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  • On this day in pro wrestling history (June 3): Steve Austin beats Bobby Eaton for WCW TV title, Rey Mysterio wins WWE cruiserweight gold

    By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

    1937 – In Kansas City, Kansas; Lee Wykoff beat Dick Raines via dq and Joe Corbett beat Bull Curley.

    1961 – In St. Paul, Minnesota; AWA Tag Team Champions Leo Nomellini & Wilbur Snyder beat Stan Kowalski & Tiny Mills in 2 out of 3 falls.

    1964 – Dr. Jerry & Crazy Luke Graham defeated Vittorio Apollo & Don McClarty for the WWWF U.S. Tag Championship.

    1965 – The Crusher & Verne Gagne & Reggie Parks beat Larry Hennig & Chris Markoff & Harley Race at the Auditorium in Denver, Colorado; At Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas; The Mongolian Stomper beat Dick the Bruiser, Bob Geigel and Dutch Savage beat Steve Bolus and Sonny Myers, Pat O’Connor drew Ron Reed and The Missouri Mauler beat Don Soto

    1973 – In Green Bay, Wisconsin; The Crusher & Wahoo McDaniel beat Superstar Billy Graham & Ivan Koloff in 2 out of 3 falls. Also,
    Dusty Rhodes went to a double count out with Billy Robinson, Geoff Portz beat Dick Murdoch, Greg Gagne beat Rene Goulet via dq.

    1976 – In Kansas City, Kansas; Mike George defeated Ed Wiskoski, The Super Intern defeated Pat O’Connor and Harley Race defeated Bob Brown in three falls.

    1979 – In St. Paul; Mad Dog Vachon went to a draw with AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel, Super Destroyer Mark II beat The Crusher,
    Greg Gagne beat Pat Patterson and Paul Ellering beat Jesse Ventura.

    1991 – Steve Austin defeated Bobby Eaton for the WCW Television Title in Birmingham, Alabama.

    2003 – Rey Mysterio, Jr. defeated Matt Hardy for the WWE Cruiserweight Title in Anaheim, California

    2004 – In Orlando, Florida, America’s Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm) defeated Kid Kash and Dallas to win the TNA World Tag Team Title.

  • NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 6-2-15 report Ibaraki: Bobby Fish vs. Mascara Dorada

    By Bryan Rose, WrestlingObserver.com

    Day 9 of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament has arrived Results are below, followed by the current rankings and links to previous results.

    Rocky Romero vs. David Finlay

    Solid match. A lot of it was Romero working over Finlay. Finlay tried to put Romero in a overhead leg lock but cradled him for a nearfall. He tries it again, succeeding, but Romero gets to the ropes. Finlay pelted Romero with uppercuts but he made a comeback and draped Finlay on the ropes, hitting a springboard dropkick. He follows that up with a tombstone and gets the win. Turned into a really fun match.

    Yohei Komatsu vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

    This wasn’t interesting for about a third of a match, but it picked up in the end. Taguchi hit a hip toss off the top rope, but Komatsu switched a dodon for a nearfall people were really into. He beat an ankle lock, but Komatsu fell to another dodon and this time Komatsu didn’t kick out. The last few minutes were good.

    Kyle O’Reilly vs. Barbaro Cavernario

    O’Reilly controlled early, but Cavernario came back, sent out O’Reilly and proceeded with a huge step up crossbody to the floor. Back and forth from here, but O’Reilly applying a sharpshooter but Cavernario quickly going to the ropes. He comes back and hits a bridging back suplex for the pinfall. This was fine.

    Mascara Dorada vs. Bobby Fish

    Dorada was in control early, but Fish knocked him off the apron with a kick and started to work on him. Dorada makes an amazing comeback, with a rope walk clothesline and a huge tope con hilo to the floor. They get back in the ring and he follows that up with a big moonsault for another nearfall. Fish cuts him off with a back suplex and a suplex into the ring post for a two count. Dorada tries to cut him off, but Fish grabs his leg and pelts him with kicks. A forearm shot and falcon arrow later gives him the win. Another pretty solid bout, though I think the best match of the night was probably Romero/Finlay.

    Current Standings:

    Block A:

    Kyle O’Reilly (8)
    Ryusuke Taguchi (8)
    Chase Owens (6)
    Jushin Thunder Liger (6)
    Babaro Cavernario (4)
    Gedo (4)
    Beretta (4)
    Yohei Komatsu (0)

    Block B:

    Kushida (10)

    Rocky Romero (8)

    Mascara Dorada (6)

    Tiger Mask IV (6)

    Nick Jackson (6)

    Bobby Fish (6)

    Alex Shelley (2) (Out of tournament due to injury)

    David Finlay (0)

    And here are recaps of the previous shows for quick reference:

    • Day 1: Gedo vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
    • Day 2: Kushida vs. Nick Jackson
    • Day 3: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Kyle O’Reilly
    • Day 4: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Beretta
    • Day 5: Chase Owens vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
    • Day 6: Rocky Romero vs. Tiger Mask IV
    • Day 7: Kushida vs. Bobby Fish
    • Day 8: Kushida vs. Tiger Mask IV

  • WWE Smackdown (June 4) spoilers: Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus, Kevin Owens open title challenge

    Here’s notes from the WWE Smackdown tapings, set to air in Canada Wednesday and in the U.S. Thursday:

    – Seth Rollins came out first. He talked about how he made The Shield and then destroyed them. He said when he left The Shield, he was the one who became world champion, he won Money in the Bank all by himself, and then defeated both Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar at the same time, making him the greatest WWE champion of all-time. Dean Ambrose was shown on the screen saying he was winning the ladder match.

    – Prime Time Players won a three-way over The Ascension and the Lucha Dragons to become the top contenders for the tag team titles when Titus O’Neil pinned Viktor.

    – New Day did an interview about facing The Prime Time Players at Money in the Bank.

    – I-C Champion Ryback b Stardust in a non-title match. 

    – Renee Young interviewed Paige. She said the Bellas have ruined the Divas division and vowed she would change the world.

