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  • WWE RAW August 3 TV results & recap: Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman return

    courtesy WWE.com

    by Jeff Hamlin. WrestlingObserver.com 

    The Big Takeaway: 

    The biggest news is the Seth Rollins-John Cena match at SummerSlam will be a Title vs. Title match. Rollins made it clear that the championships aren’t being unified, just that someone was walking out of Brooklyn as the WWE World Heavyweight and U.S. Champion. Rollins and Neville had the weekly 4-star open challenge match and Paul Heyman cut his monthly candidate for promo of the year. 

    Show Recap: 

    The entire roster stood out on the ramp, many of them wearing “Hot Rod” shirts, for a 10-bell salute to Roddy Piper. Bagpipes played as they faded to a tribute video. All of his famous Piper’s Pit moments were shown, including several still photos of Piper with Hulk Hogan. Another wonderful tribute to someone gone far too soon.  

    Seth Rollins came out. He was smiling after watching repeated highlights of him breaking John Cena’s nose last week. Rollins said he was too sympathetic for his own good, and last week was a good example when he broke Cena’s nose. He got a noticable amount of cheers and “Thank you Rollins” chants. 

    He sbowed several photos of Cena’s crooked nose after the match, and asked who wouldn’t feel sympathy for a face like that? Rollins wanted to stop the match immediately after Cena suffered the injury, but his sympathy and the referee allowed the match to continue. It was his sympathy that allowed Cena to win, but he will never let his guard down ever again. 

    Rollins challenged Cena to a title vs. title match at SummerSlam, winner takes all. If Cena doesn’t have the guts to show up, he can just forfeit the U.S. Championship, but someone will hold both the WWE and U.S. Championships at the same time. 

    Rollins said this was the site of his WWE World Heavyweight Championship victory at WrestleMania in April, then issued a WWE World Heavyweight Championship open challenge. 

    For some reason, Jojo was in the ring to interview Rollins after a commercial. Rollins changed the rules and said there were two rules for the challenger….they had to be under 6-feet tall and under 200-pounds. They played El Torito’s music, but Neville came out instead to answer the challenge. So happy Vince could remind us that he could never get Floyd Meaweather, Connor McGregor, George St. Pierre or Uriah Faber over as money drawing stars. 

    Seth Rollins (C) defeated Neville to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship (13:04) 

    Very good match where Neville missed a 2nd Red Arrow and Rollins hit the Pedigree for the pin. Neville hit a Red Arrow and fans thought it was going to be a title switch, but Rollins got his boot on the ropes. What was really strange was Neville didn’t look very much shorter than Rollins. Somebody watched their G1 this week, as Rollins debuted the Hiroshi Tanahashi Slingblade during the heat. Neville followed with a reverse Frankensteiner which the crowd brought for a near fall. Nevile used a jackknife cradle for another near fall, so close the referee had to noticeably hold up his count, which the fans gave him grief about. 

    The “Did You Know” feature mentioned Daniel Bryan’s book being a New York Times bestseller. Wait, they promoted Bryan’s book? Isn’t that a fireable offense?  

    The New Day and the Ascension defeated Los Matadores and Lucha Dragons (8:21)

    Kofi Kingston pinned Kalisto after Xavier Woods distracted him, despite Toritio tripping him from the apron. Diego and Fernando hit stereo topes on Konnor and Viktor. Titus O’Neal and Darren Young were on commentary again. O’Neal asked Byron Saxton if he had a girlfriend, which he didn’t answer. 

    Charlotte and Becky Lynch defeated The Bella Twins via submission (13:09)

    Charlotte got the hot tag and made Nikki Bella tapout to the Figure 8. Michael Cole mentioned that Charlotte, Paige and Becky Lynch have dubbed themselves the “Submission Sorority.” Crowd was dead. The NXT Divas already feel like just another part of the show instead of something relevant. 

    Jojo talked with Team BAD, who were watching from the back. Alicia Fox objected to Jojo’s question about Charlotte, Lynch and Paige taking over the Divas Division. Fox mentioned she made Paige tapout last week. Naomi said she was going to challenge Paige to a match tonight. Naomi also brought up Ronda Rousey, whose name got a huge pop. Naomi said they were the baddest women on the planet. They can’t even top Rousey on the mic. 

    It was time for MizTV, and the Miz did a tribute to Piper’s Pit. He looked a little emotional about it. He went back heel and cut a promo on Ryback, saying he should forfeit the I-C title like Bryan did. Kevin Owens came out as a guest. Owens said he owned every single one of the Miz’s movies on Blu Ray.  

