On the chance that WWE won’t clear him to wrestle in WWE: “Yes, there is that chance. But I told them, regardless of them, if they won’t clear me … we’re independent contractors, in theory … and I WILL wrestle again. I am cleared by the neurologist in Phoenix that I’ve been going to see. It’s not like he’s a quack doctor. He was the neurologist for the Super Bowl … who has no problems in clearing me with no limitations. But you also have to understand that WWE is not only looking out for my best interest, but they have to look out for their company as well, and I understand all of that too. There is nothing vindictive or anything there’s just a lot of hurdles to go through at this point with getting cleared by WWE. I had a sit-down with Vince and Hunter about this and said, “Hey, this is my passion. I understand why you guys wouldn’t clear me but we only get, as far as we know, one life. And you’re not going to let me do my passion?”
On the specifics of his injuries: “Well, it’s actually not a neck issue, my neck is completely fine. It’s more of a concussion issue. And Brie was very hesitant about this whole thing and that’s why WWE is very protective over me too. Everyone is more aware of concussions and that’s why, with WWE, I don’t see what they’re doing, as far as making me go through all these hurdles, I don’t see that as a negative. They’re protecting me and especially in this era of concussion awareness. Brie at first was like, ‘Hmm, I’m not sure, given your history.’ But when we met with the neurologist in Phoenix and we went through all the testing and he said: ‘Ok, all of my testing is not just coming back good, it’s coming back excellent.’ As far as my brain right now, it’s at a level above most people who have never had a concussion my age.
“When you are looking at scores of like: Bad, poor, fair, good, great, excellent — it’s at those great-excellent levels. So all of that to say, she had gone from being very skeptical about it to being very supportive of me being able to wrestle again. And she is someone who will flat out say, ‘I’m not just interested in what happens to him 2 years from now or five years from now’ and she doesn’t care about the money or anything like that, she is interested of where I’m at 20 years from now. The deal with my arm, they told me this because I waited so long to get the surgery, my right arm might never get back to full strength of my left arm. So right now, it’s about 85 percent and it hasn’t improved much in a while. But because the nerve had been cut off for so long, there is a very good chance that that will never come back. But, it’s not like I’m feeble with my right arm. My left hand, and we’re going mostly by grip strength because my triceps strength and all that kind of stuff is equal on both sides. My grip strength on my left hand is about 150 pounds of pressure and my grip strength in my right hand is about 130 pounds of pressure. The average male my age is about 100 pounds of pressure. So it’s not like I’m ‘arrrggghhhhh poor me!’”
By Tony Leder and Bryan Alvarez for WrestlingObserver.com
This weekend kicks off with an ROH iPPV at www.rohwrestling.comon tonight from the William J. Myers Pavilion in Baltimore: Get your live results and coverage here: ROH Death Before Dishonor XIII Live Results and Coverage 7-24-15: Jay Lethal vs Roderick Strong
Jay Lethal vs. Roderick Strong for the ROH title
Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Michael Bennett & Matt Taven vs. Hanson & Ray Rowe for the tag titles
Adam Page vs. ACH no DQ
Cedric Alexander vs. Moose
Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta vs. Mark & Jay Briscoe
Adam Cole vs. Dalton Castle
Silas Young vs. Will Ferrara
Donovan Dijak vs. Takaaki Watanabe
New Japan G-1 show Saturday morning from Kagawa at 5 a.m. Eastern on New Japan World with B block matches
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yujiro Takahashi
Satoshi Kojima vs. Michael Elgin
Hirooki Goto vs. Karl Anderson
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Yuji Nagata
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomoaki Honma
Then UFC on FOX 16 from Chicago featuring T.J. Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao for the bantamweight title and in the co-mainevent Jessica Eye vs. Miesha Tate for the No. 1 contender position. Check out our live coverage of the weigh-ins here: UFC On FOX 16: Dillashaw vs. Barao 2 weigh-in results and live video
The full schedule:
Fight Pass at 4:15 p.m. Eastern
Zak Cummings vs. Dominique Steele
Jessamyn Duke vs. Elizabeth Phillips
Andrew Holbrook vs. Ramsey Nijem
Daron Cruickshank vs. James Krause
FOX at 6 p.m. Eastern (3 p.m. Pacific)
Bryan Caraway vs. Eddie Wineland
Kenny Robertson vs. Ben Saunders
Danny Castillo vs. Jim Miller
Tom Lawlor vs. Gian Villante
Takanori Gomi vs. Joe Lauzon
Edson Barboza vs. Paul Felder
Jessica Eye vs. Miesha Tate
T.J. Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao for the bantamweight title
Also on Saturday night will have WWE in Los Angeles at the Staples Center and Odessa, TX, and ROH will be taping four hours of television in Baltimore.
Last night’s Smackdown report(ok from Wednesday):
WWE Smackdown July 23 TV results & recap: Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro, Kevin Owens vs. Rusev
New Japan has a G-1 show from this morning:
NJPW G1 Climax 25 Night 3 (July 24) results: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Saturday night will have WWE in Los Angeles at the Staples Center and Odessa, TX, while ROH will be taping four hours of television in Baltimore.
Sunday is the biggest G-1 show of the weekend live on New Japan World at 5 a.m. Eastern from Hiroshima with some key A block matches:
Bad Luck Fale vs. Doc Gallows
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Toru Yano
Togi Makabe vs. Katsuyori Shibata
A.J. Styles vs. Kota Ibushi
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito
Sunday also sees a couple WWE house shows in Lawton, OK and Amarillo.
Raw will be Monday night in Oklahoma City. Brock Lesnar is not advertised for the show.
Smackdown is Tuesday night in Tulsa. Roman Reign and Seth Rollins are advertised as the top stars on the show. Dolph Ziggler is being advertised on the show, so in theory he should be returning this week although what is advertised and what happens aren’t necessarily the same thing.
In the Latest Observer:
The return of the Undertaker and build to SummerSlam, Battleground coverage, the rise of NXT and situation with ROH, the G-1 Climax tournament and some major UFC stories are the major stories in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
The latest Wrestling Observer: July 27, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: The Undertaker returns at Battleground, NXT/ROH insanity with Liger booking
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The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
Our lead story concerns the build to SummerSlam. We look at advertising that has already been cut for the show, what are the possibilities for Sting, the Lesnar-Undertaker angle, the booking of WWE right now, the situation with the women, plus full coverage of Battleground with match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results on the show.
We also look at the booking of Jushin Liger to NXT on 8/22, ticket sales for the show, plans for the NXT show, how the Liger booking affects ROH and has caused such a political turmoil. We look at the NXT card as well as the competing ROH show. We look at the Liger booking, ROH working with New Japan, ratings with New Japan stars vs. shows without New Japan stars, NXT touring, the next NXT vs. ROH head-to-head in September, the next ROH PPV show and much more.
