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  • TNA Impact Wrestling results: Unique Hardy Boys contract signing

    Previously on Impact:

    Last week on Impact, key matches for Slammiversary were made official. They announced the main event, which will be TNA World Champion Drew Galloway defending against Lashley in a match that can only end by submission or knockout. Also, Jeff Hardy defeated Rockstar Spud and Tyrus in a ladder match to ensure he’ll face Matt Hardy at Slammiversary. However, Ethan Carter III doesn’t get his Slammiversary match with The Miracle. EC3 failed on his Road to Redemption when The Miracle caused a disqualification in the EC3 vs. Matt Hardy match.

    Tonight on Impact:

    On tonight’s Impact, Galloway and Lashley will participate in “Pick Your Poison”, which means they get to choose each other’s opponents. Furthermore, after losing last week, one could presume that EC3 will attempt to find another way to get his match with The Miracle at Slammiversary.

    Show Recap:

    -We kick the night off backstage. TNA President Dixie Carter is talking to someone, but we don’t see their face. She recaps the chaos in the last several weeks. She’s desperate to regain control so she is allowing the mystery individual to run Impact tonight.

    -In the arena, Mike Bennett and Maria enter the ring. Josh Matthews and The Pope welcome us to Impact and they wonder whom Dixie’s talking to. The Miracle wants to know who is in charge of Impact tonight and calls out the individual. Cue the catchiest music in wrestling and EC3 hits the ring. As EC3 makes his way to the ring Josh informs us that Dixie sent out a tweet just now that EC3 is in charge.

    After failing on his Road to Redemption, EC3 simply made his match with The Miracle for Slammiversary. EC3 is giving The Miracle the night off from wrestling, but he’s going to be the custodian. Also, Maria is going to have a job evaluation and EC3 wil mediate the situation between Gail and Maria. EC3 sends The Miracle and Maria away.

    Next, Bobby Lashley came out and said that since EC3 had stuck his nose in his business now Lashley is going to get in EC3’s business. EC3 let Lashley know that he had “regulated” his power to Drew Galloway in regards to Lashley. This of course brought out the TNA world champion.

    It feels too easy that EC3 was simply put in charge for the night and he can make his match with The Miracle. Also, it seems way to easy for people to in TNA to give other people power.

    -Back from commercial in the back. EC3 and The Miracle are in the washroom. The Miracle has to be the custodian and clean the toilets. EC3 had a funny line when he went into one of the stalls and pointed out that somebody had gone “number 4”. TNA is literally doing toilet humor.​

    King of the Mountain Champion Bram vs. “The Destroyer” Bobby Lashley

    TNA World Champion Drew announces KOTM Champ Bram as Lashley’s opponent. This is the first Pick Your Poison match of the night. This was a really good and very physical fight. Bram runs wild on Lashley and sends him to the outside. Lashley takes over on Bram and uses his headband to choke Bram. Lashley uses the chair for the DQ and used two spears after the match. He set up for a third but Drew ran out with a chair for the save. Drew then chased Lashley through the crowd.

    Bram’s laying on his back motionless when Eli Drake comes out and cashes in his Feast or Fired KOTM title shot.

    King of the Mountain Champion Bram vs. Eli Drake

    Eli covers Bram who kicked out at two and a half. Eli tried to take back his briefcase, but Earl wouldn’t let him. Eli and Bram had a short match that ended with Eli scoring the pin and winning the match. Eli is the new KOTM champ.

    -Earlier today, The BroMans were hanging out by the pool and recapping Raquel training them. Raquel shows up and lets them know if they want to win the gold they have to learn to focus. The music then became all adult film like and the screen became purple. She wore a bikini and told them to focus on her. Jesse got it but Robbie E. was confused. He wasn’t the only one.

    -Back in the washrooms, The Miracle and EC3 are continuing the whole cleaning the toilets thing. Earl Hebner comes out of one of the stalls. Earl said The Miracle isn’t a star and called him a bad word. EC3 informed The Miracle that his next task is going to be as a referee.

    -Next, we go to Matt Hardy’s home and property in North Carolina. Josh tells us that Matt is going to sign the contract for his match with Jeff at Slammiversary at his home and has invited Jeff.

    -Backstage, Eli is celebrating his title win and is offering people champagne, but knocks it out of their hand each time.

    -At Matt Hardy’s home, Matt walks out of the house and tells us he’s invited us and Brother Nero (Jeff Hardy) into his house for the contract signing. This was a cool little video and is very intriguing.

    The BroMans (Robbie E. & Jesse Godderz w/ Raquel) vs. Rockstar Spud and Tyrus w/ guest referee Mike Bennett

    Josh informs us that the winners of this match will receive a shot at the tag titles at Slammiversary. The story of this match was that The Miracle seemed uninterested and he let the heels cheat. The heels were about to put The BroMans away when Raquel distracted Tyrus by showing him some “stretches”. The BroMans mans took out Tyrus on the outside. Jesse got Spud in the Boston Crab and he tapped immediately but The Miracle didn’t call for the bell. He tried to give Spud a chance, but realized there was no point. The BroMans win the match and get a shot at the tag champions Decay at Slammiversary.

    -In the back, Maria is on the phone with Bill Corgan when EC3 approaches. He lets her know that the job evaluation is next.

