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The Spotlight On Tommy At The Garden- Survivor Series 2002

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2002 has to be the most under rated year for WWE, you had the debuts of John Cena, Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar, you had the in ring returns of Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels and you had one of the most impressive mid cards ever to take place in the WWE. 2002 was also a year in which I attended my first live WWE pay per view when a buddy and myself went to the SummerSlam 2002 at the Nassau Colliseum. I’d say it was the year that I also got really into live pay per views because to me there was nothing like a live pay per view. It was just such a great atmosphere. Thus, when I turned 16 that October I was pleasantly surprised when my parents got me two tickets to the 2002 Survivor Series! This would be my first pay per view ever to come live from Madison Square Garden and to say I was excited was the ultimate understatement. The only question left was who I would take with me to the show. I was heavily involved in my own basement wrestling federation (sad I know) at the time and I already had a blast at SummerSlam with my buddy jimmy but I was suddenly now torn over a few buddies who wanted to come with. After much deliberation, I asked my father to come with me. My father’s interest in wrestling had started to wane but he had taken me to my very first wrestling show at Madison Square Garden so I thought he’d be the perfect person to attend my first pay per view at the garden with.

What was also cool about that birthday was that I had also got an autograph ticket from my family to meet Shawn Michaels in Howard Beach at Video Game Central the night before the Survivor Series. This time my mom was coming with as Shawn was always her favorite wrestler. This was Shawn’s first title match since his return to the WWE at Summerslam of that year and, to me anyway, he was the focal point of that event. It was crazy to have Shawn at this autograph signing only 30 minutes from my house and one of the truly starstruck moments of my life. I remember it was pouring rain and blistering cold out in the November New York weather. Despite this and despite my mother just getting out of surgery, my mother stayed on that line with me and my buddy for three hours to meet Shawn.  Ever the professional, I distinctly remember Shawn telling me after I wished him luck, “Thanks bud, many think I’m nuts to compete in such a big match and honestly I don’t know how many more of these I have in me.”  He went on to wrestle for another 7+ years.

As for the event itself, I remember that this was the first show I had attended at the Garden since 9/11 the year before and the security was insane.  I had to remove my hat, people were being asked randomly to remove their shoes and my dad was asked to remove his cell phone and flip it open (remember flip phones?) for some reason.  It took forever to file into the Garden that night, but once we finally did get in, it was sure worth it. The guys at Busted Open Radio (which airs 2-4pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday on Sirius/XM 92) actually did a live tweeting of this show last year and it reminded me of what a great show this was, despite the fact that there weren’t any traditional survivor series matches on the show.

From the beginning, the crowd was in an absolute frenzy as Jeff Hardy did one of his famous swanton bombs off the rafters through a table and then later in the same match the Dudleys reunited to great fanfare.

One of the other big things about this show was the debut of Big Poppa Pump Scott Steiner who debuted for the company that night following the expiring of his contract from WCW (18 months after WCW closed it’s doors I might add).  I know that Scott’s WWE career at Big Poppa Pump didn’t really go anywhere but go back and watch this debut, he was over huge.  Surrounding that debut was also a lot of fun I remember going nuts because I was a huge Matt Hardy fan (always one of my favorites to this day) and I also loved the RNN News skits which featured Randy Orton promoting his return, he was so good even at 22 years old.

From here ya can’t talk about this show without talking about the Smackdown Six.  This was the peak of the smackdown six,to me, which featured Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio, Edge, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero.  This, in my opinion was the peak of the WWE midcard in any era and it breaks my heart to think two of the six have tragically passed and 5 of the 6 have mostly retired at this point.

If there was one man in WWE in 2002 that defined the year, it’d perhaps be the same man who’s synonymous with WWE in 2014…Brock Lesnar.  I remember the Garden crowd being so into Brock and at the time he was the WWE champion and still undefeated.  This obviously was the night in which he lost due to Paul Heyman turning on Brock.  That turn stunned the crowd and I remember after Brock hit the F5 people started celebrating thinking it was over only to have Paul yank the referee. To this day, it still amazes me whenever Brock lifts the Big Show with such ease and I can tell you I’m looking forward to their match tonight.

In the end, I remember being really excited for the Elimination Chamber as it was the first Chamber match in history on this show and look at the six men in the match.  A who’s who of hall of fame level talent in Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Kane, Booker T and RVD.  This was the match in which RVD landed a five star frog splash and crushed Triple H’s larynx.  I also remember, other than Shawn, Booker T may have been the most over man in the match.  My father and I had a great time doing the “5 Time!” routine in the crowd with our entire section.  In the end, Shawn Michaels (proving to me he was in fact playing me the night before, which I couldn’t be happier about) won what would end up being his final world title reign in WWE.  As the confetti rained down on Shawn it was probably the best live moment for me as a fan until this past year’s WrestleMania.

