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  • WWE NXT July 22 TV results and recap: Samoa Joe, Owens/Balor contract signing

    by Emerson Witner, WrestlingObserver.com and Wrestling Outsiders Podcast

    The Big News: Kevin Owens punched Mr. Regal during the contract signing for his match at NXT Takeover.

    Show Recap:

    – The show opened with the first live appearance by the new NXT Champion! Finn Balor is here, kicking off the show. It should be noted that except for Sami Zayn (due to a storyline injury) the new NXT Champion has kicked off the next show they taped. I know that reads weird, but the last two weeks’ shows were taped before Finn won the belt.

    The crowd went nuts, chanting “You deserve it”. Jeremy Borash’s little brother Greg Hamilton conducted an in-ring interview. Finn said he has been competing all over the world for over 15 years and all the difficult decisions and sacrifices he had to make were made worth it when he won the NXT Championship.

    The fans booed when Greg mentioned NXT Takeover: Brooklyn. Finn said Kevin Owens hurt Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville, Hideo Itami, Rusev and beat John Cena, but he did not defeat Finn Balor. He plans on making history in Brooklyn by walking in champion and leaving the same way.

    – Devin Taylor interviewed Eva Marie about her re-debut tonight. Eva thanked Mr. Regal for giving her the opportunity. Eva said this is her dream and she has been training the last few months just to get the chance tonight.

    Eva Marie pinned Cassie

    In 2013 Eva Marie’s debut ppv match won the Worst Worked Match of the Year award (Total Divas vs Everyone Else at Survivor Series). A rematch the next night on Raw finished 3rd and then in 2014 her only match, vs Bayley, finished high in the voting. In theory she can only get better.

    Eva kept it simple and looked better than she has in the past. Mind you she is still worse than everyone else on the roster, but there was nothing embarrassing. Cassie almost won with several spin kicks to Eva’s face. Eva did win with The Kendrick.

    – William Regal walked into his office to find Tyler Breeze laying across his desk. Tyler demanded a match for Takeover so Mr. Regal said he is working on it.

    Baron Corbin pinned A Local Competitor

    We didn’t even get a “commercial break”, but come on. You can squeeze 7 Baron Corbin matches into one segment. Baron’s opponent didn’t even get a name, but was in a purple bodysuit with blue streaks in his hair. Baron won in 10 seconds with End of Days.

    Samoa Joe pinned Mike Rollis

    Rollis exploded out of the gate and Joe responded by punching him a dozen times quickly. Rollis went bouncing off the ropes and ran into Joe’s elbow. Like most Joe matches this was just an excuse to see all of Joe’s moves. Joe won quickly with the Muscle Buster.

    – It was announced that Samoa Joe will wrestle Rhyno in 2 weeks on NXT.

    – Emma laughed at the idea that Bayley is going to hurt her. She broke Bayley’s hand and now is going to break her childish spirit. Emma and Dana Brooke hugged and the segment ended with Dana patting Devin Taylor on the top of the head.

    Bayley pinned Emma (w/Dana Brooke)

    About a month ago Bayley broke her hand in a match against Emma. The funny thing is she is on tv so infrequently that they could have just not mentioned it and no one would have noticed her injury.

    Emma got the early advantage when by attacking Bayley from behind when Bayley went to throw her slap bracelet into the corner of the ring. Emma’s offense centered around Bayley’s injured hand. The announcers never mentioned that if Bayley’s hand is injured she wouldn’t be able to use a proper grip for the Belly to Bayley Suplex.

    Bayley ignored her hand pain and gave Emma a series of Polish Hammers, but couldn’t keep Emma down. Dana Brooke yanked on Bayley’s arm, which for some reason was not a disqualification. Instead the ref sent Dana to the back.

    They reversed roll ups and Bayley won with the Belly to Bayley. Go figure.

    – Bayley cut a post match promo saying she wants to be Women’s Champion and wants a match with Charlotte to prove she is ready.

    – Some New Girl interviewed Charlotte. She enunciates her words worse than Eden ever did. Charlotte nearly cried about getting the chance to be on Raw, but did accept Bayley’s challenge. Dana walked in and said Charlotte’s gotten chance after chance but she always messes it up. Dana said she never got a chance because she doesn’t have a famous last name, but is going to make a statement by beating Charlotte.

    So Charlotte agreed to wrestle Dana next week and Bayley the following week. Dana looked like she was going to pat the New Girl on the head, but didn’t.

