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  • WWE non-Raw report from Minneapolis: Superstars, Brock Lesnar speech, Wade Barrett media day

    Submitted by Eric Thibault

    – WWE Monday Night Raw returns to Minneapolis, Monday December 21st. Pre-sale password: WWEPRE

    – Wade Barrett, billed as King Barrett, was doing Twin Cities media throughout the day.

    – The gates were packed wall-to-wall one hour before the dark matches started. Chants were already starting in the hallways and before the show. Guy sitting in front row handed out 500 Cesaro signs before the show.

    Superstars

    Adam Rose vs Curtis Axel: Rose came out and cut a promo about nobody wanting to party when he was having fun and now he was the party pooper. Rose said he’d poop on Minneapolis’ party and challenged anyone in the back. Curtis Axel came out to a loud pop being the hometown guy. Rose hit a top-rope axe handle splash onto Axe’s back and Axel won in 2:52 with the Hangman’s Facebuster.

    R-Truth & Fandango vs Ascension: Crowd into everything tonight. Loudly chanting what’s up and doing the Fandango. Fandango and R-Truth dance in the ring together until the Ascension’s music hit. Not many boos for Ascension. R-Truth and Fandango hit a weird double team before commercial break. Ascension worked over Truth for the heat. Truth got tired or hurt in the corner. Fandango hot tag. Action broke down. Fall of Man for the win at 7:15.

    – Orton and Cesaro were super over. They were doing barrel rolls together around the ring during Sheamus’ entrance.

    – During the break of Reigns vs Harper, Reigns came out of the ring and made Saxton sit down. Crowd loved it. Harper gave a cheap shot to Reigns for the heat. The crowd knew Ziggler was coming and he still received a massive pop. The ring crew got a big pop for pulling the Rusev flag down.

    – The fans were getting tired at the end of hour two but kept trying to stay alive.

    – Cena and Rollins lit the show back up. Rollins promo was well received and Cena got a really good pop. The fans really amped up during Cena’s promo.

    – Lots of dancing when the Primetime Players were introduced. New Day received the biggest reaction and the crowd loved chanting New Day sucks.

    – Crowd wasn’t into Banks vs Nikki because everyone was waiting for Lesnar. Crowd turned on match and chanted for Lesnar. Before the Sasha Banks match a WWE employee put a grey tote with a white paper shopping bag on top under the ring. Later, during commercial before the main event an entourage came to the ring and a hooded individual went under the ring.

    – Lesnar was super over! Undertaker had a definite mixed reaction. After the show Lesnar rose to his feet to applause and had a smile on his face. Crowd chanted Suplex City loudly after.

    – Lesnar called for the microphone and went to one knee: “I have to take a knee. Undertaker. Good one buddy. I don’t what to say but thank you very much. Come this Sunday at Summerslam, Undertaker it will be your last ride. And where we going to go?” Crowd yelled Suplex City.

    – I’ve been to about two dozen WWE shows in MPLS over the last ten years and this was easily the most entertaining show since the Eddie Guerrero tribute shows. Totally different circumstances, obviously, but awesome show start to finish.

  • UFC Fight Round-Up: Several bouts announced including key UFC 194 addition

    By Ryan Frederick, WrestlingObserver.com

    Monday was a busy day when it comes to fight announcements for several upcoming events, including fights with title implications, one of which is a key addition to December’s big UFC 194 event in Las Vegas.

    A middleweight bout between Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Yoel Romero was the big addition, joining the already loaded UFC 194 event on December 12 from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The bout was confirmed by UFC officials after an initial report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Souza and Romero will meet in what is likely a title eliminator bout for the UFC Middleweight Championship, which will be on the line at that UFC 194 event when champion Chris Weidman defends against top contender Luke Rockhold. It also sets up a situation where should one of those fighters get injured, Souza or Romero could slide in as a replacement. This is the third time that Souza and Romero have been booked to fight as injuries to each man have previously caused cancellations of those scheduled fights. That event is headlined by the much anticipated UFC Featherweight Championship bout between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor.

    UFC 192 on October 3 in Houston, Texas saw two fights added to the event, which were first reported by the Houston Chronicle. In a flyweight bout, it will be a battle of former title challengers as Joseph Benavidez takes on Ali Bagautinov. Benavidez is riding a three-fight win streak, and his only losses  at 125 pounds have come to Demetrious Johnson, the current title holder. Baguatinov returns from a year-long drug suspension following his title loss to Johnson at UFC 174 in June 2014. Also, in the women’s strawweight division, Rose Namajunas will take on Angela Hill. That event is headlined by UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier defending against Alexander Gustafsson, and the fight card also includes bouts between Rashad Evans and Ryan Bader, and Johny Hendricks against Tyron Woodley.

    Another key flyweight bout with title shot implications was also announced as Henry Cejudo takes on Jussier Formiga at UFC Fight Night 78 in Monterrey, Mexico on November 21. Cejudo, a former Olympic gold medalist in wrestling, is undefeated in his nine career fights, and has won three since joining the UFC. Formiga is riding a three-fight win streak. That event airs on FOX Sports 1 and is headlined by a welterweight bout between Matt Brown and Kelvin Gastelum. 

  • WWE announces celebrity host for SummerSlam

    Jon Stewart, the former host of The Daily Show, will be the celebrity guest host at SummerSlam on Sunday.

    The comapny made the announcement this afternoon.  Stewart as a very popular guest on a show a few months ago, when eh did an angle with Seth Rollins.

  • WWE Raw live results (August 17): Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker highlights SummerSlam go-home show

    courtesy of WWE.com 

    by Jeff Hamlin, WrestlingObserver.com 

    The Big Takeaway: For the first time since 2002, the Undertaker appeared as an outright heel by attacking Brock Lesnar in Lesnar’s homecoming in Minneapolis. Undertaker left Lesnar laying with a tombstone after a chokeslam. The go-home show to SummerSlam also had a great John Cena-Seth Rollins contract signing for the title vs. title match. 

    Show Recap: 

    HHH and Stephanie McMahon are out first. They started by running down the SummerSlam card. They announced a contract signing for later tonight between Seth Rollins and John Cena. Jon Stewart was also officially announced as the guest host for SummerSlam. And that was it. Took 10 minutes. It was every PPV countdown control center update you saw during syndicated shows in the 90s with Todd Pettengill or Tony Schiavone, except this was live in the ring with the two biggest heels in the company. Or faces, depending on which week it is. 

