Category: News

By Dave Meltzer
dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com

We’re doing polls this weekend on tonight’s ROH and Bellator shows, , so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match for both shows to dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com

We’re also looking for reports on these weekend shows:
*NXT Friday night in Jacksonville
*WWE Saturday night in Grand Rapids, MI
*ROH TV tapings from last night in New York
*WWE today in Kalamazoo, MI
*WWE today in Fort Wayne, IN
*GFW today in Bowling Green, KY

Raw will be live on Monday in Indianapolis.  Brock Lesnar and John Cena will both be appearing on the show.

Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday in Toledo.

Part one of the life and career of Dusty Rhodes is the feature in the new double issue of the Wrestling Observer.  We also look at WWE coming out of the Money in the Bank PPV and where things are going next, UFC in Mexico City and the Fabricio Werdum win over Cain Velasquez, more on how Mayweather & Pacquiao set PPV records and who was buying, the debut of Global Force Wrestling, Tough Enough and Verano de Escandalo are also covered.  

The new issue is up on the site at http://www.f4wonline.com/component/content/article/110-wrestling-observer-newsletter/43096-june-22-2015-wrestling-observer-newsletter-part-1-of-giant-dusty-rhodes-obituary-gfws-1st-shows-and-much-more

Web site subscriptions, which include access to both current and older newsletters as well as every audio show on the history of the site are at  http://www.f4wonline.com/member/signup.php

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@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com

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

Rates are:

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

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

The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.

The lead story covers the life and early career of Dusty Rhodes.  We have a lot of his career records.  We look at fact vs. fiction about his life before wrestling, and his road to the top in wrestling.  We have an overview of the key points of his career, as well as rundown his early territories and the build to his babyface persona.  We’ve got comments by many people most associated with him during his career.  We look at health issues, the outpouring of emotion, an eerie thing written by Rhodes just ten day before his death where exactly what he didn’t want to be most remembered for was brought up.  We look at the WWF character and the real reasons behind it. 

We also look at the rise and fall of Jim Crockett Promotions, the fall of the UWF, the last year of JCP, the TBS purchase, why Rhodes was fired from the company and how Rhodes ended up back in WCW.  We also look at why he retired from the ring, and the irony of what he said about who could and couldn’t book wrestling in the late 90s. 

We look at Rhodes mentions on spots shows this past week,  and his role in helping talent currently on the main roster. 

We look at the original Dusty Rhodes, his doing backyard wrestling, his college days going to matches, West Texas State football and how he got into pro wrestling.  We look at his early territorial work, his first pushes and his rise to prominence.

We look back at the Texas Outlaws tag team with Dick Murdoch, how they got publicity as the top tag team of 1970 with two world tag team titles at the same time, his first run in Florida and how big he was put over on the first TV show there, his brief time in Australia as world tag team champion and who his manager was.  We look at why the run was so short, his working for Bill Watts as a single star, the Crusher vs. Dusty Rhodes dynamic, the first taste of Rhodes as a babyface, who Dusty pitched to Eddie Graham about bringing in as his younger brother, why Dusty was able to be a much better promo in Florida than he could in the AWA, Rhodes vs. Lou Thesz, Rhodes vs. Jack Brisco, the American Dream turns babyface and the quest for the NWA title achieved.

We also look at the direction for Battleground and full coverage of Money in the Bank.

We also look at the stories behind UFC 188 and have full coverage of the show.

We also look at the upcoming Hogan lawsuit, more dates booked for Brock Lesnar, wrestler who was on Raw last year trying out for Tough Enough, Kevin Owens talks John Cena, Dwayne Johnson movie notes, more notes from the WWE camp, More NXT road dates, WWE stock notes and network predictions, Chyna at WWE headquarters, plus more notes on the last NXT tour and a rundown of the business and weekend house shows and an interesting note about that business.

We look at why bought Mayweather-Pacquiao and what can be learned from it.

We look at the debut of Global Force Wrestling and the problems facing the promotion, its first weekend of shows, second weekend and first television tapings.

We also look at AAA’s Verano de Escandalo show.

We look at the finalists for this season of Tough Enough, who they were and where they came from.

We also have an interesting look at DVR usage during pro wrestling shows and what it says about the various products.

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:

–First notes on the annual Universal champion of champions tournament

–An interesting result where a major promotion’s top star put over an indie wrestler clean

–The Busca en un Idolo tournament

–What CMLL show drew the biggest crowd of the week and it was outside of Mexico City

–Update on Negro Casas concussion

–Latest from Arena Mexico

–Former world champion boxer marries pro wrestling star

–International stars coming to PWG

–Wrestle-One comes to the U.S. and Philadelphia show notes

–Dragon Gate changes several championships and a look at the next two big shows

–What U.S. stars are headed to Dragon Gate shortly

–Mitsuharu Misawa Tribute week in NOAH and what legends attended the big show

–GHC title match with neither wrestler being associated with the NOAH brand

–Update on Takeshi Morishima retirement match

–Notes on G-1 Climax ticket sales

–Update on Yoshitatsu

–Shinya Hashimoto Memorial show lineup

–A note on the Hashimoto legacy

–Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Roderick Strong rematch and how it came to be

–New Japan stars headed back to England and a look at their most recent England appearance

–New Japan stars headed back to ROH soon

–Current MMA world champion headlines IGF pro wrestling event

–King of DDT tournament notes

–Notes from the Championship Wrestling from Florida tribute event this past week

–Update on Blackjack Mulligan

–Details on Josh Alexander and his upcoming neck surgery

–Former WWE developmental talent on a CBS reality show

–Former wrestlers drop lawsuit against WWE

–How rules in New York affect indie groups and what rule in the books isn’t enforced at all

–What are the biggest expenses

–Major movie with Kevin Nash coming out soon

–New promotion debuts on national TV in July

–80s star writing an autobiography

–Notes on some stadium shows coming this summer

–Case reopened on the murder of an 80s pro wrestler

–Notes on Ultima Lucha

–Two wrestlers under consideration for season two of Lucha Underground

–Notes on the New York ROH shows and complete lineup

–Notes on ROH on Destination America

–TNA makes big play for former WWE major star

–Changes in the TNA PPV show

–Return of King of the Mountain

–Update on Jeff Hardy

–More on Slammiversary

–Problems with weight cutting

–Details behind drug test controversy with Jose Aldo in Brazil

–This week’s UFC show

–More on UFC deal with Titan Fighting Championships

–UFC debuts in Saskatchewan with action main event

–Future of Johny Hendricks

–Update on C.M. Punk and his UFC debut

–Lots of new UFC fights

–Kimbo/Shamrock notes

–Kimbo and Shamrock favor allowing PEDs in MMA

–Looking at the Bellator show

–Retirement of Peter Aerts and his legacy

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

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

Our most requested issues in our history are:

*November 17, 1997 (full details of everything leading to the most famous wrestling match finish of modern times at the Survivor Series plus a history of in-ring double-crosses)

*December 21, 1998 (the complete Vince McMahon-Bret Hart conversation right before the Survivor Series match so you’ll know exactly what was said–the conversation played in edited form both on the inaugural broadcast of Confidential as well as in Wrestling with Shadows, but everything that was said between the two about the match that was going to take place that same night)

*August 1, 1994 (the most detailed coverage anywhere of the Vince McMahon steroid trial, an issue praised in numerous newspaper article and Sex, Lies and Headlocks)

*March 26, 2001 (death of WCW and history of pro wrestling on the Turner networks)a

*October 22, 2001 (why the adult audience has left pro wrestling in such great numbers and what needed to have been done to save them)

*July 8, 1991 (Ric Flair leaves WCW as world champion/Zahorian steroid trial)

*February 8, 1993 (the life and times of Andre the Giant)

*May 13, 2002 (the life story of the most incredible pro wrestling career ever, a look at Lou Thesz, in one of the largest issues of our history)

*January 27, 2003 (part one of the two-part series covering the career and life of The Sheik)

*February 3, 2003 (Part two on The Sheik including thoughts from people who worked with him and where he stands historically)

*March 24, 2003 (history of the WWWF title, inside behind the Sammartino, Backlund and Backlund era)

*April 21, 2003 (history of WWF continues with the expansion nationally, the death of the regional territories and the rise of Hulk Hogan)

*May 12, 2003 (The life and death of Elizabeth and the rise of fall of Lex Luger)

*June 9, 2003 (Part 1 of history of WWF vs. WCW wars and what many say was the greatest year in U.S. wrestling; plus a look at Fred Blassie)

*June 16, 2003 (Freddie Blassie through the eyes of his biggest rivals and friends)

*July 28, 2003 (Part 2 of the history of the WWF vs. WCW war and the plans to make new superstars in the early 90s, what happened, and the night where the three biggest wrestling companies in the world combined for a joint show and what happened)

*August 25, 2003 (2003 Hall of Fame issue with huge profiles on the controversial career of Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit as well as historical features on Earl Caddock and Francisco Flores)

*September 22, 2003 (Part 3 of the history of the WWF vs WCW war with the seeds that caused the collapse of the industry in the 90s, Zahorian trial, Gulf War controversy, Flair leaves WCW while holding world title and much more)

*October 27, 2003 (The fascinating life of Stu Hart plus the story of Road Warrior Hawk)

*January 19, 2004 (2003 Awards issue)

