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  • WWE DVD Review: Jerry Lawler’s ‘It’s Good To Be The King’

    By James Cox, WrestlingObserver.com

    “A lot of fans are going to remember the combination of Jerry Lawler and Andy Kaufman. Many will remember Jerry’s ’Kiss My Foot’ match with Bret Hart. Many of us will always remember Jerry’s amazing work at the announce desk. Jerry Lawler has impacted upon generations of fans.” Jim Ross, It’s Good To Be King: The Jerry Lawler Story DVD, 2015

    The Big Takeaway: Although there is plenty of material here that will intrigue and that is not available on the WWE Network, this is not an essential purchase. The matches and interview segments are entertaining, but there is little that is must-see. The documentary feature on Lawler’s life is good and Jerry is tremendous, but it is shorter than it should be. For fans of Lawler, this is worth purchasing; for casual WWE fans, there is arguably nothing too vital here.

    DVD Recap:

    There’s a rear air of humility about Jerry Lawler as he sits in his home studio, carefully shading some of his artwork – a picture of the McMahon lineage: Shane, Vince Jr and Vince Sr. As he concentrates on the intricacies of the picture, thoughts spill out that feel honest and natural. He seems completely at peace when he is drawing. His talent is unmistakable and, of course, it was his art that got Lawler his first break into the business.

    If you have read his 2002 autobiography, It’s Good to be King…Sometimes, you’ll know much of his history. The documentary runs at just over 80 minutes, where we’re shown a truncated version of Jerry Lawler’s life and career in the wrestling business, told by a mellow and reflective Lawler himself. But, largely, this feels like a profile of a WWE commentator who was once a wrestler.

    On the subsequent discs, matches on offer include his work against Kaufman, Bret Hart, Roddy Piper and even a Raw match from 2004 against Ric Flair. Many of the best of his King’s Court segments make up the rest of the collection.

    Jerry Lawler comes across as grateful and humble, a humility that would seem to stem from his modest upbringing with his mother, father and brother. His dad, a factory worker, earned $99 a week in Memphis until a forced moved to Ohio saw some upheaval in Lawler’s life. But it was Lawler’s father’s heart attacks that forced them to move back to Memphis, where he would stay. It is never stated that this family medical history has worried Lawler and in the last chapter of the feature, when Jerry’s own heart attack is covered, they miss this fact too.

    In Memphis, a young Lawler would go to watch the local wrestling with his father, where Jerry would draw caricatures of the wrestlers. Many fans noticed his work and he was encouraged to send them into Channel 13 to be shown on TV. Sure enough, Lance Russell called Lawler to ask for more of his work. Lawler obliged and met Jackie Fargo and, after doing sign artwork and some radio work, Fargo saw his verbal talent and the rest is history.

    Given his pivotal role in breaking into the business, his love and respect for Jackie Fargo is clear. After Lawler and Jerry Vickers went over to work in West Memphis, Arkansas, where Aubrey Griffith was running the territory, Fargo got him work instead. Lawler had promised Griffith promotion on his radio station in return for work as a wrestler, but Fargo would pull him back in and train him up properly.

    Here, there isn’t too much depth into the trajectory of Lawler’s rise to becoming a huge star in Memphis. His becoming the ‘King’ is covered in minutes and the uninitiated viewer just won’t get that sense of just quite how big he and wrestling were in that territory, in that period.

    Jerry Jarrett puts over Lawler’s ability as a promo. His charisma is clear – Lawler was a different type of ‘bad guy’, young, brash, outspoken with a natural ability to think of and deliver one-liners. As Jack Brisco notes when reflecting on their 1974 matches, ‘Jerry was never a great athlete, but he was a great performer’

    Lawler’s infamous feud with Andy Kaufman is the main focus of his early career in Memphis. The footage of Kaufman wrestling women and cutting promos that would get easy heat from those living in the South is tremendous. As is the admission from Vince McMahon that they were offered Kaufman and passed, making Vince very jealous of the mainstream publicity that it drew.

    Keeping that sort of attention on their product was tough and a now invested Lawler reflects on how Memphis started losing talent and that, although competition made them strong, he “could see the writing on the wall.” He briefly mentions how he filed a lawsuit against the WWF because of their representation and advertisement of ‘The King’ (Harley Race) at their shows in the Mid South area.

    Lawler is fairly damning of the Super Clash III title unification match between he and Kerry Von Erich and here the documentary claims that he went over to work for WWF in 1993 (his first work on TV was December 1992), where Vince had already lured Jerry Jarrett in. Jarrett, Lawler states, was brought in to run things in case Vince’s court case against the government had not been fortuitous and had recommended Lawler for commentary.

    There is much more focus on Lawler as a colour commentator than there is on his in-ring career with the company, but Bret Hart is gracious enough to call him “a genius as a heel.” We’re shown very little footage at this point of Lawler doing anything other than talking, either behind the announce table or in the ring and it feels very much like the company are keen to paint him as a commentator who used to be a wrestler.

    Lawler remembers that Vince was a lot of fun to do commentary with and Jim Ross tells us that he and Jerry, “never met, never sat down, it just happened organically […] he was a perfect foil for my insults.” Lawler goes on to dissect his ‘character’ as an announcer, noting the high pitch, the sexist vernacular, the wide eyes and dreamy expression. All seem very far away from Lawler now when he speaks in calm, soft tones to the camera.
    This persona was toned down, too, by 1999 when Jerry ran for Mayor of Memphis – placing third with 11.7% of the ballots. We’re shown his mayoral campaign TV advert where his policies centered around him essentially not being a politician and offering a safer, cleaner city. His then wife, Stacy Carter, remembers how much strain the running for Mayor put on them and said that not winning had been a relief to some extent.

    After Carter’s release and Lawler’s subsequent walkout, his return to the company in 2001 is made to look like a huge deal, but his impact is left there. There is no mention of any influence on the company or anyone in it for 6 years, until were shown clips from his Hall of Fame induction in 2007.

    From here, we fast forward through to his memories of working a TLC match against The Miz, in 2010, for the WWE Championship. It was, of course, his first and last title match in the company and no reference is made to the fact that it took place on Lawler’s 61st birthday. In fact, age is never mentioned at all. Lawler, at least outwardly, remembers it fondly but the documentary is keen to paint it as a stepping-stone to him facing Michael Cole at WrestleMania 27.
    Cole speaks highly and fondly of Lawler but says at WrestleMania the drop kick that he took from Lawler knocked out one of his teeth and the bump that he took into the General Manager’s podium was so hard that he thought he was going to pass out. This fondness then transitions into Cole’s memories of Lawler’s heart attack, live on Raw in 2012.

    There’s something very uncomfortable about watching someone having CPR, but the footage make it look like it’s an angle. The camera used to film the backstage footage is in HD, with the same filter as a normal ring camera. Nothing about it looks real and yet it is. Although the sentiment expressed by Cole, Ross and McMahon is one of respect and concern and worry, the images don’t really seem to match. It makes for uncomfortable viewing.

    Rather disappointingly, the heart attack is where the documentary ends and we go back to Lawler drawing at his desk at his home in Memphis. Thankfully, closing statements from Cole, McMahon and Ross save the end of this documentary from celebrating a near-death experience rather than this man’s impact on the world of professional wrestling.

