When it was announced that Chris Weidman was going to rematch UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold at June’s UFC 199, there were many among the MMA fanbase who groaned due to a) the way the first fight ended and b) rematch fatigue.
Haters of the Weidman/Rockhold rematch got their wish Tuesday as the former UFC middleweight champion had to withdraw from the event due to an undisclosed injury — widely speculated on Twitter today and confirmed by both Jeremy Botter and Ariel Helwani a short time ago.
The Los Angeles, CA, show still has plenty of interesting fights (bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz vs. Uriah Faber, Dan Henderson vs. Hector Lombard, BJ Penn vs. Cole Miller, and more, but you know UFC would love to keep the other California kid on that show.
Two possible replacements: Jacare Souza who ran through Vitor Belfort this past Saturday at UFC 198 in less than a round, and Michael Bisping who already tweeted that he wants the opportunity. Bisping faced Rockhold in November 2014, a fight Rockhold won via second round submission. Bisping is coming off a unanimous decision over Anderson Silva earlier this year.
For a name that casual MMA fans know and for the story of him getting his first-ever UFC title shot, Bisping would be the call but from the sporting aspect, Souza has done more than enough to earn the shot. However, the short turnaround to June 4th might not be in the cards. However, given the ease of his fight last Saturday, he may just be up for it.
*****
Additionally, UFC confirmed that welterweight champion Robbie Lawler’s next title defense will indeed be against Tyron Woodley (he of the long, long layoff) on July 30th in Atlanta.
Outside the next big NXT match being booked, some ratings news, and awaiting RAW ratings, news is kinda slow today which is why I wanted to drop a few lines about the continued portrayal of Stephanie McMahon on WWE TV as opposed to her role off TV amplified by the announcement of her biography to be released this fall yesterday.
The wrestling equivalent of church and state (on-screen personality vs. admitting that you play a character off screen) is such where we are continually hammered over the head that wrestling is just an act and these are all great, likable people with families and lives just like your favorite TV and movie actors. Those of us who have watched wrestling since our formative years hate that aspect while it’s assumed younger fans will just adapt over time, pushing us irrelevant old fogies off to the side.
But McMahon is a unique case because there’s the added rub that she’s a female in a male-dominated company who likely has to endure more lewd commentary than most would expect. (If you’ve seen the #MoreThanMean video, you’ll get an idea of what she likely receives via Twitter daily.) The domineering and talking down to talent, especially male wrestlers, feels too overt and too forced. As a result, we want to like her less even though, in real life, she’s probably pretty cool and someone we’d like over time as a character.
But with her role outside the company about to grow even more, what’s the point in continuing to position her in a way on TV that still draws vitriol and frustration? Make her a strong lead in a way that feels natural, not scripted. (The same could be said for Shane as well). And in the case of both McMahons, get them out of the way. The show should always be about the in-ring talent and not a continual McMahon family drama, but weekly, that’s what we get.
If the goal is to get Stephanie McMahon to a revered place like her father someday, it could happen…but not the way WWE is doing it now.
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Figure Four Weekly 5/9/2016: Hogan and Gawker fight over verdict – Hulk Hogan is suing Gawker a second time, this time for leaking the contents of sealed documents to the tabloids. Now we have the verdict. Find out all the details in this weeks issue of Figure Four Weekly.
Our lead story updates the talks of a UFC sale, plus an updated look at how the WWE is doing as a business, a look at WWE cuts, the booking behind the ROH Global Wars PPV and how New Japan and ROH are working together even more closely than on the surface, Global Wars coverage, a look at the status of a lot of ROH talent, coverage of the UFC debut in Holland, the hidden story of just how much of the male audience has been lost by WWE, as well as what WWE can learn from the NBA, and historical bios on Billy Wicks and Kato Kung Lee.
There is also a look at the ESPN story on the potential sale of the UFC, what we know is legit, numbers being thrown around, who actually owns UFC, Dana White’s reaction to the story, moves UFC has made, Dana White’s long-term future if there is a sale, timing of the sale and sustaining the brand popularity. Plus there’s also a look at the various companies listed that are in talks of buying.
An update on WWE financials is in this issue, plus a look at the WWE Network numbers, what last year’s patterns tell us about the numbers, the company’s profits and losses, how well every division does for WWE and what is the most important for the bottom line, how well the company is doing financially compared to last year, what is projected by WWE this year for the WrestleMania quarter, update on injured wrestlers and their returns, Vince McMahon talks WWE injuries, and how much cash on hand the company has right now.
There is also a look at how WWE is going to be changing how it reports information and what information they are going to be keeping secret as compared to the past. Also, there is a look at the dichotomy between social media numbers and WWE network subscribers and what it says.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer.
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If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.
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.
As of this writing, there are rumors all over social media that middleweight contender Chris Weidman is injured. Additional information wasn’t available at this time, nor was it confirmed he is off UFC 199 where he is set to face middleweight champion Luke Rockhold in a rematch. We’ll have more as we find out detais.
As discussed on last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio, UFC strawweight Paige VanZant earned a spot in the Dancing with the Stars finale. She’ll be up against Ginger Zee and Nyle DiMarco, which kind of stretches the definition of “Stars” in the show’s title.
The UFC 198 prelims Saturday night on FS 1 did 786,000 viewers, down about 5% from the UFC 197 prelims even with a stronger prelim main event of Matt Brown vs Demian Maia. The number was obviously hurt by going head to head with the Bellator show on Spike TV, headlined by King Mo vs. Phil Davis.
Newly crowned UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic will be a VIP guest of the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight as they open up the NBA Eastern Conference Finals against the Toronto Raptors. Miocic is from the area and it’s been touted that he’s finally brought a title to a city that has been without one for a long time.
Here’s an article on John Skyler, the Southern Savior, who debuted on Raw last night in a tag team with Corey Hollis against the returning tag team of Primo and Epico.
