AcharyaChanakya/simple-wikipedia huggingface dataset:
A technical glitch ended the closed circuit broadcast early into the showing at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. To appease angry fans who pelted the screen with garbage, WrestleMania was broadcast in its entirety on a local television station two weeks later.
León, Guanajuato
Léon is a city in the state of Guanajuato in Mexico. About 1,150,000 people live in Léon. This makes it the seventh largest city in Mexico and the largest city in Guanajuato.
Jim Carey (ice hockey)
Jim Carey (born May 31, 1974 in Dorchester, Massachusetts) is a American retired ice hockey goaltender.
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez is a city in the Mexician state of Chihuahua. About 1,300,000 people live in Ciudad Juárez. This makes it the fifth largest city in Mexico and the largest city in Chihuahua. It is at the border to the USA, opposite El Paso.
San Cristóbal Ecatepec
San Cristóbal Ecatepec (or "Ecatepec de Morelos") is a city in the state of México in Mexico. About 1,700,000 people live there. This makes San Christóbal de Ectatepec the second largest city in Mexico and the largest in the state of México.
Jacques Plante
Joseph Jacques Omer "Jake the Snake" Plante (January 17, 1929 – February 27, 1986) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He grew up in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, and began to play hockey in 1932. Plante started to play organized hockey at age 12, and his first professional game was at age 18. He played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1953 to 1963; during this time, the team won the Stanley Cup six times, including five wins in a row.
Plante first retired in 1965, but he was asked to come back to the NHL to play for a new team, the St. Louis Blues, in 1968. Plante was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1970, and then to the Boston Bruins in 1973. He joined the World Hockey Association, first as coach and general manager for the Quebec Nordiques in 1973–74. After his time with Quebec was not successful, Plante played goal for the Edmonton Oilers in 1974–75. Plante retired for the last time during training camp in the 1975-76 season.
Plante is considered one of the most important inventors in ice hockey. Most importantly, Plante was the first NHL goaltender to always wear mask when playing. With the help of other experts, he made and tested many versions of the goalie mask, including a version of today's mask/helmet combination. Plante was the first goaltender to regularly play the puck outside his crease in support of his team's defencemen, and often instructed his teammates from behind the play, as the goaltender usually has the best view of the game.
Plante was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1978. He was chosen as the goaltender of the Canadiens' "dream team" in 1985. He was inducted into the Quebec Sports Pantheon in 1994. Lastly, the Montreal Canadiens retired Plante's sweater, #1, in 1995.
Plante was the eldest of 11 children. In 1949, he married Jacqueline Gagné; they had two sons, Michel and Richard. In 1970, Plante met his second wife, Raymonde Udrisard, with whom he eventually moved to Switzerland. He died in Geneva, on February 27, 1986, shortly after he had been diagnosed with untreatable stomach cancer. He was buried in Sierre.
Hockey Hall of Fame
Léo Dandurand
Joseph Viateur "Leo" Dandurand (July 9, 1889 – June 26, 1964), was the owner of the Montreal Canadians in the National Hockey League and in the league that evolved into the Canadian Football League.
Dandurand was born in Bourbonnais, Illinois. He moved to Canada with his family when he was 16 years old and attended Collège Sainte-Marie de Montréal. He was a referee in the National Hockey Association and was involved with minor hockey in the Montreal, Quebec area.
On November 2, 1921, Dandurand and his partners, Joseph Cattarinich and Louis Letourneau, purchased the Montreal Canadiens hockey club from the widow of George Kennedy for $11,000. Under Dandurand's ownership, the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in 1924, 1930, and 1931. Letourneau sold his stake in the club in 1930, and Dandurand and Cattarinich continued as owners until selling the team in 1935 for $165,000.
Along with hockey, Dandurand and his partners were heavily involved with horse racing. In 1932, they bought Blue Bonnets Raceway in Montreal. They owned 17 tracks in Quebec, Ontario, New York, Ohio, Delaware, Illinois, Utah, and Louisiana at the time of Cattarinich's death in 1938. Dandurand was also a boxing and wrestling promoter in Montreal and a director of the Montreal Royals baseball team.
In 1946, Dandurand founded the Montreal Alouettes football team with Eric Cradock and Lew Hayman. The team played in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union, which later became the CFL's east division.
In his later years, Dandurand owned a successful restaurant in downtown Montreal. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963 and died of a heart attack on June 26, 1964 at age 75.
The Leo Dandurand Trophy is a CFL award presented each year to the most outstanding lineman in the East Division.
Billy Smith
William John "Battlin' Billy" Smith (born December 12, 1950, in Perth, Ontario) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender and is best known for winning four Stanley Cups and being the first goalie to be score a goal.
Bill Durnan
William Ronald Durnan (January 22, 1916 – October 31, 1972) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 7 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played his entire NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens. Until Roberto Luongo was named captain of the Vancouver Canucks on September 30, 2008, Durnan was the last goaltender to be a captain in the National Hockey League, and one of only seven ever. Bill Durnan was ambidextrous, meaning he could catch with either hand. This star goalie is one of the greatest Montreal Canadiens in history. He won the Stanley Cup twice with the Canadiens and was a six-time Vezina Trophy winner. Durnan was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1964.
