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  • UFC Fight Night 67 preview: 5 storylines to watch, betting odds & predictions

    By Ryan Frederick, WrestlingObserver.com

    The UFC heads to Brazil once again on Saturday night, making a stop in Goiania for the second time for UFC Fight Night 67. The event’s main card airs on FOX Sports 1 on Saturday at 10 PM eastern time, with a preliminary card start time of 7 PM eastern time on UFC Fight Pass, and transitioning over to FOX Sports 1 at 8 PM eastern time.

    The event will be headlined by a five-round welterweight main event bout as former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit returns from an injury layoff to take on former title challenger Thiago Alves. In the night’s semi-main event, it will be a long anticipated rematch of a no contest bout from 2011 as Nik Lentz and Charles Oliveira square off in a featherweight bout. Let’s take a closer look at the action on the fight card as we delve deeper into the card and find five storylines to look out for on Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 67.

    1. Carlos Condit returns from a torn ACL. How will he fare against Thiago Alves?

    Carlos Condit is one of the more exciting fighters in the UFC’s welterweight division, and he is a former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion. He was looking to get back into title contention when he fought Tyron Woodley at UFC 171 in March 2014. He was having trouble with Woodley, but was hanging in there until blowing out his knee in the second round. He was eventually diagnosed with a torn ACL and underwent surgery. He hasn’t fought since then, and will be making his return after 14 months on the shelf in the main event of UFC Fight Night 67 against Thiago Alves.

    Alves is someone who has a long history of injuries himself. He also has fought for the UFC Welterweight Championship, coming up on the losing end to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 100 in July 2009. He has fought just seven times in the nearly six years since that fight, going just 4-3 in that span. He missed a year of action following the loss to St. Pierre, then missed over two years of action following a loss to Martin Kampmann in March 2012. He has won two straight fights since returning from the two-year layoff, scoring wins over Seth Baczynski and Jordan Mein. Alves will now compete in his first five-round bout since the title loss to St. Pierre, and his first fight in his native Brazil in over twelve years.

    While Condit and Alves have been big name fighters in the 170-pound division for many, many years, both are still relatively young at just 31-years-old. Condit comes into the fight ranked number four in the rankings, while Alves is ranked at number twelve. Both men are exciting fighters that will take a lot of risks in fights, and this is one of the more interesting fights of the year, and an excellent way to cap off a big month of fights in May. Condit may have the ring rust coming in after being out of action for so long, but Alves should know how that feels, and he didn’t show much in the way of ring rust after his two-year layoff. All things being equal, this fight should slightly favor Condit due to his speed and technique, but Alves is still a big welterweight with knockout power and good takedown defense. This should be an exciting five-round fight.

    2. Nik Lentz and Charles Oliveira will finally meet in their long-awaited rematch. Who wins?

    At least, we hope they will finally meet in their long-awaited rematch. They were scheduled to fight at UFC Fight Night 50 in September, but Oliveira came up ill on the day of the fight after having a brutal weight cut, and the fight was cancelled. Oliveira has been known to have brutal weight cuts since moving down to 145 pounds as it was the second of three times he had missed weight in six scheduled fights. Lentz has been wanting to get his hands on Oliveira since their first fight in June 2011, and if tensions were already high the day before they were supposed to last fight, they will be even higher now.

    Lentz and Oliveira first fought at UFC Live 4 in June 2011. It ended in major controversey as Oliveira hit Lentz with a knee to the face as Lentz had his knees firmly planted on the ground. It was missed by the referee, and Oliveira capitalized by locking in a rear-naked choke and forcing Lentz to submit. It was originally a win for Oliveira, but was later changed to a no contest after Lentz filed an appeal. Lentz has been waiting for nearly four years to get his revenge, and he does at a time when he is coming in having won four of five fights since moving down to 145 pounds, with his only loss coming to perennial contender Chad Mendes.

    Oliveira is coming in on a hot streak as well having won three straight fights since dropping back-to-back fights to Frankie Edgar and Cub Swanson. Oliveira has been more active of late, fighting three times in 2014, while Lentz has fought just once in 18 months after having his two most recent fights cancelled within 24 hours of them being scheduled to take place. Oliviera has more upside and a better chance to fight for the title, but Lentz has the solid wrestling skills to give Oliveira trouble. Their first fight was going back-and-forth before the unfortuante end, but Oliveira was getting the upper hand, and I expect him to do so again.

    3. Can Jussier Formiga or Wilson Reis sneak into the flyweight title picture?
    Buried all the way down in the preliminary card is a flyweight bout between Jussier Formiga and Wilson Reis. It is a fight that certainly has a lot more on the line than it’s placement would lead you to believe. Formiga is currently ranked number four at 125 pounds while Reis is ranked at number twelve. Both men have won two straight fights in impressive fashion. Both have seemed to gotten lost in the shuffle of the four flyweight contenders who fought this past Saturday, but they both have the potential to get themselves in the mix when talking about the next title contender.

