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  • MVP leaves TNA

    On social media Saturday, MVP said that the BDC is no more in TNA and bid farewell to the organization.

    https://twitter.com/The305MVP/status/622545341347266561

    The timing comes right after all of the BDC footage that was taped, but not yet aired on Impact, had to be pulled due to legal threats from Lucha Underground due to usage of Hernandez, who Lucha Underground was in the process of releasing, but hadn’t done so before he had already appeared on TNA in what would have been a violation of his non-compete even if the release was executed.

  • ROH July 17 Las Vegas house show results: Austin Aries returns, new no. 1 contender for TV title crowned

    Submitted by Armando Aguilar

    – Will Ferrara b The Romantic Touch

    – TV title no. 1 contender’s qualifier: Bobby Fish b Matt Taven via Falcon Arrow

    – Nanae Takahashi b ODB with what looked like an Emerald Frosion.

    – TV title no. 1 contender’s qualifier: Christopher Daniels b Mark Briscoe via Angel’s Wings

    – TV title non. 1 contender’s qualifier: ACH b Kazarian

    – Roppongi Vice b Young Bucks. Barreta gets the win with the Dudebuster.

    – Silas Young b Willie Mack

    – War Machine b The Kingdom

    – Bobby Fish b Christopher Daniels & ACH to become the #1 contender for the TV Title. Daniels pinned ACH with the BME, then was submitted by a knee bar from Fish.

    – Vegas Wild Card: Jay Briscoe, Dalton Castle, and Kyle O’Reilly b Austin Aries, Moose, and Jay Lethal. O’Reilly submitted Lethal with an armbar.

  • WWE July 17 Newark, NJ, house show results: Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose, John Cena vs. Kevin Owens

    Submitted by Frank Costa

    – Neville beat Bo Dallas with the Red Arrow

    – Cesaro beat Wade Barrett with the sharpshooter

    – Sheamus beat R Truth with the Brogue Kick 

    – WWE Tag Team Champions Prime Time Players def. The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods)

    – U.S. Champion John Cena def. Kevin Owens by DQ after a low blow. Match was very good similar to their 2 PPV matches 

    INTERMISSION

    – Paige beat Tamina with a roll up after she bumped into Naomi on the apron

    – Roman Reigns beat Bray Wyatt with a roll up after escaping a Sister Abigail. Bray laid him out after the match.

    – WWE Champion Seth Rollins beat Dean Ambrose in a street fight after Bray Wyatt interfered. Match was good with a couple table spots.

    Notes:

    The show went almost 3 hours. I was surprised by how many kids showed up compared to Extreme Rules in Jersey last year.

  • UFC Fight Night 72: Bisping vs. Leites live results and coverage

    Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 72: Bisping vs. Leites from The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland. The event, the UFC’s first-ever trip to Scotland, is headlined by a five-round middleweight bout between 9th-ranked Michael Bisping and 10th-ranked Thales Leites and airs on FOX Sports 1 at 1 PM eastern time. Preliminary card action kicks off at 10 AM eastern time on UFC Fight Pass before moving over to FOX Sports 1 at 11 AM eastern time.

    Coverage provided by Ryan Frederick

    PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 10 AM ET/7 AM PT):

    HEAVYWEIGHTS: DANIEL OMIELANCZUK VS. CHRIS DE LA ROCHA

    ROUND 1- Omielanczuk rocks Rocha quick with some big punches and a head kick but Rocha survives. Omielanczuk rocks him again and they are swinging hard. Omielanczuk drops Rocha with a right hand and then two punches on the ground and this fight is over quickly. Omielanczuk with a quick knockout win in less than a minute.

    Official Result: Daniel Omielanczuk def. Chris de la Rocha by TKO (punches) at :48 of Round 1

    BANTAMWEIGHTS: MARCUS BRIMAGE VS. JIMMIE RIVERA

    ROUND 1- Rivera starts with a head kick and they trade punches. They swing hard early. Rivera with a leg kick and Brimage stumbles for a moment. Brimage with a front kick to the body and then a straight left hand. Brimage with a leg kick. Rivera rocks Brimage big with a right hand and then knocks him down against the fence and more punches and the fight is stopped. Rivera picks up the win in his UFC debut.

    Official Result: Jimmie Rivera def. Marcus Brimage by TKO (punches) at 1:29 of Round 1

    PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 11 AM ET/8 AM PT):

    FEATHERWEIGHTS: ROBERT WHITEFORD VS. PAUL REDMOND

    ROUND 1- Whiteford got a massive ovation as he is from Scotland and had bagpipes playing during his walkout. Whiteford lands a right hand and then connects with another. Redmond with a head kick and he eats a right hand and goes down for a moment but gets up. Both men land and we have an eye poke. Whiteford with a leg kick after they exchange. Redmond lands a right hand that rocks Whiteford for a moment. Whiteford lands a left hand as the crowd chants loudly for him. Whiteford drops Redmond with a big left hand and finishes him with more punches and the crowd goes wild. Whiteford jumped out of the Octagon and went into the crowd to celebrate as they chant loudly for him. It came across well on the broadcast.

    Official Result: Robert Whiteford def. Paul Redmond by TKO (punches) at 3:04 of Round 1

    LIGHTWEIGHTS: MICKAEL LEBOUT VS. TEEMU PACKALEN

    ROUND 1- Packalen has a takedown stuffed in the opening seconds and they clinch against the fence. Packalen gets the fight to the mat and is in half-guard. Packalen passes guard into the mount but Lebout recovers to half-guard. Packalen with some punches from the top. Lebout scrambles to the top and Packalen is going for an arm. Lebout goes to side control and then takes side mount on the back. Packalen rolls out and Lebout gets to his feet. Lebout with a hammerfist and then takes the back for a moment but goes back to side control. Packalen rolls out. Lebout with some left hands from the top. Lebout goes to side control and then takes the back. Lebout rolls for a submission and it allows Packalen to go to mount and he starts landing big punches and elbows from the top. We are headed to the second round for the first time today. 10-9 Packalen.

    ROUND 2- Packalen goes for a takedown but Lebout sprawls. Lebout gets to his feet lands some leg kicks before the referee stands Packalen up. Lebout sprawls a takedown again and lands more kicks to the legs and body from a standing position. Lebout goes to the ground but gets back up. Packalen ordered back up after eating some kicks. Packalen lands a spinning back kick to the body as he is starting to gas out. Lebout lands a knee and right hand to the body. Lebout misses a right hand and defends a takedown. Lebout lands a knee to the head by accident and we have a timeout. No point deduction. Lebout lands a right hand. Packalen gets a weak takedown and goes for a leglock. Packalen gets to the mount but goes back to half-guard. Lebout gets to his feet as the round ends. 10-9 Lebout, 19-19.

