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  • NJPW on AXS 6-5-15 report: Makabe and Tanahshi vs. Gallows and Anderson

    By Bryan Rose, WrestlingObserver.com

    Last week, we saw Kota Ibushi retain the IWGP Junior heavyweight championship against Ricochet at the Dominion event at the Osaka Bodymaker Colosseum. But that’s not all we’ll be seeing from the big show! This week we have the NWA tag team championships on the line as champions Tencozy take on the Killer Elite Squad of Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith Jr. The IWGP tag team championships are also on the like as Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows defend the titles against Togi Makabe and Hiroshi Tanahashi.

    This event took place June 21, 2014 at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, or the Bodymaker Colosseum. It’s part 2 of our look at the Dominion event from last year.

    First up we have the NWA tag team championships being defended as Tencozy (Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan) defend against Killer Elite Squad. These two teams have faced each other a lot, especially in the last year. In fact, this match airing here tonight is good timing as they’ll be facing off again on a special Suzukigun event that will be airing Tuesday on New Japan World. This was a good match, everyone looked pretty great here. It kind of makes you wonder how WWE missed the boat on both Archer and Smith, but what can you do. Tenzan looked inconsistent, but that’s what you get with him nowadays. Regardless, a fine tag team match, with Kojima pinning Smith after a lariat.

    Togi Makabe is interviewed, looking back at his tag team match we’re about to see. He was asked why he represented the New Japan army. He says that lately it’s just been Chaos and the gaijin forces working against the New Japan army, so he wants to get the New Japan army it’s dignity back against the gaijins. When asked about his broken jaw suffered the previous month in a match against Goto and Shibata, Makabe sums it up simply by saying that’s just pro wrestling. He gives the mentality many share in Japan, that just because you’re injured doesn’t mean you take time off or say you’ll try harder next time – you get back in the ring regardless of injury. When talking about his opponents, he says that they absorb a lot of punishment, and do everything good. They’re specialists, no doubt.

    The IWGP tag team championship match followed. First off, a nice connection here by Ranallo as he points out that Hiroshi Tanahashi’s first match was against Togi Makabe in 1999. This was a good match, though I thought the NWA title match was a big better. I don’t mind the Gallows/Anderson team that much, but they’re the constant in a division that’s pretty lackluster in Japan. Each title in the promotion feels like there’s lots of competition, but the heavyweight tag titles have Anderson and Gallows, then a revolving door of other teams, so it doesn’t seem as interesting as other divisions. Nothing wrong with this match, though, and the least few minutes were pretty fun. Story of the match was Makabe was out of it initially after the heels went after his jaw. He made a comeback, and towards the end he was fighting both of them off after Tanahashi was laid out with their Magic Killer finisher. Anderson blindsided him with a gun stun, however, and they laid him out with the Magic Killer for the win.

    After brief words from Tanahashi and the Bullet Club post match, we go back to Makabe’s reflections. He says that he could have taken time off and not take this match, but he had to. Not because he was busy or anything, but because that’s just how he is. He talks about why he doesn’t have a tandem move with Tanahashi and he says it’s because we trust each other enough to get the job done.

    A solid episode this week. Both matches were pretty good, but not out of this world like we’ve seen on other episodes of this program. Next week, we’ll conclude our look at the Dominion show from last year.

  • SAT. UPDATE: UFC preview, old Tweets could spoil WWE tryout, and more

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

    TV and major show notes:

    UFC has Fight Night: Boetsch vs. Henderson live from New Orleans, Louisiana:

    Main Card at 10:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1:
    Tim Boetsch (185.5) vs. Dan Henderson (186) in the five round main event
    Ben Rothwell (265) vs. Matt Mitrione (255)
    Dustin Poirier (156) vs. Yancy Medeiros (159.5)
    Thiago Tavares (146) vs. Brian Ortega (146)
    Joe Soto (136) vs. Anthony Birchak (136)
    Francisco Rivera (136) vs. Alex Caceres (136)

    Prelims on Fox Sports 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET:
    Shawn Jordan (263.5) vs. Derrick Lewis (264.5)
    Brian Ebersole (170.5) vs. Omari Akhmedov (171)
    Chris Wade (155.5) vs. Cristos Giagos (155.5)
    Joe Proctor (156) vs. Justin Edwards (156)

    Prelims on UFC Fight Pass at 7:00 p.m. ET:
    Ricardo Abreu (183) vs. Jake Collier (185.5)
    Jose Quinonez (135) vs. Leonardo Morales (137)

    Not much in the way of major star power, but by all rights, this shuld be an entertaining main card, plus Jordan-Lewis should be fun heavyweight mayhem. Poirier-Medeiros is the one to watch, as it’s pretty much guaranteed to be an exciting fight from the way they match up.

    New Japan World has the Best of the Super Junior finals live from Tokyo Yoyogi Gym tonight/tomorrow morning at 4 a.m. Eastern time with Kushida vs. Kyle O’Reilly for the trophy in the main event.

    Tonight we’re looking for reports from:

    * WWE in Baton Rouge (John Cena, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Ryback, King Barrett).
    * WWE in Salt Lake City (Roman Reigns, Kane, Dean Ambrose, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus)
    * ROH in Nashville at the Fairgrounds Arena (Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Raymond Rowe & Hanson vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe non-title, Michael Elgin vs. Matt Sydal, Roderick Strong vs. Dalton Castle, Moose vs. B.J. Whitmer vs. Cheeseburger vs. Silas Young, Adam Page vs. Will Ferrara)

    NXT in Largo, FL

    Tomorrow night we’re looking for reports from:

    * WWE in Lake Charles, LA (John Cena, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Ryback, King Barrett)
    * WWE in Pensacola, FL (Roman Reigns, Big Show, Dean Ambrose, Kane, Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus)

    Raw is Monday in New Orleans two night after UFC runs the same building, while Smackdown and Main Event will be taped Tuesday in Lafayette, LA.

    Also on Tuesday night,  the special “We are Suzuki Gun” show will be held at Korakuen Hall, with a video on demand version uploaded Wednesday morning at 5:00 a.m. ET. The lineup is:

    1. Naomichi Marufuji vs. Yuji Nagata
    2. Genba Hirayangi & Hitoshi Kumano vs. John Webb & Jack Gamble
    3. Gedo & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Captain New Japan & Captain NOAH
    4. Jushin Thunder Liger & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Taichi & El Desperado
    5. Takashi Sugiura & Daisuke Harada vs. Shelton Benjamin & TAKA Michinoku
    6. NWA World Tag Team Title: Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. (c) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
    7. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & MAYBACH Taniguchi

    **** 

    The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is up on the site for subscribers (subscribe here) with a detailed look at the early days of Ring of Honor in light of them “officially” becoming the numbr two promotion in the United States this past week. Topics covered include:

    * How Gabe Sapolsky adapted his booking style to their business model of home video sales being the key revenue driver as well as heeling wrestlers in a “workrate” promotion filled with great talent that fans were resistant to boo.

    * The promotion’s misguided early attempt at a weekly TV show.

    * Building and sustaining hardcore fan buzz when the shows took two months or more for the videos to come out.

    * The company’s perfectionist streak compared to other indies.

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

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

    **** 

    The breakdown of the ROH deal on Destination America, how this affects TNA, the time frame of both company’s deals with the station and why this went down is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  We also look at Daniel Cormier winning the world championship and questions arising, full coverage of UFC 187, Full coverage of Samoa Joe to NXT and the last special, the AAA World Cup coverage, Bischoff sues TNA and the UFC hall of Fame.

    The new issue is up on the site at June 1, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: ROH to Destination America, Bischoff sues TNA, UFC Hall of Fame

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

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    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.

    We look at TNA’s actions over the past week since the original Observer story broke, the expansion in coverage of ROH, why the ROH deal got done, how Dixie Carter handled the situation, the conference call with TNA talent and how it went, the lineup for the first month of ROH on Destination America and the key show to watch, what to expect from the ratings, the ROH PPV schedule and the Samoa Joe situation with ROH.

    We also look at Daniel Cormier winning the UFC light heavyweight title, the Jon Jones situation, the situation with Ryan Bader, the shadow over the Cormier win, Vitor Belfort physically, the Arlovski vs. Browne fight, all the business notes from the show including a top ten of all time, and match-by-match coverage.

    We also look at the NXT Takeover show.  We look at the situation with Samoa Joe, plus match-by-match coverage.