    -Next we get shots of Jeff on his bike and on his way to see Matt at his house.

    -In the ring, EC3 orders Allie and Sienna out of the ring. EC3 doesn’t think Maria is doing a very good job as the leader of the Knockouts. EC3 calls out Gail to see what she thinks. EC3 points out that because Maria put her hands on Gail it’s grounds for dismissal. Gail wants a match with Maria but she refuses because she is the leader of the Knockouts. EC3 informs her that she isn’t right now because she’s in a job evaluation. EC3 makes Gail vs. Maria official for Slammiversary. They go face to face and EC3 separates them. Everyone was really good here in particular EC3 who is having a pretty good night. 

    TNA Knockouts Champion Jade and Gail Kim vs. Sienna and Allie

    EC3 made this match right before the commercial break. EC3 and Maria are seated at ringside. Allie was really funny here when she was screeching at EC3. Gail is in control of Allie who is still screeching. The faces use several double team moves on Sienna. Sienna uses several power moves to gain the advantage. Jade got the hot tag and ran wild on Sienna. Jade used the package piledriver on Allie to win the match.

    -Back at Matt’s house, Jeff pulls up on his bike as Reby is leaving with Maxell strapped to her chest. She tells him she can’t talk to Matt and wants nothing to do with this. She leaves and Jeff enters the house.

    In the house, Matt is playing the piano and Jeff enters. Jeff demands he signs the contract but Matt says they must end this where it began.

    -In the ring, The Miracle was mad about the way EC3 has treated him and his wife. The Miracle says he’s not a janitor or referee, he’s a wrestler. EC3 says he lied and The Miracle in fact has a match tonight. EC3 says it’ll be a “miracle” if Bennett’s opponent showed up sober. This obviously brings out James Storm for a match with Bennett.

    “The Miracle” Mike Bennett w/ “The First Lady of Professional Wrestling” Maria Kanellis vs. James Storm

    Back from commercial and the match is in progress. The Miracle is wearing jeans and not his regular gear. Storm dominates the early moments but The Miracle soon takes over. Storm makes a comeback and hits almost all of his key moves. Storm sets for the Last Call when Maria hands him a beer. Storm teases spiting the beer in her face, but she slaps him which leads to The Miracle scoring the win.

    Post match, EC3 confirms their match for Slammiversary. EC3 pointed out that Miracle likes to call himself God but if he’s God then EC3 is his devil. The segment ended with Storm giving The Miracle The Last call.

    -In the ring, Al Snow introduced The Tribunal (Basille Baraca and Baron Dax). They cut a promo in French and English. The crowd chanted “boring” and “what” throughout the segment. Al said he beat Grado last week with a wrestling move not using weapons. They showed footage of Al using the Snow Plow to win the match. Grado and Mahabali Shera come out and tried to do comedy that bombed horribly. Grado showed the rest of the footage, which shows Al using weapons. They did some more bad comedy and Al insulted their mother. A brawl broke out with The Tribunal getting the better of the faces.

    -We get a recap of the Ultimate X match from last week won by Trevor Lee.

    -Next we get an interview with Braxton Sutter, formerly Pepper Parks, who discuss his journey to making it in TNA and his imminent debut.

    -Back at Matt’s house, Matt takes Jeff to a room on his property. In the room is a ring, which presumably is the ring the Hardy’s used to train on.

    -Drew Galloway is in the ring when Bobby Lashley comes out. Lashley announces Drew’s opponents who are TNA Tag team champs Decay. Josh and The Pope wonder who of Decay is Drew’s opponent.

    TNA Champ Drew Galloway vs. Decay (Abyss, Crazy Steve & Rosemary)

    Turns out Drew will be taking on all three memebers of Decay. Drew and Decay brawl around ringside to start the match. Rosemary jumps on Drew’s back which distracts him long enough for the heels to take over. Decay tried to double team Drew but he made a comeback and took them out. Drew set up for the claymore, but Rosemary got in his way. Drew teased the Future Shock DDT on Rosemary, but turned his attention to Steve. Abyss scored a near fall with a choke slam. Rosemary pulled out Janice from underneath the ring, which distracted the ref. Lashley snuck in and tried to spear Drew but he moved and Lashley speared Abyss instead. Drew hit the Future Shock DDT on Steve to win the match.

    Post match, Drew flipped the bird at Lashley causing the two to have a stare down.

    -Back at Matt’s house, they finally sign the contract on a circular table. Matt and Jeff face off in the ring at which point Reby enters with Maxell still strapped to her chest. She yells at Jeff and throws Maxell at him! It’s not actually Maxell it’s actually a doll. Matt hits Jeff with a glass bottle to the back of the head. Matt then gives Jeff the side effect of the apron through the circular table. The table didn’t break and they did this in slow motion. Jeff is left lying on the ground as we fade to black.

    Next Time on Impact:

    Next week’s Impact is the go-home show for the Slammiversary PPV.

  • WWE Smackdown spoilers: AJ Styles vs. Kofi Kingston

    From tonight’s Smackdown tapings in Rockford, IL, for the show airing Wednesday in Canada and Thursday in the U.S.:

    – The New Day opened the show with an interview. The Club then came out. The segment set up an A.J. Styles vs. Kofi Kingston main event for the show.