All in all just a great and enjoyable show from top to bottom that more than holds up today as so much happened on that show it’s unbelievable to even think.  The show for me is memorable as it was the last show I attended live with my dad who’s interest in the product had really fell off then so it was the end of a 16 year era but what a finale we had.  That’s gonna do it for this review but it’s crazy to think we are gearing up for Lesnar and the Big Show some 13 years later on the Network tonight…and it should be great!

The Spotlight On Tommy At The Garden- Pt. 1 The Fear of Papa Shango

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Hello everyone and welcome to my little preview for the WWE at Madison Square Garden tonight, live on the WWE Network at 8pm.  With this being the first WWE event from the Garden to be broadcast, I felt it would be fun to take a look back at some of my personal live experiences seeing WWE live at the Garden.  The Garden will always hold a spot in my heart because it’s the fist venue that I had ever been to a live WWF event.  I have countless memories of heading from Bayside to Penn Station on the Long Island RailRoad with my parents first and then with my friends.  When I was a kid there seemed to be a WWF show at the garden every month or so and I went all the time.  Without any further ado let’s get right into some of the highlights of my time at the Garden with an event back in September 1992.

On September 11th, 1992, my father got he and I two tickets for the WWF at Madison Square Garden.  I couldn’t believe it as this was going to be one of my first live events, I didn’t even know what to do or think.  We jumped on the Long Island Rail Road from Bayside to MSG and it was a feeling like none other.  Everywhere  looked there were wrestling fans, everyone was wearing a shirt and holding a sign.  It felt like i was a world of wrestling fans and it was great.  It would be the same feeling I would feel during every show I’d end up going to, but there was something that felt big time about MSG.

A we arrived to MSG, following an embarrassing moment where I took a leak in a potted plant at penn station, my dad told me he had a huge surprise for me.  Before he revealed that, however, my dad bought me a program which always showed the match card.  I opened it up and screamed off every big match on the card.  Ric Flair vs. The Undertaker!  Randy Savage vs. Razor Ramon!  Then my face sank…I nervously proclaimed to my dad ” Dad, Pap Shango is wrestling tonight, he’s wrestling Bret Hart”.  This only got worse when my dad revealed his surprise, which were front row seats!

I immediately began to scream as this was unbelievable and intimidating at the same time. I told my dad as great as this was we had to give the seats away.  I couldn’t sit there petrified of Shango.  I’m sure my father wanted to kill me but, being a good father, agreed to make someone’s day, by asking some fans to switch seats with us.   We enjoyed the show from the sixth row until the Hart-Shango match.  At this point, I had to use the bathroom and the only way this was possible would be to walk against the barricade and passed the first row.  We tried to do this while Hart had Shango in a headlock and we were in the middle of tiptoeing past the front row when Shango disposed of Hart and ran at the ropes as quick as possible taunting the crowd.  Well, that was it!  I was off to the races as I ran quickly into the lobby.  I had never seen my father run faster in his life as he screamed for me to stop.  I eventually did but we hung out by the souvenirs until Hart won.

To make matters worse, I then pleaded with my dad to run up to the barricade to see the Undertaker up close.  That’s right, the deadman was fine but Papa Shango was the problem!  As for what happened to ole Papa Shango?  Well, he had to retire as he soon realized that “Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy!”

Keep tuning in for the rest of the day here at thedailyspotlight.com

The Spotlight On Triple H’s NXT Media Conference Call

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Embedded image permalinkPhoto Courtesy of twitter.com/tripleh

Earlier today Paul “Triple H” Levesque met with members of the media for an NXT Media Conference Call to preview WWE NXT Takeover: Brooklyn.  This has been a tradition that Levesque has kept going prior to every NXT Takeover Special and, to his credit continues to do so to this day.  The call, which lasted a little over 30 minutes, featured a very proud Levesque who was rightfully boasting over the recent success of NXT and WWE in general.  Levesque said it best in this call when he proclaimed that he couldn’t think of another entertainment entitity that could sell out the Barclays Center for three straight nights like WWE has this upcoming weekend.  Let’s get right into some of the highlights of the call.

Highlights-


The NXT Takeover Brooklyn Card- One of the main points that Triple H was quick to touch on prior to his conference call was some clairfication over how long the NXT Takeover Special was going to be and which matches were going to be on the show so here’s what we know.  On this Saturday’s NXT Takeover Special, the event card will feature a double main event of WWE NXT champion Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens: Ladder Match & WWE NXT Women’s champion Sasha Banks vs. Bayley, as well as WWE NXT Tag Team champions Blake and Murphy vs. The Vaudevillians, Jushin Liger vs. Tyler Breeze, Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin and the debut of Apollo Crews vs. Tye Dillinger.  The rest of the matches will be taped for next week’s episode of NXT on the WWE Network in what will be a special 90 minute edition of NXT on the WWE Network.  The matches taped that night for NXT are Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte vs. Dana Brooke vs. Emma, Bull Dempsey vs. Elias Sampson, Chad Gable & Jason Jordan & Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson vs. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady & Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley and Eva Marie vs. Carmella.  Thus, if you’re attending the NXT Takeover show live, you can expect 3 and a half hours of NXT action but only two hours, from 9-11PM will air live on the WWE Network.

