Columbus, Ohio: – The Great Mephisto defeated Billy Widener to win the Midwest Wrestling Association World Light Heavyweight Title
1953
Toronto, Ontario, Canada: – Yvon Robert and Whipper Billy Watson defeated Al and Tiny Mills to win the NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Titles
1958
Memphis, Tennessee: – The Corsicans (Jean and Joe) defeated Yvon Robert and Billy Wicks to win the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Titles
1959
Albuquerque, New Mexico: – The Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello and Roy Heffernan) defeated Juan Garcia and Miguel Lopez (Mike DiBiase) for the Rocky Mountain Tag Team Titles
Birmingham, Alabama: – Jesse James defeated Yvon Robert to win the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Title
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: – Frenchy Champagne defeated Bobby Jones to become the first Madison Wrestling Club Heavyweight Champion
1968
Los Angeles, California: – Bobo Brazil defeated Buddy Austin for the World Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title
Dothan, Alabama: – Bobby and Lee Fields defeated Frank and Jack Dalton for the NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Title
1971
Macon, Georgia: – Bob Armstrong and El Mongol defeated The Assassins (Jody Hamilton and Tom Renesto) to win the NWA Macon Tag Team Titles
Honolulu, Hawaii: – Ripper Collins and Mad Dog Mayne defeated Ed Francis and Johnny Barend and Billy Robinson for the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Titles
1973
Calgary, Alberta, Canada: – Abdullah the Butcher won the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title from Geoff Portz
Dothan, Alabama: – The Wrestling Pro won the NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title from Ricky Gibson
1974
Chattanooga, Tennessee: – The Interns (Tom Andrews and Jim Starr) defeated Bearcat Brown and Don Greene to win the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Titles
1976
Vancouver, British Columbia: – Dean Higuchi and George Wells defeated Dale Lewis and Siegfried Steinke for the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Titles
1978
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: – Cage Match: AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Ray Stevens – Larry Hennig & The Crusher beat Super Destroyer & Angelo Mosca – Verne Gagne beat Blackjack Lanza – Rufus R Jones beat Jan Nelson – Bob Orton Jr drew Evan Johnson – Pat Patterson beat Chris Pepper
1979
Austin, Texas: – Tully Blanchard won the Southwest Championship Wrestling Southwest Television Title from Dale Valentine (Buddy Roberts)
Los Angeles, California: – Twin Devil #1 defeated Chavo Guerrero to win the NWA Americas Heavyweight Title
1980
Dallas, Texas: – Kevin Von Erich defeated Ox Baker for the World Class American Heavyweight Title
Bayamon, Puerto Rico: – Carlos Colon defeated Abdullah the Butcher to win the held-up WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title
Atlanta, Georgia: – Austin Idol won the NWA Georgia Television Title from Steve Travis
1981
West Palm Beach, Florida: – Barry Windham defeated Dory Funk, Jr. to win the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title
Fort Worth, Texas: – Raul Mata and Billy White Cloud defeated Raul Castro and Killer Tim Brooks for the World Class Texas Tag Team Titles
Vancouver, British Columbia: – Rip Oliver and Buddy Rose defeated Joe Ventura and Jay Youngblood to win the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Titles
1982
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada: – Bruce Hart defeated The Great Gama to win the Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Title
1986
St. Paul, Minnesota: – Sgt. Slaughter beat AWA Champion Stan Hansen dq – Road Warriors beat Mongolian Stomper & Nord The Barbarian dq – AWA Tag Team Champions Jim Garvin & Steve Regal beat Curt Hennig & Scott Hall – Nick Bockwinkel beat Larry Zbyszko – Curt Hennig beat Earthquake Ferris – Marty Jannetty drew Steve Regal – Bill Irwin & Scott Irwin beat Baron Von Raschke & Buck Zumhofe
1987
Fort Worth, Texas: – Bob Bradley defeated The Dingo Warrior for the vacant World Class Texas Heavyweight Title
Memphis, Tennessee: – Jerry Blackwell defeated Goliath to win the Continental Wrestling Association Super Heavyweight Title
Birmingham, Alabama: – Wendell Cooley defeated Tony Anthony for the NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title
1998
Jacksonville, Florida: – The Outsiders (Scott Hall and Kevin Nash) defeated WCW World Tag Team Champions The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) to win the tag team titles
Shinsuke Nakamura will not be dropping the IC title to Kenny Omega after all.
New Japan announced tonight that they are stripping Nakamura of the championship, and that Omega will face a mystery man in the main event of the New Beginnings in Niigata on February 14th to fill the vacancy.
Nakamura will continue to appear on New Japan shows for the rest of the month, with his final match on the January 30th show at Korakuen Hall. That show will have an All-Star main event with Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Nakamura & Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii. New Japan starts back on Sunday with the Fantastica Mania tour.
Nakamura becomes the second major champion of a foreign promotion who has headed to WWE without dropping the title on the way out, following Alberto Del Rio, the AAA champion, not doing so in October.
New Japan also officially announced the Okada vs. Goto IWGP title match will take place on February 11th in Osaka, as had been expected. Other matches announced for that show are Young Bucks defending the IWGP jr. tag titles in a three-way against Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly and Matt Sydal & Ricochet, Shibata vs. Ishii for the Never Open weight title and Mark & Jay Briscoe & Toru Yano defending the Never trios titles against Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi.
