Kansas City, Kansas: – Richard Brown beat Ike Eakins – June Byers and Carol Cook beat Penny Banner and Mary Jane Mull – Guy Brunetti beat Bob Corby (dq) – Joe Tangaro drew Danny Plechas (20:00)
1957
Kansas City, Kansas: – Wild Red Berry and Richard Brown beat Babe Zaharias and Lou Plummer 2 falls to 0 – Bob Geigel beat Tommy O’Toole – Ramon Cernadas beat Frank Hurley – Richard Brown beat Babe Zaharias
1961
Rochester, Minnesota: – Hard Boiled Haggerty beat AWA Champion Verne Gagne dq – Jim Hady beat Len Montana – Gene Kiniski beat Joe Scarpello – Wilbur Snyder beat George Drake
1964
Minneapolis, Minnesota: – Moose Evans & Verne Gagne beat Dick the Bruiser & The Crusher to win the AWA Tag Team Title – Mitsu Arakawa beat Doug Gilbert – Rene Goulet beat Marquis de Paree – Princess Little Cloud beat Bette Boucher – Bob Geigel beat Maurice Lapointe
1969
Toronto, Ontario, Canada: – The Mighty Igor beat Ivan Koloff – Bulldog Brower and Whipper Billy Watson beat The Assassin and Al Costello Watson – Edouard Carpentier beat The Mighy Ursus – Rocky Johnson and Ivan Kalmikoff went to a 15:00 draw – Dewey Robertson beat Eric the Red – The Sheik beat Bill Palmer – Paul DeMarco beat Fred Atkins
1973
Chicago, Illinois: – AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Blackjack Mulligan 2 out of 3 falls – Superstar Billy Graham beat Wahoo McDaniel dq – Dusty Rhodes & Dick Murdoch beat Billy Robinson & Wilbur Snyder – Ernie Ladd beat Lord James Blears – Rene Goulet drew Reggie Parks – Blackjack Lanza beat Jim Brunzell
1977
Denver, Colorado: – Andre the Giant & Ray Stevens & Larry Hennig beat Nick Bockwinkel & Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Duncum – Pedro Morales beat Pierre Poisson – Angelo Mosca beat Bill Francis – Super Destroyer beat Peter Maivia dq
1982
Tampa, Florida: – The Midnight Rider (the suspended Dusty Rhodes under a mask) defeated Ric Flair to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (After the match, NWA President Bob Geigel demanded that the Midnight Rider unmask. If Rhodes revealed it was him under the mask, he would have been banned for life, so he refused and gave up the NWA Championship, which was returned to Flair)
Omaha, Nebraska: – Ken Patera beat Hulk Hogan dq – Tito Santana & Buck Zumhofe beat Bobby Duncum & Bobby Heenan – Greg Gagne beat Rene Goulet – Brad Rheingans drew Jerry Blackwell
1986
St. Paul, Minnesota: – Road Warriors & Paul Ellering beat Mongolian Stomper & Boris Zhukov & Barbarian dq – No dq match: AWA Champion Stan Hansen beat Sgt. Slaughter by countout – AWA Tag Team Champions Scott Hall & Curt Hennig beat Bill Irwin & Scott Irwin dq – Jerry Blackwell beat Earthquake Ferris (sub King Kong Brody) dq – Marty Jannetty beat Doug Somers – Brad Rheingans beat Earthquake Ferris
Toronto, Ontario, Canada: – The British Bulldog, Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid defeated the WWF tag team champions Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine via disqualification – Intercontinental champion Tito Santana pinned Jesse Ventura to retain title – Paul Orndorff defeated Cowboy Bob Orton – Corporal Kirchner defeated The Iron Sheik – George(The Animal) Steele beat Barry O – Adrian Adonis defeated Special Delivery Jones
1998
El Paso, Texas: – Rick & Scott Steiner defeated The Outsiders (Scott Hall & Kevin Nash) to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship
2003
Guadalajara, Mexico: – Vampiro defeated Shocker to win the NWA light heavyweight title
2009
Tokyo, Japan: – Kaz Hayashi defeated Naomichi Marafuji to win the All Japan title
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back today with tons to talk about including a recap of Daniel Bryan’s retirement speech and a look back at his amazing career, a full Raw report from Monday night in Seattle, plus news notes! A fun show as always celebrating one of the best of all time, so check it out~!
I wish the best of luck to Bryan Danielson tonight in his retirement speech hope everyone wishes the best for him in his post-wrestling career. To me, Bryan Danielson was both a model pro wrestler and far more than that, a very intelligent and very honest human being.
