Boston, Massachusetts: – William Muldoon defeated American Collar-and-Elbow Champion James Owens to win the title
1911
Sioux City, Iowa: – World Heavyweight Champion Frank Gotch beat Kara Osman 2 falls to 0
1930
Minneapolis, Minnesota: – World Heavyweight Champion Gus Sonnenberg beat John Freberg 2 falls to 0
1958
Hattiesburg, Mississippi: – Lee Fields and Lester Welch defeated The Corsicans (Jean and Joe) to win the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Titles
1964
Honolulu, Hawaii: – Hard Boiled Haggerty defeated Neff Maivia to win the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Title
1965
Detroit, Michigan: – The Sheik defeated Johnny Valentine for the Detroit NWA United States Heavyweight Title
St. Paul, Minnesota: – Verne Gagne beat AWA Champion Mad Dog Vachon dq – The Crusher beat Tiny Mills – Junior Heavyweight Champion Danny Hodge beat Bob Boyer – Reggie Parks beat Nicoli Volkoff
1967
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: – Don Jardine and Dutch Savage defeated Chris and John Tolos to win the Vancouver NWA World Tag Team Titles
Memphis, Tennessee: – Professor Ito and Tojo Yamamoto defeated Jackie Fargo and Herb Welch for the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Titles
1968
Baton Rouge, Louisiana: – Bobby Fields won the NWA Louisiana Heavyweight Title from defeating Frank Dalton
1970
Calgary, Alberta, Canada: – Abdullah the Butcher defeated Billy Robinson to win the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title
Tokyo, Japan: – AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Shozo “Strong” Kobayashi 2 out of 3 falls – Great Kusatsu & Thunder Sukiyama beat Quasimodo & Monster Roussimoff (Andre the Giant) – Michael Nador beat Mighty Inoue – Bad Boy Shields beat Tadaharu Tanaka
Denver, Colorado: – The Crusher beat Mad Dog Vachon 2 out of 3 falls – Pepper Gomez beat Butcher Vachon 2 out of 3 falls – Harley Race beat Reggie Parks – Bob Windham beat Buddy Smith – Joe Scarpello drew Jack Pesek
1971
Honolulu, Hawaii: – King Curtis drew AWA Champion Verne Gagne – Frankie Laine beat Ripper Collins to win NWA Hawaiian Title – Lonnie Mayne beat Beauregard – Don Muraco beat Mr. Fujiwara – Dale Lewis beat Pierre Duranton
1973
Tampa, Florida: – Buddy Colt defeated Mark Lewin to win the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1975
Kansas City, Kansas
– Rufus R. Jones & Haystack Calhoun & The Viking defeated Lord Alfred Hayes & Oki Shikina & Billy Howard – Terry Martin defeated Bobby Jaggers – Jerry Oates defeated Tommy Martin – Mike George defeated Chuck O’Connor (Big John Studd) via DQ – The Interns defeated Tony Russo & Ted Oates – PWF Heavyweight Champion Giant Baba defeated Dick the Bruiser via DQ – World Heavyweight Champion Jack Brisco defeated Omar Atlas in three falls
1977
Toronto, Ontario, Canada: – Harley Race defeated Terry Funk to win the NWA World Title – Bobo Brazil defeated The Sheik to win the Toronto NWA United States Heavyweight Title – Chief Jay Strongbow and Stan Stasiak defeated Ivan Koloff and The Wolfman – Edouard Carpentier and Gino Brito won by disqualification over Tarzan Tyler and Reginald Love
1981
Denver, Colorado: – Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat AWA Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura dq – Nick Bockwinkel beat Tito Santana – Bobby Heenan beat Buck Zumhofe – Jerry Blackwell drew Billy Robinson – Brad Rheingans beat Steve Regal
1983
Memphis, Tennessee: – The Fabulous Ones (Steve Keirn and Stan Lane) are awarded the AWA Southern Tag Team Title after the title was stripped from The Sheepherders (Jonathan Boyd and Luke Williams)
1984
Fort Worth, Texas: – Iceman King Parsons defeated The Super Destroyer (Scott Irwin) to win the World Class Television Title
West Palm Beach, Florida: – Black Bart and Ron Bass defeated Mike Davis and Mike Rotundo for the Florida NWA United States Tag Team Titles
Memphis, Tennessee: – The Pretty Young Things (Norvell Austin and Sweet Brown Sugar) defeated The Zambuie Express (Elijah Akeem and Kareem Muhammad) for the AWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1985
Tampa, Florida: -Norvell Austin defeated Jay Youngblood -Koko Ware defeated Mark Youngblood -Brian Blair defeated Jesse Barr -Dutch Mantell defeated Missing Link by disqualification -Pez Whatley defeated Southern champ Rick Rude by countout -Michael Hayes & Terry Gordy defeated the Assassins
1988
St. Joseph, Missouri: – Bob Brown and The Cuban Assassin defeated Rick Patterson and Stevie Ray in a tournament final to win the vacant NWA Central States Tag Team Titles
1990
Clash of Champions: Corpus Christi, Texas: – NWA World Tag Team Champions The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott) defeated Doom (Butch Reed and Ron Simmons) in a Title vs. Masks match to retain the titles – The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk) defeated The Skyscrapers (Dan Spivey and Mark Callous) by disqualification – The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Ole Anderson, and Arn Anderson) defeated Gary Hart International (The Dragonmaster, Buzz Sawyer, and The Great Muta) (with Gary Hart)
Louisville, Kentucky: – Robert Fuller and Brian Lee won the USWA Tag Team Titles from The Southern Rockers (Steve Doll and Rex King)
1995
Memphis, Tennessee: – Jerry Lawler defeated Sid Vicious to win the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Title
1999
Nashville, Tennessee: – The Tennessee Volunteerz (Steven Dunn and Reno Riggins) defeated The Australians (Bill Dundee and Ashley Hudson) to win the held-up NWA North American Tag Team Titles
2002
Jeffersonville, Indiana: – Doug Basham and Damaja defeated The Lords of the Ring (Rob Conway and Nick Dinsmore) for the OVW Southern Tag Team Titles
Editor’s Note: Finn Balor suffered an ankle injury in doing the double foot stomp finisher against Samoa Joe. There is no update past that he left the arena on crutches.
