Bret Hart was a guest this past week on Fight Network and The LAW and spoke about the recent passing of Roddy Piper, his issues with the upcoming Owen Hart DVD and Martha Hart and more. The full video is below, along with excerpts from the interview.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgoEIdSeB4E On the death of his close friend, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper:Roddy’s a really hard one; that’s like losing a brother. I can’t say I’ve gotten over it. If anything, I haven’t even really absorbed it yet. I find myself reaching for the phone all the time to give Roddy a call. He was so much more than any of the other wrestlers who worked with me. He was a guy that mentored me and helped me in the very beginning of my career. He gave me advice back at a time when nobody was giving advice to me. Always good advice. When I wrestled him at WrestleMania VIII, I look back at those times – Mr. Perfect would be another one – there’s a few guys who would reach down and help pull someone like me up to the next level. You can take your Jake Roberts and your Hulk Hogans and your Ultimate Warriors and a lot of these guys that were big names back then, but they never did anything for me. They never helped me, they never thought of helping me, and when they had a chance to help me they never did. But Roddy Piper was a guy that looked after guys like me, and a lot of the younger talent when the opportunity came for him to help make my career and pull me up to the next level. I owe a lot to Roddy Piper.On the recent release of “The Kliq Rules” DVD:They were literally a cancer in the dressing room, all of them. I don’t doubt that Shawn Michaels is sorry for a lot of that kind of behaviour. Kevin Nash was a great wrestler and a good guy, but I don’t think he could be that proud of that association. It was a cancerous environment in the dressing room with those guys and they certainly did more negative than positive to the business. Scott Hall, all you have to do is just look at him. He’s a train-wreck with his own life and he was a malcontent, or a guy that when you were close to him long enough you start to feel the same way he did; you just felt so self-destructive and unhappy with your life and your job and everything. He was a guy that was infectious with his bad, bad sort of moods and unhappiness in his own life that would spread to all the other wrestlers. And you know, I’m glad I’m not remembered for that kind of stuff. I’m remembered – I think if you talk to different wrestlers from that era, the Savio Vegas and those kinds of wrestlers that were on my cards – they’re all pretty proud of how I conducted myself, how I related to them and how I may have been the top guy but I didn’t act like a superstar; not to my friends and not to my peers.On the upcoming “Owen: Hart of Gold” DVD:I’m looking forward to it but I’m not really optimistic that it’s going to be a great job. Martha [Hart, Owen’s widow] handcuffed them so much. I don’t know if they’re even allowed to use any pictures from the past. It’s a poorly done DVD because of all the restraints and the limitations that Martha put on it. To me, that’s such a lousy thing to have happen. I think Owen would turn in his grave if he knew how much trouble Martha has gone to erase his career and make sure that nobody enjoys anything about his career today. It’s a bitterness and selfishness that I can’t stand by anymore. I think Martha’s taken the wrong approach and she should understand that, you know, we all miss Owen. I lost a brother, I lost a great friend and maybe one of the closest people I knew on this earth. I want to celebrate his career, I want to watch his matches back – not just with me, but with everybody he worked with. His time with WWE, they got so much footage and so many great memories with Owen, and here she is standing in the way of that saying, “Nobody can see these videos. No one should see anything that brings back any of his career.” […] They couldn’t use any pictures from his childhood, they couldn’t use anything from Stampede Wrestling. They had so many restraints. Even the interviews, the questions that they did with me were so bullshit. The whole thing was so bullshit that sure, there’s an Owen Hart DVD, but it’s the shits. […] I think WWE maybe had good intentions, but I’m not very impressed with the quality that it’s going to be. I haven’t seen it, I’m not optimistic but I’m hoping that it’ll be better than I think. But I could tell by the questions that they asked me and the interview that they did with me that it was a very short version of [Owen’s story]. I’m not really gonna hold up hope that it’s gonna be as great as it should be, and I feel bad because that’s Martha’s fault.
We’re looking for your thoughts on last night’s UFC 191 PPV show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to Dave Meltzer
We’re also looking for reports on these shows:
*WWE Friday night in Hampton, VA
*WWE Saturday night in Charlottesville
*WWE Saturday night in Wildwood, NJ
*WWE Sunday in Fairfax, VA
*WWE Sunday in Salisbury, MD
*GFW Friday in Waterloo, IA
WWE runs Sunday in Fairfax, VA (John Cena vs. Kevin Owens) and Salisbury, MD (Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt, Ryback vs. Big Show, Luke Harper vs. Dean Ambrose).
Raw will be Monday night in Baltimore.