He reached the highest rung in this profession in 2014 even when his look and size based on previously established standards of the business would have said it was impossible. Unlike many, his rise to the top was entirely fan-driven, and I hope all those fans understand that whatever decision he has made is based on what he believes is the best for him in the long run.
It will be a long time before people fully understand the contributions he made to this industry, which is a far better place because of his involvement. There were things dating back to 2001 that he was involved with that changed the underground foundation of the industry, and over the past few years, significantly changed talent evaluation at the highest level of the industry.
Change is slow, to be sure, but this is a different industry and he played a huge part in it. When you really look back, from an influence standpoint, he triggered a number of changes and his contributions are actually enormous.
On a side note: I was told that word spread today within WWE about Danielson. As of a few hours ago, the description was the mood was very somber backstage.
Also, Danielson will be on ESPN with Jonathan Coachman tomorrow night talking about his retirement.
More of F4WOnline.com’s Coverage of the Daniel Bryan story:
Bryan on Twitter posted “Due to medical reasons, effective immediately, I am announcing my retirement. Tonight on Raw, I’ll have a chance to elaborate.” So, now we wait for his speech tonight on RAW. To many this retirement is not coming as a surprise but to many others this will be a hard pill to swallow. There are those who held out hope that a guy like Daniel Bryan who defied the odds of making it into the WWE, would once again return. A guy who was small and didn’t have the prototypical WWE body, not only made it to the WWE but won the WWE title at WrestleMania 30. In what many saw as one of the great celebrations and they got to share it with him. This is pro wrestling and few truly retire from this business, so fans will still hold out hope he will eventually make his return however unlikely.
They will be back later tonight with another Wrestling Observer Radio talking the fallout of RAW and the retirement speech. They will also talk about the death of Axl Rotten and the latest news. If you’ve got any questions Bryan Danielson related, particularly from the report we did or anything he may say on Raw tonight, you can send them to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com We will try and answer all Danielson questions tonight. Questions on other subjects we’ll go into on Wednesday.
Raw will be Monday in Seattle. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman are scheduled on the show and of course the Daniel Bryan retirement announcement.
Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday in Portland, OR. Chris Jericho vs. A.J. Styles is on the show.
Thanks to everyone who did a great job of correspondent work at the shows this weekend including Adam Kirby, Alex Keeling, Jai, Thomas Green, Lee Thomas, Kody Ludwig, Tyler Kemmerer, Ross Hart, Craig Freeman, Todd Bergman, Lou Pickney, Josh Baker, Sean Moore, Dan Thompson and everyone else.
If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our new 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!
The new double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter looks at Bret Hart’s battle with cancer, his discussions about it, and updates on the situation. The most detailed coverage of the last month of Lucha Underground’s second season, backstage news, season three, lots of business notes. Full coverage of all the Ultima Lucha 2 matches and direction. Nakamura’s final day with NJPW, where Nakamura and New Japan go now, his background and building the IC title, the next two New Japan PPV shows to this weekend’s biggest event.
Fast Lane and WrestleMania, what’s up with Undertaker, WWE injury updates, the next WWE Network special, Licensing issue with new WWE signees, notes on the next NXT Takeover show, a look at all the TV building the next Takeover show, who led to a huge increase in demand for WWE tickets, next WWE show in Madison Square Garden update, Nakamura updates, WWE performer wants to compete in the Olympics and what former pro wrestler went back to the Olympics to medal, Lesnar’s schedule, Tough Enough winner starts out, Other Tough Enough competitors start out, change in Rumble plans, New WWE Network series based on wrestling matches, new WWE movie, WWE’s tour of Germany this coming week, more on The Rock’s segment on Raw.
A detailed look at the Awesome Kong-Reby Hardy situation in Manchester, England. Benson Henderson’s decision to leave UFC for Bellator and take a championship fight, why he made the decision, what both Dana White and Henderson said. We look at Pro Wrestling NOAH’s last major event and where it’s storylines are going.
A huge look at the life and career of Archie “The Stomper” Gouldie, one of the most memorable wrestling characters of his generation, stories about him, his gimmick, how big a star he was in his heyday, his incredibly long career title history, how he was two very different successful characters, and his most famous angles and biggest bouts. We also have a lot of comments from people who knew him, including how he changed the life and career of J.J. Dillon. The life and career of the original Espectrito, the best heel mini of his generation including when he main evented the Los Angeles Sports Arena, a rarity for a mini.
