DR. KEITH PRESENTS: Bouncin’ Around Japan!!!!
The Year In Review series continues on the DKP and to steal a phrase, WE’RE BOUNCIN’ AROUND JAPAN!!! Joe Gagne joins Alan to discuss all the big stories, great matches and events from the dirty mat of Big Japan to the grassy green mat of NOAH, and everything else in between. We got your Daisuke’s, your Yuji’s, your Minoru’s and your Kento’s right here folks! CHECK IT!!!
Through the years, MMA fans have all cringed when mainstream sports writers get their first taste of the sport and then assail the sport in print. So when the Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont got a break from his Boston Bruins beat for a night and headed to the TD Garden for UFC Fight Night last Sunday, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if he had the same reaction many before him, including the Globe’s Bob Ryan, had before.
However, Kevin survived his experience and is ready to tell the tale on the 30th edition of Josh Nason’s Punch Out! This is a free edition of the show, so please link and share liberally.
In a 40-minute talk (link below), Josh and Kevin talked about:
– How he got the assignment to begin with
– The whereabouts of former Bruins goalie and UFC fan Tim Thomas
– His approach to the assignment
– His likes and dislikes at the event
– His thoughts on Dana White after interviewing him for 45 minutes
– The parallels of pro hockey players to MMA athletes and the two sports in general
– Whether he’d ever go back…and plenty more.
Take a look at Kevin’s coverage here and here, and then click below to listen to the show:
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Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Josh Nason is back today with tons to talk about including the Royal Rumble, the winter storm changing all sorts of shows, WrestleMania bus info, plus Dr. Lucha appears to talk FantasticaMania, Lucha Underground, Alberto Del Rio and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
It’s the Royal Rumble edition of the show! After Les and Vic get done discussing a different kind of rumble; people who just don’t know how to act on the road or in the supermarket when snow is coming, we’re pretty much all about WWE (12:00) the rest of the way! Should AJ Styles be in the Rumble, is the Rumble a good place to introduce new faces you have high hopes for, the less than inspired start to Wrestlemania season, what appears to be a lack of enticing matchups for Mania, Royal Rumble predictions and more~
Here are some notes regarding wrestling shows this weekend including things affected by the state of emergency on the East Coast.
*As noted earlier in the week, the ROH show in Fletcher, NC (Asheville) scheduled for tonight has been canceled. However, the Saturday show in Duluth, GA is still on.
*Maryland Championship Wrestling tomorrow night in Joppa, MD is being moved to 2/13. The Hardys will remain on the new date. Tickets for tomorrow will be good for 2/23. If you’ve got any other questions send to mcwwresetling@gmail.com
*Atomic Championship Wrestling tomorrow night in Reading, PA has been moved to 2/19
*ECWA tomorrow night from Woodbury Heights, NJ will be postponed and all tickets will be good for their next show
*OTW Fan Nation’s show tomorrow in Philadelphia has been canceled.
*Finn Balor vs. Neville for the NXT title has been added to tonight’s NXT TV tapings in Orlando, FL at the University of Central Florida Gym. This is the biggest show the company has promoted within the state of Florida. Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe for the No. 1 contender position and Bayley vs. Carmella were the key matches advertised. HHH also announced there would be a huge surprise tonight.
