Hey now.
So, Clutch City Productions posted this on their Facebook account a little less than an hour ago:
This entire situation is bizarre and I’m really curious to hear from Del Rio’s camp. The “Although we have documentation that will clearly define the situation in full…” line is particularly interesting.
We’ll see.
UPDATE: Wrestling News Now is reporting that “The word from AAA sources out of Mexico is that Alberto Del Rio (a/k/a Alberto El Patron) is OK and at home.”
The Lucha World website tweeted this:
No confirmation from Del Rio’s camp yet.
Hey now.
Really scary news is breaking, guys.
Earlier this morning, I was observing this thread on Squared Circle regarding El Patron, formerly known as Alberto Del Rio in the WWE, no showing a Houston Indy event. Clutch City Productions and Lone Star Championship Wrestling both released statements, which can be read in the provided link.
LSCW just released an updated statement and it does not sound good:
STATEMENT FROM LONE STAR CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING
Almost 24 hours later, we still have not heard from the camp of Alberto El Patron. Mr. El Patron was booked through our co-promotion partner Clutch City Productions to headline the Bustin 4 Autism charity pro wrestling event in Pasadena, TX last night.
Mr. El Patron would not know who we are directly, since his camp’s dealings were with our promotional partner. Like the charity and fans who purchased tickets, we are affected. A lot of time, money and effort was put in to this event. Those who know us, understand that we strive to put on quality events. We are a company that our fans can trust. Mr. El Patron’s unexcused and unexplained “no show” unfairly taints that reputation. Though we were not directly involved in the negotiation and booking with El Patron’s camp, there is no doubt that the Bustin 4 Autism team were more than fair and gracious in the process.
At this point, our thoughts are initially with Mr. El Patron’s well being. He seems to have disappeared. Once the dust settles, we are confident that Mr. El Patron will do the right thing and return the deposit he was paid, along with premium travel funds lost by the charity. We might also suggest that Mr. El Patron take it a step further, and make an additional donation to the charity.
We would like to thank the fans and sponsors who stepped up to support this event for the Bustin 4 Autism 501c group. We would also like to recognize our co-promotional partner, Clutch City Productions, who put forth an incredible effort to promote and help organize this event. We look forward to working with them and the Bustin 4 Autism folks in the future.
In closing, we also thank the wrestlers who stepped up to make this a memorable event, as well as the many staff members and volunteers who contributed in some manner.
Additionally, Bryan Alvarez of WOL stated that he’s spoken to three people close to Del Rio and they have not heard from him.
More on this story as more information comes in
Hey now.
Really scary news is breaking, guys.
Earlier this morning, I was observing this thread on Squared Circle regarding El Patron, formerly known as Alberto Del Rio in the WWE, no showing a Houston Indy event. Clutch City Productions and Lone Star Championship Wrestling both released statements, which can be read in the provided link.
LSCW just released an updated statement and it does not sound good:
STATEMENT FROM LONE STAR CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING
Almost 24 hours later, we still have not heard from the camp of Alberto El Patron. Mr. El Patron was booked through our co-promotion partner Clutch City Productions to headline the Bustin 4 Autism charity pro wrestling event in Pasadena, TX last night.
Mr. El Patron would not know who we are directly, since his camp’s dealings were with our promotional partner. Like the charity and fans who purchased tickets, we are affected. A lot of time, money and effort was put in to this event. Those who know us, understand that we strive to put on quality events. We are a company that our fans can trust. Mr. El Patron’s unexcused and unexplained “no show” unfairly taints that reputation. Though we were not directly involved in the negotiation and booking with El Patron’s camp, there is no doubt that the Bustin 4 Autism team were more than fair and gracious in the process.
At this point, our thoughts are initially with Mr. El Patron’s well being. He seems to have disappeared. Once the dust settles, we are confident that Mr. El Patron will do the right thing and return the deposit he was paid, along with premium travel funds lost by the charity. We might also suggest that Mr. El Patron take it a step further, and make an additional donation to the charity.
We would like to thank the fans and sponsors who stepped up to support this event for the Bustin 4 Autism 501c group. We would also like to recognize our co-promotional partner, Clutch City Productions, who put forth an incredible effort to promote and help organize this event. We look forward to working with them and the Bustin 4 Autism folks in the future.
