Just after midnight Thursday night on the East Coast, the GoFundMe campaign to help Jerry Lynn reached its goal. As of this morning, it has now exceeded the goal and risen to $17,585.
Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to the campaign and helped spread the word to make this happen. All together, 501 people donated which is truly amazing. The wrestling community and its fans really pulled together to help out Jerry including those that don’t have much but still made a donation. And so many people had such nice things to say about Jerry as a person and their fond memories of him in the ring.
The campaign also received donations from the likes of Steve Corino, Kevin Kelly, Adam Cole, Christopher Daniels, Nick Aldis, Eric Young, Lita, Court Bauer, Charles Robinson, Bill Behrens and others including very generous donations from Mick Foley, Austin Aries, Scott D’Amore and Chris Jericho who actually put the campaign over the top.
The campaign is still open and you can donate with all money above the goal donated to the Nashville Rescue Mission which offers food, clothing, and shelter to the homeless and recovery programs to those having problems.
1970 – In Kansas City, Rufus R. Jones defeated Oki Shikina, The Viking defeated Scandor Akbar, Pat O’Connor fought Harley Race to a draw in 30 minutes and Danny Little Bear fought Roger Kirby to a no contest
1972 -In Green Bay, Wisconsin; The Crusher & Wahoo McDaniel beat Larry Hennig & Dusty Rhodes in 2 out of 3 falls, Billy Robinson beat Nick Bockwinkel and Don Muraco beat Hans Hermann
1977 – In Milwaukee, Wisconsin; AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel wrestled Billy Robinson to a 60 minute draw, The Crusher no contest Super Destroyer, Angelo Mosca beat Ray Stevens via dq and Chris Markoff & Roger Kirby beat Jim Brunzell & Bob Backlund (sub Greg Gagne)
1979 – Ray Candy defeated Blackjack Lanza to win the Georgia TV Title in Augusta, Georgia.
1994 – Chris Candido & Brian Lee defeated The Rock N’ Roll Express for the Smoky Mountain Tag Team Title in Johnson City, Tennessee
2001 – Yoshihiro Tajiri defeated X-Pac for the WWF Light Heavyweight Title in Anaheim, California.
It’s never easy to say goodbye especially when it comes to a legend like “Rowdy” Roddy Piper who left for the big ring in the sky at some point last Thursday night/Friday morning.
As I did with Dusty Rhodes in June, I asked for your favorite Piper matches and moments to compile them in one place. I expected a few emails, but nothing like what you’re about to read. Instead of one long huge post, you’re getting three posts over the next three days. Yep, there was that many emails!
And while you’ll see some consistencies in the matches and angles, I really liked the personal touch in the stories behind them. There’s also house show matches, video compilations, and all kinds of fun stuff here. Clearly, Piper meant a lot to a lot of people and it showed.
Without further adieu, here’s part 1 of 3 of your favorite Roddy Piper matches and moments in your words. RIP Hot Rod.
Roddy Piper vs. Hulk Hogan — WCW Starrcade 1996
Matt Wright
I am pretty partial to the ‘Icon vs. Icon’ build for Starrcade 1996 when it comes to Rowdy Roddy Piper. The whole card was loaded with good matches and talent, and was one of the few examples of the Bischoff era where the depth of WCW was used correctly throughout the show. Piper vs. Hogan had a good build, the audience was heated, and many in the crowd were strongly behind Hot Rod, including a fan that tried to attack the nWo. The match was good enough, and it was great seeing Piper go over. I had a great night watching it during the Christmas break of my senior year of high-school with the guys that are still my best friends to this day.
This news has hit me hard since I watch “They Live” pretty regularly (including a month ago on El Rey), and have been seeing Piper on the public service ads every week that air during the local broadcasts of ROH.
Roddy Piper vs. Hulk Hogan cage match — WCW Halloween Havoc 1997
Name Withheld
I was 11 at the time and it was my first Piper main event I ever saw live. I really should load it up on the Network to see how it holds up after all these years.
Piper then wrestled the match in a manner I can only describe as “like a man who was locked in prison for the last month and was looking for the guy who put him there”. It wasn’t a pretty match since he obviously couldn’t move well because of his hip, but it told a great story. He didn’t just go out there, ignore the pretext of the buildup for the match, and just do all of the same planned, overly-choreographed spots he does in every match like every guy in wrestling does today whether it’s a squash match or a blood feud. He wrestled as if it was actually real.
I so miss this about wrestling. They’ve just taken the soul out of what’s great about pro wrestling these days. Guys like Piper could make you suspend your disbelief that wrestling is fake and make you want to see it anyway because they were so committed to making it seem like real fights. It’s so sad that guys like him will never be seen in modern pro wrestling again. He was truly one of a kind.
Roddy Piper vs. The Mountie, WWF Intercontinental title match — Royal Rumble 1992 Chris H.
It was the first pay-per-view event I attended live, in Albany, NY, and it was the first title change I saw in person, so there is a lot of personal nostalgia involved in the match. The match itself was not great, and there was no real rivalry between the two, but for whatever reason, the crowd just loved Piper on this night.
Piper won his first title in the company (which was a big deal back then) via the sleeper, then he got the big taser from Jimmy Hart and shocked the Mountie. Howard Finkel announcing Piper as the “NEEEEWWWWW” IC champion was the biggest pop I had ever heard, until Steve Austin drove a beer truck into the same building seven years later.
The crowd also went crazy when Piper came into the Rumble match later on in the show, and famously gave Hulk Hogan his first fan backlash at the end of the match when he showed poor sportsmanship by pulling Sid Justice out of the match to give Ric Flair the win and the vacant WWF championship.
I’ve been to four Wrestlemanias and dozens of TV tapings since, but Piper raising the IC belt high that night remains one of my favorite wrestling memories.
Ryan Shields
This one might be a little different than some other people will suggest but I absolutely love Piper’s performance at the Royal Rumble 92.
He gives a great little crazy Hot Rod promo before his match with the Mountie “you say you’re gonna take my manhood….ugh….I came here to fight…I don’t know what you came here to do!” And then he goes out and has such a fun little match with the Mountie. It’s nothing all time great but the crowd reacts huge to Piper winning the IC title and he looks like he’s having a blast.
Piper then gets involved in the Royal Rumble later and they keep telling the story of how he has a chance to win two titles in one night. He has a couple great spots with Flair. I love the whole thing.
Piper was in a hair-vs-hair match vs Adrian Adonis, and he’d already announced his (first) retirement before the show.
Anyway, at Mania 3 everyone came out for their match on these blue carts, including Adonis. The cart wasn’t working or something, so Piper walked out instead to a huge pop that started the moment his bagpipes hit the speakers. He jogs to the ring as the building erupts. More cheers as he faces Adonis down before the match even starts.
The best match of that night was the incredible Savage-Steamboat encounter, and the biggest moment of that night was Hogan slamming Andre, but for my money the best pop of the night was tens of thousands of wrestling fans cheering when the Hot Rod ran to the ring. Those people were there to see Piper, and he delivered for ’em.
Roddy Piper vs. Bret Hart — Wrestlemania 8
James Dixon
My favorite Roddy Piper match was against Bret Hart at WrestleMania VIII. I am sure I am not alone in this selection. Piper did the right thing for business and put Hart over, doing a rare job in order to help cement the future of a man he respected. The match was a classic, and a bout I feel is often underrated. The storytelling was special, and a match I can still watch today and get lost in the moment. The blood, the friendly rivalry that turns rapidly sour, Piper’s “Sophie’s Choice” with the ring bell, the clever finish. It’s all brilliant. That is how you put someone over and make a star.
