Des Moines, Iowa: – MWA World Heavyweight Champion Dave Levin beat Ray Steele to capture the National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Title 2 out 3 falls – Tom Zaharias beat Jack Dillon in 2 out of 3 falls
1946
Houston, Texas: – Buddy Rogers defeated Lou Thesz to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title
1951
Kansas City, Kansas: – Dennis Clary defeated Sonny Myers to win the Central States Title
1961
Fargo, North Dakota: – In a Non Title match; Bob Geigel beat AWA Champion Verne Gagne
1968
Atlanta, Georgia: – The Big O (Johnny Valentine under a mask) defeated Mr. Wrestling to win the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title
1969
Minneapolis, Minnesota: – The Crusher & Bill Watts beat Mad Dog Vachon & Butcher Vachon – Dr X beat Pampero Firpo
1973
Kansas City, Kansas: – Black Angus defeated Bob Brown – Mike George defeated Argentina Zuma – Omar Atlas defeated Jim Dalton – Harley Race defeated L.D. Lewis – Danny Little Bear defeated Bob Orton via DQ – Togo the Great & Tokyo Joe defeated Bob Geigel & Tex McKenzie
1974
Rockford, Illinois: – The Crusher & Wahoo McDaniel beat Larry Heiniemi & Buddy Wolff – Baron Von Raschke beat Geoff Portz
1975
St. Paul, Minnesota: – Superstar Billy Graham & Dusty Rhodes beat Baron Von Raschke & Horst Hoffman in a Loaded Glove Match – Ivan Putski beat Bobby Heenan – Khosrow Vaziri (Iron Sheik) beat Rock Riddle – Betty Niccoli beat Miss Pamela – Jim Brunzell beat Geoff Portz
1980
Greensboro, North Carolina: – Rick Steamboat & Jay Youngblood defeated Ray Stevens & Greg Valentine for the NWA World Tag Team Title
1981
St. Paul, Minnesota: – AWA World Champion Verne Gagne defeated Nick Bockwinkel (After the match, Verne Gagne announced he was retiring as AWA World Heavyweight Champion. Verne vacated the title and it would later be awarded to number-one contender Nick Bockwinkel) – Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell & Buck Zumhofe beat Ray Stevens & Pat Patterson & Bobby Heenan – Posedown: The Crusher beat Jesse Ventura – Baron Von Raschke beat John Studd – Tito Santana no contest Sheik Adnan – Larry Hennig beat Adrian Adonis – Brad Rheingans drew Jerry Blackwell
1982
Greenville, North Carolina: – Jack Brisco defeated Roddy Piper to win the Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Title
1985
WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event: Uniondale, New York: – Barry Windham, Mike Rotundo & Ricky Steamboat defeated The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff & George “The Animal” Steele – WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan defeated Cowboy Bob Orton via DQ – WWF Women’s Champion Wendi Richter defeated Fabulous Moolah – Junkyard Dog defeated Pete Dougherty
1999
Orlando, Florida: – Debra defeated Sable for the WWF Women’s Title
On Tuesday, WWE announced a profit increase but a revenue decrease from the first quarter of this year as compared to last year.
Profits are up $13.9 million for Q1 2016 as compared to $9.8 million for Q1 2015 while revenue finished at $171 million for Q1 2016, down from the $176.2 million they did in Q1 2015.
The decrease in revenue year to year can be completely attributed to WrestleMania being in the first quarter last year and second quarter this year. That significantly decreased live event revenue in taking out the WrestleMania gate, as well as merchandise revenue.
Given that, actual 2016 Q2 revenue should be up probably $40 million or more as compared to last year, but WWE indicated that second quarter profits would actually be lower than last year. However, they have projected an increase for 2016 as a whole.
While not factoring in the WWE Network, the first quarter was a break-even proposition based on Wrestlemania. Mania had no impact on the profitability year-to-year, but the event and week itself generated a total of $24.9 million. If you factor that out, the first quarter revenue would have been $151.3 million if you’re doing a fair comparision.
Other Notes
There were not a lot of notes coming from the call, since the key figure, network subscribers, was covered in the call after WrestleMania.
The WWE has greatly changed the way it is reporting data, no longer featuring PPV, home video and web merchandise sales in the key performance indicators, and focusing on social media and global video views, as well as the Network and live attendance.
When asked how WrestleMania did on PPV this year, either George Barrios didn’t understand the question or didn’t answer it because he gave numbers of what the show used to do. The person asking ended up moving to the next question instead of following up.
Questions about tiered network subscriptions or whether Raw or Smackdown would be put on the Network during the same week of airing were vaguely answered, with Barrios and company saying they won’t discuss the nature of TV contracts.
PPV and home video have been greatly declining categories while merchandise has been greatly increasing.
Injuries, Shane & New Stars
Vince McMahon noted that due to injuries, they made chicken salad out of the show, and said that within the next 30 days, many stars will be returning, noting in particular Seth Rollins, John Cena, Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt. They talked about adding 13 new stars to the main roster and credited NXT, although the new stars are a mix of outside wrestlers like A.J. Styles, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows with people like Baron Corbin, Enzo, Cass, and The Vaudevillains who did come via the NXT pipeline.