    Owens said Cesaro was jealous of him. Cesaro came out with fans holding up “Cesaro Section” signs. Owens said Cesaro will never match his god given ability for this business. Cesaro said he was ashamed of Owens because he keeps walking away from matches. He called him embarrassment. Owens got up, and the chair stuck to Owens’ rear end. Cesaro challenged him to a fight. Owens said he’ll fight anyone, anytime, for the right price. But the price wasn’t tonight. Cesaro said Owens was about to do what he does best, which is “Walk, Owens, Walk.” Owens hit Cesaro from behind, but Cesaro recovered and tried to give him the Cesaro Swing, but Owens…well, walked.  

    They showed a clip of Rousey’s postfight promo from Saturday night dedicating the fight to Piper. They keep enticing Ronda for WrestleMania.  

    Rusev defeated Mark Henry (2:05)

    Rusev got the pin clean with a Thurst Kick on Mark Henry. He delivered another one after the match. Summer Rae continues to do Lana mannerisms. I’m surprised she hasn’t copied the “Rusev Crush” line. 

    In a clear reponse to the Investment Caller’s Call, JBL held up signs showing how much money people will save if they just watch SummerSlam through the WWE Network instead of on PPV. Then, in an attempt to entice people to buy the network, they showed a hot angle from 1985 Mid South Wrestling. Ummm….no…they really showed a scene from Swerved. Sort of like if the NBA Network debuted tomorrow, and instead of showing highlights from the 2000 Los Angeles Lakers, they showed clips from the 2015 Los Angeles Lakers. 

    Bray Wyatt held a flower is a symbol of beauty, but if you remove all of its pedals, it becomes a troublesome weed. He said Roman Reigns has become their symbol of beauty, but he’s really do different from anybody else. Sheamus someone found his way into the Wyatt Liar and said he was going to drive his Brogue Kick into Randy Orton’s face tonight. Bray said the Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend, so tonight Sheamus was his friend. 

    King Barrett defeated Zack Ryder (1:53)

    Zack Ryder went for the Rough Ryder, but Barrett dipped under it and pinned him after the Bullhammer Elbow. Last half hour wil likely not be shown on the 90 minute versions of Raw. 

    Paul Heyman was in the ring and showed the footage of the Undertaker jumping Brock Lesnar at Battleground. Heyman said Undertaker can’t live with himself because he will never be able to beat Lesnar. Brock came out and threw part of the ring steps into the ring and stood on them while Heyman cut his promo. 

    Heyman said the last time Lesnar wrestled Undertaker, the Undertaker left in an ambulance, spent a week in the hospital  and took a year to recover. In fact, Heyman said Undertaker called Vince McMahon and begged him for a rematch at WrestleMania. But Vince turned him down because he was afraid of Undertaker risking permanent injury. So Undertaker had to surprise Lesnar at Battleground. Heyman said at SummerSlam, Lesnar will slap the “Repeat” in “Eat, Sleep, Conquer, Repeat.” He said Undertaker was going to Suplex City. 

    Heyman was on fire at this point, saying Undertaker wasn’t going to need an ambulance this time, he was going to need Last Rites. In regards to promos in the WWE, there’s Paul Heyman and there’s everyone else.  

    Paige defeated Naomi via submission (7:25)

    Paige won with the PTO. Crowd was pretty dead again. For all the talk of a Divas Revolution, they don’t have a Diva on the roster half as over as Lita was in 2000 or Trish Stratus in 2004. 

    Stardust did a promo about Neville’s loss to Rollins. They’re back to Stardust doing an angle with Steven Amell, who tweeted that he will be at Raw next week in Seattle. 

    They replayed the Piper tribute video. This led to a promo where Dean Ambrose and Reigns repeated the Piper line from “They Live” saying they came to Kick Ass and Chew Bubblegum, and they’re all out of bubblegum. JBL said the same thing earlier. Orton told Ambrose and Reigns to leave Sheamus to him.  

    Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Randy Orton defeated Bray Wyatt, Sheamus and Luke Harper (16:39)

    Good match with a really good finish. Reigns cleaned house at the end, giving Luke Harper a Superman’s Punch. Orton gave Wyatt an RKO, and Reigns pinned Sheamus after a spear. Buildup to the hot tag with Reigns was good and this was the 2nd best match on the show.  

    SUMMARY: Show opened well, was nothing until the Heyman promo, and was nothing after that until the main event. 

  • Feedback to weekend shows

    UFC 190 Feedback
    Thumbs in the Middle: The card was too long and too old.  I couldn’t watch half of the fighters without thinking how great their matches would have been 5…or 10 years ago.

    Best Fight: REGINALDO VIEIRA VS. DILENO LOPES. Despite growing a bit restless, this was a good fight with a nice back and forth.  I like watching Rousey win, but she didn’t have the best fight.

    Worst Fight: GLAICO FRANCA VS. FERNANDO BRUNO.  Awful fight.  I don’t know where Bruno’s head was at and Franca took a long time to close the match (despite being given control repeatedly).