The IC title was one of two major championships in Japan announced as vacant today. Due to Suwama, the Triple Crown champion from All Japan, suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon yesterday, that championship has also been vacated with a Kento Miyahara vs. Zeus announced to fill the vacancy.
Forget about Conor McGregor, Rafael dos Anjos, Holly Holm, and Miesha Tate: Tom Lawlor is coming to March’s UFC 197.
First announced on his weekly Monday podcast with Bryan Alvarez, the UFC light heavyweight revealed that verbal agreements have been made for a fight against past TUF winner and light heavyweight prospect Corey Anderson on Saturday, March 5th in Las Vegas.
The 32-year-old (10-5-0-1) returned to action last July after a two-year absence due to various injuries, knocking out Gian Villante in the second round for his second straight victory. The 26-year-old Anderson (7-1) will also be looking to extend a two-fight win streak and improve his Octagon mark to 5-1 in the process. Coincidentally, Anderson was a November injury replacement for Lawlor against Fabio Maldonado when Lawlor had to pull out due to a concussion suffered in training.
While not yet officially announced, UFC 197 has been rumored to feature featherweight champion McGregor gunning for his second title against lightweight champion dos Anjos with women’s bantamweight champion Holm vs. Tate in the co-main event.
Kalisto is the new U.S. Champion after upsetting Alberto Del Rio. Brock Lesnar, despite protests from Paul Heyman, will be in the Royal Rumble. Basically, Heyman lost a negotiation with the McMahons to have Brock main event WrestleMania and skip winning the Rumble.
Show Recap:
Various members of the roster where on the stage when Vince and Stephanie McMahon came out, so I was wrong about Vince and Stephanie wanting to avoid the CFP title game. The New Day danced to Vince’s music. Vince said one of the 29 men on stage were going to be the next WWE World Heavyweight Champion. You had people like Fandango, Damien Sandow (back in his old wardrobe), R-Truth and Stardust out there. Vince singled out Dolph Ziggler for possibly reaching out for the brass ring. You’d think he’d drop that phrase at some point. Stephanie mentioned Kevin Owens possibly concluding the best first year in company history.
Then the Wyatt Family appeared, with Bray Wyatt appearing at the announcer’s desk and repeating his “Anyone but you” Roman catchphrase. Roman Reigns came down. Reigns asked Vince “What happens if I win?” Stephanie laughed and called him delusional. Vince said he wanted to give Roman a chance in a match called a “1 vs. All” match, where Reigns would face as many as 2/3rds of the roster tonight. Stephanie mentioned Reigns could face his brother Dean Ambrose, but Vince corrected her and said Ambrose already was booked in a match. At that point, Sheamus hit Ambrose from behind, and Vince announced Sheamus as Ambrose’s opponent in a match that started immediately.
WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose and Sheamus went to a double countout (14:08)
Sheamus took the match to the outside, where he threw Ambrose into the barricade several times. Ambrose turned things around and sent Sheamus into the post twice, the last of which led to Sheamus bleeding heavily. Apparently, Brock Lesnar gave Sheamus lessons on how to run into the post entirely too hard before the show. Ambrose cleared the announcer’s table like he was going to put Sheamus through it when Owens ran out and jumped him. Owens left Ambrose laying again with punches and tried to power bomb him through the table before he was pulled off by the referees. Match was strung together well but the crowd lost interest by the end.
Rene Young went to the trainer’s room to check on Ambrose, who stormed out saying he still had a pulse and that should concern Owens.
Vince and Stephanie compared dance moves in the back when they stumbled upon Paul Heyman, who put over Vince’s 1 vs. 100 concept. Heyman didn’t want Lesnar in the 1 vs. 100 match and wanted to fight in the main event of WrestleMania. Vince asked Heyman not to change his plans again. Heyman tried to talk Vince into having Brock face the winner of the Royal Rumble. Vince didn’t like the idea. Stephanie tried to keep the peace by having the two meet in private. They all gathered in a small conference room with Vince looking pissed. This is probably a scene that unfolded countless times in the runup to the last December to Dismember.
Chris Jericho will host a Highlight Reel with the New Day later tonight.
Drew Brees was in the audience. He got no reaction at all, which was shocking unless you consider he may have played his final game as a Saint.
Titus O’Neal defeated Stardust (3:23)
JBL used the match to throw in as many David Bowie references as possible, including “Ziggy Stardust” and “The Man who Fell from Earth.” Titus O’Neal won with Clash of the Titus. I could have sworn I saw this same match last week. O’Neal celebrated with the fans until Stardust, who had his face painted like Ziggy Stardust and the Spider from Mars album cover, jumped him.
Jericho came out showed off various tweets trumpeting his return and his return to the Royal Rumble. He wore a blazer with a tie and black scarf. New Day came out, with Jericho getting a nod to Lemmy saying “Overkill” and trying to get the crowd to chant “Rooty Totty Botty.” Big E. talked until the Usos showed up with their Slammys. The Usos wanted a match. Xavier Woods said the only tag team worse than the Usos were Ricky Gervais and Mel Gibson. Jericho arranged a match with Big E. and Kofi Kingston with Woods in their corner against the Usos with Jericho in their corner.
