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Arcademan:
What happens when the NBA goes up against the WWE?!!


--- Quote ---Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers are scheduled to be at the Pepsi Center in Denver next Monday night.

Problem is, so are John Cena and a bunch of wrestlers -- and they called it first.

World Wrestling Entertainment said it is booked at the arena for an episode of Monday Night Raw, the same night the Nuggets are slated to host the Lakers in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.

WWE chairman Vince McMahon told The Associated Press he doesn't believe there was "any malice, just ineptness," on the part of Kroenke Sports, which owns the team and the building, but can't tolerate the company "just simply throwing us out on our ear."

Without a quick resolution, McMahon plans to send his trucks to Denver.

"That's what we intend to do," he said. "We're going to show up."

Pepsi Center officials told the ABC television affiliate in Denver that the Nuggets game will be played as scheduled and that they are working with the WWE to reschedule or move its event.

WWE spokesman Robert Zimmerman said the organization secured the Pepsi Center last Aug. 15 and has already sold more than 10,000 tickets for the event. He says the organization expects a sellout, with tickets ranging from $20 to $70.

McMahon blamed Kroenke for not believing his team was good enough to still be playing in mid-May.

"The fans in Denver had a lot more faith in making the playoffs than the owner," he said in a phone interview from Louisville, where Raw was taking place later Monday night.

Denver is usually done with basketball by now. The Nuggets had lost in the first round five straight years, but as the No. 2 seed in the West are in the conference finals for the first time since 1985.

The Nuggets referred comment to the NBA, which handles scheduling during the playoffs. Kroenke Sports also had no comment.

However, the league is leaving it up to the team and the WWE to figure things out.

"The Nuggets and the WWE understand that the date of Game 4 of the Western Conference finals cannot be changed," NBA senior vice president Mike Bass said. "We are confident that the Pepsi Center and the WWE will resolve their scheduling conflict."

Zimmerman said the Pepsi Center confirmed in March with the WWE that the organization wanted to keep the May 25 date, and sent a contract on April 15 -- the final night of the regular season -- which WWE signed and returned. Tickets went on sale April 11.

The conflict didn't arise until Sunday, when the Lakers beat the Houston Rockets in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals. Had the Rockets won, Denver would have had home-court advantage in the next round, hosting Games 1 and 2 and putting the May 25 game in Houston.

As of Monday afternoon, the schedule on the Pepsi Center's Web site listed WWE for 6:30 p.m. local time and Western Conference finals Game 4 at 7 p.m. Tickets for the wrestling event could still be purchased online.

McMahon said he couldn't guess how much he would make from the show, but that canceling wasn't easy because of how much is involved in moving his equipment, plus filling its obligated time slot on USA Network. Litigation is likely -- but he plans to be putting on a card.

"When you do have a date, you plan everything around it," he said, adding, "we may be holding an event in a parking lot somewhere."


--- End quote ---

Arcademan:
WWE RAW Results: 5-18-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only.

1 -- DIVAS BATTLE ROYAL -- #1 contender match to Divas Title

Mickie and Beth were the final three with Kelly Kelly kind of hanging around in the background. Kelly then tossed Beth, who was not pleased with the deal. She tried to yank Kelly out of the ring in disgust, which allowed Maryse to spray Mickie in the eyes with the Rick Martel gimmick. Mickie was KO'ed, so Kelly just kind of walked over to Mickie and pushed her out of the ring to win and earn a future title shot.

WINNER: Kelly Kelly at 2:40. Well, continues the Maryse-Mickie feud leading to an inevitable title match down the road. Interesting decision for Kelly to win. We'll see how this plays out. (n/a)

2 -- SANTINO MARELLA vs. CHAVO GUERRERO

Santino sold a leg injury a minute into the match, so he asked for some in the corner. He then comically "walked it off" by bouncing off the ropes with a stiff-legged gait. Chavo then ran him over with a clothesline to end it. Chavo put Santino in a seated stretch, then Santino did a comical "I'm going to explode or break the Masterlock!" expression as he tried to escape. Chavo started slapping Santino, who then started to Hulk Up. "You ah make me ah so mad!" he shouted. Santino landed an elbow smash and discovered he had actual ability to wrestle. Santino landed a clothesline and was shocked at all of these offensive moves working. He was gaining confidence before running into a boot in the corner. Chavo then went up top for a frog splash, but Santino rolled out of the way. He then ducked a corner splash and grappled Chavo with a jackknife pin for the win.

