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  • Jimmy Snuka murder trial: Is involuntary manslaughter count the poison pill?

    by Irvin Muchnick

    The stipulation by prosecution and defense to bypass the formality of a preliminary hearing in the Jimmy Snuka-Nancy Argentino murder case in Pennsylvania has given us yet another major clue as to the potential end game of this outrageous 32-year-long saga of provincial cover-up.

    Lehigh County District Attorney James Martin (who just so happened to have been first assistant district attorney in 1983 — though you wouldn’t know that from reading the Allentown Morning Call) had petitioned Judge Maria Dantos to summarily find probable cause on the basis of the Snuka indictment presentment, which was publicly announced last month. Martin’s deputy, Charles Gallagher, argued that It would squander judicial resources not to accept the insignificant level of hearsay in a second-hand summary of the testimony of 20 grand jury witnesses. Snuka has a constitutional right to a fair trial, but not to a redundant preliminary hearing. Just get on with the trial.

    Snuka’s new lawyer, Robert J. Kirwan II, said fine — but first give us access to all the grand jury testimony, and keep those details sealed from public view.

    Kirwan has reiterated Snuka’s position that what happened to Ms. Argentino, his girlfriend, in May 1983 in Room 427 of the George Washington Motor Lodge in Whitehall was “an accident.” In the process, the parties jointly lay the groundwork for what could become the next and final step: a guilty plea to the charge of involuntary manslaughter — while letting the Superfly off the hook for the more serious charge of third-degree murder.

    It is intuitive that the prosecution’s chief challenge in convincing a jury that Snuka is guilty of murder, beyond a reasonable doubt, is the three-plus decades of reasonable doubt emanating from D.A. Martin and Detective Gerald Procanyn themselves. This adds up to an indictment not of WWF’s most popular wrestler of the early 1980s so much as of the criminal justice system of the Lehigh Valley. It’s also the reason why we have the saying “Justice delayed is justice denied.”

    But when all is said and done, a plea deal might be the best option for the Martin gang. If Kirwan is an even halfway decent defense lawyer, he will focus on impeaching the details — the pettier, the better — in the grand jury testimony. Across all this minutiae from nearly two dozen third parties (who, it must be emphasized, did not themselves witness exactly what went down with Snuka and Nancy), there are bound to be inconsistencies. Whether those inconsistencies bear meaningfully on the guilt of the defendant is not his problem. Let’s say one witness testified that Snuka beat his wife daily, while another said it was only monthly — presumably, that’s a defect on a par with Snuka’s multiple versions of how Nancy fell and hit her head while peeing at a roadside stop … or is that she fell during horseplay with Snuka in the motel room … is it that she was pushed by the 250-pound wrestler and struck her head on a blunt object during a lovers’ quarrel … or ….

    Hey, let’s just call it even!

    All along, I’ve felt involuntary manslaughter was the curious count of the indictment. It’s the kind of thing thrown in to enable face-saving and an unsatisfactory denouement. Snuka can defiantly say, in effect, “OK, I should have called 911 earlier — but as to the rest, you’ve got nothing.” Under Pennsylvania law, I.M. is focused on gross negligence or recklessness, not on direct agency, whether intentional or not, in another person’s death. It is a misdemeanor. It is not a felony.

    The whole idea of an involuntary manslaughter count is fishy. In Pennsylvania, I.M. it carries a statute of limitations of two years. D.A. Martin has not explained what makes this charge tenable 30 years past expiration. The only theory I’ve heard so far from experts is that, perhaps, special circumstances allow the prosecutor to “toll,” or stop the clock, on the S.O.L.

    I keep falling back on the idea that the real Jimmy Snuka verdict here is the one of history. In light of the foregoing, we can debate whether a 72-year-old man with cancer should be incarcerated. What the upcoming national (not local) media coverage of this whole episode seems certain to expose is the cronyism, corruption, and incompetence of the Lehigh County police and courts. That this was all the launchpad of what would become the World Wrestling Federation’s historic, industry-transforming expansion is, I believe, no accident.

    The 2013 ebook, JUSTICE DENIED: The Untold Story of Nancy Argentino’s Death in Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka’s Hotel Room, annotates our original article and benefits a women’s shelter in Nancy’s memory. You can order the ebook for $2.99 on Amazon Kindle (http://amzn.com/B00CPTP6VM) or a PDF copy by email (send $2.99 via PayPal to nancyargentino@gmail.com). One hundred percent of the proceeds are donated by the Argentino family, in Nancy’s memory, to the women’s shelter in development at the Salerno, Italy, church Centro Evangelical dei Fratelli.

  • New Japanese MMA promotion with Fedor: Rizin Fighting Federation

    Two-time Observer Awards promoter of the year winner Nobuyuki Sakakibara announced today in Tokyo the formation of his new promotion, the Rizin Fighting Federation, a new attempt to rekindle the heyday of Japanese MMA, complete with a New Year’s Eve show that will air in the U.S. in prime time on Spike TV.

    What was announced is two shows, both at the Saitama Super Arena, one on 12/29 and the other on 12/31.

    The biggest news is that Fuji TV, one of the major networks in Japan, will broadcast the event. Fuji TV was the network that broadcasted Pride until it was dropped in the wake of media stories about Yakuza influence in the promotion, which led to the group’s demise.  It was not made clear if the show would air live in Japan, with the indication that Fuji TV would air it as a special built around the fights of Fedor Emelianenko and New Japan’s Kazushi Sakuraba, who was the biggest name Japanese star announced as competing.

    Among the plans for the promotion include an eight person heavyweight tournament with $500,000 going to the winner, which would be taking place at some point in the future.

    The rules will be similar to that of Pride, with men’s fights being 20 minutes in length with rounds of ten minutes, five minutes and five minutes, and using the old Pride judging criteria.  Moves like soccer kicks and knees to the head of a downed opponent will be legal.  The fights will be fought inside a ring, but the ring would have five ropes instead of three or four.  Women’s fights will be three five minute rounds.  There will also be non-MMA rules fights, such as kickboxing fights, on the December shows.

    Sakakibara was looking to link the world’s of amateur wrestling, pro wrestling, MMA, Jiu Jitsu and kickboxing.  Appearing from pro wrestling were Sakuraba and Nobuhiko Takada, who will be a figurehead officer such as in the heyday of Pride.  Tomiaki Fukuta, the chairman of the Japanese amateur wrestling association was also there.

