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Category: News

  • WWE News: Disappointing Raw numbers (August 24) after big SummerSlam weekend

    By Dave Meltzer, WrestlingObserver.com

    Monday’s August 24th edition of WWE Monday Night Raw did what had to be considered disappointing numbers coming off a big SummerSlam weekend, down slightly from last week, doing 3.72 million viewers, not much above the summer average.

    The unadvertised surprises of Sting, Ric Flair, and the Dudleys probably helped minimally, if at all, since few knew ahead of time they would be there.

    Raw finished second for the night on cable behind NFL preseason football.

    The three hours were:

    – 8 p.m. 3.61 million viewers

    – 9 p.m. 3.79 million viewers

    – 10 p.m. 3.76 million viewers

  • TUES UPDATE: UFC Issues statement on Anthony Johnson, Dallas Wrestling photo exhibit

    by David Bixenspan | davidbix@wrestlingobserver.com | Follow @davidbix

    Show notes for tonight:

    Tough Enough’s live finale airs tonight on USA Network at 8:00 p.m. ET including Josh and ZZ in matches. Against Cesaro. After weeks of competition on WWE Tough Enough, it all comes down to tonight when the four finalists, Josh, ZZ, Sara and Amanda, take on WWE Superstar Cesaro® and WWE Diva Alicia Fox™ live at 8/7C on USA Network.  One male contestant and one female contestant will each earn a one-year, $250,000 WWE contract.  Click here for a sneak peek at tonight’s episode.

    Tough Talk airs live at 9;00 p.m. ET on WWE Network with the fallout.

    Total Divas airs at 9:00 p.m. ET on E! with The Bella Twins trying to sing their entrance music. Really.

    ****

    Figure Four Weekly:

    The new issue of Figure Four Weekly is now up for subscribers (subscribe to the site here and get access to Figure Four, the Observer, tons of audio, and more) featuring a chat with Konnan about the state of AAA heading into TripleMania XXIII. We discuss the company’s improvements in production, advantages over WWE and differences in philosophy, how to listen to fans, and much more. Plus, as always, we have  all of the usual reviews and international news, including Dr. Lucha’s TripleMania preview.

    Last week’s FREE Figure Four Weekly is still up with a look at the crazy story of why Gawker thinks the FBI may have helped Hulk Hogan cover up his racist and homophobic comments. A judge has ordered the FBI to turn over the records of their investigation, and what Gawker is saying in court about what has and hasn’t been turned over paints a very interesting picture.

    Also, now available for the first time on Kindle (meaning Kindle devices and anything with the Kindle app) is Fall Guys, the seminal 1937 book that has been described as being like the 1930s version of the Wrestling Observer. It was surprisingly not on Kindle already, so we put together a nice version with a full table of contents w/ chapter marks, proper formatting on everything, etc. Right now it’s available from the American, Canadian, and Australian Amazon/Kindle stores OR you can also buy it from anywhere in the world on PayHip, who will provide you with both Kindle and ePub (every other e-reader) format files, and you can either sideload them to your device or have them email it to your Kindle.

    ****

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

    We’ve got a new double issue of the Observer up on the site which, on the 55th anniversary of the birth of the AWA, features a look at the history of the AWA and the career of Verne Gagne.  The issue also covers the buildup to SummerSlam, the most detailed look at this year’s G-1 Climax tournament, the History of G-1, Anderson Silva’s hearing and suspension, UFC’s stadium event in Australia, the death of Roller Games heel Mizz Georgia Hase, as well as the monthly WWE & TNA business rundown.

    The latest WON: August 24, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Summerslam preview, G1 Tournament and finals review, Silva trial details

    Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show in the history of the site are at Sign up here for as low as $9.99 per month!

    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

    You can also order at www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    Rates are:

    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.

    The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.

    Our big feature looks back at the career of Verne Gagne and the history of the most famous version of the AWA.

    We look at the beginnings of the Gagne legend in wrestling and the start of his pro career.  We look back at his football offers, his world junior heavyweight title win, the period that Gagne was one of the highest paid athletes in the country and how politics changed the course of his career.

    We look at the war in Chicago in the 50s, the most controversial NWA title match of its era, and both the real reason and storyline reason for the formation of the AWA.  We look at the first-ever AWA show, the first-ever AWA title match, the first feuds that put the AWA on the map as a significant organization and its first attempt at doing a stadium show.

    We look at some of the AWA’s biggest money feuds in history, and the role the AWA played in getting two of the biggest promotions in the country at the time to join the NWA.  We also look at the ironies about Gagne with his own actions and with his complaints about the actions of Vince McMahon.

    We look at the era when the AWA title was one of the big three belts.  We also look at the first big heyday of the AWA in the late 60s and early 70s, including a look back at a number of stadium shows in Chicago.

    We look at the Hulk Hogan-fueled second AWA heyday, how the heel Hulk Hogan from the WWF became the babyface Hulk Hogan in the AWA.  We look at Gagne’s role in creating Hulkamania, the first Verne Gagne retirement show, and many coming out of retirement shows.  We look at the Gagne-Hogan relationship including the time Gagne tried to shoot on Hogan and what happened.

    We looked at why the stories about Gagne being stupid in not putting the AWA title on Hogan show a lack of understanding of the time, and why it would have been the worst thing long-term for him.  We look at the business reason why it wasn’t done.

    We look at Hogan’s departure for the WWF, and why it had to happen.

    We look at the AWA after Hogan, including Jesse Ventura’s departure, Gagne’s business practices that started killing his company, how competition exposed the AWA, and the hard fall at the end.  We also look at the deal that kept the AWA alive a little longer, new stars who got early breaks at the end, and the end of the company.

