From the Venice Community Center in front of approximately 250 fans
– Bayley beat Mandy Rose
Bayley was wearing a knee brace to sell the angle after losing to Nia Jax on TV this week. She hit the Belly To Bayley for the win.
– Tucker Knight beat Tino Sabbatelli
The slimmed down Knight won with a big punch and what seemed like a Thesz Press.
– Mojo Rawley beat Chris Girard
Rawley got the win after a combination and clothesline while Girard was in the corner.
– Angelo Dawkins beat Dylan Miley
Dawkins got the win out of nowhere.
– NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha beat Sawyer Fulton and Alexander Wolfe
The heels got a lot of heat on Gable before Jordan got the hot tag and they score the win with the assisted suplex.
– No Way Jose beat Hugo Knox
Knox returned as a heel since the last time he’s worked. Jose hit his signature spots and won with the ripcord cobra clutch slam.
– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka and Carmella beat Nia Jax and Peyton Royce
Asuka Lock on Royce for the win.
– Shinsuke Nakamura beat Elias “The Drifter” Samson
Loud heat for Samson’s pre-match promo and attempted song. Huge reaction for Nakamura. Some comedy spots with Shinsuke air guitaring then passing the air guitar to referee Drake Wuertz who then jammed out and even slid on his knees to the center of the ring like the rock star he is. Shinsuke was the victim of many Drifter headlocks before laying in some vicious kicks before his finishing series and Kinshasa for the win.
Bellator returns to Spike TV with a show headlined by what should be a fun middleweight title fight between two striking specialists. Champion Rafael Carvalho defends his belt against Melvin Manhoef, who also fights for Bellator’s kickboxing division.
The co-main features 2-time featherweight champion Pat Curran against former WSOF champ Georgi Karakhanyan, with the winner hoping to earn a title shot down the line. The show also features the return of Joey Beltran to the heavyweight division, the last person to go more than a round with Cris Cyborg – former Strikeforce bantamweight champ Marloes Coenen – and unbeaten heavyweight Augusto Sakai staking his claim to the vacant strap in that division.
Vince Morales (4-1) TKO (punches) over Hamilton Ash (3-2)
Joe Hamilton (4-0) submisssion (RNC) over Tyler Freeland (4-1)
Casey Johnson (5-0) submission (RNC) over Brendan Raftery (4-3)
Jesse Brock (22-8) submission (RNC) over Olly Badstreet (39-13)
Marcin Held (21-4) vs Dave Jansen (21-3) LIGHTWEIGHTS
Held all over Jansen with punches early and they clinch on the cage. Quick separation but Held lands a hard punch combo at 1:00. Jansen with a takedown and working for a neck crank. Held is a wizard on the ground so this is risky. Held landing punches from his back and opens up a cut over Jansen’s left eye. Jansen lets the choke go and attempts to move into mount but Held grabs his feet, attemping a foot lock. Jansen escapes but Held sweeps into top position. Jansen takes his neck and tries to wall walk to his feet. He makes it up at 3:30 and Held follows. Held with a takedown at 3:45. Held landing punches from the top and scoring with elbows to the head as well. Jansen to his feet just before the bell. Very close round. 10-9 Held
Jansen advancing early. Held nails a spinning back head kick and then gets a takedown at 1:00. Held landing punches and elbows to the head and Jansen bleeding all over the place from a cut behind his ear. Held continuing to land punches and elbows while looking for a sub. Ref stands them up to look at the cut on Jansen. Jansen gets a takedown on the restart but Held quickly sweeps into top position and into side control at 3:45. Held with an inverted heel hook at 4:00 and then transition to a straight foot look. Jansen escaps but Held right back into top position, dropping punches and elbows. Jansen’s face is a bloody mess and Jimmy Smith gets in references to Bruiser Brody and Abdullah the Butcher. 10-8 Held, 20-17
Both guys trading punches to start. Jansen initiates a cage clinch at 45 seconds. Held takes control and gets the takedown at 1:00. Jansen manages to sweep into top postion at 1:15. Jansen briefly takes his back but Held rolls into a leglock position and then a kneebar. Jansen escapes but Held still working the leg and landing punches from his back. Jansen to his feet and Held follows and they end up back in a cage clinch. Jansen with a standing headlock and tries for a takedown but Held sweeps to his back and then captures an arm. Held also landing elbows to the body. Jansen escapes and ends up on top. Jansen landing punches and elbows from the top. Held to his feet and then takes Jansen down when he tries for a guillotine. Held landing elbows and punches from the top. Jansen trying to get to his feet but eating punches and Held holds him down. Jansen bleediing profusely again. Held continuing to land punches as the fight ends. 10-9 Held, 30-26 Held
WINNER – MARCIN HELD (22-4) by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x 2)
Beltran is back to heavyweight after fighting as low as middleweight. He’s giving up a lot of size here as Gormley cuts to make 265. Gormley opens up with leg kicks and quickly takes cage control. Beltran landing leg kicks from distance. Gormley landing 3 kicks to every 1 for Beltran through the first half of the round and controlling the cage. Sean Grande promising some big news later on tonight, which seems like an every show occurence. Beltran with a nice punch combo at 4:00. Gormley retreating for the first time in the fight. Beltran again chasing him down with punches at 4:45. 10-9 Gormley
Beltran opening up with punches. Gormley still throwing mainly kicks. Fight is mainly in the centre for the first half of the round with the activity about even. Beltran landing more punches this round. Neither guy able to mount any kind of sustained offence through 4 minutes. Beltran starting to control the pace in the last minute and starting to land some combos. Very close round, 10-9 Beltran, all tied up after 2.