    – Kevin Owens did the NXT title open challenge.  He said he would show Cena that he’s a real man. He then beat Zack Ryder with the pop up power bomb to retain the NXT title.

    – Renee Young interviewed Sheamus, who said he was going to win Money in the Bank.

    – Neville b Kofi Kingston.  Neville won with a cradle.

    – Miz TV ws with Lana. Miz asked how Lana could abandon Rusev when he is injured. She said Rusev abandoned her. Miz then brought out Rusev as his surprise guest. He was on crutches and begged her for one more chance. She shoved the crutches into him and left. Dolph Ziggler came out and he and Lana left together.

    – Roman Reigns b Sheamus via DQ when Kane interfered. Kane also chokeslammed Sheamus after the match.  Kane then announced he was entering the Money in the Bank match. J&J Security freaked out with the idea Kane could win and challenge Rollins.

  • WWE Raw ratings (June 1) back up

    A combination of the lack of competition by the NBA Playoffs and coming the day after a major show in WWE Elimination Chamber helped the June 1st WWE Raw numbers increase to 3.96 million viewers.

    This is probably in the neighborhood of what a RAW (at least the day after a big show) should be doing until the September NFL-related ratings drop. The number was up from 3.59 million viewers a week ago, which was one of the lowest numbers of the last 17 years.

    The three hours were:

    • 8 p.m. 3.95 million viewers
    • 9 p.m. 4.11 million viewers
    • 10 p.m. 3.86 million viewers

  • TUES. UPDATE: Jon Jones police video, TNA Twitter gaffes, WWE commission issues, more

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

    TV-wise, Fox Sports 2 is running the last four episodes of The Ultimate Fighter starting at 7:00 p.m. ET. 

    We’re looking for SmackDown/Main Event spoilers tonight, so if you’re attending the taping, please send a report to newstips@wrestlingobserver.com. 

    As always, much more down the page after we pay the bills… 

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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 the history of popular music being used in pro wrestling, including:

    * Who actually did the first pro wrestling music video?

    * The role of popular songs gtting major acts over.

    * What made the use of music in ECW so special.

    * How “real” songs make wrestlers stand out in a sea of in-house productions.

    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

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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.

    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.

    ****

    Tuesday Daily Update

    — MMA Digest procured and released police lapel camera videos of the search of Jon Jones’ car after his hit and run incident partially accompanied by 911 call audio. Nothing shocking at this point, but not good for Jones’ image either.

    — Yesterday, Jeremy Borash decided to tweet a photoshop of the Caitlyn Jenner Vanity Fair cover with Ethan Carther III’s face superimposed as “revenge” for EC3 shaving his head on Impact several months ago. It didn’t go well with his follwers. Borash proceeded to block anyne who tweeted even the most mild criticism of what he did at him, and his only defense (written in the third person; it’s not clear if it was him or someone else running his account) was that he got the idea from The Howard Stern Show, which he’s been doing voice work for as of late. EC3 made a point of tweeting (in character) that he didn’t approve that message. Borash eventually deleted his tweets, but not after theyhad been up pretty much the entire second half of Monday.

    Later, Madison Rayne tweeted using their #ShowYourImpact hashtag, saying that “Caitlyn Jenner did it today, I’ll do it Wed.” She was apologetic about comparing the two events, which was just a little misguided more than anything else.

    It later came out that TNA had a conference call yesterday that included a lot of talk about focusing more on social media…

    — Insider Louisville has an article about WWE’s troubles wth the athletic commission in Kentucky. As commission issues go it’s not that bad: WWE is still running house shows in the state, but they refuse to run a TV taping or pay-per-view event there because the commission reserves the right to stop a match in the event of bleeding. So it’s more about the potential disruption of a TV broadcast than anything else. That said, even though it’s a perfectly defensible position, “WWE’s spokeswoman declined to comment for this story.”

    — Rhode Island Monthly has an article about Maria Kanellis going to school locally at Johnson and Wales University. She’s majoring in Sports Entertainment and Event Management, telling author Joshua Aromin that “I already know what’s going through the minds of the person putting on the event. I already know the concerns that would go through my mind from events I’ve been to.” 

    — Uproxx’s Danielle Matheson tries and fails to make sense out of the unauthorized Arabic WWE cartoons that have popped up on YouTube recently. Looks like we’ve got some potential short form content for WWE Network.

    — Submission Radio talked to UFC Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk this week. Must-listen just to hear her talk about her sneaker collection, but here’s a quote about her now being the most famous Polish MMA fighter on a worldwide basis:

    “For me the more important thing is fighting. You know, training, fighting. The sports side. I didn’t choose my media life. You know what I mean? I’ve got some offers from KSW and I could fight for KSW, be on open TV. So I could become more famous in Poland, but I don’t care about [fame]. For me, the sport side was more important two years ago and I was waiting for the UFC. And I knew that I was going to be a champion, and I had this feeling. I’ve got talent from my gut and I did my job to show to everyone that I’m simply the best. And I’m very happy that I did the biggest success from the Polish MMA fighters.”

    — A presale for tickets to the August 4th SmackDown taping at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California starts tomorrow (Wednesday) at Ticketmaster with the code “2WWEFA”

    — Tickets for the August 1st WWE house show in Ontario, California go onside to the general public this Friday. There is a resale going on right now using the code WWEFAN

    — Tickets for UFC’s July 25th Fox card in Chicago with a main event of T.J. Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao II for the bantamweight title go on sale this Friday, June 5th at 10:00 a.m. CT. UFC Fight Club members will be able the opportunity to buy tickets tomorrow (Wednesday, June 3rd) at 10:00 a.m. CT while UFC newsletter subscribers will have their own presaleThursday (June 4th) starting at 10:00 a.m. CT.