First All-Star Team goalie in 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950.<br>
Won the Vezina Trophy in 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950.<br>
Played in NHL All-Star Game in 1947, 1948, 1949
1925–26 NHL season
"Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties in minutes"
"GP = Games played, GA = Goals against, SO = Shutouts, GAA = Goals against average"
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Montreal Maroons
"Montreal wins total goals series 6 goals to 4"
Montreal Maroons vs. Ottawa Senators
"Montreal wins total goals series 2 goals to 1."
Victoria Cougars vs. Montreal Maroons
"Montreal Maroons win best-of-five series 3 games to 1 for the Stanley Cup"
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1925–26 (listed with their first team, stars(*) mark debut in playoffs):
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1925–26 (listed with their last team):
1926–27 NHL season
"Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties in minutes"
"Note: GP = Games played; MIN = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shut outs; AVG = Goals against average"
"All dates in 1927"
Montreal Canadiens vs. Montreal Maroons
"Montreal Canadiens win total-goals series 2–1"
Boston Bruins vs. Chicago Black Hawks
"Boston wins total-goals series 10 goals to 5"
Ottawa Senators vs. Montreal Canadiens
"Ottawa wins total-goals series 5–1"
New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins
"Boston wins total-goals series 3–1"
Boston Bruins vs. Ottawa Senators
"Ottawa wins best-of-five series 2–0–2"
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1926–27 (listed with their first team, stars(*) mark start was in playoffs):
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1926–27 (listed with their last team):
1961–62 NHL season
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1961–62 (listed with their first team, stars(*) mark debut in playoffs):
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1961–62 (listed with their last team):
Night of Champions (2008)
WWE Night of Champions was the second yearly Night of Champions professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Though it was the eighth yearly event, it was the second yearly event under the Night of Champions name. It took place on June 29, 2008 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands. The official theme song was "Devour" by Shinedown. As a tradition, every championship in WWE was defended at the event.
William M. Jennings Trophy
The William M. Jennings Trophy is an award in the National Hockey League (NHL) given each year to "to the goalkeeper(s) having played a minimum of 25 games for the team with the fewest goals scored against it. Winners are selected based on regular-season play." Up until 1981, the Vezina Trophy had been awarded under that definition, but it was later changed and replaced by the Jennings Trophy. Since it began in 1982, it has been awarded at the end of 25 seasons to 27 different players. The most recent winners are Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks and Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens, who both allowed only 189 team goals against for their teams in the 2014–15 NHL season.
Until the 1980–81 season, the Vezina Trophy was awarded to the goaltender(s) of the team allowing the fewest goals during the regular season. However, it was discovered that this often meant the trophy went to the goaltender of the better team rather than the individual, so they changed it to offer the Vezina to the most outstanding goaltender, as voted by the NHL General Managers. The William M. Jennings Trophy was created as a replacement and is given to the goaltender(s) playing for the team with the fewest goals scored against them.
The Jennings Trophy was donated by the NHL's board of governors and first handed out at the end of the 1981–82 season. It is named for the late William M. Jennings, who was a governor and president of the New York Rangers and who helped build ice hockey in the United States. Normally the lowest number of games a goaltender must play to be eligible for the trophy is 25, but for the lockout shortened 1994–95 season, the lowest was fourteen games.
Five players have won both the Jennings and Vezina Trophy for the same season: Patrick Roy (1988–89 and 1991–92), Ed Belfour (1990–91 and 1992–93), Dominik Hasek (1993–94 and 2000–01), Martin Brodeur (2002–03 and 2003–04) and Miikka Kiprusoff (2005–06). Roy has won the trophy five times, the most of any goaltender. Belfour and Brodeur are tied for second, having each won the trophy four times. It has been won most often by the Montreal Canadiens, on 5 occasions. The New Jersey Devils have won four times, and Buffalo Sabres and Chicago Blackhawks have three wins each.
"For the 2002–03 season, there was a tie between Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils and Robert Esche and Roman Cechmanek of the Philadelphia Flyers. This is the only time that there has been a tie between players from different teams."
Gemsbok
The gemsbok or gemsbuck ("Oryx gazella") is an African plains antelope. They are found all over Africa, especially Tanzania, Namibia and South Africa.
Gemsboks live in a herd of 10-40. The herds are usually set up with a dominant male and female as leaders of the herd. The males have striaght pointed horns and have been known to attack and kill lions and other predators by impaling them. The females are the same, but sometimes have curved horns.
There are two varieties of gemsbok. A Northern Gemsbuck and a Southern Gemsbok. The northern variety have black fringed ears and live in the more northern parts of Africa. The Southern variety have longer horns and live in the southern parts of Africa.
The Left Hand of Darkness
Akan language
Akan is a language group spoken by related peoples in mainly Ghana and eastern Côte d'Ivoire. It is understood by roughly 99% of Ghana's population.
Akkadian language
Akkadian (') or Assyro-Babylonian was a Semitic language (part of the Afro-Asiatic language family) that was spoken in ancient Iraq. The first-known Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system from ancient Sumer.