  • WWE Elimination Chamber Fan Feedback

    Thumbs Up

    Best Match: John Cena vs Kevin Owens

    Worst Match: Divas

    I could kind of follow WWE’s booking logic in putting Mark Henry in the IC chamber match. I mean, he’s a big guy, he gets a receptive pop, and there’s no harm in pinning him. But even Big Show could have filled that spot and meant more. Instead, Ryback wins his first singles title in WWE and gets the most lukewarm reception, despite the rub from Daniel Bryan.

    The NXT guys were tremendous. Even Bo Dallas and Neville, who were put in the death spot post Cena v Owens, did what they could with a crowd that had largely been taken down from a tremendous star-making turn.

    The only big “surprises” were that they inexplicably left the Divas title on Nikki. Perhaps Nikki is going to mimic boyfriend Cena’s open challenge and Sasha Banks is going to come out and win it on RAW some week.

    Also, it was the perfect opportunity for Roman Reigns to turn on Dean Ambrose. Yet as soon as he laid out Rollins, J&J Security, AND Kane, there was no way he was going to lay out Ambrose and suddenly join forces with the Authority. Perhaps for Monday night, if its in the works.

    Jeff Cohen

    Flushing, NY

    Thumbs Up
    Best Match: Rollins vs. Ambrose
    Worst Match: Divas Triple Threat

    I really enjoyed this show.  There wasn’t a bad match on the card and the two big singles matches delivered huge.  Plus the two Chambers were decent if underwhelming.

    The Tag Chamber was a really fun way to kick things off, and while I would’ve liked to see Cesaro/Kidd and New Day as the final two teams, this was enjoyable from start to finish while also making the Tag Titles seem important.  It’s nice to see a full tag team division again.

    Divas 3-way was the usual throwaway women’s match.  Perhaps someday we’ll finally get the women’s wrestling we deserve on a main roster PPV.

    Cena vs. Owens was pretty great.  Owens came off like a major deal and this was full of excellent false finishes.  The only thing missing was the intangible that comes from two guys who have wrestled each other a lot and have that perfect chemistry (more on that later).  HUGE moment for Owens getting a clean win.

    Neville vs. Dallas was fine.  Little more than a showcase for Neville, and I would’ve liked more offense from him.

    The IC Chamber was a bit disappointing, but still not bad.  It was a bit on the awkward side and the lethargic crowd kinda hurt it.  Ziggler was blatantly yelling out spots (particularly when wrestling Ryback), which I found very distracting.  I’m not sure what that was about, as I’ve never noticed him doing that before.  Ryback winning could be a good thing if it plays out right, and should elevate both him and the Title.

    Rollins vs. Ambrose was awesome.  Loved the chain wrestling at the beginning, and these two have such amazing chemistry and clearly drawn characters I could watch them fight each other all day.  This might be their best singles match to date.  Usually I hate the Dusty finish, but in this situation I thought it worked great.  Rollins’ reaction at the DQ announcement was priceless.  This was a great heelish way for Rollins to retain while keeping Ambrose strong.

    Overall Elimination Chamber was easily the best WWE PPV of 2015 thus far, IMO.  Yes, I thought this was much more fun than ‘Mania 31 and featured a great one-two punch, plus a fun tag Chamber. 

    -Justin Ballard
    Boston, MA
    www.enuffa.com

    Thumbs up.

    Best match: Cena vs Owens

    Worst match: Tag team chamber match

    Kevin Owens continues his surprising run as a top guy, not surprising due to talent level, but surprising due to he being a guy that you wouldn’t think Vince would be interested in featuring based on the “look”. Great match too with believable near falls.  Let’s hope the follow up is just as strong.

    The tag title match gets the worst match honor because in what universe (no pun intended) should all of the New Day been allowed in and none of the other teams had a third man (not counting Torito)?  Some plot holes I just can’t overlook.

    Starting to get sick of garbage finishes in the main events too, with this being the third show in a row as such.  The match was real good, but it’s hard to get totally involved in it when you know a crap finish is coming.

    – Chris H

    Lakeland, FL

    Thumbs in the Middle.

    Best Match: Cena vs. Owens

    Worst Match: Triple Threat Divas

    I can’t say how big it is to have someone, let alone an NXT person in their first call up match, beat John Cena cleanly. It shows that WWE may be interested in pushing Kevin Owens to the stars; he could be the next major heel. Is this the beginning of the end of Cena’s ‘super’ status? Also, I must point out that it’s not common in WWE for opponents to steal each other’s finishers, and that’s a good thing; makes it feel like a big deal (or disrespect) when it happens.

    In terms of the tag team chamber match, I’m not a fan of allowing all three members of the new day in there at the same time, legally. Could have been really heel-ish if the third member were to sneek in when the outer door is open to allow a just-pinned team to leave. Are all three now tag team champions? Also, not sure when (if) Kane said the bull was allowed in. Happy to see the Prime Time Players get some shining moments.

    Happy with Ryback winning the IC Title. Also Bryan presenting it to him felt very genuine. Would have been nice to have him on commentary during the match. Not really any special spots that I’ll remember. Would like to one day give Mark Henry a decent run before he actually retires.

    The WWE WHC match was good. I couldn’t imagine that Ambrose would win but was marking out when he did, and quickly came up with an excuse to not give him the belt (the same one they wound up using, a DQ.) Didn’t like that as WWE does that type of cloudy, indecisive ending far to much, especially on PPV-like-events. Though, Ambrose keeping the physical belt has given me a big reason to tune into RAW tomorrow, to see what he does. Then again the whole thing feels like trying to recreate the beginnings of Austin (Ambrose) vs. McMahon (Authority) with Seth being HBK, around WM14. Let’s see if Ambrose throws the belt in a river tomorrow. I’ll be watching.

    – Charlie Scott Machalow

    Thumbs up

    Best Match: Cena vs. Owens
    Worst: Divas

    Really happy to see them trying with some new guys, like Ascension, Neville, and Owens.  Having Ascension elminate two teams strong hopefully will help them out.  Enjoyed the tag a lot.  Interesting choice to put the PTP in at the end.  Kidd and Cesaro were awesome as usual.
    Really enjoyed the Cena vs. Owens match.  Looks like they really trust Owens.

    Really enjoyed the main too, and although it was too soon to put the belt on Dean, we saw that the fans will get behind when the time does come.

    Good win for the Ryback.  Hey, it’s something new and he certainly can get over with his power stuff.  Nobody needed to see Sheamus win the IC belt.  
    I will be very interested to see where they go with Money in the Bank coming up.

    Dan Velten

    How you doin’ Dave,

    Thumbs Up

    Good show, although the crowd hurt it which I feared after how deafly quiet the Corpus Christi crowd were for a Raw at the beginning of the year. Owens-Cena was a great match, and had the most shocking finish I’ve seen in years excluding the ending of the streak. Really pleased for Owens. They weren’t gelling at the start, Owens was trying to work a lot slower than Cena. I assume that was down to the months of working down in NXT where they adopt a slower pace. Also I think he was a little rough for Cena during the first half of the match as he appeared to lighten up during the second. In addition he’ll have to pull back on looking out at the crowd so much as they don’t like that there. 