    We’ve also got full coverage of the World Cup show, including screw-ups, best foreign stars, and the awards from the show.

    We also look at Elimination Chamber, the Rusev injury, Ronda Rousey and next year’s WrestleMania, talk about a gimmick for a future NXT special, notes on the new season of Total Divas, Notes on someone who is a TV star that got a tryout as a WWE star this past week and how it went, A look behind the scenes on the Daniel Bryan/A.J. Lee angle, how WWE is changing its thoughts on talent, another celebrity angle, NXT dates and a look at the upcoming Australia tour.

    Plus we’ve got notes from all the arena events from the past week as well as business notes.

    We look at the Bischoff-Hervey lawsuit against TNA.

    We also have a full breakdown on the UFC Hall of Fame and its new members.  We look at their histories, why they are in and more.

    We’ve got first word on the Extreme Rules PPV business.

    The Observer is the world’s most detailed weekly pro wrestling publication, in its 32nd year of publication, and is read by the biggest names in the pro wrestling, industry, MMA industry, sports world and on Wall Street.

    We also have our regular features such as the most complete look at ratings, plus results of the major house show events each week in pro wrestling and MMA, and complete inside rundowns of all the TV shows.

    Also in this week’s issue:

    –A look at CMLL’s new tournament over the next few months and background of the guys

    –What pro wrestling event in Mexico will have a number of U.S. reporters from another sort attending

    –Tetsuya Naito in CMLL

    –Wife of wrestler planning oncoming out of retirement

    –UFC fighter making appearance at international wrestling show

    –King of Gate finals and rundown of semifinals

    –Looking at the booking from there

    –Triple Crown title change

    –MMA fighter coming to All Japan

    –Full coverage of the first week of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament

    –Current standings

    –Why this year doesn’t have as much interest as in the past

    –Why all the booking had to be redone after the first night

    –How business has been

    –Tournament lineup for this week

    –Satoru Sayama health update

    –Terry Funk news

    –World champions from two different promotions team up together in a third promotion

    –Global Force Wrestling update

    –Go fund me campaigns for wrestlers

    –Update on the past week’s PWG show

    –Trish Stratus talks thinking about doing MMA

    –One of the biggest indie show of the summer

    –Tammy Sytch on doing adult videos

    –Latest on Lucha Underground and season two

    –Alberto El Patron talks about doing MMA and Bill Goldberg

    –The back story in one of Lucha Underground’s main angles

    –ROH signs action figure deal

    –Update on the next ROH PPV show

    –TNA changes up television tapings and why

    –Dixie Carter reality show

    –Christy Hemme leaves company

    –History of TNA sale talks

    –Samoa Joe on why he left TNA

    –Dana White talks UFC 189

    –Where ticket sales for the show are coming from

    –Dana White talks the PPV numbers

    –Update on UFC in New York and where it stands

    –Sara McMann thinking of legal action on the Reebok deal

    –This week’s UFC show

    –Tons of new UFC fights

    –Lawsuit settlement results in apologies

    –Suspended fighter thinks about going to Olympics

    –Hector Lombard talks Josh Barnett

    –Ronda Rousey at the  Wall Street Journal cafe brunch

    –Fighter who had announced retirement now coming back

    –Biggest World Series of Fighting show to date

    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.

    ****

    Saturday Daily Update

    — With Jessica Havok at the WWE tryout camp going on right now at the Performance Center, some fans started pointing out various tweets she wrote a few years ago that used racial and homophobic slurs. She started deleting those tweets, which didn’t help, as screen grabs had been taken and she didn’t realize that she had written literally dozens of other tweets using similar language. Obviously, in 2015, that makes WWE a lot less likely to hire her, so she tweeted this apology out in several parts:

    “I want to apologize whole heartedly for the OLD tweets that are being brought up right now. Legit, It was years ago and i don’t even rem.tweeting over half of this stuff. The stuff i do remember was jokes that were in bad taste. I was young and very new to social media promo and i was very immature and just said things to make my friends laugh at the time. Inside jokes between us. I don’t really feel or believe any of the things i DID actually tweet. I am a loving, compassionate person and i LOVE everyone. No mater who! I would die for any wrestling fan and i care so much about wrestling and everything in it. I would not be here without any of you. I was young, stupid & immature. I am not too proud to admit some of it was me being bitter for all the wrong reasons, but I’ve learned and grown from this .. i hope this can be forgiven. I love you guys.”

    She also told David Gilbert of TalkTNAPodcast.com that she also had an ex that “used to play on her phone.” For whatever it’s worth, in the past, she used the song “Third Reich from the Sun” by Hanzel und Gretyl as entrance music. There seems to be disagreement as to whether or not they’re a “white power” band, a satirical take on “white power” bands, or a band that claims to have no official political ideology but uses some Nazi imagery.

    — Kawasaki Motors Corp issued a press release today announcing that they’ve signed Steve Austin as a brand ambassador. He’ll be appearing in ads for their “MULE PRO” series.

    — UFC announced a very interesting lightweight fight for the August 8th card in Nashville (Glover Texeira vs. Ovince St. Preux main event) in the form of Michael Johnson (#5 contender) vs. Beneil Dariush (#14 contender). For Johnson, who was trying to earn a title eliminator, this is a very high risk fight, as Dariush seems to have the stylistic edge. It’s not official yet, but it looks like it’ll be the co-main event or, at worst, third from the top.

    — Dan Henderson talked to Ben Fowlkes at MMAJunkie about testosterone replacement therapy. Worth a read. He feels that TRT was scapegoated as part of the larger concern over PEDs and that maybe the TRT ban would’ve have happened if there were already widespread, unannounced, random tests.

    — Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard has an article about Justin Roberts. Lots of stuff about how much disliked the company culture in WWE, though the stars themselves were great, with Hulk Hogan always telling him stories. One pretty salient point he makes is that the writers, not being at the house shows with their larger cross-section of fans, are not in touch with the fan base at large as they could be. He says that he’s in the process of writing a tell-all autobiography.

    — IHWE has Old School Hustle Night 1 & 2 tonight and tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. local time at the Crowley Rec Center in Crowley, Texas with the 2015 Southern Wrestling Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Tonight, Charlie Haas, Mike McGuirk, Max McGuirk, Lance Hoyt, Barbi Hayden, Marc Lowrance, Will all be on hand. Ray Rowe will be there tomorrow night plus Rodney Mack returns.

    — Empire Wrestling Entertainment  is hosting a 16-man, first of it’s kind for a homegrown Southern indie, tournament on 8/7 and 8/8 at the Empire Arena in Rossville, Georgia (right over the state line from Chattanooga). The announced participants so far are Gunner, Gunner Miller (former UTC Football player and a guy with big time potential), KT Hamill (one of the best workers in the area), Moose and Kongo Kong. They are slow releasing names for the tournament, at a rate of one for every 40  likes of their Facebook page. Promoter Scott Hensley is looking to pack the venue for both shows, so check out their page here.

    — Wrestlmerica results from last night at the Barnesville Academy Gym in Barnesville, Georgia drawing over 400 fans (taped for taped for Charter 181 Barnesville):

    1. Andy Anderson beat Sal Rinauro
    2. Iceberg defeated Twisted
    3. Tracy Taylor beat Amber O’Neal Gallows using the trunks
    4. Doc Gallows defeated Jake Davis and then was bloodied afterwards by Al Getz’s army of Davis, Andy Anderson, Pain, & Tyson Dean. Amber was being choked by Dean as this was going on and Getz called for the Bullet Club to come at them. The crowd was extremely hot for this.
    5. Tyson Dean beat Fry Daddy
    6. 3 Way Dance: Jimmy Rave defeated MVP & Micah Taylor with Rave pinning Taylor. MVP worked his ass off here.
    7. Barnesville Street Fight: Southside Trash beat Trinity

    Next show is on 7/10 with Magnus & Mickie James announced as coming in. (Thanks to Kris Zellner!)

    — PCW results from last night in Preston, England in front of a sell out crowd of 850: Ashton Smith b Charlie Garrett, El Ligero, and Dean Allmark in a four-way match, Sha Samuels b Dave Mastiff, Joanna Rose b Dave Rayne, Team Single (T-Bone and Rampage Brown) b The UK Hooligans (Roy and Zak Knight) in a TLC match to retain the PCW tag titles, Noam Dar b Bubblegum, Kris Travis teased retirement before being insulted by Sha Samuels and it was announced he would make his return vs Samuels on the 7th August show, Joey Hayes and Martin Kirby b Ryan Smile and Damian Dunne, and AJ Styles b Lionheart with the Calf Killer. After the match Styles put over Lionheart on the mic and the two men shook hands.

