The Vintner came to the ring accompanied by Braun Strowman. Roughly 5 minutes of clumsy power spots with interference from Stroman backfiring, leading to the knockout punch on Rowan for the pin. Show chokeslammed Stroman after. Basically a squash with some quick heat spots.
– Epico def. Sin Cara
Both Colons came out and did some old-school local city trash talking, saying how great Puerto Rico is. Another quick match, Sin Cara botched a rana within the first 20 seconds, but no one seemed to care. Epico won with a distraction roll-up. A bit more entertaining than the opener.
– Cesaro def. Baron Corbin
Uppercuts, swing, sharpshooter. Not much else to this.
– WWE Tag Champions The New Day def. The Vaudevillians
New Day was the 2nd most over act of the night after Jericho. This match was almost an exact duplicate of the Extreme Rules match.
– During intermission, Saxton plugs Money In The Bank on the Network, and didn’t mention $9.99 since in Canada, it’s $11.99.
– Paige, Becky Lynch & Sasha Banks vs. Dana Brooke, Lana and Summer Rae
Babyfaces win when Sasha tapped out Summer with the Bank Statement.
– U.S. Champion Rusev vs. Kalisto vs. Alberto Del Rio
ADR was quite over and got the “Ci” chant going a few times. ADR hits the Tree Of Woe stomp on Kalisto, Rusev throws ADR out of the ring and instantly slaps on the Accolade and torques back for the immediate tap. My favorite match of the night. Both Lucha Dragons lost, leading to a “Loser Dragons” chant. Get that t-shirt ready.
– Street Fight: Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose
Jericho comes out first to a huge pop, and was a total babyface the whole match. He got on the mike immediately and put over Winnipeg, talked about growing up here, gave a backhanded compliment to Winnipeg’s old crappy arena that was torn down years ago. He told the story of the origins of “I’m from Winnipeg You idiot.” In the middle of his catchphrase, Ambrose’s music hit. He has a great heel run in him as he embraced the heel role.
They did a few kendo stick and chair spots. That’s about as hardcore as it got. They had about 15 minutes, and Jericho won with a chair-assisted codebreaker. After, he got back on the mike and finished his ‘neeeever eeeeeever’ catchphrase.
Pretty entertaining, albeit predictable show. I estimate the house was probably around 6000 people, about 60-65% were children, so of course, all the babyfaces were super over.
One of the traditional events on the UFC calendar is Memorial Day Weekend in Las Vegas. While not a pay-per-view event like usual, the Octagon is back this weekend, on Sunday this time, for UFC Fight Night 88 on FOX Sports 1. The event is headlined by undefeated bantamweights Thomas Almeida and Cody Garbrandt. Below are our studs, value plays and fighters to avoid when making your fantasy rosters for Sunday’s event.
STUDS
Abel Trujillo ($11,200)
Abel Trujillo has the highest salary of the fighters competing on the UFC Fight Night 88 card, and it shouldn’t be a surprise for many reasons. Most of the bouts are evenly matched, but Trujillo will have an advantage as he fights a replacement fighter taking the fight on short notice making his UFC debut in Jordan Rinaldi. Trujillo has put up a solid 5-2 UFC record (with one no contest, though one of his wins was actually a loss that was overturned), with his only official losses coming to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson, both of whom are top-five ranked fighters. All of his official UFC wins have come by stoppage, and he is a dangerous and powerful fighter. Rinaldi has a solid 12-4 record, but he gets a tall order in making his UFC debut. Trujillo is a very good bet to score a finish and he is our top play for the card.
Aljamain Sterling ($11,000)
Aljamain Sterling enters Sunday night with an undefeated record, a new contract with the UFC, title shot aspirations, and the fight he wanted as he takes on Bryan Caraway. Sterling is a huge favorite in the bout, and with good reason as he is a perfect 13-0 with nine finishes, and three of his four UFC wins have been finishes. Caraway is a tough and durable fighter, but has garnered a reputation of late of turning down fights in what people seem to see as him trying to maintain his positioning in the division. If Caraway wants to fight for a title, he can’t turn down fighting Sterling. That may be a mistake for him. Sterling is young and hungry, and the 135-pound division is thriving with talent. He may be the most talented prospect, though the main event fighters on Sunday have something to say about that. He is just too talented for Caraway, and I expect Sterling to have an impressive showing on Sunday. He’s an excellent play.
VALUE PLAYS
Jeremy Stephens ($9,300)
With so many close match-ups on this card, it is hard to find a lot of value as I see the true underdogs having trouble picking up wins. That is why I’m going with Jeremy Stephens as a value play despite the fact he is fighting former bantamweight champion Renan Barao. Barao is moving up to 145 pounds as he is now going to have trouble making 135 pounds with the IV ban, and he is someone who has looked different in recent fights. Make of that what you will, but there have been noticeable changes in a lot of fighters, and Barao is one of those. Stephens has just a .500 record in the UFC, but he has been around a long time and is capable of making a solid run in the division. He has the knockout power and is known for exciting fights, and Barao has been taking beatings lately and not looked himself. Stephens is a sneaky play to score an upset and has some solid value.