We also have full coverage of the G-1 Climax tournament, with all of the shows planned for the next week, as well as full coverage of opening night in Sapporo with match-by-match-coverage, star ratings and poll results.
We also look at a major story concerning fighters for UFC to address which is the banning of IVs for rehydrating after weigh-ins starting October and why the story is far more significant than people realize.
We also look at a potential alliance between ESPN and WWE and the ethical debate regarding the coverage. We also look at the Hogan/Gawker lawsuit and each side’s case, an update on the Dr. Christopher Amann lawsuit against C.M. Punk and Colt Cabana, an update on Dolph Ziggler and what he claims is his contract status, Undertaker working more than just SummerSlam, Stephanie McMahon talks gay characterizations in future WWE creative as well as a look back from former creative members regarding different suggestions on gay characterizations in the past. We look at more WWE banned terms and how some were changed and why. We also look at how the characters are being described for Camp WWE, which is really hilarious.
We’ve also got notes on Chris Jericho working more house shows, Tough Enough notes, John Cena in the movies, how the WWE Network free month has changed, as well as what to look for over the next week in WWE stock.
We also have full coverage of the next month of NXT TV tapings, as well as coverage of all the WWE and NXT house shows this past week and business notes from the shows.
We also have notes on TripleMania being on U.S. PPV for the first time on 8/9, including price point, why it’s happening now, and its history as well as broadcast information.
We also have coverage of both UFC events held over the past week, with the Mir vs. Duffee and Bisping vs. Leites shows. We’ve got business notes and stories behind both events.
We also have notes on the third season of New Japan World on AXS, including highlights of the new season, all the matches airing from 8/14 to 12/11 including when the Wrestle Kingdom 9 matches will air, as well as notes on the schedule for 2016.
We also look at Dragon Gate’s Kobe World Festival show and CMLL’s Sin Salida show, which were two of those two company’s biggest events of the year.
The Observer is the world’s most detailed weekly pro wrestling publication, in its 32nd year of publication, and is read by the biggest names in the pro wrestling, industry, MMA industry, sports world and on Wall Street.
We also have our regular features such as the most complete look at ratings, plus results of the major house show events each week in pro wrestling and MMA, and complete inside rundowns of all the TV shows.
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Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues
FRIDAY’S NEWS UPDATE
The big story from today, of course, is Hulk Hogan’s termination from WWE for racial slurs in a sex tape created 8 years ago with Heather Clem, who was married to Bubba the Love Sponge at the time.
Check out our ongoing coverage here: WWE: Hulk Hogan’s WWE contract terminated, National Enquirer story claims racist comments, Hogan’s statement to People
We are told the “more to come” that the National Enquirer has promised could be coming this afternoon or this weekend.
Various wrestlers and personalities are publicly backing Hulk Hogan today, including Virgil to TMZ and Dennis Rodman on his Twitter account. Rodman is also backing Donald Trump, who at one point in history was involved in the main event of the biggest WrestleMania of all time.
We also have tons of notes on the story on today’s Wrestling Observer Live, which you can download commercial-free here if you are a subscriber, with 45 minutes of news and notes with Bryan Alvarez, Dave Meltzer, Mike Sempervive and David Bixenspan. Bix will also have tons of additional details in this week’s new Figure Four Weekly: July 27 Figure Four Weekly: Hulk Hogan fired by WWE after racist tirade surface He was ahead of the curve in predicting last week’s story that the big Hogan bombshell might involve a racial tirade by Hogan.
Today’s Observer Live (every show every day, in fact) will replay on Sports Byline USA at 5 PT/8 ET. Sports Byline USA can be accessed through the links on the front page or via smartphone apps such as TuneIn Radio and iHeart Radio. If you are a member you can listen here: Wrestling Observer Live 7/24: Everything you ever wanted to know about the Hulk Hogan story as of 4 PM ET
Bully Ray is apparently already gone from TNA. That was quick.
Impact and ROH were both up this week with Impact doing a combined 388,000 viewers between the two airings and ROH doing 265,000. Last week’s super low numbers appear to be an aberration.
Global Force Wrestling will be using a six-sided ring for their TV tapings, which kick off tonight at the Orleans Casino in Las Vegas. Chael Sonnen and Cyrus Fees, who has done MMA commentary in the past, will be doing commentary.
Moondog Morretti is to be honored July 24 at the Cloverdale fairgrounds check out the article here: MoonDog Moretti to be Honored July 24,2015
Shine Wrestling returns to the Orpheum in Ybor City, FL this Friday at 9pm with SHINE 28 headlined by Santana Garrett defending against Ivelisse Velez.
Robin Pro Wrestling will be at the Broward College South Campus in Pembroke Pines, FL Saturday at 5pm featuring an appearance by Larry Zbyszko.
I Believe in Wrestling returns to the Team Vision Dojo this Saturday at 8pm in Orlando, FL.
A new wrestling company Lots of Lakes Wrestling Promotions presents live pro wrestling at the Team Vision Dojo this Sunday at 6:30pm headlined by Manik / T.J. Perkins.
ELITE CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING ANIMAL PROTECTION SOCIETY – Richmond, BC August 8 2015
Two minutes before bell time. The announcer came out to hype us up. He got a GLOBAL FORCE chant going. Then there was some merchandise shilling. All the merch here is GFW branded stuff, from t-shirts to backpacks; no wrestler merch, unfortunately. He name dropped Bullet Club, even though they are not here.
90% of the crowd was on the TV side, so arena was half empty. Stage set up was a giant black curtain with some lights around the entrance tunnel. Nothing spectacular.
First match is PJ Black v. Sanada. Next-Gen tourney match. Great opener. Lots of flippy spots. Got the crowd hyped. Black won with a springboard 450.
Bobby Roode is out next. Came out to a huge ovation. He is using his TNA theme. Hyped us up and said he’s not a GFW guy, he’s a TNA guy. This warranted a DIXIE SUCKS chants so I guess Roode is working as a heel. Said he’s the longest reigning TNA champ ever, holding the title longer than Sting, Kurt Angle, and Jeff Hardy and Jeff Jarrett. He said he’s mad because JJ came back to TNA, which is Roode’s house, and took the KOTM title from him. So now, Roode has come to Vegas for Global Force Wrestling to take the GFW world title in the tournament.
Nick Aldis interrupts. He says this isn’t TNA and this is GFW and he has joined the force along with the rest of the fans here at the Orleans. He’s yelling at Roode and then Kongo Kong comes from behind to give Aldis a modified Samoan Drop looking move. Gets major heat from the crowd and then Roode comes back in the ring and locks Aldis in a cross face. Refs come to force him to break it.
The GFW intermission is some kind of dubstep music. Reminds me Blake & Murphy’s theme.
