WWE No Mercy 2007 (Night of the WWE Championship)

WWE No Mercy 2007

I originally wasn't planning on writing about this pay-per-view, in fact I was doing a bit of research on different title reigns and their was a mention of this show and its three WWE title matches.

THREE WWE TITLE MATCHES? ON ONE SHOW?

I totally forgot about this pay-per-view, even though I loved it at the time and was extremely excited for it to happen. Basically, the RAW previous to this show had a match between the then WWE Champion, John Cena, and Mr. Kennedy. During this bout, John Cena tore his right pectoral muscle

(At the 1:40 mark, you can see Cena give Mr. Kennedy an awkward hip toss)

The injury caused a huge issue as Cena was set to defend the WWE title against Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing Match that Sunday at WWE No Mercy 2007. John Cena was expected to be out 6-8 months. The WWE Championship was vacated and it was announced that a decision for the title would be made by Vince McMahon at No Mercy. 

The show started with Vince McMahon, alongside William Regal, stating that he was there to give the fans what they want..all the while, the AllState Arena filled with 13,000 Chicagoans were chanting Y2J, Y2J, Y2J...they were quickly shut down as Vince replies, "I'm not gonna give you that..."

The reason why the crowd was chanting this was because previous to this event, WWE had been playing mysterious hype videos about a 2ND COMING...they went on for several weeks but fans had already figured out that it must be for the soon-to-be returning Chris Jericho. 

However, Chris Jericho wasn't set to return to action till December for the Armageddon pay-per-view. Although a return in the city where he originally debuted for the WWF might have helped his 2007 run start off a bit hotter. 

After cutting off the Y2J Chants, Mr. McMahon simply announces that Randy Orton is the NEW WWE Champion. 

This is actually Randy Orton's very 1st WWE Championship victory...and he didn't beat anyone for it. William Regal announces that Orton is still required to defend the WWE title tonight but he may choose his opponent. The crowd picks up the Y2J chants, and Vince angrily cuts them off again. You can tell that Vince was visibly upset that the audience had already known that Jericho was set to return. 

Triple H comes out and challenges Orton to a WWE title match. Randy quickly says No. HHH quips back saying "I don't blame you, if I was you, I wouldn't want my 2nd title reign to be shorter than my 1st" making reference to HHH ending Orton's 1 month World Title reign. HHH then continues to goad Vince about being an old insecure man. This makes Vince pissed off enough to make HHH vs. Orton for right here, right now. This pay-per-view is kicking off with an impromptu WWE title match, which has to be a first.

This was an exciting way to start off the night, very unpredictable. The crowd is loud and emotionally invested into this bout. The action goes back and forth, until Orton hits probably his sickest 2nd rope DDT. After this, Randy goes for a RKO, gets pushed off into a pedigree attempt, which Orton reverses as well. Next thing you know, Triple H rolls up Orton, 1, 2, 3! 

TRIPLE H WINS THE WWE TITLE in the opening match. Randy Orton's first WWE title reign lasted a whole 20 minutes. In the 1st 30 minutes of this show, we have had 2 new WWE Champions. 

After this match, we get a 'special' 6 Man Tag Team match. You can tell that this pay-per-view was totally altered due to John Cena's injury. 

Jeff Hardy (IC Champion), Paul London, and Brian Kendrick vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch (Tag Champions), and Mr. Kennedy

I enjoyed London and Kendrick as a tag team, and if they would have been in today's tag division they might have had more success. They were multi-time tag team champions, but never featured. Mid to Late 2000's was definitely a down period for tag wrestling. This was a fun bonus match for the crowd, but it is telling that the IC Champion and Tag Champs are in a non-advertised matchup. Then again, a lot of this pay-per-view is essentially a non-advertised matchup. Mr. Kennedy leaves No Mercy victorious after a Green Bay Plunge from the top rope on Paul London.

(The Green Bay Plunge)

Backstage, Vince tells Triple H that his matchup with Umaga is still on as advertised, but it is now for the WWE Championship! In less than an hour, we have had the WWE title awarded to Randy Orton, then the WWE title won by Triple H, and now a WWE title match made for later on in the night. Next up is the ECW World title match. This was during an odd period in WWE in which their were three "World" titles, the WWE title for RAW, the World Championship for Smackdown, and the ECW World Championship for the ECW brand. 