    Randy Orton and Cesaro defeated Kevin Owens and Sheamus (12:59) 

    Randy Orton pinned Sheamus after an RKO. Cesaro made a blind tag to Orton, who tried to give Kevin Owens an RKO, but Owens threw Orton into Sheamus for the finish. Yet another job for Sheamus after he won the Money in the Bank briefcase. The Cesaro Section movement continues as the crowd got into his hot tag. Solid. 

    The Undertaker will come out for an interview next. The promo was taped in the back with Undertaker emerging from fog with monks chanting in the background. He said when the reaper calls your name, there’s nothing you can do but accept your fate. He said that Lesnar would not rest in peace. We’ll likely see more of the Taker tonight or else this will be one disappointing go home show. 

    Rollins thanked HHH and Stephanie for coming up with the contract signing idea. Then he asked if he beats Cena on Sunday, he deserves a statue of his likeness at WWE Headquarters, just like Bruno Sammartino, Andre the Giant and the Ultimate Warrior. Yep, they’re pissed at Hogan. HHH and Stephanie agreed. 

    Roman Reigns defeated Luke Harper (14:59)

    Good match where Luke Harper looked like the most underrated guy in the company. Roman Reigns won with a Superman’s Punch and a Spear. At various points, Harper used a Michinoku Driver, a stiff Yakuza kick that JBL compared to Bruiser Brody and attempted a tope. Dean Ambrose was out on commentary. Bray Wyatt was at ringside just watching since Ambrose was seated across from him.  

    Becky Lynch defeated Tamina via submission (4:01)

    Becky Lynch won with the DisarmHer. Crowd wanted to like Lynch but they weren’t into the match. Team Bella watched from the back. 

    Rusev defeated Mark Henry via submission (2:47)

    Rusev got the tapout with the Accolade. Even in defeat, Mark Henry picked up Rusev and held him up on consecutive powerslams. Just absurbly strong.

    Lana, selling nothing from getting her back bent by Summer Rae with an Accolade last week, was on commentary. That guaranteed Dolph Ziggler would make his return in this segment. 

    Postmatch, Lana got in the ring and challenged Rae. Lana slapped Rae down. Then Lana challenged Rusev. As Rueev approached her, Ziggler ran down for his return to a big pop. Ziggler hit the hanging DDT and started to hit Rusev with a superkick, but Rusev pulled Rae in front of him. So Lana kicked Rae down, followed by Ziggler giving Rusev a kick. Ziggler and Lana kissed as Rusev fumed. 

    Ziggler did a promo with Lana backstage challenging the “Bulgarian Bonehead” to a match at SummerSlam. Remind me if Ziggler opens during Adam Sandler’s comeback standup comedy tour to schedule an oil change for that night. 

    They showed the same terrific hype piece with Lesnar-Undertaker from last week.

    Ryback (C) defeated The Miz (2:21) in a nontitle match 

    Ryback won with the Shellshock. The Big Show was on commentary acting like a total babyface, which was quite the 180 from the past eight months. He promoted his straight to DVD movie “Vendetta” with Dean Cain. Ryback challenged Show to get in the ring, but he just walked off.

    The 2nd hour has lost a lot of steam after such a big buildup.  

    Next up with the Rollins-Cena contract signing. The sign of the night was held up during Rollins’ entrance which read “At least Cena’s nose turned.”

    Rollins said he can’t wait for the statue is erected in his honor for beating Cena and holding the World Heavyweight Championship and U.S. Championship at the same time. Rollins brought up Bob Dylan, who is from Minnesota. He said “The Times they are a Changin’” and compared it to how he will be the man to replace Cena after Cena spent 10 years on top of the mountain. Rollins said Cena has held the entire WWE Universe hostage for the past decade, which got a fair amount of cheers. Rollins said Cena was a disease and he was the cure. Wow, we’re taking taglines from horrible 1980s Sly Stallone movies now. Rollins signed the contract. 

    Just as Rollins was about to go into how Cena wouldn’t face him man-to-man at Tough Enough, Cena finally came out to mostly boos. That was disappointing because you would think working the last 5 minutes of a match with a broken nose would earn respect.

    Cena did an angry promo and a damn good one about how people may be chanting “Let’s Go Cena” and “Cena Sucks,’ but no one is saying a thing about Rollins. He also said Rollins didn’t even believe that anything that was coming out of his own mouth. Cena said he spent the last two weeks at home wondering what to do in response to suffering a broken nose. Perhaps he would break Rollins’ nose, maybe his arm, maybe his leg. Cena talked about possibly becoming the World Champion for the 16th time. If Rollins lost, that meant that the Authority would lose, because that record belongs to HHH’s mentor, Ric Flair. HHH was stoic up until this point, but he scowled after that one.

    Cena finished by saying that HHH was trying to bestow his legacy on to Rollins, but the difference was HHH was never Flair’s bitch. Cena said this Sunday, “I’m going to make you mine.” Even Cena’s detractors loved that one. Cena signed the contract and walked. Great work from Cena.   

    The Prime Time Players and Lucha Dragons defeated The New Day and Los Matadores (2:09)

    Finish was Kalisto pinning Diego with a springboard huracanrana. For some reason, El Torito attacked Xavier Woods, even though they were seconds on the same team. This distracted all of the heels. Of course, the most entertaining part of the match was the New Day’s entrance, where Woods was supposed to finish a rhyme by saying “At SummerSlam, we’re going to knock all of these teams out of their socks, and that’s simply because New Day…..always has the odds stacked against them! I mean, we have to face three other teams…” Fans now want New Day as faces. 

    Stardust and King Barrett did a promo on Neville and Stephen Amell. Naturally, it started weird. It got downright surreal when Stardust presented a levitating cape with chains to Barrett, then wrapped it around his back. Starudst is basically doing the Jack Nicholson routine from the 1990 version of Batman as an overacting villian. 

    Sasha Banks defeated Nikki Bella (C) via submission in a nontitle match (10:37)  

    Sasha Banks made Nikki Bella tap out to the Bank Statement after Bankrupt. Nikki was going for the Rack Attack when Naomi jumped on the apron to distract the referee. The match shows they have a long way to go to present the Divas as anything special. Banks didn’t even get a ring entrance. After the match, they cut to Renee Young interviewing Team PCB, and again their gimmick is all of them going “Whoooo!” Show me a 2nd generation superstar who tries to get over by doing his father’s old routine, and I’ll show you Ted DiBiase Jr. 
    By this point in the show, fans were ready for Lesnar and chanted for him. 

