From tonight’s Smackdown tapings in Rockford, IL, for the show airing Wednesday in Canada and Thursday in the U.S.:
– The New Day opened the show with an interview. The Club then came out. The segment set up an A.J. Styles vs. Kofi Kingston main event for the show.
– Becky Lynch beat WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte via DQ in a non-title match. Dana Brooke interfered. They double-teamed Lynch and Natalya made the save. The faces cleaned house on Charlotte and Brooke.
– Dean Ambrose and Sami Zayn did a backstage interview. Kevin Owens and Alberto Del Rio came out to interrupt to set up a tag match for later in the show.
– The Dudleys beat R-Truth & Goldust when Tyler Breeze & Fandango distracted them. This set up another R-Truth & Goldust vs. Breeze & Fandango match.
– Sami Zayn & Dean Ambrose beat Kevin Owens & Alberto Del Rio. They all brawled after the match. A ladder got in the ring. Owens went to climb up when Cesaro ran in and pulled Owens down and he grabbed the MiTB briefcase.
– U.S. Champion Rusev beat Jack Swagger via DQ on a reversed decision when Rusev wouldn’t break the Accolade. Titus O’Neil made the save.
– A.J. Styles pinned Kofi Kingston using the Styles Clash. Anderson, Gallows, Big E and Xavier Woods all brawled at ringside. Roman Reigns got involved (not sure if this was dark or not) and Reigns was strongly cheered when he confronted Styles.
More Super Junior action took place on 5/30 in Tottori as B Block matches commenced:
Will Ospreay vs. Tiger Mask
This was really good. Ospreay moved around great and Tiger Mask was the good grumpy veteran who kept things grounded. At one point, Ospreay hit what looked like an inverted phoenix splash but Tiger Mask got the knees up, took him to the corner and hit a butterfly suplex from the top rope. Ospreay kicked out of that, but eventually submitted to Tiger Mask’s scissors armbar.
Volador Jr. vs. Bobby Fish
Fish controlled a lot of the match and worked on Volador’s leg near the end. Volador went to do something on the top rope, flipped over to the floor but his leg buckled. That allowed Fish to come in and hit a falcon arrow, but Volador kicked out. Fish followed with an ankle lock and submitted him. Good match.
Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Ricochet
Pretty good back and forth match. Liger was very competitive and did all of his big moves, including the shotei and the running senton to the floor. Ricochet made a comeback, hit a big time brainbuster but Liger kicked out. Ricochet followed that with his cobra twist submission for the win.
Monday night’s edition of RAW had its moments without exactly firing on all cylinders. Here’s where it went right…and where it went very, very wrong.
— The Hits —
Trios pow-wows
Tag team main events are usually throwaway affairs in the WWE universe. As such, those backstage huddles featuring all six Money in the Bank ladder match entrants were very welcome. Recycling the “Sami is Canadian too” joke from last week worked well, as did Jericho’s continued brilliant use of the word “idiot”. That, of course, led to a wonderful “stupid idiot” chant during the main event, directed at the Fozzy frontman. The match itself was merely fine, but featured a hot finish and a much-needed attempt to rehab a cooled-off Dean Ambrose.
Cena’s return and AJ’s turn
While I’m not entirely sold on AJ’s full-fledged heel turn, it must be acknowledged that its execution was excellent here. Further, the company is quite light on the heel side at the moment. While I could have done without the cringeworthy, jingoistic intro, John Cena’s comeback promo was one of his strongest in some time. Delivered with fantastic fire, it underlined the veteran’s new role as the gatekeeper of the WWE: “The future must go through me”.
The Golden Truth shine
I’m as surprised as you are, believe me, but Monday night’s first hour segment involving the Golden Truth actually worked. Key to its success was allowing two of the most naturally amusing men on the roster to be themselves, free from the writers’ awful input. Truth and Goldust’s contributions on commentary during The Usos’ quick win over Breezango were often hilarious with Truth reprising his inability to distinguish Byron Saxton from Jonathan Coachman – despite the fact that “Coach has talent” as JBL helpfully pointed out.
I must admit I’m also a big fan of Truth’s remixed rap, heard in its full form on Smackdown, but sadly cut off here by a commercial break. Credit also to Tyler Breeze for his inset promo (“The Ewww-sos”) for showing how his mastery over his character has been shamefully wasted on the main roster.
Enzo & Cass
They seem to be featured here every week but even though their promo ostensibly just listed cheeses at one point, everything this team touches turns to gold at the moment. Although, I could do without that double team Rocket Launcher finish as they never seem to execute it convincingly.
–The Misses–
Using The New Day to distract from the brand split fiasco
Last week’s news that the debut of live Tuesday night Smackdown would usher in another brand split conjured up many appalling vistas. Chief among them was the prospect of having to watch nine hours of WWE programming in three days on PPV weeks, closely followed by the harebrained possible reintroduction of two world titles. Worries about the potential for tag teams to be forcibly separated weren’t exactly high on folks’ lists of concerns.
But that’s the draft-related horror that New Day asked us to consider in RAW’s overlong opening segment in which their comedy was used to distract from the fact that company is figuring the detail of this guaranteed failure out as it goes. The idea that the Vaudevillains denying us the “pleasure” of Stephanie’s dancing is supposed to generate heel heat was where the real humour lay, however, as was that team’s failure to upbraid The Club for getting them disqualified from what was effectively a number one contendership opportunity.