Chris Camozzi ($8,900)
Chris Camozzi is another good value fighter as he looks to score his third straight win. He takes on Vitor Miranda, who has won three straight, but Camozzi is the toughest opponent he has fought in the UFC. Miranda is also getting older, but he is coming off an impressive win. Camozzi is also coming off an impressive win, and a rather quick one. This fight should be closer in the betting odds, but the longer odds make Camozzi’s salary a very good one to look at. Both men are very good kickboxers, but Miranda is a big middleweight, and he fades late. That could open the door for Camozzi to attack late. Camozzi has dangerous muay Thai and is very underrated despite his lackluster UFC record. Both men are on solid streaks, and Camozzi has a very solid chance at getting the upset. He is worth looking at for some value.
FIGHTERS TO AVOID
Jorge Masvidal ($9,600)
Jorge Masvidal is a very good fighter, somewhat underrated by a lot. He took former lightweight champion Benson Henderson to the wire but came up short in his last fight. He has a 6-3 record in the UFC, but he is a fighter you should avoid for a simple reason- he isn’t much of a finisher. He has 16 wins by decision out of his 29 career wins, and he has only scored two stoppage wins in the last six-plus years. He is also facing a very dangerous opponent in Lorenz Larkin, who is better on the feet in a pure kickboxing term. Masvidal is more well-rounded, but he tends to abandon his solid takedown game to get into a battle on the feet. That will cost him against Larkin. I like Larkin in this fight, and I don’t see anything but a decision happening. I would avoid Masvidal at his salary. If his salary was lower, he’d have good value, though.
Jake Collier ($9,100)
Jake Collier is 1-2 in the UFC and is on the chopping block coming into Sunday’s card. He has to get a win. That might be a challenge against the debuting Alberto Uda, who is 9-0 with eight finishes in his career. Uda is a crafty striker, and a dangerous one at that, and has very good submissions. Collier eats a lot of punches, and that cost him in his last fight, which was a knockout loss to Dongi Yang. Collier is solid but unspectacular, and he hasn’t shown that he has what it takes to compete at the UFC level right now. Perhaps with a few more fights under his belt, and a loss here would send him back to the regional circuit. His prior UFC bouts make it hard for him to be trusted on a fantasy roster, much less against a dangerous foe. He is a solid pass in my eyes.
OUR LINE-UPS
RYAN FREDERICK- Aljamain Sterling ($11,000), Alberto Uda ($10,300), Thomas Almeida ($10,200), Jessica Eye ($9,500), Chris Camozzi ($8,900)
I’m starting my roster off with Aljamain Sterling. I think he is a future champion at 135 pounds, and he is getting the big push this week. I expect him to finish Bryan Caraway and to be impressive in doing so. Alberto Uda is making his UFC debut, but with eight finishes in nine career wins, an undefeated record, and a struggling opponent, I see him getting a finish. Thomas Almeida is in his first main event, and he does have a tough opponent in Cody Garbrandt. I see him finishing Garbrandt, and even if it goes five rounds, that’s a lot of points that can be scored. Jessica Eye is also on my roster. She is hungry and is better on the feet than her opponent, Sara McMann, who hasn’t shown much in the UFC. I like Eye to get the win. Last on my team is Chris Camozzi, who I see landing a barrage of knees in the clinch on Vitor Miranda and getting a stoppage win.
PAUL FONTAINE- Abel Trujillo ($11,200), Paul Felder ($10,800), Renan Barao ($10,100), Cody Garbrandt ($9,200), Bryan Caraway ($8,400)
Many of these matches are very close and extremely tough to call and the main event is one of those. I’m taking a chance but I needed two underdogs to fit some guys on the team that I really like. Both guys are finishers and both have faced a similar level of UFC competition. Both are 24 years old. It’s really almost a pick ’em in my eyes so I’m getting a bit of a break on the price for Garbrandt in that sense. I’m much more confident about Barao. He probably should’ve been fighting at 145 all along but didn’t want to be in the same weight class as Jose Aldo, who was the champion and his training partner. He shouldn’t lose any of his speed and may have even better cardio as a result of not having such a drastic weight cut. And Jeremy Stephens is not getting any younger. I really like Paul Felder in his fight over Josh Burkman and feel like this is a glorified enhancement match for Felder, who had lost two in a row last year before rebounding with a submission win in his last fight. Trujillo is the biggest lock on the card, in my opinion and his price showed it. He has just two losses in the last 5 years and they’ve been to Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov. He’s facing a debuting fighter with 4 losses in the same time period to people who literally aren’t in the same league. My last pick is Bryan Caraway who is a big underdog in his fight against Aljamain Sterling. I see Caraway frustrating Sterling with his wrestling and maybe sneaking in a submission win or a decision.
Barao hasn’t fought in a while which is good. He needed to take some time off after two decimations by Dillashaw. I think he’ll be back in old form and destroy Stephens. I’m taking Sterling because I hate Caraway. I also feel like Sterling is gonna be a star soon. Larkin is in top shape at 170 and I’m not sure how Masvidal is going to fare moving up. He’s done so before, but I’m leery. Saffiedine is facing Rick Story who has been out action for a while. He hasn’t fought since 2014. Saffiedine dispatched of Ellenberger, who I consider a better version of Rick Story, so I’m taking Tarec. Garbrandt is my “make him fit” pick because I don’t like anyone else. I like Garbrandt more than Almeida so I’m fine with it. Let’s go Ascension!
