Growing up as a way-too-hardcore-for-my-age wrestling fan, I looked forward to watching whatever flavor of wrestling from the Dallas Sportatorium was on ESPN and in syndication at the time. The ESPN show was perfect for kids who loved pro wrestling: It aired at 4 p.m. eastern time, so it was perfect for after-school viewing.
The Big Takeaway: The main event of Battleground will be Dean Ambrose defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns in a Triple Threat match. That match was ordered after Reigns and Rollins fought to a double countout in tonight’s main event. The Wyatt Family made their return to set up a new program with The New Day. Xavier Woods appeared to be put in a momentary trance by the Wyatts. Sasha Banks also returned and went after Charlotte. The show also built up the draft on Smackdown. It was a show run by Shane McMahon as Stephanie McMahon had the night off.
Show Recap:
Dean Ambrose opened the show in a pretape, getting out of a taxi cab wearing all black. He really is a lunatic because it reached 120 degrees in Phoenix this weekend. He tossed the cab driver a wad of bills. Just as the cab pulled away, Ambrose stopped him and pulled the WWE World Heavyweight Championship out from the backseat.
Ambrose did an interview with “You deserve it” chants. He said last night was a long night and dropped a reference to the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the NBA World Championship. He told Seth Rollins that last night was a lesson where what goes around comes around. He said if Roman Reigns called himself “The Guy,” does that make him “the dude?” He said the reason why he patched himself together after getting knocked down every time was because he wanted to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Reigns came out. He got booed before he started speaking. Reigns said last night wasn’t his night, it was Ambrose’s night. He congratulated Ambrose, then asked “What did it feel like to cash in against Seth?” Ambrose said he would have cashed in against Reigns, too. Fans started a loud “You can’t wrestle” chant. Reigns told all the dudes to relax, take a sip out of their beer and shut up. Reigns brought up that he had a rematch clause. Then Rollins showed up saying he rehabbed his injured knee for seven months, beat Reigns fair and square, but Ambrose had his championship moment stolen from him. Reigns said “it doesn’t feel good, does it?” Rollins said at least he did to to Reigns’ face.
Rollins claiimed he never lost the championship. Reigns wondered why it was then on Ambrose’s shoulder. Reigns said there was an easy way to settle this and wanted to fight Rollins, who shot back there was nothing to settle because he beat Reigns. Shane McMahon came out and said Reigns and Rollins should wrestle to determine who faces Ambrose first. Rollins wanted to know if Shane consulted Stephanie first. Shane pretended Stephanie was there, then said she wasn’t here tonight so he’s running the show tonight. So Shane ordered Reigns vs. Rollins tonight for the #1 contendership tonight.
Michael Cole announced the draft on Tuesday, July 19th. JBL told Byron Saxton that he could get drafted to ECW.
They aired the HHH tweet congratulating the Cavaliers on winning the NBA Championship. They’ll be getting the next custom made WWE World Championship strap. They also showed LeBron James getting off the airplane wearing an Ultimate Warrior t-shirt. That led to one writer tweeting that Stephen Curry should wear a Renegade t-shirt.
Sami Zayn defeated Kevin Owens (8:47)
Sami Zayn won when Kevin Owens attempted the Pop-Up Power Bomb, but Zayn reversed it into a victory roll. They opened with a hockey fight sequence which Zayn got the better of. Owens spent the first part of the match trying to walk out, including trying to get away through the crowd. Zayn chased him back in, but was thrown into the dasherboards. Owens hit a Superkick at the end for a near fall.
Postmatch, Owens attacked Zayn as he was celebrating. Owens tried to power bomb Zayn off the ramp to the floor, but Zayn blocked it with a double-leg takedown and they had a pull-apart brawl. They continued to fight backstage, where Owens threw Zayn into trunk cases. Zayn recovered, then took a page from Larry Holmes’ brawl with Trevor Burbick where he ran onto the cases and jumped on Owens again. Finally, Fit Finley came in and pulled Zayn off.
John Laurinaitis was this week’s throwback authority figure. He came out wearing a red blazer, red pants and white shoes. JBL said he looked like Craig Sager. Shane wondered what John was doing there. Laurinaitis said he wanted to run Smackdown. Shane said SmackDown wouldn’t be run by a corporate yes man. Shane said he was running SmackDown. John said he wanted to run Raw and mentioned “People power” as he disappeared.
Enzo and Big Cass came out with Enzo Amore comparing sneakers with Shane. Enzo called him Johnny Laryngitis and did his “No dimes” line saying that’s the amount of money he would have every time something worthwile came out of Laryngitis’ mouth. Cass said Laurinatis may have been “Ace Dynamic Dude” back in his day, but in the new era he was “Sawft.”