*February 2, 2004 (History of Toronto wrestling, Jack Tunney life story, Royal Rumble and Battle Royal history)

*February 23, 2004 (History of Guerrero family with Eddy’s win over Brock Lesnar)

*March 1, 2004 (History of WWF continues with the period that brought the company down in early 1992, the mistakes, the real stories and how the business changed)

*March 8, 2004 (History of Wrestlemania, its greatest matches and best and worst shows as voted both by wrestlers and non-wrestlers and Wrestlemania history books)

*July 5, 2004 (A look behind the scenes and Ric Flair’s book and his background with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan)

*July 12, 2004 (A look at more on Ric Flair’s book and his comments on Bruno Sammartino, Bret Hart and Mick Foley)

*August 16, 2004 (History of the Olympians in pro wrestling)

*August 23, 2004 (2004 Hall of Fame issue and biggest issue of the year with huge profiles on Kazushi Sakuraba, Undertaker, Bob Backlund, Masahiro Chono, Ultimo Dragon, Kurt Angle and Tarzan Lopez–this counts as one issue if you are asking for a free issue, but ordered separately, due to size, is $6 in North America and $7 overseas)

*October 4, 2004 (the life and times of Big Bossman; as well as details of the life and times of one of the most influential men world wide in pro wrestling history, Jim Barnett)

*November 15, 2004 (the full story of what happened between Kurt Angle and Daniel Puder, plus coverage of the most important week in the history of TNA)

*January 24, 2005 (2004 Awards issue, Rock and WWE part company)

*March 14, 2005 (the 50 biggest money players in the history of WWF and a look at their Hall of Fame)

*May 9, 2005 (the life and times of Chris Candido)

*June 20, 2005 (The full story behind Paul Heyman and the death of ECW, as well as coverage of One Night Stand, Hardcore Homecoming and behind the scenes of both shows)

*July 18, 2005 (death of Shinya Hashimoto and his records with a look at the fall of New Japan, the Matt Hardy angle, tons of WWE firings, Cornette firing in detail as well as problems of a WWE developmental territory in our biggest news issue of the year which is a double-sized issue and would be $6 on its own and $7 overseas)

*August 24, 2005 (2005 Hall of Fame issue with career profiles of Paul Heyman, HHH and Freebirds plus debut of MMA Hall of Fame)

*September 12, 2005 (History of Mid South Wrestling)

*October 10, 2005 (Life and Times of the Ultimate Warrior)

*November 21, 2005 (Life and Times of Eddy Guerrero and Crusher, double issue $6 on its own and $7 overseas)

*December 5, 2005 (The Eddy Guerrero special issue, double issue $6 on its own, $7 overseas)

*January 9, 2006 (The life and times of Superstar Billy Graham, plus New Year’s Eve 2005 coverage)

*January 16, 2006 (2005 Awards double issue, $6 or $7 overseas)

*April 3, 2006 (Story of Ann Calvello and the history of Roller Derby–many called this the best issue of the Observer ever)

*April 10, 2006 (Behind the scenes at the 2006 Wrestlemania/Hall of Fame week)

*July 24, 2006 (The History of the Von Erichs and World Class Championship Wrestling–the most unreal story ever in wrestling)

*September 4, 2006 (The Rise and Fall of Kurt Angle; 2006 Hall of Fame inductions of Eddie Guerrero, Paul Bowser, Masakatsu Funaki, Aja Kong and Hiroshi Hase including tons of wrestling history around the world from the 20s through the 60s, the evolution of working to not working in Japan, and a look at Guerrero in hindsight, double issue $6 or $7 overseas)

*October 9, 2006 (A look back nine years later at the life and legacy of Brian Pillman with tons of inside information about what made him tick as his real objectives)

*November 15, 2006 (History of WCW part one, Eric Bischoff’s book and how the industry was changed forever)

*November 20, 2006 (History of WCW part two, Why Jim Ross left WCW, How Bischoff changed the company, signing of Hulk Hogan, Beginning of Nitro, Jesse Ventura, Brian Pillman, Chris Jericho and signing Wrestlemania planned celebrity away)

*November 27, 2006 (History of WCW part three, When Bischoff challenged McMahon to fight; Truth and fiction around Bret Hart signing with WCW and why it didn’t click)

*December 6, 2006 (details behind Pride’s offers to sell promotion and Part four of History of WCW part four, Hogan-Goldberg match and why there was no rematch, WCW loses NBC network deal in 1999 and the real reasons the company fell apart)

*January 22, 2007 (2006 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

*February 14, 2007 (Life and Times of Bam Bigelow)

*March 5, 2007 (WWE begins plans that will change the business)

*March 12, 2007 (Life and Times of Mike Awesome)

*March 19, 2007 (Life and Times of Ernie Ladd)

*April 4, 2007 (Life and Times of Badnews Allen Coage–which many are calling one of the best issues in history)

*July 2, 2007 (Part one of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

*July 5, 2007 (Part two of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

*July 10, 2007 (Part three of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

*July 19, 2007 (Part four of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

*July 23, 2007 (Part five of Benoit double murder-suicide)

*July 25, 2007 (Part six of Benoit double murder-suicide)

*August 15, 2007 (The legend of the God of Japanese wrestling and his influence on MMA, Karl Gotch)

*October 15 (2007 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas including inductions of The Rock, Tom Packs and the original Strangler Lewis)

*November 12, 2007 (Life and times of Fabulous Moolah and history of U.S. women’s wrestling) .

*December 31, 2007 (History of Ric Flair and the heyday of wrestling at the Greensboro Coliseum)

*January 21, 2008 (2007 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

*March 17, 2008 (Life and times of Johnny Weaver)

*March 24, 2008 (Life and times of Gary Hart)

*April 10, 2008 (Farewell to Ric Flair; My thoughts, Shawn Michaels talks of Flair’s meaning to him; Hall of Fame; Wrestlemania double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

*August 11, 2008 (Ric Flair leaves WWE; Updated history of pro wrestlers and MMA fighters who went to the Olympics)

* September 8, 2008 (2008 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas; part one of Killer Kowalski bio)

* September 15, 2008 (Life and Times of Evan Tanner)

* September 22, 2008 (The amazing career of Killer Kowalski, one of our most in-depth bios)

You can also order any of these issues on their own for $4 in North America or $5 overseas.

We now have available personally autographed copies of Tributes II, our latest book, as well as a DVD that comes with it talking more about the subjects in the book. The book covers the life stories of Lou Thesz, Wahoo McDaniel, Elizabeth, Fred Blassie, Road Warrior Hawk, Andre the Giant, Curt Hennig, Johnny Valentine, Davey Boy Smith, Terry Gordy, Owen Hart, Stu Hart, Gorilla Monsoon, The Sheik and Tim Woods..

To get all of those biographies as back issues of the Observer would be a $60 value today. This is a collection of some of the best Observer articles of the past several years in a hardcover, full-color format that is 239 pages. There is also a foreword by Bret Hart. The book price is $12.95 plus $3.50 for shipping costs in the U.S., $20 for shipping costs to Canada and $25 for shipping costs outside North America. You can order the book the same way you order the newsletter.

SUNDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

–We have two weekend shows up on the site, a Friday night show covering Bellator and ROH and a Saturday night show covering UFC and ROH.

–Royce Gracie in interviews on Friday was saying that he was willing to fight Ken Shamrock.  I guess we’ll see how the ratings come in for Friday’s show.  Shamrock has wanted a third fight with Gracie for 20 years and Gracie has never accepted.   

–Nothing from combat sports was on the Google searches today, although the UFC show was in the top two for much of the day yesterday and the TV show Ballers on HBO with Dwayne Johnson that debuts tonight was No. 13.

–On twitter at the time of this writing, combat sports trending numbers were:
PBC 21,600 (for the Adrien Broner fight)
UFC Berlin 15,400
WWE Las Vegas 2,554

–While it won’t air on television, they were taping the A.J. Styles & Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian tag team match at the ROH tapings last night. (thanks to Denis Gorman)

–Darren Young will be in the New York Pride Parade on 6/28.

–WWE is debuting its new show “Swerved” on Monday night on the WWE Network.  Tough Enough debuts Tuesday on USA with Tough Talk following on the WWE network at 9 p.m. Eastern .

–Shayna Baszler, formerly of UFC, will be managing Kenny Lush for Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling on 7/11 in Vancouver, BC for a show at the Commodore Ballroom.

–San Andreas was No. 4 at the box office this weekend at $8.24 million, so it has topped $132 million domestically.  Entourage was No. 11 at $1.9 million and it’s at $29.6 million domestically.

–For those in Australia, Tough Enough will be airing on YouTube at 10 a.m. Wednesdays Australian Eastern time.  They are pushing it for Australia because one of the final 13 is from Brisbane.

