Pro Wrestling STAR

March 22, 2006

Pro Wrestling STAR

Shine while you can....

It happened. It finally happened. Every smarks' wet dream finally came true. Someone rich and powerful finally woke up and realized that pro-wrestling is a sport. A sport with some of the most talented athletes in the world, just waiting for the right worldwide platform to show off their skills.

One of the richest men in the world, a media mogul at NBC Universal that goes by the name of Chester Belmont the Third, passed away, leaving his entire fortune to his beautiful daughter, Christina. Christina just happened to be married to a man named John Carroll, a lifelong fan of wrestling as a sport. He dreamed to bring this sort of wrestling, the kind pioneered by such groups as Ring of Honor and Total Nonstop Action, to the forefront of America, with an even stronger focus on the athleticism. And thanks to their newfound fortune and Christina's family connections, that's just what they did.

Pro Wrestling STAR was founded on December 22nd, 2005. The worldwide press release revealed that this had been in the works for many years, and that the company had stolen many key talents that fit John's vision of wrestling as a sport from the WWE, TNA, ROH, and others, as well as kicked the WWE off the NBC Universal networks (they returned to Spike TV starting in Janaury 2006, while TNA moved to FX). In fact, John purchased Ring of Honor outright and the ROH staff is involved in STAR, with many concepts and even factions coming directly from the former northeast and midwest-based independant promotions. Here is the press release in full that explained all of Pro Wrestling STAR's concepts, as well as revealed its initial rosters.

For immediate release worldwide: Pro Wrestling STAR to bring athletic, strong-style wrestling as a sport to a worldwide platform.
Promotion will begin worldwide launch with television properties on NBC, USA, and MTV on April 1st, 2006

Pro Wrestling STAR, an integrated media company based in Los Angeles, California and headed by CEO John Joseph Carroll-Belmont, announced its early plans, concepts, and rosters today at a press conference outside its headquarters. Standing in front of the STAR logo, Mr. Carroll-Belmont was joined by his wife and the daughter of the world-renowned media mogul Chester Belmont III, Mrs. Christina Carroll-Belmont, and the offical commisoner of Pro Wrestling STAR, Jim Cornette, as he outlined just how Pro Wrestling STAR would bring new innovation unlike ever seen before to the professional wrestling industry.

First is the dedication to presenting professional wrestling as a sport. Mr. Carroll-Belmont promised that there would be absolutley no soap oprea-style elements in the Pro Wrestling STAR product, and declared that STAR would be a place for the top American talent to compete on a worldwide stage without restrictions. It would be a place for only the top-flight athletes, and he would not force them to take part in ridicolous storylines and soap oprea-style vignettes. Instead, when they talk, it will be about the wrestling, and the focus will be on the highly athletic wrestling competition.

Although the company would have a North American focus in its talent pool, it will tour worldwide, and Mr. Carroll-Belmont already announced plans for the three television shows to air in twenty-five different countries, including Canada, Mexico, Japan, Great Britian, Italy, Spain, and many others, from the very outset. In America, the three programs will air on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. Pay-per-view events will be offered monthly for $24.95 and $34.95, depending on the level of the event (more on that later), continuing to air in the traditional Sunday night timeslot.

The STAR roster is actually comprised of two seperate rosters- however, this is no pointless "brand split". Rather, the wrestlers are divided into two seperate rosters based on their weight class. The rosters are STAR-Heavyweight (or STAR-H) and STAR-Junior Heavyweights (or STAR-J). Each roster will have their own top singles and tag titles, the STAR Heavyweight and STAR-H Tag Team and STAR Junior Heavyweight and STAR-J Tag Team, respectivley. These will be the top prizes in their respective rosters and will be competed for by the members of the individual rosters only.

Additionally, there will be three interpromotional titles as well. The Pure Wrestling division will continue from ROH with the STAR Pure Wrestling Title. Title matches will have the same special rules they had in ROH: three rope breaks, no closet fists, a 20 count on the floor. All titles in STAR can change hands on a DQ so this rule is no longer neccesary (obviously the Pure Title can still change hands on a count-out as well, but there are no count-outs in STAR other than in Pure Title matches). The Pure Wrestling Champion must defend his belt against a challenger from each promotion on a monthly basis, regardless of which roster he is on.

The other two interpromotional titles are defended far more rarely. They are the STARlight Openweight Title and the STARlight Openweight Tag Team Titles, and they are the top prizes in all of Pro Wrestling STAR. They are only defended on the special STARlite PPV events, or a total of 5 times a year. Having the STARlight titles means you are currently recognized as the top athlete in all of STAR, in either weight division.

STAR has a very intense touring schedule with the general idea being, there are three types of STAR events. The two rosters each have their own solo events, STAR-H and STAR-J events. STAR-J presents its solo events every Sunday (except on PPV days) and Monday afternoon around the world, with the highlights airing later Monday night. STAR-H presents solo events on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons with the highlights airing on Thursday nights. STARlight Worldwide boardcasts live or live-to-tape (depending on where the event is being held) every Saturday night on NBC featuring both rosters. And finally, once a month is a live PPV event on Sunday nights.

STAR's week begins on Monday nights with STAR-Junior Flash, a one-hour program at 7/6c on MTV. STAR-Junior Flash will feature a mix of hip music and the best matches taped from the past two days of STAR-J solo events. It will be hip and fast-paced, just like the wrestlers of STAR-J.

The week continues with STAR-Hard Hitting every Thursday night at 7/6c on USA. STAR-Hard Hitting will be more in-your-face and intense, just like the hard-hitting athletes of STAR-H. It will feature the best matches from the past two days of STAR-H solo events.

Finally, the third and final television program is STAR's most important, being the weekly live or live-to-tape STARlight Worldwide every Saturday night at 8/7c on NBC. As a STARlight event, it will be interpromotional, featuring both the wreslters of STAR-H and STAR-J. Saturday nights will finally come alive for NBC with this two-hour live event that will have wrestling fans around the country glued to their television sets with all the incredible action.

PPVs will also be a huge part of our agenda, and there will be a full PPV schedule at the end of this report. But now it's time to get into the most important part of STAR- our wrestlers. We'll start with the larger roster of STAR-J. Below the roster is seperated into those in blue, the "faces" (those who support the fans and feed off their support in turn), and those in red, the "heels" (those who don't care what the fans think of them and have no problem bending the rules to win). The many seperate factions already present in STAR's roster are also profiled below. So read on!

The Faces of STAR-J

Unaligned: These wrestlers are not currently a part of any faction
AJ Styles: The former face of TNA's X Division. Can he be the top man in STAR-J as well?
Azrieal: A young lion from Brooklyn, NY, formerly of ROH. Can his electric chair drop and hard kicks make him a breakout player?
Christopher Daniels: The profilic 'Fallen Angel', one of indy wrestling's most popular stars. Daniels has his eyes set on finally being known as the best in the world. Will he succeed?
CM Punk: To many the former face of ROH, Punk breaks out of OVW and into STAR-J. Is the Straight-Edge Superstar destined for success in STAR-J?
Davey Andrews: The top graduate of the first class of the ROH Wrestling School, Andrews is the protege of his trainer, CM Punk. How much success can young Davey find in STAR-J?
Delirious: This mysterious masked man was extremely popular in ROH and elsewhere. Can he transfer that to success on our worldwide stage?
Jack Evans: Partnered loosely with fellow former Gen Next-member Matt Sydal, we already know Evans can bring the flash, but can he start getting wins and gold in STAR-J?
James Gibson: The former Jamie Noble of the WWE, Gibson is a former ROH World Champion. Will he find similar success in STAR-J?
Jay Lethal- A young former protege of Samoa Joe's, Lethal is the very definition of a blue-chipper. Is it finally time for him to breakout for good, away from Joe's shadow?
Jimmy Yang: The former Akio of the WWE, Yang was attempting to reinvent himself in ROH before coming to STAR-J, mostly unsuccesfully. Is it finally Yang Time in STAR-J?
Matt Sydal: Loosely partnered with Evans, many say Sydal may have just the right mix of flash and substance to find major success in STAR-J. Can he live up to the hype?
Minoru Fujita: A longtime junior-heavyweight competitor in Japan's Zero-One MAX, Fujita returns to the American scene, but this time on a worldwide stage. Can he find success on our shores again?
Paul London: Finally free of being a WWE whipping boy, London is looking to find success again in STAR-J. Will his double aerial assault of the London Star Press AND the 450 Splash be unstoppable?

The Rottweilers: While not tradtional faces, the Rottweilers are a little less about the cheating and more about simply bringing it than they were in ROH. They are extremely popular due to their gang-like attitude and can take it to anyone on the roster. Will anyone be able to stop the Rottweilers from dominating STAR-J?
Homicide: The leader of the Rottweilers, straight out of Brooklyn, Homicide will always be a force to be reckoned with. The question is, does the indy veteran have what it takes to be a worldwide player?
Low Ki: The Rotts' second-in-command, Ki was already a worldwide force even before STAR-J started. Will the double stomp and the Ki Krusher '99 continue to allow Ki to dominate?
Julius Smokes: The manager and face of the Rottweilers, Julius is concerned about keeping the Rottweilers in the game at all times. Will he be the top manager in all of STAR?
Rocky Romero: Another man who was a player on a worldwide stage, Romero is ready to focus on the Havana Pitbulls again. Will he help make the Pitbulls the top tag team in STAR-J?
Ricky Reyes: Reyes made big strides on his own in ROH during Romero's absence. Now reunited with his longtime partner on a regular basis again, will Reyes be able to hold up his end of the Pitbulls in STAR-J?

The Heels of STAR-J

Unaligned: These wrestlers are not currently part of a faction.
Bryan Danielson: The 'American Dragon' and last ROH World Champion, Danielson truely believes that he's the best wrestler in the world. Will anyone in STAR-J be able to prove him wrong?
CIMA: One of the longtime aces of Japan's Dragon Gate promotion, CIMA comes from one of the top Japanese junior promotions to STAR-J. Can he find similar success standing on his own here?
Jimmy Jacobs: The flamboyant former hussmaster and ROH Tag Team Champion, Jacobs comes out now strutting with feather boas. With his huss days behind him and a current focus on cheating to win, can Jacobs be a surprise player?
Juventud Guerrera: A former WCW and WWE Cruiserweight Champion, Juvy knows how to succeed in the weight class. Will he find similar success in STAR-J?

Generation Next: Formerly a top heel AND face faction in ROH, GenNext surprisingly returns to their heel roots as Aries & Strong reunite with former founding member Alex Shelley as a rule-breaking group in STAR-J.
Austin Aries: The leader of Generation Next, everyone is wondering why Aries chose to kick out Evans & Sydal and recruit former founding member Alex Shelley for the STAR-J version of GenNext. Will we find out soon?
Roderick Strong: The Messiah of the Backbreaker continues to stand with Aries, who together with Strong were the last ROH Tag Team Champions. Will Aries & Strong dominate the tag ranks of STAR-J or do they have their sights set on singles gold instead?
Alex Shelley: The former founding member of GenNext was kicked out of the ROH version of the group by Aries & Strong all the way back at Final Battle '04, but Aries has surprisingly invited Shelley back for STAR-J's version of the group. Shelley has accepted. Will he help bring GenNext to the top of STAR-J?
Shiima Xion: The surprising new recruit into the GenNext fold, still-young glam-rock styled Shiima is GenNext's big hope for the future. Can he live up to this potiental and be a breakout star?

The Embassy: Perhaps the most consistently strong heel faction in ROH, Prince Nana leads a new group into battle in STAR-J, once again built around the so-called Crown Jewel, Jimmy Rave. But with the departure of Alex Shelley back to Generation Next, Nana has recruited two former Embassy associates back to the fold for STAR-J's version of the group.
Prince Nana: The prince of Ghana, West Africa of course continues to lead his Embassy from ROH into STAR-J. Will Nana take the Embassy straight to the top?
Jimmy Rave: The "Crown Jewel" of the Embassy is without former tag team partner Alex Shelley, who has deserted the Embassy for GenNext in STAR-J. Rave however says this is fine as he wants to concentrate on singles success. Will he be succesfull?
Spanky: Coming straight from the WWE, Spanky was a member of the Embassy very briefly before leaving ROH for the WWE in the summer of 2005. Spanky returns to the Embassy in STAR-J purely for the money. Will Nana's cash pay off?
Puma: A young up-and-comer, the California-based masked high-flyer was another brief Embassy member in the summer of '05. Nana has recruited him back into the fold to help replace the departure of Alex Shelley. Will Puma be able to succeed in his new role?

Special K: The infamous group of stoned ravers return to party again in STAR-J.
Deranged: The leader of this new version of Special K. Can Deranged keep his mind off drugs enough to win some matches in STAR-J?
Cheech: A cult favorite briefly in ROH, as well as CZW. Will Cheech turn that into wins in STAR-J?
Cloudy: When not accomponying Deranged & Cheech to the ring, Cloudy can step between the ropes and wrestle as well. Can he surprise some people in STAR-J?

Alright, with the STAR-J roster taken care of, it's time to move on to the smaller roster of STAR-H. These are the top heavyweight athletes in the world today and you can see them every Thursday and Saturday night on USA and NBC!

The Faces of STAR-H

Unaligned: There are no face factions in STAR-H as of yet, so all faces in STAR-H are unaligned.
Brother D-Von: One-half of Team 3D along with his longtime partner Brother Ray. Will D-Von be able to continue the tag team legacy in STAR-H?
Brother Ray: The other half of Team 3D. Will he be one-half of a tag team dynasty in STAR-H?
Chris Benoit: The Canadian Crippler started out as a junior but has found heavyweight success in the WWE in recent years. Can he continue this in STAR-H?
Chris Jericho: Like his fellow Canadian, Jericho is another one who started as a junior but has had major heavyweight success in the WWE. Loosely partnered with Benoit, can Y2J return from acting to major success in STAR-H?
Christian Cage: On his way to finally breaking out in TNA, Christian Cage comes now to STAR-H looking to continue this. Is it finally time for Christian Cage to be on top in STAR-H?
Colt Cabana: Called "too goofy" by many for the longest time, Cabana finally started getting serious in ROH. Will Cabana prove his detractors wrong and be a top athlete in STAR-H?
Kurt Angle: The immensley popular former Olympian looks to continue his success from the WWE amongst new and old opponents alike in STAR-H. But does the often injury-ridden Angle still have enough left to be competitive?
Matt Hardy: A longtime cult favorite in the WWE, can Hardy finally find major success in STAR-H?
Raven: A standout in ECW and TNA due to his hardcore leanings, will Raven be able to pick up wins away from that in the more traditional wrestling of STAR-H?
Samoa Joe: The longest-reigning ROH World Champion and undefeated last X Champion in TNA, Samoa Joe is offically a phenom. Will he be able to continue that amongst others of his own size in STAR-H?
Shelton Benjamin: No more momma's boy jokes for Benjamin in STAR-H, it's time for him to get his chance to shine as an athlete. Can this former All-American finally make good on his potiental in STAR-H?

The Heels of STAR-H

Unaligned: These wrestlers are not currently part of a faction.
Abyss: The monster finally gets to stand on his own and look out for his own interests in STAR-H. Can anyone stand up to the power of the Black Hole Slam?
BJ Whitmer: The American master of the Wrist-Clutch Exploder, Whitmer is another man who finally gets a chance to stand on his own in STAR-H. Will he make the most of it?
John Bradshaw Layfield: JBL defied all the critics in the WWE by becoming the longest-reigning WWE Champion in years. Can his hard lariat and Stan Hansen-inspired offense lead him to further victory in STAR-H?
Monty Brown: A real enigma, the Alpha Male is charismatic and physically gifted, ready to welcome STAR-H to the Serengeti. Will anyone survive the Pounce?
Nigel McGuinness: The last ROH Pure Wrestling Champion, Nigel is undoubtfully looking to take home the STAR version of that title as well. Will Nigel once again shine as the top pure wrestler in the world?
Randy Orton: A former World Heavyweight Champion in WWE, Orton will undoubtfully have many gunning for him in STAR-H. Can the RKO alone keep Orton on top amongst new competiton?

Saints of Trey: Newcomer manager to the scene is the engimatic purple-wearing "New York City bachelor", Trey St. Parker. The young 24-year-old former underwear model carries a gold cane with him to the ring, constantly yelling about his "brass ball" (a small ball on top of the cane), and isn't afraid to use the cane if he must. Coming from a wealthy background, the spoiled Trey has used his parents' money to put together an incredibly formidable new unit that he promises will take STAR-H by storm.
Trey St. Parker: You've just read a lot about the leader of the Saints of Trey above. Will Trey St. Parker succeed in his ambitions?
Brock Lesnar: The centerpiece of Trey's impressive conquests, the former NCAA champion as well as WWE Champion and IWGP Champion returns to the States for STAR-H. Does Lesnar still have what it takes to be on top in the US?
Chris Masters: Trey's young up-and-comer, the Masterpiece made countless wrestlers in the WWE submit to his so-far unescapable Masterlock. Will Masters continue this success in STAR-H?
Chris Harris: One-half of America's Most Wanted, Trey brought them in to make sure tag success was covered as well. Will Harris help AMW dominate STAR-H's tag division the same way they dominated TNA's?
James Storm: The Cowboy is of course the other half of AMW. Can he rise to the occasion and help the Saints of Trey be the top faction in all of Pro Wrestling STAR?

With the roster out of the way, let's move on to the standard rules of STAR matches. All STAR matches feature a strong focus on referee discretion. We have very competent referees here in STAR and we trust it to them to make decisions to their discretion. For instance, we have no count-outs in STAR (except for in Pure Wrestling Title matches), but if a wrestler is outside for too long, a referee may disqualify them. Other disqualifications, for things like interference or use of weaponry, is again up to the referee's discretion as well. Those things are frowned upon, however, as we want to keep the playing field in STAR fair and level. Finally, all titles in STAR CAN change hands on a disqualification. So there will be none of that "get DQed to keep my title" crap in STAR. Time limits exist- they are as follows. 20 minutes for a standard non-title, non-tournament match. 30 minutes for a tournament match or a Pure Wrestling Title match. 45 minutes for a tag team title match. And 60 minutes for a singles title match. In the case of a time limit draw, of course, the champion will retain.

With all that out of the way, I bet you're wondering how all those titles will be decided. This will be in the first edition of what will become a yearly tradition: the 1st Annual STARlight Openweight League and STARlight Openweight Tag League. Here's how it will work this year: first, 12 wrestlers on each roster will be selected to compete in six qualifying matches. The six winners of these matches, all of which will take place on our first-ever live event on Saturday, April 1st, will move on to the league play. After the qualifying round, tag teams will be selected from the remaining rosters to take part in a 6-team (STAR-J) and a 4-team (STAR-H) tag league going on at the same time.

During the league play, all wrestlers and teams will face each other in round-robin style competition, with 2 points awarded for a win and one point awarded for a time limit draw or double count-out (no points are awarded to either wrestler for a double DQ, however). At the end of the round-robin competition, the top 3 from the singles and top 2 from the tag team competitions will move on to the title decision matches on our first PPV event, STARlight First Shining on Sunday, April 30th. There, in the singles competitions, the wrestlers will face-off in three-way elimination matches, while the two tag teams will face off in a standard tag team matches. The winners from each division will be crowned with their division's singles and tag titles, respectivley. But the competition isn't over yet.

On May 14th, live on Pay-Per-View from the historic Madison Square Garden, we will present STARlight Into the Heavens. The Pure Wrestling Title will be decided with a one-night, four-man interpomotional tournament (qualifiers happening earlier). But the main focus of the night will be, for the only time, STAR Heavyweight Champion vs. STAR Junior Heavyweight Champion and STAR-H Tag Team Champions vs. STAR-J Tag Team Champions. They will compete in a best 2 out of 3 matches situation, with breaks between the matches that will occur throughout the night. The final winners will be crowned as the first-ever STARlight Openweight Champion and Openweight Tag Team Champions, respectivley.

So that's the early schedule of Pro Wrestling STAR. But wondering what the PPV events will be like after this initial crowning? Check out the rest of our planned dates through March '07!

(6/18/06) STAR-H One Night Only: STAR-H's version of our "One Night Only" tournament series. This is an eight-man, one-night tournament to determine who will challenge for the STARlight Openweight Title on August 20th. Obviously, tensions will be high here, and it is very much a "win or go home" atmosphere. This is your one shot to earn a chance to be known as the top man in professional wrestling today. Will you make the most of it? You've got one night only!

(7/2/06) STAR-J Trios Tournament: A one-night trios tournament is the main focus of this show, continuing the concept from ROH where the three winners are allowed to book themselves in any match they want (except STARlight Openweight Title shots). Whoever wins this Trios Tournament will go down not only as the top faction in STAR-J, but also have undeniable power in STAR-J to book their own match!

(8/20/06) STARlight Into Your Dreams: Our end-of-summer STARlight spectacular. STARlight Into Your Dreams will feature the main event of the STARlight Openweight Champion vs. the STAR-H One Night Only Winner, a match that will have been built to since June 18th. All other titles in STAR are expected to be on the line as well. This event has already been confirmed as coming from the Astro Dome in Houston, Texas.

(9/24/06) STAR-J One Night Only: STAR-J's version of the One Night Only tournament, just as much will be on the line here as in the STAR-H version, as the winner will challenge for the STARlight Openweight Title on November 19th. Who in STAR-J will make their one shot count?

(10/8/06) STAR-H Trios Tournament: STAR-H's version of the Trios Tournament, with the same rules and format as STAR-J's. Which three heavyweight athletes will get the chance to book any match they want?

(11/19/06) STARlight Survive for Supremacy: Our big November event, Survive for Supremacy features a double main event. Other than the STARlight Openweight Champion vs. the STAR-J One Night Only Winner, a match built up to since 9/24, the other main event will be the year's Survive for Supremacy match. It will be a 10-man elimiantion tag consisting of a 5-man team from STAR-H and a 5-man team from STAR-J, decided in qualifiers leading up to the event. 5 wrestlers from each roster who may or may not be allies or enemies will have to work together in order to try and earn their weight class victory in the year's Survive for Supremacy match. Who will survive and earn supremacy in Pro Wrestling STAR? This event has already been confirmed as coming from Wembley Staidum in London, England.

(12/31/06) The Wrestler of the Year: A simple concept combining traditional Wrestler of the Year voting with ROH's Round Robin Challenge event is the focus of our year-end New Year's Eve spectacular. The fans around the world will get to vote online and over the phone for who they think is the 2006 Wrestler of the Year. The top three men, regardless of weight class, will then compete in a one-night round-robin competition, facing each other in three matches. If they all tie at 1-1, a three-way elimination match will be used to break the tie. The winner of this match will be crowned the official title of 2006 Wrestler of the Year, and if they are not already the STARlight Openweight Title, they will recieve the next title shot on January 28th. This event will broadcast from the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.

(1/28/07) STARlight Into a New Beginning: Our first PPV event of the year will feature the STARlight Openweight Champion defending his title, against the 2006 Wrestler of the Year if he did not capture this crown himself.

(2/25/07) STAR-H 10 Count Knockout: The focus of this STAR-H PPV event will be the 10 Count Knockout four-man tournament. The premesis is simple: four of the most hard-hitting atheltes in STAR-H will compete in two semifinal matches where the only way to win is to knock your opponent out for a 10-count. The two winners will then meet in the finals under the same rules with the winner having a shot at a STARlight Openweight Title shot at the new April event.

(3/11/07) STAR-J Flash Gauntlet: The Flash Gauntlet is the focus of this STAR-J PPV event. 10 wrestlers in STAR-J will compete in it, 7 that won qualifying matches as well as the current STAR-J Tag Team and STAR Junior Heavyweight Champions. The first seven will get random numbers and the first two will face each other in a match with a 15 minute time limit. If it goes to the time limit the next two come out and face each other- if there is a winner, the next one comes out and faces him, and so on. 8 and 9 will be the Tag Team Champions, their order decided randomly, and the tenth and final competitor will be the STAR Junior Heavyweight Champion (his title is not on the line). The last match in the gauntlet will have no time limit and the winner moves on to face the 10CK winner at the new April event.

STARlight First Shining is a one-time only event. April '07 will see the debut of a new event that will feature: the 10CK Winner vs. the Flash Gauntlet Winner, with the winner of that match moving on to a three-way STARlight Openweight Title match at 2007's STARlight Into the Heavens. How is the third particapant decided, you ask? Well, with the 2007 STARlight Openweight League, of course, which will also conclude on this show.

Hope all that wasn't too confusing for you, but there's the full PPV calendar. It's a very full calendar of events we have planned here for Pro Wrestling STAR, so we hope you enjoy watching it!

Once again, Pro Wrestling STAR will kick-off with the first-ever edition of STARlight Worldwide on Saturday, April 1st on NBC! See you then!

Edited March 24, 2006 by Xias

March 22, 2006

The following was posted on the newly launched official Pro Wrestling STAR website on Saturday, April 18th.

FULL CARDS FOR FIRST-EVER PRO WRESTLING STAR EVENTS ANNOUNCED
A press release from the Los Angeles HQ announced the first week of action

The full cards for all of the Pro Wrestling STAR's first week of action were released today. The main focus is on the qualifying matches in the STARlight Openweight League.

For interpromotional cards, STAR-H matches are listed in blue, STAR-J matches in red, and interpromotional matches are plain black.

Saturday, April 1st: First-Ever STARlight Worldwide live on NBC!
From the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California
Heavyweight Block Qualifier: Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar (w/ Trey St. Parker)
Junior Hvwt. Block Qualifier: AJ Styles vs. Bryan Danielson
Heavyweight Block Qualifier: Chris Benoit vs. John Bradshaw Layfield
Junior Hvwt. Block Qualifier: CIMA vs. Christopher Daniels
Saints of Trey Debut: Saints of Trey (Chris Masters & AMW w/ Trey St. Parker) vs. Chris Jericho, Colt Cabana, & Shelton Benjamin
Eight-Man Faction Warfare: Generation Next (Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, Alex Shelley, & Shiima Xion) vs. The Rottweilers (Homicide, Low Ki, Ricky Reyes, & Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes)
Heavyweight Block Qualifier: Samoa Joe vs. BJ Whitmer
Junior Hvwt. Block Qualifier: Jimmy Rave (w/ Prince Nana) vs. James Gibson
Dark Match: Randy Orton vs. Matt Hardy
Dark Match: The Embassy (Spanky & Puma w/ Prince Nana) vs. Jack Evans & Matt Sydal
Dark Match: Team 3-D vs. Abyss & Monty Brown
Dark Match: Special K (Deranged, Cheech, & Cloudy) vs. Paul London, Jimmy Yang, & Minoru Fujita

Sunday, April 2nd: STAR-J Live- Some Matches Taped for 4/3 Junior Flash
From the Cow Palace in San Fransisco, California
Junior Hvwt. Block Qualifier: CM Punk vs. Austin Aries
Eight-Man Faction Warfare: The Rottweilers (Homicide, Low Ki, Ricky Reyes, & Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes) vs. The Embassy (Jimmy Rave, Spanky & Puma) & one-night hired gun Bryan Danielson w/ Prince Nana
The Legendary Series Continues: AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels
Six-Man Tag Action: Generation Next (Roderick Strong, Alex Shelley, & Shiima Xion) vs. Jimmy Yang, Jack Evans, & Matt Sydal
One Fall to a Finish: James Gibson vs. Juventud Guerrera vs. Paul London
Azrieal Trial Series Match #1: CIMA vs. Azrieal
Six-Man Tag Action: Special K (Deranged, Cheech, & Cloudy) vs. Minoru Fujita, Jay Lethal, & Delirious
Opening Contest: Jimmy Jacobs vs. Davey Andrews

Monday, April 3rd: STAR-J Live- Some Matches Taped for 4/3 Junior Flash
From the Arrowhead Pond in Anahiem, California
Junior Hvwt. Block Qualifier: Low Ki (w/ Julius Smokes) vs. Spanky (w/ Prince Nana)
Tag Team Attraction: AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels vs. Bryan Danielson & CIMA
Junior Hvwt. Block Qualifier: Homicide (w/ Julius Smokes) vs. Alex Shelley
Six-Man Tag Action: Generation Next (Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, & Shiima Xion) vs. CM Punk, Jack Evans, & Matt Sydal
One Fall to a Finish: Jimmy Yang vs. Jimmy Jacobs vs. Minoru Fujita
Tag Team Bonus: Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero) vs. The Embassy (Jimmy Rave & Puma w/ Prince Nana)
Azrieal Trial Series Match #2: Juventud Guerrera vs. Azrieal
Six-Man Tag Action: Special K (Deranged, Cheech, & Cloudy) vs. James Gibson, Paul London, & Delirious
Opening Contest: Jay Lethal vs. Davey Andrews

Wednesday, April 5th: STAR-H Live- Some Matches Taped for 4/6 Hard Hitting
From the iPayOne Center in San Diego, California
Heavyweight Block Qualifier: Christian Cage vs. Monty Brown
Saints of Trey vs. the World: Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar, Chris Masters, & AMW w/ Trey St. Parker) vs. Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, & Team 3-D
Tag Team Attraction: Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton & BJ Whitmer
Pure Wrestling Rules: Nigel McGuinness vs. Colt Cabana
One Fall to a Finish: John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Matt Hardy vs. Raven
Opening Contest: Abyss vs. Shelton Benjamin

Thursday, April 6th: STAR-H Live- Some Matches Taped for 4/6 Hard Hitting
From the HP Pavilon in San Jose, California
Heavyweight Block Qualifier: Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho
Heavyweight Block Qualifier: Abyss vs. Raven
Tag Team Attraction: Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar & Chris Masters w/ Trey St. Parker) vs. Kurt Angle & Samoa Joe
First-Time Ever: Chris Benoit vs. Monty Brown
Six-Man Tag Action: Christian Cage, Colt Cabana, & Shelton Benjamin vs. John Bradshaw Layfield, Monty Brown, & BJ Whitmer
Opening Contest: Team 3-D (Brother Ray & Brother D-Von) vs. America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm w/ Trey St. Parker)

Edited March 22, 2006 by Xias

March 22, 2006

This looks really good. I really hope you pull through with this! I will be reading!

