1966 – Fritz Von Erich defeated Johnny Valentine in Fort Worth, Texas to win the NWA American Heavyweight Title
1973 – In Minneapolis, Minnesota; The Crusher beat Superstar Billy Graham by dq, AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Wahoo McDaniel & Ken Patera in 2 out of 3 falls; Ivan Koloff beat Billy Red Cloud and Bob Bruggers beat Larry Heiniemi by dq
1976 – Seji Sakaguchi & Strong Kobayashi defeated Tiger Jeet & Gama Singh to win the National Wrestling Federation Asian Tag Team Title in Tokyo, Japan.
1979 – In Milwaukee, Wisconsin; AWA Tag Team Champions Verne Gagne & Mad Dog Vachon beat Pat Patterson & Ray Stevens, AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Greg Gagne, Billy Robinson beat Super Destroyer Mark II by countout and Steve Olsonoski beat Bobby Duncum
1983 – Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Riki Choshu via countout to win the WWF International Heavyweight Title in Tokyo, Japan at Sumo Hall.
1984 – Super Medics I & III defeated Invaders I & III in San Juan, Puerto Rico for the WWC World Tag Team Title.
1987 – Shane Douglas defeated Eddie Gilbert to win the UWF Television Title in Morgan City, Louisiana.
1989 – Cactus Jack & Scott Braddock defeated Jeff Jarrett & Matt Borne for the World Class Wrestling Association World Tag Team Championship in Dallas, Texas.
1990 – Lance Idol & Rick Valentine defeated Super Medics I & III in Caguas, Puerto Rico to win the WWC World Tag Team Title.
1997 – During a live Monday Nitro event, Lex Luger defeated Hulk Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Title.
ROH just announced the addition of Intercontinental Champion Hirooki Goto of New Japan to its 8/21 show in Philadelphia. Goto will team with Mark & Jay Briscoe against Roppongi Vice (Rocky romero & Baretta) & Kazuchika Okada at the 2300 Arena.
The obviously printed and handed out Cesaro sections all over the lower bowl of the SAP Center were not produced by WWE to promote him, but it was actually a fan who printed out a ton of Cesaro section signs and passed them out to fans himself at the show.
Welcome to today’s coverage of the G1 tournament as New Japan is live this morning in Sendai. Tonight’s show is a multi camera setup with no commentary, which seems to be the usual show going forward.
Tiger Mask is again out due to injury, so the tag team match that was meant to start the show has been turned into a singles match.
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. David Finlay
Taguchi had him for most of the match but made a comeback with a european uppercut and at one point had a stretch muffler locked in. Taguchi reversed it into an ankle lock but Finlay escaped. Finlay grabbed him in mid air like he was going to plant him with a German suplex but Taguchi transitioned into the ankle lock and Finlay tapped. Pretty fun little match.
Yohei Komatsu and Katsyuori Shibata vs. Yoshi-Hashi and Toru Yano
Standard match. Komatsu was worked on forever and ever by Chaos, who were playing the heels. Shibata made a brief hot tag and destroyed the two before leaving it to Komatsu, who got several nearfalls and submissions. Yoshi Hashi cut him off and pinned him with the swanton. **1/4
Kushida and Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi and Mascara Dorada
It’s weird in that these matches are designed to get you excited for the upcoming singles bout between two of these people on the next show. And while Kota Ibushi and Tetsuya Naito did some great back and forth work, Dorada & Kushida stole the show here. These guys have terrific chemistry and it’s sad they didn’t get to go out there and have a great match in the Best of the Super Juniors tournament. Their closing stretch was awesome, with Dorada somehow springboarding off the top rope into an inside cradle for a fantastic nearfall. Kushida caught him in the hoverboard lock and he tapped out. Great stuff.
Togi Makabe & Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Captain New Japan vs. A.J. Styles & Doc Gallows & Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga
This was an action-packed match as Bullet Club jumped them right at the bell. Regardless, it was kinda formulaic. Lots of brawling. Both Tanahashi and Makabe got worked on, as well as Tenzan early on with all of Bullet Club getting Mongolian chopped. As usual, it boiled down to Captain New Japan and Tama Tonga, and Tonga won with the waistlock DDT.
Styles and Makabe got into it after the match.