    ROUND 3- Packalen lands some big punches to start the round and they clinch against the fence. Packalen tries to grab the arm and stumbles to the ground. Lebout lands leg kicks from a standing position. Packalen ordered to his feet and lands a right. Lebout lands a couple of jabs. Packalen whifs on a telegraphed takedown. Lebout gets to his feet. Packalen gets up and they trade punches. Both men are tired. Packalen has a takedown stuffed again. They trade punches again as the pace has slowed. Packalen is able to finish an ugly takedown attempt. Packalen in the half-guard. Lebout tries to sweep and goes into side control against the fence. Packalen tries to roll out and can’t get Lebout down. They trade punches as they get to their feet and Packalen pulls guard and Lebout takes his back. Lebout goes for a choke but time expires. 10-9 Lebout, 29-28 Lebout.

    Official Result: Mickael Lebout def. Teemu Packalen by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

    LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS: ILIR LATIFI VS. HANS STRINGER

    ROUND 1- Latifi with a big leg kick. They trade leg kicks and Latifi drops Stringer with a right hand and then lands one more and another for good measure and it is over quickly. Fourth fight to finish in the first round today. Solid card for finishes.

    Official Result: Ilir Latifi def. Hans Stringer by knockout (punches) at :56 of Round 1

    FLYWEIGHTS: PATRICK HOLOHAN VS. VAUGHAN LEE

    ROUND 1- Holohan got a big reaction. Lee with a side kick. Holohan with some body kicks. They go to the may and Lee ends in the guard of Holohan. Holohan working for an arm but eats some hammerfists from Lee. Holohan transitions and looks for a triangle choke. Holohan still looking for it as he lands some elbows from the bottom. Holohan still working for it as Lee is looking to escape. Lee and Holohan are both landing punches as Holohan tries to transition and Lee escapes. Lee then grabs the back and has a choke locked in but Holohan survives as the round ends. Awesome final minute. 10-9 Holohan.

    ROUND 2- Lee lands a big leg kick. Holohan misses a spin kick but goes for a takedown against the fence. Lee defends and lands a big knee. Holohan rolls to the ground and Lee is on top and lands a big punch from the top. Lee in the half-guard and lands a big hammerfist as he transitions to mount. Holohan grabs a leg and looks for a heel hook. Holohan rolls to the top. Holohan in the half-guard. Holohan moves to side control. Holohan looking for an arm. Elbows from the top by Holohan. Holohan with more left hands from the top as they spin to north-south position. Holohan looks for a kimura as he lands hammerfists. Holohan looks to switch for an armbar. Lee defends as the round comes to an end. 10-9 Holohan, 20-18 Holohan.

    ROUND 3- Holohan lands a kick that goes just a little too low and we have a timeout. Back to action after Lee used almost all of the five minutes. Holhan with a high kick but Lee lands a left hand counter. Holohan with a combo. Holohan with a jumping high kick and then another. Lee lands a left hand and then a combo to the body. Holohan with a spinning heel kick and then another. Holohan with a side elbow and a spinning back fist. Lee with a left hand. Holohan lands a combo and then a knee to the body. Holohan misses a spinning head kick. Lee lands a straight left hand and then lands a solid left hand. Holohan lands a late takedown and some elbows as the fight ends. 10-9 Holohan, 30-27 Holohan.

    Official Result: Patrick Holohan def. Vaughan Lee by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

    MAIN CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 1 PM ET/10 AM PT):

    LIGHTWEIGHTS: STEVIE RAY VS. LEONARDO MAFRA

    ROUND 1- Ray got a massive reaction and a chant as he is from Scotland. Ray with a head kick to start. Ray slips on a kick but gets up. Ray lands a left hand. They trade kicks. Mafra with a leg kick. Ray misses a wheel kick. Ray lands a right hand.Ray lands a big right hand and Mafra is hurt bad. Ray lands some more and they are throwing bombs as Mafra has recovered. But then Ray lands a big right hand and some punches against the fence and this one is over. Massive reaction from the Scottish fans as Ray gets the first-round win. A nice night of first-round finishes.

    Official Result: Stevie Ray def. Leonardo Mafra by TKO (punches) at 2:30 of Round 1

    WELTERWEIGHTS: LEON EDWARDS VS. PAWEL PAWLAK

    ROUND 1- Edwards is coming off an eight-second win in his last fight. Edwards with a head kick. Edwards with a body kick and then lands a left hand. Pawlak lands a right hand. Edwards lands a big combo and they clinch against the fence. They trade knees against the fence. They break and Edwards lands a big left. Edwards with a combo and they clinch again. Edwards looking for a takedown against the fence. They trade knees and then are broken up by the referee. Pawlak goes for a takedown but Edwards sprawls. Edwards lands a left hand and a body kick. Pawlak with a body kick. Edwards lands a left hand at the end. 10-9 Edwards.

    ROUND 2- They both miss on their attack to open. Edwards with a big head kick. Pawlak counters but Edwards lands a combo that hurts Pawlak for a moment. They trade punches. Edwards just misses with a spin kick against the fence but lands a big left hand. Pawlak with a combo and a body kick. Edwards lands a left hand and they clinch. They are broken up by the referee as not a lot happened in the clinch. Edwards lands a left hand. Pawlak goes for a takedown but Edwards ends up in his guard. Edwards with some elbows from the top. Edwards with some punches from the top. 10-9 Edwards, 20-18 Edwards.

    ROUND 3- They both miss on punches to start. Break in the action after a low blow. Pawlak slips on a kick but right back up. Big head kick from Edwards drops Pawlak and Edwards goes to the ground looking for the finish. Big punches from Edwards but Pawlak survives and is able to recover. Pawlak holding Edwards on the ground trying to recover. Edwards in the guard landing but unable to pass the guard. They stand. Edwards misses a flying knee. Edwards lands a left hand. Pawlak misses a spinning back fist and they clinch against the fence. Edwards lands short punches against the fence. Edwards with an elbow on the break. Pawlak with a body kick and they clinch again. We go to the judges. 10-9 Edwards, 30-27 Edwards.

    Official Result: Leon Edwards def. Pawel Pawlak by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

    WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHTS: JOANNE CALDERWOOD VS. CORTNEY CASEY

    ROUND 1- Calderwood got a massive reaction being from Glasgow. They trade punches and Casey rocks Calderwood with some right hands. Calderwood is stunned against the fence and they clinch. Calderwood with body punches in the clinch. Casey pulls guard and they go to the mat. Calderwood with body punches from the top. Calderwood with a big elbow from the top. Casey with an upkick. Casey goes for a heel hook. They trade punches on the ground and Calderwood is able to transition to the half-guard of Casey. Casey with elbows from the bottom and Calderwood with punches from the top. Hammerfists from both women. 10-9 Casey.

    ROUND 2- Calderwood initates a clinch against the fence. Calderwood with knees and elbows in the clinch as they break. Calderwood with a nice combo and a spin kick to the body. Calderwood with knees in the tie-up and then gets a takedown. Calderwood in the guard of Casey. She gets to her feet and Casey does as well. Calderwood with a big left hand and then another but eats a right hand from Casey. They trade punches. Calderwood with a right hand. They clinch and Calderwood trips Casey to the ground. Calderwood with body punches from the top. Loud chants for Calderwood from the crowd. Calderwood with ground-and-pound and they get to their feet. Calderwood with a spin kick to the body into the clinch where she lands some knees. Calderwood lands a big combo at the end of the round. 10-9 Calderwood, 19-19.

