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  • THURS UPDATE: Daniel Bryan vows return, Wrestemania week, Storm in TNA, Cima in WWE, Huge weekend

    By dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>Dave Meltzer

    We’re looking for reports on tonight’s TNA tapings in Orlando as well as tonight’s NXT show in Fort Pierce, FL at dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>Dave Meltzerdave@wrestlingobserver.com”>.

    We’ll be doing weekend polls on tomorrow night’s ROH iPPV show in Baltimore, Saturday night’s UFC show in Chicago and we’ll be doing polls on the Friday, Sunday and Wednesday G-1 shows since they are the major noes this week at dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>Dave Meltzerdave@wrestlingobserver.com”>

    Smackdown tonight on Syfy:

    Dean Ambrose vs. Sheamus

    Neville vs. Adam Rose

    Rusev vs. Kevin Owens

    Bella Twins vs. Naomi & Sasha Banks

    Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro non-title

    New Japan has a G-1 show tomorrow morning from Kyoto at 5:30 a.m. Eastern on New Japan World with A block matches:

    Kota Ibushi vs. Doc Gallows

    Bad Luck Fale vs. Togi Makabe

    A.J. Styles vs. Toru Yano

    Tetsuya Naito vs. Katsuyori Shibata

    Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan

    For tomorrow night, we’ll be looking for reports from the TNA tapings in Orlando, the WWE house show in Bakersfield and the GFW tapings in Las Vegas.  There is also a big PWG show in Reseda, CA headlined by the Young Bucks vs. Jack Evans & Angelico.

    There will be a live iPPV at www.rohwrestling.com on Friday night from the William J. Myers Pavilion in Baltimore

    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 has a 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 

    UFC on FOX 16

    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 for the No. 1 contender position

    T.J. Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao for the bantamweight title

    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 has 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.

    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

    Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show in the history of the site are at  Sign up here for as low as $9.99 per month!

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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.

    Also in this week’s issue:

    –62nd anniversary of pro wrestling at Arena Puebla.

    –What pro wrestling star appeared in the Latin American version of ESPN The Body magazine

    –Notes on All Japan’s next title bouts

    –Pro Wrestling NOAH stars jr. tournament

    –A look at a near riot at a pro wrestling show in Japan with details on it

    –Lots of New Japan business talk

    –Changes being made by New Japan

    –How New Japan continues to try and copy WWE

    –Who New Japan considers its business partners

    –Plans for all three New Japan Sumo Hall shows in August, as well as the annual King of Pro Wrestling show

    –Notes on the first major New Japan shows after G-1

    –Big Japan runs its biggest event of the year

    –Notes on the death of wrestling historian Fred Hornby

    –Coverage of Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore show

    –Notes on the GFW TV tapings this week

    –Notes on GFW going to the U.K.

    –Notes on PWG this week

    –Wrestling stars in TV movie roles

    –The retirement of Serena Deeb and her farewell as well as career highlights

    –What TV show did a major promotion get invited to be on and why did they decide against it

    –Why did ROH send a cease and desist latter to GFW

    –A look at the ROH show in Las Vegas this past week as well as a possible future direction of Austin Aries

    –Notes on the next ROH TV tapings and schedule

    –Update on Kurt Angle’s condition

    –Story behind MVP leaving TNA and all BDC footage being taken down due to legal issues with Lucha Underground

    –How it all went down

    –How TNA is changing its contracts

    –Notes on TNA’s Bound for Glory PPV

    –Notes on TNA production

    –Why the Stitch Duran story is such a big deal

    –Duran runs through what happened

    –UFC 189 PPV notes

    –Thoughts on UFC 190 on PPV and wide variety of estimates

    –A look at plans for UFC to run AT&T Stadium in Dallas

    –Why UFC won’t run a Friday night PPV

    –How Pacquiao did when he headlined Texas Stadium

    –Potential matches for later this year

    –A look at the fourth quarter for UFC this year

    –Notes on Ronda Rousey winning ESPY awards

    –More on Rousey and Mayweather and story behind the diss

    –UFC 191 matches

    –UFC 192 main event

    –More on Fedor in UFC

    –Aldo threatens to sue Chael Sonnen

    –Another drug test failure

    –Mike Swick retires

    –Cerrone accuses Dos Anjos of PEDs

    –Coverage of this past week’s Bellator show and who to watch for from the show

    –Tito Ortiz talks his future 

    If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today.  With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.

    New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.

    Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues

    THURSDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

    • WWE officially announced a 12 cents per share dividend, which they have been paying for some time.  But it was officially announced for this quarter earlier today.
    • We’ll have an interview with Stitch Duran up on the site today regarding what happened this past week as well as talking about his role as a cut man and fights that would have ended differently that went down in history due to the work of cut men.  
    • Daniel Bryan has been doing New York media promoting his book.  He’s still been vague about his injuries and said that there are people who believe he won’t come back, but he insists he will come back, doesn’t know when, but is just awaiting a doctor to give him clearance.  He also noted that Steve Austin has reached out to him and given him advice on how to adjust his style to have more career longevity.
    • They are expected to officially announce the October Hell in a Cell PPV for the Staples Center in Los Angeles at Saturday night’s house show.  The PPV date is 10/25.
    • The WWN Live Experience has announced its schedule for WrestleMania weekend.  The location is not announced but these are the plans:

    Friday April 1

    Evolve at 4 p.m.

    Viva La Lucha at 8 p.m. ‘

    Kaiju Big Battel at midnight

    Saturday April 2

    Evolve at Noon 

    Shimmer at 4 p.m.

    WWN Supershow at 8 p.m.

    Wrap up party at midnight   

    • Dasha Fuentes has started doing interviews on the NXT broadcast team.  She was training originally to wrestle but had been switched to the announcing side after an injury.
    • Former Team Alpha Male coach Duane Ludwig said that T.J. Dillashaw is the only member of the team who actually wants to be a champion in an interview on The Fight Club on Tuesday, saying he’s the hardest and most focused trainer on the team.  He said Dillashaw and Danny Castillo are the hardest trainers but Castillo overtrains. 
    • After all the heat it was getting after the firing of Stitch Duran by UFC, Reebok tweeted yesterday:  “UFC Fans.  We have no input on decisions of UFC employment or fighter compensation.  Our focus is providing the best gear for fighters and fans.”
    • James Storm (and I presume Austin Aries as well) are in Orlando working the TNA tapings even though their contracts expired several weeks ago, working on a per-match basis.
    • Sheamus made some news yesterday as a passenger on a flight that had to make an emergency landing.  He was one of 159 passengers on a flight from Denver to Los Angeles which was forced to land in Grand Junction, CO when a passenger became ill.  Oxygen masks were deployed after a medical event caused a chain reaction of passengers to feel sick and lightheaded.
    • Reporter Jeremy Botter last night said that Carlos Condit, and not Johny Hendricks, would be getting the next shot at welterweight champion Robbie Lawler.  Hendricks instead looks to be facing Tyron Woodley.
    • Fox Sports schedule for UFC this weekend.
    • The weigh-ins are tomorrow at 5 p.m. Eastern on FS 1 with Ariel Helwani, Daniel Cormier, Brian Stann, Anthony Pettis and Karyn Bryant.
    • A replay of Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler II will air at 6 p.m. tomorrow on FS 1
    • On Saturday night after the live show ends on FOX, there will be a post-game show on FS 1
    • FS 2 will be doing a show on Ronda Rousey’s book tour, plus Beneil Dariush’s lief story at 5 p.m. Eastern on Sunday on FS 2
    • Countdown to UFC 190, Rousey vs. Correia will air on Monday night at 9 p.m. on FS 1
    • Today would have been the 36th birthday of Perro Aguayo Jr., who passed away in the ring in Tijuana on 3/21.  
    • Regarding a question last night on Observer radio on Cima’s WWE tryout.  In early 2009, Cima, using a name like Ciba, wrestled Jamie Noble in a dark match.  He was in Southern California at the time scouting and doing an indy show.  He made contact with WWE and did a dark match at a taping.  Nothing was ever going to come of it as he was the key guy with Dragon Gate.   (thanks to Jae Church)
    • Bill Simmons, who appeared on Raw recently, signed a multi-year exclusive deal with HBO after ESPN and he split up.  There was at least talk of Simmons to Yahoo but I don’t think it ever get to the serious point.
    • Maxdome, which distributes WWE PPVs in Germany, will be airing UFC 190 as a PPV in that market for $14.99 Euro according to their Facebook page.  The show will have exclusive German language commentary, which isn’t the case with Fight Pass, which carries the show in Germany with English commentary. (thanks to Sebastian Essner)
    • Amy Schumer talks her sex scene with John Cena
    • Acclaim Pro Wrestling on 9/12 in Ottawa at 379 Waverly St.
    • Renegade Wrestling Alliance on 9/20 in Burlington, ONT at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Conference Centre featuring an old school Battle Royal.
    • On last night’s Lucha Underground they pushed that Ultima Lucha will be two weeks, airing over the next two Wednesdays, featuring the season finale matches.
    • The King of the Mountain match from the Slammiversary PPV aired last night on Impact as a filler for what was supposed to be a Beatdown Clan segment that had to be pulled for legal reasons due to Hernandez appearing.
    • CWE tomorrow at 3 p.m. at the Rock Garden Campground in Richer, Manitoba for a free show for registered campground guests.
    • Sam Shaw is now taking bookings at showbis@aol.com based out of Jacksonville.  Others who can be booked through Bill Behrens include Moose (Atlanta), Christopher Daniels (Los Angeles), Frankie Kazarian (Los Angeles), A.J. Styles (Atlanta), Matt Sydal (Tampa), Drew Galloway (Tampa), James Storm (Nashville), Eric Young (Nashville), Abyss (Cincinnati), Devon (Orlando), Jay Lethal (Tampa, can only take dates outside the U.S.) and many more.
    • Jake Roberts will be doing talk shows to the following locations in a few weeks:

    8/2 in Hamilton, ONT at Club Asinthre

    8/3 in Toronto at the Absolute Comedy Club with Jim Duggan as a guest

    8/4 in Cornwall, ONT at Lai Maison Tavern with Jim Duggan as a guest

    8/5 in Ottawa at Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Club

    8/6 in Ottawa at Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Club

    8/7 in Barry’s Bay at the Paul J. Kakabuski Center

    8/8 in Kingston, ONT at the Royal Canadian Legion 560

    8/11 in Westport, ONT at The Cove Country Inn

    • NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling on 8/8 in Kingsport, TN at the Civic Auditorium featuring Matt Sydal, Davey Richards, Rob Conway, Cedric Alexander and Angelina Love.  Jason Kincaid vs. Sydal for the Southeastern title is the main event.  Richards faces Jordan Kage for the Smoky Mountain TV title.
    • Steel City Pro Wrestling on 8/23 in Hamilton, ONT at 242 James Street.
    • Smash Wrestling results from Sunday in Toronto before the PPV:  Brent Banks b Kevin Bennett, Candice LaRae b Vanessa Kraven, Tyson Dux b Takaaki Watanabe, Overdogs b Drew Gulak & Biff Busick, Super Smash Brothers b Goat Brigade in a tables match, Matt Cross b Tarik in an I Quit match, Chris Hero b Rich Swann, Johnny Gargano b Scotty O’Shea to retain the title’
    • CMLL is planning on continuing to stream its Monday night shows at Arena Puebla going forward.
    • Paul Lazenby has a front row ticket to tomorrow night’s GFW show in Las Vegas but will be unable to attend.  If anyone is interested you can contact him at lazenby.paul@gmail.com
    • Evolve on 8/15 in Woodside, Queens, NY at La Boom

    Timothy Thatcher vs. Zack Sabre Jr. in an Evolve title match

    Johnny Gargano vs. Ethan Page

    Rich Swann vs. Drew Gulak

    Chris Hero vs. Mike Bailey

    Trent Baretta vs Rey Hours

    Biff Busick vs. Tracy Williams 

    • Ric Flair is coming to Fall River, MA on 7/31 at the PAL Hall as part of a show that also includes Brutal Bob Evans, Michael Bennett, Matt Taven and Biff Busick.
    • CZW has an iPPV on 8/8 in Voorhees, NJ at Flyers Skate Zone headlined by Matt Tremont vs. Pepper Parks.
    • Former pro boxer Lorenzo Hood debuts with Bellator against Raphael Butler on the 8/28 show in Temecula, CA, which is the show headlined by Melvin Guillard vs. Brandon Girtz.
    • Global Proving Ground MMA on 7/25 in Pennsauken, NJ at the Event Center.
    • Magic Mike XXL with Kevin Nash was No. 2 at the Australian box office this past weekend (thanks to James Stanios)   
    • Nazareno Malegarie vs. Joaquin Silva was announced for the 9/5 UFC show in Las Vegas.  Both lost in the semfinals of TUF Brazil.  Frankie Edgar has agreed to fight on the card, but doesn’t have an opponent. 
    • Kevin Eck, who knows Patrick Clark personally, talks about his elimination from Tough Enough
    • Brian Fritz interviewed Patrick Clark
    • A trailer for the new James Bond movie with Batista
    • A story on Ronda Rousey

    ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)

    1989 – The Killer beat Enrique Vera in Mexico City to win the UWA jr. heavyweight title

    1999 – Takao Omori & Yoshihiro Takayama beat Johnny Ace & Bart Gunn in Sendai to win the All Japan world tag titles 

  • On this day in pro wrestling history (July 23): WWF War To Settle The Score, Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk Great American Bash ’89 match

    By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

    1933 – In Waterloo, Iowa; Bronko Nagurski beat George Vassell.

    1970 – Sputnik Monroe and Tommy Gilbert defeated Ron and Don Wright for the Tennessee Tag Team Title in Chattanooga, Tennessee; In Kansas City; Rufus R. Jones & Luis Martinez defeated Scandor Akbar & Oki Shikina, Roger Kirby fought Danny Little Bear to a no contest and in a Texas Death Match; Bob Geigel defeated Harley Race

    1971 – In Winnipeg; Nick Bockwinkel beat Hercules Cortez dq. (Driving back to Minneapolis after this match, Cortez was killed in a car accident. At the time, Cortez was half of the AWA tag team champions). Also, Larry Hennig & Lars Anderson beat Red Bastien & Bull Bullinski, Vivian Vachon beat Kay Noble, Billy Robinson beat Big K and Don Muraco beat Moose Morowski.

    1974 – The Destroyer defeated Dick The Bruiser to win the WWA World Title in Los Angeles, Ca.

    1976 – Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Duncum beat Dick the Bruiser & The Crusher to win the AWA tag team title in Chicago, Illinois at the International Amphitheatre. Also on the card, AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Wilbur Snyder, Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Mad Dog Vachon & Baron Von Raschke via dq, Ox Baker beat Jos LeDuc and Pepper Gomez beat Buddy Wolff

    1977 – Mr. Wrestling II defeated Dick Slater to win the Georgia Title in Atlanta, Georgia.

    1979 – In Fort Worth, Texas; NWA World Champion Harley Race beat Kevin Von Erich, then wrestled David Von Erich to a draw.

    1983 – In Chicago, Illinois at the UIC Pavilion; AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Wahoo McDaniel, Mad Dog Vachon & Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Jerry Blackwell & Ken Patera & Sheik Adnan, Dick the Bruiser beat Blackjack Lanza, Mr. Saito beat Buck Zumhofe, David Shults beat Baron Von Raschke (sub Rick Martel) and Bill White drew Brad Rheingans.

    1984 – At the MTV special, “War to Settle the Score”, Wendi Richter defeated The Fabulous Moolah to win the WWF Women’s Title in Madison Square Garden. Also, WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan defeated Greg Valentine; In Fort Worth, Texas; NWA World Champion Ric Flair defeated Gino Hernandez to retain the title.

    1989 – Great American Bash PPV was held in Baltimore, Maryland headlined by Ric Flair defeating Terry Funk to retain the NWA World Title. Also, NWA Television Champion Sting defeated The Great Muta and NWA United States Champion Lex Luger defeated Ricky Steamboat via DQ.

    2000 – Perry Saturn defeated Eddie Guerrero to win the WWF European Title in Dallas, Texas and The Rock defeated Chris Benoit to retain the WWE World Title. 

  • NJPW G1 Climax 25 Night 2 results (July 23): Shizuoka: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Karl Anderson

    by Bryan Rose, WrestlingObserver.com

    Today’s show, held in Shizuoka at the Twin Messe Shizuoka, is a fixed camera show without commentary.

    Jushin Liger and Tiger Mask vs. Jay White and Yohei Komatsu

    Basic, but well worked match. Young lions had the veterans in a double submission at one point but neither tapped. Tiger Mask had White in his chickenwing submission but Komatsu broke it up. Tiger Mask isolates White again then drops him with the tiger driver for the win.

    Kota Ibushi, Togi Makabe and Captain New Japan vs.  Bad Luck Fale, Cody Hall and Doc Gallows

    Togi Makabe pinned Cody Hall with the King Kong knee drop. This was rather short and was mostly all action. A lot of brawling around the ring. Ibushi did all of his usual good offense including doing his moonsault off the middle rope to the floor.

    Toru Yano and Yoshi-Hashi vs. AJ Styles and Tama Tonga

    Another short match, but turned into a pretty good back and forth. Yoshi-Hashi and Tama Tonga are two of the more underrated workers in New Japan right now. YH held his own against Styles and looked good. Tonga went to spear Yano but he moved aside and shoved him into Styles, then Yano rolled up Tonga for the flash three count.

    Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Natio and Mascara Dorada vs. Katsuyori Shibata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Ryusuke Taguchi

    This was also pretty good. Mascara Dorada looked excellent whenever he was in, doing a step up arm drag off the top rope followed by a huge tope con hilo. Tanahashi looked really good here as well. Tenzan did not, moving really slow and sluggish. Taguchi ended up pinning Dorada with a running hip attack. 

    Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomohiro Ishii

    This was a good back and forth brawl. Ishii held his own here and just pelted Kojima with everything you’d see in a Ishii match – stiff offense, headbutts, lariats and the like while Kojima did his usual comeback routine. Kojima took him out with a lariat at one point and after a while picked him up but he fired back with a vicious headbutt, a sliding D and a brainbuster to win the match. Very good, but not great.  

    Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi

    This was decent, but nothing spectacular. The crowd wasn’t into it at all. A lot of the match was Yujiro on offense, which is fine, but wasn’t particularly exciting. Just missed something that made it stood out or even be that interesting. Thing with these matches is that the fixed camera hurts it a bit and the crowd’s been largely silent tonight. Eventually Goto made his comeback, hit the neckbreaker on the knee and pinned Yujiro after the shouten kai.

    Tomoaki Honma vs. Yuji Nagata

    The crowd woke up for this one, thankfully. Great match, easily the best of the night so far. Lots of great nearfalls from Honma. Everything just looked crisp and devastating, not to mention the two gel well together. Honma always gets a good reaction when on offense. Problem is, he kept missing kokeshi headbutts from the top rope, and that was his downfall. Nagata laid him out with a HUGE backdrop driver for a near fall. That looked crazy as Honma looked like he landed right on his neck. Nagata then pinned him with another, this time with a bridge. 

    Michael Elgin vs. Kazuchika Okada 

    Great match. Elgin’s style fits perfectly here and looked really good in everything he did, and came off as a powerful, athletic guy against Okada. He was able to get over here with not the best of crowds tonight, so more matches like this and he should be fine. One highlight was Elgin lifting up Okada from the apron, deadlifting him a la Cesaro, then turning it into a falcon arrow on impact for a nearfall. Okada came back and hit the tombstone after Elgin tried to counter, then hit the Rainmaker.

    Karl Anderson vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 

    Crowd went back to being largely dead for this. Nakamura kicked out of two stun guns, including one from the top rope. Nakamura went for the boma ye and hit it, then was going for another after a nearfall but Anderson dodged and hit another gun stun for the win in an upset. Good match, but not as good as the previous two matches and the crowd wasn’t as into it as other matches. 

    Anderson cut a promo in Japanese after the match mentioning his loss at the G1 finals in 2012 and essentially promised victory this year. 

  • Jeff Jarrett talks tomorrow’s GFW first TV taping

    By Marc Madison

    Former TNA World Heavyweight and owner of Global Force Wrestling, Jeff Jarrett recently took some time to participate in an interview with Marc Madison of The News Hub. Jarrett revealed how growing up in the industry impacted him, the Bullet Club and the emergence of GFW. To read excerpts of the interview please read below and to read the interview in its entirety please click here:

    On growing up in the wrestling industry:

    I have often thought and I’ve been told this by numerous people that I respect in the business that have been around a long time. When you’re the son of a promoter and the son of a wrestler, it’s the best thing that could ever happen to them and it’s also the worst thing that could ever happen to them all at the same time. You have to take the good with the bad because being the son of a wrestler and a promoter and being the grandson of a promoter on his stepmother’s side, it’s a wrestling family.

    Discussing the differences between the nWo in comparison to the Bullet Club:

    Those guys, the Young Bucks, Doc and Karl have already been part of our Grand Slam Tour shows the first seven that we’ve had. The in ring ability of the Bullet Club versus the in ring ability of the nWo and I think those guys (nWo) would be the first to tell you is that without question would say the Bullet Club is off the charts bell to bell more talented. They organically came out from Fergal DeVitt and Karl Anderson and those guys came up through the hard way in the New Japan dojo. They worked their butts off, match after match, tour after tour. The timing was right also as it all exploded all at once. It is a completely different set of circumstances then the nWo when it was real life set of circumstances when Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, arguably two of the biggest four or five guys in the WWF at the time defected and went south and were taking over. That was as real as it gets. But when you talk about competitive and Global Force Wrestling, we are going to bring that type of competition to the forefront.

    Discussing his vision and future with GFW:

    The vision is fundamentally, very different. It’s also because of the timing of things. I named the company April 7th, 2014 and went directly and worked to form alliances with major promotions in Japan, Mexico and independent promotions in South Africa, Europe and Australia and really dialed in and the NEX GEN title was about giving guys opportunity which quite frankly are too many to name. Just in Lake County (Ohio) last weekend at the Grand Slam event, the main event of that show was Showtime Eric Young, a guy who is under contract with TNA wrestling has a serious issue in his head that I, a non-contracted TNA talent left his promotion with a belt and we invited him on the tour and out of that he faced Johnny Gargano, a local guy who is a phenomenal talent just a tremendous talent wrestling in his home promotion right there in Cleveland, AIW and that was the main event. That is a part of what we are doing when we are heading to Vegas.

    We are going have Kushida the top Junior in the world out of New Japan Pro Wrestling competing for us, we are going to have Bobby Roode, the best wrestler in TNA wrestling, we are going to have Chris Mordetzky, we are going to have Nick Aldis, we are going to have Micki James who is a multi-time women’s champion. Sanada, he is a (Great) Muta protégé. So all of these different talents jigsaw, wrestling under one umbrella and that’s a big part of the vision. Then that’s the bell to bell vision and then you want to take outside of that all you have to do is go to @GFWwrestling our Youtube channel or any of our social media platforms and the word that I use is authentic…

  • Dan Spivey, Billy Jack Haynes and Bryan Clarke have been going back-and-forth on social media

    Dan Spivey, Billy Jack Haynes and Bryan Clarke went at it on Facebook over the last day. 

    First one is from Dan Spivey at 10:00 a.m. PST yesterday

    You know I can’t keep my opinion to myself…and Billy Jack has once again put up a post which is bullshit. He talks about breaking into the business and being trained by Stu Hart. I can say that Stu Hart was one tough SOB and put his trainees, including his son’s thru hell! So talk about where concussions could have started, but you can’t sue Stu Hart, God rest his soul. Billy talks about his pill addiction and quitting the WWE because of that. Well I remember it as Billy taking to many pills on a flight and they had to make an emergency landing in Charlotte because he overdosed, and I believe Vince fired him because of it. Again Vince’s fault or Billy’s? Talk about putting everyone on the flight in harm’s way!

    Billy constantly talks about Dynamite Kids and how he broke his back, literally for WWF/E. We all did Billy, because we loved the business and even more the pay day. Dynamite had a choice not to wrestle in WrestleMania 3, but back then in the wrestling business we got paid off the house (arena attendance) and the PPV buys, we all knew to be a part of WrestleMania meant a HUGE pay day. So did guys work hurt? Sure they did because there was no way they were going to miss out on that pay day! It wasn’t Vince demanding anyone to work. Also with Dynamite, again I spoke to his brother and Dynamite has no idea about this lawsuit and wants nothing to do with it. In fact Vince wanted to send him money, but Tommy refused as it would mess up his medical insurance in England. So because of you, Billy and your lawyers telling Vince’s lawyers that Dynamite is involved in the law suit, Vince’s lawyers are counter suing , which puts Dynamite in a worse position
    – so who’s at fault now? AND Lex Luger, spoke with him the other day and he also has no idea about the lawsuit and wants nothing to do with it, and among the walking dead, as you claim, Lex is not among the walking dead!

    Now onto the Hart family – Davey Boy, trust me Vince did not introduce him to his own doctors, no way. And no way did Vince introduce Davey to liquid morphine. As any good addict, as Davey Boy was, he found his own drugs and in good supply. Is it sad that Davey Boy passed away of a drug over dose? It sure is, and let’s hope his good attributes as a wrestler lives on in his son Harry, who is doing very well in Japan and whom I am in touch with. A good kid, and a good worker.

    Bret Hart and his brutal concussion, yes he received it from Goldberg, but not in 2001, Bret wasn’t wrestling at that time. It was in 1999 when Bret was with WCW. So where is Ted Turner in all of this, a man who did nothing for the business but use it as a tax write off. Anyway, the Hart Family. Jim Neidhart, a man who has been in and out of the WWE Rehab program for 6 years! Fact. He has never taken it seriously. Fact. He stole pain pills from a neighbor – look it up it was all over the news – but then again I guess we can all use the memory loss card on that one.

    Owen Hart…a very sad situation, one that haunts all of us. All I will say is that WWE did pay 18 million dollars, but then went after Lewmar the company who made the harness, the company that Martha dropped from the lawsuit – also in the news. The WWE was awarded 9 million dollars from Lewmar, which they should have. Vince paid his dues and respect to Owen.

