Frank Luhovy, who wrestled under the name Cowboy Frankie Laine, passed away this past Tuesday at the age of 73.
Laine was a journeyman wrestler who worked from 1966 and continued into the late 80s, often working as enhancement talent on WWE television toward the end of his career. After leaving wrestling, he was very vocal about the treatment wrestlers received from promoters, in particular in 1999 after the death of Owen Hart.
Laine was one of the early wrestlers with a valet, Miss Linda Lee, as she was known, and later as Linda Lee Laine.
He had good fire as a babyface and was a wrestler who received good pushes in smaller territories, but was more a prelim wrestler in larger promotions.
He got his early break as a tag team partner of Lonnie Mayne in Portland, and also had success in Hawaii, Tennessee and California.
His biggest drawing run came during one of the hottest runs in the history of pro wrestling in the Caribbean, when he and Dutch Mantel were a heel Cowboy tag team that feuded with Carlos Colon, The Invader and various partners in 1979 over the North American tag team titles. That was one of the best weekly drawing periods in the history of pro wrestling in Puerto Rico and one that would be considered noteworthy anywhere at any time. It was the run that made Mantell such a big star there.
In California, he captured the Americas title from Black Gordman when Southern California wrestling was on national television and it the territory was at a hot point. His run as babyface champion was more to set up Killer Kowalski coming in and destroying him for the title to set Kowalski up for a big run. Laine returned in 1973 as a heel with a valet.
He had been running his family’s 700-acre farm in Alvinston, Ontario since getting off the road.
UFC Fight Night 88 is set up to be a fun show with Thomas Almeida taking on Cody Garbrandt in the main event. It’s a big stage for both of these men who will headling the Fox Sports 1 show which starts at 6 pm eastern tomorrow evening on UFC Fight Pass. The semi-main event features the return of longtime former bantamweight (135lb) champion Renan Barao moving up to featherweight (145lb) to face Jeremy “Lil Heathen” Stephens. Barao looks to get back on track after being twice derailed by now ex-bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw.
In the only women’s fight on the card, it’s do or die for Sara McMann who needs a win desperately to stay in the hunt, but she’s facing a really tough opponent, Jessica “Evil” Eye. Both women need a win here if they ever want to get a shot at the 135lb women’s bantamweight champion Miesha “Cupcake” Tate. It should be a really fun show. Check out the Observer’s live coverage starting tomorrow at 6 Eastern, 3 Pacific.
Saturday we’re looking for reports on the WWE shows in Peoria, IL (Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Kevin Owens, Dudleys, Enzo, Cass, Sami Zayn, Charlotte, Natalya) and Winnipeg (Big Show, Chris Jericho, Kane, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, Dean Ambrose, New Day, Rusev, Kalisto, Alberto De Rio, Paige, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks).
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS TOURNAMENT FROM OSAKA AT 3 A.M. EASTERN SUNDAY MORNING/SATURDAY NIGHT ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Michael Elgin & Volador Jr. vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Trent Baretta & Will Ospreay
Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Bobby Fish & Jay White & Juice Robinson & Katsuyori Shibata
David Finlay vs. Gedo
Rocky Romero vs. Bushi
Satoshi Kojima & Yoshitatsu & Captain New Japan & Ricochet vs. Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens
Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Tetsuya Naito & Evil & Seiya Sanada
Matt Sydal vs. Kyle O’Reilly
Kushida vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
Sunday we’re looking for reports on WWE shows in Madison, WI (Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Kevin Owens, Dudleys, Enzo, Cass, Sami Zayn, Charlotte, Natalya) and LaCrosse, WI (Big Show, Kane, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, Dean Ambrose, New Day, Rusev, Kalisto, Alberto Del Rio, Paige, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks).
UFC FROM THE MANDALAY BAY EVENTS CENTER IN LAS VEGAS ON SUNDAY
Fight Pass bouts at 6 p.m. Eastern
Adam Milstead vs. Chris De La Rosa
Bryan Caraway vs. Aljamain Sterling
FS 1 at 7 p.m. Eastern
Shane Campbell vs. Erik Koch
Jake Collier vs. Alberto Pereira Uda
Abel Trujillo vs. Jordan Rinaldi
Sara McMann vs. Jessica Eye
Josh Burkman vs. Paul Felder
Jorge Masvidal vs. Lorenz Larkin
Chris Camozzi vs Vitor Miranda
Tarec Saffiedine vs. Rick Story
Jeremy Stephens vs. Renan Barao
Cody Garbrandt vs. Thomas Almeida
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FROM TOTTORI ON MONDAY (taped for New Japan World available later in the day)
Trent Baretta vs. Chase Owens
Tiger Mask vs. Will Ospreay
Bobby Fish vs. Volador Jr.
Jushin Liger vs. Ricochet
Raw is Monday from Green Bay featuring the return of John Cena plus a Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin match.
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 Tuesday in Rockford, IL.
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!
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.
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.
For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.
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.
Pro Wrestling Sheet is reporting WWE canceled plans for John Cena merchandise that looked to be inspired by the classic Pabst Blue Ribbon beer logo. Yesterday, the official twitter account for PBR tweeted a picture of a new Cena shirt that went on sale Friday alongside a photo of him wearing a shirt with the PBR logo. The tweet also reads: “A message to @JohnCena & the @WWE: We have a chokehold called the Cease & Desist. Pretty sure we see you.” Notably, the color scheme of red, white and blue could also be interpreted as a patriotic theme especially considering Cena returns to Raw on a national holiday this Memorial Day. Nevertheless, the shirt in question is no longer for sale on WWE Shop. Other new Cena merchandise is similarly patriotic with one shirt dubbed as “American Pride”.