As we’re heading into the middle of this year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament, we’re also going back and taking a look at last year’s G1 tournament. We start off on action in Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center from July 20, 2015.
Tetsuya Naito vs. Bad Luck Fale
Solid match. Fale usually performs pretty well with great performers and this was one of those matches. Naito won with a roll up. Not much more to say about it other than Naito starting the Los Ingobernables phase seems way longer than just a year ago. I don’t know if it’s just time coming to a standstill or I just watch way too much New Japan.
AJ Styles vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Really good. Not out of this world awesome but a great 13 minute match. Good back and forth match with Styles winning after the Styles Clash. What a difference a year makes – AJ’s still the same performer that he was here in the WWE. I really think going to Japan gave him the confidence to be a true main event headliner, like TNA tried to do with him but there were always start and stop pushes that prevented him from really becoming a star. It’s all about the lay of the land.
Hiroshi Tanahashi talked about his match with Kota Ibushi. He said he felt insecure going into the match, mentioning his battles with Nakamura and Okada and wondered what he could do. Eventually, the last day before the match, he decided all he could do was be himself.
Kota Ibushi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
It’s so weird the career trajectory path Ibushi chose. He’s here having a match with one of the best babyfaces in world and in one of the biggest promotions, and now he’s in the IGF and wrestling blow up dolls. Sure, he might be in the Cruiserweight Classic tournament coming up but he’s really fallen off the radar with his weird side projects. This was really built up well. Crowd was hot, and it lead to some great near falls. Ibushi as a performer is just stellar- facials, mannerisms, everything. Ibushi isn’t as flashy as Ricochet or Will Ospreay but does enough crazy stuff as a heavyweight that he still stands out. Tanahashi got the win with the high fly flow.
Tanahashi promised to win the G1 in a post match interview. Backstage, Kota Ibushi says he accepted today’s loss as Tanahashi is an amazing performer. Tanahashi says Ibushi is ambitious, and as long as Ibushi is here the future is bright. Oops.
Tanahashi says he was impressed by Ibushi during the match. He was injured during the match, and mentioned his neck injury. The match wasn’t fun, but was interesting. When asked if he would want to face Ibushi again, he said absolutely, as he is looking forward to Ibushi coming back soon. Don’t think he is, unfortunately!
A fun show this week. Main event is great. I guess the underlying theme of the show is that a lot can happen in a year.
The Best of the Super Juniors tournament continues with A block matches in Osaka.
After the foreigners took center stage on Friday in Tokyo with the Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet match everyone is talking about, it’s the Japanese in the main event tonight with Kushida (1-2) facing Ryusuke Taguchi (3-0). In addition, we’ve got Matt Sydal (2-1) vs. Kyle O’Reilly (3-0) in what should be a great match, plus Gedo (1-2) vs. David Finlay (0-3) and Rocky Romero (2-1) taking on Los Ingobernables de Japon member Bushi (0-3).
Given the records, you can probably figure out the results but we’ll see how they get there.
WILL OSPREAY & TRENT BARETTA & TOMOHIRO ISHII VS. HIROYOSHI TENZAN & VOLADOR JR. & MICHAEL ELGIN
Heated crowd tonight. Very good opener but usual rush job with all this talent. Tenzan had one of his better nights. Ospreay and Volador stole the show with some great spots. Ospreay has started to just take over and knows he’s the big deal now and the crowd already treats it like he’s something special when he tags in. The finish saw Elgin pin Baretta. Baretta went for a codebreaker but Elgin blocked it and power bombed him.
JUSHIN LIGER & TIGER MASK &. MANABU NAKANISHI & YUJI NAGATA VS. KATSUYORI SHIBATA & JAY WHITE & BOBBY FISH & JUICE ROBINSON
Another very good match. Nagata and Shibata are going to tear the house down when they come back for their singles match in Osaka on the 19th. They were super hard hitting and solid with everything they did. Nakanishi actually came off the top rope twice in this match and worked surprisingly well with Robinson, who is more animiated. But it was another rush job. Nakanishi and Nagata double-teamed White with a chop off the top by Nakanish and enzuigiri by Nagata at the same time and Nagata put him way with the bridging back suplex.
DAVID FINLAY VS. GEDO
Another good match, very physical. Gedo was on fire here doing all the little things that most don’t do as far as bringing intensity and selling Finlay’s stretch muffler. Early on he used the ring bell hammer, a chair and and rammed Finlay’s head into the table a few times. Finlay’s work and comebacks were solid all the way across. Finlay got a cradle and a big crowd pop for the upset.
ROCKY ROMERO VS. BUSHI
Better match than you’d think largely due to Romero. Again solid wrestling with strong heat. Bushi did a good tope and most of his spots. Good counters and near falls at the end. Bushi blew green mist when the ref was distracted and then came off the top rope with a codebreaker and got the pin.