Lucha 6 man tag is next Misterioso, Zokre and Phoenix Star vs. Blood Eagle, Steve Pain, and Bestia 666. Heels wore black and red masks and faces (Zokre’s team( wore all bright colored artire. Faces all looked like Sin Cara. Lots of LUCHA chants before and during the match. Crowd was red hot for a spot where all of the men in the match did consecutive outside dives. Bunch of cool high flying spots in this match. Team Sin Cara won. Everyone was happy.
This guy named Henry Maxwell comes out next. Lots of who are you chants. Comes out & sings the Star Spangled Banner, major heat. These two Arab wrestlers, reminding me of Muhammad Hassan, faces covered and veiled, come out and beat down Maxwell. Suddenly after the crowd booed the Star Spangled Banner we got USA chants. They say they are called The Akbars and they are here for the GFW Tag titles.
Bollywood Boyz come out with two dancers and a decent pop. I guess they’re just good looking Indian men who dance. That’s their gimmick. So this inevitably leads to a tag team match. Tag Championship Tourney match. Arabs vs. Indians.
Match was okay to below average. Bollywood chants. Akbars did a lot of prototypical heel tag team spots, double teams with ref wasn’t looking, made sure ref wasn’t looking when the hot tag was made so it didn’t count. Finish was one Bollywood Boy hitting a top rope elbow on a standing Akbar and then another one hitting an elbow on the same dude once he fell. Good pop.
Kushida vs. Virgil Flynn is next. I can’t tell if Flynn is really small or Kushida is really big. Kushida has the IWGP junior heavyweight championship belt with him.
My favorite match of the night. I’ve never seen Kushida in singles action but it wasn’t much different than his stuff with the Time Splitters. Virgil Flynn was excellent as well. You know that Trevor Lee spot where two wrestlers run from two different sides of the ring off the ropes and he does that flip cross body thing in the middle of the ring? Flynn did that. That was amazing to see in person. Flynn hits a 450. Kushida kicks out. More back and forth. Kushida eventually won via submission.
Karen Jarrett comes out. Thanks the crowd for coming out and then she says she’s wants to make sure the ladies weren’t slighted tonight. This promo was somewhat reminiscent of Stephanie coming out on RAW two weeks ago without the UFC Soccer and Tennis name dropping. They would have a tournament match for the GFW Women’s Title in the main event. Someone screams “we love puppies.”
Lei’D Tapa comes out. Her manager comes out and says something about business and how Mickie James is in all the advertisements for GFW but Tapa is not. Karen calls out Tapa and says unlike her, she doesn’t need her husband to speak for her. So we learn her manager is her husband.
Triple threat match with Tapa and Christina Von Eerie and Mickie James. Women’s Title tourney match. Eerie got the biggest pop as she is from Reno, even though that is a 6 hour car drive away. Both girls double teamed Tapa and then wrestled each other. Tapa came back, attacked both, they came back, took her out, made it 1v1, repeat. Tapa did not look that good. Ending was Eerie pinning Tapa with Dead Raising from the middle rope.
Intermission. Announcer plugs merch again. Says they have Bullet Club shirts. I go check. They do not.
2nd episode
Jigsaw v Sonjay Dutt. Next Gen tourney match More flippy shit and cool spots but not as much as the Kushida or Black match. Match was alright. Both men got mild receptions, Jigsaw was hotter, who won with Jig N’ Tonic.
Chael Sonnen out next. Tells everyone to shut up. Boos. Tells everyone to shut up some more. Introduces Virgil Flynn. Says Flynn will be in the Nextgen Championship Tourney. PJ Black comes out and congratulates Flynn for taking Kushida to the limit and shakes his hand and raises his arm up. Then superkicks him. He leaves and Sonnin follows, stepped over a downed Flynn.
I looked up Virgil Flynn and he is not well known at all; only has about 300 Twitter followers so with the opportunities he was given, with the MOTN with Kushida and this segment with Chael and Gabriel, he looks to be key building block for the NexGen Division.
Chris Mordetzky v Brian Myers next. World title tourney match. Mordetzky is working heel. Decent match. Myers hit a wicked spear but Mordetzky immediately rolled to the outside. Mordetzky won with the Masterlock. Myers got a nice ovation post-match.
Reno Scum vs. Los Luchas is next. Tag title tourney match. Big ovation for Reno Scum. They were super impressive in this match. They also won. I do not know what their finishing sequence is called but it is awesome.
Roode beat Kevin Kross, a local guy. World title tourney match. Roode got major heat from most of the crowd. There was a LET’S GO BOBBY/BOBBY SUCKS chant. At one point he screamed THIS IS THE BEST YOU GOT? at the crowd, in reference to Kross. Roode won with the crossface. Match was okay, Kross wasn’t that good.
Double J came out to a big ovation. He called someone in the crowd slapnuts which got a big pop. Loud THANK YOU JEFF chant. Thanked the Orleans for their partnership with GFW. Thanked the wrestlers in the back and thanked the fans. Says we are just getting started; at the next taping we will see Shelton Benjamin, the Killer Elite Squad, and Bullet Club (Gallows and Anderson). BC for the biggest ovation out of the three. Booby Roode then comes out. He buries the entire roster and called GFW a “two-cent company”. Says no one gives a crap about Benjamin or the KES and certainly no one gives a crap about the Bullet Club. Big SHIT FACTOR chant. Jarrett says look, the crowd knows Roode’s real name! That got a pop. JJ says here at GFW they’re looking for talent willing to take things to the next level. So to continue the tournament at the next taping, Roode will face “Showtime” Eric Young!
Maxwell came out again. He seems like a major heel so I don’t know why they had the Akbars beat him up in the last episode. He says he’s here to introduce a sophisticated man who is also his best friend, Kongo Kong.
Kong v Aldis is the main event. Maxwell stole the show here, at some points taking the crowd’s attention away from the match and placed it on himself. At one point he took off his blazer and got on the guardrail and started swinging it around and yelling. Kong hit a clothesline to Aldis at the turnbuckle at one point and Maxwell yelled BOOM SHAKA LAKA. Inevitably, we got a HENRY MAXWELL chant.
Match was solid though. Kong really impressed me; for a big guy who looks out of shape he’s incredibly athletic with expected strength for a big man. Aldis came back and dropped the elbow and got a 2. Maxwell got on the apron and Aldis punched him. Kong attacked him in the corner and hit a cannonball. Close 2 count. He went to the top rope and missed a moonsault. Aldis then won with a spinning out powerbomb. The one that Cena hits before he sets up the 5 Knuckle Shuffle.
Overall it was a good show. I went in expecting a TNA show and got something better than that. Announcing Eric Young was a surprise to me. It seems like all the big TNA names are going to jump ship from TNA if the company indeed sinks.