    ROUND 3- They trade leg kicks. Calderwood with a right hand. They trade a lot of punches and Calderwood landed a big right hand. Calderwood with a spinning elbow. Calderwood drops Casey with a spin kick to the body and goes for the finish. Punches and elbows from Calderwood but Casey is surviving. Calderwood backs off and they stand. Calderwood with two left hands. They trade punches. Calderwood with a big right hand and they clinch. Casey goes to the mat and Calderwood goes into her guard. Calderwood moves to side control but they get to their feet. Calderwood with some leg kicks and they clinch. They trade and clinch and Calderwood lands some knees. Casey pulls guard and Calderwood lands punches to the body. Calderwood with strikes from the top. Calderwood with more punches and she ends the round with a huge flurry and a massive ovation from the crowd. Great fight. 10-9 Calderwood, 29-28 Calderwood.

    Official Result: Joanne Calderwood def. Cortney Casey by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)

    LIGHTWEIGHTS: JOSEPH DUFFY VS. IVAN JORGE

    ROUND 1- Duffy is the last man to defeat Conor McGregor. Jorge lands a right hand. Duffy with a solid combo. Duffy with an inside leg kick. They clinch against the fence. Duffy with a body kick and knee and a combo. Jorge with a knee to the body. They break. Duffy with a knee and then just misses a head kick. Jorge lands a combo. Duffy with an uppercut and Jorge gets a takedown but goes into the guard of Duffy. Duffy locks on a triangle and looks for an armbar and Jorge taps out! Duffy with the impressive win.

    Official Result: Joseph Duffy def. Ivan Jorge by submission (triangle choke) at 3:05 of Round 1

    Daniel Cormier vs. Alexander Gustafsson was announced as the main event of UFC 192 on October 3 in Houston, Texas.

    LIGHTWEIGHTS: ROSS PEARSON VS. EVAN DUNHAM

    ROUND 1- Dunham lands a knee as Pearson ducked in. Dunham with a body kick. Pearson lands a right hand. Dunham shoots in and gets a takedown and lands some punches on the mat but Pearson gets to his feet. Dunham has the back and lands some knees. Dunham gets another takedown and takes the back of Pearson and has the hooks in. Dunham looking for the choke but Pearson is defending. Both men landing strikes on the ground. Dunham landing punches and elbows from the back. Dunham transitions to the armbar and it is in deep. Pearson is somehow surviving and gets out! That was locked in tight but Pearson survived. No idea how Pearson didn’t tap there. Pearson lands a right hand and then another as the round ends. 10-9 Dunham.

    ROUND 2- They trade and Dunham gets the takedown and is on top. Dunham with punches from the top. They get up and Dunham has the back. Dunham looks for a slam but Pearson defends and they run to the mat against the fence. Dunham still has the back and drags Pearson to the mat and is looking to get the hooks in. Dunham with punches from the back as he has the hooks in on Pearson. Dunham working for the choke as Pearson lands punches from the top. The fans are booing. Dunham looking for the armbar but the round ends before he can get it. 10-9 Dunham, 20-18 Dunham.

    ROUND 3- Dunham with a head kick. Pearson defends a takedown attempt from Dunham. Pearson with a body kick. Dunham goes for a takedown and pushes Pearson against the fence. Dunham with an elbow. Pearson with an elbow as Dunham works for the takedown. Pearson lands some knees as he defends and Dunham is cut. Dunham initiates a tie-up and pushes Pearson against the fence. Pearson lands a knee as Dunham drops to work for the takedown. Dunham with a knee. Dunham still working for the takedown. They trade elbows in the clinch. Pearson with a knee to the body. They trade short punches and Dunham works for the takedown and gets it right at the end of the fight. 10-9 Dunham, 30-27 Dunham.

    Official Result: Evan Dunham def. Ross Pearson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

    MIDDLEWEIGHTS: MICHAEL BISPING VS. THALES LEITES

    ROUND 1- Leites starts with a leg kick. Low kick by Leites lands in the wrong place. They trade punches and Bisping lands a right hand. Leites with a leg kick. They trade punches. Bisping with a combo ending with a high kick. Leites with a leg kick. Leites lands a nice combo. Bisping with a head kick. They trade punches and kicks. Bisping with an inside leg kick and then another. Leites lands a leg kick but Bisping counters with a right hand. Bisping lands a right hand and scores a takedown. Bisping in the half-guard of Leites. Leites switches to the back and is looking for something on Bisping. Bisping grabbed the fence. 10-9 Bisping.

    ROUND 2- Leites lands a leg kick. Bisping with an overhand right. Leites lands a right hook and Bisping with an inside leg kick. Bisping with another leg kick and then lands a solid combo. Big right hand from Leites lands. Bisping with an inside leg kick. They trade leg kicks and Bisping stumbles to the ground. Leites with a right hand as Bisping lands a leg kick. Bisping with a big body kick. Leites lands an uppercut and then a big leg kick. Bisping with another inside leg kick. They trade an exchange. Bisping lands a big overhand right. Bisping with another inside leg kick and then lands a big left hook. They trade leg kicks. Leites lands a right hand. Bisping with a high kick. Two close rounds. 10-9 Bisping, 20-18 Bisping.

    ROUND 3- Leites lands a big right hand and has Bisping hurt. Leites fires away with punches and Bisping is able to clinch. They break and Bisping is cut. They trade punches as Bisping looks to circle around. Bisping with the jab and firing away punches and a kick. Leites comes back with a leg kick. Leites lands a right hand. Bisping lands a spinning back kick. Bisping with another combo. Leites with a leg kick. Leites with a leg kick. Leites is bleeding as well. Bisping lands a right hand. Leites lands a big uppercut against the fence. Another close round but Leites takes it. 10-9 Leites, 29-28 Bisping.

    ROUND 4- Both come out swinging against the fence. Bisping with an inside leg kick. Bisping’s footwork has slowed down and he does land another leg kick. Leites with a leg kick and Bisping counters with a right hand. Leites with a combo but Bisping is able to circle away. Leites lands a right hand. Bisping with a right hand and an inside leg kick. Bisping with a double jab and leg kick combo. Both men land punches. Bisping with a Superman punch and Leites counters with a combo. Bisping with a combo. They trade punches as both men are slowing a little. Bisping with a leg kick and Leites fails at a takedown attempt. Leites with a leg kick. Bisping with a body kick. Another close round. 10-9 Bisping, 39-37 Bisping.