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

1972 – Enrique Vera beat Raul Mata (the inventor of the Frankensteiner) to win the Mexican national light heavyweight title
1982 – Ringo & Cachorro Mendoza beat El Satanico & Espectro Jr. in Mexico City to win the Mexican national tag team titles
1985 – Rayo de Jalisco Jr. beat MS 1 in Mexico City to win the NWA light heavyweight title
1994 – Pantera beat Felino in Cuernavaca to win the CMLL welterweight title
2000 – Eddie Fatu (Umaga) & Matty Smalls (Rosey) beat Hideki Hosaka & Yoshito Sasaki in Tokyo to win the WEW tag titles
2006 – La Mascara won the CMLL Reyes de Aire match in Mexico City
2013 – Bad Luck Fale beat Shinsuke Nakamura to win the IC title in Osaka
2014 – Alex Shelley & Kushida beat The Young Bucks to win the IWGP jr. tag titles in Osaka 

–Dynamo Pro Wrestling from Friday night in Glen Carbon, IL:  Keith Smith Jr. b Austin Blackburn, Jayden Fenix b Jackal, Brandon Espinosa & Elvis Aliaga b Shorty Biggs & Outtkast, Ricky Cruz b Paco Gonzalez, Brandon Aarons b Shawn Santel-DQ, Brandon Aarons & Evan Morris b Shawn Santel & Mauler McDarby, Rocket Mapache b Danny Adams, Billy McNeil b Jay Howard, Jake Dirden & Michael Magnuson & Dave DeLorean b Mike Outlaw & Justin D’Air & Keon Option (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)

–Pure Wrestling Association on 7/4 in Tottenham, ONT at the Community Week for a free show from 1 to 3 p.m..  They also run 7/18 in Kitchener, ONT at the Alpine Club.

–Fringe Pro Wrestling on 8/8 in Hamilton, ONT at the Bay City Music Hall with Scotty O’Shea vs. Ryan Swift vs. Alessandro Del Bruno.

–Canadian Wrestling Elite will be doing bringing eight women wrestlers on a tour from 9/25 to 10/3 which is headlined by Justin Gabriel.  Dates are:
9/25 in Steinbach, MB
9/26 in Gimli, MB
9/27 in Gladstone, MB
9/28 in Minnesoda, MB 
9/29 in Yorkton, SASK
9/30 in Virden, MB
10/1 in Souris, MB
10/2 in Winnipeg
10/3 in Morden, MB

–Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling from last night in East Carondelet, IL:  Keith Smith Jr. d Ax Allwardt, Bubba Troll b Daniel Gunner, Kahagas b Gary Jackson, Curtis Wylde b Sean Vincent, Brandon Espinosa b Farmer Boy Billy Hills, Heath Hatton b Denze Vance, Ricky Cruz DCOR Atilla Khan, Flash Flanagan b Chaz Wesson, Ron Powers & Red River Jack b Chris Hargas & Bull Bronson (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)

–MCW Ladies Night from Friday night in Glen Burnie, MD with Mick Foley as commissioner:  Kimber Lee b Mandy Leon, Punk Rock All-Stars b Fed Up Renee Michelle b Tessa Blanchard, Ryan McBride b Ll Green, Fenix Fury & Ron Paul Jordane & two area police officers b Andrew Steel & Money Green & Cesar & Oakley Woods, Brandon Scott d Drolix, Hell Cats b Entourage, Ken Dixon & Dixon Line Security b The Bruiser, Mickie James b Amber Rodriguez with Lisa Marie Varon as referee as Melina as outside enforcer to win the MCW women’s title.  Melina turned on James but Varon stopped her using the widow’s peak on Melina and then James hit a DDT on Rodriguez.  They run 7/18 in Joppa, MD at the MCW Arena with Roddy Piper, Davey Richards, Eddie Edwards, Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, Shane Strickland and Matt Cross.

–New York Daily News on Ballers at http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/dwayne-johnson-ready-smash-hbo-ballers-article-1.2261895  about Dwayne Johnson. (thanks to Jeff Beecher)

–Empire State Wrestling from last night in North Tonawanda, NY:  Frankie Feathers & Jonny Puma b Double Down, Vince Valor b Jett Rebel, Asylum b Ron Falco, Candice LaRae b Cloudy, Terrell Kenneth & Mike Everynite & Steve Gage b Oliver Street Connection & Plunkett, Ryot b Will Calrissian, Chris Hero b Brandon Thurston, RJ City & Hate Brigade b Kevin Bennett & Rochester Wrecking Crew, Johnny Adams b Yuri Koloff, Bill Collier b GabreaL Saint, Johnny Gargano b Tommaso Ciampa.  Next show is 8/22 with Hero vs. Collier and Gargano also appearing.

–Lucha Xtreme from TV last night in Fresno:  Wiseguy b Cyanide Von Doom, JR Kratos b Mike Dalite, Big Dogg & Skitzo DCOR Levi Shapiro & Buddy Royal (thanks to Jon Southerland) 

–Wrestling Night at Retama Race Track in Selma, TX on 6/27 featuring an appearance by Tully Blanchard, who grew up in San Antonio, along with daughter Tessa Blanchard and Sho Funaki. 

–Justin Gabriel jumps out of an airplane and talks CWE promotion at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmVocxa_1sI&feature=youtu.be
–Preview of a five hour Jim Cornette interview at

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4emzMN4v9T4

TOMORROW’S WWE NETWORK SCHEDULE (thanks to Bert Duckwall)

1:58 AM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH COMPETITION SPECIAL 40 finalists face a 3-day tryout to determine which 13 will earn the right to prove they are TOUGH ENOUGH.

3:00 AM ET
WWE NXT NXT Champion Kevin Owens battles against Samoa Joe in this week’s NXT main event!

4:00 AM ET
WWE SUPERSTARS This week, we have a huge triple threat tag team main event as its The Ascension vs. Los Matadores vs. Erick Rowan and Luke Harper.

4:59 AM ET
OLD SCHOOL Old School WWE card from Philadelphia features ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage defending the WWE Title against ‘Million Dollar Man’ Ted Dibiase.

6:00 AM ET
WCW GREAT AMERICAN BASH 1991 Lex Luger battles Barry Windham in a Steel Cage Match for the vacant WCW World Title. Nikita Koloff vs. Sting in a Russian Chain Match.

8:55 AM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH COMPETITION SPECIAL 40 finalists face a 3-day tryout to determine which 13 will earn the right to prove they are TOUGH ENOUGH.

10:00 AM ET
WWE BEYOND THE RING Packed with never before seen footage, this program profiles Triple H’s entire career as well as his current executive role with the WWE.

12:00 PM ET
WCW GREAT AMERICAN BASH 1991 Lex Luger battles Barry Windham in a Steel Cage Match for the vacant WCW World Title. Nikita Koloff vs. Sting in a Russian Chain Match.

3:00 PM ET
MONDAY NIGHT WAR Backstage politics, corporate mergers, and questionable decisions would doom sports entertainment’s former powerhouse.

4:00 PM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH COMPETITION SPECIAL 40 finalists face a 3-day tryout to determine which 13 will earn the right to prove they are TOUGH ENOUGH.

5:04 PM ET
WWE NXT NXT Champion Kevin Owens battles against Samoa Joe in this week’s NXT main event!

6:00 PM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Ariane’s plan to hire Nikki as her real estate agent backfires, and Nattie and TJ face the harsh realities of getting a divorce.

7:00 PM ET
THIS WEEK IN WWE This Week The Beast is back, Mr. Money in the Bank has the luck of the Irish on his side, plus a special tribute to WWE Legend Dusty Rhodes.

7:30 PM ET
RAW PRE-SHOW From WWE Studios in Stamford Connecticut. Scott Stanford, David Otunga and Corey Graves cover all the events leading up to Monday Night Raw.

8:00 PM ET
MONDAY NIGHT WAR Backstage politics, corporate mergers, and questionable decisions would doom sports entertainment’s former powerhouse.

9:00 PM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Strangest Bedfellows of all time!

10:00 PM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Ariane’s plan to hire Nikki as her real estate agent backfires, and Nattie and TJ face the harsh realities of getting a divorce.

11:06 PM ET
SWERVED Zack Ryder and Alex Riley get shocked, Booker T gets Hornswoggled, and we take the Poo Mic to the WWE Hall of Fame Red Carpet.

11:36 PM ET
THE WWE LIST Not everything can be found on Google. Shocking Title Changes gives rank to some of the most OMG Title Matches of all time!

By Brian Hoops

1918 – Earl Caddock defeated Ed “Strangler” Lewis by decision to unify their claims to the World Heavyweight Title (no falls in a 2 out of 3 falls match that lasted 2 hours and 30-minutes. Referee Ed Smith awarded the match to Caddock on points).

1934 – Francisco Aguayo defeated Martinez Larrea in Mexico City, Mexico for the Mexico National Heavyweight Title.

1942 – Ciclon Veloz defeated Jack O’Brien to win the Mexico National Welterweight Title.

1946 – In St. Joseph, Missouri; Ray Villmer & Bobby Bruns beat Bill Lee & Orville Brown 2 falls to 1 to win the St. Joseph tag team titles. 

1955 – In Minneapolis, MN; Before 5,942 fans, Leo Nomellini & Bronko Nagurski beat Kinji Shibuya & Ike Eakins in 2 out of 3 falls, Red Bastien beat Pedro Escobar, Dick the Bruiser (as Bruiser Afflis) beat Ovila Asselin (as Guy LaRose) and Ilio DiPaolo beat Jack Pesek

1957 – Pepper Gomez & El Medico defeated Duke Keomuka & Tokyo Joe in Houston, Texas for the NWA Texas Tag Team Title.

1961 – In Duluth, MN; AWA Champion Verne Gagne no contest Wilbur Snyder, AWA US Champion Gene Kiniski beat Jack Pesek, 
Bob Geigel beat Tony Bailargeon and George Scott beat Marquie DeParee

1963 – Pepper Gomez defeated Bill Watts to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title in Houston, Texas.