Fight week and the final build up to UFC On FOX 16 on Saturday continues with UFC Embedded leading into tonight’s event. In the fourth episode, the fighters cut their final pounds and make the final check-ins for the event. UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman is on hand and provides his pick for the main event. And finally, it is off to the United Center for Friday’s weigh-ins as the fighters make weight. Check out episode four of UFC Embedded above as we get set for the action tonight on FOX.
Fight week and the build up to UFC On FOX 16 on Saturday night continues with episode three of UFC Embedded. In this episode, the women in the co-main event, Miesha Tate and Jessica Eye, arrive in Chicago and sign posters, and then Eye goes sightseeing with her team while Tate makes a radio appearance. Paul Felder enjoys some time on Periscope with fans and doing interviews. UFC Bantamweight Champion T.J. Dillashaw and Edson Barboza get in some training at the host hotel. It is then off to open workouts on Thursday as the fighters continue to make final preparations for Saturday’s event. All of that and more, so check out episode three of UFC Embedded above.
Great show last night. Every match was hard hitting and got great reactions Pretty much an awesome crowd.
Among those in attendance with William Regal, Canyon Ceman, Seth Rollins and Konnan.
*Team Tremendous (Bill Carr & Dan Berry) b Joey Ryan & Candice LaRae with what I’d call a combination doomsday device and a reverse blockbuster on Ryan. Fun opener. Carr looks like a Big Bubba Rogers type from the 80s but with more modern moves.
*Brian Cage b Johnny Gargano with the discus clothesline.
*Andrew Everett b Rich Swann with a shooting star press.
*Trevor Lee b Tommaso Ciampa. This match was excellent leading into intermission.
*Speedball Mike Bailey b Chris Hero. In many ways this was the match of the night, particularly when it comes to every single move meaning something, perfect pacing for the type of match they were doing and the crowd going nuts at peaking perfectly at the end. It hard the hard hitting fight feel, more like Japanese match. The result also seemed like something that most didn’t expect.
*Ricochet b Akira Tozawa. This was an authentic Dragon Gate match, so crisp acrobatics and a lot of comedy. Still very good peaking well. Lots of crazy moves as well.
After the match came the only angle of the show with Super Dragon and The Young Bucks, wearnig Super Dragon masks, laying out Tozawa. A lot of the faces underneath like Ryan, LaRae, Bailey, Lee and Gargano came out and were all destroyed including a scary tease of a Meltzer driver on the floor. Jack Evans & Angelico came to as well. This led to the main event.
*Young Bucks b Jack Evans & Angelico. Excellent match. Pretty much a top end Young Bucks match with a million superkicks. Angelico did the running dive over the post. No balconies in Reseda as compared to Boyle Heights. There ended up being a spike piledriver on the floor by the Bucks near the finish coming off the teased spot during the brawl. The Bucks won when Matt pinned Evans with More Bang for Your Buck.
Here are results from day 4 of New Japan’s G1 Climax Tournament, held today in Takamatsu at the Takamatsu Gymnasium. This is a fixed camera show with no commentary.
Captain New Japan, Jushin Liger and Tiger Mask vs. Cody Hall, Tama Tonga and Doc Gallows
This was the usual New Japan six man. Everyone worked with one another and was fine for the most part, though it felt a little long. Captain New Japan fell again as he was mounting a comeback and even rolled up Doc Gallows for a nearfall that people reacted big to. Eventually he falls to the Gallows Pole.
Toru Yano, Gedo & Yoshi Hashi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, David Finlay and Mascara Dorada
Yano squirted his water bottle at Tenzan before the match started, alluding to their upcoming bout. Rather mundane, textbook six man. Only real highlights were Yano’s usual antics and Dorada’s brief offense. This time it was Yoshi-Hashi who got the win, pinning Finlay after a swanton bomb. Tenzan goaded Yano to come to the ring after the match but he bailed.
Jay White and Kota Ibushi vs. Bad Luck Fale and AJ Styles
Started really dull without a ton of heat as White was being worked on. Ibushi made a hot tag that the crowd was really into. They were very much into the match whenever Ibushi and Styles were at it, they looked terrific in this match. AJ wiped out Ibushi with a crossbody to the floor and White was left with Fale. The former tried to mount a comeback but the latter wiped him out and pinned him after a grenade.
This was a pretty good tag bout, though like the others were formulaic. Makabe and Shibata had some interactions, as well as Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito. Good offense throughout, though nothing particularly special about the match. Last part of it had Komatsu kicking out of everything Taguchi was giving him, including kicking out of a dodon and avoiding his sliding hip splash. Taguchi hit the dodon one more time on Komatsu and got the win there.
Yujiro Takahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Ishii gained control at the start but Cody Hall, seconding Yujiro, jumped him. Yujiro was in control for a good while and it was nothing special at all. He hit the Tokyo Pimps but Ishii kicked out. Ishii made a comeback and gave Yujiro a big time headbutt. He follows that with a sliding D then pins him with the brainbuster. Nothing really that special, and these two have had better matches together.
Michael Elgin vs. Satoshi Kojima
This turned out to be easily the best match of the night so far. Very good back and forth match between the two, nothing super but a really good match. Elgin continues to thrive here as he was getting over the more he was on offense. At one point Kojima had him wiped out with a lariat, then went for another but Elgin came back with one of his own. Elgin had him in the middle rope and was looking to do something, but Kojima fell off and when Elgin jumped off the middle rope he ate another lariat and was pinned.
Karl Anderson vs. Hirooki Goto
Good match, but not as good as last year’s G1 match they had together. Solid back and forth match for the most part. Goto hit a really cool code red off the top rope at one point for a nearfall. Goto had Anderson laid out with his knee neckbreaker and was about to go for the shouten kai, but in mid air Anderson transitioned into a second gun stun and pinned Goto. Fans were really surprised by the finish, which was really well done.
Yuji Nagata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
This match wasn’t really that interesting until the ending. I don’t know what it is about these two, but something just seems to be missing whenever they’re in the ring together. I don’t want to say that they don’t have chemistry at all, because by the end this was a pretty good match that the crowd got into, but before then I really just wasn’t feeling it. Nagata got the crowd into the match when he got the white eyes armbar on Nagata. He fought him off and went with the boma ye but he dodged. Nakamura eventually hit him with it, then another, but Nagata blocked a third. Nakamura came back with something resembling a boma ye, but pretty much just looked liked a regular kick and pinned him. Ranged into very good territory towards the end, but most of this was just there.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomoaki Honma
This was really good, but didn’t venture into great territory, like most matches tonight. They were on a even playing field as both guys gave a lot of offense to one another. A lot of kokeshis by Honma. Honma was scoring some nearfalls when he went for a top rope kokeshi but Okada moved. They botched a tombstone piledriver attempt but Honma acted quickly and rolled him up for a nearfall. Okada came back with a German and while still holding him, deadlifted him back to his feet and hit the rainmaker for the win. Crowd was really into this when it came to the nearfalls, and made this a really good, but not great match.