From the “You Can’t Make This Up” department, adult film star and California resident James Deen filed a Cal/OSHA complaint of “bloodborne pathogen violations” against Bellator MMA and Viacom Tuesday. Why? Because Deen was both cited and fined under the same code violation from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and is tired of his industry being persecuted.
“You can’t pick and choose how to enforce the law. Cal/OSHA knows that section 5193 is not designed to protect entertainment workers. If the government is choosing to say that 5193 applies to the adult entertainment industry, then they are also saying that it must apply to all sports and entertainment,” he said.
Bellator 154 on Spike did 709,000 viewers, up from their last two shows and much better than expected given the lack of star power outside the main event.
Tickets officially go on sale Friday for UFC on Fox Chicago, set for July 23rd. Holly Holm vs. Valentina Shevchenko, Anthony Johnson vs. Glover Teixeira, and Edson Barboza vs. Gilbert Melendez are your three headlining fights.
Also going on sale Friday is UFC Fight Night 91 the promotion’s first visit to South Dakota. Tony Ferguson vs. Michael Chiesa headlines with Tim Boestch vs. Josh Samman and more announced for the undercard.
UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson has signed a long-term contract extension with UFC.
Bellator yesterday announced a multi-fight, multi-year extension with unbeaten bantamweight prospect Darrion Caldwell.
Cris Cyborg opened up as a betting favorite over UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate, should that bout ever take place. She is still listed as an underdog for a theoretical fight with former champ Ronda Rousey, though.
In a recent interview, Stephen Thompson opened up to Submission radio about not getting a title shot, fighting Rory MacDonald, thoughts on Woodley fighting Lawler and why he’d like to fight McGregor.
World Series of Fighting is launching a program designed to find fighters who are also military veterans. President Ray Sefo and team are going to visit gyms in an attempt to put together the first fight in the program on their Saturday, November 12th NBCSN show Veterans Day weekend.
Miscellaneous & Events
NWA Smoky Mountain in Elizabethton, TN, on 6/24 with Chase Owens & Buff Bagwell vs. Jordan Kage and Chris Richards. Kevin Nash and Scott Hall are doing a meet and greet earlier in the day.
NWA is running CAJUN HEAT on July 2nd in Morgan City, LA, with Rob Conway vs. Rodney Mack, NWA Champion Jax Dane, and an appearance from Kevin Nash.
Alpha 1 Wrestling runs on 7/3 at the Knights of Columbus in Hamilton, ON.
A big third hour drop and a massive NBA playoff game resulted in WWE coming close to seasonal lows for the May 16th edition of Raw, but ending just above that mark.
The show did 3.17 million viewers — just above the 3.12 million viewers for the April 25th show — but lower than any other non-holiday Raw outside of football season since 1997.
The first hour, which didn’t oppose the Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder game, was the highest rated show on cable. Raw was No. 3 on cable behind the game and the post game show, Inside The NBA
There was a huge drop in Raw’s third hour, which was predicted given everything that was going on. The basketball game was up 28% in viewers from a similar Warriors playoff game last season.
The key is that even though there are more viewers of Dancing With The Stars (11.64 million) than the NBA game (8.1 million), the latter seems to have impacted Raw more significantly.
DWTS draws double the women’s adult audience as men, while the NBA game was made up of 66% males or about double the women’s audience in the 18-49 demo. Raw does numbers similar to that of the NBA in that regard. Also of note in sports Monday, the San Jose Sharks vs. St. Louis Blues NHL playoff game did 1.71 million viewers.
Raw was only down two percent from last week with that tougher competition. The first two hours were similar to last week with hour one slightly up and hour two slightly down. But, the third hour was down four percent from last week.
Madison Square Garden: – Bruno Sammartino defeated WWWF World Champion Buddy Rogers in 47 seconds to win the championship
1966
Moline, Illinois: – The Crusher & Ernie Ladd & Verne Gagne beat Larry Hennig & Harley Race & The Alaskan – Reggie Parks beat Angelo Poffo – Ernie Ladd beat Larry Hennig
Kansas City, Missouri: – Dick the Bruiser & Bob Ellis defeated Bob Geigel & Bob Brown – World Heavyweight Champion Gene Kiniski defeated The Mongolian Stomper in three falls
1973
Kansas City, Kansas: – Harley Race defeated Black Angus – Bob Geigel & Bobo Brazil defeated Togo the Great & Tokyo Joe – Jim Dalton & Frank Diamond defeated Argentina Zuma & L.D. Lewis – Mike George defeated Bob Orton – Omar Atlas defeated The Terror via DQ – Danny Little Bear fought Bob Brown to a double-DQ
1974
Denver, Colorado: – The Crusher & Wahoo McDaniel beat Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens on a 3rd fall COR to win the AWA Tag Team titles – Superstar Billy Graham beat Geoff Portz – Chris Taylor beat Moose Morowski – Larry Hennig beat Bull Bullinski – Greg Gagne beat Odd Job Tosh Tojo dq
Atlanta, Georgia: – In a Lights Out Match, Andre The Giant & Mr. Wrestling II beat Bill Watts & Big Bad John – NWA World Champion Jack Brisco beat Dusty Rhodes via DQ – Georgia Tag Team Champions Ronnie Garvin & Terry Garvin beat Bob Armstrong & Haystack Calhoun – Southern States Champion Jerry Brisco beat Bobby Duncum – Gene Anderson & Ole Anderson beat Steve Keirn & Dennis Stamp – Art Nelson drew Jerry Oates – Bob Sweetan beat Mike Stallings – Ali Vaziri beat Zebra Kid
1978
Honolulu, Hawaii: – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Rick Martel – In a Loser Leaves Town Match; Tor Kamata beat Billy White Wolf – Buddy Rose & John Studd beat Bill Francis & Russ Francis – John Tolos beat Chris Markoff dq – George Wells beat Rocky Tomayo
1981