Post-match: Chavo took the mic and said this isn't a joke or funny. He told Santino to tell his sister, Santina, to go get dressed because she's defending the Miss WrestleMania crown tonight against her aunt, Vickie. Santino took it in stride and said she can beat her.

WINNER: Santino at 3:36. Nice match featuring Santino greatness. Very interesting to see if they actually turn him into a legit wrestler who discovers his own super powers week-by-week before becoming unstoppable. Great development with Chavo continuing to book without Vickie's consent out of frustration, this time leading to Vickie actually being in the ring. (*)

3 -- Unified tag team champions CARLITO & PRIMO COLON vs. THE BRIAN KENDRICK & GOLDUST

First blow to the Denver Nuggets a minute into the match. I didn't catch the exact quote, but Jerry Lawler threw a line out about Goldust's early match ineptness being similar to Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke. Kendrick got tired of Goldust screwing up, so the Colons took advantage and Carlito easily pinned Kendrick with the backstabber for the win. Afterward, Kendrick blamed Goldust for screwing up. Hornswoggle suddenly showed up behind TBK's back and bit him in the leg to fight off Kendrick and make the save for Papa Goldust. Cole called them the Odd Couple.

WINNERS: Carlito & Primo at 2:25. Okay tag match. Focus was just on the challengers being in no position to win due to Kendrick's mismanagement. (1/2*)

4 -- U.S. champion MVP vs. MATT HARDY -- United States Title match

Matt did a run-around with the top turnbuckle pad to distract the ref, allowing Matt to take out MVP's knees from behind. Matt worked on MVP's legs before MVP made a comeback with a flying hair-toss. MVP set up the Ballin' elbow drop and connected center ring. MVP couldn't score a three count, though. Matt then grabbed MVP by the Power Ranger trunks and flung him to the outside. On the outside, MVP came back by tossing Matt broken-hand-first into the ringpost. Back in the ring, MVP stomped on the hand as Matt begged him off. MVP then delivered the Chono Boot in the corner before nailing the Playmaker center ring. MVP with the cover for the win.

WINNER: MVP at 5:17 to retain the U.S. Title. Not a surprising finish since they had the MVP vs. William Regal feud going before this week. Match was pretty good for five minutes. Ross back on Raw was a sound for sore ears. (*3/4)

5 -- VICKIE GUERRERO (w/Chavo Guerrero) vs. SANTINO(A) MARELLA

Bell sounded and Santina took the mic to say something. She (he) knows Vickie is jealous because he/she has a body like this and she has a body like that. Vickie slapped Santina and reminded her that she's a lesbianio. They shared an unfortunate liplock and Chavo stormed in not amused by this. Chavo then re-booked this as a No DQ match. Santina acted shocked. So, how would Spike TV handle this potential half-man on woman violence? In any event, Chavo stormed the ring and beat down Santina from behind. Chavo pounded on Santina, who fought back with some manly right hands. Crowd did the "booh/yay" for when they switched control. Santina then dumped Chavo over the top rope to the floor. Suddenly, William Regal jumped into the ring and beat the crap out of Santina. Regal landed a huge knee smash, then Vickie pounced on Santina for the pin and the win. Vickie howled and screamed in delight for winning the new Miss WrestleMania. Chavo then brought out the sash and crown to give to Vickie, who paraded around the ring.

WINNER: Vickie at 3:03. Just a buffer match to the main event to incorporate some absurd comedy and apparently begin a William Regal vs. Santino program. Or, Regal just isn't a fan of bad TV storylines and did something about it. (n/a)

6 -- WWE champion RANDY ORTON & TED DIBIASE, JR. & CODY RHODES vs. BATISTA & JOHN CENA

Cena started with a collar-and-elbow tie-up with Cody, then Orton tagged in. Cena tried to make a quick tag to Batista, but Orton went right over to his corner to make a tag to DiBiase. Nice heel move. Batista and Cena then double-clotheslined Legacy over the top rope. Orton slithered into the ring from behind as the audience screamed in horror, but Cena and Batista turned around to slowly scare Orton out of the ring. Orton did his snake-like glare toward the babyfaces as they cut to break. Hot main event.

