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WON Preview: The return of Shane McMahon
The return to WWE of Shane McMahon, his history, and how the deal to bring him back was put together and why it happened now, is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Feb 29, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Shane McMahon to face Undertaker at Wrestlemania
Details on Shane McMahon’s return to WWE and how it could affect the future of the company, Dos Anjos/McGregor off due to injury, plus tons more.McMahon’s background, what about the TV angle is based on real life and what is based on fiction, where the idea for this year’s WrestleMania first came from and what year it was first planned for, the story on Roman Reigns, the blood, and why that angle took place. We also look at what the current deal is for McMahon, various possible scenarios and the situation with Roman Reigns. Shane McMahon’s career in WWE, his attempts to run businesses in the past, high profile deals he attempted to put together that his father shot down, deals he tried to put together away from his father, and his latest venture and how changes in that company have changed his power.
A look at the deal for Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz on 3/5, including who was called, who was available, why Diaz got the shot and what his chances are.
Updated WrestleMania plans, where the Roman Reigns angle is headed, current card, scheduled guests and what key role is really not determined.
FastLane, with business notes, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
The ramifications and lessons of Bellator’s last big show, what it says about what the public interest in the Kimbo vs. Dada and Shamrock vs. Gracie fights, what led to Dada’s hospitalization, ratings and business notes on the show and coverage of the event.
More WWE business, where the network stands, why a lot of the analysis of the network is shallow and missing key points, how much people really watch of the network, what can be learned from the success of it, how the company is doing in every division, the value of house show, how this affects UFC, aall the other revenue streams and an update on PPV numbers and the company’s profits and losses for the last 21 year.
Shinsuke Nakamura in WWE, reason he came to WWE that isn’t going to happen, John Cena update, 2017 WrestleMania news, new major shows, and how much new stock do the key power brokers in the company have.
Update injuries, what city do more WWE stars live in than any other, more on the next WWE network special, injury updates, how “This is awesome” got started, WWE TV in Japan, next week’s Raw notes, notes, plus a rundown of all the arena events over the past week.
Kota Ibushi leaving New Japan, including an update on his plans, will he work for New Japan again, as well as WWE.
ROH/New Japan joint shows over the weekend,the booking of the shows, the next major New Japan shows including the 2016 New Japan Cup, and match-by-match rundowns with star ratings.
Update on B.J. Penn after UFC has decided to temporarily not use him.
UFC Fight Night in Pittsburgh with business notes and match-by-match coverage.
A lengthy piece on The Godfather, looking at his wrestling career, his pre-wrestling days, how he got into wrestling, why he was so popular with wrestlers, his different gimmicks and what he’s doing now.
Feb 29, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Shane McMahon to face Undertaker at Wrestlemania
Details on Shane McMahon’s return to WWE and how it could affect the future of the company, Dos Anjos/McGregor off due to injury, plus tons more.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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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 sent to you today.
Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.
Check out the latest Online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE: February 15, 1988 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: A Tale of Two Hebners
All the details on Hulk Hogan losing the WWF title to Andre the Giant in a historic angle, plus tons of news and notes.The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
We’ve also got the weekly coverage of all the ratings of the major shows, results from the major league events held around the world, and the major TV show rundowns.
Also in this issue:
–Split up of Los Ingobernables in Mexico
–A look at one of the best Arena Mexico shows in a while
–Change in the Elite plans
–Elite’s first big stipulation match coming
–Likely main event for CMLL’s first major show of 2016
–Elite finally brings in the biggest living Lucha Libre star on an international basis of the last 50 years
–Update on AAA plans
–AAA star no-shows title match
–Great Muta returns
–All Japan Champion Carnival plans
–Upcoming All Japan title matches
–Wrestlers headed to WWE finishing up in Japan this week
–A look at the NOAH big shows
–Shakeup in the Presidents position in one of the world’s biggest promotions
–Match-up of legends set for late March
–70-year-old former gimmick wrestler returns
–Hulk Hogan/Gawker update
–Evolve’s WrestleMania weekend plans
–More on Jim Ross’ boxing deal
–AAA stars coming for WrestleMania weekend
–House of Hardcore notes for the next three shows
–Update on Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling
–Return of Kiyoshi Tamura on a big show
–Update on Thesz Hall of fame
–Former NFL player make pro wrestling debut
–More on the Mongolian Stomper
–Preston City Wrestling update
–Southern California wrestling Half of Fame update
–Legendary wrestling building torn down
–Lucha Underground first house show
–Joey Ryan engagement notes
–Update on ROH anniversary show and TV the next night
–Update on Davey Richards ad his injury
–UFC and BBC 3 deal
–Business notes on the last UFC Las Vegas show
–Lots of new UFC fights that have been made
–Notes on this coming week’s UFC show
–New companies on UFC Fight Pass
–UFC star gets same testing as Daniel Bryan
–Scott Coker adds kickboxing promotion and more details
–Bellator star unhappy with Coker and his bookings
–Bellator star cites on misdemeanor battery charge
–Herschel Walker talks whether he’ll fight again or not
–More on weight cutting
–New MMA promotion looking at a weekly prime time television format
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 sent to you today.
