Submitted by Adam Kirby from the sold-out Minglewood Hall in Memphis, TN
Asuka over Emma
Solid back and forth with everyone over with the crowd which has been the case for every match. Crowd is electric for NXT’s first time in Memphis.
American Alpha over Blake and Murphy
Another very solid and competitive match. Already this show feels different from last Fall’s show in Nashville. This feels more like an ROH house show than a WWE house show, which the Nashville show in October felt like.
Alexa Bliss over Billie Kay
Not much here. Alexa worked over Billie Kay’s arm only to beat her with the sparkle splash. Alexa has definitely grown as an in-ring worker and had pretty fun crowd interactions. Alexa had most of the offense here and this was felt like a definite cool down match.
Samoa Joe over Sami Zayn
This continues the theme of the night of very competitive back and forth matches. Samoa Joe wins with the Coquina Clutch. Afterwards, extends a hand to Zayn only to flip him off instead. Very fun but short. Ready to see their next two matches on TV.
– Intermission. Dasha Fuentes is very good in her role tonight as announcer/time keeper. I’m impressed. Maybe it’s just because I was right behind her, but she was as into it as the wrestlers and ref. Great job.
NXT Tag Team Champions Dash and Dawson over Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa
Maybe the worst match of the show. Fell apart at the end with nobody knowing who was legal. Very much a whatever match. Great crowd interaction though.
NXT Women’s Champion Bayley over Nia Jax
Bayley hit the Bayley to Belly after a throw into an exposed turnbuckle. Good match, never quite reached the heights of their Takeover London match, but played off of that match with Bayley repeatedly going for the guillotine. Crowd was very into it.
NXT Champion Finn Balor over Baron Corbin
Decent and competitive match with Corbin controlling most of it. This guy was constantly getting boos and jeers about how much he sucks or can’t wrestle or is going bald. Constant interaction with all the shit talkers in the crowd. Match went outside with Balor hitting the dropkick into the barricade and then rolling Corbin into the ring for the Coup de Grace. Balor finished the show with a rendition of “Walking in Memphis” about going to the top rope and driving his feet into Baron’s throat.
Very fun show with a lot of good and interesting work up and down the card from everyone involved. Definitely catch the Nashville and Indiana shows this weekend if you can.
WWE has hired new talent, but there is at least one departure as well in the last day.
Bull Dempsey (James Smith) was released Friday, confirming via Twitter. “It’s been real @WWENXT. Amazing group of coaches and coworkers and a helluva boss. Thank you for the opportunity @TripleH. See ya down the road. That being said, I’m available for bookings, appearances, birthdays, bar mitzvahs and everything in between.” He also gave a Gmail address where he’s now taking bookings.
Dempsey had gotten a push on NXT TV in the past, portrayed as a tough guy and then as a comedy figure, making fun of his weight issues. He was an audience favorite, but you could see they had lost interest in pushing him in recent months, similar to what happened with Sami Callihan before being let go.
The new hire is Cathy Kelley, 27, who is the latest person from Maria Menounos’ AfterBuzz network to be hired by WWE following Ryan Katz, an NXT producer, and Daria Berenato, who came from Tough Enough and was the first member of last season’s cast to be put in live matches. She has wrestling experience as an interviewer of the Championship Wrestling from Hollywood television show.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of the UFC Fight Night 82: Hendricks vs. Thompson weigh-ins from the Grand Ballroom at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fighters will hit the scale at 7 PM eastern time. The card airs on Saturday with the main card on FOX Sports 1 at 10 PM eastern time. Preliminary card action kicks off at 7 PM eastern time on UFC Fight Pass before heading over to FOX Sports 1 at 8 PM eastern time with additional preliminary bouts. This event was originally scheduled to be UFC 196 headlined by a UFC Heavyweight Championship bout, but was moved to a free card on FOX Sports 1 after both Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez pulled out of the main event due to injuries. This will be the UFC’s first Super Bowl Weekend card to be featured on free television.