So not only are we getting three WWE Championship matches tonight, they also have an advertised World Title Matchup & up next the ECW Championship is on the line as CM Punk defends against Big Daddy V, formerly known as Viscera...formerly known as Mabel.

Before you could even get settled in, this match is quickly DQ'd by Big Daddy V's manager, Matt Striker. Once Punk took Big Daddy V off his feet, Striker immediately got the match thrown out. This was done to continue the feud, and most likely for time constraints in the night. I assume originally this match would have had at least 10 minutes. Punk, who was spitting up blood, had to be carried out by the refs after Big Daddy V's attack.

Next up we transition to a Pizza Eating Contest between MVP and Matt Hardy.

...Pizza Eating Contest...Let me explain. 

Over the past several weeks, MVP & Matt Hardy, the Smackdown Tag Team Champions, had been having these non-wrestling competitions to decide who was better. These contests included arm wrestling, football, chess, basketball, push ups, and even a live boxing exhibition on Saturday Night Main Event... with Evander Holyfield!

But back at WWE No Mercy 2007, their upcoming contest was a Pizza Eating Contest. The host Taz brought out the "Judges" for this Deep-Dish Eating competition.. Melina & Maria. Beforehand, MVP notes that he is Mr. FedEX and that he always delivers, so he guarantees a victory in this contest. Both men have 2 minutes to eat as many slices as possible. Taz tries to interview both men during the eating contest...both men just mumble at Taz as their mouths are filled. MVP barely finishes 1 slice as Matt downs 2 huge deep dish slices. Matt Hardy looks sick afterwards and proceeds to throw up on MVP's nice white jacket. 

Pretty gross odd segment, but it continued the slow build of the MVP/Matt Hardy feud. While they were the WWE Tag Team Champions, MVP was also the US Champion so they were eventually building to these tag team partners finally going at it over MVP's singles championship. 

After this segment, we switch back to the RAW side of things with the 2nd WWE Championship matchup of the night, Umaga vs. Triple H. In the build up to WWE No Mercy, HHH had been insulting Mr. McMahon over being found to be Hornswoggle's biological father (...Yep)

 so Vince used the savage Umaga as a wrecking machine to take out the Game, Triple H. With Triple H winning the WWE championship earlier in the night, this matchup was made into a title match.

This was a solid albeit short bout that had Umaga no-selling any damage to his head and taking out HHH's ribs. Umaga stayed on the attack until he ended up head first into the ring pole and getting hit with a pedigree for the 3-count. HHH leaves with the WWE title, holding his possibly broken ribs.

The Smackdown side of things continue as Rey Mysterio is set to face Finlay. This match is based off Finlay attacking Rey Mysterio backstage without provocation. Finlay focuses on Rey's left arm/shoulder as this match stays at a slower pace than you'd expect from a Mysterio match. It doesn't really pick up till Rey gets on offense and quickens the pace. Finlay exposes a ring post so the ref can be distracted while he grabs his Shillelagh club. However, Mysterio cuts him off and drops the dime from the top rope causing Finlay to fall backwards out of the ring and smack his head. The ref calls for a stretcher. The crowd even cheers for Finlay as Rey shows remorse for hurting Finlay. Then out of no where Finlay jumps off the stretcher and ambushes Mysterio. This helps set up for their Stretcher Match at Cyber Sunday 2007.

Backstage, the doctor is checking on Triple H's ribs as Vince walks in. Mr. McMahon announces that Orton has requested his rematch clause tonight. Vince states it'll be a Last Man Standing match for the WWE Championship... "I mean, that is of course, if you can stand at all..."

We get our first Woman's matchup, which pits challenger Beth Pheonix vs. Candice Michelle (c) for the Woman's Championship. 

Beth stays in the control for the majority of the matchup, playing up the role of the Power Diva. Candice has a few moments with a huge cross body and some lucky roll ups but to no avail as Beth fisherman suplexes for the decisive win and the Woman's title. Afterwards, Beth cuts a quick promo saying the era of the 'Glamazon' has begun.