Atlanta, Georgia: – Tommy Rich won a tournament for the Georgia Heavyweight championship; beating Greg Valentine in the finals – In a No Time Limit, No DQ Match: Ted Dibiase & Junkyard Dog beat The Freebirds’ Terry Gordy & Buddy Roberts
1982
Birmingham, Alabama: – NWA World champion Ric Flair defeated Terry Gordy – Roy Welch beat Tommy Wright – Scott McGhee beat Ted Oates – Jacques Rougeau beat Jos LeDuc by DQ – Ron & Robert Fuller beat New Zealand Sheepherders
1984
Nagasaki, Japan: – Tatsutoshi Gotoh defeated Pat Tanaka – Shunji Kosugi defeated Naoki Sano – Kuniaki Kobayashi & Black Cat defeated Norio Honaga & Fumihiro Niikura – Big John Studd & Otto Wanz defeated Animal Hamaguchi & Isamu Teranishi – Adrian Adonis defeated Osamu Kido – Riki Choshu & Yoshikai Yatsu fought Fujiwara & Kengo Kimura to a double countout – Dick Murdoch defeated Ken Patera – Andre The Giant defeated Mr. Saito via disqualification – Antonio Inoki, Seigi Sakaguchi, & Tatsumi Fujinami defeated WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan, the Masked Superstar, & John Quinn
1986
Hammond, Indiana: – Playboy Buddy Rose & Doug Somers defeated Scott Hall & Curt Hennig to win the AWA World Tag Team Championship – Colonel DeBeers beat Earthquake Ferris
Baltimore, Maryland: – Dusty Rhodes & the Road Warriors defeated NWA Six Man Tag Team Champions Baron Von Raschke, Ivan & Nikita Koloff to win the titles
1987
The Lightning Express, (Brad Armstrong & Tim Horner), defeated Rick Steiner & Sting to win the UWF Tag Team Titles
1992
WCW WrestleWar: Jacksonville, Florida: – The Freebirds (Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin) defeated Terry Taylor & Greg Valentine to win the United States Tag Team Championship – Brian Pillman defeated Tom Zenk to retain the WCW World Light Heavyweight Title – WCW World Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Tatsumi Fujinami & Takayuki Iizuka – Sting, Nikita Koloff, Dustin Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat & Barry Windham defeated Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, Rick Rude, Steve Austin & Larry Zbyszko in a War Games match – Diamond Dallas Page & Tommy Rich defeated Bob Cook & Firebreaker Chip – Johnny B. Badd defeated Tracey Smothers – Scotty Flamingo defeated Marcus Bagwell – Ron Simmons defeated Mr. Hughes – Super Invader defeated Todd Champion – Big Josh defeated Richard Morton
Beckley, West Virginia: – Thunder Tiger defeated the Master of Disaster – Dixie Dynamite (Brian Armstrong) pinned Dutch Mantell – Tim Horner pinned Buddy Landel – Robert Gibson pinned Jimmy Golden – Brian Lee pinned the Dirty White Boy – Brad & Bart Batten defeated SMW Tag Team Champions The Heavenly Bodies, Stan Lane & Tom Prichard via disqualification
1993
New York City: – Marty Jannetty defeated Shawn Michaels to win the WWF Intercontinental Title
1998
WCW Slamboree: Worchester, Massachusetts: – WCW World TV Champion Fit Finlay pinned Chris Benoit – Lex Luger defeated Brian Adams – Ciclope won a cruiserweight battle royal – Dean Malenko defeated WCW Cruiserweight Champion Chris Jericho to win the title – Eddie Guerrero (with Chavo Guerrero Jr.) pinned Ultimo Dragon – Diamond Dallas Page pinned Raven in a Bowery Death Match – WCW U.S. Champion Bill Goldberg pinned Perry Saturn – Bret Hart defeated Randy Savage – Sting & the Giant defeated WCW World Tag Team Champions Scott Hall & Kevin Nash (with Dusty Rhodes) to win the titles
2009
WWF Judgement Day | Chicago, Illinois – Mickie James defeated Beth Phoenix (with Rosa Mendes) – Umaga defeated CM Punk – Christian defeated Jack Swagger to retain the ECW Championship – John Morrison defeated Shelton Benjamin (with Charlie Haas) – Rey Mysterio defeated Chris Jericho to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship – Batista defeated Randy Orton by disqualification, Orton retained the WWE Championship – John Cena defeated Big Show – Edge defeated Jeff Hardy to retain the World Heavyweight Championship
With the June 8 match set to be their third consecutive TakeOver main event, Joe vs. Balor has become the first program to reach that milestone since NXT started doing WWE Network specials.
Balor retained the NXT title on a December 16 special from SSE Wembley in London, and did so a second time on April 1 as part of the WrestleMania weekend activities in Dallas.
With all the talk these days in combat sports seemingly surrounding a complete sale of a promotion or a minority stake, the first significant sale didn’t involve UFC or TNA, but rather Vince McMahon of WWE.
On Monday, McMahon sold 2,191,894 shares of WWE stock for approximately $36,165,921 before taxes, said to be for estate planning purposes.
The WWE’s primary owner and creator is left with 37,080,747 shares which represents 48.8 percent of the company. For most of the past 15 years, McMahon had owned closer to 63 percent of company stock before sales over the past few years.
The 70-year-old McMahon said that other than possible sales of stock in his trust, which this represented, he has no current plans to sell any additional stock and intends to continue in his role and Chairman and CEO for the foreseeable future.
WWE stock closed at $17.91 per share today, down slightly (0.02) while the NYSE was up 1.02%.
Another show built around Shane and Stephanie ruling the roost. They ordered two separate matches, presided over a contract signing that was the main event segment and ended with Stephanie decking Ric Flair in Greensboro. The show had two very good tag team matches but lagged during the final hour.
Show Recap:
The Usos will face Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows later tonight. A.J. Styles came out and said he was tired of Roman Reigns calling him a liar, and well as various places he’s gone to and social media. Styles showed off tweets from fans who thought Styles’ relationship with Anderson and Gallows was a ploy to make him WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Styles talked about headlining the Tokyo Dome in front of 60,000 fans, and he didn’t need any help getting to the top.