    Rena Kubota, a female star of kickboxing and Shoot boxing promotions in Japan will debut in MMA, as will Gabi Garcia, a ridiculously muscular world super heavyweight Jiu Jitsu champion.

    The main event on 12/29 pits Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Shinya Aoki in a battle of Japan’s original submission king against Japan’s current submission star.  Aoki, who is smaller than Sakuraba, is the current One lightweight champion.

    Also at the press conference were Scott Coker from Bellator and Jon Slusser of Spike TV.  Coker said that Bellator fighters would be on the show and that Sean Grande and Jimmy Smith would be announcing.

    Sakakibara said talent would come from Bellator, BAMMA, KSW, Bushido, Jungle Fight, Desert Force, Deep, Shoot, Pancrase and ZST promotions.

    No opponent was named for Emelianenko.  MMA Fighting had reported Jaideep Singh, a kickboxer who has only fought once in MMA, as the foe.

  • TNA announces UK shows will be recorded for TV

    As has been expected, TNA officially announced that its three January shows in the U.K. will be television tapings for Impact.

    Impact’s best shows of 2015 were the shows taped in the U.K. with the larger crowds that made the product seem more lively and major league like.

    TNA announced that appearing at the tapings would be Grado, Eddie Edwards, Davey Richards, Ken Anderson, Tigre Uno, Mahabili Shera, GailKim, Velvet Sky, Madison Rayne, Kurt Angle, Bobby Lashley, Matt Hardy,Ethan Carter III, Drew Galloway, Eric Young, Bobby Roode, Rockstar Spud,Taryn Terrell, Brooke, Robbie E and Mark Andrews.

    The shows are 1/29 at the Manchester Arena; 1/30 in London at SSE Arena at Wembley and 1/31 in Birmingham at the Barclaycard Arena.​

  • Ring of Honor results and recap 10/3: Kazuchika Okada vs Roderick Strong

    The Big Takeaway – More canned matches that were taped before the PPV and no follow-up from All-Star Extravanza more than two weeks after that show. The main event was one of the best TV matches in North America so far this year.

    This show was taped from the Field of Honor event in Brooklyn on Summerslam weekend and took place in a Baseball stadium. Very cool visual. This also kept up the theme of ROH vs New Japan.

    The Time Splitters (IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion Kushida/Alex Shelley) vs The Briscoes (Mark and Jay Briscoe)

    Briscoes were in and out of the crowd during their entrance and when they did wide shots, you got a really good picture of how empty the stadium actually was but the main shot made it look like the place was packed. They also had the crowd miced really well. Prince Nana joined Kelly and Corino on commentary.

    Early on the commentators were talking more about Adam Page and Jay Briscoe than anything in this match. Shelley and Kushida were kind of teasing dissension as at one point, Kushida had his back to the ring and was slamming Shelley’s arm against the ropes repeatedly with the idea that it was one of the Briscoes’ arm but Kushida didn’t know. Then Shelley had his back to the ring when Kushida was trying to make a tag. The announcers didn’t even reference any of this. Then just as quickly as all of that started, it was dropped and the Time Splitters were working together again.

    Shelley took out Jay Briscoe with a jumping knee off the apron, which allowed Kushida to hit a moonsault press for a near three. They brawled in the ring for a bit. Jay recovered and was brawling on the outside with Shelley. Kushida locked in the Hoverboard lock on Mark, while Jay was still outside the ring but Jay made it in to  make the save.

    All four in the ring and Shelley stretched Jay out, while Kushida did the “You can’t see me” gesture to him and hit the sliding dropkick on him. Double running knees on Mark and then the Time Splitters hit a combination Superfly splash (Shelley) and standing Shooting Star Press (Kushida) on Mark but Briscoe kicked out at two. Shelley actually counted along with the ref and reacted the same as he did on the kickout.

    Time Splitters were setting up a doubleteam Sliced Bread but Jay broke it up. Razor’s edge by Mark into a Diamond Cutter by Jay on Shelley only got a two count. Jay then hit a Jay Driller on Shelley for the win. The last five minutes were fun.

    WINNERS – THE BRISCOES by pinfall

    All four guys shook hands after the match. After a break, we got a gauntlet for a TV title match that was joined in progress with Cedric Alexander vs Watanabe. Alexander was laying cocky heel and wasted too much time, allowing Watanabe to roll away from a frog splash. He then hit a neckbreaer/Sunton splash for two.

    Alexander hit a Death Valley Driver for 2. Alexanders hit a series of running dropkicks in the corner to fire up the crowd. This brought out Moose. The distraction allowed Watanabe to hit a German suplex and a Half Nelson Suplex. A headbutt, followed by a forearm smash and finally the STO got the pin for Watanabe, who will now get a TV title shot (and by “will get”, the match happened two weeks ago….more on this later).

    Inside ROH was up next with Mandy Leon, sporting Jay Lethal’s new T-shirt. This week focused on the Adam Page/Jay Briscoe feud, complete with Page calling out Briscoe a couple months back when Briscoe wasn’t even there. Then we got the verbal exchange from them a couple weeks later, when Briscoe answered the challenge but BJ Whitmer wouldn’t accept. Then we got the match, which wasn’t really a match as much as a 3  on 1 attack at the hands of the Decade. This ended with Page hitting the Rampage onto a pile of chairs and setting up next week’s main event, which is a NO-DQ rematch of the two.

    Main Event – Roderick Strong vs IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada (non-title)

    Nigel replaced Nana on commentary. Okada was insanely over with this crowd, as they exploded on the opening notes of his entrance theme and chanted his name throughout the entrance. They did adhere to the Code of Honor prior to the match.

    LETS GO RODDY/O-KA-DA chants before they even locked up. Strong got the better of things early on, leading in and out of the first commercial break, slowing down the match with mat work and submission set-up moves. Strong was very subtly acting like a heel, taunting Okada after hitting moves.

    After about 10 minutes, they were brawling outside on the field and Strong suplexed Okada into the crowd, drawing a HOLY $hit chant from the crowd. Strong then hit a gourbuster onto the ring barricade and then went back into the ring to try and get a countdown win. Nigel criticized this strategy, saying he was giving Okada too much time to recover and should’ve stayed on him.