*Bobby Roode announced that he would be unable to make tonight’s GFW show in Poughkeepsie, NY due to issues with the weather. The show is still going on as scheduled at the Mid Hudson Civic Center
1945
Hollywood, California:
– Danny McShain defeated Dick Trout to win the World Light Heavyweight Title
1959
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– Reggie and Stan Lisowski defeated Herb and Seymour Freeman for the Minneapolis NWA World Tag Team Titles
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Dick Hutton beat Bob Ellis by countout in 2 out of 3 falls
– Lee Henning and Bill Longson beat Bobby Bruns and Joe Hamilton
– Rip Hawk defeated Lou Klein
– The Mighty Atlas beat Joe Costello
1960
St. Joseph, Missouri:
– Lee Henning defeated Bob Ellis to win the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title
1962
Vancouver, British Columbia:
– Gene Kiniski and Killer Kowalski defeated Roy McClarty and Whipper Billy Watson for the Vancouver NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Titles
1966
Chicago, Illinois:
– Johnny Valentine no contest Dick the Bruiser
– AWA Champion Mad Dog Vachon beat Wilbur Snyder by countout
– Verne Gagne beat Moose Cholak
– AWA Tag Team Champions Larry Hennig & Harley Race beat Angelo Poffo & Bobby Managoff
– Dale Lewis drew Guy Mitchell
1967
St. Paul, Minnesota:
– No dq Match, Referee Jim Raschke: AWA Champion Mad Dog Vachon beat Killer Kowalski
– Larry Hennig beat The Alaskan dq
– Harley Race beat Doug Gilbert
– Reg Parks beat Kenny Yates
1970
Chattanooga, Tennessee:
– The Spoilers defeated Ron and Don Wright for the NWA Tennessee Tag Team Titles
Syndey, Australia:
– The Texas Outlaws (Dick Murdock & Dusty Rhodes) defeated Mario Milano & Mark Lewin to win the IWA tag title
1974
Tampa, Florida:
– Jos & Paul LeDuc & Louie Tillet defeated Mad Dog & Stan Vachon & Bob Orton
– One Fall To A Finish: Paul Jones defeated Dick Slater
– Florida Title: Buddy Colt defeated Mike Graham by dq to retain title
– Southern Title: Dusty Rhodes defeated Tex McKenzie to retain title
1975
Lubbock, Texas:
– Dick Murdoch defeated Blackjack Mulligan to win the Amarillo NWA International Heavyweight Title
Miami, Florida:
– Dusty Rhodes & Mike Graham defeated Terry Funk & Bob Roop
– Lou Thesz no contest “Cowboy” Bill Watts
– Lumberjack Match: Dick Slater (sub for Mongolian Stomper) defeated Jos LeDuc
– Judo Jacket Match: Hiro Matsuda defeated Prof. Toru Tanaka
1976
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Akio Sato fought Rick McGraw to a draw
– Ripper Collins defeated Bob Geigel
– Ron Bass & Dutch Mantell defeated Mike George & Ray Candy
– Jerry Oates & Ted Oates defeated Bob Brown & Ed Wiskoski
1977
Detroit, Michigan:
– Gino Hernandez beat Bulldog Kent
– The Sheik and Abdullah the Butcher beat Dick The Bruiser and Tony Marino
– Dusty Rhodes beat Spoiler # 2
– New Fabulous Kangaroos beat Lou Klein and Dominic DeNucci
– Charlie Cook beat Denny Albert
– Ray Candy beat Traitor Hampton
1981
Niraskai, Japan:
– Jumbo Tsuruta won the NWA United National Heavyweight Title from Abdullah the Butcher
Atlanta, Georgia:
– Bobby Eaton defeated Steve O for the NWA National Television Title
1982
Columbus, Georgia:
– The Masked Superstar and Super Destroyer (Scott Irwin) defeated Bob and Brad Armstrong for the NWA National Tag Team Titles
1984
Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– Angelo Mosca defeated Sgt. Slaughter to win the Toronto NWA Canadian Heavyweight Title
Orlando, Florida:
– Kendo Nagasaki (Kazuo Sakurada) defeated Mike Rotundo to win the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title
1985
AWA/NWA Star Wars: Baltimore, Maryland:
– Bob Backlund & Sgt Slaughter won a 12 team battle royal
– Tommy Rich & Sgt Slaughter beat Scott Irwin & Bill Irwin
– Bob Backlund beat Masked Superstar dq
– Ole Anderson & Thunderbolt Patterson beat AWA Tag Team Champions Road Warriors dq
– Ronnie Garvin beat Bob Roop
– Ron Ritchie beat Rip Rogers
1993
Dallas, Texas:
– Alex Porteau defeated Mike Dahl to win the Global Wrestling Federation Light Heavywieght Title
1994
Royal Rumble: Providence, Rhode Island
– WWF Tag Team Champions The Quebecers (Jacques and Pierre) defeated Bret and Owen Hart to retain the titles
– WWF Champion Yokozuna defeated The Undertaker in a Casket match to retain the title
– Bret Hart and Lex Luger co-won the Royal Rumble match
Portland, Oregon:
– Bruiser Brian defeated Colonel DeBeers for the Championship Wrestling USA Television Title
1995
Royal Rumble: Tampa, Florida:
– Jeff Jarrett won the WWF Intercontinental Title from Razor Ramon
