STW - The Great American Bash 2006 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

The WWE Talent Wellness Program takes center stage on this show, but not in the ways you might expect, so we need to go back about a month to understand where that stood at the time after a major story or two…

Week of 7/3/2006 (Torch 7/8, F4W 7/10, Observer 7/10 & 7/13)

Observer: Angle is taking at least a month off. The public reason is that he's injured and has asked for time off, but the actual reason is the company made the call and basically felt it had no choice but to act. The one month off is the timetable of his company ordered suspension (30 days, starting on 6/28, but this is WWE and even that can be altered like Orton coming back a week before his number of days on the suspension ran out because they had a PPV they wanted him on and needed to get an angle shot). But at this point that is just a minimum. This probably explains him doing clean jobs last week because the company was aware they were going to take him off the road to take care of physical and emotional issues. Many have remarked things don't look good for him right now. An example of the fact the 30 days is a minimum is that ECW has house show line-ups booked through the end of August and have no scheduled plans at this point for Angle on them.

Dave would later report that the suspension was for the anabolic steroid nandrolone, which Kurt had tried to get a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for, but that was rejected because the prescription he presented was expired.

Bruce, what was the biggest concern at the time: Kurt’s injury streak, his trying to pass off an expired steroid prescription as legitimate, or his painkiller intake?

However, during this week, that’s not the big story…

Observer: In wrestling's history, there have been plenty of colorful behind-the-scenes reasons for world title changes. But this week may have been a first.

Rob Van Dam, holding both the WWE and ECW titles after five years of largely being in mid-card limbo, had both titles taken from him due to a change of plans stemming from his being pulled over and charged with possession of marijuana on 7/2 after a show in Huntington, WV. After dropping both titles, he was then suspended for 30 days, joining Kurt Angle as the two top ECW stars serving suspension time. Van Dam's suspension is without pay, which will cost him more than $20,800 minimum, based on his down side guarantee. It is not known if Angle's suspension is without pay, although the strong presumption is it would be, and his downside is considerably larger.

In a story that made the national wires and was covered in many newspapers and on several radio stations throughout the country, Robert Alex Szatkowski and Terry Michael Brunk (Sabu) were pulled over for speeding at about 10:15 p.m. that night in Hanging Rock, OH, traveling from the house show that night, presumably to Columbus, OH, where they would likely fly to Philadelphia. According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, when troopers approached the car, rented in Szatkowski's name, they smelled marijuana and performed a search. Szatkowski was found in possession of 18 grams of marijuana and carrying five Vicodin pills. The pills were not in a cannister nor did he have a prescription for the pills in his possession. The marijuana charge is minor in Ohio, as possession of less than 100 grams of marijuana in Ohio usually results in a $100 fine, and is treated like a traffic ticket. If Szatkowski doesn't produce a prescription for the pills, he could be charged with possession of a controlled substance. The marijuana possession is a violation of the WWE's new drug policy, and if he doesn't have a prescription for the Vicodin, that would be a second and considered a more serious violation.

Brunk was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, in specific, a pipe, or bong. The charge is a misdemeanor, which has a maximum 30 days in prison and $750 fine. He was also in possession of nine pills, which were seized by the police and not immediately identified by them. The pills are believed to have been anti-estrogen producing prescription pills (a drug similar to Novaldex, but under another name) he was taking to control his gynocomastia (the medical term for the slang term bitch tits), as Sabu told John Laurinaitis this and admitted it also to other wrestlers. When Sabu met with Vince McMahon and was apologetic, Vince would not shake his hand. Because males produce both testosterone and estrogen, some, often when getting off a steroid cycle, which due to injecting testosterone, causes the body to slow down its own production, which means it doesn't produce much when getting off steroids. As men using steroids age, it becomes a more significant problem. Brunk is 42. Without producing testosterone, the estrogen the body still produces causes side effects including the nipples to swell and develop like the beginnings of female breasts, which can only be corrected via surgery. It is not uncommon for wrestlers and bodybuilders to have the painful surgery. He also did not have a prescription on him for the pills. Supposedly, the WWE did not suspend him because the drug in question was said to not be on their banned substances list, but he is in trouble in Ohio over it. Because he was not found in possession of any drugs on their banned list, only the pipe, Brunk was fined $1,000, but not suspended. He may or may not have been saved by the fact ECW is just starting getting started and its two top stars are already suspended. But the rationale was he was not in possession of any banned drugs. In addition, when Brunk arrived at TV, he was contrite and apologetic to everyone. The feeling was Szatkowski showed up and acted as if nothing serious was wrong, which didn't go over as well.

Sabu was pulled from his appearance on Raw, but that was not due to punishment, but to do a script change where he wasn't needed because they were taking the title off Van Dam. He will be appearing at all house shows.

The news broke early the next morning when it was reported in the Ironton (OH) Tribune, the local paper in Hanging Rock, OH. WWE officials knew that morning and quickly made the call to have Van Dam immediately drop both championships before his punishment would kick in.

It was considered a black eye for the company, which recently instituted a drug policy. It is understood that while the written policy prohibits the usage of marijuana, the company is not vigilant, and talent knows they will not be tested for the drug. However, it is specifically written that it is against company policy to use marijuana or alcohol before a performance, and the company does have the right to test, based on reasonable cause, for marijuana.

The policy, instituted in the wake of the death of Eddy Guerrero, is more aimed at abuse of prescription pain medication, and to have something tangible on paper and a testing policy because anabolic steroids are a hot button issue. Guerrero's death, which led to the reinstatement of regular drug testing of WWE talent for the first time since 1996, was specifically linked in the autopsy report to years of steroid and narcotic use.

The policy has a loophole that no other sports do. While some physiques have changed, and there have been wrestlers who tested positive for steroids on initial tests and were told to get off them (one wrestler, who has noticeably shrunk, fits into this category), steroids are allowable with a prescription for treatment and healing of injuries. Since virtually every company wrestler has those type of injuries, it is not difficult to get a prescription for steroids. Even before the policy, it was believed most company wrestlers using both steroids and Growth Hormone (which is also banned in the policy, but is impossible at this point to test for) were doing so with a prescription, which explains why most physical changes, some of which were telling at first, have ended up being almost unnoticeable. There has been at least one wrestler who has gotten into trouble for a positive steroid test because the wrestler in question's prescription expired for the drug.

However, it considered imperative not to bed caught with anything illegal, as the policy specifically states, "Any talent who is arrested, convicted or who admits to a violation of law relating to use, possession, purchase, sale or distribution of prohibited drugs will be in material breach of contract and subject to immediate dismissal."