    Chris Benoit, another tragedy, and one you use very loosely, as your You-tube rant disgraced Chris and his family after their deaths, making un-true accusations especially about Nancy. Nothing was pushed under the rug, in fact because of this tragedy more medical research has been done as well as the WWE responded with a tougher wellness program and testing in regards to head trauma.
    So let’s look at when this all started…hhhmmmm 1986 in Stu Hart’s dungeon, and it was called the dungeon for a reason. Or was it with Ted Turner when he owned WCW and truly did not give a damn about us, or the business. So give you my honest unbiased opinion? You’re full of it Billy. 2 years in the WWE cannot be the cause of you ailments. I have to say your own poor choices have gotten you there. You took the pain pills and became an addict. You took even more one day and almost overdosed on that flight. Oh yea another bad choice was taking part in a drug smuggling operation, which you skimmed off the top and got your ass beat. Maybe that’s where your head trauma started.

    I wrestled for 14 years, 8 of them in Japan where chair shots were used every night and NEVER had a concussion, maybe that’s due to the fact that I knew what I was doing and my partner in the ring respected me enough to protect me.

    By the way this is all my unbiased opinion

    Here is Billy’s post…….
    I broke into the pro-wrestling business at age 29 in August of 1982, I was invited to the toughest and greatest pro wrestling school in the world the Stu Hart Dungeon in Calgary Alberta Canada. I was trained by Dynamite Kid, Duke Myers, and Davey Boy Smith. In 1986 I would end up at the highest level of pro wrestling in the WWF-World Wrestling Federation, just at the Stu Hart dungeon alone in 1986 was with myself was Davey Boy Smith & Dynamite Kid (The British Bulldogs), Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart (The Hart Foundation), and also at the Stu Hart Dungeon was a couple of teenagers watching and helping me closely, the youngest son of Stu Hart Owen Hart, and his friend a young up and comer named Chris Benoit both 16 years old. Now if you heard of every name above you should have, because this is how sick and corrupt the old WWF was then in 1986 to this very date July 19th, 2015. First after WrestleMania 3 where every name would appear but Owen and Chris (then) on March 29th, 1987! First I quit the WWF in Dec 1987 after becoming a CHRONIC PAINPILL abuser all given to me after an ER flight landing, several injuries and having to work through them with no time off, 27+ years later I got clean and along with many other former WWF/E wrestlers are in court with VKM, Dynamite Kid who literally broke his back for VKM had to wrestle in WrestleMania 3 1987 or not get paid, and now has been in a wheelchair paralyzed for 2 decades and concussioned out barely speaking a sentence at age 57, his partner of the former WWF tag team champion British Bulldogs Davey Boy Smith through VKM’s own doctors got Davey hooked on painkillers like myself, but VKM introduced Davey to liquid morphine injections, a brutal habit,but Vince still gave Davey 5-6 chances with WWF cause he drew money, Davey DEAD May 18th, 2002 of a drug Overdose, Bret Hart who if honest will tell you the best there was, is, and ever will be is the DYNAMITE KID,
    Bret Hart a great wrestler was forced to quit with a brutal CONCUSSION in 2001 from Goldberg, Jim Neidhart who like 90% was drug addicted, in fact was just tossed out of drug rehab a week or so ago in the now WWE wellness program, rehab does not work for concussion and or memory loss VKM, and let us not forget the 2 teenagers who in 1982 at the Stu Hart Dungeon were having their dreams of becoming a pro wrestler imagined for the future! Well the future in the WWF for Owen Hart was to fall 70-80ft to his DEATH May 23rd, 1999 VKM settled out of court for $18Million, and on June 24th, 2007 Chris Benoit allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself, and killing his wife and 7 year old son, I do not buy it for it was swept under the rug to fast without a proper investibation. Well anyhow you look and decide for yourself where, what. when, and why all this BS happened to the best ever trained at the STU HART DUNGEON! Give me your honest unbias opinion, then comment to what you think, what do you think VKM?????? Billy

    Next one is from Bryan Clark on Billy Jack Haynes wall 5 hours later

    I’m going to tell everyone I think Spivey is talking shit way above his head if he thinks he is speaking for everyone..guess what dip shit spivey, I was injured on more than 3 serious occasions in Vince’s ring and once so bad I ripped my shoulder out of socket and damaged everything , could not raise my arm over my head, had to walk into Vince’s office after I sat outside like a kid, finally got to the the sorry ass, had to beg to go have surgery, finally he let me go after working another week on it..I went home , had the surgery out of my pocket,18,000$. ( yeah, only his favorites had insurance) this broke my account, I know its hard to believe a wwf star with a weak bank account, but remember Vince was fighting and trying to avoid prison for all his steroid issues… We were working 280 plus days, I should have been out 8 months, I was back in 4 because Vince was starving my family out, so DAN SPIVEY , do not speak for me ever , and there are hundreds

    and of more of the boys who were injured and suffered, and still carry those injuries for ever ..CARRY ON BJH…and you damn right Bryan Clark said it !!!! Check the records and doctors !

    There is a response from Spivey on this on the post

    Dan Spivey Brian, I invite you to man up, if you have something to say to me, and post it on my face book page. Better yet send me a personal message and I will give you my phone number so we can talk man to man. Otherwise my response to your rhetoric will be on my FB page
    Like · Reply · 50 mins

    Bryan Clark Spivey I have manned up my entire life , I know enough about you from Brian Adams and others, I really have to say I don’t want to be friends with someone who does Vince’s bs work. You need to let all the boys who were injured on vkm watch to have their say. AND I will have my say. You are one person with one view. We do not need you as our mouthpiece! Many wrestlers were injured before and after you and never even offered the basic medical needs. This will be our last “talk”as I don’t feel the need to discuss something you know nothing about! Bryan Clark, and yes I said it.

    Last post is from Dan Spivey less than an hour ago

    In response to Brian Clark and his less than stellar post on Billy Jacks FB page.
    First Brian I don’t not speak for everyone and I have never spoken for you or about you, I speak for myself and only give my opinions and lay out the facts. I am sorry you received those injuries, such as I have but again I do not blame one man. AGAIN we all knew what we were getting into with wrestling. I too have had many injuries in the ring. My knee, back and neck. I had my neck fused while working for Vince and he didn’t pay for my surgery either, which was over $100,000, I paid that. He was kind enough at that time to pay me $500 a week while I was off to heal, which did not come close to paying that bill. Vince didn’t have to pay me as I was well aware, as an INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR, you know that contract we all signed that stated we were responsible for our own health insurance and travel expenses with the exception of flights, we signed it!. We knew what we were getting into, we wanted to be in wrestling and with the top company which was
    the WWF. The blame seems to fall on one man, Vince and on one else, not Ted Turner, Japan, ECW or any other wrestling promoters, and we incurred injuries from them as well.
    My questions to you is this….If you were injured, why did you continue working for another week? And after your surgery why did you come back earlier than you should have? These were your choices, you could have said no to working that extra week, stay home and properly heal yourself after surgery, but you didn’t. I know you say Vince was “starving you and your family”, so you HAD to come back – I am sure with a doctor’s release to say you could work. Brian, it was up to me to be wise enough and prepared for such instances that would take me away from my work, my career and to be sure that I was able to provide for myself and my family. And yes Vince had the federal court case regarding steroids, I am well aware of this as I testified and in my testimony, as well as many of the other boyz testified, Vince never told us to take steroids or drugs. And this case did cost Vince a lot of money, and by the way many people who worked in the offices
    at that time lost their jobs as well, so it wasn’t just the boyz who were “affected” by this. With the steroids and drugs, as I have stated many times, I chose to take them, as an addict I wanted them and no one had to tell me twice to take them. And like many of the boyz, whom I worked with and were/are addicts, just like me, they didn’t need anyone telling them to take them either. Addiction is deadly in and out of wrestling, I have seen many of my friends die from this disease.
    In regards to Billy Jack, and now you, there is information that is clearly wrong, such as Bret Harts “brutal” concussion, which he sustained in WCW not WWF/E. Billy’s accusations on the Benoit family and what he accused Nancy of, this is simply a disgrace. Dynamite Kid and Lex Luger, they are NOT a part of the lawsuit, they are not, I speak to them I know. Addiction, again a scientific fact that we are all pre-disposed with the addiction gene, which is not called the “once you work for Vince you will become an addict” gene. Most of us were addicts before we walked into the Wrestling world, wrestling just gave us the excuse to use. Injuries, yes we sustained them, but not all from one promoter, which for most of us was over 20 years ago.
    Brian, from what I have read and heard about you, you like to play the blame game. Such as your return to the WWF/E in 2001, for your 21 day stint. You are put into a major story line against Undertaker and Kane, two of the top superstars in the business, you all work at a few house shows and then right into a PPV and you stunk up the place, so bad in fact that Undertaker ripped you apart backstage after the match. And you blame everyone…because you and Brian had “ring rust, Kane had a staph infection, Undertaker had been off for a while” blame, blame blame, why don’t you just admit that you, YOU, were not good enough at that time, not that you were set up for failure. And for a man who is so bitter towards Vince, its funny how last year, LAST YEAR I SAID, you had an interview with WGD Weekly with Steve and the Scum stating how you wanted to return to the WWE 2014 Royal Rumble – yes I said 2014 – here is what you said
    …
    Highlights of Clark’s interview with Steve and the Scum included:
    Waiting for a call for the 2014 Royal Rumble: “…he is doing some acting…Bryan Clark…is also in phenomenal shape and he is waiting for a call for the Royal Rumble…There’s a lot of guys saying like, Jake Roberts and Scott Hall and these guys, I’ve never stopped training…Adam Bomb could definitely come back at the Royal Rumble in Pittsburgh in 2014 in January, these other guys are not ready, they are not physically ready, and I am, just throwing it out there and we’ll see…have the ‘Creation of Devasation make an appearance, come in , acouple of ‘Meltdowns’ on some people, you know, get it over…just a proper send off, you know…I’m definitely capable of it…”
    Need I say more.