The Usos defeated Tag Team Champions The New Day (C) in a nontitle match (15:18)
Good match with Jey Uso getting the hot tag. Jey went for the splash on Kingston, but Woods distracted the referee and Kingston crotched Jey. This led to Jericho taking Woods’ trombone and blowing it full throttle in Woods’ face. Woods took a bump. Jericho then destroyed the trombone, which brought a reaction from Woods that was absolutely priceless. He acted like his pet puppy had been thrown down a well. In the midst of all this, Jey pinned Kingston with a schoolboy cradle. In the opening minutes, Woods did some ringside banter that sounded like a takeoff of HHH’s late-90s interviews. Looks like Usos vs. New Day for the tag team belts at Royal Rumble.
Michael Cole acknowledged John Cena’s shoulder injury and that he would miss WrestleMania.
Heyman and Stephanie emerged from their meeting with Vince. Stephanie said Paul was driving her father nuts. Stephanie wanted Brock in the Royal Rumble. Paul told Stephanie to tell her father that Brock Lesnar says no. Stephanie, since she has to get the last word in with any segment involving Heyman but all characters that you see on Raw are purely fictional and in no way resembles real life, told Paul that Broke would in the Royal Rumble because her father owns Brock’s contract. Paul said that would be stupid because it would telegraph the finish of the Royal Rumble two weeks early. Well, no, he said he would handle this for Stephanie.
JBL got in the ring and announced Sting as the first member of the 2016 WWE Hall of Fame. Boy, does Sting need the WWE production team to create something for him to get into the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame. Then again, they might have just done it. They had a piece that featured Kevin Hart talking about how Sting was his favorite wrestler as a child. Cena talked about how he got a blond flattop because he loved Sting in 1989. Robert Flores showed up to put him over. Seth Rollins spoke of having a Sting t-shirt. Ron Simmons talked about how he had the “it” factor. Bret Hart, Booker T and Daniel Bryan were also featured. A great package. If that wasn’t enough, they highlighted a tweet from LeBron James, congratulating Sting and saying he was one of his favorites of all time.
The Wyatt Family started to do a promo but the Social Outcasts showed up. Heath Slater said grab your penicllin because we’re going viral. It ended with Bo Dallas saying they were together like the Four Musketeers. Curtis Axel and Adam Rose looked at him like he was a geek, as if he was supposed to say “Four Horsemen.”
The Wyatt Family and Social Outcasts went to no contest (1:19)
Ryback ran in to go after the Wyatts. Social Outcasts helped Ryback, so they’re comedy babyfaces.
Kalisto, after a nontitle victory over Alberto Del Rio on SmackDown, talked about facing Del Rio for the U.S. Championship tonight. Which leads us to our new segment: “Did Josh Norman cut a better wrestling promo than any wrestler on Raw today?” And the answer is yes.
Del Rio did a prematch promo where he took credit for Cena’s injury, forcing him to miss WrestleMania season. It was such a devastating injury that they never showed how Cena got hurt. Couldn’t they do an injury angle of some sort? Instead, nothing. And they wonder why Del Rio got total silence in this promo that should have had a lot of heat. Newsletter readers and writers used to totally massacre WCW for lapses like this.
Kalisto defeated Alberto Del Rio (C) to win the U.S. Championship (15:16)
Kalisto got the surprise win after he reversed a German Suplex attempt into a victory roll for the pin. Pretty good match, but JBL’s commentary gave telegraphed the result. Del Rio didn’t look happy about losing. It was your standard big man-little man match. Kalisto tried several attempts at the Solinda del Sol, but Del Rio blocked both of them. Del Rio went for his Sh! Kick, but Kalisto rolled out of the way and hit a Frankensteiner for a near fall, one of several in the match. Kalisto tried a tope, but Del Rio threw him against the barricades, which looked liked it sucked. They came back from a commercial and Kalisto was already up, where he took another bump after missing a crossbody block.
Charlotte and Ric Flair did an interview with JoJo. Charlotte said she beat Becky Lynch “Flair and square.” Did I mention that Josh Norman promo? Charlotte said if anything, she was the victim and Lynch the villian.
Charlotte was supposed to wrestle Brie Bella, but Lynch ran out and attacked Charlotte. Lynch had to be pulled off of her. Flair then claimed Charlotte was too injured to wrestle and left with her daughter. So basically, Brie flew to New Orleans to do a ring entrance. Good work if you can get it. Lynch did a promo saying Charlotte made a promise when they started in NXT that she would never use her father to climb to the top, but that’s what she’s done. Lynch said she’s going to make Charlotte tap out and win the Divas title. Good promo.
WWE Champion Roman Reigns vs. Owens, Del Rio, Sheamus, Kingston, Big E., Woods, Konnor, Viktor, Stardust, Wyatt, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, Luke Harper, and Tyler Breeze ended in a no contest (17:18)
For the 1 vs. All match, Stephanie and Vince came out with Owens, Del Rio (why would he be out there after losing his title?), Sheamus, Kingston, Big E., Woods, Konnor, Viktor, Stardust, Wyatt, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, Luke Harper, and Tyler Breeze. Stephanie explained to Reigns that he would fight every one of these men until he collpased. The heels appeared confused over the rules. They started to line up on the apron like it was a tag team match. Then Vince said it would start one-on-one, so Reigns started working against Owens.