Beltran rocks Gormley with a punch early and Gormley responds with a takedown attempt that Beltran defends well at 45 seconds. Punch combo from Beltran at 1:15. Beltran pushing the pace pretty clearly now. Gormley barely even landing kicks any more, just trying to avoid Beltran’s strikes. Gormley starting to land leg kicks again at 4:00. Beltran still advancing, throwing single strikes. Another very close round, 10-9 Beltran but could go either way. 29-28 Beltran
WINNER – CHASE GORMLEY (13-5) by split decision (28-29; 29-28 x 2)
Dufresne clinches up right away and scores a takedown. Coenen working for an armbar from her back. Dufresne escapes and landing punches from guard. Coenen working for a neck crank. Dufresne escapes again. Coenen with a guillotine attempts that she gives up on quickly. Coenen far more active from her back as Dufresne is just trying to hold her down. Coenen sweeps into top position at 2:45. Dufresne still has her arms tied up. Dufresne working for a triangle from her back and also landing kicks to the body and punches to the head. Dufresne gets the triangle at 4:00 and also landing punches to the head. It’s essentially Undertaker’s Hell’s gate and then she gets the armbar for the finish
WINNER – ALEXIS DUFRESNE (6-2) by submission at 4:33
That was one of the biggest upsets of the year and Dufresne claims that Coenen disrespected her at the weigh-ins and that’s what fueled her. She dedicated the win to her daughter who she gave birth to last Thanksgiving. She joins Meisha Tate as the only two women to ever submit Coenen.
DAN CHARLES (10-3) VS AUGUSTO SAKAI (9-0) HEAVYWEIGHTS (John McCarthy – ref)
Sakai is just a massive heavyweight at 6 ft 4 and is another who cuts to 265. He’s 4-0 with 3 KOs in Bellator. Charles is one of the guys whose lost to Lashley in Bellator. Charles initiates a cage clinch 30 seconds in. Sakai powers out of it. Charles pushing the pace early. Charles landing leg kicks from distance. Sakai throwing hard front kicks that are just missing. Sakai nails a head kick and then kicks Charles HARD in the groin and he goes down like he’s been shot, screaming in pain. Charles shakes it off after about 90 seconds, which is impressive cause that’s one of the worst nut shots you’ll ever see. Charles landing body kicks on the restart. Sakai hits him again with one of the first kicks he threw and Charles goes down instantly, almost as bad as the first one. Charles threw a kick at the same time that almost hit Sakai in the groin. Sakai basically pleading with McCarthy not to dock him a point but to no avail. That could be huge because this round is close. Sakai continuing to throw kicks and almost no punches. Charles not doing much after the restart and Sakai just landing a couple of kicks. 10-8 Charles but it easily could be 9-9
Big announcements coming for Dynamite 2 later tonight. Charles opening with kicks to the body and legs again. Sakai scoring the occasional single kick. Charles grazes Sakai with a low kick but Sakai shakes it off without stopping the fight. Sakai may not have landed a punch through the first half of the fight. Sakai starting to take over cage control at 3:00. Sakai starting to land with more frequency at 4:00, all with kicks. This is a boring fight. Charles lands a hard punch to the head at 4:30. Close round, maybe to Sakai 10-9, 19-18 Charles after 2
Charles with a takedown to start the round that wakes the crowd up but Sakai up quickly and they’re back to sleep. Sakai landing his kicks a little more frequently, landing mostly to the body and head. Seems hesitant to throw the leg kick after the point deduction. Sakai is not getting a title shot after this, whether he wins or not. Charles doing almost nothing, Sakai very slightly more than nothing, which may be enough to take the round. Sakai actually landing a few hard leg kicks in the last minute and stalking Charles. Sakai even throws a couple of punches that looked like they missed. 10-9 Sakai so I’ve got it as a draw
NO WINNER – MAJORITY DRAW (scores 30-26 Charles, 28-28 x 2)
The two big announcements were Joe Schilling facing Kato in a kickboxing match immediately following Dynamite 2 on Spike and Ilemi-Lei Macfarlane facing Rebecca Ruth in what I’m assuming will be a Spike.com prelim fight. That was underwhelming.
PAT CURRAN (21-7) VS GEORGI KARAKHANYAN (24-5-1) FEATHERWEIGHTS (Jason Herzog – ref)
Both guys really tentative for the first 90 seconds. Curran starting land leg kicks at 1:45. Karakhanyan controllign the cage. Curran with a punch combo at 2:00. Curran knocks Karakhanyan down with a punch to the head and pounces on him. After an initial flurry, he lets up and Karakhanyan gets some time to recover. Curran slowly starting to advance while also looking for a choke at 3:30. Curran into mount at 4:15 but Karakhanyan escapes quickly and briefly to his feet but goes to his back and brings Curran into his guard. Nothing happened for the rest of the round. 10-9 Curran
Karakhanyan shoots for a takedown to start round 2 and Curran stuffs it and ends up on top. Karakhanyan tying up the arms of Curran and then briefly tries a guillotine at 1:15. Curran takes his back at 1:30. Curran trying to secure a body lock and gets it at 2:00. Karakhanyan nailed him with punches as Curran lies on his back, still controlling the back. Karakhanyan escapes at 3:00 and works Curran back to guard. Karakhanyan with a guillotine attempt at 3:15 and uses it to get to his feet and then sweep to top position. Neither guy doing much on the ground with Karakhanyan in Curran’s guard. Ref stands them up at 4:30. Karakhanyan controlling things and lands a couple of kicks before the round ends. Very close, 10-9 Curran, 20-18
Karakhanyan misses on a takedown attempt to start the round. Karakhanyan advancing and Curran landing leg kicks and punches while retreating. Curran takes his back standing at 1:45 but Karakhanyan works him to the front and takes him down at 2:15. Curran with a guillotine attempt from his back. Karakhanyan escapes but not doing anything from up top. Crowd starting to boo. Curran landing some elbows to the head from the bottom. Karakhanyan working for a triangle from half-guard but Curran works him back to full guard. Karakhanyan with some light punches to the body just before the round ends. 10-9 Karakhanyan, 29-28 Curran overall but it all depends how they score round 2.