I also really enjoyed his work as a commentator in the early nineties. Specifically at SummerSlam 1991. Alongside Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon he was a riot, and the three had a fun rapport and an enjoyment for what they were doing that shined through. If only modern announce trios could be even a fraction as entertaining.
Jón Grétar Sigurjónsson
My favorite match was his Mania 8 match with Bret Hart. Those two were my favorites at the time, and I was so excited to see them. I remember reading about the match in WWF Magazine (of course buying into the whole thing being real), and was so impressed with Piper for not using the bell.
Dan Kiven
My favorite Piper moment is the promo he cut on Bret Hart at WrestleMania 8. It’s a fairly short but crazy segment where Piper is talking to Hart and saying crazy things about how they grew up around each other and that Hart wasn’t potty trained until he was 8 years old and when Helen Hart would make baloney sandwiches, she would only use one slice of baloney. It was nuts. I really think it showed what the Piper character was supposed to be.
A close second would be the song he did that was later shown on Nitro. I remember watching Nitro and having a hard time comprehending why this even existed and why it was on Nitro. I still don’t really get it, but it’s a great cheesy Piper song and I love it for that.
Obviously Bret vs Piper at WM8, but this was one of my all time favorite matches of the 80s — an MSG 6 man tag building to WM3.
Roddy Piper & Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair & Sid Justice — WWF Philadelphia house show Bob McGhee
There are lots better matches…but here’s a favorite moment.
You know Philadelphia’s legendary for its wrestling fans. The hardest core of us were NWA fans, who religiously went to the shows at the Philadelphia Civic Center, and ignored WWF as pretty much Titan Toon Adventures. But we made an exception on one March 1992 Saturday afternoon WWF matinee house show at the Philadelphia Spectrum which had a main event of Hulk Hogan/Roddy Piper vs. Ric Flair/Sid “Justice” Vicious.
We managed to get ringside popping for Piper and Flair in their old school identities, with signs asking them to go old school. Flair laughed his ass off at the signs, and audibly yelled at Piper to “look”, pointing to the signs. Sid walked around pretty much going “duh”, and Hogan wondered why we weren’t popping for him like all the other sheep…er, WWF fans. Then he looked.
Roddy Piper vs. Jimmy Snuka — WWF house show, Hartford, CT in 1984 Steve Luther
I was a big Jimmy Snuka fan, particularly coming off his epic feud with Don Muraco. But when Roddy Piper came to the WWF in 1984 I instantly identified with him and even though he was a mega heel, he soon became one of my favorite wrestlers anywhere. I would wait with great anticipation for any interview or match or Pit segment with Piper on TV, literally the hair would stand up on the back of my neck when he was on. Perhaps because I was a shy kid and through Roddy Piper I could fantasize about being that brash, trash-talking, bigshot that Piper portrayed when he entered the territory, something that was so opposite of my own personality, yet I yearned to be.
I was just starting college and after the Piper-Snuka coconut angle on TV, I saw those two would be one of the featured matches at the Hartford Civic Center house show. (Hulk Hogan defending the WWF title against Kamala was the only other match I recall that night.) Because I was broke, I begged my Dad to take me to the matches. He was a very casual fan and didn’t like to go into the city, but agreed to take me that one night.
The Civic Center had a huge crowd that night, easily 10,000+, and everyone was there waiting anxiously for Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka to fight. When the ring announcer finally said “about to make his way to the ring, hailing from Glasgow, Scotland…..” the building erupted in the loudest roar of boos and jeers I had ever heard in all my years as a wrestling fan and other house shows I had been to, and Piper confidently strode to the ring, ever defiant. The place popped equally for cheers when Jimmy Snuka came to the ring.
They didn’t have a long match – maybe 10 minutes – but the roaring crowd hung on every move and the heat was out-of-this-world. Literally every punch, kick, slap and poke the crowd was super into. It wasn’t a clean finish – I think Snuka won by DQ – but what I remember most was, after the finish, Piper delivered a beatdown on Snuka which had the fans up in arms with rage.
One of my biggest memories was that there were a group of teenage girls sitting in front of me, all huge Snuka fans. Being one of the few Piper supporters, they would look back in utter disbelief that I could possibly be cheering the rowdy Scotsman. At one point during the post-match beatdown I yelled out something to the effect of “Go Piper, hit that island boy with another coconut!”
Aghast, the girls turned to me with tears streaming down their faces and yelled “SHUT UP!! STOP IT!!! JIMMY”S HURT!!! I remember after Piper left the ring – to a humongous chorus of boos – the girls all saying “We love you Jimmy” and me continuing to mock Snuka and cheer on Piper for his night’s work, proud of myself for rubbing Snuka’s dismay in the girls’ faces.
Of all the house shows I’ve attended – WWE/WWF, WCW, NWA, Mid-Atlantic – I never got to see Roddy Piper in person in the ring again unfortunately, but he had a fan for life and I loved every minute of his WWF run, and of course I supported him just as much after he turned babyface.
Part 2 comes Friday and your teaser is one word: Solie.
The UFC returns yet again this weekend for a free event on FOX Sports 1 as the Octagon heads back to Tennessee, stopping in Nashville for UFC Fight Night 73. The main card airs on FOX Sports 1 on Saturday at 10 PM eastern time. Preliminary action kicks off on UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 PM eastern time before moving over to FOX Sports 2 for additional preliminary action at 8 PM eastern time.
The event will be headlined by a five-round bout in the light heavyweight division as former title challenger Glover Teixeira looks to snap a two-fight losing streak when he faces rising contender Ovince Saint Preux. In the night’s co-main event, it will be lightweights in action as Michael Johnson and Beneil Dariush both look to score their fifth straight win and move into the title hunt. Also on the card are such notables as Uriah Hall, Derek Brunson, Ray Borg, Dustin Ortiz, Amanda Nunes and Sara McMann. Let’s dive deeper into the 13-fight card as we look at five storylines to keep an eye on for UFC Fight Night 73.
1. Can Glover Teixeira snap his two-fight losing skid in the main event against Ovince Saint Preux?
Glover Teixeira has had back luck as of late and is looking to right the ship on Saturday night when he steps foot inside the Octagon for the main event of UFC Fight Night 73. Teixeira has lost two straight fights after winning 18 straight, including his first five in the UFC, that led to him challenging for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, held at the time by Jon Jones, at UFC 172 in April 2014. While he took Jones the distance, Teixeira was unable to do much against Jones as Jones was able to retain the championship, winning all five rounds on all three scorecards. Teixeira then dropped his last fight to Phil Davis, losing a decision in dropping all three rounds on all three scorecards. After losing not just his last two fights, but all eight rounds, and with having two fights cancelled due to injury, Teixeira returns from a ten-month layoff wanting to start a new win streak.
Teixeira’s opponent in the main event is Ovince Saint Preux, winner of two straight and 15 of his last 17. Saint Preux’s last two wins have come by knockout in the first round. He got a TKO win over Mauricio Rua in just 34 seconds at UFC Fight Night 56 in November, then finished Patrick Cummins at UFC On FOX 15 in April. Saint Preux has been impressive in winning seven of his last eight fights by stoppage, and after a slow start to his career when he started with just a 3-4 record, his only two losses since 2009 have come to Gegard Mousasi and Ryan Bader, both of whom are contenders in their divisions in the UFC. Saint Preux has rised to sixth in the UFC’s rankings, and he gets the third main event of his short UFC career in Nashville, which is big for him as he played football at the University of Tennessee.