1965 – Stan Stasiak & Haru Sasaki defeated Pepper Martin & Shag Thomas in Portland, Oregon for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title.

1966 – Tojo Yamamoto & Great Higami defeated Len Rossi & Mario Milano to win the Mid-America version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Title in Birmingham, Alabama.

1967 – In Winnipeg; Bill Watts beat Harley Race, Larry Hennig beat Rene Goulet, Dr. X beat Dutch Savage and George Gordienko beat Bobby Jones. Attendance was 4,000. 

1969 – Paul DeMarco defeated The Professional (Doug Gilbert) for the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title in Atlanta, Georgia.

1969 – Johnny Walker & Bearcat Brown defeated The Great Mephisto & Dante to win the Mid-America version of the NWA World Tag Team Title in Chattanooga, Tennessee

1971 – Don & Al Greene win the Mid-America version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Title by defeating Tojo Yamamoto & Jerry Jarrett in Memphis, Tennessee

1971 – Tarzan Zorra defeated Jos LeDuc to win the International Wrestling Association International Heavyweight Title in Montreal, Quebec.

1973 – In Kansas City, Roger Kirby defeated Mike George, World Tag Team Champions Togo the Great & Tokyo Joe beat Bobo Brazil & Omar Atlas and Harley Race & Bob Brown wrestled Dory Funk, Jr. & Terry Funk to a double DQ. 

1975 – In Milwaukee, Dusty Rhodes & Dick Murdoch beat Baron Von Raschke & Kurt Von Brawner (sub Horst Hoffman), Billy Robinson beat Ray Stevens dq, Chris Taylor beat Buddy Wolff and Khosrow Vaziri drew Jim Brunzell

1978 – Mongolian Stomper won an elimination tag team match in Knoxville, Tennessee to win the vacant NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Title

1980 – Takachiho (The Great Kabuki) & Killer Karl Kox defeated Bob Brown & Pat O’Connor to win the NWA Central States Tag Team Title in Kansas City, Kansas.

1981 – Dusty Rhodes defeated Harley Race for the NWA World Heavyweight Wrestling Title in Atlanta, Georgia,

1982 – Junkyard Dog defeated Bob Roop for the Mid-South North American Heavyweight Title in New Orleans, Louisiana

1984 – The Uptown Boys (Marty Janetty & Tommy Rogers) defeated The Grapplers (Len Denton & Tony Anthony) for the NWA Central States Tag Team Title in Kansas City, Kansas. At the same show, Ted Oates defeated Luke Graham to win the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title.

1984 – Steve Grey defeated Danny Collins for the British Welterweight Title in Malvern, England.

1984 – In Salt Lake City, Utah; Fabulous Ones beat King Kong Brody & Larry Zbyszko, Abdullah The Butcher ddq The Crusher,
Nick Bockwinkel beat Billy Robinson, Curt Hennig drew Steve Regal and Steve O beat Chris Markoff

1985 – Sgt. Slaughter defeated Larry Zbyszko to win the AWA America’s Heavyweight Title in Chicago, Illinois. Also on the card, Michael Hayes beat AWA Champion Rick Martel in a non title match, Terry Gordy & Buddy Roberts & Butch Reed beat Dick The Bruiser & The Crusher & Baron Von Raschke, Greg Gagne drew Nick Bockwinkel, Ray Stevens beat Steve O and  Brad Rheingans drew Billy Robinson. Attendance was 4,000. 

1985 – Rayo de Jalisco, Jr. defeated MS-1 to win the NWA World Light Heavyweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico.

1985 – In St. Louis, Missouri; Kerry Von Erich beat NWA Champion Ric Flair dq, Harley Race beat Bobby Duncum, 
Blackjack Lanza (sub Dick the Bruiser) & Bulldog Bob Brown & Iceman Parsons beat Mr Pogo & Starship Coyote & Gary Royal and
Larry Hennig & Curt Hennig beat Super Destroyer & Sheik Abdullah. 

1986 – Mika Komatsu and Kanako Nagatomo defeated The Red Typhoons (Kazue Nagahori and Yumi Ogura) for the AJW Tag Team Title in Tokyo, Japan.

1987 – Al Perez defeats The Dingo (Ultimate) Warrior for the World Class Texas Heavyweight Title in Puerto Rico.

1987 – In Rockford, Illinois; Curt Hennig & Larry Zbyszko beat Nick Bockwinkel & Greg Gagne dq, Wahoo McDaniel beat Boris Zhukov, Sherri Martel beat Candi Divine dq, Kevin Kelly drew DJ Peterson and Mitch Snow & Ray Stevens beat Nasty Boys.  

1992 – Punish (Keiti Takayami) and Crush (Shoji Akiyoshi) defeated Scorpio, Jr. and Shu El Guerrero to win Michinoku Pro Wrestling’s UWA/UWF Intercontinental Tag Team Title in Tokyo, Japan

1992 – Villano III defeated The Killer for the UWA World Junior Heavyweight Title in Naucalpan, Mexico.

1993 – Owen Hart defeated Papa Shango for the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee.  On the same show, New Jack & Homeboy defeated Rex King & Steve Doll for the USWA Tag Team Title

1994 – El Pantera defeated Felino to win the CMLL World Welterweight Title in Cuernavaca, Mexico

2000 – Steven Regal defeated Jerry Lawler for the MCW Southern Heavyweight Title, and The Fabulous Rocker defeats Spanky to win the MCW Light Heavyweight Championship in Memphis, Tennessee

2000 – The Samoans (Eddie Fatu [now WWE’s Umaga] and Matty Samu [later known as Rosey]) defeated Hideki Hosaka and Yoshinori Sasaki in Tokyo, Japan to win the FMW/WEW Hardcore Tag Team Title.

2001 – Michael Modest defeated Bruce Hart fot the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title in Lethbridge, Alberta.

2003 – Terry Funk defeated The Sandman and “Pitbull” Gary Wolfe (subbing for then-champion Sabu) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the vacant 3PW Heavyweight Title.

2003 – The Impact (Scott Cage & Kaos) defeated Future Shock (Jay Freeze & Brandon P.) for the NWA Wildside Tag Team Title in Cornelia, Georgia.

2009 – Beer Money, Inc defeated Team 3-D for the TNA Tag Team Title and Kurt Angle won the TNA Heavyweight Title in a King of the Mountain match over Mick Foley, Jeff Jarrett, Samoa Joe and AJ Styles at the TNA Slammiversary PPV.

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

Major promotion shows on tap for the rest of the wekend:

Tonight:

ROH’s TV tapings in New York (Samoa Joe & A.J. Styles vs. Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian, Young Bucks vs. Hanson & Rowe, Dalton Castle vs. Takaaki Watanabe)

* WWE house show in Grand Rapids, MI (John Cena, Kane, Dolph Ziggler, King Barrett, New Day, Prime Time Players),

* WWE house show in Las Vegas (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Big Show, Ryback),

* NXT in Lakeland, FL.

* GFW in Jackson, MS.

Tomorrow Night:

* WWE house show in Kalamazoo, MI (John Cena, Kane, Dolph Ziggler, King Barrett, Prime Time Players, New Day) 

* WWE house show in Fort Wayne, IN (Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Big Show, Ryback)

* GFW in Bowling Green, KY.

If you’re attending any of these, please send a report to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com.

Raw will be live on Monday in Indianapolis, IN.  Brock Lesnar and John Cena will both be appearing on the show. Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday in Toledo, OH.

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The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is up on the site for subscribers (subscribe here) with a detailed look at what made Dusty Rhodes such a uniquely gifted performer. Topics covered include:

* How his appeal differed from other superstar babyfaces.

* His underrated athleticism and in-ring working ability.

* His versatility on promos.

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

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

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Part one of the life and career of Dusty Rhodes is the feature in the new double issue of the Wrestling Observer.  We also look at WWE coming out of the Money in the Bank PPV and where things are going next, UFC in Mexico City and the Fabricio Werdum win over Cain Velasquez, more on how Mayweather & Pacquiao set PPV records and who was buying, the debut of Global Force Wrestling, Tough Enough and Verano de Escandalo are also covered.  

The Latest Wrestling Observer: June 22, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Part 1 of giant Dusty Rhodes obituary, GFW’s 1st shows

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The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.

The lead story covers the life and early career of Dusty Rhodes.  We have a lot of his career records.  We look at fact vs. fiction about his life before wrestling, and his road to the top in wrestling.  We have an overview of the key points of his career, as well as rundown his early territories and the build to his babyface persona.  We’ve got comments by many people most associated with him during his career.  We look at health issues, the outpouring of emotion, an eerie thing written by Rhodes just ten day before his death where exactly what he didn’t want to be most remembered for was brought up.  We look at the WWF character and the real reasons behind it. 

We also look at the rise and fall of Jim Crockett Promotions, the fall of the UWF, the last year of JCP, the TBS purchase, why Rhodes was fired from the company and how Rhodes ended up back in WCW.  We also look at why he retired from the ring, and the irony of what he said about who could and couldn’t book wrestling in the late 90s. 

We look at Rhodes mentions on spots shows this past week,  and his role in helping talent currently on the main roster. 