WINNER – PAT CURRAN (22-7) by unanimous decision (scores 29-28 x 3)
MAIN EVENT FOR THE BELLATOR MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE:
CHAMPION RAFAEL CARVALHO (12-1) VS MELVIN MANHOEF (30-12-1) (John McCarthy – ref)
Both guys keeping their distance early. Crowd starting to boo at 1:15 as neither guy has landed a strike. Carvalho controlling the pace and lands a kick from distance at 2:30 that may be the first strike landed. Jimmy Smith calls it a “regrettably cautious start from both fighters” . Boos are getting really loud at 3:15. McCarthy stops the fight and warns them to fight. What? I mean, what’s he going to do? This is like the MR Wrestling 3 counter gimmick with the Young Bucks last weekend. 4:30 in and still nothing. Manhoef lands a kick at 4:45. Grande says it was the first strike landed. 10-10, no question.
Manhoef pushing the pace early. Manhoef throws a punch and follows up with a kick at 45 seconds, the most sustained “action” of the fight. Manhoef with a hard kick to the body at 1:30. Official stats for round 1 were Manhoef 1/6 in strikes landed, Carvalho 1/13 in strikes landed. Crowd booing again at 2:30 as they’ve slowed down. Carvalho starting to advance now. Crowd getting really loud again with the booing at 3:45. Manhoef lands two leg kicks and follows up with punches at 4:00. Carvalho still advancing. Carvalho with a knee to the body and they clinch up. Carvalho with a knee that looked low and McCarthy steps in but Carvalho wants to keep fighting. Carvalho with 2 elbows to the head after McCarthy stopped it. Replay looked like it might have hit the gut. 10-9 Manhoef
Manhoef with a punch combo to open. Carvalho with an eye poke 15 seconds in. McCarthy had warned him earlier in the fight but didn’t dock a point. On the restart, he had his fingers out again and McCarthy stopped it again and warned Carvalho. Carvalho with a takedown attempt at 1:30 and they end up in a cage clinch. Manhoef gets control and then throws Carvalho off, landing a hard punch on the way out. Carvalho clinches right back up again and takes Manhoef down. Manhoef to his feet at 2:30. Carvalho with another low blow. I dont know if this is eligible for the Wrestling Observer awards but this is the worst show of the year, bar none. McCarthy calls the corner over and warns the corner to control their fighter. No pont deduction, though. Carvalho shoots for a takedown again at 3:45 but Manhoef defends it. Crowd booing heavily again as they’re clinched on the cage with nothing happening. Manhoef punches his way out of it at 4:45. This could be Carvalho’s round. 10-9 Carvalho, 29-29 so far
Carvalho shoots for a takedown 30 seconds in but stuffed by Manhoef. Manhoef lands a hard kick on the way out. Carvalho lands a knee to the body and then gets a takedown at 1:15. Carvalho right into side control. Carvalho just holding him down, nothing even attempting anything from side control and the crowd booing heavily. And then he just lets Manhoef up. This is awful. Terrible. No good. Just really, really bad. Announcers are talking like Manhoef’s up three rounds. He could be. I don’t care. Carvalho just waving his arms around at 3:30 and Manhoef just standing there. Crowd booing heavily. McCarthy warning them to fight again. Booing is getting ridiculously loud. Carvalho walking away from Manhoef with his hands on his hips and Manhoef just doing nothing. They walked back to their corners before the bell even rang. “Beyond my comprehension”, Jimmy Smith said as the round ended. Another 10-10
Crowd starting to do random chants to entertain themselves now. Manhoef with a superman punch landing and the crowd like that. Manhoef with a nice punch combo at 1:00. Hard body kick from Manhoef at 1:15. Carvalho shoots for a takedown at 1:45. Manhoef defends it but Carvalho holds onto him in a cage clinch. Ref warning them to work. Manhoef landing light punches to the head. Manhoef ends up falling on top of him and into mount briefly but Carvalho just stands up. Manhoef takes him right back down. And nothing happening again. Ref warns them to work again. Manhoef up at 3:30 and Carvalho follows him. Carvalho back to walking around with his hands on his hips. Crowd booing louds and McCarthy steps in between them and tells them to fight. Manhoef lands a couple of single strikes from distance. Crowd booing heavily at the end. 10-9 Manhoef, 49-48 overall
WINNER – RAFAEL CARVALHO (13-1) by split decision (47-48-29; 48-47 x 2)
Sean Grande said that the only thing worse than that fight was the decision. Jimmy Smith that he is “DISGUSTED that this fight went this way for Rafael Carvalho” and that he’s disgusted for this sport right now. And followed up by saying that’s all he can say on TV. Wow.
I mean, that was a bad decision but far from the worst you’ll ever see. It was just a really bad fight and I don’t know how you pick a winner in the 2 rounds I scored 10-10. It sounded like Jimmy dropped his headset while Grande was talking as the show went off the air.
This was easily the worst MMA card I’ve ever seen topped off by what may have been the worst fight in this century.
Conor McGregor met with Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta on Wednesday night in Los Angeles. Nothing was announced but McGregor said things were worked out and there will be a lengthy ESPN interview on ESPN on Sunday at 10 a.m. McGregor vs. Diaz is still expected at some point this summer. Clips from the interview can be seen here.
We’ve got a pretty full weekend coming up headlined by Extreme Rules from Newark, NJ. That’s the only show we’ll be doing polls on as we’ll save the Japan stuff for the finals of the tournament on 6/7.
We’re looking for reports on the WWE house show in Utica, NY (Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Big Cass, Dudleys, Usos, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson,. Sami Zayn) and NXT in Venice, FL to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
There is no New Japan World on tonight or Inside MMA on AXS due to a music festival. Both return next week with New Japan starting a long stretch of G-1 Climax 2015 matches starting next Friday.