    – Becky Lynch beat WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte via DQ in a non-title match. Dana Brooke interfered. They double-teamed Lynch and Natalya made the save. The faces cleaned house on Charlotte and Brooke.

    – Dean Ambrose and Sami Zayn did a backstage interview. Kevin Owens and Alberto Del Rio came out to interrupt to set up a tag match for later in the show.

    – The Dudleys beat R-Truth & Goldust when Tyler Breeze & Fandango distracted them. This set up another R-Truth & Goldust vs. Breeze & Fandango match.

    – Sami Zayn & Dean Ambrose beat Kevin Owens & Alberto Del Rio. They all brawled after the match. A ladder got in the ring. Owens went to climb up when Cesaro ran in and pulled Owens down and he grabbed the MiTB briefcase.

    – U.S. Champion Rusev beat Jack Swagger via DQ on a reversed decision when Rusev wouldn’t break the Accolade. Titus O’Neil made the save.

    – A.J. Styles pinned Kofi Kingston using the Styles Clash. Anderson, Gallows, Big E and Xavier Woods all brawled at ringside. Roman Reigns got involved (not sure if this was dark or not) and Reigns was strongly cheered when he confronted Styles.

  • DR. KEITH PRESENTS: Super Strong Style 16!!!

    We’re back on the DKP and back from two days in London for the ELECTRIC Super Strong Style 16 tournament in Camden’s appropriately titled Electric Ballroom. PROGRESS Wrestling put on two incredible days of pro wrestling that provided us with alot to talk about!

    In the first segment of the show, one third of PROGRESS ownership, Glen Joseph, joins Alan to discuss the weekend from a behind the scenes perspective and to talk about some of the truly special moments of the weekend for them. Then in part 2, taped LIVE ON THE STREETS OF CAMDEN, Oli Court, Iain Seaton and Jack Layzell brave the wind (we tried our best to shield the mic!) to talk to Alan about everything that happened on both shows. The lads discuss the best matches, the ironman performances of Chris Hero, Tommy End and Mark Andrews, the storylines going forward and so much more. It was an amazing tournament, an amazing weekend of wrestling and you can hear all about it this week on the DKP!!! CHECK IT!!! 

    (Note: Unfortunately, both segments had some audio issues which we’ve done our best to clean up. The aforementioned wind wasn’t too bad for the most part, but unfortunately there were issues with the interview with Glen so audio is not ideal on that. Apologies, we hope you still deem it listenable and are able to enjoy!)

    Right click save

  • NJPW Best of the Super Juniors results: Ricochet vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

    More Super Junior action took place on 5/30 in Tottori as B Block matches commenced:

    Will Ospreay vs. Tiger Mask

    This was really good. Ospreay moved around great and Tiger Mask was the good grumpy veteran who kept things grounded. At one point, Ospreay hit what looked like an inverted phoenix splash but Tiger Mask got the knees up, took him to the corner and hit a butterfly suplex from the top rope. Ospreay kicked out of that, but eventually submitted to Tiger Mask’s scissors armbar.

    Volador Jr. vs. Bobby Fish

    Fish controlled a lot of the match and worked on Volador’s leg near the end. Volador went to do something on the top rope, flipped over to the floor but his leg buckled. That allowed Fish to come in and hit a falcon arrow, but Volador kicked out. Fish followed with an ankle lock and submitted him. Good match.

    Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Ricochet

    Pretty good back and forth match. Liger was very competitive and did all of his big moves, including the shotei and the running senton to the floor. Ricochet made a comeback, hit a big time brainbuster but Liger kicked out. Ricochet followed that with his cobra twist submission for the win.

    Current tallies:

    Block A:

    • Ryusuke Taguchi – 6
    • Kyle O’Reilly – 6
    • Matt Sydal – 6
    • Rocky Romero – 4
    • Kushida – 4
    • Gedo – 2
    • Bushi – 2
    • David Finlay – 2

    Block B:

    • Ricochet – 6
    • Jushin Thunder Liger – 4
    • Baretta – 4
    • Volador Jr. – 4
    • Tiger Mask – 4
    • Bobby Fish – 4
    • Will Ospreay – 2
    • Chase Owens – 2

  • WWE RAW Hits & Misses: Cena gets Clubbed, Rollins mimes, Golden Truth shines

    Monday night’s edition of RAW had its moments without exactly firing on all cylinders. Here’s where it went right…and where it went very, very wrong.

    — The Hits —

    Trios pow-wows

    Tag team main events are usually throwaway affairs in the WWE universe. As such, those backstage huddles featuring all six Money in the Bank ladder match entrants were very welcome. Recycling the “Sami is Canadian too” joke from last week worked well, as did Jericho’s continued brilliant use of the word “idiot”. That, of course, led to a wonderful “stupid idiot” chant during the main event, directed at the Fozzy frontman. The match itself was merely fine, but featured a hot finish and a much-needed attempt to rehab a cooled-off Dean Ambrose.

    Cena’s return and AJ’s turn

    While I’m not entirely sold on AJ’s full-fledged heel turn, it must be acknowledged that its execution was excellent here. Further, the company is quite light on the heel side at the moment. While I could have done without the cringeworthy, jingoistic intro, John Cena’s comeback promo was one of his strongest in some time. Delivered with fantastic fire, it underlined the veteran’s new role as the gatekeeper of the WWE: “The future must go through me”.