  • TNA tapings from Orlando 7-22-15

    Notes from tonight’s tapings.  This was more just matches for One Night Only and Xplosion:

    James Storm and Austin Aries, whose contracts expired a few weeks ago, worked tonight so they are at least in for some shows.

    Drew Galloway b Bram

    Rockstar Spud b Grado

    Awesome Kong b Madison Rayne

    EC 3 d Austin Aries

    Bobby Roode b James Storm

    Abyss b Eric Young

    Matt Hardy b Davey Richards

    Brooke b Gail Kim

    Kenny King b Aiden “The Thug” O’Shea

    DJ Zem Ion b Tigre Uno

    Tyrus b Chris Melendez

    Micah b Eli Drkae

    Robbie E b Eddie Edwards

    Jessie Godderz b Crimson

    Manik b Mandrews

    Mahabili Shera (formerly Khoya) b Crazzy Steve

    Drew Galloway b Grado

    Eric Young b Bobby Roode

    Bram b Spud

    Spud b Bram

    Bobby Lashley b Ken Anderson

  • WWE Smackdown July 23 TV results & recap: Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro, Kevin Owens vs. Rusev

    Photo: LA Times

    By Steve Khan, WrestlingObserver.com 

    – Airdate: July 23, 2015 (July 22 in Canada) 
    – Location: Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, NE 

    The Big News: 

    Cesaro made fat jokes about Kevin Owens so Owens beat him up. 

    Show Recap: 

    SmackDown started with the announcement of three matches: Kevin Owens vs. Rusev, Naomi and Sasha Banks vs. The Bella Twins, and Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins. Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and Jimmy Uso was the announce team because Jerry Lawler has the week off. Oh boy. 

    Sheamus beat Dean Ambrose via pinfall 

    Before the match, Sheamus called Ambrose a coward who put himself and Big Show through a table on purpose to get out of their match last week. Sheamus said he would kick Ambrose’s arse and called himself the next WWE Champion. Ambrose said Sheamus does look stupid. 

    Sheamus worked over Ambrose’s leg, body slamming him leg-first into the ropes, as well as using a stretch muffler and half crab. Ambrose came back with a rebound clothesline, jabs and a suicide dive. After hitting a flying elbow, Bray Wyatt came out on the stage and Luke Harper appeared on the announce table. 

    Ambrose went after Harper but ate a Brogue kick on the outside. Sheamus finished him off with a second Brogue kick for the win. No Roman Reigns, who wasn’t on the show at all. Perhaps they should’ve mentioned this. The crowd liked Ambrose. 

    They recapped what happened last week between Stardust and Neville, again using comic book graphics to tell the story. Backstage, Neville told Jo-Jo that Stardust isn’t a villain, he’s a coward. He said Stardust can’t hold him down and the Altitude Era is now. The TV behind Jo-Jo suddenly switched to a shot of Stardust who was giggling and doing that thing with his hands. 

    Neville beat Adam Rose via pinfall 

    No Rosa Mendes. Rose got the heat immediately but was caught with a forearm after trying a suicide dive. Neville followed up with kicks, an Asai moonsault and Red Arrow for the win. Not much of a match. 

    As Neville celebrated, Stardust showed up on the screen. I’m not sure what he said, but there were two main takeaways: One, he referenced Dusty Rhodes again when he said his hand was reaching out to Neville’s. Two, Stardust had a somewhat subtle reference to Stephen Amell. (Stardust held up green party favour and said it doesn’t matter what colour the “arrow” is — referring to both Neville’s finisher and Green Arrow.)

    They aired a video package for Sasha Banks. The best part of this was that Banks was allowed to explain her side of things and why she thinks she’s the best. They should air this on Raw, and they should do this kind of thing more often in general. 

    King Barrett came out on the stage for a quick promo. He said if you come at the King, you best not miss. Those weren’t his exact words. Barrett finished by saying his crowning moment has yet to come. This was fine. 

    Rusev beat Kevin Owens via countout

    One of the commentators said Owens has had an incredible week. (He lost twice in two nights.) Owens cut a promo saying that all he has heard since Sunday is “Tap Owens, tap.” Owens said that’s not what happened. Owens gave John Cena the fight of his life and decided to live to fight another day because he has a family to think about. 

    He moved on to the match from Raw, explaining that Rusev couldn’t decide which Lana he wanted to go to second base with, which cost them the match. Rusev came out immediately to attack Owens. 

    After a break, Owens had control of the match and hit a cannonball. As Owens struggled to pull Rusev away from the ropes, he yelled “Lose some weight!” Rusev eventually came back with a spinning heel kick and superkick (he was booed). Rusev went for the Accolade but Owens rolled out of the ring and took the countout loss. 

    Backstage, Cesaro told a male interviewer it feels right that he has a match with Seth Rollins tonight. Cesaro said he has sacrificed a lot to get here — sleeping on floors, missing his best friend’s wedding, and not spending Christmas with his family in 11 years. Cesaro said he loves this business and the American dream never dies. 

    Owens showed up and mocked Cesaro. Owens said nobody cares about his dreams or that Cesaro abandoned his family. Cesaro called Owens the expert on abandoning since he abandons half his matches. 

    Cesaro also asked Owens if he just came from catering. Owens said he was heading to catering now to watch Cesaro lose to Rollins. Cesaro told Owens not to choke on his food, like he choked against Cena. Fat joke aside, this was really good. 

    Nikki & Brie Bella (w/Alicia Fox) beat Naomi & Sasha Banks (w/Tamina) via pinfall 

    Bellas worked over Naomi briefly until she tagged out to Banks. Brie took Banks down easily with a single kick to the gut and Nikki followed with a low dropkick. Brie went for a running knee but Tamina pulled Banks out of the ring and superkicked Brie (she missed, actually). 

    After a break, Naomi and Banks worked over Brie, and Nikki got the crowd to rally behind her. What the hell? Nikki made the hot tag and used a terrible Alabama slam on Naomi. 

    Nikki tried a Rack Attack but Banks took her down with a “spear.” Brie knocked Banks out of the ring and Fox took out Tamina with a “spear” of her own. Naomi missed a Rear View and Nikki hit a forearm and Rack Attack for the win. Crowd cheered Nikki. 

    This was your average WWE women’s tag match and the finishing sequence was a mess. The Bellas were 100% babyfaces, which is dumb as hell. 

    They aired a good video package for Lesnar vs. Undertaker. Also, Cesaro was announced for Tough Enough next week. 

    Non-title: WWE Champion Seth Rollins beat Cesaro via pinfall 

    Rollins dodged an uppercut and hit a running knee and suicide dive to gain control. Cesaro caught Rollins off the top and hit a belly-to-belly suplex, followed by an uppercut parade. Rollins countered a superplex into a turnbuckle powerbomb, but Cesaro came back by applying a sharpshooter. 

    Rollins tried to get to the ropes, so Cesaro put him in a crossface. Rollins got to the ropes but Cesaro followed with a pop-up uppercut for a near fall. Rollins bailed a grabbed his title, but Cesaro cut him off with a running uppercut. 

    Cesaro tried a big swing but Rollins poked him in the eye, which the referee missed, and Rollins followed with a Pedigree for the win. Good match. 

    As Rollins left, Kevin Owens walked out to the ring. Owens attacked Cesaro and left him laying with a pop-up powerbomb. 

    Final Thoughts: 

    Not much of a show but the main event was good. Cesaro vs. Owens should be fun, assuming that’s the direction. Also, I’m glad they did a video package for Sasha Banks but the tag match was a step back. The revolution will be slow and plodding. 