March 22, 2006

STARlight Worldwide TV Report (4/1/06)

Broadcast LIVE on NBC at 8/7c from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California

(Forgot to put Scott Keith on before I started the results, d'oh! So no star ratings for this show only, every one after that will have them. For those of you unfamiliar with the EWR system, the three percentage scores are: overall rating, crowd reaction, and match quality.)

The first-ever edition of STARlight Worldwide opened straight up with the opening television contest of the evening, as Jimmy Rave with Prince Nana was set to face James Gibson in a Junior Hvwt. Block Qualifier for the STARlight Openweight League '06. Announcers John Carroll (the owner of the promotion as well) and Bryan Quinlan (his close personal friend) discussed the format of the league throughout the contest. Rave and Gibson went at it for over fourteen minutes of action before Gibson seemingly had things taken care of with his double-underhook arm submission. However, as Rave was submitting, Prince Nana got up on the apron and distracted the referee, so he missed it. Gibson let go of the submission hold and walked over, grabbing Nana by the collar. As he was doing that, however, Rave hit Gibson from behind with a low blow (missed in the chaos) and followed that up with the Greetings from Ghana (more commonly known as the Pedigree) to earn the 1-2-3, moving Rave on to the league in a huge upset! Rave and Nana celebrated as the crowd soundidly booed, while STARlight Worldwide went to its first commerical break. (86%, 88%, 84%)

Worldwide returned with the first heavyweight block qualifier of the evening, as BJ Whitmer was out first. BJ walked by the announce table and had some words for Carroll & Quinlan, informing the young commentary duo that he was going straight to the top here in STAR-H and no one could hold him back anymore. Unfortunately for BJ, his opponent of the evening was Samoa Joe, a man who came with a message to be made. Joe came out and just demolished BJ, earning a roar of approval from the fans, dismantling him with his hard strikes and finishing him off with a running boot to the face in less than six minutes. Joe celebrated afterwards to even more crowd approval, having made one hell of a statement on STAR's first-ever event. (88%, 84%, 92%)

STARlight Worldwide then went backstage to where interview personality Gail Kim was standing by backstage with Generation Next of Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, Alex Shelley, and Shiima Xion.

Gail Kim: "We're seeing a radically different Generation Next here in Pro Wrestling STAR. Austin Aries, as the leader of Generation Next, would you like to explain your actions, namely removing Jack Evans & Matt Sydal from the group, bringing back Alex Shelley, and recruiting Shiima Xion?"

Austin Aries: "Gail, you know what, it's a cliche but I don't owe anyone an explanation but Jack and Matt, and they both got one from me. I don't owe your boney little ass an explanation, nor do I owe these people an explanation, because I'm the leader of Generation Next and it's all at MY discretion, not anyone else's. But you know what, I'll give you at least something. I did what I did for the same reason I do everything- for the sake of Generation Next. Isn't that right Roderick?"

Roderick Strong: "You're damn right Austin. Austin Aries is my best friend, the two of us were the last Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions together, and he has had my back since day 1. So when he said Jack and Matt had to go, for the good of the group, and Alex and Shiima had to come in, I trusted him. I told him, whatever you think is best for the group, 'cause you're the boss. Austin says to succeed amongst the new competition here in STAR we need to get back to our roots and get aggressive again to secure those top spots, just like we did in Ring of Honor, and hell, there ain't nothing wrong with that."

Austin Aries: "That's exactly right Roddy, you're exactly right. And you know what? If you're wondering why I brought back Alex Shelley, use that little pea brain of yours Gail and think about what Roddy just said. If we want to get back to the core of what we were all about, taking those top spots by sheer force and strength of numbers, who better to turn to than one of the founders of GenNext and perhaps the most ruthless member of us all?"

Alex Shelley: "Why thanks Aries, I always liked you too buddy."

Gail Kim: "Alex, this does beg the question- while we've heard from Aries & Strong why they'd bring you back and I at least somewhat understand what they're saying there, I don't understand why you'd accept their invitation. Aries is the same man who kicked you out of Generation Next, and in ROH you joined the Embassy in an attempt to get revenge on him for it. Why not stick with the Embassy in STAR-J and continue to seek revenge on Aries for wronging you? Why go back to GenNext just because Aries & Strong want you back now?"

Alex Shelley: "It's rather simple, sweetheart. Have you ever heard of the old saying, 'forgive and forget'? I mean, Jesus, it's been over a year- OVER A YEAR- since that happened! And since then, I've already gotten a lot of revenge on Aries. He and I have had our battles, we've had our fights, I've won some, he's won some, but that's over with. Ring of Honor, the place where all that happened, is over with. This is Pro Wrestling STAR, it's our chance to turn over a new leaf. Working with Aries & Strong again is the absolute best-case scenerio for me, to climb to the top as fast as I possibly can, because I already know we can do it together. I mean, we sure as hell did it in ROH, didn't we! And Shiima here, unlike Flippy McGullicuty or Matt 'worst theme music ever' Sydal, has the real fire, the ruthless young spirit, neccesary to go straight to the top! Don't you Shiima?"

Shiima Xion: "Abso-friggin-loutley Alex. You see, many of you don't know me. Many of you never ventured to Shiima Xionline- and I can't blame you given I haven't updated that site since last November- to learn all about wrestling's only filipino supermodel. So allow this to be your introduction, to me. Hi there. I'm obviously Shiima Xion. I mean, is there really anyone else hot enough in this promotion to be me? No offense guys.

Roderick Strong: "Hey, none taken, I'm not billing myself as Messiah of Sexyness or anything. You start claiming you've got wrestling's best backbreakers though, and then we'll have a problem."

Shiima Xion: "Got it loud and clear. You definitely beat out David Young for 'best messiah of something in wrestling', Roddy."

Austin Aries: "Who?"

Shiima Xion: "Not important. What IS important is that this glam rockin' sex machine is willing to do whatever it takes to take Generation Next straight to the top! I don't care if it's 1-on-1, 4-on-4, 4-on-3, 4-on-2, 4-on-1, whatever the numbers are, we'll do whatever it takes to get those top spots!"

Alex Shelley: "Wow Aries, the kid really gets it. Good pick there."

Austin Aries: "I told you so." (turning to Gail Kim) "Now if you'll excuse me, bimbo, we've got a match to win and some dogs to put down." (84%)

STARlight Worldwide returned from commerical break after GenNext's interview with the group already on their way to the ring. The sirens then hit, before going into the remix of Homicide & Ki's theme music that brought out the Rottweilers- Homicide & Ki along with the Havana Pitbulls of Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero, with Julius Smokes accomponying them to ringside as always. The match was a wild 8-man tag team affair, with the referee often losing control. Eventually things broke down into an all-out brawl between the two groups on the outside, with Julius even getting involved, back-raking Roderick (oh the irony!). However, Low Ki and Shiima Xion were left inside, and Ki downright destroyed Shiima with a kick combination before heading to the top rope and nearly caving in Shiima's ribs with a vicious double stomp! Ki made the cover and no one was able to make the save in time, and the Rottweilers took the first win in faction warfare with Generation Next by pinning GenNext's junior member. The brawl between the two factions continued after the match, however, brawling all around ringside, and security had to come out to seperate the two factions as Worldwide went to another break. (81%, 83%, 77%)

When STARlight Worldwide returned, to the very eccentric tune of "Love is Dreaminess" saw Trey St. Parker, carrying his "brass ball" staff and wearing a giant purple hat with a feather in it, leading out the trio of Chris Masters & America's Most Wanted in their wrestling gear, and finally Brock Lesnar took up the rear in his warm-up clothes. AMW held the ropes open for Trey as he entered the ring and reached out for a microphone.

Trey St. Parker: "Ladies and gentlemen, with god as my witness, I am Trey St. Parker, and I am here to introduce you to the greatest faction ever aseembled within a professional wrestling ring! It begins with the greatest tag team professional wrestling has seen in the last decade. This is the team that dominated Total Nonstop Action, the team that sent Team 3-D home in a bloody mess. Ladies and gentlemen, 'Cowboy' James Storm and 'Wildcat' Chris Harris, they aren't just mine most wanted, they're America's Most Wanted!"

Harris & Storm climbed opposite turnbuckles, Storm holding his cowboy had out in front of his chest as the crowd booed.

Trey St. Parker: "Next I give you the biggest rising star in the WWE, a man who was racking up wins against all kinds of competition but never got his real chance to shine! Well this is Pro Wrestling STAR and shining is what we're all about, so finally the Masterpiece will get his chance to shine.....because he'll shine in me! This is the Masterpiece, the greatest piece of sculpture I've ever seen in my life, Chris Masters!"

Masters climbed another turnbuckle and raised up his impressive biceps to more boos from the crowd.

Trey St. Parker: "He may be the Masterpiece, but up next is my centerpiece! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the man who was too talented for the WWE! A former NCAA national wrestling champion, a former WWE champion, an undefeated IWGP Heavyweight Champion before he vacated that belt and came back to these shores to wrestle.....not for all of you, but for me! He isn't the Next Big Thing anymore, he's the big- ohhhh so very big thing! And he's the man who, later tonight, is going to break Kurt Angle's neck once and for all! He is.....Brock.....Lesnar!"

Lesnar did his rather infamous "happy dance" before jumping up onto the second rope in front of him (not the turnbuckle) and raising one arm in the air to a much more mixed reaction, as many were excited to see Lesnar back on US shores.

Trey St. Parker: "Damnit weren't you idiots listening?! Brock's wrestling here for ME, not for all of you! Isn't that right Brock?"

Brock Lesnar: "You're the one paying my ridicously fat salary and paying for my private jet, Mr. Parker, not these friggin' retards!"

Now most of the crowd reacted with stronger boos.

Trey St. Parker: "You can bet that shiney ass of yours that's right! None of these people could afford to pay you what I'm paying you, Brock, but none of these people have balls made of brass either! And that brings me to the last- and most important- person I have to introduce. He is the hottest and hippest aristocrat to come out of New York City since the less ugly dude from They Might Be Giants! He is the most beautiful man to ever prance around a wrestling ring! And he is the only man capable of putting this incredible faction together, with his brain, his brass balls, and his incredibly thick wallet! He is.....me, the one-and-only hottest man in wrestling, Trey St. Parker!"

Parker took a ridicolous-looking bow as the crowd booed much louder.

Trey St. Parker: "And together, we are the Saints of Trey! And we wil prove that we are an unstoppable force here in STAR! So get the opposition- if you can really call these three to be 'opposition'- out here for Masters & AMW to show everyone just what I was talking about!"

Just as Chris Jericho, Colt Cabana, & Shelton Benjamin came running out from the back and slid in, starting to brawl with Masters & AMW, Carroll & Quinlan spoke up and apologized, saying Trey wasting all that time with his speech was forcing them to go to a break, but they'd have the match when they came back! (97%)

When STARlight Worldwide returned, the match was already in progress and things were firmly under the control of the Saints of Trey trio. Carroll & Quinlan said things were chaotic during the break and brought up a picture-in-picture replaxy of an all-out brawl, with Lesnar making it a 4-on-3 and even Trey himself getting involved, choking Cabana with his cane, before the referee finally restored order and got two men in the ring (and Trey & Brock on the outside). However, Trey & Brock remained a source of annoyance on the outside, intefering in the mach liberally, until finally the referee threw them out, sending them to the back! However, that disturbance allowed the referee to miss AMW head around the ring and pull Jericho & Cabana off the apron and send them into opposite guardrails, leaving Benjamin alone in the ring with Masters. Masters quickly locked-on the Masterlock, and with nowhere to go and no one to break it up, Benjamin could do nothing but struggle in the hold until the referee decided it was enough and stopped the match, awarding it to the Saints of Trey trio. Masters eventually released the hold after much prompting from the referee, and Trey (who had barely made it up the rampway) came back down and raised arms with Masters & AMW on the outisde as the crowd booed. (81%, 85%, 73%)

Back to qualifying matches when Worldwide came back, with a junior heavyweight qualifier as Christopher Daniels faced CIMA in an international showdown. This was a fast back-and-forth, highly athletic contest that had the crowd standing and applauding several times. In the end, Daniels and CIMA reversed out of their various signature moves many times before Daniels finally scored with the Angel's Wings for a pinfall in just under fourteen minutes of nonstop action. The two men shook hands afterwards but CIMA pulled him in and turned it into an intense staredown as Worldwide went to the back. (87%, 91%, 81%)

Christy Hemme: "Thanks guys. I'm standing by with a former WWE Champion, a man who set a record for longest-reigning Champion in over a decade, in John Bradshaw Layfield. Now, JBL, to be quite honest you had some.....shenanigans involved in your title reign. But here in STAR you're standing on your own, no Cabinet or anyone else. What does this mean?"

John Bradshaw Layfield: "I'll tell you what it means Christy. It means that I'm tired of hearing people like you talk about the Cabinet when they talk about JBL's success. Do you know why I was the longest reigning WWE Champion in over a decade? It wasn't because of my Cabinet, it was because of me! It was because of my smarts and my wrestling talent. And you know what? I AM a wrestling.....god! And I'm going to prove it when I go out there and take Chris Benoit's head off with my clothesline from hell- you know what, this isn't the WWE anymore, I can call it what it is. It's a lariat. An old-school, Western lariat, just like Stan Hansen, and just like Hansen I'm looking to dislocate a few jaws with it! Starting with Benoit! And after I beat Benoit, all on my own, I'll go into the STARlight Openweight League, all on my own, I'll win the heavyweight block and the STAR Heavyweight Title, all on my own, and I'll become the first-ever STARlight Openweight Champion, ALL ON MY OWN! JUST BECAUSE I CAN! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to make like Tucker Carlson and kick some Canuck ass!"

JBL stormed off towards the ring as Worldwide again went to a commerical break. (87%)

STARlight Worldwide returned again with JBL already on his way down to the ring to the boos of the crowd. Chris Benoit came out next and the two started going at it hot-and-heavy from the opening bell. Benoit and JBL traded some very stiff shots, Benoit bringing them with hard chops while JBL using clubbing forearms. Eventually Benoit did take JBL down into the Crossface, but JBL managed to make the ropes, much to the crowd's dismay. Later, Benoit went for the Crossface again, but JBL shoved him off, and as Benoit bounced back off the ropes he suddenly burst forward with a hard Lariat out of nowhere! Benoit was nearly decapitated as JBL simply leaned over and covered him for the three count, making good on his previous promise to beat Benoit "all on his own" (and cleanly at that!). JBL walked to the back with a smug smirk on his face to the boos of the crowd as the referee helped Benoit back to his feet. (84%, 88%, 76%)

Up next was the first of the double main event of the evening- the final junior heavyweight qualifier of the night, as AJ Styles and Bryan Danielson went one-on-one! The former TNA X Division ace and the last ROH World Champion were both seemingly refusing to lose their chance at being on top in STAR as well in a mere qualifier, as this was a match of constant stalemates. It was also very long, as they crossed the twenty-five minute mark approaching the thirty minute mark with still mostly an even mat-based match. With twenty-seven minutes of wrestling and two commerical breaks already behind them, AJ and AmDrag seemed no closer to resolving the match. Until suddenly, AmDrag locked in the Crossface Chickenwing from behind out of nowhere, as AJ was busy trying to avoid elbows to the head and standing up, not expecting it! AmDrag took him right back down to the mat quickly and with nowhere to go and no hope of getting to the ropes, AJ had no choice but to submit, giving Danielson the huge victory! AmDrag climbed to the top rope and celebrated his win, looking down at AJ with a smirk, as STARlight Worldwide took another commerical break. (86%, 88%, 82%)

Finally, the second half of the double-main event was a re-match from the Wrestlemania 19 main event and the final heavyweight qualifier. Brock Lesnar, accomponied by Trey St. Parker, was out next, to mostly boos this time after the promo earlier. And then, to a huge ovation, out came Kurt Angle. The former Olympian was clearly a major crowd favorite, just as he was at the end of his WWE tenure, not to mention this was an even more hardcore wrestling crowd. And from the opening bell, this was a war that satisfied the crowd that mostly came to see this. Angle and Lesnar threw each other around with amateur moves, but went for big power moves and submissions as well. Around the twenty-minute mark Brock Lesnar locked in his modified Brock Lock, and the crowd thought that was it, but Angle managed to make it to the ropes. Lesnar kept working on Angle's back and tried to lock it in again, but Angle suddenly reversed into an inside cradle, and into the ankle lock! Lesnar struggled and managed to make it to the ropes as well, causing the very pro-Angle crowd to loudly boo. Angle refused to release the hold, however, which caused Trey St. Parker to come onto the apron and scream at the referee. Angle released the hold and walked towards Parker, but Lesnar suddenly grabbed him from behind! Parker raised up his gold cane and was seemingly going to hit Angle before the referee could do anything to stop him, but Angle ducked at the last second and Parker's cane collided right with the skull of Lesnar! A shocked Parker could only watch as Angle grabbed Lesnar behind before he could even fall from the blow and hit him with the Angle Slam, before covering him for the 1....2.....3! Kurt Angle had won thanks to the inadvertent assist from Parker! However, quickly Parker signaled to the back and out ran America's Most Wanted, as well as Chris Masters, attacking Angle in a 3-on-1 assault just as the bell had been run. But suddenly, out from the back to the cheers of the crowd came none other than Samoa Joe, who cleaned house, nailing Harris & Storm with hard running boots to the face, while Trey and Masters slid out of the ring to escape him, pulling Brock to the outside and helping him up the ramp as well. Samoa Joe grabbed the mic and said he came out here to help Angle because he respects him and everything he's done in the world of professional wrestling, just like these people do- and more importantly, he DOESN'T respect a loudmouth nobody with a big wallet and nothing else like Trey St. Parker. So Joe extended his hand to Angle and after a brief pause, Angle took it, the crowd cheering loudly as the first-ever edition of STARlight Worldwide came to a close. (88%, 93%, 79%)

Overall Show Rating: 86%

Attendance: 7,034

Show Rating: 6.44

The following was posted on Pro Wrestling STAR's website following the airing of the event.

Full Quick Event Results w/ Dark Matches

STARlight Worldwide, 4/1/06
Staples Center- 7,034 Fans
1. Dark Match:Paul London, Jimmy Yang, & Minoru Fujita beat Special K (Deranged, Cheech, & Cloudy) in 9:08 when Yang used Yang Time on Cloudy.
2. Dark Match: Team 3-D beat Abyss & Monty Brown in 10:13 when D-Von pinned Abyss after a missed Pounce and the 3D.
3. Dark Match: Jack Evans & Matt Sydal beat The Embassy (Spanky & Puma w/ Prince Nana) in 11:39 when Evans used the Corkscrew 630 on Puma.
4. Dark Match: Randy Orton beat Matt Hardy in 10:11 with the RKO.
5. Junior Hvwt. Block Qualifier: Jimmy Rave (w/ Prince Nana) beat James Gibson in 15:03 with Greetings from Ghana after Nana interfered.
6. Heavyweight Block Qualifier: Samoa Joe beat BJ Whitmer in 5:47 with a running boot to the face.
7. Eight-Man Faction Warfare: The Rottweilers (Homicide, Low Ki, Ricky Reyes, & Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes) beat Generation Next (Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, Alex Shelley, & Shiima Xion) in 14:36 when Low Ki used an avalanche-style double stomp on Xion.
8. Saints of Trey Debut: Saints of Trey (Chris Masters & AMW w/ Trey St. Parker) beat Chris Jericho, Colt Cabana, & Shelton Benjamin in 9:38 when Masters used the Masterlock on Benjamin.
9. Junior Hvwt. Block Qualifier: Christopher Daniels beat CIMA in 13:57 with the Angel's Wings.
10. Heavyweight Block Qualifier: John Bradshaw Layfield beat Chris Benoit in 15:13 with a lariat.
11. Junior Hvwt. Block Qualifier: Bryan Danielson beat AJ Styles in 27:11 with the crossface chickenwing.
12. Heavyweight Block Qualifier: Kurt Angle beat Brock Lesnar (w/ Trey St. Parker) in 24:59 with an Angle Slam after an accidental cane shot.

You can pre-order the DVD of this event now at our online store! The DVD release includes all non-televised material, including all four dark matches (with full commentary), what you missed of the matches that did air during the commerical breaks, and several bonus backstage interviews with the wrestlers before and after the contests! Pre-order now for just $14.95, and DVDs will begin shipping shortly!

Edited March 22, 2006 by Xias

DMN in the House · March 22, 2006

Yellow is not your friend.

March 22, 2006

STAR-Junior Flash TV Report (4/3/06)

Broadcast on MTV at 7/6c, matches previously taped from the Cow Palace in San Fransisco and the Arrowhead Pond in Anahiem, California

The first broadcast of STAR-Junior Flash opened up right away with six-man tag action from the 4/2 STAR-J live event, as the trio of Special K- Deranged, Cheech, & Cloudy- took on the team of Minoru Fujita, Jay Lethal, & the engimatic Delirious. Special K attempted to use dirty hit & run and double and triple-team tactics to take control, but eventually they were bested by the more superior wrestling skills of their opponents, Lethal putting down Cheech for a three count with a Dragon suplex in just over seven minutes of fast-paced action. (72%, 70%, 74%, **3/4)

Another match from the 4/2 event was up next, a three-way one-fall-to-a-finish match featuring James Gibson, Juventud Guerrera, and Paul London. The announcers Carroll & Quinlan pointed out this was a three-way dance in which all three wrestlers involved were former WWE Cruiserweight Champions. As one might expect it was another fast-paced affair featuring wrestlers constantly breaking up each other's pinfall and submission attempts. James Gibson evenutally picked up the win with his double underhook choke hold on Juvy after knocking London from the top rope down to the floor. Juvy submitted to the former ROH World Champion just before London could make it back into the ring to break things up, giving Gibson a big win. (83%, 85%, 79%, ***)

We switched over to action from the 4/3 event from the Arrowhead Pond in Anahiem, tag team Rottweiler vs. Embassy action as the Havana Pitbulls of Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero took on Jimmy Rave & Puma. Both Julius Smokes and Prince Nana were at ringside and after both caused numerous moments of chaos in the match, they were both thrown out by the official early on, more to the dismay of Rave & Puma than the Pitbulls. The Embassy duo attempted to maintain control with dirty tactics, such as using the tag rope to choke Romero in their corner, and effectivley cut Romero off from his partner for much of the match. Romero finally scored with a surprise enziguri on Rave, however, then dived over and made the tag to Reyes (just as Rave tagged in Puma). Reyes cleaned house on both men, and Romero suddenly came back in with a flying knee that took Rave over the top and to the outside. With Puma all to himself, Reyes grabbed him from behind and dropped him backwards with his inverted DDT into a dragon sleeper, and with nowhere to go and no one to break it up, Puma was forced to tap-out, giving Reyes a big win! Carroll & Quinlan quickly mentioned that the Embassy had beaten the Rottweilers in a non-televised match from the 4/2 event by pinning Reyes, so this was a measure of payback for the Rottweiler. (82%, 81%, 84%, ***1/4)

We went back to the 4/2 event next as Generation Next of Roderick Strong, Alex Shelley, & Shiima Xion were in six-man tag team action against the trio of Jimmy Yang & former GenNext members Jack Evans & Matt Sydal. As you'd expect given the people involved, it was mostly a fast-paced affair with many nearfalls and pin/submission break-ups. In the end, however, it was the power of Roderick Strong that made the difference, as he flat-out destroyed Matt Sydal with a series of backbreakers before locking-in the Strong Hold, his modified Boston Crab with a knee in the back. Shelley and Shiima held his partners Yang & Evans back on the ropes, preventing them from making the save, and Sydal had no choice but to submit, giving the win to the Generation Next trio. Roderick refused to release the hold after the bell, however, even as the bell continued to ring and the referee yelled at him to release it. After a few moments he finally did, giving the referee a look for getting involved in his business, then turned to Shelley and Shiima and the trio left ringside together as Yang & Evans tended to their downed partner. (81%, 80%, 82%, ***1/4)

Now it was time to go back to the 4/3 show and in fact, right to the main event of that particular evening- the first of the last three Junior Heavyweight block qualifiers to air on the program. It was Low Ki, accomponied by Julius Smokes, against Spanky, accomponied by Prince Nana, continuing the Rottweiler vs. Embassy theme of the evening. Spanky mostly tried to use cheap tactics to win the contest, staying in the ropes as often as he could to avoid Low Ki's hard strikes, and consantly using distractions from Prince Nana and other forms of cheating to take control. Julius kept trying to get the referee's attention and tell him what was going on, but this only served to allow Spanky & Nana further time to double-team Ki. Finally, Spanky went for the Sliced Bread #2, but Ki reversed and flipped out of it. Nana quickly got up on the apron to distract Ki before he could attack Spanky from behind, causing Ki to walk over towards him. Spanky charged Ki from behind while that was going on, but Ki showed his ring smarts, moving out of the way, and Spanky collided with Nana, knocking him to the floor! Low Ki rolled Spanky up from behind with a school boy and the referee counted the 1-2-3, giving Ki a huge victory and moving him on to the Junior Heavyweight block! Spanky rolled out of the ring before Low Ki could attempt to inflict further punishment on him, he and Nana slinking to the back angrily as Julius came into the ring and celebrated with Ki. (88%, 90%, 86%, ****)

Still from the 4/3 event, up next on the program as a huge tag team contest, as long-time rivals AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels teamed up to take on the duo of Bryan Danielson & CIMA. Carroll & Quinlan mentioned that AJ & Daniels had just wrestled to a 20-minute time limit draw the day before in a match that won't be televised on this program, and is worth buying the DVD of that show to see (they of course plugged that you could go online and pre-order the DVDs of the full 4/2 and 4/3 events following this show). AJ & Daniels clearly showed some high-level tension as the match began, arguing who was going to start, and Danielson & CIMA took advantage of that to attack them from behind as things got underway. Carroll & Quinlan mentioned that the four men were involved in two junior heavyweight block qualifiers on the 4/1 live STARlight Worldwide airing, with Danielson defeating AJ and Daniels defeating CIMA, respectivley. Clearly tensions were high between the teams as well. AJ & Daniels eventually found a way to work together, and it was in fact miscomunication on Danielson & CIMA's parts that spelled the end of the match. CIMA went for a springboard dropkick into the ring with Danielson holding AJ, but AJ moved and CIMA nailed Danielson! Daniels quickly charged into the ring and clotheslined CIMA down, then kicked him under the bottom rope and to the outside. AJ took advantage and climbed to the top rope, hitting his breathtaking Spiral Tap on the already-downed Danielson, then covered him for the 1-2-3, paying Danielson back for Danielson's 1-on-1 victory on Saturday! A frusturated Danielson kicked the bottom rope in rage and yelled at CIMA as he re-entered the ring, while AJ & Daniels backed up the rampway, seemingly happy with their win. (89%, 90%, 90%, ****)

And the final match from the 4/3 event was up next, the second qualifier that was Rottweiler vs. GenNext this time, as Homicide with Julius Smokes took on Alex Shelley, accomponied to the ring by Shiima Xion. Homicide dominated Shelley to start, beating him all around the ring and even around the ringside area, Julius keeping Shiima from getting involved by taking his belt off and threatening to use it. Homicide eventually tossed Shelley back in where Shelley used a low blow (missed by the referee as he was yelling at Julius & Shiima) to finally take control for a while. He was unable to put Homicide away, however, as he locked-in the Border City Stretch but Homicide managed to make it to the ropes. Eventually Shelley set him up for Shell Shock but Homicide reversed out of that and used a low blow of his own, a simple kick below the belt, again missed by the referee thanks to Julius. Homicide then bounced off the ropes in front of Shelley and hit him with a hard lariat, nearly decapitating him. But when he made the cover, Shiima on the outside managed to put Shelley's right foot on the bottom rope. Despite Julius' protesting, the ref missed this too, and called it a ropebreak. Homicide wasn't going to be deterred, however, and simply went for the lariat again, but this time Shelley ducked it and nailed Homicide right in the chin with a superkick as he turned around! Shelley then grabbed Homicide and executed the Shell Shock, covering him.....for two, as Homicide kicked out much to the crowd's approval! An enraged Shelley attempted to set Homicide up for it again, but Homicide reversed out of it. Before he could follow up, however, Shiima Xion got up on the apron and grabbed Homicide from behind. Homicide elbowed his way out of Shiima's grasp, but that gave Shelley just enough time to hit a second superkick, and then set the stunned Homicide up for the Air Raid Crash! Homicide's head hit the canvas hard and Shelley covered once again, and despite Julius' protests the referee counted to three, giving Alex Shelley the win and moving him on to the junior heavyweight block of the STARlight Openweight League! (84%, 86%, 81%, ***1/4)

Finally, it was time for the final match of the night, the main event of the 4/2 show and another Junior Heavyweight block qualifier. CM Punk made his Pro Wrestling STAR debut taking on the leader of Generation Next, Austin Aries. Carroll & Quinlan were quick to point out that this was a re-match from the main event of ROH's 2005 Death Before Dishonor 3, in which Punk defeated Aries for the ROH World Title. Before that they traded wins but Punk is beating Aries in their series 2-1- so this was Aries' big chance to even up the score, not to mention get into the Junior Heavyweight block of the STARlight Openweight League. Aries was accomponied to the ring by Roderick Strong, but after Roddy interfered he was thrown out by the referee early on, leaving Aries alone against Punk. Aries still seemingly had things won when he hit his patented brainbuster on Punk and went up to the top to hit the 450 Splash, but somehow Punk managed to roll out of the way, leaving Aries to just hit canvas! Later, Punk managed to lock-in the Anaconda Vice on Aries, but Aries managed to make it to the ropes without submitting, getting a ropebreak. Aries eventually hit a second brainbuster on Punk, and rather than go up for the 450 again he simply went for the cover this time, but it wasn't enough to put the Punker down, as he kicked out just before the count of 3! So Aries went up top to try the 450 Splash again, but this time Punk managed to throw himself into the ropes, crotching Aries on the top rope. Punk then climbed up top and hit Aries with an inverted version of the Pepsi Plunge, sending Aries' head crashing all the way down to the canvas, and just like at DBD3, the Plunge was enough to get Punk the 1-2-3 and the victory! CM Punk celebrated in the ring to a roar of approval from the crowd, having moved on to the Junior Heavyweight block of the STARlight Openweight League. Carroll & Quinlan plugged that the first round of league matches would begin live this Saturday night from Seattle, Washington on NBC, and also made sure to mention that the last 3 Heavyweight block competitors would be revealed this Thursday night on the debut of STAR-Hard Hitting on USA, telling viewers to make sure to tune in to that as well. Punk celebrated by climbing all four turnbuckles to the roar of the crowd as the first-ever edition of STAR-Junior Flash came to a close! (87%, 88%, 86%, ***1/2)

Overall Show Rating: 83%

Attendances: 7,016 (4/2) and 7,320 (4/3)

TV Rating: 1.84

The following was posted on the official Pro Wrestling STAR website following the airing of the 4/3 Junior Flash.