Reigns came out. “What an ovation!” screamed JBL as thunderous boos echoed in the background and Reigns walked past a “When it Reigns, it Bores” sign. Reigns said Styles has won championship after championship, but if you ask him, it doesn’t matter unless he’s wearing THE championship. Fans chanted for Seth Rollins, which seemed to iritate Reigns. Reigns said he would be in the Usos corner, and asked Styles if he was going to be in the Club’s corner? Styles said he would.
Styles said Reigns was THE guy who he was going to beat this Sunday at Extreme Rules. Reigns said Styles couldn’t beat him one-on-one, and the Usos would be at ringside with him to prove that the bloodline could beat the clubline. Anderson & Gallows came out. The Usos ran out from the crowd to join Reigns and Reigns punched Styles out of the ring just as Styles was about to strike. It appeared security was confiscasting anti-Reigns signs during this segment because they cut to tight shots of Reigns face while guards worked around ringside.
Cesaro and Sami Zayn went to a no contest (1:40)
Kevin Owens and the Miz were at ringside. After Sami Zayn sent Cesaro out of the ring, Owens got up from the commentary table and acted like he was going to leave, but attacked Miz instead. The two ended up in the ring, where Owens and Zayn brawled, as did Cesaro and Miz.
This led to Shane McMahon coming out to a big pop. He arranged for Zayn and Cesaro to team against Miz and Owens. Then Stephanie McMahon came out. She changed the match to Zayn and Owens vs. Miz and Cesaro, and if Owens walked out, he would lose his spot in the Fatal Four Way at Extreme Rules.
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens defeated the Miz and Cesaro (10:47)
Zayn pinned the Miz after the Helluva Kick. Miz and Cesaro starting arguing, and it led to Cesaro giivng him the Skull Crushing Finale. After Zayn got the pin, Owens gave him a superkick, then proclaimed himself the winner of the match. Owens was the straw that stirred this drink and was very entertaining. He even got a run wild sequence that included a Cannonball on Cesaro, which the fans went nuts for. Byron Saxton said “I can’t believe we’re seeing Zayn and Owens teaming together.” Aside from the decade they spent teaming together in ROH and other indys, I totally agree. Reminded me of watching WWE Superstars back in the day and Gorilla Monsoon would call Lanny Poffo a youngster after he had wrestled for 15 years.
Renee Young asked Chris Jericho in his dressing room about Dean Ambrose requesting a meeting with him tonight. Jericho said he wanted Ambrose to apologize for destroying his $15,000 jacket last week, which was as much an institution in the WWE as Andre the Giant. He talked about how the jacket belonged in the Smithsonian.
The Shining Stars defeated Scott Jackson and Brian Kennedy (1:33)
Epico pinned Brian Kennedy with the Shining Star, which is the old Total Elimination. Since they were in Greensboro, this was your basic 1980s squash match that aired on Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling every Saturday night. Even the jobbers names sounded like something that Bob Caudle would say. A word has yet to be created to adequately describe the indifference the crowd had for the Shining Stars in their debut, whose gimmick is they beat up guys from the host cities hometown to prove Puerto Rico is the most beautiful place on Earth. Before we go comparing this to the Reverend D-Von, Kane’s twin brother and Outback Jack, let’s remember the New Day was the least over thing in this company 18 months ago.
OK, I’m done pretending. These guys couldn’t get heat in Texas wearing Jose Bautista jerseys.
Ambrose came out. There was an angle on SmackDown where Jericho put Ambrose in a straight jacket, and Ambrose said he felt something in his head that snapped a little. He called Jericho out. Jericho came out and ordered Ambrose to apologize for his jacket, which he called an important part of his legacy. Jericho actually was a heel trying to get heat. And he got it. Remarkable.
Ambrose said he wasn’t apologizing and challenged him to a match at Extreme Rules. Jericho said he would take $15,000 out of Ambrose’s ass. Ambrose asked if Jericho was sure. Jericho said people liked to call Ambrose a lunatic, but he was a lunatic because there was no one in the company crazier than him. He’s faced every fighter the company has thrown at him for 17 years and is a 6-time world champion. Jericho said he would punish Ambrose with no remorse, with a smile on his face and without a tear in his eye. Jericho did his new catchphrase of “The gift of Jericho. Drink it in.”
Ambrose said he had a gift for Jericho. A cage came down from the roof with this music that sounded like the “Psycho” theme. Ambrose said he talked to Shane and Ambrose got to have the first-ever Asylum match. It was a cage match with a straight jacket, a barbed wire 2×4, the ghost of Mitch the Plant, a fire extinguisher, a strap, a mop and bucket and various other objects. Ambrose said there would be no escaping the cage and Jericho would never, ever be the same again.
Dana Brooke defeated Becky Lynch (3:41)
Brooke won when Becky Lynch attempted a sunset flip, but Brooke sat down. Weird spot early in Lynch jumped off the apron for a double axehandle that appeared to connect, but wasn’t supposed to. Brooke then had to no-sell it and threw Lynch into the dasherboards. Brooke was shown earlier being snobby to a guy, saying if he worked out and dressed better, maybe she would take him seriously. Lynch has become the jobber Diva, it appears.
Bob Backlund appeared as Darren Young’s life coach. Backlund asked Young what time it was. Young pulled out his phone. Backlund thought he was going to call the operator and ask what time it was. Young talked about trying to organize the Desktop on his phone. Backlund thought he meant organizing his desk by putting a calendar over it. Backlund ordered him to do 200 squats. And that’s how the second “Make Darren Young Great Again” skit ended. Well, the newest Young push is still more alive than Ted Cruz’s campaign.
Shane watched this unfold. Stephanie wanted to know why Shane didn’t run the whole Asylum match by her. Shane wondered why didn’t Stephanie run by changing the tag team match by him. Bubba Ray and Devon Dudley came in. Bubba Ray said they’ve heard about the New Era, but they wanted to show what guys from the Attitude era. Devon Dudley wanted to face two little guys from North Carolina and rough them up. Shane spoke up and said one of the Dudleys could face Big Cass. The Dudleys could pick out which one would get the honors. Shane got to do Enzo Amore’s catchphrase.