BELLATOR TONIGHT FROM BOISE, ID ON SPIKE TV AT 9 P.M EASTERN
Joey Beltran (14-9, 236.8) vs. Chase Gormley (8-4, 264.5)
Augusto Sakai (3-0, 262.5) vs. Dan Charles (10-3, 242.2)
Pat Curran (20-7, 145.7) vs. Georgi Karakhanyan (24-5-1, 145.1)
Rafael Carvalho (12-1, 184.3) vs. Melvin Manhoef (27-11-1, 185) for the middleweight title
They are also doing for the first time a major fight, Marcin Held vs. Dan Jansen, at www.spike.com at about 8:30 p.m. as they are trying to push digital with key matches like UFC does with Fight Pass.
Rush & Rey Escorpion & Pierroth vs. La Mascara & Shocker & El Terrible
PWG TONIGHT IN RESEDA, CALIFORNIA
Trevor Lee vs. Andrew Everett
Dalton Castle vs. Adam Cole
Drew Galloway vs. Brian Cage
Jeff Cobb vs. Chris Hero
Mark Andrews vs. Marty Scurll
Roderick Strong vs. Sami Callihan
Michael Elgin vs. Kamaitachi
TNA VICTORY ROAD DEBUTS TONIGHT ON THE FITE APP AND PPV WITH A TAPED SHOW
Ethan Carter III vs. Eli Drake
James Storm vs. Bram
Velvet Sky vs. Marti Bell
DJ Zema Ion vs. Andrew Everett
Eddie Edwards vs. Trevor Lee
Bro Mans vs. Tom LaRuffa & Pierre Marceau (Sylvester Lefort & Marcus Louis in NXT)
Chris Melendez vs. Beauregarde
Bobby Roode vs. Pepper Parks
All winners in a Royal rumble match where the winner gets a future TNA title match
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS TOURNAMENT OPENS AT 5:30 A.M. EASTERN TIME SATURDAY MORNING LIVE ON NEW JAPAN WORLD FROM KORAKUEN HALL IN TOKYO
Bobby Fish & Volador Jr. & Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Trent Baretta & Will Ospreay – Some kind of ridiculous talent for an opening match
Yuji Nagata & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Katsuyori Shibata & Juice Robinson & Jay White
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yoshitatsu & Captain New Japan & Ricochet vs. Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens
Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Tetsuya Naito & Seiya Sanada & Evil
David Finlay vs. Rocky Romero
Gedo vs. Bushi
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Matt Sydal
Kushida vs. Kyle O’Reilly
We’re looking for reports on Saturday’s WWE shows in Albany, NY (Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Sami Zayn, Big Cass, Dudleys, Natalya, Dolph Ziggler, Charlotte, Usos, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson) and Reading, PA (Dean Ambrose, Kane, Big Show, Braun Strowman, Erick Rowan, Kevin Owens, New Day, Alberto Del Rio, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Cesaro) and NXT in Winter Haven, FL to Dave@wrestlingobserver.com.
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS ON SUNDAY FROM SHIZUOKA (this won’t air live but should be up some time during Sunday on New Japan World)
Jay White & David Finlay vs. Yoshi-Hashi & Rocky Romero
Yuji Nagata & Satoshi Kojima & Kyle O’Reilly & Matt Sydal vs. Juice Robinson & Ryusuke Taguchi & Kushida & Katsuyori Shibata
Tiger Mask vs. Ricochet
Jushin Liger vs. Bobby Fish
Volador Jr. vs. Trent Baretta
Will Ospreay vs. Chase Owens
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yoshitatsu & Captain New Japan vs. Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi
Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo vs. Tetsuya Naito & Seiya Sanada & Evil & Bushi
WWE EXTREME RULES ON SUNDAY AT 7:30 P.M. EASTERN FROM THE PRUDENTIAL CENTER IN NEWARK, NJ ON THE WWE NETWORK AND PPV
Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin preshow match
Kalisto vs. Rusev for U.S. title
Usos vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson tornado match
Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho asylum cage match
Charlotte vs. Natalya submissions match for women’s title
New Day vs Vaudevillains for tag team title
The Miz vs. Cesaro vs Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens for IC title
Roman Reigns vs. A.J. Styles in an extreme rules match for the WWE title
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS ON MONDAY FROM NIIGATA (this won’t air live but should be up sometimeMonday on New Japan World)
Satoshi Kojima & Jay White & Ricochet vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Yoshi-Hashi & Will Ospreay
Yuji Nagata & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Katsuyori Shibata & Juice Robinson & Volador Jr.
Matt Sydal vs. Bushi
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Gedo
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. David Finlay
Kushida vs. Rocky Romero
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yoshitatsu & Captain New Japan & Bobby Fish vs. Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens
Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Trent Baretta vs. Tetsuya Naito & Seiya Sanada & Evil
Raw will be Monday night in Baltimore at the Royal Farms Arena.
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS ON TUESDAY FROM YAMAGATA (this won’t air live but should be up sometimeTuesday on New Japan World)
David Finlay & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Gedo & Yoshi-Hashi
Yuji Nagata & Satoshi Kojima & Kyle O’Reilly & Matt Sydal vs. Katsuyori Shibata & Kushida & Juice Robinson & Jay White
Tiger Mask vs. Volador jr.
Jushin Liger vs. Chase Owens
Bobby Fish vs. Ricochet
Will Ospreay vs. Trent Baretta
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yoshitatsu & Captain New Japan vs. Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi
Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii & Rocky Romero vs. Tetsuya Naito & Seiya Sanada & Evil & Bush
Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday in Norfolk.
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!
