This Day In Wrestling History

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson makes his WWF(E) debut. At that time he was known as Rocky Maivia.
November 17, 1996

Shawn Michaels defeats Triple H, Kane, Chris Jericho, Booker T & Rob Van Dam in an Elimination Chamber to capture the World Heavyweight Title.
November 17, 2002

This was the first Elimination Chamber match and was Triple H's idea. An except from wwe.com:

There are many stipulation matches in WWE designed to intimidate, threaten and menace the Superstars chosen to compete in them — but there's only one that inspires actual terror.

Sitting in his stately office inside Titan Tower, Triple H cuts the same imposing figure now as the man who won a record four Chamber bouts in the past. "What people don't understand is the metal grating outside the ring is the same grating they make the stage with," he explains. "It's designed to support thousands of pounds, so there's no give at all. Then there are the walls themselves, which are made of thick metal chain. And at first, you think, 'Oh well, the chain moves a little bit.' But it's actually worse, because the chain shifts about an inch and a half, even though it's all connected, so it's like you're hitting a steel wall. And it's a bumpy steel wall that digs into you everywhere."

Interestingly, WWE's most hated and feared stipulation match was spawned from the mind of The Cerebral Assassin himself a decade ago. The company was looking for concepts for matches that might spin off into yearly events similar to the Royal Rumble, and The Game was ready with a winning idea.

The ambitious concept was well received, and the creative team set about turning Triple H's vision into reality. Of course, when he saw it, Triple H realized that he'd gotten far more than he had bargained for. "In typical WWE form, it was twice as big as I envisioned it and twice as elaborate," he remembers. "We don't do anything small, so I should have known better. When I stood in it for the first time, I thought, 'Jeez. Please don't tell anybody this was my idea!' "

ESPN Working on 30 For 30 Segment on the Von Erich Family

ESPN is working on a 30 for 30 piece on the Von Erich family. The plan is for the piece to air sometime in January 2014. Kevin Von Erich will be interviewed for the piece and they will be traveling to Hawaii to film him at his home.

More Details On AJ Lee Collapsing: AJ Not In Match When She Collapsed, Corrections

As noted earlier, WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee collapsed during a match at tonight's WWE live event in London, England. Here are some more details, and we have also updated our earlier report.

The match was actually a tag team match pitting AJ Lee & Tamina Snuka against the Bella Twins, not a singles match between AJ and Brie as reported earlier. They took a crowd vote beforehand to determine if it should be a singles or a tag match, and the tag match won.

During the match, AJ tagged out and went on the ring apron. While Tamina was in the ring, AJ started to hold her head and then slowly went to the outside before fainting a few seconds later. Tamina was looking around and noticed that AJ was missing, and she carried on with the match with kicks to Brie. The Bellas signaled to the referee that there was a problem. A doctor came out and gave the "X" signal, and then Brie quickly pinned Tamina with a school boy to end the match, so it wasn't called off as reported earlier. More officials came out, and AJ was attended to for 5-10 minutes. A referee and Tamina then helped a wobbly AJ to the back.

WWE Statement on AJ Lee

"Tonight in London, WWE Diva AJ Lee briefly fainted during a match with Brie Bella due to dehydration. She is currently being evaluated by WWE medical staff."

Rumor Mill - Triple H & Stephanie Want Shane At WrestleMania 30

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are interested in having Shane McMahon make an appearance at WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans, Louisiana, according to F4WOnline.com on Friday. No word yet on whether the former wrestling executive is interested.

McMahon left WWE in 2010 to pursue other opportunities. In July, McMahon voluntarily stepped down as CEO of YOU On Demand, whilst remaining YOD's principal executive officer and Chairman of the Board.

WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee Reportedly Collapses At Live Event In England

WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee collapsed during her match against Brie Bella at tonight's WWE live event in London, England, according to PWInsider.com and various users on Twitter.

According to some attendees at the show, Lee fell off the ring apron and hit the floor. The match was called off and she was tended to at ringside by medical personnel and subsequently assisted to the backstage area.

ProWrestling.net reached out to a WWE source at the show to ask whether Lee is going to be okay. The source gave a simple "yes" response, and added that there has been no determination yet as to what caused her to collapse.

This is a developing story, stay tuned for updates.