Submitted by Lou Pickney
Asuka vs. Alexa Bliss
Asuka won by submission with the Asuka Lock. Asuka received a strong ovation, and Bliss plays the heel role really well. Bliss got most of the offense in what was a slow-paced but fun opener, though at one point Asuka slapped her hard across the face. Asuka has amazing natural charisma, connecting with the crowd without saying a word.
Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa vs. Blake/Murphy
Blake and Murphy won with the combo suplex/top rope frog splash on Gargano. The crowd cheered Gargano and Ciampa wildly and really didn’t like Blake and Murphy, including the poodle braids or whatever it was in Blake’s hair. Gargano and Ciampa got most of the offense before the finish. Solid match.
Nia Jax vs. Billie Kay
Nia Jax won with a leg drop in a nothing match. Kay is gorgeous and athletic, but with the lumbering, plodding Jax in there, you couldn’t hope for much from this match. Luckily they at least kept it short.
Baron Corbin vs. Sami Zayn
Zayn pinned Corbin after hitting the Helluva Kick. The fans popped big-time for Zayn, who carried Corbin to an excellent match. And, to his credit, Corbin took a couple of bumps over the top rope that were impressive. After teasing a pair of planchas early, Zayn hit Corbin outside the ring off the stage area (where the entrance was) with a flip dive to the floor. Corbin had several great near falls on Zayn and played the heel role well.
Intermission — Eden Stiles plugged the merchandise, not that she needed to as fans were crowded around it wanting to buy to an almost comical level.
NXT Tag Champions Dash Wilder/Scott Dawson vs. Chad Gable/Jason Jordan
Gable and Jordan won via DQ when one of the D&D team pulled the ref out of the ring as he was about to make a three count. Gable is as great as advertised, but I was really impressed by Jordan, who is showing considerable improvement. This ended up being the longest match of the night, and the crowd loved American Alpha and didn’t need much convincing to boo Dash and Dawson. One of D&D screwed up a move early and landed ass-first on Jordan’s head as he laid prone on the mat. Luckily he seemed to be okay after it, not looking groggy or whatever, but it was the lone legit scare of the night. I would have noted which one landed on him if I hadn’t immediately been more concerned with Jordan’s well-being. Gable and Jordan doing the Rockers/Rock and Roll Express double dropkick is a great spot, by the way.
NXT Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Emma
It’s Bayley (as they actually called her in the ring introduction) won by pinfall after the Belly to Bayley. As the match began, the smarks in the section next to mine went from tolerably amusing to annoying, cheering for Emma and yelling things like “Bubbles” loud enough to distract the crowd from the match. One especially really loud guy screamed for Emma to “burst her bubble” and a bemused Bayley looked over in the crowd. I shook my head and pointed at the guy who shouted it, lest she think it was me being disrespectful. On the upside of crowd stuff, the balcony started singing “Just a Friend” by Biz Markie (a song from 1989), replacing baby with Bayley in the chorus. After the match, Bayley did her best to hug the handful of young kids at ringside.
NXT Champion Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe
Balor retained his title, pinning Joe after the Coup de Grace. Balor was doing the Too Sweet thing like crazy as he approached ringside from the stage, then did the gun hand motion that had seemingly the entire house chanting “Bullet Club” very loudly. The annoying smarks tried to start a TNA chant that was quickly booed down. Match was fine, solid execution as you would expect. After the match, Finn got on the house mic and mentioned that he had wrestled around the world, including spending “a few weeks” in Japan which was clever. He said he wasn’t kissing ass, but that he’s proudest of what he has done in NXT. He then did the New Age Outlaws gimmick “If you’re not down with that…” and even did the DX-style crotch chop.
– Eden then plugged Raw on 2/29 one last time and wished the fans a good evening.
OVERALL:
– Before the show, ring announcer Dasha Fuentes played a trivia game with two kids for tickets to the 2/29 Raw show in Nashville. The answers were all NXT wrestlers. Some jerk in the balcony yelled out “Chris Benoit” as an answer and got summarily booed and shouted down by the audience. One of the kids hilariously guessed Bull Dempsey on one of the questions, which popped those in the crowd who knew he had been released today. Another guessed Ultimate Warrior on a question, which amusingly led Eden to remind them that they were talking about NXT wrestlers. In the end, both kids ended up with tickets.