    ROUND 5- Leites lands a left hand and both men come with an exchange. Leites being the aggressor. Leites with a leg kick. Bisping lands a right hand but Leites landed a left hook. Bisping with the jab. Leites lands an uppercut and both land a leg kick. Bisping with a solid combo with a right hand and head kick. Leites with a right hand as Bisping was against the fence. Leites with a combo as he has Bisping against the fence but Bisping is able to circle away and lands a leg kick. Leites lands a right hand. Bisping lands a nice right hand. Both men land punches. Bisping lands a solid combination and then a right hand. Leites lands a combo. Bisping countering well. Leites lands a right hook that stuns Bisping. Bisping goes for a flying knee but Leites lands a right hand. Bisping lands a spin kick as the fight ends. Super close fight and will be interesting. 10-9 Bisping, 49-46 Bisping.

    Official Result: Michael Bisping def. Thales Leites by split decision (47-48, 49-46, 48-47) 

  • WWE NXT report 7-17 Cocoa Beach, FL – Balor vs. Breeze

    Submitted by Wayne Mason

    Friday night NXT brought another night of top notch wrestling action to Cocoa, Fl and a sold out crowd. It was an intense night of action that saw plenty of bumps, a few surprises, and a main event featuring the newly crowned NXT champion, Finn Balor.

    There are not many hotter ways to start a show than with the always over Cass and Enzo. The two came out to a huge pop bringing the Cocoa crowd to their feet. Their opponents for the evening are the roughnecks Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. Enzo starts out strong for his team using his speed to his advantage staying one step ahead of his opponents. Zo hits a Dash with a nice crossbody and the action continues to the outside where Zo does a new swinging kick maneuver around the turnbuckle. Soon though Wilder gets the upper hand via a little distraction from Dawson. The two pick apart Enzo with the trademark combination of brawling and wrestling acumen that one expects from Dawson and Wilder. Enzo mounts a comeback and attempts to make the hot tag but Dash pulls Cass off of the ring apron. The two turn Enzo inside out with a guillotine, but regardless moments later Amore made the hot tag to Cass. The big guy comes in clearing house ejecting Dawson from the ring and laying out Wilder with a swinging side slam. He follows with “Air Zo”, launching Enzo off the turnbuckle onto Wilder for the pin. This was a fun match and a great way to start the night.

    Next up is Angelo Dawkins taking on Uhaa Nation. The two start slowly feeling each other out until Uhaa mounts some momentum early on. As always Uhaa Nation did a great job of making it look too easy until Dawkins laid him out with a cheap shot. At this point Dawkins wisely did his best to keep Uhaa grounded in a front chancery.  Inevitably Uhaa mounted a comeback with a crossbody, a clothesline, dropkick and a splash in the corner. With Dawkins rocked, Nation finished him off with a military press followed by an incredible standing moonsault. Afterwards Ty Dillinger comes out and gives the match a 0. Uhaa Nation looked incredible as always, while the Dawkins controlled parts of the match slowed the momentum quite a bit. Hopefully he will go back to teaming with Sawyer Fulton as the two had developed a tag team synergy together that will likely carry them much further than singles matches at this stage.

    The Vaudevillians are out next to deliver a promo. They tell us that they have traveled all over the territory and have faced everyone. English continues by stating that they stand at the precipice of the tag team division as number one contenders, and that the will defeat Blake and Murphy. At this point the two are interrupted by the music of the champions Blake and Murphy who make their way to the ring. English asks Gotch what he thinks of dubstep and Gotch replies, “No Sir, I don’t care for it.” Unfazed Murphy tells us that it is great to be in Daytona before Blake corrects him. Blake tells The Vaudevillians they should bow out and give up their contender spot before they destroy them. Blake and Murphy take cheap shots but English and Gotch quickly turn it around chasing the champs off before a final pose in the ring. This was a good segment that showcased all four men in a good light and gave us the rare opportunity to see Blake and Murphy tested on the mic, which they did well.

    Tag team action is next with “The Hype Bros” Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley taking on the newly formed team of Jason Jordan and Chad Gable. In the opening moments Jordan takes the distinct strength advantage tossing around Ryder with ease. Gable tags in and Ryder flapjacks him and makes a tag to the very animated Mojo Rawley who comes in with his usual banter letting us know that Gable “Ain’t hyped!” followed by dancing and “hammertime”.  Later into the match Jordan and Gable manage to wrest control over Ryder focusing on attacking the leg. Ultimately Ryder would make a hot tag to Mojo who comes in and lays out Gable with a shoulder tackle and a big splash while Ryder nails Jordan with a Broski Boot. Rawley hoists up Gable and Ryder hits a Rough Ryder off the top rope for the win. This was actually a very entertaining match. Gable is quickly becoming one of my favorite athletes in all of NXT, while Jason Jordan is looking better than ever. I’ll also admit The Hype Bros seem to be gelling as a tag team as well, I still can’t stand the Rawley gimmick but he and Ryder work well together.

    Next, Mike Rawlis attempts to take down the lone wolf Baron Corbin in a match that wasn’t quite a squash but was pretty one sided. Baron Corbin seemed to be toying with Rawlis as he took his time picking him apart. Rawlis made a few short lived comebacks that Corbin quickly shut down. In a final rally Rawlis caught Corbin with a powerslam. He followed with a flurry of punches accentuated by an impressive fallaway slam. Unfortunately for Mike Rawlis this seemed to anger Corbin more than anything. Corbin nailed him with a big boot and planted him to the mat with an End Of Days for the win.

    Women’s action follows with fan favorite Bayley taking on Eva Marie, who came out to major heat. The match starts off with much grappling and several pin attempts. Eva gains momentum culminating in a nice headscissors but Bayley battles back with a one handed bulldog and her patented slip and slide on top of Eva. Later the tide turns and Eva Marie slows the pace contorting Bayley into a grounded abdominal stretch followed by a suplex and a running senton. The momentum swings back to Bayley who ultimately finishes Eva with her splash and elbow in the corner followed by a Hugplex for the win. Of course, what everyone is dying to know is how Eva Marie did. This is not the same Eva Marie you last saw in a WWE ring, while she may still be rough around the edges, her hard work and training is shining through. She shows much potential and with Bayley as ring general the two put on one of the more fun matches of the night.

    Next up the perfect ten Ty Dillinger goes up against Bull Dempsey. In the opening moments Dillinger has fun easily evading Dempsey, following by flexing his glutes at the big guy. Dempsey answers with a cartwheel of his own followed by gyrating his hips at Dillinger. The two eventually get down to business and Ty takes over laying out Dempsey with a DDT and follows with a series of strikes and kicks, the often playful Dillinger is relentless when on the attack. Dempsey begins to mount a comeback but Dillinger shuts him down with a superkick. Moments later Dempsey runs over Dillinger and follows with a series of punches and a bionic elbow. With Dillinger down Dempsey climbs the turnbuckles and comes down with a seated senton for the pin. This was a good lighthearted match that could have went either way. The momentum of Dillinger increases with every show while Dempsey to gain more traction as a face than he ever did as the wrecking ball.

    Solomon Crowe comes out for a short interview with Greg Hamilton. Hamilton ask what to expect from Crowe in the coming year. A fan chants “Crowe for champ”. Crowe echoes his sentiment.

    I’m a big fan of Crowe but this segment sort of meandered without saying too much.

