Bobby Lashley. Photo credit: gerweck.net

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SUNDAY~! WWE Great American Bash 2007 - Sunday July 22, 2007 - H.P. Pavilion, San Jose, CA
1. WWE Championship Match: John Cena vs. Bobby Lashley
2. World Heavyweight Championship Match: The Great Khali vs. Batista vs. Kane
3. ECW World Championship Match: John Morrison (Johnny Nitro) vs. CM Punk
4. WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Umaga vs. Jeff Hardy
5. Texas Bullrope Match: Randy Orton vs. Dusty Rhodes
6. WWE Women's Championship Match: Candice Michelle vs. Melina
7. WWE United States Championship Match: Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) vs. Matt Hardy
8. Singapore Cane on a Pole Match: Sandman vs. Carlito
9. WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match: Chavo Guerrero vs. Jimmy Wang Yang vs. Funaki vs. Jamie Noble vs. Shannon Moore

At the house show last night they did a run-through of the main event with Lashley turning on Cena and beating the crap out of him afterwards, basically turning heel to the live crowd. We may see that either tonight or tomorrow on Raw. This show does not look good on paper. The Smackdown title match looks absolutely horrific, though it may be horrific to an entertaining degree. I'm sure every smoke and mirror trick imaginable will be utilized. Cena vs. Lashley may be pretty good. Morrison vs. Punk for the ECW Title could be a pretty good match if anyone cares about them. Their angle on Tuesday was the only thing that anyone cared about, but at the same time you have to consider that the rest of the show had one of the deadest crowds I've ever seen. Umaga and Jeff Hardy or MVP vs. Matt Hardy may end up stealing the show. Sandman vs. Carlito should be fun in a perverse sort of way, and I personally expect Dusty vs. Orton to at least be entertaining. It will be interesting to see them try a bullrope match without any sort of strangulation or hanging spots. Probably a lot of bleeding by Dusty and a lot of walking around by Orton, but Dusty can build a hell of a match with just those spots. Cruiserweight title match should be fine, and I don't have high hopes for the women.

We'll be doing live ongoing play-by-play here on the front page with help from Admin Nailz and Anchor from the BOARD~! Vinny and I will also be up with a special audio show late tonight discussing this PPV in detail for members. Show should be up by 1:00 AM PST. Because of the PPV, Wrestling Observer Live tonight is a taped show.

There is a statement from the Kronus family here.

Konnan is expected to undergo kidney replacement surgery at UC-San Diego tomorrow. Yes, his donor found through an online drive was compatible. Best wishes to him.

WWE creative team member Court Bauer, formerly of MLW, is through with WWE after a blow-up with Michael Hayes. This had been building up for awhile.

John Cena vs. Sean Spears for the WWE Title (if he's still champion) headlines the OVW Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom show on Friday night, July 27th. Casey James will also face Jerry Lawler, with Kenny Bolin and MINI BOLIN~! in James' corner. If you haven't heard it yet, you have to check out the Kenny Bolin Figure Four Daily from last Wednesday where he explained how Mini B came into existence. OVW is expecting 5,000 fans for this show based on Cena's appearance, which would be an all-time record.

Speaking of OVW, Cryme Tyme won the Southern Tag Titles last night over the James Boys.

This week's new 25,000-word Figure Four Weekly newsletter is packed with pro-wrestling and MMA news and analysis from around the world! Our cover story looks at the results of the Benoit family toxicology reports and what it all means. We'll look at the drugs that were found in Chris, Nancy and Daniel's systems, what they are used for and what doses they were in. We'll discuss the testosterone vs. steroids debate, what the government says about the issue, and what WWE is trying to claim. We'll break down Chris' T/E ratio, explain what it means, and look at what it would have meant in any other sporting organization in the world that tests for drugs. Also, what the coroner said about Nancy's BAC, what this reveals about the manner of Daniel Benoit's death, what the media wanted to know about the situation, whether or not it was roid rage, WWE's official response to the situation, quotes from other steroid and drug experts as well as the head of WWE's drug policy, the results of Benoit's previous tests, what friends said about his recent steroid use, tons of notes on the media over the past few days, including thoughts on McDevitt and Dr. Black on Nancy Grace and other shows, what Black was trying to claim about replacement therapy and what the truth is, a raid on Dr. Astin's office and what they found, the latest on his case and when it might go to court, tons of notes from the funeral of Nancy and Daniel, who showed up, who did not show up, what people were saying about Vince in the days after the death as compared to what they're saying about him now, what the backstage reaction to toxicology was, what made Vince 1000 times more angry that same day, how the WWE stars were prepped before being sent out, why Vince chose Fit Finlay and others in particular, a real list of dead wrestlers that is not sensationalized like the ones you see on TV, how all these people died and what it shows, a huge rant about Ken Kennedy both in his blog and on TV, the blatant lies he told and what the truth is, Cena also looking bad, update on Olympic ratios, the exact wording of the WWE policy and a look at how similar it is to the NFL policy, Congressman looking into regulation, my thoughts on regulation and whether it's even possible, a look at what would be necessary for it to happen, drug testing in MMA and how it works, more WWE names revealed as patients of Dr. Astin, NFL players also dying young and why, Ted DiBiase speaks out and a look at all that he said, Booker T on Benoit's death, another Benoit story I don't think I've ever told, Angle on the tragedy, notes on what the WWE schedule really is like as opposed to what people are claiming, notes on Benoit's diary that he wrote to Eddy Guerrero, and tons more. The coverage is definitely not slowing down on this story, but we also made room for tons of other non-Benoit-related stories, including a look at the Victory Road PPV, star ratings for all the matches and backstage notes, a blow-up backstage at WWE, what it was about and who calmed Vince down, which writer is getting abused regularly by Vince, new World Champion, the circumstance behind it and what happened, the Smackdown title curse, WWE lawsuit regarding JBL, Mark Henry with some great quotes about life in WWE, Flair off TV, ratings news and notes, UFC and Spike close to huge deal, plans to run another major state, line-ups for a number of upcoming UFC shows, two new stars backstage at TNA Sunday, why one of them is ridiculous this week but it's really no surprise, this person's history of being fired from companies, TNA backstage person released, plans for some babyface and heel turns, big lucha show in LA results, yet another Iron Sheik story, Scott Hall wrestles Carlito this week (seriously), tons of other MMA, indy and Mexican news notes, Vince reviews Florida Brothers Volume I, I review DERBY CITY WRESTLING, the OVW developmental group, full reviews of every major TV show including Raw, Smackdown, and TNA, and TONS more! Of course, as a member you also get full access to ALL new and archived radio shows dating back to 2005, plus all the new and archived (280-plus issues) Figure Four Weekly newsletters dating back to 2001. To sign up, please click here, or PayPal users can use the Quick Buy link at the top of this page to be online within 60 seconds. Rates start at just $7.99 per month (27 cents a DAY), so it's a steal. Thanks for your support!

Our latest FREE radio show, the July 17 Bryan & Vinny Show, can be downloaded here.

My newest Fight Network column is here with a look at hope for change in the pro-wrestling business. If you like the columns, they're about 1/25th the length of each issue of Figure Four Weekly, and we've got 300 back issues archived from 2002-today, all available 24/7 with an online membership to this site. See below for more info and ordering details.

To access our first ten days of coverage of the Benoit tragedy, which includes links to dozens and dozens of articles, radio and TV links, and more, please click here.

JR's latest blog

Story on the upcoming MMA film Redbelt

Story on CM Punk by Mike Mooneyham

Jason Chambers looks at Human Weapon

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