The event is now headlined by a five-round bout in the UFC’s welterweight division as former UFC Welterweight Champion Johny Hendricks looks to get back into a title fight as he takes on rising contender Stephen Thompson, winner of five straight bouts. In the co-main event on the evening, it will be former TUF winner and fan favorite Roy Nelson looking to end a three-fight losing skid as he takes on Jared Rosholt, winner of three straight fights. In an interesting bout headlining the preliminary portion on UFC Fight Pass, it will be Mickey Gall taking on Mike Jackson in a bout where Gall, if he wins, means he will take on C.M. Punk in Punk’s UFC debut later this year.
MAIN CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT): Johny Hendricks (170) vs. Stephen Thompson (170) Roy Nelson (258) vs. Jared Rosholt (245) Ovince Saint Preux (206) vs. Rafael Cavalcante (205) Joseph Benavidez (125) vs. Zach Makovsky (125) Misha Cirkunov (206) vs. Alex Nicholson (201) Mike Pyle (170) vs. Sean Spencer (170)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT): Josh Burkman (156) vs. K.J. Noons (156) Derrick Lewis (263) vs. Damian Grabowski (235) Ray Borg (125) vs. Justin Scoggins (125) Noad Lahat (145) vs. Diego Rivas (144)
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 7 PM ET/4 PM PT): Mickey Gall (170) vs. Mike Jackson (170) Artem Lobov (145) vs. Alex White (145)
The Bryan & Vinny Show is back and we’ve got tons to talk about! Granny’s got her SUPERBOWL CONTEST, who is going to win and by how much, and money is on the line for the winner, plus NXT from Full Sail and the newest Lucha Underground. No Raw report yet, as we’ll explain, but in it’s place is Bryan vs. Frontier, which should be the main event of WrestleMania. A fun show as always so check it out~!
– Air Date: February 4, 2016 (Feb 3 in Canada) – Location: FedExForum in Memphis, TN
– The Big News:
Chris Jericho and A.J. Styles will have a rematch next week on Smackdown. Also, the main event actually had a real finish, but not before some tension between Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns.
– Show Recap:
Roman Reigns beat Rusev (w/Alberto Del Rio & King Barrett) via DQ
Less than 3 minutes into the match, Del Rio and Barrett pulled Reigns out of the ring and tossed him into the barricade for a DQ. Ambrose immediately ran out and attacked Rusev. He tried a diving elbow on Barrett and Del Rio but they moved and he nailed Reigns instead.
Ambrose was stunned, so Barrett grabbed him and Del Rio hit a superkick. They dragged him in the ring and Rusev applied the Accolade, but Reigns jumped in the ring with a chair and the League of Nations bailed. Lawler accused Ambrose of intentionally attacking Reigns, but Reigns very obviously did not see it that way. After a break, they announced a tag match with these men for the main event.
Backstage, Renee Young asked Ambrose if his attack on Reigns was a preview of Fastlane. Ambrose said it was an accident, because sometimes he gets wild. He added, “Trust me, when I come after Roman, he’ll know it.” Ambrose finished by saying they’d be on the same page tonight.
U.S. Champion Kalisto beat Kevin Owens via pinfall in a non-title match
In an inset promo, Kalisto said he’s fighting for himself, the legacy of the title and the honour of the fight. Dolph Ziggler did commentary. This was a good match. Owens took Kalisto to the outside and bounced him off the barricade. He cleared the table and set up for a powerbomb, but actually powerbombed Kalisto into Ziggler.
Owens then superkicked Ziggler, and took Kalisto back in the ring. Ziggler miraculously popped up to distract Owens, so Kalisto applied a school boy for the pinfall win. Owens knocked Kalisto down from behind but bailed as soon as Ziggler jumped in the ring.
Owens powerbombing Kalisto into Ziggler was the funniest thing on Smackdown in a while, but it was sort of meaningless considering he lost anyway and Ziggler was totally fine afterwards. Still, Owens was great here and he acted distraught afterwards because of the loss.