Enzo and Big Cass defeated the Vaudevillains (2:55)
Amore pinned Aidan English after the Rocket Launcher, which has been redubbed the “Bada Boom Shaka-Laka.” Vaudevillains lost in less than three minutes and didn’t get a ring entrance.
Returning to the Cleveland celebration, they showed Kevin Love in the locker room copying Steve Austin where he guzzled two beers at once.
A.J. Styles came out after his win over John Cena. Styles said he should be happy because he’s envisioned beating Cena for years, and then it became a reality. But the win was tainted. Styles maintained he beat Cena and repeated it twice. But it didn’t go down the way he dreamt it would because Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson had no business in his business. He called Gallows and Anderson to come to the ring and give him a public apology.
Anderson and Gallows came out. Styles said he didn’t need their help. Anderson said they were just trying to help. Styles said they gave Cena an excuse. They dragged his name through the mud by interferring. Styles asked for Karl to look him in the eye and apology. Anderson looked at Styles and, in the most condescending way to the fans and Cena, apologized to Styles. Gallows did the same. Styles acted like that was proof he had no idea he knew about it and then asked them to apologize to Cena.
Cena came out in his new t-shirt designed after the PBR logo. Cena said he didn’t need an apology because he and Styles had a signed agreement and Styles broke it. Gallows said Styles didn’t know about the interference. He apologized. Anderson said Cena and Styles signed a contract last week, but he and Gallows didn’t. Anderson said he was sorry. Styles tried to pass that off as proof.
Cena wasn’t hearing any of it. He said Styles is struggling to survive in the WWE and got a win last night by any means necessary. Styles said he was using the apology only to hide he isn’t as good as he says he is. Styles says he was using the Club as an excuse because Cena isn’t as good as he says he is.
Cena says he respects the win because that’s how you advance in the WWE. But above the win is your win. And when you’re a champion and your back is against the wall, you have two things: your balls and your word. Last night, Styles proved he had neither one of them. That got loud “Cena” chants.
Styles said Anderson and Gallows did Cena a favor by giving him an excuse. Styles said he would give Cena a chance to fight any member of the Club he wanted. Cena immediately said Styles. But Styles said he couldn’t fight him because he has to do the Stone Cold Podcast. And he’s already beaten Cena. Cena asked if it even mattered because one will be in the ring and the other two will be at ringside. Styles said Cena was wrong. The Club huddled and Styles said Anderson would fight Cena one-on-one and would prove Cena isn’t as good as he thinks he is.
John Cena defeated Karl Anderson by DQ (2:22)
Match was a total squash with Cena getting all of the offense. He hit the AA on Anderson before Styles and Gallows ran in for the DQ. Anderson and Gallows delievered the Magic Killer on Cena, following Styles orders. Styles followed with the Styles Clash on Cena and they posed over him to mostly boos.
JoJo interviewed Rollins about his match with Reigns. Rollins said last night was about proving things to the world, and when he defeated Reigns he proved he was the best and Reigns didn’t deserve to be champion. He said Ambrose also proved something last night. When he stole the WWE Championship from him, Ambrose proved he was a cockroach and a thief. Rollins said he’ll beat Reigns tonight and prove who the best member of the Shield really is.
Becky Lynch did an interview with Renee Young after Natalya turned on her last night. Lynch said she’s had three friends turn on her since debuting on Raw. She said she was going to start looking out for herself when Natalya came up and jumped her from behind. Natalya said for the first time in years, she’s going to worry about herself.
Baron Corbin defeated Zack Ryder (3:02)
Baron Corbin won with the End of Days. Zack Ryder had a chance to do the Randy Savage elbow before losing.
They showed the press conference in China. It was the first appearance by HHH on Raw since the Monday before WrestleMania. Cena was also featured. They also highlighted the first Chinese athlete signed to a developmental contract, Bin Wang.
Paige started to do an interview with Young, but Charlotte and Dana Brooke interrupted her. Charlotte said when Team PCB broke up, she rose to the top of the women’s division while Paige sank like a rock in the ocean. Brooke said “Timber!” Paige treated her like an airhead and said Charlotte’s championship would look great around her waist when she beats her tonight.
Charlotte (C) defeated Paige to retain the WWE Women’s Championship (8:23)
Finish appeared to be somewhat screwed up. Paige hit the Rampage. Brooke was supposed to put Charlotte’s boot on the rope. But Brooke couldn’t do that before the referee finished the three count. So whent the referee looked up, he had to pretend he didn’t see Brooke holding on to Charlotte’s boot, which the viewers at home did. The referee looked like he had someone screaming in his earpiece because he belatedly ordered Brooke to the back. Brooke didn’t go to the back. In the midst of all this, Charlotte hit Natural Selection for the win.