    Other notes:

    Production- The Silva v. Palelei finish didn’t look good. Couldn’t see what caused Palelei to shut down. Need a better replay, because it just looked like he stopped fighting and walked to the cage.
    Production- Putting Ultimate Fighter finals in the middle was a bad idea.  I watched people get restless.
    It’s hard giving a fair thumbs up/thumbs down rating when 189 was so exceptionally good.
    Missed opportunity: Rhonda should have approached the octagon in a kilt.

    Nick Garcia
    Columbus, Oh
    @foothands

    Thumbs Up
    Best match: Nakamura vs Ishii
    Worst match: Takahashi vs Kojima

    From watching just the tournament matches this was the best night of the tournament so far.

    Yujiro Takahashi vs Satoshi Kojima: Usual Takahashi match where it’s not that good but Kojima did his best. Outside interference from Cody Hall really ruined the match. Why there isn’t more DQs is confusing. ** 1/2

    Karl Anderson vs Yuji Nagata: Good solid match. Great selling and psychology by Nagata focusing on his ribs which he injured in a previous match. Good finish with the Gun Stun Outta Nowhere. *** 3/4

    Michael Elgin vs Tomoaki Honma: This was Elgin’s best match in Japan, maybe all year. Fantastic match with a hot crowd behind Honma. **** 1/4

    Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomohiro Ishii: Nakamura did well despite having his elbow all taped up. Not as good as their match last year but they tore it up. Outstanding match. One of the best matches of the tournament. **** 1/2

    Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada: Another great match even following the previous two. Thought this was going to go to the time limit but a great outing by both guys and it’ll be interesting how the rest of the block will end up. ****

    Josh Hayes

    Hi Dave,

    i’ll dive right in.

    g1 – saturday – thumbs in the middle – best match – honma vs elgin. Honma is absolutely brilliant and elgin is doing really well in the g1. Great match with crowd totally into it.
    worst match – anderson v nagata. i’m keeping the best/worst matches to the g1 matches only, otherwise it’d probably be a tag match here.

    nakamura’s arm looked like it was hurting, bad times.

    g1 sunday – thumbs up, no great matches but all the g1 matches were interesting to good(no great ones mind) but i enjoyed the show. 
    best match – this is a tough one as none stood out. probably ibushi/tenzan. ibushi is absolutely incredible, great selling in this.
    worst match – this is also a tough one as all the matches were of a similar level… I’d prefer not to pick but if you put a gun to my head, probably aj v gallows because I wasn’t as into it as the rest of them, even with the story they told (props to shibata for putting a watchable match with fale on – i can’t vote a shibata match the worst one!)

    ufc – thumbs down
    boring night really. enjoyed the two womens fights the most.
    best – ronda
    worst – second ultimate fighter, the heavier weight class

    thanks,

    Steve Maginnis

    ufc 190 
    thumbs in the middle 
    best fight REGINALDO VIEIRA VS. DILENO LOPES

    i watched the show at hooters in Lexington, ky and it was super packed lots of people…very different crowed that normally shows up. Lots of older woman and younger woman athletes from surrounding collages, but there was lots of minorities. Very loud chants for ronda and cheers and claps when she won from everyone in the bar. the bar was very packed all night. The only thing that i can compare this crowed two was a uk basketball game…those games draw a wide verity of people to the bars around town. It was not at all similar to the world cup that was lots of younger woman and there were very few minorities at those shows.  

    g1 
    thumbs up- for the most part (i have downed my expectations at this point) 
    Kota Ibushi- i love ibushi he has turned out to be one of my favorite guy’s with finn and owens (but they were always up there for me)
    Togi Makabe vs. Tetsuya Naito

    John Juett

    I think this weekend really highlighted the issues with this year’s G1 format. We had a great set of tournament matches from the B Block on Saturday, followed by a lackluster set of matches from the A Block on Sunday. Having all G1 matches on the show would have remedied that problem and made for a great show where they could have had the A Block matches underneath the B Block, with the Goto vs Okada main event. As much as I do enjoy Yano’s heel tactics, I don’t feel that that should be main eventing a G1 show in a singles match.

    Overall I’d have to give the G1 a thumbs up because I have been enjoying it, but having it so spread out with the blocks split up has taken away some of its aura. Hopefully next year they go back to all G1 cards. They should still spread out the days to help with recovery, but keep the entire focus on the G1.

    Larry Huber Jr.

    OK, so my 21-year old stepdaughter HATES MMA.  To the point where she will go in the other room when she sees I am watching.  HATES.

    It just so happened she came home during the PPV on Saturday and stayed in the room because she was joining in the conversation we were having.  In other words, not paying attention to the PPV.  But when Ronda came on, everyone stopped talking and watched and after the fight my MMA hating stepdaughter said “I never thought I’d have a new hero who is an MMA fighter”

    Mike DeGeorge

    Hi Dave. 