Full Results of 4/2 and 4/3 STAR-J Live Events- Including Non-Televised Matches

STAR-J Live, 4/2/06
Cow Palace- 7,016 Fans
1. Opening Contest: Jimmy Jacobs beat Davey Andrews in 6:03 with an avalanche-style senton.
2. Six-Man Tag Action: Minoru Fujita, Jay Lethal, & Delirious beat Special K (Deranged, Cheech, & Cloudy) in 7:02 when Lethal used a Dragon suplex on Cheech.
3. Azrieal Trial Series Match #1: CIMA beat Azrieal in 8:13 with the Iconoclasm.
4. One Fall to a Finish: James Gibson beat Juventud Guerrera, Paul London in 9:13 when he used a double-underhook choke on Juventud.
5. Six-Man Tag Action: Generation Next (Roderick Strong, Alex Shelley, & Shiima Xion) beat Jimmy Yang, Jack Evans, & Matt Sydal in 10:29 when Roderick used the Strong Hold on Sydal.
6. The Legendary Series Continues: AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels went to a draw in 20:00 when the time limit expired.
7. Eight-Man Faction Warfare: The Embassy (Jimmy Rave, Spanky, & Puma) & Bryan Danielson w/ Prince Nana beat The Rottweilers (Homicide, Low Ki, Ricky Reyes, & Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes) in 18:57 when Spanky used Sliced Bread #2 on Reyes.
8. Junior Hvwt. Block Qualifier: CM Punk beat Austin Aries in 22:17 with an inverted Pepsi Plunge.

STAR-J Live, 4/3/06
Arrowhead Pond- 7,320 Fans
1. Opening Contest: Jay Lethal beat Davey Andrews in 5:29 with a Dragon suplex.
2. Six-Man Tag Action: James Gibson, Paul London, & Delirious beat Special K (Deranged, Cheech, & Cloudy) in 8:18 when London used the London Star Press on Cloudy.
3. Azrieal Trial Series Match #2: Juventud Guerrera beat Azrieal in 7:12 with the Juvy Driver.
4. Tag Team Bonus: Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero) beat The Embassy (Jimmy Rave & Puma w/ Prince Nana) in 10:36 when Reyes used a Dragon sleeper on Puma.
5. One Fall to a Finish: Jimmy Yang beat Jimmy Jacobs, Minoru Fujita in 9:20 when he used Yang Time on Jacobs.
6. Six-Man Tag Action: Generation Next (Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, & Shiima Xion) beat CM Punk, Jack Evans, & Matt Sydal in 13:27 when Aries used a 450 Splash on Evans.
7. Junior Hvwt. Block Qualifier: Alex Shelley (w/ Shiima Xion) beat Homicide (w/ Julius Smokes) in 17:22 with the Air Raid Crash after Shiima interfered.
8. Tag Team Attraction: AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels beat Bryan Danielson & CIMA in 14:59 when AJ used the Spiral Tap on Danielson after mis-communication.
9. Junior Hvwt. Block Qualifier: Low Ki (w/ Julius Smokes) beat Spanky (w/ Prince Nana) in 15:02 with a school boy after Spanky accidentally collided with Nana.

Head over to our online stores now where you can pre-order the full DVDs of both events for the special price of $24.95 for both shows (or $14.95 for either one seperatley)! Both DVDs come with the full events, including all the matches that didn't air on TV! That includes the 4/2 20-minute draw between AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels that fans who were there live have been raving about, as well as the huge 8-man faction war between The Embassy and Generation Next! On 4/3 that includes six-man tag team action with GenNext vs. Punk, Evans, & Sydal, as well a very interesting three-way with Yang, Jacobs, and Fujita. Fans who pre-ordered our DVD release of the 4/1 Worldwide event are just starting to recieve their DVDs today and are already raving about it, so see what all the hype is about and order the full Pro Wrestling STAR DVD releases of both events today!

Edited March 22, 2006 by Xias

DMN in the House · March 22, 2006

White isn't either .

You don't need to have a seperate color for each person. One color for everyone, or even no color is fine. Anything more is distracting, and, at times, unreadable.

March 22, 2006

STAR-Hard Hitting TV Report (4/6/06)

Brodcast on USA at 7/6c, matches previously taped from the iPayOne Center in San Diego and the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California

The first-ever edition of STAR-Hard Hitting began with a six-man tag team match from earlier in the day in San Jose, as the trio of John Bradshaw Layfield, Nigel McGuinness, & BJ Whitmer were out first, all three in JBL's private limousine. Their opponents, the trio of Christian Cage, Colt Cabana, and Shelton Benjamin came out next to Christian's theme music wearing matching Christian-style shiney jackets. Carroll & Quinlan discussed the result of a non-televised match from the previous day, Nigel defeating Cabana by grabbing the ropes on a roll-up, and thought perhaps Cabana was looking for some payback. Indeed Cabana went after Nigel to start, the two longtime rivals in ROH renewing their rivalry here in STAR. Later on the match settled into the heel trio working over Benjamin for a while, until Benjamin finally got the hot tag to Christian Cage, who cleaned house. Cage eventually tagged in Cabana, who went at it with Nigel McGuinness in another series of pinfall reverals. When Nigel went to grab the ropes on one cradle, however, this time his hands were kicked off by Shelton Benjamin, and that allowed Cabana to reverse the roll-up with a sunset flip of his own for a surprise three count before JBL or BJ even knew what was going on! Cage, Cabana, & Benjamin celebrated their victory while JBL & BJ yelled at Nigel for letting their team down in Hard Hitting's first contest of the evening. Afterwards, Carroll & Quinlan called up an interview taped earlier in the day with Christy Hemme & Raven. (74%, 85%, 80%, ***1/4)

Christy Hemme: "STAR correspondent Christy Hemme here, and I'm standing by with a man who is often referred to as an enigma in the professional wrestling industry. That man is a former NWA World Champion, and in just a few moments he has his chance to earn a spot in the Heavyweight block of the 2006 STARlight Openweight League against the monsterous Abyss. That man, is Raven."

Raven: "Thank you for that downright terrific introduction Christy, it's always nice to see a journalist with integrity to her craft."

Christy Hemme: "Wow, thanks Raven, it means a lot coming-"

Raven: "That wasn't your cue to start talking again, sweetheart. You're not Helen Thomas and I'm damn sure not President Bush, so how about letting me answer your question?"

Christy Hemme: "Sorry."

Raven: "Apology accepted. Now then, what you were saying before was exactly right. I AM a former NWA World Champion, and do you know who I beat in TNA to retain that title?"

Christy Hemme: "Umm, no, I wasn't really watching TNA at th-"

Raven: "Actually, Christy, that was a rheotical question. And the answer to it is, the so-called monster Abyss. You see, if Abyss is the metaphorical dragon than I am the metaphorical knight who took up the metaphorical sword and slayed the metaphorical beast. Metaphorically speaking."

Christy Hemme: "My producer is in my earpiece telling me that match was under hardcore rules, however. Here tonight the match is under standard STAR rules, which means you'll have to beat Abyss without any weapons. Do you really think you're capable of doing just that?"

Raven: "Well, your producer is right. Guess he was a TNA fan. But the point I'm trying to get at here is, yes, I do think I can beat Abyss without weapons. You can call him a monster or whatever else you want to call him, but here in Pro Wrestling STAR he's a monster that, for the first time in his career, is without any sort of guidance. Is the beast really able to stand on his own and guide himself to victory? I personally don't think he has the mental capacity to do that. And you know what?" (turning to Christy) "That was rhetorical too, dear, don't say 'What?'." (turning back towards the camera) "I'm a lifelong loner. Unlike Abyss, I don't need anyone to tell me what to do. I know exactly what it is I have to do. And that's slay the beast one more time and earn my spot in the STARlight Openweight League."

Christy Hemme: "The metaphorical beast, you mean?"

Raven: (laughing) "How about you come out there and let him blow snot on you instead of the camera? Then we'll see if you still think he's just a 'metaphorical' beast."

Christy Hemme: (confused and disgusted at the same time) "But you- you were the one who said- uhh..."

Raven: "Have fun grappling with that while I grapple with the beast, metaphorical or otherwise."

Raven walked off camera as STAR-Hard Hitting went to a commerical break. (84%)

Hard Hitting returned with Raven and Abyss one-on-one from the 4/6 event in the first of the three Heavyweight block qualifiers to air. The two top-notch brawlers had an incredible brawl, fighting all around ringside as the referee kept trying to regain control. Finally, as he threatened to disqualify them both, Raven returned to the ring, and Abyss finally followed. Inside the ring, Raven attempted to put the monster down with his Raven Effect DDT, but Abyss fought out of it and booted Raven down hard for a near-fall. Later, Abyss sent Raven into the ropes and hit him with a giant Black Hole Slam, and that put Raven down for the 1-2-3, given the monster a huge win and moving him into the STARlight Openweight League! (81%, 83%, 100%, ****1/2)

After the match, Hard Hitting went backstage to an interview taped during the 4/5 event from San Diego, where Trey St. Parker was standing in front of his four men- Lesnar, Masters, & AMW.

Trey St. Parker: "Hello there viewers of the wonderful USA Network, of which I own much stock of. If you missed my introduction on NBC, my name is Trey St. Parker, and I'm the new sensation here in the world of wrestling. Now, speaking of that NBC show, I'll admit it was a mixed debut night for this great power I've put together, the Saints of Trey. While the Masterpiece and America's Most Wanted succeeded in defeating a trio of some of this roster's best, my centerpiece Brock Lesnar failed to defeat Kurt Angle and make it into the STARlight Openweight League. Now, yours truly is never afraid to admit when he's made a mistake, and Brock, I'd like to take this time to apologize for hitting you in the head with my giant brass ball."

Brock Lesnar: (pretending to get a little broken-up) "That means so much to me, Mr. Parker. Your apology is absolutley accepted."

Trey St. Parker: "That 'sorry I hit you in the head with my giant brass ball' apology bonus check I gave you on Saturday night certainly didn't hurt, did it?"

Brock Lesnar: (laughing now) "Oh definitely not Mr. Parker. Rena does love her diamonds."

Trey St. Parker: "I bet she does. But anyway, with that bit of nastiness out of the way, I'd like to reaffirm Saints of Trey's goals. Now, thanks to a travesty of justice Chris Masters is not even being given a shot to qualify for the Heavyweight block- it's an absolute travesty because I KNOW the Masterpiece would beat whoever they put in front of him." (Masters nods in agreement in the background.) "But that's okay. We'll get our hands on both the STAR Heavyweight Title and the STARlight Openweight Title eventually. All things in good time, right boys? So I'd like to announce exactly what we'll be going after now- we're putting our full attention on the STARlight Openweight Tag League that also kicks off this Saturday. That's right, I've entered in not one, but TWO tandems- Lesnar & Masters AND America's Most Wanted! Now, this means you guys will have to face each other during league play, and probably in the finals of the heavyweight block since I'm sure you'll be ranked #1 and #2, but you guys don't have a problem with a little bit of friendly competition, do you?"

Everyone shakes their heads no.

James Storm: "Long as you keep payin' us the way you been payin' us I don't gotta problem doin' ANYTHING for ya, Mr. Parker!"

Trey St. Parker: (smirking) "Glad to hear it Cowboy! But this brings me to something- or rather, someone- that we ALL have a problem with. And that someone is, YOU, Samoa Joe. Can you monkeys in the truck please roll the footage?"

Footage comes up from the end of the 4/1 STARlight Worldwide event, as America's Most Wanted were attacking Kurt Angle following the end of the Angle-Lesnar main event. Out from the back ran Samoa Joe, cleaning house on AMW. It then cut to Joe telling Angle he respected him, and he doesn't respect the Saints of Trey. The screen then went back to the Saints of Trey.

Trey St. Parker: (clearly looking pissed now) "You don't respect us, huh Samoa Joe?! Well none of us respect YOU either- I think the phrase 'big fish in a small pond' comes to mind- but you don't see US using that as an excuse to get involved in YOUR business! You stuck your nose in our business, and ask any businessman, Trey St. Parker is the most ruthless businessman any of them have ever dealt with in their lives! So Joe, now you're involved in our business. We're all about to come out there and kick not only your ass, but Angle's ass, and Team 3D's asses. So watch and see, watch and see the payback you get for getting involved in my business- in OUR business. Let's go boys!"

Lesnar, Masters, and AMW all nod in agreement as they follow Trey off-camera, and Hard Hitting again goes to a commerical break. (95%)

Hard Hitting returns with the first of two matches from the 4/6 event in San Diego, an eight-man tag team contest. Out first are Team 3D, then Samoa Joe, and finally the former Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle. The group of Saints of Trey come out next together, Trey of course leading Brock, Masters, & AMW to the ring. Things break down as soon as they hit the ring into an all-out brawl, but after a while the referee finally manages to get things under control- somewhat, at least. The long eight-man tag goes on with the Saints especially concentrating on Samoa Joe, attempting to weaken the Samoan phenom by ganging up on him in their corner. Trey even gets involved eventually, choking Joe on the bottom rope while the referee's attention is elsewhere. Eventually Joe finally fights back, however, once again wiping out both members of AMW with big boots to the face before tagging in Brother D-Von. Brother Ray comes in as well and they double-team Chris Masters, but Brock Lesnar, the actual legal man, attacks D-Von from behind while AMW suddenly recover and pull Joe to the floor. Lesnar sets D-Von up and nails him with the F5, and Chris Masters recovers and restrains Kurt Angle just in time to stop him from breaking up the pin, as Lesnar pins D-Von to earn Saints of Trey a huge victory. They're not done yet, however, as at ringside AMW double-team Joe, tossing him into the guardrails. Kurt Angle fights off Masters in the ring and chases AMW off on the outside, however, seemingly paying Joe back for his save on 4/1. (76%, 86%, 83%, ***1/4)

We stay with the 4/6 event next when Hard Hitting returns from a commerical break, with the main event of that show and another Heavyweight block qualifier, as the very popular Christian Cage battles Monty Brown. The Alpha Male dominates Christian early on with his powerful and ruthless attack, but Cage eventually fights back, much to the approval of the crowd. Christian sets Monty up for the Unprettier, but Monty pushes him off and sends him into the ropes before leveling him with a hard clothesline. He then bounces off the ropes and tries for the Pounce as Christian gets back to his feet, but Christian manages to side-step it and then catch Monty with a hard leg lariat as he turns back around! Christian then picks up the stunned Monty and this time succesfully executes the Unprettier, then covers for the 1-2-3! Christian has indeed won his way into the 2006 STARlight Openweight League! The crowd roars its approval as Christian climbs all four turnbuckles and celebrates his big win. (75%, 87%, 80%, ***1/4)

Hard Hitting then goes backstage to Gail Kim in another interview taped earlier today from San Jose.

Gail Kim: I'm standing by here with the former 'Undisputed Champion', a man who is no stranger to gold, Chris Jericho. Jericho, while it's true you've been a champion before, many would argue you haven't had any real championship gold in many years. Do you feel you still have what it takes to go all the way and win the STARlight Openweight Title?"

Chris Jericho: Come on Gail, we're both Canadians here, what kind of question is THAT?! Of course I feel like I have what it takes! If I didn't, I wouldn't have come out of my self-imposed retirement to wrestle for Pro Wrestling STAR! If I didn't feel like I could be the absolute best of this entire giant organization, I would have stayed on tour with Fozzy! I came back to wrestle for STAR because this feels like a real challenge, but it feels like I challenge I can succeed in. And that starts tonight with you, RANDEEEE. You see, Randy-boy, I've watched you pose and preen your way to success, and that crap ain't gonna work against Y2J tonight! If you do that stupid pose where you extend your arms out-" (Jericho stops to imitate it.) "-like this, you know what I'm gonna do Randy-boy? I'm gonna get up and slap the taste right out of that little punk mouth of yours! Now in all seriousness, you're still a young boy Randy, you'll have many more chances left. I don't. This might be my last chance to be the best, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let some punk kid with a big mouth and a perfect jawline take it away from me! So do I have what it takes, Gail? Watch me show you that I do!"

Jericho walks off-camera past Gail as Hard Hitting fades to another commerical break. (96%)

The event returns with the final match of the evening, the main event of the 4/7 San Jose show that determines the final member of the Heavyweight block of the 2006 STARlight Openweight League. Jericho was out first, followed by Randy Orton, who seemed more than a little offended at Jericho's comments. Early in the match Orton backed Jericho into the corner, and it was Orton who "slapped the taste out of" Jericho's mouth, rather than how Jericho had promised it. This got Jericho fired up and he ran forward, taking Orton down to the mat and threatening to punch him in the face. The referee grabbed onto Jericho's arm, however, warning him such a strike would force him to disqualify him, and this gave Orton the chance to reverse the position and take Jericho down to the mat instead, where he began clubbing him with hard forearms. With Jericho in a horrible position and unable to escape it, the referee had no choice but to call for the bell, the match ending in just over five minutes by a referee stoppage! The crowd loudly booed this decision, but Orton just laughed, having gotten in Jericho's head, taken him off his game, and taken full advantage of it. Jericho argued with the referee over the decision, demanding that the match be re-started, but the referee was firm in his decision that he had to stop the match for Jericho's own well-being. Orton smirked at Jericho as he left the ring having been named the sixth and final member of the Heavyweight block, as Hard Hitting faded to black. (81%, 95%, 80%, ***1/4)

Overall Show Rating: 82%

Attendances: 7,617 (4/5) and 7,520 (4/6)

TV Rating: 5.17

The following was posted on the official Pro Wrestling STAR website following the airing of the 4/6 Hard Hitting.

Full Results of 4/5 and 4/6 STAR-H Live Events- Including Non-Televised Matches

STAR-H Live, 4/5/06
iPayOne Center- 7,617 Fans
1. Opening Contest: Abyss beat Shelton Benjamin in 8:23 with the Black Hole Slam.
2. One Fall to a Finish: John Bradshaw Layfield beat Matt Hardy, Raven in 9:12 when he used a lariat on Hardy.
3. Pure Wrestling Rules: Nigel McGuinness beat Colt Cabana in 12:40 with a roll-up using the ropes.
4. Tag Team Attraction: Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho beat Randy Orton & BJ Whitmer in 18:39 when Jericho used the Walls of Jericho on BJ.
5. Saints of Trey vs. the World: Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar, Chris Masters, & AMW w/ Trey St. Parker) beat Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, & Team 3-D in 17:55 when Brock used the F5 on D-Von.
6. Heavyweight Block Qualifier: Christian Cage beat Monty Brown in 13:37 with the Unprettier.

STAR-H Live, 4/6/06
HP Pavilon- 7,520 Fans
1. Opening Contest: Team 3-D (Brother Ray & Brother D-Von) beat America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm w/ Trey St. Parker) in 12:19 when Ray pinned Storm after the 3D.
2. Six-Man Tag Action: Christian Cage, Colt Cabana, & Shelton Benjamin beat John Bradshaw Layfield, Nigel McGuinness, & BJ Whitmer in 13:42 when Cabana used a sunset flip on Nigel.
3. First-Time Ever: Monty Brown beat Chris Benoit in 12:57 with the Pounce.
4. Tag Team Attraction: Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar & Chris Masters w/ Trey St. Parker) vs. Kurt Angle & Samoa Joe went to a draw in 20:00 when the time limit expired.
5. Heavyweight Block Qualifier: Abyss beat Raven in 10:08 with the Black Hole Slam.
6. Heavyweight Block Qualifier: Randy Orton beat Chris Jericho in 5:03 by referee stoppage with elbows to the head.

Don't forget, you can pre-order the full shows on DVD now for the combined price of $24.95 or seperatley at $14.95 each at our online store right now! Don't miss out on non-televised matches that people are already raving about, like 4/5's pure wrestling contest between Nigel and Cabana and a great tag team match with Benoit & Jericho against Orton & Whitmer, or 4/6's first-time-ever meeting of Monty Brown and Chris Benoit and the huge tag team 20-minute draw of Lesnar & Masters vs. Angle & Joe! You can't afford not to see these great matches!

Edited March 22, 2006 by Xias

March 23, 2006

STARlight Worldwide TV Report (4/8/06)

Broadcast LIVE on NBC at 8/7c from the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington

Worldwide had a huge 11-match card scheduled for tonight with nonstop action as the first round of both the Openweight League and Openweight Tag Leagues kicked off. First, it was action from the Junior Heavyweight block of the Tag League, as the Special K duo of Deranged & Cheech, accomponied to the ring by Cloudy, took on the last ROH Tag Team Champions, Generation Next's Austin Aries & Roderick Strong. Aries & Strong decimated Deranged & Cheech from the opening bell, even taking out Cloudy at one point before finally finishing off Cheech with a half-nelson backbreaker from Strong and the 450 Splash off the top rope by Aries to get the easy pinfall in barely four minutes! Aries & Strong left with their heads held high and two points in the league after the dominating win. (66%, 75%, 72%, **3/4)

The Heavyweight Block of the Openweight League was next as John Bradshaw Layfield faced the monster Abyss. Abyss destroyed JBL at the opening bell, throwing him around and dismantling him. Abyss destroyed JBL for nearly eight minutes until JBL finally tried to escape to the outside. He knocked the timekeeper off his chair and folded it up, sliding back into the ring with it. When JBL brought it over his head, however, the referee took it away from him. Angrily, JBL yelled at him, but as they were arguing Abyss grabbed the chair from the referee and cracked it over the head of JBL himself! The referee called for the disqualification, awarding the match to JBL, which only further enraged the monster. As JBL escaped the ring with his win and 2 points, Abyss grabbed the referee, whipped him into the ropes, and planted him with the Black Hole Slam! (71%, 64, 94%, ****)

The Junior Heavyweight block of the Openweight League kicked off with the American Dragon, Bryan Danielson, taking on the Embassy's Jimmy Rave, accomponied to the ring by Prince Nana. Danielson and Rave spent the early portion of the match trying to out-cheat each other, each man using rather questionable tactics. When Nana kept trying to interfere, the frusturated referee sent him to the back, leaving the so-called "crown jewel" alone with the last ROH World Champion. Rave surprisingly held his own for a little longer, but Danielson finally managed to lock-in Cattle Mutilation. As Rave struggled to escape the hold, Danielson suddenly turned it into a flash pin, and got the 1-2-3 before the stunned Jimmy Rave even knew what was going on! Danielson smirked to Rave and shrugged before leaving the ring, happy with his win and 2 points in the Openweight League. (69%, 65%, 89%, ***1/4)

Up next was the first of the two Heavyweight Tag block matches, with Trey St. Parker accomponying America's Most Wanted down to the ring to face the makeshit duo of Matt Hardy & Colt Cabana. Hardy & Cabana surprisingly held their own with their much more experienced tag opponents early on, but it was Trey using his long gold cane to trip up Hardy that lead to AMW's win, as they took the chance to nail Hardy and set him up for the Death Sentence, which they executed succesfully. Storm then took care of Cabana as Harris pinned Hardy for the win, and 2 points for AMW in the tag league. (83%, 89%, 97%, ****1/2)

The Junior Heavyweight block of the tag league continued next with the Embassy and the Rottweilers once again at each other's throats. The Havana Pitbulls of Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero, along with Julius Smokes, took on the Embassy's Spanky & Puma with Prince Nana, and as you might expect it was chaos with everyone out there. This chaos evnetually cost the Embassy tandem the match, as in the chaos when Nana was on the apron trying to yell at the ref, Puma charged at Rocky Romero and instead accidentally collided with Nana, knocking him into the guardrail. As Puma turned around, Romero took him down into a cross armbreaker, and with Reyes holding Spanky back on the ropes preventig him from breaking things up, Puma had no choice but to tap out, giving Reyes & Romero the win and the points! (77%, 84%, 89%, ****)

The heavyweight block of the Openweight League continued with major action as Kurt Angle went one-on-one with Christian Cage. Angle and Christian shook hands before the match started so this was seemingly a friendly match between two major fan favorites, but eventually things did get heated, with Christian slapping Angle instead of giving him a clean break, and Angle later repaying the favor with a slap of his own on the side of Christian's head as he was letting go from the reverse guard position after a ropebreak. Christian went for the Unprettier several times in the contest but was ultimatley never able to hit it as Angle reversed it twice. Angle went for the Angle Slam and Christian did reverse out of that as well, but it was the ankle lock that ultimatley got Angle the win, as he locked it in on Christian in the center of the ring. Christian tried to kick off, but Angle kept hanging on and eventually turned it into a heel hold and Christian finally had to tap-out in nearly 19 minutes of action. The crowd stood up and applauded both men, and after a brief staredown, Angle extended his hand to Christian, who quickly took it, the two proud athletes raising arms in the center of the ring. (82%, 88%, 96%, ****1/2)

The Junior Heavyweight block matches continued with CM Punk going one-on-one with Generation Next's Alex Shelley in a hotly anticapated match-up. Surprisingly Shelley came out alone, and Punk pointed this out as the match began, asking Shelley where his friends were? Shelley responded by immediatley taking Punk down to the mat as the bell rang, and dominated the opening minutes with some superb mat-wrestling, sending the message right to Punk that he didn't need his friends. Punk eventually fought back and things settled down into a more back-and-forth match. The mat-wrestling eventually elevated to hard striking, and when Punk seemingly won that battle, Shelley took him down to the mat and locked-in the Border City Stretch out of nowhere! Punk, however, managed to make it to the ropes as the entire crowd breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately for Shelley, the same wouldn't be true for him when Punk finally managed to lock-in the Anaconda Vice later on, and with nowhere to go and nothing he could do, Shelley was forced to tap-out, giving Punk an early two points in the league. (84%, 91%, 97%, ****1/2)

The second of the two heavyweight tag block matches saw the Saints of Trey duo of Brock Lesnar & Chris Masters, of course with Trey St. Parker, taking on the Canadian duo of Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho in what was to many the biggest match of the block (and perhaps a possible preview of the block finals). Benoit & Jericho showed that they weren't going to let their undersize issue spell their doom early on, as they took it to their far bigger opponents handidly, eventually sending Lesnar & Masters running to the outside, where they regrouped with their manager Trey. Eventually the duo did manage to get back into the match and cut Benoit off from his partner, and they worked him over for the majority of the match, until FINALLY he was able to tag in Y2J! Jericho cleaned house after the hot tag, only to be tripped up from behind by Parker's cane, much like Hardy was earlier against AMW. However, this time the ref saw it, and he immediatley had Parker thrown out and sent to the back! Worldwide went to a break as the ref was doing this, and when it came back things seemed to be very bad for the Saints, with their manager gone and Jericho & Benoit firmly in control. However, they turned the tide when Jericho tagged back in Benoit, as Masters suddenly blindsided Jericho, sending him to the outside and tossing him into the guardrail. In the ring, Brock fought off Benoit and hit the F5, and after all the punishment inflicted on him earlier that was more than enough to keep him down for the 1-2-3, giving both Saints of Trey duos the win in first round competition! (83%, 95%, 91%, ****1/4)

The final Junior Heavyweight Tag match of the evening saw the unique duo of AJ Styles & Homicide (along with Julius Smokes) facing the former GenNext duo of Jack Evans & Matt Sydal. Carroll & Quinlan explained the AJ & Homicide team as Homicide's idea, as after he was eliminated from singles qualification while his regular partner Low Ki made it in, he wanted a chance at some gold, and with Reyes & Romero already in the league so both of them unavailable, he reached outside the Rottweilers to AJ to be his partner for a dream team sort of situation. Carroll also mentioned that there are rumors the other Rottweilers, specifically the Pitbulls, are not happy with him for going after individual success when this means he'll have to go up against the Pitbulls in the league, thinking it's bad for the Rotts, but Quinlan argued that he doesn't think there's any truth to those rumors. In any case, AJ & Homicide made quite the impressive team taking on Evans & Sydal, and they had a very fast-paced match that ended when Homicide scored with a huge lariat on Sydal. Styles held Evans back as Homicide got the pinfall to earn this so-called "dream team" two early points in the competition. (81%, 87%, 95%, ****1/4)

The first-half of a double main event was next, the final first round match of the Heavyweight block, as Samoa Joe took on Randy Orton in a first-time-ever match-up. Carroll & Quinlan talked about Orton's somewhat-controversial win over Jericho to qualify for this, as seen on last Thursday's edition of Hard Hitting. Orton seemed to attempt a similar strategy on Joe, taking him down and pummelling with elbows, but Joe managed to escape the position and slapped Orton silly, the entire crowd gasping at the brutality as Joe connected with a series of hard slaps to the face, followed by a soccer ball kick right on the jaw as Orton was leaned over! The referee dove in front of Joe to check Orton, but determined he was still able to continue. Joe shoved the referee aside and went for a cover, but Orton managed to kick out after the delay. Joe yelled at the ref for causing the delay, and that gave the chance for Orton to hit a somewhat-low blow and take back control. Eventually Orton went for the RKO, but Joe pushed Orton forward and countered it, then nailed Orton with a hard running boot to the face as he turned around, followed by a senton for another close two count! Finally, Joe set Orton up on the top rope, slapped him upside the face once more, and put him on his shoulders for the Muscle Buster! The entire crowd held their breath as Joe succesfully scored with the Muscle Buster on Orton, then covered him for the 1-2-3! It was a huge win for Samoa Joe, defeating a former WWE Champion and earning 2 points in the Openweight League! As Orton slowly climbed back to his feet, Joe extended his hand towards Orton as a sign of respect. Orton looked down at Joe's hand, teased he wasn't going to accept it, and then finally did, the crowd coming to their feet and applauding both men. However, just as Joe went to turn away, Orton pulled him back in and hit him with the RKO! The crowd loudly booed this show of disrespect as Orton posed over Joe before leaving the ring and making his way to the back. (87%, 94%, 100%, *****)

After that incredible match, what could top it? The other half of the double-main event, of course, the final Junior Heavyweight block round 1 match of the Openweight League. It was two longtime rivals, Christopher Daniels and Low Ki, face-to-face. Julius Smokes started to come out with Low Ki, but when they were on the entranceway Ki turned and sent Julius to the back, apparently wanting to win this one on his own. Julius told Low Ki to go get him and turned back, as Ki made his way down to the ring and came face-to-face with his old ROH rival. Ki and Daniels then put on an incredible match, each man refusing to go down no matter what the other one threw at them. Ki kicked out of the Angel's Wings, Daniels kicked out of the top-rope double stomp, and still both men were going on. Finally, Daniels set Ki up for the Last Rites, but Ki reversed out of that with some sick kicks right to Daniels' head, and set him up for the Ki-Krusher '99, which he hit succesfully for the 1...2....NOT THREE! Somehow, the Fallen Angel managed to kick out! An enraged Ki quickly picked Daniels up and set him up on the top rope, before bringing him off the top with an avalanche-style Ki-Krusher '99, a move not seen since June '05 in ROH! Ki once again made the cover, and the entire crowd held their collective breathe as the referee counted 1....2.....3! That was finally enough to put the Fallen Angel away and earn Low Ki two points in the Openweight League! As the referee raised his hand, Ki turned to Daniels and extended his. Daniels looked down at Ki, and the man who never used to shake hands, shook. The entire crowd applauded as they raised arms in the middle of the ring, and that was the last image of STARlight Worldwide as the second edition of the program faded to black. (84%, 89%, 100%, *****)

Overall Show Rating: 79%

Attendance: 7,521

TV Rating: 6.90

The following was posted on the Pro Wrestling STAR website immeaditley following the Worldwide broadcast.