These are two big light heavyweights with finishing ability and they could provide an entertaining 25-minute bout. Saint Preux has a four-inch reach advantage and both have shown knockout power. Teixeira has a better ground game and Saint Preux can be taken down if there are openings. Teixeira was really outmatched by Davis, and Saint Preux may be a more powerful Davis, at least on the feet. It is really a close fight on paper and on the betting odds. Saint Preux being more impressive lately and fighting in his home state may give him the slight edge, but Teixeira is a tough opponent. Teixeira will likely be permanently out of the title picture with a loss, but a win gives him new life in a current post-Jones light heavyweight division. I like Teixeira by decision in a close fight that goes the distance.
2. Who makes it five straight in the night’s co-main event?
The co-main event is an interesting lightweight bout between ranked fighters as fifth-ranked Michael Johnson and 12th-ranked Beneil Dariush put their respective four-fight win streaks on the line. Johnson was briefly linked to a bout with Benson Henderson for an event last month, but when that fell apart due to injury, Johnson was booked with the less-known but equally dangerous Dariush. Johnson has won his four straight over Joe Lauzon, Gleison Tibau, Melvin Guillard and Edson Barboza, while Dariush’s win streak has come over Tony Martin, Carlos Diego Ferreira, Daron Cruickshank and Jim Miller. While Johnson’s win streak has come over higher-profile competition, Dariush’s may be more impressive as he has been more dominant with the four wins in less than a year, and he has two wins since Johnson last fought.
Johnson has put together the tools many thought he had when he made it to the finals of season twelve of The Ultimate Fighter. He was inconsistent in going just 4-4 in his first eight UFC bouts, but the four wins have shown he has improved greatly under the guidance of the Blackzilians. Dariush comes from a top camp in the Kings MMA group, and with eleven wins in twelve fights including eight by stoppage, he is a solid prospect making the jump up. Both men are under 30 years of age, and both have bright futures in the UFC. A win makes a solid contender in a crowded 155-pound division while the loser won’t take much of a step back. I like the experience of Johnson to give him the win in this bout.
3. Will Ray Borg’s potential continue to show?
Ray Borg is celebrating his 22nd birthday this fight week, and he still remains one of the youngest and brightest prospects in all of the UFC. Borg will be stepping inside the Octagon for the fourth time in his career, and he is looking to score his third straight win. He has scored back-to-back submission wins over Shane Howell and Chris Kelades that have netted him two “Performance Of The Night” bonus awards. His lone loss in the UFC, and in his career, came in a split decision loss to Dustin Ortiz in his Octagon debut, a fight he took on just eight days’ notice after having fought just two weeks prior.
Borg being so young and raw with an exciting style has fans talking of him being a future title contender, and his fights have been among some of the fun flyweight contests over the past year. He meets Geane Herrera in this bout, a man making his UFC debut. Herrera enters the UFC with a perfect 8-0 record and six stoppage wins, with five by submission. These men are both entertaining, and they get the main card opener slot on FOX Sports 1. It should be an entertaining fight between two young prospects. Borg having the experience in the Octagon, coupled with the potential he has shown, will give him the edge. You could be seeing a future title challenger in him.
4. Will the stocks of Uriah Hall and Sara McMann ever go back up?
When Uriah Hall and Sara McMann both entered the UFC, they came with a lot of hype as future title challengers. Hall was a killer on season 17 of “The Ultimate Fighter”, but he came up short in the finals against Kelvin Gastelum. He then lost his next fight to John Howard, but then bounced back with three straight wins, two coming by stoppage after dominating performances. He looked to have righted the ship, but then looked like the Hall who lost two straight when he dropped a decision to Rafael Natal at UFC 187 in May. While all three losses have been by split decisions, he has looked different in them, perhaps due to the stiffer competition. He fights the debuting Oluwale Bamgbose, who is taking the fight on short notice. He is 5-0 with five first-round TKO wins, and while he will be a tough opponent for Hall, this is his chance to bounce back.
McMann is in a different position. She has fought for the title, losing by first-round TKO to Ronda Rousey at UFC 170 in February 2014. She had won the first seven fights in her career until then, and she hasn’t necessarily looked the same since. While she won her next fight over Lauren Murphy, it was a split decision where she didn’t look all that impressive. She then lost her last fight to Miesha Tate by majority decision at UFC 183 in January. She dominated the first round but then dropped the last two, and is now 1-2 in her last three after starting 7-0. She has been outspoken about the business practices of the UFC, and she isn’t someone who promotes her fights, so perhaps that is why she isn’t as recognized despite being the fourth-ranked fighter in the division. She has a tough fight against Amanda Nunes, one that could easily favor Nunes, who is a power striker, but also tends to fade in long fights. McMann needs to use her wrestling to stifle Nunes on the feet if she wants to bounce back with a win.
5. What else is there to watch for on the card?
The main card for this event may not be huge on star power, but it has some compelling match-ups. Middleweights Derek Brunson and Sam Alvey put their win streaks on the line when they square off. Brunson has won two straight while Alvey has won three straight. Heavyweights Jared Rosholt and Timothy Johnson look to score another knockout win inside the Octagon, and middleweights Chris Camozzi and Tom Watson look to get back on track after a string of bad luck.
In various preliminary action, flyweights Dustin Ortiz and Willie Gates look to establish themselves in the 125-pound division. Gates takes the fight on short notice after Ortiz’ original opponent, Ian McCall, was forced out due to injury. Sirwan Kakai looks to extend his three-fight win streak as he makes a quick turnaround against Frankie Saenz. In the opener, Tennessee native Scott Holtzman makes his UFC debut with a 7-0 record against Anthony Christodoulou. The night is set up to what should be a solid night of action.
Full UFC Fight Night 73 Fight Card, Betting Odds and Predictions
MAIN CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
Light Heavyweights: (#4) Glover Teixeira vs. (#6) Ovince Saint Preux Betting Odds: Teixeira (-120), Saint Preux (+100) Prediction: Teixeira by decision
Lightweights: (#5) Michael Johnson vs. (#12) Beneil Dariush Betting Odds: Johnson (-160), Dariush (+140) Prediction: Johnson by decision
Middleweights: (#15) Derek Brunson vs. Sam Alvey Betting Odds: Brunson (-430), Alvey (+345) Prediction: Brunson by submission in round 2
Heavyweights: Jared Rosholt vs. Timothy Johnson Betting Odds: Rosholt (-245), Johnson (+205) Prediction: Rosholt by knockout in round 2
Women’s Bantamweights: (#4) Sara McMann vs. (#7) Amanda Nunes Betting Odds: McMann (-255), Nunes (+215) Prediction: McMann by decision
Flyweights: (#14) Ray Borg vs. Geana Herrera Betting Odds: Borg (-470), Herrera (+375) Prediction: Borg by submission in round 1
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 2- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
Middleweights: Uriah Hall vs. Oluwale Bamgbose Betting Odds: Hall (-420), Bamgbose (+335) Prediction: Hall by knockout in round 2
Middleweights: Chris Camozzi vs. Tom Watson Betting Odds: Camozzi (-150), Watson (+130) Prediction: Watson by decision
Flyweights: (#11) Dustin Ortiz vs. Willie Gates Betting Odds: Ortiz (-440), Gates (+350) Prediction: Gates by decision
Bantamweights: (#14) Frankie Saenz vs. Sirwan Kakai Betting Odds: Saenz (-130), Kakai (+110) Prediction: Kakai by decision
After Charlotte submitted champion Nikki Bella on Raw, Naomi pinned Charlotte tonight. Also, Roman Reigns pinned Rusev clean.