Akkadian is divided into several varieties based on geography and historical period:
The earliest known Akkadian inscription was found on a bowl at Ur. It was addressed to a very early pre-Sargonic king of Ur by his queen Gan-saman, who is thought to have been from Akkad.
The Akkadian Empire, established by Sargon of Akkad, introduced the Akkadian language (the "language of Akkad") as a written language. It used Sumerian cuneiform orthography (writing method) for the purpose. During the middle Bronze Age (Old Assyrian and Old Babylonian period), the language displaced Sumerian. Sumerian probably became extinct as a living language by the 18th century BC.
Afar language
The Afar language () (also known as ’Afar Af, Afaraf, Qafar af) is a lowland East Cushitic language spoken by the Afar people in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. It is thought to have 1.5 million speakers. Its most similar language is the Saho language.
Abkhaz language
Abkhaz is a Northwest Caucasian language spoken mostly in Abkhazia (Georgia) and Turkey. It is the official language of Georgia's Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, where around 100,000 people speak it.
Adyghe language
The Adyghe language is one of the two main languages of the Republic of Adygea in the Russian Federation. It is spoken by many tribes of the Adyghe people. The language is called by its speakers ""Adygebze"" or ""Adəgăbză"", and can also be spelled in English as "Adygean", "Adygeyan" or "Adygei". It is also called "Circassian".
WWE Brand Extension
The World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E) Brand Extension was a draft first used in 2002 by WWE with the purpose of dividing WWE Superstars into two brands, "RAW" and "SmackDown!". In 2006 "ECW" was added to the draft.
After buying World Championship Wrestling (WCW), its business opponent through the 1990s, in March 2001, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) wanted to find a way to split itself into two separate brands, because of the numbers of Superstars that it had gotten as part of WCW's purchase. On March 18, 2002, Linda McMahon announced the "brand extension" in which the company would be split into two distinct brands.
In terms of storyline, Ric Flair had become co-owner of the WWF following Survivor Series 2001 where Shane and Stephanie McMahon sold their stocks to Flair in order to buy WCW and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). Vince McMahon did not like having to share his creation with Flair and looked for a way to stop their partnership. After entering a feud with The Undertaker, Flair sought a match with him at WrestleMania X8. However, the WWF Board of Directors would only allow the match if Flair were to give all control of the WWF to McMahon. Flair agreed, however, the Board also reserved the right to review the ownership status of the WWF following WrestleMania. Their decision was to split the entire WWF roster into two separate brands, with Vince McMahon in control of the SmackDown! brand and Ric Flair in control of the RAW brand. A draft was started the following week on "RAW". Each owner would get a total of thirty picks. The brand extension officially began on April 1, 2002. By having two brands in place, the WWF was able to increase the number of live events held each year from 200 to 350.
The 2002 World Wrestling Federation (WWF) Brand Extension Draft took place at Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania on March 25, 2002. The first half of the draft was televised live on TNN for two hours, on WWE's flagship program, Raw. The second half, or the supplemental draft, was conducted over the internet on WWF's official website, WWF.com. There were thirty draft picks, with sixty superstars drafted overall by co-owners of the WWF, Ric Flair and Vince McMahon, onto their respective brands, RAW and SmackDown!. For the televised half of the draft, ten brand selections were manually made by Flair and McMahon. The supplemental draft was however conducted as a draft lottery, with each brand receiving twenty random draft selections.
On the March 18, 2002 episode of "RAW", Vince McMahon won a coin toss to determine who would receive the first draft selection.
"Note:
On the June 10, 2002 edition of "Raw", McMahon became the only owner of World Wrestling Entertainment when he defeated Flair in a No Holds Barred match.
After World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) bought all of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in 2003, the company began releasing DVDs showing the original ECW. Soon afterwards, the company promoted two ECW reunion shows for ECW Alumni entitled, ECW One Night Stand in 2005 and in 2006.
On May 26, 2006, WWE announced a new brand, ECW, a revival of the 1990s show. The new brand debuted on its current network, the SCI FI Channel on June 13 2006.
The 2006 World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Brand Extension Draft took place from the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington on May 29, 2006, where ECW representative, Paul Heyman, drafted two superstars, one from SmackDown! and one from RAW onto the new ECW brand.
In late 2007, SmackDown! and ECW superstars began to appear on both shows as part of a (kayfabe) deal between ECW General Manager Armando Estrada and SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero.
Interbrand competition was kept at a minimum, with superstars from all brands competing together only at pay-per-view events. However, in 2003, all pay per view events became brand exclusive, leaving the "big four" pay-per-views (WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and the Royal Rumble) as the only interbrand shows.
Starting in late 2006, in an attempt to add more star power to the shows, interbrand matches became more common. Most notably, MNM and The Hardys reformed, despite the fact that the teammates were on separate brands. Bobby Lashley is also notable for his interbrand action, who was involved in a storyline with the WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon. The return of "Saturday Night's Main Event" to NBC has also lead to more interaction between the brands.