We look at the original Dusty Rhodes, his doing backyard wrestling, his college days going to matches, West Texas State football and how he got into pro wrestling.  We look at his early territorial work, his first pushes and his rise to prominence.

We look back at the Texas Outlaws tag team with Dick Murdoch, how they got publicity as the top tag team of 1970 with two world tag team titles at the same time, his first run in Florida and how big he was put over on the first TV show there, his brief time in Australia as world tag team champion and who his manager was.  We look at why the run was so short, his working for Bill Watts as a single star, the Crusher vs. Dusty Rhodes dynamic, the first taste of Rhodes as a babyface, who Dusty pitched to Eddie Graham about bringing in as his younger brother, why Dusty was able to be a much better promo in Florida than he could in the AWA, Rhodes vs. Lou Thesz, Rhodes vs. Jack Brisco, the American Dream turns babyface and the quest for the NWA title achieved.

We also look at the direction for Battleground and full coverage of Money in the Bank.

We also look at the stories behind UFC 188 and have full coverage of the show.

We also look at the upcoming Hogan lawsuit, more dates booked for Brock Lesnar, wrestler who was on Raw last year trying out for Tough Enough, Kevin Owens talks John Cena, Dwayne Johnson movie notes, more notes from the WWE camp, More NXT road dates, WWE stock notes and network predictions, Chyna at WWE headquarters, plus more notes on the last NXT tour and a rundown of the business and weekend house shows and an interesting note about that business.

We look at why bought Mayweather-Pacquiao and what can be learned from it.

We look at the debut of Global Force Wrestling and the problems facing the promotion, its first weekend of shows, second weekend and first television tapings.

We also look at AAA’s Verano de Escandalo show.

We look at the finalists for this season of Tough Enough, who they were and where they came from.

We also have an interesting look at DVR usage during pro wrestling shows and what it says about the various products.

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:

–First notes on the annual Universal champion of champions tournament

–An interesting result where a major promotion’s top star put over an indie wrestler clean

–The Busca en un Idolo tournament

–What CMLL show drew the biggest crowd of the week and it was outside of Mexico City

–Update on Negro Casas concussion

–Latest from Arena Mexico

–Former world champion boxer marries pro wrestling star

–International stars coming to PWG

–Wrestle-One comes to the U.S. and Philadelphia show notes

–Dragon Gate changes several championships and a look at the next two big shows

–What U.S. stars are headed to Dragon Gate shortly

–Mitsuharu Misawa Tribute week in NOAH and what legends attended the big show

–GHC title match with neither wrestler being associated with the NOAH brand

–Update on Takeshi Morishima retirement match

–Notes on G-1 Climax ticket sales

–Update on Yoshitatsu

–Shinya Hashimoto Memorial show lineup

–A note on the Hashimoto legacy

–Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Roderick Strong rematch and how it came to be

–New Japan stars headed back to England and a look at their most recent England appearance

–New Japan stars headed back to ROH soon

–Current MMA world champion headlines IGF pro wrestling event

–King of DDT tournament notes

–Notes from the Championship Wrestling from Florida tribute event this past week

–Update on Blackjack Mulligan

–Details on Josh Alexander and his upcoming neck surgery

–Former WWE developmental talent on a CBS reality show

–Former wrestlers drop lawsuit against WWE

–How rules in New York affect indie groups and what rule in the books isn’t enforced at all

–What are the biggest expenses

–Major movie with Kevin Nash coming out soon

–New promotion debuts on national TV in July

–80s star writing an autobiography

–Notes on some stadium shows coming this summer

–Case reopened on the murder of an 80s pro wrestler

–Notes on Ultima Lucha

–Two wrestlers under consideration for season two of Lucha Underground

–Notes on the New York ROH shows and complete lineup

–Notes on ROH on Destination America

–TNA makes big play for former WWE major star

–Changes in the TNA PPV show

–Return of King of the Mountain

–Update on Jeff Hardy

–More on Slammiversary

–Problems with weight cutting

–Details behind drug test controversy with Jose Aldo in Brazil

–This week’s UFC show

–More on UFC deal with Titan Fighting Championships

–UFC debuts in Saskatchewan with action main event

–Future of Johny Hendricks

–Update on C.M. Punk and his UFC debut

–Lots of new UFC fights

–Kimbo/Shamrock notes

–Kimbo and Shamrock favor allowing PEDs in MMA

–Looking at the Bellator show

–Retirement of Peter Aerts and his legacy

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

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

Our most requested issues in our history are:

*November 17, 1997 (full details of everything leading to the most famous wrestling match finish of modern times at the Survivor Series plus a history of in-ring double-crosses)

*December 21, 1998 (the complete Vince McMahon-Bret Hart conversation right before the Survivor Series match so you’ll know exactly what was said–the conversation played in edited form both on the inaugural broadcast of Confidential as well as in Wrestling with Shadows, but everything that was said between the two about the match that was going to take place that same night)

*August 1, 1994 (the most detailed coverage anywhere of the Vince McMahon steroid trial, an issue praised in numerous newspaper article and Sex, Lies and Headlocks)

*March 26, 2001 (death of WCW and history of pro wrestling on the Turner networks)a

*October 22, 2001 (why the adult audience has left pro wrestling in such great numbers and what needed to have been done to save them)

*July 8, 1991 (Ric Flair leaves WCW as world champion/Zahorian steroid trial)

*February 8, 1993 (the life and times of Andre the Giant)

*May 13, 2002 (the life story of the most incredible pro wrestling career ever, a look at Lou Thesz, in one of the largest issues of our history)

*January 27, 2003 (part one of the two-part series covering the career and life of The Sheik)

*February 3, 2003 (Part two on The Sheik including thoughts from people who worked with him and where he stands historically)

*March 24, 2003 (history of the WWWF title, inside behind the Sammartino, Backlund and Backlund era)

*April 21, 2003 (history of WWF continues with the expansion nationally, the death of the regional territories and the rise of Hulk Hogan)

*May 12, 2003 (The life and death of Elizabeth and the rise of fall of Lex Luger)

*June 9, 2003 (Part 1 of history of WWF vs. WCW wars and what many say was the greatest year in U.S. wrestling; plus a look at Fred Blassie)

*June 16, 2003 (Freddie Blassie through the eyes of his biggest rivals and friends)

*July 28, 2003 (Part 2 of the history of the WWF vs. WCW war and the plans to make new superstars in the early 90s, what happened, and the night where the three biggest wrestling companies in the world combined for a joint show and what happened)

*August 25, 2003 (2003 Hall of Fame issue with huge profiles on the controversial career of Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit as well as historical features on Earl Caddock and Francisco Flores)

*September 22, 2003 (Part 3 of the history of the WWF vs WCW war with the seeds that caused the collapse of the industry in the 90s, Zahorian trial, Gulf War controversy, Flair leaves WCW while holding world title and much more)

*October 27, 2003 (The fascinating life of Stu Hart plus the story of Road Warrior Hawk)

*January 19, 2004 (2003 Awards issue)

*February 2, 2004 (History of Toronto wrestling, Jack Tunney life story, Royal Rumble and Battle Royal history)

*February 23, 2004 (History of Guerrero family with Eddy’s win over Brock Lesnar)

*March 1, 2004 (History of WWF continues with the period that brought the company down in early 1992, the mistakes, the real stories and how the business changed)

*March 8, 2004 (History of Wrestlemania, its greatest matches and best and worst shows as voted both by wrestlers and non-wrestlers and Wrestlemania history books)

*July 5, 2004 (A look behind the scenes and Ric Flair’s book and his background with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan)

*July 12, 2004 (A look at more on Ric Flair’s book and his comments on Bruno Sammartino, Bret Hart and Mick Foley)

*August 16, 2004 (History of the Olympians in pro wrestling)

*August 23, 2004 (2004 Hall of Fame issue and biggest issue of the year with huge profiles on Kazushi Sakuraba, Undertaker, Bob Backlund, Masahiro Chono, Ultimo Dragon, Kurt Angle and Tarzan Lopez–this counts as one issue if you are asking for a free issue, but ordered separately, due to size, is $6 in North America and $7 overseas)

*October 4, 2004 (the life and times of Big Bossman; as well as details of the life and times of one of the most influential men world wide in pro wrestling history, Jim Barnett)

*November 15, 2004 (the full story of what happened between Kurt Angle and Daniel Puder, plus coverage of the most important week in the history of TNA)

*January 24, 2005 (2004 Awards issue, Rock and WWE part company)

*March 14, 2005 (the 50 biggest money players in the history of WWF and a look at their Hall of Fame)

*May 9, 2005 (the life and times of Chris Candido)

*June 20, 2005 (The full story behind Paul Heyman and the death of ECW, as well as coverage of One Night Stand, Hardcore Homecoming and behind the scenes of both shows)

*July 18, 2005 (death of Shinya Hashimoto and his records with a look at the fall of New Japan, the Matt Hardy angle, tons of WWE firings, Cornette firing in detail as well as problems of a WWE developmental territory in our biggest news issue of the year which is a double-sized issue and would be $6 on its own and $7 overseas)

*August 24, 2005 (2005 Hall of Fame issue with career profiles of Paul Heyman, HHH and Freebirds plus debut of MMA Hall of Fame)

*September 12, 2005 (History of Mid South Wrestling)

*October 10, 2005 (Life and Times of the Ultimate Warrior)