Univision and Penske Media are two groups possibly interested in buying Gawker. Penske media already owns Variety and Deadline.com among other publications. With Nick Denton looking at possibly owing the Hulkster 140 million dollars once everything settles, it may be a wise time to start liquidating assets. For more on the story, check out this article.
Cody “Stardust” Rhodes / Runnels sent out an interesting tweet today. Runnels has sent a tease that he will be available to work in just under three months. It is unclear what name he will choose as Rhodes is a family name, but not a legal name. At this point, nobody can say for sure who or where he will be working but he added a list of opponents he’d like to work with: Adam Cole, Dalton Castle, Kurt Angle, Chris Hero, The Miracle (Mike Bennett), Moose, Pat Buck, Young Bucks, Trevor Lee, Katsuyori Shibata and Roderick Strong. His tweet was a photo of the list of names and the only words “After 8/19.”
WWE & Professional Wrestling
This week on 6:05 Superpodcast, Brian Last and David Bixenspan talk to Kenny “Starmaker” Bolin (as close to “out of character” as he’ll ever get) about his childhood friendship with Jim Cornette, working for Nick Gulas, and much more. Plus: More discussion of the best wrestling families and tons of other old-school topics.
No, it’s not a Silicon Valley plotline: the founder of eBay is powering Gawker’s appeal of the Hulk Hogan lawsuit victory where he’s being powered by another Silicon Valley billionaire.
Friend of the site Pat LaPrade did a Slam Wrestling column on the first-ever all Canadian main event on a New Japan show: Michael Elgin vs. Kenny Omega.
While the headline ‘Tony Schiavone working at Starbucks?’ is designed for that sympathy click, he actually wants to do it in order to stay busy with his other sports gigs. Here’s the local news story.
Johnny Kidd’s final wrestling match is today against Chikara’s Mike Quackenbush. Here’s a feature on it.
Fight Network announced Friday that UK’s Insane Championship Wrestling (a group our Alan Boon talks about frequently in his weekly British wrestling column) is coming to their airwaves with a weekly TV show airing Fridays at 1 AM, part of a wrestling block that starts Thursday nights with AAA and CMLL.
The NWA announced Friday that they are expanding into NYC with NWA Big Apple Wrestling, increasing their total number of licensed promotions to 30.
FITE.tv has a mix of free and paid combat sports content up this weekend.
EVENTS
May 28 – Mayhem in the Magnolia State, Louisville Coliseum. This show is a benefit for Kamala.
28 – Absolute Intense Wrestling “2016 JT Lightning Invitational Tournament,” Our Lady Of Mount Carmel, 1355 West 70th Street, Cleveland, Ohio
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 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 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
Wichita, Kansas: – NWA Heavyweight Champion Ede Virag beat Johnny Plummer – Paul Nelson beat Abe Friedman – Buck Fanning beat George McCall
1963
Minneapolis, Minnesota: – AWA Tag Team Champions Ivan Kalmikoff & Karol Kalmikoff beat Verne Gagne & Doug Gilbert via dq (Larry Hennig was special referee) – Don McClarty beat Stan Kowalski – Waldo Von Erich beat Guy Taylor – Tiny Mills beat Duke Hoffman
1965
Atlanta, Georgia: – Buddy Fuller defeated Mario Galento to win the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title
Honolulu, Hawaii: – Alberto and Enrique Torres defeated Curtis Iaukea & Mr. Fujiwara for the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Titles
1966
Minneapolis, Minnesota: – Crusher & Dick the Bruiser defeated Larry Hennig & Harley Race for the AWA World Tag Team Titles in a 2 out of 3 falls match – The Alaskan beat Moose Cholak – Chris Markoff beat Mike Sanchez (sub Chris Tolos) – Reggie Parks beat Dick Morgan
Sapporo, Japan: – Michiaki Yoshimura & Hiro Matsuda defeated Killer Karl Kox & Joe Carrolo to win the JWA All Asia Tag Team Titles
1970
Kansas City, Kansas: – Danny Little Bear fought Roger Kirby to a draw – Scandor Akbar defeated Bill Eskew – Baron Von Raschke & Harley Race defeated Rufus R. Jones & Bob Ellis via DQ in three falls
1974
Dallas, Texas: – Red Bastien defeated The Great Mephisto for the WCCW Texas Heavyweight Title
1977
Chattanooga, Tennessee: – Jackie Fargo defeated The Executioner to win the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title
1977
Baltimore, Maryland: – Bruno Sammartino fought WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham to a double disqualification
1978
Houton, Texas: – NWA Champion Harley Race beat Wahoo McDaniel dq – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel drew Jose Lothario – Bruiser Brody defeated Dale Valentine (Buddy Roberts) to win the WCCW Texas Heavyweight Title – Ivan Putski drew Superstar Billy Graham – Al Madril beat Dick Slater dq – Fabulous Moolah beat Wenona Little Heart – Kevin Von Erich & David Von Erich beat Killer Brooks & Leroy Brown – Gino Hernandez drew Killer Krupp
Chattanooga, Tennessee: – Dutch Mantel defeated Don Garfield (Don Fargo) to win the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title
Houston Texas: – NWA Champion Harley Race beat Wahoo McDaniel by dq – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel went to a drew with Jose Lothario – Bruiser Brody beat Dale Valentine (Buddy Roberts)
1979
West Palm Beach, Florida: – King Curtis defeated Jimmy Garvin for the Florida version of the NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1980