Smackdown and Main Event are taped Tuesday night in Wilkes-Barre, PA.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
It’s a gigantic news week in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter with the main feature story on everything that led to the indictment of Jimmy Snuka after 32 years, plus Irv Muchnick, who has reported on the story for years gives his views on the proceedings, and we also look at Hulk Hogan’s attempt at redemption of his character, the full story behind the shooting at the Performance Center, notes from Battle of Los Angeles, the retirement of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Hayabusa walks to the ring, Bram gets arrested, WWE fires Zahra Schreiber, UFC brings back Travis Browne, a rundown of the PPV business in WWE in 2015 and the latest monthly business report from WWE & TNA.
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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.
Our lead story goes back to 1983 with an in-depth look at the death of Nancy Argentino, how the media caused the case to be reopened, a look at the charges against Jimmy Snuka, the different statements on the subject by Snuka, Snuka’s lawyer speaks, notes on documentation and testimony from the time, lots of notes regarding evidence, where Jimmy Snuka stood in the wrestling business in 1983, how Buddy Rogers fits into this story, what Snuka told police the morning after Argentino died as well as testimony from those who treated Argentino before her death.
We also look at the autopsy report, the police report from that time, the strange question that was never answered regarding the case being dropped, what Snuka has said to different people, the brawl in Syracuse before Argentino’s death, how the pro wrestling business in 1983 is so completely different from today and the previous legal action regarding this case.
Irv Muchnick also does a piece on the indictment talking about several points from the indictment.
We also look at Hulk Hogan appearing on Good Morning America and Nightline in a way to get his job back and repair his public image. We look at the WWE reaction, what Hogan said, what does and doesn’t hold up, the timeline issues with his various stories, neighbors of his growing up contradict his story and more.
We also look at the story of the man who was shot in front of the Performance Center, the circumstances of the shooting, and the different things he had done in recent months regarding his obsession with wrestling.
We also look at Battle of Los Angeles, how the tournament went, highlights from the weekend and celebrities at the shows.
We also look back at the career of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, including his new job with UFC, his becoming the top heavyweight in the sport at one time, his background, his debut in RINGS, his move to Pride, his fight with Bob Sapp, his three fight series with Fedor and his UFC run.
We look at the arrest of Thomas “Bram” Latimer of TNA, police details of what happened, TNA’s response and what is next for him.
We’ve got a story on Hayabusa, one of the best high flyers from 15-20 years ago and his attempted recovery from near paralysis.
We’ve got a look at Travis Browne and his reinstatement in UFC.
We look at the firing of Zahra Schreiber, the girlfriend of Seth Rollins, by WWE.
We also look at WWE & TNA business when it comes to house shows, merchandise, ratings and other categories for the past month.
We also have a PPV chart with how all the shows in the first seven months of the year have been, and compared them with the last few years.
We also look at WWE signing one of the major international women stars and why she’s not going to be wrestling in NXT, the return of Dr. Wagner Jr. & L.A. Park to Arena Mexico and how it got over, top pro wrestling star gets a reality show gig, and some major title changes.
We also look at maneuvering for the 2017 and 2018 WrestleMania, and the favorites, the 10/3 Madison Square Garden WWE live special, notes on lots of indie stars on WWE’s radar, ticket sales for NXT in the U.K., a new WWE movie, Update on Wade Barrett, action figure sales, announcing changes, SummerSlam edits, lots of notes on various WWE lawsuits, Dean Ambrose talks Renee Young, Fan tries to attack Ambrose, Sara Lee in NXT, plus notes on all the WWE & NXT house shows over the past week.
We also look at a number of top stars who worked recently in Bolivia, the last AAA TV taping and AAA wrestlers in a bodybuilding contest.
We update Wrestle-1 and the three generations of green mist stars trios match.
We also look at the Dragon Gate summer tag team tournament and its big show in Fukuoka and what came out of it.
We look at All Japan’s last major show and its current singles tournament.
We look at Pro Wrestling NOAH’s next major show, including a title match that was set up in the U.S., a well as the bracketing in the upcoming junior heavyweight tag team tournament.
We look at the weekend IGF show, a record that will be set at the next Tokyo Dome show, and the NWA title change.
We also look at U.S. stars who usually don’t tour Japan that are going shortly.
We’ve got more on the planned bio movie on Chris Benoit, Angelo Mosca getting his number retired, the weekend GFW shows and angles, Preston City Wrestling’s weekend show, former TNA star retires and a unique main event, plus early notes on this year’s WWC Anniversary show.
We also update the TNA TV situation, the Lucha Underground TV situation, the next ROH PPV show, new roles for people in ROH and notes from the weekend show.