    Okada made it back before the 20 count and Okada soon took control with a neckbreaker. They went back and forth for the next few minutes with both guys hitting moves but not going for covers. Crowd chants of THIS IS WRESTLING started up. Okada hit a standing dropkick onto Strong, who was on the top turnbuckle, to knock him out of the ring going into a second break.

    Back from break and Strong hit a backbreaker onto the ring apron on Okada and then rolled him into the ring for a 2 count. Okada hit a shoulderbreaker and both guys were down in the centre of the ring. When they got back to their feet, they treaded forearm uppercuts and chops and Shelley got the better of it. Shelley set up for a superplex but Okada pushed him off the top. Shelley hit an enziguri on Okada, who was still on the top rope and then hit the Superplex but only got a 2.

    Strong then locked in the Strong-hold (Boston Crab) in the center of the ring. Okada managed to make it to the ropes to break it up. Strong then hit a series of forearms and whipped Okada into the ropes but Okada hit the picture perfect dropkick to stop his momentum. Okada set up the Rainmaker but Strong powered out with a forearm smash and a series of jumping knees and then hit the Sick Kick for the near fall that everyone thought was the finish.

    Crowd and the announcers were going nuts at this point. Okada then hit a tombstone piledriver but didn’t go for the cover. A second Tombstone and then the Rainmaker pose but again, Shelley powered out of it. German suplex by Okada and looked like he was going to go for a second but hit the Rainmaker instead, which was of course the finish.

    WINNER – KAZUCHIKA OKADA by pinfall

    Just an outstanding main event that would not be out of place as a PPV main event. They pushed that the rest of the card is available on the ROH as a VOD and that next week, we’ll get the TV title match between Jay Lethal and Watanabe.

    Which brings me to a point that needs to be made here. This is now the third show since the PPV and there has been zero follow-up on any of the stuff from that show, which is a problem in 2015. The Adam Cole angle where he reunited with the Kingdom is something that they absolutely should be talking about by now. As well, one of the big selling features of the show was the angle between Dalton Castle and Silas Young and “the boys”. We should be seeing vignettes with Young trying to turn the boys into men by now. I would hope they’re coming but by the time they do, the match will be a couple months old. This is something they really need to work on if they hope to expand their fanbase. Bell to bell, they’re without a doubt the best company in North America, at least in terms of ones that have television but they need to update their presentation.

  • On this date in pro wrestling history (10/8): Jerry Lawler, Steve Austin & Barry Windham win gold

    1953

    Wichita, Kansas:
    – Lenny Montana defeated David Sims to win the Heart of America Title (Title would be renamed Central States Title)

    1962

    Kansas City, Missouri:
    – Stan Neilson & Art Neilson defeated George Scott & Sandy Scott
    – Texas Death Match: Dick the Bruiser defeated The Sheik by countout

    1975

    Duluth, Minnesota:
    – Cage Match: Baron Von Raschke beat Billy Robinson
    – Pampero Firpo beat Buddy Wolff
    – Jimmy Valiant & Johnny Valiant beat Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell in 2 out of 3 falls

    1978 

    Dallas, Texas:
    – Evelyn Stevens defeated The Fabulous Moolah for the NWA Women’s World Heavyweight Title 

    1986 

    Tampa, Florida:
    – Barry Windham defeated Outlaw Ron Bass to win the vacant Florida State Heavyweight Title 

    1990 

    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – Jerry Lawler won a 21-man tournament by defeating Austin Idol in the finals to win the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Title 

    1991 

    Montgomery, Alabama:
    – The York Foundation (Terrance Taylor, Richard Morton, & Thomas Rich), managed by Alexandra York (Terri Runnels) defeated Dustin Rhodes, Tom Zenk, & Big Josh (Matt Borne) to win the WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Title 

    1993

    Knoxville, Tennessee:
    – The Bullet defeated Killer Kyle
    – SMW Tag Team Champions Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson fought Scott & Steve Armstrong to a no contest
    – SMW Heavyweight Champion Brian Lee defeated Tracy Smothers 
    – Tom Prichard & Jimmy Del Ray at w/ Jim Cornette) defeated Rick & Scott Steiner via disqualification

    1994

    Johnson City, Tennessee:
    – Boo Bradley defeated Lance Storm
    – Bruiser Bedlam defeated SMW Heavyweight Champion the Dirty White Boy via disqualification in a whipping match
    – SMW Tag Team Champions New Jack & Mustafa defeated Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson in a No DQ, no time-limit match

    2001 

    Indianapolis, Indiana: 
    – Steve Austin defeated Kurt Angle to win the WWF World Title
    – The Hardys defeated Booker T and Test to win the WCW Tag Team Titles

    2006
    – WWE Champion Booker T defeated Bobby Lashley, Batista and Fit Finlay to retain the title
    – Rey Mysterio defeated Chavo Guerrero in a falls count anywhere match

    2009
    – The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) defeated Yujiro and Tetsuya Naito to win the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Titles
    – Team 3-D, Bubba and D-Von, defeated Togi Makabe and Toru Yano to win the IWGP Tag Titles

  • NXT Takeover feedback

    Thumbs up!  Every match delivered.  Impressive main event, but everyone else on the card felt elevated tonight even if they lost.

    Best match: Bayley v. Sasha.  I was invested in this match.  Bayley is an incredible face in peril.  Sasha is such a good heel.  With that dynamic, there’s no need for creative high spots.  Just a great match.

    Worst match: Balor/Joe v. Corbin/Rhyno.  This was a good match.  I enjoyed it.  It would typically be the match of the night on any other NXT show.  But I think every other match on the card built up the wrestlers and gave us some direction.  These guys were great, but I wasn’t thinking “I want to see where they go with these guys after this match.” It was a match that gave the trophy to their #1 & #2 guys.

    Other notes:

    -I’m paying more attention to NXT homegrown vs. imported wrestlers.  Balor, Joe, Crews, and Asuka were all imports winning over homegrown talent.  I’m not saying that those were the wrong outcomes.  It certainly isn’t reassuring to see Breeze lose this much.

    -Kana/Asuka is exceptional. Watching her move in the ring and link moves together was incredible. 