    Heyman came out with a babyface promo introducing Lesnar for his homecoming. Lesnar came out with pyro, burgundy and gold streamers and a huge hometown reception. Lesnar even broke a smile. Heyman BROKE INTO SONG  singing a remake to the tune of “Glory Glory Hallaelujah” when the Undertaker’s dong went off. The lights went out, but Undertaker didn’t show up yet. 

    Heyman said Undertaker could team with God and the Devil and Lesnar will take all of them to Suplex City. He said ever said the Undertaker has been obsessed with taking revenge against Lesnar since the loss at WrestleMania. Heyman said the Undertaker has never beaten Lesnar, and after this Sunday night he will be able to make the same statement.

    Heyman said the Undertaker wasn’t a man this weekend, he was fighting a beast. He said Lesnar offers no respect to the Undertaker’s accomplishments, no resurrection, no retribution….and the lights went out again.

    And the Undertaker was in the ring and kicked Lesnar low again. Undertaker choke slammed Lesnar. And he followed with a tombstone, then walked out to his music.  

    If the goal of this was to make Undertaker a heel, it sure worked it front of this crowd because he got no cheers at all and outright booed leaving. 

    SUMMARY:  The key angles and segments to build up the major matches at SummerSlam were done very well. But the show was lacking after the first hour in terms of quality matches. However, people will want to see Taker/Lesnar and Cena/Rollins on Sunday, and they got great angles leading up to them tonight. 

  • MON UPDATE: Raw, SummerSlam, Austin in New York, UFC fighter challenges CM Punk, ROH

    By Dave Meltzer

    We’re looking for your thoughts on all three weekend New Japan shows from Sumo Hall, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to Dave Meltzerdave@wrestlingobserver.com”>

    The go-home Raw for SummerSlam is tonight at the Target Center in Minneapolis.  John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Undertaker and the entire crew will be at the show.  The show is built around a Lesnar/Undertaker final angle for SummerSlam.  Dolph Ziggler is also expected to return (he is there) to shoot an angle with Rusev as they at least had been scheduled for Sunday’s show.  We’re looking for reports on the dark matches, Superstars matches and anything else not evident from the live show.  Check out our live coverage of Raw:  WWE Raw Live Coverage and Results: Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker highlights SummerSlam go-home show

    We’re also looking for reports on the Evolve shows over the weekend in New York as well as the WWE show yesterday in Bemidji, MN at Dave Meltzerdave@wrestlingobserver.com”>

    Smackdown and Main Event will be taped Tuesday night in Green Bay.  

    A look at the WWE shows next week in Brooklyn is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer.  We also have full coverage of the G-1 Climax tournament and how it all builds for the Tokyo Dome and the fall season, as well as coverage of all the G-1 matches this past week.  We also have a look at the Teamsters attempting to unionize UFC fighters, the UFC’s letter sent to fighters and morale issues.  We also have a look at the AAA TripleMania PPV show, UFC ratings increases, the brawl at the WSOF show, UFC suing Wanderlei Silva and Layla retiring. 

    The issue is on the site right now at August 17, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Summerslam build, Unions courting UFC fighters

    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!

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    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.

    We look at the WWE events in Brooklyn with three straight full houses and look historically at the only other promotion that has been able to do it historically and the record, as well as updates on the NXT and SummerSlam shows and more details on the NXT card as well as the probable main event stipulation and ticket demand.

    We have a complete look at the G-1 Climax tournament, including updates on the last few days, the standings, the Sumo Hall preview and coverage of all the shows this past week with star ratings.

    We’ve got a look at the attempts to unionize UFC fighters, the real story behind the attempt, the letter sent by UFC to all of its fighters and why they probably could have written it better, and a look at UFC business.

    We also look at the wealth of Vince McMahon, Rosa Mendes being pregnant, WWE injury updates, lawsuits, weird match, Tough Enough, new names, insider trading, Raw advance, Diva search news plus notes on all the weekend WWE & NXT events. 

    We look at TripleMania, all the problems with the show, what happened with the Spanish language broadcast, mistakes made in booking, how the card had to change from its original plans, the letter AAA sent out after, the retirements and Hall of Fame ceremony, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings.

    We also have coverage of this past week’s UFC show, with business notes, the Johnson-Dariush scoring, and match by match coverage with bonuses.

    We also look at the brawl at the WSOF show with The Diaz Brothers and Khabib Nurmagomedov, as well as the problems in the Jake Shields vs.  Rousimar Palhares fight.

    We’ve also got notes on the retirement of Layla from WWE and highlights of her career.

    We also look at the lawsuit WWE has filed against Wanderlei Silva for alleging the company fixes fights.

    We look at the CMLL Anniversary show, an injury to the best older wrestler in the business, a New Japan star comes to Mexico and a rundown on the main events the past two weeks at Arena Mexico.

    We also look at another Rey Mysterio match, as well as the next major Dragon  Gate show lineup and highlights from the past week.

    We also look at New Japan stars heading to NOAH.

    We also look at the beginning of talks for an international group to return to PPV, as well as a look at the Fire Festival, one of Genichiro Tenryu’s last matches and a set up for an angle with one of the biggest stars of the 80s vs. one of the biggest stars of the 90s.

    We’ve got notes on the funeral of Roddy Piper, more on the Hulk Hogan tapes story, Hogan’s first public appearance, two Roddy Piper moves that haven’t come out, one of the biggest stars of the last ten years suffering a major health issue, a former star gets his number retired, a U.K. star returns after cancer, a retirement that probably isn’t a retirement, a Japanese promotion running in October in California, a wrestler having his first match in 20 years, the second oldest living wrestler and his background, big shows in Puerto Rico and news no two different wrestling Halls of Fame.

    We also have an update on the status of Lucha Underground, what changes have to be made, the audience watching the show, what to look out for, notes on the contracts the performers have, update on Vampiro and coverage of both weeks of Ultima Lucha.

    We also look at the ROH show in Brooklyn, TNA Hall of fame ceremony, and upcoming TNA house shows.

    We also look at McGregor vs. Aldo, a big show vs. normal show, Las Vegas vs. Cowboys Stadium, Rousey vs. Cyborg update, Lawler vs. McGregor, UFC financials, how much it costs them every year just in interest on their bond, what kind of profits they are making, lots of ratings into, Rousey business notes, the Aldo drug testing fiasco, Overeem vs. Dos Santos, Punk vs. Pendred, fighter already talking about coming out of retirement, and lots of new UFC fights.

    We also have notes on Josh Thomson and Bellator, Bellator’s next major show, Josh Koscheck blasts UFC and more Bellator fights.