    — World Series of Fighting announced the bout order for this Friday’s card from Edmonton:

    PRELIMINARY CARD (7:30 p.m. ET at WSOF.com)
    Bout # 1, Bantamweight (135 pounds) : Michael Hay (1-1) vs. Louie Grover (1-2)
    Bout # 2, Lightweight (155 pounds): Mike Scarcello (7-3-1) vs. Dan Lariviere (4-2)
    Bout # 3, Middleweight (185 pounds): Marcus Hicks (20-24) vs. Matt Baker (12-7)

    MAIN CARD (9:00 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network)
    Bout # 4, Featherweight (145 pounds) Bout: Hakeem Dawodu (4-0) vs. Chuka Willis (4-0) 
    Bout # 5, Welterweight (170 pounds) Swing Bout: Mark Drummond (7-2) vs. Michael Hill (7-3)
    Bout # 6, World Heavyweight Championship Co-Main Event: (Champion) Smealinho Rama (9-1) vs. (Challenger) Blagoi Ivanov (11-1)
    Bout # 7, World Featherweight Championship Main Event: (Champion) Lance Palmer (9-1) vs. (Challenger) Chris Horodecki (21-5-1)

    POSTLIMINARY CARD (11:05 p.m. ET on WSOF.com; this is their version of “Bellator After Dark”)
    Bout # 8, Lightweight: Roger Alves (2-1) vs. Danny Doig (2-2)
    Bout # 9, Lightweight: Garrett Nybakken (7-7) vs. Nick Hrabec (3-1)
    Bout # 10, Lightweight: Tim Smith (14-8) vs. Spencer Rohovie (9-7)
    Bout # 11, Catchweight (165 pounds): Stephen Beaumont (7-2) vs. Jose Rodriguez (7-2)

    — New England Championship Wrestling runs Blazing Summer 2015 Kick Off this Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. at the Everett Rec Center in Everett, Massachusetts with Slyck Wagner Brown vs. Brad Hollister in the main event. More details at NECW.tv

    — Last night at Renegades Bar & Grill in West Palm Beach, FL, there was a pilot TV taping run by Dan Kowal (formerly of ECW and WEW). In the unadvertised pro wrestling matches, Santana Garrett beat Jayme Jameson and La Rosa Negra beat Su Yung. After the regular matches, which did get over, they put down a tarp and went to the advertised matches…which saw strippers and models competing in Jello, chocolate syrup, and so on.

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

    12:00 AM ET
    WWE UNFILTERED WITH RENEE YOUNG Renee Young hangs out with the cast of Entourage to discuss their behind-the-scenes experience of the movie in theaters June 3rd!

    12:06 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.

    1:04 AM ET
    WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Most Unique Matches of all time!

    2:00 AM ET
    TUESDAY NIGHT TITANS Vince McMahon hosts Tuesday Night Titans with Lord Alfred Hayes. Guests include Mike Sharpe, Big John Studd, Salvatore Bellomo and more.

    4:00 AM ET
    PRIME TIME WRESTLING Join Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan for Prime Time Wrestling featuring Harley Race, Junkyard Dog, and many more!

    6:00 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!

    7:00 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.

    8:00 AM ET
    WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Most Unique Matches of all time!

    9:00 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!

    10:00 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.

    11:00 AM ET
    WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Most Unique Matches of all time!

    12:00 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!

    1:00 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.

    2:00 PM ET
    WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the Top Ten Most Unique Matches of all time!

    3:00 PM 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!

    4:00 PM ET
    CULTURE SHOCK WITH COREY GRAVES Corey Graves jumps into horse racing, gambling, the legendary infield, and much more at The Preakness on this episode of Culture Shock!

    4:10 PM ET
    TOTAL DIVAS Eva’s sexy bachelorette in Curacao gets heated when TJ destroy’s Nattie’s hopes of rekindling their marriage.

    5:00 PM 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.

    6:00 PM ET
    WWE BEYOND THE RING Wrestling’s Highest Flyers collects some of the greatest aerial displays in sports entertainment history!

    8:00 PM ET
    WWE NXT The future is here. Witness the entertainers, the leading men and women, the Superstars of tomorrow — this is NXT!

    9:00 PM ET
    CULTURE SHOCK WITH COREY GRAVES Corey Graves jumps into horse racing, gambling, the legendary infield, and much more at The Preakness on this episode of Culture Shock!

    9:10 PM ET
    TOTAL DIVAS Eva’s sexy bachelorette in Curacao gets heated when TJ destroy’s Nattie’s hopes of rekindling their marriage.

    10:00 PM 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 PM ET
    WWE NXT The future is here. Witness the entertainers, the leading men and women, the Superstars of tomorrow — this is NXT!

  • On this day in pro wrestling history (June 2): Hogan beats Inoki to win 1st IWGP tourney, HTM’s Intercontinental title reign begins

    By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com

    1949 – In Kansas City, Kansas; Joe Pazandak beat Roy Graham in 2 out of 3 falls to become the number one contender to the NWA World title. Also, Sonny Myers beat Abe Kashey

    1960 – Dan Miller and Frank Valois defeated Rikidozan and Michiaki Yoshimura to win the JWA All Asian Tag Team Title in Osaka, Japan; Bob Ellis defeated Dick the Bruiser in Windsor, Ontario to win the Detroit version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Title

    1962 – Dick the Bruiser defeated Wilbur Snyder in Detroit, Michigan to win the Detroit version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Title; At the Armory in St. Paul; Mr. M & Bob Geigel beat Joe Scarpello & Doug Gilbert and Larry Hennig beat Gene Anderson.

    1967 – In Chicago; The Devils Duo (Angelo Poffo & Chris Markoff) beat Dick the Bruiser & the Crusher, Wilbur Snyder drew Johnny Powers and Johnny Valentine no contest with Earl Maynard.

    1970 – In Chicago; Dick the Bruiser & the Crusher beat Chain Gang (Jim & Jack Dillinger), Baron Von Raschke beat Edouard Carpentier, Wilbur Snyder beat Dr X via dq and Dr Bill Miller beat Pepper Gomez. Attendance was 12,000.