At the 7/3 Raw show in Philadelphia, the originally planned main event, which was to be a three-way tag team match with Sabu & Van Dam vs. Edge & Mick Foley vs. John Cena & Ric Flair, was changed to a three-way singles match for the WWE title. Foley remained at the show, but wasn't used, while Flair, when getting the word early in the day, was allowed to fly home that night from Charlotte. It was said to be a very strong consensus, even before the decision regarding a suspension was made, that it was imperative to get the title off Van Dam that night.

Several have noted the bad timing for Van Dam, who, along with Angle, was supposed to be the biggest star in ECW. Van Dam was not a favorite of management due to the belief he was greatly overrated as a worker and below par for a headliner when it came to doing promos. Despite being popular enough to headline, this, emphasized in years past by HHH when at one point a decision was made to put the title on him, kept him underneath the so-called glass ceiling. In WWE, being a headliner is a funny psychological deal. Unless forced, usually due to talent depth issues and injuries, the company seems to have an old-line wrestler philosophy regarding the ability to carry a company. Unless the fans make you a star, which is rare (Guerrero, and to a lesser extent, Rey Mysterio would fit into this category), or in the case of John Cena, Randy Orton and Dave Batista (and Cena and Batista were also made by fans but it was after management had hand picked both for stardom due to their looks, whereas Orton was made entirely by management's push, not that he didn't get over with his push when given it), the guys who have been money players are the only money players. When someone not expected to draw does, like Edge, who was just meant to be a three-week deal to surprise people, but then business went up, it opened eyes and now most everyone was acceptable to him in the top spot. Mysterio also wasn't expected to draw on top and only be short-term, but due to the injury situation and that he's drawn, my feeling is he's looked at in a different way, although size will always be an issue. But the reality is, the company is always going to do a certain level of numbers unless they implode. So anyone put on top right now will do okay (the right person will do better than the wrong person), but few will get the chance because they don't have the track record.

The point being, Van Dam got the title simply because they felt they needed it to establish the ECW brand. It was not an overriding belief that Van Dam was in any way the best man for the job, just it fit into the best storyline for the moment. However, because his matches had gotten over, he was starting to be looked at in a new light.

"Vince was starting to warm up to RVD and block out the anti-RVD contingency (in the company)," noted one person deep in the mix. "Sabu was about to receive the biggest push since the Tazz program (1997) in ECW."

From all accounts, Van Dam is now going to have to rebuild that confidence. On Monday, it was decreed, and how long this will stay is anyone's guess, that nobody with a questionable track record right now would be booked in a top spot. While it is hardly a secret many WWE wrestlers use marijuana because it helps calm people down so they can sleep after the adrenaline push of performing, kills some of the pain, and in many cases, to get high, it is understood not to do it in public or flaunt it. Traveling with it is frowned on, but using it in your hotel room is not said outright to be acceptable, but certainly is understood to be. Van Dam and his fondness for pot smoking has never even been attempted to be kept a secret, and he's appeared on the cover of High Times, talks about his fondness for herb openly whenever questioned, and it's been really part of his gimmick for nearly a decade. While the title itself is at times simply a prop, there is a standard expected from the champion not to screw up publicly.

In the grand scheme of things, unless someone has issues where it affects their work, or showing up for work, which WWE would address, it's a relatively benign drug in the grand scheme of things. Steroids and painkillers have led to many wrestler deaths. I can't find one case of a death attributable to marijuana, and the goal of the policy should not be Draconian public relations above all, but be the best policy for the long-term health of the wrestlers. However, with such a policy, it has to be understood that you can't get caught in public with illegal drugs. Still, one top star noted that no matter how you slice it, when Vince McMahon at almost 61 years old walks around like he does, even if it's unproven how he attained it, there are more than whispers about the entire thing being hypocrisy, whether those beliefs are valid or not.

For starters, how strange and ridiculous does it look 18 years later, when the president is in the middle of trying to get cannabis rescheduled as a regular prescription drug, that this was primarily about pot possession?

What do you make of Dave’s assessment of the state of the Wellness Program at this time?

F4W: Van Dam was said to have handled the situation in a positive manner backstage, but you could tell from looking at him both nights that he was disappointed, perhaps more due to the issues he’d caused than how the WWE reacted to the issues. [...] Many wrestlers assumed both guys would be fired immediately and were thus surprised with WWE’s handling of the situation. Obviously, if Danny Doring and Roadkill had been arrested, they’d likely have been fired immediately. The reality is that life isn’t fair in the wrestling business, and RVD and Sabu are seen as two of the biggest stars of this new ECW brand. You also have to consider that although a $1,000 fine may seem light for Sabu, if in fact he had prescriptions for all his pills and the pipe was brand new, he was basically fined $1,000 for possessing an unused pipe. Rob had 18 grams of marijuana, so if he had a prescription for the pills that would mean he was suspended for 30 days without pay for a misdemeanor. Personally, I think they both should have been punished severely for being stupid enough to smoke marijuana while speeding.

Bruce, do you think the speed trap aspect of the story made it worse at all? Or do you think the reaction would have been about the same if RVD and Sabu were arrested for possession under other circumstances?

How DO you think it would have gone for someone more “expendable” to end up in the same situation RVD and Sabu found themselves in?

The Wellness Policy is a very strange thing. Test showed up on the ECW show looking bigger than ever, so big in fact that the fans chanted “YOU’RE ON STEROIDS!” Gene Snitsky, who was melting a couple of weeks after the policy was instated, is back to being just as big as ever. Even today, eight months after the policy was announced, Johnny Nitro looks completely unlike the Johnny Nitro that tried out for Tough Enough. And those are just a few of the countless examples.

This seems to happen less now, but back in the day, what did you make of newsletter types and in-arena fans guessing who they thought was on steroids? There are some, like Snitsky, with how visibly he changed when drug testing was announced, where it’s somewhat understandable, but overall, do you feel like it’s unfair to the talent? 

On the other hand, there have been casualties of the policy. Chris Masters and Joey Mercury were both sent to rehab, and WWE sources have confirmed that Kurt Angle is off the road for at least 30 days dealing with problems stemming from prescription pain pill abuse. As a person with a great understanding of how the wrestling business works, the only conclusion I can come to is that the unofficial policy is this (and this is pure speculation on my part): Steroid failures will not result in a suspension, but may result in a small fine, and most of the guys realize that the benefits of a huge physique outweigh the fines. For recreational drug issues, if something high-profile happens, you will be reprimanded on a sliding scale having to do with where you stand on the roster. Prescription pain pill issues will be ignored unless the issues get to the point where people are seriously worried about a performer’s health. I could be totally wrong, but after eight months the policy I just outlined is the only one that seems to fit known facts.