    John Dodson won a decision at UFC 187, but it was in lackluster fashion over Zach Makovsky. He likely is next to fight Demetrious Johnson as Dodson has been marketing himself as the guy who can defeated the only flyweight champion in UFC history despite having lost to Johnson once before. Joseph Benavidez also scored a win, but he has two losses to Johnson. Both of those men have won three straight fights, which will be identical to the winner between Formiga and Reis. Neither Formiga nor Reis have fought Johnson, but Formiga’s two UFC losses have come to Dodson and Benavidez. Reis has yet to fight a ranked flyweight contender until he steps inside the Octagon with Formiga on Saturday.

    In order to get themselves in the mix, the winner between Formiga and Reis has to be impressive, and that is going to equal a finish. They have to stand out if either wants to get ahead of Dodson and Benavidez, and perhaps even ahead of Henry Cejudo. Formiga has the better chance of a knockout, but Reis is a tough opponent and has good submission skills. Reis has been really solid since dropping down to the flyweight division, and he has actually won seven of his last eight fights. I actually slightly favor him in this bout, but Formiga is going to be a tough out. Either way, the winner needs a finish if they’re going to be able to sneak themselves into a title fight opportunity in the near future.

    4. Should more attention be paid to the bout between Lucas Martins and Mirsad Bektic?

    The simple answer is yes. It is opening the preliminary card action on FOX Sports 1, and it is a fight worthy of being on the main card, especially a main card the caliber of this one. This fight was put together on short notice as Bektic was originally scheduled to fight Renato Carneiro, but Carneiro was forced out due to a knee injury in late April. Martins stepped in just a few weeks ago, but he is someone who has taken fights on short notice before as he made his UFC debut on short notice against Edson Barboza. Martins has been playing around with which weight class he is going to fight in, as he has fought at lightweight, featherweight and bantamweight in his five UFC bouts, but he has seemed to find a permanent home at 145 pounds.

    Bektic is a big-time prospect at 145 pounds as he is undefeated in his nine career fights, including his last two inside the UFC Octagon. He is coming off a dominant, one-sided win over Paul Redmond in January. Martins is coming in off a loss after being defeated by Darren Elkins at UFC 179 in October, which ended a three-fight win streak. Bektic is a patient fighter who relies on dominant takedowns and wearing opponents out on the ground. Martins had trouble defending the takedowns of Elkins, and Bektic will look to implement a similar gameplan. Martins is a dangerous fighter as 14 of his 15 wins have come by a finish. We have a fighter who is 15-2 against a fighter who is 9-0, and both are solid prospects in the featherweight division, and this will be a quality fight to watch out for.

    5. What are some other things to watch for on this fight card?

    As is typical with fight cards taking place in Brazil, there are a lot of Brazilians fighting on the card as every fight features a Brazilian fighter. On the main card, K.J. Noons is making the trip to Brazil to take on Alex Oliveira, who is taking his second straight UFC bout on very short notice. Oliveira came close to scoring the upset over Gilbert Burns, but he faded late and gave the fight away in the third round. Noons is more dangerous on his feet than Burns, and it will be a different fight for Oliveira.

    Former TUF winner Norman Parke also gets a late notice opponent as Francisco Trinaldo steps in on short notice. Parke was supposed to fight the aforementioned Gilbert Burns, and Trinaldo is the same style of opponent as Burns, but not as well touted on the ground. Another former TUF winner headlines the preliminary card action as Rony “Jason” Bezerra takes on Damon Jackson. Both men are looking to rebound from disappointing losses in their last fight, and Jackson is making his UFC featherweight debut in this fight. He had travel issues earlier in the week, so it will be interesting to see if it affects his weight cut and his performance.

    Full UFC Fight Night 67 Fight Card, Betting Odds and Predictions

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

    Welterweights: Carlos Condit vs. Thiago Alves
    Betting Odds: Condit (-260), Alves (+220)
    Prediction: Condit by decision

    Featherweights: Nik Lentz vs. Charles Oliveira
    Betting Odds: Lentz (+230), Oliveira (-270)
    Prediction: Oliveira by submission in round 2

    Lightweights: K.J. Noons vs. Alex Oliveira
    Betting Odds: Noons (+110), Oliveira (-130)
    Prediction: Noons by decision

    Light Heavyweights: Francimar Barroso vs. Ryan Jimmo
    Betting Odds: Barroso (+230), Jimmo (-270)
    Prediction: Jimmo by decision

    Lightweights: Francisco Trinaldo vs. Norman Parke
    Betting Odds: Trinaldo (+200), Parke (-240)
    Prediction: Parke by decision

    Welterweights: Wendell Oliveira vs. Darren Till
    Betting Odds: Oliveira (-120), Till (+100)
    Prediction: Till by decision

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

    Featherweights: Rony Jason vs. Damon Jackson
    Betting Odds: Jason (-190), Jackson (+165)
    Prediction: Jason by submission in round 2

    Flyweights: Jussier Formiga vs. Wilson Reis
    Betting Odds: Formiga (-155), Reis (+135)
    Prediction: Reis by decision

    Welterweights: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Nicolas Dalby
    Betting Odds: dos Santos (+290), Dalby (-350)
    Prediction: Dalby by knockout in round 1

    Featherweights: Lucas Martins vs. Mirsad Bektic
    Betting Odds: Martins (+300), Bektic (-360)
    Prediction: Bektic by decision