    We continue with women’s tag action as Carmella and Lina take on Dana Brooke and Cassie.  Lina quite easily takes over against Cassie and dominates the early goings with Carmella. Eventually Dana causes a distraction shifting the complexion of the match. Dana and Cassie employ frequent tags until Dana eventually grounds Carmella with a body scissors. Ultimately, Carmella makes the hot tag to Lina who runs over Dana. Moments later Dana jumps onto Linas back and locks on a short lived sleeper hold. Brooke tags in Cassie but Lina puts her through the mat with a side slam and follows with an elbow for the pin. This was an entertaining match with all four women doing a great job. Dana Brooke gets better with every outing, while out of the recent class Cassie (KC Cassidy) is the standout.

    Our main event of the evening is Tyler Breeze taking on NXT champion Finn Balor. The match begins with some nice back and forth grappling until Breeze take a cheap shot. It didn’t help, as Finn easily regained the upper hand. A frustrated Breeze decides to quit and head to the back but Finn gives chase and brings him back. Breeze pokes Finn in the eye and goes on the attack, targeting the leg that Balor was favoring. Breeze locks on an agonizing Figure-4 but Balor eventually reverses it. Moments later Breeze goes for a second Figure-4 but Balor kicks Breeze out of the ring. The action continues as Finn rolls through Breeze’s sunset flip and answers with a dropkick. Now in control Finn locks on a short lived Figure-4 of his own. The two battle back to their feet and Balor hits a slingblade. Balor attempts to follow with a dropkick but runs into a superkick from Breeze instead. Breeze continues with an aggressive attack on the leg of Balor. The action continues and Balor once again hits a slingblade and follows with a dropkick into the corner. Finn Balor climbs the turnbuckles and hits the Coup De Grace for a hard fought victory. This was an exciting main event, as one would expect from the NXT champion and the underrated Tyler Breeze.

  • NJPW on AXS 7-16-15 report: Suzuki vs. Styles; Nakamura vs. Ishii

    by Bryan Rose, WrestlingObserver.com

    Last week on New Japan on AXS, Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito squared off in a great battle that led to Natio getting the big win, revenge from the Tokyo Dome just a few months prior. This week is a special episode for Wrestling Observer subscribers, as not only are the matches from tonight’s show from the 2014 card of the year (G1 Climax Day 7) but we’ll also be seeing highlights from the 2014 match of the year, as AJ Styles takes on Minoru Suzuki. In the main event, we’ll see the best brawler Tomohiro Ishii take on Wrestler of the Year Shinsuke Nakamura. This is a show packed with Wrestling Observer award favorites, so it’s bound to be one hell of a show.

    This took place August 1, 2014 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

    They first aired the AJ Styles/Minoru Suzuki match. This was somewhat clipped, but they spent a good amount of time airing most of the match. When first watching this match, I thought it was going to be a total styles clash (pun not entirely intended). But after watching this match, boy did this exceed any expectations I had. This was a white hot match with perfect psychology, great heat from the audience and the submission work by Suzuki was a big highlight of the match. The work on the fingers was amazing in particular – there’s no like Minoru Suzuki in pro wrestling in how he does so little but makes everything he does look incredible though facials and submissions. Not that Styles didn’t hold up his end of the game either – he was great in his role as the babyface fighting out of all of Suzuki’s submission work. Just a super match that deserves all the accolades it gets. AJ gets the win with the Styles Clash in an awesome match.

    AJ says he can take his arm, but he can’t take his will. Suzuki says it’s not the end.

    Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Hirooki Goto aired next. This looked pretty good, though it was clipped more than the previous match. While I groaned last year that Tenzan was involved in the tournament since most of the year he’s nearing immobility, this is the time of the year where he really steps it up and it showed in this match, which again looked very good, but at the same time it’s also one of those matches that fall at the wayside from me since there’s so much good stuff in this tournament. Tenzan gets the submission with the anaconda vise.

    Nakamura is interviewed. He said this match with Ishii was the first one where their skills were put to the test against each other, since they are in the CHAOS stable together and also tag team on occasion. He hurt his neck in the match last week against Honma, so he wanted to make sure his neck healed up before the G1. What he knows about Ishii is that his style is not straightforward, he works like he’s set to hurt himself facing larger opponents. Nakamura says he is better at controlling the rhythm of the match, but Nakamura has the better style.

    The match aired. I liked this match a lot, though I think far and away the best match of the night was Suzuki/Styles. This was the headliner, however, so I get them airing this match in full. And there’s nothing to complain about regardless, as this was a fantastic match. This, again, was a styles clash sort of match, but that wasn’t my mindset going into the match. Rather, it was the match that told that story – Ishii wanted to do his style and be stiff and brutal. Nakamura relied on doing his strong style, which differs from Ishii’s more brutal style. It turned into a great back and forth battle because of this, and turned out to be a great match. Nakamura smashed Ishii with two boma yes, but he kicked out. Ishii was going for perhaps a lariat, but Nakamura stunned him with another boma ye and pinned him.

    Ishii said even before the match he had a feeling he hadn’t felt in a while, because Nakamura was that kind of guy. He’s glad that they fought now, because 2 years ago it wouldn’t have been as special as this.Nakamura says they inspired each other, and to be in the same ring…it was great to be in the same ring as a great wrestler. He says today was the key match of the G1. They’ll fight again.

    Upon reflection, Nakamura says it felt weird form the start to face him. Our performance kept accelerating as time went on. It was a tough match, but it was great to face him head on. He thought this would be arrogant to say, but he felt he got “into” Ishii that night, knew his emotions going into the match.

    Another terrific show for this week, with all 3 bouts ranging from good to great to awesome. Next week, two of the biggest stars in New Japan will face off as Hiroshi Tanahashi will take on Shinsuke Nakamura as G1 24 rolls on.

  • WWE News: Note on Sunday’s Battleground show match

    The WWE has stated that the entire three-way match with Ryback vs. The Miz vs. Big Show is off Sunday’s show.

    The title match aspect and Ryback participation was known to be off due to his suffering a staph infection of his right knee.  It had been unclear whether Miz and Show would remain on the show in a match against each other.

    Like everything with WWE, this is all subject to change.

  • Bellator MMA 140 Live coverage and results: Welterweight Title – Lima vs Koreshkov

    It’s an all-welterweight show tonight on Spike TV, headlined by a title fight in the main event. Action gets underway on Spike TV at 9 pm eastern. 

    By Paul Fontaine for WrestlingObserver.com

    New play by play announcer Sean Grande joins Jimmy Smith. Opening pretty heavily focused on the charismatic Michael Venom Page (MVP), who has star potential if he keeps winning. Main event is “17 months in the making”.

    Welterweights Rudy “Bad News” Bears (16-13) vs Michael “Venom” Page (7-0)

    You may remember Page from his unforgettable performance at the Bellator PPV last year, where he drew comparisons in style to Anderson Silva. They show Page’s walkout but not much to it. Todd Anderson is the referee.

    Page gets a knockdown 30 seconds in but Bears takes him down after a spinning back kick attempt. Page is waving his arms around like a madman and jumping all over the place and he knocked him out cold with a left hook, walking away before the ref even called it off.