Rollins The Mute
Following on from the abrupt ending to his in-ring promo on Smackdown, the returning Seth Rollins went one better on Monday night by saying absolutely nothing – for a very, very long time. I’d love to tell you what Rollins’ fakeouts were supposed to achieve, but sadly I’m not one of the 28 typewriter-armed monkeys that this company employs. On that note, every time I hear Roman’s “I’m not a good guy….” catchphrase or JBL parroting Vince’s “polarising figure” nonsense, I want to scream. Nails on a chalkboard, every time.
Dolph Ziggler baiting Baron Corbin into a “technical wrestling match” (translation: a match) only to kick him in the cojones was extremely dumb. Not only did Dolph cost himself a third loss to Corbin, he also made himself look like a coward. Wouldn’t a real babyface pour everything he had into besting the balding one in a fair fight?
Titus confronts the “Bulgarian Blowhard”
Speaking of poor writing, is anyone getting tired of Zack Ryder cutting pre-match promos about overcoming the odds only to lose comprehensively? What is the point of that exactly? US Champion Rusev crushed Ryder in short order before being confronted by proud American Titus O’Neil. O’Neil nervously delivered his scripted verbiage, including the embarrassing insult transcribed above, to a relatively underwhelming response. Still, at least this means the Bulgarian won’t be dropping the strap to the returning Cena any time soon as many predicted. Finally, what was up with Lana’s accent in her pre-match introduction?
The Charlotte follow-up
Where do I start with this one? I could talk about how Stephanie felt it necessarily to once again verbally tear strips off one of her major champions. I could talk about the lameness of the talking heads’ contribution in the preceding video package. I could discuss how little sense it makes that Charlotte throwing off the yolk of her cheating father is being portrayed as a heelish progression for her character.
Whichever way you look at it, Monday’s follow-up to what was a disastrous promo from the Women’s champion last week was just as crummy as the distraction finish she caused in Dana Brooke’s match against Natalya. Apparently it’s important that all these women are made to look dumb, face or heel. Dreadful.
While nothing is even close to happening with bringing in Bill Goldberg to WWE in a wrestling capacity, 2K officially announced his inclusion as a character in the WWE 2K17 video game, made public last night in an ad that aired on RAW. As discussed on Observer Radio, this opens up intriguing possibilities for a return match based on past history with Ultimate Warrior, Brock Lesnar, and Sting appearing in 2K ads. He did an interview with IGN you can see here. WWE definitely wants you to think that Goldberg returning is a possibility.
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FROM HIROSHIMA ON TUESDAY (taped for New Japan World available later in the day)
Bushi vs. David Finlay
Matt Sydal vs. Rocky Romero
Kushida vs. Gedo
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kyle O’Reilly
Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on today in Rockford, IL We’re also looking for reports on this show.
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FROM NAGOYA ON THURSDAY (taped for New Japan World, available later in the day)
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Figure Four Weekly 5/30/2016: Big Vito’s deposition – If you thought Evan Singleton’s deposition went badly for the plaintiffs in the WWE concussion lawsuit, then that appears to be nothing compared to what happened a week later during Vito LoGrasso’s deposition on May 18th. Given the back and forth over LoGrasso claiming that head injuries caused partial deafness when, in the past, he had spoken of having a hearing impairment since birth, the deposition promised to be interesting. It over-delivered.
With two of the biggest news stories of the year, the WWE brand split and the UFC sale both in play, we’ve got a new issue of the Observer packed with news.
Our lead story looks at the brand split, with what we do know, what has and hasn’t been decided and the background of how it went down. There’s also more info on the UFC sale talks. Plus there is coverage of the return of Seth Rollins, the build to Money in the Bank and have coverage of Extreme Rules, the negotiations for a Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz fight and look more at the Floyd Mayweather vs. McGregor rumors. Take an in-depth look at the departure of Cody Runnels (Rhodes) from WWE and his future prospects, plus look at his complaints regarding people in the company. All this plus a look at the New Japan Super Juniors tournament, the funding of the Hulk Hogan lawsuit, the World Cup trios tournament coming up and a feature on the last PWG show.
The lead story looks at every aspect of the brand split. It looks at the original goals and reasons for it and what did and didn’t work, plus how it’ll be different this time, how the touring will work, and an examination of what talent knows and tentative plans in place. Vince McMahon’ reaction is a big part of this, and this issue explains how the deal went down, the story behind the story and other aspects to be considered. There’s also a look at Smackdown going live, the affect on the fan base, the affect on TNA and why it was important to get Smackdown away from Thursday.
Another big story in this issues is Extreme Rules, the decision to make Seth Rollins a heel and current plans for Money in the Bank, and also match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
Details about what’s going on with Conor McGregor, including Colin Cowherd’s claim that Mayweather vs. McGregor is happening, as well as a look at the Nate Diaz negotiations last week and what McGregor has said publicly.
Finally, this issue looks at Cody Runnels leaving WWE, what he said was the reason why, and a look into those reasons, and a look at the realities of WWE business decisions and his background.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer.