    The Vaudevillains vs Angelo Dawkins & Sawyer Fulton

    The #1 Contenders are here to do battle with Dawkins & Fulton. Fulton got a haircut and a more aggressive game plan. As always, Dawkins and Fulton looked good, this time getting the heat on Gotch. Dawkins went to give Gotch a side suplex, but Gotch lifted up his own foot to kick Angelo in the head.

    English got the hot tag and quickly the top contenders won with the Whirling Dervish.

    – Next week: Blake & Murphy vs The Vaudevillains for the tag team titles!

    – Blake & Murphy were mockingly clapping for their foes backstage. Blake actually bleached his hair so now they look different, but he needs to either shave his beard or bleach it as well.

    – Up next was the MAIN EVENT CONTRACT SIGNING! William Regal oversaw the signing between NXT Champion Finn Balor and Kevin Owens. When Mr. Regal mentioned Brooklyn 398 people booed, while two people, who probably live in Brooklyn, stood and applauded.

    Owens tried to intimidate Balor by pointing out he is in the position of defending the title in the biggest match in NXT history. He heeled on the crowd by pointing out it was in Brooklyn. Owens ran down all of his accomplishments that he did in his first 6 months in WWE.

    In Brooklyn he is going to show all these idiots that Japan was a fluke when he becomes the first ever 2-time NXT Champion and take Finn Balor out for good. Finn’s reply is he is going to take Kevin’s words and shove them down his throat. They both signed, Mr. Regal signed, indicating he witnessed this and the match is official.

    You’ll never believe what happened next. Owens attacked Balor and the signing broke down into violence. Shockingly Balor got the better of it, however Mr. Regal tried to pull Owens off, so Kevin punched him in the face. Finn sent Owens packing twice as the show went off the air.

    So, that’s it for this week. What will Mr. Regal say about being punched? How much more can the crowd boo Brooklyn? Will we have new tag team champions? Only one way to find out. Until next week, make sure to say your vitamins and take your prayers!

  • Strike shuts down Broken Skull Challenge

    Deadline.com reported today that the crew that works for the CMT show “Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge” walked off the job this morning.

    The Motion Picture Editor’s Guild and IATSE have put up a picket line outside the offices 51 Minds Entertainment, the series producers.

  • WWE News: Tuesday night ratings

    Tough Enough last night did 1,144,000 viewers, up from the 977,000 it did last week against the Major League Baseball All-Star game.

    It was significantly lower than episodes of Crisley Knows Best that followed on USA.

    Total Divas! dropped to 995,000 viewers, which was far above anything else on E! last night.

  • Article and video on Bryan Alvarez, the radio shows and website in new Herald Business Journal

    You can read the article by Quinn Russell Brown (@quinnthology) by clicking here. Bryan talks about the genesis of the website and radio shows, his wrestling career and much more.

    The Herald Business Journal is available both online and in a hardcopy version in various stories across Western Washington.

    Quinn also created an accompanying video which is linked below.

    Bryan Alvarez: Flying dropkick over the airwaves from Quinn Russell Brown on Vimeo.

    When Bryan Alvarez goes upstairs and turns his microphone on, pro wrestling fans around the world listen. Alvarez has been the host of “Wrestling Observer Live” for 16 years. Read the story: http://www.theheraldbusinessjournal.com/article/20150722/BIZ/150729970/1172/He-talks-they-listen

  • WED. UPDATE: Notes on Real Sports MMA feature, motion to dismiss denied in CM Punk defamation case, and more

    by David Bixenspan | davidbix@wrestlingobserver.com | Follow @davidbix

    Tonight on TV:

    NXT at 8:00 p.m. ET on WWE Network has -Eva Marie vs. Cassie, Baron Corbin vs. Mr. 450, Samoa Joe vs. Mike Rawlis, Emma vs. Bayley, The Vaudevillains vs. Angelo Dawkins and Sawyer Fulton, and the contract signing for Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens at NXT Takeover Brooklyn.

    ROH at 8:00 p.m. ET on Destination America has The Briscoes, Roderick Strong, and ODB vs. Jay Lethal, Donovan Dijak, J Diesel, and Truth Martini.

    Lucha Underground at 8:00 p.m. ET on El Rey has all of this: The true meaning of the Aztec Medallions will be revealed by Dario Cueto himself. Battles of the night include Texano vs Johnny Mundo, as well as Mack vs. Cage. The fun doesn’t stop there when the major event of the night will choose a winner for the final Aztec Medallion in the Battle Royal. The madness goes down on Wednesday, July 22nd at 8:00PM ET/PT on El Rey Network.