In closing, we also thank the wrestlers who stepped up to make this a memorable event, as well as the many staff members and volunteers who contributed in some manner.
Additionally, Bryan Alvarez of WOL stated that he’s spoken to three people close to Del Rio and they have not heard from him.
More on this story as more information comes in
Hey now.
Lucky 13 Promotions have announced two new additions to their Big Event IX lineup:
Havok is a controversial choice due to that whole Twitter controversy. She upset a lot of people and it’ll be interesting to see if people will really be disgusted enough to boycott her or something. My guess? Probably not.
#100
Last Man Standing Match: Triple H w/Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley def. Chris Jericho
Fully Loaded – July 23, 2000
The Combatants
I truly feel that Triple H is one of the greatest heels of all time. The man just knows how to piss off fans and he does it amazingly well. I know there’s a segment of the WWE audience – mainly the IWC – that despise him because they think he’s anything but what’s “best for business.” That sentiment is certainly understandable considering his controversial “reign of terror” that included constant burials of anyone that got in his way. Plus, there’s the whole “married the boss’s daughter” thing. That seems to have really paid off for him and people just can’t stand that he seemingly married his way into a prominent role in the WWE’s front office.
But, nonetheless, there’s no denying that a heel Triple H is amongst the greatest of all-time, a legacy that began in late 1999. Of course, the development of a truly great heel needs an intriguing rival, someone that unquestionably has the crowd in his corner. Fans will always pay money to see their favorite wrestler beat the most despised wrestler on the planet.
Enter “Y2J” Chris Jericho.
Jericho entered the WWF in the summer of 1999 and immediately made an impact. Hell, that’s an understatement. The man had one of the greatest debuts in Professional Wrestling history. After one hell of an introduction, Jericho went through some growing pains in the WWF; the locker room wasn’t exactly crazy about a “WCW guy” jumping ship towards the tail-end of the Monday Night War.
Despite his legitimate heat with the WWF locker room – including Triple H – everyone knew Jericho was destined for something great in the WWF. It seemed only natural that Jericho, an emerging top baby face, enter a feud with the company’s top mega heel.
How the feud began:
Jericho challenged Triple H to a WWF Championship match on an April 17, 2000 episode of RAW is WAR. The match saw referee Earl Hebner fast count Jericho’s championship victory to the MASSIVE delight of the audience in attendance. Of course, Hebner was forced to reverse the decision because of the fast count after immense pressure from Triple H. The fans were understandably irate.
Jericho was pretty pissed, too. A master on the microphone, Jericho would get under the skin of Triple H with every insult you can imagine – including insulting his, at the time, kayfabe wife, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley.
Stephanie was the perfect compliment to Triple H. She was someone that easily irritated the audience and fans wanted her to Shut. the Hell. UP! She was booked exceptionally well as the top dog’s bully wife; of course, that made her an easy target for the likes of Jericho.
This resulted in numerous altercations between the duo, including King of the Ring just a month before this match. It was time for the big encounter.
The Match
All of this culminated in the match ranked #100 on this list: a Last Man Standing match fully loaded (wink wink) with personal implications. No title was up for grabs, my friends. Just two rivals getting an opportunity to beat the piss out of each other.
At the time, this was the 2nd Last Man Standing match in WWF history (the first being Rock/Mankind a year earlier). Jericho came storming out of the gate and gave the fans immediate satisfaction. It wasn’t before long before, though, that Triple H mounted a dominating comeback that began once the action spilled to the outside. Hell, even Stephanie chimed in with a slap across his face.
The pace of the match naturally slowed a little bit as Triple H did a tremendous job beating on Jericho’s injured ribs. In fact, Triple H did such a tremendous job beating the piss out of Jericho that he arrogantly laid down on the top rope and waited for referee Mike Chioda to count to 10.
Jericho, however, refused to give up. Triple H, livid at Jericho’s refusal to give up, tried everything he can but it just wasn’t enough. Jericho refused to stay down and, one brutal chair shot later, got the better of “The Game.” Triple H was gushing with blood and now it was Jericho’s turn to mount a comeback.