The separation of the WWE roster between two brands also intended to split the pay-per-view offerings, which began with Bad Blood in June 2003. The original idea had the "major" pay-per-view events at the time (Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and WrestleMania) would contain the only instances where wrestlers from different brands would interact with each other, and even among the four shows only the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania would have wrestlers from different brands competing against each other. Wrestlers, as a result, appeared only in 2/3 of the shows. Eventually, WWE abandoned the practice of single-brand pay-per-view events following WrestleMania 23. December to Dismember and New Year's Revolution were cancelled following the announcement.
Initially, the WWE Undisputed Championship and WWE Women's Championship were available to both brands. The other championships were exclusive to the brand the champion was a part of. With several specialty championships being exclusive to one brand, numerous wrestlers were left with no title to fight for.
This issue was solved in September 2002 when the Undisputed Championship became the WWE Championship again and was moved to SmackDown! while Eric Bischoff created the World Heavyweight Championship for RAW.<ref name="WWE/World"></ref> Shortly thereafter, SmackDown! created their own
Raw created WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, revived the United States Championship, and became the exclusive home of the Cruiserweight Championship. Meanwhile, Smackdown became the exclusive brand for WWE's original WWE SMACKDOWN TAG TEAM Championship, the Intercontinental Championship, and the Women's Championship. The end result was each brand having four championships. When ECW was revived in 2006, the ECW Championship was re-established and is that brand's world title.
Alemannic German
Alemannic German () is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language family. It is spoken by about ten million people in six countries including southern Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Italy. In Switzerland it is sometimes called Swiss German. In Alsace, the language is usually called Alsatian.
Outside this area: the village Zădăreni in Romania, Old-order Amish in Adams County and Allen County in the United States, and Colonia Tovar in Venezuela.
In contrast to other languages, Alemannic German is only a spoken language; there is no fixed orthography for the language.
Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a yearly professional wrestling pay-per-view event, aired every January by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). The show's main event is a Battle Royal-type match, named the Royal Rumble match. The pay-per-view is part of WWE's "Big Four", along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series. The Royal Rumble is also one of WWE's more popular pay-per-views.
Since 1993, the winner of the Rumble match has received a title match at that year's WrestleMania.
The idea behind the Royal Rumble match is credited to Pat Patterson. Before the match begins, the contestants draw spots in the Rumble. The match consists of thirty men, beginning with the two men who chose entry numbers one and two in the ring. At regular timed intervals, usually ninety seconds, one of the remaining 28 wrestlers enters the ring. Participants must eliminate all other opponents, and the winner of the event is the last wrestler remaining after all others have been eliminated.
Similar to a Battle Royal, a wrestler is eliminated when thrown over the top rope, with both feet touching the floor. A referee, who is seated at ringside, must see an elimination in order for it to be valid. A wrestler who is eliminated without a referee noticing may sometimes sneak back into the match. For example, Stone Cold Steve Austin was eliminated during the 1997 event, but he re-entered without the referees' seeing and eventually won the match. A wrestler who leaves the ring without going over the top rope is not eliminated from the match. During the 1999 Rumble match, both Vince McMahon and Steve Austin left the ring, only to return later in the match. In the 1994 match, the last two wrestlers, Bret Hart and Lex Luger were declared co-winners when it was decided that both of their feet touched the floor at the same time. A similar situation occurred in the 2005 match, however the match was restarted after Batista and John Cena eliminated each other at the same time. Batista eliminated Cena afterwards to win the match.
The reward for the 1992 Royal Rumble was the WWF Championship. The tradition of granting a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania started in 1993. Beginning in 2004, the winner had their choice of a World Heavyweight Championship or WWE Championship match at WrestleMania. Due to the revival of the ECW World Championship as a brand championship in mid-2006, the 2007 Rumble added this championship as a choice to the winning wrestler. From 2001 to 2007 the Royal Rumble match winner has gone on to win a World Championship title at WrestleMania. After winning the 2008 match, John Cena became the first to use his championship opportunity at an event other than WrestleMania. He also became the first man since 2000 to win the Royal Rumble match but fail to win the title in his championship opportunity as a result.
The Royal Rumble is a pay-per-view consisting of the Royal Rumble match, championship matches, and various other matches. The first Royal Rumble took place on January 24, 1988 and was broadcast live on the USA Network. The following year, the event became a pay-per-view. It is part of WWE's "classic five" pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, Survivor Series, SummerSlam, and King of the Ring.
The Royal Rumble match is usually at the top of the card. However, it is not always the case, as the 2006 event had the match in the middle of the pay-per-view.
The first Rumble match featured only twenty men, and it was called the Rumble Royale. It lasted about 33 minutes of the 2-hour broadcast. Today, Rumble matches are much longer, with the longest match, at the 2002 event, lasting over 1 hour and 9 minutes of a 3-hour pay-per-view.
With the brand extension introduced in mid-2002, the 30 entrants from 2003 to 2006 had 15 wrestlers from both the RAW and SmackDown! brands. At first, the winner of the match received a shot at his brand's champion. Starting in 2004, the Rumble winner had the option of challenging either brand's champion. For instance, Chris Benoit switched brands in 2004 and won the World Heavyweight Championship. The 2007 Royal Rumble marked the first year participants from the ECW brand competed along with the RAW and SmackDown! brands. The winner of the Royal Rumble now has the option to challenge for the ECW World Championship as well.