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Earlier today, John Ourand of Sports Business Journal tweeted that Monday’s Game 7 betwen Golden State & Oklahoma City did around an 11.2 rating — a record for any NBA game on cable. The first game of the Stanley Cup Finals between San Jose and Pittburgh did around a 2.8. We’re still awaiting RAW ratings, but expect them to be affected by the big competition.
Enzo and Cass are guests on SportsCenter tonight. Will ESPN let them call Coachman SAWFT?
Goldberg appeared on the latest Ringer Wrestling podcast with David Shoemaker Tuesday as well. He is asked about returning to action and while he didn’t say no, he didn’t say yes either. He had spoken about wanting to wrestle one last time so his child could see him, but he has yet to find the perfect scenario to do so. Can WWE create one he would approve?
If you have not seen the Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet match from the Best of the Super Juniors tournament that everyone has been raving about of late, New Japan has put it up absolutely free on Youtube. You’ll have to rewind about a dozen times to catch all the incredible action. It’s far more entertaining than “just another indy spot fest.” It’s phenomenal storytelling AND incredible athletics.
Pro Wrestling
Paige beat Summer Rae and Jack Swagger beat Viktor of the Ascension at the Superstars tapings before Raw went on the air last night. Viktor of the Ascension is currently being rebranded as “The Demonic” Victor, with different face paint. His tag team partner, Konnor, is currently serving a wellness policy suspension.
The 2 hour RAW replay Friday night on SyFy did 403,000 viewers and was the top rated show of the night for that network. This would be a replay of the May 23rd show. It was down from last week, which did 467,000 viewers.
Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch is advertised for Smackdown tonight, as is Styles & Gallows & Anderson vs. Roman Reigns & Usos, although the latter is a dark match and may very well not take place.
The creators of Netflix hit Orange is The New Black got another Netflix show greenlit: a comedy series based on the 80s female wrestling organization GLOW. No, seriously. It’s happening. It will be a half-hour comedy with 10 episodes.
ECWA returns to action this Saturday in Woodbury Heights, NJ.
For those with San Francisco Chronicle online access, there’s a story about Nick Reckas from 1975 and his association with the city’s mayor.
In an interview with Submission Radio, Max Holloway talked about his fight with Ricardo Lamas, why he’s in his head, what he wants next and his prediction on how he wins at UFC 199.
Also in an interview with Submission Radio, Conor McGregor’s boxing sparring partner and former IBO welterweight champion Chris Van Heerden discussed boxing Conor, what would happen in a boxing match with Mayweather, how McGregor would do as a boxer and if he thinks Conor will outbox Nate Diaz in a MMA rematch.
For those into the bizarre, here’s a clip of BJJ match that ended via submission due to someone farting in their competitor’s face which caused vomiting. Yes, we just wrote that sentence.
UFC announced they are launching their first podcast UFC Unfiltered with comedian Jim Norton and fomer UFC welterweight champ Matt Serra that will air twice a week. The show kicks off on June 21st. Essentially, it’s another version of The Fighter & The Kid.
June 1 – PWP runs tomorrow night, at the Waiting Room Lounge in Omaha, NE
June 4 – UFC 199 from the Forum in Los Angeles with Michael Bisping getting his first title opportunity of his career battling Luke Rockhold for the middleweight belt
June 4 – In celebration of Metro Pro’s Sixth Anniversary, Demolition (Ax & Smash) will be in action on Saturday, Turner Recreation Center in Kansas City, Kansas. The event address is: 831 S. 55th St., Kansas City, KS 66106 – Tickets can be bought in advance.
June 5 – AAA’s Victoria World Cup men and women’s trio tournament finals at Los Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City which will be a live iPPV show
June 7 – New Japan Best of the Super Juniors finals from Sendai live on New Japan World
June 8 – NXT Takeover from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL featuring Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor in a cage match plus a loaded lineup that includes American Alpha vs. The Revival and probably Shinsuke Nakamura vs Austin Aries, which could be WWE’s match of the month.
June 12 – TNA Slammiversary headlined by Drew Galloway vs. Bobby Lashley for the TNA title from Orlando
June 12 – Revolution Pro Wrestling in London, England headlined by Kurt Angle vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
June 17 – AAW “Killers Among Us” features Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Johnny Gargano, Drago vs. Chris Hero, and more at 115 Bourbon Street (3359 w 115th Street Merrionette Park, IL) All Ages Event – Tickets available.
June 18 – UFC in Ottawa: Rory McDonald vs. Stephen Thompson
June 19 – New Japan Dominion, one of the company’s biggest events of the year, featuring Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada in an IWGP title match and Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi in a ladder match for the IC title
June 19 – WWE Money in the Bank from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
June 24 – ROH Best in the World from Concord, NC with Jay Lethal vs. Jay Briscoe for the ROH title
June 25 – Ultima Lucha tapings in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles at The Temple
June 26 – Ultima Lucha tapings in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles at The Temple
One of Cody Rhodes’ first matches on the independent scene will be on what is traditionally the biggest independent show of the year in the U.S.
Rhodes will be facing Kurt Angle, one of the names on his bucket list, on 8/27 in Wappingers Falls, NY, at Dutchess Stadium for Northeast Wrestling’s annual “Wrestling Under the Stars” event. The stadium show has featured over the years the biggest independent stars available, including names like Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan, and usually draws in excess of 3000 fans.
