E! sent out a press release for the new season of Total Divas listing the debut on 7/7 at 9 p.m., which is a Tuesday night. This would mean it would start right after Tough Enough ends on USA for much of its run. Tough Enough starts its season two weeks earlier.
Listed as cast members are The Bella Twins, Natalya, Naomi, Alicia Fox, Paige and Eva Marie.
Dark match: Braun Stowman beat Dash Wilder
1st set of tapings
– Sami Zayn’s music hit, but Kevin Owens came out. He said that he wanted to do an NXT open challenge, but wasn’t insecure and likes it when people earn their title shot. People started chanting “John Cena sucks”. He said, “It’s weird cause I’ve never heard you guys chanting Sami Zayn sucks and he does too!” He said that he did what he said he was gonna do. Zayn showed up and Owens took him out. He said that he’s a good person because he let the crowd live the moment when Samoa Joe showed up. He added he can drop Joe like that, snapping his fingers.
– William Regal came to the ring. He said that the only reason Owens is still working is because Regal put his fingers on him first.
– Solomon Crowe came to the ring. He said that Owens is scared and called him a piece of crap. Owens offered him a chance for the title and Regal booked it.
– Emma beat Bayley with the Emma Lock. Dana Brooke accompanied Emma. After the match, they doubled team Bayley until Charlotte saved her, but they got the best of Charlotte too, with Brooke doing a samoan driver on Charlotte. New song for Emma, same beginning but it turns into a more heelish tune. She doesn’t do that wacky entrance of hers anymore. She’s fully heel, no more comedy.
– Tag Team Champions Blake and Murphy w/Alexa Bliss (with new gears matching those of Blake and Murphy) beat Elias Sampson & Mike Rollins with Blake doing a frog splash on Sampson. After the match, Bliss did her sparkle splash on Sampson.
– Finn Balor beat Tye Dillinger with the Coup de Grace.
– NXT Champion Kevin Owens beat Solomon Crowe with the pop-up powerbomb. Fans were chanting “get the stretcher” a minute into the match. Samoa Joe with his white towel around his neck came in. As Joe got in the ring, Owens left.
2nd set of tapings
– Tyler Breeze beat Adam Rose with the beauty shot. Fans were chanting “we want Kruger!” Rose had an hybrid look between Rose and Leo Kruger.
– Interview with Eva Marie who said that she was at TakeOver because the women of NXT were doing so great. She got a “you can’t wrestle” chant.
– Alexa Bliss w/Blake & Murphy beat Carmela w/Enzo & Big Cass with a school boy holding the ropes.
– The Vaudevillains defeated Jason Jordan & Marcus Louis when English did a swinging neck breaker to Louis.
– Finn Balor defeated Rhyno after Rhyno missed a Gore in the corner, Balor schooled boy him for the pin. After the match, Balor was on the stage on his way back and Rhyno came out of nowhere to spear him. Great looking Gore.
3rd set of tapings
– Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley beat Elias Sampson & Mike Rollins. After the match, Rawley and Ryder went to the crowd where a bunch of people (plants) had a white t-shirt that said Stay Hyped and they celebrated with them.
– Emma beat Blue Pants with the Emma lock. Huge pop for Blue. People sang Happy Birthday since it was Leva Bates’ (Blue Pants) birthday. After the match the ring announcer made the crowd sang Happy Birthday to her with a big Happy Birthday sign on the big screen. People chanted Leva after.
– Tyler Breeze beat Bull Dempsey with the beauty shot. Dempsey was running after Breeze outside the ring and got blown up and got to stop twice. The second time, Breeze put him back in the ring to hit his finisher and that was it. Don’t know what to think of this since Bull is supposedly a babyface.
– Becky Lynch beat Jessie (Jessie McKay) with the Seated Fujiwara Armlock. Lynch was such a bigger star to the crowd after TakeOver.
– Baron Corbin beat Angelo Dawkins with the end of days. Close to a 3-minute match.
– Samoa Joe beat Scott Dawson with the Bronco Buster. Before the match, Owens was on commentaries. When he came to the commentators booth, he hugged Byron Saxton. Not the squash you would expect, probably to give Owens some time on commentaries.
– As Owens was leaving, Joe took the mic and challenged him. Owens said that Joe was a rookie in NXT and that he was the veteran (playing on that Cena advice) and that Joe couldn’t get a title match after only one match. Regal came in and made a non-title match for the following week.
4th set of tapings
– Colin Cassady/Enzo Amore/Carmela beat Murphy/Blake/Alexa Bliss. Enzo and Cass did their usual thing but Carmela cut a promo as well. Good stuff. The rules were women vs women and men vs men only.
– The Vaudevillains beat Jason Jordan & McKazie (don’t know who he is) The match ended in a weird way. McKazie got knocked out cold. The ref saw it right away and called for the match. Good call actually. He was completely lost after the match. The ref actually called that almost faster than a UFC ref would have done. He wasn’t hit hard so not sure where he got knocked out. Paramedics came, but he was able to sit and left by his own, walking. The crowd was very respectful and applauded him.
– Charlotte beat Cassie (KC Cassidy) with the figure eight.
– No contest between Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe. At the end, they were brawling on the outside, the ref was trying to get them back in the ring, but as they fought, they hit the ref and he called for the bell. Joe was back on the stage, Owens called him a bitch so Joe came back and they went at it again. The rookies wearing an NXT t-shirt came for the pull apart. They went at it a few more times. The crowd reacted big at the bitch comment and was into the pull apart. As he left, Owens knocked out a couple of rookies.
– No Sami Zayn. But we don’t get to see the promos and don’t hear the commentators, so they might have talked about it there.
– No Sasha Banks either. Again, it was never acknowledged to us.
By Dave Meltzer
dave@wrestlingobserver.com”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
We’re looking for your thoughts on last night’s NXT Takeover Unstoppable show, so you can leave 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 feedback from Saturday’s UFC show.
We’re also looking for reports from tonight’s NXT tapings at Full Sail University in Orlando.
Smackdown tonight on Syfy, taped in Norfolk
Tyson Kidd & Cesaro vs. Lucha Dragons vs. The Ascension vs. Los Matadores
Dolph Ziggler vs. King Barrett
R-Truth vs. Stardust
Macho Mandow & Axel Mania vs. Heath Slater & Adam Rose
Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt
The Beat the Streets wrestling from Times Square from this afternoon with the U.S. national team vs. Cuba airs tonight on NBC Sports Network at midnight.
New Japan World has a live show at 5:30 a.m. Eastern and 2:30 a.m. Pacific
Jushin Liger vs. Yohei Komatsu
Alex Shelley vs. David Finlay III
Cavernario Barbaro vs Chase Owens
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe & Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba & Yoshi-Hashi
Rocky Romero vs. Bobby Fish
Trent Baretta vs. Kyle O’Reilly
Mascara Dorada vs. Kushida
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Gedo
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.
