Wrestling

WWE's Payback lasted for 2 hours 50 minutes and 47 seconds (2h 50m 47s). Here is a breakdown of the timing for every single second of the show, in chronological order. The matches are in bold. The "pre-match" includes video packages, entrances, ring introductions, and any verbal promos that occur right before a match officially begins. The "post-match" includes any celebrations, replays, angles, attacks, or promos that occur right after a match is finished. Some matches have multiple "pre-match" or "post-match" entries because, for example, an unrelated video was inserted between a post-match celebration and a post-match promo. In these cases I will offer a slightly more detailed explanation of the segment. 0m 20s: WWE's "Then, Now, Forever" opening 2m 40s: Video hyping Payback 0m 38s: Cole welcomes us to Payback 3m 16s: Pre-match for Barrett vs Miz vs Axel 10m 36s: Barrett vs Miz vs Axel 1m 57s: Post-match for Barrett vs Miz vs Axel (in-ring celebration) 1m 04s: Video promoting Mark Henry's return 1m 44s: Post-match for Barrett vs Miz vs Axel (backstage with Vince and Triple H) 0m 11s: Cole talks about Chicago 3m 02s: Pre-match for Kaitlyn vs AJ Lee 9m 56s: Kaitlyn vs AJ Lee 4m 19s: Post-match for Kaitlyn vs AJ Lee 0m 31s: Commercial for Money In The Bank 1m 35s: Expert panel analysis 1m 30s: Video for the Wyatt Family 2m 36s: Pre-match for Ambrose vs Kane 9m 34s: Ambrose vs Kane 1m 22s: Post-match for Ambrose vs Kane 1m 11s: Video promoting RVD's return 0m 50s: Recap of Sandow vs Sheamus from the PPV pre-show 4m 27s: Pre-match for Ziggler vs ADR 13m 50s: Ziggler vs ADR 3m 03s: Post-match for Ziggler vs ADR (celebration, replays) 0m 33s: Video - Don't Try This At Home 0m 13s: Cole talks about Chicago 0m 42s: Expert panel analysis 2m 06s: Post-match for Ziggler vs ADR (ADR promo) 6m 57s: Pre-match for Punk vs Jericho 21m 21s: Punk vs Jericho 2m 14s: Post-match for Punk vs Jericho (celebration, replays) 0m 17s: Plug for the Payback theme song 0m 20s: Pre-match for Shield vs Bryan/Orton (hype from Cole) 0m 39s: Post-match for Punk vs Jericho (end of celebration) 2m 25s: Pre-match for Shield vs Bryan/Orton (entrances) 12m 10s: Shield vs Bryan/Orton 1m 21s: Post-match for Shield vs Bryan/Orton 0m 45s: Commercial for fatherhood.gov, Cole offers a Happy Father's Day to us 10m 13s: Pre-match for Cena vs Ryback 7m 32s: Cena vs Ryback (Lumberjack) 1m 10s: Time between falls (with multiple replays) 7m 25s: Cena vs Ryback (Tables) 2m 28s: Time between falls (Ryback puts Cena through table) 6m 03s: Cena vs Ryback (Ambulance) 3m 41s: Post-match for Cena vs Ryback The Three Stages Of Hell match can be timed in multiple ways. I decided to only count the bell-to-bell times for each of the three falls, which adds up to a total match time of 21m 00s. However, if you prefer to include the time between the falls as well, the match would end up being 24m 38s. The seven matches combined for a total of bell-to-bell time of 98m 27s. That is equal to 57.6% of the total show time that was devoted to wrestling matches. The pre-match pieces combined for a total time of 33m 16s, which is 19.5% of the total show time. This includes the lengthy video package hyping the Cena vs Ryback match. In total, the pre-match segment for Cena vs Ryback clocked in at 10m 13s, which was longer than the Divas title match and the US title match. The post-match pieces combined for a total time of 22m 26s, which is 13.1% of the total show time. This includes the backstage segment with Triple H and Vince McMahon confronting Curtis Axel. This does not include the time between falls in the Cena vs Ryback match. That leaves about 9.7% of the show remaining for other miscellaneous things. This includes commercials, videos hyping wrestler returns, filler commentary between matches, expert panel analysis, and so forth. These calculated percent