    We’ve also got a look at all the news leading into WWE’s second biggest week of the year.  We look at the ESPN coverage and why, Lesnar talking Vince McMahon vs. Dana White, the irony of Lesnar calling wrestling fake and the lack of reaction from within wrestling, Jon Stewart, Learn vs. Undertaker reaction, weekend schedule, talk about next year’s SummerSlam and much more.

    We also have a look at the finals of this year’s G-1 Climax tournament.

    We look at how G-1 started, whose idea it was and what was its original goal.  We look at the first G-1 tournament and how it related to the 25th tournament this past week.

    We look at the big matches on the last three days, what appears to be the Tokyo Dome plans and the storyline behind it.  We look at what will probably be New Japan’s biggest matches of the fall before the Dome, including who Kazuchika Okada will likely headline PPVs against as well as who Hiroshi Tanahashi is also likely to face in big matches this fall.

    We compare the New Japan top stars to the All Japan stars of the 90s, as well as look at the G-1 business.  We look at how four different shows in Tokyo did going against each other.

    We also update the business of New Japan World and talk about next year’s G-1 tournament including who can go, who has to stay and who can be brought in to make the tournament even more interesting.

    We update the injuries and the final standings, character changes, the ROH relationship, the real story behind Jushin Liger working for WWE this weekend, and the build for Tenryu’s retirement match.

    We also have complete rundowns of all three nights at Sumo Hall, including match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.

    We also have the complete history of the New Japan annual heavyweight tournament dating back to 1974.

    We also look at Minneapolis and WrestleMania and the last stadium show in that market 29 years ago, we look at the future of NXT, Roman Reigns talks about when he found out he wasn’t winning the title ad his reaction, when Seth Rollins found out he was winning, as well as Reigns talks about the briefcase hitting him in the head in Victoria.

    We’ve got notes on two Dwayne Johnson movies, WWE filing suit against its television partner, the tenure of The Authority storyline, NXT star says he doesn’t want to move up to the main roster, and notes about pay so far for the major NXT shows.

    We also have more on what happened between Paul Levesque and Chyna at  Roddy Piper’s first funeral, as well as notes no who attended Piper’s second funeral.  We debunk a claim made by Chyna about her WWE tenure.

    We also look at the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s hearing on Anderson Silva’s drug test failures.  We look at the comedy provided from Silva, why he was so lucky this didn’t happen after July, his excuses, evidence, penalties and commission reaction.

    We also look at the UFC’s attempt at its biggest live event ever at Etihad Stadium, in Melbourne, Australia.  We look at the decision the company had been considering all year and why it went the way it did.

    We look at the death of Georgia Hase, the 80s Roller Games heel manager from the ESPN ear and before that.  We look at her unique role during that period when Roller Games tried to build itself around pretty girls.

    We’ve got our monthly business rundown of WWE and TNA, looking at house shows, ratings DVDs and merchandise.  We also look at the cord cutting and how that affects cable TV, as well as the number of homes the cable networks that have wrestling, boxing and MMA are currently in.

    We also look at Dragon Gate’s last major show and the upcoming tag team tournament.  We look at All Japan’s latest Triple Crown title match.  We at talks of New Japan putting the G-1 finals on PPV as well as notes on the next New Japan tour.  We also note that both of New Japan’s tag team champions are entering a European tournament.

    We update on Global Force Wrestling, the debut of the Minnesota pro wrestling Hall of Fame, update on where Lucha Underground stare are working, and update wrestling in Puerto Rico.

    We also update TNA including talks of an overseas television show, Jeff Jarrett reconnecting with his father, Mike Tenay’s new podcast, TNA shows and direction.

    We also look at what could be UFC’s biggest show of the year, Chris Weidman wants Jon Jones, Fabricio Werdum’s next title defense against Cain Velasquez and a look at the heavyweight division, this week’s show, return of Anthony Pettis, next year’s attempt to run in Madison Square Garden, update on all the championships, a look at UFC fighter pay, a UFC fighter gets in a bar fight and tons of new UFC fights.

    If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today.  With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.

    New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.

    Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

    ***

    Tuesday Daily Update

    • UFC released the following statement last night about the Anthony Johnson Facebook post where he claimed to have intimidated a woman and yanked her yoga mat out from under her at a gym:

    Following a thorough investigation by a third-party law firm, UFC® is extremely disappointed with Anthony Johnson’s recent actions, as the organization does not tolerate behavior of this nature from any athletes under contract with the UFC. Johnson personally apologized to the woman he verbally offended at a Florida gym last week and for the insensitive comments he made on social media afterwards. The woman accepted Johnson’s apology and indicated a desire to put this unfortunate matter behind them. In order to ensure these situations do not happen in the future, Johnson has agreed to participate in counseling and UFC will support him through this process. Johnson has also agreed to make a donation to a Florida-based women’s charity.

    Johnson will face Jimi Manuwa at UFC 191®: JOHNSON vs. DODSON 2 on Saturday, September 5 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

    When asked about Johnson’s claim that the incident got physical, UFC said that the statement is “the extent of our comment on the matter.” 

    Anthony Johnson agrees to counseling after gym altercation in Florida

    • UFC announced that the next season of cards (a a “Welcome to the Show” months ago) will b called “Go Big.” It starts with the show next month in Japan.
    • Press of Atlantic City covered all three of WWE’s nights at Barclays Center
    • Mirko Cro Cop vs Anthony Hamilton scheduled for UFC Fight Night 79 

  • UFC On FOX 17: Dos Santos vs. Overeem co-main event announced

    By Ryan Frederick, WrestlingObserver.com

    A long-awaited heavyweight bout between former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior Dos Santos and former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem will serve as the co-main event of UFC On FOX 17 in Orlando, Florida on December 19. UFC officials announced the bout today on Twitter.