– Shawn Michaels won the Royal Rumble
– In a tournament final, Bob Holly and The 1-2-3 Kid defeated Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka to win the vacant WWF Tag Team Titles
1996
Las Vegas, Nevada:
– Sting and Lex Luger won the WCW World Tag Team Title by defeating Harlem Heat
– Randy Savage won the WCW World Title from Ric Flair
1999
Tokyo, Japan:
– Toshiaki Kawada defeated Mitsuharu Misawa to win the AJPW Triple Crown Title
2003
Nashville, Tennessee:
– A.J. Styles pinned Larry Zbyszko
– David Flair and Mike Sanders defeated Ron Killings and Jerry Lynn
– Triple X (Low Ki and Elix Skipper) defeated NWA World Tag Team Champions America’s Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm)to win the titles
2005
Seoul, South Korea:
– Buff Bagwell and Dusty Rhodes defeated Rikki Nelson and Terry Taylor to win the vacant NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Title
2006
Tokyo, Japan:
– Jun Akiyama defeated Akira Taue to win the NOAH GHC Heavyweight Title
Tokyo, Japan:
– Shinjiro Otani defeated Steve Corino to win the AWA title
2012
Tokyo, Japan:
– Takeshi Morashima defeated Go Shiozaki in Osaka to win the GHC title
– Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito beat Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson to win the GHC tag team titles
Fuego & Stuka Jr. vs. Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu
Pretty fun match. They worked this in the lucha style so Fuego and Stuka Jr. were very in their element. Fuego in particular looked really impressive and has lots of charisma. Tanaka and Komatsu worked their style and seemed kind of off, but never looked bad or anything. Just didn’t look as fluid as they usually do. I guess they have time to learn it in the next year or so. Fuego got the win for his team, pinning Komatsu with a roll up.
David Finlay & Jushin Liger & Kushida & The Panther & Guerrero Maya Jr. vs. Gedo & Yoshi-Hashi & Bobby Zavala & Okumura & Hechicero
Kushida was wearing a big silver watch mask to the ring, but didn’t wrestle in it. A fun match. Panther botched a spot early as he looked to do something off the middle rope, didn’t do it, then went to something else and messed up big time. After that, everything was pretty good. They did a fun spot where four of the guys wrapped their legs against one another, forming a circle, then Liger applied the Rito Romero special on Okumura in the middle of the circle. Hechicero submitted Finlay with a heel hook.
Zavala got a mic after the match and said he and Okumura would win the Arena Coliseo tag team belts tomorrow. Guerrero Maya and Panther didn’t agree with that.
Tetsuya Naito & Evil vs. Atlantis & Juice Robinson
In an amazing moment pre-match, Naito came out and did his usual super long entrance. The amazing thing was that the announcer somehow managed find things to say about Naito the entire time he was stalling. Lots of mask ripping by the heels. Not much, but was fine. Robinson made a comeback but Evil came in and hit their finish, a reverse press slam called Out of Control for the win.
After the match Naito not only ripped part of Atlantis’ mask off, but also had an altercation with Milano Collection AT and laid him out too. Seems to be a recurring theme, but then again Naito’s attacked many guys at ringside as that’s his new gimmick.
Mexican National Welterweight Champion Barbaro Cavernario vs. Titan
I liked this match. Not blow away, but there were a ton of cool moves which made it pretty memorable. Most of it was Titan, who really stood out in terms of dynamic high flying ability. He wrapped his legs around Cavernario’s chest at one point, threw him out of the ring and followed it up with a big Asai moonsault. Cavernario did his big splash from the top rope to the floor. Lots of nice back and forth stuff with Cavernario retaining the title with a flash surfboard.
CMLL Welterweight Champion: Bushi vs. Mascara Dorada
I’m not sure why CMLL has two welterweight titles, but the situation with title belts in Mexico is far worse than it is here or anywhere else. Bushi came out with a new outfit and new music. He was dressed completely white for whatever reason. They brawled into the crowd early where Bushi did a big dive off the stairwell. Bushi worked on him a good while till he made a comeback, wiping him out with a stepover tope con hilo to the floor. Naito kept interfering until Atlantis drove him out of the arena with a steel chair. After a few close near falls Dorada wins his title back with the Dorada Screwdriver. Another good match with Dorada’s offense looking really good.