Full Worldwide Results With Dark Matches, Updated Openweight League & Tag League Standings

STARlight Worldwide, 4/8/06
Key Arena- 7,521 Fans
1. Dark Match: Paul London, Jimmy Yang, Minoru Fujita, & Jay Lethal beat James Gibson, Juventud Guerrera, Jimmy Jacobs, & Shiima Xion in 10:22 when Fujita used an avalanche-style backdrop suplex on Jacobs.
2. Dark Match: Raven & Team 3-D beat Monty Brown, Nigel McGuinness, & BJ Whitmer in 9:57 when Raven used the Raven Effect on Whitmer.
3. Junior Heavyweight Tag Block Round 1: Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong) [2] beat Special K (Deranged & Cheech w/ Cloudy) [0] in 4:01 when Aries pinned Cheech after a half-nelson backbreaker/450 Splash combination.
4. Heavyweight Block Round 1: John Bradshaw Layfield [2] beat Abyss [0] by DQ in 8:52 when Abyss hit him in the head with a steel chair.
5. Junior Hvwt. Block Round 1: Bryan Danielson [2] beat Jimmy Rave w/ Prince Nana [0] in 10:55 with a flash pin out of Cattle Mutilation.
6. Heavyweight Tag Block Round 1: America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm w/ Trey St. Parker) [2] beat Matt Hardy & Colt Cabana [0] in 10:07 when Harris pinned Hardy after the Death Sentence and Trey interfered.
7. Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 1: Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes) [2] beat The Embassy (Spanky & Puma w/ Prince Nana) [0] in 12:56 when Romero used a cross armbreaker on Puma after Nana's interference backfired.
8. Heavyweight Block Round 1: Kurt Angle [2] beat Christian Cage [0] in 18:47 with the heel hold.
9. Junior Hvwt. Block Round 1: CM Punk [2] beat Alex Shelley [0] in 15:56 with the Anaconda Vice.
10. Heavyweight Tag Block Round 1: Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar & Chris Masters w/ Trey St. Parker) beat Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho in 24:11 when Brock used the F5 on Benoit.
11. Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 1: AJ Styles & Homicide w/ Julius Smokes [2] beat Jack Evans & Matt Sydal [0] in 13:32 when Homicide used a lariat on Sydal.
12. Heavyweight Block Round 1: Samoa Joe [2] beat Randy Orton [0] in 15:49 withthe Muscle Buster.
13. Junior Hvwt. Block Round 1: Low Ki beat Christopher Daniels in 22:21 with an avalanche-style Ki-Krusher '99.

As always, you can pre-order the DVD of this event now for just $14.95, including both dark matches and full versions of all the matches aired, minus the commerical breaks. See the two main events that both got ***** from Scott Keith uncut and unedited!

Updated Openweight League & Openweight Tag League Standings

STARlight Openweight League

Heavyweight Block
1. Samoa Joe [2]---2nd Round: vs. Cage---3rd Round: vs. Angle
1. Kurt Angle [2]---2nd Round: vs. Abyss---3rd Round: vs. Joe
1. John Bradshaw Layfield [2]---2nd Round: vs. Orton---3rd Round: vs. Cage
4. Randy Orton [0]---2nd Round: vs. JBL---3rd Round: vs. Abyss
4. Christian Cage [0]---2nd Round: vs. Joe---3rd Round: vs. JBL
4. Abyss [0]---2nd Round: vs. Angle---3rd Round: vs. Orton

Junior Heavyweight Block
1. Low Ki [2]---2nd Round: vs. Shelley---3rd Round: vs. Rave
1. CM Punk [2]---2nd Round: vs. Danielson---3rd Round: vs. Daniels
1. Bryan Danielson [2]---2nd Round: vs. Punk---3rd Round: vs. Shelley
4. Christopher Daniels [0]---2nd Round: vs. Rave---3rd Round: vs. Punk
4. Alex Shelley [0]---2nd Round: vs. Low Ki---3rd Round: vs. Danielson
4. Jimmy Rave [0]---2nd Round: vs. Daniels---3rd Round: vs. Low Ki

STARlight Openweight Tag League

Heavyweight Block
1. Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar & Chris Masters) [2]---2nd Round: vs. AMW
1. America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm) [2]---2nd Round: vs. Saints
3. Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho [0]---2nd Round: vs. Hardy & Cabana
3. Matt Hardy & Colt Cabana [0]---2nd Round: vs. Benoit & Jericho

Junior Heavyweight Block
1. AJ Styles & Homicide [2]---2nd Round: vs. GenNext---3rd Round: vs. Pitbulls
1. Havana Pitbulls (Reyes & Romero) [2]---2nd Round: vs. Special K---3rd Round: vs. AJ & Cide
1. Generation Next (Aries & Strong) [2]---2nd Round: vs. AJ & Cide---3rd Round: vs. Embassy
4. Jack Evans & Matt Sydal [0]---2nd Round: vs. Embassy---3rd Round: vs. Special K
4. The Embassy (Spanky & Puma) [0]---2nd Round: vs. Evans & Sydal---3rd Round: vs. GenNext
4. Special K (Deranged & Cheech) [0]---2nd Round: vs. Pitbulls---3rd Round: vs. Evans & Sydal

Edited March 23, 2006 by Xias

March 23, 2006

The following update was posted on the Pro Wrestling STAR website at precisely 1 a.m. PST.

Full Cards Announced for 4/9-4/15 Week of STAR Competition

The full cards for this week's five Pro Wrestling STAR events have been released. The events feature rounds 2 & 3 of the STARlight Openweight and the Junior Hvwt. block of the Openweight Tag competitions, and round 2 of the Heavyweight block of the Openweight Tag competition, plus much more! Check below for all the details.

Sunday, April 9th: STAR-J Live- Some Matches Taped for 4/10 Junior Flash
From the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 2: AJ Styles & Homicide w/ Julius Smokes [2] vs. Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong) [2]
Junior Hvwt. Block Round 2: Christopher Daniels [0] vs. Jimmy Rave w/ Prince Nana [0]
Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 2: Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes) [2] vs. Special K (Deranged & Cheech w/ Cloudy) [0]
Tag Team Preview Match: CM Punk & Low Ki w/ Julius Smokes vs. Bryan Danielson & Alex Shelley
Singles Preview Match #2: Spanky w/ Prince Nana vs. Jack Evans
Six-Man Tag Action: James Gibson, Paul London, & Minoru Fujita vs. CIMA, Juventud Guerrera, & Jimmy Jacobs
One Fall to a Finish: Jimmy Yang vs. Jay Lethal vs. Shiima Xion
Singles Preview Match #1: Matt Sydal vs. Puma w/ Prince Nana
Azrieal Trial Series Match #3: Delirious vs. Azrieal

Monday, April 10th: STAR-J Live- Some Matches Taped for 4/10 Junior Flash
From the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona
Junior Hvwt. Block Round 2: Bryan Danielson [2] vs. CM Punk [2]
Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 2: The Embassy (Spanky & Puma w/ Prince Nana) [0] vs. Jack Evans & Matt Sydal [0]
Junior Hvwt. Block Round 2: Low Ki w/ Julius Smokes [2] vs. Alex Shelley [0]
The Fallout 10-Man Tag: The Rottweilers (Homicide, Ricky Reyes, & Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes), AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels vs. Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong), Jimmy Rave w/ Prince Nana & Special K (Deranged & Cheech w/ Cloudy)
First Time Ever One-On-One: James Gibson vs. CIMA
Tag Team Attraction: Paul London & Delirious vs. Juventud Guerrera & Jimmy Jacobs
Azrieal Trial Series Match #4: Jimmy Yang vs. Azrieal
Opening Contest: Shiima Xion vs. Davey Andrews

Wednesday, April 12th: STAR-H Live- Some Matches Taped for 4/13 Hard Hitting
From the E Center in Salt Lake City, Utah
Heavyweight Block Round 2: Samoa Joe [2] vs. Christian Cage [0]
Heavyweight Tag Block Round 2: Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar & Chris Masters) [2] vs. America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm) [2]
Heavyweight Block Round 2: Kurt Angle [2] vs. Abyss [0]
Six-Man Tag Preview Match: John Bradshaw Layfield, Chris Benoit, & Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton, Matt Hardy, & Colt Cabana
First-Time Ever: Monty Brown vs. Shelton Benjamin
Opening Contest: Team 3-D (Brother Ray & Brother D-Von) vs. Nigel McGuinness & BJ Whitmer

Thursday, April 13th: STAR-H Live- Some Matches Taped for 4/13 Hard Hitting
From the World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Heavyweight Tag Block Round 2: Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho [0] vs. Matt Hardy & Colt Cabana [0]
Heavyweight Block Round 2: John Bradshaw Layfield [2] vs. Randy Orton [0]
Saints of Trey vs. the World Part 2: Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar, Chris Masters, & AMW w/ Trey St. Parker) vs. Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Christian Cage, & Shelton Benjamin
Tag Team Re-Match: Team 3-D (Brother Ray & Brother D-Von) vs. Abyss & Monty Brown
Opening Contest: Raven vs. Nigel McGuinness

Saturday, April 15th: STARlight Worldwide Live on NBC!
From the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado
Heavyweight Block Round 3: Kurt Angle [2] vs. Samoa Joe [2]
Junior Hvwt. Block Round 3: CM Punk [2] vs. Christopher Daniels [0]
Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 3: AJ Styles & Homicide [2] vs. Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero) [2]
Heavyweight Block Round 3: John Bradshaw Layfield [2] vs. Christian Cage [0]
Junior Hvwt. Block Round 3: Bryan Danielson [2] vs. Alex Shelley [0]
Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 3: Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong) [2] vs. The Embassy (Spanky & Puma w/ Prince Nana) [0]
Heavyweight Block Round 3: Randy Orton [0] vs. Abyss [0]
Junior Hvwt. Block Round 3: Low Ki w/ Julius Smokes [2] vs. Jimmy Rave w/ Prince Nana [0]
Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 3: Jack Evans & Matt Sydal [0] vs. Special K (Deranged & Cheech w/ Cloudy) [0]
Dark Match: Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar & AMW w/ Trey St. Parker) vs. Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, & Raven
Dark Match: Jimmy Yang, Jay Lethal, & Azrieal vs. CIMA, Juventud Guerrera, & Jimmy Jacobs
Dark Match: Shelton Benjamin vs. BJ Whitmer

Edited March 23, 2006 by Xias

March 23, 2006

STAR-Junior Flash TV Report (4/10/06)

Broadcast on MTV at 7/6c, matches previously taped from the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada and the US Airways Center in Phoenix, California

The second edition of Junior Flash opened up with the ravers of Special K on their way to the ring to start a match from the 4/9 event. Carroll & Quinlan introduced the show saying this would be an all-Openweight League and Openweight Tag League show, as they will feature all six second round matches of both leagues from the two events. The Havana Pitbulls of Reyes & Romero along with Julius Smokes were out next and the match was on. Carroll & Quinlan pointed out the Pitbulls already had 2 points and Special K had 0, making this a more desperate match for Special K than their opponents. That didn't stop the Pitbulls from soundidly destroying the duo of Deranged & Cheech, however, Reyes submitting Cheech with his Dragon sleeper in just a little over five minutes. The Pitbulls celebrated with Julius as Cloudy and Deranged helped their partner to the back. (78%, 80%, 76%, ***)

We switch over now to the 4/10 event with the first of three Openweight League singles matches, with Low Ki accomponied by Julius Smokes against Alex Shelley. Shelley seemed desperate for a win having lost his first round match, but Low Ki seemed poised and collected in response, not letting Shelley's often desperate attack take him off his game. And indeed, Low Ki eventually scored with a series of kicks and then knees to the head on Shelley, and with Shelley no longer in a position to defend himself the referee jumped in-between them and stopped the match, awarding it (and two more points) to Low Ki. (91%, 91%, 92%, ****1/4)

We stayed with the 4/10 event next with the second of the three tag league round 2 matches airing here tonight. It was a match between two teams without a point between them, as the former GenNext duo of Matt Sydal & Jack Evans took on the Embassy's Spanky & Puma, accomponied to the ring by Prince Nana. It was pointed out by Carroll & Quinlan that in two non-televised singles matches from the 4/9 event, Spanky defeated Evans and Puma defeated Sydal, both cleanly. Evans & Sydal apparently realized this and they came out fast and strong early, attacking Spanky & Puma before they even climbed into the ring, then launching themselves to the outside to follow them. Eventually the Embassy duo regrouped thanks to some help from Nana and they worked over Evans for a while. Evans finally made the hot tag to Sydal, however, who cleaned house on the Embassy duo. Sydal eventually went to the top rope to attempt a move on Puma, but Nana got up top and grabbed him, crotching him on the top rope. Puma and Spanky tried to get to the top turnbuckle, but as the referee was yelling at Nana to get off the top rope, Jack Evans grabbed a chair at ringside and nailed Spanky in the back of the head! After tossing the chair to the outside, Evans caught Puma with a jumping knee to the face as he turned around, and then helped get him onto the top turnbuckle with Sydal, who recovered and hit Puma with his top-rope belly-to-belly superplex! Despite Nana's protests on the outside, the referee counted Sydal's pinfall over Puma, giving Evans & Sydal their first win and first two points in the Openweight Tag League! The Embassy argued with each other afterwards, seemingly not off to a good start here in Pro Wrestling STAR. (89%, 84%, 95%, ****1/4)

Perhaps the Embassy's Jimmy Rave fared better on the 4/9 event, as we again see Prince Nana accomponying an Embassy member to the ring, this time for the singles Openweight League competiton. Rave was also looking for his first two points, but he was also up against an opponent looking for his first points as well in the Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels. Rave and Nana used every cheap tactic they could think of to take control early, and Rave scored a huge near-fall with his Ghanarea manuever. Daniels escaped several attempts at Rave's Greetings from Ghana manuever, but was caught by Daniels' Angel's Wings! Daniels went for the pin.....and only got two, as Rave somehow found it within him to kick out! Daniels tried to follow-up with the Best Moonsault Ever, but Rave escaped the BME and surprised Daniels with a brutal spear. Rather than going for the cover, however, Rave went for....the Rave Clash! Carroll & Quinlan pointed out that Rave was forced to stop using the move in ROH due to a match stipulation but this obviously wasn't ROH! However, as Rave flipped Daniels over into the cover, Daniels kicked out just before the count of 3! A shocked and enraged Rave picked Daniels up and attempted the Greetings from Ghana once more, but Daniels again back body dropped Rave out of it, then hit him with a hard clothesline. Daniels slowly picked Rave back up and set him up for the Last Rites, and hit it succesfully, hooking his leg and finally getting the 1-2-3 to earn his first two points in the Openweight League! (89%, 92%, 85%, ***1/2)

Before going to another commerical break, Carroll & Quinlan turned things over to STAR correspondent Gail Kim in a previously taped interview on 4/9 before the main event of the evening (which is coming up next).

Gail Kim: "I'm standing by backstage here at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas with two of the top singles athletes on the STAR-J roster who have come together to form a so-called "dream team" here in the Openweight Tag League. They are AJ Styles, and the leader- the so-called don of the Rottweilers, Homicide."

The camera pans over to show AJ Styles, and standing a few feet away, Homicide & manager Julius Smokes, Smokes giving his infamous golden smile to the camera.

Gail Kim: "Homicide, I'll start with you, since you're the one who reportedly reached out to AJ. My question is simply, why?"

Homicide: "Why? I say, why the hell NOT? C'mon now."

Julius Smokes: "We all want our piece of th' pie! Homicide got eliminated from the singles, Ki's busy tearing it up there, so 'Cide decided to get himself a partner and tear ass on the tag scene. What's wrong wit dat?"

Homicide: "And if I was gonna get myself a partner, who betta than AJ?"

Gail Kim: "Alright, guess that makes sense. So AJ, you have no problem teaming with Homicide?"

AJ Styles: "I've known and respected Homicide's wrestling talent for a long time. As long as he and Julius are willing to keep things clean, and they say they are, I'm in on this. I want those Junior Tag belts, and those Openweight Tag belts too. So I guess that's my response too, why not?"

Gail Kim: "Alright. Back to you two, Homicide & Julius. Is there any truth to the rumors that Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero, the Havana Pitbulls, are upset with your decision to team with a non-Rottweiler and go for the same belts they're trying to bring into the Rottweilers?"

Homicide: "Yo don't talk shit you got no idea about, got it!"

Julius Smokes: "If there's a problem in the Rottweilers, we'll take care of it in the family, ya hear?"

Gail Kim: "So when you & AJ meet the Pitbulls in round 3 competition this Saturday night on STARlight Worldwide, it will be a fair and sportsmanlike contest?"

Julius Smokes: "Hell no it won't! We're gonna do what we gotta do to win, just like they will!"

Homicide: "And Julius is gonna stay in the back and let us settle this ourselves."

AJ Styles: "That's all fine and good guys, but up next we've got the last ROH Tag Team Champions, Austin Aries & Roderick Strong, two men I know very well personally and that are in a very aggressive mood these days. So let's concentrate on that and worry about the Pitbulls on Saturday."

Homicide: "Alright AJ, I feel ya. Let's do it."

AJ, Homicide, and Julius walked off-screen as Junior Flash faded to a commerical break. (80%)

When Junior Flash returned it went to the main event of the 4/9 event and the final of the three second round matches in the Openweight Tag League, as Austin Aries & Roderick Strong of Generation Next were out first, followed by AJ Styles & Homicide along with Julius Smokes. The two duos went at it in a very long, back-and-forth tag team contest. The first major near-fall came via a 'Cide lariat to Strong, but Aries managed to break up the pinfall before the count of three. Later, Aries used a brainbuster on AJ but it was Homicide's turn to break things up. Finally, the match ended after nearly 27 minutes of action thanks to mis-communication. Julius Smokes climbed on the apron to protest Aries & Strong double-teaming Homicide on the floor. As he was arguing with the ref, Aries got back into the ring and grabbed Julius by his collar. Styles went after him from behind, but Aries side-stepped it and Styles collided with Smokes. From behind Aries rolled Styles up with a school boy and got the surprise 1-2-3, giving Aries & Strong the win and two more points in the Tag League! Afterwards, as Aries & Strong leave the ringside area, Styles seemingly got into an argument with the duo of Homicide & Smokes, the first visible cracks in the so-called "dream team". (93%, 91%, 95%, ****1/2)

Now we switched over to an interview taped during the 4/10 event, as Christy Hemme was standing by backstage from the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

Christy Hemme: "We're just moments away from the main event of this evening, which will be airing right here on STAR-Junior Flash as the main event of the program as well. And I'm standing by here with one of the two men in that match, the always-outspoken CM Punk."

CM Punk: "Always outspoken huh? Guess I could agree with that. But you know what, for once I seem to be Mr. Popularity around here, and my opponent tonight, ehh, not so much."

Christy Hemme: "People are definitely frusturated by Danielson constantly proclaiming himself to be the greatest wrestler alive today, and a lot of other similar rhetoric. What do you have to say about that?"

CM Punk: "Well, you know what, if you're asking me if I think Bryan Danielson is ONE OF the best wrestlers alive today, I'd have no problem telling you that yes, I definitely do. But you know what? Anyone proclaiming themself to be the 'best wrestler alive today' has a massive, massive ego problem. I think so, and obviously all those fans out there think so too, which is why they'll be cheering me on tonight, and not Mr. Dragon. But you know what? I don't care. Never have. I'm gonna go out there and slay the dragon, not for any of those people cheering me on, but for myself. Because I want those two nice, shiney belts. I mean seriously, have you seen that Openweight Title? So shiney."

Christy Hemme: "So you think you can beat the undefeated last ROH World Champion here tonight?"

CM Punk: "Man what kind of stupid question is that? And I know you're a girl, but still, stupid. Of course I think I can beat him! You have to think you can beat whoever they put you up against, otherwise there's no point in stepping through those ropes and getting in that ring. And as far as him being the last, undefeated ROH World Champion, well, I was a champ too. I got run outta town and kinda beat up on to lose my title, but that's okay. I'm not going to cry over spilt milk. But I am gonna take it to Danielson, beat him, earn 2 more points towards those shiney, shiney belts, and make a point about our title reigns. Are we good here?"

Christy Hemme: "Uhh, sure Punk. Good luck out there."

CM Punk: "I don't need your luck, but thanks anyway reddie."

Punk walked off-screen as Junior Flash faded to another commerical break. (95%)

The final match of the night was the main event of the 4/10 show, the final round 2 match of the Junior block, as CM Punk went one-on-one with Bryan Danielson in a battle of two former ROH World Champions. Danielson and Punk settled into a long, mostly mat-based match, as it was clearly Punk's goal to prove he could hang with Danielson on the mat. Both men escaped each other's submission holds several times, with Punk using the Anaconda Vice twice and Danielson using the Cattle Mutilation as well as the crossface chickenwing. Danielson got ropebreaks out of the Anaconda Vice twice, while Punk got a ropebreak on the crossface chickenwing. On the first Cattle Muitilation, Danielson tried his flash pin out of the hold but Punk kicked out. With the 30-minute time limit fast approaching, Danielson eventually managed to lock the Cattle Mutilation on again, and as Punk struggled in the hold, Danielson went with the flash pin one more time, and this time Punk was unable to escape it before the three count, giving Danielson the huge victory and two points in the competition! Afterwards, Punk extended his hand to the American Dragon, but Danielson called for the mic and said after what Punk said about him earlier, the only thing Punk could do with that hand is use it to go f**k himself! Of course that was bleeped on-air but the crowd still looked shocked by both the comment and Danielson's refusal to shake hands, as the last ROH World Champion left an enraged Punk with a smirk on his face as this edition of Junior Flash came to a close. (93%, 93%, 94%, ****1/2)

Overall Show Rating: 89%

Attendances: 7,510 (4/9) and 7,507 (4/10)

TV Rating: 1.90

The following update was posted on the Pro Wrestling STAR website following the show's airing.

Full Results of 4/9 and 4/10 STAR-J Live Events, Including Non-Televised Matches, Plus Updated Standings of Both Junior Blocks

STAR-J Live, 4/9/06
MGM Garden Arena- 7,510 Fans
1. Azrieal Trial Series Match #3: Azrieal beat Delirious in 5:33 with an avalanche-style electric chair drop.
2. Singles Preview Match #1: Puma w/ Prince Nana beat Matt Sydal in 6:08 with a Tiger suplex.
3. One Fall to a Finish: Jay Lethal beat Shiima Xion, Jimmy Yang in 8:23 when he used a Dragon suplex on Shiima.
4. Six-Man Tag Action: James Gibson, Paul London, & Minoru Fujita beat CIMA, Juventud Guerrera, & Jimmy Jacobs in 10:39 when London used a 450 Splash on Jacobs.
5. Singles Preview Match #2: Spanky w/ Prince Nana beat Jack Evans in 8:02 with Sliced Bread #2.
6. Tag Team Preview Match: CM Punk & Low Ki w/ Julius Smokes vs. Bryan Danielson & Alex Shelley went to a draw in 20:00 when the time limit expired.
7. Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 2: Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes) [4] beat Special K (Deranged & Cheech w/ Cloudy) [0] in 5:08 when Reyes used a Dragon sleeper on Cheech.
8. Junior Hvwt. Block Round 2: Christopher Daniels [2] beat Jimmy Rave w/ Prince Nana [0] in 18:48 with the Last Rites.
9. Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 2: Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong) [4] beat AJ Styles & Homicide w/ Julius Smokes [2] in 27:12 when Aries used a school boy on AJ after Julius' interference backfired.

STAR-J Live, 4/10/06
US Airways Center- 7,507 Fans
1. Opening Contest: Shiima Xion beat Davey Andrews in 6:23 with From Lust to Dust.
2. Azrieal Trial Series Match #4: Jimmy Yang beat Azrieal in 8:49 with Yang Time.
3. Tag Team Attraction: Juventud Guerrera & Jimmy Jacobs beat Paul London & Delirious in 11:57 when Jacobs used the Contra Code on Delirious.
4. First Time Ever One-On-One: James Gibson vs. CIMA went to a draw in 20:00 when the time limit expired.
5. The Fallout 10-Man Tag: The Rottweilers (Homicide, Ricky Reyes, & Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes), AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels beat Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong), Jimmy Rave w/ Prince Nana & Special K (Deranged & Cheech w/ Cloudy) in 15:29 when AJ used the Styles Clash on Cheech.
6. Junior Hvwt. Block Round 2: Low Ki w/ Julius Smokes [4] beat Alex Shelley [0] in 14:21 by referee stoppage with a series of knees to the head.
7. Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 2: Jack Evans & Matt Sydal [2] beat The Embassy (Spanky & Puma w/ Prince Nana) [0] in 13:46 when Sydal used an avalanche-style belly-to-belly suplex on Puma after Nana's interference backfired.
8. Junior Hvwt. Block Round 2: Bryan Danielson [4] beat CM Punk [2] in 29:27 with a flash pin out of the Cattle Mutilation.

Don't forget, you can head over to our online store now and pre-order both shows for the combined price of $24.95 (or buy them seperatley for $14.95 each). You saw all the junior block action on Junior Flash, but you didn't see what happened during the commerical breaks, and you didn't see 6 matches from the 4/9 event or 5 matches from the 4/10 event at all! See the lead-up to 4/10's junior block matches with the huge 20-minute tag team draw with CM Punk & Low Ki teaming up for the first time ever against Bryan Danielson & Alex Shelley, as well as in the two big singles matches of Spanky vs. Jack Evans and Matt Sydal vs Puma on the 4/9 event. Also see a six-man tag the fans that were there live were raving about and much more on that show.

On the 4/10 event, you have the even bigger "fallout" 10-man tag, pitting all 10 men involved in the junior block matches you DID see on 4/9 clashing once more! Where else will you see the Rottweilers team with AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels to face a team made up of Generation Next members, an Embassy member, and Special K members?! Plus James Gibson faces CIMA for the first-time-ever in yet another 20-minute-draw the fans live were raving about. And when the main event went almost thirty minutes long there's so much you missed on Junior Flash, so it's almost like getting another bonus match as well! Don't delay, pre-order them both today!

Now then, with the hard-sell out of the way, here's the updated junior block standings of both the Openweight League and Openweight Tag League.