McMahon said that the injury rate isn’t any higher than before, and just said that the news gets out more, and most injuries are three to four month injuries. He said that the game isn’t any more risky and talked about being “well ahead of everyone else” when it comes to concussion treatment.
Shane McMahon’s name came up and Vince talked of the great job he’s done as talent, but it was made clear he was working only in a talent capacity.
Barrios talked about long-term strategy such as heavy investments in China that they hope pay off in the long run. He said that while profits were up over last year in the current quarter, a key point was the nature of the video game contract and that more royalties were paid this quarter than at the same time last year. He noted that would even out, and that the second quarter profit margin would be down from last year. He expects after six months, things would be even. He said they expect growth in profits in quarters three and four.
The company talked OIBDA expectations of $70-$85 million, and indicated more at the high end of that level. Last year’s total was $69 million.
Social Media
What ended up as a key talking point is that when it comes to social media and videos viewed, 70 to 80 percent comes from overseas, while when it comes to revenues, that number is reversed. They were asked if so much social media and video viewing, metrics they are pushing as the most important, would indicate why overseas isn’t generating revenue like stateside. Laura Martin, who has been a strong company backer, even said she wondered if those statistics are meaningless if they aren’t driving revenue.
Barrios, in short form, talked about it as a long term strategy, noting in particular huge consumption in India but that the network, for example, hasn’t done big numbers there.
They indicated, without actually saying it, that 70 to 75 percent of the free subscribers during the WrestleMania ramp up period have been converted to paid subscribers and that they should average 1.5 million paid during the quarter.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back today to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA including a full Raw report from Monday night, THE NEW ERA, THE CLUB and more, ROH and Lucha Underground tapings, back issue thoughts regarding Dave and Vince McMahon and FOX, Mayweather and McGregor, questions and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
– Kamaitachi and Will Ferrara started the night with a web exclusive match
Crowd didn’t seem to care for Ferrara all that much, but Kamanitachi got a nice reception. Fun opener. Both guys worked quick. Kamaitachi won with a modified Air Raid Crash. Great finisher.
– They announced that the show was being taped for VOD and DVD, so apparently these matches won’t be featured on ROH TV. Bobby Cruise got the crowd pumped up for the opener.
– Bullet Club came out, with their newest member Adam Cole, who may have been the most popular American wrestler on the show tonight.
Standard BC promo work. Called out the Briscoes, MCMG, Cabana, and Lethal. Briscoes and MCMG come out, call off their tag match and challenge Bullet Club. Cole reminds them they need a 5th man. Cue Adam Page who comes out and offers to be the 5th to the ROH team and demands the match start immediately. BC retreats, Nick Jackson says they didn’t come here to curtain jerk, and they’d see each other in the main event. Solid opening segment, crowd seemed to eat it up.
– Matt Sydal and ACH beat Silas Young and the Beer City Bruiser
Sydal and ACH worked as underdogs while Silas and Bruiser played bullies. Okay stuff overall, but ACH is a much better act in person than he is on TV in my opinion. His dive to the outside using the second rope as a spring is very impressive. ACH gets the pin with a 450, and in the post match announces that he’s learned a lot from Sydal, but has to find his own path now. Sydal and ACH split amicably to a lukewarm reaction.
– Roddy Strong vs. Lio Rush
Rush came out, followed by Strong, who got a good pop. Roderick announced that Lio was replacing the injured Jushin Liger, to the displeasure of much of the crowd. Roderick worked as a full blown heel, bullying the smaller Rush. Rush did get some sneaky offense in, and looked impressive throughout. A fun spot had Lio catching Roddy in a rear naked choke, only for Roddy to run back first into the turnbuckle.
Lio climbed back on and they repeated the spot twice more. Ultimately, Roderick won by turning a guillotine into the End of Heartache, and getting the pin. Roddy added a post match beatdown for good measure, only for Liger to make the save, forcing Roddy to retreat. Liger took a position at the commentary desk for the next couple matches.
– ROH Champions War Machine beat Kazuchika Okada and Gedo
Okada with the biggest pop of the night thus far. Seemed like a significant portion of the crowd was there just to see him. War Machine, on the other hand, people seemed indifferent on. Rowe and Hanson got on the mic, and announced they were putting the belts on the line against Okada and Gedo. War Machine worked as heels (kinda), beating down the smaller Gedo before Okada could get a hot tag. In the end, Okada hit the Rainmaker on Rowe but was not the legal man. Hanson cleared Okada out of the ring and hit Gedo with a leg lariat for the win.
Post match, The Addiction, who were not announced, hit the ring, and challenged War Machine to a title match in NYC Saturday night. War Machine declined, and offered instead to put the belts on the line tonight. Crowd was excited for another title match.
– Kushida defeated Dalton Castle
People are really into Castle, and his entrance got big cheers. Kushida was also extremely over with the crowd. Funny spot early had Dalton retreating to the corner and being fanned by the Boys, only for Kushida to do the same moments later. They briefly fought over the Boys’ services before getting serious once again. Good chemistry between these two.
– Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin beat the All Night Express
Good match, Elgin seems much less stale with Tanahashi by his side. Tanahashi was by far the most over man in the match. Better than the War Machine/Okada & Gedo match, but not by much. A few miscues by Kenny King that the crowd really got on him for. Finish was dual High Fly Flows by Tanahashi and Elgin, with Elgin getting the pin. Tanahashi was truly the star here. Everything he did looked effortless.
– Tomohiro Ishii pinned Moose
Moose was very over, but did attract some rather vocal detractors. Ishii was well liked, and got a decent reaction. The story of this one was Ishii finding ways to chop down Moose. Moose is much larger in person, and towered over Ishii. I’m not the biggest Ishii fan, but this match was very good. Trading chops, standard headbutts from Ishii (much of the crowd was encouraging Moose to engage Ishii in a battle of headbutts). Moose got the crowd going by swinging Ishii back and forth while standing in the corner of the ring barricades. Huge reaction for Ishii nailing Moose with a superplex. Ishii finally got the win with a brainbuster. After the match, Todd Sinclair ran down and grabbed Nigel McGuiness, who had been on commentary, and brought him to the back. No announcement to the crowd as to what was going on.
– The Addiction defeated War Machine to win the ROH tag titles
Crowd seemed to be 60/40 for The Addiction from the get go. All out brawl to start. First several minutes were spent on the floor, with the ref unable to gain control. War Machine remained dominant for much of the match, until Kaz was able to slip a title belt in the ring and distract the ref, allowing Daniels to hit Rowe with the belt. Ref was distracted for too long and Rowe kicked out at 2. Kaz tried the same routine, but Daniels got caught. While the ref returned the belt to ringside, Kaz hit Rowe with a chain made of bullets (bandoleer?), allowing Daniels to get the pin. New champs. Crowd was hot for the finish. Nobody in the room seemed to expect it.
– Nigel returned to commentary after the Tag Title Match
– ReDragon beat IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito and ROH World Champion Jay Lethal
All 4 men were great, but Naito in particular stood out from the beginning, starting with a great entrance (including a belt toss). Comedy spot early had O’Reilly stomping Lethal’s fingers repeatedly, prompting Taeler Hendrix to kiss Lethal’s hand to alleviate the pain. O’Reilly gave Naito the same treatment, but when Naito asked Hendrix for the same treatment she gave Lethal, Lethal intervened. Naito eventually had a fan in the front row kiss his hand, to quite the reaction. Naito teased a dive to the outside, only to roll into his signature “I don’t give a sh*t” pose. Both teams went back and forth, lots of great action all around, too much to recount.
Finish had Lethal and Naito intercommunicating in the ring, allowing O’Reilly to take advantage and make a hot comeback. Bobby Fish took out Naito by running him into the barricade, before hitting Chasing the Dragon with O’Reilly to get the pin on Lethal. Seemed to be setting up a O’Reilly/Lethal title match. After the pin, Naito entered the ring with a chair, only to sit down in it rather than take out ReDragon. Naito treated us to a second belt toss, and seemed very displeased with Lethal. Seeds planted for a match between these too at some point as well. Strongly recommend seeing this match when it becomes available.
– Bullet Club vs. MCMG/Briscoes/Colt Cabana
Finally, Bullet Club came out for the main event. Noticeable change in the audio at this point in the night, so this match may have been shot for TV. Bucks and Cole were more over than Guerrillas of Destiny, but the latter seemed to win the crowd over by the end. Briscoes and MCMG out, only for Adam Cole to tell them that the Superkick Party started early in the back, and Adam Page can’t make it to the ring anymore. Cue Bullet Club beat down. The Bucks and Guerrillas divide and conquer, each taking a man to a corner on the outside barricades.
Adam Cole begins “Story Time with Adam Cole” only to be interrupted by Colt Cabana, who got arguably the biggest pop of the night. 10 man tag was complete chaos, but a lot of fun. Guerrillas and Briscoes seem to click with one another. Bucks taunted MCMG about TNA. Everyone got their signature spots in, except for the Guerrillas who don’t seem to have any yet.
Ref got taken out by an errant superkick from one of the Bucks. This allowed Adam Page to hit the ring, who immediatly turned on the faces and joined Bullet Club. Page put Jay Bricscoe through the ringside table with a keeling reverse belly to back piledriver. Superkicks for everyone. IndyTaker from the inside to the outside on one of the Machine Guns. Triple Superkick from Cole and the Bucks to Mark Briscoe for the finish. Post match, Page and Bullet Club hung Chris Sabin from the ring with a noose. Got decent heat.
BC left through the crowd and stood on the bar to celebrate. Cabana cut a defiant promo on the Bullet Club to end the show.
Chhristopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian (aka The Addiction) captured the ROH tag team titles Monday night in Dearborn, MI in an impromptu match with War Machine. The match was part of their latest set of TV tapings.
The night stared with Machine defending the titles against Kazuchika Okada & Gedo in what was originally a non-title match. They agreed to put the belts on the line, and won when Hanson pinned Gedo, although Okada used the Rainmaker on Rowe at the same time as the finish.
The Addiction then came out and said that War Machine were fraudulent champions because they were actually the best team in ROH. Daniels claimed they never got a rematch when they lost the titles and were undefeated in ROH — easy heat since they lost Sunday night on PPV. They demanded a title shot on the May 14th show in New York.