INTERMISSION
SATOSHI KOJIMA & YOSHITATSU & CAPTAIN NEW JAPAN & RICOCHET VS. BAD LUCK FALE & KENNY OMEGA & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI & CHASE OWENS
Another match better than you’d think largely due to Ricochet, Kojima and Omega and even Captain. Omega was the star of the match. Ricochet worked great spots with him including doing a twisting dive over the top. In the end, Captain came in and got great near falls on Omega that the crowd bought including a uranage and frotn rolling cradle. But Fale squashed Captain in the corner and Omega used Hiroshi Tanahashi’s big moves, the sling blade and high fly flow for the pin. After the match Omega hit Captain over the head hard with a garbage can. Even with an object that gives they can lay off the hard head shots.
KAZUCHIKA OKADA & HIROOKI GOTO & YOSHI-HASHI VS. TETSUYA NAITO & SEIYA SANADA & EVIL
Great match. Real wild with super heat, paricularly Okada vs. Nito and and Yoshi-Hashi vs. Sanada. Crowd is really into the latter feud. The finish saw hard hitting action with Goto and Evil and Goto scoring the clean pin after a guillotine ino a final cut. Naito threw the belt i the air again. Naito grabbed Milano Collection A.T. after. Okada stomped the hell out of Evil. Goto wanted a singles match with Evil. Yoshi-Hashi and Sanada brawled some after the match.
MATT SYDAL VS. KYLE O’REILLY
This is quite the show. Another great match here showcasing two of the best wrstelers in the world right now. Hard hitting solid, some great moves by Sydal and great submission set ups by O’Reilly. Sydal won when he knocked O’Reilly off the top with a head-butt from superplex position and hit a double kneedrop off the top and followed with the shooting star press.
KUSHIDA VS. RYUSUKE TAGUCHI
Excellent match. I can’t even remember the last time Taguchi was in something this good. He hung wih Kushida for 16 minutes and both were drenched when it was over. What’s interesing is that the super juniors usually means a lot of high flying but this year it’s more solid wrestling for most guys and the high flying was left to Ospreay, Volador and Ricochet. Lots of near fall and submissions. Kushida once did a divoce court off the apron and a running flip dive. Kushdia kicked out of the Dodon and Taguchi escaped the hoverboard lock. The finish was a series of reversals and Kushida went for an armbar but Taguchi cradled him. But Kushida then got the armbar again and Taguchi had to tap out. Kushdia did an interview after.
Overall one of the better shows of the year. Everyone worked hard and the key matches they were building for Dominion all hot had a lot of intensity.
Cody Runnels has sent a tease that he will be available to work in just under three months. On Twitter, with him using the name Cody Rhodes, a point of contention since he started using that name in WWE, but it had been the family wrestling name for almost 50 years, he sent out a tweet earlier today listing the 8/19 date with the words “After 8/19.”
Runnels also listed almost a bucket list of opponents he was interested in working with. The names on the list were Adam Cole, Dalton Castle, Kurt Angle, Chris Hero, The Miracle (Mike Bennett), Moose, Pat Buck, Young Bucks, Trevor Lee, Katsuyori Shibata and Roderick Strong.
Also listed on his list of things to check off were BOLA (the PWG Battle of Los Angeles tournament in late August), “the streamers thing” which likely means ROH (or some minor Japanese groups) and “Personal ring announcer,” which could be construed as travelling with his wife, who is a ring announcer.
Frank Luhovy, who wrestled under the name Cowboy Frankie Laine, passed away this past Tuesday at the age of 73.
Laine was a journeyman wrestler who worked from 1966 and continued into the late 80s, often working as enhancement talent on WWE television toward the end of his career. After leaving wrestling, he was very vocal about the treatment wrestlers received from promoters, in particular in 1999 after the death of Owen Hart.
Laine was one of the early wrestlers with a valet, Miss Linda Lee, as she was known, and later as Linda Lee Laine.
He had good fire as a babyface and was a wrestler who received good pushes in smaller territories, but was more a prelim wrestler in larger promotions.
He got his early break as a tag team partner of Lonnie Mayne in Portland, and also had success in Hawaii, Tennessee and California.
His biggest drawing run came during one of the hottest runs in the history of pro wrestling in the Caribbean, when he and Dutch Mantel were a heel Cowboy tag team that feuded with Carlos Colon, The Invader and various partners in 1979 over the North American tag team titles. That was one of the best weekly drawing periods in the history of pro wrestling in Puerto Rico and one that would be considered noteworthy anywhere at any time. It was the run that made Mantell such a big star there.
In California, he captured the Americas title from Black Gordman when Southern California wrestling was on national television and it the territory was at a hot point. His run as babyface champion was more to set up Killer Kowalski coming in and destroying him for the title to set Kowalski up for a big run. Laine returned in 1973 as a heel with a valet.
He had been running his family’s 700-acre farm in Alvinston, Ontario since getting off the road.
UFC Fight Night 88 is set up to be a fun show with Thomas Almeida taking on Cody Garbrandt in the main event. It’s a big stage for both of these men who will headling the Fox Sports 1 show which starts at 6 pm eastern tomorrow evening on UFC Fight Pass. The semi-main event features the return of longtime former bantamweight (135lb) champion Renan Barao moving up to featherweight (145lb) to face Jeremy “Lil Heathen” Stephens. Barao looks to get back on track after being twice derailed by now ex-bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw.