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

    12:30 AM ET
    STONE COLD PODCAST WWE Hall of Famer and Icon Stone Cold Steve Austin will have a no holds barred LIVE interview with Paul Heyman!

    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 Nikki is devastated when she discovers John’s kept a secret from her. Rosa’s unaware she’s competing in her pursuits of an NFL player.

    3:00 AM ET
    TOUGH ENOUGH The last two contestants standing prepare for a final match at the WWE training facility. Stone Cold announces the winner live at RAW!

    4:00 AM ET
    MONDAY NIGHT WAR A controversial group of superstars set out to better sports entertainment and would rely on one another to do so.

    5:00 AM ET
    WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Most Unique Matches of all time!

    6:00 AM ET
    WWE SUPERSTARS WWE Superstars features the best of the best, in matches you’ll have to see to believe. You never know what to expect, so expect everything.

    7:00 AM ET
    WWE NXT The future is here. Witness the entertainers, the leading men and women, the Superstars of tomorrow — this is NXT!

    8:00 AM ET
    TOUGH ENOUGH The last two contestants standing prepare for a final match at the WWE training facility. Stone Cold announces the winner live at RAW!

    9:00 AM ET
    WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Most Unique Matches of all time!

    10:00 AM ET
    TOTAL DIVAS Nikki is devastated when she discovers John’s kept a secret from her. Rosa’s unaware she’s competing in her pursuits of an NFL player.

    11:00 AM ET
    WWE BEYOND THE RING Rey Mysterio: Life of a Masked Man features exclusive and candid comments from the Ultimate Underdog on his sports entertainment path!

    12:30 PM ET
    THIS WEEK IN WWE Get caught up on all the highlights from Raw and SmackDown with This Week in WWE.

    1:00 PM ET
    TOUGH ENOUGH The last two contestants standing prepare for a final match at the WWE training facility. Stone Cold announces the winner live at RAW!

    2:00 PM ET
    MONDAY NIGHT WAR A controversial group of superstars set out to better sports entertainment and would rely on one another to do so.

    3:00 PM ET
    WWE MONEY IN THE BANK 2013 Can John Cena overcome the brute strength of Mark Henry or will the world’s strongest man finally capture the WWE Championship?

    6:00 PM ET
    WWE QUICK HITS WWE Quick Hits 4 brings you some of the most unique, entertaining, and sometimes outrageous clips, unearthed from the depths of WWE Network!

    6:30 PM ET
    THIS WEEK IN WWE Get caught up on all the highlights from Raw and SmackDown with This Week in WWE.

    7:00 PM ET
    WWE NXT The future is here. Witness the entertainers, the leading men and women, the Superstars of tomorrow — this is NXT!

    8:00 PM ET
    WWE MONEY IN THE BANK 2013 Can John Cena overcome the brute strength of Mark Henry or will the world’s strongest man finally capture the WWE Championship?

    11:00 PM ET
    WWE MONEY IN THE BANK 2013 Can John Cena overcome the brute strength of Mark Henry or will the world’s strongest man finally capture the WWE Championship?

  • UFC Fight Night 68: Boetsch vs. Henderson live results and coverage

    By Ryan Frederick, WrestlingObserver.com

    Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 68: Boetsch vs. Henderson. We are live cageside at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. The event, headlined by a five-round middleweight bout between Tim Boetsch and Dan Henderson, airs on FOX Sports 1, with preliminary action beginning on UFC Fight Pass before moving over to FOX Sports 1. While you wait on the action to begin, check out our preview of the event HERE and coverage of the weigh-ins HERE.

    PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 7 PM ET/4 PM PT):

    BANTAMWEIGHTS: JOSE QUINONEZ VS. LEONARDO MORALES

    ROUND 1: Morales missed weight for this bout by a pound. Morales with a series of kicks as they come out swinging. They connect and clinch against the fence. Quinonez looking for a takedown off a body lock. Good defense by Morales. Quinonez gets the takedown and into side control. Quinonez moves into the half-guard and looks to pass and goes back to side control. Quinonez spins and takes the back of Morales and looks for the choke. He has it locked in but lets go and Morales is out. Quinonez gets it locked back in and is looking to finish and he gets the tap! Quinonez with the submission win.

    Official Result: Jose Quinonez def. Leonardo Morales by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:34 of Round 1

    MIDDLEWEIGHTS: RICARDO ABREU VS. JAKE COLLIER

    ROUND 1: Collier with a jab to start. They trade a flurry against the fence and Collier lands a big leg kick and a front kick. Collier with the jab. Abreu lands a nice combo and Collier misses an uppercut. They exchange against the fence and Abreu lands a big kick and knee before a break. Collier with a leg kick. Abreu lands a big right hand and they tie up. They break. Collier with a combo and they trade punches against the fence. They trade leg kicks. Abreu with a nice combination. They trade punches and Abreu with a leg kick. Collier with a leg kick and a high kick. Collier with a body kick and they clinch and he lands a knee. Abreu ducks a punch and ties up but misses a big right hand on the break. Abreu with a leg kick. They trade punches and Collier lands a head kick. Collier with a left hook to the body and then two body kicks. They trade punches. Abreu with a high kick and Collier lands a leg kick and stumbles to a clinch to end the round. 10-9 Collier.

    ROUND 2: They trade punches. Collier with a big head kick. Collier misses a left hand. Abreu with a front kick to the face. Collier fires back some kicks. They trade punches and Abreu with a body kick. They trade again. Collier with a combo ending with a body kick. They trade punches. They trade again and Abreu misses a big right hand. Both firing away with shots. They trade again. Abreu looks for a takedown but it is defended as they move against the fence. Big knee from Abreu. They each land body shots. They break. Collier with a combo but Abreu fires back a big right hand. Collier lands a flush right hand. Abreu with a big head kick. Abreu with a combo and then scores a takedown. Abreu works from the guard and lands punches from the top. Abreu with body punches from the top. Abreu works from top to end the round. 10-9 Abreu, 19-19.

    ROUND 3: They come out swinging quickly. Collier pushes Abreu back with a teet kick. Collier misses a combo. Collier lands a high kick. Abreu lands a big right hand and a leg kick and then scores a takedown. Abreu moves to the back and has the body lock. Collier works to his feet. They break. They battle with an exchange and Abreu lands a big head kick. Collier with a combo. They trade punches. Collier misses a leg kick. Abreu is bleeding. Abreu misses a takedown but scores on one right after. Collier with punches around the head as Abreu has the body locked. Collier gets to his feet and they are tied up against the fence. They break. Collier with a combo ending with a body kick. Abreu with a big left hand. Abreu with a leg kick and they trade punches. Collier with a big body kick. Collier with an uppercut but Abreu fires back a combo. They trade numerous punches to end the fight and get a big reaction from the crowd. 10-9 Abreu, 29-28 Abreu.

    Official Result: Jake Collier def. Ricardo Abreu by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

    PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT):

    LIGHTWEIGHTS: JOE PROCTOR VS. JUSTIN EDWARDS

    ROUND 1: Proctor with a leg kick to start. He lands another. They trade and Edwards lands some big punches and a knee in the clinch. They trade knees. Edwards working for the takedown. Edwards with some elbows and they break. Proctor lands a big right hand. They trade and Edwards lands a head kick and drops for the takedown and gets it. Edwards on top but they get up and Edwards lands a knee. Proctor with a front kick. Edwards with a right hand. They trade punches. Edwards with a body kick. Proctor with a leg kick and then a combo. They trade punches. Proctor with a big leg kick and then a head kick. They trade punches. They trade again. Proctor with a big leg kick. They trade and Edwards lands a spinning kick to the body. Proctor with a leg kick and then one to the body. They trade punches. Proctor with a leg kick. They trade to end the round as Edwards misses a spin kick. 10-9 Proctor.