After the pin, Sasha Banks came out to a huge pop. Charlotte ordered Brooke to go after her, but Banks decked her with one punch. Banks went after Charlotte, but Brooke jumped Banks from behind. Paige awakened and sent Charlotte and Brooke out of the ring. So they’re finally getting to the Charlotte-Banks program.
Reigns did a promo with Jojo saying tonight he would be the guy for defeats Rollins.
Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman made their return. They got “Welcome Back” chants. Wyatt asked if the fans missed him? Wyatt said they had been locked away, but through it all they have never forgotten what they stand for. He said the Wyatts are as strong as they have ever been. Then the New Day came out with their regular routine. They have rainbow socks now.
Xavier Woods siad Bray had been talking way too long “you need to cut it.” Big E. said Rowan has a big, ole booty. Kofi Kingston said whenever the New Day comes out, the fans have fun. It wa the power of positivity that allowed them to be WWE Tag Team Champions. However, as Kofi talked, Woods walked towards the ring like Wyatt had put him in a trance. Big E. had to snap him out of it, but Woods again looked like he had fallen under Wyatt’s spell.
Wyatt said he saw the New Day’s future. And it goes “New Day Falls. New Day Falls.” The segment abruptly ended. So they’re forgetting about Wyatt’s face turn when he teamed with Reigns just before his injury in April.
The newest Life Lessons with Bob Backlund featured Darren Young saying that he had been reading lots of poetry that motivated him. Backlund said Young shouldn’t take advice from anyone. Young asked if that includes Backlund, who said he doesn’t give advice, he gives orders. He then ordered Young to do 100 knee raises.
Lana was in the ring, as Ric Flair would say, looking as only as she can look with a black dress. She introduced Rusev. This led to a Titus O’Neal interview. He was furious over Rusev telling his kids last night that their father was a loser. He screamed that Rusev should never disrespect his family. He would have made his point much better if he had looked in the right camera when delivering that line.
Rusev vs. O’Neal never started. It was simply a brawl around ringside. O’Neal was much more intense as they traded hard knees and punches. O’Neal ended it when he whipped Rusev towards the timekeepers table and clotheslined him over the barricade. Rusev walked to the back.
The Miz and Maryse did another promo from the set of the Marine 5. Miz talked about how he liked to enjoy lunch with the members of the crew. Then someone walked up to him with a plate of food. Miz threw it back in his face because the plate didn’t contain quail. Maryse fired him. Miz screamed how no one on the set can do anything right as the rest of the crew stared at him blankly as they were eating. Miz did an about face saying everyone was doing a great job, but everyone still glared at him.
Chris Jericho met Shane backstage. Jericho claimed that Shane had hated him for 16 years. Shane cancelled the Highlight Reel and hadn’t made him #1 contender for Ambrose’s championship. Shane brought up that Jericho didn’t win the Money in the Bank match last night and lost to Ambrose at Extreme Rules. Jericho said he had 60 thumbtacks in his back after that match. He went on to say he’s drafted to the brand that Shane isn’t on because he would rather work with 10 Stephanie McMahons than one of Shane. Shane warned him that he would be running both brands and Jericho would be a loser either way.
Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins went to a double countout (17:26)
Very good match that ended with the Spanish announce table coming into play. Reigns speared Rollins onto the table. I’m not sure if the table was supposed to break, but it didn’t. Neither man could get back in the ring before the ten count. Lots of good near falls, including Rollins kicking out of the Superman punch. Rollins hit a springboard knee that Reigns escaped from. Earlier, Rollins attempted a kneedrop off the apron, but missed and Reigns gave him a big boot. Fans had a loud “You can’t wrestle” chant aimed at Reigns early on. Ambrose was on commentary. Though he threw in a few jokes, he wasn’t acting like Reigns’ little buddy anymore.
After the finish, Shane came out and said there had to be a number one contender. Ambrose’s stepped in and said he would face Reigns and Rollins on the same night. Shane then ordered a triple-threat match between the three as the main event for Battleground. Reigns looked like he had something to say to Ambrose, but Ambrose gave him Dirty Deeds, then started to leave. Rollins was about to deliver the Pedigree on Reigns, but Ambrose ran back in and gave Rollins Dirty Deeds, as well.
It’s hardly a surprise that the 5/10 edition of Raw, with Nitro pre-empted due to an NBA playoff double-header, would break all existing Monday night ratings marks. Still, when the numbers came out, nearly everyone had to be floored.
There should be a lot of interest in Raw today with the title change last night. The title change opens up a lot of new possibilities and also the question as to whether Roman Reigns run as the new face of the company is over. The title loss doesn’t mean that, as they were pushing Reigns as the top face during the entire Seth Rollins title run. It appears they will be doing a three-way deal with The Shield for now, but as far as face, heel, whatever, or shades of gray, and whether this is just a new method to push Reigns as top face with a new story, or a legit change in direction, tonight’s show could answer at least to a degree. With five weeks until the next PPV, I don’t expect a ton of direction as they usually go hard for three weeks. Plus, we’re still waiting on the Wyatt family return. Bray Wyatt has been around, but they want to reintroduce him and the family in a meaningful way.