Rhodes, by the terms of his WWE contract release, will be allowed to start working under his name on 8/19, and earlier this week, he posted a bucket list of what his goals were. Another of his bucket list items, the Battle of Los Angeles put on by PWG, is usually held at about that same time each year.
Also announced for the show will be Jeff Hardy vs. Jushin Liger in what is believed to be the first time the two have faced off in a singles match. They join Matt Hardy, Jerry Lawler, Booker T, Pentagon Jr., Sami Callihan, Kamaitachi along with local wrestlers and the wrestler formerly known as Hornswoggle.
Stemming from the success of its Wappingers Falls shows, Northeast Wrestling will be doing a series of Wrestling Under the Stars events this summer, including in Hickory, NC; Niles, OH; Pomona, NY; and Pittsfield, MA.
According to WWE officials, there is nothing to read into the sudden disappearance of the NXT show over SummerSlam weekend from the WWE and Ticketmaster schedule.
The show was scheduled for 8/20 at the Barclays Center, the first of three straight nights WWE was running the building with NXT, SummerSlam and Raw. All three nights sold out last year, and last year’s NXT show drew easily the biggest crowd in NXT history with more than 13,000 fans.
On Tuesday, WWE officials said that Ticketmaster would be updating the page with new logos and information and that the show is still on.
When it appeared that the next major show had disappeared, there were performers in NXT concerned yesterday because they haven’t been told anything, and the 6/8 TakeOver show is billed as “The End”.
Obviously, it would make no sense to drop NXT as the training facility is the key to the future of the company and they need to run live events to give the upcoming wrestlers ring experience before they start in televised matches or move to the main roster.
Tulsa, Oklahoma: – Red Berry defeated Hugh Nichols to win the World Light Heavyweight Title
1940
Columbus, Ohio: – Jules Larance defeated Gil Knutsen for the Midwest Wrestling Association World Junior Heavyweight Title
Kansas City, Kansas: – World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Bruns beat Steve Brody (Brody was the World Junior Heavyweight Champion) – Orville Brown beat Karol Zbyszko (Zbyszko was billed as a nephew of Stanislaus and Wladek) – Ray Schwartz defeated Fritz Schnabel – Ronnie Etchison and Angelo Martini went to a time limit draw
1944
Mexico City, Mexico: – El Santo won the Mexican National Middleweight Title from Tuffy Truesdale in a tournament final
1951
Kansas City, Kansas: – Jerry Meeker defeated Hal Keen – Ray Eckert beat Bob Orton Sr – Dennis Clary beat Emil Dusek – The Dusek Brothers (Ernie and Joe Dusek) defeated Ronnie Etchison and Ralph Garibaldi in 2 out of 3 falls
1965
– Pepper Martin defeated The Mad Russian for the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title
1967
Denver, Colorado; – Verne Gagne (sub Danny Hodge) & Ernie Ladd beat Johnny Powers & Johnny Valentine on a 3rd fall dq – Lou Thesz beat Larry Hennig – Alberto Torres beat Bobby Duncum
1968
Atlanta, Georgia: – Alberto and Enrique Torres defeated El Mongol and Hans Schmidt to win the Georgia NWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1969
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: – Wilbur Snyder defeated Dr. X on a 3rd fall dq – in a Handicap Match, Mad Dog Vachon & Butcher Vachon beat The Crusher – Luis Martinez beat Kenny Jay – Rene Goulet beat Johnny Kace – Pampero Firpo beat Angelo Poffo
St. Paul, Minnesota: – AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Lars Anderson – Flying Redheads, Red Bastien & Billy Red Lyons beat Larry Hennig & Harley Race on a 3rd fall dq – Bill Watts beat Bob Geigel – Joe Scarpello drew Big K – Bob Kappel beat Kenny Yates
1969
Boston, Massachusetts: – Killer Kowalski defeated WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino in a Texas death match
1971
Shreveport, Louisiana: – Tom Jones and Billy Red Lyons defeated The Spoilers for the Tri-State NWA United States Tag Team Titles
1972
Nashville, Tennessee: – Karl and Kurt Von Brauner defeated Robert Fuller and Kevin Sullivan for the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Titles
Miami, Florida: – The Professional (Doug Gilbert) and Mike Webster won the NWA Florida Tag Team Titles from Boris Malenko and Bob Roop
1974
Atlanta, Georgia: – Gene and Ole Anderson defeated Bob Armstrong and Robert Fuller to win the NWA Georgia Tag Team Titles
1975
Kansas City, Kansas: – Ed Wiskoski (Col. DeBeers) defeated Jerry Oates for the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title
Minneapolis, Minnesota: – AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Dusty Rhodes & Larry Hennig – Billy Robinson no contest Baron Von Raschke – Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Rock Riddle & Frankie Hill – Khosrow Vaziri (Iron Shiek) drew Buddy Wolff
1979
Noshiro, Japan: – Great Kojika and Motoshi Okuma won the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Titles from The Kiwis (Butch Miller and Sweet William)
1980
Indianapolis, Indiana: – Dick the Bruiser defeated King Kong (Bruiser) Brody for the World Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title
1981
Shreveport, Louisiana – Jake Roberts defeated The Grappler to win the Mid-South North American Heavyweight Title
1982