We also look at changes in UFC main events, can UFC sell 70,000 tickets to its November show with Ronda Rousey, Rousey talks when she expects to retire, Cyborg, the date with the marine and notes about live shows on Fight Pass this month. We also look at this week’s PPV show, talks about the Jan. 2 Las Vegas card, a star fighter retires, Chad Mendes wants a rematch with McGregor, what happened recently with Jose Aldo, Rousey T-shirt sales, plus lots of more fights.
We also have a look at Bellator’s next major show, including the updated card, as well as plans for the big November show. We look at the Fan Fest with Fedor and Sakuraba, as well as notes on last week’s show.
We also look at the arrest of Chris Leben, and new restrictions on weight cutting that is being tried out for in California.
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Not a lot coming out of last night’s UFC show. In the Frank Mir vs. Andrei Arlovski fight, Judge Adelaide Byrd had all three rounds for Arlovski. Judge Sal D’Amato had one and three for Arlovski. Chris Lee also had one and three for Arlovski. Dana White said he thought Mir won. I had Arlovski. Media scores were about 75% for Arlovski. Arlovski outlanded him in all three rounds but round two was close and Mir got a takedown in that round.
UFC 191 had 200,000 searches yesterday, which is significantly more than one would have expected from that show. It was seventh behind six different football related themes. Five were college football schools or coverage and one was Tim Tebow. Of the top 20 searches yesterday, 19 of them were football related, 18 college football and UFC 191 was the only thing that wasn’t football related.
CHIKARA King of Trios from night one on Friday night in Easton, PA
Juan Francisco de Coronado & Mr. Azerbaijin & Proletariat Boar of Moldova b Mark Andrews & Morgan Webster & Pete Dunne
MK McKinnan & Trent ? & Tyler Bae b Jakob Hammermeier & Nekken & Soldier Ant
Kodama & Obariyan & Oleg the Usurper b El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr. & Princess Kimber Lee
Blaster McMassive & Flex Rumblecrunch & Max Smashmaster b Stevie Richards & Blue Meanie & Nova
Kevin Condron & Lucas Calhoun & Missile Assault Man b Dasher Hatfield & Icarus & Mark Angelosetti
A.J. Styles & Young Bucks b Amasis & Fire Ant & Worker Ant
Frightmare & Hallowicked & Silver Ant b Eddie Kingston & Ophidian & Shynron
Aero Star & Drago & Fenix b Chuck Taylor & Drew Gulak & Swamp Monster
CHIKARA King of Trios from night two in Easton, PA last night
Jake b Ashley Remington
MK McKinnan & Trent ? & Tyler Bae b Juan Francisco de Coronado & Proletariat Boar of Moldova & Mr. Azerbaijan
Shynon won four-way over 2 Cold Scorpio, Matt Cross and Madjai Amasis
Aero Star & Drago & Fenix b Hallowicked & Frightmare & Silver Ant
3.0 & NRG b Flying Francis & Arctic Rescue Ant & Orbit Adventure Ant
A.J. Styles & Young Bucks b Kevin Condron & Lucas Calhoun & Missile Assault Man
Mark Andrews won four-way over Pinkie Sanchez, Purpura and Ophidian Cobra
Max Smashmaster & Blaster McMassive & Flex Rumblecrunch b Obariyon & Kodama & Oleg the Usurper
Damian Gonzalez said that he just watched SummerSlam on the WWE Network and Brock Lesnar’s middle finger was not edited off, but the New Day ring entrance was edited off.
Ric Flair, Jerry Lawler, John Layfield, Ron Simmons, RVD, Chyna and Katrina from Lucha Underground appear at the San Antonio Comic Con from 9/11 to 9/13 signing autographs (thanks to Pete Schirmacher)
The new season of The Ultimate Fighter debuts Wednesday night with a two-hour special from 10 p.m. to midnight on FS 1.
The plan for the trio of The Ascension and Stardust is to be called the Cosmic Wasteland.
Squared Circle Pro Wrestling on 9/26 in Lubbock
WWE runs Lubbock on 10/17 with John Cena and Seth Rollins headlining (thanks to Victor Martinez)
Right Coast Pro on 9/12 at Life Community Church in Newark, DE
Lucha Xtreme TV from last night in Fresno: Levi Shapiro b Elemento, Manny Fernandez b Jesse Pool-DQ, Mike Rayne b Wiseguy (thanks to Jon Southerland)
I Believe in Wrestling from last night in Orlando: Lince Dorado b Rex Bacchus, Chico Adams b Derick Jordan, Brandon Scherer b Dalton Murphy, Mark Silva b Carlos Rivera, Josh Hess b Josh Parker, Jonny Vandal & Tyranus b Mike Reed & Ace Andrews, Rhett Ghiddins b Aaron Epic. Next show is 9/19 (thanks to Al Haft)
The new match on NWAClassics.com is Wahoo McDaniel vs. Masked Ichiban managed by Gary Hart.