    We have an update on Chris Leben after his arrest, new WSOF shows, a crime fighter returns to MMA and notes on weight cutting.

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    MONDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

    • Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio, talking Raw, more G-1, as well as talking other news and taking your e-mail questions to mailbag@wresetlingobserver.com
    • Steve Austin will be in New York at least for the 2K video party on Thursday night.
    • The expected Randy Orton vs. Sheamus match at SummerSlam is now official.
    • Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem have been teasing a fight on Twitter.  UFC has been trying to put that fight together for more than a year.
    • Bellator announced Josh Thomson’s debut with the promotion on 9/19 in San Jose against Mike Bronzoulis, which is the company’s next major event.  They have one show before that in Temecula, CA at the end of the month.
    • ROH officially announced Final Battle as a PPV show on 12/18 in Philadelphia at the 2300 Arena, plus they will have a TV taping there as well.
    • Cathal Pendred, who had a Twitter battle with C.M. Punk, which the belief is Punk won handily, now wants Punk in a fight in UFC on his interview today on the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani.  I don’t expect that to happen.
    • Three more matches have been announced for the ROH TV tapings in Philadelphia on Friday night, which is sold out.  They are ACH vs. Caprice Coleman, IWGP jr. tag champs Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Donovan Dijak & J Diesel, and Moose vs. Takaaki Watanabe vs. Adam Page vs. Will Ferrara. 
    • WXW TV with Alan Counihan on commentary
    • At this writing, the only trending on twitter stuff we’ve got related to wrestling and Combat Sports mentions of Josh Thomson and 462 of Evolve Wrestling.
    • C4 Wrestling on Saturday night raised $24,430 for cancer research in Canada, so good for them.  They had a show in Ottawa:  Sebastian Suave & Evan Dams won round one of the Fighting Back Invitational, Jonathan Rukin & Neon Ninja Facade won round two of the Fighting Back Invitational, PCP Crazy FN Manny b George Gatton, Addy Starr b Cecil Nyx, Too Cold Scorpio b Michael Von Payton, Izzy Deadyet b Dan Barry, Roderick Strong b Mathieu St-Jacques, Jonathan Rukin won over Facade, Sebastian Suave and Evan Adams to win the Fighting Back Invitational, Ultimo Dragon & Super Smash Brothers b Pinkie Sanchez & EYFBO. (thanks to Pat Laprade)
    • The Brooklyn Cyclones took out a half page ad in the New York Daily News pushing that wrestling and boxing is coming to MCU Park, with the ROH show on 8/22 and a boxing show called Brooklyn Brawl at the Beach on 8/25 (thanks to Joe Puccio)
    • Ultra Wrestling from Friday night in Greenville, SC:  Brice Anthony & Boomer Payne b Josh Cutshall & Tracer X, Joe Harrison b Zane Riley, TK Stark & Jett Black b Alex Kai & Mason Myles, Anthony Jannazzo b Jeff Connelly-DQ, Josh Powers b Matt Hardy.  Next show is 9/12 in Laurens, SC. (thanks to Thomas Simpson)
    • Pro Wrestling Eclipse on Sunday in Oshawa, ONT:  Jesse Amato b Crimson Axe, Tyler Tirva b John Atlas, Jennifer Blake & Xandra Bale b Kaitlyn Diamond & Jewels Malone, Cody Deaner NC John Greed, Tarik b Roderick Strong-DQ, Cody Deaner & Johny Devine b John Greed & Rex Atkins. (thanks to Dave Musgrave)
    • Mike Carpenter at KnightRiderRulz@hotmail.com is looking or a DVD of the 6/3 TNA & ROH TV shows on Destination America.
    • Jeff Jarrett will be having a tryout camp on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Las Vegas at the Future Stars of Wrestling Facility.  There are ten spots left.  Two of the people at the tryout will work Jarrett’s Friday night TV tapings in Las Vegas.  Jarrett will be doing evaluations.  A seminar will be at 5 p.m. before the tryouts and included in the $200 cost.  For more info you can contact Joe DeFalco at lvfuturestars@yahoo.com
    • Premier Wrestling on 9/19 in San Jose at Del Mar High School at 6 p.m.  Tickets are on sale at www.premierwrestling.com with $5 of regular prices.  JR Kratos (8-2) vs. Jeff Cobb (6-2-1) for the Premiere title is the main event, plus Nicole Savoy (2-1) & Kahmora (0-1) vs. Raze (0-1) & Kikyo Nakamura (0-0), and Timothy Thatcher (3-2-1) vs. Joe Graves (2-0-1), Gabriel Gallo (3-0) vs. Dom Vitalli (1-2).
    • Trainwreck. which includes John Cena, was No. 1 at the box office in Australia for the second weekend in a row. (thanks to James Stanios)
    • Former XPW star Pogo the Clown (Joe Applebaumer) headlines a 9/19 show in Denver at The Watering Bowl.  They are billing this as possibly his last match.  Hernandez is also on the show.
    • APW Bayshore Bash on 9/11 in Daly City, CA features JR Kratos vs. Chris Masters for their title, MVP vs. Dylan Drake, Juventud Guerrera vs. Joey Ryan vs. Marcus Lewis, Reno SCUM vs. Jeckles & Jinxx, Timothy Thatcher vs. Gangrel, Boyce LeGrande vs. Will Cuevas and Sione Finau vs. Idris Jackson.
    • Capital City Championship Combat on 9/26 in Ottawa at the Vanier Columbus Club.
    • Billy Jack Haynes went on a rant on Facebook wanting a street fight UFC rules with Steve Austin, blaming Austin for what happened with Roddy Piper.  The world doesn’t need this.
    • Legacy Wrestling on 8/22 in Palmyra, PA with Matt Cross and AR Fox.
    • Things pro wrestlers do that would be creepy if you or I did them
    • A story on Jim Cornette
    • Publicity for Barbie Blank, the former Kelly Kelly, who stars in a reality show about wives and girlfriends of sports stars on E!
    • Here is the release on the show, which debuts right after Total Divas, with the idea of keeping the Total Divas audience with Kelly Kelly.
      Premiering Tuesday August 18th at 10:00pm ET/PT, this new one-hour, eight episode series gives you a front row seat to the real competition, taking viewers on a wild ride into the world of some of today’s hottest professional athletes from the perspective of the women who stand by their side, otherwise known as WAGS (Wives and Girlfriends of Sports Stars).  These WAGS are playing the most competitive sport out there: getting and keeping that pro-athlete man.  As part of an elite, exclusive group, the WAGS are close friends who are bound together by a strict hierarchy, unspoken rules and plenty of drama – and those who have the coveted ring and a husband with a contract are the ones with all the power!  As in sports, this game is all about getting that “W” and this pack knows how to play the field…Jump into the competitive, fast-paced, glamorous world of “WAGS” when the new series premieres on Tuesday, August 18th at 10:00pm ET/PT on E!