Back from break, Orton was working on Batista on the floor before he rolled him back into the ring. Orton did the Orton Stomp as crowd was red-hot with a "Batista" chant. DiBiase cut Batista off with a drop toehold before landing a series of elbow drops for another two count. Cole and Ross talked up Rhodes & DiBiase improving week by week as they hang around Orton. DiBiase and Batista then butted heads leading to the tease of a hot tag. Cena took the hot tag at 8:00 and exploded on Cody, who was the legal man. Cena did the You Can't See Me in Orton's direction before dropping the Shuffle on Cody. Cena wanted the FU and he delivered it, but Cody made a blind tag to Orton while on Cena's shoulders. Orton came in and hammered away on Cena, who teetered on the middle rope before DiBiase kicked him in the head. Apparently didn't quite have the Orton finesse to KO Cena for five weeks. He'll learn.

Match continued with Legacy cornering Cena and cutting him off from the hot tag. Fans did a "Let's Go Cena" chant, but there was no dueling "Cena Sucks" echo this week. DiBiase kept working on Cena before bringing Cody back in. Soccer Dad Orton shouted instructions to Cody to maintain control. "Don't let him breathe!" Cody tried a top rope moonsault and he connected. Whoa. He made a cover, but Cena kicked out. Orton then took a tag and kicked Cena in the gut to work him over. Cena tried to make a comeback, but Orton cut him right off with a clothesline.

At 13:00, Orton slapped on a standing headlock to wear down Cena. Cena tried to drag himself over to Batista and he finally reached out and touched Batista to get Batista his target of Orton for revenge from last night. Crowd exploded as Batista went after Orton. Meanwhile, Cena cut off Big Show on the entrance ramp and knocked him to the back with a chair. Batista cleared Cody and Ted. Suddenly, Ric Flair showed up off camera and shoved Cody off the top turnbuckle. It looked like Cody just kind of fell down. They cut to a shot of Flair to show why Cody fell off the top. Batista then found Orton and gave him a mid-ring spear. Batista made the cover for the win.

Post-match: Batista and Flair celebrated while they replayed what the heck happened. Apparently Flair ran a chair down to Cena, who bashed Show and then Flair went to ringside to KO Cody. Flair and Batista celebrated one more time in the ring while Legacy regrouped on the stage, not pleased with the finish.

WINNERS: Batista & Cena at 14:45. Excellent TV main event. Chaotic, action-packed, hot crowd, good storyline development for Extreme Rules and Flair's confrontation with Orton next week. Just felt like an old-school, star-power-filled main event with an exciting round of action to conclude the show. Good start to the next PPV build. (***1/2)

Arcademan:
The Nuggets owner really dropped the ball on this whole thing. When the Nuggets began the playoffs, the NBA created the playoff schedules and usually have different senerios mapped out in case of conflicts. In many arenas as pointed out in an earlier posts, the pro teams do at times create schedules so to aid in certain bookings (in Phoenix, there's things like the circus, Disney on Ice and even the WWE that the Suns, Mercury, Rattlers and the late RoadRunners work around). There's not much going on here in Phoenix since they kept the arena dates open in case the Suns made it into the post-season (they didn't).

The Nuggets could've done a better job with this and while there is no doubt the Lakers-Nuggets playoff game will go as planned and the WWE will go somewhere else, the publicity over the whole thing makes not so much the WWE look good but the Nuggets owner and the Pepsi Center bad.

Yeah...Vince McMahon, being Vince will milk this for all its worth and after a month or so, life will be back to normal for the WWE and the NBA.