Show Recap:
SmackDown opened with the Roddy Piper tribute graphic and video, greeted with cheers from the crowd.
Roman Reigns came out as they announced Reigns vs. Rusev for tonight. The first thing Reigns did was shout out to Sacramento. Reigns said he thought he’d be getting Bray Wyatt one-on-one at Battleground but Wyatt decided to have a family reunion with Luke Harper.
Reigns is cool with having family vs. family and challenged them to a tag match at SummerSlam with his “psychotic brother” Dean Ambrose. Reigns said Wyatt would be picking teeth out of his beard if they accept.
Rusev and Summer Rae interrupted, staying on the stage. Rusev told Reigns to get out. Reigns said nobody wanted to hear Rusev talk about Summer, who he dresses up like Barbie doll. That was funny, but the rest of Reigns’ promo was pretty dumb. Reigns said that we’re in America, which means we can’t understand what Rusev was saying, and called him a sexist pig.
They announced Charlotte vs. Naomi.
The New Day was walking backstage towards Gorilla. Big E saw a stagehand and made him do the clap. As the guy did this, Xavier Woods held up a toy basketball net over his head and Kofi Kingston dunked on him. Big E and Woods joyfully screamed and carried Kofi away he looked on proudly. This was amazing.
Mark Henry & Prime Time Players beat The New Day via pinfall
Darren Young hit an apron backdrop on Kingston and gave Woods an overhead belly-to-belly on the outside. After a break, the good guys worked over Kingston until he was able to tag Big E and the heels got the heat on Young from there.
O’Neil got the hot tag and ran over everyone. Young took out Big E with a neck breaker, O’Neil knocked out Woods with a pounce, and Henry used the World’s Strongest Slam on Kingston for the win. Good match. New Day work really well as a team and this probably wasn’t the time for them to lose.
Backstage, New Day complained about Mark Henry’s continued existence. Rich Brennan asked about their loss. They were all fired up and pissed that Henry was even in there, because he’s not a tag team champion, and should’ve retired a long time ago.
Big E referred to Brennan as Rick Bronson (I think) and told him to stop pointing the finger of negativity at them. They went nuts saying they would remain positive. They also started singing a new song, which I hope we see on Raw.
As they sang, Kingston grabbed the mic from Brennan who exited the frame. Kingston then tried to take the mic away as they left, but the mic wire was connected to Brennan who was pulled back onto camera. He looked on in disbelief as New Day left, still singing. This was amazing.
Charlotte video package. Charlotte thinks she can be the biggest star in the company and will main event WrestleMania, comparing herself to Ronda Rousey.
Charlotte (w/Becky Lynch) beat Naomi (w/Tamina & Sasha Banks) via DQ
They traded some athletic counters as the commentators talked about Rousey’s win. Charlotte quickly applied the Figure Eight, but Sasha interfered for a DQ. Lynch made the save and the referee announced via The Authority (or the ghost of Teddy Long) that the match would be restarted as a tag match. Commercial break.
Naomi & Sasha Banks (w/Tamina) beat Charlotte & Becky Lynch via pinfall
This was the top of the hour segment. Lynch and Charlotte were in control but Tamina interfered and Team B.A.D. got the heat on Charlotte. Lynch got the hot tag and hit a T-bone suplex on Naomi, but Banks broke it up.
The heels got the heat again, this time on Lynch, and went to commercial. Charlotte got the hot tag and hit a spear on Banks but Naomi broke it up. Naomi just continued in the match even though she wasn’t legal and the commentators acknowledged this. Charlotte tried a rollup but Naomi reversed into a rollup of her own for the win. The crowd seemed into the faces but the finish fell flat.
They recapped the Rollins/Neville match from Raw and plugged Stephen Amell for Raw.
Stardust beat Zack Ryder via pinfall
Stardust won with Cross Rhodes/Queen’s Crossbow. After the match, Stardust called out Amell and told him not to let him down like Neville did.
They replayed some of Paul Heyman’s promo from Raw.
Big Show did a good little promo backstage, mockingly comparing Ryback to Rocky Balboa, while doing a Rocky impression. Show said Ryback’s next movie would be “Vacation,” and that Miz only has a part-time role in this match. Show said beating them would be a movie worth watching.
Roman Reigns beat Rusev (w/Summer Rae) via pinfall
Jimmy Uso said Reigns has aligned with someone who he knows will watch his back in Dean Ambrose (unlike his cousin Jimmy Uso). Rusev had control through a commercial break but missed a diving headbutt.
They traded punches and Reigns hit a clothesline. Reigns used a clothesline in the corner, followed by a clothesline, and then another clothesline, and then nine clotheslines in the corner, followed by a punch and apron dropkick.
Rusev came back with a spinning heel kick for two. Rusev used knees in the corners but Reigns hiked him up into a sitdown powerbomb, which was pretty impressive. Rusev hit a superkick but Reigns followed with a superman punch and they both collapsed.
Summer got on the apron and Lana ran out to a big pop. Lana slapped Summer, laughed and walked away. This distracted Rusev so Reigns used a school boy but Rusev kicked out and followed with a superkick. What a fighter. Unfortunately for Rusev, Reigns was able to come back with a spear for the win.
This was fine, although it’s too bad Rusev is losing now that he’s better than ever.
As Reigns celebrated, Wyatt appeared on the screen. Wyatt said he warned Reigns that he would bring down Roman’s empire and accepted his challenge for SummerSlam. “I welcome this war.”
Final Thoughts:
The SmackDown crew appears to be getting lighter every week. Reigns and Rusev were really the only “top” level guys on the show, and they were both used in the beginning and end of the show. The New Day really stole the show as a result.
I didn’t like the booking of the women’s match. They announced Charlotte vs. Naomi near the beginning of the show, but the match ended quickly after a DQ. The tag match was given time, which is good, but from beginning to end the whole thing felt like it was being drawn out, another result of the light crew. And after all that, Charlotte lost after sort of getting screwed. There’s no reason she should’ve lost at all.
Last week, we got the first third of Ultima Lucha. In yet another Dario Cueto creation, the big supershow was split into a one hour show and then a two hour second part. First, he created the Royal Rumble and then the iron man match. Hopefully one day, his list of inventions rivals that of Thomas Edison. Cage beat The Mack in a hardcore match via a cinder block curb stomp, while the Disciples of Death defeated Team Havoc, and Drago won the main event beating Hernandez in a “fans strap the heel” match. It set the table nicely for the season, and possible series finale here.
The show begins with a tribute to the original rudo “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and a recap of the show’s history. We see Puma, his debut, his title win, and the history of Vampiro and Pentagon’s issues. Every match, including Texano vs. Blue Demon Jr. gets a history video to provide some context to everything. We even see a rundown of the Cueto-Black Lotus storyline, which will either be concluded or furthered tonight. Striker and Michael Schiavello are here to call the action. Our opener is Johnny Mundo vs. Alberto, with Mundo in slick red and black gear. Schiavello puts Alberto over huge and sounds perfect calling the action here.
Johnny Mundo vs. Alberto El Patron
Alberto chases Mundo, but Mundo stays on the floor. They fight out there near the window that Mundo smashed him through, and Alberto kicks him and smashes him into the wall below the window and then into the announce table. The left arm of Mundo is smashed into it a few times and Mundo runs under the ring. Mundo throws powder into the eyes and is rammed into the fencing and then the announce table. Alberto is tossed into the dirty wall and comes up covered in more dust.