Jericho eventually put Triple H into his signature Walls of Jericho, which made Triple H immediately tap out. Unfortunately for Jericho and his Jericho-holics, a Last Man Standing match cannot be won by pinfall or submission. Still, Jericho was wearing down “The Game” and the fans were beginning to smell victory.
Of course, the match wouldn’t be complete without interference from Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. And, since this was the Attitude Era, the match wouldn’t be complete without Stephanie getting physically assaulted; this time, it was via the Walls of Jericho.
The fans were heavily into this match as the pace really picked up. It spilled back outside and there was a very cool spot in which Jericho and HHH nailed each other with dueling shots to the head with TV monitors. Triple H eventually grabbed his signature Sledgehammer and tried to take Jericho’s head off but “Y2J” managed to duck it.
The two made their way to the top of the announcer’s table. Eventually, HHH suplexed Jericho through the table. Both men were down as Choida began his count. It reached 9…
…and Triple H stood. Jericho remained down.
Triple H won. By a second.
That. Bastard.
Rating: ****1/2
This match was truly tremendous. Apparently Jericho and HHH legitimately had heat and that usually translate into an awesome feud. The psychology of the match was tremendous and the ending truly broke your heart. “The Game” was, once again, that damn good. Barely. But, nonetheless, victorious.
Hey now.
For any of you who follow this blog, you’ve obviously noticed it’s heavily dedicated to autograph signings/conventions. That was intentional from the very beginning because, well, I love autograph signings/conventions damn it and I want to share with you guys my experiences as well as news/updates on upcoming conventions (mainly LOTR and Big Event).
But, I also promised to review vintage PPV’s – something I’ve gotten a head start on months ago. I’m ready to begin posting them but first…first, I want to tackle something else.
About a year ago, WWE.com released a list of Best Matches to See Before You Die. This list was created to help all of you WWE Network subscribers watch classic matches you may not know about. Or, in my case, revisit and relish in their greatness all over again.
I’ve decided to to go through the list, watch, and review every single match. Look out for the first post soon! And, yes, I’ll be posting reviews of Pay Per Views in Chronological order. Look out for that page soon! Wish me luck!
Hey now.
Fun news out of the LOTR camp:
I saw Mr. Apter around at the last LOTR but didn’t introduce myself, something I was kicking myself over. It’s good to see that he’ll be around this LOTR – and launching his new book! That should make for an interesting read!
Hey now.
We have our first vendor guests announced for Legends of the Ring XXI and they are brought to you by RDP Promotions:
Couple of notes:
–Christy Hemme is scheduled to sign from 9:30 PM – 12:00 PM
-A $30.00 combo for Hemme seems a hair high but it’s what most “Divas” go for at conventions. It’s justifiable to the vendors because “Divas” (I really hate that word) simply sell. A lot. When I attended the Big Event VIII, I was floored at the sea of people surrounding them.
–World’s Greatest Tag Team is scheduled to sign from 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
-As for the WGTT, they haven’t listed individual prices. If it’s $30 for an autograph from both, logic dictates that an individual autograph will run you $15. Fair enough.
Also, the first 50 people to order a WGTT combo will receive a $10 discount.
Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 9:00 AM.
Hey now.
Super Tickets for Legends of the Ring XXI are going REALLY fast, you guys:
The Super Ticket line thus far:
Taz
Vickie Guerrero
Lacey Von Erich
Mike Rotundo
Barry Windham
Carlito
Gerald Brisco
That’s a damn good lineup so please make sure you order a S.T. if you intend on meeting most of the S.T. talent. Individuals will go on sale in August but don’t find yourself buying two of each for most of the S.T. talent; a S.T. will save you lots of money.
Hey now.
“The Human Suplex Machine” was already announced for Legends of the Ring XXI on Saturday, October 3rd, in Monroe, NJ. Can’t make it? You’re in luck! He’s also making a stop at The Big Event IX:
The Big Event is scheduled for Saturday, November 14th, at the LaGuardia Plaza Hotel in Queens, NY.
Please don’t miss out on this rare opportunity!
Squared Circle Conventions 