Professional Wrestling

The night of the May WWE pay-per-view event is quickly becoming my least favorite night of the year. As longtime readers might remember, back in 2010 I had to go to the Emergency Room the night of the event and then spend a few days in the hospital. History has repeated itself this year, but instead of me being the patient, this time it was my wife. Due to this family situation, I was unable to watch the entire event and will wait a few days to post a full recap of the show. Until then, here are the results from last night's show:

• Pre-show: The Miz beat Cody Rhodes
• Chris Jericho beat Fandango
• US Championship: Dean Ambrose won the title from Kofi Kingston
• Strap Match: Sheamus beat Mark Henry
• I Quit Match: Alberto Del Rio beat Jack Swagger
• Tornado Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship: The Shield won the titles from Team Hell No
• Extreme Rules Match: Randy Orton beat Big Show
• Last Man Standing Match: WWE Champion John Cena & Ryback fought to a No Contest
• Cage Match: Brock Lesnar beat Triple H

_{Photo of Triple H: Jason Merritt/Getty Images}

Things are going to be extreme on Sunday night as WWE presents Extreme Rules on pay-per-view. As is always the case, you can let me know what you think will be happening at this show by clicking on the comments links below. I just ask that you help keep this site non-spoiler and do not mention anything that happened during Tuesday night's SmackDown taping until that show airs on the East Coast on Friday.

Pre-show: The Miz vs. Cody Rhodes - Both of these men find themselves lost in the shuffle. It's especially surprising to find The Miz in this spot considering that it was only slightly more than two years ago that he won the main event of WrestleMania. Regardless of who wins this match, I don't see it springboarding the status of either man up that far up the ladder. I'm picking Miz to get the win here just to make the fans happy as there is no reason to get them angry minutes before some of them might make the decision to buy this event. Predicted Winner: The Miz

Last weekend, TNA premiered their second pre-taped One Night Only pay-per-view event. This month, the theme of Joker's Wild was that 24 men would be paired up randomly into 12 teams. The first round of the tournament consisted of six tag team matches. The winners of those matches would then go onto compete in a gauntlet battle royal where the winner of that match would walk earn $100,000. To find out who is $100,000 richer as well as what happened at last month's X-Division themed show, click here.

_{PPV Poster: © 2013 TNA Entertainment, LLC.}

Last night, Ring of Honor held Border Wars 2013 on iPPV. In addition to Jay Briscoe successfully defending the Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Championship against Adam Cole, the fate of Steve Corino's Ring of Honor career was on the line in a tag team battle pitting Ring of Honor against SCUM. Because of SCUM's victory, not only does he get to stay in Ring of Honor, Steve Corino also earned a spot at the commentary table for Ring of Honor's programs.

Extreme Rules 2013 will be taking place in three weeks. That show will feature the rubber match between Triple H and Brock Lesnar as well as Ryback getting a shot at the WWE Championship.

Last year's main event at SummerSlam featured Brock and Triple H fight each other while Hell in a Cell 2012 featured Ryback's only one-on-one title shot on pay-per-view to date. To get psyched up for the upcoming pay-per-view, you might be tempted to buy one of these two shows on DVD. My reviews of these two DVDs will let you know whether or not that is a good idea as well as give you an alternative way of watching the main events from both shows.

Suggested Reading

• SummerSlam 2012 DVD Review (New)
• Hell in a Cell 2012 DVD Review (New)

_{Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.
Photo: © 2012 WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved.}

Even though Alberto Del Rio was able to successfully retain the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXIX, he would not leave the Meadowlands with the title. The night after his successful title defense against Jack Swagger, he found himself fighting both Jack Swagger and his manager, Zeb Coulter, in a Handicap Match inside of the Izod Center. Just as he did the night before, Alberto made Jack tap out to the Cross-Arm Breaker. However, Alberto had no opportunity to celebrate this victory. During the match, Alberto suffered an injury to his ankle which was caused by Jack Swagger's Patriot Lock. When medics began attending to Alberto, Dolph Ziggler's music hit.

Who walked out of WerstleMania XXIX as the WWE Champion? Did Dolph Ziggler cash in his Money in the Bank title shot? Is the streak still alive? Was Triple H forced to retire? Click here to find out the answer to these questions and more.

Suggested Reading

• WrestleMania XXIX PPV Recap & Results (New)
• WrestleMania Central (many articles updated)

_{WrestleMania XXIX Logo: © 2012 WWE. The Empire State Building design is a registered TM and used with permission by ESBC.}

Sunday is the biggest day of the year for wrestling fans as WrestleMania XXIX will be taking place. Please note that this event starts earlier and lasts longer than every other pay-per-view event on the WWE calendar. The pay-per-view starts at 7:00 PM EDT and the pre-show, which will stream on WWE.com, begins at 6:00 PM EDT. In addition, you will notice that next to every wrestler's name I have put their record at WrestleMania. For a further breakdown of these numbers, click here. As is always the case, you can let me know what you think will be happening on Sunday night by clicking on the "Leave a Comment" link at the end of this post.

Intercontinental Championship: Champion Wade Barrett (0-1) vs. The Miz (3-0) - This match will be taking place during the pre-show. If history is any indication, there is a strong possibility that something will happen during this match that will cause it to restart with more people added to the match. That allows for the wrestlers that are not currently featured on the show the opportunity to compete and get a WrestleMania bonus check. Since the company added an extra half-hour to the pre-show, I'm thinking that those wrestlers will be put in another bonus match and that this one will go off without a hitch. I'm picking The Miz to get the win here so there is something historic that can be added to the DVD. As far as the bonus match I think will happen, I'm surprised that Antonio Cesaro, the man that has been US Champion since SummerSlam isn't on the show. I'm picking him to win the bonus match I think will be taking place. Predicted Winner: The Miz

I am sorry to report that Richard Reid Fliehr, better known to wrestling fans as Reid Flair, has passed away at the age of 25. Reid, who had wrestled in a few televised matches for WCW before he was a teenager, was the son of Ric Flair.

Yesterday, Reid was found deceased in his room at the Marriott Residence Inn in Charlotte, North Carolina. While an investigation into his death is taking place, TMZ.com is reporting that police do not suspect foul play was involved in his passing. It unfortunately has to be noted that back in 2009, Reid was arrested for heroin possession.

I'd like to take this opportunity to send out my condolences to his family, friends and fans.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Nikita Koloff. In addition to discussing Preacher's Daughters, Nikita also talks about portraying a hated Russian during the Cold War as well as his transition to a fan favorite and the reason he retired from the wrestling business at an early age.

• Interview With Nikita Koloff
• Nikita Koloff Timeline

_{Photo of Nikita Koloff by Stuart Pattican - Copyright 2011}