Nashville, Tennessee: – Rocky Brewer & George Gulas defeated Tojo Yamamoto and Gypsy Joe to win the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Titles
1982
Denver, Colorado: – Hulk Hogan beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel by dq – Ken Patera & Bobby Duncum beat Tito Santana & Baron Von Raschke
1985
Montreal, Quebec, Canada: – Dino Bravo defeated King Tonga to win the vacant International Wrestling International Heavyweight Title
1992
Raleigh, North Carolina: – Van Hammer pinned JT Southern – WCW Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Pillman defeated Scotty Flamingo – WCW World Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Bobby Eaton & Larry Zbyzsko – Dustin Rhodes fought Greg Valentine to a time-limit draw – Barry Windham defeated Cactus Jack – Tom Zenk pinned Terry Taylor – WCW World Champion Sting & Nikita Koloff defeated WCW World TV Champion Steve Austin & Arn Anderson in a steel cage match – WCW U.S. Champion Rick Rude pinned Ricky Steamboat in a steel cage match
1994
Vergie, Kentucky:| – Tracy Smothers defeated the Hornet – Chris Jericho defeated Steven Dunn – The Dirty White Boy defeated Kendo the Samurai – SMW Tag Team Champions Brian Lee & Chris Candido defeated The Rock N’ Roll Express via disqualification – Chris Jericho won a battle royal
1997
West Helena, Arkansas: – The Truth Commission defeated Steven Dunn & Paul Diamond for the USWA Tag Team Titles
Gurabo, Puerto Rico: – Mohammed Hussein defeated Rey Gonzalez to win the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title
2000
Monterrey, Mexico: – El Hijo del Santo defeated Blue Panther to win the World Wrestling Association World Welterweight Title
The first match saw Enzo and Cass taking on the Dudley Boyz. Everyone was into Enzo and Cass’ mic work and shouted along to their catchphrases. Bubba Ray got hear before the match by taking a sign from a fan but Enzo saved the day before he could rip it. Enzo and Cass went over in the end with the rocket launcher.
– Titus O’Neil defeated Viktor of the Ascension with the Clash of the Titus
– Goldust defeated Tyler Breeze
Fandango ran down to distract Goldust. R Truth ran down to even the odds and Goldust put Breeze away with the Final Cut. Afterwards Golden Truth danced to R Truth’s theme song and did some comedy work.
– Gallows and Anderson defeated the Hype Bros
Anderson and Gallows won with the Magic Killer on Mojo. Lots of Bullet Club chants and Wolfpack/Too Sweet handsigns. Okay for what it was.
– Sami Zayn defeated Kevin Owens
Owens got some heat especially after doing some mic work after bailing to ringside at the beginning. He even threw in a Simpsons reference by saying Shelbyville was better than Springfield. These guys click. It was more tame than previous matches the two of had because it was a house show, but these guys have such good chemistry together, that it makes even simple matches really good. Owens played such a good heel. The match was built like most of their matches with Owens beating Zayn up, Zayn getting in a few hope spots only to be cutoff by Owens again. In the end, Owens went for a pop up powerbomb, Sami turned it into a drop kick in mid air and then hit the Helluva Good Kick in the corner for the win.
– Apollo Crews defeated Sheamus
Sheamus got on the mic before the match and said he was going to defeat the New Era because it was garbage. He tried to get some heat by saying that even if Abraham Lincoln was alive today, he would be ashamed of calling Springfield his hometown. This match was just there. Lots of rest holds. In the end, Sheamus went for White Noise and Crews slipped out and rolled him up for the three.
– WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte defeated Natalya to retain
Charlotte got heat early on by ripping up a fan’s sign in the ring that Natalya had brought in. They worked the match around both of them trying to lock in their submission moves with Charlotte getting the figure four on once and Natalya reversing it, and Nattie sinking in the sharpshooter once and Charlotte making the ropes. In the end, Natalya was thrown into the turnbuckles and Charlotte schoolboyed her from behind, placing her feet on the ropes for the win. Afterwards, the crowd gave Natalya a good ovation and chanted her name.
– WWE Champion Roman Reigns defeated AJ Styles to retain
This match was pretty decent for a house show match. The crowd was actually pretty split in who they were rooting for. Reigns played a somewhat cocky heel, not fully committing to it but doing some heelish mannerisms. The match was built around both guys going for their big moves and each time falling short. At one point, Reigns went for the Superman punch only to be met with a Pele kick from AJ.
AJ went for the Phenomenal Forearm three times, each time getting countered. He even teased a Styles Clash at one point. In the end, AJ went for the forearm, Reigns countered it with a Superman Punch and then hit the spear to retain the championship.
First time taking my youngest kid to see wrestling and he really enjoyed it. The building was maybe half to three fourths full. The crowd seemed to be into mostly everything. Overall, it was an entertaining show that the people around me were entertained by including my son. I went in expecting a house show and that’s what I got which isn’t bad. The Owens-Zayn match and the main event were actually good matches and there really wasn’t any terrible matches as they all had fun elements in them.