  • UFC On FOX 16 preview: 5 storylines to watch, betting odds & predictions

    By Ryan Frederick, WrestlingObserver.com

    The UFC returns to the FOX Network on Saturday night for their annual summer event as the Octagon rolls back into the Windy City, Chicago, with a championship bout headlining the card and a title eliminator serving as the co-main event. It will be the fourth FOX event eminating from Chicago, and the first title fight on FOX since December 2013. The event kicks off with preliminary action on UFC Fight Pass at 4:15 PM eastern time. The action moves to FOX at 6 PM eastern time with more preliminary card action before the four-fight main card kicks off at 8 PM eastern time.

    The long-awaited rematch for the UFC Bantamweight Championship headlines the event as champion T.J. Dillashaw makes his second title defense, this time finally defending against his rival and the man he defeated for the title, Renan Barao, who looks to regain the title he held for nearly two years. In the co-main event, it is a title eliminator in the women’s bantamweight division as former Strikeforce champion Miesha Tate takes on rising contender Jessica Eye. Also on the main card are two exciting lightweight match-ups as Edson Barboza takes on Paul Felder, and veterans Joe Lauzon and Takanori Gomi square off. Let’s dive deeper into the night’s action and look at five storylines to keep our eye on.

    1. Can T.J. Dillashaw score a second win over Renan Barao and retain the UFC Bantamweight Championship?

    When Renan Barao and T.J. Dillashaw were announced for the main event of UFC 173 in May 2014, many were expecting a win for Barao as he was entering the fight on a 33-fight unbeaten streak where he had absolutely dominated the competition, and he was a heavy betting favorite when they stepped into the Octagon in Las Vegas that night. A funny thing happened to Barao, though. As dominant as he had been over those 33 fights, on this Saturday night of Memorial Day Weekend, it was Dillashaw that did the dominating. Barao didn’t even look in the league of Dillashaw that night, and Dillashaw finished Barao in the fifth round to become the new UFC Bantamweight Championship.

    Dillashaw and Barao have been on a collision course for a rematch ever since, and after two false starts, they will finally step inside the Octagon across from each other 14 months later. Both men have fought just once since then. Dillashaw scored a dominant win over Joe Soto at UFC 177 in August, a fight that Soto took on one day’s notice after Barao was forced out due to being rushed to the hospital during his weight cut. Barao submitted Mitch Gagnon in December, a fight he controlled, but he wasn’t as dominant as he had been in the past. Dillashaw and Barao were scheduled to meet at UFC 186 in April, but a rib injury forced Dillashaw out of the bout. With two pay-per-view headline fights between the two falling apart, they were put on a free television card, and both men look ready to make the walk on Saturday.

    Things are different as we head into this Saturday night’s fight. Dillashaw is now the favorite, coming in as a two-to-one favorite. He has been splitting time between California and Colorado, training with his Team Alpha Male teammates, and also training under striking coach Duane Ludwig. He is Ludwig’s prized student and Ludwig was a big key in Dillashaw defeating Barao the first time. Barao looked lost when dealing with Dillashaw’s footwork, and if he looks the same way, it is hard to envision Barao winning the championship back. Barao is going to need to be explosive and counter the footwork of Dillashaw by using pressure. Dillashaw may just be too quick on his feet. Barao still has to cut a lot of weight to make 135 pounds, and it may drain him like it did the first time. This has the makings of another win by Dillashaw, but it is hard to count out Barao. A win by Barao undoubtedly sets up a trilogy bout, but a Dillashaw win sets him up for when Dominick Cruz returns.

    2. Who wins the title eliminator between Miesha Tate and Jessica Eye?
    The co-main event is a women’s bantamweight title eliminator between perennial contender Miesha Tate and rising contender Jessica Eye. Tate is a former Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion who has fought for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship, losing to Ronda Rousey at UFC 168 in December 2013. She has since scored three straight decision wins over Liz Carmouche, Rin Nakai and Sara McMann, showing off a better arsenal of attacks. She wants to get back and get another crack at Rousey, who has beaten her twice, but Tate thinks a third time would be different.

    Eye has fought three times in the Octagon, and while she only has one official win, she, the UFC brass and a lot of people see her as 3-0 in the UFC. She scored a win over Sarah Kaufman in her UFC debut, but that was turned into a no contest due to a failed drug test for marijuana, which has been repeatedly said to be due to second-hand smoke. She then dropped a split decision to Alexis Davis, but it was a fight many, myself included, scored for Eye. She is coming off the big win at UFC 180 in November when she scored a TKO win over Leslie Smith, literally punching Smith’s ear off in the process while landing 80 significant strikes in under seven minutes of action.

    Tate carries the same attack and style into every fight, and she will be looking to go for the takedown. She has improved her striking, but she still tends to eat a lot of punches and walk through them, and Eye is one of the top strikers in the division, using excellent footwork and kickboxing skills, and she fights at a relentless pace. The conditioning edge clearly goes to Eye as well as the striking edge. Tate will be looking for takedowns and Eye will need to show improved defense and good ability to get off the ground if it goes there. Eye can hold her own on the ground, but Tate can be suffocating in top control. An x-factor in this fight is Tate is cornering her boyfriend, Bryan Caraway, in his fight earlier on the card. If Caraway loses, what kind of affect will it have on Tate, and will not relaxing when she should throw her off. This is a big battle for the next title shot, and I like Eye taking a decision in a tough battle.

    3. Can Paul Felder remain undefeated against the tough Edson Barboza?
    A big lightweight battle between Anthony Pettis and Myles Jury was originally scheduled for this card, but through a series of injuries, we ended up with an interesting lightweight contest between Edson Barboza and the undefeated Paul Felder on the main card of Saturday’s event. Barboza is coming off a tough loss to Michael Johnson in February, ending his two-fight win streak that had him on the verge of breaking into the top five of the division. Every time he gets on a roll, he has suffered a setback, and this is his chance to get back on a roll. Felder is undefeated in his ten fight career, scoring his last two wins in the UFC. He is coming off a spectacular spinning back fist finish of Danny Castillo at UFC 182 in January, and he gets a high-profile fight on the main card for the first time in his short UFC career.

    Barboza is an excellent kickboxer with excellent speed and power on his feet, and he has had some dazzling finishes in his career. Felder is excellent at countering attacks and he will make his opponents pay for making mistakes. Felder has solid power, and he is good in the clinch and at defending takedowns. Barboza has trouble when he is pressured by his opponents, and Felder fights at a relentless pace and is good at applying pressure. Barboza does leave himself easy to hit, and if he can’t get the takedown, this fight will likely end up with Felder dominating on the feet. He still has to watch out for the speed and power from Barboza. Both men can score finishes out of nowhere. This is Felder’s chance to break into the rankings while Barboza tries to hang on to the future title challenger potential he has. This is a close fight on paper and in the betting odds. I like Felder to score a close decision.

    4. Can Joe Lauzon score another bonus to add to his record?

    Joe Lauzon is the UFC’s all-time leader in post-fight bonus awards, scoring thirteen over his career. He has been an Octagon staple since 2006, but he comes into Saturday night’s event having lost three of his previous five fights, and a win after being knocked out by Al Iaquinta would get him back on track. He faces Japanese legend and former PRIDE Champion Takanori Gomi, who certainly would like to get back on track as well after having dropped two of his last three, and he is also coming in off a knockout loss, at the hands of Myles Jury in September. Both men are in a kind of limbo as they have been around for a long time and they may never contend for titles these days as a new breed of fighters enter the UFC, but they are plenty capable of producing some fun fights.

    Lauzon on offense is all about finding ways to finish the fight, whether on the feet or on the ground. Gomi was a knockout artist in his prime, but as he has lost the speed and some of the power on his feet, he has become a better technical striker. Lauzon has a chin that can be tested, and Gomi is still capable of landing a big right hand. Gomi still lacks some on the ground, and while he has great takedown defense, he gets in bad positions on the ground. Lauzon is excellent on the ground and will take advantage of any bad positions that he has Gomi in. He is excellent at sweeps and transitions, and has a full arsenal of submissions. Conditioning could be a key for both men, but a ground battle favors Lauzon. He is the bonus king for a reason, and he has a good chance at scoring another one on Saturday.

    5. What is there to look out for on the preliminary card?

    The night’s preliminary card is full of solid match-ups capped off by F4W’s very own “Filthy” Tom Lawlor making his return after being out of action for over two years, and moving back up to the light heavyweight division as he takes on Gian Villante, winner of two straight fights. It will be interesting if Lawlor’s wrestling and submission game can match up with the striking attack of Villante. Jim Miller and Danny Castillo meet in a lightweight bout as both look to end two-fight losing skids. Kenny Robertson puts his three-fight win streak on the line against Ben Saunders, who has won five of his last six. Eddie Wineland returns from a 15-month layoff to take on Bryan Caraway as both look to rebound from a loss. All of those fights air on FOX.