Up next was the World Heavyweight Championship matchup, Batista vs. The Great Khali in a Punjabi Prison Match.

Essentially it is a cage within a cage, made out of "steel reinforced" bamboo and the only way to win is to escape both cages. Inside the 1st cage are four doors that competitors can call for to be opened and they will stay opened for 60 seconds then shut closed for the remainder of the match. For the outer cage, you must climb up and over to escape and win the World Championship. The match type has only been used twice in WWE and this is the last one they have done; it is also the 1st that the Great Khali will be competing in. The 1st Punjabi Prison match was supposed to be Khali vs. Undertaker at Great American Bash 2006; unfortunately Khali had elevated liver enzymes and was not medically cleared, so he was replaced by Big Show.

Khali calls for the 1st door, but Batista stalls Khali and stops him from escaping. Khali does the same when Batista calls for the 2nd door. Khali uses a leather strap on Batista for a bit before calling for the 3rd door. Batista hits a huge spine buster but is unable to escape in time. The 60 second time limit may have been to much as both men have to stall awkwardly for the majority of the minute each time a door is opened. A 30 second time limit would have worked much better.

This matchup must have been impossible to view live as when the camera panned to an outside view you could barely see anything going on inside the ring. I actually went to Great American Bash 2006 and I remember during the Punjabi Prison match the audience had to basically watch on the titantron for most of the match.

Batista decides to just climb over rather than call for another door, but is cut off by Khali. Khali uses the vicegrip submission on Batista and calls for the 4th door. However, Batista hits a lowbrow on Khali and begins crawling towards the 4th and final door. Khali gets up and closes the door early on Batista as he is trying to escape; now the only way for them to escape the 1st cage is to climb over. Khali successfully climbs over the 1st cage while Batista is still laid out. Khali begins to climb the 2nd cage as Batista is over the first structure. Batista jumps from the 1st cage to the 2nd cage to try and catch up with the Great Khali. Its a race to who will get down first and Batista hurries enough to win the 'race' for the World Championship. 

...and one last time, we go back to the RAW side for the main event, a WWE Championship matchup once again, between Triple H and Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing Match. This is HHH's 3rd match of the night, and the 2nd match of the night for Randy Orton. Orton starts off by attacking the injured ribs of Triple H. Orton stays in complete control for quite awhile as HHH was unable to continue any offense even after getting a lucky hit in. Randy grabs some camera cables to attempt to choke out Triple H, which today would be a big No-No in WWE as that is an offense that got Daniel Bryan originally released in 2010. 

Orton eventually brings HHH out to ringside to RKO him through a table but ends up being reversed and tossed off to the side. After a close 10 count for both men, Hunter uses the ring steps to knock Orton door for a 9-count in this Last Man Standing match. A chair is brought into the fold by HHH, but is stopped and Orton lands a DDT onto the folding chair. This is followed up by a vicious RKO on a setup chair. 

HHH gets back up at the 9-count, bloodied and defiant, gives a DX crotch-chop motion to Orton before falling back down. Randy backs up to prepare for a punt that gets blocked and leads to Hunter hulking up before a sickening clothesline. The action continues on the outside with HHH continually hammering on the challenger, including a chairshot while Orton has his head setup in the stair steps. The match still continues so HHH sets up for a pedigree on the RAW announce table but instead receives an RKO for his trouble. This leads to a 10-count and AGAIN, the NEW WWE CHAMPION, RANDY ORTON. We end the broadcast how we started it, with the announcement of Randy Orton as the WWE Champion. 

Let's quickly recap the events of the WWE title tonight... the WWE title was stripped from an injured John Cena, awarded to Randy Orton, who proceeded to lose it to Triple H, who successfully defended it against Umaga, before losing it to Orton in a Last Man Standing match. On top of this, there were also three other championships defended tonight. This was a jam-packed night that was instigated by John Cena's injury. It was an exciting unpredictable night that was unlike any other WWE pay-per-view I have seen. Most WWE PPV's have matches that are heavily hyped for weeks, while WWE had to scramble to decide what to do last minute with the unexpected Cena injury. John Cena was rumored to lose the WWE title to Orton at No Mercy, so WWE still got the result they planned on but the route they took was unique. Cena was expected to be out 6-8 months but actually returned early and won the Royal Rumble 2008 as a surprise entrant. Randy Orton went on to feud with Shawn Michaels and the returning Chris Jericho before going on to face John Cena & Triple H in a triple threat at that year's WrestleMania. 