    I never stop being surprised that they’re yet to remodel the chamber, that grate really needs replacing with something less stiff and worse sounding. Also the distance between the top of the pod and roof continues to be a problem for high-flyers. I’ve said before Paige needs to calm down with her bumps, her frame simply isn’t going to be able to handle it. And combined with the WWE schedule she’s going to end up in a fair bit of pain. Then she goes and takes a top rope German in a six minute match where there wasn’t enough time to get the most out of it, not that she should be doing it anyway. Just crazy stuff. The girls were out to prove a point and tried hard, but they were trying to do too much too fast which led to a bit of sloppiness. Ambrose-Rollins was really good, but I didn’t think it was at the level of their two matches on Raw, the one being a few weeks ago and the other the night after Summerslam.       

    Best Match: Owens vs. Cena ****1/4

    Worst Match: Ryder vs. Stardust **

    Tag Title Elimination Chamber Match ***1/2

    Naomi vs.Paige vs. Nikki **3/4

    Dallas vs. Neville **3/4

    IC Title Elimination Chamber Match ***1/4

    Ambrose vs. Rollins ***3/4

    Thanks Dave

    Tom (griffo120)

    Wow is all I have to say about tonight as it was NXTs coming out party as if they needed it; know the claim has been made for a while now that its their own brand and not developmental and tonight showed that. 

    Huge Thumbs up; match of the night and match of the year canidate goes to Owens vs Cena. 

    Worst match if we have to pick one would be neville vs bo dallas. 

    Wasnt a fan of how it went off the air but you knew Ambroise couldnt walk away as champion yet. 

    ~John Chagaris
    Davenport, fl

    Hi Dave,
      Just wanted to give my thoughts on the Elimination Chamber. I gave the show a thumbs in the middle with the best match actually being between John Cena and Kevin Owens (Hell must have froze over if anything involving Cena get’s best match from me, lol!) and the worst match being the Chamber match for the I/C title which was just a bunch of sloppy looking power moves in my opinion and a missed opportunity to enhance a storyline feud between Daniel Bryan and Sheamus. But it was an ok show, and the Chamber cage is a good spectacle but seems difficult to navigate.

    1. Tag title chamber match – The match was good and had some cool moves, but really mostly comprised of undercard guys with no real talent depth in the match in my opinion. They really need to beef up the teams in the tag team division or show them in a more positive light. Most of the tag teams are portrayed as an undercard comedy act or two guys put together who could not get a singles push. I guess the right ream won in New Day, but none of these teams really stood out.

    2. Divas match – Nothing really special here as Nikkie retains the title over Paige and Naomi. Another division that really needs enhancement, even more then the tag team division. WWE really seems to want to push the IC and US titles as being important, but not really seeing the same thing for the Divas title or the Tag team title for that matter. But it does seem that a new era in women’s wrestling is coming soon with the recent action in NXT which has been awesome, hopefully that translates soon to the women’s division on the main roster.

    3. Cena VS Ownes – Now this was the best match of the night for me, totally unexpected. I was not in complete shock at the win, as they tried to portray it along the same lines as Undertaker losing at Mania, complete with trying to act like the crowd was in complete shock. But it was an excellent match, and that is the first time I’ve ever said that regarding anything involving Cena. I don’t know much about Kevin Owens as I have not really followed his career until this point, and he looks like the pro wrestling version of Roy Nelson. But anyone who can get a great match out of John Cena has to be an excellent performer! I hope Owens wins the US title as I think it would be very unique to keep him as both the US champion and NXT champion to see how it works. Hopefully their rematch at Money in the Bank will be just as good. On a side note however, why does half the roster wrestle in jean shorts, work out clothes, or other non wrestling related gear? This
     match made me think of how much half the roster looks like they just came from Wal Mart, just saying, lol!

    3. Dallas VS Neville – Bo is actually really entertaining as a heel pretending to be a face, and Neville is just awesome. Hopefully both of these guys continue to advance in the main roster as they seem to be building from their NXT past with these two.

    4. Chamber match for the I/C title – This match appeared to be just a big mess with a bunch of power guys doing a few power moves and not much else. Henry as a replacement for Rusev didn’t really do much for the match. R Truth should not have even been in the match. And if they want to make the I/C title more important and have quality matches, then Ryback is the wrong guy for that. They had a storyline sitting in their hands with Daniel Bryan at ringside to present the I/C title to the winner. They really should have had Sheamus win the match and Bryan forced to hand the title over. This could have very easily pushed the feud going between the two, and have a title grudge match ready for when Bryan returns.

    5. World title match – Rollins VS Ambrose – Really good match with spot of the night when Ambrose dove onto everyone at ringside, that was awesome. A good match but after the ref bump and the other ref running in, well I could see the “Dusty” finish a mile away. The ref should have been wearing a T shirt that read “I’m here to reverse the decision”, way too predictable. That was just lazy booking. And why did Ambrose and Roman continue to celebrate like Amrbrose still won the title after the decision was announced that he won by DQ? It made them both look like idiots. Speaking of idiots, the commentary the entire night was just awful. It was like Cole, King, and JBL were all calling different matches all night at the same time, making no sense, bad jokes, and just not flowing with the matches in any way at all. If Cole is going to be the lead announcer then he really need’s to direct the commentary for the whole team to follow. Although I’m sure that is
     an impossible task with JBL and King, and who knows what Vince is also telling them to say at any given time. But the commentary need’s to improve badly in my opinion.

    Thanks,
    Jon Southerland
    Clovis, Ca.

  • WWE adds June as a free month for new network subscribers

    WWE has added June as a free month for new network subscribers, following on the heels of both April and May.

  • NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 5-31 Shizuoka report: Tiger Mask IV vs. Kushida

    by Bryan Rose, WrestlingObserver.com

    Here we are, day 8 of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament! Only 3 matches today, since Shelley is out of the tournament. Results are below, followed by the current rankings and links to previous results.

    Gedo vs. Chase Owens

    Unlike the other matches we’ve seen in the tournament, Gedo was the face here as he gained control of the match after a referee distraction spot and a dropkick. Gedo made a comeback after the ref was knocked down with a low blow and a roll up. Owens cut him off, did the throwback from the top rope then pinned Gedo with a package piledriver. About as basic of a match as you can get, which isn’t a knock but nothing beyond that.

    Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Beretta

    This was solid. A lot of the match was Beretta working over Liger. Beretta reversed a hurricanrana off the top rope for a nearfall, but fell trap to a palm strike. Beretta hit his knee strike but Liger reversed a roll up into one of his own for the pinfall.

    Tiger Mask IV vs. Kushida

    Tiger Mask worked on Kushida’s leg early in the bout. They did a spot where they did stereo kicks to the temple and both fell to the ground momentarily. Tiger Mask laid out Kushida with a butterfly suplex off the top rope but Kushida came back with the hoverboard lock and Tiger Mask submitted. This got more time than the other two matches on the show, and they used that time to have a fine match.