    On the UFC Fight Pass portion of the card, there are four fights that could breed some solid action. Lightweights Daron Cruickshank and James Kruase look to rebound from some bad luck in recent Octagon appearances when they meet. Ramsey Nijem looks to rebound from a loss when he meets undefeated Octagon newcomer Andrew Holbrook, making his UFC debut as an injury replacement. Women’s bantamweights Jessamyn Duke and Elizabeth Phillips square off in what could be a loser leaves town bout as both have lost two straight. Opening the card is a welterweight bout between Zak Cummings and Dominique Steele, who is taking the fight on short notice as an injury replacement.

    Full UFC On FOX 16 Fight Card, Betting Odds & Predictions

    MAIN CARD (FOX-8 PM ET/5 PM PT)

    UFC Bantamweight Championship: T.J. Dillashaw(c) vs. (#1) Renan Barao
    Betting Odds: Dillashaw (-240), Barao (+200)
    Prediction: Dillashaw by knockout in round 4

    Women’s Bantamweights: (#2) Miesha Tate vs. (#5) Jessica Eye
    Betting Odds: Tate (-200), Eye (+170)
    Prediction: Eye by decision

    Lightweights: (#7) Edson Barboza vs. Paul Felder
    Betting Odds: Barboza (-135), Felder (+115)
    Prediction: Felder by decision

    Lightweights: Joe Lauzon vs. Takanori Gomi
    Betting Odds: Lauzon (-350), Gomi (+290)
    Prediction: Lauzon by submission in round 3

    PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX-6 PM ET/3 PM PT)

    Light Heavyweights: (#15) Gian Villante vs. Tom Lawlor
    Betting Odds: Villante (-230), Lawlor (+190)
    Prediction: Lawlor by decision

    Lightweights: Jim Miller vs. Danny Castillo
    Betting Odds: Miller (-130), Castillo (+110)
    Prediction: Miller by decision

    Welterweights: Kenny Robertson vs. Ben Saunders
    Betting Odds: Robertson (-115), Saunders (-105)
    Prediction: Saunders by submission in round 2

    Bantamweights: (#6) Eddie Wineland vs. (#12) Bryan Caraway
    Betting Odds: Wineland (-145), Caraway (+125)
    Prediction: Wineland by decision

    PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 4:15 PM ET/1:15 PM PT)

    Lightweights: Daron Cruickshank vs. James Krause
    Betting Odds: Cruickshank (-155), Krause (+135)
    Prediction: Cruickshank by decision

    Lightweights: Ramsey Nijem vs. Andrew Holbrook
    Betting Odds: Nijem (-140), Holbrook (+120)
    Prediction: Nijem by knockout in round 2

    Women’s Bantamweights: Jessamyn Duke vs. Elizabeth Phillips
    Betting Odds: Duke (+150), Phillips (-170)
    Prediction: Duke by decision

    Welterweights: Zak Cummings vs. Dominique Steele
    Betting Odds: Cummings (-260), Steele (+220)
    Prediction: Cummings by submission in round 2

  • TNA Impact Wrestling July 22 TV results & recap: Jeff Hardy vs. Bobby Roode, Spud vs. Eric Young

    By Jeremy Peeples, WrestlingObserver.com

    Last week, Bully Ray debuted as The Law, Tigre Uno retained the X Title with a botched Phoenix splash, while Brooke won the Knockouts title with a botched X Factor. Drew Galloway won a battle royal to get a title shot at EC3. Thanks to Eli Drake turning on Drew and hitting him with his crutch, EC3 retained his title.

    Dixie comes down to the ring for a very important announcement – the Hall of Fame induction of Jeff Jarrett. Jeff gets an epic video package spanning his Memphis days with footage, some WWF photos with Owen, and some hilarious hyperbole. Pope congratulates Jeff Jarrett for his induction while Josh talks about him being the King of the Mountain, and we’ll see that tonight as they air the Slammiversary match. Spud faces EY in a chain match, while Roode faces Matt in a number one contender’s match. Tigre Uno cuts a promo on Donald Trump and to start the show off, we get Magnus vs. Bram in a street fight for some reason.

    Magnus vs. Bram – Street Fight

    Josh talks about their past, but we don’t know why this match is happening now. They brawl on the floor Magnus gets a superplex in this street fight and boots him in the face. Josh runs through Bram’s many nicknames while he gets some trash cans and hits a cookie sheet shot. Bram, the most dangerous man in TNA according to Josh, gets a trash can on his head and gets hit with a chair before falling like a tree to the mat. Magnus gets his super-slick flying elbow for 2. Magnus gets the spine shaker/Mark of Excellence for 2. Bram gets a low blow and a modified schoolboy for the win. Storm comes down with a bull rope and hits Magnus with the cow bell. Storm says we’ll know who his partner is, and he gets another kick in. We get a replay of Eli Drake attacking Drew, and we’ll hear his explanation next. What explanation does he really need? “This team I was only in for a few weeks broke up, so I had no use for this guy”.

    Drew Galloway and Eli Drake Have a Brief, Friendly Chat

    Eli comes out and Josh is offended by what he did, so Josh is a face for this segment. Eli comes out to an entrance video of himself turning to the side slightly and mocks the fans for being dummies. Eli says that “E-li Drake is a creator of circumstance” and he made a circumstance that benefited him. Drake mocks #standup and says they can all sit down. He hasn’t been given much in TNA so far, but he’s making the most of this chance and is shining brightly here. Drew says that he brought Drake into the Rising and people think he’s older than he is because he’s been around for 15 years, and he in fact has a torn shoulder now – which at least explains him looking like hell recently.

    Drew says he’ll make Eli famous. Drew is now stealing likes from Big Evil Taker, and is trying to make Eli famous. On Destination America!? They fight and Eli low blows him and they fight for a bit. Okay then. Taryn wants to call Gail out, but only inside the steel cage. Why does she want a cage? Logically, she should want a one on three trap for Gail in there, but Josh always points out how easy it is to get into TNA’s cage, so why bother?

    Taryn and Brooke Have a Long, Screechy Chat

    Josh runs down the Taryn-Gail feud and Josh throws to Christy plugging Pit Wars, but Taryn comes out first and blames Christy and the fans for her title loss. Taryn says she won’t leave until she gets her title back and she wants Bully to give her a shot and screeches. Brooke comes out and knocks over the dollhouse while saying that the fans are important, not Taryn. Brooke knocks the “doll-hoes” and they have another long exchange of saying annoying things. Brooke lures Taryn to the ramp so Gail can attack the Dolls in the cage. Gail beats them up and Brooke chases Taryn up the ramp. Taryn has a tantrum on the ramp while Gail and Brooke stand tall. The King of the Mountain match from this year’s Slammiversary is next. Josh says that we’ll see the whole thing, so hopefully they go through with that.

    King of the Mountain 2015 Match

    If you hadn’t heard, Eric Young is a world-class maniac and he’s deranged. Josh compares King of the Mountain to the playoffs and the Super Bowl while explaining the rules. They dub in some new commentary about Jeff joining the TNA Hall of Fame class. Pope talks about KOTM being a cool concept while Josh plugs the GFW TV tapings at the Orleans Arena and they give credit to Bully for putting his PPV main event on free TV. Josh and Pope are bitching and moaning about who can suck up the most and join GFW…on TNA TV. EY beats Jeff and Jeff goes in the box for an ad break.

    Pope talks about Hardy vs. Roode and how that one on one match can literally go either way. Pope’s a really smart guy, but it doesn’t quite come across that way on commentary. EY and Roode eat back to back pins, so they’re in the box. Jeff hits the Stroke on Drew, but Matt breaks up the pin despite that just making it harder for him to win. Matt hops around and goes for the Twist, but Jeff gets the Stroke for 2 thanks to Drew breaking it up.

    Pope points out that this is a weird move, but then Josh says that preventing pins prevents someone else from being ineligible to hang the title over the ring in the reverse ladder match portion of the match. And to think that some feel this stipulation is convoluted. EY and Roode go to sing the Canadian national anthem, but EY turns on him for a piledriver attempt. Tower of Doom Kyptonite Krunch hits Matt. Jeff didn’t get the pin, so he can’t win the title until he gets a fall. EY, Roode, and Jarrett duke it out for an ad break.

    During the ad break, we get a plug of two new TNA DVDs – a new Jeff Hardy DVD called Humanomoly, and The Best of Hulk Hogan, which includes Hulk Hogan’s final match. It was a TNA house show six-man tag, and it can only be seen on this DVD in full, or in HD in the ads unless TNA decides to just put it on Youtube.

    Jeff eats a piledriver on the ladder bridge between the ring and the barricade. Drew dives off of the penalty box onto the rest of the pile. Drew goes to put the title up, but Matt Twist of Fates him off the ladder. Jeff gets a super stroke off the ladder to EY and climbs the ladder to win. Josh asks what the future holds for TNA and for Jeff Jarrett while they go to the announce both area and they run down the rest of the card, including a chain match and a table match – because we needed more stips on this random episode of Impact without a theme to it.