They went for about 16:00 with Owens controlling using mainly chinlocks. Crowd was totally dead and seemed to be waiting for the Lesnar run-in. Finally when Reigns started the comeback, Konnor and Viktor jumped up on the apron to collect a Superman punch. Breeze ran in to get speared. New Day, Sheamus and Del Rio ran in to attack Reigns. Del Rio gave him a Superkick and Sheamus followed with a Brogue Kick.
Finally Lesnar’s music played. Cole, the genius, thought Lesnar was going to help the heels. Of course, he destroyed the New Day, Del Rio and Sheamus. The Wyatt Family just watched the whole time and simply went to the back. Lesnar pulled Reigns to the center of the ring, then pulled him up and gave him an F-5. Crowd didn’t seem to know how to react. Reigns recovered enough to give Lesnar a smirk as he left, and it’s clear that Lesnar and Reigns will be in the Royal Rumble for a showdown of some sort.
SUMMARY: Final hour was poorly booked. If the Kalisto title change is going to happen, it needs to happen next week when more people are watching. It also needs to last a few months in order to get him over. Del Rio is already getting a rematch on SmackDown. If they change the title right back, it was get Kalisto under. Either way, it does nothing for Del Rio. The company hasn’t clue one how to get him over, which shouldn’t be the case if they’re paying him seven figures.
The 1 vs. All concept was a bad idea because if Reigns was going with the odds stacked against him, why were most of the heels previously in matches on this show? And why were the ones who weren’t jobbers? The rules were vague and all but told the audience that Lesnar running in was going to end the show. Which was fine, as long as we didn’t have to wait through 16:00 of rest holds. First two hours were good.
Post-Show Notes (Thanks Collin Makamson):
– The two ‘trainers’ in the backstage segment were Wild Card J Spade and Luke Hawx, owner and promoter of the local Wildkat Sports.
– After the cameras went off, Roman recovered from his beatdown and laid out the New Day.
We’re looking for your thoughts on Friday night’s TNA PPV show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to Dave Meltzer
We’re also looking for live reports from Raw tonight in New Orleans. Nothing has been announced for the show past the return of Brock Lesnar.
We’re also looking for reports from the Lucha Underground tapings this past weekend to Dave Meltzer
Smackdown and Main Event tapings will be Tuesday in Lafayette, LA.
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! We have have clips of the post Summer Slam / Super China Buffet show featuring a lengthy Brent Kremen discussion, as well as clips from the X-Mas show. This is a soft launch but we will be releasing much more shortly.
In the biggest news week in a long time, we’ve got a double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this week, covering John Cena’s injury, New Japan stars headed to WWE, a major feature looking at the year that past in pro wrestling and MMA and the year coming up, WWE direction for WrestleMania season, Tokyo Dome coverage, Rizin debut coverage, TNA changes and UFC 195.
Our lead story talks about John Cena’s injury and the injury issues in WWE with more notes on the training program being used. All the news regarding wrestlers leaving New Japan, who’s been contacted, different roles, the various schedules for different guys, other negotiations, what led to these moves, what New Japan needs to learn from this, affects on ROH, and other ideas for New Japan to break out of its standard mentality.
UFC in 2016, the success of the women’s division, UFC business review, big fights on the horizon, the state of WWE in 2015 and 2016, different fan bases, rise of NXT, where New Japan has failed on the international scene, plus AAA, CMLL, Bellator, TNA and ROH prospects in 2016.
Full coverage of New Japan’s Tokyo Dome show, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results, the big angles, Okada’s prospects as the top star, the next big programs on the horizon, big show plans for 2016, the Fanstastica Mania tour lineup and thoughts, New Year’s Dash coverage.
The changes to this year’s Royal Rumble and scout the possibilities and big matches on the horizon for Mania, and the return of Chris Jericho.
WWE Network, John Cena on Peyton Manning and HGH, football coach trying to recruit WWE for Mania, portrayal of Joseph Maroon in the “Concussion”, lots of details on new Dwayne Johnson projects, Lesnar’s schedule, a look at 50/50 booking, Reaction to HHH circumventing his own angle, February NXT, WrestleMania plans, Jericho talks current interview style, WWE looking for new stars around the world, Dusty Rhodes tag team tournament, WWE injury updates, Austin TV show.
A complete look at the debut of the Rizin promotion, details on the ratings and how it compares to WWE & UFC, the Masato vs. Kid Yamamoto show in competition, boxing in competition, Spike TV numbers, Fedor’s return, the freak show fights and what did and didn’t work on the first two shows.
UFC 195, with match-by-match coverage, poll results and business regarding the show, a look at all the close decisions and why they went the way they did.
TNA’s debut on Pop TV, the ratings, the title tournament, who was watching, the PPV show this week, the Mike Bennett debut, the James Storm return, the departure of Taryn Terrell and the good and bad of the latest relaunch.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer
For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.
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Bloody Elbow has a storyabout Royce Gracie being investigated by the IRS for having over $3 million wired from foreign banks to U.S. banks for various purposes including purchases of real estate. The investigation also stated Royce Gracie filed tax returns from 2008 to 2011 showing minimal taxable income. His family filed an earned income credit, which goes to low income working families, which was suspicious since he is a celebrity in MMA and his wife is a doctor. The government is seeking $1.1 million in back taxes.