Backstage, Jo-Jo interviewed The Miz, who said everything he always says. I was distracted by the “Smackdown” sign behind Miz, because it had a sizable rip along the bottom. Do they only have one “Smackdown” sign?
Ryback beat Erick Rowan (w/Braun Strowman) via pinfall
Ryback has new gear, and yes, he’s basically dressed like Goldberg – plain black trunks, gloves, kneepads and boots. Strowman tried a distraction, but Ryback tossed Rowan into him to knock him off the apron. Ryback followed with a meat hook clothesline on Rowan for the win. Strowman clumsily pushed Ryback out of the ring and he slowly backed down the aisle as they all stared at each other.
They showed some members of the Memphis Grizzlies in attendance, including Vince Carter.
Backstage, Renee asked Becky Lynch why she would help Sasha Banks who is after the same title as her. Before Lynch could explain, Banks jumped in and said if she saw Lynch on fire, she wouldn’t help. They bickered back and forth until they sort of begrudgingly agreed to help each other to take out Team B.A.D. before moving on to Charlotte. Renee was confused.
They announced Brock Lesnar for Raw in Seattle this Monday.
A.J. Styles beat The Miz via submission
Chris Jericho joined commentary and was very good. Byron Saxton wasted no time in reminding Jericho that he lost to Styles on Raw, and Jericho and threatened to slap him. Jericho said Styles came into WWE the same way as him, completely on his own with no friends. Lawler repeated Miz’s “redneck rookie” line, and Jericho said he’s not a rookie and accused Miz and Lawler of having ego problems.
Styles won with a Calf crusher (that’s what they called it) in a good match. I’d complain about Miz getting too much offense, but Styles kicked out of most of his pinfall attempts at a one count.
After the match, Jericho went in the ring and said everybody knows Styles is good, otherwise he never would’ve gotten to WWE or beaten him. Jericho said Styles was good, but wondered if he was great. Jericho has been lying awake at night thinking about it, wondering if Styles could beat him again, so Jericho challenged him to a rematch on Smackdown next week. Styles shook Jericho’s hand and brought him in close, telling him “I’m better than great. I’m phenomenal, Chris, and you’re going to find out – again.” This was good, and the crowd was into A.J.
Backstage, Reigns told Jo-Jo that he and Ambrose are never really on the same page, because Ambrose is crazy, but that’s what he likes about him – they’re different. He said what happens in Fastlane will be no accident, but tonight they’ll fight together.
WWE Tag Team Champion The New Day beat Social Outcasts via pinfall in a six-man tag
New Day did a promo about how great it is having gold. The Social Outcasts interrupted and Adam Rose informed New Day that the tag titles were bronze, not gold. Rose said they would take the bronze off their wastes. New Day told him not to touch their wastes. They did some more “comedy” and then the match started.
The end of the match was a bit of a mess, but I did like the finish. Axel tried to win with his feet on the middle rope, but Woods knocked him off. Kingston then rolled up Axel and put his feet on the middle rope for the pinfall win.
WWE Divas Champion Charlotte (w/Ric Flair) beat Alicia Fox (w/Brie Bella) via submission in a non-title match
As soon as the match started, I wondered if they would do the double big boot spot, and they did. That led to a comeback by Fox, which the crowd didn’t care about. Charlotte hit a “chop block” and applied the Figure Eight for the submission win. Match was about 4 minutes.
Another “comedy” segment with Goldust and R-Truth. Truth was at the hotel and Goldust showed up dressed as a barhop. Some stuff happened and then it was over. Goldust should seek out El Dandy. He’s a great wrestler.
WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns beat Rusev & Alberto Del Rio via pinfall
Lawler mentioned all night that we would see Ambrose and Reigns implode tonight. That led to the key spot in this match. Reigns made a hot tag and ran wild, but was taken outside the ring by Del Rio. Ambrose went for a suicide dive, but Del Rio moved, and Ambrose went right into Reigns. However, they didn’t collide because Reigns caught him.