We’re looking for your thoughts on yesterday’s New Japan Dominion and WWE Money in the Bank shows, 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.
Raw is live tonight in Phoenix with the fallout of Money in the Bank.
Smackdown and Main Event will be taped on Tuesday night in Tucson, AZ
We’re also looking for reports on Saturday’s WWE house show at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
THE ROUNDUP
The 10th annual Wrestling Observer/F4W convention in Las Vegas takes place during UFC’s International Fight Week from July 7 – 11.Ed in San Antonio has information up on Facebook, or you can email him at F4Wfan@hotmail.com. It’s always a fun time, so hurry up and make your plans to join Dave Meltzer, Bryan Alvarez (yes he’ll be there), Vinny, Granny, and the rest of the group in beautiful Las Vegas this July.
Our “lunch with Granny” is good-to-go at Johnny Rockets (in Excalibur), just like last year, on Saturday July 9th, at 11:30 a.m. local time. We have the “patio area” reserved for us. We’ve also been granted 10% discounts. Just tell the cashier that you’re a part of “Granny’s Gang!” And of course… the star of this event, Ms. Gladys Gibson, just has to show up and be her charming self, and she eats for FREE! See ya soon!
If you’ve ever wanted to WATCH our radio shows here on the site, check out our 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 6/13/2016: Gawker files for bankruptcy – Depending on your point of view, Hulk Hogan went one step further towards either succeeding or failing in his lawsuit against Gawker Media last Friday when the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the type that allows the company to continue operating.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
READ IT HERE: June 20, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: UFC 199/NXT Takeover reviews, UFC ownership bidding ending soon, more
This week’s Observer has a major story on the gamble of Brock Lesnar in UFC 200, the most in-depth look at the Ariel Helwani situation that you’ll find anywhere, full coverage of NXT Takeover, UFC 199, WWE Money in the Bank, and the details of TNA’s struggle to stay alive, its PPV and its future. There’s also a breakdown on the WWE cruiserweight classic, and monthly WWE and TNA business figures.
Take a look at Michael Bisping’s unlikely title win, all the ramifications of the Lesnar deal, what it shows about WWE, a look back at the last time WWE risked one of their stars against an outsider without scripting, how Ariel Helwani got to be a star reporter and how that played into what happened last week, and what aspects of the story that are really more important that haven’t been covered or have been overlooked, all covered in this week’s issue.
WWE looks at the possibility of adding PPV shows and the good and bad of that decision-making, and some economics of that decision.
A key WWE musician passes away, more on what Ali learned from pro wrestling, Bryan Danielson attends WWE event, Bobby Roode’s debut, notes on SummerSlam, new WWE executive hire, new WWE announcer, WWE looking for new members of creative, who is expected to return shortly, another animated WWE movie, update on Paul Heyman plus a full rundown on all the WWE & NXT live events this past week and business notes on the shows, in this edition.
Take a look at the background of the NXT Takeover show, the debut of Andrade Cien Almas and what did and didn’t work, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings.
For UFC 199, we look at the state of the middleweight title, how everything lines up, whom Michael Bisping wants next, as well as match-by-match coverage along with pay records for those on the show.
Finally, read how TNA saved its recent TV tapings and PPV, why they were close to not happening, where money came from, and what to look out for in the future. Plus, check out Slammiversary with match-by-match coverage and star ratings.
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Check out the latest online Wrestling Observer BACK ISSUE: May 10, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Fans celebrate life of Giant Baba at Tokyo Dome, PRIDE 5 recap, more. The final chapter in the career and life of Shohei Baba took place on the biggest show he ever main evented and the biggest show he ever promoted–some three months after his death.
MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Jeremy Botter just reported a UFC deal with WME/IMG for $4.2 billion was accepted. As noted, the bids were finalized on Thursday and the two leading bidders, WME/IMG and China Media Capital, were told UFC would get back to them within a few days. So from a timing standpoint, I was expecting this at any time. At this point we have not been able to independently confirm this story but WME/IMG was the favorite for the past week. The story lists Garry Cook as the probable new CEO in the spot formerly held by Lorenzo Fertitta. Cook in that spot had also been expected. The story states Dana White will stay and will also have some ownership interest.