The new issue is up on the site at http://www.f4wonline.com/component/content/article/110-wrestling-observer-newsletter/42649-may-25-2015-wrestling-observer-newsletter-state-of-tna-nsacs-new-doping-penalties-and-more
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The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
The lead story looks at the battle for the No. 2 spot in American pro wrestling. We look at ROH, TNA, GFW and Lucha Underground, as well as how WWE may have created the real No. 2. We look at where things stand with all the groups, both in going forward, if they even can go forward, the TV situation with everyone, tons of changes in TNA television with the move to Wednesday.
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We also have coverage of the Elimination Chamber lineup, questions regarding the show, business for Payback and match-by-match coverage of the show with star ratings and poll results.
We also look at the attempt to make NXT a third WWE touring brand. We look at the plans for the next few years for the brand, ideas Paul Levesque talked about, long-term plans for shows in and out of Florida, business notes from the Philadelphia and Albany shows and full coverage of all three nights.
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We also look at the update on the Steve Austin/WWE relationship and some podcast notes, Update on injuries to key talent and how some of them happened, promotions, Ronda Rousey talks a WWE return, Vince McMahon on WrestleMania, What WWE performer has ESPN and FOX wanting them, Notes on how this season’s Tough Enough will work, view on women in WWE going forward, Samoa Joe in WWE, WWE Studios looking to make major moves, what WWE star is in the biggest grossing movie of the weekend, more on the box office for Dwayne Johnson’s latest movie, ABC airing a piece on WWE and Finn Balor talks NXT.
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We also have a story on the death of former UFC fighter Corey Hill, as well as one of the worst injuries in UFC history, why people thought he had championship potential and what happened.
We’ve also got notes on AAA’s big show of he weekend, Verano de Escandalo, with many of the stars of Lucha Underground, as well as Rey Mysterio Jr.
The Observer is the world’s most detailed weekly pro wrestling publication, in its 32nd year of publication, and is read by the biggest names in the pro wrestling, industry, MMA industry, sports world and on Wall Street.
We also have our regular features such as the most complete look at ratings, plus results of the major house show events each week in pro wrestling and MMA, and complete inside rundowns of all the TV shows.
Also in this week’s issue:
–One of biggest stars in Mexico under a police investigation and has been pulled from bookings
–Full details on how this went down
–Octagon first Arena Mexico appearance
–Big tournament coming up
–New Japan star headed to CMLL
–Huge head-to-head battle on Sunday with loaded shows a few miles from each other
–Lineup for the AAA World Cup tournament
–Notes on this week’s iPPV of World Cup
–King of Gate tournament coming up to this finals this week
–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
–Who are newcomers that they have added
–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
–A look at ROH television over the next month
–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.
Our most requested issues in our history are:
*November 17, 1997 (full details of everything leading to the most famous wrestling match finish of modern times at the Survivor Series plus a history of in-ring double-crosses)
*December 21, 1998 (the complete Vince McMahon-Bret Hart conversation right before the Survivor Series match so you’ll know exactly what was said–the conversation played in edited form both on the inaugural broadcast of Confidential as well as in Wrestling with Shadows, but everything that was said between the two about the match that was going to take place that same night)
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*October 22, 2001 (why the adult audience has left pro wrestling in such great numbers and what needed to have been done to save them)
*July 8, 1991 (Ric Flair leaves WCW as world champion/Zahorian steroid trial)
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*May 12, 2003 (The life and death of Elizabeth and the rise of fall of Lex Luger)
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*June 16, 2003 (Freddie Blassie through the eyes of his biggest rivals and friends)
*July 28, 2003 (Part 2 of the history of the WWF vs. WCW war and the plans to make new superstars in the early 90s, what happened, and the night where the three biggest wrestling companies in the world combined for a joint show and what happened)
*August 25, 2003 (2003 Hall of Fame issue with huge profiles on the controversial career of Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit as well as historical features on Earl Caddock and Francisco Flores)
*September 22, 2003 (Part 3 of the history of the WWF vs WCW war with the seeds that caused the collapse of the industry in the 90s, Zahorian trial, Gulf War controversy, Flair leaves WCW while holding world title and much more)
*October 27, 2003 (The fascinating life of Stu Hart plus the story of Road Warrior Hawk)
*January 19, 2004 (2003 Awards issue)
*February 2, 2004 (History of Toronto wrestling, Jack Tunney life story, Royal Rumble and Battle Royal history)
*February 23, 2004 (History of Guerrero family with Eddy’s win over Brock Lesnar)
*March 1, 2004 (History of WWF continues with the period that brought the company down in early 1992, the mistakes, the real stories and how the business changed)
*March 8, 2004 (History of Wrestlemania, its greatest matches and best and worst shows as voted both by wrestlers and non-wrestlers and Wrestlemania history books)
*July 5, 2004 (A look behind the scenes and Ric Flair’s book and his background with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan)
*July 12, 2004 (A look at more on Ric Flair’s book and his comments on Bruno Sammartino, Bret Hart and Mick Foley)
*August 16, 2004 (History of the Olympians in pro wrestling)
*August 23, 2004 (2004 Hall of Fame issue and biggest issue of the year with huge profiles on Kazushi Sakuraba, Undertaker, Bob Backlund, Masahiro Chono, Ultimo Dragon, Kurt Angle and Tarzan Lopez–this counts as one issue if you are asking for a free issue, but ordered separately, due to size, is $6 in North America and $7 overseas)
*October 4, 2004 (the life and times of Big Bossman; as well as details of the life and times of one of the most influential men world wide in pro wrestling history, Jim Barnett)
*November 15, 2004 (the full story of what happened between Kurt Angle and Daniel Puder, plus coverage of the most important week in the history of TNA)
*January 24, 2005 (2004 Awards issue, Rock and WWE part company)
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*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)
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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.
THURSDAY’S NEWS UPDATE
–We will have an interview up today with Montreal historian Patric Laprade talking last night’s NXT show as well as Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, The Hall of Fame induction ceremony this past weekend in Amsterdam, NY, and more.
–Thanks for all the compliments about this week’s issue. For those who didn’t read it, the lead story is pretty much a must-read, given that the versions going around of it are leaving out key details. The Nevada drug testing story is a game changer in the business.
–According to TNA talent, they’ve been told the rumors will be addressed at the next tapings. In other words, at the end of June.
–Dana White yesterday on Jim Rome said that he guaranteed when Ronda Rousey faces Cris Cyborg that it would do 2 million buys.
–The clip of Jerry Lawler slapping Andy Kaufman was included in the final montage of David Letterman’s final show last night and a glimpse of it was all over CNN this morning (thanks to Rishi Malhotra)
–Samoa Joe has a very unique deal with NXT in the sense he has very few restrictions on where he can work. I was told it was similar to the Rhyno deal but for a lot more money. His deal does include merchandise, and he had the same design T-shirt he wore already up for sale at shop.wwe.com (thanks to Jeff Parker)
–The National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Waterloo, IA, will have a special presentation at the Dan Gable Museum at 4 p.m. on 7/10. Angle will be getting two Hall of Fame rings, one for his 1995 world championship and one for his 1996 Olympic gold medal. Angle will not be appearing at the Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame banquet on 7/11 as originally scheduled. Scheduled at the banquet on 7/11 are Jim Ross, Gerald Brisco, Wes Brisco, J.J. Dillon, Baron Von Raschke, Danny Hodge, Jim Brunzell, Larry Hennig, Colt Cabana and Bob Holly, plus honorees Brian Blair, Wade Keller, Beth Phoenix, Matt Lindland and Greg Wojciechowski (Great Wojo).