Reigns looked annoyed and asked Ambrose what he was doing. Rusev tried to jump Ambrose, so Reigns hit him with a superman punch, shoved him back in the ring and hit a spear for the win. Afterwards, Reigns and Ambrose got along just fine and chuckled about what happened.
As the show ended, they plugged A.J. Styles vs. Chris Jericho for next week.
– Final Thoughts:
This show was a mixed bag. The main stuff was good, but it really dragged after the Styles match. I am glad they pushed a big match for next week and we finally had a main event end with a real finish.
We’re looking for reports from tonight’s NXT show in Memphis at Dave Meltzer
For anyone thinking of going to WrestleMania in Dallas, there are still a few spots open for the web site’s Friday night dinner before the NXT and ROH shows at Texas de Brazil in Dallas, and for the bus to WrestleMania on Sunday. Anyone interested, please contact Ed Loredo at f4wfan@hotmai.com
Smackdown at 8 p.m. tonight is from Memphis
Roman Reigns vs. Rusev
Kalisto vs. Kevin Owens non-title
Ryback vs. Erick Rowan
A.J. Styles vs. The Miz
The Social Outcasts vs. The New Day
Charlotte vs Alicia Fox non-title
Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. Rusev & Alberto Del Rio
WWE has a full schedule for events this weekend. We’ll be looking for reports on Friday from the WWE house show in Calgary (Kane vs. Bray Wyatt plus Wyatt Family, Dean Ambrose, Chris Jericho, Dudleys, Paige and Natalya) and NXT shows in Nashville and Lakeland, FL.
NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING AT 9 P.M. FRIDAY NIGHT ON AXS TV
CMLL LIVE FROM ARENA MEXICO ON FRIDAY NIGHT AT 9:30 P.M. EASTERN AT www.ClaroSports.com
LEGACY FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS ON FRIDAY NIGHT IN HINCKLEY, MINN. ON AXS TV AT 10 P.M. EASTERN
R’Mandell Cameron vs. Derek Getzel
Kuchlong Kuchlong vs Nate Richardson
Chase Waldon vs. Justin Winkels-Comparetto
Antonio Trocoli vs. Jacob Volkmann
Brock Larson vs. Travis Coyle
Ricardo Lucas Ramos vs. Manuel Vazquez for the vacant bantamweight title
Saturday has WWE shows in San Jose (Roman Reigns vs. Rusev, Brock Lesnar vs. Alberto Del Rio plus A.J. Styles, New Day, Usos and Big Show), Penticiton, BC (Kane vs. Bray Wyatt plus Wyatt Family, Dean Ambrose, Chris Jericho, Dudleys, Paige and Natalya) and NXT shows in Indianapolis and Bartow, FL. ROH will be doing a major TV taping in Nashville at the Municipal Auditorium on Saturday night featuring the semifinals and finals of the Top Prospect tournament, a seven team gauntlet for a future tag team title shot with Young Bucks, Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly, Trent Baretta & Rocky Romero and four other teams, Briscoes vs. ACH & Alex Shelley, Dalton Castle vs Christopher Daniels, Adam Cole vs. Matt Sydal plus Jay Lethal, Roderick Strong, War Machine, Frankie Kazarian, Cedric Alexander, Moose, B.J. Whitmer, Adam Page, Caprice Coleman, Will Ferrera, Cheeseburger, ODB Amber Gallows, Mandy Leon, Veda Scott, Taeler Hendrix, Kelly Klein, Hania the Huntress and Sumie Sakai.
UFC ON SATURDAY NIGHT ON FS 1 FROM THE MGM GARDEN ARENA IN LAS VEGAS
Fight Pass at 7 p.m. Eastern
Arten Lobov vs. Alex White
Mike Jackson vs. Mickey Gall – winner to face C.M. Punk in June
FS 1 at 8 p.m.