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

    Women’s Strawweights: Juliana Lima vs. Ericka Almeida
    Betting Odds: Lima (-200), Almeida (+170)
    Prediction: Lima by decision

    Welterweights: Luiz Dutra vs. Tom Breese
    Betting Odds: Dutra (+135), Breese (-155)
    Prediction: Breese by knockout in round 3

  • WWE SmackDown TV Report 5-28-15: Kevin Owens interview, Rusev hurt, Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins & Kane

    By Steve Khan, WrestlingObserver.com

    – Air Date: May 28, 2015 (May 27 in Canada)

    – Location: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, PA

    News:

    Kevin Owens made his first SmackDown appearance, Rusev is hurt, and Seth Rollins laid out Dean Ambrose with a pedigree.

    Show Recap:

    They announced that the Raw opener would be the main event of SmackDown.

    Dean Ambrose came out to a good reaction. He said The Authority always has a Plan B and their plan was to get him arrested. Ambrose knows from experience that jail is not a fun place to be. He considered using his one prison phone call to order pizza, but instead called his only friend Roman Reigns, whose name got a big pop.

    Ambrose also considered digging his way out of jail but instead used WWE’s own YouTube clip against the Authority to get cleared. He said NYPD were big fans of his and let him drive the paddy wagon back to Raw (and Reigns bought him enough time to get there). Ambrose said there was going to be a fight on Sunday for the richest prize in the business, he would end Seth Rollins’ reign and the Age of Ambrose would begin.

    (Ambrose never cut to the screen to show replays. Instead, they showed pictures and clips as he spoke. This wasn’t really an improvement however, as the clips with sound completely distracted from Dean’s promo.)

    Lumberjack Match: Lucha Dragons beat Tyson Kidd & Cesaro w/Natalya via pinfall

    The lumberjacks were the Prime Time Players, Los Matadores, Ascension and New Day. On the Canadian airing, they introduced the lumberjacks and the commentators cut to commercial. Except the commercials didn’t air. The screen went black for a second and they came back.

    Really good, lengthy match. With two babyface teams, they didn’t do the usual tag match formula. Kidd countered a Kalisto hurricanrana into a sharpshooter. Sin Cara broke up the cover so Cesaro hit him with a superkick. Cesaro was tossed over the ropes onto a few lumberjacks. Woods grabbed Kidd’s foot as a distraction and Kalisto hit Salida del Sol for the win. Lots of “New Day sucks” chants.

    Backstage, Rollins complained to Kane about having to face Ambrose and Reigns again. Jamie Noble told a story about his old Aunt Baby. Kane told Rollins not to worry because he has a plan. Rollins believed him.

    R-Truth beat King Barrett via pinfall

    Truth did a completely serious in-set promo pushing the Chamber match, saying he doesn’t worry about danger, danger worries about him. That was refreshing. Barrett also did an in-set promo, saying he’d win back the IC Title. Barrett controlled the match for a couple of minutes but Truth won rather quickly with a reverse STO. Afterwards, Sheamus laid out both men with brogue kicks.

    Backstage, Lana told Renee Young that she almost believed that Rusev could change, but she realized his ways and said she belongs to no man. Renee asked about her relationship with Ziggler and Lana said she has no relationship with him. Rusev showed up. Basically, Rusev was unbothered by Ziggler. Lana didn’t believe that Rusev wasn’t jealous. Rusev said Lana has dug her own grave and now has to lie in it.

    Ryback beat Rusev via DQ

    Ryback worked over Rusev for while and hit a nice delayed vertical suplex. Rusev came back with a kick and clothesline. Rusev used a fallaway slam on the outside and they went to commercial.

    After the break, Rusev visibly limped around and Jerry Lawler pointed it out. Ryback tried a power slam but Rusev slid to the outside, favouring his ankle. Ryback eventually went after him but Rusev slammed him twice into the ring post for a DQ. Rusev tossed Ryback into the steel steps for good measure.

    Rusev leaned against the ring to take pressure off his ankle/foot. Ryback’s music played and he got to his feet and began walking away, even though the guy who attacked him was still just standing there. The referee checked on Rusev and they cut to the announcers who moved on to the women’s title feud.

    The match was enjoyable until the finish, where they obviously had to call an audible. I’m not sure if they ever do any editing once the show airs in Canada, but they might want to edit out Ryback getting to his feet and walking away.

    Paige beat Naomi w/Tamina via pinfall

    They both did good in-set promos before the match. Paige won after kicking Tamina in the face and hitting Naomi with Ram-Paige. It was fine but short. Afterwards, Nikki Bella came out with Brie to pose with the Divas title.

    Michael Cole brought out NXT Champion Kevin Owens. They showed replays of Owens powerbombing John Cena twice. When they came back from the replays, Owens was laughing and pointing at the screen to make sure Cole was watching. Cole said Owens has been in WWE for 2 weeks and Owens interrupted him immediately to say he’s been in this company for 2 weeks but has been in the business for 15 years.

