Ric Flair's Intercontinental Championship Reign

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair is one of the greatest wrestlers in the history of professional wrestling and has always been one of my all time favorites.  I have had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Flair on a few occasions and I wrote about it here.

Through-out his career Mr. Flair has held more championships beyond being a 16 time World Heavyweight Champion.  He held numerous titles in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling & Jim Crockett Promotions and the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship.

In September 2005 Flair had been back in the WWE  for almost three years, in that time he had two Tag Team title runs with Batista but his last singles reign as a champion had been five and half years earlier in WCW with a controversial day as Heavyweight Championship.  At age 56 many thought Flairs days were coming to an end, and as much as I'd hoped for one more World Championship run, his days as a champion were over.

On September 5th in Oklahoma City at the Unforgiven PPV "Nature Boy" Ric Flair opened the show against Carlito in a match for the Intercontinental Championship.  This match was set up on an edition of Carlito's Cabana where Flair was the guest and Carlito spit an apple in Flair's face before the two came to blows.

Back in early 1983 Flair wrestled Carlos Colon in a controversial series of matches where Colon allegedly won and lost the NWA World Championship to Flair in a change that was never recognized by the NWA.

Carlos Colon

On this night though in just over eleven and a half minutes and much to the surprise of those in attendance Flair submitted Carlito with his figure four leg lock to capture the championship.  Near the end of this match Flair went to the top and Carlito caught him for the usual bodyslam, but Flair punched him and then came off with a blow to Carlito's head.  The crowd popped big time and Flair raised his arms in victory, it was quite a funny moment.  The crowd erupted for the tap out.

Post match Flair cut a promo about proud he was to win this prestigious championship.  That it was just as sweet as winning each of those 16 world championships.

The next night on Raw in Wichita Falls, Texas Flair would retain the title in just over 20 minutes in a rematch with Carlito winning by submission with the figure four leg lock.  Flair would then begin a five month run as champion some would say his most successful run in the WWE seconded only by his final Career Threatening run in 2007 / 2008.

He wrestled on the house shows defending the title against first Carlito and then Triple H and finally against Shelton Benjamin before losing the championship to Benjamin on the February 20, 2006 Monday Night Raw in Trenton, New Jersey.  All the time he feuded on television with Triple H and Edge.

His biggest defense of this run came in San Diego at Taboo Tuesday on November 1st in a steel cage match with Triple H.  The build for this match was excellent with Hunter turning on Flair in a tag team match and busting him open with a sledge hammer shot.  Flair begged the fans to vote for a cage match between himself and Triple H at the PPV and got his wish.

The promo package played prior to the this match was tremendous.  Flair came out second to a huge ovation from the crowd.  When I think of Ric Flair what comes to mind is the Four Horsemen, the NWA Championship, and his famous bloody steel cage battles for that championship.  This match hearkened back to those matches as both men were busted open and Flair blonde hair was soaked red with blood.

The match open quickly with both men trading blow and Flair lighting up Triple H's chest with chops.  Hunter then took over for several minutes sending Flair into the cage opening him up just a few minutes into the match.

Eventually Flair took over and sent Triple H into the busting open the game and dominating the rest of the match.  The finishe came when Flair pulled a chair into the ring and laid Triple H out with it.  He then escaped the cage getting the victory in just under 24 minutes.

I had the opportunity to see Flair live as Intercontinental Champion at a live Monday Night Raw from TD Garden in Boston on December 12, 2005.  In an Elimination Chamber qualifying match Kurt Angle defeated Flair with the ankle lock.  Sadly none of my pictures that I took with Flair wearing the belt came out well.

Flair's final championship would come one year later on November 5, 2006 at the now re-named Cyber Sunday.  Ric Flair and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper would defeated Spirit Squad members Kenny & Mikey to win the WWE Tag Team Championships.

They would lose the titles eight days later at Raw from Manchester England to Rated-RKO: Edge & Randy Orton.  I'm not sure where photo above was taken but after winning the titles Flair and Pipe teamed with the Highlanders for five eight man tag matches against The Spirit Squad across the United Kingdom.