New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.
Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.
Rates are:
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 sent to you today.
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FREE WOL! Dave Meltzer, Bobby Fish of ROH, news and more!
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with a packed show today! We’ve got news, Dave Meltzer appears to talk the latest stories from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, and Bobby Fish of ROH joins us to talk his career, the ROH PPV on Friday night and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
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Daily pro wrestling history (02/25): Benoit & Malenko win ECW World Tag Team Titles
1960
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Joe Hamilton fought Nick Roberts to a draw
– Lee Henning & Taro Myaki defeated Pancho Villa Lopez & Rocky Lee
– Bob Geigel defeated Gory Guerrero via DQ in three falls
– World Heavyweight Champion Pat O’Connor defeated Bill Longson in two straight falls1968
Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– Professor Toru Tanaka beat Whipper Billy Watson
– Edouard Carpentier beat United States heavyweight Tiger Jeet Singh on a disqualification (No title change)
– The Assassin and Dan Miller wrestled Chief White Owl and The Mighty Ursud to a 1 fall to 1 fall 30:00 draw
– The Oklahoma Kid beat Mike Loren
– Ivan Kalmikoff beat Man Mountain Cannon1983
Houston, Texas:
– Junkyard Dog & Mr Wrestling II no contest Ted Dibiase & Matt Borne
– Kamala beat Tony Atlas
– Non title: Chavo Guerrero beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel
– Tiger Conway Jr & Tom Prichard beat Moondogs
– Hacksaw Duggan beat Mike Sharpe
– Art Crews beat Marty Lunde (Arn Anderson)1984
San Francisco, California:
– Jesse Ventura & Mr. Saito beat Baron Von Raschke & The Crusher
– Blackjack Mulligan beat Jerry Blackwell
– Bunkhouse Match: Blackjack Lanza beat Bobby Heenan
– AWA Light Heavyweight Champion Buck Zumhofe beat Steve Regal1986
JCP/AWA Star Wars: East Rutherford, New Jersey:
– AWA Champion Stan Hansen dcor Sgt. Slaughter
– Rock & Roll Express beat Midnight Express dq
– NWA Champion Ric Flair beat Magnum TA
– Road Warriors & Dusty Rhodes beat Ivan Koloff & Nikita Koloff & Baron Von Raschke
– Larry Zbyszko beat Nick Bockwinkel dq
– AWA Tag Team Champions Scott Hall & Curt Hennig beat Bill Irwin & Scott Irwin
– Jimmy Valiant beat Tully Blanchard dq
– Nord The Barbarian & Mongolian Stomper beat Marty Jannetty & Buck Zumhofe1990
Wrestle War: Greensboro, North Carolina:
– US Tag Team Champions, Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk defeated The Freebirds to retain the titles
– NWA World Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Ole & Arn Anderson to retain the titles
– NWA World Champion Ric Flair defeated Lex Luger to retain the title
– The Rock N’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) defeated The Midnight Express (Stan Lane & Bobby Eaton)
– United States Tag Team Champions Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk defeated The Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin & Michael Hayes)
– The Road Warriors defeated The Skyscrapers (Mark Callous & Mike Enos, who was wearing a mask, subbing for Dan Spivey) in a Chicago Streetfight1995
ECW Return of the Funker: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
– Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko defeated Taz & Sabu to win the ECW World Tag Team Titles
– ECW World Champion Shane Douglas defeated Marty Jannetty
– 2 Cold Scorpio defeated Hector Guerrero2001
WWF No Way Out: Las Vegas, Nevada:
– Big Show defeated Raven to win the WWF Hardcore Title
– Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho defeated Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit and X-Pac in a four way match
– Triple H defeated Steve Austin in a three fall match in which each fall had a different stipulation
– The Rock defeated Kurt Angle to win the WWF World Heavyweight Title
– WWF World Tag Team Champions The Dudley Boyz defeated Edge & Christian and Undertaker & Kane in a Three Way Tables match -
UFC Fight Night 84 DFS Playbook: value picks, who to avoid
It’s another fight week for the UFC as the Octagon heads over to London, England on Saturday for UFC Fight Night 84, headlined by a five-round middleweight bout as former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva takes on long-time contender Michael Bisping. It is another chance to earn some money playing fantasy MMA, and below are our studs, value plays and fighters to avoid when making your daily fantasy line-up for Saturday’s event.
STUDS
Tom Breese ($11,400)
Tom Breese has the highest salary of all 26 fighters on the UFC Fight Night 84 card, making him the top play for this event, and for a real good reason. Breese is a perfect 9-0 in his career, with all nine wins coming by stoppage. He has six first-round finishes, and both of his UFC wins have come by TKO in the first round. He is a rising prospect in the welterweight division who comes from a top camp, the Tristar Gym in Montreal, and he has heavy hands and good submissions. He also has an opponent he is expected to run through in Keita Nakamura. Nakamura is riding a five-fight win streak and is coming off his first UFC win in September, but he is just 1-3 inside the Octagon. Nakamura was actually losing his last fight until pulling out a late submission. This is a fight to build up Breese even further, and I fully expect another first-round stoppage win for him. Play him as your top play.