Tonight’s college football game is expected to be considerably down in the ratings from last year. Still, given the game will outdraw every NFL game this season, Raw could be near record lows. There is only one Raw after tonight before the Royal Rumble, so we should have all the key matches announced. Really, we should have had most of them last week.
The Sports Business Daily had a report that the NFL is looking at splitting up its Thursday night package and selling it to two or three different networks next season and that the league may expand to 17 Thursday night games, which would greatly affect fall Smackdown ratings.
Tammy Sytch plea bargained to a guilty plea on three DUI charges stemming from a June 1 arrest and is scheduled for a 1/29 sentencing.
WWE
Jason Jordan & Chad Gable are backstage at Raw, although I’d expect if they were to wrestle it would be for a dark match.
The Stone Cold Podcast with Ric Flair (which was taped some time back) airs after Raw tonight.
Daddy’s Home, with John Cena in a cameo, was No. 3 at the U.S. box office this past week with $15,015,465 in its third week out, and has topped $116 million domestic. Sisters, where he had a bigger role, was No. 5, at $7,189,455 and has done just under $75 million in four weeks out. In Australia, Sisters was No. 3 this weekend, Daddy’s Home was No. 4 and Spectre (Bautista) was No. 11) (thanks to James Stanios)
Dwayne Johnson was a presenter last night for the Best Supporting Actress award at last night’s Golden Globes.
Local promoters Evenko announced a 3/11 house show in Montreal, with tickets going on sale at Noon on Saturday, which will feature Brock Lesnar in his first match in Montreal since 2003. What’s notable is that is the day before the WWE Network special in Toronto. Lesnar has not been announced for Toronto but it wouldn’t make sense for Lesnar to work a Montreal house show but not a Toronto network special. The names listed, the rest of which should almost surely be on the Toronto special, are Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Alberto Del Rio and Kevin Owens. (thanks to Pat Laprade)
WWE stock was up 13 cents per share today to $16.43.
Gabe Sapolsky reported that William Regal would be coming to the Evolve show on 1/23 in Orlando “with a purpose.”
The Wall Street Journal today had a small ad in the weekend edition looking for people who have archival items related to Gorgeous George, particularly photos or home movies for a documentary. The e-mail address to contact is gorgeousgeo32415@gmail.com (thanks to Robert Steinberg)
UFC/MMA
UFC had wanted to announce the Conor McGregor vs. Rafael dos Anjos and Holly Holm vs. Miesha Tate during halftime of the Packers-Redskins game, which drew 38.8 million (the most watched television show of any kind since last year’s Super Bowl). But apparently the deal wasn’t closed in time, although all indications is the story that it was McGregor’s side that held it up are incorrect and McGregor’s deal is set.
Ticketmaster has just put up the page for UFC 197 listing it as 3/5 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The belief is that the hold-up, coming to terms with Rafael dos Anjos, has been worked out. Tickets are listed as going on sale on 1/20.
There are two changes in Sunday’s card in Boston. Jimy Hettes is out of his featherweight fight with Charles Rosa, and taking the fight with no camp at all is Augusto Mendes (5-0), making his UFC debut. Also out of Sunday’s show is Abdul-Kerim Edlov, a light heavyweight, who was to face Francimar Barroso. He’s being replaced by Elvis Mutapcic (15-3), also making his UFC debut. Mutapcic has been fighting for World Series of Fighting.
A note on Sunday’s show is that it will start at the usual 8 p.m. with prelims, but it’s only scheduled for four plus hours of television instead of five plus, so the main event should start around 11:40 p.m. instead of the usual 12:40 a.m. main event start on FS 1 shows. To make up the difference, the show itself starts one hour earlier and there will be five Fight Pass bouts.
Here’s a story on Conor McGregor pay. While he will get an enormous payday, I think the predictions of 1.5 million buys on 3/5 sound high.
World Series of Fighting announced Justin Gaethje, the company’s top star, will defend his lightweight title against tournament winner Brian Foster on 3/12 in Loveland, CO. The show airs live on NBC Sports Network.
MISCELLANEOUS
Paragon Pro Wrestling announced it would air on 1/16 on the MSG Network in a Saturday at 5 a.m. Eastern time slot. PPW was formerly on Pop TV until Pop made its deal with TNA..
John Rocker of the Atlanta Braves, who has done some indie work in Georgia, was at the WrestleMerica TV tapings on Friday night in Barnesville, GA that A.J. Styles and Doc Gallows headlined. Their next show is 2/20 called Night of Legends, headlined by the Rock & Roll Express.
Michael “Venom” Page, one of the guys Scott Coker has been trying to build in Bellator, who has a 9-0 record, will be in he semifinal on a 3/4 show in Thackerville, OK, where he faces Fernando Gonzalez (24-13). The show is headlined by wrestling standouts Joe Warren vs. Darion Caldwell.
In a note regarding the update yesterday on Lucha Extreme not airing because KAIL TV moved its base. It is true that KAIL did move its base but nobody knows why that would affect a taped wrestling show unless tapes were lost in the move.
Maryland Championship Wrestling on 1/23 in Joppa, MD with the Hardys, with King McBride vs. Matt Hardy, who will have Jeff in his corner. Not sure how that works out with Matt’s heel turn on TNA and feud with Jeff and when it airs.
Rock Solids Wrestling Brawl in the Falls on 2/13 in Dowling, ONT with Cody Deaner as the headliner at the Dowling Leisure Centre.