    -Dawson and Wilder are such a great team. Found myself believing that their teamwork was good enough to overcome the fact that Balor and Joe are individually better.  That’s what a tag team should do.

    -Great seeing Sara Del Rey out there tonight.

    Nick Garcia

    Columbus, Ohio

    NXT TAKEOVER FEEDBACK
    Thumbs up
    Best: Bayley vs Sasha Banks
    No worst match

    Top to bottom, this may have been the best Takeover card from Full Sail.

    The Mechanics were impressive in the opener holding their own vs Balor and Joe.

    The other semifinal was a very pleasant surprise.  Jordan and especially Gable have taken off, while Corbin appears to be gaining confidence and his weaknesses are hidden in tag matches.  Tons of heat for this one in the building.

    Asuka vs Dana Brooke was a great debut.  Asuka’s speed in which she executed her moves was very impressive.  Dana wasn’t out of place here either.

    Tyler Breeze vs Apollo Crews was solid.  Would’ve been a great house show main event level type match.  It was nice to see them switch up the finisher for Crews.  Now he needs a little character development.

    The Dusty Classic final was another solid match with a straightforward story.  Surprised there was no tension between Balor and Joe, so maybe it will be a face vs face program if they square off for the title.

    The main event lived up to the enormous hype.  The fans were with it every step of the way and the 30:00 went by very quickly; the match was paced perfectly.  No one sat back down after Sasha messed with Izzy around halfway.  It was talked about after the last taping that someone getting heat by messing with Izzy would be great, but no one thought they’d actually do it in this day and age of “putting smiles on people’s faces.”  The Brooklyn match was probably better as a match but this presentation was tough to beat, topped by the post-match celebration.  The company has made a major star, so let’s hope they don’t mess it up on the main roster where it counts.

    This is the easy winner for promotion of the year with a month and a half to go in the voting period.

    – Chris H.
    Lakeland, FL

    Hey Dave,

    Best Match: Sasha Banks vs. Bayley

    Worst Match: Jason Jordan & Chad Gable vs. Baron Corbin & Rhyno

    This is my first time sending my thoughts in after a wrestling event. Thumbs all the way up. I thought the main event with the post celebration ceremony made it come across as a ***** match. There was no point where the match felt like it was dragging and it topped the previous match in terms of psychology and work. The post celebration even topped Bayley winning the NXT’s women championship last NXT show. I don’t even know how that is possible. I honestly believe people will remember this match as the greatest woman’s wrestling match in WWE. 

    Simon Wang 
    Pittsburgh, PA

    Overall : Great show
    Thumbs waaaay up
    Best Match : Bayley vs. Sasha IronMan Match (4.75 stars)
    Worst Match : Apollo Crews vs Tyler Breeze ( I hate to put this match in the worst match category because it was a good match but the matches on this show were on another level)

    DUSTY RHODES TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS: NXT CHAMPION FINN BALOR & SAMOA JOE VS. DASH WILDER & SCOTT DAWSON

    Good match. I thought The Mechanics come off as a really good heel team. Finn looks good in the leather jacket. I like that they don’t overuse the body paint, that makes it special.Joe’s offense looked super smooth and In my opinion both Joe and Balor need a heel turn to showcase more personality because Joe comes out to a colder response than what one would expect but Joe carries himself like a superstar in the ring.

    DUSTY RHODES TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS: JASON JORDAN & CHAD GABLE VS. BARON CORBIN & RHYNO

    Super heated match. Gable and Jordan came off as superstars. This match made all the competitors esp. Gable,Corbin and Jordan look really great. Sweet finishing sequence. Really good match.

    ASUKA VS. DANA BROOKE

    Asuka has made the transition to WWE style faster than Hideo and her offense looked really great and her smooth transitions plus that Leg trap German Suplex was awesome. Props to Dana Brooke for hanging with her. +1 star for that Flying Armbar and facials throughout the match. Excellent debut.

    APOLLO CREWS VS. TYLER BREEZE

    When this match is the worst match of the show, that tells you the quality of this Takeover event. Tyler breeze is a natural heel and Apollo Crews’ selling was on point. Nice new finisher.Really needed it. Another Good match.

    DUSTY RHODES TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT FINALS: SAMOA JOE & FINN BALOR VS. BARON CORBIN & RHYNO

    Superheated match. Good finish. Cody Rhodes promo was very good. Nothing bad to say about the match. Finn needs that heel turn though. Although, it’s pretty clear that Joe is still not seen as their guy. Corbin is improving and looked good tonight.

    30-MINUTE IRONMAN MATCH: NXT WOMEN’S CHAMPION BAYLEY VS. SASHA BANKS 

    Excellent match. Sasha Banks is on another level when it comes to heel psychology.The match was worked great and the story told was consistent and the finish made perfect sense with Sasha being the great opponent that brings the best out of Bayley. The first fall was done so great. Making Izzy cry and stealing her hair pin was just perfect as Sasha drew the ire of the crowd and that made the Bayley comeback even more special. Amazing sequence at the end. Perfect story. The locker room and Sara Amato and Stephanie and Triple H and Regal coming out made the moment even more special. This really seemed like a G1 Final. Great way to end the feud.

    Lindsay Natale

    Thumbs Up

    Thought it was a good consistent show in-terms of match quality, however I felt there was no great matches. One noticeable thing to me was that in the majority of the matches the pace seemed quicker than we’re accustomed to with NXT. However unlike the main roster this wasn’t achieved with rope-running or simply more moves, but rather a greater number of strikes in a shorter space of time and things of that nature, I enjoyed it. I was greatly impressed by Dash & Dawson, I thought their aggression and fundamentals were very good, felt Jason Jordan looked the best he has to date, I was blown away by Asuka, this woman knows what she’s doing! I thought the smoothness and solidity of her work was absolutely tremendous, plus she was charismatic and showed no signs of having problems adjusting unlike Itami, although it’s still early days. I was left itching to see a match between herself and Sasha, Becky or Natalya that we never see, although I’m sure her eventual match or matches with Bayley will be very good.