A look at what’s next for WWE after Extreme Rules, the UFC sale with lots of exclusive info, Vince & Linda McMahon selling their stock, Chris Weidman’s injury and how that changes plans, the staggering drop in kids viewing for WWE and exactly who watches the TV today, plus UFC 198 coverage and Best of The Super Juniors tournament news are among the stories covered in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
More on the injury returns and summer ideas and why WWE could have its deepest talent roster in a long time in very short order. Plus, talk about the NXT/WWE balance and why talent is actually more important for arena business if in NXT.
There is also an extenisve look at the Extreme Rules show.
In addition, updates on the UFC sale, including news about who is in, who is not in, what it all means, what is being sold, where Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta fit in and UFC fixture who indicates he’s likely gone if the sale goes through, all in covered in this issue.
A glimpse into Vince McMahon’s stock sale, what it means, how much money did he get, and how his stock sale only increased the difference in the value of UFC vs. WWE, and for how much Vince McMahon bought the company.
More on the injury to Chris Weidman, how it happened, his future, Michael Bisping’s title shot and more on UFC 1999.
Also in this issue, find out who watches WWE on television and how many in each different age group.
Find out how WWE has changed the schedule of the Cruiserweight tournament and why, more on the arrest of Adam Rose, more on Stephanie McMahon’s book, how Stephanie will be pushed on television going forward, how Stephanie will be marketed as the face of the company, and another WWE firing.
Finally, there’s full coverage of UFC 198, including business notes including early estimates on success, ramifications of the show, match-by-match coverage, looking at the judging of close fights and poll results.
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.
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Shawn Michaels will be featured at Game 5 of the Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Stanley Cup game on Sunday night on NBC Sports Network.This has become a pretty big story in hockey. One of the Penguins lines named themselves HBK and Michaels found out and started watching the Penguins games and they made arrangements for him to be a special guest of the game at the Consol Energey Center in Pittsburgh.
Today is the fifth anniversary of the death of Randy Savage. There may be some media surrounding that coming out.
Dixie Carter, Eric Sherman and John Gaburick are doing a business meeting in India this week. Topics will include the tour of India that their contract with Sony Six stipulates plus TNA’s attempt to sell a percentage of the company.
Starting tonight, Syfy will be airing a two-hour edited version of the Raw from Monday, airing from 8-10 p.m. The idea would be to boost the Syfy ratings. It’s interesting because for years USA has had the belief of not airing a Raw replay for fear it would hurt the original numbers. Syfy was out of the top 25 cable stations in prime time ratings last week. USA was No. 6, although without wrestling they would fall to No. 11.
One of the craziest stories is that on the Venator Fighting Championships show tomorrow in Milan, Italy, Jason “Mayhem” Miller showed up and missed weight by 24 pounds (209 pounds for a middleweight title match with Luke Barnatt). Barnatt will instead will fight to establish a new champion against Stefan Croitoru while Miller was able to cut to 205 and will be fighting Mattia Schiavolin at light heavyweight.
WWE
A.J. Styles is off the weekend house shows to rest for Extreme Rules. He has a bad ankle. Styles hasn’t wrestled since 5/9. He was to work in Utica and Reading.
Tickets for the Cruiserweight Classic for dates of 6/23, 7/14, 8/26 and 9/14 went on sale this morning. Only about 400 tickets were available for each show and priced at $15 and $20, so they sold very quickly. They may have all sold out at this point as the last I checked, the finals were sold out and the other dates only had a handful of seats remaining. The finals will air live on the WWE Network.
Kevin Owens and Tyler Breeze have raised more than $61,000 for the victims of the Fort McMurray, Alberta fires. A story on their fund raising can be read here.
Although this was reported a long time ago, Dwayne Johnson officially signed on for “The Janson Directive,” in what is hoped to be turned into a spy thriller franchise. Johnson will also be an Executive Producer. Baywatch, that Johnson stars in with Zac Efron, will be released in theaters on May 17, 2017.
The Bellas are at Wizard World in Philadelphia on 6/5 from Noon to 4 p.m.
Paul London on his time in WWE from the Pancakes and Powerslams show: When you work there, you eat so much crap. It’s like middle school all over again when you work there, on any level that you’re at. I don’t care if you’re the megastar or the opening guy, corporate office guy, whatever. At some point in your tenure there, you’re gonna be treated like garbage, absolute garbage. And like less of a human being, like the stuff you wipe off of your shoe that you stepped in by accident. And you’re gonna be treated like that constantly. It’s a constant mental hazing. It’s disgusting. It’s a horrible, horrible place to work, absolutely awful place to work. So, it’s not good for human beings of any nature. It was just things that would numb you to life working there.
UFC
The UFC will be working with the California State Athletic Commission for the 6/4 show in Los Angeles as they will be allowing weigh-ins as early as 10 a.m. on Friday to give the fighters six extra hours to rehydrate. It’s already been experimented with in Kansas and Connecticut. Of course the fighters like it because it gives them hours of more recuperation time.
Stipe Miocic returned to a hero’s welcome in Cleveland and has been guests of the Cavs and Indians games already this week. Miocic, who was a good enough baseball player to get major league interest, took batting practice with the Indians and hit one into the stands.
Added activities to UFC Fight week in July are the U.S. Nationals and U.S Open Jiu Jitsu tournaments from 7/8 to 7/10 at the Las Vegas Convention Center at the site of the UFC Fan Expo.
Eli Drake & Tyrus & Ethan Carter III will be Team TNA in the upcoming Victoria World Cup tournament on 6/3 and 6/5 in Puebla and Mexico City.
The biggest independent show in Quebec in years is Saturday night in Quebec City at the Horizon Center as Marko Estrada goes for the all-time record for longest title reign. If he beats Travis Toxic, he would be champion through September where he’d beat a record set by Edouard Carpentier in the glory days of Quebec wrestling with 974 days consecutively holding a major title. Cedric Alexander faces jr. chap Mat Angel and Shayne Hawke vs. Alex Price in a hair match plus there is a Team Montreal vs. Team Quebec City cage match.