Makwan Amirkhani ($10,200)
Makwan Amirkhani made a big splash in his first year in the UFC in 2015. He fought just twice, but won both fights in the first round, and has spent less than two minutes inside the Octagon over those two fights. His UFC debut was a seven-second knockout win, and he followed that up with a submission win in 1:41. The man dubbed “Mr.Finland” is a fighter to keep an eye on, and he has a solid track record. He is 12-2 in his career, so he has proven to be beatable, but ten of his 12 wins have come by stoppage. He has also moved to the SBG Ireland camp in preparation for this fight, training alongside the likes of Conor McGregor. He will have the best coaching he has experienced thus far, and he’s fighting an opponent he doesn’t seem to particularly like in Mike Wilkinson. That will add fuel to the fire. Wilkinson is 9-1 in his career, but hasn’t fought since October 2014. This one is made for Amirkhani to get another finish win.
VALUE PLAYS
Michael Bisping ($8,600)
I’m going to start off by saying, as you will see below, I have his opponent, Anderson Silva, on my roster, which says how I think the fight will go. However, at his salary, in a five-round fight, Bisping is a very interesting play. Silva hasn’t fought since January 2015, and is coming off a suspension following his horrific leg break in December 2013. He is getting older, and there are questions as to whether Silva has any left. Having Bisping on your team is banking on the fact you, as a fight fan, think Silva is a shot fighter. Many feel this way. Bisping may not finish Silva with one punch, but what he has is volume. He lands a lot, and this fight could drag on for five rounds, giving him more opportunities to add on to your point total. I’m not playing him on my roster, but his salary is excellent value, and would allow you to spend up on some higher-priced fighters.
Thales Leites ($8,400)
Thales Leites is an interesting play as I see his salary just too low. He is very undervalued in his fight against Gegard Mousasi, and I see Mousasi at $11,000 being too high. This is why Leites makes my value play list. Leites is 5-1 since returning to the UFC, and his lone loss came to Michael Bisping in a very close fight in July. He also has the fight style that has given Mousasi a lot of trouble in the past- a solid striker with an excellent submission game. He could give Mousasi fits, and Mousasi is coming off the first knockout loss of his career in his last fight. Leites has just too low of a salary to not consider him being on your roster. He will be on mine, and he is a solid value play.
FIGHTERS TO AVOID
Krzysztof Jotko ($10,100)
Krzysztof Jotko is an impressive 16-1 in his career, and 3-1 inside the Octagon. However, of those 16 wins, only six have come by stoppage, and he hasn’t finished an opponent since September 2012. He doesn’t rack up a lot of points either, outside of his dominant win over Tor Troeng, and he tends to have close fights. He has a solid opponent in Bradley Scott, who is tough to finish and has been a finisher himself in his career, as all of his wins have come by finish. Scott is actually a solid play for the event himself. Jotko just doesn’t strike me as a fighter looking to finish, just one who wants a win. There are a lot of finishers on this event, thus making Jotko an easy fighter to avoid.
Norman Parke ($8,700)
Norman Parke has been in way too many close fights to my liking, and is an easy fighter to pass up on this event. His salary is tempting since it gives you some space to spend up on your roster, and let’s face it, you have to have a lower salary fighter on your team. However, he has a tough match-up against Rustam Khabilov, a strong takedown artist, and this is the type of fight Parke comes up short in. Parke has just one finish win in the UFC, which came against an opponent who is 0-5 in the UFC in his career. He isn’t going to finish Khabilov, and I don’t even see him getting the win. He is an easy one to pass on, and don’t get tempted by his low salary. Avoid, avoid, avoid.
OUR LINEUPS:
RYAN FREDERICK- Tom Breese ($11,400), Anderson Silva ($10,800), Makwan Amirkhani ($10,200), Marlon Vera ($8,900), Thales Leites ($8,400)
Tom Breese is the big play of the event and I’m having him on my roster. He is an excellent prospect, and you can’t go against someone who has won by finish in every one of his fights. He has an excellent match-up to get another finish. Next I have Anderson Silva. It does feel like a risky play at his salary, but if he hasn’t lost a step, I think he finishes Michael Bisping. The big question is making sure he isn’t a shot fighter at his age and after the rough past few years. Makwan Amirkhani is also on my team, and his UFC track record with two wins in a less than two combined minutes is hard to overlook. He also has an opponent he is motivated to put away quickly, and he is an excellent prospect. I’m rounding out my team with Marlon Vera and Thales Leites. Vera got a finish in his last fight, and he’s fighting Davey Grant, who hasn’t fought since November 2013 and is coming off being stopped in his lone UFC fight. Vera has a solid shot at the upset. Thales Leites’ salary is just too low, and he has a style to defeat Gegard Mousasi. I’m picking Mousasi to win the fight, but Leites has the ability to get the upset.
