King Of The Ring Returns, Two New SD Stars & More
Credit: PWInsider.com
On tonight's edition of Friday Night SmackDown!, the King of the Ring tournament was announced to return. The PPV event last aired in 2002, and then after that was canceled due to the Brand PPVs. Teddy Long announced Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton in a tournament bount for next week's SmackDown!. Details on the tournament will be revealed at this site soon.
The debuting Gunner Scott, who defeated Booker T tonight on SmackDown, is WWE developmental talent Brent Albright. Of late, Albright has been one of the top names Ohio Valley Wrestling has been built around, feuding with CM Punk.
The giant who attacked The Undertaker at the conclusion of tonight's episode of Smackdown was Dalip Singh, who has worked for New Japan Pro Wrestling in the past and appeared in the Adam Sandler comedy "The Longest Yard." Singh was originally planned to debut at Wrestlemania 21 as Daivari's new charge, but the decision was made to hold the angle off until Smackdown where there would be a larger viewing audience. Singh has been brought to the Smackdown tapings for months now to work out with a number of stars, including Undertaker, and has been appearing at the Deep South Wrestling tapings in Georgia.
Singh, who originally trained at the All Pro Wrestling school in Hayward, California, was linked to the death of wrestling student Brian Ong, who passed away while training at the age of 24 in May 2001. According to a January 2004 East Bay Express article, Ong (who had previously suffered a concussion but yet continued training) was powerbombed by Singh. Ong took the bump wrong, landing on his tailbone with his head hitting the mat backwards due to the whiplash effect of the bump. The trainers didn't realize how badly Ong, who told them he was dizzy, was hurt until he got on all fours, vomited, and collapsed. They called 911. Ong passed away while being transported to the hospital via ambulance. The official cause of death was acute and subdural hemorrhage due to head trauma. Ong's family sued APW for his death, receiving a $1.34 million ruling against the school and its owner, Roland Alexander. Singh did not testify during the trial and was not implicated legally in Ong's passing.