    1978 – El Faraon defeated Alfonso Dantes for the NWA World Light Heavyweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico

    1979 – Dennis Condrey defeated Ron Garfield to win the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title in Chattanooga, Tennessee; In Milwaukee, Dick The Bruiser & The Crusher beat Nick Bockwinkel & Bobby Duncum, Super Destroyer Mark II beat Mad Dog Vachon via count out and Greg Gagne beat Pat Patterson. Attendance was 4,700; The Spoiler was awarded the WCCW American Heavyweight Title in Houston, Texas when champion Wahoo McDaniel was unable to compete due to injury.

    1980 – Matt Borne & Buzz Sawyer defeated Jimmy Snuka & The Iron Sheik in Greenville, South Carolina in a tournament final to win the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Title; Dennis Condrey defeated Gorgeous George Jr. in Chattanooga, Tennessee to win the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title; Ken Lucas and Ricky Morton defeated Gypsy Joe and Skull Murphy for the AWA Southern Tag Team Title in Memphis, Tennessee.

    1983 – At the finals of the first IWGP tournament, Hulk Hogan defeated Antonio Inoki by countout to win the tournament. At the same event, Tiger Mask won the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title, defeating Kuniaki Kobayahi for the vacant title; Harley Race defeated Dewey Robertson in Kansas City, Missouri for the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title. The title would be vacated eight days later when Race won the NWA World Heavyweight Title in St. Louis, Missouri from Ric Flair.

    1987 – The Honky Tonk Man defeated Ricky Steamboat to win the WWF Intercontinental Title in Buffalo, New York.

    1990 – El Dandy defeated Angel Azteca to win the NWA World Middleweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico; Tony Anthony and Tom Burton defeated the Southern Rockers’ (Rex King and Steve Doll) for the USWA Tag Team Title by defeating King in a handicap match in Memphis, Tennessee.

    1993 – The Patriot (Del Wilkes) and The Eagle (George Hines) defeated Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi for the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Titles in Koyama, Japan.

    2004 – In Nashville, Tennessee Jeff Jarrett defeated champion Ron Killings, A.J. Styles, Raven and Chris Harris in the first-ever King of the Mountain match to win the NWA World Heavyweight Title

    2005 – In Winnipeg, Manitoba, Kenny Omega defeated Chris Sabin in the finals of Premier Championship Wrestling’s Premier Cup, to become the first NWA Canadian X Division Champion

  • WWE Network: Steve Austin & Paul Heyman live podcast recap

    By Jeremy Peeples, WrestlingObserver.com

    In late April, we got the Jericho and Stephanie McMahon podcast. Now, barely one month later, we get Steve Austin and Paul Heyman. While their on-air time has been fairly minimal given the length of each man’s careers, they did have an impact on one another. Austin being part of the Dangerous Alliance in WCW gave him a main event rub when he otherwise would’ve been mired in the mid-card, while Heyman’s hiring of Austin in ECW allowed him to unleash verbal tirades that would bear a striking resemblance to his Stone Cold promos.

    Steve starts the show sending some love to the people affected by the floods. Steve plugs the future PodcastOne release and Paul says that he’s humbled by being interviewed by Steve given all that he has accomplished and of the two, Heyman should probably be interviewing Steve. Steve puts him over for hustling his way into wrestling at 15 and he’ll ask questions, but isn’t sure if they’re going to be “hard questions”.

    Heyman asks him what the capital of Nebraska is and Steve says he can’t stand being asked questions like that, while Heyman asks who the 16th President was and Austin says it as Lincoln – giving Steve the answer to the earlier question. Steve asks when they first met and Heyman says it was at Center Stage and ad a giant knee brace on while sitting with Jeanie. Heyman asks if he shouldn’t have mentioned that and Steve says they’ll just edit that out.

    Heyman was struck by this long-haired blonde, and he wasn’t talking about Jeanie. Heyman does a hilarious Jim Ross impression as Ross put him over to Heyman instantly. We see some Dangerous Alliance shots in the background and Heyman talks about Steve hitting the ropes and him never seeing anyone hit them as hard as Steve did. Heyman said they knew they scored something special when they signed him to WCW and introduced himself to Steve as “Paul E. Dangerously”.

    Within five weeks, Steve was put in the Dangerous Alliance at Paul’s request, and Paul talks about the Alliance’s history. He was pulled back in a power move by Jim Crockett to just be Rude’s manager, and Steve says he was hot off of a “WWF” run, while Heyman wanted to make a new Horsmen around Rude with Arn Anderson, Eaton, and Larry Zybisko as the members. Madusa was going to be in as well, but Heyman wanted Steve in there badly.

    Heyman called Dusty and he’d already sued WCW at this point. Heyman knocks Jim Herd and he told Dusty that the Alliance would blow the Horsemen away and he wanted one member – Steve Austin. Dusty liked Steve, but was hesitant about putting “this kid” in the Alliance until Paul told him he was like Dusty – he was going to be a huge star, and he was from Texas. Of course, Dusty immediately agreed with Paul and knew that Steve was going to be the next big breakout star from Texas.

    Dusty, of course,  was overjoyed to have come up with this idea, and Heyman does a Rude impression while Steve asks if he had his stamp of approval. Heyman said Rude was on-board and Steve puts Rude over as a man’s man and a hell of a worker who had a physique and didn’t hold his opinions back. Steve respected Rude and Heyman says Steve already had a buzz out of Texas. He was intense and different than the guys just doing a smooth dance. Steve’s stuff looked like a fight, and Steve says that “intensity” brings Brock to mind for him.

    Steve asks when he’ll back and Heyman says it’s pretty much public knowledge that he’ll be back soon. He’s been on his farm and loves being a farmer and a hunter. Brock owns property in both America and Canada, and boy does Destination America ever need some Brock Lesnar shows. Brock Lesnar Conquers the Ghost Asylum. Brock Lesnar Hunts Bigfoot. Ring of Hunting Starring Brock Lesnar. Heyman loves that with Brock, what you see is what you get. He’s the son of a dairy farmer, he grew up on a dairy farm, and with all of the money he’s made in WWE, UFC, and WWE, he just goes and buys more farmland.