'Till Next Time!

WWF Slammy Awards 1996

Slammy Awards are an often forgotten Grammy wanna-be showcase in wrestling. However, I'm surprised that anyone who saw the 1996 edition actually could forget it, even if they wanted to! Watching this edition of the Slammies was sometimes cringeworthy, sometimes silly, sometimes hilarious, and at times just outright bizarre. 

This Slammy Awards took place the night before Wrestlemania XII, and thus it was purely an awards show with no wrestling. The ring was used as a stage with one section of the ropes removed.

The show started off with Todd Pettengill singing to the crowd. 

He sang parodies of different songs, intersplicing wrestlers names into the lyrics. This included singing about how sexy Shawn Michaels is, even discussing his thong underwear. Then went into a 'Addam's Family' theme rendition devoted to Goldust and a version of 'Hey Mickey' about the Ultimate Warrior. 

He ends it with a classic jab, "Screw you Ted Turner, Let's Start the Show"! Keep in mind this was during a period of time in which WCW was reigning supreme in wrestling. 

1st award of the night is presented by the Godwinns and Hillbilly Jim for Best Buns. 

Best Buns. Certainly a way to start off.

The highlight of this was the pretapes shown before the award presentation of the wrestlers salivating over nice "buns". Even the Undertaker was feelin' alive and said "nice asssss" in the same tone he would say, "Rest in Peace". What in the world... that was the most bizarre bit of audio to hear as Undertaker is in full dead-man attire. 

The nominees were Sunny, Goldust, Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, and Yokozuna. Yes, in that list is only one woman. We were treated to a minute long video showcasing each nominees "buns". 

Sunny won, but I wouldn't have put it past WWE to give the award to any other nominee. Sunny accepts the award in full dress and denies showing any of her "nice buns". 

Next up: Slammin' Jammin' Entrance presented by Ted Dibiase and Steve Austin. A young Stone Cold looks quite out of place in a full tuxedo get-up.

Nominees: Diesel, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Goldust

Goldust walked up, thinking he was going to be announced the winner. However, Shawn Michaels won this Slammy. HBK attempts a quick acceptance speech that he stammers a bit in but essentially gives some foreshadowing for his awe-inspiring entrance the next night at Wrestlemania XII. 

Before the WWE pushed its Smartphone app on you, or told you to go to WWE.com to vote, they shilled there 900 hotline!

People are typically apathetic towards voting during the Slammies nowadays, so I can't imagine asking them to pay 99cents per minute for the ability to do so. My guess was a lot of kids weren't getting that 'Parents Permission'. 

'Put a Fork in Him, He's Done' Award was next and it was the goofy 90's name for Best Finisher award. Bob Backlund and a rep. from Tyco RC Cars presented this award and they actually had a RC Car drive out the envelope to announce the winner, Bret the Hitman Hart and his Sharpshooter. Both men who are main-eventing Wrestlemania XII the next night have won a Slammy Award. Bret Hart uses his acceptance speech as an opportunity to push tomorrow nights huge 60 minute ironman match with Shawn Michaels.

Next up was the award for 'Crime of the Century' presented by Jim Cornette and Clarence Mason. Cornette makes fun of Pettengill's singing earlier in the night, and Clarence Mason goes on to cut a very poor promo about being an excellent defense attorney; he was not believable in the least.

Nominees were: 123 Kid quick-counts Razor, Sid powerbombs HBK, Vader attacks Gorilla Monsoon, Diesel powerbombs Bret, and Owen KO's HBK. The award was given to Vader for his vicious assault on former WWF President Gorilla Monsoon. Cornette proceeds to cut a promo hyping up Vader vs. Yokozuna. Vader looks very silly in a tux but atleast knew not to wear his mask...Well, until the '97 Slammy Awards

Next up was the presentation for the "New Sensation" of the WWF. They used this award to also hype up the "New Sensation" to the USA Network, 'Pacific Blue'. Never heard of this show...but they had performers from the show out to present this award. 