–NWA Mid South on 6/20 in Dyresburg, TN at the Herb Welch Wrestle Plex features Tim Storm vs. Rob Conway vs. Alan Steel plus NWA jr. champion Steve Anthony vs. Seiya Sanada and Matt Riviera & Greg Anthony vs. Savio Vega & Americos. Jim Cornette and Chris Cruise will be doing the announcing for the DVD.
–Last night on the show when we were asked if anyone had been sued over a shoot interview, well not a DVD, but as far as a podcast interview, there was C.M. Punk.
–Chris Hero will be facing Samoa Joe on 6/6 for Smash Wrestling in Etobicoke, ONT for Smash Wrestling Kicks ALS. On 6/7, Hero will be doing a gauntlet match to raise money for ALS. If fans can donate $2,000, he will wrestle for two hours straight against a variety of opponents. This takes place at the Cross Body Academy in Waterloo, ONT. For a $10 donation you can do a meet and greet with Hero plus see the matches and 100% of the money goes to ALS Canada.
–CMLL’s Dark Angel (Sarita in TNA, Sarah Stock) was one of the women in the Tyler Breeze ring entrance on the NXT show last night.
–WWE stock closed at $13.66 per share today, down five cents from yesterday.
–There was some heat from last night’s NXT show because WWE oversold the show by a lot of tickets, meaning some ticketed customers couldn’t get in, and the usual allotment of tickets to the Full Sail University students wasn’t available, so there were a lot of angry people turned away.
ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)
1965 – Toyonobori beat Fred Blassie in the finals of the World League tournament
1988 – Ciclon Ramirez beat Gran Markus Jr to win the Mexican national heavyweight title
1990 – Cuchillo beat Yoshihiro Asai (Ultimo Dragon) to win the UWA middleweight title in Puebla
1993 – Dan Kroffat beat Masa Fuchi in Sapporo to win the All Japan world jr. title
1996 – Mascara Magica beat Felino in Mexico City to win the CMLL welterweight title
2006 – Super Delfin beat Takeshi Minamino in Osaka to win the Tohoku Jr. title
2009 – Alex Koslov beat Extreme Tiger (Tigre Uno) and Alan Stone to become the first AAA cruiserweight champion
2010 – La Sombra & La Mascara & Mascara Dorada beat Hiroshi Tanahashi & Okumura & Taichi in Mexico City to win the CMLL trios titles
–Moose Ojinnaka is taking indie dates through Bill Behrens at www.sbibookings.com He’s based out of Atlanta. Samoa Joe is also taking indie bookings based out of Tampa. Others available include A.J. Styles (Atlanta), Christopher Daniels (Los Angeles), Frankie Kazarian (Los Angeles), Matt Sydal (Tampa) as well as the likes of Tommy Dreamer, Drew Galloway Sean Waltman,Abyss, James Storm, Eric Young, Kevin Nash, DDP, EC 3, Bully Ray & Devon, Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner, Nunzio, Al Snow, ODB, Shannon Moore and Shane Helms.
–TWE on Saturday in Middlesboro, UK at the Teeside University Student Union and Refectory Building.
–Joe Schilling vs. Hisaki Kato has been added to the 6/26 Bellator show in Mulvane, KS. Bubba Jenkins (8-2), a former NCAA champion wrestler, faces Joe Wilk (18-10) in a featherweight bout on the same show.
–Jeff Jarrett is going to Mexico City on Sunday, saying he’ll be scouting talent at the AAA World Cup tournament that will be on iPPV and do some commentary.
–Rockstar Pro Wrestling on 6/5 in Dayton at the Rockstar Pro Arena with Abyss vs. Ron Mathis and Davey Richards vs. Dave Crist
–Justin Gabriel, Michael Elgin, Jason Kincaid and Chase Owens headline for CWE on a tour with shows on 6/22 in Steinbach, Manitoba at the Legion Community Hall, 6/23 in Gimli, MB at the Gimli Dance Pavilion, 6/24 in Yorkton, SK at the Central School, 6/25 in Souris, MB and the Souris & Glenwood Memorial Complex and 6/26 in Winnipeg at the Holy Cross Gymnasium Hall.
–There is talk of tearing down the Los Angeles Sports Arena, which housed tons of major wrestling events over the years from the LeBell group, WWF, CMLL and AAA among others over the years. If it is torn down, it will be to build a soccer stadium on the location. With both The Forum and Staples Center, as well as the Honda Center, there really isn’t a need for the Sports Arena these days. (thanks to Jose Gonzalez)
–Infinity Pro Wrestling on 5/30 in Bloomington, IN at the National Guard Armory headlined by Dave & Jake Crist.
–One Championships and IMC Live are doing an MMA show in Guangzhou, China at the International Sports Arena on 6/20, coming off a sold out show in Beijing.
–The One Championship show tomorrow starts at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time from Kallang, Singapore, headlined by Shinya Aoki vs. Koji Ando. It airs live in Canada on The Fight Network
Weigh-ins
Shinya Aoki (154) vs. Koji Ando (154.5) for lightweight title
Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichok (114) vs. Roy Doliguez (113.5) for strawweight title
Ev Ting (145) vs. Marat Gafurov (145)
Lowen Tynanes (153) vs. Kuat Khamitov (154.5)
Eddie Ng (154.5) vs. Ariel Sexton (154.5)
Stephen Langdown (134.5) vs. A La Teng Hei Li (134.5)
Amir Khan (144) vs. Shannon Wiratchai (145)
Benedict Ang (143.5) vs. Waquar Umar (144)
Angela Lee (114) vs. Aya Saeid Saber (114)
Ali Yaakub (121.5) vs. Jianbing Yang (125)
–Andre Dirrell vs. James DeGale headlines the Premier Boxing show at 4:30 p.m. Eastern on NBC Saturday from the Agganis Arena in Boston.
–NWA Vendetta Championship Wrestling fro Sunday in Chowchilla, CA: Ricky Ruffin b Perry Von Vicious, Holly Renee & Shane Ballard & Shannon Ballard b Kiara Dillon & Jinx the Jester & Jeckles the Jester, Tsunami b Mike Rayne, Cyanide & Vintage Dragon b Buddy Royal & Levi Shapiro, Matt Riviera b Jeff Jarrett for Western States Heritage title, Carlito b Ricardo Rodriguez (thanks to Joseph Duncan)
–A note regarding a debate on whether the 2002 WWE Global Warning show from Melbourne’s Colonial Stadium (now Etihad Stadium) aired on PPV, it did not, but it was released on a commercial DVD. The show drew about 56,000 fans with Rock vs. HHH vs. Brock Lesnar as the main event.