    ROUND 2: Proctor with a head kick and then a body punch. They trade punches. Proctor with a front kick to the body. Edwards backs him up with a combo. They each miss big punches. They clinch and Edwards lands some knees. More knees from Edwards but Proctor escapes. Proctor with a combo and then a leg kick. Proctor with a head kick. They trade punches. They each land a left hand. Proctor with a body kick. Proctor with a jumping head kick. Edwards lands a big combo. Proctor fires back with a leg kick. Proctor with another but Edwards lands a right hand and then scores a takedown. They get up but Edwards lands against the fence before the circle to the center. Proctor lands a combo ending with a head kick. They trade. Proctor with a spin kick but Edwards fires a combo and lands a jumping front kick. They trade to end the round. Close round. 10-9 Edwards, 19-19.

    ROUND 3: Proctor with a leg kick to start. They trade big punches and Proctor lands a solid right hand. Proctor with a combo. They continue to trade punches a minute in with no one landing big. They trade against the fence and Edwards goes for a takedown. Proctor defending against the fence. Proctor lands a head kick as they break. Edwards with a body kick. Proctor with a right hand and then a combo. Proctor with a jab. Proctor lands a left flush as Edwards misses a spin kick. Edwards with a left hand. They trade in close range. Each man lands some punches and Edwards goes for a takedown. Proctor grabs the neck and drops down but Edwards escapes and they get back up clinched against the fence before breaking.Edwards with a right hand. They trade against the fence and Proctor lands a big knee and a flurry and grabs the neck looking for the choke. Wow. Proctor chokes Edwards out cold with just seconds left! Submission win for Joe Proctor.

    Official Result: Joe Proctor def. Justin Edwards by submission (guillotine choke) at 4:58 of Round 3

    LIGHTWEIGHTS: CHRIS WADE VS. CRISTOS GIAGOS

    ROUND 1: Giagos tries a quick takedown but Wade defends against the fence and they break. Wade with an inside leg kick. They trade punches. They trade again and Giagos backs Wade up to the fence. They clinch against the fence and Wade has control. Giagos reverses and they break. Wade ducks under a punch and gets the takedown but Giagos rolls to his feet and they clinch against the fence. They break. Giagos with a big body kick and goes for a takedown. Wade grabs the neck but Giagos pops out. They battle against the fence but break. Giagos drops Wade for a second and they battle against the fence. Wade with a big judo throw and gets right into mount. Giagos rolls out but Wade has the neck. They break. Wade with a head kick. They trade. Wade with a standing elbow. They break and then clinch again to end the round. 10-9 Wade.

    ROUND 2: They trade punches and Wade goes high with a kick. They scramble for a moment. Giagos with a body kick. Giagos grabs the body lock and lands an overhand right. Wade with a leg kick. Giagos with a high kick. Wade drops down but Giagos sprawls the takedown attempt. Giagos looks to spin to the back. Wade reverses to the top but Giagos has the neck of Wade. Wade pops out and is in half-guard. Giagos gets out but Wade has the neck. Wade looking for the choke. Giagos plants him more on the mat but Wade still has the neck. Giagos is oit and in side control. Wade reverses to the top and looks to extend Giagos on the mat. Wade grabs the neck again. Wade looks to go to the back and lands a knee. Wade works for the takedown as the round ends. 10-9 Wade, 20-18 Wade.

    ROUND 3: Giagos lands a big left hook but Wade comes back with punches. Wade with some body kicks but Giagos lands a left hook. Wade goes for the takedown but Giagos defends. Wade on top looking to extend Giagos on the mat. Wade in the half-guard. Wade gets in the full guard of Giagos. Wade with body punches from the top. Wade with more from the top and Giagos rolls out and they get to their feet. Giagos with a standing knee. Giagos is bleeding pretty good. Wade with a leg kick and then a side kick. Wade gets the takedown but they get to their feet. They break. Wade goes for another takedown but they push up against the fence. They break. Giagos with a combo. Wade with a high kick. Giagos with a body punch. Giagos with some knees as Wade has a hold of his arms. They battle against the fence as the fight ends with both tired. 10-9 Wade, 30-27 Wade.

    Official Result: Chris Wade def. Cristos Giagos by unanimous decision (29=28, 29-28, 30-27)

    WELTERWEIGHTS: BRIAN EBERSOLE VS. OMARI AKHMEDOV

    ROUND 1: Ebersole has his famous arrow in his chest hair. Akhmedov with a big body kick to start. Akhmedov with a leg kick. They trade in a sloppy attempt at a clinch. Akhmedov with another big body kick. Ebersole slips on a kick attempt. Akhmedov with some leg kicks. Akhmedov with a big right hand. Ebersole has a takedown attempt stuffed and eats a right hand from Akhmedov. Akhmedov with another series of leg kicks. Not a lot of action going on. Akhmedov with a right hand and then a combo on Ebersole. Akhmedov with another combo. Ebersole lands a body kick. Akhmedov with another combo and big body kick. 10-9 Akhmedov.

    Ebersole threw in the towel between rounds due to a knee injury, so it’ll be a TKO win for Akhmedov.

    Official Result: Omari Akhmedov def. Brian Ebersole by TKO (knee injury) at 5:00 of Round 1

    HEAVYWEIGHTS: SHAWN JORDAN VS. DERRICK LEWIS

    ROUND 1: Lewis just misses a head kick and they start swinging. They clinch against the fence. Jordan gets a takedown and is in side control. Lewis gets to his feet and they are clinched against the fence. They break and start swinging. Lewis misses a spin kick. Lewis with a head kick. They each miss a punch Jordan goes for a takedown and gets it but not without eating some back elbows. Jordan looking for the mount. Jordan in side control but Lewis gets to his feet. Jordan with the body lock and looking for the takedown. Jordan with some short knees in the clinch. They break and Lewis slips. They trade big punches back and forth and Lewis grabs the body. Jordan grabs the body and gets a takedown into side control. Jordan with some punches from the side to end the round. 10-9 Jordan.

    ROUND 2: Lewis with a jump kick but then gets dropped with a head kick. Jordan swarms on him and looking to finish. Jordan gets the mount and Lewis rolls to his back. More punches from Jordan as Lewis looks to survive. It is over. Jordan gets the win by TKO as the ref stops the fight.

    Official Result: Shawn Jordan def. Derrick Lewis by TKO (strikes) at :48 of Round 2

    MAIN CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT):

    BANTAMWEIGHTS: FRANCISCO RIVERA VS. ALEX CACERES

    ROUND 1: Caceres comes out on the attack and lands a body kick. Rivera drops Caceres with a left hand and it is all over after a few more punches. The ref stops the fight. Caceres is protesting but he was dropped clean. Rivera gets the win.

    Official Result: Francisco Rivera def. Alex Caceres by knockout (punches) at :21 of Round 1

    BANTAMWEIGHTS: JOE SOTO VS. ANTHONY BIRCHAK

    ROUND 1: Birchak with a leg kick. They trade punches. Birchak with another leg kick. Birchak with a combination that lands. Birchak with a big body kick. They trade punches and Birchak drops Soto with a knee to the body. Birchak with some punches but Soto gets up. Birchak with a big flurry and he knocks Soto out cold! Big knockout win for Anthony Birchak over Joe Soto.

    Official Result: Anthony Birchak def. Joe Soto by knockout (punches) at 1:37 of Round 1

    FEATHERWEIGHTS: THIAGO TAVARES VS. BRIAN ORTEGA

    ROUND 1: They come out swinging. Tavares with a right hand and then gets a takedown. Tavares gets on top but Ortega throws up his legs looking for an armbar. Tavares escapes and is pounding from the top. Tavares with more punches from the top as he avoids a triangle choke attempt. Tavares with more work from the top as he avoids Ortgea throwing his legs up. Ortega goes for another armbar and rolls Tavares over and is on top. Ortega lets go but goes into full mount. Ortega with elbows from the top. Ortgea with big elbows. Tavares reverses and they get to their feet. They scramble back to the mat and Tavares goes into the guard of Ortega. Ortega tries to scarmble out but Tavares stops him. They get to their feet and break. Tavares is cut open. They trade punches. Tavares with a combo and Ortgea gets a body lock. Tavares with a judo throw into top position as he rides out the round. 10-9 Tavares.

    ROUND 2: They trade punches. Ortega with a spinning back elbow that drops Tavares. Tavares up quickly and backing away and comes back with a takedown. Tavares on top and landing with some shots. Ortega scrambles and tries to get up but Tavares keeps him on the mat. Ortega working to get to his feet and does and he has the neck of Tavares. Tavares drags him back to the mat. Ortega looks for another triangle attempt but gives up his back. Tavares starts throwing big ground-and-pound from the top. Ortega grabs a leg and looks for a leg lock and they get to the feet before Tavares takes it back down. Tavares with body punches from the top. Ortega with an elbow from the bottom. Tavares with more punches from the top and he is bleeding. Tavares eats some upkicks from Ortega before going back to the guard. Ortega almost has a triangle but Tavares gets out. Tavares with short punches from the top as the round ends. 10-9 Tavares, 20-18 Tavares.