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The Lost WWE Iron Man Matches

For years the WWE maintained that the first ever Ladder Match in the WWE was at WrestleMania X.  They would later release on home video and admit that the first ever ladder match was held almost two years before at a house show in Portland, Maine between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels.

July 21, 1992 Portland, Maine
Bret Hart defeated Shawn Michaels in the first ever WWE Ladder match

Currently the WWE  tells us that the first Iron Man Match was between Bret "Hitman" Hart and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII March 31, 1996, this is not true.  Over three years before WrestleMania XII on January 9, 1993 at the Boston Garden Bret "Hitman" Hart defended his World Championship against the "Nature Boy" Ric Flair in a 60 minute Iron Man Match.

During Ric Flair's final weeks in the WWE in 1993 he and Hart were working the house show loop, having on average thirty minute matches for the WWE World Championship, sometimes twice in one day.  In fact on January 9th in Boston after wrestling for an hour on a matinee show in the main event they then drove up to Portland, Maine to headline a show that evening and wrestled for thirty minutes before Hart secured the win.

I don't know if WWE has any footage of this Iron Man Match between Flair and Hart but there is a poor quality fan cam of it on YouTube.  Also during this time the WWE sometimes referred to this as a marathon match.

Here is a description of the match courteous of The History of WWE:

January 9, 1993 The Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

WWF World Champion: Bret "Hitman" Hart defeated "Nature Boy" Ric Flair w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan in a 60-minute Ironman match, three falls to two

Fall 1 - Hart pinned Flair with a waist lock into a roll up at 27:17
Fall 2 - Flair defeated Hart via submission with the figure-4 and by holding onto the top rope for leverage at 35:00 (during the fall, the referee ordered Heenan backstage)
Fall 3 - Flair defeated Hart via submission with the figure four leg lock and by holding onto the bottom rope for leverage at 37:40

Fall 4 - Hart defeated Flair via submission with the Sharpshooter at 55:03
Fall 5 - Hart pinned Flair by reversing a figure four leg lock attempt into an inside cradle at 59:42 as Flair attempted the figure four; at the beginning of the fall, Heenan returned to the ring to hand Flair a pair of brass knuckles - which ended up being used on the champion - before once again being ejected from ringside

This match had been set up on December 5, 1992 at the Boston Garden, Hart had defeated Flair in just under thirty minutes so Flair challenged Hart to a marathon match when they returned to Boston in January.

In 1994 the Hitman would defend his WWE Championship four more times in Iron Man Matches at house shows against his brother Owen Hart.

July 8, 1994 The Meadowlands, East Rutheford, New Jersey
Bret Hart defeated Owen Hart three falls to two winning the final fall with the Sharpshooter just before the end of the sixty minutes

July 9, 1994 Nassau Coliseum, Long Island, New York
Bret Hart defeated Owen Hart three falls to two in sudden death overtime of a sixty minute iron man match.  There is a fan cam of this match on You Tube
Fall 1 - Bret pinned Owen reversing a sunset flip 35:31
Fall 2 - Owen submitted Bret with the figure four leg lock 43:58
Fall 3 - Owen submitted Bret with the figure four leg lock 46:08
Fall 4 - Bret submitted Owen with the Sharpshooter 53:45
Fall 5 - Bret submitted Own with the Sharpshooter 1:08:23

July 29, 1994 Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California
Bret Hart with Bruce Hart defeated Owen Hart two falls to one in sudden death overtime in a sixty minute iron man match

August 6, 1994 The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Bret Hart defeated Owen Hart two falls to one in a sixty minute Iron Man Match

So there you have it, five lost Iron Man Matches that the WWE doesn't talk about.  I for one would love to know if WWE has any of these in their vault.  Who knows, maybe one of them will be on the forthcoming WWE Unreleased 1986 - 1995 DVD Set.

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Ric Flair, Live and in Living Color!

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair for years has been my favorite wrestler.  Admittedly the last couple years his actions in and outside the ring have made it a bit rough to be a fan of his.  However it cannot diminish how awesome he was in the ring and on the mic which made me be a fan of his.

Growing up in Maine the opportunity to see Ric Flair live was simply non-existent as he worked primarily for the southern promotions of the NWA and later WCW.  Even after WCW's closure when he joined the WWE he never worked the house shows when WWE came to Maine.