Is Bryan’s report about Kurt’s suspension here a contradiction of what Dave would later report? Or was Kurt’s painkiller habit also a factor in his being suspended? Was the attempt to pass off an expired prescription as legitimate seen as a possible worrying sign about his mental state?

Speaking broadly, when talent would get sent to rehab on the company’s dime, was it usually because an ultimatum was given about their jobs, or were there some cases where the talent went to management about their problem on their own? In the cases where the company pushed it, what was usually the catalyst? Colleagues complaining about having to work with someone they felt was unsafe?

Torch: At first, RVD and Sabu were concerned for their jobs, Sabu especially so because he has much less tenure and clout with the company. However, Vince McMahon has become a fan of Sabu’s style and persona. He felt he was a vital member of the ECW roster. So when the offense was relatively minor, his job was safe. In fact, McMahon approached Sabu after the ECW televised event on Tuesday night and told him he appreciated how he had been handling the situation since Sunday and looked forward to working with him in the future. Word had gotten around that Sabu was extremely apologetic to his colleagues for what happened, realizing it shed bad light on the entire locker room, which had a rep for being out of control and drug-riddled during the original ECW’s prime years. Sabu had gone so far as to offer to take the rap for RVD, arguing that RVD had things going his way lately and it would be a shame for both of them to lose their jobs or be heavily punished for the incident. RVD refused the offer, and the police officer would likely have contradicted any attempt to shift all the blame from RVD to Sabu.

How much did Sabu’s handling of all this help him during the fallout?

McMahon, though, was not surprised by RVD being caught with marijuana in his car. He was upset, but not shocked, since RVD hardly makes his fondness for marijuana a secret. The real frustration among top members of management was that RVD abused the loose marijuana policy. Although marijuana is not screened for as part of WWE’s random drug testing, it is on the banned substance list. Wrestlers are expected to follow what amounts to a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, where if a wrestler can hide his use, he can smoke on his time.

The policy was looser regarding marijuana than many other drugs because while it’s illegal, it is considered the mildest of drugs you can put in your body among those on the banned substance list. Testing for it is expensive, second hand smoke could lead to positive test results, and deep down McMahon would rather his wrestlers have pot to fall back on for pain relief as opposed to in essence sending them all to doctors to get prescriptions for more dangerous, yet legal pills as an alternative. Unlike marijuana, abuse of legal prescription pills, when used in high quantities, has been linked to many deaths over the years.

Is this a fair assessment of the company’s view on cannabis at the time? Was this the catalyst to start testing for it on urine tests?

By not smoking pot at home or in his hotel room, and speeding while smoking in the car, RVD made it impossible for WWE to “look the other way.” One WWE staffer, embarrassed by the publicity, tells PWTorch: “This is disappointing. This was an error in judgment. Why even bring that stuff on the road?” Says one veteran ECW wrestler: “It only takes one mistake by a wrestler to kill a town, or in this case a brand. I take this personally. Everyone has been doing jobs for them so hopefully they can be top draws for ECW. The stink is over our entire locker room when someone does stuff like this. When you make mistakes, you hurt others. It’s about being a grown up.” Says another veteran ECW wrestler: “Everybody’s been so careful about not f–––ing up because we all knew Vince was probably told we were a bunch of f––– ups. This certainly doesn’t help.”

Was this considered a negative reflection on ECW at all? Regardless, do you think the ECW talent who talked to Wade were at least right to be concerned that it would be taken that way?

As for the in-ring and storyline side of things, the build for the PPV starts in earnest on the next SmackDown…

Week of 7/10/2006 (F4W 7/17)

F4W SmackDown review: Show opened with an over-the-top-rope battle royal. Apparently they just figured out they’ve got a Great American Bash coming up and don’t have a contender for Rey Jr. So the winner of this match gets it. The match consisted of largely dorks, the Matt Hardys and Spankys and Simon Deans. The only guys really pushed as stars were Finlay, Booker T and Regal. I guess Mr. Kennedy though he only wins squash matches. No real heat for the match. Announcers spent most of the time talking about how Batista was going to return tonight. Mexicools got into a brawl after both were eliminated. Came down to Regal, Booker, Matt, Finlay, Kendrick and London. So in other words, it really came down to Regal, Finlay and Booker. Crowd was getting quieter by the moment. London and Kendrick got tossed, then Finlay. GOD DAMN IT. So it was down to Booker, Matt and Regal. Cole said the odds were against Matt. I’ll say. “The odds are always against Matt Hardy,” JBL added. Crowd got into him, I’ll give him that. Matt finally went to toss Regal, but Booker snuck up from behind and tossed them both for the win. Tons of boos for that. YAY BOOKER!~! Regal is such a great man that even though he almost got a shot at the World Title and Booker betrayed him, he still grabbed the mic and lead the “ALL HAIL KING BOOKER!” chant. This was one of those things that makes zero sense except that IT JUST DOES.

When the match was made, was it already set in stone that Booker was beating Rey for the title?

Great Khali vs. Tatanka. Daivari brought a casket to ringside before this match. Khali knocked him off the apron to the floor, then beat him all over the place. Total one-sided manhandling. I’m sure you’re stunned. He gave him the neck-hanging tree slam, then suddenly Khali’s music played. He couldn’t even pin Tatanka? Daivari opened up the casket, but smoke billowed out. Everyone cheered their heads off. Taker on the big screen said he couldn’t believe Khali wanted another match at the PPV. He said Khali should stop while he’s ahead. Well, he is ahead. Taker said he’d accept that Punjabi Prison Match or whatever the fuck it’s called at the PPV. I could have sworn that Michael Cole said this match would take place IN THE JUNGLE. Oh please oh please oh please oh please oh please!.

Bruce, chat me up: Where did the idea for the Punjabi Prison come from, how far in advance did it need to be booked to build the cage, and just how much was Khali figured in to get his own speciality cage match gimmick?