Noad Lahat vs. Diego Rivas
Ray Borg vs. Justin Scoggins
Damian Grabowski vs. Derrick Lewis
K.J. Noons vs. Josh Burkman
Mike Pyle vs. Sean Spencer
Misha Cirkunov vs. Alex Nicholson
Joseph Benavidez vs. Zach Makovsky
Rafael Feijao Cavalcante vs. Ovince Saint Preux
Jared Rosholt vs. Roy Nelson
Johny Hendricks vs. Stephen Thompson
WWE has only one show on Sunday, from Abbotsford, BC (Roman Reigns vs. Rusev).
Raw will be Monday in Seattle. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman are scheduled on the show.
Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday in Portland, OR. Chris Jericho vs. A.J. Styles is on the show.
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.
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.
We just got the word that Brian Knighton, who wrestled as Axl Rotten, best known as one of the major stars of ECW, passed away today at the age of 44.
Kenath Deawyne Peal, better known as Ken Wayne of The Galaxians and Nightmares tag team in the 80s, pleaded guilty to one count of child exploitation charges yesterday and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He will serve five years behind bars with the remaining 15 years on post-release supervision. He will also be forced to pay $1,000 to the Mississippi Children’s Trust fund, $1,000 to the Mississippi Crime Victim’s Compensation fund and register as a sex offender. Investigators found numerous photos and video of child pornography in his possession.
A.J. Styles will make his WWE house show debut on Saturday night in San Jose, on the same show as a rare Brock Lesnar house show appearance. He starts full-time on the road next weekend. Bill Behrens, Styles’ agent, officially sent out word that Styles is taking no more independent bookings after having signed with WWE and thanked all the promoters who used him over the past two years.
Davey Richards had his knee examined, he suffured an injury on Sunday in Birmingham, England. There are no details other than the injury was worse than was hoped and he will be out of action for a while. With Davey Richards injured, NSPW champion Marko Estrada will face Chris Hero on Saturday in Quebec City at the Horizon Centre. Franky the Mobster and Dru Onyx are also on the show.
Will Ospreay debuts for Evolve on 4/1 and 4/2 in Dallas over WrestleMania weekend.
WWE
Pat Patterson’s autobiography, called “Pat Patterson: Accepted, How the First Gay Superstar Changed WWE will be released in August by ECW Press. Bertand Hebert, who did the great Montreal history book, will be the ghost-writer.
There is a Smackdown ticket pre-sale going on right now for the 4/5 show in Houston, which is the Smackdown right after WrestleMania at the Toyota Center in Houston. It ends at 10 p.m. tonight.
Cesaro is advertised for appearances at next week’s shows in Germany.
WWE announced the payment of its next 12 cent per share dividend will be on 3/25. WWE’s next earnings call will be on Thursday.
WWE stock was up 38 cents per share today to close at $17.01.
Alex Oliveira (14-2-1) was announced as the replacement for Tim Means in the main event of the 2/21 show in Pittsburgh in the battle of the Cowboys against Donald Cerrone. Oliveira replaces Tim Means, who was pulled off the show yesterday due to a potential drug test violation.
Means in a tweet, stated “Never even heard of Ostarine. Look at my physic (sic). Do I look like a steroid user. LOL.” Ostarine is a SARM, not a steroid, but a banned PED.
Rose Namajunas vs. Tecia Torres has been added to the 4/16 FOX UFC event.
UFC also announced these new fights for 4/10 in Zagreb, Croatia
Timothy Johnson vs. Marcin Tybura – heavyweights
Mairbek Taisumov vs. Damir Hadzovic – lightweights
Bojan Velickovic vs. Alessio DiChirico – welterweights
Tybura, Hadzovic, Vlickovic and DiChirico are all making their UFC debuts.
Dana White said that he blew it by allowing Sage Northcutt to fight on Saturday night. “The kid really wanted to fight and I let him fight and he was sick as hell. I blew it.” said White. “I blew that one so bad.”