I’m here at Cocoa Beach, FL, with approximately 250.
– Patrick Clark beat Dan Matha
The big guy Matha used his strength early, even putting Patrick in a camel clutch. We had a double down where Patrick kipped up and made his way to the top for an impressive missile dropkick for the win.
– The Authors Of Pain best Chris Atkins and Noah
The larger heels destroyed the happy faces before the bell even rang. Once order was restored, the match officially started only for the Authors to continue their onslaught and take the dominant win.
– Adrienne Reese beat Mandy Rose
This was a very good match as they both hit some impressive moves. Mandy hit a great looking running knee and a kick behind Adrienne’s head. Adrienne caught Mandy with a snap rana from her back, a beautiful middle rope springboard crossbody, and finally hit the off the top rope spinning stunner for the win.
– Angelo Dawkins beat Tucker Knight
Mean Guy Match as they used power and holds to work each other over. Dawkins got his feet on the ropes to steal the pin.
– Tye Dillinger beat Buddy Murphy
Pre-match, Dillinger took the mic and said Murphy has been through a lot lately. The crowd taunted him with a “He got dumped” chant so Dillinger went with it and then the “She’s A Ten” chants when Alexa was brought up. Dillinger even asked if Murphy could give her his number. Funny stuff.
Very good match with Murphy working over Tye’s arm, there was an inside out crossbody by Tye to Murphy on the floor. The finish was a great superkick followed by the exposed knee to the back of the head. Post match, Murphy stayed down until the doc could check on him, but he was able to make his way to the back on his own. He simply got his bell rung.
– Nia Jax and Lana beat Daria and NXT Women’s Champion Asuka
Nia did most of the work as expected. Lana would tag in when she had the advantage, and kept it very simple, yet fun. Asuka and Nia traded action and holds, and the bearhug by Nia was the hold of choice to keep Asuka grounded. Daria and Lana mixed it up at one point and traded kicks. Lana plays to her flexibility and attempts high kicks for most of her offense. Nia scored the win over Daria with a tree slam. Post match, Lana played it up as she was proud of her victory, pointing at kids and mocking them with thumbs down and sad faces.
– Elias Samson beat Chris Girard
Hard-hitting match with Drifter using some new offense other than the headlock like a crossface, spinebuster, and a running knee. Girard went for a running uppercut but was caught with the spinning neckbreaker for the win.
– Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura beat The Revival
Amazingly entertaining match with The Revival taunting everything and playing the foil to these amazing superstar wrestlers. Balor at live events is much more confrontational and sassy towards his opponents: instigating conflicts between Dash and Dawson, throwing each over the top rope, laughing at them and leading crowd chants. Shinsuke laid in some hard knees and strikes to some great reactions.
Finn ran Dash corner to corner then struck him with vicious chops. Dawson got one for his trouble as well. The finish was a double pin with Finn hitting the 1916 when Shinsuke hit the Kinshasa on each of the Revival. Post match, Finn did Nakamura’s Yeaoh! pose on the ropes. They also Too Sweeted and Finn put up the guns.
With a huge weekend of ringed combat ahead of us this Memorial Day, let’s look at some of the potential awesomeness… AJ Styles vs. Shibata from NJPW on Friday night sounds great. I know this match happened a while ago, but if watching Styles last Sunday didn’t make you want to see more of him, then you’re not a real wrestling fan. Go sit in the corner… From CMLL, if you’ve never seen Blue Panther, Blue Panter Jr. and THE Panther together, you’re missing out. Only in Mexico would a team like this exist… From the best of the Super Juniors, you’ve definintely got to check out Matt Sydal vs. Kyle O’Reilly. These two are possibly the best two workers from ROH getting to have a super juniors match in Japan. I know these two will be motivated to have an awesome performance… And don’t sleep on Trent Baretta in this tournament. He’s set up to face Chase Owens. Baretta and Romero have become a really fun act in ROH and Japan and Baretta on his own is vastly underrated… From the MMA world, a match I’m really looking forward to on UFC Fight Night 88 is Jeremy Stephens vs. Renan Barao. Stephens takes a beatin’ like no other, and Barao, can toss a beatin’ on anyone, even the best. I expect to see Barao back in old form landing big kicks as the “Lil Heathen” demands him to keep bringining it… So sit back and relax. The Wrestling Observer has you covered.
[Dan Velten]
NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING ON FRIDAY NIGHT ON AXS TV AT 8 P.M.
The show returns with the first of several two hour specials from the 2015 G-1 Climax tournament
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!
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.
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.
For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.
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.
There will be a new WWE 24 show debuting after Monday Night RAW on Monday on the WWE Network. “Seth Rollins: Redesign. Rebuild. Reclaim” will look at the former WWE Champion’s recovery from a career-threatening injury over the last 6 months. It should be interesting to see if he recovers at the normal human rate, or the super-human pro wrestler rate.
The chair of Kentucky’s boxing and wrestling commission wants to end a state rule that ends a wrestling match when one of the wrestlers starts bleeding. WWE won’t bring TV back there until the law is changed, and supplied a statement in the story. MMA and boxing aren’t bound to the same rule for some reason.
We have the full audio from Thursday’s UFC 199 conference call featuring middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, Michael Bisping, bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, and Urijah Faber. This is sure to be an exciting PPV card and I can’t imagine the conference call being any less entertaining.