STARlight Openweight League Junior Heavyweight Block
1. Low Ki [4]---3rd Round: vs. Rave
1. Bryan Danielson [4]---3rd Round: vs. Shelley
3. CM Punk [2]---3rd Round: vs. Daniels
3. Christopher Daniels [2]---3rd Round: vs. Punk
5. Alex Shelley [0]---3rd Round: vs. Danielson
5. Jimmy Rave [0]---3rd Round: vs. Low Ki

STARlight Openweight Tag League Junior Heavyweight Block
1. Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero) [4]---3rd Round: vs. AJ & Cide
1. Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong) [4]---3rd Round: vs. Evans & Sydal
3. AJ Styles & Homicide [2]---3rd Round: vs. Pitbulls
3. Jack Evans & Matt Sydal [2]---3rd Round: vs. GenNext
5. The Embassy (Spanky & Puma) [0]---3rd Round: vs. Special K
5. Special K (Deranged & Cheech) [0]---3rd Round: vs. Embassy

Edited March 27, 2006 by Xias

March 26, 2006

STAR-Hard Hitting TV Report (4/13/06)

Brodcast on USA at 7/6c, matches previously taped from the E Center in Salt Lake City, Utah and the World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado

The second edition of Hard Hitting opened up with the opening contest from the 4/13 event, as Raven went one-on-one with Nigel McGuinness. The last ROH Pure Wrestling Champion attempted to out-wrestle Raven on the mat at first, but surprisingly the former NWA World Champion held his own with Nigel on the mat for quite a while. Nigel eventually tried to finish him off with the Tower of London in the corner, but Raven escaped out of that and hit a missile dropkick on Nigel instead, before hitting him with the Raven Effect DDT as he got back to his feet, and that was enough to give Raven a big win here on Hard Hitting's opening contest. (88%, 90%, 86%, ***1/2)

Now Hard Hitting went to the 4/12 event from Salt Lake City for the first of three STARlight Openweight League matches, this one pitting former Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle up against the monster Abyss. Abyss dominated Angle early on with a series of power moves, but Angle managed to stay in the match and avoid an early attempt at the Black Hole Slam by Abyss. Angle eventually hit the Angle Slam on Abyss out of nowhere, but he didn't do enough punishment to keep him down, as Abyss managed to kick out strongly after two. Angle brought the straps down and attempted the ankle lock, but Abyss quickly kicked his way out of that, showing impressive leg strength. He whipped Angle into the ropes and hit the Black Hole Slam, but when he covered Angle he was too close to the ropes, as Angle managed to get his foot on the bottom rope to stop the count. An enraged Abyss picked Angle up to try it again, but Angle reversed the Irish whip, sending Abyss into the ropes instead. As the monster grabbed the top rope to stop his momentum, Angle ran forward with a clothesline and sent them both over the top to the outside. On the floor Angle took control, whipping Abyss hard into the steel barricade, before tossing him back into the ring and heading to the top rope. Angle then leapt off with the moonsault, a move we hadn't seen out of him in a while, and he came down across Abyss' chest and stayed on top for the one....two.....three! Angle picked up a big win thanks to some fast thinking and pulling an old move out of the proverbial warchest, earning himself two more points in the Heavyweight Block, and leaving Abyss still at 0. (91%, 94%, 88%, ***3/4)

We stayed with the 4/12 event now as it was time for the first of two STARlight Openweight Tag League matches of the broadcast. This match put the two teams that make up the Saints of Trey faction- Brock Lesnar & Chris Masters and America's Most Wanted of Chris Harris & James Storm- up against each other. Both teams already had two points in the competition thanks to their first round victories over Benoit & Jericho and Hardy & Cabana, repsectivley, and they were looking to take the lead in the heavyweight block with a big win. Trey St. Parker, their manager, was not out here as previously reported on STARwrestling.com, as Trey wanted his two teams to settle things like men and didn't want to show any signs of a bias. The match started with an uneasy handshake between the two tandems, but eventually things got sutiably intense, and despite being a match between two heel teams the crowd still really got into it. Masters seemingly had things taken care of early with the Masterlock locked-in on James Storm, but Chris Harris fought off Lesnar's attempt to hold him back and managed to break up the Masterlock just in time to keep his team alive. Later, Lesnar went for the F5 on Harris, but Storm broke that up with a missile dropkick off the top rope right to the face of Lesnar! When Lesnar rolled to the outside, AMW caught Masters running in with a double drop toe hold, then set him up and executed the Death Sentence! The crowd thought it was over, but Lesnar managed to roll in at the last second and break things up. Finally, Lesnar grabbed Storm on the outside and swung him into the steel barricade, his head hitting the steel with a sickening thud as the crowd gasped in a mixture of shock and amazement. Inside the ring, Masters locked Harris in the Masterlock, but the referee pointed out that Masters was the illegal man and wouldn't stop the match. Lesnar slid into the ring, however, and then ran forward and hit Harris with a lariat while Masters brought Harris up and over with a full nelson suplex, completing the move that Carroll & Quinlan dubbed "the Masterlock Lariat" on commentary. Lesnar then covered Harris for the 1-2-3, with Storm still completely out of it on the outside, and the referee raised the hands of Lesnar & Masters in victory after a well-deserved win, moving them up to first place in the heavyweight block. Referees were needed to help AMW to the back after the beating they took, and Lesnar & Masters didn't wait around for their stablemates, instead heading to the back with smirks on their faces. (92%, 90%, 94%, ****1/4)

From that incredible match, Carroll & Quinlan sent things off to Christy Hemme in an interview taped earlier today at the World Arena in Colorado Springs.

Christy Hemme: "I'm standing by here with a man who is a former World Heavyweight Champion, and definitely one of the front-runners in the heavyweight block of the STARlight Openweight League, Randy Orton."

Randy Orton: "The pleasure is yours, as always, Christy."

Christy Hemme: "Charming. Now then Randy, after admitting you're a front-runner, one must also admit that you sure didn't look like one on Saturday night, as Samoa Joe handed you a decisive loss in just under sixteen minutes in your first round match. On the other hand, your opponent here tonight, another former champion in JBL, beat the monster Abyss and does have two points to his name. What do you have to say about that?"

Randy Orton: "What do I have to say about that? I say that one match out of five doesn't mean the end of the world. You see, I'm the youngest WWE champion of all time. I'm a third-generation athlete, and I have the pure genetics to be the best that no one else in this little competition has. When many people suffer a set-back like the one I suffered on Saturday night, they whine and cry and decide they've already lost it all. That's what any of these idiots in attendance tonight would do, for sure. But that's not what Randy Orton does. Because I know what my destiny is, and that's not just to win this block and the STAR Heavyweight Title, but that's to become the first-ever STARlight Openweight Champion. I know it's my destiny to be the best, and that's why I'll bounce right back from this little set-back. And let's not mince words here, Christy- my opponent here tonight, JBL, didn't exactly 'beat' the monster, like I will this Saturday night. He took advantage of the monster's stupidity, got hit in the face with a chair, and got himself DQed. Well great job being smarter than Abyss, Bradshaw. What are you going to do next, prove you're more attractive than Samoa Joe? Actually, I think that one would come down to the wire. So basically JBL, what I'm trying to say is- you're going to lose. Right now. Let's do this."

Orton walked past Christy and on his way to the ring as Hard Hitting faded to a commerical break. (92%)

Hard Hitting returned to the 4/13 event from the World Arena next, with the second of three STARlight Openweight League matches of the broadcast. It was another heel vs. heel contest, with John Bradshaw Layfield (with two points to his name) taking on Randy Orton (with none). The crowd wasn't as strongly into this as last night's crowd was for the Saints of Trey tag team contest, but they still got loud at times as Orton and JBL mostly exchanged hard strikes. JBL eventually went for his lariat, but Orton ducked and hit the RKO out of nowhere to pick up the 1-2-3, earning his first two points in the heavyweight block. JBL rolled to the outside, clearly not happy with himself as he staggered to the back, while Orton did his trademark pose on the top turnbuckle to the mostly boos of the crowd. (79%, 74%, 85%, ***1/4)

Carroll & Quinlan then sent things backstage at the World Arena once again, this time to Gail Kim, who had the team of Matt Hardy & Colt Cabana with her.

Gail Kim: "Now, it's no secret that you two didn't have a less than stellar start to your team, losing to America's Most Wanted in just ten minutes on Saturday night. Now the two of you have zero points and have quite the difficult treck to make, with your two remaining matches in round-robin competition being against Benoit & Jericho and Lesnar & Masters. The question I'm asking you two is, underdogs to begin with, do you really still think you have a shot?"

Matt Hardy: "I got this one Colt. Look, are we happy that we lost to AMW? Of course not. I'll be the first to admit that our next two matches are even tougher wins for us, and it's going to be an uphill battle to stay in the competition at this point. But you know what? I'm used to uphill battles. I got fired from my job with the WWE because my girlfriend cheated on me with my best friend, and what did I do? Did I roll over and die? NO. Why? Because Matt Hardy...."

Colt Cabana: "...has nine lives, like a cat?!"

Matt Hardy: "I guess that's another way of putting it, yeah. Point is, I'm a survivor. And I picked Colt Cabana as my tag partner because he's a survivor, too. This is the guy that went to war with Homicide for month after month in ROH, isn't that right Colt?"

Colt Cabana: "Oh you better believe it daddio! When you've had the ghetto fork getting stabbed into your forehead on a nightly basis, you don't exactly get scared over the Canadian Chris' or the Steroid Connection."

Matt Hardy: "Exactly. So we're gonna go out there, in front of all those screaming fans, and we're going to put on the match of our life against Benoit & Jericho. And I can't guarentee that we're gonna win, but you know what? We're not gonna lose without one hell of a fight. Let's go Colt!"

Hardy & Cabana walked off-camera as Hard Hitting faded to another commerical break. (93%)

Up next was the main event of the 4/13 show and the other STARlight Openweight Tag League match, as the two winless teams of Benoit & Jericho and Hardy & Cabana squared off. And the match that resulted was an absolute classic, as it was a match between two teams who simply refused to give up. After a long period of mostly mat-wrestling and some strong back-and-forth exchanges, Benoit & Jericho picked up the first big near-fall when Jericho used a lionsault on Cabana for a close two-count, Hardy managing to get past Benoit and break things up just before the count of three. Eventually Jericho and Benoit put the Walls and the Crossface on Cabana & Hardy at the same time, but Cabana (still the legal man) managed to make it to the ropes to break up the Walls, while Benoit released the Crossface on Hardy. Benoit and Jericho then tried a double Irish whip on Cabana, but the bigger Cabana reversed them and then wiped them both out with a huge double clothesline! He then bounced off the ropes and nearly decapitated Jericho with a huge lariat, but Benoit managed to break up the cover. Later, after tagging in Hardy, Hardy hit the Twist of Fate on Jericho for another close two count, but once again Benoit dove in to break things up. However, Cabana came in and tossed Benoit to the outside, then threw him into the guardrails, while Hardy went up to the second rope and came off with the yodeling legdrop across Jericho's throat! With Benoit nowhere to be found to break things up, Hardy covered Jericho for the 1...2....not 3, as Jericho managed to somehow dig deep and kick out! The crowd was going nuts now as Hardy set Jericho up for another Twist of Fate, but Jericho pushed his way out and sent Hardy into the ropes instead, before hitting him with a standing enziguri as he ran back in. Jericho then leaned over and locked in the Walls, but before Hardy could tap out Cabana dove into the ring with a missile dropkick off the top to break that up too! Finally, Cabana set Jericho up for the Colt 45, but just as he hit the rarely-used move, the bell rang, as the time limit had expired! The crowd booed this announcement at first, but then gave all four men a standing ovation for their efforts, as Hardy & Cabana helped Jericho & Benoit back up and then shook hands with them, before all four men raised arms in the middle of the ring. Both teams had earned their first point in the competiton with one hell of an effort. (97%, 94%, 100%, *****)

Finally it was time for the featured match of the evening, the main event from the 4/12 show and the last of the three STARlight Openweight League matches, as Samoa Joe with two points in tow took on Christian Cage, coming off a loss to Angle from Saturday's first round. Christian came at Joe hard and early, seemingly looking to try and hang with Joe in the strikes department, but that proved to be a bad strategy, as Joe eventually wiped Christian out with a series of hard kicks to the chest. Joe then got Christian in the corner and let loose on him with a series of slaps, but Christian reversed an Irish whip and sent Joe into the corner instead. When Christian ran in, however, he was put down hard with Joe's standing STO, the crowd reacting huge for the move. Eventually Joe seemed to have an early win in the books when he hit Christian with a hard lariat, but Christian managed to kick out before the count of three! Joe tried to set Christian up on the top rope for the Muscle Buster, but Christian fought Joe off before leaping off the top with a flying lariat that finally wiped the Samoan phenom out! Christian then picked Joe up and went for the Unprettier, but Joe reversed it, pushing Christian forward into the ropes, then hit him with his huge leaping boot to the face as Christian came back in. Joe then motioned that it was over and locked-in the rear naked choke, and with nowhere to go Christian eventually passed out in the hold, the referee stopping the match and awarding it to Joe. The crowd cheered as Joe let go of the chokehold and had his arm raised by the referee, earning another two points in the STARlight Openweight League. As Joe was celebrating his win, however, from the back came his opponent on Saturday, and the man he was currently tied for first place with, Kurt Angle! Joe and Angle shared a long staredown from the ring and the stage as Hard Hitting faded to black! (92%, 85%, 100%, ****1/2)

Overall Show Rating: 90%

Attendances: 8,035 (4/12) and 8,012 (4/13)

TV Rating: 5.34

The following was posted on the official Pro Wrestling STAR website following the airing of the show.

Full Results of 4/12 & 4/13 STAR-H Events, Updated Heavyweight Block Standings, & Updated STARlight Worldwide Card

STAR-H Live, 4/12/06
E Center- 8,035 Fans
1. Opening Contest: Team 3-D (Brother Ray & Brother D-Von) beat Nigel McGuinness & BJ Whitmer in 9:03 when Ray pinned Whitmer after the 3-D.
2. First-Time Ever: Monty Brown beat Shelton Benjamin in 8:53 with the Pounce.
3. Six-Man Tag Preview Match: John Bradshaw Layfield, Chris Benoit, & Chris Jericho beat Randy Orton, Matt Hardy, & Colt Cabana in 13:21 when JBL used a lariat on Cabana.
4. Heavyweight Block Round 2: Kurt Angle [4] beat Abyss [0] in 16:39 with a moonsault.
5. Heavyweight Tag Block Round 2: Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar & Chris Masters) [4] beat America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm) [2] in 14:56 when Lesnar pinned Harris after the Masterlock Lariat.
6. Heavyweight Block Round 2: Samoa Joe [4] beat Christian Cage [0] in 18:02 with a rear naked choke.

STAR-H Live, 4/13/06
World Arena- 8,012 Fans
1. Opening Contest: Raven beat Nigel McGuinness in 8:41 with the Raven Effect DDT.
2. Tag Team Re-Match: Abyss & Monty Brown beat Team 3-D (Brother Ray & Brother D-Von) in 7:50 when Abyss used the Black Hole Slam on D-Von.
3. Saints of Trey vs. the World Part 2: Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Christian Cage, & Shelton Benjamin beat Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar, Chris Masters, & AMW w/ Trey St. Parker) in 17:18 when Christian used the Unprettier on Storm after mis-communication with Masters.
4. Heavyweight Block Round 2: Randy Orton [2] beat John Bradshaw Layfield [2] in 14:49 with the RKO.
5. Heavyweight Tag Block Round 2: Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho [1] vs. Matt Hardy & Colt Cabana [1] went to a draw in 30:00 when the time limit expired.

You can head over to our online store now and pre-order the DVDs of both events for $24.95 (or $14.95 each if you prefer)! See the matches you missed from both events plus all the action from commerical breaks of the matches you DID see! On 4/12, see Monty Brown clash with Shelton Benjamin for the first time ever! And see an unpredictable six-man tag preview of the following night's STARlight league matches, as JBL is forced to team with Benoit & Jericho against the equally strange team of Orton, Hardy, & Cabana! On 4/13, see the uncut 30-minute draw that Scott Keith gave *****! And see a huge eight-man tag as Angle, Joe, Christian, & Benjamin team up to face the Saints of Trey, as the newfound group already seems to be having some issues! You'll want to pre-order both DVDs right away!

With all that out of the way, here's the updated league standings for the heavyweight blocks.

STARlight Openweight League Heavyweight Block
1. Samoa Joe [4]---3rd Round: vs. Angle
1. Kurt Angle [4]---3rd Round: vs. Joe
3. John Bradshaw Layfield [2]---3rd Round: vs. Cage
3. Randy Orton [2]---3rd Round: vs. Abyss
5. Christian Cage [0]---3rd Round: vs. JBL
5. Abyss [0]---3rd Round: vs. Orton

STARlight Openweight Tag League Heavyweight Block
1. Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar & Chris Masters) [4]---3rd Round: vs. Hardy & Cabana
2. America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm) [2]---3rd Round: vs. Benoit & Jericho
3. Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho [1]---3rd Round: vs. AMW
3. Matt Hardy & Colt Cabana [1]---3rd Round: vs. Saints

And here is the updated card for this Saturday's STARlight Worldwide event. Two slight match changes in the junior heavyweight tag block, with the updated points following 2nd round competition so you can see how everyone's doing here.

Saturday, April 15th: STARlight Worldwide Live on NBC!
From the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado
Heavyweight Block Round 3: Kurt Angle [4] vs. Samoa Joe [4]
Junior Hvwt. Block Round 3: CM Punk [2] vs. Christopher Daniels [2]
Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 3: Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero) [4] vs. AJ Styles & Homicide [2]
Heavyweight Block Round 3: John Bradshaw Layfield [2] vs. Christian Cage [0]
Junior Hvwt. Block Round 3: Bryan Danielson [4] vs. Alex Shelley [0]
Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 3: Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong) [4] vs. Jack Evans & Matt Sydal [2]
Heavyweight Block Round 3: Randy Orton [2] vs. Abyss [0]
Junior Hvwt. Block Round 3: Low Ki w/ Julius Smokes [4] vs. Jimmy Rave w/ Prince Nana [0]
Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 3: The Embassy (Spanky & Puma w/ Prince Nana) [0] vs. Special K (Deranged & Cheech w/ Cloudy) [0]
Dark Match: Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar & AMW w/ Trey St. Parker) vs. Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, & Raven
Dark Match: Jimmy Yang, Jay Lethal, & Azrieal vs. CIMA, Juventud Guerrera, & Jimmy Jacobs
Dark Match: Shelton Benjamin vs. BJ Whitmer

Edited March 27, 2006 by Xias

March 27, 2006

STARlight Worldwide TV Report (4/15/06)

Broadcast LIVE on NBC at 8/7c from the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado

Worldwide opened up with the first junior heavyweight tag block match of the evening, as two winless teams were both looking for their first two points. The Embassy of Spanky & Puma, along with Prince Nana, took on Special K of Deranged & Cheech, along with Cloudy. The result was a fast-paced, action-packed match that the crowd got into despite it featuring two heel teams. The end came when Spanky managed to hit Sliced Bread #2 on Cheech, and with Puma holding Deranged, back, that was enough to give Spanky the pin and give the Embassy their first two points in STARlight Openweight Tag League competition. (80%, 78%, 82%, ***1/4)

Prince Nana remained in the ring after the break and introduced "the crown jewel" of the Embassy, Jimmy Rave. Carroll & Quinlan mentioned that Rave was looking for his first win and first two points in Openweight League competition, and he had quite the stiff opposition in his third round match, taking on the 2-0 Low Ki (accomponied as always by Julius Smokes). Ki dominated Rave for the early portion of the match, but eventually interference by Nana allowed Rave to take over. Julius attempted to get in the ring and stop this, which lead to the referee yelling at Julius, distracted by this. As Low Ki walked over to try and rectify this, Nana passed a pair of brass knuckles to Rave, and Ki turned around and right into a brass knuckle-assisted punch from Rave! Rather than go for the cover, Rave tossed the knucks away and picked Low Ki up, right into the Greetings from Ghana, dropping him right on his head, before he covered him for the 1-2-3, despite Julius' pleadings. Thanks to interference from Nana and the brass knucks, Rave finally had his first two points in STARlight Openweight League competition! (90%, 91%, 88%, ****)

Up next was a match from the heavyweight block of that same league, as the monsterous Abyss took on Randy Orton. Orton was coming off his first victory over JBL on Thursday, while Abyss was still 0-2 in the competition after losing to Kurt Angle. The crowd wasn't really into this battle of heels after they were strongly into Ki vs. Rave, but the match was still decent, ending with Abyss defeating Orton clean with his Black Hole Slam to finally get his first two points in STARlight Openweight League competition. (69%, 55%, 84%, ***)

After the last contest, Carroll & Quinlan sent things to Gail Kim backstage.

Gail Kim: "Thanks guys. I'm standing by back here with former Generation Next members Jack Evans & Matt Sydal, who in just a few moments will be facing the man who kicked them out of the group, Austin Aries, along with Roderick Strong. Do you guys have any words for Aries & Strong before you meet them in Openweight Tag League competition?"

Jack Evans: "Yeah, I got a few words. I can kinda understand where Austin was comin' from, cause I mean he's always been a prick. But Roddy? My original tag team partner? Turning your back on me and stickin' with Austin and Shelley? Man, that really disappointed me. I didn't expect that, not from you."

Matt Sydal: "We can spend a lot of time whining and crying over what happened, but you know what, let's not worry about that Jack. Let's just go out there and shove it down their throats for kicking us out, and pick up two more points in the tag league in the process."

Jack Evans: "Sounds like a good idea to me."

And with that, Evans & Sydal walked off-camera, as Worldwide went to another commerical break. (83%)

When Worldwide returned, it was time for Evans & Sydal to face their former GenNext mates, Aries & Strong. Evans & Sydal clearly had something to prove so they attacked Aries & Strong often and early, dominating the early portion of the match as the crowd cheered them on. Eventually Aries & Strong managed to get things under control, however, and cut Sydal off from his partner for a while. Sydal eventually made the hot tag to Evans, and Evans cleaned house on both men before finally hitting the 630 on Strong! It seemed like it was over, until Aries managed to dive past Sydal and break things up at the last possible second. Evans tried to set Strong up for a falcon arrow to follow-up, but Strong dropped out of it and then destroyed his former tag team partner with a series of backbreakers, before locking-in the Strong Hold. With Aries holding Sydal back on the ropes, Evans had no choice but to submit after struggling in the hold for quite some time, and Aries & Strong emerged victorious, bringing them up to six points in the tag league. (91%, 86%, 96%, ****1/2)

Up next was the second of the three junior heavyweight STARlight Openweight League matches, as the so-far undefeated Bryan Danielson took on the winless Alex Shelley of Generation Next. Danielson and Shelley traded holds on the mat early, with Shelley holding his own against the last ROH World Champion quite well. Eventually Shelley executed the Shell Shock on Danielson, but Danielson managed to kick out just before the count of three. Shelley tried to lock in the Border City Stretch, but Danielson escaped and turned it into a small package for a close two count. Danielson then tried to lock-in the crossface chickenwing, but Shelley escaped that with a series of elbows, then grabbed Danielson's head to try and execute the Sliced Bread #2 (taught to him by Spanky when they were both in the Embassy). Danielson pushed his way out of that, however, caught Shelley with a hard roaring elbow as he turned back around, then took the stunned Shelley down to the mat and locked-in Cattle Mutilation! Shelley struggled in the hold but ultimatley had to submit, moving Danielson up to a commanding six points and keeping Shelley winless in the league! Danielson offered his hand to Shelley afterwards, and Shelley reluctantly took it, having been bested by Danielson on this night. (84%, 68%, 100%, ****1/2)

The second heavyweight block match of the night was next, as the winless Christian Cage took on John Bradshaw Layfield, who does have two points to his name thanks to a DQ win over Abyss last week on Worldwide. JBL seemed a bit cocky early and played with Christian, backing him up into the corner and rubbing his forearm into his face. This only served to piss Christian off, and he came out hard with a series of chops and strikes before setting up for an early Unprettier. JBL managed to push his way out of that, however, and take Christian down to the mat with a leaping shoulderblock. Later, JBL whipped Christian in and tried his trademark lariat, but Christian managed to duck and then grab the ropes on the opposite side to stop himself. When JBL came running in again Christian then sent him up and over the top rope with a back body drop, before tossing him into the steel barricade on the floor. This would be the moment that would turn the tide for Christian, as a few minutes later after throwing him back in he managed to score with the Unprettier and that was enough for the 1-2-3, giving Christian a major win over a former WWE Champion- and his first two points! (90%, 92%, 86%, ****)

We began what was billed as a "triple main event" with a major clash between two of the current top teams in the junior heavyweight block of the Openweight Tag League. The Havana Pitbulls of Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero, who admittedly had a 2 point advantage going in, took on the so-called "dream team" of AJ Styles & Homicide, coming off a disappoiting loss to Generation Next. Many questioned AJ & Homicide's ability to work together after it was Homicide's manager, Julius Smokes, who cost them that particular match, but they seemed to be back on the same page here against Homicide's fellow Rottweilers (which is why Julius wasn't at ringside). The Pitbulls still put up quite the fight, however, Romero nearly ending things with a cross armbreaker on AJ before Homicide managed to break that up. Homicide eventually wiped Reyes out with a lariat later, but even with AJ holding Romero back, Reyes surprisingly kicked out just before the count of three! Homicide decided to go to the big gun, and picked Reyes up before dropping him right on the back of his neck with the brutal Cop Killer! This time, with AJ still holding Romero back on the ropes, that got a 3 count, giving AJ & Homicide the big win and keeping them in contention in the junior heavyweight tag league! When Homicide attempted to help Reyes up afterwards, however, Romero angrily pushed him out of the way, as Reyes seemed to be in a great deal of pain from the brutal Cop Killer. Romero helped his tag partner to the back while Homicide looked on frusturated, as apparently there seemed to be some dissension in the Rottweilers! (91%, 90%, 93%, ****1/4)

Afterwards, we went backstage to Christy Hemme.

Christy Hemme: "I'm standing by backstage here at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado with the Fallen Angel, Christopher Daniels. Chris, up next you'll be going one-on-one with a man you know very well, CM Punk."

Christopher Daniels: (laughing to himself) "You're definitely right about that, Christy. CM Punk is a man I have come to know, and loathe, over these past few years. How about a history lesson? It was in Janaury of 2004 when CM Punk, in Ring of Honor, put me through a table and out of ROH for over fourteen months. For fourteen months I waited until I was allowed to come to ROH and get my revenge on the Punker, and I returned, on June 18th, 2005. The night CM Punk won the ROH World Title. I told him to put that belt on the line and face me right then and there, and what did he do? He ran, like a coward. I chased Punk all the way to Philadelphia on the night of July 23rd, and we wrestled for that most prestigious belt, but Punk escaped yet again thanks to the sixty minute time limit. I chased him to a four-way in Dayton but thanks to Samoa Joe he escaped me yet again. And then he went all the way to the WWE, the one place where I couldn't chase him. But now we're back in the same promotion, and now we're fighting for the same goal- to be the STAR Junior Heavyweight Champion and the STARlight Openweight Champion. Both those belts are MINE, Punker, and you're just going to have to learn to live with that. But I don't know if we can settle things tonight, with only a 30-minute time limit given to us. You know what? Let's try." (89%)

Worldwide returned from commerical break with CM Punk on his way to the ring, followed by the Fallen Angel, for this, the second part of the triple main event. Both wrestlers had two points and both were looking for two more, as well as to settle their long personal differences. Punk offered Daniels his hand before the match, but Daniels told him to go to hell and charged him, nailing him with a series of forearms in the corner. Punk bailed and eventually things slowed down for a while. Much later, Punk had the first clear near-fall of the match when he hit Daniels with the Pepsi Twist for a close two count. He tried to follow-up with the Welcome to Chicago, but Daniels back body dropped out of that and hit Punk with a hard leg lariat. He went up to the top and hit Punk with the Best Moonsault Ever, but Punk was out of the cover before the count of three. Daniels tried to set Punk up for the Angel's Wings, but Punk reversed his way out of that and then hit Punk with a hard series of forearm shots before hitting the Welcome to Chicago! Punk covered for another close two count, but after Daniels kicked out he immediatley locked-in the Anaconda Vice! Daniels struggled in the hold but eventually managed to get his foot on the bottom rope to cause a ropebreak. Punk wouldn't break the hold at first, but broke it after the count of four. Eventually he set Daniels up on the top rope to try for the Pepsi Plunge, but Daniels fought Punk off and then dropped him face-first onto the canvas. As Punk stood up, Daniels leaped off with a flying crossbody off the top, just as the ring announcer made the announcement that there was just one minute left in the 30-minute time limit. The crowd was expecting a 30-minute draw as Punk reversed the crossbody into a roll-up for a close two count, but Daniels rolled through that and reversed into another inside cradle, and that shockingly got the 1-2-3! The fans couldn't believe it, and neither could Punk as the referee raised Daniels' arm, having finally pinned his longtime nemesis and earned two points in the STARlight Openweight League to boot. Afterwards, Punk teased attacking Daniels, but instead extended his hand once again. Daniels looked to the crowd, seemingly asking whether or not he should take it, but after all those years of refusing to shake hands in ROH, he finally returned Punk's gesture, and the two men raised arms in the middle of the ring to another huge ovation from the crowd. (97%, 95%, 100%, *****)

And now it was time for the final match of the evening, a heavyweight block match between the two undefeated wrestlers, Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle. The crowd was hot for this first-time-ever battle of the two strong-willed competitors, wondering who (if anyone) could come out on top. Joe attempted to dominate Angle early with a strong series of strikes and nearly decpaitated him with a lariat, but Angle eventually kicked out. He fought off Joe's numerous attempts at locking-in the rear naked choke, and eventually managed to get the ankle lock on the Samoan phenom. After much struggling, however, Joe managed to kick Angle off. Joe then tried another big lariat, but Angle ducked and grabbed Joe from behind with the Angle Slam! The cover only got two, however, as Joe just hadn't taken a lot of punishment up until then. Angle tried to set-up the ankle lock again, but Joe quickly scrambled and grabbed the bottom rope before he could really get it locked-in. Angle clubbed Joe with some hard forearms as he picked him up, seemingly having things under control, but then Joe just exploded with a series of slaps to the face, a standing enziguri, and finally his leaping yakuza kick to the face of Angle. The cover only got two, however. So Joe set Angle up on the top rope, slapped him in the face again, and put him in position for the Muscle Buster. Angle dropped down behind Joe before he could execute it, and grabbed him for the Angle Slam- but Joe reversed out of that in similar fashion, before attempting to let loose on Angle with another flurry of strikes. Angle covered up this time, however, which left him open for some knees to the gut, and finally Angle dropped his guard and was caught with the slaps to the face. Joe bounced off the ropes and hit another strong lariat, but before he could cover Angle, the bell rang, as the time limit had expired! The crowd booed this at first, but Joe helped Angle back up to his feet and shook his hand, the two men raising arms in the middle of the ring as the crowd gave them a standing ovation. Worldwide faded to black with Angle & Joe, having each earned another point in STARlight Openweight League competition, seemingly on top of the world here in Pro Wrestling STAR. (95%, 90%, 100%, *****)

Overall Show Rating: 87%

Attendance: 8,009

TV Rating: 7.30

The following was posted on the Pro Wrestling STAR website following the event.