    Impact Wrestling at 9:00 p.m. ET on Destination American has Dixie Carter announcing the next inductee to the TNA Hall of Fame, Matt Hardy vs. Bobby Roode in a tables match to determine the number one contender, Bram vs. Magnus in a street fight, and Eric Young vs. Rockstar Spud in a chain match.

    No UFC programming on Fox Sports 1 this time.

    **** 

    The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is up on the site for subscribers (subscribe here) with an extensive look at the new NWA Classics streaming service, the Houston Wrestling library, and Houston’s place in wrestling history. Among the topics covered are:

    * What made Houston Wrestling unique and how the town evolved.

    * What’s on the NWA Classics service so far and why it’s awesome.

    * What other libraries are still around?

    And much more. Plus, as always, we have  all of the usual reviews and international news.

    Also, now available for the first time on Kindle (meaning Kindle devices and anything with the Kindle app) is Fall Guys, the seminal 1937 book that has been described as being like the 1930s version of the Wrestling Observer. It was surprisingly not on Kindle already, so we put together a nice version with a full table of contents w/ chapter marks, proper formatting on everything, etc. Right now it’s available from the American, Canadian, and Australian Amazon/Kindle stores OR you can also buy it from anywhere in the world on PayHip, who will provide you with both Kindle and ePub (every other e-reader) format files, and you can either sideload them to your device or have them email it to your Kindle. 

    **** 

    The Conor McGregor phenomenon and the new direction of women in WWE and a history of women in WWE are the lead stories in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  

    The issue is on the site right now at July 20, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: UFC 189 report, WWE calls up NXT women

    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!

    You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer

    You can also order at www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    Rates are:

    For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52.  In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com  For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.

    If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.

    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 talks about the Conor McGregor phenomenon, how it ushered in the new era of UFC, the business notes on the show, McGregor’s popularity in Ireland, why iPPV numbers probably set records, U.K. reaction, what to learn from McGregor vs. Mendes, how risky a gamble this fight was, similar gambles from the past, the story of the fight, McGregor vs. Aldo next, Ultimate Fighter and a full rundown of UFC 189.

    We also look at WWE’s bringing up Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks this past week, and a look back at the history of women performers in WWE dating back to the Wendi Richter vs. Fabulous Moolah match in 1984.  We look at the forgotten best women’s matches in main roster history and best workers, and failed attempt to market athletic women, what really happened with Aja Kong, We also look at the different ways this can go, how the angles changed, how the angle was done, as well as how UFC made it work and what was the same and different.

    We also look at what may be UFC’s biggest event of 2016, the UFC 200 show.

    We also look at the NXT show in Brooklyn and the busy weekend in the New York area, notes on when the next WWE network number will be released and what it would be up to, as well as break-even, and the peak number.  We look at advance sales for Battleground and the card, Lennox Lewis admits to almost doing a mixed match with Brock Lesnar in 2003, the story behind that fight and why it never happened, William Regal explains what WWE is looking for in new talent in a fascinating interview, notes on the future of Smackdown, who are planned to be focal point of NXT, Ziggler, Cody Runnels, update on Tyson Kidd, key WWE exec gets fired and new major WWE stock purchase by one of the richest men in Holland.

    We also look at an update on several legal proceedings involving WWE suits, notes on Tough Enough, as well as a rundown of the weekend NXT and WWE house shows with business notes on the shows.

    We also look at this year’s UFC induction ceremony, how it has changed, its future goals, and the speeches by Bas Rutten, B.J. Penn, Matt Hughes Frank Trigg, Lori Blatnick and many others.  We look at the histories of all the inductees as well.

    We also have more on Fedor Emelianenko being shopped around for a comeback at the age of 38.  We look at who he is, what he said just a few months ago about a comeback, if it is realistic to expect a match with Brock Lesnar, what Fedor said directly a few months ago about a match with Lesnar, as well as how UFC or Bellator can use him.

    We also look at UFC’s Sunday show in Las Vegas and business notes on the show.