We also look at Saturday’s UFC , what’s next for the winners, thoughts on Sage Northcutt, as well as business notes on the show and match-by-match coverage.
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.
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Jon Jones was cited on 1/31 for driving without a license, without registration and without insurance by a Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Deputy. That could have been trouble given Jones currently being on probation, but Bernalillo County District Attorney spokesperson Kayla Anderson said they will not be filing a probation violation against Jones for the incident according to Marc Raimondi of MMA Fighting. Jones is serving 18 months of probation from his felony hit-and-run charge from last year.
B.J. Penn on his web site announced today that his return would be on 4/23 in Las Vegas at UFC 197. Originally he was expected to fight on 3/5 against Dennis Siver, although UFC never officially announced the fight. Ariel Helwani had reported the 3/5 date as what they were looking for and we’d also gotten internal confirmation that was the plan as of last week.
The Super Bowl, for those asking did a 49.0 rating based on the metered markets last night. It looks like the show did 111.9 million viewers, making it the third most watched television show in U.S. history. The numbers are based on the fast nationals. The peak was 115.5 million between 8:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. The show also averaged 1.4 million streaming viewers. The two most watched shows were the 2014 and 2015 Super Bowls, with last year setting the record of 114.4 million viewers. Advertisers were paying as much as $5 million for a 30 second spot.
WWE
Tonight’s Raw in Seattle was expected to come close to selling out even before the Danielson announcement.
HHH sent a WWE title belt to the Denver Broncos for winning the Super Bowl.
Sheamus was shown in a Super Bowl commercial as he’s in the trailer of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie. It aired during the second quarter.
Sisters was No. 10 at the box office in Australia this past weekend and Daddy’s Home was No. 13. Both were out of the top ten in the U.S., with Daddy’s Home No. 15 and Sisters No. 25. (thanks to James Stanois)
Cricket Wireless and WWE and launching a sweepstakes to send one fan and a guest to WrestleMania. Between today and 3/20, fans can enter the sweepstakes visiting their local Cricket Wireless store or go to www.Cricketsweepsakes.com/wwe32 for a chance to win. The winner gets round trip airfare and lodging in Dallas for two, $500 in spending money a new ZTE Grand X 3 with one year of Crocket Wireless service, as well as tickets to the pre-party and Fan Axxess.
Stock closed down eight cents today at $16.49.
Two new trailers been put online for the Nine Legends film profiling Bret Hart and Dynamite Kid The film also profiles Bill Goldberg, Lita, Mike Tyson, Chris Jericho, RVD, Randy Couture and Ted DiBiase. The film was covered this past week upon release by mainstream publications such as Fox Sports, Yahoo News, Nerdist, Deadline and Digital Trends.
MISCELLANEOUS
The first of six episodes of Impact from the U.K., this being the first show taped in Manchester with Kurt Angle vs. Drew Galloway as the main event, will air tomorrow night on Pop TV.
Jerry Lynn was backstage working as an agent at the ROH tapings in Nashville on Saturday night.
Future Stars of Wrestling on 2/28 in Las Vegas at the Silverton Casino with Kevin Kross vs. Eli Drake vs. Kenny King vs. Willie Mack in a four-way that involves a star of TNA, ROH and Lucha Underground. Also on the show are Rocky Romero, TJ Perkins, Silas Young and Colby Corino.
Revolution Pro Wrestling from yesterday in London at the Cockpit Theater before a sellout of 180 fans: Bob Lyons b Matt Nathan, Pete Dunne b Sonjay Dutt to keep the British cruiserweight title, Josh Bodom b Donovan Dijak, Marty Scurll b Timothy Thatcher, Flash Morgan Webster b James Castle, Big Damo b Mark Haskins, Colt Cabana b Lord Gideon Gray, Zack Sabre Jr. b Will Ospreay. The show was taped for the Revolution Pro YouTube channel. Told Bodom vs. Dijak was a great short match, Dunne vs. Dutt and Thatcher vs. Scurll were very good and the main event was exactly what you’d expect from those two. (thanks to Jan Buxton)
Acclaim Pro Wrestling on 3/5 in Ottawa and the Dom Polski Combatants Centre.
Real Pro Wrestling of Port St. Lucie, FL has announced a name change to Ignite Wrestling. The first show with the new name will be 2/27.
