5 Nights I Will Never Forget: Part III

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5 Days I Will Never Forget: Part III

As a teenager, my taste in who I liked and who I didn’t changed. I was becoming the fan that I hate today. The jaded jabroni punk. I was in full-fledged “babyface hate” mode. If you were a babyface, and you weren’t a member a DX, you were on my ultimate SHIT LIST.

Soon after the 2004 Summerslam, I went down to WWE Niagara and bought a nice white “Chain Gang” shirt. But then something happened towards the end of 2005. Edge completely immersed himself as “The Rated R Superstar” and it was everything I wanted him to be.

Going into the summer of 2006, Edge was the WWE Champion and in a feud with my new favourite guy to HATE, John Cena. Unforgiven was coming into Toronto with one hell of a card that I couldn’t miss, so I dragged my buddy Nico with me to the ACC. But before doing so, I spray painted a HUGE “R” on my “Chain Gang” shirt ready to cheer the hometown heroes, some for the very last time.

Unforgiven 2006

Unlike Summerslam 2004, the next and last PPV to hit Toronto was built around 3 matches I will never forget seeing. We walked into the arena and THERE IT WAS…….the HELL IN A CELL. It was awe inspiring and the first time this structure design was used. Bigger, higher, and more incredible than I could imagine, waiting DX and the McMahons/Big Show.

The card started out fairly slow. Needless to say, that Cell needed to lower. Midway through the show, it did. Vince McMahon came out with his son and Big Show to a some what mixed reaction. 

ARE YOU READY…..hit the speakers and the crowd erupted!!!! DX hit the ring to a huge ovation. The bell rang and then we remembered we had to chant “You Screwed Bret”. The match was violent and well put together. Scary moment when the sledgehammer head shot off and hit Shane in the face but it was amazing. A great Hell in a Cell match that we loved seeing DX win, Shawn screwing Bret or not…..(sorry Hitman).

The most emotional match was up. The final match of Trish Stratus. Facing her biggest rival Lita, Trish came out to the loudest ovation I have ever heard, and she deserved it. The match was a classic. Just as you think the sound couldn’t get any louder….Trish locked Lita in the most Canadian move you could….THE SHARPSHOOTER. I have never been to a concert but when that move got locked in, I will never hear a sound that loud again. It was a beautiful moment, and a perfect way for Canada’s favourite woman to win her final match. It was a honour to see live.

Randy Orton and Carlito filled in between the 2 main events and did one hell of a job with one hell of a finish. 

Then the TLC match for the WWE Title. Edge’s match, in Edge’s city, it was meant to be. John Cena came out to extreme heat. I held up my spray painted shirt in defiance. Then…… YOU THINK YOU KNOW ME!!!! The crowd erupted. It got pretty damn close to Trish, pretty damn close.

The match started and Edge quickly showed us why it was HIS MATCH. John Cena eventually took full advantage and looked like he was going to win. The crowd was irate and couldn’t believe it…then….the women we just booed 15 minutes prior became a Canadian hero, when Lita pushed Cena off the ladder.

Edge began to climb the ladder next to two tables stacked on top of each other. John Cena climbed up the other side. They fought on top of the ladder. Then our hearts were broken….

Cena FU’d Edge off the ladder, through the stacked tables. Cena then mocked the crowd oh so slightly and became the new WWE Champion. Garbage was thrown at Cena as he stood atop the ladder with the title. I rolled up my shirt and threw it toward the ring in complete anger and disappointment. The arena quickly began to file out, we were NOT going to cheer this guy.

It was overall one hell of a night and memorable night. I would go to live events, Raws, and Smackdowns for the next 6 years but none stood out like perhaps the biggest night we ever gave our hometown boy Edge…..but we will get to that next time.

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5 Days I Will Never Forget: Part II

SEND YOUR LISTS

“Top 50 Superstars of All Time” voted on by YOU the readers. 

Done similar to the “Top 10’s” you see on NFL Network, send in your list of the Top 25 or Top 50 Superstars of all time (not just WWE....feel free to add Women wrestlers if you feel they are worthy of being on the list) by July 1st to:

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/BeyondThe3Count

or

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeyondThe3Count

or

Hotmail: BeyondThe3Count

Everything will be recorded and then revealed on a weekly basis until we get to #1.

