and steel chairs.

Dramatic music plays as Joe and Angle are shown walking in the back.

Booker is wearing the TNA belt and is accompanied by the lovely Sharmell. Joe gets a nice reaction from fans. JB is doing introductions with both men in the ring.

The goofy weapons hung on the cage serve to obscure fans' view. This match is starting at about 10:42, so I can't imagine it will go very long.

The match saw lots of garbage brawling with loud crash sounds, and some big bumps involving the cage. The fans were into it.

The finish saw the lights so out, and when they came back, Joe knocked out Booker with... Jeff Jarrett's guitar. I guess Double J is on the way back. I'm OK with that. He's been mostly gone nearly two years, so his act should be relatively fresh.

All in all, a surprisingly fun show. If nothing else, it was a rare experience to watch a non-WWE, well-produced, pay per view in a local arena. With most of the arena sectioned off, the house probably looked OK on TV. I was lucky enough to be able to sit on the empty side of the arena.

The bad part is, of course, driving from Trenton to Long Island on a Sunday night, when you have to be at work Monday morning.

-- Alfonso

Styles got another 3 count with a scary looking top rope DDT. Angle should not be taking a bump like that. Sure enough Angle did not get up after ten, so Styles is your winner. The crowd popped huge for the Phenomenal One, who incidentally has about my favorite theme song in all of wrestling.

Medics are in the ring with a neck brace and stretcher to tend to Kurt. It's a work, I'm sure. But A.J.'S back for more. He suplexed Angle and chewed him out some.

The lights went out and Sting was at the top of the ramp, where he gave Styles a Scorpion Death Drop, further confusing the issue as to whether he's a heel or babyface. Nash followed behind Sting and seems unhappy with what he just did.

I can't believe Karen Angle didn't get involved in this match. So far, even with the goofy tuxedo match, the silliness quotient on this show has been relatively minimal for a TNA show.

The ring crew is putting up the six sides of steel. There's a garbage can full of weapons in the ring, including a kendo stick. Forget what I said earlier about the aluminum foil trash cans. They're all over the ring.

Your main event for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship is next.

-- Alfonso

Styles and Angle are so far having a fantastic WWE-main event style battle in their last man standing match, complete with each man attempting the other's finisher (yes, Angle tried a Styles Clash!) Angle also did a flip dive off the stage. It should be noted that TNA's version of a last man standing match is better than WWE's. Unlike in WWE, where a ref starts counting to ten every time a man is down - slowing down a match badly - the TNA ref only counts after a 3 count or submission.

Styles made Angle tap with an ankle lock, but Angle got up before ten. Then Angle pinned Styles after a top rope German suplex, and Styles got up before ten. Angle immediately jit an Angle Slam for another 3 count. Stylrs got up and almost immediately hit the Styles Clash for another 3 count. Angle got up at nine. What a match so far.

-- Alfonso

Rhyno gored Devon into a table that didn't break to win a match that I enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would. It was a wild brawk all over the arena, with a lot of innovative weapons spots. But to TNA's credit, none of the stunts looked too risky, and the blood was kept to a minimum. Kudos to TNA for not using the aluminum foil trash cans and cookie sheets in this match. We got some cool stuff with road signs, a ladder and steel steps instead.

My favorite spot of the night so far was when Devon was about to pummell Christian, and Christian held up a stop sign - do Devon obeyed it and stopped. Hilarious.

Abyss Cmae in at the end and beat up Johnny Devine, who came out to aid the former Dudleys.

A.J. Styles is cutting a promo as a ring crew cleans up the mess left behind by the last match.

-- Alfonso

It just wouldn't be a TNA pay per view without an overly complicated gimmick match. The Brawl and Chain match was a cross between a tuxedo match and a chain match - you know, because fans have always clamored to see one of those. The 3,000 fans said it best when they chanted "Fire Russo!" and "Boring!" in unison. The tuxedos and chain just served as a burden to slow down two great, exciting athletes. Just a clumsy, awkward mess. Lethal and Dutt tried their best, and pulled off some innovative spots, but it wasn't enough to save this dog of a match, which Lethal won with his top rope elbow.

Lethal's family, who are from Jersey, were cheering Jay on at ringside, as they usually do at NJ indie shows.

Booker T is sipping champagne in the back and vows to beat Joe.

The Jersey Street Fight pitting Team 3D vs. Christian Cage and Rhyno is next. This is sure to be a bloody brawl.

-- Alfonso

James Storm and Robert Roode - Beer Money Inc. - won the tag titles from LAX when Storm cracked Homicide in the face with a bottle. Hot tag match that kept the fans excited throughout. There was a terrific spot in which Hernandez gave his own partner a Razors Edge out of the ring - sending him flying onto Roode and Storm.

I've heard some buzz that there are plans to have Hernandez compete for TNA heavyweight title, and Homicide for the X title. So this finish makes some sense.

Sonjay Dutt and "Black Machismo" are coming to the ring for their Black Tie Brawl and Chain match. Lethal told me a great story last night about his one conversation with the real Macho Man. Remind me to share it with you.

-- Alfonso