A video building up Ethan Carter III’s matches in Evolve on 6/10 in Ybor City and 6/11 in Orlando can be seen here.
Evolve announced a house show at 4 p.m. on 7/16 in Queens, NY with the idea the show would end and give people enough time to attend Madison Square Garden that night. Timothy Thatcher vs. Marty Scurll for the Evolve title headlines.
Canek, the king of Mexican wrestling in the late 70s, now almost 64, captured the IWL heavyweight title beating Mr. Jack (a former rival) for the vacant title on Tuesday night in Pachuca.
A story on 50s shooter Joe Pazandak who will be inducted tomorrow into the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in Wichita Falls, TX is here. A second story can be read here.
Quinton Jackson and Sal Guerrero Jr. (Chavo Guerrero Jr.) are in a movie called “Vigilante Diaries” that Anchor Bay Entertainment is releasing for a theatrical run on 6/24 and on DVD on 7/5.
CWE tonight in Sherwood Park, Alberta at the Millennium Place with Frankie Kazarian & Danny Duggan vs. A.J. Sanchez & Joey Keys plus Silas Young vs Nite and Lio Rush vs. Travis Cole, plus Johnny Devine. The promotion said that if 500 tickets are sold, they will donate $1,500 to the Alberta Cancer Society and they are also raising money for the Edmonton Women’s Shelter.
Undefeated Phil Hawes, who was most recently beaten on Ultimate Fighter, signed with World Series of Fighting and will debut on 6/17 in Mashantucket, CT against Joshua Key (6-11, 2 on contests) on the NBC Sports show. Mike Ricci vs. Jason High is also on that show.
NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling on 6/4 in Sneedville, TN at the Old Hancock County High School.
Pure Wrestling Association on 5/21 in Kitchener, ONT at the Alpine Club.
Lucha Libre Mexicana on 5/28 in San Antonio at Randy’s Ballroom with Super Parka, El Hijo de L.a. Park, Damian 666 and more. On 6/3 in Benbrook, TX at the Camp Bowie Bingo Hall is Aerostar vs. Flamita vs. Laredo Kid vs. Septimo Dragon. On 6/4 in Houston at Atlantico Hall is Aerostar & Laredo Kid vs. Flamita & Ultimo Ninja.
Silver Star Promotions on 6/5 in Fort Worth at the 4 Ever Arena has Caristico & El Hijo del Fishman vs. Psicosis Jr. & Silver Star.
UIPW on 5/29 in Montebello, CA at the Grace Baptist Academy has Mr Aguila, Stuka Jr., Teddy Hart, Steve Pain, Thunder Rosa (Kobra Moon) and more.
There is a 5/27 show in Tijuana at the Auditorio with Atlantis & Caristico & Valiente vs. Cibernetico & Sharly Rockstar & Ultimo Guerrero.
There is a 6/3 show in Tijuana at the Auditorio with L.A. Park vs. Rush vs. Cibernetico plus Mistico & Extreme Tiger & Rey Hours (Dragon Azteca Jr. in Lucha Underground) vs. Mr Aguila & El Hijo de L.A. Park & Mephisto. (thanks to Kris Zellner)
RF Video announced DVD releases of a David Crockett three-hour interview talking about his entire career in wrestling including the Crockett vs Vince wars, plus Tommy Dreamer hosts an interview with Rob Van Dam, a three-hour conversation about the old days of ECW.
EVENTS
June 4 – UFC 199 from the Forum in Los Angeles with Michael Bisping getting his first title opportunity of his career battling Luke Rockhold for the middleweight belt
June 5 – AAA’s Victoria World Cup men and women’s trio tournament finals at Los Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City which will be a live iPPV show
June 7 – New Japan Best of the Super Juniors finals from Sendai live on New Japan World
June 8 – NXT Takeover from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL featuring Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor in a cage match plus a loaded lineup that includes American Alpha vs. The Revival and probably Shinsuke Nakamura vs Austin Aries, which could be WWE’s match of the month.
June 12 – TNA Slammiversary headlined by Drew Galloway vs. Bobby Lashley for the TNA title from Orlando
June 12 – Revolution Pro Wrestling in London, England headlined by Kurt Angle vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
June 19 – New Japan Dominion, one of the company’s biggest events of the year, featuring Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada in an IWGP title match and Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi in a ladder match for the IC title
June 19 – WWE Money in the Bank from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
June 24 – ROH Best in the World from Concord, NC with Jay Lethal vs. Jay Briscoe for the ROH title
June 25 – Ultima Lucha tapings in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles at The Temple
June 26 – Ultima Lucha tapings in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles at The Temple
Wrestling Observer Live is back today and Bryan Alvarez is FLYING SOLO! Tons to talk about today including a full line-up of shows for a very full June, WWE adding a two-hour Raw replay to Syfy, Brock Lesnar’s return, tons of text messages and calls and so much more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
In an interesting move, SyFy announced Friday that WWE Raw is coming to the network. Well, a version of it anyway.
A two-hour airing of the show will air in Smackdown’s former timeslot on SyFy from 8-10 PM EST. It’s assumed that this will be what was previously just the Hulu version of Raw, and bring more WWE saturation to the Universal family of networks. Airing some wrestling content on the network could be an indicator that they want to keep some wrestling fans tuned into it, or to see how well a two hour version fares in the ratings compared to the first-run three hour version. It also could be SyFy looking for a time fill that pulls some sort of rating.
With Raw’s ratings constantly in question on a weekly basis, is this the answer on how to engage lapsed fans that want a shorter, better version of RAW every week? As always, the numbers will tell the story.