    Dos Santos and Overeem have previously been scheduled to fight before, at UFC 146 in May 2012 when Dos Santos held the UFC Heavyweight Championship. However, Overeem was pulled from the bout after he was avoiding a drug test from the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Dos Santos instead faced Frank Mir, making his only successful title defense when he scored a TKO over Mir in the second round.

    The two have been long-rumored to be fighting, but injuries have slowed the booking of the bout. They were slated to fight at UFC 160 in May 2013, but Overeem pulled out due to an injury. Dos Santos has been out of action since scoring a decision win over Stipe Miocic at UFC On FOX 13 in December. The fight in December will be only Dos Santos’ second fight since losing a trilogy bout with Cain Velasquez for the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 166 in October 2013. Meanwhile, Overeem has won two straight bouts and is looking at a potential title shot with a win over Dos Santos.

    UFC On FOX 17 will be headlined by a UFC Lightweight Championship bout as Rafael Dos Anjos makes his first title defense against the top contender, Donald Cerrone. Also on the card is a lightweight bout between Michael Johnson and Nate Diaz, which was announced by the UFC last night.

  • Current WWE card for October 3rd MSG/WWE Network show featuring Brock Lesnar

    By Josh Nason, WrestlingObserver.com

    File this under ‘Card Subject To Change’, but here’s a look at the current Saturday, October 3rd Madison Square Card house show lineup that WWE announced Sunday would air as part of a live WWE Network special. Plainly put, it’s very SummerSlam-esque.

    – WWE Champion/US Champion Seth Rollins vs. John Cena. (Cena is listed as U.S. Champion.)

    – Randy Orton vs. Sheamus

    – Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev

    – Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro

    – Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman in his first time in the Garden in over 10 years. No opponent listed.

    – Chris Jericho (no opponent listed) and more of “your favorite WWE superstars”

    Tickets range from $25-$130.

    (H/T: Jerry)

  • On this day in pro wrestling history (August 25): Sting vs. Steve Austin for WCW U.S. title, Brock Lesnar vs. Rock

    By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

    1935 – Waterloo, Iowa; Lou Plummer beat Otto Kuss, Louis Thesz beat Frank  (Bull) Topaz and Earl Wampler beat Ed Cook.

    1937 – Kansas City Missouri; For the World Title, Everett Marshall retained the belot over George Zaharias and Lou Thesz beat Juan Humberto

    1970 – Johnny Walker and Tojo Yamamoto defeated the Interns to win the Mid-American Southern Tag Team Title in Memphis, Tennessee; Skandar Akbar and Buddy Colt defeated Bill Dromo and Alberto Torres to win the Macon Tag Team Titles in Macon, Georgia.

    1973 – St Paul, Minnesota at Midway Stadium; Billy Robinson beat AWA Champion Verne Gagne dq, AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat The Crusher & Red Bastien, Superstar Billy Graham beat Ken Patera by countout, Larry Heiniemi drew Reggie Parks, Buddy Wolff beat Billy Red Cloud, Ivan Koloff beat Bob Bruggers and Greg Gagne beat Vic Rossitani dq. Attendance was 10,000

    1977 – Honolulu, Hawaii at Blaisdell Center; in a Non Title Indian Death Match, Billy Whitewolf (Shiek Adnan El Kassey) beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel, Wenona Little Heart & Vicki Williams beat Fabulous Moolah & Terry Shane and Jesse Ventura & Steve Strong beat Bill Francis & Sam Steamboat. Attendance was 5,000.

    1983 – Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat David Shultz (stopped due to excessive blood), Mid Heavyweight Champion Dynamite Kid beat Great Gama dq, Andre the Giant won a 15-man Battle royal, Bret Hart no cotest Archie Gouldie (Mongolian Stomper), Cobra & Hiro Saito beat Bruce Hart & Davey Boy Smith dq, Keith Hart beat Scott Ferris, Jim Neidhart & Mr. Hito beat Cuban Assassin & Cyclon Negro and Coconut Willie beat Wolfman Kevin. Attendance was 9,000.

    1984 – The Road Warriors defeated The Crusher & Baron Von Raschke for the AWA World Tag Team Title in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Showboat. Also on the card, Mr Saito beat Stan Lane, Jim Brunzell beat Sheik Adnan, Tony Atlas beat Larry Zbyszko and Curt Hennig beat Steve Regal

    1991 – Sting defeated Steve Austin in a tournament final for the WCW U.S. Heavyweight Title in Atlanta, Georgia. The US Title was vacated when former champion Lex Luger won the WCW World Title.

    1995 – 2 Cold Scorpio defeated Eddie Guerrero for the ECW Television Title in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania

    2002 – Brock Lesnar defeated The Rock to win the WWE World Title and Rob Van Dam defeated Chris Benoit to win the Intercontinental Title at SummerSlam held in Uniondale, New York.

  • WWE announces new characters for video game

    In 2K’s third reveal for WWE 2K16’s ongoing Roster 3:16, 18 additional WWE Superstars and Divas have been announced for inclusion in the forthcoming franchise release on October 27, 2015 in North America and October 30, 2015 internationally. This week’s additions to WWE 2K16’s extensive roster include Alicia Fox, Bam Bam Bigelow, The Big Show, Cameron, Cesaro, Darren Young, Diamond Dallas Page, Dolph Ziggler, Finlay, Kevin Nash, Layla, Lex Luger, The Miz, Naomi, Randy Orton, Sheamus, Titus O’Neil and Tyson Kidd.

    Assets to support today’s roster reveal announcement include screenshots, roster images and a video featuring WWE 2K16 tag team entrances for Cesaro and Tyson Kidd, and as well as The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch):

    Additionally, please find supporting assets from the WWE 2K16 & WWE SuperCard SummerSlam Kickoff Event, including screenshots and b-roll of the first-ever WWE 2K16gameplay featuring Stone Cold Steve Austin versus Jake the Snake from this year’s 2K Showcase mode.