    Thought Breeze & Crews had a damn good match and that this was a big step forward for Crews, as I’ve felt he’s been coming across as a bit of generic smiley babyface along with not showing his capabilities in the ring. I was growing concerned as to how over he may get in NXT, however this greatly relived me of those fears, and in retrospect they were keeping stuff in reserve for his competitive matches. I thought the ladies had a good match but were a victim of their own standards. Didn’t feel it was anywhere near as smooth or creative as their last encounter, neither did it have as good a layout. In addition I thought it took them awhile to find their rhythm and the match suffered with the crowd having greatly exhausted themselves. But hey, for multiple reasons the Brooklyn match was going to be impossible to equal.

    Balor & Joe vs. Dash & Dawson ***1/2

    Gable & Jordan vs. Corbin & Rhyno ***1/4

    Asuka vs. Dana ***1/2

    Breeze vs. Crews ***1/2

    Worst Match: Balor & Joe vs. Corbin & Rhyno ***1/4

    Best Match: Sasha vs. Bayley ***1/2

    Thanks Dave

    Tom Griffiths

    Thumbs WAY UP.  A great wrestling show!

    I don’t watch NXT every week, so I’m sure there are subtleties that I missed, but it was still an engaging show.

    BEST MATCH: Has to be Banks v. Bayley, even though this wasn’t a perfect match.  I do get frustrated that main roster stars come to NXT to do jobs for the NXT stars, which is a bit too predictable.  I preferred the Brooklyn match, if the truth be told.  Things that could be followed up on in this match (could Sasha win the title with a count-out fall as the difference?  did she really tap out?) really can’t be followed up on, because Sasha isn’t on NXT anymore.  For my money, Sasha is the best wrestling personality in the whole WWE right now, aside from Lesnar, Cena, and the Undertaker.  Which is pretty, pretty, pretty good.  Bayley also distinguished herself with a great performance.  Hopefully, these 2 will never get the giant fake breasts that seems to be required on the main roster.

    WORST MATCH:  It is a good sign that I don’t automatically say the Baron Corbin match.  If I MUST pick something, I would say that based on Gable & Jordan not winning, like I thought they should (over Rhyno, obviously) made it the worst match of the night, which is not an insult on this very awesome solid show.  I thought that match was also very good.  (Rhyno has got to lose some weight!)

    I liked the idea of Balor’s leg being an angle, even though it didn’t turn out to play a major role.  When I saw this happen, I had an inkling that Samoa Joe could turn on him, for costing them the match with his showboating, and then be in line for an NXT title shot.  But when I heard the tenor of Cody’s remarks, it was clear that was not happening.  The leg angle did create some drama & uncertainty — a simple storyline that is easy to follow.  WWE needs more of exactly that.

    Asuka also had a great match, and so did Dana Brooke.  The post-match face off with Emma was also something that I thought was going to lead somewhere… but it didn’t yet.  The Divas Revolution can’t hold a candle to NXT Women’s Division, and WWE better do something about it.

    I was also struck by how much Baron Corbin has improved.  The End of Days is an impressive finishing move, in a world where 3 Attitude Adjustments might not be enough to get a pinfall.  I used to be down on him, but I have turned the corner.

    Crews, Tyler Breeze, Jordan & Gable, and even Dawson & Wilder (or whatever) all had good nights.  An excellent show.

    Richard Orloski

  • UFC on Fox 17: Myles Jury to face Charles Oliveira, plus one more

    On Wednesday, the UFC announced two fights for their 12/19 big FOX show in Orlando, headlined by UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos against Donald Cerrone.

    The first is the featherweight debut of Myles Jury as he drops down a weight class to face Charles Oliveira. Jury comes into his new division having gone 15-1 as a lightweight, his only loss coming at the hands of Cerrone in January. Oliveira was last seen awkwardly losing a first round affair against Max Holloway in Saskatoon, Canada, due to a freak torn esophagus injury that stopped the fight early.

    Also announced was the UFC debut of Karolina Kowalkiewicz, a 7-0 fighter from Poland, against Randa Markos. Markos went to the semifinals in the TUF women’s strawweight title tournament, losing to eventual title challenger Jessica Penne. Markos last won a decision over Aisling Daly at UFC 186.

  • UFC TUF 22: McGregor vs. Faber episode 5 results & recap 10-7

    It’s a whole new season and Conor McGregor is the reason, as he and Urijah Faber go toe to toe as coaching foes on The Ultimate Fighter. They won’t duke it out after the season is done, but there’s still pride on the line, not to mention Conor’s reputation as the newest badass on the block.

    Join us each episode for “The Notorious Quote of the Week” as Conor puts his mouth where UFC’s money is! We’ll also spice things up with some predictions for week two about who could go all the way this season – two “Fighters to Watch” for each recap.

    The Notorious Quote of the Week is Conor McGregor at the bar: “Is this the menu? That’s it? Just give me everything – thanks.”

    Marcin Wrzosek handed the U.S. team their first loss last week with a two round decision. Team Europe is going to try to capitalize by having Saul Rogers face Billy Quarantillo. Rogers is more experienced so UFC is promoting it as an “upset” if Quarantillo wins.

    McGregor on why he picked Rogers: “I paid attention to whose energy is right, whose body is right, who’s ready to go.” He felt Saul was showing all the signs of being ready. Meanwhile at the house Tom Gallicchio makes no excuses for losing his fight last week. He admits he was beaten by the better man.

    Saul Rogers talks about his two kids, and he says the one thing he hopes to impart to them is “Whatever you love doing stick with it” because that’s his approach to fighting. He also says he doesn’t make a game plan for opponents – he just tries to be as sharp as he can be for each opponent.

    McGregor shows his team some takedown techniques, and says the position of the head when you’re clinched up is the key. Everybody’s happy with the drilling but apparently after the commercial break he takes them all out for SAKE BOMBS.

    Billy Quarantillo talks about how he got hooked the first time he learned a submission, and that he feels like Rogers won’t want to stand and trade with him. Faber: “Billy has a lot of tenacity and he tries really hard, but his technique is far behind.” Faber gives him some personal instruction on how to move off his back and get good positions.

    Martin Svensson and Mehdi Baghdad are both thrilled to be learning from the best fighter in the world. Going out for drinks turned out to be a c–ktease – nobody gets crazy. I have to be honest that 20 minutes into the show this isn’t a great episode.

    Rogers and Quarantillo are my “Fighters to Watch” this week just because nobody else is standing out or doing noteworthy. Svensson may have had more lines than anybody else this episode but all he says is McGregor is great and Rogers is great. Yawn.