    Thumbs up for the G1 show in Osaka. I haven’t managed to watch the undercard yet.

    Best match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto.

    Kojima vs. Yujiro – ***1/4
    Nagata vs. Anderson – ***
    Honma vs. Elgin – ****1/4
    Nakamura vs. Ishii – ****1/4
    Okada vs. Goto – ****1/2

    Thumbs in the Middle for G1 in Aichi.

    Best matches: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Toru Yano and Tetsuya Naito vs. Togi Makabe 

    Worst match: Cody Hall and Yujiro vs. Jay White and Michael Elgin.

    Ibushi vs. Tenzan – **3/4
    Shibata vs. Fale – *3/4
    Styles vs. Doc – **1/2
    Naito vs. Makabe – ***3/4 (not at the level as their excellent G1 match last year)
    Tanahashi vs. Yano – ***1/2

    I couldn’t agree with you more regarding your tweets about Dana and the wrestling industry doing more harm than good when it comes to exposing the business. However, with the fans and workers not taking too kindly to Dana’s words, Jeremy Borash decided not to order UFC 190, but rather donate the money to ME and as a result blew up my Twitter feed! About 5 years ago, I got paralysed wrestling on a show here in the UK (story for another time). In a nutshell, I broke my neck and it left me in a bad state at that point. I’m doing a whole lot better now. Borash actually donated way more than $50 and someone else from the TNA office did so too. I got to know JB during TNA’s UK tour last year January through Rockstar Spud, who is a very good friend of mine. JB and I bonded over our love for the Howard Stern Show. 

    Keep up the great work, Dave. I just re-subscribed last night. 

    Nik

  • WWE News: Steve Austin podcast tonight with Paige

    A WWE press release on tonight’s Steve Austin podcast with Paige

    “STONE COLD®” PODCAST LIVE! WITH WWE DIVA PAIGE® TONIGHT ON WWE® NETWORK

    STAMFORD, Conn., August 3, 2015 – “Stone Cold” Podcast Live!, hosted by WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, will air tonight at 11 p.m. ET on WWE Network, with special guest, WWE Diva and current judge on Tough Enough, Paige.

    Dubbed the “Diva of Tomorrow,” Paige has been making waves in WWE since her groundbreaking time in NXT.  After becoming the first-ever NXT Women’s Champion, Paige went on to hold the WWE Divas Championship, becoming the youngest Diva ever to do so.  Audiences can also catch Paige every Tuesday night, as a cast member on the hit E! reality series Total Divas, and as a judge on USA Network’s WWE Tough Enough.

    On each installment of “Stone Cold” Podcast Live!, immediately following Monday Night Raw, which airs on USA Network, Austin will sit down with the biggest names in WWE and the world of sports and entertainment for a no-holds-barred, in-your-face, exclusive one-hour interview.  For a clip from the last installment with special guest Paul Heyman, click here. 

  • WWE house show report 8-2 Stockton, CA

    By Mike Ahn

    Here are the results from Stockton last night.  The match times are accurate to within 5 seconds.  A couple of changes from the previous night in Hidalgo, TX.  Fandango and Slater were added to a Six-man-tag and Natalya teamed with Cameron against Emma and Dana Brooke.  Both changes were for the better. 

    Show started off with a 10-bell salute to Roddy Piper.

    Eden was the ring announcer

    1.  Lucha Dragons defeated the Ascension and Los Matadores in a triple-threat tag team match in 9:49 when Kalisto pinned one of the Ascension.  The Ascension had already eliminated Los Matadores a few minutes earlier.  The Ascension had the mic on their way down to the ring and were able to generate some heat.  Hard to get any kind of feeling for Los Matadores when they are in a match with the Lucha Dragons. 

    2.  Luke Harper defeated Jack Swagger in 7:40.  Hard-hitting match that showcased both guys.  Harper has some true comedic talent and personality.  He did his flexing gimmick a bunch…and it got over.  WWE needs to let him open up.  The guy is legit. 

    3.  6 man tag:  Damian Sandow, Curtis Axel and Fandango defeated Adam Rose, Brad Maddox and Heath Slater in 10:15 when Fandango pinned Slater.  Sandow was just in his regular trunks, but Rose and Maddox were doing their fitness/ambiguous gimmick.  They have a real chance with that.  They have chemistry already and Maddox can play this part.  The match was actually okay.  The audience knew Sandow the best, so he started the match luckily, otherwise it would’ve been pretty quiet.  Even when he was out, Sandow got the crowd cheering his team or heckling the others.  Axel really seemed like the odd man out.  No gimmick…which is not good for him. 