    Current Standings:

    Block A:

    Kyle O’Reilly (6)

    Ryusuke Taguchi (6)

    Chase Owens (6)

    Jushin Thunder Liger (6)

    Babaro Cavernario (4)

    Gedo (4)

    Beretta (4)

    Yohei Komatsu (0)

    Block B:

    Kushida (10)

    Mascara Dorada (6)

    Tiger Mask IV (6)

    Nick Jackson (6)

    Rocky Romero (6)

    Bobby Fish (4)

    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

  • Feedback to Elimination Chamber

    Best Match – Owens vs Cena
    Worst Match – Women’s match
    Thumbs Up

    If you had told me even a year ago that Kevin Owens would be on the WWE roster, and cleanly pinning John Cena, I would have openly laughed. My jaw literally hit the ground when the ref counted for three. A tremendous match and a great effort by both of them. Easily the best match of the night and shows again how versatile that Cena is, no matter who the opponent is. Overall a great PPV, although disappointed in the crowd reaction and how it died off after the Cena/Owens match, even when there was great action going on. Also great to see that the Dusty finish still lives in 2015! After a slow start, Rollins vs Ambrose turned out to be a great match, and looking forward to what the feud has in store on the next PPV (possible Reigns to turn on Ambrose?)

    Roy Lucier

    Thumbs way up
    Best Match: Owens v Cena
    Worst Match: Stardust v Ryder

    Great event for something that came together so quickly! Owens Cena was just amazing, was looking forward to it the most and it overdelivered. Even if we had the expected non finish it would have been off the charts but Owens going over was that extra level that say Cena Lesnar extreme rules 2012 could have used to cement it. Some of those moves for Cena to trust owens with them says a lot about John and he busted his ass in the match. I want Owens Lesnar in Dallas.

    Only a couple chamber matches have been duds and these ones tonight were the norm not the exception. The tag match was a sight only negative was some of that weird climbing by Kalisto and would have liked Cesaro Kidd to be in from the start. Bryan putting Ryback over afterwards was a nice touch and made the title a little more important. Main event was solid we knew there would be wackiness at the end. Thought it would be the dusty finish where it was reversed on Raw ( which might have been a cool story since it hasnt been used for a while?).

    Odd announcing of the MITB participants out of the blue. Why not fill Raw with 6 ( or 7 or 8) qualifying matches? But thats nitpicking who can complain too much after a tremendous show!

    Michael O’Brien
    Brockton, MA

    WWE Elimination Chamber: Thumbs Up
    Best Match: Cena vs. Owens
    Worst Match: Divas Triple Threat

    Tag Title Chamber was good, although not to the level I expected.  Was surprised they tried to push the Ascension finally.  Was expecting them out first.  New Day retained which I did expect and it was the right move for now.  Divas triple threat was fine, but nothing special.  They really need to showcase the NXT women and let them show everyone how it is done.  Kind of surprised that Nikki retained.  John Cena vs. Kevin Owens was excellent.  They pulled out all the stops and Owens was tremendous doing some really great moves.  That superplex reversal was beautiful.  Great match and made the show.  Neville vs. Bo Dallas was fine, but maybe a little slow in spots.  Neville is just an excellent talent.  Hope to see him rise up the ladder (no pun intended for MITB).  I-C Title Chamber was also good, but still could have been better.  Maybe too many slow moving guys in it.  Mark Henry and Truth should not have been it since they are so low on the totem poll.  Nice to see Ryback finally pick up a title after all this time.  Hope he doesn’t go on a losing streak now.  Main Event title match was good and of course they took the wind out of everyone’s sails with the Dusty finish.  I had a feeling that would happen or at the very least a reversal the next night.  Overall a very good show.

    Robb Block

    OVERALL: Thumbs Down
    Best Match: Kevin Owens vs. John Cena
    Worst Match: Divas Three Way

    Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber Match — I didn’t like this match. And for a minute I thought I was going to be the only one who didn’t but it seems like a lot of people thought this was a trainwreck. Lots of spots but no story and a lot of the spots looked silly. This looked like a bad ROH match. I’ll give credit, though, they worked hard. I thought it was too early to take the belts off the New Day so I was fine with the outcome. I think the match actually would have been stronger if the “extras” like El-Torito and Xavier Woods were kept out of the match. Nothing against them, but they weren’t used well here. Match itself wasn’t good to me at all. *3/4

    Divas Three Way Title match — If they’re calling up Charlotte or Sasha and putting the belt on one of them, this was the right call. This match was more unfortunate than bad. They had 6 minutes and because theyv’e been berated by ignorant internet fans and unfairly compared to the NXT girls (who get way more time), they felt pressured to cram 12+ min. of wrestling into a small timeframe. Anytime that happens, you have this kind of match: a dangerous one. Hope Paige is OK. *1/4

    Kevin Owens vs. John Cena — This was spectacular. I loved this match. Kevin and Owens and John Cena had way better chemistry than I had anticipated. I honestly think that this was Kevin Owens’s best match since coming to WWE. What a debut for him and I’ve become a huge fan of his. The match at first I thought was going to be one-sided but it was just a great back and forth match. I thought the decision to have Owens defeat Cena was a very good one. Cena is such an established star that he can lose 10 times and will still be John Cena. Kevin Owens has nowhere to go but up from here. I see this feud continuing.  ****

    Neville vs. Bo Dallas — The match started off really, really slow for me. Once the match got further along it got a lot better. They weren’t booked to steal the show but they still had a really solid match in the end. I thought this was good. **3/4

    IC Championship Elimination Chamber — I liked it for what it was. Certainly better than the last Chamber match. Glad to see Ryback won. I’m a little worried about how Sheamus is going to come out of this because he’s the one that got Shellshocked and powerbombed. I feel like they need to do a little better job protecting him. He had good momentum and has obvious talent in the ring but he’s kind of been waffling without a story for a while. I don’t believe it was right for R-Truth to pinn King Barrett. That only makes your King of the Ring look like a chump. I feel like Rusev could have gotten a lot of heat put back in this match but Henry wasn’t bad in this at all. ***

    Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins — Awesome match but the booking of this was a complete fail for me. The “Dusty” finish never works. Ever. It is always counter-productive. They could have just as easily had Rollins cheat to win. You have Dean Ambrose now stealing yet another title. The fans were more pissed off by the booking than mad in storyline at Rollins. I love Seth Rollins to death (own one of his T-shirts) but J&J Security has GOT to go. They suck. My old lady is taller than both of them. They ruin every single match they are in. I see nothing in them at all. Ambrose hit an awesome Tornado DDT and still looked like a superstar here even when the booking constantly fails him. I can’t think of anyone in this company who has been so poorly booked for so long yet still the most over person in the company. Seth Rollins sold the hell out of Ambrose’s lariat which I thought looked sick. Great storytelling match here and really good action. Both of these guys are talented. But the booking was stone stupid. ***3/4