    WINNER: MICHAEL PAGE (8-0) by KO at 1:05

    Page got a post-fight interview but didn’t really say much. He did wear his sunglasses indoors, for whatever that’s worth. 

    Welterweights Chris Honeycutt (6-0) vs Paul Bradley (22-6) 

    Big John is the ref here after just working the UFC San Diego show two nights ago. Honeycutt is a 2 time NCAA All-American who is one of Bellator’s young prospects they hope to build around. 

    Honeycutt stuffed on his first takedown attempt 30 seconds in. Honeycutt landing a lot of punches from distance but goes for another takedown and gets stuffed again 2 minutes in. Bradley with a cut over his right eye after 3:00 and stops another takedown attempt. Bradley with no answer for the striking of Honeycutt the rest of the round. 10-9 Honeycutt

    Honeycutt with a double-leg takedown and completes it 30 seconds in but Bradley right back up. Bradley gets a flash takedown of his own 1:00 but Honeycutt back to his feet. Honeycutt seems to be tiring as he’s not throwing nearly as many strikes and Bradley controlling the page half-way through the round. Accidental headbutt opens up a cut on Bradley. Doctor calls the fight due to the cut. 

    NO CONTEST as it’s ruled an accidental clash of heads

    They showed highlights of prelim fight from earlier in the Women’s Flyweight division. Kaline Medeiros scored a submission in 3:24 with a Kimura to climb to 5-4 over Sarah Payant, who dropped to 1-1. Medeiros dominated the entire fight and it looked a complete mismatch. 

    Welterweights “Irish” Brennan Ward (10-3) vs “The Leprechaun” Roger Carroll (16-11)

    Cung Le and Randy Couture are at ringside watching the action as we to a promo for PBC boxing. An awful lot of filler on this show. 

    Pre-fight video package for Ward-Carroll is completely ridiculous bro. Carroll singing Danny boy in a Leprechaun hat. Ward swearing every third word, bro. Ward doesn’t like wearing a shirt cause he’s f’ing jacked, bro. 

    Carroll looks like a Chuck Liddell version of “Gillberg”, just a complete jobber. With a 16-11 record in the regionals, it’s clear what his role is tonight. John McCarthy is the ref again. 

    Ward knocks him down with a front kick 10 seconds in. Ward with a takedown but lets Carroll back up. Ward hitting him at will. Ward keeps taking him down and then walking away. Carroll with a low-blow on Ward, bro. “He got me right in the sack” – Ward. Ward knocks him out cold with a straight right.

    WINNER: BRENNAN WARD (11-3) by KO at 2:06. Honestly, this fight should never have been sanctioned. 

    Carroll was taken out on a stretcher. Ward got a post-match promo and called out “anybody”. He replaced “bro” with “baby” in his venacular. Was expecting a call-out of MVP honestly. 

    Welterweights Paul “Semtex” Daley (36-13-2) vs Dennis Olson (14-8)

    They announced that Josh Koscheck will debut in December for the promotion and he did a cageside interview. Looks like they are going right to the Daley fight. 

    Just realized this show is three hours and there have been just over 10 minutes of live fights through 100 minutes. Don’t expect this one to be long either. Dan Miragliotta is the ref. Daley knocks Olson down with the first punch of the fight but lets him back up and Olson takes him down 30 seconds in. Daley to his feet quickly and gets a takedown of his own. Daley laying in a lot of ground and pound but gets hit with an upkick. Daley stands up and backs off at 2:30. Daley lands a couple hard knees and follows up with short lefts but Olson takes him down again at 3:00. Daley sweeps to top position at 4:15 and stands up. Daley hit with an upkick and bleeding from the nose. Daley back into Olson’s guard and pounding him with punches and elbows to the head. Olson with an armbar attempt at the end of the round. 10-9 Daley

    Daley knocks Olson down early but lets him back up. Daley pounding on him and knocks him down again, following up with ground and pound. Olson cut over the left eye and Daley finishes it with a vicious punch to the side of the head for the TKO win.

    WINNER: PAUL DALEY (37-13-2) by TKO at 1:12 of Round 2. 

    Post-fight promo for Daley. He put over Olson as a tough opponent. Disappointed that he didn’t finish in the first. Daley called out “Crotch-check”. He hates his hair and he hates him. Have to think that’ll be Kos’ first Bellator fight. 

    Main Event
    For the Bellator Welterweight Championship – Champion Douglas “The Phenom” Lima (26-5) vs Andrey “The Spartan” Koreshkov (17-1)

    Lima’s brother Dhiego, the UFC fighter, accompanied him to the cage. They showed both walk-outs. Nothing special. They put Lyman Good, who just got a UFC win, on the top of Koreshkov’s notable wins. Kevin MacDonald is the ref for this title fight.

    Koreshkov goes for an early takedown but gets stuffed by Lima. Completes it at 1:00. Lima to his feet fairly easily. Koreshkov takes him down again at 2:00. Lima to his feet at 2:30. Lima with a vicious leg kick almost knocks Koreshkov down. Koreshkov with another takedown at 4:30 as Lima was finding his range on his feet. Koreshkov did nothing from top position but the 3 takedowns should be enough to take the round. 10-9 Koreshkov

    Jimmy Smith gave Lima the first round. It was close. Lima outstruck Koreshkov 13-6 in Round 1. Koreshkov controlling the cage for the first 2:00 but neither guy landing much. Lima with a takedown just after the 2:00 mark. Lima to his feet and Koreshkov follows. Koreshkov still advancing but neither guy landing much of anything on the feet. Koreshkov with a takedown at 4:15. 10-9 Koreshkov

    Jimmy has it even after 2. Lima starting to land from distance while backing up. Koreshkov continuing to control the pace and gets a takedown at 1:15. Koreshkov is bleeding and it’s getting all over Daley as he’s on the bottom. Lima sweeps to  top position and gets to his feet at 2:30. Ref broke up a minute long clinch on the cage. Koreshkov with another easy takedown at 4:00. Koreshkov starting to land punches from the top. 10-9 Koreshkov

    Smith has it 2 rounds 1 for Koreshkov and he’s advancing again to start the round. Crowd starts up a “Let’s go Lima” chant. Takedown by Koreshkov at 1:45. Lima sweeps to top position again and tries to stand but Koreshkov brings him right back down again. Another sweep to top from Lima at 4:00 and he gets to his feet but Koreshkov brings him right back down again. Ref breaks it up with 15 seconds left. 10-9 Koreshkov

    Lima advancing to start the round as he knows he needs a finish. Koreshkov more active on the feet though and quickly takes control of the action. Lima looking exhausted as he’s throwing half-hearted punches that are missing badly. Koreshkov backs Lima up with punches at 3:30. Lima got a knockdown off a punch with 15 seconds left and ended the round throwing punches from the top. 10-9 Lima, 49-46 overall for Koreshkov and we should have a new champion. 