AAW on 1/15 in Merrionette Park, IL at 115 Bourbon Street with Eddie Kingston vs Trevor Lee for the AAW title, Davey Vega vs. AR Fox for the AAW Heritage title, Sami Callihan vs. Chris Hero, Abyss vs. Rya Boz, Devin & Mason Cutter vs. Zero Gravity, Louis Lyndon vs. Drew Gulak plus Kongo Kong, Shane Hollister, Heidi Lovelace, Allysin Kay and more.
Smash vs. CZW takes place on Saturday night in Toronto at the Franklin Horner Community Centre with Sami Callihan (CZW) vs. Johnny Gargano (Smash), BLK Jeez & Pepper Parks & Mike Rollins (CZW) vs. Super Smash Brothers & Brent Banks (Smash), D.J. Hyde (CZW) vs. Scotty O’Shea (Smash), Jonathan Gresham (CZW) vs. Tyson Dux (Smash), Drew Gulak (CZW) vs. Tarik (Smash) and more.
CZW’s 17th anniversary show is 2/13 in Voorhees, NJ at Flyers Skate Zone with Matt Tremont vs. Devon Moore in a ladder match for the CZW title and Pepper Parks & BLK Jeez defending the tag team titles against Dan Barry & Bill Carr, Lio Rush vs. Joey Janela and Speedball Mike Bailey vs. Sami Callihan.
XICW on Saturday night in Clinton Township, MI: Kyle Maverick b Jacob Mercury, Zach Gowen won over Gavin Quinn, Idris Abraham and Willie Watts, Joe Coleman b Jay Maynard, Joe Coleman won over Palmer Cruise and Xavier Walker, Little Guido & The Scarbonis b Jaimy Coxxx & Jeff Brooks & Dickie Bronson, Haki Zane b Kongo Kong-COR, Rhino b Bob Holly, DBA & Malcolm Monroe III b Dave Crist & Zachary Wents, Jake Something b Orlando Christopher (thanks to Leonard Brand)
Nova Pro Wrestling on 1/31 in Springfield, VA at the Annandale Sports Center featuring Sonjay Dutt and the Bravado Brothers.
Premier Championship Wrestling from the weekend in Winnipeg: Shao Ming b Jacob Creed, Jay Walker b Adrian Barton, Chad Tatum b Michael Clark, Scott Justice b Alix Vanna, Mentallo b Antonio Scorpio, Jackie Lee b Alexander Prime. Next show is 2/27 (thanks to Andrew Shallcross)
After a successful TV taping the other Sunday – at which they bizarrely announced they would be producing action figures! – Revolution Pro-Wrestling is gear up for their first big show of the year, next Saturday’s High Stakes at the York Hall in Bethnal Green. Main eventing the show is what will likely to turn out to be the final non-WWE appearance in the UK by AJ Styles, who is defending his Undisputed British Heavyweight title against Zack Sabre Jr, who seems to be upping the amount of dates he’s doing in the UK of late.
RevPro run the York Hall three times a year, and last year’s final show – Uprising – featured eleven New Japan stars as part of a formal agreement between the two promotions which should hopefully see some of the UK’s top wrestlers get a chance to go over to New Japan. Also on the High Stakes card is a rematch from the TV taping’s Undisputed British Cruiserweight tournament final, as champion Pete Dunne takes on “Flash” Morgan Webster, a Will Ospreay versus Marty Scurll warm-up before their PROGRESS title match a week later, and the UK debut of “Speedball” Mike Bailey. As one of the UK’s “big three”, RevPro’s shows are always worth looking out for, and the results of this one will be eagerly awaited.
2) If you liked “one fall!”, how about “one show”?
Yes, for some odd reason, in the middle of blockbuster January – the last weekend in the month alone has over 25 shows scheduled – there was only one show this week – another of Insane Championship Wrestling’s Friday Night Fight Club TV tapings at the Garage nightclub in Glasgow, Scotland. The exclusive content taped for their ICW On Demand service – which, I’m reliably informed is actually unexclusively free to non-subscribers for the first 24 hours – has been a shining light in the winter gloom these past few weeks, and this week’s show was no different.
The latest taping was dominated by heel stable The 55 (who, for the uninitiated, play on the percentage of Scots who rejected independence in 2014’s referendum), with tag-team champions Sha Samuels & Kid Fite retaining their titles against Mikey Whiplash & Tommy End, and the whole group attacking not only babyface hero Joe Coffey after the main event, but also ICW owner Mark Dallas. With Grado & Galloway over in Pennsylvania, the rest of the roster got the chance to step up and shine, and by the sounds of the slobberknocker between Jimmy Havoc and Big Damo, they did just that.
3) The Brits returned on TNA.
Although we’re very much focussed on what goes on over here in the UK, we also like to keep an eye out for what our talent is up to overseas. This past week’s TNA tapings heavily featured Drew Galloway, who formed an alliance with the soon-to-depart Kurt Angle, as well as the usual antics from Bram, Rockstar Spud, Mark Andrews (who did a must-see spot with a skateboard that will make you forget the Dynamic Dudes ever existed), and Grado in a Monster’s Ball match with Abyss, which included barbed-wire and thumb tacks (or “drawing pins” as we call them in the UK).