Here are a list of all the times that I have seen the Nature Boy Live and in Living Color:

Keep in mind the photos taken before December 2005 where with a film camera with only a small zoom and I scanned them to post on this blog so the quality is not the best.

April 10, 1997
WCW Autograph Signing, Natick Mall, Natick, Massachusetts
"Nature Boy" Ric Flair and The Giant

My buddy Jay and I went to Boston to buy Nitro tickets, standing in line overnight.  After getting the tickets we went to the Natick Mall where Ric Flair was scheduled for an appearance at Filene's.  I know, Filene's right.  So we get the the mall, which has a bigger line than the box office at The FleetCenter.  Filene's did good as they aired Great American Bash 1996 on the in house TV's.  We weren't allowed to take photo's with Flair or The Giant, I got an autographed photo from both that was supplied by WCW and Flair signed a trading card for me.

June 9, 1997
WCW Monday Nitro, The FleetCenter, Boston, Massachusetts

Flair main evented the show teaming with "Rowdy" Roddy Piper facing the WCW Tag Team Champions: The Outsiders: Kevin Nash & Scott Hall with Cruiserweight Champion: Syxx in their corner, in a non-title match.  Flair and Piper won after four minutes by disqualification when Syxx interfered.

 A huge brawl erupted with eventually the entire locker room coming out.  Eventually Sting came down from the rafters hooking onto an unconscious DDP and taking him back up with him.  This happened right in front of us.

October 19, 2003
WWE Raw Brand House Show, Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland, Maine
Ric Flair managed Randy Orton who lost to Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam

This is the first time I saw Flair in the WWE since he joined them after WCW closed.  He only managed Orton in this match but I had a fantastic interaction with him.  He was cutting a promo putting down Maine and the Boston Red Sox for some cheap heat.  I yelled out, "That's right, give us hell Ric!" Flair spun around, pointed right at me and shouted "Shut your mouth fat boy!" I popped big time even throwing both my arms in the air in excitement.

July 13, 2004
Book Signing, Borders Books, Nashua, New Hampshire

Flairs book had just come out, my buddy Jay and I made the long drive down getting there early, we third and fourth in line.  The guy at the front managed to grab a picture with Naitch, however after that they wouldn't allow anyone else to do the same. Denied again!  I did manage the get not only my book, but a PWI magazine and my Mello Yello can signed.  The soda can was a promotion that the NWA did back 1988.

I've been to a few other books signing since this one, Triple H, & William Regal for example, and this was the only one where the author got a big introduction and they played his entrance music.

February 27, 2005
WWE Raw Brand House Show, Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Steel Cage: Batista & Randy Orton defeated World Champion: Triple H and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair

My buddy Rood and I made the trip to Boston for this loaded matinee house show.  I bought tickets the second they went on sale because they advertised Ric Flair wrestling in a steel cage.  There was no way I was going to miss my opportunity to see the Nature Boy inside a cage.  

It was well worth it because Flair was busted wide open! At one point Flair was at the top of the cage and as I snapped a photo Randy Orton pulled Flair's trunks down exposing his ass, to which Rood likes to keep reminding how I took a picture of Flair's naked ass.  This was a film camera so once I got it developed sure enough, there it was.  I did not save the photo.

After this show we went to Barnes and Noble up the street for a Triple H book signing, at this one they had it set up so you could get a picture with him, however he would only sign the book.

May 1, 2005
WWE Backlash PPV, Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire
World Champion: Batista defeated Triple H w/ "Nature Boy" Ric Flair

This is the only PPV to date to be held at the venue, Rood and I manged to get 6th row tickets on the floor next to the entrance ramp.  I believe this was the last time they used the big swinging hook like props on the stage.

Flair only manged Triple H in this WrestleMania rematch with Batista, and his involvement was minimal, but it was nice to see Flair at ringside.

December 12, 2005
WWE Monday Night Raw Live, TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Kurt Angle defeated Intercontinental Champion: "Nature Boy" Ric Flair in a non-title match

A lot had changed since I saw Flair in May.  He had turned baby face and defeated Carlito for the Intercontinental Championship.  This was a good match, and it was great even though Flair lost.  Most importantly I got to see Flair with gold around his waist.  This would be the last singles championship that Flair would hold in his career.