    4.  Randy Orton defeated Sheamus with the RKO in 18:21.  Very consistent match from two great workers.  Sheamus got on the mic a couple of times and teased leaving once until Orton chased him down.  Orton also took Sheamus’s shirt and threw it into the crowd.  Orton came off as a megastar here.  Played to the crowd a bunch and after the match stayed around ringside taking pictures and signing for at least 5 minutes. 

    Intermission

    5.  Divas Tag match.  Before the show began the crowd had a chance to vote on a Divas single match or tag match.  The results were 97% for Tag match.  Go figure. 
    Team of Natalya and Cameron beat Emma and Dana Brooke in 8:46 when Nattie hit the sharpshooter on Emma.  Dana Brooke started the match and was actually okay.  She plays heel well.  Truly, it might have been the best performance I’ve seen out of her.  No coincidence it was a tag that she didn’t have to carry.  The oddest part of the match was that Cameron jumped off the apron to avoid a Nattie tag about 7 minutes in…leaving Nattie in a 1 on 3 match?  It happened so fast that I don’t think most of the crowd got it.  Nattie threw Dana Brooke out of the ring into Cameron just before putting Emma in the sharpshooter. 

    6.  Roman Reigns pinned Bray Wyatt in 14:10.  Reigns got the pin when he reversed Sister Abigail into a rollup for the win.  These guys can definitely have quality matches with each other.  Both played to the crowd a bunch.  Reigns seems to be doing more “open mouth, tongue out, islander ferociousness.”  It could just be a house show thing, but it was noticeable.  Wyatt is so much better when he doesn’t talk.  He can get over with the crowd with his actions and personality in the ring. 

    7.  Seth Rollins beat Dean Ambrose in a street fight in just under 25 minutes when Bray Wyatt interfered and gave Sister Abigail to Ambrose and then pulled Rollins over for the pin.  After the match Wyatt and Rollins double teamed Ambrose until Reigns came for the save.  This match proved once and again that Ambrose and Rollins can truly entertain.  They didn’t go crazy with the weapons.  They teased chairs before using them…and then got the tables near the end.  Both Ambrose and Rollins went through tables.  Ambrose actually hit the elbow from the top rope on Rollins through the table just before Wyatt did his run in.  Solid main event. 

    Notes:  This crowd was kid heavy.  I would wager that 40% of the audience was under high-school age.  This led to a lot of shrieking and screaming…but the young kids kept it up throughout the night.  Reigns was probably the crowd favorite, but Orton wasn’t far behind.  Ambrose was 3rd with Natalya 4th.  Heel heat was biggest for Sheamus….because no one likes him.  Wyatt and Rollins both got a good amount of cheers….for good reason.  They are both great.  Overall a good Sunday night show. 

  • On this day in pro wrestling history (August 3): Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich, Harley Race vs. Barry Windham, Shane Douglas wins UWF TV title, ECW

    By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

    1963 – In Omaha, Nebraska; Omaha and AWA Champion Fritz Von Erich drew Verne Gagne, Fuji Tanaka beat Waldo Von Erich and Rocky Hamilton beat Harley Race

    1965 – In Davenport, Iowa; In a Cage Match, The Crusher beat Harley Race; in a Death Match, Verne Gagne beat Larry Hennig. Also, Tex McKenzie beat Tiny Mills, Pampero Firpo beat Rene Goulet and Danny Hodge beat Chris Markoff

    1967 – In Kansas City, Kansas; Bob Brown defeated Ron Reed, The Hangman vs. Jack Pesek and World Heavyweight Champion Gene Kiniski defeated Earl Maynard

    1972 – In Jacksonville, Florida; Florida Champion Paul Jones drew Jack Brisco, Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Mr Wrestling Tim Woods & Louie Tillet (sub Johnny Walker) and Buddy Colt & Phil Robley beat Eddie Graham & Don Curtis; At Memorial Hall in Kansas City; Bob Ellis & Rufus R. Jones defeated Roger Kirby & Black Angus (w/ Percival A. Friend) via DQ in three falls and in a Lumberjack Match; Harley Race defeated The Stomper in three falls

    1974 – In Milwaukee; The Crusher & Ivan Putski beat Baron Von Raschke & Superstar Billy Graham in 2 out of 3 falls; Billy Robinson beat Nick Bockwinkel dq, Larry Hennig beat Wahoo McDaniel, Greg Gagne drew Buddy Wolff and Jim Brunzell beat Billy Howard; In Chicago, Illinois; Dick the Bruiser beat Ray Stevens, Chris Taylor beat Horst Hoffman dq, Mitsu Arakawa & Kim Duk beat Pepper Gomez & Mike Snyder and Bobby Heenan beat Pepper Gomez by countout.

    1976 – Dutch Savage and Jimmy Snuka beat Jesse Ventura & Bull Ramos win PNW Tag Titles in the Portland Sports Arena.