Hanson then said that The Addiction hadn’t won a match in months, and they’ve hurt Lio Rush, Jushin Liger and Cheeseburger. They said The Addiction can get a title shot, but it’s tonight, take it or leave it. Then, they lost the belts.
The Big Takeaway: Vince McMahon took one look at a 7-footer the day after WrestleMania. Six weeks later, even without one singles match, he main evented Raw. That’s the position that Big Cass found himself in against Chris Jericho, though the match itself didn’t happen and Cass was only a bit player in the final segment. Show had a solid angle between Roman Reigns and A.J. Styles. Match of the night was Sami Zayn vs. The Miz.
Chris Jericho came out for the Highlight Reel.
He claimed Dean Ambrose was supposed to be his guest tonight, but after Jericho attacked him with Mitch the Plant last week, Ambrose suffered whiplish, vertigo and a bulging disc. Jericho said Ambrose may not be in the WWE for a long, long time. Jericho uncovered the remains of Mitch the Potted Plant, which got a “Mitch” chant. Let the record show a root from the dirt resting on a stool is more over than the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
Jericho said Mitch and Ambrose had a lot in common. They both came to the WWE to entertain people, but both underestimated the tsunami known as Chris Jericho. Now, like Mitch, Ambrose is a shattered mess of dust and bones waiting for someone to put him back together again. Jericho showed tweets from fans exressing sorrow over Mitch’s death. Jericho took credit for putting Ambrose in a St. Louis hospital, and claimed Mitch had more charisma than Ambrose. Jericho could glue Mitch together, glue it back together, sell it to a flea market for $12 and it would still be worth more than Ambrose. Jericho said he understands why fans relate to Ambrose, because Ambrose was a loser and a slob just like the fans.
Jericho proclaimed himself the Hailey’s Comet of the WWE, because talent like him comes around once every 76 years. He invited fans to drink in the Gift of Jericho and posed.
Big Cass came out without Enzo Amore. Cass said if this was the Gift of Jericho, he better have a receipt because he wanted his money back. Cass said Jericho was one of the greatest of all time, but Jericho didn’t understand this was the new era. Cass said the phrase “We have arrived” wasn’t a cry for attention, it was a warning. Cass said “I have arrived” and Jericho better get out of his way or he would run through Jericho. Jericho said Cass should run to the hospiital and check on his buddy “Enzo Annoying.” Jericho claimed he heard Enzo was staying at the same hospital as Ambrose. Too bad the New Day showed Amore checking out of the hospital last week. Cass challenged him to a fight.
Jericho reminded Cass he was the best in the world at what he does. Cass said he was 7 feet tall and the crowd added in “And you can’t teach that.” Jericho didn’t the usual heel routine of walking off. Cass gave him the “Sawft” catchphrase. Jericho jumped on the apron, but Cass gave him the big boot to the floor. Michael Cole and Byron Saxton couldn’t stop talking about how Cass was 7-feet tall. It looks like they’re putting the wheels in motion already for Cass to become a singles star, which is par for the Vince McMahon-owned course.
– Jericho walked up to Stephanie McMahon for our weekly emasculation of talent. Jericho said Shane McMahon was responsible for the new era of Raw, and he and Stephanie could help destroy it. Stephanie was a babyface this time, ordering Jericho to face Cass in the main event, then ordering him never to put a wedge between her and her brother. Like there wasn’t a wedge between them already. Are we supposed to forget Stephanie’s interviews she cut on Shane leading up to the WrestleMania match, as well as the match itself?
Baron Corbin did an inset promo saying he wasn’t part of the New Era, he was only out for himself.
Baron Corbin defeated Dolph Ziggler (8:32)
Corbin won with the End of Days. Earlier, Dolph Ziggler kicked out of the Deep 6. Ziggler got a near fall with a Famouser in a good match.
– Charlotte and Ric Flair walked up to Shane McMahon. Flair congratulated Shane for his match at WrestleMania and claimed Shane’s top of the cage elbow against Undertaker was the greatest move he had ever seen. Imagine if Shane had actually hit the move. Charlotte asked Shane to reverse Stephanie’s decision to ban Flair from ringside at Extreme Rules. Not only did Shane not reverse the decision, but said Flair was banned from ringside tonight.
– A.J. Styles, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, now known as “The Club,” did an interview with Jojo. Styles brought up being power bombed by Roman Reigns onto the table last week. Styles said the Club is officially back together again tonight, but made it clear he would defeat Reigns on his own at Extreme Rules.
R-Truth defeated Fandango (2:11)
R-Truth won with the Truth Detector. The deal is Goldust and Fandango have formed a tag team called “Goldango.” Tyler Breeze and Truth responded by forming a team called “The Gorgeous Truth” in an attempt for Goldust and Truth to make each other jealous. Just before the finish, Fandango pushed Truth into Breeze, who didn’t look happy with Truth despite his partner winning. Announcers were so bored with the match, JBL mentioned Ozzy Osbourne’s hair stylist. Michael Cole acted like he had no idea what he was talking about and asked how Sharon would react to that, apparently oblivious to reports that Ozzy and Sharon have split.