    The Golden Truth shine

    I’m as surprised as you are, believe me, but Monday night’s first hour segment involving the Golden Truth actually worked. Key to its success was allowing two of the most naturally amusing men on the roster to be themselves, free from the writers’ awful input. Truth and Goldust’s contributions on commentary during The Usos’ quick win over Breezango were often hilarious with Truth reprising his inability to distinguish Byron Saxton from Jonathan Coachman – despite the fact that “Coach has talent” as JBL helpfully pointed out.

    I must admit I’m also a big fan of Truth’s remixed rap, heard in its full form on Smackdown, but sadly cut off here by a commercial break. Credit also to Tyler Breeze for his inset promo (“The Ewww-sos”) for showing how his mastery over his character has been shamefully wasted on the main roster.

    Enzo & Cass

    They seem to be featured here every week but even though their promo ostensibly just listed cheeses at one point, everything this team touches turns to gold at the moment. Although, I could do without that double team Rocket Launcher finish as they never seem to execute it convincingly.

    –The Misses–

    Using The New Day to distract from the brand split fiasco

    Last week’s news that the debut of live Tuesday night Smackdown would usher in another brand split conjured up many appalling vistas. Chief among them was the prospect of having to watch nine hours of WWE programming in three days on PPV weeks, closely followed by the harebrained possible reintroduction of two world titles. Worries about the potential for tag teams to be forcibly separated weren’t exactly high on folks’ lists of concerns.

    But that’s the draft-related horror that New Day asked us to consider in RAW’s overlong opening segment in which their comedy was used to distract from the fact that company is figuring the detail of this guaranteed failure out as it goes. The idea that the Vaudevillains denying us the “pleasure” of Stephanie’s dancing is supposed to generate heel heat was where the real humour lay, however, as was that team’s failure to upbraid The Club for getting them disqualified from what was effectively a number one contendership opportunity.

    Rollins The Mute

    Following on from the abrupt ending to his in-ring promo on Smackdown, the returning Seth Rollins went one better on Monday night by saying absolutely nothing – for a very, very long time. I’d love to tell you what Rollins’ fakeouts were supposed to achieve, but sadly I’m not one of the 28 typewriter-armed monkeys that this company employs. On that note, every time I hear Roman’s “I’m not a good guy….” catchphrase or JBL parroting Vince’s “polarising figure” nonsense, I want to scream. Nails on a chalkboard, every time.

    Dolph and Baron play Roshambo

    Dolph Ziggler baiting Baron Corbin into a “technical wrestling match” (translation: a match) only to kick him in the cojones was extremely dumb. Not only did Dolph cost himself a third loss to Corbin, he also made himself look like a coward. Wouldn’t a real babyface pour everything he had into besting the balding one in a fair fight?

    Titus confronts the “Bulgarian Blowhard”

    Speaking of poor writing, is anyone getting tired of Zack Ryder cutting pre-match promos about overcoming the odds only to lose comprehensively? What is the point of that exactly? US Champion Rusev crushed Ryder in short order before being confronted by proud American Titus O’Neil. O’Neil nervously delivered his scripted verbiage, including the embarrassing insult transcribed above, to a relatively underwhelming response. Still, at least this means the Bulgarian won’t be dropping the strap to the returning Cena any time soon as many predicted. Finally, what was up with Lana’s accent in her pre-match introduction?

    The Charlotte follow-up

    Where do I start with this one? I could talk about how Stephanie felt it necessarily to once again verbally tear strips off one of her major champions. I could talk about the lameness of the talking heads’ contribution in the preceding video package. I could discuss how little sense it makes that Charlotte throwing off the yolk of her cheating father is being portrayed as a heelish progression for her character.

    Whichever way you look at it, Monday’s follow-up to what was a disastrous promo from the Women’s champion last week was just as crummy as the distraction finish she caused in Dana Brooke’s match against Natalya. Apparently it’s important that all these women are made to look dumb, face or heel. Dreadful.

  • Daily Update: Goldberg to WWE, Enzo & Cass on ESPN, Ricochet vs. Ospreay

    While nothing is even close to happening with bringing in Bill Goldberg to WWE in a wrestling capacity, 2K officially announced his inclusion as a character in the WWE 2K17 video game, made public last night in an ad that aired on RAW. As discussed on Observer Radio, this opens up intriguing possibilities for a return match based on past history with Ultimate Warrior, Brock Lesnar, and Sting appearing in 2K ads. He did an interview with IGN you can see here. WWE definitely wants you to think that Goldberg returning is a possibility. 

    NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FROM HIROSHIMA ON TUESDAY (taped for New Japan World available later in the day)

    • Bushi vs. David Finlay
    • Matt Sydal vs. Rocky Romero
    • Kushida vs. Gedo
    • Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kyle O’Reilly

    Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on today in Rockford, IL  We’re also looking for reports on this show.

    NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FROM NAGOYA ON THURSDAY (taped for New Japan World, available later in the day)

    • Volador Jr. vs. Chase Owens
    • Jushin Liger vs. Tiger Mask
    • Bobby Fish vs. Will Ospreay
    • Ricochet vs. Trent Baretta

    THE ROUND-UP

    If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our Youtube page! No full video shows, but lots of video clips, full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!