You know, it’s shows like this that make me understand why interest in this show is at an all-time low. After this Pitbulls match, nothing of value happened for over fifteen straight minutes. I switched to the HD channel and was watching some show about the Inuit and caribou. First off, WWE and UFC in particular need to switch to HD. Get on the fucking ball you people. Boxing is in HD, baseball and other major sports are in HD, and here we are watching shitty analog tapes of pro-wrestling and fighting. And I know UFC FILMS in HD because every now and then we’ll see one in HD on the HD Channel. I want to see them LIVE in HD. Also, while watching this aforementioned show about the Inuit and caribou, I had NO desire to return to watching Smackdown. I’d have been perfectly fine watching the rest of this show. If you don’t have HD, first off, get it. Get an HD compatible TV and pay whatever you have to in order to watch the programming. You’ll thank me for it. Nature shows in HD are indescribably beautiful. In some ways it’s better than real life, because in real life, nine times out of ten the nature surrounding your house looks nothing like the nature on the HD channel. So it was that show or flipping back to Smackdown to hear Michael Cole explaining some Punjabi Prison Match with Undertaker and Great Khali. Seriously, I’d have watched HD and only switched back to see Big Dave at the end of this show. The point of all of this is that if you look at the Smackdown ratings, I’m not alone here.

The switch to WWE doing everything in HD comes about six months later. At this point, how far into getting it ready was the production team? Were there any reservations about HD potentially making it easier to see holes in some wrestlers’ work, and did that lead to other production changes? Did the WWE crew study the handful of HD shows that TNA had done to get a better idea of how to shoot wrestling in HD when it was still new?

Mark Henry did a promo about the rumors that Batista was going to call him out next. He said if Big Dave wanted to call him out, fine, but it would be the shortest comeback in wrestling history. Big Dave returned. He’s still big Dave, but he’s a little less big. Still very cut, but without that freaky tissue-thin skin aspect. Basically, he looks healthier than he looked before. Still has the huge shoulders and traps. He got the super superstar reaction. First thing he did was grab the mic and demand that Mark Henry come out right now. Henry came down the aisle but stopped halfway and bailed to the back. Rey caught him halfway, but Henry destroyed him immediately. Big Dave made the save (sucks to be Rey as always) and destroyed Henry. Rey, meanwhile, was attended to. Yes, all the Rey beatings by Mark Henry over the past several weeks were about getting over Mark Henry for Big Dave. Dave looked like he was being careful not to kill himself. Can’t blame him. Henry gigged. Batista destroyed him with hard chairshots, over and over repeatedly. A ton of officials finally ran down to break it up. This totally saved the show.

He had been improving for a few years, but why do you think Mark Henry really put everything together so well in 2006 to where he became a complete performer? Cynically, some fans suspected he was working harder because his 10 year contract was up, but was that the perception inside the company at all?

Just how much did SmackDown need Batista’s return at this time?

Week of 7/17/2006 (Torch 7/22 & Observer 7/24)

Observer: The CW network announced 9/22 as the debut date for Smackdown.

For younger listeners or those who may not remember, The CW was the merger of two separate networks: UPN and The WB, which launched in January 1995 as the first new American broadcast networks since Fox got its start in October 1986. The WB had a clear brand as mainly being the home of teen dramas, but UPN had a lot less of a firm identity. Sitcoms pushed heavily for Black viewers on Monday and Thursday, America’s Next Top Model and little-watched critical darling Veronica Mars on Tuesday, movies on Wednesday, and SmackDown on Friday. SmackDown and the Tuesday lineup were the only UPN shows to survive the merger. Bruce, from your perspective, did the network move mean much beyond that it would be switching stations in cities where The CW took over The WB’s affiliate and not UPN’s, which would impact the Nielsen ratings?

Observer: Smackdown notes for 7/14. A nothing show. No more JBL jokes. Evidently he was told no more sports references, as he went from two dozen to zero in one week. The only history reference was comparing Booker to Sir Edmund Hillary (the first guy to climb Mount Everest). Don’t ask me how that makes sense other than he was trying to analogize that Booker had achieved some sort of a legendary breakthrough. There was so little of note on the show that I was begging for a mention of a 1960s Packers power sweep when Kennedy was in there. 

Why did JBL get his beloved old sports references taken away from him?!?

The Batista-Henry contract signing just felt to me like a segment that wasn’t well prepared in that they really had no good ideas and allotted far too much time for it, so it felt like it never ended. The main gist is that the winner of their match was to get a title shot at SummerSlam. You’ve got to figure Batista wins, so that means either Rey vs. Batista or Booker vs. Batista. I also heard talk of a three-way, but had it denied to me internally that it is not the current plan. Booker was scheduled originally to win the title at the Bash, but as of the weekend, that plan had been changed, with Booker getting the title on Smackdown at some point after the Bash. But you know how these things change on an hourly basis.

Is it true that the Booker-Rey finish was touch and go in the weeks leading up to the Bash?

Torch cover story about the Saturday Night’s Main Event special on NBC on 7/15: The biggest news coming out of the event was the injury to Mark Henry. In the opening tag match featuring Mark Henry & Finlay & Booker T vs. Rey Mysterio & Batista & Bobby Lashley. As Henry charged Rey in the corner, he injured his knee. He had surgery three days later to repair a torn patella tendon and a cracked kneecap. He is expected to miss a minimum of eight months of action, according to his doctor’s estimate.

The Henry injury derailed a major storyline headed into Sunday’s Great American Bash PPV. Batista’s comeback singles match was to be against the wrestler who (according to the storyline) injured him. Had the injury happened when Batista was in the ring, Batista could at least “claim credit for the injury." As it turned out, Henry fell to the mat after charging in the corner and could barely crawl over to his corner to make a hot–tag to Finlay.

Henry has been injury–prone during his unremarkable WWE career, but this came at the worst time for him. He had gained some semblance of acceptance as a main eventer performer with some strong promos lately and a “killer heel" push. Batista will now face Mr. Kennedy, barring another injury or a last–second change in plans. Kennedy, though, just lost to Matt Hardy on last week’s Smackdown, so the match has much less appeal without any type of backstory to support it.

There haven’t been many worse-timed injuries than this one, have there? The guy is doing the best work of his career and really cementing himself as a top heel, and then, bam, he blows out his knee.

Torch: There was considerable buzz in Houston for the Sunday night, July 16 Smackdown brand house show at the 18,000 seat Toyota Center, which was nearly sold out for the non–televised event. It had been advertised locally for nearly two months during Raw and Smackdown on USA Network and UPN, respectively. The strong attendance was aided by a box office promotion where any active military personnel could show up at the arena in uniform and get in free.

This is pretty unusual for a house show in this era, especially on the SmackDown side. Is there anything in particular that you attribute this near-sellout to?

Torch: Ken Kennedy represented WWE at the Television Critics Association meeting this week, helping to kick off the merger of UPN and The WB into The CW. He touted some of the shows scheduled for The CW this fall.