    No matter how famous he is, how much money he has, or how many shows he main events – he’s a farmer through and through. It’s who he is at his core. He’s also a hunter, and Steve wants to go on a hunting trip with him. Steve says that they need to do that on the Network, and Heyman says that he can make it happen, but won’t accompany them since “my people aren’t hunters.”

    Heyman says he can’t kill it, but he can make a fine lapel out of it. They go on a what bit and Heyman says his people own the media and screwed up in the Middle East. They bought the only land in the Middle East without any oil – all they have is sand and a sea, and they wind up with folks just trying to shove them into the river anyway. Jewish History As Told By Paul Heyman should be on the Network.

    Steve asks if Brock was really going to come back to the UFC, and Steve hoped that he would stay in WWE. Heyman says that he opened a mini training camp in January preparing to not strike the right deal with WWE. If the deal wasn’t made, he would go right into UFC ASAP. Brock didn’t care who he fought, he just wanted a fight. Heyman says Brock has had a lot of fun in WWE during this run. Ending the streak and destroying Cena over the past year gave Brock something he didn’t have in a prior run.

    Brock views himself as the baddest man on the planet and in the fourth fight, he took on Randy Couture and destroyed him in the second round. He did that with diverticulitis and actually had the disease his whole life. In looking at blood screenings, they apparently came to the conclusion that he’s always had it, but never realized it. Now that Brock’s healthy, the thought was he could do even more in UFC.

    Heyman says that for the first time, Brock has really enjoyed being in WWE. Steve says that the limited date deal makes people question his passion, but he knows he loves the business. Heyman says he loves the business, but his kids need a father more than WWE needs Brock Lesnar. Heyman talks about every Brock appearance being special now and how his matches are now can’t miss. Heyman says that the greatest night of the year is Christmas Eve, and it’s only because how unique the day is – you couldn’t do it 365 times a year. When you say Brock is appearing, “DON’T YA DARE MISS IT, BE THERE!”

    Steve says that Heyman’s wanted more as well, and asks if he’d take on more clients. Well, they’ve already done that several times. Heyman says it’s interesting because they have such a defined relationship on TV that mirrors their real-life relationship. Putting him with anyone else makes it “Brock Lesnar’s guy is with this guy”. He says the Punk role works and he played a different character with Punk than he did with Brock. They were like Morris Day and Jerome.

    Heyman says that he texts with Punk every day, and they have a friendship outside of the business. Austin asks how he thinks Punk will do in UFC and says that Punk was burned out here and just moved on down the road. Heyman says Punk isn’t motivated by money, he wants the challenge. He might regret not doing it seven years ago, but he wants to see how he can do it and he’ll either shock the world by kicking as or even having his ass kicked. He’s man enough to take his chances on it.

    Steve talks about selling and how Jake made the DDT and now it’s just a transition spot. He wonders if it’s just selling poorly and the guys today are better athletes than he ever was, but they need to work smart as well. “If nothing hurts, who gives a damn?” Harley’s finish was a suplex – not off the top, not a brainbuster, but a basic suplex. Steve asks if guys are outworking themselves and Steve says that at least in ECW, guys sold the crazy things they did.

    Steve says that back in the day, you’d drink in the car while booking in your head. Heyman says that with Henry, you look at him and give him a headlock because he’s so massive. You give this move to Henry, make it his, and make sure no one else uses a headlock. If you do – you answer to Henry and then Vince. Henry comes out for 30 weeks and taps guys out with it, and you get the move over – it’s about how you educate the fans to what move is, and not what the move is – so when someone powers out of it at WrestleMania, it will get a big pop. If you treat a move like it’s devastating, then it becomes that. If everyone protects it, you’ll be fine.

    Steve praises Raw for the Cena-Owens exchange, and he puts over Harley and Jake for never raising their voices and just using their tone to scare people. Austin says that Heyman was cutting great promos even in Continental, and he’s now mastered the art of promos. Steve wants promos to be more spontaneous, so he is theoretically not a fan of Everyone Talks for 20 Minutes. Heyman says that he was taught to know where the money was in a promo.

    Heyman thought he was going to do a promo before Cornette, and he wind up closing the show on a taping. He didn’t know how long the promo would be – it could be 30 seconds or four minutes. He did impressions, ran around, and did everything but speak in tongues so people couldn’t turn away. He thought he was amazing, and Dusty says he was entertaining, but asked “where’s the money?”

    Steve says all the blah blah was entertaining, but it didn’t draw money. Heyman says that you need to ask “where’s the money?” in every promo and for him, that can just be “BROCK LESSSSSNNNARR!”. It’s not just “Brock Lesnar” – it’s gutteral and terrifying. If he’s selling Brock, he does that. If he’s selling a Summerslam main event, what else is he selling?

    Steve talks about the importance of cadence in promos and how many parts there are to a promo. Many didn’t like the Ultimate Warrior’s promo, but Steve did because it fit his character. The content isn’t just what matters, but how you say it matters as well. Sometimes, you have to layer a promo and just because someone can talk for five minutes, doesn’t mean you should. Heyman agrees and Steve asks how you can change promos. Steve tells Paul that he made Steve a laser beam with promos.

    Paul says that he makes himself available to talent who asks, but he doesn’t actively force his opinions on others. Paul feels that too many people start a promo pontificating and recapping everything in great detail that wouldn’t be logical. He starts with “ladies and gentlemen, my name is Paul Heyman” so people know who he is, and “I’m here to advocate for my client Brock Lesnar” lets you know his role. Everything after that is the money, and within three sentences, he can tell you who he is, his role, and what he’s here to do. The art of engaging the audience is lost and now they’re just talking at them.

    Steve says if the message is just a bunch of words, then it doesn’t connect. Maybe WWE will change up “This is _____ and My Guest at This Time is _____” in some new and radical way. They can have an app vote on changing word order with A being My Guest, B being I am With and C being The Superstar Speaking with me or somesuch. Steve says that logically, it looks weird to have people have a mic by their hip and reciting the script to know when to respond.