In the only women’s fight on the card, it’s do or die for Sara McMann who needs a win desperately to stay in the hunt, but she’s facing a really tough opponent, Jessica “Evil” Eye. Both women need a win here if they ever want to get a shot at the 135lb women’s bantamweight champion Miesha “Cupcake” Tate. It should be a really fun show. Check out the Observer’s live coverage starting tomorrow at 6 Eastern, 3 Pacific.
Saturday we’re looking for reports on the WWE shows in Peoria, IL (Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Kevin Owens, Dudleys, Enzo, Cass, Sami Zayn, Charlotte, Natalya) and Winnipeg (Big Show, Chris Jericho, Kane, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, Dean Ambrose, New Day, Rusev, Kalisto, Alberto De Rio, Paige, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks).
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS TOURNAMENT FROM OSAKA AT 3 A.M. EASTERN SUNDAY MORNING/SATURDAY NIGHT ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Michael Elgin & Volador Jr. vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Trent Baretta & Will Ospreay
Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Bobby Fish & Jay White & Juice Robinson & Katsuyori Shibata
David Finlay vs. Gedo
Rocky Romero vs. Bushi
Satoshi Kojima & Yoshitatsu & Captain New Japan & Ricochet vs. Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens
Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Tetsuya Naito & Evil & Seiya Sanada
Matt Sydal vs. Kyle O’Reilly
Kushida vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
Sunday we’re looking for reports on WWE shows in Madison, WI (Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Kevin Owens, Dudleys, Enzo, Cass, Sami Zayn, Charlotte, Natalya) and LaCrosse, WI (Big Show, Kane, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, Dean Ambrose, New Day, Rusev, Kalisto, Alberto Del Rio, Paige, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks).
UFC FROM THE MANDALAY BAY EVENTS CENTER IN LAS VEGAS ON SUNDAY
Fight Pass bouts at 6 p.m. Eastern
Adam Milstead vs. Chris De La Rosa
Bryan Caraway vs. Aljamain Sterling
FS 1 at 7 p.m. Eastern
Shane Campbell vs. Erik Koch
Jake Collier vs. Alberto Pereira Uda
Abel Trujillo vs. Jordan Rinaldi
Sara McMann vs. Jessica Eye
Josh Burkman vs. Paul Felder
Jorge Masvidal vs. Lorenz Larkin
Chris Camozzi vs Vitor Miranda
Tarec Saffiedine vs. Rick Story
Jeremy Stephens vs. Renan Barao
Cody Garbrandt vs. Thomas Almeida
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FROM TOTTORI ON MONDAY (taped for New Japan World available later in the day)
Trent Baretta vs. Chase Owens
Tiger Mask vs. Will Ospreay
Bobby Fish vs. Volador Jr.
Jushin Liger vs. Ricochet
Raw is Monday from Green Bay featuring the return of John Cena plus a Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin match.
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FROM HIROSHIMA ON TUESDAY (taped for New Japan World available later in the day)
Bushi vs. David Finlay
Matt Sydal vs. Rocky Romero
Kushida vs. Gedo
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kyle O’Reilly
Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday in Rockford, IL.
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With two of the biggest news stories of the year, the WWE brand split and the UFC sale both in play, we’ve got a new issue of the Observer packed with news.
Our lead story looks at the brand split, with what we do know, what has and hasn’t been decided and the background of how it went down. There’s also more info on the UFC sale talks. Plus there is coverage of the return of Seth Rollins, the build to Money in the Bank and have coverage of Extreme Rules, the negotiations for a Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz fight and look more at the Floyd Mayweather vs. McGregor rumors. Take an in-depth look at the departure of Cody Runnels (Rhodes) from WWE and his future prospects, plus look at his complaints regarding people in the company. All this plus a look at the New Japan Super Juniors tournament, the funding of the Hulk Hogan lawsuit, the World Cup trios tournament coming up and a feature on the last PWG show.
The lead story looks at every aspect of the brand split. It looks at the original goals and reasons for it and what did and didn’t work, plus how it’ll be different this time, how the touring will work, and an examination of what talent knows and tentative plans in place. Vince McMahon’ reaction is a big part of this, and this issue explains how the deal went down, the story behind the story and other aspects to be considered. There’s also a look at Smackdown going live, the affect on the fan base, the affect on TNA and why it was important to get Smackdown away from Thursday.
Another big story in this issues is Extreme Rules, the decision to make Seth Rollins a heel and current plans for Money in the Bank, and also match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
Details about what’s going on with Conor McGregor, including Colin Cowherd’s claim that Mayweather vs. McGregor is happening, as well as a look at the Nate Diaz negotiations last week and what McGregor has said publicly.
Finally, this issue looks at Cody Runnels leaving WWE, what he said was the reason why, and a look into those reasons, and a look at the realities of WWE business decisions and his background.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer.
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Pro Wrestling Sheet is reporting WWE canceled plans for John Cena merchandise that looked to be inspired by the classic Pabst Blue Ribbon beer logo. Yesterday, the official twitter account for PBR tweeted a picture of a new Cena shirt that went on sale Friday alongside a photo of him wearing a shirt with the PBR logo. The tweet also reads: “A message to @JohnCena & the @WWE: We have a chokehold called the Cease & Desist. Pretty sure we see you.” Notably, the color scheme of red, white and blue could also be interpreted as a patriotic theme especially considering Cena returns to Raw on a national holiday this Memorial Day. Nevertheless, the shirt in question is no longer for sale on WWE Shop. Other new Cena merchandise is similarly patriotic with one shirt dubbed as “American Pride”.