5 Days I Will Never Forget: Part II

The first live event I went to is the one I touched upon in my last entry. I was barely 4 years old and I went to Maple Leaf Gardens. I remember nothing other than the Undertaker’s entrance. 

The next live event I went to was in 1999 at Skydome (I will NEVER call it Rogers Centre). Ken Shamrock was injured, allowing Toronto’s own Edge to win the IC Title, the only thing I remember from that night. Ironically, my next 3 entries are going to be very influenced by Edge in one way shape or form. The first being, the first event I ever went to that was going to be on WORLDWIDE TELEVISION, the first ever PPV I would ever attend……….

Summerslam 2004

I sat at my house at the age of 14 watching Monday Night Raw, It cut to commercial and when it returned, JR told the audience that Summerslam was coming to the Air Canada Centre in Toronto and tickets were on sale Saturday morning. I asked if I could get tickets, my dad said no. So I did what any other kid would do……waited until Saturday morning, went online, and ordered the tickets anyway. 2 tickets for $30 each, WHAT A DEAL!!! Needless to say, my old man wasn’t impressed but TOO LATE!!!!

I was a HUGE Randy Orton fan (though HHH was my favourite) and I was so excited that he was going to be main eventing against…..well you know. It was going to be the first time (that I would remember) I saw so many of these performers live, from Triple H to Kurt Angle to Eddie Guerrero to John Cena to The Undertaker.

I walked into the ACC wearing my Camo John Cena “You Can’t See Me” shirt. I was one of about 100 people that were pro Randy Orton from the moment we walked in. I also was completely ready to BOO, Edge right out of the building. Nothing I hated more at that time than a Vanilla babyface.

The matches started and it was kind of ok, then BAM!!! Kane’s pyro woke my ass up!!!

Randy Orton appeared for backstage interview and my cheers were drowned out by 15,000 people booing. John Cena interrupted and I finally was on the same page as everyone else with the cheers. Moments later John Cena hit the ring to face Booker T and I was in HEAVEN!!! 

Then it was Edge/Y2J/Batista time and I promised myself I would cheer Jericho and Batista as loud as I can to STICK IT to Edge, Toronto or not, SCREW HIM, the rebellious teenager was going to stand out above the rest and BOO this guy!!! Little did I know, over 15,000 people agreed with me. Edge came out to the most heat so far, probably the worst heat of the entire night, I was loving it. Chants of Y2J filled the arena and nothing but BOO’S when Edge picked up the victory. This started his heel turn of that fall and the change we ALL wanted….but we will get to that next time.

Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero tore the house down but in typical Toronto fashion we were PRO HEEL and for the most part cheered Angle over Guerrero. It was an amazing match.

Then…….TIME TO PLAY THE GAME!!!!! MY GUY!!!! Came out to a standing ovation from my fellow Torontonians. Again in typical Toronto fashion, showing no mercy, booed his opponent, the mentally challenged wrestler Eugene….WE DIDN’T CARE!!!! Needless to say, Triple H winning was another….well WIN for the crowd.

Once we realized Trish Stratus wasn’t going to appear in front of us, we let WWE know how angry we were.

GONG!!!! The lights go out and out walks The Undertaker…I will never forget the goosebumps from seeing it so close and being old enough to remember it so vividly. One thing that kinda sucked the air out of us was a fan jumping the rail, running on top of JBL’s limo, and falling right through the top, blowing the post match spot. WHAT A MORON!!!

The moment was now upon me. Randy Orton vs…….well you know. I played out this match over and over with my “Hulk Hogan Wrestle Buddy” (shut up). I played out that stuffed Hulkster trying to put me in a crossface only to twist and BAM…RKO!!! Needless to say, I felt like a genius when I saw the match itself.

Randy Orton hits the ring and titantron goes out mid-entrance. The crowd booed. Then, the champion for Edmonton hit the ring, the crowd cheered the home country boy until…..

”now residing in Atlanta, Georgia”….