    ROUND 3: Tavares has a big cut but fights on. Tavares drops down but the takedown is defended. They trade punches and leg kicks. Tavares with a big right hand. Ortega misses an uppercut and eats a big right hand. Combo from Tavares then he shoots in for a takedown but Ortega spins out. They trade punches and then Tavares lands a low knee and we have a break in the action. Back to action and Tavares lands a big head kick. Ortega with a combo that backs Tavares up. They are trading wildly. Ortega with a connecting spinning head kick. Ortega is coming after Tavares. Tavares has a takedown stuffed but drags it down. They are brought back to their feet. They start throwing wildly and both are looking to finish. Ortega landing big punches and has Tavares in trouble. Tavares tries to take it down. Ortega drops Tavares and is swarming on him. Full mount from Ortega and he is dropping bombs and this fight is over! The ref stops the fight and Ortega with a big win in an awesome fight.

    Official Result: Brian Ortega def. Thiago Tavares by TKO (punches) at 4:10 of Round 3

    LIGHTWEIGHTS: DUSTIN POIRIER VS. YANCY MEDEIROS

    ROUND 1: Medeiros missed weight for this bout. Poirier the big crowd favorite. Poirier with a big left hand. Poirier with a leg kick. Poirier drops Medieros twice and is swarming on him. Big punches from Poirier but Medeiros is surviving. Poirier with a takedown and has the back and looking for the choke. Looking to get an arm under the neck. Poirier has the body locked with his legs. They get back to their feet. Poirier with a big left hand and a big body kick and Medeiros is in trouble. Poirier swarming on him looking for the finish and he gets it! Big finish by Poirier who had Medeiros in all sorts of trouble from the beginning and he gets the TKO win!

    Official Result: Dustin Poirier def. Yancy Medeiros by TKO (punches) at 2:38 of Round 1

    HEAVYWEIGHTS: BEN ROTHWELL VS. MATT MITRIONE

    ROUND 1: Mitrione with a left hand. Rothwell with a leg kick. Mitrione lands a left hand. They trade punches. They trade again and clinch for a moment. Rothwell and Mitrione trade leg kicks. Body kick from Mitrione. Mitrione with a combo and then gets a quick takedown. Rothwell grabs the neck for a guillotine and Mitrione quickly taps! Rothwell with the submission win out of nowhere. Mitrione tapped really quick there.

    Official Result: Ben Rothwell def. Matt Mitrione by submission (gogo choke) at 1:54 of Round 1

    Rothwell did a promo that I can’t even put into words. This has been one of the best fight cards in history, fight card of the year quality.

    MIDDLEWEIGHTS: TIM BOETSCH VS. DAN HENDERSON

    ROUND 1: Boetsch with a right hand to start They trade punches and Henderson rocks Boetsch and drops him with a right hand and then starts swarming him with punches on the ground and this is stopped quickly! TKO win for Dan Henderson in under a minute.

    Official Result: Dan Henderson def. Tim Boetsch by knockout (punches) at :28 of Round 1

    Gonna be hard to top this show this year. One of the better UFC events of all-time. 

  • WWE Superstars TV Report (June 4): Lucha Dragons prove too much for The Ascension, Jimmy Uso returns

    By James Cox, WrestlingObserver.com

    The Big Takeaway:

    Jimmy Uso provided colour commentary this week for both matches. The Lucha Dragons went over 10 minutes against the Ascension – much longer than they normally give matches on this show. Harper and Rowan squashed Los Matadores.

    Lucha Dragons beat The Ascension via pinfall (10:14)

    Before the match Jimmy Uso, of all people, came out to join Rich Brennan and Byron Saxton on commentary. He said that his brother was at home rehabbing his shoulder and stayed for the rest of the show. He didn’t get involved in any angles but was in his ring gear, with the same orange Usos t-shirt, and even had his face paint on.

    Sin Cara and Konnor start things off with a lock up. Sin Cara is dominated until Konnor runs into a Sin Cara’s outstretched legs and takes a hip toss. Angry, Konnor floors him with a big boot and tags Viktor in. Viktor uses slaps and chops, but Sin Cara uses a springboard back elbow, which is blocked. Viktor puts on a side chin lock.

    When Sin Cara works his way out, he takes an Irish whip into a back body drop but manages to get the tag to Kalisto. He enters the ring with a springboard corkscrew but his subsequent hurricanrana attempt is caught and then reversed. He manages to send Konnor outside and Viktor follows when Kalisto pulls the top rope down. Kalisto hits a springboard cross body on both men outside, they catch him, throw him over the heads, but he lands on his feet. Sin Cara then hits a topé as we go to the break.

    Konnor is beating down Kalisto when we return. When he goes up top, Konnor just shoves him off the top rope and it looked like it really sucked, he hit the ring apron hard. Viktor tags in and slows the pace with an arm bar on Kalisto. From somewhere Viktor now has the biggest bruise on his forehead next to his face paint – it’s big, circular and brown. In a spot that is one of their signatures, he puts on a half Boston crab and Konnor comes into leg drop Kalisto.

    After endless minutes of quick tags and punishment on Kalisto, we finally get the hot tag for Sin Cara. He leaps in with a springboard cross body, charges over to take out Konnor and gets a two count on Viktor. Viktor tries for a powerbomb that Sin Cara turns into frankensteiner for two. Kalisto takes out Konnor and they fall outside. Sin Cara uses his incredible power bomb, where he picks up his opponent from the mat with one arm, to set up a top rope senton for the win.

    Luke Harper and Erick Rowan beat Los Matadores (w/ El Torito) (3:35)

    Rowan and Diego start things off in what is clearly going to be a squash from the get go. Diego charges, but is blocked with an elbow and his cross body is caught. He tags in Fernando, who enters the ring with a top rope flip dive onto Rowan. He then hits a drop kick and goes for a springboard into something from the second rope but is again caught.

    Harper tags in for some teamwork; he whips Rowan into Fernando, and then Fernando walks into Harper’s discus clothesline. Harper then chokes him out on the bottom rope and then uses the middle rope for a slingshot guillotine. Another quick tag sees Rowan come back in with a backbreaker. He covers Fernando but Diego comes into make the save.

    Rowan applies his fists to Fernando’s temples, but when El Torito leaps onto the apron to distract, Rowan leaves Fernando and goes over to send El Torito flying into the dasher boards. Diego goes to check on him. When Fernando wants the tag, his buddy is not there. Rowan and Harper then combine, with Rowan throwing Fernando up into a jumping cutter by Harper for the win.

  • On this day in pro wrestling history (June 6): Jim Londos wins NWA title, Dr. Wagner Jr. wins AAA title, Billy Robinson vs. Dusty Rhodes

    By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

    1930 – Jim Londos defeated Dick Shikat for the NWA (National Wrestling Association) World Heavyweight Wrestling Title in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

    1932 – In Kansas City, Kansas at Muehlebach Field; John Pesek beat Harry Ekizian 2 falls to 1 and Wladek Zbyszko defeated Dutch Hefner.

    1940 – At Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas; Orville Brown beat Richard Shikat in 2 out of 3 falls and Al Lovelock beat Steve Brody

    1961 – In Minneapolis, Minnesota; AWA Tag Team Champions Leo Nomellini & Wilbur Snyder beat Hard Boiled Haggerty & Gene Kiniski, Jim Hady beat Tom Burns and Tony Baillargeon beat George Scott.

    1963 – In Winnipeg, Manitoba; Verne Gagne won a 10-man battle royal, Kenji Shibuya & Mitsu Arakawa beat Gene Kiniski & Ronnie Etchison and Dan Miller beat Larry Hennig; Masked Medic #1 and Masked Medic #2 beat Tiny Mills and Lee Henning 2 falls to 1 via dq, Bob Geigel drew Larry Hamilton 1 fall to 1 fall and Joe Scarpello went to a time limit draw with Steve Bolus in Kansas City, Kansas.