    He’s been dominating for years and will dominate Cena. Owens knows Cena’s list of accomplishments: 15 world titles, 52 terrible t-shirt designs and a thousand different ways to suck. Owens doesn’t have to prove anything to Cena, Cena has to prove himself to Owens. Owens showed his apron powerbomb to Sami Zayn from NXT. He explained that Zayn was his best friend, so imagine what he would do to Cena. Owens ended the promo by saying the real champ is here.

    As Owens left, Dean Ambrose entered for the main event. Ambrose walked right by Owens without looking at him, but Owens did stop to look at Ambrose.

    Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns beat WWE Champion Seth Rollins & Kane w/J&J Security via DQ

    The story of every this match was the heels using the numbers game to their advantage. They worked over Ambrose forever. Ambrose knocked J&J over the announce table and used a tornado DDT on Kane.

    Reigns made a hot tag and hit Rollins with clotheslines, a forearm and Samoan drop. Ambrose took out Kane with a flying elbow and plancha. After a quick back-and-forth exchange, Reigns hit Rollins with a superman punch but J&J broke up the cover for the DQ.

    Ambrose took them out with a dive and began pummeling Rollins. Kane executed his plan, calling out The New Day who attacked Ambrose. Reigns knocked them all down with a dive over the top.

    Xavier Woods managed to avoid this, but Ambrose jumped in the ring and hit him with Dirty Deeds. Ambrose hit Big E with a rebound clothesline, Reigns took out Kingston with a superman punch and Big E with a spear.

    I thought this was the end with Ambrose and Reigns standing tall, but no, there’s more. Kane chokeslammed Reigns (without help or distraction), Rollins attacked Ambrose from behind and hit him with a pedigree. Rollins and Kane stood tall to end the show.

    Final Thoughts:

    Overall, this was a fine show that had some noteworthy stuff. I could have done without the DQ in the main event and overbooked finish, but with just 2 weeks between big shows, they’ve had to cram a lot in. That also explains why we got the Kevin Owens interview here as well. The main story from the main event is that Rollins and his crew are on the same page and that means trouble for Ambrose.

    Match Results:

    • Lucha Dragons beat Tyson Kidd & Cesaro via pinfall
    • R-Truth beat King Barrett via pinfall
    • Ryback beat Rusev via DQ
    • Paige beat Naomi via pinfall
    • Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns beat WWE Champion Seth Rollins & Kane via DQ

  • WWE NXT 5-27-15 results & TV report: Kevin Owens vs. Solomon Crowe, Samoa Joe returns

    By Emerson Witner, WrestlingObserver.com & Wrestling Outsiders Podcast

    The Big News

    I now do a “The Big News” header. Plus this was the Kevin Owens Show. He started the show with a 15 minute promo and ended the show destroying Solomon Crowe before having another meeting with Samoa Joe.

    Show Recap

    The show opened with a very nice video package recapping everything that happened on Takeover last week. We went inside the arena and the first thing we hear is Sami Zayn’s happy, uplifting music. However instead of the former NXT Champion, we got the current NXT Champion! Kevin Owens is here, wearing a John Cena shirt.

    They were able to splice in footage of Owens laying out Cena this past Monday, combined with promoting the show Sunday. Owens mockingly said he was going to issue an NXT Title Open Challenge, but he is not an insecure person who needs to defend his title every week to make people like him. Owens said he is not a bad person, he is a good man. He is a good man because we will never hear Sami’s “horrendous song” because of what he did last week. People should not be surprised or upset because he did what he told Zayn he was going to do.

    He also said he was a good person because when Samoa Joe came out and the arena exploded, he allowed the fans to live in that moment. He is not scared of Samoa Joe and the reason he backed down is because he wanted the fans to have a positive note to go home to. He noted that if Joe ever steps in the ring with him again he will drop him. He also promised to drop John Cena this Sunday and prove that the real champ is here.

    This brought out Mr. William Regal, who said the only reason Owens still works here after headbutting William last week is because Mr. Regal attacked him first. Regal noted that Riley, Neville, Zayn and Itami all got taken out since he started. Owens said that he did not attack Itami and that he told Zayn what would happen. He also blamed William for making the match, knowing what would happen.

    This brought out Solomon Crowe, who is tired of listening to this garbage. Crowe said Owens is scared that on any given moment someone from the back could beat him for the title. Crowe said he is a piece of crap. Owens said he was such a good guy that Crowe earned himself an opportunity against Owens. Owens said we will add Crowe to the list of people stretchered out after tonight.

    – They re-aired the video where Hideo Itami was left lying last week. Hideo cut a pre-taped promo that someone attacked him last week. He doesn’t know who, but when he returns from his shoulder injury there will be no stopping him.

    – Last week, Zack Ryder was at Takeover, sitting next to Mojo Rawley, of all people. Mojo ran in and screamed and yelled about being hyped. Well someone is back.

    Emma (w/Dana Brooke) submitted Bayley

    Bayley now has slap bracelets she gives out before the match to little children. There was a little girl dressed like Spiderman in the crowd, which seemed oddly out of place. Emma got new, more serious music and no longer dances or even teases the pull up to get in the ring. This match was not bad. Not good, but certainly better than the last time these two had a one on one match. Emma won with the Emma Lock.