    Tigre Uno Challenges Donald Trump

    Tigre Uno is put over as a loving father and a lucha legend. One of these statements is true. Uno says that people who come to the U.S. work hard and he invites Donald Trump to the Impact Zone next week. Well, this ate up maybe three minutes and they spent more time hyping it up than the actual special. The Revolution walks backstage to introduce their next member next.

    We get a brief recap of the most recent Storm-Mickie issues. The Revolution comes down with Abyss amusingly being called the powerhouse in this group with Khoya. Abyss is moving about as slowly as Taker is now. Storm says that America’s children are lost causes who need guidance, but that his Revolution is all-inclusive and doesn’t hold anyone’s race or language against them. Serena Deeb comes down and she’s put over as someone who knows Mickie better than Magnus. Pope tells the story about them being in OVW today and Mickie mentoring Serena. Serena says that they were like sisters, but Mickie forgot her. Storm says that he’ll stand beside her proudly and they’ll beat and embarrass Magnus and Mickie. If TNA is going to turn into an homage to OVW, could they bring back the Heartbreakers and Mo Green? Rockstar Spud faces Eric Young, who is a world-class maniac and the lunatic unhinged.

    Eric Young vs. Rockstar Spud – Chain Match

    Eric Young comes out for this chain match. They haven’t explained why EY and Spud have an issue, why a chain is involved in their rivalry, and thus why this needs to be a chain match. Rockstar Spud comes out and gets choked with the chain. Josh says that this will have a pinfall or submission, so it won’t be a “touch the corners” match. Josh insults Spud for trying to run away from this, but Josh mocks him for it and then praises EY for ramming the chain into Spud’s jaw. EY chokes him some more and drags him up to his feet with it. Josh talks about Impact being a trend worldwide thanks to Slammiversary, the King of the Mountain match, Serena, Gail Kim, and Brooke. Spud ducks under EY and lifts the chain into EY’s crotch. Pope says that Spud is Rocky-ing it up. They’re pimping a Hulk Hogan DVD – just use Hulking up. Pope brings up the Valentine vs. Piper chain match, which unlike this one, had a reason for happening. EY piledrives him on the chain and wins.

    Bobby Roode vs. Matt Hardy – No. 1 Contender’s Table Match

    Josh talks about how Bully named Matt Hardy as the number one man in the top five, while Bobby Roode is number two. Why were these numbers chosen? Matt gets a Side Effect by countering a lariat. Josh talks about how all of this happened due to TNA’s site and/or their Youtube channel – which is apparently now more important than their national TV show. They fight on the floor and Roode suplexes Matt onto the steel steps. Should Matt really be taking bumps like that now? Bobby Roode puts a table on Matt, surfs on it, and then jumps on Matt. Matt comes back and gets a lariat in the corner, but Bobby counters the bulldog into a spinebuster. Matt gets a Twist of Fate while Josh ponders Matt’s options to win. Bobby trips Matt up to send him to the mat. Matt counters a spinebuster and sends Bobby over the top to the floor for the win. Well, this was a match – and a show. Next week, Jeff Jarrett goes into the Hall of Fame, Mickie has her final match in TNA and Jeff Hardy returns. That seems like something you’d want to bring up a time or two.

    To see every screen taken for the show, just click here.

  • Lucha Underground July 22 TV results & recap: Mundo vs Texano, battle royal

    By Jeremy Peeples, WrestlingObserver.com

    Last week’s show was all about solidifying the build towards Ultima Lucha. We got a lot of top-notch work towards Pentagon Jr. vs. Vampiro, while the ancient medallions were the focus of the show. Sexy Star won one medallion and defended it against Marty the Moth, beating the creeper with La Mistica to close out her mini-series to defend her medallion.

    The show begins with a recap of the medallions, the turn of Blue Demon Jr., Texano’s babyface turn. It’s one of the most abrupt videos yet, but effective. Dario meets with Ryck and says that they’re not seeing eye to eye, but he had big plans for Ryck. He was blinded by Daivari’s money, and Dario apologizes for his word choice. Dario says that tonight, he’ll reveal the power of the medallions and what means more to Ryck – money or power. Ryck says he wants both and gets money from Dario through intimidation. Serio Arau is our house band, and they have some fantastic hairstyles amidst this group. Vamp says that Prince Puma will speak tonight and we’ll get Mundo vs. Texano. Actually, that will be our opener as Johnny is walking down now.

    Johnny Mundo vs. Texano

    Mundo calls Texano something that actually gets bleeped, which is astonishing. Vamp says that Johnny has the abs, but Texano’s a real “shit-kicker” who can lift practically. Johnny sweeps the knee, but eats a dropkick. Texano gets a seated buzzsaw kick for 2. Texano lands a pair of punches, but a third one gets blessed from above, and countered. Johnny kicks him and gets an apron kick and apron-assisted spinning neckbreaker. Johnny knees him against the barricade and gets a spinkick against the fencing. This gets 2, so Johnny goes for some mounted punches.

    Johnny gets a chinlock, but eats elbows to the gut. Texano chops away, so Johnny ducks – and eats a chop to the back instead. Rough Ryder gets 2 for Texano while Vamp says that Mundo is 260. Pounds!? Mundo crotches Texano on the top and eats a big kick for 2. Texano gets a pair of kicks after avoiding the End of the World and the Crew comes down and attacks Texano for a DQ win. Alberto comes down for a save, so logically, we should get the Crew against Texano and Alberto next week. Alberto runs wild and Texano whips them. Alberto and Texano share a glance, but haven’t made peace. This was really good stuff – excellent start to the show.

    Cueto tells Hernandez that Ultima Lucha will begin next week and he’ll face Drago there. Dario says that he’s been reading tweets, and the fans hate Hernandez. He’ll make a strap match where the fans have straps and can attack them – it’s the Believers Backlash match. Hernandez downs some Miller Lite and says he’ll paint the canvas red with the fans’ blood if they attack him. Cage and Mack are in the ring. Vamp says that Mack is a big jumbly bumble bee that he wants to hug.

    Cage vs. The Mack

    Mack gets a flash pin, resulting in Mack and Cage fighting all over the ringside area. They brawl with security and Dario tells them to hold up, so he’ll find anything laying the Temple and use it to beat each other up. Dario says that Ultima Lucha will be starting next week and they’ll start it with Mack vs. Cage in a falls count anywhere match. After a break, he’ll say what the medallions mean.

    Dario says that whoever has the medallions can get the Gift of the Gods title belt, but there won’t be any cashing in. He must have one week of notice to advertise the match, and if the GotG title-holder waits too long, they’ll have to defend the title and risk the medallions. A seven way medallion match will happen at Ultima Lucha, so the medallion-holders come down with Cueto doing a hilarious intro for Big Ryck and Bengala. Striker says that Ryck got his through a deal with Dario. Dario has them place their medallions in the belt, which still leaves one medallion left to be placed because Fenix was destroyed. Dario puts that medallion up for grabs in a battle royal – but with a pinfall at the end ala TNA’s gauntlet match. Fenix returns and Dario is greatly unamused by this development. Dario tells him that he’s late, but he’ll let him enter the battle royal.

    Medallion Battle Royal

    Fenix is mid-ring and then Marty the Moth comes down to join the fray. Vinny Masarro bonks Fenix into the buckle. Famous B gets a crotch chop and a pedigree before doing Hogan’s big legdrop. Ricky Mandel is tossed out. Arenis eats a Pele kick from Famous B to take him out. Killshot goes up top, but Daivari tosses him to the floor to prove the risk of that position. Vinny hits a giant lariat on Famous B. Vinny eats a neck snap to take him out. Mascarita Sagrada hits a monkey flip to take he and someone else out. Marty the Moth, Famous B, Daivari, and Fenix are the final four. B is double teamed and eliminated. Fenix takes Daivari out, ending the battle royal portion and just making it a Marty vs. Fenix match for the medallion.

    Fenix vs. Marty the Moth

    Marty gets a big dropkick for 2. Marty gets a slam and Fenix goes to the floor. Marty feigns a dive, but bows instead. Fenix gets a Tajiri-style springboard back elbow mid-ring. Fenix does a wacky triple-jump armdrag. Big flip dive to the floor to Marty. Fenix counters a wonky tilt a whirl with an even wonkier rana for the win. Fenix regains his medallion and thanks the fans in the crowd. Dario comes out and is fairly pissed, but Fenix won fairly. Puma speaks next.

    Striker and Vamp talk about Ultima Lucha. Next week’s show is one hour long, and the August 5 show is two hours long. They run down the card, and show the build-up for every single match on the card. Puma comes down in black jeans, a yellow hoodie, and a new mask with black and red. Before he can speak, Mil Muertes and Catrina come down. Muertes looks even bigger and more of a badass in his suit. The Disciples of Death attack Puma, who fights back with a series of wacky kicks. Mil Muertes stares at him, but doesn’t move as his goons eat more offense. Finally, he comes down and we get a quick brawl. Puma takes the challenger down and hits the 630 – it hits, which doesn’t bode well for Puma.