Michael Elgin vs. Yujiro Takahashi
Good match. Elgin was the star here again as he carried Yujiro to a really good back and forth match. Yujiro’s heat segment again was less than interesting, but when Elgin made his comeback, people were into it. Yujiro suplexed him on the outside and was going for the Miami Shine but Elgin blocked it, gave him the buckle bomb then followed with the spinning powerbomb for the win.
Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomoaki Honma
Very good match. Most of it was good back and forth between the two. Crowd was into it, but not at the level I thought it would be. Finishing sequence was pretty hot, though. Honma ate a lariat but got up very quickly and was making a comeback. He tried for a kokeshi, but between the kokeshi and a lariat, Kojima’s lariat won, then followed with another for the win.
Yuji Nagata vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Ishii dealt out chops while Nagata kicked him in the chest as hard as he could. Nagata controlled a lot of the match, including giving him an exploder suplex into the turnbuckle and even dealt out an ego trip. They had a slap contest that ended when Ishii headbutted Nagata hard in the face and hit a sliding D for a nearfall, then pinned him with the brainbuster. Great match, these two have always had great chemistry. Not as good as their match from last year, but still great.
Karl Anderson vs. Kazuchika Okada
This was good, but not great. The crowd were interested at times, and disinterested in others. It created the type of match where everything technically was good, but at the same time felt just kind of there with an uninterested crowd. There did some nice reversals near the end with Okada reversing a gun stun and laying Anderson out with the tombstone, then pinning him with the rainmaker. Finish felt rather anticlimactic as it seemed like no one thought the finish was coming yet.
Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Crowd finally started to pick up for this one in the middle of the match. Really picked up once they were going for near falls. Nakamura went for the boma ye but Goto blocked him and hit the reverse neckbreaker. They were exchanging back and forth maneuvers when Nakamura trapped Goto in the spinning armbreaker and actually submitted him in a big surprise. They’ve had better matches, but this was a perfectly acceptable main event.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 12 AT MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA LIVE ON SHOWTIME PPV®
TWO ADDITIONAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHTS HIGHLIGHT ACTION-PACKED PPV QUADRUPLEHEADER
ALL ACCESS: MAYWEATHER VS. BERTO
PREMIERES AUGUST 28 ON SHOWTIME®
LAS VEGAS (Aug. 4, 2015) – In what is expected to be the final fight of his illustrious 19-year career, boxing superstar and pound-for-pound king Floyd “Money” Mayweather (48-0, 26 KOs) will put his undefeated record and WBC and WBA Welterweight World Championships on the line against power-punching, two-time welterweight world champion Andre Berto (30-3, 23 KOs) Saturday, Sept. 12 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, live on SHOWTIME PPV (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT).
Coming off of the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao event, in which Mayweather remained undefeated by taking a unanimous decision victory, Mayweather will test himself against a hard-hitting fighter hungry for his chance to score a historic upset. Mayweather could also make history. If triumphant, he would match the record of the late heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano, who retired in April 1956 with a record of 49-0. Equaling Marciano’s record, one of the most hallowed in all of sports, would reaffirm Mayweather’s legendary status in the sport and buttress Mayweather’s claim as “The Best Ever.”
Two stellar world championship fights will also be included on the pay-per-view telecast.
Roman “Rocky” Martinez (29-2-2, 17 KOs) will risk his WBO Junior Lightweight title in a rematch against the boxer he dethroned, four-time world champion Orlando “Siri” Salido (42-13-2, 29 KOs). Their first fight, in April of this year, is considered by many to be a leading candidate for Fight of the Year. In addition, Badou Jack “The Ripper” (19-1-1, 12 KOs) will make the first defense of his WBC Super Middleweight World title against mandatory challenger “Saint” George Groves (21-2, 16 KOs). A fourth fight on the pay-per-view telecast will be announced soon.
Promoted by Mayweather Promotions, the four-fight pay-per-view telecast will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV and is the sixth and final fight of a record-breaking deal between Mayweather and Showtime Networks Inc. SHOWTIME Sports® will support the event with the Sports Emmy® Award-winning series ALL ACCESS.
Ticket pricing and on sale information is forthcoming later this week.
“I’m ready to get back in the ring on September 12 and prove again to the whole world why I’m ‘The Best Ever,’” said Mayweather. “I always bring my A-game and this fight against Andre Berto is no exception. He’s a young, strong fighter who is hungry to take down the best. Forty-eight have tried before and on September 12, I’m going to make it 49.”