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WWE Performance Center: All Access Pass- Triple H had been teasing this idea of an all access event to the WWE Performance Center for a few days now and went into a few more details as to what WWE is planning with this venture.  For the first time ever the WWE Performance Center will open it’s doors to the general public and allow fans unprecedented access to the performance center.  For fans that sign up for the day- long event, that will take place on September 28th, 2015, it will include, according to a press release issued by WWE , “share breakfast and lunch with NXT Superstars and Divas (meals provided), participate in a Q&A and orientation session with NXT coaching staff, attend a Q&A and autograph session with NXT Superstars and Divas, sign a one-day WWE booking contract, granting admission to a private NXT Live Event at the WWE Performance Center that you will help produce, manage and watch alongside your favorite NXT Superstars & Divas, take an all-access Tour of the WWE Performance Center, which has never before been opened to the public, get an inside look at a private NXT training session, learn the ropes during a promo class and then create your very own unique promo video.Plus, you’ll be able to take the experience home, with exclusive keepsakes like: a commemorative WWE Performance Center: All Access credential, photo opportunities to capture and share your once-in-a-lifetime experience with friends, WWE Performance Center gift bag, limited edition event chair personalized promo video; available post-experience,  and downloadable highlight reel; available post-experience”.  The event will be open to the first 40 people on a first come first serve basis. While this is no doubt a dream experience for any WWE fan, it does cost $1500. Tickets go on sale monday August 24th on NXTTickets.com. 

Future NXT Plans- While Levesque did not confirm anything specifically when it comes to the NXT brand, he did mention that their are plans for NXT to head to the UK. He also said that while he likes that NXT is able to piggy back onto some of the bigger WWE events like Wrestlemania and Summerslam, he’d like to stop there for right now. He said with Wrestlemania and Summerslam, NXT is able to take advantage of some of the international fans who were coming in for that mega event. Levesque also said that he likes that NXT continues to be an alternative brand. He said he does not want NXT to be like Raw or Smackdown and likes that the brand is consistently forced to reinvent itself when the NXT stars go up to the main WWE roster.  Levesque ended by saying that he remains open to talent from all over the world, adding that it doesn’t matter if the talent come from independents or from the NFL or wherever. He finished with a great line about how Kurt Angle never toiled around on the independents and he ended up doing alright.

Closing Thougts–

In the end, I always really enjoy these calls and this time was no different. I feel they make each one of the Takeover specials feel like a big deal. I continue to say it, and don’t expect that it will happen, but I’d like for WWE to do these calls before their pay per views. I also liked how honest Paul Levesque came off during the interview tackling questions about the, rather silly in my opinion, claims that WWE is coming after Ring Of Honor. Levesque pointed out that for years other companies have been making money off Wrestlemania so it would behoove NXT to not do the same thing. As Levesque said, I really don’t think that he’s even all that aware of what Ring Of Honor is doing. I like Ring of Honor, been a fan of their product for years, but the fact is NXT can sell out 13,000+ seat venues and no matter what ROH does right now they aren’t on that level. Perhaps it’s because NXT has the WWE brand recognition behind if but whatever the situation, NXT right now is a success in and of itself and a lot of that is because of Paul Levesque’s hard work. 

That’s going to do it for me right now but I just returned from a fun night at MCU Park, dedicated to Summerslam and will have the highlights from that event tomorrow afternoon. Until then be sure to subscribe below so that you can get all of the Summerslam week coverage right here on the site delivered right away to your email.

The Spotlight On Table For 3 Featuring Roddy Piper On The WWE NetWork Tonight

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Hello everyone, big news coming from the wrestlingdvdnetwork.com today, that the schedule on the WWE Network has been changed tonight and with that change tonight comes the first piece of “Rowdy” Roddy Piper themed programming on the network.  We mentioned during our look at the week ahead for WWE feature on Monday that it was only a matter of time that WWE would be putting up some Piper tribute type material on the Network, the likes of which they did for the Ultimate Warrior and Dusty Rhodes.