Last note...the Arizona Cardinals did almost the same thing this year when the NFL scheduled the final game of the season the day before the Fiesta Bowl, a breach of contract between the Cards and the Fiesta Bowl Committee. Cardinals officials took full responsibility for the mistake, saying they failed to notify the NFL when the schedules of the 2009 season was being made but like with the NBA, the schedule is final and cannot be moved to a different day though they decided to make it an early game.

Arcademan:
ECW on SciFi Results: 5-19-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only.

1 -- ECW champion CHRISTIAN vs. PAUL BURCHILL (w/Katie Lea) -- non-title match

Christian was still selling the left knee, so Burchill kept trying to go after the knee in the early going. Christian shooed him away in the early going, then went to a mat hold to keep Burchill away from his lower body. Action moved to the floor and Burchill finally got the knee by smashing him into the guardrail. Burch then whipped him knee-first into the ring steps and took Christian back into the ring to work the knee. Burchill became frustrated with his inability to put away the champ, but he went back to work on the knee as the announcers sat quietly apparently studying the interaction in the ring. Christian blocked a running charge and followed with a tornado DDT out of the corner for a two count. Burchill tried to make another comeback run, but Christian fought valiantly and nailed the Killswitch for the pin and the win.

WINNER: Christian in 9:00. Good finish after some not-exciting action featuring Burchill on the offensive. We just don't know anything about Burchill out of the ring to make the audience care while he's in the ring. (*1/2)

2 -- ZACK RYDER vs. ADAM GREEN

Ryder very aggressive in the early going. Ryder landed a kick to the gut, then re-adjusted his headband and hair before landing a neckbreaker. Striker with a line toward the Nuggets that he would like to see Carmelo Anthony pull off a move like a leaping leg smash from Ryder. Ryder with a sort of reverse rocker-dropper for the pin and the win.

WINNER: Ryder in 2:00. Just a squash to get Ryder some TV exposure and an actual victory. Not feeling the ring entrance music, though. (1/2*)

3 -- DAVID HART SMITH (w/Natalya and Tyson Kidd) vs. FINLAY

Finlay dominated early on as Natalya asked him what's wrong. Complete domination by Finlay to start, then Smith rolled to the floor to take a breather. Announcers tried to talk up Smith as being bigger, stronger, and more vicious than Bulldog ever was. Means absolutely nothing to about 80-90 percent of the audience that has no idea who Davey Boy Smith is, unfortunately. After five minutes of first-gear mat wrestling, action moved to the apron where Smith landed a running powerslam off the apron to the floor for his first piece of offense of the match. Cut to break with KiddNat clapping it up for Smith.

Back from break, Smith was in control working the back with a submission hold. Kidd, thankfully, checked in with his "Ask him ref!" scream to add some life to this. Finlay tried to mount an attack at 13:00, but Smith cut him right off and went back to work on the back. Crowd tried to rally behind Finlay as he fought an abdominal stretch, then Finlay fired off a round of punches on Smith until Smith landed a big boot to the face. Announcers asleep, specifically Mathews. After the quick highspot from Smith, he went back to working on the back before settling into a chinlock.

Finlay finally came back with an escape of the powerslam before ramming Smith into the corner turnbuckle. Finlay made his full comeback as the crowd came to life. Finlay tried a Rolling Hills, but his back went out after Smith's work. Finlay then clotheslined Smith over the top rope to the floor. Natalya then slapped Finlay, but Finlay rammed Kidd into the guardrail. Kidd, upset, tried to run after Finlay, but ref stopped him. Meanwhile, Smith used Natalya's shoe to smash Finlay right in the head. Ref came back around as Smith landed a rolling side belly-to-back suplex for the pin and the win. Post-match: They replayed the finish and the Hart Foundation celebrated the victory as Finlay recovered in the ring to close the show.

WINNER: Smith in 19:00. Very slow pace to this one. Perhaps it would have been more tolerable if there was a high-flying match on the undercard this week to balance out the "Finlay style" of ECW wrestling. But, Evan Bourne was nowhere to be found for the second week in a row, Tyson Kidd wasn't in action, and Jack Swagger was sent to the principal's office. Having to sit through a Paul Burchill match was tough, but couple that with 20 minutes of slow-paced action in the main event, and you have a channel-changing night of action.