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

    1966 – Skull Murphy beat Mark Lewin in Brisbane to win the IWA title

    1968 – Mario Milano & Dominic DeNucci beat Cyclone Negro & Baron Scicluna in Melbourne to win the IWA tag title

    1978 – Steve Rickard beat Professor Toru Tanaka in Auckland to win the British Commonwealth title

    1991 – Combat Toyoda beat Megumi Kudo to win the FMW womens title

    2003 – Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Jun Akiyama in Tokyo to win the G-1 Climax tournament

    2008 – Hirooki Goto beat Togi Makabe in Tokyo to win the G-1 Climax tournament

    2014 – El Hijo del Fantasma won over Daga, Fenix, Australian Suicide, Bengala, Angelico, Drago, Jack Evans, Joe Lider and Pentagon Jr. in Mexico City to unify the AAA Fusion and cruiserweight titles, and Taya Valkyrie beat Fabi Apache to win the Reina de Reinas title.

  • Bully Ray on Dana White’s “fake” comment and his time as TNA champion

    The following is from a third party:

    Bully Ray joined the Chad Dukes Wrestling Show to promote his appearance with Devon at the Bowie Baysox “Legends of Wrestling” night on August 21st at Prince George’s Stadium in Bowie, MD.

    During the interview, Bully discusses his current career freedom, the wrestling landscape, his TNA championship run, and Dana White’s comments on professional wrestling.

    *****

    On his TNA World Championship run:

    “I’m very proud of that time by myself and I will go on record to say that when when I was the World Champion at TNA and the whole Aces and Eights angle was up and running and that entire storyline with Hulk and Sting and the whole nine yards, that was the last time that there was truly some really great stuff going on storytelling-wise in TNA and the ratings proved it. I don’t care what anybody says, the proof is in the pudding. Bully Ray versus Jeff Hardy in the cage, a bigger house for TNA than they’ve ever done before and the ratings were great.

    “I really sunk my teeth into that whole thing because being Bully Ray was just really an extension of Bubba Ray Dudley in ECW. I really never got into wrestling to be a single wrestler I always knew I want to be a part of a tag team and once me and Devon had accomplished everything that we possibly could accomplish, we decided, “Hey, let’s let’s go our separate ways and you know we’ll see what happens.” And we were both very successful in doing it. So I’m very proud of that body of work.”

    On Dana White’s “fake” comment about pro wrestling:

    “Fake is such a horrible word to describe pro wrestling. When it comes to the in ring action and physicality of what goes on in there, there is nothing fake about it. I put up a tweet the other day comparing pro wrestling to Cirque de Soleil. Cirque de Soleil is a choreographed athletic performance, so is wrestling. Does that make Cirque de Soleil any less real? All of the things that they’re doing, all the physicality, the gymnastics, the trapeze, the flips, the falls, everything, it’s all real, just like it is in the middle of a wrestling ring.”

    “The term that I have always loved for pro wrestling and I don’t think many people in the United States have maybe even heard this term. It’s cool I like to refer to it as fighting opera.”

    “As far as Dana is concerned, listen, he went out there he said something and I fired back with how I believe. I was not pissed, I’m not mad, I did think that he should have apologized to the wrestling world, not me individually or anybody individually. Come out and say, ‘Hey you know what, sorry I used used the word fake it’s definitely the wrong word.’ Because listen, if it wasn’t for pro wrestling, things like MMA would never exist. Pro wrestling is the foundation. Pro wrestling is the grandfather of all of these types of mixed martial arts and anything like that that you see on TV.

    “Whenever there’s a pro wrestling aspect to the UFC is when they draw the biggest number. And that’s not just me talking out of my ass, Brock Lesnar was a professional wrestler first and a UFC fighter second. When they do their highest ratings when the pro wrestling guy was there. You know why? Because he had personality and he’s larger than life. So to say what we do is fake or you know the professional wrestling business doesn’t matter. It’s kind of ignorant.”

  • On this day in pro wrestling history (August 17): Brock Lesnar wins WWE title at SummerSlam, Nikita Koloff vs. Magnum T.A. best of 7 series concludes

    By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

    1927 – Bert Willard defeated Jack Reynolds for the World Welterweight Title in Columbus, Ohio.

    1944 – Kansas City, Kansas; Orville Brown beat Les Wolfe in 2 of 3 falls; Jimmy Coffield and Jack Hader drew, Earl Wampler beat Larry Tilliman and Harold “Sonny” Myers beat Sergeant Harry Cohen

    1951 – Duke Keomuka defeated Ray Gunkel in Houston, Texas for the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title.

    1953 – Baron Michele Leone defeated Danny McShain in Memphis, Tennessee to win the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title.

    1955 – Yvon Robért defeated Don Leo Jonathan in Montreal, Quebec for the Montreal Athletic Commission World Heavyweight Title

    1956 – Don and Red McIntyre defeated Eddie Gossett (Eddie Graham) and Art Neilson to win the Georgia NWA World Tag Team Title in Atlanta, Georgia; Gene Kelly (Kiniski) defeated Pepper Gomez to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title in Houston, Texas

    1962 – The Alaskan (Jay York) and Tarzan Tyler defeated Jerry and Nick Kozak in Houston, Texas to win the Texas NWA World Tag Team Title.

    1965 – In Davenport, Iowa; AWA Champion Mad Dog Vachon beat The Crusher dq, Larry Hennig & Chris Markoff & Harley Race beat Rene Goulet & Danny Hodge & Tex McKenzie, Danny Hodge beat Chris Markoff and Larry Hennig beat Rene Goulet

    1967 – In Kansas City, Kansas; Pat O’Connor fought Earl Maynard to a 30 minute draw, The Viking defeated The Hangman via DQ and  Bob Brown & Bob Geigel defeated The Mongolian Stomper & Ron Reed via DQ in three falls

    1968 – Dr. X (Dick Beyer) defeated Verne Gagne to the AWA World Heavyweight Title at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. Also on the card, Larry Hennig & Harley Race beat Crusher & Lord Littlebrook, Wilbur Snyder beat Dutch Savage, Cowboy Lang & Wee Willie Wilson beat Little Bruiser & The Mighty Atom, Chris Markoff drew Luke Brown and Frankie Laine beat Roberto Pico; The Mighty Yankees (Frank Morrell and Eddie Sullivan) defeated Dennis Hall and Ken Lucas in Chattanooga, Tennessee to win the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Title.