The biggest free show in a couple of years takes place tomorrow afternoon and evening on FOX, with 4 fights on Fight Pass preceding the 8 FOX fights. I’ve gone through the entire card and as usual have picked five fights in which there is value. The picks have been profitable the last several weeks after a bit of a rough patch. Especially the picks in the betting game, which is heating up. If you only pick two fights, I’d recommend my, as well as Freddy’s, weekly picks as they’ve been very profitable.
Pick 1 – Jessamyne Duke (3-2) +145 over Elizabeth Phillips (4-3) I’m betting $100 to win $145
Both ladies have struggled thus far in UFC but Duke does have a win. Duke has the obvious size advantage and should have a wrestling advantage as well, with new grappling coach Josh Barnett. One of Ronda’s Horsewomen has to win sometime, right? This should be the night.
Pick 2 – Jim Miller (24-6) -125 over Danny Castillo (17-8) I’m betting $100 to win $80
Both guys have lost 2 in a row. Miller is the favorite and for good reason. He’s one of the mainstays of the division and always has a great fight. He’s got way more experience and isn’t about to be stopped by Castillo. His relentless should wear out “Last Call”, leading to a win here for Miller.
Pick 3 – Ben Saunders (18-6-2) -120 over Kenny Robertson (15-3) I’m betting $100 to win $83.33
Two submission wins in a row for Killa Bee is about to become three. Whatever happens, I’d almost guarantee this will end in a finish but Saunders has looked spectacular since returning to the U. Saunders should break into the top 15 after taking the win here.
Pick 4 – Daron Cruickshank (16-6) -160 over James Krause (21-7) I’m betting $100 to win $62.50
I like Cruickshank, but this is more of a bet against Krause. If not for a freak injury to Jamie Varner, Krause would be on a four fight losing streak. He hasn’t looked particularly good either. I suspect an early KO win for the “Detroit Superstar”.
Pick 5 – Eddie Wineland (21-10-1) -140 over Bryan Caraway (19-7)
Wineland is a former title challenger, coming off a year plus layoff. He had a KO loss in his last fight but I think he turns things around here against Kid Lightning aka Mr Miesha Tate. This is another one that should end early as it will likely be a Caraway submission or a Wineland KO.
All told, I’m betting $500 with a chance to win $442.26
I increased my lead last week, although I personally thought that Leites won the fight with Bisping. Tough break for young Ryan. This week, I’m going with the underdog Jessamyne Duke for the reasons listed above.
Ryan’s pick:
I’m going Jessica Eye +185 over Miesha Tate. I’m surprised the line is this big and Eye is undervalued and will be an easy way to make money. Eye is better on the feet by far and if she can avoid the takedown, I can’t see Tate winning a striking battle at all. Tate really hasn’t been all that impressive since losing to Ronda Rousey in Strikeforce, winning fights made that she was supposed to win and winning a close fight where her opponent fought dumb in Sara McMann. Eye is an intelligent fighter who is looking to make a statement, and has a strong will to win. An underrated situation to point out is Tate is cornering her boyfriend, Bryan Caraway, earlier in the night, some two hours before she is supposed to fight. In my opinion, that is a dumb move as she should be relaxing and making final preparations in the locker room, but instead she’s taking 30-45 minutes out of her time and focusing it on someone else. Plus, if Caraway loses or loses badly, that will have to be on her mind. Eye wins this
Good luck, enjoy the fights and remember, don’t bet more than you can afford to lose and try to have fun with it!
Tonight’s show took place August 3, 2014 from the Osaka Bodymaker Colosseum.
First match we have on the docket tonight is Tomoaki Honma taking on Katsuyori Shibata. This was just excellent, right from the get go. You had two guys going out there and being as stiff as possible and people were totally into it. At one point Shibata chopped Honma right in the face, which did not look fun in the least bit. Honma did not win one single match here in this tournament, but it doesn’t matter. He got over big time in this tournament because he went to the limit every time he faced off against someone, and only after giving it his all did he get pinned. That’s how you book a guy to lose but still get over. Honma is one of the best babyfaces in New Japan, probably the best underdog type character in wrestling at the moment, and this performance here was a great reason why. Shibata gets the win after a GTS and the penalty kick.
Honma, with his gravelly voice, said after the match that he might not win or be a champion, but he wants to make sure people know about him in this tournament.
Kazuchika Okada followed, facing Yujiro Takahashi. This was fine, but not nearly as good as the previous match. Yujiro I wouldn’t say is terrible, but he’s clearly a notch below a lot of the New Japan Heavyweights and can be clumsy at times. He wasn’t here, as the match between him and Okada was pretty short, and was perfectly fine for what it was, though there’s not much to talk about here. Okada picks up the win with the Rainmaker lariat.
Gedo interviews for Okada after the match, saying no one is able to step up to Okada. When asked if he felt anything after facing Takahashi since he was the one who cost him the IWGP championship, Okada simply said “no” and walked away.
Tanahashi is interviewed. He says he enjoyed facing Nakamura as there are wrestlers that he always looks forward to facing, and he’s one of them. He always feels that he could do more, however. He gains something every time they face.
The big match followed. This was a very good, back and forth technical match for much of the match, then got really awesome in the closing stretches. Ranallo did a good job of detailing the background of the match, including Tanahashi’s trip to the hospital during the G1 to check on his neck. I completely forgot about that, and was a nice touch. Nakamura hit the boma ye twice on Tanahashi and was going for a third when Tanahashi tripped him and busted out the Japanese rolling clutch hold to pin him for the surprise win. I wasn’t too into this the first time it aired, but I loved it re-watching it again. This was different from the opener in that they didn’t destroy each other, but rather just had a great back and forth match. This is probably my favorite match between the two at the moment.
After the match Nakamura notes his losses to Shibata and Tanahashi. He’s still in the game, and his fight with those two will never end.
Back with Tanahashi for his reflections on the match. When coming up for the finish, he didn’t realize that it was on the anniversary of Karl Gotch’s death, so he saw it as the god of pro wrestling giving him powers. He realized that G1 was a truly important event when he was a worldwide audience gaining interest in it. He says that concentrating on the G1 for nearly a month will wear your out. Being strong mentally was the most important factor this year. He says that he will become G1 champion this year.
Another great show this week with some good analysis and great matches. Next week we’ll continue the G1 trail as Kazuchika Okada takes on Minoru Suzuki in the main event.
Welcome to our live coverage of Death Before Dishonor XIII, from Baltimore MD. Jay Lethal defends the World title in the main event. A 4 Corner Survival match for the ROH tag team titles and much, much, more. Action kicks off at 8 pm eastern and is available on iPPV at ROHWrestling.com
Will Ferrara vs “Professional Wrestling’s Last Real Man” Silas Young
Despite his higher place on the card, Young has yet to score a win over the upstart Ferrara. Back in March, Young was DQ’d in their first match. Two weeks ago on ROH TV, Dalton Castle’s boys provided distraction, allowing Ferrara to score an upset win.