August 20, 2006
WWE SummerSlam PPV, TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
I Quit Match: "Nature Boy" Ric Flair defeated Mick Foley

This is a match I never thought I would ever see as they had legit heat with each other because of comments made in their respective autobiographies.  They used thumbtacks, barbed-wire and an assortment of weapons.  Both men got very bloody, Flair even wrapped his hand in barbed wire delivering a series of chops Foley.  It was awesome!

March 29, 2008
WWE Hall of Fame, Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida
Triple H inducted "Nature Boy" Ric Flair

My buddies Rood, Jay and I bought the silver package from the WWE in July 2007 for this event based on the rumor that Flair was going to retire and we just had to be there for his final match.  Plus it's a big vacation to sunny Orlando for WrestleMania weekend!

Tickets to the Hall of Fame were included in our package, we had great seats, Flair was very emotional and I got emotional about it.  Flair did wrestle again, however this is the only time he individually could be entered in the WWE Hall of Fame and I'm grateful that I was there.

March 30, 2008
WWE WrestleMania XXIV, Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida
"Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels defeated "Nature Boy" Ric Flair in a career threatening match

At the time we thought that this was going to be Ric Flair's final match.  The emotions that we felt that night was immeasurable.  First off the match was just amazing with both Flair and Michaels giving it everything that they had.

Just prior to the finish, and this wasn't on the broadcast as the camera was on HBK, Flair was face down on the mat and was openly crying.  When I saw that I immediately starting crying myself because I knew that it was about to be over.  Then Flair picked himself up and you see that shot of him telling Michaels to "come one" with both hands clenched tears coming down his face.

It's so odd to admit being that emotional about something that you watch, but man it really did me in.

The seats we had were nothing short of amazing.  We were in the first front of row of the first section in the football stands directly on the 50 yard line.

March 29, 2009
Big Time Wrestling, Town Hall, Webster, MA

Jay, Rood, and I made the 200 mile one way drive to Webster Town Hall, we got there about 11am for a 1pm door and were in the front of the line.  The line was tremendously long, especially considering it was cold and drizzling.  The turn out was way more than the promoter expected which isn't that surprising considering this was on of Flairs first appearances of this kind as he was still under a part-time contract with the WWE.

We got in the building and they set it up that you first got your picture taken with Flair and then would go through again to get your item signed.  This way Flair was standing for the photos and then he could sit for the autographs.

I finally got my photo with Flair and I'm not ashamed to admit that my legs were shaking and I was so nervous.  Rood thought it was hilarious!  After getting our photos with Flair they had us sit in order in the seats then once everyone had gone through we got in line again to get our autographs.

I also got my photo with and a signed photo of Reid Flair.

After getting our autographs it was 3:30pm with the matches scheduled to start at 4pm.  Based on how long it took to get photos we surmised it would be close to six when the autographs where done and then the matches, plus we had a 200 mile drive home.  So we left and part of me regrets that because I never had another chance to see Reid wrestle live before his death.

On the ride home we stopped at the Cracker Barrel in Tewskbury, Mass and this is when I learned about the Sunday only boneless Fried Chicken special that they do, and it is amazing!

August 6 - 8, 2009
NWA Legends Fanfest, Hilton University Place Hotel, Charlotte, North Carolina

August 6th Starrcade 25 Years Later with Harley Race & "Nature Boy" Ric Flair

Jay and I made the Journey to the NWA Legends Fanfest in Charlotte.  This was Thursday, the first day of the convention, we flew in, checked in, got out badges and enjoyed a panel featuring Harley Race and Flair talking about their famous Starrcade 1983 match and then some questions from the audience.  After the sessions if you paid it, we could get your picture taken with Flair, Race, and they NWA World Championship Belt that they both wore and defended.

I got this photo op and was not nervous at all, in fact I was so excited that I put my arms around both of them.  Love this photo!

August 7th Four Horsemen Photo Op & Hall of Heroes "Nature Boy" Ric Flair inducted Black Jack Mulligan

Friday found yet another photo op with the legendary Four Horsemen.  In one photo it was myself with Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham & JJ Dillon.  It was amazing! Truly once in a life time!  That night at the Hall of Heroes Banquet we sat with Baby Doll who fed me cake and we watch Flair induct BlackJack Mulligan into the Hall of Heroes, accepted by Barry Windham.