St. Louis, Missouri: – Ed “Strangler” Lewis beat Paul Jones – Dorv Roche beat Gus Sonnenberg – Frank Brown beat Mike Anton – Stan Sitkowski beat Pat Fraley – Warren Bockwinkel defeated Ray Villmer
1960
St. Joseph, Missouri: – NWA World Heavyweight Champion Pat O’Connor and Bob Ellis drew 1 fall a piece – World Tag Team Champions George and Sandy Scott beat Bob Geigel and Lee Henning – Thor Hagen beat Taro Myaki – Gory Guerrero beat Bill Cole
Kansas City, Kansas: – Danny Little Bear & The Viking defeated Buddy Austin & Bob Orton – Harley Race defeated The Stomper in three falls – Ronnie Etchison defeated Benny Ramirez – Steve Bolus defeated Tony Russo – Rufus R. Jones defeated The Great Sakaguchi via DQ
1974
Madison Square Garden: – Bruno Sammartino defeated Killer Kowalski in the main event of a Texas Death Match to retain the WWWF title
1976
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: – Larry Hennig & Jos Leduc went to a no contest with Baron Von Raschke & Mad Dog Vachon – Nick Bockwinkel & Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Duncum beat Russ Francis & Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell in 2 out of 3 falls
1977
Bloomington, Minnesota: – Verne Gagne & Billy Robinson & Ray Stevens beat Nick Bockwinkel & Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Duncum – Peter Maivia beat Angelo Mosca – Pedro Morales beat Roger Kirby – Jim Brunzell drew Billy Francis – Larry Hennig beat Moose Morowski
1983
St. Joseph, Missouri: – NWA World champion Ric Flair defeated Dewey Robertson
Houston, Texas: – WWF Champion Bob Backlund beat Afa the Samoan – Junk Yard Dog & Mr Wrestling II beat King Kong Bundy & Mr Olympia – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Dusty Rhodes – Masked Superstar & Super Destroyer beat Tito Santana & Mil Mascaras – Hacksaw Duggan beat Kendo Nagasaki – Butch Reed beat Rip Rogers – Gran Marcus beat Johnny Rich
1986
Rock Hill, South Carolina: – Wahoo McDaniel defeated NWA National Heavyweight Champion Tully Blanchard via disqualification – Dusty Rhodes & NWA U.S. Champion Magnum TA defeated NWA Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match via disqualification
1987
Portland Oregon: – Randy Savage pinned Tito Santana – WWF Tag Team Champions Hart Foundation defeated British Bulldogs in a steel cage match
1988
Norfolk, Virginia: – NWA TV Champion Mike Rotundo pinned Jimmy Garvin – Dusty Rhodes, Lex Luger, Sting, & Nikita Koloff defeated NWA World Champion Ric Flair, NWA US Champion Barry Windham, NWA Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard via disqualification
1989
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: – Rick Martel pinned Tito Santana – WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition defeated the Big Bossman & Akeem via disqualification – WWF champion Hulk Hogan pinned Randy Savage
1989
Greensburg, Pennsylvania: – AWA Champion Larry Zbyszko beat Wahoo McDaniel – Tommy Jammer & Ken Patera beat Badd Company Pat Tanaka & Paul Diamond
1992
Fort Irwin, California: – WCW Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Pillman pinned Scotty Flamingo – WCW World Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko – WCW U.S. Champion Rick Rude defeated Ricky Steamboat – WCW World Champion Sting pinned Steve Austin
1993
Sapporo, Japan: – Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue defeated Terry Gordy & Steve Williams for the All Japan World Tag Team Titles
1994
SMW Volunteer Slam: Knoxville, Tennessee: – Tracy Smothers defeated Kendo The Samurai – The Thrillseekers, Chris Jericho & Lance Storm defeated Well Dunn – SMW Tag Team Champions Brian Lee & Chris Candido (with Tammy Fytch) defeated The Rock N’ Roll Express, Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson in a No DQ, no time limit match – Bruiser Bedlam (with Jim Cornette) pinned Randy Savage (with Bob Armstrong) – Jake Roberts vs. Dirty White Boy ended in a Double Count Out in a SMW Heavyweight Championship Match
2001
WWF Judgement Day: Sacramento, California: – Raven defeated Val Venis – The Holly Cousins (Hardcore Holly and Crash Holly) defeated Kaientai (Taka Michinoku and Funaki) – William Regal defeated Rikishi – Kurt Angle defeated Chris Benoit 2-1 in a Three stages of hell match for Angle’s Olympic Gold Medal – Rhyno defeated Test and Big Show in a Triple threat hardcore match to retain the WWF Hardcore Championship – Chyna defeated Lita to retain the WWF Women’s Championship – Kane defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley in a chain match to win the IC Title – Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit won by last eliminating Edge and Christian Tag team turmoil match – Steve Austin defeated The Undertaker in a No Holds Barred match for the WWF Championship
2007
WWF Judgement Day: St. Louis, Missouri: – Kane defeated William Regal (with Dave Taylor) – Ric Flair defeated Carlito by submission[16] Singles match 15:34 – Bobby Lashley defeated Team McMahon in a Handicap match for the ECW World Championship, however Mr. McMahon wasn’t pinned and Lashley did not win the title – CM Punk defeated Elijah Burke – Randy Orton defeated Shawn Michaels – The Hardy Boyz (Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy) defeated Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch to retain the World Tag Team Championship – Edge defeated Batista to retain the World Heavyweight Championship – MVP defeated Chris Benoit in 2 straight falls to capture the United States Championship – John Cena defeated The Great Khali to retain the WWE Championship
2012
WWF Over the Limit: Raleigh, North Carolina: – Kane defeated Zack Ryder – Christian won a 20-man Battle Royal – Kofi Kingston and R-Truth defeated Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger (with Vickie Guerrero) to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship – Layla defeated Beth Phoenix to retain the WWE Divas Championship – Sheamus defeated Randy Orton, Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez) in a Fatal four-way match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship – Brodus Clay (with Naomi and Cameron) defeated The Miz – Christian defeated Cody Rhodes to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship – CM Punk defeated Daniel Bryan to retain the WWE Championship – Ryback defeated Camacho (with Hunico) – John Laurinaitis defeated John Cena in a No Disqualification match
Bleacher Report’s Chad Dundas is the guest on this week’s Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, talking about a myriad of topics ideal for a non-UFC event week.