Breezango defeated The Golden Truth (1:55)
Tyler Breeze pinned Goldust after R-Truth accidentally hit Goldust with a flying side kick. Breezango is Tyler Breeze and Fandango, who turned on their respective partners on SmackDown. The Golden Truth got a big introduction video that was twice as long as the match, showing how this debut was six months in the making. Naturally, they lost and teased dissension, which we saw earlier from two other teams.
Goldust was mad at Truth afterwards. Truth said they need to get their timing together. Fandango and Breeze dropped by to laugh at them. At first, Goldust was unsure if Truth would be a good partner, but after Breezango laughed at them, he agreed they should remain a team and get revenge.
The New Day came out. It looked like fans had Booty-O boxes left and right. Kofi Kingston said he didn’t understand why the Vaudevillains said a bygone era was a better era. They pulled off a huge box that Xavier Woods claimed was a Delorian time machine. Big E. tried to claim it was really a large refrigerator box with a keyboard that was really sticky, but Woods wouldn’t let him finish. T
hey got inside the box and it was pretty funny. The machine went back in time and Kofi Kingston’s old Jamacian “S.O.S’ music started playing. Kingston started doing his old Jamacian accent. Woods said they didn’t go back far enough. They got back in the box and Kofi’s smartphone had turned into a old camera with a light bulb on top. Aiden English and Simon Gotch then ran up from behind and jumped the New Day, giving Woods and Kingstgon the Whirling Dervish.
The Usos defeated Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows (12:46)
Very good match, better than the first match of the night. After the Usos hit double superkicks on Anderson and Gallows, Jey Uso pinned Anderson after a splash. Anderson hit a spinebuster on Jey for a very good near fall. Styles and Reigns were at ringside in opposing corners. A group of fans were still chanting for Rollins. Jey Uso has so much charisma, his hot tag won the crowd over, even with Reigns at ringside.
Postmatch, Gallows hit Reigns from behind. This led to the Usos and Anderson/Gallows brawling again, where Anderson threw Jey Uso into the steps. Styles was left in the ring trying to use the chair against Reigns, but Reigns caught Styles with an uppercut before he could. Reigns hit Styles with the chair across the back. Gallows and Anderson ran in, only to each take Superman Punches. Styles recovered to deliver three chair shots across Reigns’ back. Then Styles delivered the Styles Clash onto the chair on Reigns to sizeable cheers.
Big Cass defeated Devon Dudley (:59)
Big Cass won with the East River Crossing, or the old Chris Harris Catatonic. Cass did a prematch promo where he compared Devon to Urkel from Family Matters and Bubba Ray to Fred Flintstone.
Alberto Del Rio defeated Kalisto (C) in a nontitle match (11:05)
Sin Cara watched the match from the back when Rusev jumped him with a superkick, then dragged him to ringside. That got the crowd interested because they would get to see Lana, who got chants. Once Rusev showed up at ringside, Kalisto was distracted, giving Alberto Del Rio the opening to hit the backstabber for the pin. Earlier, Kalisto tried to hit a huracanrana off the apron, but Del Rio slung him into the barricade.
Postmatch, Rusev attacked Kalisto, giving him the Accolade when he bent as far as humanly possible. Rusev grabbed the U.S. Championship and threw on a prone Kalisto.
Stephanie and Shane were in the ring for the contract signing for Charlotte vs. Natalya for the WWE Women’s Championship match at Extreme Rules. Shane got “Shane O’Mac” chants. She was about to introduce Charlotte when Ric Flair interrupted her and introduced his daughter. Michael Cole gave a rundown of Flair’s career in Greensboro, mentioning his first match in the Greensboro Coliseum was against Chuck O’Connor, who would go on to be Big John Studd. Sadly, Cole also mentioned Flair’s last match in Greensboro, in 2008 against HHH. That will forever go down as the night HHH refused to job in Flair’s last match in Greensboro, opting for a lame DQ finish where William Regal ran in to punch HHH with brass knux.
Natalya came out and said Charlotte was once someone she respected and had integrity. Natalya said Charlotte even defeated her for Charlotte’s first NXT championship without the help of her creepy father. Natalya said that is the Charlotte she would like to beat at Extreme Rules, but that person doesn’t exist. Charlotte replied that Natalya was delusional, and the fans weren’t there to cheer for her, they were there for Charlotte.
It was meant to be a heel interview, as Charlotte said she could punch all of their best friends in the face and they would still cheer for her because they worship the ground that she walks on. Charlotte proclaimed herself as a living, breathing goddess. Those lines got the crowd against her, but it wasn’t genuine heat. Charlotte gave Natalya a “Whoo.” Ric started to say “Whoo,” but Charlotte told him to start because it was her ring. Charlotte said this was a waste of her time to talk about how bad she would be Natalya and asked to sign the deal. Charlotte looked at the contract, then asked “What is this?”
Shane included an added stipulation that if Ric even walks down to the ring, then Charlotte would forfeit the WWE Women’s Championship. Why was this news? Stephanie made that stipulation two weeks ago.
At that point, Shane brought security down to escort Flair away. Stephanie said if Charlotte didn’t sign the contract, then she would forfeit the championship. So Charlotte was essentially forced into the match. Charlotte signed the deal.
Flair got pissed at Stephanie, saying she was the worst businesswoman of all time. Shane tried to calm him down. Flair then took off his watch and his coat, acting like he was going to square off against Shane, who tried to let cooler heads prevail. Stephanie stepped between Shane and said he may have respect for Flair, but she doesn’t. Stephanie did slapped Flair, who had to take a delayed bump. This led to audible “Stephanie” chants that sure did come and go quickly.
Security stepped in to keep Flair out of the ring. Meanwhile, Natalya put Charlotte in the sharpshooter and Charlotte tapped out. Basically another segment to get the McMahons over.
SUMMARY:
How can a show be bad when it has A.J. Styles, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Cesaro, and some very good tag teams? When it turns into another episode of “The McMahons,” which this show became after the first hour. They just can’t help themselves. The Styles/Reigns buildup was very good.