Nominees - Isaac Yankem D.D.S (Kane as a rookie in his Bad Dentist gimmick), Ahmed Johnson, Body Donnas, Savio Vega, and Goldust. The winner was Ahmed Johnson, and he cuts a solid humble baby face promo. Actually one of the best promos I've heard from Ahmed, who even gets in a few shots at WCW (WheelChair Wrestling). 

After those WCW shots, we get the introduction of 'Billionaire Ted'. 

This was a running gag that included parodying Ted Turner as 'Billionaire Ted', Hulk Hogan as 'Huckster', and Macho Man as 'Nacho Man' in which they were portrayed as WCW old timers in, and WWF was hosting the NEW GENERATION of young exciting talent. 

These skits had gone on for awhile and continued till Wrestlemania XII in which WWF presented the Huckster vs. Nacho Man with special ref Billionaire Ted. They had commentary done by Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler in a 'Mystery Science Theatre' manner. They presented them as ancient performers who 'expired' in the ring all the while Billionaire Ted couldn't care less about his performers. 

Billionaire Ted was there to present award for the 'I'm talking and I can't shut up' Biggest Mouth. Nominees were Dok Hendrix, Brother Love, Jerry the King Lawler, Jim Cornette, and Jim Ross. Billionaire announces Jerry the King Lawler the winner without even looking in the envelope. Not much of a surprise there. 

Best Threads award was presented next by Mr. Trivia & Fatale (Who?...no really, who?) and the Nominees were Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Mr. Perfect, Goldust, Ted Dibiase, and Shawn Michaels. HBK leaves with his 2nd Slammy Award of the night, thus far. HBK hands his award off to the woman who actually makes his ring-gear. The same presenter duo also hands out the 'Blue Light Special' award for Worst Dressed. The mini pre tapes shown before each award were the best part. 

This also included a hilarious pre tape of Undertaker saying "I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that".  Jim Cornette won 'Worst Dressed' award, and obviously was upset. Dok Hendrix couldn't have been any happier, clapping excitedly as he was sure he was leaving with that embarrassing award.

Goldust and Marlena are up next to present the next award, "WWF's Greatest Hit" but while walking upstage Vince McMahon mentions Goldust recent appearance on the Conan O' Brien show. 

Wait. What? Goldust was on Conan? Yes, yes he was. WWE fails to show you any footage of this, but instead here it is! Its certainly an interesting sight to see. 

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x128k8k_goldust-on-late-night-w-conan-o-brien-3-21-96_sport

Undertaker wins the Slammy for dragging Diesel underneath the ring during the Diesel/Bret Hart Steel Cage match. This award was given to hype up Undertaker vs. Diesel happening the next night at Wrestlemania XII. Goldust and Marlena leave and don't announcer a winner, selling that they were unhappy with the choice; Todd Pettengill announces Undertaker as the winner. The camera scans the room for any 'goth' looking girls and says the Undertaker has his 'Creatures of the Night' here.

Rob Perth, a USA Network exec., presents the award for 'Minds behind the Mayhem' (Best Manager) to Sunny, who is walking away with her 2nd Slammy of the Night. Sunny pushes for her own TV Show on USA Network, and the crowd goes wild at the thought of 30 straight minutes of just Sunny. Sunny was immensely popular, to the point of being AOL's 'Most Downloaded Woman of the Year'. 

Vince McMahon was introduced to give out the 'LifeTime Achievement Award' to Classy Freddie Blassie. This was given out before the WWF had its annual installment of the Hall of Fame. Similar to the Slammy Awards, the Hall of Fame was on-and-off for a bit but was brought back on a annual basis with formal announcements in 2004. 