Here is a story on Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews and the Super Bowl being in the city yesterday. In the background of the main picture is a WrestleMania poster from WWE’s visit to the city for WrestleMania last year. Matthews created a near incident when he publicly stated about how they are going to meet with WWE officials over WrestleMania, and WWE rules are you are supposed to keep it quiet. Despite his breaking of the rules, WWE still went with Levi’s Stadium for the show, for a number of reasons including that the Super Bowl was coming to the building and WWE could announce a larger number than the Super Bowl. In actuality, the Super Bowl had more people in the stadium yesterday than WrestleMania did.
Filthy Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Tom Lawlor is back today with tons to discuss — the retirement of Daniel Bryan, concussions and head injuries, the TNA Impact TV report, questions for Tom including the most he ever ate at one sitting and the oldest woman he ever hooked up with (these are the questions you don’t get in the Observer mailbag) and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA, largely the retirement of Daniel Bryan with your memories of his career, and also Jon Jones’ latest big mistake. A fun show as always despite the sad Daniel Bryan news, so check it out~!
The Big Takeaway: Daniel Bryan announced his retirement in one of the most emotional segments in the 23-year history of Raw. Bryan made a memorable speech where he came off as the most normal person ever to achieve stardom. The theme of the speech was all the things he had been grateful for over his 15-year career. It’s amazing to think that someone perfectly content with being the world’s biggest cult wrestler could become the biggest star in the biggest company in the world, but that’s what happened. In terms of storyline, the biggest news was the Dudley Boyz turned heel on the Usos, which was overdue.
Show Recap:
Right away, a Daniel Bryan package aired, starting with his early days as American Dragon competing in the Texas Wrestling Alliance. It continued until the culmination at WrestleMania. They showed his tweet from earlier today announcing his retirement.
Stephanie McMahon opened the show in the ring for a contract signing. Crowd chanted for Bryan. She appeared to have a tear in her eye while trying to maintain a straight face. She was out there for a contract signing for the Fast Lane main event with Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar. Ambrose got the jump on her, and demanded to move things along. Stephanie started to say there would be no physical altercations between the three of them when Reigns walked down. Someone had a sign that said “Can we trade Roman for Cesaro?” Lesnar and Paul Heyman were introduced by Stephanie, who interrupted Heyman during his ring entrance. Everyone signed the deal and Stephanie left, leaving the three men alone in the ring.
Heyman referred to Ambrose as “little brother” as said he should ask his “Big brother Samoan” what the difference is between a beatdown by the authority and an authoritative beatdown by Brock Lesnar. Ambrose was set off by that and got in Lesnar’s face. Lesnar threw Ambrose across the table and into Reigns like a rag doll,threw the table onto Reigns, then gave Ambrose an F-5. Lesnar left the ring. HHH walked out for a staredown with Lesnar. Reigns looked upset at Ambrose, for some reason. Ambrose is being booked like a cruiserweight in this program and it’s done nothing but get him under.
There was a theme for the night entitled #thankyoudanielbryan, highlighting moments from his WWE career. It started with his first match at NXT, where he wrestled Chris Jericho in 2010. It’s so funny to think Bryan is getting a hero’s sendoff tonight when the company did everything they could to get him under during his first six months in NXT.
Ambrose told Reigns backstage he would get even with Lesnar tonight.
Dolph Ziggler defeated Kevin Owens (11:02)
Dolph Ziggler won when Kevin Owens missed a Cannonball, and Ziggler rolled him up in a cradle while his feet were on the ropes. How the ref missed that one was unreal. He looked right at Owens shoulders and Ziggler’s feet were in plain view unless he has no sight in his left eye. Michael Cole then acted like he didn’t notice anything unusual. Apparently, Cole is going for Mike Carey’s job on CBS next football season. A good match where they teased a double countout after Ziggler hit a Famouser on Owens from the apron onto the floor.
The next #thankyoudanielbryan moment was from 2011, when Bryan defeated the Miz to win the U.S. Championship.
The Usos talked with the Dudley Boyz tonight. The Usos wrestle the New Day tonight in a tables match. Devon Dudley said if anyone should get a tables match tonight, it should be them. Bubba Ray Dudley said the entire WWE Universe didn’t like the New Day. The crowd responded by booing. Bubba Ray told the Usos they should team tonight for a 4-on-4 match against the New Day, where they New Day would have to get themselves a partner. Usos agreed.
Charlotte defeated Alicia Fox via submission (5:14)
Charlotte won with the Figure Eight. Crowd elected to entertain themselves by chanting for Lana (which Charlotte didn’t look happy about) and the Seattle Seahawks. Alicia Fox’s only offense were one-legged drop kicks like Velvet McIntyre.