Emma suffered a back injury at yesterday’s house show in Charlottesville, VA. She was being examined today. In other injury news, it is official that Matt Jackson’s fractured hand will keep him out of the ring for four to six weeks so he and Nick Jackson are both out of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament, which starts tomorrow. New Japan hasn’t announced replacements.
We’re looking for your thoughts on yesterday’s UFC 198 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” target=”_blank”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com.
Raw is tonight in Greensboro. It’s the go-home show for Extreme Rules and we should get one or two new matches announced for the show. We’re looking for reports on the dark matches, Superstars matches and anything else not evident from the live show.
We’re looking for reports on these shows also to dave@wrestlingobserver.com” target=”_blank”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com.
Friday’s WWE house show in Greeneville, NC
The Lucha Underground tapings this past weekend in Los Angeles.
Smackdown and Main Event will be taped tomorrow night in Greenville, SC. Not that this means anything, but they are advertising Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose & Cesaro vs. Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens & The Miz.
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Figure Four Weekly 5/9/2016: Hogan and Gawker fight over verdict – Hulk Hogan is suing Gawker a second time, this time for leaking the contents of sealed documents to the tabloids. Now we have the verdict. Find out all the details in this weeks issue of Figure Four Weekly.
Our lead story updates the talks of a UFC sale, plus an updated look at how the WWE is doing as a business, a look at WWE cuts, the booking behind the ROH Global Wars PPV and how New Japan and ROH are working together even more closely than on the surface, Global Wars coverage, a look at the status of a lot of ROH talent, coverage of the UFC debut in Holland, the hidden story of just how much of the male audience has been lost by WWE, as well as what WWE can learn from the NBA, and historical bios on Billy Wicks and Kato Kung Lee.
There is also a look at the ESPN story on the potential sale of the UFC, what we know is legit, numbers being thrown around, who actually owns UFC, Dana White’s reaction to the story, moves UFC has made, Dana White’s long-term future if there is a sale, timing of the sale and sustaining the brand popularity. Plus there’s also a look at the various companies listed that are in talks of buying.
An update on WWE financials is in this issue, plus a look at the WWE Network numbers, what last year’s patterns tell us about the numbers, the company’s profits and losses, how well every division does for WWE and what is the most important for the bottom line, how well the company is doing financially compared to last year, what is projected by WWE this year for the WrestleMania quarter, update on injured wrestlers and their returns, Vince McMahon talks WWE injuries, and how much cash on hand the company has right now.
There is also a look at how WWE is going to be changing how it reports information and what information they are going to be keeping secret as compared to the past. Also, there is a look at the dichotomy between social media numbers and WWE network subscribers and what it says.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer.
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WWE had better hope that the string of improved shows will start clicking because with the Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder game starting at 9 p.m., going against the final two hours of Raw, not to mention the usual Dancing With the Stars, this is a tough night for competition. The NHL playoff game with Tampa Bay vs. Pittsburgh also goes against Raw. Raw hasn’t advertised anything of note for tonight, past the new gimmick debut of the Colon cousins, who will go as Primo & Epico, The Shining Stars. One note is that it will be Ric Flair’s first appearance in a long time at the Greensboro Coliseum, the building he helped put on the map during the 70s as one of the hottest arenas in the country.
Jimmy Snuka’s competency to stand trail hearing will continue this week in Allentown, PA.
John Cena and the Bella Twins are in New York today for the NBC Universal upfronts. Cena was pushing the company’s charity work and used the term fans instead of WWE Universe. Well, in a situation like that, he probably should.
Bruno Sammartino, who has cut way back on autograph shows, announced what may be his last signing at The Big Event in Queens on 11/19, with an appearance along with Ivan Koloff and Larry Zbyszko.
WWE
The company applied for a trademark for the term “Lady Balls” last week according to Pro Wrestling Sheet. The theory is that’s the title for Stephanie McMahon’s autobiography that was announced earlier today.
NXT will be taping on Thursday night at Full Sail University.
There is a new episode of Camp WWE today with Sgt. Slaughter as a key figure leading Survival weekend.
UFC
In a crazy story, Matt Brown, who had a few fans try to get at him as he went to the cage on Saturday night, was attacked at his hotel in Curitiba by his former Jiu Jitsu coach Rodrigo Botti yesterday morning. As the story goes, Botti punched Brown from behind and ran away. Friends of Brown chased him and grabbed him outside the hotel and held him for police. Brown was not injured in the attack and returned home to the U.S. Botti had charged Brown with assault last year in the U.S.
David Berlin, who was the director of the New York State Athletic Commission, was replaced by Eric Bently. The commission will start regulating MMA in a few months with both UFC and Bellator expecting to go into the state with major shows.
MISCELLANEOUS
Dave Bautista, Gina Carano, George St-Pierre and Jean Claude Van Damme star in the movie “Kickboxer: Vengeance” that will be released at the theaters on 8/19. Bautista plays Tong Po, a Muay Thai champion. Other familiar names in the cast include Cain Velasquez, pro wrestler Luke Hawx, Tyron Woodley, Fabricio Werdum and Joe Schilling.
Scheduled for Impact tomorrow night on POP TV:
Velvet Sky vs. Sienna (Sky’s farewell to the promotion)
Ethan Carter III vs Tyrus last man standing
Drew Galloway vs. Bobby Lashley for the TNA title
WrestleMarica from Saturday night in Barnesville, GA before 300 fans: Dylan Cook b Scotty Beach, Trevor Acon & Damian Silva b Chris Henry & Shawn Sims, Scotty Bullwinkel b Iceberg in a street fight, Corey Hollis & Jaxson James b Zane Stevens & David Tita, Amber Gallows b Andrea the Amazon to retain the NWA women’s title, Fry Daddy b Stevie Richards. Teddy Long appeared on the show as General Manager. Amber Gallows did a heel turn as NWA women’s champion saying Luke Gallows put the WWE ahead of their promotion and said she was the only woman to ever wrestle in New Japan that actually mattered. I guess that was meant for Maria Kanellis. Next show is 6/11 with Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. Corey Hollis & John Skyler. (thanks to Kris Zellner)
Premier Wrestling on 7/17 in Gilroy, CA at the IFDES Lodge Portuguese Hall at 5 p.m. with Joe Graves (5-1-1) defending his Premier title against Gabriel Gallo (5-0-1), plus women’s champion Raze (3-2) facing Shayna Baszler (1-0, JR Kratos (9-3-1) vs. Jeff Cobb (6-6-1) plus Nicole Savoy (3-3) and Alexander Hammerstone (2-0).
