December 15, 2011
This Day in Wrestling History
The most important figure in the history of professional wrestling in Japan, Rikidozan, dies of complications from a stab wound suffered on December 8th at the age of 38. Rikidozan, who debuted in 1951, helped to popularize professional wrestling in post-WWII Japan, and would train Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba, who would become two of the most influential and powerful individuals in Japanese wrestling. While it was thought that Rikidozan, whose Japanese name was Mitsuhiro Momota, was born in Nagasaki, Japan, in truth he was Korean. Because Koreans were heavily discriminated against in Japan, his real background was kept secret, not being revealed until long after his death. Rikidozan's final match was on December 7th, teaming with Great Togo & Michiaki Yoshimura to battle The Destroyer, Buddy Austin & Illio DiPaolo to a draw. Stories of what happened the night Rikidozan was stabbed are cloudy, with legend and fact often getting mixed up. He was stabbed in a nightclub and allegedly it was by a member of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. However, stories have circulated for years that he beat up his attacker and partied into the night before going to the hospital, which is why the wound got infected and ended up killing him. Obviously, there are many that doubt that account of the stabbing.
December 15, 1963
Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk wrestled a legendary match against Abdullah The Butcher and The Sheik in Japan. The match turned the Funks fan favourites in Japan because of the extreme violence.
December 15, 1977
A tribute show to Stu Hart was held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada at the Calgary Corral, the site of many Stampede Wrestling shows.
December 15, 1995
Triple H defeated Shawn Michaels in a two-out-of-three falls match in 38:30 to capture the Raw World Title.
December 15, 2002
partial source: pwinsider.com
December 14, 2011
Triple H's Rise to Power Within WWE Chronicled in Controversial New Book
On Tuesday, a red hot new eBook in the world of sports entertainment dropped that is similarly dropping more than a few startling revelations about Paul Levesque, better known as Triple H in WWE.
"Playing The Game: How Triple H Became the Heir Apparent to the WWE Empire" tackles every controversial issue that plagued Triple H throughout his rise to superstardom, first as a wrestler and now as a WWE kingmaker.
According to the rumor mill, WrestleMania 28 may very well be Vince McMahon’s last WrestleMania as the micromanaging boss he has been for the entire three-decade run of WrestleMania. And he wants to go out with a bang in Miami, Florida when The Rock meets John Cena for the biggest ‘Mania main event, arguably, since Hulk Hogan faced Andre The Giant 25 years earlier at WrestleMania 3.
By all accounts, since 2009, McMahon has been tediously grooming his daughter Stephanie McMahon and his son-in-law Paul Levesque for managing the ship after his departure.
Still, most have a difficult time imagining the WWE without McMahon in charge of the day-to-day direction of the company. But one day, this scenario will come to fruition. And all signs point to Triple H taking the reigns of power.
To check out the new book, which can be read for free by select Amazon.com members, click here.
This Day in Wrestling History
Triple H defeated Bill Goldberg for the WWE Raw World Heavyweight Championship
December 14, 2003
December 13, 2011
Television Ratings for the 3-Hour Monday Night Raw 12/12/11
The Monday, December 12th edition of WWE Raw scored a final cable rating of 2.84, for the three-hour special edition, according to Nielsen Media Research.
The normal two-hours that Raw normally airs each week drew a 3.0 final number, which is pretty much equal to the 2.97 that the two-hour broadcast drew last week.
source: wrestlezone.com
"WWE Classics On Demand" to Shut Down
PWInsider.com is reporting that WWE will be shutting down their "WWE Classics On Demand" service on January 1, 2012. The impending debut of "The WWE Network" is said to be the main reason for this. It is said that some cable providers are already informing their subscribers. WWE has not confirmed this as of yet.
Rumor Mill - WrestleMania XXVIII Matches
As seen on last night’s RAW Supershow, Triple H brought up The Undertaker’s absence and declared that The Streak ended at WrestleMania 27 because we haven’t seen The Deadman since then and he couldn’t leave the ring on his own.
The Wrestling Observer reports that Triple H vs. The Undertaker is booked as one of the matches at WrestleMania 28 in Miami.
Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk for the WWE Title is also penciled in for WrestleMania 28. Add The Rock vs. John Cena and you have the three main events for Miami.
Synopsis for WWE’s Next Triple H DVD
“Triple H continues to build upon his enduring legacy.
The 13-time world champion upped his game in 2011 first taking on Undertaker in a brutal No Holds Barred Match at WrestleMania XXVII and then shocking the world when he relieved his father-in-law, Vince McMahon of power to take control of Raw as the new COO. Triple H continued on even with a superstar walkout forcing him out of his position, followed by memorable bouts with CM Punk and former friend Kevin Nash.
Now the Game looks back at his storied career, as this DVD collects more than two dozen of his greatest matches, along with all-new interviews where Triple H reflects on these touchstone moments throughout the years.”
The three-disc DVD and two-disc Blu-ray set is scheduled to be released on March 13, 2012.
Oderint Dum Metuant: Let Them Hate As Long As They Fear