    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:

    –A look at the big weekly event at Arena Mexico

    –Build to CMLL’s big summer show

    –A major big show controversy and a lot of buck passing involved

    –Top matches for this year’s TripleMania

    –A look at this past week’s AAA TV taping

    –Wrestling returns to Royal Albert Hall in London

    –A major star celebrates 30th anniversary of his pro debut

    –Third generation legend makes debut

    –Wrestle-1 announces its own tournament

    –Coverage of Wrestle-1 show from the past week

    –Notes on the G-1 debut card

    –Shinya Hashimoto death anniversary show

    –More on Dusty Rhodes and one of his most famous angles

    –A look at the build of Starrcade 85

    –GFW’s road shows and TV tapings

    –A look at the Waterloo wrestling Hall of Fame and this year’s inductions

    –A match of the year candidate

    –Former WWE star falls into more problems

    –One match which features champions from New Japan, a top star of Evolve, the TNA world champion, a Lucha Underground champion, anther TNA wrestler as well as a WWE wrestler and an ROH wrestler all in the same match

    –A look at Tommy Dreamer’s next show

    –Update on Alberto Del Rio

    –Update on Lucha Underground

    –Movie being made about a Lucha Underground star

    –More on ROH over WrestleMania weekend

    –This week’s upcoming ROH show in Las Vegas

    –A look this past week’s ROH show

    –More on the future of TNA

    –Update on Davey Richards

    –Something to watch for when it comes to UFC fans

    –Update on Travis Browne situation

    –This week’s UFC show on FS 1 and Fight Pass Titan show

    –More on C.M. Punk and his debut

    –More on fighters and prospective TV show ideas

    –Cris Cyborg, UFC and Invicta

    –New UFC fights

    –Lawsuit filed regarding Bellator

    –This week’s Bellator show

    –Notes on how new Bellator announcer used to write for a wrestling newsletter

    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.

    ****

    Wednesday Daily Update

    — HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel had an extensive feature on domestic violence among MMA fighters last night, which is available now on HBO on Demand, HBO Go, and HBO Now. The reaction has been mixed, though it’s been hard to gauge how many of the people complaining actually saw the show.

    What happened was that they were going to interview Christine “Christy Mack” Mackinday about the incident last Summer where War Machine (the former Jon Koppenhaver) attacked her. In doing their research, they found out about the other high profile domestic violence arrests of MMA fighters, taking note of how so many took place in close proximity (Josh Grispi’s arrests were days before Christy Mack was attacked). Their research, focusing on Americans in the “top 200” (presumably FightMetric’s rankings) of each weight class since 2003, found that MMA fighters are twice as likely to be domestic abusers.

    More than anything else, HBO not giving any more detail about their research is the biggest fault with the piece. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s automatically flawed, but there’s no way to scrutinize it. That said, it was absolutely not the hit piece some people are making it out to be. They didn’t imply that being a MMA fighter makes someone an abuser or anything like that. Instead, in a segment where they interviewed Rener Gracie, it was chalked up to a few factors as to why abusers might flock to MMA (as opposed to the other way around):

    1. People prone to violent outbursts will be drawn to the idea of fighting for money.

    2. Steroid use makes it worse.

    3. Abusers with MMA training, especially because of the submission grappling aspect, becme more “effective” abusers, as they gain knowledge of the breaking point of a limb, how long a choke must be held before someone passes out, and so on.

    Qualms about the lack of transparency in the research about the frequency abuse aside,it’s a very good piece. The Christy Mack interview is not for the squeamish (including audio of the attack, as she managed to call 911 and set the phone down), but gives good insight into that whole situation. They also interviewed Jason “Mayhem” Miller, who is clearly not in good shape mentally, whatever the cause.

    — Lots of publicity for Sheamus’s plane home after the SmackDown tapings requiring an emergency landing. He even tweeted a photo where he has one of the emergency oxygen masks on.

    — As noted last night, UFC fired (or technically will no longer be hiring) veteran cutman Jacob “Stitch” Duran after he did an interview with Bloody Elbow where he talked about losing the ability to wear sponsor logos on his vest while not getting any additional compensation from the UFC. He most likely won’t have any trouble getting work, but it’s not a good look.

    — The judge denied a motion to dismiss Dr. Christopher Amann’s defamation lawsuit against Phil “CM Punk” Brooks and Scott “Colt Cabana” Colton. Not much in the way of details, though.

    — Keith Elliott Greenberg has an extensive article about Virgil at FoxSports.com. Really good article covering the majrority of his career. For those not aware, with his newly active Twitter account and GoFundMe campaign to make $1 million so he can become “the real Million Dollar Man,” Virgil appears to now have some self-awareness about his public image these days…while not necessarily having full self-awareness about his image, if that makes sense. He’s now managed by The Iron Sheik’s representation who rebuilt his image, so that’s probably why. 