    1972 – In Kansas City, Kansas; Steve Bolus defeated Billy Howard, Omar Atlas defeated Bobby Whitlock, Steve Bolus & Les Thornton & Danny Little Bear defeated Juan Sebastian & Billy Howard & Yasu Fuji, Roger Kirby & Black Angus (w/ Percival A. Friend) defeated The Stomper & Rufus R. Jones in three falls and World Heavyweight Champion Dory Funk, Jr. fought Harley Race to a double-DQ in three falls; In Jacksonville, Florida in a Lights Out Match; Buddy Colt beat Eddie Graham, Florida Champion Paul Jones beat Bob Roop,
    In a match for the Florida Tag Title, Mr Wrestling Tim Woods & Jack Brisco beat Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens

    1973 – Dick Dunn defeated Eddie Sullivan in Dothan, Alabama to win the NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title.

    1978 – Steve Rickard defeated Toru Tanaka for the New Zealand NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Title in Auckland, New Zealand; In Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Pat Patterson & Ray Stevens, Super Destroyer Mark II beat Rufus R. Jones dq, Larry Hennig beat Blackjack Lanza and Bob Orton Jr. drew Billy Robinson

    1979 – At the Omni in Atlanta; Tony Atlas won a 16-man battle royal to earn an NWA World Heavyweight Title match in the main event. Also on the card, Ole Anderson and Ivan Koloff defeated Dusty Rhodes and Bill Watts in a Double Bunkhouse match and Wahoo McDaniel defeated NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion The Masked Superstar (with Bobby Heenan) in a Blindfold match to win the title. However, after the match, the blindfolds were removed, it was revealed that Tommy Rich had beaten Superstar for McDaniel, and the title was vacated. In the main event, NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race defeated Tony Atlas to retain the title.

    1980 – In St Paul, Minnesota in a Lights Out Match; The Crusher beat Jerry Blackwell, Greg Gagne beat Bobby Heenan, AWA Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura beat Mad Dog Vachon & Super Destroyer Mark II dq, Dino Bravo no contest John Studd, Joyce Grable beat Judy Martin, Tito Santana beat Buck Zumhofe and Steve Olsonoski beat Chris Markoff

    1985 – Eric Embry defeated Super Medico I for the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title in Bayamón, Puerto Rico; In Landover, Maryland; AWA Champion Rick Martel beat Larry Zbyszko

    1986 – Nikita Koloff defeated Magnum T.A. in the seventh match of a best-of-seven series in Charlotte, North Carolina to claim the vacant NWA United States Heavyweight Title.

    1987 – Nikita Koloff defeated Tully Blanchard to win the NWA World Television Title in Fayetteville, North Carolina; George Barnes defeated Bill Dundee for the CWA International Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee

    1990 – The Thundercats (Leono, Panthro and Tigro) defeated Los Arqueros del Espacio (El Arquero, Danny Boy and Lasser) in Mexico City, Mexico to win the Mexican National Trios Title.

    1991 – Billy Jack Haynes defeated Steve Doll in a full-nelson challenge in Portland, Oregon for the vacant NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title; Combat Toyoda defeated Megumi Kudo in Tosu, Japan to win the WWA World Women’s Champion.

    1992 – Jerry Lawler and Jeff Jarrett defeated The Moondogs (Cujo and Spot) in Memphis, Tennessee to win the USWA Tag Team Title.

    1997 – In Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Shane Douglas (with Francine) defeated Terry Funk and ECW World Heavyweight Champion Sabu (with Bill Alfonso) and in a Three-Way Dance to win the title and the Dudleys won the ECW Tag Team Title by forfeit from the Gangstas.

    1999 – In Louisville, Kentucky; OVW Southern Tag Team Champions Jason Lee and Rip Rogers defeated The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton) by disqualification to retain the title and Rob Conway defeated OVW Heavyweight Champion The Damaja to win the title.

    2003 – Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Jun Akiyama in Tokyo, Japan to win the NJPW G1 Climax tournament.

    2007 – El Dandy and Rey Misterio, Sr. defeated The Punisher and Super Parka to win the vacant WWA World Tag Team Title in Tijuana, Mexico.

    2008 – At SummerSlam in Indianapolis, Indiana; Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix defeated Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston & Women’s Champion Mickie James to win the titles; Batista defeated John Cena and the Undertaker defeated Edge in a Hell in a Cell match.

    2014 – At SummerSlam in Los Angeles, California; Dolph Ziggler defeated the Miz to win the Intercontinental Title, Paige defeated AJ Lee to win the Divas Title and Brock Lesnar defeated John Cena to win the WWE World Title.

  • WWE August 16 Fargo, ND, house show results: Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt

    By Ryan Shol

    R Truth over Wade Barrett via pinfall

    Pretty much what you’ve seen on TV. R Truth warmed up the crowd to start things off with his freestyle intro. Crowd did give Barrett the reactions he was looking for and booed him often. I dont remember much of this match as it was largely forgettable. Crowd was solidly behind R Truth and loved booing Barrett. Thats about it.

    Naomi (with Sasha and Tamina) over Bayley via pinfall after the Rear View

    My favorite match as I was interested to see the crowds reaction to the mostly unknown Bayley. A solid match with nothing the level of the NXT Divas work but there were no botches and Naomi and Bayley had good chemistry despite not working together before live. Naomi hit all her moves while Bayley also hit all her spots except the Belly to Bayley. Crowd more engaged for this bell to bell than most the matches on the card.

    Story of match was Team B.A.D having no respect for Bayley and laughing in her face at the beginning then using outside interference to maintain a advantage and ultimately secure the win after Sasha distracted the ref who missed the 3 count on a Bayley roll up which led to Bayley knocking Sasha off the apron but turning around into the Rearview.

    The crowd easily got behind Bayley and cheered when they were supposed to even when Bayley and Naomi werent working for a reaction. A lot of this card dragged because the guys worked hard for reactions but the crowd just didnt care at all with there being almost no star power on it.

    Jack Swagger beat Adam Rose via Submission with the Patriot lock.

    Solid Red State North Dakota loved them some Jack Swagger. Rose worked hard to get the crowd to boo him but they were indifferent for most part. Blah

    Ryback retained the IC title over Big Show and Miz after Ryback hit the Shellshock on Miz.