The 2008 Royal Rumble was the first WWE pay-per-view to be aired in HD.
On March 13, 2007, WWE released a full DVD box-set called "Royal Rumble: The Complete Anthology", which showcases every Royal Rumble event in its entirety.
WrestleMania XX
WrestleMania XX was the twentieth WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It took place on March 14, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was a joint-promotion pay-per-view event, with performers from the Raw and SmackDown! brands. The tagline for WrestleMania XX was ""Where it all Begins... Again"". The official theme song for the event was ""Step Up"" by Drowning Pool. The secondary theme song was ""Touché"" by Godsmack. The event was the third WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden, but the fourth to take place in the New York metropolitan area (after WrestleMania I, WrestleMania 2, and WrestleMania X). The celebrated return made more than $2.4 million in ticket sales, making the Pay-Per-View the highest grossing WWE event ever to be at Madison Square Garden. A sold-out Madison Square Garden had more than 20,000 people from 16 countries, and 48 states. Fans from more than 90 countries watched the event on television.
The card for the event has two main events. The main match for the Raw brand was a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship between Champion Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit. Benoit won the match, doing the Crippler Crossface, making Triple H let him win after that. The main match for the SmackDown! brand has Eddie Guerrero versus Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship. Guerrero won it after a Small package. The event also had the returning Undertaker beat Kane after a Tombstone Piledriver.
The main feud at the start of the pay-per-view was on the Raw brand, with Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit feuding over the World Heavyweight Championship. Triple H was the champion going into the event. At the Royal Rumble event two months before, Triple H and Michaels had fought each other with the World Heavyweight Championship, they were both trying to win the Last Man Standing match. The match ended in a draw after neither of them could answer a ten-count when Michaels did the Superkick. As a result, Triple H kept the title. Also at the pay-per-view, in the real Royal Rumble match, SmackDown!'s Benoit won the contest, eliminating The Big Show last. The next night, on the January 26 edition of "Raw", Michaels and Triple H had a in-ring promo when Raw's Sheriff, Stone Cold Steve Austin then came into the ring. He said that, even though Michaels should have a rematch, he had to "enforce the law." He also said that, in the rules it says that the winner of the Royal Rumble may face either the WWE Champion or World Heavyweight Champion. The winner of the Royal Rumble, Benoit went into the ring, and said that he would be fighting the World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania XX. On the February 2 edition of "Raw", Benoit was booked to play in his first contest on the brand, defeating Mark Henry, while making him submit to the Crippler Crossface in front of Triple H, who tried to distract Benoit. Both Triple H and Michaels were also in singles action later in night, defeating Spike Dudley and Randy Orton respectively. After the Michaels fought Orton, Triple H tried to attack Michaels, but Benoit chased Triple H away. Benoit and Michaels then went on to shake hands. The next week on "Raw", after Benoit defeated Ric Flair, a contract signing for the World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania XX took place. Triple H signed the contract for the match, but just as Benoit was about to sign the contract to confirm the match, Michaels made his way to the ring. Michaels stated that he wanted to finish his long-running feud with Triple H at Madison Square Garden. As Benoit was about to say that is not going to happen, Michaels cut him off by Superkicking him. Michaels then went on to sign the contract. On the February 16 edition of "Raw", Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff said that Triple H should defend his championship against either Michaels and Benoit on that night, but Triple H rejected the proposal. Benoit, however, made his way to the ring, and put Triple H in the Crossface submission maneuver. Because Triple H rejected the proposal, Bischoff booked a match between Michaels and Benoit for the main event. Benoit looked set to win, but Triple H distracted him, allowing Michaels to perform the Superkick on Benoit. Triple H began to celebrate with Michaels, but instead did the Pedigree on Michaels. Moments later, Austin came to ringside, and said that Triple H would defend the title against both Michaels and Benoit at WrestleMania in a Triple Threat match.
The event began with the Boys Choir of Harlem singing "America the Beautiful". The first match that aired was a singles match between The Big Show and John Cena for the WWE United States Championship. In the beginning of the match Cena scoop slammed The Big Show twice. Cena then grabbed his signature chain and attacked Big Show with it. However the referee saw Cena and took the chain from him. With the referee holding the chain with his back turned, Cena hit Big Show with hidden brass knuckles. And then did his signature FU maneuver. Cena then quickly pinned The Big Show to win the match and the United States Championship. This match was the first time that the United States Championship had been defended at a WrestleMania.
The next match was a Fatal Four-Way tag match between Rob Van Dam and Booker T, Garrison Cade and Mark Jindrak, The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) and La Résistance (René Duprée and Rob Conway) for the World Tag Team Championship. The match ended when Conway was pinned by Van Dam after Booker T used his Scissor kick maneuver on Conway. That was followed by Van Dam's Five-Star Frog Splash. Booker T and Rob Van Dam kept the titles as a result.