    1964 – At Midway Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota; The Crusher beat Art Thomas by dq, Mitsu Arakawa beat Doug Gilbert and
    Larry Hennig beat Jack Kelly.

    1968 – At Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas; Bob Brown defeated Bob Ellis, North American Tag Team Champions Sonny Myers & Ronnie Etchison beat Roger Kirby & The Viking and in a Texas Death Match: Bob Geigel defeated Steve Bolus

    1973 – At HIC Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii; Ed Francis beat Sam Steamboat in 2 out of 3 falls to win the Hawaiian Title, Billy Robinson beat Dusty Rhodes to win the North American title and Billy Graham & Ivan Koloff beat Ken Patera & Don Carson in 2 out of 3 falls.

    1974 – In Winnipeg, Manitoba; Wahoo McDaniel beat Larry Heinemi in an Indian Strap Match, Ivan Putski beat Superstar Billy Graham via dq, Ray Stevens beat Gene Kiniski by dq and Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Paul Pershmann (Buddy Rose) & Buddy Wolff in 2 out of 3 falls; In Kansas City, Roger Kirby beat Mike George, Central States Heavyweight Champion Don Fargo beat Bob Brown by dq and The Interns (w/ Dr. Ken Ramey) defeated Rufus R. Jones & Bob Geigel

    1979 – Verne Gagne & Mad Dog Vachon defeated Pat Patterson & Ray Stevens for the AWA World Tag Team Title in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Also, Greg Gagne beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel and Paul Ellering beat Jesse Ventura

    1981 – Jake Roberts defeated the Grappler for the Mid-South North American Heavyweight Title; In Milwaukee, Wisconsin; The Crusher & Wahoo McDaniel beat Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens. In a Steel Cage match, Baron Von Raschke beat Jerry Blackwell and in a Non Title Steel Cage match, Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat AWA Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura. Attendance 7,544.

    1988 – In Memphis, Tennessee; AWA Champion Jerry Lawler beat Curt Hennig by dq and Scott Steiner beat Robert Fuller to win finals of Renegade Rampage tournament. Attendance 3,500.

    1993 – Shawn Michaels defeated Marty Jannetty for the WWF Intercontinental Title in Albany, New York

    1994 – Dream Machine Troy Graham defeated Brian Christopher for the USWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee

    2000 – In Knoxville, Tennessee during a taping of WCW Thunder, Lt. Loco (Chavo Guerrero Jr.) defeated Daffney (the defending champion) and Disco Inferno in a three way match to win the WCW Cruiserweight Title.

    2008 – In Hartford, CT; Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black) won the ROH Tag Team championship by defeating Kevin Steen & El Generico in a one night tournament.

    2010 – At the Triplemania event; In a No Disqualification Match for The AAA Cruiserweight Title, Jack Evans defeated Nosawa, Christopher Daniels and Xtreme Tiger to become the new AAA Cruiserweight Champion. Also, in a AAA World Heavyweight Title Match, Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated Electroshock to become the new AAA World Heavyweight Champion.

  • Glory 22 report 6-5 Lille, France, Verhoeven defend title plus lightweight tournament

    By Jeremy Wall

    Glory 22 took place Friday, June 5th at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille, France. It was headlined by Rico Verhoeven (46-10-1, 11KO) beating Benjamin Adegbuyi (19-3, 13KO) via unanimous decision to retain the Glory Heavyweighth title. Also, Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong (97-27-5) won a one-night, four-man lightweight tournament by defeating Josh Jauncey via unanimous decision in the finals.

    Also on the main card, Zack Mwekassa knocked out Carlos Brooks in 1:58 at light-heavyweight and in the two opening matches for the lightweight tournament, Sitsongpeenong upset Davit Kiria, knocking Kiria out and Jauncey stopped Djime Coulibaly at 2:59 of the third round. Commentary for the show was provided by the omnipresent Mauro Ranallo and Frank Shamrock, the latter replacing usual colour commentator Stephen Quadros.

    Romania’s Adegbuyi, 30, had won a heavyweight title eliminator fight against Hesdy Gerges via unanimous decision at Glory 18 in Oklahoma on November 7th, 2014. He was unbeaten in three fights in Glory heading into his title challenge. Against Verhoeven, Adegbuyi came out throwing hard in the first round, looking to quickly finish the 26-year-old Verhoeven. Adegbuyi spent a lot of his energy in the first round and Verhoeven was able to win come back strong after the first and win the middle rounds. Adegbuyi came back late in the fight, but Verhoeven used his better cardio and better overall kickboxing to win the decision. Former K-1 champions Semmy Schilt, Remy Bonjasky, and “Mr Perfect” Ernesto Hoost were in attendance for the show and after the bout presented Verhoeven with the Glory Heavyweight title.

    The Netherlands’ Verhoeven is somewhat of an interesting case because a lot of people in kickboxing see him leading the future of heayweight kickboxing stars. He is young, handsome, and a good fighter. I don’t find him to be particularly charismatic, though, and he has bad losses on his record, including one to relatively unknown Andrey Gerasimchuk via unanimous decision for Kunlun Fight in China on January 3rd. He also lost by unanimous decision to Semmy Schilt at Glory 4 on New Year’s Eve 2012 in Japan. Schilt retired not long after. I don’t see Verhoeven as being a breakout star, but rather the guy who is a minor star in a popular promotion, somewhat of the equivalent of the current star power for most of the heavyweights in the UFC.

    The one-night, four-man lightweight tournament was won by Thailand’s Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, 23, who has 129 fights already on his pro record. Winning the tournament earns him a shot at Glory Lightweight champion Robin van Roosmalen. It will be an interesting fight, but not one that will draw television ratings beyond what Glory regularly draws on Spike. Sitthichai won a one-night tournament for Kunlun Fight in China on January 3rd by beating former K-1 Max fighter Andy Souwer via decision in the finals. He has a ton of experience fighting in Thailand and throughout Europe. Sittichai upset Davit Kiria in the first round of the Glory 22 tournament, knocking Kiria out with a knee to the body at 2:09 of the second round. Kiria is a former Glory Lightweight champion and the favourite to win the tournament before being knocked out by Sitthichai.

    Glory’s matchmaker Cor Hemmers is an obvious proponent of the tournament format for creating new title contenders. Glory will sometimes use the single-match format title eliminator to create a new challenger, as they did with Adegbuyi. But most of the time the promotion sticks to using the tournament. The tournament format is fine for a pure sport that does not have to worry about drawing money, but for a television product that needs to draw ratings to survive (and possibly even thrive), using the tournament format to create title contenders does not necessarily lead to the biggest fights at the box office. I’ve said this many times, but Glory would be better off scrapping the tournament format.

    Glory doesn’t have any genuine stars, and an argument in favour of tournaments is that the winner becomes someone with a bit of star power who people may not have cared about otherwise. That’s a good argument if a promotion only holds a rare tournament that creates new stars because the tournament is prestigious. But holding quick one-night tournaments on nearly every card means the tournaments are common and winning one doesn’t mean much.

    For instance, the real fight that Glory ought to put together for the Lightweight title is van Roosmalen defending against Giorgio Petrosyan. Petrosyan is considered arguably the best pound-for-pound kickboxer of his generation. He also holds a win over van Roosmalen before the latter won the Lightweight title, as Petrosyan beat van Roosmalen by unanimous decision at Glory 3 in November 2012. Petrosyan, 29, was knocked out by Andy Ristie in a shocking upset in November 2013 at Glory 12 in New York, but returned this year to win a couple of fights in Italy. Van Roosmalen lost to Ristie in November 2013 by knockout, but came back to beat Ristie in a rematch via unanimous decision in April.

    Since Petrosyan is considered one of the best of all-time and holds a win over van Roosmalen in Glory, he is the obvious choice to face van Roosmalen rather than the winner of another tournament. But I’m guessing that Glory’s budget for talent is tight and Petrosyan may currently be out of the promotion’s price range.

    That may be the real reason why Glory sticks with the tournament format despite it not working out for Bellator. It is cheaper to hire unknown fighters to fight one another in a tournament and try and create star power that way than it is to sign fighters who are already big names in kickboxing. And the ratings for a van Roosmalen-Petrosyan fight probably wouldn’t draw any better than the ratings for a van Roosmalen-Sitsongpeenong fight because Petrosyan has little name value in the American mainstream. But he does have that win over van Roosmalen and is considered one of the best, so if Glory wants to become a breakout promotion on American TV then they have to book using the most logical opponents. And Petrosyan is the most logical contender to van Roosmalen’s title.