Today's show in London marks as the tenth day of WWE's grueling two-week tour across Europe, which has been described as exhausting.

WWE.com Interview With Mickie James

Former Divas Champion Mickie James made waves across the sports-entertainment world when she dropped by the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., sparking rumors of a possible return to WWE. WWE.com caught up with the five-time Women’s Champion to get the story behind her trip to the Sunshine State, what she’s been up to lately and whether the WWE Universe can really expect to see her again anytime soon. Click here.

Eminem inspires R-Truth's WWE album

WWE Superstar R-Truth is releasing an album of his own material and has revealed his influences are rappers like Eminem, Tupac Shakur and Lil Wayne...More?

source: timeslive

George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2014

The WWE Hall of Fame is not the only major professional wrestling hall of fame, and the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame just announced their 2014 class. According to PWS on Nov. 12, the 16th annual induction ceremony will take place in July 2014.

Outside of inducting members, the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame gives out a number of awards to its inductees including the Frank Gotch Award for work outside the ring, James C. Melby Award for wrestling journalism, Lou Thesz Award for public service and the George Tragos Award for wrestlers in MMA.

The first year’s nominees included three of those men – Gotch, Thesz and Tragos - as well as Verne Gagne and Ed “Strangler” Lewis. Since then, names like Danny Hodge, Jack Brisco, Dan Severn, Jesse Ventura, Harley Race, Bret Hart, Nikita Koloff, Steve Williams, Curt Hennig, Ted DiBiase, Roddy Piper, Stu Hart, Ricky Steamboat, Terry Funk, Mick Foley, Jim Duggan and Jim Ross.

The three men chosen by the selection committee to enter the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame this year are Scott Steiner, Rick Steiner and Wilbur Snyder.

Winning the four special awards are Larry “The Axe” Hennig (Lou Thesz Award), Diamond Dallas Page (Frank Gotch Award), Randy Couture (George Tragos Award), and Larry Matyski (Jim Melby Award).

The Strange History of WWE Comics

Since the early 90's, the top wrestling organizations have tried to spin off their heroes and villains into comic book form. Let's take a look back at everything from Undertaker's sister to the giant demon growing out of Chris Jericho's person. Oh, and get a load of WWF Krozor while you're at it! Click here.

source: denofgeek.us

Should the NWA and ROH consider a partnership?

During the last year, NWA President Bruce Tharpe and Vice President Chris Ronquillo have made some huge strides bringing the National Wrestling Alliance back to greater prominence. They have re-signed approximately 35 promoters in the U.S. and elsewhere, developed a strong relationship with New Japan Wrestling, are in negotiations to sign up a new promotion in Australia, and one in Brazil, put on a couple of wrestling supercards in Houston, and revamped the website to promote the brand and merchandise.

However, at this time the NWA is lacking two important things: a television deal and pay-per-views. Both are critical revenue streams for a wrestling organization, particularly if it aspires someday to compete with World Wrestling Entertainment. While, Tharpe has indicated that they are looking into the possibility of a television deal in North America, it is very clear that this is in its infancy stages. Thus, without a North American-wide television deal in the immediate future, the question becomes should the NWA consider partnering with another company that does have one, and if so which company? Click here.

source: slam wrestling

MLB Joins NFL In Creating WWE-Style Replica Belts; Vince McMahon Responds

As noted earlier this week, NFL team The Washington Redskins are selling a WWE-style replica belt, called "The Redskins Official Replica Outstanding Player Award Trophy Belt," at their online store for $450. MLB appears to have followed suit, as they posted photos on their Twitter of replica title belts with Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer icons on them:

.@Max_Scherzer wins the Cy Young Award. @Max_Scherzer gets a belt: pic.twitter.com/X6d4DzqqaW

— MLB (@MLB) November 14, 2013

.@ClaytonKersh22 wins the Cy Young Award. @ClaytonKersh22 gets a belt: pic.twitter.com/zQMZEQvdC1

— MLB (@MLB) November 14, 2013

Vince McMahon responded to the news, which was re-tweeted by MLB, stating that he would send both players a real replica. He tweeted:

.@WWE will send the real thing to @MLB Cy Young Awards winners @Max_Scherzer and @ClaytonKersh22 pic.twitter.com/TAoa50rk0v

— Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) November 14, 2013