MizTV with Chris Jericho started with Miz replaying him getting pounded by A.J. Styles last week. Miz said he could have made Styles an A-lister. Jericho interrupted him and said the fans would rather see a Highlight Reel instead of MizTv. So they overhauled the set instantly with roadies bringing in the JeriTron 5000, a new rug and new lighting. Even a potted plant. So it became the Highlight Reel. Jericho started interviewing Miz and brought up Styles’ victory over Miz on SmackDown. Crowd chanted “You look stupid” at Miz, who claimed he had a meeting with Stephen Spielberg last week, putting himself over as an A-lister. Somehow, Jericho said that reminded him of the Chipmuncks song “All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth.” Some fans sang along.
Miz ran a clip of his own, which was Styles beating Jericho. Miz said losing to Styles was eating him alive. Jericho said he was right, it has been eating him alive. Crowd chanted for Styles. Jericho knew Styles was good, but he asked if he was great. Jericho said we would find out on SmackDown, but he highly doubted it because he was the best in the world at what he did. Styles came out, but Miz jumped Jericho from behind . Styles ran down to take care of Miz. Jericho gave Miz a clothesline out of the ring, then had a brief staredown with Styles. Miz ran back in, only to get discarded again, leading to another staredown that got physical and turned into fisticuffs. Miz dragged Jericho out of the ring, only to have Jericho throw him across the announcer’s table. And it ended with Styles and Jericho traded words going to the back. Styles vs. Jericho is such an effective program by itself, potentially feud of the year-caliber if handled right. Putting the Miz in the midst of it is like having Al Pacino and Robert Di Niro star in a Goodfellas sequel, but instead of Joe Peschi or Ray Liotta as the third-billed star, it’s Rob Schneider.
The next Bryan highlight was the 2011 Money in the Bank, where Bryan kicked Wade Barrett off the ladder to take the briefcase. 5 months later, he cashed in the briefcase to beat the Big Show and win the World Heavyweight Championship.
Bray Wyatt defeated Ryback (6:55)
Bray Wyatt won when Ryback attempted a spear. Wyatt stopped him dead in his tracks with Sister Abigail and the three count. You can always tell when Ryback is jobbing based on the inflection he uses when he says “Wake up, it’s feeding time” during his ring entrance. Lately, he’s had a downward inflection. To punctuate that, Wyatt, Erick Rowan, Luke Harper and Braun Strowman laid waste to him postmatch, ending with Wyatt giving him Sister Abigail on the floor. Wyatt cut a promo to no one in particular afterwards, saying people can ask for mercy, mercy they will not receive.
Daniel Bryan flashback to his days with Kane in Team Hell No.
Tweets to Bryan from various WWE personalities included Vince McMahon, Kalisto, Paige and the Ultimate Warrior’s widow were shown.
Big E. was polishing up tables in the back when Renee Young walked in wondering who their mystery partner for the tables match was going to be. Xavier Woods wouldn’t say, and Kofi Kingston said New Day were like the Denver Broncos, world champions that everybody loved.
Ambrose told Reigns he wanted to have a one-on-one confrontation with Lesnar tonight.
Adam Rose defeated Titus O’Neal (3:17)
Prematch, Adam Rose did micwork where he proclaimed himself “The Radical Mongoose.” Curtis Axel couldn’t believe how horrible that sounded. Bo Dallas said he had great friends that would turn into great trends. Rose won when Hath Slater distracted Titus O’Neal, leading to Rose getting the schoolboy cradle pin. O’Neal immediately clotheslined Rose over the top rope. So Rose didn’t go over, O’Neal lost and no one got over. So what was the point of this?
Next Bryan flashback was him winning the WWE Heavyweight Championship from John Cena at SummerSlam 2013.
Ambrose came out and said Lesnar must have hit him with a F-2 or an F-3 earlier, because he thought an F-5 was supposed to hurt. He called out Lesnar, who came out chuckling at the thought of Ambrose calling him out. Lesnar quickly laid Ambrose out beating him up around the ring, then laying him out with an F-5. At this point, Ambrose had the booking cred of Adam Rose on the show. That only slightly changed when Ambrose called Lesnar back to the ring with a wild look in his eye. Lesnar stepped back in the ring, but then Reigns stepped out on the ramp. As Lesnar was distracted by Reigns, Ambrose snuck up from behind and gave Lesnar a low blow. And then Ambrose left. Reigns smiled like Ambrose had won the battle over Lesnar. Crowd stayed totally silent, as if Ambrose was the heel in that scenario. At the very best, Ambrose looks like Reigns’ tag-along in this setup, which isn’t how you make a new star.