    Glory 22 aired live on Spike TV in the US in the unfortunate time slot of 4pm ET. Spike didn’t run a replay of the event later in the night, which I assumed they would because 4pm on a weekday afternoon (1pm on the west coast) is a terrible timeslot. But instead Spike ran reruns of Cops in prime time and late in the night aired shoulder programming for Premier Boxing. A weekday afternoon timeslot is particularly egregious for a kickboxing promotion because Glory has to overcome the idea in the minds of Americans that kickboxing is afternoon filler material after so many years of K-1 and other smaller promotions airing in terrible timeslots on US television.

    “Previously we have aired non-U.S. events via tape delay, but for June 5 there was space in the timetable to allow for a live broadcast so we took the opportunity,” said Glory CEO Jon Franklin. “Certainly it will be the earliest we have aired a show in America and commencing at 4pm on a Friday means some fans may still be in work or traffic, but there will also be others who will be better placed to tune in at that time. College students, for example, will often be out socializing on a Friday night.

    “There is a certain element of experiment to airing this live at 4pm but Spike TV felt that going live was optimum and we also prefer to be live wherever possible, so it will be interesting to see the viewership data after the broadcast.”

    Airing a show live is great, but not if it results in a terrible timeslot with no prime time replay. Another point I’ve made many times before is that Glory needs to decide whether it wants to be an international kickboxing promotion or an American television product. I don’t think it can be both because of the time zone differences when running Europe, the Middle East, or Asia. College students aren’t going to be sitting around Friday afternoon watching television, either, so Franklin’s point makes little sense. College students are usually out socializing on Saturday nights, but UFC doesn’t have a problem drawing in that demo on Saturday nights.

    It was also Glory’s debut on the UK version of Spike TV. It aired Saturday night at 10pm in the UK. Glory also has a deal with CBS Sports Network to air the undercard matches they tape before the live Spike TV event. The Glory undercard fights have the ostentatious name of “Superfight Series”, but rather than being super fights the matches feature lesser known fighters.

    This was the twelfth Glory event to air on Spike TV. The first eleven events have averaged 462,000 viewers. This is the lowest compared to Spike’s two other combat sports properties, Bellator and Premier Boxing. Glory has ranged in average viewership between an all-time high of 659,000 viewers for Glory 13 to an all-time low of 352,000 viewers.

    The average viewership for Friday afternoon’s show will be interesting because of both the timeslot and because Glory is heavily recorded by DVR. Glory 21 saw a 245-percent uplift via DVR.

    “I think the big takeaway from the increased DVR numbers is that they indicate the continual growth of a core fan base in the US which does not want to miss the action and is recording the show if they are unable to watch the live broadcast,” said Franklin.

    The problem is that DVR numbers don’t really do much for ad rates. Advertisers are looking for shows that people watch live and have to sit through the ads rather than shows that get recorded via DVR and people just skip the ads. But the late afternoon live start for Glory 22 was probably done with the thinking that some people will watch it live, but many more will DVR it and increase the overall Live+ ratings.

    “That is true, traditionally,” said Franklin regarding shows taking place outside the US hurting television ratings on US television. “But GLORY is an international organization and there has been a lot of demand for a show in Northern Europe for some time now, so we couldn’t really ignore that any longer.

    “We’re hopeful the momentum continues although we are of course aware that a certain percentage of fans may well use the internet to follow the event in real-time rather than wait for the tape-delay broadcast on Spike TV. Such is the nature of international sports event programming. It’s a factor in every sport, not just ours.”

    An unfortunate situation also occured earlier in the week when Glory Welterweight champion “Bazooka” Joe Valtellini announced that he had to vacate his title due to lingering symptoms of post-concussion syndrome.

    “After winning the title at GLORY 17/LAST MAN STANDING I went straight back into hard training. I was chasing a rematch with Nieky Holzken and wanted that fight to come around soon,” said Valtellini. “The doctors have diagnosed me with Post-Concussion Syndrome. It was something that occurred from training but I thought it would get better and I didn’t take that time to recover, which just made it worse. As a result neither the doctors nor GLORY will clear me to fight until I am symptom-free.”

    “This is of course incredibly sad news and I know I speak for everybody at GLORY when I say that we share Joe’s pain in seeing him vacate a championship title which means so much to him. At the same time, I can only salute the selflessness and fortitude he has shown in making what must have been the hardest decision of his professional career,” said Jon Franklin.

    Glory 23 takes place August 7th at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. It airs live on Spike. Nieky Holzken faces Raymond Daniels for the vacant Welterweight title. There is also a four-man middleweight tournament to create a new challenger for that belt.

    Jeremy Wall can be emailed at jeremywall1984@gmail.com and found on Twitter @jeremydalewall.

  • MMA Friday Night Wars: WSOF 21, RFA 26 results and notes

    By Paul Fontaine, WrestlingObserver.com

    MMA’s version of the Wednesday night wars tonight as RFA aired on AXS TV from Broomfield, CO and WSOF was in Edmonton, AB and aired on NBC Sports Network. First up, RFA 26:

    Bantamweights Boston Salmon (4-0) UD over Danny Mainus (3-4)

    Salmon is a product of Extreme Couture in Vegas while Mainus was the local here in Broomfield, CO. Salmon dominated the first round with his boxing, landing nothing but combos. Second round was more even and Mainus even got a takedown. Mainus with hit with a really hard low blow in the third and took almost the full five minutes to recover. Salmon controlled most of the third round as well. Pat Miletich scored it 30-27 for Salmon. 2 of the judges agreed and a third gave it 29-28 for him.

    Heavyweights Ashley Gooch (8-4) TKO at 3:16 over Brandon Griffin (4-1)

    Gooch was on a five fight win streak, all finishes and Griffin had finished all his opponents as well. Gooch is from the Fight Lab in Glendale, AZ and Griffin was the local. This was a slobberknocker and bowling show ugly. Griffin almost finished Gooch seconds in but gassed himself out. Gooch took him down and went into mount immediately. He was gassed as well but got the TKO as Griffin actually called the ref over to stop the fight. It took Griffin almost five minutes to get to his feet after the fight was over.

    Middleweights Andrew Sanchez (6-2) 2nd round TKO at 1:17 over Clinton Williams (6-2)

    Sanchez’ two losses coming in were both to fighters who have fought in UFC in Kevin Casey and Dustin Jacoby. Williams looks a WWE wrestler coming back from injury. In other words, he’d have a tough time with UFC’s version of a Wellness Policy. Boring first round as Sanchez took Williams down 30 seconds in and just kept him down with ground and pound the whole round, never advancing from guard. Sanchez took him down 30 seconds into the second and finished him with ground and pound shortly after. Sanchez looked really good and is definitely someone to keep an eye on.

    Bantamweights Bruno Frazatto (7-2) submitted Jarred Mercado (12-3) with a RNC at 2:28 of the 2nd.

    Mercado missed weight by over 5 lbs, coming in at 140.6. Frazatto is member of Team Nogueira at Blackhouse MMA. Mercado is the local. First round was uneventful, all on the feet with a couple of cage clinches. Mercado attempted a takedown at 1:30 of the second and Frazatto ended up taking his back in the process and quickly got a figure body lock. He got the tap with a rear naked choke about a minute later.

    Lightweights Marcus Edwards (10-3) UD over Thiago Alves (8-3) vs Marcus Edwards (9-3)

    No, not THAT Thiago Alves but he is a submission specialist, with submission wins in 4 of last 5 fights. Edwards is vet on the regional scene, having competed for MFC in the past as well. First round was incredible. Edwards dominated the first 4 minutes, nearly finishing Alves. He dropped him with a flying knee with a minute left and Alves ended up scrambling into top position when Edwards went to the ground. He nearly finished him with a choke before the round ended. Edwards dominated the second, dropping Alves several times with punches but not really wanting to engage on the ground too much. Alves looked completely gassed by the end of the round. Third round was terrible. Edwards just dominated and Alves looked out on his feet several times with Michael Schiavello saying he looked like a drunk stumbling around. He last until the end though. Miletich gave it 30-27. I might have thrown one or two 10-8’s in there. All three judges had the same score at Pat.

    Main event for the RFA Welterweight Title: Gilbert Smith (11-4) submitted Champion Ben Smith (14-3) with an armbar at 3:27 of the third to win the title.