    After the match, Dana Brooke ran in for a 2-on-1 beat down until Charlotte walked in for the save. She seriously was in no hurry getting to the ring to make the save for her friend. Charlotte got a brief flurry on them, but got laid out, leaving our heel girls standing tall.

    – Last week Baron Corbin was happy with his win, calling himself the only unstoppable force. Rhyno stampeded in and wanted a rematch.

    – The Becky Lynch video aired. It’s a very good video but they really air it a lot, don’t they?

    NXT Tag Team Champions Wesley Blake & Buddy Murphy (w/Alexa Bliss) defeated Mike Wallace & Elias Sampson

    Blake and Murphy must have been having flashbacks to 5 months ago when they were the nameless, faceless jobbers. It is so weird to see teeny tiny, pixie-like Alexa Bliss as a heel. The champs got the heat on Wallace, who looked pretty good. His offense is crisp, his selling is good and this may be the start of something for him. Sampson has been used a few times and isn’t bad himself. The champs won with their running vertical suplex/frog splash combo. The fans chanted for Enzo and Colin to no avail. Alexa and her boys cut a promo after. Alexa pointed out that Staten Island is a garbage dump and next week when the girls wrestle she is sending Carmella back to the garbage dump.

    Finn Balor pinned Tye Dillinger

    Finn’s entrance seemed to be longer than the match itself. Dillinger got to get in a little bit of offense and mocked Finn while doing so. However the #1 Contender won again with the Coup De Grace. I hate that name.

    – Earlier today Jason Jordan said he has a game plan and has found the perfect partner. In walked Chad Gable, who bragged about being a wrestling champion and now has a towel with his name on it. Jordan said he already has a partner.

    NXT Champion Kevin Owens defeated Solomon Crowe

    Owens is the champion and in one of the main events of the Elimination Chamber show. Solomon Crowe is just another guy in the NXT Universe. The end result was not in question. Owens started the match on the floor, drawing Crowe out, so he could beat Solomon up on all sides of the ring. Crowe got to punch Owens in the head a few times, but Kevin shoved him of the top rope, sending him crashing on the pretty black mats outside.

    Owens just beat on Crowe and beat on Crowe and beat on Crowe some more. Crowe kept dragging himself to his feet and pulling himself into the ring to get over his toughness. Crowe got the briefest of brief comebacks before winning with the Pop Up Power Bomb.  Owens was about to give Crowe the Power Bomb on the ring apron when Samoa Joe came out dressed to wrestle. The crowd didn’t react like they did last week. Just like last week Owens left, but not before threatening Joe about what he will do to him. The show ended with Kevin warning him that he should have stayed in oblivion.

    That does it for this week. What happens next week? Will Joe and Owens finally touch? Until then, make sure to say your vitamins and take your prayers!

  • Lucha Underground 5-27-15 results & TV report: Prince Puma vs. Hernandez title match

    By Jeremy Peeples, WrestlingObserver.com

    The Big News

    Prince Puma retained his title against Hernandez and The Crew’s loss last week resulted in one of them being killed off by Dario’s Cueto’s “monster” brother. Mil Muertes also powerbombed Fenix through the ceiling of Cueto’s office and sent him to Hell in the process to win their death match.

    Last week, Marty the Moth debuted against Prince Puma and did fairly well against the champion. Daivari also paid off Big Ryck to be his hired thug and take out Texano during their match to give him his first win in the company.Johnny Mundo had a sitdown interview with Vampiro and explained just why he tossed Alberto through Cueto’s office window. Speaking of that busted window, one of The Crew went flying through it during the show’s Crew vs. Havoc, Angelico, and Ivelisse trios title ladder match. It featured not only that, but a slew of other crazy things, including an Angelico dropkick to the ladder off the office. It was a pretty good show overall and yet anotherå easy watch for Lucha Underground. This week, Hernandez gets his title shot against Prince Puma and Mil Muertes returns from the grave to fight Fenix in a death match.

    This week’s show begins with a recap of Mil Muertes’s life and demise in the casket match before being revived by Katrina. The history of problems between Prince Puma and Hernandez is run down to set up tonight’s match, while Mundo’s attack on Alberto is shown too. Black Lotus arrives at the Temple, but Chavo tells her that Dragon Azteca wants her to be protected. Chavo says his grandfather was there when her parents were killed, and the Guerreros hate the Cuetos as much as she does. Well, that’s a ridiculous thing to add to the story. Striker and Vamp run down tonight’s card while Varmp rocks out to the house band.

    Mid-ring, Melissa Santos introduces Aerostar. Striker says that he lost the best of five series to Drago, but wound up still having a job. Mundo comes down, and Santos has a nice silver dress and matching tiara. Striker says the fans appreciate all of the luchadors.

    Match 1 – Aerostar vs. Johnny Mundo

    Mundo and Aerostar have a little tieup won by Mundo. Mundo grinds his boot into his face with him pinned against the ropes. Striker says that Mundo didn’t just shatter Cueto’s window, but he shattered the glass ceiling. Aero gets a top rope 619 and gets 2 off a springboard splash. Mundo gets him on the apron and stomps his head in. Aerostar prevents a dive by dropkicking the knee and hitting a flip dive. Aerostar gets his knee kicked in while coming into the ring and Mundo hits a neckbreaker over the knee and a Russian legsweep for 2.