Alberto Del Rio and Rusev defeated Lucha Dragons (5:37)
Alberto Del Rio pinned Kalisto with the world’s most elaborate finisher where ADR jumps off the top rope onto the chest of Kalisto. Sin Cara returned and gave Rusev a tope to take him out. Lana was missing again after reemerging from oblivion last week.
In footage from earlier, R-Truth was on his way to the Jimi Hendrix Museum when he stumbled onto Goldust dressed as Hendrix, playing a guitar while singing an offshoot of “Purple Haze.” Goldust smashed the guitar on a sidewalk. Security led Goldust away. An attempt at comedy the same way recent Adam Sandler movies have been an attempt.
Next Bryan moment was from March 2014, the Occupy Yes movement which led to Bryan’s victory over HHH at WrestleMania. I loved the bitter, old wrestlers criticism of that angle, one of whom claimed it was “contrived.” As if all the angles from the 1970s were shoots. The irony was Bryan’s push to the top in 2014 was a series of spontaneous events spawned by the fans, which led to contrived angles that got over.
Tamina defeated Becky Lynch (3:38)
Sasha Banks was on commentary. Tamina started mouthing off to Banks in the ring. That led to Naomi hitting Banks with a forearm, and it looked like she stuffed Banks good. Lynch saw this, left the ring and gave Naomi an Exploder suplex. Lynch got back in the ring and ate a superkick by Tamina, who got the pin. Earlier, Naomi got some heat with outside interference. That was kind of different seeing a heel actually break the rules.
The New Day talked to its mystery partner and gave him a unicorn horn to place on his head. It was Mark Henry, who started playing Woods’ trombone. Henry and Big E. began dancing, with Henry bringing up his days as Sexual Chocolate in 1998.
Nikki Bella, Owens, Cena and Natalya tweeted salutes to Bryan.
The Dudley Boyz and the Usos defeated the New Day and Mark Henry in a tables match (7:31)
The match was rushed. Henry walked out when the New Day ordered him to splash Jimmy Uso. It ended with the Dudleys giving Big E a 3-D through the table. It appeared that Jey Uso had a hard time putting weight down on his left leg.
The Dudleys then turned heel, jumping the Usos. First, they put Jimmy Uso through a table, then Jey took a super bomb through a table. Crowd chanted “ECW.” Bubba reeled off some of his catchphrases from his Bully Ray days, asking Jimmy if he knew who they were. Overdue move turning the Dudleys because the company needs a strong heel tag team act, as opposed to the New Day as a comedy heel act.
The company profiled all of the major mainstream publications that broke the Bryan retirement news. It was even on ESPN’s bottom line all day, which is incredible if you watched how that network treated wrestling during the boom period.
Bryan came out with his trimmed beard and a haircut. He looked like he really didn’t want to give this speech. He stood in the ring with his eyes closed and head down as everyone chanted “Yes” around him, looking like he was going to break down. The expression only got more cheers and chants, which made him crack a smile. Bryan said he was able to close his eyes and feel the reaction the way he had never got to feel it before, and he’ll never forget it.
He said that he had to address the elephant in the room…he really wanted to shave his beard. He said he shaved his head called “Wigs for Kids,” which makes wigs for kids that have cancer. Bryan said he had been wrestling since he was 18 and within 5 months, he had 3 concussions. After that, he would get a concussion here and there, which adds up after 16 years. It gets to a point where doctors say you can’t wrestle anymore. He fought that for a long time, after receiving EKGs and various evaluations. He wanted to come back and wrestle in the WWE because he’s loved wrestling more than anything.
A week and a half ago, a test indicated perhaps his brain wasn’t as OK as he thought it was. He has a family to think about, he and Brie Bella want to start having kids soon (which got Yes chants). Bryan joked that’s what Brie says all the time. That got Holy Shit chants. Bryan announced his retirement with the heaviest of hearts and the utmost sadness.
For the last year, Bryan said he’s been sad, frustrated, and angry. But when he woke up today he felt gratitude. He got to do what he loved for 16 years. He loved the Seahawks, which got a huge pop. He loved hearing the fans react just as his music hits. He loved diving through the ropes, which makes him feel like Superman. He loved wrestling in the parking lot of gas stations and wrestling in front of 70,000 fans in New Orleans. He loved getting to know people like Kane, who looks like a monster but is among the smartest people he knows.