    — Unsurprisingly lots of rave reviews for Daniel Bryan’s book, which was officially released yesterday in all formats. AVClub gave it an A-, for example.

    — The Langley Times has a story about Don Leo Jonathan being honored at an independent show.

    TODAY’S PRO WRESTLING VIDEOS (thanks to Thomas Rude)

    TNA


    The Question Mark (Episode 17)

    A Look At TNA Wrestling Hall Of Famer:  Sting

    GLOBAL FORCE WRESTLING


    #GFWVegas:  PJ Back-Who Is “The “Darewolf?”

    #GFWAmped:  Kevin Kross-I’m Going To Punch A Hole In Bobby Roode’s Head

    #GFWAmped:  Nick Aldis-Whaat Is Your Opinion Of the GWF Roster?

    #GFWAmped:  Reno Scum-United We Stand, Divided We Die

    GFWAmped:  Sonjay Dutt-What Do Wrestling Fans Want?

    #GFWAmped:  Chris Mordetzy-How Did You Become Involved With GFW?

    #GFWAmped:  Kongo Kong-Why Is He Going To Win The GFW Global Championship?

    #GFWAmped:  Lei’D Tapa-I’ve Also Played Other Sports Like Professional Football!

    #GFWAmped:  Bollywood Boys-Will You Guys Be The Face Of GFW?

    #GFWAmped:  Bollywood Boys-The GFW Tag Team Tournament Championship Tournament

    #GFWAmped:  Kevin Kross-Who Is The Tollman?

    #GFWAmped:  Bollywood Boys-They Talk About Their Heritage And How It Influences Them In The Ring

    WWE/NXT

    7/20/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  GiGi Goes Head Over Heels During Ring Training

    7/21/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  The Coaches Get Brutally Honest With Predictions

    7/21/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  A Divide Among Divas In The Barracks?

    7/21/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  Can ZZ Survive The Obstacle Course?

    7/21/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  Chelsea Assesses Her Spot Post-Injury

    7/21/15 WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra:  Chelsea Gets An Update On Her Ankle

    7/21/15 WWE Network-Tough Talk

    7/20/15 Top 10 RAW Moments

    CHIKARA


    Top 5 Moves Of Fire Ant

    CHIKARA Podcast-A-Go-Go (Episode 425)

    LUCHA UNDERGROUND


    The Road To Ultima Lucha:  Matt Striker

    INDY TV SHOWS


    AIWF Mid-Atlantic TV (Episode 220)

    Covey Pro Wrestling TV (Episode 215)

    Powerbomb Championship Wrestling TV (Episode 35)

    America’s Most Liked Wrestling TV (Season 1, Episode 12)

    West Coast Wrestling Connection TV (Episode 60)

    New England Championship Wrestling “Online” (Episode 8)

    MISC. STUFF


    West Virginia Championship Wrestling “Spotlight” (Episode 125)

  • Ring of Honor TV results and recap: Briscoes/Strong/ODB vs The House of Truth

    By Paul Fontaine, WrestlingObserver.com

    The Big Takeaway:

    Skippable show with a fun but forgettable main event and a bunch of clips from the last 4 years of ROH TV.

    Show Recap: 

    Another show from Terminal 5 in NYC and it’s episode 200. Being the 200th, we get some clips of great moments in the show’s history. First up is the Addiction winning the tag team titles from ReDRagon earlier this year. If you missed it, the KRD reveal took place here and it was Chris Sabin who helped Daniels and Kaz win the titles.

    This led into a promo for the 4 way tag title main event next Friday on iPPV with Addiction defending against ReDRagon, War Machine and the Kingdom.

    Next up were highlights of Steel Cage Warfare from July 2013. Team ROH won over SCUM, with Kevin Steen getting the final pinfall. We then get highlights of the finals of this year’s top prospects tournament, with Donovan Dijak vs Will Ferrara. Tourney also featured Dalton Castle and The Beer City Bruiser, both featured prominently in the tournament recap. Castle of course won, with the help of the House of Truth.

    After a break, we get highlights of Tag Wars 2014, with ReDRagon vs ACH and Matt Sydal. ReDRagon won to retain their tag team titles. Hanson vs AJ Styles from November 2014 is next. They showed about 7 minutes of this, which ended up with AJ beating Hanson with a Styles Clash.

    Inside ROH aired next. Mandy Leon went over the entire card for Death Before Dishonor.