    Craig Reeves

    Hey Dave,I gave the show a thumbs upBest Match: Cena vs OwensWorst Match: Dallas vs Neville or Divas match – take your pickCena vs Owens really delivered and the right way to get Owens over on his first major show.Loved his springboard from the 2nd rope reversing his position to a moonsault as well as him reversing Cena’s superplex into his own sidewalk type slam. He also had that nice tease of the package piledriver setup into another slam. After the “upset” win they had the crowd shots to show the stunned reactions almost like it was the Undertaker Wrestlemania loss shots. Let’s home the Cena vs Owens II match doesn’t turn into even steven booking and Owens beats Cena again.Neville vs Dallas fell into that spot of death on the card trying to follow the Owens vs Cena match and it just seemed flat. Wasn’t horrible but had a bit of a disconnect for me.I don’t think the announcers got over the whole Sheamus spot in the IC title Chamber. It wasn’t like he couldn’t get out of his pod, it was him not wanting to come in by having his cross jam the door shut so the official couldn’t open the door. Having 2 panels come out so easily when Ziggler was thrown into them sort of ruins the impenetrable aspect of them as someone could really just kick their way out pretty easily, they looked pretty flimsy when they came out. This match was OK but the crowd still didn’t seem that into it. Mark Henry looks like he dropped a ton of weight and looked in the best shape of his career.Tag Chamber match was decent but they are really stretching it trying to come up with 6 teams. Didn’t make sense that New Day could have all 3 in the pod rather than them deciding with Freebird rules of which 2 were going into the match. Same with why Torito was in there. Kalisto, aside from climbing to the top of the Chamber and dropping really did nothing all match besides being held down by New Day in their pod. Maybe he was hurt.I was expecting a Reigns turn in the main event when him & Ambrose seemed so buddy buddy in the pre-interviews. Main event was solid and a good match. I think Ambrose needs to lose the slingshot clothesline Nigel McGuiness spots. It just looks so hokey. The Dusty finish…we will see where this goes now. I assume a title can change hands of a DQ match perhaps.Check out my current ebay auctions featuring some great wrestling memorabilia including some fantastic Stampede wrestling programs which feature Owen Hart, Chris Benoit, Brian Pillman, Bret Hart, Dynamite Kid, Bad News Allen, Keichi Yamada, Shinya Hashimoto, Hiro Hase and so many more. Seller name is grantsindexEmail me for some recent wrestling observer specials including UFC, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, Wrestlemania and more.grantsindex@nexicom.netGrant ZwarychWrestling Observer Index
    Hey Dave,

    Overall: Thumbs in the middle. It was a tale of two shows. The good (Owens/Cena, Rollins/Ambrose) was really good. In fact, I would say Cena and Owens was great. The bad (The Elimination Chamber matches/ Divas match) was quite bad. In fact, these were probably two of the worst Elimination Chamber matches I have seen. I have slanted this way for many years now, but tonight I will strongly declare: I want to see straight up wrestling matches with all of the rules enforced. No more gimmick matches. They have been used at excess and no longer serve a purpose.

    Best Match: Owens Vs. Cena was everything every fan hoped for.Worst Match: The women’s match was atrocious. The timing and ring positioning was awful.

    Pre-Show:
    Miz TV segment was harmless fun. Crowd was tepid at best. Daniel Bryan said he will be back, but he did not specify if he would be back in the ring wrestling.
    1.       Tag Team Title Elimination Chamber Match: New Day vs. Cesaro/Kidd vs. The Ascension vs. Los Matadors vs. Prime Time Playas vs. Lucha Dragons. The match had a lot of potential and it was set up to thrill, but in the end it failed to execute. When you have too many guys, doing too many spots, you have too much room for error. In this match, there were a lot of errors. Lots of ambitious ideas, but only about ½ were pulled off. Callisto looked perpetually confused throughout the match. Most of the guys wrestled in spot mode, looking over their shoulder and through the corner of their eye waiting for their turn to hit a spot. I suppose this match was set up to build up the Prime Time Playas and the Ascension. It did not succeed in either regard. To top it off, the finish was flat. **
    2.       Divas Title Match: Naomi vs. Paige vs. Nikki Bella. The fans were willing to give the Divas a chance. The divas failed to deliver. Paige’s timing and ring placement was off the whole match. Naomi has started to botch spots on a regular basis. Some of the maneuvers in this match were reckless. *
    3.       Kevin Owens vs. John Cena. Fantastic match. Well-paced, well laid out, and solid build to a clean and decisive finish. This was everything every fan could have asked for. It was a highlight reel for Kevin Owens and a testament to the confidence and ability of John Cena. Cena’s goal was to make a star, and Owens did not need much help. It is also refreshing to know that when the announce team wants to, they can help put somebody over. It makes you wonder why they do not do it more often. **** ½ star match and the promo was icing on the cake.
    4.       Adrian Neville vs. Bo Dallas. Okay match. It was a little slow, and hence a little disappointing. More changes of pace could have helped the match significantly. For what it was, a solid win for Neville. **
    5.       Intercontinental Title Elimination Chamber Match: R Truth vs. Wade Barrett vs. Sheamus vs. Mark Henry vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Ryback. With the exception of the final battle between Ryback and Sheamus which was pretty good, this match was a disaster. Obviously, Henry was not supposed to enter the match when he did and his presence totally flubbed the flow of the match. You could tell the wrestlers were attempting to overcome and adapt, but they were never able to find a pace. The announcers completely missed Sheamus locking himself into the pod to give himself a decided advantage. Maybe they should pay closer attention. I do like the fact that Ryback won and the concluding handoff between Bryan to Ryback was a feel good moment. **
    6.       WWE Title Match: Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose. A very good match that bordered on great, but never sustained that level to be considered a classic. These guys have chemistry, and that chemistry was on display. The crowd was tired, but the solid work stirred them into frenzy towards the final stages. The dusty finish accomplished what it was supposed to accomplish; it produced a roller coaster reaction from the live crowd. The fact that many people will complain and critique the finish serves its designed purpose. ***3/4.
     Thanks, Derrick Hubbard

    Thumbs in the middle

    Best Match: John Cena vs. Kevin Owens

    Worst Match: IC Chamber match

    This would have been a thumbs down show without the Cena/Owens match and the Dusty Finish in the main event didn’t help either.

    Tag Title Chamber match was okay better than I expected but the Ascension being put in first is laughable. ** stars

    Divas Title match: A terrible match compared to the Becky Lynch/Sasha Banks match from Takeover a few days earlier. Botched spots all over the place, mostly by Naomi. Sad that Paige has to work with these girls until the NXT crew moves up. DUD

    John Cena vs. Kevin Owens: This match I would put up with some of the great G1 matches from last year. Awesome awesome match. Owens became a made guy tonight. It’s too bad the crowd was awful cause in any other big town the crowd would have gone nuts for the finish. This match is the front runner for the WWE’s Match of the Year. **** 3/4 stars

    Bo Dallas vs. Neville: Never had a chance after Cena/Owens. It was a 3rd hour Raw match. * 1/2 stars

    IC Title Chamber: Awful. Wade Barrett is the jobber king, R-Truth was nothing, Dolph Ziggler continues to get worse, Mark Henry looked lost, Ryback looked dangerous and Sheamus was there.  -* star

    Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose: Very good match which was to be expected but the Dusty Finish ruined everything, as they usually do. ** 1/2 stars w/ the DF

    Josh Hayes

    WWE Elimination Chamber

    Thumbs in the Middle. Another just good enough but not great WWE show. Crowd was hot at spots but it was clear that it was mostly a small-town house show crowd.