“I’m coming to kick Floyd’s ass on September 12,” said Berto. “Best believe that I plan to bring it to Floyd and I’m not concerned about what 48 other fighters have been unable to do. Somebody is getting knocked out and it won’t be me. You don’t want to miss this.”
“‘Money’ Mayweather is back and the whole Mayweather Promotions team is ready to build off of the incredible record-breaking May 2 event,” said CEO of Mayweather Promotions Leonard Ellerbe. “It’s a pleasure to bring this great fight, plus the incredible undercard of action, to the fans in Las Vegas at MGM Grand. Andre Berto is a powerful fighter who presents a real danger to Floyd. He will have to use all of his skills to slow Berto down.”
“I want to thank Showtime for this opportunity to fight in this great event,” said Martinez. “We are ready and working hard to make sure this title remains in Puerto Rico. Everyone saw the first fight against Orlando Salido and I know that this second bout will also be a war. Once again we have the rivalry between Puerto Rico and Mexico, which guarantees plenty of action. Training is going very well and we are 100 percent sure that on September 12 it will be another great victory to Puerto Rico.”
“I’m excited for the rematch with Rocky Martinez,” said Salido. “The first fight in Puerto Rico did not go my way. I got off to a slow start and had to fight two fights – one against the referee and one against Rocky Martinez. On September 12, I am going to take matters into my own hands and look to knock out Rocky to get my world title belt back. Mexico and Puerto Rico have had a great rivalry over the years and this September you will see me bring the belt home to Mexico where it belongs.”
“I’m very excited and I’m preparing for the toughest fight of my career against George Groves,” said Jack. “I always go into a fight with an underdog mentality, even as champion. It feels great to be defending in my adopted hometown of Las Vegas. My promoter, Floyd Mayweather, has had my back during the ups and downs of my career and I want to make him and the whole Mayweather Promotions team proud on September 12.”
“I have been fortunate enough to experience some of the greatest feelings the sport can give,” said Groves. “I have challenged for world titles and I have sold out stadiums, but my true childhood dream of winning a world title is yet to be fulfilled. I get that chance on the Las Vegas Strip – the crème de la crème for any fighter on the planet. I cannot wait to achieve my goal and become world champion. Badou Jack isn’t ‘Bad’ enough to halt my dream. His WBC belt is all that is on my mind each and every waking moment. We have studied Jack – we are prepared for his strengths and ready to expose his weaknesses. Vegas is my second home and I can’t wait to come back with a bang.”
“When Showtime Networks and Floyd Mayweather teamed up for the first time in 2013, it was called a record-breaking deal – and that’s exactly what it has been,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports®. “Through five fights of the six-fight term, the results have exceeded our grandest expectations. Floyd has never hesitated to take on the best of the best in his division. In Andre Berto, Floyd has chosen an opponent who always comes to fight and always entertains. Berto’s power and athleticism make him a legitimate threat against any opponent, and against Floyd, we expect Berto to be as aggressive as ever. We’re also assembling an action-packed undercard, highlighted by a rematch of one of the best fights of 2015, Rocky Martinez vs. Orlando Salido.”
“We are thrilled with the opportunity to host what is expected to be Floyd’s final fight in his storied career,” said Richard Sturm, president of Entertainment and Sports for MGM Resorts International. “Floyd is a tremendous champion and we look forward to witnessing this historical event against Andre Berto at MGM Grand.”
One of the most decorated fighters in the history of the sport, Mayweather, of Grand Rapids, Mich., fighting out of Las Vegas, is a 12-time world champion in five weight divisions. With his trademark speed, defensive prowess and ring generalship, Mayweather has now defeated 22 world champions.
In addition to his in-ring accomplishments, Forbes, Fortune and Sports Illustrated have named Mayweather the world’s highest-paid athlete multiple times. His events amass record-breaking numbers; he has headlined four of the six highest-grossing pay-per-view events of all time and holds the all-time record in gross pay-per-view receipts.
Mayweather, the only fighter to have headlined three events that generated more than two million pay-per-view buys each, has garnered numerous “Fighter of the Year” awards over his storied career, including five ESPY Awards and two Boxing Writers Association of America awards.
Long considered as a possible foe for Mayweather, Berto, 31, of Winter Haven, Fla. is a former amateur standout and 2004 Olympian for Haiti. A veteran of eight world title fights, all at 147 pounds, he won the WBC Welterweight World Title in June 2008 and made five successful title defenses over the next two and a half years before losing the title in April 2011. Berto won the IBF Welterweight World Title in September 2011.