Speaking of Lakeland, ROH is running a 10/22 show there and tickets are on sale now.
SB Nation looks at Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet and their NJPW match from this morning/last night as part of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament. The headline proclaims the match looked like a “dang action movie.”
Our Will Cooling wrote a column on the impending WWE brand split and one of the key aspects they need to overcome in order to make it work.
AIW kicks off its two-night JT Lightning Invitational Tournament in Cleveland, OH, with tons of talent like Homicide, Dan Severn, DJ Z, Colin Delaney, Louis Lyndon, Colt Cabana, Billy Gunn, Veda Scott, Little Guido, Cedric Alexander, and Johnny Gargano among many others. Limited tickets are available at the door.
An irritated Chris Jericho (and not in a kayfabe storyline way): “Funny to hear ex @wwe ‘writers’ (who worked for the company for a matter of months) give their ‘expert’ opinion on hack podcasts. #pathetic”
ONE Championships ran earlier today in Bangkok. Yoshitaka Naito won the strawweight title in the main event. Murat Gafurov retained the middleweight title in the co-main and Christian Lee, who doesn’t turn 18 until next month, scored his 5th straight first round finish on the undercard. Full report is up here.
Former bantamweight title contender Joe Soto steps in to replace Kid Yamamoto at UFC Ottawa next month against Chris Beal.
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 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 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
Minneapolis, Minnesota: – William Muldoon failed to throw Evan Lewis twice in 60:00 (Muldoon won the first fall in 47:00, then gave up the match)
1956
– Doug and Red Donovan defeated Herb Freeman & Larry Chene for the Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles
1957
Dallas, Texas: – Red Bastien defeated Rito Romero to win the NWA Texas Junior Heavyweight Title
1959
Bridgeport, Conneticut: – Eddie & Dr. Jerry Graham defeated Mark Lewin & Don Curtis for the WWWF Tag Team Titles
1960
St. Joseph, Missouri: – Thor Hagen defeated Lee Henning to win the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title in 2 out of 3 falls – World Tag Team Champions George and Sandy Scott beat Rock Hunter and Mighty Atlas in 2 out of 3 falls – Gory Guerrero beat Taro Myaki by dq – Joe Costello and Ray Gordon drew
1965
Kansas City, Kansas: – The Mongolian Stomper beat Johnny Valentine – Bob Geigel and Dutch Savage beat Doug Gilbert and Ron Reed – Sonny Myers beat Buddy Johnson – The Missouri Mauler beat Steve Bolus
Minneapolis, Minnesota: – The Crusher beat Pampero Firpo in a cage match – Verne Gagne & Reggie Parks beat AWA Tag Team Champions Larry Hennig & Harley Race by DQ – Chris Markoff beat Eddie Sharkey – Rene Goulet went to a draw with Tiny Mills
1966
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: – Verne Gagne & Wilbur Snyder beat AWA Tag Team Champions Larry Hennig & Harley Race (decision was later reversed as the wrong man was pinned) – The Crusher beat Chris Markoff – Ernie Ladd beat Moose Cholak
1967
Chattanooga, Tennessee: – Billy and Jimmy Hines won the Mid-America version of the NWA World Tag Team Titles by defeating The Blue Infernos
1968
Memphis, Tennessee: – Ken Lucas & Dennis Hall defeated Don Carson & The Red Shadow for the Mid-America version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1971
Kansas City, Kansas: – Steve Bolus & The Viking defeated Baron Von Raschke & Benny Ramirez – Rufus R. Jones defeated The Great Sakaguchi by count out – Harley Race defeated Danny Little Bear in three falls – Buddy Austin & Bob Orton defeated The Stomper & Bob Geigel
1974
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada:
– Mr. X (Guy Mitchell) & The Brute defeated Leo Madril & Dan Kroffat to win the Vancouver version of the NWA Canadian Tag Team Titles
1976
Kawasaki, Japan: – Jackie West & Yukari Lynch defeated The Beauty Pair (Jackie Sato & Maki Ueda) for the World Women’s Wrestling Association World Tag Team Title
1977
Houston, Texas: – Jimmy Snuka defeated El Gran Goliath for the WCCW Texas Heavyweight Title
1978
Bayamon, Puerto Rico: – Carlos Colon & Chief Thunder Cloud defeated The Hollywood Blondes (Jack Evans & Larry Sharpe) for the WWC North American Tag Team Titles
1985
Montreal, Quebec, Canada: – Jos Leduc & Rick Martel beat Road Warrior Animal & Paul Ellering via dq – Abdullah the Butcher beat King Tonga – Dino Bravo beat Richard Charland – Jacques Rougeau, Jr. beat Jim Garvin via dq
1988
Sendai, Japan: – Owen Hart defeated Hiroshi Hase to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title
1989
Caguas, Puerto Rico: – Steve Strong defeated Carlos Colon to win the WWC Universal Heavyweight Title
1990
Naucalpan, Mexico: – Villano III defeated Sangre Chicana for the WWF World Light Heavyweight Title
1997
Sapporo, Japan: – Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace defeated Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue to win the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Titles
2001
Bayamon, Puerto Rico: – D’Lo Brown & Shane defeated The Starr Corporation (Chicky Starr & Victor the Bodyguard) – Los Boricuas (Miguel Perez Jr. & Jesus Castillo, Jr.) for the IWA World Tag Team Titles
2006
Doncaster, England: – Jonny Storm and Jody Fleisch defeated A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels to become the first-ever 1PW Tag Team Champions – Steve Corino defeated champion Abyss and Christian Cage in a three-way match to win the 1PW World Heavyweight Title
Matt Sydal and Michael Elgin vs. Rocky Romero and Yoshi-Hashi
Fun opening match. It’s a unique tag combination and led to some interesting back and forth offense. Elgin looked great, even doing a senton off the apron at one point while doing all of his cool power spots. As Elgin did the senton Sydal went to the top rope for the shooting star press, Romero countered and hit the ropes. He tried to roll up Sydal while holding onto the ropes but the ref noticed. He snuck by with a win regardless in a flash pin.