    Best Match: Owens vs Cena
    Worst Match: Neville vs Dallas

    1. Stardust vs Zack Ryder. This aired just minutes before the “official” Pre-Show. They try nobody cared. *1/2

    2. New Day vs  PTP vs Cesaro & Kidd vs Ascension vs Lucha Dragons vs Matadores. All action match with some unique creative spots but the Chamber gimmick just don’t work with teams. ***1/2

    3. Nikki Bella vs Paige vs Naomi. *1/2

    4. Owens vs Cena. Absolutely great match. It will be interesting how Cena explains him losing since it was as clean as any other match he has lost in the past. Even when Punk beat him in Chicago there was some outside involvement. ****1/2

    5. Neville vs Bo Dallas. Totally out of place. This match needed to be between the first Chamber match and the Divas. Dallas is a geek and WWE is booking Neville just like one. *1/4

    6. Ryback vs Sheamus vs Ziggler vs Henry vs R-Truth vs Barrett. You know that this was a small town crowd when Sheamus totally over reacted being mad about getting stock in the pod and fans there bought it and some of them even chant his name. Marks. Way too long. Crowd was pretty much dead for most of it. This was the perfect scenario to debut a NXT guy. A Finn Balor win would have set a perfect scenario for a match between him and Bryan, hell that’s a Mania caliber match. Anyway none of that matters. Ryback won, who cares ***1/4

    7. Rollins vs Ambrose. It was great until the finish. What a lame angle. Guess WWE is celebrating the 30 Year Anniversary of Back to the Future, because that type of shit is directly from the 80’s. Other than that is was a clothesline festival. ***3/4

    Leonardo II Mendez Toledo

    Thumbs…up?  (-It was down when I saw the decision reversal.)

    Best match: Cena v. Owens
    Easily.  I think this will become the match that defines our current era of wrestling.  Great back and forth. Cena “PPV” events usually have lots of production and hype going in.  This one focused on the meeting of these two champions and it delivered a championship quality match.

    Worst Match: 
    Elim 2: IC Belt
    Painful stuff here.  I don’t know if anyone was interested in any of these guys winning.  And as that match dragged on, they gave us more reason not to care.  Sheamus stuck in the pod and using the cross was just awful.  Lots of visible standing around moments.  People weren’t acting like they wanted to be in the ring.  Bad match.

    Worth mentioning:
    There was WAY too much audible ring talking tonight!  I expect some from Cena, but every match people “TALK TOO MUCH.”  
    Awful commentary is expected, but they weren’t calling the main event tonight.  There was more commentary from competitors in the ring tonight than from this team during the main event.
    I think the J&J interference has been stale for awhile.
    That Ambrose decision reversal was touch and go for the whole event.  Things were going to get real ugly.  Keeping the belt with Ambrose, albeit illegitimately, was a smart move.

    Divas match:
    This looked like it was over scripted.  It meant that botched spots ended out disrupting the whole flow of the match.  
    VERY anticlimactic ending, too.  Not a fan of seeing a smiling and fresh Nikki Bella at the end of a championship match.

    —

    Nick Garcia

  • Wrestle-1 will have five U.S. shows this month

    Wrestle-1, the Japanese promotion owned by Keiji Muto and now run by Sanshiro Takagi, is doing a five date East Coast tour late this months with APWA out of West Virginia.

    We had reported a few months ago on the tour but they officially announced these dates today:

    6/23 in Philadelphia at the 2300 Arena

    6/25 in Belle Vernon, PA at the Rostraver Ice Arena

    6/26 in Parkersburg, WV

    6/27 in Shelby, NC at the site of the old Crockett TV tapings

    6/28 in Atlanta

    Tickets go on sale at the 2300 Arena tomorrow for the first show.

  • WWE announces two matches for Money in the Bank

    Announced for WWE Money in the Bank PPV in Columbus, OH, in just two weeks:

    – Money in the Bank:  Dolph Ziggler, Neville, Kofi Kingston, Roman Reigns, Randy Orton and Sheamus. More names will be added to the match.

    – U.S. Champion John Cena vs. Kevin Owens II

  • WWE News: Rusev out of Chamber match

    Shock of all shocks, barely an hour before the start of the show, the WWE has in fact reported that Rusev will not be wrestling tonight.

    So what happens to the final spot in the IC title Elimination Chamber match?  It’s a surprise.

    Rusev suffered a leg injury on Tuesday night and it’s been pretty clear for days he’s not wrestling tonight.  However, until minutes ago, WWE was continuing to advertise him, and hilariously, in something written on Friday, Joey Styles even predicted him as the winner of the match.

  • SUN. UPDATE: Elimination Chamber preview, Destination America, Lesnar sells out, Alves injury, Rollins talks curb stomp

    By dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>Dave Meltzer

    We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s Elimination Chamber show, so you can send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    We’re also looking for reports on last night’s WWE house show in Laredo, TX as well as on tonight’s Evolve show

    WWE Elimination Chamber at 8 p.m. Eastern from Corpus Christi on the WWE Network

    *Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose for WWE title – This isn’t the time for Rollins to be losing the title with Brock Lesnar returning and Roman Reigns still not having gotten his main event title shots.  These two had a really good long match last night in Laredo getting ready and I can’t imagine this bout not being great. 

    *John Cena vs. Kevin Owens non-title – While not billed as the main event, most consider it the real main event on the show.  The non-title aspect would seem like a way for Owens to win while keeping Cena as champion.  The fact Owens has laid Cena out at every turn would normally indicate a Cena win.  But I can’t make sense out of Owens not winning here in his first big PPV match unless they’ve got a really creative finish.  Plus, it’s not scheduled as a one-and-done program.  It will be interesting to see what kind of a match the two have and how the crowd reacts.  Tickets were originally for a Sunday house show, which means more kids and families and it’s a small building.  But there were enough tickets left for the TV fans to get enough to where they’ll make enough noise as the minority.  Cena went on TV and practically set up “Fight Owens Fight” chants if people pay attention.  No matter what, this is Owens’ biggest match and it’s really the most important match on the show long-term.

    *IC title Chamber match:  Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. ? (formerly Rusev, no official announcement has been made) vs. R-Truth vs. Ryback vs. King Barrett – As of today, Rusev was still being advertised.  There was talk of Bray Wyatt earlier in the week being added.  At one point, Sheamus was scheduled to win, but we’ll see.  Barrett has lost so much late that you almost have to consider his winning as a possibility.  Ziggler is also a possibility.  Ryback would be a surprise and R-Truth would be a shock and also a silly move.

    *Tag title Chamber match:  New Day vs. Tyson Kidd & Cesaro vs. Lucha Dragons vs. The Ascension vs. Prime Time Players vs. Los Matadores – It’s too early to take the title from The New Day.  On paper, there are enough good wrestlers here that it should be a hell of a match.

    *Neville vs. Bo Dallas – This will probably be short and Neville should win with the red arrow.  