– Kevin Owens, the Miz and Cesaro were backstage with Stephanie and Shane. Stephanie spoke up and said they would face each other for Miz’s Intercontinental Championship at Extreme Rules. Miz objected because he could lose his championship without getting pinned. Stephanie said no one asked him what he thought. Sami Zayn walked in and objected, saying he deserves an opportunity. Zayn challenged Miz to a match tonight, and if Zayn wins, then the Extreme Rules match becomes a four-way.
Shane and Stephanie were fine with it, despite Miz’s objections. Stephanie then dismissed everyone. Stephanie and Shane then had a moment of togetherness, complimenting each other over how they handled the situation. I hope the babyface outsmarts the Authority before the payoff of this Stephanie-Shane angle. Otherwise, Shane is going to look some kind of bad when Stephanie inevitably turns on him.
Paige defeated Charlotte (C) in a nontitle match (7:42)
Overloaded booking at the finish. Charlotte tried to cradle Paige with her feet on the rope. Natalya jumped on the apron. Flair, despite being barred from ringside, ran out. Paige was distracted. This brought out Shane, who had a team of officials bring Flair to the back. With all of this going on, Paige pinned Charlotte with a schoolgirl cradle. Charlotte looked distraught that she may not be able to beat Natalya at Extreme Rules without her father at ringside.
Sami Zayn defeated the Miz (C) in a nontitle match
A great performance by Zayn, who won with the Helluva Kick. Miz worked over Zayn’s right knee, and the crowd was right behind up, particularly after Miz put on the Figure Four. Miz tried to get the pin on a rollup using the ropes, but the referee caught him. Zayn made his comeback with the Blue Thunder Bomb. A very good match. Zayn is now in the fatal four-way for the I-C title at Extreme Rules.
– Becky Lynch was asked by Renee Young about Emma thumbing her in the eye last week. Emma claimed it was accidental. Lynch said it was on purpose. Emma walked up and said it was just like Lynch to blame her loss on other people. Then Dana Brooke, making her Raw debut, snuck up on Lynch and jumped her from behind. Emma and Brooke talked about being a team on NXT and talked about beating up Lynch just like it was the old days. Brooke teased giving Lynch another cheap shot, but held up.
– Darren Young did a vignette said life is what you make it, and said he needed a person in his life to guide him. Bob Backlund popped up on a split-screen. Young asked him to be his life coach. Backlund said he would be Young’s wrestling coach. Young said he didn’t need a wrestling coach, he needed a life coach. Backlund interrupted him and said he’s never been a life coach before, but the first thing Young needs to understand is “Wrestling is Life.” Then came a onscreen promo lifted directly from Donald Trump’s campaign, entitled “Making Darren Young great again.”
– Xavier Woods hosted an episode of “Up Up Down Down,” featuring Ziggler. It was a product placement for Pizza Hut. Big E. took two slices, leaving Ziggler empty handed, which is a metaphor for his year so far.
– Zack Ryder told Shane the ladder match at WrestleMania was proof he belonged in the WWE. Owens walked in and accused Shane of handing Zayn a chance at the Intercontinental Championship, and said Shane was getting in a habit of handing title shots to people who are undeserving. Ryder mentioned he beat Owens at WrestleMania. Owens correctly mentioned that Ryder didn’t beat him. Ryder brought up being in the Fatal Fourway match at Extreme Rules. Shane ordered Owens would face Ryder in a match tonight, and if Owens lost, he would lose his spot in the Fourway at Extreme Rules.
– Reigns and the Usos were hanging out backstage. Reigns said tonight was about beating the Club and representing the Family (the name for their team) to the fullest in an elimination match. Reigns said they would eliminate Anderson and Gallows as a team, but Reigns would take care of Styles by himself.
Sin Cara defeated Rusev (3:45)
Sin Cara won after another distraction finish. Rusev got out of the way of a senton and hit a thrust kick. He called for the Accolade, but Kalisto jumped on the apron. For some reason, Lana jumped on the apron, as well. Rusev got distracted by all this and Cara pinned him with a schoolboy cradle for the same finish we saw in Charlotte’s match. Kalisto did a Facebook interview. It was like he was reading from the Crash Davis school of interviews. He might as well have said “I just want to give it my best shot and good lord willing, it will work out. I’m just happy to be here.” In fact, that wasn’t far from what he did say.
– The final Shining Stars of the Caribbean vignette arrive. They will arrive next week to remind us that, somehow, Primo and Epico have jobs and Damien Sandow doesn’t.
The Family defeated The Club in an elimination match (11:39)
Styles was disqualified after Anderson hit Reigns with a chair outside the ring. The Club got the man advantage when Anderson pinned Jey Uso with a schoolboy cradle at 2:38. Jimmy Uso evened things up at 4:42 by pinning Anderson with a small package. Styles pinned Jey Uso during a commercial break with the Phenomenal Firearm. Reigns made it a 1-on-1 match with Styles when he pinned Gallows at 9:17.
The Usos ran down after the DQ and jumped Anderson and Gallows, who threw the Usos out of the ring. Reigns recovered to give Anderson and Gallows spears. This led to a terrific staredown between Reigns and Styles that was so solid, it had portions of the crowd chanting for Reigns. Reigns had a chair as he gazed at Styles, who was standing on the apron ready to deliver the Phenomenal Forearm. Reigns said he didn’t need to chair to beat up Styles and tossed it aside. Styles threw the chair back at him.