    Figure Four Weekly 5/30/2016: Big Vito’s deposition – If you thought Evan Singleton’s deposition went badly for the plaintiffs in the WWE concussion lawsuit, then that appears to be nothing compared to what happened a week later during Vito LoGrasso’s deposition on May 18th. Given the back and forth over LoGrasso claiming that head injuries caused partial deafness when, in the past, he had spoken of having a hearing impairment since birth, the deposition promised to be interesting. It over-delivered.

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter

    READ IT HERE: May 30, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Return of Seth Rollins and the WWE brand split, plus tons of news

    With two of the biggest news stories of the year, the WWE brand split and the UFC sale both in play, we’ve got a new issue of the Observer packed with news.

    Our lead story looks at the brand split, with what we do know, what has and hasn’t been decided and the background of how it went down. There’s also more info on the UFC sale talks.  Plus there is coverage of the return of Seth Rollins, the build to Money in the Bank and have coverage of Extreme Rules, the negotiations for a Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz fight and look more at the Floyd Mayweather vs. McGregor rumors. Take an in-depth look at the departure of Cody Runnels (Rhodes) from WWE and his future prospects, plus look at his complaints regarding people in the company. All this plus a look at the New Japan Super Juniors tournament, the funding of the Hulk Hogan lawsuit, the World Cup trios tournament coming up and a feature on the last PWG show.

    The lead story looks at every aspect of the brand split.  It looks at the original goals and reasons for it and what did and didn’t work, plus how it’ll be different this time, how the touring will work, and an examination of what talent knows and tentative plans in place.  Vince McMahon’ reaction is a big part of this, and this issue explains how the deal went down, the story behind the story and other aspects to be considered. There’s also a look at Smackdown going live, the affect on the fan base, the affect on TNA and why it was important to get Smackdown away from Thursday.

    Another big story in this issues is Extreme Rules, the decision to make Seth Rollins a heel and current plans for Money in the Bank, and also match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.

    Details about what’s going on with Conor McGregor, including Colin Cowherd’s claim that Mayweather vs. McGregor is happening, as well as a look at the Nate Diaz negotiations last week and what McGregor has said publicly.

    Finally, this issue looks at Cody Runnels leaving WWE, what he said was the reason why, and a look into those reasons, and a look at the realities of WWE business decisions and his background.

    CLICK HERE FOR A FULL PREVIEW.

    Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

    You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer.

    You can also order print issues at www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

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    If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.

    If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today.  With a 40-issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues. 

    Check out the latest online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE: April 26, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Davy Boy Smith recovering in the hospital, UFC to be sanctioned by Nevada State Athletic Commission, more. This past week has seen Davey Boy Smith, going stir crazy in a Calgary Hospital, attempt to start battling back after the worst year in his life.

    TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE

    Earlier today, John Ourand of Sports Business Journal tweeted that Monday’s Game 7 betwen Golden State & Oklahoma City did around an 11.2 rating — a record for any NBA game on cable. The first game of the Stanley Cup Finals between San Jose and Pittburgh did around a 2.8. We’re still awaiting RAW ratings, but expect them to be affected by the big competition.

    Enzo and Cass are guests on SportsCenter tonight. Will ESPN let them call Coachman SAWFT?

    Goldberg appeared on the latest Ringer Wrestling podcast with David Shoemaker Tuesday as well. He is asked about returning to action and while he didn’t say no, he didn’t say yes either. He had spoken about wanting to wrestle one last time so his child could see him, but he has yet to find the perfect scenario to do so. Can WWE create one he would approve?

    If you have not seen the Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet match from the Best of the Super Juniors tournament that everyone has been raving about of late, New Japan has put it up absolutely free on Youtube. You’ll have to rewind about a dozen times to catch all the incredible action. It’s far more entertaining than “just another indy spot fest.” It’s phenomenal storytelling AND incredible athletics. 

    Pro Wrestling

    • Paige beat Summer Rae and Jack Swagger beat Viktor of the Ascension at the Superstars tapings before Raw went on the air last night. Viktor of the Ascension is currently being rebranded as “The Demonic” Victor, with different face paint. His tag team partner, Konnor, is currently serving a wellness policy suspension. 
    • The 2 hour RAW replay Friday night on SyFy did 403,000 viewers and was the top rated show of the night for that network. This would be a replay of the May 23rd show. It was down from last week, which did 467,000 viewers.
    • Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch is advertised for Smackdown tonight, as is Styles & Gallows & Anderson vs. Roman Reigns & Usos, although the latter is a dark match and may very well not take place.
    • This post-Raw video with Mick Foley and Becky Lynch is notable mostly for how much weight Foley has lost of late.
    • The NWA is re-launching their NWA Classics service at NWA On Demand, complete with a new website and the first week free for subscribers.
    • SI’s Extra Mustard chatted with Velvet Sky on Bubba Dudley, WWE, and TNA.
    • Kamaitachi will be facing Chris Dickinson on 6/17 in NYC at the House of Glory / Beyond Wrestling joint show in Queens, NY.
    • The two-day JT Lightning 2016 Invitational Tournament is available to purchase and stream right now.
    • The creators of Netflix hit Orange is The New Black got another Netflix show greenlit: a comedy series based on the 80s female wrestling organization GLOW. No, seriously. It’s happening. It will be a half-hour comedy with 10 episodes.
    • ECWA returns to action this Saturday in Woodbury Heights, NJ.
    • For those with San Francisco Chronicle online access, there’s a story about Nick Reckas from 1975 and his association with the city’s mayor.
    • Not everyone is standing with Hulk Hogan and the anti-Gawker group. Here’s an NYT op-ed from someone that is with Gawker.