While all but Galloway (and, to a lesser extent, Bram) are used in a way that disappoints most British fans of their work, the exposure they receive benefits both them and the promotions they work for in the UK, and so we swallow it down like bad medicine (cue Dr Wagner Jr earworm). In the case of Andrews, and after a year in which he based himself in Nashville and did few UK shots, he’s upping his UK dates this year, appearing regularly for the ATTACK!-Pro promotion he helped to create and getting a shot at the PROGRESS tag-team titles at the upcoming Chapter 25: Chat Sh*t, Get Banged.
4) I get things wrong.
I told you last week about the ultra-ambitious (in a good way!) upcoming show from Pro-Wrestling Chaos, running a 3000-seater hall in Bristol for an exclusive English date by The Young Bucks. Well, in amongst all that, I got the date wrong. The show is on April 9th, not April 8th as I wrote last week. Apologies for that, Chaos lads. They have another show coming up next month, with Grado, Trevor Lee, and UK legend Johnny Kidd joining all the usual regulars, and you should check their website for details.
Chris Jericho’s podcasts are an acquired taste for some, but when he gets a good guest with lots to say, they’re essential listening. This week he had British wrestling legend and NXT trainer Robbie Brookside on the show, and gave his guest the room to speak at length about his career. It must have been an eye-opener for US fans of the show to hear tales of Terry Rudge and Scrubber Daly, as well as a spot-on impression of All-Star promoter Brian Dixon, but long-time UK fans will have emerged from it basking in the warm glow of nostalgia. One day someone will write a proper book on all this, and I hope they go to Brookside for first-hand material.
Cleveland, Ohio: – Tom Jenkins defeated Dan McLeod to win the American Heavyweight Title
1954
Hollywood, California: – Wilbur Snyder defeated Mr. Moto for the NWA Beat the Champ International Television Title
Augusta, Georgia: – Don McIntyre defeated Ray Villmer to win the Georgia NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
Portland, Oregon: – Ivan and Soldat Gorky defeated Carl Engstrom and David Jonnes for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles
1957
Akron, Ohio: – Buddy Rogers defeated Johnny Barend to win the NWA Eastern States Heavyweight Title
Atlanta, Georgia: – Jerry Graham defeated Chief Big Heart to win the Georgia NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1962
– Bob Ellis and Johnny Valentine defeated The Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello and Roy Heffernan) to win the Northeast NWA United States Tag Team Titles
1963
Houston, Texas: – Rip Hawk defeated El Medico II to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title
Dothan, Alabama: – Jack Curtis, Jr. and Jan Madrid defeated Bad Boy and Billy Hines to win the Gulf Coast NWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1965
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: – Don Leo Jonathan and Gene Kiniski defeated The Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello and Roy Heffernan) for the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Titles
1966
Nashville, Tennessee: – Mario Milano and Len Rossi won the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Title, defeating the Mysterious Medics and Kanji (Antonio) Inoki & Hiro Matsuda in a tournament
Sioux City, Iowa: – Verne Gagne beat AWA Champion Mad Dog Vachon – Mr Wrestling Tim Woods beat Haru Sasaki dq – Billy Red Cloud beat Bob Brown – Mitsu Arakawa drew Reggie Parks
1968
Kansas City, Kansas: – Sonny Myers defeated Jack Pesek – Steve Bolus defeated Stan the Moose via DQ – Klondike Bill & Ronnie Etchison defeated Bob Geigel & Bob Brown in three falls to win the North American Tag Team Title
1974
Atlanta, Georgia: – Mr. Wrestling II defeated Ron Fuller to win the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title
1975
Caguas, Puerto Rico: – Dick Steinborn won the WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title by defeating Carlos Colon
1978
Honolulu, Hawaii: – Indian Death Match: Tor Kamata beat Billy Whitewolf – AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Duncum – Hawaiian Champion Steve Strong beat Missing Link Pampero Firpo – Rick Martel beat Rocky Tomayo – John Tolos & Bill Francis beat Bruce Brown & Chris Markoff
1979
San Antonio, Texas: – Dale Valentine defeated Tully Blanchard to win the Southwest Championship Wrestling Southwest Television Title
Little Rock, Arkansas: – Ron Bass defeated Ray Candy to win the NWA Arkansas Heavyweight Title
1980
Houston, Texas: – Mr. Hito and Mr. Sakurada defeated El Halcan and Jose Lothario for the World Class American Tag Team Title
1981
Dallas, Texas: – Bruiser Brody and Kerry Von Erich won the World Class American Tag Team Title by defeating Gino Hernandez and Gary Young
Monterrey, Mexico: – Centurion Negro defeated Jungle Negra for the UWA World Middleweight Title
1984
Tampa, Florida: – Mike Davis and Mike Rotundo defeated Ron Bass and The One Man Gang for the Florida NWA United States Tag Team Title
1985
Dallas, Texas: – The Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey and Bobby Eaton) defeated The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers) to win the World Class American Tag Team Title
Columbus, Ohio: – Ole Anderson and Thunderbolt Patterson defeated The Long Riders (Bill and Scott Irwin) for the NWA National Tag Team Title
1986
Atlanta, Georgia: – Sam Houston defeated Krusher Khrushchev to win the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title
1987
Memphis, Tennessee: – Jeff Jarrett and Billy Travis defeated The Rock ‘n’ Roll RPM’s (Mike Davis and Tommy Lane) for the AWA Southern Tag Team Title
1988
Birmingham, Alabama: – Jonathan Boyd defeated Ranger Ross to win the NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title
1991
East Rutherford, New Jersey: – Ric Flair pinned NWA World Heavyweight Champion Sting to win the title (title become the WCW World Heavyweight Championship) – Arn Anderson and Barry Windham defeated WCW World Tag Team Champions Doom (Butch Reed and Ron Simmons) in a non-title steel cage match
1993
Atlanta, Georgia: – Dustin Rhodes defeated NWA and WCW World Tag Team Champion Ricky Steamboat by countout to win the vacant NWA and WCW United States Heavyweight Titles
Memphis, Tennessee: – Brian Christopher defeated Jeff Jarrett to win the USWA Heavyweight Title – The Moondogs (Spike and Spot) defeated Ron and Don Harris for the USWA Tag Team Title
2003
West Miffin, Pennsylvania: – Low Ki and A.J. Styles defeated ROH Tag Team Champion Christopher Daniels and ROH Heavyweight Champion Xavier in a No Holds Barred match – Samoa Joe defeated Bryan Danielson
2009
Orlando, Florida: – Alex Shelly defeated Chris Sabin to win the X Division Championship – Beer Money won the TNA Tag Team Championship over Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed and Matt Morgan & Abyss
WWE officially announced today that Sting will headline its 2016 Hall of Fame Class to be inducted Wrestlemania weekend in Dallas, TX. He was expected to be the lead inductee this year given he lives near Dallas and that the timing worked out.