Crowd solidly behind Ferrara, somewhat surprisingly. Young gets into it with some ringside fans before the match and Ferrara does a dive from the ring to fire up the crowd.
Match was back and forth, with Ferrara not wanting to take a countout loss, which proved to be his downfall. After rolling Young back into the ring, Young eventually hit his Misery finisher to get the pinfall win.
WINNER: SILAS YOUNG by pinfall
After the match, Dalton Castle’s boys confronted Young in the ring. They tried fanning him off but Young would have none of it. He set one of them up for the Misery but the other one made the save and then they rode him like a horse. The boys and Ferrara posed, which took us to an Alexander/Moose video package
Cedric Alexander w/Veda Scott vs Moose w/Stokely Hathaway
Prince Nana joined Corino and Kelly at commentary. Mixed reaction for Moose but he does get a fair bit of streamers. Story of this match is that Scott turned on Moose and Cedric went with her, splitting up the Moose, Hathaway and Scott trio. Nana originally brought Moose into ROH, which is why he’s on commentary. Prior to the heel turn, Alexander ended Moose’s unbeaten streak. Actually the finish of that match is what started the turn.
Alexander started the match by constantly trying to roll out of the ring, not wanting to engage. Eventually Moose got a hold of him and threw him around outside the ring, while Scott was screaming at the fans to stop. Distraction by Scott allowed Alexander to get the advantage when it went back in the ring.
Moose eventually took over with what Kelly called an “Okada-like” dropkick. Moose did a 540 splash off the top but was hit by a kick from Alexander on the way down in a pretty amazing spot for a guy the size of Moose. Alexander then got a two count off of a Michinoku driver.
Moose nearly took Alexander’s head off with a clothesline after Alexander slipped coming off the top rope. YAY/BOO slap sequence doesn’t quite get the reaction they were looking for so Alexander hit an enziguri. Alexander then hit the crash and burn dive on Moose but took time from the match to get into it with Nana at the commentary booth. Hathaway made the save but Alexander whipped him into the ringside barriers.
Moose hit Alexander with a powerbomb on the ring apron and Alexander rolled under the ring after being distracted by Scott. Moose pulled him out and rolled him back into the ring. Alexander was hiding a wrench that he pulled out from under the ring and used it to nail Moose and get the pin.
WINNER: CEDRIC ALEXANDER by pinfall
The Briscoes (Jay and Mark) vs Roppongi Vice (Trent Barretta/Rocky Romero)
No real backstory here. Jay lost the world title on the last PPV and is looking to get back on a roll here by teaming up with his brother and long-time tag team partner against one of New Japan’s top teams in Roppongi Vice.
Crowd doesn’t really have a favorite. Romero and Mark take turns doing the Eddie Guerrero “shimmer” early on but Romero heels on him with an eye poke, allowing RPV to get the early advantage. Mark tags out to Jay though and Barretta is isolated for the next while.
Barretta eventually tags out to Romero but the Briscoes take turns working him over for a while, including hitting consecutive senton splashes. Mark was about to do some Froggie-Bo but Barretta ran in, allowing Vice to get the advantage, isolating Mark. Romero continues doing the Guerrero thing, mocking the Briscoes with “Man Up, boys” to the camera, while doing it.
Mark nails Romero with a couple of kicks as he’s doing splashes into the corner, which allows him to tag in brother Jay. Jay takes over with some good ole fashioned clobbering on both guys but they hit double flying knees on Jay. Mark runs in to make the save and it’s chaos for a bit but we’re left with Mark and Barretta, who’s cut open over the eye.
Corino reminds us that the Maryland State Athletic Commission has a habit of stopping matches for blood. Mark puts one of Barretta’s armbands on his head as a headband and does a little Redkneck Kung Fu for a bit. More double-teaming from Roppongi Vice put a stop to that.
Romero takes out Jay Brisoce with a running knee off the apron, leaving Mark and Barretta in the ring to the YAY/BOO spot, which the crowd does react to. Briscoe gets the better of it. Superkick from Jay into a destroyer from Mark onto Barretta. Jay hits a top rope splash and a neckbreaker for two. This draws the first THIS IS AWESOME chant of the night.
Romero breaks up a Jay Driller attempt. Barretta hits a double-foot stomp off the top rope onto the back of Jay, which gets a two count for Romero. Vice set up for a Doomsday device but it’s broken up by Mark. Mark hits a Blockbuster off the ring apron onto Romero outside the ring. Jay hits a Jay driller on Barretta and Mark follows up with the Froggie-Bo elbow drop to get the win.
WINNERS: THE BRISCOES by pinfall
Adam Cole vs Dalton Castle w/his boys
Both guys get superstar reactions coming out and I have to say that they probably have the two best theme songs in ROH. Duelling Dal-ton Cas-tle/A-dam Cole chants after the ring entrances are very loud. They do adhere to the Code of Honor in Castle’s own unique way.
The first HOLY $hit chant of the night comes from a Yoga move by Castle that has to be seen to be believed. Adam Cole followed with an ADAM COLE baby and then mocked the move to a huge reaction. Five minutes in, they’ve barely locked up and the fans are going nuts.
Once they get started wrestling, Castle takes the early advantages with a series of gut-wrench suplexes, helped along by his boys fanning him. Cole takes over by pushing Castle off the top rope and following him to the outside. The boys scatter when Cole goes after them as the fans chant FAN UP.
Cole mocks Castle’s strut before putting on a rear chinlock. The boys fire up the crowd with their fanning. This draws Cole outside the ring and he goes after them. The distraction allows Castle to take control, hitting a dive through the middle roles and then rolling Cole back into the ring.
Castle gets a two off of a modified airplane spin and then goes for a bearhug. Cole powers out and goes to the top rope but Castle catches him and gets another bearhug. The announcers are putting over how strong Castle is, comparing him to Michael Elgin. Cole takes over with a neckbreaker and then a Shining Wizard, which gets a two.
Cole uses a thrust kick to the gut to set up a Figure Four but Castle makes the ropes. Castle rolls out to be attended to by his boys. Cole chases them off but again the distraction allows Castle to take control. Fans chanting PEACOCK for Castle and he hits a German Suplex with a bridge to get a two.
Castle hits a running knee on the apron to Cole and follows up with a dive off the top but Cole hits a superkick and follows with a rolling German but only gets a two. They do the YAY/BOO spot in the centre (third straight match for this) and Castle gets the better of it. Cole turns it around with a low blow and hits a superkick to the front and back of Castle’s head. He follows up with a neckbreaker to get the win.
WINNER: ADAM COLE by pinfall
They adhere to the Code after the match but that allows Silas Young to run in and attack The Boys. He chases them to the back pretty much without incident.