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Dragon Lee & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Kazuchika Okada & Virus
Despite the title being vacated, Nakamura is still wearing the title to the ring. Maybe they’re letting him keep it until he leaves the promotion. Hell if I know. He and Taguchi, who is doing a Pharaoh gimmick on these tours because he’s Taguchi, removed each other’s masks. They’ve had a rivalry of sorts on house show tours for the last month or so. Virus and Dragon Lee mostly worked with one another and looked pretty good. Another good match, with good spots when it was needed. A lot of comedy, but it was fine and didn’t drag too much. Virus submitted Dragon Lee with what is now known as the PTO, but he calls it la motocicleta.
Mistico & Volador Jr. vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Mephisto
Fun main event. It was a good showcase for Mistico and Volador Jr as they looked awesome as a team, and both Mephisto and Guerrero had some fun moments as well. Both Mistico and Ultimo Guerrero played to the crowd at the start of the match, with Guerrero nearly leaving due to being frustrated by Mistico’s reactions. Mistico and Volador did a double tope con hilo to the outside. Both of them work really great as a tag team and have some good tandem work. They did another great move where Mistico hopped over Voldor, flew out of the ring and wiped out Mephisto on the outside with a hurricanrana. Mephisto wiped out Volador with a tope con hilo (a lot of those tonight!) while Ultimo Guerrero landed a reverse suplex from the top rope, getting the win over Mistico.
Overall, the key phrase of the show was fun. Nothing here is going to win match of the year or anything, but in terms of environment and with everyone really into the theme of this tour, it was good times.
The Bryan & Vinny Show is back today with a packed edition of the program! We’ve got the usual NXT from Full Sail report, Vinny’s Raw reactions from Monday Night, Granny joins us for another contest plus SHE HAS WATCHED WRESTLING RECENTLY AND WANTS TO TALK ABOUT IT, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Success can’t be determined by merely looking at a single number in the world of pro wrestling and it’s time to rethink how we gauge success. To help navigate our way through what we know and what we should look for, we brought in the talented Brandon Howard of Voices of Wrestling for the 29th episode of Josh Nason’s Punch-Out!
Brandon and Josh talked for an hour on a variety of wrestling topics like:
– His research project on RAW TV ratings, house show attendance, and the year that was 2015
– Who the best wrestler in the world when star ratings are taken into consideration and why WWE talent didn’t make the top 25
– Whether he’s excited for AJ Styles to come to WWE and what his leaving Ring of Honor might mean to their bottom line
– Our shared cynicism about whether WWE can get Nakamura and friends right
– What one stat/business metric he’d love to get from WWE
– HHH’s sincerity (or lack thereof)
– His deep dive into social media statistics and what indy organizations can learn from it
– Why he decided to become a pro wrestler and what he learned when he first started training
– And lots more. Geek out on some wrestling business with us, will ya? (Note this show was recorded before the Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards were released.)
Website subscribers can listen to the show below by clicking the link that says ‘Right click to save’.
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In case you missed it Jim Ross is returning to commentating. This time for NJPW on AXS TV. Earlier today we posted a FREE WRESTLING OBSERVER RADIO where Jim Ross talks with Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez about the new job and more!
Also, Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez talk the Wrestling Observer Awards on last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio
A big weekend coming up with the Royal Rumble on Sunday. The final TV show leading to the Rumble is Smackdown tonight on USA with:
Usos & Dolph Ziggler vs. Big E & Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods
Becky Lynch vs. Alicia Fox
Ryback vs. Bray Wyatt
Titus O’Neil vs. Stardust
Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus & Rusev & King Barrett & Alberto Del Rio in a 1 vs. 4 match
NEW JAPAN FANTASTICA MANIA IS LIVE ON NEW JAPAN WORLD TONIGHT/TOMORROW MORNING AT 5:30 A.M. EASTERN AND 2:30 A.M. PACIFIC FROM KORAKUEN HALL IN TOKYO
Fuego & Stuka Jr. vs. Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu
David Finlay & Jushin Liger & Kushida & The Panther & Guerrero Maya Jr. vs. Gedo & Yoshi-Hashi & Bobby Zavala & Okumura & Hechicero
Tetsuya Naito & Evil vs. Atlantis & Juice Robinson
Barbaro Cavernario vs. Titan for Mexican national welterweight title
Bushi vs. Mascara Dorada for CMLL welterweight title
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Dragon Lee & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Kazuchika Okada & Virus
Mistico & Volador Jr. vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Mephisto
This is the first of three straight nights of Fantastica Mania shows on New Japan World.