MISCELLANEOUS
Fubo TV, a sports subscription service which concentrates on soccer coverage, an MVPD which provides a premium bundle of sports and entertainment channels is offering 15 new networks including El Rey, meaning Lucha Underground is available for those who don’t have it available at this point. It streams at www.fubo.tv
Lex Luger has been announced as the recipient of the 2016 Frank Gotch Award at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum inductions on 7/21 to 7/23 in Waterloo, IA. Luger joins myself, Chael Sonnen, J.J. Dillon and Joe Blanchard in being honored that weekend.
Tammy Stych has released an autobiography that came out today called “A Star Shattered: The Rise and Fall of Wrestling Diva Tammy Sunny Sytch” through Riverdale Avenue Books.
Chris Bell, whose brothers were pro wrestlers and is best known for the movie “Bigger, Stronger, Faster” has a movie out now called “Prescription Thugs,” about how pharmaceutical companies and those show have economic ties to the industry are not looking at anyone’s long-term health, but looking at getting us hooked on their products.
Bill Behrens announced bookings for Nick Aldis (TNA Magnus) at SHOWBIS@aol.com, based in Richmond, VA. He also noted that Christopher Daniels, Jay Lethal, and The Young Bucks are no longer available for U.S. or Toronto area bookings but are available in Europe, Mexico and Japan. Others available are Frankie Kazarian, (Los Angeles), Moose (Atlanta), Matt Sydal (Tampa), DDP (Atlanta), Al Snow (Louisville), Scott Hall (Atlanta), Kevin Nash (Daytona Beach), Sean Waltman (Philadelphia) and Tommy Dreamer (New York)
Jamie Yager vs. Greg Parker and Ozzie Alvarez vs. Andrew Ramm have been added to the TV portion of the 2/20 World Series of Fighting show in Garden Grove, CA. The show is headlined by Marlon Moraes (15-4-1) putting his bantamweight title up against Joseph Barajas (12-1) and Timur Valiev (10-1) vs. Chris Gutierrez (8-1-1).
WWN will be doing a seminar and tryout on 3/21 on Long Island and 3/31 in Dallas. This will give wrestlers tools needed to promote themselves, including professionally shot HD footage.
FIP tomorrow night in Ybor City, FL at the Orpheum has a live iPPV at www.wwnlive.com headlined by a death match with Devin & Mason Cutter vs. Reed Bentley & John Wayne Murodch.
In a correction from the Monday update, we listed that on a show in Dyresburg, TN, that Greg Anthony retained the NWA National title over John Saxon, Actually Anthony won the title from Saxon in that match.
Gold Rush Wrestling from Saturday night in Pacifica, CA: Sir Samurai & Corey Kreese b Manny Mars & Ethan White, Will Roberts b Matt Carlos, Synn & Kikyo Nakamura b Dalton Frost & Cowboy Charlie, Virgil Flynn III & Mike Matthews won four-way over Levi Shapiro & Buddy Royal, Johnny Dynamo & Ski Sol and Skye Brothers, Sparky Ballard b Rik Luxury, JR Kratos & Mr. Prime Time b Boyce LeGrande & Marquise Jackson, Boyce LeGrande won Band Slam Cup Battle Royal
Scott Teal announced a new autobiography of former Mid Atlantic wrestler Mark Fleming, a protege of Lou Thesz
National Pro Wrestling Day takes place on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Reading, PA for a free show headlined by Mickie James vs. Kimber Lee.
Cam Newton had a Panthers-style silver Santo mask on Monday night doing media in the Bay Area.
Pro Wrestling Tees now has Pro Wrestling NOAH shirts for sale.
Al Snow headlines for River City Wrestling tomorrow night at Sideliners Grill in San Antonio, facing Paul Titan in the main event.