Mundo gets some mounted punches on the floor for a 2 count. A reverse superplex prevents the End of the World and Alberto pounds the mat for a “si!” chant. We get a mini Frye-Takayama exchange that Mundo wins and uses to shove Alberto’s head into the buckle. Alberto moves away and gets some running lariats and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. A back stabber gets 2, but Mundo avoids the kneeling superkick for a Pele kick and a two count. Mundo gets a 2.5 count off a rope-hung back stabber. Flying Chuck misses and Alberto lariats him to the floor. A suicide dive by Alberto is countered by a kick and Mundo sending him to the floor.
Mundo gets an over the top corkscrew dive and a “this is awesome” chant. Mundo goes for a corner kick, but Alberto counters with a rope-hung double stomp. Alberto gets the armbar, but Mundo rolls through it and gets to the ropes. Alberto kicks his back and puts him in a tree of woe for stomach kicks. A corner shoulder charge is countered and sends Alberto into the post. Mundo counters a top rope exchange gets a surfboard double stomp and the End of the World for 2.5!
Mundo puts the ref in his place for a superkick, and Alberto gets the armbar! Mundo stomps out of the armbar, but Mundo is locked into a rope-hung armbar. Melina in some very short pants and a very small shirt comes down and hits Alberto with his title. Mundo and Melina share a kiss, but Alberto attacks Mundo. He clears out the fans and tosses Mundo into their chairs before tossing him through a glass door! Alberto grabs an attacking Melina and spanks her before grabbing his gold and holding it high. Mundo is shown caked in blood while Striker yells “holy shit!” Striker says this was violent, but Vampiro vs. Pentagon will be even more graphic. We get a quick recap of both Pentagon Jr. and Vampiro looking cool to set up their match.
We see Dragon Azteca enter the area that Black Lotus and Matanza are in. Dario tells Azteca that he broke the treaty and threatens him with Matanza’s key before revealing that he doesn’t need it – Black Lotus attacks Azteca under the belief that he killed her parents. She murders him with a blow to the spine and Cueto frees her and says that this place is too dangerous and he’ll have to build a new temple. Matanza is coming with them to protect her. This was bizarre, but great. Pentagon Jr. comes out in a new white, black, and red shirt – so someone is bleeding a ton on it. Vampiro comes out with the paint as the world’s most badass priest.
Pentagon Jr. vs. Vampiro – Zero Fear Match
Striker says he knows Ian, but he’s never seen this Vampiro before. He’s never seen this demon inside Ian while Schiavello says that it’s the most violent luchador of the past versus the most violent one of the present. Vamp eats a few chairshots to the back while Matt talks about him having six back surgeries and they fight to the top of the crowd. Vamp fights back with kicks and headbutts, but he eats an AA onto the concrete after Pentagon removes the mats. Pentago beats the daylights out of him with chairshots on the ground. The ref threatens to stop it, so Pentagon chokes him with a cord and Striker says it’s being stopped and we’ll go to a break.
After the break, Vampiro is loaded onto a gurney, but he rises and comes back to the ring to a huge “Vampiro” chant. Striker talks about Vampiro winning out over Ian here and he gets a spin kick. Vamp unleashes the tacks and slams Pentagon onto them! Vamp goes for a skytwister press and misses, landing on the tacks! Pentagon gets some light tubes and smashes Vamp’s head and neck before blood gushes from the wounds and Pentagon licks his own now bloody arm. This is easily the most disgusting act since Lynn-Corino in ECW.
Vamp eats a big kick and Pentagon gets more tubes. Vampiro is walking around like he’s about 100, and a victim in a slasher film on El Rey. Vamp and Pentagon exchange chops before Vamp hiptosses Pentagon into the light tubes! Vamp nearly rips the mask clean off of Pentagon, licks his blood and smashes the tubes onto Pentagon – whose white shirt is being put to good use now. Pentagon trips him up, and they fight up top for a super belly to belly by Vampiro!
Vampiro is a bigger star in this one match than he ever was in WCW, and it’s amazing to see his legend grow in retirement. Pentagon appears to have lost a war with an axe murderer in the corner while Vamp gets a table and a lighter. Vamp eats a spinebuster through the flaming table and in one of the scariest scenes in a while, the extinguisher blast goes from the far side of the right, not the side close to him – so it doesn’t hit him at all. He stops, drops, and rolls to the floor and his skin is clearly singed. Pentagon Jr. wins this unholy war. Vamp calls him a crazy MFer and wants him to break his arm – so Pentagon Jr. obliges! He calls out to his master and Vampiro tells him that he’s here, and he’s proud of his son.
Some will say that this story makes no sense, but they’ve been planting the seeds for “Vampiro” to be a separate part of “Ian”. It’s a bit like Batman and Bruce Wayne – one is a mask and the other is the real person, or for wrestling, the three faces of Foley. In terms of having these two men go to war in a battle of generations, you don’t really have to look much further than the Cactus vs. Funk wars where you had two men who had the underlying respect as Vamp and Pentagon had at least on one side with Vampiro saying that Pentagon Jr. was just like him in his prime. This was the most violent match on US television in ages, and given his age and many injuries, Vamp looked far better than I expected going in.
Gift of the Gods Title Match
Striker talks about the history of the medallions while Ryck debuts new red and black tights with Evans taking a crazy bump to the floor. Ryck teases a dive and everyone comes in to kick his ass – glorious. Aerostar gets an around the world headscissor onto Fenix and lands a dive to the floor. Fenix catches Aero coming off to the floor with a gorgeous powerslam. Tornado kick from Evans hits Cuerno and a 450 dive to the floor is met with a kick. Bengala gets a draping butterfly backbreaker and hits Sexy, but Ryck prevents a pin. Ryck gets a facebuster before a group piles on to prevent a pin. Ryck tosses Sexy onto Evans on the floor.
Big Ryck gets a series of muay thai knees on Bengala and attacks he and Fenix on the floor. Aerostar goes op to the top of a third story structure and dives onto a pile. Sexy goes for something, but Marty flaps behind her and she chops him before going for a Fujiwara armbar. He goes near Melissa Santos, who doesn’t want this creep anywhere near her. Sexy Star dives onto a pile while fans do the Lucha Dragons’ “lu-cha” bit – so at least that’s over to one audience in wrestling.
Sexy Stars gets a flying rana to Ryck after avoiding a corner charge. Cuerno kicks her, stands on her, and hits the Thrill of the Hunt. He tosses her aside to go to war with Fenix. Bengala gets a monkey flip to Fenix tossing him into Cuerno in the corner. Bengala gets a corkscrew dive, but Cuerno lands the ARROW DIVE TO BENGALA! Evans get s front choke to Aerostar , but Aero turns it into the 187, but Sexy Star kicks him to prevent a pin. Sexy rolls him up in a wacky lucha cradle for 2.
Ryck kills her with a Ryck Bottom. Daivari attacks Ryck with a chair, leading to an Evans springboard 450 for 2! Cuerno kills Evans with a lariat and a 450 sell. Cuerno gets a dragon sleeper surfboard, but Fenix dives onto them. Evans gets a series of crazy kicks and Cuerno is sent to the floor while Evans gets 2 off a bridge to Fenix. Standing octopus hold is executed onto Fenix, but he turns it into a Fire Driver for the win! Fenix wins the Gift of the Gods title and holds it while Cuerno looks like he’s ready to kill him.
Texano vs. Blue Demon Jr.
Texano comes down to face Blue Demon Jr. Blue Demon has The Crew with him, and they’re now upscale with new suits and blue ties. Striker says that he now aligned himself with them to extend his success. Demon asked Cueto to make this a no DQ match, so it is – and we’ll see it unfold after a break. Texano gets lariats and a superkick and a senton for 2. Texano chops away in the corner while Striker says Texano earned his legacy while Demon had his handed to him.