When Reigns picked it up, Styles did a springboard, but Reigns picked up the chair, so Styles rolled out of the ring. Styles reminded Reigns the chair would be fair game when they meet at Extreme Rules. This was very well laid out. Of all the times not to have Reigns in the main event segment, it came during his best angle of the year.
Kevin Owens defeated Zack Ryder (4:03)
Owens won with the Pop-Up Power Bomb. Ryder’s biggest spot was hitting the Randy Savage Elbow for a near fall. Owens retains his spot for the I-C title fourway at Extreme Rules
– Cass did an interview with Young. More scripted crap that this company just can’t drag themselves away from. Cass dedicated the match to Amore.
– Former WWE writer Freddie Prinze Jr. did a promo for the new show “First Impressions,” then started chanting for the New Day. This led to New Day coming out. The Vaudevillains did an insert promo saying they would take the tag team championships from New Day at Extreme Rules. New Day did a promo where they were confused about the Vaudevillains name, they held up a giant Booty-O, and got the crowd to chant “All hail to Booty-Ohhh.” Big E. said the Vaudevillains were from a by-gone era, an era that wasn’t very good for people like us: people who used smart phones. It led to them getting the crowd to chant “New Day Rocks.”
The Dudley Boyz defeated the New Day (C) in a nontitle match (5:08)
Aiden English and Simon Gotch ran down to jump Woods, leading to Big E. getting involved. In the midst of all this, Devon Dudley pinned Kofi Kingston with a short-armed clothesline. Postmatch, the Vaudevillains gave Kingston the Whirling Dervish.
The main event match between Jericho-Cass, which was promoted for two hours, never got going.
Cass made his ring entrance. Jericho was in the midst of his entrance when, just as his jacket started to lite up in the dark, someone could be seen jumping him. That person put on Jericho’s jacket, it lit up, then the mystery figure got in the ring. It was Ambrose, who started to tear up the jacket. Jericho ran down and put the fists to Ambrose. Jericho was incensed his jacket was destroyed and started to leave, but Cass blocked his path and threw him in the ring. Ambrose gave Jericho Dirty Deeds, then pulled out a pair of scissors and tore the jacket into shreds. Some of the bulbs and fuses that light the jacket starting blowing, which made for an interesting visual. Jericho was left screaming at Ambrose about how his $15,000 jacket was ruined.
Shane and Stephanie watched this scene from backstage. They each complimented the other about how good a job they had done throughout the night. Stephanie suggested their next step should be an episode of “Ride Along,” but Shane didn’t think they were ready for that. Shane said goodnight. As Shane walked away, Stephanie looked at the framed photo of Shane as a toddler with Vince McMahon before they went to his first wrestling show in Worcester, Mass. She had a blank look on her face, then she vaguely grinned.
SUMMARY:
The main programs of Reigns-Styles and Jericho-Ambrose were built very well tonight. This was an interesting show in terms of hour structure and how it relates to ratings. Putting Cass in the main event slot is just Vince’s theory of relying on the big guys when the chips are down. It’s too early to be breaking up the Enzo & Cass tag team, and clearly the company thought building Cass for the main event was a better idea than actually having him wrestle in it. Unfortunately, the words “New era” have now entered the dreaded WWE lexicon of staged terms that come off as lame, joining such hits as “Diva Revolution,” “WWE Universe” and “WWE Superstar.” And it’s only going to grow over time.
In the week since Hulk Hogan sued Gawker again, albeit as a co-defendant of other parties, there’s been a lot of speculation about what he’s actually trying to do, including in the many mainstream stories about the new case. Opinions were mixed, to say the least.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today with tons to discuss including notes on the ROH PPV last night with texts from those attending live, the main event angle, Bryan and Jim are running for President in 2016, Raw preview for Monday night, how to pronounce WORDS and so much more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Eugene, Oregon: – Herb Parks defeated Prince Ilaki for the Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight Title
1950
San Fransisco, California: – Ben and Mike Sharpe defeated Ray Eckert and Hard Boiled Haggerty to win the San Francisco NWA World Tag Team Titles
1951
Montreal, Quebec, Canada: – Buddy Rogers defeated Bobby Managoff to win the Montreal Athletic Commission’s World Heavyweight Title
1957
Stockton, California: – Ben and Mike Sharpe defeated Leo Nomellini and Enrique Torres for the San Francisco NWA World Tag Team Title
1957
Amarillo, Texas: – Bob Geigel defeated Don Curtis to win the Amarillo NWA North American Heavyweight Title
Toronto, Ontario, Canada: – Pat O’Connor and Whipper Billy Watson defeated Bill and Ed Miller for the NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Title
1958
Houston, Texas: – El Medico defeated Pepper Gomez to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title
1961
Macon, Georgia: – Guy Mitchell and Bob Rasmussen defeated Gypsy Joe and Skull Murphy to win the Georgia NWA Southern Tag Team Title