Jay White, Juice Robinson, Ryusuke Taguchi, Kushida & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yuji Nagata, David Finlay, Manabu Nakanishi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Kyle O’Reilly
Kyle worked with Kushida early. When Taguchi tagged in, he worked against Tenzan and acted like he was going to do the Mongolian chops, doing the hand gesture, but did the hip attacks instead. Of course the focus of the match was on Shibata and Nagata, as they are due for a rematch over the NEVER title at Dominion. They spend some time smacking one another until White was tagged in. He put in a great comeback, but ultimately fell to a back drop hold. Pretty solid for what it was.
Chase Owens vs. Tiger Mask
Owens jumped Tiger Mask as he was climbing to the top rope to pose during his entrance, and power slammed him off the rope. Then Yujiro grabbed him and proceeded to carry him all the way to the back and ran back to the ring to tease a count out. Didn’t work as Tiger Mask laid him out and came back in time. Standard back and forth match, just kind of there. Tiger Mask had him in his submission but Yujiro pulled out the ref. Tiger Mask dispatched Yujiro but Chase laid him out, got the ref back in and teased the package piledriver but Tiger Masked escaped, took down Owens and pinned him.
Chase Owens superkicked Kawato after the match because he’s very mean.
Trent Baretta vs. Bobby Fish
Really good match. Baretta has been on fire this tour, and he and Fish already have pretty strong chemistry together. Fish went for a suplex but Baretta reversed it to the floor, sending both men down. Fish worked on the legs but Baretta reversed it into a bridging pin for a nearfall. Baretta went to do something on the rop rope but Fish dropkicked him in the knee and hit a brainbuster from the top rope. When Baretta kicked out, Fish locked in the leg lock again and Baretta submitted.
Yoshitatsu, Captain New Japan and Satoshi Kojima vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale and Kenny Omega
Standard tag match. Omega took the camera to lament about the young lions and how useless they were before the match started. Captian New Japan got some near falls on Omega that the crowd surprisingly got into. Fale helped even the odds for the Bullet Club as Omega went to the top rope and did the high fly flow, mocking Tanahashi. Liked that finish.
Omega beat up Captain New Japan with the ladder after the match and laid him out the same way he did to Tanahashi on night one – or at least tried to, but Kojima and Yoshitatsu broke it up.
Kazuchika Okada, Gedo, Hirooki Goto and Tomohiro Ishii vs. Sanada, Evil, Bushi and Tetsuya Naito
Naito took his usual long time getting to the ring. Milano Collection AT up and left the announcer’s table while Kushida, who was doing guest commentary, was sitting at ringside. Naito goaded him on a bit before Okada flew out of the ring with a senton, crashing into all of Los Ingobernables. This was a really great match, better than some of your usual tag matches you see on these cards. Everyone were looked good. People got into this match big time and were lit when Goto and Evil were duking it out. Okada came in and worked against both Naito and Sanada and looked great. Sanada ended up submitting Gedo with the Skull End for the win.
Everyone beat each other up some more after the match. Yoshi-Hashi came out to even the odds but was laid out by Sanada . Bushi misted Ishii. Naito choked Yoshi-Hashi with what looked like a towel until Okada came back for the save.
Volador Jr. vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
Another good match. They worked really well together and had some cool spots. Liger threw Volador out of the ring and did a big time crossbody to the floor. Crowd was really into this. Liger went to the top rope but Volador came back and hit the spanish fly/C4 off the top rope and pinned Liger.
Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay
They had a tremendous exchange early. These guys move fast and know their body really well, in case you haven’t heard or seen. Ricochet took out Ospreay on the outside and did an amazing step up corkscrew plancha to the floor. Just an array of crazy moves. Ospreay hit an instance looking Sasuke special to the floor then kissed the camera after the match.. Ricochet gave him a death valley driver on the apron and somehow came back with a crazy looking rana. This match was so crazy people were actually chanting “This is awesome” in Korakuen Hall.
Ricochet laid him ou with a northern lights suplex followed by a brainbuster for a near fall and went for the 630 but Ospreay rolled out of the way. Ricochet came back and went for the Benadryller but Ospreay reversed in air, grabbed the leg and slammed him to the floor. He hit the spinning punch then pinned him with the springboard stunner. Amazing spectacle of a match, you kind of have to rewatch it just to see all the crazy stuff that went down.
Ospreay and Ricochet teased like they were going to fight after the match, but shook hands as the crowd chanted “One more match”.
+++++++
Great show with some really great matches and an awesome main event. Check it out when you can, and go out of your way to watch the main event.