Kurt Angle was on Mark Madden’s radio show today and said that he has talked with HHH about coming back to WWE. The conversation took place six weeks ago and he said he didn’t know when he was coming in. That’s an about-face on Angle who the company had no talked with even though he’s been a free agent since the end of January and they wouldn’t even talk with him the year earlier when he was a free agent. As noted the WWE has been very aggressive of late when it comes to contacting talent, including people that in the past they had shown no interest in. They are looking to make as big a bang as possible over the next month leading to the brand launch. However, a few of the names who have been mentioned as being talked with have told us that their names on the list are incorrect, but they are people under contract to TNA or Lucha Underground. They were looking at introducing people ASAP, including before the draft takes place. The only names we can report that were called are MVP, Carlito and Stevie Richards, but that’s the tip of the iceberg. Not everyone called is looking at going, but enough are that the independent scene as far as companies that like to use ex-WWE stars to draw may get more difficult shortly.
The NBA seventh game between the Warriors and Cavs last night averaged 30.8 million viewers and peaked at 44.5 million at 10:30 p.m. It was the most watched NBA game since 1998. WWE has gotten a good deal of pub out of this because Kevin Love wore a Steve Austin T-shirt in the post-show news conference and LeBron James wore an Ultimate Warrior T-shirt today.
The report we had yesterday of Royal Rumble in Los Angeles at Staples Center is incorrect. It’s weird just because there was on sale info and a code out, but WWE officials have said the show is not there and the location will be announced later.
For Google trends, while the NBA playoffs with more than 10 million searches blew everything away, WWE did have 500,000 searches for Money in the Bank. That’s the same as UFC has been doing for its PPVs and what WWE has been doing for its recent shows as well. UFC on Saturday had 200,000 searches which is well above what they usually do for FS 1 shows. However, a lot of the UFC searches related to the future of Dana White and sale of the company. To that point, Brandon Howard has a very interesting article regarding Google searches and WWE popularity and why ratings may not be meaningful to track popularity, although they are still meaningful since TV is the leading source of revenue.
WWE
MISCELLANEOUS
It’s a gigantic DKP this week as Eamo and Justin make their long awaited returns to the show as we resume the award winning JUST A TO Z series which has been on hiatus since November! The lads tackle the letter M as if they played in front of Gianluigi Buffon, leaving no stones unturned. Ok that’s a lie as many stones are left unturned in lieu of Roman Reigns debates that have nothing to do with the letter M, reviews of Alan & Eamo’s Tuesday night at NXT and other tangents.
Nevertheless, there is still plenty of M related content for you fine listeners to enjoy. For instance, Maven and the benefits of the Simon System, Magazines, Matt Hardy’s castle, Molly Holly and so much more! If you missed your boys then you’ll be delighted to know they haven’t missed a beat. A fun show for you and yours! CHECK IT!!!
1940
Kansas City, Kansas:
– World Heavyweight Champion Orville Brown defeated Wladek Zbyszko 2 falls to 0
1947
St. Joseph, Missouri:
– Tug Carlson & Ralph Garibaldi beat Orville Brown & Sockeye Jack McDonald
– Ras (Seelie) Samara beat Wally Dusek by dq
– Sailor Fred Blassie beat Jack Page
– Don Anderson drew Harry McGinnis
1953
Mexico City, Mexico:
– Sugi Sito defeated Tarzan Lopez to win the NWA World Middleweight Title
1960
Birmingham, Alabama:
– Tor Yamata and Mr. Moto defeated Mike Clancy and Oni Wiki Wiki for the Mid-America version of the NWA World Tag Team Titles
1961
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
– In Non Title Death Match; Hard Boiled Haggerty & Gene Kiniski beat AWA Tag Team Champions Leo Nomellini & Wilbur Snyder
– Tiny Mill beat Roy McClarty
– Jack Pesek beat Marquis de Paree
– Bob Geigel beat Tony Baillargeon
1963
Kansas City, Kansas:
– In a match for the World Tag Team Titles; Masked Medic#1 and Masked Medic#2 drew Pat O’Connor and Tiny Mills
– In a match for the US Title; Larry Hamilton beat Rock Hunter via dq
– Bob Orton drew Steve Bolus
– Steve Kovacs beat Joe Scarpello
1967
Duluth, Minnesota:
– Harley Race beat The Crusher
– Larry Hennig beat Jack Lanza
– Johnny Powers beat Doug Gilbert
– Rene Goulet beat Big K
1968
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Bob Ellis defeated Bob Brown
– Argentina Rocca defeated Roger Kirby in three falls
1969
St. Joseph, Missouri:
– Pat O’Connor defeated Dick Murdoch to win the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title
Indianapolis, Indiana:
– The Chain Gang (Jack and Frank Dillinger) defeated Dick the Bruiser and The Crusher for the WWA World Tag Team Titles
1970
Portland, Oregon:
– Beauregard and The Claw defeated Moondog Mayne and Frankie Laine for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles
1973
Honolulu, Hawaii:
– In a Stretcher match; Sam Steamboat beat Ed Francis
– North American Champion Billy Robinson double count out with Superstar Billy Graham in 3rd fall
– Ripper Collins beat Jimmy Snuka
– Ken Patera beat The Alaskan
1975
Denver, Colorado:
– AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Dusty Rhodes & Larry Hennig in 2 out of 3 falls
– Billy Robinson beat Buddy Wolff
– Ivan Putski beat Bobby Heenan
– Jim Brunzell drew Khosrow Vaziri (Iron Shiek)
1978
Pachuca, Mexico:
– Dos Caras defeated Canek for the Mexico National Light Heavyweight Title
1979
– Ricky and Robert Gibson defeated The Twin Devils to win the NWA Americas Tag Team Title
1981
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
– Don Muraco defeated Pedro Morales to win the WWF Intercontinental Title
Richmond, Virginia:
– Les Thornton defeated Terry Taylor for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title
Chicago, Illinois:
– Dick The Bruiser & The Crusher beat Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura
– Bobo Brazil no contest Jerry Valiant
– Wilbur Snyder beat Johnny Valiant dq
– Spike Huber beat Johnny Starr
– Moose Cholak beat Dr. Jerry Graham Jr
– Greg Wojokowski (The Great Wojo) beat Max Blue
1982
St. Paul, Minnesota:
– Hulk Hogan beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel dq
– Tito Santana & Rick Martel beat Ken Patera & Bobby Duncum dq
– Jerry Blackwell beat Ray Stevens
– Buck Zumhofe beat Jacques Goulet
– Brad Rheingans beat Sheik Adnan dq
– Pat Patterson beat Tom Stone
Atlanta, Georgia:
– Paul Orndorff defeated Buzz Sawyer for the Georgia National Heavyweight Title
Guadalajara, Mexico:
– Halcon Ortiz defeated Herodes to win the Mexico National Heavyweight Title
1983
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Man Mountain Link defeated Jerry Lawler for the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1986
Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
– Wayne Farris defeated Bad News Allen to win the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title
1987
Houston, Texas:
– Barry Windham defeated Black Bart to become the first NWA Western States Heritage Champion in a tournament final
San Juan, Puerto Rico:
– The Hunters (Dale Veasey and Bob Brown) defeated Miguel Perez, Jr. and Tony Atlas to win the WWC North American Tag Team Titles
1988
Memphis, Tennessee:
– AWA Champion Jerry Lawler beat Iceman King Parsons
– Robert Fuller & Jimmy Golden beat Dutch Mantel & Great Senshi
– Brickhouse Brown beat Max Payne
– Southern Tag Title Match; Don Bass & Gary Young no contest Billy Travis & Scott Steiner
1991
Portland, Oregon:
– The Bruise Brothers (Ron and Don Harris) won the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles from Steve Doll and Jimmy Jack Funk
1992
WCW Beach Blast | Mobile, Alabama:
– The Junkyard Dog, Tom Zenk and Big Josh defeated Tracy Smothers, Richard Morton and Diamond Dallas Page
– Scotty Flamingo (Raven) defeated Brian Pillman to win the WCW Light Heavyweight Title
– Ron Simmons defeated Terry Taylor
– Greg Valentine defeated Marcus Bagwell
– Missy Hyatt defeated Madusa (with Paul E. Dangerously) in a Bikini contest
– Sting defeated Cactus Jack in a Falls Count Anywhere match
– Ricky Steamboat defeated Rick Rude 4 falls to 3 in a 30 Minute Iron Man Challenge
– Dustin Rhodes, Barry Windham and Nikita Koloff defeated The Dangerous Alliance (Arn Anderson, Steve Austin and Bobby Eaton) (with Paul E. Dangerously and Madusa) by disqualification
– The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott) fought Terry Gordy & Steve Williams to a time-limit draw in a match for the WCW World Tag Team Titles
1997
Waltham, Massachusetts:
– The Dudley Boyz (Buh-Buh Ray and D-Von Dudley) defeated The Eliminators (Perry Saturn and John Kronus) to win the ECW World Tag Team Titles
2000
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Rikishi defeated Chris Benoit for the WWF Intercontinental Title
2003
Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
– Duke Durrango defeated Bruce Hart to win the Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Title
2010
WWE Fatal Four 4-Way | Long Island, New York:
– Rey Mysterio won the WWE World Title in a fatal four way match involving Jack Swagger, CM Punk and The Big Show
– Sheamus won the WWE Championship in a four way match involving John Cena, Randy Orton and Edge
WWE announced Monday that its talent draft for splitting up talent between RAW & Smackdown will take place on July 19th at the live Smackdown from Worcester, MA.
A press release stated that the draft will be conducted by the respective General Managers, which would indicate official naming of those people shortly.