Full Worldwide Results With Dark Matches, Updated Openweight & Openweight Tag League Standings, Major League Announcement from Jim Cornette

STARlight Worldwide, 4/15/06
Pepsi Center- 8,009 Fans
1. Dark Match: BJ Whitmer beat Shelton Benjamin in 7:53 with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder.
2. Dark Match: CIMA, Juventud Guerrera, & Jimmy Jacobs beat Jimmy Yang, Jay Lethal, & Azrieal in 9:55 when CIMA used the Schewin on Azrieal.
3. Dark Match: Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, & Raven beat Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar & AMW w/ Trey St. Parker) in 10:09 when Jericho used the Walls of Jericho on Harris after mis-communication with Lesnar.
4. Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 3: The Embassy (Spanky & Puma w/ Prince Nana) [2] beat Special K (Deranged & Cheech w/ Cloudy) [0] in 12:29 when Spanky used Sliced Bread #2 on Cheech.
5. Junior Hvwt. Block Round 3: Jimmy Rave w/ Prince Nana [2] beat Low Ki w/ Julius Smokes [4] in 15:11 with Greetings from Ghana after a brass knuckle punch.
6. Heavyweight Block Round 3: Abyss [2] beat Randy Orton [2] in 12:30 with the Black Hole Slam.
7. Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 3: Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong) [6] beat Jack Evans & Matt Sydal [2] in 20:33 when Strong used the Strong Hold on Evans.
8. Junior Hvwt. Block Round 3: Bryan Danielson [6] beat Alex Shelley [0] in 18:55 with Cattle Mutilation.
9. Heavyweight Block Round 3: Christian Cage [2] beat John Bradshaw Layfield [2] in 16:04 with the Unprettier.
10. Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 3: AJ Styles & Homicide [4] beat Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero) [4] in 23:11 when Homicide used the Cop Killer on Reyes.
11. Junior Hvwt. Block Round 3: Christopher Daniels [4] beat CM Punk [2] in 29:18 with an inside cradle.
12. Heavyweight Block Round 3: Kurt Angle [5] vs. Samoa Joe [5] went to a draw in 30:00 when the time limit expired.

Pre-order your DVD of the event now at our online store for just $14.95 and see both ***** un-edited and uncut with all the material you missed during the commerical breaks! Plus three big dark matches including more issues in Saints of Trey as Lesnar & AMW took on Benoit, Jericho & Raven in six-man tag action.

Updated Openweight League & Openweight Tag League Standings

STARlight Openweight League

Heavyweight Block
1. Samoa Joe [5]---4th Round: vs. JBL---5th Round: vs. Abyss
1. Kurt Angle [5]---4th Round: vs. Orton---5th Round: vs. JBL
3. John Bradshaw Layfield [2]---4th Round: vs. Joe---5th Round: vs. Angle
3. Randy Orton [2]---4th Round: vs. Angle---5th Round: vs. Christian
3. Christian Cage [2]---4th Round: vs. Abyss---5th Round: vs. Orton
3. Abyss [2]---4th Round: vs. Christian---5th Round: vs. Joe

Junior Heavyweight Block
1. Bryan Danielson [6]---4th Round: vs. Daniels---5th Round: vs. Ki
2. Low Ki [4]---4th Round: vs. Punk---5th Round: vs. Danielson
2. Christopher Daniels [4]---4th Round: vs. Danielson---5th Round: vs. Shelley
4. CM Punk [2]---4th Round: vs. Ki---5th Round: vs. Rave
4. Jimmy Rave [2]---4th Round: vs. Shelley---5th Round: vs. Punk
6. Alex Shelley [0]---4th Round: vs. Rave---5th Round: vs. Daniels

STARlight Openweight Tag League

Heavyweight Block
1. Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar & Chris Masters) [4]---3rd Round: vs. Hardy & Cabana
2. America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm) [2]---3rd Round: vs. Benoit & Jericho
3. Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho [1]---3rd Round: vs. AMW
3. Matt Hardy & Colt Cabana [1]---3rd Round: vs. Saints

Junior Heavyweight Block
1. Generation Next (Aries & Strong) [6]---4th Round: vs. Embassy---5th Round: vs. Pitbulls
2. Havana Pitbulls (Reyes & Romero) [4]---4th Round: vs. Evans & Sydal---5th Round: vs. GenNext
2. AJ Styles & Homicide [4]---4th Round: vs. Special K---5th Round: vs. Embassy
4. Jack Evans & Matt Sydal [2]---4th Round: vs. Pitbulls---5th Round: vs. Special K
4. The Embassy (Spanky & Puma) [2]---4th Round: vs. GenNext---5th Round: vs. AJ & Homicide
6. Special K (Deranged & Cheech) [0]---4th Round: vs. AJ & Homicide---5th Round: vs. Evans & Sydal

Major Updated- STAR Commisioner Jim Cornette Changes Block Finals Format!

Jim Cornette has decided to change how the individual block finals will be handled in less than two weeks on 4/30 at STARlight First Shining, live on PPV. Cornette felt that the previous format didn't put enough emphasis on whoever is able to gain the #1 ranking in league play, and felt this was important, as well as not liking major titles decided in three-way matches. The new format will not affect the Heavyweight block of the STARlight Openweight Tag League, which will still be decided by a normal tag team contest between the #1 and #2 ranked tandems to decide the block winners and the STAR-H Tag Team Champions.

Here's how the format will go: the #2 and #3 ranked competitors will face off earlier that night. The winner(s) of those contests will then face the #1 ranked competitor later on in the block finals, with the title on the line as well! The winners will then all advance to STARlight Into the Heavens on 5/14 in the previously determined 2-out-of-3 series to determine the STARlight Openweight & Openweight Tag Team Champions. If there are any ties for any rankings, those ties will be broken during the week leading up to the 4/30 PPV.

Now, Cornette has also signed some major matches for the 4/29 STARlight Worldwide, which will broadcast live on NBC on the eve of First Shining. They will be the first-ever interpromotional matches in the history of STAR! The first big match will be an 8-man tag, as the #1 and #2 ranked teams of the Heavyweight block face the #1 and #2 ranked teams of the Junior Heavyweight block. And then in the even bigger main event, it will be a six-man tag with the #1, #2, and #3 ranked heavyweights against the #1, #2, and #3 ranked junior heavyweights! Rivals will be forced to work together and it will be a huge night that you won't want to miss! You'll know who's going to be in those matches after league play concludes this week, so keep watching!

Edited March 27, 2006 by Xias

March 27, 2006

The following update was put up on the Pro Wrestling STAR website a few hours later.

Full Cards Announced for 4/16-4/22 Week of STAR Competition!

This week's cards feature the end of the league play, with rounds 4 & 5 of the heavyweight, junior hvwt, and junior hvwt. tag leagues, and round 3 of the heavyweight tag league. Check below for all the details.

Sunday, April 16th: STAR-J Live- Some Matches Taped for 4/17 Junior Flash
From The Pit in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Junior Hvwt. Block Round 4: Low Ki w/ Julius Smokes [4] vs. CM Punk [2]
Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 4: Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong) [6] vs. The Embassy (Spanky & Puma w/ Prince Nana) [2]
Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 4: AJ Styles & Homicide w/ Julius Smokes [4] vs. Special K (Deranged & Cheech w/ Cloudy) [0]
Tag Team Preview Match: Bryan Danielson & Alex Shelley vs. Christopher Daniels & Jimmy Rave w/ Prince Nana
Singles Preview Match #2: Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes vs. Jack Evans
Tag Team Attraction: James Gibson & Jimmy Yang vs. Paul London & Minoru Fujita
Singles Preview Match #1: Ricky Reyes w/ Julius Smokes vs. Matt Sydal
Six-Man Tag Action: Juventud Guerrera, Jimmy Jacobs, & Shiima Xion vs. Jay Lethal, Delirious, & Davey Andrews
Azrieal Trial Series Match #5: CIMA vs. Azrieal

Monday, April 17th: STAR-J Live- Some Matches Taped for 4/17 Junior Flash
From the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas
Junior Hvwt. Block Round 4: 'American Dragon' Bryan Danielson [6] vs. Christopher Daniels [4]
Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 4: Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes) [4] vs. Jack Evans & Matt Sydal [2]
Junior Hvwt. Block Round 4: Jimmy Rave w/ Prince Nana [2] vs. Alex Shelley [0]
Fallout Tag Team Match: Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong) vs. Low Ki & CM Punk w/ Julius Smokes
Four Corner Survival: AJ Styles vs. James Gibson vs. Paul London vs. Jay Lethal
Bonus Singles Match: CIMA vs. Jimmy Yang
Azrieal Trial Series Match #6: Homicide w/ Julius Smokes vs. Azrieal
Opening Contest: Juventud Guerrera, Jimmy Jacobs, & Shiima Xion vs. Minoru Fujita, Delirious, & Davey Andrews

Wednesday, April 19th: STAR-H Live- Some Matches Taped for 4/20 Hard Hitting
From the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas
Heavyweight Tag Block Round 3: America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm w/ Trey St. Parker) [2] vs. Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho [1]
Heavyweight Block Round 4: Samoa Joe [5] vs. John Bradshaw Layfield [2]
Tag Team Preview Match: Kurt Angle & Christian Cage vs. Randy Orton & Abyss
Singles Preview Match #2: Brock Lesnar w/ Trey St. Parker vs. Colt Cabana
Six-Man Tag Action: Monty Brown, Nigel McGuinness, & BJ Whitmer vs. Raven & Team 3-D (Brother Ray & Brother D-Von)
Singles Preview Match #1: Chris Masters w/ Trey St. Parker vs. Matt Hardy

Thursday, April 20th: STAR-H Live- Some Matches Taped for 4/20 Hard Hitting
From the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas
Heavyweight Block Round 4: Kurt Angle [5] vs. Randy Orton [2]
Heavyweight Tag Block Round 3: Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar & Chris Masters w/ Trey St. Parker) [4] vs. Matt Hardy & Colt Cabana [1]
Heavyweight Block Round 4: Christian Cage [2] vs. Abyss [2]
Fallout Six-Man Tag: Samoa Joe, Chris Benoit, & Chris Jericho vs. John Bradshaw Layfield & AMW (Chris Harris & James Storm w/ Trey St. Parker)
Tag Team Attraction: Monty Brown & BJ Whitmer vs. Raven & Shelton Benjamin
Opening Contest: Brother Ray w/ Brother D-Von vs. Nigel McGuinness

Saturday, April 22nd: STARlight Worldwide Live on NBC!
From the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas
Junior Hvwt. Block Round 5: Bryan Danielson [6] vs. Low Ki w/ Julius Smokes [4]
Heavyweight Block Round 5: Kurt Angle [5] vs. John Bradshaw Layfield [2]
Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 5: Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong) [6] vs. Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes) [4]
Junior Hvwt. Block Round 5: CM Punk [2] vs. Jimmy Rave w/ Prince Nana [2]
Heavyweight Block Round 5: Randy Orton [2] vs. Christian Cage [2]
Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 5: AJ Styles & Homicide w/ Julius Smokes [4] vs. The Embassy (Spanky & Puma w/ Prince Nana) [2]
Junior Hvwt. Block Round 5: Christopher Daniels [4] vs. Alex Shelley [0]
Heavyweight Block Round 5: Samoa Joe [5] vs. Abyss [2]
Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 5: Jack Evans & Matt Sydal [2] vs. Special K (Deranged & Cheech w/ Cloudy) [0]
Dark Match: Saints of Tray (Chris Masters & AMW w/ Trey St. Parker) vs. Matt Hardy, Colt Cabana, & Shelton Benjamin
Dark Match: James Gibson, Jimmy Yang, & Azrieal vs. Paul London, Minoru Fujita, & Davey Andrews
Dark Match: Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho vs. Monty Brown & BJ Whitmer

Edited March 27, 2006 by Xias

March 29, 2006

STAR-Junior Flash TV Report (4/17/06)

Broadcast on MTV at 7/6c, matches previously taped from The Pit in Albuquerque, New Mexico and the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas

Carroll & Quinlan excitedly introduced what they promised would be a huge edition of STAR-Junior Flash, featuring the entire fourth round of junior competition in the STARlight Openweight & Openweight Tag leagues. They promised things were really heating up here in the second-to-last round, and said that some were looking to pull ahead and cement their top spots, while others were looking to simply get back into contention. The show began with the ever-partying members of Special K on their way down to the ring, with not a point between them. Their opponents were AJ Styles & Homicide, a team currently tied for second with the Havana Pitbulls at 4 points and were looking to remain in the top 3 with a win here. Special K were pretty much destroyed from the opening bell, as AJ & Homicide were fired up, and AJ finished off Cheech in just over five minutes with the Styles Clash for the decisive pinfall victory. AJ & Homicide celebrated another big win for the so-called "dream team" while Cloudy once again had to help his winless partners to the back. (82%, 83%, 81%, ***1/4)

Up next was a match from the earlier afternoon's show and the first of three singles league matches, as the winless Alex Shelley took on his former Embassy mate Jimmy Rave, along with Prince Nana. Rave had two points and was hoping to keep at least a longshot into making the top 3 with a win here, while Shelley's already virtually lost his shot at the top 3. Perhaps it was pride driving Shelley on in this one, though, not wanting to go down as the wrestler who went 0-5 in round-robin play, and he seemed to show impressive fire against Rave. Rave would keep taking control with his dirty tricks and Nana's help, but was unable to put Shelley away, as Shelley reversed out of Rave's Greetings from Ghana attempts twice before finally scoring with his own Shell Shock for a close two count. Shelley immediatley locked-in the Border City Stretch, but Rave managed to struggle and make the ropes (as Nana seemed on the verge of diving into the ring) to cause a break. Shelley set Rave up for another Shell Shock, but Rave elbowed his way out of that and caught Shelley with a hard clothesline, before getting in position for a spear. Shelley side-stepped the spear, however, then rolled Rave up from behind with a school boy. Rather than go for a cover, however, he went directly back into the Border City Stretch! Rave struggled in the hold for several moments as Nana tried in vain to distract the referee, but eventually Rave tapped-out to the hold, finally giving Shelley his first two points in STARlight Openweight League competition! (79%, 68%, 90%, ***1/2)

Another match from the 4/17 event was next, as the Havana Pitbulls of Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero looked to maintain their tied #2 spot taking on Jack Evans & Matt Sydal, who were looking to climb back into contention with just two points to their name. Carroll & Quinlan pointed out that the two teams went 1-1 in their preview singles contests the earlier night, with Reyes submitting Sydal with a Dragon sleeper while Evans pinned Romero after his signature 630 off the top rope. Evans & Sydal fought hard early against the Rottweiler duo, Sydal nearly hitting his elusive belly-to-belly superplex on Reyes before Romero managed to get in there and break it up. Reyes then seemingly had Sydal put away the same way he had beaten him a night earlier, with his Dragon sleeper, but Evans managed to break away from Romero and make the save just as Sydal seemed ready to tap. In the end the Pitbulls brought one back from the ages- the Cuban Missile Crisis, as Reyes held Sydal in place while Romero came flying off the top with a knee across the throat. Romero then covered Sydal as Reyes kept Evans from getting back into the ring to break it up, and that was it, as the Pitbulls climbed up two more points to remain in the top 3 with AJ & Homicide and Generation Next. Afterwards, the Pitbulls congratulated Evans & Sydal on a great effort and the two tandems shook hands. (90%, 85%, 96%, ****1/2)

Junior Flash now cut to an interview taped backstage at The Pit just moments before the main event of the 4/16 event.

Christy Hemme: "I'm standing by backstage with the always-controversial CM Punk."

CM Punk: "My pleasure as always, Christy."

Christy Hemme: "Punk, tonight is pretty much do-or-die for you, is it not?"

CM Punk: "I'd say so, yeah. If you look at the point standings in our lovely little block, I've gotta beat monkey boy tonight in order to keep my top 3 chances alive."

Christy Hemme: "You previously said it was your goal to win not just your block and the STAR Junior Heavyweight Title, but the STARlight Openweight Title as well. Is this still true?"

CM Punk: "Of-fucking-COURSE that's still my goal! If that wasn't still my goal, if I didn't still think I could do it, why would I be going out there to face Ki in just moments? It's not because his kicks tickle, I'll rule that one out for you right now. I've known Low Ki for a very long time and I respect him, but I'm definitely not going in there to lose. You see Christy I'm an animal. If you've talked to Maria recently you already know that, but I don't just mean in a bedroom. And when you back an animal up to the wall, when you trap him in a corner, that's when that animal is at its most dangerous. It's going to come out claws singing, teeth snarling, doing whatever it has to do to survive. That's me tonight. I'm an animal with my back to the wall, and I don't care how hard Ki can kick. There's no way I'm going down tonight. No way. And that's all I've got to say, so if you'll excuse me."

Punk turned and walked off as Junior Flash went to another commerical break. (85%)

The main event of the 6/12 event was up next as CM Punk, with two points, took on Low Ki, with Julius Smokes and four points to his name. The crowd was buzzing as this match began, and it didn't disappoint, as Ki started throwing his hard kicks early and often. Punk did a surprisingly good job of controlling the match, however, using a variation of his strategy he used in his infamous series with Samoa Joe; rather than going after Ki's head, however, he went after his legs. Eventually after a lot of work on Ki's legs Punk effectivley neutralized them for a while, and seemingly tried to put him away with a figure four leglock (with the crowd whooing away, of course). After much struggling, however, Ki finally managed to turn it over to the cheers of the crowd. Punk tried to keep working on Ki's legs, but eventually Ki finally exploded with a series of kicks to his lowerbody, working Punk down until finally a knockout kick to his head as he was kneeling over. He covered Punk, but Punk managed to kick-out. Ki went up top (still visibly limping) for his top-rope double stomp. Punk, however, managed to roll out of the way at the last second, with the damage to Ki's legs causing him great delay in hitting the move. Ki collapsed after hitting the mat, falling down in pain, and Punk quickly followed-up by locking in the figure four leglock once again. Ki struggled in the hold, reaching out for the ropes as best as he could and struggling to turn it over, until he finally passed out from the pain and the referee stopped the match, awarding it to Punk. Punk released the hold as he climbed back up to his feet and the referee raised his arm in the air, earning two more points and keeping him in the race in the junior block. As the referee helped Ki back to his feet, visibly limping, he stared down Punk angrily, seeming like he was about to attack him. Punk offered Ki his hand, and Ki looked down at it.....before taking it. The crowd erupted as Punk and Ki raised arms together in the middle of the ring. (95%, 90%, 100%, *****)

We stayed with the 4/16 match next with the final junior tag match of the three, as the currently 3-0 Generation Next of Austin Aries & Roderick Strong were set to take on the 1-2 Embassy duo of Spanky & Puma, accomponied to the ring by Prince Nana. Despite both teams technically being heels, the crowd once again got strongly behind the GenNext duo, just as they did during the GenNext-Embassy feud in ROH. It was the Embassy who first seemed to be putting this match away, however, after he hit the Sliced Bread #2 on Strong, but Aries managed to dive in and break things up just before the count of three. Later Puma nearly pinned Strong following a moonsault off the top but again Aries broke things up. Finally Strong was able to get the hot tag to Aries, and Aries cleaned house on both teams. Nana got up on the apron to attempt to distract Aries, and it worked, as Aries grabbed Nana by the collar of his shirt. Puma came up from behind and school boyed Aries, attempting to take advantage, but Strong managed to dive in and break things up just before the count of 3. Puma attempted to follow-up on Aries, but Aries reversed and nailed Puma with his signature brainbuster, before heading to the top rope and coming off with the 450 Splash. Strong held back Spanky as Aries stayed on Puma for the 1-2-3, giving Generation Next yet another win, moving them up to a 4-0 record and eight points in the tag league. (91%, 85%, 98%, ****1/2)

Now Junior Flash went backstage to Gail Kim, standing by backstage earlier this afternoon on 4/17 with a smirking Bryan Danielson.

Gail Kim: "Bryan Danielson, the American Dragon. A week ago on this very program my colleague Christy Hemme heard words from CM Punk that he was enraged with you calling yourself 'the best wrestler in the world'. Later, you defeated Punk cleanly in the middle of the ring with a flash pinfall out of your signature Cattle Mutilation hold. After the match Punk offered you his hand but you, the last ROH World Champion, refused it, in quite vulgar terms. Do you have anything else you want to say about this?"

Bryan Danielson: "You know what Gail, I think you pretty much summed it up right there. Punk came out on national television, hell, with practicually the whole world watching this eventually, and disrespected me. Saying that he doesn't think I'm the best wrestler in the world today and that I have an ego problem is disrespecting me. I'm not egotistical, I'm confident in my abilities. I'm the last ROH World Champion, never defeated for that belt. I've beaten everyone in that company and more, and you know what? I have more than sufficent grounds to call myself the best wrestler in the world. If you disagree with me, don't be like CM Punk and run your mouth, just come down to that ring and prove me wrong. Pin me, make me submit, knock me out, do whatever you have to do to win in there, and then maybe you can make an argument for why I'm NOT the best in the world. Maybe then I'll be willing to listen. But don't be like CM Punk and try to tell me I'm not the best when you've never beaten me in that ring, go out there and lose to me, and then offer me your hand like I should respect you now. Bullshit. You didn't show me the proper respect that someone of my stature deserves. I won't show you ANY respect after I beat your ass in the middle of that ring. And most of all, don't be like those fans out there, who boo me and curse my name for speaking nothing but the truth."

Gail Kim: "Alright. Now tonight, you're still undefeated at 3-0 in this competition, and if you can beat the Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels you'll just have Low Ki left this Saturday night before you end up with an undefeated 5-0 record and 10 points. Do you think you can beat both Daniels and Ki, two men you know very, very well, and have traded wins and losses with numerous times in ROH and elsewhere?"

Bryan Danielson: "Of course I do. Have you been listening to a word I've been saying?! I'm the BEST. WRESTLER. IN. THE. WORLD. Unless you think Daniels and Ki come from other planets- which is certainly possible in Daniels' case- that means I'm better wrestlers than they are. And I'm going to beat them both. Starting with Daniels- a man who I pinned last night by the way- tonight. Now Chris, don't worry. I'm not gonna try to shake your hand this time." (83%)

The final match of the evening, and the main event of the 4/17 afternoon event, put the Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels, 4 points to his name and looking to pull ahead of Ki & Punk, taking on the undefeated 3-0 Bryan Danielson. Carroll & Quinlan mentioned what Danielson said in his promo moments earlier, saying Danielson pinned Daniels in a tag contest with Shelley & Rave as their respective partners. They did mention, however, that mis-communication with Rave & Prince Nana at ringside played a significant part, which obviously won't have a roll in this match. Danielson and Daniels had a staredown at the start, the two men exchanging words with Daniels surely not happy with the American Dragon's early words, before Daniels started rocking Danielson with some hard forearm shots. Eventually AmDrag took the Fallen Angel down to the mat, however, and took control for a while. After controlling things on the mat, however, Daniels eventually fought back, and set Danielson up for the Angel's Wings. Danielson escaped, however, and nailed Daniels with another roaring forearm- the same move that beat Daniels last night. It didn't work tonight, however, as the Fallen Angel kicked out just after two. Danielson quickly followed-up by locking-in the Cattle Mutilation, and Daniels struggled in Dragon's signature hold for quite a while. Danielson suddenly switched over to the flash pin that beat Punk, but Daniels managed to kick out just before three! Bryan Danielson tried to follow-up with the crossface chickenwing as Daniels stood back up, but Daniels elbowed his way out of that, reversed behind Danielson, and soon dropped him to the mat with a spinning powerbomb. Daniels then climbed to the top and jumped up with the Best Moonsault Ever, colliding across Danielson's chest and covered him for the 1-2-....not three! Daniels tried to execute the Angel's Wings on the American Dragon again, but Danielson escaped once again, and then took Daniels down to the mat from behind with the crossface chickenwing! Daniels struggled in the hold for quite a while, but finally submitted to the hold, with no other choice. Danielson released the hold after the bell, climbing back to his feet with the smirk still on his face, having gone 4-0 in the competition and seemingly on his way to 5-0, as Junior Flash faded to black. (96%, 92%, 100%, *****)

Overall Show Rating: 88%

Attendances: 8,039 (4/16) and 8,027 (4/17)

TV Rating: 1.90

The following update was posted on the Pro Wrestling STAR website following the show's airing.

Full Results of 4/16 and 4/17 STAR-J Live Events, Including Non-Televised Matches, Plus Updated Standings of Both Junior Blocks

STAR-J Live, 4/16/06
The Pit- 8,039 Fans
1. Azrieal Trial Series Match #5: CIMA beat Azrieal in 8:09 with the Schewin.
2. Six-Man Tag Action: Juventud Guerrera, Jimmy Jacobs, & Shiima Xion beat Jay Lethal, Delirious, & Davey Andrews in 9:33 when Jacobs used an avalanche-style senton on Andrews.
3. Singles Preview Match #1: Ricky Reyes w/ Julius Smokes beat Matt Sydal in 7:32 with a Dragon sleeper.
4. Tag Team Attraction: James Gibson & Jimmy Yang beat Paul London & Minoru Fujita in 12:15 when Yang used Yang Time on Fujita.
5. Singles Preview Match #2: Jack Evans beat Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes in 8:43 with the 630.
6. Tag Team Preview Match: Bryan Danielson & Alex Shelley beat Christopher Daniels & Jimmy Rave w/ Prince Nana in 15:42 when Danielson used a roaring forearm on Daniels after mis-communication with Rave & Nana.
7. Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 4: AJ Styles & Homicide w/ Julius Smokes [6] beat. Special K (Deranged & Cheech w/ Cloudy) [0] in 5:08 when Styles used the Styles Clash on Cheech.
8. Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 4: Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong) [8] beat The Embassy (Spanky & Puma w/ Prince Nana) [2] in 17:55 when Aries used the 450 Splash on Puma.
9. Junior Hvwt. Block Round 4: CM Punk [4] beat Low Ki w/ Julius Smokes [4] in 24:59 with the figure four leglock.

STAR-J Live, 4/17/06
AT&T Center- 8,027 Fans
1. Opening Contest: Minoru Fujita, Delirious, & Davey Andrews beat Juventud Guerrera, Jimmy Jacobs, & Shiima Xion in 10:02 when Fujita used the BONEYARD on Shiima.
2. Azrieal Trial Series Match #6: Homicide w/ Julius Smokes beat Azrieal in 8:18 with a lariat.
3. Bonus Singles Match: CIMA vs. Jimmy Yang went to a draw in 20:00 when the time limit expired.
4. Four Corner Survival: Paul London beat Jay Lethal, AJ Styles, James Gibson in 16:38 when he used the London Star Press on Lethal.
5. Fallout Tag Team Match: Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong) beat Low Ki & CM Punk w/ Julius Smokes in 18:29 when Strong used a school boy on Punk after mis-communication with Julius.
6. Junior Hvwt. Block Round 4: Alex Shelley [2] beat Jimmy Rave w/ Prince Nana [2] in 18:44 with the Border City Stretch.
7. Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 4: Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes) [6] beat Jack Evans & Matt Sydal [2] in 23:10 when Romero pinned Sydal after the Cuban Missile Crisis.
8. Junior Hvwt. Block Round 4: 'American Dragon' Bryan Danielson [8] beat Christopher Daniels [4] in 27:21 with the crossface chickenwing.

You can head over to our online store now and pre-order the DVDs of both events for $24.95 (or $14.95 for each seperatley). You don't want to miss the uncensored, un-cut versions of both events, without any commerical breaks interrupting all those long league matches. And don't forget about all the matches not aired at all! On 4/16 this includes a major tag team preview match with strange partners of Bryan Danielson & Alex Shelley vs. Christopher Daniels & Jimmy Rave, as well as two big singles preview matches of Ricky Reyes vs. Matt Sydal and Rocky Romero vs. Jack Evans. Plus a major tag team attraction of James Gibson & Jimmy Yang vs. Paul London & Minoru Fujita, and much more.

4/17's event saw a major tag team match, as junior heavyweight tag block leaders Generation Next of Austin Aries & Roderick Strong took on the previous night's opponents of Low Ki & CM Punk. Plus the Pro Wrestling STAR debut of the ROH Four Corner Survival, a one-fall match featuring AJ Styles, James Gibson, Paul London, and Jimmy Yang. Plus a 20-minute draw with CIMA and Jimmy Yang that had the fans standing and applauding afterwards. You don't want to miss this!

With just one round left, which will conclude for both competitions on this Saturday's STARlight Worldwide, here's the updated standings for both junior blocks.