–Lucha Xtreme iPPV on Sunday from the Fresno’s Grizzlies Stadium. The only match announced is a fatal four-way for their heavyweight title from JR Kratos vs. Brandon Groom vs. Dylan Drake vs. Mike Rayne. Tickets are $25 and include both the baseball game at 2 p.m. and the wrestling show which is scheduled to start at about 4:30 p.m.
–Evolve 43 on 5/30 at La Boom in Queens at 6 p.m. Eastern on iPPV
Drew Galloway vs. Biff Busick for Dragon Gate USA title
Johnny Gargano & Rich Swann vs. Drew Gulak & ? for tag titles
Caleb Konley vs. Davey Richards
Chris Hero vs Trevor Lee
TJ Perkins vs. Mike Bailey
Anthony Nese vs. Rey Hours
–Evolve 44 on 5/31 in Ronkonkoma, NY on Long Island
Drew Galloway vs. Roderick Strong for Evolve title
Davey Richards vs. Drew Gulak
Rich Swann vs. Trevor Lee
Biff Busick vs. Mike Bailey
Anthony Nese vs TJ Perkins
Rey Hours vs. ?
–On Monday Night’s Chicago White Sox game against Cleveland, during the eighth inning, after Melky Cabrera of the White Sox made a great catch to the top half of the inning, they played “Rise of the Valkyrie” and a few people started a “Yes” chant (thanks to Jacob Burnett)
–WWE uploaded a lot of Raw’s from 1997, but they skipped the episode where Rocky Maivia won the IC title from HHH and where Shawn Michaels lost his smile and retired when he was supposed to drop the title that night to Sid Vicious. (thanks to Dave Pordy)
–Bushwhacker Luke was added to Saturday’s show in Pickering, ONT for Destiny World Wrestling.
–CMLL from Monday night in Puebla: Rey Apocalipsis & Toro Bill Jr. b Leono & Sensei, Arkangel de la Muerte & Disturbio & Furia Chicana b Black Tiger & Oro Jr. & Tigre Rojo Jr., Amapola & Reyna Isis & Tiffany b Estrellita & Goya Kong & Marcela, Angel de Oro & Stigma & Ttian b Morphosis & Hechicero & Ripper, Marco Corleone & La Mascara & La Sombra b El Terrible & Rey Escorpion & Vangellys, Rush b Ultimo Guerrero-DQ (thanks to Kris Zellner)
–Barrie Wrestling on 7/1 in Orillia, ONT at Terry Fox Circle at Couchiching Park
–Acclaim Pro Wrestling on 5/30 in Ottawa, ONT at the SPK-Dom Polski
–C4 Wrestling on Saturday in Ottawa at the Vanier Columbus Club with Pinkie Sanchez & Chris Dickinson & JAKA vs Buxx Belmar & Mike Bailey & Sexxy Eddy.
–Pro Wrestling Phoenix has its 10th anniversary show on Saturday in Council Bluffs, IA at the National Guard Armory with Scott 2 Hotty in a ladder match.
–Maryland Championship Wrestling on 6/19 at Michael’s Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie, MD has Mick Foley, Melina Perez, Rene Michelle, Mickie James, Tessa Blanchard, and Lisa Varon for a show called Ladies Night.
–Cutting Edge Wrestling on 6/18 i St. John’s Newfoundland at the CLB Armory.
–Pure Wrestling Association on 5/30 in Kitchener, ONT at the Alpine Club. They also run 5/22 in Courtenay, BC at the K’omoks First Nation Band Hall.
–Hard Knocks Fighting tomorow night at 11 p.m. Eastern on The Fight Network from the Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary featuring former UFC fighter Nick Ring (13-3) in his first match outside UFC against Jason Zentgraf (8-2).
–Prairie Wrestling Alliance on 7/4 in Edmonton, at the Northgate Lions Rec Centre featuring Samoa Joe and Lisa Varon. They also run on Saturday night in the same building.
–Absolute Intense Wrestling on Friday and Saturday night in Cleveland at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School for the J.T. Lightning Invitational tournament. Samoa Joe vs. Johnny Gargano takes place in a non-tournament match on Saturday night. Among those in the tournament itself that starts on Friday are Too Cold Scorpio, Little Guido, Cheech, B.J. Whitmer, Doug Gilbert, Nick Gage, Raymond Rowe, Tyson Dux, Louis Lyndon, Josh Prohibition, DJ Zema Ion, Cedric Alexander, Colin Delaney, Jennifer Blake and Flip Kendrick.
–A story on Ronda Rousey saying she’d never fight Floyd Mayweather at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2015/05/19/zing-ronda-rousey-says-shed-never-fight-floyd-mayweather-unless-we-ended-up-dating/?tid=HP_sports?tid=HP_sports (thanks to Chris Cruise)
–FuRyu today release three New Japan themed home screen themes for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan with one NJPW logo and two Hiroshi Tanahashi. See http://www.furyu.jp/2015/05/3ds-theme-newjapanprowrestling.html for details. (thanks to Brian Cooper)
–Best of the Super Juniors preview at
http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/japan/new-japan-best-of-the-super-jr-xxii-preview-block-a
–John Hitchcock interview on Greensboro wrestling history
http://wunc.org/post/golden-age-professional-wrestling
–A story on the Generation X pro wrestling legacy
http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/05/generation-xs-pro-wrestling-legacy.html
–A story on Honky Tonk Man at
http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2015/05/honky_tonk_man_to_shake_rattle.html#incart_river_mobile (thanks to Jim Ward)
TODAY’S PRO WRESTLING VIDEOS (by Thomas Rude)
WWE
The JBL & Renee Show (Episode 129)
5/18/15 WWE RAW “Fallout”: Ziggler Gets The Girl
Elimination Chamber Declarations: First Seen On The WWE App; April 19, 2015
WWE Canvas 2 Canvas: Junkyard Dog Hits The Canvas
5/18/15 Top Ten WWE RAW Moments
NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable Pre-Show
Rusev Reacts To Lana Kissing Dolph Ziggler: WWE.Com Exclusive
5 Things-5 Forgotten Faction Members
INDY TV SHOWS
5/16/15 Southern States Wrestling TV
3XWrestling “All Stars Of The Midwest” TV (Episode 18)
Chaotic Wrestling “ChaotiCast” TV (Episode 29)
America’s Most Liked Wrestling TV (Episode 11)
West Coast Wrestling Connection TV (Episode 51)
Anarchy Wrestling TV (Episode 484)
Pro Wrestling Syndicate TV (Episode 18)
5/1/15 Future Stars Of Wrestling “High Octane” TV
Smash Wrestling TV (Episode 52)
CWF Mid-Atlantic Wrestling “Worldwide” TV (Episode 1)
TNA
IMPACT in 60: May 15, 2015-Hardcore War! Best Of 5 Tag Team Series And More!