Did WWE send reps to the TCA Summer Press Tour every year, or only milestones like this, SmackDown debuting on UPN, etc.?

With that out of the way, it’s now time for the PPV to be thrown into complete disarray!

Week of 7/24/2006 (Torch 7/29, F4W 7/31, Observer 7/31 & 8/2)

Observer: Just before the Great American Bash PPV, the WWE Smackdown side, already decimated by injuries to JBL, Mark Henry and the sabbatical of Chris Benoit for a number of reasons including surgery, as well as Kurt Angle and Randy Orton being moved to ECW and Raw respectively, saw the roster decimated by a variety of issues.

Both Bobby Lashley, 30, and Dalip Singh (Great Khali), 33, were diagnosed with liver problems and have been removed from the active wrestling roster for the time being. Both were pulled from their matches at the Great American Bash PPV, although both were to appear on the show. WWE reported Lashley had an elevated liver enzyme count, but did not publicly acknowledge Singh’s similar problem. Although Vince McMahon made the decision on 7/22 to pull Singh from wrestling Undertaker on the show in favor of Big Show, the WWE didn’t make the announcement and were likely going to shoot an angle during the broadcast. Little other details are available, but apparently because the company, in testing both men, conclusively found liver problems, they really had no choice but to take them off the road until the problems were under control. Apparently the liver disease was significant enough in both men that there was fear that one or the other could have borderline Hepatitis and there was no choice, even with them advertised in top matches on a PPV, to risk them wrestling. Francisco Pantoja (Super Crazy), 32, who was scheduled for a cruiserweight title match on the Bash PPV, was also pulled at the last minute because he was diagnosed with a liver ailment. Crazy’s diagnosis led to fear that there is an outbreak on the Smackdown side. They are the only known stars to be pulled from health reasons, although referee Jimmy Korderas was also pulled from the road for health reasons found in the more extensive physical examinations the company is requiring its performers to undergo in the wake of the death of Eddy Guerrero.

Lashley’s problems, or at least the potential of them, were known internally for at least two weeks. The decision to take the U.S. title from him on 7/11 in Minneapolis at the Smackdown tapings was because the company was aware of, at the very least, the potential he would not be able to wrestle if further testing revealed what preliminary tests showed. As noted, the title change was done at TV because they knew there was a good chance he would not be able to work the PPV, when the original problems were confirmed after more testing.

The significance of this, particularly when it came to these two men, was scary obvious. Both Lashley and Khali were rushed to the main roster long before they were ready due to their unique physiques. While Lashley was an Olympic games hopeful as a wrestler, it was his near Mr. Olympia-like physique and not his near Olympic games wrestling that put him on the fast track to stardom. Khali was 7-feet tall and there may be nobody on Earth with his unique combination of height and muscular thickness from being a champion bodybuilder in his youth. But simply being 7-feet tall doesn’t get you far in pro wrestling these days without freaky thickness to go along with it. Like Chris Masters, they were all rushed up from developmental long before their trainers thought they were ready, entirely because of their unique looks. Now all three are on the shelf, most likely, due to what they did to achieve the same looks that helped get them all not only hired, but pushed to main level status despite being inexperienced. It is by no means a proven fact that either Lashley or Khali’s liver problems are due to steroid use, even though there are some steroids that are greatly toxic to the liver, and there have been liver issues among wrestlers who have had steroid pasts. Richard Vigneault (Rick Martel) had a similar issue with his liver that became public record in the trial of Dr. George Zahorian in 1991. Wayne Coleman (Superstar Billy Graham) has serious liver problems that came within weeks of ending his life a few years back, but is still alive only due to a donated liver. While a larger percentage of Graham’s health problems were steroid related, doctors believed his Hepatitis, which destroyed his liver, was caused by an infection and not from the use of steroids. It has been speculated it was a blood-transported infection, which Graham believes was likely from doing a double juice match. But that is a freak occurrence, because double juice matches are plentiful in wrestling and there has been no epidemic of liver problems from transported blood. Tomomi “Jumbo” Tsuruta, a Hall of Fame wrestler who was one of the greatest stars of the 70s and 80s, passed away at 49 from a diseased liver which had for all real purposes ended his career years earlier at a time when he was one of the elite wrestlers in the business. In his cage, it was believed to be something he was born with as opposed to something caused by infection or drug use.

Torch: All WWE wrestlers and personnel underwent complete physicals and blood work, not just to detect illegal drug usage, but to check on general health as part of the WWE Wellness Policy implemented earlier this year. The recent blood test results indicated elevated liver enzyme results in at least three wrestlers, and perhaps more. WWE sources say more wrestlers were expected to be pulled from the road this week, although the additional names could be due to drugs or masking agents being found in blood, not enzyme levels of concern. The wrestlers who have shown elevated enzyme levels will be further evaluated to determine if it’s a sign of a health problem or if it’s from steroid usage. [...] Tests for liver enzyme levels were not given specifically to find steroid levels, as even non–wrestling personnel were given physicals and had their blood tested. The discovery of potential liver problems may have been the result of the thorough testing process that part of the new WWE Wellness Program. WWE isn’t commenting about the situation, and is likely to try to keep most information in–house.

Observer, in the cover story of the week’s second issue: While there has been much talk of fear of a Hepatitis outbreak due to three men having liver issues, two of them apparently serious, the company believes the incidents are unrelated and there is apparently evidence, as opposed to speculation, that supports that belief. Still, within the company there has been an expressed fear among some performers the liver issues are not a coincidence. There is simply no way they can risk allowing anyone with a liver problem right now to work in a situation where there is even the slightest fear of Hepatitis and thus risk infection.

To whatever degree you can answer this without running afoul of medical privacy issues, what happened here? Did the RVD/Sabu publicity lead to extra precautions being taken, even with a condition that theoretically would seem safe to wrestle with — if no other clear issues like Hepatitis — like elevated liver enzymes? Was it felt that follow-up testing would take long enough that the talent needed to be pulled from the PPV? Was there just a round of physicals done around this time like Wade reported in the Torch? Did the wrestlers think it was related to any medications or supplements they were taking? Obviously, the fact that multiple wrestlers were sidelined over this at the same time raises a lot of questions.

If there is a silver lining to this dark cloud, it is the new policy likely caught these problems much earlier, increasing the recovery rate. But there is an even more obvious dark cloud right now, that what most people already knew can’t be plausibly denied any longer.

Do you think it was fair to attribute these test results to steroid use?

F4W: A few weeks ago the Wellness Policy looked like a joke. This week, things are much different. The full list of Wellness Victims at press time follows.