Univision and Penske Media are two groups possibly interested in buying Gawker. Penske media already owns Variety and Deadline.com among other publications. With Nick Denton looking at possibly owing the Hulkster 140 million dollars once everything settles, it may be a wise time to start liquidating assets. For more on the story, check out this article.
Cody “Stardust” Rhodes / Runnels sent out an interesting tweet today. Runnels has sent a tease that he will be available to work in just under three months. It is unclear what name he will choose as Rhodes is a family name, but not a legal name. At this point, nobody can say for sure who or where he will be working but he added a list of opponents he’d like to work with: Adam Cole, Dalton Castle, Kurt Angle, Chris Hero, The Miracle (Mike Bennett), Moose, Pat Buck, Young Bucks, Trevor Lee, Katsuyori Shibata and Roderick Strong. His tweet was a photo of the list of names and the only words “After 8/19.”
WWE & Professional Wrestling
This week on 6:05 Superpodcast, Brian Last and David Bixenspan talk to Kenny “Starmaker” Bolin (as close to “out of character” as he’ll ever get) about his childhood friendship with Jim Cornette, working for Nick Gulas, and much more. Plus: More discussion of the best wrestling families and tons of other old-school topics.
No, it’s not a Silicon Valley plotline: the founder of eBay is powering Gawker’s appeal of the Hulk Hogan lawsuit victory where he’s being powered by another Silicon Valley billionaire.
Friend of the site Pat LaPrade did a Slam Wrestling column on the first-ever all Canadian main event on a New Japan show: Michael Elgin vs. Kenny Omega.
While the headline ‘Tony Schiavone working at Starbucks?’ is designed for that sympathy click, he actually wants to do it in order to stay busy with his other sports gigs. Here’s the local news story.
Johnny Kidd’s final wrestling match is today against Chikara’s Mike Quackenbush. Here’s a feature on it.
Fight Network announced Friday that UK’s Insane Championship Wrestling (a group our Alan Boon talks about frequently in his weekly British wrestling column) is coming to their airwaves with a weekly TV show airing Fridays at 1 AM, part of a wrestling block that starts Thursday nights with AAA and CMLL.
The NWA announced Friday that they are expanding into NYC with NWA Big Apple Wrestling, increasing their total number of licensed promotions to 30.
FITE.tv has a mix of free and paid combat sports content up this weekend.
EVENTS
May 28 – Mayhem in the Magnolia State, Louisville Coliseum. This show is a benefit for Kamala.
28 – Absolute Intense Wrestling “2016 JT Lightning Invitational Tournament,” Our Lady Of Mount Carmel, 1355 West 70th Street, Cleveland, Ohio
June 4 – UFC 199 from the Forum in Los Angeles with Michael Bisping getting his first title opportunity of his career battling Luke Rockhold for the middleweight belt
June 4 – In celebration of Metro Pro’s Sixth Anniversary, Demolition (Ax & Smash) will be in action on Saturday, Turner Recreation Center in Kansas City, Kansas. The event address is: 831 S. 55th St., Kansas City, KS 66106 – Tickets can be bought in advance.
June 5 – AAA’s Victoria World Cup men and women’s trio tournament finals at Los Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City which will be a live iPPV show
June 7 – New Japan Best of the Super Juniors finals from Sendai live on New Japan World
June 8 – NXT Takeover from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL featuring Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor in a cage match plus a loaded lineup that includes American Alpha vs. The Revival and probably Shinsuke Nakamura vs Austin Aries, which could be WWE’s match of the month.
June 12 – TNA Slammiversary headlined by Drew Galloway vs. Bobby Lashley for the TNA title from Orlando
June 12 – Revolution Pro Wrestling in London, England headlined by Kurt Angle vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
June 17 – AAW “Killers Among Us” features Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Johnny Gargano, Drago vs. Chris Hero, and more at 115 Bourbon Street (3359 w 115th Street Merrionette Park, IL) All Ages Event – Tickets available.