    McGregor is teaching Team Europe more techniques for staying balanced on your feet when someone has your leg high in the air. Saul weighs in at 156. Quarantillo weighs in at 155 even. Both teams are equally confident in their man.

    Finally something interesting is happening – Chris Gruetzemacher is starting to crack under the pressure of being on the show. He says he misses his coaches, his lifestyle, his ability to take time away FROM training when he wants. He’s saying he wants out in the worst way.

    Lightweight: Saul Rogers (Europe) vs. Billy Quarantillo (USA)

    Rogers is in the gray trunks, Quarantillo the blue. There are 22 minutes left so we’re in for at least two full rounds. Quanantillo’s first takedown is stuffed and Rogers is on top in half guard as it goes to the ground. Rogers hammers away with unchecked lefts to the head as he tries to get up, and nearly throws him back to the ground. Quarantillo is warned not to grab the fence. Rogers is on top again in half guard with 2 minutes gone and stands up to drop bombs, then he’s the one warned not to grab the fence. Rogers takes the back as they scramble and McGregor warns him not to rush and keep his position – but he does and winds up on top of Quarantillo as he tries to keep distance with butterfly guard. Rogers finally pushes his way back into full guard and almost finishes R1 in side but Quarantillo gets back up right before the bell. 10-9 Rogers.

    Rogers has a takedown 21 seconds into R2. Quarantillo is warned about fingers in his face. He tries to heel hook Rogers but Rogers just gets back on top in guard. I don’t feel like we’re going to a third round unless Quarantillo does something crazy… and soon. Rogers takes his back halfway through the round, Quarantillo stands up off it, and Rogers takes him right back down. He’s got side at 3:15. Rogers is really pouring it on with hammers and elbows against the fence with 30 seconds left. Quarantillo never did anything.

    Dana White: “He manhandled Billy. He showed he’s one of the favorites to win this thing.”

    20-16, 20-17 and 20-17 all for Saul Rogers. McGregor announces Mehdi Baghdad (Europe) vs. Julian Erosa (U.S.) as his pick. Join us next week!

  • TNA Impact Wrestling results (10/7): World Title Series begins with Bobby Lashley vs. Mr. Anderson, Austin Aries vs. EC3

    Last week, TNA delivered a fairly dreadful TV show and an okay PPV. Matt Hardy won the world title by beating Drew Galloway, but vacated it the next day due to an “injunction” by EC3. Today, TNA announced the TNA World Title Series – a tournament to determine a new champion. A BFG recap video starts the show. The story of this match is that Drew did all the work, but thanks to his brother’s cheapshot, Matt got the win. Josh and Pope are in front of a green screen.

    We see EC3 push Big John and then him announcing the injunction, and then Matt vacating the title. Matt’s living room at least has better lighting than Impact. Matt, the babyface, complains a lot and says that he proved EC3 is scared of him because he beat him. Actually no, you beat Drew. Matt says that he’ll win the title again, and we see Dixie and William Corgan announce the World Title Series. Corgan says that since he’s come on board, they have clarified their titles. So what does the King of the Mountain Title accomplish again? Josh says “Thanks Dixie” as if she was speaking to him, which was weird. Josh describes it as a 32 man tournament spread across four groups, and Pope tells fans to go to Twitter and brag about it. Josh says that #MattForChamp has been a thing for nearly a year. A year, a couple of months – same thing. We then get a series of graphics explaining this whole thing. This is so confusing.  Group UK, Group Wildcard, Group Knockouts, Group Champions will go at it. Drew faces Bram, and we hear from Drew about this match and says that title shots come and go, but he’ll get his destiny – the TNA World Title. This got the show 14 minutes closer to the grave.

    Bram is mid-ring before Drew comes down. Josh says that Drew should be happy for this series, and if you missed BFG, you can get it via your PPV provider now. Why would anyone do that? They already showed you the highlights of the main event and made the main event’s result meaningless. Bram and Drew butt heads and Josh agrees with Pope that lawyers belong in an office after just saying that EC3 did the right thing by getting lawyers involved.

    We get some weird cut-in with Bram and Drew engaging in a full conversation while this action is going on. Bram hates him for getting to the U.S. before him. Drew eats a steel steps shot. Bram gets a chinlock, but Drew chops away. Drew bumps beautifully into the corner. Drew lands some nice punches and gets a slam. Bram goes to the floor and two fans hold Bram so he can chop Bram. Drew bounces his head off the steps a bunch and back suplexes him onto the apron. Sick kick hits for the win. A graphic shows that Drew has three points now and we see a graphical breakdown of the point totals. Grado faces Spud later. Gail says that TNA has always been a place that women can succeed, and she can now be World Heavyweight Champion. She faces Brooke next.

    Recap of the Sick kick to Bram. Drew says that he won because he had a strategy, and he calls it a war. I like them doing post-match interviews – between that and the pre-match stuff, it should in theory make matches seem more important. Brooke comes out to face Gail. Gail doesn’t have her title, stated by Pope because this isn’t a Knockouts title match. Josh says Christmas is three months away, so if you’re shopping for Josh, you’ve got some extra time to get him something. Gail cuts a heelish promo on Brooke about creating this division while Brooke says she’s a three time champ. Brooke takes a scary bump off a monkey flip from Gail. A cradle exchange gets 2.

    Brooke gets a pop-up lariat and she sends Gail to the floor. Brooke drop toeholds her down and gets a bizarre version of the Cattle Mutilation. Gail locks on a weird leglock and breaks it up. Brooke shoves Gail on her face during Eat Defeat. They exchange forearms, but Brooke gets the upper hand with a lariat. Super X factor hits and Brooke goes up top for the flying elbow. Brooke misses and Gail sweeps the leg and gets a ringpost figure four. Gail goes for Eat Defeat, but Brooke counters it, so Gail goes for a figure four and she gets small packaged for the loss! Brooke advances in a very good match. EC3 talks about the World Title Series and says it’s the EC3 Screwjob Series. EC3 says that Aries is back just because the title is on the line, and the story is now that Aries voluntarily left and didn’t leave due to a loss. Josh talks about the knockouts match and we see Spud coming to the ring while they talk over his intro. They do it for Grado too, and it’s really weird to see. 