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: – John DePaulo and Stan Mykietowich defeated Frenchy Champagne and Ole Olsen in Winnipeg, Manitoba to win the Madison Wrestling Club Tag Team Title
1963
Kansas City, Kansas: – United States Heavyweight Champion Bob Geigel defeated Pat O’Connor
1966
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: – Tony Borne and John Tolos defeated Paddy Barrett and Tom Geohagen for the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Title i
1967
Little Rock, Arkansas: – Jack Brisco and Gorgeous George, Jr. defeated The Assassins to win the Tri-State NWA United States Tag Team Title
Tampa, Florida: – Jose Lothario and Wahoo McDaniel defeated Rocket and Sputnik Monroe for the Florida NWA World Tag Team Title
1968
Kansas City, Kansas: – Jack the Ripper & Baron Von Heisinger defeated Bobby Shane & The Viking – Steve Bolus defeated Stan the Moose – Carmen Monge & Jean Antone defeated Kay Noble & Betty Niccoli – Roger Kirby defeated Klondike Bill – Central States Tag Team Title: Ronnie Etchison & Sonny Myers defeated Bob Geigel & Bob Brown in three falls to win the titles
1969
Sydney, Australia: Mario Milano defeated The Spoiler (Don Jardine) for the International Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Title
1972
Tampa, Florida: – Boris Malenko and Bob Roop defeated Bobby Shane and Bearcat Wright for the NWA Florida Tag Team Title
Macon, Georgia: – The Assassins (Jody Hamilton and Tom Renesto) defeated NWA Macon Tag Team Champions Bob Armstrong and Bill Dromo to win the title
Portland, Oregon: – The Royal Kangaroos (Jonathan Boyd and Norman Frederick Charles) won the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title by defeating Tony Borne and Moondog Mayne
1973
Nashville, Tennessee: – Jerry Lawler and Jim White defeated Jackie Fargo and Jerry Jarrett for the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Title
Rockford, Illinois: – Ric Flair went to a time limit draw with Greg Gagne
1975
Tokyo, Japan: – PWF Heavyweight Champion Giant Baba and WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino wrestled to a no contest
Atlanta, Georgia: – Bob Armstrong and Robert Fuller defeated NWA Georgia Tag Team Champions Assassin #2 and Toru Tanaka (with Rock Hunter) to win the title
Dothan, Alabama: J.C. Dykes defeated Dick Dunn for the NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title
Meridian, Mississippi: – Big Bad John defeated Rip Tyler to win the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title
Sydney, Australia: The Missouri Mauler and Steve Rackman defeated Ron Miller and Larry O’Day for the NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Title
1980
Denver, Colorado: – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Mad Dog Vachon – AWA Tag Team Champions Verne Gagne & Mad Dog Vachon beat Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura
1981
Bayamon, Puerto Rico: – Carlos Colón defeated Killer Karl Krupp to win the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title and WWC North American Heavyweight Title
1983
Memphis, Tennessee: – Dutch Mantel defeated Bill Dundee to win the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1984
Miami, Florida: – Dennis Brown defeated Mike Fever in a $2,000 bonus match – Kevin Sullivan defeated Mike Davis – Superstar Billy Graham defeated Chief Joe Lightfoot in a no-disqualification match – Mike Graham and Mike Rotundo defeated Chavo and Hector Guerrero in a best-of-three falls match – Kevin Sullivan defeated Dennis Brown – Blackjack Mulligan and Barry Windham defeated NWA Florida United States Tag Team Champions and NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Champion Ron Bass and NWA Florida Brass Knuckles Champion Black Bart – Dusty Rhodes defeated The Purple Haze in 14 seconds in a loser leaves town match
1987
Memphis, Tennessee: – Badd Company (Paul Diamond and Pat Tanaka) defeated Steve Keirn and Mark Starr for the CWA/AWA International Tag Team Title
St. Petersburg, Florida: – Jimmy Valiant defeated Colt Steele – Bob & Brad Armstrong defeated the MOD Squad – Mke Graham defeated Dory Funk Jr – Florida Heavyweight Champion Mike Rotundo defeated Kevin Sullivan – Jimmy Garvin defeated Teijo Khan – NWA Florida Tag Team Champions Steve Kiern & Stan Lane defeated the MOD Squad – Barry Windham & Ed Gantner defeated Dory Funk Jr. & the Tahitian Prince – The Road Warriors fought NWA World Tag Team Champions Rick Rude & Manny Fernandez (w/ Paul Jones) to a double disqualification – Dusty Rhodes defeated NWA World Champion Ric Flair via disqualification
1988
Memphis, Tennessee: – Jerry Lawler defeated AWA World Heavyweight Champion Curt Hennig to win the title – Brickhouse Brown defeated The Nightmare – Mark Starr and Scott Steiner defeated Doug and Tommy Gilbert – AWA World Tag Team Champions Badd Company (Paul Diamond and Pat Tanaka) defeated Tom Brandi and Billy Travis – The Cuban Assassins defeated The Bruise Brothers (Don and Ron Harris) – Mike Graham and Steve Keirn defeated CWA Heavyweight Champion Max Pain and Gary Young – Jerry Jarrett and Robert Fuller fought to a double-disqualification – Bill Dundee defeated Eddie Gilbert
1989
Tampa, Florida: – Mike Graham and Dustin Rhodes defeated Southern Force (Black Bart and Bobby Jaggers) for the NWA Florida Tag Team Title