The WWE stated that for the first time in history on back-to-back nights, two distinctive brands will compete with each other for television ratings, live events and PPV.
“This is an exciting new era for WWE in which we will yet again reinvent ourselves by creating a second night of compelling live television,” said Executive Producer Kevin Dunn.
The decision to put the draft on Smackdown rather than Raw shows the emphasis is on building the Smackdown audience, since the draft should be one of the most anticipated and watched shows of the year. Putting the draft on Smackdown means giving up what would be one of the highest rated Raws, and instead trying to establish Tuesday night as important immediately to the fan base.
In previous years, the draft shows were some of the highest rated shows the company would do at the time, although as the years went on, the draft show felt less important because there was less differentiation of the brands.
WWE Summerslam Feedback
– Roman might have great matches, but it’s impossible to care about his personal feuds, therefore, I don’t care about his matches.
– Thumbs up show!
– Best Match: Money In The Bank Ladder Match
– Worst Match: Women’s tag match
Brady Childs
– Thumbs up.
– Best match: Styles-Cena
– Worst match: divas tag
– This was a 3 match show, but the three were really well done. First hour and a half (plus pre-show) was almost filler, although the fatal 4-way was solid.
– Styles-Cena was first rate, made even better by the live crowd. “Money in the Bank” was strong as expected.
– Rollins-Reigns worked hard ; the Ambrose cash-in was well done, and gets the brief case out of the way.
– Enough of Ziggler-Corbin.
Mike Omansky
– Thumbs Up
– Best Match: Cena vs AJ
– Worst Match: goldust/truth vs breeze/fandango
– Great show, overrun didnt drag due to the excitement. Was shocked they had Rollins pin Reigns clean, storyline wise can say Reigns was injured but still pretty surprising as Ambrose could have cashed in during the match. Not complaining just again surprised. Crowd really went nuts for both title changes good vibe in the crowd.
– Cena and Styles was my pick for best match but the MITB and the main event really really delivered. Tag title 4 way was really good until it derailed with a lot of missed moves and other oddball stuff. Nothing offensive in the rest of the card except the opener which was a total waste especially with the long show why have it? Just save that for Raw.
– Did Reigns legit miss the gimmicked wall? How do they effectively delay the Shield three way until Summerslam as in storyline Reigns and Rollins BOTH should have automatic rematches. Of course they blew that up continuity wise before (after mania 31 reigns and brock, and after mania 30 Orton so it comes and goes) but its easy to book. If you take that route, what happens at Battleground…unless thats a Smackdown only PPV? Its just a “big money” match and would want it saved for one of the big 3 and set up correctly.
– Hope Del Rio is okay. Been said many times before but man do they waste him. The spot with him and Cesaro in the submission hold was pretty cringeworthy in that it took me out of the match worrying about any false move having them both in a terrible position.
Michael O’Brien | Brockton, MA
– WWE Money in the Bank: Thumbs Up
– Best Match: MITB Ladder Match
– Worst Match: Golden Truth vs. Breezango
– Preshow started poorly with the unwanted feud between comedy duos. I kind of hope these guys are all separated during the draft. Dudley Boyz vs. Lucha Dragons was decent. A standard TV match. Dudley’s seem like they are just around to fill space at this point.
– Tag Team Titles four way kicks off the main show with a pretty entertaining match even if it seemed like they forgot what was going on at the end. Not sure the legal man was even in the ring for the finish. New Day retains so I guess they will probably break the London/Kendrick record. They should have those two guys come back at least for one match to work against New Day.
– Baron Corbin once again beats Dolph Ziggler. It was a clean finish so I hope that finally puts this feud to rest. These two also need to not be on the same brand when they do the draft.
– Womens Tag Match was alright. They need to mix up the women as far as feuds go. I guess that’s why Natalya turned on Becky. That was the best thing here and Natalya looked pretty fired up on her heel turn which at least made it look good. Why the women aren’t booked like the men in a sense that there can be multiple feuds going at once instead of just whoever is working with Charlotte is beyond me. Paige should be in a program as well. She is being wasted.
– Apollo Crews wins over Sheamus, but not the right way. Why did they bring Crews up from NXT? They have no idea what to do with him. I guess this program will continue for no reason. I like Crews, but they need to find a purpose for him.
– So far the show is most certainly not the greatest Money in the Bank in history, but the second half is going to save this show.
– Great match with Styles vs. Cena. Styles wins which he needed even though he got the outside help, but obviously they will be meeting again. Best thing by far on this show so far and so far Styles has not disappointed since being in WWE.
– Money in the Bank was another great one. Very entertaining from start to finish with six top talents. I had it down to Ambrose and Owens as I’m sure most did. Ambrose wins to set up a Shield three way.