MISC. STUFF
The Candice & Joey Show (Episode 114)
Jushin “Thunder” Liger On “The Apter Chat”
Top 5 Moves Of Max Smashmaster
CHIKARA Podcast-A-Go-Go (Episode 416)
Michael Elgin on “The Apter Chat”
Dad You Don’t Work, You Wrestle (Episode 120)
TOMORROW’S WWE NETWORK SCHEDULE (thanks to Bert Duckwall)
Friday, May 21,2015
12:00 AM ET
RAW FLASHBACK The 1-2-3 Kid once again shows Razor Ramon his determination to win. Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler unveils a surprise for Bret Hart.
1:00 AM ET
FIRST LOOK First Look: It’s Good To Be King
1:30 AM ET
CULTURE SHOCK WITH COREY GRAVES Corey Graves heads down to one of his favorite tattoo shops in the heart of New York City!
2:00 AM ET
WWE COUNTDOWN Counting down the top ten most stylish ring attire ever worn by a WWE Superstar.
3:00 AM ET
WWE PAYBACK 2015 Seth Rollins defends the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a Fatal 4 Way Match against Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton and Roman Reigns!
6:00 AM ET
NXT TAKEOVER UNSTOPPABLE Sami Zayn looks to end the title reign of his former best friend, NXT Champion Kevin Owens at NXT TakeOver Unstoppable.
8:00 AM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Ariane’s mother calles with a desperate plea for help, and Eva is shocked when Jonathan makes a dangerous decision without her consent.
9:00 AM ET
NXT TAKEOVER UNSTOPPABLE Sami Zayn looks to end the title reign of his former best friend, NXT Champion Kevin Owens at NXT TakeOver Unstoppable.
11:00 AM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Ariane’s mother calles with a desperate plea for help, and Eva is shocked when Jonathan makes a dangerous decision without her consent.
12:00 PM ET
NXT TAKEOVER UNSTOPPABLE Sami Zayn looks to end the title reign of his former best friend, NXT Champion Kevin Owens at NXT TakeOver Unstoppable.
2:00 PM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Ariane’s mother calles with a desperate plea for help, and Eva is shocked when Jonathan makes a dangerous decision without her consent.
3:00 PM ET
MONDAY NIGHT WAR In an era of shifting loyalties, WWE and WCW would each build a cornerstone in order to achieve stability.
4:00 PM ET
WWE BEYOND THE RING Learn about The Viper in and out of the ring as he reflects on his career to date. Hear about the past, present, and future of Randy Orton.
6:00 PM ET
TOTAL DIVAS Ariane’s mother calles with a desperate plea for help, and Eva is shocked when Jonathan makes a dangerous decision without her consent.
7:00 PM ET
TOUGH ENOUGH Legendary WWE Superstar The Rock and ‘Psych’ star James Roday give the remaining five contestants a lesson in charisma.
8:00 PM ET
WWE SUPERSTARS WWE Superstars features the best of the best, in matches you’ll have to see to believe. You never know what to expect, so expect everything.
9:00 PM ET
WWE BEYOND THE RING Learn about The Viper in and out of the ring as he reflects on his career to date. Hear about the past, present, and future of Randy Orton.
11:00 PM ET
WWE SUPERSTARS WWE Superstars features the best of the best, in matches you’ll have to see to believe. You never know what to expect, so expect everything.
By Brian Hoops, WrestlingObserver.com
1952 – Lou Thesz defeated Baron Michele Leone in Los Angeles to merge the California-version of the World Title with the National Wrestling Alliance and National Wrestling Association World Titles.
1966 – In a non title match in Chicago, Illinois; Dick the Bruiser beat AWA Champion Mad Dog Vachon
1970 – In Kansas City, Kansas; Roger Kirby and Pat O’Conner wrestled to a draw and in a Fence Match, Danny Little Bear defeated Harley Race via DQ.
1974 – In Tampa, Florida; Bill Watts beat Buddy Colt, Pak Song beat Dusty Rhodes by countout, Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown beat Danny Hodge & Don Muraco and AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Red Beard
1982 – Wahoo McDaniel defeated Sgt. Slaughter for the United States Heavyweight Title in Richmond, Virginia; In Chicago, Illinois; AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Jerry Blackwell & Sheik Adnan and Bobby Duncum beat Tito Santana.
1983 – In Chicago, Illinois; AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel no contest with Jerry Lawler, Jesse Ventura beat Rick Martel and Ken Patera & Jerry Blackwell beat Mad Dog Vachon & Baron Von Raschke.
1985 – In Portland, Oregon at the Don Owens 60th Anniversary show; NWA Champion Ric Flair went to a draw with Billy Jack Haynes,
AWA Champion Rick Martel beat Mike Miller, Curt Hennig & Larry Hennig beat AWA Tag Team Champions Road Warriors via dq and
Roddy Piper beat Buddy Rose.
1986 – The White Ninja (Keiji Mutoh) defeated Kendall Windham for the Florida Heavyweight Title in Tampa
1988 – In Memphis, Tennessee; AWA Champion Jerry Lawler beat Bill Dundee and Robert Fuller beat Jeff Jarrett.
1995 – At the WCW PPV, Slamboree in St. Petersburg, Florida; The Nasty Boys defeated Harlem Heat to win the WCW World Tag Team Title; In Trois Riveres, Quebec; Jeff Jarrett defeated WWF Intercontinental champion Razor Ramon to win the title.
2000 – Triple H defeated the Rock to win the WWF Championship at the WWF 2000 Judgement Day PPV held in Louisville, Kentucky.
2001 – Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit defeated Steve Austin and Triple H for the WWF World Tag Team Title in San Jose, California. Also on the show, The Big Show defeated WWF Hardcore Champion Rhyno to win the title.
2006 – At the WWF Judgement Day PPV in Phoenix, Arizona; Brian Kendrick and Paul London defeated Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro to win the WWE Tag Team Championship. Also, Booker T won the 2006 King of the Ring tournament by defeating Bobby Lashley in the finals.
By Steve Juon, WrestlingObserver.com
Quick update: American Top Team is down 100-0 after the Blackzilians have run off four straight wins to open the show. This week Anthony “Rumble” Johnson has shown up at the TUF house to congratulate his Blackzilian teammate Carrington Banks on getting the victory over Sabah Homasi. It was the closest fight of the season so far – needing a full three rounds to decide a winner.
Homasi still believes he won the third round last week and honestly so do I. “F@%@ these judges and their scoring, I don’t know what the f#%! kind of fight they’re watching.” Dan Lambert reminds ATT that the next four fights are worth twice as many points, so it’s a clean slate from here. With two wins they can tie it up again.
Kamaru Usman says nobody on the Blackzilians is celebrating being ahead right now. Tyrone Spong gives their team a pep talk and says it’s time to take their souls. “No one is better than all of us together.” He wants them headhunting to keep the home gym advantage. “The next fight, I want a knockout.”
ATT expects Hayder Hassan to be the man to change their fortunes. Hassan vows there will be two winners when he goes to the Blackzilian gym – himself and the fans and home who got to watch him. Suffice it to say confidence is high. Hassan says he joined ATT because he wouldn’t be with anybody but the best, and that his name in Arabic means “GREAT.”