    • Dalton Castle vs Adam Cole
    • The Briscoes vs Rappongi Vice
    • Moose vs Cedric Alexander
    • Adam Page vs ACH
    • 4 Corners Survival match for the tag team titles with the teams mentioned earlier.
    • ROH World title match: Champion Jay Lethal vs Roderick Strong

    Lance Storm vs Michael Bennett from 2012 aired next in clipped form. Bennett won with the Photo finish onto a chair (passed to him by “RudoBon” Bob Evans to send Storm into the podcast world.

    The House of Truth (Jay Lethal, J Diesel, Donovan Dijak and Truth Martini) vs The Briscoes (Jay and Mark), ODB and “Mr ROH” Roderick Strong

    Lethal is out with both titles. Martini is not dressed to fight, as he’s in his usual getup. Fans chanting Baby-tista at J Diesel. He really does look like a mini version of “The Animal”. Martini takes off his jacket and starts off against ODB. He does leave his sunglasses on though, as he does a little breakdancing to kick things off.

    Martini quickly tags in Lethal, so Strong tags in for his team. Lethal tags in Dijak without even locking up. Strong tags in Mark Briscoe and he’s in control as we go to break.

    Lethal gets a tag in after Dijak gets the advantage on Briscoe. Briscoe ends up tired up in the HOT corner. Fans really on Diesel with the “Baby-tista” chants. Briscoe ends up tagging in brother Jay and he’s in control over Dijak.

    Dijak manages to get to his corner and now Jay Briscoe is tied up in the corner, getting quadruple-teamed by the HOT. Diesel works over Briscoe for a bit and Martini asks for the tag. That doesn’t go very well for him and he quickly tags in Lethal. We go to break after Diesel tags in again, still in control.

    Jay turns things around with a Death Valley Driver and tags in Strong. We get a preview of Friday night’s main event, as Strong has his way with Lethal. Strong goes for a pin after a sick kick but it’s broken up by the HOT. Things break down at this point but ODB gets a blind tag from Strong.

    ODB hops on Lethal’s back and he makes the tag to Martini. Dijak and Diesel in now as well and it’s 4 on 1 against ODB. She takes a swig from her flask and starts fighting off the four guys. Just as Lethal gets the advantage on her, the Briscoes and Strong have recovered all 8 are brawling in the ring.

    The Briscoes take care of Dijak and Diesel. Strong takes out Lethal and this leaves Martini and ODB in there together. Martini rolls her up for a two count. ODB spits “alcohol” in the face of Martini and then gets the 100 Proof rollup for the win.

    WINNERS: ODB, RODERICK STRONG AND THE BRISCOES by pinfall

  • VIDEO: UFC Embedded: UFC On FOX 16, Episode 1

    UFC Embedded returns this week for the big FOX event this weekend headlined by T.J. Dillashaw defending the UFC Bantamweight Championship against Renan Barao, and the title eliminator co-main event bout between Miesha Tate and Jessica Eye. In the first edition of this week’s series, Dillashaw and Barao finish up their training camps in their respective home cities, Eye enjoys a day at the chiropractor followed by a cryotherapy session, and Tate enjoys some food with friends while watching Road To The Octagon. Check out the full episode above ahead of UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs. Barao 2 this coming Saturday on FOX.

  • On this day in pro wrestling history (July 22): Vince McMahon found not guilty, WWE Invasion PPV, Danny Hodge wins NWA title, Bruno gets Monsooned

    By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

    1942 – At Riverview Park in Des Moines, Iowa; NWA World Heavyweight Champion Bill Longson beat Orville Brown to capture Brown’s claim to the World Heavyweight Title in 2 out of 3 falls. Also, Gene Bowman beat Jack Kennedy, Babe Zaharias beat Don McIntyre and Cowboy Luttrall and Hans Schultz drew. 

    1943 – Earl McCready defeated Whipper Billy Watson to win the Toronto British Empire Heavyweight Title in Toronto, Ontario.

    1947 – Herb Welch defeated Tex Riley for the Tennessee World Junior Heavyweight Title in Nashville, Tennessee

    1958 – Corsica Jean defeated Ray Stevens for the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Title in Nashville, Tennessee

    1960 – Danny Hodge won the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title by defeating Angelo Savoldi in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Don Leo Jonathan defeated Torbellino Blanco for the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title in Houston, Texas; Dick Steinborn defeated The Mighty Yankee to win the vacant Georgia NWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Atlanta, Georgia

    1961 – Don Greene defeated Len Rossi to win the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Title in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