The crowd felt immediately betrayed and rebelled almost immediately by hopping on my bandwagon and began the cheers…RKO, RKO, RKO, RKO. 

A back and forth match with the crowd now hoping Randy Orton would take the title. Orton found himself trapped in the crossface, rolled out of it. Then what happened blew my mind….the finish I had played out everyday leading up to that night in my room with my stuffed Hulkster (shut up) happened…..crossface attempt, spin, RKO RKO RKO!!!! 1….2……3!!!! NEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION, RANDY ORTON!!!!

I couldn’t believe it!! I yelled and cheered so loud I lost my voice. I cut out the picture of him holding the belt in the next mornings Toronto Sun and hung it on my wall. If I didn’t love wrestling before….I was never going to not love it now!!!

CHEAP PLUG

A story of love, loss, hate, sex, drugs, alcohol, and brotherhood is coming to YouTube this Winter.

Join Randy, Valerie, Chris, and more in the BRAND NEW Internet sitcom, GTA. 


Follow these characters and their struggles to juggle life, love, and loyalty EXCLUSIVELY ON YOUTUBE.

To keep up with all GTA updates, behind the scenes looks, and all Season 1 episodes:

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5 Days I Will Never Forget: Part I

SEND YOUR LISTS

“Top 50 Superstars of All Time” voted on by YOU the readers. 

Done similar to the “Top 10’s” you see on NFL Network, send in your list of the Top 25 or Top 50 Superstars of all time by July 1st to:

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/BeyondThe3Count

or

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeyondThe3Count

or

Hotmail: BeyondThe3Count

Everything will be recorded and then revealed on a weekly basis until we get to #1.


5 Days I Will Never Forget: Part I

I admit, my short term memory is the worst of anyone I know. My long-term memory is fairly average, I guess it depends on the content. If the content is WWE, I am pretty much a walking encyclopedia, which hasn’t exactly gotten me over with teachers and family. I have a highlight reel that goes through my mind when it comes to most of these memories but there are specific ones that I remember as clear as day.

I always was a Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart fan. Don’t know when it started, but I was told the first WWE event I ever “watched” was at 5 months old on an old ladies lap as she watched WrestleMania 6, which took place 10 minutes away, but her age prevented her from going live, so I was her viewing partner. I was completely silent and seemingly attentive the whole event….until the end. Ultimate Warrior pinned Hulk Hogan and almost immediately after that final bell rang, 5 month old baby Me balled his eyes out like….well….a little baby. Hulkamaniac for life….BROTHER!!!

I never missed WWE on Saturday mornings either.

But that is all things I was told about. There are 5 specific days have stuck with me. 5 specific events. I am going to share them with you all over the next week as a way to formally introduce to you, the wrestling fan within me…..why???……..because I can.

Royal Rumble 1994

This is the farthest back FULL memory I have. My furthest back memory was a few months prior, at Maple Leaf Gardens. The only thing I remember from that night, is the entrance of The Undertaker. I remember nothing else.

But months later, the Royal Rumble was going down and I needed to see it. Back in 1994, PPV and PPV channels were very different. You had to go to a store, get a box programmed, bring it back to your house and plug it into your TV to magically take Ch. 50 from a splatter of distorted blue, yellow, green, and red colours (that you had to strain to barely make out what was going on) to a nice clear picture to match all other channels.

At 4 years old, I sat in front of a TV, volume on full blast, trying to make out the images on the 20 inch screen……BOX TV (whose old enough to have owned one of those…no TV stand necessary), and with help from Vince McMahon and Ted DiBiase, did pretty well. 

I yelled and cried when that no good spoiled brat brother of my hero kicked him in the leg and for all intents and purposes, removed him from the Royal Rumble match.

I ran up to the TV as close as I could to try and see Undertaker ascend to the rafters after sitting in complete silence as Vince McMahon described 10 men destroy the Deadman before locking him in the double wide, double deep casket, and closed the lid.

And of course jumped for joy when I heard Bret Hart coming to the ring, limping to try and win the Royal Rumble match despite the nights earlier events. If I could have done a cartwheel I would have when just minutes later Bret was announced by Howard Finkel as the winner of the Royal Rumble along with Lex Lugar and guaranteed a title shot against Yokozuna at Wrestlemania.