    WINNER AND NEW BELLATOR WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION: ANDREY KORESHKOV (18-1) by unanimous decision (48-47, 50-45 x 2)

  • UFC Fight Night 72 and Bellator 140 Picks From The Secret Psychic Spy~!

    By the Secret Psychic Spy (secretpsychicspy@yahoo.com)

    Starting Bankroll: $1,500

    Current Bankroll: $1,030.06

    Last week: 3/5 Overall 65/114 (57%)

    Two big shows this weekend, with Bellator 140 tonight and UFC Fight Night 72 tomorrow morning/afternoon in North America or evening in the UK. I’ve looked up and down both cards and found 5 value picks. One from tonight’s show and 4 from tomorrow’s.

    Pick 1 – Douglas Lima (26-5) -175 over Andrey Koreshkov (17-1) I’m betting $100 to win $57.14

    This is the main event of the Bellator show and Lima defends his Welterweight title against tournament winner Koreshkov. Lima has looked outstanding in Bellator, with 5 straight KO wins and I think he gets a sixth here. He’s faced a much tougher level of competition than Koreshkov.

    Pick 2 – Rob Whiteford (11-2) -145 over Paul Redmond (11-4) I’m betting $100 to win $68.97

    Whiteford will be a huge hometown hero in his native Scotland and he should blitz Redmond fairly easily. Redmond should losing his 2nd straight here, after also losing his UFC debut earlier this year.

    Pick 3 – Teemu Peckalen (7-0) -125 over Mickael Lebout (12-4-2) I’m betting $100 to win $80

    Peckalen is making his UFC debut. He’s won every one of his career fights by KO or submission. Lebout has fought once in UFC, just this past April and lost to lightly regarded Sergio Moraes. Peckalen should have a successful start to his UFC career here.

    Pick 4 – Jimmie Rivera (16-1) -125 over Marcus Brimage (6-4) I’m betting $100 to win $80

    Rivera is also making his UFC debut but has some impressive wins on the regional circuit, including Jesse Brock, Cody Stevens and Carson Beebe. He’s knocked out each of his last two opponents, including a 16 second win in his last fight. Brimage has lost 3 of his last 4, including being knocked out twice and shouldn’t be much of a match for Rivera here.

    Pick 5 – Paddy Holohan (11-1-1) -185 over Vaughan Lee (14-10-1)

    Holohan is a training partner of Conor McGregor and the luck of the Irish should carry over here, as Holohan has looked great so far in his UFC career. With his charisma, he could be just a couple of wins away from competing for a title in the relatively weak flyweight division. Lee has been finished in 3 of his last 5 fights and will probably make it 4 of 6 here.

    All told, I’m betting $500 with a chance to win $340.16

    On with the betting game.

    2015 Betting Game: Secret Psychic Spy vs Ryan Frederick

    Current Standings:

    Ryan Frederick: $1,082.53 (Picked Lawler, Gordon, Hein, Alvarez, Ortega, Noons, Browne, Magny, Matthews)

    Secret Psychic Spy: $1,290.18 (Picked Samman, Bosse, Amirkhani, Henderson, Breese, Pyle, Wee, Andrews)

    Both of us were winners last weekend but young Ryan crept a little closer as Robbie Lawler was slightly more of an underdog than Samman was. I’m going with the debuting Jimmie Rivera at -125 for the reasons indicated above.

    Ryan’s pick is Thales Leites at +105 over Michael Bisping. Bisping is good on home soil but Leites is on a solid win streak and has been getting the job done impressively in his UFC comeback. I see him as a better fighter at this stage over Bisping and winning a close fight. 

    Good luck, enjoy the fights and remember, don’t bet more than you can afford to lose and try to have fun with it!

  • FRI. UPDATE: UFC in Texas Stadium, 2014 card and match of year, NXT lineup, lots of big shows

    By Dave Meltzer

    Huge weekend of events coming up.  We’ll be doing weekend polls on Battleground and opening night of G-1 this week.  We’re not going to do polls on every G-1 show, but will do them for the major shows.

    We’re looking for reports on tonight’s WWE show in Newark, NJ (John Cena vs. Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose), ROH in Las Vegas (Austin Aries & Jay Lethal & Moose vs. Jay Briscoe & Dalton Castle & Kyle O’Reilly, Rocky Romero & Barreta vs. Young Bucks, Christopher Daniels vs. Mark Briscoe, Bobby Fish vs. Matt Taven, ODB vs. Nanae Takahashi, Willie Mack vs. Silas Young) and NXT in Cocoa Beach, FL at dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    Bellator tonight at 9 p.m. from the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT on Spike

    Michael Page (171) vs. Rudy Bears (170.75)

    Chris Honeycutt (171) vs. Paul Bradley (171)

    Brennan Ward (171) vs. Roger Carroll (171)

    Paul Daley (171) vs. Dennis Olsen (173) – Olsen was fined for missing weight

    Douglas Lima (170) vs. Andrey Koreshkov (170) for Bellator welterweight title

    New Japan World Pro Wrestling on AXS TV at 9 p.m.

    A.J. Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki – this won the 2014 match of the year award

    Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Hirooki Goto

    Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomohiro Ishii

    This card itself from Korakuen Hall also won the 2014 card of the year award

    Legacy Fighting Championships tonight at 10 p.m. on AXS TV from Hinckley, MN at the Grand Casino Hinckley Hotel

    Derrick Krantz vs. Brock Larson for vacant welterweight title

    Zak Ottow vs. Jacob Volkmann

    Tommy Speer vs. ?

    Nick Wagner vs. Chase Waldon

    Augusto Mendes vs. Donald Williams

    Derek Getzell vs. Kenneth Glenn

    We’re looking for reports on Saturday’s WWE shows in Peoria (Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt) and Danville, IL (John Cena vs. Kevin Owens, Prime Time Players vs. New Day) and NXT in Venice, FL.

    UFC on Saturday from Glasgow, Scotland for a morning/afternoon show

    Fight Pass at 10 a.m. Eastern

    Chris de la Rocha (245) vs. Daniel Omielanczuk (242)

    Marcus Brimage (136) vs. Jimmie Rivera (135)

    FS 1 at 11 a.m. Eastern

    Paul Redmond (145) vs. Robert Whiteford (146)

    Mickael Lebout (155) vs. Teemu Packalen (155)

    Ilir Latifi (206) vs. Hans Stringer (205)

    Paddy Holohan (126) vs. Vaughan Lee (126)

    Leonardo Mafra (155) vs. Stevie Ray (155)

    Leon Edwards (169) vs. Pawel Pawlak (170)

    Joanne Calderwood (115) vs. Cortney Casey (114)

    Joseph Duffy (155) vs. Ivan Jorge (154)

    Evan Dunham (156) vs. Ross Pearson (155)

    Michael Bisping (185) vs. Thales Leites (185)

    Titan Fighting Championships from Saturday night from Kansas City’s Scottish Rite Temple on UFC Fight Pass live

    Pat Healy vs. Marcus Edwards for vacant lightweight title

    Kurt Holobaugh vs. Andre Harrison for vacant featherweight title

    Brett Johns vs. Anthony Gutierrez for bantamweight title

    Tim Elliott vs. Iliarde Santos for vacant flyweight title

    Jose Landi-Jons vs. Tyler Stinson

    Freddy Assuncao vs. Cody Bollinger

    Isaac Vallie-Flagg vs. Jason Witt

    Phil Hawes vs. Lucas Rota

    Vince Eazelle vs. Desmond Green

    William Joplin vs. Sirwan Kakai

    Mike Bruno vs. Dakota Cochrane

    Battleground Sunday in St. Louis on PPV and the WWE Network starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time

    Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar for WWE title

    John Cena vs. Kevin Owens for U.S. title

    Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt

    Randy Orton vs. Sheamus

    Prime Time Players vs. New Day for tag titles

    R-Truth vs. King Barrett in the pre-show match

    No word on what happens to Big Show and Miz, if they wrestle in a single or not.  Ryback is off the show due to a staph infection.  There are likely to be some matches added.