For Smackdown: Lashley, Khali, Kid Kash, Super Crazy, Joey Mercury and Matt Hardy. Lashley and Khali are out with the liver issues. Kid Kash and Jamie Noble are both out, and while some sources are saying it’s attitude-related, one WWE source stated that only Noble did not deserve to be included on the Wellness List. Kash, therefore, appears to be out due to issues related to the last round of medical testing (liver enzymes, etc.). Crazy was pulled due to elevated liver enzymes. Hardy is being pulled, and while we don’t have confirmation as to why, the WWE source did not say he was placed on the Wellness List unfairly. Hardy claims his blood test found traces of staph. Mercury was sent to rehab several months back. For ECW: Kurt Angle and Rob Van Dam. [...] For Raw: Chris Masters and Rene Dupre. [...] For developmental: Ryan Reynolds.

The Smackdown list is the biggest of all because Smackdown was tested independently of Raw and ECW. Privately, WWE officials are expecting several more guys to go down within the next few weeks, and some are saying that by WrestleMania 2007 the full impact of the new policy will be very apparent. According to the source, there is actually a sense of relief about all of this because if any of the guys end up having hepatitis C a potential major disaster could be avoided. Bob Orton Jr. was fired last year after it was discovered that he’d had hepatitis since he was a teenager and bled all over Undertaker during Taker’s Hell in the Cell match this past fall with Randy Orton. Thankfully, Taker ended up testing clean, but it was a major issue (Undertaker was as mad as some people have ever seen him), and there was major heat on John Lauranitis since he apparently knew Bob had hepatitis before the match and never said anything about it.

That’s an interesting point: Just how much of this is specifically taking precautions because of what went down seven months earlier with hep C-positive Cowboy Bob bleeding all over ‘Taker and Taker justifiably being enraged over it?

Observer: Smackdown notes from 7/21. Overall a decent show, the highlight of which again was JBL on commentary. [...] It was so funny hearing on a WWE broadcast JBL put over that Kendrick was a former champion with Zero-One in Japan.

In this era, how much free reign did most of the announcers have and just how much more did JBL have?

Lashley beat Finlay via DQ in 15:02 when Regal interfered. This was very different from all of their matches. Since they knew Lashley was out, while they didn’t pin Lashley, the entire match was Finlay beating on Lashley. The match was completely designed for Finlay to go over and usually the matches, no matter what the finish is, in the past were all designed for Lashley to be over (there is a difference and for some reason a lot of fans don’t understand it, between who gets the 1-2-3 or hand raised and who is designed to go over). Regal and Little Bastard were interfering freely. Finlay was very good on offense as usual but this was a long match that even dragged in spots. Regal interfered with a chair but Lashley speared him. Then Finlay hit Lashley with a chair and was DQ’d. Post-match was leaving Lashley laying, as Little Bastard gave him a low blow with the shilleleigh and then Finlay hit him over the head with another one.

Can you explain the logic of Lashley being allowed to wrestle this match after he was already flagged by medical? After all, this isn’t writing someone off for a drug test failure. It’s medically disqualifying someone from being fit to wrestle.

Main was Rey over Booker in 8:53. The best part of the show these days is JBL standing and talking about medieval times and King Solomon and some ancient queens when Booker & Sharmell are out. Match was good for anyone else, but decent by Mysterio standards. [...] Chavo tripped Booker, and then 619 and that was it.

Why are we doing this match on free TV days before it’s headlining a PPV?

Observer PPV review: The Great American Bash, in the end, was a show that didn’t click. Under the circumstances, that was understandable. The lack of crowd reaction for the undercard matches with little build-up wasn’t much of a surprise, but the bouts themselves weren’t bad. Of the changed matches, Matt Hardy replacing Super Crazy vs. Gregory Helms was likely as good or better than the originally scheduled match. As bad as Undertaker vs. Big Show was, and it was one of the worst main event matches in a long time, it is almost mind-boggling to think of how bad it would have been with Khali put in the same situation. It is possible Mark Henry vs. Batista would have had more heat than Batista vs. Mr. Kennedy, but highly unlikely the match would have been as good. Even though William Regal vs. Fit Finlay on paper sounds like a great match, better without Bobby Lashley, the lack of crowd interest was such that this change didn’t get over as well as the original match would have.

In the end, the King Booker win of the World title from Rey Mysterio when Chavo Guerrero turned on Mysterio was changed over the last week. That scenario itself had been planned most likely since shortly after JBL went down with his back problems. Mysterio is hardly the prototype of a WWE champion at his size, and he was booked like no champion before with so many television losses that didn’t even lead to title programs, yet still managed to carry the brand through some dire straits and for the most part draw better than expected houses. His lone prior PPV main event as champion, Vengeance, outperformed expectations. The title change taking place on this show as opposed to on Smackdown television had nothing to do with all the other changes that came up in the final days. The ending was predictable in a sense, as Chavo Guerrero turning on Mysterio to cost him the title has been obvious since the day he won the title, and would have happened at Vengeance had JBL not taken himself off the road due to injuries. The match was good, but compared to a usual WWE title match on PPV, it was a little below average (taking the JBL year on top away because that does skew the average downward).

Looking back, how do you feel about Rey losing so much on TV as champion. He’s already the underdog; why does he need to get beaten like a drum? Why not treat him as a protected star and champion?

The 7/23 show at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis drew about 9,750 fans, which was about 8,750 paying $490,400. The show was also notable as the first PPV with JBL announcing. That had both its good and bad points. JBL’s non-stop talking takes over every show. He has good lines. He clearly did homework on all the matches, which few wrestling announcers do. He’s even getting away with a lot of former taboos, such as talking about other organizations like AAA and Zero-One, that the company doesn’t own the tape history of. Michael Cole seemingly worked harder just to keep up with him. But JBL was so dominant that, like on the TV show, it felt like it was the JBL show. When it was over, you didn’t remember many of the matches, as much as you just heard JBL talk for three hours straight. His going on tangents did hurt some of the matches, most notably Fit Finlay vs. William Regal, although that match was hurt far more by a disinterested crowd.

Do you agree that JBL could guzzle Cole on commentary at times? Or do you think it was only an issue early on and got better with time?

A. Funaki pinned Simon Dean with a small package in the only dark match. This match didn’t air on television since they no longer do a live pre-game.