The Blackzilians choose Andrews Nakahara to take the next fight. “This is my moment. I feel so confident. I’m ready for this.” Belfort brought him to the team and said he was a future champion, and now is his chance to prove it. He reminds me a lot of Lyoto Machida, and not just because he’s a Kyokushin karate champion. He says he only fights to help his family out.
Back at the house Hayder Hassan and Jason Jackson are beefing with each other, and Jackson has been telling people he’s a dirty fighter because when they faced each other in 2013, and Hassan won. Jackson claims he cheated by pulling on his braided hair. They’re hinting that these two could scrap tonight OUTSIDE the cage.
Back from break, and they’re still talking and calling each other five letter words. After that settles down Steve Carl and the other ATT guys are sitting around a fire outside the house speculating who Hassan will face next. Hassan says he’ll approach it like a gladiator entering the coliseum – not knowing who he’ll face and not caring. Michael Graves earns the ire of his ATT teammates and Dan Lambert by sleeping in the next morning instead of going to the gym. They’re even talking about booting him from the house.
Weigh-in time. Hassan is 170 even. Nakahara is 170 even. The fight is official. Dana White is excited because he’s going to see two strikers go to war. Hassan believes the fight will be “fireworks.” There’s still one day to go until the match up so we get a commercial break, followed by each guy doing their final sparring and warm-up before the bout.
* Andrews Nakahara (Blackzilians) vs. Hayder Hassan (American Top Team)
There are only ten minutes left so this isn’t going to be a long fight. Hassan is in the blue trunks. Nakahara is in the black. Hassan is pushing forward immediately and Nakahara is responding with high kicks. Hassan paws away with the left and keeps the right hand cocked tight, but the kill shot is a BIG left hook. The fight is waved off at 48 seconds. ATT IS JUMPING FOR JOY. Glenn Robinson is stunned. Hassan makes a signal with one finger on his lips – “shhhhh.”
Robinson is trying to be stoic about it after the break. “It happens.” It does Glenn, it does. Lambert notes the fight went exactly how they thought it would – Nakahara trying to keep the distance with kicks, Hassan pressing forward, and unloading once he backed Nakahara to the fence. Robinson: “Nine times out of ten he would have won that fight.” But he didn’t Glenn. Dana White: “Boom! Here we go.” Hassan: “I came, I saw, I conquered.” It’s now 100-50 and for the first time this season ATT will have the home gym advantage next week. See you then!
By Ryan Frederick, WrestlingObserver.com
The UFC brings their annual Memorial Day Weekend card back to the MGM Grand in Las Vegas this weekend for UFC 187 headlined by two title fights. The event is the next pay-per-view offering from the promotion, taking place on Saturday at 10 PM ET, with a full slate of prelims beginning at 6:30 PM ET on UFC Fight Pass before transitioning over to FOX Sports 1 at 8 PM ET.
The event will determine a new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion as top contenders Anthony Johnson and Daniel Cormier square off in the main event for the vacant championship. In the co-main event of the event, it will be a long-awaited battle for the UFC Middleweight Championship as Chris Weidman makes his third title defense against long-time top contender Vitor Belfort. Also on the stacked card is a lightweight bout between Donald Cerrone and John Makdessi, a heavyweight slugfest between Travis Browne and Andrei Arlovski, and a flyweight battle between Joseph Benavidez and John Moraga. Let’s dive deeper into Saturday night’s action and bring you five storylines to watch for at UFC 187.
1. Who becomes the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion?
There will be a new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion crowned for the first time in over four years on Saturday night when Anthony Johnson and Daniel Cormier square off in the main event. The championship is vacant following the stripping, and subsequent suspension, of former champion Jon Jones following his hit-and-run arrest in April that capped off a number of outside the Octagon related events. Jones was a dominant champion in the division, defending the title eight times with mostly relative ease. He was scheduled to defend it against Johnson in the main event of this event before his most recent incident.
That left Johnson to face Cormier, who is the last man Jones defeated, coming at UFC 182 in January. Cormier gets a second chance to conquer his dream in becoming a UFC champion, and he poses a different challenge for Johnson. Many thought Johnson would have a chance against Jones due to his overwhelming power and excellent takedown defense, but he still would have had to deal with the reach of Jones. Cormier is different in that he has more power than Jones, which can actually rival the power of Johnson, and his wrestling is more power-based. Johnson is built well for 205 pounds and is tough to take down, but you know Cormier will be looking to pick him up and slam him to the mat. Johnson will be looking to test the chin of Cormier, which is rock solid, but Johnson has unrivaled power.
As interesting as a bout between Jones and Johnson was, mainly to see if Johnson could do something against Jones, this one is just as equally interesting. It shows on the betting odds with those being 50/50 right now, and no one really knows for sure who will walk out of the Octagon as the new champion. Johnson will be relying on his power and takedown defense, but he still has never been five rounds in his career. Cormier will look to be light on his feet, mix his speed and power, and of course, look for the big takedown. He has been five rounds in his career with ease, so we know he can go the distance, though he is fighting two weeks earlier than he was scheduled to originally. It will be a hard-fought battle, but I give the slight edge to Cormier walking away as the new champion.
2. Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort will finally fight. Who wins?
Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort have been on a collision course to fight ever since Chris Weidman became the new UFC Middleweight Champion after defeating Anderson Silva at UFC 162 in July 2013. However, there have been numerous obstacles in the way. Weidman was matched up with Silva in a rematch, leaving Belfort waiting. Weidman defeated Silva again, and Belfort was next. Next came the state of Nevada banning the usage of testosterone replacement therapy, which Belfort used, and Belfort pulled out of their scheduled May 2014 bout to get adjusted to the affects of getting off of TRT. Weidman would later defeat Lyoto Machida in July 2014.
This will be Belfort’s first fight since November 2013, so that is 18 months out of action. It will also be his first fight since getting off of TRT, and he does look different. He looks similar to the time he was knocked out in the first round by Anderson Silva, after which Belfort began using TRT. It will be interesting to see how he fights under all of those circumstances. Injuries have hampered Weidman, and it will be interesting to see how he comes back, but he is perhaps the most mentally strong fighter in the sport. Belfort is notorious for breaking easily mentally, and Weidman may get in his head quickly. Weidman has a knack of knocking off Brazilians, having defeated Silva, Machida and Demian Maia in the Octagon. It will be a battle between the two middleweights, but I see Weidman remaining the champion on Saturday night.
3. Will Donald Cerrone finally earn that long-awaited UFC Lightweight Championship title shot?
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone is one of the most active and most popular fighters on the UFC roster, not to mention one of the most exciting. He has fought 17 times in the Octagon since coming over to the UFC in 2011, and this will be his 28th fight under the Zuffa banner. He has the mindset of anyone, anytime, anywhere, which makes it easy to get him fights. He fought twice in January this year- that just goes to show how active he wants to be. He decided to take a much-needed break coming off of two fights in two weeks, and he finally returns to action looking to secure the one thing that has alluded him.