    1983 – NWA World Champion Harley Race defeated Barry Windham via disqualification at a Championship Wrestling from Florida event in Miami.

    1984 – In St Louis, Missouri; NWA Champion Ric Flair drew Kerry Von Erich, Iceman Parsons beat Missouri State Champion Harley Race by dq, Blackjack Lanza beat Sheik Adnan. In a Beard vs Mask match, Grappler I beat Tommy Rogers, Jim Brunzell & Buzz Tyler beat Crusher Blackwell & Luke Graham, Dick the Bruiser beat Chris Markoff and Ted Oates beat Marty Jannetty

    1985 – An event was held in Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The show was named “Polynesian Hot Summer Night”, drew over 12,000 fans. Dusty Rhodes & Magnum TA defeated Nikita Koloff & Krusher Khruschev , Lars Anderson defeated Bad News Allen to win the Polynesian Heavyweight Title, Rocky & Ricky Johnson defeated The Dirty White Boys to win the Polynesian Tag Team Title and NWA World Champion Ric Flair vs. Siva Afi ended in a double disqualification.

    1987 – Shane Douglas, substituting for Sting, who was attacked earlier in the show, defeated Eddie Gilbert to win the UWF Television Title in Morgan City, Louisiana.

    1988 – The Fantastics defeated The Midnight Express with Jim Cornette in Seattle, Washington.

    1991 – Tri-State Wrestling ran their “Summer Sizzler II” event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at Penn Hall. In the main event, Eddie Gilbert vs. Cactus Jack went to a double disqualification in a steel cage match, ending their three match series in a draw.

    1996 – ECW ran their “The Doctor Is In” show at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the Main Event, The Gangstas defeated The Eliminators, The Bruise Brothers and The Samoan Gangsta Party in a four way dance to win the ECW World Tag Team Title. Also on the show, 2 Cold Scorpio defeated Chris Jericho, ECW World Television Champion Shane Douglas defeated Pitbull #2, Taz & Brian Lee defeated Tommy Dreamer & the debuting Steve Williams and Sabu defeated Rob Van Dam in a stretcher match.

    1997 – In Tokyo, Japan, Kensuke Sasaki pinned Hiroyoshi Tenzan in the finals of the G-1 Climax Series.

  • UFC News: Ronda Rousey to star in Paramount Pictures film on her life

    By Dave Meltzer, WrestlingObserver.com

    Paramount Pictures announced Monday that they have finalized a deal to have Ronda Rousey star in a major movie about her life, based on Rousey’s recently-released autobiography, “My Fight/Your Fight,” which she wrote along with her sister.

    Mark Bomback has been hired as executive producer. Variety broke the story, saying Bomback has just started working on adapting the book to the big screen. Rousey has three upcoming movie projects on her plate with the next one being “Mile 22,” which is scheduled to shoot in January 2016.

  • UFC: T.J. Dilashaw wants fight with Conor McGregor now

    TJ Dillashaw returned to the latest episode of Submission Radio to discuss fighting Conor McGregor and to respond to Dominick Cruz.

    According to TJ there’s no time like now to make the super fight between him and Conor McGregor especially after seeing his performance against Chad Mendes “I don’t think he’s gonna last that long. I would like to do it now if I could, because I don’t think he’s going to last and be champion forever. He’s definitely going to get beat. I think Mendes showed the holes in his game and I think people will take advantage of it. I think Chad Mendes beats him, I think Frankie Edgar beats him. You know, I don’t know if he’s going to beat Aldo after watching that.” While on the subject of McGregor TJ Dillashaw  discussed if the lack of training camp was a major factor on Chad Mendes performance with Conor at UFC 189“Oh absolutely. I mean Chad was out drinking beer, fishing and hunting when he got the phone call. I mean he got 10 days to train for a guy that’s been training for three months for a title fight, you know, and Chad always had to work really hard to get in peak conditioning shape anyways because of the way he’s built. You know, he’s a very strong muscle-bound guy and he’s gotta work really hard on getting that cardio up for his fights. And anybody on 10 days notice and that much pressure and that much adrenalin going into the fight, I mean for one, he had an adrenalin dump, and two, he was out of shape. So it was hard to even think that Chad would have enough cardio to last five rounds. I don’t think Chad was going to finish him. I thought he had – I know he has the skills to do it, and he showed that in the fight. He was dominating the two rounds until the very end of the second round, and I still feel like it got stopped a little early.”