    Grado hits a belly bump to gain an early advantage. We get match audio while they play Grado’s promo on Spud, which is nearly impossible to understand because there’s so much noise going on. Grado misses the corner cannonball while Josh plugs the company’s next UK events. Spud gets his corner forearm series and a dropkick to the face. Grado hits possibly the worst Pedigree in recorded history for 2. Grado pulls the straps and gets an ankle lock, but Spud escapes. Spud hits a Stinger splash and a bulldog before hitting the world’s worst worm for 2. Grado goes for a People’s Elbow, but he blows up hitting the ropes too much. He hits it and gets 2. Grado goes for a Styles Clash, but Spud backdrops him. Spud does Taker’s throat slit, hits a chokeslam and crosses the arms for 2. Spud goes for an AA, but Grado counters with an elbow and goes for sweet chin music. Spud grabs the foot and hits a stunner ala WM XIV and the Dudley Dog for the win. This was bizarre and made TNA look so second-rate. It would be bad enough for a joke title tournament like the Beer Drinking Title, but this is for the World Title.

    Pope and Josh talk about Group Champions, resulting in more shilling of EC3 by Josh. Josh hypes up Tyrus winning the Bound For Gold match and we hear from him for a second. He appears to have aged a decade since BFG and says that if EC3 wins, things will get interesting. EC3 is out to face Aries. Josh says that EC3 is still unpinned, which is true. Aries comes out with Thea Trinidad and Josh mocks nerds who point out that Aries lost a loser leaves town match. He’s back because he’s the smartest wrestler in the world and Josh says that Thea was once known as Rosita in TNA.

    Aries and EC3 go to a stalemate while Josh talks about how brilliant EC3 was to get lawyers involved. EC3 says in his “roundtable” that he is the greatest living wrestler alive, and Aries says that EC3 will just hide behind Tyrus. Aries ducks down and gets a slick armdrag. Aries does a handstand into a dropkick, but EC3 avoids a pendulum elbow. Aries gets a big running elbow and sends EC3 to the steps, where he gets a series of punches almost like he’s in the corner with him. Tyrus looks at Thea, and Aries dives onto Tyrus and EC3 sends him to the floor for an ad break.

    EC3 has Aries in a chinlock and sends him down to the mat for 2. Aries and EC3 are down to 5 minutes, and if they go to a draw, they’ll have one point each. Aries smashes EC3’s head on the buckles and hits a neckbreaker on the apron. A suicide dive hits EC3. Aries gets a missile dropkick, but EC3 gets the boot up before he can take a dropkick. Aries gets a discus elbow for 2. EC3 gets a TKO for 2. EC3 misses a Stinger splash and eats the corner dropkick. EC3 lands a pair of shoulder blocks and goes up for a superplex, but he gets his ears boxed and eats a 450 for 2.5. Boo/yay punch exchange leads to a Tyrus trip. EC3 gets a Rampage powerbomb for 2. Thea trips EC3 up and Aries gets a schoolboy into a Last Chancery. With under a minute to go, EC3 gets to the rope. Aries avoids the One Percenter, but eats an elbow and Aries goes for some PRIDE-style knees right as the time limit expires. This was much better than the BFG main event and a fantastic showcase for Aries. It’s a draw, so each man gets 1 point. EC3 jumps Aries, but still eats a brainbuster – they really made Aries look strong here. Pope says that each man getting one point is like them getting zero. No, by definition, it isn’t.

    Anderson says that he’s part of the toughest group since they’re all former World Champions – I like that he’s putting the title over a lot here. He cut a nice serious promo here and didn’t come off like a goofball. Madison Rayne faces Awesome Kong next. Josh plugs every house show without taking a breath. Aries talks smack about EC3 – he beat legends, icons, and Hall of Famers – but he couldn’t beat Austin Aries. Aries just put himself over their former world champion marvelously. Kong goes for a powerbomb right away, which Pope calls the Implant Buster. He says that Kong is both Awesome and Amazing. shocked he didn’t say she has great karma too. 

    Madison says she’s a bit underutilized, but she will win. Kong says the seas boil with her rage and the tide is coming. Kong rams Rayne into the corner and clubs away. Kong goes a torture rack and turns it into a facebuster before missing a splash and Rayne gets an Oklahoma roll for 2. Rayne gets an enzuiguri and Kong goes down off a missile dropkick for 2. Kong gets a spinning backfist and an Implant Buster for the win. Lashley says he’s used to going against the unknown and it makes this even special. Okay then. Matt Hardy has an exclusive interview next.

    JB interviews Matt backstage and he says that his goal was to be the World Champion. His wife, his son, and 82 year old dad were in the ring with him. It was a happy fairy tale ending, but because Jeff hit EC3, EC3 handcuffed TNA and Matt. Matt says that the only thing he could do to keep wrestling in TNA was forfeit the title. Matt has thrown his name into the hat for this. So to recap, the World Title Series was created due to Matt vs. EC3, and now we’ll get a scenario for another Matt vs. EC3 match. We get a recap of who is in the lead for each division.

    Anderson gets a partial intro while Lashley gets a full entrance. We see a recap of Lashley’s first World title win against EY – back when TNA had a well-lit building with some excitement in it back in the salad days of 2014. Lashley gets a rolling front facelock and we get an ad break when it’s broken up. After a very long break, Lashley gets a double overhook suplex and hits a lariat. Lashley and Ken put each other over very briefly in their roundtable. We actually see the table for the first time, and it is indeed round. Lashley gets a delayed suplex, but misses a corner charge and Ken gets 2.

    Pope says he fully expects Ken Anderson to cheat based on his past. I like Pope using logic in all this to tell a story that could be told, but doesn’t really need to be told. Anderson stops short while Lashley goes for a leapfrog and he gets a dropkick before going back to the arm that Lashley smacked into the post. Ken gets a couple of kicks and a divorce court for 2. Pope puts over that Anderson has “ruthless aggression”, a phrase that no one in wrestling outside of WWE has ever used. Lashley gets a lariat and hits another in the corner. Anderosn punches his way out of a torture rack, but eats a spinebuster. Anderson leaps over the spear and gets a couple of lariats. Anderson gets the Finlay Roll, a second, and gets a TKO for 2. Lashley charges in and eats a boot, but he gets the spear and the win.