A few of the alleys Josh and Chad went down include:
– Leftover thoughts on UFC 198 including Fabricio Werdum’s overuse of his funny face, Stipe Miocic riding for Cleveland, and Lady Cyborg
– The stunning story of how he met Ben Fowlkes, his partner on the Co-Main Event Podcast
– How living in Montana has affected his MMA coverage
– Thoughts on Michael Bisping getting a title opportunity against Luke Rockhold and why the haters need to chill out
– Discussion about his wrestling themed novel “Champion Of The World” and what inspired him to write it
As usual, we get geeky about the process of writing and other media matters. It’s another solid hour of JNPO, so get your weekend kicked off right….now.
Click below to listen or right-click to save on your computer, tech-heads.
With the WWE roster close to being as strong as it’s been in a while thanks to the imminent returns of John Cena, Seth Rollins and more, how will the main event scene shake out? That’s just one of the topics of discussion on Wrestling Weekly today for Vic and Les!
– The show begins by talking about the late Mac York (Ricky Morton’s uncle) and a bit of a health update on Johnny Walker, better known as Mr. Wrestling II.
– That leads us into some talk on the careers of Mr. Wrestling 1 (Tim Woods) and 2, as well as some of the deepest rosters in the territory days (15:45) and why that was not uncommon back in the day.
– From there, we discuss what the main event scene in WWE could look like (30:01) with all those returning from injury to go alongside AJ Styles, Roman Reigns and the guys featured currently on TV.
– We close by opening the mailbag (45:49) to answer your questions about whether or not the art of wrestling has been lost, recruiting mainstream sports stars into wrestling (49:03)and how much longer are the McMahons going to dominate the main storylines in WWE (51:47)?
The Bryan & Vinny Show is back today with tons to talk about! Granny joins us to talk a wacky time in Bryan and Vinny history that actually in a way led to Vinny’s happy marriage. Then, we’ve got full reviews of NXT, Lucha Underground and Raw! A fun show as always so check it out~!
I’m at Full Sail University in Winter Park FL for tonight’s NXT tapings.
– Dark Match: Manny Andrade beat Tino Sabbatelli
Manny had a new name, but I couldn’t hear over the reaction. (Editor’s note: Andrade “Cien” Almas). This was a very good match as Tino is much improved, and a showcase for Manny as he’s clearly the gem of the non-TV roster. Andrade teased dives to the outside, and in the end, Manny hit the running double knees in the corner for the win.
– Dark Match: NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha beat The Authors Of Pain
This was the Full Sail debut of Gzim Selmani and Sunny Dhinsa, and they did well in working the Alpha style of match. They got the heat on Gable before the Jordan hot tag. End was the Assisted German Suplex for the win for AA.
– Mr Regal announces Nia vs. Alexa vs. Carmella for the right to face Asuka for the title at TakeOver .
– Ciampa and Gargano beat TM61 (Nick Miller and Shane Thorn)
TM61 are the former TMDK (Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste). Excellent match, hard hitting and fast paced. Big reactions for both teams. Ciampa and Gargano got the heat on Shane for most of it before we got the hot tag to Nick. TM61 hit an amazing double team DDT for a near fall, broken up by Johnny. Finish was the double superkick by Gargano and Ciampa for the win. The teams had a stare down post match.
– In-ring promo by Austin Aries saying he wants to be champion. Nakamura interrupts him to the loudest pop in Full Sail history. The crowd was even singing along with his music. In English, he says he wants to be the champion. Regal makes his way to the stage and makes the match for TakeOver.
– No Way Jose beat Johnny Vandal
Showcase match for Jose who was incredibly over. NWJ won with his punch and cobra clutch slam.
– Nia Jax beat Carmella and Alexa Bliss in a triple threat for the right to face Asuka at TakeOver
Very good match with Alexa outsmarting the other two. Carmella went for two dives and had her leglock on Alexa before Nia broke it up and hit her big legdrop for the win. Post match, Asuka confronted Nia in the ring and held the title above her head.
– In ring promo by The Revival who say American Alpha are a fine amateur team. They’re interrupted by Ciampa and Gargano who want a match with The Revival. Entertaining stuff, Revival was cleared out of the ring.
– Tye Dillinger beat Buddy Murphy
No Alexa or Blake with Murphy tonight. Big reaction for Dillinger. Murphy tried to work headlocks, yet Dillinger was able to fire up with a superkick and an over the knee neckbreaker for the win.
– Austin Aries beat Elias Samson
As always, major heat on The Drifter with long booing throughout his promo. Aries won via Last chancery submission. Post match, he cut a promo saying he will beat Nakamura.
– Regal is out for the women’s title match contract signing. Nia puts down Asuka and says she broke Bayley. Asuka said “You talk too much” then went off in Japanese to a huge pop. A brawl broke out and Nia powerbombed Asuka who stayed down and sold in the go home angle.
– Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa beat The Revival
Great match with a big upset surprise win when Gargano hit a superplex. Post match, The Revival beat down the indie darlings before Alpha made the save. Alpha and Revival brawled for a long time with Alpha clearing house.
– Adrienne Reese beat Nikki Storm
This probably doesn’t make tv. It was a fun match with the top rope spinning stunner as the amazing finish.
– Dark Match: Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura beat Tye Dillinger and NXT Champion Samoa Joe
We got a great dark match main event to send the crowd home happy. Amazing reactions for Shinsuke and Finn with a lot of fun spots and Shinsuke being the star that he is. Shinsuke pins Joe with the Kinshasa.