    Ryback was really popular as the first real star of the evening and the crowd booed Miz when he invited them too which was often. Show got good face heat for the match and there wasnt any “Please Retire” chants which was nice because no one worked harder at being original in their crowd work than Show tonight. Match started with Show and Ryback battling it out while Miz hid outside content to let them weaken one another in the opening minutes. After a while Miz sneaked back into the ring and attacked Ryback from behind and controlled the action with some basic offense and things just stayed the same with 2 of the 3 men fighting each other while the other nursed a injury on apron or outside.

    Outside of a Bayley v Naomi match I’ll remember because I’d never see it before, the most memorable thing about tonight was the way Big Show interacted with the crowd. Loudly ordered Ryback to “stop with the feed me more s–t (he said this in character) “.He taunted one guy for wearing a N.W.O shirt to a event in 2015. He gave Miz a chest slap and when the crowd chanted “one more time” he obliged backing Miz into the corner, hushing the crowd, and then sent Miz crumpling to the floor. Say what you will but Show really tried to entertain the crowd and be original. This sums up the card perfectly as it was one of the most unique things that happened all night.

    15 minute intermission

    Jimmy Uso beat Heath Slater via pinfall after a top rope splash

    This “match” was mostly filler to kill time while people returned from intermission. Match ended when Slater challenged Uso to a dance contest which he then proceeded to ham it up for “I’m too sexy”. Slater tried to get a reaction but the crowd basically no sold it. Uso got the crowd back into by doing a pretty good Micheal Jackson impersonation while dancing to “Billie Jean”. Slater got mad at Uso winning so he attacked Jimmy from behind but quickly got a super kick and top rope splash to end this time killer.

    Lucha Dragons beat the Ascension when Sin Cara hit a Swanton on Viktor(I think).

    Basic match with the heels beating down Sin Cara  for most the match and finally the good guys won. Ascension were in the same boat Rose and Slater were in that they worked they butts off to engage the crowd  but the crowd just didnt care about them what so ever.

    Roman Reigns over Bray Wyatt via pinfall after a spear in a “Fargo street fight”

    Crowd was instantly on fire for this match and showed they were ready to have fun tonight if they had been given a decent card with some stars on it. Surprisingly the crowd was overwhelming for Roman. Thought it would be more even but it was like 75%-80% for Roman.  Crowd impatiently wanted tables right away. Real good work from both men as they brawled for a while before starting the street fight with a chair. Bray played to the crowd a bit hitting Roman repeatedly with a chair but then teasing one final whack of the chair and when people asked for it just tossing the chair aside and walking away laughing at them. Surprisingly later they did a spot where Roman was crawling out the ring and Bray just threw the chair at his head like RVD used to do in ECW.

    Didnt seem Roman fully blocked it and it at least partially hit him in the head. Would be nice to see that spot never done again. Bray grabbed the top part of the ring steps and placed it upright in the aisle to the ring. Bray remarked to my section what “a work of art” it was but Roman reversed his Irish whip attempts and avoided being introduced to Wyatts masterpiece. Roman threw Wyatt in the ring and proceeded to bring out a table from under the ring. Roman ended up getting chokeslammed thru it tho. Next weapon kendo stick Bray enjoyed working Roman over with for awhile before Roman wrestled it away from him and snapped it in half. They brawled some more making their way back towards the upright ring steps and Bray went right thru it in a twist of his ill wishes.

    More brawling and another table was introduced this time by Wyatt and like Roman he ended up going thru it after Reigns negated his superplex attempt and powerbombed him thru it. This led to Luke Harper running in to break up a pin attempt and cause people to excitedly clamor for Dean Ambrose to run in ignoring all logic behind why that wasnt going to happen. Luckily Reigns was in Samoan Hulk mode tonight and fought both men off before hitting his spear on Wyatt to win a very fun match. Reigns posed every place he could to make sure anyone who wanted a pic got one and send the crowd home happy.

    A weak and very uneven card because of WWE using way too many people that arent on TV or are in irrelevant storylines and  people dont have a big emotional investment in them. That being said everyone put in a honest hard nights work and I dont want to bash anyone. It was what it was and the crowd just couldnt build any sustained momentum.

  • After Dark Radio for tonight — You’re the guest! Calls, emails, stories, plus news and more!

    After Dark Radio with Bryan Alvarez returns tonight streaming LIVE AND FREE from the After Dark Radio Show website on the Dark Matter Radio Network. You can also now stream the show through the front page of this website using the link on the right-hand side of the front page!

    The show airs at MIDNIGHT ET/9 PM Pacific for two hours!

    No guest tonight so the show will fall into your hands! Call or email with stories or anything else on your mind! We will also be taking your open lines phone calls on any topic imaginable! Check the website for NEW call-in numbers/email addresses in addition to our normal toll-free line.

    We will also be discussing tons of news, both from our website, afterdarkradioshow.com, our Facebook page, and, of course, Artbell.com, plus taking your phone calls, emails and Twitter questions!

    All of the phone numbers are available at afterdarkradioshow.com. You can send in emails on any topic to bryan@afterdarkradioshow.com. Remember, this show survives on your participation, so please send those emails or be prepared to call!

  • Ring of Honor Aug 15 TV results and recap: Young Bucks vs Roppongi Vice

    By Paul Fontaine, for WrestlingObserver.com

    The Big Takeaway – A great main event, followed by a strong post-match angle setting up a future match between two of the top tag teams in the world.

    Nigel McGuiness joins Kevin Kelly on commentary as Steve Corino is on paid leave due to the altercation with BJ Whitmer on last week’s show.

    Silas Young vs Dalton Castle w/his boys

    Highlights from Death before Dishonor and the altercation between Young and the boys air prior to the match. Castle cuts a promo to the camera on Silas Young during his walk to the ring, vowing to show Young who the “real man” is. Castle is showered with streamers at the end of the entrance.

    Castle attacks Young before the bell. Quickly turns into a grappling match on the mat, as the fans chant DAL-TON CAS-TLE and then FAN UP as the boys fan the ring. Castle picks up Young with a dead-lift german suplex in an impressive spot. Young rolls out of the ring and the boys fan him. Young is not pleased at that and dresses them down but Castle attacks him and rolls him back into the ring.

    In the ring, Young takes over and then throws Castle out of the ring and beats on him as we go to break. After the break, they’re back in the ring with Young still in control. Castle tries for another dead lift suplex but it’s blocked by Young. He then tries a running knee into the corner but Young ducks and Castle goes flying over the top, only to be fanned by his boys outside.