I begged for months to get the magic box so I could see Wrestlemania 10 and see my hero win the WWE Title. 

Fortunately, the 15 bucks it cost to rent this magic box for the weekend happened 4 times that year. Wrestlemania 10 for me to watch Bret win. Summerslam to watch Undertaker return and Bret to kick his brother Owens ass in a cage, Survivor Series to see Undertaker get his revenge on Yokozuna, and then WCW Starrcade 1994 only cause I discovered Hulk Hogan was there, MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!!!

CHEAP PLUG

A story of love, loss, hate, sex, drugs, alcohol, and brotherhood is coming to YouTube this Winter.

Join Randy, Valerie, Chris, and more in the brand new Internet sitcom, GTA.

To keep up with all GTA updates, behind the scenes looks, and all Season 1 episodes you need to keep up on:

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RAW REVIEW 05/26/14

First things first. This is my first post for “Beyond The 3 Count”. I am NOT one of those fans who bitch and moan and only focus on the things I hate. I will certainly touch on the things I hate but the focus will always be the positive. I love wrestling and I simply choose to show that to be true.

For all you readers out there right now…..thanks. The first major thing I will announce is that “Beyond The 3 Count” will be getting a YouTube channel full of original content. The first being “Top 50 Superstars of All Time” voted on by YOU the readers. 

Done similar to the “Top 10’s” you see on NFL Network, send in your list of the Top 25 or Top 50 Superstars of all time by July 1st to:

Twitter: @BeyondThe3Count

or

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Everything will be recorded and then revealed on a weekly basis until we get to #1. 

Now onto business at hand…..the May 26th edition of WWE Monday Night RAW.

The Opening Segment:

I was surprised with the way RAW opened. I am not surprised at the angle done though. Brad Maddox needed to be removed. When you have a prominent authority figure like an Owner, there is no need for a General Manager, so this was a positive. According to Chris Hero’s shoot interview, Brad Maddox is one hell of talent and should be pretty safe for the time being. Another positive is that this segment showed that indeed Stephanie has always had complete control over Kane, providing some much needed ammo for Daniel Bryan to use against her.

MidCard Titles:

The battle of the midcard title #1 contenders, Cesaro vs RVD. Unfortunately RVD just seems out of place. He isn’t a big enough star to pull off the “part timer” thing effectively. He also isn’t Chris Jericho where he can lose and have it not effect him. 

BNB on commentary is amazing. You can tell he has some freedom in establishing who the character is, rather than creative forcing it upon him.

Cesaro with Heyman is….yucky. His music is turning me off of him BIG TIME. I want to like Cesaro and it bothers me that the WWE is trying to make me do the opposite. His feud with Sheamus, which is built around old school respect, is perfect for them. Both are big and strong and disrespect would result in a brawl in a real life situation, so I expect that to be the case.

The interference at the end of Sheamus vs Del Rio was solid. Heyman keeps Brock Lesnar fresh in our minds and is a great heel. 

I enjoyed the story progression brought to the US and IC Title matches at Payback. Both should be pretty solid and one of them will be the for sure opener at 8pm Sunday.

Total Divas:

Eva Marie is a heel. Very natural at it. Unfortunately, so is Summer Rae and Summer is far more talented at this point in time than Eva Marie. Total Divas has built up Eva Marie as a babyface, so somebody better hold her hand on how to be one. 

Fandango needs to stop grabbing boob every time he kisses Layla. Not cause I don’t think its an awesome move (cause it is, he is a hero) but cause it’s a PG show and it will only be put up with for so long.

Evolution/Rhodes Bros:

Fairly basic segment to set up a tag match. Nothing special. Some juvenile jabs by Cody but it didn’t seem like anything would come of this interaction after the night was done.

OLE:

El Torito beats Drew McIntyre……….I love El Torito……but JESUS CHRIST!!!

The Midget Match at Payback will be very entertaining. 3MB is so talented and like it or not, El Torito is over!! He is the best act in Los Matadores which certainly limits them as a team but not everyone can be The Shield, somebody has to be the 5 minute comedy filler, not a bad spot to have…just ask Santino who opened an entire Gym on that role.