The third match was between Christian and Chris Jericho. Christian won the match after Trish Stratus hit Jericho on the face with her elbow. Next up was a Handicap match with Evolution (Randy Orton, Batista and Ric Flair) and The Rock 'n' Sock Connection (The Rock and Mick Foley). Evolution won the match when Orton pinned Foley after successfully executing an RKO.
"Mean" Gene Okerlund then introduced the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2004. This was followed by a Playboy Evening Gown Match with Torrie Wilson and Sable against Stacy Keibler and Miss Jackie. Wilson pinned Jackie for the win. The next match was a Cruiserweight Open for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Cruiserweight fighter stood outside the ring, while two fighters wrestled in the ring. As one wrestler lost, another one e went in the ring. Último Dragón pinned Shannon Moore, but was then pinned by Jamie Noble. The next person to lose was Funaki, who was pinned by Noble. Nunzio then lost by count out when he was unable to return to the ring after doing a dive through the ropes onto Noble. Billy Kidman then entered the match, pinning and eliminating Noble. Kidman was then pinned and eliminated by Rey Mysterio. Tajiri was next to fight, but was pinned by Mysterio. Akio was the next scheduled fighter, but was not able to compete because he was inadvertently attacked by Tajiri when Mysterio ducked. The Crusierweight Champion, Chavo Guerrero was the final entrant and pinned Mysterio to win with the assistance of his father Chavo Guerrero, Sr., thus keeping the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.
The seventh match had Brock Lesnar and Goldberg with special guest referee, Steve Austin. The beginning of the match began with both men staring each other down, making much heat from the fans throughout the match. Goldberg then took Lesnar down with a Spear, that would only draw a two count after a pin attempt. Lesnar then did the F-5 maneuver on Goldberg, but also resulted in a two-count pin attempt. Afterwards, Lesnar missed an attempt to knock Goldberg down, allowing Goldberg to execute another spear and a successful Jackhammer maneuver that led to a three count for Goldberg, thus winning the match. After the match, Steve Austin did a Stone Cold Stunner on both fighters to the crowd's delight and celebrated with beer in the ring.
The eight match was the encounter of Victoria and Molly Holly for the WWE Women's Championship, where Holly would have to be shaved bald if she lost. Victoria would counter a Widow's peak maneuver attempt by Holly into a Backslide pin, drawing a three count, thus winning the match and retaining the WWE Women's Championship. Holly tried running towards the backstage area to escape the match's stipulation, but was eventually stopped by Victoria who would knock her out and place her onto the barber's chair, shaving her bald.
The next match had Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle fighting over the WWE Championship. Guerrero used a DDT and Frog Splash maneuver on Angle that would result in a two-count pin attempt. Angle then secured Guerrero with an Ankle lock hold. However, Guerrero escaped the hold by rolling through it and throwing Angle out of the ring. As Angle was outside, Guerrero loosened his ring boot to relieve the pain. As Angle returned to the ring, he applied another Ankle lock on Guerrero that would end up being unsuccessful with Guerrero escaping the hold by pushing Angle off with his other foot leaving Angle holding the Guerrero's loosened ring boot. With Angle confused, Guerrero did a Roll-up pin maneuver leading to a successful pinfall, thus winning the match and retaining the WWE Championship.
The tenth match of the event was the encounter of The Undertaker and Kane, which would be Undertaker's first match since he was buried alive at Survivor Series 2003. The Undertaker made his return under his "Deadman" gimmick, as he was accompanied to the ring by Paul Bearer. The two wrestlers brawled in the beginning of the match, until Kane used a Chokeslam maneuver on Undertaker, which made no effect as Undertaker sat up immediately afterwards. The Undertaker then retaliated by Chokeslamming Kane and executing a Tombstone piledriver into a successful pinfall, thus winning the match and remaining undefeated at WrestleMania with a 12-0 record.
The main event was a Triple threat match over the World Heavyweight Championship between Triple H, Chris Benoit, and Shawn Michaels. This was the seventh title defense of the night, the most in WrestleMania history. Benoit gained control over Michaels when he did the Crossface hold. As Michaels was about to submit, Triple H would save the match. Triple H and Michaels teamed up to suplex Benoit through the announcer's table. Michaels then attempted to hit Benoit with a Sweet Chin Music maneuver, but Benoit countered it, throwing Michaels out of the ring. As this occurred, Triple H attempted to Pedigree Benoit. However, Benoit also countered it and held Triple H with Crossface hold that would force Triple H to submit. As a result, Benoit won the match and the World Heavyweight Championship.
Even though WWE tried hard to promote the Brock Lesnar versus Goldberg contest, some critics were not happy with the match. Many in Madison Square Garden booed the fighters, and only cheered for Steve Austin because both of the fighters were leaving the WWE after the event.
At Backlash, the original main event match was between Chris Benoit and Shawn Michaels for the World Heavyweight Championship. But on the March 29 edition of "Raw", after being traded to SmackDown! and brought back to Raw, Triple H said that the match at Backlash be changed to Benoit against Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff liked the idea of the match, but ended by saying that he made a promise to Michaels to give him a World title match at Backlash; instead, Bischoff booked a Triple Threat match between Benoit, Michaels and Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. At Backlash, Benoit kept the World title, after he made Michaels submit to the Sharpshooter.