Arcademan:
WWE moving Monday show from Denver to Los Angeles


--- Quote ---Vince McMahon claims he’s being thrown out. His opponent insists McMahon is the double-crosser.

It’d make a good story line for a wrestling feud—but it won’t take place in Denver.

World Wrestling Entertainment is moving its Monday night show to Los Angeles because of a conflict with the Pepsi Center in Denver, which had booked two events for the same night.

The Nuggets are scheduled to host the Lakers on Monday in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals, but WWE had previously secured the arena for an episode of Monday Night Raw.

The WWE chairman criticized Kroenke Sports, which owns the Nuggets and Pepsi Center, for not being more helpful when the conflict arose over the weekend.

“They bumped us right out of the building, hardly an apology,” McMahon said Wednesday. “They didn’t do anything for us at all, and the media was talking about someone has to write a check. They didn’t want to write anything and they wanted to give us a Sunday night. And the name of the show is Monday Night Raw.”

However, Kroenke Sports claims McMahon had previously agreed to a deal to shift the event to Sunday.

“We negotiated in good faith with Vince and believed we had a deal in principal as of Tuesday,” Kroenke Sports executive vice president Paul Andrews said. “In fact, it was so clear to us that we did that we asked Vince to do a joint press release. He said, ‘Paul, I have no problem with a joint press release.’ Then, he asked us if he could get five tickets to the Denver Nuggets’ game on Monday night so he could apologize to Mr. Kroenke in person.

“That was Tuesday. We find out by a press announcement today by Vince, who I believe is the master of propaganda, that he’s moving the event to the Staples Center. He didn’t even contact us to tell us he hadn’t accepted the deal we negotiated the night before, so we’re quite shocked, frankly.”

WWE executive vice president Shane McMahon, at a press conference at Staples Center, said the Kroenke offer came too late.

“They tried to be amicable but we’re really at such a loss of words because we were expecting a capacity crowd. Had sold 11,000 as of last week,” he said. “We’ve been on sale since August so everyone knew we were coming. We built everything around it. That’s what we do. We promote and build the event.”

Vince McMahon said Staples Center called and offered use of its building and that his organization will return to Denver for an event at the Coliseum on Aug. 7. McMahon said many arenas, including Madison Square Garden, called and offered to host Raw. He chose Staples Center, which also was available Tuesday night for its second night of programming.

McMahon said it was important to have Raw be shown live on its normal Monday night slot on USA Network—where it will go head-to-head against the Nuggets-Lakers game on ESPN. He previously vowed he would hold the event in a parking lot if need be.

McMahon added the Monday show would include a 5-on-5 match pitting “Lakers” against “Nuggets” and his character would likely confront a character of Stan Kroenke, who owns Kroenke Enterprises, in the ring.

But while he said that’s entertainment for the fans, he remains angry at Kroenke and the terms he said were requested in the press release to complete an agreement.

“They would not even talk about making a deal other than paying our expenses basically unless we signed some sort of joint press release,” McMahon said. “You would not believe what these people were attempting to make us do. I guess maybe running over us and throwing us out unceremoniously on our ear was not good enough. They want to trample us.”

WWE said it secured the Pepsi Center last Aug. 15 and had already sold more than 10,000 tickets for the event. The organization said arena officials confirmed the wrestlers were still coming and sent a signed contract on April 15, the last night of the regular season.

Then the double booking was set Sunday, when the Lakers beat Houston in Game 7 to reach the conference finals. Had the Lakers lost, Denver would have had home-court advantage against the Rockets, making the Pepsi Center available for wrestling on Monday.

The conflict has provided some great press for WWE, but McMahon said his preference was to do his show as planned.

“I didn’t want this publicity,” he said. “They threw me out and so what are we going to do? We have to garner some degree of publicity.”

Kroenke Sports said WWE preferred the publicity to a compromise.

“They haven’t returned any of our calls for over a 24-hour period since we had what we believed to be an agreement Tuesday night,” Andrews said. “We’ve reached out to them all day for feedback and then we get an announcement they’re going to L.A.

“The sensationalism and media attention were more important than the fans of Denver.”


--- End quote ---

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