– Most of the audience was young males, some families and kids but not many. There were a good amount of women there too.
– Fun show, definitely got my $65 worth for my seventh row seat. That actually was my first time at the War Memorial Auditorium ever, and it’s amazing that it isn’t used for non-WWE TV tapings of some sort since it has an ideal capacity for a mid-major promotion, a great setup with the balcony area like the Manhattan Center in some ways, and an overall awesome vibe.
Holly Holm won four different awards at tonight’s World MMA Awards in Las Vegas. Holm was awarded Female Fighter of the Year, Upset of the Year, Knockout of the Year and Breakthrough Fighter of the Year. The show was taped in Las Vegas for TV on FS 2 . We’ll see if Ariel Helwani’s nice speech about me makes the cut.
Award winners:
Knockout of the Year: Holly Holm vs. Ronda Rousey
Media Source of the Year: MMAFighting.com
Submission of the Year: Ronda Rousey vs. Cat Zingano
Fight of the Year: Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald
Coach of the Year: Rafael Cordeiro
Reporter of the Year: Ariel Helwani
Gym of the Year: Jackson/Winkeljohn
Leading Man: Dana White
Comeback of the Year: Eddie Alvarez vs. Gilbert Melendez
Trainer of the Year: Mike Dolce
Lifetime Achievement Award: Bruce Buffer
Promotion of the Year: UFC
Analyst of the Year: Dominick Cruz
Referee of the Year: John McCarthy
Upset of the Year: Holly Holm vs. Ronda Rousey
Best program: UFC Embedded
Breakthrough Fighter of the Year: Holly Holm
Ringcard Girl of the Year: Arianny Celeste (who in her speech said this was the silliest award)
Male Fighter of the Year: Conor McGregor, who cut a taped heel promo
Another week, another UFC fight card, this time coming from Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC Fight Night 82 is headlined by a welterweight bout between Johny Hendricks and Stephen Thompson, and below are our studs, value plays and fighters to avoid when making your DraftKings line-up for the event.
STUDS
Mickey Gall ($10,900)
It seems odd that putting a fighter with a 1-0 record making his UFC debut as a top play for fantasy, but Mickey Gall is a top play on this card. He’s fighting Mike Jackson, who is making his professional debut and hasn’t had an amateur MMA fight in some time (he has done boxing and kickboxing bouts though). Gall has a date set against C.M. Punk should he get past Jackson, and he should. Gall doesn’t have the technical skills that make him ready for UFC competition, which is why he gets a debut opponent. This fight is set up for Gall to get a win and move onto Punk, and he probably score a finish as well. Gall is a solid play on the day.
Ovince Saint Preux ($10,700)
Ovince Saint Preux is looking to rebound from a disappointing loss to Glover Teixeira in August, and he has a perfect match-up against Rafael Cavalcante on Saturday night. Cavalcante has seemed to regress over the years due to drug suspensions and injuries, and he either knocks his opponent out or gets knocked out. Saint Preux hasn’t suffered a knockout loss in over six years, and he’s much more talented now. Saint Preux is a finisher, winning his last five fights by finish, and he’s got the reach, height and overall advantage over Cavalcante. He likely finishes him inside of two rounds, so he is a very good play on the night.
VALUE PLAYS
Stephen Thompson ($9,000)
Stephen Thompson is rising in the welterweight division, winning five straight fights and looking very impressive in them. He gets the biggest test of his career against Johny Hendricks in the main event, and he has some good value at his salary. That has to do with the bout going five rounds, and I see it going the full 25 minutes. Whether he can win is the big question as Hendricks will likely do enough on the feet and get takedowns to win. Thompson can win the fight if he can keep it on the feet, but that’s a question. I see him as a risk, but he has excellent value in a fight that can go 25 minutes.
Justin Scoggins ($8,900)
Justin Scoggins has a tough fight against Ray Borg, but both are solid prospects in the flyweight division who have exciting fights. Scoggins has been a finisher in his career, scoring seven of his ten wins by finish. He only has one UFC win by finish, and Borg is a tough fighter to finish. The difference in salaries between the two seems a little long, but Borg has been on a solid streak lately while Scoggins is just 1-2 in his last three. His salary makes him a good value pick as he has a good chance at scoring an upset over Borg and it will allow you to spend bigger for your roster.
FIGHTERS TO AVOID
Artem Lobov ($9,800)
Artem Lobov scored a whopping one point in his UFC debut against Ryan Hall. Over the course of 15 minutes, he landed two significant strikes. That is it. He is not a UFC caliber fighter, but he gets a second chance against Alex White. It is less than two months after the bout against Hall and in a lower weight class. White is just 1-2 in the UFC, but won his first ten career fights and nine came by stoppage. Lobov is durable and likely won’t be finished, but I don’t see much upside in him or him even getting the win. I recommend avoiding him at all costs.
Mike Pyle ($9,400)
Mike Pyle is a veteran fighter, but as he has just turned 40-years-old, it is likely that his career has seen better days. He has lost three of his last four fights, and he was finished quickly in two of those losses. He faces Sean Spencer on Saturday night, and Spencer is a grinder type fighter who can be a sneaky finisher. He hasn’t finished anyone inside the Octagon yet, though, but Pyle’s chin may not be what is used to be. At worst, it will be a grinding affair and Spencer will have the advantage if it goes to the scorecards. Pyle will be a fighter we will be avoiding in our line-ups.