    MMA

    • In an interview with Submission Radio, Max Holloway talked about his fight with Ricardo Lamas, why he’s in his head, what he wants next and his prediction on how he wins at UFC 199.
    • Also in an interview with Submission Radio, Conor McGregor’s boxing sparring partner and former IBO welterweight champion Chris Van Heerden discussed boxing Conor, what would happen in a boxing match with Mayweather, how McGregor would do as a boxer and if he thinks Conor will outbox Nate Diaz in a MMA rematch.
    • For those into the bizarre, here’s a clip of BJJ match that ended via submission due to someone farting in their competitor’s face which caused vomiting. Yes, we just wrote that sentence.
    • UFC announced they are launching their first podcast UFC Unfiltered with comedian Jim Norton and fomer UFC welterweight champ Matt Serra that will air twice a week. The show kicks off on June 21st. Essentially, it’s another version of The Fighter & The Kid.
    • In case you missed it, our own Paul “Ace” Fontaine has an article here ranking the top UFC PPV draws of all time from McGregor to Mighty Mouse. It’s a really good read for those into the drawing aspect of stardom.

    EVENTS

    • June 1 – PWP runs tomorrow night, at the Waiting Room Lounge in Omaha, NE
    • June 4 – UFC 199 from the Forum in Los Angeles with Michael Bisping getting his first title opportunity of his career battling Luke Rockhold for the middleweight belt
    • June 4 – In celebration of Metro Pro’s Sixth Anniversary, Demolition (Ax & Smash) will be in action on Saturday, Turner Recreation Center in Kansas City, Kansas. The event address is: 831 S. 55th St., Kansas City, KS 66106 – Tickets can be bought in advance.
    • June 5 – AAA’s Victoria World Cup men and women’s trio tournament finals at Los Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City which will be a live iPPV show
    • June 7 – New Japan Best of the Super Juniors finals from Sendai live on New Japan World
    • June 8 – NXT Takeover from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL featuring Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor in a cage match plus a loaded lineup that includes American Alpha vs. The Revival and probably Shinsuke Nakamura vs Austin Aries, which could be WWE’s match of the month.
    • June 11 – NECW presents the 2016 IRON 8 Championship, Saturday Night, June 11 in Wakefield, MA
    • June 12 – TNA Slammiversary headlined by Drew Galloway vs. Bobby Lashley for the TNA title from Orlando
    • June 12 – Revolution Pro Wrestling in London, England headlined by Kurt Angle vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
    • June 17 – AAW “Killers Among Us” features Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Johnny Gargano, Drago vs. Chris Hero, and more at 115 Bourbon Street (3359 w 115th Street Merrionette Park, IL) All Ages Event – Tickets available.
    • June 18 – UFC in Ottawa: Rory McDonald vs. Stephen Thompson
    • June 18 – New England Fights (NEF) returns to the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, Maine with “NEF 24: PROMISED LAND.” Tickets for “NEF 24” are on sale now.
    • June 19 – New Japan Dominion, one of the company’s biggest events of the year, featuring Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada in an IWGP title match and Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi in a ladder match for the IC title
    • June 19 – WWE Money in the Bank from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas 
    • June 24 – ROH Best in the World from Concord, NC with Jay Lethal vs. Jay Briscoe for the ROH title 
    • June 25 – Ultima Lucha tapings in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles at The Temple
    • June 26 – Ultima Lucha tapings in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles at The Temple   
    • July 7-11 The 10th annual Wrestling Observer/F4W convention in Las Vegas, EdinSanAntonio has all the information up on Facebook, or email him at F4Wfan@hotmail.com.

    Today in Professional Wrestling History: Kowalski vs. Bruno Death Match; Andersons win Georgia Tag Titles; Ryback wins IC Title

  • Figure Four Weekly 5/30/2016: Big Vito’s deposition

    If you thought Evan Singleton’s deposition went badly for the plaintiffs in the WWE concussion lawsuit, then that appears to be nothing compared to what happened a week later during Vito LoGrasso’s deposition on May 18th. Given the back and forth over LoGrasso claiming that head injuries caused partial deafness when, in the past, he had spoken of having a hearing impairment since birth, the deposition promised to be interesting. It over-delivered.

    Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

  • Cody Rhodes return features a match against Kurt Angle

    One of Cody Rhodes’ first matches on the independent scene will be on what is traditionally the biggest independent show of the year in the U.S.

    Rhodes will be facing Kurt Angle, one of the names on his bucket list, on 8/27 in Wappingers Falls, NY, at Dutchess Stadium for Northeast Wrestling’s annual “Wrestling Under the Stars” event. The stadium show has featured over the years the biggest independent stars available, including names like Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan, and usually draws in excess of 3000 fans.