Memphis, Tennessee: – Ron Bass defeated Pat Hutchinson and Tom Maley in a handicap match – The Iron Sheik defeated Bobby Fulton – Koko Ware defeated Bill Dundee by disqualification – King Cobra defeated NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Champion Bobby Eaton to win the title – AWA Southern Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express (Norvell Austin and Dennis Condrey) defeated The Fabulous Ones (Steve Keirn and Stan Lane) by disqualification to retain the title – AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Jerry Lawler defeated Kamala by disqualification to retain the title
1986
Nassau, Bahamas: – Ron Bass defeated Tyree Pride to win the NWA Bahamas Heavyweight Title
Bayamon, Puerto Rico: – Eric Embry won the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title by defeating Super Medico I
1991
Naucalpan, Mexico: – Los Villanos (I, IV and V) defeated The Hawaiian Beasts (Kokina (Yokozuna), Fatu and the Samoan Savage) for the UWA World Trios Titles
Dallas, Texas: – Bill Dundee defeated Tom Prichard (subbing for Eric Embry) for the USWA Texas Heavyweight Title
1992
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: – Chi Chi Cruz (Corey Peloquin) defeated Gerry Morrow to win the West Four Wrestling Alliance Canadian Heavyweight Title
1998
WWF Over the Edge: Milwaukee, Wisconsin: – LOD 2000 (Animal and Hawk (with Sunny and Droz)) defeated The Disciples of Apocalypse (8-Ball and Skull (with Chainz)) – Jeff Jarrett (with Tennessee Lee) pinned Steve Blackman – Marc Mero pinned Sable with a cradle – Kaientai (Funaki, Teioh and Togo) defeated Bradshaw and Taka Michinoku in a handicap match – WWF Intercontinental Champion The Rock pinned Faarooq to retain the title – Kane (with Paul Bearer) pinned Vader in a mask vs. mask match – The Nation (D’Lo Brown, Owen Hart and Kama Mustafa (with Mark Henry)) defeated D-Generation X (Billy Gunn, Road Dogg and Triple H (with Chyna and X-Pac)) – WWF Champion Steve Austin defeated Dude Love in a no disqualification, falls count anywhere match to retain the title
1999
Houston, Texas: – Bam Bam Bigelow and Diamond Dallas Page defeated WCW World Tag Team Champions Kanyon and Saturn (subbing for Raven) to win the title
Moline, Illinois: – Jeff Jarrett (with Debra) defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion The Godfather to win the title – The Acolytes (Bradshaw and Faarooq) defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Kane and X-Pac to win the titles
2002
OVW Summer Sizzler Series: Louisville, Kentucky: – Flash Flanagan and Trailer Park Trash defeated OVW Southern Tag Team Champions The Lords of the Ring (Rob Conway and Nick Dinsmore) to win the titles – Redd Dogg (Rodney Mack) defeated Sean O’Haire – Shelton Benjamin defeated Chris Kanyon – David Flair defeated Bull Buchanan – Seven (Kevin Thorn) defeated Leviathan (Batista) – OVW Heavyweight Champion Nova defeated The Prototype (John Cena) to retain the title (Mick Foley was the guest referee)
2003
Carolina, Puerto Rico: – Carly Colón won the WWC Universal Heavyweight Title by defeating Sabu – Alex Montalvo defeats Pablo Marquez for the WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title – Eddie Colón won the vacant WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title by defeating Dominican Boy in a tournament final
2004
Montreal, Quebec, Canada: – La Résistance (Robért Conway and Sylvain Grenier) defeated WWE World Tag Team Champions Edge and World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit to win the titles
2015
WWE Elimination Chamber: Corpus Christie, Texas: – Stardust defeated Zack Ryder – The New Day (Big E Langston, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) defeated The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara), Tyson Kidd and Cesaro (with Natalya), The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O’Neil), The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) and Los Matadores (Primo and Epico) (with El Torito) in an Elimination Chamber tag team match to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship – Nikki Bella defeated Paige and Naomi to retain the WWE Divas Championship – Kevin Owens defeated John Cena – Neville defeated Bo Dallas – Ryback defeated Sheamus, R-Truth, King Barrett, Dolph Ziggler and Mark Henry in an Elimination Chamber match for the vacant WWE Intercontinental Championship – Dean Ambrose defeated Seth Rollins (with Jamie Noble, Joey Mercury and Kane) by disqualification, Rollins retained the title
There’s nothing like a new 2K trailer on Raw to get the blood pumping, is there?
On an otherwise lackluster episode of the flagship show Memorial Day evening, the eyes had to widen a bit when 2K aired a spot for the upcoming WWE 2K17 video game featuring none other than Bill Goldberg.
Video game chatter aside, this is notable for a few reasons. One is that Goldberg is going to be in a WWE video game for the first time since WWE 2K14, and was on their airwaves in a new capacity for the first time in over a decade. Two is that in recent memory, two past stars that did similar spots — Ultimate Warrior and Sting — later found their way in the McMahon fold in memorable ways.
At 49 years old and with a long list of projects, the prospect of Goldberg returning to the ring for a regular schedule is obviously slim to none. But after years of saying there was no interest in going back, perhaps there’s a chance of at least one more match on a major event?
Dave & Bryan will have more on this tonight on Wrestling Observer Radio.