*November 21, 2005 (Life and Times of Eddy Guerrero and Crusher, double issue $6 on its own and $7 overseas)

*December 5, 2005 (The Eddy Guerrero special issue, double issue $6 on its own, $7 overseas)

*January 9, 2006 (The life and times of Superstar Billy Graham, plus New Year’s Eve 2005 coverage)

*January 16, 2006 (2005 Awards double issue, $6 or $7 overseas)

*April 3, 2006 (Story of Ann Calvello and the history of Roller Derby–many called this the best issue of the Observer ever)

*April 10, 2006 (Behind the scenes at the 2006 Wrestlemania/Hall of Fame week)

*July 24, 2006 (The History of the Von Erichs and World Class Championship Wrestling–the most unreal story ever in wrestling)

*September 4, 2006 (The Rise and Fall of Kurt Angle; 2006 Hall of Fame inductions of Eddie Guerrero, Paul Bowser, Masakatsu Funaki, Aja Kong and Hiroshi Hase including tons of wrestling history around the world from the 20s through the 60s, the evolution of working to not working in Japan, and a look at Guerrero in hindsight, double issue $6 or $7 overseas)

*October 9, 2006 (A look back nine years later at the life and legacy of Brian Pillman with tons of inside information about what made him tick as his real objectives)

*November 15, 2006 (History of WCW part one, Eric Bischoff’s book and how the industry was changed forever)

*November 20, 2006 (History of WCW part two, Why Jim Ross left WCW, How Bischoff changed the company, signing of Hulk Hogan, Beginning of Nitro, Jesse Ventura, Brian Pillman, Chris Jericho and signing Wrestlemania planned celebrity away)

*November 27, 2006 (History of WCW part three, When Bischoff challenged McMahon to fight; Truth and fiction around Bret Hart signing with WCW and why it didn’t click)

*December 6, 2006 (details behind Pride’s offers to sell promotion and Part four of History of WCW part four, Hogan-Goldberg match and why there was no rematch, WCW loses NBC network deal in 1999 and the real reasons the company fell apart)

*January 22, 2007 (2006 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

*February 14, 2007 (Life and Times of Bam Bigelow)

*March 5, 2007 (WWE begins plans that will change the business)

*March 12, 2007 (Life and Times of Mike Awesome)

*March 19, 2007 (Life and Times of Ernie Ladd)

*April 4, 2007 (Life and Times of Badnews Allen Coage–which many are calling one of the best issues in history)

*July 2, 2007 (Part one of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

*July 5, 2007 (Part two of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

*July 10, 2007 (Part three of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

*July 19, 2007 (Part four of the Benoit double murder-suicide)

*July 23, 2007 (Part five of Benoit double murder-suicide)

*July 25, 2007 (Part six of Benoit double murder-suicide)

*August 15, 2007 (The legend of the God of Japanese wrestling and his influence on MMA, Karl Gotch)

*October 15 (2007 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas including inductions of The Rock, Tom Packs and the original Strangler Lewis)

*November 12, 2007 (Life and times of Fabulous Moolah and history of U.S. women’s wrestling) .

*December 31, 2007 (History of Ric Flair and the heyday of wrestling at the Greensboro Coliseum)

*January 21, 2008 (2007 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

*March 17, 2008 (Life and times of Johnny Weaver)

*March 24, 2008 (Life and times of Gary Hart)

*April 10, 2008 (Farewell to Ric Flair; My thoughts, Shawn Michaels talks of Flair’s meaning to him; Hall of Fame; Wrestlemania double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas)

*August 11, 2008 (Ric Flair leaves WWE; Updated history of pro wrestlers and MMA fighters who went to the Olympics)

* September 8, 2008 (2008 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas; part one of Killer Kowalski bio)

* September 15, 2008 (Life and Times of Evan Tanner)

* September 22, 2008 (The amazing career of Killer Kowalski, one of our most in-depth bios)

You can also order any of these issues on their own for $4 in North America or $5 overseas.

We now have available personally autographed copies of Tributes II, our latest book, as well as a DVD that comes with it talking more about the subjects in the book. The book covers the life stories of Lou Thesz, Wahoo McDaniel, Elizabeth, Fred Blassie, Road Warrior Hawk, Andre the Giant, Curt Hennig, Johnny Valentine, Davey Boy Smith, Terry Gordy, Owen Hart, Stu Hart, Gorilla Monsoon, The Sheik and Tim Woods..

To get all of those biographies as back issues of the Observer would be a $60 value today. This is a collection of some of the best Observer articles of the past several years in a hardcover, full-color format that is 239 pages. There is also a foreword by Bret Hart. The book price is $12.95 plus $3.50 for shipping costs in the U.S., $20 for shipping costs to Canada and $25 for shipping costs outside North America. You can order the book the same way you order the newsletter.

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Saturday Daily Update

— Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard had a “State of the WWE” discussion with Bret Hart that went up yesterday. The whole article is well worth reading, but this section about Daniel Bryan has gotten the most attention by far:

“Daniel Bryan is finished. He’ll never wrestle again. I don’t think he knows it yet. I feel terrible about Daniel Bryan. For all intents and purposes, he had the exact same thing happen to him that happened to me after Bill Goldberg kicked me in the head. One day, you learn it’s over. Doctors tell you that you can’t wrestle and you’ll never wrestle again. I lost millions of dollars because of that. I pray that it’s not the same for Daniel Bryan.” He also compared Bryan’s recklessness after returning from his neck and elbow injuries to that of the Dynamite Kid.

This is obviously going to fuel speculation that Bryan’s mystery injury is a concussion/post-concussion syndrome. If Bryan did suffer a concussion recently, it would be at least the eighth he’d suffered during his career.

— If you didn’t see the UFC Berlin card on Fight Pass, it’s worth checking out. Lots of finishes on the prelims and the main event was an amazing showcase for Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who completely shut down a noticeably improved version of Jessica Penne.  Jedrzejczyk has a ton of star power and charisma and is incredibly exciting to watch, but UFC just needs to package her properly. The card is number one on Google Trends right now, which is pretty impressive for a Fight Pass card.

— Herschel Walker is saying he’s interested in returning to MMA. Which is pretty much perfect for Bellator right now.

— The official WWE Australia Twitter account announced that Tough Enough will be broadcast as a YouTube live stream on Wednesday mornings at 10:00 a.m. AEST. 

— Empire Sate Wrestling will be holding a show on Saturday, June 20th, at St. Johnsburg Fire Hall, 7165 Ward Road, North Tonawanda, NY. Bell time is 6 pm. ESW Heavyweight Title: Gabreal Saint vs. Bill Collier (c), Tommaso Ciampa vs Johnny Gargano, Chris Hero vs Brandon Thurston, Ryot vs Will Calrissian, Ron Falco vs Asylum, Hate Brigade & RJ City vs Rochester Wrecking Crew & Kevin Bennett, Double Down vs Jonny Puma & Frankie Feathers, Inferno Johnny Adams vs Yuri Koloff, Patron Saints of Pro Wrestling (Mikey Everynite, Steve Gage & Terrell Kenneth) vs Oliver Street Connection (Randy Philbrick & Andrew Cravatta) & Plunkett

— Pure Wrestling Association presents The Carrot Cup Tournament of Champions on August 16th, 2015 in Bradford, Ontario with “The Modern Day Warriors” Jimmy King and Derek Platinum w/ Lenny Lilac, “The Flatliners” Asylum and Burns , WWE.TNA/ECW Alumni Tommy Dreamer and Rhino, Tyson Dux and Tornado, ECW Alumni Steve Corino and Reggie Marley, Ruffy Silverstein and TNA Alumni Johnny Devine, “The Italiano’s” Primo and Stickball, Joey Valentyne and a mystery partner.

— Pictou Lobster Carnival wrestling results from June 18, in Pictou, NS: Titus defeated “Dynamite” Dylan Davis; Kowboy Mike Hughes beat The American Patriot; Lincoln Steen (accompanied by Larry the Lobster) defeated “The Waking Nightmare” Kilgrave; Brody Steele bested Bradford Montague; Kowboy Mike Hughes beat Titus to claim the Lobster Cup.

— The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast has Sonny Onoo on their latest show talking about his career in WCW as an on-screen performer and Japanese liason in the office. They have a preview clip on YouTube where Onoo talks about “innovating” selfies.

TOMORROW’S WWE NETWORK SCHEDULE

12:30 AM ET
WARRIOR: THE ULTIMATE LEGEND Examine the most outspoken and intense superstar of all time in this revealing look about the career and final days of The Ultimate Warrior.

1:30 AM ET
THIS WEEK IN WWE Get caught up on all the highlights from Raw and SmackDown with This Week in WWE.

2:00 AM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Ariane’s plan to hire Nikki as her real estate agent backfires, and Nattie and TJ face the harsh realities of getting a divorce.

3:00 AM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH 40 finalists face a 3-day tryout to determine which 13 will earn the right to prove they are TOUGH ENOUGH.

4:00 AM ET
MONDAY NIGHT WAR Backstage politics, corporate mergers, and questionable decisions would doom sports entertainment’s former powerhouse.

5:00 AM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Strangest Bedfellows of all time!

6:00 AM ET
WWE NXT The future is here. Witness the entertainers, the leading men and women, the Superstars of tomorrow — this is NXT!