    Gilbert got the title shot coming off a loss in a title fight against Chidi Njokuani. Lot of that going around in MMA these days. Ben came in with a five fight win streak and is another product of Extreme Couture, out of Minneapolis. Nothing happening first round with both guys getting takedown and spending significant time on top but not doing any damage. Pat actually gave it a 10-10. Second round was shaping up to be more the of the same until Ben got a takedown off a clinch and almost finished Gilbert with a key lock but he got out of it. Ben spent most of the rest of the round on top. 3rd was shaping up to be a carbon copy of the first when Gilbert got a takedown and just laid there forever. Eventually he worked his way into mount somehow and while Ben was trying to escape, Gilbert caught him in an armbar to win the fight and the title.

    Now on to WSOF 21 from Edmonton:

    Renzo Gracie replaced Bas Rutten on colour tonight, as Rutten does Inside MMA on the “other channel”. God bless him but he’s really not very good.

    Featherweights Hakeem Dawodu (5-0) TKO at 2:55 of the 2nd over Chuka Willis (4-1)

    Willis fights for American Top Team in Kansas City and Dawodu is an Alberta prospect who has fought all of his career fights in WSOF and had won all by stoppage coming in. First round was fun with Willis coming out like gangbusters but Dawodu came back in the last half and dominated Willis, nearly getting a finish with seconds left. Dawodu was all over him in the second, just killing him with vicious knees to the body. Willis had enough and verbally tapped about 3:00 in. Dawodu is someone to watch for sure.

    WSOF Heavyweight Title Fight – Blagoi Ivanov (12-1) submitted Champion Smealinho Rama (9-2) with a guillotine to become the new WSOF Heavyweight Champion

    Ivanov is the guy you might remember from Bellator who had a near death experience following a stabbing incident and fought his way back all the way to a tournament final at their PPV last year, losing to Alexander Volkov. Facially and body wise, he looks a lot like Rusev of WWE and he’s also from Bulgaria. Rama won the title in 51 seconds in his last fight and is the first heavyweight champion for WSOF. He’d finished all but one of his career wins coming in.

    First round was kind of slow. Rama pushed the pace the whole round but Ivanov landed more strikes. They went to the ground briefly after an Ivanov takedown but nothing happened there. Second round was similar although Ivanov did much more damage, opening up a cut under Rama’s left eye that was bleeding heavily by the end of the round. Ivanov dropped Rama early in the third and secured a guillotine for the tap.

    Main Event for the WSOF Featherweight Title – Champion Lance Palmer (10-1) submitted Chris Horodecki (21-6-1) at 4:28 to retain his title

    Hard to believe Horodecki is only 27 as it feels like he’s been around forever, having competed previously in Bellator, WEC and the IFL. Palmer is the Team Alpha Male product who won the title from Rick Glenn last December.

    Palmer got a takedown 3:00 in and quickly took the back of Horodecki, trying to finish him with a rear naked choke but Horodecki escaped. Another Palmer takedown at 4:00 and he quickly got back mount, softening him up with punches and securing the RNC to defend the title.

    Bonus fight:

    Welterweights Michael Hill (8-3) SD over Mark Drummond (7-3)

    A couple Canadians here that are veterans of the regional scene in their native country. Round 1 was kind of boring. Hill got a takedown and controlled the last couple minutes. Round 2 was on the feet with kickboxing for the most part until Hill Drummond down late. Third round was even worse. Hill came on a bit at the end but this was just a bad boxing match for the most part.

    Ray Sefo closed the show by mentioning the two fights that they had been promoting all night, which are coming up on August 1st. The one that will garner the most interest is between Rousimar Palhares and Jake Shields for the group’s Welterweight title. Tyrone Spong will also make his WSOF return on that night when they are next on NBC Sports Network.  

  • WWE June 5 Jackson, MS, house show report: John Cena vs. Wade Barrett, Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins cage match

    Submitted By Wilson Capps

    Jimmy Uso over Bo Dallas

    Dallas cut a promo before the match to get some early heat.  Uso went over in a fairly quick match.

    Fandango over Adam Rose

    We had to witness a few Rose/Rosa make out sessions.  Rosa did a lot to taunt the crowd.  Didn’t realize how good of a valet she was until watching live.  She could be used better.

    Jack Swagger over Miz with the Ankle Lock

    Miz cut a promo before the match asking everyone if they missed him.  His current act is great.  Swagger got a good reaction, huge USA chants with Miz screaming back at the crowd that he is from the US.  After the match, Miz argued with the ref that he wasn’t tapping out.  Crowd with loud you tapped out chant.  Miz said he wanted another opponent that isn’t Swagger. Out came Sandow as Macho Mandow.  Quick and painless with Mandow winning with the Figure Four.

    Divas Champion Nikki over Paige and Naomi

    Divas were up next. Twitter vote to determine singles or triple threat match.  Obviously triple threat was the winner. Naomi took the fall.  They got a decent amount of time.  The match was much better than their chamber match last Sunday.

    U.S. Champion John Cena beat King Barett

    Cena’s open challenge was next.  He did his little speil about the champ is here and what not.  Crowd really wanted Owens, but got King Barrett instead.  Match wasn’t anything special.  Nobody expected Barrett to have a chance.  It was disappointing with no Kevin Owens.  He was advertised until today.  His merchandise was being sold at the vendor too.

    Intermission.  Jojo gave some stuff away.

    Tag Champions New Day over Prime Time Players & Ascension

    After the break, we got the New Day.  They are the best act on TV, no questions asked.  Before the match, they cut a promo, ripping Jackson, but commending them for staying positive for being trash.  After that, they sang ‘We are the Champions’ and that might be the best thing ever.  I got it on video.  As for the match, it was a triple threat between the Prime Time Players and the Ascension.  Good reaction for PTP.  Nothing much for Ascension.  Loud New Day sucks chants.  Finish came when Titus had one of the Ascension beat, but Kofi pushed him out of the ring and scored the win.  After the match, PTP beat down New Day and stood tall with the gold.

    Ryback over Bray Wyatt

    Such  a shame to see Wyatt where he is now.  His entrance is amazing though.  ‘Fireflies’ everywhere.  Great reaction for Ryback.  Loud ‘Feed Me More’ chants.  Ryback went over in a decent match with Shellshock.

    WWE Champion Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton cage match (non-title)

    Earlier in the show Rollins said it wasn’t for the title because he didn’t have it because of Ambrose.  It was a great match, probably the best of the night.  Orton won with a great RKO off the cage.  It’s amazing how good he makes it look.  Kudos to Rollins to for great selling.

    Overall, it was a great show.  It was my first live event in a few years.  The only disappoint was no Kevin Owens, but he’s just beginning, they’ll be plenty of time to see him in the future.  WWE works hard with their house show matches, wish it could reflect more on TV, especially with the divas.

  • ROH June 5 Collinsville, IL, house show results: Jay Briscoe & Roderick Strong vs. Michael Elgin & Moose

    From Collinsville, IL, – Gateway Center

    – Brandon Espinosa, Mike Sydal, & Paco Gonzalez defeated Jake Dirden, Kevin Lee Davidson, & Everett Connors

    – Mark Briscoe pinned Adam Page (w/ B.J. Whitmer)

    – Silas Young beat Cheeseburger

    – Michael Bennett (w/ Maria Kanellis & Matt Taven) defeated Dalton Castle (w/ his boys)

    – Matt Sydal & Delirious beat Tag Team Champions The Addiction (Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) in a non-title match

    – B.J. Whitmer (w/ Adam Page) pinned The Romantic Touch

    – Hanson defeated Matt Taven (w/ Michael Bennett)

    – Television Champion Jay Lethal (w/ Truth Martini) beat Raymond Rowe in a non-title match

    – Michael Elgin & Moose defeated Heavyweight Champion Jay Briscoe & Roderick Strong

    — From Patrick Brandmeyer

  • Invicita News: Cris Cyborg and International Fight Week

    Invicta Fighting Championships will be asking for approval this week from the Nevada Athletic Commission to run a Thursday, July 9, event at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas during International Fight Week, headlined by Cris Cyborg Justino.

    Originally, the show was announced for July 10, but because there are both boxing and kickboxing shows that night in Vegas, the decision was made to go a day earlier. On a side note, the WO/FFO convention banquet will now no longer go head-to-head with Invicta. 

    Assuming the show is approved, it will be a UFC Fight Pass event.