PAUL FONTAINE- Gegard Mousasi ($11,000), Anderson Silva ($10,800), Makwan Amirkhani ($10,200), Brad Pickett ($9,000), Marlon Vera ($8,900)
If my picks in recent weeks are any indication, your best bet is probably to pick the exact opposite of my team! But I will try and make a case here for why I’m going with these five. Silva is a points fighter who does have deceptive power. I don’t see any way that Bisping knocks out Silva. So this fight is either going to go the full five rounds, meaning Silva gets a lot of points for striking, or Silva finishes him at some point. Either way, he should rack up some point. Mousasi is a front runner who always looks great in fights against guys ranked below him as is the case her. He should dominate Leites on the way to an early finish. I’m taking a bit of a chance with Brad Pickett, who’s on a 3 fight losing streak but his opponent Rivera has been finished in each of his last two losses and Pickett does have finishing ability at 135. I’m really surprised Marlon Viera is an underdog against Davey Grant, who hasn’t found in 2 1/2 years. Vera is coming off a 2nd round submission win and the group of fighters that he came in with from the first season of TUF Latin America has done very well in UFC. I like him to score another stoppage win here. My last pick is Mr Finland, who I think is a lock to score an early finish. He could be the future of the Featherweight division as the man is extremely popular, oozes charisma and has scary finishing ability…the Finnish Conor if you will.
PEACH MACHINE- Anderson Silva ($10,800), Davey Grant ($10,500), Francisco Rivera ($10,400), Bradley Scott ($9,300), Thales Leites ($8,400)
I like Anderson Silva. Bisping will be able to hang for a while and he’ll engage Silva and get knocked out late… I like Leites. Mousasi is coming off a bad KO, and hasn’t looked good… Rivera will KO Pickett but this should be a fun one round fight… I’m taking Scott more as a pick against Jotko who was not impressive last time I saw him… I’m taking Grant more as a pick against Vera, but I don’t know anything about either guy, I just hate Brandon Vera so much it extends to anyone with that last name. I went 4-1 last week but I’m not as confident this week.
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Lion’s Gate Project 1 results: Nagata vs. Kitamiya; NJPW and NOAH rookies shine
Announced last year, this morning’s Lion’s Gate event was the first in what is to be a regular series of events highlighting rookies from New Japan, NOAH, and other associated promotions with New Japan. Tonight’s card is a mixture of NOAH and New Japan rookies and veterans squaring off in a nice mix of singles and tag matches.
Takumi Honjo vs. Shuhei Taniguchi
Taniguchi is the former Maybach Taniguchi who I guess has taken off his mask in recent weeks and has sided in NOAH in their battle against Suzuki-gun. This is Honjo’s debut match, graduating from the New Japan dojo. The former Maybach isn’t the best first match to have. Honjo looked like someone in his first match and Taniguchi wasn’t that good. Honjo got some chants going for him at least. Taniguchi got the win quickly with a Boston crab.
Kawato Hirato vs. Hitoshi Kumano
Kawato is the really young NJPW lion, only 18 years old. He looked good here and showed some fire with his offense, and his strikes look good. This didn’t last long either. Kuwato him have some offense, cut him off and pinned him with a fisherman’s suplex.
Kaito Kiyomiya vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
Kiyomiya is a NOAH rookie, wearing green tights as I guess that’s the rule over in that promotion. He has a good dropkick and handled basics pretty well. It was very much in the same formula as the previous two matches. Taguchi eventually cut him off and got the win with the dodon.
David Finlay vs. Taiji Ishimori
Pretty good while it lasted. Ishimori came off looking really good, doing some great dynamic spots throughout the match. I wonder why he didn’t get a spot in the Super Juniors tournament last year. Finlay got some great near falls and submissions, including the stretch muffler. Ishimori gave him a lot. ishimori gave him a uranage then followed with a 450 for the win.
Jay White vs. Yoshinari Ogawa
Another good match. White looked good here too. He’s the best out of the current crop of the young lions in terms of overall athleticism and ability. He would have been my rookie of the year if Chad Gable hadn’t come along. He took a lot of this match and people were behind him big time. He even handled some mat wrestling with Ogawa well. He cut him off with an eye poke and tried to go for a superplex but White stopped him. Ogawa avoided him, gave him a dragon screw and put him in a figure four, submitting him.
Lion’s Gate Project 2 was announced for 5/19.
Quiet Storm vs. Manabu Nakanishi
I haven’t seen a singles bout from Nakanishi in forever. There’s a good reason for that. Storm is an interesting story as he wrestled in the very early era of Ring of Honor, was mostly a small independent level guy, then went to Japan in the mid 2000s and has pretty much found consistent work there ever since. They did a lot of big guy spots even though Nakanishi is about a head taller than Storm. Wasn’t bad. Nakanishi can only do so much, but he got all of this spots in and was fine. After Storm teased putting the Rack on Nakanishi, he cut him off and put him in the rack, with Storm quickly submitting.
Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Genba Hirayanagi & Captain NOAH
Genba was billed as Captain Genba as he was wearing a mask like Captain NOAH’s. Kojima & Tenzan dominated a lot of the match. Genba got heat momentarily by cutting off Kojima with a testicular claw. That’s one way of halting a comeback. The masked duo got double submissions on Tencozy but they didn’t submit. Kojima came back with a diamond cutter and a brainbuster but NOAH broke it up, only to get a 3D. Genba tried to get a cheap win with the claw again and a roll up, but Kojima hit the ropes and scored a lariat for the win. Perfectly fine match.