1. Paul London & Brian Kendrick beat Kid Kash & Jamie Noble in 13:28. With Kash being suspended, if there was any thought to changing the tag team title (and I was expecting it a week out but it wasn’t as if I was told that was the case), it wasn’t going to happen and it was obvious who had to take the fall. In the crazy moment, JBL brought up that Kid Kash and Ricky Morton once held the NWA world tag team titles. That’s the opposition titles. It also may not be true (I can’t find a record of it, but there were some Rock & Roll Express runs during the late 90s where Dave Cash & Morton may have been the team). A few missed flying spots but probably the best match on the show. London & Kendrick did a double tope. When Kash & Noble were double-teaming Kendrick, JBL said, “It’s like being on the road away from your wife. It’s only cheating if you get caught.” Hopefully, his wife was nowhere near the TV at that moment or he’ll have to rebuild his portfolio for the third time. London was doing a skin the cat move when Noble did a running dropkick, and London took the bump on the floor on his back. That was the first time I’d ever seen that one, and they got it over by showing the replay. JBL used the term ground & pound when the Pitbulls were on offense about 43 times, almost all of which saw them do nothing that would be considered ground & pound. But at least he wasn’t calling it pound & ground like Cole used to do. Finish saw Kendrick hit a plancha on Noble. London, who was not the legal man, was fighting with Kash. Kendrick then used a sunset flip off the top rope on Kash. Kash tried to block it, but was hit by London’s dropsault, and went over with Kendrick pinning him. ***1/4

Where the heck did the idea come from to make Kash and Noble the new Pitbulls, anyway?

Was there anyone on creative for whom London and Kendrick were a pet project? Their run stood out at the time and still stands out with hindsight for having such a long tag title reign with so many opponents who were good matches for their particular skill set. For smaller guys in WWE, it felt like they were being treated unusually well.

Teddy Long then announced Lashley wouldn’t be wrestling due to an elevated enzyme count in his liver. JBL used that for comedy for most of the next half hour, noting that his liver enzymes are fine and his liver should be in as bad a shape as Jake Roberts’. Lashley showed up. It was a weird deal because it’s well known he hasn’t been happy with what has gone down from the start. He was almost in tears having to do mic work, saying he came all the way for a match. Long said he’s thinking the long haul, and couldn’t let him wrestle. I guess it was an attempt to be honest on one account since they weren’t on the other. But it was weird, because they ended up making Long and the doctors the heels, but they ended up also making Lashley look weak at the same time. It was just weird, especially when they had William Regal and Fit Finlay came out while Lashley went to the back, in a manner where he came across a as wimp because he didn’t attack them. Finlay then said he wanted to win on a forfeit, but Long ordered them to wrestle each other. Think of this dual reality. They think everyone goes on their web site, so they tell storylines on the web that they expect fans to know. Then on their web site, they already announced this match days earlier, and one would have to think on a PPV that only does maybe 130,000 to 150,000 U.S. buys as opposed to a TV show millions of homes that the percentage of viewers who read the web site is significantly higher. Of course the explanation on television that HHH and Stephanie aren’t married and that somehow his being at the hospital is some sort of practical joke on the McMahons, when everyone knows the real story, and the company acknowledges the marriage and who the parents are on the web site, is an indication the company has no idea what it wants its web site to be, and it changes by the minute.

Do you think this was the right way to handle the explanations of the lineup changes? Or would it have been better to do all storyline explanations or all real life explanations with no mixing of the two?

There were some funny signs in the audience about livers, including one that read “I came to see who is left.”

2. Fit Finlay retained the U.S. title pinning William Regal in 13:49. I distinctly remember what may have been the last match these two had, many years ago in WCW where they had this incredible parking lot brawl. I doubt this one will remain in anyone’s memory more than a day. The match didn’t work on both storyline levels. It didn’t get over to the live crowd, and worse, this match was supposed to be Finlay turning face. Nobody saw it, even though Regal was clearly playing heel, and Cole, whose job it is to kind of direct that sort of thing did nothing to indicate Finlay and the mini were the faces. There were only glimpses of the great wrestling subtleties that these two can do, as it was more built up to comedy spots involving the Little Bastard, who is being called Troll more and more because of WWE’s new verbal wellness policy. First, he grabbed Regal by the leg as Regal was off the apron. Then he hit Regal’s leg with the shilleleigh. Later he bit Regal in the hand. The crowd was dead for most of the match, except for “boring” chants. Best one ever. As this chant was going on, Michael Cole explained it was because fans were wanting to see Lashley. I never realized “boring” was Lashley’s nickname. It was two heels, and that was that. Between the comedy with the troll and all the enzyme count jokes, the match didn’t have a chance with the TV viewer either. The troll stole Regal’s boot, so he worked the last minute with one boot and one sock. He gave it to Finlay who hit Regal in the head with it and pinned him. He apparently hit him hard since Regal had a small cut above the left eye. **1/4

This was obviously a colder match than the ones in their WCW blood feud, but overall, what did you think of the matches these guys had with each other and how different they were from the norm in WWE?

3. Gregory Helms pinned Matt Hardy in 11:43. Nothing was ever said about it being or not being a cruiserweight title match. They had advertised a cruiserweight title match on television with no opponent (it was originally to be Super Crazy). There was a reference to Hardy being a former champ and outgrowing the division. Hardy did a pescado early. It was actually several minutes into the match before JBL, whose commentary is decidedly aimed at internet fans and not the general public, started his usual rant on Hardy for playing to the internet fans. JBL brought up that Dusty Rhodes and Tully Blanchard was the main event on the first ever Great American Bash. Well, it did go on last since it was a cage match, but the main event on that show was Ric Flair vs. Nikita Koloff with David Crockett as referee. These two started together and worked indies together and that relationship was talked about. The crowd didn’t care about this match, but the bout was so good the crowd finally got into it for the near falls at the end. Helms did a swinging neckbreaker with both guys standing on the top rope. He got near falls with an unprettier and then a shining wizard. Hardy got a near fall with a moonsault block. After several more near falls, Helms got the pin with a schoolboy holding the tights. The reason Hardy lost the match was due to his impending suspension and this being punishment. He is the most punished man in the last five years. ***¼

What exactly was Matt being suspended for here?

Big Show and Great Khali attacked Undertaker backstage. Teddy Long was so mad he ordered Big Show to face Undertaker instead of Khali. Fans booed that a lot. I was shocked at how weak an angle they came up with for the substitution, but they didn’t want Undertaker so badly hurt that he’d have to sell the whole match, and didn’t want to hurt Khali in any manner. In a sense, this was a lucky break. Undertaker-Khali in that structure for 20:00 probably would have been one of the worst matches in history, plus Khali would probably lose this time. Now they can still bring the program back with Khali still untouched when his health is better.