    Back in the ring and it’s a chop-fest, won by Young. Castle recovers and hits a Thesz press, the momentum of which takes them both outside the ring. Castle hits a Rana off the ring apron and then tosses him back into the ring. Fans again chanting for Castle. Castle hits two flying knees and then a whirly-bird for a two count. Young DDT’s Castle into the bottom turnbuckle but only gets a two.

    Young hits the Killer Combo and goes for his Misery finisher but drops Castle and goes after the boys instead. The distraction allows Castle to his the “Bang-a-rang” (? – I think that’s what Kelly called it) for the win.

    WINNER: DALTON CASTLE by pinfall

    Young takes a mic after the match, while Castle is still on the ramp. He doesn’t like what Castle does with his boys, he doesn’t like his lifestyle and the boys need to learn to be men. He asks for one more shot at Castle and if he beats him, he gets the boys. He wants to teach them to be men.

    Mandy Leon is up next with Inside ROH. This episode deals with the dissension in the Kingdom. Clips of the original incarnation of Future Shock are shown and this leads into Mandy talking about how Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly reunited recently in New York City. Of course, they defeated the current tag champs in a non-title match, which led to tension within The Kingdom. Next week, they will rematch for the titles.

    Bobby Fish is at ringside for an interview with Kevin Kelly. Clips from a house show in Las Vegas where Fish pinned Christopher Daniels in an elimination match. Then he talks about his upcoming TV title shot. He doesn’t think he’ll be facing Jay Lethal, he thinks that Hanson will beat Lethal for the title first.

    This brings out Jay Lethal and he’s not happy. Lethal leaves without ca physical altercation though. They air a brief promo for the show featuring the New Japan guys next weekend, leading into the next match.

    Will Ferrara vs Moose w/Stokely Hathaway

    Prince Nana joins Kelly and Nigel on commentary. Crowd sings along with his entrance song as always. Nana brought Moose in and Hathaway is his protégé in case you didn’t know already. They do adhere to the Code of Honor and the size differential is ridiculous, which Nigel points out.

    Moose hits a dropkick on Ferrara, who’s sitting on the top turnbuckle in an impressive spot. He follows him outside the ring and swings him into the ring barriers a couple times head first. He tosses him back into the ring and covers, but only gets a two. Ferrara fires away with a series of punches but Moose stops that with one shot. Moose takes his time when lifting him up for a powerslam and Ferrara hits a DDT. Moose rolls out of the ring and Ferrara follows him out but Moose catches him. Ferrara hits another DDT outside the ring, though.

    Ferrara rolls him back in the ring and the fans are chanting WILL. Moose stops his little run with a superplex though. Moose follows up with a spear for the win.

    WINNER: MOOSE by pinfall

    After a commercial break, Adam Cole does a taped promo for next week’s tag title challenge when he teams with Kyle O’Reilly against the Addiction. He says he’s the best pro wrestler on the planet and it makes him sick that his teammates question his abilities and his priorities.

    Main Event – Roppongi Vice (Barretta/Romero) vs The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson)

    Bucks are out with the IWGP Jr Heavyweight tag team titles. They are greeted with so many streamers that the ring isn’t visible. Fans chants HAPPY BIRTHDAY and then SUPER KICK. The teams do adhere to a “2 Sweet” version of the Code of Honor.

    Matt starts off against Barretta and misses a superkick early. Romero tags in and does the Eddie Guerrero shimmer to no reaction. Kelly brings up that the Vice team could get a tag team title shot with a win here. Nick hits a flying DDT from the ring apron onto Barretta and then they go for the Indie-taker but Romero powers out. Nick does take out both Vice members with a Swanton off the top rope to the outside as we go to break.

    Back from break with the Bucks in control, trading tags, and Romero isolated in the ring. Barretta makes the save without a tag and soon all 4 are outside the ring brawling. Back in the ring and now Matt is isolated against both Vice members. YOUNG BUCKS chants as Matt is being double-teamed. Superkick #1 comes from Nick on Barretta as Barretta is prancing on the ring apron, about to do a springboard move on Matt who’s down in the ring.

    Romeo tags in and hits a couple running clotheslines on Matt in the corner but Nick drops him from the ring with Superkick #2, again without a tag. Matt does make the tag and Nick is a house of fire against both Vice members. Ends up with both of them outside the ring and Matt takes them out with a suicide dive. Nick rolls Romero into the ring and then connects with a Senton for two as the THIS IS AWESOME chant starts up.

    The Bucks miss a double superkick on Romero and he gets a brief flurry of offence but Bucks back in control after a unique version of Slide Bread, followed by a penalty kick. Matt covers but Barretta breaks up the count as we go to break.

    Back from break and the Bucks are both stopped by Barretta on different moves and then he hits a twisting DDT on Matt. Romero picks him up and hits a reverse back-cracker and then Barretta hits a double-flying foot stomp from the top onto Matt. That only gets a two though.

    Matt makes the hit tag to Nick, who hits an Enziguri but Romero follows up with a jumping knee. Soon all four guys are in hitting a bunch of moves and just like that they’re all down. Another THIS IS AWESOME chant.

    Romero hits a dropkick onto Nick, who’s draped over the ropes and then Barretta follows up with a Shining Wizard but only gets a two. Vice go for a double suplex but Nick powers out. Matt pulls Romero out of the ring and hits Superkick #3 on him. In the ring, Barretta sets up for a powerbomb on Nick but Nick reverses into a Destroyer.

    Matt tags in and hits a buckle bomb on Romero, following up with a cannonball. Romero draped across the bottom rope and Nick hits a 450 splash onto him and Matt covers but only gets a two. Matt sets up Romero on the top rope but Barretta charges and sets up for a superplex. Matt rolls through and hits Superkick #4 on Barretta. Romero leaps from the top but gets by Superkicks #5 and $6 from both Bucks. More Bang for Your Buck finishes it, as Matt gets the pin on Romero.

    WINNERS: THE YOUNG BUCKS by pinfall

    KRD attacks the Bucks after the match. The hit Celebrity Rehab on Matt and then tape him to the ring ropes. Nick gets a brief hope spot but quickly gets doubleteamed by the tag champs. Daniels then mocks the Bucks by hitting a Superkick on Nick, screaming out Superkick Party before doing it. Kazarian, followed by Kazarian and Daniels and then finally Sabin all hit Superkicks on Matt and then further mock them by doing the 2 sweet hand gesture. Then they hit the Indie-Taker on Nick and again do the 2 sweet stuff. This finally brings out Nigel and officials to try and stops things as the show ends.