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The following is the first in a series of stories written by Brian Hoops about the 2013 George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame induction class. Jim Brunzell made his mark inside and outside the ring The man named for his unique leaping ability, “Jumpin” Jim Brunzell will be on hand to receive the Frank Gotch award at the Lou Thesz/George Tragos Hall of Fame weekend July 12 and 13. Called “Jumpin Jim” for his renowned dropkick, Brunzell transitioned from a standout amateur athlete, to one of the most renowned tag team wrestlers in the 1970’s and 80’s. Brunzell was a standout athlete in high school at White Bear Lake, Minnesota, excelling in football and track, even winning the state high school high jump. Brunzell also high jumped at the University of Minnesota, winning some meets by soaring over 6’6”, although Brunzell did high jump over 6’7 ½” in an unsanctioned meet. “I wrestled at 220 pounds but had a 36 inch vertical jump” says Brunzell. Brunzell also played football at the University of Minnesota with another future professional wrestler, Greg Gagne. Gagne would later transfer to the University of Wyoming, but the duo kept in contact. After Brunzell was cut from the Washington Redskins after a tryout as a tight end, Gagne approached Brunzell about trying wrestling. “Little if I had known that if someone would have told me when I was 18 years old that I would be a professional wrestler for 25 years, I would have thought they were crazy,” explained Brunzell. Unlike some other wrestling camps where many would try to become wrestlers and only few would survive, the Gagne camp was only held every 3-4 years and was by invitation only. Some of the biggest names of the 1970’s and 80’s were in the training camp. “Ken Patera, Ric Flair, The Iron Shiek, Bob Bruggers, Greg Gagne and myself were part of that camp. Every one of us were really successful in pro wrestling and a lot of us had a 20 year career or longer,” said Brunzell. “Gagne had a knack for training guys and developing them.” After the Gagne camp, Brunzell set out to wrestle in the territories, notably Central States, learning how to work in front of a crowd before returning to Minnesota and the AWA. While in Central States, he teamed with Mike George to win the NWA Central States Tag Team title, first on October 25, 1973. Upon returning to his native Minnesota, Brunzell formed a tag team with former college teammate and son of AWA owner Verne Gagne, Greg Gagne and was given a huge push as a tag team called “The High Flyers”. “Being in the tag team gave me the opportunity to wrestle in my hometown and enabled me to be in the ring with some of the greatest who had ever been in the ring: Nick Bockwinkel, Ray Stevens, Bobby Heenan, Bobby Duncum; it was a great opportunity for myself while I was learning the business and the value was unbelievable,” Brunzell said. The duo won their first of two AWA World Tag Team Titles on July 7, 1977, by defeating Bobby Duncum and Blackjack Lanza. Brunzell and Gagne would be stripped of the belts on September 23, 1978, after Brunzell was injured and could not defend the belts. The High Flyers would regain the belts from The East-West Connection of Adrian Adonis and Jesse Ventura on June 14, 1981, before losing the belts just over two years later to The Sheiks, Jerry Blackwell and Ken Patera. In between tag team reigns, Brunzell tried his hand at singles wrestling in the Mid-Atlantic territory. Brunzell was Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion on two separate occasions, defeating Ken Patera and Ray Stevens for the belt. “I thought I had a lot of ability and I could do it on my own, that was one of the reasons I went there in 1979. Jim Barnett, (who was running Atlanta where Brunzell also wrestled), asked me what I would like to do. I told him I would like to be the heavyweight champion and I would also like to go home. Barnett told me being the champion was a possibility but if I go back to the AW

-Josh Matthews led commentary, alongside The Miz and Cody Rhodes Dark Match -Prime Time Players def. Tons of Funk WWE Main Event -The Shield def. The Usos & Justin Gabriel -Antonio Cesaro def. Sin Cara -Kaitlyn def. Aksana

As part of the ongoing Summer Sizzlin' Sale at ShopTNA.com, check out official TNA Knockouts merchandise, including the HOT new wall posters! Get up to 60% off most items during the huge sale! ShopTNA is the official online merchandise store for TNA's IMPACT WRESTLING - {gallery}galleries/knockouts4{/gallery}   MORE HOT KNOCKOUTS AT SHOPTNA.COM: CLICK HERE   ALSO - If you missed them, check out all-new hot summer photos of your favorite TNA Wrestling Knockouts! As always, for even more photos and videos featuring TNA's lovely and lethal Knockouts, visit their official website at WrestlingKnockouts.com {gallery}galleries/knockouts3{/gallery}

CBS picked up on a story of a 13-year-old boy from New Orleans that accidentally murdered his 5-year-old half-sister this week, after imitating moves he told police he picked up from watching professional wrestling. "Those moves allegedly included repeatedly slamming the girl on a bed, punching her in the stomach, jumping on her and striking her with his elbow. A coroner’s investigation found the girl died of multiple injuries, including broken ribs, lacerations of the liver and internal bleeding." The boy, whose name has not been released, called 911 after his sister stopped breathing, just moments after she complained of a severe stomach ache. He was home alone with the girl, babysitting while their mother was away. Check out the link above for the complete story.