7:00 AM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH 40 finalists face a 3-day tryout to determine which 13 will earn the right to prove they are TOUGH ENOUGH.

8:00 AM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Ariane’s plan to hire Nikki as her real estate agent backfires, and Nattie and TJ face the harsh realities of getting a divorce.

9:00 AM ET
WWE BEYOND THE RING Explore the rich family legacies created in sports entertainment, and how they defined a long lasting impact!

11:30 AM ET
WWE 24 In this edition of WWE 24, we reveal the personal story of this rising star, his family and his memorable experience at Wrestlemania 31.

12:05 PM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Ariane’s plan to hire Nikki as her real estate agent backfires, and Nattie and TJ face the harsh realities of getting a divorce.

1:00 PM ET
WWE BEYOND THE RING Explore the rich family legacies created in sports entertainment, and how they defined a long lasting impact!

3:30 PM ET
WWE 24 In this edition of WWE 24, we reveal the personal story of this rising star, his family and his memorable experience at Wrestlemania 31.

4:05 PM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Ariane’s plan to hire Nikki as her real estate agent backfires, and Nattie and TJ face the harsh realities of getting a divorce.

5:00 PM ET
WWE BEYOND THE RING Explore the rich family legacies created in sports entertainment, and how they defined a long lasting impact!

7:30 PM ET
WWE 24 In this edition of WWE 24, we reveal the personal story of this rising star, his family and his memorable experience at Wrestlemania 31.

8:05 PM ET
WCW GREAT AMERICAN BASH 1991 Lex Luger battles Barry Windham in a Steel Cage Match for the vacant WCW World Title. Nikita Koloff vs. Sting in a Russian Chain Match.

11:00 PM ET
WCW GREAT AMERICAN BASH 1991 Lex Luger battles Barry Windham in a Steel Cage Match for the vacant WCW World Title. Nikita Koloff vs. Sting in a Russian Chain Match.

An easy thumbs up show.

Best match was the main event and I was sure the six man tag would get my vote when that was over.  If I go back to watch one crazy entertaining match it will be the six man but the main event was excellent in that meaningful spot.  Lethal is someone they can build around (although I’d say Briscoe was also) and this was the right time to go with him.

I’d say Castle vs Young was worst but I found all the matches at least somewhat entertaining.  I’m pleased to now have access to ROH TV as I really enjoy the pacing and the advancement of storyline a in a logical easy to keep up with way.  Also one hour of TV a week is just about perfect for me.

I was on the fence about this show and am really glad I bought it.

Dan Kuester
Manhattan, Kansas

Hello,

Overall I enjoyed the Beallator fights, a solid (recognizable) card helped make it more interesting than usual.  Very heavy traditional “gimmicks” which I actually enjoyed in the context of MMA such as elaborate intros, promo time, heat, etc.  It felt very different than the last several UFCs in my opinion, in a good way.

I’ve never seen as my rear-naked choke attempts in one night, but several were successful.  While I expected the Chandler fight to be a little bit more even it was a great match to start the live show off with, being it a home town boy and all. 

Straus is an interesting fighter, will get his title sooner rather than later I think.

Wasn’t surprised by the Lashley fight at all, had his game-plan and was dramatically quicker and stronger making it easy to enforce that plan.  He’s such a specimen.  Tangent for sure but with the personality and comfort level in front of a crowd he’s developing and TNA’s rocky future I would love to see him come back to WWE for another run.  Lashley/Lesnar would be big $$$.

The final strike from Pitbull happened so quickly I actually missed it.  While Weichel was strong from the start I was concerned by his inability to get quick separation and scramble, it seemed like he was leaving his head exposed to much which turned out to be the case.  Credit to Pitbull for keeping his head in it after getting lit up so much to start the fight.  A rematch here would draw money I would think.

Shamrock/Kimbo has an amazing build but ultimately couldn’t live up to it’s own hype.  Both guys were sticking to their game plans, Shamrock just suffered from the same issues of missing a step with his scrambling.  Kimbo didn’t do much but took advantage of Shamrock’s slowness.  I could see the roots for a rematch here as well it’s just always an added wrinkle of their age and I don’t know what Kimbo would gain from it. 

Overall a fun show, St. Louis fans are always fun for events. 

Jordan Angle

** Precursor, I’m a casual ROH fan ( I don’t watch programming every week, but I catch major shows). I’m more familiar w/ NJPW, and obviously WWE. I usually choose what too watch of ROH based on the buzz.  **

– The main event was paced perfectly. I think as good as these ROH shows are, there’s such a frenetic pace to them. The audience lose steam, no matter how hardcore they are. They did a wise thing having the pace be very deliberate. Also there was a palpable tension in the air between these two.

I brought my sister and her fiance to this show. Both having never watched since 1999/2000, and seeing their anticipation to the match just based on the video package was excellent. There was certainly a big fight feel to this match, so that was a huge positive. The fans got incredibly engaged during the final portion of the match, I can only compare it to a sporting event where your home team is making an epic comeback. The near falls suspended disbelief like no other.

– Other than that, the Bullet Club/Kingdom match delivered. But I was really impressed by Kingdom. They all have really defined characters, and they definitely “belong” in the ring with the Bullet Club. I was actually more impressed by Kingdom than I was Bullet Club in this match. athough both teams did great. Adam Cole has really matured, and the highlight of the match for me was his offense on AJ/Bucks before being pinned (don’t remember who got pinned actually)

– Final thing I want to note is Moose. People love him. The chants that Moose sucks is only a small amount of the audience. Obviously, he was carried in this match, but you have to think that even in his current form, he still could do great in the WWE with his look and athleticism. The fact that he re-signed just makes me excited for how he’ll look in a couple of years. He lends himself to being a GREAT babyface, because he appears as if he’s a bigger deal than ROH. Moose has an air of star power to him, which is great. 

Overall great show, a couple of matches too long to be honest. I wasn’t very engaged for Addiciton/O’Reily + Fish. I love all 4 of these wrestlers, and O’Reily/Kushida is match of the year candidate, but I think it occured during somewhat of a lull in the audience engagement, but that’s just me. Terminal 5 is A LOT nicer than the Manhattan center, which felt dingy last year. 

Anyway, that’s pretty much want I wanted to get across about the event. 

Thanks for reading.
Adi Singh

I watched Best in the World last night and overall I felt it was a thumbs up show. The best match of the night was without a doubt the Lethal/Briscoe main event. Lethal is red hot and ROH pulled the trigger on his title run at the best possible time. Worst match of the night would have been C&C Wrestlefactory/War Machine. If they’d had more time it could’ve been a good show, but they were strapped and in turn I felt it disappointed. 

Assorted thoughts on the show: 
I felt that the crowd was rather dead several times. The biggest one I remember was War Machine’s victory, but that could have been due to the poor finish. I also recall The Addiction getting a lack of reception during their entrance. Adam Cole, even taking the pinfall, looked like a star in his comeback and the amount of punishment he took by the end. Strong/Lethal is going to be incredible, Moose’s entrance and theme were outstanding, I just don’t care about Elgin, and I don’t think the ROH crowd does either.

I also happened to catch Kimbo/Shamrock on Spike and that was weird. One part tells me that Kimbo saying he won’t tap and surviving the rear naked choke as the announcers sold that he couldn’t possibly escape makes me rather suspicious. That Shamrock takedown that led to the RNC was pretty horrible too. I really don’t know, but both those guys are far past their prime, but that fight looked was baffling to me. 

Anyways, keep up the great work, happy to share some thoughts on last nights events.

Take care, 
Ryan from Michigan

Dave-

I was at Best in the World last night, and it was an incredible show. The crowd was electric all night, with tons of energy and dueling chants. The top highlights were the Kingdom/Bullet Club match with a ton of incredible spots, seeing Roddy become the new #1 contender, and Lethal finally reaching the mountain top and becoming the World Champion in an amazing main event. I can’t wait to watch it once I get home to hear the commentary. Hope this helps.

Todd Schorr

Thumbs Up

Best Match: Lethal-Briscoe
Worst Match: War Machine-Coleman/Alexander

Just a fantastic show live, capped off by an amazing main event. I was there in Philly when Aries beat Joe for the ROH title, and this was as close to anything I’ve seen live since as far as crowd reaction to a title change goes (including many other ROH title changes). The crowd was so legitimately happy for Lethal, and his post-show speech as he fought back tears was something special to be there for. Everything just feels so much more real in this promotion than anything else on North American wrestling television, bottom line.