2/26 in Tijuana at the Auditorio has Alebrije (Kraneo in CMLL) & Charly Manson (Sharlie Rockstar in LLE) & Rey Misterio III vs. Psicosis (the original) & Pakal & Rey Escorpion. The original Octagoncito and Piratita Morgan are in a minis match.
Atlantis, Ultimo Guerrero, Virus and Cavernario headline a 2/20 show in Dallas.
Fenix, Drago and Pentagon Jr are working a Mucha Lucha show on 3/13 in Atlanta.
CMLL on Monday night in Puebla: Asturiano & Black Tiger b Ares & Espiritu Maligno, Rey Apocalipsis & Toro Bill Jr. b Magnus & Metatron, Blue Panther Jr. & Delta & Stigma b Pierroth & Sagrado & Bobby Z, Ephesto & Luciferno & Mephisto b Angel de Oro & Titan & Triton, Rush b Thunder-DQ, Negro Casas & Rey Bucanero & Ultimo Guerrero b Dragon Lee & Mascara Dorada & Volador Jr. (thanks to Kris Zellner)
Chaotic Wrestling tomorrow night in Lawrence, MA at the Elks Lodge #65. Tommy Dreamer & Team Friendship face Chase Del Monte & The Logan Brothers in the main event. Hanson from ROH faces Jesse Sorensen on the show.
I was told there is an excellent Masato Tanaka vs. Nanae Takahashi match at the women’s SeaadLinning show on 1/11.
We just got the word that Brian Knighton, who wrestled as Axl Rotten, best known as one of the major stars of ECW, passed away today at the age of 44. Knighton had been battling drug issues for years and had been in a wheelchair and had vowed to escape from it several months ago.
As Axl Rotten, he got his first break in 1991 with Ian Rotten in the Dallas-based GWF. As Bad Breed, he and Ian started as a team and had a bloody feud after in ECW. Axl Rotten & Balls Mahoney were a regular tag team from 1996 through 1999, often working with the Dudleys.. He worked for WWE briefly in 2005 as part of a team with Mahoney and wrestled once for TNA in 2010, but due to his problems, has been unable to wrestle for the past few years.
“WWE is saddened to learn of reports that Brian Knighton, best known for competing in ECW as Axl Rotten from 1993 to 1999, has passed away. WWE extends its condolences to Knighton’s family, friends and fans.”
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back today with special guest Jim Cornette to talk everything from Lucha Underground to Mark Jindrak to modern wrestling to his podcast and new latest book! A fun show as always so check it out~!
With such a busy week in the world of cagefighting and with an event scheduled for Las Vegas Saturday night, the 32nd edition of Josh Nason’s Punch-Out flew virtually to the Nevada desert to catch up with ESPN.com MMA writer Brett Okamoto.
Also, this is a free show so share it and help a guy out, won’t you?
For an hour, Josh and Brett wrestled with such issues as:
– Has Brett ever gone to work with a strep throat?
– Does he care about the possiblity of the Las Vegas Raiders?
– Where he was when he got the call from ESPN and the changes with the MMA department since he’s been there
– His thoughts on Benson Henderson’s departure to Bellator and what it could signal for MMA free agency in the future
– Where Josh hopes Alistair Overeem, Matt Mitrione, and Aljamain Sterling will land
– The plight of Sage Northcutt, whether he should have even fought Saturday, and the fallout online from his loss
– What do you do with Cain Velasquez next?
– The prospect of Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier II
– The California weight cutting changes and whether it actually means anything for the UFC
– A look ahead at UFC Fight Night Saturday with Johny Hendricks vs. Stephen Thompson, Roy Nelson’s prospects, interesting fights
– And more!
*****
Right click below to download or just click and stream the damn thing.
Bryan Alvarez flies solo on Wrestling Observer Live today as Mike is out sick, but it’s still A FUN SHOW AS ALWAYS SO CHECK IT OUT~! Dave Meltzer talks CM Punk and Archie Gouldie, the LAST REAL MAN Silas Young talks his career and Ring of Honor, and tons more! And it’s FREE!