Below are spoilers for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event: Spoiler * Kaitlyn beat Aksana with a spear. (Source)

During this week's (June 17, 2013) Monday Night RAW, longtime veteran Mark Henry staged a fake retirement, only to swerve the audience and demolish WWE champion John Cena in the process (reactions here). The result? A championship title match against Cena at next month's Money in the Bank (MITB) pay-per-view (PPV). I'll be ordering that one. That's because Mark and I have some history. It was just over two months ago when I froze my ass off, standing in line at the IZOD Center with my kid at WWE Fan AXXESS, so that we could rub shoulders with some of the talent prior to WrestleMania 29 in my home state of New Jersey. We got inside, warmed up, and had a blast. The night was capped off by a meet and greet with Mark Henry. As luck would have it, "The World's Strongest Man" signed her book, posed for a picture and gave her one of his paws to shake. He was the first WWE superstar she'd ever met. That shit is thrilling when you're 10 years old. Needless to say, she's been Mark Henry's number one fan ever since. So you can imagine her surprise when the artist formerly known as "Sexual Chocolate" lumbered to the ring in a pink sport coat, big enough to cover my Kia SOUL in case of inclement weather, and called it a career. I saw her bottom lip begin to tremble. Then came Henry's tears and welp, it was waterworks at Casa de Holland. There wasn't much I could do except sling my arm around her and try to assure her that he would be surfacing in the WWE Hall of Pain Fame at some point in the not-too-distant future. By then, even I was convinced the big lug was hanging up his boots. Then came the ultimate act of betrayal. My initial reaction was, that son of a bitch got me. It's not often I get worked these days and it's not because I have some otherworldly insight, but rather because I've been watching pro wrestling for 30 years and I recognize the usual patterns. As for my daughter, red-faced and glassy-eyed, her expression was indescribable. It was like she wanted him dead. By contrast, I saw quite a few reactions on Twitter -- as well as right here on Cageside Seats -- to the effect of, "Dude, it was so obvious," and "Well, I knew it was a work the entire time." If you are one of these people, I think it might be time to ask yourself why you still watch WWE programming. If you can't allow yourself to be a mark when the situation calls for it, or at least enjoy the occasional kayfabe ride, then what's the point? I don't understand this need to be the smartest guy in the room. Is it an ego defense? I have a friend who I positively WILL NOT see a movie with, because as soon as the opening credits begin to fade, he starts doing his detective shtick for the next two hours. It's maddening. Psst ... see that guy in the trench coat? I'll betcha he's the killer! He can't enjoy the movie because he's too busy trying to outsmart it. Similarly, I know a lot of pro wrestling fans these days who can't enjoy the product, because they take every angle, promo and storyline and run it through the spectrometer for analysis. It's like a contest they have with themselves to see how quickly they can outrun the ending. When they're right, they pat themselves on the back. I knew it. When they're wrong, they complain about how stupid the booking was. Typical PG era bullshit. I guess some guys just can't handle getting beat. Sure, we're all guilty of it from time-to-time, but last night's segment, even if you had your doubts, was flawless. The credit falls squarely on Mark Henry's sizable shoulders. Everything about his career-defining performance was spot on. From his delivery, to his tone, to his inflection. His dialog felt real and let's face it, when a man who can bench press Rhode Island starts crying on live television, it's hard not to take him at his word. Plus it helps that he creamed the promotion's top babyface (great breakdown on that here). It's a monumental task in the Internet age to keep anything a secret. Shutting-the-f

3.0, same as last week.

Considering the Payback pay-per-view (PPV) was as strong as it was the night before, and there was no major competition from any of the big sports that usually rip viewers away, one would think last night's (June 17, 2013) episode of Monday Night Raw would bounce back over the four million average for all three hours. And that's exactly what happened. Indeed, Raw, which emanated from the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, did a 3.0 rating and averaged 4.15 million viewers. There was an NHL Stanley Cup Final game between the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins that did around 4 million viewers, but it didn't appear to cut into Raw's audience much, if at all. Here's the hourly breakdown: Hour one: 4.03 million Hour two: 4.26 millionHour three: 4.17 million Not the best, but certainly not the worst. The third hour didn't benefit from actual promotion of Brock Lesnar, who showed up in the main event segment as a surprise to F-5 CM Punk following his split from Paul Heyman. WWE has been getting it right an awful lot lately, though and with so much entertainment value looming on the horizon, the hope is the ratings will gradually improve as the shows continue to get better. The hope is that much, at least. For complete results and the live blog click here. For reactions to the show click here. And for a playlist of the entire night click here.