Huge pop for Enzo and Cass when the music hit. They were one of the most over acts of the night. Lots of crowd interaction with the Dudleys and fans as well as with Enzo & Cass and the fans. Several hot tags with Enzo & Cass. Lots of “Oh Enzo Amore,” “How You Doin” chants. Enzo was in really good form, excellent selling. Big Cass was also really over with the crowd. Enzo’s charisma is magnified in person, easily one of the most charismatic people on the roster.
– Titus O Neil def. Viktor
A pop for Titus when he came out. Viktor was also interacting with the crowd at ringside, which was something I did not expect. It was a good match, seemed to be shorter than the others.
– Goldust def. Tyler Breeze
Big pop for Goldust when he came out. Tyler was booed. It was a solid match. Fandango attempted to interfere which led to R-Truth coming out as well. Huge pop for R-Truth. Following the match, R-Truth did his rap, and several tried to throw Truth off by saying he was in Milwaukee or Green Bay. It was a really fun segment.
– Anderson & Gallows def. The Hype Bros
Good match. Mojo got a big pop from the crowd and there was a “Let’s Go Packers” chant that started. (Mojo was with the Packers pre-WWE for a short time). Anderson & Gallows were booed, but also got a good mix of cheering for them as well.
– Sami Zayn def. Kevin Owens
This was an excellent match match. Great promo by Owens who played off of the crowd and how he wanted to “get out of this town” Zayn and Owens both had some incredible selling during the match and kept the crowd engaged and going for the match.
– Apollo Crews def. Sheamus
Sheamus got a big pop, and cut a really good promo before the match. Apollo is super agile, had a near fall on Sheamus with a standing moonsault that got a huge pop. There was a CM Punk chant that started to which Sheamus responded with the “go to sleep” gesture which was funny.
– WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte def. Natalya
Charlotte is really good at interacting with the crowd. There was a “Charlotte sucks” chant again, which she played off of perfectly. Lots of submission work by both, which got huge pops. atalya had excellent selling, really great technical work. Charlotte won by pinfall by putting her foot on the ropes for stability
– WWE Champion Roman Reigns def. AJ Styles
Odd thing is that Reigns and Styles both had a mixture of being booed and cheered for. The match spilled out to ringside where Roman was thrown into the steel steps by AJ. This match kept the crowd really engaged, great selling by Reigns and Styles.
After sitting on the sidelines since January recovering from shoulder surgery, the Memorial Day edition of Raw from Green Bay, WI, will feature the return of former WWE Champion and top draw John Cena to action.
Unlike the return of Seth Rollins last week, Cena’s reemergence has been hyped for weeks with vignettes and an appearance on the Today show this morning. (Also, remember that we just saw him do a run-it at Wrestlemania.) With the brand split coming up in July, it will be interesting to see if they will start the buildup to the July 11th draft show tonight, or give it time to build and wait after the Money in the Bank PPV.
If this show does a poor rating, expect blame to be placed on Game 7 of the Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder NBA playoff series. There is also Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals between San Jose and Pittsburgh that kicks off tonight — more of a regional ratings hit.
Our coverage starts at 8 ET. Join us!
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The Big Takeaway: A.J. Styles reunited with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in what may be the angle of the year. It happened during John Cena’s return. Styles came out to put over Cena and welcome him back to Raw. Anderson and Gallows came out to accuse Styles of kissing Cena’s ass. Just when it seemed they were gearing up for a tag team match, Styles jumped Cena, and the Club joined together for a collective beatdown. Styles repeatedly left the ring, then ran back in to beat up Cena some more. Only other news of note was Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon acknowledging Smackdown’s move to Tuesdays starting in July and the upcoming brand extension.
Shane & Steph Open The Show
They opened with a 10-bell salute in tribute to the soldiers for Memorial Day with all of the roster’s superstars lined up on the ramp. Vince, Stephanie and Shane McMahon were out there, but there was no HHH. They replayed a speech that Ronald Reagan gave on Memorial Day in 1982 with various personalities reciting the address.
Shane came out, but was cut off by Stephanie. They were more antagonistic towards each other this week. Stephanie was wearing shorts so brief, they wouldn’t have been able to wipe up a small amount of milk spilled on your kitchen floor. Shane announced that Smackdown would go live every Tuesday in July. Stephanie announced John Cena’s return, which got mostly cheers.
The New Day showed up. They all put over Smackdown going live. Then they mentioned the brand extension, showing mainstream news publications about the looming split. Kofi Kingston said he was new era, which Big E. and Xavier Woods laughed at. Woods said Kingston was his favorite wrestler in middle school. Kingston asked where is the New Era going?
Stephanie said they didn’t know yet. Kofi accused her of dodging the question. New Day asked to not be split up. Shane said nothing is off the table. Big E. was worried. Woods didn’t want Francesca the Trombone to be raised without her three fathers, and said trombones raised without a father don’t have as good a track record.
Kingston said Shane and Stephanie hadn’t decided who will run which brand, but Big E. sensed there was a sibling rivalry brewing. So Big E. called for a dance contest. Shane started dancing to the New Day’s music while Stephanie stood back in the corner and laughed at him. Stephanie acted like she was going to dance, which she did to the New Day’s music last year with HHH watching on. Before she could begin, the Vaudevillains came out for a match with the New Day. Michael Cole said going into the break that Smackdown live would return. JBL busted his chops over later.