The offensive-minded Berto always makes for sensational scraps – his 2012 slugfest with Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero was a Fight of the Year candidate. In his most recent outing, he scored two knockdowns en route to a sixth-round TKO over Josesito Lopez last March 13.
Style-wise, the 5-foot-7 Berto is expected to adopt an aggressive approach with a high punch output, similar to the strategy employed by Marcos “El Chino” Maidana in his first fight against Mayweather. If Mayweather fails to display his trademark speed and defense, Berto could use his power and hand speed to make Mayweather uncomfortable and force him into a brawl.
Martinez, 32, of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, will make the first defense in his third stint as WBO Junior Lightweight World Champion. He won the WBO 130-pound crown the second time with a 12-round split decision over MiguelBeltran Jr. in September 2012. The ultra-tough Martinez made two successful defenses, including a close points’ triumph over previously undefeated DiegoMagdaleno, before losing by eighth-round knockout to unbeaten Mikey Garcia in November 2013.
The 5-foot-8 Martinez won his first fight following the Garcia bout and then, in his most recent outing, he survived a desperate late rush to unanimously outpoint Salido across 12 hard-fought, action-packed rounds last April 11.
Billed as “The War,” the slugfest may have exceeded its billing as both fighters expended an inordinate amount of energy over the course of 36 minutes. Utilizing his advantages in height and reach, Martinez sent Salido to the canvas in the third and fifth and won by the scores of 116-109, 115-110 and 114-111. Salido was docked a point in the 11th round for a low blow, but never quit fighting and was in it to the end.
Tough and determined with a straight-forward style that makes for crowd-pleasing affairs, Martinez captured the WBO Title the first time in March 2009 and successfully defended it twice.
Salido, 34, of Sonora, Mexico, is a relentless hard-nosed boxer-puncher who is willing to take on anyone and is no stranger to the boxing rivalry that is Mexico vs. Puerto Rico.
The 5-foot-6 Salido captured the interim WBO Junior Lightweight World Championship in his outing before last in a back-and-forth 11th-round knockout over Thailand’s Terdsak Kokietgym on September 1, 2014. The brutal battle that featured seven knockdowns (Salido went down three times, Kokietgym four) was the 2014 Yahoo! Sports Fight of the Year.
Salido is also a two-time featherweight world champion. He fought some of the best of his generation at 126, including Mikey Garcia, Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez twice, and current WBO 126-pound champion Vasyl Lomachenko who Salido beat three fights ago on a 12-round split decision in March 2014.
Jack, 31, a native of Stockholm, Sweden, who fights out of Mayweather’s Las Vegas gym, captured the WBC 168-pound belt with a 12-round majority decision over defending champion and previously unbeaten Anthony Dirrell last April 24 by the scores of 116-114, 115-113 and 114-114.
A former European amateur standout – he’s the only boxer ever to represent Gambia in any Olympic Games (2008) – the 6-foot-1 Jack turned pro in June 2009 and won his initial 16 bouts before suffering a shocking first-round knockout loss to Derek Edwards in February 2014.
A boxer with good speed and movement, Jack has since won three in a row, including the major victory over Dirrell.
The battled-tested Groves, 27, of Hammersmith, London, England, will get his third crack at a 168-pound world title. The only blemishes on his record came in back-to-back fights against then-IBF/WBA champion and countryman Carl Froch at Wembley Stadium in London. After losing by controversial ninth-round TKO in November 2013, Groves was stopped by his fierce rival in the eighth round of a May 2014 grudge rematch that attracted 80,000 fans.
Groves has rebounded since falling to Froch, winning his last pair. Groves captured the vacant WBC Silver Super Middleweight title and European Championship in Sept. 2014 against Christophe Rebrasse and scored a seventh-round TKO over Dennis Douglin last Nov. 22.
—
About Mayweather vs. Berto:
Mayweather vs. Berto, a 12-round welterweight world championship bout for Mayweather’s WBC and WBA 147-pound titles, is promoted by Mayweather Promotions LLC. The event will take place Saturday, September 12 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas and will be televised by SHOWTIME PPV. The undercard features a WBO Junior Lightweight World Championship fight, which is a rematch between Roman Martinez and Orlando Salido. Also featured on the PPV telecast will be a WBC Super Middleweight title bout between Badou Jack and George Groves, which is promoted in association with Team Sauerland.