    • WWE 2K SummerSlam Kickoff Event Photos: https://www.hightail.com/download/bXBiQ1Z1UzdrUmtpR01UQw
    • WWE 2K16  Gameplay B-roll: https://www.hightail.com/download/bXBiQ1ZnT01veE1sYzlVag (MUST BE EDITED)
      Password: 25Lju?W]

      Screenshots: https://www.hightail.com/download/bXBhT215SWU5eFZESjlVag

    • WWE SuperCardScreenshots and App Icon: https://www.hightail.com/download/bXBiK0dqQ0MrV3pxYk1UQw

    Developed collaboratively by Yuke’s and Visual Concepts, a 2K studio, WWE 2K16 is rated T for Teen by the ESRB and is in development for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment systems, Xbox One and Xbox 360.  

  • WWE RAW Brooklyn: Superstars results, return date, more

    Submitted by Mike Omansky

    — WWE returns to Barclays on Monday, 12/28 for RAW with a presale code of WWERAW.

    — WWE Superstars:

    – Zack Ryder def. Heath Slater after hitting the RoughRyder.
    – Los Matadores (with El Torito) def. Ascension after hitting the Backstabber and pin thanks to a distraction by Torito.

    — Post RAW:

    – The advertised six man tag main event didn’t happen. Lillian Garcia thanked fans for coming and that was that. 

    – Crowd was hot most of the night, except for the divas tag match. Chants included “CM Punk”, “We are awesome” and “boring”.  There were also several waves done by the audience.

  • Notes on Night of Champions PPV show

    The WWE Night of Champions PPV on 9/20 in Houston will be headlined by Seth Rollins vs. Sting for the WWE title.

    They have also announced that every WWE title will be defended on the show, which in theory means Rollins would have to work twice.  If so, that’s the identical storyline ROH is doing with Jay Lethal two nights earlier on PPV.

  • MON UPDATE: SummerSlam News and Raw tonight, Undertaker, Oliveira injury, WWE press

    We’re looking for your thoughts on both SummerSlam as well as NXT for the weekend polls, 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 looking for reports from Raw tonight in Brooklyn as far as dark matches, Superstars matches or anything else not evident from the live show. 

    We’re also looking for reports on the Friday night GFW tapings in Las Vegas and the Saturday GFW show in Reno.

    Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday night in Providence, RI

    ****

    We’ve got a new double issue of the Observer up on the site which, on the 55th anniversary of the birth of the AWA, features a look at the history of the AWA and the career of Verne Gagne.  The issue also covers the buildup to SummerSlam, the most detailed look at this year’s G-1 Climax tournament, the History of G-1, Anderson Silva’s hearing and suspension, UFC’s stadium event in Australia, the death of Roller Games heel Mizz Georgia Hase, as well as the monthly WWE & TNA business rundown.

    The issue is on the site right now at August 24, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Summerslam preview, G1 Tournament and finals review, Silva trial details

    Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show in the history of the site are at Sign up here for as low as $9.99 per month!

    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

    You can also order at www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    Rates are:

    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.

    The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.

    Our big feature looks back at the career of Verne Gagne and the history of the most famous version of the AWA.

    We look at the beginnings of the Gagne legend in wrestling and the start of his pro career.  We look back at his football offers, his world junior heavyweight title win, the period that Gagne was one of the highest paid athletes in the country and how politics changed the course of his career.

    We look at the Lou Thesz vs. Verne Gagne series and why it abruptly ended and why Gagne was never considered for the NWA title even though he’d have likely made a better champion than those chosen ahead of him.

    We’ve got a complete history of the career of Gagne and his various honors.

    We look at the war in Chicago in the 50s, the most controversial NWA title match of its era, and both the real reason and storyline reason for the formation of the AWA.  We look at the first-ever AWA show, the first-ever AWA title match, the first feuds that put the AWA on the map as a significant organization and its first attempt at doing a stadium show.

    We look at some of the AWA’s biggest money feuds in history, and the role the AWA played in getting two of the biggest promotions in the country at the time to join the NWA.  We also look at the ironies about Gagne with his own actions and with his complaints about the actions of Vince McMahon.

    We look at the era when the AWA title was one of the big three belts.  We also look at the first big heyday of the AWA in the late 60s and early 70s, including a look back at a number of stadium shows in Chicago.

    We look at the Hulk Hogan-fueled second AWA heyday, how the heel Hulk Hogan from the WWF became the babyface Hulk Hogan in the AWA.  We look at Gagne’s role in creating Hulkamania, the first Verne Gagne retirement show, and many coming out of retirement shows.  We look at the Gagne-Hogan relationship including the time Gagne tried to shoot on Hogan and what happened.

    We looked at why the stories about Gagne being stupid in not putting the AWA title on Hogan show a lack of understanding of the time, and why it would have been the worst thing long-term for him.  We look at the business reason why it wasn’t done.

    We look at Hogan’s departure for the WWF, and why it had to happen.

    We look at the AWA after Hogan, including Jesse Ventura’s departure, Gagne’s business practices that started killing his company, how competition exposed the AWA, and the hard fall at the end.  We also look at the deal that kept the AWA alive a little longer, new stars who got early breaks at the end, and the end of the company.

    We’ve also got a look at all the news leading into WWE’s second biggest week of the year.  We look at the ESPN coverage and why, Lesnar talking Vince McMahon vs. Dana White, the irony of Lesnar calling wrestling fake and the lack of reaction from within wrestling, Jon Stewart, Learn vs. Undertaker reaction, weekend schedule, talk about next year’s SummerSlam and much more.

    We also have a look at the finals of this year’s G-1 Climax tournament. 

    We look at how G-1 started, whose idea it was and what was its original goal.  We look at the first G-1 tournament and how it related to the 25th tournament this past week.