Juice Robinson vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
This was pretty good. Robinson was given a lot and has improved a lot in his time here with New Japan. He’s that weird situation where it doesn’t seem like he’s a young lion, but not really a pushed guy either in New Japan, so he was given a lot more here than other young lions in previous matches. Nakajima is riding a big wave of momentum as he’s pinned Minoru Suzuki and is probably next in line for the GHC Heavyweight title. Robinson also got over big time with the crowd as they were with him from the start. Lots of back and forth great action. Nothing too fancy, but a really well worked match that people got into. Nakajima picked up the win after a brainbuster.
Yuji Nagata vs. Mitsuhiro Kitamiya
Kitamiya looked good against Nagata, who did a good job in this match. There’s the occasional showing his age signs here and there, but he’s still a tremendous preformer and looked great here. He gave Kitamiya a lot and they had a pretty good back and forth match, as was the theme for many of tonight’s matches. Nagata hit the backdrop driver but Kitamiya kicked out. Kitamiya laid into Nagata with some slaps but Nagata no sold them and fired back with another backdrop driver for the win. Very nice main event with a great finish.
Nagata said a few things to close out the show.
Overall, this was a solid show. Quality wise, maybe about your average New Japan house show, maybe a little less. Nothing really bad, mostly solid to good. The unique matches really added a lot to the show and made it a fun watch.
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WOR: WrestleMania, Shane McMahon, Conor vs. Diaz, all the news!
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back today to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA! Tons of news on Shane McMahon and this year’s WrestleMania, more on what the plans are as of this moment, TNA and WWE Raw ratings, Lucha Underground and NXT reviews, ROH’s PPV this weekend, the awesome Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz press conference and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
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WWE Smackdown results: Triple H promo, Styles/Jericho/Henry vs. New Day
– Air Date: February 25, 2016 (Feb 24 in Canada)
– Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN– The Big News:
Unless Chris Jericho is swerving us, he and AJ Styles appear to be headed for a tag title match at WrestleMania. Also, Triple H had some words for Roman Reigns.
– Show Recap:
Triple H came out wearing a suit, holding the WWE Title, to plenty of fake booing. The ring was covered in black carpet and there was a podium for WWE Title so the champion doesn’t have to hold the belt for too long. He quoted the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy For The Devil,” saying he stole many a man’s soul. (Don’t give me any credit for picking up on the song – he proudly told us the reference.)
Triple H called his beat down of Roman Reigns retribution for Reigns’ attack months ago, and they replayed the video from Raw. He mentioned Reigns’ surgery and showed the “post-surgery” photo on the screen. Triple H called himself the law and rambled on about bowing to authority.
He said he had to step over a lot of people to get where he is, spilling a lot of blood, sweat and tears. He said Reigns has the sweat part of that down, because he does work hard. Triple H then pulled out his wrist tape which was covered in Roman’s blood, so he’s got the blood part down too. Finally, he said he would get Reigns’ tears at WrestleMania, because he’s the king of kings, game of games, etc.
This was pretty boring and the crowd didn’t seem to care. He’s also forgetting that we’ve seen Roman’s tears before. More than once. Mauro Ranallo said there was no timetable for Reigns’ recovery. For a busted nose?
8-Man Tag Match: League of Nations beat Lucha Dragons, Neville & Dolph Ziggler via pinfall
This was only about 8 minutes and was almost all action. Neville really shined here, but Sheamus hit him with a Brogue kick for the win. Wade Barrett finally worked and looked fine.
Renee Young had Kevin Owens backstage because he asked for the time to speak. Owens told her to stop rambling so he could talk. Owens was inspired by Dean Ambrose on Raw and wanted to give Ambrose his rematch for the Intercontinental title. Renee told Owens that Ambrose wasn’t there.
Owens acted surprised, but figured he has the night off since Ambrose is the only one who deserves a title shot since he’s defeated everyone else. Big Show appeared and said Owens hasn’t beaten him. Owens said he’s on the road to KO-Mania, but Show was on the road to retirement. Show grabbed Owens and said maybe he would “K.O. K.O.” (knockout Kevin Owens). This was good.
D-Von Dudley (w/Bubba Ray Dudley) beat Jimmy Uso (w/Jey Uso) via pinfall
Bubba repeated, again, that the Dudleys are not a nostalgia act. D-Von said they’re the best tag-team ever, and Bubba told the fans to shove it. Jimmy Uso hit a superkick almost immediately and went to the top rope. Bubba grabbed a table so Jey chased after him. As the referee stopped Jey, Bubba tripped Jimmy off the top rope. D-Von clumsily picked Jimmy up to his feet just so he could pull him back down with a school boy for the very quick win. This was lame.
They aired a video package for the Shane McMahon angle, and announced the return of Undertaker to Raw in Nashville.