    1963 – Ron Etchison and Dan Miller defeated Mitsu Arakawa and Kinji Shibuya for the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Title and the Stampede International Tag Team Title in Calgary, Alberta; Gene Kiniski defeated Whipper Billy Watson in Vancouver, British Columbia for the Vancouver British Empire Heavyweight Title

    1964 – The Destroyer defeated Dick the Bruiser to win the WWA World Heavyweight Title in Los Angeles, California

    1965 – In Davenport, Iowa; AWA Tag Team Champions Larry Hennig & Harley Race beat The Crusher & Verne Gagne by countout, Danny Hodge beat Pampero Firpo, Tex McKenzie beat Gene Anderson and Rene Goulet drew Chris Markoff; In Kansas City; Bob Geigel and Dr. X defeated Cowboy Bob Ellis and Mongolian Stomper, Jerry Miller and Bob Brown wrestled to a double disqualification, Sonny Myers beat Johnny Ramirez and Ronnie Etchison beat Frank Hickey

    1967 – Johnny Kostas defeated Moondog Mayne to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title.

    1968 – Paddy Barrett and Don Leo Jonathan defeated Abdullah the Butcher and Armand Hussein for the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Title in Vancouver, British Columbia.

    1969 – Jack Brisco and Ciclón Negro defeated Hiro Matsuda and The Missouri Mauler for the NWA Florida Tag Team Title in Tampa, Florida.

    1972 – Tommy Gilbert and Sputnik Monroe defeated Don and Ron Wright to win the NWA Tennessee Tag Team Title in Chattanooga, Tennessee; Opearl Anston and Masked Lee defeated Miyoko Hoshino and Jumbo Miyamoto to win the WWWA World Tag Team Title in Irima, Japan

    1974 – Tex McKenzie and Ken Patera defeated The Blackjacks (Lanza and Mulligan) for the NWA American Tag Team Title in Fort Worth, Texas.

    1975 – Mr. Wrestlings I and II defeated Don Green and Jerry Lawler to win the NWA Macon Tag Team Title in Macon, Georgia; In Omaha, Nebraska; Verne Gagne & Greg Gagne beat Nick Bockwinkel & Bobby Heenan, Baron Von Raschke beat Larry Hennig, Billy Robinson beat Paul Perschmann (Buddy Rose), Jimmy Valiant & Johnny Valiant drew Chris Taylor & Jim Brunzell and Buddy Wolff beat Bull Bullinski

    1976 – Larry Lane won a tournament to win the vacant Amarillo NWA International Heavyweight Title in Amarillo, Texas; At Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas; Bob Geigel won a 6-man Battle Royal. Also, Bob Geigel & The Super Intern defeated Bob Brown & Tank Patton and Black Gordman & Great Goliath defeated Pat O’Connor & Harley Race

    1977 – Keith Franks (Adrian Adonis) and Roddy Piper defeated Mando Guerrero and Tom Jones for the NWA Americas Tag Team Title; Mr. Wrestling II defeated Dick Slater to win the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title in Atlanta, Georgia.

    1978 – The Valiant Brothers (Jimmy and Johnny) defeated Dominic DeNucci and Wilbur Snyder for the WWA World Tag Team Title in Indianapolis, Indiana; Jean and Pierre Martel defeated Carlos Colón and Chief Thundercloud to win the WWC North American Tag Team Title in San Juan, Puerto Rico. At the same event, Gorilla Monsoon won the WWC North American Heavyweight Title by defeating Bruno Sammartino; Dutch Mantel defeated Whipper Watson, Jr. for the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title in Chattanooga, Tennessee

    1979 – Mark Lewin defeated Bruiser Brody in Dallas, Texas to win the NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Title.

    1981 – Bob Roop defeated The Super Destroyer for the Mid-South Louisiana Heavyweight Title in Shreveport, Louisiana. At the same event, Butch Reed won the Mid-South Television Title from Dutch Mantel.

    1982 – In Oakland, California; AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Hulk Hogan by dq, Ken Patera & Bobby Duncum beat Baron Von Raschke & Otto Wanz, Greg Gagne beat Jerry Blackwell, Tommy Rich beat Bobby Heenan and Ray Stevens beat Moondog Moretti

    1985 – Phil Hickerson defeated Terry Taylor to win the CWA/AWA International Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee

    1986 – The Masked Superstar defeats Lex Luger for the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Tampa, Florida, ending Luger’s second reign.