The feud between Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero continued. On the March 25 edition of "SmackDown!", Angle was made the on-screen General Manager of SmackDown!, as part to the storyline of Angle's legit neck problems. This angle would also play on the April 15 edition of "SmackDown!", when he said talked abou the injuries he got when The Big Show chokeslammed Angle off a ledge. In reality Angle said that he would be heaving neck surgery in May and would not be fighting until August. At The Great American Bash, Angle cost Guerrero the WWE title in a Texas Bull Rope match against John "Bradshaw" Layfield, after Angle changed the result of the match when Guerrero looked to have won the title. In the same month, Angle's position as General Manager of SmackDown! came to an end when he was fired by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, after McMahon had exposed that Angle was not really injured. At SummerSlam, Angle and Guerrero were booked in a match, in which it saw Angle defeat Guerrero after he made Guerrero submit to the Ankle lock.
WrestleMania 22
WrestleMania 22 was the twenty-second yearly WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It took place on April 2, 2006 at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago, Illinois suburb of Rosemont. The event was the third WrestleMania to take place in the Chicago metropolitan area (following WrestleMania 2, and WrestleMania 13). Tickets sold out in under two minutes, grossing $2.5 million for the event, making it the highest grossing one-day event at the Allstate Arena. More than 17,155 people from 16 countries and 43 states attended, with millions more watching in more than 90 countries.
WrestleMania 22 was a joint-promotion pay-per-view event, featuring performers from the Raw and SmackDown! brands. The tagline for WrestleMania 22 was ""Big Time"". The official theme song for the event was ""Big Time"" by Peter Gabriel. Secondary theme songs included ""I Dare You"" by Shinedown, ""Save Me Sorrow"" by Bullets and Octane, and ""Baby Hates Me"" by Danko Jones.
The main match on the Raw brand was John Cena versus Triple H for the WWE Championship, which Cena won via submission after forcing Triple H to submit to the STFU. The predominant match on the SmackDown! brand was Kurt Angle versus Rey Mysterio versus Randy Orton in a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Mysterio won by pinfall after executing a 619 and a West Coast Pop on Orton. Other matches on the undercard featured Shawn Michaels versus Vince McMahon in a No Holds Barred match, The Undertaker versus Mark Henry in a Casket match. and Rob Van Dam versus Shelton Benjamin versus Ric Flair versus Finlay versus Matt Hardy versus Bobby Lashley in a Money in the Bank ladder match
The main feud heading into WrestlemMania on the Raw brand was between John Cena and Triple H over the WWE Championship. After failing to win the Royal Rumble match, Triple H participated in the 2006 Road to WrestleMania Tournament, where the winner would become the number-one contender to the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. In the final match of the tournament, held on the February 20 edition of "Raw", Triple H faced Rob Van Dam and The Big Show in a Triple Threat match. Triple H won the match after pinning Van Dam following a Pedigree.
The predominant feud on the SmackDown! Brand was between Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio, and Randy Orton over the World Heavyweight Championship. Mysterio won the 2006 Royal Rumble match, last eliminating Orton, to earn a world championship match at WrestleMania. At No Way Out, Orton defeated Mysterio to win his WrestleMania 22 world championship match. Five day later, on the February 24 edition of "SmackDown!", SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long announced that the World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania 22 would be a Triple Threat match involving Mysterio, Orton, and champion Angle.
On the March 24 edition of "SmackDown!", Orton interfered in Mysterio's and Angle's respective match. During Mysterio's match against Finlay, Orton interfered and executed an RKO on Mysterio, allowing Finlay to pin Mysterio for the win.<ref name="3/24 SD!"></ref> Later that night, during Angle's match against Mark Henry, Orton attempted to execute an RKO on Angle, but Mysterio attacked him. Mysterio then attempted to perform a springboard hurricanrana on Orton, but Orton moved out of the way and caused Mysterio to execute the move on Angle. Henry executed a splash shortly after to gain the pinfall victory. After the match, Mysterio executed a 619 on Angle. The following week, after Angle defeated Mysterio, Orton came out and executed an RKO on Mysterio.<ref name="3/31 SD!"></ref> Shortly after, Angle executed an Angle Slam Orton and locked him in the ankle lock.
Another primary feud from Raw was between Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon. At the Royal Rumble, during the Royal Rumble match, Vince distracted Michaels as his music started to play. During that time, Shane McMahon, who was not an official entrant in the match, eliminated Michaels after attacking him from behind. One month later, on the February 27 edition of "Raw", Shane hit Michaels with a steel chair and forced him to "kiss" Vince's ass, thus joining Vince's "Kiss My Ass Club."<ref name="2/27 Raw"></ref> Vince then announced that him and Michaels would face off against each other at WrestleMania. On "Raw" two weeks later, Vince forced Michaels to take a public drug test. During the test, however, Michaels threw his urine on both Vince and Shane.<ref name="3/06 Raw"></ref> Later that night, Michaels faced off against The Spirit Squad in a Steel Cage match. The Spirit Squad won the match by pinning Michaels after Shane interfered and slammed the cage door on Michaels. After the match, Shane continued attacking Michaels, causing him to bleed in the process, and executed a corner-to-corner missile dropkick. On the March 18 edition of "Saturday Night's Main Event", Michaels faced off against Shane in a Street Fight. Near the end of the match, Shane locked Michaels in the sharpshooter and Vince ordered the match to end. Vince screwed Michaels, claiming he submitted to the move, and declared Shane the winner via submission. On the March 20 edition of "Raw", Vince announced that his match against Michaels at WrestleMania would now be a No Holds Barred match.