    Steve says Heyman hustled Vince Sr. and we see a photo of him that Heyman himself took. It’s a photo with Tony Atlas, so they cropped him out and he wasn’t going to say a Tony Atlas story on-air.  Heyman says that he found out where Vince would take the inner circle to dinner and we see a photo of Vince Sr. and Andre that he took and earned his first $50 in wrestling. We hear about Heyman lying to get his press pass and going to the worst part of NYC and seeing Gorilla and Skaaland playing pinochle and
    snapping photos from below, making Andre looks huge.

    The next month, he had an 8×10 printed of it and made a beeline to give it to Vince Sr. as soon as he could before Eamo got him. Paul says Vince Jr. probably has a tear going down his face now, and hopes he didn’t misremember him or he’ll never hear the end of it. They shoved him against the wall and he told them he had a press pass and he talked to Howard Finkel and gave Vince the rights to the photo and Finkel gives him $50. They offered to cover his trans and pay him for his photos, and he never got his $50 from Vince Sr.

    Steve asks about the differences between Vince Sr. and Vince Jr. Paul says Sr. did what he did for his times and used his bicycled tapes as best he could and if anyone tried to come into his territory, he’d fight you for it. Heyman goes through the territory system a bit and when times changed, Joe Blanchard had USA – and I believe that’s the first time that’s been mentioned on WWE TV in any form. Ole Anderson expanded Georgia with TBS and while Vince gets the credit for the expansion, he really didn’t do it first.

    What Vince did was make “the territory” the entire country. Paul says that then, no one was willing to ask if Vince Sr. was five years younger, would he have honored his prior deals or just done it anyway? Everyone else had their finger on some kind of pulse and even Verne would’ve gotten a deal – and that was proven by getting ESPN later. Paul says that Vince Sr. would’ve done it, but may not have been ambitious enough, but he didn’t know him well enough to say one way or another.

    Heyman talks about Captain Lou Albano being fired more times than anyone in WWWF, WWF, and WWE history. I can’t predict lotto winners, but I can predict that this is going to be great. If anyone hasn’t heard his classic Wrestling Observer Radio appearance talking about Lou, do so as soon as possible. If you got to the Garden early, he’d be there with a huge bottle of Tropicana Grapefruit juice “with about a drop of grapefruit juice in it” and we see a photo of Lou, Freddie Blassie, The Grand Wizard, and a young Paul Heyman. This is a photo I don’t recall seeing before – even on Heyman’s documentary.

    Lou was hammered and no matter what, he’d just call Vince Jr. “the kid” and would get fired and go to Charlie O’s. Vince Sr. would send someone there, bring him back, load him up with coffee, and give him job back every week. Steve compares that to Paul’s relationship with Vince Jr. and Paul says they get along great now that he isn’t telling Vince how to save the industry.

    He says that Letterman wanted to “fix TV” when he came to CBS, and that’s what he wanted to do in 2001 and he was hired to give a contrarian opinion and that led to them fighting. He thought Vince would fight ideas through and Vince got tired of it. Heyman says that he has changed how he talks to a lot of people, and fatherhood has mellowed him out. He enjoyed five iced coffees before the show, while the host enjoys Stone Cold beers.

    Paul says he’s never done cocaine and if he snorted a line back in his prime, his heart couldn’t have taken it. He always feared that his father would stand over his grave and his father standing over his grave and saying “I could understand you throwing you life away for this and this, but FOR THIS you make me stand over your grave?” Everyone thinks he was wired on drugs, but he was just high strung. Now, he’s far more subdued. He used to fight Vince and Stephanie to his own death, and Austin talks about Heyman’s run as SmackDown writer.

    Austin says he got heat for succeeding and Heyman got heat for calling Raw the B show. Steve asks about an ’06 plane ride from Hell between Heyman and Vince. Heyman says that in a nutshell, it was time for him to go. He lost his passion, his purpose in wrestling, and resurrected ECW’s name. It was personal to him and he didn’t like how it was being used. It became a personal issue between he and Vince – he wanted to just take over SD and maybe ECW wouldn’t suffer because of Vince holding ECW against him. Heyman says in a showdown between anyone and Vince, Vince isn’t leaving WWE.

    Heyman says he lost his way, couldn’t find it at the time, and Vince was angry at him while Heyman was angry at Vince. They had an ungodly bad show and were busy cursing each other out. Vince wanted him to go home and Paul was happy to go home – it took five 1/2 year for each man to see the benefits of that.

    Steve talks about being in a car with Rude and Heyman and Rude blowing up at him. Steve loves saying “goshdarn” a lot, and Steve says he’s just vents. Rude loves his “goshdarn” chicken, and Steve loves his “goshdarn” Sonic, and Rude demands that Heyman pull the car over and says “Steve, must you take the fudging Lord’s name in vein!?” while Steve just sits there and Paul says Rude wasn’t a saint and viewed the commandments as a suggestion. Steve apologized for offending him and promises he’ll never say the Lord’s name in vein, Rude thanks him, and Steve says “you’re goshdarned welcome!” so Rude exploded again.

    Steve said he couldn’t have predicted that would send him over the edge. Heyman talks about traveling with the Samoans while Steve says his wife is going to kill him for this. Heyman says that it was before cameras being everywhere and drones. Sting drove the Steiners around, with Scott in the front and Rick in the back. They’d speed to 85 miles per hour and Scott would hold Rick so he could grab you by your legs and luckily, no one died. Heyman was riding with Fatu and Samu and while Sting and the Steiners are coming, they lock the doors. Rick comes to get him and knocks on Paul’s window while Heyman cackles at him.