OUR LINE-UPS
RYAN FREDERICK- Mickey Gall ($10,900), Ovince Saint Preux ($10,700), Johny Hendricks ($10,400), K.J. Noons ($9,300), Zach Makovsky ($8,600)
I’m going with Mickey Gall to finish Mike Jackson. There isn’t a lot of research you can do one a guy with one professional bout and two amateur bouts, but the fight is what it is, and I think he gets the finish of Jackson. Ovince Saint Preux has huge upside in his fight against Rafael Cavalcante. Saint Preux is a finisher and he should get one against a fading opponent. Johny Hendricks was a tough choice, but I think the main event goes the distance and he gets the decision on a lot of takedowns, and those score points. K.J. Noons hits hard and with a lot of volume, and Josh Burkman has been a huge disappointment in his UFC return. Noons has a very good chance of getting a finish of Burkman, who has been finished in his last two fights. With my remaining salary, I’m going with Zach Makovsky. Honestly, I don’t think he will beat Joseph Benavidez, but I don’t see him getting finished, which says a lot about the rest of the fighters left with the remaining salary I had. Just going 15 minutes, however the fight goes, should get me more than the rest of the bunch.
PAUL FONTAINE- Ray Borg ($10,500), Johny Hendricks ($10,400), Damian Grabowski ($9,700), Artem Lobov ($9,800), KJ Noons ($9,300)
If last week is any indication, your best bet is probably to pick the opponents of everyone on my team. That said, it’s a new week so let’s try this again. Hendricks has lost two fights in the last 5 years and both of those were questionable. He’s a lock in my book to either score an early KO or win a grinding decision in which he lands a lot of strikes. Grabowski is making his UFC debut but is very experienced and a submission expert. I like him to score a quick stoppage win over Derrick Lewis. Ray Borg has finishing ability at 125, rare for the division. At just 22, he’s a future title challenger and this could be his coming out party. Lobov has a lot of power for the featherweight division and his opponent, Alex White, is susceptible to the KO. After his embarrassing performance at the TUF finale, I like Lobov to rebound here. Noons is a KO specialist and I think the weight cut is going to affect his opponent Josh Burkman more. Burkman hasn’t won since returning to UFC and I don’t think that will change here.
PEACH MACHINE- Ovince Saint Preux ($10,700), Johny Hendricks ($10,400), Artem Lobov ($9,800), Derrick Lewis ($9,700), Jared Rosholt ($9,200)
Another 4-1 week last week. I like my picks again, but this time I went with a couple of heavyweights from which I usually shy away. Derrick Lewis is a monster and I’m banking on an early KO… Same thing with Rosholt. Nelson has lost three in a row and while his heart will still be there, his chin won’t… OSP should be able to take Cavalcante down and beat him that way. That’s the template to win. Should OSP decide to make this a stand up battle, that’s trouble for him… Hendricks better be on his game or he’s done at 170. I’m thinking he’ll get inside and touch Thompson’s chin and get the finish at some point in five rounds… The template to beat Lobov is Ryan Hall. Alex White is not Ryan Hall. Lobov by KO.
This week, we get more matches from Invasion Attack 2015, which took place on April 5 of that year.
IWGP Tag Team Champions Gallows and Anderson vs. Mike Bennett and Matt Taven
I should mention that the latter team is mostly just two entities to wrestle while the New Japan cameras oogle over Maria Kanellis.. Not that the Kingdom suck, because they don’t, but really the focus and the draw of the team was always made clear to be Maria.
I wasn’t into these series of matches. Nothing wrong with them technically, but it never went beyond a certain level and felt like they dragged at times. The big pop or climax of the match always revolved around Anderson being into Maria, and she’d jiggle as the Kingdom made their comeback. The finish of the match was exactly that, with Bennett getting the win on Anderson after hitting their spike piledriver finish. It wasn’t bad, like I said, just utterly fine and acceptable, nothing more.
Karl said Maria and him were this close to kissing. Doc Gallows came in and said Maria was one dead bitch. Well, that was really nice of him.
Taven cut a promo saying that winners go home and BLEEP with the prom queens (play Scrabble with?) and made fun of the marks in the back and on Twitter. Bennett said this was the end of the Bullet Club and the start of the Kingdom. I guess Bennett isn’t Nostradamus.
Next up, no New Japan card is complete without a six man!
The focus of this match was on Goto and Nakamura. Everything was really well done. Nothing in here that would be considered truly awesome but everyone did their job well. That’s a core definition of a New Japan six man tag. Nakamura kept doing a binoculars gesture throughout the match as he was “looking for Goto” as he didn’t see him near the Intercontinental title. What he also didn’t see was Goto pinning him with the shouten kai.
Makabe after the match talked about Ishii, told him not to run away as they’re set to tango for at least the next year over the NEVER title. Goto names himself next in line for an IC title show and says he’ll regret that he picked a fight with him. Nakamura says he still can’t see anything, but Goto is the one not seeing straight as he accepts his challenge.