No DQ Match: ADAM PAGE w/Colby Corino and BJ Whitmer (on crutches) vs ACH
Whitmer says that he just had knee surgery and won’t be able to wrestle for the foreseeable future. Crowd is all over Whitmer for the whole promo, throwing him off with chants for Steve Corino. He then announces that he’s joining Kelly and Corino on commentary. In fact he tells him to “lay out” and let Whitmer show him how it’s done.
ACH attacked Page during the ring intros and came out wearing a pink shirt to mock Page. Steve Corino stayed at commentary but is pretty silent for the most part, allowing Whitmer to put Page over. ACH hit a Fosbury Flop onto Page outside the ring and pulled him back outside when Page tried to roll into the ring.
Page tried to throw ACH into a turnbuckle but it looked like a cameraman ate the move instead. Fans chanted CAMERA-MAN at that one. ACH still whipping Page all over the outside to the delight of the crowd. ACH then does a lap around the ring but the showboating allows Page to take over, rolling ACH back into the ring.
They end up outside the ring and it should be noted that the lighting is far better for this show and being outside the ring doesn’t really hurt the presentation as it usually does. ACH takes over by throwing a chair at a charging Page and they go back inside the ring. ACH goes to the top but gets knocked off by a dropkick and then a chairshot by Page.
Page hits a powerslam onto the chair for a two and then kicks ACH back outside the ring. Fans are chanting for tables. Page teases pulling out a table but stops, drawing boos. This allows ACH to take control and he obliges the fans by pulling the table out from under the ring. Setting up the table allows Page time to recover though.
Page pulls a ladder out from under the ring and slides it into the ring. ACH then pulls out Indian workout clubs and beats on Page with one. ACH misses a twisting flying elbow from the top and Page suplexes him onto the ladder, which is draped on the turnbuckle. That only gets a two count.
Funny spot as Kevin Kelly mentions that Page is jealous because ACH got a match with Alberto Del Rio and Corino says “how bout Alberto El Patron? Saved ya…”. Both guys have slowed down quite a bit, selling the beating they’re both getting. ACH then suplexes Page, shoulder first, into the ladder, drawing a “HOLY $HIT!” chant.
ACH hits a field goal kick off of the apron onto Page, who’s on the floor by the table that ACH set up earlier. Back in the ring, ACH hits a brainbuster onto the chair but that only gets a two. Page turns things around with a DDT out of nowhere that gets a two.
Page rolled out of the ring and ACH hit a 450 splash from the ring apron onto the floor. Page actually got back into the ring first after that but ACH went to the top. This brought out Colby Corino to try and knock ACH off the top. Whitmer slid his crutch into the ring and Page used it on ACH. Page then hit the Rite of Passage off of the apron through the table outside the ring. Colby then rolled them both back into the ring and Page on top of ACH for the pin.
WINNER: ADAM PAGE by pinfall
This match wouldn’t be everyone’s tastes but for me personally, I liked it more than just about everything I’ve seen so far in the G1 tourney (and I haven’t seen a lot of the matches).
4 Corners Survival Match for the ROH World Tag Team Titles The Kingdom (Michael Bennett/Matt Taven) w/Maria Kanellis vs War Machine (Hanson/Rowe) vs ReDRagon (Bobby Fish/Kyle O’Reillly) vs ROH World Tag Team Champions The Addiction (“The Almighty” Christopher Daniels/Kazarian)
Adam Cole comes out at the start to join the commentary team. Cole says that he was left out of the Kingdom’s strategy meeting earlier tonight, furthering that break-up angle. He says that he hasn’t even spoken to them all night.
ReDRagon gets the first extended advantage, double-teaming Matt Taven. Bennett stops that with a spear on O’Reilly, knocking him outside the ring. Taven ends up tagging out to Kazarian. Rowe gets a blind tag, while O’Reilly has Daniels on his shoulder and Rowe picks up both of them and slams them down in a nice spot.
War Machine uses double-teams moves on the champs for the next few minutes, including a dropkick by Rowe, followed by a bronco buster by Hanson. Fish ends up getting a blind tag in. The champions use some double-teaming of their own to get the advantage over Fish.
Consecutive springboard legdrops by the champs lead to a two count from Kazarian on Fish. Fish blocks a suplex attempt by Daniels and gets one of his own but Daniels tags in Bennett. Fish gets isolated in the Kingdom’s corner. Bennett hits a spinebuster on Fish but Taven misses a frog splash. Fish about to tag in O’Reilly but he’s knocked off the apron by Kazarian.
Fish ends up tagging in Rowe, who’s a house of fire on the Kingdom. This ends up leading to everyone getting involved. Wild exchanges where everyone takes turns hitting double teams on everyone else. Ends up with Taven all by himself inside the ring and takes out everyone with a dive outside the ring. This sets up a Hanson cannonball from the top that takes out everyone, drawing another HOLY $hit chant.
Back in the ring, the Kingdom hit a double superkick onto Rowe, followed by splash from Taven but that only gets a two. This spurs Cole to leave commentary but instead of helping his teammates, he heads to the back.
Chasing the Dragon by ReDRagon onto Rowe only gets a two and everyone’s in the ring again. Ends up with War Machine standing tall in the centre after taking out all three other teams. War Machine hit the Path of Resistance, setting up a powerslam by Rowe into a splash by Rowe. Daniels then takes out both War Machine members with belt shots and goes after Maria but he’s thwarted.
Kingdom get a near fall after a double-team on O’Reilly. Fish makes the save after a Hail Mary attempt. Double-team by ReDRagon onto Taven gets a near fall but it’s broken up by Daniels. Celebrity Rehab by the champs onto Bobby Fish, completely with a tights pull by Kazarian gets the win.
WINNERS AND STILL ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: THE ADDICTION by pinfall
Main Event for the ROH World Heavyweight Championship “Mr ROH” Roderick Strong vs World Champion Jay Lethal w/Truth Martini, Donovan Dijak & J Diesel
Nigel McGuinness joins the commentary booth for the main event. Lethal mentioned in the pre-match video package that no ROH World champion has ever lost his first title defence. They do adhere to the Code of Honor without incident to start.
They start out with a nice grappling exchange with neither guy getting the advantage. Test of strength follows and Roddy ends up getting the better out of it, including a pinfall attempt. They’re working a very slow pace so this should be a long one. They did work a 30 minute draw on TV a couple of months ago.
Fans getting on J Diesel with the Baby-tista chants. Duelling Lets Go Roddy/Lets Go Lethal chants early on as well. Lethal drops hard forearms onto Strong for a series of one counts in a unique spot. This starts up LE-THAL SUCKS (or possibly ROCKS) to the New Day Sucks cadence. Lethal tries an upside down surfboard to weaken Strong’s knees and back but Strong makes the ropes.