    Sting switches places with Scot and then they throw food at them – including a watermelon. They stop at a convenience store so they can turn it into Mad Max Part Two. They cut into their hands and write SST on their car in blood where the Samoans throw bottles, food, and baseballs at them. Heyman says Dollar Rent a Car declared the car as totaled and they wouldn’t rent to “Paul E. Dangerously” and he’s still blacklisted from renting a car in Charlotte, NC.

    Heyman asks Austin about Cena using the springboard stunner. Austin says it’s wasted because everyone kicks out of it – so now the move isn’t worth anything. Austin loves Cena and thinks he works his ass off, and the move is high risk given how slick the ropes are. Heyman asks if he wants to fight Brock at WrestleMania XXXII. Steve says he’d whoop his ass, while Heyman hypes up the baddest SOB in WWE history against the baddest man on the planet. In Texas, you could have the Rattlesnake against the Beast. Austin says he’ll think about it, but Brock really has to think about going into 105,000 people and getting his ass kicked. Heyman says they should really negotiate this – and since Paul’s phone dings, he has to buy everyone beers. Steve says if the stars aligned in Texas, where he’d watch the Von Erichs battle as Paul gets a text from a WWE writer about ” fire all the writers” while Austin wants a Texas death match with Brock.

    Austin doesn’t want a scientific match, he wants a fight. He respects Brock, his accomplishments, his life, but if he stands across from Steve Austin, and you mess with him, you’re not going to like what you get. Heyman says he’s an advocate while Steve says he’s about to advocate an ass-whooping. Paul says he can leave and Steve says that might be the right move. Well, this was fantastic. You got an hour of two old friends shooting the breeze and sharing stories and “the money” at the end of a promo that happened to be an hour long and compelled you to watch every second.

  • WWE Network Stone Cold Podcast With Paul Heyman Coverage

    By Jeremy Peeples, WrestlingObserver.com

    In late April, we got the Jericho and Stephanie McMahon podcast. Now, barely one month later, we get Steve Austin and Paul Heyman. While their on-air time has been fairly minimal given the length of each man’s careers, they did have an impact on one another. Austin being part of the Dangerous Alliance in WCW gave him a main event rub when he otherwise would’ve been mired in the mid-card, while Heyman’s hiring of Austin in ECW allowed him to unleash verbal tirades that would bear a striking resemblance to his Stone Cold promos.

    Steve starts the show

  • Report: Samoa Joe signs full time WWE contract

    By Kenneth Nida

    According to Sean Radican at PW Torch, Samoa Joe (aka Nuufolau Joel Seanoa) has signed a full time deal with WWE. It was reported by a source that after being very impressed with Joe’s performance at the NXT tapings, as well as merchandise sales that surpassed expectations, Vince McMahon and Paul “HHH” Levesque decided to offer him a full time deal.

    Joe will finish up his commitments with indies, and then report to either NXT or the main roster immediately.

    Joe ended his 10 year tenure with TNA Wrestling on February 17, 2015, and after appearing at various independent promotions, he returned to Ring of Honor on March 1. However, on May 20, Joe appeared at the NXT event ‘Unstoppable’ in a show-closing staredown with NXT Champion Kevin Owens. Joe had signed a unique contract that allowed him to work for independent promotions, while also appearing on NXT TV.

    That deal included Ring of Honor because their television didn’t air nationally, which changed last Wednesday when it was announced Ring of Honor would begin airing on Destination America prior to TNA.

    More on this story tonight on Wrestling Observer Radio. 

  • WWE RAW 6-1-15 TV Report: Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt, great John Cena promo

    By Jeff Hamlin, Wrestlingobserver.com

    The Big Takeaway:

    Roman Reigns will be in the Money in the Bank match after surviving three singles matches set up for him by the authority. The best thing on the show was John Cena’s showdown with Kevin Owens, which has to go down as among the best promos of Cena’s career.

    Show Recap:

    Stephanie McMahon, HHH, Seth Rollins, Kane and J&J Security came out with Stephanie saying Rollins is the World Heavyweight Champion and called Dean Ambrose a thief for stealing the World Heavyweight Championship.

    HHH ordered Ambrose to come to the ring and return the championship, with everyone careful not to call it a belt or a strap. HHH screamed at Amrbose, but Roman Reigns showed up to a few boos. Reigns said Ambrose wasn’t in San Antonio and said that Ambrose wants a rematch at Money in the Bank, and a ladder match at that. Stephanie McMahon said they weren’t negotiating. Reigns said they should since Ambrose beat him last night. Reigns mentioned he beat him, Ambrose beat him and Rollins may be the worst WWE Champion of all time.

    That set Rollins off, saying Ambrose could have his rematch at Money in the Bank. He said he didn’t need the Authority, didn’t need a “7-foot piece of crap,” didn’t need J&J Security to beat Ambrose and stormed off.

    Stephanie started to do her monthly dressing down of talent which always helps them get over so much. This time, she started to scold Reigns but HHH calmed her down. HHH said if Reigns lost tonight, he would be out of the Money in the Bank match. HHH said he would choose Reigns opponent.  

    Roman Reigns defeated King Barrett to remain in the Money in the Bank match (14:06)

    Pretty good stiff match where Reigns ducked King Barrett’s Bullhammer Elbow attempt and hit a spear. To do his dirty work, HHH sent in a guy who jobbed to R-Truth last night. Great job. Booker T. called this a “championship match anywhere in the world.” Well, maybe the Greensboro house show they had over the weekend where John Cena vs. Kane headlined because of Rusev’s injury. 

    Reigns ran into HHH and Stephanie backstage. They informed him that Reigns would have another match tonight against Mark Henry that would determine if he would remain in the Money in the Bank match.

    Nikki Bella did an interview about being Divas champion for over 5 months when Paige walked up. Paige issued a challenge. Nikki said they should wrestle tonight. They stared at each other forever before they cut to the ring. I’d like to apologize to Sable to ripping her dialogue skills in 1998. She’s head and breasts above these divas today.