STARlight Openweight League Junior Heavyweight Block
1. Bryan Danielson [8]---5th Round: vs. Ki
2. Low Ki [4]---5th Round: vs. Danielson
2. Christopher Daniels [4]---5th Round: vs. Shelley
2. CM Punk [4]---5th Round: vs. Rave
5. Jimmy Rave [2]---5th Round: vs. Punk
5. Alex Shelley [2]---5th Round: vs. Daniels

STARlight Openweight Tag League Junior Heavyweight Block
1. Generation Next (Aries & Strong) [8]---5th Round: vs. Pitbulls
2. Havana Pitbulls (Reyes & Romero) [6]---5th Round: vs. GenNext
2. AJ Styles & Homicide [6]---5th Round: vs. Embassy
4. Jack Evans & Matt Sydal [2]---5th Round: vs. Special K
4. The Embassy (Spanky & Puma) [2]---5th Round: vs. AJ & Homicide
6. Special K (Deranged & Cheech) [0]---5th Round: vs. Evans & Sydal

March 30, 2006

STAR-Hard Hitting TV Report (4/20/06)

Broadcast on USA at 7/6c, matches previously taped from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin and the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas

This big week of Hard Hitting opened up with a six-man tag team match from yesterday's show in Austin, Texas, and the only non-league match of the night. Raven & Team 3-D (Brother Ray & Brother D-Von) came down to the ring first, followed by the trio of Monty Brown, Nigel McGuinness, & BJ Whitmer. The heel team dominated for the beginning minutes but Raven & 3-D soon fought back by trying to cut BJ off from his teammates. BJ eventually managed to tag in Brown, however, who cleaned house on the face team, before finally finishing off Brother Ray with a Pounce for the pinfall to give his team a dominating win. (87%, 86%, 88%, ****)

The next contest went to the 4/20 event from earlier this afternoon in Houston, and was the first of three STARlight Openweight League matches of the night. Two men who both needed a win to stay in contention, Christian Cage and Abyss, each with two points each, squared off in a desperate battle. Carroll & Quinlan brought up the result of last night's tag team match with Angle & Christian against Orton & Abyss, that ultimatley saw Abyss pin Christian with his Black Hole Slam. Abyss used his power moves to take control early but once again couldn't put his opponent away like he did last night, Christian avoiding Abyss' first attempt at the Black Hole Slam. Abyss pushed his way out of Christian's first Unprettier attempt as well, however, and caught him with a big boot to the face. He picked Christian up and hit him with a chokeslam, but Christian managed to kick out just after two. Abyss then went to pick Christian up on his back for the torture rack slam, but Christian dropped down behind Abyss, and then grabbed him from behind and executed the Unprettier! He covered Abyss for the 1...2....not 3, as Abyss managed to kick out just after 2! Christian set the monster up for the move again, but Abyss again pushed Christian out, and as Christian bounced off the ropes he grabbed him for the Black Hole Slam! However, Christian dropped out of it in mid-spin, being the first person ever to do that, and grabbed Abyss from behind and hit him with a second Unprettier! With the monster down, Christian covered him once more, and this time got the 1-2-3, moving him up 2 more points and keeping him in the mix for the elusive #3 spot. (86%, 88%, 84%, ***1/2)

We stuck with the 4/20 event as it was the first of the two final round matches in the heavyweight block of the STARlight Openweight Tag League. The 2-0 Saints of Trey pair of Brock Lesnar & Chris Masters, accomponied to the ring as always by Trey St. Parker, met on the duo of Matt Hardy & Colt Cabana. Carroll & Quinlan mentioned that the two tandems met one night earlier in Austin in untelevised matches, with Matt Hardy pinning Masters with an inside cradle, while Lesnar defeated Cabana with the F-5. Hardy & Cabana seemed more fired-up at the opening bell, and with good reason, as a loss here or even a draw would make their chances at the STAR-H Tag Team Titles completely impossible. Lesnar & Masters soon re-grouped and started fighting back, however, and cut off Cabana from his partner. After quite a while, however, Cabana tagged in Hardy who cleaned house on both men. He went for the Twist of Fate on Masters, but Masters pushed Hardy forward and dropped him hard with a clothesline. Masters then went to pick Hardy up, but Hardy suddenly surprised him with an inside cradle, the same move that pinned him last night! But this time, Masters managed to kick out just before the count of three. Hardy went for the Twist of Fate again, however, but this time Masters countered it by pushing Hardy forward again, but only slightly this time, and then grabbed Hardy from behind into the Masterlock! Lesnar held Cabana back in the ropes as Hardy struggled in the hold for quite sometime, but with no escape possible the referee called for the bell, giving Lesnar & Masters the win and giving them a perfect 3-0 record in the heavyweight tag block! (95%, 93%, 97%, ****1/2)

Carroll & Quinlan sent things to a segment taped backstage during the 4/19 event, with Gail Kim standing by with John Bradshaw Layfield.

Gail Kim: "John Bradshaw Layfield, you were the longest reigning WWE Champion in a decade...."

John Bradshaw Layfield: "You're damn right I was, Gail."

Gail Kim: "....but you haven't had much success in the STARlight Openweight League, with a 1-2 record- losses to both Orton and Christian and a DQ win against Abyss. With just two rounds left, you need to start picking up some wins, and fast. But unfortunately, your last two opponents are both undefeated in STARlight Openweight League competition as of the taping of this segment, both with 5 points and 2-0-1 records. Do you really think you can be the first person to beat both Samoa Joe AND Kurt Angle, or even one of them?!"

John Bradshaw Layfield: "What did you just say about me?"

Gail Kim: "Umm, what?"

John Bradshaw Layfield: "Before you went into all that malarkey about this here league."

Gail Kim: "About you being one of the longest reigning WWE champions in over a decade?"

John Bradshaw Layfield: "There you go! Let me make this 100% clear. Yes, I've had some moving pains in getting used to this new enviornment. But there is no way- NO WAY- that JBL is going down without a fight. I promise- no, I GUARENTEE you that I will not finish this league with just the two points I have now. As for the so-called 'Samoan phenom' that I'm facing here tonight, well, I'm not intimidated. Unlike everyone else who stepped foot into the ring with him, I'm not scared of him. Many others have called him a big fish in a small pond, and I still agree with them. Tonight, I'm going to prove it. That's all I need out of you, Gail." (80%)

JBL came down to his ring as STAR-Hard Hitting returned from its commerical break for the second STARlight Openweight League match of the night. Samoa Joe didn't seemed pleased with JBL's comments and attacked the former WWE Champion with hard slaps early on, backing him up into the corner and snarling at him. Eventualy he even mouthed "Big fish in a small pond, huh?" to JBL after a punch/chop combo in the corner. Finally, Joe hit JBL with a hard lariat for the first big near-fall of the match, with JBL seemed to take as an insult. He fired back with his own lariat attempt, but Joe ducked underneath it, then bounced off the ropes and caught JBL with his huge flying boot to the face for another big near-fall. JBL managed to avoid Joe's attempts at the rear naked choke, however, and eventually bounced off the ropes before dropping Joe with his hard own hard lariat! When he covered Joe, however, he only got two, as Joe managed to kick out just before the count of three, leading to Carroll & Quinlan wondering aloud just what it would take to beat the unbeaten Samoan! JBL looked in disbelief at first, then angrily stood back up and pointed at his arm, signaling for another lariat. As Joe stood back up, however, he turned and ducked the lariat attempt, caught JBL in the back of the head with an enziguri, then bounced off the ropes and wiped JBL out with another hard lariat of his own! Joe than hooked JBL's leg for the cover and got the 1-2-3, keeping Joe's winning streak alive and moving him up to a very comfy 7 points. (91%, 93%, 88%, ****)

STAR-Hard Hitting then went to another backstage segment taped during the 4/19 event, this time with Christy Hemme standing by with Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho.

Christy Hemme: "Benoit & Jericho. The two of you are perhaps legendary singles wrestlers and a succesfull team in your own right, with a former WWE Tag Title reign to your credit. However, you have just one point to your names here tonight, losing to the so-far unbeaten team of Brock Lesnar & Chris Masters in the first round and going to a thirty-minute draw with the team of Matt Hardy & Colt Cabana in the second round. You have to defeat the experienced, and yet also younger duo of America's Most Wanted, a team lead by the same man who lead Lesnar & Masters to victory over the two of you, Trey St. Parker, in moments here tonight. If you don't win, you definitely won't make it to the heavyweight tag block finals on 4/30 on PPV. Any last minute thoughts before you try to do just that?"

Chris Jericho: "You know Christy, everything you just said was right. We're down and out right now, Chris & I. But you know what? We've been down and out a lot in our careers, haven't we Chris?

Chris Benoit: "You're damn right we have Jericho. You know how many people said I'd never be a World Champion? Well they were ALL WRONG. Everyone says we're down, but we're not out."

Chris Jericho: "We might not be as young as these two here southeners, but you know what? I don't need a lasso, a cowboy hat, and Benoit doesn't need a drink bottle. And we damn sure don't need some flamboyant New Yorker with a giant brass ball."

Christy Hemme: "Alright, fair enough. My second question is, if you two are succesful tonight and you get the #2 spot in the heavyweight tag block, you'd be facing Lesnar & Masters again in the block finals, two men who defeated you decisivley during round-robin play. Do you think anything will be different if the four of you face-off again on pay-per-view."

Chris Benoit: "It was me last time who got pinned by Brock, so let me take this one. If we have a re-match, I will simply not allow myself to be dominated like I was last time. Size has been against me all my career, and you know what? I've overcome it before. And I'll overcome it again."

Chris Jericho: "And hey, I was in that match too and I was a loser too no matter who got pinned, so don't take all the blame yourself Chris. Size has never been in my favor either, but we still shouldn't have lost to two overgrown apes like Lesnar & Masters. Tonight we're gonna go out there and prove it wasn't the zookeeper who made the difference. And on April 30th, on Pro Wrestling STAR's first-ever pay-per-view, we're going to even the score with Lesnar & Masters. Well, except for the whole part where we walk away with the STAR-H Tag Team Titles and a shot at the Openweight Tag Titles and all." (83%)

The final match to air in the heavyweight block of the STARlight Openweight Tag League was next, as America's Most Wanted, with Trey St. Parker, were out first. Carroll & Quinlan mentioned that Lesnar & Masters defeated Hardy & Cabana as we saw earlier, so the winner of this match will rank at #2 in the block and move on to pay-per-view to face Lesnar & Masters in the finals. They did point out that both teams lost to the Saints of Tray duo already in league play. AMW seemingly were out with something to prove, cutting Jericho off from his partner early and working him over for quite some time. When they finally tried to set Jericho up for the Death Sentence, however, Benoit came in and stopped that, hanging Harris up on the top rope, while Jericho fought off Storm before the referee forced Benoit back into his corner. After a little while longer, Jericho was finally able to make the hot tag to Benoit, and Benoit cleaned house on both members of AMW. Eventually Trey St. Parker even got up on the apron, but Benoit punched him off, knocking him into the guardrail on the floor! Benoit was rolled up by Storm from behind in a school boy, however, and the crowd gasped as Storm got the 1-2-....not 3, as Benoit managed to kick out just in time! As Benoit started fighting off Storm, Harris tried to get in and make it a 2-on-1, but Jericho charged into the ring and took both himself and Harris over the top rope and to the outside. Left alone with Storm, Benoit quickly took him down to the mat and locked him into the Crippler Crossface, and Storm struggled before finally being forced to submit, giving Benoit & Jericho their first win in the league, 2 points, and moving them on to the finals against Lesnar & Masters! Jericho & Benoit celebrated their huge win by climbing up onto the top turnbuckles as AMW helped their fallen manager to the back. (97%, 94%, 100%, *****)

Finally, the featured contest of the evening was the main event from this afternoon's show in Houston, as Kurt Angle faced Randy Orton in the final match of the second-to-last round in the STARlight Openweight League. Orton clearly had much more to lose here with just two points going into his second-to-last match, while Angle still wanted to keep up with Joe in the race for the lucrative #1 spot, after Joe beat JBL last night in Austin. They both fought hard from the opening bell, with Orton rocking Angle with hard European uppercuts. He went for the RKO early but Angle countered, pushing Orton out, and soon went for the Angle Slam early as well. Orton dropped down behind Angle, however, and rolled hiim up with a school boy for a close near-fall. Later, Orton seemed to be getting Angle in position for the RKO once more, but when he ran forward for the move Angle ducked down and sent Orton up and over the top rope behind him! After Orton hit the ground on the outside hard, Angle came up over the top rope with a crossbody to the floor, a move not normally seen by him! Angle then threw Orton back in and went for a cover, but only got 2. After the close 2 count, Angle tried to lock in the ankle lock, but Orton quickly scrambled for the ropes for a break. Angle responded by pulling the straps down, and went to hit Orton with the Angle Slam. Again Orton dropped down behind Angle, however, and then grabbed him and hit him with the RKO out of nowhere, showing why that move was so deadly! He covered Angle for the 1...2...not 3, as Angle managed to get his right foot on the bottom rope to stop the count! Orton angrily argued with the referee, and that would ultimatley cost him, as he turned around and right into a hard series of right hands from Angle, followed by the Rolling Germans. With Orton down, Angle finally locked in that ankle lock in the center of the ring. Orton tried to kick Angle off, several times in fact, but Angle stayed on, and Orton finally had no choice but to tap out, giving Kurt the win and keeping him undefeated in the STARlight Openweight League as well! Angle celebrated the win, climbing to the top rope and taking in the crowd's adulation, as a major edition of STAR-Hard Hitting faded to black. (97%, 96%, 99%, *****)

Overall Show Rating: 90%

Attendances: 9,007 (4/19) and 9,059 (4/20)

TV Rating: 5.39

The following was posted on the official Pro Wrestling STAR website following the airing of the show.

Full Results of 4/19 and 4/20 Standings, Updated Heavyweight Singles Block Standings & FINAL Heavyweight Tag Block Standings, Updated STARlight Worldwide Card

STAR-H Live, 4/19/06
Frank Erwin Center- 9,007 Fans
1. Singles Preview Match #1: Matt Hardy beat Chris Masters w/ Trey St. Parker in 9:08 with an inside cradle.
2. Six-Man Tag Action: Monty Brown, Nigel McGuinness, & BJ Whitmer beat Raven & Team 3-D (Brother Ray & Brother D-Von) in 11:52 when Monty used the Pounce on Ray.
3. Singles Preview Match #2: Brock Lesnar w/ Trey St. Parker beat Colt Cabana in 8:44 with the F-5.
4. Tag Team Preview Match: Randy Orton & Abyss beat Kurt Angle & Christian Cage in 15:34 when Abyss used the Black Hole Slam on Christian.
5. Heavyweight Block Round 4: Samoa Joe [7] beat John Bradshaw Layfield [2] in 22:07 with a lariat.
6. Heavyweight Tag Block Round 3: Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho [3] beat America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm w/ Trey St. Parker) [2] in 24:19 when Benoit used the Crippler Crossface on Storm.

STAR-H Live, 4/20/06
Toyota Center- 9,059 Fans
1. Opening Contest: Nigel McGuinness beat Brother Ray w/ Brother D-Von in 7:55 with the Tower of London.
2. Tag Team Attraction: Raven & Shelton Benjamin beat Monty Brown & BJ Whitmer in 10:28 when Shelton used the modified T-Bone on Whitmer.
3. Fallout Six-Man Tag: Samoa Joe, Chris Benoit, & Chris Jericho beat John Bradshaw Layfield & AMW (Chris Harris & James Storm w/ Trey St. Parker) in 17:32 when Joe used a rear naked choke on Harris.
4. Heavyweight Block Round 4: Christian Cage [4] beat Abyss [2] in 18:52 with the Unprettier.
5. Heavyweight Tag Block Round 3: Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar & Chris Masters w/ Trey St. Parker) [6] beat Matt Hardy & Colt Cabana [1] in 25:19 when Masters used the Masterlock on Hardy.
6. Heavyweight Block Round 4: Kurt Angle [7] beat Randy Orton [2] in 22:19 with the ankle lock.

You can head over to our online store now and pre-order the DVDs of both shows for $24.95 (or get them individually for $14.95 each). The main events of both shows were given ***** by Scott Keith and you need to see them both the way they were meant to see, without commerical interruptions! And dont' forget about all the unaired matches- on 4/19 two big singles preview matches with Chris Masters vs. Matt Hardy and Brock Lesnar vs. Colt Cabana, as well as a huge tag team preview match with Randy Orton teaming up with the monster Abyss against the Olympic hero Kurt Angle & Christian Cage. On 4/20 you missed a huge fallout six-man tag that had the crowd rocking, with Samoa Joe, Chris Benoit, & Chris Jericho taking on the team of JBL & America's Most Wanted. Don't miss out on all that and much more, order your DVDs today!

Now then, here's the updated standings of the two heavyweight blocks. The singles block will conclude its round-robin play this Saturday night live on STARlight Worldwide, while the tag block competition has already concluded, and we know we will see Lesnar & Masters vs. Benoit & Jericho in the heavyweight tag block finals on 4/30, live on pay-per-view!

STARlight Openweight League Heavyweight Block
1. Samoa Joe [7]---5th Round: vs. Abyss
1. Kurt Angle [7]---5th Round: vs. JBL
3. Christian Cage [4]---5th Round: vs. Orton
4. John Bradshaw Layfield [2]---5th Round: vs. Angle
4. Randy Orton [2]---5th Round: vs. Christian
4. Abyss [2]---5th Round: vs. Joe

STARlight Openweight Tag League Heavyweight Block FINAL RANKINGS
1. Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar & Chris Masters) [6]
2. Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho [3]
3. America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm) [2]
4. Matt Hardy & Colt Cabana [1]

And here is the updated STARlight Worldwide card for this Saturday's live NBC event. No match changes but just the updated point numbers for all the matches.

Saturday, April 22nd: STARlight Worldwide Live on NBC!
From the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas
Junior Hvwt. Block Round 5: Bryan Danielson [8] vs. Low Ki w/ Julius Smokes [4]
Heavyweight Block Round 5: Kurt Angle [7] vs. John Bradshaw Layfield [2]
Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 5: Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong) [8] vs. Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes) [6]
Junior Hvwt. Block Round 5: CM Punk [4] vs. Jimmy Rave w/ Prince Nana [2]
Heavyweight Block Round 5: Christian Cage [4] vs. Randy Orton [2]
Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 5: AJ Styles & Homicide w/ Julius Smokes [6] vs. The Embassy (Spanky & Puma w/ Prince Nana) [2]
Junior Hvwt. Block Round 5: Christopher Daniels [4] vs. Alex Shelley [2]
Heavyweight Block Round 5: Samoa Joe [7] vs. Abyss [2]
Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 5: Jack Evans & Matt Sydal [2] vs. Special K (Deranged & Cheech w/ Cloudy) [0]
Dark Match: Saints of Tray (Chris Masters & AMW w/ Trey St. Parker) vs. Matt Hardy, Colt Cabana, & Shelton Benjamin
Dark Match: James Gibson, Jimmy Yang, & Azrieal vs. Paul London, Minoru Fujita, & Davey Andrews
Dark Match: Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho vs. Monty Brown & BJ Whitmer

April 5, 2006

STARlight Worldwide TV Report (4/22/06)

Broadcast LIVE on NBC from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas

This week's huge episode of Worldwide opened up with the first of three final round matches in the Junior Heavyweight block of the STARlight Openweight Tag League, as Jack Evans & Matt Sydal took on Special K of Deranged & Cheech (along as usual with Cloudy). Deranged & Cheech were looking to keep themselves from going down without any points in the league, and fought against their young opponents hard early. Evans & Sydal however were too much for the two young Special K members to handle, Sydal finishing off Cheech with a Shooting Star Press to give them a decent 2-3 record in the league. (80%, 78%, 83%, ***1/4)

Up next was the first of the final round matches in the Heavyweight Block of the STARlight Openweight League, as the so-far undefeated (3-0-1) Samoa Joe took on the monster Abyss, with a disappointing 1-4 record heading into this match. Seemingly realizing that this was his last shot to have a shot at the #3 spot, Abyss fought hard with Joe early, blasting Joe with hard shots and power moves early. Joe escaped an attempt at a Black Hole Slam, however, stopping himself from coming into Abyss' waiting arms by using the ropes, then charged forward and caught him upside the face with his flying boot to the face, then followed up with a senton for a near-fall. He picked Abyss up and tossed him into the corner before putting him up on the top rope and setting up for the Muscle Buster. As the crowd gasped in amazement by Joe's strength in putting Abyss up, he dropped him down to the canvas with the move and covered for the 1-2-3, keeping Joe's undefeated streak- and perhaps also his shot at the coveted #1 spot in his block- alive. (91%, 90%, 92%, ****1/4)

STARlight Worldwide went backstage to Christy Hemme standing by backstage with the Fallen Angel, Christopher Daniels.

Christy Hemme: "Christopher Daniels, up next you'll be in your final round match with one Alex Shelley of Generation Next. You're currently grid-locked in a three-way tie with CM Punk and Low Ki at second. After tonight two of you will make it into the final night of the junior heavyweight block a week from tomorrow, while one of you will be left out. So if you lose tonight, you could very well be out of the competition for the STAR Junior Heavyweight Title and a spot in the STARlight Openweight Title decision contest. Is this match really a win-or-go-home situation for you?"

Christopher Daniels: "Absolutley. People have said to me the past few days 'oh Chris, you don't really need to win on Saturday, Danielson is undefeated and he's beaten Ki before and Rave has beaten Punk before. If you lose you'll still be in the hunt' and I said to them, bullshit. I don't want to leave my destiny, nor do I plan to leave my destiny, in the hands of Bryan Danielson and Jimmy Rave. Because it is my destiny to be not just the STAR Junior Heavyweight Champion, but also the STARlight Openweight Champion, and despite some bumps in the road, when I win tonight I'll go to a succesfull 3-2 and I'll make up for both those losses in the final night playoff next Sunday night. Because I am definitely the first STAR Junior Heavyweight Champion, and I believe I am also your first STARlight Openweight Champion as well. And that is the gospel, according to the Fallen Angel." (90%)

Alex Shelley took on Christopher Daniels next in the first of the three final junior heavyweight block matches next, with a hungry Shelley looking to improve his record above his currently dismal 1-3 while Daniels was looking to cement his spot in the top 3. Daniels went for the Last Rites early but Shelley scored with several knees to the face to break it up. Shelley tried to fire back with an equally earty attempt at the Shell Shock but Daniels elbowed out of that as well. Daniels later used the Koji Clutch on Shelley but Shelley managed to make it to the ropes after quite some time struggling in the hold. Daniels signaled for the Angel's Wings to follow up but Shelley pulled on Daniels' tights as he turned around and sent him through the ropes and to the outside. He gained an advantage by tossing him into the steps on the floor, and later threw him back in and used the Border City Stretch to try and get the submission. Daniels, just like Shelley however, made the ropes to break it up. A frusturated Shelley set Daniels up for a superkick, but Daniels caught the foot and clotheslined Shelley down. He called for the Angel's Wings again, but when he went to pick Shelley up Shelley suddenly countered and went behind with a school boy. The referee began counting and was out of place to notice Shelley grabbing the middle rope with his right hand as he counted the three, giving Shelley a cheap victory! Shelley slid to the outside and celebrated as the crowd angrily screamed at him, while Daniels looked enraged and frusturated at once in the ring. (91%, 92%, 91%, ****1/4)

The next junior heavyweight tag block saw the so-called "dream team" of AJ Styles & Homicide along as always with Julius Smokes, taking on the Embassy of Spanky & Puma, accomponied by Prince Nana. Carroll & Quinlan mentioned that Styles & Homicide were looking to pick up the win here to cause a possible 3-way tie for first if Homicide's stablemates Reyes & Romero were able to defeat GenNext later on tonight. Spanky & Puma, meanwhile, were seemingly just out to get themselves a second win in the competition and get a less embarassing record of 2-3 rather than 1-4. Unfortunately for them that attempt was a failure as Homicide scored with a hard lariat on Puma for the pinfall victory. Spanky and Nana deridied Puma for losing yet another fall and leaving the Embassy at a disappointing 1-4 record in the openweight tag league. (91%, 89%, 94%, ****1/4)

Up next was a battle between two wrestlers to remain alive in the hunt for the #3 spot in the heavyweight block, as Christian Cage took on Randy Orton. Cage came in with four points already and had a chance to clinch the spot here, while Orton had the chance to probably take the spot himself with a win here (as with both at 4 points he'd get a tiebreaker nod due to a direct win over Cage). Cage and Orton fought hard because of how much was on the line, and Christian nearly set-up the Unprettier first but Orton managed to push his way out of that. Later, Orton went for the RKO but Christian simiuarily shoved Orton forward before scoring with a leg lariat. Christian picked Orton up trying to set him up for an Unprettier again, but Orton countered again, this time rolling Christian up with a school boy for a close near-fall. Finally Orton managed to score with the RKO out of nowhere and covered Christian for the 1-2-3, moving him into a tie with Christian with four points each, and as of now the third place spot due to his direct win over Christian here tonight. (97%, 94%, 100%, *****)

Up next was a major junior heavyweight block match, with CM Punk having a chance to cement a top three spot taking on the Embassy's Jimmy Rave with Prince Nana. These two longtime rivals from their ROH days traded some hard blows back-and-forth before Punk took Rave down to the mat and went for the Anaconda Vice early. Rave quickly made it to the ropes, however, and escaped the hold. Rave later went for the Greetins from Ghana, but when Punk fought it he took him down to the mat instead into a double underhook submission. Punk, however, made it to the ropes just as Rave did earlier. Later Punk hit the Welcome to Chicago for a close two count. When he went for the Anaconda Vice again, however, Rave reversed it into a backslide for an even closer near-fall that had Nana going nuts when the referee revealed it was only two. Rave followed up with Ghanarea but it wasn't enough to put Punk away. So Punk again set Rave up for the Greetings from Ghana, but this time Punk immediatley reversed it with a back body drop, and kept his arms hooked around Rave's as he landed on top for the 1-2-3! Punk slid out of the ring after picking up the win with a flash pin on his old rival. Punk smirked at Rave as he earned another two points in the competition, and cemented his spot in the top 3. (94%, 92%, 96%, ****1/2)

The final match of the junior heavyweight tag block saw the undefeated 4-0 duo of Generation Next, Austin Aries & Roderick Strong, taking on Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero, along with as usual Julius Smokes. The match was a long classic tag team contest, with both teams taking turns cutting off a member of the opposite team. First GenNext cutting off Romero and later the Havana Pitbulls cutting off Aries. The Pitbulls seemingly had GenNext done for with the Cuban Missile Crisis on Aries, but Strong managed to get in there and break that up for a two count. That would be the last major near-fall of the match as the thirty-minute time limit of the match expired, making it a draw and giving each team one point in the competition. Carroll & Quinlan said this means GenNext rank in at #1, AJ & Homicide at #2, and the Pitbulls at #3, making next Sunday's play-off for the junior heavyweight tag block of AJ & Homicide vs. the Pitbulls with the winners taking on GeNNext in the finals. Will we see a re-match of this thirty minute draw next Sunday night? (88%, 86%, 90%, ****)

Up next came the final heavyweight block match of the night, as the undefeated 3-0-1 Kurt Angle looked to stay tied with Samoa Joe for the #1 spot and force a play-off, taking on the 1-3 John Bradshaw Layfield. JBL shockingly scored with his hard lariat in the first minute of the match, and immediatley covered for a close two count. JBL tried to set it up again, but Angle managed to duck it this time and counter with a crucufix hold for an early near-fall as well. Things calmed down somewhat after that with Angle trying to go to work on JBL's lower leg and ankle to try and set-up the ankle lock. Angle eventually went for the hold but JBL kicked Angle off rather quickly and scrambled for the ropes. Angle pulled the straps down and scored with a clothesline on JBL and grabbed the ankle lock once more. Angle stuck on with JBL's first two attempts at kicking off, but when he tried to stumble up the third time, instead of kicking off he grabbed the referee and threw him to the outside. Angle released the hold with no reason to keep it locked-in and rolled to the outside, picked the referee up, and tossed him back in. When he rolled back into the ring, however, he was suddenly caught with a second lariat from JBL after he managed to limp back to his feet, and despite lacking the power behind it of the first one, he still managed to pick up the three count after covering Angle and deliver Angle his first direct loss in not just the STARlight Openweight League, but in all of Pro Wrestling STAR as well! Carroll & Quinlan said that not only does this mean Joe gets the #1 spot and Angle gets the #2, but it means we have a three-way tie at #3 with JBL, Orton, and Christian! (93%, 94%, 91%, ****1/4)

STARlight Worldwide went backstage to Gail Kim next just moments before the show's main event.

Gail Kim: "I'm standing by here with the man here who's 4-0 in the STARlight Openweight League, the American Dragon Bryan Danielson. Bryan, tonight you go one-on-one with a man who has beaten you before, in Low Ki. Do you feel like you might suffer your first one-on-one loss here tonight?"

Bryan Danielson: (sarcastically) "Oh definitely. Low Ki, or as I like to call him, Respectfully Angry Karate Man, will kick me so hard my head will roll off of my body, and he'll hold my beheaded shoulders down to the mat for a three count."

Gail Kim: "Bryan, I was expecting a serious answer here..."