The show opened with a recap of the Money in the Bank qualifying matches from RAW on Monday which saw Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Sami Zayn, Chris Jericho and Dean Ambrose earn their spots in that match.
After the opening credits, Michael Cole was in the ring with the Money in the Bank briefcase and called out Dean Ambrose for an interview. Cole congratulated him for winning the first ever Asylum match at Extreme Rules and asked what he would do in order to earn the MITB contract. Before he could answer, Kevin Owens’ music hit and he interrupted from the ramp.
He insulted Cole and warned him to leave the ring before he got there, which he did. He vowed to climb the ladder and become Mr Money in the Bank just like he should’ve done at WrestleM…. and Sami Zayn’s music hit. He finished the sentence. “Like you would’ve done at WrestleMania if it weren’t for me, who is the bane of your existence”. Ambrose made a joke about it and Zayn said “Hey Dean, this isn’t a joke”, which was a nice touch. He said that neither Owens nor Zayn would stop him. They were interrupted by Alberto Del Rio.
He reminded them that he was a former winner and he is going to win again. Zayn announced that Del Rio has to beat Zack Ryder in order to qualify and before he could finish, he was jumped from behind by Owens. Ambrose almost DDT’s him as well but Zayn slipped out.
ALBERTO DEL RIO vs. ZACK RYDER (Money in the Bank qualifying match)
Zack cut an inset promo harkening fans back to his WrestleMania win under similar circumstances. “I’m not supposed to be here but I deserve to be here”. Eden Stiles did the ring announcing in what I’m assuming was her final show for the company. Ryder took the offence early but Del Rio gained control pretty quickly. They went through a commercial break where Del Rio landed the double foot stomp outside the ring from the barriers at ringside onto Ryder. Ryder recovered and got more offence than you’d think, including landing the Broski boot, which Del Rio kicked out of. Del Rio missed the double foot stomp and Ryder hit the Rough Ryder but Del Rio rolled out before Ryder could pin him. Ryder rolled him back in and went for the cover but Del Rio applied the cross arm-breaker to get the win.
WINNER: ALBERTO DEL RIO by submission. Del Rio makes it 6 in the Money in the Bank match with one more to come.
Next up was a recap of Seth Rollins returning at Extreme Rules and the announcement from RAW of Rollins getting the next title shot vs Roman Reigns at Money in the Bank. Rollins will make his return to Smackdown later tonight.
Enzo and Cass are out next.
Enzo does his sing along speech on the ramp before the guys get in the ring. Before he could get any more words out, The Dudley Boyz interrupted things. Enzo had some smack talk for them and then Cass called them out. D-Von accepted the challenge and they made their way down the ramp. Bubba stopped before they got into the ring and said “Not tonight, we’re going to do this at Monday Night RAW”. Bubba then teased the “Get the Tables” spot but instead asked if they could “leave this stinkin’ town”. Cass called them S-A-W-F-T and that was that.
Renee Young was backstage with Lana and Rusev. Lana instructed her that she needs to refer to Rusev as the “Greatest United States Heavyweight Champion of all time”. Rusev called Kalisto a baby and a mosquito and after he plucks the wings off the mosquito, he will never be able to fly again. Good promo. A recap of the 4 way IC title match at the PPV and the Miz-Cesaro qualifying match from RAW aired next.
US CHAMPION RUSEV w/Lana vs. KALISTO
Lana was in the ring with a mic and took over the ring announcing, asking the fans to put one hand over their heart and welcome the Greatest United States Champion of all time. Much better match than the PPV. After a brief period of offence from Kalisto, Rusev took over and dominated him. Announcers told the story that Kalisto was coming into this at less than 100% and didn’t stand a chance and that’s pretty much how it played out. At one point Kalisto tried to bodyslam Rusev and of course his back gave out.
A minute later, he actually hit the bodyslam but then sold his back even more. He did get a two count off a roll-up after Rusey missed a splash in the corner. He then hit the corkscrew off the ropes and a spike rana for a two. Kalisto hit a springboard moonsault on the outside and rolled Rusev back in but only got a two count. Rusev missed a diving headbutt and then Kalisto took forever to climb to the top rope. Kalisto hit a 450 off the top but Rusev got his knees up to block it. Rusev stomped him on the back and then put on the Accolade for the win.
WINNER: RUSEV by submission
Rusev was going for a beatdown on Kalisto after the match but Titus O’Neill came down to challenge him to a US title match RIGHT NOW. Fans were into this, chanting USA but Rusev backed off, which got some good heat. Nice little angle to set up the next US title program. Another recap from RAW aired next, this time of Charlotte ditching the Nature Boy. Mauro called it “an emotional night for the dirtiest family in the game”.
DANA BROOKE VS NATALYA
Charlotte joined the commentary team for this match. Lawler actually criticized Charlotte for what she did with Flair and Charlotte said that it was something coming from him who spent so much time away from home. Natalya put on the sharpshooter 30 seconds in and Charlotte broke it up for the DQ.
WINNER: NATALYA by DQ
Natalya recovered and put Charlotte in the sharpshooter but Brooke broke it up and then they beat her down for a couple minutes. No one saved and Charlotte and Dana posed with the belt while Charlotte’s music played. We got a recap of AJ’s tough week where he lost to Reigns at the PPV, broke up with the Club and lost to Owens in his qualifying match. Renee Young interviewed him backstage and asked what’s next. AJ said he was “this close” to winning the title but he’s not sure what’s next, he’ll have to think of something. It was better than it reads.