    New Japan G-1 Climax fight night from Sapporo at 2 a.m. Eastern and 11 p.m. Pacific on New Japan World

    Yohei Komatsu & Tiger Mask & Jushin Liger & Yuji Nagata vs. Tomoaki Honma & Mascara Dorada & David Finlay & Jay White

    Hirooki Goto & Captain New Japan vs. Cody Hall & Yujiro Takahashi

    Shinsuke Nakamura & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga

    Michael Elgin & Satoshi Kojima & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo

    Tournament matches:

    Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Doc Gallows

    Togi Makabe vs. Toru Yano

    Tetsuya Naito vs. Bad Luck Fale

    A.J. Styles vs. Katsuyori Shibata

    Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi

    Raw is Monday night from Kansas City. It will be the start of the build up for SummerSlam.  Brock Lesnar is advertised on the show.  There are rumors Undertaker will be there or in some form will be part of the show.

    Smackdown will be Tuesday night in Lincoln, NE.

    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

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    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

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    FRIDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

    • For this weekend, we’ll be doing shows on Saturday and Sunday, with the Saturday show covering UFC and Sunday show covering WWE (probably not New Japan).
    • There have been several articles written last night and today regarding a UFC show in December at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, the site of WrestleMania.  Kevin Iole reported that the Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor fight would likely be on 12/5 at the stadium, while Ariel Helwaini reported that fight as being at the stadium, but said the date would be different.
    • “Trainwreck,” the Amy Schumer movie that has gotten tremendous reviews and features John Cena, is being predicted for a $25 million opening weekend.
    • Ronda Rousey was the fourth most searched term on the Internet Wednesday with more than 200,000 total searches.
    • Based on TV taped last night, the top matches for the 8/22 NXT show in Brooklyn are Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens for the NXT title, Sasha Banks vs. Bayley for the women’s title, Jushin Liger vs. Tyler Breeze and Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin.
    • Today is the 27th anniversary of the death of Bruiser Brody, who was stabbed to death by Jose Gonzalez in the shower at Juan Loubriel Stadium in Bayamon prior to a wrestling show.  It’s almost impossible to believe not only that Gonzalez came back and was a major star, but he is still wrestling 27 years later and most fans and people in Puerto Rico don’t even know the incident ever happened.
    • The St. Lucie, FL Mets baseball team is having NXT Night on Wednesday with NXT performers at the game.
    • WWE’s Robbie Brookside sent out a tweet about a tryout camp at the Performance Center which included Tim Wiese, who was a member at one time of the German national soccer team as a goalkeeper.  Brookside then deleted the tweet. (thanks to Tim Oster)
    • For Canada, Saturday’s UFC will have the prelims from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on The Fight Network and the main card will be on TSN 2.
    • CMLL on Tuesday night in Guadalajara:  Magnum & Temblor b Mr. Trueno & Rey Trueno, Demus 3:16 & Pequeno Olimpico & Pierrothito b Meteoro & Stukita & Ultimo Dragoncito, Kraneo & Olimpico & Ripper b Brazo de Plata & Fuego & Stuka Jr., Maximo b Rey Escorpion to retain the CMLL heavyweight title due to help from Ultimo Guerrero, Euforia & Gran Guerrero & Ultimo Guerrero b Mistico & Volador Jr. & Valiente (thanks to Kris Zellner)
    • The third season of “Amazing Race Canada” airing on CBC features Ontario pro wrestlers Nick Foti and Matt Guinta and UFC fighter Elias Theodorou.  Theodorou’s team was the first one eliminated.  The wrestlers are still in the competition and doing well (thanks to Steven Grant)
    • Bibiano Fernandes faces Toni Tauru tomorrow in Yangon, Myanmar in the main event of the One Championship show.
    • There will be a PBC show on CBS at 2 p.m. tomorrow followed by more fights at 8 p.m. on Showtime.  The CBS main event is Carl Frampton vs. Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. and the Showtime main event is Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Marcos Reyes.
    • “Trainwreck” opens on 8/6 in Australia (thanks to  James Stanios)
    • ROH tickets for WrestleMania week are on sale right now for Ringside members.
    • Hirooki Goto will be debuting a new ring outfit based on the “God of Thunder” during the G-1 Climax tournament.
    • On the Bob Backlund book we wrote about yesterday, the book will be more than 500 pages with 16 pages of photos from Backlund’s personal collection.
    • Nick Aldis, formerly Magnus, is releasing a book called “The Superstar Body,” which is a book and physical training manual.   
    • On the MSN home page Kurt Angle’s surgeries are noted as “ex-WWE champ hospitalized.”  Angle is home, and was home yesterday and seems to be doing well. (thanks to Neal Hager)   
    • A really strange deal is that Mike Jones, better known as Virgil with Ted DiBiase (another spoof at Dusty Rhodes), is doing a Go Fund Me campaign with the goal of making him a millionaire.  It’s been open for 17 days and thus far he’s raised $70.
    • Timothy Thatcher vs. Biff Busick and Chris Hero vs. Zack Sabre Jr. has been announced for the 8/16 Evolve show at the NYWC Sportatorium on Long Island.  Thatcher vs. Sabre Jr. and Johnny Gargano vs. Ethan Page in an anything goes match was announced for 8/15 in New York.
    • American Combat Wrestling tonight in New Port Richey, FL at the Kontos Event Center.

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

    1973 – Sandy Parker & Masked Lee beat Jumbo Miyamoto & Mariko Akagi in Yokohama to win the WWWA tag titles

    1987 – Mile Zrno beat Steve Wright in Vienna, Austria to win the CWA middleweight title

    1988 – Dandy beat Kung Fu in Mexico City to win the NWA middleweight title

    1990 – Terry Gordy beat Stan Hansen to win the Triple Crown

    1992 – Felino beat America in Cuernavaca to win the CMLL middleweight title

    2002 – Brian Adams & Bryan Clarke beat Keiji Muto & Taiyo Kea in Osaka to win the All Japan world tag team title

    2004 – Deuce & Domino beat Paul London & Brian Kendrick in Milan to win the WWE world tag title