Tilt a whirl backbreaker to Demon and a seated powerbomb gets 2. The Crew attacks and Chavo comes down to save…Demon from any further abuse and hits Texano with the chair. Demon hits him with it as well and wins this short match. Striker says the aging veterans have aligned to regain their glory. Mil Muertes vs. Prince Puma is up next! But first, we get a slick chant-heavy video hyping up Puma. Mil Muertes comes down in new black, white, and purple gear that looks five million times better than his old blue and black pinstriped gear. Puma comes down amid his people without Konnan.
Mil Muertes vs. Prince Puma – Lucha Underground Championship
Muertes starts with punches and stomps, but he eats a flurry of kicks and a headscissors. Mil sends him to the floor and into the stands. They fight onto the steps and Muertes gets sent into the crowd. Catrina gets involved and Puma grabs her to spin her around and use her heels as a weapon! Puma is sent ass over teakettle into the chairs on the floor. Puma runs up the wall to avoid a wall smash, and we see the giant red welts on Mil’s side.
Puma gets a table and sets it up, but eats a gut punch. A fan yells at Puma to “fight, goddammit!” – well, at least Lucha Underground fans care a lot. Muertes grabs the giant wooden staircase and plants it ringside before powerbombing him into them! Puma dropkicks a chair into his face on the floor, but eats a much harder chairshot going for a suicide dive. A jumping knee gives Puma some hope as does a double stomp out of a German suplex flip counter!
Puma charges into the corner and eats a hard punch. Puma avoids a charge and sends Mil into the chair while a one-man Alarm Clock gets 2.5! A phoenix splash misses, but a snap powerslam from Mil gets 2! Puma lands a back-rolling Pele kick out of a corner charge counter before getting a deadlift-up suplex for 2.5 resulting in a suplex city chant. A big right hand hits Puma on the apron, but a high kick hits the challenger. Mil fights back with a Big E spear from the apron through the table – and they hit on the corner of the table! Mil powerbombs him through the remnants of the table and lifts him into the ring for a 2.9! Mil gets a spinning uranage and slams him down violently.
Puma avoids a spear with some parkour and hits a series of big kicks. Muertes lands for the 630, which hits for a 2.9! A second 630 misses and the spear hits resulting in a twist and a flatliner for a 2.9! Puma kicks away in the corner and goes for the 630, but the stone is lifted so he rises. Puma goes up top, but eats a super flatliner – Mil Muertes wins the gold! The Disciples of Death enter the ring while Striker talks about the Age of Death in Lucha Underground.
Black Lotus and Cueto grab all they can from his office, before he rushes in to grab the red bull. They leave in a limo and in the trailer, we see a wall destroyed and finally catch a glimpse of Matanza. Back at the Temple, Fenix leaves with his title in a slick gold Trans-Am before being hunted by Cuerno in a Chevy truck. Marty has kidnapped Sexy and says she’ll meet his sister. Angelico and Havoc promise to get the gold while he and Ivie leave for one last ride. Drago and Aerostar say they’ll meet again as Drago bursts into flames. Vampiro and Pentagon Jr. meet and says they’ll take things to a very dark place. El Dragon Azteca’s mask is seemingly placed on a new owner and we see a Lucha Underground? sign. Dario Cueto is shown in front of the Temple one last time as the lights go out and a To Be Continued notices pops on the screen.
Wow. This was a stellar show overall – with only the Demon-Texano match dragging it down in any way, and that was short. While the show’s future is uncertain, the to be continued notice seems to indicate that it will be continuing in some form or fashion – it just isn’t known when. It’s been a real treat to cover the show from day one, and I’m very thankful to Dave Meltzer for bringing me into the fold to cover it and to Josh Nason for helping me provide the most image-intensive coverage of the show online.
The show itself has raised the bar for expectations when it comes to backstage promos. After decades of seeing them done the same way from nearly every company, we have one treating the show as a drama that happens to involve wrestlers – and it changes things in big ways. For the first time in decades, we were presented with characters that in most cases, had never been seen before in North America. The producers found a way to craft interesting, if at times corny stories, but everyone fit their role nicely.
If the show doesn’t go on, then at least guys like Pentagon Jr. have now established themselves in the U.S, and it’s amazing to see how over he was nearly instantly as a babyface despite being the most vile act on the show. He’ll be able to get solid bookings in the U.S. for years now thanks to just this one season, while Ricochet’s stock rose quite a bit. Johnny Mundo showed that he could be more than he was in WWE even if his acting still isn’t quite up to snuff. Alberto came off like a legend here at times, and that holds even more true for Vampiro. His character has morphed from reformed crazy man to someone who has embraced the crazy, and every story turn made sense for his character.
They even found a way to make the long-tired heel owner a completely fresh act. Dario was greatly aided by having an actor play him who had no background in wrestling, so he played it as another role – as a result, he was a better actor than 99% of people in wrestling and gave the character a good mix of sinister and silly. The overarching storylines were nutty, but interesting and even with Black Lotus turning heel, it was done so in a very logical way that can be explained away later as her believing Cueto due to the confinement and developing a bit of Stockholm syndrome.
Lucha Underground deserves far greater ratings success than it got, and hopefully it will get a new lease on life in either streaming media like Netflix or Hulu or a Blu-Ray release. Given the sheer size of the show and it being shot in HD, a digital or streaming release is far more likely. Hopefully the entire back catalog is put back up on some on demand services – as that was the only way for myself and many others to actually watch this gorgeous show in HD. The closing montage alone was beautiful and far more artistic than anything WWE has done even with their new mandate to treat things like they’re shooting movies.
To see the roughly 500 screenshots taken for the show, just click here.
UFC announced these two matches tonight on UFC Tonight:
Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit for the welterweight title will headline the 11/15 (11/14 U.S. time) show in Melbourne, Australia. It has not been announced the location, whether it will be the stadium or Rod Laver Arena, to host the show.
Johny Hendricks vs. Tyron Woodley in a top contenders match will be on the 10/3 UFC 192 PPV show from Houston.
By Emerson Witner, WrestlingObserver.com & Wrestling Outsiders Podcast
The Big News: Jushin Thunder Liger was officially announced as facing Tyler Breeze at Takeover. Plus Kevin Owens issued a challenge for his rematch with Finn Balor to be a Ladder Match.
Show recap:
– The show opened with a Roddy Piper graphic.
Bayley defeated Charlotte
Bayley tried to give her slap bracelet to a child at ringside, but literally no one was looking in her direction and when they finally did the kid took his sweet time getting out of his chair to get it. This is a rematch from NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way where Charlotte won and it led to her baby face turn. These two were actually teammates in 2013 until Charlotte turned heel and joined The BFF’s with Summer Rae and Sasha Banks.
Bayley asked for this match to show she was ready to challenge Sasha for the title. Charlotte spent most of the match working over the knee of Bayley, so Bayley limped through her comeback. The highlight of the match was Bayley hitting a Frankensteiner off the middle rope. The fan’s chanted “Woman’s Wrestling”. Bayley got to the ropes during a Figure Four and Charlotte kicked out of a Bayley to Belly Suplex, but Bayley finally won with the Bayley to Belly off the top rope.
– Earlier this week Michael Cole spoke to Kevin Owens about the match at Takeover in 2 weeks. Owens pointed out that he apologized to Mr. Regal for punching him and called him “a Real Man’s Man” for waiting until Owens had his back turned to say he hoped Kevin loses in Brooklyn.