One of the featured matches on the undercard was a Casket match between The Undertaker and Mark Henry. On the March 3 edition of "SmackDown!", Undertaker challenged Angle for the World Heavyweight Championship. During the match, after Undertaker executed a Tombstone piledriver, Henry came out attacked Undertaker, causing the match the end via disqualification.<ref name="3/03 SD!"></ref> Undertaker won the match, but since a championship cannot change hands via countout or disqualification, he did not win the title. The following week, on "SmackDown!", Undertaker challenged Henry to a Casket match at WrestleMania. On the March 18 edition of "Saturday Night's Main Event", Henry, along with his manager Daivari, called out The Undertaker. Undertaker came out, accompanied by Druids carrying a casket, and the two started attacking each other. Shortly after, Undertaker executed a chokeslam, followed by a Tombstone piledriver, to Daivari on the casket.
Before the event went live on pay-per-view, a dark match was held which was an 18-man interpromotional battle royal. Viscera won the battle royal last eliminating Snitsky. After winning the battle royal, he kissed Lilian Garcia. Michelle Williams sang "America the Beautiful" before the show.
The opening match was for the World Tag Team Championship between champions Kane and The Big Show and Carlito and Chris Masters. Kane hit Masters with a big boot, then chokeslammed Carlito to get the victory and to retain the World Tag Team Championship.
The second match was the Money in the Bank ladder match between, Rob Van Dam, Shelton Benjamin, Ric Flair, Finlay, Bobby Lashley and Matt Hardy. In the beginning, Benjamin propped a ladder against the ring rope, then ran it up and launched it into a frontflip on the other contestants outside the ring. Later on, Hardy superplexed Flair off the top of the ladder and Flair's leg injury increased. He was then taken away by the referees to backstage. Flair came back but Finlay hit him with the shillelagh. RVD would then stand up on top of the 15-foot ladder and hit Finlay with a Five-Star Frog Splash. RVD climbed the ladder, but was stopped when Benjamin springboarded onto RVD and delivered each other blows back and fourth. Hardy came out with a second ladder and joined the two. RVD pushed Hardy and Benjamin's ladder over with his feet and pushed them sending them both smashing on the floor. RVD grabbed the briefcase and went on to win the 2006 Money in the Bank ladder match.
Howard Finkel introduced the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2006. First of all, he announced that Bret Hart would not be coming to attend the event, as he did not feel comfortable. "Mean" Gene Okerlund, "Sensational" Sherri Martel, Tony Atlas, William "The Refrigerator" Perry and The Blackjacks (Blackjack Mulligan and Blackjack Lanza) attended the class while Eddie Guerrero was represented by his wife Vickie Guerrero who was supported by Eddie's nephew Chavo Guerrero.
The third match was between John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Chris Benoit for WWE United States Championship. During JBL's entrance, the entrance ramp was raised and JBL's limousine drove out from underneath. JBL hit Benoit a Clothesline From Hell but Benoit avoided the move and applied in the Crippler Crossface. JBL flipped Benoit over on his back and used ropes for leverage and then the referee counted to 3 as JBL won the WWE United States Championship.
The fourth match was a hardcore match between Edge and Mick Foley. When Edge delivered Foley a Spear, he cut his arm and his blood poured out. Foley removed his clothing and revealed that he was wrapped in a razor wire. Near the end of the match, Foley had Edge in control and pulled out a table. Lita then hit Foley in between the legs with a barbed wire bat, and lit the table which then allowed Edge to hit a Spear to Foley through the ring ropes through the flaming table on the outside, and pinned Foley to get the win.
The fifth match was a handicap match where Booker T and Sharmell faced The Boogeyman. He put the worms into his mouth and chewed them and then kissed Sharmell. Sharmell screamed and immediately left the match running to backstage. Boogeyman hit Booker a Falling Chokebomb and pinned Booker to get the victory.
The sixth match was a divas match between Trish Stratus and Mickie James for the WWE Women's Championship. At the end of the match, Mickie hit a Mick Kick on Trish's head which knocked out Trish and then Mickie pinned Trish to win the match and the WWE Women's Championship.
The seventh match was a Casket match between The Undertaker and Mark Henry. Undertaker took advantage and hit Henry with a Last Ride. While Henry was out of the ring, Undertaker hit him with a suicide dive over the top rope. Undertaker went on to hit Henry with a Tombstone Piledriver and then pushed him into the casket to win the match and keeping his undefeated WrestleMania streak alive improving his WrestleMania record to 14-0.