WWE Tag Champs The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Big E.) defeated the Vaudevillains by DQ in a non-title match (8:50)
Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows came through the crowd and jumped New Day for the DQ. Gallows threw Woods into the dasherboards, then Anderson gave Kingston a Yakuza Kick. While this was going on, Simon Gotch kicked Big E. from behind. Vaudevillains left Big E laying so Gallows and Anderson could deliver the Magic Killer on him. Crowd is already dead and we’re only 35 minutes in.
Anderson and Gallows were backstage. Renee Young asked them what that was all about. Anderson said that was to show they could inflict as much damage without A.J. Styles than with him. He said they were just getting started.
Apollo Crews met with Big Show backstage. Show said he liked Crews and told him Sheamus was a bully. Show said he didn’t mind the New Era because he’s been knocking out guys since the Jurassic Era and it didn’t matter to him. Show said Sheamus is in desperation mode and he jumped Crews last week because he wanted to see if Crews would back down. Show told Crews the question is whether Crews will back down.
The Usos defeated Breezango (1:43)
Jey Uso pinned Fandango with a crucifix. Goldust and R-Truth were at ringside. Truth was all the place, calling Byron Saxton “Coach.” To which JBL shouted “Byron’s not Coach. Coach has talent!” Tyler Breeze and Fandango started jawing off to the Golden Truth and the two sides brawled. Truth threw Fandango into the barricade. Goldust gave Breeze a powerslam on the floor. The gimmick with the Golden Truth is they’ve lost both matches to Breezango so far, and JBL makes fun of them for being a babyface tag team that loses.
Roman Reigns came out before the Warriors-Thunder game could tip off.
He got his usual reception. He talked about how Seth Rollins sold out two years ago when he broke up the Shield. Rolins said he was calling himself “The Man”, but how can he be The Man when he’s running from The Guy? He challenged Rollins to come out.
Rollins came out to noticeably more cheers, even after his heel promo last week. He teased getting into the ring, came down the ramp, then went back up the ramp. He acted like he was going to speak for about a minute, but stopped before he could utter a word. He threw the mic down like he was going to fight, but then held up. He kept starting and stopping. I was getting flashbacks to the Sheamus-Reigns angle from last December. Some fans chanted “boring.” Then he picked up the microphone again, threw it down and left. Reigns music played. Rollins ran down again, but stopped when Reigns turned his back and caught his eye. Not a great segment.
The most newsworthy thing of the night happened during the commercial after this for 2K17. In an ad you can see here, Goldberg appeared walking with security to his WCW theme music, looking in great shape for a 49-year-old. The setting, scenery and placement after that abysmal Reigns-Rollins angle made him look like more of a star than anyone so far tonight.
U.S. Champion Rusev defeated Zack Ryder via submission in a non-title match (2:33)
Rusev won with the Accolade, which looks more like a rear naked choke now than a Camel Clutch. Ryder had just hit the Broski Boot and went for the Rough Ryder, but Rusev tossed him over and Ryder landed on his ass. Lana’s outfits get skimpier by the week. She’s now relegated to just introducing Rusev, but didn’t even get in the ring for his postmatch promo.
Rusev cut an anti-American interview afterwards where he called the Green Bay fans “Cheese gobbling cheese…whatever you call yourselves.” Titus O’Neal walked out and did a robotic promo about the nerve of Rusev running down America on Memorial Day. O’Neal said he comes from America, where they fight. O’Neal decked Rusev with one forearm to send him out of the ring.
Primo and Epico did another interview putting over Puerto Rico.
There was a piece reviewing the Charlotte-Ric Flair breakup from last week. Various wrestlers weighed in on Charlotte. Dean Ambrose said he felt Charlotte wanted to humiliate her father. Dolph Ziggler said he felt Charlotte kind of told the truth. What? Becky Lynch said Ric always wanted the best for him. Ambrose got another quip saying Flair may have taught Charlotte everything she knows, but not everything he knows. Cole, JBL and Saxton read off various tweets. Then they showed an angle from earlier today where Stephanie dressed down Charlotte, saying she was embarrassed to have her as champion and screamed how Charlotte was spoiled and privileged. Basically, the entire segment was to get Charlotte over as a heel. Then in the last minute of said angle, they made the entire thing moot by having Stephanie berate her and she came off as another wounded pup under the Authority’s rule.
Enzo Amore and Big Cass came out to the biggest pop of the show. Enzo said since they were in Green Bay, they reeled off a list of cheeses. Cass scrolled them off one by one while making a double entendre about you know what.
Enzo and Cass defeated The Dudley Boyz (9:16)
Third tag team match in two hours. I thought the Jim Crockett Cup had broken out. Enzo pinned Devon Dudley after the Rocket Launcher. Just a month after suffering the concussion at Payback, Enzo got the heat after falling off the top rope. Bubba Ray got slammed off the top rope by Cass, but had to wait forever for him to get up. Match had the most heat of the night.
The main event will be a six-man tag involving the known participants in the Money in the Bank match, with Ambrose, Cesaro and Sami Zayn facing Alberto Del Rio, Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho. Ambrose, Cesaro and Zayn talked privately backstage. Ambrose said you couldn’t trust Owens because he was a Canadian. Zayn started to point out he was a Canadian, then Cesaro said Jericho was also dangerous. Ambrose derided Jericho as also being Canadian. Zayn spoke up and asked Ambrose if he knew he was Canadian. Ambrose looked like that was a revelation and said “That explains everything.” Zayn looked confused.