There was a New Era Wrestling show on Saturday night in Golden, CO which was supposed to feature Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine, who were both at the Cheyenne, WY Comic Con the night before. The promoters made a last minute deal to bring them in. On the morning of the show, Valentine evidently made the decision not to attend. Honky cut a promo and said how Valentine begs him for bookings but here after making one decided he just didn’t want to show up. He claimed he’s never work with Valentine again. (thanks to Anthony Sullivan)
UPW from Saturday night in Rochester, NY: Eh Team won over Tygerslayers 08, Wet Bandits and Interstate Education System, Chris Cayden won scramble match over Jordan Falcon, Rob Sweet, Jason Savior, Victor Lord and Bobby Dipinto, Yamaraj b Jeremy Jensen, Space Monkey b Marc Hauss, Rik Matrix b Plunkett the Ogre, Dick Justice b Jock Samson, Ethan Page won four-way over Lionel Knight, Shane Sabre and Coconut Jones, Nick Ando b Cloudy in a street fight, Mattick d Helllcat, Ricky Reyes (Cortez Castro in Lucha Underground) won three-way over Carter Mason and Cheech, Dick Justice won Rochester Rumble, Carlito b Maximo Suave (thanks to Todd Brantley)
Maryland Championship Wrestling and Global Force Wrestling had a joint show on Friday night in Joppa, MD: Kevin Matthews b Brandon Scott, Sexy Steve & Jimmy Starr won over Paul Jordane & Bill Collier, Joe Keys & Rob Locke, and Rayo & Bruiser, Christina Von Eerie & Kimber Lee b Renee Michelle & Brittany Blake, Colt Cabana b Chuck Lennox, Drolix b Pat Buck, Sonjay Dutt retained GFW NEX Gen title over DJ Zema Ion and Lio Rush, Nick Aldis (Magnus) retained GFW title over Brian Myers, Jeff Jarrett & Shaun Cannon & Drake Carter b Ken Dixon & Eric Chapel & Dirty Money. They announced Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Damien Sandow on the 6/10 show in Joppa, MD for a 6 p.m. meet and greet. Ron Simmons, Billy Gunn and Sean Waltman appear on 6/18 in Waldorf, MD at Regency Furniture Stadium for a meet and greet and live show. (thanks to Phil Stamper)
Terry Funk, Sting, Matt & Jeff Hardy, Bret Hart and Dutch Mantel are scheduled for a 6/10 Legends of the Ring convention in Monroe, NJ.
A sentencing hearing for Tammy Sytch has been moved to 7/3 on a DUI charge from last year.
Freedom Pro Wrestling on 5/21 in Nashville at the Fairgrounds with Kevin Nash, Eric Young, MVP, Rockstar Spud, Crimson, and Samuel Shaw.
Progress Wrestling on 5/29 and 5/30 at the Electric Ballroom in London has a six man Strong Style tournament with Big Daddy Walter, Chris Hero, Damon Moser, Dave Mastiff, Kenny Williams, Mark Andrews, Mark Haskins, Matt Cross, Mikey Whiplash, Pete Dunne, Rampage Brown, Sami Callihan, TK Cooper, Tommy End, Zack Gibson and Zack Sabre Jr.
Minneapolis, Minnesota: – World Heavyweight Champion Ed “Strangler” Lewis beat Henry Ordemann 2 falls to 0
1934
St. Louis, Missouri: – World Heavyweight Champion Jim Londos beat Richard “Dick” Shikat – Orville Brown and Ray Steele drew – George Zaharias beat Matros Kirilenko
1952
Tacoma, Washington: – Roger Mackay defeated The Masked Marvel (Buddy Knox) for the Pacific Coast Junior Heavyweight Title
1963
Washington, DC: – Brute Bernard and Skull Murphy defeated Buddy Austin and The Great Scott to win the WWWF United States Tag Team Titles
Houston, Texas: – Bull Curry defeated Jack Dalton for the NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Title
1964
Omaha, Nebraska: – Verne Gagne won the AWA World Heavyweight Title by defeating Mad Dog Vachon – Reggie Parks beat Frisco Montana – Mongolian Stomper beat George Drake – Rocky Hamilton drew Jack Pesek
1967
Little Rock, Arkansas: – Togo Shikuma and Chati Yokouchi defeated Jack Brisco and Gorgeous George, Jr. to win the Tri-State NWA United States Tag Team Titles
Tampa, Florida: – Boris Malenko defeated Wahoo McDaniel for the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title
1969
Calgary, Alberta, Canada: – Archie Gouldie (The Mongolian Stomper) defeated Angelo Mosca for the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title
Atlanta, Georgia: – The Professional (Doug Gilbert) defeated El Mongol to win the vacant NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title
1970
Portland, Oregon: – The Claw defeated Moondog Mayne for the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title
St. Paul, Minnesota: – No Time Limit: The Crusher beat Mad Dog Vachon – Red Bastien & Pepper Gomez beat Dr. X & Double X dq – Edouard Carpentier drew Blackjack Lanza – Paul Diamond beat Jack Pesek – Joe Scarpello beat Billy Howard
1972
Tampa, Florida: – Paul Jones defeated Jack Brisco to win the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title
1973
Buffalo, New York: – Johnny Powers defeated Eric the Animal to win the NWF North American Heavyweight Title
Honolulu, Hawaii: – Wahoo McDaniel beat Billy Graham in an Indian Death Match – North American Champion Dusty Rhodes beat Billy Robinson via DQ – Ivan Koloff ddq Ken Patera – Sam Steamboat & Jimmy Snuka beat Mad Dog Vachon (sub Tarzan Tyler) & Lars Anderson – Ed Francis beat Bob Ramstead – Neff Maiava beat The Masked Man
1975
Tokyo, Japan: – Antonio Inoki defeated Killer Karl Krupp by submission to win the annual NJPW World League tournament
1977
Tokyo, Japan: – Giant Baba defeated Jumbo Tsuruta to win the annual AJPW Champion’s Carnival tournament