    *Nikki Bella vs. Paige vs. Naomi for Divas title – It feels like it’s time for Naomi to win. 

            Every WWE show these days looks good on paper.  They could add a match, but probably don’t have to because the top four matches should all get a lot of time and on paper all should be very good. 

    Evolve 44 i PPV tonight at 8 p.m. from the Ronkonkoma Fire Department Hall in Ronkonkoma, NY at www.WWNLive.com for $9.99 plus on the WWN Roku channel 

    Rey Hours vs. ?

    Biff Busick vs. Mike Bailey

    Rich Swann vs. Trevor Lee

    Anthony Nese vs. TJ Perkins

    Drew Gulak vs. Davey Richards

    Johnny Gargano vs Ethan Page – If Gargano wins, Page leaves the promotion, if Page wins, Gargano must shake his hand

    Drew Galloway vs. Roderick Strong for Evolve title

    Raw is Monday night in San Antonio.

    Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday night in Houston.

    **** 

    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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    SUNDAY’S NEWS UPDATE

    • Bryan and I will be back late tonight covering Elimination Chamber and taking e-mail questions that can be sent to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com
    • The Friday night shows (New Japan and TNA) were really strong.  Very notable that Destination America during TNA did no promotion for ROH in front of the audience mostly likely to watch the show.  If you watched TNA, all the promotion was about 9 p.m. Wednesday, not 8 p.m.
    • Randy Orton, who had the weekend off, was in San Antonio (where Raw comes from tomorrow already today, as was Big Show.  So that would indicate both return to TV.   Show was on the road for the house shows, working last night in Laredo.  Both were kept off TV the past few weeks since they weren’t booked on tonight’ show.  
    • The movie “San Andreas,” starring Dwayne Johnson, is estimated at doing $53.22 million in its opening weekend, beating predictions of $45 million solidly.  It opened at No. 1 at the box office, but that had been a lock ahead of time as nothing was going to be close.  Reviews were mixed that I saw.  It’s also already topped $60 million outside the U.S.
    • The announcement of Brock Lesnar for the 7/4 show at Sumo Hall in Tokyo led to the show having a strong surge in ticket sales to where it is now sold out.  They also announced Hideo Itami would make an appearance on the show, but he won’t be wrestling on it.    
    • Thiago Alves is probably going to need surgery due to the nasty broken nose he suffered last night in his fight with Carlos Condit.  His nose bone ended up lodged in his forehead and that’s why the doctor stopped the fight even though his corner was begging for them to let him continue. 
    • In winning via finish, Condit’s 10 stoppages in his UFC/WEC days ties with Matt Brown for second place all-time in welterweight division history behind Matt Hughes with 11.  It was the first time Alves had lost via  
    • Only combat sport search item that had any traction this weekend was Amir Khan, who was No. 6 on Friday with 20,000 searches.  Elimination Chamber should top 100,000 tonight. 
    • Sasha Banks, who didn’t work NXT TV or house shows last week, was back in action for the NXT shows this past weekend, but used in trios matches instead of singles matches.
    • Jerry Lawler has a 40th anniversary celebration show on Thursday night in Jackson, TN at the Oman Arena.  I’m not sure what it’s the 40th anniversary of because Lawler was a major star there by 1972, but it’s probably the best idea for a celebration they could come up with.  Lawler vs. Tommy Dreamer in an anything goes Hardcore match is the main event, plus James Storm vs. Chase Stevens, Brian Christopher vs. Thorn, Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson vs. Chris Michaels & LT Falk, plus Bill Dundee, Sabu and Derrick King are on the show, and there is a Battle Royal.
    • Seth Rollins talks his past, what he wants from his future and the curb stomp
    • USA today on Dwayne Johnson
    • A story on Sami Zayn being a fan of the Montreal Canadiens  Hab at Heart : Sami Zayn – Montréal Canadiens – News
    • Evolve from last night in Queens, NY:  Rey Hours b Anthony Nese, Davey Richards b Caleb Konley (strong match), TJ Perkins b Mike Bailey, Chris Hero b Trevor Lee (also a great match), Rich Swann & Johnny Gargano b Drew Gulak & Tracy Williams to keep the Dragon Gate USA tag titles, Drew Galloway b Biff Busick to retain the Dragon Gate USA title.
    • Jake Roberts will be doing a speaking tour on 7/31 in Kitchener, ONT at the Moose Lodge, with Jim Duggan as his opening act.  Tickets are $30 and $35, with $70 VIP tickets at 226-647-4402.  Only 200 seats are available.
    • Great North Wrestling from Friday night in Smiths Falls, ONT:  Knine b Patrick Shenzy & Big Bad Ray, Bryan Briggs & Nathan Banner b Hart Throbs-DQ,. Soa Amin b ?:, Darko b Spoiler, Eve b Malicia-DQ, Hannibal b Jeremy Prophet, Brutus Beefcake & Grape Crusher b Preston Perry & Sexy Eddy.
    • Great North Wrestling from Saturday night in Ottawa:  Harley Davison’s won six man, Knine won handicap match, The Spoiler b Majic Mario, Nathan Banner b Sexy Eddy, Malicia b Eve, Jeremy Prophet b Darko-COR, Hannibal b Soa Amin, Brutus Beefcake & Grape Crusher b Hart Throbs.
    • In results from today’s Super Junior tournament in Numazu:

    Chase Owens b Gedo

    Jushin Liger b Baretta

    Kushida b Tiger Mask

    • UFC picks from last night.  Me, Josh Nason, Mike Sempervive, David Bixenspan, Steve Juon, Mike Sawyer and Jack Encarnacao all went 3-2 and John Pollock and Frontrow Brian went 2-3.
    • I Believe in Wrestling’s Florida J Cup from last night in Orlando:  Lince Dorado b Jason Cade, Aaron Epic b Josh Hess-DQ, Jesus (Ricardo) Rodriguez b Chasyn Rance, Jonny Vandal b Vertigo, Santana Garrett b Cherry Layne to keep NWA women’s title, Aaron Epic b Jesus Rodriguez, Lince Dorado b Jonny Vandal, Mike Patrick & Leo Brien & Mike Reed & Chico Adams & Tyranus b Rhett Giddins & Jody Kristofferson & Gabriel Black & Joey Mayberry & Josh Parker, Aaron Epic b Lince Dorado.  Next show is 6/13 with Teddy Hart as special guest.     
    • World League Wrestling from last night in Troy, MO:  Air Raid b Michael Magnuson-DQ, John E Rock won three-way over Evan Morris and Dustin Bozworth, Dave DeLorean b Brandon Espinosa, Michael Magnusson b Justin D’Air, Superstar Steve Fender & Derek McQuinn b Leland Race & Trevor Murdoch (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
    • Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls worked last night for Explosive Pro Wrestling in Perth, Western Australia.  They teamed with Jonah Rock (who they sometimes team with in NOAH) & Marcus Pitt against locals Hayden Zenith & Michael Morleone & Scotty Ryan & Emanuelle.  (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
    • Justin Gabriel faces New Japan’s Chase Owens on 6/26 in Winnipeg at Holy Cross Gym Hall.
    • In response to questions from last night about promotions on their TV promoting stuff from other companies, Stampede Wrestling used to promote WWF house shows in the 80s in Calgary since Stu Hart was the local WWF promoter.  Sometimes they’d have Bret Hart on Stampede Wrestling promoting his matches.  WWF promoted ECW and UFC PPV’s in the 90s as part of deals made for footage. 
    • The WWE web site has a photo gallery on Samoa Joe in the indies, mostly in ROH with Daniel Bryan, Kenta Kobashi, KENTA, Takeshi Morishima, Seth Rollins,. but no C.M. Punk.  They also did a story on his career, talking about his start in UPW, going to Japan for different groups, ROH, but there is no mention at all in the story of TNA, meaning a selective decade of amnesia. (thanks to Jeff Parker)
    • Lucha Xtreme TV from last night in Fresno:  Kikyo b Luscious Lynn, Mustafa Saed b Elia So’oalo, CB 3 b Johnny Dynamo, Marcus Ericks b Wiseguy (thanks to Jon Southerland)