Steve “Sting” Borden was one of the biggest stars in pro wrestling during the 1990s with WCW, where he was a six-time WCW world champion and two time International world champion. He was also a two-time NWA champion and four time TNA champion.
Borden started his career working for Jerry Jarrett in late 1985 after only a few weeks of training under Red Bastien and Billy Anderson, as Power Team USA. He was discovered working in a Southern California gym by Rick Bassman, who was trying to put together a group of bodybuilders to capitalize on the popularity of the Road Warriors. Borden and Jim Hellwig, who became the Ultimate Warrior, left the camp and Bassman on their own after sending photos to all the different promotions. Only Jarrett responded, but the team only lasted a few weeks before Jarrett got rid of them.
Bill Watts hired the two based on potential. Watts had trouble with Hellwig, who quit and went to work for World Class wrestling, and then found his way to WWF. Sting started as a heel and was put under the wing of Eddie Gilbert, who turned him face just as the UWF was being sold to Jim Crockett Promotions. Most of the UWF talent got buried, but Sting was kept on as a prelim guy, who started gaining popularity.
His star exploded in one night when he was booked to do a 45 minute draw with Ric Flair on the first Clash of the Champions in 1988. From that day on, he was always considered a major star, and when Crockett Promotions told to Turner Broadcasting in 1989, Sting was considered the heir apparent as the company’s top star after Flair. The decision was to change the title in February 1990, ironically, on Flair’s 41st birthday in Greensboro. However, Sting suffered a bad knee injury in an angle building up the match, and the title change was moved to Baltimore and the Great American Bash that summer.
He remained as a top star with WCW until the promotion closed. He retired after not making a deal with WWF, but then came back for a lucrative deal with TNA. He agreed to come in 2006 and every year, he expected it to be his last. And every year, Dixie Carter offered him a new deal and he remained with the company until his last contract expired in early 2014. At that point, TNA could no longer afford him, and he opened up talks with WWE, later debuting at the 2014 Survivor Series in the show-closing angle.
Sting wrestled a few matches with WWE until suffering a neck injury at the 2015 Night of Champions after taking a power bomb into the turnbuckles in a match with then-World Champion Seth Rollins. He noted when talking with Ric Flair that he requires neck surgery, although has not gotten surgery yet.
Pro wrestling is a world filled with a lot of negativity, from the deception, these days often more prevalent behind the scenes than in front, the backstabbing and the jealousy. But on 11/29 in Knoxville, World Championship Wrestling put it all behind to honor someone to whom most fans would see as a very insignificant part of the profession. By the response of his peers, it was made evident he was anything but.
WCW’s unannounced ceremonies for referee Brian Hildebrand, 36, a lifelong wrestling fan who became one of the most universally well-liked people in the profession, facing the toughest fight of his life in his second battle with stomach cancer, reeked of genuine emotion. To paraphrase what Ric Flair said in what may be someday an immortal line, it wasn’t a great wrestling show, it was real. Just like Hildebrand was and is a credit to his profession, what WCW did was very much a credit to the profession as well. The highlight was no doubt when Flair came out, as a surprise guest at the house show, and presented Hildebrand with a replica of the WCW world heavyweight championship belt and said that Hildebrand, not Ric Flair or Hulk Hogan, was really “The Man.”
The show was headlined by a match made partially because it was the match Hildebrand himself wanted to see, Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko vs. Eddie Guerrero & Chris Jericho. Even though it was a house show, which these days to many wrestlers means avoid more than a few bumps if at all possible, the four men worked as hard if not harder than if it was a PPV match more for the audience of one than the other 4,344 fans in the building. The finish saw a referee bump, which led to Hildebrand jumping out of his ringside chair and calling for the bell as Benoit had Jericho in the crossface. At that point Hildebrand took off his shirt and was wearing a Four Horseman t-shirt underneath it.