Backstage, Chris Jericho (wearing an Usos t-shirt) told AJ Styles, again, that he didn’t like him at first, but he does now, and they even became a team on Raw. Jericho said he’s been WWE Tag-Team champion five times with five different guys. He called the New Day clowns and said beating them tonight could get them a title shot and lead to a WrestleMania moment for Styles.
Styles said that’s why he came here, to be in a meaningless match the best. Styles said they needed a partner tonight for the six-man. Jericho asked if he got Funaki’s number while he was in Japan. Mark Henry showed up and thought WSM should join Y2AJ. That’s what he said.
Henry doesn’t like New Day either and firmly shook Jericho’s hand. Jericho was in pain and comically asked him to lighten up on the handshake. Henry didn’t like Jericho joking around like New Day. Jericho got in his face and said it would be an honour to have a former world champion on their team. Henry agreed, let go of Jericho’s hand, smacked Styles on the chest, and left. The stuff with Jericho and Henry was good, but Styles felt a little out of place.
Non-title: I.C. Champion Kevin Owens beat Big Show via countout
Owens looked small next to Big Show, which was quite a visual. Owens got some offense but it didn’t have much of an effect on Show, who followed with a chokeslam. Show tried to do a chokeslam off the top, but Owens slipped out and crotched him on the rope. Show fell to the outside and referee Mike Chioda did the fastest 10-count ever for the countout. The match was only 4 minutes long. Regardless of how Owens won, this should eliminate Show from title contention. (It won’t.)
Becky Lynch NC Natalya
Ranallo and Byron Saxton talked about Natalya and Lynch, but Jerry Lawler wanted to talk about Charlotte, to which Ranallo responded, “She’s not involved in the match, King. I like to focus on the action in the ring.” After about 2 minutes, Natalya hit a German suplex, sending Lynch to the outside. At this point, Naomi and Tamina ran out and attacked Natalya for the DQ/no contest.
Sasha Banks made the save, and she cleared the ring with help from Lynch. Charlotte came out and announced that the Lynch vs. Banks match for the number one contendership will be this Monday, and she will be at ringside. Natalya disappeared and was totally forgotten about. This sucked.
R-Truth beat Heath Slater (w/Social Outcasts) via pinfall
Truth came out alone, but Goldust came out as soon as the bell rang. He told Truth he just wanted to watch from ringside, and fans chanted “Golden Truth.” The Social Outcasts tried to interfere, but the distraction allowed Goldust to smack Slater, allowing Truth to use a backslide for the win. Truth was pleased and was smiling until Goldust winked at him. This was… fine, but it was another crap finish and another short match.
They aired a long video package for the Brock Lesnar/Dean Ambrose stuff from Raw, and officially announced their No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania.
New Day came out. Big E questioned Mark Henry’s claim as world’s strongest man, and Kofi Kingston wondered how he can still call himself that. They cackled like hyenas. And then they kept cackling. Kingston said there was someone in the ring who was stronger than Henry – Xavier Woods.
Woods said Jericho and Styles aren’t a real team. New Day travel together, they eat together, they take baths together. Big E and Kingston acted alarmed, and then they quickly chanted New Day rocks. Like most New Day segments, there was some funny stuff in here, but a lot of unfunny stuff too.
6-Man Tag Match: AJ Styles, Chris Jericho & Mark Henry beat The New Day via submission
Mark Henry came out last, if that sort of thing matters to you. The good guys sent New Day to the outside, so Mark Henry did Big E’s hip swivel dance. Jericho decided to join him and did a dance of his own… and so did AJ Styles. Yes, Styles danced. It was something else.
After a break, New Day gained the heat on Jericho. There was a nice spot where Kingston hit a seated Jericho with a kick, Woods followed with a low dropkick, then he and Big E hit a combination leg drop and splash. Jericho came back with an enziguri and made the hot tag to Styles, who hit Woods with a clothesline, forearm and springboard moonsault inverted DDT.
Kingston took out Mark Henry with a Trouble in Paradise. He almost got Styles with one too, but Jericho pushed Styles out of the way and ate Kingston’s kick instead. Styles clotheslined Kingston and applied the Calf Crusher on Woods, who tapped out immediately. Good match. The announcers played up Jericho saving Styles from Kingston’s kick.
– Final Thoughts:
Despite a fun opener and main event, this was probably the worst Smackdown since they switched networks. The Triple H promo was terribly uninteresting, and the middle of the show was pretty dreadful, full of short matches and bad finishes. Sometimes when they shoot a big angle on Raw, they seem to have no immediate plan beyond that show, and Smackdown tends to suffer as a result.
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WWE NXT results: Great matches made for the future, okay matches happen in the present
It’s a show where the future sounded so much better than the present. Bayley and Carmella team up to battle Eva Marie and Nia Jax. Plus, what will Mr. William Regal have to say about the controversial finish to the #1 contender’s match last week?
- The Big News: Samoa Joe will wrestle Sami Zayn in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match in 2 weeks.
- The Medium News: Finn Balor will wrestle Neville next week
- The Little Beaver Sized News: A brand new star will also debut next week.
- The News Even Smaller Than Little Beaver: On the show that actually aired this week, Eva Marie won the tag team main event, pinning Carmella.