August 8th Four Horsemen signing

Saturday was the day we got the Photo ops signed as well as other Autrographs from the Horsemen.  We were entitled to 2 signatures with our VIP badge plus out photo ops signed.  I had Flair sign my picture of him and Harley as well as The group Horsemen shot and the photo of us from the above Big Time Wrestling show in Webster and the poster I made for the show.  Awesome!

A lot more happened this weekend, you can read bout it here: NWA Legends Fanfest 2009

March 24, 2013
Big Time Wrestling, Civic Center, Augusta, Maine
Pre-show meet & greet with "Nature Boy" Ric Flair and he cut a promo to open the show

This show was less than 10 miles from my home, there was no way I could pass this up.  Alex and I went to the Civic Center for this show where I got my photo with Flair and got him to sign a couple trading cards for me.  Flair cut an in ring promo at the beginning of the show that was pretty awesome.

So these are all the times I saw "Nature Boy" in person both in and out of the ring.  I can't imagine I'll ever have the opportunity again to meet him, and honestly I wouldn't go out of my way at this point.  There are so many other wrestlers that I want to see and meet that I same my money for those opportunities.

I know a lot of negative things have been said and written about Flair these last few years, and for some of them he only has his actions to blame.  However, each and every interaction I have had with Flair has been amazing.  He has been gracious, kind, and a pleasure to be around.

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Re-Post: WrestleMania XXIV revisited

Re-Posted from my original blog as I am removing all wrestling references off of it making it a family blog.

WrestleMania XXIV

Rood, Jay, & I traveled south to Orlando for the 24^th annual WrestleMania!

Thursday March 27^th

Our adventure begins by flying from Portland to Orlando a day early to beat the rush, and I’m glad we did.  We bought packages from WWE that included 3 night hotel accommodations at the Double Tree Hotel, ticket to Hall of Fame, ticket to WrestleMania, exclusive signing, exclusive souvenirs, and a two day pass to Universal Studios which was right across the street.  We paid for an extra nights lodging because I figured most would be coming in Friday and the hotel lobby would be mobbed, and it was.

We lucked out as there was three of us we got a room with two beds and a couch, Jay took the couch, so the sleeping arrangements were set.  With nothing on the agenda we got settled into the room, had a quick dinner at TGI Friday’s then played some in the arcade.  Rood and I called it a night know the long day ahead whereas Jay decided to go to the bar, a pattern that would continue over the weekend.  Jay called the room twice from the bar to tell us there were TNA wrestlers in the bar and we needed to come down.  As it was past midnight we were all set. 

Friday March 28^th

Rood and I arose early to get a start on the day.  The earliest we would be able to get out travel packages was noon.  We hit the Ponderosa for some breakfast buffet at a great price then picked up some groceries for the room at a Publix.  When we got back to the room Jay was fast asleep.  We tried to wake him so he would come down and join us in line to get the packages but he just wouldn’t budge and instead cocooned himself in the comforter to ignore us.  So I cranked the heat in the room to sweat him out.  The line had already started and as we would rather wait more before than after we too got in line about 9am.  What’s cool about this is that we are all here for the same thing Pro Wrestling so it was easy to talk to people in line and make quick friends
.

Promptly at noon the opened the doors and ushered us in to start handing out the packages, Jay never came down.  It was so exciting to finally have our tickets in hand and we ended up with fantastic seats for both the Hall of Fame and Mania.  Along with the tickets we got a generic WWE program, key chain, WrestleMania XXIV beanie buddy, small photo album, and a couple other small odds and ends.  Some cool stuff!

We got back up to the room and were shocked to find Jay still cocooned in the blanket, but now it was sweltering in the room and you could see sweat stains coming through the blanket.  We cranked the air conditioning peeled back his blankets.  The noxious odor of sweat, booze, and pure heat radiated off of him.  He was coated with this viscous layer of sweat and his lips were discolored.  We tried shaking him a few times to no avail.  So I gave him a sternum rub to which he promptly shot up gasping for air looking around with a “what the fuck” look on his face.