    When it comes to Dominick Cruz TJ responded to his ‘wannabe’ comment made on the MMA Hour “He’s acting like Conor. He’s acting like Conor McGregor right now is what I really think. He’s just talking a bunch of nonsense, he’s trying to stay relevant while being hurt. You know, he’s been out of the game for the last four years, I mean no one’s seen him fight, and all of a sudden he thinks he’s a tough guy ’cause he got one finish in his career. You know what I mean? Like this guy’s crazy. He’s just talking a lot and keeping himself relevant so that he can get the next title shot, ’cause really he doesn’t even deserve it. He can’t even stay healthy for one fight. Only way he deserves it is by talking it up and making it a big fight. So I think that’s his strategy.” In the same interview Dominick said that the division has struggled without him commenting “Now that I’m coming back, it can get back on its feet again. That’s the truth.” TJ responded “I think it’s just trash talk. He knows I’m a good fighter. I’m gonna come in there and I’m gonna put it on him, man. I mean he keeps saying that I haven’t fought a guy like him, well he’s never had a guy in his weight class like me until now. You know what I mean? Like that’s what everyone always says “oh you haven’t fought a guy like me before”. Well yeah because I haven’t fought Dominick Cruz. He also never fought me. So it’s kinda just ridiculous things that I feel like he’s been saying and I’m gonna make sure to shut his mouth when we fight.” TJ is ready for Cruz but he won’t wait around for the match up forever “It’s all about him, I’m healthy. I came out of that fight unscathed and I’m ready to fight tomorrow. He’s the one with the bum leg and has to heal up and get ready, so I think that’s why he’s talking all this crap. He can’t actually even fight so the only way you’re still going to work your way to a title shot is by talking, and that’s the only shot. So as soon as he gets healthy, you know I gotta figure out when that’s going to be because I mean I don’t want to wait forever, and who knows if he can even get healthy. The guy’s been injured more than he hasn’t.”

    Finally TJ responded to a recent call out by John Dodson where in an interview he said “When I’ve beat up Demetrious Johnson, I’m going to beat T.J. Dillashaw. He can sit there or run around and tell everybody that I’m just running my mouth, but I’ve seen him with his eyes glazed over, him being hurt, being cuddled after I knocked him out the last time.” TJ said in response

    “Yeah I mean he’s not going to beat Demetrious either. I mean that guy gasses out as well. He’s got zero cardio, I’m not worried about John Dodson. I was a very immature fighter [in the original fight]. I had four fights back then, you know, and that fight got stopped early as well. So he got a little lucky. Looked like he closed his eye and threw a big left hook and I was the dumb guy running in with my hands down. So I’m a completely different fighter and I would tear that kid up.”


    Full Interview: http://bit.ly/1UhWVqg


    Transcript


    TJ Dillashaw Transcript

    On if his performance over Renan Barao lived up to his expectations

    “Yeah, I mean I don’t know what the expectations were. I was just going in there with the mentality of wanting to punk him, stand in front of him and beat him. I wanted to beat him and break him all in the same fight.”


    If he thinks Renan should move up a division after this loss

    “I’m not really sure. I mean he was on weight, he was on weight early this time. He was on weight the morning of check-in. So I mean he looked a lot leaner, looked like he got his diet under control. I think he just needs to maybe change up some training a little bit. I’m not really sure. I mean he’s been doing the same stuff for so long now, been working with the same coaches. I’m not really sure, it’s a tough one. Maybe moving up makes him faster in his weight class. You know, he is a big dude, he could go to 145 very easily. You know, he might be a faster athlete if he does that. I don’t think it would hurt.”


    Thoughts on Dominick Cruz calling TJ  a ‘wannabe’ who doesn’t know what it’s like to fight a ‘real’ champion

    “He’s acting like Conor. He’s acting like Conor McGregor right now is what I really think. He’s just talking a bunch of nonsense, he’s trying to stay relevant while being hurt. You know, he’s been out of the game for the last four years, I mean no one’s seen him fight, and all of a sudden he thinks he’s a tough guy ’cause he got one finish in his career. You know what I mean? Like this guy’s crazy. He’s just talking a lot and keeping himself relevant so that he can get the next title shot, ’cause really he doesn’t even deserve it. He can’t even stay healthy for one fight. Only way he deserves it is by talking it up and making it a big fight. So I think that’s his strategy.”


    Thoughts on Dominick saying that the division has struggled without him and commenting “Now that I’m coming back, it can get back on its feet again. That’s the truth.”


    “I think it’s just trash talk. He knows I’m a good fighter. I’m gonna come in there and I’m gonna put it on him, man. I mean he keeps saying that I haven’t fought a guy like him, well he’s never had a guy in his weight class like me until now. You know what I mean? Like that’s what everyone always says “oh you haven’t fought a guy like me before”. Well yeah because I haven’t fought Dominick Cruz. He also never fought me. So it’s kinda just ridiculous things that I feel like he’s been saying and I’m gonna make sure to shut his mouth when we fight.”