Ricochet is taking bookings through Bill Behrens at showbis@aol.com He’s based out of Orlando. Others available include A.J. Styles (Atlanta), Christopher Daniels (Los Angeles), Frankie Kazarian (Los Angeles), Matt Sydal (Tampa), Moose (Atlanta), Jay Lethal (Tampano bookings allowed in U.S., only international), Drew Galloway (Tampa), Eric Young (Nashville), James Storm (Nashville), Bobby Roode (Toronto), Mike Posey (Birmingham) and Corey Hills (Atlanta).
Trans South Wrestling from last night in Union, SC: TK Stark b George South, Kameron Kade b JR Reynolds & Ostgard, Boris Baranov b Vinnie Valentino, Deon Johnson & Peter Kaasa b Eric Adamz & Black Angel, Chase Brown b Matt Hardy. Next show is 10/3 in Union, SC (thanks to Thomas Simpson)
Destiny World Wrestling from last night in Mississauaga, ONT: Scotty O’Shea won four-way over Ethan Page, Marcus Burke and Damien Adams, Tyler Tirva b Robbie McAllister, Randy Reign b David Kross-DQ, Bobby Roode & Rhyno b Flatliners, Jennifer Blake b Alexia Nicole, P.J. Black b Kongo Kong to retain DWW (thanks to Steven Ashe)
IWS from last night in Montreal before 200 fans: Excess b Chris Dickinson to win Canadian title, Shayne Hawke b Evan Adams, Vampiro & Green Phantom b Latino Connection and Los Cartel in a three-way, TDT b Super Smash Brothers, Black Dynamite b Sexxxy Eddy, Speedball Mike Bailey b Jack Evans. Vampiro met with Louis Laurence, who trained him back in 1986. This was his first match in Montreal in 28 years. Rey Mysterio faces Mike Bailey on 3/5 at the Metropolis in Montreal. (thanks to Patric Laprade)
Dynamo Pro Wrestling from last night in Fenton, MO: Kevin Lee Davidson b Adrian Surge, Evan Morris b Snitch, Jayden Fenix b Rocket Mapache, Mike Sydal b Justin D’Air, Ricky Cruz & Shorty Biggs & Outtkast b Brandon Espinosa & Elvis Aliaga & Danny Adams, Jack Gamble & Jon Webb b Michael Magnuson & Dave DeLoran-DQ, Jake Dirden b Brandon Aarons, Michael Elgin b Mike Outlaw (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
Nova Pro Wrestling on 9/12 in Orlando at the Northwest Community Center with Teddy Hart, Santana Garrett, Jesus (Ricardo Rodriguez), Lince Dorado and others.
Prairie Wrestling Alliance on 9/19 in Calgary at the Century Casino Showroom and 9/26 in Edmonton at the Northgate Lions Center.
Hoosier Pro Wrestling from last night in Columbus, IN: Tom Van Zant b Drax O’Brien, Psycho b Dynamite Dillen, Lightning Bolt b Troy Van Zant, Wicked Clown b A.J. Hawkins, Eddie Felson b Mini Mr. Big, Flash Flanagan & Trailer Park Trash NC Marc Houston & TJ Kemp. Cousin Cooter worked under the name Psycho in honor of Psycho, a former HPW wrestler who passed away a few weeks ago. Next show is 10/3 with Jimmy Valiant (thanks to Jerry Wilson)
WWE has added a new match to the 9/20 Night of Champions, no surprise, with Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper & Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose and a mystery partner.
Originally Sting was going to be the mystery partner in this program.
1. Tyler Breeze surprisingly opened the show with a victory over Sawyer Fulton. Great opener with Breeze as the babyface, gaining a pinfall victory after the “beauty shot” finisher.
2. Emma & Dana Brooke defeated Carmella & Billie Kay when Carmella submitted to the Emma lock.
– Interview segment with Riddick Moss, which spurred a hilarious chant of “AC Slater” due to the all-too-true resemblance between the NXT newbie & Mario Lopez’s “Saved by the Bell” character. Sylvester Lefort interrupted the superstar’s interview time to offer his managerial services. Despite the crowd’s enthusiastic chant of “Oui, oui!” (complete with Daniel Bryan finger gesturing), Moss turned down Lefort before assaulting the Frenchman.