    Mundo hits an awesome raw liftup slam right out of the Brock or Swager playbook. Sidearm choke by Mundo is locked on, but Aero gets the ropes. Vamp talks about there being a drinking game for whenever he says “brother”, so he says it a bunch. Apron high kick from Aero leads to a springboard double knee strike for 2. Aero prevents the End of the World, so Mundo just beats him up with punches. Aero goes for a tornado DDT mid-ring, but Mundo hits a northern lights suplex into the buckle and gets the End of the World for the win. Mundo going for a more grounded, realistic style is far better for him.

    After a break, Vampiro meets with Sexy Star who says she isn’t afraid of Pentagon Jr. We get a montage of arm snapping and Vamp asks if she’s still friends with Super Fly after unmasking him. Vamp says she let Fly get his arm snapped and she says she couldn’t get to him. Vamp says Cueto made Sexy vs. Pentagon Jr. in a submission match. She says she’s got a lot of submissions, and the Sexy Star vs. Pentagon Jr. rivalry will end next week.

    Melissa Santos introduces the next match – Hernandez vs. Prince Puma, so the death match will be the main event. Hernandez has new velvet tights and a black top – each adorned with a white crucifix. Puma comes down slapping hands while Konnan greets him at the bottom of the steps.

    Hernandez vs. Prince Puma – Lucha Underground Title Match

    Puma uses his speed to evade Hernandez, but he eats a flapjack soon enough. Puma gets a sliding dropkick to the knee and a sliding kick to the head. He sends Hernandez to the floor and does his own strut against him. Outside-in shoulderblock is met with an armbar Codebreaker from Puma. Puma gets a darting corner crossbody and kicks him down, but only gets 2. A pair of uppercuts are met with a mid-ring bodyblock by Hernandez. Hernandez chops him in the corner before doing a surfboard with the ropes.

    That only gets 2. Some shoulder blocks in the corner lead to a big leaping senton by Hernandez. Hernandez picks him up off a sunset flip attempt, but eats a kick. Cracker Jack sends the champ from one side of the ring to the other and only gets 2. Hernandez gets an over the shoulder backbreaker and a Train Wreck for 2. Puma kicks him off a corner charge, but eats a rock a bye baby powerbomb for 2.  A back elbow prevents a Border Toss, and Puma gets a chair while Konnan distracts Hernandez on the apron. Puma nails him with a chair and dashes into the ring. Puma gets a dive to the floor to prevent a countout.

    An apron Border Toss hits Puma just like it did in the tag match where Hernandez officially turned on him. Hernandez can’t get a Border Toss into the balcony area, but Puma runs past him and hits a corkscrew moonsault off of it on the floor! Big dive hits, but only gets 2 while the 630 misses! Inverted torture rack drop gets 2 for Hernandez! Puma goes for a leaping move, but Hernandez plants him with a powerslam. Hernandez’s splash is met with a pair of knees and then a kneeling superkick and more kicks get a 2.9!

    This is by far the best match Hernanez has ever had. Puma goes up, but gets taken down. Puma avoids a superplex and lands a series of punches and kicks. He finally sends Hernandez down and gets the 630 for the win! This greatly exceeded any expectation you could really have going in, and Hernandez worked really well with Puma.

    Back in the Temple, Melissa Santos announces that the death match is next. Fenix comes out first in flame red and yellow with black trim. Fenix does his ropewalk and spins off into the ring. Mil Muertes and Katrina come down to the ring with three new enforcers. Muertes has traded in his blue-striped gear for black, which looks better.

    Main Event – Fenix vs. Mil Muertes – Death Match

    A Fenix dive is met with nothing, and Muertes just punches him down. Muertes chops him in the corner as we see the enforcers on the floor. Muertes powerslams Fenix down, but Fenix gets some kicks to the back. He knocks Fenix down as Vamp says Mil scares the shit out of him. Fenix crotches Muertes up top and eats a corner-to-corner kick. Fenix gets an Asai moonsault, but eats a shortarm lariat. Muertes grabs a chair and just clobbers Fenix’s head in. Well, that was needless. Muertes smashes Fenix’s head into the barricades, but Fenix fires back with kicks and dives off the top of them to take Mil down.

    Fenix only gets 1 off of that. Fenix gets a series of kicks on the mat and standing, but he is hiptossed to the floor by Muertes. Muertes climbs up top and dives onto Fenix with a crossbody block. That was insane to see given how huge he is. Mil smashes him into the announce table and nails another chairshot to the head before breaking a land-speed record while running up the steps with Fenix in a fireman’s carry.