That is a shot at fighting for the UFC Lightweight Championship. He has been in the position to earn a title shot before, but came up short in losses to Nate Diaz and former champion Anthony Pettis. He was on his way back before suffering a loss to current champion Rafael Dos Anjos. However, since the loss to Dos Anjos, Cerrone has won seven straight fights, and is gunning for his eighth straight on Saturday night. Eight straight wins definitely will secure Cerrone a title shot, especially at a time where so many lightweight challengers are battling injury issues. He was supposed to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov on Saturday to determine the true top contender, but Nurmagomedov was forced out due to a knee injury.
Cerrone will instead fight John Makdessi, who replaced Nurmagomedov less than a month ago. Makdessi is coming off an impressive first-round knockout win over Shane Campbell last month at UFC 186, and he is 4-1 in his last five fights, with the one loss coming in close fashion. He is a dangerous and unknown fighter, but he doesn’t have the skills that Nurmagomedov has. Makdessi is a striker, which is the type of fighter that Cerrone likes to tee off on. Cerrone likes to stand-and-trade, and Makdessi will give him that type of fight, but there is a reason Cerrone is a huge betting favorite. Everyone expects him to win and get that title shot, and there is little reason to believe Cerrone won’t get the job done on Saturday. He is focused, and a truly focused Cerrone is a dangerous opponent.
4. There are two big flyweight bouts on Saturday. Who stakes their claim for the next title shot?
Two big fights at 125 pounds take place on Saturday night. Joseph Benavidez will meet John Moraga on the main card, and John Dodson will square off with Zach Makovsky in the featured preliminary bout. All four men are looking to stake their claim for the next title shot at UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson. However, three of the four (Benavidez, Moraga, Dodson) have suffered defeats to Johnson, leaving Makovsky as the only one who hasn’t fought Johnson. If Makovsky were to defeat Dodson, that almost has to mean that he will be the next man to fight Johnson.
Convential wisdom points to Dodson being the man with the best shot at fighting Johnson should he win on Saturday. Dodson lost to Johnson in January 2013, but Benavidez and Moraga have more recent losses to Johnson. All three of those have two-fight win streaks, so they are on even footing. Dodson gave a tougher fight to Johnson than the other two have, and he believes he is the man who can defeat Johnson. Dodson is coming off of major knee surgery and hasn’t fought in nearly a year, and it will be interesting to see if the injury has hurt his speed, which he relies on so much. A Dodson win over Makovsky gets him the title shot. A Dodson loss opens the door for the other three, and potentially for Henry Cejudo, to get the next title shot at Johnson.
5. UFC 187 is one of the more loaded cards in recent memory. What are some other things to keep an eye on?
There is no question that UFC 187 is one of the more loaded cards the UFC has put on in recent years despite the losses of Jon Jones and Khabib Nurmagomedov. It is still headlined by two title fights and an excellent main card and a solid preliminary slate. Travis Browne and Andrei Arlovski are meeting in a heavyweight bout on the pay-per-view portion, and the two are former training partners and good friends. But, sometimes good friends have to fight in the Octagon, and both are wanting to fight for the championship. Browne has good power, and Arlovski has a chin that has been cracked many times.
On the prelims, Dong Hyun Kim and Josh Burkman meet in a welterweight bout as both look to rebound from losses in their last fights (though Burkman’s loss was changed to a no contest). Both are looking to establish themselves in the top ten of the welterweight rankings. Uriah Hall will be looking to extend his three-fight win streak and keep buidling his resume following two tough losses to start his UFC career, and he meets Rafael Natal in a middleweight bout. Natal has won two straight himself. Rose Namajunas looks to bounce back from her loss in the inaugural UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship bout, which she lost to Carla Esparza. Namajunas is a popular fighter at 115-pounds, and she will meet Nina Ansaroff to kick off the preliminary slate on FOX Sports 1.
Full UFC 187 Fight Card, Betting Odds and Predictions
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship: Anthony Johnson vs. Daniel Cormier
Betting Odds: Johnson (+115), Cormier (-135)
Prediction: Cormier by decision
UFC Middleweight Championship: Chris Weidman(c) vs. Vitor Belfort
Betting Odds: Weidman (-525), Belfort (+415)
Prediction: Weidman by submission in round 3
Lightweights: Donald Cerrone vs. John Makdessi
Betting Odds: Cerrone (-500), Makdessi (+400)
Prediction: Cerrone by submission in round 1
Heavyweights: Travis Browne vs. Andrei Arlovski
Betting Odds: Browne (-450), Arlovski (+360)
Prediction: Browne by knockout in round 1
Flyweights: Joseph Benavidez vs. John Moraga
Betting Odds: Benavidez (-600), Moraga (+450)
Prediction: Benavidez by decision
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
Flyweights: John Dodson vs. Zach Makovsky
Betting Odds: Dodson (-470), Makovsky (+375)
Prediction: Dodson by decision
Welterweights: Dong Hyun Kim vs. Josh Burkman
Betting Odds: Kim (-280), Burkman (+240)
Prediction: Kim by decision
Middleweights: Uriah Hall vs. Rafael Natal
Betting Odds: Hall (-350), Natal (+290)
Prediction: Hall by knockout in round 2
Women’s Strawweights: Rose Namajunas vs. Nina Ansaroff
Betting Odds: Namajunas (-280), Ansaroff (+240)
Prediction: Namajunas by submission in round 1
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT)
Welterweights: Mike Pyle vs. Colby Covington
Betting Odds: Pyle (+230), Colvington (-270)
Prediction: Covington by decision
Lightweights: Islam Makhachev vs. Leo Kuntz
Betting Odds: Makhachev (-320), Kuntz (+260)
Prediction: Makhachev by submission in round 2
Flyweights: Justin Scoggins vs. Josh Sampo
Betting Odds: Scoggins (-350), Sampo (+290)
Prediction:Scoggins by decision
By Josh Nason, WrestlingObserver.com
In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter and as discussed on Wednesday night’s Wrestling Observer Radio, our Dave Meltzer revealed that Destination America has canceled TNA Wrestling, effective the end of September 2015.
The following is an excerpt from the much longer story in the Newsletter, available to existing and new subscribers now.
“Just days before the move was announced, Destination America made the decision to cancel TNA Wrestling, with the time frame given at the end of the third quarter (roughly the last week of September, when the current television season ends). Key people at the Discovery Channel network were informed of the decision at that point.
The word internally was that while they considered the ratings good, the ratings were not good enough to justify the cost of the programming. The other problem was that so many regular station advertisers specifically did not want to advertise on the show.
It should be noted that when the word was sent out, it was stated specifically that TNA would remain on Friday nights, with original episodes, until that point, and informing people for the fall season plans for Friday nights. Just days later, they were moved to Wednesday.
The decision was meant to be kept secret, very much like Spike kept secret publicly last year its decision to drop TNA for months after the decision was made and reported. It doesn’t serve the station or the promotion any good to publicly cancel the show this far in advance. The public acknowledgment was expected to come around the time the station listed its 2015-16 television season prime time lineup with the launch of up front advertising.