1980
San Antonio, Texas: – Al Madril and Tom Prichard defeated Jack Evans and Pampero Firpo to win the NWA Americas Tag Team Titles
St. Louis, Missouri: – WWF World Champion Bob Backlund defeated Roger Kirby – Missouri State Champion Ken Patera defeated Kevin Von Erich
1981
Tulsa, Oklahoma: – Eddie Gilbert and Ricky Morton defeated The Akbar Army (Jerry Brown and Ron McFarlane) to win the NWA Tri-State Tag Team Titles
San Juan, Puerto Rico: – Kim Song defeated Tommy Gilbert for the WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Title
1983
Memphis, Tennessee: – Bobby Eaton and Duke Myers defeated The Fabulous Ones (Steve Keirn and Stan Lane) for the AWA Southern Tag Team Title – Ken Patera won the CWA/AWA International Heavyweight Title from Jerry Lawler – Bill Dundee won the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title from Dutch Mantell
1984
Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada: – Wojo Yawrenko defeated Al Tomko to win the Vancouver NWA Canadian Heavyweight Title
1987
Atlanta, Georgia: – The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane) defeated Ronnie Garvin and Barry Windham in the finals of a six-team tournament for the NWA United States Tag Team Titles
1988
Memphis, Tennessee: – AWA Champion Jerry Lawler beat Bill Dundee – Robert Fuller beat Jeff Jarrett – CWA Champion Max Pain beat Curt Hennig via DQ – Gary Young drew Scott Steiner – Cuban Assassins ddq Bruise Brothers – Billy Travis beat Doug Gilbert dq – Tommy Gilbert beat Tom Brandi
1991
Mexico City, Mexico: – Villano III defeated El Signo for the UWA World Light Heavyweight Title – Los Cowboys (Silver King and El Texano) won a tournament to become the first UWA World Tag Team Champions
1992
Charleston, South Carolina: – Ricky Steamboat & Nikita Koloff defeated WCW US Champion Rick Rude & Steve Austin – WCW World Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko in a steel cage match
1998
Anaheim, California: – The Undertaker defeated Kane in a lights out match – WWF Tag Team Champions the Road Dogg & Billy Gunn defeated LOD 2000 – WWF World Champion Steve Austin pinned WWF Intercontinental Champion the Rock
2010
TNA Sacrifice: Orlando, Florida: – The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) defeated Beer Money, Inc. (James Storm and Robert Roode) and Team 3D (Brother Devon and Brother Ray) – Rob Terry defeated Orlando Jordan to retain the TNA Global Championship – Doug Williams defeated Frankie Kazarian to win the X Division Title – Madison Rayne defeated Tara in a title vs. career match to retain the TNA Women’s Knockout Championship – The Band (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) defeated Ink Inc. (Jesse Neal and Shannon Moore) to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship – Abyss defeated Desmand Wolfe (with Chelsea) – Jeff Hardy defeated Mr. Anderson – Sting defeated Jeff Jarrett – Rob Van Dam defeated A.J. Styles (with Ric Flair) to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
Corbin came out to an ok reaction while Ziggler came out to a big pop. Corbin hit the End Of Days mid-match, but Ziggler kicked out at two. The last part of the match, Corbin reversed the Zig Zag and tried to hit Ziggler, but he ducked and connected with the superkick for the win.
– Apollo Crews def. Stardust
This match was pretty short. The bell rings and Dust punches & kicks Crews, than Crews starts to fight back. He does his usual moves, and hits the Crews Control for the win. Dust gets on the mic says he isn’t leaving Columbia without a win under his belt. He says he will fight anybody from Columbia, SC. This leads to…
– Big Show def. Stardust
Big Show comes out to a big pop. Dust taunts the crowd and turned around to a KO Punch. Show wins in less than 10 seconds.
– Greg Hamilton lets a lady in the crowd say “This match is scheduled for one fall”
– Big Cass def. D-Von w/ Bubba Ray
Not much to say about this match. Big Cass came out to a big pop. Everyone loves him. In a nice match, Cass hit the East River Crossing for the win.
– Sami Zayn def. Kevin Owens
The crowd likes Zayn but they LOVE Owens. The match was good. Owens taunted the crowd and before the match told everyone to be quiet so he can concentrate. Zayn hit the Blue Thunder Bomb for the win.
– WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte def. Nattie
Nice back and forth match. Nattie powerbombed Charlotte. Charlotte did the figure 4 and Nattie reversed. Charlotte won with a roll-up with feet on the ropes. Nattie left to a huge ovation from the crowd.
– I-C Champion Miz (w/Maryse) def. Cesaro and Sheamus in a three-way
Great match. Eeryone loves Cesaro, but even Sheamus got some love. Miz called the crowd “Carolina sweathogs”. Cesaro did the swing into the sharpshooter on Miz and later, he did the Gotch Neutralizer to Sheamus. After he did it, Miz clocks him and pins Sheamus for the win. Cesaro chased after Miz and Maryse chases Cesaro.
– WWE Champion Roman Reigns & The Usos def. Chris Jericho & Anderson/Gallows
The pop for Reigns was HUGE. Words can’t describe it. The match was great: crowd on their feet and especially when Roman got the hot tag. At the end of the match, Gallows & Anderson got tired of Jericho being a jerk so they let the Usos suicide dive on him. Roman hits the Superman Punch and spear for the win.