It’s Okada in the hot seat this week as he talks about Fale, and how he lost to him quickly in the New Japan Cup. He says he’s very skillful, but not a monster, as he is the monster. He mentions that the appeal of slamming the giant is still something, as he recalls Hogan slamming Andre the Giant. There were a number of factors that ended up playing into this match.
The main event of this week’s show is up next.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Bad Luck Fale
Ranallo is really good, and he totally deserves the Announcer of the Year award, but he need to not repeat himself so often. He keeps talking about “Okada’s failed tenure in a promotion that won’t be named” even though I’ve heard that story many times since watching this show, namely through him. Not a huge deal, but just something worth noting.
As far as the match goes, it was fine. Okada looked excellent here in laying out the match and being in control. In matches like these, Fale works really well. He’s not what I would call good, but he’s good enough that he can be carried when it comes to high profile matches like these. The match came off very well as this battle between one of New Japan’s best against a dominant opponent who meant business like Fale. They built up the big spot where Okada finally tombstoned Bad Luck Fale, then pinned him with the Rainmaker for the win. Not an all time awesome match, but pretty good thanks to Okada.
Okada says it was too easy, he felt nothing. Gedo says Okada will move up even further now in the cards. In his reflective interview, he mentions that now that he hit the tombstone on Fale, he feels that momentum is on his side.
Nice show this week. Nothing off the charts, but plenty of good action throughout.
– Hugo Knox beat Tucker Knight with the split leg moonsault after an evenly fought match. Early on, they allowed the fans to decide who the favorite would be, and tonight, it was Hugo. Tucker wore Hugo down before a hot comeback and the flashy moonsault for the win.
– Adrian Reese and Mandy beat Aliyah and Daria. Reese controlled most of the match, and picked up the win in a pretty quick match.
– Riddick Moss beat Patrick from Tough Enough, making his NXT debut. Quick match. The crowd was behind Patrick for his comeback before Moss put him away.
– Elias Samson beat Chris Girard. Intense action by the former Biff Busick, grunting and laying in his holds. Elias took control and heckled the crowd. Samson picks up the win with his neckbreaker. Before the matc, Tom Phillips interviewed Samson who sings a song about how awful Lakeland is.
– Apollo Crews beat Tino Sabbateli with the standing moonsault. This is the match of the night thus far. Tino was impressive and was able to keep up with Apollo’s athletic ability. They traded reversals early on with Tino following up by taunting the crowd. By far, this is Tino’s best match which says a lot about Crews.
– Manny Andrade beat Steve Cutler with the running knees. Manny is winning over the locals with great moves and action.
– Tom Phillips interviewed Dallas Harper, the 6’9″ signee who was brought in last October. He was wearing classy attire with suspenders and a bowtie. He put down the fans and the town, saying he would not be shucking and jiving.
– Peyton Royce beat Liv Morgan. Royce took most of this match other than a few Morgan hope spots. These two worked well together.
– The Hype Bros beat The Vaudevillains in our main event with the Hype Ryder. This featured a lot of Mojo comedy including kicking a field goal out of Aiden English. Vaudevillains broke up one Hype Ryder attempt and almost stole the victory before the Hype Bros hit it and scored the win.
Due to a physical altercation with Reby Sky, Awesome Kong has been released from TNA. According to sources in TNA, the argument stemmed from issues the two had over the last few years. Kong got mad at Hardy for dressing in the womens’ dressing room. Kong wanted her to apologize. She left, and Kong went after her and had to be restrained.
Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet reported that allegedly, what escalated the situation to a physical confrontation was Hardy calling Stevens a “f**king maniac.” Whatever the truth behind it all, it ends with Awesome Kong no longer working for TNA.
“We conducted an investigation and determined releasing Awesome Kong is the appropriate action in this case,” said TNA Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Television John Gaburick. “Kong has been a great contributor to TNA and helped solidify the Knockouts as the best female division in professional wrestling. We thank her and wish her well.”
WWE has a full schedule for events this weekend. We’ll be looking for reports on Friday from the WWE house show in Calgary (Kane vs. Bray Wyatt plus Wyatt Family, Dean Ambrose, Chris Jericho, Dudleys, Paige and Natalya) and NXT shows in Nashville and Lakeland, FL.
NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING AT 9 P.M. FRIDAY NIGHT ON AXS TV
CMLL LIVE FROM ARENA MEXICO ON FRIDAY NIGHT AT 9:30 P.M. EASTERN AT www.ClaroSports.com
LEGACY FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS ON FRIDAY NIGHT IN HINCKLEY, MINN. ON AXS TV AT 10 P.M. EASTERN
R’Mandell Cameron vs. Derek Getzel
Kuchlong Kuchlong vs Nate Richardson
Chase Waldon vs. Justin Winkels-Comparetto
Antonio Trocoli vs. Jacob Volkmann
Brock Larson vs. Travis Coyle
Ricardo Lucas Ramos vs. Manuel Vazquez for the vacant bantamweight title
Saturday has WWE shows in San Jose (Roman Reigns vs. Rusev, Brock Lesnar vs. Alberto Del Rio plus A.J. Styles, New Day, Usos and Big Show), Penticiton, BC (Kane vs. Bray Wyatt plus Wyatt Family, Dean Ambrose, Chris Jericho, Dudleys, Paige and Natalya) and NXT shows in Indianapolis and Bartow, FL. ROH will be doing a major TV taping in Nashville at the Municipal Auditorium on Saturday night featuring the semifinals and finals of the Top Prospect tournament, a seven team gauntlet for a future tag team title shot with Young Bucks, Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly, Trent Baretta & Rocky Romero and four other teams, Briscoes vs. ACH & Alex Shelley, Dalton Castle vs Christopher Daniels, Adam Cole vs. Matt Sydal plus Jay Lethal, Roderick Strong, War Machine, Frankie Kazarian, Cedric Alexander, Moose, B.J. Whitmer, Adam Page, Caprice Coleman, Will Ferrera, Cheeseburger, ODB Amber Gallows, Mandy Leon, Veda Scott, Taeler Hendrix, Kelly Klein, Hania the Huntress and Sumie Sakai.