Those who were informed of the cancellation have not been told at this point anything different several days after the change of date was announced. But things obviously have changed, at least to the degree of moving days. So this story is very much ongoing.”
Eric Bischoff
By Dave Meltzer, WrestlingObserver.com
Eric Bischoff, son and former TNA wrestler Garett Bischoff, and Eric’s longtime business partner Jason Hervey have filed a lawsuit for $114,500.02 against TNA Entertainment for unpaid money.
The story, reported by Prowrestling.net today, states that TNA owes Bischoff/Hervey Enterprises $101,500 in unpaid money covering the months January through March of this year in addition to attorney fees.
The lawsuit claimed that BHE was to receive $426,800 per year from TNA for Hervey and Bischoff working as Executive Producers.
Garett’s contract with TNA was for $26,000/yr as base pay and $500 per match or appearance. He is asking for $13,000.02 in unpaid salary from October 2014 until March 2015 when his contract with the promotion expired.
The lawsuit stated all three were paid in full through the end of September and have not been paid since, and their lawyers contacted TNA in November. BHE was paid $101,500 before the end of last year to rectify the late payment covering October through December, but has not been paid since.
Because of the move from Fridays to Wednesdays on Destination America, TNA had to move its same day taping from 6/26 to 6/24 with the tapings scheduled from 6/29-7/1 now moved to 6/25-6/27.
This means they are taping six weeks or so worth of television that will air after the 2015 Slammiversary PPV before the actual 2015 Slammiversary PPV show takes place.
Thumbs up. Really a two-match show. First three were pretty good standard NXT matches, tag title batch better than expected but no classic.Best match: Banks vs. Lynch. Great match. That face-first bump Lynch took on the ring apron was the meanest thing I’ve seen in ages. Just a straight all out “human chess game” with no big unnecessary twists, run-ins or overbooking. Both Sasha Banks & Becky Lynch deserve to be very high on the main roster right now; they’re both terrific. This was what a championship match should be.Might’ve scored Owens-Zayn best had it not disintegrated & sacrificed the match for the storyline. Was a bit surprised the crowd was shouting “Holy shit!” throughout & it wasn’t sweetened, & it’s a strong indication of the type of crowd that had that when Samoa Joe walked out – the show would’ve had to have been really bad to not end up with a thumbs up after that happened – they began the “Joe’s gonna kill you!” chant. Was half-expecting Joe to come in, get in Owens’ face, then stomp a mudhole into what was left of Sammy & embrace Kevin like an old pal. Just something about it. Will Owens be stripped of the title for laying hands (or was it forehead?) on Steve Regal?Worst match: Rhyno vs. Corbin. Not that it was bad, but neither stirs much interest.Steven GrantHenderson NV
Thumbs Up
Best Match: Sasha Banks v. Becky Lynch
Enjoyed everything on the show. Undercard was good, nothing standout but was all enjoyable. Good Main Event as far as it being a good next chapter in the story between Zayn and Owens. The Women’s Title match, however, was top notch. The pacing was excellent and they told a story really well. In a few places you could tell the whole match had been choreographed, but hey it is developmental and it didn’t detract from the excitement and the emotion of the match. Sasha is just the best.
I thought the announcing was atrocious and got in the way as did the crowd’s chanting.
Devon McClure
Hi Dave,
Thumbs down on this one.
Let me start with the fans in attendance of this NXT show. I’m all for having a great crowd, but these people seriously over do it. Everything doesn’t deserve a “This is awesome” or a “Holy S***” chant. I don’t get the fascination people have with Finn Balor either. He looks like Boogeyman jr. with a halloween costume on. This was a very average show, and even when Samoa Joe made his appearance at the end, it felt like a really weak debut. The more this show grows, the less interested i get.
Mike
New York
Hey Dave,Thumbs up show! I must admit, prior to the show I was nervous that this could be the first NXT special to disappoint. Looking up and down the card, I noted a number of variables that could hit or miss. Thankfully, the show delivered on a storyline level rarely seen in professional wrestling. None of the matches stopped the momentum of the show, and the ending segment set the stage for an exciting next chapter. Tonight the wrestlers worked hard, but more importantly, the wrestlers and the creative team worked smart. From an in ring standpoint, this was not the best of the NXT specials. However, it was certainly one of the most enjoyable shows I have watched this year.Best Match: The women’s match was fantastic.Worst Match: If forced to choose, Corbin vs. Rhyno. But, it was in no way offensive or bad.Pre show: As expected, Itami was taken out at the start of the night, but who took him out? Graves’ jacket was loud. I believe it threw the panel off their game. They struggled through the half hour.
1. #1 Contenders Match: Finn Balor vs. Tyler Breeze. Breeze’s entrance was character consistent and unique. Balor’s entrance was over the top and amazing. Perfectly paced and mechanically crisp opener. A strong match that was missing a few transitions to put it into the “can’t miss” category. Still, a great opener. ***1/4.2. Dana Brooks and Emma Vs. Charlotte and Bailey. Standard formula tag match, consistent in execution and crowd pleasing in delivery. Brooks is obviously the lesser in the experience department out of the four, but she did not appear outclassed in this contest . Another solid match up to keep the momentum on the upswing. **1/23. Rhyno vs. Baron Corbin. Standard brawl aided by a lively crowd. Corbin did not show anything special but he did not do anything wrong and he displayed some good intensity. Strong win for Corbin. *3/44. Tag Title Match: Enzo and Cassidy vs. Blake and Murphy. The match up of ridiculous hair styles. Crowd was red hot throughout and Enzo showcased more than I thought he was capable of. The build to the hot tag was suitable to keep the crowd engaged, and the hot tag to Cassidy rewarded the crowd’s anticipation. The finish was designed to unveil a new chapter of the feud, but the conclusion felt disappointing. With that said, I believe that was the booking objective. In my opinion, Alexa Bliss is too cute to be an effective heel. **1/25. Women’s Title Match: Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch. From a technical standpoint, you will not find any better women’s wrestling. Both wrestlers (not divas) showcased innovative and impactful offense. The end sequence was not perfect, but the rest of the match was damn close to flawless. Both competitors come out of the match looking better. ***3/46. NXT Title Match: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens. The intensity and heat for this match was off the page. The story of the contest was Zayn completely overwhelming Owens from the onset. Owens turned the tide with the pop up powerbomb on the apron and the match was practically over. At this stage, Owens exploited his heel character to the nth degree perfectly laying the ground work for the debut of Samoa Joe. A inconclusive end to the Zayn/Owens feud superseded by the exciting possibility of a Joe and Owens war. *** for the match, **** for the ending segment.Thanks, Derrick Hubbardfrom Utah
Thumbs down
Best match: women’s title
Worst match: everything else
Not much of a show until the end. Balor/Breeze was a total house show match and that theme continued up until the two title matches. Joe showing up was a great moment but didn’t save the show.
Ricky Schmidt