It was now about 1pm and we were all hungry, and Jay was severely dehydrated I imagine.  We never told him what had happened or how we’d cranked the heat.  There is a lot of stuff that Jay probably doesn’t recall as at this time he was still drinking.  TNA Wrestling tapes at Universal Studios and as it was WrestleMania weekend they were taping Thursday, Friday, & Saturday to take advantage of all the wrestling fans in town.  I really wanted to go to the Impact Zone.  We headed over to the park and I agreed to go first standing in line as Impact was first come first serve seating, or so we thought. 

Basically they gave out a bunch of VIP passes to the regulars, which I understand, and to those that were there Thursday night but couldn’t get in.  Basically after standing in line for over an hour I realized that there were so many people in the VIP section that we would either not make it in, or would have horrid seats, couple that with that fact that they doors didn’t open for another 5 – 6 hours I had no interest in standing in line any longer.  The only good thing that came from it was I got a couple cards signed by Don West and Earl Hebner as well as getting my photo taken with Earl.

As I left and went out to search to Rood and Jay, as luck would have it Rood was heading my way with a PowerAde which I really needed as it was oppressively hot for March.   We tooled around the park with Jay riding Roller Coasters, taking in the Beetlejuice show, and other attractions.  We concluded with dinner at the ESPN Zone before heading back over to the hotel.  Once again Rood and I headed to the room while Jay headed to the bar.  When he eventually came back into the room he fell on top of me, twice, I assisted him to his couch.

Saturday March 29^th

Another early start for today as we wanted to get in line for our Midday Madness special meet and greet with WWE Superstars.   Jay opted not to attend this event.  After waiting in line for a few hours we were herded into another queue where you ushered into one of two rooms that had WWE Superstars in them.   Not to sound ungrateful but the next room was so much better than ours.  You went in and sat between Big Show and Mark Henry for a Polaroid photo, while waiting Coach worked the line signing autographs and taking pictures, which was cool.  The on the other side of the room you could get autographs from Melina, Ashley, Santino Marella, & Jamie Noble.  The other room has Lillian Garcia working the line, Polaroid with Edge & Chavo, and at the table I could only see Beth Phoenix and William Regal, but that was enough for me to feel jipped!

We rounded up Jay and left for the Central Florida Fairgrounds for some UXW Pro Wrestling.  I had found this indy show searching the internet and it was perfect because it was a 1pm bell time and it advertised Jake “The Snake” Roberts (fresh out of rehab) Abdullah the Butchers, and plenty of mayhem.  Boy did it deliver the mayhem!  It was in and open air building right on the Fairgrounds and the weather was just gorgeous for it.  I snagged a photo with Jake, Abby, Big Vito, and a couple others.  They has two 6 way matches, a triple threat, and the most insane 2 out of 3 falls tag team match I have ever seen.

Here are the results;

March 29, 2008

UXW Pro Wrestling

Central Florida Fairgrounds, Orlando, FL

Mike Tobin defeated The Greatness, Naphtali, Wade Koverly, Chris Jones, & Craig Classic

Francisco Ciasto w/ Ron Neimei pinned “Lifeguard” Darren Smythe

Skull Von Crush pinned Vordell Walker to win the vacant United States Championship

Extreme Triple Threat Match: Ray Beez defeated Aaron Epic & Sideshow

Raymond Snow won a 6 way match

Jake “The Snake” Roberts pinned Kenny Kendrick with a DDT

2 out of 3 Falls Match: The Heartbreak Express: Sean & Phil Davis w/ Amy Vitale defeated Jon Davis & Bruce Santee 2 Falls to 1.  Fall 1: Double Dog Collar Match, Fall 2: I Quit Match, Fall 3: Last Man Standing.  Jon Davis required 16 staples to close a wound on his head. 

Lou Cypher pinned Jason Sorrow

Abdullah the Butcher defeated Lou Cypher

The Heartbreak Express and Jon Davis & Bruce Santee battled all over the building, used chairs, barbed wire, thumbtacks, light tubes, blood everywhere.  Jon Davis took a hard-way to the back of the head and blood just gushed, I’ve never see so much in a match ever!  I read online later that he needed 16 staples to close the wound.  Rescue showed up and he was legit taken away during the main event.    We definitely got out $20 worth!