UFC ON SATURDAY NIGHT ON FS 1 FROM THE MGM GARDEN ARENA IN LAS VEGAS
Fight Pass at 7 p.m. Eastern
Arten Lobov vs. Alex White
Mike Jackson vs. Mickey Gall – winner to face C.M. Punk in June
FS 1 at 8 p.m.
Noad Lahat vs. Diego Rivas
Ray Borg vs. Justin Scoggins
Damian Grabowski vs. Derrick Lewis
K.J. Noons vs. Josh Burkman
Mike Pyle vs. Sean Spencer
Misha Cirkunov vs. Alex Nicholson
Joseph Benavidez vs. Zach Makovsky
Rafael Feijao Cavalcante vs. Ovince Saint Preux
Jared Rosholt vs. Roy Nelson
Johny Hendricks vs. Stephen Thompson
WWE has only one show on Sunday, from Abbotsford, BC (Roman Reigns vs. Rusev).
Raw will be Monday in Seattle. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman are scheduled on the show.
Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday in Portland, OR. Chris Jericho vs. A.J. Styles is on the show.
If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our new Youtube page! No full video shows, but lots of video clips, full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!
The new double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter looks at Bret Hart’s battle with cancer, his discussions about it, and updates on the situation. The most detailed coverage of the last month of Lucha Underground’s second season, backstage news, season three, lots of business notes. Full coverage of all the Ultima Lucha 2 matches and direction. Nakamura’s final day with NJPW, where Nakamura and New Japan go now, his background and building the IC title, the next two New Japan PPV shows to this weekend’s biggest event.
Fast Lane and WrestleMania, what’s up with Undertaker, WWE injury updates, the next WWE Network special, Licensing issue with new WWE signees, notes on the next NXT Takeover show, a look at all the TV building the next Takeover show, who led to a huge increase in demand for WWE tickets, next WWE show in Madison Square Garden update, Nakamura updates, WWE performer wants to compete in the Olympics and what former pro wrestler went back to the Olympics to medal, Lesnar’s schedule, Tough Enough winner starts out, Other Tough Enough competitors start out, change in Rumble plans, New WWE Network series based on wrestling matches, new WWE movie, WWE’s tour of Germany this coming week, more on The Rock’s segment on Raw.
A detailed look at the Awesome Kong-Reby Hardy situation in Manchester, England. Benson Henderson’s decision to leave UFC for Bellator and take a championship fight, why he made the decision, what both Dana White and Henderson said. We look at Pro Wrestling NOAH’s last major event and where it’s storylines are going.
A huge look at the life and career of Archie “The Stomper” Gouldie, one of the most memorable wrestling characters of his generation, stories about him, his gimmick, how big a star he was in his heyday, his incredibly long career title history, how he was two very different successful characters, and his most famous angles and biggest bouts. We also have a lot of comments from people who knew him, including how he changed the life and career of J.J. Dillon. The life and career of the original Espectrito, the best heel mini of his generation including when he main evented the Los Angeles Sports Arena, a rarity for a mini.
We also look at Saturday’s UFC , what’s next for the winners, thoughts on Sage Northcutt, as well as business notes on the show and match-by-match coverage.
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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– In addition to Bull Dempsey being cut from NXT earlier today, Storm Wrestling Academy alum Sylvester LeFort (the former French Stallion from World Of Hurt and a longtime favorite of this site), Marcus Louis and Oscar Vasquez were also also cut from NXT Friday. LeFort tweeted a picture of himself, Louis and Dempsey saying “Thank you brothers”.
– In even more injury news, although not a WWE injury for once, Davey Richards has an ACL injury. That certainly will keep him out of in-ring action for the foreseeable future.
Also, on the Twittersphere, Scott Jorgenson posted these 2 words “Free Agent”. So, it seems he has been released from his UFC contract. Jorgensen has been with the company since they absorbed WEC at the end of 2010 and had a record of 4-8 in 12 fight there, having lost 6 of his last 7.
Fight Network will air the live UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson prelims in Canada at 8 p.m. ET. The main card airs live on TSN1 and TSN5 at 10 p.m. ET.
Bellator has added Goiti Yamauchi vs Bubba Jenkins to Bellator 151. Already on the card is Michael Page vs Fernando Gonzalez and the main-event Joe Warren vs Darrion Caldwell. The event will take place on March 4th in Thackerville, Oklahoma and broadcast on Spike TV.