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

    1946 – El Santo beat Tuffy Truesdale to win the vacant Mexican national middleweight title

    1976 – Jim Breaks beat Vic Falukner in Bradford to win the British welterweight title

    1979 – Great Kojika & Motoshi Okuma beat The Sheepherders in Noshiro to win the vacant All Asia tag titles

    2002 – Ultimo Guerrero & Rey Bucanero beat El Hijo del Santo & Negro Casas in Mexico City to win the CMLL tag tiles

    2014 – Takashi Sugiura & Masato Tanaka beat Takeshi Morishima & Maybach Taniguchi to win the GHC tag tiles

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

    2:00 AM ET
    TOUGH ENOUGH The Miz gives the contestants a taste of what life as a WWE Superstar means outside the ring. Back in the gym, the competition heats up.

    3:00 AM ET
    WWE NXT After the shocking events of NXT Takeover: Unstoppable, NXT Champion Kevin Owens addresses his actions to Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe.

    4:00 AM ET
    OLD SCHOOL Old School card from MSG features ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper taking on Ric Flair in singles action. Legion of Doom vs. Natural Disasters and more.

    6:00 AM ET
    WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER 2015 The Intercontinental Championship and the WWE Tag Team Titles will be decided inside the merciless Elimination Chamber, LIVE on WWE Network!

    9:00 AM ET
    WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER 2015 The Intercontinental Championship and the WWE Tag Team Titles will be decided inside the merciless Elimination Chamber, LIVE on WWE Network!

    12:00 PM ET
    WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER 2015 The Intercontinental Championship and the WWE Tag Team Titles will be decided inside the merciless Elimination Chamber, LIVE on WWE Network!

    3:00 PM ET
    WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER 2015 The Intercontinental Championship and the WWE Tag Team Titles will be decided inside the merciless Elimination Chamber, LIVE on WWE Network!

    6:00 PM ET
    TOTAL DIVAS Eva’s sexy bachelorette in Curacao gets heated when TJ destroy’s Nattie’s hopes of rekindling their marriage.

    7:00 PM ET
    FIRST LOOK A First Look to watch exclusive content from WWE Home Video’s latest release, Daniel Bryan – Just Say Yes! Yes! Yes!

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

    8:00 PM ET
    MONDAY NIGHT WAR It takes an army to win a war, and both WCW and WWE were developing a deep roster in order to emerge victorious.

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

    10:00 PM ET
    TOTAL DIVAS Eva’s sexy bachelorette in Curacao gets heated when TJ destroy’s Nattie’s hopes of rekindling their marriage.

    11:06 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!

  • WWE Main Event TV Report: Neville vs. Adam Rose, Prime Time Players vs. Ascension

    By Chris Aiken, WrestlingObserver.com

    WWE Main Event from Wilkes-Barre (taped 5/26/15) was part of the go-home week of programming leading to Elimination Chamber. The theme of the show seemed to be clotheslines or backdrops over the ropes to the floor since all of the matches featured them except the women’s match. Much of the show focused on hyping the special WWE Network exclusive show coming up.

    Prime Time Players beat The Ascension

    During their entrance, Titus O’Neil and Darren Young brought a kid out from the crowd and danced with him. Ascension attacked the Players before the bell and they began double teaming Titus. When Viktor jumped off the middle rope, Titus caught him and gave him a fallaway slam. Titus then suplexed Darren on to Viktor. Darren ran wild on Viktor until a blind tag by Connor.

    The heels got heat on Darren for a while and cut off the ring. Eventually, Titus came in off a hot tag like a house of fire doing power moves. Titus clotheslined Viktor over the ropes to the floor. Viktor ran back in and Darren backdropped back out the floor. Connor knocked Darren off the apron only to get caught with the Clash of the Titus for the pinfall.

    Zack Ryder beat Heath Slater

    They slugged it out at the outset. After giving Slater a flapjack, Ryder clotheslined him out to the floor and dropkicked him into the barricade. Back in the ring, Slater clotheslined Ryder out to the apron and proceeded to knock him off the apron to set up the heat spot. Ryder made a comeback and hit a missile dropkick off the middle rope. After a broski boot, Ryder went for the rough rider but Slater blocked it and gave Ryder a neckbreaker. Moments later, Ryder hit the rough rider for the pin.

    Divas champion Nikki Bella (with Brie Bella) beat Summer Rae in a nontitle match

    Summer got heat on Nikki early on. Nikki made a comeback. She missed a splash in a corner but still managed to give Summer a disaster kick. Summer cut her off with a spin kick. Nikki blocked another kick and delivered the rack attack for the pin.

    Bo Dallas got an entrance as he would provide guest commentary for the next match to build for his match against Neville at Elimination Chamber.

    Adam Rose, joined by Rosa Mendes, cut a promo before the next match. He addressed the audience and said he gave them the Exotic Express, gave them the Rosebuds and encouraged them to party all the time. According to Rose, they just didn’t get it though. He called his act “high art” but said it was now all gone and it was the fault of the fans. Rose put over Rosa and called her hot. She called him hot and they called each other hot. Rose referred to her as his muse and they rubbed their noses together.

    Neville beat Adam Rose (with Rosa)

    After some early exchanges, Neville sent Rose out to ringside and Neville did a flip dive over the ropes to the floor. Rosa caused a distraction and her interference allowed Rose to dropkick Neville in his injured knee (which was taped up). Rose began to work over the knee. He rammed the knee into a ringpost and applied a half crab. Rose continued to get heat on Neville and applied an Indian deathlock.

    Neville fired up for a comeback. While still selling the knee, Neville managed to use a standing moonsault. Rose cut him off and Neville continued to sell the knee. Rose picked Neville up and gave him a wicked spinebuster. During another comeback, Neville used a rollup for a nearfall followed by an enzuigiri.

    When Neville went to the top rope for his finisher, Bo Dallas jumped on the apron to cause a distraction. Neville superkicked Bo off the apron. The distraction allowed Rose to use a schoolboy for a nearfall. Neville escaped and hit the red arrow off the top for the pin.

    Afterwards, Bo ran in to attack Neville but he fought him off and backdropped him over the ropes to the floor to close the show.