    Muertes and Fenix fight on top of the office, and MUERTES POWERBOMBS HIM THROUGH THE CEILING OF DARIO CUETO’S OFFICE! The ref bangs on the door to be let in and Striker says we’ll go to a break. Wow. That was in-freaking-sane! After the break, we get the first replay in the history of the show and the goons break down the office door. They carry Fenix out much like Mil was carried out, but without the casket. Muertes hits the snap flatliner and scores the win via three count. So then a death match in LU is just a regular match with no DQ apparently. Katrina gives Fenix the lick of death while the heels stand tall. Cueto meets the Crew in his brother’s lair and he forces them to choose a member. They choose Castro, who is put against the bars and seemingly killed as blood splatters the faces of the other two members Well, that got dark pretty quickly. This was yet another really good episode of the show, with two must-watch matches.

  • WWE Raw ratings 5-25-2015

    Raw on Memorial Day did 3.59 million viewers, which was identical to the Memorial Day number of 2014. 

    It would be the second lowest number of the year, beating only the 5/4 show that did 3.57 million viewers.

    All things considered, the number isn’t that bad, given the Warriors-Rockets game head-to-head with the last two hours did 8.28 million viewers.

    The three hours were:

    8 p.m. 3.79 million viewers

    9 p.m. 3.59 million viewers

    10 p.m. 3.42 million viewers

  • WED. UPDATE: Special ROH/TNA chaos edition

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

    TV notes for tonight:

    NXT at 8:00 p.m. ET on WWE Network has Kevin Owens vs. Solomon Crowe in a non-title match, Bayley vs. Emma, Finn Balor vs. Tye Dillinger, and the team of Blake & Murphy vs. Elias Samson & Mike Rallis.

    Lucha Underground at 8:00 p.m. ET on El Rey has Fenix vs. Mil Muertes in a Death Match, Prince Puma (c) vs. Hernandez for the Lucha Underground Title, Johnny Mundo vs. Aerostar, and Vampiro conducting a sit-down interview with Sexy Star. The official description from El Rey…is basically just what I told you without any colorful flourishes, so no reason to include it this week.

    Tonight’s UFC programming on Fox Sports 1 is…

    8:00 p.m. ET – New episode of UFC Tonight.

    9:00 p.m. ET – Last week’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter.

    10:00 p.m. ET – A new episode of The Ultimate Fighter titled “Fight Through the Pain” which is being described like so: American Top Team finds support through each other as the fighters look to get through the challenges presented to them, while the Blackzilians find that the competition does not always go through their way and must get through the turbulence. If you DVR the show andwant to catch the “TUF Talk” segments that open the subsequent episode of Fox Sports Live, either make a point to record that show or pad your DVR recording by half an hour.

    **** 

    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 new issue of the Wrestling Observer is among the most talked about of the year, with a detailed lead story on the plight of every key non-WWE promotion, as well as details of TNA’s future with Destination America, ROH viewership and more, a detailed look at how MMA is going to be changing with far more serious repercussions for drug test failures and the story behind the changes, a look at Elimination Chamber, a rundown of Payback, a detailed update NXT with coverage of its Northeast tour, and of the ROH/New Japan tour.  We also look at the Urijah Faber vs. Frankie Edgar show and the death of Corey Hill.

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    Also in this week’s issue:

    –One of biggest stars in Mexico under a police investigation and has been pulled from bookings

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    –One of the greatest pro wrestling stars of the 70s returns to Japan at the end of the month

    –A look at all the New Japan Super Juniors shows of the week and complete New Japan World lineup of multiple shows

    –Update on health of one of 80s biggest names

    –More details on Global Force Wrestling including lineups for the first four shows

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    –Who was pulled from the promotion

    –An update on Scott Hall

    –Update on Bill Goldberg and his appearance on a pro wrestling event

    –Huge fund raiser to commemorate regional wrestling from the 70s with tons of area stars involved

    –Notes on ROH Final Battle

    –More on ROH signing of Moose

    –Who else had made a play for him

    –Main events for the next few ROH shows

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    –Why this week’s first-run Impact show didn’t air in the U.S.

    –A look at the Impact schedule and more on the time slot change

    –TNA’s U.K. tour notes

    –More on Billy Corgan in TNA

    –Dixie Carter talks to Steve Austin, fact vs. fiction

    –TNA loses anther time slot

    –A look at this coming week’s UFC show

    –Lots of UFC card changes and why

    –UFC debuts in South Korea in the fall

    –Who are the biggest stars from there

    –Will UFC’s books be made public due to lawsuit

    –UFC expected to sign WSOF champion

    –A look at all the activities in July in conjunction with UFC in Las Vegas and Fight Week

    –Lots of new UFC fights

    –A look at Bellator’s last show and next show

    –Former Pride star put in jail

    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.

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    ****

    Wednesday Daily Update

    — As noted earlier, Destination America announced on Twitter that Ring of Honor debuts on the network a week from tonight at 8:00 p.m.—meaning they’re going to be TNA’s lead-in for Impact Wrestling in its new time slot. And, well, that’s about all we know right now in terms of the really important, substantive details. On the TNA side, Dixie Carter is holding a conference call for employees and talent today, and we’ll have breaking news audio for subscribers from Dave and Bryan when the dust clears from the call.

    The press release frames it as ROH increasing its footprint (specifically mentioning New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Los Angeles) outside of the Sinclair-owned stations and their handful of syndication partners. Also per the press release, the first episode will feature the Briscoes vs. the House of Truth in the main event plus Moose vs. BJ Whitmer and a NJPW vs. ROH match.