    Rhodes, by the terms of his WWE contract release, will be allowed to start working under his name on 8/19, and earlier this week, he posted a bucket list of what his goals were. Another of his bucket list items, the Battle of Los Angeles put on by PWG, is usually held at about that same time each year.

    Also announced for the show will be Jeff Hardy vs. Jushin Liger in what is believed to be the first time the two have faced off in a singles match. They join Matt Hardy, Jerry Lawler, Booker T, Pentagon Jr., Sami Callihan, Kamaitachi along with local wrestlers and the wrestler formerly known as Hornswoggle.

    Stemming from the success of its Wappingers Falls shows, Northeast Wrestling will be doing a series of Wrestling Under the Stars events this summer, including in Hickory, NC; Niles, OH; Pomona, NY; and Pittsfield, MA.

  • WWE SummerSlam NXT weekend show is still on

    According to WWE officials, there is nothing to read into the sudden disappearance of the NXT show over SummerSlam weekend from the WWE and Ticketmaster schedule.

    The show was scheduled for 8/20 at the Barclays Center, the first of three straight nights WWE was running the building with NXT, SummerSlam and Raw. All three nights sold out last year, and last year’s NXT show drew easily the biggest crowd in NXT history with more than 13,000 fans.

    On Tuesday, WWE officials said that Ticketmaster would be updating the page with new logos and information and that the show is still on.

    When it appeared that the next major show had disappeared, there were performers in NXT concerned yesterday because they haven’t been told anything, and the 6/8 TakeOver show is billed as “The End”.

    Obviously, it would make no sense to drop NXT as the training facility is the key to the future of the company and they need to run live events to give the upcoming wrestlers ring experience before they start in televised matches or move to the main roster. 

  • Daily Pro Wrestling History (05/31): Kowalski vs. Bruno Death Match; Andersons win Georgia Tag Titles; Ryback wins IC Title

    1937

    Tulsa, Oklahoma:
    – Red Berry defeated Hugh Nichols to win the World Light Heavyweight Title 

    1940

    Columbus, Ohio:
    – Jules Larance defeated Gil Knutsen for the Midwest Wrestling Association World Junior Heavyweight Title

    Kansas City, Kansas:
    – World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Bruns beat Steve Brody (Brody was the World Junior Heavyweight Champion)
    – Orville Brown beat Karol Zbyszko (Zbyszko was billed as a nephew of Stanislaus and Wladek)
    – Ray Schwartz defeated Fritz Schnabel 
    – Ronnie Etchison and Angelo Martini went to a time limit draw

    1944 

    Mexico City, Mexico:
    – El Santo won the Mexican National Middleweight Title from Tuffy Truesdale in a tournament final

    1951 

    Kansas City, Kansas:
    – Jerry Meeker defeated Hal Keen
    – Ray Eckert beat Bob Orton Sr
    – Dennis Clary beat Emil Dusek
    – The Dusek Brothers (Ernie and Joe Dusek) defeated Ronnie Etchison and Ralph Garibaldi in 2 out of 3 falls

    1965 

    – Pepper Martin defeated The Mad Russian for the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title

    1967

    Denver, Colorado;
    – Verne Gagne (sub Danny Hodge) & Ernie Ladd beat Johnny Powers & Johnny Valentine on a 3rd fall dq
    – Lou Thesz beat Larry Hennig 
    – Alberto Torres beat Bobby Duncum

    1968

    Atlanta, Georgia:
    – Alberto and Enrique Torres defeated El Mongol and Hans Schmidt to win the Georgia NWA Southern Tag Team Titles

    1969 

    Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
    – Wilbur Snyder defeated Dr. X on a 3rd fall dq
    – in a Handicap Match, Mad Dog Vachon & Butcher Vachon beat The Crusher
    – Luis Martinez beat Kenny Jay
    – Rene Goulet beat Johnny Kace 
    – Pampero Firpo beat Angelo Poffo

    St. Paul, Minnesota:
    – AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Lars Anderson
    – Flying Redheads, Red Bastien & Billy Red Lyons beat Larry Hennig & Harley Race on a 3rd fall dq
    – Bill Watts beat Bob Geigel
    – Joe Scarpello drew Big K 
    – Bob Kappel beat Kenny Yates

    1969 

    Boston, Massachusetts: 
    – Killer Kowalski defeated WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino in a Texas death match

    1971 

    Shreveport, Louisiana:
    – Tom Jones and Billy Red Lyons defeated The Spoilers for the Tri-State NWA United States Tag Team Titles

    1972 

    Nashville, Tennessee:
    – Karl and Kurt Von Brauner defeated Robert Fuller and Kevin Sullivan for the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Titles 

    Miami, Florida:
    – The Professional (Doug Gilbert) and Mike Webster won the NWA Florida Tag Team Titles from Boris Malenko and Bob Roop 

    1974

    Atlanta, Georgia:
    – Gene and Ole Anderson defeated Bob Armstrong and Robert Fuller to win the NWA Georgia Tag Team Titles

    1975

    Kansas City, Kansas:
    – Ed Wiskoski (Col. DeBeers) defeated Jerry Oates for the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title 