June 18 – UFC in Ottawa: Rory McDonald vs. Stephen Thompson
June 19 – New Japan Dominion, one of the company’s biggest events of the year, featuring Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada in an IWGP title match and Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi in a ladder match for the IC title
June 19 – WWE Money in the Bank from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
June 24 – ROH Best in the World from Concord, NC with Jay Lethal vs. Jay Briscoe for the ROH title
June 25 – Ultima Lucha tapings in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles at The Temple
June 26 – Ultima Lucha tapings in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles at The Temple
Wichita, Kansas: – NWA Heavyweight Champion Ede Virag beat Johnny Plummer – Paul Nelson beat Abe Friedman – Buck Fanning beat George McCall
1963
Minneapolis, Minnesota: – AWA Tag Team Champions Ivan Kalmikoff & Karol Kalmikoff beat Verne Gagne & Doug Gilbert via dq (Larry Hennig was special referee) – Don McClarty beat Stan Kowalski – Waldo Von Erich beat Guy Taylor – Tiny Mills beat Duke Hoffman
1965
Atlanta, Georgia: – Buddy Fuller defeated Mario Galento to win the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title
Honolulu, Hawaii: – Alberto and Enrique Torres defeated Curtis Iaukea & Mr. Fujiwara for the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Titles
1966
Minneapolis, Minnesota: – Crusher & Dick the Bruiser defeated Larry Hennig & Harley Race for the AWA World Tag Team Titles in a 2 out of 3 falls match – The Alaskan beat Moose Cholak – Chris Markoff beat Mike Sanchez (sub Chris Tolos) – Reggie Parks beat Dick Morgan
Sapporo, Japan: – Michiaki Yoshimura & Hiro Matsuda defeated Killer Karl Kox & Joe Carrolo to win the JWA All Asia Tag Team Titles
1970
Kansas City, Kansas: – Danny Little Bear fought Roger Kirby to a draw – Scandor Akbar defeated Bill Eskew – Baron Von Raschke & Harley Race defeated Rufus R. Jones & Bob Ellis via DQ in three falls
1974
Dallas, Texas: – Red Bastien defeated The Great Mephisto for the WCCW Texas Heavyweight Title
1977
Chattanooga, Tennessee: – Jackie Fargo defeated The Executioner to win the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title
1977
Baltimore, Maryland: – Bruno Sammartino fought WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham to a double disqualification
1978
Houton, Texas: – NWA Champion Harley Race beat Wahoo McDaniel dq – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel drew Jose Lothario – Bruiser Brody defeated Dale Valentine (Buddy Roberts) to win the WCCW Texas Heavyweight Title – Ivan Putski drew Superstar Billy Graham – Al Madril beat Dick Slater dq – Fabulous Moolah beat Wenona Little Heart – Kevin Von Erich & David Von Erich beat Killer Brooks & Leroy Brown – Gino Hernandez drew Killer Krupp
Chattanooga, Tennessee: – Dutch Mantel defeated Don Garfield (Don Fargo) to win the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title
Houston Texas: – NWA Champion Harley Race beat Wahoo McDaniel by dq – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel went to a drew with Jose Lothario – Bruiser Brody beat Dale Valentine (Buddy Roberts)
1979
West Palm Beach, Florida: – King Curtis defeated Jimmy Garvin for the Florida version of the NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1980
Nashville, Tennessee: – Rocky Brewer & George Gulas defeated Tojo Yamamoto and Gypsy Joe to win the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Titles
1982
Denver, Colorado: – Hulk Hogan beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel by dq – Ken Patera & Bobby Duncum beat Tito Santana & Baron Von Raschke
1985
Montreal, Quebec, Canada: – Dino Bravo defeated King Tonga to win the vacant International Wrestling International Heavyweight Title
1992
Raleigh, North Carolina: – Van Hammer pinned JT Southern – WCW Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Pillman defeated Scotty Flamingo – WCW World Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Bobby Eaton & Larry Zbyzsko – Dustin Rhodes fought Greg Valentine to a time-limit draw – Barry Windham defeated Cactus Jack – Tom Zenk pinned Terry Taylor – WCW World Champion Sting & Nikita Koloff defeated WCW World TV Champion Steve Austin & Arn Anderson in a steel cage match – WCW U.S. Champion Rick Rude pinned Ricky Steamboat in a steel cage match
1994
Vergie, Kentucky:| – Tracy Smothers defeated the Hornet – Chris Jericho defeated Steven Dunn – The Dirty White Boy defeated Kendo the Samurai – SMW Tag Team Champions Brian Lee & Chris Candido defeated The Rock N’ Roll Express via disqualification – Chris Jericho won a battle royal
1997
West Helena, Arkansas: – The Truth Commission defeated Steven Dunn & Paul Diamond for the USWA Tag Team Titles
Gurabo, Puerto Rico: – Mohammed Hussein defeated Rey Gonzalez to win the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Title
2000
Monterrey, Mexico: – El Hijo del Santo defeated Blue Panther to win the World Wrestling Association World Welterweight Title
The first match saw Enzo and Cass taking on the Dudley Boyz. Everyone was into Enzo and Cass’ mic work and shouted along to their catchphrases. Bubba Ray got hear before the match by taking a sign from a fan but Enzo saved the day before he could rip it. Enzo and Cass went over in the end with the rocket launcher.
– Titus O’Neil defeated Viktor of the Ascension with the Clash of the Titus
– Goldust defeated Tyler Breeze
Fandango ran down to distract Goldust. R Truth ran down to even the odds and Goldust put Breeze away with the Final Cut. Afterwards Golden Truth danced to R Truth’s theme song and did some comedy work.
– Gallows and Anderson defeated the Hype Bros
Anderson and Gallows won with the Magic Killer on Mojo. Lots of Bullet Club chants and Wolfpack/Too Sweet handsigns. Okay for what it was.