That night was the WWE Hall Of Fame Ceremony.  We headed back to the hotel and but on our dress clothes for the prestigious event.  Here were the inductees:

March 29, 2008

Amway Arena, Orlando, FL

WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Inductees:

“Nature Boy” Ric Flair by Triple H

Gordon Solie by Jim Ross accepted by The Solie Family

The Brisco Brothers: Jack & Gerry by John Bradshaw Layfield

“High Chief” Peter Maivia by The Rock accepted by Ata Johnson

“Soul Man” Rocky Johnson by The Rock

“The Great” Mae Young by Pat Paterson

Eddie Graham by “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes accepted by Mike Graham

Hosted by Jerry “The King” Lawler

Our seats were fantastic!  On the right side of the stage It was cool to see the Rock but he went too long and it cut into Ric Flair’s awesome and impassioned speech.  I feel very fortunate to have been there for it.  It had been rumored that he would be going in and it is why we came to Orlando this year.   They gave us very nice programs that featured a mini bio on all those being inducted.

After the Hall of Fame Rood and I were ready for some food and tonight was the night we planned to hit What-A-Burger because we had never been.  Jay asked me to drop him at the hotel, he didn’t want to go and he wanted to hit the bar before it closed.  I didn’t want to stop because it would have been very inconvenient because of the location of What-A-Burger in relation to the hotel.  To set it up we were on a 4 lane one way highway going west to our left is a 4 lane one way highway going east, the hotel is on our left.  To drop Jay off we would have to drive past the hotel, cross over, drive east, drop him off, drive east some more, cross over west again, drive back past the hotel then turn left down a side road that brought us to What-A-Burger get back on the highway east and stop at the hotel.  The easiest solution was to have him wait a few and drive with us to grab our food so we didn’t have to drive all kinds of extra and drive back and forth.  He started becoming cranky, demanding to be dropped at the hotel, and just generally annoying.  So with the hotel in sight to out left I stopped in the middle of the road and told him to get out.  If he wanted to go to the hotel so bad now was his chance.  Much to our surprised he jumped out of the vehicle hopped the center barrier separating the roads and froggered his way across the 4 lanes of traffic, almost getting struck in the process.

What-A-Burger was fantastic!

Rood and I decided to rib Jay and left bags, shoes, and whatever else we could along the walkway Jay would take from the door to his couch.  Sure enough when he came in the room he immediately fell down, and continued to do so, repeatedly and with running commentary the entire way.  Rood and I were trying so hard not to laugh, even in the dark I could see the shape of Rood convulsing on his bed as Jay hit the floor again yelling “this is bullshit!”  Of course in the morning we were up before Jay and had the room squared away as if the obstacle course didn’t exist.

Sunday March 30, 2009

Finally WrestleMania Sunday was upon us!  Such a fantastic day is WrestleMania Sunday!

When Jay was brushing his teeth he kept walking back and forth in the room like he was looking for something, he then told us of how last night when he came into the room he kept falling down.  We fought back the laughter.

We stopped at Hooters on the way to the Citrus Bowl and I have my first ever fried pickles, and I fell in love with them that day. 

I had pre-paid for parking and studied the map diligently in doing so to find us the best parking area and then were to park for a strategic departure.  When it was time to leave after the event we were able to get right out onto the main road, also I had learned the back way in so when we headed back to the hotel we didn’t have to deal with traffic at all.  In fact when we crossed over the interstate you could see the traffic backed up for miles!

Outside the Citrus bowl WWE had a fan access of sorts set up.  Nothing like they do today, but some minor stuff to entertain people before the Showcase of the Immortals began.  Rain threatened and it did mist a bit, but in the end it was just overcast.  I bought the official WrestleMania XXIV program that highlighted all the matches on the card.  A wonderful souvenir of the day.

Once again we had fantastic seats in the first row off the field dead center with the ring.  No complaints at all!  It’s pretty warm out, I’m dry mouth but I don’t want to leave my seat and miss anything.  It’s time for the ECW Championship Match with Chavo defending against Kane, a guy shows up selling Coke.  I HATE Coke, but I’m thirsty and as Kane’s entrance takes a long time I figure I have time to buy the stupid Coke.  As I have my head down getting money and talking to the guy I hear the bell ring and the crowd cheer and Rood laugh.  I look up and Kane is holding the ECW  Championship!  The friggin’ match was over!  Kane had been hiding under the ring and won the match in seconds!  I missed it buying a stupid Coke!!!