Golden Truth was out next with Goldust introducing them and then Truth doing an updated version of his song with new lyrics about the tag team. It will take some getting used to.
GOLDEN TRUTH (GOLDUST/R-TRUTH) VS BREEZANGO (TYLER BREEZE/FANDANGO)
Short match with some miscommunication between Goldust and R-Truth leading to the Supermodel kick from Breeze on R-Truth and Fandango getting the pin off of it. Fans were more into this than they had any right to be but were killed off by the finish.
WINNERS: BREEZANGO by pinfall
Goldust and R-Truth were talking backstage. Goldust says that just because they lost two out of the chute doesn’t make them two-time losers. He claimed that no one will be able to stop them. Breezango stopped by to mock them. Tyler Breeze said “Looks like Goldylocks fell off the beanstalk and cracked his own eggs” and then “nailed it!” as he and Fandango walked away laughing. Goldust went back to his pep talk, egging on the crowd to cheer from them and they actually did. R-Truth said he’s with him and vowed to give it another shot.
Seth Rollins came to the ring for a promo.
Mauro put over that Rollins and Charlotte cracked SI’s Fittest 50 list. I’m surprised that hasn’t gotten more play, to be honest. Despite his heeling on the crowd at RAW, Rollins got a good reception coming out and was smiling. When the music stopped, you could hear booing but what you could see were fans clapping and chanting WELCOME BACK. He played up to the crowd at first and then heeled on them again without really saying anything. Fans were still chanting THANK YOU SETH when he left.
IC CHAMPION THE MIZ w/Maryse vs. CESARO
Cesaro took control early heading into the break but Miz took control during the commercial. Miz worked over Cesaro’s left shoulder for most of the match. Miz got a two count off a backslide and then Cesaro started nailing uppercuts with his good arm. Miz kicked the left shoulder but Cesaro tossed Miz in the air and hit the uppercut for a two. Pretty vocal CE-SAR-O chant from the crowd. Miz hit a short-arm DDT for a two and then tried to undo the top turnbuckle pad. Ref stopped him but Maryse finished the job.
They teased a spot into it which never paid off and then the ref spent about a minute hooking it back up. Cesaro got what would’ve been a three but the ref took too long to make the count. Miz hit an O’Connor roll for two. Cesaro turned that into a sharpshooter but Miz made the ropes to break it up. Miz tossed him out of the ring but Cesaro hit an uppercut from the outside and then went back in and tried to hit his swing but Miz escaped and bailed from the ring. He teased a walkout but Cesaro followed him out, hit the “Very European Uppercut” (called as such by Mauro) and then rolled him back into the ring. Cross body from the top by Cesaro got a two count.
Somewhere amidst all of this, Maryse had removed the turnbuckle again and Miz tossed Cesaro into it shoulder first and then hit the Skull Crushing Finale. Really good match, one of the better TV matches of the year.
I’m here in Lakeland, FL, with a sold out house of approximately 350.
– No Way Jose beat Hugo Knox
Jose was frustrating Knox with his dance moves before catching Knox with the fiesta fireball and the half nelson slam for the win.
– Alexander Wolfe and Sawyer Fulton beat TM61
The heels kept control over the faster face team. There were a few impressive hope spots, but the big men were able to hit a double team finish for the win. It started as somewhat of an assisted DDT yet went in to a back suplex of sorts.
– Tino Sabbatelli beat Patrick Clarke
Very impressive showing by Tino early on showing off his athletic ability with leapfrogs and dropkicks. He hit a crossbody and for the finish, he used a new maneuver similar to what Big Show has used in the past: a reverse DDT position before turning and driving him down with an elbow.
– NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha beat The Authors Of Pain
The match built to the always impressive Jordan hot tag where he even suplexed the big men. Spear, dropkick, and the assisted suplex with Gable for the win.
– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka beat Alexa Bliss
This was a very good match as Bliss continues to elevate herself in the ring. Asuka would get the advantage, yet would get cut off at every turn by the ever aggressive Bliss. Asuka Lock for the win.
– Bayley and Liv Morgan beat Nikki Storm and Lana
Fun match. Lana worked the crowd before the match, saying how this small town shows her how far she’s come. At one point, Bayley set up Nikki for a middle rope hangsman stunner. Lana avoided as much contact as possible and let Nikki take the punishment. Once Lana was knocked off the apron, there was a Belly To Bayley on Nikki for the win.
– Andrade cien Almas beat Elias Samson
Pre-match song by Drifter was booed down and led to a big reaction for Andrade. Teased dive by Andrade in to the tranquilo taunt for a big reaction. Drifter’s offense consisted of headlocks and simple slams. Manny got fired up and hit the running corner knees for the win.
– In-ring segment with Buddy Murphy saying and singing that he wants Alexa back, even saying she’s a ten…which leads to Tye Dillinger interruptiing and superkicking him out of the ring.
– NXT Champion Samoa Joe beat Tye Dillinger
Very good match as expected. Joe put a beating on Tye throughout the match, but Tye would kick out for convincing near falls and even escaped the Koji clutch. Joe was really laying in chops on Tye. Joe hit all his signature stuff before setting up the muscle buster for the win.