Straight from Lifetime Achievement Award, we go straight to 'Most Embarrassing Moment' presented by none other than the Luke and Butch, the Bushwhackers. The award is given out to Jerry Lawler for being forced to kiss his own foot by Bret Hart. That's his 2nd Slammy for the night, who accompanies Sunny and HBK as winning two Slammy's thus far. Jerry Lawler should have won for his ridiculous mullet he has going on. 

Oddly enough, they transition to a Buddy Rose Blow Away Diet commercial. This was a gimmick Buddy Rose had upon returning to the WWF in 1990 as he had gained significant weight. WWF attempted to poke fun at this by giving him a fake weight loss commercial. 

However, this was in 1990... and they brought it back up during the 1996 Slammy Awards and Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler made weight loss jokes (Call 1-900-LARDASS to Order). 

This was even more out of place considering Buddy Rose was not in WWF or WCW at the time, so the shot seemed pointless and out of nowhere. 

Hunter Hearst Helmsley is out next to present the award for 'Squared Circle Shocker'. Nominees included Goldust debut, Barry Horowitz 1st victory, 123 Kid turns on Razor Ramon, Bob Backlund running for president, and Shawn Michaels collapse in the ring. 'HBK collapsing in the middle of the ring due to a enziguri kick from Owen Hart' was the Slammy award winner. During the intro, Hunter makes a reference to having the 'biggest balls' so you can already see more of the DX HHH come out and the uppity suave yuppie personality becoming less and less predominant in his character.
Owen Hart came out to accept the award and cut a promo on HBK, Bret, and his family entirely. 

Next up was the 'Master of Mat Mechanics' Slammy Award being awarded to Shawn Michaels! That is the 3rd Slammy Award thus far for HBK. Shawn says he wants to give this award to 

"Someone who has had me on the mat more times than I can count...no, not you Sunny" making reference to their insinuated affair. Shawn actually gives the Slammy to his friend/trainer Jose Lothario. WWF is really trying to build up Shawn Michaels the night before Wrestlemania XII.

They had playing music videos throughout the night for different superstars to determine the 'Best Music Video' award. This award was given to the video for Bret Hart; the videos especially between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart were well done and helped build up their characters before their Wrestlemania battle. Bret Hart makes mention to his rumored retirement and says not in the near future, and even goes on to hype up tomorrow nights match with HBK by saying that "those 9 cheerleaders who beat you up in Syracuse, NY will be nothing compared to the Ironman match". This was in reference to the real life assault that occurred in Syracuse when several man ambushed HBK at a bar.

...and immediately after, Shawn Michaels wins ANOTHER Slammy! Jim Ross presents him with the Best Match Award (HBK vs. Razor Ramon Summerslam Ladder Match) which is Shawn's 4th Slammy Award this night. He didn't have much competition for this award since it was based on mostly matches in 1995...just check out a few nominees for BEST MATCH OF THE YEAR:

LT vs. Bigelow at Wrestlemania XI

 Finkel vs Wippleman in a Tuxedo Match

Bret Hart vs Diesel at Survivor Series 1995

Godwinn vs HHH in a Hog Pen Match from IYH #5

1995 was a rough year for the WWF.

After this they announced the winner of the previously mentioned call-in voted award; 

Bret the Hitman Hart. Bret Hart ends the night with three Slammy Awards.

The final award of the night is for 'Leader of the New Generation' presented by Roddy Piper and his son Colt. Diesel, Razor Ramon, Bret Hart, Undertaker, and Shawn Michaels were the nominees & Shawn Michaels walks away with his forth Slammy Award this night. Shawn Michaels came up to the stage and all four times said maybe a sentence or two each, and barely got thru that. It was odd to see a man known for his incredible potential on the mic to struggle. WWF asked USA Network for extra time for this special but apparently some bits ran long as they had to go off the air before Shawn Michaels could even talk after winning the 'Leader of the New Generation' Slammy Award.

While this wasn't the worst awards show, it was very forgettable. Even immediately after watching it, all I can really recall is the buildup for HBK vs. Bret Hart, and the singing by Todd Pettengill..and of course, Undertaker talking about fashion and "buns" in his 'Deadman' voice. Hilarious.