Strong ends up with the advantage and hits a butterfly suplex but is selling the back and knees from the earlier submission attempt. They end up outside the ring with Strong in control and he hits a series of Ric Flair chops on Lethal against one of the ring barriers. He follows up by throwing Lethal in the air and dropping him onto one of the barriers throat first.
Strong breaks out a Tully Blanchard slingshot suplex for a two count. Strong works over the back of Lethal with a couple of whacky submission moves but Lethal hits an enziguri out of nowhere to take control. Three straight bodyslams in the center of the ring by Lethal and he follows up by dropping a forearm but doesn’t cover. Somewhere in this, Strong was cut on the forehead, likely hardway.
Lethal then hits 13 punches in the corner, which the fans count along with but Strong leaps out of it and takes Lethal down with a clothesline, followed by a side suplex. Lethal tried to escape but Strong grabs him on the way out and stretched him out over the ropes before he had to break it up. Lethal finally does roll out and then snaps Strong’s necks on the ropes when he tries to follow.
Lethal with a modified sleeper on Strong but Strong fights out of it. Lethal goes for a Jay Driller but Strong powers out with a back body drop. Strong goes for the double gut buster but misses. Lethal Combination from Lethal only gets a two as a follow-up.
Strong rolls out but Dijak knocks him down with a cheap shot, which the ref missed. Strong back in the ring and tries a sunset flip off the ropes but Lethal blocks it and throws him back outside. Dijak goes after Strong again but Nigel is trying to get the ref’s attention. They end up back in the ring with Lethal in control and he puts on a rear chin luck.
Strong takes control with a series of chops in the corner onto Lethal and hits a running power slam for a two count. Strong with another submission attempt which seems almost an attempt as resting for the next series of moves. Lethal fights out but eats a sweet dropkick from Strong, which gets a two count.
Crowd really starting to get behind Strong but they get quiet when Strong goes for another submission, a body scissors. Lethal ends up slipping out and a submission attempts of his but they quickly end up back on their feet. Nice insight from Nigel when he explains that often when someone goes for a two, they don’t think they’re going win but they’re just trying to make their opponent expend some energy.
Strong ends up outside the ring and again Dijak interferes but it’s missed again by the ref. Lethal follows him out and goes for a bodyslam but Strong counters with a DDT onto the matt outsde the ring.
Back in the ring and Strong hits a dropkick for a two. Lethal rolls out of the ring this time. Strong follows him out and they get into a chopping match. Strong ends up pushing Lethal head-first into one of the barricades. Strong then throws Lethal back in to break up the 20 count. Strong about to hit a running charge but Dijak holds his leg from the outside, again missed by the ref. He does break free and makes the charge but Lethal got his feet up.
Again Lethal tosses Strong outside the ring and then goes for the running dive but Strong steps out of the way and Lethal flies into the barrier. Strong then takes out Lethal, Dijak and Diesel with a dive over the top. Strong to his feet first and tries to whip Lethal into a barrier but Lethal reverses. He goes into the ring to break up the 20 count but that allows Strong to recover.
Strong hits the double-knee gutbuster in the ring for a near three. Strong gets another two off of a vertical suplex. Strong sets Lethal up on the turnbuckles but Lethal fights him off. Strong back on him and tries for a superplex but blocked by Lethal. Lethal knocks him off again. Lethal hits a Tornado DDT off the top and rolls into a guillotine attempt but Strong gets out.
Lethal brings Strong to the mat by trying to choke him out with wrist tape but the ref notices and makes him break. Lethal snaps Strong’s neck in the ropes again and he rolls outside. Lethal follows and whips Strong into the barricade. Lethal then stalking Strong around ringside, hitting him with chops the whole way. Strong answers with one of his own, allowing him to roll back in the ring.
Lethal gets Strong outside the ring and hits the Trifecta (three straight dives outside the ring) and Martini does a victory lap. Both guys are down outside the ring. Both take until the count hits 19 before coming into the ring after that. Lethal hits a belly to back suplex for a two and then goes for a cross-face. Strong makes the ropes to break it up.
Lethal with a series of Ric Flair chops in the corners and Nigel points out this his chest is starting to blister up from all the chops. In fact it looks like he might even be bleeding on the chest. Strong eventually starts no-selling the chops and Lethal hits harder and faster, almost Kobashi-style. This fires up Strong and he does the same, knocking Lethal to the canvas after a rapid fire sequence.
Strong back body-drops Lethal outside the ring over the top rope. Lethal takes most of the 20 count to get back in. Lethal goes for the Lethal Injection but Strong counters with a Urinage. Strong with a Walls of Jericho in the centre and then into the Boston Crap. Lethal heavily teasing a tap before finally making the ropes.
Strong follows up with more chops in the corner. At this point, it looks like Strong may have lost 15 lbs since the match started. Strong sets him up in the corner again, setting up for a Superplex. Lethal knocks him off the turnbuckles again. Lethal with the Hail to the King elbowdrop but only gets a two. Lethal Combination into a Koji Clutch by Lethal. Strong rolls him over and gets a two count, forcing Lethal to release the hold.
Lethal picks up the Book of Truth and tries to use it but Strong blocks it. Strong with a double gut buster attempt Lethal grabs the book and nails Strong with it for an apparent 3 but Strong kicks out. Fans thought that was a finish.
Match has to be getting close to an hour now, not sure if there’s a time limit. Strong drops Lethal back-first onto the apron and then covers him for a near-three. Another THIS IS AWESOME chant, which is kind of redundant at this point. Lethal tries the Lethal Injection but Strong back out of the way and charges Lethal. Lethal sees that and nails him with a hard superkick.
Lethal ends up on the turnbuckles and again Strong sets up for a Superplex, hitting it this time. Backbreak by Strong, followed by a Sick Kick and Lethal kicks out. That felt like it shold’ve been the finish but the fans going nuts at this point. Nigel audibly cheering on Strong at this point. Strong tries for two straight suplexes. Lethal with a Lethal Injection but Strong kicks out. Lethal screaming at the ref and falls to the mat. Both guys down and Martini is losing it at ringside.
Lethal to his feet first and acting like he’s going to be sick. Strong to his feet as well and they’re trading chops and punches. Both guys down from simultaneous shots. Strong hits two jumping knees to Lethal’s head. Lethal hits a superkick and the bell rings. Strong hits a Sick kick but the ref is talking to the timekeeper. Fans chanting FIVE MORE MINUTES but Bobby Cruz announces that it’s a time limit draw.
Fans chanting THANK YOU BOTH now as Martini comes in to attend to Lethal. MATCH OF THE YEAR chants start up and it very well may be. Both guys are down with refs attending to the them as the show closes.
NO WINNER – MATCH IS A 60 MINUTE DRAW
Kelly closes the show by calling it the greatest match in ROH history. Hard to argue.