Invicta 145-pound featherweight champion Cris Cyborg Justino will be appearing on ESPN SportsCenter at about 12:30 PM EST Wednesday. She would probably not be on the show unless it relates to some significant news about a potential fight with UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.
I wanted to update everyone on the GoFundMe campaignto help former TNA X-Division, ECW World and Ring of Honor World Champion Jerry Lynn with his upcoming neck surgery.
In just the first 24 hours, we have received 319 donations for nearly $9,000 which is simply incredible. So many people have stepped up with donations and also spreading the word about the campaign.
Wrestling stars including Mick Foley, Lita, Austin Aries, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Bully Ray, Taz, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, Adam Cole, Steve Corino, Kevin Kelly, Tommy Dreamer, MVP and Sean Waltman have all helped out with donations or promoting it on social media.
Thank you to everyone for helping Jerry as we continue the push forward to reach the goal of $15,000. Please continue to spread the word on social media.
STEPHEN AMELL TO GUEST STAR ON WWE® MONDAY NIGHT RAW®
STAMFORD, Conn., August 3, 2015 – Actor Stephen Amell, who plays the title role on the hit series Arrow, will guest star on WWE’s Monday Night Raw next Monday, August 10, at 8/7C on USA Network. After several visits to Monday Night Raw, Amell will be appearing as a guest star for the first time.
Based on characters from DC Comics, Arrow tells the story of billionaire Oliver Queen who, after being gone for five years and suffering unimaginable ordeals, returned home to Starling City with a mysterious agenda and a set of new skills that he uses in a war on crime as “The Arrow” in this hard-hitting action series.
Next up for Amell is the role of Casey Jones in Paramount Pictures’ and Nickelodeon Movies’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2. Produced by Michael Bay, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 opens in theaters Summer 2016.
Monday Night Raw is the longest-running, weekly episodic program in U.S. primetime TV history and is one of the most-watched, regularly scheduled programs on cable, airing live every Monday night on USA Network. Each week, it is rated one of the most socially active shows on cable television and continues to be a “must-stop” for celebrities to reach WWE’s TV audience and its more than half a billion social media followers.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 3, 2015 **MEDIA ALERT** Private Roddy Piper Memorial at The World Famous Comedy Store in Hollywood, Planned for August 17, 2015
A private memorial is in the works for beloved pro wrestler, actor and comedian “Rowdy” Roddy Piper who passed away last week at his home in Hollywood, California. Set to take place Monday, August 17th at The Comedy Store, this private memorial will include friends from all facets of Roddy Piper’s life and career which ran the gamut of wrestling, acting, stand up comedy, live and broadcast TV, film and numerous business and charitable ventures. His closest friends/colleagues in L.A. will share stories and experiences about Roddy over the years.
Organizer and Roddy Piper friend, comic Steve Simeone said of the event “The Comedy Store is the adopted home of so many ‘comic orphans’ and Roddy became like a dad or big brother to all of us. He became family. I wanted to have a get together where we could get up and share our favorite stories about this incredible man who we all love and will miss greatly. This is a night for Roddy’s friends to celebrate what a great friend he was to all of us.”
Roddy Piper’s daughter, actress Ariel Teal Toombs had this to say about the memorial, “I know a lot of people wanting something like this in L.A., especially because the funeral will be up in Oregon and a lot of folks won’t be able to make that trip. It means a lot that Steve and the Comedy Store family are putting this together.”
Memorial co-organizer, Pro Wrestling and Mixed Martial Arts agent, producer and longtime friend of Piper, Rick Bassman commented, “Roddy’s sudden death has hit all in the Pro Wrestling and MMA worlds pretty hard. I’m very grateful that the Comedy Store is doing this and we intend to see that Roddy is remembered in a way that would make him proud.”
Also helping to organize this send off is Mitch Ackerman, Roddy’s best friend who remarked, “I appreciate all the love and support from all the friends and fans of Roddy’s. Other than Madison Square Garden I don’t think there is a more appropriate place to have this memorial than at the Comedy Store ”
The Toombs family also wants the worldwide public who can’t attend his private funeral or memorial to know that a moment of silence is planned August 11th at 10 am PST. Details here: http://j.mp/RoddyPiper_MomentOfSilence ### Contact: Noelle Kim NKPR (310) 8493444 ProducerNoelle@gmail.com