    — MVP was tweeting about the news, saying none of the TNA talent received advanc notice, sarcastically called the move “classy,” tweeted his booking contact information, and promised to retire within a few years. But morale is great!

    — For however much you may want to fault TNA for not having exclusivity, remember that United Talent Agency negotiated the deal for them.

    — Rockstar Spud was scheduled to do a media day to promote this week’s episode of Impact, but it was cancelled at the last minute.

    — Figures Toy Company announced that The Young Bucks will be coming to the new ROH action figure line.

    — To recap, in the last day or so, ROH has announced:

    * Their action figure of pushed WWE/NXT talent Kevin Owens, beating WWE to the market.

    * Pushed NXT talent with his own t-shirt Samoa Joe working the June TV taping in New York.

    * A TV deal with Destination America as TNA’s lead-in.

    Pure chaos in every direction.

    — ESPN.com and Five Thirty Eight have a new documentary short about Jesse Ventura being elected Governor of Minnsota in 1998.

    — Jim Ross’s latest blog post is up with lots of good stuff on everything from TNA to the ROH action figures…well, at least with how everything stood yesterday.

    — Myself and Dylan Hales have a new edition of The Trade Marks podcast talking to Kevin Kleinrock about the rise and fall of DVDs as a viable revenue stream in pro wrestling. Dylan and I are also on the latest episode of Kris Zellner’s Exile on Badstreet podcast talking about the last three months of 1988 in Jim Crockett Promotions/WCW.

  • Note for subscribers on impending Breaking News audio

    There will be a subscriber-only Wrestling Observer breaking news audio podcast recorded later today, but it will be after the news on today’s ROH to Destination America announcement is sorted out and after TNA’s internal conference call.

  • TNA News: Dixie Carter to hold internal conference call today

    Dixie Carter will be holding a conference call with all TNA talent and employees early this afternoon to discuss all the news of the past week regarding Destination America.

  • ROH signs up with Destination America

    This is just breaking.

    Ring of Honor starts on Destination America on 6/3, on Wednesday at 8 p.m.  More on this shortly.

  • Breaking News: Ring Of Honor coming to Destination America (updated w/matches)

    By Josh Nason, WrestlingObserver.com

    In the latest twist in the Destination America/pro wrestling story, the network announced via Twitter Wednesday that Ring Of Honor will be airing on their airwaves starting Wednesday, June 3rd at 8 PM EST. The agreement is for 26 weeks, according to a press release ROH sent out.

    The debut will feature the Briscoe Brothers vs. the House Of Truth, Moose vs. BJ Whitmer, and ‘athletes from New Japan Pro Wrestling’ against ROH talent which will be matches from the recent Global Wars Night 2 TV taping in Toronto, Canada.

    This news follows last week’s WrestlingObserver.com exclusive where Dave Meltzer revealed that the network is cancelling TNA Impact Wrestling this September. Just 12 days ago, Destination America announced that TNA Impact is moving to Wednesdays at 9 PM EST starting on June 3rd. ROH retweeted the Destination America tweet, essentially validating the news.

    The following is the official release:

    (Silver Spring, Md.) –Destination America announced today that it has signed a national broadcast deal with professional wrestling league RING OF HONOR, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., bringing one of the most respected wrestling organizations to the only network dedicated to all-American entertainment. Destination America is now the one-two-punch to professional wrestling, adding RING OF HONOR (ROH) to its line-up after launching IMPACT WRESTLING in early 2015. RING OF HONOR has been delivering top wrestling matches for ten years with captivating hard-hitting stars such as Jay & Mark Briscoe, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, The Young Bucks, Maria Kanellis, Adam Cole and Jay Lethal. Destination America will pack on the action beginning Wednesday June 3 with the series premiere of RING OF HONOR at 8/7c leading into brand new premieres of IMPACT WRESTLING at 9/8c.

    “With the electric and intense matches that RING OF HONOR provides, Destination America is the network for fans to get an entire evening of jaw-dropping entertainment on Wednesday nights,” said Marc Etkind, general manager of Destination America. “RING OF HONOR showcases tenacity, athleticism and passion and it serves as the place where America’s favorite wrestling stars are born.”

    “We are very excited to be partnering with Destination America for the broader distribution of the ROH programming,” commented Joe Koff, Chief Operating Officer – Ring of Honor Wrestling. “ROH will now reach an additional 57 million households including those in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and other large cities where Ring of Honor is not currently airing. ROH has a loyal fan base and is one of the fastest growing major wrestling franchises in the country. With this great partnership with Destination America, we can continue to expand our footprint and reach while producing entertaining, original content and continuing to provide wrestling fans some of the best wrestling content available.”

    RING OF HONOR will premiere on Wednesday, June 3 leading into IMPACT WRESTLING, making Destination America the home for wrestling every Wednesday evening. The first match will feature the Briscoe Brothers, Mark and Jay, as they face off with the House of Truth in the main event. Also catch athletes of New Japan Pro Wrestling battle it out with the RING OF HONOR stars and follow former NFL lineman Moose compete against BJ Whitmer.