    We look at the big matches on the last three days, what appears to be the Tokyo Dome plans and the storyline behind it.  We look at what will probably be New Japan’s biggest matches of the fall before the Dome, including who Kazuchika Okada will likely headline PPVs against as well as who Hiroshi Tanahashi is also likely to face in big matches this fall.

    We compare the New Japan top stars to the All Japan stars of the 90s, as well as look at the G-1 business.  We look at how four different shows in Tokyo did going against each other.

    We also update the business of New Japan World and talk about next year’s G-1 tournament including who can go, who has to stay and who can be brought in to make the tournament even more interesting.

    We update the injuries and the final standings, character changes, the ROH relationship, the real story behind Jushin Liger working for WWE this weekend, and the build for Tenryu’s retirement match.

    We also have complete rundowns of all three nights at Sumo Hall, including match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.

    We also have the complete history of the New Japan annual heavyweight tournament dating back to 1974.

    We also look at Minneapolis and WrestleMania and the last stadium show in that market 29 years ago, we look at the future of NXT, Roman Reigns talks about when he found out he wasn’t winning the title ad his reaction, when Seth Rollins found out he was winning, as well as Reigns talks about the briefcase hitting him in the head in Victoria.

    We’ve got notes on two Dwayne Johnson movies, WWE filing suit against its television partner, the tenure of The Authority storyline, NXT star says he doesn’t want to move up to the main roster, and notes about pay so far for the major NXT shows.

    We also have more on what happened between Paul Levesque and Chyna at  Roddy Piper’s first funeral, as well as notes no who attended Piper’s second funeral.  We debunk a claim made by Chyna about her WWE tenure.

    We look at how a WWE PPV is going against one of the biggest television events of the year.

    We update on who has worked the most matches this year, have more on the Owen Hart DVD project, an update on Tough Enough leading to the final show of the season, notes on the Nikki Bella vs. Sasha Banks champion vs. champion match, and WWE and Evolve.

    We also look at all the NXT and WWE events over this past week, business notes on the show and highlights from every event.

    We also look at the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s hearing on Anderson Silva’s drug test failures.  We look at the comedy provided from Silva, why he was so lucky this didn’t happen after July, his excuses, evidence, penalties and commission reaction.

    We’ve got our monthly business rundown of WWE and TNA, looking at house shows, ratings DVDs and merchandise.  We also look at the cord cutting and how that affects cable TV, as well as the number of homes the cable networks that have wrestling, boxing and MMA are currently in.

    We also look at the CMLL anniversary show main event and how quickly it came to be, a guy said to be returning in two weeks after tearing his pec, and at 54 years old, the next AAA TV taping, updates on U.S. stars returning to Mexico and a top indie star and top CMLL star feuding.

    We also look at what could be UFC’s biggest show of the year, Chris Weidman wants Jon Jones, Fabricio Werdum’s next title defense against Cain Velasquez and a look at the heavyweight division, this week’s show, return of Anthony Pettis, next year’s attempt to run in Madison Square Garden, update on all the championships, a look at UFC fighter pay, a UFC fighter gets in a bar fight and tons of new UFC fights.

    We also have notes on Bellator business and Scott Coker’s predictions for the biggest live event in company history as well as bringing legends of the sport to San Jose, as well as Coker’s long-term goals for the promotion, Was there really a chance for a Frank Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz fight, the final Bellator major event of the year and the lineup, the debut of Josh Thomson and Thomson talks leaving UFC and how badly hurt he was by the Reebok deal.

    If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today.  With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.

    New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.

    Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.

    MONDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

    • Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Raw and the latest pro wrestling news.  You can send e-mail questions to tonight’s show to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com
    • Undertaker was banged up last night in his match with Brock Lesnar.  There was footage of him collapsing once he got backstage that made its way around.  We don’t believe there was a serious injury and he wasn’t hospitalized.   But he did go home and is not expected at Raw.  There are reports of Sting and Ric Flair on Raw tonight.  Flair has been in town and Sting came back to town after leaving.  Flair would make sense to be used as an explanation in the Jon Stewart angle.
    • WWE got a ridiculous amount of  mainstream for SummerSlam, a combination of the New York market, and Jon Stewart’s involvement in the main event.  Last night’s show got 1 million Google searches making it No. 2 for the day, which is a level usually reserved for WrestleMania and the top tier UFC events.  It was also listed as the most social show on television with 575,000 mentions. 
    • Among the media outlets that covered SummerSlam for Stewart, and some would have anyway, included all the major New York papers including the Times, and the CBS Morning News, Good Morning America, The Today Show and lots of talk radio.  The New York Times story
    • Tonight’s Raw is expected to be the highest rated episode of the show since the day after WrestleMania.
    • Regarding last night’s audio show where we speculated that Paul Heyman may have come up with the finish of last night’s Brock Lesnar match.  That was not the case.  The finish did change and was tweaked from whatever the original idea was, but it didn’t come from Heyman.
    • The idea that the cameras missed the tap originally by Undertaker was the idea.  Nobody was supposed to understand what was going on and then it would be revealed after that Lesnar really should have won, but only after Undertaker won first.
    • The storyline is that Charles Robinson now recognizes that he blew the call in the main event.  That will be addressed most likely on the show.
    • Michelle Runnels, the wife of Dusty Rhodes, was at the show yesterday. 
    • Vince McMahon turns 70 today.  He may get to sleep on Wednesday.
    • Linda McMahon attended SummerSlam and is at Raw today. 
    • We’ve got an interview on the front page of the site with A.J. Styles talking the G-1 Climax tournament.  Styles meets Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP title in the main event of the King of Pro Wrestling show on 10/12 at Sumo Hall in Tokyo.
    • Besides Kazuchika Okada, also backstage from New Japan at SummerSlam included Jushin Liger, Gedo, Tiger Hattori and Naoki Sugabayashi.
    • NXT Takeover was the No. 2 trending topic in Japan on Twitter at one point.  The Hardcore fans were really unhappy they couldn’t see Finn Balor in the main event, since the show didn’t air on TV in Japan and WWE network isn’t legally available there. (thanks to Jose Gonzalez)
    • Charles Oliveira’s injury that caused a stoppage to his main event fight with Max Holloway on last night’s UFC show just 1:39 into the fight, was reported by MMAJunkie.com, citing a UFC P.R. source, as being a torn esophagus, which can be life threatening.
    • CBS Radio announced The Taz Show:  Bodyslams and Beyond, will air for audio and video streaming from 7-9 a.m. every Monday through Friday starting on 9/14, from the CBS radio headquarters in New York.  It will be available on-line starting at 10 a.m. daily.  It will be a call-in show on news from around the world focusing on pro wrestling.  This daily show will take the place of his weekly podcasts.  Seth Neiman will co-host and produce the show. 
    • Brian Cage will be a guest on the season premiere of From Dawn Till Dusk that airs at 9 p.m. tomorrow night on the El Rey Network.
    • Some photos from Thursday night’s 2K 16 party
    • Screen shots of the game and the WWE SuperCard game HERE and HERE
    • The season finale of Tough Enough is tomorrow night.  It’s fan voting with ZZ vs. Josh and Amanda vs. Sara Lee, with each winner getting a one year contract for $250,000.  As noted, Cesaro will be doing live matches with Josh and ZZ on the show. 
    • Andy Hug, the legendary kickboxer who was the biggest star in that sport, passed away on this day in 2000
    • The former C.J. Parker in NXT debuts with New Japan Pro Wrestling on 9/4 under the name Juice Robinson.
    • Interviews with Sara Lee and ZZ
    • We had a ton of complaints about streaming issues early in the show for SummerSlam, but nothing after the start of the show. 
    • It will be interesting to see how the NXT four-way women’s match with Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Dana Brooke and Emma airs and how much gets edited on Wednesday.  It was taped on Friday and the first part of the show before the live special aired was for Wednesday’s NXT show.  The finish was botched as Lynch was not supposed to be pinned, but she didn’t kick out.  The impression we were given is that she was supposed to be saved by one of the heels and the person who was to save her wasn’t there.  The ref, doing his job, counted the pin as that is WWE rules is you can’t as a shoot and if it’s a botch, then so be it.
    • I Believe in Wrestling from Saturday night in Orlando:  Josh Parker b Josh Hess, Mark Silva b Ace Andrews, Brandon Scherer  b Derrick Jordan, Tyranus b Chico Adams, Mike Patrick & Leo Brien b Jody Kristofferson & Gabriel Black, Rhett Giddins b Aaron Epic.  Next show is 9/5.
    • NWA Florida Underground on Tuesday in Brandon, FL at the Yucatan Bar and Grill.
    • CWE has a TV taping  on Friday night in Vero Beach at the Indian River Fairgrounds Expo Center.
    • Kissimmee Pro Wrestling on 8/29 at the Wandaliz Arena with formerly known as Ricardo Rodriguez and Santana Garrett.
    • Trainwreck was No. 3 at the box office this weekend in Australia. 
    • Legacy Wrestling from Saturday night in Palmyra, PA for a Legacy vs. CZW show:  Laszlo Arpad b Sean Carr, Tim Donst b Mark Angel, Jason Raditz & Eddie Page b TH Mathis & Malek, Matt Cross b David Starr, JT Dunn b Jon Gresham, Eddie Smooth b Lio Rush and Facade, Kimber Lee b Solo Darling, AR Fox b Shane Strickland. 
    • Jay Skillet of wXw, who wrestled last on 8/8, woke up the next morning in great pain and was diagnosed with a bulging disc in his lumbar spine and a cracked disc in his tailbone.  he was advised to retire from the ring, but he is wanting to return after physical therapy.
    • Great Canadian Wrestling on 10/3 in Oshawa, ONT at the Harmony Creek Community Hall.
    • NEW from Friday night in El Paso before 250 to 300 fans:  Piranita b Super Mario, Pierre Montero b The American, Super Can & Zodiaco b Aydan Colt & Minotauro, Steampunk b Tirano.  The main event will be rematched on 9/4 (thanks to Albert Cerda) 
    • CIW from Saturday night in Jackson, MI:  Jack Thriller b Mojo McQueen,  Princess Tensai b Shayla Hyde, Bane b Baku, Chuck Wagon b Renzo Lavell, Andy Chene DCOR Grizzly House Jones, Shane Douglas & Apocalypse b Mike Knox & Malice, Phil Nitro Monohan b Greg Valentine in a dog collar match (thanks to Leonard Brand)
    • CTWE on 9/19 in Stratford, CT a the Baldwin Center with Rhyno vs. Antonio Thomas, plus Johnny Gargano Shane Strickland, Brian Fury and Slyck Wagner Brown.
    • Chaotic Wrestling Breaking Point on 10/17 in Stoneham, MA at the Stoneham High School  They also have shows on 9/11 in Woburn, MA at the Elks Lodge and 9/19 in Waltham, MA at the Waltham American Legion at 3 p.m.
    • Lucha Toronto from yesterday in Toronto:  Mr. 450 (Puerto Rico star) & Lince Dorado & Rich Swann b Angel Ortiz & Mike Draztik & Amasis, John Greed b Aiden Prince, Shelly Martinez & Movado b Idris Abraham & Alexia Nicole, Jay Cruz & Eddie Rios b Vaughan Vertigo & Gabriel Fuerza, Carter Mason b Pinkie Sanchez, Ricky Reyes b JAKA (thanks to Steven Ashe)
    • An interview with CMLL luchador Marco Corleone, talking Anniversario, Los Ingobernables vs El Bufete del Amor, working vs Undertaker, his whiplash injury from 2015, CMLL mascot violence, his entrance music, his new clothing line (gongut.com) and more. Also, thecubsfan talks Atlantis vs Sombra, the return of Dr Wagner and LA Park, En Busca de un Idolo final, Lucha Underground, the Cubs’ wild card chances and more.

    ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)

    1986 – Dandy beat Javier Cruz to win the NWA welterweight title

    1986 – Fishman beat Villano III in Mexico City to win the WWF light heavyweight title

    1989 – Reuben Amada beat Erika Shishedo, who later became Aja Kong, to win the Japanese jr. title, while Mitsuko Nishiwaki beat Madusa in the finals of the Grand Prix singles tournament

    1991 – Mark Starr beat Ricky Fuji to win the AWA light heavyweight title

    1993 – Super Delfin beat Great Sasuke in Tokyo to win the UWA welterweight title

    1994 – Manami Toyota beat Kyoko Inoue in Tokyo to win the WWWA title

    2011 – Demus 3:16 beat Pierrothito in Mexico City to win a CMLL minis tournament

  • WWE RAW 8/24 Live Results: Brock, Undertaker, Seth Rollins & SummerSlam fallout

    courtesy wwe.com 

    by Jeff Hamlin, WrestlingObserver.com 

    The Big Takeaway: As expected, a newsworthy show to kick off the final quarter of the year. Sting made his return in the main event segment, jumping Seth Rollins to set up the main event for Night of Champions. The Dudley Boyz made a surprising return to set up a feud with the New Day over the tag team titles. Braun Stowman debuted as the newest member of the Wyatt Family. John Cena gave Jon Stewart an AA. And there was a MizTV segment so wretched it killed the Divas Revolution momentum dead. I mean, graveyard dead.

    Show Recap:

    The show opened with HHH talking with Seth Rollins in the lobby of WWE headquarters. HHH showed Rollins the statues of Bruno Sammartino, Andre the Giant and the Ultimate Warrior. Surprisingly, the Warrior statue did a more coherent promo than the real thing. HHH told Rollins that tonight, the statue of Rollins would be unveiled.

    Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman were out first. Heyman said he was the pissed-off advocate of the ripped-off Beast of the Barclays. Heyman showed the footage of the Undertaker tapping out to Lesnar’s Kimura, then compared the myth that the Undertaker is immortal with the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.

    Heyman said Lesnar didn’t blame the referee (he couldn’t say the name Charles Robinson. More of those Vince McMahon mental gymnastics again) or the timekeeper. He brought up the Undertaker collapsing backstage. When he said he has enough material to fill up an entire 3-hour Raw, the crowd chanted “Yes.”

    Heyman said Lesnar wanted to fight the Undertaker one more time, and he didn’t want to wait until the Survivor Series or the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania. He wanted it tonight.

    Of course, that didn’t happen. Bo Dallas came out as the sacrificial lamb, complete with white tights. Dallas told Lesnar that last night, he passed out against the Undertaker. The good news was he woke up after having sweet dreams, like eventually bating the Undertaker. All he had to do was Bo-Lieve.

    Four laps around Suplex City for Dallas and Lesnar left. Then Heyman talked Lesnar into one more, which he delivered. Brock left again, then Heyman asked Lesnar for one more for him. Brock finally hit the F-5 as Heyman shouted that Brock Bo-Lieves.  

    The New Day’s ring entrance included Xavier Woods playing a trombone singing a song to the tune of “New York, New York” entitled “New Day, New Day.” They still have to be heels even though the fans are now chanting “New Day Rocks.” Michael Cole told Titus O’Neal and Darren Young to listen to the fans, who I guess were supposed to be chanting something derogatory to New Day. Instead, they chanted “That was awesome.”

    The New Day (C) defeated Lucha Dragons in a nontitle match (6:15)

    Big E. pinned Kalisto with the Midnight Hour. As Big E. got the pin, Woods started playing “Taps” on the trombone. 

    After the pin, the Dudley Boyz came out for a surprise appearance and cleaned house on each member of the New Day. Woods took the Wazzup. Cole tried to pretend it was the first time the Dudleys had done Wazzup in 10 years.  Then they did the 3-D on Woods through a table. Huge reaction for the Dudleys, who then started jawing with the Prime Time Players.  

    Jon Stewart is set to explain his actions in last night’s Rollins-Cena match tonight.  

    Cena was honored in a very nice piece granting his 500th Wish for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He was profiled on ESPN, CBS News, and the Today Show he co-hosted. The young man who was honored was shown at ringside.

    HHH and Stephanie McMahon caught a glimpse of the Rollins statue. It showed him adorned with both belts. He looked like a taller Daniel Bryan statue with a thinner beard. Rollins walked in before he could see the statue and talked about how much respect those around WWE headquarters have for the authority, feeling the company is better off with them in it. Stephanie said they feel the same about Rollins. He left as they got ready for the ceremony later tonight.  

    Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns defeated Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper by DQ (10:37)

    Roman Reigns had Bray Wyatt pinned after a Superman Punch when the Wyatt’s segue caused the lights to go on. When they came back on, a man under a black goat’s mask with a huge upper body was on the apron. The man took off the mask. He was never identified, but it was Braun Stowman, who was put over as the latest monster heel. Reigns and Ambrose kicked and punched him, but Stowman no-sold everything. He gave both Reigns and Ambrose Samuel Shaw’s old head-and-arm choke finisher. I hope his character goes a lot better than that one. Stowman posed with Bray and Luke as the Wyatt Family is a trio again.

    MizTV welcomed Paige, Charlotte and Becky as guests. Charlotte said the Four Horseman were the greatest faction in WWE history. Crowd sounded confused over that one. Miz and Charlotte traded barbs about Ric Flair.