    If  TJ Dillashaw feels Cruz went too far by saying the following comments about his coach Duane Ludwig on the MMA Hour “I could be Duane Ludwig’s coach. Straight up. And so could (Alliance MMA head trainer) Eric del Fierro”

    “Absolutely. Like I said, he’s trying to raise a stink and he’s doing a good job of it. I mean does he have any fighters, you know, other than himself? So right now I don’t think he could train Duane Ludwig at all. I think it’s just Duane being confident in me and saying in interviews that I would knock him out in two rounds, and I think that kind of pissed Cruz off so he’s just firing back.”


    On when the fight between him and Cruz could take place and how it would go

    “It’s all about him, I’m healthy. I came out of that fight unscathed and I’m ready to fight tomorrow. He’s the one with the bum leg and has to heal up and get ready, so I think that’s why he’s talking all this crap. He can’t actually even fight so the only way you’re still going to work your way to a title shot is by talking, and that’s the only shot. So as soon as he gets healthy, you know I gotta figure out when that’s going to be because I mean I don’t want to wait forever, and who knows if he can even get healthy. The guy’s been injured more than he hasn’t.”


    On if Chad Mendes not having a proper training camp against McGregor had a major factor on his performance in the fight

    “Oh absolutely. I mean Chad was out drinking beer, fishing and hunting when he got the phone call. I mean he got 10 days to train for a guy that’s been training for three months for a title fight, you know, and Chad always had to work really hard to get in peak conditioning shape anyways because of the way he’s built. You know, he’s a very strong muscle-bound guy and he’s gotta work really hard on getting that cardio up for his fights. And anybody on 10 days notice and that much pressure and that much adrenalin going into the fight, I mean for one, he had an adrenalin dump, and two, he was out of shape. So it was hard to even think that Chad would have enough cardio to last five rounds. I don’t think Chad was going to finish him. I thought he had – I know he has the skills to do it, and he showed that in the fight. He was dominating the two rounds until the very end of the second round, and I still feel like it got stopped a little early.”


    On if TJ thinks if an in-shape Chad Mendes beats Conor McGregor

    “Absolutely. 100 precent. I put my money on it.”


    On if TJ Dillashaw still wants to have the Super Fight with Conor McGregor

    “Absolutely, but I don’t think he’s gonna last that long. I would like to do it now if I could, because I don’t think he’s going to last and be champion forever. He’s definitely going to get beat. I think Mendes showed the holes in his game and I think people will take advantage of it. I think Chad Mendes beats him, I think Frankie Edgar beats him. You know, I don’t know if he’s going to beat Aldo after watching that.”


    Response to John Dodson saying in a recent interview  saying “When I’ve beat up Demetrious Johnson, I’m going to beat T.J. Dillashaw. He can sit there or run around and tell everybody that I’m just running my mouth, but I’ve seen him with his eyes glazed over, him being hurt, being cuddled after I knocked him out the last time.”

    “Yeah I mean he’s not going to beat Demetrious either. I mean that guy gasses out as well. He’s got zero cardio, I’m not worried about John Dodson. I was a very immature fighter [in the original fight]. I had four fights back then, you know, and that fight got stopped early as well. So he got a little lucky. Looked like he closed his eye and threw a big left hook and I was the dumb guy running in with my hands down. So I’m a completely different fighter and I would tear that kid up.”

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  • GoFundMe campaign started for Jerry Lynn

    Submitted by Brian Fritz

    I’m hoping that you can help spread the word on the GoFundMe campaignthat has just started to help former TNA X-Division, ECW World Champion, and Ring of Honor champion Jerry Lynn. Jerry is one of the best guys you will ever meet in and out of wrestling. Plus, he had a fantastic 25-year career putting on exciting wrestling matches that have thrilled so many of us.

    All those years of taking bumps have taken a toll on him and he needs our help, so we’re looking to raise money for his medical bills with a Go Fund Me campaign. Any amount will help.

    – Jerry has been experiencing chronic neck pain as well as pain in his right arm and numbness. The first procedure will be neck surgery to remove bones spurs, replace three degenerative discs, and fuse his vertebrae. He will be having this procedure done on Thursday, August 6.

    – Jerry has also been suffering with severe pain in his back for the last three months due to a bulging disc. He will likely need surgery for this as well, and he hopes to have that done as soon as possible following his neck surgery.

    Jerry does have medical insurance, but he needs help in paying the $5000 deductible. Plus, he will be out of work recovering for 2-3 months, which will put a hardship on his family, including his wife and young daughter.

    To help cover all of his expenses, we are hoping to raise $15,000. Jerry would like to give anything over that amount to charity to help others in need. The charity he has chosen is the Nashville Rescue Mission which seeks to help the hurting of Middle Tennessee by offering food, clothing, and shelter to the homeless and recovery programs to those enslaved in life degrading problems.

    It is time for us as a wrestling community to pull together and give back to Jerry after everything he has done for us, his fans. This is our moment to give back and help one of the truly great guys.