    1988 – Scott Armstrong defeated Nelson Royal in Knoxville, Tennessee on a USA Wrestling card to win the World Junior Heavyweight Title; The Cuban Commandos (Cuban Assassin and Jerry Morrow) defeated Bad Company (Bruce Hart and Brian Pillman) for the Stampede International Tag Team Title in Calgary, Alberta

    1989 – Jumbo Tsuruta and Yoshiaki Yatsu defeated Stan Hansen and Genichiro Tenryu to win the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Title in Ishikawa, Japan

    1994 – After 16 hours of deliberation, a jury finds WWF owner Vince McMahon not guilty of conspiracy to distribute steroids to wrestlers.

    1998 – The Charlie and Russ Hass defeated The Nation of Immigration (Homicide & Kane D) and The Skinhead Express (Flash Wheeler & Lord Zieg) in a three-way match to win the vacant JAPW Tag Team Title in North Bergen, New Jersey.

    1999 – Chris Candido defeated champion Ace Darling and 2 Cold Scorpio in three-way match in Wildwood, New Jersey to win the Independent Superstars of Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Title.

    2001 – In Cleveland, Ohio at the WWF Invasion PPV; WWF Tag Team Champions The A.P.A. (Bradshaw and Faarooq) defeated WCW World Tag Team Champions Sean O’Haire and Chuck
    Palumbo and Team WCW/ECW (Booker T, The Dudley Boyz, Diamond Dallas Page and Rhyno (with Paul Heyman, WCW owner Shane McMahon and ECW owner Stephanie McMahon Helmsley) defeated Team WWF (Kurt Angle, Steve Austin, Chris Jericho, Kane and The Undertaker (with WWF Chairman Vince McMahon)).

    2002 – In Grand Rapids, Michigan; WWE Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam defeated
    WWE European Champion Jeff Hardy in a Ladder match to unify the titles and WWE Undisputed Champion The Rock pinned Eddie Guerrero

    2005 – Bobby Roode defeated A-1 to win the Border City Wrestling Can-Am Heavyweight Title
    at “Wrestlefest” in Oldcastle, Ontario. Also, Phil Atlas and Jimmy Jacobs defeated Danny
    Daniels and N8 Mattson for the BCW Can-Am Tag Team Title.

    2007 – At the Great American Bash PPV in San Jose, California; WWE Intercontinental Champion Umaga pinned Jeff Hardy  to retain the title, ECW World Champion John Morrison
     pinned CM Punk to retain the title, Randy Orton pinned Dusty Rhodes in a Texas Bullrope match and WWE Champion John Cena pinned Bobby Lashley to retain the title. 

    2010 – AJ Styles defeated Rob Terry to win the TNA Global Title. 

  • TNA announces October 4th Bound for Glory PPV

    By Dave Meltzer, WrestlingObserver.com

    TNA announced today that they will be doing a second PPV this year, Bound for Glory, on 10/4 fro the Cabarrus Arena in Charlotte, NC. The feeling is that running in North Carolina is their best bet because the Hardy Brothers are from that state.  Tickets will be on sale on 7/31.

    There will be VIP tickets for the Main Event Experience for the show which will include a guided tour of the arena, backstage and production facilities, with Dixie Carter, lunch at catering with the entire roster and crew, a fantasy booking segment with a TNA writer and agent, and a walk down the entrance ramp and into the ring for a photo shoot while holding the TNA title belt.

    Talent listed for the show are The Hardys, Kurt Angle, Ethan Carter III, Drew Galloway, The Wolves, Bram, Bobby Lashley, Brooke, Tigre Uno, Gail Kim, Rockstar Spud and The Doll House.

  • TripleMania to be on U.S. and Canadian PPV

    An announcement will be made officially later today that TripleMania, AAA’s biggest event of the year, will be airing live on PPV in the U.S. and Canada on Sunday, 8/9.

    The show will be airing from 7-10 p.m. Eastern time live on all the major PPV carriers, through inDemand, Dish, DirecTV, Bell Canada Satellite and Rogers in Canada, headlined by the first-time ever match with Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Myzteziz.

    The show will be priced at $19.95 for SD and $29.95 for HD.

    Two other matches announced for the show are Alberto El Patron vs. Brian Cage in a hair vs. hair match, and a trios match with Los Villanos III & IV & V facing The Psycho Circus in what will be the retirement match for Villano III, one of Mexico’s most enduring stars of the modern era.

    Most of the AAA-based stars of Lucha Underground are expected to perform on the show.  The complete lineup is expected to be released on Friday. 

    This will be the first live AAA PPV show in the United States since the 1994 When World’s Collide show, which was, at the time, considered one of the best PPV shows in history.