American Alpha defeated Blake & Murphy
38 days away from NXT Takeover and we kick things off with American Alpha. We are still at the CFE Arena in the University of Central Florida, for the third week here. The fans still liked Jordan & Gable, but this was already the second time they saw them, so it wasn’t as much love as before. Plus this was minutes after the Samoa Joe-Sami Zayn match that aired last week, so the fans were kind of tired.
Gable was single handedly destroying both Blake and Murphy. Jordan tagged in long enough for a double dropkick, but other than that the first half of the match was just Gable schooling both men. We went to commercial and came back with Jordan in control. It took almost 7 minutes, but the heels finally cut off Gable for the heat after using double team shenanigans.
Blake and Murphy continue to work good together. Jordan got the hot tag and hit several suplexes on both men. The good guys picked up the win with Grand Amplitude.
– After the double pin finish from last week, Mr. William Regal announced a 2 out of 3 Falls match with Samoa Joe vs. Sami Zayn in 2 weeks. He also announced that a brand new talent would debut next week.
– Sawyer Fulton sang while “highlights” of his matches aired. He can still be boring even in highlight form.
Apollo Crews pinned Christopher Girard
Apollo Crews is back. He has become so directionless since losing at Takeover: London. That loss was such a big deal. Girard looked good in his NXT debut, but the announcers were pointing out his size (or lack thereof) as they said he wasn’t much bigger than Gillberg.
This was not just a squash match, as Girard got a full entrance and had a competitive match with Crews before going down in defeat. Crews hit his toss Powerbomb to pick up the win.
– Bayley and Carmella were backstage with Alex, who called them “Baymella”, which was gag worthy. Bayley put over her partner and Carmella said one day she is coming back for the championship. Bayley was happy Asuka helped out, but it’s obvious she’s coming after the championship.
– Earlier this week, Enzo Amore arrived at the WWE Performance Center when he was attacked by Dash & Dawson. It was shot purely with security cameras, so it looked grainy and definitely not HD, but it looked more real.
Tommaso Ciampa submitted Bull Dempsey in a Loser Goes To WrestleCon Match
Actually the winner may be there too, I haven’t checked the list lately.
Bull needed the referee’s help to get his shirt off because it was so tight. Ciampa was not amused. Dempsey was content to do jumping jacks, as opposed to sports entertaining, so Ciampa made him pay for it. At one point it looked like Dempsey hit the Bossman Slam, but Bull was the one selling, so they sold it like Bull’s shoulder was hurt. It reminds me of Spike Dudley’s Acid Drop where you didn’t know if he hit the move half the time until someone sold it.
Ciampa won with a rolling armbar. At least Bull lost. You might recall Kassius Ohno started getting a pretty good push after he was released.
– Samoa Joe cut a promo saying he made NXT hot just by being here. It’s a shame for Sami Zayn to get beaten on for 2 falls instead of 1. Alex then asked Sami Zayn about it. Zayn said he’s been in plenty of 2 out of 3 Falls matches and he’s ready to do what he’s gotta do to become a 2-time NXT Champion.
Nia Jax & Eva Marie defeated NXT Women’s Champion Bayley & Carmella
Main event time! These four ladies have been in each others way going back to November when Bayley wrestled Eva Marie for the first time ever. This continued through Takeover, into the battle royal last month and Carmella’s title match 2 weeks ago.
For everyone that has such high hopes that WWE’s Diva Division is going to get a total makeover, just remember that Eva Marie is still pegged as the next breakout Diva.
The faces schooled Eva, who screamed for Nia’s help. I want to point out, in the interest of fairness, that Eva has improved ever so slightly. She used to show absolutely no expression during the match and at least now she yells in pain while selling. That’s a step up..
Nia stayed in the match as much as possible, tagging Eva in for very specific spots and moments, things she couldn’t mess up. Bayley got the hot tag, which woke the crow up and did her entire comeback on Eva.
Bayley had the match won with the Belly to Bayley, but Nia dragged Bayley off and headbutted her. Carmella tagged in and it became the Nia Jax Show. Nia attacked Carmella, gave a body attack to Bayley and dragged Eva over to her corner for the tag. Nia hit three legdrops on Carmella before Eva tagged herself in and got the pin!
– The show ended with Rich Brennan interviewing William Regal and Finn Balor. Mr. Regal told Finn that he is closing in on the record for longest reigning NXT Champion. mr. regal finished the show by telling Finn that next week he will face the longest reigning NXT Champion ever….Neville! That should be one amazing match and we have two straight weeks of amazing matches coming up.
But until next time, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
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Lucha Underground results: Johnny Mundo vs. Cage; Taya Valkyrie debuts
The show opens with a recap of Mundo and Cage talking smack last week before transitioning to Texano beating up Chavo. The recap ends with Cage kicking Mundo’s ass and hitting Weapon X. We hear a monologue about how “Ian just thought Vampiro was a voice in the head” and how Vampiro would be freed from Ian’s mind thanks to using Pentagon Jr. So basically, “Vampiro” is like the alien symbiote in Spider-Man.