    Ryback came out as the new Intercontiential Champion and thanked the fans in San Antonio for giving him a strong reaction when he returned from injury last October. He was supposed to face the Miz in his first title defense, but the Big Show made his return. The Big Show walked into the ring, knocked out the Miz and told Ryback if anyone was going to beat him for that title, it was going to be him. They had a staredown before Show left. Miz was a complete afterthought here. My brother and I touched on the Jordan-LeBron “best ever” debate last night. In the future, I bet wrestling fans will have a similar debate over which WrestleMania main eventer had a bigger career decline: Bobby Lashley or Miz. 

    Kevin Owens came out to a underwhelming reaction. This was his first long scripted interview and it really didn’t capture what the fans want a Cena conquerer to be. He talked about beating Cena was the biggest win of his career. When he called home last night, his wife told him how proud he was of him. Then his son asked if Cena was OK. He said his son grew up a Cena fan because of blind worship manipulated by a marketing machine. While Owens traveled the world for over ten years, Cena became his son’s hero because he was on Raw every week. Interview got better when Owens ran down Cena as a broken, empty shell of a man. 

    Cena came out and put over Owens saying he may have made the most unbelievable debut in history. Cena said before Owens promo, he was going to hand him the U.S. Championship. But Owens wasn’t a real man because he couldn’t cast his jealously aside. Cena said if his son was so influenced by the WWE marketing machine, he would be wearing an Adam Rose t-shirt, still love the Funkasauras and want to grow up playing in the XFL. Damn, Rose needs to give notice pronto. Cena said the slogans he’s uttered matches the way he’s lived his life in and out of the ring for over 10 years. He highlighted a girl in the crowd that held up a “I’m beating cancer” sign. She received a strong reaction. 

    Cena said the three words that defined Owens is “Never give up.” But Cena told Owens to think before he speaks because in two weeks he will have to explain how a great wrestler got beat by a real man. Cena acted like he was going to square off but Owens walked off. Great promo by Cena and this was a good segment overall. 

    The New Day with Xavier Woods saying Tim Duncan needs to retire. Kofi Kingston put himself over about how he’s going to win the Money in the Bank match.

    Dolph Ziggler defeated Kofi Kingston (3:14)

    Lana came out with Dolph Ziggler and watched from the ramp. Ziggler pinned Kingston when he reversed a schoolboy cradle. Big E. and Woods jumped Ziggler postmatch but the Prime Time Players ran down for the save. 

    This led to a six-man match immediately afterwards. 

    Prime Time Players and Dolph Ziggler defeated the New Day (5:32)

    Titus O’Neal pinned Woods after a pump handle slam. Crowd got into O’Neal’s hot tag comeback. Lana just watched on. 

    Roman Reigns defeated Mark Henry by countout to retain his spot in the Money in the Bank match (3:45)

    Reigns hit a Superman Punch outside the ring. TGhey teased a double countout before Reigns got back in the ring before ten. Afterwards, Henry gave Reigns the World’s Strongest Slam. Reigns can’t even pin a guy whose career is winding down?  

    Of course, HHH and Stephanie met Reigns backstage and told him he would get another match tonight with Bray Wyatt.  

    They aired Axelmania and Macho Mandow sipping Sonic Shakes. They were supposed to do the Mega Powers handshake but the shakes were so good they forgot. When they finished the shakes Axelmania did the Hulk Hogan catchphrase. Big Show and New Day also taped spots. 

    Nikki Bella defeated Paige to retain the Divas Championship (5:42)

    Finish came when Paige delivered a brainbuster off the second rope. Nikki, who looked like she landed on her head, rolled out of the ring, where Brie Bella was hiding under the ring. The twins switched places and Brie, with the referee thinking it was Nikki, small packaged Paige to win. So the Bellas with a heel turn, their latest turn without turning. 

    Randy Orton defeated Sheamus by DQ (12:57)

    Crowd was mildly interested but they couldn’t get anything going and it had a lousy finish. Orton set up for the RKO but Sheamus escaped and hit a flying knee. They wound up outside the ring where Sheamus hit Orton with a chair for the DQ. Sheamus hit two Brogue kicks on Orton and had to be separated by various officials. 

    Rusev did an interview on crutches with a blank look on his face. Byron Saxton asked him for his current state of mind. He said he had no career, no woman, no championship. He said he was a broken man and he was the one crushed this time. But he sees what he wants, what he desires and he will get it back. 

    They announced the six-man field for Money in the Bank match would include Reigns (if he wins), Ziggler, Kingston, Orton, Sheamus and Neville, with more participants to be added. Seems to hint at the finish of the main event will be designed to add Wyatt somehow. 

    Neville defeated Bo Dallas (3:06)

    Neville won with the Red Arrow. Crowd was dead when Bo Dallas was on offense. 

    Roman Reigns defeated Bray Wyatt to keep his spot in the Money in the Bank match (again) (12:12)

    Crowd was tired of Reigns by this point and really just tired period. The Authority watched from the ramp. Reigns is now smiling while he’s selling to tease his comeback. This was the best match on the show. Finish came when Reigns hit a Superman’s Punch. J&J Security and Kane surrounded the ring. Kane jumped on the apron. Reigns sent Wyatt into Kane then hit a spear to pin Wyatt. 

    Postmatch, the Authority tried to jump on Reigns and surrounded him. Then Ambrose’s music hit. Rollins tried to meet him on the entrance ramp, but Ambrose showed up on the announcer’s table. Ambrose threw the belt to Rollins, who caught it. But Ambrose kicked Rollins in the gut and hit Dirty Deeds, then took the belt back. Reigns gave Joey Mercury a spear and Ambrose clotheslined Jamie Noble over the top rope. Ambrose and Reigns escaped through the crowd. 

    SUMMARY: The Reigns storyline was a long way to reach an obvious conclusion. Looking at that Money in the Bank match lineup, it again exposes the lack of depth in the company, so how could Reigns be left out? It’s tough to watch a Orton-Sheamus match without thinking of the crowd that crapped on it in 2012 in Brooklyn. Tonight’s wasn’t much better. It still feels like Ambrose is more over than Reigns, but he’s not the chosen one.