If you look back on all the Slammy Awards, there is a lot of forgotten moments because all-in-all, the Slammy Awards are typically just filler segments meant to try to build up to a pay-per-view or special event. However, that doesn't mean they aren't worth checking out cause if you skip them you'll miss out on some moments that have to be seen to believed, and also some moments that are so bad that their good...

'Till Next Time!

@inrogers29

Slammy Awards: The Early Years

Did you know that the WWE Slammy Awards has been going on since 1986? The awards ceremony has been an on-again off-again special for the WWE which has been reoccuring annually since 2008. All in all there have been 12 different Slammy Award Shows since 86' and with that, we are likely to forget many of the winners or even some of the categories that were chosen for the show. Let's go over some of the forgotten early years of the Slammy Awards!

1986

In the 1986 inaugaral edition of the WWE (WWF at the time) Slammy Awards, typical awards were given out such as Best Commentator (Gene Okerlund), Best Producer (Cyndi Lauper, at the height of the WWF Rock n Roll connection), and Best Personality in 'Land of a Thousand Dances' (Roddy Piper)...Yes that's right. WWF had a music video of 'Land of a Thousand Dances' which may seem odd but infact this whole special was intertwined with music, even being shown on MTV.

In between award announcements, songs were performed such as Gene Okerlund - Tutti Frutti, Jimmy Hart - Eat Your Heart Out Rick Springfield, HillBilly Jim lip-synched "Don't go messing with a Country Boy". Junkyard won the award for Best Single Performer that night with "Grab Them Cakes". 

Of course this was essentially a WWF music awards show, but one of the awards that really stuck out was the "Most Ignominous" Award.

Most...Ignominous?

The word ignominous means "disgraceful, dishonorable, degrading", but you have to love WWE calling the award the Most Ignominous and giving it to hated Russian Nikolai Volkoff.

The 1987 edition of the Slammy Awards still had a alot of influence from music, but there were awards based on non musical performances such as Woman of the Year (Miss Elizbeth), Hulk Hogan Real American Award which was presented to Superstar Billy Graham, Jesse the Body Award handed out to Rick Rude, Best Ring Apparel given to Harley Race, and Best Personal Hygiene...Best Personal Hygiene?

Yes, this was an award and it was in fact given to Nikolai Volkoff, Boris Zhukov, and Slick. Best Head was given to Bam Bam Bigelow & Gene Okerlund....Best Head?!? This prestigious award was handed out by Brutus the Barber Beefcake awarding it to these bald-headed men on that basis, because they were bald.

This awards show only moment that is remembered and still brought up today is the "Stand Back" performance done by Vince McMahon..Yes, Mr. McMahon was in true form singing away with lyrics such as "Stand in my way, I promise you will lose". It has to be seen to be believed. 

The Slammy Awards didnt return the next year, or the year after that. Actually, it wasnt brought back until 1994 and the musical side of the Awards Show was long gone. Awards you would expect to be handed out were such as "Most Intimidating" (Undertaker), "Best PayPerView" (Wrestlemania 10), "The Best Manager" (Ted Dibiase), and MVP (Diesel). However, you have to love some of the more outlandish ones handed out at the rendition of the Slammy Awards:

Greediest - Tatanka (Tatanka had been a loveable fan favorite who sold out to the Million Dollar Corporation)

Worst Idea - Abe Knuckleball Schwartz on Strike (Abe was Steve Lombardi playing a Baseball Character, in full baseball-face makeup and outfit. During 1994, Major League Baseball was on strike so Abe Knuckleball Schwartz went on strike as well...)

Sweatiest - I.R.S

Biggest Rat - Owen Hart

Mouthiest - Jerry Lawler

Smelliest - Henry Godwinn/Duke the Dumpster Droese

Now, you can see where things have changed quite abit since 1987...they actually had to hand out a tie for Most Smelliest Wrestler...now THOSE are some classy awards to hand out. Not only that but we had awards such as Best Tag Team presented to Diesel & Shawn Michaels...who also won Worst Tag Team award. Just let that sink in..

Next time on Forgotten Wrestling: 1996 & 1997 editions of the Slammy Awards as well as the resurrection of the Slammies in 2008.