    Well, this show started off about as poorly as possible. However, after that point, it was a rock solid show in the ring outside of the Spud-Grado match. Every single match was worth watching and several of them were quite good. Match-wise, it was a better show than the PPV, and it wound up turning what seemed like an awful idea into a great one so far in terms of delivering great matches. Week one shows the concept can work, but the real key is the follow-up – if TNA can keep this up, then they can at least have the illusion of having momentum before shopping around for a new network deal in 2016.

  • NXT TakeOver Respect live results: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks, Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic

    NXT TakeOver: Respect takes place tonight at Full Sail University at 8:00 pm EST. The main event will feature NXT Women’s champion Bayley defending her title against previous champion Sasha Banks in a 30 minute iron man match. Meanwhile, we’ll also see the conclusion of the Dustry Rhodes Tag Team Classic, with semifinals on the show being Finn Balor and Samoa Joe taking on Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder, Jason Jordan and Chad Gable against Baron Corbin and Rhyno, and the finals featuring the winners of both semifinals. Asuka will make her in-ring NXT debut taking on Dana Brooke, and Apollo Crews will face off against Tyler Breeze.

    We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show so send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

    *****

    DUSTY RHODES TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS: NXT CHAMPION FINN BALOR & SAMOA JOE VS. DASH WILDER & SCOTT DAWSON

    Joe & Balor won and advanced in a well-worked match. Joe got the hot tag and set up Wilder for the Muscle Buster. Balor told Joe he wanted to tag in and Joe hit the Muscle Buster, and then Balor used the Coup De Grace on Wilder for the pin. Most of the match saw The Mechanics work over Balor’s knee which he sold after hitting his finisher. Joe & Balor go to the finals with a hint of issues between them and Balor “injured”.

    DUSTY RHODES TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS: JASON JORDAN & CHAD GABLE VS. BARON CORBIN & RHYNO

    Rhyno & Corbin advanced when Rhyno hit the gore on Jordan, and Corbin pinned Gable after the End of Days  The crowd just loves Gable. He’s got something really special.  Jordan & Gable are such a great babyface team that they really made the match, which had super heat, and overcame the fact that Corbin is, at best, passable at this point. There were all kinds of funny chants like “Save the Gable” and the crowd singing Kurt Angle’s music and chanting “Gable” where people used to sing “You Suck”. Jordan has all the ability in the world and has finally started to come out of his shell in this team.

    They showed Kevin Nash in the crowd.

    ASUKA VS. DANA BROOKE

    As a wrestler, Asuka is a level above every woman wrestler in WWE.  She looked super here with all her submissions, ring confidence, and total superstar presence. Brooke held her own and didn’t look out of place given this level of competition. The crowd was actually a lot hotter for this than the two tag matches. Asuka did an absolutely sweet flying armbar near the finish.  She ended up winning with the Asuka Lock — a chicken wing crossface with a body scissors. After the match, Asuka laid out Brooke with a high kick and then stared down Emma who turned her head like she was backing down. Excellent debut.

    We got the same Nia Jax promo we’ve been seeing recently. She’s debuting next week.

    APOLLO CREWS VS. TYLER BREEZE

    This was another good match that was built around Breeze working over Crews’ back.  Breeze really looked good here. He got a great near fall as Crews did the press slam, went for the standing moonsault, but Breeze hooked the leg.  Crews then broke free and went for the standing moonsault again, but Breeze got his knees up. Crews came back after absorbing two running elbows from Breeze, charging out at the third attempt and hitting a running kick. He then hit an atomic drop into a power bomb for the pin. They tried to tell the story that Crews is showing how much guts he has as he sold most of the way.

    They showed HIdeo Itami and Funaki in the stands.

    They are doing a show-long story as to whether Balor will be able to come out for the finals due to his knee.

    DUSTY RHODES TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT FINALS: SAMOA JOE & FINN BALOR VS. BARON CORBIN & RHYNO 

    No angle, but a solid match and the crowd was pretty hot. At one point, Rhyno hit the Gore on Joe, but Balor saved. He went for a second one but Joe kicked him in the face, gave him a Muscle Buster, and Balor used a double foot stomp on Rhyno for the pin.

    Cody, Dustin, Michelle (Dusty’s wife) and his two daughters were all in the ring as well as Eden Stiles. Cody did a promo and talked about how Dusty died on the same day as John Wayne but 36 years later. Cody talked about how Dusty was referred to as “the oak of NXT” but to him, he was known as Dad. “Tonight, we are all Rhodes,” he said. They played Rhodes’ music and fans chanted “Thank you Dusty.”

    They showed Stephanie McMahon, Charlotte, Becky Lynch, and Lita at ringside. Stephanie even chanted “women’s wrestling” along with the crowd.

    30-MINUTE IRONMAN MATCH: NXT WOMEN’S CHAMPION BAYLEY VS. SASHA BANKS

    Baley retained the title with a 3-2 margin by using a Fujiwara armbar at 29:57 to break the tie. 

    Banks won the first fall with an eye poke and schoolgirl using the trunks, Bayley won the second fall with the Belly To Bayley, while the third fall saw Banks win by ramming Bayley into the LED board, causing Bayley to be counted out. The fourth fall saw Bayley use a roll-up out of nowhere. The last few minutes were really dramatic as Banks used the Bank Statement, but because Bayley had worked over her hand during the match, she didn’t have full power. Bayley tried to reverse out once, failed, but then reversed into the armbar and was stomping on Banks’ head. The tap came right before time ran out. 

    It was pretty much what it should have been as far as a really good, well built match. Banks was great here, and Bayley was super over with the crowd so you had a great face/heel dynamic. Izzy at ringside was the other star of this match. They couldn’t create someone that good as her at ringside.

    After the match, they sent everyone on the roster out on the stage to give a round of applause. HHH and Wlliam Regal gave Banks flowers as the fans chanted “Thank you Sasha” as Stephanie and Sara Amato congratulated her with Bayley cheering for her from the ring.  HHH then went into the ring and gave Bayley flowers.  They did a good job of making this feel special with the post-match. 

    This really felt very close to, from an post-match atmosphere and setting, like a G-1 final or Arena Mexico Anniversary match.