    Paige, Charlotte and Becky Lynch had some lame attempts at comedy before Team Bella came out. This was just awful. Nikki said it didn’t matter who won or lost the SummerSlam match because she was 15 days away from becoming the longest reigning Divas champion of all time. Nikki has spent too much time copying the bad aspects of her boyfriend’s interviews. As Brie Bella and Alicia Fox spoke, crowd chanted for Lana.

    When Miz scolded the Divas that when his hand goes up, their mouths go shut, the fans actually popped. Miz scolded Team PCB for wrestling like a bunch of girls. That led to PCB ganging up on Miz. But Team Bella jumped Team PCB. JBL said they were about to have a trios match. Didn’t Nikki just say last night’s match didn’t matter? So wouldn’t I be crazy to care about this one? All I know is Vince Verhei is likely gearing up for a walk right now.

    Team Bella defeated Team PCB (14:06)

    An unmitigated disaster. Fox pinned Paige after an Ax kick following a cheap shot from Nikki. Crowd was totally dead, then started giving the match the Randy Orton-Sheamus treatment from 2 years ago. They did the wave. They chanted “We are awesome.” It went two long segments. Even worse, Charlotte appeared to be injured as she couldn’t stand up near the end. All the momentum from the NXT debut from five weeks ago is long gone.

    Just as strange, Stardust and King Barrett were supposed to team together. For some reason, Stardust turned on Barrett, giving him the Queen’s Crossbow. Neville came down and cleaned house on Stardust, teasing the Red Arrow. But Stardust escaped. No crowd heat at all as the Divas’ segment will be the death of this show until some main eventers show up.

    Stewart, complete with Stewart Section signs and “Thank you, Stewart” chants, came out. He’s growing a heel beard now, but he got a babyface reaction for turning on Cena. He said he helped Rollins because he didn’t want Cena to tie Flair’s record of 16 World Championships. This brought out Flair. Stewart did portions of the Jackie Fargo strut as Flair came down.  

    Flair told Stewart that he had messed up everything. Then Cena came out. Cena chastised Stewart for costing him the U.S. title. Stewart tried to talk him into fighting Rollins again for the U.S. title. Cena said that was for another night, but tonight he was going to have to do what he had to do. So he gave Stewart an AA. $5 will get you $10 that spot gets on Fox News tomorrow. Stewart never broke character here and was helped up to a round of applause.

    Renee Young talked with Cena, who said he felt what he did was right. Cena said he would talk to Rollins later tonight.

    Randy Orton, Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler and Ryback defeated Kevin Owens, Sheamus, The Big Show and Rusev (17:52)

    Randy Orton pinned Sheamus with the RKO after the Big Show accidentally hit Sheamus with the Knockout punch. Among the highlights were Kevin Owens and Ryback engaging in a punching exchange like they were Don Frye and Yoshihiro Takayama. Lana came out in a bleached jean skirt. I could have sworn she walked straight off the set of a Whitesnake video. In the same vein, the new, skinnier Dolph Ziggler is wearing long sequined pants with black gloves. If the territories were still around, he’d be billing himself as a cousin of Shawn Michaels.

    Postmatch, Owens and Rusev got mad at Big Show for costing their team the match, so they attacked him. Owens gave Show the Cannonball. The face team got back in the ring after Big Show got up. You would think this would lead to Show’s latest face turn. Instead, Ziggler gave him a superkick, while Cesaro and Ryback picked Show up so Orton could give him an RKO. Maybe Show really is retiring.

    Wyatt did an interview saying the latest member of the Wyatt Clan was indeed named Braun Stowman.

    Stephanie and HHH confronted Cena about slamming Stewart, a man he outweighed by 100 pounds. Cena said he was about to take a step up in weight class when he confronts Rollins tonight. Stephanie said he wouldn’t get the chance, and two security guards escorted Cena out of the building. Stephanie gave him the “You can’t see me” signal. So Stephanie was a heel tonight. Vegas should keep odds on this weekly.

    HHH and Stephanie came out. Stephanie wished her father a Happy 70th Birthday and they actually led the crowd in singing “Happy birthday to you.” Stephanie appeared a little choked up. Crowd wanted Vince to come out, and HHH joked that he’s really pissed off right now.   

    HHH did a long speech about how Rollins is a winner who can outwork and overachieve his way to success. Rollins came out as the first man to hold the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and U.S. Championship at the same time.

    Rollins said he was joining the Mt. Rushmore of the WWE. Still funny to think of the Warrior on the Rushmore. Rollins said he became a legend last night after defeating Cena, and with the unveiling of the statue, he become immortal. Rollins said Cena has reached the heights he’s reached by working every day of his life for the past ten years, but to be the man you have to be the man. Rollins proclaimed himself the man.

    When the time came to unveil the statue, underneath the curtain was Sting. HHH and Stephanie took off, while Sting sent Rollins packing after three punches. Sting closed the show by posing with the WWE Heavyweight belt. The crowd was probably tired, but the reaction to Sting was noticeably less than that of the Dudleys.

    SUMMARY: The return of Sting would have meant a lot more if he had defeated HHH at WrestleMania. Now, it’s hard to really care because we’ve seen repeated examples of the WWE creative team not knowing how to use a talent cultivated in another company. In fact, Sting fell victim to it earlier this year.

    This show had a great first hour. The announcers played the Dudleys return like it was a huge deal and Stowman like the next monster.

    However, the WWE has an ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and they’ve certainly done that with the Divas Revolution. Tonight’s MizTV segment will go down as one of the year’s worst, one that threatens to push the entire division back into also-ran category. Contrast that to the Bailey-Sasha Banks match from just 48 hours ago–in the same building, from the same company–speaks volumes about WWE creative and its inability to create new stars, much less create revolutions.