John Carroll
Bronx, NY

Attended the live Bellator show tonight and I’ve got to say WOW.  I’ve been to three amateur shows but this is the first professional card I’ve been to, much less one of the big two, and it was a phenominal event.  Bellator, or maybe just Coker, knows how to put on a show.  It looked first class all the way from the video screens to the Bella-tron and even the arch.  Many people in St. Louis, myself included, get tired of the Arch being the only thing people recognize, but I thought it was a neat touch.  And unlike UFC, it gave a little local flavor.Place was 30-40% full for the prelims, which was stupid because they were incredible.  Again, I love seeing local guys get a shot at glory and I think it’s smart from a promotional standpoint because those are a couple dozen guaranteed tickets sold for every fighter.  Had I paid to see just the undercard, well, I would have thought it was overpriced but I would not have complained too hard.Tons of celebrities.  We almost literally ran into Liam McGeary in the concourse and even though he was in a hurry was nice enough to shake our hands and thank us for coming.  Nick Diaz walked down the stairs two feet away from me at one point, mostly blowing off people trying to get his attention.  Royce Gracie held court at ringside talking to everyone he saw.  Tito mostly sat and watched the fights.  I didn’t see Hershel Walker until the show was done but he was mobbed.  We saw King Mo, Tyron Woodley (who of course lives and owns an ATT gym here), Rickels, Mike Brown in at least two corners, and a lot of tall women with long legs and short skirts. The main reason we were there was to see the uncrowned champ Michael Chandler, and his fight was worth the admission. His pop after winning was enormous and didn’t come across on TV at all.  I met the guy about five years ago and he’s a class act, and I love to see his success and especially getting a nice spotlight.  There was almost a bit of a letdown after the fight, it’s too bad you couldn’t have put a Divas match after it.  All the same, the Straus match got over big after a slow start heat-wise.Everyone thought the Pitbull/Weichel fight was over after the first round and there was much confusion.  I don’t know if it made the air but Big John had to literally shove a production guy out of the ring to start the second round.  It looked like Weichel was very upset after not getting the finish.  Anoher highlight was the brief “USA” chant.Shamrock’s entrance – everyone popped huge (third biggest pop of the night) for Road Warrior Animal because his son James is the star of the St. Louis Rams football team.  Since John comes to all the games and is almost always shown, he’s become something between a mascot and local hero.  Speaking of football, we were a football field length away and we could tell the woman was doing a horrible job lip synching, or having spasms, or whatever she was doing.I could have cared less about the Kimbo/Shamrock fight and had there not been three “post-lim” fights I would have been willing to leave before it.  Glad I didn’t because it was pretty great.  50 years old or no, if Shamrock is on your back with an RNC and you get out of it, that’s impressive.  The crowd was pretty split in the beginning but no one seemed terribly upset at the result.   I was impressed with Kimbo, and I didn’t think I’d say that tonight.About 75% of the crowd left immediately after the fight and another 10% or so left after the interviews.  Folks, if you go to an MMA event, watch the fucking prelims (and post-lims).  I don’t understand spending money on a product and not enjoting the whole experience. Bellator gets a big thumbs up from me and Next time they come to St. Louis, hopefully for Mike to get his belt back, I’ll be there.  If you get the chance to go to a show, do it.  First class all the way.Mike DeGeorge

Dave,

Thumbs up for Bellator. Actually, I was torn with whether or not I should watch the Ring of Honor card, or skip it an just go with the free option. I have ordered all of the previous ROH PPVs, but time is now very limited with a newborn and two-year-old toddler. I am glad I went with the free option. I really enjoy the presentation that the “tentpole” shows bring; they far surpass anything else really in combat sports post-Pride.

Plus, I still got my wrestling fill with Lashley and Shamrock’s fights, King Mo in a Young Bucks shirt, and Road Warrior Animal, which was epic.

I don’t really know why Coker was so befuddled with the announcement for the September show, and where was Phil Davis? Mo acted like he didn’t want to be there; he probably wanted to be watching the ROH show. Despite that, it should be a stacked show with good action. Next week should be a good card, too.

Best Fight: Pitbull vs. Weichel
Worst Fight: Lashley vs. Charles

Matt Wright

Overall: HUGE thumbs up!
Best Match: Jay Briscoe vs. Jay Lethal: Title vs. Title
Worst Match: War Machine vs. C&C Wrestle Factory (wasn’t bad per se, just a nothing match)

If you can get past that this isn’t in a big arena, if you can get past the lack of pyro or that they didn’t spend a million dollars building a stage, this is the best American wrestling show of the year so far. Better than the joint New Japan shows, better than anything TNA has done, and yes, even better than Wrestlemania. They built to matches that mattered, made you care, and rewarded you for paying. It was like watching an old Starrcade in that sense. It’s not ROH’s fault that WWE has devalued their PPV’s to $10. This was worth every penny I spent ordering it in HD, and I will definitely be ordering ROH PPV’s in the future. 

The first hour just banged out 4 matches so they could give the final 4 matches more time. 

Mark Briscoe vs. Donavan Dijak: Fun, short match. Good way to start off the show. Mark is a character among characters. Glad to see him win.

The Decade vs. Matt Sydal and ACH: They tricked me with a near fall and I really thought Sydal and ACH would get a win here. Really good match and Sydal did some awesome stuff. Sydal and ACH got potential to be an awesome team if that’s the direction they go with.

Dalton Castle vs. Silas Young: The crowd wasn’t as into this as I thought they would be but I thought this was great. Dalton Castle, for being a wacky character, is a really good wrestler. Silas Young was good as well.

War Machine vs. C&C Wrestle Factory: Was a nothing match. Did a good job in completing the Cedric turn which we could all see coming a mile away. Will be interesting to see what they do with him since he’s been a loser for so long.

#1 Contender Match with Strong, Elgin, and Moose: AWESOME. I thought for sure this would be match of the night. You might as well just write Moose in as Most Improved for the Observer Awards because no one else stands a chance. The guy is just phenomenal. He such a huge guy that’s so athletic. I can’t believe the way he bumps around for these other guys. I was pulling for Roderick and was really happy that he won. He’s been on a roll all year and I think him and Lethal should have a great program building to Death Before Dishonor. 

Bullet Club vs. The Kingdom: The Bullet Club got their win back and it seems that Mike Bennett may want out of the group, which I find really disappointing. The match wasn’t quite as great as their previous battle, but it was still the same super fast paced action packed style match. I could watch these guys wrestle all day. 

The Addiction vs. reDRagon for the ROH Tag Titles: Good match in which these guys killed themselves taking bumps on ladders and guard rails. I was really pulling for reDRagon to win, but I’m disappointed they didn’t think to bring their trainer, Filthy Tom Lawlor, when they knew from experience that Chris Sabin could be an outside threat. Between Sabin and Lawlor I’d have to think Tom would take him. 

Jay Lethal vs. Jay Briscoe Title vs. Title: I know Dave said he didn’t think this deserved to be called the biggest ROH match of all time, but if you’ve been watching the ROH TV show regularly for months they definitely did everything to make it feel that way, and the crowd sure seemed to agree. Right off the bat the crowd was going ballistic. They responded to these guys in a way they didn’t for AJ Styles, the Young Bucks, Adam Cole, or any other guy on the card. They truly seemed to have a 50/50 split which I didn’t think was going to happen. I thought more people were going to be cheering for Lethal and a title change. I don’t know what else to say about this match other than I thought it was a perfect 5 star match, and an edge better than both Cena-Owens matches. This is the best American match I’ve seen all year and gave me everything I love about pro-wrestling. I can’t wait for Death Before Dishonor. 

-Matthew Burrill
@mattb425

Overall: Thumbs up show. Two stand out matches that were completely unique in pacing, delivery, and style. The six man tag and main event made the show. The #1 contenders match and the tag title match were disappointing. The rest of the show was acceptable.
Best Match: I will give the edge to the main event. Deliberate pacing, solid build, and climatic finish. This is what a title match should be in 2015.
Worst Match: C & C vs. War Machine did not do much for me. The tag title match was the most disappointing match on the show.

1.  Mark Briscoe Vs. Dijak. The slam over the top rope was brutal. Briscoes consistent selling was a highlight of the match. They did enough to get by, but not too much to take away from the rest of the show. Good opener  **3/4

2. ACH and Sydal Vs. Page and Whitmer.  Solid tag team match. The highspots were well placed and not overdone.  **1/2

3. Silas Young Vs. Dalton Castle. Good change of pace. A more character driven match that I enjoyed much more than I thought I would. This was the first time I have seen much from Castle. He was impressive. **1/2

4. C & C Wrestle Factory Vs. War Machine. A few cool moves, but that is about where it ends. They tried to tell a story of dissent between C and C, but I did not get behind it. From the sound of the live crowd, they did not seem too intrigued either. *1/2

5. Elgin Vs. Strong Vs. Moose. Ambitious match. They aimed high, but failed in execution. Mistimed spots, clunky exchanges, and some blatantly missed moves. Roddy is my favorite ROH talent, but even he was off in this match. On the positive side, Elgin has been able to channel legitimate heat into heel heat, Moose has an abundance of potential, and Strong is the #1 contender. **

6. The Bullet Club Vs. The Kingdom.  Nobody executes a spot fest like the Young Bucks. Finisher inflation? Yes. Blatant under selling? Hard to argue. Socially unacceptably women beating? Undeniable.  Did I enjoy it? Absolutely! For all of its shortcomings, it was fun and entertaining.  With that said, in 2015 it is hard to condone kicking a woman in the face. ****

7. Redragon vs. The Addiction. After everything the crowd witnessed in the prior match, this match was destined to be a comedown.  I feel bad because this had the more compelling angle going in. The crowd popped for a few highspots, but was dead for the rest. Disappointing match that I can’t place all the blame on the wrestlers for.  I have seen much better from all four guys involved in this match. They had a bad night and produced a fairly mediocre match.  **

8. Battle of the Belts: Jay Lethal vs. Jay Briscoe: Fantastic match. Deliberate pace that built to an absolute climax. The match turned the corner after the table spot and ascended to greatness. This far exceeded my expectations. ****1/4

Derrick Hubbard
from Utah