…seriously, couldn’t you have come up with a better explanation for this? Why not just say Teddy Long had the roster get physicals and a few people were flagged?

Why Big Show? Just so you at least deliver on Undertaker vs. a giant?

4. Undertaker beat Big Show in 21:35 in the Punjabi prison match. This was the mystery stip match, as it was never explained, by design. There was a 16-foot cage made out of bamboo surrounding the ring, with four doors, and a 20-foot cage on the floor. The first man to escape from both cages wins. There were some weapons like straps and tables and a vine to swing on so JBL could reference Johnny Weissmuller (who played Tarzan in the movies in the 30s and 40s). I guess you couldn’t expect Paul Burchill, and Johnny Depp is from modern times so who could have ever heard of him. Big Show, the new fearless monster, was crying as he walked to the ring. I couldn’t believe it. This was horrible and never ended. If a cage door was open, you had one minute to escape and it shut. So this happened twice. Third time, Undertaker got out. Well, the rules meant with nobody else in, it was easy for Show to ask for the fourth door and walk right out. He then threw Undertaker into the ring and the door closed on him. But before Show could escape the second cage, Undertaker climbed off, was 2/3 of the way down and gave Show a body block and the second cage made of sticks collapsed so easily it was like a fart in church finish. Before the finish, they also went through a table that looked to have been made out of cards the way it collapsed. The dreaded Punjabi table. Both went through the cage. Undertaker’s hand was raised as I guess he landed closer to the dressing room. By this point, I didn’t care that it made no sense. Both guys juiced heavy, as there was nothing to do in there but spend time waiting for it to end and be fascinated with the idea they were going to put Khali in there. Khali came back out at the end of the match, but he never touched anyone. JBL was comparing Undertaker to Michael Jordan in his final year with the Wizards, saying he used to be the greatest and how he’s only showing flashes of greatness but overall is a disappointment. But after a horrible match, with a terrible finish, JBL said Undertaker proved he was still Jordan at his peak. Yeah, maybe Orlando Jordan. -*

Do you think it was physically possible, with the lengthy double escape rules, to have a good match in there?

5. Ashley won a four-way bra and panties match over Kristal Marshall, Jillian Hall and Michelle McCool in 5:17. This had the least heat of any bra & panties match ever on PPV. In the introductions, it was clear they are trying to play like Ashley is this big star, since she’s making $250,000, but the people see her and all four of these as faceless tits and ass they don’t care about. Dean Malenko ended up with heat on him, since these women are actually better wrestlers than they should be, so he tried to book a wrestling match out of this. Anyway, unlike most where everyone has their clothes torn off but the winner, a babyface, who then strips, this was first person with their clothes off loses and the person who tears the last piece of clothing off wins. Marshall had her dress taken off. Hall and Ashley had their tops taken off. Hall rubbed Marshall’s face into her boobs. Michelle is being saved as the most virtuous of all. She didn’t get her top ripped off, and when they pulled her skirt off, she had a second skirt underneath. In the end, Ashley and Hall double-teamed Marshall and took her top off to win. Marshall, who must have something like a 21-inch waist, somehow got banged up bad enough she was taken to the hospital for possible broken ribs, but she checked out okay. DUD

Was there any point where anyone in creative argued that these kinds of matches weren’t getting over anymore to try to move the division forward? 

6. Mr. Kennedy beat Batista via DQ in 8:38. It sucks to be Kennedy here. Batista rammed Kennedy’s face into the side of the ring steps, splitting him open. Funny line here was Cole noting that JBL and Batista had “a storied rivalry.” I guess that’s carny for “a feud that sucked, leaving both men bitter at the other.” Then Kennedy went for a charge at a warp speed and was supposed to crash his shoulder into the post. Somehow he caught his head. Now he was gushing blood bad. They went right to the finish with Batista DQ’d for choking him with his foot on the ropes. Post-match saw Batista deliver three spinebusters and a Batista bomb. Kennedy’s cut was so deep in his head that you could actually see his brain through the opening, and needed 20 stitches to the scalp. Batista was over and the blood made it a spectacle. **½

Was Kennedy’s brain really exposed? That doesn’t sound right at all.

Why Kennedy as Henry’s replacement here? Similar replacement to Khali vs. Taker, but throw a curveball here?

7. King Booker pinned Rey Mysterio in 16:46 to win the World title. JBL noted Booker’s “King” ring was a Paul Boesch ring. They acted like Boesch started Booker. There is a such thing as a Paul Boesch ring and only a few people have them, and Booker may be wearing Bruce Prichard’s ring. Having checked on this, the only connection between Boesch and Booker T is that when Booker T grew up in Houston, he watched Paul Boesch matches. He was trained at Ivan Putski’s school, and Boesch had already passed away before G.I. Bro had his first match in Houston. Sharmell ripped Mysterio’s eyes. Booker did the three amigos. Sharmell tripped Mysterio coming off the ropes, but Nick Patrick saw it and kicked her out of there. Mysterio was doing a spinning head-scissors, but Booker flung him into Patrick, who took a bump. Mysterio did a springboard Thesz press, a 619 and a frog splash, but no ref. Booker used a low blow and a book end, but again no ref. Booker went for a chair shot, missed and Mysterio dropkicked the chair into Booker’s face. Chavo Guerrero ran in, grabbed the chair, teased hitting Booker, but hit Mysterio with a hard chair shot, and Booker got the pin. ***

Well, Bruce, WAS Booker wearing your Paul Boesch ring? Were the Paul Boesch rings made by I.W. Marks jewelers, Paul’s longtime sponsor?

Our earlier discussion of the merits of Rey’s booking as champion aside, a change was needed at this point and Booker was by far the SmackDown main eventer clicking most, yes?

Rey would technically get one more reign as World Heavyweight Champion as well as a reign as WWE Champion, but those reigns both ended on the same night that they started on. Why, with Rey being so over and moving so much merchandise, and being a favorite of younger fans, was he not given another real shot as champion? Simply his height? 

What do you think was the key to Booker finding the right balance to where the King Booker character clicked as a main event, world champion-level heel and not simply a comedy act? Was it the way he was able to project a surprising amount of sincerity in the gimmick?

Is the WWE medical infrastructure such these days that it’s unlikely that physicals would be done right before a PPV?

Overall, where does this stand among the most cursed PPVs you ever worked on, Bruce? No Mercy 2007 with the multiple WWE Title changes after John Cena got hurt is probably up there, but does anything else compare to those two?