Bryan Danielson: (angrily) "Then ask me a serious question! What part of 'best wrestler in the world' don't you understand, Gail? Forget this. I'll just go out there and show you." (83%)

The main event contest was the final match in the STARlight Openweight League, as the 4-0 leader of the junior heavyweight block 'American Dragon' Bryan Danielson took on old rival Low Ki, accomponied to the ring by Julius Smokes. Ki and Danielson traded hard kicks early before Danielson took Ki to the mat and attempted to neutralize him on the mat. This proved unsuccesfull, however, as Ki fired off his kicks from a variety of different positions on the mat. Danielson eventually retreated to the outside, only to have Ki chase him around the ring. This gave Danielson the chance to roll back in and then pounce on Ki with some hard knees to the head, and allow him to take control for a while. Eventually Danielson attempted to lock Ki into the Cattle Mutilation, but Ki managed to get his foot on the bottom rope quickly to break up the submission. Danielson later tried for the crossface chickenwing but again Ki grabbed onto the ropes quickly (this time while still in a standing position). Danielson tried to score with a roaring elbow next, but Ki ducked underneath it and fired off on Danielson with a hard series of kicks to the legs and chest. With Danielson down on the mat, Ki went to the top and hit the top-rope double stomp to the chest. He was delayed in going for the cover due to Danielson's earlier work on his legs, however, and finally crawled over and draped one arm over Danielson.....for two. Ki set Danielson up for the Ki-Krusher '99, but Danielson reversed out of that and again grabbed Ki from behind in the crossface chickenwing, this time succeeding in taking him down to the mat! Ki struggled in the hold for quite some time before he finally got his left foot on the bottom rope, again breaking up another big submission attempt by Danielson. Danielson angrily climbed up to the top, perhaps a rare strategic mistake by Danielson, as Ki managed to throw himself into the ropes and crotch him up there. Ki climbed to the top rope and, with time rapidly running out on the 30-minute time limit, grabbed Danielson and executed with a top-rope Ki-Krusher '99, not seen since Ki's non-title win over then-ROH World Champion Austin Aries on 6/12/05. Ki managed to drape one arm over Danielson as the announcer was counting down the last ten seconds of the time limit, but the referee got the three count in with just three seconds left, giving Low Ki the huge win over the previously undefeated Bryan Danielson! Low Ki's arm was raised as Carroll & Quinlan congratulated Ki on a huge victory, and another major edition of STARlight Worldwide faded to black. (99%, 100%, 100%, *****)

Overall Show Rating: 91%

Attendance: 9,036

TV Rating: 7.67

The following update was posted on the Pro Wrestling STAR website following the event.

Full Worldwide Results With Dark Matches, Final Rankings in All STARlight Blocks, Tie-Breaker for Heavyweight Block #3 Announced

STARlight Worldwide, 4/22/06
American Airlines Center- 9,036 Fans
1. Dark Match: Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho beat Monty Brown & BJ Whitmer in 8:41 when Jericho used the Walls of Jericho on Whitmer.
2. Dark Match: Paul London, Minoru Fujita, & Davey Andrews beat James Gibson, Jimmy Yang, & Azrieal in 9:35 when London used the London Star Press on Azrieal.
3. Dark Match: Matt Hardy, Colt Cabana, & Shelton Benjamin beat Saints of Tray (Chris Masters & AMW w/ Trey St. Parker) in 9:57 when Hardy used the Twist of Fate on Harris after mis-communication with Masters.
4. Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 5: Jack Evans & Matt Sydal [4] beat Special K (Deranged & Cheech w/ Cloudy) [0] in 9:17 when Sydal used a Shooting Star Press on Cheech.
5. Heavyweight Block Round 5: Samoa Joe [9] beat Abyss [2] in 13:48 with the Muscle Buster.
6. Junior Hvwt. Block Round 5: Alex Shelley [4] beat Christopher Daniels [4] in 18:12 with a school boy while holding the middle rope.
7. Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 5: AJ Styles & Homicide w/ Julius Smokes [8] beat The Embassy (Spanky & Puma w/ Prince Nana) [2] in 15:39 when Homicide used a lariat on Puma.
8. Heavyweight Block Round 5: Randy Orton [4] beat Christian Cage [4] in 22:39 with the RKO.
9. Junior Hvwt. Block Round 5: CM Punk [6] beat Jimmy Rave w/ Prince Nana [2] in 23:10 with a flash pin after reversing Greetings from Ghana.
10. Junior Hvwt. Tag Block Round 5: Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong) [9] vs. Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes) [7] went to a draw in 30:00 when the time limit expired.
11. Heavyweight Block Round 5: John Bradshaw Layfield [4] beat Kurt Angle [7] in 21:09 with a lariat.
12. Junior Hvwt. Block Round 5: Low Ki w/ Julius Smokes [6] beat Bryan Danielson [8] in 29:57 with an avalanche-style Ki-Krusher '99.

Pre-order your DVD of the event now for just $14.95 at our online store with full, uncut, commerical-free versions of both *****-ranked matches as well as three unaired dark matches. Don't miss your chance to relive this major event featuring the final rounds of the round-robin play!

Final Openweight League & Openweight Tag League Standings

STARlight Openweight League

Heavyweight Block
1. Samoa Joe [9]
2. Kurt Angle [7]
3. Christian Cage [4]
3. John Bradshaw Layfield [4]
3. Randy Orton [4]
6. Abyss [2]

Junior Heavyweight Block
1. Bryan Danielson [8]
2. CM Punk [6]*
3. Low Ki [6]*
4. Alex Shelley [4]**
5. Christopher Daniels [4]**
6. Jimmy Rave [2]
*Punk ranks above Ki due to direct win on 4/16.
**Shelley ranks above Daniels due to direct win on 4/22.

STARlight Openweight Tag League

Heavyweight Block
1. Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar & Chris Masters) [6]
2. Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho [3]
3. America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm) [2]
4. Matt Hardy & Colt Cabana [1]

Junior Heavyweight Block
1. Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong) [9]
2. AJ Styles & Homicide [8]
3. Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero) [7]
4. Jack Evans & Matt Sydal [4]
5. The Embassy (Spanky & Puma) [2]
6. Special K (Deranged & Cheech) [0]

Tie-Breaker for #3 STARlight Openweight League Heavyweight Block Spot Announced

With a three-way tie at #3 in the STARlight Openweight League Heavyweight Block, a tie-breaker has been ordered by Pro Wrestling STAR commisioner Jim Cornette. Christian Cage, Randy Orton, and John Bradshaw Layfield will meet in the main event of the 4/27 STAR-H live event, in a three-way elimination match. The match will be televised later that night on STAR-Hard Hitting. The first man eliminated will end up at #5, the second man will get the #4 spot, and the winner of the match will get the coveted #3 spot, a ticket to 4/30's heavyweight block play-off in the semi-final against the #2 Kurt Angle.

The winner will also compete in the major interpromotional main event on the 4/29 STARlight Worldwide, teaming up with Angle & #1 ranked Samoa Joe to face their top 3 counterparts of the junior heavyweight block, Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, & Low Ki. The two losers, meanwhile, will also team up on Saturday to face America's Most Wanted.

Stay tuned for the full cards of this week's events, as well as an early 4/30 PPV card!

April 5, 2006

The following update was posted on the Pro Wrestling STAR website a few hours later.

Full Card Announced for 4/23-4/29 Week of STAR Competition, Plus Parital 4/30 PPV Card Announced

This week features the lead-up to STAR's first-ever PPV event next Sunday, STARlight First Shining, featuring the playoffs from all four blocks to determine the first-ever champions, as well as who goes into the 2 out of 3 series for the STARlight Openweight titles on 5/14. It all culminates with the first-ever interpromotional matches this Saturday night on 4/29 on STARlight Worldwide that you won't want to miss!

Sunday, April 23rd: STAR-J Live- Some Matches Taped for 4/24 Junior Flash
From the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio
Main Event: Bryan Danielson & CIMA vs. Homicide & Low Ki w/ Julius Smokes
First Time Ever Singles Match: AJ Styles vs. James Gibson
GenNext vs. Pitbulls Singles Match #2: Austin Aries vs. Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes
Revenge of the Embassy: The Embassy (Jimmy Rave, Spanky, & Puma w/ Prince Nana) vs. CM Punk, Paul London, & Davey Andrews
Rematch from the Openweight League: Alex Shelley vs. Christopher Daniels
GenNext vs. Pitbulls Singles Match #1: Roderick Strong vs. Ricky Reyes w/ Julius Smokes
Tag Team Attraction: Juventud Guerrera & Jimmy Jacobs vs. Jay Lethal & Delirious
Six-Man Tag Action: Special K (Deranged, Cheech, & Cloudy) vs. Jimmy Yang, Minoru Fujita, & Azrieal
Opening Contest: Matt Sydal w/ Jack Evans vs. Shiima Xion

Monday, April 24th: STAR-J Live- Some Matches Taped for 4/24 Junior Flash
From the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio
Eight-Man Faction Warfare: The Rottweilers (Homicide, Low Ki, Ricky Reyes, & Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes) vs. Generation Next (Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, Alex Shelley, & Shiima Xion)
Singles Main Event: CM Punk vs. AJ Styles
Four Corner Survival: Bryan Danielson vs. Christopher Daniels vs. CIMA vs. Paul London
Revenge of the Embassy Part II: The Embassy (Jimmy Rave, Spanky, & Puma w/ Prince Nana) vs. Christopher Daniels, James Gibson, & Jay Lethal
Singles Attraction: Juventud Guerrea vs. Minoru Fujita
Six-Man Tag Action: Special K (Deranged, Cheech, & Cloudy) vs. Jack Evans, Matt Sydal, & Delirious
Opening Contest: Jimmy Jacobs vs. Azrieal

Wednesday, April 26th: STAR-H Live- Some Matches Taped for 4/27 Hard Hitting
From the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, Iowa
Main Event: Samoa Joe vs. Chris Masters w/ Trey St. Parker
Rematch from the Openweight League: Randy Orton vs. Christian Cage
Six-Man Tag Action: Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar & AMW w/ Trey St. Parker) vs. Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, & Chris Jericho
Singles Attraction: Monty Brown vs. Colt Cabana
Four Corner Survival: Matt Hardy vs. Nigel McGuinness vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. BJ Whitmer
Opening Contest: Team 3-D (Brother Ray & Brother D-Von) vs. John Bradshaw Layfield & Abyss

Thursday, April 27th- STAR-H Live- Some Matches Taped for 4/27 Hard Hitting
From the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin
Heavyweight Block #3 Tie-Breaker: Randy Orton vs. Christian Cage vs. John Bradshaw Layfield
Saints of Trey vs. the World: Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar, Chris Masters, & AMW w/ Trey St. Parker) vs. Samoa Joe, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, & Colt Cabana
Singles Attraction: Matt Hardy vs. Abyss
Tag Team Attraction: Monty Brown & BJ Whitmer vs. Team 3-D (Brother Ray & Brother D-Von)
Opening Contest: Colt Cabana vs. Nigel McGuinness

Saturday, April 29th- STARlight Worldwide Live on NBC!
From the All-State Arena in Rosemont, Illinois
Interpromotional Main Event #2: Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle, & Orton/Cage/JBL Winner vs. Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, & Low Ki w/ Julius Smokes
Interpromotional Main Event #1: Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar & Chris Masters w/ Trey St. Parker), Chris Benoit, & Chris Jericho vs. Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong), AJ Styles, & Homicide w/ Julius Smokes
Tag Team Grudge Match: Generation Next (Alex Shelley & Shiima Xion) vs. Christopher Daniels & Jack Evans
Uneasy Partners: Orton/Cage/JBL Losers vs. America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm w/ Trey St. Parker)
Pitbulls' Warm-Up Match: Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes) vs. CIMA & Jimmy Jacobs
Tag League Partners Collide: Matt Hardy vs. Colt Cabana
Four Corner Survival: James Gibson vs. Jimmy Rave w/ Prince Nana vs. Paul London vs. Juventud Guerrera
TV Show Opening Match: Abyss vs. Shelton Benjamin
Dark Match: Special K (Deranged, Cheech, & Cloudy) vs. Minoru Fujita, Jay Lethal, & Azrieal
Dark Match: Monty Brown vs. Raven

Sunday, April 30th- STARlight First Shining Live on PPV!
From the United Center in Chicago, Illinois
(parital card with block playoffs only- full card will be released following 4/29 Worldwide event)
Heavyweight Block Finals: Samoa Joe vs. Semi-Final Winner
Junior Heavyweight Block Finals: 'American Dragon' Bryan Danielson vs. Punk-Ki Winner
Heavyweight Tag Block Finals: Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar & Chris Masters w/ Trey St. Parker) vs. Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho
Junior Heavyweight Tag Block Finals: Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong) vs. Styles/Homicide-Pitbulls Winners
Heavyweight Block Semi Finals: Kurt Angle vs. Orton/Cage/JBL Winner
Junior Heavyweight Block Semi Finals: CM Punk vs. Low Ki w/ Julius Smokes
Junior Heavyweight Tag Block Semi Finals: AJ Styles & Homicide vs. Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero)

Edited April 7, 2006 by Xias

April 6, 2006

STAR-Junior Flash TV Report (4/24/06)

Broadcast on MTV at 7/6c, matches previously taped from the Hara Arena in Dayton, OH and the Gund Arena in Cleveland, OH

This week's episode of STAR-Junior Flash kicked off the week-long countdown to STARlight First Shining, as Carroll & Quinlan introduced us to a somewhat-unique episode of the program. Unique in that just one of the six aired matches tonight would come from today's earlier event in Cleveland, with the other five all coming from yesterday in Dayton. That one match from the Gund Arena was the opening match of this broadcast, as the winless Special K trio of Deranged, Cheech, and Cloudly took on the trio of Jack Evans, Matt Sydal, & Delirious. Evans, Sydal, & Delirious dominated the opening minutes of the match, knocking the Special K trio from the ring and hitting simultaneous dives. Delirious entertained the crowd by running around the ring and speaking in tounges for a while after that, but eventually Special K fought back and cut him off from his partners. They worked over Delirious until they were able to set up an innovative move off the top- Cheech grabbed Delirious off the top turnbuckle in a powerbomb position while Deranged jumped up off the top rope and hit a reverse rana on Delirious at the same time as the powerbomb! Deranged then covered Delirious while Cheech and Cloudy kept Evans & Sydal from breaking things up, and one three count later Special K finally had their first win! How did they celebrate that win? By dancing with glowsticks, of course. (79%, 74%, 85%, ***1/4)

Up next we went to the Hara Arena for the first of two GenNext vs. Havana Pitbulls singles matches, as Roderick Strong, one-half of the #1 ranked team in the junior heavyweight block, faced-off against Ricky Reyes, one-half of the #3 team. Carroll & Quinlan explained these two matches were booked following the GenNext vs. Pitbulls 30-minute draw in the last round of STARlight Openweight Tag League play this past Saturday night, and that they could be previews to a no-time limit re-match this Sunday on PPV. If the Pitbulls could beat the #2 ranked team, AJ Styles & fellow Rottweiler Homicide, that is. Anyway, Reyes and Roderick traded hard chops and forearms early, with Strong lighting up Reyes' chest as he always seems to do. Reyes however was unable to score with his trademark dragon sleeper, and after a half-neslon backbreaker by Roderick he locked-in the Strong Hold in the center of the ring. With his knee deep in Reyes' back, Reyes had no choice but to tap-out, giving Strong the big win. (91%, 82%, 100%, ****1/2)

Backstage we went for an interview taped at the Hara Arena.

Gail Kim: "I'm standing by here with a man who had high hopes for himself in the STARlight Openweight League, but thanks to some questionable tactics by one Alex Shelley in his final round match, he has found himself finishing at #5 instead- and out of the competition. That man is the Fallen Angel, Christopher Daniels. Chris, you can't be feeling all that great tonight."

Christopher Daniels: "On one hand, that's true. I've said all along that it was my destiny not just to be the STAR Junior Heavyweight Champion, but the STARlight Openweight Champion as well. But one man stood in front of my path to my destiny and temporarily slowed its ascent. And that man is you, Alex Shelley. Alex Shelley. A man of opprotunity. A man who takes every opprotunity he has in front of him, no matter what new low he must sink to and what man he must screw. You know what Alex? I can respect that. I used to do that myself, all the time. But unfortunately for you, Alex, you screwed the wrong man this time. You screwed the Fallen Angel out of his rightful destiny. Now then Gail, like I said, on one hand I'm not feeling all that great tonight. But on the other hand, I'm feeling damn good. Because in just a few moments, I get my hands on the man who screwed me out of my rightful destiny, and I get my chance at a little revenge. I understand after talking to Pro Wrestling STAR commisioner Jim Cornette that this was not a match that Alex Shelley wanted, and I don't blame him. At the same time I thank Mr. Cornette for giving me what I deserve- a chance at revenge. So Alex, when we both get down to that ring, take my advice and start running. Run as fast as you can. Because when I get my hands on you, it won't be salvation that you feel. It'll be something very different. And that's the gospel, according to the Fallen Angel." (96%)

Up next was the re-match between Shelley and Daniels, and Shelley did indeed take Daniels' advice and run from him at the opening bell. Daniels chased Shelley around the ring, but when he rolled back in and Daniels followed, Shelley pounced on him with several hard boots to the face and took control. Shelley's early attempt at the Shell Shock once again didn't come through, however, and Daniels reversed before clotheslining him down to the mat and then leaning over and pummeling him with hard lefts and rights. The referee eventually pulled Daniels off, however, and when Daniels argued with the referee Shelley rolled him up from behind, grabbing the tights, but only got a two count. Daniels then nailed Shelley out of nowhere with the Angel's Wings, but rather than go for the cover he pointed up at the top rope, apparently wanting to beat Shelley with the Best Moonsault Ever. When he got to the top, however, suddenly fellow GenNext member Shiima Xion came out of nowhere and crotched Daniels up on the top rope! Shelley slowly recovered as the referee yelled at Xion, climbing to the middle rope and grabbing Daniels before hitting him with the Air Raid Crash off the top! Shelley covered Daniels and got the 1-2-3, giving him another big- and yet also tainted- win over the Fallen Angel! After the bell rang Shiima slid into the ring and he and Shelley began putting the boots to Daniels, when out from the back ran Jack Evans & Matt Sydal, the former GenNext members! Evans & Sydal chased Shelley & Xion from the ring and helped Daniels up from the canvas as the crowd cheered their assistance of the Fallen Angel. (92%, 93%, 92%, ****1/4)

Up next was a six-man tag pitting The Embassy of Jimmy Rave, Spanky & Puma with Prince Nana against the trio of CM Punk, Paul London, & Punk's protege Davey Andrews (who came out with Punk). The match was billed as the "Revenge of the Embassy" as the Embassy was looking to bounce back from very disappointing results in the STARlight Openweight & Openweight Tag leagues. Rave, Spanky, & Puma all used hard blows on Punk's trio early, especially taking apart Davey. Punk & London fought back however, stopping Davey from being the whipping boy of the contest. Punk eventually locked-in the Anaconda Vice on Spanky but Rave & Puma dived into break that up. Later Rave used the Greetings from Ghana on London but Punk & Davey dived in to break that up. Finally as Rave & Spanky clotheslined Punk & London over the top and brawled with them around ringside, leaving Puma and Davey in the ring as Puma grabbed Davey from behind with the Tiger suplex, holding on with a bridge for the 1-2-3, giving The Embassy a major win here in Dayton. (85%, 84%, 87%, ***1/2)

The second match of the Havana Pitbulls vs. GenNext singles matches saw Rocky Romero, with Julius Smokes, taking on Austin Aries. The former ROH World Champion dominated Romero early, putting Romero in position for the brainbuster, but Romero fought out with his high knees to the head and just as quickly took Aries down to the mat with a cross armbreaker. Aries managed to make it to the ropes, however, getting his right foot on the bottom rope to break up the submission. Later, Aries and Romero traded hard strikes, a battle won by Aries as he knocked Romero down to the mat with a roaring forearm. When he climbed to the top to go for a 450 Splash, however, Romero charged up to the top rope and brought Aries down to the mat with a cross armbreaker off the top! Romero stretched out Aries' arm as Aries struggled in the pain but finally submitted to Romero, giving him a huge upset win over the former ROH World Champion! (92%, 84%, 100%, ****1/2)

Now we went backstage again in the Hara Arena where Christy Hemme had two more Rottweilers with her.

Christy Hemme: "I'm standing by backstage here with two men in the main event, Homicide & Low Ki. Both of you are heading into huge matches this Sunday night on PPV, Homicide teaming up with AJ Styles against fellow Rottweilers the Havana Pitbulls in the junior heavyweight tag block semis, while Low Ki is taking on CM Punk in the junior heavyweight block semis. But tonight, you're teaming up with each other for the first time in a long time to face the #1 ranked man in that block, 'American Dragon' Bryan Danielson, along with his tag team partner CIMA. Any thoughts?"

Low Ki: "Last night, live in front of the entire nation, I, Low Ki, once again proved that I am one of the top athletes in professional wrestling today. I beat the American Dragon, Bryan Danielson, one-on-one, becoming the first person to do that. But unlike the American Dragon, I am not overconfident. I am not overly cocky. I know that I am not unbeatable. In fact, the man that I am facing this Sunday night, one CM Punk, beat me during round robin competition. Sunday night I will get my chance to pay Punk back and defeat him, and I am promising you now that I will be succesfull in this. If I am right, and I do indeed defeat Punk, I will take on the American Dragon again. And if I beat Dragon again, you are looking at the first STAR Junior Heavyweight Champion. Tonight, Dragon, consider it a preview of what you have to look forward to on Saturday."

Homicide: "I'm always up for backing up my boy Ki, and we're gonna win tonight. But I'm gonna win on Saturday too, and even though AJ & I are up against my fellow Rottweilers, let me make it clear. 187's always been out for himself first and foremost, and I want some gold. So that's what I'm gonna go get. Now let's go Ki."

Ki seemed to look at Homicide with a less-than-favorable look before he followed him down to the ring. (94%)

The final match of the night was the main event tag team match from last night's show in Dayton, as Homicide & Low Ki teamed up to face the 'American Dragon' Bryan Danielson & CIMA. Danielson avoided Ki early, not wanting to tag in with him, so we started with CIMA & Ki. Ki dominated CIMA with his hard kicks but CIMA eventually fought back and threw him into the ropes, choking him on the middle rope as Danielson joined in. But finally Ki got the tag to Homicide who cleaned house on CIMA & AmDrag. Later Ki finally got his hands on Dragon and drove him from the ring with his hard kicks, leading to Danielson walking out of the ringside area. CIMA angrily yelled at him to get back into the ring, only to get hit from a lariat by Homicide, while Ki climbed up to the top rope and used his double stomp right into the chest of CIMA, covering for the win. As Ki pinned CIMA he pointed at Danielson, who looked more than a little nervous as he backed up the aisle. Ki continued to point at Danielson as Junior Flash faded to black. (93%, 91%, 95%, ****1/2)

Overall Show Rating: 90%

Attendances: 9,050 (4/23) and 9,233 (4/24)

TV Rating: 2.01

The following update was posted on the Pro Wrestling STAR website following the show's airing.

Full Results of 4/23 and 4/24 STAR-J Events, Including Non-Televised Events

STAR-J Live, 4/23/06
Hara Arena- 9,050 Fans
1. Opening Contest: Matt Sydal w/ Jack Evans beat Shiima Xion in 8:03 with a Shooting Star Press.
2. Six-Man Tag Action: Jimmy Yang, Minoru Fujita, & Azrieal beat Special K (Deranged, Cheech, & Cloudy) in 9:32 when Azrieal used the Electric Chair Driver on Cloudy.
3. Tag Team Attraction: Juventud Guerrera & Jimmy Jacobs beat Jay Lethal & Delirious in 8:49 when Juventud used the Juvy Driver on Delirious.
4. GenNext vs. Pitbulls Singles Match #1: Roderick Strong beat Ricky Reyes w/ Julius Smokes in 9:25 with the Strong Hold.
5. Rematch from the Openweight League: Alex Shelley beat Christopher Daniels in 13:48 with an avalanche-style Air Raid Crash after Shiima Xion interfered.
6. Revenge of the Embassy: The Embassy (Jimmy Rave, Spanky, & Puma w/ Prince Nana) beat CM Punk, Paul London, & Davey Andrews in 16:31 when Puma used a Tiger suplex hold on Andrews.
7. GenNext vs. Pitbulls Singles Match #2: Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes beat Austin Aries in 12:07 with an avalanche-style cross armbreaker.
8. First Time Ever Singles Match: AJ Styles vs. James Gibson went to a draw in 20:00 when the time limit expired.
9. Main Event: Homicide & Low Ki w/ Julius Smokes beat Bryan Danielson & CIMA in 17:08 when Ki used an avalanche-style double stomp on CIMA.

STAR-J Live, 4/24/06
Gund Arena- 9,233 Fans
1. Opening Contest: Jimmy Jacobs beat Azrieal in 7:03 with the Contra Code.
2. Six-Man Tag Action: Special K (Deranged, Cheech, & Cloudy) beat Jack Evans, Matt Sydal, & Delirious in 8:39 when Deranged pinned Delirious after a powerbomb/rana combination.
3. Singles Attraction: Minoru Fujita beat Juventud Guerrea in 12:33 with the BONEYARD.
4. Revenge of the Embassy Part II: The Embassy (Jimmy Rave, Spanky, & Puma w/ Prince Nana) beat Christopher Daniels, James Gibson, & Jay Lethal in 15:57 when Rave used the Rave Clash on Lethal.
5. Four Corner Survival: CIMA beat Jimmy Yang, Bryan Danielson, Paul London in 16:32 when he used the Schewin on Yang.
6. Singles Main Event: CM Punk vs. AJ Styles went to a draw in 20:00 when the time limit expired.
7. Eight-Man Faction Warfare: The Rottweilers (Homicide, Low Ki, Ricky Reyes, & Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes) beat Generation Next (Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, Alex Shelley, & Shiima Xion) in 18:02 when Reyes pinned Shiima after the Cuban Missile Crisis.

At our online store you can now pre-order the DVDs of both events for $24.95 (or $14.95 each). On 4/23 although you saw most of the show, you missed out on a huge 20-minute draw between AJ Styles and James Gibson that had the fans on their feet in Dayton giving them both a standing ovation when it was over. You also had a great tag team attraction with Juventud Guerrera & Jimmy Jacobs against Jay Lethal & Delirious, as well as a great opening match with Matt Sydal against Shiima Xion.

On 4/24, all you saw was the Special K six-man tag, and you missed a lot more you'll want to pick up the DVD for right away! The double main event featured an eight-man faction warfare with Generation Next clashing with the Rottweilers in a huge match, while CM Punk and AJ Styles wrestled to another incredible 20-minute draw. In a four corner survival Bryan Danielson, Paul London, CIMA, and Jimmy Yang clashed with CIMA looking to get revenge on AmDrag for walking out on him on 4/23. The Embassy continued their revenge in six-man tag action with Rave, Spanky, & Puma taking on Christopher Daniels, James Gibson, & Jay Lethal. All this plus two big singles matches with Minoru Fujita vs. Juventud Guerrera and Jimmy Jacobs vs. Azrieal and much more!

Edited April 6, 2006 by Xias

April 6, 2006

Unfortunately I lost my STAR-Hard Hitting TV deal this week, as I realized because my risk level was above the USA Network's early-evening risk level. But I never got any warnings about that so it's still weird. Oh well. Here's the results from the two STAR-H results below, along with the updated card for Worldwide (with the correct wrestlers in the main event and the tag match with AMW). Hard Hitting TV reports will return whenever I get a new TV deal for it.

STAR-H Live, 4/26/06
Iowa Events Center- 9,039 Fans
1. Opening Contest: John Bradshaw Layfield & Abyss beat Team 3-D (Brother Ray & Brother D-Von) in 8:32 when JBL used a lariat on D-Von.
2. Four Corner Survival: Matt Hardy beat BJ Whitmer, Nigel McGuinness, Shelton Benjamin in 8:48 when Hardy used the Twist of Fate on Whitmer.
3. Singles Attraction: Monty Brown beat Colt Cabana in 10:03 with the Pounce.
4. Six-Man Tag Action: Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, & Chris Jericho beat Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar & AMW w/ Trey St. Parker) in 12:35 when Benoit used the Crippler Crossface on James Storm.
5. Rematch from the Openweight League: Christian Cage beat Randy Orton in 15:34 with the Unprettier.
6. Main Event: Samoa Joe vs. Chris Masters w/ Trey St. Parker went to a draw in 20:00 when the time limit expired.

STAR-H Live, 4/27/06
Resch Center- 9,321 Fans
1. Opening Contest: Colt Cabana beat Nigel McGuinness in 8:55 with a sunset flip.
2. Tag Team Attraction: Team 3-D (Brother Ray & Brother D-Von) beat Monty Brown & BJ Whitmer in 9:35 when D-Von pinned Whitmer after the 3-D.
3. Singles Attraction: Abyss beat Matt Hardy in 10:38 with the Black Hole Slam.
4. Saints of Trey vs. the World: Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar, Chris Masters, & AMW w/ Trey St. Parker) beat Samoa Joe, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, & Shelton Benjamin in 18:33 when Lesnar used the F-5 on Benjamin.
5. Heavyweight Block #3 Tie-Breaker: Randy Orton beat Christian Cage, John Bradshaw Layfield
-Cage pinned JBL in 14:02 with the Unprettier.
-Orton pinned Cage in 18:37 with the RKO.

Saturday, April 29th- STARlight Worldwide Live on NBC!
From the All-State Arena in Rosemont, Illinois
Interpromotional Main Event #2: Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle, & Randy Orton vs. Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, & Low Ki w/ Julius Smokes
Interpromotional Main Event #1: Saints of Trey (Brock Lesnar & Chris Masters w/ Trey St. Parker), Chris Benoit, & Chris Jericho vs. Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong), AJ Styles, & Homicide w/ Julius Smokes
Tag Team Grudge Match: Generation Next (Alex Shelley & Shiima Xion) vs. Christopher Daniels & Jack Evans
Uneasy Partners: Christian Cage & John Bradshaw Layfield vs. America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm w/ Trey St. Parker)
Pitbulls' Warm-Up Match: Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero w/ Julius Smokes) vs. CIMA & Jimmy Jacobs
Tag League Partners Collide: Matt Hardy vs. Colt Cabana
Four Corner Survival: James Gibson vs. Jimmy Rave w/ Prince Nana vs. Paul London vs. Juventud Guerrera
TV Show Opening Match: Abyss vs. Shelton Benjamin
Dark Match: Special K (Deranged, Cheech, & Cloudy) vs. Minoru Fujita, Jay Lethal, & Azrieal
Dark Match: Monty Brown vs. Raven

Edited April 7, 2006 by Xias

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