    Minneapolis, Minnesota:
    – AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Dusty Rhodes & Larry Hennig 
    – Billy Robinson no contest Baron Von Raschke
    – Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Rock Riddle & Frankie Hill 
    – Khosrow Vaziri (Iron Shiek) drew Buddy Wolff

    1979 

    Noshiro, Japan:
    – Great Kojika and Motoshi Okuma won the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Titles from The Kiwis (Butch Miller and Sweet William)

    1980

    Indianapolis, Indiana:
    – Dick the Bruiser defeated King Kong (Bruiser) Brody for the World Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title

    1981 

    Shreveport, Louisiana
    – Jake Roberts defeated The Grappler to win the Mid-South North American Heavyweight Title

    1982 

    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – Ron Bass defeated Pat Hutchinson and Tom Maley in a handicap match
    – The Iron Sheik defeated Bobby Fulton
    – Koko Ware defeated Bill Dundee by disqualification
    – King Cobra defeated NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Champion Bobby Eaton to win the title
    – AWA Southern Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express (Norvell Austin and Dennis Condrey) defeated The Fabulous Ones (Steve Keirn and Stan Lane) by disqualification to retain the title
    – AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Jerry Lawler defeated Kamala by disqualification to retain the title

    1986

    Nassau, Bahamas:
    – Ron Bass defeated Tyree Pride to win the NWA Bahamas Heavyweight Title

    Bayamon, Puerto Rico:
    – Eric Embry won the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title by defeating Super Medico I

    1991

    Naucalpan, Mexico:
    – Los Villanos (I, IV and V) defeated The Hawaiian Beasts (Kokina (Yokozuna), Fatu and the Samoan Savage) for the UWA World Trios Titles

    Dallas, Texas:
    – Bill Dundee defeated Tom Prichard (subbing for Eric Embry) for the USWA Texas Heavyweight Title 

    1992 

    Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada:
    – Chi Chi Cruz (Corey Peloquin) defeated Gerry Morrow to win the West Four Wrestling Alliance Canadian Heavyweight Title

    1998 

    WWF Over the Edge: Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
    – LOD 2000 (Animal and Hawk (with Sunny and Droz)) defeated The Disciples of Apocalypse (8-Ball and Skull (with Chainz))
    – Jeff Jarrett (with Tennessee Lee) pinned Steve Blackman 
    – Marc Mero pinned Sable with a cradle
    – Kaientai (Funaki, Teioh and Togo) defeated Bradshaw and Taka Michinoku in a handicap match
    – WWF Intercontinental Champion The Rock pinned Faarooq to retain the title
    – Kane (with Paul Bearer) pinned Vader in a mask vs. mask match 
    – The Nation (D’Lo Brown, Owen Hart and Kama Mustafa (with Mark Henry)) defeated D-Generation X (Billy Gunn, Road Dogg and Triple H (with Chyna and X-Pac))
    – WWF Champion Steve Austin defeated Dude Love in a no disqualification, falls count anywhere match to retain the title

    1999 

    Houston, Texas:
    – Bam Bam Bigelow and Diamond Dallas Page defeated WCW World Tag Team Champions Kanyon and Saturn (subbing for Raven) to win the title 

    Moline, Illinois:
    – Jeff Jarrett (with Debra) defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion The Godfather to win the title 
    – The Acolytes (Bradshaw and Faarooq) defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Kane and X-Pac to win the titles

    2002

    OVW Summer Sizzler Series: Louisville, Kentucky:
    – Flash Flanagan and Trailer Park Trash defeated OVW Southern Tag Team Champions The Lords of the Ring (Rob Conway and Nick Dinsmore) to win the titles
    – Redd Dogg (Rodney Mack) defeated Sean O’Haire
    – Shelton Benjamin defeated Chris Kanyon
    – David Flair defeated Bull Buchanan
    – Seven (Kevin Thorn) defeated Leviathan (Batista)
    – OVW Heavyweight Champion Nova defeated The Prototype (John Cena) to retain the title (Mick Foley was the guest referee)

    2003 

    Carolina, Puerto Rico:
    – Carly Colón won the WWC Universal Heavyweight Title by defeating Sabu
    – Alex Montalvo defeats Pablo Marquez for the WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title
    – Eddie Colón won the vacant WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title by defeating Dominican Boy in a tournament final

    2004 

    Montreal, Quebec, Canada:
    – La Résistance (Robért Conway and Sylvain Grenier) defeated WWE World Tag Team Champions Edge and World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit to win the titles

    2015

    WWE Elimination Chamber: Corpus Christie, Texas:
    – Stardust defeated Zack Ryder    
    – The New Day (Big E Langston, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) defeated The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara), Tyson Kidd and Cesaro (with Natalya), The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O’Neil), The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) and Los Matadores (Primo and Epico) (with El Torito)    in an Elimination Chamber tag team match to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship
    – Nikki Bella defeated Paige and Naomi to retain the WWE Divas Championship
    – Kevin Owens defeated John Cena    
    – Neville defeated Bo Dallas
    – Ryback defeated Sheamus, R-Truth, King Barrett, Dolph Ziggler and Mark Henry in an Elimination Chamber match for the vacant WWE Intercontinental Championship
    – Dean Ambrose defeated Seth Rollins (with Jamie Noble, Joey Mercury and Kane) by disqualification, Rollins retained the title