Well tonight on the WWE Network, immediate following Smackdown at 10pm, WWE will be airing the first episode of a new series entitled “Table For 3”.  During last week’s second quarter conference call, WWE announced that they would be debuting some new types of programming throughout the rest of this year.  One of those new shows is the new “Table For 3”.  “Table For 3” is being promoted as “a new series that gives viewers a seat at the table with our superstars and divas”.  It sounds to me like a less formal version of the old “Legends Of Wrestling” round table discussions.  Well tonight’s debut episode is going to feature a discussion between WWE Hall Of Famers “Mean” Gene Okerlund, “Mr wonderful” Paul Orndoff, and the late, great “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.  I have no idea when this was filmed but this is an absolute must watch as it could very be the last piece of WWE orginal programming featuring Hot Rod.  The discussion is being billed as a discussion about the three men’s careers as well as their favorite pranks of all time.

We will have coverage and thoughts on the show tomorrow morning here on thedailyspotlight.com

The Spotlight On The Week Ahead For WWE 8/3/2015

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Hello everyone and welcome to the week ahead for WWE.  This week WWE continues down to the road to Summerslam, which is being promoted for the first time I can remember as the Wrestlemania of the Summer.  With less than 3 weeks left until the now 4 hour show, it’ll be interesting to see how WWE continues the build this week.  That being said, there’s a whole lot more to look forward to this week if you’re a fan of WWE so let’s get right into it.

Highlights

1) The Beast Returns-  Tonight Brock Lesnar returns to Raw which will emanate live from San Jose, California in his first appearance since his big brawl with the Undertaker.  However, one man who won’t be on hand for the show is John Cena who is still out recovering from his gruesome broken nose at the hands of Seth Rollins.  I’m really interested to get an update on John Cena because it really looked like they were heading towards Cena vs. Rollins for the world heavyweight title at Summerslam.  With Cena not being able to be at Raw, it’ll be interesting to see if they decide to go a different direction with the world title picture (perhaps Kane?) or if Cena will be able to return by Summerslam.

2) Stone Cold Live!-  Stone Cold Steve Austin returns to the WWE Network tonight with his latest installment of Stone Cold Live, this time with his guest Paige.  As I’ve touched on before, this was rumored to have been Hulk Hogan in this slot, but obviously with everything going on with him, he is not going to be featured on the WWE Network anytime soon.  This is the fourth installment of the Steve Austin Podcast on the WWE Network and I’m pretty intrigued to see Paige featured in the role as she is a pretty unique guest for the show.  Certainly, with Paige being positioned at the forefront of the Divas Revolution, I’m sure the new Divas movement will be a big topic of conversation.  One thing is for sure, the Texas Rattlesnake, won’t pull any punches.

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3) Big Guy Down– One man who’s been conspicuous by his absence has been, reigning Intercontinental champion, Ryback.  Well Ryback posted a picture of his current staph infection of his right knee this past weekend and it looks awful.  It’s good that the WWE doctors were able to catch the staph infection before the damage was worse.  With Ryback, not looking like he’ll be ready to return to the ring any time soon, it’ll be interesting to see how much longer he’ll be able to go with the intercontinental championship.  I always say that WWE should take a page of out UFC’s playbook in regards to this and crown an interim champion if the champion can’t compete for an extended period of time.  This allows for their to be a champion to still be on television and sets up for a clear title rematch once the original champion is able to return to the ring.  That being said, we wish the big guy a speedy recovery.

4) RIP Roddy Piper–  I’m preparing for a longer piece on Piper later this week but obviously WWE lost one of their hall of famers, and original Wrestlemania main eventers, in Roddy Piper late last week.  It has been a really tough year already for WWE with the untimely passing of Dusty Rhodes and now this.  WWE has been doing ten bell salutes to Piper during their live events since his passing and I’m sure that will continue tonight.  One of the good things with the Network, is that when someone passes, WWE is usually very good about doing a good amount of tribute type programming to remember that individual.  While their hasn’t been any Roddy Piper material added to the schedule just yet, I’m sure the WWE Network will do the same with Roddy later in the week, like they’ve done with Dusty and Warrior.  Of course, there is already tons of great Roddy Piper footage in the on demand section of the Network for fans to go back and enjoy while celebrating the life of one of the all time greats.

Closing Thoughts

Sorry to end on such a somber note, but I figured I would be remiss not to mention this somewhere, that this morning word came out that WWE hall of famer “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka is currently battling stomach cancer.  The good news is that it appears the doctors were able to get to the cancer in time as Jimmy has undergone stomach surgery to remove part of his stomach and lymph nodes and appears to be cancer free.  We wish The Superfly, a speedy recovery.

That’s going to do it for me but keep your eyes peeled for a few more pieces coming at you real soon on the daily spotlight, including my tribute piece on Roddy Piper, the Spotlight On Wrestling Podcasts which will feature Colt Cabana celebrating five years of the Art of Wrestling and so much more.  Until then, what are you looking most forward to this week in WWE?