John Cena Returns
John Cena returned to a nice pop. He got a short “welcome back” chant, but it was surprisingly very brief. Of course, he got his usual share of boos. He started very serious reciting the Ronald Reagan speech earlier, then said there were many brave heroes who had fallen. Memorial Day was a celebration of that sacrifice and he was very thankful to be back home. On this day, it was with the utmost respect that he honored the heroes who helped keep liberty intact. Cena said liberty was freedom, and freedom was our lifeblood. It enabled pople to dress how you want, listen to whatever music you wanted, stand on your chair and scream at the top of your lungs.
Now, the question was whether he still belonged on Monday Night Raw? Cena said a new era arrived in his absence. That means new names and new faces. All of those people had the same thought: that Cena’s best days were over. Cena said he wouldn’t go quietly into the night. And if the future is upon us, then the future must go through him.
Styles came out. Cole put over seeing Styles and Cena in the same building was something many thought we would never see. At first, the crowd seemed quiet. Then it turned into a lengthy battle of dueling chants. Styles and Cena just let the fans take over the show for a few minutes. It built and built to where it was really loud and made this potential program feel like something special.
Styles said he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Cena said, judging by this crowd, so has everyone else. Styles said Cena has kind of a bad rep. Styles said he always heard Cena was the first guy to get to the building and the last to leave. Styles said they have been in two different worlds, but he respected Cena’s hard work. Styles said he wanted to be the first one to say “Welcome back.” They shook hands.
Gallows and Anderson then walked out. Gallows told Styles they agreed to go their separate ways, and he saw what they did with the New Day. He accused Styles of sucking up to Cena. Anderson said he thought that was beneath Styles, but apparently not. Anderson said, unlike Styles, they were not there to kiss ass, but to kick it. That included Styles.
Just as Anderson and Gallows were ready to square off and an impromptu tag match was about to take place, Styles jumped Cena. Anderson and Gallows then jumped in and they all put the boots to Cena. Styles, Gallows and Anderson stood over Cena and gave each other Clique signs to some real heat. A fantastic angle to turn Styles heel. Styles ran back in to pound on Cena some more while Anderson said that’s the A.J. they love. Styles left, then ran back in again to lay the punches in some more. Crowd was incensed. After the referees came in, Styles came back in to pummel Cena some more. Styles screamed he was doing the world a favor and “You’re welcome, world.”
Dana Brooke defeated Natalya (1:20)
Brooke won after Charlotte distracted Natalya, which led to Brooke winning with a Samoan Driver. Cole called it a Michinoku Driver. Charlotte and Brooke put the boots to Natalya. Lynch ran down for the save. For someone who was supposed to be a heavy heel after last week, Charlotte got a disappointing response, probably because the star of the show stole her heat last hour.
Ziggler did a promo saying he was going to outwrestle Baron Corbin tonight. He brought up Jericho’s 1004 holds promo from 1998 Nitro. To show how badly it bombed, Ziggler bragged he had 1006 holds and starting naming them just like Jericho did 18 years ago. He listed armbar 3 times. He stopped after seven and said “He’s Dolph Ziggler and Corbin isn’t.”
Baron Corbin defeated Dolph Ziggler by DQ (:33)
The announcers built up Ziggler’s amateur record, including a school record 121 wins at Kent State University. When the bell sounded, Ziggler put on amateur wrestling headgear. So the first thing he did was kick Corbin in the balls for an immediate DQ. Ziggler announced he had been disqualified, but the loser of the match was still Corbin. JBL mentioned the original man of “1,000 holds” was Earl Caddock, who wrestled Joe Stecher in 1920 in the oldest known pro wrestling match that has footage.
Maryse introduced the Miz, who is on location shooting the Marine 5. He talked about how he’ll return soon to his adoring public to defend his Intercontinental Championship.
Jericho, Del Rio and Owens argued in the back over who should start their match tonight. Jericho finally got them to agree they should make sure Zayn, Ambrose and Cesaro don’t make it to Money in the Bank. After they left, Jericho called his teammates “idiots.”
Cesaro, Dean Ambrose & Sami Zayn defeated Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens and Alberto Del Rio (17:51)
Good match with an excellent finishing sequence ending with Ambrose pinning Owens after Dirty Deeds. Jericho hit a codebreaker on Ambrose, but Owens made a blind tag trying to get the pin. That led to Owens and Jericho arguing, which they had done throughout the match. Zayn hit the Helluva Kick on Del Rio, moments after Del Rio caught Cesaro with the Back Stabber.
Earlier, Ambrose hit a tope as the heels bickered with each other some more. Felt like a house show match just thrown out on live TV because the company knew they were going to get creamed by the NBA Finals, but the main event slot hasn’t felt like the true main event of the show lately.
SUMMARY:
It says a lot for Cena’s presence that frequently has memorable swerve angles. Mark Henry’s career highlight was the angle in 2013 where he teased a retirement speech, but jumped Cena instead. Styles’ heel turn tonight could be every bit as memorable. It was extremely well done and the only thing worthwhile in an otherwise forgettable 3 hours.