He got to know Steven Regal, who has been his mentor. He got to know children like Connor. He said he was very grateful because wrestling doesn’t owe him anything, nor does the WWE or the fans. The wrestlers do this because they love to do it. He neer dreamed the fans would get behind him the way he did, since he was 5’8, 180 pounds. He came close to breaking down here. He was grateful for two years ago when the fans in Seattle hijacked Raw. And the WWE was trying to arrange a program between Cena and Randy Orton, and the fans still chanted for Bryan.
Bryan said that wasn’t why he was grateful. He was grateful because his father was sitting in the crowd and got to see that. Bryan started crying as he remembered his father, who passed away shortly after WrestleMania. It was the last time his father got to see him wrestle.
Because of wrestling, he got to meet the most wonderful woman in the world. She’s beautiful, smart and completes him in a way that he didn’t think was possible. He was grateful to announce his retirement in front of his mother, his sister, his family and friends. He. Was. Grateful.
Tomorrow morning, he starts a new life, where he is no longer a wrestler. But that’s tomorrow, not tonight. He asked for one more Yes chant and he would really appreciate it. Brie came out as the fans chanted yes and his music played. They kissed in midring as Michael Cole said the company was thankful for having his talent under their employ.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back today with breaking news audio on the retirement of Daniel Bryan, which will be taking place on Raw tonight from Seattle, WA. Plus, Jon Jones screws up. Again.
A heavyweight match-up between Junior Dos Santos and Ben Rothwell headlines UFC’s first event in Croatia on April 10 at the Zagreb Arena.
The company announced the fight on Twitter early Monday morning. Dos Santos (17-4), is a former heavyweight champion and No. 6 ranked contender. Rothwell (36-9), is now ranked No. 5, and after a submission win over Josh Barnett on Jan. 30, his fourth straight finish, had a viable argument for a title shot.
One of those wins by Rothwell was over Alistair Overeem via first round knockout on September 5, 2014, in Manshantucket, Conn. Overeem knocked Dos Santos out of title contention on Dec. 19 in Orlando on FOX. Prior to that loss, Dos Santos had lost only to Cain Velasquez over the prior eight years. In late 2014, Dos Santos scored a close decision win over Stipe Miocic, who is expected to get the next heavyweight title shot.
Dos Santos’ title reign started with a 64 second knockout of Velasquez on November 12, 2011, which was, by a great margin, the single-most watched televised MMA fight ever in the U.S., viewed by 9.5 million viewers between live airings on Fox and Fox Deportes.
He lost the title to Velasquez won December 29, 2012, and lost a third fight in 2013. He took terrible beatings in both losses, particularly the latter, and didn’t look like the same fighter against Miocic, but had enough to win. With Overeem, his performance raised questions about how much he had left.
Rothwell is a veteran who was the heavyweight star of the International Fight League in 2006 and 2007, and debuted in UFC in 2009 with a loss to Velasquez. He lost three of his first five UFC fights, but rebounded with wins over Brandon Vera, Overeem, Matt Mitrione and Barnett.