ONE Championships announced their next event for Feb 20th in Jakarta, Indonesia. Main event will be Rafael Silva (40-15) against Luis Santos (61-9-1). Silva was scheduled to fight for a British promotion on the same day so I guess that fight is off. Santos had a no contest against Ben Askren last year and then missed weight for their rematch. According to the press release, the fight will take place at the same Welterweight class that Santos last missed weight at, although Silva usually fights at middleweight.
Jake Shields is not happy with WSOF for pulling him from a scheduled fight for their vacant 170 lb title. Shields had lost a fight with Rousimar Palhares for the title and was scheduled to fight Jon Fitch for the same belt after Palhares was suspended for 2 years and stripped of the belt. Fitch is now scheduled to face Joao Zeferino for the belt. Zeferino recently fought in their Lightweight tourney, losing in the tournament final to Brian Foster, which apparently qualifies him for a shot at the 170 lb title in the company that employs Chael Sonnen. The fight takes place in April but WSOF has yet to announce a date or location.
Former Pride and Elite XC star Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett returns to action tomorrow on GFL.TV show available on iPPV against Terrell Hobbs on a show called Elite Warrior Challenge 9 : Takeover. Former TUF finalist Matt Van Buren faces Derrick Weaver in the show’s main event
MISC
Sports Cards & Collectibles – Jimmy Hart (wrestling icon and singer from the 1960s band The Gentrys) will sign during two of our spring dates in May including the Frontier Field show (on the 14th from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. and NOT the 15th as previously noted).
On July 24th, 2016 at 5pm – Smash Wrestling and Chikara collide for one incredible night of action!
Inside The Rope Live & UNCENSORED! with SCOTT STEINER: Monday 21st March – The Garage, Highbury, LONDON; Tuesday 22nd March – The Comedy Store, MANCHESTER; Wednesday 23rd March – The Classic Grand, GLASGOW; Thursday 24th March – The Empire, BELFAST;
Highspots Wrestling Network, a division of Highspots.com, a recently added a channel to the Roku. They are offering a free 7 day trial at Highspots Wrestling Network
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Josh Nason is back today with the weirdest show ever — We’ve got sad news with the death of Axl Rotten, who just appeared on the show a few months ago, a run-in by Brutal Bob Evans of ROH demanding money, Dr. Lucha talks Lucha Underground and Oleg the Usurper talks National Pro Wrestling Day and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
St. Louis, Missouri: – Warren Bockwinkel and Lou Thesz wrestled to a draw
1937
Columbus, Ohio: – Ray Steele defeated Everett Marshall by reverse decision to win the Ohio Midwest Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title
1959
Regina, Saskatchewan: – George and Sandy Scott defeated Maurice and Paul Vachon to win the vacant Stampede International Tag Team Titles
1963
Houston, Texas: – Rip Hawk and Rock Hunter defeated Bull Curry and Lucas Pertano for the Texas NWA World Tag Team Titles
1965
Macon, Georgia: – The Mysterios Medics defeated Tony Marino and Joe Scarpa (Chief Jay Strongbow) to win the vacant Georgia NWA Southern Tag Team Titles in a tournament final
1970
Osaka, Japan: – AWA Champion Verne Gagne dcor Shozo “Strong” Kobayashi in 3rd fall – Mighty Inoue & Takeshi Oiso & Thunder Sugiyama beat Michael Nador & Quasimodo & Monster Roussimoff (Andre the Giant) – Great Kusatsu beat Bad Boy Shields
1971
Atlanta, Georgia: – El Mongol defeated Nick Bockwinkel to win the vacant NWA Georgia Title in a tournament final
1972
Akron, Ohio: – Ernie Ladd defeated Bulldog Brower to become the first Buffalo/Ohio NWA North American Heavyweight Champion
1975
San Antonio, Texas: – Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta defeated Dory Funk, Jr. and Terry Funk for the NWA International Tag Team Titles
Nashville, Tennessee: – Luke Graham defeated Don Kent to win the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title
Miami Beach, Florida: – Lights Out Match: Dick Slater defeated Jos LeDuc – Florida Title: Bill Watts defeated Dick Murdoch by dq – Southern Title: Mongolian Stomper defeated Dominic DeNucci – Bob Roop defeated Tony Parisi – Harley Race defeated Tony Charles – Pat Barrett drew Jim Dillon – Johnny Weaver defeated Baron Scicluna – Bob Armstrong & Mike Graham defeated Mitsu Yoshida & Hiro Matsuda
1976
Kansas City, Kansas: – Ron Bass & Dutch Mantell defeated Bob Geigel & Akio Sato – Bob Brown fought Pat O’Connor to a double count out – Mike George defeated Ed Wiskoski in three falls
1978
Toronto, Ontario, Canada: – Nick Bockwinkle retained the A.W.A. title by defeating Chief Jay Strongbow – Ken Patera and Dusty Rhodes were both counted out of the ring – Chief Peter Miavia was disqualified for throwing Angelo Mosca over the top rope – Stan Stasiak drew Waldo von Erich – Dewey Robertson and Billy Robinson beat Chris Tolos and and Dan Johnston
1981