Wyatt/Cena/Usos:

Much like BNB, if not more so, you can really tell Bray Wyatt is exactly what the man playing him thinks he should be. His feud with Cena could go on forever because winning and losing is irrelevant. Bray is The Joker to John Cena’s Batman. Joker never cared to kill Batman, just wanted him to admit he wasn’t as clean cut and righteous as he seemed to be.

I enjoyed JBL becoming Jerry Lawler on 2005 and taking up for his broadcasting partner (Jerry Lawler playing JR of 2005). I will not be surprised if JBL doesn’t play even the most minor of roles in that match Sunday (which should main event the show).

The Uso crossover is fantastic and helps build them up as top guys by simply paring them with Cena. Cena is one hell of a talent and is ONCE AGAIN using his notoriety to build his undercard. 

Newest Heels:

Rusev remind me of Vladmir Kozlov. Which is a bad thing. Lana is hot as fire. I don’t doubt Rusev vs Big E will be good cause Big E has enough charisma to carry them to a decent 5 minute brawl but where does such a one dimensional character like Rusev go after this. Once he goes to Cena, where does he go…..oh I love Big E.

I am a BOliever. I love how obnoxious Bo Dallas is. He was so bland when he first showed up on the main roster a couple years ago. He has found a good character. He is so babyface that it makes him a heel. His puns are heat magnets and the fact that he has no idea he’s a heel to the audience makes him amazing to me. He is in the exact opposite position Rusev is in, Bo Dallas can go anywhere and everywhere and starting him with Sin Cara is perfect. Bo vs Cena…..how awesome would those promos be. 

Batista’s Last RAW:

Evolution dominated Rhodes Dynasty. For good reason. The Shield has looked unshakeable for most of the feud and Evolution needs to look as strong as possible going into Payback. No better pairing than Cody and Goldust to help make Orton and Batista look like wrecking machines.

YES Movement:

This is the moment where if CM Punk was going to comeback…it would have happened here. It was the last chance to do it and have it mean something. Daniel Bryan, instead of forfeiting the belt, could have named a one night replacement to face Kane, and it would of been Punk. But it is not the case.

I see Brie Bella sacrificing her job on Sunday for Bryan to keep the belts. Her pursuit of being a mother may just be the reason as to why the story has taken this turn of “Your Titles or Your Wife” angle. If not that, this could be the Vince McMahon return spot to put his power tripping daughter in her place.

Stripping him of the titles is my recommendation but WWE has done right by Daniel Bryan since August, whether you believe it was intentional or not, so I am sure this will go the best way possible.

Bitch Be Crazy:

Thank You Solange for your elevator incident and creating the new Alicia Fox.

Emma is a goof and I love it. Her win gives her credibility without hurting her gimmick. 

Alicia Fox psycho persona is pretty entertaining, even though AJ does it better. I don’t expect Alicia to beat Paige, just to simply look strong now, so the champ leaves looking even stronger.

Don’t Be A Lemon:

I am the Ultimate Rosebud. Adam Rose character will never be WWE Champion, but he doesn’t have to be. His character is different, his look is different, everything about him stands out and that’s what matters. NXT is a blessing because it allows guys like Rose to know exactly who he is before going to RAW. He will be a great fixture to the midcard as a babyface for a long time and for good reason, he oozes charisma.

Somebody in creative found out Damien Sandow is hilarious…..

Final Segment:

The Shield vs Evolution feud is amazing. The small twist put on the generic contract signing brawl was perfect. Evolution needed the upper hand going into Payback. Anything less would only hurt The Shield. I expect an Evolution win at Payback but it’s going to be interesting to see how it goes about. Who gets eliminated and when. This match should be a great one, just based on so many variables at their disposal.

Overall Thoughts:

RAW wasn’t the strongest but every story progressed, everything moved forward. Not a single feud stayed idol going into Payback on Sunday and that is a good thing. The top feuds may have seen their final RAW so it will be interesting to see where the Superstars find themselves come next week.

For all your Beyond The 3 Count information:

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