3. Bull Dempsey pinned Angelo Dawkins after his top rope diving seated senton finisher.
4. Babyface Tye Dillinger (who was very much over with the crowd) pinned heel Solomon Crowe after his “Perfect 10” neckbreaker finishing move.
5. Eight man tag match: Enzo Amore, Colin Cassady, Zack Ryder, & Mojo Rawley defeated Jason Jordan, Chad Gable, Scott Dawson, & Dash Wilder in a crowd-pleasing match when Ryder pinned Gable after a Hype Bros doomsday device.
6. Bayley successfully defended the NXT Womens Title by rolling up & pinning rookie monster heel Nia Jax after dodging a splash into the turnbuckles after a hard fought victory.
7. Apollo Crews earned perhaps his biggest NXT victory to date versus Baron Corbin. Corbin dominated the match before Crews made a last minute comeback concluding with two consecutive standing moonsaults.
8. The main event & Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic – First Round: the Vaudevillians defeated Blake & Murphy. Unlike the other matches on the card, a video cameraman was present at ringside (in addition to an unmanned wide stationary camera) for this match. Hopefully it will air on NXT TV in its entirety as it was the best match on the card.
Former WWE Champion John Cena needed help getting up and out of the ring Friday night after his WWE main event house show match against Kevin Owens in Hampton, VA.
According to live reports, Cena was doing the Infrared (a sunset flip move popularized by Amazing Red and Rey Mysterio Jr.) and landed on his head. They went right to the finish with Cena winning, and officials helped him in the ring.
Smackdown last night, going against college football, did 1.98 million viewers last night, the lowest audience since the show has been on Syfy with the exception of a July 4th airing.
– Solomon Crowe defeated Elias Samson by submission with the Crowebar.
– Bull Dempsey defeated Angelo Dawkins with a top rope flying butt drop. – Hugo Knox cut a heel promo.
– Nia Jax & Dana Brooke defeated Peyton Royce & Carmella when Jax pinned Carmella after a twilt-a-whirl backbreaker followed by a slam.
– Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic – First Round: Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley defeated Noah Kekoa & Alexander Wolfe when Ryder pinned Wolfe after a Doomsday Device Rough Ryder. – Apollo Crews defeated Ty Dillinger with a gorilla press slam followed by a standing moonsault. – Bayley appeared a special guest and cut a promo saying she was thankful to the fans for the support and that a new series of challengers would be coming after her for the title and Emma interrupted her and challenged her for the title. Bayley accepted the challenge and that it would be the main event tonight. – Tyler Breeze defeated Baron Corbin. – NXT Tag Team Champions The Vaudevillians defeated Jason Jordan & Chad Gable to retain. – NXT Women’s Champion Bayley defeated Emma with the belly-to-belly suplex.
Remember how Nattie’s sister moved in to help them out with their new house? And how it was Nattie’s idea? Well, now Nattie’s regretting the decision and wants her to move out so she and TJ can have space. She tries to set her up with Mark From Talent Relations, which doesn’t work – Mark just no-sells her. But her sister hits it off with Big E, so there’s something. Eventually TJ just asks when she’s leaving, leading to hurt feelings and sulking, leading to Nattie’s sister deciding (on her own) to move in with her parents rather than stay there. Nattie ponders joyfully how nicely things worked out. It’s because TJ took care of the dirty work, Nattie.
Brie Dresses Too Sexy
Bryan’s concerned that Brie’s dressing too sexy, so he goes out and gets a composting toilet and installs it in their shed. And turns off the water to the indoor toilets. The ultimatum is made: he’ll turn the water back on if she agrees to dress less sexy. Brie’s mom agrees with him that she dresses too sexy and she relents. Everyone is happy not to have to use the composting toilet.
Paige Is Young And Impulsive
Paige has a rough episode. She tries out motorcycles with Alicia and Rosa and crashes, leading to Mark from Talent Relations scolding her. She gets asked to coach Ariane, but Ariane works stiff as heck. So Paige gets mad (rather than trying to coach Ariane into working softer) and gets stiff back at her, leading to a big argument at the Performance Center – complete with a Sara Del Rey cameo. Mark From Talent Relations calls and scolds her again.
She gets to the building for a show and discovers she’s not booked on the show. She asks Road Dogg if it’s about the Ariane altercation, which leads to him scolding her too. At the end of the episode she drinks and vents to Nattie and Nikki, who tell her to chill out and pick her battles. Life’s sure tough when you’re young and impulsive.