Owens wants the NXT Title because it reminds him of injuring Sami Zayn and being champion means extra money in his bank account. Owens said that since Mr. Regal is in a position of authority, the only way to guarantee that we won’t get a Montreal Screwjob is to make the title match a Ladder Match. Cole asked him if he can beat Finn Balor, which caused Owens to stand up and walk away.
– Bull Dempsey watched the first Bull Fit video and got serious about doing it right. Of course it backfired when he tried to bench press the weight crashed down on him.
Baron Corbin pinned Steve Cutler
The linear Paragon Pro Wrestling Champion is back. Corbin got punched in the face, punched Cutler in the face and won with the End of Days in 22 seconds. The fans are chanting “Baron Sucks” as the announcers wonder if he can be stopped.
-Bayley went to see Mr. Regal and asked for a title match against Sasha Banks. William put her in a match with Becky Lynch next week with the winner getting a title shot at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn.
Tyler Breeze pinned Eric Solar
It has now been a year since Breeze got his NXT Title shot which ended in a disqualification when Tyson Kidd ran in and attacked champion Adrian Neville. Since then Breeze never got his rightful 1 on 1 rematch for the title.
The announcers spent the match arguing about the stores Breeze could visit in Brooklyn and Tyler picked up another win with a Beauty Shot.
– William Regal walked out and announced that at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn Tyler Breeze will go one on one with Jushin Thunder Liger. We then got a Liger video package.
– Uhaa Nation was featured in another video package. They aired videos of him 4 months ago and then stopped, so now we get another one. His name is now Apollo Crews and he debuts at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn.
– Finn Balor had a sit down interview with Byron Saxton about how honored he is to be NXT Champion and how he is ready for the rematch with Owens at Takeover.
The Hype Bros defeated Dash & Dawson
The Hype Bros now have a combined theme song, where they merge Mojo’s hyped song with Ryder’s Radio theme. Dash and Dawson defeated Enzo and Cass last week. The heels got the heat on Zack when he did the 10 Punches of Doom to Dawson, but Dash distracted him, so Dawson tripped him up.
The announcers talked about Wayne’s World while Zack made the hot tag. Mojo beat both men by himself and then tagged in Zack for the finish where Mojo lifted Dash up for a Spinebuster and Zack came off the middle rope with the Rough Ryder for the win.
– After the match, the heels attacked the winners, dropping Ryder with the Shatter Machine.
– William Regal spoke with The Vaudevillians about what happened last week. Mr. Regal awarded them a rematch for the Tag Team Championship at Takeover. He told them to think of a way to curtail Alexa Bliss.
-We get a continuation from the earlier Bull Fit segment. Turns out he did not die from the weights, instead he pushed it up. This was every training montage from every sports movie you have ever seen where Bull slowly got a little better and a little better. It ended with him turning over a giant truck tire.
Samoa Joe pinned Rhyno
In the tale of the tape they noted that Joe had won 20 championships, which does include the 9 titles he won in TNA. It also said Rhyno only won 16 championships and according to Wikipedia he has won 22, so not sure which don’t count.
This was a very fun hard hitting match. They wrestled each other a bunch in TNA, so they know each other well. Rhyno did a TKO, called a Samoan Drop, for a 2 count and Joe got a near fall with a flying kick to the face. Rhyno got out of the choke, Joe kicked him in the face when he went for a Gore and the finish saw Joe win with the Muscle Buster!
That is it for this week! We are on the road to Brooklyn and until next week remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
Last week, Jeff Jarrett was inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame. It was one of his greatest promos ever, and would’ve been a nice sendoff to TNA if need be. Eric Young beat Chris Melendez quickly, while Brooke defended her title against Marti. Jeff Hardy returned and helped Matt grab weapons before setting up tonight’s Full Metal Mayhem title match between Matt and EC3. Mickie James also wrestled possibly her final match in TNA with Magnus and won with the jumping DDT. Tonight, Matt Hardy faces EC3 for the title, Drew battles Eli Drake, Spud faces Aries in a “Rockstar vs. Career” match, Bram battles Mr. Anderson, and Gial faces the Dollhouse.
The show starts off with a quick tribute video to Roddy Piper. They did an awesome one for Dusty, but this was too short to really mean much. A hype video sets up tonight’s card and Bram walks down the aisle to start the event. Bram is shown beating Anderson down before they brawl in the aisle.
Ken Anderson vs. Bram
Josh talks about this being a match between “two rivals” which is generally a good reason for a match to occur. They brawl for a bit on the floor before coming back in and Anderson sends him to the floor with a clothesline over the top. Josh begs for #nosurrender to trend while using more WWE Speak about what the story of the match is. Pope calls Bram the reincarnation of Brody, and he smashes Ken’s face on the apron and clubs his neck. Bram hits a back elbow while Pope talks about a knockout being like being hit by a tornado to oddly quote Matt Hardy’s WWE theme. Ken gets a handful of jabs and gets 2.
Ken goes up top for the Kenton, but eats a punch – hopefully Bram didn’t hurt his contract-signing hand. Bram doing superplexes is apparently another day in the park – I can’t imagine him being welcomed at many parks with behavior like that. Ken rushes out of the corner and eats a spinning heel kick, which looked quite good. That’s a new move from Bram, and it looked great. Bram gets a series of shortarm clotheslines, but refuses to release the arm before another clothesline gets a 2 count. Bram grabs the mic to hit Ken, but he eats a small package for the loss. Anderson wins, but eats a mic shot and Bram does his intro – so this feud is basically right where it was a week ago. Josh and Pope talk about this feud has clearly started, which would make sense if this was before the first match. They talk about the Rockstar Spud vs. Austin Aries match and Eli Drake vs. Drew Galloway.
JB is backstage with Matt Hardy to do a wacky early ’90s Mean Gene promo. Matt talks about he and Jeff defied the odds in wrestling, and boy did they ever. You’ve got two guys who were undersized, largely self-taught, but hard workers. They wound up, like Foley, working from the jobber role to being main eventers to some degree nationally. In a cute bit, Matt gives a shoutout to Pat Patterson by saying the crowd will be going banana. This was a super-fun little promo.
They plug the TNA Youtube channel shows while EC3 says “why should I care?” in his clip – which is pretty valid. James Storm comes out looking more pissed off than usual, and his blue jeans and red shirt mesh nicely with the red and blue background. He rants about Khoya failing him and wants him out here next. Storm slaps him around and insults his homeland, resulting in him eating a Sky High. Khoya renounces Storm’s name and goes back to his given name and says he’s proud of his people and tells Storm to never touch him again. Taryn narrates a recap video of her destroying Gail leading to a “Playtime is Over” video hyping up Gail. The Dollhouse walks backstage and after a break, Storm tells Khoya to put his boots on to dance with the devil.
Gail Kim vs. The Dollhouse
The Dollhouse comes out followed by Gail getting a new slightly more epic intro. Gail rolls through Marti’s shots before kicking her down. Gail gets 2 off a schoolgirl cradle. Marti gets some damage and Taryn screams to come in and gets 2. Taryn has some fantastic disgusted faces on the apron – it’s glorious. Josh, who talks about Twitter constantly, buries Pope for talking about Twitter during this match. During an upskirt shot of Jade, he says he won’t be degrading the women tonight like Pope is, and then Gail gets kicked in the ass. Gail hits forearms and kicks against the Dolls and gets 2 off a crossbody onto Marti. Gail gets Eat Defeat while Josh talks about how unfair this match was to Gail, so Josh was a face for this match.