The match we came for was the retirement match of Ric Flair.  The gimmick was that if Flair lost a match he would be forced to retire and since last November had been on quite the winning streak.  Well now he was facing Shawn Michaels and it was obvious that Flair was going to lose.  He came out in a glorious new robe reminiscent of his most famous Starrcade 83 robe.  The pyro was that of a Fourth of July Celebration.  With Mania being outside the pyro all night was something, but this was marvelous.  It was one of Flair’s finest matches in years and after 20 minutes it was crystal clear that it was time to go home.  Michaels was in the corner, is set up position for the finisher the Superkick, I was watching Flair who was getting off the canvas and as he was doing so he was already crying, which made me cry.  The fans were on their feet and Flair gave him the “c’mon you son of a bitch” and then HBK kicked him in the face for the 3 count and that was it.  Even though I knew what was going to happen it was very emotional for me.  Jay said that he was going to get a drink and be right back. 

I’m not sure how much later, it was during the next match when Rood asked where Jay was.  I checked my phone and found a text message, “I saw what I came to see, I took a cab back to the hotel.”  Really!  Come all this way to leave with 4 matches left on the card?

It was a great night of wrestling action and even though Flair didn’t stay retired you can tell he regrets coming back to wrestle in lesser matches on a tour in Australia with Hogan and for TNA, instead of going out at WrestleMania. 

It was a Superfantastic Weekend and here are the full results of the card:

March 30, 2008 

Citrus Bowl , Orlando, FL

WRESTLEMANIA XXIV

Dark Match

Shown live on WWE.com: Kane won a 24-man battle royal by last eliminating Mark Henry with a boot to the face at 6:23; stipulations stated the winner would earn a ECW World Title shot later in the night;

Pay-per-view

Belfast Brawl: John Bradshaw Layfield pinned Finlay w/ Hornswoggle at 8:37 with the Clothesline from Hell

Money in the Bank Ladder Match: CM Punk defeated United States Champion:  MVP, Intercontinental Champion:  Chris Jericho, WWE Tag Team Champion:  John Morrison, Shelton Benjamin, Ken Kennedy, and Carlito at 13:54 after Jericho's legs became stuck in the ladder; late in the match, Matt Hardy came out of the crowd and dropped MVP with a Twist of Fate off the top of the ladder

Batista pinned Umaga at 7:07 in an interpromotional match with a spinebuster and botched Batista Bomb

Kane pinned ECW World Champion:  Chavo Guerrero Jr. with the chokeslam to win the title in 11 seconds

Career Threatening Match: Shawn Michaels pinned “Nature Boy” Ric Flair with the superkick at 20:25

Lumberjill Match:  Women's Champion: “The Glamazon” Beth Phoenix & Melina w/ Santino Marella defeated Maria & Ashley at 5:58 when Phoenix pinned Maria with a fisherman buster after Maria became distracted by Jerry Lawler punching an interfering Santino on the floor; lumberjills for the bout included Mickie James, Jillian Hall, Layla, Cherry, Victoria, Maryse, Kelly Kelly, Katie Lea, Michelle McCool, and Eve; prior to the bout, Snoop Dogg was the special guest MC for the match

No DQ No Count-out Match: WWE Champion:  Randy Orton defeated Triple H and John Cena in a at 14:10 by pinning Cena after Triple H dropped Cena with the Pedigree and Orton kicked Triple H in the head

No Holds Barred Match: WBC Welterweight Champion:  Floyd “Money” Mayweather w/ several corner men defeated the Big Show via KO at 11:36 after landing a low blow, three chair shots to the head, and finishing by punching Show in the face with a pair of brass knucks;

The Undertaker defeated World Heavyweight Champion: Edge via submission to win the title at 23:48

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The following photos are from that very bloody UXW Match: Caution they are Graphic!

Thanks for reading, please leave a comment, check out my other posts, and like the Facebook page.

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