Striker and black rimmed glasses Vamp welcome us to the show. Jack Evans interrupts Melissa Santos and tells the crowd to be quiet – the hero they didn’t know they had was trying to speak.
PJ Black vs. Jack Evans
Striker gets in his second “Dr. Black” reference in regards to PJ Black, and Evans gets a cheapshot to the gut off a handshake. PJ lands some shots, but gets crotched up top briefly. German suplex gets 2, and Black lands a suplex after Evans goes for a spinning headscissors. Striker gets off a wacky line and Vamp threatens to take away his notes. Drago is in the crowd looking “Lucifer-iffic” according to Striker. Evans talks smack and tosses a water bottle at Drago, so he comes down. This distraction lets PJ hit the Black Diamond lifting cutter for 2.5, but a mist attempt misses, hits Black and the bridging backslide wins for Evans.
Famous B gets a wacky ’80s used car salesman ad saying that if you call his number, he’ll make ya famous! This was hilarious, and had a VHS filter on that is perfect for El Rey. King Cuerno is just in the ring for a match, against Killshot.
King Cuerno vs. Killshot
Lots of chops and kicks to start this off. Killshot sends him to the floor with a nasty chop and gets a flip dive. Cuerno recovers and goes for a Thrill of the Hunt off the apron to the floor, but it gets countered into a cutter off the apron instead. We get a boo/yay punch exchange that turns into a chop exchange. A nasty single leg dropkick hits from Cuerno! Killshot goes for a middle rope moonsault, but eats a kick to the gut. They go for tombstones and counters before Killshot decides “no, the TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER isn’t enough – and gets a gutbuster”. Cuerno recovers and hits the Thrill of the Hunt to win. Cuerno goes for the Thrill of the Kill piledriver, but Fenix saves Killshot. Next, Taxano faces Chavo and the Crew in a gauntlet match.
Texano vs. The Crew and Chavo Guerrero – Gauntlet Match
Chavo sends Mr. Cisco out first. Texano superkicks him while Striker says that Lt. Loco is losing it. Chavo distracts him, so Castro can attack – but he eats a back elbow. Corner lariats hit for Texano, but he then eats a high kick in the corner. Tornado DDT gets 2 for Castro. Castro goes for a La Magistrol, but Texano gets one of his own after a wacky lucha setup. Discus elbow by Castro leads to him running in and eating a powerbomb for the win. Chavo jumps Texano and gets 2. Shortarm lariat hits for Chavo, and Striker calls him a man who was at one point one of the best in the world. Vamp rightfully buries him for this. Texano runs wild with a big forearm smash in the corner. Big backdrop hits for Texano. Texano goes for a suplex on the apron, but Castro uses the bullrope to hold the foot down ala Heenan doing so to Warrior to give Rude the win at WrestleMania V.
375 miles from Boyle Heights, Matanza kills some dudes inside the warehouse. Dario tells Black Lotus that she started a war, and that their mother hurt Dario and Matanza. One day, he stood up to her and he wasn’t strong enough then to back up his words. Matanza saved him from a hot iron, but Matanza hit her with the red bull decoration until he killed her. For Dario, it was a happy memory and he leaned how much he loved violence that day. Catrina saunters around the Temple and Pentagon Jr. tells her that the needs to go teach Prince Puma a lesson.
She tells him that she has no reason to give him the match, and as is customary, a wacky kung fu movie fight broke out. Pentagon wins and gets her in the arm snapper position – so she gives him his match, disappears, reappears in the other corner and tells him he’s got his match, but he has made the biggest mistake he could ever make. Johnny Mundo comes out to face Cage. Cage is still a machine.
Johnny Mundo vs. Cage
Mundo slaps him to start and takes him down for some mounted punches. They get up and Mundo gets some gut punches and then eats a hopefully low-carb lariat. Hiptoss into a neckbreaker lands for Cage. They fight up top and Johnny hops down the apron to kick Cage. They go to the floor and Mundo gets a step-up dive using the ringpost! Mundo grinds him down with a chinlock. Mundo avoids a pumphandle and Mundo lands a calf kick. Cage lands a backdrop and hits a lariat. Cage gets 2 off a sitout Albama slam-style powerbomb.
Mundo gets his back/neckbreaker combo and goes for the End of the World, but gets stopped and chopped for 2. Mundo lands a superkick on the apron and slides through for a sunset flip for 2. Mundo’s foot is caught and hits a flip kick, but eats a Lucha Destroyer for 2. Flying Chuck hits for Mundo, but the End of the World misses. Discus lariat hits and he stares at Mil. Weapon X hits before Taya Valkyrie comes out. Mundo cracks him in the head with a lead pipe to win. Taya and Johnny put the furry boots to Cage. Taya saunters into the corner and lands a pair of shotgun knees to the face.
Cuerno goes to Catrina’s office and says that Fenix won’t die and he’s tired of carrying the title around – he wants his title match. Catrina tells him that he’ll get a match – against Fenix for the Gift of the Gods Title. Catrina says that Fenix can fly, and she hopes Cuerno can too because it’s a ladder match.
To see every screenshot for the show, just click here.