Des Moines, Iowa: – World Heavyweight Champion Earl Caddock defeated Wladek Zbyszko
1954
Birmingham, Alabama: – Fred Blassie defeated Don McIntyre to win the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1957
Atlanta, Georgia: – Don and Mark Lewin defeated Chief Big Heart and Red McIntyre for the Georgia NWA International Tag Team Title
1962
Rochester, Minnesota: – Death Match: Verne Gagne beat Bob Geigel – AWA Champion Mr. M beat Tiny Mills dq – Joe Scarpello drew Nikita Kalmikoff
1963
Atlanta, Georgia: – Eddie Graham defeated Fred Blassie to win the Georgia version of the NWA World Heavyweight Title
1966
Dallas, Texas: – The Destroyer (Dick Beyer) and The Golden Terror defeated Kanji (Antonio) Inoki and Duke Keomuka to win the Texas NWA World Tag Team Title
1967
Mobile, Alabama:
– Dennis Hall and Roger Kirby defeated Frank and Jack Dalton for the Gulf Coast NWA United States Tag Team Title
1971
Madison Square Garden, New York: – WWWF United States Heavyweight Champion Pedro Morales pinned WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Ivan Koloff to win the title
1973
Hattiesburg, Mississippi – Bob Kelly defeated The Mysterious Medic for the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title
1975
Winston-Salem, North Carolina: – Ric Flair defeated Paul Jones for the NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Title (Flair’s first pro wrestling title)
Detroit, Michigan: – Abdullah the Butcher defeated Bobo Brazil to win the Detroit NWA United States Heavyweight Title
1978
Honolulu, Hawaii: – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat John Tolos – North American Champion Rick Martel beat Tor Kamata dq – Hawaiian Tag Team Champions Steve Strong & Chris Markoff beat Russ & Bill Francis – Rocky Tomayo beat Tosh Togo by countout – Billy Whitewolf beat Duke Savage – Sam Steamboat beat Bruce Brown
1980
Tokyo, Japan: – Stan Hansen defeated Antonio Inoki for the National Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Title
1985
Dallas, Texas: – Chris Adams defeated Kerry Von Erich to win the World Class American Heavyweight Title
1986
Boston, Massachusetts: -Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) pinned WWF Intercontinental Champion Tito Santana to win the title
1987
Shawano, Wisconsin: – AWA Tag Team Champions Midnight Rockers beat Buddy Rose & Doug Somers – Non Title: AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Larry Zbyszko dq – Mr. Saito beat Buck Zumhofe – Super Ninja beat Earthquake Ferris – Colonel DeBeers beat Steve Olsonoski
1988
Memphis, Tennessee: – Max Pain (Daryl Peterson) defeated Jerry Lawler for the Continental Wrestling Association Heavyweight Title
1992
Sapporo, Japan: – Jushin Liger won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title from Norio Honaga
Memphis, Tennessee: – Tom Prichard defeated Eric Embry for the USWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1999
Buffalo, New York: – Roddy Piper pinned WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Bret Hart to win the title
2000
Austin, Texas: – Kurt Angle pinned WWF European Champion Val Venis to win the title
2002
Indianapolis, Indiana: – Ace Steel defeated Kurt Krueger for the IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Title
2004
Falls River, Massachusetts: – Low Ki defeated Justin Credible to win the Premier Wrestling Federation Universal Heavyweight Title
2009
Against All Odds: Orlando, Florida: – TNA Tag Team Champions Beer Money Inc. defeated Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed – TNA World Champion Sting defeated Kurt Angle, Brother Ray and Brother Devon to retain the title
For wrestling fans, the saga of Daniel Bryan’s health in recent years with WWE has been, in a word, tragic. A month after he finally won the WWE title at Wrestlemania 30 to culminate an incredible fan-fueled and improbable run, he had to undergo neck surgery that saw him stripped of the title and on the shelf for nearly a year.
After winning the Intercontinental title at Wrestlemania 31, he had to relinquish the belt weeks later due to concussion-related issues. Since that time, it’s been a constant drumbeat of “Will he come back? When will he come back? He’s coming back…right?” questions.
With NXT on fire, AJ Styles now becoming a force in WWE, and Nakamura on the way, the thought of Bryan getting in that mix was oh-so-tantalizing for those of us wanting to see one of the very best in the ring ply his trade with his peers once again.
But on Monday, the wrestling world got confirmation of the bad news we had all felt might be coming as Bryan Lloyd Danielson tweeted that on the February 8th edition of RAW, he will officially retire, leaving behind the life of an active wrestler that he’s lived for 17 years.
Due to medical reasons, effective immediately, I am announcing my retirement. Tonight on Raw, I’ll have a chance to elaborate. #gratitude
The 34-year-old Danielson accomplished nearly everything you could ever want to in the world of pro wrestling, competing in Japan, being part of the founding class of Ring of Honor, working with nearly every major independent talent out there, and eventually signing with WWE in August 2009. A memorable run on NXT with the Miz eventually led to bigger and better things, save a ridiculous firing due to him choking out ring announcer Justin Roberts with a tie in a June 2010 RAW-closing angle.
He eventually returned and made an impact, regardless of how WWE tried to position him. He is the company’s 26th Triple Crown champion, and the company’s 15th Grand Slam champion. He did lose his World title to Sheamus in just 18 seconds at Wrestlemania 28 in a head scratcher, but he started the “Yes Movement”, had a memorable partnership and feud with Kane, had plenty of incredible matches, and found a place in the hearts of those who had never heard of him before he came to WWE while cementing himself with those that knew how special he was all along.
Tonight on RAW, Danielson bids farewell to the dream of returning to the squared circle and we’ll all be along for the gut-wrenching explanation as to why.