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: – Nick Bockwinkel beat AWA Champion Verne Gagne dq – AWA Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura beat Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell – Angelo Mosca ddq John Studd – Ricky Hunter beat Curt Hennig – Tito Santana beat Steve Regal – Brad Rheingans drew Evan Johnson
1985
Houston, Texas: – Cage match: Rock & Roll Express beat Hector & Chavo Guerrero – Taped Fist match: Hacksaw Duggan beat Ted Dibiase – Kerry Von Erich beat Gino Hernandez – Iceman Parsons beat Hercules Hernandez – Butch Reed beat Steve Williams – AWA Tag Team Champions Road Warriors beat Terry Taylor & Brad Armstrong – Jake Roberts beat Tim Horner – Tom Prichard beat Jack Victory
1986
Sapporo, Japan: – Riki Choshu and Yoshiaki Yatsu won the NWA International Tag Team Title from Genichiro Tenryu and Jumbo Tsuruta
1987
Tokyo, Japan: – Genichiro Tenryu and Jumbo Tsuruta defeated Riki Choshu and Yoshiaki Yatsu for the NWA International Tag Team Titles
Memphis, Tennessee: – Tarzan Goto and Akio Sato defeated Badd Company (Paul Diamond and Pat Tanaka) to win the Continental Wrestling Association International Tag Team Titles
1988
Main Event: Indianapolis, Indiana: – Andre the Giant pinned Hulk Hogan to win the WWF World Title (title was later declared vacant and set up the Wrestlemania tournament) – Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion The Honky Tonk Man (with Jimmy Hart and Peggy Sue) by countout
1993
Dallas, Texas: – Stevie Ray defeated Rod Price for the Global Wrestling Federation North American Heavyweight Title
1994
Night the Line was Crossed: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: – In a No Rules match, The Public Enemy (Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge) defeated The Bruise Brothers (Ron and Don Harris) – Jimmy Snuka pinned Tommy Dreamer. – Non title: The Sheik and Pat Tanaka defeated ECW Tag Team Champions Kevin Sullivan and The Tazmaniac – In a three-way dance, ECW Heavyweight Champion Terry Funk, ECW Television Champion Sabu and Shane Douglas fought to a 60-minute draw
1999
Mexico City, Mexico: – Negro Casas and El Hijo del Santo defeated Bestia Salvaje and Scorpio, Jr. by disqualification to win the CMLL World Tag Team Titles
2001
Tupelo, Mississippi: – Rick Steiner defeated WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Shane Douglas to win the title
2002
Los Angeles, California: -Maven defeated WWF Hardcore Champion The Undertaker to win the title
2005
Muscatine, Iowa: – Abyss defeated Jimmy Jacobs to win the NWA Iowa Heavyweight Title
Wayne, New Jersey: – The Solution (Havok and Papadon) defeated America’s Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm) for the NWA Cyberspace Tag Team Title
2005
Tucosn, Airzona: – Erik Watts defeated Diamond Dallas Page to win the vacant AWA Superstars International Heavyweight Title
Submitted by Adam Kirby from the sold-out Minglewood Hall in Memphis, TN
Asuka over Emma
Solid back and forth with everyone over with the crowd which has been the case for every match. Crowd is electric for NXT’s first time in Memphis.
American Alpha over Blake and Murphy
Another very solid and competitive match. Already this show feels different from last Fall’s show in Nashville. This feels more like an ROH house show than a WWE house show, which the Nashville show in October felt like.
Alexa Bliss over Billie Kay
Not much here. Alexa worked over Billie Kay’s arm only to beat her with the sparkle splash. Alexa has definitely grown as an in-ring worker and had pretty fun crowd interactions. Alexa had most of the offense here and this was felt like a definite cool down match.
Samoa Joe over Sami Zayn
This continues the theme of the night of very competitive back and forth matches. Samoa Joe wins with the Coquina Clutch. Afterwards, extends a hand to Zayn only to flip him off instead. Very fun but short. Ready to see their next two matches on TV.
– Intermission. Dasha Fuentes is very good in her role tonight as announcer/time keeper. I’m impressed. Maybe it’s just because I was right behind her, but she was as into it as the wrestlers and ref. Great job.
NXT Tag Team Champions Dash and Dawson over Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa
Maybe the worst match of the show. Fell apart at the end with nobody knowing who was legal. Very much a whatever match. Great crowd interaction though.
NXT Women’s Champion Bayley over Nia Jax
Bayley hit the Bayley to Belly after a throw into an exposed turnbuckle. Good match, never quite reached the heights of their Takeover London match, but played off of that match with Bayley repeatedly going for the guillotine. Crowd was very into it.
NXT Champion Finn Balor over Baron Corbin
Decent and competitive match with Corbin controlling most of it. This guy was constantly getting boos and jeers about how much he sucks or can’t wrestle or is going bald. Constant interaction with all the shit talkers in the crowd. Match went outside with Balor hitting the dropkick into the barricade and then rolling Corbin into the ring for the Coup de Grace. Balor finished the show with a rendition of “Walking in Memphis” about going to the top rope and driving his feet into Baron’s throat.
Very fun show with a lot of good and interesting work up and down the card from everyone involved. Definitely catch the Nashville and Indiana shows this weekend if you can.