1992
Hamburg, Pennsylvania: – The Sioux War Party (Dancing Wolf and White Cloud) defeated The Canadians in the finals of an eight-team tournament to win the vacant IWCCW Tag Team Title
Cloverdale, British Columbia, Canada: – Ole Olson defeated Moondog Moretti to win the West Coast Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Title
1993
Saitama, Japan: – The Head Hunters defeated Yukihiro Kanemura and Miguel Pérez, Jr. in the finals of a four-team tournament to win the vacant W*ING World Tag Team Title – El Texano won the WWC/W*ING World Junior Heavyweight Title from Masayoshi Motegi
SMW Volunteer Slam II: Knoxville, Tennessee: – Robert Gibson defeated The Tazmaniac – Killer Kyle defeated Robert Fuller by disqualification – SMW Television Champion Brian Lee defeated SMW Tag Team Champion Stan Lane – Kevin Sullivan defeated Jimmy Golden – SMW Tag Team Champion Tom Prichard defeated Ricky Morton – SMW Heavyweight Champion Tracy Smothers defeated The Dirty White Boy in a “coward waves the flag” match to retain the title – Robert Fuller, Jimmy Golden, SMW Television Champion Brian Lee and The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton) defeated SMW Tag Team Champions The Heavenly Bodies (Stan Lane and Tom Prichard), Killer Kyle, Kevin Sullivan and The Tazmaniac in a steel cage match
1994
Memphis, Tennessee: – Brian Christopher defeated Doug Gilbert in a hair vs. title match to win the USWA Heavyweight Title
1999
WCW Slamboree: St. Louis, Missouri: – Raven and Saturn defeated Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko (with Arn Anderson) and WCW World Tag Team Champions Billy Kidman & Rey Mysterio in a three-way match to win the title – Konnan pinned Stevie Ray (with Horace Hogan and Vincent) – Bam Bam Bigelow pinned Brian Knobbs in a hardcore match – Rick Steiner pinned WCW World Television Champion Booker T after a diving bulldog to win the title – Gorgeous George (with Madusa, Miss Madness and Randy Savage) pinned Charles Robinson (with Asya and Ric Flair) – WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Scott Steiner defeated Buff Bagwell – Roddy Piper defeated Ric Flair (with Arn Anderson and Asya) by disqualification – Sting fought Goldberg to a no-contest – Kevin Nash pinned WCW World Heavyweight Champion Diamond Dallas Page to win the title
2003
Orlando, Florida: – Simon Diamond and CW Anderson defeated PJ Friedman and Steve Williams in a tournament final to become the first MLW Global Crown Tag Team champions
2006
Cincinnati, Ohio: – Jon Moxley defeated Pepper Parks for the Heartland Wrestling Association Heavyweight Title
2007
Louisville, Kentucky: – Paul Burchill defeated OVW Heavyweight Champion Idol Stevens to win the title
Submitted by James Girouard from the Denny Sanford Premier Center
– Dolph Ziggler b. Baron Corbin with a superkick and zig zag
Surprisingly good match. From a mechanical perspective, Corbin is much improved from where he was even a year ago.
– Titus O’Neil b. Fandango with a powerbomb
Fandango attacked Titus before the bell. Match itself probably went about a minute. Not much to it.
– WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte b. Natayla with a rollup after putting her feet on the ropes
Other than one or two mistimed spots early, the work was very good. However, the ring announcer (Eden Stiles) did ask the crowd before the match if they “wanted to see some beautiful women in the ring” so apparently old stereotypes die hard.
– Sami Zayn b. Stardust with the Blue Thunder bomb
Stardust stalled for most of the match and got quite a bit of heat. Zayn had a loyal, vocal minority really into him but Stardust was more over as a heel than Zayn was as a face. Match was fine, nothing special.
– AJ Styles b. Kevin Owens with the Phenomenal Forearm
Very good match, best of the night. Owens got a lot of heel heat early but was so great that as the match wore on he was getting as many cheers as boos. AJ’s in-ring timing is even more amazing live than it is on TV.
– Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows b. Darren Young & Mark Henry with the Magic Killer
Not much to the match, although it was weird to see Mark Henry as the babyface in peril. For not having been on TV very long Anderson & Gallows did get a decent reaction.
– Big Cass b. Primo with his East River Crossing sidewalk slam
Primo jumped Cass as he was cutting a promo before the match, but Cass ended up wiping him out quickly. Crowd was really into the singalong.
– IC Champion Miz (w/Maryse) b. Cesaro after throwing him into an exposed turnbuckle
Miz got tremendous heel heat from the second he walked out from the curtain until the match was over. Match was all sorts of overbooked with run-ins and interference from Maryse.
– WWE Champion Roman Reigns b. Sheamus with the spear
Hard hitting but the two have had much better matches. Both men were heavily booed at the start, but as the match wore on the reactions to Roman were probably 50-50. It is interesting because the last time Reigns was in Sioux Falls against Bray Wyatt he was pretty much universally cheered.
All in all, one of the better house shows I’ve seen from WWE since they started coming back to Sioux Falls regularly about 15 years ago. None of the matches were bad and the stuff that wasn’t as good was kept short. A lively crowd that was into the talent helped.