– Sami Zayn defeated Kevin Owens
Owens got some heat especially after doing some mic work after bailing to ringside at the beginning. He even threw in a Simpsons reference by saying Shelbyville was better than Springfield. These guys click. It was more tame than previous matches the two of had because it was a house show, but these guys have such good chemistry together, that it makes even simple matches really good. Owens played such a good heel. The match was built like most of their matches with Owens beating Zayn up, Zayn getting in a few hope spots only to be cutoff by Owens again. In the end, Owens went for a pop up powerbomb, Sami turned it into a drop kick in mid air and then hit the Helluva Good Kick in the corner for the win.
– Apollo Crews defeated Sheamus
Sheamus got on the mic before the match and said he was going to defeat the New Era because it was garbage. He tried to get some heat by saying that even if Abraham Lincoln was alive today, he would be ashamed of calling Springfield his hometown. This match was just there. Lots of rest holds. In the end, Sheamus went for White Noise and Crews slipped out and rolled him up for the three.
– WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte defeated Natalya to retain
Charlotte got heat early on by ripping up a fan’s sign in the ring that Natalya had brought in. They worked the match around both of them trying to lock in their submission moves with Charlotte getting the figure four on once and Natalya reversing it, and Nattie sinking in the sharpshooter once and Charlotte making the ropes. In the end, Natalya was thrown into the turnbuckles and Charlotte schoolboyed her from behind, placing her feet on the ropes for the win. Afterwards, the crowd gave Natalya a good ovation and chanted her name.
– WWE Champion Roman Reigns defeated AJ Styles to retain
This match was pretty decent for a house show match. The crowd was actually pretty split in who they were rooting for. Reigns played a somewhat cocky heel, not fully committing to it but doing some heelish mannerisms. The match was built around both guys going for their big moves and each time falling short. At one point, Reigns went for the Superman punch only to be met with a Pele kick from AJ.
AJ went for the Phenomenal Forearm three times, each time getting countered. He even teased a Styles Clash at one point. In the end, AJ went for the forearm, Reigns countered it with a Superman Punch and then hit the spear to retain the championship.
First time taking my youngest kid to see wrestling and he really enjoyed it. The building was maybe half to three fourths full. The crowd seemed to be into mostly everything. Overall, it was an entertaining show that the people around me were entertained by including my son. I went in expecting a house show and that’s what I got which isn’t bad. The Owens-Zayn match and the main event were actually good matches and there really wasn’t any terrible matches as they all had fun elements in them.
I’m here at Cocoa Beach, FL, with approximately 250.
– Patrick Clark beat Dan Matha
The big guy Matha used his strength early, even putting Patrick in a camel clutch. We had a double down where Patrick kipped up and made his way to the top for an impressive missile dropkick for the win.
– The Authors Of Pain best Chris Atkins and Noah
The larger heels destroyed the happy faces before the bell even rang. Once order was restored, the match officially started only for the Authors to continue their onslaught and take the dominant win.
– Adrienne Reese beat Mandy Rose
This was a very good match as they both hit some impressive moves. Mandy hit a great looking running knee and a kick behind Adrienne’s head. Adrienne caught Mandy with a snap rana from her back, a beautiful middle rope springboard crossbody, and finally hit the off the top rope spinning stunner for the win.
– Angelo Dawkins beat Tucker Knight
Mean Guy Match as they used power and holds to work each other over. Dawkins got his feet on the ropes to steal the pin.
– Tye Dillinger beat Buddy Murphy
Pre-match, Dillinger took the mic and said Murphy has been through a lot lately. The crowd taunted him with a “He got dumped” chant so Dillinger went with it and then the “She’s A Ten” chants when Alexa was brought up. Dillinger even asked if Murphy could give her his number. Funny stuff.
Very good match with Murphy working over Tye’s arm, there was an inside out crossbody by Tye to Murphy on the floor. The finish was a great superkick followed by the exposed knee to the back of the head. Post match, Murphy stayed down until the doc could check on him, but he was able to make his way to the back on his own. He simply got his bell rung.
– Nia Jax and Lana beat Daria and NXT Women’s Champion Asuka
Nia did most of the work as expected. Lana would tag in when she had the advantage, and kept it very simple, yet fun. Asuka and Nia traded action and holds, and the bearhug by Nia was the hold of choice to keep Asuka grounded. Daria and Lana mixed it up at one point and traded kicks. Lana plays to her flexibility and attempts high kicks for most of her offense. Nia scored the win over Daria with a tree slam. Post match, Lana played it up as she was proud of her victory, pointing at kids and mocking them with thumbs down and sad faces.
– Elias Samson beat Chris Girard
Hard-hitting match with Drifter using some new offense other than the headlock like a crossface, spinebuster, and a running knee. Girard went for a running uppercut but was caught with the spinning neckbreaker for the win.
– Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura beat The Revival
Amazingly entertaining match with The Revival taunting everything and playing the foil to these amazing superstar wrestlers. Balor at live events is much more confrontational and sassy towards his opponents: instigating conflicts between Dash and Dawson, throwing each over the top rope, laughing at them and leading crowd chants. Shinsuke laid in some hard knees and strikes to some great reactions.
Finn ran Dash corner to corner then struck him with vicious chops. Dawson got one for his trouble as well. The finish was a double pin with Finn hitting the 1916 when Shinsuke hit the Kinshasa on each of the Revival. Post match, Finn did Nakamura’s Yeaoh! pose on the ropes. They also Too Sweeted and Finn put up the guns.