We get a very yellow video package for Drew Galloway talking about his #StandUp movement and his Rising group. Eli Drake was his brother and they fought side by side, but it was just a way for Drake to make himself famous. Drew says that he stands up tonight to see Eli Drake fall – Drew in soundbyte form is a damn fine promo.
Drew Galloway vs. Eli Drake
Drew comes down and Drake is out in a hand-made #SitDown shirt while Josh says that Eli is easily hateable instantly and buries him for carrying a gallon of water with him at all times. What does Josh have against staying properly hydrated? Drake and Drew fight on the floor while fans hold Drake for a chop. Drew gets a flying lariat off the steps. Eli has ED on his gear – does he #standup for erectile dysfunction? The bell rings to signal either the match ending or beginning – neither announcers knows or cares. They’re now fighting in the ring, so I guess the match has officially begun. Eli posts Drew’s shoulder, but he eats some lariats and a big suplex. Drew hits a German suplex into the buckle, which Brock needs to steal. Eli gets an eye poke and an O’Connor roll before both grabbing the rope and using the trunks. Josh buries this as a hollow victory and then immediately goes on to talk about Aries-Spud having more to it than meets the eye.
We get a recap video of it literally being one conversation about Aries wanting the name “Rockstar” – does he not remember Austin Starr? Bully Ray is in his formal sportscoat in his “office” meeting with Brian Hebner telling him that he could one day be TNA’s senior referee before Roode comes in. Roode says that Aries losing would end his team and that takes money out of his pocket and he vows to ensure an Aries victory. Okay then. Bully appears to have just given up all hope in just this one vignette.
“The Former Austin Starr” Austin Aries vs. Rockstar Spud in a Career vs. Rockstar Match
Aries comes out while Josh talks about him being a World champion while Josh talks about Spud losing his underdog nickname. Pope says that there’s no such thing as overachieving in wrestling, here on a show with Matt Hardy main eventing in a World Title match. Spud and his horrible spray tan get taken down early for a Last Chancery, but he gets to the ropes quickly. Josh literally just compared Rockstar Spud vs. Austin Aries to a Flair vs. Rogers match for the rights to the Nature Boy name. It’s perhaps a step above Booker vs. Big T for the rights to the letter T. Aries gets the outside-in tope con hilo, but Spud fires back with punches, so Aries responds with a weak-looking STO to the back and a pendulum elbow.
Pope talks about a period in TNA history where the Rockstar name would’ve fit Aries well – that’s literally the first time they’ve so much as implied the Austin Starr moniker as being important in this match. Missile dropkick by Aries is buried by Josh because Pope called him Rockstar in the process. Spud goes for the multiple elbows, but Aries figures things out. The key to a Spud match seems to be to just not kneel in his general direction and you’re fine. Aries avoids The Underdog and gets a kneebreaker>back suplex facebuster for 2. The Last Chancery is locked on while Pope talks about Rocky. Given that I had a cat named Rocky and currently have one named Spud, I’m all for that. Corner dropkick by Aries. A small package gets 2 for Spud, but he eats two rolling elbows and then a third. Corner dropkick leads to Aries looking pissed off, hitting the move, and getting a 2.9. Pope yells about this in a very annoying way.
Josh talks about how Spud, two time former X Title holder has never beaten the greats like EC3 and Angle. Spud fires up and gets some punches, but a shining wizard is met with a lariat. Aries eats a bolo punch that sends him to the floor to eat a dive. Spud gets a frog splash for 2.5 and goes for the Underdog, but gets sent to the apron. Aries does a top rope ear box, which I love, but it’s countered into a Super Underdog/Cutter for the win! This was Spud’s best match since the EC3 match and well worth watching. A second after the count is tolled, Josh talks about how this is now sinking in for Aries. Aries has his TNA career ended, but he hands him his bow tie and Josh thanks Aries for what he’s done in TNA.
Aries talks to Roode backstage and Aries says he hates leaving this locker room, but he’ll be okay. It’s not goodbye – just see you down the road. This was a pretty underwhelming end for Aries in TNA – it’s a shame too since TNA really did save his career in 2011. He was set to retire due to Tough Enough – not because he was in it, but because he was rejected by it. TNA brought him back for Destination X and he had a career-best set of matches over the next year and a half and even won the World Title. Now, Storm’s out to face Sheera.
James Storm vs. Sheera
Sheera has GenericIndianMusic.wav as his theme and eats a ton of overhand chops from Storm. They’re not quite on par with Wahoo’s on the NWAClassics site, but they’re good. Storm slaps him a bunch, but eats a series of clotheslines. Corner shoulder charges buckle Storm, so he grabs the cowbell and smacks him in the end. I enjoyed this a lot – it was really simple, but it told the story that was needed. Storm creepily stalks him and spits on him. Backstage, Bully has been taken out and since Roode promised vengeance if Aries lost, it would make sense for it to be him – or is he just an off the chain red herring?
Dixie is dressed like an orange talking on the phone before Jeff comes in and asks to help Dixie out. Dixie doesn’t know how long Bully will be out – he asks to run the show for one week. About a month of storylines has seemingly gone on in about ten minutes. Josh and Pope talk about “the authority figure” being taken out. What other kind of narrative fiction does that? Where else do you hear characters being referred to just by the name of their character type? Tyrus and EC3 talk smack to Matt Hardy backstage about their main event tonight. Matt comes down and Jeff leaves him as per Bully’s order about no one being at ringside. Amusingly, an ROH plug is put over Matt Hardy’s intro, which seems fitting since Corino still puts Hardy over huge on commentary. EC3 comes down in slick blue, white, and black gear.
EC3 vs. Matt Hardy – World Title TLC Match
JB, easily the best modern-day ring announcer out there, gives this a big match intro. Boy should Matt just work in a shirt now. He did it as V1 – so there’s no good reason to avoid doing it now when it would help his look. Matt gets a corner bulldog, but EC3 elbows his way out of a Side Effect. EC3 hits him with a chair to the back before sitting in it to talk smack – that’s great, and new. Matt’s head gets bonked into the chair, but he fires back with a Side Effect. Matt hiptosses EC3 into the ladder in the corner. Matt gets a suplex while they talk about Matt possibly going into BFG in North Carolina as a World Champion. Matt climbs the ladder, but EC3 clips the knee.
We come back from a break with EC3 stomping away at Matt under the steps. He’s apparently been using a kendo stick during the break. EC3 gets taken down and Matt gives him the old 7/10 split to the crotch in the corner with the ladder. Matt gets a swinging neckbreaker and then the Twist of Fate. Matt goes for a moonsault through a table, but EC3 counters with a powerbomb through it. EC3 climbs up, but gets powerbombed down. Matt sets up the steps as a wall on the floor before making a ladder bridge. Matt sets up some sort of move onto the ladder, but eats a low blow and a shove onto the bridge. Matt gets a Side Effect on the apron to counter an EC3 shot on the apron. Matt gets a legdrop off the top to the floor through the table, which is quite terrifying given Matt’s age, injuries, and personal problems in the past. The medical staff checks on EC3 while a sliced-up Matt climbs the ladder. EC3 hits a chairshot to the knee, but we get a race up to the top anyway. EC3 kicks his knee out from under him to send Matt to the mat and retain his title.
EC3 and Matt had a very good match here. While Lucha Underground and Ultima Lucha had tonight’s biggest showcase, TNA still delivered an excellent show overall that just flew by. Both Matt Hardy vs. EC3 and Aries vs. Rockstar Spud were outstanding matches deserving of your time, and while TNA is clearly in rough shape, tonight was a reminder of how good they can be even with less than ideal circumstances.
To see every screenshot taken for the show, just click here.