– Rusev vs. Titus was fine, but again probably a place holder to give Rusev a win. This feud doesn’t need to continue. Better than the house show match last night in L.A. Not sure why they added the two original pre show matches to the main show because now it appears we are going long.
– Great main even with Rollins and Reigns. That Pedigree out of nowhere was great and should have been the finish. Was actually shocked that they had Roman lose here. Question is will they actually turn him heel now? Wait here comes Dean. Ambrose cashes in on Rollins and Dean becomes the final Shield member to win the TItle. Looks like we are getting the Shield triple threat match next month or Summer Slam.
Robb Block
NJPW Dominon Feedback
– Was there live with about osaka crowd. Best match was Elgin v Omega for the car crash spectacle. Nasty bumps, hard work and the crowd exploded at the end. Naito and Okay was a close second for their hot finish.
– Worst Match was GOD versus Briscos whom few knew it cared for. Polite reception to the title change. Given their next challengers, I’d say it’s best to merge the tag divisions soon.
Fun match. Sitting for 4 hours was trying but satisfying!
Alvin Lim
Hello. I would go thumbs in the middle on the show. My biggest question/concern is why Naito dropped the belt after 2 months. He was one of, if not the most over guy when he came to the States. Wasn’t he also drawing pretty well in Japan too? Los Ingobernables also seemed to be eclipsing Bullet Club in popularity. I didn’t expect him to hold it all the way to Jan. 4th, but if he was doing good business, why not go with Naito for 8 months? I like Okada, but from a business perspective, Naito seemed like the better choice. Maybe I’m wrong. With G1 approaching as well, having Naito win the briefcase seems counter productive. The ladder match was fine, would have been better with Tanahashi, but was still pretty decent. The Young Bucks didn’t need that win in my opinion, but the 4 way tags are meaningless to me because they’ve been done so much. Everything else was OK. Thumbs middle.
Andy Henningsen
Thumbs completely middle. It was a great show in terms of match quality (Ospreay/KUSHIDA, Shibata/Nagata, and Elgin/Omega were all amazing), and both the conclusion to the NEVER match and the ladder match in front of fans who didn’t know what to expect were amazing moments to take in. However, the main event disappointed me tremendously. I may have just been worn out by that point, but I didn’t feel like the match ever properly kicked into its final gear. I was also left kind of depressed to see Los Ingobernables de Japon lose all their matches to CHAOS, and Naito’s title reign cut short when it was such a breath of fresh air. I know he’ll likely win the G1, but it won’t be the same. So while the matches were great, it didn’t leave me excited for the future.
– Best Match: Elgin vs. Omega
– Worst Match: The Briscoe Brothers vs. G.O.D.
Ashley from NJ
– Thumbs up
– Best match: Kenny Omega vs. Michael Elgin
– Worst match: Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Briscoe Brothers
– A very solid show where every match was entertaining, especially the Ladder match and the NEVER Title match. My only complaint is that several of the rematches failed to live up to their last meetings (main event, jr title, jr tag titles and Goto/EVIL) so they were less intense by comparison but they were still fun matches. Most importantly: YOSHI-HASHI finally got a big show win, so I’m a happy man.
Nick Randall
– Best match: Ladder match.
– Worst match: Goto vs Evil (didn’t count the Jay white send off as it was pre show)
– I honestly didn’t enjoy this show as much as I thought I would. It felt like to me they undid all the work they did building Los ingornables over the past 3 months. Naito vs okada seemed rushed and it’s obvious Gedo is playing it safe heading into the G1 with okada champion once again.
– Thumbs up for most of the show.
Kellen Barrett
– Thumbs Up
– Best Match: Okada v. Naito
– Dominion followed the trend of NJPW closing out its big shows with three excellent matches. Omega v. Elgin or Nagata v. Shibata could be easily seen as the best match of the night. Beyond an awesome night of wrestling, the big take away might be New Japan Pro Wrestling booking a ladder match for the first time and putting such an awesome, inventive match around the gimmick.
NJPW had a good bit of production to go along with the show tonight. The opening video package looked and sounded excellent. The comedic ladder match introduction also hit its mark.
Casey Goldman
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer returns today with all the news in wrestling and MMA including a full rundown of the WWE Money in the Bank PPV, a look at all the matches and angles, New Japan Dominion coverage, what’s up with Anthony Rumble Johnson, mailbag questions and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
WWE officials have contacted us to say that the stories that the 2017 Royal Rumble will be at the Staples Center in Los Angeles are incorrect.
The story came from the house show last night and reports regarding ticket sale dates and codes, although those codes were not announced to the crowd. Strangely, there were ticket codes allegedly for the 2017 Royal Rumble that popped up online following the alleged announcement. We had several correspondents who claimed the announcement was made to the live crowd.
The company has said that an announcement will be forthcoming soon regarding the location of next year’s Royal Rumble.