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!
Figure Four Weekly
Figure Four Weekly 1/18/2016: Gawker’s motion to dismiss Hulk Hogan lawsuit denied
Gawker’s motion to dismiss the Hulk Hogan sex tape lawsuit is denied, plus news and notes
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The Latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter: January 25, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2015 Observer Awards Issue
The 2015 Observer awards issue, the traditional biggest issue of the year,is up on the web site now. The issue not only has the awards winners in more than 40 different categories, but all the top place winners, as well as a history with all the awards winners dating back to 1980, as well as my comments on the placings for many of the awards.
The categories are:
Lou Thesz/Ric Flair Award (Wrestler of the Year), MMA MVP, Most Outstanding Wrestler, Most Outstanding MMA Fighter, Best Box Office Draw, Feud of the Year, Tag Team of the Year, Most Improved, Best on Interviews, Most Charismatic, Best Technical Wrestler, Bruiser Brody Memorial Award (Best Brawler), Best Flying Wrestler, Most Overrated, Most Underrated, Promotion of the Year, Best Weekly TV show, Pro Wrestling Match of the Year, MMA Match of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Best Non-Wrestler, Best Television Announcer, Worst Television Announcer, Best Major Wrestling show, Worst Major Wrestling Show, Best Wrestling Maneuver, Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic, Worst Television Show, Worst Match of the Year, Worst Feud of the Year, Worst Promotion of the Year, Best Booker, Promoter of the Year, Best Gimmick, Worst Gimmick, Best Pro Wrestling Book and Best Pro Wrestling DVD
Update on the Royal Rumble and Rumble weekend, full coverage of Dominick Cruz’s UFC bantamweight title win and the records set on Sunday’s show and details on the New Japan/Jim Ross announcing deal as well as a look at how this came about and Jim Ross’ overall career.
2017 WrestleMania, how Smackdown has affected overall ratings for the USA Network, update on A.J. Styles with WWE, WWE injury updates, Daniel Bryan update, more on Mauro Ranallo and Smackdown, Chris Jericho talks his return, new season of Total Divas, How talent is broken down in NXT, the heat on Josh from Tough Enough, new dates for Brock Lesnar, plus notes from the big NXT tour and all the shows, the NXT Florida shows, as well as the WWE shows in India and the WWE weekend domestic shows and all the business notes.
PLUS MUCH MORE! CLICK HERE FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW
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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For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.
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Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.
Check out the latest Online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE: Dec 14, 1998 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2 biographies in the works about Jesse Ventura
NBC and ABC working on biographies on Jesse Ventura, a look at the end of year events for New Japan and All Japan, plus tons of news and notes.
THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE
Ronda Rousey hosts Saturday Night Live this weekend. Some sketches previewing the appearance.
The PBC is working with NextVR to bring Virtual Reality to its live show on FOX on Saturday night at 8 p.m. The show is headlined by Danny Garcia (31-0, 18 KOs) vs. Robert Guerrero (33-3-1, 18 KOs).
Owner Andy Quildan hints at Revolution Pro talent going to New Japan in 2016
WWE
4/1 at 7 p.m. – Sting
4/2 at 10 a.m. – Roman Reigns
4/2 at 3 p.m. – Undertaker
4/3 at 8 a.m. – Seth Rollins
Regular VIP signings
3/31 at 6 p.m. – Dean Ambrose
3/31 at 8 p.m. – Ric Flair & Charlotte
4/1 at 5 p.m. – Chris Jericho
4/2 at 8 a.m. – Superstar Billy Graham
4/2 at 1 p.m. – Alberto Del Rio and Dudleys
4/2 at 6 p.m. – Kevin Owens
4/2 at 8 p.m. – Bray Wyatt
4/3 at 10 a.m. – Randy Orton
UFC
MISCELLANEOUS
ON THIS DAY IN WORLD PRO WRESTLING HISTORY: Daily pro wrestling history (1/21): Crusher/Dick the Bruiser win WWA Tag Team Titles